photos by Amanda Hatfield

The Raveonettes

The Raveonettes played a free Beach Party at Beekman Beer Garden on Sunday (7/31) with Eternal Summers. The day party was the day before both bands played Maxwell's in NJ. According to The Tear-N Tan Files, "Opening up was Virginia's Eternal Summers putting on a pop/post punk set with a tinge of surf for a faster summer feel.... The Raveonettes played an amazing set with a 2 song encore, but still a way too short set. The intense distortion was made all the more beautiful by Sharin Foo and Sune Rose Wagner's beautiful harmonies."

The sixth of six free Sunday shows at Beekman Beer Garden happens this Sunday (8/7) with Mission of Burma. If you haven't been there yet, the part-beach outdoor venue is around the back of the mall right on the pier at South Street Seaport.

More pictures and videos from the Raveonettes show below...

Continue reading "The Raveonettes & Eternal Summers played Beekman Beer Garden (pics & video)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Twin Sister - "Bad Street" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Your Youth - What Smarts (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Metronomy - "The Bay" (Clock Opera Remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Class Actress - Keep You (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Sonny and the Sunsets - I Wanna Do It (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Sonny and the Sandwitches - Throw My Ashes from This Pier When I Die (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Night Beats - Puppet on a String (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Craft Spells - After The Moment (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Craft Spells - Party Talk (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Gardens & Villa - Star Fire Power (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Gardens & Villa - Star Fire Power (MP3)

Oh man it's another crazy week. Let's get into it. Tonight's free SummerScreen in McCarren Park tonight is pretty hard to pass up. Not only are they showing the John Hughes classic Ferris Beuller's Day Off (which is 25 years old this year!) but they got Twin Sister to play before it. In addition to performing lots of songs from their forthcoming album on Domino Records, Twin Sister will also be debuting the music video for their single, "Bad Street." You can download the MP3 of that at the top of this post.

Speaking of MP3s, we've also got one up there from Your Youth who are also playing SummerScreen tonight (6:45PM) and couldn't be more different from Twin Sister. "What Smarts" is a new track from the local duo who are kind of proto-grunge punk. Catchy stuff.

It would be really cool if, say, Your Youth covered "Beat City" by The Flowerpot Men and Twin Sister maybe did Dream Academy's "The Edge of Forever". (Why has Ferris Bueller never gotten a posthumous soundtrack release?) Probably won't happen but one can hope. In addition to the movie and the bands, there's loads of giveaways and such.

Metronomy

The show I am absolutely most excited about this week, without a doubt, is Metronomy who play Hudson River Rocks on Pier 54 on Thursday. Metronomy's third album, The English Riviera, just got nominated for the Mercury Prize (sure to lose to James Blake) and got its stateside release yesterday. As I wrote previously:

The new record retains Metronomy's slightly askew, claustrophobic sound while broadening its scope. There's glammy funk ("We Broke Free," the Roxy-ish "She Wants"), a guitar pop ("Everything Goes My Way," a duet with Roxanne Clifford of Veronica Falls), waltz-time ballads  ("Trouble"), and more typical Metronomy-style twitchy disco ("The Bay," "Corrine."). It's also got one of the 2011's best singles, "The Look."

It's definitely one of my favorite albums of the year. (Their last album, Nights Out, was my favorite album of 2008.) The vinyl version comes with the CD which is a trend I would like to see all labels doing. Highly recommended. Watching a few live performance clips , I'm glad to see they're still wearing stick-it-and-click-it lights on their shirts that was a highlight of their old stage show -- even though they're a proper band now (they didn't used to have a drummer).

Also playing the Pier 54 show is American Royalty and Class Actress whose debut album Rapproacher is out October 11 on Carpark. You can snag "Keep You" at the top of this post. Do get there early for openers American Royalty who came out from L.A. just for this show. I caught them at SXSW this year and they kept me entertained on Saturday evening when I was basically burned out on seeing live music. You can check out their hodgepodge electro sound via their Bandcamp page. And if you want to see them again, American Royalty play Lit on Saturday (7/30).

If you want to keep the party going on Thursday after Metronomy, head over to Glasslands for all your sissy bounce italodisco soulclap free booze needs. New Orleans Vockah Redu is like Big Freedia but with more choreography and a subscription to Vogue. (Check out the video at the bottom of this post.) They also play the PS1 warm-up on Saturday. Also playing is Portland's Miracles Club, who played PS1 last weekend. Jonathan Tobin is DJing, it's My Open Bar's 5th anniversary, it's a party.

Sonny

What else is going on this week? Sonny & the Sunsets are backfor the first time since October, playing Mercury Lounge on Friday (7/29) and Glasslands on Saturday (7/30). Have you checked out Sonny's new album, Hit After Hit? As I wrote previously:

Unlike last year's laid back and folky Too Young to Burn, the new album is more of a party --inspired by '60s pop and garage. Opening track "She Plays Yo-Yo with My Mind" cribs liberally from The Standells' "Dirty Water."

At least a couple of the songs on Hit After Hit (including "I Wanna Do It") are reworked versions of songs written for Smith's 100 Records project which you might have caught at the late Cinders Gallery last summer. Embued with Smith's (and fellow Sunset Kelley Stoltz) encyclopedic knowledge of pop and his wry sense of humor, Hit After Hit's a great little record.

Tourmates for this go-round are fellow Bay Area residents The Sandwitches who were described by Sunsets drummer/producer Kelley Stoltz thusly: "Imagine a 60's Girl-group is on tour and their van breaks down near a gothic castle high on the hill, Dario Argento invites them in to perform a concert for his tweaked actors in a big dark red room inside and, if the dream is right, it's the Sandwiches - they'd fit right in with those misfits and speak the same language. I'd like to be there to dance."

Sonny Smith put out a record with The Sandwitches last year, so I'd expect to hear those tracks at these shows. Check out one of them, the twangy, mournful "Throw My Ashes from This Pier When I Die" at the top of this post. I caught Sonny last year when he toured with Kelley Stoltz and it was a great show. Sonny doesn't get enough attention i don't think, so do try and make it to one of these shows.

The Night Beats

Seattle trio The Night Beats are currently on tour with The Black Lips opening for sold out shows at Bowery Ballroom on Friday (7/29) and Maxwell's on Saturday (7/30). But if you wanna catch them in a non-sold-out enviroment, free of the Black Lips, they play Sunday night (7/31) at Shea Stadium with Sweet Bulbs, Dinowalrus, Liquor Store, and Yvette.

The Night Beats' stomping debut is out now on Trouble in Mind. I caught the band at the label's party during SXSW:

I got there as Seattle trio Night Beats were just starting. Never heard them before, but really dug their psych-garage sounds, and they definitely looked the part. They ended their set with a cover of The Count Five's classic "Psychotic Reaction," giving their version a little swing which made it their own.

Check out "Puppet on a String" from their TiM debut at the top of this post. The Shea Stadium show is solid, I like all the bands on the bill.

Craft Spells

Speaking of Seattle, Craft Spells are back in town, playing Mercury Lounge on Saturday (7/30)  -- their first area show since playing here back in April. Live, they eschew the keyboards that are so abundant on their Captured Tracks album in favor of a guitar-oriented line-up which works just fine. (It's very Orange Juice.) They are young and enthusiastic and the songs are ridiculously catchy.

