Deerhunter at Austin Psych Fest 2013 (more by Tim Griffin)

Governors Ball is less than a month away, and the fest has now released the daily schedule. They've done a pretty good job with not too many giant conflicts -- though there's a few like Grizzly Bear vs Beirut, Bloc Party vs The xx, Erykah Badu vs Beach House, and Nas vs Guns N Roses. Check out the daily line-ups across their four stages below.

Continue reading "Governors Ball announces set times"

The 2013 ACL Festival happens in Austin, TX on two consecutive weekends: October 4 - 6 and October 11 - 13. Weekend passes are on sale now and the full line-up is below...

Continue reading "2013 ACL Music Fest lineup announced (Depeche Mode, The Cure, Atoms for Peace, The National, Vampire Weekend + more)"

One of the most eclectic lineups in the US, Hopscotch Festival in Raleigh, NC, will be back for 2013 on September 5 -7. Pulling from all genres, this year's line-up includes names like Big Boi (who plays NYC tonight), Spiritualized, Sleep, Wolf Eyes (who have a new video), The Breeders (performing Last Splash), John Cale, Kurt Vile & the Violators, Gorguts, Inter Arma (who play NYC on Saturday), Double Negative (who played NYC this past weekend), Swearin' (them too), Pissed Jeans, Dan Friel, Waxahatchee and many many others. Three-day wristbands are on sale now with individual day tickets going on sale in June. Full lineup is below.

Continue reading "Hopscotch announces 2013 lineup (Big Boi, Sleep, Spiritualized, Kurt Vile, Wolf Eyes, John Cale, more)"

Lollapalooza 2012 (more by James Richards IV)

After it was already confirmed that Phoenix, Vampire Weekend, The Postal Service, The National, The Killers, and Mumford and Sons were playing Lollapalooza 2013, a pretty promising leak came which appeared to potentially reveal the rest of the lineup, and it turns out that leak was real.

In addition to the previously mentioned artists, Lollapalooza will include Nine Inch Nails, Queens of the Stone Age, Kendrick Lamar, Grizzly Bear, The Cure, New Order, Baroness, Beach House, Cat Power, Death Grips, Jessie Ware, Father John Misty, DIIV, Wavves, Alt-J, Hot Chip, Disclosure, Baauer, Palma Violets, Angel Haze, Band of Horses, Crystal Castles and many others.

Lollapalooza goes down in Chicago from August 2 - 4 in Grant Park. Single day passes go on sale Wednesday (4/3) at 10 AM.

Full day-by-day lineup below...

Continue reading "Lollapalooza 2013 lineup announced (Nine Inch Nails, Queens of the Stone Age, Phoenix, Vampire Weekend, Postal Service, Cure, New Order, Kendrick Lamar & more)"

Weird Al and Bonarroo phone bank (including Mike Birbiglia and Eugene Mirman...

With help from Eugene Mirman, Chris Gethard, Mike Birbiglia, Portugal. The Man and more, Weird Al just began announcing the 2013 Bonnaroo line-up on the Bonnaroo YouTube page which happens June 13 - 16 in Manchester, TN. Weird Al just announced Pretty Lights, Wilco, A$AP Rocky, and The xx, and over the next hour, more artists will be announced. We'll update this post as more announcements come.

Other artists playing include Passion Pit, Kendrick Lamar, David Byrne and St. Vincent, Jim James, Big K.R.I.T., Billy Idol, Grizzly Bear, Japandroids, Foals, Wild Nothing, Deap Vally, Killer Mike, Lord Huron, Divine Fits, Nas, Beach House, The Gaslight Anthem, Local Natives, Dirty Projectors, Baroness, The National, The Vaccines, Holy Ghost, Death Grips, R. Kelly, Alt-J, Purity Ring, Cat Power, Wu-Tang Clan, Bjork, Tame Impala, Animal Collective, The Tallest Man on Earth, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Paul McCartney, Earl Sweatshirt, Four Tet, Father John Misty, Swans, A-Trak, Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, Cults, AraabMuzik, DIIV, Charli XCX, Matthew E. White, Frank Turner, JEFF the Brotherhood, Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit, Calexico, Two Gallants, and more.

