LA Fest FYF Fest is celebrating 10 years this year, and will take over Los Angeles State Historic Park on August 24 & 25. Check out the massive lineup in the poster above, and in alphabetical order below...

Continue reading "FYF Fest 2013 Lineup (My Bloody Valentine included)"

Bumbershoot is returning to Seattle this year from August 31 to September 2 at Seattle Center. This year's lineup was just announced, and it includes Death Cab for Cutie performing Transatlanticism (in case The Postal Service reuniting wasn't enough Ben Gibbard nostalgia for you), Kendrick Lamar, MGMT, The Breeders, The Zombies, Alt-J, Deerhunter, Baroness, Crystal Castles, Gary Numan, Joey Bada$$, Eric Burdon, Bob Mould, David Bazan, Charli XCX, Redd Kross, The Men and more.

Tickets (3-day passes, 2-day passes, and single day tickets) for the festival are on sale now.

Full lineup below...

Continue reading "Bumbershoot 2013 lineup & tix (Death Cab for Cutie, MGMT, Kendrick Lamar, Breeders, Zombies, Alt-J, Deerhunter & more)"

by Andrew Sacher

MGMT at the Guggenheim in 2011 (more by Kurt Christensen)

One of my most anticipated releases on Record Store Day was "Alien Days," the new single from MGMT's forthcoming album, which was released exclusively on cassette. I've always maintained that MGMT's under-appreciated sophomore album, Congratulations, was a superior release to its predecessor and the hope that time will treat it in a Pinkerton sort of way. On that album, MGMT deeply explored strange dimensions of psychedelia and art rock, and on "Alien Days," they take that exploration even further. It's got a kind of Bowie-esque acoustic rock thing going on at first, which is taken on a trip through effect-laden space rock and swirls of acid-dripping thrum. You can stream the song below. Details on the album title and release date are still TBA.

As mentioned, MGMT have some live dates scheduled this year, and they've just expanded their itinerary to include a NYC-area show happening on June 20 at Wellmont Theatre, right before they head to Dover, DE for Firefly Music Festival. Tickets for the Wellmont show go on sale Friday (4/26) at noon.

Updated dates are listed, along with the new song stream, below...

Continue reading "MGMT released "Alien Days" single, add Wellmont Theatre show to tour (updated dates & song stream)"

Anthrax at Wellmont Theater in 2012 (more by Greg Cristman)

today in NYC
* Asssscat 3000 @ UCB
* Jamie Saft @ The Stone
* Furthur @ Capitol Theatre
* Kingston Yard @ The Stone
* Junior Brown, Sturgill Simpson @ City Winery
* Dead Milkmen, The Brooklyn What @ Bowery Ballroom
* Gracie & Rachel, Money and King, Luray @ Cameo Gallery
* Anthrax, Exodus, Municipal Waste, Holy Grail @ Irving Plaza
* Brother Reverend, Reputante, Divining, No Kill @ Glasslands
* Raven, A Sound of Thunder, Holy Grail, Brohammer @ Saint Vitus
* Big Neck Police, Bluffing, The Gradients, Large Lady @ Silent Barn
* Colleen Green, Habibi, Pop Zeus, Juniper Rising @ Death By Audio
* The Nowadays, Tommy Kodak & The Loaders, Viking @ Cake Shop
* Hannibal Buress, Neal Brennan, Todd Barry, Calez @ Knitting Factory
* Dusty Brown, Life In A Blender, Sarah Donner @ Rockwood Music Hall
* Sadat X, Grand Puba (of Brand Nubian), ArtiFacts, DITC Crew @ S.O.B.'s
* Aspects of War, Bad Noids, Violent Reaction, Slugz, Anasazi @ Saint Vitus
* Vulture Shit, Clean Girls, Old Monk, Low Fat Getting High @ Bowery Electric
* Drowners, Summer People, The Can't Tells, Rewards @ Brooklyn Bowl (DJ)
* O'Death, Big Wilson River, Nude Dudes, Thomas Wesley Stern @ Mexicali Live
* The BlkHands, Skyzoo, Skyway, Ragnarok, Doc Casion @ The Studio at Webster Hall
* Crazy Spirit, Green Beret, Hound of Hate, Extoplasm, Altered Boys, Nomad @ 285 Kent
* After The Burials, Within The Ruins, The Contortionist, Glass Cloud, City in The Sea @ Santos Party House
* En Nihil, The [law-rah] Collective, Iron Forest, A Murder of Angels, Kama Rupa, Lussuria, Jane Vixen (DJ), Theologian Prime (DJ) @ Public Assembly

