DOWNLOAD: Dive - "Sometime" (MP3)

photos by Erez Avissar

Last Friday (10/7) at 285 Kent saw the busy-body Brooklyn band Dive support Friends with Night Manager, Heaven's Gate, Kevinz Gate and DJ Cassie Ramone. If you missed the show, check out a live audio stream of Friends and Dive below and check out the pictures from the show in this post.

Dive recently posted a new track from their debut 7", the flip of the previously released "Sometime". Stream "Corvalis" below.

Dive will join with member Cole Smith's other project, Beach Fossils, for a show at 285 Kent TONIGHT (10/14) when they team with MINKS and Heavenly Beat. $10 gets you into this all ages jam.

Tonight (10/14) will see Cassie Romone at Music Hall of Williamsburg as a member of The Babies. They open for Yuck and Porcelain Raft. Monday (10/17) The Babies play at Bruar Falls with White Fence and three more bands TBA. $8 gets you into this 21+ event.

Audio streams from the show, the song stream of "Corvalis" and more pictures from 285 Kent are below.

Continue reading "Dive played 285 Kent w/ Friends, Heaven's Gate & more (pics), do again tonight w/ Beach Fossils, MINKS & more"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Razika - Eg Vetsje (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Razika - Nytt Pa Nytt (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Dominant Legs - Hoop of Love (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Dominant Legs - Where We Trip the Light (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Nurses - "Fever Dreams" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Tycho - "Dive" (MP3)

Razika

I guess this is the pre-CMJ edition of This Week In Indie which is a slightly less busy week than normal, though not by much. (And CMJ this year isn't the most exciting line-up I've seen for that matter, but we'll get to that next week.) In fact there's some pretty cool musical things you should be considering, so let's get into it.

As mentioned elsewhere on this site, Norway's Razika are playing Friday (10/14) at Cameo, their first-ever U.S. show, and only one for now. You may not think you need a Norwegian all-girl ska band in your life, and maybe you don't, but Razika do it really well. I wasn't expecting to like it. And really, what they do is more ska-tinged pop than actual ska. Which is a good thing as far as I'm concerned. There's definitely a Lilliput/Kleenex vibe (or even Electrelane for a more modern comparison) to what they do. And the songs are crazy catchy. You can get half-price tickets ($5) if you use this link.

It's a good show all around at Cameo, with Ski Lodge whose EP I like a lot. As I've said before, it's like early Smiths meets Beach Fossils. The other band on the bill is Lips which is New Zealander Stephanie Brown who now lives in Brooklyn. I like the songs on her Bandcamp page, which are kind of laptop soul, not entirely unlike Little Dragon or, you. There's a really cute video for her song "One Not Two" at the bottom of this post.

Dominant Legs

San Francisco's Dominant Legs  and tourmates Nurses are in town, playing Mercury Lounge on Friday (10/14) and Glasslands on Saturday (10/14). Dominant Legs released their debut LP, Invitation, last month on Lefse Records and it's an appealing take on effervescent '80s pop, completely with lightly funky guitars, glistening keyboards and big choruses. You can download a couple songs from Invitation at the top of this post.

As for Nurses, the Portland trio get called "psych-pop" a lot which I guess is code for "vaguely MGMT-ish" but it's the funkier side of that band and not really so much psych to my ears. There's a lot of echo on it, I guess that's psychedelic. That said, their new album Dracula is pretty catchy and danceable and is more directly comparable to fellow Portlandians Unknown Mortal Orchestra than anyone else. You can download a track at the top of this post.

Tycho

And lastly, Tycho is at Music Hall of Williamsburg on Sunday (10/16). (Tickets are still available.) The Bay Area electronic artist released his new album, Drive, last week on Ghostly and I've been listening to it a lot. No doubt it owes a giant debt to Boards of Canada, more in the dreamlike synth sounds than in execution. Tracks like "Hours" (downloadable above) more blatantly danceable than BoC but it's still the kind of record you could sleep to as well. And though I no longer have a car, this would be good music behind the wheel, and not just because of the album title.

