Merchandise at Mousetrap in Chicago, April 2012 (more by Jimmy Farabi)

You may have noticed the announcements of CMJ artists trickling out as of late (like Sub Pop's lineup), but now comes the official word from the fest on another batch of bands. Highilights include AraabMUZIK, UK acts Savages and Everything Eveything, Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire, Cities Aviv, Ken Mode (playing with Pig Destroyer), Daughn Gibson (playing with Pissed Jeans), Local H, Slug Guts, Dune Rats, Royal Canoe, and Sleepies among many many others. A full listing of the second round of CMJ artists is below.

One of said surprises is Merchandise, who plays NYC tonight at WIERD (9/12). The show is first of THREE NYC dates for the band, who will also play 538 Johnson tomorrow (9/13) before hitting Saint Vitus on Friday (9/14, tickets).

A list of the second round of CMJ artists is below, along with updated Merchandise dates and a recent video.

Continue reading "CMJ announces second round of artists; Merchandise is here, catch them three times this week (tonight at WIERD)"

DOWNLOAD: Poor Moon - Birds (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Poor Moon - Holiday (MP3)

Pissed Jeans at House of Vans, November 2011 (more by Fred Pessaro // BBG)

Pissed Jeans will headline a stacked Sub Pop CMJ showcase joined by appearances from King Tuff, METZ, Poor Moon, Daughn Gibson and Debo Band at Knitting Factory on October 18. Tickets are on sale or you can get in with your CMJ badge. The show is an uncharacteristic third NYC show for Pissed Jeans this year, whose last appearance was with Ceremony at LPR earlier this year (pics/video) and just a few weeks before that, at MHoW.

King Tuff, who recently played FYF in Los Angeles, will be in the NYC area for a few days with The Intelligence (who is at Maxwells on 10/17 -tickets).

Speaking of shows over Labor Day weekend, METZ recently played a pair of NYC shows in that stretch. The band is prepping to release their new LP on Sub Pop.

Meanwhile, newish Sub Pop signees Poor Moon released their debut album at the end of August (download a couple MP3s above) and will be touring most of August opening for Beach House. (No NYC show.) Their tour dates are below, along with videos from some of the rest of the Sub Pop showcase line-up.

Continue reading "Sub Pop announces CMJ showcase with Pissed Jeans, King Tuff, Metz, Daughn Gibson, Poor Moon & more (dates) "

by Bill Pearis

Mississippi's Dent May is heading out on a short East Coast tour this fall that will have him in NYC for the CMJ festival. We'd already mentioned he'd be playing October 19 at Public Assembly with Twerps, Mac Demarco and more as part of the Panache showcase, and other CMJ shows include Cameo on 10/18 for the Carpark/Paw Tracks showcase, and Glasslands (also 10/18) for the Force Field PR showcase. As it's CMJ, more shows may pop up as we get closer to the fest but you can check out a list of all know dates below.

Dent was here last in July and played a terrific set at Glasslands then. Having seen him a few times previously in ukulele mode, this was my first catching him with his full band that finds him getting his Orange Juice on. They're a lot of fun, as is Dent's new album, Do Things. You can stream the whole thing via Spotify and check out a couple videos below.

Continue reading "Dent May touring in October, playing NYC for CMJ (dates)"

DOWNLOAD: Levek - Black Mold Grow (MP3)

Florida's Levek, who were just in NYC last month, have just announced a short, mostly East Coast tour, including (and probably because of) time in NYC for CMJ. The only announced CMJ show for them so far is the Penache showcase at Public Assembly on October 19 but look for more to emerge as we get closer to the fest.

Levek's debut album, Look a Little Closer, is out September 25 and that's the cover art above. You can download the album's opening cut, "Black Mold Grow," above as well. All scheduled tour dates are below.

Continue reading "Levek schedule fall tour, including NYC for CMJ (dates)"

by Bill Pearis

Charming, danceable Seattle trio Orca Team have already been through NYC twice this year, not to mention just about everywhere else in North American and the UK, but have just announced another North American tour than can only be described as massive where the band will criss-cross the continent twice between now and Thanksgiving, with two separate visits to the Big Apple.