There's some pretty great local support at tonight's Colleen Green show at Death by Audio coming from Habibi, Pop Zeus, and Juniper Rising. Admission is $7 at the door.

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Hope everyone had a great Record Store Day yesterday. As always, many of the previously unreleased tracks that came out yesterday have wound up on the internet. Check out streams of MGMT's new single, "Alien Days," Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds' Push the Sky Away b-side, "Animal X," Chelsea Wolfe's "Fight Like Gods" from her split with King Dude, Nicolas Jaar's remix of Grizzly Bear's "Sleeping Ute," and the video for Garbage and Screaming Females' Patti Smith cover below.

As mentioned, Pharrell was promising something "extra special" for his House of Vans show on Friday (4/19), and though Daft Punk didn't show up, he did play his new collaborative single with the duo, "Get Lucky." Three times. Check out a video of that below (via CoS).

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Sunday?"

by Bill Pearis and Andrew Sacher

Ex Cops DJing at Other Music, RSD 2012 (more)

We're about a week out from Record Store Day 2013. When it began in 2008, RSD was a celebration of brick-and-mortar stores in the face of digital downloads, offering up exclusive releases to get people out to stores. It's blown up considerably since then, with hundreds of RSD-only releases. (Many of which fall into the hands of folks who turn it around on Ebay that same day, but what can you do?) While it is a mob scene these days, there is no doubt it helps what record stores there are left -- though not enough, as Record Store Day will be the last day for Williamsburg's Sound Fix. Participating stores around the country are listed here.

There are always some pretty cool exclusives too, items that may have never seen the light of day without RSD. With that in mind we've gone through the list of North American RSD exclusives to highlight a few things to keep an eye out. This isn't comprehensive, just stuff we wanna get. What records are you trying to get this year?

We've written about the Sacred Bones comp, the Astralwerks comp, Old 97s, Frightened Rabbit, Austra, Sonny & the Sunsets, and Titus Andronicus Check out our new list below...

Continue reading "a guide to Record Store Day 2013"

by Andrew Sacher

MGMT in 2013

MGMT haven't released an album since 2010's often underrated, and comparatively (to their debut) difficult Congratulations, and it's been a while since they've gone on a full North American tour too. But at least one, and hopefully both, of those things are going to change this year. In a January interview with Rolling Stone, the duo said they're getting "even weirder" on their third album, which is tentatively out this June. They said they were recording only with MGMT's core two members, rather than the full band that played on Congratulations, and they're back with Flaming Lips associate Dave Fridmann, who also helmed Oracular Spectacular. They also mentioned the album was highly influenced by Aphex Twin and "house records they've been listening to lately," and includes a cover of "Introspection" by obscure '60s band Faine Jade.

Other than that album's tentative June release, no exact release details have been given, but they do have something in the works for even sooner. The band say there's a "special MGMT Record Store Day release arriving on April 20th (aka 420)!!"

After Record Store Day, the band will be going on a North American tour, which includes their previously announced appearances at Delaware's Firefly Music Festival and Cincinnati's Bunbury Music Festival. The tour doesn't include any NYC dates at the moment, but they have some open dates during their Northeast run, so hopefully something will be added.

All tour dates are listed, along with a video from their 2011 show at the Guggenheim, below...

