Twin Shadow @ Pitchfork 2011 (more by Dominick Mastrangelo)

Twin Shadow is about to kick off a "True Story" tour in California that quickly hits Sasquatch before visting Chicago, Governors Ball in NYC, Texas and many other places before ending back in Cali. Twin Shadow will then take a break before playing a big, free hometown show at Central Park Summerstage with Autre Ne Veut, Elliphant and DJ Million Dollar Mano on 8/17. All dates are listed with the "True Story" explanation below.

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Most of TS's tour is with Pitchfork/Swedish Grammys-approved pop star Elliphant who we mentioned headlines her only upcoming non-Twin Shadow North American date in Brooklyn at Glasslands on June 11. Tickets are still available. Openers are Heartsrevolution and Computer Magic (DJ Set).

"She's actually part of the same production family as Icona Pop, but as Elliphant, she frays Scandinavian pop precision at the edges to join up to a more global patchwork that runs from Mad Decent affiliates M.I.A. and Maluca to the junkheap magpie nest of Staff Benda Bilili." [Pitchfork]

Autre Ne Veut, who recently played Pianos (twice), only has four upcoming shows we know about at the moment. One is with Twin Shadow at Summerstage, one is Pitchfork Festival, one is ACL, and one is in Miami. They're also all listed below...

Continue reading "Twin Shadow touring w/ Elliphant, playing free Central Park show w/ Autre Ne Veut (dates)"

by Andrew Sacher

Disclosure at MHOW last month (more by Jason Bergman)

Yesterday (4/22), Summerstage announced its 2013 season. But one of the shows that was not on that announcement and was just revealed today is a co-headlining double bill by dance duos Disclosure and TNGHT at Central Park Summerstage on August 6 with support from Julio Bashmore. The show starts at 6 PM so the only downside of this is that it might not be dark yet during Disclosure or TNGHT's set depending on which one goes first. But that aside, this is going to be one of wildest Summerstage shows of the summer. Tickets go on sale Friday (4/26) at noon. The show happens right after Disclosure plays Lollapalooza. TNGHT doesn't play that festival, but they do play a different Chicago festival in July, Pitchfork.

Disclosure recently announced that their debut album, Settle, will be out June 3 via PMR. It features previously released singles, "White Noise" (feat. AlunaGeorge) and "Latch" (feat. Sam Smith), in addition to the just-released track, "You & Me" (feat. Eliza Doolittle). If you didn't hear that one yet, it's just as awesome as their previous tracks and ups the excitement even more for that album to drop. Check it out below.

TNGHT also slightly less recently revealed a new track in support of their tour which just hit Coachella twice and NYC once. The track is called "Acrylics" and it's even more of a banger than anything on last year's self titled EP. Stream that one below as well.

All dates for both Disclosure and TNGHT are listed, along with both song streams, below...

Continue reading "Disclosure & TNGHT co-headlining Central Park Summerstage in August (updated dates & song streams)"

by Andrew Sacher

It was pretty exciting earlier this year when baroque pop legends The Zombies (who just released a RSD 12") toured with support from Elephant Stone, and now, as revealed in today's Summerstage 2013 lineup announcement, they'll be playing a show in NYC with another band they've surely influenced, Django Django. That show happens on June 15 at Central Park Summerstage and also includes Adam Green & Binki Shapiro and a DJ set by Modest P. The show is free to the public. It's a day show which runs from 3 to 7 PM so it could be a good one to catch before heading to Brooklyn for Northside Festival that night.

Adam Green & Binki Shapiro will be in the NYC-area even sooner when their tour with Father John Misty and Jessica Pratt hits Maxwell's on May 17 (sold out). UPDATE: We just learned that Adam Green & Binki dropped off the Father John Misty tour.

The Central Park show is part of The Zombies' US spring/summer tour which hits the Bergen Performing Arts Center (6/13) in NJ and Mohegan Sun (6/14) in CT right beforehand. All dates are listed, along with a video of their full Live on KEXP set at SXSW (where they were sounding especially great), below...