The band are on tour with Santa Barbara, CA's Gardens & Villa who are dreamy and synthy and danceable (kinda like Tony Castles). Their debut album just came out via Secretly Canadian and you can download two tracks from it at the top of this post. Also playing are local synthpop act Selebrities whose free downloadable EP evokes favorable comparisons to all sorts of '80s groups. You can download a free EP from Selebrities here.

Eternal Summers

And finally, don't forget about this Sunday's Beach Party at Beekman Beer Garden with Raveonettes and Eternal Summers. The Raveonettes new album, Raven in the Grave, is a slow burn compared to 2009's poppy In and Out of Control but no less enticing and I've always enjoyed them live. And Eternal Summers can do no wrong for me right now. This will be a very fun show, and likely the first where they might have to turn people away because of capacity so come early. Free!

Ok, that's the main stuff I'm highlighting this week but there are quite a few more recommended shows listed day-by-day below.

The Psychic Paramount @ Union Pool -- 7/26

Disappears @ Union Pool -- 7/26

WEDNESDAY, JULY 27

I had my mind blown twice at Union Pool last night: first by the smoke-machine fueled power of The Psychic Paramount (modern instrumental acid rock? Incredible!) and then by Disappears whose new material written with Steve Shelley is groovier, a little slower than their pedal-to-the-metal first albums but equally awesome. (More Neu!, less Stooges.) They play tonight at Cake Shop. Get up close and watch Disappear's bassist lay it down track after track.

There are so many shows tonight! But if you want to see three of the best bands in NYC right now, head to Mercury Lounge for North Highlands, ARMS and Hospitality. All three groups are holding onto new albums that I am dying to hear. Hospitality were incredible when they played my final Sound Bites show down at Fulton Stall Market two weeks ago.

Avi Buffalo test out new material for their second Sub Pop album at the Rock Shop tonight. With Nic Frietas.

Metronomy aren't the only Mercury Prize nominees in town this week. Anna Calvi plays tonight at Le Poisson Rouge.

Out at Bushwick's Brooklyn Fireproof, you can see The Gytters (who I wrote about last week) and Cake Shop house band Moonmen on the Moon, Man... along with Nighty Night and Beat People.

The Barr Brothers, who I really liked at M for Montreal last year, play Rockwood Music Hall tonight. They recently signed to Secret City, home of Patrick Watson & the Wooden Arms, Plants and Animals, Miracle Fortress, Basia Bulat and more.

continued below...

Continue reading "Metronomy, American Royalty, Twin Sister, Sonny & the Sunsets, Night Beats, Craft Spells, Avi Buffalo & more in This Week in Indie"

The number of great and FREE NYC shows set for this summer grows by the day, and now we have a new set to occupy six Sundays. The new Beekman Beer Garden at the South Street Seaport will host a six week "Beach Party" series kicking off on July 10th.

With the iconic Brooklyn Bridge and East River as their backdrop, the respective bands will take the stage on the Beekman Beer Garden's 200-ton sandy beach at 3 p.m. Sunday afternoons.

Presented in association with producers involved with the indie-oriented Seaport Music Festival on Pier 17 (south side) and the RiverRocks series on Pier 54, the Beach Party concerts are free, and limited to 1,100 people. Doors open at 11:30 a.m., and all shows are 21 and over.

Check out the schedule and flyer below...

Continue reading "Beekman Beer Garden hosting 6 free shows (Raveonettes, Mission of Burma, Cheeseburger & more)"

photos by Jessica Amaya

Surfer Blood

Though we didn't get there in time to get pictures, Bill said Eternal Summers were a highlight of the Kanine Records Northside Festival showcase at Knitting Factory Friday night. The bill also included a rockin set by Grooms, Pepper Rabbit (who Bill liked despite thinking he wouldn't), X-Ray Eyeballs (who also played the secret show at Death By Audio with Thee Oh Sees later in the night), and headliner Surfer Blood who played a few new songs during their late set to a packed house. If you were there, how long did you wait to get in? Surfer Blood also opened for Guided By Voices on Saturday.

More pictures from the Knitting Factory show, and a video of Surfer Blood playing "Twin Peaks" at the show, below...

Continue reading "Surfer Blood, Grooms, Pepper Rabbit & X-Ray Eyeballs @ the Kanine show @ Knitting Factory (pics)"

photos by Jessica Amaya, words by Rachel Kowal

Atlas Sound in a church

Northside Festival got off to a sweaty start yesterday, but luckily, the weather held out. I don't think I'm alone in saying that last night may have been the most stacked. Forget a slow build-up. It was 8:00, and there were already at least three places I really wanted to be, but I decided to go with Atlas Sound. I mean it was at St. Cecilia's, so it got extra points.

"I think this is the first time I've been in a church," one guy said tentatively to his friend before the show started. With its stained glass windows, carefully carved decorations, shiny chandeliers, and beautiful pews, it was a sight to behold.

The setting couldn't have been more fitting for the opening act, Lichens. The set got off to a slow start - seven solid minutes of a monotone buzz, but it soon started to build with every passing minute as Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe added more to the mix, including some otherworldly vocals. The natural reverb of the space further complimented his sound.

After about playing for about thirty minutes straight, he stopped as suddenly as he had begun, and another one-man act, Adam Forkner (aka White Rainbow), took his place behind a folding table and began to fiddle with a series of knobs and pedals. Forkner, too, carefully looped his music together, but for him, the music was more to entertain - not to bring about a religious experience. With the addition of some bass in the mix, it was just enough to get two people near the front to stand up in their pews and start dancing. (I smell a Craigslist missed connection in the making.)

Up next was yet another one-man act, Atlas Sound. In his red button up shirt and high-wasted khaki pants, Bradford Cox was dressed for the occasion. The majority of his set comprised brand new songs (for which he apologized, saying he had forgotten how the other ones go), but he did at least slip in a few older ones, including "Shelia." It's only a matter of time before Cox starts to make up songs on the spot for each show (as he joked he was doing at the Brooklyn show).

Unfortunately, though the atmosphere was ornate, I didn't love the sound quality. (Or maybe I'm just spoiled from hearing him play at the Bell House.) At times, the guitar took on this jarring quality as it pierced through the otherwise dreamy mix, but the crowd didn't seem to mind too much (Andrew liked it). A number of people left their seats in the back and filled in the space in between the pews as the show went on.

After a brief encore, Bradford Cox delivered something of a benediction to the crowd, and turned everyone loose to dash to the next show - for me, it was off to a sticky hot Bruar Falls (as per Bill's recommendation) for a bit of jangly pop, courtesy of Reading Rainbow and Eternal Summers. It was still early after all.

--

Woods headlines the show at St. Cecilia's tonight (Friday). Eleanor Friedberger is Saturday (Eleanor moved to Europa). Mount Eerie is Sunday. More pictures from Thursday and a video too, below...

Continue reading "Northside night 1 w/ Atlas Sound, Lichens & White Rainbow (pics & review)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Seapony - Dreaming (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Seapony - Blue Star (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Eternal Summers - Prisoner (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Kindest Lines - Destructive Paths to Live Happily (MP3)

Seapony

It's year three of the Northside Festival, which for one weekend a year makes Williamsburg's music scene just a little crazier than it already is. This first night (tonight) is maybe the strongest overall, in that there are a lot of great showcases set up where -- if you don't have a badge -- you can stay put and get a quality night of music. Or if you do have a badge ($70 bucks, a good deal if you plan on going all four nights) -- some tough decisions. These are my personal picks, and not a comprehensive guide. Clearly lots more is going on (and even more shows that aren't part of Northside).

