Lou Reed at Tibet House benefit 2012 (more by Dana (distortion) Yavin)

Lou Reed will be on tour in Europe this month doing photo exhibits and book readings/signings, and upon returning to the US he'll play a NJ show at Englewood's Bergen Performing Arts Center on December 7. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

Right after that show, he'll head to Miami for UR1 Festival, which goes down in Bayfront Park on December 8 and 9. In addition to Lou Reed, performers include Kanye West, Jane's Addiction, Dead Can Dance, Animal Collective, Peter Murphy, Flying Lotus, Slash, Zola Jesus, Wild Nothing, and many more listed below, plus more TBA. Tickets for the festival are on sale now.

The UR1 Festival is timed to happen simultaneously with Art Basel, which happens from December 6 - 9 in Miami Beach with "more than 260 leading galleries from North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa showcasing works by more than 2,000 artists of the 20th and 21st centuries."

A list of all Lou Reed dates and the UR1 Festival lineup below.

Continue reading "Lou Reed playing NJ show before UR1 Festival (dates, lineup)"

Tickets for the R. Kelly show at MSG Theatre go on presale today at 9 AM (password: "SINGLE"). General on-sale begins Friday (10/12) at 9 AM.

Tickets for the Muse shows at MSG and Izod Center go on presale today at 10 AM (password: "LAW"). General on-sale begins Friday (10/12) at 9 AM.

Keane is playing Radio City Music Hall on January 31. Tickets for that show go on presale today at 11 AM (password: "BATTLE") with a general on-sale starting Friday (10/12) at 11 AM.

The 2012 music lineup was announced today for Bumbershoot: Seattle's Music & Arts Festival, which is produced by non-profit arts organization One Reel and takes place over Labor Day weekend, Sept. 1-3, at Seattle Center. The 42-year-old urban festival stands on top nationally in its variety as it showcases both familiar and up-and-coming regional and national talent in many musical genres, as well as in comedy, theater, literary and visual arts, dance, film and children's programming.

Bumbershoot's Mainstage in KeyArena will feature two multi-act performances each day. Artists scheduled to perform there include groundbreaking alternative rock band Jane's Addiction, jazz legend Tony Bennett, electronic phenom Skrillex, a hip hop double bill with Mac Miller and Big Sean, M83, and AWOLNATION among others. Additional Mainstage acts will be announced in coming weeks.

Tickets are all-inclusive. All festival offerings, including Mainstage admission on a first-come, first-served basis (no separate pass required), and late-night electronic music curated by Decibel Festival for Bumbershoot After Dark, are included in the price of a single-day or 3-day ticket

The complete Bumbershoot 2012 lineup below...

Continue reading "Bumbershoot 2012 lineup (Jane's Addiction, Tony Bennett & Skrillex are the headliners)"

by Bill Pearis

Mystery Jets will release their fourth album, Radlands, on June 5 via Rough Trade. The band will play a release party for the record at Brooklyn Bowl on June 11 and tickets just went on sale for that. Mystery Jets will then open for ever-popular UK piano balladeers Keane for a string of dates including a June 15 date at Beacon Theatre. All Mystery Jets tour dates are below

This was the band's first album made after losing basist Kai Fish, who put out his first solo album Life in Monchrome last year. You might be able to tell from Radlands cover art, the London band made the album in Texas...Austin specifically. Explains main Jet Blaine Harrison:

We've always wanted to make a record in America and after touring Serotonin the time felt perfect to go and do it. Our first three albums were entirely conceived and recorded in London so going out to Austin felt like the furthest place from everything we knew. We arrived with a handful of songs, but one in particular felt like it captured the spirit of why we had come there. It was called Radlands (a fusion of the 1970s Terrence Malick film Badlands and Redlands, Keith Richard's Sussex estate), which is also what we named our studio; a big old wooden house on the banks of the Colorado river.

