photos by Chris La Putt

It may have been record freezing cold temperatures in New York City last night, but it could not get cooler inside Webster Hall where Danish group THE RAVEONETTES headlined.

Guitarist/vocalist Sune Rose Wagner and his cohort, the striking Sharin Foo [(who is now a mother)](also on guitars/vocals), brilliantly served their sound to a hungry audience. That sound being the trashy love child of early American rock and roll and distorted post-punk - plenty of feedback please.

Unlike previous U.S. tours which took a much more minimalist approach, with Sune and Sharin taking turns on guitars and drums, on this go they brought a four piece band on the road to strengthen their towering wall of sound.

The set tended to focus on their latest release, last year's Lust Lust Lust. However, the band did touch upon tracks from earlier albums such as 2002's EP Whip It On and 2005's homage to classic rock and pop from decades past, Pretty in Black. Highlights from the night included the girl group style of "Dead Sound" and "Love in a Trashcan" to the toe-tapping electro rock of "Twilight." They ended the night with an encore of the oh-so-sexy "Aly, Walk With Me". [Rabbit Stew]

Continue reading "The Raveonettes & Nickel Eye @ Webster Hall - pics & setlist"

photos by Leia Jospe

Nickel Eye @ MHOW

LA's Low vs. Diamond are going on a co-headlining tour with Strokes basssit Nikolai Fraiture's band Nickel Eye, but not before each of them play their own respective NYC shows this week. For Nickel Eye it's an opening slot at the Raveonettes show happening this Friday at Webster Hall (1/16). For Low vs. Diamond it's a headlining show at The Bell House in Brooklyn, tonight, January 15, 2009, with The Subjects.

The Subjects' other upcoming shows include a bunch of opening spots for Tapes n Tapes in February. That includes the dates at both Bowery Ballroom and Music Hall of Williamsburg. Wild Light is playing both of those shows too.

Nickel Eye will release their debut album "The Time of the Assassins" on January 27, 2009 via Ryko. Their last NYC shows were during CMJ. They played one at Pianos, and another one with Late of the Pier at Music Hall of Williamsburg. More pictures from the latter, and all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Nickel Eye & Low vs Diamond - 2009 Tour Dates, live pics "

By Andrew Frisicano

DOWNLOAD: The Raveonettes - Come On Santa (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Raveonettes Remixed - a free EP (ZIP FILE)

The Raveonettes have already found themselves on one year-end list for their full-length Lust Lust Lust. This year, the band also released four digital-only EPs (all on Vice Records), including a free remixes EP (ZIP file above) and, most recently, a just-in-time-for-your-ugly-holiday-sweater-party MP3 collection called Wishing You A Rave Christmas. (Here, with a bonus track, on Amazon.) No strangers to holiday music, in 2004, the Raveonettes also contributed an original holiday tune, "The Christmas Song," to the soundtrack of the Tim Allen/Jamie Lee Curtis holiday flick Christmas with the Kranks.

The Raveonettes will headline a NYC show at Webster Hall show on Friday, January 16th (Tickets) with openers Nickel Eye (feat. Strokes' bassist Nikolai Fraiture). Their two Cali dates will feature the recently renamed Soft Pack.

Vice Records is also offering a free holiday-time, but not holiday-themed comp, with tracks from King Khan, Chromeo and the Black Lips.

For more holiday music happenings, see here. All tour dates and the Christmas EP tracklist, below...

Continue reading "The Raveonettes - 2008 tour dates, Vice EPs, Christmas MP3s"

Fabrizio's band Little Joy have a show coming up at Mercury Lounge and now Nikolai's band Nickel Eye have a NYC show (showS actually) coming up too. The Nickel Eyes show is part of CMJ on October 22nd at Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn and also has As Tall As Lions, Ki:Theory, The Whip, AND Late of the Pier on the bill. $15 tickets are on sale (at noon) and $15 is much cheaper than $55 which is how much Late of the Pier's other CMJ show costs.

Nickel Eye are also playing Pianos on October 24th (also during CMJ).

DOWNLOAD: Nickel Eye - Dying Star (off East Village Radio) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Nickel Eye - Brandy of the Damned (off East Village Radio) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Native Korean Rock - Rapt (from MySpace) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Native Korean Rock - OOO (live @ Union Pool) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Native Korean Rock - Day Go By (live @ Union Pool) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: N.E.R.D. - My Drive Thru w/ Santogold & Julian Casablancas (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Albert Hammond Jr. - GfC (MP3)

Band Members: nickel eye (guitar, vocals, electric bass, double bass, harmonica); South: Joel Cadbury (steel guitar), Jamie McDonald (guitar), Brett Shaw (drums) and very special guests: Regina Spektor (piano), Nick Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs (guitar), Jack Dishel of Only Son (back up vocals), Jesse Wallace (drums) + more...

About nickel eye: Soon to be released The Time of the Assassins... For the moment, you can visit Mark Ronson's most recent radio broadcast (06/06/08) of "Authentic Shit" at www.eastvillageradio.com. At 1hr and 19mins, you will find a sneak preview of two songs and an interview with nickel eye.

Regina Spektor is also working with Ben Folds and playing a show with another Stroke, Albert Hammond Jr., who has some new music out of his own.

And while Albert and Nickel Eye are busy doing their thing, Julian has been wearing Converse and hanging with Pharrell (soon to be a daddy?) and Santogold. I don't know what's up with The Strokes, but if there is something up, Pharrell also wants to be involved.

And while Nick Zinner has been keeping busy with Nickel Eye, Karen O has been also doing her Native Korean Rock thing which included two shows the other night at Union Pool and some demos on MySpace. Yeah.

Download a whole bunch of MP3s above. The Karen O live tracks were ripped from two of the three YouTube videos you can watch below...

Continue reading "3 Strokes side projects, 2 Yeah Yeah Yeahs, 4 bands, 7 MP3s"