Schoolboy Q at Best Buy Theater - 5/21/13 (via Kellen Dengler)

Thanks to TDE's recent success, Q found himself as the most established performer at the Freshman show. With no one to accompany him on stage, he fared better in the larger crowd as a solo artist, breezing through tracks from Habits & Contradictions and throwback collaborations with A$AP Rocky. At one point, he asked Kendrick Lamar to join him but laughed at the audience members who fell for his joke. Fittingly, he won the crowd back with his charisma by asking them the title of his upcoming album. "Oxymoron!" they screamed back. And this was done four times over. [XXL]

As mentioned in yesterday's What's Going On? post, Action Bronson made a video for his Harry Fraud-produced song, "Strictly 4 My Jeeps." If you missed it, you can watch that video below. Riff Raff stars in the video, and as discussed, he plays a Scion A/V show in Brooklyn at Coco 66 tonight (5/22) with Stalley and Smoke DZA. Entrance to that show had to be gained through Scion's contest which has since ended.

Schoolboy Q and Ab-Soul are both members of the group Black Hippy (which also includes Kendrick Lamar and Jay Rock), and that whole group is playing the traveling Rock the Bells Festival which hits the NYC-area on October 4-5 at the Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford, NJ. Tickets for that festival are on sale now. The rest of the lineup includes Big K.R.I.T., Common, Danny Brown, Earl Sweatshirt, Tyler the Creator, Jhene Aiko, Juicy J, Rakim, Wu-Tang Clan, and many more.

Updated Rock the Bells lineup and videos below...

Continue reading "Schoolboy Q, Action Bronson (who has a new video) & more played the XXL Freshman show; Rock the Bells tix on sale"

Bumbershoot is returning to Seattle this year from August 31 to September 2 at Seattle Center. This year's lineup was just announced, and it includes Death Cab for Cutie performing Transatlanticism (in case The Postal Service reuniting wasn't enough Ben Gibbard nostalgia for you), Kendrick Lamar, MGMT, The Breeders, The Zombies, Alt-J, Deerhunter, Baroness, Crystal Castles, Gary Numan, Joey Bada$$, Eric Burdon, Bob Mould, David Bazan, Charli XCX, Redd Kross, The Men and more.

Tickets (3-day passes, 2-day passes, and single day tickets) for the festival are on sale now.

Full lineup below...

Continue reading "Bumbershoot 2013 lineup & tix (Death Cab for Cutie, MGMT, Kendrick Lamar, Breeders, Zombies, Alt-J, Deerhunter & more)"

Clutch in Austin in 2011 (more by Tim Griffin)

today in NYC
* Surfer Blood @ Ace Hotel
* The Blue Vipers @ Barbes
* Rachelle Garniez @ Barbes
* Pagode Roots @ The Stone
* Questlove @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Viceroy, Alex English @ WIP
* El Vez, Corn Mo @ Maxwell's
* Johnny Marr, Alamar @ Irving Plaza
* Gun Outfit, Piano Movers @ Cake Shop
* Clutch, The Sword, Lionize @ Terminal 5
* Amy Helm, Connor Kennedy @ City Winery
* Fear Factory, Hate Eternal @ Gramercy Theatre
* Marriage, Zula, LODRO, Bueno @ Shea Stadium
* Cyro Baptista & Banquet Of the Spirits @ The Stone
* Tom Odell, Jeremy Messersmith @ Bowery Ballroom
* Tera Melos, TTNG, Infinity Shred @ The Knitting Factory
* Ghost Beach, Magic Man, Wardell @ Santos Party House
* Oberhofer, Celestial Shore, Life Size Maps @ Glasslands
* Volbeat, All That Remains, Eye Empire @ The Wellmont Theatre
* Fred Falke, Foals (DJ), Chrome Sparks, Jorge Bonjour @ Output
* Belle Mare, Cherokee Red, Adam Rubenstein @ Mercury Lounge
* Marques Toliver & the Sometimes, Sophie Auster @ Mercury Lounge
* Cosmic Boogieman, Sioux Lion, Sheare, Ariana & The Rose @ Pianos
* Los Jamones, The Stags, The Mess Around, Runny @ The Grand Victory
* Starlight Girls, Dangeous Ponies, Slutever, The Suzan @ Death By Audio
* Janeane Garofalo, Christian Finnegan, MadDog @ Eastville Comedy Club
* TKTTSM, Bright Future, The Veda Rays, Eastern Hollows @ Bowery Electric
* Blood Red Shoes, Portmanteaux, Cosmonaut @ The Studio at Webster Hall
* Young Mothers, Instrument Thieves, Cowboy Indian Bear, Medals @ Cameo Gallery
* SWIMM, The Ludlow Thieves, Vandaveer, Rachel Brown, Ben Lovett @ Rockwood Music Hall
* VJ Lady Firefly, Paul Amitai, VisualHornHonkinG, The Driver, Nimbostratus, Firefly Moon @ Big Snow
* Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, "Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!" @ Skirball Center For The Performing Arts
* The Sweater Songs (performing Weezer's "Blue Album" and songs from "Pinkerton"), Jared Schraff, Allison Weiss @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Martin Dosh, Jeremy Ylvisaker, Alan Hampton (of Andrew Bird's band), Mike Block and Pete Hale (of Here We Go Magic), Theo Blackmann @ Shapeshifter Lab
* Pharamakon, Stephen O' Malley, KTL, Body/Head, Purient, Hunter Hunt-Hendrix, Oren Ambarchi, Alan Licht, Vatican Shadow, Pete Swanson, Mick Barr, Kid Millions/Jim Sauter Duo, Alberich, Noveller, grassmass, Hiram Martinez @ Knockdown Center

Follow @BrooklynVegan on Twitter.
Follow @bvChicago for just Chicago stuff.
Also follow @bvAustin for just Austin stuff.

Be our friend on Facebook too, and BV Austin's friend on Facebook and BV Chicago's friend on Facebook.

Follow BrooklynVegan on instagram.

The Jay Z-curated soundtrack to Baz Luhrmann's film adaptation of The Great Gatsby is available to stream via NPR. It features Beyonce, Andre 3000, The xx, Jack White, and many more.

