photos by Chris La Putt

Anna Calvi @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

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

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

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

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

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

photos by Amanda Hatfield

Eleanor Friedberger & band @ Bowery Ballroom

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

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

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

photos by Autumn Andel

Eleanor Friedberger @ Crystal Ballroom

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

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

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

photos by Amanda Hatfield

Eleanor Friedberger & band @ Europa

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

--
Ted Leo @ Europa

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

photos by Tim Griffin

Covering a range of material (drawn from their eight studio recordings) and for a duo whose songs are way out-there, the Fieries are amazingly down-to-earth. Especially surprising was the soul in the selections from the band's heavily conceptual Rehearsing My Choir, a collaboration with their grandmother, a Greek church choir director who originally spoke and sung half the vocal tracks. I had to force myself to listen to that release a few times, never really connecting with it, and yet when stripped, once difficult songs (like the frantic "The Garfield El"), along with other previously impenetrable recorded work (from Bitter Tea and Blueberry Boat) were transformed into delights to the ear. Without all the studio bells and whistles (literally) appended to them, Freidberger's songs not only stand the test of being presented without embellishment, with his sister on the mic, they positively shine. [Crawdaddy]

Eleanor's next NYC show is solo in a chuch. She has a solo record coming out on Merge. More Austin pictures below...

Continue reading "The Fiery Furnaces toured from NYC to Austin (pics)"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Fiery Furnaces have scheduled a May tour that starts off with two shows at Rockwood Music Hall in NYC. The May 4th & 5th NY shows are being advertised as "duo shows", and tickets are on sale for both. All tour dates below...

Continue reading "Fiery Furnaces schedule May tour, two nights @ Rockwood"

photos by Chris La Putt

Eleanor Friedberger / David Johansen

What Kind of Love Is This:
The Music of BOB DYLAN & THE BAND
w/ Steven Bernstein (Sex Mob, Levon Helm Band), John Medeski (Medeski, Martin and Wood), Rob Burger (Laurie Anderson, Marianne Faithful, Iron & Wine), Tony Scherr (Bill Frisell, Norah Jones, Sex Mob), Kenny Wollesen (Norah Jones, John Zorn, Bill Frisell, Sex Mob), and special guests Jolie Holland, Laura Cantrell, Nicole Atkins, John Wesley Harding, and Eleanor and Matthew Friedberger of The Fiery Furnaces. And special Guest Vocalists Chocolate Genius, and David Johansen (New York Dolls).

Continue reading "Bob Dylan was celebrated @ Le Poisson Rouge (pics, video & setlist) -- David Johansen, Fiery Furnaces & many more"

Bob Dylan by Greil Marcus: Writings 1968-2010 was recently released, just in time for the holidays...

"The book begins in Berkeley in 1968, and ends with a piece on Dylan's show at the University of Minnesota--his very first appearance at his alma mater--on election night 2008. In between are moments of euphoric discovery: From Marcus's liner notes for the 1967 Basement Tapes (pop music's most famous bootlegged archives) to his exploration of Dylan's reimagining of the American experience in the 1997 Time Out of Mind. And rejection; Marcus's Rolling Stone piece on Dylan's album Self Portrait--often called the most famous record review ever written--began with "What is this shit?" and led to his departure from the magazine for five years. Marcus follows not only recordings but performances, books, movies, and all manner of highways and byways in which Bob Dylan has made himself felt in our culture.

Together the dozens of pieces collected here comprise a portrait of how, throughout his career, Bob Dylan has drawn upon and reinvented the landscape of traditional American song, its myths and choruses, heroes and villains. They are the result of a more than forty-year engagement between an unparalleled singer and a uniquely acute listener."

Eleanor & Matt Friedberger will also be on hand at the 14th St Y and Le Poisson Rouge on Sunday, December 5th, for a day of Dylan events. The concert at LPR is this:

What Kind of Love Is This:
The Music of BOB DYLAN & THE BAND
w/ Steven Bernstein (Sex Mob, Levon Helm Band), John Medeski (Medeski, Martin and Wood), Rob Burger (Laurie Anderson, Marianne Faithful, Iron & Wine), Tony Scherr (Bill Frisell, Norah Jones, Sex Mob), Kenny Wollesen (Norah Jones, John Zorn, Bill Frisell, Sex Mob), and special guests Jolie Holland, Laura Cantrell, Nicole Atkins, John Wesley Harding, and Eleanor and Matthew Friedberger of The Fiery Furnaces. And special Guest Vocalists Chocolate Genius, and David Johansen (New York Dolls).

