photos by Amanda Hatfield

Deradoorian @ Union Pool - 5/10/11

Deradoorian aka Angel Deradoorian of Dirty Projectors played a show with Hiro Kone at Union Pool in Brooklyn Tuesday night (5/10)...

"Deradoorian has just one five-song EP to her credit thus far, 2009's entrancing Mind Raft, plus a split single from earlier this year and some stray tracks (apparently the Dirty Projectors have been busy?). But her sound has evolved, and she has a sharp trio that's headed to the Animal Collective-curated ATP in England in a few days. They took the stage and played "Moon," the circular, hypnotic song that closes Mind Raft, and this completely fucked me up. At the end of that EP, "Moon" somehow bears witness to the four songs that precede it, focusing their most affecting traits into one six-minute spell. It is an end song. What's it doing at the beginning of the set? But when the full band blew in at a dramatic moment halfway through the song, all complaints were forgotten." [Village Voice]

Deradoorian's Brooklyn setlist is below. Deradoorian play the AC ATP in Minehead on Sunday which is the same day Tony Conrad plays the UK shindig. For a second I thought that was a lot of last minute traveling for Tony, but then I remembered he's not actually playing the Table of the Elements Fest in NYC this weekend - they're just showing a video of a show he played in 1996.

Hiro Kone next plays a show at Cake Shop on June 4th, with (her old band) Effi Briest and Pillars and Tongues.

In barely related news, Dirty Projectors' & Animal Collective's Domino label-mate Cass McCombs is currently on the road and plays a tour-ending show at Bowery Ballroom tonight (5/12) with Jana Hunter. Tickets are still available.

More pictures from Union Pool, below...

Continue reading "Deradoorian played Union Pool w/ Hiro Kone (pics & setlist), Cass McCombs plays Bowery Ballroom tonight"

photos by Lori Baily

"Equally enamored of darkly seductive vocalists like P.J. Harvey and Siouxsie Sioux and caustic, lo-fi production, Nika Roza Danilova stands alone on the modern musical landscape as Zola Jesus. Her records are both melodic and experimental as the classically trained former opera singer attempts to reconcile her disparate--and in some ways, opposing--influences: her affinity for '80s niche genres like power electronics and minimal synth, as well as mainstream pop singles. Danilova not only stumbles onto some bizarre points of intersection but manages a unique coherence on her debut LP, The Spoils, and recently released EP, Stridulum. Hard as it might be to believe given such artistic maturity, Danilova is still a 21-year-old student enrolled at the University of Wisconsin-Madison." [Minneapolis City Pages]

Sacred Bones Records brought Amen Dunes, Nice Face, Effi Briest and their current star, Zola Jesus, to Glasslands in Brooklyn on Saturday night (June 19th). Zola Jesus had just been in Toronto and will be back in NYC in July. More pictures from the Glasslands show below...

Continue reading "Zola Jesus, Effi Briest & Nice Face played Glasslands (pics) "

Marnie Stern will be one of the bowlers (but not one of the performers) at a Stereogum "Gumbowl" charity event tonight at Brooklyn Bowl. You can't watch her bowl yet, but you can go to the concert afterwards (that she is not playing)....

"While the doors have to be closed during the tournament in order to film it all for charitable posterity -- and be sure we'll present you with the footage -- we're celebrating afterward by throwing open the gates for a FREE CONCERT, headlined by Woods, and featuring an opening set from the 'Gum-beloved rising sextet Effi Briest, DJ magic from Ms. St. Vincent Annie Clark, and loitering by our celebrity bowlers, who may or may not still be wearing the sweet-ass bowling jerseys we're throwing on them. We want you there (if you're 21 or older (sorry, kids!))." - Stereogum

They had an RSVP for the concert part, but now they just say "THERE WILL BE SOME "TICKETS" AT THE DOOR! COME EARLY IF YOU WANT IN. DOORS OPEN AT 9PM". Brooklyn Bowl is a big place. The flyer is below.