Tickets for the festival go on sale Saturday (2/23) at noon EST.

There's also now a video of Daniel Tosh announcing the initial lineup, which you can watch, along with the current list of announced names, below...

Continue reading "Bonnaroo 2013 lineup announcement underway"

London resident Lyla Foy records under the name Wall and makes intimate, delicate songs like "Shoestring," which is the title track from her first EP, out April 2 on Big Picnic. You can stream it below.

Wall will be crossing the Atlantic next month for SXSW and will stop in NYC on the way home, playing Rockwood Music Hal on March 20. No advance tickets for that just yet. Before her visit to America, Wall will be on tour with Local Natives in Europe, and all upcoming dates are listed below.

Continue reading "London singer Wall releasing debut EP, touring Europe with Local Natives, playing SXSW and NYC (dates, stream)"

Dave Grohl at Deluna Fest 2012 (more by Dana (distortion) Yavin)

Toro Y Moi @ Mohawk in Austin, Nov. 2011 (more by Tim Griffin)

today in NYC
* Emuul @ The Stone
* Broad City Live @ UCB
* Jeff Garlin @ Caroline's
* Country Mice @ Mercury Lounge
* Joseph Moffett's Claque @ Barbes
* Sondre Lerche @ The Allen Room
* Cliffsides/Cenote Glow @ The Stone
* Dojo, Shopping Spree @ Silent Barn
* The Mandingo Ambassadors @ Barbes
* Hayden, Lou Canon @ Mercury Lounge
* Smoke DZA, Kids These Days @ S.O.B.'s
* Marc Cohn, Rosanne Cash @ City Winery
* Ludwig Persik, Cascading Slopes @ Pianos
* Little King, The Broken Stares @ Sycamore
* WIERD w/ Frank Alpine @ Home Sweet Home
* Toro y Moi, Wild Belle, Dog Bite @ Webster Hall
* Tim Dahl, Pigeons, James Tweedy @ Cake Shop
* Highlife, Pure Horsehair, Daniel Higgs @ The Gutter
* All Boy/All Girl, The Eggs, Modest Midas @ Paper Box
* Beecher's Fault, Lee and The Mumbles @ Pete's Candy Store
* Why?, Astronautalis, Dream Tiger @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* The Model Zeros, Sharif Mekawy, Victoria Levy @ The Grand Victory
* Big Terrific w/ James Adomian, Myq Kaplan, Streeter Seidell @ Cameo
* Ife Mora, Concertina, Teen Girl, Scientist Monthly, Jackpot @ Glasslands
* New Myths, Peanut Butter Lovesicle, Ben Kenney @ Rockwood Music Hall
* Summer & Evem Miko & The Musket, Let Me Be Bashful @ Bowery Electric
* Sound City Players w/ Dave Grohl, Krist Noveselic, Stevie Nicks, John Fogerty + more @ Hammerstein Ballroom
* The Chapin Sisters (are The Everly Brothers), Mike Bones, Austin McCutchen, Alana Amram @ Union Pool

Serious star power tonight at Hammerstein Ballroom for Dave Grohl's Sound City Players, featuring the Foo Fighters plus his old Nirvana bandmate Krist Novoselic, plus Stevie Nicks, John Fogerty, FEAR's Lee Ving and more. Should be interesting.

Fashion Week continues, and though we're mostly ignoring it this time around, you'll find a flyer below for one of the many parties happening tonight. This one at Le Baron with Mike Nouveau, DJ duo Ladies Night (who are the very last act listed on this year's Coachella flyer), and more.

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The Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Flaming Lips are playing SXSW. Check out a new teaser the new Yeah Yeahs album below..

Local Natives, who were just in NYC, made a video for their track "Heavy Feet" and you can watch that below.

What says "til death do us part" more than Slayer's "Raining Blood"? Check out video of a couple's wedding where the classic tune was used in a rather, er, unique way.

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Wednesday?"

