words & photo by Andrew Frisicano

At Dam-Funk's set I saw during SXSW 2010, the foggy synths and sun-baked cassette jams of his Toeachizown LP, which came out last year on Stones Throw, blasted on an ear-crushing level. He also played a keytar. Videos of that gig and another Austin show are below.

Coming up, he has scattered tour dates all over the world, including Sasquatch and Pitchfork music fests this summer, and an NYC show on a boat. Dam-Funk plays a Rocks Off Concert Cruise on Saturday, April 24th. Tickets are on sale.

Other upcoming Rocks Off Concert Cruises: Rana, Flosstradamus, The Queers, and NASHVILLE PUSSY/GREEN JELLY/PSYCHOSTICK which happens TONIGHT (4/8).

All Dam-Funk tour dates and his cover of the Human League's "Things That Dreams Are Made Of" (and its accompanying trippy video) are below...

Continue reading "Dam-Funk tour dates include a NYC Rocks Off Concert Cruise (whose 2010 season is now underway)"

"The 2010 Lollapalooza line-up is official: Soundgarden, Green Day, Lady Gaga, Arcade Fire, The Strokes, and Phoenix will headline, joined by Social Distortion, MGMT, Jimmy Cliff, Hot Chip, and The Black Keys. With 130 bands on this year's bill, its sure to be a weekend long feast for the ears.

It's a monumental year for Lollapalooza, filled with homecomings, reunions, and first-times. Soundgarden, 1992 and 1996 Lollapalooza alumni, return to the Lollapalooza stage for their first performance since 1997. Green Day will rock Grant Park sixteen years after their first Lollapalooza appearance. While Lady Gaga will headline the festival only three short years after playing the BMI stage at Lollapalooza 2007.

Arcade Fire returns to Grant Park, having played the reincarnated Lollapalooza in 2005. This is the first Lollapalooza for The Strokes - and also their first show in four years. And making their Lollapalooza debut: Phoenix." - Lollapalooza

After extremely accurate early leaks and then much teasing, Lollapalooza oficially announces this year's lineup. Check it out below...

Continue reading "Lollapalooza actually announces 2010 lineup "

Vega @ McCarren Pool (more by Bao Nguyen)

Pitchfork: Favorite City to Play?

Neon Indian: I think I'd probably have to do a little more touring to draw that conclusion. And although it's cliché, I think that the most fun that the band will consistently have is in New York City. We played at Cameo, Studio B, even McCarren Park; there's such a wide variety of venues that each have their own appeal and charm, and every show we've played has never been the same crowd twice, there's always been a slight variation. But I feel like I'm preaching to the choir, considering the band is relocating in December.

That quote is from a newly-posted Pitchfork interview with "Neon Indian" though to be specific, it was with Alan Palomo who also plays as Vega, and it was Vega who actually played in all of those NYC venues. Neon Indian (currently residing in Texas) (despite their claim on MySpace that they are from "Brooklyn/Austin") has only played in a random warehouse so far (and maybe The Living Room if you count the kids show they/he played the next afternoon). Actually, that interview even happened before those CMJ-time Neon Indian shows (as evidenced by Alan's answer to the last live show he saw) (Phoenix at the Monolith Festival in September) (not that it matters).

Also, Neon Indian is not actually moving to NY in December. They had planned to and still want to, and still may in February, but no definite plans at the moment.

Neon Indian will be back to visit in December though. First they play at two sold out shows at Mercury Lounge and then a show they just added at Brooklyn Bowl on December 17th. Tigercity is opening. $5.00 tickets will go on sale this Friday.

Meanwhile Vega is rumored to have signed to Fool's Gold (not to be confused with the band that is playing MHOW tonight). It's the A-Trak-co-owned label that put the new Kid Sister record "Ultraviolet" this week. Kid Sister has a NYC show coming up at Webster Hall on Friday 11/27 with Flosstradamus.

All tour dates below...

Continue reading "Neon Indian adds 3rd show in NYC (which may be their new home), Vega signs to Fool's Gold? (home of Kid Sister)"

Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings @ Radio City (more by Natasha Ryan)

"The new six-part IFC Original Series, DINNER WITH THE BAND is the first alternative cooking show combining culinary delights, musical performances and conversations with some of today's most acclaimed indie rock artists.

On DINNER WITH THE BAND, Sam Mason, the tattooed and celebrated NYC chef (Tailor, WD-50), invites a band to his Brooklyn loft where he shows them how to add his signature culinary spin to their favorite "on-tour" food. In the meantime, Chef Mason and the artists converse on food, music, and life while cooking together. After they "chow down" they "get down" as each act takes to the loft's stage to play a rockin' musical set.