While listening to Drive, you might think that a live show might just be just a guy and a laptop, Scott Hansen has a full Tycho band that looks to be pretty good from the YouTube clips I've watched. Canada's Teen Daze are also on the bill, and blissed-out Swedes Korallreven are the DJs for the evening.

That's the major stuff for this week...though don't forget Lotion plays their first show in ten years on Monday (10/17) at Knitting Factory! More day-by-day picks are below.

Arkells

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12

Early show tonight at Mercury Lounge: Canadian fourpiece The Arkells whose 2008 debut was one of that year's undiscovered gems, full of hook-filled, strident heartland rock that would've done gangbusters in the '80s. (You may remember me writing about them from M for Montreal.) Their new album, Michigan Left, is out next week in Canada.

I'm ashamed to admit I haven't given The Rosebuds' new album, Loud Planes Fly Low, enough attention but I definitely like what I have heard. You can download "Woods" at the top of this post. One of the nicest bands around, The Rosebuds are always good live and if you've never seen them before, they play Bowery Ballroom tonight. Want to go for free? We have a couple of pairs of tickets you can win if you email bvcontests@hotmail.com (subject: Rosebuds) right now. Include your first and last name in the email and we'll get back to the winners with instructions.

Xeno & Oaklander @ Home Sweet Home.

continued below....

Continue reading "Razika, Tycho, Dominant Legs, Nurses, Arkells, Laetitia Sadier & more in This Week in Indie"

photos by Andrew St. Clair

Cassie & Justin as the White Stripes

"Todd P's Halloween party took place [Sunday] night at the Ridgewood Masonic Temple. most people were probably still recovering from Halloween observed the night before, but a respectable amount of ghouls and tricksters made their way to the show, headlined by so-hot-right-now hip hop ensemble Das Racist.

Halloween is a time when you can see what people are really about. They're either in a pre-packaged costume or they're trying too hard or they are legitimately clever and good-spirited. And for Das Racist, it can be all of the above all the time. These guys walk the lines between irony and sincerity; between novelty and legitimacy; between gimmickry and credibility. And while some people show up at the party dressed as a can of Four Loko, others as zombies or superheroes, Das Racist can just take the floor as themselves and still be baffling and maybe a little frightening.

This set was, by all definitions, a shit show. You know when your friends have an inside joke and they are cracking up about it, and the joke is sort of independently funny, but not nearly as funny as your friends' uproar would suggest? Combine that feeling with the feeling of seeing your little brother get way too drunk at a party you invited him to. That was what the stage presence of Das Racist was like. And it was a fucking party." [Free Williamsburg]

Das Racist headlined the show of mostly locals which included a set by Vivian Girl Cassie Ramone and Justin (both in the Babies) as the White Stripes, but more notable was that The Intelligence, in from Seattle, were on also on the bill (the Intelligence also played Cake Shop one night earlier). Denver's Pictureplane, who was the special guest at the show that took place last night (11/2) at Brooklyn Bowl, was one of the artists who played too. Boshra AlSaadi aka SAADI played with Janka Nabay & the Bubu Gang.

Blissed Out went on right at 8:00 along with the doors opening which meant not many people around to hear their set, but the 9-band show filled up as the night went on. More pictures below...

Continue reading "Cassie did play Jack! - Todd P/Panache Halloween show pics w/ the Intelligence, Das Racist, Pictureplane, Beets & more "

DOWNLOAD: The Intelligence - Thank You God for Fixing the Tape Machine (MP3)

Sunday October 31st @ RIDGEWOOD MASONIC TEMPLE
:: PANACHE + TODD P HALLOWEEN PARTAY
:: DAS RACIST
:::: PICTUREPLANE
:::::: the Intelligence
:::::::: the Beets
:::::::::: Cassie & Justin from the Babies --- as WHITE STRIPES
:::::::::::: Janka Nabay
:::::::::::::: Blissed Out
:::::::::::::::: more to come!!!!
| RIDGEWOOD MASONIC TEMPLE ]
1054 Bushwick Ave @ Gates Ave | Bushwick, Brooklyn
J,Z-Gates Ave, L,M-Myrtle/Wyckoff | 8pm | all ages | $13 in costume - $15 w/out

I suppose it's possible that she is actually playing Jack.

