Hunx at Knitting Factory in 2011 (more by Devan Council)

Hunx (aka Seth Bogart) is planning to release his first solo album, Hairdresser Blues, on February 28 via Hardly Art. The instruments were all played by Hunx himself, except the drums which were provided by Daneil Pitout, and was recorded by Ivan Julian (of Richard Hell & the Voidoids), who also recorded the last Hunx and his Punx album. Check out the video for album track, "Always Forever," along with the album art and tracklist below.

Hunx hasn't announced any solo shows in support of the album but he is taking Hunx & His Punx on a month long tour of the US and Canada which hits NYC on March 4 at Mercury Lounge with Heavy Cream and March 6 at Glasslands with Natural Child and The Foxx. He plays Vassar on March 5. Tickets for the Mercury Lounge show go on sale Friday, 2/10 at noon with an AmEx presale starting Wednesday (2/8) at noon and tickets for the Glasslands show are on sale now.

All dates and video below...

Continue reading "Hunx announces new album, video & tour dates"

photos by Devan Council

Hunx strikes a pose

Hunx brought his Punx back to NYC for a show at Knitting Factory in Brooklyn on Saturday night (9/17). Natural Child were one of the openers and that's where our pictures begin (we missed Hunx's new labelmates The Beets). You can see the rest below...

Continue reading "Hunx & His Punx & Natural Child @ Knitting Factory (pics)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Hedgehog - Toy and 61 Festival (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Hedgehog - Waiting for the Last Bus (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Royal Baths - Nikki Don't (MP3)

After surviving a couple minor major acts of nature, we deserve a long break. So for your Labor Day weekend... like usual, it's pretty slow, show-wise. But there are some things to do.

We'll start this week with a movie. Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life is finally getting a U.S. release (it came out in January 2010 in France), albeit a limited one, thanks in part to great reissue label Light in the Attic. The film started it's two-week Film Forum run last night and will be making its way around the country throughout the fall. All play dates are at the bottom of this post.

Heroic maybe, but for sure Serge Gainsbourg led a wild life before succumbing to cancer at age 62 in 1992. You could make a compelling film out of any period of his life, and that the movie tries to cram it all in -- from fleeing Nazi-occupied Paris as a child through his rise to fame, relationships with Bridget Bardot and Jane Birkin to his his '70s dalliance with reggae -- gives too much of your standard Behind the Music story arc.

But it's also untraditional at the same time. Writer-director Joann Sfar is a comic artist (this is his first film) and injects a big element of the absurd courtesy of a puppet-like alter-ego (alter-Id, really) that encourages Gainsbourg to do bad things. Eric Elmosnino, a dead-ringer for Gainsbourg, is terrific, as is the rest of the cast -- including Lucy Gordon as Birkin and Laetitia Casta as Bardot, plus appearances by eccentric singer Philippe Katerine and the late Claude Chabrol. It's got a great sense of style and, of course, the soundtrack is amazing. Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life could be better, but it's still worth seeing.

Weekend

As for actual shows, San Francisco's vociferous and awesome Weekend will be here on Saturday (9/3) at Glasslands and Sunday (/4) at Mercury Lounge. Both shows are with the similarly cacophonous Talk Normal.

Weekend have a new EP, Red, out September 20th on Slumberland which finds the trio exploring new sonic territory, though not the quiet kind. It's still rather pummeling but Shaun Durkan's vocals, previously hidden behind echo and backwards reverb, are dryer and more up front now. The sound is a little sharper all around, but the driving, melodic basslines and guitar squall remain. You can download Red track "Hazel" via a Soundcloud widget at the bottom of this post.

In addition to Talk Normal, the Glasslands show features their Slumberland labelmates Brown Recluse; the Mercury Lounge show also has Fan-Tan on the bill. All Weekend/Talk Normal tour dates are at the bottom of this post.

Royal Baths

San Francisco's Royal Baths bring their heavy psychedelia to Death by Audio on Friday (9/2) with Xray Eyeballs, Hunters and Mountain Cult. I wrote previously: "Royal Baths are kind of bad trip acid rock, dark and seedy but not atonal. But it's definitely down the rabbit hole. In a good way." At the top of this post you can download a track off of Royal Baths debut LP  from last year. The band have a split double-7" with Ty Segall due out on HoZac any time now. Keep an eye peeled for that.

Hedgehog

Bejiing's Hedgehog are back in America for the first time since CMJ: they play Bruar Falls on Sunday (9/4) and Cake Shop on Monday (9/5). After that they head out on tour with Xiu-Xiu and Kindest Lines, and all tour dates are at the bottom of this post.

I caught set at The Woods last year and the venue's atrocious sound didn't deter Hedgehog's tenacity, most ably embodied in Atom, their tiny pistol of a drummer. Looking at them, you might expect pop punk a la Japan's Blue Hearts, but Hedgehog make melodic indie rock. There's a couple tracks to download at the top of this post. They're a blast live, and there aren't a lot of shows Sunday or Monday, so here's a good international option for your concert dollar.

That's it of the "big" stuff in my world. Some more shows -- including a fair amount of free ones -- are listed day-by-day below.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1

Good show at Shea Stadium tonight. In addition to the recently-profiled Caged Animals, there's also new FatCat singings Forest Fire whose Walkmen-esque album Staring at the X is worth looking out for when it comes out in October on FatCat.

Nerdy rapper and Adult Swim voice talent MC Chris is throwing a record release party at Death by Audio for his new album Race Wars. It's also his birthday. Show is FREE.

continued below...

Continue reading "Serge Gainsbourg, Weekend, Hedgehog, Royal Baths, MC Chris, Hunx, 'English Beat' & more in This Week in Indie"

by Andrew Sacher

Ivan Julian @ Bowery Electric in 2010 (more by Lori Baily)

Deniz Tek, guitarist of '70s Australian punk heroes Radio Birdman, and Ivan Julian of early NYC punks Richard Hell and the Voidoids have a few upcoming shows together. Those shows include August 26 at The Bell House and August 27 at Maxwell's. Tickets are on sale now for The Bell House show and the Maxwell's show.

Ivan Julian released his first solo album earlier this year, The Naked Flame, which he performed at SXSW. Check out a video of Ivan and his band at SXSW below performing the Voidoid's classic "Love Comes in Spurts," along with The Naked Flame artwork and tracklist, and a music video for the album's title track. The album can be purchased as LP/CD/MP3 on Amazon. You can also stream the entire thing on his myspace. Ivan recently spoke to IRT about his new album, music in general, and other stuff. The guitarist, who was part of the late '70s CBGB's scene, talked about some of the more modern stuff he's into:

IRT: What are some upcoming albums we could look forward to that were recorded out of NY HED? Do you have a particular favorite album that came out of your studio? What would it be and why?

