DOWNLOAD: Kurt Vile -Invisibility: Nonexistant (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Kurt Vile - Gagdad (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Purling Hiss - Don't Even Try It (MP3)

Kurt Vile @ Terminal 5 in July (more by Matt Eisman)

Kurt Vile/Times New Viking/The Clean: That three-band bill looks so good, I'd probably have trouble sleeping the night before such a show came through Vegas. At Matador at 21, it was but the tiniest sliver of a giant, weekend-long musical pie. Beginning at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, the festival's lone matinee event drew a solid crowd to the Palms Ballroom for its first two acts, then packed the place wall to wall for the third.

Kurt Vile, a rising singer/songwriter/guitarist from Philadelphia who's released three albums in two years, kicked off the day's music with his three-piece band, the Violators. The foursome delivered a satisfyingly dense curtain of psychedelically-hued classic-y rock. Really good tunes that sound even better live. If your tastes run toward Springsteen and Neil Young, track down a copy of 2009 Matador disc Childish Prodigy. [Las Vegas Weekly]

Both bands meanwhile have some dates of their own, and Kurt has some shows scheduled after then too. That includes a December 3rd show at Knitting Factory in Brooklyn with Philadelphia;s Purling Hiss (the side project of Birds of Maya's Mike Polizze) who will also be opening the Soft Pack/Kurt dates. Tickets for the Soft Pack-less NYC show are on sale.

The above downloadable Kurt track comes from Kurt's recent Square Shells EP. The Soft Pack one is a song from a limited edition, tour-only 7", titled Gagdad, that you can pick up on their tour with Kurt. The Purling Hiss track is off a new full length called Public Service Announcement being released by Woodsist on October 26th. Full tracklist, the newest Soft Pack video and all dates below...

Continue reading "Kurt Vile touring w/ the Soft Pack & Purling Hiss (who has a new Woodsist album) -- dates, MP3s & stuff"

words and photos by BBG, more photos by Samantha Marble

Thurston & Jim @ ATP NY (photo by Abbey Braden for ATP)

My 11 Most Notable Moments at ATP NY 2010 by Adrienne Day

(11) Book club with Samantha Hunt and Luc Sante. Apparently Nikola Tesla thought he was married to a pigeon. #ThingsIlearnedatATP

(10) Jim Jarmusch and Thurston Moore's silly but entertaining exchange about "weird New York"

(9) @janelerner's Mary-Poppins-like bag with its bottomless supply of comforts from home

(8) Sleep's defibrillating two-hour-plus set

(7) Blagdon Lake at dusk: http://twitpic.com/2m59gh

(6) Beak> opening with the terrific "Blagdon Lake" and keeping it surprisingly cohesive / groove-able for the whole set

(5) Injuries sustained while losing at air hockey: a heavily bruised knee and what feels like a torn rotator cuff

(4) Years of incontinence producing an unmistakably ripe aroma in Kutsher's front elevator

(3) Stooges scholarship ("Williamson should go back to designing computer chips"; "Iggy's slowed down a bit but still, holy shit")

(2) This little pumin has apparently already been featured on Brooklyn Vegan: http://twitpic.com/2m59bb

(1) no wifi as its own time warp, leading to in-depth convos and contemplative gazing on the lake

Ron Jeremy & new friend @ ATP NY Sunday night

How do you get out of a conversation with Ron Jeremy? It's 1:30 AM on Monday (Sunday night), my friends are talking to the porn legend, and all I can think about is rest. It's been a brutal weekend of fantastic performances, great conversation, contact highs, 30 packs of beer, fantastic people, not to mention great music. But by the end of Sunday (the final day of ATP NY 2010), I just needed some Zs.

After a day-opening set of psychedelia from White Hills on stage two (which I enjoyed though it didn't manage to give me the kick in the ass I needed), The Greenhornes held down my interest for what I caught of their set. The Detroit Cincinnati band's garage pop played to one of the biggest early day crowds that I had seen on all three days. Kurt Vile's garagey punk followed on the second stage, sounding much heavier live than I had anticipated.

Fucked Up was next on the main stage, so I made sure to secure a primo slot for the mayhem. Madman Pink Eyes, who sang 2/3 of the show from the crowd, did all of the following during his set in the Stardust Room: crushed a coke can like Stone Cold Steve Austin, sprinkled Cocoa Puffs on the crowd, smeared himself with Oreos, performed all of "Crusades" with a plastic bag on his head, laid down in the center of the crowd, instigated a group hug of 20-30 people, and took audience members on piggy back rides. After two days of festival madness, it was definitely the shot in the arm I needed. Vivian Girls, who followed them on the second stage, was a bit of a comedown, but then again who wouldn't be?

