Is anything still going on at Zuccotti Park? Regardless, Jackson Browne and Dawes, who have collaborated before (just ask Lefsetz!), will perform for Occupy Wall Street at Zuccotti Park today (12/1) sometime between noon and 1:30pm (I've seen it listed as 12, 12:30 and 1). Oh and Third Eye Blind, who wrote a song for the movement, will be there too! How's it going to be? How's it going to be...

Later tonight the movement will be at Lincoln Center with Philip Glass.

Dawes begin a run of proper NY and NJ shows on 12/3.

More info about Music For Occupy, the above-pictured album that features music by Jackson Browne, Yo La Tengo, Devo, Third Eye Blind, Lucinda Williams, Ladytron, and more, HERE.

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Dive - Sometime (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Caged Animals - Teflon Heart (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Caged Animals - Girls on Medication (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Heaven's Gate - Weakness Worms (MP3)

Toys & Tiny Instruments

It's a fairly quiet post-ATP weekend, which is fine. And the big stuff (Jens Lekman, James Blake) is sold out. CMJ is coming up in less than two weeks, and I plan on taking it (fairly) easy until then. (More than anything else, I'm stoked for the Breaking Bad finale on Sunday!) But there is, as always, stuff going on that's worth your time and coin. So this week I'm just going to do an extended version of the day-by-day picks.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6

Anika at Glasslands.

Dive, the new band from Beach Fossils dude Cole Smith, is easily the hardest working group in Brooklyn right now. You can see them tonight at Death by Audio on a pretty stacked bill of locals. I've caught Dive a couple nights now and am really impressed with their energy -- dark and motorik (not totally unlike Captured Tracks labelmates Soft Moon) -- and Smith's ability to spin around and play in clothes six sizes too big for him.

Dive also plays tomorrow (10/7) at 285 Kent with Night Manager and ex-Sweetbulbs band Heaven's Gate (who have a new MP3 to download at the top of this post) and Friends.

The rest of the show is good too. Caged Animals is Vin of Soft Black's new band. There are MP3s above and you can read more about them here. The show is also a record release for Spanish Prisoners' new album, Gold Fools, which you can stream in its entirety at the bottom of this post.  It's been a while since I checked in with them... it's a really nice record, especialy the single "Rich Blood" which you can download for free from their Bandcamp. Also playing are Quiet Lights who might fill the void for lovely loud guitar pop left by Dirty on Purpose.

Over at Cake Shop are the Toys and Tiny Instruments Band who do not play live very often. It's exactly as it sounds, seven or eight folks playing songs on kazoos, melodicas, penny whistles, plastic guitars and other toys and tiny instruments. (Not unlike Pianosarus for those whose memories go back to '80s obscurities.) They are way better than you think they're going to be.

And at Public Assembly it's electronic psych rock pioneers Silver Apples who play with MNDR, Lemonade, Ital and Todd Pendu on DJ duty. Another worthy show.

continued below....

Continue reading "Dive, Caged Animals, Ladytron, Taste of the Seaport, Psychic Paramount & more in This Week in Indie"

Fucked Up @ 285 Kent in June (more by Keith Marlowe)

Black Lips @ Emo's in May (more by Tim Griffin)