The band will open for Laetitia Sadier on her upcoming tour (a smart pairing) that includes two stops in NYC: Mercury Lounge on September 21 (tix) and Knitting Factory on September 22 (tix). Orca Team will then be back around CMJ, with a show at Muchmore's on October 18 and the Happy Happy Birthday to Me label showcase at Public Assembly on October 20. All tour dates are listed at the bottom of this post.

Orca Team's terrific new album, Restraint, is one of 2012's underheard gems and you can stream it below via Spotify. And they're a great live band too, so do try and make it one of the dates below. Chances are they are playing near you.

Continue reading "Orca Team touring with Laetitia Sadier and will be here for CMJ too (dates)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Choir of Young Believers - Nye Nummer Et (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Choir of Young Believers - Patricia's Thirst (MP3)

Danish group Choir of Young Believers will be touring North America this fall which includes an extended stay in NYC during the CMJ Festival. No specific shows have been announced yet but the band will be here October 10 - 20 and probably playing as many shows as they can. All tour dates are listed at the bottom of this post.

The band's new album, Rhine Gold, came out back in March via Ghosty that's choc' full of stirring, orchestrated folk rock with enough distinctive personality (and electronics) to keep comparisons to other bands at bay. (You know the ones I'm talking about.) It may even appeal to folks who don't normally go for this kind of stuff. You can download a couple tracks at the top of this post and stream the whole album below via Spotify.

Album stream and a liste of tour dates are below.

Continue reading "Choir of Young Believers touring this fall, including CMJ (dates)"

Australia's Twerps will be heading back to North America for a tour this fall. Their tour kicks off in NYC on October 12 at Cake Shop with The Memories and more TBA, and then they'll be back in the city a week later for CMJ where they'll play Public Assembly on October 19 for the Panache showcase with Turbo fruits, Dent May, Dignan Porch, Mac Demarco, and Vockah Redu. Look for more CMJ to be added as we get closer to the fest.

Before the tour starts, Twerps will release a new single, "Work it Out," which is out September 17 via Chapter Music/Underwater Peoples. You can stream the b-side, "He's in Stock," below where you'll also find a list of all tour dates.

Continue reading "Twerps ready new 7", touring North America (dates & streams)"

Com Truise at Sasquatch 2012 (more by Chris Graham)

Com Truise appear to be gearing up for a tour this fall, for which they'll be taking out some solid openers -- Bonde Do Role (who resurfaced as a 3-piece this year) and Poolside (who released their debut LP, Pacific Standard Time, this year). A full tour hasn't been announced yet but many shows have been revealed, including a CMJ show in NYC, which happens at Gramercy Theatre on October 20. Tickets for that show go on sale Friday (8/24) at 10 AM with a Live Nation/Music Geeks presale starting Thursday (8/23) at 10 AM.

Com Truise recently contributed "Chemical Legs" to Adult Swim for their Singles Program. You can download that at the Adult Swim website or stream it, along with a list of all currently known dates, below.

Continue reading "Com Truise touring w/ Bonde Do Role & Poolside (dates, MP3)"

by Bill Pearis

King Tuff

King Tuff and The Intelligence will be touring together this fall, a tour that will include stops during the CMJ Festival which just announced its initial line-up. No specifics on the CMJ shows other than King Tuff has blocked off October 18 and 19 for it. King Tuff has also been added to the FYF Fest which goes down Labor Day Weekend in LA.

The Intelligence, meanwhile, will play a headlining show at Maxwell's on October 17 and tickets are on sale. They'll be around for those CMJ dates as well.

King Tuff has a new video for "Alone and Stoned" that you can watch, along with a stream of The Intelligence's highly-recommended new album, Everybody's Got It Easy But Me, and a list of tour dates for both bands below...

Continue reading "King Tuff and The Intelligence touring together, will be in NYC for CMJ (dates, video, streams)"

The full list of artists confirmed for the 2012 CMJ Music Marathon so far is below...