GZA's set was moved to later that night on stage two (which I would end up missing due to Altar), so his stage one slot was filled by comedian Hannibal Burress who had also performed Friday night. I missed his set and ended up catching Wooden Shjips' powerful psychedelic set on the second stage. There were many retro-leaning bands playing over the course of the weekend. My favorite sets in that category came from Dungen and The Black Angels. Powerful, trippy and fantastic.

With the lights down low, Hope Sandoval played xylophone and crooned with her enchanting voice to the Stardust Stage crowd. On any other occasion, I might have found the set mesmerizing, but at that moment another pick me up was needed and I surprisingly found that in Girls's sunny Elvis Costello brand of pop directly afterward. With all of the recent brutality (Fucked Up, Wooden Shjips, and in a much different way, um, Vivian Girls) it was a fun change to see the band run through tracks like "Laura" from their recent LP. Great set from this Cali crew.

T Model Ford

Of all the artists walking around Kutshers during ATP weekend, the two that seemingly had the most fans/people clamoring to meet them were Sunday's curator Jim Jarmusch, and T-Model Ford. It didn't hurt that T-Model was apt to take his guitar out and play anywhere with a little battery-powered amp. The bluesman finally got his time under the lights of the second stage on Sunday night though, and the adoration continued, with people cheering while he tuned (multiple times).

Raekwon took the stage a touch late with an introduction from Ron Jeremy, running through the classic Wu material: "Protect Ya Neck", "C.R.E.A.M.", "Ice Cream", set opener "Motherless Child", "House of Flying Daggers" and many more. Though I nerd out to the tracks and even ODB classic-that-felt-like-set-filler-in-a-Raekwon-show "Shimmy Shimmy Ya" on the Stardust Room system, the set felt phoned in. Not to sound insensitive, but is a few-minute shout out to your grandfather who is buried in Monticello really necessary? GZA, Kim Gordon, and Thurston Moore watched the set from the sides of the stage.

I missed GZA's rescheduled set completely on the second stage (because of Altar), but he reportedly delivered a freestyle-heavy set. The Wu-tang rep later showed up at The Deep End Bar to greet the legendary Kool Herc who was DJing late-night...

GZA & Kool Herc ATP (Kory Grow)

Partway into [Kool Herc's] set, in walked Wu-Tang Clan's GZA, who had played a sort-of aggressive set at the same time as Altar (I went back and forth between the two.) ...in the presence of Herc, he was nothing but reverent. He nonchalantly stepped behind the turntables and said hello. ...It was one of those rare moments where you felt like you were seeing something rare and historic. GZA grabbed the mic and talked about what a legend Kool Herc was and thanked him before leaving.-
[Sadness Is Delicious]

Pictures from Friday HERE and Saturday HERE, and the rest of Sunday, below...

Continue reading "ATP NY 2010 - Day 3 pics (Jim Jarmusch, Thurston Moore, Ron Jeremy, Fucked Up, Girls, T Model Ford, Raekwon & more) "

by BBG

Kurt Vile at Brooklyn Masonic Temple (more by Lori Baily)

It's almost final and official, ATP New York is ruling. The best Hudson Valley festival to ever be held in a 1960s time capsule has announced the "final additions" including two comedians chosen by Syd Butler of Les Savy Fav (more to come... that's all "so far"), as well as a few new and interesting additions to the Jim Jarmusch curated date. Behold:

Continue reading "ATP NY announces (almost) complete lineup (GZA, Kurt Vile..)"

photos by Matthew Eisman

"They opened with a strong, stirring rendition of "Start A War" (Featuring the immortal lyrics: "You were always weird but I never had to hold you by the edges like I do now. Walk away now. And you're gonna start a war.") and they never looked back. Highlights included stellar performances of "Bloodbuzz, Ohio," "Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks," "Fake Empire" and "Mr. November" some charming, semi spastic arm waving gestures by the tall skinny lead singer with the wonderfully soulful baritone voice and a delicious veggie dog from the roof deck. They closed the show with "Terrible Love"--the opening song from their newest album. The only disappointment for me was they they did not perform "Racing Like a Pro" or the magnificent "Gospel." But it was a really great night. And a great live musical christening of my second half century." [Teddy Vegas]

Continue reading "The National, Suckers & Kurt Vile @ Terminal 5 (SPIN 25) - pics, setlist, live audio "

It's a busy week for big NYC shows. The Flaming Lips are here for two performances, starting with the gig tonight/Monday at Central Park SummerStage. Oneida opens. The Flaming Lips show Tuesday night at Terminal 5 is part of the Spin25 series of gigs running each day this week.

