DOWNLOAD: Molina and Johnson - Almost Let You In (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Molina and Johnson - Twenty Cycles To The Ground (MP3)

Jason Molina w/ Magnolia Electric Co. @ E. River State Park (more by Chris La Putt)

unfortunately, jason molina will not be able to tour in the new year due to his present health issues and the american dates for january and february have all been cancelled. jason molina is (still) extremely disappointed but it is impossible for him to be on the road at the present time. [Magnolia Electric Co. on 12/1/09]

After canceling their November/December European tour, Jason Molina & Will Johnson have been forced to cancel their early 2010 North American tour as well. The trip, with Chris Brokaw, included a January 30th show at NYC's (Le) Poisson Rouge.

Though there's no shows, you can still enjoy two tracks off the pair's new album, the aptly titled Jason Molina and Will Johnson, which came out November 3rd on Secretly Canadian.

Jason Molina's regular gig is fronting for Magnolia Electric Co., who played a Jelly NYC Pool Party last summer with Dirty Projectors and put out a new CD in July. Will Johnson of Centro-matic just got off tour playing drums for Monsters of Folk.

Album art and tracklist and the canceled tour dates are below...

Continue reading "Jason Molina & Will Johnson cancel tour in support of their new Secretly Canadian album (MP3s) "

photos by Chris La Putt, words by Andrew Frisicano

"This is the first outdoor New York show we've played where it hasn't rained," said Dirty Projectors' Dave Longstreth (or something like it) of the sunshine and light clouds that soared over his band, and both of Sunday's openers, Magnolia Electric Co. and Crystal Antlers (who replaced White Denim on the bill). (it rained during Dirty Projectors' Sumerstage show in June and their lightning-backed Seaport gig last year.)

It was the second Jelly NYC Pool Party at the Williamsburg Waterfront aka East River State Park where activities include dodgeball, basketball, and drinking beer in a roped off area (but not slip n slide). The view of Manhattan, Empire State Building included, along with the breeze from the water make it a great place for spending the day outdoors. The live music makes it even better.

After the inaugural Waterfront event on July 12th, the July 19th show was more of a laid back affair -- a vibe carried by the organ-driven sound of Jason Molina and Magnolia Electric Co., who went on around 4:30pm. The band from Indiana made it clear they were very happy to be there and having a great time. After their set you could catch them behind their own merch table until the end of the show.

From the opening notes of "Two Doves" at 6:15, Dirty Projectors' set got off to a slow start (that opener being one of the most low energy songs on either of their last two albums). The band continued with new-album material before launching into a mid-set stretch of older songs. I was wondering how they'd rearrange the older material, it turns out they didn't. The band played the Rise Above and before material with their two new touring members (singer Haley Dekle and bassist Nat Baldwin) off the stage. The combination of "Fucked for Life," "Gimme Gimme Gimme," "Thirsty & Miserable" and "Rise Above" injected some much-needed energy into the crowd. In my opinion, the tension and drama in those is unmatched by anything on the (still good) new record. From there, single "Stillness Is the Move" solicited cries of excitement and applause. That song led a straight shot through the Dirty Projectors' poppiest numbers, closing with a two song encore and Dark Was the Night track "Knotty Pine" (though without David Byrne there to sing his part like he did at Radio City and Bonnaroo).

I was a bit farther back, but upfront Chris had a different view of something I missed... (of someone who wasn't content yelling his marriage pleas from the crowd).

"It was a blur. During the Dirty Projector's set a man managed to get into the photographer's pit and attempted to rush the stage. He climbed onto one of the speakers in front of the stage nearly toppling it over before security managed to pull him off and escort him out of the pit."

Yikes!

Crystal Antlers opened the show, but I personally got there too late to see them. Chris did get pictures though. More of them, along with an attempt at the DP setlist, below...

Continue reading "Dirty Projectors, Magnolia Electric Co & Crystal Antlers @ the Williamsburg Waterfront - pics & setlist"

a shot from the 1st Pool Party (last week) (more by Bao Nguyen)

Chances of rain aside, the free show prospects for this weekend are amazing. Tonight/Friday its the South Street Seaport (with Superchunk and Versus), Saturday is the Siren Festival in Coney Island, and Sunday brings Dirty Projectors, Magnolia Electric Co, and Crystal Antlers (not White Denim) to the Williamsburg Waterfront Pool Party.

Alternatively, Saturday also offers the the African Festival in Prospect Park, and Q-Tip and friends at Central Park's Summerstage.

Video of Magnolia Electric Co performing live (recently) (including one with The Avett Brothers), below...

Continue reading "Superchunk Friday, Siren Saturday, Waterfront Sunday (free NYC shows this weekend also include Q-Tip & African Fest)"

"The emails have been piling up and everyone's asking, "dude, what's up with the Pool Parties?" Well DUDE, so sorry to keep you waiting, but here at JELLY we've been working our asses off to bring you one of the greatest free concert series in history. The Pool Parties are going to be extremely crucial this year, "epic" or "amazing" as you people say these days. Seriously, eight weeks of FREE shows on the waterfront of Williamsburg? Does it get any better? You might be thinking "waterfront"? Yeah, in case you didn't hear the McCarren Pool's closed so get over it :) , and yeah we kept the name Pool Parties even though the East River's not at a pool, so what? We've still got DODGEBALL, basketball, DJ's, bands, burgers the works! We love you more than your parents ever could, and if you want to have fun and hang out with us this summer. [Full schedule below]. Bring your friends but please don't bring these things [pictured above]. As you can see below, underage drinking will not be tolerated. . You guys wouldn't do that though, so there's nothing to worry about. Thank you for visiting and stay tuned!!" -Jelly

The big news here is that they finally announced! As far as this year's lineup, well, we figured most of that out already. The Black Lips will also play the show with Trail of Dead, HEALTH, and Grupo Fantasma. Jemina Pearl is also on the bill of the first show on July 12th (Mission of Burma). Full lineup poster and a video below...

