Nada Surf at Bowery Ballroom in January (more by Bryan Bruchman)

Last month Nada Surf released their new album, The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy, and celebrated it with a sold out Bowery Ballroom show. That show was a one-off before their full tour this spring which hits NYC on April 7 at Webster Hall, which tickets are still on sale for. They've just announced another NYC show happening one day later at Music Hall of Williamsburg (4/8). Tickets for that show go on sale Friday (2/10) at noon, with an AmEx presale starting Wednesday (2/8) at noon. An Horse have also been added as an opener to the tour and will play at both NYC shows.

Watch Nada Surf's appearance on Jimmy Fallon, their new video, and see photos from their Bowery Ballroom show here. Updated tour dates are listed below...

Continue reading "Nada Surf add a Brooklyn show & An Horse to tour (dates)"

photos by Bryan Bruchman

Nada Surf @ Bowery Ballroom

As you know, Nada Surf's entire January 24th record-release show at Bowery Ballroom streamed live on YouTube. That stream is now permanently archived on YouTube and you can watch it in full below.

If you missed the show, you have plenty of other chances to see the band in the coming months including one at Webster Hall. Their lastest set of dates is listed below.

Also below: video from their appearance on Fallon last night (including a web exclusive), a video of them being interviewed by the Wall Street Journal, their brand new video for "When I Was Young", and a whole bunch of pictures from the Bowery Ballroom show (along with shots of openers Palomar and the setlist). Check it all out...

Continue reading "watch Nada Surf on Jimmy Fallon, their new video & their entire Bowery Ballroom show (we have pics too)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Cloud Nothings - "No Future/No Past" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Cloud Nothings - "Stay Useless" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: My Best Fiend - "Higher Palms" (MP3)

Nada Surf

The column comes early as it's a busy week and there are lots of shows to talk about. First up, venerable NYC trio Nada Surf's new album, The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy, is out today and the band play Bowery Ballroom this evening to celebrate. Tonight's show is sold out but Nada Surf will be streaming the show live via their YouTube channel starting at 10PM. The band then head out for a good two months of touring and all dates are at the bottom of this post.

The band's seventh album, The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy, is another fine record in Nada Surf's catalog of positive-vibe guitar pop, bolstered this time out by Doug Gillard who provides a lot of great lead work. This kind of music may not be in fashion right now, but it also never really goes out of style. And they do it really well You can stream or download the ebullient first single "Waiting for Something" at the bottom of this post and Spotify users can listen to the album here.

Cloud Nothings - 'Attack on Memory'

Also out today: Cloud Nothings' Attack on Memory which, as Andrew noted a couple weeks ago, is much more sophisticated and agressive than the tuneful pop-punk the band have released in the past. They're still writing catchy songs -- check out "Stay Useless at the top of this post -- but the shift is fairly radical, so much so that main man Dylan Baldi briefly considered changing the name of the band. (It's not that radical.) It's a very good album, and you can listen to it on Spotify and watch the brand-new video for "No Future/No Past" at the bottom of this post.

The album, you may have seen, got Best New Music on the 'Fork yesterday, and despite this there are still tickets to be had for Cloud Nothings' show this Thursday (1/26) at The Studio @ Webster Hall though I imagine not for long. Knowing how good the band are live (what a drummer!) I'm really anxious to hear these songs live. It's a one-off show, but the band will tour starting mid-February including, need I say it, time in Austin for SXSW. All dates are at the bottom of this post.

The Hundred in the Hands - Bowery Ballroom Feb. 2011 (more)
 

The Hundred in the Hands are playing their first show in a long time this Friday (1/27) at Glasslands, which will give us the first taste of the duo's second album which will be out on Warp at some point this year. While they haven't released any tracks from it yet, they are still updating the THITH Zine, the band's culture zine that most recently interview artist Zander Blom. There's a lot of interesting stuff in the archives that's worth checking out.

My Best Fiend

A lot of people will be at Glasslands on Friday just to check out THITH's Warp labelmates My Best Fiend whose album In Ghostlike Fading is out February 21. My Best Fiend are not your typical Warp act, closer to the space blues of Spiritualized or My Morning Jacket (or Neil Young) than the electronic music that fills most of the label's roster. The band have been plugging away in the Brooklyn scene for upwards of seven years and its good to see it pay off for them. You can download album-opener "Higher Palms" at the top of this post and you can stream "Cracking Eggs" (which features Light Asylum's Shannon Fuchness) further down.

The Glasslands show also features duo Bikini who make unapologetic four-on-the-floor dancefloor fodder, and Bear in Heaven will be DJing between sets, hopefully not playing all the records at 400,000% slower than normal.

Guy Harvey

And finally we have Florida's Guy Harvey, which is a band and not a solo artist and should not to be confused with Elbow frontman Guy Garvey which I did for half a second. The band are on tour with Gainsville residents Averkiou and hit NYC this weekend for two shows: Friday (1/27) at Cake Shop and Saturday (1/28) at Death by Audio. All GH/Averkiou dates are at the bottom of this post.

