Dear ridiculously attractive person who just so happens to be looking at this webpage about Tasteful Nudes right now,

Hi. My name is Dave and this is my very first collection of essays. As you can probably imagine, it pretty much has everything. In fact, if you like stories about stolen meat, animal attacks, young love, death, naked people, clergymen, rock-n-roll, irritable Canadians, and prison, you have just hit a street called Easy because my book talks about all that stuff and a bunch of other stuff too.

Getting back to that prison thing for a second though, I can think of almost no place better to read my book than from within the confines of a correctional facility. For starters, you will definitely have the time. Also, cozying up with a good book in front of your fellow inmates is a great way to show them a softer side that for some reason no one ever wants to hear about in the yard.

Fear not though, non-convicts: my book makes for a solid read outside of prison too. At the beach, on the subway, while whitewater rafting, during couples counseling, under local anesthesia--I have personally seen to it that my book is totally readable in all these scenarios as well as most other scenarios out there today. It will make you laugh, cry, and maybe even think so much that it will make you forget all your problems while simultaneously creating a few new ones. In limited instances, it has been known to cause severe dehydration and the occasional groin pull, but honestly I don't know what that's about. That said, it's probably not a bad idea to keep a glass of water handy and really stretch things out before strapping yourself in for a literary thrill ride you will want to experience again and again until you are either dead or your eyesight fails completely, whichever comes first. In fact, if I end up being wrong about any of this stuff, you can kick me right in the privates. Also, I will send you a nice ham (serves twenty). In short, you really can't lose on this one.

Your man,
Dave Hill

Catch Dave live at The Rejection Show Valentine's Day Heartbreak Haven taking place at Littlefield on 2/14 with "Lizz Winstead, Dave Hill: The One Man Heat-Bringing Machine, Sara Benincasa, Mandy Stadtmiller, Eliot Glazer, Elna Baker, Adam Wade, Katina Corrao, Ted Travelstead, Tom Shillue, Jordan Carlos, Bridey Elliott, Giulia Rozzi, Liam McEneaney, Blaise Kearsley, The Defibulators, Colleen AF Venable, and pie by the slice by Daly Pie!", and then again at Littlefield on 2/18 for The Lindsey Buckingham Appreciation Society performs MIRAGE ... and more. Yes there will be Fleetwood Mac.

"I can tell by the bellows of my neighbors that sports are over & the New Jersey Acromegolics beat my 6-State Patriots." - John Hodgman

Ted Leo leaving Beerland - 1/28/2012 (by Tim Trentham)

After a recent trip to Texas in honor of Esme Barrera (picture from the Beerland benfits above), and more recently a weekend of "curling (the "sport"), Nightbirds & Kim Phuc at the Acheron, seal watching boat trip in NY harbor, and Puppy Bowl repeats," Ted Leo is heading out to Gowanus to host tonight's edition of Hot Tub at Littlefield with guests John Hodgman, Christian Finnegan, Jamie Lee, Harrison Greenbaum, and Brandon Wardell (2/6).

Hans-Joachim Roedelius (Hans-Joachim Rödelius, born October 26, 1934 in Berlin) is a German experimental, ambient and electronic musician. He is best known as a co-founder of the krautrock groups Cluster and Harmonia and his work in the ambient jazz trio Aquarello." [Wiki]

All dates below...

Continue reading "Cluster's Hans-Joachim Roedelius touring from ATP to Moogfest, stopping at Littlefield (dates)"

CYHSY @ Sasquatch 2007 (more by Jerry Yeti)

Surprise! Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, whose sold out 9/20 Bowery Ballroom show was your next and first public time to catch the band in NYC since their return, will play a BrooklynVegan-presented show at the smaller (but 21+) Littlefield in Brooklyn TONIGHT (8/8) with Conversion Party . A very limited number of tickets will go on sale at noon, and we're also giving away 15 pairs!

Details on how to win, widgets to download two new songs and more tour dates below....

