photos by Dana (distortion) Yavin, words by BBG

Weeze & Matt & Kim @ Deluna Fest

Do you think Matt & Kim ever get depressed? Like down-in-the-dumps, face-on-the-bathroom-tile, razor-to-the-wrist bummed? And do you think any of that anger is channeled into their music in ways not visibly noticed? Is that perma-simpleton-smile actually a front for an aryan-supremacy agenda spelled out in morse code via the band's shiny light show? Head to a New Year's Eve celebration at Hammerstein Ballroom with Super Mash Brothers to do some investigation and report back if you come across some leads. Tickets are on sale. All of their dates are listed below.

Matt & Kim was one of many artists to perform in Florida at Deluna Fest from 10/14 - 10/16, joining names like Ra Ra Riot, Stars, Ladytron, Girl Talk, Weezer, Cake and others. Belated pictures from the first day of that festival that Jane's Addiction also played, are in this post. Many more below.

Ra Ra Riot has been touring since Deluna. They don't have anything scheduled in NYC, but they will be on the road for a while and all of their dates are also listed below...

Continue reading "Deluna Fest Day 1 pics w/ Weezer, Ladytron & many more, a Matt & Kim New Year's Eve show, Ra Ra Riot tour dates"

words & photos by Dominick Mastrangelo

That so many of the characters in Greg Dulli's songs are met by misfortune (often self-inflicted) and find themselves in questionable circumstances, it was fitting that he and his Twilight Singers rolled into New York City on a Friday the 13th. Though anyone expecting something to go wrong during their feverish 21-song set were left disappointed.

"It's my birthday... three days later," Dulli joked at one point, but the entire 90-minute set seemed like a party. Nobody was having more fun than Dulli, who with this year's Dynamite Steps has released as many records as a Twilight Singer/solo artist as he did fronting the Afghan Whigs.

Early on, before a punishing version of "Bonnie Brae" (made popular by its inclusion in the television show "Rescue Me"), he accepted flowers from a fan in the front row, stepped to the mic and said, "You sure know how to make a man feel like Neil Diamond."

His voice was expectedly and delightfully off-key and his band sounded great, especially drummer Greg Wieczorek, "the best drummer I've ever seen," said Dulli during his band introductions. Erik Kang of openers Margot & the Nuclear So and So's (more on them in a second) came out to play pedal steel and violin later in the set.

As thunderstorms, porn theaters and other ominous images appeared on the screen behind them, set highlights included "Teenage Wristband", the cover of Martin Topley-Bird's "Too Tough To Die" and "On the Corner", "The Beginning of the End" and "Get Lucky" all from Dynamite Steps.

"Ladies and gentleman, The Killer," Dulli proclaimed, as a photo of that song's protagonist, Jerry Lee Lewis, and 13-year-old wife (and first cousin once removed) Myra Gale Brown loomed on the screen. It was the first song of a three-song encore and "The Killer" grooved and wailed better than anything else they played that night. Dulli closed with a ramped up version of "Esta Noche" ("This is the motherfucking finish line") that ended in a refrain of Carl Carlton's "Everlasting Love."

Margot and the Nukes' opening slot for the Twilight Singers made a lot of sense considering that bandleader Richard Edwards' songs traffic in a milder, Dulli-esque world of bruised and mis-handled relationships, but armed with Rachel's review of a show from last fall, I approached their set with trepidation. Then something happened when I got to the venue - I didn't care about any of that stuff. Bands shed and add members all the time and you either stick with them or you don't and I was just excited to see a band that I've adored since The Dust of Retreat. Sure, like a lot of people I'm nostalgic for the old version of Margot and (having seen them four times previous) missed seeing some familiar faces who were germane to a pretty great live show. But the version that recorded last year's Buzzard needed to be taken for the band it is now.

Ultimately, where the earlier Margot was more a chamber pop collective - this retooled lineup is a solid, straightforward rock band. "If you want to stay/Shut up. If you want to go/Get lost," Edwards snarled on Margot's set opener, the excellent "Claws Off" And then later in the song, "get lost" becomes "get fucked." But there are some lovely melodies in the earlier material, which was showcased on the stripped down version of "Broadripple Is Burning" complete with audience members singing along. There's still plenty of common ground to be found in their live show for fans of both incarnations.

