by Toby Tenenbaum

MS MR @ Bowery Ballroom, 5/15/2013

From the website to your album cover art, it seems that everything you guys touch possesses a stunning and unique visual quality. Who comes up with these works of art?
While every element of the project comes directly from us, one of our initial goals for MS MR was to create a community around the project, and we've had the incredible opportunity to work with up-and-coming directors and photographers like Tyler Kohlhoff, who shot the covers of the EP and the album. These artists have helped us refine our aesthetic (and their own) and continue to contribute as we incorporate new visual ideas.

Will these visuals play a factor in your upcoming U.S. tour? Can you give some examples of what readers can expect if they come to one of your shows?
The live show has actually been a chance for us bring it all back to the music - during this first year of touring we've had the opportunity to put a face on the project and show our musicianship, so we have kept it all very minimal. We're also a new band and can't afford to yet fully realize our elaborate schemes for set design...but we're always thinking about it and are excited to start incorporating things bit by bit.

Last night at Bowery Ballroom (5/15) was a great, if short, glimpse into the freshly released MS MR album Secondhand Rapture. Energetic, bold and powerful, MS MR (who played a BVSXSW day party this year) were enjoying their hometown gig on their first headlining tour. In addition to the music, singer Lizzie Plapinger, who two nights earlier was spotted in the crowd at Foxygen, treated the audience to nuggets of band autobiography between songs, including how they formed two years ago in keyboardist Max Hershenow's bedroom.

Tourmates Magic Man played a 40 minute opening set to warm up the crowd. More pictures from last night's Bowery Ballroom show are with many more tour dates below...

Continue reading "MS MR played Bowery Ballroom (pics), on 'Letterman' tonight, touring (dates)"

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

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

Continue reading "Governors Ball announces set times"

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

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

Outside Lands Fest 2012 (more byAmoreena Lucero)

The 2013 edition of San Francisco's Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival with happen at Golden Gate Park on August 9 - 11. This year's line-up includes Paul McCartney, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nine Inch Nails, Phoenix, Vampire Weekend, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, D'Angelo, Willie Nelson, Grizzly Bear, Band of Horses, Hall & Oates, Foals, A-Track, Jurassic 5, Kurt Vile and many more. Tickets go on sale Thursday (4/18) at noon PDT.

This is the sixth edition of Outside Lands, and the full announced line-up is below.

Continue reading "Outside Lands Fest 2013 line-up: Paul McCartney, Nine Inch Nails, Phoenix, Vampire Weekend, Yeah Yeah Yeahs ++ more)"

photos by Robert Altman

Jessie Ware @ Webster Hall, 4/5/2013

Jessie Ware, who is about to give a North American release to her 2012 debut, Devotion (due 4/16 via Interscope), kicked off her short North American tour in NYC last week with shows at Music Hall of Williamsburg (4/3) and Webster Hall (4/5) with MS MR. At the Webster Hall show, Jessie played most of Devotion, the two tracks from her If You're Never Gonna Move EP that didn't re-appear on the album, her 2011 single with Sampha, "Valentine," which appears on the re-release of Devotion, and her new single, "Imagine It Was Us," which also appears on that release.

More pictures and the setlist from the Webster Hall show, and the new video for "Imagine It Was Us," below...

Continue reading "Jessie Ware played Webster Hall with MS MR, made a video for her new single, "Imagine It Was Us" (pics, setlist)"

Lollapalooza 2012 (more by James Richards IV)

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

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

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

Full day-by-day lineup below...

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

MS MR @ BV SXSW 3/16/2013 (more by Amanda Hatfield)

MS MR wrapped their SXSW run at the BV day party at The Main on Saturday (3/16) and are about to head out with Jessie Ware for a string of dates, including sold-out shows at Music Hall of Williamsburg (4/3) and Webster Hall (4/5). After those dates end, MS MR will launch a headlining tour of their own that includes a stop at Bowery Ballroom on May 15. Tickets to that show go on sale Friday (3/22) at noon. They'll play Governors Ball too in June and all upcoming tour dates are listed below.

