by Andrew Sacher

California X

I just caught California X down in Austin for SXSW, and their set was one of the most memorable shows I saw -- much more intense than the already-good record. So it's exciting to know that they'll be back on the Northeast live circuit this spring. They have a few April shows scheduled, including one in NYC which happens on April 26 at Death by Audio. Cali X play third in a lineup of four, which is headlined by DOM and includes openers Moss of Aura (aka Gerrit Welmers of Future Islands) and Spires. Admission is $8 at the door.

All dates are listed, along with a video of Cali X at SXSW, below...

Continue reading "California X playing shows (one with DOM and Moss of Aura)"

Montreal duo Blue Hawaii will release their debut album, Untogether, next week (3/5) via Arbutus Records. That's the cover art above. Alex Cowan and Braids' Raphaelle Standell-Preston have crafted a lovely record, airy with skittering beats and Raphaelle's otherworldly harmonies. (Aphex Twin covering the Cocteau Twins is an apt, if reductive, description.) You can check out a couple tracks below and stream the entire album at Pitchfork.

Blue Hawaii, who are little more of a party live than on their new record, will spend much of this spring on tour, starting in Austin for SXSW. The pair will then hit the road for a few dates with their Arbutus labelmates Doldrums on the West Coast, followed by a stint opening for Purity Ring. While none of those dates hit NYC, Blue Hawaii will be here next week, having been added to Andrew WK's show at 285 Kent on March 6 that also features DOM, Cities Aviv and DJ Dickpic. Tickets are $16 but include an open Brooklyn Brewery bar.

All dates are listed below...

Continue reading "Blue Hawaii streaming 'Untogether,' added to Andrew WK's 285 Kent show, playing SXSW and other dates"

Andrew W.K.'s Super Bowl 2013 halftime show at Santos (more by Dan Bracaglia)

If you live in NYC and want to see Andrew W.K., the question isn't ever really "when will there be a show?" as much as it's "which one should I go to?" with pretty much new Andrew W.K. shows popping up by the minute. He just did a Super Bowl halftime show at Santos and has a slot at upcoming pop punk festival Skate and Surf.

But this upcoming 285 Kent show on March 6 that he just scheduled is looking like one of his cooler appearances in a while. That venue's been hosting some pretty great bills lately, and for this one, Andrew W.K. will be joined by DOM, CIties Aviv, Dickpic (aka the collaborative project of DJ Dog Dick and Pictureplane), and Cool Serbia. That should make for an all-around crazy night and tickets to be part of it are on sale now.

Andrew W.K. will also be at IFC Center on February 28 (323 Avenue of the Americas) for a screening of David Lynch's The Elephant Man. Not sure what he'll be doing, but he'll be there.

All dates are listed below...

Continue reading "Andrew WK playing more shows, including one in Brooklyn w/ DOM, Cities Aviv, Dickpic, and Cool Serbia (dates)"

The Well, located at 272 Meserole Street in Brooklyn, regretfully reports that our show featuring Brazilian rock legends OS MUTANTES (previously scheduled for July 28) has been indefinitely postponed due to artist illness.

We greatly regret any inconvenience this cancellation causes. For all ticket buyers who purchased tickets via credit card, your purchase will be refunded automatically over the next few days. If you run into problems with this refund or purchased a ticket with cash, please follow up with us via email at refunds@thewicknyc.com

M.A.K.U. Soundsystem, DOM, and Citay were also scheduled to play the cancelled Well show, and we assume then that the Other Music Os Mutantes show will also be cancelled.

by Bill Pearis

Os Mutantes at Webster Hall 2010 (more by Ryan Muir)

As we mentioned briefly, Brazilian psychotropical legends Os Mutantes are among the first bands to play new outdoor Bushwick venue/beer garden The Well which opened July 14 with a show by Cam'ron ond other hip-hop acts. OS Mutantes' show at The Well happens July 28 with M.A.K.U. Soundsystem, Dom and Citay on the bill as well. Tickets for that show are still available. You can also get tickets at Other Music, who will host an acoustic in-store with Os Mutantes on July 30 at 8PM which is free but limited admission, obviously, as it's a tiny space. These are the band's only upcoming shows at the moment.

The great NYC record store has a long history with the band. Some of you may remember Other Music had their own reissue label, Omplatten, which reissued Os Mutantes' first three albums back in '99. (They were the first three things Omplatten released.) Those records have since been reissued by Polydor, but the Everything is Possible! compilation released by Luaka Bop (also in '99) is a great place to dip your toe into the weird, wonderful technicolor world of the Sao Paulo combo. It's on Spotify.

