photos by Amanda Hatfield and Chris La Putt; words by Bill Pearis

Archers of Loaf / Crocodiles / the scene at 4Knots 2012

Even though the fire that broke out on the deck at the South Street Seaport Mall was certainly the most memorable act of the day, the Village Voice 4Knots Festival was a fine time at South Street Seaport, loaded with good performances amid the smoke and oppressive humidity. There was a big crowd for this second year of the fest, much bigger than last year, and though there wasn't a headliner the size of, say, Steve Malkmus or M.I.A. or Spoon (like they had at Siren in years past), that seemed by design in these post-Drake years. I like every band that played the main stage.

Well, I don't know anything about the first two bands who played the main stage -- The Smiling Lies and Fast Years -- who played before I got there at 1PM and seemed to be on by contractual obligation. Nick Waterhouse made a good, friendly primer for the day with his vintage, baritone sax-fueled '60s soul and R&B, looking dapper in a white oxford shirt that had to have been hot on stage. I prefer him in a tiny sweaty club to a big outdoor fest (I can say that about most bands) but he had the sweaty part down.

Bleached were up next and while we've yet to get an album from these girls, the crowd seemed to know most of their set of hook-laden poppy, punky, curled-lip songs. Hospitality were up next -- almost exactly a year ago they played to about 60 people at the Fulton Stall Market across the street from the Seaport, and they've come a long way since. Most of the crowd was bobbing along to much of their Merge debut... at least till the fire cut their set short.

After the smoke cleared it was Crocodiles whose new album Endless Flowers finds them branching out of strict JAMC love into brighter, poppier corners. They were probably the most animated band of the day with Brandon Welchez definitely playing up the rock frontman gig to the hilt. Crocodiles also inspired the only crowd surfing I saw on Saturday (but I might have missed some).

Speaking of animated, The Drums were up next. Once known for their Bring It On as an indie rock band, tambourine-tossing fabulousness, they are now a real live rock band with little in the way of backing tracks. While I think their most recent album was pretty good, and they sounded tight, they are a little on the subdued side live these days, or at least have been the last two times I've seen them. I think I liked them better live when they mostly pretended to play their instruments.

I was wondering if a lot of the crowd might leave after The Drums' set but, nope, everyone stuck around for recently-reformed '90s indie rock royalty Archers of Loaf. I'll admit I was never the biggest fan -- that was my college roommate, who seemed to get mail-order daily from TeenBeet, Merge and Simple Machines while I scoured import racks for Ride and Blur EPs -- but I certainly absorbed a lot through osmosis and the hit-filled set ("Web in Front," "Wrong," "Plumb") was even recognizable to this casual Archers listener. My friend Chris, a giant Archers fan, dubbed their performance "awesome."

Meanwhile on the Skipper's stage, we got mischievous Montreal band Doldrums, the twangy retro rock of Devin, punk-ish rockers Team Spirit (featuring Ayad of Passion Pit) and Delicate Steve whose set was also cut short due to the fire. And the afterparty went down in Beekman Beer Garden where things got wild during Black Lips' set.

More pictures from 4Knots are below...

Continue reading "4knots Festival in pics (Archers of Loaf, The Drums, Crocodiles, Bleached, Hospitality, Nick Waterhouse and more)"

Doldrums at NXNE 2012 (more by David Andrako)

You should know at this point that the free 4Knots Music Festival happens this Saturday (7/14) at South Street Seaport with a bunch of bands including Archers of Loaf, The Drums, Crocodiles, Hospitality, Bleached, Doldrums, and more. For Doldrums (aka Airick Woodhead), who take the Skippers stage at the early hour of 1 PM, the festival serves at the first of two NYC shows that he'll play that day. Later that night, he'll play a show at the recently opened all ages Williamsburg venue, Muchmore's (2 Havemeyer St. @ N9) with Zula, Celestial Shore and Austin Vaughn. This one's not free (but it's only $5), though it's probably a much more appropriate (smaller, darker) place to catch Doldrums.

As mentioned, Doldrums will be back in NYC to open for Austra at Music Hall of Williamsburg on September 19. Tickets for that show are still available.

You can also catch Zula, who plays Muchmore's on Saturday, in NYC tonight (7/13) at The Rock Shop with Sean0Sean, Missions, Lean Hounds, and Field Theory. Tickets for that show are available.

All dates are listed below, along with the video for "Copper Girl"...

Continue reading "Doldrums playing Muchmore's in Brooklyn after 4Knots (dates)"

After teasing folks with a few names here and there -- like Run DMC most recently -- Austin's annual Fun Fun Fun Fest (Nov 2 - 4) has revealed it's full line-up, including Public Image Ltd, De La Soul, Superchunk, Santigold, Refused, X peforming Los Angeles, and lots, lots more. 3-day passes go on sale at 10AM CST.

Full FFF Fest lineup is below.

