NXNE photos by Natasha Ryan

Dirty Beaches @ NXNE

Dirty Beaches played NXNE in Toronto earlier this month. Spinner wrote that his performance was:

At times eerie but always compelling. Whether on 'True Blue,' which he dedicated to the ladies, or the rockabilly-laced 'Sweet 17,' the music rarely give the audience a warm, fuzzy feeling.

If there was one miscue, it was a cover of Mattress' 'El Dorado' which had him sans guitar and crooning like a jilted lover from a David Lynch film. Acknowledging that he'd "graduated from playing basements" to NXNE's main stage at Yonge-Dundas Square (the same stage that New Wave icons Devo would grace hours later), Dirty Beaches ended the set with a grin on his face and a few fist pumps. A fine set, even if the songs provoke images of dark, dimly lit alleys -- a strange brew for a gloriously sunny day.

As mentioned in This Week in Indie (and other times before that) Dirty Beaches plays a free show tonight (7/1) at South Street Seaport with Lower Dens. Things kick off at 7pm.

We mentioned back in May that Dirty Beaches was set to release a split 12" with Ela Orleans. The split is out now and can be streamed and purchased at La Station Radar.

More pictures, video, and all tour dates below...

Continue reading "Dirty Beaches is back (free show today), played NXNE (pics) "

photos by Natasha Ryan

Dum Dum Girls in Toronto for NXNE

Dum Dum Girls are following the He Gets Me High EP which was released earlier this year with their second full length Only In Dreams. As opposed to their first full length, I Will Be, which was recorded at home, the new album was done in Josh Homme's (QOTSA) Pink Duck Studios with Richard Gottehrer (Blondie, Go-Go's) and Sune Rose Wager of The Raveonettes. The album drops September 27 via Sub Pop.

They'll go on an international tour in support of the album. That tour hits Bowery Ballroom on October 21 and Maxwell's on October 24. Both shows are opened by Crocodiles and Royal Baths. Colleen Green opens up some other dates on the tour too. Ticket info is not available yet but check ticketmaster for the Bowery show and ticketfly for Maxwell's.

Like Cults, Dum Dum Girls recently paid a visit to Toronto for the NXNE fest. A few more pictures from their set there and all tour dates and the new album tracklist, below...

Continue reading "Dum Dum Girls announce LP, tour w/ Crocodiles & Royal Baths -- (dates & some NXNE pics too)"

photos by Natasha Ryan

Cults @ NXNE

If you RSVP'd for the House of Vans show happening TONIGHT (6/30), you should have gotten this letter:

Hey All-

Just wanted to remind you that tonight is the first show in our series at the House Of Vans featuring No Age, Health, Cults and Ceremony. The address for House of Vans is 25 Franklin St. in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NY. Doors are at 7:00pm. This is a free all ages show and the will be no line ups prior to 5:00pm.

The reason that you are receiving this is that you rsvped for the event. Entry is first come first serve. RSVP does not guarantee you entry.

Basic rules for the event... No outside food or beverage. And please don't bring your skateboard or ask us to check in your skateboard.

Set times.
Doors: 7:00pm
Ceremony: 7:45pm
Cults: 8:30pm
Health: 9:20pm
No Age: 10:30pm

And Sean Agnew will be playing records inbetween bands.

And last.....

There are two businesses next to the House of Vans that we care about and support on a regular basis. Pops Popular Clothing, which is next door and Cookie Road, a great café and bakery a block up.

They are both giving away a limited amount of passes (that guarantee you entry) with a purchase of $5 or more ending at 3:00pm. Every event we will be supporting two different local businesses.

Hope to see you tonight.
FYF Fest

Continue reading "House of Vans tonight (a chance for guaranteed entry), Cults also playing Montauk, played NXNE (pics & more dates)"

photos by Natasha Ryan

Ty Segall on a boat

1.You can actually get kicked off the boat
Things got pretty rocking on the M for Montreal and Brooklyn Vegan Bruise Cruise Saturday afternoon [June 18th]. But we did find out a useful tidbit yesterday: you can actually get kicked off the boat. You'd think once you were in international waters, there wouldn't be a lot of law enforcement going on. But one dude came within an inch of getting booted off the boat for burning down one too many j's. Turns out security can actually call you a water taxi if you're being too naughty to escort you back to the dock. Or at least they can threaten do that. The guy threw his spliff over board before we got to see it actually happen.

