photos by Toby Tenenbaum

"Nouvelle Vague went on stage at 10:20 after Electric Black played their second live show (ever). The band made a pledge of solidarity with the protesting Iranian public - with green scarves ties to the mic stands.

NV played a good mix of new and old material the highlight of the show was when Phoebe Killdeer Nadeah decided to climb onto the terrace at the Fillmore. Upon her return to the stage she claimed with incredulity, "can you believe security tried to throw me out!?"" -Toby

Though their new album NV3 doesn't even have a release date in the US yet, the French cover band decided to pay a short visit to the US this week. This weekend there are two shows in California (dates below). This week there was a show in DC, and one on Wednesday night at Irving Plaza in NYC (6/17).

Electric Black play a CD release show at The Delancey on June 25th ("free cd will be given the evening of the show with ticket purchase"). More pictures from Irving Plaza (the Fillmore) below...

Continue reading "Nouvelle Vague & Electric Black @ Irving Plaza, NYC - pics"

The Jesus Lizard @ the primavera festival - May 2009 (Miss Rosa)

"Touch & Go Records is going to reissue the Pure EP and the albums Head, Goat, Liar, and Down on September 22, 2009. These records have been remastered and sound noticeably better than the original releases. All of the albums will include songs from the 7' singles and other rarities as bonus tracks." [David Wm. Sims]

More Jesus Lizard dates have been confirmed, and as hoped, but expected, there are shows in NYC (2 of them!). Slightly unexpected is that those city shows will come over two months after the band make an appearance further upstate at the ATP festival (which is a month after they play a show for Pitchfork in Chicago).

The NYC shows are November 16th and 17th at Irving Plaza. Tickets for the first one go on sale Friday, June 19th, at noon. The second is isn't listed at Live Nation yet. The Jesus Lizard are also playing the 9:30 Club in DC on November 19th. All dates and reissue track lists, below...

Continue reading "The Jesus Lizard - reissues & 2009 tour dates (2 NYC shows!)"

Bob Mould @ Joe's Pub in April (more by Jacob Blickenstaff)

Bob Mould will head out on a full band North American tour this October. That includes a show at NYC's Irving Plaza on Thursday, October 8th. Tickets for that go on sale Wednesday, June 10th at noon. Sets on the tour will include material from "Husker Du to Sugar to Mould's latest Life And Times."

Bob Mould toured solo earlier this year (accompanied on some songs by a bassist/guitarist). The tour included a two-nights run at Joe's Pub. This time his band members will be Richard Morel on keyboard, Jon Wurster on drums, and Jason Narducy on bass.

Bob Mould brings his traveling Blowoff dance party to NYC's Highline Ballroom on June 26th and September 18th. Tickets for those DJ dates are on sale.

We speculated that Mould might be appearing as a guest vocalist with No Age at ATP NY, as the band will perform a Husker Du LP in full. The two have performed together before -- a video of No Age and Bob Mould performing "Miner" and "New Day Rising" in March 2009, with all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "The Bob Mould Band - 2009 Tour Dates (Irving Plaza) "

photos by Paul Birman, words by Klaus Kinski & Black Bubblegum

Aaron Turner of Isis

Isis, assisted by Chi-town's Pelican and local heroes Tombs, hit up Irving Plaza on June 2nd as part of a larger tour for the ex-Boston, now-LA band. The Irving Plaza show marks the home stretch for Pelican and Tombs who have basically been on tour since March, having hit up SXSW and joined forces with Wolves In The Throne Room (who recently played NYC).

Klaus Kinski was at the show Tuesday night, he writes...

Continue reading "Isis, Pelican & Tombs @ Irving Plaza in NYC - pics "

photos by Paul Birman, words by Black Bubblegum

In their first NYC show in eight years, and first since the return of legendary vokillist Attilla Csihar, Mayhem played Irving Plaza last night (5/21) as part of The Blackened Fest with Cephalic Carnage, Withered, and Lair of The Minotaur. When I arrived, I was greeted by quite a few disappointed faces due to an announcement that Marduk would not be performing. Word is that there was an issue with their flights, and that their appearance at Maryland Death Fest tonight is in jeopardy as well. Hopefully Baltimore will have more luck than we did.

Missing Lair Of The Minotaur completely, Withered were setting up when I arrived at the venue. The Atlanta foursome's Weakling-inspired take on Black Metal pleased the sea of Mayhem and (sadly) Marduk tee-shirt wearers. I am not one to encourage/mix it up in the pit (anymore), but it was good to see a considerable amount of movement for the upstart band.

