by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: The Legends - Always the Same (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Legends - Seconds Away (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Legends - Play for Today (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Legends - He Knows the Sun (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Legends - There and Back Again (MP3)

The Legends @ the Bell House - June 23, 2009

The Legends played the first show of their East Coast tour last night at the Bell House -- a loud, zippy set (a bit short for a headliner if you ask me), hitting most of the band's singles, including "There and Back Again," "Call it Ours," and the feedback-heavy new single "Always the Same." (No "He Knows the Sun," though, to the disappointment of a few very vocal, inebriated fans who seemed to be having a great time nonetheless.) The latter is a duet with Joe & the Flying Spoons' Liane Moccia who is also helping out on keyboards for the duration of The Legends' five-date East Coast trek, which now includes opening for the Lemonheads tomorrow night (6/25) at Bowery Ballroom. (Tickets are still available.) All Lemonheads dates below.

The Legends also play an early show tonight (6/24, 8:30) at Santos Party House with Eagle & Talon, Blacklist and We Are Country Mice; Friday (6/26) with Band of Skulls at The Studio @ Webster Hall; and Philadelphia's Kung Fu Necktie on Saturday (6/27). Video from last night, and updated tour dates, below...

Continue reading "the Legends played the Bell House, opening for Lemonheads "

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Springfactory - On the Back of Your Bike (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Springfactory - Get Out of Bed (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Tartans - The Cats of Camerford (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Cats on Fire - Horoscope (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Cats on Fire - Letter from a Voyage to Sweden (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Liechtenstein - Roses in the Park (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Vaselines - Son of a Gurn (MP3)

Firstly, an update on NYC Popfest which starts tonight (5/14) and runs through Sunday (5/17). Advance tickets are sold out for the Saturday (5/16) show with The Radio Dept., Pants Yell! and The Secret History at The Bell House, as has the all-day Sunday show at Cake Shop, though the latter should have tickets at the door. The good news is The Radio Dept. have been added to the Friday night (5/15) show at the Don Hill's which already includes Sweden's Liechtenstein, the spiffy pop of Finland's Cats on Fire, L.A. band The Tartans and local boy Don Lennon. If you ask me, this is the unmissable show of the weekend. Tickets are still available through the Popfest website. Also, if you can't make the show Friday, both Leichtenstien and Cats on Fire play Bruar Falls on Tuesday, May 19.

In other Popfest news, another Swedish band, Stockholm's Springfactory, have been added to the free day show on Saturday at Cake Shop. There's a couple MP3s of theirs to check out at the top of this post. The fest kicks off tonight with an all-locals show at Cake Shop featuring Knight School, Soft City, Dream Bitches, The Metric Mile, My Teenage Stride and the Ballet. Full Popfest lineup is at the bottom of this post and there are loads more MP3s from just about all the bands HERE.

Acrylics

There's lots of other non-Popfest stuff going on this weekend, much of it making me wish I could be in two places at once. Cameo Gallery tonight (5/14) plays host to two Dirty on Purpose offshoots: Joe and the Flying Spoons which is guitarist Joe Jurewicz country-tinged outfit that features a chorus of girl backup singers; and Pursesnatchers which is drummer Doug Marvin's solo project that is the closest in sound of any of the DoP splinter groups to the original. Also on the bill: awesome duo Sisters who I've written about recently and were runners up in this year's L Magazine thing; and Acrylics who make lovely synthy pop not dissimilar to The Rosebuds. The three songs on Acrylics' MySpace are all quite good, definitely worth checking out whether you plan on hitting this show or not.

Cake Shop is celebrating its four-year anniversary this month with a series of special-event Saturdays. This Saturday's (5/16) seems especially special: an ADD-friendly marathon of 16 bands playing four songs each (natch), with different drink specials in between each band. And it's only $4 to get in. The party kicks off with Knight School at 8PM and finishes with Moonmen on the Moon, Man (supposedly from San Diego but who look suspiciously like Cake Shop owners and staff) around 1AM if they stay on schedule. In between, My Teenage Stride, The Beets, Boy Genius, Air Waves and more will get their 15 minutes. Check out the flyer below for the full list of bands and set times. This sounds like a blast.