You may recognize Guy Harvey frontman Adam Perry from his moonlighting gig as an auxiliary member of Surfer Blood. There's not a lot of Guy Harvey music out there to listen to, but both sides of a 2010 7" (streamable below) are ace, with a strong Flying Nun influence. If you liked the Twerps album from last year, give Guy Harvey a listen. Averkiou, meanwhile, make fuzzy, shoegazy pop not too far from early Teenage Fanclub. Check out a few streaming tracks at the bottom of this post.

Friday's Cake Shop show is with Byrdsy locals Slow Country whose new album is a name-your-price download at their Bandcamp and is quite nice. Saturday's show at Death by Audio also has underrated Brooklyn bands I'm Turning Into and Bright Lights. Either show is worth checking out. Or go to both!

That's the main stuff for this week. Below are a few more picks, day-by-day, of shows not covered otherwise.

The Hairs

TUESDAY, JANUARY 24

There's a TWII-approved line-up at East Village mainstay Lit Lounge -- that is now booking bands I've heard of again -- with The Hairs (new single out next month), Pigeons, and Gross Relations.

Friends have shown up on most of the "Bands to Watch in 2012" lists. Go watch them in 2012, tonight, at Cameo as part of a very solid bill with Phonetag and Spanish Prisoners.

continued below...

Continue reading "Nada Surf, Cloud Nothings, Hundred in the Hands, My Best Fiend, Guy Harvey, Averkiou & more in This Week in Indie"

Nada Surf @ the Bell House in 2010 (more by David Andrako)

Nada Surf's January 24th album release show at Bowery Ballroom in NYC is sold out, but the band just announced a full tour that includes another NYC show this Spring. The April 7th Webster Hall show and all new shows go on band presale on Wednesday. The NYC show has an AmEx presale starting that day too, and general sale begins Friday.

All tour dates and a song off their new album The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy (out 1/24 via Barsuk), below...

Continue reading "Nada Surf announce full 2012 tour --- dates & presale"

DOWNLOAD: Nada Surf - "When I Was Young" (MP3)

Nada Surf at Rebel NYC in 2010 (more by David Andrako)

Nada Surf are releasing their sixth album of original material, The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy on January 24 in the US. The album was produced by Chris Shaw (Super Furry Animals, Wilco) and features guitar contributions by Doug Gillard (formerly of Guided by Voices), who also played on Nada Surf's 2010 cover album, If I Had A Hi-Fi. You can download the album's single, "When I Was Young," at the top of this post and check out the artwork below.

Nada Surf are touring internationally in support of the album in early 2012. Only a few US dates have been announced at the moment, and one of them is in NYC at Bowery Ballroom on January 24, the day of the album's US release. Tickets go on sale Friday (10/28) at noon with an AmEx presale starting Wednesday (10/26) at noon.

All dates and album artwork below...

Continue reading "Nada Surf announce new album, new MP3, shows"

by Klaus Kinski

Doug Gillard @ Irving Plaza NYE (more by Chris Gersbeck)

I got heavily obsessed with Guided By Voices after the demise of the "classic '93 - '96 line-up" which featured Robert Pollard, Tobin Sprout, Mitch Mitchell, Kevin Fennell, and Greg Demos (a line-up that reunited in 2010 and has been blazing a sweaty, beer soaked trail across the US since) (this past weekend's Sasquatch Festival included).

I've now seen the classic line-up twice thanks to the reunion, but prior to that my live experience was always delivered by Robert Pollard, Nate Farley, Doug Gillard, Kevin March, Tim Tobias and, later on, Chris Slusarenko. I often had to be rolled out of those shows in a wheelbarrow, and memories of those shows are muddied and schizophrenic, but two things I always took away from a GBV experience was A) that I had had the time of my life and B) that lead guitarist Doug Gillard was, and is, easily one of the most agile guitar gods in rock 'n roll. I mean, forget about shredding and other wanky guitar-athleticism bullshit. What Doug brings to the table is a prodigal level of rock-solid, rock guitar purity and proficiency. Doug is an absolute master of his craft, and you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone out there these days who can get such a thunderous onslaught from his Les Paul and his amps. So it shouldn't come as much of a surprise to find that your man Klaus has been following Doug's solo career with great interest and it is because of non-GBV-related Gillard news that I write to you fine people today.

On Saturday June 4th, Doug will be part of an ensemble of musicians paying tribute to Captain Beefheart at Bowery Poetry Club.

Gary Lucas (Beefheart alumni, Jeff Buckley), Nona Hendryx (Labelle, Talking Heads), Nina Persson (The Cardigans), Nathan Larson (Shudder To Think), Cynthia Sley (Bush Tetras), Doug Gillard (Guided By Voices), Eric Slick (Dr. Dog), & Weasel Walter (Behold The Arctopus), will be joined by musicians from the rock, jazz, metal, progressive, blues, experimental, & classical worlds to perform faithful and interpretive versions of songs from Beefheart's entire catalog, from his 1966 debut "Safe As Milk" to his final record "Ice Cream For Crow", released in 1982.

