words and photos by BBG, more photos by Samantha Marble

Thurston & Jim @ ATP NY (photo by Abbey Braden for ATP)

My 11 Most Notable Moments at ATP NY 2010 by Adrienne Day

(11) Book club with Samantha Hunt and Luc Sante. Apparently Nikola Tesla thought he was married to a pigeon. #ThingsIlearnedatATP

(10) Jim Jarmusch and Thurston Moore's silly but entertaining exchange about "weird New York"

(9) @janelerner's Mary-Poppins-like bag with its bottomless supply of comforts from home

(8) Sleep's defibrillating two-hour-plus set

(7) Blagdon Lake at dusk: http://twitpic.com/2m59gh

(6) Beak> opening with the terrific "Blagdon Lake" and keeping it surprisingly cohesive / groove-able for the whole set

(5) Injuries sustained while losing at air hockey: a heavily bruised knee and what feels like a torn rotator cuff

(4) Years of incontinence producing an unmistakably ripe aroma in Kutsher's front elevator

(3) Stooges scholarship ("Williamson should go back to designing computer chips"; "Iggy's slowed down a bit but still, holy shit")

(2) This little pumin has apparently already been featured on Brooklyn Vegan: http://twitpic.com/2m59bb

(1) no wifi as its own time warp, leading to in-depth convos and contemplative gazing on the lake

Our own ATP NY review now concludes with a recap of Sunday. If you're just joining us, start with Friday and then read Saturday, before continuing...

Ron Jeremy & new friend @ ATP NY Sunday night

How do you get out of a conversation with Ron Jeremy? It's 1:30 AM on Monday (Sunday night), my friends are talking to the porn legend, and all I can think about is rest. It's been a brutal weekend of fantastic performances, great conversation, contact highs, 30 packs of beer, fantastic people, not to mention great music. But by the end of Sunday (the final day of ATP NY 2010), I just needed some Zs.

After a day-opening set of psychedelia from White Hills on stage two (which I enjoyed though it didn't manage to give me the kick in the ass I needed), The Greenhornes held down my interest for what I caught of their set. The Detroit Cincinnati band's garage pop played to one of the biggest early day crowds that I had seen on all three days. Kurt Vile's garagey punk followed on the second stage, sounding much heavier live than I had anticipated.

Fucked Up was next on the main stage, so I made sure to secure a primo slot for the mayhem. Madman Pink Eyes, who sang 2/3 of the show from the crowd, did all of the following during his set in the Stardust Room: crushed a coke can like Stone Cold Steve Austin, sprinkled Cocoa Puffs on the crowd, smeared himself with Oreos, performed all of "Crusades" with a plastic bag on his head, laid down in the center of the crowd, instigated a group hug of 20-30 people, and took audience members on piggy back rides. After two days of festival madness, it was definitely the shot in the arm I needed. Vivian Girls, who followed them on the second stage, was a bit of a comedown, but then again who wouldn't be?

GZA's set was moved to later that night on stage two (which I would end up missing due to Altar), so his stage one slot was filled by comedian Hannibal Burress who had also performed Friday night. I missed his set and ended up catching Wooden Shjips' powerful psychedelic set on the second stage. There were many retro-leaning bands playing over the course of the weekend. My favorite sets in that category came from Dungen and The Black Angels. Powerful, trippy and fantastic.

With the lights down low, Hope Sandoval played xylophone and crooned with her enchanting voice to the Stardust Stage crowd. On any other occasion, I might have found the set mesmerizing, but at that moment another pick me up was needed and I surprisingly found that in Girls's sunny Elvis Costello brand of pop directly afterward. With all of the recent brutality (Fucked Up, Wooden Shjips, and in a much different way, um, Vivian Girls) it was a fun change to see the band run through tracks like "Laura" from their recent LP. Great set from this Cali crew.

T Model Ford

Of all the artists walking around Kutshers during ATP weekend, the two that seemingly had the most fans/people clamoring to meet them were Sunday's curator Jim Jarmusch, and T-Model Ford. It didn't hurt that T-Model was apt to take his guitar out and play anywhere with a little battery-powered amp. The bluesman finally got his time under the lights of the second stage on Sunday night though, and the adoration continued, with people cheering while he tuned (multiple times).

Raekwon took the stage a touch late with an introduction from Ron Jeremy, running through the classic Wu material: "Protect Ya Neck", "C.R.E.A.M.", "Ice Cream", set opener "Motherless Child", "House of Flying Daggers" and many more. Though I nerd out to the tracks and even ODB classic-that-felt-like-set-filler-in-a-Raekwon-show "Shimmy Shimmy Ya" on the Stardust Room system, the set felt phoned in. Not to sound insensitive, but is a few-minute shout out to your grandfather who is buried in Monticello really necessary? GZA, Kim Gordon, and Thurston Moore watched the set from the sides of the stage.