As mentioned all the way back in September, The Intelligence are currently on tour and will also play a NYC show at Cake Shop one day before Halloween with German Measles and The Beets.

By the way, Das Racist also play Southpaw, with Homeboy Sandman, on November 5th.

Updated Intelligence dates below...

Continue reading "The Intelligence coming, Cassie Ramone playing Meg White (at Panache & Todd P's Halloween Partay)"

photos by Samantha Marble

Vivian Girls @ ATP NY

"Andrew Edlin Gallery is pleased to present Henry Darger, its third solo exhibition of the renowned self-taught artist's work. The show, comprised of approximately two dozen works taken from the gallery's inventory and borrowed from private collections, encompasses some of Darger's very earliest experiments in collage, as well as an ample selection of his large-scale, late-career masterpieces. Among them, are several works that are being exhibited for the first time, including a panoramic composition that showcases creatures never before encountered in Darger's Realms of the Unreal: green-skinned plant/human hybrids with vines and blossoming flowers growing from their girlish bodies...

...The opening reception on Saturday, September 11th, from 4 to 7 pm, features two special events: At 5 pm, the acclaimed author Rivka Galchen (Atmospheric Disturbances, 2009), accompanied by Karen Russell, will lead a discussion on Darger centered around John Ashbery's poem Girls on the Run. At 6 pm, the indie rock band The Vivian Girls will give a musical performance.

As you may know, the band "Vivian Girls" is named after Darger characters.

That's on Saturday (today). On Sunday, Cassie plays a ten minute set at Todd P's annual Unamplified event. For a full set from Cassie, who has gone solo, you'll have to wait until September 19th when she plays Glasslands. La Sera, aka Kickball Katy, plays NYC during CMJ, and October 2nd at Funhouse in Seattle.

And as we pointed out already, the Vivian Girls played a set at ATP NY last weekend. A second set of pictures from that show, and a video of Cassie playing solo at Cinders Gallery in August, below...

Continue reading "Cassie Ramone played solo (video), Vivian Girls played ATP (pics), playing actual Henry Darger event (today), other shows "

"The new location is a pristine secluded beach area called Raptor Point, at the North end of the main (decommissioned) runway of the abandoned airport, right on Jamaica Bay. Gorgeous views of Jamaica Bay, Mill Basin, and of the distant Manhattan skyline; and a pretty phenomenal sunset spot." - Todd P

Details below...

Continue reading "Todd P's Unamplified Acoustic BBQ is Sunday (new location) "

Cassie Ramone (the Babies) @ Death By Audio on 8/13 (more by Eric Rex)

"My solo stuff is hard to describe, I haven't been too active about it because I'm really shy, and it's hard for me open up. With Vivian Girls Katy is not shy, she's really good at saying, "listen to my band, come and see my show!" Which I think is awesome, and is one of the reason we were able to do so well because she's so enthusiastic about everything she does, but I'm not like that, I'm more introverted with my artistic endeavors. My stuff that's not Vivian girls is more folksy I would say. I have some keyboard organ songs, it's all over the place really, but I think I'm going to try to record an album over the summer, if I can get it together enough." [CASSIE RAMONE]

Cassie Ramone of the Vivian Girls keeps herself busy. In addition to her side-project called the Babies, Cassie is, like A.J. McLean of the Backstreet Boys (and her VG bandmate Kickball Katy), working on a solo album. Maybe she'll play some of those songs at her solo show happening at Don Perdo in Brooklyn tonight (8/19). The Impose-presented gig will also feature a headlining set by White Mystery and more. Flyer below.