Continue reading "The Zombies expand tour, playing Central Park Summerstage w/ Django Django and Adam Green & Binki Shapiro (dates)"

photos by Dana (distortion) Yavin

Dave Grohl, Neil Young & Dan Auerbach  / Olivia Wilde / Band of Horses, Global Festival, 9/29/2012

A crowd of 60,000 strong showed up at the Great Lawn in Central Park yesterday (9/29) for Global Festival, a concert to raise awareness about (and funds to help) global hunger, featuring names like Neil Young, Foo Fighters, Black Keys, Band of Horses and K'naan:

The acts seemed especially stunned by the size of the Central Park crowd. "This event is so great, I can't get over it," marveled Band of Horses frontman Ben Bridwell. Auerbach was similarly moved: "What an amazing thing, it feels great up here," he said. The Keys proceded to fill the giant space with their fast, fuzzed-out riffs, Auerbach buzzing across the stage during cuts like "Howlin for You" and "Money Maker," backed by Patrick Carney's tight grooves. The highlight? When 60,000 fans clapped during the furious breakdown of "I Got Mine," and Auerbach lost himself in the monster riff.

Dave Grohl launched the Foo Fighters' set with a mellow solo version of "Times Like These," before the band kicked in raucously and Grohl bounced across each end of the stage headbanging. Grohl seemed most psyched to be there out of anyone, letting out several throaty howls and leading huge sing-alongs on "My Hero" to "All My Life."...Grohl seemed determined to savor every moment; at one point, he made it clear that this would be the band's last show for a while. "I wish we could play all night - but I'd rather see Neil Young," he said. "We don't have any shows after this. This is where we play as many songs as we can in a short period of time, because, honestly, I don't know when we're gonna do it again." -[Rolling Stone]

Pictures of that collaboration as well as all bands and cameos from Olivia Wilde, Selena Gomez, John Legend and more, are below.

Continue reading "Neil Young, Foo Fighters, The Black Keys, Band of Horses & K'Naan fought hunger at the Global Festival (pics / setlists)"

Tomorrow, Saturday, 9/29, is that huge event in Central Park. If you didn't get a ticket, you can always just watch it online. Says the PR:

AEG Digital Media (AEGDM) is partnering up with AEG Network LIVE to deliver the complete online experience platform for the Global Citizen Festival, the largest syndication of a live music charity webcast and broadcast in history, live from Central Park in New York City on September, 29, 2012.

Fans around the globe will be able to access a constant stream of live content powered by AEG Digital Media's Online Broadcasting Center to ensure a flawless viewing experience.

Online viewers can also experience a concert-like atmosphere with HD content and audio clarity streamed through AEGDM's industry leading Live Experience Platform. Leveraging the platform allows multiple levels of interactivity where the online audience can collaborate with one another as well as socialize with festival goers actually on site in Central Park to share their concert experience in real-time. The Live Experience Platform features include trivia, text messaging, audience polling, postings and an aggregate news feeds of all social media networks such as Twitter, Facebook and Google Plus, etc. In addition, fan goers everywhere can upload and share their own photo experiences and images via an Instagram aggregation - all in real time.

The Live Experience Platform developed by AEG Digital Media enables the audience to directly contribute the Global Poverty Project, as well enhance the experience for all joining of this historic event around world.

"We are excited to provide a truly engaging online experience platform for the 2012 Global Festival that enables users to not only see the show, but truly be immersed in an interactive experience that will have a global impact on extreme poverty," said Chris Roach, Head of Business Development at AEG Digital Media.

For the first time in live broadcast events, AEGDM's event producers will have a two-way communication with viewers across six major internet portals. Social media will play a huge part in producing global engagement, through Facebook and Twitter, users will see what people are saying about the event and be able to share their thoughts on the festival.

This event marks another global milestone for AEG Network LIVE, who is producing the entire event. Leading broadcast sponsor Australian technology company, Vividas, along with online distribution partners including VEVO, YouTube, AOL/ Huffington Post, Yahoo!, VH1.com, and NYTimes.com are all on board to stream the event live. In addition, television partners AXS TV Palladia, Globo Brazil, and Fuse, will carry the live program.

In related news, Band of Horses, who recently played a free show at House of Vans, just announced more tour dates. They're all listed below...

