"Free at Last" (Nov 13, 2009) (King Kahn w/ Kristin Klein) (via Krisin Klein's phone)

Trooper John Hawkins of the Kentucky State Police says the duo, along with tour manager Kristin Klein, were stopped sometime yesterday afternoon in Oak Grove, Kentucky.

The band was stopped in the one just north of the Tennessee state line, about an hour northwest of Nashville on I-24.

Klein [was] in custody in the Christian County Kentucky jail, charged with driving with a suspended license and possession of a controlled substance. Her bond is $3,000. A sergeant at the jail had no information as to what Klein was allegedly caught with.

Neither the Christian County Jail nor the Kentucky State Police had any records of Arish Khan or Mark Sultan being arrested or charged with a crime. [Riverfront Times]

DOWNLOAD: Deer Tick - Baltimore Blues No.1 (live) (MP3)

King Khan & BBQ @ Bowery Ballroom (more by Tim Griffin)

The rumor started spreading as early as 7 p.m. that Arish "King" Khan and Mark Sultan weren't going to show up for their nearly sold-out show Thursday night at Off Broadway in St. Louis.

The duo that comprises the King Khan & BBQ Show missed its early evening soundcheck and were M.I.A. and incommunicado throughout the night. Even as the eager crowd filed into the packed venue and witnessed a pair of impressive (though clearly stalling) opening acts, the chatter was that the headliners hadn't been heard from since they left Nashville--their previous tour date-- around 11 a.m. Thursday morning.

At approximately 11 p.m., local concert promoter Joey O'Farrell grabbed the mic and sheepishly delivered the news: The King Khan and BBQ would not be performing. No, he didn't know where they were or what had happened. Yes, Off Broadway was offering a full refund to anyone who wanted it.

Then Deer Tick singer John McCauley took the stage and delivered an impromptu set of classic rock and roll covers...

According to O'Farrell and Off Broadway owner Steve Pohlman, Khan and Sultan were arrested somewhere between Nashville and St. Louis. The charge is rumored to be drug possession, but neither party could offer any specifics. [St Louis Riverfront Times]

Those Darlins & BBQ & King Khan running (from the law)

King Khan & BBQ were last in NYC for two end-of-October shows. From there they hit the road and played shows along the way to Austin where they were scheduled to play Fun Fun Fun Fest on Sunday. That show didn't go as planned either. The rain that plagued the 2nd day of the outdoor festival caused the stage they were supposed to play on to get super wet (The Strange Boys who played before them mentioned the possibility of getting electrocuted while they were playing). King Khan didn't want to play on the wet stage, so the festival staff quickly dried it, but not in enough time. Instead the duo played a free show that night at the venue Red 7. I went to that, partly because they played right before forgetters (who were awesome) at the same venue (though in a different room). King Khan and BBQ was fun though I could barely hear them because I was deaf from just having seen Danzig.

@ Red 7 on 11/8: seconds earlier KK asked someone to stick their fist in this girl....

No word on whether King Khan & BBQ are actually in jail or whether they'll be at their show in Lawrence, KS tonight (11/13). Hopefully they're OK. Stay tuned. All dates below.

UPDATE (12:30pm): King Khan & BBQ definitely were in jail. They have been released, but their tour manager is still behind bars. The KS show is cancelled.

UPDATE (1:00pm): the KS show isn't completely cancelled! King Khan & BBQ just won't be there. Jessi Darlin says "we're still planning on playin' the craziest fuckin' show in hopes of lifting any KKBBQ fans spirits and keepin' this badass tour on the move. We are so proud to be playing with this band and just want to keep the tour rollin'."

UPDATE (7:00pm): Tour manager Kristin Klein has been released from jail and charged with driving with a suspended license and possession of a controlled substance, possibly mushrooms.

In related news, Deer Tick is releasing an iTunes Exclusive, four-song EP called "More Fuel For The Fire" on December 1st. The above free MP3 (which was also just released by the band) is not on it. The track list, cover art, and all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "King Khan & BBQ in jail - Deer Tick replaced them @ Those Darlins show in St Louis last night ++ releasing EP, MP3"

photos by Tim Griffin, words by Andrew Frisicano

King Khan & BBQ Show headlined two NYC shows on their brief tour with Dum Dum Girls. Those shows happened Friday, Oct. 30th at Bowery Ballroom, and Halloween night at the Bell House. (Dum Dum Girls also played Saturday, Oct. 24th for CMJ, and Monday, Oct. 26th at Bruar Falls.)

The King Khan & BBQ Show - the two-man-band of King Khan and singer/drummer/rhythm guitarist Mark Sultan - were also in town to play their parts in Almighty Defenders, who performed at the Root Studio on Saturday, October 24th. Even though they were joined on stage by the energetic Black Lips at that show, the Bowery show with the duo alone was the grimier, rawer affair. That's where the pictures in this post were taken.