--

The Twilight Singers and Margot are still on tour. A list of all upcoming TS dates, more pictures and the setlist from the Webster Hall show, and a video of the band playing Letterman in April too, below...

Continue reading "The Twilight singers played Webster Hall w/ Margot & the Nuclear So and So's (pics & setlist & a Letterman video too)"

DOWNLOAD: The Twilight Singers - "On the Corner" (MP3)

The Twilight Singers have a new LP due on Tuesday via Sub Pop, Dynamite Steps, the band's fifth album. Stream the entire thing at Spin right now. After a pair of in-stores on the West Coast followed by an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live on 2/23, The Twilight Singers will sit tight until mid-March when they kick of a world tour. The U.S. leg begins in early May with Margot & The Nuclear So & Sos opening on all dates. Kicking off in Oxford, Mississippi, look for the tour to hit NYC at Webster Hall on 5/13. Ticketing info is forthcoming, but it will reportedly "go on sale next week".

Meanwhile Margot & The Nuclear So & Sos recently dropped a new release of their own, Happy Hour at Sprigg's Volume 1: Live and Acoustic. You can order a copy through the band.

All tour dates and the new Twilight Singers video for "On the Corner" is available below.

Continue reading "The Twilight Singers releasing new record, touring w/ Margot & The Nuclear So & Sos (MP3, stream & dates)"

photos by Tim Griffin

Deakin

"This solo project from Animal Collective's Deakin (or Deacon, or Josh Dibb) was just as psychedelic, but in more of a dub vein, with spacey, ambient guitar over echoing reverberating distorted drum-pad beats. A pair of smoking-hot yoga-body hipster girls were dancing throughout--no idea how they found a beat to lock into, as loose as the rhythm was, but none of the guys nearby were complaining." [Dallas Observer]

From some of our posts, you might think metal and punk dominated at Fun Fun Fun Fest, and honestly it kind of was the metal and punk bands who packed the most punch making it harder to enjoy the lighter fare all in one day, but there are many who probably spent all weekend at Waterloo Park and never even ventured over to the Black Stage once, not even to check out the spectacle that is Gwar who were on that the same time as Dirty Projectors on Saturday.

If indie rock/pop/chillwave was all you were looking for, or even just dancing and hip hop, you had more than your share of best new music to keep you occupied from noon to 10pm on the Orange and Blue stages. Sunday alone featured Deerhunter, Toro Y Moi, Washed Out, Deakin, Magic Kids, Best Coast (Wavves played the day before) and Cults, not to mention Yelle, Polvo, P.O.S. and A-Trak. Those are most of the artists pictured in this post which continues below...

Continue reading "Fun Fun Fun Fest - Day 3 pics (part 2) - Deakin, Best Coast, A-Trak, Yelle, Polvo, Deerhunter, Washed Out, Toro y Moi, more"

by BBG

Devo, Crocodiles, and Dum Dum Girls have all cancelled their appearances at Fun Fun Fun Fest in the past few days. Sucks, yes. But the evil geniuses at the Austin, Texas Festival (November 5-7, 2010) have already drummed up some replacements. New bands include Cults, and Margot and the Nuclear So and Sos (who were originally on the fest, but had to drop off a few weeks ago and were replaced by The Antlers, and now are back but on a different day). Washed Out also recently replaced Cold Cave, and the Nortec Collective was a recent addition too. Oh, and to replace Devo: new headliner Descendents!

"I really can't believe it. The Descendents were one of those bands on my dream list that I thought I would never get to book" Says Graham Williams, FFF Founder. "A week ago, we had no idea what we were going to do, and now we couldn't be more happy".

The show is The Descendents' lone US scheduled appearance, and only appearance before the re-reunited band heads down under in December for some dates in Australia. Get your Fun Fun Fun Fest tickets at their site.