Continue reading "Global Citizen Fest is in Central Park Saturday (and on TV and streaming online) -- who got a ticket?"

photos by Tracy Allison

Dr. Dog at Central Park Summerstage - 9/20/12

[Dr. Dog] played behind an altered American flag with neon colors and only three stars (the symbolism escaped me). Quickly, they settled into the pattern of slow opening verses leading to huge climactic choruses, with harmonized oohs and aahs. Some cute touches were added to "I Only Wear Blue" and "The Old Days" when an electronic effect such as a horse nay and hand claps were added. But the big and memorable moment came when Delta Spirit's Matt Vasquez stumbled onto the stage during "Worst Trip." With a shaker in hand, he jumped around and eventually made his way atop Leaman's shoulders for the end of the song [The House List]

Continue reading "Dr. Dog, Delta Spirit and Kishi Bashi played Central Park Summerstage (pics & video)"

photos by Toby Tenenbaum

Beirut at Central Park Summerstage - 8/29/12

Beirut brought their tour to NYC for a show at Central Park Summerstage last night (8/29) with Little Scream. Pictures from that show are in this post. Beirut will continue their tour this weekend with FYF Fest, which will kick off a west coast run for the band that also includes MusicFestNW, before they head over to Europe later next month.

More pics and a couple videos from last night's show are below.

Continue reading "Beirut and Little Scream played Central Park Summerstage (pics & videos)"

photos by Amanda Hatfield, words by Andrew Sacher

M83 at Central Park Summerstage - 8/8/12

Laser light shows, clouds of fog, thrashing guitars, an orchestra, and club bangers are just a few of the things seen on stage at M83's sold out Central Park Summerstage show last night (8/8). Like Animal Collective, who achieved a similar feat back in 2009, M83 spent about a decade as one of indie rock's most consistent bands, and when the release of 2011's arena-sized Hurry Up, We're Dreaming inevitably put M83 in arena-sized venues, they were more than ready for it. Main member Anthony Gonzalez really knows how to be a frontman, fulfilling the most classic definitions of the word (he does things like yell "NEW YORK!" in between songs). The band's light show is phenomenal, blending a glossy 80s aesthetic with a keen sense of futurism. They've got lasers, floodlights, spotlights, and four light-up panels on stage which shift in color and shape throughout the show. And every member of the band looks like they're having a great time on stage for the whole set. When members switch instruments, they don't simply walk over to their new position, instead they prefer to dance their way over. When a band has that massive a presence, it's hard to ignore them.

That said, I can't promise everyone in attendance felt the same. Unfortunate to admit, but the only song that really got the crowd going wild was "Midnight City," and I definitely felt the density of people lighten after that one ended. Summerstage's sound system wasn't quite loud enough for this one and it helped make it too possible to hear all of the talking going on during songs. The only other downside was that the band's set was way too short (just an over an hour), especially for a band with six studio albums and a 70+ minute double album as their breakthrough. But all road bumps aside, this was a great show and certainly one to remember. The setlist hit all the high points of Hurry Up, We're Dreaming, including "Intro," "Reunion," "Wait," and "Steve McQueen," and dipped into their back catalog as well, reaching as far back as their 2001 debut. At this point the band have both the potential and the right to play a "hits" set, but they continue to throw in instrumental tracks, which add to the flow of the show and promise that M83 might be dipping a foot in mainstream waters, but like all great crossover bands, they're also keeping one on the land where they started.

M83 will be back in NYC when their ongoing tour brings them here for two Hammerstein shows (10/2-3) and a Wellmont show (10/4) in October. All three of those shows are with Sun Airway.

Big Black Delta opened last night's show. More pictures of both bands and M83's setlist are below.

Continue reading "M83 played Central Park Summerstage (pics, review, setlist)"

photos by David Andrako

Old Crow Medicine Show at Central Park Summerstage - 8/6/12

Three members of the mindie folk scene, Old Crow Medicine Show, The Lumineers, and The Milk Carton Kids, teamed up for a sold out Summerstage show at Central Park last night (8/6). More pictures from that show are below.

