by BBG

Kvelertak in Oslo

Compared to days one and two, day three of By:Larm was considerably more indulgent. Two artists (Kvelertak and Mayhem) have played the US several times, and though I was definitely familiar with both, I wanted to see them on their "home turf" so to speak.

After a day of looking at records at Tiger and Big Dipper, I caught a super-early show from The Avalanche (who I saw on day one) before heading to Folketeateret to catch some of Ida Maria's opening set of indie-laced pop-punk. She commanded the crowd to get out of their seats and the audience agreed, dancing in the aisles.

continued below...

Continue reading "By:Larm 2012 Day 3 in pics & review (Kvelertak, Ida Maria, Mayhem, Arabrot, Nekromantheon & more)"

Just wanted to take a second to also say that our thoughts and condolences are with the people of Norway today.

The above is a selection of tweets from Norwegian musicians that have graced the pages (and stages) of BrooklynVegan in the past. Blabbermouth has a list of reactions from more in the metal community (from Norway and elsewhere), including the above-pictured message from Enslaved who said, "Our deepest condolences and thoughts go out to everybody touched by the fathomless tragedy that struck Norway yesterday. This is indeed a day for afterthought."

photos by Tim Griffin

Ladyhawke

"New Zealand rocker Ladyhawke may sing about Paris burning, but on Wednesday it was New York City that was on fire. At the headliner of the "Perez Hilton Presents" concert at the Fillmore at Irving Plaza, Ladyhawke was well-worth her witching-hour performance, featuring crowd-friendly renditions of "Back of the Van" and "My Delirium." Unfortunately, fellow co-headliner Ida Maria was a no-show because of illness. No matter. The two surprises Hilton pulled out of his sleeve certainly made up for it.

"I'm marveling that I was able to pull it off, because I've never put on a tour before," Hilton told MTV News. "The reason why I'm doing the tour, the reason I have a record label, the reason why I write about music on my Web site is because I think music lovers like sharing good music with other music lovers."...

...Last-minute surprise act Little Boots hit the stage sans her band mates (they were stuck across town) and performed solo with only a piano to accompany her. She thanked Hilton with a run through a haunting cover of Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill" and was followed by another surprise in Kat DeLuna, whose high-octane hip-swirling show made the walls sweat." [MTV]

By "across town", they mean at Bowery Ballroom where Little Boots also played on Wednesday night (9/16). Ida Maria was in fact a no-show, though the type of illness is unclear - it may have been a case of Perez-itis because she seemed to be doing okay when she performed at the Betsey Johnson fashion show a night or two earlier. Officially it became this:

Friday, September 18, 2009

Ida Maria will not be finishing the current Perez Hilton Presents Tour. She is suffering from total exhaustion and will be heading home to Norway to rest and be under Doctor's care. Her personal statement to everyone is:

Dear Friends and Fans. I am so very sorry but I cannot finish this tour. After touring in Scandinavia, Europe, the UK, Australia, Japan and the USA for 3 years straight I am just completely exhausted. I have learned that I am not a superwoman.

I love all the bands, musicians and crew on this tour. Go see these bands! I will be back and look forward to playing you my music both new and old. The new music is in forefront of my mind. Thank you all again. See you soon. I wish you peace.

Ida Maria

One night before the Irving show Ladyhawke played the Apple Store. More pictures from Irving Plaza (NSFW - there were strippers), below...

Continue reading "Ladyhawke, Little Boots, Semi-Precious Weapons & friends @ Irving Plaza in NYC (the Perez Hilton show) - pics (NSFW)"

'New York City concert was hotter than a whore in heat! So amazing!' - Perez Hilton

'Ida Maria appeared to be drunk and phoning it in' in DC, Sep 12 (Francis Chung)

"So, you'd assume that the self-proclaimed "queen of all media" would have been tweeting the crap out of Ida Maria walking off stage at her Boston show on Monday night. Perhaps a few scathing blog posts on his 20-million-hits-per-day web site and maybe some speculation -- totally unwarranted and without any actual, factual reporting -- that drugs and/or alcohol are to blame for the rising star's troubled performance.

But, no. Not one word was uttered, tweeted, typed or mentioned on any of the multiple social-networking sites to which Perez Hilton regularly contributes and certainly nothing on his astronomically famous web site, PerezHilton.com.

