photos by Vincent Cornelli

Hot Chip @ Highline Ballroom

Hot Chip could make things easy on itself. The band knows how to get a crowd of New York indie-rock fans, like the ones at the Music Hall of Williamsburg on Saturday night, dancing and waving their arms. It simply deploys a four-on-the-floor dance-club thump under bouncing, pinging synthesizer parts and pop choruses.

...Dance music depends on the joy of repetition, and Hot Chip clings to that. Every so often it would start a song with a hand-played introduction on guitar or piano, only to draw cheers from the audience when the drum machine kicked in soon afterward. "Happiness is what we all want," Mr. Taylor sang in the band's opening song ("Thieves in the Night," which also starts the new album), and for Hot Chip and many of its fans, the most direct route to happiness is via the visceral pleasure of beat and hook. When the band turned to a ballad among its encores -- the knowingly titled "Slush" -- quite a few people headed for the exit. [NY Times]

The band also played on the Jimmy Fallon show while they were here. Joined by the Roots, "One Life Stand" is what they played on TV. "Take It In" was taped just for the website. You can watch video of the latter below (the video of what actually appeared on TV has been removed from YouTube and doesn't seem to be on NBC's site).

After a European tour, Hot Chip will be back in April to play shows that include Coachella and two nights at Terminal 5 (one supported by the xx and the other by Gang Gang Dance). Their new record, "One Life Stand," is out Tuesday (2/9) on Astralwerks.

More pictures from Highline and all upcoming tour dates are below...

Continue reading "Hot Chip played Highline Ballroom, MHOW & Jimmy Fallon - pics & video"

Hot Chip's new album, One Night Stand, is out officially on February 9th. The band will play a free MySpace record release show in NYC at Highline Ballroom on Friday, February 5th which is one night before their sold out show at Music Hall of Williamsburg. Stay tuned for more details.

That makes four upcoming Hot Chip shows total in NYC right now. The other two are in April at the larger Terminal 5. Tickets for the final one are still on sale. Hot Chip last played Highline Ballroom almost exactly two years earlier when their last album came out.

The photo above is from a limited edition vinyl gatefold edition of the new album.

Limited to just 1,000 hand-numbered copies worldwide, the edition includes two super-heavyweight vinyl records containing the 10 tracks comprising 'One Life Stand', crafted on The Vinyl Factory-owned, legendary EMI 1400 vinyl press located in Hayes, Middlesex. Also featuring an exclusive Hot Chip art print of the 'One Life Stand' cover artwork, it is presented in a heavyweight gatefold sleeve with bespoke artwork printed on both sides, and also houses a very special and exclusive surprise!

Continue reading "Hot Chip playing MySpace show at Highline Ballroom, record out soon, limited vinyl edition, new video & more "

Tonight (10/20) hip-hop duo Clipse play a free Myspace Music show (part of the site's "The Release" series) at Hiro Ballroom. The show, which is not part of CMJ, is a pre-release party of sorts of the group's Columbia Records debut, Till the Caskey Drops, due December 8th, and includes guests Donnis, Jasmine Solano, Adam Tensta and DJ dB.

The show is first come, first served. Info on how to RSVP is below...

Continue reading "Clipse - free Myspace show tonight, new album in December "

The creators of BBC comedy show The Mighty Boosh (now on Cartoon Network), Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding, will be in NYC today (July 21st) for a 6pm signing at Other Music (15 E 4th St) and a Myspace Secret Stand-Up show at Bowery Ballroom. Their Myspace says that they'll be DJing at the Bowery, but considering the show's live-action start, you can probably expect a little more than your standard DJ set (other cast members, including Bollo, a talking gorilla, will be in tow as well) (oh, and the press release says it is a "Stand-Up performance") (a MySpace Secret Stand-Up actually) (though I guess technically DJ's stand up while playing.) (kidding).

What is the Mighty Boosh?

In "The Mighty Boosh," self-absorbed wannabe glam rocker Vince Noir (Fielding) and the intellectually vain and self-proclaimed genius and jazz aficionado Howard Moon (Barratt) are in a band and live alongside a freelance shaman, Naboo (Michael Fielding) and Bollo (David Brown), a talking Gorilla. Each season, The Mighty Boosh creates its own unique environment, taking place in a vast array of locales, including the "Zooniverse", the Frozen Tundra and the Australian desert. Each episode features an original Mighty Boosh song as Vince and Howard continue their never-ending search for the "new sound."

Continue reading "Mighty Boosh - LA & NYC MySpace shows + in-store (tonight)"

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...

Continue reading "Lily Allen, Matt & Kim @ Bowery Ballroom, NYC - pics, setlist"

MySpace Music the world's premiere online music portal, is excited to announce Lily Allen performing 3 Secret Shows on 3 continents. The British singer will put on intimate concerts for her MySpace fans in New York, Tokyo and London at no charge. Lily will kick off the global Secret Show series with a performance at The Bowery Ballroom in New York City on February 10th. The concert marks the first time a single artist will take part in multiple MySpace Secret Shows on a global level. The New York show, sponsored by TurboTax® Federal Free Edition, signifies Lily's debut concert celebrating the release of her new album, It's Not Me, It's You. Secret Show performances are exclusively for MySpace users who friend the MySpace Secret Shows profile and are then notified of all details via a MySpace bulletin. In addition, beginning February 10th, Lily's new album will be available to purchase for $3.99 for a limited time on her MySpace Music player through Amazon MP3.