Continue reading "Fun Fun Fun Fest full lineup (De La Soul, Refused, Fucked Up, Public Image Ltd, Santigold, Sharon Van Etten, Rakim, X, Converge, Japandroids & more)"

As you know, Siren Fest replacement 4Knots goes down at South Street Seaport this Saturday. Here are the times:

Main Stage
12:15 p.m.: The Smiling Lies
12:30 p.m.: The Fast Years
1:30 p.m.: Nick Waterhouse
2:30 p.m.: Bleached
3:30 p.m.: Hospitality
4:30 p.m.: Crocodiles
5:30 p.m.: The Drums
6:30 p.m.: Archers of Loaf

Skippers Stage
1:00 p.m.: Doldrums
2:00 p.m.: Devin
3:00 p.m.: Team Spirit
4:00 p.m.: Delicate Steve

Afterparty at Beekman Beer Garden (not free)
7:00 p.m.: doors
?:?? p.m.: DJ Jonathan Toubin
?:?? p.m.: Kid Congo Powers + The Pink Monkey Birds
?:?? p.m.: The Black Lips

Nick Waterhouse also has some other shows coming up.

Continue reading "free 4Knots Music Festival is Saturday (set times)"

Doldrums at NXNE last week (more by David Andrako)

As mentioned, Austra scheduled a few North American shows later this year including a NYC show on September 19 at Music Hall of Williamsburg. Tickets for that show are still available. All dates are listed below.

Since we last spoke, fellow Canadians Doldrums and Brooklyn's Zambri (who joined Bear In Heaven on stage last month at a MHOW show which Doldrums opened) were added as openers to Austra's MHOW show. The connections don't stop there though. Main Doldrums guy, Airick Woodhead, and his brother Daniel who sometimes drums live for Doldrums and has his own project called Moon King, were both members of the band Spiral Beach, whose lineup also included current Austra bassist Dorian Wolf.

Speaking of bands that include Austra members, TRUST (featuring Austra drummer Maya Postepski) have upcoming dates with Light Asylum, including two in NYC: Warm Up at PS1 on 7/7 with Nguzunguzu, Arca, and Todd Terry (tickets), and MHOW on 7/8 (tickets). All dates are listed below.

Doldrums is also a Grimes collaborator, has toured with her multiple times, and it looks like they're probably also good friends. Daniel Woodhead, in addition to sometimes drumming for Doldrums, drummed for Grimes too sometimes on her recent tour. Grimes has a lot of NYC shows coming up, including four sold out shows and a free one at River Rocks on Pier 84 on August 9 with Wild Nothing and DIIV.

Doldrums will also be in NYC next month for 4Knots Music Festival.

Daniel Woodhead's Moon King project does not have any upcoming NYC appearances at the moment, but he was here a good amount of times last year, including when he played with Dope Body and Hume last summer. Hume just played the official BV Northside showcase. Hume and Dope Body's friends Roomrunner just played Cake Shop and have other NYC shows coming up including one this Friday (6/22) at the Bell House with Diamond Rugs and Richard Buckner, and a free show with Dan Deacon and John Maus at Pier 84 on July 12.

All lists of dates below...

Continue reading "Doldrums & Zambri opening for Austra & other stuff"

FYF Fest. September 1st and 2nd, 2012
At the LA State Historic Park, Los Angeles, CA
Tickets are $77 and go on sale Friday June 22nd.

Quicksand recently reunited at Revelation Records' 25th Anniversary on the West Coast, and I would't be surprised if they do the same at Irving Plaza in October.

American Nightmare has two shows coming up at Webster Hall.

Full FYF lineup, in alphabetical order, below...

Continue reading "FYF Fest 2012 lineup: Quicksand, Refused, American Nightmare, Desaparecidos, M83, Hot Snakes & MUCH more"

photos by David Andrako

Yamantaka // Sonic Titan at The Garrison - 6/15/12

Like a Japanese Kiss, the self-described "Noh-wave" seven-piece were as much about the live spectacle as about their music, which oscillated between standard, straightforward rock and doom metal atmospherics. Not surprisingly, the band were better when they practised the latter, incorporating jabs of keyboard and harmonized group vocals into their full-bodied sound. They started weak -- plodding tempos and too-simple drumming did the band no favours -- but by the end, they'd won over the venue, using phrase cycling and repetition to build and release tension. -[Exclaim]

If you missed it, check out pictures from Thursday's shows HERE.

Continue reading "NXNE day 2 in pics (Yamantaka // Sonic Titan, Doldrums, Art vs Science, TOPS & more)"

Archers of Loaf at Bowery Ballroom in April (more by Joe McCabe)

We finally posted those Archers of Loaf Bowery Ballroom pictures yesterday, and then today this happens:

The Village Voice, the nation's largest alternative weekly newspaper, is thrilled to announce the Archers Of Loaf added to this year's The 4Knots Music Festival at the South Street Seaport, Piers 16 & 17 on Saturday, July 14, 2012 from 1:00 - 8:00 PM. Team Spirit, Doldrums and Devin will also join the bill, featuring The Drums, Crocodiles, Hospitality, Bleached and Nick Waterhouse. More artists to be announced.

The 4Knots Music Festival will expand this year to include Piers 16 and 17 with a second outdoor side stage confirmed. Expanding to Pier 16 will allow the 4Knots Music Festival to include more performers.

And speaking of Nick Waterhouse, he just played Mercury Lounge, but unlike as previously reported, will not be back to play Dekalb Market. 4Knots is his next NYC show.

Other free shows coming up at South Street Seaport are listed HERE. No official word on whether they'll be another 4Knots pre-show like there was with Ted Leo last year (but stay tuned).

The 2012 edition of Calgary, Alberta festival Sled Island is set to take place from June 20-23 at venues throughout the city. This year includes over 200 bands performing at 30 venues plus a large comedy schedule, film screenings, and art shows.