Some folks have heard MS MR and don't know it, as their stirring, anthemic track "Bones" was used in a trailer for the new season of Game of Thrones which premieres next Sunday (3/31). You can watch that below.

Continue reading "MS MR announce headlining tour (dates)"

photos by Amanda Hatfield, words by Andrew Sacher

Austra / APTBS / the crowd

We wrapped up our stay at The Main and The Jr (aka old Emo's) with our fourth and final BrooklynVegan SXSW day party on Saturday (3/16). Unfortunately, Foxygen had to drop off at the last minute because the singer lost his voice. They would have played the outdoor stage (Pianos Stage), where we still saw sets from the arty synthpop of Empress Of, the loudest set of all of our day parties from A Place to Bury Strangers, and a super fun set from catchy UK rockers Palma Violets. Then came the sexy R&B of Autre Ne Veut, followed by a set by Austra, who were previewing expansive material from their upcoming sophomore album, Olympia. Then finally, the outdoor stage was wrapped up with a set from psychedelic pop New Zealanders Unknown Mortal Orchestra.

Inside, the show kicked off with the catchy indie pop of TEEN, followed by rockin' UK band Peace, and then three consecutive synthpop groups, Feathers, MS MR, and Doldrums. Then the show took a louder turn with an adrenaline-pumping set from White Lung, bouncy young garage punks The Orwells, and finally King Tuff.

In addition to the music, we had an interactive photo and video booth set up by Oxygen tattoo show, "Best Ink". The second season (hosted by Pete Wentz who made a surprise appearance in their booth) premieres April 3rd. Onkyo was there, sampling their new headphones which hit stores next month. mophie maker of invaluable iPhone chargers, were giving away discount cards good at their pop-up shop which was set up right across the street on Red River. We were also serving complimentary Jameson, and Zico coconut water, and free vegan queso and chips from Food For Lovers. We also had BrooklynVegan t-shirts for the first 50 people in the door, thanks to American Apparel. Also thanks to our other sponsors, Korg, Vox, Blackstar, Creative Recreation, Signazon, Zazoo, and Redigi.

More pictures from Saturday's party below...

Continue reading "BrooklynVegan SXSW Saturday day party in pics (UMO, King Tuff, Austra, Orwells, APTBS, Palma Violets & more)"

This is Day 4 of four BrooklynVegan SXSW Day Parties this year...

As you know, BrooklynVegan is returning to Austin for SXSW this year and throwing four days of day parties at The Main & The Jr aka 603 Red River Street at the corner of 6th aka the old Emo's location. Those happen Wed (3/13), Thurs, Fri and Saturday (3/16). All shows are 100% FREE with RSVP

We've announced Thursday and Friday. Wednesday is on the way. HERE IS SATURDAY..

Continue reading "BrooklynVegan free SXSW 2013 Saturday day party lineup (UMO, Austra, King Tuff, Autre Ne Veut, Foxygen, APTBS, White Lung, Palma Violets, Doldrums & more)"

A still from 'Mistaken for Strangers'

The National, who'll headline the Barclays Center in June, are the subject of a new tour documentary, Mistaken for Strangers, which will make its premiere at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival (April 17 - 28). The film was directed by Tom Berninger, whose brother Matt is lead singer of The National. Here's the synopsis:

Adrift in life and fuelled by the desire to create, Tom Berninger accepts his brother's offer to come on The National tour as a roadie and decides to chronicle his experiences with the band. Although Tom starts off with dreams of making a rock documentary (you can watch the portaits he made on each of the band members), a different story emerges as tensions among the band members lead to unforeseen drama. Following the band from Berlin to Paris to Los Angeles to a 2010 Obama rally in Madison, Wisconsin, Mistaken for Strangers is not your typical road documentary.

Festival packages go on sale to AmEx cardholders on Monday (3/4), which is one day before the entire slate of films for Tribeca will be announced. Festival passes go on sale to the general public following Monday (3/11). Individual tickets will go on sale 4/9 for AmEx cardholders, 4/14 for downtown residents and 4/15 to the general public.

