Tickets are still on sale for the official BV Northside showcase at Music Hall of Williamsburg (6/15) with Caveman, Frankie Rose, and two more TBA.

Tickets for the King Khan & the Shrines show at Bowery Ballroom go on sale today at noon.

Tickets for Sebadoh's Bowery Ballroom show go on sale today at noon.

Joining Jay-Z, Rush, and Leonard Cohen, Justin Bieber is the newest addition to the artists playing Brooklyn's new Barclays Center this year. Tickets for his 11/12 show at the venue go on sale June 2 at 10 AM. He also plays Izod Center and MSG (not like it matters) but how could we not mention the day that the streets of Brooklyn will be flooded with Beliebers?

Field Mouse, who were added as openers to I Break Horses' Mercury Lounge show on Wednesday (5/30) and UMO/Doldrums' Glasslands show in June, will play Mercury Lounge on July 21. Tickets for that show go on sale Friday (5/25) at noon.

Pomegranates and Kitten play Mercury Lounge on July 27. Tickets for that show go on sale Friday (5/25) at noon.

Tickets for the Gaslight Anthem's Webster Hall show go on sale Friday, June 1 at noon.

TIckets for the El-P, Killer Mike, Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire and Despot show at Irving Plaza go on sale Friday (5/25) at 10 AM. Killer Mike also plays a free Brooklyn Bowl show TONIGHT (5/24) with DIIV, The High Highs, and Beat Culture.

The 2-day Dylan Fest begins at irving Plaza tonight (5/24) with Adam Green, Fabrizio Moretti of The Strokes, Nicole Atkins, Christoher Chu of POP ETC, and more. Tickets are still available and we're also giving away three pairs for each night. Contest details below.

Speaking of Adam Green, he plays the free Lowbrow Reader Variety Hour at Housing Works on May 29 with Wyatt Cenac, Supercute, and more.

Psychic Ills were added to The Dandy Warhol's Irving Plaza show (6/5). Tickets for that show are still available.

Alex Winston and Devin (who was just added to 4Knots) were added to The Cribs' Irving Plaza show (6/6). Tickets for that show are still on sale.

The Azealia Banks show at Bowery Ballroom is also on sale at noon.

Dylan Fest contest details below...

Continue reading "Sebadoh, Frankie Rose, Caveman, Field Mouse, Gaslight Anthem, Dylan Fest, Justin Bieber & other tickets"

by Andrew Sacher

Action Bronson demonstrates the size of his testicles (more by Brook Bobbins)

Action Bronson, who can you can vote for as one of the XXL freshmen of 2012, and who played at the Hip Hop Hanukah show at S.O.B.'s last Thursday, will play another show in his home city before the year ends at Highline Ballroom on December 27. The show is with Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire (who recently played a BV-presented show at Glasslands with G-Side), DyMe-A-DuZiN and The Doppelgangaz. Tickets are still available. He doesn't appear to have any other scheduled shows at the moment.

Action Bronson recently released the new collaborative LP Well Done with Statik Selektah. Get your copy at iTunes. You can also watch the video for album track "Not Enough Words," and stream another one, "Coca Butter," below.

In other news, Action Bronson recently remixed Justin Beiber's holiday jam, "Mistletoe," not long after dropping a track with Asher Roth called "Choices," both of which you can stream below. Not sure if he's joking with these collaborations, but I kinda hope he is. Plus, collabing with the Biebs is way more of a Drake thing to do, which we know Bronson's mentor Ghostface Killah would NEVER approve of, and in Ghostface's book of dont's, an Asher Roth collaboration isn't far behind.

songs and videos below...

