Stevie Nicks came to "CBS This Morning" yesterday (7/11) for an on-air interview, during which she revealed that Fleetwood Mac plan to reunite "next year, so far." "It's the plan. Because that's what we do. I do my thing. And Lindsey (Buckingham is) out doing his thing now." During that interview, Stevie also spoke about the recent suicide of Fleetwood Mac member Bob Welch, saying "I can't even tell you what in the world would have pushed him to do something that crazy."

Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham are both currently on their own solo tours. Stevie hit the NYC area a few times in the past month, including Beacon Theater and she plays tonight (7/12) at Mohegan Sun in CT. Lindsey's tour is ongoing as well, and it hit NYC back in June for a show at BB King's.

As mentioned, there's also a Fleetwood Mac tribute in the works which comes on August 14 and features covers by mostly indie rock artists. Since we last wrote, many of those covers have surfaced on the internet. 10 of the 17 total covers are streaming below, including Lee Ranaldo Band and J Mascis' "Albatross," Antony's "Landslide," Billy Gibbons & Co.'s "Oh Well," Best Coast's "Rhiannon," The New Pornographers' "Think About Me," Lykke Li's "Silver Springs," Karen Elson (produced by Beck)'s "Gold Dust Woman," Matt Sweeney and Bonnie 'Prince' Billy's "Storms," MGMT's "Future Games," and The Kills' "Dreams."

Those streams and lists of all Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham dates are below...

Continue reading "Fleetwood Mac reuniting in 2013; stream songs off their tribute LP; Stevie Nicks & Lindsey Buckingham on tour (separately)"

Sleigh Bells at Terminal 5 in Feb 2012 (more by Chris La Putt)

Sleigh Bells and The Kills will separately headline two Converse City Carnage concerts/skateboard events happening at Hudson River Park. The Sleigh Bells show happens Saturday July 21 and is with Jel and Mr. Dream; The Kills show happens August 18 and is with Black Bananas and Viva Viva.

Both shows are free but you do need physical tickets which can be ordered via Ticketmaster on June 22 starting at noon. You can also pick up tickets at Converse's Soho and Garden State Plaza retail locations.

Both shows are part of two-day events. The skateboarding part will take place on Fridays (July 20, August 17) and features Converse Skateboarding Ambassadors Kenny Anderson, Nick Trapasso, along with the entire Converse Skateboarding team. You can read more about it here. Leading up to City Carnage, Hudson River Park's Pier 62 Skate Park will get a facelift courtesy the sneaker folks.

The City Carnage show is part of Sleigh Bells expanded summer tour and all current dates -- some of which are opening for Refused -- are listed below.

In related news, The Kills are featured on a new Fleetwood Mac tribute album titled Just Tell Me That You Want Me. The Kills tackle karaoke favorite "Dreams" and elsewhere on the compilation you can hear Mac songs covered by Lee Ranaldo & J Mascis, Antony, New Pornographers (streaming below), Washed Out, Matt Sweeny & Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, Best Coast, Lykke Li, Craig Wedren & St. Vincent, Tame Impala, MGMT and more. The album's out August 14 -- tracklisting and bad cover art is below.

Continue reading "Sleigh Bells, The Kills and more are playing free shows in Hudson River Park; new Fleetwood Mac tribute LP on the way"

Miike Snow at Terminal 5 in 2010 (more by Brook Bobbins)

Miike Snow will release their sophomore LP, Happy to You, on March 27 via Downtown/Universal. You can stream the album track "Black Tin Box," which features fellow Swede Lykke Li HERE, and watch the video for another, "The Devil's Work," below. The artwork and tracklist are also below.

Miike Snow will tour the US and Canada in support of the new album, surrounding their appearances at SXSW, Ultra Music Festival in Miami, and Coachella. The tour hits NYC on April 24 and 25 at Terminal 5. The 4/24 show is sold out but tickets just went on sale for the 4/25 show.

All dates, video, album art and tracklist below...

Continue reading "Miike Snow releasing new LP, touring, add 2nd Terminal 5 show (tour dates & a new song featuring Lykke Li)"

Josh T Pearson @ BV-SXSW 2011 (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Check out Rough Trade's list of the Top 100 Albums of 2011 (yay Josh T Pearson!), below...

Continue reading "Rough Trade's Top 100 albums of 2011 "

photos by Amanda Hatfield

Lykke Li backed by First Aid Kit @ Wellmont

Though she didn't stop in NYC this time around, Lykke Li headlined NJ's Wellmont Theater on Thursday night (11/17). First Aid Kit, who blessed NYC the night prior and who play Webster Hall soon, opened the show and joined Lykke Li on stage for a performance of "Silent My Song" before Lykke launched into a cover of "Unchained Melody" ("eeeeeee so good!" said one attendee). Listen to a studio version of the cover, watch a video of the three Swedish women singing together at a California show, and check out more pictures of the NJ show, below...

