by Andrew Sacher

Pusha T

Pusha T is playing in NYC TONIGHT (12/22) at Gramercy Theatre with NinjaSonik, Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire, Gilbere Forte, Emilio Rojas, and Jasmine Solano. Tickets are still available.

Earlier this week, Pusha dropped a freestyle over Common's "Sweet" off of his new LP, The Dreamer/The Believer, which came out on Tuesday. The Smoking Section reports that the track is a diss at Drake (who is touring in 2012 with Kendrick Lamar and A$AP Rocky). Stream it below.

Common played Highline Ballroom on Monday (12/19). Nas joined him at the show. You can stream the whole show below, and also check out a video of Nas joining in on "Ghetto Dreams" below.

Pusha T collaborator Wale also plays a show in NYC TONIGHT (12/22). HIs is at Webster Hall and tickets are still available. More dates, including one at Irving Plaza, are listed below.

Speaking of Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire and Emilio Rojas, they both just played S.O.B.'s with Kendrick Lamar on Monday (12/19). Talib Kweli saw the show, and tweeted, "The ASAP crew did a 20 min walk thru during the set. Classic Harlem lol." Check out a video from the show below.

Maybe Talib should give Diplo a heads up about Kendrick. Diplo recently tweeted "Kendrick lamar sounds like somebody that played for the supersonics in the 90s. Didn't know he was a rapper. What's his best tune?" (Hey Diplo, check out "The Spiteful Chant").

In other news, Kendrick told XXLMag that he and J. Cole are planning a joint album. "We're still trying to formulate it and sit down in a neutral zone, where either one of us is moving and doing shows, interviews and press all the time," he said. Kendrick told HipHopDx that he's lined up Just Blaze and Pete Rock for his next LP.

Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire will play NYC again when he opens for Action Bronson at Highline Ballroom on December 27. Tickets are still available. eXquire and Bronson both made Heems' list of favorite albums released in 2011.

Speaking of Talib Kweli, his group Idle Warship played Southpaw on 12/9. Some videos from that show are below. They'll do it again on January 4 at S.O.B.'s. Tickets are still available.

Dates, videos and stream below...

Continue reading "Pusha T & Wale play shows tonight (and other dates); Kendrick Lamar & Common & guests played recently (videos)"

Death at Purchase Fall Fest (more by Kellyann Petry)

While the Duck Down vs Blacksmith showcase at Music Hall of Williamsburg is indicating that hip hop is alive and well, Afro-Punk is declaring the opposite with a show at the venue just 4 days prior. Billed as "DEATH to Hip-Hop", protopunk pioneers Death will join Cerebral Ballzy, Ninjasonik, and Jersey Klan with Stack-Aly between sets as part of a CMJ event on 10/18 at Music Hall of Williamsburg. Tickets go on sale on 9/22 at noon, or try to get in with your CMJ badge. No other Death dates to report at the moment.

In between the birth and death of hip hop, Music Hall of Williamsburg will feature another two CMJ showcases. 10/20 will see Metronomy team with Class Actress (tickets) while 10/21 is the BrooklynVegan CMJ showcase with BRAIDS, Active Child, Weekend, Pepper Rabbit, and Blue Hawaii. Tickets are on sale for our CMJ show, or be one of the people to get in with your badge.

That leaves only one hole in MHOW's CMJ schedule. Nothing has been announced there for Wed., 10/19 yet. I can't say what will happen that night, but I can say that it will be interesting (and NOT affiliated with CMJ).

Janelle at Afro-Punk 2009 (more by Tim Griffin)

Afro-Punk 2011 will take place in Fort Greene's Commodore Barry Park on August 27 and 28. This year's crazy lineup consists of Cee Lo Green, Janelle Monae (who played the fest in 09), Fishbone, Santigold, Jay Electronica, Toro y Moi, Reggie Watts and more. The festival will also a hold a Skate and BMX competition, and other related events. Admission is free to the general public.

Full lineup below...

