by Andrew Sacher

DOWNLOAD: Kay Kay and his Weathered Underground - "World's Entire" (MP3)

Sean Nelson w/ Harvey Danger at The Bell House in 2009 (more by Alex Erde)

Harvey Danger frontman Sean Nelson, who recently played Cake Shop, plays The Rock Shop on Sunday (tonight, 8/7) as Nelson Sings Nilsson. Inspired by the title of Harry Nilsson's tribute to Randy Newman, Nilsson Sings Newman, he formed the project about a decade ago when Harvey Danger was on hiatus and he started diving into Harry Nilsson's expansive discography. Sean spoke to LAist in 2009 about the project:

When speaking about Nelson Sings Nilsson, you've said that you've been struck by the fact that scandalously few of your peers know Harry Nilsson's music. For those who are unfamiliar with his music, what is the short pitch you give them to acquaint them with this remarkable man?

Well, first I say, "He's the guy who sang 'Everybody's Talkin'' from Midnight Cowboy." And everyone seems to have heard that song. Then I continue with, "And you know 'One [Is the Loneliest Number]'? He wrote that song but wasn't the one who had a hit with it." Next, I talk about "[I Can't Live If Living Is] Without You" and how that's him singing but that he didn't write it. When I mention that one, most people either grimace or say, "Oh, I love that song!" If they still don't know who he is by that point, I say, "You know the 'Coconut' song at the end of Reservoir Dogs?" Everyone gets it by that point. But they still don't know the stuff I think is his best.

Kay Kay and his Weathered Underground, a current project of Kirk Huffman and Kyle O'Quin of the progressive pop punkers Gatsbys American Dream, open Sean's show at The Rock Shop and also act as his backing band. Like Gatsbys, they take from a large variety of genres. You can grab the MP3 for "World's Entire" off their recently released sophomore LP Introducing Kay Kay and his Weathered Underground above. Kay Kay are also about to kick off a tour with The Dear Hunter and O'Brother that hits Knitting Factory on August 12.

They also play the last night of Active Child's residency at The Echo in LA before Active Child kick off their North American tour, which includes the 9/10 Bowery Ballroom show with Com Truise and Young Athletes League. Tickets for that show are still on sale.

All dates and a video below...

Continue reading "Kay Kay & His Weathered Underground playing shows, one w/ Sean Nelson singing Nilsson (dates)"

photos by Alex Erde

Harvey Danger somehow...got John Hodgman to introduce them. It was hilarious...Once they came out on stage, they were incredible. They played for about 2 hours and 40 minutes, longer than I've ever seen any band play for before in my life. By the end, there wasn't really too much left that they hadn't played. It was really awesome and didn't get boring at all...even if we were all insanely tired by almost 2AM when we finally walked out.

For the encore, they came out and did a lot of Q&A and took requests. A bunch of them.

They sounded really on all night too, even towards the end of the set, they were still playing well and having a great time on stage. If you didn't make this show, you messed up, big time. Below is the full set list so that you can kick yourself for missing the show...[ihaveamessage]

The review above is from Harvey Danger's Farewell Tour show on August 8th at that Bell House. Valley Lodge (photographed below) and Jukebox the Ghost (not photographed) opened.

Harvey Danger's final, final show happens August 29th at The Crocodile in Seattle. More NYC pictures, some videos and that setlist are below...

Continue reading "Harvey Danger played their final NY show -pics/video/setlist"

After 15 years, three albums, hundreds of shows, and far more twists and turns than we ever imagined possible, we've decided to put Harvey Danger to rest. The decision is totally mutual and utterly amicable. Everyone is very proud of the work we've done together, but we've also come to feel that our collaboration has--in a very positive way--run its course. We're all eager to try our hands at other projects, musical and otherwise. Chances are we'll all work together in one form or another; if we've learned anything, it's that you never know what will happen. Of course, putting an end to something we've been working on since our early 20s can't help being accompanied by a soupcon of melancholy. Nonetheless, as the Chambers Brothers remind us, time has come today. Rock bands have life spans, and Harvey Danger's has been longer, and more eventful, than even we would have predicted. [Harvey Danger]

The band's Farewell tour consists of six dates (currently). One of those will be Saturday, August 8th at the Bell House in Brooklyn. Opening will be Jukebox the Ghost and Dave Hill's powerpop band Valley Lodge. Tickets are on sale.

The band previously played a "final show" in 2001, which led to a two year hiatus. Read the rest of Harvey Danger's goodbye note, with all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Harvey Danger is breaking up -- final tour dates (Bell House)"