Continue reading "Clap Your Hands Say Yeah playing Littlefield TONIGHT (win or buy tix) +++ updated 2011 Tour Dates & new songs"

The Wake and Weekend were scheduled to play the free outdoor show at South Street Seaport this evening, July 8, 2011, but due to rain, the show has been moved to Littlefield in Brooklyn. Doors are now at 9pm, but the show is still free. Bands at 10 & 11.

Poor Chris La Putt braved the weather and went to the Seaport to capture the action. His picture of the non-event is above.

In related news, tonight's Yankees game is postponed for the same reasons and that means Derek Jeter will have to wait a little bit longer before attempting his 3000th hit.

P.S. Want to see Animal Collective for free at Merriweather Post Pavillion (the MD venue) on Saturday night? We're running a last minute contest for two tickets now at our Facebook.

"Withered Hand should be heading for SXSW. Instead, moronic US immigration officials in Vermont froze his visa and challenged the Edinburgh musician to prove that their qualified assertion he is "not of extraordinary ability" was an inaccurate one. One can only imagine they came to such a conclusion after believing 'Withered Hand' to be a thinly-disguised pseudonym for Abu Hamza.

After incessant campaigning from fans and well-wishers on Twitter, Facebook and even a formal petition with 750 signatures, at 3.30pm on Thursday, 10th March - a mere 41 hours before Dan Willson's transatlantic flight leaves Edinburgh Airport - his visa approval finally came through. However, with Dan having to rush to London for an interview at the US Embassy, it's still touch and go as to whether this nightmare will have a happy ending." [The Pop Cop]

In related news, Dam Mantle had to cancel SXSW for related reasons.

photos by Samantha Marble, words by BBG

The walls of Littlefield were adorned with Conrad Keely's intricate pen/ink tributes to sci-fi, as his band ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead celebrated the release of their new LP Tao Of The Dead with Takka Takka on Tuesday (2/8). Trail of Dead stripped down to a four piece for the show, sans keyboards, and though the band hadn't gotten their "sea legs" (per Jason Reece), they ripped through faves like "Richter Scale Madness", "Caterwaul", "Fake Fake Eyes", "A Perfect Teenhood", new tracks like "Pure Radio Cosplay" and "Ebb Away" before closing with "Relative Ways" as an encore. Takka Takka's set consisted of mostly new material that they were trying out for the Littlefield crowd. Their new album is due spring 2011.

Trail of Dead will be back around when they tour with Surfer Blood in May.

More pictures and the setlist (which leaves out "Relative Ways", the encore) from the Brooklyn show, are below...

Continue reading "Trail of Dead played w/ Takka Takka (and showed art at) Littlefield (pics, setlist)"

Trail of Dead at Mohawk (more by BBG)

Who says you have to wait until April or May? Tickets for NYC dates of the previously discussed ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead/Surfer Blood tour at Bowery Ballroom on 4/29 (here) and Music Hall of Williamsburg on 5/13 (here) are still available, but the band has added another much smaller and much sooner show.

Tickets are on sale for a Baeblemusic & Superball Music-presented Trail of Dead show at Littlefield on February 8, where the band will play in celebration of their new LP Tao of The Dead, as well as showcase some of Conrad Keeley's art ("Not only will Keely be displaying original art from the new album, he'll also be debuting two large scale paintings.").

Updated tour dates and some videos below...

Continue reading "Trail of Dead playing a record & art release show in Brooklyn"

DOWNLOAD: The Hood Internet - C.R.E.A.M. Theme (Wu-Tang Clan vs Javelin) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: ABX - Just Wanna Dance Yrself Clean (Jay-Z vs LCD Soundsystem) (MP3)

That's the flyer for Brooklyn Craft Central's 3rd Annual Holiday Craft Market going down at Littlefield in Brooklyn on both Saturday and Sunday this weekend. And if you need something to do tonight, Friday, December 17th, Littlefield is hosting mash-up masters The Hood Internet (and Project Jenny, Project Jan, DJ French Toast).