Cephalic Carnage's weed-tech-grind followed, along with dedications to cheetos, masturbation, and glass pipes (that they also sold at the merch table!), and props like a horse mask. It was well-executed and entertaining, but somewhat of a mild comedown following the energetic and pummeling assault of Withered.

Finally, the night belonged to the black metal pioneers. Mayhem took the stage a little before 10:30, playing a set that lasted until before midnight, when they retired sans encore. The core duo of Hellhammer and Necrobutcher with live members Morfeus and Silmaeth banged out rapid-fire blasts of black metal fury, spanning their entire discography.

For all of their impressive technical prowess and energy (lots), the highlight of their live set is the infinitely watchable Attila Csihar. Attila's formidable on-stage presence can only be described as dictatorial; he towers over his bandmates, gives the thumbs down as if he is deciding the fate of a man's life, punctuates lyrics with a clenched fist, and barks at his devoted minions with his thick Hungarian accent. In between a pair of impaled "heads", Attila sang from behind a "tree stump" podium which doubled as an area to hide both effects triggers and various gross-out props. Attila made sure to fondle and rub his face against those heads and an IV cart with dangling arm for further nauseating effect. Kitschy? a little. Fun/ny? Definitely.

Besides being visually arresting, Attila is one of the most versatile vocalists in all of heavy music. Barks, pitch perfect viking vocals, Celtic Frost grunts, screams that last longer than it seemed humanly possible, and what I like to call "squeaking elf"... a low end screech that was part Gollum and part creaking door, were all present and impressive.

In all, Mayhem was pure fun and I already can't wait for Attila's return with sunn 0))) in the fall. More tour dates HERE. More pictures from the show, below...

Continue reading "Mayhem, Withered, Cephalic Carnage (but not Marduk) played Irving Plaza in NYC - pics"

by Black Bubblegum

Attila, all dressed up and ready to destroy! (Photo by Perole)

Mayhem has arrived, both literally and figuratively. After a failed tour attempt in 2007, the legendary Norwegian Black Metal band will concurrently celebrate their 25th anniversary and kick off their first EVER US tour TONIGHT (5/21) at Irving Plaza! Tickets are still available at the door. All dates below...

Joining Attila, Necrobutcher, and Hellhammer (not their real names), are corpsepainted Swedes Marduk, hazy deathgrinders Cephalic Carnage, sickos Lair Of The Minotaur, and blackened doom favorites Withered!

You won't see any pictures on BrooklynVegan by Justina Villanueva for the next month. That's because she is hitting the road with this historic Blackened Fest, documenting her, and Mayhem's, travels along the way. Her first shot comes from a practice session that Mayhem had in the five boroughs... Dig on drummer Hellhammer's kit, and all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Mayhem kicks off tour in NYC tonight - 2009 tour dates"

Leftover Crack fan in Texas (more)

Leftover Crack, Star Fucking Hipsters, Trash Talk, and The Casualties are playing Irving Plaza on July 3rd. Assuming Irving Plaza doesn't get shut down (unlikely) (or even if it does), this punk show is sure to be a good time. Tickets are on sale.

Less of a good time will probably be had at the punk show happening at Madison Square Garden on July 27th. Tickets for Green Day's big NYC show are on sale (@ 10am). They are also playing a few shows at much smaller venues, and Saturday Night Live this weekend.

The opposite of a good time will probably be had at the same big venue on October 5th. The Ting Tings are playing MSG with Pink. Tickets are on presale (@ 10am). PASSWORD = LEAPFROG

Probably fun, but still kind of lame? Aerosmith and ZZ Top play MSG on September 14th. Tickets are on AmEx and Internet presale now, and go on general sale Monday, May 18th, at 10am. It's the same day Kings of Leon play Nassau Coliseum.

Back to good times... Ween are playing the Stone Pony's Summerstage in Asbury Park on July 18th. Tickets go on sale Saturday at noon. Gene Ween is playing Brooklyn on May 21st.

Same venue, same summer (move over Blondie, Pat Benatar and The Donnas): The Pretenders, Cat Power and Juliette (and the Licks) Lewis are playing the Stone Pony's Summerstage on August 9th. Tickets are currently on Ticket Rush presale (password = live), and they go on general sale Saturday at noon. The same three ladies (bands) have an August 22nd Colorado show scheduled, so let's home for a full tour with NYC date too.

Peter Frampton plays Stone Pony Summerstage on August 30th. Tickets are currently on Ticket Rush presale (password = live), and go on general sale Saturday at noon.

