Julian Casablancas @ Downtown Palace Theater in L.A. (more by Darren Kim)

CNN: What was your reaction when NME called "Is This It" the album of the decade?

Casablancas: Unbelievable. I hadn't thought about it, but it's really weird. I like it, though.

CNN: What stood out for you in this life-changing decade?

Casablancas: Probably that: having people or magazines say that your album is the best of the decade. That's not something I ever thought in my wildest dreams.

Julian Casablancas played a five-show run at L.A.'s Downtown Palace Theatre in November. Back then it was reported (by Julian in the NY Times) that he'd be doing a "New York residency" in January, but it looks like he changed his mind. It's been announced that he'll play Terminal 5 on Thursday, January 14th. There's a pre-sale for tickets happening now. Tickets go on general sale Friday, December 11th at noon. More shows TBA?

What about the band with NME's album of the decade?

Julian Casablancas, the front man of the Strokes, told Billboard that the group would headline the Isle of Wight festival in Britain on June 12, alongside Jay-Z; the performance will probably be followed by other summer concert appearances in Europe and North America. "When we meet with the band and talk and play music, it's just a different level of ease and comfort," Mr. Casablancas told Billboard. "Everyone's more easygoing and everyone feels more confident and just trusts each other a little bit." [NY Times]

Hopefully Julian doesn't change his mind about that too.

One of the bonus tracks on Julian's Phrazes For The Young is a cover of the SNL song "I Wish It Was Christmas Today" (it's also a limited 7"). Both versions of the track (videos) and all tour dates (he has a string of Europe/UK shows this December) are below...

Continue reading "Julian Casablancas playing T5 in NYC (and covered SNL holiday song), Strokes playing Isle of Wight (and top NME albums of the decade list)"

In the midst of his first college tour, promoting his latest #1 album The Blueprint 3 and his recently released video game sensation "DJ Hero: Renegade Edition," the unstoppable JAY-Z confirms North American tour dates for 2010's BP3 tour. The Live Nation-produced tour will come to the NY area for two dates - March 6 at Izod Center and March 12 at Nassau Coliseum. JAY-Z will be joined by Grammy-nominated rapper Young Jeezy who will open all dates on the tour.

Tickets for the Izod Center performance are $139.50, $99.50, $69.50 and $39.50. Tickets for the Nassau Coliseum performance are $129, $99, $69 and $39. Both shows go on sale to the public Saturday, November 21 at 10am.

Tickets to all shows are currently on Citi Cardmember presale.

The Nassau Coliseum date is new since my last post. Jay also canceled all four 2009 dates that were listed in that post. He cited "unforeseen scheduling conflicts." All dates below...

Continue reading "Jay-Z cancels some dates, adds others (Nassau Coliseum) "

photos by V. Marc Fort (American-Statesman critic & Norushi Minx bassist)

When Jay-Z wasn't showing the Texans how his crew does it in Brooklyn, he spoke from the heart during his between song banter. "I know it sounds cliche, but don't let any haters block your dream," Hova said earnestly during one of the final breaks. Another one of the show's more intimate moments came when he brought up vocalist Bridget Kelly for two songs. After her inspired assist on "Empire State of Mind," Jigga Man smiled his biggest smile of the evening and said, "Damn...she put something extra on it for Texas...she put some extra bar-b-que sauce on it for Texas!" - V. Marc Fort

N.E.R.D. opened the show at the Frank Erwin Center at the University of Texas in Austin on Tuesday (11/10). The full setlist and more pictures below. A couple of weeks earlier Jay-Z did "Empire State of Mind" (the new 'New York, New York'?) with Alicia Keys at Yankees Stadium to kick off Game 2 of the World Series. That video is below too.

Jay-Z returns to Austin for another show on November 22nd (November 22nd was moved to November 10th). It's one of four more shows he has this month. Then in February of 2010 he'll get on the road again with a NYC-area show announced for March 6th at the Izod Center in NJ. Tickets for that show go on Citi Cardmember Presale on Tuesday, 11/17 @ 10am. That's followed by an "Internet Presale" two days later which is followed by general sale two days after that (Sat, 11/21 @ 10am). All dates, with the other stuff, below...

