by Andrew Sacher

Pictureplane at BrooklynVegan SXSW showcase 2013 (more by Amanda Hatfield)

As mentioned, Pictureplane is going on a US tour this spring with Crystal Castles, but first will be in New Haven, CT at Toad's Place tonight (4/12) for a show with Mykki Blanco, Beat Culture and Oberhofer (who has upcoming NYC shows).

After returning home from that tour, he'll play show at Santos Party House on May 16 with another rapper, Antwon, whose album End of Earth features some production by Pictureplane. Tickets for what should be a pretty great show are on sale now. All tour dates are listed below.

Pictureplane also just released a new track, "Pure War." In his words, "the song is really about waging a war. a pure war against the war that is waged on us everyday.
reclaiming yourself." It's one of the heaviest tracks Pictureplane has ever done, with dark, booming synths that will translate really well on the dancefloor. And while tracks like "Real Is A Feeling" have already proved Pictureplane as a strong vocalist, there's a newfound conviction in his vocals in this song that arguably tops anything he's done to date.

The track will apear on the video game soundtrack for Injustice: Gods Among Us, along with tracks from Killer Mike (listen below), Minus the Bear (listen below), Depeche Mode, The Faint, and others.

All Pictureplane dates are listed, along with all song streams below...

Continue reading "listen to Pictureplane's new song "Pure War," see him with Antwon after Crystal Castles tour (and in New Haven tonight)"

Minus the Bear at Webster Hall in 2010 (more by Matthew Eisman)

Minus the Bear released their most recent album, Infinity Overhead, last year and they're continuing to tour in support of it this year with Circa Survive and Now, Now (who have other upcoming dates including a NYC show with Bob Mould). That tour doesn't exactly hit NYC but it will be in the area for shows at Poughkeepsie's The Chance on March 17 and Long Island's The Paramount on March 19. Tickets for the Paramount show go on venue presale today (1/17) at 10 AM (password: "PULSE") and general on-sale starts Friday (1/18) at noon. There's also a presale for the whole tour available at Minus the Bear/Circa Survive's wavesoverhead.com but the two NYC area presales are sold out.

Minus the Bear also just performed on Live from Daryl's House, the web-to-cable series of Daryl Hall (as in, Daryl from Hall & Oates). They hung out with Daryl, did some interviews, cooked, ate dinner, and played some songs while they were at it too. You can video from that below and check out footage of the entire event HERE.

Those videos and a list of all dates below...

Continue reading "Minus the Bear touring with Circa Survive, performed on Live at Daryl's House (dates, video)"

by Andrew Sacher

Minus the Bear at Webster Hall in 2010 more by Matthew Eisman)

Back in the early 2000's, just before "emo" became a bad word, there was actually a bit of crossover between the emo and indie rock scenes. Some of those bands even faired well for a bit on indie rock machine Pitchfork, who awarded Cursive's Domestica an 8.0 and Minus the Bear's This Is What I Know About Being Gigantic EP an 8.6. Fans of that era are in luck, because Minus the Bear and Cursive just announced a tour together with support from Caspian, which hits the NYC area for shows on September 23 at Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, NJ and September 29 at Best Buy Theater. Tickets for both NYC area shows go on sale Friday (7/20) at noon with an AmEx presale starting Wednesday (7/18) at 10 AM. All dates are listed below.

For Minus the Bear, the tour will be in support of their new album, Infinity Overhead, which is due out August 28 via Dangerbird. It's their second album for the label, following 2010's underrated OMNI. Check out a teaser video for the album which contains a minute-long song clip below.

Caspian will also be releasing a new album this year and it will be the first album for the previously instrumental post rockers to feature vocals. The album's called Waking Season and it's due out on their new home, Triple Crown Records. It was produced by Matt Bayles, who has also worked extensively with Minus the Bear. You can watch an album trailer below.

Cursive will also be in NYC even sooner for free show at House of Vans on August 16 with Titus Andronicus, Love As Laughter, and Joyce Manor.

After the leg with Caspian, MTB and Cursive head out on a run with Girl In A Coma. A list of all dates and those videos are below...