Bands with dinner reservations this season include, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Kid Sister and Flosstradamus, Les Savy Fav, YACHT, Final Fantasy, and MEN.

Chef Mason, who recently took on Iron Chef Morimoto on Iron Chef America, is the former pastry chef of New York's WD-50 and current proprietor of SOHO's contemporary dining and cocktail parlor, Tailor. A modern day pioneer of avant-garde cooking and a James Beard nominee, Mason brings a casual approach to his dishes that stimulate the palate as well as the dialogue.

DINNER WITH THE BAND will debut on IFC in November 2009."

IFC recently picked up Dinner With the Band which was previously made just for the Internet.

Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings have a handful of shows scheduled between now and the end of the year, and one of them is taking place at Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, NJ on December 5th. Tickets are on sale. All dates below...

Continue reading "Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings - 2009 Tour Dates (Starland Ballroom) +++ Dinner With the Band (on IFC)"

photos by Alex Reside

"Last night a whole lot of music fans packed themselves onto Pier 54 for the first concert in the Hudson River Park's RiverRocks concert series. The show featured three performances (wait, can I call a DJ set a performance? ok, fine I guess so). First up was Team Robespierre, a punk band from Brooklyn. They seemed a little off, but at least they were singing...which leads me to the next group Flosstradamus, a pair of DJs. The music was good, but it wasn't the right time or place for a DJ set. The pier was completely flat, so odds were that your experience at that point involved a dance-track backed view of the sunset. It wasn't much of a dance party where I was standing, half-way down the pier, but maybe they were appreciating the music up front. When Matt and Kim took the stage there were joined by two giant screens, which were used to project close-ups of the musicians as well as some animated patterns." [Second Doubles]

Flosstradamus play again tonight/Friday at Studio B. More pictures from last night's show at the pier, below...

Continue reading "Matt & Kim, Flosstradamus & Team Robespierre @ Pier 54 in NYC - pics "

MALUCA

Last week in dance was not my favorite. I enjoyed Losoul's set at Sunday Best, and the urban landscape "Afterparty" at Warm Up at PS1 (though not the music so much) . More about both of those in Part 2 of the Week In Dance. For now, here's what's happening Thursday & Friday:

Continue reading "the week in Dance w/ Showtrotta (part 1) (MALUCA)"

Matt & Kim @ Bowery Ballroom in February (more by Bao Nguyen)

Hudson River Rocks in NYC - July 9, 2009
6:30 Team Robespierre (added to the bill)
7:30 Flosstradamus
8:30 Matt & Kim

---

Flosstradamus are also playing one of the final shows at Studio B this weekend.

All Matt & Kim dates below...

Continue reading "Matt & Kim - 2009 Tour Dates (FREE SHOW TONIGHT w/ Flosstradamus - Team Robespierre added)"

Studio B (more by Ryan Muir)

After months (years?) of drama and numerous not-actually-closings, word is that Brooklyn mostly-dance club Studio B is really closing this time - by the end of July. No word on how that will affect each individual event scheduled there, like 2 Live Crew on July 25th which is not listed on the venue's website, but is still on sale. Last time this happened, things got moved.

UPDATE: It is confirmed that the 2 Live Crew is looking for a new home. Everything else listed above (and on Studio B's website) will happen as planned.

Speaking of what is listed by the venue, there are a total of eight more events advertised through July 12th. That includes 2 tonight and 1 tomorrow (that Showtrotta talks more about), a Tragedy show, Flosstradamus on July 10th, the Bikes in the Kitchen show on June 28th, and a July 4th Independence Day Blowout Spectacular with a huge lineup of DJs that include Mark Farina, Odi and Keoki. Flyer for that below...

Continue reading "Studio B closing. (Really this time?)"

Yeasayer in the woods (via their recording blog)

"Three of the best established indie bands in the New York City music scene - two relatively newcomers, Matt & Kim and Yeasayer, and one perennial favorite Ted Leo & The Pharmacists -- are scheduled to headline the 11th annual RiverRocks music series of free outdoor concerts at Hudson River Park's Pier 54 this summer.

With the Hudson River and the setting sun as the backdrop of its Pier 54 stage (at 14th Street), RiverRocks kicks off its three-date series Thursday, July 9 featuring Brooklyn's Matt & Kim with the Chicago-based electronic team Flosstradamus opening the evening....