Continue reading "Afro-Punk 2011 -- free Fort Greene fest lineup (Cee Lo, Janelle Monae, Toro y Moi, Santigold, Fishbone, Reggie Watts, more)"

Lupe Fiasco is currently in Australia as part of the Big Day Out Festival, touring with names like Iggy Pop, Deftones, Grinderman, and countless others. After returning back to the states, he'll get ready to welcome his new LP Lasers into this world, due on March 8th. The Chicago MC will celebrate the release with a date at Webster Hall the night before it hits the streets and tickets go on sale at noon today (1/28). Lupe recently released the first single from the LP, the Modest Mouse-sampling "The Show Must Go On" via iTunes.

Tickets also go on sale at noon for Rick Ross at Best Buy Theater on March 4th, and fortunately if you can't make that show you can make it out to see him support Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj at Nassau Coliseum on March 27th as part of the I Am Music II tour. Ticket info for that show hasn't been released yet. All dates below.

Those of you who want to see Lil Wayne but might prefer to see him in a much (much) different setting than the third of three hip hop acts (instead with Motley Crue, Waka Flocka Flame, Insane Clown Posse & Bruno Mars?) can catch the recently freed MC at Bamboozle 2011 in New Jersey. Tickets are still available for the festival in multi-day, and single day pass increments.

And lets say, for some godforsaken reason you felt like a double dose of Insane Clown Posse.... that can be arranged. Insane Clown Posse has taken time off of their busy wrestling schedule to shower New York City with Faygo on April 29th at Gramercy Theater. Tickets are still available all of you Juggalos and Juggalettes!

Full Bamboozle lineup and all Lil Wayne tour dates are below.

Continue reading "Lupe Fiasco adds record release show, Rick Ross playing NY before tour w/ Nicki Minaj & Lil Wayne (who plays Bamboozle w/ Insane Clown Posse) -- lineups & dates"

Talib & Res

Tickets are still available for the next 5 Questlove DJ gigs at Brooklyn Bowl.

Tickets are also on sale for a Talib Kweli show happening at Brooklyn Bowl on February 1st with J-Live, K-Salaam, and Mad Sol Desar.

You can also catch Talib on February 10th when he teams up with Res (and Graph Nobel?) to form Idle Warship at Music Hall of Williamsburg with Dead Prez, Ninjasonik (who also play the same venue on 3/26), The Wellington Papers and "Special Surprise Performances." Tickets go on sale Friday at noon.

That same night, 2/10, is when Black Milk is at SOB's with a full band.

That same venue, MHOW, is where Raekwon is playing on March 8th. Tickets are now on AmEx presale.

Raekwon's same night, 3/8, is when Yelawolf is going to play Highline Ballroom with Cyhi Da Prynce. Tickets go on sale Friday at noon.

Murs also has a show coming up at MHOW, and that show is still on sale.

Last but not least (unless you mean the price), Chiddy Bang is playing a free show at Irving Plaza on January 29th. The catch? You need to go to either NYU, Rutgers, CUNY, Fordham or Columbia to attend. Actually that's not true, you can just pretend you do I think, since it also says "Students at other NY area schools also eligible. Text closest school to claim tickets." The show is part of a "Textbooks & Tickets Tour" that is also giving away free tickets to a Big Boi show in Atlanta and has other performers in a few other cities.

Jeff The Brotherhood at Fun Fun Fun Fest (more by BBG)

Like last year, Jeff the Brotherhood are heading down to Texas for SXSW this year, but not before they finish a European tour that is underway now. After Austin, the duo will scoot up the Northeast, hitting Princeton University with Screaming Females, The Meat Locker in Montclair and NYC along the way. The NYC show is at Santos Party House on March 31 with Ninjasonik, Juiceboxxx, Teen Witch, and DJ Thanksgiving Brown. Tickets are on sale, and full tour dates are below.

Jeff's partners in crime Heavy Cream are also planning a tour around SXSW this year including a string of dates with Ty Segall. The two groups will play Death By Audio on March 10th. Ty Segall is also scheduled to play NYC two days earlier at Mercury Lounge (on March 8th) with Devin Therriault (tickets still on sale).