Continue reading "MGMT are back with a Record Store Day release, tour, and tentative new "weirder" album (dates)"

Cincinnati, OH festival Bunbury Music Festival is returning for its second year from July 12 - 14, 2013. The lineup was just announced and it includes MGMT (who were also just announced for Firefly Music Festival), The National (who were also just announced for Bonnaroo and have a huge Brooklyn show coming up), Belle and Sebastian and Yo La Tengo (who just announced a tour together, which includes a Prospect Park show), Camera Obscura, Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears, Savoir Adore, Bear Hands, Oberhofer, We Are Scientists, Chairlift, Cake, Tegan & Sara, Tokyo Police Club, Devotchka, Those Darlins, Buffalo Killers, Sky Ferreira, and more.

Tickets for the festival are on sale now. Full lineup below...

Continue reading "Cincinnati festival Bunbury Music Festival 2013 lineup & tix (MGMT, The National, Belle & Sebastian, Yo La Tengo & more)"

Firefly Music Festival 2012 (more by Dana (distortion) Yavin)

Dover, DE festival Firefly Music Festival had a great first year in July of 2012, and afterwards immediately announced it'd return in 2013. The 2013 festival happens from June 21 - 23 at the Dover International Speedway, and the lineup was just announced. It includes Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Passion Pit, Kendrick Lamar, MGMT, Grizzly Bear, Japandroids, The Walkmen, Django Django, Public Enemy, CHVRCHES, Amanda Palmer, Foxygen, Alabama Shakes, Toro y Moi, Dan Deacon, Action Bronson, The Avett Brothers, and more; and the headliners are Red Hot Chili Peppers, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Vampire Weekend, and Foster the People. The full lineup is below and you can watch the announcement video at their website. TIckets go on general sale Thursday (2/21).

Firefly happens a couple weeks after NYC festival Governors Ball, which has some lineup similarities (Kendrick Lamar, Grizzly Bear, Japandroids, Avett Brothers, etc). That one goes down on Randall's Island from June 7 - 9 and tickets are still available.

Firefly lineup below...

Continue reading "Firefly Music Festival announces 2013 lineup (Vampire Weekend, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Passion Pit, Kendrick Lamar, MGMT, Grizzly Bear, Japandroids, Tom Petty, RHCP & more)"

by Andrew Frisicano

Joshua Light Show in action

The Joshua Light Show, founded by multimedia artist Joshua White, is perhaps the most legendary group of live music visualists. As resident artists at Bill Graham's Fillmore East during the late 1960's, and in performances at Woodstock, Newport Jazz Festival, Tanglewood, Carnegie Hall, and the classic film Midnight Cowboy, White and his cohorts created live, colorful, psychedelic projections behind the great bands of that era including the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors and The Who.

Joshua Light Show is in residence at the NYU Skirball Center from September 13-15. The crew of visual artists will be joined by a different set of musicians each night. The lineups include minimalist composer Terry Riley with guitarist (and son) Gyan Riley, avant-garde heavyweights John Zorn, Lou Reed, Bill Laswell and Milford Graves, and percussionist Evelyn Glennie with experimental harpist Zeena Parkins. The final show features Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden aka the members of MGMT. Tickets are on sale.

The bill here has the members of MGMT billed individually, but they'll be performing as a band at Osheaga Fest on August 3 in Montreal, and at Sands Steel Stage at PNC Plaza in Bethlehem, PA, on August 5. Tickets to that are on sale.

The full schedule and video of a recent Joshua White art installation are below.

Continue reading "Lou Reed, John Zorn, MGMT and more collaborating with Joshua Light Show for NYC performances in September"

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"

We just posted about Austra who's coming back to North America (including 9/19 at Music Hall of Williamsburg) after a tour of Europe. She's also one of many artists playing the 2012 Osheaga Festival in Montreal which happens August 3 - 5. Tickets are still available for the three-day event.