A few vintage Os Mutantes television performances are below.

Continue reading "Os Mutantes playing Other Music in-store and The Well"

"The police call it "the Well" -- this block of Knickerbocker Avenue, between Troutman and Jefferson Streets, that has become the most notorious drug bazaar in Brooklyn and one of the toughest in New York City."
[NY Times, 1992]

It's been some time since we heard much about The Wick (260 Meserole St.), the forthcoming Bushwick, Brooklyn music venue located right down the street from The Acheron, and the Wick is still not open, but it is still coming (as you can see on its website).

Meanwhile welcome beer hall and event venue The Well, located at 272 Meserole St. (two blocks from the Montrose stop on the L line), which will be The Wick's larger and related neighbor.

Grubstreet posted this in April:

The Well is a "public house" ...with a 4,000-square-foot interior complete with 30-foot ceilings, and an 11,000-square-foot backyard. [Co-Owner Joshua Richholt] and partner Shay Vishawadia will offer 60 beers on tap and another 200 in bottles, with every brewery in New York State represented.

Richholt is excited about the space itself, a "huge old brewery circa 1875," with "great German architecture" in the form of intricate brick work and steel girders, "a lot of detail nobody bothers to do anymore because it's so expensive." The building's street was once known as "brewery row" and home to seventeen suds factories; the great part now is that Riccholt expects it to be pretty immune from noise complaints. "It kind of becomes a ghost town at night," he said.

The Well's 11,000 square foot private outdoor space, the venue tells us "is designed to serve as a meeting place for the neighborhood, offering public activities, community events, sports and more year round." They go on to say that "talent booker Chris White, the former showcase director of the CMJ Music Marathon, will bring some of the world's best known and most beloved performing artists to THE WELL with a lineup of pop, rock and hip hop artists as diverse and as talented as Brooklyn itself. Reasonably priced tickets offer the casual concert goer the opportunity to sample a few of THE WELL's 300+ beers on offer." Chris White is also, as mentioned back in 2011, booking the smaller venue The Wick which has the same owners (Chris also used to work at Knitting Factory).

The Well will host its inaugural show, a hip hop one, with Cam'ron (who was recently was a surprise guest at the Drake show in Jones Beach), Flatbush Zombies, Asaad & Reese, and more on Saturday, July 14. Doors are at 4:00pm, Show is at 5:00pm, 18 and over to enter. Tickets are on sale.

Tickets are also on sale Os Mutantes, M.A.K.U. Soundsystem, DOM, and Citay on 7/28, the 12th Annual Rumblers NYC Car Show, and Ty Segall & Thee Oh Sees on 9/22. More shows to be announced soon. More Ty Segall & Thee Oh Sees tour dates HERE.

photos by Alyssa Tanchajja

Fucked Up @ Brooklyn Night Bazaar

We had a busy first-half-of December. Not counting business-as-usual and the many metal shows BBG throws on a regular basis, Brooklynvegan put together four big shows (relatively speaking). We started the month off with G-Side/eXquire/Cities Aviv @ Glasslands, continued at Music Hall of Williamsburg with Anna Calvi/Eleanor Friedberger/New Moods, then did Fucked Up/Dom/Big Troubles/Caged Animals/Radical Dads @ Brooklyn Night Bazaar, and finished it off Twin Sister/Widowspeak/Ava Luna style at Bowery Ballroom.

Here's a second set of pictures from the Bazaar show (which was one night before The Hold Steady/Titus Andronicus played there). They continue (sans Radical Dads) below...

Continue reading "more pics from BV night @ Brooklyn Night Bazaar (Fucked Up, Dom, Big Troubles & more)"

today in NYC
* Yo La Tengo @ Maxwell's
* Yuka Yamamoto @ The Stone
* Miki Gavrielov, Lily Henley @ Le Poisson Rouge
* Ben Holmes, Karen Waltuch, Reuben Radding, Uri Sharlin @ Barbes
* Pey Dalid, Moshe Hecht, Ta Shma (Occupy Chanukah) @ Knitting Factory
* Hanukkomedy w/Sandy Marks, MC Mr. Napkins, Todd Barry, Janeane Garofalo @ 92YTribeca

Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas!