The gossip blogger and frenemy to the stars, has recently been toting his "Perez Presents" tour all over the internet, giving him even further bragging rights (in the past, Perez has taken credit for the successes of Lady GaGa and Mika) for "discovering" new talents Ladyhawke, FrankMusik, Eric Hutchinson, Sliimy, Semi Precious Weapons, and Ida Maria.

Despite the fact that most, if not all of the artists have been touring their home countries -- most artists are from overseas -- for the past year, and anyone who reads any sort of music news would know some of their names, Perez continues to promote his gig as a musical experience worth the $30plus price tag, because it will expose you to a whole "new" world or music.

I'd beg to differ. And I'm sure the mere 250 people who attended the event at the House of Blues [in Boston on Monday, September 14th] would agree, especially once co-headliner Ida Maria had a melt-down during song one-and-a-half, rendering her unable to perform the rest of her set.

The Norwegian rocker seemed less-than-impressed by the dwindling crowd as she took the stage (the three-story music venue can hold more than 2,400 people). She pouted her way through her first tune, refusing to sing the last two lines on the song, and opting, instead, to have a pow-wow with her guitarist, who pleaded with her to continue the performance under hushed mics.

As she led into her second song, the singer put down her own guitar and stood facing the audience folding her arms with an un-entertained, unenthusiastic, "I could care less" look written all over her face, before storming off mid-song leaving her band clueless. After a brief period of confusion, the stage managers reeled out a screen from which the audience could watch music videos. Already angry concert goers booed as Kanye graced the screen. Management were quick to replace his video with Janet, Madonna and of course, Taylor Swift.

Later, Maria would return from her fit back stage to apologize in broken English..." [Boston Daily Free Press]

That interesting, but somewhat unsympathetic article, fails to mention that Ida was crying, and that when she returned, she emotionally finished "Keep Me Warm" before apologizing "in broken English" and then finally leaving the stage for the last time. Video of the incident below.

Two nights earlier at the DC show, things weren't much better...

Continue reading "Ida Maria was drunk in DC, had a meltdown in Boston (video), was replaced by Kat DeLuna @ Perez Hilton show in NYC "

photo by Tim Griffin

UPDATE: Ida Maria had a breakdown two nights earlier in Boston, and was replaced by Kat DeLuna in NYC.

PREVIOUSLY: Little Boots is playing Irving Plaza tonight

DOWNLOAD: Little Boots - "Earthquake" (Yes Giantess remix) (MP3)

Little Boots' Tenori-On @ LPR (more by Chris La Putt)

Little Boots is in town to play a sold out show at Bowery Ballroom tonight (9/16) with Plasticines and Yes Giantess. The latter is responsible for the remix you can download on top of this post. The show goes right up against the Perez Hilton tour stop which is happening not that far away at Irving Plaza.

Thanks to a tip by Renaldo, I called Irving Plaza. In addition to a recording saying the show wasn't sold out, it listed these set times:

8:00 doors
9:00 Frankmusic
9:30 Little Boots
10:00 Semi Precious Weapons
10:45 Ida Maria
11:45 Ladyhawke

Ladyhawke also played the Apple Store yesterday. All Little Boots dates below...

Continue reading "Little Boots is here (tour dates) -- playing Irving Plaza too? "

Mew bongos in the darkness @ MHOW (more by Dominick Mastrangelo)

tonight in NYC
* DANCE
* Britney Spears @ MSG
* Nine Inch Nails, Mew @ Terminal 5
* The Alternate Routes @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Marc Ribot's Sun Ship @ Rose Live Music
* Cubic Zirconia, Michna, ApSci @ Mercury Lounge
* Spindrift, Hopewell, The Runaway Suns @ Union Pool
* Surprise Me Mr. Davis, The Low Anthem @ The Bell House
* Highline Piano Series: Phil Vassar @ Highline Ballroom
* Univox, Akudama, Ex-Humans, White Noise Supremacists @ Death By Audio
* Knight School, Prince Rainbow, Bright Lights, The Sugarplums @ Cake Shop
* Georgiana Starlington, This Frontier Needs Heroes, Feather & Folly @ Bruar Falls

NIN plays their last NYC show (maybe ever) tonight at Terminal 5. Peter Murphy showed up last night. Tonight Mew opens.