Sled Island 2012 will once again use outdoor venue Olympic Plaza as its main stage, featuring performances by Feist, The Hold Steady, Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks, The Dudes, Shabazz Palaces, Parlovr, and others.

Acts including Russian Circles, Hot Snakes, The Antlers, Boris, Thurston Moore, Willis Earl Beal, Trust, Yamantaka // Sonic Titan, Terry Malts, Neil Hamburger, How To Dress Well, The Evaporators (aka Nardwuar's band), DJ Jonathan Toubin, Hannibal Buress, Andrew W.K., Tim Heidecker, Archers of Loaf, and many more will be performing at various bars and venues. Check out the full lineup at the bottom of this post.

Festival passes, individual tickets for some clubs shows, and tickets for the Olympic Plaza events only are all on sale. The full festival schedule iwill be announced in June.

Full lineup and 2012 festival trailer below...

Continue reading "Feist, Stephen Malkmus, The Hold Steady and lots more playing Calgary's Sled Island Festival (full line-up)"

Tickets are now on AmEx, Chase and "Internet" presale for Metric's Radio City Music Hall show.

Talk Normal, Religious to Damn & ATM are playing Glasslands June 22. Tickets are on sale.

Tickets are still on sale for Unknown Mortal Orchestra's show with Doldrums and Field Mouse at Glasslands on 6/8. The show is part of a tour for UMO and Doldrums that also hits Mercury Lounge.

UMO also play Googa Mooga this weekend.

Tickets are on sale for Young Magic & Quilt's 6/28 show at Glaslands. Young Magic recently remixed Doldrums and also play Mercury Lounge on their tour with Quilt.

Though it wasn't in our last-posted list of dates, Zambri, who joined Bear on Heaven on state at MHOW (a show Doldrums opened), have a show coming up at Brooklyn Bowl on 5/23 with Caged Animals, and AIMES Tickets are on sale.

Tickets go on sale at noon for for Lemonade's big show.

The Musical Box, "the exclusive, authorized by Peter Gabriel, recreation of Genesis" are performing The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway with "all 1,100 original slide projections from the '74-'75 tour" this year. Tickets for an 11/23 show at the Grand Ballroom go on AmEx presale at noon. Regular sale starts Friday at noon which is also when you can get tickets for the 11/21 Wellmont Theater show.

The Felice Brothers are playing Brooklyn Bowl on 6/15 as part of the Northside Festival. Tickets are on sale.

Maybe the Felice Brothers will play one of Deer Tick's THREE curated Newport Folk Festival after-shows at the Newport Blues Cafe this summer. Deer Tick curated and play all three nights, July 27, 28 & 29, with special guests. All three just went on sale.

Tickets are still on sale for the Violens show happening at Le Poisson Rouge tonight (5/16).

DOWNLOAD: Doldrums - "Egypt" (Young Magic Redux) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Doldrums - "Egypt" (MP3)

Young Magic at Mercury Lounge in 2011 (more by Jessica Amaya)

Brooklyn psych poppers Young Magic and Boston psych folkies Quilt are teaming up for a psych-filled co-headlining tour this summer. The tour kicks off with a Brooklyn show on June 28 at Glasslands, and after hitting up other parts of the US and Canada, returns to NYC to wrap up the tour at Mercury Lounge on July 29. Tickets for the Glasslands show and the Mercury Lounge show are on sale now.

Young Magic also just remixed the Doldrums track "Egypt" off of his upcoming EP of the same name, due out June 4 via Souterrain Transmissions. Download the remix and the original above, and stream both below. Doldrums was just in NYC for two shows with Bear in Heaven and Blouse.

All dates and streams below...

Continue reading "Young Magic touring with Quilt, remixed Doldrums"

photos by Amanda Hatfield; words by Bill Pearis

Sensory Overload. That is how I'd describe Bear in Heaven's show at Music Hall of Williamsburg on Wednesday (5/9) night. There were '80s goth band levels of fog machine and a barrage of cool lights to go with it, both of which matched well to the bombastic space jams Bear in Heaven produce. Those big fat synths the band favors sound great really loud, as do drummer Joe Stickney's Miami Vice-style fills. I wish the new album, I Love You It's Cool, had the drums mixed that loud, it's definitely one of the signatures of BiH's live show.

They played Bowery Ballroom the night before, but the Music Hall show was the final night of the five-week tour promoting I Love You It's Cool, and playing before a neighborhood crowd the band were both punchy and pumped, especially singer John Philpot who was dancing even more than he usually does. The Zambri sisters hopped on stage to dance during "Reflection of You" and then sang -- as they often do at hometown shows -- on "Lovesick Teenagers."

Both openers on the bill made good use of the projection screen. Portland's Blouse had washed-out slow-mo imagery that looked like a Cocteau Twins album cover come to life which suited the band's rainy day dance music. Montreal's Doldrums played in front of what seemed to duped-over videocassettes, which is kind of what their music sounds like too, though the band (now a trio) sound more and more like a cohesive unit and less like the weird dabblings of Eric Asher every day.

More pictures from the show, with Bear in Heaven's setlist, below...

Continue reading "Bear in Heaven, Blouse, Doldrums played MHOW (pics, setlist)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Bear in Heaven - Sinful Nature (Anika With BestMate Remix) (MP3)

Bear in Heaven at Hotel Vegan party, Austin (more by Tim Griffin)

Just a reminder that Bear in Heaven wrap up their North American tour this week with two hometown shows: tonight (5/8) at Bowery Ballroom and tomorrow (5/9) at Music Hall of Williamsburg. Both shows are $15 with two solid openers: synthy Portlanders Blouse and Montreal's Doldrums. After these two shows, Bear in Heaven head to Europe for most of the summer -- all tour dates are at the bottom of this post.