Ivan: I'm very excited about a band I produced called Hunx and his Punx from San Francisco. Their record, 'Too Young to be In Love' is out now and I'm very pleased with the results. Listen and you'll see what I mean. There's also the band Sediment Club that has an Lp that will be coming out soon. They sound like a mixture of The Voidoids meets The Bush Tetras meets The Contortions. Amazing stuff!

IRT: Do you have a favorite current spot to see music or hang out at in the LES?

Ivan: Jessie Malin's place, The Bowery Electric, it's not too big, not too small and as long as Tim is behind the board it will be a perfect sounding room as well.

Maybe Ivan will show up at Bowery Electric tonight (7/14) where fellow CBGB-vet Johnny Thunders' birthday is being celebrated. Lenny Kaye and Andy Shernoff, who Ivan played a free show with at 2A on Sunday (7/10) will be special guests.

Hunx & His Punx have some upcoming shows too including September 3 at Mercury Lounge September 17 at Knitting Factory.

All Ivan tour dates, videos, and 'The Naked Flame' stuff below...

Continue reading "Ivan Julian released an album, produced Hunx & his Punx, playing shows w/ Deniz Tek (dates)"

Hunx at Cake Shop in April (more by Chris La Putt)

Hunx & His Punx are going on tour at the end of this summer. The full tour hasn't been announced yet, but we know that it That includes two NYC shows. The first is on September 3 at Mercury Lounge with K-Holes. The next is September 17 at Knitting Factory with Natural Child and Making Friendz. Tickets are on sale for the Mercury show and the Knitting Factory show. All dates are below.

In related news, Shannon & the Clams, who share members with His Punx, are touring with Shonen Knife, who are releasing a Ramones tribute album. They don't open either of the two NYC Shonen Knife shows though.

K-Holes also play tonight (7/14) at Union Hall with Gary War and Pop. 1280. Tickets are available. K-Holes also play Friday night at 251 Norman, and July 18th at Death By Audio.

All Hunx tour dates below...

Continue reading "upcoming Hunx & His Punx shows, K-Holes too (dates)"

words by Andrew Frisicano, photos by Chris La Putt

Hunx & friend @ Cake Shop, 4/20/2011

Davila 666 might have been the headliner, but it was Hunx's show Wednesday night at Cake Shop. Their set had the biggest, most amped-up crowd in the sweaty space, with plenty of dancing and shoving around. It started out with a bit of coy deception: a shirtless, fake Hunx (pencil thin mustache, biker hat and mop of black hair) in leopard print tights took the stage first, before introducing the real thing: Seth Bogart, wearing a similar costume--pink leggings and a biker jacket. Despite touring on Too Young To Be in Love, it was the songs from 2010's Gay Singles that were the real party-starters: "Good Kisser," "You Don't Like Rock & Roll" and others. It seemed like lead backup singer Shannon did some damage to her voice in the time since SXSW. During the opening Shannon and the Clams set, the pipes were stressed just enough, fuzzing through the Cake Shop's feeble speakers with a bit of grime, but during Hunx's set that turned into croaky warble. Not that Hunx's music really requires pin-point precision, but it seemed like she could use a bit of rest.

All of this isn't to say that Davila 666 was a let-down: the guys are pros at the beer-fueled throw-down. They tone it down a bit, and get into a whole range of weirder garage sounds, on their excellent new Tan Bajo, which is worth a listen.

I also caught a few songs by The Foxx, the glammy, power-pop project fronted by the Rondelles' Juliet Swango. It's not exactly a new group, but it seems like they've been making a push to play more shows lately (and Wikipedia says they're at work on an album). I've been enjoying the clips on their Myspace (http://www.myspace.com/thefoxx), so hopefully more are on the way.

The Hunx/Shannon tour continues and hits Glasslands on April 23rd. Davila 666 play Knitting Factory that same night. Pictures from Davila's Cake Shop set are HERE. Pictures from the rest of the show are below...

Continue reading "Hunx & his Punx & Shannon & the Clams @ Cake Shop (pics)"

photos by Tim Griffin

DOWNLOAD: Hunx & His Punx - Too Young to Be in Love (MP3)

Hunx strikes a pose @ Emo's

"For "Too Young to Be in Love," part-time hairdresser Hunx, born Seth Bogart, joined forces with Shannon Shaw, lead singer of the Bay Area garage band Shannon and the Clams, whose gutsy backup vocals helped take the band's sound to the next level.

"She has one of my favorite voices," Hunx said last week via phone. "It's kind of hard playing up against her because she's so powerful. In the past, I tried to be super girly, but now I can be deeper and the girls can go crazy."" [LA Times]

Download the retro sounds of "Too Young to Be in Love" above.

As you know, and then were reminded of along with a new video, friends and collaborators Hunx & His Punx and Shannon & the Clams (who both played a BV party at SXSW) are now out on tour, a tour that hits Cake Shop on 4/20 with Davila 666 and Glasslands on 4/23 with the K-Holes and Grass Widow (Davila 666 are at Knitting Factory that night).

Tuesday night, 4/12, Tim stopped by Emo's and caught opener Fungi Girls and Shannon, but actually missed Hunx's set while watching the Raveonettes and Tamaryn in the other room. Hunx was understanding about it though and posed for the above picture, and for some more which you can see with other shots from the Austin show, below...

Continue reading "Hunx & the his Punx continue on tour with Shannon & the Clams, played Emo's w/ Fungi Girls (pics)"

Hunx & his Punx @ noon at a BV SXSW party (more by Amanda Hatfield)

It's like a scene from a John Waters movie. It's the new Hunx & the Punx video for "Bad Boy." Check it out, with updated tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Hunx is on tour and a 'bad boy' (new video, updated dates) "

photos by Amanda Hatfield and Timothy Griffin

Menomena (by Tim)

After 14 hours of BrooklynVegan shows on Wednesday with barely a break (Emo's and then Swan Dive), and while BBG was holding down a stage at Emo's again, we returned to Swan Dive on Thursday, but this time with the addition of the two connecting stages at Barbarella for another full day BrooklynVegan Day Party. The 3-stage affair featured 19 bands, DJ Anika, and comedian Brody Stevens as host.

The day couldn't have started better, as we had one of the artists I was most excited to see playing live on the Swan Dive stage right at noon, and that was the tall, well-dressed and significantly bearded Josh T Pearson. I only wish I wasn't still hecticly dealing with issues after the doors opened so I could have been one of the people sitting down and enjoying his solo set of songs taken from his new album Last of the Country Gentlemen which is out on Mute on March 29. What I did hear sounded great.