And don't forget Kylie Minogue tickets go on sale Saturday at 10am.

photos by Chris La Putt

"Mastodon played the entire Crack the Skye from the beginning to the end, to the utmost satisfaction of those who have been crazy about the album since it came out in March. They were projecting a video collage throughout the whole thing, with clips from old Russian movies, and various outer-space type scenarios. It was pretty cheesy, but it went well with the music. There was something spooky and uncanny about the combination of Mastodon's ridiculously amazing music, and sinister-looking Orthodox priests and iron-clad warriors from the tsarist times.

Throughout the Crack the Skye part of the show, Mastodon had a keyboardist with them. He left when they moved on their older selections. They played a bunch from Blood Mountain, and then a few less from Leviathan and Remission."
[a review from an earlier show on the tour]

Mastodon, Kylesa, and Intronaut are on tour and stopped at Irving Plaza in NYC last night (5/9). They do it again tonight (5/10, Mother's Day) at Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn. More pictures, including one of Mastodon's setlist, below...

Continue reading "Mastodon, Kylesa & Intronaut @ Irving Plaza in NYC - pics "

Celebrating what would have been the 58th birthday of punk icon Joey Ramone, the annual Joey Ramone Birthday Bash will take place Tuesday, May 19th at The Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza. Mickey Leigh, event organizer and brother of Joey Ramone, has announced that, as part of the 9th annual Bash, fans will be treated to a special advance sneak peek listen to rough mixes of never-before-heard Joey Ramone solo recordings. Various producers, including long-time Ramones producer Ed Stasium, are currently preparing tracks for a full album worth of material, slated for posthumous release at the end of the year.

This year's headliners are Fishbone and Supersuckers. The spectacular party will conclude with The Friends Of Joey featuring Richie Ramone, Handsome Dick Manitoba, Jean Beauvoir, Ivan Julian, George Tabb, Al Maddy and Mickey Leigh. Also appearing are Death and Rough Francis (both bands were the subject of a feature story in the New York Times on March 12), Uncle Monk (featuring Tommy Ramone), Bebe Buell, and Tom Clark & The High Action Boys. As the audience enters the venue they will once again be greeted by musician Tracy Thornton, playing Ramones songs on the steel drum. And, in what has become a Birthday Bash tradition, Sean O'Sullivan's Punk Pipers will round out the night on the bagpipes. The fete will be emceed by Matt Pinfield and Peter Aschner. Additional surprises are expected at the evening's events...Net proceeds from the Bash go to support the Joey Ramone Foundation for Lymphoma Research.

Tickets are on sale now. The annual event, organized by Joey's mom and brother, has been happening since 2001.

Videos from the 2008 party, below...

Continue reading "2009 Joey Ramone Birthday Bash lineup & new album info "

photos by Leia Jospe

"at yann tiersen, irving plaza with, probably, every french person in new york city." - Soraya Darabi

"the good news is that we got there early enough to watch the whole thing in the very front! the bad news is : yann + an electric guitar + band - his violin = major midlife crisis. i love this man, but it was awful.

he DID move me to tears when he finally picked the violin up for sur le fil - but 99.9% of the time was alt. rock hell. he even managed to butcher the amelie theme beyond recognition. & there was no piano. or accordion.

why yann, why?! i miss the good ol' days" [photobear]

I never saw Yann during the good ol' days. In fact, Amelie aside, I never even listened to Yann in the old days or the new days, but I do agree that the show wasn't what I expected, and it wasn't that exciting. You can see in the pic above that Yann was getting his Thurston on. "Awful" is kind of strong, but maybe that's because I like "alt rock", though I think my issue was that it wasn't "alt" enough, which I took more as a sign that I went to the wrong show. I wished I was at the Walkmen or Throbbing Gristle's 1st NYC performance - both shows happened the same night (4/16). Oh yeah, the violen parts were the best.

Asobi Seksu are on tour with Yann, and they sounded great as the opener (their first-ever show at the venue). A few of their songs sounded really great on the sound system - a few were so-so. All in all, I'm glad they were there. More pictures from the show (and yes there were a lot of French people there) below...

Continue reading "Yann Tiersen & Asobi Seksu @ Irving Plaza, NYC - pics "

by Andrew Frisicano

DOWNLOAD: Femi Kuti - Eh Oh (MP3)

Femi Kuti, son of legendary Nigerian musician Fela and Afrobeat institution in his own right, is coming to New York this summer. His last set of NYC dates, scheduled for January '09, were canceled, with the rest of his tour, because of illness.

Femi and the Positive Force visit the Fillmore NY at Irving Plaza for two Knitting Factory-presented nights on Wednesday, June 3rd and Thursday, June 4th. Tickets, including two-night passes, are on sale now at LiveNation.com. If you miss them, we suspect Femi might also be back later in the summer.