Continue reading "Minus the Bear, Cursive, and Caspian touring together (dates)"

After teasing folks with a few names here and there -- like Run DMC most recently -- Austin's annual Fun Fun Fun Fest (Nov 2 - 4) has revealed it's full line-up, including Public Image Ltd, De La Soul, Superchunk, Santigold, Refused, X peforming Los Angeles, and lots, lots more. 3-day passes go on sale at 10AM CST.

Full FFF Fest lineup is below.

Continue reading "Fun Fun Fun Fest full lineup (De La Soul, Refused, Fucked Up, Public Image Ltd, Santigold, Sharon Van Etten, Rakim, X, Converge, Japandroids & more)"

by Andrew Sacher

The Velvet Teen in Minneapolis last night (by Grayson Hary)

As mentioned, The Velvet Teen will open for Minus the Bear on their Highly Refined Pirates 10th Anniversary tour which hits Chicago's Metro tonight (10/11) and NYC during CMJ at Webster Hall on October 18. Both of those shows are sold out, but The Velvet Teen have just added their own headlining show in Brooklyn at Glasslands on October 17 with Crinkles. Tickets are on sale now.

The Velvet Teen haven't played NYC since their show at Knitting Factory's old Tribeca location in 2007. Since that show, they've joined back up with their old bassist Josh Staples and have been performing as a four piece. They recorded their first batch of material as a four piece, the No Star EP, at the tail-end of last year and released physical copies at the beginning of this year via Side With Us Records. The EP falls somewhere between the progressive noise pop of Cum Laude and the more straightforward emo-y indie rock of the band's earlier work. A video of the EP's title track is below. You can order the EP from the Side With Us webstore. The band also recently made all of their albums available for $5 downloads at their bandcamp.

Speaking of emo-leaning indie rock, Maritime are playing Knitting Factory on Friday (10/14) with Atlantic/Pacific (ex-Texas Is The Reason) and Kid Savant as part of the Royal Flush Festival that Lotion is reuniting for and that reunited punk band Zounds is playing too. Tickets for the Maritime show are on sale now.

All dates and video below...

Continue reading "The Velvet Teen schedule NYC show during Minus the Bear tour, Maritime here even sooner (dates)"

Minus The Bear at Webster Hall in 2010 (more by Matthew Eisman)

Minus The Bear will hit the road in October to celebrate their 10th anniversary, hitting cities from coast to coast over the month-long trek. The dates will see a performance of their 2002 debut Highly Refined Pirates in its entirety, and presale tickets (on sale now) can be purchased with a copy of said LP in vinyl. The dates include a stop in NYC at Webster Hall on October 18th. All dates are listed below.

All tour dates and some video is below, including a recent clip of "Hold Me Down" from their latest LP and the newly released and FREE six-song EP of the same name. Get that EP for the price of an email address, and check out said clip below.

Continue reading "Minus the Bear performing 'Highly Refined Pirates' on 10th Anniversary Tour (dates, presale, new free EP)"

Minus The Bear at Webster Hall (more by Matthew Eisman)

Do you find yourself asking the question: "What has Minus the Bear been up to this year?" If so, here are your answers.

1. Writing new jams at the practice space.
2. Finalizing the "Hold Me Down" video...
3. Planning a springtime USA mini-tour and other shows.
4. Losing hearing from playing new riffs too loudly in basement.
5. Realizing in September it'll be 10 years since "Gigantic" was released. (Vinyl maybe?)
6. Getting hungry for tacos.

Dates for that mini-tour are also trickling out and include May 6th at Music Hall of Williamsburg. $25 tickets for the Brooklyn show go on AmEx presale Wednesday, 3/23 at noon, and regular sale at the same time on Friday. All currently known dates are listed below...

Continue reading "Minus the Bear released a video, planning a mini-tour"

Tim Kasher (frontman of Cursive and The Good Life) added an in-store performance at Other Music on October 5, the same day his debut solo LP The Game of Monogamy is released. This performance is part of his tour which also includes the previously mentioned show at The Rock Shop on October 6.

The video for his new single 'Cold Love' as well as updated tour dates, including an October run with Minus the Bear (whose tour continues into December), are below...