Greil Marcus: Author of the definitive book on Bob Dylan and The Band, Invisible Republic: Bob Dylan's Basement Tapes.

Christopher Ricks: Renowned critic and scholar of English literature and poetry, and author of Dylan's Visions of Sin.

John Niven: Novelist whose book Music from Big Pink vividly imagines the world of Bob Dylan and The Band.

Dana Spiotta: Author of mesmerizing portraits of the 60's underground, including Eat the Document.

Matt Friedberger: Co-founder of the visionary rock band The Fiery Furnaces.

D.A. Pennebaker: Pioneering film documentarian, whose credits include Don't Look Back, the first film on Bob Dylan.

Stephen Hazan Arnoff: Executive Director of the 14th Street Y writes and teaches widely on music, art and religion.

Wesley Stace (John Wesley Harding): Singer-songwriter and award winning author of Misfortune.

William G. Scheele: Museum curator and former Equipment/Stage Manager for Bob Dylan and The Band.

John Wesley Harding also has a show coming up at City Winery.

DOWNLOAD: The Fiery Furnaces - The End is Near (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Fiery Furnaces - Keep Me In The Dark (Eleanor Version) (MP3)

Too many shows this weekend and the Fiery Furnaces contribute to the madness with previously mentioned shows at Brooklyn Bowl (Friday) and Mercury Lounge (Saturday), and a gig at Maxwell's in Hoboken tonight (Thursday, June 24th). Comedian John Mulaney supports on all dates. The Brooklyn show is part of Northside and also includes a set by Woom who are also opening the Beirut shows at MHOW (but not the Beirut show at the Guggenheim).

All three FF gigs still have tickets available and they are listed again below...

Continue reading "the Fiery Furnaces kicking off a 3-night run w/ John Mulaney "

"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."

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)"

Fiery Furnances @ a Pool Party in 2009 (more by Bao Nguyen)

The Fiery Furnaces will be playing a late show at Mercury Lounge on Saturday, June 26th. The night before that they'll play much larger Brooklyn Bowl as part of the Northside Festival. Tickets for both go on sale Friday at noon (Mercury Lounge, Brooklyn Bowl). You can also get into the Brooklyn Bowl show with your Northside Badge which is on sale now (capacity permitting).

Those two shows are exactly half of the band's currently scheduled shows, the others being in the UK this May. A pair of recent-ish videos from the Friedbergers and all tour dates are below...

Continue reading "Fiery Furnaces schedule shows in NYC & the UK (dates)"

by Benjamin Lozovsky

Spoon has made a long and fruitful career out of simultaneously fulfilling and denying the expectations of fans, critics and record labels. On Friday night (3/26), the band greatly exceeded its own expectations by headlining a sold-out Radio City Music Hall.

It was a big deal for a band that's taken small but inquisitive steps over 16 years and 7 records. This show came in support of their latest effort, Transference, a moody yet powerful record of micro-experimentation that ultimately saw the band reinvigorating their inner scruffiness (they celebrated the release of that record by playing a much smaller NYC venue in January). But unlike some recent tour dates which saw Transference heavy setlists, on this night Spoon played a well curated sampling of many of their past gems; it felt like a therapeutic nod to history for a band eager to revisit the moments that brought them this far.

But it wasn't just looking back for the fuzzy feeling of nostalgia. Britt Daniel and co. breathed new sophisticated life into songs like "I Summon You" and "Someone Something." The latter was sung as a duet with Eleanor Friedberger of the Fiery Furnaces, one of several guests (Dan Boeckner of Wolf Parade and Stephen Patterson of White Rabbits) who appeared during the show. Dan and Eleanor performed one of their own songs with the group as well as assisting on Spoon numbers, as the headliner graciously and generously dolloped the trademark Spoon appliqué onto numbers like "Waiting To Know You" and "Modern World."

Radio City Music Hall is often a tough sell for rock fans, and Friday was no exception. It wasn't until midway through Spoon's first set, when the band was augmented by a seven piece horn section for numbers like "Don't You Evah" from their brass heavy 2007 album Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, that the crowd finally took notice of the scorching effort brought forth by the band members and joined in on the revelry of this potential poster child for indie rock perseverance affixing its name to such an illustrious marquee.

