photos by Erez Avissar and Christopher Person

Julianna Barwick @ LPR

"Julianna Barwick started off the night and in very simple terms her set was incredible... Eluvium was next on the bill...and his set turned out to be also quite impressive. It was a mix of quiet but weeping guitar work, to harsh and fast played guitar buzz on top of low key to surprising beat driven piano pieces. Throughout the set there was various nature like samples being played as well as the other members in his live band using Wii remotes that were connected to there computers that were somehow manipulating the sounds of there instruments (something that was defiantly amusing to watch). While Eluvium set was quite terrific it was kind of overshadow by the earlier set of the night that had just left me so speechless." [Witchmond]

That review is from the May 17th at DC9. Two nights later (last night, May 19th) the Eluvium/Barwick tour hit Le Poisson Rouge in NYC. It was followed by an after-party in Brooklyn that included a live set by Blissed Out and DJ sets by Pitchork's Ryan Schreiber (RAVVES), Chocolate Bobka's McGregor (McG), Todd P and Erez Avissar who is also the one who took almost all of the pictures of the party that are in this post. The ones of Julianna Barwick and Eluvium at LPR were taken by Christopher Person. Both of their sets of pictures continue below...

Continue reading "Julianna Barwick played LPR w/ Eluvium & then DJ'd Monster Island w/ Blissed Out, Todd P, Ryan Schreiber & others (pics)"

DOWNLOAD: MNDR - I Go Away (MP3)

MNDR @ Mercury Lounge (more by Erez Avissar)

MNDR plays a free show with Restless People at Brooklyn Bowl tonight (Tuesday, 2/9), and then again at the same venue with WAVVES exactly one week later (also free). Total that makes three upcoming NYC show for MNDR before she leaves on a tour with Yacht on February 28th. The third is a February 20th show with These Are Powers at a mysterious TBA location.

MNDR was supposed to also open for Ebony Bones at Southpaw on Saturday, 2/13, but she has been replaced on that bill by Jessica 6. The Brooklyn show is one of two upcoming NYC shows for Ebony Bones who also share a bill with Amanda Blank and Daniel Merriweather "at Hudson's new subterranean lounge, Good Units" (356 West 58th Street) on Wednesday, February 10th. This is another free show though RSVP is required.

All dates below...

Continue reading "MNDR playing 2 free Brooklyn Bowl shows but not playing w/ Ebony Bones who plays a free hotel show w/ Amanda Blank"

DOWNLOAD: Salem - Frost (MP3)

photos by Erez Avissar

Salem...

On a series of breathy, claustrophobic EPs and singles beginning in 2008, Salem-- the trio of John Holland, Heather Marlatt and Jack Donoghue -- has been honing an oozy, cold style; a pastiche of several strains of pessimistic music: there are hints of noise-rock and shoegaze, as well as the stamp of the Houston rap pioneer D.J. Screw, who slowed records down until they became gummy and desperate.

It's not fun, this sound. And onstage it was even hazier. All three members took turns out front. Mr. Holland, who never took off his ski cap, sang, gripping the microphone hard, with hands heavy with rings. Ms. Marlatt -- who has a sweet voice, very well hidden -- was smoking while she played her keyboard, and smoking when she sang. (But hey, so were people in the crowd.)

She helps enliven "Redlights," one of Salem's best songs, which on Tuesday night was like M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes" as heard through thick earmuffs, all low end and distortion but maintaining the hypnotic cyclicality of the beat. [NY Times]

The above review is from the group's show at Glasslands on January 5th, which is also the source of the pictures here. Salem will be releasing their first full length album later this year on IAMSOUND Records. More details will be announced later. More pictures from the Brooklyn show below...

