Marnie Stern will be one of the bowlers (but not one of the performers) at a Stereogum "Gumbowl" charity event tonight at Brooklyn Bowl. You can't watch her bowl yet, but you can go to the concert afterwards (that she is not playing)....

"While the doors have to be closed during the tournament in order to film it all for charitable posterity -- and be sure we'll present you with the footage -- we're celebrating afterward by throwing open the gates for a FREE CONCERT, headlined by Woods, and featuring an opening set from the 'Gum-beloved rising sextet Effi Briest, DJ magic from Ms. St. Vincent Annie Clark, and loitering by our celebrity bowlers, who may or may not still be wearing the sweet-ass bowling jerseys we're throwing on them. We want you there (if you're 21 or older (sorry, kids!))." - Stereogum

Other charity bowlers include The Blow (who has a show coming up at Joe's Pub), Nick Islands Thorburn Diamonds (who has 3 NYC shows coming up), Alan Neon Indian Palomo (who has multiple NYC shows coming), and Tim Les Savy Fav Harrington (who has a scheduled Brooklyn show too). The full list of bowlers is also below.

If you want to catch Marnie Stern play live, her next show will be at Glasslands on Friday, June 18th along with White Hinterland, Anni Rossi, Translations and True Womanhood. It's not free, but you get a discount if you RSVP to that here.

Anni Rossi will also be playing Pianos the night before (6/17).

More info on the Gumbowl and flyers are below...

Continue reading "Marnie Stern bowls tonight (before the free Woods show), plays in June w/ Anni Rossi who has 2 upcoming shows"

Pop Montreal 2009 (more by Ryan Muir)

POP Montreal, sort of like the CMJ of Montreal, but less industry-like, returns for the 9th time from September 29th to October 3rd. Check out the sneak peak of their intial lineup below...

Continue reading "Pop Montreal 2010 dates & initial lineup - includes SWANS"

by Andrew Frisicano

DOWNLOAD: Surfer Blood - Swim (MP3)

Surfer Blood @ Market Hotel in February (more by Dominick Mastrangelo)

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart will be at Other Music for Record Store Day. It's their only NYC date at the moment. Their tour with Surfer Blood and Hooray for Earth doesn't start til June (and doesn't have an NYC date yet). All of those dates are below.

Before then, Surfer Blood will play a show at Princeton on Thursday (tonight) and SUNY Purchase Friday (4/16) for Culture Shock.

For Record Store Day, Surfer Blood will be dropping a split single with Holiday Shores. One side is Surfer Blood's "Take It Easy (live)" featuring Marnie Stern, and the other is Holiday Shores' "Your Motion Says," an Arthur Russell cover. Russell's disco-burner original is below along with video of Marnie performing with Surfer Blood at Cameo on New Years Eve.

Surfer Blood was recently featured on the web show Dirty Laundry. Video of that show and all tour dates (plus details on Hooray for Earth's Cinco de Mayo show at LPR) are below...

Continue reading "Surfer Blood in NJ, SUNY Friday, tour dates w/ Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Record Store Day release w/ Marnie Stern"

Surfer Blood & Marnie Stern @ Cameo on NYE (by Abbey Braden /PunkPhoto)

Surfer Blood played the Cameo with We Are Country Mice, Beach Fossils, Frankie & The Outs (who played in their swimsuits) and others on New Years Eve. As you can see in the picture above, Marnie Stern (who's been quiet recently show-wise) joined Surfer Blood on stage at the party.

Surfer Blood has quite a bit of tour dates (with interesting tourmates like Monotonix) scheduled between now and SXSW. On Wednesday, January 13th, they'll play a sold-out Bowery Ballroom show with The Drums and Depreciation Guild. They'll also play Brooklyn's Market Hotel on February 27th with Beach Fossils and Grooms, and New York's Mercury Lounge on Sunday, February 28th with We Are Country Mice and Radical Sons. Both NYC shows are also with Turbo Fruits who they'll continue on the road with for a bunch more dates. Tickets go on sale Friday, January 8th at noon for the Manhattan show.

