photos by Leia Jospe

Rusko & fans

Clean or dirty? Uplifting or brutal? Those were choices dance-music fans could make on Saturday, the second day of the weekend-long Electric Zoo 2011 on Randalls Island. They could go for the polished tones, warm chords and step-by-step buildups of trance and house, the overlapping styles that have long dominated dance clubs worldwide and that gave Electric Zoo its headliners: Tiesto on Friday, David Guetta on Saturday and Armin van Buuren on Sunday. The unsubtle four-on-the-floor beat of trance has been a longtime staple of European pop hits, and in recent years American acts like Black Eyed Peas, Lady Gaga and Rihanna have also embraced it.

Or they could get knocked around by the squirmy, distorted bass lines, sudden blasts and saw-toothed bits of melody of dubstep, which after years of enjoyment by devotees is now making itself known to a broader United States audience through D.J.'s like Skrillex, whose fans screamed with joy on Saturday afternoon. [NY Times]

Continue reading "pics from Electric Zoo 2011 @ Randall's Island"

Giant and very-varied Labor Day Weekend electro festival Electric Zoo returns to Randall's Island on September 2-4 and just announced 14 more artists to its already big lineup which is split across four stages (times three days).

The fest this year features performances by big names like Moby (DJ set), Rusko, MSTRKRFT, Richie Hawtin as Plastikman, Chromeo, Boys Noize, Calvin Harris and Diplo. The lineup also includes smaller but familiar and exciting names like Daedelus, SebastiAn (Live), SBTRKT, Nicolas Jaar (Live), and many more. The whole thing is listed below.

SBTRKT meanwhile has dates coming up in July.

SebastiAn, who has had singles floating around for a few years now, and more recently a film score, finally released his first proper full length Total on May 30 via Ed Banger. The album is 22 songs of Daft Punk-esque aggressive French House and features vocal contributions from Mayer Hawthorne and M.I.A.. Check out a soundcloud stream of the M.I.A.-featured "C.T.F.O." (which stands for chill the fuck out) and the full tracklist also below.

More tour dates for Diplo, Chromeo and Rusko, along with the EZ lineup, and stuff, below...

Continue reading "Electric Zoo expands lineup (SBTRKT, Nicolas Jaar, MSTRKRFT, MANY more), SebastiAn released 'Total' on Ed Banger"

by BBG

The recently reunited Death from Above 1979 have posted rehearsal footage of "Little Girl" from their LP You're a Woman I'm a Machine. While that's fascinating enough, what's more fascinating is the way that video ends... an all black screen that reads "3/19/2011 1:00AM", a date and time that happens to fall right during SXSW. One question is whether they really mean 3/19 at 1am (Friday night) or actually mean 3/20 at 1am (Saturday night)? They probably mean Saturday night, especially since I doubt they're advertising the MSTRKRFT SXSW show that happens Friday night at the same time. Is DFA1979 cooking up a comeback show for Austin? No concrete answers.

Assuming it is Saturday night at SXSW, and that it is a show, then it's unfortunately at the same time that their old label Vice is having their annual late night party which this year will feature an awesome lineup of Odd Future, OFF!, and Thee Oh Sees. That is, unless it's happening at the Vice party, though nobody I asked at Vice seemed to know anything about it. Vice's party starts at 12 midnight and RSVP is currently open.

Vice's Official showcase goes down two days earlier (3/17) at Club Deville with Davila 666, OFF!, Black Lips, and a special guest headliner who I'm willing to bet is the Raveonettes (who will be in Texas and are signed to Vice). Vice is also involved in the noisey.com show featuring exclusive performances from Bun B and Ariel Pink that goes down in Austin one night later.

All DFA1979 dates, a Vice flyer and the mysterious video, below...

