Set times have been announced for this weekend's now sold-out Coachella Festival in Indio, California (April 16-18).

Promoter Paul Tollett of the Los Angeles-based Goldenvoice company said no single or three-day passes will be available at the box office for the festival running Friday through Sunday at the Empire Polo Club in Indio.

In addition, no three-day passes will be pro-rated for people only attending the Saturday or Sunday mix of indie rock, hip-hop and other genres of popular music.

Camping passes were already sold out.

The city of Indio issued a permit for Goldenvoice to admit up to 85,000 people a day for the festival, but Tollett said he's cutting off attendance at 75,000 people a day.

With the set list came the addition of Interscope-signed South African rap group Die Antwoord, who play the fest on Saturday night (as Boing Boing said they probably would when they announced the signing).

For reunited bands Pavement, Public Image Limited, the Specials (on Kimmel tonight) and Faith No More, the fest will be among the first of their US shows, though all have California dates before Coachella. They're all also scheduled to play NYC (with dates that range from next week to September).

Grace Jones was part of the original Coachella lineup announcement, but has since dropped off. Set times posted below...

Continue reading "Coachella sold out, set times announced, Die Antwoord added"

Wow...Public Image Ltd, The Specials, Grizzly Bear, Passion Pit, Echo and the Bunnymen, Grace Jones, Fever Ray, Devo, Hot Chip, Phoenix, Orbital, Spoon, Sly and the Family Stone, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Sunny Day Real Estate, Yo La Tengo, Mew, Camera Obscura, Gil Scott-Heron, The xx, John Waters, Dillinger Escape Plan, Deer Tick, Gary Numan... Full Coachella 2010 lineup below....

Continue reading "2010 Coachella line up announced (Faith No More, Pavement, Muse, Gorillaz, Thom Yorke, Jay-Z, LCD Soundystem, ???)"

photos by Tim Griffin

Tim was only at Thursday's show for three songs which is how long she wore the first of many costumes she changed into that night. Here are those pics...

Continue reading "pics of Grace Jones (first outfit) @ Hammerstein Ballroom"

"I do not understand how anyone not named Grace Jones was ever allowed to think of themselves as "fierce." - Sasha Frere-Jones

I skipped Jarvis and the Diesel thing (Kanye West played one song with Clipse) last night (7/30) in favor of checking out Grace Jones at Hammerstein Ballroom (there was time to go to Webster Hall after Hammerstein actually, but I wasn't in the mood).

Possibly more than the music, video, lights and special effects, a Grace Jones show is about her outfits. The whole thing ran about 90 minutes, and she changed at least 10 times (I lost count). While she changes, she talks to the crowd from a mic back stage (except for before the encore when the change break was also the encore break). Each outfit was over the top and caused the mostly-gay-men crowd to cheer loudly. Each outfit ranged in the degree to which they revealed the 61 year old diva's in-shape body.

She had one especially memorable all-red, dress-like outfit that came out far on both sides of her - making her into a big circle, and making her somewhat immobile (like the kid in Christmas Story) during the song she had it on for. She sang most of that song facing the front in all her red glory. At the end of it she started spinning which revealed that, though the front was a giant explosion of red, her back (head to toe) was basically naked save for the g-string/strap that was holding the whole thing on. I wasn't super close to the stage, so I may be describing it slightly wrong.

For "Hurricane", the title track of her new album, she whipped out this giant cape and sang towards a fan so the cape could blow in the wind (no, the cape wasn't the only thing she had on) (see above). There's a good video of it, below...

Continue reading "Grace Jones played Hammerstein - check out the video "

Of Montreal & Janelle Monae @ MHOW (more by Tim Griffin)

Of Montreal just had an exciting weekend. Jon Brion (who they have collaborated with) opened for them at the Fox Theatre in Oakland on Friday (7/24). Then they (and Dengue Fever) opened for Grace Jones at Hollywood Bowl on Sunday (7/26)...