Radical Dads

NYC Popfest has put together a really good show at Bruar Falls tonight featuring Eternal Summers, Reading Rainbow, The Secret History and Seapony. I highly recommend all four bands, but do consider going early (8:30) for Seapony who are here from Seattle and should appeal to those who covet 7"s from Sarah and Creation Records. MP3s from Seapony and Eternal Summers are at the top of this post.

Over at Union Pool,  Tiger Mountain booking (aka Skippy who books the Rock Shop) has a quality line-up of locals for ya. If you're looking for a great way to kick off your night, go here at 7:30 for Hospitality who make winsome but not unmuscular pop. Highly recommended. Later on in the evening is '90s indie rock loving Radical Dads whose great debut, Mega Rama, was released this week. (But not on vinyl...boo!). Pursesnatchers (Doug from Dirty on Purpose's band) finishes the night. Also playing: Lady Lamb the Beekeeper and Indian Rebound.

Kindest Lines

Meanwhile at Public Assembly the good folks of No Fun Productions, The Bunker and Wierd Records, have an evening of minimal synth, coldwave, industial and other dark arts planned. Performers include noise and sound artists Rene Hell and Carlos Giffoni; the ethereal, danceable sounds of Laurel Halo; synthpop traditionalists Xeno & Oaklander who make their music with seriously old-school sequencers and keyboards (patch bays are involved); and New Orleans' Kindest Lineswho make pop music that should appeal to fans of early New Order (and, yes, The Cure).  There's also a host of acclaimed DJs spinning in-between sets.

X-Ray Eyeballs

Primo Chicago garage label HozAc Records is hosting the debauchery at Shea Stadium tonight, with Xray Eyeballs (who also play the Kanine show Friday at Knitting Factory), the K-Holes, Making Friendz and My Teenage Stride in there as well to pop things up a bit.

Randoms: I also recommend catching Zaza at Coco66 (11:45, dark and sexy) and Mr. Dream at Glasslands (Midnight, '90s indie rawk).

Again, just my picks. Do go see some music tonight!

Continue reading "Bill's Northside Fest picks (Day 1)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD:Seapony - Dreaming (MP3)
DOWNLOAD:Seapony - Blue Star (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Eternal Summers - Prisoner (MP3)

Seapony

NYC Popfest is now over. It was a fun four days (as said before, Gold-Bears were seriously amazing). Popfest is branching out this year, increasing their presence throughout the year. They'll be at this year's Northside Festival for a June 16 showcase at Bruar Falls with The Secret History, Eternal Summers and Seattle's Seapony. I'm hearing rumors of CMJ and SXSW showcases in the works too.

Seapony will be playing three shows during their NYC visit. In addition to the Northside show, they'll play June 15 at Glasslands (w/ Idiot Glee, Holiday Shores and TEEN) and June 17 at Pianos. Their debut full length "Go With Me" comes out on Hardly Art on 5/31, and has some really lovely songs on it, melodic, jangly pop not unlike the kind Creation Records used to release before they signed Oasis. You can check out two tracks at the top of this post -- "Dreaming" is especially lovely.

Eternal Summers, meanwhile, are currently on tour with The Beets.... which will have them meeting up with Seapony this week at San Francisco Popfest. Check out the title track from Eternal Summers' new EP at the top of this post.

All tour dates for Seapony and Eternal Summers are below.

Continue reading "Seapony releasing "Go With Me", touring, playing shows w/ Eternal Summers (who are on tour now) -- MP3s & dates"

by Bill Pearis

I absolutely hated Cake Shop, which opened around this time back in 2005, the first few times I went. Not the idea of the place, which was fantastic: part coffee shop, part record store, part indie rock venue. More the practicality of the place. The inclined floor meant that you had to (and still do) have to be in the first few rows of people to see anything. I was used to the clear sightlines of Mercury Lounge and Bowery Ballroom and Knitting Factory. What the hell was this?

But the place became hard to avoid if you went to a lot of shows. The people booking seemed to get really good shows, and some surprising ones. And they clearly loved '90s indie rock and Flying Nun. I think it was the in-store with The Bats back in March of 2006 that finally warmed my heart to Cake Shop. It was around this time as well that I learned that if you wormed you way to the front of the downstairs room, not only could you see, there is an intimacy and connection with the bands you don't get at many other "legit" venues. Some of my most memorable shows of the last few years have been there.

While the record store has given way to more couches, Cake Shop remains one of the places in the city to catch emerging talent -- and cool veteran artists almost no one else would book. As previously mentioned, the venue celebrates its 6th Anniversary on Saturday night (5/7) with six bands for six bucks. Headlining are The Beets whose new album, Stay Home, is another fine slab of protopunk folk rock, this time slightly less murky. The guys, who managed to get themselves featured on the Howard Stern Show recently, are heading on tour with Eternal Summers soon and all dates for that are below.

Also playing are New Zealand's Surf City, whose sound reverberates with their country's indie rock past. They are maybe the most Flying Nun sounding NZ band never to be on Flying Nun. The new album, Kudos, is worth checking out. (They're here recording another.) Then there's Conversion Party whose anthemic pop stylings should be more popular (seriously these guys are good). If you can't make it Saturday, they play Cake Shop's sister venue Bruar Falls tonight (5/6).

More bands playing: Holy Shit who is San Francisco artist Matt Fishbeck (and sometimes Ariel Pink). At their website you can listen to what is certainly the only electro cover ever on Felt's "Final Resting of the Ark." Still more: reclusive Faunelle (dreamy, gothy synths) and poet Ariana Reines.

Holy Shit also play Monday at Glasslands with John Maus.

Beets tour dates below...

Continue reading "Happy Birthday Cake Shop (happy tour Beets) (Holy Shit)"

Theophilus London will headline the "Official Northside Festival Opening Party" at Music Hall of Williamsburg on Thursday, June 16th. Tickets go on AmEx presale Wednesday at noon, and then general sale Friday at noon. You can also try to get in with a Northside Festival badge.

The hip hop artist is one of 65+ new artists being officially added to the lineup of this year's Northside Festival (June 16-19 in various venues across Williamsburg and Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NY). Here's the full list:

Continue reading "Northside Fest adds 65+ bands to lineup, Theophilus @ MHOW, Mount Eerie, Iceage & more ++ open studios & DIY films"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Eternal Summers - Prisoner (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Crystal Stilts - Through the Floor (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Zaza - Distance Creator (ZIP)

Lyonnais

Coachella may be happening on the other coast but it's a lovely day here in NYC and I don't feel like I'm missing anything this weekend staying here. For one thing it's Record Store Day which also falls the same weekend and Tax Day which may be good or bad depending how you did this year. And there's lots of other stuff worth seeing too, so let's get into it.

McDonalds are one of these local groups whose name I'd seen around for a while and given the bands they often played with -- German Measles, Home Blitz, Tyvek -- I had it in my mind they sounded one way when, in fact, they don't. Well, that's not exactly true. They are kind of shambly indie. But their great new single "Good Parts" is like some lost obscure 7" from 1990 Manchester, that era when C-86 melted into the baggy scene. You can check it out -- in video form -- at the bottom of this post in a fun green-screened clip starring a lot of people you might recognize if you hang out at Bruars Falls or Cake Shop with any regularity.