Continue reading "Lykke Li & First Aid Kit played Wellmont Theater, performed together on stage (pics & video)"

First Aid Kit at BV CMJ 2010 (more by Chris Gersbeck)

As mentioned, First Aid Kit are currently on a tour with Bright Eyes and will head out with Lykke Li this November for a tour that includes the previously announced November 17 Wellmont Theater show in Montclair, NJ (tickets). The night before the NJ show, First Aid Kit will play their own headlining show in NYC at Mercury Lounge (11/16). Tickets go on sale Friday (9/9) at noon.

Updated dates and a video below...

Continue reading "First Aid Kit add NYC show during Lykke Li tour"

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)"

Buke & Gass @ Bowery in May (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Araabmuzik @ Best Buy Theater in March (more by Brook Bobbins)

today in NYC
* Escape to New York
* Metalux @ The Stone
* The Archive @ Zebulon
* Mike Shiflet @ The Stone
* Schoolly D, Freeway @ Maxwell's
* The Twelves @ Good Units (FIXED)
* Dr. Lonnie Smith Nonet @ Jazz Standard
* Prisoners of 2nd Avenue @ BB King's
* Ethan Lipton & His Orchestra @ Barbes
* VHS or Beta, Megafortress @ Cameo Gallery
* Oak, Convulsions, Grudges @ Stolen Sleeves
* Fountains of Wayne, Nicole Atkins @ City Winery
* God Is An Astronaut, Monogold @ Bowery Ballroom
* The Growlers, Wild Yaks @ Brooklyn Bowl (free)
* Weird Owl, Bad Girlfriend, Heliotropes @ Union Pool
* Britney Spears, Nicki Minaj, Joe Jonas @ Izod Center
* Vaz, Mick Barr, Lichens, The Dreebs @ Death By Audio
* Sands, The Field Recordings, Mean Creek @ Union Hall
* Castevet, Communion, Artificial Brain @ Saint Vitus Bar
* Karlsson & Winnberg (Miike Snow DJ Set) @ Webster Hall
* Apollo Run, Ghost Bunny, EULA, Von Shakes @ The Rock Shop
* Kid Lucky feat. Alfonso CID and Isabel Del Dia @ Josie Robertson Plaza
* El Ten Eleven, The Globes, Special Guests @ Le Poisson Rouge
* Marco Cappelli, Chris Dingman, James Hurt, Jim Pugliese @ Blue Note
* Meshell Ndegeocello presents A Night of Gil Scott-Heron Covers @ Blue Note
* Morgan O'Kane, Matt Keating, Leyla McCalla @ Bowery Electric
* Ra Ra Rasputin, Prussia, Motive, Berlusconi's Parties @ Glasslands
* Bassam Saba & The New York Arabic Orchestra @ Damrosch Park Bandshell
* Blues Control, Steve Summers, Professor Genius @ Shea Stadium
* Rosetta, Braveyoung, Tidal Arms, Don't Give A Fuck @ The Acheron
* My Pet Dragon, Little Embers, Shoot The Freak @ Mercury Lounge
* Ra Ra Riot, Delicate Steve, Buke and Gass @ Prospect Park Bandshell
* Stolen Parts, The Dirty Shames, Johnie3, The Vansaders @ The Gutter
* Monuments, The National Rifle, Waking Lights, Lazer Cake @ Bruar Falls
* 1-800-BAND, Lorraine Leckie, Joey Steel & The Attitude Adjusters @ Don Pedro
* Saigon, Big Hodge & Workers Comp, Natural High, Charlie Buko @ Knitting Factory
* Dinner, Balkans, One Man Machine & The Good Vibes Band, Christina Caceres @ Cake Shop
* AraabMUZIK, White Ring, DJ Assault, Laurel Halo, Blissed Out, Mykki Blanco, Beacon @ Santos Party House
* Ben Thornewill (of Jukebox The Ghost), Brandon Reilly (of Nightmare Of You) @ The Studio at Webster Hall

Check out This Week in Indie for more.

AraabMUZIK appears at Santos tonight and is going on tour with SBTRKT in the fall.

Ra Ra Rasputin plays Glasslands tonight. Ra Ra Riot plays Prospect Park.

Ra Ra Rock Yard returns Sunday with The Growlers who play Brooklyn Bowl tonight.

Summer movies on the Intrepid continue tonight with ET.

The Twelves play a FIXED party at Good Units tonight. TIckets are available. Simian Mobile Disco also DJ a FIXED party this Saturday night (8/6) at Public Assembly after they DJ Warm Up earlier that day.