Meanwhile, Savoir Adore kicked things off on the outside stage while Shannon & the Clams got things going inside Barbarella. Navigating the three stages and not getting lost was definitely one of the challenges we gave attendees at the venues we camped out at for day shows all week.

After Shannon came Hunx & His Punx who Shannon also plays with. As Andrew pointed out, "Hunx seemed pretty annoyed about the five-show day ahead of him. "Come see the last one," suggested Hunx, saving the goods for that final push. The Punx band showed off admirable chops though, with the drummer pounding away and girl-group-style backups by the bassist." Andrew continues:

"Out at the venue's back stage, Dominique Unique Young had a two-man band providing soulful hooks for her club bangers, which were just fine in the brutal sunlight. And then at Swan Dive, Rural Alberta Advantage made a push for anyone, like me, who hasn't checked out their new disc, Departing, yet to do so soon (live, drummer Paul Banwat easily does the work of two guys)."

Before Dominique came Alex Winston, complete with full band three backing singers. Dominique ended her set early, giving Brody lots of time to talk before late-addition Beans went on. Beans was great and is the coolest guy I met in Austin. That's around when Bill got there:

"...arriving just in time to catch the end of Fergus & Geronimo and Beans' sets. Trying to navigate between the two connected clubs -- blazing sunshine at the patio stage, pitch black for the Barbarella inside stage -- was a bit tough.

I watched most of Yuck's set and thought they sounded great. Not the most exciting band to watch, but that's okay, not everyone can bounce around the stage like Superchunk to whom they owe more than a little sonic dept. Speaking of, Mac McCaughan was their for their whole set which I thought was kind of awesome. I asked him if he was there to collect royalties from Yuck. He laughed and said, "No way, I love these guys!"

From there it was out to the Patio for Obits' set. There's something about their pedal-to-the-metal rock that sounds a little better in Texas. Plus they played the two songs I really wanted to hear: "You Gotta Lose" from the new album Moody, Standard and Poor, and their first-ever single "One Cross Apiece."

After scarfing down some tacos (courtesy of the El Diablo truck in Barbarella's backyard, yes a sister truck to the one here at Union Pool), I caught a little of Screaming Females, rip-roaring as usual, and Menomena."

Menomena went on to a packed Swan Dive after Damien Jurado and one of Sub Pop's newest signings Memoryhouse played (both of whom I pretty much missed while dealing with technical difficulties on other stages). Gentleman Jesse & His Men and Pete & The Pirates (a UK band who many I know consider one of their favorites, and their set this day definitely didn't disappoint) also played the inside stage.

Mellowhype (by Tim)

But the main attraction of the day goes to... Mellowhype who were playing their second-ever show as Mellowhype (their first was a day earlier at their new label Fat Possum's party at Club DeVille), and who brought the whole Odd Future crew with them (anyone who was in Austin anyway), Tyler included. It was a beyond-packed house full of excitement...

"The assembled crowd of hipsters, blipsters, and media types went nuts when the beats dropped, as this still-teenaged hip-hop collective has been drawing favorable comparisons to early Wu-Tang, especially in terms of production aesthetic and overall energy." [Houston Calling]

You can watch some of the action in videos below.

Thanks to Izzoz, Line 6 (the mics), Korg (keyboard), Vox (amps), Blackstar (and amps), Sensible Portions, Honest Tea, ASCAP, NadaMoo, Raw Revolution, Sailor Jerry, SPARKS, all the bands, Zach, Nevona, our bartenders, sound guys, Ramone, everyone who stopped by and anyone else I'm forgetting.

Lots more pictures and videos from the whole day, below...

Continue reading "BrooklynVegan Thurs Austin day party pics (Mellowhype, Yuck, Menomena, Obits, Beans, Rural Alberta Advantage & more)"

words & photos by Andrew Frisicano

Wednesday

Twin Shadow @ Fader Fort

A crowded backyard tent filled with cigarette smoke, free open-faced tacos (pork, chicken, brisket or veggie), a man carting a dolly of Lone Star cases through the crowd, and a pair of middle-aged guys picking a fight with each other on a Wednesday afternoon. "Doesn't he know I'm a ticking time bomb?" the offended guy says, a bit like he's not joking. JEFF the Brotherhood is playing too, which is more or less the occasion for all of this, my first show of SXSW 2011. The JEFF brothers aren't really the focus though, since they'll be playing a dozen other times this week, and most of the people are concentrating on the tacos, their conversations or their inability to get away from the door of the totally (did I say?) packed room.

In spite of that, the band is tearing through songs from Heavy Days and their new LP We Are the Champions, and between songs tossing out free vinyl singles into the crowd: "Those are going to slice someone's neck open," says Jake before slinging a few more across the room. They go into "Bummer," a ballady, Dino Jr.-style headbanger, that's one of the standout new tunes.

Trash Talk @ BV/Feed the Beat Day Party (photo by Samantha Marble)

Ty Segall's entertaining and totally worthwhile band is up next, but the BrookylnVegan day show at Emo's is also currently happening, the highlight of which has to be the simulatneous staging of Cali punks Trash Talk (who went on before Kylesa) and Mister Heavenly (who went on before Surfer Blood). Mister Heavenly are a supergroup of-sorts you've heard about. On the inside, Trash Talk frontman Lee Spielman towers over everyone with the body of a scarecrow and a scary-as-hell perma-scowl; he smashes his forehead with the microphone a few times to draw blood. "Stick around for Surfer Blood," he says, before crawling into the crowd and standing on what I can only hope were someone's shoulders. People start edging toward the door. On the outside stage, Mr. Heavenly performs an appropriately lovely set, its two frontmen trading verses in their own styles.

After that, the Fader Fort brought Twin Shadow on stage, the bedroom-pop project of George Lewis Jr. that's become a wildly good live band. For an outdoor venue, the system sounded impressively balanced and clear - which would turn out to be a rarity at the festival. That was 'specially good for Yelawolf, whose songs sounded vital in a way that your iPod just can't do. With no crew to speak of, his solo athletics put in an early bid for best-of.

Yelawolf @ Fader Fort

Later that night at Stubb's, Yuck and James Blake played what would be the first of several for both. Both did well on the big stage, a portent of things to come, vibing out in their respective styles: fuzz rock and chilled-out pop. Check out both of their sets for yourself at NPR- Blake and Yuck.

continued below...

Continue reading "Colin Stetson, Twin Shadow, Odd Future, James Blake, JEFF the Brotherhood, Yelawolf, more (Andrew F's week @ SXSW)"

We've lost our mind and are doing nine BrooklynVegan shows at SXSW this year. It all starts Wednesday during the day on two stages at Emo's, and continues Wednesday night at Swan Dive where we might as well stay overnight because Thursday at noon is when we start the first of three day parties in a row at the same place (Swan Dive) and Barbarella (they connect).