Continue reading "Salem played Glasslands (pics), releasing CD on IAMSOUND"

photos by Erez Avissar

"Leichtung moved from San Francisco four years ago to study music technology at NYU's Steinhardt School. While perfecting his scruffy college boy look - think black-framed glasses, beat-up Converse sneakers, lots of band t-shirts and a permanent five o'clock shadow - Leichtung also found himself getting sucked into the DIY scene. He started out interning for Todd P, but now lives and works at the Market Hotel along with four friends and a revolving door of artists who rent out storage and rehearsal space for $394 a month. Though the Warhol's Factory aura of the Market is creatively appealing, Leichtung confesses, "Trying to go to bed before 4 a.m. around here can be a problem."" [The Brooklyn Ink]

More pictures from Friday's show, below...

Continue reading "Vega, Tanlines, Pictureplane, Reading Rainbow & friends @ Market Hotel in Brooklyn - pics "

words & photos by Erez Avissar

Going by phone/digital camera clips I'd seen online, I wasn't expecting what I got from Neon Indian Tuesday night. This genre called "chillwave" seemed to me all but doomed to ever really work well in the live setting -- not only is it all lo-fi and bedroomy, but Alan Palomo's peers (Toro Y Moi, Washed Out, Memory Tapes) didn't make the decision to recruit a live band. Opener Toro Y Moi was good, but yeah, there is only so much one man can do live.

Neon Indian, fresh off a European tour, played with loads of confidence, improvising, tweaking, and expanding. And they delivered: "Terminally Chill" hit hard, as did "Deadbeat Summer," and the rest of the highlights from their great record. I didn't think there were any songs left for an encore, but what did they do? Come back out (sans-Leanne Macomber) as Vega to play an extended (12" version?), totally spaced/funked-out "No Reason," temporarily turning the place into the best club on earth.

Neon Indian finish their three-night NYC run at Brooklyn Bowl tonight (12/17) with Tigercity and Awesome New Republic (tickets available at the door?). More pictures from the first of two shows at Mercury Lounge below...

Continue reading "Neon Indian, Toro y Moi & MNDR played Mercury Lounge - pics "

words by Andrew Frisicano, photos by Erez Avissar

DOWNLOAD: Christmas Island - Bed Island (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Beach Fossils - Time (MP3)

Beach Fossils @ Shea Stadium

Tickets are still on sale for the Crystal Stilts MHOW show on Saturday, February 20th. Opening up for that show are The Beets, Christmas Island, Beach Fossils and The German Measles (who have a gig with Bishop Allen coming up, more on that soon).

Leading up to that show, Christmas Island (whose debut came out this October on In the Red), The Beets and Beach Fossils are all on tour together this February. The MHOW show is the last of three separate NYC dates for the tour. The other two come February 9th at the Cake Shop and February 13th at Death by Audio.

The Beets have already had a pretty busy December as far as NYC shows go. And the month isn't over for Beach Fossils, who'll ring in the New Year with Frankie and the Outs, Surfer Blood and We Are Country Mice at the Cameo. Beach Fossils (aka Dustin Payseur) has a full-length on the way from Woodsist/Captured Tracks in March, and the song above is from a forthcoming Woodsist 7".

Looking ahead to SXSW, Christmas Island also lists an In the Red showcase at Austin's Beerland on March 19th. The song "Bed Island," a tuneful love song, is above.

All tour dates along with the rest of the pictures from the show at Shea Stadium last Wednesday (12/9), below...

Continue reading "Beach Fossils played Shea Stadium (pics), touring w/ Christmas Island & The Beets (dates) ++ MP3s"

photos by Erez Avissar

"Damon "Dame" Dash co-founded Roc-a-Fella Records, helped launch the career of Jay-Z and discovered Kanye West. He's produced or executive-produced about a dozen films, including the well-received 2002 urban flick "Paid in Full" and the 2004 movie "The Woodsman," starring Kevin Bacon. And he started lucrative apparel lines like Rocawear and Rachel Roy, of which he is still part owner with his wife, the company's namesake.

