Phosphorescent at Brooklyn Bowl in 2011 (more by Tamara Porras)

As mentioned, the Northside Festival is returning to various Brooklyn venues from June 13 - 16, and like in past years, they'll be doing two free shows in McCarren Park as part of the festival. We already mentioned that The Walkmen are playing one on June 15, and that one just got even better because Phosphorescent (who just played Crossing Brooklyn Ferry) were added! The rest of the bill includes Friend Roulette and Abadabad. The show is free, but tickets are required and still available.

Solange at Bowery Ballroom in 2012 (more by Amanda Hatfield)

The second free McCarren Park show was also just announced. It will be headlined by Solange (who also just played Crossing Brooklyn Ferry) and support comes from Petite Noir, Cable, and My Midnight Heart. Tickets for that one are on sale now too. If you have a Northside bade, you're guaranteed entry for both free shows.

Northside Festival have added other bands, like Braids, too. An updated list of artists playing (and still more TBA) and lists of all Solange and Phosphorescent dates below...

Continue reading "Solange and Phosphorescent playing free McCarren Park shows during Northside (updated lineup & dates)"

photos by Dylan Johnson

Peelander-Z at Brain Cave Festival - 4/11/13

Brooklyn's Brain Cave Festival went down this past Thursday (4/11) through Sunday (4/14) mostly at Europa (it also included a free day show on Saturday at the Greenpointers.com Market). The first night had a good dose of rock from Peelander-Z, The Suzan, and Eula, plus a horn-filled set from Zongo Junction and Supremes tribute band Guyanna Ross and the Supremes. Pictures of those bands are this post. It also featured Gunfight! and Hoya, who unfortunately we missed.

You can catch Eula again at Mercury Lounge on May 23 with Friend Roulette and Matty Fasano. Tickets for that show go on sale Friday (4/19) at noon.

More pictures, plus video of Guyanna Ross and the Supremes, below...

Continue reading "Peelander-Z, Eula, The Suzan, Guyanna Ross & the Supremes, Hoya, and Zongo Junction at the Brain Cave Festival (pics)"

by Bill Pearis

Les Yeux: French for "Blurry Brad Oberhofer"?

Tonight (4/9) at Pianos is the start of a four-week residency from some band called "Les Yeux." We've never heard of them, the quotes around their name are curious and, oh, word on the street is it's actually Oberhofer, whose new EP, Notalgia, is out April 23. (That's what Mickey the shoeshine guy tells us, at least.) Tickets for all four Tuesday-in-April shows are on sale now.

The openers at the four residency dates are as such: tonight (4/9) the show is with Dinowalrus and Redfoot; April 16 is with Friend Roulette and EL Topo; April 23 is with Carmen Villain and "special guests"; and April 30 is with LODRO and Cowboy Indian Bear.

Whether or not "Les Yeux" turns out to be Oberhofer, you can catch them for sure at Glasslands on May 2 with Celestial Shore and Life Size Maps (tickets), the start of a short tour. Meanwhile, the band have released a second track from Notalgia, the very catchy "You + Me (Still Together In The Future)" and you can stream it below.

Continue reading "Oberhofer streaming new track from 'Notalgia'; "Les Yeux" begin NYC residency at Pianos"

Computer Magic @ Bowery Ballroom, 9/8/12 (more by Erik Erikson)

The Aputumpu Festival is a musical showcase featuring more than two dozen rising Brooklyn-based bands comprising the backbone of the burgeoning Brooklyn music scene.

For New York City, Aputumpu is a celebration of the best new talent in the city, an amalgam of creative and artistic forces which seem to be as much a part of the air as the weather. In a city overflowing with musical talent, these bands rise above with distinctive sounds and unforgettable performances.

The Brooklyn music-centric Aputumpu Festival (started by the video blog of the same name) is back and the three-day fest happens at five venues in Brooklyn and Manhattan, beginning tonight (3/28) at Cameo for a night of indie electronics, featuring live sets from Dickpic, Psychic Twin, Vensaire, Silent Drape Runners, Stranger Cat, St Lenox and Brother Tiger, with a DJ set by Chrome Canyon.

Friday (3/29) is the big night for Aputumpu with a folk/world show at Joe's Pub with Azania, Derrick N. Ashong & Soulfege and more; Computer Magic, Friend Roulette and more at Studio at Webster Hall; and both stages at Public Assembly, with EDM in the front (Rubber Ross, iBeat, more), and punk in the back room (KNTRLR, Religious Girls, Cinema Cinema, more).

The festival closes out on Saturday (3/30) at Ran Tea House, with Eula, Speedy Ortiz, Bambara and more.

Aputumpu Festival passes are $30 and tickets to individual shows are $10. Passes and tickest to Cameo, Public Assembly and Ran Tea House can be purchased here, Joe's Pub tickets are here and Studio @ Webster Hall here.

Festival flyer and full line-ups for all Aputumpu shows below...