And the FREE Thursday lineup is:

STAGE 1 (Swan Dive)
12:00 PM Josh T. Pearson
1:00 PM Pujol
2:00 PM The Rural Alberta Advantage
3:00 PM Damien Jurado
4:00 PM Memoryhouse
5:00 PM Menomena

STAGE 2 (Barbarella Patio)
12:00 PM Savoir Adore
1:00 PM Alex Winston
2:00 PM Dominique Young Unique
3:00 PM Beans
4:00 PM Obits
5:00 PM Mellowhype (Odd Future)
HOSTING & JOKES BY: Brody Stevens

STAGE 3 (Barbarella Inside)
12:00 PM Shannon & The Clams
12:30 PM Hunx & His Punx
1:15 PM Gentleman Jesse & His Men
2:00 PM Pete & The Pirates
3:00 PM Fergus & Geronimo
4:00 PM Yuck
5:00 PM Screaming Females

And that's just Thursday! Check out Friday on the same three stages! Saturday still TBA.

Some notes: Mellowhype (aka Hodgy Beats and Left Brain of Billboard cover stars Odd Future - and whatever other Odd Future members decide to come along) are only playing one other show - their label's showcase at Club DeVille. Listen to David Fricke and get to Swan Dive in time to see Josh T Pearson. Shannon & the Clams and Hunx & His Punx share members, and have even been known to show their members. There are lots of bands with "and" in their name playing the Barbarella Inside Stage. Brody Stevens is funny! Anika will be spinning vinyl between sets during the second half of the day. I am super excited to be hosting Screaming Females for a second time.

This party will also have:

• FREE vegan Izzoz breakfast tacos while supplies last!
• lots of FREE snacks courtesy of Sensible Portions!
• a lot of FREE Honest Tea!
• FREE Raw Revolution bars to eat.
• FREE vegan ice cream from NadaMoo
• FREE Sailor Jerry cocktails while supplies last.
• more FREE DRINKS TBA.

AND THANKS TO:

• Our official microphone sponsor Line 6.
• and our backline sponsors Korg, Vox & Blackstar.
• and to ASCAP for sponsoring too.

and of course to Zach Jaeger of Tonally Dude for creating the racy flyer you see below....

Continue reading "BrooklynVegan Free Thursday Austin Day Party lineup ----------- (3 stages @ Barbarella & Swan Dive)"

DOWNLOAD: Hunx & His Punx - "Lovers Lane" (MP3)

"Muscle relaxer n coffee for Porno shoot" - HunxandhisPunx

"Music biz is such a giant snooze Fest I wish a Wendy O Williams or GG would come along and break a bunch stuff" - HunxandhisPunx

"He actually had me at "I rented Step Up 3- amazing"" - HunxandhisPunx

Hunx & His Punx (more by Jake Forney)

After exorcising his demons at a pair of shows in their native Bay Area, followed by an appearance at SXSW, Hunx & His Punx will head out in early April to get sexy from sea to shining sea. Kicking off with a record release (more on that later) party in San Francisco, the band will get the crowds all hot and bothered at two NYC shows: April 20th at Cake Shop and April 23rd at Glasslands (tickets). Shannon & the Clams will join them on both dates, as well as the entire tour.

On March 29th, Hunx & His Punx will declare that they are Too Young to Be in Love, the band's new LP due via Hardly Art. Check out the lead track, "Lover's Lane", which is downloadable above and streaming below alongside Hunx & His Punx's tour schedule.

In addition to the upcoming LP, Seth Bogart (aka Hunx) has another project and he needs your help:

We are in the beginning of producing the first episodes of our serial "TV" show "HOLLYWOOD NAILS". A variety show about gossip, BBW's, control top panty hose, good hair, JUSTICE, and gay pets.

We've been talking about doing this forever and are finally going into production January and February 2011. We've already begun building sets, and we're currently looking for contestants and participants for the various segments. The wall we keep coming up against is mostly financial. We're doing everything ourselves, so its as cheap as possible, but building sets and making costumes (sequins don't grow on trees, ya know??!!!) aint cheap. PLEASE HELP US !!!

Looks like Seth Bogart & his Holllywood Nails partner Brande Bytheway are half way to their goal. Pledge a few bucks to make this TV show a reality.

Tour dates, the song stream, and a video are all below.

Continue reading "Hunx & His Punx touring w/ Shannon & the Clams (2011 dates)"

These Arms Are Snakes at Shea Stadium (more by Chloe Rice)

Shea Stadium have posted more than 50+ hours of audio culled from live performances at the Brooklyn venue which was named after the old Mets baseball stadium. Compiling full sets, single songs, and everything in between, the archive inclues performances from bands like Screaming Females, Anamanaguchi, Circle Pit, Devin Therriault, Hunx & His Punx, Krallice, and literally hundreds more. Head to the Live at Shea Stadium site for a full listing.

Speaking of Hunx, Hardly Art will be releasing Young To Be In Love on March 29, 2011. The full tracklist of that record is below.

Joan of Arc plays Shea Stadium TONIGHT (1/20) with Soft Circle and La Big Vic. It's the official kick-off of a tour for the band who will be back in NYC to play the previously-mentioned Mercury Lounge show on 2/1. All Joan of Arc dates, and a full list of upcoming events at Shea, which also includes Suuns on 1/26, and X-Ray Eyeballs on 1/28 is below.

Continue reading "Joan of Arc kicking off tour (dates) @ Shea Stadium (who have posted 50+ hours of live audio recorded at the venue)"

Audience members make sure to look...
into Hunx's eyes at LPR in 2009 (more by Jake Forney)

"by the time HUNX AND HIS PUNX went on, i was kind of really wasted and my dance moves weren't as sharp. my hat was slipping all over the place and i felt sloppy. but whatever! that's what it's all about, right? anyway, hunx was wearing pantyhose as pants with thong underwear underneath and a shear jacket on top. he was amazing, and he and his punx all had matching blade runner stripes drawn across their eyes. the crowd was so fucking into it, and i wished that i hadn't worn my hat so i could have jammed out even harder. they finished their set a little after midnight, which surprised me. i thought i wasn't going to be heading home until after two. i grabbed the free beer that the bartender promised me and then i went home. my ears are still ringing! "
[Randall, reviewing the Cake Shop show]

After an opening set by Vivian Girls side project The Babies, Hunx & His Punx headlined Cake Shop on 10/16, the same night as BBQ and King Khan & The Shrines shows took place in different places around NYC. If you opted for BBQ or King Khan instead that night you're in luck; Hunx & His Punx, previously billed as "secret special guest", will play the Hardly Art CMJ showcase on 10/21 at Shea Stadium with Xray Eyeballs, Golden Triangle, Circle Pit, La Sera, Fergus & Geronimo, and Woven Bones. The announcement comes with the news that Hunx & His Punx have signed to Hardly Art, who will release their new LP in 2011.