McDonalds have three shows coming up in the next week: tonight (4/14) at Union Pool with Lyonnais and Helado Negro, then Saturday (4/16) as part of Cake Shop's Record Store Day extravaganza (more on that in a minute), and then next Wednesday (4/20) with former Swell Maps/Television Personalities dude Jowe Head & The Extremities.

As mentioned above, also playing the Union Pool show tonight are Atlanta four-piece Lyonnais whose dark, ethereal sound will likely draw comparisons to My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive... or even mid-'80s goth like Xmal Deutchland or Red Lorry Yellow Lorry. Their debut album is still being shopped around, but you can stream "Transitive Properties of Youth" at the bottom of this post, and a few more at their MySpace.

In addition to tonight's show, Lyonnais play tomorrow (4/15) at Glasslands and I imagine playing under the venue's stormcloud installation will be pretty apropos. I hope they are really loud too.

Eternal Summers

That Glasslands bill also features Roanoke, VA's Eternal Summers who have a new EP titled Prisoner out on Kanine/Forrest Family next week. The title track -- downloadable above -- is one of my favorite Eternal Summers songs yet and the whole EP is pretty excellent overall. The band, at least the last time I saw them, have expanded to a trio for live shows which fills out their sound nicely.

The Glasslands show, in addition to Eternal Summers and Lyonnais, features Toronto's Golden Dogs and locals Dream Diary who don't play together so much anymore now that guitarist Madison moved to Memphis. Brad Oberhofer will DJ in-between bands.  That's a good night of music.

Eternal Summers also play Cake Shop on Saturday (4/16) which is the venue's Record Store Day extravaganza, featuring a slew of great -- mostly local -- bands. The downstairs will be a record mart during the day (noon - 6PM). Bands during the evening include the previously-mentioned McDonalds, Natural Child, Widowspeak, Overlord, Hands & Knees, Night Collectors and Twitchers. Eternal Summers head out on tour next month with the Beets and all those tour dates are at the bottom of the post.

Also, for the real record nerds, Cake Shop is running a fun little contest. They've made 77 versions of the Record Store Day flyer, each with different backgrounds taken from album covers. Take a look, name the artist and album of as many as you can and email your answers to cakeshopusa@gmail.com. The entry with the most correct answers (or first entry in case of a tie) wins either a $77 bar tab at Cake Shop or $77 credit for the Cape Shok record mart during that day. Winner's choice. I got about 55 for sure, with another 15 I could figure out with a little time.

---------------------------

And finally, Spectrum (aka Pete "Sonic Boom" Kember who also co-fronted Spacemen 3) are in town this weekend playing two shows with Crystal Stilts: Saturday (4/16) at Le Poisson Rouge and Sunday (4/17) at Music Hall of Williamsburg. Kember is one of the forefathers of drone pop and in the past few years has become known for his work behind the boards, having produced MGMT's underrated/misunderstood Congratulations album, and he mixed the new Panda Bear. There's a new Spectrum album duo sometime soon too. Kember's influence seems more relevant than ever. Glad to see he's staying busy.

Crystal Stilts

Crystal Stilts owe more than a little to Kember's many records. The band just released their second LP, In Love with Oblivion and I think it's pretty great, pretty easily besting their 2008 debut (which was one of my favorite albums of that year.) The production's better, the songs are better, and the artwork's really nice as well. It's hard to listen to the new album without thinking of Frankie Rose whose relentless drumming style, I feel, probably had a lot to do with the way standout songs like "Sycamore Tree" and "Death is What We Live For" were formed. Both of those Kraut-heavy tracks made their debut in late 2008. As much as I like Rose's solo work, I miss her being in this band.

But the new new songs show that it's still guitarist JB Townsend and singer Brad Hargett writing great songs. The biggest improvement over the first album is probably the influence of keyboardist Kyle Forrester, whose parts add a bright color to Crystal Stilts' sound, especially on "Silver Sun" and single "Shake the Shackles." The record got a deserved 7.9 in Pitchfork today. You can download "Through the Floor" at the top of this post and watch the video below. Crystal Stilts are on tour starting next week and all dates are below.

That's it for this edition. Some daily picks and more after the jump.

Continue reading "McDonalds, Lyonnais, Eternal Summers, Record Store Day @ Cake Shop, Spectrum, Crystal Stilts, Zaza, Rebecca Gates & more in This Week in Indie"

Pete's Candy Store photos by Amanda Hatfield, Crash Mansion photos by Jessica Amaya, Pianos & Mercury Lounge photos by Chris La Putt, words by Rachel Kowal

Oh Land @ Rebel NYC (more by David Andrako)

You've been following the CMJ adventures of multiple BV contributors for two weeks now, including the day by day reviews from Rachel Kowal. Before too much more time passes, here is the conclusion of Rachel's week (with the end of day four and all of day five), and assorted pictures from four other shows all rolled into one big post. Check it all out, below....

Continue reading "Rachel's CMJ 2010 recap conclusion w/ lots of pics (Lia Ices, Sarah Jaffe, Ume, Robbers on High Street, Buke & Gass, more) "

The Blow

The only place to catch the Blow during CMJ (that I know about), and coming up in NYC at all at the moment, is at the BrooklynVegan showcase at Music Hall of Williamsburg on Thursday night (10/21). According to CMJ, who are correct, we'll be running on this schedule:

October 21st, 2010 @ MHOW
08:00PM Young Man
08:45PM Suuns
09:30PM Screaming Females
10:30PM The Blow
11:30PM The Pains of Being Pure At Heart

Tickets are still on sale for the Brooklyn show and we'll be letting in a whole bunch of CMJ badges. Also stay tuned to @bvCMJ where I'll be giving away at least one more pair of tickets.

Oh, and the first 50 people in the door Thursday night will get a set of free EarPeace ear plugs (a $14.95 value).

After CMJ, on November 9th, Khaela Maricich (aka the Blow) will hit the road with Blair who also has some CMJ shows of her own including a Wednesday show at The Rock Shop with Beach Fossils, Cloud Nothings, Braids, Lesands, and Tape Deck Mountain. And that Friday show at Mercury Lounge with Nada Surf and many others.

Blair will also take part in a Halloween show for kids, one of two upcoming Kidrockers events...

Experience the music at the heart of the CMJ Music Marathon as Kidrockers kicks off the fall season with Eternal Summers and Big Troubles on Sunday, October 24th at 1PM at The Living Room.

The following weekend, on Saturday, October 30th, Kidrockers is part of the NYC Parks and Hub TV Pumpkin Festival at The Central Park Bandshell with Chris Barron and Blair.

All Blair and The Blow dates below...

Continue reading "The Blow touring w/ Blair after CMJ (dates), Kidrockers hosting two October events"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Big Troubles - Freudian Slips (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Big Troubles - Drastic and Difficult (MP3)

Big Troubles' full-length debut, Worry, came out a couple weeks ago on Olde English Spelling Bee. You can download two tracks from it at the top of this post and listen to the whole album via their Bandcamp page.

