By Bill Pearis

Absolutely Free

After two songs of sweating onstage, the drummer for Absolutely Free -- who made their live debut last night at Mile End venue La Salla Rossa -- peeled off his flannel shirt to reveal a Neu! t-shirt underneath. But by that point we already got it, though a Can shirt might have been more to the point.

Featuring four fifths of DD/MM/YYYY, as Absolutely Free they still make complex, time signature-shifting music, but this was less manic, less skronky with decidedly groovier rhythms. (For me, that's a definitely an "Oh Yeah.") With no recorded music to hear yet and a short 20-minute set, I don't think we've got a full picture of what these guys are capable of, but it was a very promising first show.

Cadence Weapon

La Salla Rossa, which nests on top of a Spanish restaurant with the same name, was host to the night's showcase co-presented by SXSW. We also got the first taste of Cadence Weapon's new album which is due out in January or February -- his first in about three years. With screwed-ish beats (and a little dub reggae), his set was pretty terrific. Dude is confident and funny and drops lines about Lite Brites and had a song that seemed to be entirely about SXSW day parties, not sure if it was made up for the occasion. Best set of the night.

Young Empires

Headliners of the night were Toronto's Young Empires who some cynical types might dub Friendly Foals* and it wouldn't be too off the mark. Big Hooks, anthemic choruses, extra percussion, all very digestible. Young Empires are also pretty slick (and a little bro-y) but they seem destined to become big, at least in a Naked and The Famous kind of way (whose career path they seem to be modeling). Especially once they get around to putting out their debut, due out in January. (I like them better on record than live.)

Daniel Isiah

Night Two opened with Daniel Isiah who is signed to Secret City (the home of Patrick Watson and Plants & Animals) and has an appealing desert twang to his sound (think Chris Isaak or Springsteen's "I'm on Fire") which you can check out on his most recent album, High Twilight. It was a nice start to the evening.

M for Montreal never lets attendees stand still for too long. In between bands at La Salla Rossa, we hopped across the street to affiliated restaurant/venue Case Del Popolo for two Icelandic bands (Iceland Airways co-presented). First were instrumental quartet For a Minor Reflection whose stirring music would be perfect for an Icelandic remake of Friday Night Lights. You've heard this kind of stuff before but they do it well and clearly love playing it.

Of Monsters and Men

The other Icelandic group, Of Monsters and Men, made more of an impression with their stirring folk rock that was augmented by horns and an especially fancy accordion. (It had LED switches on it.) While also similar to a lot of other sweeping ensembles (fill in your favorite here), the songs were memorable and I did wish their set had been a couple songs longer. So it goes with festivals.

Today I'll be seeing Colin Stetson, The Midway State, Hollerado, Parlovr, Thus: Owls (points for colon use), Doldrums, Bran Van 3000, Misteur Valaire and something called Tonstartsbandht, plus about 10 other groups. Hopefully organizers have budgeted time to eat. Look for reports on tonight and tomorrow's M festivities on Monday. Until then, click through for a few more picks from last night's action...

Continue reading "M for Montreal 2011 -- Night 2 in pics & review (Absolutely Free, Cadence Weapon, Young Empires, Daniel Isiah & more)"

Fucked Up at Purchase Fall Fest (more by Kellyann Petry)

Fucked Up will play NYU's Kimmel Center on February 11th with DD/MM/YY, Double Dagger and No One and the Somebodies for the "F*cking Valentine's Day Show". "Come and join us for a celebration of a terrible holiday in the best way we know how: moshing & cupcakes. Yes, there will be cupcakes." $5 for NYU students, $7 for non-NYU, and "Tickets for NYU students will be going on sale at the Skirball Box Office (Ticket Central) or online via NYU HOME at the end of January. Tickets for non-NYU students will be available the DAY OF THE SHOW at ticket central, and please arrive at the box office before 8pm."

That brings the total number of scheduled North American dates for Fucked Up to two once you add in their appearance at Chaos in Tejas. They also have a couple of shows scheduled in Australia.

Maybe the lack of dates is due to frontman Damian Abraham's hectic schedule as new host for The Wedge on MuchMusic... The Wedge is the Canadian channel's alternative/indie show that features live performances, music video, and interviews and will be resurrected with Abraham as its mouthpiece on January 26th at 10 PM EST (sorry, for Canadians only). After catching Damian as the host of festivities up at NXNE in Toronto over the summer, I have no doubt he is the right man for the job.

All tour dates, and some videos below.

Continue reading "Fucked Up playing NYU, Damian playing on (Canadian) TV"

"The emails have been piling up and everyone's asking, "dude, what's up with the Pool Parties?" Well DUDE, so sorry to keep you waiting, but here at JELLY we've been working our asses off to bring you one of the greatest free concert series in history. The Pool Parties are going to be extremely crucial this year, "epic" or "amazing" as you people say these days. Seriously, eight weeks of FREE shows on the waterfront of Williamsburg? Does it get any better? You might be thinking "waterfront"? Yeah, in case you didn't hear the McCarren Pool's closed so get over it :) , and yeah we kept the name Pool Parties even though the East River's not at a pool, so what? We've still got DODGEBALL, basketball, DJ's, bands, burgers the works! We love you more than your parents ever could, and if you want to have fun and hang out with us this summer. [Full schedule below]. Bring your friends but please don't bring these things [pictured above]. As you can see below, underage drinking will not be tolerated. . You guys wouldn't do that though, so there's nothing to worry about. Thank you for visiting and stay tuned!!" -Jelly

The big news here is that they finally announced! As far as this year's lineup, well, we figured most of that out already. The Black Lips will also play the show with Trail of Dead, HEALTH, and Grupo Fantasma. Jemina Pearl is also on the bill of the first show on July 12th (Mission of Burma). Full lineup poster and a video below...

Continue reading "JellyNYC announces Pool Parties @ Williamsburg Waterfront!"

Beach House @ MHOW (more by Zach Stern)

WAVVES has added a 3rd NYC show to his previously-announced itinerary. The new date is March 30th at Mercury Lounge with DD/MM/YYYY and Vampire Hands. Tickets are on sale. The other NYC shows are March 28th 29th at Cake Shop and March 29th 28th at Market Hotel. No advanced tickets for those.

It was already good news that The Walkmen added an April 16th NYC headlining show at Webster Hall. Now it's even better that Beach House has been revealed as the opener. Tickets are on sale.

Beach House's Victoria Legrand contributes to the new Grizzly Bear album. Tickets are now on sale for two Grizzly Bear shows at Town Hall.

Beach House's video for "Heart of Chambers" below...

Continue reading "WAVVES adds a NYC show, Beach House opening for the Walkmen --- tickets on sale now."