Continue reading "JellyNYC announces Pool Parties @ Williamsburg Waterfront!"

"The genre that was once called "college rock" is currently drifting in a distinctly post-graduate direction. But for those who find 2009's US indie vanguard (the Grizzly Animal Projectors, the Dirty Bear Collective, those guys) a little too ethereal for their tastes, this down and dirty Austin, Texas power trio offer a marvellously rocking reality check." [Guardian]

White Denim's new album Fits will be released in the UK on June 22nd. NME is even streaming it (though us in North America only get 30 second clips). Unfortunately though, at the moment at least, there is no info on a release in the band's own country.

To go along with that record, White Denim will be touring the UK/Europe from June 23rd until at least July 11th, and that will give them enough time to get back here for their only scheduled US show that I know about at the moment, which will be free in Brooklyn on July 19th at the Williamsburg Waterfront on a bill with Magnolia Electric Co. and Dirty Projectors. This NYC show is one of eight Jelly NYC Pool Parties that will happen this summer, all of which are currently still, sort of unannounced.

New White Denim video and all dates below...

Continue reading "White Denim releasing 'Fits' (in the UK), playing Williamsburg Waterfront w/ Magnolia EC/Dirty Projectors + other dates "

Dirty Projectors @ Housing Works in May (more by Ryan Muir)

So as it turns out, the June 19th Dirty Projectors date that has been sitting out there for a month, is in fact WRONG. They are not playing the Williamsburg Waterfront on June 19th. They are playing it on JULY 19 aka Sunday, July 19th aka the free show (Pool Party) that Magnolia Electric Co. are also playing!

Dirty Projectors will play a NYC show on June 19th though. It will just be much, much, much smaller and harder to get into.... Dirty Projectors are playing an instore at Other Music on 6/19 at 9pm. "Buy 'Bitte Orca' on cd or lp and recieve 1 ticket for the instore. Limit 2 purchases/tickets per person." The store will start selling the album on Friday, 6/5 at noon TONIGHT, JUNE 3rd.

Speaking of Bitte Orca, NPR is now streaming it.

Dirty Projectors' next NYC show is this Friday (June 5) with TV on the Radio at Central Park Summerstage. The show is sold out. If you're going and you want to see DP, get there early - they are the only opener, and "Show 6:30 PM".

If you don't have a ticket, and want to see TV on the Radio (who just played Sasquatch), tickets are still on sale for the show they are playing later in the summer at Prospect Park.

DP/TVOTR dates HERE. More Williamsburg Waterfront shows are listed HERE.

Check out video from the Take Away Show DP filmed in 2007, below...

Continue reading "Dirty Projectors playing Other Music in June, and Williamsburg Waterfront ON A SUNDAY IN JULY..."

DOWNLOAD: Magnolia Electric Co - Josephine (MP3)

The Donkeys @ Radio Room in Austin (a BV SXSW party) (more by Leia Jospe)

"We are proud to announce the first details of Magnolia Electric Co.'s Josephine (released July 21 in the US and July 20 in the UK), the prolific band's first longplayer since 2006. Josephine is a weighty, mature album about real loss and dislocation, bringing forth a more minimalist aesthetic than the band has attempted to date. For Josephine, the band teamed once again with engineer Steve Albini at his Electrical Audio Studios in Chicago for what proved to be an emotional recording session." [Secretly Canadian]

In support of that new album, Magnolia Electric Co. will be going out on tour with their label-cousins The Donkeys (they're on Dead Oceans) this summer. And though the date has since mysteriously disappeared from Magnolia's list of tour dates, Pitchfork's list did reveal (thanks Eric and Tom) that the bands will be playing a "Pool Party" in Brooklyn, NY on Sunday, July 19th. That said, The Donkeys are listing that they play Union Hall in Park Slope on that date, so maybe it's just Magnolia that play the big, free JellyNYC show in Williamsburg.

New MP3 above. New cover art, track list, and all tour dates below....

Continue reading "Magnolia Electric Co & the Donkeys - new LP, MP3 & 2009 Tour Dates w/ free Williamsburg Waterfront show "

EVAN FARRELL, Magnolia Electric Co. touring bassist, former Rogue Wave bassist, long-time member of the musical collective Japonize Elephants and contributor to countless bands, passed away Christmas weekend from injuries sustained in an Oakland house fire. He was 33.

We at Secretly Canadian have known and worked with Evan for over 10 years. He was a fixture in our community and a bright spot in all of our lives. He was exceptionally talented, funny and genuine. This can go on and on, because there is so much to say about Evan, but anyone who has come into contact with the man already understands all that can be said. Evan Farrell was a friend.

A memorial fund has been set up for Evan's wife and two sons; donations are being accepted via PayPal. Video of Evan below...

Continue reading "Evan Farrell, RIP (Magnolia Electric Co, Rogue Wave)"