Delorean will return to the States for a few big-city shows around their April 17th appearance at Coachella. For NYC, that means April 21st at Brooklyn Bowl. Tickets go on sale at noon. All dates are listed below.

Delorean (the Spanish dance band) should not be confused with Dolorean (spelled with an "o" instead of an "e") aka Portland's Al James. Al just released "The Unfazed" via Partisan Records last week...

"The Portland country-rock band Dolorean perfected its soft-focus sound over its first three albums, serving up song after song of loping rhythms, brushed drums, hushed guitars, rippling piano, and the whispery regret of singer-songwriter Al James. Dolorean's fourth LP, The Unfazed, doesn't vary the band's pitch, but it does put a little more zip on it. Opening with the nimble "Thinskinned"--with its line about hopping into a tanked-up car and hitting the road with an argumentative partner--The Unfazed expresses how wide-open vistas can be spoiled by "one burr under the saddle," and it does so through music that blends the dreamy psychedelia of Pink Floyd with the yearning balladry of Gene Clark."
[AV Club]

You can listen to a song over at NPR, and watch a live video below.

Dolorean also have a tour scheduled - a much larger one than Delorean though it includes no NYC dates. It does however include SXSW and a west coast run with Castanets (who currently call Portland home) and Holy Sons (also from Portland, also signed to Partisan). All dates for both spellings of the bands that share a name with the car from Back to the Future, below...

Continue reading "Delorean (schedules some April shows) vs. Dolorean (touring w/ Castanets & Holy Sons, new album out now)"

photos by Toby Tenenbaum, words by Black Bubblegum

"Great fucking show. And! Hotboxed my first port-a-potty. Fun!" - Anonymous | July 1, 2009 1:17 AM

The rain let up, the band came out, and a wonderful evening of music in Central Park ensued. Explosions in the Sky, the Austin based quartet, brought its rolling, meandering, lyric-free virtuousity to the heart of NYC and held a packed crowd in rapt attention at the Rumsey Playfield... Wordless music is often an acquired taste to an audience with limited attention spans and a multitude of distractions. But the sheer power of this band, with intricate interlocking guitar lines and a brilliant drummer has won over a sizable following. I saw them a few years back at the intimate Bowery Ballroom, but this show in the park even topped last year's sold out and packed show at Terminal 5. Fun indeed!
[The Notaworry Blog]

Explosions In The Sky, Constantines and Castanets topped off a noteworthy triple bill at Central Park's Summerstage amidst the rain last night (6/30), creating a little artificial sunshine of their own. The current round of EITS shows is to commemorate the band's tenth anniversary and it showed at Summerstage; the band pulled equally from their prior releases with special attention paid to their 2001 mouthful-of-an-LP-especially-for-a-instrumental-band Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Live Forever. Full setlist below.

EITS has an additional few dates on the current leg of their US tour, concluding in their native Austin, Texas on July 4th. If there are fireworks (explosions in the sky...) after the show, that will make it the second time this year that happened to them in their hometown. After that, Austin's instrumental finest will head back on the road, though this time with inflatable plastic bubbles, confetti guns, and skeleton suits in tow.... meaning with The Flaming Lips.

Constantines were recently featured on Volume 6 of the Arts & Crafts sampler curated by Kevin Drew (of Broken Social Scene). Downloadable for free, the sampler contains unreleased tracks by Amy Millan (of Stars), The Hidden Cameras, and The Most Serene Republic as well as contributions for The Stills, Apostle of Hustle, Los Campesinos! and many others. Get that here.

Castanets are going on a tour in July that includes a hometown show at Cake Shop here in NYC.

The EITS setlist and more Summerstage pictures below...

Continue reading "Explosions in the Sky, Constantines & Castanets @ Central Park Summerstage - pics & setlist"

Explosions in the Sky @ Sasquatch 2009 (more by Chris Graham)

Explosions in the Sky, Constantines and Castanets are playing Central Park Summerstage on Tuesday, June 30th. Tickets for that, which is not one of the NYC park's free shows, are sold out.

Castanets also have a NYC show coming up at Cake Shop on July 10th - part of a much larger July tour. All dates below.