White Mystery was last here from Chicago in April, and have no more NYC shows scheduled after tonight, but are on tour. All dates and videos from their Cake Shop show (which I posted one other time coincidentally in a post that was topped by a picture of Cassie Ramone) below.

The Babies played Death By Audio with Ty Segall and Royal Baths over the weekend. Their next scheduled show is September 24th at Cake Shop where they'll share a bill with Garotas Suecas, Sundelles and Holger.

Vivian Girls have upcoming shows too - soon even. You can catch them in their college town of New Brunswick, NJ on Saturday night at a place called Fuck Mountain. It's a basement show. Big Troubles and Coasting are also on the bill which is convenient for Coasting drummer Fiona who is in both bands. Vivian Girls are also playing ATP NY. All dates below..

Continue reading "Cassie Ramone gone solo, Vivian girls playing a basement w/ Coasting, White Mystery on tour (NYC show tonight)"

"I'm smelly, but saw the Vivian Girls and conquered the PATH" - Samantha Onorato

Titus Andronicus w/ Cassie from Vivian Girls @ SUNY - 4/14 (OpenEye)

That's Cassie Ramone from Vivian Girls on stage with Titus Andronicus at the SUNY Purchase student center on 4/14. Her other band The Babies also played that show.

Vivian Girls played with the Grates and Reading Rainbow at Maxwell's in Hoboken last night (4/23). The show was to celebrate 5 years of MusicSnobbery. Titus Andronicus's tour continues with a show at the same venue tonight (4/24). The sold out gig also has Harlem and Spider Bags on the bill, BUT FIRST: Los Campesinos! will play Maxwell's after all. After rescheduling and then cancelling the show completely, Los Campesinos! have re-rescheduled their show at the NJ venue for 3PM TODAY ("NOTE: if you bought tix @ Ticketweb for 4/17 or 4/21 you will need to re-buy. We regret the inconvenience.").

Los Campesinos! kick off the rest of their tour Sunday in Boston. The new date for the NYC show at Irving Plaza is Monday, April 26th.

Harlem played a show last night at Monster Island Basement (originally scheduled for Market Hotel), and at Mercury Lounge the night before that.

by Bill Pearis

Austin's understated, lovely Yellow Fever launched a short West Coast / South West tour last night in San Diego, and are also set -- any day now -- to release their debut album on Wild World Records, the label run by Vivian Girls. The album appears to be a compilation of Yellow Fever's three EPs to date. For those who haven't been following along, it'll be a nice one-stop way to play catch-up. Hopefully we'll get a new record sometime soon -- it's been at least a year since we've gotten fresh music from them. Yellow Fever will also be playing Death By Audio on December 12 with Vivian Girls, which probably means they'll be doing a few more NYC dates around then as well. Stay tuned.

Until now, Wild World has just released Vivian Girls singles ("Surf's Up" and "Wild Eye") but will release a posthumous LP of Cassie Ramone's other, now-defunct band, Bossy, as well as the debut single from Babies, which is Cassie and Justin from Bossy, plus Kevin from Woods. The Yellow Fever and Bossy LPs will be out mid-November, the Babies single "coming soon."

Vivian Girls are busy this weekend, beginning tonight (11/5), where they'll back up (with help from Andrew WK) Fucked Up at Brooklyn Masonic Temple. And then they play Market Hotel Friday night with Grass Widow, The Bitters and Stupid Party.

All dates for Yellow Fever and Vivian Girls are below....

Continue reading "Vivian Girls label Wild World Records releasing Yellow Fever, Babies & Bossy -- VG & YF playing DBA & other dates"

"Babies is Kevin from Woods, Cassie from Vivian Girls (and Bossy) and Justin from Bossy." [Anonymous | July 1, 2009 11:17 AM]

Babies played the Woodsist Fest afterparty at Market Hotel on Saturday night (the 4th of July). Check out a video Bill took at their show, below...

Continue reading "Babies = Vivian Girls+Woods+Bossy (live Market Hotel video)"