RiverRocks is Hudson River Park's signature concert series staged on the Pier 54 waterfront adjacent to New York City's Meatpacking District (at 14th Street). Gates open at 6 p.m. for all RiverRocks shows, which are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.

I've been waiting for Ted Leo to announce a summer show. The dates of the three free, outdoor concerts is below...

Continue reading "Hudson RiverRocks' 2009 lineup - Yeasayer, Ted Leo, Matt & Kim, Radio 4, Extra Golden (3 free NYC shows!)"

Continue reading "2008 Fool's Gold CMJ Showcase"

photos by Maia Stern

DOWNLOAD: Matt & Kim - Yeah Yeah (Flosstradamus Remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Cool Kids - Pump Up The Volume (Flosstradamus Remix) (MP3)

More pictures from last night's Green Label Sound party at (le) poisson rouge (Sept 16, 2008), below...

Continue reading "Matt & Kim, Cool Kids & Flosstradamus @ LPR, NYC - pics"

Green Label Sound is a Mountain Dew-sponsored website offering free MP3 downloads. Right now you can get "Delivery Man" by Cool Kids. Next they'll be offering "an exclusive song from Brooklyn's finest energetic duo, Matt & Kim." Then "two more artists coming this fall".

The Cool Kids, Matt & Kim and Flosstradamus will each perform this Tuesday night (9/16) at the Green Label Sound "launch party" at (le) poisson rouge in NYC. I have seven pairs of tickets to giveaway. More details below....

Continue reading "Cool Kids playing w/ Matt & Kim in NYC - win tix, free MP3"

Flosstradamus @ Chicago Apple Store - July 31, 2008 (reallocalcelebrity)

Flosstradamus have been doing a lot of traveling lately. On Thursday they played a Lollapalooza-related set in a Chicago Apple store (see above). Then the next day they played a show in Atlantic City. Then they went back to their hometown of Chicago to actually play Lollapalooza on Sunday and an afterparty in the same town that night. One day later (TODAY) and they are back in the tri-state area for a show at Santos Party House. It's a late show. The King Khan & BBQ Show is playing the same venue tonight, but earlier. King Khan tickets HERE. Flosstradamus tickets HERE. Flosstradamus tour dates below...

Continue reading "Flosstradamus - 2008 Tour Dates (Santos tonight)"

by Showtrotta

DOWNLOAD: Cosmo Vitelli on Beats in Space July 12, 2007 (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Runaway on Beats in Space October 9, 2007 (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: David Bruno No Way, No Way Mix Oct 07 (MP3)

Daniel of LA Riots @ Webster Hall - May 16, 2008 *

Cut Copy set the bar pretty high with their very energetic and fun set Wednesday night. Luckily things continued down that path for the rest of the week. Friday night I made it to Webster Hall just in time to catch the last half hour or so of a very disco-fied set by James Murphy. He also threw in some classics which you could not help smiling at when you thought about where you were. Speaking of which...as much of a weird/hellish crowd the Webster Hall-based event drew, I really appreciated having space to dance and not sweating my ass off merely from being inside the venue. After James, LA Riots spun a great, banging set which was much more what I was expecting from them after experiencing their lower key set at Love last month. Daniel (1/2 of LA Riots -- the other half J'ob was not there) had the crowd perfectly warmed up and right where it needed to be for what can best be described as the dance explosion that ensued when JFK and AL-P got behind the decks. Things went from everyone getting down as they had been, to a sudden rush of people storming the stage and everyone in the place going accordingly bananas.

MSTRKRFT @ Webster Hall - May 16, 2008 *

They played for about 2 hours, from 2ish-4ish and covered every great electro song you've heard recently along with tons of new stuff. For anyone who's seen them the past 2 times they were here, the set was much more along the lines of their CMJ set (which I thought was much more exciting and creative) than their one last month at Studio B...

H&LA @ Studio B - May 17, 2008 (more by Ryan Muir)

...which is where I headed Saturday night to catch Hercules & Love Affair's debut performance that everyone has been talking about since. Overall I thought it was a great show...for a debut performance. The first couple of tracks were a bit shaky, but the group quickly rebounded with "Blind" which was still good, albeit different, without Antony (see for yourself here. A few of their songs had me absolutely losing it (namely "Athene" and "You Belong") while others were just ok. I think the problem I ran into was...I kept comparing them to Escort, and in some instances found myself wishing Zena Kitt was singing in place of Nomi, though I'm not sure if that would've worked out as ideally as it did in my head. Hercules & Love Affair's tracks have a much more modern sound vs. Escort's classic disco.

