"The 2010 Lollapalooza line-up is official: Soundgarden, Green Day, Lady Gaga, Arcade Fire, The Strokes, and Phoenix will headline, joined by Social Distortion, MGMT, Jimmy Cliff, Hot Chip, and The Black Keys. With 130 bands on this year's bill, its sure to be a weekend long feast for the ears.

It's a monumental year for Lollapalooza, filled with homecomings, reunions, and first-times. Soundgarden, 1992 and 1996 Lollapalooza alumni, return to the Lollapalooza stage for their first performance since 1997. Green Day will rock Grant Park sixteen years after their first Lollapalooza appearance. While Lady Gaga will headline the festival only three short years after playing the BMI stage at Lollapalooza 2007.

Arcade Fire returns to Grant Park, having played the reincarnated Lollapalooza in 2005. This is the first Lollapalooza for The Strokes - and also their first show in four years. And making their Lollapalooza debut: Phoenix." - Lollapalooza

Continue reading "Lollapalooza actually announces 2010 lineup "

Kevin Devine

Kevin Devine and the Goddamn Band play for-donation tonight (1/27) at Brooklyn Bowl. Those who give more than $5 will get the band's new split 7-inch with Manchester Orchestra, "I Could Be The Only One," which is streaming below. Also on the bill are the rarely see Scott Matthew, and Linfinity. Any money collected goes to Yele Haiti (which in turn buys Wyclef a new boat... I'm kidding!) (that's not even what the controversy is about).

Speaking of the desire to hear more of the beautiful voice of Scott Matthew, you can also catch him at Rockwood Music Hall four times in February. Those dates are listed below.

Linfinity, the six piece NYC band whose debut album Martian's Bloom will be released by American Myth Recordings on April 27th, also has other upcoming shows including a "Dylan solo set" at Union Hall on February 3rd (flyer below), and SXSW.

Kevin Devine & Co. have plenty of tour dates coming up, including a European tour in February and March, and sets at Coachella and Bamboozle Fest. Girl Talk and Weezer were already part of the lineup for that (happening May 1-2 at Meadowlands), and more were recently announced including MGMT, Matt & Kim, Minus the Bear, Drake, Wale and Ke$ha. That lineup, all tour dates, and Kevin's new single are below...

Continue reading "Kevin Devine playing free show tonight w/ Scott Matthew, updated Bamboozle lineup & other dates "

Wow...Public Image Ltd, The Specials, Grizzly Bear, Passion Pit, Echo and the Bunnymen, Grace Jones, Fever Ray, Devo, Hot Chip, Phoenix, Orbital, Spoon, Sly and the Family Stone, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Sunny Day Real Estate, Yo La Tengo, Mew, Camera Obscura, Gil Scott-Heron, The xx, John Waters, Dillinger Escape Plan, Deer Tick, Gary Numan... Full Coachella 2010 lineup below....

Continue reading "2010 Coachella line up announced (Faith No More, Pavement, Muse, Gorillaz, Thom Yorke, Jay-Z, LCD Soundystem, ???)"

photos by Chris Graham

Happy Holidays! I take on more than I can handle. That results in a lot of unposted content. In the name of catching up, while also taking it easy during this final week of the year, here's some of that lost material.

For what was the worst day weather-wise for San Francisco's Outide Lands Festival, its last day (Sunday, August 30th) may have been the best musically. Cold fog and wind took the place of cloudless, sunny skies, but those who attended witnessed sets by Modest Mouse, the Dead Weather, the Avett Brothers, Band of Horses, Calexico, Matt & Kim , and soul legends Robert Randolph and Betty Layvette, and MIA, who complained via Twitter about the fest's substitution of Tenacious D for the Beastie Boys, then covered two Beasties songs, "Intergalactic" and "Sabatage, in her set.

