"I was really surprised. I didn't know anything about it. I wasn't happy about it," Madonna told Seacrest of M.I.A.'s flipped bird.

"I understand it's punk rock and everything, but to me there was such a feeling of love and good energy and positivity, it seemed negative. It's such a teenager...irrelevant thing to do," she continued. "What was the point? It was just out of place."

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Continue reading "Madonna adds 2nd Yankee Stadium show; "M.I.A." discusses middle finger on SNL (that Zooey Deschanel hosted)"

"M.I.A. will end up paying any fines imposed on NBC as a result of her finger wag during the Super Bowl halftime show ... sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ.

Our sources say ... the NFL has indemnified NBC ... because the NFL is responsible for the halftime content.

But the NFL was smart, given the history of performers who wanted to do something shocking to get attention during the biggest TV event of the year. So we're told ... M.I.A. signed a contract with the NFL for the halftime performance, and in that contract M.I.A. agreed to indemnify the NFL for any money it might be forced to pay if the FCC comes down on the Peacock Network." [TMZ]

I don't understand why people still care about a finger, but EW says:

During the Super Bowl half-time show, singer M.I.A. flipped off millions of viewers during TV's most-watched telecast of the year. She made the obscene gesture during a performance of Madonna's new single, "Give Me All Your Luvin.'" M.I.A. also seemed to say an expletive ("I don't give a s***"), but it wasn't really audible.

NBC and the NFL issued dueling press statements. First, the network released an apology and called the moment a "spontaneous gesture" -- a phrase that might go down in history alongside "wardrobe malfunction." "We apologize for the inappropriate gesture that aired during halftime," the network said. "It was a spontaneous gesture that our delay system caught late."

The NFL issued a statement blaming NBC's monitoring system and condemning the incident. "There was a failure in NBC's delay system," the NFL said. "The obscene gesture in the performance was completely inappropriate, very disappointing, and we apologize to our fans."

Continue reading "NBC & NFL apologize for M.I.A,'s "inappropriate gesture" during the Superbowl"

cheerleader M.I.A., as seen in the new Madonna video

As M.I.A.'s Universal Records labelmate Lana Del Rey knows now too, a shitstorm of bad press and reviews can be a painful sting. M.I.A. went from much-loved to much-hated almost overnight after the release of her last album. And like L.D.R., a lot of the negativity towards M.I.A. focused on her being fake and rich. Who knew what the future would hold for the northern Sri Lankan South London rebel activist rapper.

Things have been quiet on the M.I.A. front for a year, but then came "new" song "Bad Girls" which "premiered" on Pitchfork last week along with the tag "Best New Track" (a title that was also awarded to "Video Games" in 2011), followed by a new video for the song which has already racked up over 3 million views on YouTube in less than three days. Why did I put "new" in quotes? Well, because Pitchfork actually gave the same song "Best New Track" when it first appeared on Vicki Leekx, a mixtape M.I.A. released at the end of 2010, though the 2010/2011 version was not exactly the same song. It has been reworked a bit, and is now "complete". Watch and listen below.

Meanwhile, M.I.A.' Universal Records labelmate Madonna went ahead and announced a new album called MDNA which features a couple of guest singers, or more specifically: Nicki Minaj, and yep, M.I.A. Madonna also packaged this I'll-show-Lady-Gaga-who's-boss-return with a spot as Superbowl Halftime performer which came with the news that Madonna would be bringing along some friends (yep, Niki Minaj and M.I.A) (and maybe LMFAO and Cee-Lo). We'll find out exactly what goes down with that today.

UPDATE: Cee-Lo & LMFAO were in fact there, and this happened:

M.I.A. flips the world the bird on the Superbowl

Watch the new Madonna video for "Give Me All Your Luvin'" (Feat. M.I.A. and Nicki Minaj), which has over 6 million views in three days (and has football players in it too), with the new M.I.A. video too, below...

Continue reading "the return of MIA ('new' song, video, Madonna, the Superbowl)"

Among all the sorry carnage and sad tales left by London's moronic looting fraternity over the last humiliating three days, perhaps the most devastating for music lovers was the huge fire that destroyed a Sony warehouse primarily used by distribution company PIAS.

