today in NYC
* stuff @ Barbes
* comedy @ Cake Shop
* Symbol @ The Stone
* Organ Trio @ The Stone
* Tool, YOB @ Mohegan Sun (CT)
* Skrillex, AC Slater @ Webster Hall
* Joe Henry, Marc Ribot @ City Winery
* Jeff "Tain" Watts @ Village Vanguard
* Philip Glass birthday @ Carnegie Hall
* Dry the River, The Loom @ Mercury Lounge
* Mitten, A Severe Joy, Genghis Hans @ Union Hall
* The Asteroids Galaxy Tour, Vacationer @ Irving Plaza
* Smith Westerns, Porcelain Raft, Bleached @ Webster Hall
* Dan Friel, Diamond Terrifier, GDFX, Rat Attack @ Zebulon
* EULA, Wild Yaks, Lost Boy?, Gross Relations @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Blouse, Cosmetics, The New Lines, Beige, Mosaics @ 285 Kent Ave
* La Big Vic, Soft Spot, Silent Drape Runners, Gifts For Burning @ Death By Audio
* Megafortress, Slava, Carlos Giffoni, When the Mountains Turn Blue, Joel Ford (DJ set) @ Glasslands
* Wordless Music Orchestra performing Johann Johannsson's score for Bill Morrison's "The Miners' Hymns" @ World Financial Center Winter Garden
* Union Pool Winter Charity Extravaganza w/ Born At Sea, Afraid of Whales, Man Benu, Ice Balloons, Sun Donna, Gregory Stovetop, Jared Samuel, Tim Kuhl, Minerva Lions @ Union Pool

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Union Pool will host a benefit tonight that will raise money for the Seamen's Society for Children & Families. Anchored by musical performances from Man Benu, Born at Sea, Afraid of Whales, Gregory Stovetop, Jared Samuel & Time Kuhl, Sun Donna and Ice Balloons, the night will also feature a bake sale and a raffle with prizes from local businesses like Main Drag, Ear Wax Records, El Diablo Tacos, Mikey's Hook Up, and many many more. All sales of Bud/Jameson will go towards the benefit, so get loaded for a good cause! Wouldn't mom be proud. $5 gets you in the door and with a single raffle ticket. Flyer below.

Eleanor Friedgerger, who announced some dates, some with Portlandia, has a new video for "Heaven". Check it out below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Tuesday?"

I hate writing year-end lists, as might be obvious to many long-time BrooklynVegan readers. That said, I also like them. They help organize things, which is related to my problem though. I'm too unorganized and hectic to ever get around to making one! But this year a few of us (BrooklynVegan contributors) got together and decided to come up with a collective list of albums that we loved that we think most represented 2011 in BrooklynVegan land. Our indie rock-centric list purposely does not include metal (that's HERE) or hip hop (we should make a separate list). With that in mind, our top 26 albums of 2011, in alphabetical order, are listed (with some commentary and a list of honorable mentions too) below...

Continue reading "BrooklynVegan's Favorite Albums of 2011"

photos by Amanda Hatfield

Eleanor Friedberger @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

You saw one set of pictures from this BrooklynVegan Holiday Party. Here's a second. More shots of Anna Calvi, Eleanor Friedberger & New Moods @ Music Hall of Williamsburg, below...

Continue reading "Anna Calvi, Eleanor Friedberger & New Moods @ Music Hall of Williamsburg -- (pics part 2)"

photos by Chris La Putt

Anna Calvi @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

Anna Calvi, visiting Brooklyn from the UK, headlined the BrooklynVegan Holiday Party at Music Hall of Williamsburg on 12/13. According 2 G was there and he (G) listed his ten reasons why you should always see Anna live, which you can read at his site. Anna played every song on her debut album which came out earlier this year and covered Edith Piaf and TV on the Radio. She definitely rocked the house (and played one of Bill Pearis's favorite shows of the year). One person is now wondering who is better at shredding, Anna or Annie Clark?

Eleanor Friedberger (who plays the venue again soon) and New Moods (who told us her favorite things from 2011) both opened the Tuesday night show and tore it up as well.

Thanks to all who came - $1.00 of your ticket was donated to Toys for Tots, and we raised even more from the raffle we were running in the lobby (thanks to Domino Records, Merge Records, Frenchkiss Rercords, Partisan Records, Beggars/Matador, Bowery Presents, Rocks Off, Brooklyn Bowl, Live Nation, Vice, and more).

More pictures and videos from the show HERE, and below...

Continue reading "BV Holiday party pics: Anna Calvi, Eleanor Friedberger & New Moods (part 1)"

Chain & the Gang @ Secret Project Robot in Feb (more by Harriet Roberts)

Like many other venues have been doing, Brooklyn's Music Hall of Williamsburg is hosting a Jonathan Toubin benefit which is taking place on January 12. The benefit's got a stacked bill including Chain and the Gang (whose frontman Ian Svenonius DJ'd a JT benefit at Zebulon on Christmas Eve), Eleanor Friedberger (who recently played the BV Holiday Party at the same venue), Shilpa Ray, Nicole Atkins, Two Tears, 5 Dollar Priest, Dorit Chrysler and Theremin, and An American Dream. There will also be DJ sets by JG Thirlwell (aka Foetus) and Jim Sclavunos (Bad Seeds/Grinderman) who both play the Here Comes the Warm Jets show at Joe's Pub in January and a DJ set by Mick Collins, who fronts The Dirtbombs, and whose other band The Gories are playing two shows in NYC this January. Tickets for the MHOW show are on sale.