The year-end special of MTV show "Weird Vibes" is out. Filmed in Times Square during a fake New Year's Eve, they count down some of the year's best videos with help from special guests that include The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, the Drums, Vivian Girls, the Beets, Dom, and Jake Fogelnest. Check it out below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Saturday? (Christmas Eve) "

photos by Erik Erikson; words by Bill Pearis

One night after James Murphy and other DFA peeps occupied the Kent Ave space, Friday night was the BV Presents evening of programming at the Brooklyn Night Bazaar, a ridiculously huge warehouse space that was home to holiday shopping, food vendors and rock music. I was taken aback by how big the performance space was, which had room for at least a dozen picnic tables, a half-pipe (nobody skated Friday night that I saw), and three bar areas, including a mezzanine.

Despite it being an enormous concrete box, sound was quite good and lighting was better than 90% of NYC's venues, and there were very cool video projections that mixed real-time footage of the show with vintage stock footage. As a person who actively avoids Terminal 5, I would frequent this space as-is if it were a real venue.

The evening kicked off with Radical Dads who were just terrific even though they had to play at 7PM. I really do think their spirited '90s style indie rock one of this city's best kept secrets, and their album Mega Rama is one of my favorites of 2011. And they're a great live band.

It was a fun evening all around. Caged Animals sounded terrific and Vincent Cachionne is an engaging, intense frontman who provided the night's confetti quotient. Big Troubles played a short, tight set that stuck mainly to the high points of this year's Romantic Comedy (of which there are many), and Dom were in top party-rock form.

The most fun for myself was getting to DJ with Frankie Rose in between bands. We decided to go song-for-song which is a fun competition, trying to find something that goes well off what the other person just played. This did lead to some fun, weird places, like me playing The Human League's "The Things Dreams Are Made Of" directly before Fucked Up took the stage. These things have a mind of their own...it made sense at the time.

Fucked Up were, as usual, awesome. They basically had just gotten off the plane from their stint opening for the Foo Fighters in Australia but if they were jetlagged you couldn't tell. Damien told the crowd it was great to be in front of people who were there to see them. We got a little over an hour set, which included their spirited cover of "Jingle Bells" which you may have seen them perform on the Anthony Bourdain holiday special and will be available this week as their side of a split 7" with Sloan. Stuff that in yer stocking.

Thanks to everyone who came out. Click through for lots more pics from Friday night's fun.

Continue reading "Fucked Up, Dom, Big Troubles, Caged Animals & Radical Dads played Brooklyn Night Bazaar (pics, review)"

By Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Parlovr - Heaven/Hell (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Atlas Sound - Terra Incognita (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Atlas Sound- Te Amo (MP3)

Parlovr at M for Montreal 2011

It's that time of year again, so let's sing it up real pretty. Are we all in the spirit? Better be, because there's a zillion holiday parties going on this weekend, including two thrown by this very blog you are currently reading. How these parties differ from the shows we go to the rest of the year? Only a Scrooge would ask such a question. But to answer it: there's maybe more strand lights. And some Christmas songs thrown in sparsely by DJs or as covers by the bands playing. And some snowflakey sweaters. Whatever you call it, there's lot of great music to go see this weekend. Here's some of it.

Montreal's Parlovr are visiting, playing two shows. Tonight (12/15) they play the Popgun Holiday Party at Glasslands and then tomorrow (12/16) at Mercury Lounge with Shout Out Louds offshoot thing Serenades.

I'm on record as being a fan of this trio who I most recently saw at this year's M for Montreal. I'm not sure any of their records have quite captured the band's live energy, which is why you should go see them. But the recorded version of my favorite song, "Hell/Heaven," comes pretty close. You can download it above. Live, there's lots of flying hair (via singer/guitarists Alex and Jeremy) and flying limbs (lanky drummer Louis) that fits well with Parlovr's spiky indie rock. The band have recorded a holiday track called "Spike the Eggnog" which judging from the video (you can watch below) the spiking involves something much stronger than whiskey.

The Popgun Holiday Party tonight looks to be a good time, with Bell and TWII-faves North Highlands playing as well. There's also a "+ Special Guest" listed as well, no idea who that might be but the Popgun folks usually don't throw around that phrase too lightly.

Serenades

Tomorrow's show is with Serenades which is a Swedish super-duo consisting of Adam Olenius from Shout Out Louds and Markus Krunegård of Laakso. Their album Criminal Heaven is out next year in the U.S. and is chock-full of sparkling pop that seems aimed directly at the charts. It's slicker than Shout Out Louds (Laakso were pretty shiny, though they sang in Swedish) but still maintains that sharp melodic sense and shaggy, sad-eyed lyrical bent. You can download a track at the top of this post. Serenades also play tonight (12/15) at Knitting Factory.

