by Andrew Frisicano

it's a pool toy

Andrew W.K. and friends launched the free, biweekly Adult Swim Presents Summer at Santos series with a party at the club on June 11th. The show featured sets from Andrew W.K.'s roster of Skyscaper Music Maker artists, including Cherie Lily, Bad Brilliance and Aleister X, all of which appear on that label's only release so far, DAMN! The Mixtape.

Cherie Lily opened the show promptly -- I missed her set, but she re-emerged throughout the night onstage and in the crowd. Next, Aleister X, a Brit goth one-man show, performed with Andrew W.K., who spun from the booth and sang backups.

Bad Brilliance rolled out a red carpet for his costumed spectacle, which featured members of the dance-pop band Tayisha Busay (pictured on stage with Cherie Lily, below) and others dancing in full '80s aerobics gear while photographers in formal dress (also part of the performance) snapped photos a la movie-opening paparazzi.

The synth-pop-punk of Natalie Portman's Shaved Head, the only band on the bill, was energetic and unhinged. It was during their set that the crowd got into stage-diving/manical dancing mode. More than a few showgoers backfliped into the crowd.

Last up, Andrew W.K. performed a set of party-rock singles with a backing track and occasional added piano. It became hard for him to even reach the keyboard though, when at least half of the crowd joined him on stage during the second song. Most stayed there for the rest of the set, which progressed with the house lights on. Cherie Lily hung out stage left contributing hypeman ad libs to songs like "Party Hard" and "I Love NYC." And she wasn't alone on the mic as Andrew passed it to friends (crowdmembers) on stage. Near the end of the night someone cracked open a foam-filled plush toy which was quickly disassembled and rained plastic snow on the departing crowd.

The Adult Swim series continues on June 25th with sets by Jon Glaser, The Woggles, Cheeseburger, A.C. Newman and more. That's the same night Santos hosts the Phenomenal Handclap Band CD release show.

Some of the night's performers, including Cherie Lily, Tayisha Busay and Aleister X, will be at the Studio at Webster Hall on Thursday, June 18th. Tickets are on sale.

Natalie Portman's Shaved Head play Santos again on Saturday, June 20th with Kittens Ablaze and Home Video. Tickets are on sale.

More pictures below...

Continue reading "Andrew W.K., Bad Brilliance, Aleister X & Cherie Lily @ Santos Party House - pics (Adult Swim party)"

by Andrew Frisicano

DOWNLOAD: Bad Brilliance - Non Tradition Ball Head (Girl Talk Remix) / It's So Fun (Andrew W.K. Remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Julia - Cocaine (The Knocks Remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Aleister X - The Git (MP3)

Bad Brilliance & Andrew WK @ Terminal 5 in November (more by Zach Stern)

If you missed Andrew W.K.'s DAMN! The Mixtape release party at Santos on May 28th, don't worry. You'll have another chance to catch W.K. and his Skyscraper Music Maker friends at the club's first Adult Swim Presents Summer at Santos Series show on Thursday, June 11th.

The lineup for that free gig includes Andrew W.K. and special guests, plus opening sets by Cherie Lily, Aleister X, Bad Brilliance and Natalie Portman's Shaved Head. Video clips of what exactly went down on the 28th are posted below.

Cherie Lily, Aleister X, Bad Brilliance and that crew are all featured prominently on DAMN! The Mixtape -- a comp produced by Andrew WK and B-Roc of The Knocks. Check out three tracks from that album, above. Those include Bad Brilliance's Girl Talk & Andrew W.K. remixes together as one MP3. And speaking of Girl Talk, he has some shows of his own coming up this summer.

Cherie Lily and Andrew W.K. are also performing at the Street Meat show at Cake Shop the next night (Friday, June 12th). It's a free show that's billed as "Character Comedy with Special Guests." Also playing are Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt, Jon Glaser, Trevor Williams and more.

As previously discussed, Andrew W.K. has a bunch of projects debuting soon: a solo piano improv album coming in the fall, a Canadian tour in June with Nardwuar (who recently interviewed Vivian Girls) and his own Cartoon Network show called Destroy Build Destroy.

Well, he also contributed to the most recent Current 93 album, and at a July 7th Santos show...