"Kevin Barnes, the Georges Bataille-reading, polyamorous frontman, turned in a focused performance with an occasional feisty edge. Though the Athens, Ga., band is a keen, aesthetic fit with Jones, its circus-like hysterics and verbose lyrics didn't seem to capture the audience, who seemed mostly unfamiliar with the band and impatient for the main act." [LA Times]

Janelle Monae joined Of Montreal on stage during their Hollywood Bowl set for "For Our Elegant Caste" and the Bowie cover "Moonage Daydream". Janelle did the same when she opened for the band at all three of their Brooklyn shows in April (all three were at Music Hall of Williamsburg).

Of Montreal's next NYC show is about to be announced, and that will take place on September 18th at Terminal 5. Tickets will cost $25 in advance ($30 day of show).

Janelle Monae's next NYC show is with Erykah Badu on Governors Island.

Grace Jones's next NYC show is this Thursday at Hammerstein Ballroom. No opener that I know of at that one. Tickets are still on sale.

Of Montreal's new video for "Mingusings", some videos from Hollywood Bowl, and all tour dates below...

Continue reading "Of Montreal played w/ Grace Jones, playing Terminal 5"

photos by Zach Dilgard

Grace Jones

"Late of the Pier played a 20 minute shmeh set and crystal castles had no sound. crookers were better than usual and orbitol were awesome. grace jones is fucking mad and fucked up the schedule. Fever Ray is a shamanic wonder." [The Naked Smiles Club]

Grace Jones has shows coming up in both NYC and LA. The 2009 Sonar Festival took place June 18-20 in Barcelona. More pictures from that weekend in Spain, below...

Continue reading "Sonar 2009 in pictures"

Grace Jones @ Manchester Apollo, 24 Jan 2009 (backtopix01)

"[My 2008 album] Hurricane was an accident. Blame it on Ivor Guest. I'd decided never to do an album again. Record companies today don't allow artistic freedom, and I just couldn't be bothered anymore. But when Ivor brought me the music to 'Devil In My Life', from there we had a creative chemistry and the music just flowed. We followed where my voice was taking the music and where the music was taking my voice. We didn't work to some industry formula of what the Grace Jones sound is. It doesn't matter that it's taken twenty years because me and the music are always in the same place. It doesn't sound like the past or the future. It sounds like now, whenever now is. I don't count. Quality surpasses quantity at any time." - Grace Jones

First Kylie Minogue, then Pet Shop Boys, and now Grace Jones has announced a show at NYC's Hammerstein Ballroom. The July 30th gig is one of just of two appearances the multi-talented artist will be making in the United States. The other is July 26th at Hollywood Bowl with Of Montreal and Dengue Fever. Tickets for the NYC show are currently on "Live Nation presale" (password?) and go on general sale on Friday at 10am. Tickets for the LA show are on sale now. All dates below...

Continue reading "Grace Jones - 2009 Tour Dates (Hammerstein & Hollywood)"

Art passed yesterday, after a courageous fight with cancer. Known to everyone with clout in the nightclub industry, Art was a familiar face for a few decades. He owned and operated some of the best clubs in history. The World, Hurrah, The Continental, and The Jefferson provided thousands of extraordinary nights for thousands of hipsters long before the word was unfortunately popularized.Everybody loved and respected him, even those who were over him. Even years after he had operated anything he could still get Calvin or Ian or Grace on the phone. Grace Jones recently paid a visit to him as he lay dying in his Chelsea Hotel apartment. He told me of hanging with Ian Schrager and David Bowie, who he called the White Knight. He never ceased to amaze me with stories of life in the fastest lane. It wasn't the drugs or the booze that killed the beast, it was, as Carl Denham once said, beauty that killed him. He was trapped by the drug called clubs, its kaleidoscope-like enchantment, its vision and pitfalls, and by his camera and his art. Arthur ignored the pitfalls, as he only saw the possibilities. [Steve Lewis]

Continue reading "Arthur Weinstein, RIP"