Swans @ Bowery Ballroom, Oct. 2012 (more by Fred Pessaro // BBG)

Memory Tapes @ Williamsburg Waterfront in 2010 (more by Benjamin Lozovsky)

On An On @ Chicago's Lincoln Hall, 1/23/2013 (more by Zach Pollack)

today in NYC
* !!! (DJ set) @ The DL
* Glass House @ The Stone
* Leo Kottke @ City Winery
* The Mandingo Ambassadors @ Barbes
* Brooms, Celosa@ Pete's Candy Store
* Lakutis, Reggie Watts @ Blind Barber
* ON AN ON, Field Mouse @ Mercury Lounge
* Xanthocephalus/Parashi/Urkas @ The Stone
* Mary Halvorson & Jessica Pavone @ Barbes
* Uli Jon Roth (of The Scorpions) @ Stage 48
* Memory Tapes, TEEN, Denitia and Sene @ Glasslands
* Dances, Tenrec, Summer Saints, Planes @ Cake Shop
* Swans, Marissa Nadler @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Lazer Cake, Genghis Hans, Dangerous Cans @ The Rock Shop
* The Numerators, Advaeta, Juniper Rising @ Death By Audio
* Pilgrim, Occultation, Insect Ark, Balam @ Bowery Electric
* Kooley High, Clear Soul Forces, DJ Prince @ Public Assembly
* 'Lifecasters' premiere w/ Wayne Kramer @ Walter Reade Theatre
* WIERD w/ Nate Young @ Home Sweet Home
* Gold Fields, A Silent Film, American Authors @ Bowery Ballroom
* Church Whip, Syphilitic Lust, Skullshitter @ The Grand Victory
* Mumford & Sons, The Felice Brothers, Ben Howard @ Barclays Center
* B. Dolan, Metermaids, Junk Science, The Higher Concept @ Mercury Lounge
* Duk Duk Goose, Hand Job Academy, Osos Locos, DJ Tropic @ Public Assembly
* Sixpence None The Richer, Rachel Taylor, Adam Sullivan @ Knitting Factory
* Big Terrific w/ Reggie Watts, Hannibal Buress, Greg Johnson @ Cameo
* Caveman (DJ set), Friend Roulette, Racket Club, Brian Betancourt (of Hospitality) @ Pianos
* Ecstatic Music Festival w/ Clogs, Sarah Kirkland Snider & Orchestra for the Next Century @ Merkin Concert Hall

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After their string of NYC shows, Local Natives appeared on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon last night to perform "Heavy Feet" from their new album, Hummingbird. You can watch their performance below.

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Wednesday?"

photos by Tracy Allison

Local Natives @ Bowery Ballroom, 2/3/2013

Local Natives completed up their three-night, sold-out NYC run on Sunday (2/3) at Bowery Ballroom, their second straight night at the venue. (Friday they played MHOW.) Both Bowery shows featured an opening set from We Barbarians, and pictures from Sunday's show, plus Local Natives' setlist, are in this post.

If you missed Local Natives' three NYC shows, you can still stream Friday's MHOW show at Bowery Presents' YouTube page. Additionally, the band will perform "Heavy Feet" live tonight (2/5) on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, so set your DVRs. Their next local show is Governors Ball in June.

More pictures from Sunday's Bowery show below...

Continue reading "Local Natives wrapped up their three-night NYC run at Bowery Ballroom (pics, setlist), play 'Jimmy Fallon' tonight"

photos by David Andrako

Local Natives at Music Hall of Williamsburg - 2/1/13

Local Natives released their sophomore album, Hummingbird, at the tail-end of last month (1/29) and kicked off a tour in support of it. That tour included a show in Brooklyn on Friday (2/1) at Music Hall of Williamsburg, followed by two consecutive dates in Manhattan at Bowery Ballroom (2/2 and 2/3), all three of which were sold out.

