words by Andrew Frisicano, photos by Chris Juarez & Rachel Carr

Local Natives & the crowd @ FYF Fest Saturday

Yesterday was FYF Fest. We know all the problems... The lines... And are addressing them now. In no way are we sleeping on these problems. The bands were amazing and the turn out was unreal. I'm speechless. -Sean Carlson & FYF Fest

That's how the FYF Fest organizers started their post-fest email, which also outlined new, cheaper pricing to the three "fan fest" shows it hosted on Sunday in LA. For all the organizational problems on Saturday, FYF still managed to put on a highly enjoyable day of bands, around 37 total across three stages (plus a comedy tent), at LA State Historic Park.

The day's short sets kept you wanting more from nearly every act, many of whom played for a half hour or 35 minutes (which expanded in 5 minute increments up to an hour for the headliners). That made for tough decisions between overlapping sets. Ted Leo and band blew through their 45 minutes, and Titus Andronicus could've continued for another 35 at least with the momentum from their Monitor songs. Those two, along with Screaming Females, were part of what Ted Leo termed the "New Jersey Takeover" - three punk bands with Garden State roots who all played great sets at the fest.

Ariel Pink

Los Angeles represented with a number of notable hometown acts. Growlers, in grey facepaint, brought an earthy, ramshackle sound and lots of friends. Best Coast, Abe Vigoda, Local Natives and Ariel Pink also repped their hometown - the latter two with mezmerizing late afternoon sets.

Other acts brought some nice surprises. A chorus of kids, costumed as zombie versions of dead historical figures, backed Dead Man's Bones' Ryan Gosling and Zach Shields. The Blow introduced some of her new songs written for an unnamed celebrity (and played recognizable earlier songs too, including one "written with Sting...when [she] was 7"). And Big Freedia, the fest's only act with any trace of hip-hop, shocked the crowd with a short pre-headerliner dose of "Azz Everywhere."

Big Freedia

There was plenty of garage rock (Thee Oh Sees brought the man responsible for their cover art, William Keihn, to play tambourine), punk and metal. A reunited Sleep, in New York this week, grinded away, as !!! had people shaking their ass on the sister stage. On the fest's third stage, hardcore band 7 Seconds reminisced about their first time in LA almost 30 years ago and lead a spirited circle pit. Add to those bands, breezy folk from AA Bondy, the jams of Warpaint and Delorean to name a few.

If FYF's organizers are a bit defensive above, it may be with good reason: the few critical organizational errors were fairly memorable. A long line at will call (an hour would be a short estimate) kept many waiting in the 90 degree sun while the first bands of the day (Magic Kids, Let's Wrestle and The Goat) could be heard starting in the distance. Water inside was also an issue, with limited access to free drinking water and bottled water at $4 (which, according to Noah Lennox, ran out).

By the end of the night, the two final acts - The Rapture and Panda Bear - set up on competing stages. Panda Bear aka Noah Lennox interspersed his dreamy lullabies with patches of noise and dissonance while videos and images that could be described only as "trippy" played behind him; I think your response to the set depended largely on your state of mind after the long day: exhausted or ready for a patience-testing string of songs and sounds. He and The Rapture provided, alternately, a place to dance or doze.

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Unsane also played a rare runion set at the festival where Off! shared a bill with Lower Dens. School of Seven Bells, Davila 666, Cults and Ceremony were there too.

Read what Noah thought about his own set, HERE. More pictures from the entire day, below...

Continue reading "FYF Fest 2010 in pics & review "

words & photos by Sarahana

"The evening in DC started off on the same crazy note as it did in Philly. We arrived at the concert venue (this time a Synagogue) and had another unexpected Gos-sighting.

We were walking to get a place in line and my friend glanced through these two double doors and said, "Oh my God, there he is!!!" I backed up to peek in, and lo and behold, THERE HE WAS!!!!!! I squealed and ran away like I was about eight years old. Scratch that. My eight year old daughter wouldn't have even reacted like that big of a lunatic. Clearly, I need professional help.

We took our place in line (much closer to the front-thank goodness) and waited in the pouring down, freezing rain for the doors to open. It was painfully cold. By the time I got inside, my feet were so numb I thought there was a very good possibility that they might actually fall off.

Something funny happened as we waited. The security guard came out to tell us that there was only five more minutes and he said, "Ladies and gentle-oops, I guess I should just say ladies. Wow, there are sure are a lot of you ladies here tonight.""
[Daily Mish Mash]

That review is from DC, but the NY show also had a long line the around the corner despite the rain. You'd think it'd mostly be women, but the NYC event was actually popular with couples.

Instead of opening bands there was a bizarre talent show put together from an open call. It was hosted by a ghost, and featured, in order of appearance:

(1) a man who "made sounds"
(2) a twelve-piece, all-men a cappella group from NYU
(3) a woman who twisted her body into yoga tricks despite a hip replacement and a blade in her shoulder
(4) a theatrical duo of tricksters
(5) a highly impressive pair of "time travelers" that stomped and danced to the tragic songs they sang and played on their fiddles--they were really good! [and scantily dressed]

Then came Ryan Gosling and crew. The ghost host sang a song with Ryan and Zach before the full band came on. The NYC choir didn't pull through, so the kids came from Philly. At one point a girl from the choir "died" and they projected her afterlife thoughts on a handheld piece of fabric. She came back to life to sing "Bang Bang". Halloween theme was prevalent, and there were bags and bags of candy that the kids threw at the audience.