Continue reading "Old Crow Medicine Show, Lumineers & Milk Carton Kids played Central Park Summerstage (pics)"

The Global Festival aims to mobilise more than 50,000 people to take action in support of ending extreme poverty, and to secure more than $100m in new commitments from charities, businesses and governments to fight extreme poverty through our NGO partners. Beyond that, the Global Festival is being run to help shine a spotlight on the progress that's being made fighting extreme poverty, and showcase some of the amazing organisations and individuals who are doing it.

The Black Keys at Catalpa (more by Toby Tenenbaum)

Neil Young, Foo Fighters, Black Keys, Band of Horses and K'naan will share the stage at the Great Lawn in New York's Central Park on September 29th as part of the Global Festival, a concert designed to bring awareness and funds to the cause of ending global poverty.

"We wanted to make it different from other benefit concerts - we didn't want it to be the same as, say, Live 8," Hugh Evans, co-founder of the Global Poverty Project, tells Rolling Stone. The team organized Global Festival in conjunction with Goldenvoice/AEG, the veteran team behind the landmark Coachella music festival. "We wanted to do something unique for our generation."

Adds Rick Mueller, concert promoter at Goldenvoice,"Central Park is iconic." The venue has hosted legendary concerts from the likes of Elton John, Simon and Garfunkel, Diana Ross and, more recently, Dave Matthews, Bon Jovi and the Black Eyed Peas. "It's a worldwide platform, one that few get to play, so it's the perfect stage for a charity and a cause - especially considering the caliber of artists involved. I don't know if there's been a rock show this big at Central Park; it's a cohesive lineup that really makes a statement." -[Rolling Stone]

The Central Park show is a month before Neil Young & Crazy Horse's tour returns to NYC for shows at Madison Square Garden and the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Band of Horses meanwhile are touring with My Morning Jacket.

photos by Amanda Hatfield

Beach House, Central Park Summerstage 7/23/2012

If there's any band to see while a storm begins to brew overhead, it may just be Beach House. Some of those lightning flashes last night at their Summerstage performance in Central Park seemed almost synchronized to what they were playing. While a noticeable stream of people left as the weather worsened midway through the show, the band played on and their set didn't seem to be cut short by the rain. (Setlist is at the bottom of this post.) And while some Summerstage shows can be on the quiet side, Beach House were thunderous.

Fellow Baltimorians Lower Dens, a late-announced addition (after their Bowery performance), opened the show. More pictures from last night's show are below and if you haven't been keeping up, we've also posted pics of both bands from Pitchfork Fest.

Continue reading "Beach House & Lower Dens played Central Park (pics, setlist)"

"A beloved New York tradition, Concerts in the Parks returns for its 47th season with five free outdoor concerts throughout the New York City boroughs, plus a free indoor concert in Staten Island. Music Director Alan Gilbert will lead the Philharmonic in concerts at Central Park and Prospect Park and conductor Andrey Boreyko will conduct concerts in Cunningham Park, Van Cortlandt Park and Central Park with violinist James Ehnes as soloist. Music under the stars with family and friends makes for a perfect summer evening. And it's free -- join us!"

Continue reading "New York Philharmonic kicking off week of free 'Concerts in the Parks'"

photos by Chris La Putt, words by Andrew Sacher

Guided by Voices/Cloud Nothings

One of the many shows that went down in NYC this past weekend as part of the CBGB Festival was the big, free day show at Central Park Summerstage on Saturday (7/7) with Guided by Voices, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, The War On Drugs, and Cloud Nothings. Despite the heat wave that hit NYC over the weekend, many braved the high temperatures to catch this stacked show, which was pretty packed from start to finish. Presumably because it was a 4-band bill and was a day show, the openers got pretty short sets, but nonetheless all four bands were great and little time was wasted.

Cloud Nothings kicked off the day at 3 PM with a 5-song set that relied entirely on this year's Attack on Memory. Considering how short the set was, they did manage to keep things pretty varied. Between "Separation," the interlude they prefaced it with, and the extended jam of "Wasted Days," about half of their set was instrumental, and they balanced that with the album's two poppiest tracks, "Stay Useless" and "Fall In." A hot sunny day in central park isn't exactly the appropriate place for a mosh pit or anything, but there was a good amount of dancing and singing along, especially during the closing screams of "Wasted Days."