At the Bowery, King Khan, in a turquoise, fringed dress, and Mark Sultan, in a turban and cloak, swarmed the stage to the opening riff of "Johnny B Goode." People danced (got kicked out), cups flew out of the crowd, King Khan did his rounds and then settled into a sitar-position at the foot of the stage, and Mark Sultan laid out rhythm guitar, kick drum and dulcet tones.

A homespun aesthetic was central to the set - the pair played through tiny Vox Pathfinder amps more suited to a bedroom practice session, and sported an attractively handcrafted backdrop. They exchanged cues with telepathic charm and made a whole lot of noise playing from records old and new (including their newest LP, Invisible Girl). There was even some overlap with the Almighty Defenders set; the song "Too Much in Love", for one, done in shambolic, backyard fashion. The band paused on a serious note to give a dedication to musician and one-time Black Lip Bobby Ubangi, who passed earlier this year.

Earlier in the show, opener Lover (not to be confused with Lovvers) kicked things off with melodic garage punk that worked best played fast and harmonized. In the same vein, Dum Dum Girls (they played right before King Khan and BBQ) benefited from the emphatic desperation of songs like their closer, "Jail La La." Its pitiful cry of "Someone took my baby" put an emotional angle on their detached, vintage-reverb sound.

Dum Dum Girls' cover of GG Allin's "Don't Talk to Me" and another song from their Bruar Falls show are posted below.

The King Khan & BBQ Show have North American shows scheduled into December. Those dates and more pictures are below too...

Continue reading "King Khan & BBQ Show, Dum Dum Girls & Lover played Bowery Ballroom & The Bell House (pics)"

photo by Tim Griffin

The above shot was taken on the street shortly after Darren Mabee was forced to leave Bowery Ballroom Friday night during The King Khan and the BBQ show. That's the security guard he's staring at.

Maybe Darren will try again tonight at the Bell House! More to come.

Golden Triangle @ the Sub Pop/Hardly Art CMJ show (more by Jake Forney)

SATURDAY OCTOBER 31ST
Braholoween 5 + After Party
Dirty Faces
Sightings
Big Bear
Red Dawn II
The White Deer (membs of Neptune)

After Party
Golden Triangle
Cry Try Cry
Knyfe Hyts 81
Insane Secret Performance from BBQ of hell!

Opening the KK/BBQ Bell House and Bowery shows are Dum Dum Girls who played Bruar Falls on Monday after a two-show Saturday at CMJ, the last of which was the Sub Pop / Hardly Art show that Golden Triangle also played with Obits, Pissed Jeans and others.

Obits also plays a show tonight (10/30). They open for Pinback at Irving Plaza.

Pissed Jeans play tonight too. They headline a very cheap show at Le Poisson Rouge.

Continue reading "Obits, Pissed Jeans, Dum Dum Girls, Golden Triangle, & an Insane Secret Performance from BBQ of hell"

DOWNLOAD: Cale Parks - One at a Time (MP3)

photos by Andrew Frisciano, words by Benjamin Lozovsky

On Saturday October 24, a night full of swirling electronica, booze-soaked theatrics, and plenty of limey-infused glamour came together at the Topman CMJ Party at Roots Studios. The British urban fashion superstore hosted an RSVP only show at the massive studio space in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, which included performances by The Almighty Defenders, Neon Indian, and Cale Parks, along with DJ sets by X-Wife, Finger on the Pulse, NROTB, and Designer Drugs.

To the dismay of some concert-going hopefuls waiting in the rain outside the venue, CMJ badges weren't accepted at the event. That didn't stop the cavernous white rooms of Roots Studios from filling up to capacity with an eager, talkative, and ultra-fashionable crowd. Their anticipation was rewarded with a uniquely curated event that had free drinks spilling forward everywhere from the Svedka-sponsored open bar to the front of the stage.

The first performance was by Cale Parks, an indie scene veteran better known for his role as a multi-instrumentalist in Aloha and as a the drummer for Brooklyn-based electronic musician White Williams. His own music expands on the styles of his other gigs, melding a tightly controlled, polyrhythmic, shadowy electro experience with an undeniable layer of heart-felt sincerity. Performed songs like We Can Feel It and One At A Time demonstrated his prowess for accentuating the emotional quality of his music over a layer of hard-hitting percussion and rising and falling synth stabs. Parks' direct and plaintive vocal lines seem to balance perfectly between cozy and unsettled, as they found their place amongst the subtly subversive electronic textures he and his band construed.

continued below....

Continue reading "Neon Indian, The Almighty Defenders & Cale Park @ Roots Studios during CMJ - review, pics & video "

Woodsist pic by Tim Griffin, CMJ pics by Ryan Muir (for Metromix)

THEN...

July 2009 - Dum Dum Girls @ Woodsist Fest in Brooklyn (more by Tim Griffin)

AND NOW...

October 2009 - Dum Dum Girls @ AAM CMJ party in Brooklyn

"Dum Dum Girls = West coast Vivian Girls with a tighter beat, black mini-dresses & lacey tights. Total girl-crush." So Melena Ryzik posted to Twitter Saturday night from the Mercury Lounge as I looked over her shoulder.