Attempting to warm up the crowd were lively but somewhat underdeveloped The Strange Boys (sans new member Jenna Thornhill-DeWitt) and Deerhunter. Many attendants preferred to mingle in the gold-plated lobby of Radio City rather than check out the openers, but neither band did everything they could to completely win over the crowd either. Deerhunter didn't outright disappoint, but they didn't sound as impactful as normal. For the majority of their performance, the powerful streams of noise normally associated with the band were muted in the large hall. Instead the bare trappings of their songwriting were exposed, which might have been an interesting contrast for a frequent listener, but to the uninitiated came across as listless and at times sluggish. When Bradford Cox and his bandmates played to their more expansive and propulsive leanings though, things improved. They finally turned up the volume and intensity in the finale which was topped off with a long cacophonously exciting outro. Then they seemed to be having fun as eccentric noise makers in such a staid arena.

Still neither of the younger bands could match the passion of the older Spoon, who now might be considered elder statesmen of the genre they often like to eschew connections with. Daniel has an ageless croon, even if it faltered occasionally Friday. One couldn't help but feel Spoon could go on forever taking small steps at musical progression and growth. As a performance though, this was one giant leap.

More tour dates HERE. The full Radio City setlist with more pictures and some videos, below...

Continue reading "Spoon (and Dan Boeckner & Eleanor Friedberger), Deerhunter & the Strange Boys @ Radio City Music Hall - pics & video"

Kaki King @ BAM (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

tonight in NYC
* Hanukkah
* Talibam! @ The Stone
* The Sway Machinery @ a Synagogue
* Roedelius & Celletti @ Saint Peter's Church
* Hanukkah Gone Metal @ Knitting Factory
* The Havens, Annie Crane @ Sycamore
* Your Nature, Blood Orange @ Union Pool
* Mister Saturday Night Loft Party @ Market Hotel
* Unsilent Night @ Washington Square Park
* Tyvek, The Beets, Home Blitz @ Silent Barn
* La Otracina, Early Man, Naam @ The Charleston
* Black Metal Theory Symposium @ Public Assembly
* Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes @ BB King's
* Matisyahu, John Brown's Body, Dynasty @ Webster Hall
* Kaki King, A Rose Parade @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Tombs, Junius, Irepress, Rosetta @ Studio at Webster Hall
* AXIOM plays Steve Reich & John Adams @ (Le) Poisson Rouge
* Six Gallery, Noxious Foxes, Aficionado, Vesper @ Spike Hill
* A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor @ Town Hall
* Vivian Girls, Yellow Fever, Happy Birthday @ Death By Audio
* Menorah Horah feat. Golem & burlesque by The Schlep Sisters @ Southpaw
* The Rapture (DJ), Populette, James F!*#% Friedman @ (Le) Poisson Rouge
* The Petrol Emotion, The Forgery Series, The Mad Scene @ The Bell House
* A Sunny Day in Glasgow, Frances, The Jaguar Club, Wooden Sky @ Union Hall
* Small Black, Tickley Feather, Aeroplane Pageant, Translations @ Cake Shop
* The Fiery Furnaces, Shilpa Ray & Her Happy Hookers, Human Hearts @ Bowery Ballroom

Happy Haukkah. Check out our new guide to Chanukah events.

There's a craft fair at 3rd Ward, and a naughty holiday party in the same venue later in the night.

Bill's top pick for tonight is That Petrol Emotion.

About the Kaki King show @ MHOW tonight

Kaki King is currently recording the follow-up to 2008's Dreaming of Revenge with producer Malcolm Burn at his Kingston, NY, studio. The new record, tentatively titled Junior, is due out in Spring 2010.

King will be debuting material from the new LP at her show on December 12th at the Music Hall of Williamsburg before heading Down Under for a two-week tour of Australia's major clubs and festivals, including the Falls Festival, Woodford Folk and Southbound Festival.

A Rose Parade will open the Brooklyn show. ARP is a newly formed collaboration between Shannon Funchess (!!!) and Gerard Smith (TV On the Radio).

The Fiery Furnaces play for the 2nd night in a row tonight. Check out their new video for "Even in the Rain", below...