The XXL 2013 Freshman Class, who all play a show at Best Buy Theater (5/21), have put out a mixtape, which includes new music from Angel Haze, Action Bronson, Ab-Soul, Joey Bada$$ and others. You can stream/download it below. One of Angel Haze's contributions, "Lofticries," which samples the Purity Ring song of the same name, can also be streamed separate from the rest of the mixtape, below.

Continue reading "What's going on Thursday?"

A$AP Rocky at Public Assembly in February (more by Dylan Johnson)

A$AP Rocky is currently on his arena tour with Rihanna which hits the NYC area on April 28 at Prudential Center and May 4 and 5 at Barclays Center, and after recently scheduling a smaller Highline Ballroom show during it which he quickly cancelled, Rocky has announced another huge tour to go down this summer. It's a co-headlining tour with Wiz Khalifa and support comes from Joey Bada$$ and Pro Era, Rockie Fresh, Trinidad Jame$, B.o.B. and Berner. Smoke DZA opens some dates in select cities (but not the NYC-area dates) too.

That tour, dubbed the "Under the Influence of Music Tour" hits the NYC area for big amiphitheater shows at PNC Bank Arts Center on August 2 in Holmdel, NJ, Nikon at Jones Beach Theater on August 6 in Wantagh, NY and Comcast Theatre on August 8 in Hartford, CT. Those shows happen about a month before A$AP Rocky plays the Jay-Z curated Budweiser Made In America Festival in Philly. Tickets for all shows on the tour go on sale Saturday (4/27) at 10 AM. Citi Cardmember presales start on Tuesday (4/23) at 10 AM and Live Nation presales start Friday (4/26) at 10 AM for the Jones Beach and Comcast Theatre shows. A four-ticket promotional offer for the PNC Bank Arts Center show starts Monday, April 29 at 10 AM.

Meanwhile, Joey Bada$$ just brought his tour with Flatbush Zombies and The Underachievers through NYC for shows at Highline Ballroom (4/18) at Gramercy Theater (4/20), and he also has upcoming dates at The Roots Picnic (6/1) in Philly (tickets) and Hot 97 Summer Jam's Festival Village (6/2) in NJ (tickets). Check out a video of Joey rapping his verse on A$AP Rocky's "1 Train" at yesterday's Gramercy Theater show.

Wiz Khalifa's new live EP with Curren$y is also available on iTunes now.

All dates are listed, along with the tour trailer video, tour flyer, and A$AP Rocky's video for "Fuckin' Problems," below...

Continue reading "A$AP Rocky announces big summer tour w/ Wiz Khalifa, Joey Bada$$, Trinidad Jame$ and more (dates)"

A$AP Ferg at Brooklyn Bowlin 2012 (more by Brook Bobbins)

Hot 97 Summer Jam is returning to MetLife Stadium on June 2, and as usual, there will be a show in the parking lot (Festival Village) with smaller rappers. The lineup for the main show hasn't been announced yet (though hopefully it will have a headliner who doesn't cancel day of the show) but the Festival Village lineup has been announced, and it includes Action Bronson, Joey Bada$$, A$AP Ferg, Vinny Cha$e, Smoke DZA, Bodega Bamz, Troy Ave, Kid Ink, and Radamiz. The only way into that show is with a Summer Jam ticket, and those go on sale Friday (4/12) at 10 AM.

Action Bronson (who plays Coachella this weekend) and Joey Bada$$ also play the XXL Freshmen show at Best Buy Theater on May 21 with Schoolboy Q, Trinidad Jame$, Ab-Soul, Logic, Kirko Bangz, Travi$ Scott, Dizzy Wright, and Angel Haze. Tickets for that show are still available.

Joey Bada$$ is currently on tour with Flatbush Zombies and The Underachievers. That tour hits NYC on April 18 at Highline Ballroom and April 20 at Gramercy Theater, and both are sold out. He also plays the Roots Picnic in Philly the day before Summer Jam with Grimes, Solange, Araabmuzik, Hit-Boy, How to Dress Well, and more. Tickets for that are still available.

All Joey Bada$$ and Action Bronson dates are listed, along with some videos, below...

Continue reading "Action Bronson, Joey Bada$$, A$AP Ferg, Bodega Bamz, Troy Ave, Smoke DZA & more playing Summer Jam Festival Village"

Angel Haze at SPIN House at SXSW 2013 (more by Amanda Hatfield)

As mentioned, XXL's 2013 Freshman Class includes Schoolboy Q, Trinidad Jame$, Joey Bada$$, Ab-Soul, Logic, Action Bronson, Kirko Bangz, Travi$ Scott, Dizzy Wright, and Angel Haze, and as usual, XXL will celebrate with a concert in NYC that features all ten rappers. The show happens on May 21 at Best Buy Theater. Tickets for that show are on AmEx presale now and go on sale to the general public on Friday (4/5) at noon. XXL is also celebrating with an Action Bronson and Big K.R.I.T. show in Philly and an Action Bronson, Schoolboy Q, and Ab-Soul show in LA, but the NYC date is the only one with the full freshmen class. All XXL Freshman Tour dates are listed below.

Schoolboy Q and Ab-Soul will also be in NYC with the full Black Hippy crew (Kendrick Lamar and Jay Rock included) for Downtown Music Festival on May 10. 2-Day passes for that festival, which also includes Purity Ring, Earl Sweatshirt, DIIV, Pal,a VIolets, and more, are still available. That festival is also part of Kendrick Lamar's tour which brings him back to NYC in June for Governors Ball.

Joey Bada$$ and Action Bronson, along with many others, will be featured on Hot 97 DJ Peter Rosenberg's The New York Renaissance mixtape, which comes out on DatPiff later today now. Download it HERE. Meanwhile, stream Joey's contribution, "A Day in the Life" (prod. Harry Fraud), and Bronson's contribution, "Compliments To The Chef," below.

Continue reading "XXL 2013 Freshmen mini tour announced; Joey Bada$$, Action Bronson & more on Peter Rosenberg's new compilation"

As mentioned, Still Corners' new album, Strange Pleasures, is out next month (5/4) on Sub Pop. Reduced to a duo of core members Greg Hughes and Tessa Murray, the band embrace synthesizers which gives their sound an Air-y feel. The band are playing Toronto's NXNE Festival in June and will stop in NYC on their way there, playing Glasslands on June 12. Tickets to that show go on sale Friday (4/5) at noon.