Speaking of Cults, they recently played a gang of shows during CMJ, and their only other show at the moment is with The Morning Benders and Twin Sister at Webster Hall in NYC on 11/18 instead of Oberhofer (tickets).

I'm preparing to head down to Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin next weekend as well, and along with all of the incredible heavy music that's already going on at the festival (Mastodon, Floor, Snapcase, High on Fire, Kylesa, Municipal Waste, Suicidal Tendencies, Hatred Surge, Ringworm... the list is endless) we'll be hosting an event of our own. On Sunday, November 7th BrooklynVegan will host a killer after-party at Red 7 (doors at 9) with incredible secret guests, along with Landmine Marathon, Mammoth Grinder, and Ratking (mems MOoB, Gorilla Biscuits). The show will be FREE to Fun Fun Fun Fest wristband holders and a measly $5 at the door for those of you without.

Not into metal or need something to do on the other nights of that weekend in Austin? Not to worry. Like the lineup of the festival itself, the selection of bands playing other afterparties on each night of the fest is diverse. There are plenty of options including a November 5th Gorilla Vs Bear shindig (also with secret guest), and many more.

BrooklynVegan show flyer, some video of those bands in action, info on the fest's 2010 Circus Stage, and more, below...

Continue reading "the Descendents, Antlers, Cults & a BrooklynVegan afterparty added to Fun Fun Fun Fest!"

photos by Amanda Hatfield, words by Rachel Kowal

It was a night of tempered (but cautiously hopeful) expectations at the Music Hall of Williamsburg last Wednesday (9/29). With Rogue Wave/Midlake playing at Webster Hall and Best Coast at the Bowery Ballroom, the competition for the evening was fierce, and it didn't help matters that the headliner of the evening, Margot & The Nuclear So & So's, recently lost/replaced a number of its members, including the band's only female - Emily Watkins.

Though energetic enough, even the two out-of-town openers seemed to have relatively low expectations. Each were convinced that no one knew who they were, but during both sets there were moments of recognition and appreciation from the audience that helped to lighten the mood and inject some energy into the sparsely populated room. At one point, opener Cameron McGill dedicated an older song to a friend, saying, "not that anyone has that album" only for someone to yell out, "I do!"

For The Lonely Forest, that uplifting moment came early in the set when someone yelled out, "Tomato Soup!" "What? Metal Soup?" asked lead singer John Van Deusen. "TOMATO SOUP!" the fan yelled again. "Holy shit! You know one of our songs? Wow." Van Deusen's dimpled smile registered his excitement. "Someone actually knows who we are." The three members not constrained by a drum kit proceeded to show their enthusiasm by jumping around on stage.

As for Margot, though a number of fans sang along, the reception was largely underwhelming, and the relatively low turn-out didn't help matters. Sadly, it seemed that the change in line-up took a tool on both the band the audience. The venue pushed back the show by 20 minutes since attendance was so slim an hour after doors, and they even closed off the balcony in a painfully obvious attempt to plump up the pit.

Kudos to Margot multi-instrumentalist Erik Kang for keeping a smile on his face and punching up the set with regular contributions from the lap steel and occasional (but always delightful) violin interludes. The absence of the cello, horns, and backing female vox (all distinguishing features for the band in the past) was certainly felt.

Of course there were high points, like crowd pleasers "Skeleton Key" and "Quiet Like a Mouse," but overall, the set dragged. By the time someone came on stage and left behind two bottles of partially consumed Jameson, the band was already wrapping things up. One song later, lead singer Richard Edwards thanked everyone for coming and headed off stage.

It was the rare occasion when an encore didn't seem like a given. Before the room began to empty, however, there was a glimmer of hope for fans. Kang briefly appeared in the empty balcony to survey the crowd before making his way back to the stage, and at his beckoning, the band returned for another two songs.

The ultimate cringe moment of the evening came just before the encore. Everyone but Edwards had appeared back on stage, prompting bass player Tyler Watkins to teasingly say, "I think someone's missing." After a brief pause, a response came from near the front of the crowd. "Yeah. Like half of the members of your band." (Yikes.)