2. Steve McDonald from Redd Kross/OFF is THE Steve
Midway through Ty Segall's set he started to call around for his friend "Steve" to come up and join him for a tune. Steve wasn't in the belly of boat though at the time, so every one started yelling "Steve" not really knowing who they were calling. Turns out it was Steve McDonald from the Redd Kross, who was in town with his band OFF! It was bit of a coincidence too because the last time I had seen him perform was with Redd Kross opening for the Lemonheads at the Opera House in 1993. I also got to see Evan Dando and Juliana Hatfield this weekend. So it was like a double-blast from the past.

Continue reading "pics from the M For Montreal/BV NXNE 'Bruise Cruise'"

photos by Amanda Hatfield

Art Brut @ Music Hall of Williamsgburg

"...So here was Art Brut, on a Friday night [in Toronto for NXNE], playing to a two-thirds full Mod Club. And from the outset, it was rough. "Formed a Band" sounded like "Formed a Band," but something was off. It was a bit of a rush job and the energy felt fake. Rolling straight into "My Little Brother," it seemed as though there was an acknowledgment that Art Brut's "hits" were all anyone wanted to see, and this would be a middling trip down nostalgia lane. And that is when things took an unbelievably meta turn and Art Brut saved the day.

Midway through that second track, Argos admitted that his "little brother" was now 29, and a school teacher. And when he got to the line about how all songs have the same message -- "why don't our parents care about us" -- he went on a longer tangent, basically explaining the brief success and slow decline of Art Brut. It was stunningly honest, endearing and hilarious. And at the end of it, the entire room was in Art Brut's corner.

A little later, a long comedic digression in "Modern Art" finished with the bulk of the crowd sitting on the floor with Argos at the middle, telling a (mostly?) fictional story about a trip to the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam. I can't do any of it justice, but I can tell you it ended with the entire audience jumping full bore around the singer at the song's climax." [National Post]

Continue reading "Art Brut played NXNE, Maxwell's & Music Hall of Williamsburg w/ Reptar & Mini-Boone (pics & setlist)"

photos by Natasha Ryan

Keith Morris of Off!

Like they will TONIGHT (6/23) at Terminal 5 in NYC, Off! and Fucked Up played a show together in Toronto on June 16th. The free show happened as part of NXNE, outside in Toronto's central Yonge & Dundas Square. It was headlined by the Descendents. Pics are in this post.

Tonight's NYC show will be headlined by Dinosaur Jr. who will be playing "Bug" in its entirety, and other songs too. And like in Northampton, brave Henry Rollins will do some spoken word and live interviewing on stage right in the middle of the otherwise heavy and musical show. Tickets are still available.

--
Fucked Up

Saturday June 25th is the day that "special guest" headline the show with JEFF the Brotherhood and Iceage AT 285 Kent. Tickets for the show are on sale at Record Grouch in Williamsburg. "CASH ONLY! NO ONLINE SALES/HOLDS! DRAG YER ARSE TO THE STORE IN PERSON TO GET 'EM!"

More NXNE pics and all Fucked Up dates below...

Continue reading "Fucked Up & Off! are here, played NXNE (pics) --- (and btw: 285 Kent tix on sale @ Record Grouch)"

photos by Natasha Ryan

The reunion continues. The mighty Descendents played Toronto's Yonge & Dundas Square for NXNE on June 16 with Fucked Up, Off!, Rusty, and Metz. Pictures of the Descendents from that show adorn this post. Anyone have the setlist?

When we last spoke the Descendents had a few key shows scheduled like Riot Fest in Chicago, and now there are even more! One day before they play Riot Fest in Philly, the Descendents will finally grace NYC again with songs about about things sucking, coffee, and general boredom at Roseland Ballroom on September 23. The reunited Suicide Machines play both the Philly and NYC show. H2O also opens in NYC. Tickets ($27.50 in Advance, $30 Day of Show) to the NYC show go on general sale on Friday (6/24) at 10 AM, but are on presale now (password = voice).

More pictures from NXNE, and a video too, below...

Continue reading "Descendents played NXNE (pics), playing Roseland Ballroom"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Idiot Glee - Trouble at the Dancehall (MP3)

Idiot Glee

Idiot Glee, aka Lexington, KY resident James Friley, plays Glasslands tonight (6/15) with Holiday Shores, Seattle's Seapony and The House Floor. It's a record release party for Idiot Glee's debut album, Paddywhack, which came out last week on Moshi Moshi.