Lightspeed Champion's solo project Blood Orange is at Union Pool tonight. Lightspeed Champion plays Bowery Ballroom in 2010.

Tickets are on general sale for the Eric Clapton / Jeff Beck shows.

Muse tickets are on sale too.

Darlene Love is at BB King's on Sunday.

What else?

Continue reading "Whats going on Saturday?"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Violens Winter Mixtape (website link to Zip)
DOWNLOAD: Acrylics - All of the Fire (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Class Actress - Careful What You Say (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Air Waves - Lightning (MP3)

Violens

A pretty killer line-up at Mercury Lounge tonight (12/9). Headliners Violens just got back from a big European tour opening for White Lies, and this looks to be their last show of 2009. They've been rather pokey in getting out their debut LP, but it looks set to finally come out early next year. You can get a taste on their downloadable Winter Mix Tape which features a couple album tracks, some remixes, demos, a cover of Saint Etienne's "Avenue" (!) -- plus singer Jorge Elbrecht singing overtop Wire's "Outdoor Miner" and The Byrds' "I See You." (The latter, he sings My Bloody Valentine lyrics). If you've never heard Violens before, this is a pretty good place to start, giving you a sense of the disparate influences the band bring together.

Also playing Merc are Acrylics and Class Actress, both of whom are signed to Grizzly Bear Chris Taylor's Terrible Records. I've written about Acrylics a bunch of times are definitely one of my favorite new local bands. Their debut EP, All of the Fire, was produced by Taylor and came out a couple weeks ago and is at its best when Jason Klauber and Molly Shea sing together. The title track, which you can download at the top of this post, finds them at their Fleetwood Mac-iest, with that dreamy pedal steel and echo handclaps.

Class Actress

Class Actress, meanwhile, could be lumped in with the coldwave/darkwave scene depending on what song you hear first -- the synths on "Careful What You Say" are pretty icy -- but there's a strong heartbeat running through Elizabeth Harper's songs, and the EP (produced in part by Violens' Elbrecht) is pretty varied and quite lovely. I haven't seen her perform live yet, so I'm looking forward to tonight.

Yellow Fever

As mentioned previously, Yellow Fever are in town this weekend, ostensibly to play a record release party Saturday (12/12) night at Death By Audio for their debut LP on Vivian Girls Wild World records. Vivian Girls headline. Happy Birthday open. Yellow Fever's album is basically a compilation of everything they've released to date -- a couple CDR EPs and singles. They definitely work the "less is more" angle, with spare arrangements that play off Jennifer Moore's haunting vocals (not entirely unlike Cowboy Junkies' Margot Timmins). They're something special.

If you ask me, at this point in their popularity, Vivian Girls + Death By Audio = too much nutty behavior for me, so I'll probably catch Yellow Fever at Bruar Falls on Friday (12/11) where they play with Tyvek, Air Waves (a nice NYC match to Yellow Fever, download their song "Lightning" above) and Noveller (the musician, not the macroblogging service). Yellow Fever also play Silent Barn on Sunday (12/13).

Mountain Man

For those looking for a quieter option on Friday (12/11), Brooklyn blog Chocolate Bobka has put together a unique show at the Lutheran Church of the Messiah in Greenpoint featuring the spooky folk of Vermont's Mountain Man, Real Estate bassist Alex Bleeker, and Liam the Younger. It's not only acoustic, it's unamplified. The suggest brining blankets or yoga mats to sit on. More info on the exquisite flyer which is at the bottom of this post or available in a big version here.

Fiery Furnaces are playing this Friday (12/11) at Music Hall of Williamsburg and Saturday at Bowery Ballroom (Shilpa Ray opens both nights). While I don't like everything the Friedbergers do, it's always good to check back in with them as, chances are, it will sound completely different from the last thing. They've just released Take Me Round Again (out 12/15 on Thrill Jockey), which they're calling a covers record -- Matthew doing some of Eleanor's songs, and vise versa. The reworked versions of songs were also influenced by their "deaf descriptions" project on their website, where fans wrote reviews of FF's other 2009 release, I'm Going Away, before they actually heard the record. The AV Club NY has a nice interview with Matthew this week, where he talks about '70s television theme songs and what's next for Fiery Furnaces:

AVC: How do you see your music evolving from here?