Continue reading "CMJ 2012 initial lineup announced"

DOWNLOAD: Ghost Wave - Hippy (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Ghost Wave - Sunsetter (MP3)

New Zealand band Ghost Wave just released their self-titled debut EP which owes much to their country's indie rock past. You can download two tracks from it at the top of this post, or stream them below. The band will be making their first trip to North America this fall for this year's CMJ Fest in NYC (Oct. 16 - 20), including the annual NZ showcase at Le Poisson Rouge on October 16. No ticket link or other performers for that one yet. They'll also play the Flower Booking showcase on October 19 and the Fuzz showcase on October 20 but those don't have venues associated with them yet. Probably more shows to be announced, too, knowing CMJ.

The band will hit LA before CMJ to play Part Time Punks on October 14. All listed tour dates are below along with song streams.

Continue reading "Ghost Wave released debut EP, touring this fall including CMJ (dates, MP3s and streams)"

Bear in Heaven @ Music Hall of Williamsburg (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Tickets for the Grimes shows at Bowery and MHOW are now on AmEx presale. General sale begins Friday at noon. Grimes of course also plays much sooner and for free in NYC too. (side note: Grimes, get a full band!)

Tickets for the Fang Island shows at Bowery and MHOW are now on AmEx presale too.

Tickets for The Rapture shows at MHOW are on AmEx presale too, and they also have a free NYC show coming up (RSVP required).

Speaking of shows at MHOW, some may be interested in knowing that fun. plays a free show at the venue on 6/22.

As mentioned, White Rabbits and We Barbarians play a free show at MHOW as well (6/30).

The Fat Wreck/Rocks Off CMJ showcase goes down at MHOW on 10/19 with Lagwagon, Dead To Me, Flatliners, and Useless ID. Tickets for that show are on AmEx presale today. General sale starts Friday (6/15) at noon, and CMJ badges will be admitted. (CMJ already!)

The Official BrooklynVegan Northside Showcase, which now includes Hume and Fort Lean, in addition to Frankie Rose and Caveman, who were announced last month happens at MHOW on Friday (6/15). Tickets for that are still available, or you can try to get in with your Northside badge, or you can try to win a pair.

Death Grips was supposed to play MHOW tonight!

photos by Chris La Putt

FIDLAR @ Public Assembly (BV-CMJ 2011)

Though FIDLAR played 8 shows at SXSW this year (9 if you count the Vice one that got shut down before their set), a BrooklynVegan party wasn't one of them. They did however play one of the BrooklynVegan CMJ day parties at Public Assembly in 2011. Here are some belated pictures from their NYC set. More below.

The melodic garage punk band don't have any more east coast dates to report at the moment, but they are releasing a brand new EP digitally this week via Mom + Pop (which makes them label-mates with Neon Indian, Sleigh Bells and Andrew Bird). It's called Don't Try. Listen to one of its four songs, "Black Out Stout", making its studio-version debut in this post, with more EP info, the CMJ pics, and a list of three dates they have scheduled with OFF! in California, below...

Continue reading "FIDLAR releasing Mom+Pop EP (song debut +++ BV-CMJ pics)"

photos by Amanda Hatfield

Purity Ring @ Public Assembly - BV-CMJ 2011

Like they did for a BrooklynVegan party during CMJ, Purity Ring will play a show at Public Assembly in Brooklyn... TOMORROW (4/4). Com Truise opens at 8pm. Purity Ring at 9. Tickets only at the door.

The show will be a mini celebration of what appears to be a signing to 4AD (and Last Gang) for an album that will be released 7/24/2012.

Purity Ring, who were just added to Pitchfork Fest (which their now-labelmate Grimes is also playing), also have a few other shows scheduled (though not sure at the moment if one of them is with Dirty Projectors at Prospect Park). All dates and a new set of pictures from Purity Ring's BrooklynVegan-CMJ set at Public Assembly, below...

Continue reading "Purity Ring signs to 4AD, playing WEDNESDAY at Public Assembly (where they played BV-CMJ) -- more pics & dates"

photos by Dominick Mastrangelo, Amanda Hatfield, and Chris La Putt

Peelander-Z @ Public Assembly (BV-CMJ 2011)

Peelander-Z pride themselves on over-the-top shows and now the punk band will kick it up a notch by playing one aboard a moving boat as part of a Rocks Off Concert Cruise on April 12th (that's soon!) with One-Eyed Doll. Tickets for the NYC boat show aboard the Jewel are on sale.