Video of Surfer Blood playing with Marnie Stern, other songs from their NYE set, and all tour dates are below...

Continue reading "Surfer Blood played New Years Eve w/ Marnie Stern, announce more 2010 dates (some w/ Turbo Fruits) "

The summer series of Adult Swim Presents free shows at Santos Party House in NYC continues tonight (8/6) with a kick-ass Aqua Teen Hungerforce/Squidbillies lineup that includes music by Oakley Hall, Marnie Stern, Drink Up Buttercup, and Jason and the Scorchers, and comedy by Dave Willis (voice of Carl and Meatwad) and Dana Snyder (voice of Master Shake and Granny on Squidbillies). Flyer below...

Continue reading "Marnie Stern, Oakley Hall, Drink Up Buttercup, Carl, Meatwad, Master Shake & Granny - free show reminder"

The Great Pumpkin solves the mystery of why Northside Badge holders were not being let into Shea Stadium last night...

Last night was the first night of the North Side Festival. It started off really well with a great set by Ducktails at Cameo. We then headed over to Live at Shea Stadium to catch Marnie Stern and Magic Markers.

When we got to the show the guy at the door said that they were not accepting North Side Badges, and there was a sign saying that Marnie Stern canceled. He also handed me this flier...

Continue reading "no badges @ Shea Stadium last night because Strength in Numbers revolted against Northside Fest ++ Marnie Stern cancelled"

photos by Fresh Bread

DOWNLOAD: Think About Life - Paul Cries (old MP3)

I'm sorry if I offended anyone, but I'll stand by my statement that without Marnie Stern, the "Ponytail / Think About Life show at Music Hall of Williamsburg" is/was "still exciting, but slightly less interesting". Real Estate were good, but pretty much any bill will become less interesting when Marnie Stern drops off it.

That said, the highlight of Saturday night's show for me was Think About Life. As the Montreal three-piece (drums, vocals, and Graham Van Pelt on guitar/keyboard/sound effects) pointed out from the stage, it was [almost] three years since the last time they played NYC. I hope they don't stay away so long again.

It was unfortunate that Think About Life played first, but everyone who got there in time to see their 9:30 pm set seemed to be having a good time. And TAL frontman Martin Cesar (aka Dishwasher) was ESPECIALLY having a good time. He let everyone know it, more than once, and it rubbed off. He would occasionaly come into the crowd, and people were actually, even dancing.

Think About Life's set featured a lot more of Martin actually singing than I remember from their sets in the past. It's not that he didn't sing before, but I remember it being heavier with more speaking/screaming than singing. I liked the band a lot before, but this was even better than I remembered. Can't wait to hear their new album, Family (and see them again soon. hopefully).

Ponytail, who TAL are currently still on tour with (updated dates below), also "killed it" (as usual). More pictures from the show below...

Continue reading "Think About Life, Real Estate & Ponytail @ MHOW, NYC - pics "

Tonight's Ponytail / Think About Life show at Music Hall of Williamsburg is still exciting, but slightly less interesting (4/25). I'm not sure when it happened, but Marnie Stern was replaced by Real Estate on the 3-band Brooklyn bill. Tickets are still available.

Marnie Stern is instead now scheduled to open for Blonde Redhead at Old Dominion University in Virginia tonight, and her next NYC show is instead May 3rd at the Bell House where she'll share a bill with Tera Melos. Tickets are on sale. All tour dates below...

Continue reading "Marnie Stern not playing Music Hall, is playing Bell House"

by Andrew Frisicano

DOWNLOAD: Ponytail - Celebrate The Body Electric (It Came From An Angel) (MP3)

Ponytail @ Bell House (more by Jonny Leather)

Ponytails are no longer the surrender flag waved by the fashion maladroit, the new mom, the soccer mom, the hungover mom, the shirking celebrity, the gym enthusiast or the roots-showing victim of a bad hair day.