Lykke Li played Leno last night. Video below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Friday?"

photos by Jim Brueckner

You've seen the uplifting YouTube videos of the school children from Staten Island, but to witness their contagious innocent joy in-person is even more of a must. It's almost as if each popular number that they cover, they are canonizing by allowing the listeners to hear the songs through the ears of a child. Their version of Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" was a true goosebump moment. [Metro]

Pictures and videos from their set at Newport below...

Continue reading "The PS 22 Chorus covered Austra, Lykke Li, Adele, MGMT, Ariel Pink & more @ Newpot Folk Fest (pics & videos)"

photos by Vincent Cornelli

Lykke Li @ Central Park Summerstage

As previously mentioned, Lykke Li, who was just confirmed for Fun Fun Fun Fest, will head out on a short tour with First Aid Kit in November which hits NJ's Wellmont Theatre on November 17. Tickets for that show finally go on sale this Friday (8/5) at noon.

Lykke Li played a ticketed NYC show at Central Park Summerstage last night (8/1) with Timber Timbre. None of the opener, but pictures from the show continue, with a video, below...

Continue reading "Lykke Li played Summerstage (pics), playing Wellmont (tix)"

Slayer at Izod Center (photos by Samantha Marble)

Slayer, Thee Oh Sees, Public Enemy, Girls, Danzig Legacy, (Danzig + Doyle von Frankenstein playing Misfits, Samhain & Danzig), Hot Snakes, Diplo, Major Lazer, Henry Rollins, Ted Leo & The Phramacists, Spank Rock, Murder City Devils, Hum, Lykke Li, Passion Pit, Four Tet, Rakim, The Damned, Austra, Purity Ring, and Flynt Flossy are just a few of the acts announced today as part of the Fun Fun Fun Fest 2011 lineup. Another amazing year! Check out the full lineup below and stay tuned for more announcements coming in August and September.

The new additions to the Austin, Texas festival, which takes place from 11/4 - 11/6, are in addition to the the previous "lineup leaks" that included Brian Posehn, Odd Future, Okkervil River, M83, X (performing "Los Angeles"), Reggie Watts, Flying Lotus, Tune-Yards, Ra Ra Riot, Kid Dynamite and others

2011 is the festival's sixth year, but first at its new home Auditorium Shores (no more Waterloo Park). Tickets are on sale now.

Slayer also has a NYC performance coming up with Metallica, Anthrax and Megadeth as part of the "Big Four" show at Yankee Stadium on 9/14. Tickets are still available.

Fun Fun Fun 2011 flyer and almost-full lineup is below.

Continue reading "Fun Fun Fun Fest 2011 lineup (Danzig Legazy, Passion Pit, Slayer, Lykke Li, The Damned, Henry Rollins & much more)"

Lykke Li at Webster Hall in May (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Lykke Li will head out on a short tour in November with First Aid Kit. That tour includes a stop at NJ's Wellmont Theatre on November 17. Tickets will go on sale shortly. No NYC date has been announced for this tour at the moment, but maybe one will be after Lykke Li plays her August 1 show at Summerstage with Timber Timbre, though that show is sold out.

Lykke Li will also perform "Youth Knows No Pain," off her recently released Wounded Rhymes on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on August 4.

First Aid Kit are currently recording an album with Mike Mogis of Bright Eyes, who they tour with in September. That tour doesn't come through NYC but Bright Eyes play Williamsburg Waterfront with Dr. Dog on August 31. Tickets for that show are still available.

All dates below...

Continue reading "Lykke Li announces tour w/ First Aid Kit who are first touring w/ Bright Eyes (dates)"

photos by Amanda Hatfield, words by Rachel Kowal

Lykke Li @ Webster Hall

"She looks like a normal non-idiotic Gaga. With better music." Or at least, that's what the consensus seems to be among Lykke Li fans on the music site Last.fm.

Lykke Li's rise to fame over the last few years has not been incidental. She's got an ear for catchy pop music, sexy dance moves, and just the right combination of Swedish genes. On stage, she seems to exude a cool confidence. And yet, in the song "Dance, Dance, Dance," she insists that she's actually quite shy. Of course, with her dramatic eye make-up, form fitting clothing, and sleek physique, she's gorgeous, but not in a way that incites resentment or makes her seem elitist or impossible to relate to. When she encourages you to dance, you want to respond accordingly, even though the room is far too crowded and you know you won't have the space to dance as gracefully as she does. Behold the draw of Lykke Li.

"We're lucky we're seeing her play here. She won't play anywhere this small again," a concert-goer said to his companion. One thing's for sure: She's certainly a tough act to precede.

But despite the fact that few people at Wednesday night's show at Webster Hall (the second of two sold out shows at the venue) seemed to even know there was an opener on the bill (let alone the identity of said opener), the audience seemed highly receptive to the Toronto one-woman outfit Grimes - even when she (Claire Boucher) momentarily flubbed the intro to her first song.