Continue reading "Jay-Z - 2010 Tour Dates (Izod Center) ++ pics & the setlist from the Austin show @ the Frank Erwin Center"

Best of 2009: Top 10 Amazon Picks

1) Neko Case
2) Yeah Yeah Yeahs
3) Phoenix
4) The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
5) The Avett Brothers
6) Girls
7) Animal Collective
8) K'Naan
9) Jay-Z
10) Camera Obscura

Two of Amazon's Top 10 bands are playing shows in NYC tonight (11/6): Girls and Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

rainy Yankees Stadium (Kevin H.)

The lyrics to Jay'z "Empire State of Mind" are sometimes as raw as New York, but it looks like the rapper will clean up that language when he performs his city anthem at the World Series.

A source close to the rapper who requested anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak on the matter says Jay-Z won't utter curses or other raw language included in his hit, which has been blasted by the New York Yankees during their playoff run.

Jay-Z and fellow New Yorker Alicia Keys were due to perform "Empire" before Game 1 between the Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday at Yankee Stadium. But because of rainy weather, their performance will now be on Thursday. It's not clear if Game 1 will be postponed. [AP]

On the World Series, which he'll be kicking off on Wednesday with a performance of "Empire State of Mind":

Jay-Z: I actually predicted the Yankees in six with the Angels, so I think I'm like Jigga the Greek. I'm gonna say, Phillies are a bit tougher than the Angels. I'm gonna take Yankees in seven. Dramatic A-Rod walk-off at the end of the game redeeming him for all the time the papers and the media vilified him. Is that specific enough?"

Yes, Jay-Z will be performing "Empire State of Mind" with Alicia Keys before Game 1 on Wednesday. The video for that song below...

Continue reading "World Series kicks off Wed., Jay-Z predicts Yankees take it in 7, singing 'Empire State of Mind'w/ Alicia Keys"

Daft Punk's first album had helped refresh house music in the mid 1990s; the second went further, rewriting electronic pop's pleasure principles to such a degree that when it came out a lot of people thought Discovery must be a put-on. They took the joy in the record for irony. Rather, the band had simply plunged into the raw popstuff of their 70s childhoods, from AOR to disco, Buggles to Manilow, rock to robotics. They wanted their listeners to get the rush of context-free delight they had hearing music as kids, and on "Aerodynamic" and "Digital Love" they succeeded wildly, dissolving a decade-plus of dance music good taste. And not all of Discovery looked back. The middle of the album is house music as string theory, with the duo finding dimensions of pleasure coiled within the tiniest loops: "Crescendolls" releases an awesome, gleeful energy by repeatedly triggering one five-second sample.

Discovery was simply the decade's best good-times record, with Daft Punk as pyramid-toting party wizards and the chipmunk Kraftwerk of "Harder Better Faster Stronger" their anthem. But this most celebratory of records has a bittersweet streak, too: Daft Punk know that a rush always carries the risk of exhaustion. Perhaps the album's most underappreciated track is the sad but gorgeous "Short Circuit", a three-minute robot graveyard of crumbled transistors and dying LEDs. But from Romanthony's first blissful, vocoded shout of "one more time!" the dominant emotion on Discovery is joy. A joy that wasn't afraid to be sentimental and funny as well as hard and futuristic, and is all the better for that. When a generation looks back and tries to catch a fuzzy hold of the music that made them happy this decade, Daft Punk's will be top of the list. --Tom Ewing [Pitchfork]

Daft Punk grabbed the #3 spot on Pitchfork's list of the Top 200 albums of the 2000s (now fully announced) (yesterday they were only up to #21). The top 20 are also listed below...

Continue reading "Pitchfork announces the top 20 albums of the decade "

photos by Brian Ach/WireImage

"It was 09.09.09, a date burned into the popular consciousness as an almost astrological convergence of music and technology marketing. The date had been set, the branding tie-ins had been tied in, and the product was all set to go on sale to a salivating public.

No, not The Beatles: Rock Band. And not Apple's latest iTunes tweaks, either. Rather, it was time to promote "The Blueprint 3," the latest release in the ever-expanding franchise known as Jay-Z.

For the occasion Jay-Z performed a guerrilla show on Wednesday night at the Blender Theater at Gramercy, a 600-capacity club on East 23rd Street in Manhattan, with help from MySpace Music and DJ Hero, a new video game that adapts the Guitar Hero model for hip-hop. It was announced barely 24 hours before, and 250 fans were given free tickets. (The other 350 or so in attendance were assorted V.I.P.'s from the companies involved, and from the news media. They didn't pay, either.)

