Jay-Z at Barclays Center - 9/29/12 (via Alyonka Larionov)

Jay-Z kicked off his first of eight sold-out shows at Brooklyn's new Barclays Center on Friday (9/28) and has since played his second (9/29) and third (9/30) nights over the weekend. Though Jay said there would be no guests at these shows, he's still been sneaking a few in. As mentioned, Big Daddy Kane was there on night one. Memphis Bleek showed up on Saturday to join him on "Can't Knock the Hustle," "Money Ain't A Thang," "La La La," "Excuse Me Miss," and "You Me, Him & Her." (No guests on night three though.) The setlist was otherwise pretty similar to night one, including a large span of material; everything from Cruel Summer standout "Clique," to his earliest cuts like "Dead Presidents" and huge hits like "Dirt Off Your Shoulder," "99 Problems," "H to the Izzo," "Hard Knock Life," and more.

The run continues tonight (10/1). Videos from Saturday's show are below.

Continue reading "Jay-Z played nights 2 & 3 at Barclays Center (videos)"

Jay-Z, trying to prove that Brooklyn is far from finished, just finished his first of eight sold out shows at the brand new Barclays Center (that, concerts aside, he has a huge economic stake in).

The first night at the new home of the Nets was mostly just Jay. He kept the special guests to a minimum apart from an encore appearance by Big Daddy Kane and a video tribute to Notorious B.I.G. earlier on. Check out the actual printed setlist from the Friday show, below...

Continue reading "Jay-Z opened the Barclays Center (night 1 setlist) "

this is the picture people are saying is hologram Biggie (via highacez)

Despite what is quickly spreading FAST across the internet, thanks in part to some tweets by Russell Simmons (that lead to a page on his site GlobalGrind that say it was a hologram), it does not appear that there was an actual hologram of Biggie tonight. Just some high tech video.

Hologram Tupac is still the only hologram until we hear otherwise (the show is still underway as we type this) UPDATE: show over. No hologram. Check out the setlist.

The real Big Daddy Kane, however, in the flesh, was a guest at the show

Stay tuned for more later, though you can hear Jay perform a new (Nets themed?) verse, before 99 Problems, at the show, below...

Continue reading "Jay-Z brings out hologram Biggie Smalls @ Barclays Center?"

via @jakerocksoff

We already posted lots of posts today. Here's some more, and some reminders too...

With the opening of the Barclays Center (follow @BrooklynVegan on Twitter for some scenes from the chaos), both New York and Time Out ponder the changing landscape of Brooklyn in this week's issues.

Speaking of the new venue, Lady Gaga's MSG (2/22) & Barclays Center (3/6) shows sold out today, so she added one more at each venue. The new dates are 2/23 @ MSG and 3/7 @ Barclays. Both go on sale Friday, October 5th at 10am.

Other NYC shows that went on sale today include JEFF the Brotherhood, Field Report, Diamond Rings, Anais Mitchell, Kelly Hogan, Callers and Petty Fest.

And regarding that Staten Island politician talking shit about her, Lady Gaga thanked him.

As mentioned, Soundgarden is releasing a new album, their first in 15 years, on 11/13. Now you can hear the first song which is streaming at the bottom of this post.

In other bands who were good in the '90s Barclays Center news and, Smashing Pumpkins warmed up for their arena tour with an intimate, two-and-a-half-hour show at Stubb's in Austin last night. The tour hits the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Halloween.

Listen to the title track from Bad Brains' forthcoming new album.

Apple knows its maps app sucks.

Trevor Dunn, who is currently on tour as a member of Melvins Lite, took to his tour diary to comment on Green Day frontman BIlie Joe Armstrong's recent freakout: "That guy's main problem is that he doesn't realize that he is Justin Bieber."

Do you love the blown-out, pixelated artork on MIA albums? You may want to buy here coffee table book then.

On a somewhat similar publishing tip, Diplo "and photographer Shane McCauley are launching the zine series Blow Your Head. Each volume will explore a different country and musical genre.

Tour diaries are hot these days. (Have you read ours with Kelly Pratt whose touring with David Byrne and St. Vincent)? Diamond Rings and Stars writing about their adventures on the road for The Huffington Post. Those adventures included a show at Webster Hall this week.