Spiral Beach

I should also mention that Toronto's Spiral Beach are in town this weekend playing three shows: Tonight (5/14) at Death by Audio, and two shows on Friday (5/15): an early one at Fontana's, and then a house show at 265 Mikibbin St in Bushwick. Spiral Beach opened for Sloan at Bowery Ballroom a couple years ago and I wrote at the time: "I don't even know how to describe them. They're a bit like the Coral or the Zutons, by way of Oingo Boingo (minus the horns). Psychotic circus music?" They were a lot of fun. The band's 2007 album, Ball, just getting released in the U.S.

The Vaselines

And last but not least... The Vaselines! They play Sunday (5/17) at Bowery Ballroom (with Woods) and tickets are still available; Monday's (5/18) show at at Music Hall of Williamsburg with Adam Green is sold out. The band played Seattle on Tuesday and The Finest Kiss had this to say:

Seeing the Vaselines last night was like sex on the second date. The first date was last summer at Sub Pop 20 festival. Their set at Marymoor Park last July was just about perfect with Eugene Kelly and Frances McKee's sexually tinged funny stage banter and even better harmonies, they were easily the highlight of that perfect summer afternoon. After a first date that goes so well, you always kind of prepare yourself for a letdown on date number two. You start to see the imperfections, maybe a few wrinkles or a bald spot. The Vaselines may have their imperfections, but I'm still blinded by lust to really notice any of them. Francis joked saying that you may think you're at the wrong gig if you're looking for the people on the poster, referring to the much younger looking Vaselines that adorned the advertising for the show. They also tried to explain their long absence with wild stories of Eugene becoming a Hare Krishna, explaining his lack of hair, and Frances's time in prison for allegedly getting facials with underage boys...

The better sounding Vaselines is probably due to the band being better musicians than they were 20 years ago. Even though they sounded less ragged, they still have the attitude and humor that made them so special in the first place. There is no way that anyone at this gig went home disappointed from this gig, besides sounding great, they played every single one of their songs and even graced us with two brand new ones.

Flyers, videos, tour dates and the full popfest schedule after the jump...

Continue reading "NYC Pop Fest, Acrylics, Vaselines, Springfactory, Cake Shop, Spiral Beach & more in This Week in Indie"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Woodhands - Can't See Straight (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Woodhands - Electric Avenue (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Rooftop Vigilantes - Drew Want Dino (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Rooftop Vigilantes - Copper is Free (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: caUSE co-MOTION - This Just Won't Last (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Right on Dynamite - Mantra for the Madness (MP3)

Woodhands

Toronto dance-rock duo Woodhands are back in NYC this week for the first time since playing last summer with Crystal Castles at Studio B. I caught them when I attended M for Montreal back in November and they were really fun live, putting on a sweaty, two-man disco party. Singer Dan Werb rocks a keytar as unironically as one can, and drummer Paul Banwatt is a human drum machine. They also, when I saw them, brought their own laser light show which I certainly hope comes with them this week when they play Death By Audio on Thursday (2/12) and The Studio at Webster Hall on Friday (1/13). For some reason I find the idea of lasers at Death By Audio hilarious and awesome. Hopefully they'll also do their cover of Eddie Grant's '80s classic "Electric Avenue" which you can download above.

Rooftop Vigilantes

This week is not as action-packed as last, but there are some other notable shows happening. Lawrence, Kansas' Rooftop Vigilantes highlight a very solid bill at Cake Shop on Thursday night (2/12). Their label describes them as "a very drunk Fugazi" which kind of works but they are poppier than that and actually remind me of semi-obscure San Francisco band Oranger. (Comparisons to The Replacements aren't unwarranted either.) Loose and wild, but with solid pop songs holding them up, their debut Carrot Atlas blazes through 16 songs in under half an hour and you can tell by the recordings that they'll be a lot of fun live. (Lawrence.com has a bunch of MP3s to download and an interview with the band.) Rooftop Vigilantes also play 92YTribeca on Friday (2/13) with Endless Boogie and Mike Bones. More Rooftop Vigilantes dates at the end of this post.

Also on that Cake Shop bill: caUSE co-MOTION, who just played with The Pains of Being Pure at Heart this past Saturday; Right on Dynamite who I've written about before; Beachniks which sometimes includes JB of Crystal Stilts but they are on a European tour as we speak so I don't think he'll be there; and Mr. Falcon who I know absolutely nothing about but the two songs on their MySpace are both really good.