Continue reading "updated Tim Kasher dates, an Other Music in-store, new video "

Minus The Bear at Webster Hall (more by Matthew Eisman)

After headlining Webster Hall in July, Minus The Bear has stepped it up by scheduling a show at Terminal 5 on December 4th with The Whigs as part of a larger East Coast jaunt. Tickets go on sale on sale Friday, October 1st at noon ($25.50 advance / $30 day of show).

The band is touring off of their new and biggest LP yet, Omni, and will hit the road in middle October for a string of West Coast dates before hopping the pond to do Europe with Jimmy Eat World and then back to the US for some East Coast love.

All tour dates and some video of the band on Jimmy Kimmel Live is below...

Continue reading "Minus the Bear - 2010 Tour Dates (T5 w/ The Whigs) "

most photos by Josh Darr

Dodos w/ special guest Neko Case / The Antlers

"There were no special effects during Soundgarden's performance on the last night of Lollapalooza -- no lasers, no costume changes, no props or hydraulics. Even the video screens switched over to black and white. But the band didn't need any added visuals: Soundgarden delivered an explosive set of classic '90s songs in front of their biggest audience since their breakup 13 years ago. Chris Cornell underplayed the band's return, suggesting their decade-plus break was more like a few years. "It's good to be back!" said Cornell, who's grown his hair back out to its late-'80s length. "We just took a little break, but now we're back."" [Rolling Stone]

Continue reading "Lollapalooza 2010 - Day 3 in pics, Soundgarden setlist, videos"

photos by Matthew Eisman

Minus the Bear, Everest and Keepaway played Webster Hall on Thursday, July 8th. More pictures and the headliner's setlist from that show, below...

Continue reading "Minus the Bear, Everest & Keepaway @ Webster Hall, NYC (pics & setlist) "

photos by Chris Graham

"At the sold-out Sasquatch, bands holding down the headliner spots haven't necessarily turned out to be the biggest draws. Sure, My Morning Jacket played to a mostly packed house on Saturday, and Massive Attack was overwhelmingly solid on Sunday despite a not-so-full amphitheater floor, but the band drawing the most populous, most stoked, most deserved gathering was unquestionably Vampire Weekend." [SPIN]

Continue reading "Sasquatch 2010 Day 1 in pics (My Morning Jacket, Hold Steady, Broken Social Scene, Vampire Weekend, Miike Snow & more) "

Minus the Bear @ Bowery Electric on May 3rd (more by Jen Maler)

Blackbook Mag: Where do you like to hang out in NYC?
Jake from Minus the Bear: Well last time we were there we hung out at Union Pool. Union Pool's got that great taco cart.
BBM: What's on your rider?
Jack: Usually I think its four cases of beer, two bottles of Jack Daniels, a bottle of tequila, pound of turkey, orange juice.
BBM: Does it all get consumed?
Jack: The booze usually does, the beer has staying power depending on the city. Depending on the guests. But we usually get rid of the bottled liquor pretty easily.

The band is currently on tour and they have more North American shows planned this summer. They played a "secret" Bowery Electric show earlier in May to promote their new record, Omni, which came out on Dangerbird.

A live clip from the band's recent show at Trocadero in Philly, an interview and tour dates are below...

Continue reading "Minus the Bear - 2010 Tour Dates (Webster Hall) "

words by BBG, photos by Jen Maler

After playing to a decidedly different crowd at Bamboozle, Minus The Bear played a surprise show at Bowery Electric on Monday (5/3) in celebration of Omni, the band's new album out now on Dangerbird Records. Everest opened (and has a new album of their own, On Approach, due on May 11th).

The Minus The Bear/Everest trek rolls on, as the band plays Boston tonight and continues on until Saquatch Fest at the end of May. All tour dates and more pictures from the show, including one of the headliner's setlist, below...

