photos by Toby Tenenbaum

Unfortunately, I missed most of the [CMJ] day panels due to work and school - but I was able to get my badge and head over to my favourite venue, Irving Plaza, to see Jenny and Johnny...

At Irving Plaza, a more mature-sounding Jenny Lewis with fresh material awaited my presence. Jenny and Johnny do drift a bit away from Rilo Kiley by adding a mix of country and a male voice to Lewis's new sound. The country guitar twang on "Scissor Runner" was defintely more pronounced when performed live and was appreciated by everyone in attendance. Jenny also dedicated "New York Cartoon" to the people of New York City, which was something I appreciated...
Jonathan Rice has been a great addition to Jenny Lewis's repertoire. Hope there's more Jenny and Johnny in the future. -[B-Sides]

Jenny & Johnny headlined the Ground Control Touring showcase at Irving Plaza last night (10/19), their only CMJ show . The openers on the other hand are each playing other times in NYC this week. They were Wild Nothing, Times New Viking, Happy Birthday, and La Sera.

Jenny and Johnny are now on tour. More pictures, some videos and the setlist from the show (just the headliner for now), below...

Continue reading "Jenny & Johnny played Irving Plaza (pics, video, setlist) "

photos by Jessica Amaya

Here We Go Magic

Close to a year ago, Here We Go Magic presented themselves as a newly formed quintet, a group constructed around the layered songwriting and folk sensibilities of musician Luke Temple. While the band had a strong head start with Temple's solo album, the eponymous Here We Go Magic, when they arrived at Music Hall of Williamsburg in January to play a headlining gig, the audience's expectations derived solely from the album's representation of a collective sound. Now, after extensively touring behind Here We Go Magic's second album, Pigeons (though it is technically their first as a fully realized band), their listeners are familiar with the cast rather than just the director. And, on Wednesday night at The Bowery Ballroom, Temple and Co. returned to New York City with an expanded collection of songs and a reformed sense of self. [Playtonic Dialogues]

Here We Go Magic played Bowery Ballroom on Wednesday, 10/13, with The Love Language and Delicate Steve, their lone East Coast headlining date before heading across the country to meet up with Dr. Dog (who play T5 on 2/18 - tickets on sale NOW). HWGM will also team up with Broken Social Scene for a trio of Canadian dates in December. Full tour dates are below.

The Love Language have no NYC dates in the near future, though they also played Maxwell's last night and you can catch them at Toad's Place in CT tonight (10/15). The Raleigh band will skip around the East Coast in the coming weeks, including a couple of dates with Jenny & Johnny who play NYC on 10/19 as part of CMJ with the now-updated lineup of La Sera, Happy Birthday, Times New Viking, and Wild Nothing (but not the Love Language). Tickets are still on sale or you can try to get in with your CMJ badge. .

More pictures from Bowery Ballroom, with a video of The Love Language, setlists and dates, below...

Continue reading "the Love Language played Bowery w/ Here We Go Magic (pics & setlist), Jenny & Johnny add NYC openers "

photos by Matt Karp, words by BBG

Jenny Lewis of Jenny & Johnny @ Williamsburg Waterfront

Flipping through the channels the other night, I came upon Inside The Actor's Studio with guest Betty White. They cut to a Golden Girls clip and guess who was holding Rose's teddy bear hostage with a squirtgun filled with red ink? The one and only Jenny Lewis.

Jenny graduated from stick-up kid to professional musician long ago. Rilo Kiley released their first album in 1999, she went solo in 2006, and most recently she teamed up with her boyfriend "Johnny" Rice to write and record I'm Having Fun Now. That album has been out since August 31st, and Jenny and Johnny will hit the road for more shows in October and November. Those now include a CMJ show at Irving Plaza on 10/19. Tickets for the NYC show go on sale NOW (at 10am).

Jenny & Johnny have already passed through these parts, and recently. The band played Maxwell's on 9/21 and two days before, supported Pavement alongside Endless Boogie at Williamsburg Waterfront (where Belle & Sebastian play the last show of the season tonight). We now have pictures from that Brooklyn show.

More of those pictures, all tour dates, and the video of Jenny on the Golden Girls, below....

Continue reading "updated Jenny & Johnny tour dates (now with a NYC CMJ show) ++ pics from their Brooklyn show "

Times New Viking @ Public Assembly in 2009 (more by Ryan Muir)

Pavement's NYC shows (tickets)
Sun Sep 19, 2010 @ Williamsburg Waterfront w/ Jenny and Johnny
Tue Sep 21, 2010 @ Rumsey Playfield w/ Thee Oh Sees
Wed Sep 22, 2010 @ Rumsey Playfield w/ Times New Viking
Thu Sep 23, 2010 @ Rumsey Playfield w/ TBA
Fri Sep 24, 2010 @ Rumsey Playfield w/ TBA

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Times New Viking hit the opening for classic bands lottery. They open dates on the Guided by Voices tour too.

Thee Oh Sees, who were just in NYC for four shows, will play Santos Party House that same, September 21st, night.

Jenny (Lewis) and Johnny also play one other night with Pavement and a show at Maxwell's as part of their tour.

At least two dates on Pavement's upcoming tour are with Sonic Youth (Matador 21 & Hollywood Bowl). All Pavement dates, with openers, below..

Continue reading "Who is opening for Pavement?"

Jenny and Johnny (Jenny Lewis and Johnny Rice) will be releasing their debut LP, We're Having Fun Now, sometime this fall. The song "Scissor Runner" from it is is available online as a free download.

The pair will hit the road this September for shows across the US. On September 19th, as previously mentioned, they'll be opening for Pavement at the Williamsburg Waterfront. They have since also added their own show at Maxwell's on September 21st. Tickets are on sale.

One place they won't be playing is Arizona, which they'll be avoiding becuase of the new immigration law. There's a growing list of artists (which Jenny and Johnny aren't on) who are boycotting the state as part of The Sound Strike, a campaign headed by Rage Against the Machine's Zack de la Rocha. Jenny and Johnny's note about that, and all their tour dates are below...

Continue reading "Jenny (Lewis) & Johnny (Rice) releasing an album, touring - dates include Maxwell's, but not Arizona "

Memorial Day Weekend officially opened the summer, and for those in the Pacific Northwest it also brought Sasquatch Music Festival (pictures from all three days are coming soon). Now the lineup for its Labor Day cousin, Bumbershoot 2010, has been announced. That fest, happening at Seattle, WA's Seattle Center September 4th-6th, will include headliners Bob Dylan, Mary J. Blige, Weezer, Hole, Rise Against, Neko Case, The Decemberists, J. Cole and "one more very special guest to be announced soon."

Tickets (including non-Mainstage 'economy' passes) are on sale now. The rest of the lineup (by day) for the seven-stage festival is posted below...

Continue reading "Bumbershoot 2010 lineup (Bob Dylan... Hole... Mary J Blige)"

Pavement @ Coachella 2010 (more by Rachel Carr)

Pavement - September 2010 NYC tour dates
Sun 19 Brooklyn, NY Williamsburg Waterfront
Tue 21 New York, NY Rumsey Playfield/Central Park
Wed 22 New York, NY Rumsey Playfield/Central Park
Thu 23 New York, NY Rumsey Playfield/Central Park
Fri 24 New York, NY Rumsey Playfield/Central Park

"JENNY and JOHNNY" aka Jenny Lewis and Johnathan Rice will open the newly-added September 19th show. Tickets go on sale Fridy at noon. More dates HERE.