In addition to Austra, Osheaga plays host to The Black Keys, Snoop Dogg, Justice, Metric (who play Radio City Music Hall soon), Sigur Ros (who play Prospect Park and are streaming their new LP), Florence & The Machine (who plays Jones Beach this summer), The Weeknd, Passion Pit (who play Governor's Ball soon), The Jesus & Mary Chain, MGMT, Santigold (who just played Irving), Zola Jesus (who just played the Guggenheim) and many many more.

Full Osheaga lineup is below.

Continue reading "Justice, Metric, The Black Keys, Sigur Ros and more playing Montreal's Osheaga Festival in August "

photos by Kurt Christensen

"MGMT's trippy electronica beats... fit right into the equation, although a lot of the crowd wasn't feeling it. I overheard one (probably Manhattanite) guy complain, "Give me something with a melody, play songs!"

The set was MGMT's debut of totally new tracks that they created specifically for the event and were inspired by the Cattelan installation. While at times the songs were a bit too obvious (one piece with electronic organ sounds was clearly meant for Cattelan's infamous sculpture of John Paul II killed by a meteorite), other tracks had catchy beats and little to no vocals so that one song smoothly blended into the next.

The light show was what really made the performance. Yet it seemed as I looked around and saw people talking amongst themselves and standing still during the show, that this just wasn't the right crowd to really get into it. The event was missing some key elements: dancing, maybe some drugs and actually more hipsters. Taken out of the stiff setting of a gala, MGMT's unique collaboration with Cattelan would have reached a whole other level." -[Hyperallergic]

MGMT played two nights at the Guggenheim Museum (an 11/10 private party, and an 11/11 show open to the public). They focused exclusively on compositions inspired by Maurizio Cattelan: All and didn't delvie into their prior works at all. Those expecting the hits were not stoked.

Videos from the show, a video with more details on the ideas behind the music, and more pictures from the 11/11 show, below...

Continue reading "MGMT (only) played songs written for 'All' @ the Guggenheim (pics & video)"

MGMT @ MHOW in 2008 (more by Ryan Muir)

Tickets for MGMT's cheaper Guggenheim show go on sale to Guggenheim members on Thursday morning at 10am. General sale begins on Friday (10/13) which is the same day Andrew VanWyngarden DJs Cameo Gallery in Brooklyn with Aaron Pfenning (Rewards/Chairlift/DFA), Brian Harding (Ex Cops), and "Very Special Guest!" That all goes down after the Razika show.

I know you're sick of Radiohead posts, but, well, they keep doing things! (and anyway, more importantly, this post also contains Portishead!). But back to the point.... Radiohead just played two shows at Roseland Ballroom, appeared on SNL, and on The Colbert Report. They're also rumored to play for Occupy Wall Street today at 4 PM, though that might not happen. In addition to all of that, Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood will perform on Fallon on Monday (10/3). According to Radiohead At Ease, they'll be performing "Give Up The Ghost."

Speaking of Fallon, his week-long run of Pink Floyd covers (that started with the Shins) continued on Tuesday when Foo Fighters played "In The Flesh" with Roger Waters, on Wednesday when MGMT took on "Lucifer Sam" off of The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, with help from Bradford Cox who was dressed as Joey Ramone. Dierks Bentley did "Wish You Were Here" last night (9/29). You can watch all three videos below.

MGMT will also perform at The Guggenheim on November 10 and 11 as part of the 2011 Guggenheim International Gala. The 11/10 show is a private party, but the 11/11 show is a public event. Tickets go on sale Friday (10/14) with a member presale starting Thursday (10/13).

Portishead, who plays and curated ATP NJ this weekend, will appear on Fallon on Wednesday (10/5), two days after Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood do. Portishead play their second of two sold out shows at Hammerstein Ballroom the same night.

Fallon videos below...