In related news, another artist on the Hardly Art bill, La Sera (aka Kickball Katy of the Vivian Girls) will hit the high seas with as part of a Pabst Blue Ribbon yacht party tomorrow from 2PM-6PM. Tweet at PBR_Brooklyn if you want on, but beware that the show has a "tight list". You can also catch La Sera at Irving Plaza tonight and Saturday night at the PureVolume House with Teen Inc.

Golden Triangle have a few CMJ dates in their warpath, as does fellow Hardly Art showcasers X-Ray Eyeballs (mems of GT) who will also play Don Pedro's the same night as their Shea Stadium show as part of the Impose series of shows.

King Khan reportedly joined (or was planning on joining) XRay Eyeballs on stage at Death By Audio Sunday night. Some joyous videos of the King Khan & the Shrines show at Santos (Darren Mabee included), and a recent live Hunx and His Punx video (naked people included) (NSFW), below...

Continue reading "King Khan played NYC, La Sera playing a boat, Hunx played NYC / playing CMJ / signs to Hardly Art (dates, NSFW videos) "

by BBG

Hunx & His Punx shows the crowd what hes made of (more by Jake Forney)

Hunx and His Punx will bring their zebra-stripe undergarments and trouser snake to NYC on Saturday (10/16), where they'll team up with The Babies + K Holes for night of sexy at Cake Shop. The east coast date is their only live date.

Hunx & His Punx's last show on 10/10 was billed as their "last California show of the year" and featured BBQ (Mark Sultan) on the bill. This time Hunx will go head-to-head with the one-man-band who will bless Mercury Lounge that same night with Two Tears (tickets). The Mercury Lounge show is an early one though (show at 8:30), so with some luck you should be able to catch both BBQ and Hunx & His Punx (doors at 8, and three bands). Cake Shop is right around the corner from Mercury Lounge. More BBQ dates HERE and below.

If you do opt for the double-header on Saturday you will most likely miss all of BBQ's ex-partner-in-crime (literally?) King Khan, as King Khan & the Shrines will be playing Bell House with Live Fast Die that same night (tickets). So if you need your dose of turbans and zebra-prints, then at least you can catch King Khan at Santos the night before (Friday, 10/15) (tickets) with Gentleman Jesse & His Men and Golden Triangle. All dates below.

Golden Triangle will be busy in the coming couple of weeks as well, playing two CMJ shows in addition to their previously discussed support appearance with Crocodiles at Maxwell's on 10/29 (tickets). Look for the band to play the Hardly Art show at Shea Stadium on 10/21 with Woven Bones, Circle Pit, La Sera (aka Katy Goodman of Vivian Girls & All Saints Day), and Xray Eyeballs in addition to a 10/22 show at Live With Animals with Human Eye, Greg Ashley Band, and TV Baby. Full Golden Triangle dates are below.

None of these dates will feature Red Mass, who recently played NYC x2 in addition to a string of dates with King Khan. But Red Mass will also be in NYC next week, playing Arlene's Grocery on 10/21 as part of the M for Montreal showcase featuring Random Recipe, The Luyas, Uncle Bad Touch, PS I Love You & Radio Radio. The show is Red Mass's lone US date, and Bill will soon have much more to say about this show (stay tuned).

Full tour dates and some NSFW video is below..

Continue reading "King Khan & BBQ in NYC the same night. Hunx too! ++ Red Mass, Golden Triangle, videos, tour dates & more"

The Greenhornes 2007

After detours in The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather among other projects, The Greenhornes are back at it and will release their first LP of new material in eight years via Jack White's Third Man imprint. The record, entitled Four Stars, will be proceeded by select east coast dates that will include Mercury Lounge on 9/3 (free with RSVP) and Maxwell's on 9/4 with The Black Hollies (tickets) leading up to their appearance at ATP NY on 9/5 ("full" lineup).

A month later (on 10/2), The Greenhornes are confirmed for Scion Garage Fest 2010 in Lawrence, Kansas alongside a plethora of killer notables including The Oblivians (who recently played Knit), The Gories (who just played Bowery and toured with Oblivians), The Raveonettes (who are playing Bumbershoot), King Khan & The Shrines (who are playing Santos and Bell House), Best Coast (who just played the Seaport and like weed), Tyvek, Thee Oh Sees, Hunx & His Punx, and a ton of others.

Much like Scion Rock Fest, the show will take place across four venues and is FREE, but RSVP is required. Full lineup is below.

Some videos and the full Scion lineup & flyer is below...

Continue reading "The Greenhornes playing shows - ATP, a free one @ Mercury & Scion Garage Fest (full lineup - Oblivians, Gories, more) "

Kid Congo Powers @ Spider House (BV-SXSW 2010) (more by Tim Griffin)

The next free Vice Garage show at Knitting Factory, Wednesday, July 28th, will feature the ex-Cramp/Bad Seed garage rocker pictured above, with support from the supercampy Hunx & His Punx. RSVP for it here (and for the show in Austin the next night).

The previous Vice garage show featured the reunited Oblivians. Tonight (7/21) Jack Yarber/Oblivian plays a Brooklyn show with his own band at Southpaw. Tickets are still on sale.

Kid Congo Powers will be back in New York, as part of his September tour dates, for a show on Friday, September 17th at Brooklyn Bowl with the K-Holes. Tickets ($5) are on sale.

And another band that played our SXSW day show at Spider House in March, UK's Jim Jones Revue (ex-Thee Hypnotics), is in NYC for four shows this week: Thursday, July 22nd at Mercury Lounge, Maxwell's on July 23rd and Knitting Factory on July 24th. More info here. (And on top of that, they open Smashing Pumpkins' sold-out Terminal 5 show as part of Spin25 on July 26th along with Kill Hannah.)

Updated Kid Congo Powers & Jim Jones tour dates, flyers and videos are below...

Continue reading "Jim Jones & Jack Oblivian here, Kid Congo playing w/ Hunx"

by Andrew Frisicano

Nobunny: animal lover (sksk4)

Easter's come and gone, and deranged garage act Nobunny didn't forget to mark the occassion with a special show (his '9th ANNUAL EASTER EGG BASH!') in Oakland on Saturday. It's already past, but the flyer below.

Nobunny heads out on tour this May and June with the Spits. They'll be at Knitting Factory in Brooklyn on Friday, June 11th. Tickets are on sale.

