photos by Ryan Muir

More pictures from Friday's show in Brooklyn, below...

Continue reading "Apes & Androids, the Phenomenal Handclap Band & Bonnie Baxter @ Music Hall of Williamsburg, NYC - pics"

photos by Kyle Dean Reinford

Last night's show (2/4) at Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn was a solid bill from start to finish begining with headliner Beirut playing after Inlets who played after Tune Yards...

For musician Merrill Garbus -- whose one-woman band Tune-yards features ukulele, voice, and found sounds filtered through a hand-held digital voice recorder and then sent to her laptop for mixing -- self-releasing her debut Bird-Brains was all about empowerment. "Bird-Brains was very intentionally done all through 'free' media, i.e. the digital-voice recorder, my laptop, free Audacity software -- and all by me. I was very much in a feminist frame of mind when I chose to use those as my limitations," she says. "As a woman musician, I'm in the world of men a lot. I catch myself, even, assuming that women musicians don't record, produce, or even write their own stuff." [Venus Zine]

Beirut's current band incarnation isn't as large as we've seen in the past. Friday and Saturday night at BAM it will be bigger than ever. More pictures from last night below...

Continue reading "Beirut, Inlets & Tune Yards @ MHOW, Brooklyn, NY - pics"

photos by Kyle Dean Reinford

London's The Kills announce a 22-date US tour, beginning in Indio, CA at the Coachella Arts and Music Festival on April 19th. Midnight Boom, the band's 3rd full length album was released last year on Domino Records... ...sets at SXSW, Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits and tours with The Raconteurs and The Black Keys, have made The Kills [more popular]...

The Kills will release a new EP, entitled Black Balloon on April 14 (March 23 rest of world, on Domino everywhere), including the track from Midnight Boom as well as brand new acoustic tracks. In typical Kills fashion, the new video for "Black Balloon," directed by Kenneth Cappello, is another beautiful art piece incorporating exclusive backstage and tour footage shot in Super 8. View the video below

The new EP follows up January's iTunes Live Sessions EP, recorded at the end of the band's fall tour at Electric Lady Studio in NYC, which features live versions of "Sour Cherry" and "Getting Down,", acoustic versions of "Pull a U" and "Kissy Kissy" and a cover version of Willie Nelson's "Crazy."..

The band recently performed "Last Day of Magic" on the UK's most popular late night talk show, Friday Night with Jonathon Ross. Video below.

Special guest on all North American dates will be The Horrors, with Magic Wands opening on what will be [a] tour [in] the spring. [slightly modified PR]

The Kills were last in Brooklyn on October 3rd and 4th. They played Music Hall of Williamsburg two nights in a row with Magic Wands. Shortly before that they played a show at ACL where they revealed they had just lost their tour bus.

Pictures from the first of those two October Brooklyn shows (with setlist), the new tour dates, and the above-mentioned videos, below...

Continue reading "The Kills - 2009 tour dates (w/ Horrors), a new EP, live pics "

Cat Power's set of Apollo Theater shows are just few days away (Feb 6-7) (tix), but that didn't stop her/Chan/them from announcing a third NYC show that's happening even sooner. The new one is happening in Brooklyn at Music Hall of Williamsburg on Thursday, February 5th. $30 TICKETS ARE ON SALE @ NOON.

The Dexter Romweber Duo are opening the Brooklyn show...

The Dex Romweber Duo also features Dex's celebrated sibling Sara Romweber (Mitch Easter, Lets Active, Snatches of Pink) on drums. Together they have been performing electrifying concerts all over the US and Europe, touring with Cat Power, Southern Culture On The Skids, Legendary Shack Shakers, Reverend Horton Heat, Neko Case and the White Stripes.

Dex is the subject of a new documentary movie, "Two-Headed Cow," which chronicles his legendary career. The movie includes testimonials by Jack White, Neko Case, Cat Power and Exene Cervenka amongst others, all of whom cite Dex as a major personal influence.

The Dex Romweber Duo's new CD "Ruins of Berlin" will be in stores February 10, 2009 on Bloodshot Records. The CD features guest appearances by Neko Case, Cat Power, Exene Cervenka and Rick Miller of Southern Culture on the Skids.

Neko Case has some shows coming up too.

Dex Romweber is also opening both Apollo shows. All Cat Power & Dex Romweber dates below...

Continue reading "Cat Power adds Brooklyn show w/ Dexter Romweber Duo whose new album she appears on like Neko Case"

photos by Ryan Muir

The Phenomenal Handclap Band play after Bonnie Baxter and before Apes & Androids at Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn tonight (1/30). It should be a lively and colorful show.

