photos by Chris La Putt

Friday night show at Maxwell's marked the last show of Nicole Atkins' tour with Cotton Jones. Some pictures from that show are in this post. And though she kicks off a round of dates in Austin on Wednesday, she said from the NJ stage that she will be making an appearance with her fellow Black Sea band member Jared Samuel at Cameo Gallery tonight (3/15) as part of his other band Minerva Lions (El, Wendy, and Belleweather are also on the bill).

As previously mentioned, Nicole's next public NYC show is at Rockwood Music Hall on 3/30 as part of the Sweet Divines who formed after the Dansettes broke up. Other members of the Dansettes formed the Nouvellas whose members, along with members of Cotton Jones, backed Nicole & the Black Sea when they performed "Cry, Cry, Cry" on Conan in February. The video of that, is under the rest of the pics, below....

Continue reading "Nicole Atkins played Maxwell's w/ Cotton Jones (pics), catch her with Minerva Lions (tonight)"

Big names and regulars aside, there are a few bands I want to highlight on the just-announced Sasquatch lineup: Wolf Parade ("indefinite hiatus" rumors be damned), The Flaming Lips (performing "The Soft Bulletin"), Death From Above 1979 (now three reunion shows total), Guided By Voices (they're not done yet), and... Archers of Loaf (!). The full lineup of the fest that goes down in Gorge, Washington in May (Memorial Day Weekend), is below...

Continue reading "Sasquatch 2011 lineup announced (Archers of Loaf, Guided By Voices, Wolf Parade, DFA 1979 & "The Soft Bulletin" included)"

DOWNLOAD: Nicole Atkins - Vitamin C (Can Cover) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Nicole Atkins - Vulture (MP3)

Nicole Atkins covering Bob Dylan @ LPR (more by Chris La Putt)

With her new album, Mondo Amore, coming out Jan 25 (Razor & Tie), New Jersey-born, Brooklyn-based crooner, Nicole Atkins has just released the Vultures 7". The record features her first single of the same name backed with her beautiful cover of "Vitamin C," the classic hit from German kraut-rockers Can.

"'Vitamin C' is my favorite song from one of my favorite bands. I also wanted to record something that wasn't so centralized around the vocals but more about the overall feel of the band. It was like 'let's record a song that I wish was my own.'" - Nicole Atkins

Nicole Atkins recently took part in tributes to both Bob Dylan and John Lennon, and will honor yet another person with music at a show tonight (12/11), though this time it's the much sadder kind of tribute. Musician Zach Arrias passed away suddenly on Thanksgiving due to a blood clot that went to his heart. Friends, including Nicole Atkins, David Pattillo and Mollie King, will gather and perform in his memory upstairs at Pianos from 7-10pm.

Nicole Atkins kicks off a tour in support of her new record (see above) on February 9th at Bowery Ballroom. Tickets are on sale. No openers are announced yet for that show, but she will be joined by Cotton Jones on the rest of the tour.

Cotton Jones just so happens to be playing in NYC tonight as well, at Mercury Lounge with Crooked Fingers.

All dates below...

Continue reading "a Zach Arrias tribute & other Nicole Atkins tour dates w/ Cotton Jones (who is in NYC now w/ Crooked Fingers)"

photos by Bao Nguyen, words by Rachel Kowal

Diamond Rings @ Knitting Factory

We're used to putting our mp3s on shuffle... why not shows, too? My music ADD came out in full force last Friday. I decided to make full use of my 'sick' day and somehow managed to see a whopping 16 bands (maybe a personal record?). I got my day started early with the Brooklyn Vegan showcase at Public Assembly. With bands playing in the two neighboring rooms, it was all too easy to flit back and forth, which allowed me to catch four bands in under 90 minutes: The Phantom Band, The Luyas, Lower Dens, and Times New Viking. Though I saw only partial sets of the first and last, I made time to see the entirety of my two favorite. The Luyas never cease to charm - even when there are technical problems, and I enjoyed my first encounter with Lower Dens - another one of those notoriously ubiquitous CMJ bands.

Up next, I headed over to the Knitting Factory to take in part of the Distiller showcase. I was glad to learn that I only missed a couple of songs from S. Carey. Sean's soul-warming voice and classical training provided a nice respite from the overwhelming contingency of scuzzier, under-rehearsed bands. After seeing S. Carey open for The Tallest Man on Earth at a recent Webster Hall show, it was nice to see him in a smaller, more intimate setting. He also played a Brooklyn Vegan party at Public Assembly, but on Saturday

Bringing the energy back up was John O'Regan, the glam-man-spectacle behind Diamond Rings. When he had finally assembled his gear, he had time only for an abbreviated set - even for CMJ standards: just four songs - just enough to get the kids dancing. Up next was Shilpa Ray and Her Happy Hookers - a band I had not made note of on my hastily scrawled itinerary. Imagine my surprise when instead of the Southern rock-tinged folk music of Cotton Jones, I was met by a feisty female with a pension for shrieking lyrics about STDs and assaulting the audience with her abrasive stage 'banter.' ("We have a new 7" for sale. Just give me your fucking money because I want it.") Time to hit the bar for some free SoCo. Since the shows were running a bit late, I stayed only for about half of Cotton Jones (a folksier She & Him except the she - Whitney McGraw - is more than just a pretty face).