Later this summer, EITS will be opening several dates for the Flaming Lips. Billboard writes that, "Concertgoers who buy Flaming Lips tickets online will receive a digital EP with new songs "Convinced of the Hex," "The Impulse" and "Silver Trembling Hands" [from the Lip's forthcoming album Embyronic]," as well as "three digital B-side tracks" and a "digital download bootleg of the concert they attended."

Explosions in the Sky was also scheduled to play Broken Social Scene's Olympic Island Festival on July 11th. That show has been canceled because, among other reasons, the Molson Indy was scheduled for the same day nearby. BSS's Kevin Drew wrote, "For us to ask, Rattlesnake Choir, Apostle of Hustle and Beach House to play while the sounds of racecars roar across the lake is absolutely ridiculous and insulting."

Instead, there will be a free Broken Social Scene show the same day at Toronto's Harbourfront Centre. Rattlesnake Choir will open. The gig is one of a few July/August dates for BSS, who're recording their fourth full-length album in Chicago with John McEntire of Tortoise. The record will be their first without the production of David Newfeld.

Broken Social Scene recently played a surprise show at Arts & Crafts' NXNE showcase on June 17th. The performance included some new-album material and an appearance by Feist who is rarely a member of BSS these days, and who recently sang at a Grizzly Bear show in the same city. Videos, with the above-mentioned tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Explosions in the Sky (Tuesday), Flaming Lips (touring), Broken Social Scene (played w/ Feist) - all dates, other news"

Castanets

today in NYC
* DANCE
* Jim Gaffigan @ Town Hall
* Nicole Atkins @ the Wonderbar
* Tina Turner @ the Prudential Center
* The Parlor Mob & The Gay Blades @ Mercury Lounge
* Pitchfork 500 release party @ Gutter Bar
* Youssou N'dour's Great African Ball @ Nokia Theatre
* Steel Train, Dear and the Headlights & Forgive Durden @ Bowery Ballroom
* El Ten Eleven, Castanets, Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson & Happy Anarchy @ The Bell House

John McVie of Fleetwood Mac was born today in 1945.

The Pitchfork 500, "Our Guide to the Greatest Songs from Punk to the Present" is out now. They're celebrating tonight at Gutter Bar.

Youssou N'dour also plays at Nokia Theatre on Thanksgiving.

There isn't much going on, on Thanksgiving, but Dr. Lonnie Smith also plays two shows at Iridium Jazz Club - it's the beginning of a four day residency.

The NY Times says, "Radio's Revenue Falls Even as Audience Grows".

Beck's "Youthless" video below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Wednesday (Thanksgiving-Eve)"

DOWNLOAD: El Ten Eleven - Jumping Frenchmen of Maine (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Castanets - All That I Know (MP3)

El Ten Eleven is an instrumental/post-rock duo from LA "known for combining guitar/bass doubleneck or fretless bass, with heavy looping and effects pedaling, over acoustic or electric drumming."

"This weekend I had my face melted (a few times actually) down at the Larimer Lounge -- most completely by the duo El Ten Eleven, who were opening for Land of Talk on Saturday night. Kristian Dunn and Tim Fogarty make mindblowing sounds using just a drum set and fretless bass/double-necked guitar.

With the help of about 27 different pedal and whirlygig deals on the floor, they loop layers of sound to create some amazing(ly fun) music. From the initial stirrings of even something like Pachelbel's "Canon in D," I've always found the slow build and denouement in any song to be fascinating, especially ones that focus on adding the layers of sound or noise and then taking them back." [I am Fuel, You are Friends]

Kristian Dunn and Tim Fogarty are also members of the San Diego-based band SoftLightes (who put out an album on Modular). My friend said, "I like El Ten Eleven more than Ratatat!"

Listen to more of their songs at MySpace, including the one "I Like Van Halen Because My Sister Says They Are Cool" (and then compare that song to "Long Time Coming" by the Delays).

Check out El Ten Eleven, TONIGHT, Wednesday November 26th, Thanksgiving-Eve at The Bell House in Brooklyn. The show was originally supposed to be at Union Hall, but was moved so more people could have fun. Castanets, Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson, and Happy Anarchy are also on the bill.