Continue reading "more Pink Floyd covers on Fallon (videos), Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood & Portishead next week, MGMT @ the Guggenheim"

by Klaus Kinski

I might be one of the most obsessive Pink Floyd fans who ever lived, and I say that as more of an embarrassing confession than as a statement of pride. I have written about them and their related projects and tours a coupla times now, but every time there is Pink Floyd related news bouncing around the atmosphere I can't help but feel somewhat annoyed at the fact that everything they do is such an obvious and grotesque cash grab. I mean, I still love their records and will be buried with them but, Jesus Christ guys, you use your back catalog like a wet towel, wringing out re-releases and "Best ofs" while expecting us to empty our wallets.

And this pattern started early. I mean, in 1970 EMI released a Best Of record, despite Pink Floyd only having two albums under their belt. Then, BAM, in 1971 another greatest hits record, Relics, hit the shelves and yet the ink on their third album (Atom Heart Mother) had barely dried. 1974 rolled around and saw the re-release of Piper at the Gates of Dawn and A Saucerful of Secrets as a double album called A Nice Pair. That same year, ANOTHER greatest hits record hit the shelves, this time entitled Masters of Rock. In 1981, which would have been the perfect year for a retrospective album considering the body of work they had behind them by then, they released A Collection of Great Dance Songs, which is a supremely anemic and vapid attempt at a greatest hits record. Then between 1992 and now, we were given the Shine On 9 CD Boxed Set (1992), The Piper at the Gates of Dawn 30th Anniversary edition (1997), 1967 The First Three Singles (1997), Wish You Were Here 25th Anniversary Edition (2000), Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd (2001), Dark Side of the Moon 30th Anniversary SACD Edition (2003), The Final Cut re-release (2004), The Piper at the Gates of Dawn 40th Anniversary edition (2007), and the 14 disc Oh By The Way (2007). Add to that the massive amount of singles, EPs, 7"s, 45s, and other redundancies and you have a veritable shit load of items culled from very few actual sources. Talk about milking it, am I right?

Now we find ourselves in the final quarter of 2011. 2012 is around the corner and Roger Waters and David Gilmour are buddies again, Rick Wright and Syd Barrett RIP, the world economy is in the shitter... what better time to embark on an exhaustive and multi-tiered Pink Floyd re-issue campaign! Starting on September 26th, 2011, Pink Floyd and EMI are orchestrating a re-issue campaign:

encompassing CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray discs, SACD, an array of digital formats, viral marketing, iPhone Apps and a brand-new single-album 'Best Of' collection.

The legendary band, who are still one of the most successful and iconic artists of all time, recently signed an agreement with EMI which has allowed the development of a multi-format programme of packages, many containing archive material that has been collated during an extensive process between EMI and Pink Floyd for a range of media formats.

The aptly titled WHY? PINK FLOYD re-release project is almost preposterous in scope. And by everything you read up until this point, I bet you think I am poo-pooing this project. In a certain sense, I am. I mean, all of these studio albums have been reissued more than once. How many copies of Dark Side do I really need? Certainly this aspect of the campaign interests me very little (if at all). It's the stuff deeper in the guts of this thing that has me dorking myself to death. Here's a breakdown of how they've got these sets organized.

DISCOVERY EDITIONS and BOX SET (Available 9/27/11)
This release is broken into two tiers. The first tier Discovery Edition is all 14 studio albums remastered from the ground up, all available for purchase individually. The second tier Discovery Edition is a box set that features all 14 records and a 60-page booklet housed as one massive package (hehehe).

EXPERIENCE EDITIONS
The Experience Editions are more modest and seem to be the most appealing to me. Available for individual purchase will be Wish You Were Here (11/8/11), Dark Side of the Moon (9/27/11), and The Wall (2/28/12) ONLY . These sets will include a newly remastered album CD, a CD containing additional material pertaining to the album, and an expanded (and pretty beautiful) CD booklet.