Continue reading "DFA1979 post mysterious video, Vice announce SXSW shows"

Big names and regulars aside, there are a few bands I want to highlight on the just-announced Sasquatch lineup: Wolf Parade ("indefinite hiatus" rumors be damned), The Flaming Lips (performing "The Soft Bulletin"), Death From Above 1979 (now three reunion shows total), Guided By Voices (they're not done yet), and... Archers of Loaf (!). The full lineup of the fest that goes down in Gorge, Washington in May (Memorial Day Weekend), is below...

Continue reading "Sasquatch 2011 lineup announced (Archers of Loaf, Guided By Voices, Wolf Parade, DFA 1979 & "The Soft Bulletin" included)"

photos by Chris La Putt

Blood Red Shoes @ MHOW

After Chris left the BV Loft Party all the way back on Friday, October 22nd, he headed over to Music Hall of Williamsburg for the Blue Flowers-presented CMJ showcase for a lineup of mostly UK bands including Chapel Club, Everything Everything, and Blood Red Shoes (who toured North America with Sky Larkin in October). Pictures from that show are in this post.

The occasion (to post these belated pics)? SXSW has already announced an initial lineup of bands playing in Austin from March 16-20, 2011, and Chapel Club is on that list (and I wouldn't be surprised of the other 2 mentioned bands end up coming too). Also on the list: Lia Ices, Braids, Asobi Seksu, Wye Oak, Suuns, Sun Airway, A Place to Bury Strangers and more. Full list under the rest of the MHOW pictures, below...

Continue reading "Chapel Club played CMJ w/ Everything Everything & Blood Red Shoes (pics), playing SXSW 2011 (intial lineup)"

Webster Hall - New Years Eve 2008 into 2009

"When most Americans think of New Years Eve, the Big Apple may be one of the first things that come to mind. Millions of Americans all around the country tune in to watch the ball drop in Times Square on television as they ring in the New Year.

For those not able to make it to Manhattan for this special night, why not bring a little bit of Manhattan to your New Year's Eve party? A New York City themed New Year's Eve party requires a bit of creativity in the party planning. Brainstorm all of the things you associate with New York City from food to attractions. For food, you may want to consider having lox on bagels and cream cheese, pizza and cheesecake.

For drinks, try making Manhattan cocktails and see if there are any New York based beers available in your area; Brooklyn Lager is a popular brew." ["Have a Big Apple New Year's Eve in your living room"]

Continue reading "Passion Pit DJing Pianos on New Years Eve, MSTRKRFT will be at Webster Hall "

Gerhardt Fuchs grew up playing the drums in Georgia and went on to perform with bands that toured across the country, but it was in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, that he forged his reputation as a dynamic, driving drummer widely esteemed by his peers.

And it was in that same neighborhood, in the shadow of the Williamsburg Bridge, that Mr. Fuchs, known as Jerry, fell to his death on Sunday morning [11/8] in the elevator shaft of an industrial building on Berry Street. [NYTimes]

He recently came back from a tour playing drums with Maserati, who traveled with Mono. The tour included two nights in New York and an appearance at Pop Montreal on October 1st.

Juan Maclean wrote, "Jerry was one of my best and most loyal friends. He was hands-down the best drummer I have ever played with or seen for that matter. Jerry was with me from the start of The Juan MacLean, and we had countless adventures together all over the world. He was utterly sincere and fiercely loyal. During a particularly difficult time, while backstage in a club in Chicago, Jerry told me "Juan, I will follow you to the end of the earth and I will always be there for you." That was Jerry, the greatest drummer in the world, the greatest friend you could ever have."

As the NY Post reports, "Fuchs is the second Maserati drummer to meet a tragic end. In 2005, then-drummer Mikel Gius was run down and killed as he rode his bike on a Sacramento street." Mikel Gius was in !!! too.

Maserati clips, which feature Jerry's stunning drumming in a central way, and other videos, below...

Continue reading "Jerry Fuchs, RIP (drummer for Maserati, Juan MacLean, !!!)"