Jay-Z's 74-minute, 25-song set, played with a 10-piece band that included two drummers and a three-part horn section, was a muscular, virtuosic and totally satisfying performance, both in older hits like "Big Pimpin'" and "99 Problems" that are now hip-hop standards, and in material from "The Blueprint 3." But that was only part of the experience. Before his set the audience was held captive to a demonstration of DJ Hero -- its controller resembles a turntable and crossfader, and the player scratches virtual vinyl..." [NY Times]

9/9/9 also marked a performance of Boadrum 9 by the Boredoms and the opening of the new Knitting Factory in Brooklyn (not to mention the date of a Motorhead concert at Roseland Ballroom). There was also a spotting of the mysterious Jeff Mangum on that date (last night) which is a nice addition to the overall mythology (apparently he was in the crowd, but unfortunately not on stage, at the Circulatory System show at Le Poisson Rouge) (he appears on their new album) (more on that later).

More Jay-Z show pictures below...

Continue reading "Jay-Z (and DJ Hero) @ Gramercy Theatre in NYC - pics "

Jay-Z's new album, The Blueprint 3, is out today (September 8, 2009). Jay-Z is playing a free MySpace Music Show tomorrow (September 9th) at Blender (Gramercy) Theatre, presented by the video game DJ Hero. Entry for the public is being limited to 200 tickets, which will be available tomorrow at 10am, if you want to wait in line. Full details are below.

Jay-Z plays a charity show on 9/11 at the considerably bigger Madison Square Garden. Tickets for that went on sale this morning. A few hours before that, Jay appeared on Hot 97's morning show with Cipha Sounds & Rosenberg. Video from that appearance with the Gramercy show info, below...

Continue reading "Jay-Z - new album out - playing NYC' Gramercy Theatre Wed."

Tickets for the 9/11 Jay-Z show are now on Citi Presale. They go on general sale at noon. As they pointed out in the press conference, every seat in the house costs $50 $54.50 + fees (the best seats are the same price as the worst seats) (it's all for charity).

Screaming Females @ The Yard last Saturday (more by Sarahana)

tonight in NYC
* DANCE
* David Bazan on the LES
* The Roots @ Highline Ballroom
* Pet Shop Boys @ Hammerstein Ballroom
* The Killers & Wolfmother @ Jones Beach Theater
* Stardeath & White Dwarfs, Dinowalrus @ Maxwell's
* Bushwick Book Club: Short Stories @ Goodbye Blue Monday
* Graffiti Monsters, GDFX, Starscream, Covox @ Shea Stadium
* State Champion, Giving Up, Cabinet of Natural Curiosities @ Union Hall
* Screaming Females, Shellshag, You Without Teeth, Black Wine @ Mercury Lounge

Pet Shop Boys play the first of two nights at Hammerstein Ballroom.

Screaming Females killed it at the Yard on Saturday. They headline tonight at Mercury Lounge with Shellshag, You Without Teeth and Black Wine. They've got more dates coming up too.

Bushwick Book Club at Goodbye Blue Monday gets self-referential this month, with a night of songs based on short stories written by past Bushwick Book Club performers. The lineup includes Corn Mo, Franz Nicolay, Brer Brian, Susan Hwang, Ben Krieger, Lenny Molotov, Laura Brenneman, Deenah Vollmer, Phoebe Kreutz, Maria Sonevytsky and Buffy Rosanne. The flyer is below.

The Roots continue their weekly residency at Highline Ballroom.

MTV is streaming Jay-Z's new Blueprint 3. Jay-Z is playing a benefit show on September 11th at MSG. He recently held a press release about the planned show, which is embedded below along with a creepy video of Beyonce & Solange, who came with Jay-Z, to the Pool Party on Sunday (maybe you've heard?)..

Sorry for the delay in getting this post up. Nothing is going right lately.