Bear in Heaven last played NYC back in early March at Union Pool where they were billed as "Adventure Hippies":

...watching them play last night with waves of roto-toms and giant synth pads washing over us, it struck me what that is: the Miami Vice soundtrack (Jan Hammer, Phil Collins, Yello, Glen Frey, etc) condensed into one band, albeit one that also loves Yes and late '80s/early '90s techno. Which is a really strange combination, but Bear in Heaven make it work, due in part to excellent musicianship and that they clearly love playing. All three members (singer Philpot, bassist/guitarist Adam Wills and drummer Joe Stickney) let the O Face slip when they're in the moment, which, in their case, is endearing.

Openers Doldrums will tour with Grimes in Europe after their stint with Bear in Heaven wraps up and then head back this way for a string of dates with Unknown Mortal Orchestra, including June 7 at Mercury Lounge and June 8 at Glasslands. Those dates are at the bottom of this post as well.

Continue reading "Bear in Heaven wrapping up tour with Blouse and Doldrums"

UMO at Glasslands in 2011 (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

Psych poppers Unknown Mortal Orchestra, who were just announced on the lineup of the Great GoogaMooga, have also announced a short tour to take place this June in between their appearances at Sasquatch and NXNE. The tour is being supported by Doldrums and Vinyl Williams. It hits NYC on June 7 at Mercury Lounge and June 8 at Glasslands. Tickets for the Glasslands show are on sale now and tickets for the Mercury Lounge show go on sale Friday (4/27) at noon with an AmEx presale starting Wednesday (4/25) at noon. UMO will also play Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago this July.

Speaking of Doldrums (aka Alrick Woodhead), you can catch him in NYC even sooner when he and Blouse support Bear in Heaven on their upcoming tour which hits NYC on May 8 at Bowery Ballroom and May 9 at MHOW. Tickets for both of those shows are still available.

Check out UMO's relatively new video for "Nerve Damage" off their 2011 self titled debut and all dates below...

Continue reading "Unknown Mortal Orchesta & Doldrums announce tour dates"

Built to Spill at BV SXSW 2012 (more by Ryan Barkan)

The Hopscotch festival in Raleigh, North Carolina will celebrate its third year from Sept. 6-8, 2012 in downtown Raleigh, with 175 bands in 15 venues. The initial lineup, released today, runs the gamut from traditional indie favorites to punk to noise music to hip hop to noisy black metal and all stops in between, featuring performances from Built to Spill, sunn 0))), The Roots, The Jesus & Mary Chain (who played SXSW), Liars (who have a show coming up at Webster Hall), Baroness, Deerhoof, Death Grips (who play NYC soon and have new material on the way), Danny Brown (who was at Coachella and plays Prospect Park soon), Pallbearer (who play an exclusive East Coast Show soon), Screaming Females (who recently played NYC and are on tour now), Thee Oh Sees, The Spits (who just played NYC twice), Tenement, The Mountain Goats (two sets, one of which will be an all metal-covers set!) and so many more.

(and now we know the Jesus & Mary Chain are coming back soon)

Tickets are on sale. The full lineup and flyer (update: and a few more announced J&MC dates) are below...

Continue reading "Hopscotch lineup announced; Jesus & Mary Chain will be in NC in September; John Darnielle to do metal covers set "

Off! @ NXNE 2011 (more by Natasha Ryan)

The most memorable thing that happened the year I visited Toronto for NXNE was Iggy Pop & The Stooges playing their big, outdoor, free, no-ticket-or-badge-required show downtown at Yonge-Dundas Square. Last year the Descendents did it. This year they've landed the Flaming Lips which should be an amazing spectacle. And:

NXNE Music has confirmed that Bad Religion, Raekwon & Ghostface Killah and Matthew Good will headline free shows at Yonge-Dundas Square (YDS) throughout the seven-day festival. The NXNE Music line-up also includes performances at YDS and in the clubs by Of Montreal, No Use For A Name, Purity Ring, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Death Grips, The Men, Bleached, Good Riddance, METZ, Ceremony, Plants & Animals, The Death Set, The Sadies & Andre Williams, Oberhofer, Reigning Sound, Action Bronson, 2:54, Yamantaka/ /Sonic Titan, The Hundred in The Hands, Rival Schools, Killer Mike, Young Magic, Hayes Carll, Friends, Hollerado, Bran Van 3000, The Black Belles, Doldrums, Odonis Odonis, Mac DeMarco, Bass Drum of Death, Porcelain Raft, Exitmusic, Violens, Grass Widow, Eight and a Half, DZ Deathrays, Jonathan Toubin, Art vs. Science, B L A C K I E, The Nils and Ivan Julian (ex-Richard Hell & The Voidoids).

This year's fest takes place at multiple venues across Toronto from June 11-17, 2012. Tickets are on sale.

