Agnostic Front are celebrating their 30th anniversary by playing the 1989 LP Live at CBGB on select dates, including at their recent shows in Long Island or Asbury Park. They'll do it again in NYC at Webster Hall on July 5th with support from Madball, Murphy's Law and Maximum Penalty. Tickets are on sale for the show which is one day before the Cro-Mags/Sick of it All show at the same space. Both shows are part of the the CBGB Festival which has badges of its own and which also recently added a Superchunk/Redd Kross show to its growing schedule.

Start the beatdown week with the Blood for Blood show at Highline Ballroom on June 30th. Tickets are on sale for that as well, and it also features The Unseen, Wisdom in Chains & Cruel Hand. Blood for Blood will also hit Club Lido in Revere, MA on June 29th.

Murphy's Law's Webster Hall appearance is one of at least two for the NYC band in the near future; they will also board the Half Moon as part of a Rocks Off boat cruise on August 12th. Tickets are on sale for what is basically an annual party on the sea (as long as the cops don't intervene)

A listing of all Agnostic Front dates and a live set from 2004, and more, below.

Continue reading "Agnostic Front keeps touring, playing 'Live @ CBGB' set @ CBGB Fest show w/ Madball & Murphy's Law"

by Andrew Sacher

DOWNLOAD: Redd Kross - "Researching the Blues" (MP3)

Superchunk at Pitchfork Fest 2011 (more by Dominick Mastrangelo)

Superchunk, who came back with a new album in 2010, have followed that release with a new single titled "This Summer." It's out today and comes with a cover of Bananarama's "Cruel Summer" on the B-side. Only 1300 copies were pressed and are available in stores worldwide. Take a listen to the A-side over at Pitchfork. The 7" cover art is below.

Superchunk only have a few dates scheduled and one of those is in NYC as part of CBGB Festival at Beekman Beer Garden on July 6 with Redd Kross and Labor Pool. Tickets for that show are not on sale yet but check ticketweb for any updates or use your CBGB Fest badge.

Redd Kross @ HoZac Blackout Fest on 5/19/2012 (more by John Yingling)

Speaking of Redd Kross, like Superchunk they were responsible for pioneering the pop punk sound that dominated the '90s, most notably doing so on their 1987 LP, Neurotica. The band reunited back in 2004, and now they're set to release their first new album of original material and it's with the same lineup they had on Neurotica. The new album is called Researching the Blues, and it's due out on August 7 via Merge (the label operated by Superchunk). You can grab an MP3 of that album's title track above, or stream it below. Though it's been a while, Redd Kross sound just as urgent on this new track as they do on their earlier records. Check it out for yourself. The album is available for pre-order at the Merge webstore and it comes with a free poster and button. Cover art and tracklist are below.

A list of all dates, that song stream, cover art and tracklist below...

Continue reading "Superchunk releasing 7", playing CBGB Fest w/ Redd Kross, who are prepping a new LP (dates & MP3)"

Reggie Watts @ @ the Vic last week (more by Ben Rodig)

Reggie Watts, who played the Vic in Chicago last week and is now on a tour that hits Austin for two shows this weekend, recently played a sold out show at Webster Hall in NYC and was just announced on the lineup of the upcoming multi-venue CBGB Festival in NYC. Well, Reggie's venue has been revealed and it is The Bell House in Brooklyn on July 6th with a reunited Radio 4 and The Jigglers. if you don't want to mess with a CBGB Fest badge, tickets are on sale.

A list of all Reggie Watts tour dates, and the new Hot Chip video that he stars in, below...

Continue reading "Reggie Watts touring, playing NYC show w/ reformed Radio 4 "

Now we really know what's going on. The CBGB Festival is happening July 5 - 8 at some 30 venues across the city, with over 300 bands participating, including the previously mentioned free Guided by Voices, Pains of Being Pure at Heart, and Cloud Nothings show at Summerstage (which now also includes The War on Drugs), the The Baseball Project and Craig Finn at City Winery, L.A. Guns at Highline, the Cro Mags, Sick of it All, Vision of Disorder, Absolution, and Sal Naim show at Webster Hall, and D Generation's Bowery Electric show. Newly added artists include Rocket from the Tombs, MEN, PS I Love You, Reggie Watts, Gary Lucas, Weekend, and more TBA. The full list of currently confirmed artists is below.