The ponytail is a nod to our more tousled and casual American roots (think of Marilyn Monroe in ''The Misfits'' or Ali McGraw in ''Love Story''), an impromptu style born not of beauty anxieties, but of industry. Why do you pull your hair into a hasty ponytail? Because you're about to do something. The hair must be out of the way so you can pore over that international torts tome. You are tousled because you have better things to do than detousle yourself: you are working.-[NY Times]

Think About Life @ SXSW 2008

The Brooklyn show will bring Montreal's Think About Life back to NYC - possibly for the first time since 2006, though in 2008 they did visit Austin for SXSW and Graham Van Pelt's other band Miracle Fortress were here in September. Their upcoming tour includes multiple dates with Ponytail and some with Ratatat. All dates below.

Think About Life has a new album, Family, coming out in Canada on Alien8 on May 26th. Check the video for new track "Wizzzard", and the full tracklist, below.

Marnie Stern played NYU earlier this month, and is playing at least two dates with Ponytail and Think About Life.

All tour dates, and everything else mentioned above, below...

Continue reading "Think About Life - new album & video - 2009 Ponytail tour dates -- Brooklyn show w/ Marnie Stern!"

photos by Chris La Putt

"New York -- Longtime PETA supporter Judith Yeargin fought hard not only in her long battle with breast cancer but also against the use of animals in laboratory experiments. That's why Yeargin, who died on March 2, left her body to the New York University Langone Medical Center (NYUMC)--a notorious violator of the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA). Yeargin hoped that if her body were used for cancer research, it might spare countless animals from having tumors implanted in their bodies and from being maimed during surgeries and abused in painful, deadly, and wasteful experiments. She knew that the progression and treatment of cancer in humans cannot be effectively studied in animals because of the vast differences in physiology and disease development between humans and other animals.

"Throughout her entire illness, she always maintained that, had she been given the option of accepting any kind of cure based on animal research, she would never, ever accept it," wrote Yeargin's husband to PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk. "The enormous pain so often found in animal research rarely mitigates the 'devil's bargain,' and its concomitant suffering, that cancer treatments frequently bring." [PETA]

Continue reading "A Place to Bury Strangers & Marnie Stern played NYU (pics), animal activist leaves body to NYU hospital"

A Place To Bury Strangers have signed a worldwide deal with UK based record label, Mute. On Friday April 17, the band will appear at the 2009 Coachella Music Festival in Indio, CA. They will also headline this year's PsychFest in Austin, TX on Saturday March 15. The band is currently in the studio working on an as-yet untitled sophomore album. Release date is TBD.

"We are incredibly excited to sign with Mute," says frontman and guitarist Oliver Ackermann. "They have put out some of our favorite music over the years. I can't think of a label that better fosters experimentally creative music."

Continue reading "APTBS sign to Mute - Marnie Stern NYU show tonight"

As people have pointed out, A Place To Bury Strangers, Ra Ra Riot, Marnie Stern, and Apache Beat are sharing a bill at NYU's Kimmel Center (60 Washinton Square South) on March 5th...

CHILL 2009: Advance NYU Tickets on Sale Now! $10 NYU/$16 Public Doors: 7:30pm ++++++ 100% of Proceeds go to Charity+++++++ The Chill Concert is our annual fundraisiner concert to benefit the Chill Foundation, a charity organized by Burton; one of the snowboarding industry's largest players. The Chill Foundation seeks out at-risk, inner-city youths, and periodically gets them out of the city and to the mountain over the course of the winter.

Friends, Austinites, countrymen, lend us your ears: THE BLACK ANGELS and LIVE MUSIC CAPITOL present PSYCH FEST 2 Friday March 13th through Sunday March 15th, in Austin, Texas, spiritual birthplace and global epicenter of psychedelia. What better way to honor the cradle of consciousness than a festival of hallucinogenic sights and sounds celebrating the town's musical heritage and spotlighting the best new vanguards of the most mind-bending music ever played? Your three-day key to the doors of perception is a scant $45 (or one day doses for $15 ) available online on www.livemusiccapitol.com and Austin record stores beginning Friday the 13th, 2.13.09. With a lineup featuring such acclaimed acts as Austin's own THE BLACK ANGELS, joined by A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS, DEAD MEADOW, THE WARLOCKS, Sky Sunlight Saxon of legendary garage rock innovators THE SEEDS and a constellation of rising underground stars from Austin and around the world including THE WOODEN SHJIPS, INDIAN JEWELRY, THE STRANGE BOYS, THE GOLDEN ANIMALS and many more, those doors will be rocked off their hinges. This year's Fest also features Austin's psych cult heroes, THE GOLDEN DAWN performing their 1968 album 'Power Plant' from start to finish. Prepare your earthly vessel for lift-off.