The album puts a variety of '60s pop and soul touchstones through a decidedly modern DIY filter. Says Drowned in Sound:

What's instantly charming about Paddywhack is its welcoming aspect as Friley's honesty and sincerity creates a warming romanticism. In amongst the 'Build Me Up Buttercup' type bass line and floating warble of spaced out synths, he croons: "If you say it right/I'll be right on time/Finally make my way to the pool/And we turn and dance all night." It all flows with the same passionate tone as Rufus Wainwright but whereas Rufus channels his emotion through sharp dynamic changes, Friley prefers to let his voice glide on, entering spectral realms. Admittedly, while all the reverbration works for the spiritual nature of the music, it sometimes doesn't work as well for Friley's voice.

Seapony also play shows at Bruar Falls and Pianos this week.

Holiday Shores, whose new album New Masses for Squaw Peak will be released by twosyllable records on Sep. 13, also plays three NYC shows this week. All dates, the video for new song "Threepeat Got Old", and a stream of the band covering Talking Heads song "Cities" are all below.

Full Idiot Glee tour itinerary, and a video for song "Let's Get Down Together," are also below.

Continue reading "Idiot Glee released 'Paddywhack', touring (MP3, dates, a NYC show tonight with Seapony and Holiday Shores)"

DOWNLOAD: Secret Cities - "Love Crime" (MP3)

Pujol @ a BV party @ SXSW (more by Amanda Hatfield)

"We'll start by letting Daniel Pujol tell you about his debut LP for Infinity Cat: "The X File On Main St. LP stylistically focuses on Nashville and draws from my work in MEEMAW and Saigon Baby/Wizardz. It is an aesthetic and conceptual assemblage of a lot of the recording and narrative ideas I've experimented with since 2007, but all at once. X File is a record for and about everything around in Nashville since I moved here in 2006. Ben Todd of Nashville's Dead, Dillon "Angel Baby" Watson of D. Watusi, and Wez Traylor of Natural Child and MEEMAW play on it. Their science keeps me honest; the truth is way, way, out there.""
[Infinity Cat]

Pujol are on tour with Secret Cities. Both bands, both with new releases, are making their way to Toronto for NXNE, but meanwhile are in NYC for two shows. These dates are tonight (6/14) at Death By Audio with Dream Diary and Little Gold and tomorrow (6/15) at Cake Shop with Ava Luna.

Pujol and Secret Cities play NXNE together at Wrongbar on June 17 with Ty Segall and Julianna Barwick. Ty Segall is also on the lineup of the BV/M For Montreal 'Bruise Cruise' one day later.

Pujol are also playing the Sled Island festival in Calgary, AB on June 24-25 with Deer Tick, Dinosaur Feathers, Crocodiles, The Muffs and many others.

Ava Luna also play some dates in September with Toro y Moi including Webster Hall.

Secret Cities recently released the album Strange Hearts via Western Vinyl. Check out th3 MP3 of "Love Crimes" above, and the video for "Always Friends" off that album along with all tour dates below...

Continue reading "Secret Cities & Pujol released stuff, are on tour, in NYC now, on way to NXNE & other dates (MP3 & dates)"

British folk duo Smoke Fairies release their first full-length album in the US, Through Low Light and Trees, today, June 14. The album, released in the UK September 6, 2010 via V2/Cooperative Music, was produced by Head who is known for working with PJ Harvey and Black Francis. The new US version of the CD also comes with a disc of bonus tracks. Check out the video for "Strange Moon Rising" and more of their music below.

You may remember Smoke Fairies from their "Gastown/Riversong" 7" which came out all the way back in December 2009 on Jack White's Third Man label. He also produced the single and contributed drums and guitar along with Jack Lawrence. The duo more recently reminded the US of their existence when they released a double a-side single "Hotel Room/Strange Moon Rising" for Record Store Day through 453 Records

Smoke Fairies are heading out on a US tour in late July with Rasputina. The tour doesn't include any NYC dates but the duo do have two NYC dates scheduled as part of a short trip here this month. After visiting Toronto for NXNE and then Boston, they play Rockwood Music Hall on June 21. They play the Manhattan venue right before Lisa Hannigan plays a sold out show on the same stage (no advanced tickets for the Smoke Fairies set though). They also open for My Gold Mask the next night, June 22 at The Rock Shop. Tickets are on sale for the Brooklyn show

Rasputina play their own NYC-area show with The Wilderness of Manitoba at Mexicali Blues in Teaneck, NJ on July 17. Tickets are still available.