Besides the MS/Beefheart show, there are many more opportunities to catch Doug live. Speaking of beef, on Saturday June 11th, get your non-vegan ass to the Big Apple BBQ in Madison Square Park at 1:00pm on Saturday June 11th. While you're feasting on various forms of carrion with gristle and BBQ sauce dribbling from your lips (editor's note: Klaus!), the band Bambi Kino will be performing. Bambi Kino features Mark Rozzo (Maplewood), Ira Elliot (Nada Surf), Doug Gillard (Ex Guided By Voices), Erik Paparazzi (Cat Power) and were formed to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Beatles' first concerts in Hamburg Germany. Back in those days, the Beatles were essentially a cover band themselves, and Bambi Kino's setlist is culled from the Beatles' set list from back in those days. So it's like a cover band covering a cover band who were doing their own versions of the whole blues thing. And it's free! More about who's playing the Big Apple BBQ, HERE.

You can also catch Doug when he goes on tour with Tommy Keene and Sally Crewe and the Sudden Moves. Doug recently wrote and recorded songs on Sally's upcoming 5-song EP "Transmit/Receive". Tommy is touring in support of his new LP, and Doug Gillard will have a new vinyl 7" he'll be promoting. The tour lands at the Rock Shop on September 10th, 2011. Complete tour dates below.

Oh, and before I forget... Doug is recording tons of guitar for the upcoming Nada Surf LP, which is due out in Fall of 2011. Look out for that as well as a tour in support of said LP. Nada Surf's Matthew Caws joined Doug on stage at Irving Plaza on New Years Eve when he opened for GBV.

Catch Guided By Voices, Wavves, and Surfer Blood during the Northside Festival on June 18th, yo.

Catch Bush Tetras (Cynthia Sley is also playing the Beefheart show) at Le Poisson Rouge on Friday, June 10th.

Gary Lucas's other upcoming shows include a July 3rd appearance at Iridium Jazz Club and a July 9th show at the Rubin Museum of Art.

Doug tour dates and the Beefheart flyer below...

Continue reading "Doug Gillard is doing stuff (Captain Beefheart show w/ Gary Lucas, Beatles band, Tommy Keene tour, Nada Surf LP)"

Bettye Lavette at Highline Ballroom (more by Jacob Blickenstaff )

A quick reminder that one of the greatest songwriters of all-time, Neil Young, will be celebrated at Carnegie Hall in two days (2/10) as part of a benefit for music & arts programs of underpriviledged youth. The bill is beyond diverse, featuring The Roots, Nada Surf, Glen Hansard, DeVotchka, J Mascis and Bettye Lavette just to name a few of the twenty+ that are on board. "100% of the net proceeds from this event" will benefit charities like Fixing Instruments for Kids in Schools, Church Street School for Music & Art, The Pinwheel Project, Music Unites, The American Symphony Orchestra and Young Audiences New York, so pick up your tickets with a clear conscious!

Meanwhile, quite a few of the Neil Young-tribute artists have recently been or will be very active. Glen Hansard recently played City Winery and the Doveman show at LPR. Patti Smith & Jesse Smith are scheduled to play the Tibet benefit at Carnegie Hall in March. When Questlove of The Roots isnt going to see Prince or spinning at Brooklyn Bowl, he can be found on Jimmy Fallon. Nada Surf recently played Mercury Lounge and Rock Shop. DeVotchKa will play Highline in March with El Mariachi Bronx. Juliana Hatfield & Evan Dando were just at Maxwell's and the Bell House. J Mascis has his upcoming tour with shows at Mercury Lounge and MHoW.

Ben Ottewell of Gomez plays the Neil Young event and an early solo show at Mercury Lounge the next day.

And last, but certainly not least, Bettye Lavette, besides paying tribute to the great rock'n roll patriarch from the North, also has quite a NYC residency in the spring when she'll set up shop at Cafe Carlyle from 5/24 - 6/3 (no shows on 5/29, 5/30). Ticketing info is forthcoming, but all tour dates, the full Neil Young Tribute lineup and some videos are below...