Scrambling to find replacement headliners for the Beastie Boys was a common theme for festivals in summer '09, after the group was forced to cancel all dates when Adam Yauch was dianosed with cancer (he's since had sugery, and reports say that part of his health regiment is a vegan/organic diet). Beastie Boys' slot was filled by Jay-Z at All Points West and Yeah Yeah Yeahs at Lollapalooza

More pictures from Day Three below...

Continue reading "Outside Lands 2009 - Day 3 pics (Tenacious D, MIA, Ween, Modest Mouse, Band of Horses, Dead Weather, more)"

photos by Chris La Putt

Indie darlings Matt & Kim kicked off the show -- which celebrates the year's best music as determined by MTVu's college-centric audience -- with an energetic performance of their breakout single "Lessons Learned." Later, the duo returned to accept their Best Video Woodie award.

"We've had one heck of a year," said Matt Johnson, before counterpart Kim Schifino leapt into the crowd.

Additional performers included veteran alt-rockers Death Cab for Cutie, who rocked the audience with its "New Moon" soundtrack single "Meet Me on the Equinox," as well as Passion Pit, the Dead Weather and Clipse, who were joined onstage by fellow rappers Cam'ron and Rick Ross.

Presenter highlights came from Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz and pop prankserts 3OH!3. Wentz rolled onto the stage holding a red Solo cup, while 3OH!3 gave a nod to Lady Gaga by dressing in her various VMA outfits. Asher Roth, will.i.am, and surprise guest Cyndi Lauper also presented awards. [Billboard]

The Dead Weather also played a show one day before the Woodies in Brooklyn. The Woodies air December 4th at 10pm. More pictures from the event (11/18 at Roseland Ballroom in NYC), below...

Continue reading "2009 mtvU Woodie Awards @ Roseland - pics (Passion Pit, Dead Weather, Matt & Kim, Clipse, Death Cab, more) "

The Dead Weather @ Home Sweet Home in July (more by Ryan Muir)

The Dead Weather will be performing at Music Hall of Williamsburg on Tuesday, November 17th. The show, happening one day before the group plays the mtvU Woodie Awards at Roseland Ballrom, is currently the only gig on their schedule. Tickets for the show will go on presale for subscribers of The Vault, the online club run by Third Man Records, starting Tuesday, November 10th at noon. General sale starts Friday, November 13th at noon. There will be a two ticket limit, will call only.

At the mtvU Woodie Awards, at Roseland Ballroom on November 18th, the band will perform their Woodie-nominated video song, "Treat Me Like Your Mother." That's posted below. Also on the bill are Death Cab For Cutie (doing their Twilight song "Meet Me on the Equinox") and Matt and Kim. The event will be broadcast on December 4th.

The Dead Weather video and this year's Woodie Nominees are posted below...

Continue reading "The Dead Weather playing MHOW before they play the mtvU Woodies (with Death Cab & Matt & Kim)"

photos by Chris La Putt

Brooklyn duo Matt and Kim, dressed as Andy Warhol and his It Girl Edie Sedgewick, took the stage to Fat Joe shouting "Where Brooklyn At?" over the sinister beat of his hit "Lean Back", while they threw out candy to the crowd before beginning a fun-filled set that included their infectious smash hit "Daylight" and short nods to Europe's "Final Countdown" and Gary Glitter's "Rock and Roll Part Two."

As for Weezer, they were dressed in various insect costumes, which vocalist Rivers Cuomo had audience members remove for himself his fellow band members while they continued to play "Undone (The Sweater Song)" early on in the set. The sold out house danced along to all the bouncy music Weezer had to offer (literally bouncy, as the band had a trampoline set up on stage), including hits such as "Perfect Situation", "Island in the Sun", "Surf Wax America", "Buddy Holly", "Pork and Beans", "Dope Nose", and new ones "I Can't Stop Partying", and "I'm Your Daddy." They also played an absolutely awesome cover of MGMT's "Kids", which took a detour to Lady GaGa's massive hit "Poker Face" in the middle. But as usual, it was "My Name is Jonas" that brought the house down.