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: New Moods - Playtime (MP3)

New Moods @ Swan Dive  (More by Tim Griffin)

We are last-minute shoppers at BrooklynVegan. In addition to G-Side TONIGHT (12/6), next week we've got three BV holiday shows and we're still adding bands to them. A week from tonight (12/13) is the first of them: Anna Calvi and Eleanor Friedberger at Music Hall of Williamsburg. We're happy to announce that New Moods will open the show. Tickets are $8, still on sale (though going quick) and one dollar of that will go to Toys for Tots.

If you haven't heard New Moods yet, the band features Billy Jones from Other Passengers and Melati Malay (who also is in Young Magic). You can download the a-side to their debut single, "Playtime," at the top of this post. The band mix a lot of disparate influences -- tropical pop, some definite techno/trance stuff going on in there too -- but the pieces fit together for a very danceable (and hum-able) whole. They played one of our day parties in Austin during SXSW this year, maybe some of you out there were there for that?

For those keeping score, the other two BV Holiday Parties next week are Fucked Up, Dom and more at Brooklyn Night Bazaar on Friday 12/16 and Twin Sister, Widowspeak and Ava Luna at Bowery Ballroom on Saturday 12/17. Tickets are still available for all of them as of this posting.

If you'd like to hear more New Moods, there's a couple more tracks you can stream at the bottom of this post. And if you'd like to hear even more, come to the show!

Continue reading "New Moods added to BV Presents Anna Calvi/Eleanor Friedberger show at Music Hall of Williamsburg"

Eleanor Friedberger @ MusicFestNW 2011 (more by Amber Andel)

Anna Calvi @ LPR in July (more by David Andrako)

I'm happy (very happy!) to announce that we've added Eleanor Friedberger (who will be playing with her full band) to the BV Holiday Party at Music Hall of Williamsburg on 12/13. We'll be adding at least one more artist too, but Eleanor will definitely play right before Anna Calvi (who Rough Trade just said put out the 14th best album of 2011). Tickets, which are only $8 with $1 of every ticket going to Toys for Tots, are still on sale but moving fast.

Tickets are also only $8 and still on sale for the Manhattan BV Holiday Party happening at Bowery Ballroom on 12/17 with Twin Sister, Widowspeak, and Ava Luna.

Tickets, though more than $8.00, are also still on sale for the BV-presented G-Side, Mr. Muthafuckin eXquire and Cities Aviv show happening at Glasslands on 12/6.

Eleanor is also making a solo appearance at the Party Machine Holiday Party at the Bell House on 12/8.

by Klaus Kinski

Reggie Watts, Lisa Delarios & Arden Myrin

And now for the good news that will hopefully serve as an antidote for the terrible news. Have you been one of the lucky and smart mofos who has managed to catch The Party Machine at one of its many appearances at Brooklyn's Union Hall? Those shows, hosted by Lisa Delarios and Arden Myrin, are always off the f-ing chain and always rife with incredible guests. RIFE I tells ya. Structurally, Union Hall can barely withstand the ruckus the Party Machine inflicts on the place, so on Thursday December 8th, The Party Machine will test The Bell House's mettle with The Party Machine Holiday Benefit for The Stiller Foundation.

The Stiller Foundation is a philanthropic effort led by Ben Stiller (never heard of him) whose aim is "to support children around the world by providing educational opportunities to help them realize their full potential." The line-up for this show is EPIC to say the least. Like, so epic that if you suffer from incontinence or heart murmurs, you might want to take some meds before reading on. So far, the published line-up includes Colin Quinn, Michael Showalter, Eleanor Friedberger, Ana Gasteyer, the gorgeous Bobby Tisdale, Seth Herzog (no relation to my nemesis), Andy Kindler (!) and Adira Amram and the Experience. And that's just the talent I am allowed to tell you about. I've heard whispers of special guests what would knock the socks off a shoe cobbler. And the show is only $10! Tha fuck?! I know! Get tickets for the comedy event of the century, and help Ben Stiller in his crusade to help kids who have it so much worse than you whining tarts could ever imagine.

And check this out; Arden's now on the ABC show Suburgatory and doing a pilot with Fred fucking Savage for MTV.

And while you've got your wallet out maybe you should get a coupla tickets to the previously mentioned Pretty Good Friends Holiday Show at the Bell House on December 11th featuring Eugene Mirman (please don't show those slaughterhouse pics again), Kristen Schaal, John Mulaney, and MORE. And when I say more, I mean "Damn, I should have bought a ticket when Klaus mentioned it" more. This show is a benefit for you, the ticket buying smarty-pants, who will get a massive dose of laughter which, I am told, is the best medicine.

Meanwhile catch Eugene Mirman, Dave Hill, Bobby Tisdale & Todd Barry at UCB East on December 5th. It's the Comedy Central Corporate Retreat show and Eugene will be giving a sneak peek of a pilot he made for the basic cable channel.

Todd Barry is filming a Comedy Central one hour special at Gramercy Theater four days earlier! Maybe you saw him practice the material at the Pit.