today in NYC
* Cumbiagra @ Barbes
* Carl Stone @ The Stone
* Sarah Cahill @ The Stone
* Billy Bragg @ City Winery
* The Crooked Trio @ Barbes
* Queensryche @ Irving Plaza
* Wave Sleep Wave @ Zebulon
* Zaza, Hopewell @ Saint Vitus
* Jack Grace Band @ Hill Country
* Nomo, Nat Baldwin @ Union Pool
* Morris Day & the Time @ BB King's
* The Invaders @ Josie Robertson Plaza
* Ellie Goulding, Bag Raiders @ Terminal 5
* Black Lips, Night Beats @ Bowery Ballroom
* The Pietasters @ Rocks Off Concert Cruise
* Psycho, Sewage, Undivided @ The Acheron
* Eiko & Koma @ Paul Milstein Pool, Hearst Plaza
* Weezer, Flaming Lips, Yeasayer @ Jones Beach
* Jacques Greene, Falty DL, Dan Wender @ Le Bain
* Gary Wilson, Slowdance, Bryant K @ Glasslands
* Debbie Gibson & Tiffany @ NYCB Theatre, Westbury
* Eels, The Submarines @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Jonas Reinhardt, Forma, Cloudland Canyon @ Cake Shop
* Grandmaster Flash, Coolio, Rusty Lazer @ Webster Hall
* Oumou Sangare, Bassam Saba @ Prospect Park Bandshell
* Sonny & The Sunsets, The Sandwitches @ Mercury Lounge
* Don Byron New Gospel Quintet @ Damrosch Park Bandshell
* Black Lips (DJ set), DJ Christopher Roberts @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Chappo, Food Stamps, Tayisha Busay, Sick Cell @ Bruar Falls
* Bake Sale, The Immaculates, Teen Witch @ Death By Audio
* XXXY, Laurel Halo, Shlomo, Braille, Contakt @ Tammany Hall
* Doveman, Julia Stone, Peter Pears, Bandana Splits @ Le Poisson Rouge
* Midnight Hours (Mamie Minch, JC Hopkins and Jolie Holland) @ Barbes
* Fiasco, Herzog, Web Dating, DIVE, Day Dress @ Shea Stadium
* The Wisconsin Dells, The Pendulum Swings, Tiny Victories @ the Gutter
* Pepi Ginsberg, You Wont, Last Good Tooth, Noisycrane @ Cameo Gallery
* Fucked Up, Cro-Mags, Screaming Females, Pissed Jeans @ House of Vans
* They Might Be Giants, Eugene Mirman, Kristen Schaal @ Williamsburg Waterfront
* Tragedy: All Metal Tribute to the Bee Gees, Satanicide, Pounder @ Brooklyn Bowl
* The Cheese, The Heshers, The Nuclears, Jeff Electrajet Ward, John Allen @ Maxwell's

Check out This Week in Indie for more on a lot of shows.

Black Lips DJ at Brooklyn Bowl tonight after their Bowery Ballroom show.

Read more about out the free shows this weekend.

XXXY play Tammany Hall tonight and PS1 Warm Up tomorrow afternoon.

Ladytron have a new video for "White Elephant". Check out out below.

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Friday?"

Ladytron at Webster Hall in 2009 (more by Tim Griffin)

Ladytron are releasing their fifth album Gravity the Seducer on September 13 via Nettwerk. The group have 3 songs from the album out so far, "Ace of Hz," "White Elephants," and "Ambulances." Stream all three of these tracks below.

Ladytron will play a few European dates this month before heading out on a full North American tour in September and October in support of the album. That tour hits NYC on October 8 at Terminal 5. Sonio open some of the dates, including the NYC show. Tickets go on sale Saturday (7/9) at noon.

All tour dates along with album art, tracklist and MP3s below...

Continue reading "Ladytron tour dates, new album info, 3 new songs streaming"

Guided by Voices @ Matador 21 (by Fiona)

today in NYC
* Josh Roseman @ Zebulon
* Matana Roberts @ The Stone
* Jim Avett @ The Living Room
* UT, Sightings, Bill Nace @ Maxwell's
* Henry Grimes, Mark Dresser @ The Stone
* DJ Dog Dick at New York Art Book Fair @ P.S.1
* Guided By Voices, Blitzen Trapper @ Terminal 5
* Little Embers, Duende!, Streetlamp @ Cake Shop
* Apollo Heights, The JeanMarie @ Mercury Lounge
* Caves, Corbu, Not A Planet, Past Planes @ Glasslands
* Paul Weller, Erland & The Carnival @ Best Buy Theater
* Stephane Wrembel Presents The Django Experiment @ Barbes
* Givers, Drink Up Buttercup, The Diamond Center @ Knitting Factory
* Bottle Rockets, Graham Parker, Scotland Yard Gospel Choir, Cordero, Lydia Loveless (Bloodshot Records Fall Pageant) @ The Bell House

Fun Fun Fun Fest concludes today in Austin with a recently-added headlining set by the Descendents which is followed by a BrooklynVegan afterparty at Red 7 with the recently-revealed headliner Floor who play after a set by Landmine Marathon, who are playing no other shows in Austin this week.