A three-storey, 20,000 square metre storage home for music from XL Recordings, Beggars, Domino, Wall Of Sound, Warp Defected, Sunday Best and Big Brother among others, the warehouse was a temporary home for releases from all manner of indie labels and offshoots, and the extent of its destruction is starting to become tragically apparent.

While the full impact of last night's events is still emerging, numerous indies have confirmed massive losses, including Rough Trade, Angular Records, Chemikal Underground and Rock Action. Drownedinsound has a full list of labels that use the space. Beggars Chairman Martin Mills called it a "horrible" setback for the indie sector while support poured in from labels, musicians and music fans across Twitter. [NME]

In related news, M.I.A. managed to get her name back in the headlines after tweeting "im going down to the riots to hand out tea and mars bars #london". She has since removed the offensive Tweet.

MIA at Brooklyn Bowl (more by Chris Gersbeck)

M.I.A. released ("leaked") a new mixtape at 7pm EST on New Year's Eve. It features b-sides and rarities and is called Vicki Leekx. The nineteen song mix (which is actually a single track) features production from M.I.A., Danja, Munchi, Diplo, Blaqstarr, Switch, Rusko, Sugu Arulpragasam and So Japan.. Download it for the price of an email address.

Vicki Leekx (rhymes with Wiki Leaks) is the follow-up to 2010's / \ / \ / \ Y / \, which was recently awarded 5th "Most Underrated Album" of 2010 in the Pitchfork Readers Poll. MGMT were #1 on that list. MGMT were also #14 on the list of "Most Overrated" artists, and they have a new release this week too. Daytrotter released a live session by them today.

You can probably guess who got #1 on the "Most Overrated" list. Both Pitchfork lists in full and the VICKYLEEKX track list, below...

Continue reading "Pitchfork published a reader poll, underrated artist M.I.A. released a mixtape, MGMT did a Daytrotter"

photos by Tim Griffin

Night fell down on Austin Town and it figured it'd be a busy night. And with The xx and Temper Trap setting the table for LCD Soundsystem, Gogol Bordello, Monsters of Folk, Deadmau5, Matt & Kim, MIA and Muse, Saturday did indeed set it self up to be remembered as ACL 2010's strongest.

Except for the part where MIA screwed things up during her set...

...M.I.A.'s set saw plenty of anticipation on the west end of the fairgrounds, but little payoff: The first song saw didn't even see Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam on stage, and, though she came out for the second, that first song worked as a fitting metaphor for her entire mumbled performance.

Here's the thing about performing in festivals, especially on a main stage: Very few people actually see the performers; they rely on the accompanying video screens to share the visual side of the performance. But rather than the performer (or any of her five packing dancers or DJ) , M.I.A.'s screen showed illustrations. M.I.A., meanwhile, spent minimal time in her set's early going on stage, instead opting to interact o the grass in front of her closest fans. An admirable offering, perhaps, but it left the rest of her crowd in the dark, straining their necks to see her dancers or maybe just the neon "Maya" sign that served as her backdrop.

Her vocals weren't helping matters, either. They were already mixed too low, and Maya, for the most part, mumbled her way through the proceedings. Audiences thinned out--only to be pulled back in once the video screens finally--mercifully--showed the performer stalking the stage, and performing her biggest hit, "Paper Planes." [Dallas Observer]

Continue reading "ACL 2010 Day 2 in pics (Monsters of Folk, M.I.A., LCD Soundsystem, Broken Bells, deadmau5, Muse & more)"

photos by Chris Gersbeck

"Damn I was gonna go see M I A at Brooklyn Bowl for free tonight then I just saw the line. #noway!" -alishamayiact

"This line at brooklyn bowl...wowzah. #mia #worthit?" -laurelism

"Still in Line to try to see M.I.A @ Brooklyn Bowl....
This is friggin Crazy!!!" -MsIndependent81

"Cops + crowd at m.I.a. show at brooklyn bowl. Very polite anatagonism." -pkafka

"Im Dancing in the Bowling Lanes while M.I.A performing! Brooklyn is Real live tho No Lie! Brooklyn Bowl is where we at!" -The RealRyeRye

The masses started lining up at 7PM, which was the time people were allowed to start lining up, to checkout M.I.A. with Rye Rye at Brooklyn Bowl last night (10/6). The free show was announced in two parts starting on September 24th and ending with the venue details three days later which was the same night M.I.A. brought her tour to Terminal 5 for a much bigger and not-free NYC show. Having your ticket from HARD Fest wouldn't help you get in the door, but it was a free show nonetheless.