Brooklyn Bazaar

There's also the Brooklyn Night Bazaar which runs tonight through Saturday. The enormous space (40,000 square feet!), the layout of which was based on the set of Lars Von Triers' Dogville (!!!), is a holiday shopping, eating, drinking and live music extravaganza as you have probably already heard. Tonight (12/15) is James Murphy DJing, along with Poolside, the Crystal Ark Party Machine and Midnight Magic. Saturday night (12/17) is The Hold Steady, Titus Andronicus and Wakey! Wakey!

Friday (12/16) is the BrooklynVegan Presents night with a SPIN Album of 2011 winners Fucked Up, plus Dom, Big Troubles, Caged Animals, and Radical Dads. Frankie Rose and myself will be spinning tunes before the bands start and between sets. And only $10, so that's only two bucks a band. What a bargain! Tickets will be available at the door too. I am DJing starting at 5PM, Frankie will be there from 6PM and bands start at 7PM, with Radical Dads up first. (Then Caged Animals, Big Troubles, Dom, and Fucked Up.) If you're coming, do make an effort to get there in time for them, they're awesome. As are all the bands on the bill I think. Shop, eat, rock out, eat and shop some more, rinse repeat. Say hi.

Frankie Rose

In addition to DJing our party tomorrow, Frankie Rose is also playing an acoustic set at Glasslands on Saturday (12/17) as part of a Jonathan Toubin benefit that also features Xray Eyeballs, K-Holes and The Stalkers. Frankie Rose's new album, Interstellar, is out in February and I think will surprise a lot of people. She is definitely out of the garage on this one, ditching the reverb and embracing synthesizers, jangly guitars and her inner pop star. Like a lot of folks this year, The Wake seems to be an influence. Fans of Craft Spells are gonna like it.

As previously mentioned, Frankie will debut her new record and new band at the Knitting Factory on February 21.

And to wrap up BV holiday party related items, Saturday's fest with Twin Sister, Widowspeak and Ava Luna is sold out! Hope you got tickets! If you're going, we're raffling off a load of cool prizes -- like every Domino release of 2011 -- with all proceeds benefiting Toys for Tots.

Atlas Sound

And last but not least we've got Atlas Sound here for two shows this weekend:The Bell House on Saturday (12/17, tickets still available) and Bowery Ballroom on Sunday (12/18, sold out). Andrew Sacher wrote about Atlas Sound's new album Paralax a few weeks ago which I'm gonna quote:

The flow of the album subtly works in the slower, more ambient cuts to space out the relatively high amount (for an Atlas Sound record) of pop standouts. Like many pop experimentalists before him, Bradford Cox has mastered the art of leaving his own weird touch on even the simplest tune. This comes across most strongly on "Mona Lisa," a re-recording of a track that appeared on his Bedroom Databank collection. The song is carried by the sort of upbeat acoustic guitar rock that Bowie experimented with on Hunky Dory, and Bradford sings with a fragile falsetto that brings to mind Lennon's "#9 Dream."

I'll add that Parallax has a post-2AM vibe to it and some of Cox's best songs yet. It also reminds me, a bit, of Spoon too.

That's the big stuff. Some more picks, day-by-day, follow.

Continue reading "Parlovr, Fucked Up, Dom, Frankie Rose, Atlas Sound, Serenades, Jonathan Toubin & more in This Week in Indie"

By Bill Pearis

One could argue (and we did, in our story on the band in the January-February issue!) that Fucked Up's rock opera David Comes to Life was uniquely resonant upon its June release because of the emotional synchronicity between an album that spilled forth with such an appropriately chaotic narrative and a year in which tumultuous disarray became the norm. But good lord, David Comes to Life could've been sung in backwards Tagalog and it still would've made perfect sense in 2011. That's the power of a gang of punks playing with Olympian levels of passion and purpose. [SPIN]

SPIN publishes it's year-end issue next week, naming Fucked Up's David Comes to Life as 2011's best album. The top ten also includes EMA, Wild Flag, PJ Harvey, Lykke Li and more. The entire SPIN Top 50 Albums of 2011 is at the bottom of this post.

As you hopefully know, Fucked Up will be performing this Friday (12/16) at the BV-curated night of this weekend's Brooklyn Night Bazaar, a full evening of music that also includes Dom, Big Troubles, Caged Animals, Radical Dads, as well as Frankie Rose spinning tunes. Tickets are only $10 and still available.

There's a lot more Fucked Up news actually. Tonight (11/12) the band will be guests on Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations Holiday Special, which also features Christoper Walken, Norah Jones and a lot of extremely non-vegan cooking (though the Vegan Black Metal Chef is also a guest). Maybe Fucked Up will play in Bourdain's fridge, like Das Racist did on last year's Holiday Special.