The NY marathon is today.

Ladytron is also DJing at Le Bain at the Standard hotel tonight. Stream new Ladytron track "Ace of Hz" below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Sunday?"

photos by Tim Griffin

Ladytron / The Faint

"I'm all for the egalitarian spirit of alternating closing slots when it comes to co-headline tours, but even as someone who's a fan of Ladytron and who hadn't heard a note from The Faint before Monday's show at the Phoenix, I'd have to say that the evening would have been better served if the Nebraskans had been last up.

Which isn't a slight on the Liverpool outfit in the least - as their appearance at Harbourfront last July proved, they can put on a terrific show even without being especially animated but following a set as hyper-kinetic and anarchic as The Faint's? That's tough. As mentioned, they were an unknown quantity but made a hell of an impression, and quickly - their laser-guided light show and frontman Todd Fink's manic antics made for a level of spectacle and showmanship that I'm not really used to seeing, and soundtracked by the band's deep and thundering synth-dug grooves, it wasn't a little gleefully apocalyptic. And helping that impression along were the audience - all I can say is that if you're going to be standing in the all-ages portion of a Faint show, you'd best be prepared. Starting from a sway and quickly building to a near-riot, it became very clear that the front half of the Phoenix was no place for the faint of heart or aged of back. I can't say that I'll remember a single song The Faint played during that hour on Monday night, but I'll certainly remember the effect it had on their fans. That shit was crazy."
[Chromewaves saw the Toronto show]

Continue reading "Ladytron & the Faint @ Webster Hall, NYC - pics "

Louise Harman is just 23, but already she's had quite a life. By the age of 20, she had scored a Top 10 hit with the Ordinary Boys - Nine2Five - and recorded with the Streets. In 2005, she got a deal with Island Records in the UK, while Jay-Z himself signed her to his Def Jam label in the US...

...Then things started to fall apart. "I went on strike and stopped doing stuff, so Def Jam got the hump with me," Harman shrugs, sipping on a vodka and Red Bull in a pub in Wembley, north London, near where she grew up. Her initial meeting with Jay-Z took place in front of R&B star Usher and producer LA Reid, and was, she remembers, an uncomfortable experience. "All these executives, on the top floor of a high-rise building, all eyes on me. It was like an audition. Jay-Z is a cool guy, but we only hung out properly once - it's not like we were best friends." Her mother was (and still is) seriously ill with a brain tumour. Meanwhile, Def Jam had spent vast amounts marketing her debut album, Public Warning, and saw little chance of profiting from its 300,000 sales. The pressure was on.

The tipping point was a disastrous performance at New York's Studio B in May 2007. Harman told the audience she was broke and bored of performing the same songs; she left the stage after two tracks to a chorus of boos. "I lost the plot a few times. I was cutting myself and stupid things like that. I was tired," she says now. "I felt like it was just push, push, push. I didn't have a chance to record any new stuff, it was the same old songs."

She flew back home. "My manager rang me and said, 'OK, it's definitely over.' And it hit me." She insists that Def Jam didn't drop her; the parting was a mutual decision. "It just had to be done, for their sake, for my sake. It wasn't messy, it was just ... gone."... [Guardian]

Continue reading "Lady Sovereign (no longer on Def Jam) tour dates (tonight @ Tribeca Grand w/ Ladytron/Faint DJs)"

DOWNLOAD: Round Table Knights - End of Winter Mix (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Leif - Timbs (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Leif - Timbs (Ian Johnson Remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Leif - Timbs Neon Coyote Slow Jam (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Leif - Black Magic (MP3)

words by Showtrotta, Presets photos by Faith-Ann Young

The Presets @ Webster Hall - Apr 3, 2009

I had known for a while that I was going to be out of town last weekend, but decided to stick around an extra day (Friday) just to see the Whip and Late of the Pier at Studio B. After witnessing both bands get people moving at Bowery last Wednesday I was really looking forward to seeing the crowd's reaction at the more dance-friendly Studio B on Friday.