Har Mar Superstar & Gayngs @ The Box in NYC (photo by Lisa-Thi Beskar)

In the midst of a lawsuit releated to the loss of their tour bus in Texas,, Minneapolis soft rock supergroup Gayngs flew back to NYC in late October (the same month they played Music Hall of Williamsburg, Bowery Ballroom and Jimmy Fallon) for a post-tour, one-off, private show at The Box. Why did they do that? Because actor Josh Lucas, who met and saw them on that same episode of Fallon (he was one of the guests too), paid them to come and play his private pre-Halloween party at the Lower East Side club which he partially owns.

The cast of Gayngs that night included frontman Ryan Olson (of Marijuana Deathsquads), Ivan Rosebud on lead vocals, Channy Moon Casselle of Roma Di Luna on lead female vocals, three members of Megafaun (Brad Cook, Phil Cook, Joe Westerlund), Zak Coulter and Adam Hurlburt of Solid Gold, and.... fellow Minnesotan Har Mar Superstar who was basically filling in for Bon Iver aka Justin Vernon (who couldn't make the show probably because he was too busy chillin' with Kanye).

Gayngs have no more upcoming shows, possibly ever, but Har Mar can be found headlining venues twice in December. First you can catch him at First Avenue in hos hometown on December 15th, and then he heads back east for the New Years Eve show at Littlefield in Brooklyn (622 Degraw st.). Openers still TBA, but $25 tickets go on sale today, 11/19, at noon.

You guys ready to party?....

Continue reading "Har Mar Superstar filled in for Bon Iver @ a private Gayngs show @ The Box, playing New Years Eve @ Littlefield "

photos by Chris La Putt

The Acorn

The Acorn and Basia Bulat are about to end a North American tour together. That tour visited NYC last week for two shows. The Canadian band played Mercury Lounge on 9/23 and Littlefield in Brooklyn the next day...

"... the second Basia Bulat stepped on stage she just owned it! Her powerful but beautiful pipes had the audience right in the palm of her hand. Ms. Bulat's stunning songs were played beautifully by her stellar backing band. Basia Bulat is a diva in very good sense of the word!

The last band was another group of musicians that call Canada home, Acorn. Acorn rocked with their brand of well crafted infectious indie folk garage rock. Front man Rolf Klausener has an amazing voice and is charming and funny on stage and the rest of the band is really very tight and quite on point!" [Whatever...]

Continue reading "The Acorn & Basia Bulat played Littlefield (pics)"

photos by Dominick Mastrangelo, words by Rachel Kowal

Since their Friday night show at Terminal 5 was not sold out, Stars kept their Sunday night performance at Littlefield a secret until the last minute, but word spread quickly, and last night the line to get into the venue continued well down the block.

Seeing Stars play such a small room is a treat. After quite a lengthy wait for the show to begin (the doors were at 8, but the start time was 9:45), the audience was eager to show their support - especially one fan who could hardly contain his excitement. Between nearly every song, he'd lavish some sort of praise on the band. ("I love you!" "You are beautiful!" "You guys blow my brains out!" and my favorite, "You're not REAL!") The crowd's energy helped fuel the band and elevated their performance.

"It's the city so nice, we had to play it twice," joked former New Yorker Torq Campbell when they finally walked on stage. "We're so happy people came out," he continued, then launched into an appropriate introduction for the evening, the slowly building song, "The Night Starts Here."

As per usual, the band scattered long-stemmed white roses and handfuls of petals throughout the crowd between songs - only this time, nearly everyone in the room got showered, not just the people crammed into the first few rows.

Though they seemed a bit tired, Stars played a solid show and creatively drew a handful of more obscure from their discography to reward the T5 attendees for coming out to another show. Initially, Campbell's vocals were way too low in the mix, but (finally) after the ninth song, an audience member yelled out, "Turn up the vocals!" and the sound technician quickly complied. (Yet another benefit of playing such a small space.)

As was the case at their recent T5 show, Stars played a generous 5-song encore, which included a Smiths cover ("This Charming Man") and some banter about global warming, bad vibes, and Amy Millan's pregnancy. After the third song, Campbell addressed the room. "Do we have time for a couple more or is that sufficient?" Upon receiving an enthusiastic response from the audience, he continued as the opening notes of the crowd pleaser "Your Ex-Lover is Dead" rang out. "You know... I'm going to keep playing music until the day when I ask that question and people are silent."