The final lineup for Monolith Festival, which takes place at the Red Rocks Ampitheatre in Morrison, Colorado, on September 12th-13th, is below. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Girl Talk headline Saturday night at the festival, and the Mars Volta and MSTRKRFT top the bill on Sunday. Deer Tick, Passion Pit, Doom, The Walkmen, The Thermals, and HEALTH are also some of the bands on the two-day bill.

Tickets and two-day passes are still on sale. We also has a pair of weekend tickets to give away. Details on that, with the full lineup, below...

Continue reading "Monolith Festival - final 2009 lineup ++ WIN a two-day pass"

photos by Tim Griffin

For his opening song, Jay-Z paid respect by opening to the Beastie Boys's classic record, "No Sleep 'Til Brooklyn."

"Everybody just started going nuts as soon as they heard the guitars," recalls Lamont Caldwell, a touring saxophonist for Jay's live band. "He's like, 'If the audience was looking for the Beastie Boys, I'ma give them a little bit of the Beastie Boys.' That's completely selfless."...

"One thing about playing with Jay is that he knows how to put on a show," Caldwell said. "After being in the business for so long, he knows how to keep people entertained."

Surprise guest Memphis Bleek played hypeman for much of the set, while Q-Tip, Organized Konfusion and the Pharcyde performed earlier in the day." [XXLMag]

Continue reading "All Points West Day 1 outtakes (another set of photos)"

photos by Tim Griffin and Chris La Putt

"It was announced during Vampire Weekend's rain-soaked but well-attended 6 p.m. set on the main "Blue Comet" stage that due to the weather, single-day Friday tickets would be accepted for festival entry on Saturday and Sunday. This elicited quite a few cheers, presumably from those who had not already purchased weekend tickets. While the early afternoon had been hot and sunny, allowing for clear views of nearby Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, the storm clouds rolled in rapidly just as Fleet Foxes took the stage at 3:30 p.m. The wind, rain and thunder actually worked as fitting accompaniments to the band's dramatic harmonies, a fact not lost on the Foxes themselves. "We kind of look like a guild of wizards here to deliver an ominous warning," said drummer J. Tillman, one of several bearded members of the band. ""I'm going to leave the stage on a horse." [Billboard]

Continue reading "All Points West 2009 - Day One in Pictures"

MSTRKRFT @ the 2009 Rothbury Festival (more by Graeme Flegenheimer - NSFW)

Last weekend I finally made it out dancing on a day other than Sunday for a change. Saturday night I headed to the Tribeca Grand's basement where Fixed was making its welcome return. I caught the last two songs of Free Energy's set. It was my first time seeing the band, and as much as two songs aren't much to go by, they at least made me want to hear more. Following Free Energy, Dave P deejayed a bit, playing Fixed's typically awesome mix of very current dance tracks from a variety of genres, while the stage was set up for Lemonade.

I have nothing against Lemonade, but have never really gotten into their music so I sat tight during their set, patiently waiting for Riton to begin his. He finally went on somewhere around 2/2:30 and to the degree I really wasn't too familiar with his music to begin with (save for a remix here & there), his selections were very unexpected. It's all a bit of a blur now...lots of current stuff, with a lot of really random tracks thrown in (ie Abba's "Voulez Vous") that worked beautifully and had everyone who had stuck around getting down. The early ending (3:30) left things a little bittersweet (I wanted that last half hour!), but overall it was a great night.

While there is no Fixed party happening this week, there are lots of other great events sure to have you dancing through your weekend. Here's what's going on, starting with Thursday (7/30):

Continue reading "the week in Dance w/ Showtrotta (part 1) (The Rapture, All Points West, A-Trak, MSTRKRFT & more) "

photos by Graeme Flegenheimer

"It took Patricia Mudnich and Joshua Garcia two weeks, driving their RV about 3,100 miles in a winding route from Santa Cruz, Calif., to arrive at the Rothbury music festival in West Michigan.

Cool weather and a short wait in line after the campground opened Thursday morning didn't faze them in the least. The diehard fans of The String Cheese Incident -- the popular jam band which plays its only reunion show of the summer at the second-year festival Friday -- were all smiles.

