As promised, Mad Decent are presenting free, all ages Block Parties in NYC, Philly, Chicago, and LA this summer. Each party's lineup is different and will have surprise guest appearances, along with food and carnival games. The first party is in NYC on July 30 at South Street Seaport with Gang Gang Dance, Zeds Dead, Claude VonStroke, BAIO (Vampire Weekend DJ set), The Hood Internet, Bosco Delrey, and PO PO. Artists playing other cities include Diplo, Das Racist, Curren$y, Reptar, Major Lazer, Death Grips and more.

The NYC block party is 9 days after Gang Gang Dance conclude their tour with Nguzunguzu and Total Freedom by headlining Rocks Off Concert Cruise on July 21 (no opener), and a week after they DJ at Warm Up (7/23).

Full Block Party lineups and dates below...

Continue reading "Mad Decent Block Party lineups announced (Gang Gang Dance & many more playing South Street Seaport in NYC)"

photos by Tim Griffin

CSS @ La Zona Rosa

Sleigh Bells @ La Zona Rosa

CSS and Sleigh Bells have been on the road since Coachella. In mid-May they finally reach NYC for THREE shows, all of which are now sold out. And though they have not added a fourth NYC show, tickets are on sale for an afterparty happening at Santos Party House on Thursday, May 12th. CSS are DJing it. Party host "Dark Disco" writes:

"Missed your chance to score tickets to the CSS show? Dark Diso is back this month as the OFFICIAL AFTER-PARTY featuring a CSS DJ SET!!! Sometimes you want to be surrounded by the beautiful people, the dangerous people, the smartest people, the creative people. The people who sometimes, shine a little more in the depths of darkness. Enter into a club where you can disappear and have the best night of your life. Where you can love and hate equally and then drink and dance it off. With lineups that are surprising, insightful, and always on the absolute tip of the edge featuring DJ's, Producers, and artists who are true creators and who's only goal is to keep the dancefloor live. The environment is an ever changing inspiration of visual artists who's installations fill the void of your mind with something new to deconstruct."

Continue reading "CSS & Sleigh Bells on tour, played La Zona Rosa in Austin (pics), announce NYC afterparty @ Santos"

photos by Amanda Hatfield

Magic Kids toured through town again, this time hitting Mercury Lounge and Silent Barn with Bosco Delray who they're now touring back to Memphis with, in support of Memphis. The Mercury Lounge show was also with Big Troubles and Brianne, and the pictures in this post are from that show. We also recently had pictures from Magic Kids' set at Fun Fun Fun Fest (set 1 and set 2).

The Mercury Lounge pictures continue, with a yourstru.ly video of the band playing "Candy" with an "orchestra, which features Christopher + Garrett from Girls, Max from Smith Westerns, some friends of someone's aunt who had a weekend flute club, a real string section and some more random friends," below...

Continue reading "Magic Kids played Mercury Lounge w/ Bosco Delray, Brianne & Big Troubles (pics) +++ yourstru.ly 'orchestra' video"

by Andrew Frisicano

DOWNLOAD: Magic Kids - Summer (MP3)

Magic Kids in Nashville in March (bekah_cope)

Now that Memphis' Magic Kids have wrapped up their tour with Ariel Pink (which includes a NYC stop at Irving Plaza and a Magic Kids-headlining show on a boat), they've announced their return to the city. Those shows, on their November tour with Bosco Delrey (the Mad Decent dude who just played a South Street Seaport block party), are on November 12th at Mercury Lounge and November 13th at Silent Barn. Tickets for Mercury Lounge are on AmEx presale at noon Wednesday, general sale Friday at noon.

Currently, Magic Kids have a run of record store in-store in the South and Midwest, with more shows out West to follow. They have a European tour in October, and the North American dates that include NYC in November.

The band's intensely poppy debut, named after their hometown Memphis, comes out August 24 via True Panther Sound. The single above is one of the album's most syrupy, with orchestra flairs and a retro exotica breakdown. All tour dates and videos (including one on their NYC boat cruise) are below...

Continue reading "Magic Kids playing shows w/ Candy Claws & Bosco Delrey - 2010 Tour Dates"

"What began as a spontaneous event for friends and neighbors outside the label's Philadelphia headquarters and grew in 2 short years to the largest block party in city, the MAD DECENT BLOCK PARTY is nothing short of a legend. Now in the event's 3rd summer, Mad Decent has teamed with Diesel and JELLY to bring the MAD DECENT BLOCK PARTY magic across the country! Starting in Philadelphia and traveling to New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago over 4 consecutive Saturdays from July 31st to August 21st, the MAD DECENT BLOCK PARTY promises banging music, carnival games, yummy food, super secret guests and all for FREE!"

Continue reading "Mad Decent & Jelly throwing free block parties in four cities, at South Street Seaport in NYC"

by Andrew Frisicano

The Gaye Blades

Retro rock band Georgiana Starlington (which features ex-Black Lips guitarist Jack Hines) kicks off a monthly residency at Bruar Falls in Brooklyn tonight (7/29). Opening up the show will be Atlanta's The Gaye Blades, a group fronted by current Black Lips member Jared Swilley (who is probably still in town since Black Lips played Sunday's Pool Party show). We think it's probably the group's (Gay Blades) NYC debut.

UPDATE: We realized right after posting that Benjamin Jay Womack (Bobby Ubangi) was also a member of the Gaye Blades (and Black Lips) at one time. Ben "passed away on July 1, 2009, following a nine month battle with cancer. B. Jay was 35 at the time of his death." Bradford Cox called him "A great friend and an amazing human being." RIP.

The Gaye Blades appear on the Wild About Jenkem comp put out by Killer Diller Records in 2008. The songs on the record, contributed by bands that include Coconut Coolouts (who played NYC over the weekend), Back C.C.s and Livefastdie (who played their their last show in NYC over the weekend) (see below), are all about jenkem, which, according to Wikipedia, is "a hallucinogenic recreational drug composed of noxious gas formed from fermented human feces. In the early and mid-1990s, several reports stated that Jenkem was being used by Zambian street children." Sounds great! Charles Gaskins, who heads the Killer Diller label, will also be DJing at Bruar Falls tonight (7/29); Bosco Delray rounds out the bill.

LiveFastDie (final show) w/ crazy girl @ Rock Star Bar in Brooklyn - 7/25/09 (VICE)

VICE: Why's Livefastdie breaking up?

LFD: It's just time to call it a day. Four years is a lot longer than I thought it would go. Weird punk's taken over. Hippy shit. No room left.

Continue reading "The Gaye Blades (not Gay Blades) (mem. of Black Lips) tonight, Georgiana Starlington residency, LiveFastDie...Dead"