by Bill Pearis

Fred Armisen & friends / Stefon & Seth / Kanye & Ben on SNL

Even without Kanye's musical appearance, last night's Ben Afleck hosted Saturday Night Live season finale was especially eventful (and teary) as it was the final show for three long-running star players: Bill Hader, Fred Armisen and Jason Sudekis.

Fred got his farewell moment via a sketch featuring his punk character Ian Rubbish who performed song called "It's Gonna Be a Lovely Day." His band featured fellow departing castmembers Hader and Sudekis (and Taran Killam, sure to be a big player next season), and then he welcomed a cavalcade of musical talent onstage, including his Portlandia costar Carrie Brownstein, Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon, Dinosaur Jr.'s J Mascis, Aimee Mann, Michael Penn, and the Sex Pistols' Steve Jones. With a chorus of "It's been alright, I've had a lovely night," it was a nice little sendoff. Video of that is below.

Hader got his sendoff moment, as expected, as Weekend Update nightlife correstondent Stefon, where anchor -- and soon to be Late Night host -- Seth Meyers finally gives in to his advances. "Weekend Update" also featured a surprise appearance by former co-anchor Amy Poehler who came out for "REALLY??" and stuck around to read the news. Seth, who is also SNL's head writer, will leave midseason next year to take over for Jimmy Fallon who is moving up to The Tonight Show.

Hader, Armisen, Sudekis and Meyers' departure leaves a giant comedy hole for next season. It will be interesting to see how Lorne Michaels fills it.

Videos below...

Continue reading "Fred Armisen, Bill Hader & Jason Sudekis bid SNL farewell w/ help from J. Mascis, Carrie Brownstein, Amy Poehler + more"

words by Kelly Pratt; photos by Bryan Murray

Kelly Pratt of Bright Moments and many other musical projects has been on tour with David Byrne and St. Vincent, and chronicling it on BrooklynVegan. If you're just joining us, also check out part 1, part 2 , Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5. Part 6 begins here...

---

San Diego through Vancouver and beyond

After the Dallas show we all pile on the bus for the long trek to San Diego. Fortunately we don't have to tackle it all in one drive so we stop in El Paso for the day off. Jon N and I end up taking a long bike ride, including a shady trek through an arroyo, to go see Looper. The film turns out to be quite entertaining, despite its numerous violations of the grandfather paradox.

The following morning we wake up in San Diego at Humphrey's Half Moon, a fancy resort on Shelter Island. We have the day off again, so most of us bike to Mission Beach to enjoy the food and drink on the boardwalk. We meet up at a bar with two friends of John A and while everyone else heads to the beach, I stay behind to hear about the profession of one of them: horseshoe crab blood salesperson. She explains that the blood is vital to the pharmaceutical industry as a testing agent to ensure their products are free of bacterial infection. The crabs "donate" their blood, then are placed back in the ocean where their blood volume returns to normal within a week. With the price tag of $15,000 per quart the blood is quite valuable, and some of us make a silent pledge to change careers at the end of the tour.

The following night's show takes place in the outdoor courtyard of the hotel. Susanne, the lighting designer, sets up her rig directly on the balcony of my room. We are situated right next to the marina and during the show several dozen people pilot their boats into a little recess where they can hear (but not really see) what is coming from the stage. During our set David addresses them as "the boat refugees" and thanks them for coming.

The next few shows are a bit of a blur, primarily because we are playing every night. While there may not be as many opportunities for extra-curricular activities it feels nice to get into a bit of a groove. If anyone knows what tour momentum is about, it would have to be The Melvins. On the road at the same time as us, they are currently attempting to break a world record of "51 shows in 51 states in 51 days". They have a fascinating (and funny) account of it here. Reading of Trevor Dunn's encounter with a rowdy fan during an improvised bass solo reminds me of a recurring joke from our tour. Early on Brian Wolfe told us of his theory of free jazz. According to him you can boil almost the entirety of the history of the music down into two factions: "scratch 'n sniff" and "pet store on fire". Both types can be present within a single composition, or even simultaneously, but one must be present at all times. It is a joke of course, but close enough to the truth.

At 5700, the Greek Theatre is the largest venue of our tour and one we have been looking forward to since the beginning of rehearsals. It is a stunning amphitheater and has housed many legendary concerts including Neil Diamond's "Hot August Nights". Everyone is a bit nervous, but nerves quickly dissipate as concentration is vital to this show. Afterwards we have our largest group of guests yet, including Jason D's parents. One lovely thing about this coast to coast tour is that many members' parents are able to see the show, including mine. We also get to meet our second O'Hara of the tour, Catherine (Mary Margaret came in Toronto).

