ACL 2008 (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

October 8-10, 2010 | Zilker Park, Austin, TX

"The Austin City Limits Music Festival began as a modest, two-day event and now, as it enters it's 9th year, has become a perennial American music experience. Taking place at the heart of Austin, Texas in the legendary Zilker Park, ACL Festival has grown to 3 days, 8 stages and over 130 bands."

Continue reading "Austin City Limits announces 2010 festival lineup (Eagles, Muse, Phish, Strokes, MIA, LCD, Spoon, Gayngs, more) "

"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

Continue reading "Lollapalooza actually announces 2010 lineup "

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, ???)"

Thursday, 10/22 - CMJ showcase @ Mercury Lounge in NYC

Sean Bones 1:00
Local Natives 12:00
Hockey 11:00
Ambulance LTD 10:00
Alec Ounsworth (of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah) 9:00
Patrick Watson 8:00
JBM 7:00

Continue reading "Alec Ounsworth playing shows (dates), CMJ w/ Ambulance LTD, Patrick Watson, JBM, Sean Bones & more"

The Gaslight Anthem @ Lollapalooza 2009

12:35 p.m. (1:35 p.m. est)

It's raining in Chicago, which is perfect weather for an outdoor festival. Good thing I brought a raincoat.

Most people weren't as fortunate and had to buy a poncho for $5 outside of the festival. Who knows how much one costs inside the grounds.

While hiding from the drizzle in the media tent, I'm listening to Hey Champ. I haven't heard them before, but they're a sort of pop indie group. Like what I've heard so far.

I had planned to get here earlier and see Hockey at 11:30, but catching the train and walking a mile or more to Grant Park got me here a little too late.

I don't have anyone in particular that I want to see until Bon Iver at 3 p.m., so I'm probably going to wander the grounds and familiarize myself. [Omaha.com]

Like All Points West this past weekend, Chicago has rain, Chicago has Hey Champ, and Chicago has a random iclips.net stream of some of the bands at the festival. Unlike All Points West, Chicago has The Gaslight Anthem (I'm watching and listening to them on the stream as I type this) (they allow umbrellas there).

Tonight's Lolla headliners are Kings of Leon and Depeche Mode. Stream schedule below...

Continue reading "Lollapalooza kicks off in Chicago, it's raining, it's streaming"

photos by Chris Graham

The Wrens

"Some major changes have been made to the lay-out of the [Sasquatch] festival. The medium-sized stage (Wookie Stage) had been moved, as had the small stage (Yeti Stage) to make room for the new Comedy/Dance Tent. It didn't take long to get used to that, though...

...[The Wrens] did most of the songs from "Meadowlands", their bassist/keyboardist Kevin Wheelan exhorted the crowd multiple times and climbed atop his amplifiers, and the guys played like their lives depended on doing the best they have ever done. Their approach to the music is, in a word, fierce. [VARIOUS ECSTASIES]

Continue reading "Sasquatch 2009 - Day 2 in pics "

"Though promoters around the country report strong early ticket sales for festivals and summer tours, the recession is causing jitters. This year Coachella, which has the most glamorous reputation of all American festivals, began selling tickets on layaway, and 18 percent of its customers took that option, Mr. Tollett said.

The proliferation of big festivals, like Bonnaroo near Nashville and Lollapalooza in Chicago, has not been without casualties. This year Langerado in Miami shut down, citing the economy. The Pemberton Festival in British Columbia is on hiatus after only one year, although its promoter, Live Nation, said the problem was permit delays." [NY Times]

Continue reading "Lollapalooza 2009 - the official & complete lineup"

Friendly Fires @ Bowery Ballroom (more by Chris La Putt)

Friendly Fires just played two nights at the Bowery Ballroom on March 26th and 27th. Coming up, the UK band has two more NYC shows on the far horizon. They'll play (Le) Poisson Rouge on Wednesday, August 12th (Tickets), and the next night, Thursday, August 13th, at Music Hall of Williamsburg (Tickets).

Accompanying Friendly Fires on many of their upcoming shows (though not NYC, as of now) is Hockey, who played four New York shows earlier in the year.

The bands seem to be splitting festivals, with Friendly Fires at Coachella in the US (and lots overseas) and Hockey playing Sasquatch and Bonnaroo (with lots of UK/European fests, as well).

All tour dates for both bands below...

Continue reading "Friendly Fires - 2009 Tour Dates (2 more NYC shows)"

Amadou & Mariam @ All Points West 2008 (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

The contest to guess the lineup of this year's All Point West festival continues. I honestly don't even know the lineup yet - I'll be receiving it right before I post it at 7am Monday morning.

Will Coldplay be on the lineup? A lot of people seem convinced based on the band's current tour schedule (which you can see in its entirety below). If they are playing the fest, well, that will be weird.

UPDATE: yes, Coldplay are in fact playing the festival

Amadou and Mariam played All Points West last year, are touring the US with Coldplay in July, and have some headlining dates scheduled in June (including a show at Webster Hall on June 8th). The Mali duo was also just added to this year's Bonnaroo lineup.

