The following review of Day 2 (May 27, 2007) of the 2007 Sasquatch! Festival in George, Washington is brought to you by Jerry Yeti exclusively for BrooklynVegan.com. If you're just joining us, you may want to start with Day 1.

Things kicked off at the Gorge on Sunday with a few more blankets, a nice spot on the terraced grass, and a sweet DJ set by Mix Master Mike. This was followed up by the hip hop duo Blackalicious. Both of these acts got the early attendees jumping. Blackalicious brought out their "Alphabet Aerobics" with its increasingly sped up delivery, but it was "Rhythm Sticks" that got people truly moving. If the ground wasn't on bedrock, the floor would have given way under all that impact.

All warmed up, Bad Brains was the only set on Sunday we were sure not going to miss. While we waited near the epicenter of anticipated mayhem, one of their most enthusiastic fans attempted to get others around him equally as stoked. He singled out a small guy that -as he informed him- was going to be propelled into the air. And sure enough, when the band appeared, he launched the poor kid into the unsuspecting crowd behind him. No, the bedrock below him did not give way. As the mosh pit grew in size, so did the size of the guys thrashing around in it. One giant of a man wore a Professional Slam Wresting shirt and bulldozed his way around. H.R. is a startling front man, appearing quite tranquil despite the tumult below - like a prophet amidst a storm. Dashingly dressed, if you had a video on mute, you would be baffled by the calm on stage, and the reaction below.

Unfortunately that was the last full set on the main stage before Polyphonic Spree had to cease for the blustery wind. It got cold within minutes, and sundown was still four hours away. While the crew re-prepped the stage to handle the winds, and let the worst of them pass, people migrated over to Tokyo Police Club at the Wookie. The Toronto band sensed they were playing for a much larger crowd, and they delivered. Their invigoration and charm very likely won over a few new fans.....

Continue reading "Sasquatch! 2007 | Sunday review in words & pics"

The following review of Day 1 (May 26, 2007) of the 2007 Sasquatch! Festival in George, Washington is brought to you by Jerry Yeti exclusively for BrooklynVegan.com

For the second consecutive year, strange natural phenomena have marred Sasquatch Festival. This year's mysterious force - Wind - cut short the Polyphonic Spree on Sunday, and silenced the music at the main stage for nearly three and a half hours. As the other stages continued onward, the remaining bands condensed their sets - Interpol so much so that they finished 10 minutes before scheduled. We didn't see all the bands we wanted to - probably the most saddened by the early start times of the Hold Steady and the Blow, but we took in a wider variety than expected.

Saturday was looking like it would be a Day of Duos kicking off with the Blow, but the Two Gallants immediately shattered that dream by becoming the Two-and-a-Half Gallants. That is, with the addition of a partial? third member. We had better luck with Portland's own Viva Voce, who stayed true to the coupling idea and brought some serious rock to the Yeti stage. Percussive, tight, and [as my scribbled handwriting noted] "They Rocked." Anita Robinson has some serious skills on the frets, as her husband does with the sticks. I had forgotten how catchy their album "Get Yr Blood Sucked Out" is. They stuck to most of its material as they finally finished the tour. Over at the main stage, Neko Case, lingerie model extraordinaire, was similarly focusing on songs off the her latest not-so-recent album and included her cover of Bob Dylan's "Buckets of Rain." Sporting some shades in a gesture that spited the clouds that would not, could not hail nor storm, her voice resonated strong enough to the sunstroke folks below.

We weren't the only ones fashionably late to the first day of the festival. Comedian and MC Aziz Ansari missed his flight the night before, but arrived at the Wookie stage right in time for Ghostland Observatory. Battling house music, Aziz got a few jokes off successfully before the crowd began to turn restless. Seattle crowds are pretty rough I guess. Sarah Silverman had even less luck at the main stage. Yikes.