Next Tuesday (12/20) in the band's hometown of Toronto, Fucked Up will perform David Comes to Life in its entirety, with proceeds going to charity. (PS I Love You, The Sadies and Quest for Fire also perform.)

Fucked Up are also releasing a split Christmas single with Sloan, with proceeds benefiting the COUNTERfit Harm Reduction Program and the Barriere Lake Legal Defense Fund. Fucked Up's side is their take on "Jingle Bells," while Sloan tackle "The 12 Days of Christmas" (which is streamable below). Only 500 are being printed -- maybe they'll be some at the merch table this Friday?

The band have also announced the release of 2012's annual Chinese New Year single, "Year of the Tiger," which is out February 21. The 15-minute track features guest vocals from Austra, Duchess Says' Annie-Claude and Jim Jarmusch, which Matador claims is "MAYBE THE BEST THING FUCKED UP HAVE EVER RECORDED" but being their record label they're prone to such proclamations. But maybe it is.

Click through for a just-released video of "Turn the Season" plus video of the band performing "The Other Shoe" on Canada's George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight show, as well as the entire rundown of SPIN mag's Top 50 Albums of 2011...

Continue reading "Fucked Up named Album of 2011 by SPIN, on 'No Reservations' tonight, playing Brooklyn Friday, releasing Christmas single w/ Sloan & 'Year of the Tiger' single"

by Bill Pearis

DOM @ Pier 54 (more by Chris La Putt)

Last week when we announced the 12/16 BrooklynVegan Presents holiday show with Fucked Up at Brooklyn Night Bazaar there was still one band TBD. Well it turns out here that the "D" in TBD stood for Dom. Yep, we're pleased to announce the poppy Worcester, Mass quintet round our our five band line-up. You can stream the entirety of Dom's still fresh Family of Love EP at the bottom of this post.

So let's recap. Here's what you're getting for your very reasonably-priced $10 ticket: Fucked Up, Dom, Big Troubles, Caged Animals and Radical Dads, plus Frankie Rose (and myself) spinning tunes. Brooklyn Night Bazaar is a three-day holiday shopping, eating, drinking and music extravaganza all under one roof, just a few blocks from the Bedford L stop (specifically 149 Kent Ave at N.5th St.). It's free to get in the shopping area; getting into the shows is extra.

In addition to our night, on Thursday, December 15 it's a headlining DJ set from James Murphy, plus the Crystal Ark Party Machine, Poolside (who were recently added too) and Midnight Magic; on Saturday, December 17 it's The Hold Steady plus Titus Andronicus, Wakey Wakey and W/O. For those curious about the shopping and eating side of things, a full list of vendors is here. Hope to see you there.

Click through to listen to Dom's new EP, and check out the Brooklyn Bazaar flyer.

Continue reading "Dom added to Fucked Up show at Brooklyn Night Bazaar"

By Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Idiot Glee - Trouble at the Dancehall (MP3)

Lexington, Kentucky's Idiot Glee is back in town, playing three shows this weekend: tonight (12/2) at Cake Shop with Devon Williams; tomorrow (12/3) at SUNY Purchase with Yacht and Dom; and then Sunday (12/4) at Cameo with Celestial Shores and Phillip Seymour Hoffman (the band, not the actor).

If you have yet to hear Idiot Glee's album Paddywhack, which takes '60s pop styles and smushes them like a half-remembered dream, you can download standout track "Trouble at the Dancehall" at the top of this post and stream the whole record at the bottom of this post. Says Tiny Mix Tapes:

There is a sense both of harmony in the broadest sense -- a textural and gently mouldering oneness -- as well as a charmingly naïve solitude that brings to mind the classic figure of the outsider artist. It's in the integration of these tendencies, the tender cultivation of tendrils connecting internal and external, the sacred and profane, that Friley's nightbloom shyly emerges and thrives.

In addition to the album player below, you can also watch footage Bleary Eyed Brooklyn shot of Idiot Glee from one of their CMJ shows, as well as the "King of Baby Land" video.

Continue reading "Idiot Glee is in town, playing three NY shows"

photos by Tim Griffin, words by Andrew Sacher

YACHT @ Fun Fun Fun Fest

YACHT recently played Fun Fun Fun Fest and went on a tour with Yo Gabba Gabba. We've got another set of pictures from their set at FFF Fest in this post.

At the beginning of December, YACHT will kick off another string of dates that includes the previously mentioned NYC show at Santos Party House on December 3 with Parenthetical Girls and Midnight Magic. Tickets are still available.