Oh, and don't forget that Ted Leo and the Pharmacists is playing the Bell House on December 30th. Tickets are still, inexplicably, available.

photos by Amanda Hatfield

Eleanor Friedberger & band @ Bowery Ballroom

"I'm going to try making another record on my own so I don't lose momentum. I'm just finally getting the hang of doing shows by myself and also shows with the new band, and I really love having that balance. I don't want to put all of that on hold to throw together a Fiery Furnaces record, because although I can't imagine my brother and I not making records for many years, I do think it's something we could do, say, 20 years from now and it would be almost the same thing. Because we're not a regular rock band where we have to keep up an image, it might be even more interesting to wait around and put out records when we're much older." - Eleanor

Eleanor Friedberger will play an early show at Le Poisson Rouge in NYC on November 19th, one of three US shows she has scheduled for that month. The other two are in Texas and are listed below along with more pictures from the CMJ show she played at Bowery Ballroom with Wild Flag...

Continue reading "more Eleanor Friedberger live dates & pics (and maybe another solo record in the near future)"

photos by Tamara Porras

Wild Flag @ Bowery Ballroom

"On Tuesday night, that act vacuuming up all the attention was Wild Flag, a new band comprised of members of old bands that sounds like the mean of those old bands, and also like many recent bands who have looked to those old bands for inspiration. (Got all that?)

The self-titled Wild Flag debut album was released last month on Merge and, in places, it's blistering. But only some of that tension came through during the band's set Tuesday night at the Bowery Ballroom. The singer Carrie Brownstein is still poignant, and still wry, and still handles her guitar authoritatively. While Janet Weiss, the drummer, was firm, she wasn't at her firmest. And sometimes the keyboard lines from Rebecca Cole appeared to have parachuted in from another concert up the block." [NY Times]

Continue reading "Wild Flag played Maxwell's, the Bell House & Bowery Ballroom w/ Eleanor Friedberger (pics)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Still Corners - Into the Trees (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Immaculates - Hey Joe Kelly (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Gospel Music - This Town Don't Have Enough Bars for Both of Us (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Radiation City - The Color of Industry (MP3)

Still Corners

I think Wednesday is my favorite day for CMJ day parties. You get a lot of good bands, but it's not insanely packed like the weekend shows. And this year, there are a lot of great Wednesday afternoon options.

Before we get into it, I would like to say that Spotify has been a giant help in checking out music from bands playing and if you have the service, I recommend using it. (If you don't, chances are someone you know has invites to give out.) Much easier than Googling for Bandcamp, Soundcloud or (heaven forbid) Myspace sites. Spotify doesn't have everything, but it has most everything. I've got a CMJ 2011 Playlist that I update when I find something new and interesting which you're welcome to check out.

[editor's note/update/disclaimer: Spotify has partnered with us on all BV CMJ events this year, but Bill did not know that when he wrote that above paragraph, so please no conspiracy theories!]

Anyway, day shows:

PICK OF THE DAY: Under the Radar party at Public Assembly has a line-up that is pretty hard to beat, including one of my favorite bands of late, Still Corners whose chilly, majestic debut, Creatures of an Hour, came out last week on Sub Pop. Check out an MP3 of new single "Into the Trees" at the top of this post and you can stream the whole album at the bottom. Public Assembly is good and dark, ideal for their trippy accompanying lightshow. Still Corners also play Public Assembly Wednesday night which must be nice for them not having to schlep their gear around. They also play tomorrow at our day party at Knitting Factory and then the Sub Pop showcase at Mercury Lounge that night.

Also playing at Public Assembly: Norway's super-fun Casiokids, Fiery Furnaces' Eleanor Friedberger (who maybe you caught last night with Wild Flag at Bowery Ballroom), the retro funk of The Stepkids (who also play our TBA Saturday party at Public Assembly), plus Chad Valley, Porcelain Raft. It's kind of a slam-dunk show.

The Immaculates

THEN AGAIN... the folks at Terrorbird Media have put together a pretty great show at Cake Shop. It kicks off with newish, shit-hot Brooklyn garage-soul band The Immaculates who are worth showing up early for. Check out an MP3 at the top of this post. Then it's Virginia's Eternal Summers who have really come into their own since expanding from a duo to a trio.

Gospel Music

Then it's Gospel Music which is Owen Holmes who used to be in CMJ 2007 buzz band Black Kids but now makes indiepop somewhere between Stephin Merrit and Jonathan Richman (which is a definite sweet spot for me.) Holmes got help from Hefner's Darren Hayman, Camera Obscura's Traceyanne Campbell and others on last year's Duets EP, but for his full-length debut, How to Get to Heaven from Jacksonville, FL,  he shares the mike full-time with fellow Jacksonville resident Madeline Long. Check out an MP3 of first single "This Town Doesn't Have Enough Bars For Both Of Us" and watch the video (which features his old Black Kids pals) at the bottom. Gospel Music's other CMJ dates are down there as well.

The rest of the Terrorbird line-up: Cloud Nothings, Mux Mool, Widowspeak, Teen Daze and Cubik Zirconia. That's a quality free show too folks.

Of course the nice thing about the Lower East Side is that every venue around there has a day show. At Pianos there's the We Listen For You party with Arms, Guards, The Pass, Parlovr, Nerves Jr. and Headless Horseman in the main room; upstairs it's the Big Hassle Media party with Radiation City, Aeroplane Pagaent, Clubfeet, Marques Toliver, J. Viewz, Pyramids and Army Navy.

Radiation City

If you're in the Ludlow area, do try and check out Portland's Radiation City (3PM) who've made one of the year's more charming debuts which drifts between moody, organ-driven numbers and more upbeat pop. Papercuts covering The Free Design? Add in some Mazzy Star smokiness and you're almost there. Check out "The Color of Industry" at the top of this post, and go seem them live at some point this week. Radiation City also play the PASTE party at The Living Room today too (4PM) and have shows this week, and all dates are at the bottom of this post.

