by Fred Pessaro // BBG

Dale Crover w/ Dinosaur Jr, Dec 2012 (more by Fred Pessaro // BBG)

Singing with the Melvins. It's my dream, and apparently the wish of a young School of Rock student in Los Angeles who sang while Dale Crover played drums, covering the band's "Hooch" from Houdini. Check out the cover below, a must see for fans of Melvins.

The band recently played a New Year's Eve show with Redd Kross in their native Los Angeles where they had copies of show-only 12"s for sale, which included a cover of "Female Trouble" by Divine from the 1974 John Waters classic of the same name. Check that, and the School of Rock video, below.

Meanwhile, Melvins are always conjuring up new vinyl and the latest addition to that pile comes in the form of a 13-part Amphetamine Reptile split 12" series. This baker's dozen will feature appearances from names like Negative Approach, Off!, Butthole Surfers, and more, in addition to the recently surfaced Mudhoney and Fucked Up splits. Look for them "hopefully next week."

Continue reading "Dale Crover played with School of Rock; Melvins played NYE, covered Divine, ready splits with Mudhoney and Fucked Up"

photos by Dana (Distortion) Yavin & Graeme Flegenheimer

The Strokes

"The 10th anniversary [of Bonnaroo] was a celebration of how far the festival has come but also reminded us how it got there. There was something for everyone. The String Cheese Incident and Widespread Panic, who played at the first Bonnaroo, were there to remind people of the festival's jam-band roots. Lil Wayne and Big Boi were there along with Eminem to represent what the festival has become. In between, there were legendary acts like Robert Plant and The Band of Joy, Buffalo Springfield, Gregg Allman, Loretta Lynn, Dr. John, and Bruce Hornsby, which attracted an older crowd that resembled festival crowds of years past.

There were also more recently successful bands that attracted a younger crowd, such as Arcade Fire, The Strokes, The Black Keys, Neon Trees, Mumford & Sons, and The Decemberists.

One of the greatest features of Bonnaroo is that there are plenty of non-music entertainment options for those who need a break from music, the heat, or just need a diversion.

There was a cinema tent where rockumentaries and movies were screened, if you wanted to get out of the heat and cool down. There was a comedy tent that has been graced by comedians like Conan O'Brien and Margaret Cho. Dave Attelland hosted one of my favorite Bonnaroo performances when Flight of the Conchords performed in 2007. This year saw funny-men Lewis Black, Cheech Marin, and Tim Minchin among others in a strong rotation.

Sports fans concerned about the NHL and NBA Finals were happy to find the Bonnaroo Sports Bar where they could play pop-a-shot and watch the games on flat-screen monitors.

Artists were encouraged to show their stuff on the graffiti walls that lined much of the 700-acre farm. By the end of the weekend, you could spend all day walking up and down along the wall, finding some beautiful (and some not so beautiful) creations. " [The Epoch Times]

Bonnaroo 2012 is on sale at noon. The 10th Bonnaroo happened last weekend. Pictures of Karen Elson from Day One are HERE, with the rest of Day One HERE. Pictures of Decemberists from Day Two HERE, with the rest of Day Two HERE. Pictures of Gogol Bordello from Day Three are HERE, and the rest of Day Three are HERE. Robyn from Day Four HERE. The rest of Day 4, and the end of our 2011 Bonnaroo pictures, below...

Continue reading "Bonnaroo 2011 - Day 4 in pics (The Strokes, Mavis Staples, Beirut, EITS. John Waters, Greg Allman & more)"

Questlove @ the Roots Picnic 2009 (more by Tim Griffin)

tonight in NYC
* Whiplash @ UCB
* Mike Birbiglia @ UCB
* John Waters @ NYPL
* Owl Drugs @ Cake Shop
* It is It comedy @ Pianos
* Jim Campilongo @ The Living Room
* Active Child, Blair @ Mercury Lounge
* La Roux, Atarah Valentine @ Terminal 5
* Erykah Badu, Janelle Monae @ Roseland Ballroom
* The Brand New Heavies @ Highline Ballroom
* Yeah Right, Huntronik, Thomas Beddoe @ Pianos
* Reverend Vince Anderson & His Love Choir @ Union Pool
* Air Waves, The Young Sinclairs, Easter Vomit @ Death By Audio
* Anamanaguchi, Home Video, Blast Off! @ Knitting Factory Brooklyn
* Camera Obscura, The Love Language @ Manhattan Center Grand Ballroom
* Softspot, Haunted Ghost, Fractal Farm, Unsolved Mysteries @ Glasslands
* Fela! Original Cast Recording Release Party w/ cast member, Questlove (DJ) @ Brooklyn Bowl

It's Internet Week.