In related news, The National are co-headlining (with fun.) the Boston Calling Music Festival which goes down in Beantown on May 25 and 26. The fest also includes appearances by The Shins, Of Monsters & Men, Dirty Projectors, Andrew Bird and more. Tickets to Boston Calling go sale Friday, March 8 and the whole line-up is below.

Continue reading "The National (band & documentary) playing Tribeca Film Fest, headlining Boston Calling Music Festival"

Phoenix at MSG in 2010 (more by Andrew St. Clair)

First, Phoenix announced that their long awaited followup to 2009's Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix would be out this April, then they revealed that it's called Bankrupt! and made their first North American show announcement of 2013: New Orleans Jazz Festival. They've since been revealed as a Coachella headliner and now they've got even more North American dates scheduled, including one that's not too far from NYC: Columbia, MD's Sweetlife Festival, which goes down at Merriweather Post Pavillion on May 11 (about a 3 and a half hour drive from NYC). Their schedule currently has a week or so free on either side of of the Sweetlife fest...hmm.

And the rest of Sweetlife lineup ain't too shabby either. Joining Phoenix will be Passion Pit, Kendrick Lamar, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Solange, Youth Lagoon, Holy Ghost!, Gary Clark Jr, MS MR, and more. Tickets for the festival go on sale Friday (2/8) at 10 AM with a presale beginning on Wednesday (2/6).

The full lineup and announcement video for Sweetlife, and a list of all Phoenix dates below...

Continue reading "Maryland's Sweetlife Music & Food fest announces 2013 lineup; Phoenix playing there and other dates"

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

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

photos by Amanda Hatfield

MS MR at Mercury Lounge - 1/16/13

MS MR played their first of two sold out NYC shows at Mercury Lounge last night (1/16), which Gospels opened. They played every track on their Candy Bar Creep Show EP and the title track from their upcoming Fantasy LP, along with some others. Pictures of both bands are in this post.

MS MR will do it again tonight (1/17) at the same venue with Jamaican Queens (also sold out). Meanwhile, you can catch Gospels in NYC again when they open for Atlas Genius at Music Hall of Williamsburg on February 20. Tickets for that show, which is a record release show for Atlas Genius' debut, When It Was Now, go on sale Saturday (1/19) at noon.

More pictures from last night (one of MS MR's setlist included) below...

Continue reading "MS MR & Gospels played Mercury Lounge (night 1 pics/setlist)"

MS MR at BV-CMJ 2012 (more by Amanda Hatfield)

As mentioned, MS MR are playing Mercury Lounge on January 16. Since we last spoke, Gospels have been added as an opener to that show and tickets are still available. The band have also since added another show happening at the same venue a day later (1/17). Tickets for the newly added show go on sale today (12/19) at noon. No opener has been announced for that one at the moment.

A list of all dates and a video are below...

Continue reading "MS MR add 2nd NYC show (updated dates)"

Jeff Mangum, Sigur Ros and Morrissey tickets went on sale today. These other ones all do too...

Tickets for the Christopher Owens (of Girls) shows at Bowery Ballroom go on sale today at noon.

Tickets for the Bloc Party show at Wellmont Theater go on sale today at noon.

Tickets for the newly-added Purity Ring show at Webster Hall go on sale today at noon.

Tickets for the Soundgarden shows at Hammerstein Ballroom go on sale today at noon.

Tickets for the Unknown Mortal Orchestra show at Bowery Ballroom go on sale today at noon.

Tickets for the They Might Be Giants show in Long Island go on sale today at 10 AM. Tickets are also still available for their 12/30 show at MHOW, which is part of a three night run, but the other two are sold out. Head here for ticket info on their Tarrytown Music Hall show.

MS MR is playing Mercury Lounge on January 16. Tickets for that show go on sale today at noon.

Julian Lynch is playing Glasslands on January 8. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

Jim Gaffigan is playing an early and late show at Capitol Theatre on March 1 and an early and late show at Wellmont Theatre on March 2. Tickets for the Capitol shows and the Wellmont shows go on sale today at noon.