That PASTE party, which goes from 4 - 7 PM also features Lord Huron, Santah and The Lonely Forest.

And finally over at Fontanas (which you may remember from BV day parties of old or episodes of Louie) is this year's Pirate! Island party with a pretty good bunch of bands too: Canada's Hollerado, Nick Diamonds, Fairmont, Army Navy, The Great Book of John and The One & Nines. Set times at the bottom of this post.

Click through for flyers (including a couple day shows I didn't mention), streams, videos and set times. I'll have Wednesday nighttime picks a little later.

Continue reading "CMJ 2011 - Bill's Wednesday daytime picks (Still Corners, Gospel Music, The Immaculates, Radiation City & more)"

photos by Autumn Andel

Eleanor Friedberger @ Crystal Ballroom

Almost a month before she heads out on tour with Wild Flag, and one night before she plays City Winery as part of John Wesley Harding's Cabinet of Wonders, Fiery Furnace Eleanor Friedberger will make an appearance at the Union Square Barnes & Noble as part of Upstairs in the Square with writer Christopher Bollen (on 9/22).

This past Wednesday (9/7), Eleanor shared a bill in Portland with Mini Mansions and The Kills at Crystal Ballroom as part of the MusicFestNW festival. A set of pictures from that show is in this post. More of them, with all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Eleanor Friedberger played MusicFestNW w/ The Kills (pics), playing Barnes & Noble (and other dates)"

photos by Jessica Amaya words by Andrew Sacher

Deerhunter @ Webster Hall

Eleanor Friedberger (of Fiery Furnaces) and her band took the stage around 9 PM at Webster Hall last night (8/23) for the second of two shows with Deerhunter, while a cover/remix of The Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby" played through the PA. They played a great opening set. Eleanor's got an awesome voice and she's a killer downstrummer on the guitar. The set was enjoyable throughout, but the undeniable highlight came for me on the last track, "I Won't Fall Apart on You Tonight." The vocal harmonies she did in the chorus with her guitar player meshed so well, and were definitely something I wished I'd heard more of.

You can catch Eleanor again in NYC TONIGHT (8/24) at UCB, and when she opens for Wild Flag during and around CMJ (who just announced their initial 2011 lineup).

At around 10:15 PM, Deerhunter minus Bradford Cox walked out onto the stage at the sold out venue and began filling the room with noise and ambience. While awaiting Bradford's entrance, the band were joined by Colin Mee, an original member of Deerhunter who left in 2007. Bradford then appeared, taking solely to the mic like he did in Deerhunter's earlier days, and they began playing the intro to "Fluorescent Grey" off the EP of the same name, released shortly before Colin's departure from the band. Without a second of silence in between songs, they progressed into the first few tracks on Cryptograms, building the songs around the layers of noise they'd been creating. As the band moved through their set the stage was flooded with languid clouds of fog and absinthe-green lights, silhouetting the members and adding a visual companion to the heavy atmospheres of their music.

After about a half hour, Colin left the stage and Bradford returned to his guitar for the remainder of the set. In a slightly sarcastic manner, Bradford commented on yesterday's earthquake hitting NYC and that he was glad we were all okay, before going into Halcyon Digest's opening track "Earthquake." The band followed that with a couple more tracks off the album, including a distortion-ridden version of "Don't Cry," before going into a few Microcastle cuts. After extending "Nothing Ever Happened" into a trance-like passage, Bradford started screaming the "Horses" section of Patti Smith's "Land" over the mix. They left the stage after ending the climactic "Twilight At Carbon Lake" with a reverberating crunch that continued through their entire break before returning for an encore. The 2-song encore included the Lockett Pundt-fronted "Desire Lines" and "Calvary Scars II," which again ended with hypnotic noise that didn't cease until the lights in Webster Hall were turned back on and the stage crew muted the amps.

More pictures from the Tuesday night show below...

Continue reading "Deerhunter & Eleanor Friedberger played 2 nights @ Webster Hall (pics & review)"

Wild Flag at Williamsburg Waterfront (more by Dana (distortion) Yavin)

The first round of CMJ 2011 artists have been announced. The initial list includes Neon Indian (Webster Hall with Purity Ring), CSS (Webster Hall with EMA and MEN), Zola Jesus (KF and LPR), Wild Flag (Bowery Ballroom with Eleanor Friedberger and Hospitality), Metronomy (MHOW), Portugal. The Man (T5 with Givers and Alberta Cross), Viva Brother, Wombats, The Good Natured), Kvelertak, Handsome Furs, Memoryhouse, Pharoahe Monch, and more.

The Viva Brother show is on October 19 at Bowery Ballroom with 1,2,3 and Kitten. Tickets are on sale now (or you can try to get in with your CMJ badge). All dates below.

The Wombats show is on October 19 at Webster Hall with The Postelles and The Good Natured. Tickets are on sale now (or you can try to get in with your CMJ badge). All dates below.

Other bands scheduled to play that aren't part of CMJ's initial announce include Still Corners, Shonen Knife at Public Assembly, PS I Love You, and Revolver. Full list below...