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Tuesday?"

photo by Tim Griffin

The story of the day, Sunday, August 30th, would have been that, after an opening set by Beach House (who played after Vega) followed by a brief introduction by Senator Chuck Schumer, Grizzly Bear closed out the 2009 Pool Party season at the Williamsburg Waterfront with a beautiful 1+ hour set in front of the Manhattan skyline on a perfect Brooklyn day. Instead, Solange Knowles and her sister Beyonce who brought her husband Jay-Z decided to show up and watch Grizzly Bear from the soundboard. And that become the real topic of conversation for twitterers, texters, and the throngs of people walking toward Bedford around 7:30pm when the concert was over.

According to Schumer, he's going to fight to bring free concerts back to the same park next year. The status of that is currently unknown. It's possible JellyNYC may need to look for a new location for the free shows again. Maybe they should bring concerts back to McCarren Pool, or do they really think they're turning that space back into a swimming pool anytime soon?

More pictures and a full review of Sunday is coming soon HERE. In the meantime, check out some videos from the GB/BH/JZ show, and a few more pictures, below...

Continue reading "Grizzly Bear, Jay-Z & Beyonce @ the Williamsburg Waterfront Pool Party - a few pics & videos "

Jay-Z @ All Points West 2009 (more by Tim Griffin)

"ABSOLUT(R) VODKA, the world's most iconic vodka, announces a creative collaboration with Madison Square Garden that will offer music fans an unparalleled series of high-profile concerts at the iconic venue. Showcasing performances ranging from rock-and-roll heavyweights to country crooners, these two legendary brands will work together to bring music lovers of all kinds the ultimate concert experience as only The Garden can offer. To kick off the series, ABSOLUT and Madison Square Garden will host a once-in-a-lifetime benefit show featuring hip-hop impresario JAY-Z on September 11, 2009, to aid the New York Police & Fire Widows' & Children's Benefit Fund. The highly-anticipated performance will air live and commercial-free on Fuse TV at 9pm...

...The on-sale date and method of purchase for tickets to the concert will be announced shortly. After the announcement, Citi card members will have access to presale tickets through Citi's Private Pass(R) program. For complete presale details visit: www.citiprivatepass.com and for more information on programming surrounding this event, go to www.fuse.tv/jay-z."

Jay-Z's new song "Run This Town" features appearances by Rihanna and Kanye West. The official video for that is below...

Continue reading "Jay-Z playing 9/11 benefit show @ MSG, the first in a series of Absolut-sponsored shows ++ it will air on Fuse"

"GET WELL MCA" (more by Tim Griffin)

hey all,

hope you are doing well.

so i'm about a week and a half out of surgery now and rapidly recovering from it. i haven't taken any of the pain meds, which supposedly speeds along the healing process, or should i say, taking them slows it down. anyway, i spent 1 night at the hospital after the surgery. the hospital was too crazy to get any rest so i headed home to relax, have home cooked food and hang out with the family.

i'm pretty well detoxed from the anesthesia that they pumped me up with to keep me under for all that time. that took several days to get out of my system. my neck and jaw are still pretty stiff from the surgery, but it gets better everyday. had the stitches out this past monday... so things are moving along.

but no sooner am i on the mend from this first torture than are they lining up the next one. the next line of treatment will be radiation. that involves blasting you with some kind of beam for a few minutes a day, 5 days a week, for about 7 weeks. that will start in a few weeks...

saw the jay-z cover of no sleep, and the coldplay one of fight for your right from APW on youtube. good shit. and i heard karen o a "get well MCA" armband, and that q-tip gave a shout out too..... very kind of them.

just wanted to thank them and everyone else who sent positive thoughts my way. i do think that all of the well wishes have contributed to the fact that my treatment and recovery are going well.

much love back at all of you!

adam

Get well soon, and much love back at you too!

Continue reading "a letter from MCA (had surgery, about to start radiation)"

photos by Tim Griffin

For his opening song, Jay-Z paid respect by opening to the Beastie Boys's classic record, "No Sleep 'Til Brooklyn."

"Everybody just started going nuts as soon as they heard the guitars," recalls Lamont Caldwell, a touring saxophonist for Jay's live band. "He's like, 'If the audience was looking for the Beastie Boys, I'ma give them a little bit of the Beastie Boys.' That's completely selfless."...

"One thing about playing with Jay is that he knows how to put on a show," Caldwell said. "After being in the business for so long, he knows how to keep people entertained."