The band play Thursday (9/23) at Glasslands with Alex Bleeker & the Freaks, Christmas Island, and The Babies (the latter two also just opened for Wavves at MHOW). Big Troubles also have some CMJ dates announced too, including a pretty sweet Saturday, October 23rd all day capeshok/inflated showcase at Bruar Falls with Woven Bones, Eternal Summers, Pregnant, Shrag, Sweet Bulbs, Mathemagic, Dead Gaze, Flight, Oberhofer, Rooftop Vigilantes, and Frankie Rose & the Outs.

For Frankie Rose, that makes at least two shows you can catch her and band at during CMJ, though it's unclear if either show is "official".

Woven Bones also play the Hardly Art show happening at Shea Stadium that week.

As a onetime '90s shoegaze obsessive, Worry really pushes all my buttons. It's got that gauzy mix of effects-laden guitars, distortion and melody down pat. And while I can hear specific touchstones -- The Boo Radleys, Medicine, Drop Nineteens as well as some of the more obvious ones -- the songs definitely stand on their own. You don't need to have remembered Revolver and Moose to appreciate the album --Worry is choc-ful of catchy songs.  And with a live drummer replacing the sequenced beats on the record, they're good live too.

A couple music videos and all upcoming Big Troubles live dates are below.

Continue reading "Big Troubles playing shows, soon & during CMJ (MP3 & dates) "

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Fergus & Geronimo - Girls with English Accents (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Fergus & Geronimo - Harder Than It's Ever Been (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Ty Segall - Girlfriend (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Ty Segall - Caesar (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Royal Baths - Nikki Don't (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Eternal Summers - Pogo (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Rayon Beach - The Memory Teeth (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Dog Day - Synastry (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Dog Day - Wait it Out (Mp3)
DOWNLOAD: Deerhunter - Revival (ZIP)
DOWNLOAD: Versus - Invincible Hero (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: How to Dress Well - Ecstasy with Jojo (MP3)

Wild Beasts @ Lollapalooza 2010 (more by Josh Darr)

Just like the August bounty of tomatoes, corn and zucchini that can be currently found at your local farmer's market, we looking at five extremely fertile days of live music, much of it free. Take advantage now -- this crop is extremely perishable.

Wild Beasts are stopping in NYC tonight on their way back from Lollapalooza, playing Highline Ballroom. Their second album, Two Dancers, was my favorite album of 2009 and a year later I'm still listening to it. It's up for this year's Mercury Music Prize and if anybody is going to beat The xx it'll be Two Dancers. If you missed their shows last September, or their appearances here in February , don't miss them this time. Tickets are still available. The fluid interplay between the band is something to behold -- a real case of four people working as one mesmerizing whole. And those who still haven't gotten used to their vocal style, I say go see them live and everything makes more sense.

Domino Records is offering a free downloadable four-song EP featuring "We've Still Got the Taste Dancing on Our Tongues" in original and remixed form, a track previously only available as a Japanese b-side and an acoustic version of "The Devil's Crayon." The download widget is at the bottom of this post and expires August 14 so get on that. And do go see them live tonight if you can. Denmark's The Kissaway Trail and UK artist Lone Wolf are also on the bill.

Fergus and Geronimo

It's been a year since Denton, TX's Fergus & Geronimo were last in town, and while they haven't released anything new since last summer's initial flurry of singles, that should change soon. The band have signed with Sub Pop subsidiary Hardly Art who will hopefully be putting out a record sooner than later. In the meantime, UK label Transparent (who put out "Tell it in My Ear" last year) have offered up a new F&G track "Girls with English Accents" that you can download at the top of this post. Maybe a little more dreamy/folky and less soul-tinged than their previous output, it's still another winner from this excellent four-piece.

I saw them at 92-Y Tribeca last summer and thought they were terrific. Fergus & Geronimo play Cake-Shop tonight (8/11) with Radical Dads and Little Gold. They then play Saturday (8/14) at Don Pedro's with Liquor Store, Home Blitz, Moonmen on the Moon, Man, and Nashville's Pujol. That sounds like a party.

Also here from Texas this weekend are Austin's Rayon Beach who play Bruar Falls on Saturday (8/14) and Death by Audio on Sunday (8/15). Like a lot of the bands on Hozac Records (or bands from Austin for that matter), this trio fit under the psych/garage umbrella but there's a decided Brit bent to their music. Baroque garage, is that a thing? Think Syd-era Pink Floyd or The Pretty Things more than Woven Bones. Make no mistake -- Rayon Beach can and do get plenty loud. It's just sometimes with pinkies extended. Check out Memory Teeth's title track at the top of this post.

The Bruar falls show is with Girls at Dawn and Xray Eyeballs; the Death by Audio show also features The Beets and Andrew Graham & Swarming Branch.

Ty Segall

We're just getting started. Ty Segall and The Royal Baths are here from San Francisco, playing Cake Shop on Thursday (8/12) and Death by Audio on Friday (8/13). For my money, it doesn't get much better in the new garage scene than this guy, who has been cranking out records over the last two years. Amazingly, they're pretty much all good, and each record goes somewhere new. The latest, Melted, just out on Goner Records, adds some nice '60s paisley pop touches. You can download two tracks from it at the top of this post. And he's great live.

The Royal Baths, meanwhile, are sort of the flip side to Ty's sunshine pop. I wrote before that they're "kind of bad trip acid rock, dark and seedy but not atonal. But it's definitely down the rabbit hole. In a good way." Royal Baths debut LP is due out on Woodsist in September and you can check out album track "Nikki Don't" at the top of this post.

Eternal Summers

Still more. Roanoke, VA's Eternal Summers are back -- they were last here for the Northside Festival -- for two shows: Thursday (8/12) at new Williamsburg venue The Pyramids and then Friday night (8/13) at Cake Shop. The band have signed with Kanine records who will put out their first full-length, Silver, in September. You can check out the album's first single, "Pogo," in the popular MP3 format at the top of this post. If you dig C-86 inspired pop like Brilliant Colors or Liechtenstein, you should definitely seek this duo out. Absolutely worth seeing live and nice folks too.

Both shows Eternal Summers are playing have pretty stacked bills. The Pyramids gig is with Philly's Reading Rainbow, all-girl quartet Rescue Bird, the shambly goodness that is German Measles and the wistful surf of Family Trees; Friday's Cake Shop show also has new-ish Brooklyn duo Yvette, the tinny, witty pop of Knight School and Halifax, NS band Dog Day.

Dog Day

Dog Day are actually here playing two shows. They play Thursday (8/12) at Bruar Falls in addition to the Cake Shop show on Friday. It's been a while since Halifax's mid-90s indie explosion that gave us Sloan and Thrush Hermit, but Dog Day are helping put the coastal city back on the map. Led by husband-and-wife team of Seth Smith and Nancy Ulrich, the quartet make moody, melodic indie rock that is not too dissimilar from The Figurines or The Comas. Last year's Concentration was one of 2009's lost gems. There's two songs to download at the top of this post and I highly suggest you do. You might find yourself saying "why haven't I heard these guys before?" Normally a quartet, for these NYC shows Dog Day will just be a duo of Smith/Ulrich and they'll be testing out new songs for their upcoming album.