As it turns out, Ghostland Observatory are a big deal in Seattle. Thanks to KEXP, the duo -a true one at that- became a mandatory experience and the attendance at the Wookie Stage showed. Always fashionable Aaron Behrens led us through an energy injected performance highlighted with "Sad Sad City," eventually blowing the power out on the entire stage. Of course they did. With that, things were starting to really get going. After all, Aziz had arrived....

Continue reading "Sasquatch! 2007 | Saturday review in words & pics"

Handsome Furs are not playing Mercury Lounge tonight (May 24) due to VISA problems (which sucks), but Love As Laughter and TK Webb & The Visions will still go on (10pm).

M.I.A. is also having VISA problems again which in turn will not allow her to make her scheduled appearance at the Sasquatch Festival this weekend, BUT Jerry Yeti (not to be confused with the Sasquatch Yeti Stage) will once again be on hand to give us the non-MIA blow by blow. Perhaps he will check out The Long Winters who will be there to entertain us in her place.

Those with epilepsy should stay away from M.I.A.'s homepage. Those going to Lollapalooza should still expect to see M.I.A. there at this point.

DOWNLOAD: Tunng - Woodcat (MP3)

Tickets are on sale for The Holloways (TVT Records), Tunng (Full Time Hobby), Pop Levi (Counter) & Winterkids (unsigned) @ Mercury Lounge in NYC on March 13th. And not only is this show the same night as the "Live from London" showcase at Bowery Ballroom, this show is also a "Live From London" event.

Live from London has been created as a 'shop window' to the London music scene and aims to reflect a typical night out in the city for industry and audiences alike. It is also an additional opportunity to increase the exposure and reach of London acts and music businesses whilst traveling to the US for the Austin-based SxSW music convention starting March 14th.

Jerry Yeti is obviously very excited about Tunng being here. Here are their dates:

Tunng | 2007 Tour Dates
12th - Union Hall, Brooklyn NY, USA
13th - Mercury Lounge, New York NY, USA [with The Holloways]
14-17 - SXSW?
18th - Echo, Los Angeles CA, USA

Most interesting though is the buzzzzzzzz surrounding the "unsigned" band Winterkids. Of course then there's Stylus. You can watch a video.

"Hot Chip blew me away." [Jerry Yeti]

HOT CHIP @ THE SOUTH STREET SEAPORT, NYC | AUG, 4, 2006

photo by Wellington Lee

Ryspace has some MP3s from the show.

After touring all over Europe, Hot Chip are going on their first full U.S. tour in November. Wonderful Shy Child and Born Ruffians are playing on all or most of the dates. They're at Webster Hall in NYC on November 2nd, and they're playing Dave P's Making Time party in Philly the next day. All dates below...

Continue reading "Hot Chip @ the Seaport | 2006 Tour Dates (Webster Hall)"

I couldn't get a ticket. Luckily Jerry Yeti was there. He wrote this post....

"Maybe I'll read off the sponsors again" the MC joked to the audience yesterday as the rain died off and Belle & Sebastian were about to take the stage. He didn't, but he did quiz us on the founding sponsor of the River to River Festival. Hint: it has the word "American" in it and it's not American Apparel.

Continue reading "Belle & Sebastian played in Battery Park"

The following review of Day 3 (May 28, 2006) of the 2006 Sasquatch! Festival in George, Washington is brought to you by Jerry Yeti exclusively for BrooklynVegan.com

A VIEW FROM SASQUATCH!

"There's nothing that makes us feel more like a sissy," Ben Gibbard admitted Sunday night, "than playing after Queens of the Stone Age." Indeed. While we missed the first half of that classic clash of genre, we could only imagine what the organizers were thinking. It wasn't the first odd segue of the day, but for the most part everything else flowed like the Columbia River. Naturally, the Arctic Monkeys should always open for the Decemberists.

Still moist from the day before [read that however you wish], Sunday began with a noon performance by Jamie Lidell, giving us a good reason to chug some Bloody Marys and haul over to the stages early. The ground around the Wookie stage was doomed to be a muddy mess, but squishy socks get dismissed in the presence of the charismatic Lidell. Having missed his recent NYC gigs, I had assumed he's a typical DJ, spinning beats and turning knobs to produce electronic music. Little did I realize that each of those sonic elements -the blips, scratches, and bass beats- are all produced with his mouth, all mixed in with some skat and soulful melodies. The percussive result got us stomping in the mud like a bunch of yeti.