More pictures from Thursday night's show (10/15), below...

Continue reading "Dead Man's Bones & an assortment of openers played a ghostly show @ Le Poisson Rouge in NYC - pics"

by Black Bubblegum

DOWNLOAD: Dead Man's Bones - "My Body's A Zombie For You" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Dead Man's Bones - "In The Room Where You Sleep" (Wrap Party Live Version) (MP3)

Thankfully, DMB does not stand for Dave Matthews Band

In Lars & The Real Girl, Ryan Gosling was in love with a lifesize (and anotomically correct!) sex doll. In Half Nelson, Gosling played a teacher that smoked crack to the sounds of Kevin Drew & co. In his latest role, Gosling will team up with fellow actor Zach Shields will do their best Bryan Ferry/Peter Murphy vibrato for a goth-y folk project entitled Dead Man's Bones.

Dead Man's Bones have a new self-titled LP due on Oct 6th via ANTI- and the band is hitting the road for a short US tour at the end of October, with NYC and Le Poisson Rouge on 10/15 in it's sights. Tickets are on sale.

The album, which was originally the soundtrack to a stage play about ghosts, zombies and werewolves, was completed with the help of a children's chorus. The band (Zach, Ryan, plus three other musicians) will be re-creating the songs with a local choir in every city. The band and choirs will be performing unique versions of their werewolf, zombie, and monster inspired love songs and tales. Reviving a ritual from a bygone era the band is organizing a talent show in each city in place of a traditional opening act (more info on this to be announced this coming week).

Dig on a pair of MP3s above, as well as a few vids and all of Dead Man's Bones' tour dates below...

Continue reading "Dead Man's Bones - MP3s, videos & tour dates (LPR on sale) "

by Andrew Frisicano

DOWNLOAD: The Almighty Defenders - Bow Down and Die (MP3)

It's supergroup day on BrooklynVegan. Some of it is catch up news. We have a new MP3 and tour dates from the new Black Keys-related Drummer band, and then there's the signing of Dum Dum Girls whose first live show over the weekend brought together member of four other bands. Jack White's new supergroup The Dead Weather is streaming their new album today, and we finally did a post on the Monsters of Folk album (Bright Eyes+My Morning Jacket+M Ward). Supergroups are not to be confused with side projects which were sort of a theme today too - first with Wolf Parade-related Handsome Furs, and then the Mazzy Star/My Bloody Valentine-related Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions (which I guess could be considered a supergroup too). Next up....

The Almighty Defenders (Black Lips + King Khan + BBQ)

The Almighty Defenders, a meeting of might between Atlanta garage goblins The Black Lips, Berlin-based soul punker King Khan, and Mr. BBQ himself, Mark Sultan. Conceived during the Lips' Berlin exile (after their VBS-documented ejection from India), the band's self-titled debut is a madcap, liquor-drenched revival, a blissfully fucked up realization of one of garage rock's most fitting collaborations. "Bow Down And Die," the "booming, chivalrous third song," is an off kilter, beer-swilling chant-along that borrows just as much from choral church music as it does from skuzzball rock n roll.

You can check out that song above. The band's self-titled debut is set to come out September 22nd on Vice. Clips of the group live are below.

No tour dates for the Almighty Defenders yet, but The Black Lips will be at the July 26th Williamsburg Waterfront Pool Party, playing with Health, Grupo Fantasma and Trail of Dead. The Black Lips are actually one of the only artists to play a 'Pool Party' two years in a row. Ironically(?), when they played last year, it was on the same bill as King Khan. Maybe they'll bring him along again, or maybe they should just make an Almighty Defenders show which would be cool.

The Black Lips are also playing a few other festivals this summer, including Pitchfork Fest and Seattle's Capitol Hill Block Party. The band was recently featured on the soundtrack of the Gael Garcia Bernal & Diego Luna film Rudo Y Cursi, which came out in May. That disc includes contributions by Devendra Banhart, Juana Molina (who's playing tonight, July 8th, in Central Park) and even Bernal himself. Album art and tracklist for that below.

Bernal is hardly the only actor getting into music these days. Dead Man's Bones, the combo of actors Zach Shields and Ryan Gosling, is set to release a self-titled album, produced by Tim Anderson of I'm A Robot, October 6th on Anti-. Silverlake Conservatory Children's Choir, who you can see below, also pitched in vocals. Two videos of the band are below.

You can catch a different kind of supergroup in NYC at the Bowery Ballroom on August 1st. Dangerous, an "All Metal Tribute To Michael Jackson," features members of Tragedy (the "Heavy Metal Tribute to the Bee Gees" who are playing the Beach at Governors Island this summer) and the 2 Skinnee Js. Tickets to that are on sale now.

And if that's not enough...

Members of Led Zeppelin, Foo Fighters and Queens of the Stone Age are working together on a new project...The as-yet-unnamed supergroup unites Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones, Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme, and lead Foo Fighter (né Nirvana drummer) Dave Grohl. The trio are presently in Los Angeles, recording their debut album.[Guardian UK]

John Paul Jones also recently worked with Sonic Youth.

Check out Almighty Defenders videos, album art and tracklist, with Rudo Y Cursi album info and Dead Man's Bones videos, below...

Continue reading "Supergroup day continues: Zeppelin/Grohl/QOTSA, Almighty Defenders (Black Lips+King Khan), Dead Man's Bones, more"