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And finally, tonight (2/10), Patrick Bower and Joe & the Flying Spoons are playing a free show at Zebulon. Bower's band has grown to include Doug from Dirty on Purpose and Steven Mertens of Spacecamp; meanwhile, Joe of Flying Spoons was in Dirty on Purpose and also features Chris of Spacecamp (and Patrick Bower's other band, World Without Magic). It's more than a little incestuous in the Williamsburg music scene. Both bands are vaguely country-ish, with Bowery leaning more towards lush, beardy folk, and the Flying Spoons more upbeat and feature a chorus of lovely ladies. Worth checking out.

Tour dates and videos after the jump...

Continue reading "Woodhands, Rooftop Vigilantes, Joe & the Flying Spoons & more in This Week In Indie"

photos by Chris Becker

Dirty on Purpose @ Mercury Lounge in NYC - Dec 31, 2008

Dirty on Purpose said their final goodbyes at Mercury Lounge in NYC on New Years Eve. As announced less than a month earlier, they're "going the way of the dodo", but "reserve the right to change our minds and get back together in six months". Regardless, as they also pointed out, there are pleny of side other projects to keep them busy and us entertained.

Joe and the Flying Spoons (Joe's band) and Purse Snatchers (Doug's band) have a show scheduled this Sunday (1/4) at Cake Shop with Uninhabitable Mansions. As we've also pointed out before, Uninhabitable Mansions includes CYHSY's Robbie and Tyler, and Au Revoir Simone's Annie Hart who is also in Purse Snatchers.

Au Revoir Simone's Erika Forster used to be in Dirty on Purpose. As you can see from the picture above, they brought her back to join them for their final show at Mercury Lounge that A Place to Bury Strangers headlined (and helped ring in 2009) (Mr. Brownstone played the late-late show in the same club later the same night).

Purse Snatchers also have a show coming at Cake Shop (again) on February 26th with Coin Under Tongue who are also playing Death By Audio on February 28th with Sisters. Death by Audio is the warehouse space in the same Brooklyn building that houses Death By Audio the effects pedal company which is owned by Oliver Ackermann whose band is A Place to Bury Strangers and who oversees is associated with the new Death By Audio label (where all the bands do everything for themselves according to the below comment). The two bands currently signed to the Death by Audio label are Sisters and Coin Under Tongue. George from Dirty on Purpose is in Coin Under Tongue.

More pictures from New Years Eve below...

Continue reading "Dirty on Purpose is gone, but the side projects are busy "

Hello friends,

After six years of spending an unhealthy and unusual amount of time together, Dirty on Purpose is going the way of the dodo. We got back from tour about a month ago and sat down to talk about recording another record, and realized we didn't really want to record another record. Not now anyway. So we're going our separate ways. Our best friends and practice space sharers of many years, A Place to Bury Strangers, offered us the opening slot on their New Year's Eve gig at Mercury Lounge. We thought it was an appropriate way to wind things down and say goodbye to our friends and fans.

Get your tickets now -- it's gonna sell out.

We're still playing music and we hope you'll come support our other projects: Joe and Doug harmonize sweetly in Neckbeard Telecaster; George shreds the bass in Coin Under Tongue; Joe helms Joe and the Flying Spoons; and Doug plays with Purse Snatchers and Black Acid.

Finally, we're all still buddies and live in the same town, so we reserve the right to change our minds and get back together in six months if we feel like it.

Love,
DOP

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: SpaceKamp - Girls on Bikes (MP3)

Spacekamp

This week's post is going to feel a bit like a clip show because I feel like I've talked about all these bands before, but still there's a lot going on in NYC.

Tonight (11/18) SpaceKamp are playing Williamsburg's Black Betty. As you may remember, this trio also back Adam Green (with whom they just got back from a European tour) when not making their own brand of extremely catchy '60s-ish guitar pop. So while they've only played a handful of shows as SpaceKamp, they've got many, many more under their belt together. And they've finally put songs on their on their MySpace page to check out, and there's one at the top of this post to download. (I've also got a different song over at my blog.) It's also the drummer's birthday tonight, so expect the show to be extra festive. Also on the bill: Joe and the Flying Spoons, featuring Dirty on Purpose's Joe Jurewicz as well as former members of Au Revoir Simone and Tralala. I've never seen either band before, so I'm looking forward to this one. (And full disclosure: I know members of each band, but I don't post about stuff I don't genuinely like.)