PRETTY GIRLS MAKE GRAVES @ SASQUATCH! 2006

We swung by the Main Stage to check in on Pretty Girls Make Graves playing to an appreciative hometown crowd. Their keyboard player was painfully cute, and possibly the second hottest all weekend [Number One? see Damien Jurado's cellist]. At the same time Chad VanGaalen started off his performance weak but resurrected it fittingly with "Clinically Dead."

NADA SURF @ SASQUATCH! 2006

Nada Surf on the other hand kicked things off strong with "Popular" the only song I knew for sure they sang. Teenage girls were in strong force and we felt certain we'd be rolling our eyes as they swooned around us. [One girl even had them circled on her schedule with a heart]. Instead of dippy teen-rock, Matthew Caws lead us through an array of disarmingly well-crafted pop songs. Caws choreographed the crowd to sway back and forth for "On the Inside," [Ah-hah! Another one I know!] which would have been hokey, if it wasn't such a damn good song. Always looking hip was bassist Daniel Lorca continually smoking his cigarette in complete ignorance –or perhaps defiance- of the festival's sponsor "Tobacco Smokes You."

ARCTIC MONKEYS @ SASQUATCH! 2006

In the interim, the teens packed it in as snuggly as a cartoon of Marlboros for the next act. Such eager energetic acne-ed youth could only mean one thing: Arctic Monkeys. The A'Monks appeared, played through a few disastrously good songs, the crowd responded by going apeshit all around us. Alex Turner informed the cord this was their first outdoor gig ever and thanked us *twice* for making it a good one. That's the biggest complement you'll ever get out of him. Crowd surfing was rampant, with as many as five being hoisted up at one time.

ARCTIC MONKEYS @ SASQUATCH! 2006

With perfect timing, a few rain drops fell during the finale of "A Certain Romance," and we retreated to the back to watch Colin Meloy lead the Decemberists through a delightful show. Average par if you know the Decemberists, but for those who didn't they were a highlight. No surprise there. It was nice to finally hear "July, July!" and sing along with a bunch of ecstatically drunk North Westerners who knew every single lyric. I had to phonetically fake a few, due to my limited vocabulary, but I don't think anyone caught on.

WE ARE SCIENTISTS @ SASQUATCH! 2006

We Are Scientists started their set while Meloy was finishing up, and the magic of the Gorge made it one of their best yet; just one of numerous defining performances all weekend. W.A.S. brought their catchy rock that we have yet to tire of, and some ad-lib banter that was tired before it was spoken, only getting dumber and dumber and dumber. They crack themselves up though, and as long as they are having a blast, it's not to yourself.

MATISYAHU @ SASQUATCH! 2006

Matisyahu seemed to be on everyone's shortlist the Top Five acts to see all weekend. I don't love Matis, but I love that other people love him. From the view from above, he was working the crowd like none all weekend, only comparable to the way Kanye West worked us last year. When a rainbow appeared, he gave us some puzzling theology about Noah and the Ark of the Covenant: something about giving God a second chance when he screws up. And all this time I thought that was *his* job. Oh well. He got the audience grooving to his message and that's all that counts.

DAMIEN JURADO @ SASQUATCH! 2006

Back at the Wookie, Damien Jurado played after We Are Scientists and before Clap Your Hands, a spot originally meant for those Arctic Monkeys. Jurado called it a Rock-Damien Sandwich. "We're kind of mellow if you hadn't noticed," he quipped after a particularly somber number. "A Rock-Damien sandwich? That's some good bread." the cute cellist remarked. While they might not have been the ideal band to play an outdoor festival, it was a welcome change of pace. We were entranced in the slow soft melodies. "Lottery" and "Ohio" were both excellent, as well as closing number, a superb [new?] one with the cellist singing into a small megaphone.