Smoke Fairies contributed to MOJO Magazine's 'Harvest Revisited', a tribute to Neil Young's Harvest. Villagers, Phosphorescent, Sam Amidon and others appear on the compilation. Check out Smoke Fairies' take on "Alabama" below with more dates, videos, and other stuff.

Continue reading "Smoke Fairies released an LP in the USA, playing NXNE, NYC & shows w/ Rasputina (dates)"

Ty Segall (fans) on Bruise Cruise 2011 (more by Gabi Porter)

Going to be in Toronto for NXNE this coming week? If so, make sure to RSVP for the free BrooklynVegan/M For Montreal 'Bruise Cruise' which is happening this Saturday, June 18th. The boat show will feature sets by Ty Segall, Young Governor (featuring Ben of Fucked Up), Uncle Bad Touch (featuring Mikey of Priestess), and Jesuslesfilles (who Bill liked at M For Montreal 2010). Not only is it free, NXNE badgeholders get free drinks too (other people can buy them). See the flyer below.

Ty Segall, who also plays three other NXNE shows before kicking off a tour as a member of Sic Alps, played the real Bruise Cruise earlier this year. Ty is not however on the lineup of Bruise Cruise 2012, but Thee Oh Sees, King Khan, The Soft Pack and many others are.

Our NXNE flyer is below....

Continue reading "BrooklynVegan, M For Montreal & Bruise Cruise present a free NXNE show on a boat"

by Andrew Sacher

DOWNLOAD: Jennifer Castle - "Neverride" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Jennifer Castle - "Powers" (MP3)

Canadian folk singer Jennifer Castle, who previously existed under the moniker Castlemusic, released her first album under her own name (though the album is titled Castlemusic) on April 26 in Canada via Chad Vangaalen's Flemish Eye label. Jennifer was accompanied by Dave Clarke and engineer Jeff McMurrich (Fucked Up, Owen Pallett), who recorded and mixed the album. She brought in friends to help out with piano, organ, flute, vibes, and pedal steel to accompany her voice and guitalele.

Jennifer's brand of folk exuberates with time-honored melodies and arrangements not unlike fellow Canadian Joni Mitchell. You can grab the songs "Neverride" and "Powers" off the album above, and purchase the album download or CD/LP from Flemish Eye. Also check out the videos (filmed by Mitch Fillion) of Jennifer's performance of "Powers" and "Poor as Him" on Southern Souls below.

Jennifer plays NXNE in Toronto on June 16 at WrongBar with Fucked Up, whose new album we recently mentioned Jennifer provides guest vocals on (she has also backed them on at least one older record). She'll play another NXNE show on June 18, the Flemish Eye/Weird Canada showcase, with her labelmates Chad Vangaalen and Braids, and Grimes and Duzheknew.

After NXNE, Chad Vangaalen heads out on short US tour with Nat Baldwin including the previously mentioned Music Hall of Williamsburg show on June 21. Hospital Ships also open that show and tickets are still available. Updated dates below.

All tour dates (though none in the US for Jennifer yet), videos, and Castlemusic stuff below...

Continue reading "Jennifer Castle released Castlemusic on Flemish Eye, hangs w/ Chad VanGaalen, backs Fucked Up, playing NXNE w/ both"

by Andrew Sacher

DOWNLOAD: Fucked Up - "Queen of Hearts" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Fucked Up - "The Other Shoe" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Fucked Up - "A Little Death" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Animal Man - "Do You Feed" (MP3)

Fucked Up at ATP NY 2010 (more by Samantha Marble)

Fucked Up are set to release their upcoming hardcore-punk rock opera, David Comes To Life, on June 7 via Matador (buy early, get now). The album is a concept album that takes place in a fictional British town in the late 1970s and early '80s, and is centered around the character David. David falls in love with a girl, Veronica, who soon dies and the album continues, telling the story of David's subsequent struggles as he deals with Veronica's death while reconnecting with his former lover, Vivian. Although using the words "punk" and "rock opera" in the same sentence can be unnerving, to the say the least (think American Idiot), Fucked Up have eschewed the bombastic qualities associated with the often-presumptuous "punk opera," and created their sincerest record yet. I don't think we'll be seeing Damian Abraham on Broadway any time soon (though those in Canada can see him on TV).

