photos by Justina Villanueva

"Last night at MSG -- in between hopping around the stage like an eager So You Think You Can Dance contestant and sharing the spotlight with a ten-foot, ax-shredding demon creature -- Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson demonstrated that not even front men for legendary British metal bands were able to avoid The Decision. During a bit of stage banter, Dickinson mentioned the band had just played New Jersey and promptly received a hearty impromptu round of boos. "It's real easy to wind you up, isn't it?" Dickinson responded. "How would you feel if I mentioned LeBron James?" More boos! (By the way, you haven't heard anyone say "LeBron James" until you've heard them say "LeBron James" in a theatrical British accent from the stage at MSG). Dickinson moved on, touching on the band's recent Canadian trek ... and got even more boos! "Wow!" a genuinely surprised Dickinson shot back. "You hate Canada even more than you hate LeBron James!"" [NY Magazine]

Continue reading "Iron Maiden & Dream Theater played MSG (pics & setlist) "

by BBG

Bruce Dickinson shows his patriotism (more by Hardcore Shutterbug)

Iron Maiden are back on the road for a string of US dates in support of The Final Frontier, their new LP due in "late summer". The tour will stretch from June through July with Dream Theater and include PNC Bank Arts Center on 7/11 and MSG on July 12th. Fanclub presales are ongoing, and the general public get a crack at them on Saturday (3/6) at 10 AM.

About the shows the band says:

"We're still working on the set list for these summer shows, but this time it will cover the whole history of the band, and I can hint that we will be playing a taster from the new album. We already have the designs for the new Final Frontier stage show which we are building to bring out with us, so this summer tour will be a bit of a preview for the fans. It's certainly looking very spectacular at this stage and with a brand new Eddie and an amazing light show!"

"We are also trying to ensure that our fans get the tickets they want close to the stage without paying over the odds to ticket scalpers. This is something our manager Rod is working hard on so we hope to see many more familiar faces down the front having a great time. We will see you all soon"

Continue reading "Iron Maiden & Dream Theater - 2010 Tour Dates (MSG)"

As previously mentioned, Lady Gaga added two NYC shows at Radio City Music Hall making her grand total a crazy four nights in a row at the prestigious venue. Kid Cudi opens all of them. Tickets for the two new ones (1/23 & 1/24) are on sale (@ 10am).

Tickets are also on sale (@ 10am) for the upcoming Slayer, Megadeth and Testament show at the Izod Center in NJ - part of the "American Carnage Tour".

In somewhat related news, Paul Di'Anno (the original Iron Maiden vocalist) is playing BB King's on January 27th. Tickets are on sale.

Tickets are now on sale for the two upcoming Tinariwen shows in NYC: Highline Ballroom & The Bell House.

Tickets are also still on sale for the David Johansen show coming up at Highline Ballroom.

Popo played Le Poisson Rouge with Sleigh Bells last night. Popo has been added as opener on the December 13th Lee Scratch Perry show at Highline Ballroom. Tickets are still on sale.

Tickets are also still on sale for the Slits show happening at Highline Ballroom one day later.

Tickets are also still on sale for the Life of Agony show happening at the same venue one day after the Slits.

Blind Pilot and Laura Veirs play Friday night (tonight - 11/20) at the Bell House. Tickets are still on sale.

A video of Maiden performing "Phantom of the Opera" when Paul was still in the band, and the audio of Paul covering Megadeth, below...

Continue reading "Lady Gaga, Slayer/Megadeth/Testament, Tinariwen, and other tickets on sale"

Paul Weller and Adele @ the Brits

Success in the Brits - 18th Feb 2009

Evening all,

As you probably know by now, PW was successful in tonight's Brit Awards winning Best Male Solo Artist. OK so he wasn't there to collect it in person but we did get a video with Adele passing the award over.

What can you say? Well deserved for a top year.

Well done feller.

As previously announced, PW will be visiting the United States to play Coachella on April 19th. Add to that trip a pre-Coachella San Francisco show, and an April 24th show at Nokia Theatre in NYC. Tickets for the latter go on sale Friday at noon. All known dates below...