Somehow I've managed to visit a different dim sum establishment nearly every time I've come to San Francisco. So upon arrival I decide to bike on my own to Hong Kong Lounge, one that comes highly recommended. The food is delicious, but I'm reminded of why no one goes to a dim sum restaurant by themselves. Cycling the hills of San Francisco with a belly full of dumplings isn't exactly easy, and I barely make it back for soundcheck. The first few weeks of the tour we picked up a ritual we have been performing every night, and it follows us here. The last song we play every night is The Talking Heads' "Road to Nowhere". The choreography is a loose follow the leader with the horns ending in a straight horizontal line behind David and Annie. As we leave the stage for the final time the line breaks in two and we depart on opposite sides, playing an improvised reprise of sorts. Once we are firmly backstage we continue playing, but the song morphs into a television theme song, typically one that takes place in the city we are currently in. Some previous numbers have included Dallas, Mr. Belvedere, and Laverne and Shirley. Tonight's version, of course, is Full House.

After a week in California we take off for the Pacific Northwest, and the home stretch of this leg of the tour. On most of the days off DB has been giving talks to support his new book "How Music Works", and we all attend one of these the evening after the Portland show. For this particular talk David is joined by Carrie Brownstein of Sleater-Kinney and Portlandia.

The format consists of David flashing an image onto a movie screen, followed by the two of them talking about what that image means to them. As a result the majority of the talk is concentrated around the importance of the visual side of a musical performance, be it fashion, lights, or movement. It is quite fascinating and something most musicians should spend more time thinking about. After Vancouver some of us take the bus back to Portland, while the rest of us head back to NY for a few days rest. Next up Colbert, and Australia in the New Year!

'Til next time,
Kelly

--

Watch Kelly, the rest of the band and David Byrne & St. Vincent on Colbert tonight (11/1).

UPDATE: Colbert happened. Watch the videos.

They were also supposed to play Letterman the other night, but that was cancelled due to Sandy. Speaking of, read a Sandy-related letter David Byrne sent out to his mailing list, with more pictures from their tour, below...

Continue reading "On the Road with David Byrne & St. Vincent who didn't play Letterman, but play Colbert tonight (the final installment)"

The 2012 New Yorker Festival happens October 5 - 7, bringing together writers, musicians, filmmakers, chefs, deep thinkers and all other sorts of creative types. Highlights for the 13th annual fest include "Portlandia Live" with Fred Armisen, Carrie Brownstein and special guests performing sketches live; Atul Gawande and the band Vampire Weekend; Sasha Frere-Jones and the singer Norah Jones; Alec Wilkinson and the neo-bluegrass band Punch Brothers; Ariel Levy and the singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams; John Seabrook and the indie-folk band Beirut; and Ben Greenman and singer, songwriter, and producer Raphael Saadiq.

Other notable events: the Wachowskis will present their new film Cloud Atlas with co-director Tom Tykwer; Mad Men's John Slattery hosts a panel on "period acting"; Paul Muldoon will interview Patti Smith and loads more meetings of minds.

Tickets to the 2012 New Yorker Festival will go on sale on Friday, September 14 at noon. Full line-up is below.

Continue reading "New Yorker Festival 2012 schedule (Portlandia, Beirut, Vampire Weekend, Lucinda Williams, Raphael Saadiq, Punch Brothers and more) "

Chloe Sevigny @ Ace Hotel for Pussy Riot event (via jillypeppa)

IFC reports:

Academy Award®-nominated and Golden Globe®-winning actress Chloë Sevigny (Big Love, American Horror Story) is packing her bags and heading to Portlandia for season three of IFC's original comedy series. Created by Fred Armisen, Carrie Brownstein and Jonathan Krisel, the Emmy® nominated and Peabody Award-winning show depicts a romanticized and dreamy rendering of the city they love, Portland, OR. Season three is in production now and premieres in January 2013 with ten all-new episodes on IFC.

Sevigny will appear in multiple episodes throughout the third season as Fred and Carrie's roommate named Alexandra. Kyle MacLachlan (Made In Jersey, Desperate Housewives) will also return as the city's mayor. Stay tuned for more new residents visiting Portlandia during season three. Guest stars last season included Jeff Goldblum (Jurassic Park, Independence Day), Tim Robbins (The Shawshank Redemption) and Kristen Wiig (Bridesmaids, SNL).

Chloe recently took part in a reading at Ace Hotel for Pussy Riot who were then found guilty and sentenced to two years in prison. Watch video from the event below...