I made it over to the B in time to catch the Whip's entire set. The sparsely filled dancefloor became more concentrated with people (though full would be an overstatement) once the Whip took the stage. The band opened with "Muzzle #1" (full setlist below) and the crowd didn't really react much. There were a few people nodding their heads, vaguely moving, and so began the Whip's fight to get the crowd going.

continued...

Continue reading "the week in Dance w/ Showtrotta (part 1) (w/ Presets pics)"

DOWNLOAD: Telepathe - So Fine (Lauren Flax remix) (MP3)

photos by Tim Griffin

Crocodiles came through town and played Bowery Ballroom on Thursday (4/2) with Tyvek and Asobi Seksu, and a show two days later at Pianos with Tweak Bird.

Stealing liberally from the Jesus an Mary Chain and Spacemen 3,not to mention various other psych rock bands, San Diego duo Crocodiles aren't doing anything new, but they do it very well. Dressed in skinny denim and sunglasses and bathed in red light, Charles Rowell and Brandon Welchez look like a lost 1986 Creation Records press photo. It's all two-chords, feedback, reverb, and excruciating volume set against a dimestore drum machine beat. And it all works pretty brilliantly because, like fellow West Coast-ers The Soft Pack, they have one element that can't be ripped-off from someone else: attitude. All that's missing is strobe lights and smoke machines. Though it would probably work just as well with a full band. [Bill Pearis]

That tour runs through May 5th. Crocodiles' debut album, Summer of Hate, will come out on April 28th via Fat Possum Records. Tracklist below.

Then later in May, Crocodiles will return to NYC AGAIN - that time to play two shows with Holy Fuck and A Place to Bury Strangers. Tickets for both Friday, May 22nd at MHOW and Saturday, May 23rd at the Bowery Ballroom are on sale.

Telepathe's next show is scheduled for April 15th at The Annex in NYC. The gig will be a record release show a for the band's debut, Dance Mother, coming out April 14th on IAMSOUND. The record is "produced by Dave Sitek of TV On The Radio and comes with cd-only remixes from Chairlift, The Big Pink and Atticus Ross (Nine Inch Nails producer)." Dance Mother single "So Fine" is remixed above - the video for Telepathe's version is below.

Telepathe also has European/Japan dates scheduled, a June North American tour, and an appearance at All Point West scheduled. All tour dates, videos, and more Crocodile pictures below...

Continue reading "Crocodiles played Bowery Ballroom (pics), replaced Telepathe on the Faint/Ladytron tour (dates) "

Teengirl Fantasy (photo by josh sisk)

You don't hear too much from Celebration lately. Well, not totally true. The Baltimore band, known for being tight with Brooklyn's TV on the Radio, are credited as collborators on the new Holly Miranda album that was co-produced by TV on the Radio's Dave Sitek. And this Saturday night, February 21st, Celebration plays a Brooklyn show at Glasslands - the very venue members of TV on the Radio have turned up to play with their side projects in the last few weeks. TV on the Radio also have a NYC show coming up. Holly Miranda has a couple too.

Sound Fix Records, the venue, is not long for this world. Upcoming free shows there include a Friday night (tonight) performance by The Forms, and a Saturday one by Howlies. Tonight's Forms show, presented by Guilt by Association, also doubles as a Sound Fix benefit show, so look for the tip jar as its being passed around. Howlies' record "Trippin With Howlies" is out now. That is the occasion they'll be celebrating when they come back to town to play Death By Audio on February 26th.

Telepathe have been added to the Ladytron and Faint tour in April. That means they'll be playing Webster Hall on the 10th and 11th of that month. No need to wait that long though. In addition to some shows at SXSW in March, you can catch Telepathe twice in NYC this weekend, courtesy of Todd P. Tonight, February 20th, the show is at Market Hotel with These Are Powers, Teengirl Fantay, Soft Circle and Katie Eastburn. Saturday they play with Teengirl Fantasy, Hawnay Troof, and Silk Flowers at 92Y Tribeca. Todd P says...