MF: It's good to write music all the time, if that's what you want to do. When you're in a band, when you have something going, the hardest thing you have to do is to put everything into what's ongoing.. Especially these days you never know what you're supposed to do--if you should be more hectic, give away songs, or do a project with the voice from the Muppets. You have to have a record on Twitter. The band lends itself to do that sort of thing,

AVC: You mean gimmicky stuff?

MF: Yeah, we do a lot of gimmicky things, but it comes from us. We don't think that's so strange for us. But we've had people tell us, "Give a song away so you get people's e-mail addresses and you can send them an e-mail saying, 'Buy our box set for $90.'" All these [music] professionals, they don't know what they're doing. What can you do? You just have to do what you have energy to finish. Luckily you probably won't follow through on things you're not really into.

AVC: Does that mean we're not going to see you giving away an album on Twitter any time soon?

MF: Well, we are on Twitter, but someone did tell us, "If you're not on Twitter, you don't exist." That's the way the world is now. You could just be interested in writing in 140 characters, but it's also your obligation to be friendly too. We still have to figure out which way to go with that, so our Twitter posts aren't very interesting.

Continue reading "Violens, Class Actress, Acrylics, Mountain Man, YellowFever, Fiery Furnaces & more in This Week in Indie (part 1) "

photos by Chris La Putt

Bad news, my friends. I'm down with what my doctor now believes to be the dreaded H1N1 flu virus. I was especially bummed to cancel my hometown Halloween show on Saturday, but now I'm sorry to announce the following performances w/ Fiery Furnaces and Cryptacize have been cancelled:

11/4 hoboken, nj
11/5 northampton, ma
11/6 troy, ny
11/7 toronto, on

I'll be back in full force for a special headlining show at Schuba's in Chicago on Tuesday, Nov 10th, and I'll continue on with the Furnaces and Cryptacize to finish out the tour. I can't apologize enough to you guys, and I hope to make it up to the aformentioned cities sooner than later. - Dent May

Tickets are also still on sale for the two shows the Fiery Furnaces are playing in NYC in December (MHOW with Private Income and Bowery Ballroom with opener TBA).

More picture of Dent May from the BV/BoweryPresents day party at Pianos on Saturday (10/24) during CMJ, a video of him playing in Fader's CMJ bathroom, and all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Dent May played CMJ (pics), has H1N1, cancelled some Fiery Furnaces/Cryptacize shows (including Maxwell's) -2009 dates"

Though they will hit Hoboken, there are no NYC dates listed in the Fiery Furnaces's November tour with Cryptacize and Dent May. NYC will just have to wait until December. Tickets go on AmEx presale on Wednesday followed by a general sale on Friday for two dates: December 11th at Music Hall of Williamsburg and December 12th at Bowery Ballroom.

DOWNLOAD: Fiery Furnaces - The End Is Near (MP3)

Fiery Furnaces @ East River State Park in August (more by Bao Nguyen)

Playing with Elbow in a few days--at the MEN arena. Sometimes referred to as the M.E.N. arena. What a name, no? -Fiery Furnaces

WNYC recently ran a contest to see who could make the best video for the group's song "The End Is Near" (MP3 posted above). The winning entry, and a few others, are posted with all tour dates below...

Continue reading "Fiery Furnaces - 2009 tour dates w/ Cryptacize & Dent May (Maxwell's) ++ video contest winners & losers"

photos by Bao Nguyen

DOWNLOAD: Simian Mobile Disco - Cruel Intentions (feat. Beth Ditto) (MP3)

"On what was expected to be a rainy Sunday, it turned out to be a hazy day at the Brooklyn Pool Party where Fiery Furnaces performed and Simian Mobile Disco spun some music.

If you haven't already heard this new track from SMD's upcoming album Temporary Pleasure, then have a listen." [Persona Sauna]

Continue reading "Simian Mobile Disco, Fiery Furnaces & Dark Meat @ the Williamsburg Waterfront Pool Party in NYC - pics "

this is two weeks worth of posts...

The Rolling Stones Box Set collects 13 remastered post-1971 albums from the band, with space for next year's release of the remastered Exile on Main Street.

In a slow week for marquee releases, I have heard and can recommend Starflyer 59's Ghosts of the Past, Howling Bells' Radio Wars, Kevin Hearn's Havana Winter, and Kieran Kane's Somewhere Beyond the Roses.