Before their final song, the overzealous fanboy made his way to the front and whispered something into Campbell's ear. "You're going to marry your girlfriend?" Campbell repeated into the mic. "She's a lucky woman. Fantastic. Give it up for this dude. He's been awesome all night. He's half naked, he's in love. What more do you want from this man?" It was a nice moment. Then, after a sarcastic segue about heartbreak and failed relationships ("This probably has nothing to do with you"), Stars concluded their intimate set with "Tonight."

More dates HERE. Terminal 5 pics and setlist HERE. More pictures and the setlist from Littlefield, below...

Continue reading "Stars played little Littlefield (pics & setlist) "

Friday night's Terminal 5 show never sold out so they kept this a secret until now. $10 tickets are on sale. All dates below...

Continue reading "Stars played Terminal 5, playing Littlefield SUNDAY"

by BBG

I can still feel my skin rippling from that Ben Frost gig. Those oceans of sound and vibration are overwhelming. -HallochHill

Ben Frost @ Littlefield microreview: The sound of the universe rending itself in two, as wolves howl into the cold. Gorgeous. Terrifying. -stribs

Ben Frost at Littlefield - Sept 15, 2010 (photo by l_c_m_tt_)

When Sónar Chicago first announced that Ben Frost would be on its inaugural line-up, their commitment to innovative electronic music became clear. This wasn't going to be a watered-down sibling to their annual Barcelona event, rather it would present dance music and experimental sounds in equal measure. Frost was an ideal candidate for bridging this gap, as his... powerful recent releases like 2007's Theory of Machines and last year's By the Throat, ensured this would be one of the most eagerly anticipated performances of the entire festival...

Poised behind his laptop with a guitar in his hands, the image of Ben Frost on stage immediately evokes that of another guitar-laptop musician, Christian Fennesz. Instrumentation choice is where the similarities end, however, as Fennesz creates a more shimmering, ethereal reality of reserve and restraint. Frost opts instead to maximize the minimal, plotting an anxious course against the audience. With a debt owed to both Swans and Throbbing Gristle, there's little room for delicacy. -[Gapers Block]

The Icelandic electronic artist will do his best to pay any debt owed to Swans by playing Brooklyn Masonic Temple on 10/8 as the support act for the previously discussed Swans/Baby Dee shindig. Tickets are still available. Ben Frost will not appear at the now sold-out Swans show at Bowery Ballroom show on 10/9.

The NYC and Chicago show were a couple of a few that Ben Frost had planned for the US. Full tour dates and some video, including a live vid from Sonar, is below.

Continue reading "Ben Frost played Sonar & Littlefield, added to Swans show "

Holly Miranda @ Littlefield in July (more by David Andrako)

Unlike at her recent Phoenicia porch show (the same porch Dean & Britta played) where she played all covers, Holly Miranda played a bunch of songs off her new album at her July show at Littlefield which was being taped for Baeble in conjunction with BrooklynVegan. Five of those newer songs make up the six song setlist that ended up making the final cut for the video that is live over at Baeble now. The full setlist, review and pictures from the show are HERE, and you can also watch two of the songs shot by Baeble (and you definitely should), below...

Continue reading "Holly Miranda's Baeble session from Littlefield is online now"

photos by David Andrako, words by Rachel Kowal

The crowd congregated at Littlefield, expectantly, as clips from previous concerts played in the background. A camera mounted on a pole extended over the audience to capture Holly Miranda's BV-copresented set for Baeblemusic.

Holly walked on stage to a chorus of "I love you"s from the audience and took her post, stage right. "Are you alright? Are you hot? Don't touch anybody," she joked after the first song. The room was definitely heavy with humidity. As the evening progressed, more and more sweat poured from Holly Miranda and her band. Miranda was joined by a small brass section (trumpet and saxophone) in addition to the usual bass, guitar, and drums and a bevy of surprise guests, including a violin player and four of her friends who jumped on stage to play the sleigh bells for one song. Miranda herself switched back and forth from a guitar and an organ.