Continue reading "Chloe Sevigny joins Season 3 Portlandia cast; Watch her read for Pussy Riot"

photos by Amanda Hatfield, words by Andrew Sacher

Wild Flag/Mission of Burma at Prospect Park - 8/3/12

This summer's free Celebrate Brooklyn shows in Prospect Park continued on Friday (8/3) with a great co-headlining double bill of Wild Flag and Mission of Burma, and support from a solo Ted Leo set. People began lining up in Prospect Park at least a half hour before doors opened and by the time Ted Leo began his set at 7 PM many of the chairs had filled up and others took more casually to the grass area in the back, some of who were sitting on free blankets provided by show sponsor Google Play (who also had a stage at Lollapalooza over the weekend).

The entire bill was made up of artists who have left a lasting stamp on indie rock, and all three were terrific as usual. Ted Leo's opening set included a number of Pharmacists songs, and he also revealed two new ones for the first time (one of which you can watch a video of below). He was both modest (he called a performance of one of the new songs "half baked") and in good spirits the whole time, cracking wtty jokes like, "This next one's for Park Slope, it's called 'The Little Smug Supper Club.'" (Though at the end of the song he said, "I shouldn't talk, I live in Brooklyn Heights.")

After Ted, Mission of Burma kept things going with a set which continued to prove, four albums into their post-reunion career, that they are still a necessary band. The new material is just as genuine as the early-'80s output and the band members are just as (or more) lively and youthful than many of the bands who took after them. Drummer Peter Prescott is playfully sarcastic while the other members keep a bit quieter with stage banter but create massive levels of noise with their instruments -- especially guitarist Roger Miller, whose playing is equally sloppy and noisy as it is precise and melodic, not unlike J Mascis who he likely had influence on.

Then Wild Flag closed out the night with a killer set made up mostly of material from their 2011 debut, including standout tracks like "Glass Tambourine," "Boom," and "Romance," plus deeper cuts like the always-intense "Racehorse," which was a bit less drawn out at this show than past performances, but still one of Carrie Brownstein's most shining moments in the set. They also mixed a few new songs into their set, like they've been doing at other 2012 shows. Upon returning for their encore, Carrie said that since they were in New York, one of the greatest places for music, they'd play some NY covers. The band then proceeded to bang out covers of Television's "See No Evil" and Patti Smith's "Ask the Angels," doing more than justice to both songs. A video of both covers is below.

The free Celebrate Brooklyn shows in Prospect Park continue on August 10 with Little Dragon and Frankie Rose. More pictures and videos from last Friday's show are below...

Continue reading "Wild Flag, Mission of Burma & Ted Leo played Celebrate Brooklyn at Prospect Park (pics, videos)"

Wild Flag at Pitchfork Fest 2012 (more by Fred Pessaro // BBG)

Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein's IFC show Portlandia is currently working on its third season, and if you want to see it in action, you can now go to Portland and see Fred and Carrie filming episodes for the new season (via Huliq). There's also an ongoing bicycle tour of where past and future episodes have been shot.

In related news, you can catch Carrie Brownstein in NYC TONIGHT (8/3) at Prospect Park where her band Wild Flag will play a FREE Celebrate Brooklyn show that they're co-headlining with Mission of Burma. Ted Leo will open the show with a solo set. Doors are at 6 and Ted Leo goes on at 7, followed by Mission Burma at 7:45 then Wild Flag at 9:15. Ted Leo, who plays in NYC a lot, is saying that this is his only hometown show until the end of October. It's also Wild Flag's only upcoming show except for FYF Fest, but Mission of Burma have a bunch of upcoming dates, all of which are listed below.

As mentioned, Wild Flag and Mission of Burma have a split 7" with WF's "Boom" and MoB's "What They Tell Me," which will be available exclusively at tonight's show. There's also a limited edition poster for the show which you can enter to win if you RSVP to the show's facebook event. That poster, the 7" cover art, streams of both songs from the 7", and a list of all dates are below.

Continue reading "Wild Flag, Mission of Burma & Ted Leo play free Celebrate Brooklyn show tonight (and other dates)"

photos by Chris Graham and Rae Graham

Jack White/The Roots

The one galvanizing main-stage performance at the Sasquatch festival this year was Jack White's weapons-grade electric guitar soloing on Saturday. Otherwise, it was by the book in the best possible sense. Thousands of people gathered peacefully and everything was on schedule.

The festival, which ended Monday with a performance by Beck, featured dozens of live rock, rap, electronic music and comedy acts packing five stages for four days over the sunny Memorial Day weekend...

...Oakland's Tune-Yards mesmerized at the Bigfoot Stage Saturday. Leader Merrill Garbus faced the full yellow sun and belted out powerful melodies in her alto voice that seemed beamed in from African radio. She used looping pedals to blend the vocals with drums and modified ukulele, which she also played live. But her bassist and jazz horn players sent the music through the roof, chipping in on junkyard percussion -- dented pieces of metal hit with drum sticks. [Seattle Times]

Continue reading "Sasquatch 2012 in pics - Day 2, Part 1 (Jack White, The Roots, tUnE-yArDs, Purity Ring, Alabama Shakes, Kurt Vile and more)"

photos by David Andrako

Wild Flag's Carrie Brownstein & the Hives @ Coachella Sunday - 4/22/2012

"The second weekend brought record heat. Festival-goers jockeyed for patches of grass around the shaded perimeters. They pounded frozen lemonade at $6 a cup.