Other scheduled Femi gigs include Bonnaroo and opening dates for the Dave Matthews Band (an honor shared this spring/summer with The Roots, The Hold Steady, The Avett Brothers and others).

Femi's last record was Day By Day, which came out in November '08 on Downtown Records imprint Mercer Street Records. June 3rd will be his first North American show since its release.

All tour dates and videos of Femi live, and recording and discussing his latest record below...

Continue reading "Femi Kuti - 2009 Tour Dates (2 nights @ Irving Plaza), MP3"

the Hold Steady @ the Mohawk during SXSW (Angelina M)

I didn't catch the Hold Steady show at Irving Plaza in NYC last night (3/30), but I was at the one pictured above which took place Friday night, March 20th, at the Mohawk in Austin for SXSW. The packed show was in a relatively small venue. And as you can kind of see a piece of in the picture, everyone was having a good time during the energized performance. One review says...

"The Hold Steady: Renowned for its prowess in concert, Craig Finn and company are still touring behind last year's superb Stay Positive. Shortly after midnight, Finn strolled onto the tiny stage at the Mohawk, waved to the fans overhead and those in front, picked up his guitar and let fly. For the next 60 minutes and change, the Hold Steady affirmed its standing as one of America's greatest living rock bands, a no-fuss yet deeply poetic group that simply speaks from the heart." [Star-Telegram]

And speaking of small venues, the band, who has already co-headlined the very big Terminal 5 (with a band who has 5 shows coming up at the much, much smaller Mercury Lounge), will return to the medium-sized Bowery Ballroom on June 8th, and then play a 2nd NYC show at the same-sized Music Hall of Williamsburg two days later. Tickets ($20) for both shows will be on Am Ex presale Wednesday at noon, and then regular sale on Friday.

And about last night...

The Hold Steady has become an unstoppable rock machine, with a catalog deep enough for the band to peel off song after powerful song in concert without getting to them all.

That about sums up the Hold Steady's performance Monday night at the Fillmore NY at Irving Plaza, on the second night of an extensive spring/summer tour. Playing to a packed house, the band drew from all four of its albums, with a particular emphasis on last year's "Stay Positive" and the group's first record, 2004's "Almost Killed Me."

Whatever the song, singer Craig Finn did his moppet dance while he sang, waving his arms around and gesticulating wildly while Tad Kubler cranked out huge, joyous guitar riffs like they were some kind of gritty rock 'n' roll astringent, good for a soul-scouring deep-cleanse.

And they were: the crowd sang along throughout, clapping out a staccato rhythm on some songs and pumping their fists on others, all to Finn's evident delight. [listen, damnit]

The band's new live/documentary CD/DVD, A Positive Rage, is out April 7th. All tour dates below...

Continue reading "The Hold Steady played Irving Plaza & SXSW, playing Bowery Ballroom, MHOW & other places (2009 tour dates)"

photos by Jacob Blickenstaff

"PJ Harvey's previous album with John Parish was 1998's Dance Hall at Louise Point, but the 12-year wait was worth it. Harvey's brutal doctrine - that nothing should sound like anything either of them has done before - has produced a thrilling, boundless work. The songs are riots of changing themes and multiple musical personalities. Black Hearted Love, in which Parish's granite riff fuels one of Harvey's best ever rockers, finds two lovers frolicking in the abyss, while Pointless, Passionless chillingly catalogues a stone-cold relationship. April, with its snail's pace, is plaintive and purifying. Harvey's vocals range from animalistic shrieks to haunted narratives, as she depicts everything from the gleeful humiliation of a cuckold ("lily-livered balls!") to the days that follow a death. It all hangs together brilliantly, suggesting the mutual understanding of two artists at the peak of their powers." [Guardian]

PJ Harvey and John Parish have now finished up a short U.S. tour that included a stop at SXSW (pic, setlist), a stop on Leno (Hulu video), a visit to KCRW (video), a show in LA (setlist below), and a show at Irving Plaza in NYC last night (3/26). More pictures from that last one, below...

Continue reading "PJ Harvey & John Parish played Irving Plaza (pics), the El Rey (setlist), Leno (video) & KCRW (video)"

words by Black Bubblegum, photos by Justina Villanueva

Cynic

"Cynic was formed in 1987 by guitarist (and now singer) Paul Masvidal and drummer Sean Reinert who met in elementary school. Soon after they recruited bassist Mark Van Erp and singer Jack Kelly. In 1988, the band made their first recording, simply called the '88 Demo. After the demo, Paul Masvidal took over vocal duties, while continuing to play guitar. The band also added a second guitarist, Jason Gobel. Another demo followed in 1989, this one titled Reflections of a Dying World. 1989 also brought the addition of bassist Tony Choy. In 1990, the group went to the studio to record their third demo, plainly titled '90 Demo. In 1991, Cynic signed with Roadrunner Records and recorded their fourth and final demo, known as Demo 1991." [Wiki]

The reunited Cynic and promising newcomers The Faceless rounded out a whopper of a triple bill with headliner Meshuggah at Irving Plaza on 2/19. The sold-out show marked the return of the highly influential tech-death Cynic to the NYC stage, part of their first US tour since the early 1990s.

