by BBG

The Damned @ F F F Fest

Day two of Fun Fun Fun Fest 2011 was definitely more taxing than day one (pics here and here), in part due to the unrelenting dust storms. But despite a case of brown lung and some fatigue, it was still a blast and I managed to catch most of the sets at the Black Stage, as well as select shows at the Blue Stage and even popped over to checkout M83 at Orange for a bit. Highlights for the day included the Death Grips, the crowd going bat-shit crazy and creating human launch ramps during Paint it Black, Cold Cave blasting out destructive white noise, the return of Hot Snakes and watching The Damned rip through favorites like "New Rose" and "Smash It Up" from their first two albums while making jokes about Danzig (who played a notorious set the night before on the same stage at the same time). Completely different vibe from the night prior (and not the only time a Danzig joke was heard).

The rest of my pictures from Saturday (with more to come) are below...

Continue reading "Fun Fun Fun Fest 2011 -- Day 2 in pics (part 1) -- The Damned, Hot Snakes, Negative Approach, Death Grips & more"

Slayer at Izod Center (photos by Samantha Marble)

Slayer, Thee Oh Sees, Public Enemy, Girls, Danzig Legacy, (Danzig + Doyle von Frankenstein playing Misfits, Samhain & Danzig), Hot Snakes, Diplo, Major Lazer, Henry Rollins, Ted Leo & The Phramacists, Spank Rock, Murder City Devils, Hum, Lykke Li, Passion Pit, Four Tet, Rakim, The Damned, Austra, Purity Ring, and Flynt Flossy are just a few of the acts announced today as part of the Fun Fun Fun Fest 2011 lineup. Another amazing year! Check out the full lineup below and stay tuned for more announcements coming in August and September.

The new additions to the Austin, Texas festival, which takes place from 11/4 - 11/6, are in addition to the the previous "lineup leaks" that included Brian Posehn, Odd Future, Okkervil River, M83, X (performing "Los Angeles"), Reggie Watts, Flying Lotus, Tune-Yards, Ra Ra Riot, Kid Dynamite and others

2011 is the festival's sixth year, but first at its new home Auditorium Shores (no more Waterloo Park). Tickets are on sale now.

Slayer also has a NYC performance coming up with Metallica, Anthrax and Megadeth as part of the "Big Four" show at Yankee Stadium on 9/14. Tickets are still available.

Fun Fun Fun 2011 flyer and almost-full lineup is below.

Continue reading "Fun Fun Fun Fest 2011 lineup (Danzig Legazy, Passion Pit, Slayer, Lykke Li, The Damned, Henry Rollins & much more)"

by BBG

Cave In @ Knitting Factory in 2009 (more by Samantha Marble)

Cave In is back and will play a show at Santos Party House on May 19. Tickets are on sale now for what is their only date we know about right now. Cave In released an odds & ends LP Anomalies, Vol. 1, and will follow-up with a second LP.

Meanwhile Stephen Brodsky (of Cave In) is heading to Santos too, supporting Thomas Giles (Between The Buried & Me) with Braveyoung on April 2. Tickets are on sale, and more tour dates and a live Cave In video, are below...

Continue reading "Cave In playing NY, Stephen Brodsky touring w/ Thomas Giles"

Move over wolves, crystals, girls and bears. Caves are cool now. Following in the footsteps of cave granddaddies Cave-In (who recently reunited to cash in on the cave phenomenon) and Nick Cave, there seems to be a sudden influx of cave bands hitting the scene. Maybe it all really started back in 2007 when Pretty Girls Make Graves broke up and Derek Fudesco formed The Cave Singers (Pretty Girls Make Caves) who were almost immediately signed to Matador which two years later also became the home of Cold Cave. According to Wikipedia, Cold Cave have been a band since 2005, but the dark synthpop group with hardcore roots didn't actually release anything until 2008. Their Matador debut, which really made them a household indie rock name, came in 2009.