The biggest surprise of the night, other than the cool cover, was an appearance by Gossip Girl's Leighton Meester. The TV star came out in nude pants splashed with random bursts of color and a 60's style beehive to sing a duet with vocalist Rivers Cuomo on "(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To." She sang very well, and later Tweeted that Rivers was "perfection in a bottle." [Examiner]

Continue reading "Weezer, Matt & Kim, Leighton Meester & PT Walkley on Halloween @ Hammerstein Ballroom - pics "

Weezer + Matt & Kim + Halloween + Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC. It's the "MetroPCS Masquerade", and NYC's PT Walkley is also on the all ages bill. Tickets just went on "Live Nation" (password = hollywood) and "Radio" presale (password = 1019RXP) with a general sale starting Thursday at 10am (thx Hiro!)

yeah let's all ignore the VMA's...just keep pretending u wouldn't totally go if u could - Anon 12:32

The MTV VMAs were last night. Matt & Kim won the award for Breakthrough Video with their naked-in-Times Square video. Kanye West made a scene. Videos of Kanye (who joins Jay-Z and Rhianna on the new Leno show's debut tonight) (and who played with the same two people at MSG on Friday night), Beyonce, Lady Gaga and more below...

Continue reading "waking up from ATP... Matt & Kim won a VMA"

tonight in NYC
* DANCE
* Murphy's Law @ Trash Bar
* Reflection Eternal @ BB King's
* Brooklyn Soul Festival @ the Bell House
* Joseph Arthur, Joe Purdy @ City Winery
* Ben & Vesper, Dan Zimmerman @ Sycamore
* Caspian @ The Studio @ Webster Hall
* The Giraffes, Bone Gunn @ Mercury Lounge
* NinjaSonik, Klever, D.I.M. @ Webster Hall
* Ravens & Chimes, Kittens Ablaze @ Southpaw
* These United States, Vandaveer @ Union Hall
* These United States, Motel Motel @ Union Hall
* Zs, Mutating Meltdown, Skin Drink, PC Worship @ Cake Shop
* Noveller, Burning Star Core, Ducktails, Talk Normal @ Bruar Falls
* The Damnwells, Dawn Landes, Colin Smith @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Matteah Baim, Head Molt, Bermuda Triangles, Chaos Majik @ Market Hotel
* J&R Music Fest w/ Mario, Clipse, J Moss, Melinda Watts @ City Hall Park
* French Miami, True Womanhood, Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt @ Death By Audio
* Piano Series: Paula Valstein, Casey Shea, Jesse Lynn @ Highline Ballroom
* Dinosaur Feathers, Holiday Shores, My Teenage Stride, Javelin @ Littlefield
* XYZ Affair, Gunfight, Flower Mound, Mathew Snow, Tenements @ Glasslands

J&R Music Fest brings Mario, Clipse, J Moss and Melinda Watts to City Hall Park. More free music there tomorrow too. Too bad about the rain which also might put a damper on Michael Jackson's birthday Saturday.

Joseph Arthur kicks off a trio of special collaborative gigs tonight at NYC's City Wintery, the first of which is with guitarist Joe Purdy. Joseph Arthur is also on the bill of that upcoming show with Frank Black at Music Hall of Williamsburg.

The ubiquitous NinjaSonik play Boys & Girls at Webster Hall with Klever, Alexander Technique and D.I.M.

Bruar Falls hosts Noveller, Burning Star Core, Ducktails and Talk Normal.

The Giraffes visit Mercury Lounge with Bone Gunn tonight. On September 26th they play with Goes Cube at Webster Hall.

These United States play two sets at Union Hall tonight. The first will be opened by Vandaveer, the second by Motel Motel.

After the Jump Fest is happening at Littlefield this weekend. Tonight you can see Dinosaur Feathers, Holiday Shores, Thing-One, My Teenage Stride and Javelin.