The show is part an April tour Peelander-Z are embarking on in support of Space Vacation, their new LP due on April 10th. Check out a new video for "Star Bowling" from that forthcoming release, with all dates, below.

The colorful band recently played SXSW after a string of dates with Electric Eel Shock (who then played a show at Cake Shop).

The new video, all tour dates, and some belated pictures of Peelander-Z killing it at one of our CMJ day parties at Public Assembly (we previously posted video), below....

Continue reading "Peelander-Z touring, playing a record release show on a boat THIS MONTH, played BV-CMJ (belated pics, new video, dates)"

photos by Chris La Putt

Widowspeak @ Public Assembly for a BV-CMJ party in October 2011

Back before they played one of our holiday parties in December, Widowspeak graced the stage of our Friday CMJ day party at Public Assembly (that Hospitality and Xeno & Oaklander also played). Here are some long lost pictures from that Brooklyn show.

Catch Widowspeak tonight (3/3), when they headline Glasslands Gallery in Williamsburg with support from Mac DeMarco and Quilt. Tickets are still available.

Widospeak also recently played "a two-song semi-acoustic session in Copenhagen's meat-packing district (one outdoor on some wholesale shopping cars, one indoor in their candlelit backstage room)." Check out both videos from that, along with more BV-CMJ pictures, below...

Continue reading "Widowspeak headline Glasslands tonight, played a Copenhagen Session & BV-CMJ (belated pics & video)"

photos by Amanda Hatfield

Hospitality @ Public Assembly for BV-CMJ in October 2011

Hospitality's tour with Tennis hits Bowery Ballroom for a sold out NYC show tonight (3/3). If you don't have tickets, you can still buy one for the show happening Monday night at Music Hall of Williamsburg (3/5), and you can catch Hospitality (without Tennis) for FREE in New Haven, CT at Bar on Wednesday (3/7).

You can also catch Hospitality for free at the BrooklynVegan day party happening March 15th at Hotel Vegas in Austin, part of our four day 'Hotel Vegan' extravaganza during SXSW. Stay tuned for more details including the full lineup for that.

Maybe you caught Hospitality for free when they played the Friday BrooklynVegan day party at Public Assembly during CMJ this year. Here are some pictures from that Brooklyn performance. More of them, with all tour dates (stint with Eleanor Friedberger included), below...

Continue reading "Hospitality on tour w/ Tennis, playing free show in CT, playing BV-SXSW 2012, played BV-CMJ 2011 (pics & dates)"

photos by Amanda Hatfield

Xeno & Oaklander @ Public Assembly for BV-CMJ, October 2011

As previously mentioned, a month-long tribute to Fad Gadget is underway in NYC this month, and tonight (3/3) is the night Xeno & Oaklander perform with Ike Yard...

Founded in 1979, the downtown art band Ike Yard created a new sound by tapping into the UK post-punk dub of PiL and Joy Division, the Neue Deutsche Welle of DAF, and the krautrock experimentation of Can. Their 1982 album 'A Fact A Second' (released on Factory Records) has stood the test of time and is considered a classic in the minimalist genre. -John Allen/WFMU

Ike Yard disbanded in 1983, but reunited a few years back in conjunction with their 1980-82 retrospective CD on Acute Records. The lineup features three of the four original members -- Stuart Argabright, Kenny Compton, & Michael Diekmann. [FreeMusicArchive]

Continue reading "Xeno & Oaklander play with Ike Yard tonight, played BV-CMJ (belated pics)"

photos by Dominick Mastrangelo

Electric Guest @ BV-CMJ

Electric Guest, who made their NYC debut at CMJ with four shows including one of our day parties at Public Assembly (pictures in this post), are going on an international tour over the course of the next few months which includes SXSW, Sasquatch! and a NYC show happening on May 2 at Bowery Ballroom. Tickets for the NYC show are on sale now.