Then The War on Drugs cooled things off with their breezy folk rock, opening strong with Slave Ambient standout, "Baby Missiles." The band's floaty atmospheres can get pretty meandering (in a good way), but are always grounded by the band's relentlessly upbeat drummer. They work in nice touches of noise and ambience, most notably doing so when the bassist played a droning trumpet through an effect laden mic before going into the anthemic "Come to the City."

Up next were The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, who immediately woke up the lazy, sweat-dripping crowd with a super energetic set, kickstarted by the driving "Heaven's Gonna Happen Now." Frontman Kip Berman doesn't let up for the entire show, rocking out through every song while bearing a spot-on delivery. They played a pretty solid mix of material off both full lengths, all of which were bright pop blasts, delivered even clearer and bigger than the increased lo-to-mid-fi production on the newer album. The band, who on Saturday were augmented by Connor from The Drums on second guitar, didn't really hit any low points and played through tons of favorites like "Young Adult Friction," "Heart In Your Heartbreak," and more.

The show wrapped up with the much-anticipated headlining set by Guided by Voices which came after multiple crowd chants of "GBV, GBV, GBV!" The band, whose influential brand of lo-fi was responsible for helping to set the groundwork that all three of the opening bands heavily work into their sound, walked on stage, cigarettes in hand, and in extremely high spirits for the appreciative crowd. They focused their set mostly on material off of their two 2012 full lengths, Let's Go Eat the Factory and Class Clown Spots a UFO, their first two albums since 2004. Because of GBV's notoriously short songs, they only took about ten minutes to bang out the same amount of songs that the opening bands played in their entire sets, and both the band and the crowd were really into it. Robert Pollard's playful stage banter was intact (he said something about how during his last Central Park show he got in trouble for throwing beer cans into the audience) and the band's on-stage demeanor was just as lively, complete with split kicks from guitarist Mitch Mitchell, and the head-nodding, singing-along bassist, Greg Demos.

More pictures from the Central Park show, including one of GBV's setlist, are below...

Continue reading "Guided by Voices, Pains of Being Pure at Heart, War on Drugs & Cloud Nothings played CBGB Fest at Summerstage (pics)"

Ireland's arena-friendly dance rockers Two Door Cinema Club will return with their sophomore LP, Beacon, on September 4. Later that month, the band will be in NYC to play Summerstage at Rumsey Playfield in Central Park on September 28. It's their only announced North American tour date announced so far. Tickets to the Summerstage show go on sale Friday, June 29 with an AmEx presale starting today (6/27) at noon.

Album art (which looks like it could've been for a late-'70s LP cover for Styx or REO Speedwagon), tracklist and video trailer are below.

Continue reading "Two Door Cinema Club ready 'Beacon,' playing Summerstage"

photos by Chris La Putt

Danny Brown / Schoolboy Q show their best sides at Summerstage 6/25/2012

Despite the rain, Danny Brown (who ended up playing first) and Schoolboy Q opened for Childish Gambino at their first of two NYC shows together last night (6/25) at Central Park Summerstage. Both rappers played their own sets and then also joined Childish Gambino on stage for part of his, which you can watch a video of below.

Danny, Q, and Childish will do it again tonight (6/26) at Prospect Park. Tickets for tonight's show are still available and we're also giving away a pair. Details on how to enter, along with more pictures and a video from last night's show are below...

Continue reading "Danny Brown & Schoolboy Q supported Childish Gambino at Summerstage (pics); playing Prospect Park tonight (win tickets)"

photos by Chris La Putt

Alambama Shakes @ Central Park Summerstage

Alabama Shakes, who opened for Jack White at Roseland in May and have since played Bonnaroo, headlined a "sold out" free show at Central Park Summerstage in NYC this afternoon, Sunday, June 24th. Did you make it in. If not, did you listen from outside? Here are some pictures from the show.

Already packed when opener Robert Ellis went on around 3pm, the show also included a pre-shakes set by Diamond Rugs who headlined their own show (their first-ever in NYC) at the Bell House in Brooklyn on Friday night (and who play Letterman on Monday). As you may know by now, Diamond Rugs features members of Deer Tick, Dead Confederate, and Steve Berlin from Los Lobos.

