photos by Dana (distortion) Yavin

10:45ish, here come the Lemonheads! They came out and blasted into "Rockin Stroll". From the first chord, first verse you can tell things seem to have fallen in line . There was no fumbling around on stage before starting, no looks of confusion on the face of Dando. My bud who's here from last night turned quickly after the song and said "Like night and day!", commenting on Dando's lucidness, and ability of the band to play the music compared to the previous night (and all other nights of this tour). Last night they didn't perform the entirety of "It's a Shame About Ray", even tho that's what the bill said...

"Confetti" was awesome, and after the first chord of "It's a Shame about Ray" Dando stops like he messed up or something, and then says "Nah, I'm kidding!" and they rocked that sh!t out. That's when I knew they weren't going to have one of those shows I've been reading about. I mean, even tho Dando's sentences didn't make a whole lot of sense, it at least looked as if HE knew what he was talking about. He was conversing with fans, between songs and between amp checks..

They played the [album portion of the show] ...before the band left the stage leaving just Evan and an acoustic guitar to play solo. He never left the stage through the duration of the night, he played what was basically an entire acoustic set after finishing the album. If I had one complaint about the album portion of the show, it would have to be inviting a fan up on stage to sing the lyrics to "Mrs. Robinson". What's up with that? Her voice isn't really projecting through the mic, it's almost like an instrumental.. When Dando asked if someone in the crowd could sing it, we were shouting from balcony "how bout YOU sing it Evan??!?" ... He didn't go near the mic for that one. -[Jay Porks]

From the sound of it, Bowery Ballroom on Monday night (10/10) went
way better for The Lemonheads than their disasterous show at the venue the night before, even though the cover of the Simon & Garfunkel classic "Mrs Robinson" was sang by an audience member because Evan claimed "that even he didn't know the song anymore" (thanks Jonathan). Ever since the tour kick-off, The Lemonheads have had problems "doing the tour as marketed" (a quote from someone close to the band), either because of Evan's alleged bout with pharyngitis or for other, possibly more nefarious reasons.

Regardless, the tour soldiers on with a show in Boston today, continuing until early November before taking a break and then hitting the UK. All tour dates and more pictures from the second night at Bowery Ballroom with New York Rivals and The Shining Twins, including both Lemonheads setlists from that night, below...

Continue reading "The Lemonheads did a better job @ Bowery Ballroom on Monday (pics & setlists)"

The Lemonheads played their first of two full-album shows at Bowery Ballroom on Sunday night (10/9), sort of. Eric wrote in:

"I just hope you make it known that they FAILED to deliver tonight...after waiting for way too long, they did not perform Its a Shame About Ray...they just FAILED...I have lived in NYC since early 2001 and have gone to MANY MANY shows...and I have never been so completely disappointed and never felt so totally ripped off. Evan seemed like he didnt even care that they didn't perform the album as marketed. I went down to the men's room halfway thru their set and everyone downstairs was like, "WTF are they doing...this is total BS..." It was such a let down...even the merch girl was sorry about them NOT PLAYING THE ALBUM AT ALL...they played more of come on feel the...I don't know...I feel like my time and money got totally wasted..and I loved this band and that album...WTF...BIG DISAPPOINTMENT. I hope I am not the only one who felt this. "

He's not the only one who felt that. Benard Shakey tweeted that, "#Lemonheads show was total disaster. #EvanDando comes onstage rambling incoherently into mic & "attempts" 2 play. Walked out after 20 min." GiGi wrote "that was sad. like going to the zoo sad." That said, Shannon Lorraine tweeted that the "band finally joined evan. Most bizarre show ever. But still great." She also called "Bogus" on one person who wrote "This is your band. This is your band on drugs. Any questions? #lemonheads."

Missed out? They do it again tonight! (though it is currently sold out)

The Lemonheads at Bowery Ballroom in 2009 (more by Tim Griffin)

The Lemonheads are taking their 1992 album It's a Shame About Ray on tour this winter and fall with support from The Shining Twins. The tour hits NYC where they'll play the album in full on October 10 at Bowery Ballroom. Tickets go on sale Friday (7/15) at noon. All dates are listed below.

Lemonheads frontman Evan Dando was scheduled to open for Gang Green at their show at Europa on Friday (7/15) but he dropped off the bill about a week after it was announced. Scrapes and Two Man Advantage do open the show though. Tickets are still available for what is one of three dates Gang Green plays this week. .

All dates and a video below...