In the "album trailer" for DCTL (watch below), Tom Scharpling, host of "The Best Show on WFMU," says, "They kind of didn't change themselves to make a concept album, they made the notion of a concept album come to them." That's what what sets the album apart from ambitious punk failures of the past. Fucked Up apply a 78 minute love story to the vigor and spirit of the late '70s/early '80s punk and hardcore that they've honed throughout their career. Damian retains his throaty growl, but favors pop melodies over a more traditional hardcore delivery.

David Comes To Life features guest vocals from Madeline Follin of Cults as Veronica and Canadian pysch-folk singer Jennifer Castle as Vivian. Download Madeline Follin's contribution above in the track "Queen of Hearts" and one of Jennifer Castle's multiple appearances in "The Other Shoe," as well as the track "A Little Death." David Comes To Life is currently streaming in its entirety on NPR, who refers to the band as "F---- Up". I guess they're a little closer than the 2007 NY Times article which chose not to name the band at all. As The Guardian points out, this is still a problem:

While sitting on my sofa this morning, my seven-year-old daughter turned to me and said, 'Daddy, what does 'fucked up' mean?'", wrote the reader, referring to a music review of a punk band called Fucked Up, on page 22 of The Guide on 30 April 2011...What age do you recommend for Guardian readership if you are content to write 'Fucked Up' in bold text at the top of a review? 16 years old? 18 maybe?

In support of the album, Fucked Up released the compilation album, Fucked Up Presents: David's Town on Record Store Day. On April 16th the band posted this message:

Hey everyone, you may have tried to buy or bought our LP for Ebay Day, Davids Town. Since lots of creeps went out to buy this specifically to flip it on ebay as soon as they got home and make up random pressing amounts to put in the listing title, here are some facts:

-THERE ARE 2000 COPIES OF DAVIDS TOWN.
-IF YOU BUY IT ON EBAY NOW INSTEAD OF WAITING 2 WEEKS FOR THE PRICE TO GO DOWN YOU ARE DUMB
-THE PRICE WILL GO DOWN ON EBAY IN TWO WEEKS JUST LIKE LAST YEAR

Fucked Up head down to Texas this week for Chaos in Tejas and then play an amazing free outdoor NXNE show with Descendents (who recently reunited to play Fun Fun Fun Fest), Off!, Rusty, and Metz on June 16 in Toronto's Yonge and Dundas Square (the same stage Damian hosted last year). They also play a not-free show later that night at WrongBar.

They'll follow the festival appearances with a summer tour including the previously mentioned show opening for Dinosaur Jr. and Off! at Terminal 5 on June 23. Tickets are still available. They then tour with JEFF the Brotherhood who play a show with "special guest" at 285 Kent in Brooklyn on June 25.

All tour dates, album art and tracklists, and album trailer below...

Continue reading "Fucked Up's new concept album (streaming), companion comp (on eBay), name (still unprintable), tour dates (NXNE & more)"

photos by Tim Griffin

Handsome Furs @ The Great Escape

Speaking of Wolf Parade, Handsome Furs revealed the NSFW album art for their third album Sound Kapital (below) which comes out June 28 via Sub Pop. They've also made another song from the album available in exchange for your email address. Check out "Repatriated" below, and "What About Us" here.

Dan Boeckner and Alexei Perry recently got back from a trip to Brighton, England where they played the M For Montrea/BrooklynVegan Great Escape showcase at The B'ton Coalition on Friday, May 13th. Pictures from the UK show are in this post.

Their next show will take place in Toronto as part of the NXNE Festival to which they were recently added....

NORTH BY NORTHEAST announces the third wave of bands for the 17th edition of the festival, taking over Toronto June 13-19, 2011. Tickets are now available online at www.nxne.com.

NXNE has just confirmed that hardcore heroes FUCKED UP and glam gallant DIAMOND RINGS will join the Yonge-Dundas Square (YDS) line-up that includes previously announced acts such as Devo, Stars, The Pharcyde, Land of Talk, Digable Planets, Descendents, OFF! and Men Without Hats.

Men Without Hats will also play an intimate club show on Thursday, June 16 at The Great Hall in addition to their YDS performance - and Fucked Up headlines the NOW Magazine showcase on the same night, at Wrongbar.

Newly announced as part of the NXNE Music Festival are HANDSOME FURS, previewing tracks from the new album Sound Kapital, GRIMES with her genre-bending pop, retro Manhattan garage-pop stars THE POSTELLES, Los Angeles four-piece SUPERHUMANOIDS, Portland folk outfit HORSE FEATHERS, Pixies tour mates IMAGINARY CITIES, action comic-punk band PEELANDER Z, Nashville garage punks HEAVY CREAM and critically acclaimed one-man band GUARDS.