All we brought on the plane were the guitars on our backs, so we ended up borrowing all this amazing valve gear from an old guy called jack who ran a little studio up in the hills-which is why the songs sound the way they do. In the daytime we wrote lyrics on the porch and in the evenings a family of Deer would gather in the back yard to hear us play. Some nights we drove into town to drink and bring people back to play on the songs.

When we arrived home, it was hard to believe any of it even happened. It somehow all felt like a strange dream. But when Dan Carey heard it and invited us down to his studio we listened back to everything and it was all there, it was real. All we were missing were some gospel singers, which he found in the Streatham community ladies choir...

Texas proved to be a big influence on the record, with song titles like " The Ballad of Emmerson Lonestar" and "Lost in Austin," the latter of which references the storied Marfa lights. Musically, Mystery Jets do what they do -- anthemic UK-style indie.

For a taste of the new album, the video for "Someone Purer" and a stream of "Sister Everett" are below.

Continue reading "Mystery Jets releasing 'Radlands,' playing Brooklyn Bowl"

Tickets are on sale at 11am for the Weezer show at Williamsburg Waterfront.

Tickets are on sale at noon for the Keane show at Williamsburg Waterfront.

Other Williamsburg Waterfront shows on sale are Band of Horses/Grizzly Bear, Silversun Pickups, Faith No More, Modest Mouse, Primus/Gogol Bordello, and Nas/Damian Marley.

Free Waterfront shows have not been announced yet.

Corinne Bailey Rae is playing the Beach at Governors Island on August 6th. Tickets, currently on AmEx presale, go on general sale at noon.

Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros have added a 3rd NYC show. Their two at Webster Hall are both sold out (July 22-23), so they're also playing the Beach at Governors Island on July 21st. Tickets, currently on AmEx presale, go on general sale at noon.

Other Governors Island shows on sale include Michael Franti & Spearhead w/ Trombone Shorty, Passion Pit/Tokyo Police Club, MIA/Sleigh Bells/Die Antwoord and Local Natives.

Free Governors Island shows so far include Yesayer and Neon Indian.

Massive Attack @ Sound Academy, Toronto, Ontario; May 7th, 2010 (ocad123)

tonight in NYC
* Ricky Gervais @ Hunter College
* Phosphorescent @ Union Pool
* The Golden Palominos @ The Living Room
* SSPS, Konnichiwa, The Gamut @ Glasslands
* Aqua Teen Hunger Force Live @ Nokia Theatre
* Loop 243, Emily Hope Price, Build @ Zebulon
* DJs @ The National's High Violet Annex
* Eivind Opsvik's Overseas, Hanne Hukkelberg @ Nublu
* Flying Machines, Teletextile, Revival Times @ Pianos
* Passions, Living Days, Blast Off @ (Le) Poisson Rouge
* Hunter Valentine, Dear Lions, Lovemonster @ Cake Shop
* Zs, Excepter, Mick Barr, Silk Flowers @ Knitting Factory
* Sleigh Bells, Cults, Sundelles @ Ridgewood Masonic Temple
* Massive Attack, Anti-Pop Consortium, Martina Topley-Bird @ Terminal 5
* Little Brother, Black Milk, Torae, Joe Scudda ,Chaundon ,Jozeemo @ Hiro Ballroom
* Two Door Cinema Club, Million Young, Dinosaur Feathers @ The Bell House

Sleigh Bells celebrate today's release of their album (iTunes) with a show at Ridgewood Temple. A special guest is advertised. M.I.A. showed up at their last show (and it seems likely she might do the same tonight). The album is also streaming for free at NPR.

Tonight's Massive Attack show is sold out (Anti-Pop Consortium open), but tomorrow's with Neon Indian opening still has tickets.

The National's High Violet Annex opens today.

Keane are among the acts who will perform at Williamsburg Waterfront this summer. Tickets to the August 6th show (with Ingrid Michaelson and Fran Healy) go on "Keane Fan Club Presale" at 10am. Password = PLATFORM

MGMT are on Letterman tonight.