"It feels like a different world from last weekend," The Shins frontman James Mercer said. "It was Iceland last week."

While the weather forced some practical fashion choices, Coachella's sartorial influence was noted well beyond Indio. Joan Rivers and Kelly Osbourne debated Coachella-inspired fashion trends, and the wider cultural significance of the festival, on the E! Channel program, "The Fashion Police."

Osbourne, a Coachella regular, proclaimed, "When you go to Coachella, all the girls are half-naked and 22." Rivers, who joked that she goes to Coachella, too, quipped, "If David Hasselhoff was there, this means officially Coachella is no longer cool."" [MYDesert.com]

After DJing a party on Friday night and headlining with his band Radiohead on Saturday, Thom Yorke kept busy on Sunday by DJing a Rolling Stone pool party with Nigel Godrich, and then showing up as a not-so-surprise, special guest during Modeselektor's Sunday night set in the Mojave tent while Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg headlined the main Coachella stage.

Modeselektor (pre-Thom) @ Coachella Sunday - 4/22/2012

You saw pictures from Friday and Saturday, all of last week, and of Dre & Snoop from yesterday (Sunday, 4/22/12). Here are the rest from yesterday, Coachella 2012's final day. More below...

Continue reading "Coachella 2012 Week 2 - Day 3 pics (Modeselektor, Hives, Wild Flag, At the Drive-In, Le Butcherettes, Gotye, Beirut, more)"

St. Vincent @ Portlandia @ Bowery Ballroom (more by Dana (distortion) Yavin)

Look for St. Vincent "on a special Valentine's Day episode of Gossip Girl, Feb 13, performing "Cruel" and "Cheerleader." The show airs Monday, February 13, at 8pm/7pmc on The CW." I honestly didn't even realize Gossip Girl was still a thing until I heard this news. I do however religiously watch Portlandia which featured a guest spot by Annie this week, about two weeks after she was Fred & Carrie's guest at Bowery Ballroom. You can watch her clip from the TV show (Isaac Brock was on the episode too), with a bunch of tour dates and other stuff, below...

Continue reading "St. Vincent was on Portlandia (video), will be on Gossip Girl"

photos by Dana (distortion) Yavin

Like he did the night before at Music Hall of Williamsburg, Hugh Cornwell showed up as Fred Armisen & Carrie Brownstein's special guest at Bowery Ballroom on 1/21 (the second NYC show on the the Portlandia live tour). This time Hugh played hit single "Golden Brown" by his band The Stranglers to the sold out Manhattan crowd. Bowery showgoers also got live appearances by Portland mayor Kyle MacLachlan and music by Annie Clark aka St. Vincent (who just announced a tour). Annie covered Pearl Jam's "Black" at the Feminist Bookstore Pop Up Shop (Eddie Vedder, who recently announced a tour, was also a guest on the IFC show this season). Video of the cover with more pictures and the setlist of the show, below...

Continue reading "St. Vincent & Kyle MacLachlan joined Fred & Carrie for Portlandia @ Bowery Ballroom (pics, video setlist)"

photos by Dominick Mastrangelo

Initially announced in November with more dates added in January, Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein have been bringing their funny/offensive IFC show Portlandia to live stages across the country over the past month. They started at the end of December with shows in Portland, Seattle and San Francisco (where Thao & Mirah joined them for a song). January's run started in LA, continued to Chicago (where guests included Jeff Tweedy's kids), and then hit NYC for two shows: 1/20 @ Music Hall of Williamsburg (pictures in this post) and 1/21 @ Bowery Ballroom (pictures HERE).

The Brooklyn show, pictured here, included special guests Adam Horovitz (aka Beastie Boy Ad-Rock) and Hugh Cornwell. The live band included Carrie's Wild Flag bandmate Rebecca Cole.

Wild Flag were all in the audience at the same venue just over a month earlier to see Eleanor Friendberger perform. Eleanor opened for Wild Flag on their October tour, and is joining Portlandia on their February run of dates that kick off 2/19 at the Trocadero in Philadelphia. All dates and more pictures from the Brooklyn Portlandia show, below...

Continue reading "Portlandia hit MHOW w/ Ad-Rock & Hugh Cornwell (pics), bringing Eleanor Friedberger on tour (dates)"

Portlandia show in Chicago (more by James Richard IV)

Via Gawker:

These sketches are the white subcultural equivalent of a minstrel show, that while perhaps intended as a charming homage to oddballs, has in fact drummed up a sentiment best summarized as "it's about damned time someone put those weirdos in their place."