Spin25, sponsored by American Express's new ZYNC card (as you can see in the picture above), kicks off with Smashing Pumpkins tonight at Terminal 5, and continues with Flaming Lips on July 27th, the Black Keys on July 28th, the National on July 29th (all at Terminal 5), and Spiritualized on July 30th at Radio City. Show openers are listed below (Spiritualized, which has no opener, is the only one with tickets available currently).

THIS WEEK AT TERMINAL 5
7/26 - Smashing Pumpkins @ Terminal 5 (w/ Kill Hannah & The Jim Jones Revue)
7/27 - The Flaming Lips @ Terminal 5 (w/ Fang Island)
7/28 - The Black Keys @ Terminal 5 (w/ Lee Fields & The Expressions & The Whigs)
7/29 - The National @ Terminal 5 (w/ Suckers & Kurt Vile)
7/30 - Spiritualized playing Ladies and Gentlemen (TICKETS)

You can also watch the shows online: SPIN & ZYNC are streaming them.

Several of the above bands have more shows this week too. The Black Keys play two SummerStage shows with the Morning Benders on July 27th and 28th (the second being the an early show on same night they play T5). Those two shows are also a tour kick-off for the two bands. All dates below.

The National also play Celebrate Brooklyn on Tuesday, July 27th with Beach House opening. They'll be back in September for a show at Wellmont Theatre with Owen Pallett who opens both Arcade Fire shows at MSG next week.

Contest details and dates below...

Continue reading "SPIN 25 this week (win tix, stream the shows) ++ it's a busy week w/ more Black Keys, Flaming Lips & National shows too "

Matador's 21st birthday fest will be happening in Las Vegas October 1st-3rd. For it, they've pulled the cream of the indie-rock crop. Previously speculated headliners Belle & Sebastian and Pavement will be there - on top of that, Guided By Voices will be reuniting to play, "in the band's "classic '93-'96 lineup!" The most recent show for GBV was New Year's Eve 2004/05.

In addition to those three, the lineup includes Sonic Youth, Spoon, Yo La Tengo, Cat Power, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, New Pornographers, Superchunk, Ted Leo & the Pharmacists, Guitar Wolf (who also play NY), Chavez, Girls, Fucked Up, Harlem, Cold Cave, Shearwater, Kurt Vile and Jeffrey Joe Jenson. More will be annonuced July 5th.

A flyer is below...

Continue reading "Matador Fest lineup announced - Guided by Voices reunion! + Guitar Wolf, Belle & Sebastian, Pavement & many more"

photos by Rachel Carr

Kurt Vile @ the Henry Miller Library

"We hot footed it down to the Henry Miller Library for the Woodsist festival. It was hidden among the trees like a secret garden and as we laid on our rugs drinking strong vodka cranberry, the place seemed to glow. We watched the bands, perused the library, went exploring and hung out at the merch table and before long the sunlight faded and the fairy lights came out. Oh and then we saw Kirsten Dunst, just hanging out in the bookstore and Joe let his cool mask slip and got all star-struck and gaspy. The day was magical but tinged with melancholy. I couldn't shake this feeling and this feeling was the end." [In Another World]

Continue reading "Woodsist had two fests in California (pics from Big Sur)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Kurt Vile - Invisibility: Nonexistent (MP3)

For the next 24 hours Matador Records will let you download Kurt Vile's new Square Shells EP for the price of your email address. You can also get a taste of it -- the seven-minute folky transcendental jam "Invisibility: Nonexistent" -- at the top of this post. The EP is out this week and is also available on vinyl. Sorry CD fans, no love for you on this.

Kurt is currently out on tour with The Sadies but will play a record release party for Square Shells at Union Pool on June 18 (tickets on sale now), before heading out on tour with Real Estate. All tour dates are below....

Continue reading "Kurt Vile EP free for 24 hours, touring soon (updated dates) "

by Bill Pearis

Real Estate @ SXSW (more by Dominick Mastrangelo)

Real Estate's new EP, Reality, on Mexican Summer is sold out (including a repressed Record Store Day edition that came with a cassette) in physical form but you can get it digitally from the usual sources. This past Sunday the NJ band played a Kidrockers show at Bowery Ballroom. How was that? What did your kids think?

And there is much more touring in Real Estate's future. In May they head to Europe followed by a brief trip to the west coast. Then not long after the Woodsist Northside show at MHOW on June 25th, the band will go out on a North American tour with Kurt Vile. That trip includes NYC-area shows at Le Poisson Rouge on July 9th (tickets) and Maxwell's on July 10th (tickets).

All dates mentioned so far are before Real Estate plays a free summer show with Deerhunter in August. All dates below...

Continue reading "Real Estate & Kurt Vile - 2010 tour dates"

The Sadies...