Continue reading "Neil Young tribute show coming, Bettye Lavette playing shows at Cafe Carlyle & elsewhere, Ben Ottewell will be at Merc"

raccoon in a tree (by Men in Black)

today in NYC
* It Is It @ Pianos
* Cold Soda @ The Pit
* Joe Budden @ SOB's
* ASSSSCAT 3000 @ UCB
* football @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Justin Bond @ Joe's Pub
* Allen Toussaint @ Joe's Pub
* SHARE @ Issue Project Room
* Stephane Wrembel @ Barbes
* Joachim Badenhorst @ The Stone
* the B-52's @ Ridgefield Playhouse (CT)
* Hannibal Buress @ Knitting Factory
* Joel Harrison String Choir @ Joe's Pub
* The Love Below, Pharoah @ The Acheron
* Sleepy Doug Shaw, Ramble Tamble @ Zebulon
* Jorrit Dijkstra's Improvisation Pool @ The Stone
* Nude Beach, Nomos, The Men @ Generation Records
* Cannabis Corpse, Mutant Supremacy, Pyrrhon @ Union Pool
* Reagan Youth, Yuppicide, Beer & Cable, Agitator @ Europa
* Pretty Good Friends (Eugene Mirman & friends) @ Union Hall
* Hush Hush, Gates of Heaven, Computer Magic @ Bruar Falls
* Kudrow (of Bomb The Music Industry), Chewing On Tinfoil, Lenin Mccarthy @ Silent Barn
* Teardrops, American Sun, The Fish (members of Nude Beach), La Defense @ Death By Audio
* Cymbals Eat Guitars, Charles Bissell of The Wrens, Escape Directors, Carah Faye Charnow @ Maxwell's

Check out Nada Surf's new video for their cover of "Enjoy the Silence", below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Sunday?"

Nada Surf @ REBEL NYC (pre-CMJ) (more by David Andrako)

I've said it before, I'll say it again. Where there is a cause, there is Nada Surf. In addition to the acoustic set they're playing at The Rock Shop on December 14th to benefit Little Kids Rock (tickets are on sale), you can catch Nada Surf back at Mercury Lounge on December 15th to benefit Transportation Alternatives. Bambi Kino (who also play the annual Maxwell's Holiday Party on December 13th) and "Musicband" are also playing the Manhattan show which goes on sale today, 11/3, at noon.

Nada Surf's only other upcoming date(s) is aboard The Rock Boat which is probably not a boat you want to be on, though the organizers claim, "Sailing January 6-10, 2011 from Tampa on the Carnival Inspiration, The Rock Boat XI will go down in history as the greatest musical adventure of all time."

During CMJ, Nada Surf made three live appearances. One was an acoustic performance at "Levi's Workshop", one was the pre-CMJ Syndicate party (pictured above), and one was their main CMJ showcase which took place that Friday night at Mercury Lounge (one of the harder official CMJ shows to get into unless you had an advanced ticket- lines were down the block). We didn't have anyone at Mercury Lounge to review or take pictures, though Chris did stop by the same show earlier in the evening to catch Ume.

Two videos from the Levi's thing, below...

Continue reading "Nada Surf played Mercury Lounge, playing Mercury Lounge"

In their own words, "PALOMAR is playing a "benefits residency" every Tuesday [at the Rock Shop] from Nov 16-Dec 14, called 5 GREAT NIGHTS, 5 GREAT CAUSES. The band will play songs from their new, yet-to-be-released album, and have roped in some big names including Nada Surf, Charles and Kevin of The Wrens and many more." Other guests at the shows include Walter Schreifels, Todd Barry, Dave Hill, Eugene Mirman, and Robbers on High Street. Right now only $40 tickets are on sale. That gets you into all five shows. Individual show tickets will be on sale Friday.

Exact dates, full lineups, flyer, and more below...

Continue reading "Palomar playing benefit shows w/ very special guests (Nada Surf, Wrens members, Todd Barry, Walter Schreifels, more)"

words & photos by David Andrako

Nada Surf headlined The Syndicate's 12th Annual Pre-CMJ "Conflict of Interest" Party at Rebel NYC on Monday night (10/18). The free show, hosted by Allison Hagendorf also featured performances from Kitten, Oh Land, Bo Burnham, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., Reggie Watts..

The club filled to capacity early in the evening as concert-goers took full advantage of drink specials, numerous giveaways and bags of free swag. Los Angeles band, Kitten kicked things off with a loud, noisy set that showcased lead singer Chloe Chaidez, who at just 16 years old, has a commanding stage presence. Oh Land aka Nanna Fabricius, the Brooklyn by way of Denmark electronic artist gave the second performance of the night. Nanna sang and played a six padded drum machine that was hooked up to a band of LED lights and topped off with balloons that had videos projected on them.

Bo Burnham, the 20 year old Youtube sensation who's first Comedy Central special aired last weekend "Words Words Words", greeted the audience with bags of candy and a 20 minute set of songs, poems and prerecorded bits. Burnham who calls himself "the best rapper in the world" has a cd/dvd of his special hit stores on the 19th of this month.

White-hot band of the moment, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. (playing the first of 7 shows this week) took to the stage in their standard NASCAR Racing Suits and large JR JR light up letters behind them on stage. The Detroit based duo performed songs from their Horse Power EP as well as a pair of covers, Gil Scott Heron's "We Almost Lost Detroit" and The Beach Boy's "God Always Knows." Their brief set was a highlight of the evening.