Surprise guest Memphis Bleek played hypeman for much of the set, while Q-Tip, Organized Konfusion and the Pharcyde performed earlier in the day." [XXLMag]

DAY ONE, DAY TWO, DAY THREE. More from day one below...

Continue reading "All Points West Day 1 outtakes (another set of photos)"

photos by Tim Griffin and Chris La Putt

"It was announced during Vampire Weekend's rain-soaked but well-attended 6 p.m. set on the main "Blue Comet" stage that due to the weather, single-day Friday tickets would be accepted for festival entry on Saturday and Sunday. This elicited quite a few cheers, presumably from those who had not already purchased weekend tickets. While the early afternoon had been hot and sunny, allowing for clear views of nearby Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, the storm clouds rolled in rapidly just as Fleet Foxes took the stage at 3:30 p.m. The wind, rain and thunder actually worked as fitting accompaniments to the band's dramatic harmonies, a fact not lost on the Foxes themselves. "We kind of look like a guild of wizards here to deliver an ominous warning," said drummer J. Tillman, one of several bearded members of the band. ""I'm going to leave the stage on a horse." [Billboard]

Before we head out to APW Day Two (schedule here), here are some pictures from Friday (7/31)....

Continue reading "All Points West 2009 - Day One in Pictures"

Jay-Z @ APW in Liberty State Park, Jersey City, NJ - 7/31/09 (photo by Tim Griffin)

Brooklyn's own Jay-Z opened up his headlining set at All Points West on Friday night with a cover of the Beastie Boys classic "No Sleep Till Brooklyn". Was it a fitting tribute to the group that he replaced on the lineup (due to MCA's diagnosis of cancer) or was it Jay-Z's way of reminding New Jersey what he plans on doing with the Nets? OK, I'll go with the former, and it was our own great Jay-Z festival moment (at his first-ever US festival appearance). The UK's Glastonbury got the (less sincere) tribute to Oasis in 2008.

Speaking of Glastonbury, All Points West got its mud... which came from the rain that miraculously cleared up before Hova took the stage (at which point he covered "No Sleep" with the "Beastie Boys at the Garden" line in the first verse changed to "Jay-Z at All Points West.", and then...)

Immediately after that, he performed his own "Brooklyn (Go Hard)."

Later, he dedicated his entire set to Beastie Boy Adam Yauch. It was Yauch's illness -- he has been diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in a salivary gland -- that forced the group's cancellation, last week.

In his 80-minute day-closing set, Jay-Z also performed hits like "99 Problems," "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)," "Big Pimpin'" and "Dirt Off Your Shoulder," as well as his recent single "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)." [NJ.com]

Tons more pictures coming soon. All our APW coverage HERE. Hopefully you didn't throw away your Friday ticket. Saturday's schedule HERE. A few more videos from Friday (including a clip of No Sleep) below...

Continue reading "Jay-Z closes out rainy Day 1 of All Points West (pic, video)"

The big Diesel show happens at Webster Hall in NYC tonight (7/30). Hopefully you already have a ticket or wristband. Special guests at the show will in fact be Lykke Li (who is here to play All Points West and will probably perform a song at Webster Hall with The Roots) and Clipse (who will probably perform a song at Webster Hall with Kanye West) (remember, Diesel likes live mash ups). There's a Jay-Z rumor going around, but all I've heard is "not true". For Passion Pit the Diesel show will be their second with the Roots in two nights. Last night it was on the Jimmy Fallon show. Video from that below...

Continue reading "Clipse & Lykke Li (and Kanye West?) are playing the Diesel show w/ The Roots & Passion Pit (who played Fallon)"

Jay-Z has replaced the Beastie Boys as the headliner of the first night of All Points West in Jersey City (the dates is Friday, July 31).

This show will mark the U.S. festival debut of Jay-Z, who last year performed at a variety of overseas festivals including the U.K.'s Glastonbury, Denmark's Roskilde Festival, Norway's Hove Festival and the O2 Wireless Festival in London. In a review of a recent show, the LOS ANGELES TIMES' Ann Powers said, "Jay-Z shows are fun because the rapper is so adept at spinning liquid gold; his mouth is one of the most nimble in the genre's history, and he uses it to present thoughts that are sharp, funny and resonant" (July 4, 2009).

Grammy winner Jay-Z joins Tool (Saturday) and Coldplay (Sunday) as headliners of the three-day, multi-stage music and arts festival.