DAMIEN JURADO'S CELLIST @ SASQUATCH! 2006

With the audience now tranquilized, the calm didn't last long as Clap Your Hands Say Yeah floored it. From the first notes onward, Alec Ousnworth was in control in spectacular fashion. Instead of duplicating their recordings on the stage, they play around with the arrangements -adding intros, extending outros- so that while we've all outplayed the songs, they still sound fresh. Furthermore, Ounsworth couldn't hold still; anyone who said he lack presence needs to take another look. The crowd up front sang danced like there was tomorrow, realizing that –oh shit- there was no tomorrow.

We've heard from many that the sound further back for CYHSY was abysmal, so perspectives may vary. From where I stood, it was the most fun show of the weekend. With that, Sasquatch was as complete as it could be.

We moseyed over to the main stage to hang out on the hill for Death Cab, certain they would be worth missing based on past shows, only to realize too late that they too were playing one of their best shows we've yet to experience. Ben Gibbard never looked more at ease than on stage Sunday night in front of 20,000 fans. Maybe it was the Northwest hometown crowd; whatever it was, they didn't play like sissies.

A VIEW FROM SASQUATCH!

Beck closed out the weekend, giving us a fitting send-off with live puppeteers mimicking move-for-move the band's actions, complete with synchronized strumming. When two bears came out to rap and wrestle [don't even ask], two teddy bears mirrored the fight on the puppet stage. The band played percussion around a dinner table, but it was hard to tell exactly what was going on; the cameras were continually trained on the puppets playing percussion on their own faux dinner table, with obviously much less accuracy. For the encore, the opening bars of "Loser" got the entire Gorge in a frenzy, followed by the realization that it sounded too perfect, too much like the album. It was. The puppet lip-synced along but Beck never joined in. Shortly thereafter Beck apologized for covering a song already performed that weekend and then played the Flaming Lips' "Do You Realize."

After some confusion after a awkward pause following the encore, hinting at a second one, the festival was complete... until next year. Maybe we'll have the Les Savy Fav open for Joanna Newsom. Oh please oh please oh please.

Previously
Sasquatch! 2006 | Saturday review in words & pics
Arctic Monkeys' new bassist @ Sasquatch! 2006 | pic
Neko Case, before & during the hail @ Sasquatch! 2006 | pics
Sasquatch! | Hailstorm stops Neko, Trent Reznor bald

The following review of Day 2 (May 27, 2006) of the 2006 Sasquatch! Festival in George, Washington is brought to you by Jerry Yeti exclusively for BrooklynVegan.com

ELVIS PERKINS @ SASQUATCH! 2006

There's nothing worse, we thought; nothing worse than the unforgiving shadelessness in the 95 degree heat in the middle of Central Washington. Nothing, that is, until the hail hit this past weekend for the annual Sasquatch! Festival, which has tripled in size in an effort to pounce on all other festivals in the nation... all at once. [I'm looking at you, Chicago.] With such expansion, the variety of musical acts has grown, and along with it the variety of acts of God. For Matisyahu we were given a rainbow; for Band of Horses a scorching sun. Neko Case? Welts from relentless hail and eternal damnation.

I exaggerate a little. Some say the hail was the size of dice. Others say golfballs. In a week or two, it'll be softballs; and according mythic hail stories, they don't come any larger than that.

Seconds after entering the gate on Saturday we heard the familar voice of New York regular Elvis Perkins singing "Without Love" to a small group at the Yeti stage. Unlike his local shows, here he was playing without his backing band (pshhh, "airfare") and while the band is fantastic, Perkins is just as complete flying solo. As much as we love Elvis -and the the idea of a stage called the Yeti Stage- we stayed for only a handful. He gave me a shoutout though, which my sister thought was cool.

GOMEZ @ SASQUATCH! 2006

Gomez had already begun by the time we joined the main stage and were jamming to "Warm Trombone" followed by an extended version of the title track off their latest album "How We Operate." As always with Gomez, they seemed ecstatic to be playing, as if every performace will be their last. Tom Gray [in flannel] was especailly smiley. That's why we love them.