At the MHOW show, they were joined by The National's Aaron Dessner, who produced Hummingbird, and you can watch Aaron joining the band in the archived video of the full set (below), which initially streamed live at the Bowery Presents YouTube page. The set was a pretty fair split between the band's new album and their 2010 debut, Gorilla Manor. You can check out the full setlist (which has pretty much been the same every night on this tour) below.

The MHOW also featured David Byrne's friends People Get Ready, a fitting opener for a band who regularly covers the Talking Heads. More pictures of both bands, and Local Natives' video and setlist below...

Continue reading "Local Natives (joined by Aaron Dessner) played MHOW w/ People Get Ready (pics, setlist & video of full set)"

Ty Segall @ Mohawk in Austin, 1/25/2013 (more by Sarah Frankie Linder)

Local Natives @ Bowery Ballroom, Oct. 2012 (more by Tracy Allison)

today in NYC
* Sinkane @ Blue Note
* Spacehog @ Maxwell's
* Ute Lemper @ Joe's Pub
* moe. @ Best Buy Theater
* Howard Fishman @ Barbes
* Regional De Ny @ Barbes
* Grant Evans @ The Stone
* Joakim, Max Pask @ Le Bain
* Lazyeyes, Chappo @ Glasslands
* The Lumineers, Y La Bamba @ Terminal 5
* Daniel Avery, JDH & Dave P @ Glasslands
* Hipp, Yvette, Weather Balloons @ THE LAB
* Motion Sickness of Time Travel @ The Stone
* Christian Finnegan @ Eastville Comedy Club
* Ty Segall, Mac DeMarco,Ex-Cult @ Webster Hall
* Black Marble, You, Tiers, Candide @ Union Pool
* Peter Cincotti, Dawn Landes @ Le Poisson Rouge
* RatKing, Bryant Dope, JeanDeaux @ Mercury Lounge
* Ghost Light, Softspot, Zula, Lunchbox @ Big Snow
* Beat Radio, Kay, Baby Alpaca @ Pete's Candy Store
* Red Baraat, Superhuman Happiness @ Bowery Ballroom
* Pre-V-Day Do Over Cover Bands Show @ Death By Audio
* Frank & Tony, Black Light Smoke, Bob Moses @ Output
* The Get Down, Eight Bit Tiger, Old Monk @ Spike Hill
* Pol The Fisherman and StormGiant @ Santos Party House
* Katie Mullins, Pass Kontrol, Mount Sharp @ Union Hall
* Javelin, Guardian Alien, Life Size Maps @ Shea Stadium
* NinjaSonik, Cortes & Murda, Ave Gang, @ Public Assembly
* Allison Weiss, Field Mouse, Young Statues @ Public Assembly
* Local Natives, People Get Ready @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Silas Fermoy, Bam, Jeremy Grinacoff, Elista @ Bowery Electric
* Berth Control, Crazy and The Brains, Secret Beach @ Muchmore's
* Hurrah! A Blot of Light!, At Seas, Nighmare River Band @ Pianos
* Easter Island, Jacques Marquette, Modern Merchant @ Cameo Gallery
* Franz Nicolay, Trevor Wilson Vocal Ensemble, Ben Seretan @ Silent Barn
* Shilpa Ray, Kissing Is A Crime, How To Be Topp, Rosy Street @ Silent Barn
* Who Killed Spikey Jacket?, Perdition, Sad Boys, Goosebumps, Muderer @ 285 Kent
* The Jupiter Deluxe, Wormburner, Foster McGinty, Midnight Romeo @ Arlene Grocery
* Ice Choir, Limited, Sasha Desree, D-Video, Red Hook @ Body Actualized Center
* Chris Lake, Fareoh, Brass Bed, Alex English (DJ Set), rekLES (DJ Set) @ Webster Hall
* Power Pop-A-Licious w/ Kid Sentiment, Kurt Baker, The Connection, Party Lights, The Disconnects, The Psycho Hippies @ Cake Shop

Mac DeMarco, who plays with Ty Segall tonight at Webster Hall, spent this afternoon performing at Pitchfork's offices in Williamsburg, a set that included a spiffy cover of the late Dave Brubeck's "Take 5." He and his band sounded great and you can stream the 35-minute performance below.