The Spits' put out their fourth self-titled LP (known as "School's Out") last year on Recess Records. The band's sound is a unique blend of garage and New Wave punk, to quote ourselves, "they straddle the line between straight-up garage punk and Devo-esque lo-fi keyboard proto-punk."

The Spits w/ Jimi

The Spits were at this year's SXSW in Austin (a city they'll return to with Nobunny for Chaos in Tejas at the end of May). They played a set outside of Beerland on Friday, March 19th - the same place Fucked Up played a day earlier to cap a bill of Shattered Records artists paying tribute to the label's founder Jay Reatard. "We played at Beerland for a tribute to Jay Reatard who released one of my records, took us on tour, and also gave me a serious shrimp job. I miss him calling me at 5 AM. I miss him period", said Hunx of Hunx & His Punx who played the show. A video of Fucked Up and the Spits playing the same spot on different days and all tour dates are below...

Continue reading "The Spits & Nobunny - 2010 tour dates & stuff "

After months of speculation (much of it in our own corridors), we can happily announce that Matador Records has purchased the True Panther Sounds label. TPS, best known to many of you as the imprint behind Girls' recent rise to prominence, will continue to be managed by label founder Dean Bein. What would possess Matador to become involved with another label in this capacity? As Victor Kiam once explained his decision to purchase the Remington Shaver operation, "I liked it so much, I bought the company." Needless to say, we like Dean, Girls, Glasser, Tanlines, Lemonade and Hunx & His Punx much more than than Mr. Kiam appreciated those razor blades.

At the moment, Girls' 'Album' is the only True Panther Sounds title to be worked through Matador's fearsome promotional & marketing machinery (ie. Hunx' recent 'Gay Singles' LP, was not). However, in the months to come, additional offerings from TPS' impressive roster (prior releases have included titles from The Fly Girlz, Ty Segall, Rainbow Bridge, The Standing Nudes amongst others) will receive similar treatment. Stay tuned! [Matador]

Girls, who Amazon says put out the 6th best album of 2009, are on tour with Real Estate. They play a sold out show at Bowery Ballroom in NYC tonight (11/6).

Girls were not here for CMJ when Matador and True Panther teamed up for a showcase at The Suffolk.

Tanlines' last NYC show was at the Guggenheim with Yeasayer.

photos by Jake Forney

"Kicking off Pop Montreal [Wednesday] night, NoBunny took the stage by force - a gang of musically inclined vagrants clothed in barely there Y-fronts and strategically placed rabbit accessories stormed Sala and its punk pitched transient company. Growling into the microphone numerous times, "This song is about a so and so and an eskimo" they went on to play favorites "I am a Girlfriend", "Give it to Me", and "Mess Me Up". Hunx & His Punx came on next, reveling in all their gay glory. Appearing besequined, with feathered caps and bare chests, they declared their fervent love for cock and sexual pleasures of all kinds. I'd never heard of them before, but the lead singer definitely made his mark in my memory. Moaning and groaning, gyrating on the floor, he begged for someone, anyone to pee on him. Box Elders was the final band preceding the headliner. Their act was dated and ranging from somewhat to hardly enjoyable; not much else to say about that. Finally, Jay Reatard made his appearance. A youngish man with waves of dirty blonde hair, rough around the edges, I'd say his looks are much better accentuated in person than in photographs. The man treated us to renditions of "Greed, Money, Useless Children", "My Shadow", "Oh It's Such a Shame", and after forty minutes of solid punk made his exit. Direct and to the point, Reatard made little conversation and got straight to the music. After all the formalities, most seemed to appreciate this, getting down and dirty almost instantaneously. He did good." [the neighbours]

That reviewer from Wednesday night's Pop Montreal show (which unfortunately did not have a positive experience with Box Elders) puts Jay's set time at 40 minutes which is double what the guy who never actually made it inside said,

Last night (10/1), Thursday (one day later), the same Shattered Records lineup came to Le Poisson Rouge in NYC, though they reversed the order. Nobunny went on last, which for a show that didn't start until 11:30pm, meant a set time of after 2am. Also, the above review doesn't mention Useless Eaters who opened the NYC show with Jay on guitar. Jay played his own set third on the bill...

"Regardless of one's feelings about [Jay's new] record (and particularly, the production), [his middle-of-the-night-headlining set showed those songs to be as much classic Reatard as anything in his catalog. While not riot-crowded, Le Poisson Rouge was comfortably packed with fans who didn't mind the late start time and threw themselves into the music, sometimes literally. [In the live recording of the show posted at NYCTaper, you can] hear Jay, during "Watching You," heckle a fan down in the pit who got a little too enthusiastic (and apparently, was waving a really gross sweater over his head). The set may have only been 35 minutes long, but this was another 35 minutes (and 15 songs!) of pure southern punk gold" -Acidjack

I think it's safe to say that Jay's sets are "less than an hour". Check our interview with him HERE. More pictures from last night's show, and Jay's setlist, below...

Continue reading "Jay Reatard, Useless Eaters, Box Elders, Hunx & His Punx & Nobunny (Shattered Records) @ Le Poisson Rouge - pics "

Jay Reatard @ the Wired Store (more by Tim Griffin)

As I was saying (and Bill will say even more about later), Jay Reatard and his Shattered Records crew (Nobunny, Hunx & His Punx, Box Elders & Useless Eaters) are on their way from Pop Montreal to NYC for a late show at Le Poisson Rouge tonight (10/1). Tickets are still on sale.

Yesterday, with some help, I rushed together some questions for an email interview with Jay (not the ideal format). Jay in turn rushed some answers back this afternoon, presumably from the road and after playing a late show last night. With that in mind, you can find that interview, which attempts to set the record straight on Jay's recent hate for Brooklyn, and what time Hamburghini practice starts, with all dates and tonight's set times, below....

Continue reading "an interview w/ Jay Reatard (whose Shattered Records tour hits Le Poisson Rouge in NYC tonight) "

Brent at work (at Pop Montreal) (run comrade)

Pop Montreal kicked off last night (9/30). It's not too late to drop everything and take a car over the border. I haven't been in a few years, but non-stop show hopping in a great foreign (but so close) city was a great experience. Plus, if you get there by tonight (10/1), you can check out the BrooklynVegan showcase featuring Micachu & The Shapes, Clues & Slim Twig! Other highlights of tonight include Think About Life, Fever Ray (who just completed a two-night run at Webster Hall), Mono (who also just played two NYC shows), Screaming Females (who are on tour and played Death by Audio Saturday), Loudon Wainwright III (who just had his family join him for a show at Highline Ballroom), Butthole Surfers (also on tour), The Intelligence (recently in NYC), and Sister Suvi (played Sycamore on Tuesday).