Where Brooklyn at? Matt and Kim are on Jimmy Kimmel tonight. Even weirder, Care Bears on Fire (who play Irving Plaza on Saturday) are on Letterman.

Georgiana Starlington, which has ex-Black Lips guitarist Jack Hines, has a monthly residency at Bruar Falls. Tonight they play with This Frontier Needs Heroes and Feather & Folly.

If today seemed slow that's because my computer kept crashing every 5 seconds. It makes me feel better to vent, so thanks!

Breakfast at Sulimays reviews Amanda Blank (who played in Urban Outfitters last night) and Radiohead. Below...

Lou Barlow's new video for "Don't Apologize" -- off the new disc Goodnight Unknown -- is posted below. He'll be in NYC with the Missingmen on October 6th.

"A day with Ida Maria". Video below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Wednesday?"

"This truly is a dream come true!" - Perez Hilton

Perez Hilton @ SXSW 2009 (photo by Nate "Igor" Smith)

For better or for worse (as I always say before I say his name), Perez Hilton is putting his name on a tour that will feature two female artists who also played his SXSW party this year. Ida Maria and Ladyhawke will kick things off in Atlanta on September 10th, hit Irving Plaza in NYC on September 16th, and eventually end their trip together on the west coast in early October. Julian Pertetta and FrankMusik also play all dates. Perez promises "a pre-sale this Thursday before tickets go on sale to the general public this weekend." All dates below...

Continue reading "Perez Hilton Presents Ida Maria & Ladyhawke on tour (dates)"

Ida Maria @ Webster Hall (more by Chris La Putt)

Ida Maria just played two NYC shows on June 12th and 14th (Bell House & Hiro Ballroom). Sasha Frere-Jones from The New Yorker was at the June 14th show at the Bell House.

Some observations on Ida (pronounced "eee-DA") Maria's set on Sunday night at The Bell House.

1) Ida Maria stuffed smokeless tobacco into her mouth twice during the set.
2) She confessed to drinking champagne before the show but waited until the last song, "Oh My God," to pour water over her head. [video below]
...
4) The drummer played something suspiciously like a drum solo before "I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked." It was really good.
...
6) I could probably watch Ida Maria scream for about fifteen minutes before getting bored. Actual words not necessary.

She's coming back this summer with shows scattered around the country in July and August including one taking place at Maxwell's on Thursday, August 13th with opener Franz Nicolay. Tickets are on sale now.

The above mentioned video, video blogs from Ida's June tour, and all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Ida Maria - more summer tour dates - Maxwell's on sale "

Ida Maria in NYC in 2009
June 12 @ Hiro Ballroom (tickets)
June 14 @ The Bell House (tickets)

Ida Maria @ Union Hall (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

Ida Maria is playing the Bell House on June 14th with Prayer For Animals & Aaron Behrens (Ghostland Observatory) & The Dirty Banquet. Tickets are on sale. Stay tuned for more dates as they are announced.

"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]

With all the leaks of bands playing Lollapalooza this year, there are almost no surprises in the official lineup announcement, except maybe the Animal Collective DJ set... The whole thing below...

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

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Pelle Carlberg - 1983 (Pelle & Sebastian) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Pelle Carlberg - I Love You, You Imbecile (feat. Ida Maria) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Suburban Kids with Biblical Names - 1999 (Mp3)
DOWNLOAD: Suburban Kids with Biblical Names - Loop Duplicate My Heart (Mp3)

Pelle Carlberg

We told you about the 2009 NYC Popfest, which happens May 14 - 17 -- tickets are now on sale to all shows.

The weekend after that (May 21 -24) is the 2009 San Francisco Popfest, which has a pretty killer line-up of it's own, including Sweden's Pelle Carlberg, Suburban Kids with Biblical Names, and Springfactory; Denmark's Champagne Riot and Northern Portrait; the solo performance debut from Joel Gibb of Hidden Cameras, Razorcuts/Sportique singer Gregory Webster, and what may be the last-ever show by Seattle's amazing Tullycraft.

Both the NYC and SF Popfests share bands My Teenage Stride, Eax Autres, The Tartans, and The Smittens. And those New Yorkers jealous of the Swedes playing the SF Popfest, don't be too much: Pelle Carlberg plays Union Hall on May 30 (tix on sale now), and Suburban Kids with Biblical Names are also playing NYC, though dates and venues are still TBD at this point.