Continue reading "The Lemonheads performing "It's a Shame About Ray" on tour (dates), Evan Dando not opening for Gang Green"

Evan Dando at The Bell House (more by Graeme Flegenheimer)

Evan Dando & The Lemonheads have a few random upcoming dates scheduled. The Lemonheads will share a bill with The Canon Logic on April 28th at Maxwell's in Hoboken. Tickets are still available. You can also catch Josh Lattanzi of The Lemonheads at Bowery Ballroom on May 26 & 27 as part of the Bob Dylan tribute that will also include members of the Strokes, Hold Steady, etc, etc.

All other upcoming Evan Dando dates are in other countries at the moment, including a June 16th Evan & Juliana Hatfield show in Toronto for the NXNE festival which, like Brooklyn's own multi-venue festival Northside, recently expanded its lineup. Some of the other bands playing are in the title of this post. The rest are listed below.

All Dando-related dates and some videos below too...

Continue reading "Lemonheads playing shows, NXNE expands lineup (includes Descendents, Stars, Devo, OFF!, Juliana Hatfield, more)"

John Wesley Harding @ the Eugene Mirman Fest (more by David Andrako)

The next edition of John Wesley Harding's Cabinet of Wonders goes down at City Winery in NYC tonight, 2/11, with Eugene Mirman, Ted Leo, The Fiery Furnaces, Evan Dando & Juliana Hatfield, Ben Ottewell (of Gomez), and Rivka Galchen Patrick McGrath. That's an amazing lineup and tickets are still available for the show that features a few people who appeared on the lineup of last night's Neil Young tribute at Carnegie Hall.

As mentioned, Ben Ottewell also plays an early show at Mercury Lounge tonight.

Tonight's show is Ted Leo's only upcoming NYC appearance, though those in Austin in March can catch him at the BrooklynVegan SXSW showcase and at other shows. His full solo tour includes February west coast dates, and April east coast dates (Philly, Scranton & CT included). All dates are listed below...

Continue reading "updated Ted Leo solo dates, John Wesley Harding Cabinet of Wonders at City Winery tonight"

Bettye Lavette at Highline Ballroom (more by Jacob Blickenstaff )

A quick reminder that one of the greatest songwriters of all-time, Neil Young, will be celebrated at Carnegie Hall in two days (2/10) as part of a benefit for music & arts programs of underpriviledged youth. The bill is beyond diverse, featuring The Roots, Nada Surf, Glen Hansard, DeVotchka, J Mascis and Bettye Lavette just to name a few of the twenty+ that are on board. "100% of the net proceeds from this event" will benefit charities like Fixing Instruments for Kids in Schools, Church Street School for Music & Art, The Pinwheel Project, Music Unites, The American Symphony Orchestra and Young Audiences New York, so pick up your tickets with a clear conscious!

Meanwhile, quite a few of the Neil Young-tribute artists have recently been or will be very active. Glen Hansard recently played City Winery and the Doveman show at LPR. Patti Smith & Jesse Smith are scheduled to play the Tibet benefit at Carnegie Hall in March. When Questlove of The Roots isnt going to see Prince or spinning at Brooklyn Bowl, he can be found on Jimmy Fallon. Nada Surf recently played Mercury Lounge and Rock Shop. DeVotchKa will play Highline in March with El Mariachi Bronx. Juliana Hatfield & Evan Dando were just at Maxwell's and the Bell House. J Mascis has his upcoming tour with shows at Mercury Lounge and MHoW.

Ben Ottewell of Gomez plays the Neil Young event and an early solo show at Mercury Lounge the next day.

And last, but certainly not least, Bettye Lavette, besides paying tribute to the great rock'n roll patriarch from the North, also has quite a NYC residency in the spring when she'll set up shop at Cafe Carlyle from 5/24 - 6/3 (no shows on 5/29, 5/30). Ticketing info is forthcoming, but all tour dates, the full Neil Young Tribute lineup and some videos are below...

Continue reading "Neil Young tribute show coming, Bettye Lavette playing shows at Cafe Carlyle & elsewhere, Ben Ottewell will be at Merc"

photos by Graeme Flegenheimer

Evan & Juliana @ the Bell House

"Thursday night's sold-out Evan Dando and Juliana Hatfield show [at Maxwell's] was a trip down memory lane. Mostly, though, a testament to the timeless power of great songwriting.

Dando and Hatfield, for the uninitiated, were the king and queen of the 1990s alternative rock prom. They were friends--or more than friends, nobody is really sure--who sang and played on each other's records. They made a handful of really great records that still hold up today.