Zs, who are on the big bill at the BKLYN Yard (and/or Southpaw) tomorrow, perform tonight at Cake Shop with Mutating Meltdown, Skin Drink and PC Worship.

The Brooklyn Skill Share has a benefit at Glasslands with The XYZ Affair, Gunfight, Flower Mound, Mathew Snow & The Way It Was and Tenements. The flyer is below.

Outside Lands is going on in San Francisco and streaming.

Ryan Adams recently parlayed his theme-song-making gig at The Awl into a job as a video game columnist. The video from his first column, a review of Gorf, is posted below. Next week he makes art.

Matt & Kim played "Daylight" on Jimmy Kimmel on Wednesday, video below.

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Friday?"

"If you're in NYC tonight [August 25], stop by our store at 14th St. and 6th Ave. to catch a free, in-store performance by Amanda Blank. The trash-talking Philly rapper is back on the East Coast before she starts touring with Matt & Kim, so you can see her on what's almost her home turf. Show starts at 7pm. Don't be late, or Amanda will be pissed! Kidding, kidding. She won't care, but you'll be mad at yourself." [Urban Outfitters]

Matt & Kim dates below...

Continue reading "Amanda Blank playing Urban Outfitters tonight + other dates"

photos by Bao Nguyen

The nominees for this year's MTV Video Music Awards Breakthrough Video are Anjulie, Bat For Lashes ("Daniel"), Chairlift, Cold War Kids, Death Cab For Cutie, Gnarls Barkley, Major Lazer, Matt and Kim, Passion Pit, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

Bat For Lashes, who is also up for this year's Mercury Prize, and who will be back in NYC on August 12th, has a new video for the song "Sleep Alone". Check it out, with more pictures of Passion Pit playing the Diesel Party at Webster Hall on 7/30, below...

Continue reading "Passion Pit (Webster Hall pics) vs Matt & Kim vs Bat for Lashes (new video) vs others for MTV Video award"

photos by Alex Reside

"Last night a whole lot of music fans packed themselves onto Pier 54 for the first concert in the Hudson River Park's RiverRocks concert series. The show featured three performances (wait, can I call a DJ set a performance? ok, fine I guess so). First up was Team Robespierre, a punk band from Brooklyn. They seemed a little off, but at least they were singing...which leads me to the next group Flosstradamus, a pair of DJs. The music was good, but it wasn't the right time or place for a DJ set. The pier was completely flat, so odds were that your experience at that point involved a dance-track backed view of the sunset. It wasn't much of a dance party where I was standing, half-way down the pier, but maybe they were appreciating the music up front. When Matt and Kim took the stage there were joined by two giant screens, which were used to project close-ups of the musicians as well as some animated patterns." [Second Doubles]

Continue reading "Matt & Kim, Flosstradamus & Team Robespierre @ Pier 54 in NYC - pics "

Suckers @ Prospect Park earlier this month (more by Natasha Ryan)

tonight in NYC
* DANCE
* Maluca @ Santos
* Zé Luis Quartet @ MoMA
* Todd Barry @ Carolines
* Megafaun @ Monkey Town
* MC Lyte @ Von King Park
* Dark Dark Dark @ Sycamore
* Dwele, Leela James @ BB Kings
*I Need That Record (film) @ 92YTribeca
* The Click Five @ Rocks Off Boat Cruise
* Bonnie Baxter, Beloved Rogue @ Shea Stadium
* Titus Andronicus, The So-So Glos @ Glasslands
* PG Six, Zachary Cale, Rachel Mason @ Union Pool
* Matisyahu, Umphrey's McGee @ Central Park Summerstage
* Title Tracks, The Nouvellas, Charles Burst @ The Cameo
* The Drums, Living Days, Zambri, Kordan @ Public Assembly
* Chris Garneau, The Lisps, Scary Mansion @ (Le) Poisson Rouge
* Suckers, The Octagon, Hearts of Darknesses, Etta Place @ Pianos
* Midsummer Night Swing w/ Woody Herman Orchestra @ Lincoln Center
* GrandWizzard Theodore, PopMaster Fabel, Biz Markie @ Crotona Park
* Matt & Kim, Flosstradamus, Team Robespierre @ Hudson River Rocks Pier 54
* Jon Wiley Benefit w/ Chairlift, Adam Green, Lightspeed Champion @ The Shank
* Those Darlins, Heavy Trash, Shilpa Ray & Her Happy Hookers @ Mercury Lounge
* Mia Riddle, Bon Savants, Patrick Bower & The World Without Magic @ The Bell House
* NY Ear & Eye Fest w/ Nymph, Religious To Damn, Hunters, Dinowalrus, more @ Knitting Factory
* Latin Alternative Music Conference w/ Leon Polar, Natalia Lafourcade, more @ Bowery Ballroom
* Mewithoutyou, The Dear Hunter, Kay Kay & His Weathered Underground @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