Continue reading "CMJ 2011 initial lineup (Handsome Furs, Viva Brother, Wombats, Memoryhouse, Kvelertak, Pharoahe Monch, more)"

Wild Flag at Williamsburg Waterfront on Friday (more by Dana (distortion) Yavin)

Wild Flag, who just played Williamsburg Waterfront with Sonic Youth, have a tour coming up this fall. When we first announced the tour, we mentioned that it would stop by the NYC area three times for shows happening on The Bell House on October 15, Maxwell's on October 16, and Bowery Ballroom on October 18. If you've noticed that the Bowery Ballroom show mysteriously disappeared from Bowery's site and Ticketmaster, that's because it did. Now that the Waterfront happened, the show back up on Bowery's site and tickets go on sale Wednesday (8/17) at noon. Tickets are also still on sale for the Bell House show and the Maxwell's show. Merge labelmate Eleanor Friedberger provides support on some of the tour including The Bell House show and the Bowery Ballroom show which falls within CMJ.

Wild Flag's tour is in support of their upcoming self titled debut LP, which comes out September 18 via Merge. You can pre-order the album from the Merge webstore now. Also, check out the album trailer video and stream the single "Romance" below.

Eleanor's got other upcoming shows including opening for Deerhunter at Webster Hall on August 22 and 23. The 8/22 show is sold out but tickets for the 8/23 show are still on sale.

In somewhat related news, Kurt Vile, who was also on the Williamsburg Waterfront bill with Sonic Youth, added a show on November 11 at Webster Hall to his fall tour. Tickets for that show go on sale Friday (8/19) with an AmEx pre-sale starting Wednesday (8/17) at noon.

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

Continue reading "Kurt Vile adds Webster show & Wild Flag's Bowery show is back --- updated 2011 Tour Dates"

photos by Chris La Putt & Amanda Hatfield

"Patrick from Titus Andronicus just jumped into the crowd!
They are so good live." - Nikki S

"Eleanor Friedberger's solo stuff = awesome!
She's owning the 4Knots stage right now." - Anna Hyclak

"Oberhofer are clearly having a blast at #4knots ...
Fun day so far, especially when cloudy." - Bill

"Davilla 666 delivering good Stooges-punk buzz.
Crowd surfing spotted #4knots" - Jason Gross

"I don't know who Davila 666 are,
but they're burning it down at #4Knots." - Brendan HIlliard

The inaugural 4Knots Music Festival took place at South Street Seaport for most of the afternoon and early evening on Saturday (7/16).

Bands played on the usual Seaport outdoor stage while DJs were around the corner inside on Front Street (Dan Deacon and Yeasayer included). The festival was headlined by The Black Angels and Titus Andronicus and also included sets by Davilla 666 (pics HERE), Oberhofer, Eleanor Friedberger (of The Fiery Furnaces), and Mr. Dream (but not Obits). 4Knots acted as the replacement for Siren Fest, which sadly is no longer happening in Coney Island. 4Knots' lineup wasn't quite as impressive as past Siren lineups which were spread over two much bigger stages, but the festival still left a pretty solid impact on the downtown Manhattan crowd.

Eleanor Friedberger (by Chris)

4Knots was Eleanor's first show since releasing her solo debut Last Summer on Merge last week. According to New Beats:

"Aside from carrying a sound that kind of reminds one of the Velvet Underground's Loaded, some of the songs also possess a groove feel, particularly the mid-tempo "Glitter Gold Year." In addition to performing a majority of Last Summer's songs, Friedberger also threw in a few Fiery Furnaces tunes, including "Lost At Sea" and the punkish, power pop "Tropical Iceland.""

The crowd was the biggest that Brooklyn's own Oberhofer has ever played to, according to Brad Oberhofer, and they seemed to make a bit of buzz while they were there.

"Oberhofer, yes. I'd forgotten how soft-loud-soft prog meets math they are, but so precise and vicious, and in the best way. Singer Brad Oberhofer, (once a lowly intern at Matador), is the amazing piece of gut-instinctual-movement-punk behind said band. While tuning, he mentions, "I'm not used to this, I'm used to luxury cars," and during the set, "This song is dedicated to my grandmother, and all your grandmothers and grandfathers too."

He says the right things to a crowd, and he and the whole band plays right along, and thus, it's a captivating show. Just listen to "Away From You" or "I Can Go", or any other track and you'll be transfixed." [Sentimentalist]

Titus Andronicus (by Amanda)

Titus Andronicus went on before The Black Angels, though according to the Village Voice, the upbeat punk crowd were possibly anticipating Titus even more.

"This was a Titus crowd, but how could it not be? The pier we stood on stands less than an hour's drive from the town of Mahwah, where frontman Patrick Sickles sings of spending his senior year on "No Future Part Three: Escape From No Future." And if that wasn't enough, Sickles recalled a few Siren Fest memories between songs. I'm sure a few super-loyal fans were even using the show as an opportunity to even out the sunburn that coated the left side of their bodies as they screamed along to the free show the band played at the Williamsburg Waterfront on the other side of the East River a few weeks ago."

Continue reading "4Knots Fest in pics (Titus Andronicus, Eleanor Friedberger, Oberhofer, Mr. Dream, Davila 666 & more)"

Washed Out is here, and is preparing to celebrate the release of the Sub Pop debut Within and Without at a SOLD OUT Bowery Ballroom TONIGHT (7/11) with Grimes and Blood Orange. If you need something to do afterwards, theres's a free afterparty at Tammany Hall with "DJ Sets by Dog Bite (memb. of Washed Out), F?I†H & YOUNG LIFE, MATCH & DUKE."

The Bowery show is a prelude to Washed Out's stint with Cut Copy that will hit Wellmont Theater on 9/13 (tickets). Prepare for both by streaming the LP in full at NPR.