Winter is coming for everyone, it seems. Neko Case tweeted today: "Dude. I'm just gonna admit to being balls-deep in Game of Thrones on CD."

While on the subject of rock star confessions, a recent quote from Pete Townshend: "What I remember of the size of Mick Jagger's penis - I remember it as being huge and extremely tasty."

If you need more, maybe you'd like to read some Phil Collins erotic fan fiction?

Speaking of St. Vincent, today is Annie Clark's 30th birthday. Happy Birthday, Annie! We always liked this picture of her, by Chris La Putt, from her days as a member of the Polyphonic Spree:

Catch St Vincent and David Byrne in Williamsburg Park on Saturday. How was their second Beacon show? Check out pictures from the first (also by Chris La Putt).

It's also Les Claypool of Primus' birthday, who turn 49. Catch Primus on tour this fall.

Not that surprising, but awesome -Austin just became the first Texas city to endorse marriage equality.

Austin music venue Scoot Inn, a popular place to be during SXSW, has a new owner.

Kreayshawn's new album flopped.

Mumford & Sons' new album probably won't.

more stuff below...

Continue reading "ALSO: new Soundgarden & Bad Brains songs; MIA art book; Diplo's new zine; Phil Collins erotic fan fiction; Apple maps & more"

The Illuminator, whose mission is "to smash the myths of the information industry and shine a light on the urgent issues of our time", and whose projections have been seen everywhere from the Russian Consulate in Manhattan ("Free Pussy Riot") to Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn "99% Occupy", lit up the rusty facade of the new Barclays Center the other night, as you can see in the pictures above and at the website of Develop Don't Destroy.

Protests continue tonight outside the venue as Jay-Z takes the stage inside (Talib Kweli spins the afterparty).

Battle for Brooklyn poster

While the opening of Barclays Center was a happy moment for some, for others... not so much. In fact, the trials and tribulations of one man who fought the development is the subject of a film:

BATTLE FOR BROOKLYN follows the story of reluctant activist Daniel Goldstein as he struggles to save his home and community from being demolished to make way for a professional basketball arena and the densest real estate development in U.S. history. Along the way, he falls in love, gets married and starts a family while living in a vacated building located at the heart of the project site. Over the course of seven years, Daniel spearheads the movement against the development plan as he and the community fight tenaciously in the courts, the streets, and the media to stop the abuse of eminent domain and reveal the corruption at the heart of the plan.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28 (arena opening day)
11AM: Press conference @ Barclays Center, in front of the Pacific Bears Community Garden, opposite the arena, at triangle tip where Flatbush and Pacific meet (details to follow).

12PM - 4PM: Popup actions all around the Barclays Center

5PM: Virtual rally--tweet #BarclaysCenter and @AYCrimeScene for housing and jobs now.

6PM: OWSGuitarmy's Teach-in in Response to Jay-Z Comments

8PM: Free outdoor screening of Battle For Brooklyn (battleforbrooklyn.com)
@ Dean Playground Ball Field, just half a block from the arena
(Dean St. between 6th Ave. and Carlton Ave. MAP)

Continue reading "'Battle for Brooklyn' documentary screens this week to coincide with Barclays Center opening / protests"

photos by Sachyn Mital

"Every team has a grand plan, and we're moving slowly, step by step, because it's easy to make a strong team, but it's very difficult to make a championship team. So we are on the right way and I'm expecting our championship within three years now," Prokhorov told reporters Friday morning after participating in a ribbon-cutting with partner Bruce Ratner and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, marking the ceremonial opening of the $1 billion Barclays Center in downtown Brooklyn.

Mikhail Prokhorov has a grand plan for the Nets, who open their new arena in their first season in Brooklyn Nov. 1 against the rival Knicks. "I'm really thirsting for the first of November," he said.

When Prokhorov bought the team in 2010, he said the Nets would capture the NBA title within five years, meaning his plan remains on schedule. -[ESPN]

The first step towards familiarity is getting the public acquainted with the space, a feat that Barclays Center attempted when they opened their doors to the press on Friday (9/21). With protesters outside, Mayor Bloomberg and Brooklyn Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov welcomed in photographers, including Sachyn Mital whose pictures continue below...

