The second-annual Spy Music Festival happens June 29th through July 15th, featuring "46 sets of music at 7 venues in Manhattan and Brooklyn." That's a big expansion from last year when it took place on two nights at Shea Stadium and Zebulon. This year's fest, run by the folks at Northern Spy Records, will happen at Union Pool, the Issue Project Room, The Stone, Vaudeville Park, 285 Kent, Death by Audio and Roulette. Amongst the artists performing are Rhys Chatham, Matthew Shipp, Dustin Wong, Arthur Doyle, Eugene Chadbourne, PG Six, Guardian Alien and Magik Markers.

The full Spy Music Festival schedule -- bands, venues, prices -- is below. There's no all-inclusive festival pass, but tickets to all the shows are available here. And the fest organizers have also made a sampler featuring the artists performing this year and you can stream that below as well.

Continue reading "Magik Markers, Dustin Wong, Eugene Chadbourne, Matthew Shipp and more playing NYC's Spy Music Festival"

Eugene Chardbourne

"The 1991 edition of The Trouser Press Record Guide says this about him, "On his compulsive own, the guitarist/leader of the late, lamented Shockabilly has spewed forth a ceaseless stream of records and cassettes that easily represent the oddest version of country and folk music ever." From what I can tell, Chadbourne hasn't really mellowed or slowed down since. Chadbourne has collaborated with a Who's Who of improvisational/experimental musicians, including Marc Ribot, Henry Kaiser, John Zorn, and Fred Frith, as well as bands like Camper Van Beethoven and They Might Be Giants... many of whom performed at the two-week Chadfest in August 2007. I don't claim to follow Chadbourne's career closely, but he is a legend and there is a direct through-line from his work to bands like Animal Collective and Dirty Projectors. A chance to see him up close somewhere like [Bruar Falls] should be a treat." [Bill]

today in NYC
* It Is It @ Pianos
* ASSSSCAT 3000 @ UCB
* James Blood @ Jazz Standard
* Furthur @ Radio City Music Hall
* Thin Lizzy @ Starland Ballroom
* Pretty Good Friends @ Union Hall
* JACK Quartet @ Le Poisson Rouge
* White Out, Nels Cline @ The Stone
* comedy @ Knitting Factory
* The Felice Brothers, Diamond Doves @ Maxwell's
* Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, Rick Ross @ Nassau Coliseum
* Moon Duo, Coconuts, The Stepkids @ Knitting Factory
* The Funeral Pyre, The Secret, Ipsissimus @ Union Pool
* Jenkins Sisters, The Dust Busters, Uncle Monk @ Zebulon
* The Wailing Wall, Boy Without God, Warbles @ Death By Audio
* Anni Rossi, Inlets, The Silent League, Oh! Pears @ Glasslands
* Stephane Wrembel Presents The Django Experiment @ Barbes
* The Magic Lantern Show w/ The Shortsleeves & Kevin Barnett @ Mercury Lounge
* Eugene Chadbourne, Daniel Dimaggio of Home Blitz, The Surprisers, Bob Bannister @ Bruar Falls
* Amy Speace, Jill Andrews, School, Spirit Family Reunion @ The Living Room
* Reality War, Passive Aggressor, Capsule, Tom Blacklung and the Smokestacks, The Marsh Hens @ Silent Barn
* New Ideas Music Series w/ Ha-yang Kim & Phillipe Lambert, Project Sis, Oliphant @ Pianos
* Japan benefit concert hosted by John Zorn w/ Sonic Youth, Yoko Ono, Mike Patton, Sean Lennon, Cibo Matto, Mephista, Marc Ribot, Uri Caine, Aleph Trio, more @ Miller Theatre

What else?

DOWNLOAD: Comet Gain - Skinny Wolves (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Comet Gain - Why I Try To Look So Bad (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Comet Gain - Love Without Lies (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Crystal Stilts - Love is a Wave (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Pants Yell! - Magenta and Green (MP3)

by Bill Pearis

Comet Gain

The big news this week is this Sunday's (4/12) Comet Gain show at Music Hall of Williamsburg. Tickets are $13 and still available. Crystal Stilts, who are opening for them on all three of their U.S. dates, wrote this about them in a MySpace post:

It is our tremendous honor to be reminding you all the we will be playing a series of shows over the next few days with Comet Gain, about whom we could string together some words that would inevitably fail to say what it is that makes them the best band in the world. We tried, failed and decided to spare you the embarrassment of that rambling. Perhaps in that failure there is something that proves the point but that isn't worth delving into. Suffice to say, the best they are and we are floored to be playing with them, so do come out, it has been far too long since they have graced these shores with their presence and it is certainly not to be missed.

As you may have heard, Crystal Stilts just did a killer Daytrotter session that included two new songs, one of which, "Sycamore Tree," has been a highlight of their live shows for some time. (Their new Slumblerland single "Love is a Wave" is great too. You can download it at the top of this post. Also playing with Comet Gain and Crystal Stilts are Philadelphia darkwave synth trio Cold Cave who I'm looking forward to seeing for the first time. All three played last night in DC and tonight (4/9) in Philadelphia.

Pants Yell!

Almost as exciting for me is that Boston's Pants Yell! are playing Saturday (4/11) at Dead Herring. Their most recent album, Alison Statton (named after Young Marble Giants lead singer), was one of 2007's best records you might not have heard. This is indie pop done just about perfectly, great songs, arrangements full of horns and glockenspiel yet never falling into the dreaded "twee" abyss. They were one of the best bands I saw at last year's NYC Popfest, where I wrote at the time, "On their excellent third album from late last year, Alison Statton, they sound polite, but live it's more hyper-kinetic. You could even say they rocked." They'll play this year's Popfest too (on 5/16 with Radio Dept) but, despite living as close as they do, don't play NYC all that often, so I highly recommend going. The whole bill at Dead Herring is a good one, with Brooklyn locals Knight School, Sisters, and World Atlas.

Eugene Chadbourne

As mentioned elsewhere on this site, Eugene Chadbourne will be playing the Issue Project Room next week, but first he'll be playing an early show on Saturday (3/11) at Cake Shop. The 1991 edition of The Trouser Press Record Guide says this about him, "On his compulsive own, the guitarist/leader of the late, lamented Shockabilly has spewed forth a ceaseless stream of records and cassettes that easily represent the oddest version of country and folk music ever." From what I can tell, Chadbourne hasn't really mellowed or slowed down since. Chadbourne has collaborated with a Who's Who of improvisational/experimental musicians, including Marc Ribot, Henry Kaiser, John Zorn, and Fred Frith, as well as bands like Camper Van Beethoven and They Might Be Giants... many of whom performed at the two-week Chadfest in August 2007. I don't claim to follow Chadbourne's career closely, but he is a legend and there is a direct through-line from his work to bands like Animal Collective (who just added another Brooklyn show) and Dirty Projectors (who just released the first track off their new album). A chance to see him up close somewhere like Cake Shop should be a treat.

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More shows this weekend: If you're looking for something weird and funny, San Francisco's bizarre Borts Minots is at The Studio at Webster Hall tonight (4/9) with Uni & Her Ukulele, Rachel Trachtenburg and Kiwi comedian Griffin Point.

The Wooden Birds, the new group from American Analog Set's Andrew Kenny, play Mercury Lounge on Friday (4/10). Their record is lovely and I caught them in Austin during SXSW, definitely worth seeing.

Flyer, videos and tour dates after the jump...

Continue reading "Eugene Chadbourne, Pants Yell!, Comet Gain, Borts Minorts & more in This Week in Indie"