More pictures from it, below...

Continue reading "M.I.A. played her free show @ Brooklyn Bowl (pics & video) "

photos by kolored

DJ Asma took the stage for a couple of joints before bringing out a makeup-less M.I.A., dressed in a green safari hat and a black Middle Eastern getup straight out of the first "Mummy" movie, for /\/\/\Y/\ opener "The Message."

From there the British singer/rapper launched into gems from her first two albums, Kala and Arular, with the crowd leaping on top of itself for "Galang" and bass-heavy "Bamboo Banga."

She then removed her black top to reveal a T-shirt that said, "F--- Google. Ask Me!"

Although there were some sound issues in the beginning of the set -- at one point, M.I.A. took it upon herself to turn the speakers on the stage to face the audience -- the crowd didn't seem perturbed in the least.

As she strode in to hit "Boyz," M.I.A. stripped down to what would be her outfit for the remainder of the night: a white satin top with matching boy shorts. Chanting "Oy, oy!" and "New York!" the crowd met her with equal fervor for new album joints, "Lovalot" and "Story to Be Told," which had her switching between a sort of Bharatanatyam snake dance and a writhing punk twist.

For "Born Free," M.I.A. launched herself into the crowd and surfed above her fans. After throwing her mic to the audience so they could join in, they threw it back. "There's a dent in this!" she noted. "See, this is what YOU can do!"

A mesmerizing feature of the show was the kinetic movement of dancers Cisko and the awesome White Boi, who were both at M.I.A.'s side throughout the show.

She returned for her encore swigging from a bottle of Patron before singing "Teqkilla" and received an electric reception for her blowout finale, "Paper Planes," which saw her entire entourage and a few audience members joining her onstage. [mauldin brand agency]

More pictures from Terminal 5, that prove must of what is described in the review above, below...

Continue reading "M.I.A. played Terminal 5 w/ Rye Rye (in many outfits) (pics) "

M.I.A. peeps (more by Andrew St. Clair)

M.I.A.'s free Brooklyn Bowl show will happen on on Wednesday, October 6, 2010 (the day after she plays Boston). A press release reads that "Tickets are on Maya. Venue is 18+ and it will be first-come first-serve to capacity. Doors open at 9.30 p.m. Lining up begins at 7pm that night." M.I.A. also just tweeted the date (thx Mike).

Meanwhile, M.I.A.'s Terminal 5 show happening tonight (9/27) is starting late due to electrical problems. M.I.A. is tweeting about that too. So far we got: "SUP WIT NYC+ME, EDISON POWER SAYZ THE BUILDING CAN SHORT CIRCUT IN THE RAIN! POWRCUT AT VENU/NO SOUNDCHECK/ GENORATOR JUS BLEW 2ND COMIN IN" and "ON THE BUS waiting for city to tell me the status of their power !" and "MIA COMIN BACK WIT POWA POWA /\/\/\y/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\/\\\\\\///". I think the last one, which is the most recent one, means that things are looking up.

MIA is electric (more by Matthew Eisman)

Due to unforeseen electrical issues in the neighborhood in and around Terminal 5 the show schedule is currently pushed back approximately 90 minutes. We anticipate opening doors by 8:30pm and hopefully no later than 9pm. We ask that you arrive at the venue closer to 9pm or later so you don't have to stand out in the rain. We apologize for any inconvenience and look forward to seeing you all a little later at the Terminal!

Xxxo
Terminal 5 & The Bowery Presents

UPDATE: The show started. As of 10pm, Rye Rye already finished her opening set. So basically on schedule.

The above Tweet by M.I.A. can be interpreted as attempt to make good on her promise to NYC. She was criticized for ignoring that promise in her recent tour announcement.

I wouldn't worry too much about still having your Hard Fest ticket though (she said to keep them to get in to the free show), because Brooklyn Bowl holds signifigantly less people than Governors Island, so I'm guessing there will be a new system to get in. I'm also assuming the Brooklyn Bowl show will happen before M.I.A.'s mother gets in the country. Stay tuned for the date announcement (or keep checking your emailz).