Tonight's Local Natives show at Music Hall of Williamsburg is sold-out but you can still watch it live online via Bowery Presents' YouTube channel. Starts at 10 PM EST.

Tonight Death by Audio is throwing a "Pre-V-Day Do Over Cover Bands Show" with unnamed bands (but probably ones you've heard of) performing song by Joy Division, Rancid, Distillers, Fastbacks, Mr.T Experience, Stiff Little Fingers and MC5. The similar event at DbA during Halloween was a lot of fun.

Follow @BrooklynVegan on Twitter.
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Happy February!

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Friday?"

Click it for the bigger poster.

Primavera Sound have announced their 2013 lineup, set to go down on May 22-26 in Barcelona, Spain. The announcement came via an animated video and artists performing include Phoenix, The Postal Service, Blur, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, My Bloody Valentine, Tame Impala, Wu-Tang Clan, Dead Can Dance, Grizzly Bear, The Knife, and loads more. Current lineup is below along with the flyer and video...

Continue reading "Primavera Sound 2013 line-up announced"

Governors Ball, which started as a small NYC festival on Governors Island and moved to the larger Randall's Island last year, keeps getting bigger and bigger. This year's fest takes place June 7th, 8th & 9th, and tickets go on sale Friday. Check out the full lineup, in list, video and flyer format - one unannounced headliner included, below...

Continue reading "Governors Ball 2013 lineup (Kanye West, Kings of Leon, Grizzly Bear, xx, Cut Copy, Kendrick, Anco, Beach House & MUCH MORE)"

A Sunny Day in Glasgow are wrapping up work on their new album which was funded via Kickstarter. The band are also looking to road test the tunes on a few East Coast dates. After hitting Baltimore last night, they'll hit NYCF tonight (1/16) for a show at Pianos with Friend Roulette, Desert Stars, Relatives and Heidi Harris. Tickets are $8 at the door. Thursday (1/17) ASDIG will hit their Philadelphia hometown for a show at The International House.

Meanwhile, Jen Goma's other band, People Get Ready, have two shows coming up: February 1 at Music Hall of Williamsburg opening for Local Natives (sold out); and then a headlining show at Mercury Lounge on February 8 with Man Forever and Color War (tickets available). PGR are also currently on the cover of The Deli magazine.

Frightened Rabbit @ T5, Nov. 2010 (more by Lionel Bergeron)

SXSW has just announced another round of bands for the 2013 edition of the annual music festival that will happen March 12 - 17. This brings the total current number of acts to around 1300. Someome of the highlights include Vampire Weekend, Frightened Rabbit, The Thermals, Black Lips, Camera Obscura, Merchandise, Bleached, Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire, Eagles of Death Metal, Parenthetical Girls, Indians, Night Beds, IO Echo, KEN Mode, Prince Paul, Pure Bathing Culture, Sepalcure, UK motorik post-punks TOY, Finnish instrumentalists K-X-P, Toronto's Moon King, UK indie rockers Splashh (not Brooklyn Splash with one "h") and loads more. Head to BV Austin for the whole Round 3 list.

As we were just saying in a post that also included the band's favorite albums of 2012, Local Natives are releasing a new LP soon, and now you can listen to another track...

Continue reading "listen to another new Local Natives track"

Local Natives at Bowery Ballroom in October (more by Tracy Allison)

Local Natives, who we hadn't heard from in a while until they were revealed as the secret headliner at a Bowery Ballroom show during CMJ, soon after announced that they'll release their new album, Hummingbird, on January 29 via Frenchkiss, the followup to their 2009/2010 debut, Gorilla Manor. The new album will be supported by a tour which includes three sold out NYC shows in February.

But while we wait for new material from Local Natives, we're still wrapping up our 2012 coverage so we asked Local Natives for a list of their top 10 albums of 2012, which singer/guitarist/bassist Taylor Rice and singer/keyboardist/percussionist/guitarist Kelcey Ayer compiled and sent our way. You can check out their list below.