Still Corners are one of many new additions to 2013 of NXNE which happens at various Toronto venues from June 10 - 16. All Still Corners dates are listed, along with the updated NXNE lineup, below...

Continue reading "Still Corners playing NYC before NXNE (dates & updated lineup)"

"XXL has revealed their Freshman Class cover for 2013. The cover features ScHoolboy Q, Ab-Soul and Action Bronson, among others. They join a list of emcees to be on the Freshman Class list over the years that includes Kendrick Lamar, Mac Miller and more." [HipHopDX (via)]

Many of the rappers featured in this year's Freshman Class were just down at SXSW including Angel Haze who we just posted some pictures of on BV Austin, and Action Bronson who we caught at Viceland and at a Warner showcase.

Earl Sweatshirt

Odd Future member Earl Sweatshirt will be making his SXSW debut this year (he wasn't there when the rest of his crew first played), and will be doing collaborative sets with Captain Murphy, aka Flying Lotus' rap alter ego (who collaborated with him on "Between Friends"). Those sets include the Life or Death showcase on Wednesday (3/13) at Scoot Inn at midnight, the Green Label Sound showcase on Friday (3/15) at Lucille at 9:30 PM, and FADER Fort on Saturday (3/16) at 6 PM. Flyers for all three of those shows with full lineups are below.

Earl just appeared at Flying Lotus' LA show at Low End Theory last week (3/7) and they performed three tracks off Earl's upcoming album, Doris, "Burgundy" (produced by Pharrell), "Hive," and "Guild." Mac Miller is featured on that last one and he was at the LA show too. You can check it all out in a video from the show, which is below. Also below is the video for previously released Doris track, "Chum," and Earl has another new video on the way too.

Earl's other upcoming dates include some festival appearances like Bonnaroo, Sasquatch!, and Coachella. All dates are listed, along with those flyers and videos, below...

Continue reading "Earl Sweatshirt performed w/ Flying Lotus (Captain Murphy) in LA, doing it again at SXSW (dates, video)"

Peace @ Glasslands, 12/19/2013 (more by Robert Altman)

As mentioned, UK band Peace will be in NYC in June, playing Mercury Lounge on June 12 (tickets). Turns out there's another show while they're here: Knitting Factory the day before (6/11) and tickets to that are on sale now.

These are part of a North American tour that's bookended with festivals: Sasquatch in WA at the start, and NXNE in Toronto at the end. NXNE 2013 happens June 10 - 16 and the first round of bands were just announced and include The National, Flag, Merchandise, Calexico, Iceage and more. Early Bird tickets are on sale now. A flyer with all the first-round NXNE bands is below.

You can see Peace next week if you happen to be one of the thousands descending on Austin next week for SXSW and their schedule includes a stop at the BrooklynVegan day party on Saturday (3/16) at the old Emo's Jr space. Show is 100% free and open to the public with RSVP. All Peace dates are listed below.

Continue reading "Peace announce North American tour (including 2nd NYC show), playing NXNE (initial lineup)"

by Andrew Sacher

Ab-Soul at SOB's - 2/27/13 (photo by Marvin H)

After Ab-Soul (and the rest of the Black Hippy crew) appeared on stage with Kendrick Lamar during Tuesday's Roseland show, he stuck around NYC for his own show at SOB's last night (2/27). Due to the previous night's events, everyone pretty much knew something similar would go down at SOB's, which Ab-Soul acknowledged early on at last night's show, and proceeded to make the hour-ish long show a split between solo Soulo and a showcase of his friends/collaborators.

Ab-Soul has a lot of fun at his shows, doing lots of call-and-response with the crowd, like: "When I say 'Hiii," you say 'Power!'" "Hiii!" "POWER!"; "When I say "TD," you say "E." "TD" "EEEE!"; and my personal favorite, "Soulo ho!" - "SOULO HO!", which he always followed with, "See how easy it is? that's a real song. Seriously!" When he raps, he kills it live as much as he does on record. In terms of material, he did a lot of 2012's Control System but also reached back for some earlier cuts, like "Gone Insane."

Because there's no backstage at SOB's and the smoke-filled room was packed, Ab-Soul's guests had to squeeze their way through the center of the crowd to pop up on stage. So depending on where you were standing, you knew who was about to get on stage, but maybe seeing them walk right past you was even more exciting (I for one, was on the side of the stage, and have no idea). First out was Black Hippy cohort Jay Rock for their track "Lust Demons." After that, he hung out on stage as the third Black Hippy member of the night, Schoolboy Q, came out to absolutely murder "Druggys Wit Hoes Again," which had the crowd screaming in the chorus. Then Soulo took a break from the Black Hippy members, and spent the next chunk of his set bringing out NYC rappers, like Smoke DZA, Joey Bada$$ (who also came out during Ab-Soul's set at Terminal 5 in 2012), and the most riotous of the local guest spots, A$AP Rocky, who came out in his usual manner of rushing the stage with hypemen to do his own track, "Angels."

Finally, towards the end of the set, Ab-Soul played "Illuminate," which of course meant the last Black Hippy member of the night was about to hit the stage: Kendrick Lamar. After that track, Kendrick asked the crowd, "Can I do one of my own?" The crowd screaming in the affirmative was answered by the beat to "Backseat Freestyle" and before you could even hear Kendrick, just about every person in that room yelled, "MARTIN HAD A DREAM... MARTIN HAD A DREAM... KENDRICK HAVE A DREEEEEEEEEEAM." Then he stuck around for yet another of his own cuts, "m.A.A.d. City," followed by Ab-Soul closing the night with arguably his best track, "Pineal Gland."

The show opened with sets from G.R.A.M.Z., Rikki Blu, an unbilled set from the Ryder Gang, and the very intriguing Bishop Nehru. Nehru is from NYC, he's only 16, and like fellow young NYC rapper Joey Bada$$, Bishop Nehru sounds most influenced by the rap that came out before he was even born. And even if his influences are worn on his sleeve a bit, he's still a promising young artist, and ended his set by cutting the beat and delivering a rapid fast verse on his own, to which the crowd only screamed louder and louder as he went on.

Bishop Nehru's recent music video for "Misruled Order," which he directed himself, and a video of Kendrick and Ab-Soul doing "Backstreet Freestyle" at SOB's, below...