Other charity bowlers include The Blow (who has a show coming up at Joe's Pub), Nick Islands Thorburn Diamonds (who has 3 NYC shows coming up), Alan Neon Indian Palomo (who has multiple NYC shows coming), and Tim Les Savy Fav Harrington (who has a scheduled Brooklyn show too). The full list of bowlers is also below.

If you want to catch Marnie Stern play live, her next show will be at Glasslands on Friday, June 18th along with White Hinterland, Anni Rossi, Translations and True Womanhood. It's not free, but you get a discount if you RSVP to that here.

Anni Rossi will also be playing Pianos the night before (6/17).

More info on the Gumbowl and flyers are below...

Continue reading "Marnie Stern bowls tonight (before the free Woods show), plays in June w/ Anni Rossi who has 2 upcoming shows"

Tickets are on sale for the show Zola Jesus is playing with Effi Briest, Nice Face, Amen Dunes, and who also has shows coming up at South Street Seaport and Terminal 5 (with Wolf Parade). Check out her brand new video for "Night", off her EP Stridulum, below...

Continue reading "new Zola Jesus video, Glasslands show tickets on sale"

tonight in NYC
* The Buzzcocks @ Irving Plaza
* Ricky Gervais @ the Theater @ MSG
* The Big Sleep (late) @ Mercury Lounge
* TBA @ The National's High Violet Annex
* Crooked Still, Gabriel Kahane @ 92YTribeca
* Elysian Fields, Doveman @ (Le) Poisson Rouge
* The Blow, Acrylics, Julianna Barwick @ Glasslands
* Nohow On, Pepi Ginsberg, Last Good Tooth @ Zebulon
* Team B, Landlady, The Relatives @ Knitting Factory
* Panda Riot, Midstates, The Twees, Daniel Klag @ Lit
* The Moog, The Photo Atlas, Morning Fuzz @ Studio at Webster Hall
* Drunken Sufis, Jookabox, The Whims, Birfday @ Cake Shop
* Greg Garing, Jacob Jones, Fletcher C. Johnson @ Southpaw
* Woods, MV & EE (Joshua Light Show Fest) @ Abrons Art Center
* Phosphorescent, High Life, Diamond Doves (early) @ Mercury Lounge
* Harvard Bass, These Are Powers, JDH & Dave P @ Santos Party House
* Laura Marling, Smoke Fairies, Pete Roe @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Milagres, Twi The Humble Feather, ArpLine, Mancino @ The Bell House
* Borrowed Eyes, Cavedweller, Gregory Stovetop, Racetrack @ Bruar Falls
* Francis and the Lights, Penguin Prison, Ryan Holladay @ Bowery Ballroom
* Everybody Was In The French Resistance...Now!, Les Sans Culottes @ Union Hall
* Big Troubles, NT, Knight School, My Teenage Stride, Creeptables @ Death By Audio
* Beach Fossils, Midnight Masses, Mon Khmer (Deli's Best of NYC Fest) @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Blitz The Ambassador, Das Racist, Mazzi and Sneakas, Dash Speaks, NSR @ (Le) Poisson Rouge
* The Click Clack Boom, Cavalier Rose, The Shake, Midnight Spin (Deli's Best of NYC Fest) @ Public Assembly

The Big Sleep, returning from a hiatus, play a free show tonight at Mercury Lounge.

The Blow returns tonight too.

Phish is on Fallon tonight.

The Deli Magazine's Best of NYC Fest kicks off.

A video of The Tallest Man on Earth playing his tune "King of Spain" in Manhattan's High Line Park (check it out this weekend!) is posted below. Pictures from his most recent NYC show are here.