It's unfortunate that it went down like this, but I think this replacement more than fits the bill. Jay will go on after Yeah Yeah Yeahs who are the band that replaced the Beastie Boys at Lollapalooza. All Points West tickets are still on sale. Video from Jay-Z's infamous performance at Glastonbury in 2008, and the new APW poster (with full lineup), below...

Continue reading "Jay-Z replaces Beastie Boys as All Points West headliner"

TMZ can confirm that Chris Brown just entered an LAPD station, where he turned himself in to police.

Chris is being investigated by the LAPD for an alleged domestic violence felony battery that occurred early this morning near Hancock Park in L.A. Police officials said earlier today they may arrest Brown when they found him. Well, now they know where he is.

According to the female victim -- who cops refuse to identify -- she and Chris got into an argument which turned violent. Cops say when they arrived to the scene, Brown had split, but the woman had "visible injuries and identified Brown as her attacker."

Brown and his girlfriend Rihanna were together earlier last night, attending Clive Davis' pre-Grammy party -- and both canceled their scheduled performances at tonight's event.

Brown is currently being interviewed by detectives. [TMZ]

Radiohead did show up the Grammys, as did an even MORE pregnant M.I.A.. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss took best album (for an album that came out on indie label Rounder Records). Video of Radiohead and M.I.A.'s performances, and a list of all winners (including Daft Punk) below...

Continue reading "a list of all the 2009 Grammy winners, Radiohead, MIA video"

Paul McCartney, Radiohead, Justin Timberlake and the quadruple threat of Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, T.I. and Kanye West have been added to the performance lineup for the 51st annual Grammy Awards, to be held Feb. 8 at Los Angeles' Staples Center.

McCartney will be backed by Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl on drums, while Radiohead will be making its first live U.S. television performance in nearly nine years.

Meanwhile, Jay-Z, Wayne, T.I. and West will team to perform the hit single "Swagga Like Us," while T.I. and Timberlake will also perform together.

Previously announced Grammy performers include Kenny Chesney, Coldplay, Jennifer Hudson, Jonas Brothers, Katy Perry and Carrie Underwood. [Billboard]

The pictured poster is an actual Grammy promo and Thom Yorke actually appears in a video commercial. Watch it below...

Continue reading "Radiohead (and others) playing the Grammys..."

words & photos by Bao Nguyen

...this was the Obama Staff Ball - the final official event put on by the Presidential Inauguration Committee. Arcade Fire and Jay-Z preformed. The actor Kal Penn, who everyone in the crowd knew as 'Kumar' took the stage. He was a surrogate for the campaign so he spent his time on stage outing by name all the staffers who 'tried to kill him' by texting while driving through snowbanks.

Vice-President Joe Biden and his wife Jill made an appearance and then President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama took the stage. The new president said something to the effect of,"You guys are great." To which someone next to us said,"Hire me!" Hm. Seems to be a theme developing. Free beer dude. [Mediabistro]

The culmination of my past six months of work on the Obama campaign resulted in an amazing night. The Obama Staff Ball, which was also the last official Inaugural event, was held last night (1/21) at the DC Armory. The crowd of about 4,000 people included Obama staff and their lucky 'plus ones'. There was an inspiring speech by President Obama and musical performances by both Arcade Fire and Jay-Z. Frankly, I could not ask for a better ending to my campaign experience. It was especially humbling to hear Win Butler constantly thank us for all the hard work we put into the campaign, telling us they were especially honored to have been asked to play this event. I will not bore you with the details of my life on the campaign, but suffice to say it has been the most memorable experience of my life. It's an experience that cannot be matched and we are reminded that we are in a sort of limbo everyday now that it's all over. As Win humorously remarked in the middle of the concert, "This is the funnest party I've been to for people who have all just lost their jobs".

By the time Jay-Z came on, I was mostly too busy having fun to remember I had a camera, so he's not in many pictures. Check out all of them, and Arcade Fire's setlist, below...

Continue reading "Arcade Fire, Jay-Z & President Obama @ the Obama Staff Ball (pictures & text by Bao Nguyen) (and the setlist)"

So how lucky it is to be one of the staffers working for President Barack Obama over these past two years?