Pelle was one of the highlights of the first NYC Popfest in 2007 and through him was where a lot of people first heard Ida Maria, thanks to their duet "I Love You You Imbecile" which you can download at the top of this post.

Full SF Popfest schedule and videos for Pelle and SKwBN after the jump.

Continue reading "NYC PopFest tix on sale, San Francisco PopFest lineup, Pelle Clarberg playing NYC, a duet w/ Ida Maria (MP3)"

photos by Chris La Putt

Ida

The Ida Maria and Glasvegas tour came through NYC on Saturday (MHOW, 3/28) and Monday (Webster Hall, 3/30). The two UK acts toured together from SXSW to Boston (3/31), and they will share a bill again at least one more time in April - at the Coachella Festival on the west coast. Hopefully (current BrooklynVegan.com obsession) Ida decides to stop by the east coast again while she's in the country (at the moment that is her only scheduled date)...

"...She's really rather fantastic. I love her album, Fortress Round My Heart, and her voice is even rawer and more frayed live, though she and her band are still tight and technically competent. I think she had a cold, but the cracks and friction in her chest only made her sound better [at Webster Hall], in my opinion.

She was done quickly, though I wouldn't be surprised if she had made it through her whole album, since it clocks in at a mere 31 minutes." [hornblower]

Ida Maria also played a previous two-night NYC engagement in January, performing at Union Hall and the Mercury Lounge. At SXSW, she only played the Perez Hilton party

Glasvegas' upcoming dates include an opening gig for U2 at London's Wembley Stadium on August 15th.

All tour dates and more pictures from Webster Hall below...

Continue reading "Ida Maria & Glasvegas @ Webster Hall, NYC - pics"

Ida Maria @ Union Hall (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

tonight in NYC
* DANCE
* Les Paul @ Iridium
* papercranes @ City Winery
* Glasvegas, Ida Maria @ Webster Hall
* Gringo Star, Des Roar @ Glasslands
* The War on Drugs, The Drones @ Union Hall
* Oh Land, Jason Anderson @ Pete's Candy Store
* Sharon Van Etten, Virgin Passages, Regia @ Cake Shop
* DD/MM/YYYY, Wavves, Vampire Hands, Real Estate @ Mercury Lounge
* The Dead @ Roseland Ballroom, Gramercy Theatre & Angel Orensanz
* Black Joe Lewis and the Honey Bears, miniboone, The Fumes @ Pianos
* The Hold Steady, The Rosewood Thieves, Black Gold @ Irving Plaza

Black Joe Lewis is also opening for Gomez at Bowery Ballroom tomorrow.

All Points West 2009 lineup announced.

Ladyhawke, Ida Maria, Yelle, Thunderheist (whose album is out this week) and others (including Kanye West, but not Lady Sovereign who cancelled) played the Perez Hilton (love him, or more likely hate him...) party at SXSW. A video compilation featuring live performances and interviews from that event, below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Monday?"

photos by Nate "Igor" Smith

After missing her two official SXSW showcases due to getting stuck at the border, Ida Maria did in fact make it to her scheduled appearance at the Perez Hilton party in Austin on Saturday night. Now on tour with Glasvegas, and, as Bill just pointed out, that brings her back to NYC very soon. More Perez pictures below...

Continue reading "Ida Maria @ Perez Hilton's 2009 SXSW party - pics"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Micachu - Lips (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Chap - Proper Rock (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Choir of Unbelievers - Next Summer (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Youth Group - "Start Today Tomorrow" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Fumes - "Automobile" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Deastro - Parallelogram (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Deastro - Light Powered (MP3)

Micachu @ Cake Shop (more by Tim Griffin)

Welcome to the SXSW Hangover edition of This Week in Indie. Those who went to Austin might not want to go see live music, but for everyone else it's a boon. Most of these bands have been covered before so I'm just going to go night-by-night of the shows I'd recommend...

Continue reading "Deastro, Obits, White Lies, WAVVES, Ladyhawke, Efterklang, Primal Scream & more in This Week in Indie"

by Andrew Frisicano

Ida Maria @ Union Hall (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

I wanted to re-release my album, the way I wanted it to be.

I have designed the artwork, added three new songs, and changed the track listing.