Continue reading "Ab-Soul played SOB's with Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q, A$AP Rocky, Bishop Nehru & more (review, video)"

DOWNLOAD: Joey Baa$$ - "Unorthodox" (prod. DJ Premier) (MP3)

Joey Bada$$

Brooklyn rapper Joey Bada$$ has announced the international "Beast Coast Tour" with fellow Beast Coast associates Flatbush Zombies and The Underachievers, which kicks off in Austin at SXSW and continues into early May. The tour hits NYC on April 20 at Gramercy Theater (note: the date has been announced as 4/21 in other places, but as you can see on Live Nation, the venue is hosting Paganfest USA that day) (UPDATE: The show has been moved to 4/18.)

Tickets for that show are not on sale yet, but you can check Ticketmaster for updates. You may remember that all three artists on the tour previously teamed up in NYC for a Red Bull Music Academy/Boiler Room show in October during Flying Lotus' NYC takeover.

Before SXSW, Joey's crew Pro Era is playing a NYC show billed as CJ Fly & Pro Era at Public Assembly on March 6 with Wordspit, Dyme-A-Duzin, and many others. Tickets for that show are on sale now. No official word on whether or not Joey will be there, but he hates when people say "Joey Bada$$ and Pro Era", so maybe the CJ Fly (another Pro Era member) billing is meant as a play on that? The flyer for this show is below.

When the tour ends, Joey has a few festival dates scheduled, including The Roots Picnic in Philly. All dates are listed below.

Joey Bada$$ has been dropping tracks and videos left and right lately. Back in January, he released his single for Mountain Dew's Green Label Sound, which was a collaboration with DJ Premier called "Unorthodox." Then he followed that with a video with Smoke DZA for "Gotham Fucking City" off DZA's K.O.N.Y. tape, a diss track aimed at Lil B (in response to Lil B's diss to him), and another video with Smoke DZA, which also features Big K.R.I.T., for "Underground Airplay" off the Ecko Unlimited mixtape of the same name. You can stream/watch all of those songs/videos below.

Meanwhile, The Underachievers just released the free Indiogism mixtape on Flying Lotus' Brainfeeder label. You can download the mixtape for free at DatPiff and stream it in its entirety below.

All streams the list of all tour dates below...

Continue reading "Joey Bada$$ and The Underachievers released stuff, announce tour with Flatbush Zombies (dates, streams)"

The Roots are putting on their 6th Annual Roots Picnic in Philly on June 1 at Penns Landing with a pretty great lineup of Grimes, Solange, Joey Bada$$, How to Dress Well, Hit-Boy, Araabmuzik, DJ Premier, Naughty By Nature (backed by The Roots), Robert Glasper, Gary Clark Jr., Lushlife, and more. Tickets for the festival are on sale now.

Full lineup below...

Continue reading "The Roots Picnic tickets & 2013 lineup (Grimes, Solange, Joey Bada$$, How to Dress Well, Hit-Boy and more)"

According to Pitchfork and "various sources", Capital STEEZ (real name Jamal Dewar), of Joey Bada$$'s crew, Pro Era, passed away this morning (12/24) at 19 years old. Joey tweeted, "This unfortunate xmas eve.. Lost a best friend, a brother, a pro, a partner. Letting go is never easy.. May ur soul rest in peace Jamal.." and hours before that Capital STEEZ himself eerily tweeted "The end." Joey has continued to tweet on the situation with statements like "SICK TO MY STOMACH.." and "RIP CAPITAL STEEZ!!! 7.7.93 - 12.24.12." Other details on the situation are still sparse at the moment. Rest in peace, Jamal.

Joey Bada$$ and Pro Era were scheduled to play 285 Kent in Brooklyn on Saturday night (12/22), but the show ended up being postponed.

Pro Era just released their free Peep the Aprocalypse mixtape this past Friday (12/21). You can download the whole thing at that link and stream the track "Run or Fly," which features Capital STEEZ, below.

Continue reading "Capital STEEZ of Pro Era, RIP"

The Roots at ATP NYC 2012 (more by Adela Loconte)

Earlier this month, Rolling Stone published their list of the 50 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs of All Time (which was mainly golden era stuff, Eminem, and Jay-Z), which Questlove wrote the intro for, and now Rolling Stone had Quest publish his own list of his top 50 hip-hop songs of all time. HIs list also focuses on the older stuff, but probably for different reasons. He writes:

For this top 50 list, I decided to concentrate on 1979-1995, the former being the year I got my first taste of hip-hop, the latter being the year my major-label debut with the Roots made its mark. I wanted to concentrate on the period that I was not professionally involved in the art form. I wanted to celebrate the period that built and led to the influence that got me a record deal.

In related news, Okayplayer/The Roots are throwing their annual holiday party (check out pictures from last year) at Brooklyn Bowl tonight (12/20), which is invite only and will likely have many special guests, including Joey Bada$$, who just revealed the cover art for the new Pro Era mixtape, Peep The Apocalypse, which drops this Friday (12/21) aka the apocalypse. The flyer for tonight's holiday party is also below.

Questlove, who DJs at Brooklyn Bowl almost every Thursday night, is also throwing another annual holiday party, which isn't invite only, on January 1 at SOB's with special guest DJ Herbert Holler. Tickets for that party are on sale now.

Streams, flyer, and album art below...

Continue reading "Questlove lists the best hip hop songs, playing holiday parties; Joey Badass reveals album details"

Pitchfork just posted their Honorable Mention Albums of 2012, which they consider "20 records didn't make [their] Top 50 but they're not necessarily just Nos. 51-70." There are some similarities to their Overlooked Records of 2012 list that they posted halfway through the year. It also includes Frankie Rose's Interstellar, which did actually get Best New Music upon its release, unlike the other albums here. And it's got Waxahatchee's American Weekend and Jeremih's Late Nights with Jeremih, neither of which were reviewed throughout the year. Though they did review Waxhatachee (Katie Crutchfield)'s sister Allison's band Swearin', who also makes this list, and who (along with Jeremih) made Pitchfork's Top 100 Tracks list.

Full list below...