Oh, and M.I.A. is on tour NOW. The Terminal 5 show is Monday. Tickets are still available.

On Tuesday I wrote that M.I.A. announced a tour with zero mention of her promised HARD NYC make-up show. Nobody would have asked for a make-up show, but back in July (right after the Governors Island show), she tweeted that she was going to play one. I realize she was probably just caught up in the moment (and by moment I mean the bad reviews), but she said it, publicly, and so people aren't going to forget. That includes the above-pictured Twitter users who M.I.A. just responded to (her replies are also pictured)...

Tickets for the upcoming show at Terminal 5 are now on AmEx presale. General sale begins Friday at noon. (thanks Mark)

M.I.A. getting freaky @ Governors Island in July (more by Matthew Eisman)

M.I.A. has announced a new tour, and not suprisingly there's no mention of a free show. Oh well. There is a new NYC show though, and it happens September 27th at Terminal 5. Tickets go on sale Friday at noon ($35.00 advance / $40.00 day of show).

Neet Recording artist Rye Rye, who also played with M.I.A. on Governors Island, will open the whole tour. All dates below...

Continue reading "M.I.A. announces more 2010 tour dates (no free show listed) "

photos by Andrew St. Clair

"The [Saturday night Governors Island HARD FEST] set started with "Steppin Up," with M.I.A. backed by about a dozen power drills as part of the rhythm track: noise triumphant. But M.I.A.'s vocals were often so buried in echo, and the bass so bloated, that her lyrics just became more of the din, and the songs that she segued together like a disc-jockey set were barely distinguishable. Instead of a barrage, it was a morass.

Her set was cut short by thunder and lightning, which she attributed to God and answered with a last defiant gesture: rapping "Born Free," which vows to speak her mind, a cappella as her backup group shut down. But an exodus from her set had begun well before the downpour." [NY Times]

In related news, the rained-on Modest Mouse show that happened one night earlier has been rescheduled, and the rained-on Williamsburg Waterfront show that happened one day later went on as planned, but later and in a different venue.

OK, so if you're following along, you saw: "Die Antwoord steal the show while topless girl dances (video), M.I.A. spits on a photographer (pics), rain, lasers & more... (HARD NYC in review - part 1)" which was followed by "Die Antwoord played MHOW & Governors Island (pics, video)" which was followed by "HARD FEST NYC in pics (part 2.5) (Ninjasonik, Rye Rye, Theophilus London, MIA & more)". That makes this post PART THREE, and it includes photos from the same artists as well as more crowd pics and Skream + Benga who played too. Those pictures, which include a shot of M.I.A,'s planned setlist, continue below...

Continue reading "M.I.A. promises free NYC show for HARD Fest ticket holders! (and here's another set of pictures from that show) "

photos by Matthew Eisman

Ninjasonik / HARD FESTival goers

"Hard provided a music experience for those New Yorkers who love to rave, get down and dirty with thousands of strangers and weren't afraid to show some skin. (Looks like some attendees took notes from our Summer Music Fest trend report!)

Also, depending on how much you felt like raging, you could choose the "Hard" stage or "Harder" stage. (Which to me, is almost as character defining as choosing between "fire" and "ice" on the Dueling Dragons ride at Universal Studios.) Guests who didn't want to be bothered with making such a life-altering decision set up camp where ever and proceeded with their very own impromptu dance party.

The culmination of the evening came with M.I.A.'s much anticipated performance. Unfortunately, she wasn't properly miked, her voice was drowned out by her mashed up beats, and the only time she was heard was when she was yelling at the sound team...Thankfully mother nature was on her side, and it began to downpour, cutting her set short. At the end of the day the only press she received was spitting in a photographer's face, but all wasn't lost! She brought the noise, and really, isn't that what music festivals are all about?" [Guest of a Guest]

Saturday's NYC HARD FEST on Governors Island wasn't all just M.I.A., Die Antwoord and Sleigh Bells (and more Die Antwoord), it was a 2-stage extravaganza that fit up to 15,000 concert-goers (not sure how many tickets actually sold, but it was far from empty looking) in a large field just a short ferry ride away from South Street Seaport (Pier 11 actually). Destructo, Ninjasonik, Rye Rye, and Theophilus London were also among those on the bill. More pictures from those sets (and the big three), below....