By labeling the show Portlandia, instead of Hipsterville U.S.A., it gives the erroneous impression that these are isolated phenomena and the hateable characters portrayed are somehow representational of all Portlanders.

...

[W]hen laughing, it's important to stop and ask yourself if you're laughing for the right reasons. And there's a good chance you aren't." [Boise Weekly]

Mirah

Mirah has two NYC shows coming up this February. First, she'll play as part of the Ecstatic Music Festival as one of the guest vocalists performing with Jherek Bischoff, which also includes David Byrne, Craig Wedren, Greg Saunier, and Zac Pennington. That show takes place on February 4 at Merkin Concert Hall and tickets are still on sale.

Two days later, she'll play her own show at Glasslands (2/6). Tickets for that show are on sale now.

Mirah, along with Thao, who she released a collaborative album with in 2011, recently performed Salt-N-Pepa's "Push It" with Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen on the Portlandia Tour (which was just expanded) when it stopped at San Francisco's Mezzanine on December 30. A video of that, along with all dates below...

Continue reading "Mirah played 'Push It' w/ Thao, Carrie Brownstein & Fred Armisen (video), playing Brooklyn after Ecstatic show (dates)"

Fred Armisen (Saturday Night Live) and Carrie Brownstein (Wild Flag, Sleater kinney) from IFC's hit original comedy Portlandia are embarking on a unique six city tour bringing the romanticized and dreamy rendering of Portland, OR to life for fans across the country. "Portlandia: The Tour" will feature Armisen and Brownstein, the co-creators, writers and stars of Portlandia, performing live music, presenting sneak-peek clips from the show's second season and sharing personal anecdotes about the creation and inspiration of Portlandia and its variety of eccentric characters. "Portlandia: The Tour" begins in Portland, OR, on Tuesday, December 27, 2011.

Bowery tickets, as of this post, are already on Ticketmaster and go on sale at 10am Tuesday EST. Chicago tickets go on sale the same time, but CST.

The Chicago show, which is at the Hideout, happens exactly a month after Fred opens for Wilco at Lincoln Hall in the same city.

All Portlandia dates below...

Continue reading "Fred Armisen & Carrie Brownstein are bringing Portlandia on the road (live dates)"

Tom Morello @ Newport Folk Fest 2009 (more by Jim Brueckner)

Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello has announced plans to perform at the Occupy Wall Street protest at noon [today] in Manhattan. Morello, who has previously performed at the Occupy Los Angeles rally, will play a solo set as the Nightwatchman.

"The Nightwatchman will Occupy Wall Street [today] at noon, adding one more voice to the growing chorus of millions demanding economic justice at home and around the globe," Morello tells Rolling Stone. "And I'll be playing some songs. Likely in the rain."

Morello will be the third major act to perform at the protest. Neutral Milk Hotel's Jeff Mangum and rapper Talib Kweli have recently played impromptu sets at the protest site. Earlier this week, Kanye West visited the scene, but did not perform. [Rolling Stone]

We get why the Rage Against the Machine guitarist would show up at Occupy Wall St, but why Comic Con? Well, Comixcorner.com says:

Tom Morello's graphic novel Orchid, which tells the tale of a 16-year-old street prostitute in a dystopian future, will be released in twelve issues through Dark Horse Comics will be on sale October 12th. Orchid features a variant cover by the well-known and influential street artist Shepard Fairey, with interior art by Scott Hepburn (Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic).

"Orchid is part Suicide Girl, part Joan of Arc, who becomes the Spartacus of Whores in a story that merges the epic scope of Lord of the Rings with the politics of street terrorism." - Tom Morello

Headlined by DJ Z-Trip, the concert is free to all VIP's and 4-Day ticket holders BUT seating is first come, first served and will be extremely limited due to size of the auditorium and popularity of the event. Ultimate Access, Special Access and Anime Access VIP ticket holders will be guaranteed to get into the show first; then, 4-Day ticket holders will be let in until the auditorium is full. The concert is open to all 4-Day ticket holders on a first come, first served basis and we cannot guarantee that all 4-Day ticket holders that want to attend the show will be able to get in.

"I'm stoked and honored to be playing alongside Tom Morello at the New York Comic Con. He's one of my favorite guitarists of all time, and I've always admired the level of consciousness he brings to the table. This show is gonna be great. Can't wait to read his new comic too." - DJ Z-Trip

Tom Morello is appearing courtesy of Dark Horse Comics, New York Comic Con and Midtown Comics - who will be selling Orchid #1 exclusively at the Kick-Off Concert.