Last year BrooklynVegan co-hosted a boat party with M For Montreal and Bruise Cruise.

most photos by Amanda Hatfield, some shots by Zach Timm

Polica @ Hotel Vegan

In addition to hosting almost 100 bands on three stages for four days straight, BrooklynVegan's Hotel Vegan, located at Austin venues Hotel Vegas & Volstead Lounge, was a place where you could sip some complimentary HobNob Wines from noon-7pm each day. On Friday (3/16/2012), the third day of Hotel Vegan, we teamed with HobNob and The Original Moonshine for a big party that included the following, amazing FREE lineup:

Stage 1 (Hotel Vegas Outside)
12:00 Cold Showers
1:00 Polica
2:00 Youth Lagoon
3:00 Eight and a Half (members of Broken Social Scene & the Stills)
3:45 Django Django
4:30 Tennis
5:15 Light Asylum
6:00 The Black Angels

Stage 2 (Hotel Vegas Inside)
12:00 Lucius
12:45 The Big Sleep
1:30 The Twilight Sad
2:15 Eleanor Friedberger (of the Fiery Furnaces)
3:00 Widowspeak
3:45 TRUST
4:30 The Evaporators (Nardwuar's band)
5:15 DIVE

Stage 3 (Volstead)
12:15 Jennifer Castle
1:00 Daughter
1:45 Exitmusic
2:30 Doldrums
3:15 Zeus
4:00 Au Palais
5:00 Craft Spells

The Evaporators getting started @ Hotel Vegan

If you got your picture taken in our Smilebooth, make sure to look for yourself in the photos posted to our Facebook.

Special thanks to our official backline providers Vox, Blackstar and Korg, and thank you to NadaMoo for supplying free vegan treats, and to Honest Tea for the tea.

The Black Angels closed the day off right with a set of their 60s-influenced, psych rock n roll to an oferflowing house on the outdoor stage that saw a full crowd throughout the day thanks to names like Polica, Youth Lagoon and Tennis.

So many bands, so little time, so experience it with the pictures that continue below (and stay tuned for more on BV Austin)...

Continue reading "#HotelVegan Day 3 pics (BV, HobNob Wines & Moonshine presents) - Black Angels, Tennis, Youth Lagoon & MANY more"

As you know, BrooklynVegan is taking over ALL THREE STAGES at connecting Austin venues Hotel Vegas & Volstead for FOUR DAYS STRAIGHT this week, and it's all 100% FREE (no RSVP or badges either). There's a big outdoor stage, and smaller stages inside Hotel Vegas & Volstead. Collectively we're calling the four day long party "Hotel Vegan" (located at 1500 E. 6th St, Austin, TX).

Friday's party is presented with HobNob Wines, our official wine partner of all four days of Hotel Vegan, and The Original Moonshine, our official spirit partner on Friday and Saturday.

We announced Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday in full.
Here is Friday at Hotel Vegan (March 16, 2012):

Stage 1 (Hotel Vegas Outside)
12:00 Cold Showers
1:00 Polica
2:00 Youth Lagoon
3:00 Eight and a Half (members of Broken Social Scene & the Stills)
3:45 Django Django
4:30 Tennis
5:15 Light Asylum
6:00 The Black Angels

Stage 2 (Hotel Vegas Inside)
12:00 Lucius
12:45 The Big Sleep
1:30 The Twilight Sad
2:15 Eleanor Friedberger (of the Fiery Furnaces)
3:00 Widowspeak
3:45 TRUST
4:30 The Evaporators (Nardwuar's band)
5:15 DIVE

Stage 3 (Volstead)
12:15 Jennifer Castle
1:00 Daughter
1:45 Exitmusic
2:30 Doldrums
3:15 Zeus
4:00 Au Palais
5:00 Craft Spells

We will also have free vegan treats courtesy of NadaMoo! and free Honest Tea. Arlo's great Vegan Food truck, located right next door, will be at all four days of Hotel Vegan selling food.

Special thanks to all of our partners and sponsors for making this party possible - including Vox, Blackstar and Korg, our official backline partners.

--
The Black Angels (more by Dana (distortion) Yavin)

HobNob Wines offers free music content at its HobNob Inner Circle on Facebook. Join HobNob's Inner Circle to access exclusive downloads, editorial and info on upcoming events. Previously featured artists include Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, Saint Bernadette, The Antlers, Company of Thieves, Xylos, as well as The Black Angels and Polica who are both playing this party.

-----

Friday is just one of four full days at Hotel Vegan. Wednesday lineup HERE. Thursday lineup HERE. Saturday lineup HERE.

We also have THREE official BrooklynVegan showcases - Tuesday (which Alex Maas of the Black Angels is playing a song at), Wednesday, and Friday - and a Saturday metal day party at Lovejoys, AND a bridge show.

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Metz - Negative Space (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Teenager - Cops (But Not) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Daughter - Love (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Black Marble - Pretender (MP3)

Django Django

There is so much going on between now and Tuesday (2/13), I'm breaking This Week in Indie into two parts. Today you get Thursday, Friday and some of Saturday, then tomorrow will be Pt 2 with more Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. For those of you who aren't going to Austin next week (and I know most people aren't even if it seems otherwise sometimes reading the internet) you get a chance to sample some of the international action with bands from all over the world in town before (and after) the fest. I should warn you there are a lot of bands who spell their names with all-caps in the post. I am not shouting at you.

First thing, we're giving away a pair of tickets to Django Django's sold-out U.S. debut at Glasslands Saturday night which BrooklynVegan is presenting with Popgun Booking. For your chance to win, just send an email with your name and the subject DJANGO DJANGO to BVCONTESTS@HOTMAIL.COM and we'll pick a winner at random tomorrow. Remember, it's a late show (doors at 11:30PM) and you must be 21+.