Effie Briest played Union Pool last night. Video from that show below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Thursday?"

by BBG

Blank Dogs at South Street Seaport (more by Chris LaPutt)

Pendu presents: NY EYE & EAR FEST III
...a massive Annual Music and Arts Fete showcasing some of the most exciting bands, artists, and filmmakers currently living and working here in NYC. In addition, NYE&E assembles a Record Fair featuring NYC-based Record Labels and Vendors selling LPs, CDs, 7?'s, cassettes, lathes, comics, zines, stickers, and art prints. NYE&E exists to facilitate the introduction of new artists placing them side-by-side with the more well-known like an eclectic living mixtape of sound and vision. This is a festival for discovery - discover new bands + discover new art + buy new records + meet new people...

The title of the fest is inspired from the 1964 NY Eye & Ear Control soundtrack by Albert Ayler as well as the all-too-familiar signs seen daily in the subway tunnels by riders of the L-train of the infamous NY Eye & Ear Infirmary.

2009's NY Eye & Ear Fest happened in July of last year and featured performances from Magik Markers, Liturgy, Drunkdriver, Child Abuse, and tons of others. This year, the fest will spread over two days (May 22-23) at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn and will feature appearances from Blank Dogs (one of two NYC shows in May, the second being May 12th at 131 Chrystie St.), Liturgy, Twin Stumps, Effi Briest, and others on the first day, with Xeno & Oaklander, Figure Study, Naam, Freshkills, Effing, and others rounding out day two. Full lineup by day is below. Get your tickets for day one or day two or both. Stream songs from every band on the bill at the Eye & Ear site.

Show flyer, full lineup and some vids are below.

Continue reading "NY EYE & EAR FEST III is coming to Brooklyn (lineup, tickets)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Beaters - Fishage (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Nodzzz - True to Life (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Dom - Jesus (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Golden Girls - Newports (MP3)

The Soft Pack @ Cake shop in Feb (more by Gabi Porter)

The Soft Pack are here again, the first real shows in town they've played since releasing their debut album on Kemado: tonight (3/31) at Maxwell's, tomorrow (4/1) at Mercury Lounge, and Saturday (4/3) at Music Hall of Williamsburg. I've seen these guys a zillion times (and written about them nearly as much) but they remain one of my favorite current live acts. That said, I'm just a tad bit more excited about the bands who they've brought with them on tour: Nodzz, Beaters, and Male Bonding.

Geeky, funny, tuneful Nodzzz were relatively quiet in 2009 -- at least compared to some of their San Franciscan brethren -- touring early in the year and only releasing one single. Mind you, it was an excellent one, "True to Life," which made by Best of the 2009 list. They're bound to have a new record in the works,  so hopefully we'll get a bunch of fresh tunes.

Beaters

Beaters, from The Soft Pack's hometown of San Diego, are signed to Zoo Music, the label run by husband/wife duo Brandon of Crocodiles and head Dum Dum Girl, DeeDee. If you're familiar with their roster at all, you'll have a pretty good idea what to expect: dark, over-caffeinated, paranoid, heavy on the reverb. You can check out their single "Fishage" at the top of this post.

The Music Hall of Williamsburg show adds UK punks (and Sub Pop signees) Male Bonding who also play with The Smith Westerns and So Cow on Sunday (4/4) at Mercury Lounge.

Golden Girls

Two bands from Worcester, Mass are here this weekend -- Dom and Golden Girls. -- who play together tomorrow (4/1) at Pianos and then on Monday (4/5) at Cake Shop.

Of the two, I find Dom a little more interesting. There's some of that fifth-generation cassette tape chillwave sound going on, no doubt (which I'm getting a little waterlogged from frankly).  But they've got some good songs under that hiss (check out "Bochicha" on their MySpace) and appear to play real drums and guitars (as well as crappy old synths) so I have hopes that their live show will prove less gauzy.

Golden Girls are more straight-up indie rock, a duo on recordings but are a four-piece live. Raucous and on the sloppy side,  and with a single about cigarettes, you can draw a line from Golden Girls back to the Replacements pretty easily. They've only got two singles out so far, and I'm definitely curious to hear more.