Continue reading "A look inside the new Barclays Center (pics)"

rusty looking Barclays Center yesterday (9/20) (photo by RC)

protesters outside Barclays Center today (9/21) (photo by Stefan Bondy)

New, controversial Brooklyn arena, Barclays Center (why exactly did Barclays sponsor it?), has its invite-only, ribbon cutting ceremony today at 9:30 a.m. Protesters are on hand. Some of them may be wondering why it looks so damn rusty...

"Is it meant to be that way, with the rust?" one woman asked, squinting at the steel.

"I thought they were going to paint it," said a man who stopped to stare.

No, they are not. For the facade of the Barclays Center, more traditional materials were rejected in favor of 12,000 separate pieces of what is called "weathering steel," and that leathery brown hue, which is the arena's final finish, is not paint but an intended layer of rust.

Weathering steel -- often known by its old brand name, Cor-Ten -- develops a fine layer of rust, which then acts as a protective coating against moisture, slowing its own corrosion process almost to a stop. While it can look suspiciously unfinished to the casual observer, it has many fans in the world of art and architecture. [NY Times]

P.S. Tickets for a Nets vs Knicks game go on sale 9/24 at 10am. Tickets for the Rihanna show go on sale today at noon. Yesterday we found out Best Coast is playing there (with Green Day).

by Andrew Sacher

Best Coast at Terminal 5 in July (more by Chris La Putt)

Last year, a video made internet rounds of Best Coast covering Blink 182's "Dammit" at one of her shows, and soon after she contributed vocals to New Found Glory's 2011 LP, Radiosurgery. But Best Coast's pop punk love doesn't stop there. It's just been announced that Best Coast will open for Green Day on their upcoming tour which hits Brooklyn's Barclays Center on January 16. (Tickets for that show are still available.) Maybe this also has something to do with Green Day's desire for power pop, garage rock, and a return to the simplicity of Dookie?

This tour kicks off in January, 2013 but in advance of it, Green Day stopped by NYC for an initimate show at Irving Plaza on Saturday (9/15). At that show, they played a 38-song set spanning their career and included eight songs from their Lookout! Records days. The setlist and a video from that show are below.

You can also stream ¡Uno!, the first of their three upcoming albums, in its entirety at the band's facebook page (in exchange for liking the page).

A list of all dates, along with that setlist and video are below.

Continue reading "Best Coast to tour w/ Green Day who just played Irving Plaza"

I've often wondered this myself. The NY Post asks:

What's a $400 million air ball look like?

Barclays Bank hopes it never finds out.

The embattled UK bank is spending that much cash over 20 years to splash its name on Brooklyn's Barclays Center -- one of the Big Apple's splashiest entertainment venues, which officially opens next week after years of anticipation.

But while 3 million fans or so will pass through the turnstiles of the 19,000-seat arena, none will use a Barclays ATM, none will be pitched a Barclays credit card and none will open a Barclays account.

While the UK finance giant has loads of branches around the world, it has no consumer bank in the US.

And that, in light of the $400 million sponsorship deal, has marketing experts scratching their heads.

"If [Barclays] isn't striving to have a retail presence, it's a big pill to swallow in terms of getting your money's worth out of the arena," said Jim Andrews, senior VP at sports marketing-research company IEG LLC.

Citigroup is paying the same amount of sponsorship cash to have its name on Citi Field, home of the Mets.

But Citi has eight revenue-generating ATMs around the Flushing, NY, stadium, uses ticket offers to customers as a marketing come-on and offers Citi credit cards and other products to fans as they roam the stadium...

Jay-Z 'Made in America' (more by Dana (distortion) Yavin)

Occupy Guitarmy posted the following to their site:

The Occupy Guitarmy, a subset of the OWS Music Working group, offers a response to Jay-Z, who today said in the NY Times said in the Daily News that OWS’s actions are “un-American.”

"I think all those things need to really declare themselves a bit more clearly because when you just say that 'the 1 percent is that,' that's not true," he said.

"Yeah, the 1 percent that's robbing people, and deceiving people, these fixed mortgages and all these things, and then taking their home away from them, that's criminal, that's bad.

"Not being an entrepreneur. This is free enterprise. This is what America is built on."