Cake is playing Wellmont Theater on January 12. Tickets for that show go on sale today at noon.

Tickets for the Hundred Waters and Freelance Whales shows at MHOW and The Space go on sale today at noon. Tickets for Freelance Whales' Maxwell's show are on sale now.

Tickets for the Widowspeak show at Mercury Lounge go on sale today at noon.

Tickets for the Niki and the Dove show at Bowery Ballroom go on sale today at noon.

Tickets for the Solange show at Bowery Ballroom go on sale today at noon.

Tickets for the Nude Beach show at Mercury Lounge go on sale today at noon.

Tickets for The Jealous Sound show at Bowery Ballroom with Balance and Composure and Daylight go on sale today at noon.

Tickets for the Russian Circles, Between the Buried and Me, and Coheed and Cambria show at Radio City go on sale today at noon.

Tickets for the Alex Bleeker and the Freaks show at Mercury Lounge go on sale today at noon.

Tickets for the Flogging Molly show at Roseland Ballroom go on sale today at 10 AM.

Tickets for the Lotus show at Best Buy Theater go on sale today at noon. Combo tickets for that show and their Knitting Factory show are on sale now.

Tickets for tonight's ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead show at Irving Plaza are still available.

photos by Amanda Hatfield & Dominick Mastrangelo, words by Bill Pearis

Deap Vally @ Public Assembly (by Dominick)

Foxygen @ Public Assemby (by Amanda)

Our Friday not-CMJ day party (10/19) at Public Assembly, our first of two day-long, two-stage shows at the venue over the weekend, had my favorite one-two punch of the entire 2012 CMJ week: Savages followed by METZ both of whose performances we wrote about already (click the links). But I'll add that even though it was a shorter set (that didn't include "Flying to Berlin"_ than when I caught them at Glasslands earlier in the week, Savages were more, relaxed, more electrifying at our show. And METZ bring their insane level of energy (and volume) to every show they do, day or night, and they knocked the crowd for a loop. CMJ in a nutshell right there.

The rest of Friday's line-up was highly diverse: Israeli prog rockers Tiny Fingers; Wisonsin folk duo Blessed Feathers; the retro-fueled shenanigans of the terrific Foxygen; Murals' laid-back dreampop; FIGO and Toys that Kill bringing some punk; Deap Vally bringing riffs and sex appeal; IO Echo's gothy shoegaze pop; MSMR's big pop sounds (a little like an indie Sophie Ellis Bextor?); Doldrums on what was one of their 8000 highly energetic shows that week; Braids' new, electronic direction; and the brainy fake surf of The Intelligence.

Attendees at the show were fueled by complimentary drinks courtesy of Sailor Jerry Rum, complimentary beer courtesy of PBR, and snacked on the free Raw Revolution organic live food bars that were scattered around the venue. Hopefully nobody had a hangover thanks to cans of the Mercy that were given out aplenty. If the PBR and Poggled photographer took your picture, look for it on our Facebook.

We already posted pictures from this party of METZ, Savages, and Sky Ferreira. More from the whole show, below...

Continue reading "BV Friday Day Party pics (Deap Vally, Foxygen, Murals, Toys That Kill, Braids, Io Echo, The Intelligence, Savages, METZ + more)"

MS MR released their four track EP, Candy Bar Creep Show, earlier this year and also made a video for each track and an official remix for each track by Charli XCX, Twin Shadow, Chet Faker, and Tom Vek, respectively, which they've been revealing on their tumblr. You can watch all four videos and listen to the Charli XCX and Twin Shadow remixes below.

The band kicked off a tour earlier this month supporting Grouplove which hits NYC on November 2 at Terminal 5 (sold out). But you can catch MS MR in NYC this week because they're taking a short break from the Grouplove tour to squeeze in some CMJ shows. One of those happens at Bowery Ballroom tonight (10/18) with MNDR, Deap Vally, IO Echo, Sky Ferreira, and Gabriel Bruce. Tickets for tonight's show are still available and you can also try to get in with a CMJ badge.