A few more picks, by night, to take you through the weekend, along with tour dates and videos and stuff, below...

Continue reading "Beaters, Nodzzz, Best Coast, Ash, Abe Vigoda, Dom, Dum Dum Girls, Golden Girls, Soft Pack & more in This Week in Indie"

Abe Vigoda @ The Smell in October (more by Rachel Carr)

If you happen to be in L.A. on Saturday, February 7th, "No Cancer: A benefit for our Friend's Mom" will be happening at a "secret" location (e-mail for info, below). Playing sets will be No Age, Vivian Girls, Abe Vigoda, Cowabunga Babes, Best Coast, Nodzzz, Darker My Love and others. A flyer and how to get info on the venue are below.

If you're in NYC, Abe Vigoda visit March 31st for a show at Mercury Lounge with Effi Briest and Cloud Nothings (who have plenty of dates coming up, listed below). Tickets are on sale now.

That show is sandwiched between dates Abe Vigoda opens for Vampire Weekend in March and April. Before those, the band plays the West Coast and Texas in early March with Lovvers.

All tour dates are below...

Continue reading "Abe Vigoda playing cancer benefit w/ Vivian Girls & No Age in LA, touring w/ Vampire Weekend, playing NYC (dates)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Dinosaur Feathers - Early Morning Risers (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Hospitality - Betty Wang (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Acrylics - Molly's Vertigo (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Beach Fossils - Vacation (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Family Portrait - Mega Secrets (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Darwin Deez - Bad Day (MP3)

Cymbals Eat Guitars

It's hard to believe online indie record store Insound has been around for ten years. Actually it's just hard to believe 1999 was a decade ago, but the calendar says it's so. Insound is also based out of NYC, so we're lucky enough to be invited to their 10 year birthday party tonight (8/27) at Brooklyn Bowl featuring a hard-to-pass-up line-up of local talent: Cymbals Eat Guitars, These Are Powers, The Drums, Real Estate and at least one band yet-to-be-announced (sort of). $10 gets you in the door and there's free Brooklyn Brewery beer from 6 - 9.

Effi Briest

Another very good option in Williamsburg tonight (8/27) is happening at Glasslands, featuring Effi Briest, Mahogany, and Free Blood (but not Deradoorian). The all-girl Effi Briest are in the same spooky, rhythm-heavy realm as the Life Without Buildings or the Slits (and maybe just a little Siouxsie). They've got a split 7" with Telepathe that's out now and they're working on their debut album as we speak. Mahogany, whose new line-up now (nine-strong according to their Myspace) seems to have been nailed down with the addition of former Dirty on Purpose bassist DJ Boudreau, will hopefully be playing some new material as it's been three years since their fantastic Connectivity. Free Blood bring a surprising amount of heat for such a minimal sound, thanks to the chemistry between ex-!!! John Pugh and Madeline Davy. And rounding out the bill are (The) Tony Castles who share a member with Boogie Boarder and are about to hit the studio with Jake Aron (Chairlift, Yeasayer, Acrylics).

Acrylics

This weekend is the After the Jump Festival which happens Friday - Sunday at Gowanus art space/venue Littlefield. ATJ is a group of bloggers that puts on events throughout the year, but this is the third year for their multi-day event and every night is pretty solid featuring some of the best new bands in NYC and a few from out of town. The full schedule and flyer is at the bottom of the post but I'll highlight a few from each night.

Friday (8/28): I have yet to see sound-collage dance act Javelin but I do like their records and am curious to see how they pull it off live. It's also their last show possibly November, so get in while you can. You can also catchy buzzy Florida band Holiday Shores (more on them below), indie pop royals My Teenage Stride, and the beachy Dinosaur Feathers.