Reggie Watts followed with his trademark looping, improvised, rapping, singing set to a welcoming crowd that included members of Nada Surf who were enjoying his performance from the soundboard area. Reggie managed to name check Oh Land and also made a point of mentioning the passing of Minneapolis rapper Micheal Larsen, aka Eyedea.

Headliners Nada Surf took to the stage just after midnight and lead singer Matthew Caws laughed that he and bassist Daniel Lorca held their first practice as a band in a rehearsal space upstairs at the club. The band was joined by Guided By Voices guitarist, Doug Gillard who played with the band for their entire 15 song, close-to-90 minute set.

More pictures from Rebel NYC, and the Nada Surf setlist from last night, are below.

Continue reading "Nada Surf, Reggie Watts, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. Bo Burnham & friends played 'Conflict of Interest' (pics, setlist)"

DOWNLOAD: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. - Nothing But Our Love (MP3)

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.

Nada Surf are one of the bigger (more popular) artists playing CMJ this year, and their sole official show is a headlining slot in a venue too small for them as part of showcase for their booking agent. Good thing for those that can't get in, there are more chances to see the band this week (at least one anyway).

The first of those chances happens Monday night, October 18th, at Rebel where Nada Surf will headline Syndicate's annual pre-CMJ 'Conflict of Interest' party. It is FREE with RSVP. Reggie Watts, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., Bo Burnham, Oh Land and Kitten are also on the bill (Dale play the Mercury Lounge show with Nada Surf too).

Technically there are no more chances after that to see Nada Surf, but there's a rumor that they're also playing a TBA SPIN show, but not the same SPIN show Titus Andronicus is rumored to be playing.

Back to Dale: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. (I wasn't a fan of their name, but it's growing on me) are actually playing at least seven times during CMJ. In addition to the two mentioned above, they're playing the previously mentioned Stereogum/PopGun show, a show at Cake Shop, a show at Bruar Falls, a show at The Studio with Jaill, and the BrooklynVegan day party happening at Public Assembly on Saturday, October 23rd (set time and more details TBA). Stream some of their sweet tunes at MySpace, grab their DayTrotter sesssion, and get a free track at their Facebook..

All dates and some videos below...

Continue reading "Nada Surf play Conflict of Interest party, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. playing a bunch of CMJ shows (dates, MP3, videos & stuff) "

Nada Surf at The Bell House (photos by Kurt Christensen)

Nada Surf will headline the Paradigm CMJ Showcase at Mercury Lounge in NYC on October 22nd. This is a really small venue for the band, and limited tickets are on sale now. Badge-holders will get a chance to get in too. Other bands on the bill are Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., Francis & the Lights, Reptar, JBM, Blair, and Ume.

You might remember Austin band Ume from CMJ last year. They played the BV day party at Fontana's. At the time BBG wrote...

"Ume started the day with their poppy and suprisingly heavy take on 90s post-punk that is both powerful and charming. Outside of her devilish coo, Lauren is an enigmatic guitarist; all flailing hair, swinging arms, and wild movements. If this band didn't have such catchy songs, you'd probably be content just watching."

JBM recently completed a tour with AA Bondy. AA Bondy plays a NYC show TONIGHT (10/6) with Diamond Doves and Dawn Landes who both played with JBM when he played Mercury Lounge in July. JBM, who played a BV CMJ party in 2009, currently has no other upcoming shows listed outside of the Paradigm Showcase.

All the other bands on the Mercury Lounge bill not only have upcoming shows, but other CMJ shows listed too. All dates and some videos below...

Continue reading "Nada Surf CMJ show on sale, Ume touring, JBM & more dates "

"I am playing an early show solo set (no band) at Mercury Lounge in honor of pal Doug Keith's new CD release party there, Tues. March 30th at 7:30 PM.

Thrilled to be playing guitar in Nada Surf on some of their current tour dates. The NYC shows went well, and am also playing Philly, Boston, and Washington DC with them! I recorded on some tracks on their new LP of covers, " ifihadahifi " .

The guys and their crew and mgmt are just the best. Really!!!"
-Doug Gillard

Continue reading "Doug Gillard solo shows & more dates w/ Nada Surf"

words & photos by Kurt Christensen, additional photos by David Andrako

Nada Surf played the 2nd night of 3 full album shows at The Bell House on Friday night. On deck for the evening was "The Weight Is A Gift" followed by a set of covers and songs from their other albums.

John Roderick of The Long Winters opened the show. He definitely seemed to have the crowd more engaged than the opening set by Sondre Lerche the night before. Some were familiar with his music, but Roderick won over the rest of the crowd with his great in-between song banter. His humor was also on sale at the merch table, where he was selling a book of material culled from his twitter feed (@Johnroderick). Nada Surf joined him for the final song of his set.

Perhaps Matthew Caws was getting over his cold, or perhaps the Bell House provided a better atmosphere for the show, but Nada Surf seemed to have even more energy than they did the night before at Bowery Ballroom. Joined by John Roderick on background vocals, and Doug Gillard on guitar (also there the night before), as well as a rotating list of guests on keys, the band got the crowd bouncing for two long sets. During "Blankest Year" everyone shouted along, and a girl up front jumped on stage in her bra, waving her shirt before diving back into the crowd. That got the crowd going even more.