Kathleen Hanna at Planned Parenthood rally in February (more by Chris La Putt)

Feminist artist and filmmaker Lynn Hershman-Leeson's documentary !Women Art Revolution made its theatrical debut at Manhattan's IFC Center on June 1. The film is still screening every day at 4:25 PM through June 16. The film features a score by Carrie Brownstein (Sleater-Kinney, Wild Flag), an appearance by Yoko Ono and much more. Get your tickets for the remaining days (and go see Wild Flag at Williamsburg Waterfront).

The movie is one example of how "the Riot Grrrl movement still inspires", as NY Times puts it. The article talks about the Kathleen Hanna tribute show that took place at Knitting Factory this past December and discusses the effect the movement has had on today's indie rock scene. Amanda Warner of MNDR said, "I remember it being weird if you saw a girl in a band, and now it's not weird at all, it's just totally normal."

That Knitting Factory show in December not only served as a tribute to Kathleen Hanna, but also the debut of her new band The Julie Ruin. The project formed as a revival of her late '90s solo project Julie Ruin, the moniker under which she recorded one album of the same name in 1998. The new band also features Bikini Kill bandmate Kathi Wilcox and Kenny Mellman, Justin Bond's sidekick in Kiki and Herb. They are currently working on a debut full length. Details on the album are limited but Kathleen posted pictures from an overdub and mixing session for the album back in May.

A Le Tigre documentary titled Who Took the Bomp? Le Tigre on Tour (pictured above) chronicles the band's 2004 tour and is out now. You can purchase it on Amazon. Last week there was a screening at at Maysles Institute in Harlem which was accompanied by a Q&A with director Kerthy Fix and Le Tigre member Johanna Fateman. Joly was there and taped all 45 minutes of it. If you missed it, check out the Punkcast video below. AND, they do it again on June 26th at the Ace Hotel, complete with Johanna Fateman, Kerthy Fix, AND Kathleen Hanna for the Q&A. All screening dates are listed below.

Kathleen Hanna recently spoke to Spinner, to promote the movie and stuff, and they asked her about Odd Future:

Spinner: Have you been paying attention to the controversy with Odd Future and their homophobic, misogynistic lyrics?

Kathleen: No, not really. They don't seem that interesting to me.

Spinner: Sara Quin just spoke out against them and it created a bit of a media storm.

Kathleen: I feel like, if you don't want to listen to them, don't listen to them. If you do want to listen to them, do listen to them. I couldn't really comment about on exactly what their lyrics are about, because I haven't gotten that deep into it. But if people are writing lyrics that piss you off, hurt your feelings and make you feel like s---, don't listen to it. I don't think the best idea is to have a boycott. Just don't talk about them and they'll go away. The more you talk about them, the more attention they get. Tegan and Sara fans probably wouldn't even know this band existed if they weren't talking about them. I find the whole conversation kind of boring. There are so many great artists that are doing interesting things, that I don't want to focus on boring people.

Ironically (sort of, maybe), Odd Future recently complained that Australians were racist. Australians say no they are not.

Odd Future's lesbian member Syd tha Kyd, who famously responded to criticism that she associates with a sexist group by saying, "That's what I do. I slap bitches", is DJing at PS1 'Warm Up' on July 23. Gang Gang Dance also DJ and Laurel Halo, Miracles Club, and Lunice play live sets on the same date. No word on if any other members of Odd Future will be in town at the time.

Film trailers, dates and a mash-up of Tyler, the Creator's "Yonkers" and Tegan & Sara's "Call It Off" by The Jane Doze, below...

Continue reading "Katheen Hanna, Le Tigre, The Julie Ruin, Odd Future & other Riot Grrrl news (movies, articles, events & stuff)"

Tickets are still available for Thruston Moore's headlining show at Music Hall of Williamsburg, but his band Sonic Youth has announced a show set for this summer. Thurston and the gang will team with Wild Flag to play the Williamsburg Waterfront on August 12. Tickets go on sale Friday (4/29) at noon.

Thurston Moore is also curating The Stone for the tail end of April, and the venue welcomed a surprise appearance from Yoko Ono on Saturday night (4/23). She joined Kim Gordon who was listed on the bill "with guest". Video from that improvised performance, that also included Chris Corsano, is below.

Steve Shelley is scheduled to play 285 Kent Ave on Thursday (4/28) with Spectre Folk and will hit the road with Disappears next week.

All tour dates and that Kim Gordon/Yoko Ono video is below.