Adidas threw some random invite-only birthday party for themselves in Brooklyn back in November. Phenomenal Handclap Band were the 'house' band. More (we-never-published-them-before) pictures from that event below...

Continue reading "Phenomenal Handclap Band - live photos, Music Hall tonight"

Of Montreal @ MHOW - Dec 2008 (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

Just a head's up, in case you haven't already heard, that of Montreal and James Husband (aka Jamey Huggins) have a split 7" coming out as part of Happy Happy Birthday to Me Records' ongoing singles club (most likely shipping date is in May). There are still some subscriptions available at the label's website, and there may be individual copies of the single for sale when they're pressed, but for now the only guaranteed way to get a copy is by purchasing a subscription for the whole series. However - the lineup for the series is great (including The Apples in Stereo, Tullycraft, Casper & the Cookies, Circulatory System, The Sunshine Fix, Fishboy, Red Pony Clock, All Girl Summer Fun Band, Cars Can Be Blue, and many more). For info, visit the label's website, or their blog. Also, expect big James Husband news very soon.

Continue reading "Of Montreal - 3 April Brooklyn shows, James Hubbard split 7""

photos by Zach Stern

Few descriptions can activate the force fields of cutesy-indie-rock skeptics faster than "twee," "Brooklyn," and "coed duo." And those skeptics are probably gonna want to sit out the second effort from twee, Brooklyn, coed duo Matt & Kim. But if you've spent time sitting outside an all-ages rock club or haunting a vegan video game cafe, or wherever it is kids congregate nowadays, this cavalcade of minimalist organ and drum pop that flits and twits between skewed, sugar rush abandon ("Daylight") and romantic, robotic chanting ("I'll Take Us Home") will read like blueprints for kicking back in the city. Heaving strings on the climax of the hurtling "Cutdown" only add to the cinematic, indie-kids-on-the-loose feel. But for the most part the album is a galloping goof, with vocalist and keyboard player Matt Johnson hamming his way through a series of rousing blog-pop gems. With more traditional rock instrumentation, tracks like "I Wanna" might come off as punk rock, but as is, it sounds like they're having too much fun for any sort of angst to bleed through. [Boston Globe]

Continue reading "Matt & Kim, Spank Rock, Ninjasonik & Rude Mechanical Orchestra @ Music Hall of Williamsburg, NYC - pics"

words & photos by Kyle Dean Reinford

Andrew Bird played Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn last night (1/26). The sold out venue was full, but not packed. The audience was super respectful, even for opener Christina Courtin who I didn't love (I was hoping for Dosh who is opening at Carnegie Hall).

Bird (with the help of a band that included Dosh) played almost all songs off his new album Noble Beast (currently still streaming at NPR), and maybe three or four older ones. The album hadn't even been out a week, and it seemed people had trouble getting into the show until about halfway through when Bird played "Fake Pallindromes" followed by "Nonanimal" (my favorite track off the new record). At one point he asked if he was playing too many new ones, and for the rest of the concert people kept shouting requests. I don't think he played anything off "Armchair Apocrypha" and he didn't even play "Why?".

The show was early. He went on at 9:15 and played until around 10:45 which included one encore. The crowd was cheering really, really loud for a second encore, but he didn't come back. I heard he's been a bit sick the past few days, so that may have been the reason.

Andrew recently played a show in DC on Inauguration-eve and has many more shows coming up including one Wednesday night at Carnegie Hall.

More MHOW pictures below...

Continue reading "Andrew Bird @ Music Hall of Williamsburg, NYC - pics"

photos by Nathan Miller

DOWNLOAD: Bishop Allen - Like Castanets (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Bishop Allen - Rain (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Bishop Allen - Click Click Click (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Bishop Allen - Things Are What You Make Of Them (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Bishop Allen - Eve of Destruction (MP3)

"Grrr...It's the warning sound of a rabid beast bearing its teeth. It's the sound you hear just before said beast really lets you have it. And with its new album Grrr... set to be unleashed by Dead Oceans on March 10, BISHOP ALLEN is that stirring animal, readied for an attack of pop songcraft honed over nearly two years of rigorous touring.