The band's Danger Mouse-produced album Mondo will be released April 24 on Downtown Records. You can listen to the first single, "This Head I Hold", along with the video for "American Daydream", and all tour dates and more pictures from our CMJ show, below...

Continue reading "Electric Guest announce tour (dates, song stream, video & belated pics from BV-CMJ)"

photos by Chris La Putt

Cold Specks @ Public Assembly (BV CMJ 2011)

As recently mentioned, the "doom soul" project of songwriter and vocalist Al Spx, Cold Specks, is heading out on a tour with Great Lake Swimmers that comes to Bowery Ballroom on May 30. It has since been revealed that Cold Specks has also been signed to Mute! The label will release Cold Specks' debut album I Predict A Graceful Expulsion on May 22. You can watch the new video for album song "Holland", along with a belated set of pictures from her U.S. debut show, with all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Cold Specks signs to Mute (new video, updated dates & some belated BV CMJ pics)"

During our CMJ parties this past October, we partnered with Sony Bloggie to film a video series ("Green Room Sessions") of exclusive performances by artists, many of whom also played at our CMJ events. All of the videos were shot on nothing but Bloggies. We've been slowly revealing some of the videos from the series, but the most of them are finally here and can be watched below.

Chelsea Wolfe performed a new/non-album track called "Feral Love," accompanied only by brooding synths and beats from band member Ben Chisholm, making for a more similar performance to Chelsea's "solo" NYC debut than the full band set she delivered at our Friday party (10/21).

Members of Datarock, sitting on a ladder, played an acoustic guitar/saxophone and red-suit-less rendition of their song "True Stories," which they said they have to play when they're in NYC, as it is their tribute to Talking Heads, with every lyric in the song being a Talking Heads song title.

Laura Stevenson and her Don Giovanni labelmates Shellshag both played songs for us. Laura played a solo acoustic version of "Barnacles" from the Laura Stevenson and the Cans' album Sit Resist on the staircase to the green room at Public Assembly, whereas Shellshag took us out to the waterfront for a stripped down performance of "Face to Face."

Ólöf Arnalds played a new song called "Sudden Elevation" and a cover of Neil Diamond's "Solitary Man" which is one of the covers on her new mini album.

Peelander-Z took us outside on North 6th Street, shortly after playing our day party in Public Assembly. With no instruments except their voices, they wrote us a theme song.

Similarly to Chelsea Wolfe, Channy Caselle of Polica performed with just a microphone and samples playing through a guitar amp, as opposed to the massive dual drum rumbling set Polica played at our Saturday party (10/22). She performed "Happy Be Fine" off their upcoming debut LP, Give You the Ghost.

New Zealand band Street Chant, who played our Saturday party, played two songs for us after their set, "Stoned Again" and "You Do the Maths." For both songs, frontwoman Emily Littler played guitar and sang as the rest of her band and members of The Suzan provided claps and backup vocals.

Dave Quon of We Barbarians, who were also on the Saturday party, played an acoustic version of "Chambray" off the band's Headspace EP backstage after their set.

We Were Promised Jetbacks, who were announced on our Thursday (10/20) party at the last minute, played as a three piece because one of their members hadn't arrived to NYC yet at that point. Then, to size their lineup down even more, frontman Adam Thompson performed two songs on his own for us with his acoustic guitar (filmed on the same day they headlined Webster Hall).

A few more are coming, but meanwhile watch all of our completed videos below...

Continue reading "WATCH BV 'Green Room Sessions' (shot on a Sony Bloggie)"

As we said we would, we pulled lots of bands aside this past CMJ to capture video footage with Sony Bloggie cameras. What we ended up with ranged from beautiful, crazy-cool & head-bobbing to completely bizarre. I give you exhibit b (for bizarre): the video embedded above starring the one and only Peelander.... Z! Check it out.

The video was filmed on North 6th Street in Brooklyn not long after they played an insane set at the free BrooklynVegan party inside Public Assembly. Video from that craziness, below...