Continue reading "Sonic Youth & Wild Flag playing Williamsburg Waterfront (and other dates)"

photos by Amanda Hatfield

"On March 5, all-girl supergroup Wild Flag made their New York City debut with two shows at the tiny Rock Shop in Brooklyn. Featuring some of indie rock's most experienced and flat-out rocking women, the fledgling band sounded exactly like the sum of its parts. Now, for most other bands, that might seem like faint praise. However, when your "parts" are made up of two-thirds of Sleater-Kinney (guitarist/singer Carrie Brownstein and drummer Janet Weiss), ex-Helium frontwoman Mary Timony, and Rebecca Cole of the Minders, that's a sum that most bands can only dream of." [TheMST]

And don't forget Wild Flag are also play Radio City Music Hall with Bright Eyes on Tuesday and Wednesday - tickets to the Tuesday show are still on sale.

More Rock Shop pictures below...

Continue reading "Wild Flag played the the Rock Shop (early show pics)"

Tonight, Friday, 1/28, Iron & Wine are playing a free show at the Apple Store in SoHo. On Monday (January 31 at 7pm), Carrie Brownstein & Fred Armisen will discuss their IFC TV show Portlandia, live, at the same location. Meanwhile you can catch Portlandia three times today on IFC, including at 10:30pm.

Carrie Brownstein's band Wild Flag is playing two now-sold-out shows in Brooklyn in March (and other dates). Catch Fred Armisen on SNL this Saturday, 1/29, with musical guest Nicki Minaj (who recently announced a tour with Lil Wayne who was on SNL not that long ago)

That picture above shows Portland band the Thermals (who play a show in Portland tonight) arriving at the Portlandia premiere party in NYC last week. The band performed at the event, though unlike some members of the Decemberists, I'm not sure if the Thermals actually get any screen time in one of the upcoming shows. Carrie Brownstein however, as you might remember, gets some screen time in the recent Thermals video for "I Don't Believe You" which is the same song the Thermals will be performing on February 1st on 'Lopez Tonight'. The song comes from the band's 5th LP Personal Life, as does the song "Never Listen to Me" which now also has a video, which you can watch with other stuff, below...

Continue reading "Portlandia is coming to the Apple Store, The Thermals have a new video (and are playing "Lopez Tonight")"

"heading to NYC to play the PORTLANDIA premiere!" - The Thermals

"good flight. I finally learned what the mile high club is. I always thought it meant getting stoned in Denver" - The Thermals

The Thermals @ 2009 Pitchfork Fest (more by Joseph Xu)

"Allow us to introduce you (against their wishes) to Forbidden Friends!

Forbidden Friends is part secret society, part torrid love affair. The kind of experience you cherish, yet would kill to keep secret. Well as of this moment the secret is OUT. You can wash your dirty sheets as many times as you want, but once the world knows all your steamy indiscretions there's no going back! Might as well post all your (formerly) deep, dark secrets as your next status update. Forbidden Friends may have hoped to keep their little club private, but it's too late now! The gossips have spoken and won. Let's tell EVERYBODY. Please help us!

Forbidden Friends is a new band from Hutch Harris, lead singer and mastermind of The Thermals, Portland's last great post-pop-punk-power trio. Initially conceived as a way for lovers to send hidden messages in plain view (isn't there an app for that?), Forbidden Friends is now a legitimate, public work of art. The band is at once old fashioned (acoustic instruments, mono mixes), forward thinking (reference-less, incredibly danceable), and timeless (classic lyrical themes of love and desire.)

Forbidden Friends will release their debut single, "Tiny Hands", on the Kill Rock Stars label March 15, 2011, on vinyl (7") and digital download. It is accompanied by the b-side "For You". Harris played the basic instruments (drums, guitar, bass, vocals), and was assisted in the studio by his fellow Thermals Kathy Foster and Westin Glass, as well as Michael Lerner of Telekinesis, on percussion. Both songs are truly upbeat and fun, and are the perfect introduction to this exciting new band." [Kill Rock Stars]

Portlandia, starring Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein, premieres on Friday, January 21, 2011 at 10:30 PM ET/PT on IFC, but you can watch it now in the video embedded below.

The Thermals, after the Portlandia party (1/19), have some dates scheduled on the west coast followed by a European tour with The Coathangers. Their list of dates, and Carrie's new band Wild Flag's updated set of dates, and pretty much every upcoming Kill Rock Stars-artist tour date currently listed by the label, is below...

Continue reading "Hutch of the Thermals forms new band 'Forbidden Friends' (Thermals playing a Portlandia party in NYC & other dates)"

"People on the subway are staring at my scabs"

Fred Armisen, Kristen Wiig, and Jim Carrey performed as "A Taste of New York" on Saturday Night Live this past weekend (on 1/8). A Taste of New York is an "authentic" band from "an area between Avenue B & Avenue C" in New York City. And though Holy Sons are from the West Coast, we have learned that the sketch/song was inspired by new Holy Sons song "A Chapter Must Be Closed" from the recent Survivalist Tales. Fred Armisen watched the video for the song and the rest is history. Compare/contrast the videos below.