Grrr..., reveals that after five years of comparisons to other artists--Jonathan Richman, The Kinks, Bright Eyes, Spoon, etc., in rave reviews from Rolling Stone, SPIN, Entertainment Weekly and many others--Bishop Allen has developed an artistry and sound that are unmistakably their own. One thing that distinguishes Bishop Allen's music is the quality of the writing. Rice's literate lyrics, which The Los Angeles Times has praised for their "poetic insight," have a universality that has made them resonant to listeners of all ages and earned them champions ranging from the young comic actor Michael Cera to the National Public Radio host Scott Simon.

The band will cross the U.S. in support of Grrr..., making a soon-to-be-announced stop at SXSW." [PR]

Continue reading "Bishop Allen - new Grrr album, 2009 Tour Dates, live pics "

photos by Nathan Miller

"The Fluid came out hungry. Although they were the first non-Northwestern band to sign to Sub Pop (a cred-worth footnote, if ever there was one), they never achieved the success as their labelmates Nirvana, Soundgarden and Mudhoney. There aren't even any Fluid records in print right now! (Their merch tonight was shirts that featured a Ford-like logo for their name.) They reunited for Sub Pop's 20th anniversary fest last year and, from what I heard, came off as surprised at the positive reception they got. Tonight, they played many songs from their classic Roadmouth as well as a favorite of mine, "Cold Outside," from Clear Black Paper. Frontman John Robinson bounded about the stage, though the band seemed more comfortable sticking to the back. Nonetheless, they lived up to their legacy. Now all they need to do is to get their records back in print." [Sadness is Delicious]

More pictures from Brooklyn below...

Continue reading "The Fluid @ Music Hall of Williamsburg, NYC - pics"

photos by Nathan Miller

Pitchfork: Are you anxious about your first post-Be Your Own Pet show this weekend?

Jemina Pearl: Oh no, I'm super excited. It's been so long since I've played a show. I've been compensating by doing karaoke and stealing the microphone from people. So it's probably good for all my friends that I'm getting back onstage.

...

Pitchfork: Do you want to go into any more detail about the breakup?

JP: That's a loaded question, my friend. I probably shouldn't! I feel like it's been a scab that I keep picking at. It's just now starting to heal, so I need to leave it alone. I'll probably talk about it eventually, but right now it's too fresh.

Pitchfork: Fair enough. Let's move onto your new project, which includes BYOP drummer John Eatherly, right?

JP: Yeah, me and John started writing songs when BYOP was still a band. We'd write these kind of 60s girl group-sounding songs. Once the band broke up and I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do, John brought me some music that he'd written, but he was having a hard time coming up with lyrics and vocal parts. He moved into my house in Nashville and we would just stay up all night writing and it felt really natural.

We had both been wanting to move to Brooklyn, so we just left Nashville and took a Chinatown bus up to the city for like $40. It was kind of like, "Fuck it, there's no reason to be here." Nashville's an interesting city but it's one of those places that's better to visit. I'm sure everyone in Nashville's going to be like, "fuck you," but I'll say "fuck you" right back to them. It was really a spur-of-the-moment move. I brought two suitcases and my guitar; John brought one suitcase.

...

Pitchfork: Have you started recording?

JP: We're actually about to go do our first real batch of demos in Northampton [Massachusetts], where Thurston [Moore] lives, after the show. We want to record the album in March. And I think we're going to try and start playing around New York and New Jersey pretty frequently.

Continue reading "Jemina Pearl now in NYC w/ new band, recording (near Thurston), played Brooklyn (pics, setlist & a video)"

Andrew Bird rocking for Barack @ MHOW (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

Andrew Bird was just saying how he likes to keep it real and play more intimate venues that he can definitely sell out and connect with fans in. He recently decided to not go nuts and play the huge Radio City, instead opting for the smaller room at Carnegie Hall. Staying true to that cool attitude, he just added a show at Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn. The new January 26th date is two days before he plays Carnegie Hall. Tickets go on Am Ex presale Thursday at noon, and regular sale on Saturday.

Listen to his new album @ NPR. More dates HERE.

Demetri Martin in Hawaii - Oct 26, 2008 (hunting ghosts)

Well, they're not as big as the show I remember he played at Town Hall in like 2007, but roughly-600 person venues are much bigger than places like UCB, Rififi, Pianos and Sound Fix. Comedian Demetri Martin is headlining Bowery Ballroom on February 19th, and Music Hall of Williamsburg the next day. Tickets for both shows go on Am Ex presale Wednesday at noon.

Eugene Mirman also has two big nights of shows coming up. So does Aziz Ansari.

Demetri Martin was not a special guest at any of this year's Yo La Tengo Hanukkah shows, but Jon Benjamin was.