"The lineup was so impressive, we could not turn it down," said Mudnich, 41, a high school English teacher who estimated the couple spent more than $2,100 on the long trip, including festival tickets, gasoline and side trips to tourist spots such as Yellowstone National Park and Mount Rushmore. "I used to go to these festivals all the time, but now I can only fit it into the summer."

For devoted rock fans flocking this week to the remote Double JJ Ranch from far-flung places across the United States and beyond, Rothbury has become THE summer destination.

Drawing an estimated 30,000-plus people again this year, many of the festival's devotees have logged impressive road and air miles to see their favorite bands -- from The Dead to STS9 -- with clusters of enthusiastic, colorfully adorned fans making the journey from Vermont, Florida, Texas, Nevada, Colorado and all points between in everything from compact cars and pickups to dilapidated Volkwagen vans and old school buses." [Mlive.com]

Continue reading "pictures from the 2009 Rothbury Festival (NSFW)"

The Wooden Birds

tonight in NYC
* DANCE
* Bilal @ Blue Note
* Old 97's @ Maxwell's
* Tony Sher @ The Stone
* Ian Hunter @ Rockefeller Park
* Alex Cuba @ Madison Square Park
* Iggy Pop & Ben Ratliff @ Times Center
* Easy Star All-Stars @ Music on the Oval
* Fatboy Slim, Shinichi Osawa @ Terminal 5
* Camera Obscura, Anni Rossi @ Webster Hall
* Christina Courtin, Josh Mease @ (Le) Poisson Rouge
* Asa Ransom, Spanish Prisoners, Bonnie Baxter @ Southpaw
* Hank III & Assjack, Lucky Tubb @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Pepi Ginsberg, Emilie Simon, Glass Ghost @ Public Assembly
* The Wooden Birds, Other Lives, Bird of Youth @ The Bell House
* The Drums, Jeffrey John, The Johns, MCQ, Soft City @ The Annex
* Patterson Hood & The Screwtopians, Will Johnson @ Bowery Ballroom
* The Legends, Eagle & Talon, Blacklist, We Are Country Mice @ Santos
* Zs, Nine 11 Thesaurus, Effi Briest, Grade 13, Earthborne @ Secret Project Robot
* Elizabeth & the Catapult, Miracles of Modern Science @ Housing Works Used Book Cafe

Free outdoor music tonight inclues Alex Cuba at Madison Square Park, Ian Hunter at Rockefeller Park, and Easy Star All-Stars at the Stuy Town Oval

The Old 97's play their last of four shows at Maxwell's tonight. Patterson Hood & The Screwtopians perform in NYC for a second night, this time at the Bowery Ballroom.

Tonight Zs host a release party at Secret Project Robot for their new 12" record. That disc, titled Music of the Modern White, is out now on Social Registry.

The Legends and The Drums played together at the Bell House last night. Tonight The Legends are at Santos tonight, one of several upcoming East Coast shows for the band. The Drums continue their residency at The Annex.

Anni Rossi, who played last night at Pianos and opens tonight for Camera Obscura, performed her song "Wheelpusher" on laundromatinee.com. Video below.

St. Vincent is on Letterman tonight and plays the Bell House tomorrow.

Iggy Pop played with Fatboy Slim/Brighton Port Authority at their June 22nd Letterman appearance . Last night, they did the same song on Jimmy Fallon. Check it out below. Fatboy Slim plays Terminal 5 tonight. Iggy will speak with Times scribe Ben Ratliff at the Times Center (a short cab ride away).

"A golem is created, once again, to rescue Jews in times of need, this time in present-day Brooklyn." Video below....

MSTRKRFT played with John Legend on Letterman last night. Check it out... below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Wednesday?"