Reports from our camp were mixed... photographer Justina Villanueva raved about all three bands, while contributor Klaus Kinski chimed that "Cynic was the low point of the evening", adding that while Cynic were technically impressive, they lacked stage prescence... a sentiment he did not echo for Meshuggah. Unfortunately, I did not make it to the show (blasphemer!), but that's OK... word is, alot more touring is in Cynic's future.

Meshuggah did not allow photography during their set, but Cynic and The Faceless did. More of them below...

Continue reading "Cynic, Meshuggah & the Faceless @ Irving Plaza, NYC - pics"

Guillaume Yann Tiersen (born 23 June 1970) is a French musician and composer known internationally for composing the score to the Jean-Pierre Jeunet movie Amélie.His music is recognized by its use of a large variety of instruments in relatively minimalist compositions, often with a touch of either European classical music or French folk music, using primarily the piano, accordion or violin together with instruments like the melodica, xylophone, toy piano, ondes martenot, harpsichord and typewriter. He has been compared to musicians Chopin, Erik Satie, Phillip Glass and Michael Nyman [Wikipedia]

Yann Tiersen is going on tour! A tour that includes North America and which includes an April 16th show at Irving Plaza in NYC. Tickets are on sale.

Other cities on the tour include Montreal, Toronto, Chicago, Minneapolis, Seattle, Denver, Salt Lake City, Portland, San Francisco, and LA. On May 15th he's playing the Breeders-curated ATP Festival in Minehead. Back in 2003, musicOMH wrote this review of one of Yann's live shows...

He began his set on grand piano - and his piano pieces are rarely other than delightful. What wasn't obvious from listening to his albums was instantly so here - it isn't someone playing melodica or accordion with him as he tinkles the ivories. Oh no. He plays both instruments at the same time.

After each track, rapturous applause greeted him as he shifted between piano, melodica, accordion, violin, viola, bass, guitar and even vocals. A rare chance was afforded to the audience to hear a solo viola piece, Qu'En Reste-t-il? from L'Absente, in which at any moment sparks could have flown from the instrument as Yann fiddled for all he was worth. Here was a man making electricity spark from an acoustic instrument before our very eyes. His playing was enough to make members of his audience weep at its beauty.

All tour dates below...

Continue reading "Yann Tiersen - 2009 Tour Dates (Irving Plaza, ATP UK)"

"On February 17th Robyn Hitchcock & the Venus 3 - comprised of R.E.M's Peter Buck on guitar, Scott McCaughey (The Minus 5, Young Fresh Fellows, R.E.M.) on bass and drummer Bill Rieflin (Ministry, R.E.M.) - will storm back onto the pop music landscape with Goodnight Oslo, the follow-up to their critically lauded 2006 album Olé Tarantula.

Olé Tarantula marked the beginning of a stark renaissance in the career of one of Britain's most enduring songwriters and performers, reinvigorating his unique artistic voice and illuminating his influence on another generation of psychedelic folk disciples. Continuing Olé's trend, Goodnight Oslo explodes the Hitchcock myth with an album of pure pop mastery complete with horns, jangling guitar hooks and signature Hitchcock-ian word paintings that prove the Englishman's creative engine is more fiery than ever. Goodnight Oslo harkens back to Hitchcock masterpieces Underwater Moonlight and Globe of Frogs, with early opinions calling it one the best albums of his already storied career.

The album features guest vocals from Colin Meloy (The Decemberists) and Sean Nelson (The Long Winters, Harvey Danger). One man horn section Terry Edwards contributes signature stabs and sweeps, adding color what Robyn refers to as, "The best record of my adult life," and his unique vision of pop music in a perfect world.

Much about finding a return route out of the rabbit hole, Goodnight Oslo is bright and shining, further delineating this era from the frequently dark nature of his earlier work. Says Robyn, "These songs are largely about breaking out of a negative cycle, and believing that change can happen. It's not a recovery album or a therapy album per se; it's just a sign to the exit."