Continue reading "HARD FEST NYC in pics (part 2.5) (Ninjasonik, Rye Rye, Theophilus London, MIA & more) "

photos by Alexander Stein

Yo-Landi Vi$$er

"the show last night [ridiculous] and awesome and bad, and magic--mia [sucked] so bad, she must must have done [it] on purpose. she's got some tricks and some ideas, but [I] think she just got so cagey when die anterwoord blew her out of the water that she pulled this weird ass rockstar theatrics and sabotaged herself and the sound system, along with throwing a big fuck you to the crowd that actually came to see her. [I] mean at some point before she went on, they cut the Dj off and there was this whole sound from the backstage VIP area, and the crowd got [to] listen to it for a few minutes in silence, and it was like "that's were the party is at, suckers". I don't know if she drinks or not, but the bit about having a shot of [tequila] in her seemed by far the realest part of the night. The best was the rain over the lazers, but she didn't even know how to make that to work for her, so it seemed like Nature taking pity on her." [Anonymous]

This post contains Alexander's pictures of the final three main-stage acts (M.I.A. who spit down on Alexander while Alex captured the saliva on film, Die Antwoord who made at least one female member of the ecstasy-filled crowd go wild, and Sleigh Bells who also sounded great), and two videos (topless girl and lasers/rain), below...

Continue reading "Die Antwoord steal the show while topless girl dances (video), M.I.A. spits on a photographer (pics), rain, lasers & more... (HARD NYC in review - part 1)"

MIA @ MoMA in 2008 (more by Ryan Muir)

Meanwhile, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Office of Emergency Management Commissioner Joseph Bruno and Health Department Commissioner Thomas A. Farley gathered at the City Hall Senior Center give New Yorkers weather-related safety tips for the upcoming weekend.

"Heat can be very dangerous. A few years ago in Chicago, 700 people died during a heat wave over a course of a week, so you just got to be careful," said Bloomberg. "None of us think it's going happen to us, but as we all get a little bit older, you just have to take a little more care."

The risk of getting sick during a heat wave is increased for people who:
• Are younger than five, or older than 64.
• Have chronic medical or mental health conditions.
• Take medications, which can disrupt the regulation of body temperature.
• Are confined to their beds or unable to leave their homes.
• Are overweight.

Meanwhile, 200 cooling centers will open on Saturday throughout the five boroughs. To find the cooling center closest to you, call 311 or visit www.nyc.gov/oem. A complete guide to dealing with extreme heat can be found at www.nyc.gov/oem. [NY1]

HARD NYC set times reposted below...

Afterparty at Santos.

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Saturday?"

photos by dailybeatz, words by Andrew Frisicano

Hopefully all goes well with the HARD NYC show at Governors Island's South Island Field this Saturday (7/24). The show, which still has tickets on sale, will be happening despite the cancellation of its sister HARD LA show. The disappointing HARD LA cancellation came right after the disappointing lukewarm critical reaction to Maya (though Metacritic rates it as 69/100, so not so bad overall actually).

MIA, who is also playing the Virgin FreeFest this year, is on a lineup that includes Die Antwoord (who play the next night at MHOW) and Sleigh Bells, who just played Pitchfork Fest's third day.

A full list of who's at HARD NYC, with set times, and more pictures and some palpably sweaty videos of Sleigh Bells at the Pitchfork Festival (on the stage and in the crowd) are below...

Continue reading "Sleigh Bells played P4K (pics), playing HARD NYC (set times)"

photos by Chris Graham

Pavement @ Sasquatch Fest 2010

The above-pictured Pavement show took place in May 2010 (and wasn't free). In September, Pavement will play Virgin Mobile FreeFest (and it is free)....

"Breaking from traditional festivals, the Virgin Mobile FreeFest presented by Kyocera unveiled its lineup for the award-winning festival, selecting relevant, important, and eclectic headliners to represent this year's free show. This morning, Chairman of the Virgin Group Sir Richard Branson announced the lineup on Virgin Mobile Live, the company's new Internet music stream available on Virgin Mobile websites.