Continue reading "A Few Albums That Definitely Didn't Make Pitchfork's Top 50 of 2012"

by Andrew Sacher

Joey Bada$$ at SUNY Purchase in October (more by Kellyann Petry)

Brooklyn throwback rapper Joey Bada$$ has been playing locally a lot this fall, and he's got at least one more hometown show before the year ends. He'll be at 285 Kent on December 22 and tickets for that show are on sale now. No official word on whether or not his crew, Pro Era, will be there, but he does usually play with them.

Last month, Joey released the digital single for his track "Waves" off his 1999 mixtape, and on the b-side he's got the new track, "Enter The Void," which features a great verse from Black Hippy member Ab-Soul, who he joined on stage at Terminal 5 in September when Ab-Soul was opening for Kendrick Lamar. You can stream that track below.

Continue reading "Joey Bada$$ playing Brooklyn; Stream a song"

As we saw yesterday, the power is back to most of Manhattan and many more shows are starting to happen. Subways are continuing to get better too. Yesterday we mentioned that the 4, 5, 6, and 7 trains were back up, and now the J and F train are back too. Current subway outage map is here.

If you're looking for ways you can help out with hurricane relief, head to http://www.nycservice.org/.

Here's our list of things happening or not happening in NYC on Sunday (11/4).

As mentioned on Saturday, Peter Wolf's shows are cancelled, but City Winery is opening tonight for a NYC stand-up comedy benefit for Hurricane Sandy victims.

The Bell House had been open for a few days, but they just tweeted, "Blown transformer, fire under the street, no power on our block." They're moving the "Bare! True Stories of Sex, Desire and Romance" show to November 23 and are currently looking for a new location to do tonight's hurricane relief open mic.

Maxwell's, which is undamaged, finally got their power back, but unfortunately, "it came too late to enable [them] to host the Crooked Fingers/John Vanderslice show tonight," so that show has been cancelled. John Vanderslice and Crooked Fingers did play a pre-transformer explosion show at The Bell House on Friday (11/2), and as hinted, John did in fact wear his Tigger costume.

Tonight's Marea show at SOB's is cancelled.

Tonight's Little Feat and Leon Russell show at Capitol Theatre has been postponed. New date TBA.

The previously discussed Samiam show is still on, and set to take off tonight at Saint Vitus (11/4) with guests Liquor Store and I'm With Cupid. Tickets are still available.

Mercury Lounge is open again and tonight's Fenster show with Howth, Norwegian Arms, and Steel Phantoms is still on. Tickets for that show are still available. Fenster were also supposed to play Shea Stadium and Muchmore's last week too but Sandy cancelled those.

As mentioned, the Molly Nilsson and Cat Martino show which was supposed to happen at Glasslands last Sunday (10/28) is instead happening at Public Assembly tonight with Amalie Bruun. Tickets for tonight's show are still available.

Bowery Ballroom is back up and Gary Clark Jr. plays his first of three shows there tonight.

Mossenek (featuring Mick Barr and Chuck Bettis), Yoshiko Ohara (of Bloody Panda), and Entartete play Death by Audio tonight. It's the first show ever for Entartete, the new project of Speck Brown (ex-Orphan) who formed the band after the tragic passing of Brendan Majewski. Flyer for the show is below.

Le Poisson Rouge finally reopened last night and are open tonight too. Tonight they have a contemporary classical performance by pianist Jenny Q Chai at 6:30 PM, Dan Neustadt (of The Hold Steady, Northern Bells) playing Sonic Youth's Daydream Nation at 9 PM, and the rescheduled from Tuesday Kitsune Club Night with The Twelves, Yusek, and JDH & Dave P.

Hannibal Buress, who couldn't make it to his weekly Sunday comedy show at Knitting Factory last week due to the hurricane, is back in action tonight.

Knitting Factory is also hosting Band Slam the Vote tonight, rescheduled from Thursday (11/1), with Lonesome Empire, The Nepotist, Laura Faye, Ionie, Dream Logic, Sophia Urista, and Joy and The Hansons. The show now also doubles as a hurricane benefit concert, and "all proceeds from ticket sales will go to support non-profit Hurricane Sandy Relief efforts."

UCB Theatre and UCB East are both open and UCB Theatre hosts their weekly ASSSSCAT 3000 shows while UCB East has a stand-up open mic at 5:30 PM, Indie Cage Match at 7:30 PM, Improv Nerds at 9 PM, and The Improv Nerds Jam at 10 PM.

Power is back on at The Stone in the East Village tonight (11/4) so look for a pair of shows including an early 8PM show with Victor Poison-Tete (of rat at rat r) and a 10PM show with Tamio Shiraishi and Cammisa Buerhaus.

Barbes opens this afternoon with the first of four events at the venue tonight. Two showings of Señor Calavera's JUST IN CASE, "an interactive image and music driven dramatization of the book Just in Case by Yuyi Morales, go down at 2:30pm and 4PM today, followed by a performance of The Four Bags at 8PM, Amour Obscur at 9PM and la Sabrosa Sabrosura at 10PM.

Trash Bar is hosting a Hurricane Relief Concert & Jam.

Celestial Shore, Grass Is Green, Baked, and Highway Gimps play Big Snow tonight.

The Reckless Collected, The Dharma Body, Model Stranger, and Shayna Sands play Cameo Gallery tonight.

Street Smells, Easy Lover, Eastern Hollows, and No Kill play Glasslands tonight.

The Living Room is open and are hosting The Lombardi Case 1975 at 2 PM, Afro-Jersey at 7 PM, and Daniel Wayne at 9:30 PM.

The Studio at Webster Hall is hosting Get Out the Vote with Patrick Toussaint, Mad Moiselle, Siya, Shamar Forte, and Wes Cyphers.

The Schtick or Treat Halloween comedy show, was postponed from last Monday (10/29) to tonight at Littlefield. Littlefield also hosts an early show, Yellow Sneaker Sock Hop: Puppet Show and Album Launch.

Union Pool is open and holding a hurricane benefit drive. They write, "We are holding a drive for our fellow New Yorkers in Staten Island Sunday November 4th from 1-6pm. This will be the first of many drives we hold for the communities affected by the devastation that is Hurricane Sandy." Head to Union Pool's site to see the list of items they'll be accepting.