The show at Glasslands tonight is Todd Pendu's weekly party. Flyer below.

Wilco performed on Ferguson last night. Video below...

A video of Fucked Up performing their forthcoming "Year of the Ox" EP live in-studio with Annie-Claude Deschenes of Duchess Says and strings is posted below.

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Tuesday?"

Lily Allen @ Roseland Ballroom (more by Natasha Ryan)

"I havent written on here for a while but I've taken the time to write this as I think music piracy is having a dangerous effect on British music, but some really rich and successful artists like Nick Mason from Pink Floyd and Ed O'Brien from Radiohead don't seem to think so. Last week in an article in the Times these guys from huge bands said file sharing music is fine. It probably is fine for them. They do sell-out arena tours and have the biggest Ferrari collections in the world. For new talent though, file sharing is a disaster as it's making it harder and harder for new acts to emerge." [Lily Allen on MySpace, September 14, 2009]

On September 20th Lily Allen started a blog called "It's Not Alright". Her first post was a letter by James Blunt that started with the line "Lily is our Leader". Other posts include a letter from Tim Rice Oxley from Keane, one from Matt Bellamy from Muse, and, ironically, a post about 50 Cent that she lifted without credit from Techdirt. She has since, sort of, apologized. There are also posts by/about Mark Ronson, The Futureheads, Patrick Wolf, and Bat For Lashes' Natasha Khan.

DOWNLOAD: Ape School - Wail to God (Daedelus Remix) (MP3) (via)

"Keane is not the coolest band to blog about when I'm all indie rock up in your business. I am a slightly apologetic Keane fan. I think there are a few bands that can make dynamic, catchy singles that can appeal to the masses while still be genuine and heartfelt. I can see the fellas sweating over lyrics in studios, rather than thinking what would sell to the Wal-Mart crowd.

More than anything, and the reason I would see the band again in another few years, is that they are an unabashedly energetic live act. Sometimes, I'll take a great live act first. As for tonight, a 90-minute set filled with their hits and the obligatory Springsteen cover to soothe the Jersey folks." [Music Snobbery]

That quote is from Music Snobbery's review of the Keane show that took place at the Wellmont Theater in Jersey on Tuesday. They also played Radio City Music Hall on Wednesday. Portland's Sub Pop-signed band The Helio Sequence were on tour with Keane and opened both of those shows.

Now that the tour is over, The Helio Sequence are going on a headlining tour of their own which starts tonight at Music Hall of Williamsburg (5/28). Also playing the Brooklyn show are Ape School, and the UK's Howling Bells who are currently on tour with... Coldplay! They can trade piano rock war stories. Speaking of which, did you know that...

After listening to Tim Rice-Oxley's piano playing during a weekend at Virginia Water, Surrey in 1997, Chris Martin invited him to join his newly formed band Coldplay. However, Rice-Oxley declined because he did not want to leave The Lotus Eaters, stating "I was seriously interested, but Keane were already operational and Coldplay's keyboard player idea was dropped." [Wikipedia]

Ape School, who are also playing MHOW tonight, is the new project of Michael Johnson who was in the Sub Pop band Holopaw, and in the Lilys in 2006. Ape School's self-titled album was released by Counter on April 28th. RCRD LBL has a track, and you can grab a remix Daedelus did above.

Daedelus has his own Brooklyn show coming up too - this June as part of the Northside Festival.