Last night's Pop Montreal schedule highlights included sets by Amy Millan (touring to NYC soon), Matt & Kim (playing a Halloween show with Weezer), The Phenomenal Handclap Band, and Jay Reatard...

"Usually arriving 20 minutes late to a Pop Montreal show makes you right on time. But I biked up to La Sala Rossa near 1 a.m. Thursday morning to find a crowd spilling into the street. Not a good sign. "Is it over?" I asked some friends, referring to Memphis punk upstart Jay Reatard's 12:30 set. Yup, came the reply. "Did he start early?" Nope. "But it was proper," said Ninja Tune's Jeff Waye. "Twenty-minute set - there's not many bands I want to see for more than 20 minutes."" [The Gazette]

To be more specific, last night's Jay Reatard show in Canada was the third stop on Jay's Shattered Records tour. The fourth stop on the tour is TONIGHT (10/1) at Le Poisson Rouge in NYC (11pm doors). Also on the bill (last night and tonight) are Shattered Records artists Nobunny, Hunx & His Punx, Box Elders, and Useless Eaters. All dates and the tour poster below.

The Phenomenal Handclap Band (pictured to the right) were set to play with Man Man and Brazilian Girls at The Beach on Governors Island Friday night (10/2), but that show has been canceled.

Shows in NY and Boston cancelled!!
This is really sad for us to announce, but the shows in NY and in Boston, OCt 2nd and 6th had to be cancelled, due to immigration issues. its a real drag, but we promise we'll play there soon, trying to make it before the end of the year.

we'll keep you posted. - Brazilian Girls

Immigration issues?

The Phenomenal Handclap Band are still opening for Chromeo at Irving Plaza on October 16th though, and they just announced their first big headlining show. It's December 11th at Bowery Ballroom, and tickets are now on AmEx presale with general sale beginning Friday at noon. No openers are listed yet. All dates below.

Meanwhile, Bruce Springsteen kicked off his five-night run at Giants Stadium last night. It was one of two shows that he'll perform the entire "Born to Run" album at.

A good night of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band for the first of five shows at Giants Stadium on Wednesday night. A 29-song show that lasted 3 hours and 14 minutes, one of the longest shows timewise of this tour.

It was nice to have the show start off with a new song. I believe it's the first time Bruce has played a unreleased song (not including Working On A Dream which he played at a political rally last year) since debuting "Long Walk Home" with the Sessions Band in London in November of 2006.

Of course the highlight of the evening was hearing the entire "Born To Run" album from start to finish as well as a classic 1978-style story in the middle of "Growin' Up." [Star Ledger]

Willie Nile came out and joined the band for a few songs during the encore. The tour continues Friday night when the E Street Band will play all of "Darkness on the Edge of Town". If you're going consider all transportation options. Video of the now-60 Bruce Springsteen discussing the birthday-related story (nightmare) in the middle of "Growin' Up", and other videos, below...

Continue reading "Pop Montreal (now), Bruce Springsteen (setlist), Man Man (canceled), Phenomenal Handclap Band, Jay Reatard (tonight)"

DOWNLOAD: Ty Segall - It #1 (MP3)

Ty Segall @ Cake Shop (more by Tim Griffin)

After my own greasy foray into a Popeye's a few blocks away, I was ready to see the wunderkind, who is freshly graduated from the University of San Francisco. Once upon a time, Segall was a one man band, but he's expanded his outfit to a three-piece. Clearly the night's headliner at Amnesia, he packed the joint. After sets by openers Snakeflower 2 and the Rantouls, he mostly played familiar songs from his 2008 self-titled release on CastleFace Records. However, he also delivered a few examples of his self-described "sludgier" work on the brand new Lemons (Goner Records).

Sludge or no sludge, Segall's solid work ethic is evident. He's constantly playing gigs at bars like the Knockout, the Hemlock, and the Eagle Tavern -- basically anywhere flannel is the prevailing fashion, alongside those straw fedora hats favored by the fixed-gear crowd. Despite his omnipresence on SF's dive bar scene, he's pretty modest about his dedication to his music. "There are a lot of ways that I am a slacker," he explains over the phone a month after the fateful Amnesia show as he and his band drive to New Orleans. "But if I'm not doing music, I feel like I'm wasting my time." [SF Bay Guardian]

An MP3 from Lemons is at the top of this post. Ty returns to NYC for a trio of shows on his North American tour in September. On September 18th, he'll play Death By Audio's 'The Maze' (the art installation being supported by this Saturday's 12-hour benefit at the venue).

Ty plays a Mercury Lounge show on September 20th with Golden Triangle and tourmates and fellow SF band The Mantels. Tickets for that go on sale Saturday, July 25th at noon. Ty Segall then goes to New Jersey for a September 21st show at Maxwell's. The Mantels opens that too, with Digital Leather. Tickets are on sale now.

Ty will be one of the acts at Goner Fest 6, put on by Goner Records September 24th-26th in Memphis, TN. Other acts include a reformed version of Jay Reatard's first band The Reatards, Thee Oh Sees, The Fresh & Onlys, Magic Kids (who are in NYC this weekend), Box Elders, The Intelligence, Nobunny, Cheater Slicks and just about every other vital band you could vaguely lump in with the current "garage" scene (No Sic Alps, though). Tickets for day one, two and three of the fest are on sale now (though three-day 'Golden Passes' seem to be either sold out or hard to find).

More info on that festival, with all Ty Segall dates and a couple videos, below...

Continue reading "Ty Segall tour dates (3 NYC shows) + 2009 Goner Fest lineup "

Andrew Bird @ MHOW January 2009 (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

tonight in NYC
* Hunx & His Punx @ SWAT Bar
* The Vandelles, Black Horse @ The Annex
* Pink Martini, Sneakin Out @ Carnegie Hall
* Doveman, Sam Amidon @ (Le) Poisson Rouge
* Peggy Sue, Miniboone, Everyone @ Bruar Falls
* Kristin Hersh, Anna Ternheim @ The Bell House
* Madeleine Peyroux, Bruce Cockburn @ Town Hall
* Andrew Bird, Calexico @ Radio City Music Hall
* Crocodiles, Freshkills, The Sundelles @ Union Pool
* Black Shabbis (Jamie Saft/Mike Pride) @ The Stone
* .357 Lover, Valley Lodge, Sky White Tiger @ Europa
* Phoenix, Lightspeed Champion @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Skeleton Key, The Giraffes, La Otracina @ Knitting Factory
* Sharon Olds & Thomas Sayers Ellis @ Central Park Summerstage
* Plus/Minus, Versus, Grammercy Arms, Mascott @ Mercury Lounge
* STATS, Upsilon Acrux, Clan of the Cave Bear @ Death By Audio
* Best Friends Forever, Hot Box, Babies @ Monster Island Basement
* Gordon Voidwell, Richard Swift, Itchy Hearts, Lily Claire @ Pianos
* Crystal Stilts, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Hatcham Social, Cause Co-Motion @ Cake Shop

Brooklyn trio STATS has new EP out called Marooned -- it's online as a free/for-donation download. See them tonight at Death By Audio with Upsilon Acrux and Clan of the Cave Bear.

