Tickets to all dates of the the IDENTITY Fest tour, Jones Beach and PNC Bank Arts Center included, have been reduced to $20 today. The sale started at 9am today and lasts for "20 hours only" (thanks Danielle). I don't know what the set times are, but that's a pretty good deal even if you just go for DJ Shadow and watch (dance to) one or two acts before him.

photos by Tim Griffin

DJ Shadow @ the Great Escape

Instrumental hip hop guru DJ Shadow is set to release his first LP in five years The Less You Know, The Better on September 5. He released the single "I Gotta Rokk" back in May. Check out the video for that track below.

DJ Shadow performed at Glastonbury this past weekend. According to @RadioRassilon, "DJ Shadow in the John peel tent at #Glastonbury - mind boggling. I'm boggled. Boggled flat." We don't have pictures from his set there but we did catch at the Great Escape, also in the UK, in May. As previously seen on the BV Facebook, pictures from that one are in this post.

Those fests were some of many performances Shadow has/had lined up this summer, which is largely being occupied by the touring electronic festival, IDentity Festival in August and early September. IDentity will be headlined by Kaskade, Steve Aoki (who was spotted at the Gay Pride Parade on Sunday), and Steve Lawler. It also includes live sets by Holy Ghost!, Hercules and Love Affair, and Modeselektor. It hits PNC Bank Arts Center in Jersey on 8/14 and Jones Beach in Long Island on 8/21. Tickets are on sale for both.

Video, tour dates, more live pics and the IDentity Fest lineup and flier below...

Continue reading "DJ Shadow announced new LP, touring w/ IDentity Festival, played Glastonbury & the Great Escape (pics & dates)"

Booka Shade @ Lollapalooza 2008 (more by Zach Dilgard)

Booka Shade move around a lot, and in October they'll be returning to North America for some shows that include 10/26 at Music Hall of Williamsburg. Tickets for the Brooklyn show are on sale. All dates and their cool new video for "Teenage Spaceman" (created by a contest winner) below...

Continue reading "Booka Shade - 2010 tour dates & new video "

We'll get a more complete press release in the morning (and confirm what is listed below is 100% correct), but in the meantime below is a picture of the 2010 Sasquatch poster (that someone Tweeted) and the lineup as read by Bradford Cox at tonight's Atlas Sound show in Seattle (and being listed all over the Internet)....

Continue reading "Sasquatch announces 2010 lineup (includes Massive Attack & My Morning Jacket) (and many more) "

DOWNLOAD: Tortured Soul - Did You Miss Me (MP3)

Cut Copy @ Terminal 5 - March 21, 2009 (ChrisGoldNY)

This weekend saw the first wave of post-SXSW, pre-WMC deejays and bands come through New York. There were a lot of events lined up that I had seen coming for weeks, but one that somehow got by me until just a few days before, was Disco 3000 with Trus'me and Volcov at APT. Without enough time to sway my more "electro"-minded friends to change their plans, I hit APT solo Friday night and left without an ounce of regret. Upon arriving around 12:30 or so, the basement space was packed with people dancing. While there were some weird and inexplicable ebbs & flows in terms of dancefloor traffic, the music was on point the entire night. Trus'me and Volcov traded off deck duty every hour or so, easily meeting the expectations garnered from the flyer:

Expect to hear all corners of the record shop from the past, present and of course the future. Disco, afro, house, boogie, hip hop, techno, jazz, psyche, reggae, soul, brazilian, dub.

Overall it was a great night that had me out dancing until 4, never even toying with the idea of leaving earlier. It also reminded me just how much I love disco, house, etc. After inadvertently laying those genres by the wayside of more electro-oriented sounds for too long, I have not been able to get enough of them since Friday.

Saturday night I ventured out again, to Terminal 5 to see Cut Copy. I managed to catch a bit of Knightlife's opening dj set which was very well-mixed and balanced, including tracks that were on the more melodic, French house side of things with a tasteful amount of more gritty/synthy electro thrown in.

Matt & Kim @ Terminal 5 - March 21, 2009 (meisemily)

Following Knightlife, Matt & Kim went on. I had seen them open for Professor Murder at Bowery a few years ago and really didn't like them. This time around, despite still not really being into their music, I found their set to be much more entertaining in terms of something to watch. The pair really didn't let the crowd that was standing idly for the first couple of songs get to them. If anything it made Matt & Kim try even harder to get everyone excited. It inevitably worked after a few more songs and some witty banter. By the end, the crowd was very into it. People were jumping and dancing along to the upbeat synth & drum combos, which ended with the previously indifferent crowd, now embracing and ushering Matt to the safety of the stage after his attempt to literally walk on top of them failed.

The tension built as the crew readied the stage for Cut Copy's set...unfortunately, so did the crowd. Just minutes prior to the beginning of the show I realized the floor was so packed I could not lift my arms and it began to dawn on me how hellish the next hour or so might possibly be.

For the most part, it was. Dancing had gone from being the fun, point of the evening, to a battle for personal space. Cut Copy were in top form, as they have been every time I've seen them prior, but the crowd made it difficult to enjoy their set.

In terms of what they played, it was mainly favorites from their albums In Ghost Colours and Bright Like Neon Love, plus the addition of the track "Sands of Time" (recorded at the same time as In Ghost Colours, but never making it onto the album) which sounded amazing live. Thankfully there were just enough brief moments where I found myself with sufficient space to get down and enjoy the music, making me able to walk away from the show feeling good about it (despite the hellish crowd).