Now it sounds, looks and feels like I want it to feel, and I am so excited again.

The story behind this cover is a story similar to a homebaked applecake.

You take what you have in your kitchen and experiment a little and hold tumbs that no one will notice you kinda forgot the recipe.

And then it turns out tasting good as hell and nobody can ever make it again.

My drummer Olle is a photographer (!) and has shot the genius cover photo in his apartment in Stockholm, with use of just the light that was there. Lamps in the livingroom, and pocket flashlight.

The cover art is designed by my friend Jon Edergren. -[Ida Maria's Myspace blog]

Fortress Round My Heart, Ida Maria's 2008 debut, is coming out in the US, digitally on March 24th and on CD, April 14th, on Universal's Mercury Records. The US release will sport a new cover and re-arranged track list, but won't include the bonus tracks described above (though new song "In the End" will replace previous closer "See Me Through").

Ida Maria is one of the many scheduled to be at SXSW this week. She was/is supposed to play KCRW's Showcase at Buffalo Billiards, a show at Maggie Mae's , and is on the bill of Perez Hilton's "One Night in Austin" party on Saturday.

"One Night in Austin" will feature Yelle, Solange, Lady Sovereign, Margaret Cho, Ladyhawke, Little Boots, Ida Maria and Thunderheist, plus "a very special Surprise Musical Performance." No word on who: "Not Tori Amos [but] one of our FAVORITEST acts of all time!!!!!!" [RSVP for the party].

UPDATE: Ida Maria never made it to her official SXSW showcases...

I don't think Ida Maria played either Maggie Mae's or Buffalo Billiards. I wanted to see her play while I am down here, but both nights, she was removed from the official sxsw.com website. She was replaced with Zee Avi on wednesday and with Val Emmich yesterday. I hope she actually plays the perez show. Looking forward to seeing her at MHOW regardless" [Ashok]

EW confirms that, "...Zee Avi, a tiny girl with a warm smile filled the lonesome last spot at the KCRW showcase on Wednesday night. It was huge opportunity for the newcomer -- her self-titled debut will be out May 19 -- filling in for Norwegian rocker chick/hype magnet Ida Maria, who was reportedly stuck in U.S. customs."

After the festival (if she makes it at all), Ida Maria is touring with Glasvegas through March, including a March 28th show at Music Hall of Williamsburg (on sale ) and a March 30th one at Webster Hall (on sale). Ida Maria also has a scheduled appearance at Coachella Festival on April 18th.

Ladyhawke visits NYC after SXSW. Little Boots was here in February.

All Ida Maria tour dates and the "Oh My God" video below...

Continue reading "Ida Maria - now on a major label, playing Perez Hilton's SXSW party???, Coachella & other places"

Headliners Paul McCartney, The Killers and The Cure are among the 130-plus acts set for the tenth COACHELLA VALLEY MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL (APRIL 17, 18 AND 19) at the beautiful Empire Polo Club in Indio, CA, the same grounds where the COACHELLA VALLEY MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL debuted in 1999. Other artists confirmed for America's most critically acclaimed music festival include Morrissey, Amy Winehouse, Franz Ferdinand, My Bloody Valentine, Leonard Cohen, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, Thievery Corporation, Yeah Yeah Yeahs (the complete line-up is listed below).

This marks the first ever U.S. festival appearance for McCartney who is currently supporting his latest release ELECTRIC ARGUMENTS.

"I have heard that Coachella is one of the greatest festivals in the world. I'm really excited to get out there and rock!" McCartney says.

Tickets for COACHELLA go on sale Friday, January 30 at 9:00 AM (PT) at all Ticketmaster locations.

Throbbing Gristle and the rest of the full (real) line-up (as of 1/30) is below:

Continue reading "Coachella 2009 - OFFICIAL lineup announced (My Bloody Valentine, Leonard Cohen, Paul McCartney, Morrissey, The Cure, Antony, Amy Winehouse...) - tix on sale"

Ida Maria @ Union Hall (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

Ida Maria will be touring North America with fellow Europeans Glasvegas in the Spring (basically from probably-SXSW to probably-Coachella). That tour includes a March 28th show at Music Hall of Williamsburg (on sale at noon today) and the March 30th one at Webster Hall (still on sale). After recently seeing Glasvegas at Bowery Ballroom and Ida Maria at Mercury Lounge (which was a day before her show at Union Hall), I've come to the conclusion that the opener will be giving the better live performance on this tour. I would say, "that sucks that she's opening", but her headlining sets were only 30 minutes, so it probably doesn't make a difference. All in all though, a good double bill of two buzzed bands from overseas.