Ty Segall has announced two shows at SXSW so far, 3/18 as part of the Goner Showcase at Beerland and 3/19 as part of the Panache showcase. All other Ty Segall dates, Heavy Cream dates and Jeff dates, below...

Continue reading "Jeff the Brotherhood, Heavy Cream & Ty Segall are playing shows (updated 2011 tour dates)"

photos by Leia Jospe

"Memphis' JEFF The Brotherhood closed the night by splitting it wide open. This duo incorporates channel splitters (to fill out the entire tonal spectrum, and to avoid paying a bass player) through a Jucifer-inspired pile of amps, speakers, and doodads. It was big, bad, and beautiful, and with just two players on stage handling guitar and drums, it was dynamic, fantastic, and raw." [a review from Rochester]

JEFF, who have a new album on the way, were then supposed to open for The Zeroes at Maxwell's last night, but they got stuck in traffic and never made it to the show. They hopefully won't have similar problems before their next show which is at Union Pool tonight (10/30). More pictures from Music Hall, below...

Continue reading "JEFF the Brotherhood played Music Hall of Williamsburg w/ Ninjasonik, Liquor Store & ELKS (pics), didn't play Maxwell's"

photos by Tim Griffin

Night fell down on Austin Town and it figured it'd be a busy night. And with The xx and Temper Trap setting the table for LCD Soundsystem, Gogol Bordello, Monsters of Folk, Deadmau5, Matt & Kim, MIA and Muse, Saturday did indeed set it self up to be remembered as ACL 2010's strongest.

Except for the part where MIA screwed things up during her set...

...M.I.A.'s set saw plenty of anticipation on the west end of the fairgrounds, but little payoff: The first song saw didn't even see Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam on stage, and, though she came out for the second, that first song worked as a fitting metaphor for her entire mumbled performance.

Here's the thing about performing in festivals, especially on a main stage: Very few people actually see the performers; they rely on the accompanying video screens to share the visual side of the performance. But rather than the performer (or any of her five packing dancers or DJ) , M.I.A.'s screen showed illustrations. M.I.A., meanwhile, spent minimal time in her set's early going on stage, instead opting to interact o the grass in front of her closest fans. An admirable offering, perhaps, but it left the rest of her crowd in the dark, straining their necks to see her dancers or maybe just the neon "Maya" sign that served as her backdrop.

Her vocals weren't helping matters, either. They were already mixed too low, and Maya, for the most part, mumbled her way through the proceedings. Audiences thinned out--only to be pulled back in once the video screens finally--mercifully--showed the performer stalking the stage, and performing her biggest hit, "Paper Planes." [Dallas Observer]

Continue reading "ACL 2010 Day 2 in pics (Monsters of Folk, M.I.A., LCD Soundsystem, Broken Bells, deadmau5, Muse & more)"

Previously unannounced, the lineup for today's free Rock Yard show is listed on the flyer below (it's going to be a party)....

Continue reading "Bikes in the Kitchen take over the Rock Yard today"

DOWNLOAD: Elks - "Destined For The Sun" (MP3)

photos by Andrew St. Clair

Heavy Suzan Cream

Liquor Store will team up with Heavy Cream, Grooms, and Hunters for a show at Death By Audio TONIGHT (9/7). It's one of a few shows that Heavy Cream have/had scheduled in the NYC area. They played Union Pool and Cake Shop last week and Rock Shop last night. Pics from the Cake Shop show, which featured a headlining set from Unnatural Helpers (who played a bunch of shows in town too) and support from The Suzan (ditto), are in this post.

Heavy Cream are on the road surpporing their new LP Danny which was just released on Infinity Cat Recordings. Dig on what's left of their tour sked below.

Meanwhile, the headliners at Death by Audio tonight, Liquor Store, will also play Music Hall of Wiliiamsburg on 10/28, alongside Elks, Ninjasonik, and "hosts" Jeff The Brotherhood (who are very good friends of Heavy Cream). Tickets are still on sale.