Especially excited about the 2 shows this weekend featuring TEENGIRL FANTASY from Oberlin, Ohio. Teengirl Fantasy, aka Logan Takahashi and Nick Weiss, are two young guys currently attending Oberlin College, together they make drum machine and sampler heavy dance music that steals as much from the underground noise scene as it does from the dance world. Teengirl Fantasy smash those influences to make transcendently catchy adrenaline anthems that get everyone dancing.

Continue reading "Forms, Howlies, Telepathe, Celebration & Teengirl Fantasy"

DOWNLOAD: Ladytron - Tomorrow (Vector Lovers Lucky remix) (MP3)

LADYTRON has just announced a North American co-headlining tour with THE FAINT this spring, beginning in Milwaukee on Wednesday, April 1 and wrapping in Denver on Tuesday, May 5. The two bands will switch headline duties each night, and will be joined by FIGO who will DJ throughout the evening. Tickets go on sale Friday, February 13.

The band will also release TOMORROW EP -- a 6 track EP featuring remixes of the track "Tomorrow" from their 2008 release Velocifero -- on March 3 on all major digital service providers. Remixers include Jim Abbiss (Kasabian, Arctic Monkeys, Goldfrapp), Dirty Vegas, Great Northern and more.

Continue reading "Ladytron & The Faint - 2009 Tour Dates, remix EP & MP3"

photos by Ryan Muir

Datarock have some catchy recorded songs, and their stage show is good for pictures if nothing else. They've been on tour with Ladytron and the other night they opened for them at Terminal 5. More pictures from that show (June 25, 2008) below...

Continue reading "Datarock @ Terminal 5, NYC - pics"

photos by Ryan Muir

Sunday Mall: Why is the [new] album called Verocifero?

Ladytron: It means carrier of speed. It was the title of a track which didn't make it on the album but we liked the name so much we kept it. Scooters and pushbikes also go by the name. We Googled it and found it was also the title of a 19th-century Italian opera. We just liked it because of the speed of velocity.

Continue reading "Ladytron @ Terminal 5, NYC - pics"

DOWNLOAD: Harvard Bass - Go To School Mixtape (zSHARE MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Spitzer - Yacht Club (MP3)

Crookers at Webster Hall - June 21, 2008 (Phil Xander)

LA Riots at Hiro - June 19, 2008 (Nicky Digital)

With Crookers, Green Velvet, and many other deejays in town, I'm sure a lot of dancing went down in New York this past weekend. Regrettably I wasn't around for most of it, but managed to make it out to the Youpi party at Studio B Wednesday night. Unfortunately the party did not live up to its name. I arrived with some friends around 12 or so and Studio B was maybe one quarter full (which was probably in part due to the $18/$23 cover). I am un chien!! began just after we walked in. Their sound was more rock/guitar-based with some electronic beats in the background. Unfortunately the rock overtones were on the abrasive side and made the whole experience rather unpleasant - sort of an inferior version of the Rapture at times. The lead vocalist, David Fontao, put a lot of energy into his dance-move laden performance, but ultimately his frustration with the less than enthusiastic crowd became apparent. The highlight of the show was definitely the length - at just about 30 minutes I don't think I could've taken much more.

continued....

Continue reading "Showtrotta's week in Dance (Wednesday & Thursday stuff)"

Emerging from a lengthy stint in a Parisian studio, electro-pop mavens Ladytron are finally set to return with Velocifero, the follow-up to 2005's opus Witching Hour, slated to land stateside June 3 courtesy of their new label, Nettwerk Music Group. The new record was produced by Ladytron with additional production by Alessandro Cortini (Modwheelmood, NIN), and Vicarious Bliss of Ed Banger Records (Justice, etc), and mixing courtesy of Michael Patterson (Beck, P. Diddy). Not coincidentally, Ladytron will hit the road this spring alongside sonically like-minded outfit Datarock, and also appear at this summer's Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. [Spin]

Continue reading "Ladytron - new album, 2008 Tour Dates w/ Datarock"

Both this week. Both Free. Both at Hiro Ballroom in NYC.
May 23 - Brazilian Girls (RSVP)
May 24 - Ladytron (DJ) and Kudu (band) (RSVP)