!!! is playing ACL 2009 (more by Chris Graham)

"The 2009 Austin City Limits Music Festival will showcase a diverse blend of acts both fresh and familiar at the eighth edition of the event in Zilker Park October 2-4. Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews Band, and Beastie Boys are performing for the first time at the Festival, with Kings of Leon, Ben Harper and Relentless7, and Thievery Corporation returning to Zilker Park once again. John Legend, The Dead Weather, and The Levon Helm Band will also make their ACL Festival debut, while Austin's own Ghostland Observatory will no doubt deliver another memorable set for festival goers.

With over 130 artists on this year's bill, the list of acts awes at each note with the likes of Sonic Youth, Mos Def, Toadies, Flogging Molly, The B-52s, Lily Allen, Citizen Cope, Arctic Monkeys, The Decemberists, Coheed and Cambria, Andrew Bird, Girl Talk, and many more.

In the tradition of the TV show from which it was born, the Festival has always aimed to offer musical discovery for the fans. The 2009 lineup is rich with pop, country, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, indie rock, hip-hop, and gospel, to name a few, spanning cultures and countries from New Orleans to Venezuela to France."

The entire 2009 lineup is below...

Continue reading "ACL (Austin City Limits) - 2009 festival lineup announcement"

photos by Ryan Muir

Suckers have been added as opener to the March 26th Harlem Shakes show at Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn. Tickets are still on sale. Harlem Shakes were the opener this past Saturday (3/14) at Highline Ballroom. They opened for Bell XI (who we didn't wait around for). More pictures from that show, and all dates, below...

Continue reading "Harlem Shakes - Highline Ballroom pics, updated SXSW dates"

DOWNLOAD: Harlem Shakes - Strictly Game (MP3)

"Technicolor Health was made after and during some tough times (involving serious sickness) for the [Harlem Shakes]. The record captures the weary, hopeful, and sometimes triumphal vibe of that period in their lives. Above all, the album is about surviving abject shittiness. But it's also about what new-wave bands and new-wave revival bands call, "modern life," as lived by five thoughtful men in their early and mid-twenties during a weird, sometimes miserable, mostly thrilling historical moment. Harlem Shakes have been obsessed by pop music their whole lives, and after all the reiterations, they still have great faith in its power to make you and them feel a little better about things, and to say something vital, and God willing, maybe even enduring."

Technicolor Health is a really good album. Gigantic Music doesn't release it until March 24th, but you can (legally) download one of the tracks from the album above. It's the same song they're currently streaming at their MySpace.

On February 24th Harlem Shakes leave on tour with Tokyo Police Club. February 25th, one day later, is the NYC show at Webster Hall that Born Ruffians are also playing. Tickets are still on sale. You don't have to wait that long to see HS though. They're also playing this Saturday night, February 14th, Valentine's Day, at Southpaw with Shilpa Ray and Phil and the Osophers. It's a late show. You can go to dinner and be done with Valentine's Day before doors even open at 10PM. The early show in the same venue is the one Jennifer O'Connor is playing with Mascott. And like tonight's Motel Motel / Holly Miranda show at the same venue, it's part of the Sounds Like Brooklyn festival (as is the Clap Your Hands Say Yeah / Chairlift show tonight at BAM).

Harlem Shakes are also playing a few shows with Bell XI in March. Tickets are on sale for a March 14th show at Highline Ballroom. All dates below...

Continue reading "Harlem Shakes - 2009 Tour Dates, a new MP3, a new album"