With her catchy keyboard-driven melodies and thumping bass lines, Grimes at times reminds me of a female Baths - but with an otherworldly twist due to Boucher's distinctive high-pitched, childlike voice and indecipherable lyrics.

Boucher's performance was certainly not as polished as that of Li (She coughed right into the microphone at one point), but her experimental leanings nicely contrasted Lykke Li's more straightforward pop sensibility.

With the exception of some dramatic lighting, the stage set-up was fairly minimal for Grimes, but for Lykke Li, the venue piled on the drama. Following a long intermission between sets, the room suddenly went dark and the smoke machines on stage kicked into overdrive.

As music played in the background, Li's backing back assumed their positions, and the tension escalated. Finally, Li herself appeared to rapturous applause. As if the setting on stage wasn't dramatic enough, Li looked like a widow in mourning in her black veil and oversized cloak. Bursts of blinding white light, thick clouds of smoke, and well-placed fans made it seem as if a tempest had broken out on stage. Long black curtains billowed in the manmade gusts and effectively enveloped Li until she brushed them aside with a graceful flourish.

Of course, it wasn't long before the veil fell and revealed Li's beauty mark, well-defined cheekbones, and unblinking gaze; and the cloak fell open. Li powered through her hour-long set, playing songs both from her most recent release and a few old favorites, including "I'm Good, I'm Gone" and "Little Bit." At the encouragement of the audience, she extended her encore and closed with "Unrequited Love."

Lykke Li's lyrics may not be particularly groundbreaking, but she performed with the poise of an experienced pop star and a level of intensity typically reserved for an encore. Perhaps she said it best herself: "Words can never make up for what you do."

--

Lykke Li's next NYC show is in fact in a bigger venue, Central Park Summerstage on August 1st. Tickets are still available. In the meantime, Lykke continues on her current North American tour which runs through the end of May with Grimes.

More pictures pictures from the Wednesday night show at Webster Hall, and the setlist, below...

Continue reading "Lykke Li & Grimes played Webster Hall (night 2 pics & setlist)"

Gang Gang Dance @ Angel Orensanz in March (more by Erez Avissar)

today in NYC
* Kitchen Gala @ Capitale
* Jeph Jerman @ The Stone
* Rick Ross @ Paradise Theater
* Cookies, Jive Grave @ Zebulon
* Michael Attias Renku @ Barbes
* Mandingo Ambassadors @ Barbes
* Two Bamboo Flutes @ The Stone
* Tim Minchin @ Gramercy Theatre
* Avi Wisnia, Denise Reis @ Joe's Pub
* Wintersleep, Teletextile @ Union Hall
* Racing Heart, In One Wind @ Sycamore
* Kylie Minogue @ Hammerstein Ballroom
* Lupe Fiasco @ PC Richard & Son Theater
* The Fiery Furnaces @ Rockwood Music Hall
* Holy Grail, Cauldron, Wizardry @ Union Pool
* Jonah Matranga, Atlantic/Pacific @ Maxwell's
* Bruce Cockburn, Jenny Scheinman @ City Winery
* Schwervon!, Ching Ching, The WoWz @ Bruar Falls
* Surf City, Xray Eyeballs, Darlings @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Dominique Young Unique, Prussia @ Mercury Lounge
* Vandaveer, Ferraby Lionheart @ Rockwood Music Hall
* Pigeons, Jefferson High, Long Long Long @ Shea Stadium
* Bruno Mars, Janelle Monae, Plan B @ Roseland Ballroom
* The Airborne Toxic Event, Marfa Lights @ Bowery Ballroom
* Foals, Freelance Whales, The Naked and Famous @ Terminal 5
* The Black Ryder, Heaven, My Best Fiend @ Santos Party House
* Bachelorette, Rarechild, Warm Ghosts, Young Heel @ Glasslands
* Wakey!Wakey!, Jukebox The Ghost, Casey Shea @ The Rock Shop
* Machinedrum, Timonkey Mike Slott, Futexture @ Mercury Lounge
* Vaz, Dope Body, Ed Schrader's Music Beat, R Mexico @ Death By Audio
* Electronic Music Foundation Presents: T-Stick Music @ Issue Project Room
* The NowhereNauts, Mike Pride's From Bacteria to Boys @ Knitting Factory
* Gang Gang Dance, New Moods, Ghetto Gothic DJs @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Pterodactyl, Human Resources, Sweet Bulbs, Daniel Klag, Guardian Alien, Antimagic @ Silent Barn
* The Naked & the Famous, Onward Soldiers, Ghostwise, Anni Rossi, Emmy The Great, Amir Gwirtzman @ Pianos
* Bing Ji Ling, Super Hi-Fi, Fist of Facts, Kaleta Jaa and Jo Jo Kuo, Saladu and the Afrolisticks, MC Jack Silbert, DJ Paddy Boom and Citizen Kane @ Cake Shop

Stevie Nicks @ Webster Hall is cancelled.