Free Brooklyn Lager from 7:30- 8:30 at the Bell House.

Matt & Kim play a free outdoor show tonight, the first of this summer's HudsonRiverRocks series. That'll bring Ted Leo and Yeasayer in the coming weeks. Opening tonight's show are Team Robespierre and Flosstradamus (whose remix of Matt & Kim's "Yea Yeah" is below with other, revealing M&K vidoes).

GrandWizzard Theodore, PopMaster Fabel and Biz Markie play a free Park Jams show
at Crotona Park in the Bronx. Luminescent Orchestrii performs a free River to River set at World Financial Center Plaza. MC Lyte plays in Von King Park. At the Central Park Summerstage, Matisyahu and Umphrey's McGee play a ticketed show.

"Four cemetery workers have been charged with dismembering bodies after police found what they called "startling and revolting" conditions at a historic cemetery near Chicago." [AP]

Titus Andronicus and The So So Glos play a free-with-RSVP, limited-capacity show hosted by Colt 45 & Vice at Glasslands tonight. See a video of Titus "Shotgunnin' Burrs" with The Soft Pack on their UK tour together, below.

The Drums, who will be gigging in NYC a lot this summer, play Public Assembly tonight with Living Days, Zambri and Kordan.

Suckers begin their four-Thursday Pianos residency with guests The Octagon, Hearts of Darknesses and Etta Place.

Chairlift, Adam Green, Lightspeed Champion and others play a benefit for local musician Jon Wiley at The Shank.

In a nice triple bill, Those Darlins, Heavy Trash and Shilpa Ray & Her Happy Hookers all perform at the Mercury Lounge tonight.

Megafaun, who opened for Bowerbirds last night, plays Monkey Town tonight with a "special guest."

The NY Ear & Eye Fest II kicks off tonight at the Knitting Factory. The fest includes a record fair/concert at the 92YTribeca on Saturday and a closing party at Death By Audio Sunday night. 92Y is sceening record store doc I Need That Record tonight with filmmaker Brendan Toller in attendance.

"Google says that its forthcoming Chrome operating system will be so secure that "users don't have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates." But Google's claim is being met with skepticism within the Internet security world." [PC World]

The Lincoln Center's Midsummer Night Swing fest continues tonight with the Woody Herman Orchestra directed by Frank Tiberi at Damrosch Park.

10 bands play for $10 tomorrow at Terminal 5.

The first free Williamsburg Waterfront show is this Sunday.

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart plays South Street Seaport on Friday.

Title Tracks, which is John Davis formerly of Q and Not U, plays the Cameo Gallery with The Nouvellas and Charles Burst.

Blitzen Trapper's new video for "Black River Killer", below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Thursday?"

Matt & Kim @ Bowery Ballroom in February (more by Bao Nguyen)

Hudson River Rocks in NYC - July 9, 2009
6:30 Team Robespierre (added to the bill)
7:30 Flosstradamus
8:30 Matt & Kim

---

Flosstradamus are also playing one of the final shows at Studio B this weekend.