Earlier that day (12/3), both YACHT and Parenthetical Girls will perform at Purchase College for 'House Our Queer Youth: A Benefit for the Ali Forney Center,' whose mission is to "protect the LGBTQ youth from the harm of homelessness, and to support them in becoming safe and independent as they move from adolescence to adulthood." The show also includes sets by DOM, MEN, DJ/Rupture, Tearist, Advance Base, Sam Mickens, Hilly Eye, and others. Tickets for the all ages show which is open to the public, are on sale now.

Updated dates and more pics below...

Continue reading "YACHT playing public Purchase show w/ Dom, MEN & more --- updated dates & more pics from FFF Fest"

photos by Dana (distortion) Yavin

Exactly a month ago, not long after they played Deluna Fest in Florida, Jane's Addiction came back to NYC to play two shows at Irving Plaza with Dom (yes, Dom strangely opened both shows). Here are some pictures from one of them (though none of Dom). They continue below...

Continue reading "Jane's Addiction @ Irving Plaza (belated pics)"

photos by Chris La Putt

DOM in the Puma Store

For CMJ, SPIN hooked up with the Puma store in Union Square to present a series of free in-stores. Wednesday's schedule included one of the three shows that The Duke Spirit played, one of Dom's many CMJ 2011 appearances, and even a set by Weekend (who played the BrooklynVegan official showcase on Friday night). This Puma commercial continues below...

Continue reading "bands like Dom, the Duke Spirit & Weekend played in a Puma store (pics)"

UMO @ the recent Vice party (more by Ryan Muir)

As just mentioned, both DOM & Unknown Mortal Orchestra will make appearances in the "SmartLounge" at Thompson Hotel in NYC during CMJ. Both artists also play a Pitchfork/Brooklyn Brewery-sponsored event at the Aloft hotel on Duffield Street in Brooklyn on Saturday, 10/22. Unknown Mortal Orchestra plays later that same night at Brooklyn Bowl with Givers, Free Energy and others.

In November DOM heads out on tour with Architecture in Helsinki.

Unknown Mortal Orchestra are still currently on your with Toro y Moi and will tour in Novmeber with Gauntlet Hair who are also coming for CMJ. All UMO dates below...

Continue reading "Speaking of DOM/Unknown Mortal Orchestra CMJ shows in hotels... "

photos by Tim Griffin

Dum Dum Girls @ the Mohawk

As previously mentioned, the Dum Dum Girls are touring with Crocodiles and playing shows that include October 21st at Bowery Ballroom and October 24th at Maxwell's.

The Bowery Ballroom show is part of CMJ, and Dum Dum Girls will also play at least three other shows while they're in NYC for the festival. We already mentioned their 10/20 KEXP Ace Hotel taping. They also play two other shows that day. They are the 1am special guest playing the Sub Pop showcase at Mercury Lounge that night, and before that they make an appearance at the Thompson Hotel as part of SmartLounge, a Wednesday/Thursday party that will also include sets by Unknown Mortal Orchestra, DOM, Small Black, Little Red, Araabmuzik, The Stepkids, Gotye and others. You need to download an app to get in. You'll also find more details at the link.

The pictures in this post are from a recent DDG show in Austin at the Mohawk (the one Mark Sultan also played). More of them, and all DDG dates, below...

Continue reading "Dum Dum Girls on tour, playing at least 4 CMJ shows (and Maxwell's), played the Mohawk in Austin (pics & dates)"

DOM @ Pier 54 (more by Chris La Putt)

DOM heads out on tour with Architecture in Helsinki in November, hitting Irving Plaza with LO-Fi-FNK along the way. You don't need to wait that long to see DOM again though. Saturday night (9/24) he shares a bill with Adventure, Vacationer, and True Womanhood at Glasslands in Brooklyn. All tour dates below...

Continue reading "DOM going on tour w/ Architecture in Helsinki, but first a Glasslands show (dates)"

The Dom show at Rockaway Beach today has been moved:

DUE TO SEVERE WEATHER, RCRD LBL ROCK-A-WAY SUMMER CONCERT HAS BEEN MOVED TO BROOKLYN

NEW VENUE: PUBLIC ASSEMBLY, 70 North 6th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11211, (718) 384-4586,
NEW TIME: 8PM - FREE Open Bar 8-9, 21+ Only will be admitted to venue
ADMISSION: FREE! - RSVP for Entry, Space for this Rain Venue is Limited, 21+ Only