You can also see MS MR for free at the BrooklynVegan day party at Public Assembly on Friday (10/19), where they'll be playing the front room with Braids, METZ, Savages, Deap Vally, Murals, and Tiny Fingers. MS MR go on at 4 PM before Braids' headlining slot at 5 PM.

A list of all MS MR dates, those videos and remix streams below.

Continue reading "MS MR made videos for every track on their EP (revealing remixes too), touring, playing CMJ (including BV party)"

We're at Public Assembly in Brooklyn all day Friday (10/19) and Saturday (10/20). Here's what Friday looks like...

BrooklynVegan FRIDAY DAY PARTY - 10/19/2012

STAGE 1 (front room)
12:00 Tiny Fingers (from Israel)
01:00 Murals
01:45 Deap Vally
02:30 Savages
03:15 METZ
04:00 MS MR
05:00 Braids

STAGE 2 (back room)
12:00 Blessed Feathers
12:40 Foxygen
01:25 FIGO (live)
02:10 IO Echo
03:00 Sky Ferreira
03:40 Doldrums
04:30 Toys That Kill
05:15 The Intelligence

And show up early for complimentary drinks courtesy of Sailor Jerry Rum and complimentary beer courtesy of PBR. You can also grab a free hangover prevention beverage courtesy of Mercy, and stay energized with free Raw Revolution organic live food bars. Get your photo taken in our free photo booth courtesy of PBR and Poggled.

Saturday lineup (same time, same place) coming soon...

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Meanwhile you'l also find us, or our BV Austin site to be more specific, repping Texas at Rebel (a free and official CMJ party), and at Saint Vitus on Saturday night.

As mentioned in What's Going on Monday, California rawk duo Deap Vally canceled tonight's Maxwell's show (10/15). But there will be no shortage of chances to see them this week, as their CMJ schedule boasts five shows, including the BrooklynVegan day party on Friday (10/19) at Public Assembly. They'll be on early (1:30 PM) and we'll be letting you in on the full schedule real soon.

They'll also play the Fader Fort at Converse Rubber Tracks Studio on 10/17, Bowery Ballroom on 10/18 with MNDR, MS MR, IO Echo, Sky Ferreira, and Gabriel Bruce, Rockwood Music Hall on Friday night (10/19) after our day party with Matthew and The Atlas, Foreign Fields, Matrimony, and KOOL A.D; and finally Cake Shop on Saturday afteroon (10/20) for the Village Voice party with Delicate Steve, Dent May, Heavenly Beat. Vockah Redu and Daytona.

Deap Vally will open for Muse in November on their European tour. CMJ dates and flyers are below.

Continue reading "Deap Vally not playing Maxwell's, are playing BV party Friday"

Deap Vally

The 2012 CMJ Music Marathon is nearing and more and more shows are being announced for it every week. One of those happens on October 18 at Bowery Ballroom and has a pretty stacked lineup of MNDR, MS MR, Deap Vally, IO Echo, Sky Ferreira, and Gabriel Bruce. Tickets for that show go on sale today (9/26) at noon.

The Bowery Ballroom show is one of a few during and surrounding CMJ for LA duo Deap Vally, who we profiled earlier this month.

As mentioned, MS MR also open for Grouplove at Terminal 5 on November 2 (sold out). Their Candy Bar Creep Show EP is out now and you can preview it on tumblr or purchase it on iTunes.

As for MNDR, you can also catch them DJing at The Studio at Webster Hall tonight (9/26) (tickets) and on their tour with Shiny Toy Guns which hits NYC on October 30 at Santos Party House (tickets).

IO Echo released their debut album, Ministry Of Love, earlier this month via IAMSOUND will release their self titled EP on October 16 (the full length has been pushed back to next year) and you can stream their single, "When the Lillies Die," at the bottom of this post.