Previously on Lost

Thursday (11.20) there are three good options, the most interesting of which might be at The Bell House in Brooklyn. Previously on Lost claim to be the world's only "recap rock" band, who spent the first half of 2008 writing a song for every episode of ABC's island mystery series' fourth season -- you know, in case you missed it. And if you're jonesing for Season 4 to be released on DVD (Dec. 4) maybe seeing the whole shebang performed live will hold you over. The "Live Experience" features props and such -- I'm curious if they'll have a live smoke monster. Making the night all the more enticing is the incredible Reggie Watts who if you've never seen him do what he does live, it's reason enough to go. A couple of Previously on Lost videos are HERE.

Violens @ South Street Seaport (more by Chris La Putt)

Also Thursday is Violens at Mercury Lounge who are fresh off their European tour with MGMT. I was really impressed the last couple times I saw them (their show at the Seaport was especially good) and am hoping their debut album isn't far off as I've worn out their three-song EP. Word of warning: Violens can be monsterously loud. Bring earplugs. Also on the bill are two two local electronic duos: Telepathe and Picture Picture.

The Secret History

Over at Public Assembly (formerly Galapagos), we've got The Secret History and Mahogany. The Secret History is the new project from Michael Grace, Jr who used to front indiepop new wave lovers, My Favorite. This new project features most of his old band, but adds vocalist Lisa Ronson (unlike Mark or Samantha, her dad actually is late Bowie Guitarist Mick Ronson) to the fold. While the ties to the '80's are still there, especially the romanticism, The Secret History are bigger, more of a sweeping Roxy Music sort of feel. The band just released their debut EP, Desolation Town, on foppy Detroit label Le Grand Magistery. Meanwhile, Mahogany do classic shoegaze better than just about anybody else, writing great songs, are skilled with effects pedals and know how to put on a show.

Mahogany @ PopFest, Music Hall of Williamsburg

And speaking of Mahogany, the band's ever-morphing line-up has absorbed Blacklist's James Minor into the band. I mention this because Blacklist (of which Minor is still a major member) are playing on Friday (11.21) as part of Wierd Records' Fifth Anniversary party. The former goth in me still digs Bauhaus, the Bolshoi, Southern Death Cult, the Chameleons, etc. and Blacklist deliver the goods in that respect. Wierd Records, which could be described as a modern day equivilent to labels like Some Bizarre or Wax Trax!, began it's life as a weekly party at Williamsburg's Southside Lounge (later Home Sweet Home on Christie) and grew as it gained likeminded artists and musicians interested in the cold wave/industrial/noise, and yes, gothy side of pop. I don't know too much about the rest of the night's lineup but it includes Xeno and Oaklander, Led Er Est, and Opus Finis. I can only hope there will be strobes and smoke machines. Tickets are on sale. The flyer is below...

Continue reading "The Secret History, Violens, SpaceKamp, Mahogany, Wierd Records & more in This Week In Indie"

by Bill Pearis

All Tomorrow's Parties may be the big event of the weekend, but it's not the only game in town and there are loads of good shows worth attending.

Headlining tonight (9/18) at Mercury Lounge are The Major Labels, a power-pop super-group consisting of three veterans of the Boston scene: songwriters Mike Viola and Bleu, plus producer Ducky Carlisle. Viola has fronted various bands over the last 15 years or so, most notably the wonderful Candy Butchers in the mid-'90s, but is probably best-known for singing lead on "That Thing You Do" from the movie of the same name. Bleu (real name William James McAuley II) put out the underheard Redhead on Columbia three years ago, and also fronts the Jeff Lynne loving L.E.O. that Viola contributes to as well. The Major Labels are a little more crunchy than L.E.O., but also owe a lot to Harry Nilsson's piano-based pop as well. These guys know their way around a catchy song and are great musicians. Should be a good show

Also on the Mercury Lounge bill tonight are Dragonette, who I remember absolutely hating when they opened for New Order at Hammerstein a few years ago. But I must admit I kind of like their new album, Galore, in an over-the-top, glammy, hammy disco kind of way. (They also did a funny response to Calvin Harris' "The Girls" which you can hear on their MySpace.) So perhaps they are worth a second look. They're also playing Le Royale on Friday.

Also tonight (9/18), at Glasslands, is something from the "And Now for Something Completely Different" category. I have no idea how to describe San Francisco's Borts Minorts. He's more performance art than musician. It's definitely bizarre. And hilarious. He confused nearly everyone at Union Hall earlier this year when he opened for Kelley Stoltz. Decked out in a white, hooded unitard and playing a bass made out of a ski, he was like if one of the Residents decided to become an aerobics instructor. There are videos of what he does below, but I really suggest you experience Borts Minorts cold.