Elks also played Rock Shop last night with Heavy Cream, and are prepping to release their new six-song EP Elks In Space produced by Brendan Tobin of Made Out of Babies. No word on when/who will release the effort, but until then, download one of the tracks above.

More pictures from the Cake Shop show (which doubled as Heavy Cream guitarist Mimi's 23rd birthday party), and UH's setlist, and tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Heavy Cream played Cake Shop w/ Unnatural Helpers & the Suzan (pics), play DbA tonight w/ Liquor Store & other dates"

photos by Andrew St. Clair

"The [Saturday night Governors Island HARD FEST] set started with "Steppin Up," with M.I.A. backed by about a dozen power drills as part of the rhythm track: noise triumphant. But M.I.A.'s vocals were often so buried in echo, and the bass so bloated, that her lyrics just became more of the din, and the songs that she segued together like a disc-jockey set were barely distinguishable. Instead of a barrage, it was a morass.

Her set was cut short by thunder and lightning, which she attributed to God and answered with a last defiant gesture: rapping "Born Free," which vows to speak her mind, a cappella as her backup group shut down. But an exodus from her set had begun well before the downpour." [NY Times]

In related news, the rained-on Modest Mouse show that happened one night earlier has been rescheduled, and the rained-on Williamsburg Waterfront show that happened one day later went on as planned, but later and in a different venue.

OK, so if you're following along, you saw: "Die Antwoord steal the show while topless girl dances (video), M.I.A. spits on a photographer (pics), rain, lasers & more... (HARD NYC in review - part 1)" which was followed by "Die Antwoord played MHOW & Governors Island (pics, video)" which was followed by "HARD FEST NYC in pics (part 2.5) (Ninjasonik, Rye Rye, Theophilus London, MIA & more)". That makes this post PART THREE, and it includes photos from the same artists as well as more crowd pics and Skream + Benga who played too. Those pictures, which include a shot of M.I.A,'s planned setlist, continue below...

Continue reading "M.I.A. promises free NYC show for HARD Fest ticket holders! (and here's another set of pictures from that show) "

photos by Matthew Eisman

Ninjasonik / HARD FESTival goers

"Hard provided a music experience for those New Yorkers who love to rave, get down and dirty with thousands of strangers and weren't afraid to show some skin. (Looks like some attendees took notes from our Summer Music Fest trend report!)

Also, depending on how much you felt like raging, you could choose the "Hard" stage or "Harder" stage. (Which to me, is almost as character defining as choosing between "fire" and "ice" on the Dueling Dragons ride at Universal Studios.) Guests who didn't want to be bothered with making such a life-altering decision set up camp where ever and proceeded with their very own impromptu dance party.

The culmination of the evening came with M.I.A.'s much anticipated performance. Unfortunately, she wasn't properly miked, her voice was drowned out by her mashed up beats, and the only time she was heard was when she was yelling at the sound team...Thankfully mother nature was on her side, and it began to downpour, cutting her set short. At the end of the day the only press she received was spitting in a photographer's face, but all wasn't lost! She brought the noise, and really, isn't that what music festivals are all about?" [Guest of a Guest]

Saturday's NYC HARD FEST on Governors Island wasn't all just M.I.A., Die Antwoord and Sleigh Bells (and more Die Antwoord), it was a 2-stage extravaganza that fit up to 15,000 concert-goers (not sure how many tickets actually sold, but it was far from empty looking) in a large field just a short ferry ride away from South Street Seaport (Pier 11 actually). Destructo, Ninjasonik, Rye Rye, and Theophilus London were also among those on the bill. More pictures from those sets (and the big three), below....