Oslo comes on the heels of 2 meticulously curated retrospective boxed sets. I Wanna Go Backwards and Luminous Groove combine to reissue six albums (plus 4 discs of rarities) worth of Hitchcock's 1980's Egyptians and solo output." [PR]

Colin Meloy appears on Robyn's new album, and Robyn does the same for Colin's.

Robyn's last NYC show was at Symphony Space. His next one is at Irving Plaza on April 11th. Tickets are on sale. While in town, there's a good chance Robyn will also visit The Red Flame Coffee Shop (W 44th St.), Cafe Figaro (Bleecker & MacDougal), The Campbell Apartments (15 Vanderbilt Ave between E. 42nd & 43rd), Nat Sherman's (5th Ave & 42nd St), Fred's at Barney's (Madison & 61st), and Nikko's (on Broadway & 76th).

All tour dates below...

Continue reading "ROBYN HITCHCOCK & the Venus 3 - new album out now (w/ Colin Meloy), 2009 TOUR DATES (w/ Irving Plaza)"

Vagrant Records and The Hold Steady announce an April 7 release date for A Positive Rage, a double disc package featuring a documentary on DVD and their first-ever live album. The set will be released on April 6 on Rough Trade Records in the UK and Europe.

A Positive Rage captures the excitement and high spirits of both the band and their fans in the days surrounding the release of their third full-length, Boys and Girls in America, (Vagrant) and ensuing world tour in 2006.

The 53-minute documentary begins with The Hold Steady's first ever London performances with never-before-seen live footage, back stage interviews with the band members, fan commentary and the original, raw audio. Cameras follow the band as they return to the US for a 24-date tour that culminates on screen with an especially poignant performance at First Avenue in Minneapolis.

The live album was recorded on October 31, 2007 and includes seventeen songs that Craig Finn, Tad Kubler, Galen Polivka, Franz Nicolay, and Bobby Drake performed on the second of their two-night sold-out stand at the Metro in Chicago. The enhanced album will also feature five bonus studio tracks: "Ask Her For Adderall," "Cheyenne Sunrise," "Two Handed Handshake," and the previously unreleased tracks "Spectres" and "40 Bucks."

The booklet features personal photos and the band's memories of the tour, including this excerpt from Craig Finn... "It ended up being a fantastic suburban blow out with band and audience on the floor, Frisbee and tailgating in the adjoining parking lot, and everyone singing along to every song.... It reminded me of the hardcore shows I loved as a kid, everyone sweating and screaming together in a rented hall. And drinking in the parking lot, of course. The next night worlds converged.... "

The Hold Steady, in addition to appearing at SXSW in mid-March, will kick off their late-March-into-April tour at Irving Plaza in NYC on March 30th. $25.00 tickets to the "WRXP Anniverary Show" will go on sale Friday February 20th at 10AM via LiveNation.com. Openers TBA.

In related Vagrant news, they just announced that they signed the UK's Olivia Broadfield. "I have been blown away by how well things have been going for me over the past year and signing with Vagrant is quite simply the cherry on top," said Broadfield. "I am so excited to be working with Vagrant, they have shown such faith and belief in me as an artist and I know that my album will be in good hands. It's taken a lot of hard work to get this far and I can't wait to take things to the next level with Vagrant by my side."

In related Hold Steady news, the band covered Bruce Springsteen's "Atlantic City" for the new "War Child Heroes" charity comp. "A Postive Rage" tracklist, and all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Hold Steady tour dates (Irving Plaza, SXSW) & a documentary"

We are happy to announce that Polly & John will make a whirlwind visit to the States in March ahead of their album release. They will perform at SXSW in Austin, Texas on Saturday, March 21st. Next stop will be an intimate show at LA's El Rey Theatre on Monday March 23rd before heading to New York for a show at The Fillmore @ Irving Plaza on Thursday March 26th. Polly and John will perform songs from their forthcoming album as well as their first collaboration, 1996's Dance Hall At Louse Point. They will be backed by a band that comprises of Eric Drew Feldman, Jean Marc Butty and Giovanni Ferrario. Tickets for the LA & New York shows go on-sale this Saturday, February 14th and are available from the following outlets:

El Rey - LA, March 23rd
Tickets available on-line at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling 213-480-3232. Tickets will also be available at The Henry Fonda box office which is open Monday - Friday, 10am - 6pm.

The Fillmore At Irving Plaza- New York, March 26th
Tickets available online at www.livenation.com or by calling 877.598.8694. Ticket will also be available at The Fillmore New York At Irving Plaza box office which is open Monday-Friday, 12pm-6:30pm and Saturday, 1pm-4pm. For information, call 212.777.6800

Their new album is called 'A Woman A Man Walked By'. Tracklist below...