I'm pretty psyched for this show. Their debut album is out now digitally (and on Spotify) in the U.S. and is one of my favorites of 2012: danceable, melodic, trippy and organic, owing more than a little to fellow Scots The Beta Band. (Go figure: main Django Dave Maclean's older brother John was in the Betas and The Aliens.) Says The Guardian:

Those worried that British guitar music has lost its ability to refresh old forms should pay heed to Django Django, whose debut album posits an updated psychedelia that beguiles and delights. Their foundations are a rickety, minimal take on the music of the immediate pre-psychedelic era - Hail Bop employs heavily tremeloed surf guitar; Default takes Bo Diddley's shave-and-a-haircut-two-bits beat and bolts on a jerky R&B guitar line - over which are laid skittering electronics and bleached, vibratoless harmonies, as if Django Django's four members were supplicants worshipping the desert sunrise. Yet it's also an exercise in clever restraint: drummer and band mastermind David Maclean often eschews everything bar his kick drum, floor tom, cymbals and tambourines, creating an amniotic throb.

Daughter

Playing Glasslands earlier in the night on Saturday (a separate show) is another UK act, Daughter, who also play an early show the night before (3/9) at Mercury Lounge and our Friday day party at Hotel Vegas at SXSW. Originally a solo project for UK singer-songwriter Elena Tonra, Daughter is now a proper band with electric guitarist (and Tonra's boyfriend) Igor Haefeli and drummer Remi Aguilella. The band just signed to Glassnote who released Daughter's new EP, His Young Heart, which is streamable at the bottom of this post. (You can also download the EP's closing track at the top of this post.) Fans of Sharon Van Etten, Mountain Man and other spooky folk acts should not miss them.

METZ at M for Montreal 2010

Backing up a bit to tonight (3/8) and shifting gears entirely, Toronto trio METZ make their NYC debut at Cake Shop. These guys make blazing, spazzy noise rock, reminiscent of Brainiac, the roster of Amphetamine Reptile, or McLusky. They're pretty excellent in their din, with enough form and hooks to grab hold of too. The band only have a few singles under their belt (all of which you can stream/download for free at their Bandcamp) but their debut album is in the can waiting for some lucky label to release it.

METZ are down visiting our city with their neighbors Teenanger whose debut album, Frights, is a 9-song, 20-minute kick in the head that may remind some of The Hives or The Intelligence. There's a lot of snarl and sneer, and the production is great -- clear but not slick. The whole of Frights is streaming over at Canadian website Exclaim!. You can also download a track above and watch a couple videos (both are pretty cool) at the bottom of this post.

Tonight's Cake Shop show, METZ and Teenanger are the first two bands on the bill so you might get out of there by 11 if you've got somewhere else to go. Tomorrow night (3/9), they both play Death By Audio with Pop. 1280 making for a very appealing, angsty bill.

TRUST

More Canadians in town, this time on the electronic tip: TRUST and Doldrums who play a late show tonight (3/8) at Mercury Lounge and an early show at Glasslands tomorrow (3/9). After that it's off to Austin (where TRUST is also on the bill of our Friday day party at Hotel Vegas), and then some West Coast dates, a few of which are with Blood Orange. All dates, including many SXSW-week appearances, are at the bottom of this post.

TRUST, a duo consisting of is Austra drummer Maya Postepski and vocalist Robert Alfons, make vaguely gothy/sleazy synth pop that you could imagine being danced to in warehouses in 1987. The sleaze is apparent with song titles like "Candy Walls," "Gloryhole" and "This Willing Flesh." Musically, I dig TRUST but Alfons sounds more than a little like Bill Hader's Vincent Price impression which makes the whole thing borderline novelty. Their debut, TRST, is out now on Arts & Crafts and you can stream it on Spotify. I bet it sounds great in a club, though, and will say the vocals are less egregious live, and will say I thought TRUST was good last year when I saw them open for Austra.

Doldrums

Doldrums is Toronto resident Alrick Woodhead who guests on Grimes' Visions and will soon be touring with Bear in Heaven. I've seen him perform a few times, like at M for Montreal where I wrote:

(Doldrums) was wonderfully ADD, twiddling knobs, hammering sample triggers and pacing around the stage. Too many ideas crammed into one 20-minute set? Maybe, but it was exciting seeing talent that is only just now beginning to show its potential.

The Glasslands show on Friday is also with Black Marble, a new musical venture from a couple of the Team Robspierre dudes that definitely falls in the minimal wave pigeonhole. Their Weight Against the Door EP came out last month on Hardly Art last month

TEETH

Later that night at Glasslands its a separate show, with UK electro rockers TEETH. TEETH's debut album, Whatever, came out last year on Moshi Moshi and garnered favorable reviews and comparisons to Crystal Castles and Ponytail. It's loud. It's squelchy. It sounds like being off your face which is probably the optimal way to listen to them. You can stream Whatever on Spotify. The show (doors 11:30) also has Extreme Animals, Nike7Up, and a DJ set from True Womanhood so be ready to go all night.

Okay that's the big stuff for TWII Pt. 1. Tomorrow we'll talk Charli XCX, 2:54, Razika, New Build and more. Below are few more day-by-day show picks for things not covered above.

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Computer Magic

THURSDAY, MARCH 8

It's a fun night of dancey electronic music when those Kitsune folks (they of the many Maison compilations) bring Gigamesh, Plastic Plates, Computer Magic, Perseus, and JDH to Santos.