While you're at the NPR site, make sure and stream the new Eleanor Friedberger LP Last Summer as well as the Disma LP Towards The Megalith.

Eleanor Friedberger recently played Europa during Northside, and will play 4Knots this weekend for FREE. Ted Leo was the special guest at Europa that night, and played the 4Knots kick-off over the weekend. Our pics and review is coming shortly.

Disma will play their Record Release show on August 6th with Coffinworm, Loss, and Oak at Saint Vitus. Tickets are on sale. Disma premiered "Purulent Quest" at the end of last week and now you can hear the whole album. Stay tuned for our forthcoming interview with Daryl of Disma (who also happens to play with Ted Leo in Citizens Arrest).

Bradford watching Eleanor at Europa (more by Amanda Hatfield)

After Bradford Cox caught her set at Northside, Eleanor Friedberger has been added as an opener to both of Deerhunter's Webster Hall shows. Tickets for both shows are still available. Eleanor also performs for free at 4Knots Music Fest on July 16.

Updated tour dates below...

Continue reading "Eleanor Friedberger opening for Deerhunter"

photos by Amanda Hatfield

Eleanor Friedberger & band @ Europa

After checking out Guided By Voices earlier in the day, Fiery Furnaces' Eleanor Friedberger played Europa instead of St. Cecilia's Church on Saturday (6/18) as part of the Northside Festival. The show was opened by Ida, Rebecca Gates, and Spectre Folk. To make that lineup even more exciting, Ted Leo showed up as a secret guest to perform a set right before Eleanor (the second time Ted played Europa in less than a month). Bradford Cox was among the Northside attendees at the Brooklyn show which is pictured in this post.

--
Ted Leo @ Europa

If you missed Ted at Europa, catch him as a special guest again on Hot Tub with Kurt and Kristen at Littlefield this Monday (6/27). He also plays a free 4Knots Fest kickoff show at Seaport on July 9. He won't be at the actual 4Knots Fest, but Eleanor will (and, as announced today, so will Mr. Dream, the band featuring ex-Village Voice writer Nick Sylvester).

Back in February Eleanor took part in a Loser's Lounge tribute to Queen show at Joe's Pub. Backed by an 8+ member ensemble, she got her Freddie Mercury on to "You're My Best Friend". Check out the video, and more pictures from the Northside show below...

Continue reading "Eleanor Friedberger played Europa w/ secret guest Ted Leo, Ida & Rebecca Gates (pics), covered Queen @ Joe's Pub (video)"

Eleanor Friedberger @ Lambert's (more by Tim Griffin)

As some already know, but I just realized last night, the Eleanor Friedberger, Ida, and Rebecca Gates Northside Festival show that was scheduled to take place at St. Cecilia's Church TONIGHT (6/18), was moved to Europa.

Eleanor kicks off a proper tour in support of her Merge solo album in July. All of those dates and her new video (again), below...

Continue reading "Eleanor Friedberger playing Europa instead of the church (and other tour dates)"

Gruff Rhys in Austin earlier on tour (more by Tim Griffin)

today in NYC
* Evillive
* Blue Note Jazz Fest
* Diane Schuur @ BB Kings
* Big Terrific @ Cameo
* Tim Berne @ The Stone
* Dave Brubeck @ Blue Note
* Hungry Cowboy @ Barbes
* Marianne, Wilder @ Zebulon
* Deep Purple @ Beacon Theatre
* Mandingo Ambassadors @ Barbes
* Joseph Arthur @ The Living Room
* John Zorn, Tyshawn Sorey @ The Stone
* Air Guitar championships @ Bowery Ballroom
* George Wein & The Newport All-Stars @ Blue Note
* Nels Cline, Mark Ribot @ Le Poisson Rouge
* Ava Luna, Pujol, Secret Cities @ Cake Shop
* Greg Laswell, Jenny Owen Youngs @ City Winery
* The Hood Internet, Justin Miller @ Brooklyn Bowl
* La Big Vic, Alias Pail, Lorna Dune @ Public Assembly
* Bad Cop, Lazer Dics, Easter Vomit, Ex Cops @ Coco 66
* Daniel Lanois' Black Dub, Rocco DeLuca @ Webster Hall
* Nice & Smooth, The Awesome 2 @ Herbert Von King Park
* Meshell Ndegeocello covers Prince @ Highline Ballroom
* Joan As Police Woman, Ambrosia Parsley @ The Bell House
* Laetitia Sadier (of Stereolab), Chicha Libre @ The Rock Shop
* Gruff Rhys, Y Niwl, Brakes, Sophie Madeleine @ Mercury Lounge
* Swingin' Utters, The Have Nots, Continental @ Santos Party House
* Idiot Glee, Holiday Shores, Seapony, The House Floor @ Glasslands
Headvoice, Sex God, Max Alper, Omega Express @ Cameo Gallery
* The Men, Milk Music, Nude Beach, The Marsh Hens @ Death By Audio
* Toys & Tiny Instruments Band, Nick Blaemire, The Eclectic @ Ars Nova
* See You In Hell, Mutant Supremacy, Xbrainiax, Grudges @ The Acheron
* The Low Anthem, These United States, Daniel Lefkowitz @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* The Twees, Jump Into The Gospel, Living Days, The Stationary Set, Imaginary Cities @ Pianos
* Sleeping Giant Collective, Timothy Andres, Jacob Cooper, Christopher Cerrone, Ted Hearne, Robert Honstein, Andrew Norman @ Littlefield

Win tickets to see Swervedriver at Irving Plaza tomorrow at our Facebook.