John Waters is speaking at the library.

Camera Obscura played Sunday afternoon at the Brooklyn Flea. This evening they headline Grand Ballroom in Manhattan.

Little Women and their saxophones played 538 Johnson Apt 202 on June 4th. Video below...

As Jay-Z pointed out, there's a Fela! party tonight at Brooklyn Bowl. It's free, and Questlove is performing (djing) at it after he's done opening for Janelle Monae and Erykah Badu at Roseland. Flyer is re-posted below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Monday?"

photos by Rachel Carr, words by Daiana Feuer

Gorillaz Clash

The third and final round of the Coachella Music & Arts Festival was funky, and not just because the port-a-potties reeked. Keeping a loose theme every day (see Friday & Saturday), Sunday focused on relentless rhythm and groovy basslines. The absolute golden moment belonged to Yo La Tengo's blistering final song. Rhythm that revels in repetition + guitar that tries to destroy itself = wee mind blown. Sometimes the moodiest things are the most uplifting.

Thom Yorke brought his dancing shoes, his favorite Flea, and Nigel Godrich. His band Atoms For Peace played almost every song off The Eraser, many of which featured strong world rhythm sections. When Yorke didn't have a guitar in hand, he danced, whirled, and punched the air like he was rehearsing a scene from Fame. We wanted a high kick, but it didn't arrive. King Khan & The Shrines, on the other hand, featured legs flying all over the place, DJ Lance Rock and Yo Gabba Gabba characters, burning money, as well as a visit from the police-who crept on stage to snap pictures. Probably the first time Khan runs into cops and doesn't leave wearing cuffs. Sunny Day Real Estate had the audience offering bids to buy property, and Phoenix had people choking on dinner as they tried to dance and eat at the same time.

King Khan Gabba Gabba

Not every Julian Casablancas song captivated, but his band delightfully binged on rhythms. Each musician had a personal backbeat player supporting each fill. The drummer plus his sidekick especially sounded great. Matt & Kim's ebullient smiles inspired chaos in the audience, as usual. Mayer Hawthorne and the County revived Motown soulful brassiness and covered Biz Markie's "Just a Friend." The Big Pink played some new songs from next year's album, reaching out for Depeche Mode with a drummer in a pink bathing suit. Electro sweet popper Little Boots forgot her pants as well, wearing a sparkly shirt and knickers, and played with the lasers on stage. Charlotte Gainsbourg inaugurated her "first tour, first everything" with a feminine "Candy-O" sensibility, sometimes in French. Florence & the Machine rounds out the great lady performances of the day, and brought on Nathan Willett of Cold War Kids.

All clad in white, France's DJ ego-powers Club 75 demonstrated the ability to cooperate together with just a few elbows thrown. Cassius, Justice, Busy P, and DJ Mehdi still use CD's (so old school), and took turns passing on the headphones between them and finishing each other's remix sentences, trading places at each station. Backstage security bobbed along while staying tough. When it was their turn, Rusko turned the Sahara tent into a mechazoid robot battle and Orbital live-produced virtual reality anthems for Satan wearing Matrix miner lights around their heads. Infected Mushroom instructed on the benefits of "Becoming Insane" flanked by two mushrooms with red eyes.

The Middle East should not be confused with The Soft Pack, formerly The Muslims. The former may be from Australia but it sounds like a back porch band from Woodstock, and the latter offers a "Parasite" infestation that's as pure as sunshine and a neat drum set up that packs a giant tom punch. What appears as regular rock on headphones reveals its brilliance when experienced live. One of the strangest live moments of the festival belongs to Sly Stone, who played four hours late and on the wrong stage. He bitched, he slurred, he cursed, lay down, walked off, stopped songs and good grief, made a total mess of himself. But that's rock and roll.