Over at the Wookie stage Architecture in Helsinki was playing at the same time and already wrecking havock on our schedule. We arrived late, but midway through "Maybe You Can Owe Me" it was clear that AiH could bring a party, even one at 1:00 in the afternoon. They went straight into "Do the Whirlwind" as we started to dance and soaking up the sun. And with the that Sasquatch reached it's first euphoric moment.

The second came only moments later as Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks rocked "Baby C'mon" to those of us wise enough to skip Sufjan. A late addition to the festival, Malkmus played a whole string of tunes off the forgottenly excellent 2005 Face the Truth before going back to some of his older material -I didn't recognize any Pavement however. It's a shame Malkmus didn't tour more last year to remind yet again all how awesome he is. We forget bands who don't tour. Or tour too much. Either way, he went head to head against that Sufjan guy and the crowd was thinner than it should have been.

"WAYNE COYNE WATCHING IN THE WINGS"

With Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips watching in the wings, Band of Horses took over from there and all we can say is, Wow. Of all the bands on Sub Pop that sound alike [Shins, Rogue Wave, Fruit Bats] this latest addition is far, far more engaging. People in Seattle are damn proud of this band and now we can see why. Ben Bridwell sports a pedal steel guitar and some badass tattoos. To fill out their emerging setlist, they included a new song called "No one's Gonna Love You" and an Hall & Oats cover "You Make My Dreams." Bridwell was a remarkably gracious performer. When he thanked the audience for coming, someone shouted "Thanks for the album." He replied "Hey, thanks for the attitude."

If that's not enough politeness for you, try the Ben Bridwell appreciation thread.

We left the Constantines to catch Neko play the main stage. Or so we thought. After only a few songs, the hail began to fall and what at first seemed like 'a really cool experience' quickly became cold, wet, and annoying. Some took cover beneath strangers' tarps hoping it pass sooner than later. Others found more firm coverage. I just got soaked.

"I JUST GOT SOAKED"

Thirty minutes later, the weather let up and Neko never finished her set. The Wookie and Yeti stages closed down for the day leaving Sam Roberts, Matt Costa, Tim Seely, and Common Market without a show. According to the Seattlest, Common Market popped their CD into their van and began to freestyle for the crowds as they made their way out to their cars for dry clothes.

Once the sky cleared, the Tragically Hip played to a crowd soaked to the bone. Most of those excited by this point were Canadians who were equally as interested in the hockey score. The Shins played after them and -I hate to admit it because I love them- they were once again rather forgetable. James Mercer is still an unparalleled songwriter, but as live entertainers they fall a little short from where they need to be. Then again, those who I spoke with loved them just the same.

BEN HARPER @ SASQUATCH! 2006

In a switch of line-up due to the inclimate weather, Ben Harper played next, thus irking many hoping to see the Flaming Lips before calling it a night. We were a little bothered, but wanted to see most of Harper anyway. His show last summer at Irving Plaza, NYC, was supposed to be a rare and intimate evening but turned out to be rather tedious one. This time, Harper was back to form in the grandiose outdoors. He played a two-hour double set show, beginning the second set with three solo and ending the evening on an -ahem- high note: "Burn One Down" and "Steal My Kisses."

For those who had the stamina after the two hours of Harper, the staging for the Flaming Lips was ridiculously long. "This can't be worth it" I thought around 12:45 AM, already seven and a half hours standing at the main stage. The second the Lips started, it was. Totally worth it. The aliens to the left, the santas to the right. Coyne riding the crowd in his giant gerbil ball. The camera microphone. The smoke gun. The green balls everywhere [the size of hail!]. It actually looked like a Jose Gonzalez commercial for a second. And despite the theroretically depleting crowd, the main pit was as packed as it was all day, making for one hell of an insane dance party during the guitar solo in "Bohemian Rhapsody."