Earlier this year, the popular LA all-girl punk band Mika Miko broke up leaving prominent member JennifEr ClAVin without a musical home, but not for long. She quickly joined cave band Cold Cave, thus adding even more credibility to the cave scene. On April 29, 2010 (last night), Cold Cave played a headlining show at Le Poisson Rouge in NYC. How was it? They reportedly played for 35 minutes and it was their third NYC show in less than a week. The first was at Solar One, a free NYU Earth Day concert with HEALTH. The next was up at Barnard in a gym due to rain that forced it inside.

Continuing along with the partial inspiration or this post: Cave and Caves. This one was especially confusing me lately, in part due to the emails I get on behalf of both bands. I had to take a second and confirm in my mind that these were two different groups.

CAVE (I think it's all capital letters) is a psychedelic Chicago rock band with an impressive resume and a bunch of releases dating back to 2006. You may have caught them on their November tour. If not, don't fear, the band have a loaded show schedule this summer that includes the Pitchfork Festival, the Sled Island Festival in Canada, dates with Quintron and Miss Pussycat, and two NYC shows: August 14th at the Studio at Webster Hall and August 15th at Issue Project Room. A new 12" CAVE EP entitled Pure Moods will be released by Drag City in May (though the download seems to be available now). All tour dates below.

Caves (plural) started in San Francisco, but like the Morning Benders, now live in Brooklyn. Like Cave, they also fall into the psychedelic category. And though they are looking for a drummer, they actually have five local shows coming up including a record release party at Cameo tonight (4/30). Said the Gramophone has an MP3. You can listen to more at their SonicBids page. All dates below.

Caveman

Also tonight, 4/30, in the NYC-area: Caveman are opening for Here We Go Magic at Maxwell's. The four-part harmonizing Brooklyn band (who has opened for Here We Go Magic before) is the new project from Matty Pickles of The Subjects. Other members are Subjects guitarist Jimmy Carbonetti, Jeff Berrall of Elefant, Stefan Marolachakis from The End of the World, and Sam Hopkin. Maybe you caught Caveman at Cameo (or Caveo as some call it) on April 19th. Shannon did:

"I returned to the mystical back room just in time to hear Caveman self-deprecate and be casual and charming, then nonchalantly break into a pretty tight, polished set that would stop you in your tracks on Bedford Avenue if you heard it coming out of a record shop. I mean, check out the song "Decide," on Caveman's Myspace here. They have such a lovely, echoed lo-fi sound. I believe the band is somewhat newly formed. I gather this from something they mentioned in their stage banter and because I have their set list from that night in my purse, and more than one song began with "New Jam # ...," which I find incredibly endearing."

They are new (their first show ever was at Bowery Ballroom with White Rabbits in January), and I agree on the checking out their MySpace recommendation too. There you will find two beautiful songs (demos). "December 28th" is especially Grizzly Bear/Fleet Foxes-esque. If you miss them tonight, they also have a NYC show scheduled on May 19th (at Sway?).

Finally, last but not least, I'll wrap things up with Cave Bears. They, like Cleveland's Clan of the Cave Bear, have successfully combined both caves and bears, but the mind-expanding experimental, and sometimes silly, Massachusetts band has a sound all their own (at least compared to anyone else in this post). No wonder they recently shared a bill (the same night Cavebear played Cameo) at Death By Audio with guitarist and Thurston Moore collaborator Bill Nace, the Thurston Moore approved Fat Worm Of Error, and Darren Mabee's band We are the Seahorses. Video of their wacky live show with everything else, below...

Continue reading "Caves are the new Bears (except for Cave Bear) "

words by BBG, photos by Sam Marble

Cave In, Narrows, and Trap Them completed a short tour of the east coast as part of Cave In's first trek in close to four years. The band was also touring off of Planets of Old, which dropped earlier this year in limited vinyl, and will be released on CD with an accompanying DVD in the new year. Culled from their first reunion show in Boston, the DVD features live footage of the entire show. Dig on a taste of that here.

The show also marked the first East Coast date for supergroup Narrows, which features Dave Verellen of Botch, as well as members of Unbroken, Some Girls (which featured Wes Eisold of Cold Cave), and many others. For Trap Them, it was their first NYC show since pummeling NYC with Napalm Death, Coliseum, Kataklysm and Toxic Holocaust.