Despite the fact that there were a couple of cameras capturing her every move, instead of looking into them, Miranda stared intently at the audience (when her eyes weren't completely closed). Throughout the show, people kept shouting out her name in admiration.

Miranda may be on the petite side, but she possesses a rich, soulful voice with a surprising range and her music is not for the faint of heart. Though some of the songs have mellow intros, they swell during the chorus and it quickly becomes clear that she means business. At the core, her songs fall more squarely into the rock category than your typical singer-songwriter fare. Even her soulful Etta James cover ("I'd Rather Go Blind") ended with Holly rocking out.

She closed her initial set with "Pelican Rapids," a newer song that calls for marriage equality for all. After a minute or two of applause, Miranda and her band came back on stage for a single-song encore ("Singular Acceptance") to cap off the sweaty but satisfying evening.

If you missed Holly Miranda, she's playing again at Prospect Park as part of the summer's Celebrate Brooklyn program. You can also catch her at the more pricy Vivo in Vino. Stay tuned for the videos from Littlefield. More pictures from the show, including one of the setlist, below...

Continue reading "Holly Miranda got taped @ Littlefield - pics & setlist"

Kyp Malone & Holly Miranda @ Bowery Ballroom in May (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

Holly Miranda has a Celebrate Brooklyn free ($3 suggested donation) show at Prospect Park on the schedule for August 5th. There she'll be opening for Metric and Joan as Police Woman.

Before then, you can catch Holly at a special performance/video shoot at Littlefield on Wednesday, July 7th (622 Degraw Street, between 3rd and 4th Ave in Brooklyn). The show will be recorded for Baeblemusic for their The Guest Apartment video series. They're hosting the concert along with Brooklyn Vegan (us) and her label, XL Recordings. The show is 21+ and tickets ($8) are on sale and we have a bunch of tickets to give away - details below. If you miss the show, look for the videos online soon after (we'll post them). If you make it, doors are at 7:30, there will be drink specials and a Baeble video screening and then Holly plays at 9pm.

Holly Miranda's headlining-tour-closing Bowery show in May featured a full slate of special guests (as well a horn section), so who knows who'll show up. Holly is a guest vocalist herself on the forthcoming David Sitek/Maximum Ballroom album.

Between those two shows she'll be going on tour in Europe. Those dates and a cover of Holly's song "Waves" by the Antlers' Peter Silberman are posted, with contest details, below...

Continue reading "Holly Miranda taping a show @ Littlefield (tix on sale)"

by Rachel Kowal

DM Stith/Inlets/Silje's tour van (currently broken) (via DM)

In the wake of celebrating its one-year anniversary last month, Littlefield is beginning to host some pretty decent artists. Take Sunday night's show at the Gowanus venue. Only a modest crowd made it out, but the evening was filled with beautiful and haunting melodies.

First up was Norwegian singer-songwriter Silje Nes. On her debut album, Ames Room, Silje's soft and airy vocals are often overshadowed by the layers of sound she creates, but at Littlefield, they rang out against the gentle notes of a violin and and her guitar. As with other Scandinavian groups like múm and Seabear, shy stage banter and whimsical sound effects factor prominently into the mix. Lyrics of gardens, birds, the sun, and the sky only increase the charm value.

Silje Nes' sound is beautifully understated. Her percussionist in particular is a master of subtlety. He had at his disposal: a tiny xylophone, sleigh bells, wooden blocks, and a miniature accordion of sorts. At one point, he seemed to rub something against his own arm hair to create the scratchy sound characteristic of old recordings.

In addition to playing a handful of songs from her 2007 album, Silje played some newer songs, including "Crystals," which will be on an album her upcoming album, Opticks, due out in September.

Following such a quiet set by Silje Nes, the contrast of Inlets' opening song, "Canteen" was initially a bit jarring. The volume level in the room spiked, and Inlets seemed to possess more self-assurance-- even when, early in the show, front man Sebastian Krueger stopped mid song, saying, "I'm already upset with how out of tune that note is." Like Silje Nes, however, Inlets benefits from lovely group harmonies. The addition of Ben Lanz on trombone also helped to punch up the set.