Saturday (8/29): Philly's Free Energy (not to be confused with Free Blood) are a lot of fun if you have no problem with early '80s stadium rock or silly outfits. Despite a feeling I should know better, their live show and giant hooks won me over. Also: the Tom Waits-meets-garage-rock of Wild Yaks and the clattering, poppy Drink Up Buttercup. The night ends as a dance party with just-added Ninjasonik and the wacky Das Racist.

Sunday (8/30): Two of my favorite new NYC bands are playing on the early side. I've written a little bit about Acrylics before, but I've caught them three times over the summer and have been more impressed each time. "Molly's Vertigo," which you can download at the top of this post gives you a good idea of their sound, which is sort of '80s-ish with a dusty Southwest vibe, which maybe makes them a bit like the Rosebuds or Mirage-era Fleetwood Mac. Vocalists Molly Shea and Jason Klauber nail the harmonies and they've got an excellent pedal steel player. They're on at 8PM, don't miss them. Right before Acrylics are Hospitality, who I've written about before, are very charming live and don't play often enough. I haven't managed to catch them since May and am hoping for lots of new songs Sunday.

You can still buy discounted $25 passes for the whole shebang until Friday (8/28) morning. Individual tickets are $10 are night. There's also free beer each night from 6 - 7PM. Again, the whole After the Jump Fest schedule is below.

Holiday Shores @ Pianos in June (more by Tim Griffin)

More weekend recommendations. Fellow Brooklyn blogger Chocolate Bobka has put together a solid show at Cameo on Saturday night, with four bands that genuinely compliment each other. My previously-mentioned qualms with their vocals aside, Beach Fossils are hard to dislike and a lot of fun live. I've also been listening to the Holiday Shores (who also play the ATJ Fest the night before) dreamy, melodic debut, Columbus'd The Whim, a lot recently. It's a nice end-of-summer record. Connecticut's Sore Eros are pals with Kurt Vile and Gary War; and Washington DC's Family Portrait are part of the Underwater Peoples scene... Real Estate comparisons aren't entirely inappropriate and you can check out their song "Mega Secret" at the top of this post.

And also Saturday, there's an early show (7PM) at Glasslands featuring Phantogram, a duo who, for lack of a better term, are kind of trip-hoppy but in a '00s sort of way (breakbeats but no John Barry or Morricone samples). Chilled, atmospheric, but still danceable. Their debut album, Eyelid Movies, is a pretty good listen. Also playing are Savoir Adore who I've probably written about enough lately, and Darwin Deez.

Full After the Jump Fest schedule, some Flyers and music videos below...

Continue reading "Insound Party, After the Jump, Holiday Shores, Effi Briest, Beach Fossils, Phantogram & more in This Week in Indie "

Dirty Projectors @ Williamsburg Waterfront 7/19 (more by Chris La Putt)

Dirty Projectors played the second of the summer's Jelly NYC Pool Parties at the Williamsburg Waterfront/East River State Park. That series still has two more shows to go, with Girl Talk headlining next weekend (Aug 23) and Grizzly Bear closing it out (Aug 30).

Dirty Projectors have a set of European dates scheduled for September, which is when they'll be releasing a four-song UK-only EP for Temecula Sunrise. Included on that 12" single, out September 28th on Domino, will be two unreleased songs, "Ascending Melody" and "Emblem of the World."

UPDATE: They also have two shows scheduled for November.

UPDATE 2: Deradoorian is NOT playing Glasslands in August.

Dirty Projectors' Angel Deradoorian is playing as her solo project, Deradoorian, at Glasslands in Brooklyn on Thursday, August 27th with Effi Briest and Tony Castles.

All tour dates and EP tracklist are below...

Continue reading "new Dirty Projectors EP & a Deradoorian show coming up"

Remember Death By Audio's 12-hour benefit on July 25th for something called You Are Here: A Maze?