All Matt & Kim dates below...

Continue reading "Matt & Kim - 2009 Tour Dates (FREE SHOW TONIGHT w/ Flosstradamus - Team Robespierre added)"

Coney Island - July 3, 2009 (setusthebomb)

tonight in NYC
* DANCE
* Deicide @ BB King's
* Allen Toussaint @ Joe's Pub
* BLK JKS @ Weeksville Heritage Center
* Oumou Sangare, Les Nubians, Asa @ Summerstage
* The Entrance Band, TK Webb and The Visions @ Southpaw
* Brian Borcherdt (of Holy Fuck), My Best Fiend @ Mercury Lounge
* Psychedelic Horseshit, Wet Hair, John Maus, Ganglians @ Monster Island
* Afro-Punk Festival w/ Earl Greyhound, Tamar-Kali, London Souls @ BAM
* Show No Mercy w/ Anal Cunt, Fuck The Facts, Locrian, Gwynbleidd, Copremesis @ Public Assembly
* Recovering from July 4th...

"Fireworks burst into the night sky above New York with a kaleidoscope of colors shooting 1,000 feet into the air on an Independence Day that began with the Statue of Liberty's crown opening to the public for the first time since Sept. 11, 2001." [AP]

The Brooklyn Afro-Punk Festival get into its second of three days. Living Colour is no longer on the bill though. Monday you can catch Saul Williams and Janelle Monae.

Ganglians play on a bill with Psychedelic Horseshit, Wet Hair, John Maus and Dead Luke at Monster Island.

"Reporting from Washington -- A day after Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin resigned, a federal official in her home state dismissed one potential explanation for her sudden and unexpected resignation: a rumored FBI investigation into the former Wasilla mayor on public corruption charges." [LA Times]

The Entrance Band opened for Sonic Youth on Friday night. Tonight they headline their own show at Southpaw.

Zs played Death By Audio on July 3rd. Video below...

Allen Klein, RIP

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Sunday?"

The lineup is coming together for Pop Montreal 2009 (September 30th to October 4th). Confirmed acts include Butthole Surfers, Fever Ray, Dinosaur Jr., Lou Barlow + The Missingmen, Loudon Wainwright III, Teenage Jesus & the Jerks, Thee Oh Sees, tUnE-YaRdS, to name a few.

Those interesting choices (like Lou Barlow with some configuration of Mike Watt's band?) are just part of the fest's usually-strong lineup. Full lineup so far, below...

Continue reading "Pop Montreal 2009 - initial lineup (Fever Ray, Os Mutantes, Butthole Surfers, Lou Barlow + the Missingmen...)"

"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"

Yeasayer in the woods (via their recording blog)

"Three of the best established indie bands in the New York City music scene - two relatively newcomers, Matt & Kim and Yeasayer, and one perennial favorite Ted Leo & The Pharmacists -- are scheduled to headline the 11th annual RiverRocks music series of free outdoor concerts at Hudson River Park's Pier 54 this summer.

With the Hudson River and the setting sun as the backdrop of its Pier 54 stage (at 14th Street), RiverRocks kicks off its three-date series Thursday, July 9 featuring Brooklyn's Matt & Kim with the Chicago-based electronic team Flosstradamus opening the evening....

RiverRocks is Hudson River Park's signature concert series staged on the Pier 54 waterfront adjacent to New York City's Meatpacking District (at 14th Street). Gates open at 6 p.m. for all RiverRocks shows, which are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.

Continue reading "Hudson RiverRocks' 2009 lineup - Yeasayer, Ted Leo, Matt & Kim, Radio 4, Extra Golden (3 free NYC shows!)"

Matt & Kim's new video below...

Continue reading "Matt & Kim naked in Times Square (the video) "

Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival is taking place this year August 28th-30th at Golden Gate Park. Tickets for the fest go on Visa presale Wednesday, April 15th at 1pm ET, and general sale Sunday, April 19th at 1pm ET.