Continue reading "Minus the Bear & Everest @ Bowery Electric - pics & setlist"

"Enjoying this sketchy $10 burrito while remembering how awesome Minus the Bear is #bamboozle" -heylisachiu

Minus the Bear played the Bamboozle on Sunday at Meadowlands in Jersey. Tonight, Monday, May 3rd, they'll be playing Bowery Electric (doors at 9pm), a much smaller venue that also recently hosted "secret" shows by Foxboro Hot Tubs aka Green Day and Devtochka. Everest open. Tickets will be on sale today (not sure what time). are on sale.

We also have two pairs of tickets to give away. Info on that is below.

Minus the Bear's new record, Omni, comes out May 4th on Dangerbird Records. It's currently streaming online, and you can download a track at the band's site. Its first song is below too.

Contest details, album art, all tour dates and more are below...

Continue reading "Minus the Bear playing a secret show tonight (win or buy tix) + more dates, new album stream, video & stuff"

"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 "

Tickets for the NYC shows are already on presale. password?

Other bands scheduled to play Stubb's in Austin on the evening of Saturday, March 20th include The Drums, The Like, Circa Survive (who are touring with Torche and Coheed & Cambria), and Minus The Bear.

Muse are rumored to be playing Stubb's during SXSW too, but that's looking like it would happen Friday, one night earlier.

SS dates re-listed below...

Continue reading "Scissor Sisters playing SXSW & 2 NYC shows (on presale)"

We'll get a more complete press release in the morning (and confirm what is listed below is 100% correct), but in the meantime below is a picture of the 2010 Sasquatch poster (that someone Tweeted) and the lineup as read by Bradford Cox at tonight's Atlas Sound show in Seattle (and being listed all over the Internet)....

Continue reading "Sasquatch announces 2010 lineup (includes Massive Attack & My Morning Jacket) (and many more) "

by Black Bubblegum

Minus The Bear @ Webster Hall (more by Chona Kasinger)

Having spent the last 4 months in Seattle's Avast! Recording Co and Electrokitty Recording studios, working on their highly anticipated fourth studio album, Minus The Bear is looking forward to debuting their new material to fans in a live setting. Produced by Grammy Award-winning producer Joe Chiccarelli (My Morning Jacket, The White Stripes), Minus the Bear will give fans a sneak peek at the ...sessions by releasing the new album's first single "Into The Mirror,"... Set for an October 27th release, the single will include b-side "Broken China" [and] ...will only be available as a special 7" and through digital music stores.

Continue reading "Minus the Bear - new album info, 2009 tour dates (Gramercy)"

Photos by Kyle Dean Reinford

If not obvious by the 2008 Fun Fun Fun Fest coverage so far, I was having the most fun (fun fun) over the weekend with all the punk, metal and hardcore on stages 3a and 3b (two connected stages to avoid long times between sets). Highlights and pictures from day one are HERE. Highlights of day two (9/9) were DOA, Frightened Rabbit, the ska punk, politics and crowd of Leftover Crack, Cro-Mags (jam) (John Joseph w/ one of Cro-Mags' past drummers, AJ from Leeway on guitar and Craig Setari of Sick of it All on bass), what I saw of St. Vincent and Black Angels, the vegan sausage pizza, and Bad Brains. I managed to catch a few songs of Islands who sounded great, but totally missed Spinto Band and Annuals. Also saw pieces of Kevin Seconds, Chuck Ragan, and Ben Nichols's solo-frontmen sets. Saw Black Joe Lewis and most of Trash Talk, but neither lived up to my expectations in the daytime festival setting. I went back and forth between the pre-headliner sets of Minus the Bear and Bouncing Souls, and ran over to watch one song of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah during a Bad Brains reggae segment. Despite the competition, CYHSY still pulled in a respectable sized crowd. The stages were far enough away in general, but I could also still hear Alec Ounsworth's unmistakable voice at times between Bad Brains songs depending on where I was standing (I watched Bad Brains from various areas throughout their set). Clipse were headlining on the stage farthest away from Bad Brains so I totally missed them, and Kool Keith, who played that same stage earlier. Bad Brains ended earlier than curfew which meant I got to run over and catch about 20 minutes of Tim and Eric which was a great way (laughing) to end the hectic two day fest.