You also may have noticed that LA singer/actress Sky Ferreira, who has released some singles in the pop world over the last couple years, like 2010's "One" (produced by Bloodshy & Avant who are responsible for Britney Spears' "Toxic" and are 2/3 of Miike Snow), has been getting some internet love for her new single, "Everything Is Embarrassing" (produced by Dev Hynes of Blood Orange and Ariel Rechtstaid, who has worked with Cass McCombs, Glasser, and others). You can stream that track below.

Lists of dates and song streams below.

Continue reading "Deap Vally, MS MR, IO Echo, Sky Ferreira, MNDR & Gabriel Bruce playing CMJ show at Bowery Ballroom (dates, streams)"

The full list of artists confirmed for the 2012 CMJ Music Marathon so far is below...

Continue reading "CMJ 2012 initial lineup announced"

(via @bangzy_)

Tickets for the Ben Gibbard show at Town Hall go on AmEx presale and fan club presale today at noon.

Tickets for the SBTRKT show at Terminal 5 go on AmEx presale today at noon.

Tickets for the Django Django show at Bowery Ballroom go on sale today at noon.

Zambri and The Suzan will play Mercury Lounge on August 31. Tickets for that show go on AmEx presale today at noon with a general sale starting Friday (7/27) at noon. Zambri and Stagnant Pools were added to the Maximo Park show at Webster Hall (9/13). Tickets for that show are still available.

Tickets for the Black Moth Super Rainbow show at MHOW go on AmEx presale today at noon with a general sale starting Friday (7/27) at noon. A ticket link has now been posted for their Bowery Ballroom show, but no presale for that one.

The Whigs are playing Bowery Ballroom on September 19 and Glasslands on November 10. Tickets for the Bowery Ballroom show go on AmEx presale today with a general sale starting Friday (7/27) at noon. Tickets for the Glasslands show go on sale Friday (7/27) at 7 AM.

Electric Six are playing Mercury Lounge on October 26 and 27. Tickets for both of those shows go on AmEx presale today at noon with a general sale starting Friday (7/27) at noon.

MS MR, who have upcoming shows supporting Marina and the Diamonds, will open for Grouplove at Terminal 5 on November 2. Tickets for that show go on AmEx presale today at noon with a general sale starting Friday (7/27) at noon.

Tickets for the Nada Surf shows at Bowery Ballroom go on AmEx presale today at noon.

Tickets for the Tilly and the Wall show at Bowery Ballroom go on AmEx presale today at noon.

Tickets for the AC Newman show at Bowery Ballroom go on AmEx presale today at noon. Despite what was originally announced, tickets for his Maxwell's show go on sale Friday (7/27) at noon, not today.

Tickets for the James Iha show at Mercury Lounge go on AmEx presale today at noon.

Tickets for the Kitty Pryde show at Santos went on sale at 10 AM today.

Coldplay at All Points West 2009 (more by Tim Griffin)

Swedish duo Icona Pop will be heading to North America this month, where they'll play Glasslands on June 22 (tickets). Before they play that show, they'll DJ a VIbrations party one day earlier, 6/21 at Hudson Terrace Roof Deck with DJ sets by Cassian, Sean Glass, and guests. The party is free til midnight with RSVP.

In related news, Charli XCX (who wrote Icona Pop's song "I Love It") has a new EP out today called You're the One. You've already heard "Nuclear Seasons" and the Balam Acab remix of that song. Now you can listen to the EP's title track as well, which is streaming below. The EP also includes a Blood Orange remix of that song.

Charli is one of the many artists opening for Coldplay (who will never work with Justin Bieber) on their upcoming tour, including the Chicago date with Marina and the Diamonds. Other openers on the tour include Robyn (who opens their Texas shows), Frank Ocean (who recently announced his own tour), Wolf Gang (who has nothing to do with any group Frank Ocean is part of), Temper Trap, The Pierces, and Emeli Sande.