Putumayo continues to put together amazing world music compilations and this week releases Putumayo Kids Presents: Picnic Playground and Putumayo Presents: Brazilian Cafe

Three Elbow albums are reissued this week: Asleep in the Back, Cast of Thousands, and Leaders of the Free World. The UK band plays All Points West on Sunday.

The Fiery Furnaces released I'm Going Away last week, my favorite album among many worthwhile CDs that hit store shelves on 7/21. Their August tour includes a show at the Williamsburg Waterfront.

Self-titled albums by the Bad Veins and Blue Roses are especially impressive debuts. Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs release Under The Covers: Vol. 2, their second covers compilation.

Three remastered albums from folkie Bert Jansch (L.A. Turnaround, A Rare Conundrum, Santa Barbara Honeymoon) are the reissue highlights of last week.

Other albums I have heard and can recommend include Magnolia Electric Co.'s Josephine, Florence & the Machine's Lungs, The Starlight Mints' Change Remains, and Wye Oak's The Knot.

Literary folks might find the Ice-9 Ballads interesting. A collaboration between author Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. and composer Dave Soldier, these two works feature Vonnegut's own narration.

What new music can you recommend this week? What's on your shopping list? Have I left any interesting releases off the list?

Continue reading "Largehearted Boy's Interesting CD Releases This Week"

Extra Golden @ Knitting Factory in 2008 (more by Lori Baily)

tonight in NYC
* DANCE
* Goatwhore @ Gramercy
* Slick Rick @ East River Park
* Jukebox the Ghost @ Union Square
* Woodstock Tribute w/ Richie Havens @ Castle Clinton
* Suckers, Bear in Heaven, Intermissions, Hexa @ Pianos
* Emilie Simon, Alexa Wilding, Reni Laine @ Highline Ballroom
* Slim Cessna's Auto Club, Neckbeard Telecaster @ The Bell House
* Glass Ghost, HORSES (Robert Stillman), Kurt Weisman @ Sycamore
* Air Waves, Yellow Fever, The Magic Kids, Knight School @ Cake Shop
* Ted Leo & the Pharmacists, Radio 4, Extra Golden @ Hudson River Park
* Gary War, Liturgy, Beach Fossils, Mass Shivers, Etienne @ Market Hotel
* Celebrate Brooklyn w/ Stephen Petronio Company (Dance) @ Prospect Park
* Gutsies, Dinosaur Feathers, The Sundelles, pow wow! @ The Cameo Gallery
* Shilpa Ray, Soft Black, Werewolves, Eyes, Jesus Is Angry @ Death By Audio
* Roy Loney & Cyril Jordan of the Flamin' Groovies w/ the A-Bones @ Maxwell's
* Hot Tub w/ Kurt Braunohler & Kristen Schaal, The Bishop & Douch Invasion @ UCB

Free outdoor music that may (or may not) be happening tonight (because of the rain) includes Ted Leo & the Pharmacists, Radio 4 and Extra Golden at Hudson River Park, Slick Rick at East River Park and Woodstock Tribute with Richie Havens at Castle Clinton (which River to River says is rain or shine).

Richie Havens also played the Clearwater Festival in the rain.

Roy Loney and Cyril Jordan of the Flamin' Groovies Backed By the A-Bones happens again tomorrow at Southpaw.

Suckers, who will be at the Diesel Store on 5th Ave and 54rd tomorrow, continue their regular gig at Pianos with Bear in Heaven, Intermissions and Hexa.

Catch out-of-town bands Yellow Fever and Magic Kids at the Cake Shop tonight with Air Waves and Knight School. Also, Bill recently pointed out that "Fergus & Geronimo now on tonight's Cake Shop bill!"

Twisted Sister are on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon tonight.

The Fiery Furnaces just played an acoustic set at Housing Works Bookstore last night. Check out their new video for "Charmaine Champagne," below.

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Thursday?"

DOWNLOAD: Fiery Furnaces - The End is Near (MP3)

Fiery Furnaces @ Barack the Vote (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

Dear Sir or Madam,

Regarding your recent story about the Fiery Furnaces in the bowling alley: thank you for writing about us; and thanks to the bowling alley for having us there. However, and as it happens, we feel obliged to report that the tone of our remarks was often misrepresented. For instance: the quote which begins the piece was said, in actual fact, with quite a bit of sarcasm. To be sure, it was not a very witty remark. But it certainly was sarcastic. In the future, the band will strive to be more obviously insincere and disdainful.