One unfortunate aspect of the weekend was the dust. It was a problem at ACL this year too. Dry dirt and wind meant you were constantly breathing it in. A signifigant portion of the crowd was wearing bandanas or other gas mask-like things on their faces. I didn't, but I should have because I think it made me a little sick. More pictures from day two below...

Continue reading "Fun Fun Fun Fest 2008 - (some of) day two in photos "

Photos by Chona Kasinger

"This past Saturday night [10/25] I saw Minus the Bear at Webster Hall. It was an awesome show; they are a very tight band that brought the crowd through a wide range of emotions. I was damn surprised that their drummer plays a basic, clear fiberglass Ludwig four-piece set with only two crashes, a ride cymbal, and hi-hats. His sound is generally much fuller than the equipment portrays. It's great seeing bands in small venues, where you can actually see the performers' faces instead of resorting to a big screen.

Afterwards, with time to kill before my train home, I went to my most favorite place on Earth (ok, my favorite bar at least) for some libations. Despite the large crowd in this oddly laid out location, I grabbed a seat at the bar, and had my first beverage. As I was consuming my second, a girl came up to me, 'Excuse me, sir'. [edmarsh.com]

Continue reading "Minus The Bear & Annuals @ Webster Hall, NYC - pics"

photos by Chris Graham

Bumbershoot has evolved over the years, and no one knows that better than Norm Langill, president and CEO of One Reel, the not-for-profit company that produces the event. He's been involved with Bumbershoot since its beginning in the 1970s and is the one who ultimately takes the bouquets and brickbats, the praise and complaints.

As the 2008 festival drew to a close last Monday night, he looked out a picture window in the press room at the still-bustling crowd below and said, "I see people really engaged out there. A mixed crowd."

He turned to me, smiling.

"It was smooth. It was really smooth this year. I feel comfortable enough to not even ask about attendance." [The Seattle Times]

Continue reading "Bumbershoot 2008 - more pix, less Monotonix & republicans"

by Black Bubblegum

Tail Swallower & Dove

Seattle's These Arms Are Snakes have declared their new album and Suicide Squeeze debut, Tail Swallower & Dove finis! Due Oct 7th, the record was produced by Chris Common at the Red Room (Matt Bayles & Common's recording studio) in Seattle.

In related ex-Botch news, Minus The Bear has announced another US tour this time with Annuals. The tour includes another date a Webster Hall with Sylvie on October 25th, tickets go on sale Saturday 8/9 at noon here.

Also in the ex-Botch file, the new Narrows seven-inch isn't out yet, but you can get it digitally on iTunes and Amazon.com.

A video of Minus the Bear's recent Jimmy Kimmel appearance and all tour dates below...

Continue reading "Minus The Bear & Annuals tour dates, Kimmel video & the new These Arms are Snakes record "

Minus the Bear is going on tour with The Big Sleep and Portugal the Man. Tickets go on sale Friday for a show at Webster Hall on April 7th. The Big Sleep also play in NYC tonight (Feb 21). All tour dates below...

Continue reading "Minus The Bear - 2008 Tour Dates w/ The Big Sleep"

A few years ago, Big Sleep drummer Gabe Rhodes bought a dodgy little cabin for a song. Two hours north of New York City, the thing teeters on pillars of rock and cement that appear to have been poured by a junior-high shop class or maybe drunk trappers circa 1780. Inside, three small cozy rooms with beautiful exposed rafters, fireplaces, hanging lanterns and more candles than you can count. No plumbing. No electricity. And The Big Sleep needs electricity like Prince needs purple. So, how to make one of the loudest live bands in New York City come alive ? Behind the cabin, there's a gasoline-powered generator that Gabe uses for power tools. The band had never plugged its amps into a gas-generator. After five minutes of sound-checking, the amps started warbling and guitarist Danny Barria was worried : "I think this amp is melting down," he said. "Let's kill the power for a minute and then let's do this take." The result is a thunderous and intimate misfit moment : The Big Sleep â€" dar ! kness, long-hair, provisioners of noise â€" pulverizing the stunning serenity like a bully does to the good student. The cabin stood. [La Blogoteque]

Continue reading "The Big Sleep - in the woods, new record, 2008 Tour Dates"