Did anyone catch Ida on Carson Daly the other night? I can't find a video, but there are some from the Union Hall show below...

Continue reading "Ida Maria touring with Glasvegas, 2 NYC shows included"

photos by Kyle Dean Reinford

Ida Maria @ Union Hall

It is ungenerous, maybe, to call Ida Maria the thinking person's Katy Perry. But just as Ms. Perry's generally execrable "I Kissed a Girl," a No. 1 pop hit last year, mixed equal parts titillation and coyness, so too does Ida Maria's song "I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked," itself something of a flirty stunt.

Last year that song became a hit in Britain, a blog favorite and a misleading advertisement for this talented Norwegian singer: unlike Ms. Perry, Ida Maria, who performs under her first two names, has a story behind her wink.

And at the Mercury Lounge on Thursday night, when she and the crowd shouted the chorus together -- "I like you so much better when you're naked/I like me so much better when you're naked" -- it was a reminder that the song isn't so much a tease as a cry for help. [NY Times]

On Friday (1/16), Ida Maria played her 2nd NYC show in a row, that time in the basement of Union Hall in Park Slope (Brooklyn). Kyle said, "She initially skipped 'Stella', but to the cries for an encore she came out and played it. In its place on the setlist she performed 'We're All Going to Hell'. She broke two guitar strings on the night, but didn't really lose a beat. Her voice was wrecked, but she pulled it off." More pictures and the setlist from the Brooklyn show below...

Continue reading "Ida Maria @ Union Hall, Brooklyn, NYC - pics & setlist"

photos by Faith-Ann Young

I saw Ida Maria for the first time last night (1/15). At approximately 9pm she blew in like a tornado, and 30 minutes later she was gone. Jax Rock Insider recently saw her show in LA...

.....well...all I can say really is "Oh My God." The woman is a rock goddess. She wore a gold flapper dress and over the next 30 minutes proceeded to shimmy, shake, writhe, and rock the fuck into the entire audience's collective heart. There have been occasions in the past where female indie pop stars use their sultry attitude and bad girl stage behavior to launch them to superstar status (Lily and Amy I'm looking at you) Ida blew both of them out of the water for me. Ida Maria is the real deal.

As some in the comments pointed out, Karen O is a good comparison if you want to talk about her actual performance. Music Snobbery was also there last night, and wrote, "She is THE rock goddess of 2009." Now I also know what Bill has been raving on about.

Ida plays again in NYC, tonight, January 16, 2009, for the lucky ones with tickets at Union Hall in Brooklyn. If you missed her this time, don't worry I'm sure she'll be back soon. Listen at MySpace. More pictures and the setlist from Mercury Lounge below...

Continue reading "Ida Maria rocked Mercury Lounge, NYC - pics"

Those Darlins @ Bowery Ballroom (more by Nathan Miller)

Aside from their apparent taste for fur (that hat?) (and maybe an old jacket?), and the occasional less-than-steller instrumentation and/or singing (it's not always about perfect playing), there's no denying (I'm asking for it with that one) that Those Darlins are an entertaining band. Last night (1/15) at Mercury Lounge, the crowd (myself included) seemed to be enjoying the young trio+drummer's country tunes - they were the perfect way to warm everyone up for Norway's Ida Maria who came up, and tore the place up, next.

Show bookers seem to already know this about Those Darlins. If you haven't noticed, much like the Vivian Girls, this mostly-female band is suddenly appearing on every other (alt-country) bill. To name a few... they've recently played with O'Death, Heartless Bastards, Langhorne Slim, Deer Tick, Boss Hog, and have an upcoming tour scheduled with Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys (which has them back at Bowery and Music Hall). Last night they opened for Ida Maria at Mercury Lounge, and TONIGHT (1/16) they play with The Soft Pack (formerly the Muslims) and the Browns at Mercury Lounge (again). Saturday night they play their 3rd NYC show in a row (they're from Tennessee) at Union Pool (also with The Soft Pack).

Check out some of TD's recorded songs at MySpace. All tour dates below....