FLAMING LIPS @ SASQUATCH! 2006

"Yoshimii" was awesome. Everything was awesome. My clothes were drying. I was tired but my adrenaline was still high. It as with regret that I left the Flaming Lips early, but it was 1:30 and you can't sleep in at a campsite. When you neighbors wake up, you wake up.

That night I dreamt the Lips played till dawn...

Previously
The Flaming Lips @ Webster Hall, NYC | pics

ARCTIC MONKEYS @ SASQUATCH! | MAY 28, 2006

That's Nick O'Malley, Arctic Monkeys new touring bassist, playing his 2nd North American show with Arctic Monkeys @ the 2006 Sasquatch! Festival this weekend.

Photo by Jerry Yeti for BrooklynVegan

Previously
CYHSY's drummer in GNR sweatshirt @ Sasquatch! 2006 | pic
Arctic Monkeys' regular bassist @ Webster Hall

CYHSY @ SASQUATCH! | MAY 28, 2006


That's Sean Greenhalgh from Clap Your Hands Say Yeah wearing a classic Guns N' Roses sweatshirt at this weekend's Sasquatch! Festival. He's clearly getting in character for his last two shows ever as Axl.

Photo by Jerry Yeti for BrooklynVegan

Previously
CYHSY's drummer as AXL | Mr. Brownstone playing Bowery
Sean likes Takka Takka
The Clap Your Hands Say Yeah-GnR-Satanicide Connection
Neko Case, before & during the hail @ Sasquatch! 2006 | pics

NIN @ SASQUATCH! 2006 | MAY 26, 2006

"Nasty weather turned Sasquatch! into a beast of a different sort on Saturday........Storms had menaced the area throughout the afternoon. But it wasn't until singer-songwriter Neko Case and her band took the stage late in the afternoon that a pelting, 20-minute hailstorm brought the festival temporarily to a halt. The hailstorm was so sudden and unexpected that concertgoers whooped and hollered. They'll be talking about it for years to come. Case remained on stage as long as she could, even throwing a coat over her head, but finally gave in to Mother Nature when slush began piling up at the front of the stage...." [Seattle pi]

Stay tuned for full Sasquatch! coverage by BrooklynVegan correspondent Jerry Yeti (who made it out of the hailstorm alive....barely).

Previously
Trent with hair @ Hammerstein Ballroom

Sesame Street is in the air?

Jerry Yeti mashed up the Sesame Street pinball video (1 2 3 4 5...6 7 8 9 10...11 12) with Forward Russia's "Twelve".

Gothamist posted a video of Kermit, Bert, and some hipster Muppets singing about the subway.

DOWNLOAD: Me Lost Me Cookie at the Disco (MP3)

Thanks to all who entered the Cloud Cult contest yesterday. After separating the real entries from those submitted by Jerry Yeti under fake names, I was able to pick a winner. The correct answer was "Mr Tambourine Man".

----

Everyone who played was great, but Cloud Cult truly was the headliner at last night's Movable Hype show at Knitting Factory in NYC (April 17. 2006). By the time the band took the stage, the room was packed with a surprisingly attentive audience that mostly-stayed until the 11:30-end of the moving performance. Everyone I talk to says the same thing - Cloud Cult's live performance is rougher than their nearly flawless album. I think it's more an observation than a complaint though. Afterall, we don't go to live shows to hear the equivalent of a CD being played over a fancy sound system.

We heard a few new songs and a successful rendition of "Transistor Radio" (last time they couldn't get that song to work - this time they ALMOST couldn't). If I only heard that song, I would have been happy. The rest was all a bonus. Ryspace has a much better review AND AUDIO from the evening.

Continue reading "Cloud Cult @ Knitting Factory, NYC | pics"

Jerry Yeti has two Richard Hawley MP3s. The other day I didn't see Morrissey play the BBC Radio 2 British Music Showcase at SXSW. Therefore I didn't see Richard Hawley (formerly of the Longpigs and Pulp) play before him, and Corinne Bailey Rae play before Richard. If I realized Richard was playing Sin-e in NYC on Thursday (March 23), I would have posted it earlier. Right now it's sold out.