NXNE is happening in Toronto.

BAMcinemaFest begins tomorrow.

Gruff Rhys plays Mercury Lounge tonight and does a Q&A before his movie on June 18th.

Daniel Lanois plays Webster Hall tonight.

Daniel Pujol plays Cake Shop

Daniel Lefkowitz opens for the Low Anthem at Music Hall of Williamsburg.

Eleanor Friedberger exercices, takes a bath, showers, shaves, puts on makeup, gets dressed and much more in her new video for "My Mistakes". Check it out below!

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Wednesday?"

Titus Andronicus last night @ Terminal 5 (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Titus Andronicus (who played Terminal 5 last night with Okkervil River), Obits, and Eleanor Friedberger (of The Fiery Furnaces) will join the previously announced Black Angels (who are listed as the headliner), Oberhofer, and Davila 666 on the lineup of the 4Knots Music Festival at South Street Seaport on July 16th (from 1-8pm, rain or shine).

According to show sponsor Village Voice, this is the final lineup of bands, though more details are still TBA, like set times and DJS for the free outdoor show. 4Knots is the replacement for Siren Fest which is no longer happening in Coney Island.

Ted Leo isn't playing 4Knots, but he is playing a free kick-off show happening one week prior, July 9th, also at The Seaport. It'll be a 10th anniversary performance for Ted Leo & The Pharmacists.

Ted Leo recently played Chaos in Tejas, Europa and Maryland Deathfest as part of an even older band, Citizens Arrest. Citizens Arrest have a new EP out now via Coextinction Records.

The Black Angels have another show happening at Maxwell's on July 15th which goes on sale Friday.

Eleanor Friedberger also has a show coming up sooner as part of the Nothside Festival.

The 4Knots poster (as it looked before these bands got added), and all Ted dates, below...

Continue reading "Titus, Eleanor & Obits complete 4Knots Fest lineup"

In their own words:

Northside Festival is thrilled to announce special series of shows in beautiful St. Cecilia's church in Greenpoint.

St. Cecilia's is one of the most beautiful and vital churches in Brooklyn. We are excited to be working with this community institution and proud to say that St. Cecilia's will be an important part of Northside.

There will be four shows taking place at the most spectacular venue imaginable.

Continue reading "St. Cecilia's Church in Greenpoint will host Northside Festival shows (Atlas Sound, Woods & Eleanor included)"

DOWNLOAD: Eleanor Friedberger - My Mistakes (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Fiery Furnaces - Keep Me In The Dark (Eleanor cover version) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Fiery Furnaces - The End Is Near (MP3)

"Eleanor Friedberger is not just the enigmatic mouthpiece of The Fiery Furnaces, one of music's most interesting, dynamic and constantly exciting bands. In fact, Eleanor Friedberger is an exceptional songwriter herself, playing a variety of instruments and crafting the very sorts of choruses that made you fall in love with The Fiery Furnaces in the first place. She's a lover of Led Zeppelin and Jorge Ben; she's a fearless performer, as comfortable fronting a band as she is playing alone on a stage with an acoustic guitar; she's one of the sweetest alto voices in music. Nowhere is all of this more apparent than on her very first solo album, Last Summer, out on Merge Records on July 12th, 2011.

Last Summer, which was recorded, well, last summer, was born out of Take Me Round Again, a collection of cover songs from the previous Fiery Furnaces album. Both Eleanor and Matthew did their own inspired versions of songs they'd written together for their last LP I'm Going Away. Matt's were otherworldly affairs, while Eleanor's were lo-fi and lovely, all recorded in her home, the sound of an artist kicking off her shoes, settling into a big comfy chair with an acoustic guitar, a glass of scotch, and a four-track. She enjoyed the experience so much she decided to move forward with recording songs she had written in her spare time, songs that hadn't been included on any of The Fiery Furnaces' nine incredible albums." [Merge Records]

Go see the Fiery Furnaces on tour now. The tour kicks off with two NYC shows, tonight (5/4) and Thursday (5/5), at Rockwood Music Hall. Tickets are still available for both. According to someone who works at Thrill Jockey Records (home of the Furnaces), "It'll just be Matt playing the piano and Eleanor singing but they plan on doing simple renditions of as many Fiery Furnaces songs as time will allow! Like most Fiery Furnaces shows, it should be a completely new and unique experience."

The two "Fiery Furnaces" MP3s above are both from 2009 albums that were released via Thrill Jockey. "Keep Me In The Dark", from Take Me Round Again, is Eleanor's cover version of the FF song that first appeared on I'm Going Away. "The End Is Near" is an original track off I'm Going Away.

Eleanor will also be announcing a solo show today via BrooklynVegan.com. Stay tuned for that news coming soon (UPDATE: HERE IT IS. Meanwhile, you can see a list of all FF tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Eleanor Friedberger signed to Merge (MP3), Fiery Furnaces kicking off tour (dates)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Fergus & Geronimo - Powerful Lovin' (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Final Club - Tragic World (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Final Club - Hot Gaze (MEDIAFIRE LINK - ZIP)
DOWNLOAD: Tyvek - Underwater To (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Tyvek - 4312 (MP3)

Gruff

Welcome to the first This Week in Indie of 2011. We are 12 days into this year and I have yet to see a show. If you add in the time before Christmas...this might be the longest I've gone without seeing live music in a long time. That drought will end for me this week, maybe tonight, but certainly tomorrow (1/13) as Gruff Rhys plays Rockwood Music Hall. I was a little worried this snow was to cancel his flight today, but he is currently on route to NYC as I write this.