Jay-Z “supported” Occupy earlier in its first, highly media-friendly moments through his entrepreneurial selling of “Occupy All Streets” t-shirts, although he refused to donate any of the profits of his sales to support the activists and received wide-spread negative publicity for his crass appropriation of the movement’s language.

Now Jay is rolling with even more powerful and popular friends, namely the LIBOR-scandal leading bankers at Barclays, who put their name on the controversial Brooklyn arena where Jay’s basketball team will play and where he will play eight nights to inaugurate the venue.

Jay asked in the article: “"I don't know what the fight is about. What do we want? Do you know?"

We have spent one year on the streets organizing for exactly the things Jay rapped about in his early days, ending urban poverty, ending Stop & Frisk and police use of lethal force, of returning dignity and hope to the everyday people of New York City. These are simple civil rights issues we know Jay-Z must support, and we would love to help open his heart and mind to the work Occupy has helped do in his own former communities.

On SEPTEMBER 28th we will arrive at his sold-out Barclays concert to lovingly show Jay-Z what we want and how he can help: by encouraging his fans to take action for social justice in their communities, schools, workplaces, and homes.

Join us September 28 at Barclays at 6pm for an Occupy Wall Street teach-in and musical performance. Let’s be a sincere answer to Jay’s question. In turn we will ask on of him, one Florence Reece wrote in the 1930s and still matters now, “Which Side Are You On?”

If your community organization / musical group / education group would like to join us, please email music at nycga dot net.

UPDATE: Here’s a tweet response from OWS supporter Russell Simmons

Russell SimmonsVerified ?@UncleRUSH

J. @occupywallstreet is not a blanket indictment of the rich its an indictment of a system that let’s the rich bribe R government, luv u

We last heard about Guitarmy on May Day when Tom Morello, Dan Deacon, and others hooked up with them for a NYC march.

On a related note, Tom Morello and Eddie Vedder recently joined Bruce Springsteen on stage in Chicago. Eddie Vedder also recently played with Jay-Z.

UPDATE: Russell Simmons also has way more to say about this.

Tickets for the Grace Jones show at Roseland Ballroom are now on presale (password: "HURRICANE") and go on sale to the general public Tuesday (9/11) at noon.

Tickets for the Bob Dylan show at Barclays Center just went on bobdylan.com presale (password: "MONOTONE"). Live Nation presale starts Wednesday (9/12) at 10 AM and general on-sale starts Friday (9/14) at 10 AM.

Green Day, who are playing an intimate NYC show at Irving Plaza on Saturday (9/15), announced a much larger tour in support of their new albums, which comes to Brooklyn's Barclays center on January 16, 2013. Tickets for that show go on sale Friday (9/14) at noon with an Internet presale starting Wednesday (9/12) at 10 Am and an Idiot Club Membership presale starting Thursday (9/13) at 10 AM. All Green Day tour dates are listed below.

Rihanna will bring her 'Diamonds World Tour' to the Barclays Center on May 4, 2013. Tickets for that show go on sale Friday, September 21 at noon. All Rihanna tour dates are listed below.

As mentioned, the Barclays Center opens later this month with eight shows by venue director Jay-Z. Other shows happening there include Smashing Pumpkins (tickets), Neil Young and Patti Smith (tickets), Leonard Cohen tickets), Rush (tickets), and more.

Brazilian Girls just announced a last-minute show, happening this Wednesday (9/12) at The Bell House. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

Tickets for the Esperanza Spalding show at The Apollo (10/27) are on Ticketmaster and A List presale now. General on-sale starts Thursday (9/13) at 10 AM.

All Green Day dates and Rihanna dates are listed below.

Continue reading "tickets on sale: Bob Dylan, Grace Jones, Green Day, Rihanna, Brazilian Girls, Esperanza Spalding and more"

The Rolling Stones in 2012

According to Billboard, a source tells them that The Rolling Stones will play four shows in November, two at London's O2 Arena, and two at Brooklyn's Barclays Center. This follows Mick Jagger's July interview with Evening Standard, where he promised the band would perform live this autumn. No other details have been revealed yet, but if this is true, stay tuned for more details.