Continue reading "Those Darlins - 2009 Tour Dates (4 more NYC shows)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Max Tundra - "Which Song" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Max Tundra - Playboy (Hot Chip) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Max Tundra - promo mix 2008 (MP3)

Max Tundra

Enigmatic Brit artist Max Tundra has been releasing music for 10 years but only just released his third album, Parallax Error Beheads You, back in October -- his first in six years. One of the reasons for being such a slowpoke probably has something to do with the way he makes them:

The main technology behind this and all of my albums has been the Commodore Amiga 500 - bestselling home computer at the time - running a $1 public domain software tracker program. The sounds don't emerge from the Amiga itself however; the machine is used to control various synths, samplers and the like. I look at columns of numbers all day on the screen of a black and white television; these digits relate to pitches, durations and tones. A lot of the noises on my record are real; the cello, bass guitar, drums, piano, trumpet and others are all rehearsed and played by me, but sometimes I will use realistic fake versions of these noises. Each song is recorded in a different way; drumkits are recorded on mono cassette recorders twice, then stuck together on the left and right of a mix; string arrangements are planned and then layered up; each note of an electric guitar is sampled so that it can be sequenced in ways too complicated for my fat fingers to play at full speed. And then I have a cup of tea and sing my heart out.

Seems like a painstaking and annoying way to make a record to me, but there's no denying the results: his albums don't sound like anybody else's. (Well, maybe just a little like Scritti Politti.) Max is making his NYC live debut this week, opening for The Rosebuds at Bowery Ballroom on Friday (1/16, tickets) and a headlining FIXED show at Le Poisson Rouge on Saturday (1/17, tickets). I'm curious to see how he'll pull it off his music in a live setting as well as how much equipment he'll have. What concert reviews of his I've read have been favorable (like this one from December).

Darren Hanlon

A few more options for you this week. Australian singer-songwriter Darren Hanlon has two NYC shows this week: tonight (1/13) at Googies (above The Living Room), and tomorrow (1/14) at the Bell House where he'll be trading off songs with Graham Smith of Kleenex Girl Wonder in the venue's front lounge. It's a free show. Hanlon's shows are as well known for his witty between-song stories and banter as he is his lovely folk-pop, so if you are fans of Billy Bragg, Robyn Hitchcock or fellow Aussies The Lucksmiths (with whom Hanlon spent a brief stint in the late '90s). He's a charmer.

As I mentioned a while back, Ida Maria is in town this week playing Mercury Lounge on Thursday (1/15) and Union Hall on Friday (1/16) and I am super-psyched for this. Both shows are sold out, but Union Hall usually has a few tickets available night of show if you get there right as doors open (which is 8PM, but Ida's not on till 10).

Also this week: The Muslims make their first New York appearances since switching their name to The Soft Pack. Their EP, which made my Best of 2008 list and has already sold out two vinyl pressings, is getting re-pressed in February under the new moniker with an additional three songs. Maybe they'll have those with them at the merch table for these shows? They play Mercury Lounge on Friday (1/16) and Union Pool on Saturday (1/17). Both shows also feature their 1928 Recordings label-mates the Browns.

Speaking of name changes, SpaceKamp, who I've written about before, now spell their name as SpaceCamp. Same great sound, now with more C. In addition to working with Adam Green, Spacecamp are helping Dev Hynes with the new Lightspeed Champion record as well. (Video of Dev and Spacecamp in the studio below.) They play Zebulon on Friday (1/16) and maybe you can quiz them on the new spelling if you go.

Videos and such after the jump...

Continue reading "Max Tundra, Darren Hanlon, SpaceCamp, Soft Pack, Ida Maria & more in this Week in Indie"

Tickets are on sale for the Primal Scream show coming up at Webster Hall.

Tickets are on sale for the Cursive show coming up at Music Hall of Williamsburg.

Tickets are on sale for the Ida Maria show at Mercury Lounge.

Tickets are on sale for the Soft Pack show at Mercury Lounge.

Tickets are on sale for the John Doe/Exene show at Music Hall of Williamsburg.

Tickets are on sale for the Clutch show at Starland Ballroom.

Tickets are on sale for the New Years Eve show at Knitting Factory.

M Ward tickets are still on presale. David Byrne tickets are still on presale.

Lots of tickets also went on sale yesterday.