"STREET SCENE, one of the nation's longest running music festivals, will celebrate its 25th anniversary with two full days of music Friday, August 28 and Saturday, August 29. The Black Eyed Peas, M.I.A., Thievery Corporation, Modest Mouse, The Dead Weather and Cake are among the more than 35 acts that will bring the streets of downtown San Diego's East Village neighborhood alive with music and entertainment from 4:00 PM to midnight daily. The venue site will include Tailgate Park (adjacent to Petco Park) in the heart of East Village, incorporating 14th Street as the main thoroughfare and bordered by Imperial Avenue to J Street."

Continue reading "San Diego's Street Scene Festival announces 2009 lineup"

"Though promoters around the country report strong early ticket sales for festivals and summer tours, the recession is causing jitters. This year Coachella, which has the most glamorous reputation of all American festivals, began selling tickets on layaway, and 18 percent of its customers took that option, Mr. Tollett said.

The proliferation of big festivals, like Bonnaroo near Nashville and Lollapalooza in Chicago, has not been without casualties. This year Langerado in Miami shut down, citing the economy. The Pemberton Festival in British Columbia is on hiatus after only one year, although its promoter, Live Nation, said the problem was permit delays." [NY Times]

Continue reading "Lollapalooza 2009 - the official & complete lineup"

DOWNLOAD: Round Table Knights - End of Winter Mix (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Leif - Timbs (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Leif - Timbs (Ian Johnson Remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Leif - Timbs Neon Coyote Slow Jam (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Leif - Black Magic (MP3)

words by Showtrotta, Presets photos by Faith-Ann Young

The Presets @ Webster Hall - Apr 3, 2009

I had known for a while that I was going to be out of town last weekend, but decided to stick around an extra day (Friday) just to see the Whip and Late of the Pier at Studio B. After witnessing both bands get people moving at Bowery last Wednesday I was really looking forward to seeing the crowd's reaction at the more dance-friendly Studio B on Friday.

I made it over to the B in time to catch the Whip's entire set. The sparsely filled dancefloor became more concentrated with people (though full would be an overstatement) once the Whip took the stage. The band opened with "Muzzle #1" (full setlist below) and the crowd didn't really react much. There were a few people nodding their heads, vaguely moving, and so began the Whip's fight to get the crowd going.

continued...

Continue reading "the week in Dance w/ Showtrotta (part 1) (w/ Presets pics)"

This Saturday, April 11th, Yeah Yeah Yeahs will perform as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live. Zac Efron hosts. This past Saturday's episode featured Paris's Phoenix. Videos from that show HERE.

In related news, "Zero," the first single off the band's new record It's Blitz, has so far been remixed by MSTRKFRFT, N.A.S.A., and Animal Collective (and probably others). If you haven't heard them already, the first two versions are streaming below. The third, Animal Collective's reworking, is out as the b-side of a limited-edition "Zero" 7" single - free when you buy/bought the album from Insound.

The band's upcoming shows include Coachella and Bonnaroo, and All Points West.

Check out the third installment of Yeah Yeah Yeahs' SNAKESWEAT art-video series (after catching up on the previous two), also below...

Continue reading "Yeah Yeah Yeahs playing SNL, remixed by N.A.S.A. & others"

DOWNLOAD: Christian Martin - Elephant Fight (Worthy's Trumpets and Tusks Remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Emerson Todd - My Eyes (Worthy's Blurry Cornea Remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Worthy - Madcap (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Worthy - Station Grape Mixtape (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Brandon Sek - Viceland mini-mix (MP3)

Late of the Pier at Bowery Ballroom - April 1, 2009 (more by Leia Jospe)

Last week in dance was pretty awesome...Busy P on Wesnesday, Busy P and the Prodigy on Thursday. I went into Friday night perhaps a bit too optimistic about the weekend continuing in the same direction. Right before Tortured Soul's set at Irving Plaza I was yawning non-stop, but figured I'd perk up once they started. Their set was good and playing was tight which I've come to expect from them. The crowd, which was a bit sparse at first, really filled in and was getting into their set by the end. I was into it too...but not nearly as much as usual, which is when it started to dawn on me just how tired I was.