The Hush Now also played the Knitting Factory show, and Diamond Rings (whose new album is streaming) played a few other shows during the week. If you missed him, he's back December 4th to play Glasslands, and is touring a lot between now and then. All dates with more pictures from the whole Distiller show, below...

Continue reading "Diamond Rings played a CMJ show w/ S Carey, Cotton Jones & others, touring (dates, pics, full album stream) "

SXSWeek 2010: March 12-21
Interactive: March 12-16
Film: March 12-20
Music: March 17-21

Continue reading "SXSW 2010 - dates & initial band lineup "

The final lineup for Monolith Festival, which takes place at the Red Rocks Ampitheatre in Morrison, Colorado, on September 12th-13th, is below. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Girl Talk headline Saturday night at the festival, and the Mars Volta and MSTRKRFT top the bill on Sunday. Deer Tick, Passion Pit, Doom, The Walkmen, The Thermals, and HEALTH are also some of the bands on the two-day bill.

Tickets and two-day passes are still on sale. We also has a pair of weekend tickets to give away. Details on that, with the full lineup, below...

Continue reading "Monolith Festival - final 2009 lineup ++ WIN a two-day pass"

The Antlers @ Cake Shop (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

Frenchkiss Records will be re-releasing a remastered version of Hospice, the debut new album by NYC band The Antlers, on August 18th (and digitally on June 16th). That means they are now label-mates with Sean Bones WHO they are playing with (listed as "special guest") at The Delancey on May 20th (flyer below). One day later you can catch The Antlers with White Rabbits and Cymbals Eat Guitars at Bowery Ballroom (you can also catch Cymbals Eat Guitars at the opening Rooftop Films party tonight). And you can catch the Antlers at Music Hall of Williamsburg on May 29th with Au Revoir Simone who they are then going out on tour with before meeting up with Cotton Jones for even more touring. All dates below...

Continue reading "The Antlers sign to Frenchkiss - 2009 Tour Dates (Bowery Ballroom, MHOW, the Delancey & Au Revoir Simone)"

!!! is playing ACL 2009 (more by Chris Graham)

"The 2009 Austin City Limits Music Festival will showcase a diverse blend of acts both fresh and familiar at the eighth edition of the event in Zilker Park October 2-4. Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews Band, and Beastie Boys are performing for the first time at the Festival, with Kings of Leon, Ben Harper and Relentless7, and Thievery Corporation returning to Zilker Park once again. John Legend, The Dead Weather, and The Levon Helm Band will also make their ACL Festival debut, while Austin's own Ghostland Observatory will no doubt deliver another memorable set for festival goers.

With over 130 artists on this year's bill, the list of acts awes at each note with the likes of Sonic Youth, Mos Def, Toadies, Flogging Molly, The B-52s, Lily Allen, Citizen Cope, Arctic Monkeys, The Decemberists, Coheed and Cambria, Andrew Bird, Girl Talk, and many more.

In the tradition of the TV show from which it was born, the Festival has always aimed to offer musical discovery for the fans. The 2009 lineup is rich with pop, country, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, indie rock, hip-hop, and gospel, to name a few, spanning cultures and countries from New Orleans to Venezuela to France."

Continue reading "ACL (Austin City Limits) - 2009 festival lineup announcement"

Suicide Squeeze label-mates Human Highway (Nick Thorburn of Islands and Jim Guthrie) and Cotton Jones are going out on tour with The Magic. Tickets are on sale for their only NYC show together. It's at Le Poisson Rouge on March 25th which is one day before Cotton Jones plays a 2nd NYC show at Union Hall.

This is Human Highway's first tour, but not their first NYC show. All dates, including a stop at SXSW for all bands involved, below...

Continue reading "Human Highway & Cotton Jones - 2009 Tour Dates"

Friday October 24, 2008 @ Pianos in NYC

Upstairs room:
Pretty & Nice 8:00 - 8:30 pm
The Coathangers 8:45- 9:15pm

Downstairs room:
Cotton Jones: 8:30-9:00pm
Death Vessel: 9:15pm-9:45pm
Dutchess and the Duke: 10:00pm-10:30pm
sBACH: 10:45pm- 11:15pm
Oxford Collapse: 11:30-12am
The Ruby Suns: 12:15am-12:45am

Sub Pop has Death Vessel, Oxford Collapse and The Ruby Suns.

Pretty & Nice and Dutchess and the Duke represent Sub Pop's sister label Hardly Art who now represents six artists in total including Le Loup who are opening for Stereolab at Irving Plaza on October 4th.

sBACH (member of Hella), Cotton Jones (ex-Page France) and The Coathangers (friends with the Black Lips) are reppin' Suicide Squeeze. The Coathangers signing was announced September 4th. Cotton Jones was announced in August.

Sub Pop usually does a sell-out show at the larger Bowery Ballroom, so they're definitely taking it easy this year. Merge's is small too.

Check out the Pianos flyer below...

Continue reading "Sub Pop, Suicide Squeeze, Hardly Art, CMJ 2008"