Asthmatic Kitty is now offering "the entire full-length history of Castanets, from Cathedral (2004), to the haunting First Lights Freeze (2006), to the mystic In the Vines (2007) for just $15. And while supplies last, this bundle also includes a limited edition tour EP split with Shapes and Sizes."

El Ten Eleven are also playing a NYC show on Friday at 927Tribeca with Abigail Warchild. All tour dates and a video below...

Continue reading "El Ten Eleven - 2008 Tour Dates, Castanets Wed. @ Bell Haus"

DOWNLOAD: Castanets - Sway (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Castanets - This is the Early Game (MP3)

The MP3's above came from the latest Castanets album "In the Vines". It came out in October on Asthmatic Kitty. I hear Castanets will be at SXSW in March, but before that, they'll be touring the West Coast (no East Coast at the moment). Those dates below....

Continue reading "Castanets - 2008 Tour Dates, In the Vines MP3s"

DOWNLOAD: Rafter - Anthropomorphic (MP3)

about the project...
hi, i'm rafter (www.myspace.com/rafterroberts & http://asthmatickitty.com/musicians.php?artistID=7), and these songs are from a project i'm doing with my sweet and rad girlfriend lizeth - we both were feeling unproductive, and somehow ended up daring ourselves to finish 1 art project a day. we take turns giving the day a theme, and we both do something for it. for her, that's photos (www.lizethsantos.com) and for me it's songs. so i've been writing and recording a song a day... here's one of them, and her corresponding photo...

Here's another one and another one and another one and another one and another one and one more from Rafter and Lizbeth.

Rafter (Bunky)'s Asthmatic Kitty labelmate My Brightest Diamond is playing her show with Tim Fite at the Gramercy Theatre on Saturday (Nov 17). I have two pairs of tickets to give away. Do you want one of those pairs? E-mail BVCONTESTS@HOTMAIL.COM (subject: diamond) with the name of the Christmas song you wrote for Sufjan (or just tell me the last show you saw) (or recommend a song I should listen to). Include your first and last name. Two winners will be picked at random and notified ASAP.

Castanets are in this family too. Check out that beard.

and last, but not least (ok, maybe least)....

DOWNLOAD: Indie Blockedappela - Yes/No (Bunky)
DOWNLOAD: Indie Blockedappela - Golden Star (My Brightest Diamond)
DOWNLOAD: Indie Blockedappela - Come on Feel the Illinoise (Sufjan)
DOWNLOAD: Indie Blockedappela - Decatur, Or, Round of Applause For Your Step Mother! (Sufjan) (MP3)

DOWNLOAD: Deer Tick - Hell on Earth (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Phosphorescent - A Picture Of Our Torn Up Praise (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Castanets - Good Friend, Yr Hunger (MP3)

So, 66 Hope Street ended up being Ben Bromley's place. Ben Bromley is sometimes known as New Villagers - the fourth artist on the Brooklyn power beard bill that also included Phosphorescent, Deer Tick, and Castanets.

Daniel Arnold took these pictures, and there's more like them below...

Continue reading "Phosphorescent & Castanets @ Ben Bromley's house - pics"

there will be beards....

Deer Tick is actually playing two shows tonight! The first is at Mercury Lounge, and the second one is with Phosphorescent AND Castanets AND New Villagers, AND it's only $3.00. Doors @ 9, Show @ 10, @ at 66 Hope St in Williamsburg (I don't think the venue map will help you find that one). Phosphorescent just played two shows in NYC over the weekend too - one at Cake Shop, and another at Silent Barn. Castanets are about to tour Europe. Those dates below...

Continue reading "Phosphorescent, Deer Tick & Castanets tonight in Brooklyn"

The Castanets wrote:

Here's a message from Jana regarding yesterdays JH/Nets gear theft with some info on a Paypal account she's set up to hopefully replace some gear in the near or far future. Said information can be found at the end of the message that many of you have already read. Thanks to everyone who has sent along a kind word in the last 24 hours. It's awesome to know you all are around. Good times and living to you.

Continued below...

Continue reading "Jana Hunter & Castanets gear stolen in AZ"