As DM Stith settled in to play and introduced himself, he suddenly interrupted himself, saying, "I can still hear Gorillaz. Am I the only one?" After the faintly playing house music had indeed stopped, Stith began to set up his first song with a series of claps and snaps that he looped together to create the percussion.

The audience was quite respectful throughout the evening. The presence of seats and the relatively small size of Littlefield made for quite an intimate show. Besides the unintentional rumble of the snare drum during part of Stith's set, the only noise culprit turned out to be not the crowd, but the blasting A/C (though I suppose that's better than the oppressive heat that takes over many other Brooklyn venues in the summer).

Following a Sparklehorse cover, Stith invited the Osso string quartet to occupy the empty seats that were on the stage, and members from Inlets to share the stage with him. Given the fact that the quartet has also worked with fellow Asthmatic Kitty artist Sufjan Stevens, I guess their presence on Sunday shouldn't have been too unexpected, but it was still a welcome surprise. With the addition of all the extra musicians, DM Stith'a set took on a fuller sound for a couple of songs, though his haunting falsetto was still rightfully a major presence. Stith's vocals may be slightly off-kilter, but his voice is rich and eerily compelling.

Like Silje Nes, DM Stith also showcased a new song and revealed that he is working on an album that will be inspired by 50's pop and country music.

If you missed the NYC shows at 92Y Tribeca and Littlefield, you're in luck. The whole line-up will be back at Joe's Pub on July 21st following their tour. I'm already making plans to attend.

From now until that Joe's Pub show, you can catch the three artists on tour together. Their other stops include the NXNE Festival in Toronto, Spaceland in LA, the Black Cat in DC and many other places... but maybe not Portland.

Two new DM Stith videos, and DM's and Inlets' setlists from Littlefield, below...

Continue reading "DM Stith, Inlets & Silje Nes played Littlefield & 92yTribeca "

Sunday Best, Memorial Day Weekend 2010 (via)

June 4th, 2010

To our Yardies...

Over the past four years, we have worked hard to create BKLYN Yard. You watched us grow from a small unknown independent venue into a space that hosted the best tacos in NYC, incredible talent (Lee Scratch Perry, Kaiju Big Battel, Dan Deacon & Jose Gonzalez to name a few), the Sunday Best dance series, the Gowanus Harvest Fest, the BK County Fair, Score! Pop-Up Mega Swap, Parked: Food Truck Festival, and countless lobster bakes, pig roasts, BBQs and more. This past Memorial Day Weekend, we were so proud to open our doors and display all the hard work we have been putting into the space to make this summer even better...from our new bar, to our atm, to our bocce court. Thousands of you came out and supported us and made it one of the most beautiful weekends we have had yet, so we are sad to announce, that last weekend was the final weekend of BKLYN Yard in our Carroll Gardens home.

Our landlord of the past four years, who used to share our vision for BKLYN Yard, notified us on Tuesday May June 1st, that they would no longer honor our lease which had been in place since early this year. They chose not to give us an opportunity to renegotiate, and requested that we take what we have built, and terminate all of our confirmed plans and schedule for BKLYN Yard this summer.

BKLYN Yard is a labor of love for MeanRed, rooted in our core company values: Love for artists, food, music and community. We are sad to see our passion project go in its brightest year, and are sad to let down all the people who have support and worked with us for the past 3 summers.

But if there is one thing we pride ourselves in, its our ability to think outside the box, to take a leap when there is no net, and to reach our highest visions. We wouldn't be who we are if we let hurdles keep us down. If we can turn a dim sum restaurant into a nightclub, a loft into a members-only club, and a toxic yard into a beautiful summer oasis... we can do anything.

Rest assured, our renegade spirit and love for pop-up spaces will come alive again this summer -- very possibly with the same collaborators and programming you see on our current schedule... And very possibly even better than we had planned before.