Continue reading "Paul Weller won a Brit Award, playing NYC after Coachella "

by Ryan Barkan

Gogol Bordello @ Irving Plaza (more by Jefferson)

The second edition of this controversial new feature is back. "It's Not Selling Out Anymore" (or is it?)...

Aggressive racing game, Motorstorm, was one of the most successful titles for the Playstation 3 in 2007 (selling over three million copies world wide). It was only natural then, that Sony Computer Entertainment would get a sequel out in 2008. Enter Motorstorm: Pacific Rift. The game recently hit shelves in the US at end of October and in the UK this past week. The TV spot announcing the new game brilliantly matched Motorstorm's crazy, edgy style of racing on tracks in exotic locations with the "authentic energy" of Gogol Bordello's "Wonderlust King." Watch the video of the commercial below. Gogol Bordello tour dates are HERE.

While Gogol did not make the in-game soundrack, David Bowie, Clutch, Megadeth, The Hives, Simian Mobile Disco, Death From Above 1979, and more all made the cut. Eight of the forty-five songs are exclusive to the game including a remix by Diplo of Nirvana's "Swap Meet" *.

Speaking of exclusives, The Ramones' classic jam "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker" was covered by Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and singer Jemina Pearl (from the now defunct Be Your Own Pet). Their version exclusively premiered in this past week's episode of Gossip Girl. Love & Rockets made the episode too...though not as an exclusive.

Other Notable Licensing News:

On the tube, One Tree Hill had songs by Ra Ra Riot and Margot & the Nuclear So-So's; 90210 had Florence & The Machine, The Raconteurs, and The Bravery; Grey's Anatomy had The Bird And The Bee, Whitest Boy Alive, and Brett Dennon.

M83's "You, Appearing" provides a solemn background to a French commercial for Douleurs' "Pain Without Borders" commercial. Watch the video below. M83 is currently on a tour of the US (and in NYC this week).

Cadbury's new "Favourites" commercial features the song "Stars and Sons" by Canadian supergroup Broken Social Scene. Watch the video below. Pics from the band's recent show at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple can be seen HERE.

Supreme continues its love for musical collaborations with the announcement of a Bad Brains x Supreme collection. The line consists of a couple hoodies, a t-shirt, and two different styles of Vans shoes. Bad Brains have been busy lately playing shows in Austin, NYC and elsewhere.

Vans recently released its fourth Iron Maiden tribute shoe, this time featuring the artwork from the Powerslave album. The Sk8-Hi and slip on models are available at the vans online store as well as local distributors.

Videos below...

Continue reading "It's Not Selling Out Anymore -- This Week in Music Licensing"

Iron Maiden kicking a ball after blowing the speakers

The sound suddenly and unexpectedly went off during Iron Maiden's set at their sold out show in NYC last night (June 15, 2008). One second there was really loud heavy metal blasting out to 20,000 headbanging fans at Madison Square Garden. The next second it got really quiet from the stage and then stayed that way for about 10 minutes. With music out of the question and technicians scrambling around the stage, the band entertained us by showing off their (and their mummy's) skills at football (they're from the UK)....

Continue reading "Iron Maiden played soccer (and rocked) @ MSG (video) "

by Black Bubblegum

DOWNLOAD: The Sword - "Fire Lances Of The Ancient Hyperzephyrians" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Soilent Green - "Antioxidant" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Iron Maiden - "Intro", "Aces High", & "Two Minutes To Midnight", Live in Tokyo Feb 16th, 2008 (VIDEO, WMV)

Neurot Recordings have announced details for THREE Neurosis-related releases in the next two months! First up, a new solo album from the mighty Scott Kelly, who will release The Wake on May 5th, his first release in the seven years since his debut Spirit Bound Flesh. Two weeks later, the world's most intense elementary school teacher Steve Von Till drops A Grave is a Grim Horse, his first non-Harvestman release in six years (Harvestman recently collabo'd with Fear Falls Burning). More details on A Grave Is A Grim Horse can be found here. The third we knew about, but has now gone official: A Storm Of Light's debut And We Wept the Black Ocean Within will be released on June 2nd. Read our recent interview with Josh Graham here.