Despite that I was still optimistic about Booka Shade. If there's anything that can give you a good second wind, it's some live dance music. They started...they were energetic and enthusiastic...but I just wasn't connecting with the music at all. Everyone else I was with was though.

While I'm sure being tired had a lot to do with it, I think it was also something I've only just recently started to realize: I only like certain kinds of techno (and I'm not exactly sure what they are yet). Another thing that started to work against Booka Shade about halfway through the show - they started to remind me of Royksopp...but a much more German, techno-ey, comparatively minimal, less lively version. This was mainly due to their physical set-up, gear, etc. (plus seeing the Norwegian duo tear up Irving Plaza two times over the past 6 years didn't help either). Not to add to the excuses...but I was also still coming down from the Prodigy mayhem of the night before, and have been on a disco bender since Disco 3000 with Trus'me & Volcov the weekend before... that making me wish Booka Shade had a traditional vs. electronic drum kit. I guess in the end...what I'm trying to say is, Booka Shade...it's not you, it's me.

continued...

Continue reading "the week in Dance w/ Showtrotta (MSTRKRFT, Presets, LOTP... the music of Arthur Russel, and more...)"

The 39th annual Bumbershoot: Seattle's Music & Arts Festival, Presented by Samsung Mobile announces a small portion of the 2009 lineup. The 3-day urban event takes place Labor Day Weekend (September 5 - 7). The Festival stretches across the 74-acre Seattle Center, located beneath the city's iconic Space Needle, and programs 20 indoor and unique outdoor venues. This progressive Festival features a diverse array of arts including live music, comedy, theatre, dance, film, urban crafts, and literary and visual arts.

Continue reading "Bumbershoot announces partial 2009 lineup & ticket info"

Following last year's inaugural event, festival producers began work immediately on resolving concerns expressed by fans in attendance. They have worked closely with their partners at NJ Transit to improve light-rail service and capacity. As an added value for 2009, festival goers who choose to travel to the site utilizing the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail line can ride for free throughout the weekend with their ALL POINTS WEST festival ticket. Additionally, based on the popularity of the ferry as a mode of transportation from lower Manhattan to Liberty State Park, the frequency and size of the ferryboats will increase at a reduced price for festival attendees.... The producers have also worked with their partners at Liberty State Park to improve the fan experience in the beer gardens. This year's areas will be larger, have shorter lines, and feature shade tents, views of the stages and food concessions...

More details on the items above will be posted at the apwfestival.com. The entire lineup (it's good!) and ticket info, below...

Continue reading "All Point West - 2009 festival dates & lineup (Tool, My Bloody Valentine, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Beastie Boys, Coldplay)"

Headliners Paul McCartney, The Killers and The Cure are among the 130-plus acts set for the tenth COACHELLA VALLEY MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL (APRIL 17, 18 AND 19) at the beautiful Empire Polo Club in Indio, CA, the same grounds where the COACHELLA VALLEY MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL debuted in 1999. Other artists confirmed for America's most critically acclaimed music festival include Morrissey, Amy Winehouse, Franz Ferdinand, My Bloody Valentine, Leonard Cohen, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, Thievery Corporation, Yeah Yeah Yeahs (the complete line-up is listed below).

This marks the first ever U.S. festival appearance for McCartney who is currently supporting his latest release ELECTRIC ARGUMENTS.

"I have heard that Coachella is one of the greatest festivals in the world. I'm really excited to get out there and rock!" McCartney says.