Continue reading "Peelander-Z perform new BrooklynVegan theme song (videos)"

photos by Chris La Putt

Friends @ BV-CMJ @ Public Aseembly

Much like Dive (who they have played with), Brooklyn band Friends, who recently hit Mercury Lounge with Ganglians, aren't ones to make themselves rare around here and that will be proven four times in the next week. Catch them at Glasslands tonight (12/8) with Zambri, Royal Baths, Doldrums, Xray Eyeballs (that's some lineup), and then opening for Oh Land at Music Hall of Williamsburg on Sunday (12/11), at 285 Kent with !!! that same night, and then again with Oh Land at Bowery Ballroom on Monday. And then that's it for them (for now) until they tour Europe in February.

Friends were one of the many bands who played a BrooklynVegan CMJ day party at Public Assembly in October. Here are some pictures from that show. More of them below...

Continue reading "Friends dates & live pics ----- big party @ Glasslands tonight"

photos Dominick Mastrangelo

We Barbarians @ BV-CMJ @ Public Assembly

NYC via California band We Barbarians, who played one of our CMJ day parties in October, kicked off a tour with Tribes last night (12/7) in Boston. That tour will bring both bands to NYC on Thursday (tonight, 12/8) at Mercury Lounge and Friday (12/9) at Glasslands with Teachers. Tickets for Mercury Lounge and Glasslands are still available. All dates are listed below along with some more never-before-posted pictures from our BV day party.

As Popmatters will tell you, the band released an EP called Headspace earlier this year. As the band told Syracuse's Daily Orange, remixes of all the tracks off the EP, in addition to a full LP, are in the works for next year.

"Chambray" is one of the songs off their EP and we're premiereing the video for it in this post. We're also debuting an acoustic rendition of the same song that frontman Dave Quon performed for us backstage at our CMJ party as part of our continuing Sony Bloggie video series. Check out those videos with the pics and dates, below...

Continue reading "We Barbarians playing shows, played our show, have a new video & one they filmed in the green room"

photos by Amanda Hatfield & Dominick Mastrangelo, words by Andrew Sacher

Talib Kweli w/ Idle Warship @ BV-CMJ @ Public Assembly (by Dominick)

Idle Warship (Talib Kweli and Res), who played our CMJ day party with their full backing band, and who were just added to SXSW, have a few shows coming up this month and next. One of those shows is in Talib's hometown of NYC this Friday (12/9) at Southpaw with Jah C & Jaison Spain, Kyle Rapps, ILLUSTRATE, and The Band Called Fuse. Tickets are on sale. After a short break in their schedule, they'll play NYC again on January 4 at SOB's. Tickets for that show are on sale now. All dates and more pictures from our CMJ show are below.

In related news, Talib Kweli is readying his album Prisoner of Consciousness, which he's been working on for four years, for a 2012 release. He recently spoke to The Boombox about the album:

"Prisoner of Consciousness' is a record I've been working on for the better part of four years," Kweli tells The BoomBox. "I wasn't happy with my last album with Warner Brothers [2007's 'Eardrum,'] and I knew I didn't want to give them 'Prisoner of Consciousness.' I knew the project was too important for me, so I opted to get out of my deal."

The omnipresent Kweli released the follow-up, 'Gutter Rainbows,' earlier this year. The effort was his first solo album off his own imprint, Blacksmith Music. "I'm a touring artist," he admits. "Prisoner of Consciousness' wasn't ready but I still had a bunch of great songs that were timely; a lot of the songs on 'Gutter Rainbows' were songs that work for that time, but if I held on to them, were going to have to be updated. So, I was like let me put together a project and put it out myself and that was what 'Gutter Rainbows was."

However, the 36-year-old rhymer didn't just craft his last project from leftovers from his forthcoming LP. It was all a part of a bigger picture. "'Gutter Rainbows' was not necessarily the outtakes from 'Prisoner of Consciousness,' but 'Gutter Rainbows' was started with the spirit of 'Prisoner of Consciousness' and became its own thing, almost like a prelude to 'Prisoner of Consciousness,'" he explains.

Continue reading "Idle Warship schedule more shows, played BV-CMJ @ Public Assembly (belated pics & tour dates)"