Continue reading "Local Natives list their Top 10 Albums of 2012"

photos by Tracy Allison

"Local Natives at Bowery Ballroom last night. New album is going to be fab! " - Theresa Montgomery

"New Local Natives material is sounding amazing. Get pumped for the new album. @ Bowery Ballroom" - John Verrochi

"Local Natives at Bowery Ballroom. New songs are more pastoral, but still anthemic." - B.Q. Nguyen

Finally the Local Natives took the stage and went straight into some new mind-blowing tracks. Their new stuff had a completely different feel from the first album. These songs were more brooding and intensely emotional. They had a slow build to them, which usually went from a quiet solo by Kelcey Ayer into that explosive three-part harmony for which the Local Natives have become so well known... Though I love the old materials, I was more impressed with the new and absolutely honored to be one of the first people to hear it performed live. [CMJ]

The new Aaron Dessner-produced album is called Hummingbird and will be out on January 29 via Frenchkiss/Infectious. A stream of the album's lead single, "Breakers," and the tracklist (including a song called "Bowery") are below. .

The band will be supporting the new record with a North American tour in 2013 which brings them back to Bowery Ballroom on February 2 and 3 and also hits Brooklyn for a Music Hall of Williamsburg show (2/1) a day earlier. Tickets for those shows are not on sale yet but check ticketmaster for updates. All dates, more pictures, the setlist from Bowery and new LP tracklist, below...

Continue reading "Local Natives played CMJ, announce tour, released new song & album info (pics, setlist, dates & stream)"

And the "special surprise guest" playing Bowery Ballroom WEDNESDAY NIGHT is.... Local Natives! The band, who are flying in from California just for this Champion-sponsored show, will be previewing material from their new album which is due in early 2013. According to their label, this is their first show of 2012. Advanced tickets are now sold out, but not many were sold to make room for CMJ badgeholders. Did you buy one before you knew who the headliner was? If so, are you satisfied now that you know? SKATERS, San Cisco, Pacific Air, and Solid Gold open the show.

words & photos by Tim Griffin

Matt Berninger of The National @ Austin Music Hall 12/04

Last night (12/4), The National and Local Natives continued their current tour visiting a cold and rainy Texas to play Austin Music Hall. Pictures are in this post

The venue was sold-out, and some attendees tweeted that the balcony area had been oversold - leaving many to stand in the aisles and walkways (if they could make it up there at all). While it looked very crowded up top, the floor section below seemed to have plenty of open space (probably not helpful to those with balcony tickets).

Local Natives opened, offering apologies for not having a new album yet since back at their Stubb's show in March, they said they wouldn't tour through Austin without a new one. Being asked to tour with The National was the exception. They did play two new songs as part of their nine-song set, "Black Balloons" and "Elephant".

Matt Berninger was first out, leading The National onstage and opening with "Runaway". The set list drew a little more than half its songs from Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers, Alligator, and Boxer. The balance of the list came from High Violet, including "Terrible Love" where Matt took about 150ft of mic cable with him as he jumped the barricade and walked throughout the audience. The final song was an accoustic performance of "Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks", bringing all the band members front and center to wrap the show.

On Tuesday The National will be in Chicago, then head off for two shows in Canada (Toronto and Montreal). They'll be back in New York on the 12th for 6 (4 original, with 2 more added) shows at the Beacon Theatre. As you know, each night will have a different opening act.

12: THE WAR ON DRUGS
13: SHARON VAN ETTEN
14: SO PERCUSSION
15: WYE OAK
16: MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND
17: THIS IS THE KIT

More pictures from the Austin show, both setlists, and upcoming tour dates (for The National, with opening acts) below:

Continue reading "The National played Austin Music Hall with Local Natives (pics, recap, setlist, 6 NYC shows soon -- back on sale)"

words by Zach Pollack, photos by Grant MacAllister

a member of Cee-Lo's band

Day two of Lollapalooza 2011 began with a slight drizzle over Grant Park, but it didn't deter the determined early festival-goers from moving about the grounds. After a long Friday, I began Saturday over at the Sony Stage with an extremely tight set from Phantogram. What I assumed was a simple setup from listening to their albums, was actually a complex live rig which kept the trio extremely busy. How many times have you seen an electronic-tinged band who just cue samples all set? Phantogram are not that.