For someone like myself, who saw The Lemonheads' "It's A Shame About Ray" tour in 1992, (I kept the set list as a souvenir until just a few years ago), and had Juliana Hatfield's 1993 classic, "Become What You Are" stuck in my car cd player for at least a couple of years, Thursday night's show was a real treat.

Armed with only microphones and acoustic guitars, the duo swapped songs back and forth. They played songs from the albums that made them famous, as well as more recent compositions and a few cover songs.... [Jennifer O'Connor for Hoboken Patch]

Read the rest of Jennifer's review at Hoboken Patch, and catch Jennifer herself playing music on February 8th at the Rock Shop as part of her new monthly residency there. Maybe she'll land Evan or Juliana to play with her at a future show (in February she'll be joined by Charles Bissell of The Wrens, Kendall Meade of Mascott, and Richard Baluyut of Versus) (meanwhile catch Charles Bissell at Maxwell's with Cymbals Eat Guitars TONIGHT/SUNDAY).

One night after they played Maxwell's, Evan and Juliana headlined a show at the Bell House. Lady Lamb the Beekeeper opened both shows. More pictures from the Brooklyn show, and a bunch of videos and the setlist from the NJ show, below...

Continue reading "Evan Dando & Juliana Hatfield played shows (Jennifer O'Connor reviewed one of them) -- pics, video & Maxwell's setlist"

Prince & ?uestlove @ MSG

Back when we last posted those Evan Dando & Juliana Hatfield dates that Lady Lamb the Beekeeper is opening, there wasn't a Brooklyn date but at some point a Friday, January 21st show at the Bell House popped up and tickets are still available.

Tickets are also still available for the the Bell House show happening tonight, 1/18, with Mavis Staples, Jolie Holland and Kyp Malone.

I bet Prince would go to Mavis Staples if his own show with Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings wasn't happening at MSG at the same time. BTW, tickets are still on sale for Prince's February 7th show at MSG if you can't make it tonight.

Maybe Prince will stop by the show at Brooklyn Bowl tonight though, at least that's what the rumor is though nobody I've asked that might know seems to know one way or the other. Lettuce, Prince collaborator Maceo Parker, Dr. John, Prince collaborator Questlove, The London Souls and "Very Special Guests" are on the bill. If Prince is your only reason for braving the weather though, go at your own "very special guest" risk.

UPDATE: Prince did in fact NOT play Brooklyn Bowl.

Lady Lamb the Beekeeper @ Rock Shop (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Singer/songwriter Aly Spaltro - formerly based in Portland, Maine, and known to fans as Lady Lamb the Beekeeper - is blowing up fast. She played at promoter Billy Ruane's rock 'n' roll wake last month, won Folk Artist of the Year at the Boston Music Awards earlier this month and performs at the Lizard Lounge tonight.

Oh, and she's already managed to get Amanda Palmer's stamp of approval. After seeing Spaltro's BMA set, Palmer tweeted, "chick blew me away live."

The exclamation of love was absolutely warranted: She blew a lot of people away that night.

The only thing off was winning for Folk Artist.

"I don't consider myself folk," Spaltro said during a visit to the Herald. "I'm really honored with the win, but I'm not folk. I don't know what genre I'm in." [Boston Herald]

Listen on MySpace, or watch some of the videos below and decide for yourself what genre the super talented Lady Lamb the Beekeeper is. Or just check her out live at one of the four NYC shows she's playing before the end of the year including the super interesting and free one happening TONIGHT (12/20) at the Delancey:

Main Floor: PAUL WALLFISCH'S SMALL BEAST / SMALL BEAST HOLIDAY EXTRAVAGANZA! with Special guest Curators this week the LYNNS [LYNN FARRELL & LYNN WRIGHT ]Featuring: 8:00 pm PETE SIMONELLI [reading] / PAUL WATSON 8:45 pm LADY LAMB THE BEEKEEPER 9:30 pm AND THE WIREMEN 10:30 pm BEE AND FLOWER 11:30 Alexander Hacke (Einstürzende Neubauten) & Danielle de Picciotto FREE!!!

If you miss that, she plays The Rock Shop Tuesday (12/21) with Cat Martino, Mercury Lounge Wednesday (12/22) with Favourite Sons, and then Rockwood Music Hall on 12/28.

She also plays a trio of shows in January with Evan Dando & Juliana Hatfield including the one happening at Maxwell's in Hoboken. Evan & Juliana played shows in NYC in September.

All dates and some videos below...