Sly Stone made history look unable to get past its youthful drug phase, but Jonsi, Pavement, and Spoon come from a music scene that did a little bit less cocaine. Jonsi repped the awesomeness of Sigur Rós and great hats. Steve Patterson of White Rabbits joined Britt Daniels and the rest of Spoon to add percussion on "I Turn My Camera On". Spoon's tour-mate Bradford Cox (who played earlier in the day in Deerhunter) also joined Spoon on stage, like he did on their recent Kimmel appearance. Pavement ran through the hits during one of their first U.S. shows since reuniting. "That's the 90's in a nutshell," said Stephen Malkmus after the angsty "Unfair"...

"...Pavement, the iconic slacker band of the '90s, who took the main stage against what turned out to be one of the fest's chief attractions, the finally wildly popular French dance-rock band Phoenix, who wowed possibly the biggest crowd of the entire fest ... while Pavement played to a field half-full of true believers rather than the massive throngs many expected, and thought the band deserved.

No matter, though. Pavement still delivered a set that vindicated the group of prior crimes -- namely a Coachella performance near the end of their career so notoriously bad, many in attendance point to it as the moment the band decided to break up.

This night, however, they were tight, they were loud, and they sounded large on that vast field -- an odd statement, given the fact that in their heyday they were far more known for being introspectively small rather than arena-ready..." [The OC Register]

Virtual Snoop Dogg introduced the Gorillaz set, but Blur's Damon Albarn appeared in the flesh, with a few special guests including Paul Simonon, Mick Jones, De La Soul-who kicked their own old school jams earlier in the day-and Little Dragon's Yukimi. One unique rhythm transcended the next, showing the mutability of hip hop and dance music. And then that was it, suddenly. The festival ended and tens of thousands of people started wondering where they left their car keys...

Radiohead Peppers For Peace

Daiana's Weekend Top 10:
1. Yo La Tengo's last song
2. Little Dragon's Yukimi
3. Gossip leading a revolution
4. Thom Yorke dancing to African rhythms
5. PiL giving a history lesson
6. Sly Stone wigging out
7. Bouncing penises + fat people in undies (Die Antwoord + Major Lazer)
8. Devo putting on the hats that ushered in modern pop culture for "Whip It"
9. John Waters corrupting many young minds
10. The Gorrilaz lyric: "Super fast jellyfish going super fast. You can't even see him but you wanna eat him."

--

Owen Pallett, Local Natives, Miike Snow, and Yann Tiersen also played the fest Sunday. Gary Numan was among those who couldn't. Reviews & pictures from Day One, HERE and Day Two, HERE. Setlists (Thom Yorke and Pavement), pictures, and videos from Day Three, below...

Continue reading "Coachella 2010 - Day Three in pics, video & review (the Thom Yorke & Pavement setlists included) "

photos by Rachel Carr, words by Daiana Feuer

"Wow. The Sahara is past capacity at Coachella for Die Antwoord. No midget. Waiting for the trainwreck but people dig it." - The Scenestar

"Seeing a shirtless Danny DeVito run across the stage while Faith No More played pretty much made my #coachella weekend." - stovn

Die Antwoord, Faith No More

Flopping phalluses are in this year according to Major Lazer and Die Antwoord. Each presented the intersection of beats, party-hyping, gross humor, and dancing in your underwear. Day 2 of the Coachella Music & Arts Festival had an overall far-out theme. Some with sexually explicit lunacy, others with psychedelic music. South Africa's Die Antwoord introduced zef-rap to the festival, South Africa's version of white trash hip hop-a bold, fearless expression of crazy stick a finger up your bum entertainment.

Before arriving at these culminating moments, the day progressed through a series of psychedelic and/or raunchy expressions. John Waters kicked things off with thoughts on crawling through pig poo, taking poppers, the pleasures of sploshing, and strange things he wants to do before he dies. Gossip's Beth Ditto hoped he was watching her blazing disco soul performance but was afraid to look backstage and see him smiling and waving at her. Gossip put on a set that inspired revelations on reality in the most self-empowering ways.