Emeli was in NYC last week to play Bowery Ballroom and MHOW with Selah Sue (if you went, how were those shows?) and she'll be opening the East Rutherford, NJ shows at Izod Center on August 3 and 4 with Marina and the Diamonds. Tickets for those shows are available. If you're going to the Coldplay shows, be careful with the "Xylobands" that are being given out at the concerts. Fans are reporting that these bands, "which create a dramatic effect at Coldplay gigs," have been randomly reactivating after the shows and causing traumas such as waking fans up in the middle of the night. "It is believed the only way to stop the glowing is to jam a pencil clip into the band." Maybe they should call them jam bands.

As mentioned, Marina and the Diamonds will return to the NYC area after that for two headling shows at Webster Hall (8/16 & 8/18) with MS MR. The 8/16 show is sold out but tickets for the 8/18 show are still available. MS MR will play NYC even sooner than that at Santos Party House on June 27.

Speaking of Coldplay openers, Rita Ora just recently opened a few dates for the band and she's in NYC tonight for a free show at Gramercy Theater. RSVP is closed but you maybe don't wanna go anyway? Beyonce and Jay-Z on the other hand, might already have plans to be there. They went to support her at Coldplay's show in Manchester on Sunday (6/10) and were then spotted headbanging during Coldplay's set. A video of said headbanging is below.

That video, the Charli XCX stream, and a list of all Coldplay dates below...

Continue reading "Charli XCX (whose EP is out), Frank Ocean, Robyn & more opening on Coldplay tour; Icona Pop DJing in NYC"

by Andrew Sacher

MS MR

NYC duo MS MR recently dropped the pop-leaning track, "Hurricane," which you can watch the video for below and download the MP3 in exchange for your email at their website.

They've got a number of NYC shows coming up including one TONIGHT (5/17) at Bowery Ballroom opening for VHS or Beta. Tickets for that show are still available.

They'll also support Marina and the Diamonds at a few of their upcoming US shows including their NYC shows on August 16 and 18 at Webster Hall. The first of those shows is sold out but tickets for the 8/18 show go on sale Friday (5/18) at noon. MS MR are also on board to open for Xylos at Glasslands on June 1 with Ninifabi. Tickets for that show are available. All MS MR dates are listed below.

Speaking of tonight's VHS or Beta show, there's a Vibrations afterparty at Hudson Terrace Roof Deck (5/17) starting at 10 PM. In addition to a VHS or Beta DJ set, the party will also include Classixx, Sean Glass, and Electric Youth (DJ). Admission is free til midnight with RSVP.

Electric Youth

Speaking of Electric Youth, you can also catch them play a live show at Brooklyn Bowl on Friday (5/18) with Italians Do It Better co-founder Mike Simonetti (who recently remixed Lemonade). Tickets for that show are available. Electric Youth were featured on the excellent Drive soundtrack teaming up with College for "A Real Hero." That soundtrack also includes two Johnny Jewel (the other Italians Do It Better co-founder) groups, Desire and Chromatics. Electric Youth dropped the "Right Back to You" single last year, and like Drive's aesthetics and soundtrack, it's soaked in '80s nostalgia. Though few modern songs scream '80s quite like this one does -- from the Like a Virgin-era Madonna drums, exercise video synths, and even a squealy guitar solo. Stream it below.

Video, streams, and a list of all MS MR and Electric Youth dates below...

Continue reading "MS MR playing shows, opening for VHS or Beta tonight; Electric Youth DJ the afterparty, play live tomorrow"

DOWNLOAD: VHS or Beta - "Eyes Dub" (MP3)

Synth rockers VHS or Beta released their most recent full length, Diamonds and Death, last year and they just followed that with DIamonds and Dub with remixes of 7 of Diamonds and Death tracks by Jacques Renault (who also just offered his spin on Lemonade) and Mark Verbos. One of those tracks, "Eyes Dub," is making its premiere in this post. Grab the almost vocal-less remix above or stream it below.

VHS or Beta will be in NYC for a show at Bowery Ballroom on Thursday (5/17) with Gambit and MS Mr. Tickets for this show are still available and we're also giving away a pair. Details on how to win tix are below, along with the song stream.

Continue reading "VHS or Beta released 'Diamonds and Dub' (song premiere), playing Bowery Ballroom on Thursday (win tix!)"