Don Hill (photo by Julian Ungano)

As tweeted by Moby (see above) and many other notable club veterans, and confirmed to me via a call to Don Hill's who said there is a memorial tonight (3/31) at the club (toast at midnight), nightclub owner and legend Don Hill has sadly passed away. Though details are scarce at the moment, some on Twitter are saying he was "found dead in his apartment" "this morning". Update: someone seemingly in the know says: "He passed away at the hospital. Not in his apartment. It was this evening around 7, not this morning." And Bebe Buell adds (in reaction to the last minute midnight toast), "Don's actual memorial will be the biggest coming together of all the people he has helped+supported-those of us who loved him+knew him well." Stay tuned for more info.

Murray Hill calls it the end of an era. Miss Guy says he was the nicest person in nightlife. Justine D agrees. I didn't know him personally, but I always liked seeing him hanging around his club that shared his name. He opened Don Hill's in the early 90's and before that managed the East Village's Cat Club (David Bowie & Peter Frampton played there in 1987). "American Hardcore" author Steven Blush (who also worked at Don Hill's) once wrote...

" I booked [GG Allen] at the Cat Club. His most infamous part of the show is to shit on the stage and throw it at the crowd and got thrown out. I got written up in the Village Voice for the show that I had put on. The irony, of course, is that the manager of the Cat Club was Don Hill and I couldn't work any more at that club after that but we always remained friendly....

...Don Hill is the best club owner in New York. After the Cat Club, when that closed, a couple of years later, Don did what he was supposed to do, which was own his own club. Don has the support of the whole club community of the local neighborhood which is unheard of for clubs. The clubs got a great reputation. Sometimes I wish we were bigger and trashier, but then we wouldn't be Don Hill's."

As posted back in August 2010 when it was announced that Don Hill's was closing for renovations, Steve Lewis wrote...

"Don Hill's was born in April 1993 to much flag waving, fanfare and hoopla. The Smithereens set the tone that night and it has since become a virtual rock and roll hall of fame. Don has booked the joint, hired staff, run day to day and night to night operations, he's answered the phones and I suspect that on some nights he swept out the joint. He will now be joined by superheroes Nur Khan and Paul Sevigny. They will come in with mad skills, new energy and cash to redux the place. They will merge with Don to create more of the same but even better."

Since re-opening with the new partners on board, the club has in fact been the scene of many high profile and hard to get into events, most notably a fashion week show by Iggy Pop. According to Nur Khan, they also "had LCD Soundsystem booked," but "there were complications with production and stage size so we were unable to do the gig." There were rumors this week that the Strokes would do a show there before or after their sold out gig at MSG (I haven't been able to prove those rumors though, or the show fell through).

R.I.P. Don Hill (both of them)

Continue reading "Don Hill, RIP"

Seems unlikely, but that's what they're claiming.

Continue reading "Pete Doherty is playing NYC tonight??"

Yea, we know the word "hipster" is played out. That's exactly why we need to pick a Hipster Champ of the past decade. So we can lay the whole damn thing to rest. Your candidates, below. Vote. If you want. [Gawker]

Their list of choices is kind of small. Who do you think they missed? (Cobra Snake? Last Night's Party? Ultragrrrl?)

Passion Pit (more by Tim Griffin)

Not quite on the scale of their last NYC music event (that I know about), but Diesel Jeans's U:Music tour will visit NYC for a show at Webster Hall on Thursday, July 30th. The lineup for that includes The Roots (with a special guest), Drake, Cobra Starship (huh?), Passion Pit, Theophilus London, and contest winners (two bands won a contest to get on the bill) The Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt! (as seen HERE and HERE) and Heartsrevolution. "To get in, one has to appear at the store's participating NYC locations wearing a pair of Diesel jeans, though tickets are limited."

All Diesel fans will have a chance to witness this private event with a limited amount of invitations to be given away at participating Diesel stores. One must show up to participating stores in a pair of Diesel jeans to qualify...

The rest of the info below...

Continue reading "Diesel throwing shows @ Webster Hall (Passion Pit, Roots, more), in their store & in their store window..."

McCarren Pool - Summer 2008 (more by Ryan Muir)

The much-delayed new Topshop store opens in NYC on Broome and Broadway on April 2nd (remember all that advertising at McCarren Pool last summer?). What does this have to do with music (besides the fact that people will probably start adding this place to the list that already includes H&M and American Apparel when they say where 'hipsters' shop)? Well, as previously posted, celebrity-musician deejays (The Rapture, Late of the Pier, James Murphy, etc), in conjunction with East Village Radio, will be playing music in the store all week while people shop (full list here).