Continue reading "Lily Allen playing MySpace Secret Shows (1 in NYC w/ M&K)"

Michael Ian Black and Michael Showalter (2/3 of Stella) are playing a free MySpace Secret Stand Up show at Caroline's Comedy Club in NYC on Thursday November 6th. As you can see from the picture above, the show is affiliated with the New York Comedy Festival that kicks off today (Wednesday, November 5th).

All of Stella are touring, and playing 2 NYC shows, in December. You can watch them discuss president-elect Barack Obama in the video below...

Continue reading "Michael Showalter & Michael Ian Black - free MySpace show "

photos by Bao Nguyen

Battles opened for Gnarls Barkley at the 150th MySpace Secret Show at Irving Plaza in NYC last night (June 8 2008). It was hot. They were hot. It was Bao's first time seeing Battles. He thought they were the highlight of the evening. More pics & tour dates below....

Continue reading "Battles @ Irving Plaza (MySpace show) - pics + tour dates"

photos by Bao Nguyen

Gnarls Barkley, Battles and Janelle Monae played the 150th MySpace Secret Show at the Fillmore NY @ Irving Plaza last night (June 8, 2008). It was hot, sweaty, crowded and free. People waited on line for hours in the sweltering heat to get in. The line started forming around 2pm. Gnarls Barkley took the stage around 9:45, and their performance, outfits and all, was very similar to the show they recently played at Highline Ballroom. That is not a bad thing.

Catch Gnarls Barkley on Letterman tonight (June 9). Listen to them on NPR. Over the weekend they played the Roots Picnic in Philly. On Tuesday they'll be at the Apple Store (stripped down).

This singular performance, in support of the acclaimed new Gnarls album The Odd Couple, will begin promptly at 7:00 PM, and is first-come, first-in.

"Gnarls wanted to give their fans a live show that's fundamentally different from anything they could get from an album," said a spokesperson for the band. "Recently, they've been experimenting with a stripped-down lineup, and the songs have sounded exquisite. They were planning to hit up the Apple Store anyway, so they thought, 'Why not play a few songs while we're there?' When they heard there was a half-moon on the 10th, they thought, 'Perfect.'"

This show will mark the premiere of Gnarls Barkley's sparse, core-lineup live show. Afterwards, Gnarls will take its stripped-down show to Europe for its June Residency Series in London and Paris, from June 12 - June 18.

Continue reading "Gnarls Barkley played Irving Plaza for MySpace (pics & setlist) - Letterman tonight, Apple store, other tour dates"

Battles @ Coachella 2008 (more by Ryan Muir)

Battles are opening the show which will be at Irving Plaza on June 8th.

Battles are also playing Summerstage and all the other places listed below...

Continue reading "Battles opening for Gnarls Barkley @ Irving Plaza, touring"

Gnarls Barkley @ Highline Ballroom (more by Jason Bergman)

MySpace, the world's most popular social network in partnership with Samsung, today announced its 150th installment of the hugely popular Secret Show franchise (http://myspace.com/secretshows), an original concert series that fuses the online and offline music experience and further connects fans and bands through intimate, "friends only" performances. This landmark 150th Secret Show will feature Grammy award winning artist and fan favorite, Gnarls Barkley (http://myspace.com/gnarlsbarkley), who launched their US career two years ago with a MySpace Secret Show, their first live concert in the states.

The 150th Secret Show will take place in New York City on June 8th. The exact location is still a "secret" but fans can visit http://myspace.com/secretshows to learn more about the upcoming show.

"Music has always been a cornerstone of the MySpace culture and our users are incredibly passionate and involved in the music community online," said Josh Brooks, Vice President of Marketing and Content for MySpace. "With Secret Shows they can truly experience the music they love so much, live, in person and for free just for being a MySpace member. We've had 150 amazing shows and I can't think of a better way to celebrate than Gnarls Barkley in New York City."

The last picture I posted was taken slightly before Neil's MySpace Secret Show in NYC last night. Here's some more officially-released photos from inside and out, and a review posted on the Neil Diamond Homepage.com Blog...

Tonight's show rocked!! The setlist was comprised of seven songs (see below) and both Neil and the crowd were rocking!

Neil was introduced by Paul Colby, a former owner of the Bitter End. For the show Neil wore black slacks, shirt and a brown leather jacket. Neil played guitar the entire show. Tonight's band was composed of Alan, Doug, Reine, Smokey Hormel and Matt Sweeny.

This was truly a memorable day for our man on the streets and for the other fans who were able to attend this once in a lifetime show. I am sure that all those who attended are truly grateful to Neil for giving them this special evening. All patrons received a numbered Home By Dark/Bitter End poster at the end of the show. Our man on the street received number 296 out of 300.

Final setlist for the show was as follows:

Solitary Man
Don't Go There
Home Before Dark
Pretty Amazing Grace
Kentucky Woman
Cherry, Cherry
Sweet Caroline

Continue reading "Neil Diamond @ the Bitter End - pics, video & setlist"

...at the Bitter End! Strange, but true....

Legendary singer, songwriter and performer Neil Diamond (http://www.myspace.com/neildiamond) will perform at a special free MySpace Secret Show, Wednesday, May 7th at New York City's The Bitter End exclusively for the MySpace community. For more information about this show visit the official MySpace Secret Shows profile at http://myspace.com/secretshows.

Neil Diamond is also playing three nights at Madison Square Garden (a venue just slightly bigger than the Bitter End).

P.S. That Bitter End show is tomorrow!