John Waters & Beth Ditto @ Coachella (this pics via Jermey Scott)

The day's best covers include Faith No More doing "Reunited" (they also covered Michael Jackson's "Ben"), Portugal, The Man's jamming Bowie's "Moonlight Daydream," and Girls' flawless "All I Have To Do Is Dream" by the Everly Brothers. The last was a most appropriate choice for the band with an Ariel Pink sensibility towards '50s ballads. MGMT brought the futuristic 1960s with songs from its new album. Many pointed out that the band didn't play "Kids", but that seems to miss the point that MGMT put on a pretty sophisticated, experimental live performance of the band's signature Indian headdress on Phil Spector Fraggle Rock sound.

The Raveonettes played as a duo and sans drum machine, adorably sharing a mic sometimes. The rest of the band remains trapped under lava in Iceland, figuratively speaking. Camera Obscura also shouted out bands stuck in the UK, dedicating "Let's Get Out Of This Country" to those who could not make it.

It seems almost every DJ this weekend has sampled Major Lazer's "Pon De Floor" except Flying Lotus, who took the stage all on his own (no Thom Yorke cameo included). After warming up the crowd with some first grade experimental hip hop, FlyLo brought out the big guns, sounds combined in layers and pitches that act like quaaludes on the light speed continuum. The Dirty Projectors girls evoked cool electronic birds and the Dezurik Sisters with their harmonizing powers. Beach House cooed the audience romantically as 50% of the band, Alex Scally, rubbed his slide up and down the frets.

Did that sound sexy? It's time to talk about sexy. The xx provided the mellow arousal Blonde Redhead and Portishead have given Coachella the last two years. People like The xx because they want sex that fits this soundtrack. They also want sex as excitingly goofy gross as Die Antwoord and to fall in love with a gal like Sia, all at the same time. Sia's beautiful voice closed the night in the Gobi tent, and though her accent rendered her side comments completely incomprehensible, everyone laughed and agreed with anything she said. On the other hand, as great and sexy as the Dead Weather sounded, I don't know if I want to bed someone who demands I treat her like my mother. Old Crow Medicine Show suggested letting a woman rule your mind leads to troubles during "Minglewood Blues." Instead, let her win your heart with country-fried dinner.

Faith No More's twelve-song set included a cameo by a semi-streaker who happened to be Coachella regular Danny Devito. You can see that happen in one of the videos below. Faith No More's whole setlist is down there too.

Porcupine Tree, Tokyo Police Club, Hot Chip, The Almighty Defenders, Les Claypool, Devo, and Muse were also on the bill Saturday. Our review, pictures and videos from Friday are HERE. Saturday continues below...

Continue reading "Coachella 2010 - Day Two in pics, video & review (Die Antwoord shots & Faith No More's setlist included)"

Wow...Public Image Ltd, The Specials, Grizzly Bear, Passion Pit, Echo and the Bunnymen, Grace Jones, Fever Ray, Devo, Hot Chip, Phoenix, Orbital, Spoon, Sly and the Family Stone, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Sunny Day Real Estate, Yo La Tengo, Mew, Camera Obscura, Gil Scott-Heron, The xx, John Waters, Dillinger Escape Plan, Deer Tick, Gary Numan... Full Coachella 2010 lineup below....

Continue reading "2010 Coachella line up announced (Faith No More, Pavement, Muse, Gorillaz, Thom Yorke, Jay-Z, LCD Soundystem, ???)"

John Waters & Divine

"Giving gifts is incredibly difficult. The smarter you are, the easier it is to find a gift for you, because you have interests. And if you're really smart, you tell people what you want and they get it for you. If you leave it up to people who you know are going to get you bad gifts, that's your own stupid fault. Basically, a lot of the time people want to be told what to get you, because then they don't have to worry if you'll like it. But the best kind of presents are when someone you know collects something, and you find something that they never even knew existed. That's the top present, even if it costs a nickle. It's just finding something that they want that they didn't know existed.

The worst present is something that's obviously regifted. In that case, you should demand a receipt. [John Waters]"

John Waters has added an 11pm Christmas show at BB King's on December 22nd. Tickets are on sale. The previously-announced 8pm show on the same day is now sold out. Ronnie Spector plays her annual holiday show at the same venue tonight (12/19) & tomorrow (12/20).