And as also previously posted, Santigold and Mark Ronson will be performing, BUT not in the store. There are two nights of Sir Philip Greene-hosted, invite-only parties going on at Balthazar. Tonight, March 31st features Mark Ronson backed by the Dap Kings, and performances by Amazing Baby, Jimmy Fallon, Santogold/Spankrock, Nicolai from The Strokes, Alex Greenwald from Phantom Planet and Daniel Meriweather.

April 1st has Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings and "a special guest we cant announce, big voice". Maybe it's Lady Gaga, who was originally mentioned, and who plays two shows at Terminal 5 on May 2nd (after the ones that were supposed to be TONIGHT were postponed) (though I don't know about the "big voice" part).

Then on Thursday, April 2nd, TopShop is having a third party. This time at the Box, and hosted by Sir Philip Greene and Kate Moss (who has a line of clothes in the store), with performances by Adele and La Roux, and DJ sets from The Misshapes and James Murphy.

Sounds fancy.

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]

As already mentioned, the NYC show will take place at Terminal 5 on June 9th. Tickets are now on sale.

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]

One of the surprise acts is Kim of Matt & Kim who's spinning on Sunday, April 5th.

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."

The Whip will be in town as part of their tour with Late of the Pier (who are also on the DJ bill as you can now see above). All Santigold tour dates below...

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

Titus Andronicus @ McCarren Pool (more by Jason Bergman)

today in NYC
* DANCE
* The Fakers @ Glasslands
* The Duke Spirit @ Maxwell's
* Titus Andronicus @ Sound Fix
* Here We Go Magic @ Southpaw
* A Storm of Light, Amenra & Zoroaster @ Europa
* Los Campesinos! & Titus Andronicus @ Bowery Ballroom
* Ocean, Salome, Riff Cannon & Batillus at Public Assembly
* Kidrockers presents Chairlift & The Bloodsugars @ 92yTrbeca (afternoon)
* Iran, Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson, The Fakers & Pure Horsehair @ Death by Audio

Two bands called "The Fakers" are playing in Brooklyn tonight. At Glasslands is The Fakers that = White Williams & Matt from Ecstatic Sunshine. The other The Fakers are playing Iran's record release party at Death By Audio. Weird.

Ecstatic Sunshine has a show coming up at The Stone.

No Fun Fest tickets were supposed to go on sale today, but they went on sale Saturday.

"Andrew Cedermark, Ian P. O'Neil, and Patrick Stickles, all of Titus Andronicus each perform short solo sets consisting of Titus and non-titus jams. This special show is sandwiched between two sold out shows at Bowery Ballroom with Los Campesinios. We have to start early so the boys can get over to Bowery so this starts at 5pm! Expect a good time, see you there." - 5PM, free, @ SoundFix

More Titus Andronicus dates HERE.

Tickets are on sale for the Music Tapes show at the Bell House.

Misshapes are on the cover of Page Six Magazine.

Brent Hinds of Mastodon guests on the new Zoroaster album. Download the track HERE.

Did you get the free Tim Fite Valentine's Day EP?

Google's YouTube Said to Renew Licensing Agreement With Sony

Los Campesinos's video for "My Year In Lists" below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Sunday?"

Andrew WK (@ Studio B) (by Zach Dilgard) (more)

New Tears Eve @ Santos Party House in NYC
Serving booze until 8:00 AM, January 1st. Live performances upstairs with Andrew WK, Gang Gang Dance, Lissy Trullie, Bad Brilliance and Lemonade PLUS A MYSTERY SURPRISE GUEST! Upstairs will also feature spinning by Manderson, Andrew Kuo, Josh Wildman and Spencer Sweeney plus more DJ's TBA. Downstairs, Presented by Prime Time, will feature Invisible Conga People, Mike Simonetti, Eamon Harkin and James ^$#*@ Friedman. Champagne toast at midnight featuring an unprecedented 96-second countdown! With your hosts MISSHAPES! Entry is $20 after 4 AM. Please be 21 years of age or older with valid ID.

Entry is $50 before 4 AM, and TICKETS ARE ON SALE.

Lemonade recently played a show at The Annex.

Bad Brilliance recently played a show (with Andrew WK) at Terminal 5.

Knitting Factory recently added different price options for their New Years show.

Who will be the MYSTERY SURPRISE GUEST?

The new venue with an identity crisis. The popular former weekly party (and associated celebrities) that everyone loves to hate. A new website. A British band signed to Domino. Their labelmate on the ones and twos. Other stuff.....

Continue reading "Misshapes is back Saturday on TWO FLOORS of 100 Lafayette (Santos Party House), These New Puritans playing"

by Showtrotta

A Touch of Class

Tonight (Friday April 11th) is the 2 year anniversary of the electro-meets-rock rager - Ruff Club at the Annex. There is a pretty long list of deejays/bands on the flyer (see below), but I have to call attention to A Touch of Class. ATOC is Oliver Stumm and Dominique Clausen. They are based out of New York and run an electronic/dance label by the same name, home to several New York Bands such as the Ones and Services. Oliver and Domie have also done numerous remixes for many diverse artists, everyone from the Gossip to the Scissor Sisters to Joss Stone.