Continue reading "Handsome Furs played the Great Escape, added to NXNE, made NSFW cover art, etc (pics, dates & a new MP3)"

Evan Dando at The Bell House (more by Graeme Flegenheimer)

Evan Dando & The Lemonheads have a few random upcoming dates scheduled. The Lemonheads will share a bill with The Canon Logic on April 28th at Maxwell's in Hoboken. Tickets are still available. You can also catch Josh Lattanzi of The Lemonheads at Bowery Ballroom on May 26 & 27 as part of the Bob Dylan tribute that will also include members of the Strokes, Hold Steady, etc, etc.

All other upcoming Evan Dando dates are in other countries at the moment, including a June 16th Evan & Juliana Hatfield show in Toronto for the NXNE festival which, like Brooklyn's own multi-venue festival Northside, recently expanded its lineup. Some of the other bands playing are in the title of this post. The rest are listed below.

All Dando-related dates and some videos below too...

Continue reading "Lemonheads playing shows, NXNE expands lineup (includes Descendents, Stars, Devo, OFF!, Juliana Hatfield, more)"

Cults at Mercury Lounge (more by Jessica Amaya)

Cults play The Independent in San Francisco on Thursday, a prequel to their appearance at Coachella this weekend and the end of the road for a tour with Magic Kids that saw them play Mercury Lounge together and saw Cults play Knitting Factory without Magic Kids whose van went kaput.

After a couple months away from the road, Cults will head back on another East Coast trek where the band play two more NYC dates: at The Box on June 8th and Music Hall Of Williamsburg on June 9th. Details on the 6/8 show at The Box are sketchy at best (possibly not open to the public?), but tickets for the MHoW show go on sale Friday 4/15 at noon.

The tour also includes a Canadian stint where they'll appear at NXNE in Toronto. There the band will join as many as 650 others in playing the eight day festival. The announced also include Deerhoof, Dodos, Bouncing Souls, Hot Water Music, and Art Brut. Full lineup is forthcoming.

All Cults dates and a stream of the new track "You Know What I Mean" below.

Continue reading "Cults announce more dates, NYC shows, NXNE"

DOWNLOAD: DD/MM/YYYY - "Van Tan" (MP3)

DD/MM/YYY @ Gladstone Hotel Ballroom in June

Women are currently in EU through the middle of September, but will hit the road for a US tour shortly after the release of their new LP Public Strain for Jagjaguwar. The trek includes dates with Liars and DD/MM/YYYY (but not both at the same time) and includes TWO NYC dates: Mercury Lounge on 10/7 (tickets) and Knitting Factory on 10/9 with So Cow (tickets).

Women also have a split on the way with their tourmates DD/MM/YYYY, who have their own album in the works for late 2011. Meanwhile DD/MM/YYYY's current LP, Black Square, will be released in Europe on 10/11 via Invada Records, Geoff Barrow of Portishead and Beak>'s label. The EU version will contain the previous LP tracks (like "Van Tan" above), as well as bonus tracks.

Speaking of Beak>, they'll be around here soon.

Women and DD/MM/YYY both played the NXNE Festival in Toronto this year. A set of DD pics from up there with all upcoming dates dates and some videos below...

Continue reading "Women & DD/MM/YYYY tour dates, new albums, NXNE pics "

photos by Andrew Frisicano

Les Savy Fav's new album "Root For Ruin" is out now, but only via iTunes (more about that from Tim Harrington in the video below). Want to listen before you buy? You can do that over at Spinner. On August 24th you can buy the MP3s at all other fine digital establishments, and the record's physical CD/LP release date is September 14th via Frenchkiss Records. Cover art above.

Six days before that, September 8th, the band will play an intimate release show at Mercury Lounge in NYC (Doors: 9:30). Tickets will cost you $15 (on sale on Ticketmaster Friday), but you can also get a free ticket if you pre-order "Root For Ruins" at Other Music (for a limited time and while tickets last). We also have two pair you can try to win.

Contest details, a set of pictures from NXNE where Les Savy Fav played a late-night Scion-sponsored show at Wrongbar with Best Coast, and more, below...