Marnie Stern is also playing a March 10th shown in Philly which doubles as the first night of a tour leading to Austin for SXSW where she'll play the Kill Rock Stars party @ Club DeVille on March 18th (in the afternoon) with The Thermals, Thao Nguyen, Horse Feathers, The Shaky Hands, and the pAper chAse. She's also, like Yann Tiersen, on the bill of one of the ATP's in Minehead in May. All of her dates below.

Ra Ra Riot have another NYC show coming up at Webster Hall, as well as tour dates with Death Cab For Cutie, Tokyo Police Club, and Passion Pit. They also appear on the recently announced Sasquatch lineup.

Apache Beat are currently in London where they'll play a bunch of shows with School of Seven Bells before coming back for the NYU gig. They also share a bill at Santos Party House on April 11th with Violens.

All dates below...

Continue reading "A Place To Bury Strangers, Ra Ra Riot, Marnie Stern, Apache Beat - NYU, Psych Fest, other tour dates"

the fashionable Marnie Stern @ Santos Party House (more by Tim Griffin)

Alexander McQueen is no doubt up to his neck in his fabulous fall 2009 collection, with Paris Fashion Week just weeks away. But the legendary designer set aside a little time for the Cut to talk about one of 2009's most exciting collaborations, his forthcoming Target collection. The line doesn't hit stores until March 4, but New Yorkers can purchase it next weekend. Yes, we are special. Target's McQ Market will run from Saturday, February 14 through Sunday, February 15 at St. John's Center on Houston Street. So don't celebrate Valentine's Day, celebrate McQueen. Now you have a reason to be excited for Valentine's Day...

Target McQ Market
When: Saturday, February 14 - Sunday February 15; noon - 10pm
(On Saturday night from 7pm - 9pm, guests will enjoy performances from Marnie Stern, The Phenomenal Handclap Band, and Acrylics.)
Where: St. John's Center
330 West Street at W. Houston Street
New York, NY 10013
[NY Magazine]

7pm - Acrylics
7:30pm - Lissy Trullie
8:00pm - Golden Triangle
8:50pm - The Phenomenal HandClap Band

The Duke Spirit is playing an Alexander McQueen party tonight/Friday. Info on that and more bands playing shows for Fashion Week, HERE.

TPHB's last NYC show was with Apes & Androids at Music Hall of Williamsburg.

Earlier this week Pitchfork.TV went "Daytripping" with Marnie Stern. Watch the videos below...

Continue reading "more bands for Fashion Week (PHCB, Lissy Trullie) (but not Marnie Stern) +++ Daytripping video"

photos by Eric M. Townsend

Nick Diamonds/Thorburn of Islands put together a NY Cares benefit at Knitting Factory in NYC. It happened back on December 8th. The three floor event featured experimental music, art and someone on LSD in a cage on the bottom floor (Old Office), comedy (Eugene Mirman, Dave Hill, Tim Harrington of Les Savy Fav, God's Pottery, Jessie Klein, etc...) followed by Street Carnage (Gavin McInnes showing funny pictures and telling really dirty stories about them) on the second flooor (Tap Bar), and music (Conrad Keely, Leona Naess, Marnie Stern, Despot and Nick Diamonds) and comedy (Eugene Mirman and Fred Armisen) on the main stage. More pictures below...

