photos by Andrew St. Clair

"Vans made a power move into Brooklyn Saturday October 18, 2010 and unveiled its new, state-of-the-art event space, the House of Vans, opening it's doors to 900 of New York's skate community.

The new space is located in Brooklyn's Greenpoint neighborhood and is a prime example of Vans' commitment to and respect for the East Coast skate scene. The House of Vans is a 25,000-square-foot renovated warehouse, featuring an indoor concrete bowl and outdoor street course, a permanent stage for concerts and enough space to do whatever the Vans heart and soul could desire. The House of Vans will be Vans' East Coast hub, with two full-time employees to start.

The new space's outdoor skate park and bowl, designed by California Skateparks and influenced by Lance Mountain and Brian Pino, were well received by those in attendance." [probably a press release]

The 25,000 square feet House of Vans (15,000 indoors and 10,000 sq. ft outdoor enclosed patio and skate plaza), located at 25 Franklin St (at Meserole), hosted a Warped Tour kick-off show back in March. It's not exactly the type of show we'd normally cover, but when I heard there will be more concerts there this summer (stay tuned for announcements), I asked Andrew to send over some of his shots from that event so we could get an idea of what to expect. They continue below...

Continue reading "House of Vans warehouse in Brooklyn hosts concerts (and is a skate park) -- pics"

DOWNLOAD: Deer Tick - Beautiful Girls (Sean Kingston Cover) (MP3)

Murphy's Law @ Culture Shock '09 (Serenaz)

The lineup is out for Culture Shock 2010, which will take place April 16th and 17th at SUNY Purchase. Headliners for this year's fest are pop-punk band Bayside (avoid the "Beautiful Girls" cover on their MySpace) (and check out another version above) and indie-pop collective Los Campesinos (who'll play Irving Plaza April 22nd) Friday night, and rapper Jay Electronica and The Books on Saturday. The rest of the bill is a varied mix that includes Surfer Blood, Black Milk, Maps & Atlases, L Mag Band You Need To Hear Ava Luna, Maluca, Das Racist, The So So Glos and Turbo Fruits. The annual event isn't technically open to non-students. The full lineup is below.

Last year's lineup was headlined by Drake and The Cool Kids. In 2008, Fucked Up's headlining performance was cut short by the police.

The bands were announced earlier this month via film at an event at the school. That video, the lineup and more are below...

Continue reading "SUNY Culture Shock 2010 lineup"

by Black Bubblegum

Thursday @ Terminal 5

Thursday is devoted to tour dates. Not only here at BrooklynVegan every Thursday (and really, every day), but the New Brunswick post-hardcore band Thursday who will hit the road in September with The Fall of Troy, tagging Bowery Ballroom (a venue much smaller than their most recent shows at Terminal 5 and Nokia Theatre) on 9/20. Support will rotate, but Bowery will get BV-SXSW 2009 vets Young Widows and the post-rocky Moving Mountains. Full tour dates are below, with all shows currently on sale via Thursday's Doves Club (general sale kicks off 8/7). Thursday is touring off of their current LP, Common Existence, which was released earlier this year on Epitaph.

Young Widows recently issued an update on new releases and some details with respect to their tour with Thursday:

...we'll be playing Best Friends Day 8 in Richmond this year! There is somewhat of a twist as Jeremy will be in Finland on the day of the fest... Instead, our very good friend Dave Witte (of Burnt By The Sun, Municipal Waste, Melt Banana, etc...) will be filling in for the show! We are excited to be playing with Dave and making him an honorary Young Widow!

We have two releases to announce, both on Robotic Empire and both to be released in the next couple of months. The first is Evan's project Bad Secrets, which was born out of improv jam sessions between him and Kodan Armada's Dan Davis. ...[Their] debut will be released on 9"+CD! The second is a Young Widows live record! We had the privilage to play live on WMUC Radio back in April and it was all recorded... [and] it will be released on 12"+CD of a limited number.

Dave Witte on drums for Young Widows? Wow.

Best Friends Day 8 takes place in Richmond from August 20th -23rd and features a killer lineup of heavy, including Torche (who just played MHOW), Strike Anywhere, Coliseum, Brainworms, Magrudergrind, Off With Their Heads (who are coming to Europa), Asshole Parade (who are coming to The Charleston), Cannabis Corpse (them too), Ultra Dolphins, and many more. Flyer is below with all Thursday tour dates...

Continue reading "Thursday & The Fall of Troy touring (dates include Bowery) with Young Widows (who are playing Best Friends Day 8)"