The second set, like the previous night, was a mix of old favorites and covers from their new all covers album. several songs were played again including Depeche Mode's "Enjoy The Silence" and Bill Fox's "Electrocution". Oddly, they included no songs from "Let Go" (the album featured the night before at Bowery) despite shouts for songs from that album from the crowd. Nada Surf closed the show in the same fashion as the night before, with a cover of "I Fought The Law", this time joined by John Roderick, which brought it to another level.

They concluded their 3-night run at Music Hall of Williamsburg on Saturday. At that show they performed "Lucky". Their tour next brings them to Toronto, but NYC is the only place they were scheduled to play full albums. More pictures from Friday with the setlist, below...

Continue reading "Nada Surf completed their 3 night run of NYC album shows - pics from the Bell House (where a shirtless girl ran on stage)"

by Kurt Christensen

Nada Surf played the first show of their sold out three night NYC run last night at Bowery Ballroom (3/25). Each night they will be playing one of their albums in its entirety. Last night was 2003's "Let Go", arguably the most "popular" album in their catalog.

The floor was already crowded when opener Sondre Lerche took the stage at nine. He played a great set covering a wide breadth of his material. The biggest issue with his set was that it was really hard to hear if you were more than halfway back, because of the ridiculously loud chatter from the people near the bar. The shushing by people who actually wanted to hear music at a show they bought tickets for did little to silence the loud talkers. I know Sondre was the opener in this case, but there's a bar downstairs, and plenty of other places people can talk. I wish people would have more respect for the artists on stage and go downstairs or shut up. If you aren't there for the music, why are you there? To be seen? So you can text people and update your Facebook status? To get an achievement on FourSquare? /end rant. (editor's note: :-) )

Nada Surf followed Sondre, and immediately went into Blizzard of 77, prompting a sing-along by much of the crowd. They sounded fantastic, despite the fact that Matthew Caws had a cold, and Daniel Lorca had a hoarse throat (evident on his vocals on "Là Pour Ça"). The band was also joined by a few special guests including Joe McGinty on keys.

"Let Go" is probably their most cohesive album overall, in that it has the proper ebbs and flows to bring you up and back down. This lent itself really well to a good concert setlist. Not too many up-tempo songs in a row, and no long stretches of slow songs. Songs like "Fruit Fly" start out mellow, and then really rev up towards the end. Every song from the album sounded just as good as, if not better than on record, with perhaps the exception of Daniel's vocals on Là Pour Ça, which he had a legitimate excuse for. After playing the album, they took a short break and came back for another lengthy set, to a slightly smaller crowd.

The next set featured songs from their new all covers album "If I Had a Hi Fi", which is currently only available at their shows. They played a cover of Depeche Mode's Enjoy The Silence, which (while totally recognizable as the DM song) definitely had the Nada Surf signature sound on it, turning into an up-tempo power-pop number. The crowd seemed to mellow out quite a bit during the covers, but when the band went back to their originals, they immediately got everyone's attention back. They played several songs from their other albums, including "Weightless", "Blankest Year", "Do It Again" and "80 Windows" and "Hyperspace" from The Proximity Effect. They closed the show with a raucous and faithful cover of (The Clash's cover of ) "I Fought The Law ", where Matthew Caws even sounded an awful lot like Joe Strummer with his vocals.

Anyone going to the Bell House tonight (3/26), or Music Hall of Williamsburg on Saturday, is in for a treat. Pictures continued below...

Continue reading "Nada Surf played 'Let Go' @ Bowery Ballroom, Sondre Lerche opened (for those that were paying attention) - pics "

We'll get a more complete press release in the morning (and confirm what is listed below is 100% correct), but in the meantime below is a picture of the 2010 Sasquatch poster (that someone Tweeted) and the lineup as read by Bradford Cox at tonight's Atlas Sound show in Seattle (and being listed all over the Internet)....

Continue reading "Sasquatch announces 2010 lineup (includes Massive Attack & My Morning Jacket) (and many more) "

"Hope you've all had a great [2009]. Besides playing shows in France, Switzerland, Japan and NYC/NJ, things might have seemed quiet on the Nada Surf front, but I'm happy to tell you that the band are finishing up a covers album and we'll be making a full on announcement of the release (and tour) in early 2010. The one thing we can tell you is that it will include a version of the Depeche Mode song 'Enjoy the Silence' and for your listening pleasure, we've put a home demo Matthew recorded on our myspace site.

Nada Surf - 3 nights in NYC
Mar 25 @ Bowery Ballroom - performing 'Let Go' (AmEx presale Wed)
Mar 26 @ The Bell House - performing 'The Weight Is a Gift' (on sale 1/8 at noon)
Mar 27 @ Music Hall of Williamsburg - performing 'Lucky' (AmEx presale Wed?)