Totally true, of course. The tights, in particular.

Dum Dum Girls, from Los Angeles, is the project of singer Kristin Gundred, who goes here by Dee Dee, and who sings tart lyrics in a sweet tone buried beneath layers of haze. She has a knack for flawless song construction, her rigor dating somewhere to the late 1950s. And unlike the Vivian Girls, who manage to muster a slight optimism with a similar toolbox, Dum Dum Girls never appear happy, almost gothically gloomy. "Blissed out buzzsaw" is the descriptor on the group's MySpace page.
[Jon Caramanica @ The NY Times]

According to their MySpace, the Sub Pop-signed band's full member list is Dee Dee, Jules, Frankie Rose, and Bambi. And though I'm pretty sure Frankie will continue to play with the band for their upcoming short tour with King Khan and BBQ (including at Bowery Ballroom and The Bell House), and at their Monday (10/26) Brooklyn show at Bruar Falls (with The Girls at Dawn), it is unclear if Frankie will continue with them after that. As you can see above, the band has already gone through one major change since their first-ever show at the Woodsist Festival, and Frankie (ex-Vivian Girl, ex-Crystal Stilt) may be looking to just focus on her own new band (who play the Woodser on November 7th).

More AAM party pics and all Dum Dum Girls dates below...

Continue reading "Dum Dum Girls played CMJ - all girls, all in black (pics) ++ playing Bruar Falls Monday before King Khan & BBQ tour"

Bad Brains @ Irving Plaza in 2008 (more by Tim Griffin)

"VICE magazine, which is still not only fully independent but is also flourishing while the dinosaurs that surround us slowly suffocate in the tar pits of their financial ruin, is throwing a massive Halloween birthday party to celebrate our 15th anniversary. There will be two floors of chaotic nostalgia, scary punk bands, full-on rave DJs, a skate ramp, glow sticks, grunge, big pants, gangsta rap, marijuana-scented flannel, and serious slacker vibes. Plus it's on Halloween, so if you don't show up dressed as some sort of a cultural cliché from 1994, you probably won't get in."

One band who I'd imagine VICE would want to put on the show is one they recently added to their record label roster, The Almighty Defenders who are made up of the combined Black Lips and King Khan and BBQ. Conveniently, King Khan & BBQ do in fact have an early Brooklyn show scheduled on that very (Halloween) night. Whether they get added to the Vice show or not, I have no idea, but the "supergroup" is playing a free show in NYC even sooner for Topman during CMJ (and a they have a show at Maxwell's the same CMJ week).

This Halloween show is happening before both Jesus Lizard shows at Irving Plaza which is the same venue Bad Brains last played in NYC.

The Dead Milkmen are playing Philly on Halloween. The Dead Milkmen and Bad Brains co-headlined Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin last year. This year The Jesus Lizard is one of the headliners of the Texas fest.

The new issue of VICE, pictured above with Chloe Sevigny on the cover, can be read on their website.

Videos of The Jesus Lizard at this year's ATP NY Fest, and all tour dates for both bands, below...

Continue reading "Whoah... The Jesus Lizard AND Bad Brains playing free VICE Halloween party in Brooklyn! ++ (and other dates) ++"

DOWNLOAD: Almighty Defenders - Cone Of Light (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Almighty Defenders - Bow Down And Die (MP3)

"The Almighty Defenders self-titled debut will be widely available on September 22nd at your favorite independent record store and digital service provider. But for all you awesome people/Black Lips/King Khan & BBQ fans you can pre-order it now off the Vice Records store. As reward for your undying loyalty to Vice we are throwing in a bonus track, "Ghost With The Most" (recorded live at the Practice Space) when you pre-order the album off us.

Like winning? New Practice Space, new album, and bonus track? Whose Tuesday just stopped sucking? Oh, we will send you "Ghost With The Most" as soon as your order goes through!" [VICE]

Tickets are now on sale for a live Almighty Defenders show at Maxwell's on October 25th. The NJ date is right before King Khan and BBQ head out on a short tour with the Dum Dum Girls which brings them into NYC on October 30th and 31st. The Black Lips will be in NYC, opening for Yo La Tengo at Roseland, this Friday night (September 25th).

The above-referenced episode of VBS.TV Practice Space, can be watched below...

Continue reading "Almighty Defenders out Tuesday - MAXWELL'S SHOW on sale"

DOWNLOAD: The Grates - Burn Bridges (MP3)

The Grates @ Pianos in July (more by Chris La Putt)

"I can't even tell you how psyched we are for this tour. I have listened to Those Darlins self titled debut more times than I can remember. Plus look at those places. Albuquerque? Where the F is that? I don't know but I am busting at the seems to find out. If you know anyone in Albuquerque please forward on this mailout and tell them to come. Tell them to bring local delights." [The Grates]

Those Darlins will not be at Mercury Lounge tonight (9/4) though. That show is just The Grates with Tigercity, Pearl & The Beard and Psychic. Tickets are still on sale.