Savoir Adore @ Coco66 for Northside (more by Don Gochenour)

And last but not least, Friday is the last Seaport Music Festival show of the season but they are really going out with a bang with The Wedding Present and Savoir Adore. I'm told we're getting a full 90-minute set from the Weddoes pretty close to what they played at Bowery Ballroom back in April: a career-spanning "hits" set and then they'll play 1989's Bizarro in full.

I saw the Bowery Bizzaro show and it was fantastic, especially the stuff from Side Two of the LP, the long, jangle-on-speed workouts of "Bewitched" and "Take Me!" David Gedge may be 50 but he can still tear into his guitar like Thatcher was still in office. There's video of "Take Me" from Bowery at the bottom of this post. The hits set was peppered with a few new songs too, which I thought were pretty good.

Savoir Adore, one of my favorite new NYC bands of the last few years, are always good live. If you have yet to check out their self-titled debut from last year, you definitely should.

-----------------------------

As if this wasn't enough, here are a few more picks by day that weren't already covered above:

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 11

Two of the best new bands of the last year -- Twin Sister and Oberhofer -- play Mercury Lounge with Ontario's MemoryHouse. Twin Sister and Memory House also play together on Thursday (8/12) at Monster Island Basement, the start of a two-week tour together. All dates at the bottom of this post.

At Coco 66 it's another installment of Show Off Your Sugar which pairs one band and one author to benefit 826NYC, a non-profit writing center for New York City students. Rock critic Chuck Klosterman reads and Here We Go Magic will rock.

continued below...

Continue reading "Wild Beasts, Fergus & Geronimo, Rayon Beach, Ty Segall, Eternal Summers, Dog Day, the Wedding Present & more in This Week in Indie "

DOWNLOAD: Family Trees - Dream Talkin (MP3)

Kimya Dawson will be in Brooklyn August 17th for an intimate show at The Pyramids (32D South 1st St), a space also known as South 1st Studios and formerly known as Glasshouse. Also on the bill are No One and the Somebodies, TURBOSLEAZE, Pablo Das and Only Son. The show is at 7pm, all ages, no advance tickets ($10), and the space fits about 200. It's part of a short tour for Kimya that includes a house show in Baltimore and a gig in Philly.

Also at the Pyramids is a show a few days earlier on August 12th with Eternal Summers, Reading Rainbow (who have shows with Dum Dum Girls and Crocodiles coming up), Rescue Bird, German Measles and Family Trees (who have a 7" out for the song above, with a video below). That show is $8.

Tour dates and videos are below...

Continue reading "Kimya Dawson schedules dates, The Pyramids hosting shows "

by Bill Pearis

a day by day Week in Indie-like guide to this week's Northside Festival...

Northside HQ (freedubya)

When I was looking at the full Friday Northside Festival schedule, I was a bit overwhelmed by the embarrassment of riches available to indie rock fans tonight. I felt like writing "Basically just go anywhere tonight and you're going to run into a good show." Which is mostly true. If you have a badge, you can flit between venues and make up your own killer bill.

Some of these shows are going to be crowded though. Like I bet Glasslands will be packed out the wazoo for Tame Impala, so if that's one you're interested in you might just want to plant yourself there early (advanced tickets are sold out). Do they have air conditioning at Glasslands yet? It might get so hot in there you'll start seeing things, which would go well with those Aussies' rhythm-heavy psych rock.

You could also go to Death By Audio (which does have A/C, and now two working bathrooms) for a rock-solid bill of guitar-centric bands brought to us by Less Artists More Condos. The lineup includes voluminous duo Sisters and their giant stack of amps; the under-appreciated and poppy Darlings; skilled noise merchants Grooms; and art punks Regal Degal who I definitely think are a "band to watch."

Moon Duo @ the Big Sur Woodsist Fest on June 12 (more by Rachel Carr)

Moving away from the corner of S. 1st and Kent, the Woodsist Showcase at Music Hall of Williamsburg is kind of a no-brainer. That said, headliners Woods and Real Estate play all the time here. I say go early for the San Francisco triple threat of Moon Duo, Sic Alps and The Fresh & Onlys, then skip off to something else.

Moon Duo, an offshoot of Wooden Shjips, play two chord (at most) psych-drone not unlike Spacemen 3 or Loop. I saw them the last night of SXSW when I was cold and tired, not the state of mind I'd recommend experiencing them. Not that the cold part will be an issue in this weather. There's not a lot to watch, so maybe locate a seat upstairs and bliss out.

Sic Alps are back to a duo after a short stint with Ty Segall on drums.  They haven't released anything in a year -- a long time for what was a pretty prolific band -- but that shouldn't hamper their live show, usually powered by a Jenga-like monolith stack of amps in the center of the stage. Their sound is thick and sludgy, but carefully prepared. It feels like a bog in July -- in a good way.

And I'm really looking forward to hearing The Fresh & Onlys with MHoW's sound system. While many of their many recordings have been decidedly lo-fi, these guys can really play and I think it's time they shake loose the "garage rock" tag that never really fit them in the first place. This is pop music. They are really a case of the whole adding up to more than their parts -- the whole band is great -- but if you go tonight, be sure to watch lead guitarist Wymond Miles. The guy is a genius and has a rack of pedals that would impress Kevin Shields. The sounds he gets deserve high fidelity. As do their great songs. I'm a huge fan, is it obvious?

Down the street from MHoW, at Cameo Gallery: Kanine Records, Wao Wao Records & Insound are presenting another great lineup under the venue's psychedelic Snuffelupagus. There's a bunch of really good locals (Dream Diary, Grooms, We Are Country Mice) but you might want to swing by to catch Roanoke, VA's Eternal Summers who really impressed me when I saw them at Glasslands a couple months ago. Also: If you like the Pastels, Field Mice and all things indiepop, Dream Diary are your new favorite band if they haven't attained that already.

Madison of Dream Diary is pulling double duty tonight, as she is half of Coasting who'll play at Matchless as part of a bill curated by Georgia of blog Microphone Memory Emotion. Coasting's debut 7" is worth picking up, and if you're lucky you'll get a copy printed on lavender vinyl. Also playing are Family Portrait, Fluffy Lumbers and Bermuda Bonnie.

Over at Coco 66, there's a benefit for 826NYC (badges are accepted despite it being a benefit) with Sondre Lerche and Oberhoffer, plus a reading from author Shalom Auslander. Sondre usually plays MHoW or Bowery Ballroom these days, so to see him in such a small venue will be a treat. Anyone who's seen him before knows what a charmer -- and tunesmith -- he is. Plus, there's up-and-comers Oberhoffer who I wouldn't be surprised if they're playing much bigger venues very soon. Also there's an open vodka bar at 8PM.

Meanwhile at Union Pool, there's an early show (doors at 7PM) that features my new favorite band on Captured Tracks, MINKS. They've only got a single out so far, the Cure-esque "Funeral Song," which doesn't really represent what they do live. The six piece performing MINKS do have some Cure/New Order tendencies, but I'd say Felt is probably just as strong an influence, with clean jangly guitars and jazzy arrangements. Both times I've seen them live, my only complaint has been they didn't play long enough. Not sure of set time for MINKS, but there's not a lot else going on then, you can hang in the backyard of Union Pool and get some tacos from the El Diablo truck to recharge for the night ahead.

That seems like plenty for one night. A video from one of Tame Impala's sets at Pianos last night, below...