I missed GZA's rescheduled set completely on the second stage (because of Altar), but he reportedly delivered a freestyle-heavy set. The Wu-tang rep later showed up at The Deep End Bar to greet the legendary Kool Herc who was DJing late-night...

GZA & Kool Herc ATP (Kory Grow)

Partway into [Kool Herc's] set, in walked Wu-Tang Clan's GZA, who had played a sort-of aggressive set at the same time as Altar (I went back and forth between the two.) ...in the presence of Herc, he was nothing but reverent. He nonchalantly stepped behind the turntables and said hello. ...It was one of those rare moments where you felt like you were seeing something rare and historic. GZA grabbed the mic and talked about what a legend Kool Herc was and thanked him before leaving.-
[Sadness Is Delicious]

After leaving Altar, I spent a good portion on my way out saying goodbyes to the many new friends I had made at ATP. The festival is more than a string of shows, a worn-down hotel, and a few too many beers; it's a community of like-minded and friendly people that I have not experienced anywhere else. ATP New York was tons of fun, and I spent a good portion of Sunday lamenting that my experience was almost over and I'd have to wait another year. But I'll definitely be there.

Pictures from Friday HERE and Saturday HERE, and the rest of Sunday, below...

Continue reading "ATP NY 2010 - Day 3 pics (Jim Jarmusch, Thurston Moore, Ron Jeremy, Fucked Up, Girls, T Model Ford, Raekwon & more) "

Make sure you're somewhere comfortable, preferably heavily sedated in a large comfortable bed (or at least reclining), and check out the new Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions video below...

Continue reading "new Hope Sandoval video (and some tour dates) "

Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions kicked off their second NYC show in three days much like they did the first, with the song "Blanchard" and with not enough vocals in the speakers. By song three, an early highlight ("Courtin Blues"), the sound was better. Hope's vocals were coming through loud and clear. I wasn't as close to the stage as I was at Music Hall, so maybe my perspective was different, but the Manhattan crowd seemed way happier to be there than the Brooklyn crowd. The cheers seemed louder and more in line with the return of someone who we haven't seen in seven years. Song four was "Willow" and all signs pointed towards a great show. The projections, though exactly the same at Music Hall, were maybe even better because Bowery Ballroom seemed to have a bigger screen.

Then, 3.5 songs in, all of a sudden the music stopped. Hope couldn't hear herself in the monitors. Some audience members, possibly misunderstanding the problem, started screaming that it sounded great. They weren't lying and it didn't help. Hope continued to stand there. She was growing increasingly frustrated as she expected someone to make it work again. She said she was sorry for embarrassing everyone, and mentioned that they had spent three hours soundchecking earlier in the day.

"It's OK Hope, we love you," someone screamed. "I'm on the verge of throwing a tantrum," Hope replied. Killing time, someone asked if she loved NY. Unexpectedly, Hope answered, "I absolutely fucking hate NY... but I love everyone who is here. I'm a country girl". She may have lost a few people there, and then she spoke again. It was definitely the most I've ever heard her talk on stage. "There's gonna be some heads chopped off... Sorry about this you guys," she said. Someone else yelled, "We love you Hope". Then next thing you know, faster than you can say Fiona Apple, Hope made one final frustrated gesture forward, and then stormed off the stage. Her confused band followed soon after.

continued below...

Continue reading "Hope Sandoval stormed off stage at Bowery Ballroom... but then returned to finish the show"

LA Weekly spent a considerable portion of their Hope Sandoval cemetery show review talking about the NO-photo policy. Now I know why. Hope Sandoval didn't just deny photo passes. She didn't just post warning signs all over the venue (see above). She didn't just have someone give a stern, pre-show announcement. Hope basically had her own security detail on hand to blind and humiliate would-be-photographers (and anyone near them) with flashlights. During the second song, one of the security guys actually jumped into the crowd and rammed through a group of people to stop someone.

Ironically the security was just as distracting as people who hold cameras over their heads, but all in all it probably made for a nicer show since I think everyone learned their lesson by song three... well (speaking of irony), except the people who were being paid to video the show. They blatantly moved around the crowd near the stage. One audience member got so angry that he started motioning towards the flashlight police and pointing at the video guy's head who was at that point right in front of him. I imagine he was mouthing something like, "Where are you now? Why is this even-more-annoying guy allowed to bother us with his camera???".

Speaking of filming the show, there was also a stationary video camera back by the soundboard. I asked someone after the show, and they said the footage is going to be used for music videos that will be released online soon, not for a DVD. I also asked if the photo policy was related to their own official filming, and they basically admitted that, "no, that would be Hope".