Due to forecasted thunderstorms, hail and rain, we will be moving today's Rock-a-Way show to Public Assembly in Brooklyn to protect the safety of our fans and artists. The show will begin at 8pm with the same killer lineup featuring DOM, Sheen Bros (featuring Cosmo Baker & 4th Pyramid with Greg Nice) and DJ sets from BAIO (Vampire Weekend), Queen Majesty, Eli Escobar and RCRD LBL's very own Shakeyface. Must be 21+ to attend.

photos by Chris La Putt

DOM @ Pier 54

Dom, who played a free show at Pier 54 with Deer Tick earlier this month, is headlining a free show at Rockaway Beach AT PUBLIC ASSEMBLY (moved due to rain) on Sunday (today, 8/21). Sheen Bros (Cosmo Baker & 4th Pyramid plus Greg Nice) are also on the bill, and there will be DJ sets from BAIO (Vampire Weekend), Queen Majesty, Eli Escobar and Shakeyface. It's the second in a series of free RCRD LBL sponsored shows at the location. JEFF The Brotherhood played the first one. RSVP is supposedly required. The flyer, a couple more dates, and more unposted pictures from the 8/11 Pier 54 show, below...

Continue reading "Dom playing free show @ Rockaway Beach Sunday ---- dates & more Pier 54 pics"

photos by Amanda Hatfield

This summer seems to be the summer of ticks. Spend one hour outside in some tall grass and you are sure to have a tick crawling somewhere on your body. To make matters worse, as soon as you find one, you will no doubt have that creepy crawly feeling that they are all over you.

Minnesota has two species of ticks, the wood tick and the deer tick. Wood ticks are relatively harmless, while deer ticks can carry lyme disease and more recently, Powassan virus. [Echo Press]

Deer Tick played the final free 'Hudson River Rocks' show at Pier 54 on Thursday (8/11) with DOM and Translations. Pictures and a video of Deer Tick covering "La Bamba" are in this post.

Deer Tick also played a benefit for the Tommy Brull Foundation at Mulcahy's in Wantagh, NY one night earlier (8/10). There they played a two hour career-spanning set of thirty songs including covers of Nirvana, Chuck Berry, Sam Cooke, The Champs, and Lightnin Hopkins. Download MP3s of the entire set at NYC Taper.

More pictures and video from Pier 54 below...

Continue reading "Deer Tick played Pier 54 w/ DOM & Translations (pics), and a benefit in Long Island (full recording)"

words by Zach Pollack, photos by Grant MacAllister

a member of Cee-Lo's band

Day two of Lollapalooza 2011 began with a slight drizzle over Grant Park, but it didn't deter the determined early festival-goers from moving about the grounds. After a long Friday, I began Saturday over at the Sony Stage with an extremely tight set from Phantogram. What I assumed was a simple setup from listening to their albums, was actually a complex live rig which kept the trio extremely busy. How many times have you seen an electronic-tinged band who just cue samples all set? Phantogram are not that.

Up next on my schedule were Chicago hometown act Maps & Atlases (which unfortunately meant I missed Friendly Fires). Maps & Atlases drew a very large crowd to the Google+ Stage, which has my favorite area of the whole fest. There's no other stage opposing it, it's a bit smaller than most, and massive trees block out much of the blistering sun. What's not to like?

I then attempted to head back towards Music Unlimited for Fitz and The Tantrums, but that didn't seem to be in the cards due to some unexpected foot traffic. Instead I ate and then headed to the oposite side of the grounds to catch the Black Lips at Playstation. The crowd was enormous for the garage-rockers who usually play to a quarter as many people. A few songs in they pulled out "Family Tree," the opening track to their great Mark Ronson-produced album Arabia Mountain. In typical Black Lips fashion, singer/guitarist Cole Alexander threw up on stage without missing as much as a note, and almost all over the Lollapalooza film crew!

From there things just got more and more massive. I caught Death From Above 1979 for the second time this week, and it was just as thrilling and brutal. Kicking things off with the Y.A.W.I.A.M. staple "Turn It Out," the massive beyond massive crowd went completely insane. Not needing to see the full set, I rushed across the complex to catch a bit of Big Audio Dynamite. The reunited group opened with "Medicine Show," and continued to awe the crowd with "A Party." From there I ran to Google+ to catch the tail end of The Drums.

I walked in just as they were speaking about the release of their forthcoming record Portamento (coming out in the US on Frenchkiss). They then played its single, "Money." The band has definitely matured since I last saw them and they sounded super full live. Just to make my legs die a little bit more, I rushed back over towards Sony and Music Unlimited to catch Local Natives. As mentioned, it was the largest crowd the band had ever played to. Opening with "Camera Talk," as per usual, their live sound even surpassed their great recordings. Towards the end of their set, across the way at Unlimited, things started to fall into place for Cee Lo's set.