Meanwhile, Mick Jagger recently tweeted a picture of himself in a recording studio and wrote, "Had fun in the Paris studio this week!" Keith Richards recently spoke to Rolling Stone about recording together too:

The band also gathered in London in July to celebrate their 50th anniversary with a photo exhibit. Before that meeting, Keith Richards told Rolling Stone the band would also use the time to discuss recording. "I'd love to get some tracks down and see what songs we've got. And that goes along with part of getting the band back together and getting things moving. So I'd love to cut some tracks, yeah." Asked if he saw himself writing one-on-one with Jagger again, Richards replied, "I have no doubt."

No word on whether or not these studio sessions will result in a new album, which would be their first since 2005's A Bigger Bang, though The Guardian is reporting that "it is more likely they have laid down new songs for inclusion on a greatest hits set due this autumn."

Some classic Stones videos are below.

Continue reading "Rolling Stones rumored to play Brooklyn's Barclays Center and London's O2 Arena this November, working on new material"

Smashing Pumpkins at iHeartRadio Theater in June (more by Theo Wargo)

Back in June, The Smashing Pumpkins released Oceania, their first full length album since 2007 and first with the band's current lineup of Billy Corgan, Jeff Schroeder, Nicole Fiorentino, and Mike Byrne. Around that time they also played a few shows in support of it including the tiny iHeartRadio Theater show in NYC. Now they're set to take the album to much larger venues on 'The Oceania Tour,' where they'll be performing material from the "new album Oceania as well as their classic songs." The Canadian leg of the tour has already been announced, and the band have revealed the US cities (but not venues and dates) that they'll hit as well. A full list of venues and dates is to come, but meanwhile, we know that they'll be in NYC for a show at Brooklyn's new Barclays Center on Halloween (10/31). (We'll leave you to make holiday/name-appropriate jokes.) Tickets for that show go on sale Friday, August 31 at 10 AM, and Citi cardmembers will have access to presale tickets on Monday, August 27 through the Citi Private Pass website. VIP tickets will also be available at the Smashing Pumpkins website. A list of all dates and US cities (including Camden, NJ, where the Susquehanna Bank Center is located) is below.

In other news, after recently calling out Radiohead, Billy Corgan took to an interview with PhilStar to call out some of his old favorites, Soundgarden (and of course another mention of Pavement). Billy said:

There are those bands that are essentially coming back only to make money -- playing their old albums, and maybe somewhere in the back of their minds they're thinking there might be a future.

I am not in that business, obviously. I condemn anybody who's in that business but doesn't admit (he's) in that business. When Soundgarden came back and they just played their old songs, great. I was a fan of Soundgarden, but call it for what it is. They're just out there to have one more round at the till; same with Pavement and these other bands.

A list of all Smashing Pumpkins dates and a video of the band playing "The Celestials" at iHeartRadio Theater in June are below.

Continue reading "Smashing Pumpkins announce stadium tour, playing the Barclays Center; Billy Corgan calls out Soundgarden (dates)"

Artist rendering of Cushman & Wakefield Theater

R&B crooner and frequent Real Time with Bill Maher guest John Legend, whose 2010 album, Wake Up!, was a collaboration with The Roots and who we recently spotted checking out Frank Ocean at Terminal 5, will be the first artist to play the Cushman & Wakefield Theater, an "intimate theater" within the Barclays Center complex, on October 29. Intimate compared to Barclays Arena at least, the theater seats 3500 - 6000 people. Tickets to John Legend's show go on sale Friday (8/17) at noon.

That show is with UK singer Lianne La Havas, who made BBC's 'Sound of 2012' list and opened for Bon Iver in Chicago (and other dates) in 2011. She also plays her own NYC show on September 11 at Bowery Ballroom (tickets).

The Cushman & Wakefield Theater show is of many dates on John Legend's upcoming fall tour, which also hits the NYC area on October 25 at Wellmont Theatre with Stacy Barthe. Tickets for that show go on sale Friday (8/17) at noon. Tickets for the shows will also be available through Tickets-for-Charity, which will donate $1 from each ticket sold to The Show Me Campaign.

John will be using his fall tour to preview cuts from his new Kanye West-produced album, Love in the Future, which is out in the near future, actual release date TBD. You can watch a short video of John announcing the tour and talking about the album at the bottom of this post.