Thomas Bartlett takes a night off from supporting other acts to play as Doveman, his superb solo project, at LPR tonight. He'll be accompanied by Aaron and Bryce Dessner and Bryan Devendorf of The National, and Sam Amidon (who's also opening the show). Earlier this week, we posted the new track "Hurricane", a song off Doveman's forthcoming, still-unnamed record.

UK band Hatcham Social play a Twee as Fuck show at the Cake Shop with some NYC bands you probably heard of...those'd be Crystal Stilts, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, andnCause Co-Motion. Advance tickets sold out, but some should be available at the door if you show up early enough. Half of the bands will also be at the Woodsist/Captured Tracks Fest on July 3rd and 4th.

Andrew Bird makes the move from the Music Hall and Carnegie Hall to Radio City Music Hall.

Corn Mo brings his group .357 Lover to Europa. Dave Hill's band Valley Lodge is also on the bill. It's one big Bonnaroo reunion.

Kristin Hersh performs at the Bell House.

Hunx & His Punx play the first of three planned NYC shows tonight at SWAT bar (59 Canal St). See two previously-unposted videos by Hunx himself, below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Thursday?"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Amazing Baby - Smoke Bros (MP3)

Amazing Baby

"I actually miss the days when you just wrote about Amazing Baby in eeevery post." - BV commenter Eric Serpa | June 4, 2009 4:59 PM

This one's for you, dude. Yes it has been a while since Amazing Baby have graced this column which started almost exactly a year ago and were featured in my inaugural post. Since then, the band have gone through a few line-up changes, expanded, contracted, and toured Europe a couple times (once with buddies MGMT). The band open for Phoenix at Terminal 5 this Friday (6/19) and will release their debut album, Rewild, on Tuesday, June 23. (It's out now on iTunes.) Few are more aware than me that a lot of people seem to dislike this band, though I think most of that comes from the company they keep and their image more than the music itself.

Do they have questionable taste when it comes to fashion, their album covers and music videos? Maybe, but I don't think you can accuse Amazing Baby of the same, musically, or jumping on any bandwagons. Rewild is psychedelic without being being retro, danceable at times, heavy, glammy, catchy as hell and full of inventive arrangements and production. It rocks and swoons and sounds great loud. And they don't sound like any single other band out there. You can download "Smoke Bros" (which reminds me of Shriekback a little bit) at the top of this post. And you can stream the whole album at their MySpace.

Lightspeed Champion

Still reading? Phoenix's openers at tomorrow's (6/18) Music Hall of Williamsburg is Lightspeed Champion. That show is beyond sold-out, but tonight (6/17), he's playing a warm up show at Mercury Lounge, which will be his first in a long time. Dev has become a Brooklyn resident in the last year, which is where he also recorded his still-untitled second solo album (due in Oct.) with help from the Spacecamp boys who will also be his backing band at both shows. As a fan of last year's underrated Falling Off the Lavendar Bridge, I'm anxious to hear Dev's new material. Tickets are still available.

Spacecamp are also playing a set of their own at Mercury Lounge, opening the night, though you'd think it would've made more sense for them to play next-to-last and just have Dev come out and join them for a seamless transition, but I am a blogger not a stage manager. The band now have a full-time keyboardist in the mix which has made them a bit funkier (clavinet tends to do that). You can can get an idea of that in the footage Joly shot from Spacecamp's Annex show two weeks ago (below). In between Spacecamp and Lightspeed are Apache Beat and New Orleans' Hurray for the Riff Raff.

Nobunny

The show I'm most looking forward to this week, though, is this Friday (6/19) at Bruar Falls: Nobunny, Hunx and His Punx, German Measels, Baby Shakes and The Beets. I wrote about Nobunny the last time he was through town, having just caught him at SXSW, and his shows are fun and creepy all at the same time. (It's that mask.) If you haven't heard his debut, Love Visions, it's a lot of fun if you like bare-bones Ramones style punky pop. He recently put out a cassette-only album, Raw Romance, of demos and outtakes that was also pretty good -- it's sold out but maybe he'll have copies on tour with him. Nobunny also plays an all-ages show at Death by Audio two nights later (6/21).

The whole evening at Bruar Falls sounds like fun. Hunx and His Punx look and sound like they lept out of a John Waters movie and judging by their music videos I can only hope they bring that level of camp to their live show. Hunx has a new single out, "Teardrops on My Telephone," on Jay Reatard's Shattered label (also home to Nobunny). You can see the video for that song below. Hunx is playing a bunch of shows and parties this week, and all his dates are at the bottom of this post.

Also: the girl group punk of Baby Shakes; German Measels' fake mustache pop; and The Beets who seem to play every four days but I've enjoyed every show I've seen of theirs (including two previous at Bruar Falls).

Other shows of note: there's a TWII-approved line-up at Glasslands on tonight (6/17): Sisters, My Teenage Stride, and Knight School. All the bands are good, but if you haven't seen Sisters yet, you should really rectify that as soon as possible. On of my all time favorite new local bands of the moment.

Crocodiles are back in town, playing Union Pool on Thursday (6/18) and Mercury Lounge on Saturday (6/20). I don't care what Pitchfork says, I think their album is pretty good and they were fun at Pianos earlier this year.

And it wouldn't be a proper TWII column without mentioning this year's Twee as Fuck party at Cake Shop. TaF is a monthy party in London, as well as a fanzine and label, and they bring it over here in June. I went to last year's moderately-attended event which featured Afternoon Naps, Bears, and Pains at Being Pure at Heart who are headlining again this year though it's an understatement to say that things have changed for them. Not that they don't totally deserve it, but it still boggles my mind that the Pains have become a big as they have. TPOBPAH just announced a fall tour and those dates are below. Their next NYC show after Cake Shop is at South Street Seaport (home of tonight's Jon Spencer Blues Explosion Show).

With a lineup that also includes their Slumberland labelmates Crystal Stilts and Cause Co-Motion, as well as London's Hatcham Social, this is gonna be one super-packed, sweaty night at Cake Shop. Advance tickets are sold out, but there are a few available at the door if you get there early. Doors are at 7pm.

That's it for this week. Flyers, videos, and tour dates are after the jump....

Continue reading "Amazing Baby, Nobunny, Hunx & His Punx, Lightspeed Champion, TPOBPAH & more in This Week In Indie "