Union Hall is open and hosting Rolie Polie Guacamole with special guest Lou Gallo at 3 PM, and Eugene Mirman's Pretty Good FRiends show at 7:30 PM with host Caroline Creaghead and guests Myq Kaplan, Kendra Cunningham, Zoe Coombs Marr, and Max SIlvestri.

Justin Walter and Ryan Ferriera will perform at Zebulon, which is open for business in Williamsburg tonight.

After returning to some sense of normalcy yesterday, Joe's Pub will host Public Forum Duet: Anna Deavere Smith and David Simon early and John Kelly later at the venue.

Bad Side, Holidays, The Guts and Pity Party are ready to take on The Acheron tonight.

Brooklyn Bowl is open.

Uriah Heep plays BB King's tonight.

Santos Party House was closed last night and don't have anything listed for tonight either, but Monday's (11/5) MNDR, Colourmusic, Shiny Toy Guns, and Static Summer show is still a go. Deidre & the Dark (Deidre of Savoir Adore) (who just played NYC) also plays Santos on Monday with Gin Wigmore. However, the Etienne De Crecy show is cancelled.

Cake Shop got their power back and hosted The Luyas and Peace last night, but they have nothing scheduled for tonight.

The Chick Corea and Stanley Clarke Band play The Blue Note tonight. A portion of ticket sales will go to the American Red Cross.

Tonight's Leslie West show at Iridium Jazz Club tonight has been postponed to a TBA date in January.

Arlenes's Grocery is back open and tonight they've got Lhabya, The Juvenals, ElixirOnMute, and Bear Language.

As mentioned yesterday, Rockwood Music Hall is back open.

Friday's David Choi and Clara C show at Highline Ballroom has been rescheduled for tonight. However, the Acoustic Africa Tour show has been cancelled. Refunds for that one are available at the point of purchase.

Monday's Joshua Radin and A Fine Frenzy show at Best Buy Theater has been rescheduled for tonight. All tickets will be honored.

Translator Audio and the associated South Sound studios/practice spaces, which were hit hard by Hurricane Sandy, have set up a donation area. Donate if you can.

Terrence Hannum of Locrian has a new zine available for order now. The zine, which is based on art inspired by the pentagram, comes with a cassette that is to be listened to while viewing the zine. Check out a video preview of the zine below. Locrian has a new split with Horseback out now via Relapse Records.

Joey Bada$$ was joined by The Roots for his late night TV debut on Late NIght with Jimmy Fallon on Friday. Check out a video of him performing "Waves" below.

Continue reading "What is & isn't going on Sunday? (John Vanderslice/Crooked Fingers cancelled; Samiam, Fenster, Molly Nilsson, Gary Clark Jr, Entartete (ex-Orphan) & more are on)"

photos by Kellyann Petry, words by Andrew Sacher

Joey Bada$$ @ SUNY Purchase - 10/27/12

One of the most exciting young artists that played this year's CMJ that I personally regret missing is Brooklyn rapper Joey Bada$$. He brings Illmatic style rhymes over MF DOOM, Madlib, and Lord Finesse beats, plus in-house beats from his crew, Pro Era, with a feel as genuinely boom bap as the ones they borrowed. So after missing them at CMJ, I caught Joey and Pro Era at SUNY Purchase's Fall Fest on Saturday (10/27), where they mobbed the stage and had the whole place dancing.

Pro Era took the stage for a few songs without Joey Bada$$ to hype the crowd, getting them waving their arms and yelling along to call and response choruses. Then they finally brought Joey out, who took over with "World Domination," and continued to lead his group and the crowd for the rest of the set. When he's up there, it's noticeable that he's the leader but really all of Pro Era is very communal. They've got way more members than mics but they trade off a lot and the vibe stays at the same height throughout. Like Odd Future or A$AP Mob, they bring a thousand people going reckless on stage, and jumping into the crowd. But while those guys are pretty forward thinking musically, Joey and Pro Era deliver more like Action Bronson -- they aren't just influenced by the golden age era, they're convinced it never ended. Pictures from their set at SUNY Purchase's Fall Fest are in this post.

Joey Bada$$ will play Wesleyan University on November 9 and then is headed to Europe for a tour there. Upon returning to the US, he'll play a hometown show at SOB's on November 20. Tickets for that show are not on sale yet but check ticketweb for updates.

A list of all upcoming dates and more pics from Fall Fest are below.

Continue reading "Joey Bada$$ played SUNY Purchase's Fall Fest, playing more shows (pics & dates)"

by Andrew Sacher

Joey Bada$$

Young Brooklyn rapper Joey Bada$$ put out two of the strongest rap releases of the year so far with 1999 and Rejex, both of which are highly indebted to the golden age era sound of Illmatic, Ready to Die, Reasonable Doubt, and other classics of that kind. Joey and his crew, Pro Era, have been playing locally a lot lately (like when they joined Ab-Soul at Terminal 5 when Ab-Soul was opening for Kendrick Lamar), and they'll continue to do so with a number of shows this month.

This Wednesday (10/10), Joey will join Pusha T, Biz Markie, Action Bronson (who you have plenty of other chances to see), Sicky Brett (of Past Due), plus host Sophia Urista and guest DJs and performers at the Downtown Brooklyn College Festival, which takes place in the BAM parking lot (30 Lafayette Ave). Admission is $10 for students and participating schools include NYU, LIU, Berkeley College, and Saint Francis College. Tickets for that college festival are on sale now. Joey is also scheduled to play at this year's CMJ and at SUNY Purchase Fall Fest a week later (10/27).

Regarding CMJ, as mentioned, Joey and Pro Era will play the Yours Tru.ly day party at Glasslands on October 19 with Ratking, Jim-E Stack, Isaac Delusion, Evy Jane, Night Panther, and MØ. That show is free with RSVP. Then, later that night (10/19), Joey will head to Brooklyn warehouse Villain for the official Pitchfork showcase with Death Grips, LE1F, DIIV, Holy Other, METZ, Merchandise, Daughn Gibson, Hundred Waters, and Angel Haze. That show is free to the public but 200 priority tickets will be given away at the Topman store (478 Broadway in SoHo) "on Wednesday and Thursday between 10 AM and 9 PM."

Keeping his Friday of CMJ busy, in addition to those two shows, Joey will also perform at the Self Taught Showcase at The Studio at Webster Hall (set time TBD).