Forget the fact that you worked for a presidential candidate who won (most don't). Or that you probably got tickets to join 1.5 million people at the Inauguration. Or that you got a 50 percent discount on $150 Inaugural Ball tickets. Or that you might have moved into a desk in the West Wing of the White House today.

It gets even better. Word out today is that Arcade Fire, the super-popular Indie rock group, has come to Washington to play a private party for Mr. Obama's staff members at The Armory. (Yep, hard to believe, there's going to be ANOTHER party celebrating Mr. Obama's election). Jay-Z is also performing. [NY Times]

Stay tuned for full coverage of this event from our very own Obama/BV staffer Bao Nguyen (now you know why there haven't been many pictures taken by Bao on this website over the past year). A few minutes ago Bao texted that Arcade Fire was covering their friend Bruce Springsteen's song "Born in the USA".

Bruce performed at a more-public Obama bash on Sunday, and his new new album is now streaming at NPR.

Ted Leo likes to cover Bruce too, and he performed in DC on Monday night.

Tonight is at least the third time Jay-Z performed during his visit to DC for Obama.

Kanye West also managed to get in on the festivities.

Arcade Fire's new DVD/movie Miroir Noir is available now. Art from that above, and below...

Continue reading "Arcade Fire playing for Obama staff as we speak (and Jay-Z), Bruce Springsteen's new album streaming @ NPR"

An Evening with Jay-Z, January 19, 2009 8PM (kepkanation)

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- With George W. Bush all packed up and out of the White House, and Barack Obama ready to move in, hip-hop has never felt more patriotic. And the huge theme for Obama's inauguration weekend has been Young Jeezy's "My President." On Monday night, in the town nicknamed "Chocolate City," Jay-Z drove his audience wild with his new verse for the song's remix.

The show at the Warner Theatre was billed as the "Concert on the Eve of Change," but the crowd welcomed a very familiar Hov game-plan: knock 'em with his own hits and those of his big-name guests.

After "Brooklyn Go Hard," Jay informed D.C. that he was ready for a long night." [MTV]

Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige, and Young Jeezy were among the guests who joined Jay at the Warner Theater last night. Jay was Young Jeezy's guest at a show in the same town one night earlier. Earlier on Sunday was the biggest Obama-related concert of all in front of Abraham Lincoln. Mary J. Blige and Beyonce also performed at that.

The Beastie Boys also played a show in the same town on Monday night.

Jim Jones recently turned himself in to the NYPD after he fought with a friend of Jay-Z.

A snippet of video from the Jay-Z show below...

Continue reading "Jay-Z helped welcome Obama last night @ Warner Theater"

That 2nd Thievery Corporation show at Terminal 5 (Feb 26) is now on presale (password=thieveryretaliation).

Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra are playing two shows at Southpaw in Brooklyn this month. Tickets are on sale for January 30th and 31st.

Busta Rhymes is playing BB King's on March 10th. Tickets are on sale.

Tickets are still on sale for the Ida Maria show happening at Mercury Lounge. Union Hall is sold out.

Tickets are on sale for the Thermals show at The Bell House. The access code is "SALTY", but I'm not sure it's necessary or does anything.

Telepathe are opening for M83 at Irving Plaza. Tickets are still on sale.

Tickets are still on sale for both Cat Power shows happening at the Apollo.

Tickets are on sale for the Frightened Rabbit show happening at Le Poisson Rouge.

Tickets are on sale for the Lady Sovereign show happening at Pianos.

Comedian Marc Maron is performing at Union Hall in Brooklyn on January 15th. Tickets are on sale.

Tickets are still on sale for the John Doe & Exene of X show happening at MHOW on Saturday. One day later they also play Joe's Pub.

Tickets are still on sale for the Great Lake Swimmers and A Hawk & A Hacksaw show happening at Mercury Lounge on Saturday.

Brooklyn Qawwali Party was added to GlobalFEST. Femi Kuti was taken away. It's this Sunday at Webster Hall and tickets are still on sale.

Note that ALL the NYC-area Morrissey shows are going on sale at 11AM on Friday (not noon).

Have you listened to Jaydiohead yet?

Radiohead think Max Silvestri is funny... his Internet Thing anyway. Video below...

Continue reading "the Thermals, Antibalas, Busta Rhymes, Thievery Corporation, Marc Maron, other tickets & stuff"