Street Gnar, BITCHES, Radical Dads, and Newport Reds are at Shea Stadium

continued below...

Continue reading "Django Django, Daughter, METZ, Teenanger, TRUST, Doldrums, TEETH, Datarock & more in This Week in Indie"

DOWNLOAD: Bear in Heaven - "The Reflection of You" (MP3)

Blouse at 285 Kent earlier this month (more by Dominick Mastrangelo)

Blouse (who was recently in NYC to play 285 Kent) and Doldrums have been added as openers to Bear in Heaven's upcoming tour. That tour culminates in NYC with shows happening on May 8 at Bowery Ballroom and May 9 at MHOW. Tickets for both shows are still on sale. All dates are listed below.

Bear in Heaven's new album, I Love You, It's Cool (due out April 3 via Dead Oceans) is still streaming at 400,000% slower than actual speed at the band's website. They recently spoke to VICE about it...

VICE:Are any of your fans who were drawn in by the pop sound bewildered by this experiment? How's the overall fan response?

Bear in Heaven: So far the response has been great. Bear in Heaven fans can handle our artistic leanings. I read one thing on Twitter where a person asked if we were printing the drone on vinyl. He wanted to know so he could buy a new shelf.

Speaking of Doldrums, he's one of the guests on Grimes' upcoming album Visions, which you can now stream in full on NPR. The album is due out on February 21 in the US via 4AD. Grimes plays three NYC shows on her upcoming tour.

All dates and stream below...

Continue reading "Blouse & Doldrums added to Bear in Heaven tour; Grimes' new album streaming in full"

photos by Chris La Putt

Friends @ BV-CMJ @ Public Aseembly

Much like Dive (who they have played with), Brooklyn band Friends, who recently hit Mercury Lounge with Ganglians, aren't ones to make themselves rare around here and that will be proven four times in the next week. Catch them at Glasslands tonight (12/8) with Zambri, Royal Baths, Doldrums, Xray Eyeballs (that's some lineup), and then opening for Oh Land at Music Hall of Williamsburg on Sunday (12/11), at 285 Kent with !!! that same night, and then again with Oh Land at Bowery Ballroom on Monday. And then that's it for them (for now) until they tour Europe in February.

Friends were one of the many bands who played a BrooklynVegan CMJ day party at Public Assembly in October. Here are some pictures from that show. More of them below...

Continue reading "Friends dates & live pics ----- big party @ Glasslands tonight"

By Bill Pearis

Half Moon Run

As an "international delegate" at M for Montreal, by Friday you start to get a little worn out. Your day is booked with meet-ups, panels, something called "speed schmoozing" and loads of bands. Most of it's fun or interesting but I went to sneak a catnap on Friday afternoon and ended up sleeping through one whole showcase. (Sorry, I.No and Bobby Bazini.)

But there was a lot of good in what I did see, including what most agreed was the best new band of the week, Half Moon Run. The Montreal trio match songwriting (and harmonies) of '60s folk rock with the atmospherics of Radiohead. A little too like Radiohead occasionally, but for the most part Half Moon Run had found their own way. I was instantly impressed but it took me a day to get their name right: I tweeted praise for something called Full Moon Circle, which I later realized was partially from one of their songs "Full Circle." (That song and another are streaming at the bottom of this post.) Maybe the name's not so memorable but their music sure was.

Buddy McNeil and the Magic Mirrors

The afternoon show Half Moon Run were part of also featured Buddy McNeil and the Magic Mirrors, punchy twang-n-roll dressed in Nautical outfits; Toronto four-piece The Midway State who make commercial-sounding alt-rock (clearly talented but definitely MOR); and the widescreen roar that was Passwords, who all the Brit journalists in attendance seemed to go gaga for.

Hollerado

After the unplanned three-hour konk-out and some much-needed dinner it was off to La Sala Rossa again for the official evening showcase, which was co-presented by CMJ. Hollerado headlined the show and are a lot of fun. And know their way around a giant hooks, the kind that would've made them hugely popular in the mid-'90s. Songs like "Americanarama" and "Juliette" (from their debut Record in a Bag) would've fit perfectly in between "Seether" and "Sucked Out" on a mixtape. As it is, Hollerado are merely Very Popular in Canada and fans are vocal and rowdy in a good-natured way. The band encourage it with confetti cannons, glowing beach balls and a cover of "Fat Bottom Girls." They also had awesome t-shirts at the merch table co-opting the Wu-Tang Clan logo and the Heisenberg sketch the Cousins pray to in Breaking Bad.

Parlovr

The showcase also had Parlovr on the bill who I've seen a handful of times over the last three years and have become a really solid live band. There's a lot of flying hair and the drummer is crazy tall with long arms flying the whole time. I'm not sure they have yet to write a song as catchy as "Heaven/Hell" which opens their set. If they have, they're not playing it yet.

Uncle Bad Touch

Also on the La Sala Rossa bill: Montreal's Uncle Bad Touch who recently signed to JEFF the Brotherhood's Infinity Cat label and that probably tells you a lot about their sound. (Riffy, sneery, Nuggets-y party rock.) For those in NYC, Uncle Bad Touch play Death By Audio on November 29.

We also got duo TONSSTARTBANDHT who started off Animal Collectively but became progressively more prone to dissonance. I still don't know how to pronounce their name.