Those Darlins (who now feature one engaged member) don't actually hook up with The Grates until October. Before then they're almost constantly on tour, and then they leave the Grates right before Halloween and keep playing more shows. On Halloween they play a show in Houston, Texas with The Meat Puppets.

Meanwhile in NYC, King Khan & the BBQ show are playing a Halloween show (and a Mischief night show) with Dum Dum Girls (who also play a few more dates with KK & BBQ). Then Those Darlins and King Khan hook up for another 11 shows. King Khan & BBQ also now have a ton of other 2009 shows scheduled with any girls as well.

All dates, and the new Grates album artwork, below...

Continue reading "The Grates (in NYC tonight) touring w/ Those Darlins (who are touring w/ King Khan & BBQ) - all 2009 Tour Dates"

August 25th, 2009 (Austin, TX) - Transmission Entertainment is pleased to announce the lineup for the 2009 Fun Fun Fun Fest, taking place on November 7th and 8th at Waterloo Park in Austin. Fun Fun Fun Fest made its first appearance on a cold Friday evening in 2006, offering a unique approach to festival booking, filling stages with talent bubbling from the underground: what sounded great, and what was making an impact, regardless of what mainstream media said was cool. What started out as a show for a few touring acts and local favorites has become a movement -- a festival that fans and bands alike realize needs to be experienced year after year.

Now in its fourth year, Fun Fun Fun Fest has made a significant impact on the country's winter calendar, successfully combining the vast worlds of indie, punk, rap, electronica and comedy while showcasing some of the city's most unique local businesses.

Continue reading "Fun Fun Fun Fest 2009 lineup (Jesus Lizard, Of Montreal, Gorilla Biscuits, LSF, 7 Seconds, D.R.I. & DANZIG!! & more)"

Junior Boys @ Webster Hall - July 23, 2009 (sneuffer)

As previously posted, The King Khan & BBQ Show are playing two shows in NYC on October. They'll be at Bowery Ballroom on the 30th, and at The Bell House in Brooklyn one day later (Halloween). Dum Dum Girls, who last played their first and only show in NYC during the Woodsist Festival (and have since signed to Sub Pop) will open both dates.

The Bell House show is an early one - it'll be over by 10:30 so that doors can open for the late show which it can now be revealed will be a performance by the Junior Boys (who were last here when they played a rescheduled date at Webster Hall in July). Tickets for the late show will be on sale soon. Tickets for the early show are still on sale now (and no tickets for Bowery yet).

By the way, Dungen and Woods play the Bell House this Friday night (8/14). $15 tickets are still on sale, and you can get in (capacity permitting) for $10 at the door with your stub from the Animal Collective show happening in Prospect Park the same evening. All JB dates below...

Continue reading "Junior Boys playing after King Khan & BBQ @ Bell House on Halloween, Dum Dum Girls playing before (& at Bowery too)"

King Khan & the Shrines @ Sasquatch 2009 (more by Chris Graham)

The Almighty Defenders CD, out September 22nd on Vice, brings together the Black Lips, King Khan and Mark Sultan. The latter two make up King Khan & the BBQ Show, which is the band that'll be playing Brooklyn's Bell House this Halloween (its an early show - 7:30pm doors / over by 10:30pm) (there's a TBA late show at the same venue). Prizes for best costume. As you can see above, King Khan already has some ideas in mind. Tickets are on sale now.

Can't make it Halloween? King Khan and BBQ are also playing Bowery Ballroom one night earlier (10/30). Ticket info TBA. Full tour dates are still forthcoming, but there are a few more below (including November 1st in Philly). They'll be touring in support of the new King Khan & the BBQ Show album, Invisible Girl, out November 3rd on In the Red.

Another Halloween NYC gig happening in Brooklyn is the Mount Eerie metal show at the Market Hotel. His tourmates, No Kids and Tara Jane O'Neil, will also be his backing band for a set that promises "2 drummers, some gongs and a wall of amps." Liturgy is one of the bands on the bill. Another will be Malkuth. That tour formerly had a TBA for another NYC show. That will happen (with No Kids & TJO playing sets too) on Sunday, November 1st at (Le) Poisson Rouge. Tickets for that Manhattan show (which does not include Liturgy or Malkuth) are on sale (Market Hotel doesn't have advanced tickets).

The LPR show is put on by Wordless Music, who has a bunch of big shows coming up (not the least Rhys Chatham's A Crimson Grail on Saturday). There's also Warp20NYC, the Wordless series at Columbia's Miller Theatre, Deefhoof and Why?.

The Market Hotel show is curated by Brandon Stosuy - music writer and organizer of Show No Mercy (that Black Bubblegum co-curated this past Sunday). Tonight (August 5th) Brandon will be be presenting from his "in-progress oral history of American black metal [briefly excerpted at Believer] joined by Matt Luem for "Joe's Pub's Happy Ending Reading & Music Series. Also at the event will be "Rachel Cohen reading from her book A Chance Meeting: Intertwined Lives of American Writers and Artists. And Lawrence Weschler reading from his work on the visual artists David Hockney and Robert Irwin. And Colin Stetson delivering an opening invocation on saxophone. And Buke & Gass playing a short set of clear voiced yet fuzzed out pop experiments on homemade instruments." Tickets are still on sale.