But the 37-year-old Dash still says he gets snubbed by the music industry. Media reports last year about his alleged financial difficulties and legal problems probably didn't help. "My mistake was watching everyone else's careers and not watching mine,'' he says.

More important was his acrimonious split a few years ago with his old friend and business partner Jay-Z. "It was like, either you are on his side or on mine," he says. "And because of all that, there's resistance on every level with me and the shit just bugs me out." [Billboard]

New venue Under 100 (located in the basement of the Tribeca building where Damon Dash's office is located) is quickly becoming famous, after just two shows. The first, in November, featured sets by Sleigh Bells, Javelin & Knyfe Hyts 81 with help from Mos Def, Curren$y, and others. The second, just two nights ago (12/8), was rumored to include a performance by Blakroc (featuring Mos Def) who were on Letterman that same night. That didn't happen, but The Cool Kids, The London Souls, Curren$y (again), and some others did play. Mos Def and Damon Dash (again) were just hanging out. The third show is....

TONIGHT (12/10):

RSVP @ Lessartistsmorecondos@gmail.com
-- DARLINGS /// THESE ARE POWERS --
$ 7 bucks
09:00 pm Doors
09:30 pm DARLINGS
10:30 pm THESE ARE POWERS

More pictures from the last event, below...

Continue reading "The Cool Kids, London Souls, Curren$y & friends (but not Blakroc) played Under 100 (pics) ++ a show there tonight"

photos by Erez Avissar

The Shaky Hands

Tickets went on sale today for a January 16th Takka Takka / La Strada / Frances show at Mercury Lounge. Wednesday night (12/2), Takka shared a bill with tour-mates US Royalty and The Shaky Hands at Knitting Factory in Brooklyn.

The Brooklyn show was actually kicked off by Josh Wise from French Kicks who played a solo set (Josh made another appearance this week as part of Rumours last night at The Bell House). Josh was followed by an energetic set by US Royalty who were followed by Takka Takka's new lineup which led up to the headliners of the evening. More pictures from the show below...

Continue reading "The Shaky Hands & US Royalty played Knitting Factory in Brooklyn w/ Takka Takka - pics & new show on sale"

words & photos by Erez Avissar

There's not much to say aside from how excellent Tuesday night's performance was, Sonic Youth's first of two nights in a row at Music Hall of Williamsburg (11/24). You can read the review Andrew wrote about their Terminal 5 gig Saturday night. The song selection was similar. The venue was smaller.

"Sonic Youth was AWESOME. That they can still be THIS good this late in their career is amazing, and very unique. I really enjoyed the new stuff and thought it jelled well with the old stuff they did play. I can see why they're doing so much new stuff, to keep things interesting (for us and them). A bunch of songs from all over their career would have been interesting as long as they didn't stick to the same "greatest hits" every night. Still hoping like crazy for Death Valley [Wednesday]!" [Joe]

It was the third time I've seen them this year, and by far the best: the energy and execution was just on point. Looking at the photos of them at the end, you can tell they enjoyed it, too: check out Thurston's satisfied, boyish grin, right after capping encore two with "Silver Rocket".

"No more songs," a wave goodbye, and that grin.

Talk Normal opened the show Tuesday. Jemina Pearl opened Wednesday. More headliner pictures and the setlist from the first night, below...

Continue reading "Sonic Youth played 2 night in Brooklyn @ MHOW - pics, setlist"

words & photos by Erez Avissar

LA's Nite Jewel was a three-piece, joined by a live bassist, which boosted their show tremendously. They played a pair of new tracks, but the highlights to me were the familiar moments: when Ramona Gonzalez asked the sound guy to turn up the bass, I should have known they were about to launch into their evocative noir-disco banger "What Did He Say". It left the crowd no choice but to move their feet and hips. Hearing that devastating bass line played with real fingers and strings brought serious force to the delivery, and I think that that track in particular deserves to go down as an Italo classic. They received lots of shout-outs and volume love from the crowd, and judging by the amount of people who asked me what they're called, successfully won over the house.