Speaking of Hope, she is of course the star of the show, the reason approximately 600 people packed into Music Hall of Williamsburg on Saturday night (10/10) (the first of two sold out NYC shows), and she can basically do and say whatever she wants and we'll still love her. Someone (a few people actually) yelled, "I love you Hope!", which was followed by one of her rare speaking moments: "If you love me, then get the people talking to shut up." (or something like that) After an awkward silence in the crowd, Hope followed that with something about sending those talkers... "to the corn"!! My new favorite line, I've already used it a few times since the show.

Irish band Dirt Blue Gene opened the night and then returned to play, along with My Bloody Valentine's Colm O'Ciosoig, as Hope's backing band (aka The Warm Inventions). They were a very capable band, running through 13 psychedelic songs (2 of which were during the encore) of the the dreamiest dream pop with Hope on xylophone, harmonica, and most importantly vocals. There were many highlights throughout the set. If I was better with song names I would mention more, but "Susanne" (the "hit" off the first record) was definitely one of them.

"The set was drawn mostly from her newest CD with a few from her first. What stuck out was "Trouble" off of the new CD. Yeah brah, that song was so erie live and had this sort of smokey sexuality to it. Speaking of sexuality, Hope had on a flower dress that was pretty short on her, I couldn't help from checking out her legs, but of course I restrained myself from looking up her skirt (I'm into her, but I'm not a creep either)." [Alex Caprio]

Um... No comment on that guy, but it's safe to say that there was plenty to look at during the show, not the least of which was the stunning visuals being projected on to a white sheet on the back of the stage, all seemingly-perfectly synced with the songs they were playing. I can't wait to see the videos (and the show again at Bowery).

There were a few technical issues - the mic in front of Hope's harmonica wasn't working at one point which caused her to get frustrated. She kept motioning at the sound person until she finally walked over to him (side stage), but I think the problems and funny moments only add to the show. If everything went perfectly, Hope would just stand there, quietly, do her thing, and then exit the stage as quickly as possible (which would be fine too).

Like in 2002 (when photography also wasn't allowed) (when Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions played two nights in a row at Bowery Ballroom), they didn't play even one Mazzy Star song, but like Anonymous said, it didn't matter. The new songs are great, as is most anything Hope sings on. For Mazzy, we'll have to wait for the reunion (side note: I was thinking how Hope is probably not that famous because everyone always used to think her name was Mazzy Star... "Hope Sandoval".. "who?"... "Mazzy Star"... "OHHHH".)

They do it again tonight (10/12) at Bowery Ballroom . A picture of the merch and the setlist from Music Hall (and a video), below...

Continue reading "Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions played played Music Hall of Williamsburg (setlist & no pics!), play Bowery tonight"

Hope Sandoval @ Hollywood Forever Cemetery - September 29 (by Luz Gallardo)

"There was no photography allowed in the venue when Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions, the band featuring the revered Mazzy Star vocalist and My Bloody Valentine's Colm Ó Cíosóig, played Hollywood Forever [on September 29th] in a concert marking the release of its latest album Through the Devil Softly. Absolutely none. This rule was stated no fewer than six times on printouts that lined the entrance and parlor room. Perhaps that was for the best. The glare of camera flashes and cell phones pointed toward the stage might have ruined the carefully crafted ambience of the gathering.

With its stone facade, a courtyard lined with twinkling palm trees and mosaic floors, the venue looked like a cross between an Old Hollywood apartment building and a mausoleum. This was seemingly appropriate, as there are probably more than a few people who did time in art deco structures off of Vine or Gower or Franklin who now spend eternity interred in this famed cemetery." [LA Weekly]

The above-described show happened only a couple days after Bon Iver's graveyard show in the same exact location, but got almost no attention (compared to the Bon Iver show anyway). That's partially due to the no-photography thing I guess, but still sad (I wish I planned a vacation around going to both).

Anyway, Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions' new album is out now on Nettwerk who also re-released 2001's Bavarian Fruit Bread. Buy it so that Hope knows people care and she keeps making music (though she has already admitted plans for more Mazzy Star).

Her long-awaited return to NYC kicks off with a show at Music Hall of Williamsburg tonight (10/10). It's sold out, but Monday's show at Bowery Ballroom isn't (UPDATE: also sold out).

Dirt Blue Gene is an Irish shoegaze band that is on tour with Hope, and shares members with her band. Some recent live videos, the setlist from San Francisco, and all dates below...

Continue reading "Hope Sandoval released an album, played the Hollywood Graveyard too, is on tour and finally back in NYC"

Amazon is streaming Through The Devil Softly (it will be released September 29th). Tour dates and more info HERE.