Up next on my schedule were Chicago hometown act Maps & Atlases (which unfortunately meant I missed Friendly Fires). Maps & Atlases drew a very large crowd to the Google+ Stage, which has my favorite area of the whole fest. There's no other stage opposing it, it's a bit smaller than most, and massive trees block out much of the blistering sun. What's not to like?

I then attempted to head back towards Music Unlimited for Fitz and The Tantrums, but that didn't seem to be in the cards due to some unexpected foot traffic. Instead I ate and then headed to the oposite side of the grounds to catch the Black Lips at Playstation. The crowd was enormous for the garage-rockers who usually play to a quarter as many people. A few songs in they pulled out "Family Tree," the opening track to their great Mark Ronson-produced album Arabia Mountain. In typical Black Lips fashion, singer/guitarist Cole Alexander threw up on stage without missing as much as a note, and almost all over the Lollapalooza film crew!

From there things just got more and more massive. I caught Death From Above 1979 for the second time this week, and it was just as thrilling and brutal. Kicking things off with the Y.A.W.I.A.M. staple "Turn It Out," the massive beyond massive crowd went completely insane. Not needing to see the full set, I rushed across the complex to catch a bit of Big Audio Dynamite. The reunited group opened with "Medicine Show," and continued to awe the crowd with "A Party." From there I ran to Google+ to catch the tail end of The Drums.

I walked in just as they were speaking about the release of their forthcoming record Portamento (coming out in the US on Frenchkiss). They then played its single, "Money." The band has definitely matured since I last saw them and they sounded super full live. Just to make my legs die a little bit more, I rushed back over towards Sony and Music Unlimited to catch Local Natives. As mentioned, it was the largest crowd the band had ever played to. Opening with "Camera Talk," as per usual, their live sound even surpassed their great recordings. Towards the end of their set, across the way at Unlimited, things started to fall into place for Cee Lo's set.

His band of attractive studio musicians took the stage sans Green around 6:30PM, and jumped into a short intro track. Complete with matching Gwar-like kinky warrior outfits (strange choice), Cee Lo and his band played to a massive audience, many of whom were camped out to see Eminem on the same stage. I left early, before the booing...

"The soul singer scored a huge crowd, but holding its attention seemed to be another matter. Dressed in shoulder pads topped with huge spikes and a chunky neck chain, Cee-Lo channeled his inner-dungeon master/Billy Idol; he even played an R&B-flavored cover of the 80s star's "Flesh for Fantasy." But the set was anything but smooth: Between tunes, which included Cee-Lo's own "Satisfied," "Bright Lights Bigger City," and Gnarls Barkley's smash "Crazy," he turned the spotlight to his DJ, who inexplicably spun Lenny Kravitz, Nirvana and Depeche Mode - a move that inspired boos from the crowd. "Don't you dare let this wonderful outfit go to waste," he said, palpably annoyed. But the irritation may have worked in his favor (and sent a subliminal message to his fans): On his closer, the Motown-inflected kiss-off "Fuck You," his voice sounded richer than it had all night. " [Rolling Stone]

Li and her amazingly talented band were a perfect fit for the stage, and drew as many people as would fit in the area. They started things off with the haunting Wounded Rhymes track "Jerome," and continued in that fashion with "I Follow Rivers", "Sadness Is A Blessing" and other songs as My Morning Jacket started to set up for their headlining set over at Bud Light.

Jim James and Co. kicked off a two hour long set at 8PM. It spanned their entire catalog with crowd favorites like "Off the Record," "Touch Me I'm Going To Scream," "One Big Holiday," and much more. Songs were extended with jam sections, brass solos, etc. Their stage setup was absolutely massive, as was the lighting. That said, I snuck away back to the smaller Google+ to check out some of Beirut who was closing out that stage.