Continue reading "Les Savy Fav playing intimate NY release show (win tix, stream album, buy @ iTunes, check out some NXNE pics, more)"

Man or Astro-man? @ the Horseshoe Tavern

The eagle has landed, and it's filled with tesla coils and weirdo costumes. After triumphant sets at SXSW and NXNE (where they shared a bill with Mudhoney), the outer extravaganza known as Man or Astro-man? will touch down on the east coast for at least seven shows this November! That trip includes two shows in NYC. They'll play Bowery Ballroom on November 12th and then a show at Music Hall of Williamsburg on November 13th. Tickets for the Brooklyn show are currently on AMEX presale with regular sale kicking off on Friday (8/13) at noon. No tickets for the Manhattan show yet.

All dates, some videos and more pictures from the NXNE show (like the one above), below...

Continue reading "Man or Astro-man? played Toronto (pics), announce tour dates"

Iggy Pop & the Stooges in Toronto for NXNE 2010

Iggy Pop and the Stooges played a free show in Toronto's Yonge-Dondas Square on Saturday June 19th, as part of the city's NXNE Festival. The show was controlled chaos in the middle of a very public section of the city that NXNE took over with a big outdoor stage for the duration of the festival. It would be like having a free, public Stooges show in the middle of Times Square, or Union Square, or at South Street Seaport even. The pictures here are from that crazy and amazing show (and are part of our slow drip of coverage from the fest...still more to come!).

The Stooges will be in the NYC-area for their Raw Power set at ATP NY over Labor Day weekend. They'll also be in Atlantic City on August 27th.

For the ATP NY show, Iggy and MVD Entertainment Group are running a contest for six winners to videotape the Stooges' set and interview Iggy at Kutscher's. To enter, you have to send in an HD-quality video with either questions for Iggy,or some kind of stunt as to why you should win. In addition to the ATP prize, the "fan shot footage, along with the contestant video submissions, will be crafted into a high definition longform program, which will be part concert film and part reality TV show about the journey of the fans." Part cool, part creepy. More details on the contest, and a video explaining it all featuring "Handsome" Dick Manitoba, are below.

In related news, Barney's New York will soon start selling Iggy Pop t-shirts that are part of the Archive 1887 collection...

"Archive 1887 t-shirts are made in Los Angeles from 100% cotton and feature artwork sourced from Sony Music's exclusive archives as well as the private collections of music's most important photographers. Each shirt comes with an online code that can be entered at www.archive1887.com to unlock a streaming playlist of the classic artists' music as well as background information on the images. Archive 1887 is sold at better department stores and specialty boutiques across North America as well Europe and Asia."

And in other related news, The Stooges have added three more songs to Rock Band (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii). As of July 20th you can get "1969", "I Wanna Be Your Dog", and "No Fun" so you can be Iggy Pop in the comfort of your living room.

More pictures, video and the setlist from the completely mobbed NXNE free show (where many lost their shoes), and more contest details, below...

Continue reading "Iggy Pop (and the Stooges) played NXNE (pics), going to Barney's, playing ATP (interview him there), in Rock Band..."

by Andrew Frisicano

Diamond Rings sporting peacock feathers @ Wrongbar in Toronto

At Wrongbar in Toronto on Friday, 6/18 (before Mudhoney played at Horseshoe Tavern), One Big Silence, the new label from Fucked Up's Mike Haliechuk, hosted an NXNE showcase heavy on synths with dark, atmospheric duo TRUST, dramatic singer Katie Stelmanis (who backed up Zola Jesus the night before), glammy Diamond Rings (whose new 12" is the first release by the label) and Big Freedia (whose pictures you already saw). Pictures of the costumed Diamond Rings, who played to a packed and dancing hometown crowd that night, are in this post.

Now NYC can get a taste. As mentioned a few times already, Diamond Rings play that show at Glasslands, tonight, July 16th with Caribou (DJ Set), Class Actress, Teengirl Fantasy and Idiot Glee (RSVP), and if you miss it, there's one more chance to catch the tall Canadian in town on Sunday...

====| SUNDAY 7/18 @ MONSTER ISLAND |====

:: Casiotone for the Painfully Alone
:::: Janka Nabay & the Bubu Gang
:::::: Diamond Rings

| MONSTER ISLAND |
128 River St @ Metropolitan Ave | Williamsburg, Brooklyn
L-Bedford, G-Metropolitan, JM-Marcy | 8pm | all ages | $10

All DR dates, the new basket ball-themed (I told you he was tall) Diamond Rings video that features a cameo from Fucked Up's Damian Abraham, and more NXNE pictures below....