It's also a film festival with both new and classic rock films/docs, including the world premiere of The Rise and Fall of The Clash, plus American Hardcore, Color Me Obsessed: A Film About The Replacements, The Dead Boys - Live at CBGB/OMFUG 1977, I Am Trying to Break Your Heart, Kurt Cobain About a Son, The Sacred Triangle: Bowie, Iggy & Lou 1971-1973 and more.

In addition, they've added a CMJ/SXSW-like music industry conference with panels/workshops concerning the music industry, independent artists, and a CBGB "Tales from the Club" panel each day. All conferences take place at the Sunshine Cinema and East Village Cinema. The festival also closes with the "distilled spirits fest" at Beekman Beer Garden on July 8.

There are variety of badges available too, from music and film showcase badges to one that get you into everything (or potentially at least...badges don't guarantee admission). The press release we got claims badges have been on sale since May 7 but this is the first we've heard about it. Regardless, early bird prices on music showcase badges is $69 and runs through May 31. It jumps to $79 if you buy before July 4 and walk-up badges once the fest starts are $89. Film fest badges are $99/$159/$219 for earlybird/regular/walk-up. You can also get a music conference badge which gains you entry to the showcases, workshops, and panels, and a music/film combo badge which gains you entry to all of that plus the film screenings. Full details on the vast array of CBGB Festival badge options are at their website. What this means to people who already bought tickets to individual shows already but want a badge too, we're not sure.

A list of all confirmed bands, films, conferences, and participating venues is below.

Continue reading "CBGB Festival announces details: badges, bands, films, industry conference, and booze"

Craig Finn with The Hold Steady at Mohawk (more by Tim Griffin)

Hey Everyone,

I hope all is good. I've been enjoying my time at home writing music and seeing a bunch of shows. Thank you Nick Lowe, Wu Lyf, Titus Andronicus, Archers of Loaf, and Bruce Springsteen for some great times.

Besides going to shows, I'm also going to play quite a few coming up. The Hold Steady has a very fun tour in June...

I've also got a few solo shows. The first two are in Chicago on June 2...

Also, I will be playing a show with The Baseball Project on July 5 at City Winery in NYC. I had a great time performing and hanging out with these guys last year. This should be a great show...

For all the solo sets, it will just be me and a guitar. I'll tell you some stories and sing you some songs. This is the first time I've done sets like this, and I'm looking forward to it.

Hope to see you soon.

cf

The show is one of three current dates for The Baseball Project -- all in the Northeast. Below, you can check out those listed dates, a listing of all Hold Steady dates and a video of The Baseball Project's full set from The Met last month.

Continue reading "The Hold Steady touring in June (dates); Craig Finn playing with The Baseball Project at City Winery"

It has been revealed that the "special secret show" at Bowery Electric tonight (5/20) is actually glam rocker Michael Monroe of Hanoi Rocks (?!). Why the hell would that be a secret? Because he played Bamboozle last night and wasn't allowed to announce the NYC show due to radius clauses. Bamboozle concludes in NJ today with WTF headliner Bon Jovi along with many others including Star Slinger and comedian Andrew Dice Clay.

In related news, L.A. Guns (who strangely recently released a song on Matador Records) and The Dirty Pearls are playing Highline Ballroom on July 5th for what is being billed as part of the CBGB Festival along with Killing Floor, The Noise, and Ingrid & The Defectors.

Other CBGB Fest shows include Guided by Voices at Summerstage, Sick of it All and Cro-Mags at Webster Hall, and a still-reunited D Generation at Bowery Electric which also hosts an upcoming Max's Kansas City reunion fest.

Meanwhile Bold headline the post Black n Blue Bowl show at Bowery Electric this afternoon along with a spoken word set by John Joseph of Cro-Mags.

Joey Ramone's annual birthday party, no longer trying to fill Irving Plaza, happened at The Studio at Webster Hall last night with some familiar punk and proto-punk veterans (many of the same names that play it every year) like Ivan Julian, The Indecent, The Brats, The Threads, The Gobshites, and The Bullys.

Paul Weller just played two nights at Best Buy Theater and a show at the John Varvatos store aka the actual old CBGB space one night earlier.

CBGB Rest in Peace.

by Andrew Sacher

Jayne County and the Electric Chairs (not a recent pic)

Looks like CBGB isn't the only legendary NYC punk venue celebrating a "reunion" this year. Max's Kansas City will be throwing an alumni reunion for four days in June at The Bowery Electric from June 7-10. Max's existed just above Union Square on Park Ave. South from 1965-1974 and again from 1975-1981. It was during its second run as a venue that it became known, along with CBGB, as one of the birthplaces of punk in NYC, having played host to Ramones, Blondie, Television, Talking Heads, New York Dolls, Patti Smith, Suicide, and many others.