Hopefully the positivity will continue into this week. By the looks of what's headed our way, I'm optimistic:

Continue reading "the week in Dance (part 1) w/ Showtrotta (Cut Copy, Prodigy, Friendly Fires, Ellen Allien, Tortured Soul, more...)"

photos by Zach Dilgard

"House beat underdogs Booka Shade made the overcrowded MGMT stage look like sheep as they strode through some of the most danceable hooks and beats blared." [Pensatos]

Booka Shade did August 1st Irving Plaza (or Irwing Plaza as they had it listed in their tour dates), August 2nd Lollapalooza (the pictures in this post), and August 3rd Osheaga. More Lolla pics below....

Continue reading "Booka Shade played Irving Plaza & Lollapalooza (pics)"

by Showtrotta

Hope you got your fill of the French on Wednesday and Thursday. This weekend brings dance music from loads of different places (but is way less French intensive).

Friday night (August 1st) one of the bigger dance events happening is Booka Shade at the Fillmore at Irving Plaza. Walter and Arno have been working on their own music together since the 90's as well as producing for a number of artists on Berlin-based, underground dance label (which they co-founded with M.A.N.D.Y. and DJ T), Get Physical. I have not seen them before, but have often heard their live performances compared to Soulwax's (who are here next Wednesday! Get tickets!) which I always consider to be a good thing. If it's an accurate comparison you should be in for a night of absolutely losing it on the dancefloor.

$20 advanced tickets available here or at the box office (no service charge).

Continue reading "Booka Shade (here), Soulwax (soon), art by Underworld, Electroma & more in the Friday night in Dance"

Sebastian @ Studio B, Brooklyn, NYC - May 7, 2008(ameliemelo148)

palm tree roof lounge at Studio B (sarahheiman)

Early Friday evening (May 9, 2008) Midnight Juggernauts hit Bowery on their North American tour along with Shy Child and Holy Ghost.

Then what?

Continue reading "the week in Dance w/ Showtrotta (FRIDAY NIGHT)"

DOWNLOAD: Booka Shade - In White Rooms (mexico Mix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: TTC - Travailler (orgasmic Remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: In Flagranti - In The Silver White Box (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Tim Sweeney & Bogman 7-24 mix (MP3) (info)

to make up for missing last week, here's an early 'week in dance' by David Bruno....

@ an Ed Banger Costume Party in Paris (CRED)


Bonjour party people. Sorry for yet another absence but I was spending some time in Paris. As a result, I've got loads of fantastic new music to turn you on to in the next few weeks, but first lets get caught up on upcoming events this week.....

Booka Shade returns on Thursday night (August 2) at Studio B in Brooklyn for the rare weekday Fixed party. As far as live electronic music goes, Booka Shade are one of the top bands out there. The boys at RVNG have posted up the Booka Shade Essential Mix for your review. (They've also just put out a killer tee shirt!)

More beeeeeeelow.....

Continue reading "the (early) week in Dance w/ David Bruno (07/31/07)"

DOWNLOAD: Dandi Wind - Balloon Factory (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Captain - Birthday Mix from The Birdhouse (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Walter Meego - Romantic (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Walter Meego - Wanna Be a Star (Walter Sees Stars mix) (MP3)

The dance world typically gathers steam in the US in March, with Winter Music Conference held in Miami, and the increasingly dance-populated SXSW, many labels and producers tour their beat-laden wares come spring. This Spring is no different and NYC will host almost all the top upcoming talent in the month of March.

WMC happens in Miami March 20th through March 25th. The list of events is here. I'll post highlights in a few weeks.

Two zeitgeist-y days in March see the dance world collide in NYC. There is a line in the sand...

Booka Shade

Thursday March 15th
* Cut NYC returns at Studio B with Booka Shade Live
* Institubes vs. Boys Noize at Hiro with Para One, Boys Noize, & Curses!

Booka Shade, along with M.A.N.D.Y., and the rest of the Get Physical label were THE sound of 2005. Penning minimally melodic stormers that rocked every genre of dancefloor, Booka Shade arguably put on the best show of WMC 2006 at the Fixed/Revolver party.

Institubes is the reserved cousin to Paris' Ed Banger Records. Their roster includes Tacteel, Para One, Das Glow, Surkin, Bobmo, & (NYC'er) Curses!, all who blur the lines between hip-hop, techno, and rave. They will all be on the tip of your tounge in 2007. Boys Noize and the output of his self-titled label have been crafting a hard edged, drum centric version of the current electro sound of dance, evidenced by THAT remix of "Banquet" that you hear every weekend. Besides Bloc Party, BN has remixed much of the indierati: Kaiser Chiefs, Tiga, Shiny Toy Guns, Living Things, and (!) Depeche Mode.

And another complicated night that needs no explanation for readers of this fine site:

Saturday March 31st
* LCD Soundsystem at Bowery Ballroom
* Datarock, Lo-Fi-Fnk, & the Presets at Fixed at Studio B
* John Digweed & MSTRKRFT tour hits Pacha

Less of a decision TONIGHT (Feb 22)....

Brooklyn Wasted Youth

The always wonderful Modular Monthly happens tonight at Galapagos in Brooklyn. Hometown hero Drop The Lime destroys it live, along with the art dance craze of Dandi Wind, and they JUST ADDED Chicago crew Walter Meego. This is the spot tonight.

NEWS

• XLR8R Previews SXSW and the Presets


• Abbey at Punkphoto got some cool phootage of the Rapture party last week


• Stylus runs down techno videos on YouTube


• The Month in Grime/Dubstep at PFork (DMZ meets Dubwar at Tonic on Saturday)

MUSIC

• XLR8R's Podcast (This week features a mix by editor Vivian Host (Star Eyes))


• Boys Noize Mix Live in Chicago


• Booka Shade's Essential Mix for BBC Radio 1


• M.A.N.D.Y. on Galaxy FM UK

The Weekend in Dance NYC....

Continue reading "the week in Dance w/ David Bruno (02/22/07)"