Still no word as to who'll be releasing his new solo album, Hotel Shampoo, in the US but it seems likely someone will. Hopefully we'll get to hear a lot it live. As anyone whose seen him before -- either with Super Furry Animals or solo -- know, Gruff is an entertaining guy, who always puts extra effort into his shows. Highly recommended. Eleanor Friedberger of Fiery Furnaces opens. Show starts early -- 7:30.

I also just watched Separado!, the musical travelogue documentary about Gruff's quest to track down distant relative (and '70s caped troubadour) Rene Griffiths in Patagonia. Like Rhys himself, the film is charming, scruffy, funny and full of good songs. Still not released in America but you can order the UK DVD (if you have a region-free player or watch on a computer) or, if you live in Williamsburg, rent it from Videology.

Fergus & Geronimo

Fergus & Geronimo release their debut album, Unlearn, on Hardly Art next week, and are playing three shows this weekend in celebration: Friday (1/14) at Death By Audio (official official release party) with Final Club, Easter Vomit (ex Beets), new Captured Tracks signees Widowspeak, and Philadelphia's premiere surf band Dry Feet; Saturday (1/15) at Columbia University hangout The Ding Dong Lounge with Final Club; and Sunday (1/16) at Mercury Lounge with Tyvek. Xray Eyeballs and The Gaming Commission.

While it suffers from a slight case of identity crisis (droney psych, garagey rave-ups, organ-fueled soul), track-by-track Unlearn is a pretty solid record. Fergus & Geronimo are good at all the styles they dabble in. Check out "Powerful Lovin'" at the top of this post -- that shows off their soulful side. And while I haven't seen them play live in a year and a half, they were good then so I can only imagine they've gotten better.

Final Club

If your eyes didn't glaze over at the list of bands two paragraphs up, you may have noticed Final Club are playing with F&G twice this weekend. The two bands were Denton, TX neighbors before Fergus & Geronimo moved to Brooklyn late last summer. Final Club are here just for these shows. They are worth seeing in their own right: sneery, melodic indie rock with a tendency to lean on the tremolo bar which gives them a little Swervedriver vibe. Confident and loud.

You can check out "Tragic World" at the top of this post. And if you like that, you can download their Hot Gaze EP as well. Look out for their excellent debut album, Blank Entertainment, later this year. In addition to the two shows with Fergus & Geronimo, Final Club play a headlining gig at Death By Audio tomorrow night (1/13) with Bogan Dust, Clinical Trials and Laserdisc.

Tyvek @ BV-SXSW 2010 (more by Tim Griffin)

Also as mentioned above, Tyvek are in town this weekend. While many of their peers have moved on to mid-fi production, the Detroit band keep it live and murky on their new album, Nothing Fits. It also sounds as anxious, angry and alive as the rest of their material. In addition to the Mercury Lounge show on Sunday mentioned above, they play Saturday night (1/15) at Glasslands with The Beets, Eternal Summers, and Sweet Bulbs. That is a good show. Do note it starts early, 8PM for real, as the Soul Clap dance party starts at midnight. I'll be there.

I should mention that openers The Beets have a new album Stay Home that's just out on Captured Tracks. After last year's swell, cleanly produced "Locomotion" single, they too (like Tyvek) are back to the same intentionally shitty "production" of their first album. (Maybe slightly less shitty.) Which, again, doesn't hurt them at all. The Beets are good songwriters I think, and especially good lyricists. And maybe if they can ever get a drummer to stick around for more than a month they might go places. Or just stay home. There's also a new Beets single, "Time Brought Age," and both the LP and 7" feature the bands signature comic artwork courtesy Matt Volz.

Mister Heavenly

What else? Oh yeah, Mister Heavenly play Bowery Ballroom on Sunday (1/16) with Sun Airway and Little Shalimar. This extra super group just signed to Sub Pop, and the label would like you to know the band features Nick Diamonds (Islands/Unicorns), Honus Honus (Man Man) and Joe Plummer (Modest Mouse). Of course most of the press so far has been about the group's sometimes bassist who you may know from his non-musical day job. I don't mean the banana stand.

Going to see a band because there's a famous actor in it is usually a dumb reason to go (see Dogstar, 30 Seconds to Mars , 30 Odd Foot of Grunts, etc)... plus Mr. Cera is not an "official" member of the band and he may or may not be playing with them on Sunday (note that both the label and the venue told us they don't think Michael will be there). Luckily the rest of the band is known in their own right, so mabye you should go for that reason. Unfortunately there's no recorded music to hear yet, but their few shows so far have been well-documented on YouTube.

That's the main stuff. Here's a few shows, day-by-day, not covered above.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 12

Nashville-via-Ohio band Mona -- one of the BBC's picks for Sound of 2011 -- invade NYC this weekend, starting tonight at Rock Shop. They also play Mercury Lounge on Thursday (1/13) (with Devin Therriault) and Union Pool on Saturday (1/15).

Given the abbreviation of this column you're reading, I would be remiss not to mention that The Twees play The Studio @ Webster Hall, a record release show for their just-released EP. They actually don't sound twee at all. I would say Strokes-esque pop would get you closer to a description.

Quirky, occasionally proggy, pop band Steel Phantoms at Bruar Falls.

more below...

Continue reading "Mister Heavenly, Gruff Rhys, Fergus & Geronimo, Final Club, Tyvek, The Beets & more in This Week in Indie "