Like last year, the San Francisco fest shares a headliner with NJ's All Points West. In 2008, it was Radiohead. In 2009, it's the Beastie Boys.

Also on the schedule for the fest is the Dead Weather, Jack White's new band. Dead Weather plays its first show tonight (April 14th) at the Bowery Ballroom.

M.I.A., Ween, TVOTR, Mastodon, Os Mutantes, Extra Golden, Tom Jones, and many others are also playing. Full Outside Lands line-up and poster below....

Continue reading "Outside Lands 2009 festival lineup, Dead Weather tonight"

by Andrew Frisicano

M83 @ Webster Hall (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

M83 has been added to Pitchfork Festival, which is taking place from July 17th - Sunday, July 19th in Chicago. Other bands added to the bill include Black Lips, Fucked Up, Wavves, the Dutchess and the Duke, and Matt and Kim. The whole, updated lineup is below. Tickets for the fest are still on sale.

Five days before he performs in Chicago, M83's Anthony Gonzalez will perform a free show at NYC's World Finanial Center Winter Garden (July 14th). For that NYC gig:

Anthony Gonzalez, M83's chief stargazer, performs a special one-off ambient performance. New York-based artist Janet Biggs begins the night with a screening of her short film, Vanishing Point.

More Pitchfork Fest info below...

Continue reading "P4k Fest updates lineup, M83 (solo) playing a free NYC show"

DOWNLOAD: Tortured Soul - Did You Miss Me (MP3)

Cut Copy @ Terminal 5 - March 21, 2009 (ChrisGoldNY)

This weekend saw the first wave of post-SXSW, pre-WMC deejays and bands come through New York. There were a lot of events lined up that I had seen coming for weeks, but one that somehow got by me until just a few days before, was Disco 3000 with Trus'me and Volcov at APT. Without enough time to sway my more "electro"-minded friends to change their plans, I hit APT solo Friday night and left without an ounce of regret. Upon arriving around 12:30 or so, the basement space was packed with people dancing. While there were some weird and inexplicable ebbs & flows in terms of dancefloor traffic, the music was on point the entire night. Trus'me and Volcov traded off deck duty every hour or so, easily meeting the expectations garnered from the flyer:

Expect to hear all corners of the record shop from the past, present and of course the future. Disco, afro, house, boogie, hip hop, techno, jazz, psyche, reggae, soul, brazilian, dub.

Saturday night I ventured out again, to Terminal 5 to see Cut Copy. I managed to catch a bit of Knightlife's opening dj set which was very well-mixed and balanced, including tracks that were on the more melodic, French house side of things with a tasteful amount of more gritty/synthy electro thrown in.

Matt & Kim @ Terminal 5 - March 21, 2009 (meisemily)

Following Knightlife, Matt & Kim went on. I had seen them open for Professor Murder at Bowery a few years ago and really didn't like them. This time around, despite still not really being into their music, I found their set to be much more entertaining in terms of something to watch. The pair really didn't let the crowd that was standing idly for the first couple of songs get to them. If anything it made Matt & Kim try even harder to get everyone excited. It inevitably worked after a few more songs and some witty banter. By the end, the crowd was very into it. People were jumping and dancing along to the upbeat synth & drum combos, which ended with the previously indifferent crowd, now embracing and ushering Matt to the safety of the stage after his attempt to literally walk on top of them failed.

The tension built as the crew readied the stage for Cut Copy's set...unfortunately, so did the crowd. Just minutes prior to the beginning of the show I realized the floor was so packed I could not lift my arms and it began to dawn on me how hellish the next hour or so might possibly be.

For the most part, it was. Dancing had gone from being the fun, point of the evening, to a battle for personal space. Cut Copy were in top form, as they have been every time I've seen them prior, but the crowd made it difficult to enjoy their set.