Win tickets to see Dominique Young Unique at Mercury Lounge tonight via the BrooklynVegan Faceboook. You can also win a pair by emailing your name to BVCONTESTS@HOTMAIL.COM (subject: Dominique).

Giving away 2 tix to Gang Gang Dance @ MHOW on Facebook too.

Check out Lykke Li's recently released video for "Sadness is a Blessing" below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Wednesday?"

DOWNLOAD: Grimes - "Vanessa" (MP3)

After a failed stint with Handsome Furs (damn you visa issues!) Grimes is ready to head back to the US with an even more coveted slot, opening all Lykke Li dates in May.

Tickets are all sold out for both nights at Webster Hall (5/17, 5/18) during that tour, but if you want to see Lykke, tickets are still available for her show at Central Park SummerStage on August 1 (without Grimes).

Right before that tour, on May 12th, Grimes plays an M for Montreal daytime Great Escape showcase at Life in Brighton (in the UK) along with fellow Canadians PS I Love You and Radio Radio. That's one day before the previously-mentioned M for Montreal/BrooklynVegan nighttime showcase happening at Coalition with Said the Whale, Thus:Owls, Handsome Furs and The Radio Dept.

In July, Grimes is playing Guelph, Ontario's Hillside Festival (7/22-24) which recently announced their full lineup which is listed below.

Tour dates, the new "Vanessa" video, and a video of Grimes at SXSW is below.

Continue reading "Grimes touring w/ Lykke Li, playing Great Escape in the UK & Canada's Hillside Festival (lineups & dates)"

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"

Lykke Li at Le Poisson Rouge (more by kolored)

Lykke Li has already sold-out May 17th & 18th at Webster Hall, but the Swedish chanteuse will be back in NYC before the end of the summer. Tickets go on AmEx presale Wednesday (3/16) at noon and regular sale on Friday for Lykke Li at Central Park SummerStage on August 1.

Lykke Li's new LP Wounded Rhymes is out now. Check out videos of "Get Some" from the LP performed live on Jimmy Fallon on 3/3 and Conan on 3/10 below, with all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Lykke Li playing Central Park Summerstage (updated dates)"

by Bill Pearis

Lykke Li @ Le Poisson Rouge (more by kolored)

Right before Lykke Li performed at Le Poisson Rouge last Wednesday (12/1), I spent a few minutes talking with her on camera about her new album, Wounded Rhymes. It was for Kanon Organic Vodka's "Drinking with the Band" video series, and you can watch it over at Kanon's blog. We also have her try a couple cocktails that were created and named after Lykke Li songs. There's also footage of Lykke performing "I'm Good I'm Gone" and some shots from the posh afterparty at Soho Grand.

And as we mentioned before, Lykke Li will be coming back for a North American tour in the spring, including stops at Webster Hall on May 17 and May 18. All announced 2011 tour dates are below.

Continue reading "watch Bill 'Drinking with Lykke Li'"

photos by kolored, review by Bill Pearis

Dressed in a black skintight outfit with a flowy shawl/cape thing draped over her shoulders, Lykke Li looked kind of like a superhero. (Maybe Batgirl, but definitely more Christopher Nolan than Joel Schumacher. Evil Stevie Nicks, the Voice suggested.) Not sure what her superpower is but she held the audience in her grip for her sold-out, in-the-round performance at Le Poisson Rouge last night (12/01). "I've got a new record that we're gonna play for you tonight, " Li told the crowd. "Are you ready for some new material?" Much hooting and hollering followed.

We got about seven or eight songs new songs from Wounded Rhymes, due in March 2011. The Bo-Diddley-gone-tribal first single "Get Some" shouldn't be seen as a signifier for what to expect, though. While definitely bigger sonically than 2008's spare Youth Novels, '60s girl groups (The Shirelles and the Shangri-Las in particular) seemed to be the most obvious touchstone. It's hard to judge new material in such settings, and debuting so much new material can sometimes test audience patience. But the crowd pretty much hung on every word they hadn't heard, and sang along with the ones they did.

Of the new songs, a few definitely stuck out, mostly the more ballad-y ones. "Jerome," a rhythm heavy slow burn ode to a former lover that had a definite (regular non-evil) Stevie Nicks vibe to it which really showed off the vocal talents of her tight, now five-member-strong band. Those harmonies would be forefront on "Sadness is a Blessing" and show-closer "Unrequited Love" both bare-all, raw nerve, heart-on-sleeve numbers. And of course "Get Some" which is pure bad-ass bravado, that sounds to me like the soundtrack to a raucous bar fight.