Speaking of Escort, don't miss them at Brooklyn Masonic Temple on May 30th. Tickets are on sale.

At the end of Saturday night when all was said and done, I had a great time...there is nothing like live disco. Sadly that's one thing there isn't enough of, but luckily there are plenty of other great dance happenings in the city this week:

Continue reading "Flosstradamus & other Thursday night events ++ Escort, LA Riots, MSTRKRFT, H&LA, & other 'dance' stuff too"

"Spank rock isn't real hip hop , it would be disrepectful to have him on the same bill as Rakim.." [Anonymous]

I don't know who wrote the above anonymous comment, but I've had more than one conversation with more than one hip hop fan about the very same thing - "real" vs "hipster" and/or "fake" hip hop. Are Spank Rock and friends "hip hop"? Does it matter? I don't care, but it's always a fun conversation, and I couldn't help but notice the strong prescence Spank Rock and friends have on this year's Rock the Bells festival lineup - a festival that is is, for the most part anyway, about hip hop.

on a related note: Santogold also has shows coming up at the Virgin Megastore and Summerstage. Spank Rock is playing Studio B.

David Bruno was on vacation. Sorry 'bout that....

DFA does PS1 in NYC, June 30, 2007 (CRED & MORE)

Sorry for the delay kids, let the dancing continue - Big, big dance parties coming through NYC in July and this weekend is no exception.

You already know this Saturday is the *live* NYC debut of Simian Mobile Disco at Fixed at Studio B. I still can't get enough of SMD's "I Believe."

Friday night is chockfull of parties worth your time, my People Don't Dance No More party has DFA's Justin Miller, Jacques Renault & Justine D do the Guggenheim early, and Jacques & Marcos Cabral do their Runaway partyat Lit later. You can also catch Chromeo and Flosstradamus hip it out at Fun at Studio B.

Speaking of my party, we are super excited to be launching the first in a series of summertime BOAT PARTIES on Friday July 13th: THE WURST BOAT PARTY featuring My Cousin Roy & Jacques Renault of the Wurst Edits label. The party is hosted in conjunction with the Rocks Off Crew and sails at midnight on Friday the 13th. Spooky! The first 50 tickets get a free WURST EDITS mix CD full of exclusive disco goodness from the boys. Tickets are $15 and are extremely limited, so get at it. This is also the first of our '18 & over' parties, so if you haven't experienced a People Don't Dance No More throw down, get on the boat!

Saturday 7.7.07 is a good day to get freaky all day and all night. The PS1 Warm Up parties are fully underway. The boys of DFA Records kicked it off last weekend and this week pass the torch to the A Touch of Class. Your $10 gets live sets from Services & Kudu, among others...and DJ sets from ATOC and the amazing Lee Douglas (who is putting a record out on WURST EDITS called "Breakwind"). I can't not recommend going to see the Boredoms (I'm going too), but hussle over to Queens afterwards to catch In Flagranti rock the Water Taxi Beach Party (the summer's full Saturday line up is here). Grab a few Sparks and head to Greenpoint for SMD or cruise further south to Trouble & Bass' new home at Rock Star Bar.

Dance news, downloads & more listings, below...

Continue reading "the week in Dance w/ David Bruno (07/06/07)"

DOWNLOAD: Matt & Kim - Yea Yeah (Ocelot remix) (MP3)

crowd @ a Kalamazoo Matt & Kim show - June 15, 2007 (CRED)

Flosstradamus just so happen to be in town. Yea Yeah....

Continue reading "VIDEO: Matt & Kim - Yea Yeah (Flosstradamus remix)"

RSVP for the show @ Hiro Ballroom. They play Studio B on Friday. More tour dates & an MP3 HERE.

DOWNLOAD: Chromeo - Tenderoni (Etienne de Crecy remix) (MP3)

Etienne de Crécy is largely responsible for the electro inspired house sounds coming out of Paris right now. Back when everyone was doing their best filtered house Daft Punk impersonations, Etienne, the boys from Air, and Alex Gopher sped their bpm up, switched on a 303 and Super Discount was born. This remix of Chromeo's "Tenderoni" rips the track into a peak-time blog house anthem. - David Bruno

Tickets are on sale for a July 6th show at Studio B in Brooklyn with Chromeo, Flosstradamus, and Kid Sister. All tour dates below....

Continue reading "ETIENNE DE CRECY remix of CHROMEO's Tenderoni (MP3) + 2007 Tour Dates (w/ FLOSSTRADAMUS)"