There's a presale for most dates also starting Wednesday. All dates, and more info on the covers record, below...

Continue reading "Nada Surf releasing a covers album, playing 3 full albums in NYC, touring (2010 dates & presale) "

Field Music didn't make it, but there was a special reunion set by Pulsars, followed by the super duper Wye Oak who played before special guest Rumours last night at The Bell House in Brooklyn (12/3).

As advertised (at the last minute anyway), Rumours was a Fleetwood Mac cover band. Cover song experts Loser's Lounge made up the band and a rotating cast of singers came to the stage to play individual tunes. Those vocalists included Dave Hill dueting with Erika from Au Revoir Simone, Will Sheff dueting with Beth Wawerna, Matthew Caws, Britta, Sharon Van Etten, Wye Oak, and many more. The show was in honor of Bell House booker Skippy. Well, it was his birthday party, and he even came out to help perform "I Don't Wanna Know" with Mia Riddle. The full setlist (which did not include AC Newman or Eugene Mirman - both must be out of town) with a couple of videos below...

Continue reading "Rumours (indie all-star Fleetwood Mac band) played the Bell House w/ Wye Oak & Pulsars - video & setlist"

Nada Surf @ Music Hall of Williamsburg (Jack Groetzinger)

There weren't a ton of shows going on in NYC last night (10/28), relatively speaking, but members/collaborators of most indie rock bands in existence were part of them. Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie, The Postal Service, husband of She of She & Him) played with Jay Farrar (Son Volt, Uncle Tupelo) at Webster Hall with John Roderick (The Long Winters) opening.

"Along with all 12 songs from the album, Farrar and Gibbard each sang a song from a different project, before finishing with a pair of covers. Gibbard sang a rootsy version of "Couches in Alleys," a tune he sang on a 2004 album by the Belgian electronic band Styrofoam. Farrar opted for a rousing take on "Voodoo Candle," from his 2001 solo debut, "Sebastopol." And the covers: Farrar handled lead vocals on a countrified rendition of Bob Dylan's "Absolutely Sweet Marie," and the pair closed the show with Gibbard singing lead on a shattering version of Tom Waits' "Old Shoes (and Picture Postcards)."" [listen, damnit]

Meanwhile in Brooklyn, Nada Surf (who played electric instead of acoustic as originally advertised) (and who played as Holly Miranda's backing band at Bowery Ballroom one night earlier) teamed up with Charles Bissell of the Wrens and They Might Be Giants for an indie rock benefit at Music Hall of Williamsburg. Videos below.

Over at BAM it was "The Long Count" featuring the we've-collaborated-with-everyone Dessner twins from the National in partnership with the Breeders-Deal twins who count a member of the Pixies among them. Joining them on stage was Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond, Sufjan Stevens, The Decemberists) and many other indie-friendly musicians, classical and otherwise. Everyone who wasn't playing at one of these shows, was probably in the audience of this one. Check out pics and our review HERE, and our interview with Bryce Dessner HERE, and then check the show out, if you haven't already, on Friday (Mischief Night) or Saturday (Halloween).

Continue reading "last night: 3 shows, but many indie rock members (Death Cab, Son Volt, Long Winters, Nada Surf, They Might Be Giants, Wrens, National, Pixies...)"

photos by Paul Birman

Holly Miranda & Matthew Caws / Florence & the Machine

"Dressed in flowing white, Florence spilled to the stage with her black-clad band, The Machine. Opening with "Two Lungs," Welch exploded into to chorus. She didn't need all of the considerable orchestra, including the harp, to vibrate the floor of a completely packed Bowery Ballroom. With the Island Records crew stuffed into the balcony, Welch flitted around the stage, pushing her elbows back and popping her chest out like some mechanical and delicate bird. She repeatedly pointed at us, directly, to emphasize elements of her story, only to cover a smile with her hand. She is emphatic and wilting, if these two things are possible at once." [32Ft/Second]

Opening the show, coming off a couple of more public CMJ appearances and a recent XL Records signing announcement, was Holly Miranda who was backed by none other than Nada Surf. Nada Surf plays an acoustic show at Music Hall of Williamsburg tonight (10/28).

More pictures, including a show of Florcence's setlist, and the above-mentioned video, below...

Continue reading "Florence & the Machine played Letterman (video) & Bowery Ballroom w/ Holly Miranda (and Nada Surf) - pics & setlist"

Holly Miranda in a car w/ AA Bondy

At Le Poisson Rouge on Friday evening, Holly Miranda played with a guitarist, Tim Mislock, though she'd do just as well alone. She's got a furious voice that she largely keeps in check, on her dry, spooky, inward-turned rock songs. After a small Internet firestorm early this year, she's signed with XL Records, though she's no more polished for it. During this show, her fangs were intact.