It was the Youth Novels material that had the crowd, most of whom got there two and a half hours before Li went on, going crazy: "Little Bit" (seemed like the whole place sang the "for you I keep my legs apart" line), "Dance Dance Dance," "I'm Good I'm Gone" and the Madonna-ish "Breaking It Up" which segued into an instrumental cover of The Knife's "Silent Shout." We also got a cover of The Big Pink's "Velvet" and her contribution to the Twilight: New Moon soundtrack, "Possibility."

I saw Lykke Li perform a handful of times in 2008 and while entertaining then, she has definitely upped her game. Maybe it was just the intimate nature of the performance, but Li was oozing charisma/"it factor" last night. Who needs superpowers when you have that?

--

If you missed the show, catch her in May when she tours back to NYC for two shows at Webster Hall. Tickets for May 17th are still available, and May 18th is currently on AMEX presale (general sale begins 12/3 at noon).

Before the LPR show Bill interviewed Lykke for a Kanon Organic Vodka video segment that will be ready for viewing on Kanon's site soon (stay tuned). In the video you'll see Lykke sample two cocktails named after her songs, both of which were named by contest winners who won tickets to the show, and to the Kanon-sponsored afterparty which took place at the swanky SoHo Grand. Check out pictures of the afterparty at Kanon's site. The rest of our pictures from Le Poisson Rouge, and two videos, are below...

Continue reading "Lykke Li played Le Poisson Rouge, DJ'd Soho Grand (pics) "

the current issue of FADER

It's all about Lykke Li all of a sudden. There she is on the cover of the new issue of FADER which has appeared not long after the recent release of her new single and video which was followed by the announcement that she...

"...is set to release her highly-anticipated sophomore album, Wounded Rhymes, on her label LL Recordings on March 1st, 2011. Produced by Bjorn Yttling of Peter, Bjorn & John and recorded in Stockholm, Wounded Rhymes is the follow up to Lykke Li's critically-acclaimed debut, Youth Novels.

On top of all that, Lykke is now in NYC for a one-off, pre-tour, pre-album, very-sold-out show at Le Poisson Rouge which goes down tonight, 12/1, with the recent addition of DJ Scribe on the bill. AND, we spent some time in the past few days prepping an interview which we'll be conducting along with a video team from Kanon Organic Vodka who are sponsoring both the show and the afterparty which Lykke Li is DJing at SoHo Grand Hotel after the show. Stay tuned for that along with pictures and a review from LPR.

Updated Lykke Li tour dates below...

Continue reading "Lykke Li adds another show & stuff (updated dates, etc..)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: PS I Love You - Facelove (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: PS I Love You - 2012 (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Warpaint - Undertow (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Radio Dept - Never Swallow Fruit Dub (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Radio Dept - Never Follow Suit (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Radio Dept - Heaven's On Fire (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Luyas - All New Tiny Head (MP3)

The Radio Dept

After a long weekend of overeating and couchdwelling and Kanye overload, I hope you are all nice and rested up for what is a pretty great week of shows. Here's a bunch of stuff I recommend.

Sweden's The Radio Dept are playing two NYC shows ahead of their first-ever real tour of the U.S. and Canada this week. All dates are listed below, but the NYC shows happen at Knitting Factory Tuesday night (11/30) and Bowery Ballroom on Wednesday (12/01). Both are sold out. This will be the band's first visit to our area since the 2009 NYC Popfest.

It's been a busy year for the somewhat unprolific Scandinavian trio. In addition to their fantastic third album, Clinging to a Scheme, which came out back in April, The Radio Dept. just released a new EP, Never Follow Suit, which takes the dub-heavy album title cut (also on the album) and makes it even dubbier (download both versions above), plus adds three new blissed out tracks.

The band are also finally gathering up all their non-LP singles, b-sides and EPs for a double-disc compilation, Passive Aggressive: Singles 2002-2010 which comes out early next year. A lot of their great early EPs are out of print (like 2003's Pulling Our Weight) and it'll be nice to have them all in one place. Double vinyl too for those with turntables. With music spanning from their first single through tracks off Clinging to a Scheme, it makes for a nice overview of the band...but still holds together really well. Little has changed in The Radio Dept.'s sound over the last eight years, but they are one of the best examples of "don't fix what ain't broke."

Abd if you're going to one of the two Radio Dept. shows, be sure to get there early to catch Montreal's Braids, who I just saw play in their hometown.

PS I Love You @ Pop Montreal (more)

While on the Subject of Bands I Saw Play in Canada Recently, one of biggest hits of this year's M for Montreal festival were PS I Love You:

Most everyone seemed in agreement that PS I Love You were the best band of the night. The duo from Kingston, Ontario are an indie Mutt and Jeff, kind of like the Pixies with a new wave back-end. Yelper-guitarist Paul Salnier actually pulls triple duty live, playing bass parts too via a Moog bass pedal setup which is pretty cool. Drummer Ben Nelson plays heavy on the high hat a la New Order's Stephen Morris which gives their songs danceability.  Their record, Meet Me at the Muster Station, is good but, live, PS I Love You are a force.