Coliseum, who recently played Fun Fun Fun Fest with Coalesce, are heading back out with the KC band and hitting up NYC on Dec 30 at Europa with A Storm Of Light. Tickets are on sale.

More pics from the Brooklyn show below...

Continue reading "Cave In, Trap Them & Narrows played Knitting Factory in Brooklyn - pics & setlist "

by Black Bubblegum

Coalesce at Scion Rock Fest 2009 (Mike White)

There are a few show-related regrets that I have this year so far..... missing Destroyer 666 at Europa. Absu at BB Kings. Kreig and Woe at Public Assembly. But one of the biggest regrets that I had was not getting to actually SEE Coalesce at Scion Rock Fest. Luckily, redemption is on my side, as we are beyond pleased to announce that BrooklynVegan will sponsor Coalesce at Club Europa on Dec 30th! The show will be the their ONLY Northeastern appearance. More details are to come, including support, but for now, you can get your tickets here.

Coalesce has lined up a few sparse dates so far including Fun Fun Fun Fest, The Fest 8 (which recently announced set times), and a pair of FREE shows with Cave In that jump off this week. Cave In aren't playing for free in NYC, but they are playing with Narrows and Trap Them at Knitting Factory on 11/19. Tickets are on sale.

Coalesce released their critically acclaimed OX LP earlier this year, and are following it up with the OX EP, due on 11/10. Preorder it here. The band is also offering the chance for fans to try their hand at remixing the track "Wild Ox Moan".

All dates and some videos below...

Continue reading "Coalesce playing Europa (BV presents) ++ Cave In tix on sale "

by Black Bubblegum

Cave In: Gods of Woodland Hardcore

It was bound to happen, and now it has. Cave In will play NYC on 11/19 at Knitting Factory as part of a short east coast tour with Narrows and Trap Them! Ticket info is forthcoming.

Cave In, who came out of hiatus over the summer, are also playing shows with Coalesce in the next week for FREE in ATL on 10/7, and 10/8 in LA at The Knitting Factory (one of the last shows at the California venue). RSVP for those FREE shows here.

The tour announcement comes on the heels of the announcement that the limited Planets Of Old 12" will be re-released as an CD EP in the new year. All dates below...

Continue reading "Cave In playing shows! - Knitting Factory in NYC, an East Coast tour w/ Trap Them (dates), free in ATL & LA (RSVP)"

The second annual REVIVAL TOUR 2009--a nationwide trek founded by Chuck Ragan, the singer/songwriter/guitarist and Hot Water Music co-frontman--is set to launch October 13 in Louisville and wrap November 21 in St. Petersburg. Drawing from a diverse group of established musicians in indie Americana, rock, punk, Irish folk, Cajun, zydeco and blues, THE REVIVAL TOUR will take the band of traveling musicians through 32 U.S. cities including New York City, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Chicago, Minneapolis, Denver, Seattle, San Francisco, San Diego, Austin, Dallas, Atlanta and many more. In traditional revival fashion, once the music starts, this new guard of young, genre-defying, musicians keep it rolling, teaming in and out through each others' sets until the final farewell of the night.

THE REVIVAL TOUR 2009 will include: CHUCK RAGAN (of Hot Water Music), Jim Ward (of Sparta and Sleepercar), Kevin Seconds (Nov. 3-5 only), Frank Turner, Tim Barry (of Avail), Dave Hause (of The Loved Ones), Jenny Owen Youngs, Possessed by Paul James, Jon Snodgrass and Chad Price (of Drag The River), Joey Cape (of Lagwagon), Bob Lucas, Austin Lucas, Audra Mae, Tom Cook, Steven Brodsky (of Cave In), Water Tower Bucket Boys, Anderson Family Bluegrass Band, members of The Zydepunks performing acoustic, Jon Gaunt (of Whiskey & Co) on fiddle, Digger Barnes on the upright bass and more.

The tour comes to NYC's Gramercy Theatre on Saturday, October 17th. Tickets are on sale. After that gig, the tour will visit NJ's Asbury Lanes the next night. More details on the tour with its full lineup and schedule, below...

Continue reading "Revival Tour 2009 w/ Chuch Ragan, Jim Ward, many more"