Before those three parties, Joey and Pro Era will play the Cinematic Music Group/Ekco Ultd/XXL showcase at SOB's on October 18 with Big K.R.I.T., Smoke DZA, Fat Trel, Cashius Green, Chance the Rapper, and Mookie Jone, with hosts Peter Rosenberg and Shiest Bubz. Tickets don't seem to be on sale at the moment but Ecko is running a ticket contest. The show flier is below. Both Joey Bada$$ and Big K.R.I.T. are featured on Smoke DZA's new free mixtape, K.O.N.Y..

That SOB's show runs from 6-10 PM before the Leaders of the New Cool CMJ party takes over the Manhattan venue with Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire, Casey Veggies, Travi$ Scott, Nemo Achida, Armstrong, Reese Two-9, Chance the Rapper, DJ Genesis and host Maurice Garland (tickets).

In related news, Joey Bada$$ is releasing a new single this fall via Green Label Sound, for which he'll be working with "someone [he] considers an icon." Stay tuned for more info on that. Meanwhile, stream some tracks from 1999 and check out a list of all dates below.

Continue reading "Joey Bada$$ releasing new single, playing Downtown Brooklyn College Festival, CMJ & other shows (dates)"

Death Grips at Coachella 2012 (more by David Andrako)

As mentioned, Death Grips are also playing a NPR-presented CMJ show with Flying Lotus at Le Poisson Rouge on October 17. That bill also includes Ali Shaheed Muhammad (of A Tribe Called Quest) and since we last spoke Buke & Gase were added as well. The show is free with "confirmed RSVP", which opens TODAY (10/9) at 10:45 AM (aka really soon). Act quick.

We already mentioned that Death Grips and LE1F are playing Pitchfork's CMJ showcase at new Brooklyn warehouse venue Villain on October 19 (50 N 3rd St). Now the full lineup is out and it also includes DIIV, Joey Bada$$, Holy Other, METZ, Merchandise, Daughn Gibson, Hundred Waters, and Angel Haze. The show goes from 8PM to 3 AM and is totally free to the public, but there will also be 200 priority tickets being given away at the Topman store (478 Broadway in SoHo) "on Wednesday and Thursday between 10 AM and 9 PM."

Pitchfork is also teaming up with MoMA PS1 to present a show in the VW Performance Dome on October 20 (22-25 Jackson Ave, Long Island City) with Andy Stott, Chairlift, and Doldrums, which runs from 3-6 PM. That show is free with museum admission.

Pitchfork's metal column, Show No Mercy, is also presenting an unofficial showcase during CMJ.

The fliers for both Pitchfork shows are below...

Continue reading "Pitchfork announces full CMJ showcase lineup; RSVP opening for Death Grips/Flying Lotus show at LPR"

Ringo Deathstarr in Austin in August (more by Tim Griffin)

Austin trio Ringo Deathstarr released their new album, Mauve, late last month (9/25), and if you've yet to hear it, you can stream the whole thing below. Also below is the video for the album's lead track, "Rip."

They're on tour now supporting the album, and as discussed they'll come to NYC for shows at Shea Stadium on October 21 and Cake Shop on October 22. Those shows happen right after CMJ, and as predicted, the band have since added a CMJ show which happens on October 20 at Ding Dong Lounge with Dead Leaf Echo, Brief Candles, and Scren Vinyl Image. There may be more CMJ week shows added as the fest gets closer (it's pretty close already).

After their 3-night run in NYC, Ringo Deathstarr will return to the NYC area to play the annual Fall Fest at SUNY Purchase on October 27 with Atlas Sound, Mykki Blanco, Joey Bada$$, Pop. 1290, Leather, Tetsuo, Chit Chat, and Ravi Shavi. That festival is technically only open to students and their guests.

An updated list of Ringo Deathstarr dates, the video and album stream are below.

Continue reading "Ringo Deathstarr expand tour, playing 4 NYC area shows including SUNY Purchase Fall Fest (dates & lineup)"

by Andrew Sacher

Flying Lotus at Coachella 2012 (more by Dana (distortion) Yavin)

Flying Lotus is about to welcome his new album, Until the Quiet Comes next week (10/2) via Warp. As the album title implies, it's a "quieter" record than the maximalist Cosmogramma, but it's just as fleshed out and compelling. You can stream the album ahead of its release date at NPR. The video for "Putty Boy Strut" can be watched below.

As mentioned, FlyLo will be supporting the album with a tour that hits NYC on October 7 at Terminal 5 with Thundercat and other Brainfeeder artists. Tickets for that show are still available. That's the first date club date on his tour, but he's since revealed that the tour will kick off with a "take over" of LA and NYC surrounding that date.

In NYC, he'll appear at the Warp booth at the Brooklyn Flea Record Fair on October 6, where he'll be signing copies of his new album. That's free and the booth will be open from 11 AM to 6 PM. The day after the T5 show, he'll play a Red Bull Music Academy Takeover for Boiler Room NYC (10/8) with a great lineup of Questlove, Flatbush Zombies, Just Blaze, Joey Bada$$ & Pro Era, and The Underachievers. That show is guest list only but you can watch it live at boilerroom.tv. On October 9 he'll partake in the "Meet the Musician" series at Apple Store SoHo where he'll give a talk and also perform. That show runs from 6-8 PM and is free but space is very limited.

Lastly, he'll do two events on October 10, including the East Village Radio Takeover, where Flying Lotus and Brainfeeder artists Gaslamp Killer, Martyn, Dorian Concept, Jeremiah Jae, Taylor McFerrin, and The Underachievers will take over two hours of air time on East Village Radio from 2-4 PM to preview their showcase which happens later that night at new Brooklyn venue Villain (50 North 3 St). That show is also presented by the Red Bull Music Academy and features the same lineup (UPDATE: FlyLo is not confirmed) as the radio takeover plus "very special guests." No ticket info for this show at the moment.

An updated list of Flying Lotus dates and the video for "Putty Boy Strut" are below.

Continue reading "Flying Lotus taking over LA & NYC during tour (updated dates & album stream)"

photos by Julie Schabel

Kendrick Lamar @ T5, 9/15/2012

Kendrick Lamar greeted the sold-out crowd at New York City's Terminal 5 with a heartfelt "it feels good to be home." Kendrick opened hard with a string of Section.80 bangers that included "HiiiPower," "Fuck Your Ethnicity," "Hol' Up" and "A.D.H.D."

The Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) crew has been on the BET Music Matters tour for a week now, but the rigor of the nightly shows was only evident in Kendrick's hoarse voice. He powered through a long set of old and new tracks, letting the on-point audience finish line after line for him as he bounced back and forth across the stage under a banner advertising his upcoming album, good kid, m.A.A.d city. -[XXL]

For Ab-Soul's set, he brought out talented local rapper Joey Bada$$ and Joey's Pro Era crew. A video of Joey Bada$$ and Pro Era joining Ab-Soul, plus a video of Kendrick playing "Cartoons & Cereal" at the show are below. Stalley played an opening set at the show too (unfortunately we didn't get any pics of him).

Meanwhile, the fourth member of Black Hippy, Schoolboy Q, was not present. Q is currently as part of the ongoing A$AP Rocky/Danny Brown trek that comes to NYC on September 27 at Roseland. Tickets for that show are still available.

In other news, Kendrick Lamar is none-too-happy with Amazon right now. The online retailer has been prepping the release of Good Kid, m.A.A.d city but let one slip past the goalie by releasing the artwork for the record which apparently was a no-no. Lamar tweeted:

When u leak my album cover. Know that it's not a price tag. Its my LIFE. & there's alot of serious ppl that care about lil Kendrick's life.

All videos and more pics are below...

Continue reading "Kendrick Lamar played Terminal 5 w/ Jay Rock & Ab-Soul (who was joined by Joey Bada$$) -- pics & videos"

Bob Mould

today in NYC
* Sherta @ Barbes
* Sarah Alden @ Barbes
* Kinda Green @ The Stone
* Kelly Joe Phelps @ Joe's Pub
* Elysian Fields @ Le Poisson Rouge
* Shy Hunters, Aaron Roche @ Zebulon
* Brown Rice Family @ The Greene Space
* Perkis, Park, & Eisenstadt @ The Stone
* DANCENOW Joe's Pub Festival @ Joe's Pub
* Starkey, Chrissy Murderbot @ Glasslands
* The Roots, Bob Weir @ The Capitol Theatre
* Sick of It All, CIV, Stigma @ Webster Hall
* Wreckless Eric, Amy Rigby @ Bowery Electric
* Devin, The Psyched, The Wilsen @ Glasslands
* Rustie, Flosstradamus, Brenmar @ Webster Hall
* Rafiq Bhatia, Pepepiano, Icewater @ Cameo Gallery
* Kreator, Accept, Swallow the Sun @ Best Buy Theatre
* Bright Moments, Leverage Models @ Knitting Factory
* Bob Mould, Cymbals Eat Guitars @ Williamsburg Park
* Psychobuildings, Steel Phantoms @ The Grand Victory
* The Shakes, Bad Doctors, Frank Hurricane @ Big Snow
* Rooftop Vigilantes, Big Tits, Cuss Words @ Cake Shop
* Har Mar Superstar, Computer Magic @ Knitting Factory
* Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (invite only) @ John Varvatos
* The Giraffes, Moon Hooch, Slothrust @ Mercury Lounge
* Patrick Watson, Great Lake Swimmers @ Bowery Ballroom
* Colleen Green, Total Slacker, Plateaus @ 285 Kent Avenue
* Xeno & Oaklander, Ike Yard, Led Er Est @ 285 Kent Avenue
* The Rapture, TV Baby And Gabe @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Runny, Bugs in the Dark, Lakookala, Seasick Mama @ The Gutter
* The Rapture (DJ Set), Midnight Magic (DJ Set) @ Public Assembly
* Omar Souleyman, Janka Nabay & The Bubu Gang, DJ Hutz @ The Well
* Cult of Youth, Pharmakon, Pink Reason, Zatsuon @ Public Assembly
* Xenia Rubinos, Railbird, Lady Lamb The Beekeeper @ The Rock Shop
* BLOWOFF (the DJ Sounds of Bob Mould & Richard Morel) @ Highline Ballroom
* Life Eaters, The Everymen, TV Sound, Tijuana Bibles @ Maxwell's
* Lightning Love, Miracles of Modern Science, Jamaican Queens @ Spike Hill
* Gemini Club, Nolita Kings, Love of Everything, Earthquake Party! @ Pianos
* Shark?, The Hairs, What Next?, The Weather Balloons, Hippy @ Shea Stadium
* Ava Luna, Ed Schrader's Music Beat, Lost Boy?, Indian Rebound @ Living Bread
* Matt Embree (Rx Bandits), Vinnie Caruana (I Am The Avalanche) @ Mercury Lounge

Indie rock legend Bob Mould (of Husker Du/Sugar) plays a free show at Williamsburg Park tonight where he'll play Sugar's 1992 debut Copper Blue in its entirety, plus a set of songs from throughout his long career. Doors are at 5:30 PM, Cymbals Eat Guitars are on at 6:30 PM. If you haven't heard Bob's new album, The Silver Age, it's very much in the Sugar vein and his best in a long while. Check out the video for his single "The Descent" below as well as video of him performing it on Letterman.

If you want even more Bob, he'll be at Highline Ballroom later as one-half of DJ duo Blowoff. Doors at 11:30

If you're going to see The Rapture tonight at their last show of a three-night run at Music Hall of Williamsburg, the afterparty happens right next door at Public Assembly with DJ sets by The Rapture and Midnight Magic. It's free.

Follow @BrooklynVegan on Twitter.
Follow @bvChicago for just Chicago stuff.
Also follow @bvAustin for just Austin stuff.

Be our friend on Facebook too, and BV Austin's friend on Facebook and BV Chicago's friend on Facebook.

Follow BrooklynVegan on Instagram.

Joey Bada$$ just released his new mixtape, Rejex. Download it for free HERE.

Swans, who play here next month, made a video for their song "No Words No Thoughts" -- a 10 minute edit of one of the half-hour tracks at least -- from their live album We Rose From Your Bed With the Sun in Our Head which you can watch below.

The VMA's were last night and while Frank Ocean didn't pick up a Moon Man, his performance of "Thinkin' Bout You" was a highlight of the evening. You can watch it below.

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Friday?"