Continue reading "John Waters adds a 2nd Christmas show in NYC, Ronnie Spector plays BB King's Saturday & Sunday"

John Waters as the other creepy old Santa...

A John Waters Christmas is hitting the road this December. Six dates are scheduled with a New York City stop at BB King's on December 22nd. The show takes the form of a monologue that "explores and explodes traditional archetypes as [Waters] shares his compulsive desire to give and receive perverted gifts, a religious fanaticism for Santa Claus, and an unhealthy love of true crime holiday horror stories." Tickets for the NY show are on sale. He visits New Brunswick, NJ's State Theatre four days before (12/18) and tickets for that are on sale too. All dates below.

A John Waters Christmas is actually the name of the director's own holiday compilation that features the likes of Fat Daddy, Alvin & The Chipmunks and Tiny Tim. Videos of few of those are below.

BB King's will host another holiday show with Darlene Love on December 13th. The singer is a 2010 nominee for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and she appeared at the museum's two-night MSG show with Bruce & the E Street band. A video of her annual Letterman performance of "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" is below. Tickets are on sale.

Darlene Love's Love for the Holidays will also be at Bergen Performing Arts Center in Englewood, NJ on Sunday, December 20th. Tickets are on sale.

Elsewhere in Jersey, Darlene teams up with Ronnie Spector for "A Christmas Gift for You" at Red Bank, NJ's Count Basie Theater on Thursday, December 17th. (Both got their holiday start in part from their songs on 1963's A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector.) Tickets are on sale.

Then, Ronnie Spector's annual X-Mas Party runs for two nights at BB King's on Saturday, December 19th and Sunday, December 20th. Tickets are on sale.

Spector's new disc The Last of the Rock Stars (...) has guest appearances that include Keith Richards, Nick Zinner (Yeah Yeah Yeahs), Patti Smith, Patrick Keeler (The Raconteurs) and Jack Lawrence (The Dead Weather). There's also a version of "It's Christmas Once Again" to add to your holiday rotation alongside ubiquitous Ronettes versions of "Sleigh Ride" and "Frosty the Snowman."

Speaking of Patti Smith, she has some annual holiday shows coming up of her own, but those are after Christmas and include New Years Eve.

Dates & songs from all three are posted below...

Continue reading "John Waters, Ronnie Spector & Darlene Love - holiday albums, videos & 2009 shows in NY, NJ, other places (dates) "

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Amazing Baby - Smoke Bros (MP3)

Amazing Baby

"I actually miss the days when you just wrote about Amazing Baby in eeevery post." - BV commenter Eric Serpa | June 4, 2009 4:59 PM

This one's for you, dude. Yes it has been a while since Amazing Baby have graced this column which started almost exactly a year ago and were featured in my inaugural post. Since then, the band have gone through a few line-up changes, expanded, contracted, and toured Europe a couple times (once with buddies MGMT). The band open for Phoenix at Terminal 5 this Friday (6/19) and will release their debut album, Rewild, on Tuesday, June 23. (It's out now on iTunes.) Few are more aware than me that a lot of people seem to dislike this band, though I think most of that comes from the company they keep and their image more than the music itself.

Do they have questionable taste when it comes to fashion, their album covers and music videos? Maybe, but I don't think you can accuse Amazing Baby of the same, musically, or jumping on any bandwagons. Rewild is psychedelic without being being retro, danceable at times, heavy, glammy, catchy as hell and full of inventive arrangements and production. It rocks and swoons and sounds great loud. And they don't sound like any single other band out there. You can download "Smoke Bros" (which reminds me of Shriekback a little bit) at the top of this post. And you can stream the whole album at their MySpace.

Lightspeed Champion

Still reading? Phoenix's openers at tomorrow's (6/18) Music Hall of Williamsburg is Lightspeed Champion. That show is beyond sold-out, but tonight (6/17), he's playing a warm up show at Mercury Lounge, which will be his first in a long time. Dev has become a Brooklyn resident in the last year, which is where he also recorded his still-untitled second solo album (due in Oct.) with help from the Spacecamp boys who will also be his backing band at both shows. As a fan of last year's underrated Falling Off the Lavendar Bridge, I'm anxious to hear Dev's new material. Tickets are still available.