In terms of what they played, it was mainly favorites from their albums In Ghost Colours and Bright Like Neon Love, plus the addition of the track "Sands of Time" (recorded at the same time as In Ghost Colours, but never making it onto the album) which sounded amazing live. Thankfully there were just enough brief moments where I found myself with sufficient space to get down and enjoy the music, making me able to walk away from the show feeling good about it (despite the hellish crowd).

Hopefully the positivity will continue into this week. By the looks of what's headed our way, I'm optimistic:

Continue reading "the week in Dance (part 1) w/ Showtrotta (Cut Copy, Prodigy, Friendly Fires, Ellen Allien, Tortured Soul, more...)"

Santigold show @ Irving Plaza (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

"Santigold will take her endless dance party across the US one more time this spring before heading back into the studio to record the follow up to her smash self-titled debut. Santigold will be performing with a full band and dancers for the first time in North America to bring her genre-blending sound to life. Virgin Records artist Trouble Andrew, who can be heard on the Santigold track "I'm A Lady," along with Downtown Records' singer/mc Amanda Blank will be the openers." [PR]

Not part of the tour is Santigold's upcoming appearance at the new Topshop store opening in SoHo. According to NY Mag, Mark Ronson and Lady Gaga will also be there on April 1st, the day before the store on Broadway and Broome officially opens. And there will be deejays...

"It's always nice to have tunes while you're shopping your latest look. It's even nicer when they're played by LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy, Justine D, The Whip and other surprise acts. With DJs on hand throughout the opening week, tapping your toe is inevitable. Make sure you check out the instore schedule to see who is spinning the decks daily." [TOPSHOP]

UPDATE: Here's the whole DJ (I think just DJ) schedule:

"Fashionable UK clothing stores Topshop and Topman are opening their first American outpost here in New York City, on Thursday, April 2, and EVR is the first to announce the lineup at their grand opening event. EVR's own Andrew Andrew and Cassie and Harley will be there along with The Rapture, Kid Sister, Misshapes, LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy and many more. Located at the corner of Broadway and Broome Street, Topshop and Topman are a celebration of downtown fashion, music, and culture, and East Village Radio is proud to be their radio partner."

Continue reading "updated Santigold tour dates, new TOPSHOP in-store DJ info"

photos by Bao Nguyen

DOWNLOAD: Matt and Kim - Silver Tiles (MP3)

Trouble Andrew, Matt & Kim, and Lily Allen played a MySpace Secret Show at the Bowery Ballroom in NYC last night, February 10th. It was the same day Lily's new album It's Not Me, It's You was released.

I missed them, but I'm told Trouble Andrew played for only 15 minutes. Matt & Kim started at 9PM and played to an enthusiastic, but not full, room. It wasn't until Lily Allen went on that the powers who be opened the flood gates and let everyone waiting outside into the venue. Then the room was packed.

It wasn't as rowdy as NYC Matt & Kim shows usually are, but plenty of people in the audience were there just to see the smiling duo from Brooklyn. At least one crowd member told Matt exactly that, during one of Matt's many peppy dialogues. For "Yea Yeah", the song everyone knows from their older album, Matt had all the lights turned off and asked everyone to go even more nuts than usual (which for this show was not very nuts, though there were a few people jumping off the stage). The psychology is that if nobody can see you, you're more likely to dance. Another crowd favorite was "Daylight" off their new album Grand. Before 10, they ended their set with "Silver Tiles".

Lily Allen, backed by a full band, took the stage a little after 10:00. For the next hour she played a mix of old hits ("LDN", "Smile") and new songs. Fans were cheering and singing along to both. Lily jokingly suggested people must have been doing some illegal downloading, but she quickly followed that with a more serious "I don't care, I don't make any money off recordings". The UK celebrity's set closed with a cover of Britney Spears's "Womanizer".

Lily will be back soon, but at a much bigger venue next time. All tour dates HERE. Matt and Kim dates HERE. More pictures, and LA's setlist from the show, below...

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