Despite my chagrin that night, I like Margot. They were good sports for the most part, but I fear the group's recent restructuring seems to have left them somewhat detached and dejected - like a band recovering from a forced lobotomy. Let's hope Margot's identity is still in flux.

--

The Music Hall show was one of two NYC dates on a larger tour for the band in promotion of their new LP Buzzard which is out now.

More pictures from the Brooklyn show, and videos from both NYC shows, below...

Continue reading "Margot & The Nuclear So & So's played Bowery & MHOW (pics)"

DOWNLOAD: Margot & the nuclear so and so's - Lunatic, Lunatic, Lunatic (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Margot & the nuclear so and so's - New York City Hotel Blues (MP3)

old band picture

new band picture

Margot & the nuclear so and so's, now with a new lineup (see above), are on tour now in support of their new album called Buzzard. They relesaed it via their very own label they call Mariel Recordings (with distribution via Redeye). Download "Lunatic, Lunatic, Lunatic" and "New York City Hotel Blues" from that album above.

And speaking of NYC hotels, the Indiana band might be staying in one as I write this because they play Bowery Ballroom in Manhattan tonight (Sunday, 9/26) . Tickets are still available for that show and for the show the band is playing Wednesday at Music Hall of Williamsburg. Both shows, and I assume at least part of the tour, are with The Lonely Forest and Cameron McGill & What Army. All dates below...

Continue reading "Margot & the nuclear so and so's on tour (dates & new MP3s)"

Fucked Up @ Culture Shock '08 (more by Leia Jospe)

SUNY Purchase's annual Culture Shock Festival is taking place this year on Friday, April 17th and Saturday, April 18th.

Both headliners for the ninth annual fest will be hip-hop acts. Rapper/actor Drake will end Friday night's show, while Saturday's top act will be the Cool Kids (who are also playing All Points West).

You may remember 2008's Culture Shock as the festival where the mild mannered Canadians in Fucked Up "almost got arrested and their set got cut short" (as one commenter succinctly put it). Hopefully NYHC staples Murphy's Law will help make this year just as memorable (they are playing on Friday).

Culture Shock may or may not be open to the public/non-students -- a fact that sparked much debate last year.

The Tallest Man On Earth, currently on tour from Sweden (and in NYC as we speak), plays the fest on Saturday. Full 2009 line-up below...

Continue reading "SUNY's Culture Shock this weekend - here's the 2009 lineup "

by Andrew Frisicano

Cloud Cult @ Bowery Ballroom in November (more by Chris La Putt)

Cloud Cult is set to release a full-length documentary, titled No One Said It Would Be Easy, on April 21st, with a supporting US tour.

Offering an annotated history behind each of Cloud Cult's seven official full-length releases, the film deconstructs the back story, including the recruitment and inclusion of band members, as well as the tragic loss of singer/songwriter Craig Minowa and wife and visual artist Connie Minowa's son, Kaidin....Echoing the emotional catharsis required of a Cloud Cult performance, the film ebbs and flows, is filled with soaring highs and crushing lows, and is about what happens when a group of people commits to something much larger than themselves.

The band's website reports that "members of our email list [which you can sign up for here] will receive a special pre-release offer on limited edition collectors DVDs in March."

The DVD-supporting tour stretches across the US, hitting the Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn with Margot and the Nuclear So and So's on Thursday, April 9th (tickets still on sale) and this year's Coachella Festival in Indie, CA on April 18th.

The band last played a NYC show in November at Bowery Ballroom. Since then we took a look at their "Lucky Today" Esurance ad in an edition of This Week In Music Licensing. All tour dates, the doc trailer, and a Margot & NSS Take-Away show video, below...