IMMERSION EDITIONS
The Immersion Editions serve to separate the nerds from the super nerds. Available for individual purchase will be Wish You Were Here (11/8/11), Dark Side of the Moon (9/27/11), and The Wall (2/28/12) ONLY. Lavishly packaged in a sturdy 29cm square box, the sets contain remastered, previously unreleased and audio-visual material, plus much additional content - reproduced memorabilia, brand new graphics, art prints, collectors' items, lavish booklets and several more CDs remastered as 5.1, Quadrophinic, Stereo, etc... it's a doozie!

BEST OF
The Best of Pink Floyd: A Foot In The Door (11/8/11). An expanded and remastered greatest hits album. As far as this remaster campaign goes, this CD is the equivalent of Wayne and Garth standing in front of the green screen in Wayne's World I saying "I'm in Delaware."

VINYL EDITIONS
The Vinyl Editions are records dude. Available for individual purchase will be Wish You Were Here (11/8/11), Dark Side of the Moon (9/27/11), and The Wall (2/28/12) ONLY. Features the 2011 remastered version on 180 gram heavyweight Vinyl. Original packaging including stickers and posters plus free 320kbps download and exclusive new poster.

So while some of this stuff is a rehash, I am still very stoked about some of these releases. So stoked in fact that I am going to give two lucky BV readers a shirt, a poster, and a newly remastered 2 CD set of Dark Side of the Moon, just for reading this far! Directions on how to enter the contest are below!

And you know who else is stoked about this new remaster campaign? Funnyman Jimmy Fallon, that's who! Each episode of Late Night With Jimmy Fallon from September 26th through September 30th (a whole week!) will be dedicated to Pink Floyd. From what I've heard the schedule is as follows:

- Monday 9/26 - The Shins perform Breathe from Dark Side of the Moon. Nick Mason will be the interviewed.
- Tuesday 9/27 - Roger Waters will join Foo Fighters will perform In the Flesh from The Wall. Waters will also be interviewed.
- Wednesday 9/28 - MGMT will perform early Floyd classic Lucifer Sam.
- Thursday 9/29 - Dierks Bentley will perform Wish You Were Here.
- Friday 9/30 - Pearl Jam (!) will do Mother from The Wall.

Fallon airs at 12:30am on NBC.

In other old geezers from awesome classic rock bands news... don't forget that tonight at Nassau Coliseum The Who's Roger Daltrey performs the rock opera Tommy in its entirety as well as other Who classic cuts. Tickets are still available and, I swear to Cod, if I had a car, I'd be all over that shit. Fiddle about.

Continue reading "Pink Floyd probably breaks record release record, gets people covering them on Fallon for a week"

Peter Murphy's newest and appropriately titled solo effort Ninth (his ninth solo LP) is out now via Nettwerk Music Group. The LP, featuring the recently revealed videos for "Seesaw Sway" and "I Spit Roses" (both viewable below), is a primer for the goth great/ex-Bauhaus's US/EU tour, which kicks off in October and concludes in middle December. The US leg of said tour features She Wants Revenge and hits NYC at Irving Plaza on November 21st. Tickets are on sale. All dates are below.l

In related news, MGMT recently recorded a cover of Bauhaus's "All We Ever Wanted Was Everything". Check that out, alongside the Peter Murphy videos and all tour dates below...

Continue reading "Peter Murphy tour dates & new video"

Tonight (9/15) is the Vice.com party that is sure to be a crazy time in addition to the intimate performance being given by Crystal Castles at Hudson Hotel. Didn't get an RSVP confirmation for those or just want to avoid the potential headache? Though maybe not as musically exciting, and definitely way more expensive, MGMT's Andrew VanWyngarden is DJing a Surfrider benefit at the Bowery Hotel. "Proceeds from this event will help fund the chapter's Rise Against Plastics (RAP) Campaign." The $55 ticket also includes beer and wine (I think, though it's sort of unclear what the $125 ticket gets you). Flyer below...