Truck America is a 3day festival (april 30-may 2) held up in the catskill mountains @ the full moon resort in big indian, ny. the truck family has been putting on festivals and gatherings in the UK for the past 13 years and have just made the jump to the american market. mercury rev (with a full orchestra), white rabbits, here we go magic, ida, the joy formidable and neil halstead are just a few of the confirmed live performances. in addition to lots of live music, they're also going to have handfuls of workshops, kids activities and late night campfire singalongs. weekend pass is only $120 and includes 3 nights of campsite access and parking (day tickets also available). if camping isn't your thing, accommodations are also available at the resort as well as meal packages.

Before then there are a pair of "warm up shows" happening in NYC. The first is tonight (4/21) at The Bell House and features all bands also playing the festival: Atlantic/Pacific (ex-Texas is the Reason), Dusty & The Dreaming Spires (Robin & Joe from Goldrush/Truck), Oxygen Ponies and Cat Martino. The second happens April 26th at Matchless, with The Caulfield Sisters and the Truck Family All Stars (members of Common Prayer, Dusty & The Dreaming Spires & Hopewell).

Sixties-style rockers The Sadies will be one of the bands at Truck America. They also have a new album, Darker Circles, out May 18th at Yep Roc. Their tour dates take them across Canada and down the West Coast, where they play a few shows with Kurt Vile. Back east, Vile plays a release show for his new 12" EP Square Shells, which comes out at the end of May on Matador, at Union Pool on June 18th. Joining him will be Meg Baird and Mad Scene.

The full lineup for Truck America and other tour dates are below...

Continue reading "Truck America's full lineup, NYC warm-up shows, new Sadies album & tour dates, a Kurt Vile EP & show & stuff"

Modest Mouse @ Terminal 5 in March 2009 (more by Chris La Putt)

Modest Mouse will join Faith No More and Nas & Damian Marley (tickets) as one of the acts set to play at Williamsburg Waterfront in Brooklyn this summer. Their Friday, July 23rd show will be ticketed/non-free (like the others mentioned). Tickets go on sale Friday at noon (which is when the just-added Faith no More show goes on sale too).

Modest Mouse's Brooklyn show is a week after they play the Pitchfork Festival which recently updated its lineup. New acts playing the Chicago fest include Big Boi, Major Lazer, Neon Indian, Beach House, Free Energy, Local Natives, Robyn & more. Check that out in full below. Single day tickets are still on sale.

UPDATE: Modest Mouse's Brooklyn show is one day after they play one in NJ.

Modest Mouse will be reissuing their third album, The Moon & Antarctica, on vinyl for its 10th anniversary, on Record Store Day - this Saturday, April 17th. "The album features restored original artwork and replicates the infinite lock groove found in the original vinyl pressings of 2000. The new vinyl reissue includes a download card for the album." All dates the the P4K Fest lineup, below...

Continue reading "Modest Mouse playing Williamsburg Waterfront, the Pitchfork Festival (updated full lineup) & other tour dates"

photos by Brian Reilly, words by Andrew Frisicano

Apologies to the DJ who went on after Fucked Up last Friday (2/15) at Europa. The balloons he or she carefully inflated, stuffed into bags, taped to the ceiling and rigged up with string to the DJ booth didn't make it through the set. "Last time I was here the bouncer beat me up," said one hopeful crowd member. Nothing like that happened - though there was some pushing and shoving, some ill advised but inevitable backflips off the stage, and the reasonably levelheaded bouncer in front, not beating anyone up.

Fucked Up treated the crowd to its standard repertoire of songs new and old (a partial setlist is below). Surprises included some songs off their just released Couple Tracks compilation and a devout cover of Sex Pistols' "Bodies."

The show was one of two NYC-area dates on their tour with fellow Matador artist Kurt Vile (Frankie & The Outs also opened at Europa). The other was the night before at Maxwell's. Vile opened both with airy, gutted versions of his full-band songs using only an acoustic guitar and some light effects. He opens for Panda Bear in Europe this March.

Fucked Up will be down at SXSW in March. One stop will be the BrooklynVegan Day Show on 3/17 at Emo's, where they'll play alongside Torche, Javelina, Salome, The Atlas Moth and Dark Castle. They'll also be at their own showcase, and MtyMx the following Sunday.

They recently announced a limited-run Record Store Day 7-inch (April 17th this year), with custom covers for each of 10 stores (including NYC's Generation Records) and one generic cover. Check out the artwork at their site. More pictures from Europa are below...