Other upcoming Alabama Shakes dates include a recently announced Lollapalooza aftershow. More pictures below...

Continue reading "Alabama Shakes, Diamond Rugs & Robert Ellis played Central Park Summerstage (pics)"

As we mentioned yesterday, June 20 was Brian Wilson's 70th birthday. Happy birthday again Brian! The band celebrated backstage at a show in Montreal as you can see in the picture above (a bigger shot of the cake is below).

How does Wilson feel about turning 70?

"Are you kidding?" he tells Rolling Stone. "I feel great! I don't think I look or act 70. I feel more like I'm in my mid-forties."

Wilson celebrated with a party backstage during a tour stop at Montreal's Bell Centre, where he was gifted with a cake resembling the album cover to the Beach Boys' new LP, That's Why God Made The Radio. As the audience broke into "Happy Birthday," balloons sent by Wilson's wife surrounded him onstage. Earlier that day, Wilson received a call from his old buddy Paul McCartney, who celebrated his own 70th birthday two days earlier. "[Paul] said, 'Happy birthday, friend!" Wilson says. "I said, 'Happy birthday to you, Paul.' He told me he was headed into Abbey Road. I told him we were on our way to Montreal. I think he said something like, 'Can you believe we made it this far?' It was very pleasant and sweet.'

Continue reading "The Beach Boys celebrated Brian Wilson's 70th with an awesome cake & balloons, played Central Park"

photos by Ryan Barkan

"Last night's Dawes show at Summerstage. One heck of a band who put on an amazing show!" - Sergio Ortega

Dawes at Central Park Summerstage - 6/16/12

After Kurt Vile's opening set, Dawes took the stage to headline a free Central Park Summerstage show on Saturday night (6/16). They played material off both of their full lengths and also included a cover of Paul Simon's "Kodachrome." More pictures, plus video from their set, are below.

Continue reading "Dawes played Central Park Summerstage (pics)"

photos by Ryan Barkan, words by Andrew Sacher

Kurt Vile at Central Park - 6/16/12

Kurt Vile has been on a tour which recently hit Sasquatch, Bonnaroo, and then came to the NYC area for two shows this past weekend, Kurt's last scheduled North American dates before he heads to Europe this week. He first stopped in Hoboken, NJ for an intimate, sold out early show at Maxwell's on Friday (6/15). The next day (6/16), Kurt came to Central Park Summerstage for a free show with Dawes.

I caught Kurt at Summerstage, where he and the Violators played an hour long set to an eager crowd that went from casually lounging on the outdoor venue's artificial turf to packing in right up to the stage the second Kurt and his band walked out. Though Kurt has seen increased success due to 2011's Smoke Ring For My Halo, which was one of our favorites of the year, he doesn't ignore his older material, splitting the set pretty evenly between Smoke Ring and 2009's Childish Prodigy.

The natural earthiness that fills Kurt Vile's songs always him a great artist to see outside, and Saturday evening was no exception. Taking the sun-drenched stage around 7 PM, Kurt and his band breezed through songs like "On Tour" and "Jesus Fever" with the same sort of celebrated laziness anyone hanging in Central Park on a sunny Saturday afternoon/evening would ask for. Kurt's effortless drawl traveled through the crowd as he rotated between shiny finger picking and meandering guitar solos. The band did get rougher around the edges at times, with Kurt's periodical screams, crunchy drum machines, and the occasional guitar flailing from Kurt's fellow long-haired comrade.

Towards the end of the set, the band left the stage for Kurt to play two solo acoustic cuts -- "Blackberry Song" and "Peeping Tomboy" -- which he delivered in that mesmerizing folk singer kind of way where the crowd remains as quiet and captivated as the songs command. Then the band returned to close out their set with the largely contrasting "Freak Train," which kicked off with a double time drum machine and ended with all three guitarists on the floor creating layers upon layers of noise with their foot pedals as the drummer thrashed along to that never-ending loop.

More pictures and some videos from Kurt's set at Summerstage are below...