Continue reading "Cloud Cult - a new documentary & 2009 Tour Dates (many with Margot and the Nuclear So and So's)"

This weekly post was really just meant to be an (arguably) interesting news roundup of where (mostly BV-covered) music and musicians are showing up besides in our stereos/computers/headphones/players/etc. Like all news, it might be positive, negative or neither depending on your point of view. Whether or not an artist is "selling out" by licensing their song to a particular product advertisement and/or TV show is always going to be a valid issue/argument/debate, but I removed "It's Not Selling Out Anymore" from the post title because, lighthearted or not, I think it was making this post into something it's not. Most importantly, I didn't want the title to be misconstrued as an official BrooklynVegan position on anything. There will always be (arguably) cringe-worthy examples of licensing (see Of Montreal + Outback Steakhouse) and licensing-related broken (fan's) hearts (see The Moldy Peaches + Atlantis resorts), but a lot of licensing news (as you can see below), is (arguably) pretty neutral. Are there any Modest Mouse fans offended that a Modest Mouse song appears in a snowboarding video game? I doubt it. Does it bother anyone that Stars of the Lid gave a song to the Environmental Defense Fund? Probably only people that are anti-polar bear... That's all I wanted to say.... I won't write intros to these posts after this week (please try to keep the conspiracy theories to a minimum!), so without further ado... it's "This Week in Music Licensing"...

by Ryan Barkan

Battles @ Irving Plaza (more by Bao Nguyen)

42 Below likes to do things because they can, like make Vodka and wear white suits. The New Zealand spirit maker just launched a campaign and website around the brand's mantra, "Because We Can" - living by your own rules and following your dreams. Pretty deep. The web-based campaign consists of five short films and a user-generated video contest.

Each of the five short films have a few things in common - men in all white suits, left-of-center creative, art installations, cool music, and no relation whatsoever to Vodka. Carpet Cupcake uses Battles' 2007 jam "Atlas". Two different Boards Of Canada songs are used in Beach Dolls and Car Wrap. Domino artist Four Tet provides the sonic background to Mountain Rainbow, a spot where the white suit men create a huge arch of colored plastic chairs on top of a snowy mountain. South African electronic artist Felix Laband is used in Crate UFO.

Do you have a "because I can attitude"? Do you also like to make your own videos? Do you want to win some money for doing those things ($4200)? If so, you can head to the campaign's website to find out more about the contest.

Other Notable Licensing News:

Tokyo Police Club think it is "really cool and really awesome" that they made a cameo on Sunday night's (11/16) episode of Desperate Housewives. They entered a "battle of the bands" contest, performed "In A Cave", and had two of their song titles ("Shoulders And Arms" and "Cut Cut Paste") featured on the club walls as faux band posters. Even more, two band members have lines in the dialogue. Stereogum has the video. In semi-related news, TPC's Graham Wright just released a solo EP online as a free and/or pay download.

On the tube, Gossip Girl featured three tracks from the new Kings Of Leon album, Only By The Night; One Tree Hill for the second week in a row used a song by Margot & the Nuclear So-So's and also had a song by Earlimart; 90210 went with Kanye West, and Stereolab; CSI Miami used both Jenny Lewis and Bloc Party; NUMB3RS had Cold War Kids; Privileged used CSS; Grey's Anatomy had The Coral Sea. All this week Letterman is featuring cover bands.

Nissan'snew Canadian commercial "Morning Light" goes singer-songwriter with Alexi Murdoch's "Breathe". Nice song but I think they could have found a similar style track with a better lyrical match. Watch the video here.

Toshiba's UK agency breaks the broadcast mold a bit with a commercial featuring Matrix-esque cinematography while using the Crystal Castles song "Air War". Watch the video below.

Stars Of The Lid hit NYC's (le) Poisson Rouge on Friday 11/21; I wonder if they will play the serenely spatial "A Meaningful Moment Through A Meaningless Process", a song used by the Environmental Defense Fund to help fight global warming. The web commercial was released at the end of August. The powerful Polar Bear spot can be seen below.

What do 2008 Mercury Prize winning band Elbow and Electronic Arts have to do with each other? Elbow's song "Grounds For Divorce" is the soundtrack to the commercial announcing EA's new first person shooter, Left 4 Dead; the game hits shelves this upcoming week. Video is below.