Videos, new KK&BBQ album tracklist and tour dates from King Khan & the BBQ Show, below...

Continue reading "King Khan & BBQ Show's new album, tour dates, NYC shows, Halloween in Brooklyn, Malkuth, Mt Eerie, Joe's Pub & stuff "

We already know the lineup for Austin's 4th annual Fun Fun Fun Fest on November 7th and 8th will include 7 Seconds, The Jesus Lizard, Red Sparrowes, and Atlas Sound and Broadcast.

FFF's own "Lineup Leaks" page expands upon that list with Why? (whose tour is coming to NYC), GZA, Melt Banana, King Khan & BBQ Show and comedian Todd Barry.

BV would like to further leak that our most-favorite weekend in Austin will also feature sets by Alaska in Winter, Les Savy Fav, comedians Jake Flores, Joe Staats & JT Habersaat, VEGA, Lucero, Metallagher, The Night Marchers (they played Mess With Texas last year at the same venue), and Shonen Knife (part of their large upcoming tour).

Speaking of the Hot Snakes, Obits are scheculed to play the South Street Seaport in NYC tonight (7/31).

The official FFFFest "leak" page includes stage assignments, which are below. We have 2008's FFF Fest in pictures (day one & day two), and you can check out recap videos from 2006 and 2007, also below...

Continue reading "Fun Fun Fun Fest - initial 2009 lineup (includes Les Savy Fav)"

by Andrew Frisicano

DOWNLOAD: The Almighty Defenders - Bow Down and Die (MP3)

It's supergroup day on BrooklynVegan. Some of it is catch up news. We have a new MP3 and tour dates from the new Black Keys-related Drummer band, and then there's the signing of Dum Dum Girls whose first live show over the weekend brought together member of four other bands. Jack White's new supergroup The Dead Weather is streaming their new album today, and we finally did a post on the Monsters of Folk album (Bright Eyes+My Morning Jacket+M Ward). Supergroups are not to be confused with side projects which were sort of a theme today too - first with Wolf Parade-related Handsome Furs, and then the Mazzy Star/My Bloody Valentine-related Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions (which I guess could be considered a supergroup too). Next up....

The Almighty Defenders (Black Lips + King Khan + BBQ)

The Almighty Defenders, a meeting of might between Atlanta garage goblins The Black Lips, Berlin-based soul punker King Khan, and Mr. BBQ himself, Mark Sultan. Conceived during the Lips' Berlin exile (after their VBS-documented ejection from India), the band's self-titled debut is a madcap, liquor-drenched revival, a blissfully fucked up realization of one of garage rock's most fitting collaborations. "Bow Down And Die," the "booming, chivalrous third song," is an off kilter, beer-swilling chant-along that borrows just as much from choral church music as it does from skuzzball rock n roll.

No tour dates for the Almighty Defenders yet, but The Black Lips will be at the July 26th Williamsburg Waterfront Pool Party, playing with Health, Grupo Fantasma and Trail of Dead. The Black Lips are actually one of the only artists to play a 'Pool Party' two years in a row. Ironically(?), when they played last year, it was on the same bill as King Khan. Maybe they'll bring him along again, or maybe they should just make an Almighty Defenders show which would be cool.

The Black Lips are also playing a few other festivals this summer, including Pitchfork Fest and Seattle's Capitol Hill Block Party. The band was recently featured on the soundtrack of the Gael Garcia Bernal & Diego Luna film Rudo Y Cursi, which came out in May. That disc includes contributions by Devendra Banhart, Juana Molina (who's playing tonight, July 8th, in Central Park) and even Bernal himself. Album art and tracklist for that below.

Bernal is hardly the only actor getting into music these days. Dead Man's Bones, the combo of actors Zach Shields and Ryan Gosling, is set to release a self-titled album, produced by Tim Anderson of I'm A Robot, October 6th on Anti-. Silverlake Conservatory Children's Choir, who you can see below, also pitched in vocals. Two videos of the band are below.

You can catch a different kind of supergroup in NYC at the Bowery Ballroom on August 1st. Dangerous, an "All Metal Tribute To Michael Jackson," features members of Tragedy (the "Heavy Metal Tribute to the Bee Gees" who are playing the Beach at Governors Island this summer) and the 2 Skinnee Js. Tickets to that are on sale now.

And if that's not enough...

Members of Led Zeppelin, Foo Fighters and Queens of the Stone Age are working together on a new project...The as-yet-unnamed supergroup unites Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones, Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme, and lead Foo Fighter (né Nirvana drummer) Dave Grohl. The trio are presently in Los Angeles, recording their debut album.[Guardian UK]

Check out Almighty Defenders videos, album art and tracklist, with Rudo Y Cursi album info and Dead Man's Bones videos, below...