Zach Condon and band played mostly older songs in the more intimate setting, and though tight, I was craving some more My Morning Jacket and so headed back to finish off the night with Jim James.

Friday pictures HERE. Sunday on the way. B.A.D. pics HERE. More pictures from Saturday, Dom included, below...

Continue reading "Lollapalooza 2011 -- Day 2 pics & review (My Morning Jacket, Beirut, Cee-Lo, DFA1979, Lykke Li, Maps & Atlases & more)"

photos by Josh Darr

Robyn / Death From Above 1979

The four-day, sold out Sasquatch Music Festival is underway in Gorge, Washington this Memorial Day Weekend. Maybe you're listening to it online? Here are some pictures from the first two days, with more from Day 2 HERE (and Day 3 and 4 coming soon). They continue below...

Continue reading "Sasquatch 2011 in pics (Day 1, part of Day 2)"

Lollapalooza last year (more by Josh Darr)

Lollapalooza celebrates its 20th anniversary this year with some huge names on its just-announced lineup. See it in full below.

The festival has obviously changed over the years. What started out as a farewell tour for Jane's Addiction with a 'touring festival' lineup that included the Rollins Band, Nine Inch Nails, Butthole Surfers, and Souxsie & The Banshees, has turned into a one-weekend Chicago festival that Lady Gaga co-headlined last year. As leaked a while ago, Foo Fighters, Muse and Eminem all play this year, as will Coldplay, Cee Lo Green, and My Morning Jacket along with the reunited Cars and the continuing-to-be-reunited Big Audio Dynamite and Death From Above 1979, and a bunch of other bands which may or may not be worth the ticket price depending on how you feel about the headliners and generally seeing bands in big, hot, outdoor crowded parks (Lollapalooza happens in Chicago's Grant Park from August 5th - 7th).

Full 2011 Lineup and a couple of videos (one from 1991, one from 2010), below...

Continue reading "Lollapalooza 2011 lineup announced"

photos by Timothy Griffin

Gayngs / Local Natives

"To create the GAYNGS' Regrind EP all of the stems from the bands debut album, Relayted, were arbitrarily named and compiled into a list. Ensuring anonymity, the list was presented in alphabetical order (shown below) to a collection of producers and musicians. They were then instructed to choose only 10, without knowing what songs they came from or what instruments they contained. One could choose anything from four sax solos and six bass lines, to eight keyboards and two background vocals. The combinations that could be chosen were indefinite...the only certainty was that the parts would all be set to the tempo of 69 beats per minute.

From there, the re-grinders were free to chop, pitch-shift, and otherwise pulverize the stems into a new, cohesive song. The only rule was that they must use all 10 stems they were given, and that the tempo must remain at GAYNGS' standard 69 bpm.

P.O.S, Cecil Otter, Lazerbeak, Paper Tiger, MK Larada, and Plain Ole Bill (all from Minneapolis Hip-Hop Collective Doomtree) were the first to step up to the plate.

All turntablin' was done by Plain ole Bill. The Cook Bros (Megafaun) also lent their talents on keys."

Gayngs seem to be taking it day by day - the supergroup of sorts has publicly toyed with the idea of the band only touring once, but the demand seems to be there, and so they continue to hit the road (though Justin Vernon is not always guaranteed to be a touring member). On Friday night they shared a sold out bill at Stubb's in Austin with Local Natives, and this coming week they'll play at least two more Austin shows during SXSW, and in April they do Coachella. Har Mar Superstar, like he has in the past, was filling in for Vernon at the smooth rock & autotune-filled Austin show where they covered Godley & Creme's 'Cry', and George Michael's 'One More Try'.

Local Natives, who also play a SXSW show (but only during Interactive), played songs from Gorilla Manor and apologized for not having much more than that. They promised a new album before their next tour through Austin. You can see their whole setlist, and more tour dates, and more pictures from the Stubb's show, and the Gayngs EP, below....

Continue reading "Gayngs released a remix EP, played Stubb's w/ Local Natives (pics), playing other shows (dates)"