Continue reading "the rest of the NY Cares Benefit pics (David Cross, Nick Diamonds, Fred Armisen, Street Carnage...)"

photos by Eric M. Townsend

Like Conrad Keely, Marnie Stern played the NY Cares benefit at Knitting Factory on December 8th. Like Crystal Stilts, Marnie Stern is playing Knitting Factory again this Saturday. And like Crystal Stilts, but unlike the Dodos, Marnie Stern made Pitchfork's Top 50 Albums of 2008 (26-50). A few more NY Cares pics below...

Continue reading "Marnie Stern in P4K's top 50 + KF past (pics) & KF future (tix) "

by Bill Pearis

Quasi

This time of year is usually pretty slow, show-wise, but this seems to be an especially-packed week for shows. Here's some of the stuff I'm considering attending while I procrastinate on holiday gift shopping and doing all my year-end lists over on my own blog.

Crystal Stilts @ Less Artists More Condos (more by Gabi Porter)

Speaking of, while I haven't posted my Best Albums of '08 yet, I will tell you Crystal Stilts' Alight of Night did make the Top Ten. They're playing tonight (12/17) at Le Poisson Rouge and even though I've seen them more times this year than I'd like to admit (and will probably see them again later this week), I will probably be in attendance. They're opening for Bay Area neo-fokies Vetiver, whose new covers album, Thing of the Past, is rather lovely.

Vetiver

Hot Snakes

Also tonight (12/17), is that double-shot of ex-Hot Snakes/Drive Like Jehu/Pitchfork bands at Santos Party House: Obits, that's fronted by Rick Froberg; and headliners The Night Marchers, which features John Reis and two other members of Hot Snakes. I have to admit Obits is more of a draw for me, as the band also features Sohrab Habibion who used to front Edsel, one of my favorite bands from the '90s DC scene. Obits just released their debut 7", "One Cross Apiece," which I like a lot. Will there be a mini Hot Snakes reunion tonight? Probably not, but you can always hope for a Christmas miracle.

Plus Minus

Speaking of '90s indie rock survivors, Thursday (12/18) at Music Hall of Williamsburg is +/-, which is the band/solo project James Baluyut formed when Versus called it quits in the early part of this decade. Versus are playing shows again - and maybe recording new material (so I hear) - but +/- are still very much their own thing and going strong, having released their fourth album Xs on Your Eyes, back in October. Actually the whole line-up at MHoW that night is pretty great: Philly duo Pattern is Movement (who played a BV CMJ day party this year), Brooklyn indie royalty The Ladybug Transistor, and In Interview who I caught at NYC popfest back in June and who don't play nearly enough.

Also on Thursday (12/18): That A.C. Newman Get Guilty listening party at Stanton Public, which I originally thought was last week but wasn't. You can still RSVP for it at Insound. 8-10PM, free beer n' booze.

Sic Alps

And last but absolutely not least, the can't miss show of the week has to be Saturday's (12/20) three floor-event at Knitting Factory curated by indie rock's original keyboard-drum duo, Quasi. Mates of State, Matt and Kim, etc, bow down to Sam Combes and Janet Weiss. The line-up is kind of staggering: awesome San Francisco garage rock duo Sic Alps (who I've plugged before), the aforementioned Crystal Stilts (a late addition to the bill), Jeffrey Lewis, Soft Circle (ex-Black Dice), plus films by legendary animator Sally Cruikshank (one of which is where Quasi got their name) and Craig Baldwin. Oh yeah, Marnie Stern is also playing. Tickets are $20, and worth it.

Continue reading "Quasi, Vetiver, Crystal Stilts, Marnie Stern, +/-, Hot Snakes, Sic Alps & more in This Week in Indie"

photos by Tim Griffin

Gang Gang

Marnie

Pitchfork: So, the kissing booth. Are you tired of talking about it?

Marnie Stern: Yeah, well, I just have no idea! We got the ticket, we're broke, barely scraping by. So we thought-- well the tour manager, Malia [James], said, "Let's do a kissing booth with Gang Gang [Dance, with whom Stern is touring]." And so everyone decided we should do a kissing booth. And then, so we [laughs] made up the sign, we first-- which was in Seattle-- and nobody was doing it, so the Gang Gang guys paid [laughs] for the first couple nights.