Musical duo The Black Keys also played Saturday Night Live on 1/8, a few days before they appeared on the Colbert Report with Ezra. Video of both songs they played are below too.

Musical duo Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein (ex Sleater-Kinney, current Wild Flag) go way back. Their Thunderant series of videos have been making the rounds online for years, and so it's pretty awesome that they've landed a "6-part IFC Original short-based comedy series" called Portlandia which premieres on Friday, January 21, 2011 at 10:30 PM ET/PT on IFC. "Each episode's character-based shorts draw viewers into "Portlandia," the creators' dreamy and absurd rendering of Portland, Oregon."

An assortment of guest stars inhabit PORTLANDIA, including Kyle MacLachlan (Twin Peaks, Sex & The City), Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation), Selma Blair (Legally Blonde, Hellboy), Heather Graham (The Hangover), Edie McClurg (Ferris Bueller's Day Off), Kumail Nanjiani (Michael & Michael Have Issues), Jason Sudeikis (SNL, The Cleveland Show), and Gus Van Sant (Milk). Singer/songwriter Aimee Mann also guest stars, alongside James Mercer (The Shins), and local Portland musicians Jenny Conlee and Colin Meloy (The Decemberists) and Corin Tucker (Sleater-Kinney).

Continue reading "Fred Armisen inpired by Holys Sons for SNL sketch, pairs w/ Carrie Brownstein for new IFC show 'Portlandia'"

by BBG

I have it on good authority that...
Corin Tucker had more than one leg at Bowery Ballroom... (photo by killerfemme)

The Corin Tucker Band played Maxwell's on 10/23 (with Screaming Females) and Bowery Ballroom on 10/26 as part of a short leg of East Coast dates in support of the new LP 1,000 Years. The shows were part of Tucker's first tour in the East since selling out Webster Hall with Sleater-Kinney in 2006 as part of the band's final leg of dates before going on hiatus. Flanked by a supporting cast of Sara Lund of Unwound and Seth Lorinczi of Golden Bears, Tucker's new project won over the crowd at Bowery with a combination of bombast and tranquility:

At Tuesday night's show, the turned-to-11 jams (like "Riley" and "Doubt," the latter of which sounds the most like Sleater-Kinney) got the biggest reactions, but Tucker's quieter moments were the most stunning. The band paused for a brief acoustic interlude (including strings) for runs through gorgeously-arranged new epics like "It's Always Summer" and "Dragon," both of which began small and swelled to surprising crescendos. "Miles Away," which opened Tucker's encore and features little more than her gentle, dynamic voice and a rolling piano riff, is lovely on the album but became a full-blooded torch song on stage. Sleater-Kinney's songs mostly all swirl and no release, but Tucker's new approach seems to be about resolution. -[MTV]

And in case Wild Flag and The Corin Tucker Band just don't do it for you, take comfort in the fact that Tucker also recently told the Seattle Weekly the following in response to questions about a Sleater-Kinney reunion: "We're all still friends and we have talked about doing Sleater-Kinney in the future again... I'm hopeful that that will happen."

The Corin Tucker Band's 1,000 Years is out now via Kill Rock Stars. Video from Tucker's Maxwell's and Bowery Ballroom sets are below, along with all Wild Flag dates...

Continue reading "Corin Tucker's band played NYC, Wild Flag hopefully will soon"

"I Don't Believe You" from the new Thermals album that I can't stop listening to, below...

Continue reading "new Thermals video starring Carrie Brownstein"

"JAWBOX IS REUNITING ON THE SHOW TONIGHT! Last week, this iconic 90's post-hardcore band re-released their classic album For Your Own Special Sweetheart. Tonight, they perform together again for the first time since 1997! They are not touring or performing anywhere else - THIS IS IT!" - Jimmy Fallon (actually Sara Schaefer)

Continue reading "Jawbox played Fallon - 'Savory' & 2 videos from rehearsal"

Chris Swanson (Jagjaguwar/Secretly Canadian/Dead Oceans): I'm not sure that people don't know labels now. I still think the music geeks know labels.
Portia Sabin (Kill Rock Stars): I think labels are caught in a cultural bind: No one really wants to know what a label does; it's like the sausage factory. Even long-established bands have a hard time talking about what labels do.
Gerard Cosloy (Matador): I mean, HoZac couldn't have a singles club otherwise.
Mac McCaughan (Merge): I'm one of those people that doesn't pay attention, either, I guess; I don't know what HoZac is!
Carrie Brownstein: I don't know HoZac, either.
Gerard Cosloy: GOOGLE THAT S---.
Mac McCaughan: GTS!
Maggie Vail (Kill Rock Stars): http://www.hozacrecords.com/