Continue reading "Fucked Up played Maxwell's & Europa w/ Kurt Vile (pics), releasing Record Store Day 7-inches & more"

Tanya Morgan - CMJ 2009 (more by Paul Birman)

tonight in NYC
* Tanya Morgan @ SOB's
* Chicha Libre @ Barbes
* Whiplash @ UCB Theatre
* Les Paul Tribute @ Iridium
* Rev. Vince Anderson @ Union Pool
* East of The Wall, Descender @ Lit Lounge
* Your Nature, Cavalier Rose, Caveman @ Studio at Webster Hall
* Passive Aggressor, Holy Shit, The Sandworms, The Marshmallows @ Death By Audio

Video of Kurt Vile performing "Dead Alive" at Maxwell's on Thursday below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Monday?"

Canadian punks Fucked Up play Maxwell's tonight (2/18) and Europa in Brooklyn on Friday (2/19) with Kurt Vile and Frankie & The Outs. Tickets are still available or, if you're feeling lucky, We have four pairs of tickets for giveaway! Details on how to win them below...

Continue reading "Fucked UP & Kurt Vile are here, win tix to the Brooklyn show"

by Andrew Frisicano

DOWNLOAD: Fucked Up - Neat Parts (MP3)

We are coming back Austin, and we welcome all challengers; your Pheonix's, your xx's and jj's, bring us all the TuNeYaRdS and Passion Pits you have, we are ready. We are coming back for TWO (announceable) special shows, and maybe one 3rd Mexican el concierto especial, and without further adieu, here is some of the info:

Fucked Up's current tour dates include a February run with Kurt Vile (which visits the NYC-area on Feb 18th and 19th) and a gig with Leatherface (who are coming to NYC separately) in Toronto. Updated tour dates are below.

Since their Xmas charity single in December, the band has continued in the same philanthropic vein - they recently auctioned off test pressings of their forthcoming collection Couple Tracks: Singles 2002-2009, due January 26th on Matador Records, for Haiti disaster relief. The Ebay bidding closed as $177.50.

The band also offered some thoughtful words about Jay Reatard's recent passing. That tribute is below...

Continue reading "Fucked Up have their own SXSW showcase + Haiti, Jay Reatard, updated tour dates & more"

photos by Vincent Cornelli

Toronto Star: Nobody really thought this reunion would happen, but here we are nearly five years later and the Dino reunion is still a going concern. Did you think it was going to last this long or did you think you were signing up for one tour and that would be it?

Lou Barlow: I just really didn't know. I guess I'd sort of assumed we'd do a lot of reunion shows and play old songs and that we wouldn't necessarily do new records. It's just been moving along the whole time. There's just been a real momentum to it, and I haven't spent a whole lot of time questioning it.

Continue reading "Dinosaur Jr. & Kurt Vile @ Bowery Ballroom - pics & setlist"

by Bill Pearis

The Primitives

The '80s-era indie power-pop band The Primitives have reformed and will be playing The Bell House on May 8. Tickets are on sale now. The band, fronted by platinum blonde Tracy Tracy, was best known for their hit "Crash" which was inescapable on modern rock radio in 1988 and has since been covered by nearly every pop punk band in existence. They went on to make three albums, and called it quits shortly after 1991's Galore. The Primitives reformed late last year, playing their first reunion show in their hometown of Coventry on October 2. The Bell House show will be the first American show since their split.

Opening the show are Frankie & the Outs who are currently recording their debut album for Slumberland, and also just posted a bunch of new dates, including February 13 with So Cow at Market Hotel, and February 19 with Kurt Vile and Fucked up at Europa.

Frankie herself (who we recently interviewed) will pull double duty on February 21 as the Outs open for Dum Dum Girls (Frankie's the drummer) at Mercury Lounge. Tickets go on sale Friday.

Frankie (and the Outs) pulled double duty on New Years Eve as well. They played both Cameo (a beach party w/ Surfer Blood and others) and Cake Shop (with Screaming Females, etc) that night.

Frankie & The Outs @ Cameo on New Years Eve (Abby Braden/PunkPhoto)

Dum Dum Girls' debut LP, I Will Be, comes out via Sub Pop on March 30. Both of Frankie's bands will be hit SXSW in Austin this year too.

Video from the NYE show at Cameo, a couple Primitives videos, all Frankie & the Outs tour dates, plus video of Dum Dum Girls playing Boston back in October, below...

Continue reading "The Primitives return. Frankie & the Outs will open the Brooklyn show, for Dum Dum Girls @ Merc & other dates "

photos by Graeme Flegenheimer

Kurt Vile & The Violators

Kurt Vile & The Violators opened for The Black Keys on New Years Eve at The Riviera in Chicago, part of a multiple night run for the headliners. Graeme (our photographer) was in the windy city with plans to catch Black Keys AND Girl Talk. He succesfully made it to Girl Talk, but the timing didn't work out right for the Black Keys. He did get pictures during Kurt's opening set though. Those, along with video of the Black Keys New Years countdown, are continued below...