Continue reading "Lady Lamb the Beekeeper is here (for four NYC shows), touring with Evan & Juliana (2011 dates)"

Two big names of the 90s alt scene, Juliana Hatfield and Evan Dando, will band together again as "Juliana & Evan" and play a pair of shows at Mercury Lounge on Wednesday, 9/29 and Thursday, 9/30. The 2nd show with The Candles is sold out, but the 9/29 show with The Shining Twins is on sale NOW.

Juliana has taken to making custom songs to order as of late, while The Lemonheads (Evan Dando's band) relased Varshons on The End Records last year.

Full Evan Dando/Lemonheads dates are below, as well as some video.

Continue reading "Evan Dando & Juliana Hatfield playing shows "

Pete Seeger @ Clearwater Festival 2009 (more by Chris La Putt)

City Winery will be hosting a three-night oil spill relief benefit, dubbed Reclaim The Coast, on July 23rd, 25th and 30th. The lineups vary for each...

July 23rd: Pete Seeger, Richard Barone, James Maddock, Elysian Fields, Mike Doughty, Lucy Wainwright Roche, The Roches, Julie Gold, Peter Yarrow (More TBA)

July 25th: Ian Axel, Ed Romanoff, The Madison Square Gardeners, Paula Valstein, The Spring Standards, The Wellspring, Rich Pagano (More TBA)

July 30th: Marshall Crenshaw, Martin Rivas, Christina Courtin, Among the Oak & Ash, Jay Nash (More TBA)

Tickets for all three are on sale.

They'll also have a packed house for "Channeling Chilton - A night of Alex Chilton's Music" on July 28th. The confirmed lineup includes Yo La Tengo, Marshall Crenshaw, Jody Stephens, Jon Auer, Doug Garrison, Rene Coman, Alan Vega, Jon Spencer (of the Blues Explosion), Fran Kowalski, Chris Stamey, Lesa Aldridge (Elizabeth Hoehn), Jay Proctor (of Jay & the Techniques), Bill Cunningham, Gary Talley, Terry Manning, Evan Dando, Jesse Malin, Danny Kroha (of The Gories). In light of the recent passing of founding Big Star bassist Andy Hummel, it should be an emotional night.
Tickets are on sale.

More info on the Gulf Coast relief effort are below...

Continue reading "City Winery hosting a 3-night Pete Seeger Oil Spill relief benefit & Big Star tribute night"

photos by Ryan Barkan

Just as everyone at the SXSW Music Festival was finding their groove Wednesday, news of the death of Alex Chilton hit. "Austin's in shock about Alex," read one of the countless social media memes. On Saturday, heartsick Big Star fans got to hear Chilton songs performed by a cast of guest musicians sitting in on the regularly scheduled Big Star showcase, held down by the remaining members of the band's current incarnation, Jon Auer, Ken Stringfellow and Jody Stephens...

But first a letter from Chilton's widow, Laura, who the 59-year-old musician had only recently married, was read by publicist Heather West [video below]...

...Curt Kirkwood of the Meat Puppets lumbered through "In the Street," otherwise known as the theme song for That 70's Show. M. Ward of She & Him croaked an elegant "Big Black Car." Mike Mills of R.E.M. found his religion with "Jesus Christ." John Doe of X dispatched a crystal clear "I'm in Love with a Girl." And in what was the night's biggest surprise, Sondre Lerche provided an intense, harmonic "The Ballad of El Goodo."

And that's how it went for the entire hour and a half, with guest musicians including Chris Stamey, Chuck Prophet, Evan Dando, Amy Speace, the Watson Twins, Susan Cowsill, and original Big Star member Andy Hummel (who came in from Lithuania for the show) all getting a chance to pay tribute to Chilton. A rendition of the classic "Thirteen" was one of the final songs of the night, the lyrics of which encapsulated not only the special moment that was taking place in the storied Antone's blues club, but the entire SXSW Music Festival: "Rock & roll is here to stay/ Come inside where it's okay." [Rolling Stone]

The full setlist with more pictures and a video from the show, below...

Continue reading "Big Star members & many special guests paid tribute to Alex Chilton Saturday night @ SXSW - pics, video & setlist"

Lemonhead Evan Dando is going on a solo tour starting tonight/Friday (1/29) at Maxwell's in Hoboken (tickets still on sale), followed by Saturday at the even smaller Joe's Pub (still on sale) and Sunday at The Record Collector Store in Bordentown, NJ. The tour runs through all of February and ends back here in NYC at Mercury Lounge on March 6th. Tickets for the last show go on sale today at noon...

Evan will be performing an intimate set featuring songs from his solo album and plenty of classic Lemonheads tunes along with several inspired covers, including some from his most recent covers album, Varshons (06/09, The End Records).