Ubisoft Montreal just released Shaun White Snowboarding in North America. The game's soundtrack is a good mix of classic (Bob Dylan, Heart, Blue Öyster Cult, Living Colour, Run DMC, Harry Nilsson) and modern (Modest Mouse, MGMT, The Ting Tings, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club) bands. Check out the full soundtrack at Wikipedia. Bob Dylan plays NYC this Friday night (11/21).

Interesting downloadable content (DLC) was made available this week via Xbox Live and Playstation Network for both Guitar Hero World Tour and Rock Band 2: GH got both a Jimi Hendrix and Smashing Pumpkins three song pack and RB2 fans can now play the entire Foo Fighters album The Colour and the Shape.

Videos below...

Continue reading "This Week in Music Licensing (Crystal Castles, Stars of the Lid, Elbow, Battles, Tokyo Police Club, and more) "

by Ryan Barkan

Gogol Bordello @ Irving Plaza (more by Jefferson)

The second edition of this controversial new feature is back. "It's Not Selling Out Anymore" (or is it?)...

Aggressive racing game, Motorstorm, was one of the most successful titles for the Playstation 3 in 2007 (selling over three million copies world wide). It was only natural then, that Sony Computer Entertainment would get a sequel out in 2008. Enter Motorstorm: Pacific Rift. The game recently hit shelves in the US at end of October and in the UK this past week. The TV spot announcing the new game brilliantly matched Motorstorm's crazy, edgy style of racing on tracks in exotic locations with the "authentic energy" of Gogol Bordello's "Wonderlust King." Watch the video of the commercial below. Gogol Bordello tour dates are HERE.

While Gogol did not make the in-game soundrack, David Bowie, Clutch, Megadeth, The Hives, Simian Mobile Disco, Death From Above 1979, and more all made the cut. Eight of the forty-five songs are exclusive to the game including a remix by Diplo of Nirvana's "Swap Meet" *.

Speaking of exclusives, The Ramones' classic jam "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker" was covered by Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and singer Jemina Pearl (from the now defunct Be Your Own Pet). Their version exclusively premiered in this past week's episode of Gossip Girl. Love & Rockets made the episode too...though not as an exclusive.

Other Notable Licensing News:

On the tube, One Tree Hill had songs by Ra Ra Riot and Margot & the Nuclear So-So's; 90210 had Florence & The Machine, The Raconteurs, and The Bravery; Grey's Anatomy had The Bird And The Bee, Whitest Boy Alive, and Brett Dennon.

M83's "You, Appearing" provides a solemn background to a French commercial for Douleurs' "Pain Without Borders" commercial. Watch the video below. M83 is currently on a tour of the US (and in NYC this week).

Cadbury's new "Favourites" commercial features the song "Stars and Sons" by Canadian supergroup Broken Social Scene. Watch the video below. Pics from the band's recent show at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple can be seen HERE.

Supreme continues its love for musical collaborations with the announcement of a Bad Brains x Supreme collection. The line consists of a couple hoodies, a t-shirt, and two different styles of Vans shoes. Bad Brains have been busy lately playing shows in Austin, NYC and elsewhere.

Vans recently released its fourth Iron Maiden tribute shoe, this time featuring the artwork from the Powerslave album. The Sk8-Hi and slip on models are available at the vans online store as well as local distributors.

Videos below...

Continue reading "It's Not Selling Out Anymore -- This Week in Music Licensing"

Photos by Chris La Putt

So it ends up that Magnetic Fields show in Jersey City is not Shugo's next NYC-area appearance. Tickets just went on sale for the following October 22nd CMJ show at Bowery Ballroom:

Margot And The Nuclear So & So's w/
Wild Sweet Orange / Love As Laughter / Audrye Sessions / Shugo Tokumaru / Cory Chisel & The Wandering Sons

Last night (9/23) Shugo made his NYC debut at Mercury Lounge with an all-star cast featuring members of Beirut, The National and So Percussion. More pictures and the setlist below...

Continue reading "Shugo Tokumaru played Mercury Lounge (pics), playing CMJ w/ Margot and the Nuclear So & So's"