Continue reading "Kurt Vile & the Black Keys played The Riviera in Chicago on New Years Eve - pics & video "

photos by Lori Baily

Happy Holidays! I take on more than I can handle. That results in a lot of unposted content. In the name of catching up, while also taking it easy during this final week of the year, here's some of that lost material.

Where was Alex Chilton on Wednesday night? At the Brooklyn Masonic Temple, he was onstage, more or less, standing at the far right, sometimes even near his microphone (and sometimes even using it). But as has been the case on and off for the last couple of decades, he was frustratingly hard to find.

It was the first New York show in several years for Big Star, Mr. Chilton's band, still plying the songs that for a few years in the early 1970s helped shape what power pop was to become, even if it was coolly received at the time. (An impressive Big Star boxed set, "Keep an Eye on the Sky," was released on Rhino in September.)

But memories are made in a variety of ways. The resurrection of Big Star in the early 1990s cemented its legend, and also the lineup: Mr. Chilton, who also played guitar, and the drummer Jody Stephens from the original group, rounded out by the guitarist Jon Auer and the bassist Ken Stringfellow, who were enlisted more than 15 years ago to fill out the band during its first comeback and never left. [NY Times]

Continue reading "Big Star & Kurt Vile @ Brooklyn Masonic Temple in NYC - pics & setlist"

DOWNLOAD: Deerhunter - Carve Your Initials Into the Walls of the Night (mediafire)

Atlas Sound @ MHOW in October (more by Toby Tenenbaum)

Bradford Cox brings his Atlas Sound project to NYC for a show on Wednesday, February 3rd at the Bell House. tickets are on sale.

It's one of two dates currently booked for the group. The other is a February 26th show in San Francisco.

Over the weekend (12/12), Bradford posted a 2005 Deerhunter CD-R, Carve Your Initials Into the Walls of the Night, as a free download on his blog. He writes: "It features only me and Moses and is very experimental in nature. This was during our "tape phase" when we would often play shows as a duo (or as a trio with colin) playing only tape machines and vocal loops." The recording is linked above. Its tracklist, more info, Bradford's favorite albums of 2009, and tour dates below...

Continue reading "Bradford Cox (Atlas Sound) announces shows (dates), releases free 2005 Deerhunter album, lists his 'Best of 2009'"

by Andrew Frisicano

Kurt Vile @ Europa

Kurt Vile fit three shows into a recent two-day NYC trip. The first was a solo performance at an invite-only party at Public Assembly early Tuesday night (11/17). Later that night, he played a show at Europa with the Violators behind him and opening sets from Wild Yaks, Pink Reason and Home Blitz. Then on Wednesday (11/18), KV&V opened up for Big Star at Brooklyn Masonic Temple.

Kurt Vile and the Black Keys added a New Year's Day show after their NYE show in Chicago. In addition to his February tour with Fucked Up (the NYC dates of which are on sale), Kurt Vile will be playing a free show at Brooklyn Bowl on Tuesday, December 1st with Small Black and DJ Rezound (as part of the Fader Bowl series).

The next show for Wild Yaks happens Saturday, November 28th at the Living Room. The gig is part of Hex Fest that's happening at Cake Shop, Pianos, the Living Room and Googies the same day. The lineup for that includes Das Racist, Your Nature, Matt Vasquez of Delta Spirit, Weird Owl and others. Tickets and days passes are on sale.

More pictures and words on the Kurt Vile/Wild Yaks show at Europa are below...

Continue reading "Kurt Vile adds free Brooklyn show (dates), played Europa w/ Wild Yaks (who are playing Hex Fest) - pics & review"

by Andrew Frisicano w/ KV photos by Ryan Muir

DOWNLOAD: Fucked Up - Neat Parts (MP3)

Fucked Up @ Brooklyn Masonic Temple in November (more by Jake Forney)

2010 is already looking like a good year.Take, for instance, Fucked Up and Kurt Vile's February tour that'll include a pair of NYC-area shows. The first will be at Maxwell's on Thursday February 18th (tickets TBA). The second happens at Europa, a mid-size club whose stage seems awesomely equipped for the gig, on Friday, February 19th. Tickets are on sale. The shows are part of a larger Kurt Vile/Fucked Up tour, the dates of which are posted below.

Fucked Up last played NYC at the much larger Masonic Temple in November. Like the new show at Europa (and the one Kurt Vile recently played at Europa), the Masonic Temple gig was presented by Scenic. Since then the band played Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin on November 7th and headlined the M is for Montreal Fest on November 21st in their native land of Canada (more on the latter coming from Bill soon).