Continue reading "NYC's Aputumpu Festival starts tonight (Computer Magic, Eula, KNTRLR, Dickpic, Speedy Ortiz & more)"

A Sunny Day in Glasgow are wrapping up work on their new album which was funded via Kickstarter. The band are also looking to road test the tunes on a few East Coast dates. After hitting Baltimore last night, they'll hit NYCF tonight (1/16) for a show at Pianos with Friend Roulette, Desert Stars, Relatives and Heidi Harris. Tickets are $8 at the door. Thursday (1/17) ASDIG will hit their Philadelphia hometown for a show at The International House.

Meanwhile, Jen Goma's other band, People Get Ready, have two shows coming up: February 1 at Music Hall of Williamsburg opening for Local Natives (sold out); and then a headlining show at Mercury Lounge on February 8 with Man Forever and Color War (tickets available). PGR are also currently on the cover of The Deli magazine.

Jonathan Ames

The Hurricane Sandy Relief benefit shows keep coming. We've already mentioned upcoming benefits with Will Sheff, Eugene Mirman, Dan Deacon, and more. Here's some others that have been announced.

Novelist Jonathan Ames (also creator of HBO's now-cancelled Bored to Death), Amy Sohn (author of Prospect Park West), Henry Alford, Charles Star, Dan Wilbur, and more will appear at Union Hall on Monday (11/2) for "Brooklyn Relief: A Night of Words, Music, and Comedy to Benefit Hurricane Sandy Relief Efforts" with musical guests Andy Friedman and Natalia Zukerman. Tickets are on sale now and 100% of proceeds goes to Hurricane Sandy Relief, with %50 going to the Red Hook Initiative and 50% going to the NY Communities Hurricane Relief Fund. They will also have NY Shirts for Sandy available at the show.

There's also another Hurricane Sandy Relief benefit at Union Hall on November 16 with Friend Roulette, Flying Pace, Bright Brown, and Katie Mullins. Tickets for that show are on sale now and proceeds go to Occupy Sandy Hurricane Relief.

On Thursday (11/8) at Idle Hands bar (25 Ave B), Gary Saurez the Human Jukebox will play your requests for cash, with all proceeds going to the Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City. Here's how it works:

$5 donation to the Mayor's Fund gets a request for an Alternative Rock song of your choice!

$20 donation to the Mayor's Fund gets a request for any Rock song of your choice!

$50+ to the Mayor's Fund gets a request for ANY song of your choice!

Gary adds, "Songs must be under five minutes long. Please exercise good judgement. Don't request shit like Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music or blackened pornogrind or so help me God I will slap you." The night opens at 8 PM with an hour's worth of DJing from Mr. Dave Hill and then Gary starts playing your requests from 9 PM on. No entry fee. More info is here.

Dean Ween's benefit at The Saint in Asbury Park has been pushed back from its original November 11 date to November 28. At the show, Dean will be joined by Claude Coleman, Glenn McClelland, Chris Harford, Dickie Moist, and "all of the usual suspects" and is a benefit for Dean's friend Nick Honachefsky, who lost his home and all of his possessions.

My Jerusalem is playing Mercury Lounge on Monday (11/12) with Dead Heart Bloom and a portion of Friday at Bellwether in Williamsburg (594 Union Ave) from 10 PM to 4 AM. The show is free and donations for American Red Cross's Hurricane Sandy Relief fund are encouraged.

Gary Clark Jr. played a Sandy benefit at Brooklyn Bowl last night (11/6), which fell in the middle of his three sold out Bowery Ballroom shows (the last one is tonight [11/7]). Alex Joffe tweeted, "At @brooklynbowl as Gary Clark Jr. shreds the room apart & CNN projects 4 more years. Club erupts. And sighs breath of relief. #rockandroll". Check out some videos from his set last night below.

More Hurricane Sandy Relief benefit shows are listed HERE. Let us know of any others that we missed in the comments below.

Continue reading "Jonathan Ames, Amy Sohn, My Jerusalem & more playing Sandy benefits (dates), Gary Clark Jr. played one (video)"

by Andrew Sacher

DOWNLOAD: Way Yes - "Important" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Way Yes - "Ties" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Way Yes - "Gino" (Larry Gus Remix) (MP3)

Columbus, OH outfit Way Yes released Walkability on Lefse earlier this year. The five-song EP comes with remixes of each song. There's a fair amount of diversity for just five songs, though they wear their influences on their sleeves a bit. "Important," which you can download above, shows the band doing their best Fleet Foxes impression, whereas the title track (video below) pulls almost directly from early '70s Paul Simon. You can also download the polyrhythmic "Ties" and a remix of "Gino" by Larry Gus above.

Way Yes have been playing a few shows here and there this summer, and their next two are in NYC this week: Pianos on Thursday (7/19) with Strange Shapes, Rimar (who is also one of the remixers on the EP), and Railbird (tickets); and Friday (7/20) at Glasslands with Neighbors and Friend Roulette (tickets).

A list of all dates and that video are below.

Continue reading "Way Yes released 'Walkability,' touring, playing 2 NYC shows"