Continue reading "Vice party, Crystal Castles & DJ MGMT tonight too"

Chairlift @ All Points West 2009 (more by Tim Griffin)

After realizing that I couldn't find any info today confirming that James Murphy was DJing a VPL block party on Mercer Street tonight (9/8), I looked into it a little more and found out that the block party is cancelled, James Murphy included. Instead, and as listed at the Fashion's Night Out website, VPL (5 Mercer Street) is having this @ 6:30PM --- "Seldom House: A Covers Set by Caroline Polachek (Chairlift), Jorge Elbrecht (Violens), Will Berman (MGMT) and Leo Fitzpatrick." That's inside the store.

If you still want to some DFA action, Holy Ghost! plays the Prada store @ 6PM.

You can also catch Andrew VanWyngarden from MGMT aka DJ iDEATH with DJ Patrick from Chairlift entertaining people for Fashion's Night Out at Curve @ 8PM (that's at 83 Mercer St).

Also Tanlines AND MNDR AND Freelance Whales play Theory (38 Gansevoort St) starting @ 6PM.

Upcoming Chairlift shows are listed HERE.

by Andrew Sacher

DOWNLOAD: SAFE - "Holy Mess" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: SAFE - "Carolina" (MP3)

SAFE

When Chris Edley (aka CF Edley) isn't directing music videos (his credits include MGMT's "Time To Pretend" and "Electric Feel" and Saul Williams' "Convict Colony"), he records and produces music under the moniker SAFE. He put out a self titled EP in March of 2010, which was only available physically as a cassette, but you can download the entire thing for free at his bandcamp. The EP was produced by Jeffrey Brodsky (aka Jeffrey Jerusalem) of YACHT's live band.

His songs take shape from synth lines and drum loops but SAFE doesn't really operate as an electronic project. His songwriting approach puts the emphasis more on his lyrics and chord patterns than the synthetic sounds he uses to convey them. An LP is due out sometime in the future, though little information has surfaced about that. In the meantime, familiarize yourself with the EP and the non-album track, "Carolina," that was released soon after. You can grab MP3s of that track and "Holy Mess" from the EP above.

SAFE has a coule upcoming shows including the Helsing Junction Sleepover in Rochester, WA with The Hive Dwellers, Brainstorm, Tender Forever, and many more. He's also got a NYC show on August 29 at Cameo Gallery with Gem Club, and Evi Antonio. UPDATE: He also plays August 27at Union Pool as part of "The Weekly Revue" variety show.

Gem Club also play Glasslands on September 30 with Youth Lagoon and Gardens & Villa. Tickets for that show are still available.

John Wesley Harding (aka Wesley Stace) has three 'Cabinet of Wonders' scheduled at City Winery for his second season this fall. The dates scheduled are September 23, October 28, and November 18. Each night features a collection of special guests. The first night (9/23) includes Eleanor Friedberger (of Fiery Furnaces), Andrew VanWyngarden (of MGMT), Todd Barry, Jami Attenberg, Tony Visconti, Dan Zanes, and more TBA. The October 28 lineup includes Hamilton Leithauser (The Walkmen), Eugene Mirman, John Hodgman, Emma Straub, Paul Harding, and more TBA. The November 18 lineup includes Howe Gelb, Eugene Mirman, Audrey Niffenegger, and Myla Goldberg. Check the Cabinet of Wonders website for updates on the shows. Tickets are only on sale for the first one at the moment.

John Wesley Harding is also playing a few shows in November, some of which are with The Minus 5. Those dates include November 19 at The Bell House in Brooklyn, and November 20 at Maxwell's in Hoboken, both with The Minus 5. Robyn Hitchcock also plays the The Bell House on November 19, and there's a combo ticket for both shows.

John Wesley Harding also appears with 'friends' and Josh Ritter at the New York Public Library on December 6. The show starts at 7 PM and will be held in the Celeste Bartos Forum. The event is listed as discussion/reading/singing.

All dates and a video of a past Cabinet of Wonders below...