Andrew will perform several pieces from his voice performance contribution to The Journal of Popular Noise. This will be Andrew's first ever performance of this type, and a special night of new sounds and styles. Featuring TV BABY, Walker & Cantrell, Jayson Green and DJ TK.

Tickets for that gig are on sale now.

Flyers for the Santos and Cake Shop shows, with Bad Brilliance vids and live clips from the DAMN! The Mixtape release party, below...

Continue reading "DAMN! - Girl Talk remixed Bad Brilliance (MP3s) who plays w/ Andrew WK others @ Santos courtesy of Adult Swim "

photos by Natasha Ryan

"The venue was Roseland in the Times Square area of NYC. I was impressed that the place was sold out. Nev "has a guy" who works in security. We bypassed the line (standing in the rain poor guys), went to the front door, was ushered to a set of stair and we sat in the balcony watching the show from above. We were there early enough that we were able to secure high chairs and a place next to the ledge. Our seats were phenomenal and we were able to watch the entire show comfy and unobstructed. I bumped into someone I know who works the venue and she gave Nev and I two free drink coupons (I heart Malibu).

Then Lily Allen came on. What a treat she was from beginning to end. She mentioned between songs that she was not feeling well. You could not tell from her performance. She was high energy. She sang the crowd favorites: The Fear, Smile, It's Not Me It's You, and my favorite Fuck You. The thing that amazes me is that she closed her show with her rendition of of Britney Spears' Womanizer. The rendition started out with a clip of the new song "Day and Night"." [Seletyn's Weblog]

Lily Allen's previous NYC show was at the much smaller Bowery Ballroom. More pictures from last (4/20) night's show, below...

Continue reading "Lily Allen & Natalie Portman's Shaved Head @ Roseland Ballroom in NYC - pics"

The 39th annual Bumbershoot: Seattle's Music & Arts Festival, Presented by Samsung Mobile announces a small portion of the 2009 lineup. The 3-day urban event takes place Labor Day Weekend (September 5 - 7). The Festival stretches across the 74-acre Seattle Center, located beneath the city's iconic Space Needle, and programs 20 indoor and unique outdoor venues. This progressive Festival features a diverse array of arts including live music, comedy, theatre, dance, film, urban crafts, and literary and visual arts.

Modest Mouse, Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan (who also have a NYC show scheduled), MSTRKRFT (who are also playing All Points West) and No Age (who just played SXSW) are all part of the intitial announcement. $80 three-day passes are on sale now. Full artist list and more info below...

Continue reading "Bumbershoot announces partial 2009 lineup & ticket info"

by Black Bubblegum

DOWNLOAD: Common Market - "Back Home (The Return)" (MP3)

Man, Cleopatra Jones!

They reunited & toured, played a $7 show with Ghostface and The Alchemist, and now Digable Planets are preparing to hit the road again, including a date at Highline Ballroom in NYC on April 1st. Tickets are on sale. All dates below.

Joining the Creamy Spies for the trek, Seattle's Common Market, who released their album Tobacco Road in 2008 which includes "Back Home (The Return)" available for download above. Before CM hits the road with Digable, look for them at SXSW at one of two places: The Back Alley Social on March 18 with Brother Ali, The Grouch & Eligh, and Zion I, and at Palm Door on March 21 with Past Lives & Natalie Portman's Shaved Head. Full Common Market dates, with Digable and without, below.

Zion I

Speaking of Zion I, the critically acclaimed duo dropped The TakeOver on Feb 17. It's the follow-up to their 2006 collabo record with The Grouch (but not Eligh), Heroes In The City Of Dope. Check out a video of the duo discussing that record on LBTV (as in Lyrics Born TV) below. Full Zion I tour dates below too.

Meanwhile, The Grouch and Eligh are prepping their new record, Say G&E! due on April 7th. Say G&E! features production by Flying Lotus, Rick Rock and others, as well as guest appearances by Sage Francis, Slug, and Gift Of Gab of Blackalicious. The Grouch & Eligh are part of the LA based Living Legends crew with MURS. G&E, as well as the entire Living Legends crew, will team up at The Paid Dues Festival in San Bernardino, CA on Mar 28 with Cage (who has a new album coming), Brother Ali, Eyedea & Abilities, Atmosphere, B-Real, and many others.