Continue reading "Action Bronson's recent release w/ Statik Selektah, a Justin Bieber remix (???), an upcoming show w/ Exquire & stuff"

"The VMAs unite us as a people, a shitty, shitty people. #VMAs" - Dave Hill

Tyler's mom & Wavves @ the Video Music Awards (via Hipster Runoff)

Bon Iver (Justin Vernon) has posted his thoughts on last night's VMAs. This is what he said:

"there are great moments in awards shows. bruno mars sounded really good doing 'valerie' for amy winehouse. i don't think anyone is bummed that adele is killing everything. her voice was real and focused when i went thru and watched highlights from tonight. kanye and jay z are always murdering. beyonce is pregnant. yes this is awesome as shit, culturally speaking. but can i just ask, the reader, us, we ... as non-rhetorically as possible: don't we seem dumb? didn't MTV lose the fight against themselves? Didn't Rock'n'Roll STOP? Why are the lights so bright? isn't our talent as artists enough? Why do we try SO hard? Does a moonman mean what it did back then? Should we feel pumped when we get one? Should our mom's cry? I am not even thinking about it that hard. I will close my eyes in 90 seconds and have total peace... But, seriously. Why are we waving around so much? Why do we NEED this shit so bad? Why don't we just have MUSIC? DO music? soul? I don't know. I don't mean to criticize. Anyone. Actually. Except for MTV. You might have had a very large opportunity to be stabilize your self as a global presence of culture and art about 15 years ago and you fucked the dog. Sorry. Im with my girls on this one. Its becoming increasingly clear as I think about it more and more, that the dollars, if they ARE apart of why you are doing something... they are apart of why you are doing something. that's fucked to me. that's the absence of spirit, glue, fabric of what makes us a person. it distracts us from what we could be doing: WORK. on EARTH. Better say this: Forget what I say. If you even read this, you'll probably say to yourself, who is this ass saying shit? It doesn't matter what i say. it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter. But this one last thought: What would Bill Hicks say?"
- JV

Continue reading "Bon Iver's Justin Vernon discusses the MTV VMAs (where Odd Future won, Tyler's mom got excited, etc)"

DOWNLOAD: Black Dub - Last Time (live) (MP3)

Black Dub

It was the official Canadian music-industry consecration of Arcade Fire at this year's edition of the Juno Awards, with the Montreal alt-rockers nabbing four trophies, more than any other artist. Arcade Fire won album of the year for "The Suburbs", group of the year, songwriter of the year ( for "Ready to Start", "We Used To Wait", and "Sprawl II"), and alternative album (also for "The Suburbs").

The Juno Awards, Canada's music awards, were doled out at a ceremony at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto Sunday (3/27) night, with the show broadcast live on the CTV Network.

The multiple wins for Arcade Fire follow the ultra-hot outfit's recent win for best album at the Grammy Awards, a win that took many by surprise. Shortly after the Grammys, Arcade Fire also won for best international group and international album at the Brit Awards in London.

... Canadian pop star Justin Bieber also won two Junos, for pop album (for "My World 2.0") and the Juno Fan Choice Award. Bieber was in Rotterdam Sunday, on tour, and accepted his awards via pre-taped video acceptance speeches.

Canadian rock icon Neil Young was voted artist of the year, which led him to quip on stage: "What year is this?" Young was also given, as previously announced, the Allan Waters Humanitarian Award and his moving acceptance speech was one of the highlights of the night. On Saturday night, in a non-broadcast ceremony, Young also won for adult alternative album for "Le Noise". Daniel Lanois also won as producer of the year for both "Le Noise" and his own project, the self-titled Black Dub album. -[Variety]

Lanois will head back out on the road with his Black Dub project in May and June. The newly announced set of dates inclues a NYC show at Webster Hall on 6/15 with Rocco DeLuca. Tickets go on AmEx presale at noon on Wed (3/30) with regular sale hitting on Friday.

All dates, all Junow winners and some videos below...

Continue reading "Daniel Lanois won a Juno (like Bieber & Arcade Fire), Black Dub announces tour dates"

To quote Gothamist:

Following the Arcade Fire's win at the Grammys, it seemed like half the nation was asking: Who Is Arcade Fire? What started off as a post on BrooklynVegan, grew into its own Tumblr account, and by last night the band themselves caught wind of the meme. At the Brit Awards--while accepting one of their awards (they took home trophies for Best International Album and Best International Group)--Win Butler said, "We're called Arcade Fire--check it out on Google."