For upcoming releases, Fucked Up is planning a rarities collection called Couple Tracks, to come out January 26th on Matador. From that, the song "Neat Parts" (originally the B-side to the "Triumph Of Life" 7") is posted above. Preorders for the 7"/singles collection will come with a 7" for a new song called "Couple Tracks" (the b-side is another new track, "Holden"), out the same day.

Fucked Up is also in the process of recording an X-mas benefit single with guests that include TV on the Radio, Broken Social Scene, GZA, No Age, Yo La Tengo, David Cross, Bob Mould and Ezra from Vampire Weekend. In the November 1st interview with Bring Back the Boombox that broke the news, Pink Eyes also added, "I'm still waiting on confirmation from Feist, Jarvis Cocker, and M.I.A." The money from the single, financed in part with the band's Polaris Prize proceeds, will go to organizations that support Canadian Aboriginal women's rights.

In that same interview (excerpted below), Pink Eyes talks about the band's upcoming single & 7" recording plans with NOFX, King Khan and BBQ and GZA. And the band's blog adds a split with Sareena Maneesh to that list. More info is below.

Sareena Maneesh, now also part of the Beggars label family, has NYC shows coming up at Mercury Lounge and Littlefield.

As mentioned above, Kurt Vile & The Violators just played Europa on November 17th. They also played an invite-only show at Public Assembly earlier that night, and opened for Big Star at Brooklyn Masonic Temple on Nov. 18th (Big Star post coming soon).

A set of pictures from Kurt's Public Assembly show, with all tour dates and more info on the Fucked Up recordings are below...

Continue reading "Fucked Up touring (dates include Europa - on sale now) w/ Kurt Vile who played Public Assembly (pics) ++ MP3"

Kurt Vile (in orange) @ Woodsist/CT Fest on July 4th (more by Tim Griffin)

At [D.C.'s] the Black Cat Backstage [Nov. 5th], [Kurt] Vile ambled through the final date of a month of shows with his three-piece band, The Violators, for what he said was the largest crowd he'd played. Double digits, still -- right-sized. He opened the 70-minute set with a solo take of "Peeping Tomboy," which, like so much of the spectral folk side of his songbook, seemed to waft in from some phantom radio. Even when the combo joined him for the stouter stuff -- like "Freak Train," the self-explanatory centerpiece of his just-released "Childish Prodigy" album -- the cacophony was more ethereal than kinetic.

After innumerable self-releases, his songs still sound like their paint's still wet, which is part of their appeal. It remains to be seen whether they can, or should, expand beyond the cult of sober head-nodders who paid their respects last night. The only person dancing was a British girl whose accent was pitched just-so to be perfectly audible through the din.

"They're really quite good," she chirped. Cheers. [Washington Post]

The gig comes one day before Vile opens for Big Star at Brooklyn Masonic Temple (11/8). Tickets to that appear to be gone.

In non-New York news, Vile will be playing a New Year's Eve show at Chicago's The Riviera with The Black Keys. Tickets are on sale. Half of the Black Keys, Dan Auerbach, plays Webster Hall on Wednesday, November 11th.

A flyer for Vile's Europa show and all upcoming tour dates (in which Vile goes to Europe this December) are posted below...

Continue reading "Kurt Vile playing Europa, opening for the Black Keys on New Years Eve (in Chicago) - 2009 Tour Dates"

Monotonix @ Sasquatch Fest in May (more by Chris Graham)

tonight in NYC
* DANCE
* Kiss @ Nassau Coliseum
* Bob Weir @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Lord of the Rings @ Radio City
* Kayo Dot, Extra Life @ Drom
* Monk at 92 @ WFC Winter Garden
* Ludlow Lions, Indra @ Union Pool
* Rosanne Cash @ St. Ann's Warehouse
* Clutch, Lionize, Wino @ Irving Plaza
* Owen, The One AM Radio @ Mercury Lounge
* The Gossip, Men, Apache Beat @ Terminal 5
* Mancino, Timber Timbre, Rubik @ Union Hall
* Pierced Arrows, Endless Boogie @ Mercury Lounge
* Valley, German Measles, Blue Jungle @ Shea Stadium
* Monotonix, Turbo Fruits, The Beets @ Santos Party House
* Mason Jennings, Anni Rossi @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band @ Giants Stadium
* Psychedelic Furs, Happy Mondays, Islands @ Roseland Ballroom
* Thee Oh Sees, The Fresh and Onlys, The Beets @ Death By Audio
* TV Ghost, Wizzard Sleeve, FNU Ronnies, Unholy 2 @ Silent Barn
* Grand Archives, The Most Serene Republic, The Diggs @ Southpaw
* Thee Oh Sees, Golden Triangle, The Fresh & Onlys @ The Bell House
* 3 Inches of Blood, Children, Mantic Ritual @ Knitting Factory Brooklyn
* Indian Jewelry, Silk Flowers, The Present, SS Pyramid Snake @ Cake Shop
* Peelander Z, Math the Band, The Eskalators, Lima Research Society @ Maxwell's
* Ben Perowsky's Moodswing Orchestra, Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey @ LPR
* One Step Beyond w/ Amanda Blank, Devlin & Darko @ Museum of Natural History
* Benefit w/ These Are Powers, Lone Wolf and Cub @ Issue Project Room
* Blue Jungle, Valleys, Waters Wolves, Gary B & the Notions, German Measles, Young Boys, Le Rug, and Effing @ Shea Stadium.