Pitchfork: That's sweet.

Marnie Stern: Isn't that sweet? And then... I don't know. Then we sort of stopped doing it, but um, I don't know, it's fun.

Marnie Stern's next NYC show is this Monday at Knitting Factory. More Santos pictures below...

Continue reading "Gang Gang Dance & Marnie Stern @ Santos, NYC - pics"

photos by Tim Griffin

hanging out at the hotel, after some rehearsing for unplugged-ish radio sessions coming up. we got us two 1 Watt Fender mini amps, these 10 cm thingies for that.

now that s what we call wall of sound. the walls of the hotel were shaking. all about walls.

getting ready now for tonites show,

excited to be sharing a stage with Marnie Stern. really gotten to like her stuff - lyrics really resonate with me right now. [18th Dye]

Continue reading "18th Dye @ Santos Party House, NYC - pics "

photos by Chris La Putt, Zach Dilgard, Leia Jospe; words by Black Bubblegum

Marnie Stern tappin away (by Chris LaPutt)

Need to get away from the family this Thanksgiving? Marnie Stern and her fingertappin' toetappers will massage your ears at TWO NYC dates supporting Gang Gang Dance over the Thanksgiving holday weekend. The first is 11/28 with Zs at Music Hall Of Williamsburg (tickets here). The second is 11/29 at Santos Party House with the reunited 18th Dye (tickets here).

It was also just announced that Marnie will be appearing at the NY Cares benefit taking place at Knitting Factory on December 8th with David Cross, Nick Diamonds and others.

Marnie's latest band of merry comrades includes guitarist Mark Shippy of the recently defunct US Maple and ex-Parts & Labor-er Jim Sykes on the kit. Those two spots were previously held at times by Zach Hill (who recently played NYC) and Robby Moncrieff of The Advantage, as well as a friggin' iPod for a short while (the version of her band that sometimes didn't get the best reviews). The Shippy/Sykes incarnation of the Marnie Stern band will be on hand for the upcoming shows this week, and were there to back Marnie Stern on the main stage of the BrooklynVegan Day Party on Oct 25th at The Knitting Factory. That's where the pictures in this post originate.

Admittedly, I never caught Marnie during her Hill/Moncrieff days, but her performance at the BV Day Party left me thinking that Shippy/Sykes added the necessary (seitan) beefy backbone to complement her uniquely cutesy-virtuosic guitar licks... much like the dichotomy of Satomi and Saunier/Dieterich in Deerhoof. Don't get me wrong though, Marnie doesn't just provide the yin to her back-up band's yang... Girlfriend came to shred, and she definitely took care of bidness. Her new album is out now on Kill Rock Stars. Check out video from the show, as well as all Marnie Stern tour dates below...

Continue reading "Marnie Stern - 2008 Tour Dates (Gang Gang Dance, NY Cares), Knitting Factory pics"

by Black Bubblegum

18th Dye are back in action and will support Marnie Stern & Gang Gang Dance at Santos Party House on November 29th as part of a tour to promote their new album Amorine Queen (out NOW). It will be their first US tour since their dissolution in 1999.

With their groundbreaking, catchy and explosive rock 18TH DYE earned great recognition in the international music press during the '90s, with albums Done (1992), Crayon (1993), Tribute to a Bus (1995) and Left (B-Sides and Rarities) (1999)...

From 1992 to 1998, the band was signed to Matador Records, and toured with Stereolab and Yo la Tengo, amongst others, also recording with legendary producer Steve Albini. They completed three BBC Peel sessions (the only Danish band to do that) and scored several Top 10 hits on the English indie charts while receiving attention on the CMJ chart in the US. After having released the album 'Tribute to a Bus' and after extensive touring in Europe and the US, 18TH DYE stopped playing and it was not until 2005, at VibraCrunch07 Festival, that they began playing live again. ....Now all three are together once again: 18TH DYE!