Dates and video below...

Continue reading "Digable Planets, Common Market, The Grouch & Eligh, Zion I - Tour Dates, albums, SXSW & an MP3"

Jane's Addiction - @ Echoplex, Los Angeles - Feb 16, 2009 (revolute)

Live Nation and Adam Zacks are pleased to announce this year's line up for the Sasquatch! Music Festival at the legendary Gorge in Eastern Washington. The festival, now in its eighth and most ambitious year yet, has evolved from a unique, homegrown & low key fest into a full blown three day extravaganza. A festival-goer's dream, it comes complete with camp-outs, canyons, sunsets, three stages and new this year, an expanded comedy and dance music tent. The tent will feature performances from comedians throughout the day, and then come dusk, will spotlight electronic and dance music artists.

Already the official opener to summer for music fans, the Sasquatch! Music Festival is becoming a certified monster of a musical event: this year features another exciting and diverse line-up for the musically adventurous, and ups the ante on an event already hailed for its independent spirit. Tickets go on sale Saturday February 28th at 10AM

Jane's Addiction, reunited once again, played a show at the Echoplex in LA last night. They announced it last week via their website and mailing list.

Today it was announced that Jane's (feat. all four original members), NIN, Kings of Leon, Ben Harper & Relentless7, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Erykah Badu, The Decemberists, Fleet Foxes, TV On The Radio, Animal Collective, Silversun Pickups, Bon Iver, Santigold, and many others are playing this year's Sasquatch Festival (May 23, 24, 25, 2009 @ The Gorge in Quincy, WA). Full lineup and ticket info below...

Continue reading "Jane's Addiction played LA, headlining SASQUATCH Festival (which just announced most of the 2009 LINEUP)"

Seattle's own Natalie Portman's Shaved Head (NPSH) will hit the road as special guests on the upcoming Lily Allen US tour this spring. The party caravan starts April 1 in San Diego, CA and includes stops in Los Angeles, the band's hometown of Seattle, and NYC. (complete tour itinerary below). NPSH will also hit up select cities along the Lily Allen tour with headlining solo dates.

All tour dates, more than what I had this morning, and a live NPSH video, below...

Continue reading "Natalie Portman's Shaved Head (NPSH) & Lily Allen - updated 2009 tour dates"

On February 10th, 2009, Capitol Records will release It's Not Me, It's You, the follow-up to Lily Allen's critically acclaimed 2007 debut, Alright, Still. Recorded at Eagle Rock Studios in Los Angeles, the album finds Lily in top form, creating a record Blender's recent "In The Studio" feature described as "part God, part country and all middle finger." Allen wrote and recorded the album's 12 songs with producer Greg Kurstin (the bird and the bee), who worked with her on three songs for Alright, Still - "Everything's Just Wonderful," "Alfie" and "Not Big."

"We decided to try and make bigger sounding, more ethereal songs, real songs," says Lily, who will be touring the U.S. in the spring. "I wanted to work with one person from start to finish to make it one body of work. I wanted it to feel like it had some sort of integrity. I think I've grown up a bit as a person and I hope it reflects that."

All of those spring tour dates haven't been announced yet, but it looks like Lily will be taking Natalie Portman's Shaved Head out on the road with her in April. Surfaced dates include April 1st at House of Blues in San Diego and April 20th at Roseland Ballroom in NYC. The latter goes on sale Friday at 10am via LiveNation.com.

The Bird and The Bee have shows scheduled in February and March in support of their new album Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future (out now).

All known Lily Allen dates below...

Continue reading "Lily Allen's new Greg Kurstin-produced album & some 2009 Tour Dates w/ Natalie Portman's Shaved Head"

"Natalie Portman is without a bushy beard this morning, because she has reportedly canceled her relationship with silent-movie actress Devendra Banhart. No, he's a musician, but his name was meant for a different era." [dlisted]

Devendra has a new album out as "Megapuss". He and another man are naked on the cover.

Natalie Portman's Shaved Head's new video below....

Continue reading "Devendra Banhart of Megapuss is single again, Natalie Portman's Shaved Head made a video"

Set times are actual. No advanced tickets...

Continue reading "2008 CMJ shows at the Mercury Lounge"