Doug Singer, Eamon Harkin and Justin Carter's Sunday Best series will continue on at another location, including this Sunday with DJ Koze. You can keep an eye on them at www.sundaybestnyc.com

In the meantime, we want to say:
Thank you for sharing in BKLYN Yard. We hope you'll continue on this crazy ride with us as we bring you what's next. Stay tuned, we will pop-up where you least expect it, with the words:

"Built by BKLYN Yard"

With love,
MeanRed Productions

photos by Kyle Dean Reinford

"Running through nearly the entirety of their debut offering, Chew Lips kept the crowd entertained while showing great appreciation for the support shown by a full room of fans. Lead gal, Tigs, amused the audience by playfully toying with the crowd, almost embarrassedly telling them to "Shut up!" through a coy grin, as the applause came heavily after each song." [Sheena Beaston]

Continue reading "Chew Lips @ Littlefield in NYC - pics, videos, setlist"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Chew Lips - Seven (MP3)

Though they need to rethink that terrible name, up-and-coming Londoners Chew Lips are a likeable bunch - their aim is to make "music that sounds so dated it doesn't date", and on their debut they've fulfilled the brief. Unicorn is 32 minutes of the bippety-boppety electro sounds that defined 2009, making it feel both contemporary(ish) and retro, with the fleshy vocals of one-name singer Tigs comprising the selling point. [The Guardian]

You can download their track "Seven" above which is from their debut album, Unicorn, which came out earlier this year. It's a one-off show, as the band flies back for a UK tour. All dates are below, along with some of Chew Lips videos.

Continue reading "Chew Lips visiting from UK for a single NY show - dates, MP3"

DOWNLOAD: Damien Jurado - Arkansas (MP3)

"i am still awaiting the release of saint bartlett. soon. may 25th. i am excited and also anxious. it's wanting both, to go out and promote it and also stay at home. it's not how things work though. i'm going to be completely honest. over this past year, i wanted to hang this up. at least the going out into the world part. it was a lot that caused this. my deep growing love and devotion to my son, who is getting older. we have conversations all the time. he understands more. we teach each other new things daily. any day that i am not near him, is heart breaking. "the other part of me" is absent. he is encouraging in my pursuit of music.. well, so long as it's done at home. understandable. another thing that made me consider a change was the joy i felt being in the studio with richard swift. for the first time in my years of playing music, i felt able to really look at the songs for the first time. this is kind of vague. i am not even sure how i begin to explain it. picture a bird, for the first time walking on the edge of a tree limb and jumping. the bird's wings open as it is diving towards the ground, and just before it hits the ground, with the help of his own wings, he is taken to the sky. does this make sense? freedom. it's how i felt about the new songs. about the songs that i have still been writing. about my time in the studio with richard. about my time with him, talking about music and playing records. seeing his un dying devotion to his family and his music career. i left the studio no longer feeling "outside" or apart from other well known songwriters. i now see myself beside them. arm in arm. or at least near them. so here i am now. standing in this line. mentioned in the same breathe as those other musicians. considered a legend of my own time. i don't think that. some in the press said it. i'm fine with it. ...where am i going here? i guess it's to say, that i'm happy about my future and the songs. it's just getting out the front door first. or making it to the edge of the tree limb, to make a flying leap." [Damien Jurado]

Continue reading "Damien Jurado is going to tour & release a new album despite wanting to hang it up (MP3 & NYC shows) "

photos by Kyle Dean Reinford

casiokids @ Littlefield

Casiokids played their 2nd of three NYC shows this week on Sunday (3/14), at Littlefield in Brooklyn. The all-Scandinavian day party at the venue also featured sets by "Denmark's synth-rock quintet" Spleen United, "Denmark's only surf/flamenco band" The Good The Bad, and The Megaphonic Thrift (who play Santos tonight - 3/15).

Casiokids play their their next NYC show tonight (3/15 @ 11pm) at Knitting Factory WITHOUT Let's Wrestle, but with Banjo or Freakout (8pm), The Wave Pictures (9pm) and WhoMadeWho (10pm). NOTE THE NEW SET TIMES (no new bands added, no more midnight set). More pictures from Littlefield below...

Continue reading "Casiokids (still playing at 11 tonight) played Littlefield w/ The Good The Bad and Spleen United (pics) "

Kid Rock is playing the Institute for Music and Neurologic Function benefit at Terminal 5 on September 2nd. It's the show the Beastie Boys played last year. $100 tickets are currently on AmEx presale and go on general sale Saturday at noon.