Continue reading "Arcade Fire win Brits (Bieber too), acknowledge meme"

by Ryan Barkan

Super Bowl XLV (45): Dallas Cowboys vs...oh wait....The Green Bay Packers vs the Pittsburgh Steelers in Dallas' brand new, state of the art, big ass stadium. The Packers won, bringing the Lombardi Trophy back to small town America and less sales back to Wiz Khalifa. I wonder if Jerry Jones was faking all of those smiles? Enough of the sports talk. This feature is the return of the long lost "Week In Music Licensing" post.

The real winner tonight - Detroit. A town that has been down on its luck, due for something inspiring to happen. Well here you go. Laura R. Charron tweeted that "#Detroit area agrees that #Chrysler200 had THE BEST commercial." Decide for yourself:

Continue reading "music & commercials of Super Bowl XLV (Eminem, Jon Spencer, Ozzy, Bieber, Bowie, RAC, Kenny G & more)"

Wavves & Best Coast are here

today in NYC
* Dubbidet @ Barbes
* Rob Burger @ The Stone
* Vicky Chow @ The Stone
* Glen Hansard @ City Winery
* Holy Ghost! @ Mercury Lounge
* Mandingo Ambassadors @ Barbes
* Michelle Nagai @ Issue Project Room
* Best Coast, Wavves, No Joy @ Webster Hall
* Brooke Shields @ Feinstein's at Loews Regency
* Matis Aguayo, JDH, Dave P @ Santos Party House
* Zongo Junction, Ikebe Shakedown @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Pillars and Tongues, Hiro Kone, Highlife @ Zebulon
* Carolina Chocolate Drops @ Lincoln Center's Allen Room
* Tooth Ache., The Shining Twins, Boom Chick @ Glasslands
* The Radio Dept., Young Prisms @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Findlay Brown, Auditorium, Christopher Paul Stelling @ Bowery Electric
* Eluveitie, System Divide, 3 Inches of Blood, Holy Grail @ Gramercy Theatre
* Alex Bleeker & The Freaks, Family Portrait, Melted Toys, Speculator @ Maxwell's
* Incredible Pyramid, Beach Arabs, Emily Reo, Phillip Seymour Hoffman @ Silent Barn
* Emil & Friends, Arms, Ravens & Chimes, Jared Van Fleet, Friend, Roulette @ Pianos
* Hunter Valentine, Vanity Theft, People You Know (Big Queer Party) @ Knitting Factory
* Alloy Orchestra playing scores to silent films @ World Financial Center Winter Garden
* Slowest Runner String Quintet, Anahita, Sontag Shogun, Aki Onda, The Dreebs @ Death By Audio
* The Big Terrific Comedy Show w/ Max Silvestri, Gabe Liedman and Jenny Slate @ Cameo Gallery
* The Green Album (Weezer tribute w/ members of We Are Scientists, Blood Orange, Rewards), Bad Girlfriend @ Bruar Falls

Best Coast and Wavves play their first of two NYC shows together tonight. Best Coast gave a very impressive performance on Letterman Monday night (the same night Justin Bieber was on the show). Video of that, David saying "Snacks the Cat" included, below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Wednesday? (Groundhog Day)"

And the nominees for "Album of the Year" are:

* The Suburbs by Arcade Fire
* Recovery by Eminem
* Need You Now by Lady Antebellum
* The Fame Monster by Lady Gaga
* Teenage Dream by Katy Perry

Also funny: Mumford & Sons are up for Best New Artist against Justin Bieber (and Drake, Florence & The Machine, and Esperanza Spalding)

Robyn is up for Best Dance Recording against Lady Gaga (and Goldfrapp, La Roux, and Rihanna).

Arcade Fire are also nominated for Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals against Muse, Kings of Leon, The Black Keys, and... Jeff Beck & Joss Stone.

The Black Keys also landed in the "Best Rock Instrumental Performance" along with... Dave Matthews.

The Black Keys and Mumford & Sons and Kings of Leon and Muse are also all in the "Best Rock Song" category.