I have three pairs of tickets to giveaway to tonight's MHOW show. Details on how to win, and all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Helio Sequence played Radio City w/ Keane, playing MHOW w/ Ape School (ex-Holopaw) & Howling Bells (tonight)"

GG Allin & Tesco Vee "Throbblehead" dolls (on sale now at Aggronautix)

tonight in NYC
* Momus @ Highline Ballroom
* Estelle, DJ Cassidy @ MoMA
* Here We Go Magic @ Union Pool
* The Roots @ Highline Ballroom
* Jenny Scheinman & Robbie Fulkes @ Barbes
* Keane & the Helio Sequence @ Wellmont Theater
* A Camp, Gentleman Reg @ Bowery Ballroom
* Nate Wooley, Dennis D Anderton @ The Stone
* Hull, Witches Tit, Flaming Tusk @ The Charleston
* Opeth, Enslaved @ Manhattan Center Grand Ballroom
* JEFF the Brotherhood & Turbo Fruits @ Death By Audio
* Sessions at Santa's w/ Light Asylum, Tim Dewit, Ryan Sawyer @ Santos
* Wolves in the Throne Room, A Storm of Light, Krallice @ The Studio at Webster Hall
* The Dig, Those Dancing Days, Five O'Clock Heroes, Jaguar Club @ Mercury Lounge
* Unwigged & Unplugged (Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer) @ Beacon Theatre (Spinal Tap)

A belated shout for...

Stephen Bruton, a real-life guitar hero who played with everyone from Kris Kristofferson to Elvis Costello, died Saturday [May 9th] in Los Angeles.

The Fort Worth native was 60 and had been in California working on the soundtrack to Jeff Bridges' new movie, Crazy Heart, said his wife of 13 years, Mary Keating-Bruton.
[Fort Worth Star-Telegram]

RIP

Completely unrelated, but sorta cool: the GG Allin and Tesco Vee bobbleheads you see up there.

Keane and The Helio Sequence play Radio City Music Hall on Wednesday.

Momus is performing a three-hour career retrospective at the Highline Ballroom tonight; check out a poster for the event, below...

Thrones opened for A Storm of Light and Wolves in the Throne Room at Europa the other night. Video below...

Continue reading "What's going on Tuesday?"

Amy Winehouse @ Bowery Ballroom - March 2007 (more)

A spokesman for Amy Winehouse says the singer won't perform in the United States next month, as had been planned.

Spokesman Chris Goodman said Monday that Winehouse isn't going to the Coachella festival in Indio, Calif., in "light of current legal issues."

Winehouse was charged with assault last week for allegedly attacking a fan at a London party in September. The singer is due in court next week.

Being charged with a crime often makes it difficult for people to get U.S. visas. [Billboard] (thx Tye)

That is probably the least surprising news ever announced in history. In related news, "2009 is the 50th anniversary of the founding of Island Records, arguably the most prestigious record label in the history of British music. To mark this milestone the label is collaborating with Island founder Chris Blackwell to arrange the Island 50 festival." A week of live shows is planned in London, and Amy Winehouse is on the bill. More details below...

Continue reading "Amy Winehouse out of Coachella, in for Islands's 50th Fest"

Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, Shawn Colvin & Buddy Miller (Three Girls and their Buddy) are playing Wellmont Theater in NJ on June 2nd. Tickets are on sale.

Tickets are on sale (@ noon) for the TV on the Radio show coming up at Central Park Summerstage.

Tickets are on sale (@ noon) for all three Mogwai shows happening at Music Hall of Williamsburg.

Tickets are on sale (@ noon) for both Thermals shows happening at Bowery Ballroom.

Tickets are on sale (@ noon) for the Paul Weller show happening at Nokia Theatre.

Tickets went on sale at 11 for Band of Horses at Carnegie Hall.

Tickets are on sale (@ noon) for the School of Seven Bells show happening at Bowery Ballroom.

Tickets are on sale (@ noon) for the Harlem Shakes show happening at Music Hall of Williamsburg.

Tickets are on sale (@ noon) for the Spectrum show at Mercury Lounge.

Tickets are on sale (@ noon) for the IAMX show at Bowery Ballroom.

Keane, Mat Kearney and Helio Sequence are playing Radio City Music Hall on May 27th. Tickets are on sale.