The alumni reunion at Bowery Electric will include proto-punk legends Jayne County and the Electric Chairs (formerly Wayne County and the Electric Chairs, Jayne changed her name after the band's breakup and began identifying as a woman), who are best known for their single, "Fuck Off," and their excellent cover of the Electric Prunes' "I Had Too Much to Dream Last Night." They play on June 7 with The Rattlers, Sea Monster, Ruby & the Rednecks, and NY Junk. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

On June 8, we'll get Billy Rath's Street Pirates (Billy played bass with Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers), The Sic F*cks, Avant Duel, power pop greats The Shirts (who have been reunited since 2003 with founding members Robert Racioppo and Artie Lamonica, but without lead singer Annie Golden), and The Brats. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

On June 9, it's The Nihilistics, The Waldos (featuring Walter Lure of Johnny Thunders' band), The Planets, and Stumblebunny (tickets) and finally on June 10, it's King Bee & the Stingers, The Rousers, The Deer France & Dee Pop Experience, The Bowerytones, Four on the Floor, Street Corner Review, Hudson Dusters, and Honey Davis (tickets). A four day pass, which gains you access to all four shows, is also available.

Speaking of proto-punk shows at the Bowery Electric, Deniz Tek (of Australia's Radio Birdman) is currently on a tour of the US and Europe which brings him to Bowery Electric TONIGHT (5/18), Maxwell's on Saturday (5/19) in Hoboken, NJ and a Philly show on Sunday (5/20). The Master Plan open all three of those shows and Daddy Long Legs are on the Bowery Electric and Philly show. Tickets for tonight's Bowery Electric show and Saturday's Maxwell's show are available. All Deniz Tez dates are listed below.

Now that we're talking about Maxwell's, it's worth mentioning that another NYC punk legend will be there this month when Manitoba plays on May 25. In addition to being the reason that Dan Snaith started using the Caribou moniker, Manitoba is also the current project of Handsome Dick Manitoba, lead singer of The Dictators (who recorded a punk cover of "California Sun" two years before the Ramones did, and had a handful of solid originals as well). Manitoba also includes fellow Dictators Ross the Boss and JP Patternson, Daniel Rey (who's produced records for late-period Ramones, Richard Hell, Misfits), and Dean Rispler. Tickets for the Maxwell's show are on sale now. Manitoba also opens for Dick Dale on a Rocks Off Concert Cruise on 7/22 with The Detroit Cobras (tickets).

Lastly, speaking of CBGB, in addition to this summer's CBGB festival, The Telegraph points out that a CBGB biopic is also in the works which will profile the history of the club and how it became a breeding ground for the thriving late '70s punk scene. The film will star Alan Rickman (aka Severus Snape aka Hans Gruber) as CBGB founder Hilly Kristal, directed by Randall Miller (who worked with Rickman on Bottle Shock) and co-produced by Hilly's daughter, Lisa.

A list of all Deniz Tek dates and some videos are below...

Continue reading "Max's Kansas City alumni reunion, Deniz Tek on tour (dates), Manitoba playing Maxwell's, & other proto-punk news"

Lou with Refused at Terminal 5 (more by BBG)

As originally discovered back in January, and further confirmed in Summerstage's 2012 schedule (but previously with no artists) CBGB is throwing a festival...

The four-day festival is scheduled to begin on July 5 and will showcase about 300 rock bands. Concerts will take place at around 30 places, from large stages like Central Park Summerstage and Webster Hall to small clubs like the Trash Bar in Williamsburg and the Living Room on the Lower East Side...

The festival will also stage a free concert in Central Park with Guided by Voices, the Pains of Being Pure at Heart and Cloud Nothings [on July 7]. A few veteran rockers have agreed to appear: David Johansen, a former member of the New York Dolls, has committed to do a show, as has the Baseball Project, the supergroup formed by Peter Buck of R.E.M. and Steve Wynn of Dream Syndicate. -[NY Times]

D Generation will headline Bowery Electric on July 7th with ROMANS, Brass Knuckle Evangelists and The Bamboo Kids. Tickets are on sale.

Stay tuned for more (including the full lineup announcement).