The lineup will include:

M.I.A., LCD SOUNDSYSTEM, PAVEMENT, T.I., LUDACRIS, JOAN JETT, THIEVERY CORPORATION, MATT & KIM, JIMMY EAT WORLD, THE TEMPER TRAP, EDWARD SHARPE & THE MAGNETIC ZEROS, AND YEASAYER;

DANCE FOREST: CHROMEO, SLEIGH BELLS, DIE ANTWOORD, MODESELEKTOR, AND NEON INDIAN

Not bad for a free show (and yet another Pavement show!). More details, with the full set of pictures of Pavement playing this year's Sasquatch Fest, below...

Continue reading "Virgin Mobile FreeFest lineup +++ Pavement Sasquatch pics "

Video from last night's episode of Letterman below...

Continue reading "M.I.A.s played Letterman (video)"

photos by Benjamin Lozovsky

"This M.I.A. album is unforgivable. Y'all put her on the cover of your magazines before actually hearing this thing, right?" - Chris Weingarten

"every1 who came 2nite to PS1 TO REP the LP Release party THANK YOU! I LOVE YOU! !!!!!! i dint get to say it coz the cop turn my sound off!.." - _M_I_A_

M.I.A. @ The Creators Project in June

"The record is a shambling mess, devoid of the bangers that characterized Arular and Kala, two of the stronger pop albums of the past decade. It aims to capture a technological and cultural zeitgeist in its over-stimulated, digitally degraded sound, but the songs are too flimsy to carry her bold conceit. Without compelling tunes, the obnoxious public antics, dubious political messages, and thin voice that had grated on her naysayers have become impossible for even dedicated fans to ignore. It's as if everything that was great about M.I.A. has been stripped from this music, leaving behind only the most alienating aspects of her art and public persona." [Pitchfork (Matthew Perpetua) gave / \ / \ / \ Y / \ a 4.4]

M.I.A.'s next NYC show is on Governors Island.

M.I.A.'s last NYC show was at PS1 last night, Sunday, July 11th, sort of. As previously mentioned, she was only scheduled to play a very short set, and as you can see by her tweet above, that set was cut even shorter (by actors pretending to be cops. just kidding! well, you never know).

M.I.A.'s last show that was longer than 5 minutes was her semi-surprise appearance at the June 26th Creators Project event. A full set of pictures from that show (pot leaf glasses and all), below...

Continue reading "Pitchfork trashes new M.I.A. album, cops break up release party @ PS1 +++ here are those Creators Project pics"

words by Andrew Frisicano, photos by Ryan Barkan

Mark Ronson & MNDR @ Milk Studios

The show spaces were predictably cozy and cramped, and USA lost their World Cup match again Ghana, but besides those qualms, not many bad things can be said about the Vice/Intel Creators Project event on Saturday (6/26). Interpol played their first hometown set since unveiling their new lineup earlier in the week, and M.I.A., the night's secret guest, put on a singularly ridiculous, entertaining show, albeit in the crowded, low-ceilinged second floor space. Even the un-affiliated soccer game screened amicably on a huge projector before the music started. If there was one caveat, it was that not that many people, relatively, got in to enjoy the art and music presented. Then again, that's one reason the labyrinthine network of art installations and stages was so surprisingly bearable and easy to navigate.

The same second floor stage that filled up for M.I.A. was also packed to capacity for Sleigh Bells. How much you enjoyed either's set depended a great deal on where you stood (and how early you got there). Cramped in the back, Sleigh Bells sounded pitchy and uneven - but jostled up in the front, the spectacle and body-shaking bass of Die Antwoord were entirely enjoyable. It also depended on your affinity for personal space, which was in short supply anywhere with a decent view of the stage.

And a view was pretty essential to enjoying the antics of the Antwoord crew and M.I.A.'s coterie of stage guests. Mia opened with caustic punk song "Born Free" (video below) a loud if not exactly melodious entrance choice. The stage-show continued the flashy political baiting of the "Born Free" video, which played behind the song. M.I.A. donned pot leaf goggles, rainbow hair and a hooded camo jacket, with a band who alternately wore glow-stick lined clothes and MIA-logoed burkas. Others on stage included a pair of dancers (one ginger-haired), Sleigh Bell's Alexis and Derek, and Ninjasonik. More new songs came, as did "World Town" and crowd-pleasing closer "Paper Planes."