Tickets for the previously mentioned second At The Gates show go on sale Thursday April 3rd at 10 AM here. Tomas Lindberg's other band, the mighty Disfear, have announced a few more dates, including another show in Brooklyn at Europa on May 22nd with Trap Them and Bloodhorse! Ticket info for Disfear at Europa isn't available, but there are still tickets for their show at the Knitting Factory. New tour dates are down below.

MUCH MORE..............

Continue reading "This Week In METAL (04/02/08)"

by Black Bubblegum, photos by Hardcore Shutterbug

You had a giant set made to look like a pyramid tomb, a setlist of songs from the 80s, old dudes in leather pants and cut-off tees, multiple costume changes, pyro, coordinated guitar line dances, the guitar-as-machine-gun poses, and fog machines galore (with all the fog on stage, I half-expected the guys to break out into "Stonehenge").

As a sum of those parts, it is easy to see how Iron Maiden's March 14th show at the Izod Center could have been utter "fromage", but when you are dealing with a band as tight as Maiden, a fanbase as rabid as theirs, and a setlist culled from the elite of arguably the best era of their career, you can only expect an excellent show (which it definitely was).

In related news, May 13th will see the release of Somewhere Back In Time, a "best of the 80s" comp that will be offered as a free download of "high quality WMA files" that expire after three plays. It comes out on CD the same day. Check it out and then work them vertebrae at one of their newly announced shows (an extension of the previously mentioned tour) including one night at MSG in NYC (on June 15) and another at PNC Bank Arts Center in NJ (on June 14). A Fan Club only presale begins today (3/19) at 10AM, a ticketmaster presale begins Friday (password=rock), and tickets go on regular sale on Saturday (3/22).

More photos from the Izod Center show, the 'best of' tracklist, and all tour dates, below......

Continue reading "Iron Maiden played NJ, pics, more shows (MSG/PNC), 'best of' "

by Black Bubblegum

DOWNLOAD: Disfear - The Cage from "Live The Storm" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Saviours - Cavern Of Mind from "Into Abandon" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Wolves in the Throne Room - I Will Lay Down My Bones Among the Rocks and Roots from "Two Hunters" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Kylesa - Where The Horizon Unfolds from "Time Will Fuse Its Worth" (MP3)

Disfear will bring "The Storm" across North America in April, including an appearance at the New England Hardcore & Metal Festival (that bill is unbelieveable), the Maryland Deathfest, and the Knitting Factory on April 16th with Bloodhorse. Tickets are on sale.

Unfortunately, the obituary (not the legendary band) section for this week is way too big. Modern Life Is War has called it a day, their recently announced spring tour will be their last. Check out tour dates below and get out to the show! Prog-metal legends Voivod have announced that their next LP for The End, constructed by riffs left behind by Dennis "Piggy" D'Amour, will be their last. Piggy succumbed to colon cancer in 2005. Current members Snake, Away, and Jasonic (aka Jason Newsted, ex-Metallica), will join ex-members Blacky and E-Force to put together the final 13 songs, and possibly do some farewell shows.

Continue reading "This Week In METAL (03/01/08)"

Tickets are on pre-sale for the NJ show. (code=manjiai) (thx Mischa!)

To tie in with forthcoming 2008 releases on DVD of the classic "Live After Death" concert video (full details coming soon) this tour, aptly entitled "Somewhere Back In Time", will revisit the band's history by focusing almost entirely on the '80s in both choice of songs played and the stage set, which will be based around the legendary Egyptian production of the 1984-85 "Powerslave Tour". This will arguably be the most elaborate and spectacular show the band have ever presented, and will include some key elements of their "Somewhere In Time" tour of 1986/7, such as the Cyborg Eddie. [Blabbermouth]

Continue reading "Iron Maiden - 2008 Tour Dates (songs from the 80's)"

Street Team shenanigans (CRED)

A bus, and a bowling alley too....

Continue reading "VIDEO: White Stripes in a bowling alley"