Continue reading "John Wesley Harding shows, The Minus 5, Robyn Hitchcock, MGMT, Eugene Mirman, Todd Barry & others too"

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]

Staten Island's PS22 Chorus, who are known to cover bands like MGMT Ariel Pink, and Freelance Whales (who also played the festival), played day 1 (7/30) of the Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island this past weekend. . They covered songs by Adele, Lykke Li, John Lennon, Austra and others.

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)"

As mentioned in last week's This Week in Indie, Ill Fits, who played Cameo on Saturday (7/30), have members of MGMT and Amazing Baby. Since that show, more details on the band have emerged. The Village Voice writes of the show:

By the time Ill Fits came on, the crowd had filled out considerably; friends and scene associates were eager to catch the second show of the sorta-supergroup. (Ill fits contains members of MGMT, Amazing Baby, and Foreign Islands, and it's fronted by Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson.) They deal in a tasteful kind of midtempo pop that has shades of new wave and a hint of Genesis. Each member of this band is a consummate professional, but they were still working out the kinks as a group, stopping and starting at a few points. Robinson was a strange mood; whether he was compelling despite or because of this, I'm not sure. He threw a few screeches into his cool intonations, banged his tambourine on the stage, spilled multiple beers, and delivered a whole song lying down, then put the whole mic in his mouth. "Are you having a good time?" he asked the audience. We replied in the affirmative. "Not as good as me!" he answered back.

Ill Fits, who also have "members of Los Caminos, Tough & Lovely, and Bygones" in addition to the bands mentioned above, have more upcoming shows including August 25 at Bruar Falls, August 27 at The Schoolhouse with Spanish Prisoners, Data Dog, Fort Lean and EULA, and Glasslands on September 10 with Mon Khmer and Young Magic. Tickets for the Glasslands show are on sale now.

Suckers don't contribute any members to Ill Fits, but they are in the same group of friends, so we might as well mention again that you can catch Suckers for free at Mercury Lounge Wednesday night.

Check out a stream of Ill Fits track "Blood & Devotion" along with all dates below...

Continue reading "Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson fronts Ill Fits"

The Outside Lands Festival, which runs from 8/12 - 8/14 in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, released their 2011 lineup in April (and now it's May, so consider this a catch up post). Tickets are on sale.

This year's fest will appearances from The Shins, Muse, Arcade Fire, Arctic Monkeys, The Black Keys, Phish (two sets), !!!, Erykah Badu, Big Audio Dynamite (who played Coachella and are also playing Lollapalooza), Girl Talk and many more. The full lineup is below.

Continue reading "Outside Lands 2011 lineup"

"The PS22 Chorus is an elementary school chorus from Public School 22 in Graniteville, Staten Island (New York). It is composed of 60-70 fifth-graders, and is directed by Gregg Breinberg. Students are assigned to the chorus after an annual auditioning process at the beginning of each school year. PS22 is the largest elementary school in Staten Island which draws students from a wide cross section of ethnic groups and socio-economic levels. The chorus meets twice a week during school hours to practice, and performs throughout the year at school functions, local events, and on special requests. It has been featured on several major national news and music networks after its videos had gained international attention within the popular video-sharing site YouTube. As of January, 2011 the chorus's videos have been watched more than 27,000,000 times." [Wikipedia]

PS22's view counts are only going to keep getting higher now that they've been invited to perform on this year's Academy Awards (at the Feb. 27th ceremony in Los Angeles). Congrats to them! Check out a video with some of their reactions after hearing the news below.

Their first appearance on this site came when they appeared on stage with Crowded House at Wellmont Theater. You might also know them as the children's chorus you hear on Passion Pit's "The Reeling."

Check out some brand new videos below, shot by filmmaker Jonathan Kalafer, of the group during some improv sessions and one of them doing an acoustic version of MGMT's "Kids" (a song they were already famous for covering). A recent one of the chorus covering Freelance Whales and some other ones are down there too...

Continue reading "PS22 going to Academy Awards, covered MGMT (new videos) "