Throbbing Gristle and the rest of the full (real) line-up (as of 1/30) is below:

Continue reading "Coachella 2009 - OFFICIAL lineup announced (My Bloody Valentine, Leonard Cohen, Paul McCartney, Morrissey, The Cure, Antony, Amy Winehouse...) - tix on sale"

DOWNLOAD: Congorock - Trust No One Mixx (zSHARE MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Deviant Soundsystem - Jump (Backwards Bootleg) (Sendspace MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Deviant Soundsystem - Deviant Sound Sessions on Australia's PulseRadio.net (zSHARE MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Double Exposure - What You Need (DJ Duckcomb edit) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Runaway at People Don't Dance No More May (MP3)

Chromeo & Rude Bear @ Webster Hall - October 2, 2008 (CRED)

We're barely into October and signs of what a crazy month it's going to be are already showing. For me it all started Thursday night with Chromeo. Hell, even the bears were out! As always, Dave and P played a very clean, energetic set that included their entire album, Fancy Footwork, as well as a few older tracks from their first album. The crowd was losing it - singing, dancing, and screaming along in a way that I've seen only in response to these Québécois electro-poppers. In addition to being consistently good performers, Chromeo are so unassuming and appreciative of the success they've found, always making it a point to credit New York as one of the first places that welcomed them. It was a great (albeit familiar - I need some new songs!) way to start dancing in October.

I took a break before heading back to Webster Hall that same night, arriving just in time (after being thoroughly frisked and forced to throw out the suspicious, crumpled tissue in my pocket that was holding my earplugs) to catch the Bloody Beetroots deejay around 1. The crowd, despite being pretty decently sized, only took up about a third of the huge room. What they appeared to lack in size, was made up for in energy as about two thirds of the people there were relentlessly getting down - totally losing their shit, as the Beetroots played tons of their own tracks and reworkings. They also teased the crowd, cutting back and forth between their bangers and a few unexpected tracks like Sabotage by the Beastie Boys and Jump Around by House of Pain. Overall it was one of the crazy, relentlessly banging, unstoppable dj sets I've come to expect from the masked Italian duo. Unfortunately things seemed to be cut short after someone whispered something to them. Within minutes they were both zipping up their jackets and packing up in time for Alexander Technique to get on the decks again (he had spun earlier, right after Chromeo finished) at 2.

Friday night I found myself at Webster Hall, yet again, for the Attack of the Unibros tour featuring A-trak and Boys Noize. After far too much interaction (in the form of horrible pick-up lines and involuntary grinding) with the Webster Hall regulars the night before, I was a little nervous about going back. The novelty of the big room & loud system was beginning to wear off. I hoped the music would be great enough to help me ignore the more annoying crowd members (hopefully as the folks over at Webster are now putting together some real quality electronic line-ups, the crowds will begin to mirror that more).

When I arrived just after 1, the place was absolutely packed (even more than when MSTRKRFT deejayed back in May). There was an empty area over on the left (mainly due to the fact that the view of the deejays was totally obscured by a huge speaker stack) where I spent my time during A-trak's hour long set from 1ish to 2ish, followed by most of Boys Noize's hour long set from 2ish to 3ish, before I headed onstage for the best part - their joint set that went until about 4. Each of their sets were very good. A-trak's was heavy on a lot of new tracks I didn't know that sounded great. One I did know, was Mr. Oizo's "Positif Extract" (which I happened to post about on my blog just one day prior) which sounded absolutely AMAZING out on a loud system. I can't wait to hear it when I'm out again.

I mentioned some concerns about Boys Noize's sets getting to be a bit repetitive/seeing him deejay too often over too short a period of time last week. My concerns disappeared pretty quickly as he opened with some of his own, newer material followed by a diverse mix of current electro, devoid of any of the transitions I remembered from any of the times I saw him in the past.

Despite being up close, the stage was so packed it was difficult to see who was deejaying when they were on together, but between the two of them the tracks were all over the place in an amalgam of old and new (including Necessary Evil by Armand Van Helden, Breathe by the Prodigy, Cross the Dancefloor by Treasure Fingers, Shake & Pop by Green Velvet, and the Boys Noize remix of Justice's Phantom as well as Feist's My Moon My Man to name a few) that had everybody losing it.