Meanwhile, the Barclays Center opens on September 28 with eight shows by venue director Jay-Z.

A list of all John Legend tour dates and that video are below.

Continue reading "Cushman & Wakefield Theater opening at Barclays Center; John Legend playing first show there (and other dates) "

As mentioned, The Who will bring their 1973 double album rock opera, Quadrophenia, on tour this year and into next, and will hit the NYC area four times along the way. Those shows include 11/14 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, 12/5 at Madison Square Garden, 12/6 at Prudential Center in Newark, and 2/21 at Nassau Coliseum on Long Island.

Tickets for all four NYC area shows go on AmEx presale today (7/23) at 10 AM. General sale starts Friday.

You can stream Quadrophenia in its entirety below...

Continue reading "Who ticket presale: MSG, Barclays Center, Prudential Center, Nassau Coliseum & more"

Bob Dylan will release his 35th studio album, Tempest, this year on September 11 on his label home of 50 years (!) Columbia Records. He produced the album himself under his producer pseudonym Jack Frost, which he's used on other past releases. The album is his first new release of original material since 2009's Together Through Life. That's the cover art above, and the tracklist is below.

Dylan will support the album on a tour with Mark Knopfler which culminates in a Brooklyn show at the new Barclays Center on November 21. That makes a total of two folk legends playing the new Brooklyn arena in 2012. Tickets for the Brooklyn show go on sale September 14 at 10 AM.

As mentioned, Dylan is also currently on an international summer tour which wraps up a few hours away from NYC at Tag's Summer Stage on September 1 in Big Flat's NY. Tickets for that show are still available.

A list of all dates and the Tempest tracklist are below.

Continue reading "Bob Dylan releasing 'Tempest,' announces 2012 tour w/ Mark Knopfler, playing the Barclays Center (dates)"

Jay-Z @ All Points West 2009 (more by Tim Griffin)

Not very surprising, but...

JAY Z has added three more shows at Barclays Center on Monday, October 1st, Friday, October 5th and Saturday, 6th. The three shows will be held in addition to the five concerts on September 28, 29, and 30, and October 3 and 4.

All eight shows, produced by Live Nation, will go on sale to the general public tomorrow, Friday, July 13 at 10 a.m (EST). Tickets for the shows will be available through Ticketmaster by visiting www.barclayscenter.com or www.ticketmaster.com or by calling 800-745-3000.

As announced in previous press releases, more than 7,000 tickets for each show will be priced at under $30.

American Express® Cardmembers will have access to purchase tickets tomorrow for the additional three concerts at www.Ticketmaster.com beginning at 8am (EST).

So far today, we've posted news about Jay-Z cohort Kanye West, and about D'Angelo, who is playing Jay-Z's Made In America Fest -- and now we've got some updates on Jay himself. As mentioned, Jay will be playing multiple shows at the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn, where he is a director and where The Nets (who he partially owns) will be playing. One of those dates was already announced (September 28), and now two more have been revealed: September 29 and 30. Tickets for all three shows at the Brooklyn arena go on sale Friday (7/13) at 10 AM, but first an AmEx presale on July 11 from 10:00 a.m. through 10:00 p.m. "More than 7,000 tickets per show will be priced at under $30."

"JAY Z is Brooklyn and is the definitive artist to open Barclays Center," said Barclays Center CEO Brett Yormark. "We are thrilled that such an iconic world-class entertainer, not to mention a Brooklynite, will take the borough's biggest stage on three consecutive nights for what will surely be a historic experience for all fans."

Continue reading "Jay-Z announces more Barclays Center shows & ticket info"

After a mysterious and shortlived presale, tickets for the Neil Young & Crazy Horse Dec. 3 show at the Barclays Center go on sale at 10AM. Other upcoming Neil dates include Madison Square Garden and Austin City Limits.

Tickets are on pre-sale now for the Neil Young & Crazy Horse show at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn (Live Nation password = amplify). General sale begins Monday at 10am.

Jay-Z, who already owns a portion of the Brooklyn Nets, has now also been named a director at Brooklyn's Barclays Center, where the Nets will be playing and he will also be performing. NY Post reports:

As one of seven directors, the rapper and music mogul will attend board meetings and help direct arena senior staff on daily operations, Barclays Center officials confirmed today.