Demetri Martin reminds me of Mitch Hedberg (RIP) who had an album come out in 2008.

Comedy Central presents Demetri Martin, in the video below...

Continue reading "Demetri Martin playing 2 big shows in NYC & other stuff"

photos by Ryan Muir

Crystal Castles made three two NYC appearances on New Years Eve. The first two were shows at Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn, and third was an even later DJ gig they were supposed to DJ at Supreme Trading later on, but reportedly didn't show up (see comments). More pictures from the second show at MHOW, and some video, below...

Continue reading "Crystal Castles @ MHOW (New Years Eve late show) - pics"

photos by Lori Baily

Many predicted that Deerhunter would get Pitchfork's #1 album of 2008, but in fact they gave it to Fleet Foxes. Bradford Cox should still be happy with both Deerhunter at #5 and Atlas Sound at #26 though. Speaking of Bradford Cox, he blogged this...

Just got of the phone with Brian Weitz [Geologist of Animal Collective]. This was sent out via the bands email earlier this morning:

"it has come to my attention that 2 full length tracks off of our upcoming album, merriweather post pavilion have surfaced online. david, noah, and I please ask that someone assist us and leak all of the remaining tracks on the album.

the album is intended to be heard as a whole, and nothing bothers us more than individual tracks leaking and ruining the the overall album experience

-brian Geologist"

Total Bullshit. Someone actually had the nerve to hack into their e-mail account and send this out. The truth is that AC do not want their album to leak and are trying very hard to avoid the drama around said album that has risen to a fever pitch.

I am not trying to involve myself in AC's business, I am just voicing my own independent opinion.

Back in the 90's when I was first starting to make 4-track tapes I had a game where I would make a fake version of an album I was anticipating. If Pavement's Brighten the Corners were coming out soon, I had to wait till release day to hear it. I would record a set of songs that I would want the Pavement album to sound like. Some of those songs ended up becoming Atlas Sound and Deerhunter songs years later.

My advice to those who are so desperate for AC's album to leak is to pick up instruments and make your own version of what you would want it to sound like. Respect the BANDS wishes and wait till release day. Then you can compare your new songs with theirs. Who knows. Maybe your album will be the one people are wanting to leak next year. -Bradford

The pictures in this post were taken at the Stereogum Gummy Awards at Music Hall of Williamsburg earlier this month. More of them below...

Continue reading "Deerhunter not P4K's #1, Gummy pics, Animal Collective leak"

DOWNLOAD: Matt & Kim - Yea Yeah (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Matt & Kim - No More Long Years (The Risk Remix) (MP3)

Matt & Kim @ Danbro Studios (more by Ryan Muir)

As previously posted, Matt & Kim are going out on tour with Cut Copy in March. That includes a show at the large Terminal 5 in NYC, BUT no need to go that big or spend that much or wait that long because Matt & Kim will also play a 16+ $10 show in their home borough at Music Hall of Williamsburg on January 22nd. The occasion will be the release of their new record on FADER's label. Tickets go on sale December 23rd at noon. All dates below...

Continue reading "Matt & Kim - 2009 Tour Dates (Music Hall of Williamsburg)"

photos by Lori Baily

Bell was the first of three bands to play at Stereogum's Gummies at Music Hall of Williamsburg on December 8th. Bell plays a Brooklyn show again tonight...

12-18-2008 20:00 at SARAH'S BIRTHDAY @ the BELL HOUSE!!!! band set//dj set//cupcake set
7th street between 2nd and 3rd Aves., BROOKLYN, Brooklyn,
Cost: $8
W/ Holy Hail, Quinn Walker, Claymation Velociraptor, DJ Pumpkin Patch, DJ Dr. Ew, DJ BELLJAM WAFFLES

Continue reading "Bell - Gummies pics, a show @ the Bell House w/ The Ballet"

photos by Kyle Dean Reinford

DOWNLOAD: Of Montreal - ID Engager (Mad Decent Remix) (MP3)

Though the stage show wasn't AS elaborate as it was at the much bigger Roseland Ballroom (no horse, coffin full of shaving cream or gallows), Of Montreal still did it up at Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn last night (12/16). Their over-2 hour set included most of the songs from their last two albums, a ton of costume changes, and plenty of characters on stage. The packed and engergetic show was over around 1:25 AM.

Catch DJ Kevin Barnes, and friends, and karaoke, tonight (Wednesday, December 17th) at The Bell House. More pictures from Music Hall below...