Spacecamp are also playing a set of their own at Mercury Lounge, opening the night, though you'd think it would've made more sense for them to play next-to-last and just have Dev come out and join them for a seamless transition, but I am a blogger not a stage manager. The band now have a full-time keyboardist in the mix which has made them a bit funkier (clavinet tends to do that). You can can get an idea of that in the footage Joly shot from Spacecamp's Annex show two weeks ago (below). In between Spacecamp and Lightspeed are Apache Beat and New Orleans' Hurray for the Riff Raff.

Nobunny

The show I'm most looking forward to this week, though, is this Friday (6/19) at Bruar Falls: Nobunny, Hunx and His Punx, German Measels, Baby Shakes and The Beets. I wrote about Nobunny the last time he was through town, having just caught him at SXSW, and his shows are fun and creepy all at the same time. (It's that mask.) If you haven't heard his debut, Love Visions, it's a lot of fun if you like bare-bones Ramones style punky pop. He recently put out a cassette-only album, Raw Romance, of demos and outtakes that was also pretty good -- it's sold out but maybe he'll have copies on tour with him. Nobunny also plays an all-ages show at Death by Audio two nights later (6/21).

The whole evening at Bruar Falls sounds like fun. Hunx and His Punx look and sound like they lept out of a John Waters movie and judging by their music videos I can only hope they bring that level of camp to their live show. Hunx has a new single out, "Teardrops on My Telephone," on Jay Reatard's Shattered label (also home to Nobunny). You can see the video for that song below. Hunx is playing a bunch of shows and parties this week, and all his dates are at the bottom of this post.

Also: the girl group punk of Baby Shakes; German Measels' fake mustache pop; and The Beets who seem to play every four days but I've enjoyed every show I've seen of theirs (including two previous at Bruar Falls).

Other shows of note: there's a TWII-approved line-up at Glasslands on tonight (6/17): Sisters, My Teenage Stride, and Knight School. All the bands are good, but if you haven't seen Sisters yet, you should really rectify that as soon as possible. On of my all time favorite new local bands of the moment.

Crocodiles are back in town, playing Union Pool on Thursday (6/18) and Mercury Lounge on Saturday (6/20). I don't care what Pitchfork says, I think their album is pretty good and they were fun at Pianos earlier this year.

And it wouldn't be a proper TWII column without mentioning this year's Twee as Fuck party at Cake Shop. TaF is a monthy party in London, as well as a fanzine and label, and they bring it over here in June. I went to last year's moderately-attended event which featured Afternoon Naps, Bears, and Pains at Being Pure at Heart who are headlining again this year though it's an understatement to say that things have changed for them. Not that they don't totally deserve it, but it still boggles my mind that the Pains have become a big as they have. TPOBPAH just announced a fall tour and those dates are below. Their next NYC show after Cake Shop is at South Street Seaport (home of tonight's Jon Spencer Blues Explosion Show).

With a lineup that also includes their Slumberland labelmates Crystal Stilts and Cause Co-Motion, as well as London's Hatcham Social, this is gonna be one super-packed, sweaty night at Cake Shop. Advance tickets are sold out, but there are a few available at the door if you get there early. Doors are at 7pm.

That's it for this week. Flyers, videos, and tour dates are after the jump....

Continue reading "Amazing Baby, Nobunny, Hunx & His Punx, Lightspeed Champion, TPOBPAH & more in This Week In Indie "

Aaron Wilkinson 5 Year Memorial Concert

Kimya Dawson and Friends
Paleface / Levy / Graham Wilkinson & The Underground Township
This show is a benefit for the Aaron Wilkinson Memorial Playground. Proceeds go to benefit a handicapped accessible playground in Texas where Aaron was a camp counselor working with disabled kids.
Wed 7/2 @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

Doors 8pm / Show 9pm -- 16+
$20 advance / $20 day of show
on sale 5/21 12:00 pm

In other Kimya news, there's now a second "Juno" soundtrack

The Apples in Stereo drop their new disc, New
Magnetic Wonder, this week, along with the US release of Peter Bjorn and John's Writer's Block, the Postmarks' self-titled debut, and Bloc Party's A Weekend In The City. From the lesser-publicized releases, I'm most excited about Over the Rhine's Discount Fireworks and former Velocity Girl Sarah Shannon's solo album, City Morning Song.