Sam Hillmer & Laura Paris, who dubbed their art collaboration Trouble, had the first You Are Here festival in 2007, at 44th street between Sixth Avenue and Broadway. Paris drew out the floor-plan of the maze, while Hillmer, who plays tenor saxophone for the Zs, booked bands to play in the space and coordinated efforts to bring people inside to interact with the maze.

"It didn't seem like the kind of thing that could just sit in a gallery, it needs constant traffic," Hillmer explained. "That is the piece, people dealing with the situation [presented by the maze]."

This year's festival, scheduled for Spetember 10th through October 2nd, will take up the entire space of Death by Audio and feature a maze constructed out of salvaged doors from Built It Green, a nonprofit organization that sells surplus building materials. The space will also have woodchip-covered floors ("to reference mazes built out of bushes," Hillmer notes). The twists and turns of the venue will be littered by some 200 of Paris' sculptures, molded from some of her pieces and then cast repeatedly. [Greenpoint Gazette]

According to the promoter, "Medium and genre vary and overlapping and simultaneous performances are frequent, each performer establishing a different corner or dead end as his or hers." Sounds fun.

The preliminary lineup (aka almost a month's worth of shows at the venue while the maze is up) mixes interesting out of town names (Calvin Johnson, Ty Segal, The Coathangers) with local acts like Skeletons (as 'Skeletons and the Kings of All Cities'), Mick Barr (he is local right?), Extra life and Stars Like Fleas. Full lineup to be announced soon but more of it is below, along with video footage of the first Maze (starring Dave Longstreth, Thee Oh Sees and others), and other details and the flyer for the new Maze...

Continue reading "Death by Audio maze installation running Sept 10-Oct 2 (Skeletons, Mick Barr, Calvin Johnson, Extra Life, Ty Segall)"

DOWNLOAD: Loto Ball Show - I Can Be Your Eyes (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Loto Ball Show - I Chose You (MP3)

Silver Apples @ ATP in Minehead, 2007 (more by Zach Dilgard)

Sponsored by Gifted Children Records, the US Tour will put two strongly-outsider groups under one roof for a perfect night of "what the fuck?" harmony. Loto Ball Show will be touring to support their new LP, Levy on the Eyeway, out June 17th on Gifted Children Records, which has left critics speechless... or more so scared to tackle. "Bizarre to say the least... Like Arto Lindsay singing for The Contortions, or Gilbert Godfrey fronting the Birthday Party with Lora Logic....?" [PR]

They play Knitting Factory in NYC tonight (June 24). Effi Briest, Tall Firs, and Dragging an Ox Through Water are also on the diverse bill. All dates below...

Continue reading "Silver Apples & Loto Ball Show - 2008 Tour Dates (tonight)"

Kyp Malone @ BAM Cafe, Brooklyn - Feb 15, 2008 (aberger915)

Effi Briest @ BAM Cafe, Brooklyn - Feb 16, 2008 (john q)

Continue reading "'Brooklyn Next' continues Feb 20-24, 2008"

February 15-- Brooklyn Next--Black Rock Coalition: Power Douglas with Dragons of Zynth and Tunde Adebimpe & Kyp Malone (TV on the Radio)
February 16-- Brooklyn Next--JellyNYC: White Rabbits with Miss Fairchild and EFFI BRIEST
February 22-- Brooklyn Next--Soul Summit Music with Special Guests DJ Spinna and Strafe
February 23-- Brooklyn Next--Soul Summit Music with Special Guest Danil Wright
February 29-- Black Rock Coalition: Earthdriver and Swear On Your Life

Those are upcoming events at the BAM Cafe in Fort Greene. Info on Kyp Malone's Valentine's Day dinner party below...

Continue reading "Kyp Malone cooking dinner, playing BAM Cafe w/ Tunde "

Celebration @ Bowery Ballroom, NYC - Nov 28, 2007 (CRED)

One down, two more Celebration shows to go. Celebration & Holy Fuck remixed each other. Listen and download, below....

Continue reading "Celebration played Bowery Ballroom, 2 shows to go"