Continue reading "Of Montreal @ Music Hall of Williamsburg, NYC - pics"

Beirut is back, with a double dose of EP goodness for your listening pleasure!

Entitled March of the Zapotec, the first EP consists of songs written by Beirut and recorded in Mexico with the help of Oaxacan march masters The Jimenez Band. The second EP, Holland, showcases Zach's latest bedroom-style recordings under his former moniker Realpeople, including the previously released "Venice" (in the 2007 Believer music issue), and "My Night With the Prostitute From Marseille" (on the Natalie Portman curated Big Change charity album). Taken together, the two EPs proudly display the scope of Beirut's work over the last year.

Keep an eye out for a February release on Zach's own Pompeii Records, distributed by Revolver in the U.S. and Forte in Europe.

Beirut also has a song on the new Dark was the Night comp coming out in February.

Beirut's last show at MHOW was in May of this year.

No Fun Fest 2009. May 15,16,17 at Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn. Daily Schedule,ticket info/prices will be announced by January 12.

Continue reading "Sonic Youth, Merzbow & Bardo Pond playing No Fun Fest 2009 (full 3-day, Brooklyn lineup)"

photos by Kyle Dean Reinford

Bon Iver (Justin Vernon), with three-piece band, returned to Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn Friday night (12/12). It was his third NYC show in three days, and his last NYC show of 2008 according to what he told the crowd. He also said he was excited to almost be done touring so he can spend some time at home getting back down to earth after a crazy (sucessful) year.

Their set included two new songs, one of which was played during the one-song encore, and a cover of The Outfield's "Your Love" - a song he said he knew the bloggers would love. He was right. Actually I think everyone in attendance loved it, along with the whole show, though the highlight had to be the powerful crowd-sing-a-long to "The Wolves (Act I & II)".

Justin at one point lovingly and modestly joked, "How about that Tallest Man On Earth? I'm not sure why we decided to bring him on tour" (or something like that). He was referring to the Dylanesque opener, that was, as he pointed out, solid (though sometimes hard to hear over people talking).

"What is shocking about this is the fact that this man (who is of average height) seems to understand American folk music better than any other performer today is from Sweden." [Tone Marrow Reviews]

Continue reading "Bon Iver & The Tallest Man on Earth @ MHOW, NYC - pics"

photos by Zach Stern

"Victoria Legrand's voice live was everything I had imagined it to be and more. Her voice is so sultry and dreamy, it almost hypnotizes me, I get completely sucked in. It's the kind of voice that you can feel resonating in your stomach. I guess it's kind of like Cat Power, but also very very different." [Sonia Evers]

Continue reading "Beach House & Tickley Feather @ MHOW, NYC - pics"

photos by Ryan Muir

For the a second time this year, Ryan Muir took pictures of Yeasayer at Music Hall of Williamsburg. It was also the second night of their tour-ending, two-show, homecoming run at the Brooklyn venue this weekend.

"[The two shows at Music Hall] definitely have a homecoming feel. At this point we've played, not all over the world, but we've been back and forth to Europe several times and we played in Australia. We played all over the States. And the Williamsburg Music Hall is one of my favorite venues I've ever played in and, you know, Brooklyn is definitely our home. I have family there and I have friends there and it's been our kind of spiritual center. So yeah, it does have a homecoming feel. And it's kind of Christmas time thing so we're doing like a little Christmas party the day before the second show. I really don't know if it was appropriate to play two shows there, you know, but it seemed like maybe . . . And we'd already sold the one out. I don't know. It's good. I would've maybe rather had just one big bang show, but it's also we have a lot friends that we wanted to have open up and play with and stuff, so it's still good." [Yeasayer's Chris Keating to the Village Voice]

Continue reading "Yeasayer @ MHOW (Feb '08, night 2), Brooklyn, NY - pics"

Crystal Castles @ NYU (more by Bao Nguyen)

Music Hall of Williamsburg has also added a late-night NYC show on New Years Eve, except unlike Mercury Lounge and Bowery Ballroom, Music Hall's show will be the same band that played the club earlier that night. Tickets for the 2 AM Crystal Castles show go on Am Ex presale at noon.

photos by Leia Jospe

Chester French, The Knux and Charles Hamilton performed at the not extremely well attended Puma event at the Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn last night (Dec 1, 2008). The Knux play NYC again tonight, Tuesday December 2nd, on the Highline Ballroom bill with Q-Tip and The Cool Kids. More pictures from last night below...

Continue reading "The Knux, Charles Hamilton & Chester French @ MHOW (Puma party), Brooklyn, NY - pics"