As we head into week 2 of the crazy month that is October there is sure to be plenty more where that came from, starting with Thursday (10/9) and ending with a chance to win free tickets for an event this Saturday night...

Continue reading "the Thursday & Friday night in Dance w/ Showtrotta"

DOWNLOAD: MSTRKRFT - Bounce ft. N.O.R.E. (Felix Cartal Remix) (MP3)

"In advance of Fist of God, the follow up to 2006's landmark The Looks, Toronto dancefloor juggernaut MSTRKRFT is set to release a Maxi Single of club-banging blog fave, and F'N MTV theme song, "Bounce." The eight-track offering, due via Dim Mak Records on October 7th, features the original N.O.R.E. and Isis of Thunderheist-assisted track, released in April, "Vuvuvu," and a plethora of remixes from rising stars in the dance community."

Continue reading "MSTRKRFT - 2008 Tour Dates, new album & a remix "

by Showtrotta

DOWNLOAD: Cosmo Vitelli on Beats in Space July 12, 2007 (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Runaway on Beats in Space October 9, 2007 (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: David Bruno No Way, No Way Mix Oct 07 (MP3)

Daniel of LA Riots @ Webster Hall - May 16, 2008 *

Cut Copy set the bar pretty high with their very energetic and fun set Wednesday night. Luckily things continued down that path for the rest of the week. Friday night I made it to Webster Hall just in time to catch the last half hour or so of a very disco-fied set by James Murphy. He also threw in some classics which you could not help smiling at when you thought about where you were. Speaking of which...as much of a weird/hellish crowd the Webster Hall-based event drew, I really appreciated having space to dance and not sweating my ass off merely from being inside the venue. After James, LA Riots spun a great, banging set which was much more what I was expecting from them after experiencing their lower key set at Love last month. Daniel (1/2 of LA Riots -- the other half J'ob was not there) had the crowd perfectly warmed up and right where it needed to be for what can best be described as the dance explosion that ensued when JFK and AL-P got behind the decks. Things went from everyone getting down as they had been, to a sudden rush of people storming the stage and everyone in the place going accordingly bananas.

MSTRKRFT @ Webster Hall - May 16, 2008 *

They played for about 2 hours, from 2ish-4ish and covered every great electro song you've heard recently along with tons of new stuff. For anyone who's seen them the past 2 times they were here, the set was much more along the lines of their CMJ set (which I thought was much more exciting and creative) than their one last month at Studio B...

H&LA @ Studio B - May 17, 2008 (more by Ryan Muir)

...which is where I headed Saturday night to catch Hercules & Love Affair's debut performance that everyone has been talking about since. Overall I thought it was a great show...for a debut performance. The first couple of tracks were a bit shaky, but the group quickly rebounded with "Blind" which was still good, albeit different, without Antony (see for yourself here. A few of their songs had me absolutely losing it (namely "Athene" and "You Belong") while others were just ok. I think the problem I ran into was...I kept comparing them to Escort, and in some instances found myself wishing Zena Kitt was singing in place of Nomi, though I'm not sure if that would've worked out as ideally as it did in my head. Hercules & Love Affair's tracks have a much more modern sound vs. Escort's classic disco.

Speaking of Escort, don't miss them at Brooklyn Masonic Temple on May 30th. Tickets are on sale.

At the end of Saturday night when all was said and done, I had a great time...there is nothing like live disco. Sadly that's one thing there isn't enough of, but luckily there are plenty of other great dance happenings in the city this week:

Continue reading "Flosstradamus & other Thursday night events ++ Escort, LA Riots, MSTRKRFT, H&LA, & other 'dance' stuff too"

photos by Ryan Muir

Alex English, James Murphy, LA Riots, Does It Offend You Yeah? and even Grandmaster Flash deejayed the party at Webster Hall on Friday night (May 16, 2008), but people didn't start going completely nuts until MSTRKRFT took the stage. More pictures below....

Continue reading "MSTRKRFT & crowd @ Webster Hall (GBH party), NYC - pics"