Continue reading "Bill's 2010 Northside Festival picks (Friday)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Braids - Lemonade (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: No Joy - No Joy (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Psychobuildings - Birds of Prey (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: North Highlands - Sugar Lips (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Besnard Lakes - Albatross (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Land of Talk - May You Never (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Cheap Time - Woodland Drive (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Bad Sports -On Video (MP3)

Owen Pallett playing w/ the Luyas @ Webster Hall (more by Sarahana)

It's Memorial Day Weekend which used to mean, if you stayed in town, there was nothing to do except go see whatever piece of crap Hollywood was foisting upon us, hang out at backyard BBQs (not a bad thing at all), and enjoy a relatively emptied-out city. Not so much anymore. I mean, there's still Hollywood crap -- take your pick of sand-n-sandals epics SATC2 or Prince of Persia if you must -- but people stick around more, and there's clearly more options for the music fan. Lots of good stuff this weekend, most of which you can still get tickets.

Also: lots of Montreal action this weekend. Starting tonight (5/27) with an early show at Mercury Lounge with The Luyas and Braids. If you check in with BV fairly often you already know we're pretty big fans of the former. It took them a while to finally come play NYC but now that they have, they seem to be coming back weekly. It's not the most straightforward music, but there's a magical quality about The Luyas that worms its way under your skin.

Braids are doing a similar thing but with a different sonic palette, more electronic, more trancey. As I wrote before, I was impressed when I saw them on Tuesday at Knitting Factory. I wish they spent as much time on the songs as the soundscape-ish arrangements, but there's a lot of promise in their best songs (like "Lemonade" which you can download above) and they're definitely worth checking out. Like I said, it's an early show -- Luyas open at 7:30 -- which leaves most of your evening open. If you can't make it tonight, Braids also play Rooftop Films tomorrow, where they're paired with a collection of "Dark Toons," which sounds like a good match to me.

No Joy

If you wanted to keep the MTL thing going after the early Luyas/Braids, you could then head over to Cameo Gallery to see No Joy who split their time between that city and Los Angeles. I don't know a whole lot about these two girls but I really dig the two songs that have been floating around which were produced by Think About Life/Miracle Fortress whiz kid Graham Van Pelt. I've seen some people call their sound shoegaze, but it's more in that Dinosaur Jr. kind of way than a Ride/Slowdive kind of way. Thick, sludgy and rockin'. Look out for an EP on Mexican Summer sometime soon. They played last night at Shea Stadium and apparently blew everyone's eardrums out. You are warned.

Also on this eclectic bill: the paranoid postpunk/electropop of Psychobuildings (check out "Birds of Prey" at the top of this post) who kind of remind me of The Pop Group; The Surprisers (another band featuring German Measles/Cause Co-motion/etc etc dudes); and the gentle orch-pop of North Highlands who I've written about before a few times.

And am writing about again right here. Shameless plug time. As you may have seen, I'm working with the Seaport Music folks to put on a series of lunchtime shows every Wednesday in June down at Pier 17 (the Seaport Stage). The shows are in conjunction with the Fulton Stall Markets, a farmers market in the old Fulton Fish Market stalls across the street from the Seaport. The market opens on Sunday and we're doing a kickoff show with North Highlands. I DJ at noon and then the band is on at 1PM. I'm super happy to have North Highlands play the first show, they were the first band I thought of for this, and think they're easily one of the most promising new bands in NYC. Anyway, come down if you can. The rest of the Sound Bites Lunchtime Series schedule (including The Beets, Ribbons and more) can be found here.

Besnard Lakes @ SXSW (more by Tim Griffin)

Okay, back to Montreal. Friday night (5/28) The Besnard Lakes are playing Bowery Ballroom with Land of Talk. People overuse the word "epic" but the Besnard Lakes make music that deserves that description. And epic doesn't necessarily mean "overblown." Take, for example, "Like the Ocean, Like the Innocent" which opens their new album Are the Roaring Night. It's an amazing slow build that explodes (in slo-mo, yet not in a Michael Bay way) in the chorus with a giant wave of guitars. One of my favorite songs of the year, and it crushed at the Brooklyn Vegan day party during this year's SXSW. I've never seen a bad Besnard Lakes show. I highly, highly recommend you go.

Openers Land of Talk are no slouches in the live department either. The band's second album, Cloak and Cipher, is due out August 24 on Saddle Creek, and we should get a nice preview of it tomorrow night.

A few more weekend picks, day by day (and tour dates below):

Continue reading "No Joy, North Highlands, Besnard Lakes, Luyas, Eternal Summers, Twin Sister & more in This Week in Indie"

"Like last year, everything will be taking place in Williamsburg and Greenpoint because walking long distances is a drag when there are bands to see and beer to drink, we mean seriously. Us here at The L Magazine will be booking a share of shows on our own, but, for a large chunk of the festival, we've once again handed over curatorial control to some of the most tasteful, talented and dedicated folks in New York's independent music scene -- record labels, bloggers, promoters and more -- allowing them to showcase the bands they think you need to hear. The Williamsburg Gallery Association is again on board to highlight special exhibitions and other events at over 25 art galleries in the neighborhood. And to celebrate Northside's second year, we've invited a few of the city's biggest aficionados of independent film to curate four nights of New York-made movies at Brooklyn's new, as-yet-unopened film house-music club-restaurant-bar, indieScreen."

That message from L Magazine refers to the second annual Northside Festival, taking place in Brooklyn from June 24th through the 27th.

Music, art and movies will be happening at "30+ venues" and "dozens of galleries" over the course of four days in Greenpoint and Williamsburg. Like SXSW & CMJ, you can buy tickets to individual events, or you can get a badge which gets you in to everything that isn't already at badge-capacity. $50 badges are now on sale to those 21 and over. If you buy a badge, "Arrive to venues early - badgeholders are admitted on a first-come, first-served, one-out, one-in basis."

If you buy a badge you can take your chances at getting into one of the four Northside shows happening at Music Hall of Williamsburg (BrooklynVegan showcase included), Fiery Furnaces at Brooklyn Bowl, and WAVVES & Cloud Nothings at Knitting Factory. TONS more shows TBA, but the initial list of bands that will be playing has been announced (I'm especially excited to see The Wave Pictures, Fucked Up, Liars, Parenthetical Girls and Les Savy Fav on there in addition to what we've previously talked about) (and yes Titus Andronicus is on there). Check it out below...

Continue reading "2010 Northside Festival - tickets & intial lineup (includes Liars, Fucked Up, Les Savy Fav, Polvo & many more)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Eternal Summers - Able To (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Beach Fossils - Youth (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: North Highlands - Collarbone (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Regal Degal - I Saw the Smoke (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Common Loon - Dinosaur Vs. Early Man (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Natural Child - Dogbite (MP3)

Eternal Summers

Happy Tax Day! This week's column is jam-packed with cheap options for great shows if Uncle Sam left your bank accounts depleted. Let's get to it.

Duo Eternal Summers have been getting blog attention for about a year, and I'll admit I didn't listen at first due to their name, fearing they'd worsen my Beach Music Fatigue (BMF). But then I saw they were from Roanoke, Virgina and my interest was piqued. I grew up 90 minutes West of Roanoke which had the closest good record store to me (The Record Exchange, which closed in 2006).