Warpaint

Also visiting us this weekend are Los Angeles foursome Warpaint, who play The Studio @ Webster Hall on Wednesday (12/01) and Music Hall of Williamsburg on Thursday (12/02). Their debut for Rough Trade, The Fool, has gotten mostly good reviews. It's a record that has really grown on me in the last month, hitting that sweet spot between dustbowl new age goth and early-'80s post punk. Not that those are mutually exclusive terms. Spindly guitars, groovy basslines, complex percussion, dreamlike vocals... it's somewhere betweeen Haena-era Banshees and Bat For Lashes with just a smidge of Stevie Nicks. Which is a good thing if you ask me. If Warpaint aren't on the next Twilight soundtrack somebody's not doing their job.

The band are good live too, with an especially nimble rhythm section. And if you didn't like the album the first time you heard it, I urge you go give it another chance to sink in. Check out "Undertow" above, and there are a couple live performance videos further down this post along with all upcoming Warpaint tour dates.

Badly Drawn Boy

Like a lot of people, I loved the first Badly Drawn Boy album The Hour of The Bewilderbeast, which rightly won the 2000 Mercury Music Prize (at least given its competition). Damon Gough then went to Los Angeles and lost his way almost immediately after. Good songs here and there, yes, but none of his subsequent albums have been anywhere near as solid or as sonically interesting as Bewilderbeast. Yet I always give the new album a chance.

I'm happy to report that the vibe of BDB's new album -- the mouthful of a title It's What I'm Thinking Pt. 1: Photographing Snowflakes -- returns some of his debut's homespun charm. It's his first since parting ways with EMI and starting his own label and you can sense the freedom this has brought across its 10 tracks. (Parts 2 and 3 are due at some point in the future.) There may not be anything as immediately catchy as "Everybody's Stalking", but you can tell this is music Gough wanted to make, not music he thought someone else wanted to hear. It's a nice album. Give up your email address and you can download a few new songs at BDB's website.

Badly Drawn Boy plays Le Poisson Rouge this Friday (12/03) and Saturday (12/04). Badly Drawn Boy shows have always been a bit of a crapshoot. Shows are notoriously long, ramshackle affairs with extended noodling, rambling stage banter and other digressions. Gough is the only Mercury Prize winner I have ever seen to actually take audience requests, including other people's songs he has never played. (Think twice before you yell "Freebird!" at a BDB show, you may end up regretting it). But there are always moments of brilliance in there too that make you glad you went, which is I guess Gough in a nutshell.

That's the main stuff this week. A few more shows of note, day-by-day, of things not covered above follows:

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 1

Garagey soul band Fergus & Geronimo, who recently relocated here from Texas, headline a great night of music at Glasslands, that also features another bunch of recent transplants, former Arizonans The Young Friends. Also on the bill: Little Gold and We Are Country Mice.

Denver duo Tennis play Mercury Lounge, their first shows since a wave of hype packed Glasslands and Cake Shop back in August. Nice folks, but take away all that reverb that coats their recordings (as they do live) and the songs aren't quite as magical. The night's line-up is pretty good overall, with Family Portrait, Miracles of Modern Science and La Big Vic. Tennis also open for The Walkmen (and a slimmed-down School of Seven Bells) at Terminal 5 the next night.

continued below...

Continue reading "The Radio Dept, PS I Love You, Warpaint, Badly Drawn Boy, Raindeer, Peter Hook, Luyas & more in This Week In Indie"

Lykke Li in "Get Some"

Head to Lykke Li's website to get yourself a free copy of her new single Get Some with b-side "Paris Blue" (it'll cost you an email address). The same new song, "Get Some," also has a new video starring Lykke as a warrior princess type character singing "Im your prostitute. you gon' get some." Check it out below.

Lykke Li's sold out, one-off NYC show at Le Poisson Rouge is less than a month away. For those who can't make the show because they don't have a ticket or live in another part of the country, take note: Lykke Li will be going on a larger North American tour in May (and play a single show in LA in March).

Kicking off in DC on May 15th, Lykke Li's tour will hit Webster Hall in NYC on May 17th. Tickets for that one go on AmEx presale today at noon, and then general sale Friday at noon. All dates and the new video below...

Continue reading "new Lykke Li video & free single ++ 2011 tour dates "

One Film, Five Shows.
SOLARIUM

A film by Moses Berkson starring Lykke Li.
A major heart break and a post tour depression drove a very delusional LL out to the desert with some friends and a super 8 camera.
A major sun burn later, some shattered mirrors, I found myself, my ego, my thoughts, my expectations and my image to be a burden, hard to get rid of, if ever possible?
Silence my dear, let the images speak and listen to the sound of my broken drum.
How can one just be?
-Lykke Li

Continue reading "Lykke Li in short movie (watch), playing some shows (dates) "

"Thom Yorke and Flea's new supergroup will play a Radiohead song at their upcoming debut gigs in Los Angeles., it's been revealed.