Continue reading "Supergroup day continues: Zeppelin/Grohl/QOTSA, Almighty Defenders (Black Lips+King Khan), Dead Man's Bones, more"

photos by Chris Graham

"Sasquatch was hot. H-O-T. Not Paris Hilton "hot," but temperature hot. For a mossed-over clutch of Northwesterners who have been shrouded under rain and clouds for the past eight months, the brutal sun at the Gorge this weekend was a shocking jolt into summer. Sure, it was generally nice to be out in the sun, but any shade cover at the 'Squatch was few and far between, and there was almost no chance of relief. A small row of spindly trees dotted the upper walkway, and overheated concertgoers crammed themselves underneath them. When the sun dipped behind a cloud during Animal Collective's generally unimpressive set, the crowd cheered louder than they had for any band. Clothing sweated clean through, energy was conserved, and water was at a premium. It was a weekend of dizzy sunburning and frizzled brain." [Portland Mercury]

Continue reading "Sasquatch 2009 - Day 1 in pics "

NXNE has announced its lineup for the 15th edition of the festival, taking over Toronto from June 17 - 21, 2009.

NXNE will be taking over Toronto with live performances, films, and conference sessions in neighbourhoods all over the city. The hub of this invasion is Yonge-Dundas Square, where a huge shot of adrenaline will slam straight into the heart of downtown with four days of free concerts on the NXNE Mainstage, featuring performances by Black Lips, Burning Brides, Wintersleep, The Sonics, Youth Brigade, The Cool Kids, GZA and more.

Continue reading "NXNE (North By Northeast) 2009 lineup"

a shot from Sled Island 2008 (more by Rae Holtsabum)

The Sled Island Music and Arts Festival -- taking place at various venues in Calgary, Alberta from June 24 to June 27 -- is pleased to announce the initial line-up and the inclusion of Olympic Plaza as the main venue on Friday, June 26. This year will include over 200 bands performing at 23 venues plus art shows, film screenings, and a comedy component at the Sled Island Music and Arts Festival.

Sled Island 2009 will feature performances by the influential indie rock darlings The Breeders (featuring Kim Deal of the Pixies) making their first Calgary performance, NYC post-punk revivalists Liars bringing the noise, the legendary Canadian metal band Anvil the recent subjects of the critically acclaimed documentary Anvil: The Story of Anvil and the garage rock assault of Tel Aviv's Monotonix known for their incredible live show. New Orleans-based musician and mad genius inventor of the 'drum buddy' Quintron & Ms. Pussycat will bring the party along with blood-soaked party rocker Andrew W.K. and Toronto-based electro tour-de-force Holy Fuck on the more 'offensive' front. Phil Elverum's (of The Microphones) latest moniker Mount Eerie will deliver a symbiotic balance of fuzz and folk matched by Owen Pallett's Final Fantasy surrealist violin stage performance. Calgary-based experimental icons Azeda Booth aim to mystify crowds along with their all-male psychedelic pop counterparts Women making their second festival appearance...The complete festival line-up and schedule will be revealed on June 1. [pr]

As previously reported, Colin Newman, vocalist and guitarist for Wire, will be guest curating this year's festival. Full lineup below...

Continue reading "Sled Island - 2009 fest lineup (Breeders, Liars, Anvil & more) "

King Khan & Darren Mabee & the Shrines @ MHOW (EssG)

King Khan and the Shrines played Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn last night (5/1), and as if King Khan doesn't already provide enough eye candy, the one and only Darren Mabee showed up to make things even more interesting. According to one message I got, there was a "naked fat bearded guy onstage wearing nothing but a cape." which was followed by "He's actually wearimg a leopard speedo thong, but appeared nude bc the fat rolled over the speedo! He has girls lathering him w baby oil also."

You can catch King Khan again tonight (5/2) at Maxwell's, and Sunday (5/3) at Santos Party House. All dates HERE. A video from last night's show below...

Continue reading "King Khan vs. Darren Mabee (last night @ MHOW)"

photos by Jacob Blickenstaff

Those Darlins & Deer Tick @ the BV SXSW showcase - Mar 18, 2009

"In a world of emo-boys and reluctant band leaders, Those Darlins, country-punk pals from Murfreesboro, Tenn., had a comically leering sexuality and the kind of abandon that seems scarce these days. Their punk hootenanny sensibility reminds us that you don't have to act serious to be taken seriously. South by Southwest, with its quick set ups and tear downs, is always technically challenged, but when these girls blew an amp, they vamped with the kind of jokes and entreaties that can't be rendered here..... After they borrowed an amp from their friends and tour mates in Deer Tick, they borrowed the whole band as well, with the boys serving as accessories as the girls sang a kind of homage to a bird..."
[NY Times]

Continue reading "SXSW 2009 - Day 1 in photos by Jacob"

by Black Bubblegum

DOWNLOAD: Young Widows - "Old Skin" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Young Widows - "The Heat Is Here" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Young Widows - "The Charmers" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Annihilation Time - "Splashback" (MP3)