Continue reading "Diamond Rings is here - dates, video & some pics from NXNE"

All I have to say, as the guy in the above picture will definitely agree, is that Mudhoney were freakin' awesome at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto on Friday, June 18th when they played the Chunklet showcase at part of NXNE. Don't hesitate checking them out when they come to play Bowery Ballroom in NYC on Saturday, September 4th, especially if you miss them up at ATP NY one night earlier.

NYC show tickets are on sale at noon.

More pictures and the setlist from NXNE, below...

Continue reading "Mudhoney played NXNE (pics), playing Bowery Ballroom (tix) "

by Andrew Frisicano

DOWNLOAD: Young Galaxy - Queen Drum (MP3)

We already touched on Young Galaxy in our day 1 roundup of NXNE. Here's another set of pictures from that show, with news that band be coming to the US for a tour in August. Their shows on that include an August 2nd show at Brooklyn's Littlefield. They'll also be touring Canada with Stars (a band that counts Young Galaxy frontman Stephen Ramsay as an ex-member) in October.

Young Galaxy's second album, Invisible Republic, has been out since last year in Canada - it'll get a US release on July 27th on Paper Bag Records. The record is one of 40 on nominee list for this year's Polaris Prize. Co-singer and keyboardist Catherine McCandles sings on the sweltering, moody track above.

More pictures from their June 17th set at Toronto's Mod Club and all tour dates are below...

Continue reading "Young Galaxy tour dates, NXNE pics, MP3 & album details"

by Andrew Frisicano

Best Coast & WAVVES @ Wrongbar Saturday night - NXNE 2010

Best Coast played a few shows at NXNE in Toronto last week, including a Saturday night (6/19) set as the 'secret guest' after Les Savy Fav and Surfer Blood. Nathan from WAVVES, romantically linked to Best Coast and also in town for the fest, watched the set from the side of the stage (and is in a bunch of pictures as a result). Members of Surfer Blood stuck around too, though the 2am crowd did thin out after Les Savy Fav (Canadians go to bed early?). Best Coast played a few new songs and with a new (permanent?) drummer.

Best Coast's tour with Male Bonding comes through NYC for September 29th and 30th shows at Bowery Ballroom and MHOW, respectively. Tickets are now on AmEx presale now, and go on general sale Friday at noon. The new Best Coast album is available for preorder in a bunch of packages (with a t-shirt, tote bag, etc.).

WAVVES plays NYC tonight (6/24) as part of the Northside Festival (with the recently interviewed Dom and Cloud Nothings) at Knitting Factory. The show is sold-out, though a limited-number of Northside badges will be let in. There's also a 'WAVVES afterparty' at Shea Stadium with DJs RAVVES (Pitchfork's Ryan Schrieber) and Patrick Stickles from Titus. If you're more interested in the actual band, WAVVES will play a last minute show at Meat Locker (8 Park Street) in Montclair, NJ on Sunday, June 27th ($10, doors 7pm, openers TBA).

More pictures from NXNE and a WAVVES video are below...

Continue reading "Best Coast played NXNE (pics), WAVVES adds a NJ show "

AA Bondy @ Union Hall in February (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

" 'How Will You Meet Your End?' by A. A. Bondy - A dark musical tale that seems to reach out from another time, this is a song I can -- and do -- leave on repeat for long stretches. For both "So Cold the River" and "The Cypress House," I turned to this song often because I found its haunting lyrics and melody to be perfect tone-setters." [Michael Koryta]

A.A. Bondy then headlines his own show at Bowery Ballroom on Wednesday, October 6th. No opener announced yet. Tickets go on sale Friday at noon.

Much before that, A.A. Bondy has a NYC show scheduled with Elvis Perkins in Dearland and Arms (previously 'special guest') on Sunday, June 26th at Barge Park as part of Northside Festival. Tickets are still on sale for that. (He's also at the Newport Folk Festival this year.)

JBM (stage name of Jesse Marchant) plays a Bondy-less CD release show July 27th at Mercury Lounge (tickets) for his new album, Not Even in July, which comes out the same day on Partisan Records. Clips from that are streaming on the label's site.

A.A. Bondy played Toronto's Great Hall on June 18th as part of NXNE. A video from that set and all JBM/AA Bondy tour dates are below...

Continue reading "AA Bondy & JBM playing shows, some together (2010 dates) "