Get well soon MCA.

Insound are celebrating their 10th Anniversary with a show at Brooklyn Bowl. The August 27th party will feature sets by Cymbals Eat Guitars, These Are Powers, Suckers, The Drums and Real Estate. $10 tickets are on sale.

The Drums and Suckers are both also playing shows at Littlefield that same week as part of "After the Jump Fest '09" - three days of shows at the new Brooklyn venue::

After The Jump Fest 09 (more bands TBA)

After the Jump tickets (single day passes $10, 3 day passes $25 - ALL AGES) and tickets for other shows at Littlefield are available at Littlefield's site.

TONIGHT @ LITTLEFIELD (8/7): Kaki King's Exhibition.

THE DRUMS TONIGHT (8/7): @ the Mondo Dance Party @ Don Hill's

Tickets are on sale for the Circulatory System show at Le Poisson Rouge.

Tickets for the Ray LaMontagne show at Beacon Theatre go on sale Saturday at 10am.

Tickets are on sale for the Pelican show at Brooklyn Masonic Temple.

Chairlift play Bowery Ballroom on September 5th. Tickets are on sale.

Tickets are on sale for the David Bazan show at Bowery Ballroom.

Tickets are on sale for the Mastodon/Dehtklok/Converge/High On Fire show at Hammerstein Ballroom.

Tickets are on sale for the No Age show at Le Poisson Rouge.

Tickets are on sale for the Jay Reatard show at Le Poisson Rouge.

Tickets are on sale for the King Khan Halloween show at The Bell House.

Leonard Cohen MSG tickets are currently on pre-sale.

Tickets are on sale for the Great Lake Swimmers shows coming up at Bowery and MHOW.

Tickets are on sale for the Polvo show at The Bell House.

Tickets are on sale for the Lou Barlow show at Mercury Lounge.

Tickets are on sale for the Soft Pack show at Bowery Ballroom.

Kings of Leon Izod Center tickets were released.

Tickets go on sale Saturday (@ noon) for the Sunset Rubdown show at Grand Ballroom.

Tickets are on "Radio Presale" for the Gaslight Anthem show at Terminal 5. General sale starts Saturday at noon.

Thursday, Mountain Goats, Final Fantasy, Besnard Lakes, Amy Millan, Black Heart Procession and other tickets also recently went on sale.

No tickets necessary for the Moshi Moshi show at South Street Seaport.

photos by Tim Griffin

Kaki King in Stuy Town

Hey everyone!

I set up this page as a forum for everyone to witness and provide (helpful) commentary on this art project I had in mind.

What I want to do is to meet twelve amazing artists, give them each a blank guitar, and let them go wild creating anything their heart desires. The theme of each piece would be the title of one of my songs, and my only artistic contribution would be to paint my fingers and 'play' the fretboard (wherever it ends up) as I would during the song so as to create a visual representation of where my hands travel.

Everyone tells me that my playing is best witnessed visually--so this is one interpretation of that statement. At the end of this project we're going to display all of the guitars in a gallery and throw a party with performances and perhaps the finalization of the last guitar.

Right now I'm extending an open call for artists to submit their websites/jpegs/etc. and ideas about how they could redesign/paint/burn/disembody/what have you a guitar. Those who have experience working with mixed media and found objects will probably do best with this. I will be honest--artists in the NYC area will be considered slightly more favorably due to the expense of shipping costs (and the fact that I like meeting people face to face), but I felt that it was unfair to limit the submissions to just my hometown.

If this is a project for you or anyone you know then please email kakiguitarart@gmail.com. Send any relevant links or materials, your basic bio, and if possible a song title that you'd be interested in. I will answer every single email personally and provide you with all of the relevant details that aren't already here.

For those non-visual artists, feel free to comment about the project, favorite song titles, and any other feedback you feel is relevant. I'll be updating this site and my own as the project progresses. And please, no haters. This is just supposed to be good creative fun.

Thanks for reading! Can't wait to see what y'all got!

love, kaki

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