Doldrums

Like the previous night, they had us running across the street to Casa Del Popolo to see more bands. Toronto's Doldrums (aka Alrick Woodhead) was wonderfully ADD, twiddling knobs, hammering sample triggers and pacing around the stage. Too many ideas crammed into one 20-minute set? Maybe, but it was exciting seeing talent that is only just now beginning to show its potential.

Thus:Owls

The other band at Casa Del Popolo was Candian/Swedish combo Thus:Owls, the only band of the week to use a colon in their name. The band stay busy in Montreal, backing Patrick Watson and Marie Pierre Arthur (who would play the next night). Here, fronted by harpsichord-wielding Erika Angell, they are delicate and stirring and swoony. Angell's got some pipes.

Misteur Valaire

After the Salla Rosa show, we headed over to the late-night after party at Club Soda, one of Montreal's many amazing venues. (Seriously, no city I've visited has more clubs with great sound, great lighting and intelligent layout as Montreal.) I walked in about three songs into Plaster's set which was pretty great. Squelchy and banging, they do live dance music right. If there was a little more flow in their set, they'd give Soulwax a run for their money.

Next was Misteur Valaire who some of you may have seen at one of our day parties during SXSW this year. Seeing them on their home turf, however, is something else. Montreal loves Misteur Valaire who, like a lot of groups genuinely popular with the locals, come with a thick slice of fromage coating everything they do. They definitely put on a show, complete with costume changes. Hipster nerd Franco-Canadian boy band who have serious musical chops applied totally in the pursuit of a good time. The crowd was going mental for the entire set, which didn't finish till 2AM.

At that point I was finished and left before Bran Van 3000 started, choosing instead sweet sleep.

Click through for a few more pictures from Friday's showcases, plus the Half Moon Run streaming player and some video of Hollerado and TONSTARTSSBANDHT in action.

Continue reading "M for Montreal 2011 -- Night 3 in pics & review (Half Moon Run, Hollerado, Parlovr, Doldrums, Uncle Bad Touch, Misteur Valaire & more)"

by Andrew Sacher

DOWNLOAD: Doldrums - "I'm Homesick Sittin' Up Here In My Satellite" (MP3)

Doldrums is the moniker of Montreal artist Alrick Woodhead. His Empire Sound EP came out on October 31 via No Pain In Pop with six songs of urgent experimental pop not unlike Grimes, whose upcoming LP features guest work from Doldrums. Download the EP track, "I'm Homesick Sittin' Up Here In My Satellite," above, which sounds about as inexplicable as its title with organic sounding horns and drums thrown into an electro infusion. Watch the new video for EP track "Endless Winter" below. The EP is available as LP/MP3 at the No Pain In Pop webstore.

Doldrums is going on a tour in support of the EP which kicks off this Friday (10/4) in Toronto. He'll hit NYC on November 11 for the Brooklyn Electronic Music Festival and will stick around for another Brooklyn show at Cameo Gallery on November 12 with Prince Rama and Indian Jewelry. Tickets for the Cameo show are on sale now.

Doldrums is also releasing a split 12" with Portishead, the one first announced on Jimmy Fallon, which officially comes out on November 14 via XL Recordings. The 12" has Portishead's "Chase the Tear" on the A-side and Doldrums' cover of the song on the B-side. You can stream Doldrums' cover below.

All dates, tour flier, video and song stream below...

Continue reading "Doldrums released an EP, going on tour, is the b-side of the new Portishead single (dates, video & MP3)"

The Brooklyn Electronic Music Festival will take place across five venues (all of which are on N. 6th St in Williamsburg) this year, Music Hall of Williamsburg, Public Assembly, The Cove, Cameo, and Zablozki's from November 11 - 12. The lineup includes Four Tet (DJ set), Diamond Rings, Matthew Dear, Reggie Watts, Kingdom, Nguzunguzu, Daedelus, and more (with more TBA). Tickets are on sale now. The currently announced lineup is listed below.

Reggie Watts meanwhile plays NYU's Skirball Center tonight (10/23) and will appear as a guest at The Talent Show at Littlefield on October 26th.

Diamond Rings is releasing a limited edition 7" to accompany the European release of his debut LP Special Affections. The 7" features album track "You & Me" and a cover of Teenage Fanclub's "Mellow Doubt." You can stream that cover below.

Matthew Dear also plays Moogfest which takes place in Asheville, NC not long before BEMF.

Lineup and song stream below...

Continue reading "Brooklyn Electronic Music Festival 2011 -- 2 days @ 5 venues (lineup)"

Evan Dando at The Bell House (more by Graeme Flegenheimer)

Evan Dando & The Lemonheads have a few random upcoming dates scheduled. The Lemonheads will share a bill with The Canon Logic on April 28th at Maxwell's in Hoboken. Tickets are still available. You can also catch Josh Lattanzi of The Lemonheads at Bowery Ballroom on May 26 & 27 as part of the Bob Dylan tribute that will also include members of the Strokes, Hold Steady, etc, etc.

All other upcoming Evan Dando dates are in other countries at the moment, including a June 16th Evan & Juliana Hatfield show in Toronto for the NXNE festival which, like Brooklyn's own multi-venue festival Northside, recently expanded its lineup. Some of the other bands playing are in the title of this post. The rest are listed below.

All Dando-related dates and some videos below too...

Continue reading "Lemonheads playing shows, NXNE expands lineup (includes Descendents, Stars, Devo, OFF!, Juliana Hatfield, more)"