Continue reading "Kurt Vile played Summerstage (pics, review) after Maxwell's"

Kurt Vile @ Sasquatch 2012 (more by Chris Graham)

A weekend of Kurt Vile begins tonight, Friday (6/15), at Maxwell's in Hoboken where Kurt will open and headline a sold out show at the initimate NJ venue. If you're going, especially all the way from NYC, keep in mind that the venue tells us Kurt goes on at 7pm! Don't be late (no opener), or you may find yourself confused and trying to get in to the sold out mewithoutyou show that starts right after Kurt's crowd is cleared from the room. The good news here is that after Kurt you have plenty of time to get from Hoboken to Brooklyn in time to catch Caveman, Frankie Rose and more at the BV show at Music Hall of Williamsburg!

Don't have a ticket to Maxwell's... don't have money even? You're in luck! Kurt's 2nd show of the weekend is a free one at Central Park Summerstage on Saturday (6/16), but don't be late to that one either because Kurt opens the show for Dawes, and that one starts at 7pm too! (getting there early will also guarantee you a spot at the free show that is first come, first served.)

For Dawes, Central Park is one of two shows in the area this weekend, as they're also on the bill of the Clearwater Festival which goes down in Croton Point Park in Croton, NY on Saturday and Sunday. Deer Tick, Alejandro Escovedo, Punch Brothers, Bela Fleck, Arlo Guthrie, Martin Sexton, Ani Difranco and many more also play in Croton.

After NYC, Kurt takes a few days off before getting on a plane to begin a summer tour of Europe. All of his dates are listed below...

Continue reading "Kurt Vile plays 2 EARLY shows before heading to Europe; Clearwater Fest also this weekend "

photos by Dana (distortion) Yavin

" The band has a treasure trove of outright classics, and they performed what felt like all of them during their Sunday afternoon set. "Surfer Girl," "Barbara Ann," "Wouldn't It Be Nice," "Sloop John B," "Surfin' Safari," even "Kokomo" -- you name it, they probably played it. While that wasn't inherently surprising, what came as a bit of a shock was how fresh the band sounded -- even if its elder members didn't look the part -- both on their classics and on tunes from their recently released reunion LP, "That's Why God Made the Radio." Brian Wilson's presence is what makes this reunion so successful, but onstage he looked like the Queen of England, sitting idly behind a grand piano and taking the occasional vocal lead; Mike Love, meanwhile, seemed to be the main Beach Boy behind the wheel. Taken together with the afternoon's balmy weather and the day-in-the-park vibe of festivalgoers knocking around beach balls and splaying out on towels, the group's sublime set was just the thing for a lazy, hungover Sunday." [Rolling Stone / CNN]

If you're curious what the band sound like live, listen to some tour highlights at NPR. If you're curious what their new album cover looks like, head to their Facebook where you can also change the colors if they're not to your liking. If you're curious what the new album sounds like, you can listen to the whole thing below.

If you're in NYC and can't wait to see the band live at PNC Bank Arts Center or Jones Beach, don't forget you can catch them EARLY FRIDAY MORNING in Central Park courtesy of Good Morning America (free and also being televised).

More pictures from Bonnaroo, their 31 song setlist, and the new album stream, below...

Continue reading "The Beach Boys played Bonnaroo (pics & setlist), play Central Park Friday morning, streaming new album now"

Chris Keating w/ Yeasayer at Jones Beach (more by Dana (distortion) Yavin)

When we first mentioned that Yeasayer will be going on tour this summer in support of their upcoming Fragrant World LP, tickets were only available at the band's website. Since we last spoke, tickets for the NYC show, which happens on September 12 at Central Park Summerstage were posted to Ticketmaster as well. They're currently on AmEx presale and go on sale to the general public on Friday (6/1) at noon.

In related news, you can catch Chris Keating of Yeasayer DJing tonight (5/31) at a Vibrations party on the Hudson Terrace Roof Deck. Doors are at 10 PM and admission is free til midnight with RSVP. The show also includes Punches (who will be celebrating the release of their new EP, It Can Only Get Better), Sean Glass, and Alex English. The flier for tonight's show is below.