What can you recommend or warn against from this week's list? Anything that should also be included?

CD releases:

Continue reading "Largehearted Boy's Interesting CD Releases This Week"

"Well, I have an hour monologue about my obsession with Christmas - about Christmas crime, Christmas presents, about the Christmas tree falling over on my grandma, what I want for Christmas, about Christmas music, about what you should give people for Christmas, how to shoplift at Christmas, how Christmas is good for criminals. It's an all-around Christmas feel-good-feel-bad lecture about how to get through the holidays.... [Says John Waters to the Post]

"Four sold-out nights in the New York area later, two of which I attended, Art Brut might be my favorite new act in years, even more than the Game or Tony Yayo." [Riff Raff interviewed Art Brut]

The verdict is in. NYC Loves Art Brut.

MAXWELLS NOV 9, 2005

"Taking the stage around 11:30 PM last night, Art Brut launched into a note-perfect cover of AC/DC's Back in Black' [One Louder]

MERCURY LOUNGE NOV 10, 2005

"Argos, despite his vocal limitations, is a very engaging frontman. He has exactly three power moves:..." [HEARTONASTICK]

"And then there's Argos, a classic ham of a frontman, a doughy ball of goofy, waterlogged charisma behind a John Waters mustache..." [Status Ain't Hood]

"Their music is so fucking catchy that you can't deny the attraction from the start." [Loose Record]

"Lead singer Eddie Argos is cheeky and self agrandizing to the point of spoof and then ultimately self depricating and funny as hell, he had the audience cracking up, 'Ready Art Brute?' he asks before each song." [A blog Called Nowhere]

"A bearded dwarf sporting a mohawk and wife-beater ruled the mosh pit during most of the show, but his attempts to treat the band to shots were unsuccessful." [Jeddeth]

"What a great show. Seemingly everyone in attendence not only knew the words to all the songs, but also brought their cameras..." [Sound Bites]

* check out my pics
* Kathryn's pics at Flickr

NORTHSIX NOV 11, 2005

"In Brit-speak, this was a fookin' great show" [bolts of melody]

* photos @ SPIN

TRIBECA GRAND NOV 12, 2005

"...he said that they were looking for a deal for their record to come out in the U.S. (currently it's only available on the UK) and that's the reason they undertook this short U.S. tour." [Japanese God Jesus Robot]

"Let me say that new guitarist Jasper Future is the new indie-rock matinee idol I'll never be. guy is gorgeous (he's the blonde, obviously)." [dave should get out more]

"The Arctic Monkeys have chosen a terrible weak to debut in the U.S. Terrrrrible, I say." [Yeti Don't Dance]

* Check out my pics

Sort of Unrelated: WTC Art Bruts May Claim Another Scalp

"Director John Waters, known for making art from sleaze, has a new CD for the [2004] season, A John Waters Christmas. It includes such songs as 'Here Comes Fatty Claus,' 'Little Mary Christmas,' and 'Santa Claus is a Black Man.' Waters was once crowned the 'Pope of Trash' by William Burroughs." [listen @ NPR]

"Every December since 1966, filmmaker John Waters has hosted a huge Christmas party at his Baltimore home. Christmas is an obsession for Waters..." [NPR]

See John Waters' Christmas live in 2005:
Dec 15 @ Rio Theatre, California w/ Jonathan Richman (tix & VIP tix)
Dec 17 @ UCLA, Royce Hall w/ Peaches (more info)
Dec 21 @ Bowery Ballroom, NYC w/ Kimya Dawson & Trachtenburg Slideshow Players (tix & VIP tix)

If there's more dates, I don't know about them.

John Waters will be at the Union Square Virgin Megastore in NYC signing copies of A Dirty Shame (DVD) on Tuesday June 14th @ 6:30 PM. (expect to buy the DVD if you want to meet him).

and in related news from Gawker Stalker...
"tuesday (6/7) i was at metro pictures and overheard someone laughing at the mike kelly collages. i turn to see that it is john waters. he approached the front desk most likely to inquire about purchasing one of the perverse pieces. he was carrying a rainbow striped bag."