"The Snow Ball Music Festival [in 2011] was chill, in more ways than one. Besides the expected below freezing temperatures Avon gets in early March, the atmosphere of the festival and attitude of the attendees were very relaxed. The tents were set up on snow instead of concrete, and so dancing the first night was no small fete as everyone was slipping on the ice. By the end of the weekend, any movement at all was unpleasant as people were standing in puddles of water, beer, and probably some bodily fluids or stuck to the ground in thick mud. The crowd left their clubbing attire at home and sported their neon ski coats instead as they drifted through the clouds of cigarette and marijuana smoke. Despite the cold weather and the impossible dance floor, most importantly, the music was good." [cause=time]

The SnowBall Music Festival, for people not afraid to watch bands playing outside in freezing temperatures ("We recommend that you come prepared for snow and winter conditions. Temperatures are expected to be in the low 40° range during the day and in the teens at night. Please dress accordingly."), is returning to Vail Valley in Avon, CO from March 2 - 4, 2012. This year's lineup includes Big Boi, Big Freedia, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. (who just announced a Bowery Ballroom show), Deer Tick, Gauntlet Hair, Major Lazer, TV on the Radio, Thundercat, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, and others (listed below)

Early bird and holiday special passes are sold out but regular passes and tickets for the festival are on sale now. Don't forget your "Warm Jackets, hats, gloves, and snow boots."

Current lineup below...

Continue reading "Snowball Music Festival is outside in the Winter in Colorado (2012 lineup) "

CMJ takes over NYC venues from October 18-22, and they just announced another round of bands that are playing. They are:

J Mascis, Shonen Knife, Gang Gang Dance, Boy & Bear, Cloud Nothings, Free Energy, T. Mills, Kendrick Lamar, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Casiokids, Oberhofer, Smif-N-Wessun, Pujol, Zomby, Joker, Painted Palms, Flatliners, Robbers on High Street, Bag Raiders, Young Buffalo, Skeletonwitch, Gary Clark, Jr. and 1, 2, 3.

if you click the links above, you'll see where some of those shows are happening. The previous CMJ announcement is HERE, though collectively that's still not a lot of bands announced by CMJ yet (many more have been announced by venues). Badge info here, but remember if all you want to do is go to shows, you can also just buy tickets to those shows.

Zomby is also playing Glasslands even sooner.

DOWNLOAD: Sharegroove - Douglass Loft Hot Pot mix (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: David Bruno - I Went To Miami And All I Got Was This Stupid Mix (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Bag Raiders - Shooting Stars (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Bag Raiders - Turbo Love (MP3)

Jokers of the Scene @ Plan B - April 14, 2009

Last Friday I was too tired to brave Webster Hall for Congorock even though I wanted to, and not being here Saturday or Sunday meant I didn't go out until Tuesday. That night I went to another one of the excellent parties Scion has been throwing monthly at Plan B. I didn't find out about it until the last minute - hopefully some of you saw the details I posted in the comments.

In any case...it wound up being a lot of fun. It wasn't as packed as quickly as usual, but by the time Jokers of the Scene started deejaying, Plan B had filled up nicely. Their set lived up to the two times I saw JoTS previously - great and full of new stuff, hardly any of which I knew, save for "One Day" by the Juan MacLean (who is playing a show at LPR tonight, but more on that and other upcoming events below...).

Toward the end of their set, just minutes after I had finished talking to a friend about Mr. Oizo, the next deejay coincidentally opened his set with "Flat Beat". The shock continued when the other half of the dj duo (who I later discovered were Super Viral Brothers) started to drop verses over the beats. He (Anthony Mills) continued to do so for the rest of the set which consisted of the following tracks (along with a few others) delivered by Olle Cornéer (who also happens to be half of Dada Life):

Continue reading "the week in Dance w/ Showtrotta (Etienne de Crecy, Flying Lotus, Plan B, Coachella & more...)"