Born in the U.S.A. is the seventh studio album by American rock singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released on June 4, 1984. His popular and commercial triumph, it found Springsteen marking a departure in his sound - while the predecessor, the dark and acoustic Nebraska featured songs of pessimism and isolation, Born in the U.S.A.'s lyrics expressed signs of hope in the daily fight of the standard American in following the American Dream, a new feeling complemented by synthesized arrangements and a pop-flavored, radio-oriented sound that helped Springsteen to extend his already-growing popularity and dominate the mainstream audiences. In support of the album, there was an enormous commercial and sociocultural exposure throughout a large string of hit singles, remixes and music videos, and also the renewed image that Springsteen delivered - a muscular physique and a tougher, American-hero-like persona. [Wiki]

Reunited UK rock bands Psychedelic Furs and Happy Mondays bring opener Islands to Roseland Ballroom. Islands are back as part of their own tour with Jemina Pearl on November 5th.

Grizzly Bear and Beach House are up at Vassar tonight.

Monotonix are back in NYC for the first time since the release of their hard-to-beleive-it's-their debut LP in September. Turbo Fruits and The Beets open at Santos Party House. Tomorrow they play Market Hotel, again with Turbo Fruits. Listen to an interview with Monotonix below.

Later in the evening The Beets play Death By Audio with Thee Oh Sees and The Fresh & Onlys who play with Golden Triangle at The Bell House earlier in the night.

Canada's 3 Inches of Blood play Knitting Factory Brooklyn with Children and Mantic Ritual.

Canada's Timber Timbre plays Union Hall with Mancino. Owen, who is at Mercury Lounge tonight, plays Union Hall tomorrow.

Grand Archives and The Most Serene Republic are on tour - they play Southpaw tonight.

Pierced Arrows and Endless Boogie gig at Mercury Lounge.

The ex-Nakatomi Plaza band Ludlow Lions join Indra at Union Pool.

Charlie Looker and Extra Life are at Drom with Kayo Dot.

Rosanne Cash plays only the hits (other people's) at her two-night St. Ann's Warehouse engagement.

The One Step Beyond party at American Museum of Natural History hosts Amanda Blank and Devlin & Darko.

WFC Winter Garden hosts a free Thelonius Monk show, celebrating what would be the pianist's 92nd birthday.

Clutch and Lionize play Irving Plaza for two nights with Wino.

The Gossip's new Rick Rubin-produced record just came out officially last week. They play tonight with Men and Apache Beat at Terminal 5

Issue Project Room hosts a benefit tonight with These Are Powers and Lone Wolf and Cub.

Modest Mouse's new video for "Whale Song" is posted below.

Kurt Vile's video for "Freak Train" is below.

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Friday?"

Kurt Vile on WFMU @ UCB - Oct 7, 2009 (notladj)

"Kurt opened the night with two solo numbers that haven't appeared on any record, to my knowledge. I recognized "Peeping Tomboy" from one of the Ray Concepcion videos from Kurt Vile's last Silent Barn show, which I've posted below. If I had any doubt that Kurt Vile has any more good material left in him after this new album, "Peeping Tomboy" puts my worries to rest. With the October 6th release of Childish Prodigy, it was no surprise that Kurt Vile and the Violators mostly performed songs from that album. However, he performed a couple of songs off Constant Hitmaker, and they were given the Violators treatment. Of course, KV and the Violators tackled "Freeway," the song that Kurt once referred to as their Billboard chart hit, "right above 'Like a Rolling Stone.'" By far, the live version of "Freeway" is my favorite, mostly due to J Turbo's added harmonica part. No "My Sympathy" this night, but Kurt said he would definitely play it at his next NYC show. I will be there." [LAMIMAB]

Kurt Vile and the Violators are now on tour, but they'll be back soon. They were just added as opener on the November 18th Big Star show at Brooklyn Masonic Temple. Some tickets are still available.

A bunch of videos below...

Continue reading "Kurt Vile played UCB & Mercury Lounge, opening for Big Star"