Even more Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions North American tour dates were just announced. These are in addition to the handful that I posted yesterday. Tickets to the NYC show will go on sale this Friday at noon. Irish band Dirt Blue Gene will be accompanying Hope and Colm on tour. All dates below...

Continue reading "Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions - more US tour dates"

"Hope formed The Warm Inventions and released their first album called Bavarian Fruit Bread, in 2001. This album sounds little different in terms of theme, voice, and instrumentation from that of her work with Mazzy Star. Subsequently, The Warm Inventions released three EPs but received very little commercial success, one video on MTV, and very little radio play. Hope recorded a song, "Wild Roses", for a compilation CD released by Air France titled In The Air (2008). Hope and The Warm Inventions will release their second album, Through The Devil Softly, on September 29, 2009. In live performance, Hope prefers to play in near darkness with only a dim backlight." [Wikipedia]

As promised, Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions will be supporting their new album on a tour of North America this fall. All dates haven't been announced, but a few are being released here and there including October 10 @ Music Hall of Williamsburg and October 12 at Bowery Ballroom!! Tickets for the NYC shows are on sale Friday at noon. All other known dates below...

Continue reading "Hope Sandoval - US Tour Dates appearing (Bowery & MHOW!)"

DOWNLOAD: Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions - Blanchard (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions - Wild Roses (MP3)

Colm & Hope...

Below, you can see the artwork for Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions' new record, Through The Devil Softly, out September 29th (changed from the original 9/15 date) on Nettwerk Records. You can pre-order the album at Amazon starting Wednesday.

The album's first single, "Blanchard" is posted above. The album's first single, "Blanchard," and its second track, "Wild Roses," are posted above. "Blanchard" is the track we posted with the album announcement. "Wild Roses" is actually from that Air France compilation, but is also on the new album (it's possible the album version is slightly different) (though they are definitely both the same length).

"The Warm Inventions" pairs Sandoval with My Bloody Valentine drummer Colm Ó Cíosóig. Colm plays with My Bloody Valentine this weekend at All Points West (and Thursday in Virginia).

Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions have a set of UK & Ireland tour dates scheduled for the fall (below). North American dates are still TBA.

Hope hasn't given up working with her other band, Mazzy Star, either! Rolling Stone wrote on July 7th...

Sandoval confirms her and her bandmate David Roback haven't called it quits and they are still working on their anticipated fourth album. But she declines to give many specifics. "It's true we're still together," she says. "We're almost finished [with the record]. But I have no idea what that means."

Warm Inventions cover art, tracklist and tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Hope Sandoval - new Warm Inventions cover art, European tour dates ++ plans for NEW MAZZY STAR ALBUM"

DOWNLOAD: Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions - Blanchard (NEW MP3)

"New Warm Inventions record is coming out in September. Honest. - Anonymous | July 7, 2009 1:01 PM"

"Since the release of Mazzy Star's debut album She Hangs Brightly, Hope Sandoval has defined the sound and style of California psychedelic dream pop. The world took notice when the breakthrough single "Fade Into You" (from sophomore album So Tonight That I Might See) hit the airwaves and MTV heavy rotation.

Sandoval's trademark vocals helped to make her a modern day music icon. Now the revered singer returns along side My Bloody Valentine's Colm O'Ciosoig to deliver her long awaited sophomore album Through The Devil Softly on September 15.

Over the past decade, the sought after vocalist has collaborated with artists from across the musical landscape: The Jesus & Mary Chain, Air, Death in Vegas, The Chemical Brothers, Massive Attack and Bert Jansch, to count a few.

In 2001, she joined Colm O'Ciosoig to form Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions and release their debut Bavarian Fruit Bread. Now on Through The Devil Softly, the definitive star of the Paisley Underground scene reignites her trademark sound in an epic journey across the 11-song album. The project continues the laid-back, slowcore sound they are renowned for and places Sandoval's sensuous, hypnotic voice in the forefront. Recorded in both Northern California and the Wicklow Mountains of Ireland, the spare, subtle arrangements reinforce Sandoval's gentle vocal style.

An extensive North American tour is planned for Fall 09, with dates in the UK and Europe to follow. -[Nettwerk Records]

It was just two months ago when I last stalked Hope. I had no clue at the time that she was coming back so completely. According to the newly redesigned HopeSandoval.com, the shows will be Hope on vocals, glockenspeil, harmonica, and Colm O'Ciosoig on drums. I wonder where they'll play. In 2002 it was two awesome nights at Bowery Ballroom.

Track one from the new album is available for download above.
Full album track list, and some older videos, below...

Continue reading "new HOPE SANDOVAL (& the Warm Inventions) album & MP3! TOUR DATES COMING SOON"