The as-yet-unnamed band's drummer Mauro Refosco told Brazilian website Abril.com they will play Thom Yorke's 'The Eraser' album in its entirety, four new songs and one Radiohead track at the shows on Sunday and Monday (October 4 & 5).

It's rumoured the band will air Thom Yorke's song he wrote for the Twilight New Moon soundtrack, 'Hearing Damage', as one of the "new" songs." [gigwise]

The new Twilight soundtrack, as you may have heard, also includes tracks by many familiar names including Death Cab For Cutie, Muse, Sea Wolf, Grizzly Bear & Beach House's Victoria Legrand, Bon Iver & St. Vincent, and Editors...

Speaking exclusively to Gigwise, Editors frontman Tom Smith said: "The films aren't aimed at people our age but I look at the bands that we're next to on that soundtrack and it's just a good thing.

"It's not selling out, it's not putting your song on an advert or selling a product.

"It's just being part of something that, to me, as collective seems like a pretty attractive thing."

New Moon is the second instalment of the vampire franchise, which stars British actor Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart.

Continue reading "Thom Yorke's LA setlist, a secret show?, Twilight soundtrack"

Olof Arnalds @ Prospect Park in June (more by Chris La Putt)

tonight in NYC
* DANCE
* The Rapture @ Matchless
* Blood Orange @ Bruar Falls
* We Are Ivy League @ Union Hall
* Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival
* Son Volt, Sera Cahoone @ Irving Plaza
* Aretha Franklin @ Radio City Music Hall
* The Horrors, Crocodiles @ Bowery Ballroom
* The Sounds, Foxy Shazam @ Roseland Ballroom
* Ramona Falls, Music Video, We Are Country Mice @ Pianos
* Olof Arnalds, Nadia Sirota, Emilyn Brodsky @ Union Pool
* Face to Face, Pegboy, Polar Bear Club @ Gramercy Theatre
* Richard Lloyd & The Sufi-Monkey Trio @ (Le) Poisson Rouge
* Datarock, Esser, JDH & Dave P, Karin Park @ Highline Ballroom
* Fun., Miniature Tigers, New Numbers, DJ F-Word @ Mercury Lounge
* The Weakerthans, Rock Plaza Central, Tomte @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Drink Up Buttercup, The Art of Shooting, Candle Of Paradise @ Glasslands
* Country Music Fest w/ The Defibulators, Sammo, Alana Amram @ Southpaw
* Grooms, Videohippos, Starring, PC Worship, Anamanaguchi, Dome Theater @DBA
* Nudie Jeans Fashion Party w/ Lykke Li (DJ), Bjorn of Peter Bjorn & John (DJ) & Lemonade (DJ) @ (Le) Poisson Rouge
* New Languages Fest w/ Darcy James Argue's Secret Society, House of Mirrors, The Respect Sextet @ McCarren Hall

There's a free VICE / Nudie Jeans Fashion Party with DJ sets from Lemonade, Lykke Li and Bjorn of Peter Bjorn & John at Le Poisson Rouge.. RSVP. 11PM doors, 21+ Free Colt 45 and Well Liquor Open Bar from 11PM-12:30AM. Flyer below. There's a VICE / something else party with a set by the Rapture in Brooklyn.

Fun. is Nate Ruess (The Format), ex-Anathallo multi-instrumentalist Andrew Dost and Steel Train's Jack Antonoff.

Son Volt dropped a new album this summer, and now they come to NYC's Irving Plaza for a show with Sera Cahoone.

The Horrors play with Crocodiles at Bowery Ballroom tonight. Both bands return in October.

The Weakerthans play two nights in NYC now. Tonight is at Music Hall of Williamsburg with Rock Plaza Central and Tomte. A live Weakerthans video from 2006 below...

Menomena guy Brent Knopf fronts Ramona Falls, which comes to town this weekend, starting with Pianos tonight. Menomena played ATP NY on Sunday.

Olof Arnalds winds up her recently NYC trip with a show at Union Pool that also includes Nadia Sirota and Emilyn Brodsky.

Face to Face, Pegboy (ex-Naked Rayguy) and Polar Bear Club are currently on a tour that stops at Gramercy Theatre tonight.

Television's Richard Lloyd plays with The Sufi-Monkey Trio at (Le) Poisson Rouge tonight.

Scarlett Johansson is playing a benefit at Carnegie Hall with lots of interesting people. Scarlett and Pete Yorn played "Relator" on French TV. That's below.

Tim Heidecker stars in Clues' new video for "You Have My Eyes Now," which is posted below.

Little Boots was in town last night. Coverage of that coming soon. In the meantime, her interview with Nardwuar below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Thursday?"