Continue reading "PJ Harvey & John Parish releasing album, playing US shows "

photos by Toby Tenenbaum

"Songs are almost afterthoughts for Anthony Gonzalez, the songwriter, singer, guitarist and keyboardist behind the French band M83. He's after enthrallment instead, and on Saturday night at Irving Plaza he had time to be sweeping. M83 is touring as the opening act for the Killers, and was on the bill at Madison Square Garden on Sunday night. But as the headliner at the club, M83 opened for itself with an introductory set of ambient music, pulling listeners further into its otherworldly domain. The band is named after a galaxy." [NY Times]

The M83 opening set was slow, but was then followed an excellent headlining M83 performance. How was it at MSG? More Irving Plaza pics and the setlist, below...

Continue reading "M83 played MSG w/ the Killers & Irving Plaza (pics & setlist)"

So Knowle West Boy is his answer? "I've made this for all my fans. And I'll do that with my next album. Because I'm very punk rock - I do Maxinquaye and people go mad over it, and straight away I do Nearly God to say 'fuck you'. And you get into that sort of attitude, which is great. My fans love Pre Millenium Angels, that's one I couldn't have done without that attitude, but also I feel like I wanna give a bit more now, not critics - I don't give a fuck - but these are the people who've stayed with me. And I've got kids who are fifteen who know me who shouldn't even know who I am. So this is like my people phase, it's exciting. And I think I'm just gonna get better, and that my next album's gonna be much better than this one, because I wanna give. It's a different vibe." [musicOMH]

Like 2009 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Run DMC would say, It's Tricky... On December 17th I posted news of a February 28th Tricky show at Irving Plaza. Tickets were already on sale at Ticketmaster. One day later that show was cancelled. Now tickets are on sale again - same artist at the same NYC venue, but this time the date of the show is March 3rd and the only place (online) to get tickets is LiveNation.com. All other known March dates below...

Continue reading "Tricky - NYC date on sale again, some other 2009 tour dates"

Photos by Tim Griffin, Words By Black Bubblegum

My night was planned. Rival Schools at Mercury. Thats it. Then Rival Schools done had to go and muck it up... announcing that they would open for Bad Brains that same night. So I craiglist-ed my tix, and Bad Brains (their second of two shows in a row at the same venue) it was (11/6/2008).

My evening started halfway through the Trouble Andrew set, and the crowd was having none of it. The pro-snowboarder's (mostly) skatepunk was NOT a hit with the overwhelmingly straight-ahead hardcore (with a dash of reggae, natch) fan base.

"Worst Black Flag ever," said the shirtless man.

It wasn't THAT bad. And as a matter of fact (guilty pleasure alert) I kind of dug the last song ("Drink?") which DID remind me alot of Black Flag's "TV Party" without all that pesky intensity/fun. What was the "decider" that turned me to the dark side? During the "Drink" song, a guy on stage dripping in gold chains and sporting an oversized skull mask "shotgunned" (or rather, attempted to) beer after beer through the mask.

Rival Schools were reliably great, and Irving Plaza was much more forgiving on Ian Love's guitar flourishes (my main complaint from Knitting Factory). Sticking to their setlist from my last two encounters with them (the BV Day Show at Knitting Factory and Syndicate's CMJ shindig), the boys kicked off their set with with "Travel By Telephone" and closed with "Used For Glue" and their cover of The Smiths' "How Soon Is Now?". The crowd was much easier on the hardcore veterans.

Bad Brains finally blasted off after 10:30. Clad in a sportcoat with some sort of body-armor underneath, HR walked calmly to the mic with hands together (in praise of Jah?), and ripped into "Attitude" from the self-titled ROIR record. The floor shook. Over the next hour, the band ran through other selections from the self-titled record ("Sailin' On", "Pay To Cum"), I Against I ("Re-Ignition", "Sacred Love") and even Quickness (Daryl began "Soul Craft" with the album's "verbal" intro), with the audience becoming absolutely unglued. In between the hardcore mayhem (and ensuing mosh-pit antics), Bad Brains slowed it up with reggae such as "I & I Survive"... adding delay to the drums, vox, and guitar tracks for that extra dubby feel.

But it wasn't all chocolate waterfalls and rainbows: The mix for Bad Brains was extremely muddy from my vantage point, favoring Daryl Jenifer's tremendously booming basslines instead of balancing with Dr. Know's ripping fretwork. HR mumbled through lyrics and was off at times. Their set was only one hour long, including the encore, "I Against I".

But for every ounce of criticism that I could possibly lay, postive energy was returned tenfold from the electric crowd, and I just could not help but be swept up in it too.