The BBC has streaming Morrissey, Richard, and stuff from SXSW.

Consumption Junction posted a live video of 'Insistor' from the the Tapes 'n Tapes show in Baltimore last night. Jerry Yeti posted two new(?) Group Sounds MP3s. Matt posted a live version of Sam Champion's TV Fever.

Productshop presents Noah Chemin from Sam Champion, Group Sounds, and Tapes 'n Tapes (in their 4/4 NYC performance) at Rothko tonight (January 12, 2006).

The afterparty to the sold out We are Scientists show at Bowery Ballroom is at Rothko too. It starts right after Group Sounds. Alternatively, you can check out Benzos along with Melody Nelson and the Misshapes for a party at Joe's Pub. It's also the afterparty for the Five O'Clock Heroes show at Mercury Lounge that White Rose Movement was supposed to play.

Oh yeah, Wilderness are at Pianos with Lolita Bras tonight too.

BONUS: Pitchfork manages to sneak in a dig at We are Scientists, reminds you to get there in time for Oxford Collapse.

TAPES 'N TAPES (photo via How was the show)

Tapes 'n Tapes are the perfect example of a band that I first heard of on a music blog. Gorilla vs. Bear (GVB) is the perfect example of such a music blog.

It all started on November 3rd when a post on Music for Robots led to a post on Gorilla vs. Bear. He wrote: "...So if you take anything away from this post, it should be that Tapes 'n Tapes is really, really awesome, and that if Music for Robots says a band is good, they probably are...."

AND HE POSTED THESE THREE TRACKS (MP3s)
Insistor
Cowbell
Omaha

The same three tracks have since appeared on Sixeyes and the Rock Insider ranked their album called The Loon #21 on his best albums of the year list. They almost made MOKB's list. And just 20 days after GVB first posted about them, he named them #15 on his top 50 albums of 2005 list (yes, he posted his list WAY early). He also posted a lot of other lists...

GORILLA VS BEAR LISTS
* Top 50 Albums of 2005
* Best Songs of 2005
* Favorite Live shows of 2005
* Favorite EPs of 2005
* Top 5 Arcade Fire shows he saw this year

SO back to Tapes 'N Tapes: I noticed they have some NYC shows coming up - three to be exact. (note: I also just noticed that JERRY YETI ALSO TOOK NOTICE OF THIS)

TNT TOUR DATES
Dec 22 2005 The Varsity Theater Minneapolis, MN
Jan 4 2006 King Club Madison, WI
Jan 5 2006 Quiet Storm Pittsburgh, PA
Jan 7 2006 The Delancey New York, NY
Jan 8 2006 Pianos New York, NY
Jan 9 2006 Mercury Lounge New York, NY
Jan 10 2006 The Fire Philadelphia, PA
Jan 11 2006 Talking Head Club Baltimore, MD
Jan 14 2006 Schubas (Tomorrow Never Knows Fest) Chicago, IL
Jan 20 2006 St. Olaf College (The Paws) Northfield, MN
Feb 3 2006 the Cave (Carleton College) Northfield, MN
Feb 4 2006 Terminal Bar Minneapolis, MN
Mar 10 2006 The Cavern Dallas, TX

For a fourth song and up to the minute TNT tour date info, try their Myspace page.

BONUS: Tapes 'N Tapes Guest Blogged You Ain't No Picasso

BONUS 2: Muzzle of Bees interviewed Chris from Gorilla vs. Bear

You already know Editors are playing Mercury Lounge in NYC on January 20th as part of their first U.S. tour. It ends up they're also playing "The (Dark Room) Annex" on January 21st while they're here. Stay tuned for more details. In related news, Jerry Yeti is very happy that The Picture and Head Set are opening the Mercury show.

PLUS: "EDITORS debut record, The Back Room, which has hit the gold record mark in the UK, is now set to be released in the U.S. in April 2006 on The FADER Label/Kitchenware."