The Bronx

What are you up to Wednesday, March 18th? If you're in the greater Austin region, it might be a good idea to slide on down to Emo's for a day of killer bands, suds, and full on badass-ed-ness. To get all official and shit, we'd like to announce the FREE BROOKLYN VEGAN/SOLID PR DAY PARTY featuring

• 5:45pm: The Bronx
• 5:00pm: Young Widows
• 4:15pm: Annihilation Time
• 3:30pm: Trash Talk
• 2:45pm: Psychedelic Horseshit
• 2:00pm: Garotas Suecas

This all goes down inside Emo's on the 2nd stage on the afternoon of the first day of SXSW Music. Happening at the same time on the main stage of the same venue is the also-killer, also-free Fat Possum Records day party with King Kahn & BBQ, Wavves, Thomas Function, Strange Boys, Crocodiles, Thomas Function and more.

Later that same night is the official BrooklynVegan SXSW showcase at Club De Ville, about a block away. We're (BrooklynVegan) also doing sorta-TBA, free day parties on the Thursday and Friday of SXSW (full details coming shortly).

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Young Widows recently dropped the video for "Old Skin" from Old Wounds, a song that premiered right here on BrooklynVegan. The band is logging some miles in the coming months (dates below), linking up with Australian band My Disco for the trek and playing Europa in Brooklyn with The Austerity Program & Tournament on April 1st in the process (tickets here). The pair will also drop a split 7", one of a series with the likes of Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Pelican, and Melt-Banana.

The Bronx are touring the US like mad dogs including playing a show at Bowery Ballroom with Trash Talk on April 20th (tickets here), and a show at Maxwell's on April 22nd (tickets here).

NYCers will have FOUR chances to check out Garotas Suecas in the coming month, three in person and one on the Pat Duncan Show on WFMU on March 26th. The band has lined up live appearances at Mercury Lounge on March 24th (tickets here), Death By Audio on April 5, and Zebulon on April 6th.

Psychedelic Horseshit have a "a self released LP collecting our very first and oldest 4 track recordings" due in "March or April" entitled Golden Oldies as well as a TON of new material including Shitgaze Anthems 12" EP on Woodsist (spring 09), Acid Test 12" EP on Troubleman Unltd. (late spring/early sum 09), Beached Wails 7" with a "surprise release date", and their second LP, Too Many Hits, on Slitbreeze (late summer 09). The Columbus, Ohio crew have a few dates on the calendar as well, check THOSE out, along with everyone's tour dates, below...

Continue reading "a BrooklynVegan/SolidPR day party @ Emo's and other YOUNG WIDOWS & THE BRONX & TRASH TALK tour dates"

DOWNLOAD: King Khan and The Shrines - Torture (MP3)

King Khan & the Shrines @ SSSEaport (more by Jason Bergman)

If you don't know by now, King Khan basically releases music and tours with two separate soulful garage rock projects. There is the simpler, punkier King Khan and BBQ Show, and the more complex (9-12 members) and psychedelic King Khan and the Shrines.

BBQ, when not calling himself BBQ or one of many other pseudonyms, goes by his real name Mark Sultan. And when not playing with KK or with one of his other bands, or running his own label, he is out performing solo. In the past year, KK & BBQ (in all their various incarnations) have been touring, and performing plenty in NYC. And King Khan has been showing up on stage with his friends almost anywhere he happens to be when he isn't playing himself. Each and every time he leaves people talking about his crazy antics and outfits, probably more so than about the music itself. Regardless, it's usually a good time (if you let it be).

We will get a taste again this May when King Khan and the Shrines hit the road with Mark Sultan for an east-to-west coast tour that currently includes three NYC-area shows. Tickets are on sale for all of them: Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn on May 1st, Maxwell's in Hoboken on May 2nd, and Santos Party House in Manhattan in May 3rd. The tour will be in support of their 2007 album "What Is?!" that "is finally getting a proper domestic release on April 21" via Vice Records.

King Khan & the Shrines are also playing some dates in the South in March (they were supposed to play Langerado) which then turns into their previously-announced tour-to-SXSW with Golden Triangle. All dates below...

Continue reading "King Khan & the Shrines - 2009 Tour Dates w/ Mark Sultan (BBQ), SXSW, What Is?!"

Jane's Addiction - @ Echoplex, Los Angeles - Feb 16, 2009 (revolute)

Live Nation and Adam Zacks are pleased to announce this year's line up for the Sasquatch! Music Festival at the legendary Gorge in Eastern Washington. The festival, now in its eighth and most ambitious year yet, has evolved from a unique, homegrown & low key fest into a full blown three day extravaganza. A festival-goer's dream, it comes complete with camp-outs, canyons, sunsets, three stages and new this year, an expanded comedy and dance music tent. The tent will feature performances from comedians throughout the day, and then come dusk, will spotlight electronic and dance music artists.