Supporting Evan will be The Candles, the first solo project from Josh Lattanzi, encapsulating the varied styles and influences he's picked up while recording and touring with the likes of Ben Kweller, Albert Hammond, Jr. (The Strokes) and the Lemonheads.

All dates below...

Continue reading "Evan Dando kicks off tour w/ the Candles - 2010 dates "

photos by Tim Griffin

"Reliving my High School days seeing the Lemonheads at Bowery Ballroom." -chrissanchez

The Lemonheads (Evan Dando w/ ex-Zero Boys Vess Ruhtenberg (bass) and Mark Cutsinger (drums) along with NYC-based guitarist, Xan Aird) headlined a show at NYC's Bowery Ballroom last night (6/25). The band is currently on tour in support of their new covers record that was produced by Gibby Haynes of the Butthole Surfers (who are playing Riot Fest in Chicago this year).

Last night was also the night that the world found out about the the death of Michael Jackson. Evan gracefully dedicated the show to him (which apparently not everyone approved of).

Openers for the show were Boston's Varsity Drag, and The Legends. Varsity Drag is Lemonheads co-founder Ben Deily's new band, BUT Ben did not actually play with the Lemonheads (just with Varsity Drag). For the Legends, it was their fourth of five NYC shows they played while they were here in NYC. Their fifth happened at Pianos later that night. More pictures from the Bowery show, including some setlist shots, below...

Continue reading "The Lemonheads, The Legends & Varsity Drag @ Bowery Ballroom in NYC - pics, setlists"

The Lemonheads have signed to Brooklyn, NY-based The End Record and will be releasing their long-awaited covers collection, Varshons, on June 23, 2009.

Varshons was produced by Gibby Haynes [ringmaster of the Butthole Surfers], mixed by ex-Cornershop guru Anthony Saffery, and features [Evan] Dando along with Vess Ruhtenburg (bass) and Devon Ashley (drums). The collection is filled with strange bedfellows - from G.G. Allin to Texas troubadour Townes Van Zandt and garage rockers The Green Fuz. The Lemonheads make each track their own, with help from actress Liv Tyler, singing back up on Leonard Cohen's "Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye," and Kate Moss, who sings over the dance groove of Arling & Cameron's "Dirty Robot." Also featured on lead guitar and backing vocals throughout most of the album is John Perry, on loan from The Only Ones. [press release]

With that record on the way, the Lemonheads and Evan Dando have a summer of gigs scheduled for the UK, Europe and North America. Those shows include a stop at the Bowery Ballroom on Thursday, June 25th. Tickets go on AmEx presale Wednesday, April 29th at noon. General sale starts Friday, May 1st at noon.

Dando's last proper gigs were part of a short solo tour in December 2008. That stopped in Hoboken and Brooklyn. Since then, he's been spotted around town. One appearance took the form of an impromptu show with record producer Gibby Haynes at Gramercy Park Hotel's Rose Bar...

On March 15, former [?] Lemonheads frontman Evan Dando joined Gibby Haynes of the Butthole Surfers onstage for a brief but sweet four-song set.

"You cocky-ass motherfuckers can suck my fucking dick," Mr. Haynes told the crowd of pretty men in velvet jackets and handsome ladies in slinky black dresses, who seemed largely disinterested in the music that night. "Pay attention to Evan Dando!" [NY Observer]

All tour dates, with Varshons track list and art, below...

Continue reading "The Lemonheads - a new covers album & 2009 Tour Dates "

"Waking up in Wolverhampton and travelling to London. Putting on a dress and hanging out with Björk. Soundchecks, interviews, meet 'n' greets, guest spots with support bands and great, celebratory gigs... It's all in a day's work for Evan Dando. As The Lemonheads' leader's year of success, stress and crack confessions comes to an end we spend a day with the languid love-God, still cool as the pressures increase." [From NME 25th December 1993]

Evan is playing some solo shows this month. The first is December 18th at Maxwell's in Hoboken (tickets), and the next is one day after that at Southpaw in Brooklyn (tickets). All dates below...

Continue reading "Evan Dando (Lemonheads) - December 2008 Tour Dates "

The Lemonheads performed "It's a Shame About Ray" in its entirety this past SXSW, and they'll do it again on March 30th at Bowery Ballroom, and then they'll do it again in Boston one more time right after that. Why? Well, to "commemorate the Collector's Edition CD/DVD release" of course. Their seminal album has been remastered, is streaming in its entirety @ AOL, and can now be purchased at a retailer near you. Video below....

Continue reading "It's a Shame About Ray by the Lemonheads (live & stuff)"