"Best Alternative Album" category:

* The Suburbs by Arcade Fire
* Infinite Arms by Band Of Horses
* Brothers by The Black Keys
* Broken Bells by Broken Bells
* Contra by Vampire Weekend

Other names that got nominated: Cee-Lo, Janelle Monae, Big Boi, John Legend & The Roots, Jay-Z, Darcy James Argue's Secret Society, Flight of the Conchords, Devendra Banhart (for "Best Recording Package"), Oh No Ono (ditto), Anais Mitchell (ditto), Danger Mouse, Gorillaz, and Carol Burnett. Full list at the Grammys site.

Keepaway on Governors Island in June (more by Andrew St Clair)

Kurt Vile @ Bowery Ballroom in January (more by Vincent Cornelli)

tonight in NYC
* DJA-Rara @ Josie Robertson Plaza
* Furthur @ Nokia Theatre
* Darius Jones @ Roulette
* Jon B @ Springfield Park
* Blockhead @ Brooklyn Bowl
* The Gories, Jimmy Ohio @ Maxwell's
* DJ Questlove (late) @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Soft Black, Ivana XL, Lacrymosa @ Pianos
* The National, Suckers, Kurt Vile @ Terminal 5
* Rope, The New Colossus, Radical Dads @ Union Pool
* Blind Benny, Dan Sartain (early) @ Mercury Lounge
* Chromeo, Holy Ghost!, Telephoned @ Bowery Ballroom
* Mother of Fire, Up Died Sound, Bow Ribbons @ Zebulon
* Gary War, Amen Dunes, Coconuts, Prince Rama @ Coco 66
* The Lemonheads, The Candles @ Knitting Factory Brooklyn
* Broadway Danny Rose (film) @ The Elevated Acre at 55 Water St
* Sisters, Knight School, Nude Beach, Giant Peach @ Silent Barn
* Javelin, Keepaway, I Love Monsters @ Rocks Off Concert Cruises
* Ansanm (In Love We Stand): music of Haiti @ Damrosch Park Bandshell
* Steve Earle, Allison Moorer, Preservation Hall Jazz Band @ City Winery
* Innumerable Forms, Naughty Girls, Mammoth Grinder, Longpigs @ The Acheron
* Pretty Good Dance Moves, Rumanian Buck, Bambara, Ego Puppets @ Glasslands
* Fixed w/ Trouble & Bass, Breakage, Zombie Disco Squad @ Santos Party House
* George Thorogood & The Destroyers, Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes @ Seaside/Asser Levy Park

The Gories are reunited and here.

Interpol, who play a New York in November, play their new song "Barricade" on Letterman tonight.

Kanye West dropped some new verses off his forthcoming album, not titled Good Ass Job, at the Facebook offices on Tuesday. He did the same, with different material, at Twitter on Wednesday. That video is below.

Keepaway, who are playing a boat today, took a boat to Governors Island when they played the Converse Gone to Governors free concert series back in June. While there, they hooked up with Show Cobra Film who recorded the exclusive session (not on stage) that you can watch for the first time below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Thursday?"

The National @ The High Violet Annex (more by David Andrako)

Combine the downward trend of album sales with a week of no major releases and what do you get? The fewest number of total album sales, 5.3 million, in a single week since Nielsen SoundScan started its tracking in 1991. Topping this week's Billboard chart is Justin Bieber's "My World 2.0" (Island), its fourth time in the spot, with sales of just over 60,000, barely escaping the specter of being the lowest selling No. 1 album in SoundScan's history. (The "Dreamgirls" soundtrack sold about 300 fewer copies in January 2007.) Lady Antebellum's "Need You Now" (Capitol Nashville), the year's most consistent seller, stayed at No. 2 for the fourth straight week, moving 54,000 copies.

The top new album was "High Violet" (4AD) from the National, selling 51,000 copies, good enough for No. 3. [NY Times]

The pop star-heavy schedule for this year's free Toyota-sponsored Today Show concerts that bring screaming fans and tourists to Rockfeller Plaza on Friday mornings at 7am, has been announced. The shows kick off with Sting on May 14th (that one should be fairly subdued), and continue with people that include Maroon 5, Maxwell, Lady Gaga, Ke$ha, Justin Bieber (this one will be completely nuts), ....Full lineup, more info and and other Sting shows below...

Continue reading "2010 Today Show Rockefeller Plaza concert lineup, Sting, etc"