words by Andrew Frisicano, photos by Erez Avissar

DOWNLOAD: Christmas Island - Bed Island (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Beach Fossils - Time (MP3)

Beach Fossils @ Shea Stadium

Tickets are still on sale for the Crystal Stilts MHOW show on Saturday, February 20th. Opening up for that show are The Beets, Christmas Island, Beach Fossils and The German Measles (who have a gig with Bishop Allen coming up, more on that soon).

Leading up to that show, Christmas Island (whose debut came out this October on In the Red), The Beets and Beach Fossils are all on tour together this February. The MHOW show is the last of three separate NYC dates for the tour. The other two come February 9th at the Cake Shop and February 13th at Death by Audio.

The Beets have already had a pretty busy December as far as NYC shows go. And the month isn't over for Beach Fossils, who'll ring in the New Year with Frankie and the Outs, Surfer Blood and We Are Country Mice at the Cameo. Beach Fossils (aka Dustin Payseur) has a full-length on the way from Woodsist/Captured Tracks in March, and the song above is from a forthcoming Woodsist 7".

Looking ahead to SXSW, Christmas Island also lists an In the Red showcase at Austin's Beerland on March 19th. The song "Bed Island," a tuneful love song, is above.

All tour dates along with the rest of the pictures from the show at Shea Stadium last Wednesday (12/9), below...

Continue reading "Beach Fossils played Shea Stadium (pics), touring w/ Christmas Island & The Beets (dates) ++ MP3s"

by Bill Pearis

Immaculate Machine

NIGHTTIME:

BrooklynVegan's got two parties tonight. Black Bubblegum is hosting an official metal showcase tonight at Fontana's (which happens right after our day party at the same venue), and we've also got the teeny tiny Loft Space party that is sold-out at this point.

One of the bands playing the loft party is Victoria Canada's Immaculate Machine, who may or may not have the lineup pictured above...

...To make life even more tricky for the band, vocalist and keyboardist Kathryn Calder, one of the remaining original members, has had to absent herself from touring after the terrible news of her mum's diagnosis with motor neurone disease; although Lynn Calder very sadly died earlier this year, Kathryn was not with the band this evening. Indeed, the touring line-up looked very different from the line-up advertised on the band's web presences, two boys apparently replaced by two girls.

So, amid confusion that appeared to verge on turmoil, could the band deliver the goods live? It turned out they very much could... [John Kell, Oct 20, 2009]

Immaculate Machine also play early-ish tonight (8:30) at the equally tiny Fat Baby for a showcase for their label, Mint Records. They've got trio of Canadian bands playing, most of whom rarely seem to make it down to America. Or, the East Coast at least -- most of their bands tend to be from Vancouver. In addition to Immaculate Machine, there's the garagey Pack A.D. and Hot Panda, who I caught last year at CMJ and are pretty good. The Mint Records showcase is also a good place to pick up their great fanzine, A Taste of Mint, which always features at least one classic Narduwar interview.

And a bit off the beaten path, the folks at the Seaport Music Festival are putting on a great showcase at their Seaport on the Side gallery space (corner of Front and Beekman). The line-up, which runs from 7PM - Midnight, includes Montreal's We are Wolves, the Danish electro sounds of Spleen United, and UK hip hop act Man Like Me. UK pop artist Dan Black was supposed to play but cancelled and has been replaced by Sweden's Moonbabies who played a killer opening set at yesterday's Brooklyn Vegan day party. Do go see Moonbabies if you can. They also play earlier in the night (8:30) at Crash Mansion.

One of the many, many highlight's of yesterday's Brooklyn Vegan day party at Piano's was JEFF the Brotherhood who put on an absolutely kick-ass closing set. Tonight, they've put together a showcase for their label, Infinity Cat, featuring a slew of Nashville bands: Heavy Cream, Natural Child, Denney & the Jets, Daniel Pujol, as well as Brooklyn's Sisters.

And, of course, JEFF who you should really try and see this weekend at some point. If there was one thing missing at Pianos yesterday, it was the smoke machines Jake and Jamin tend to use (Pianos doesn't allow them) and I have a feeling they'll be in full effect tonight.

And lastly, fellow Brooklyn blog Chocolate Bobka has teamed with Underwater Peoples and twosyllable records for a pretty great night of music at The Delancey, including Holiday Shores, Real Estate, Frat Dad, Pill Wonder and more. They're also promising free moonshine, which sounds a bit deadly to me but, hey, it is Friday night.

Daytime highlights HERE. Hip Hop highlights HERE. Fliers, a Moonbabies video, and other stuff below...

Continue reading "CMJ 2009 - Bill's Friday nighttime picks (Immaculate Machine, Infinity Cat, Seaport Music & more)"

Ninjasonik @ Bodega 7/5/08 (thepiratehat)

Hello everyone,

If you are receiving this email, it is because we have scheduled a show with you and/or your band at BODEGA in the coming weeks.

It is with great disappointment that we have to cancel all BODEGA shows in the coming weeks. As some of you may know, we had a problem with the bathroom last week that revealed serious structural damage to the space. At risk of injury and serious disaster, we have been forced to close down for the foreseeable future in order to repair damages and conduct major renovations.

I am very sorry, certainly we do not want to cancel shows and close our doors but the situation is dire and catastrophic. Even right now, there is a massive hole in the floor, no bathroom, and structural damage to the building.

We hope to reopen in October, if possible. Again, I am very sorry and hope to reschedule these shows when the repairs are completed.

All the best,
Andy

That didn't last very long. Andy is Andrew Smith the event coordinator at Bodega. Hidden Power and Frat Dad were scheduled to play there Friday night (and are looking for a new venue if you know anywhere).