So what did I learn? A few things:
1) It is possible to take a picture while crowdsurfing (see below) (Tim Griffin take note)
2) Old hardcore dudes still mosh.
3) Bad Brains have still got it.
4) Daryl Jenifer is the coolest motherfucker on the planet.

More pictures, and partial setlists, below...

Continue reading "Bad Brains & Rival Schools @ Irving Plaza, NYC - pics"

words by Party Paul, photos by Zach Stern

Killing Time played the main support for Bad Brains last night at Irving Plaza. The influential NY hardcore band formerly known as Raw Deal played a quick 30 minute slot setting the stage for the DC legends. Focusing entirely on their classic debut release Brightside (aside from one song "Happy Hour"), the NYHC powerhouse made up for sloppy play w/ a sheer hard assault that had the diehards slamming and piling up in the front. Frontman Anthony Comunale reminisced about seeing Bad Brains back in 81/82 and Bad Brains being THE hardcore band of all time. This was also the first time the bands ever played on the same bill. Not the most impressive performance, but for a band nearly two decades into their career it was great to see them having fun up there, and fun was had by all who appreciate angry, negative music.

No Redeeming Social Value went on before them, but I got there too late to catch their set. More pictures of Killing Time below....

Continue reading "Killing Time @ the Fillmore NY @ Irving Plaza, NYC - pics "

photos by Zach Stern

"Hailing from Queens NY and known for their crazy stage antics and upbeat insanity, NO REDEEMING SOCIAL VALUE have been a staple of the New York Hardcore scene for many years. They made their vinyl debut in 1992 and have since enjoyed continued success with many CD and Vinyl releases. In their history NRSV have also toured the USA , Canada , Japan , and Europe numerous times. From playing keg parties in Queens to playing a wedding in the Netherlands these guys have done it all. Even bands like hardcore legends Warzone have covered NRSV songs in the past. Maybe you have heard all of the crazy stories such as past members going insane, being banned in Italy , or the infamous Polish boarder crossing. As for the music, No Redeeming Social Value bring the fun back into hardcore. And when we say hardcore we mean straight up old school no frills hardcore! The way it was meant to be! So sit back, grab a can or bottle of your favorite grog, chill out for the moment, and then hardcore your lousy ass off!" [Dead City]

It was the 90's all over again for those that got to the Bad Brains show early enough to catch NRSV (and Killing Time who went on right after them) last night (11/5). Some older videos, and more pictures from the show below...

Continue reading "No Redeeming Social Value @ Irving Plaza, NYC - pics "

photos by Zach Stern

"OMG. I felt incredible atmosphere from whole stage all the way. H.R. looked like getting old and not shouted no act like ancient himself but perfect. i thought again Bad brains is still living legend. Finally I was smashed and remember a part of thing only."
[EYD blog]

Bad Brains played their first of two shows at the Fillmore at Irving Plaza in NYC last night (11/5). One election-night earlier they played a hometown show in DC. Tonight they do it again in NYC with Rival Schools opening. This weekend they can be found at Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin. More pictures from last night below...

Continue reading "Bad Brains @ Irving Plaza (night 1), NYC - pics --------------------------- they do it again tonight"

words by Showtrotta, live photos by Gabi Porter, portraits by Leia Jospe

Late of the Pier (by Leia Jospe)

Soulwax (by Gabi Porter)

Aside from catching a lot of great new acts during this year's CMJ, the highlight for me had to be Insiders at the Fillmore last Friday (10/24).

Insiders was a "micro-festival" put together by Pete Tong and Live Nation whose goal was:

...to highlight and celebrate a cross pollination of genres, all somewhat considered left-of-center but each possessing the potential to gain mass appeal in the mainstream arena - Insiders is destined to provide a jam packed, quality festivalé of fun and music, redefining the future of electronic music

While I'm not sure if attaching a $55 price tag (though I felt it was easily worth that) to an eight act, one evening, bill was the ideal way of gaining "mass appeal in the mainstream arena", Insiders did provide a lot of fun for everyone present that evening, laying the ground work, and highlighting the future of electronic music. In a time when deejay sets are frequently delivered from behind laptops (which can still be art depending on who's doing it), Insiders brought many electro acts who do more than that to the forefront. Yes, the evening did have its share of deejays. Rob Da Bank, Luciano, James Lavalle, and Pete Tong all managed to get the crowd adequately moving during the time allotted, but anyone there will tell you the true excitement and electricity of the evening came when the live bands joined with electronics during the Whip, Late of the Pier, and Soulwax's performances.

continued below...

Continue reading "Soulwax, Late of the Pier, The Whip & others @ Irving Plaza (CMJ), NYC - pics "