Three of the night's other bands - The Rapture, Gang Gang Dance and Interpol - set up on the first floor studio's back loading dock, which was open to 14th street and the adjacent High Line Park. Gang Gang Dance sounded dependably sturdy in the cavernous garage. Interpol played an 11-song set with four new songs (including the slow-building "Lights") - tight and together, and ready for bigger arenas. The stage was open on three sides, so even without a spot in the front of the stage you didn't get locked out.

I didn't see much on the first floor lounge - Salem took a while to set up and I skipped them to catch Interpol. Neon Indian played the downstairs too, where DJs spun throughout the day. The eighth floor of the building was also part of the show (as was the penthouse/roof VIP-area above it). On eight, there was a screening room where Spike Jonze's I'm Here, a surrealist robot drama, played among other things, as well as installations like Nick Zinner's gothy, minimal photo and ambient-score room.

After M.I.A. I went to downstairs to find Mark Ronson DJing in the first floor gallery. MNDR was on stage with him singing her song "Fade to Black". She also reportedly performed Ronson's new single "Bang Bang Bang" before I got there. NME also says...

"Phantom Planet's Alex Greenwald [sang] the Ronson-tweaked version of Radiohead's 'Just' while executing an impressive crowd-surf.

Ex-[Pipettes] singer Rose Elinor Dougall took to the stage for two new 'Record Collection' tracks, 'Hey Boy' and 'You Gave Me Nothing' - the latter a song co-written by Jonathan Pierce of The Drums. Ronson ended the night with the first public airing of 'Somebody To Love Me', which features vocals from Boy George.

Ryan's Die Antwoord pictures were already posted (as were Ben's of Interpol). The rest of Ryan's pictures, and some videos, below...

Continue reading "a take on the Creators Project event @ Milk Studios - pics & video of Mark Ronson, MIA, MNDR, Rapture & more included"

Saturday's event will be streaming online. That includes the performances by Sleigh Bells, Die Antwoord and the secret guest, who, if you didn't figure it out already, is M.I.A.. UPDATE: the event will be streaming, but not the performances, just the exhibits.

Tickets are also on sale for MIA/Sleigh Bells/Die Antwoord at Governors Island.

Neon Indian also plays Creators Project, also has a show coming up at Governors Island, and is today's "creator".

interview by Billy Jones, top photo by Ryan Muir

DOWNLOAD: DOM - Jesus (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: DOM - Living In America (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: DOM - Burn Bridges (MP3)

Dom, pictured above playing at a party inside Pitchfork's Brooklyn offices on Tuesday night, are in town to play two Northside Festival shows. The first happens tonight, Thursday, June 24th, at the Knitting Factory. Dom opens for Cloud Nothings and WAVVES. That show is sold out. After that it's Saturday night at Music Hall of Williamsburg aka the BrooklynVegan showcase with Zaza, Twin Sister, and Memory Tapes. That one still has tickets available. Both shows are also accessible with a Northside Festival badge (first come, first served, capacity permitting, etc).

It's been an exciting few months for Dom whose next scheduled NYC show after Northside is the 2010 Siren Festival. Their most recent show before Northside was "Fader Bowl".

Billy Jones (you may have read his recent interview with Dave Sitek) caught up with Dom (the person) via gchat on Wednesday. They talked about Dom (the group), the Pitchfork party, Cults, gingers (they both are), Total Slacker, salvia, Party Expo, merch and more...

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Billy: sup man
Dom: nothing much. chillin.

Billy: i am ginger
Dom: sick! u kno we are less than 10 percent population

Billy: have you seen the M.I.A. video?
Dom: yes i have

Billy: how do you feel about mia? i am left handed and ginger. fucked.
Dom: i love mia. yeah i wasnt really moved one way or another by the vid. great concept, butttt, i could have done it better

continued below...

Continue reading "an interview w/ Dom (about MIA, gingers, drugs, Pitchfork's Brooklyn office party, the Northside Fest & stuff) "