In writing this we of course imply no disrespect to the bowling alley, which is no doubt providing, as employer or client, a much needed boost to the economy of North Williamsburg; to say nothing of the remarkable atmosphere it certainly succeeds in promulgating. Conversely, we would not like to be thought in anyway dissatisfied with the efforts of the writer of the piece, whom we continue to regard as extremely pleasant and very intelligent.

Needless to say, we hold it an honor to be mentioned in any capacity by as legendary a publication as the Village Voice. As always, we are proud to patronize your advertisers and be personally affected by your editorial positions.

Sincerely, and with affection,

The Fiery Furnaces

For a more extended look at the Fiery Furnaces, whose I'm Going Away just came out on Thrill Jockey, they'll be playing the August 9th Williamsburg Waterfront Pool Party with Simian Mobile Disco, Dark Meat and Finger on the Pulse DJs.

On October 1st, Housing Works will host a benefit titled "Liner Notes, an Evening of Music and Literature." For that event...

Acclaimed author Salman Rushdie and progressive rock band Dredg will co-headline Liner Notes...to explore the cross-pollination of music and literature and raise funds for Housing Works, a New York-based AIDS service organization. The event will be presented by SPIN and its SPIN.com Book Club, and will celebrate the recent release of Dredg's fourth album, The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion, which was inspired by Rushdie's essay "Imagine There's No Heaven: A Letter to the Sixth Billionth Citizen."

Dredg is currently on tour with RX Bandits. They play Irving Plaza and Bowery Ballroom at the end of July. Fiery Furnaces are going on tour with White Rabbits in August. All dates below...

Continue reading "Fiery Furnaces @ Housing Works tonight/Wednesday, Dredg w/ Salman Rushdie in October & other tour dates & stuff"

"The emails have been piling up and everyone's asking, "dude, what's up with the Pool Parties?" Well DUDE, so sorry to keep you waiting, but here at JELLY we've been working our asses off to bring you one of the greatest free concert series in history. The Pool Parties are going to be extremely crucial this year, "epic" or "amazing" as you people say these days. Seriously, eight weeks of FREE shows on the waterfront of Williamsburg? Does it get any better? You might be thinking "waterfront"? Yeah, in case you didn't hear the McCarren Pool's closed so get over it :) , and yeah we kept the name Pool Parties even though the East River's not at a pool, so what? We've still got DODGEBALL, basketball, DJ's, bands, burgers the works! We love you more than your parents ever could, and if you want to have fun and hang out with us this summer. [Full schedule below]. Bring your friends but please don't bring these things [pictured above]. As you can see below, underage drinking will not be tolerated. . You guys wouldn't do that though, so there's nothing to worry about. Thank you for visiting and stay tuned!!" -Jelly

Continue reading "JellyNYC announces Pool Parties @ Williamsburg Waterfront!"

DOWNLOAD: Fiery Furnaces - The End is Near (MP3)

The Fiery Furnaces @ Middle East Downstairs (6/12/09) (gikthechamp)

"Eleanor kept mentioning how most of the new songs were about ex-boyfriends, and at one point was almost apologizing for that fact, joking that they were now out of ideas. She shouldn't be so concerned. I love the more obscure and whimsical topics that have come up in past Furnaces releases, but I welcome this more straightforward, emotionally driven material. They've done it before, but it's never been as bittersweet as this, nor as neat and soulful. It was time to shift gears, and they made exactly the right decision -- their melodic sensibility is front and center, the preciousness is dialed down considerably." [Fluxblog]

Three days later, Matt's other band King's Crescent played a Martin Bisi-curated Northside Festival show at Spike Hill. Lucid Culture writes that they "flipped the script and played a joyous, virtuosic, completely in-the-pocket set of vintage Meters covers."

On August 9th, the Fiery Furnaces will join Simian Mobile Disco (who are playing DJ) on the bill of the free JellyNYC Pool Party at the Williamsburg Waterfront. Finger on the Pulse are also DJing at this one. All FF dates below...

Continue reading "Fiery Furnaces played LPR, King's Crescent played Spike Hill, FF playing Pool Party w/ Simian Mobile Disco ++ new MP3"