At other recent shows, Ms. Miranda has played with a fuller band (say, a violinist, a bass player and a drummer). That configuration gave her even more punch. Here, joined only by Mr. Mislock, it wasn't quite enough of a boost, though at the end of the set, when Mr. Mislock put down his guitar and fell into a lovely vocal harmony with Ms. Miranda, they seemed like a strong team. [NY Times]

A video of Holly performing recently in Brussels below...

Continue reading "Nada Surf backing Holly Miranda @ Bowery Ballroom tonight "

The Wrens @ Sasquatch Festival on 5/24 (more by Chris Graham)

In the fall of 2008, after a comprehensive proposal process with New York City, Neighbors Allied for Good Growth (NAG) and The People's Firehouse, Inc. (PFI), were awarded the rights to re-develop the former Engine Company 212 firehouse. Located at 134 Wythe Avenue, in the Northside section of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, the firehouse will now become home to both NAG and The People's Firehouse. Both organizations have historically served with dedicated action and activism while continually shaping North Brooklyn to benefit the diverse and vibrant community.

The newly redesigned building will become the Northside Town Hall Community and Cultural Center, and so much more...

This show is in addition to the shows They Might Be Giants have coming up at the Museum of Natural History and NYU.

At the end of July, the Wrens celebrated (or "noted with a website post") their 20th anniversary as a band. The full story on that, with a link to the commemorative t-shirt they made, is below...

Continue reading "Charles Bissell of the Wrens (who are 20), They Might Be Giants & Nada Surf (acoustic) playing a NTHCCC benefit"

April 14, 2009 (lana adinne)

Last night (April 14th), Flight of the Conchords played the first of two NYC shows with Kristen Schaal at Radio City.

Sporting boxy robot helmets (red eyebrows, bobbing antennae) and silver lame shirts, the pop duo Flight of the Conchords took the vast stage of New York's Radio City Music Hall last night and launched into their current hit, "Too Many Dicks (On the Dance Floor)."

An expressive crowd -- every one of the venue's 6,200 seats was filled, as they will be for an encore performance tonight -- responded to the nerdy New Zealanders with raucous catcalls and applause that rarely let up during the hourlong set. [Bloomberg]

FOTC show star and tourmate Eugene Mirman hosts tonight's sold out Nada Surf show at the Bell House. Want to go? The venue will be selling 40 tickets at the door.

Mirman will also be appearing at John Wesley Harding's Cabinet of Wonder show at (Le) Poisson Rouge later in the evening.

Holly Miranda is also on the bill for the Bell House tonight. If you miss her, she has another NYC show scheduled for Tuesday, May 5th at the Mercury Lounge, with Illinois. Tickets are on sale now.

Like Flight of the Conchords, Neko Case did a two-show NYC run -- the second of her two shows at Nokia was last night. Opening her first show (April 13th) on was Crooked Fingers, who played a second show at the Bell House last night. Tallest Man on Earth played their first of two shows last night - the second is at Bowery Ballroom tonight with Red Cortez - both bands will play Culture Shock at SUNY Purchase this weekend.

Last but not least (and not related), just wanted to throw in a mention of Canadian songster Hawksley Workman, who played Joe's Pub shows in December and January, is at the same venue tonight. Tickets are still on sale.

Did you do your taxes?

Videos from FOTC's set last night below...

Continue reading "Flight of the Conchords, Eugene Mirman, Nada Surf tickets, Holly Miranda, Neko Case, Hawksley Workman & more "

McSweeney's, Smith Mag, and The Rumpus Present: Todd Barry and Eugene Mirman, Matthew Caws of Nada Surf, and special guests at Highline Ballroom on May 30th. Readings by Anthony Swofford, Jessica Anthony, James Hannaham, The Six-Word Memoirists, and Amy Tan. Hosted by author and Rumpus editor Stephen Elliott. Tickets are on sale.

Nada Surf (the full band) has a show coming up much sooner - April 15th at The Bell House, but that one is sold out.

Also April 15th: Eugene Mirman returns to Le Poisson Rouge with John Wesley Harding. Tickets are still on sale.

Todd and Eugene are also both appearing at this year's All Points West Festival. Tickets are on sale.

Tickets are now on sale for the Holy Fuck shows happening at Bowery Ballroom and Music Hall of Williamsburg.

Tickets are on sale for both June Bill Callahan shows: Music Hall of Williamsburg and Le Poisson Rouge.

Crystal Stilts were added to Sunday's Comet Gain show at MHOW. Tickets are still on sale.

Tonight's Roots show (4/6) is sold out, but tickets are still available for a lot of the other ones coming up at Highline Ballroom. The April 1st show featured "James Poyser, Fresno Rapper, Fashon, Vernon Reed from Living Colour, and an eclectic cast of characters who usually perform in the subways of NYC." Video clips from that show from the week before below...

The Roots are also playing Montreal's Osheaga Festival.

Todd Barry insulted Louis CK in a car. That video below too..

Continue reading "Holy Fuck, The Roots, Todd Barry, Eugene Mirman, Nada Surf & other tickets "