He's already helped the Nets design the team's Brooklyn logos and its yet-to-be-released jerseys. And he was especially hands-on in designing 11 luxury arena suites called "The Vault."

For the suites -- which run $550,000 each -- Jay-Z's fingerprints are everywhere. He even helped choose the high-end forks, napkins and champagne that will be served.

All Journey dates are listed below...

Continue reading "Jay-Z named director of Barclays Center (where Journey is playing w/ Pat Benatar)"

Tickets are still on sale for the official BV Northside showcase at Music Hall of Williamsburg (6/15) with Caveman, Frankie Rose, and two more TBA.

Tickets for the King Khan & the Shrines show at Bowery Ballroom go on sale today at noon.

Tickets for Sebadoh's Bowery Ballroom show go on sale today at noon.

Joining Jay-Z, Rush, and Leonard Cohen, Justin Bieber is the newest addition to the artists playing Brooklyn's new Barclays Center this year. Tickets for his 11/12 show at the venue go on sale June 2 at 10 AM. He also plays Izod Center and MSG (not like it matters) but how could we not mention the day that the streets of Brooklyn will be flooded with Beliebers?

Field Mouse, who were added as openers to I Break Horses' Mercury Lounge show on Wednesday (5/30) and UMO/Doldrums' Glasslands show in June, will play Mercury Lounge on July 21. Tickets for that show go on sale Friday (5/25) at noon.

Pomegranates and Kitten play Mercury Lounge on July 27. Tickets for that show go on sale Friday (5/25) at noon.

Tickets for the Gaslight Anthem's Webster Hall show go on sale Friday, June 1 at noon.

TIckets for the El-P, Killer Mike, Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire and Despot show at Irving Plaza go on sale Friday (5/25) at 10 AM. Killer Mike also plays a free Brooklyn Bowl show TONIGHT (5/24) with DIIV, The High Highs, and Beat Culture.

The 2-day Dylan Fest begins at irving Plaza tonight (5/24) with Adam Green, Fabrizio Moretti of The Strokes, Nicole Atkins, Christoher Chu of POP ETC, and more. Tickets are still available and we're also giving away three pairs for each night. Contest details below.

Speaking of Adam Green, he plays the free Lowbrow Reader Variety Hour at Housing Works on May 29 with Wyatt Cenac, Supercute, and more.

Psychic Ills were added to The Dandy Warhol's Irving Plaza show (6/5). Tickets for that show are still available.

Alex Winston and Devin (who was just added to 4Knots) were added to The Cribs' Irving Plaza show (6/6). Tickets for that show are still on sale.

The Azealia Banks show at Bowery Ballroom is also on sale at noon.

Dylan Fest contest details below...

Continue reading "Sebadoh, Frankie Rose, Caveman, Field Mouse, Gaslight Anthem, Dylan Fest, Justin Bieber & other tickets"

Leonard Cohen at Red Rocks in 2009 (more by Lori Bally)

As mentioned, Leonard Cohen released his first album in eight years this year and will tour North America in late fall to support it. That tour includes the previously discussed NYC shows on December 18 at Madison Square Garden and Brooklyn's December 20 at Barclays Center. Tickets for those shows go on sale today (5/18) at noon.

We're also giving away a pair of tickets to Leonard's shows in the following cities: NYC, Brooklyn, Austin, Chicago, LA, and San Jose. Details on how to enter to win tickets to shows in any of the above cities are below, along with a list of all dates.

Continue reading "Leonard Cohen tickets on sale, you can win a pair too!"

Jay-Z, who also just announced a festival in Philadelphia, has set a date for one of his promised shows at his new stadium in Brooklyn. The rapper mogul will christen the new Barclays Centter on 9/28/2012, a few days before the Islanders play the Devils there, and a few weeks before Brooklyn's own Barbara Streisand plays there. Will Jay announce even more shows like he said he would? Time will tell. Meanwhile check out the full list of events confirmed at the new venue so far, Rush and Leonard Cohen included, below...

Continue reading "JAY Z sets date of show at Barclays Center (where Barbara Streisand is also playing) "