His band of attractive studio musicians took the stage sans Green around 6:30PM, and jumped into a short intro track. Complete with matching Gwar-like kinky warrior outfits (strange choice), Cee Lo and his band played to a massive audience, many of whom were camped out to see Eminem on the same stage. I left early, before the booing...

"The soul singer scored a huge crowd, but holding its attention seemed to be another matter. Dressed in shoulder pads topped with huge spikes and a chunky neck chain, Cee-Lo channeled his inner-dungeon master/Billy Idol; he even played an R&B-flavored cover of the 80s star's "Flesh for Fantasy." But the set was anything but smooth: Between tunes, which included Cee-Lo's own "Satisfied," "Bright Lights Bigger City," and Gnarls Barkley's smash "Crazy," he turned the spotlight to his DJ, who inexplicably spun Lenny Kravitz, Nirvana and Depeche Mode - a move that inspired boos from the crowd. "Don't you dare let this wonderful outfit go to waste," he said, palpably annoyed. But the irritation may have worked in his favor (and sent a subliminal message to his fans): On his closer, the Motown-inflected kiss-off "Fuck You," his voice sounded richer than it had all night. " [Rolling Stone]

By then I was over at Google+ for Lykke Li.

Li and her amazingly talented band were a perfect fit for the stage, and drew as many people as would fit in the area. They started things off with the haunting Wounded Rhymes track "Jerome," and continued in that fashion with "I Follow Rivers", "Sadness Is A Blessing" and other songs as My Morning Jacket started to set up for their headlining set over at Bud Light.

Jim James and Co. kicked off a two hour long set at 8PM. It spanned their entire catalog with crowd favorites like "Off the Record," "Touch Me I'm Going To Scream," "One Big Holiday," and much more. Songs were extended with jam sections, brass solos, etc. Their stage setup was absolutely massive, as was the lighting. That said, I snuck away back to the smaller Google+ to check out some of Beirut who was closing out that stage.

Zach Condon and band played mostly older songs in the more intimate setting, and though tight, I was craving some more My Morning Jacket and so headed back to finish off the night with Jim James.

Friday pictures HERE. Sunday on the way. B.A.D. pics HERE. More pictures from Saturday, Dom included, below...

Continue reading "Lollapalooza 2011 -- Day 2 pics & review (My Morning Jacket, Beirut, Cee-Lo, DFA1979, Lykke Li, Maps & Atlases & more)"

My Morning Jacket @ Bonnaroo 2011 (more by Graeme Flegenheimer)

KahBang Festival is returning to Bangor, Maine from August 5-14, with music on August 12 and 13 and the kickoff concert on August 6. Bands playing include My Morning Jacket, Lupe Fiasco, Grace Potter & the Nocturnals, Chromeo, Surfer Blood, Atmosphere, DOM, Lady Lamb the Beekeeper, and many others. Tickets are on sale now. Flyer below.

3-night camping passes are available too which include entry to the 2-day music festival, admission to the film fest, and entry to the campsite night stage (11pm-3am).

On the fence about going? WANT TO WIN FOUR TICKETS AND CAMPING??? We're offering the chance. Details on how to enter, with more details on the fest too, below.

My Morning Jacket play the festival during their August tour with Neko Case. Updated dates and contest details below...

Continue reading "KahBang Music Fest in Maine includes My Morning Jacket & more (WIN 4 TIX & camping) --- full lineup & more MMJ dates"

Thee Oh Sees @ Summerstage in 2010 (more by Dominick Mastrangelo)

Death By Audio lists tonight's show like this:

6.17 -$5- (doors are at 10pm for this show)
.??S
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.R?

Well, we may know at least one band on the bill. Thee Oh Sees play Brooklyn Bowl Saturday (6/18) but list "06-17 shhhhhhh...." on their website (thanks Maxim), so it's either them or there are two secret shows. Who do you think the other bands are?

Adventure, CO LA (Matt Papich of Ecstatic Sunshine), and Weekends were supposed to play Death by Audio Friday night, but that show was cancelled. Weekends will instead open for Dom at Brooklyn Bowl.

To add to the mystery, a "Surprise special guest" is also listed on the Saturday Thee Oh Sees Brooklyn Bowl show that Yellow Dogs, and Emil and Friends are also playing. Who's playing that one?

All Thee Oh Sees dates below...

Continue reading "secret show @ DbA Friday night? Thee Oh Sees? Secret band Saturday too? "