Röyksopp opened with a slow-burning builder before launching into a setlist which basically went: hits, worthy gems, hits. Their live vocalist, Anneli Drecker, played such a fitting substitute to Karin Dreijer Andersson that you had be looking pretty close to tell the difference on those songs - every inflection sounded uncanny. Her execution was absolutely flawless, and when they rolled out with the surprise of the night, a note-for-note cover of Kate Bush's "Wuthering Heights," she put on a dead-on Kate croon.

Röyksopp stand behind their setup on an elevated riser in the back, occasionally popping out to strut, sing, or bang on something, but mainly leaving the focus on the prominent Drecker, with her many outfits, the light show, and mainly, you know, the music. Their 90-minute set left everyone in the house satisfied, and judging from their faces when the house lights went up, totally drained and disoriented from the experience. As good a sign of a great show as any.

Röyksopp and Nite Jewel played two nights in a row in NYC at Webster Hall (Monday 11/24 - Tuesday 11/25). The review and pictures in this post are from night one. The pictures are continued, with the setlist, below...

Continue reading "Röyksopp & Nite Jewel @ Webster Hall (night 1) -pics, setlist"

photos by Lori Baily

Mos Def / Sleigh Bells

first show at new tribeca venue "under 100," which is co-owned by greg finch of p4k tv, and is in damon dash's office basement. was a crazy night. dash's entourage rolled through in full effect, loved sleigh bells and javelin, two rappers (stally and curren$y) spit over javelin songs during an unexpected encore by popular demand. later in the evening, everyone went upstairs to watch javelin's set in dash's office and rumor was that both parties wanted to further jam. next thing you know, everyone's downstairs in the venue again and mos def et al are jamming with javelin and knyfe hyts! was a special night. - erez avissar

After the show I thought I heard that Mos Def played with Sleigh Bells (who are now also famous for M.I.A. and Spike Jonze reportedly coming to one of their shows) (though someone told me they think the M.I.A. part was a rumor started after a case of mistaken identity). I must have jumped to conclusions though because Mos Def actually only jammed with the other two bands at the Friday night show (11/20). Amazing weekend for guest appearances in NYC (the Roots and David Byrne played with Dirty Projectors at Bowery Ballroom). More pictures from Under 100 below...

Continue reading "Mos Def played w/ Sleigh Bells, Javelin & Knyfe Hyts 81 @ Under 100 in NYC - pics"

words & photos by Erez Avissar

MNDR (aka Amanda Warner) opened the Brooklyn show at Monster Island on Wednesday night (11/18). Shouting, singing and rapping over techno-centric beats, she showed respect to tour-mate Juiceboxxx as well as a strong influence by him. She fared better than her mentor though, who played a super-brief, possibly truncated, set of less than 20 minutes. Opening with his most well-known tune/statement of intent, "Thunder Jam #5", Juiceboxxx positioned himself in sort of a "me against the crowd/world" way, alienating himself from the audience. It was unfortunate, because a basement show like this one could have been the ideal place to see him.

Even without their signature boomboxes, Javelin brought much-needed positive energy to the room with highlights like expanded versions of "Mossy Woodland" and "Vibrationz", as well as their skewed "Into The Groove" interpretation and some worldly tropical beats that turned the place into a dance party. The energy stayed with the crowd, who were more than happy to stick around after and dance to pop hits, ranging from Olivia Newton-John to Jay-Z, courtesy of Todd P's iPod.

Javelin live is not to be slept on. Catch them Friday (TONIGHT) with Sleigh Bells (who played Le Poisson Rouge last night) at a new DIY all ages venue in Manhattan called "Under 100." Get there early - Javelin goes on first (9pm). More details about that show and pictures below...

Continue reading "Javelin played Monster Island w/ Juiceboxxx (pics), plays new venue Under 100 TONIGHT w/ Sleigh Bells & Knyfe Hyts"