Drink Up Buttercup

On Saturday night (9/20), I will be heading to Pianos to see Philly band Drink Up Buttercup. They've got a herky-jerky, Tin Pan Alley quality to them that I really like -- it's Beatle-esque but in a kitchen sink kind of way. I'm told they put on a fun, interactive live show as well.

Before them are SpaceKamp who describe themselves as "reggaeton stoner pop rock" and I'm curious to know what that actually means, as they don't have any songs up on their MySpace yet. The trio formed earlier this year after they got along so well as Adam Green's touring band and decided to keep on making music together. Drummer Chris also plays in World Without Magic who are playing tonight (9/18) at Union Pool with Joe & The Flying Spoons. As previously mentioned, "Joe" is Joe from Dirty on Purpose and Patrick Bower fronts World Without Magic. SpaceKamp is also openinf for Say Hi (to Your Mom) at Music Hall of Williamsburg on October 2nd.

The Feelies @ Battery Park (more by Jason Bergman)

And last but certainly no least, the newly-reformed Feelies are playing two shows this weekend -- Saturday (9/20) at Music Hall of Williamsburg and Sunday (9/21) at Bowery Ballroom. I saw them when they opened for Sonic Youth on July 4 and no doubt they've still got it. Glenn Mercer is a shit-hot guitarist and it's worth going just to watch him smoke the leads on classics like "Slipping Into Something" and "Away." Neither show is sold-out, so go check out these living legends. They'll be playing Boston in October, too.

Oh, and if you can make your way to one of Noah and the Whale's remaining shows, do that too. They were totally charming at Union Pool on Tuesday.

All tour dates, flyers and videos below...

Continue reading "Borts Minorts, Feelies, the Major Labels, Drink Up Buttercup & more in This Week in Indie "

by Bill Pearis

help us name this new column in the comments!

Sloan in Detroit - June 15, 2008 (PhilipSouthern)

In Pitchfork's review of 2004's Action Pact, Alex Linhardt wrote, "Sloan is not anyone's favorite band." He'd obviously never been to a Sloan show. People are nuts for them. Sloan fans are obsessive, protective and they stand by them even when they make a less-than-great album (cough cough Action Pact).

There are a number of reasons for this. For all the success they've had over their 17-year carreer, Sloan are an anomaly. All four members of the band write and sing, each with distinctive styles, which makes them nearly impossible to categorize. And they usually change their sound from album-to-album, reflecting what they've been listening to - which was, more often than not, out-of-step with what everyone else was doing at the time.

Here's a band that started off being called the Canadian Nirvana (though really they were more the Canadian My Bloody Valentine) on the release of their first album, Smeared, but have channel-flipped over the years from Beatlesque and other '60s pop to Thin Lizzy style cock rock, '70s AM Gold, pop-punk, etc, etc, etc. It does not make for casual fans. It breeds obsessives, though. For all the style-hopping, it's those four good songwriters and musicians behind it all that make it work.

The real reason I think fans stick by them is their live shows. Sloan are one of the most consistently awesome live bands of the last 15 years. They know all the Rock Moves by heart and know how to use them without being self-consciously showy, although bassist and defacto leader Chris Murphy is a real ham who isn't afraid to do something retarded (like lick the mic stand) in the name of a laugh or good crowd reaction. He also does an amazing Keith Moon impersonation (all fills, all the time) behind the kit when regular drummer Andrew Scott comes forward to sing his songs.

And with nine albums under their belt, including the just-released Parallel Play (which is really good and you can stream the whole thing ), you're bound to get a cherry-picked setlist with at least a handful of classic Sloan fist-pumpers like "Iggy & Angus," "Losing California," "Money City Maniacs"... and maybe even "Underwhelmed" which is kind of their "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and at least some of the band loathe it but I think still holds up.

But don't just take my word for it. Sloan are playing Bowery Ballroom this Thursday (tix) and Friday (tix) and if you've never seen them, I suggest you rectify that immediately. Neither show is sold out. I really don't think you'll be sorry if you do. If you care to read more about them, I've got at least three concert reviews on Sound Bites. If it's not made clear, I am a Sloan superfan. All dates at the end of this post.

I have Sloan on the brain, but I am aware there is other cool stuff going on......

Continue reading "Sloan, Band of Holy Joy, Dirty on Purpose side projects & more in this week in Indie "