Continue reading "Yeasayer Summerstage tix posted; Chris Keating DJing tonight"

Willis Earl Beal at Bowery Ballroom in April (more by Toby Tenebaum)

Bobby Womack and Willis Earl Beal's free Central Park show, which was set to happen on June 7, has been postponed due to illness. The makeup date is TBA but they "plan to reschedule this show in mid-July with both artists still on the bill." Stay tuned for more info. This comes less than a week after Bobby posted to his facebook page that he successfully underwent surgery and does not have cancer. Hope all is well with the recovery, Bobby!

Meanwhile, Bobby Womack has been preparing his new album, The Bravest Man in the Universe, for a June 12 release via XL. It's Womack's first album of original material since 1994 and was co-produced by Damon Albarn (who he worked with on Gorillaz's Plastic Beach) and XL label head/record producer Richard Russell. So far he's revealed the tracks, "Please Forgive My Heart," "The Bravest Man in the Universe," and most recently, "Dayglo Reflection," which features Lana Del Rey. You can check all of those out below.

Speaking of Willis Earl Beal, he was arrested over the weekend after his performance at the Le Guess Who? Festival in the Netherlands for allegedly kicking a homeless man in the face (via Pitchfork). In a YouTube video (which you can watch below), Willis said his goodbyes to to the crowd with the following:

Because of a few bad apples, we all miss out on one more glorious, fantastic, lovely performance. I love you, and I even love the guy whose face I kicked in. I love him, too. He's a good guy! He's just drunk, a little.

Bobby Womack streams and Willis Earl Beal video below...

Continue reading "Bobby Womack and Willis Earl Beal postpone Summerstage show; Willis free from jail; listen to new Bobby Womack songs"

by Andrew Sacher

DOWNLOAD: Yeasayer - "Henrietta" (MP3)

Yeasayer at Jones Beach in 2011 (more by Dana (distortion) Yavin)

Yeasayer will followup 2010's Odd Blood with their third full length, Fragrant World, which is due out on August 21 via Secretly Canadian. The album's first single, "Henrietta," is an even farther departure from their psychedelic folk roots with a heavy dose of R&B that began peaking through on the Pet Sounds-via-Merriweather Post Pavillion informed Odd Blood and is now here fully formed. Grab an MP3 of the track above, or stream it below alongside the album's tracklist.

Yeasayer will support the album on tour this summer with a string of dates that hits NYC for a show at Central Park Summerstage on September 12. Tickets for the entire tour, including the NYC show, are on sale now via the band's website. Ticketmaster tickets are not on sale yet but check back for updates.

All dates are listed below along with the song stream and tracklist...

Continue reading "Yeasayer releasing new LP (MP3); announce new tour (dates)"

The Beach Boys are still making their way around the world on their 50th Anniversary tour, which hit NYC for two Beacon Theater shows earlier this month and another NYC-area show at Westchester County Center this past Tuesday (5/15). They're in Atlantic City this Saturday (5/19) and we already know they'll return to the NYC area next month for shows at Jones Beach on June 24 (tickets) and PNC Bank Arts Center on June 27 (tickets).

Tickets for those shows are still available, but if you don't wanna fork up the cash (and don't mind waking up really early), you can catch The Beach Boys at a free show in Central Park on June 15 as part of Good Morning America's Summer Concert Series, which means they'll be performing close to 8 AM ("Viewers interested in joining "GMA" in Central Park are encouraged to arrive at Rumsey Playfield via the 72nd street entrance on Fifth Avenue at 6:00am when the park opens to the public. All concerts are free and open to the public and will take place live during "Good Morning America," Fridays from 7:00 - 9:00 a.m. ET."). Other announced 2012 Good Morning America bands include Counting Crows, and boy band The Wanted (full announced list below).

Should be a fun way to start your day if you're already in the show-going mood from Northside Festival, which starts one day earlier (6/14) and runs through 6/17.

This won't be the first time that The Beach Boys play in Central Park. Check out some videos when they played in 1971, which aired on ABC-TV as a production titled, Good Vibrations in Central Park, and a news station clip of their 1977 show in the park, along with a list of updated dates below...

Continue reading "Beach Boys playing 'Good Morning America' in Central Park (and other bands too)"