Back then they didn't have a music scene outside of country and cover bands. (Though I did see Huey Lewis & the News at the Civic Center way back when.) Not sure how thriving it is now, but Eternal Summers have, in my book, put Roanoke on the map. (Their label, Chimney Sweep, shows that Southwest Virgina's doing well musically.) I'm glad I listened. Apart from their name, they don't really have a lot in common with the beach scene (be it Real Estate, Washed Out, Best Coast, etc). The guitars are a little more slashy, the vocals less bathed in reverb. Check out their song "Able To" at the top of this post, which is from their self-titled EP. If anything, to these ears they're more akin to the C-86 inspired pop of San Francisco's Brilliant Colors.  There's a definite Anglo slant to their sound.

Eternal Summers have three shows in three days. Friday (4/16) is at Bruar Falls where they're part of a killer bill that includes Beach Fossils, Total Slacker, Air Waves, and Beachniks. They will also play Saturday (4/17) at Glasslands with The Beets, The Maine Coons, German Measles and Family Trees. And then on Sunday, Eternal Summers play Coco 66 with Marshmallows, Honey Dos, Beachniks, and The Maine Coons. Do check out one of these shows.

Natural Child

Natural Child play an awesome bill at Death By Audio Saturday including , Sisters, Boogie Boarder and Regal Degal.

The trio are Nashville neighbors, pals and labelmates of JEFF the Brotherhood, and play shambly, garagey party rock. I don't mean just that they're fun (and they are), but also that all of their songs are about some aspect of partying. Whether they bring the party to their live shows or not, I have yet to experience. But I'm ready to find out.

Natural Child also play Friday night (4/16) at Lulu's in Greenpoint with Liquor Store and Foster Care, and have dates in New Brunswick, NJ and Philly --  all 201o tour dates are below.

Beach Fossils

That Beach Fossils show Friday night is the only one they've got lined up for a month so you might want to head that way. (Plus the rest of the bands that night, all of which I endorse.) If you haven't  seen them lately, or ever, Beach Fossils have really come into their own I think, not bad for a band that's barely been playing for year. They've worked out a distinctive sound -- almost no strumming, instead spinning interweaving lines of guitar and bass -- and are confident singers now too.

And they're a great live band too. None of the four members stay still longer than they have to, twirling around like tops, with mom-jean-wearing drummer Cole Smith doing as much dancing as banging on his instrument. They were fantastic opening for Love is All at Knitting Factory a few weeks back, video from which is below.

The band's self-titled debut is set for release May 25 on Captured Tracks and you can download the jangly "Youth" from the album at the top of this post. I've heard the whole thing and it will definitely make for great summer listening. After Friday, Beach Fossils' next local show is May 13 at Brooklyn Bowl with Midnight Masses.

Sisters

A little more on the Death by Audio show on Saturday (4/17). Sisters have finished their album for Death by Audio Records which should be out sooner than later. You can hear two of the album's tracks ("The Curse" and "Glue") on their MySpace, both of which I like a lot. Sisters also play tonight (4/15) at Brooklyn Bowl with Darlings. That's a pretty good show too.

The other band on the DBA bill is Regal Degal, who I caught last Friday at newish venue North Fourth.  The trio is fronted by Josh da Costa who you may know as Dinowalrus' drummer. Regal Degal are less psych and more post-punky, drawing influence from post punk's darker side. (I hear a lot of Chairs Missing/154 era Wire in them.) The band doesn't have a MySpace, but they do have an infrequently updated blog. You can check out their song "I Saw the Smoke" at the top of this post, which they describe as sounding like "we're playing from within a beautiful porcelain toilet bowl. This is the result of spending a lot of time on an initial mix, then too much time listening back to it and not enjoying it enough, and then spending very little time on this more enjoyable and questionable mix."

Common Loon

This column is never-ending I know. Champagne, IL duo Common Loon have flown into town for two shows: tonight (4/15) at Union Hall and then Friday night (4/16) at Pianos. Both shows are with Tulsa, OK's Unwed Sailor. Common Loon's debut album, The Long Dream of Birds, came out last week on Hidden Agenda (home of The 1900s and Moonbabies) and it's recommended if you you like hazy 90s-ish indie like Oliva Tremor Control, Grandaddy and The Flaming Lips. You can check out their song "Dinosaur Vs. Early Man" at the top of this post.

Also playing tonight's Union Hall show is North Highlands who I've written about a few times already and were recently named one of the "8 NYC Bands You Need to Hear Now" by The L Magazine. You can hear them, in fact, right now by downloading their lovely track "Collarbone" at the top of this post. They are very good live and I think 2010 will be a big year for them.

In addition to tonight's show you've got two more chances to see them in the next week. They play Sunday (4/18) at Glasslands with Uninhabitable Mansions, Polite Sleeper, and North Carolina's Charming Youngsters. And then they play next Saturday (4/24) at Solar One with Cold Cave, fellow L Mag pick Oberhoffer and a "surprise headliner."

North Highlands

Speaking of L Magazine "8 NYC Bands" issue, Twin Sister play this Saturday at Los Hermanos Tortilleria in Bushwick. The show is being put on by blog Chocolate Bobka and also features Austin, TX's Pure Ecstasy and local band Weed Hounds. Go early (doors at 7pm) for free tacos (while supplies last which probably won't be very long). They've got good tacos (which are cheap even when not free). $7, BYOB. Twin Sister also open for the Morning Benders at Mercury Lounge on April 28 if you're going to that (sold out).

And finally, don't forget, Saturday (4/17) is Record Store Day and local shops participating include Other Music, Etherea, Academy Records Annex, Rebel Rebel, Sound Fix, and loads more. There's tons of cool exclusive releases coming out, and the RSD website has a handy, fairly comprehensive list of what is being released (PDF). Other Music has live performances by The Drums and Pains of Being Pure at Heart, plus indie celeb DJs. There's similar things going on at other stores too - like Generation Records, and we'll be posting more today and tomorrow.

Okay, that's enough for four days. Click through for tour dates, videos and lots and lots of flyers...

Continue reading "Eternal Summers, Natural Child, Beach Fossils, Regal Degal, North Highlands, Twin Sister & more in This Week in Indie"

The first-ever Mountain Man Fest (not affiliated with the band Mountain Man) is tentatively set for July 24th in Saratoga Springs, NY. I say tentative because for the fest to happen it first has to be funded in full through a Kickstarter page with the goal of $65,000. What all that money is being used for isn't 100% clear, but the fest has until May 12th to make that goal. For a ticket, you need to "donate" at least $35. As of this writing it looks like they've sold 12 with "1488 of 1500 remaining".

Though that's a daunting goal (1,500 regularly priced tickets plus other donations), the "confirmed" lineup so far isn't that bad if you consider how much it would cost you to see each band separately (or as the fest puts it, "You (yes you!) get to see 12 hrs+ of amazing bands"): Islands (their only show currently), HEALTH (who are coming to NYC in June), Real Estate, Phantogram, Woods, Summer Camp, Memoryhouse, Pill Wonder, Family Portrait, Cults, Eternal Summers and Yip Yip ("You'll also be blessed with the sweet satisfaction of knowing that YOU helped make possible this history making musical event"). Underwater Peoples Records are involved in sponsoring the fest (four bands from the label are playing the show).

Another version of the cool poster art (which you can buy as part of giving them money) and the lineup again are below...

Continue reading "Mountain Man Fest may happen July 24th in Saratoga Springs "