Also recently added to Bonnaroo (music and comedy): Public Enemy, Ani Difranco, the Itals and Wailing Souls, Murs, Shadows Fall, High on Fire, Janelle Monáe, Pretty Lights, Tony Rice, Passion Pit, Hockey, White Rabbits, Jimmy Fallon, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, John Oliver, Rob Riggle, Rory Albanese, Michael Ian Black, Michael Showalter, Aziz Ansari, Kristen Schaal, Arj Barker, Todd Barry, Nick Thune, Wayne Federman, Nick Kroll, Kurt Braunholer, Amy Schumer, Kumail Nanjiani and Pete Holmes. Full Bonnaroo (June 11 - 14 in Manchester, Tennessee) lineup below...

Continue reading "Coldplay, All Points West, Amadou & Mariam & Bonnaroo"

Jane's Addiction - @ Echoplex, Los Angeles - Feb 16, 2009 (revolute)

Live Nation and Adam Zacks are pleased to announce this year's line up for the Sasquatch! Music Festival at the legendary Gorge in Eastern Washington. The festival, now in its eighth and most ambitious year yet, has evolved from a unique, homegrown & low key fest into a full blown three day extravaganza. A festival-goer's dream, it comes complete with camp-outs, canyons, sunsets, three stages and new this year, an expanded comedy and dance music tent. The tent will feature performances from comedians throughout the day, and then come dusk, will spotlight electronic and dance music artists.

Already the official opener to summer for music fans, the Sasquatch! Music Festival is becoming a certified monster of a musical event: this year features another exciting and diverse line-up for the musically adventurous, and ups the ante on an event already hailed for its independent spirit. Tickets go on sale Saturday February 28th at 10AM

Today it was announced that Jane's (feat. all four original members), NIN, Kings of Leon, Ben Harper & Relentless7, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Erykah Badu, The Decemberists, Fleet Foxes, TV On The Radio, Animal Collective, Silversun Pickups, Bon Iver, Santigold, and many others are playing this year's Sasquatch Festival (May 23, 24, 25, 2009 @ The Gorge in Quincy, WA). Full lineup and ticket info below...

Continue reading "Jane's Addiction played LA, headlining SASQUATCH Festival (which just announced most of the 2009 LINEUP)"

Union Hall photos by Kyle Dean Reinford, Mercury Lounge photos by Fresh Bread,

Mercury Lounge

Union Hall

Hockey played four NYC shows last week. After a negative first impression, I thought maybe I would give them a chance live, but I never made it out. I talked to people who did though and the reviews ranged from bad to ok to great. Did you catch them? What did you think? The next MGMT? More pictures from two of the shows below...

Continue reading "How was Hockey? (pics from Union Hall & Mercury Lounge)"

"Too Fake" might sum it up

There's no doubt that the Capitol/Virgin-signed Portland, Oregon band Hockey have some catchy songs, but my current take on the self-described "New Wave / Soul" group is undecided, but leaning towards..."too fake"?.

"Too Fake" is actually the name of the first, LCD Soundsystem-biting, track streaming on their MySpace. It's also the name their 7-inch single being released on March 2nd. In September, they received the honor of the Guardian's Band of the Day...

Too Fake presents Hockey's funky verbosity in all its glory, all hi-hat and harangues, forming an arresting statement of intent that sees the frontman declare in no uncertain terms, "I've got too much soul for you and it's breaking my heart in two!", 3am Spanish is a tumble of narcotic imagery and nagging hooks, like Mink De Ville had they spent longer at Studio 54 than CBGBs. Curse This City isn't miles removed from Primal Scream when they do funky while Work, possibly the best track, recalls the Stones when they went disco circa Miss You, and Preacher, like much of Mind Chaos, is maddeningly infectious. Song Away, one of many potential singles on the album, is almost too memorable - you can imagine radio going mad for this song about songs, with its references to "Roxy Music" and "80s grooves", and driving you mad next summer.

The first is tonight, Wednesay January 21st, at Union Hall in Brooklyn. They play on what is actually an interesting three-band bill that's rounded out by Oklahoma's Colourmusic and Oregon's David Karsten Daniels who just finished some dates with Frightened Rabbit.

NYC show #2 is Thursday at Santos Party House. They share that bill with Cale Parks of Aloha and now-solo-on-Polyvinly Records fame.

The third one is Friday at Mercury Lounge. Futurecop!, Hey Willpower, and Theophilus London are also on that bill.

Last but not least, number four is at Pianos on Saturday. At that one they go on right before (Olga) BELL

All dates below...

Continue reading "Hockey play 4 NYC shows starting today, 2009 Tour Dates "

David Karsten Daniels w/ his (frightened?) rabbit

David Karsten Daniels is a songwriter/composer/performer who has lived in too many places to really be from anywhere. He currently resides in Ashland, Oregon with his lovely wife and schizophrenic pet rabbit. He's spending this winter film scoring, snow shoeing and writing songs (about rabbits) for a collaboration with Richmond VA's Fight the Big Bull. Most recently, he's put out two albums and a few singles on Fat Cat Records.

Continue reading "David Karsten Daniels (from Oregon) - 2009 Tour Dates"