When it comes to deejaying, their sets are all over the place in the best way possible. I was truly blown away when I saw them at PS1 this past summer. They went from 45 minutes of old school, funky disco to everyone from Mr. Oizo to the Police. Tracks with nothing in common seemed like they were always meant to be played together. Not dancing was not an option. Strongly recommended

Continue reading "Ruff Club turns 2 tonight w/ A Touch of Class, Pop Levi..."

Continue reading "photos from Fashion Week, NYC (Feb 2008)"

Both Misshapes, held every Saturday for five years, and the other party, held on the eve of major holidays for nearly eight years, were regular destinations for young downtown clubgoers. Their unexpected back-to-back demise left the skinny-jeans-and-Converse set — along with the promoters who cater to them — asking the same question: What’s next?

.....“It’s just getting harder and harder to do weekly parties, unfortunately, at least for me,” Michael T. said, adding that the right site is difficult to find. “In a city just inundated with bottle service and things of that nature, that’s not me, and also ultra-hip Brooklyn ‘I don’t bathe and I have a beard’ is not me.” [NY Times]

Pic via here.

Jimmy Webb, VIP, Jackson & Leigh Lezark @ Misshapes - July 28, 2007 (CRED)

Misshapes (the weekly Saturday night party at Don Hill's in NYC) ended for good this past Saturday night (Sept 8, 2007). David Byrne and the NY Times were among those in attendance.

Where will young, hip tourists looking for a good time on a Saturday night go now? Will they make the trip over to Brooklyn to experience the equally hip dance craze that's been going on over at Studo B? Or are they too glamorous to cross the river to mingle with the less fashion-conscious breed of hipster that I just learned about in an article (by someone I know) in the NY Post?...

"Manhattan has larger venues, but Brooklyn people who are dialed in probably don't give a crap about those places," says Todd Patrick, a Brooklyn concert promoter known as Todd P. "More tours are stopping in Brooklyn, and the scene is a billion times better than when everything revolved around Manhattan."......"The early-20s hipsters left in Manhattan are a more dance-club oriented crowd," says Patrick. "People who are paying Manhattan rents are interested in glamour, not rock 'n' roll."........"Manhattan hipsters are definitely more into fashion, or at least labels," says DJ Mike Nouveau, part of Manhattan party promoters the Ruff Kids, who are often seen in clothes by the trendy brand Surface to Air. "Where someone I know might go to Barneys to buy an outfit, someone in Brooklyn will go to [used clothing store] Beacon's Closet."....[NY Post]

In related news, Misshapes the book came out on September 4th. You'll need it to complete your collection that also includes the Last Night's Party book, and doorman Thomas Onorato's memoir entitled "Confessions from the Velvet Ropes".

DOWNLOAD: Patrick Wolf - The Magic Position (promo mix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Gossip - Ain't It the Truth (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Gossip - Standing in the Way of Control (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Amy Winehouse - You Know Im No Good (skeewiff Remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Of Montreal - Suffer For Fashion (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Ghostland Observatory - Sad Sad City (MP3)

Gossip @ Knitting Factory, NYC - April 14, 2007 (CRED)

I'm so bad - I still haven't told the story (or finished posting the pictures) of Patrick Wolf beating up his wasted drummer on stage at Misshapes two Saturdays ago (well actually, that basically IS the story). I know, I know - you hate Misshapes, but you can't argue that they're not doing OK in the booking department. Two weeks ago was Patrick, this Saturday (April 21) they have Ghostland Observatory, and last weekend they got Beth Ditto from (Columbia Records recording artist) The Gossip (who they - the Mishapes DJ's - are soon also touring with).

Ghostland Obervatory are also playing a sold out show at Bowery Ballroom in NYC tonight. (April 18). More dates at the end of this post.

Patrick Wolf just announced that he'll be playing opener on some of Amy Winehouse's upcoming North American tour dates. That's an amazing combo - hopefully the shows actually happen. The NYC show is May 9th at Highline Ballroom, but Patrick will also be here over a week earlier to perform for free at Virgin Records in Union Square. That show is April 30th. All tour dates below....

But first back to Beth....The Gossip played Knitting Factory in NYC on Saturday night (April 14), and it appears Beth stayed fully clothed at that show (see above). I can't say the same for her appearance at Misshapes later that night though. There, she DID take off her clothes (again). NSFW (don't blame me) photos (and lots more) below....

Continue reading "Gossip's Beth ditto stripped (& stuff) @ Misshapes (NSFW) + Ghostland Observatory, Patrick Wolf & Amy Winehouse"