Already the official opener to summer for music fans, the Sasquatch! Music Festival is becoming a certified monster of a musical event: this year features another exciting and diverse line-up for the musically adventurous, and ups the ante on an event already hailed for its independent spirit. Tickets go on sale Saturday February 28th at 10AM

Today it was announced that Jane's (feat. all four original members), NIN, Kings of Leon, Ben Harper & Relentless7, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Erykah Badu, The Decemberists, Fleet Foxes, TV On The Radio, Animal Collective, Silversun Pickups, Bon Iver, Santigold, and many others are playing this year's Sasquatch Festival (May 23, 24, 25, 2009 @ The Gorge in Quincy, WA). Full lineup and ticket info below...

Continue reading "Jane's Addiction played LA, headlining SASQUATCH Festival (which just announced most of the 2009 LINEUP)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Thomas Function - Belly of the Beast (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Thomas Function - Conspiracy (MP3)

Thomas Function

Alabama's Thomas Function are in town this weekend for a trio of shows as part of trawl down the East Coast. Admission: I think I picked up Thomas Function's debut album, Celebration!, about four times last year thinking it was a LCD Soundsystem record -- singer Joshua Macero, whose mug graces the cover, looks a lot like James Murphy, at least when quickly flipping through CDs. After seeing so many times I finally got around to actually listening to it, and while absolutely nothing like the DFA head (not that I expected it to be), these Alabamians raise quite a ruckus with their spirited, organ-driven garage rock.

There's also come country and bluegrass in there too, as you might expect from a band living that far south but, really, Thomas Function grooves to their own beat. The band have also released a slew of 7" singles, most of which are now out of print or at least hard to find. Maybe they'll have some of them to sell at their shows. They play a free show at Other Music tonight (1/23), Cake Shop on Saturday (1/24) and Mercury Lounge on Sunday (1/25). Full tour dates and video at the bottom of this post.

Golden Triangle

The most interesting show of the weekend for me is Friday (1/23) at Death By Audio. Headlining are locals Golden Triangle, whose debut EP just came out on Kemado's vinyl-only imprint, Mexican Summer. (You can get it digitally from Emusic, though.) Some songs veer towards Vivian Girls/Fuzzbox/Slits territory, other songs remind me a lot of The Fall, and they cover Redd Kross' "Annette's Got the Hits." That's a one-two-three punch for me. (It's also the second band I've written about here to do a Redd Kross cover, the other being Box Elders.) The six-piece are about to head out on tour with King Khan & the Shrines so the rest of the country will get a chance to check them out too.

Also on the bill: Brazilian band Garotas Suecas, who will be compared to Os Mutantes because it's obvious and easy, but these kids are a little more straight up fun garage rock a la Mando Diao or The Fleshtones. I like what I've heard and it's the only NYC performance they have left (they also played Vassar last night). Plus, the lovely, downcast electric folk of NYC's Tall Firs; and hushed trio Metal Mountains that features Helen Rush, Samara Lubelski and Pat Gubler, all of whom spent time in Tower Recordings. So the night starts quiet and gets progressively louder and crazier.

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I'd also like to (also) recommend the Valerie Collective show at Webster Hall tonight (1/23). Collective is a key term here. Many of the groups playing share members and the difference between Anoraak and College (my two favorites of the night), sonically, is minimal (one sings more than the other) but it's such a cool sound. It's big, lush, and retro, unabashedly '80s, and done to perfection. I have no idea if the groups will really translate to the live setting but if you're dancing you probably won't notice if they don't. Steve Moore's Lovelock is also on the bill.

The Week That Was

Lastly, SXSW will be upon us any minute and even if you aren't heading to Austin, New Yorkers are able to experience a little of the excitement as bands from the UK and Europe often make a pitstop here on their way to or from the festival. We already mentioned that Swedish rockers The Soundtrack of Our Lives are playing both Bowery and Music Hall of Williamsburg (tickets are on-sale today, 1/23) which I wholeheartedly recommend you check out, but I'm even more excited to see that The Week That Was are playing Mercury Lounge on March 9.

TWTW are one of the two splinter groups created when Sunderland, UK's Field Music decided to retire that moniker but still basically make music together. David Brewis released a phonetics-obsessed solo project under the name School of Language (which toured here last March). His brother Peter created The Week That Was, a concept album equally obsessed with (lyrically) The Media and (sonically) the Big '80s production style of Kate Bush and Trevor Horn. It's a brilliant album that made my Top Five of 2008. Both David Brewis and Field Music keyboardist Andrew Moore, plus about five others on percussion and strings. I'm not sure how many members strong they'll be at Mercury Lounge, but if they even come close to replicating the album's wall-of-sound, it will be worth attending. Tickets are on-sale today since Noon.

All tour dates, videos and flyers after the jump....

Continue reading "Thomas Function, Golden Triangle, Valerie Collective, The Week That Was & more in This Week in Indie"

Continue reading "Langerado Fest, in Miami, in March - initial 2009 lineup"