Continue reading "18th Dye - reunited & touring (dates) (Santos show)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Doug Gillard - "Valpolicella" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Women - "Black Rice" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Howlies - "Chimera" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Delta Spirit - "Gimme Some Motivation" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Takka Takka - "Everybody Say" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Mae Shi - "Remarkably Dirty Animals" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Marnie Stern - "Transformer" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Pattern Is Movement - "Right Away" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: All The Saints - "Sheffield" (MP3)

DOWNLOAD: Starfucker - "German Love" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Shout Out Out Out Out - "Nobody Calls Me Unless They Want Something" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Little Boots - "Meddle" (Designer Drugs remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Carps - "Heaven's Gate Hell's Flames" Remix w/ The Cool Kids (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Lemonade - Big Weekend (Delorean Remix) (MP3)

Marnie Stern & puppies

Even if you don't have a badge, CMJ (Oct 21-25 in NYC) can be overwhelming... especially these days with the proliferation of day parties, unofficial showcases and afterparties. Running around like a crazy person trying to catch everyone you want to see can be fun, but sometimes it's not such a bad idea just to pick one place and stay there. With that in mind, I've picked one day party and one evening showcase for each of the five days, as well as late night parties where applicable. The guide to Saturday (10/25) is below...

Continue reading "your guide to CMJ, Saturday October 25, 2008"

Photos by Gabi Porter

The Stereogum Tuesday (10/21) late night party had a LATE start. Got there a little before doors were advertised (midnight), and they weren't letting anyone in - the bands were still soundchecking. When they finally let people into the new Studio (an hour after the promised start time), Gang Gang Dance were still soundchecking. The GGD soundcheck eventually blended seamlessly into their set, and I don't remember ever liking the band as much as I did last night. The new space at Webster is intimate, and I'm used to seeing GGD in much more grandiose settings. The set was really hypnotic, but at 2:30 I had to call it a night and go home, so I unfortunately didn't get the chance to see any of the other bands on the bill." - Gabi

Continue reading "Gang Gang Dance @ the Studio @ Webster Hall, NYC - pics"

Walter Schreifels of Rival Schools @ UCB (more by Tim Griffin)

Made Out Of Babies

Marnie Starn @ Silent Barn (more by Lori Baily)

@ Knitting Factory in NYC, main stage, Saturday, October 25, 2008, FREE

all day: DJs Finger on the Pulse
12:00 Starfucker
12:45 The Carps
1:30 Little Boots
2:15 Shout Out Out Out
3:00 Marnie Stern
4:00 Made Out of Babies
5:00 Rival Schools

This free show is the Rival Schools' first public NYC reunion show. Their first non-public NYC reunion show was this past Monday night at the invite-only Syndicate party. Their next 2 public NYC-area reunion shows are at Maxwell's and Mercury Lounge in November. They're both sold out.

Check out Made Out of Babies live videos below...

Continue reading "BV free day party @ Knitting Factory - main stage lineup "

The new space at Webster Hall is hosting free shows all week long during CMJ 2008. More details below...

Continue reading "free CMJ shows @ The Studio, VICE & Stereogum included"

CMJ 2008 at Bowery Ballroom

10/21 - Lykke Li / Friendly Fires / Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson / Micachu (sold out)
10/22 - Margot And The Nuclear So & So's / Wild Sweet Orange / Love As Laughter / Audrye Sessions / Shugo Tokumaru / Cory Chisel & The Wandering Sons
10/23 - Delays / Scouting For Girls / Black Joe Louis & The Honeybears / Chester French / Janelle Monae
10/24 - Jay Reatard / Longwave / White Lies / Violens / Japanese Motors / SweetWater
10/25 - Little Jackie (early show)
10/25 - A Place to Bury Strangers / Crystal Antlers / Vivian Girls / Marnie Stern / All The Saints (late show)

Delays is the biggest surprise, but not necessarily a good surprise. I haven't liked their new direction. You can hear for yourself at MySpace.

Black Joe Louis & The Honeybears just so happens to be also playing NYC tonight (10/7).

The Saturday night show should be a great one, especially for people from out of town who don't get as many chances to see the three local bands on the bill.

Mercury Lounge shows are listed HERE.

The BV show is at MHOW.