Continue reading "HARD FEST NYC in pics (part 2.5) (Ninjasonik, Rye Rye, Theophilus London, MIA & more) "

"What began as a spontaneous event for friends and neighbors outside the label's Philadelphia headquarters and grew in 2 short years to the largest block party in city, the MAD DECENT BLOCK PARTY is nothing short of a legend. Now in the event's 3rd summer, Mad Decent has teamed with Diesel and JELLY to bring the MAD DECENT BLOCK PARTY magic across the country! Starting in Philadelphia and traveling to New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago over 4 consecutive Saturdays from July 31st to August 21st, the MAD DECENT BLOCK PARTY promises banging music, carnival games, yummy food, super secret guests and all for FREE!"

Continue reading "Mad Decent & Jelly throwing free block parties in four cities, at South Street Seaport in NYC"

photos by dailybeatz, words by Andrew Frisicano

Hopefully all goes well with the HARD NYC show at Governors Island's South Island Field this Saturday (7/24). The show, which still has tickets on sale, will be happening despite the cancellation of its sister HARD LA show. The disappointing HARD LA cancellation came right after the disappointing lukewarm critical reaction to Maya (though Metacritic rates it as 69/100, so not so bad overall actually).

MIA, who is also playing the Virgin FreeFest this year, is on a lineup that includes Die Antwoord (who play the next night at MHOW) and Sleigh Bells, who just played Pitchfork Fest's third day.

A full list of who's at HARD NYC, with set times, and more pictures and some palpably sweaty videos of Sleigh Bells at the Pitchfork Festival (on the stage and in the crowd) are below...

Continue reading "Sleigh Bells played P4K (pics), playing HARD NYC (set times)"

Suckers in Prospect Park the other day (more by David Andrako)

Mishka, Etnies and something called SEEN (located at seenallover.com) are co-presenting a BBQ/party on Long Island City's Water Taxi Beach (dubbed "Red, White & Brews") this 4th of July. Confirmed music includes Suckers, Beach Fossils, The Death Set and Ninjasonik. There are also lots of DJs and they're promising a "Very Special End Of The Night Performance".

Add this one to the list of music events happening this 4th of July in NYC.

A flyer, more details on the party and all Beach Fossils dates are below...

Continue reading "Beach Fossils, Suckers, DeathSet, Ninjasonik & many others playing Water Taxi Beach in LIC on 4th of July"

words by Andrew Frisicano, photos by Ryan Barkan

Mark Ronson & MNDR @ Milk Studios

The show spaces were predictably cozy and cramped, and USA lost their World Cup match again Ghana, but besides those qualms, not many bad things can be said about the Vice/Intel Creators Project event on Saturday (6/26). Interpol played their first hometown set since unveiling their new lineup earlier in the week, and M.I.A., the night's secret guest, put on a singularly ridiculous, entertaining show, albeit in the crowded, low-ceilinged second floor space. Even the un-affiliated soccer game screened amicably on a huge projector before the music started. If there was one caveat, it was that not that many people, relatively, got in to enjoy the art and music presented. Then again, that's one reason the labyrinthine network of art installations and stages was so surprisingly bearable and easy to navigate.

The same second floor stage that filled up for M.I.A. was also packed to capacity for Sleigh Bells. How much you enjoyed either's set depended a great deal on where you stood (and how early you got there). Cramped in the back, Sleigh Bells sounded pitchy and uneven - but jostled up in the front, the spectacle and body-shaking bass of Die Antwoord were entirely enjoyable. It also depended on your affinity for personal space, which was in short supply anywhere with a decent view of the stage.

And a view was pretty essential to enjoying the antics of the Antwoord crew and M.I.A.'s coterie of stage guests. Mia opened with caustic punk song "Born Free" (video below) a loud if not exactly melodious entrance choice. The stage-show continued the flashy political baiting of the "Born Free" video, which played behind the song. M.I.A. donned pot leaf goggles, rainbow hair and a hooded camo jacket, with a band who alternately wore glow-stick lined clothes and MIA-logoed burkas. Others on stage included a pair of dancers (one ginger-haired), Sleigh Bell's Alexis and Derek, and Ninjasonik. More new songs came, as did "World Town" and crowd-pleasing closer "Paper Planes."

Three of the night's other bands - The Rapture, Gang Gang Dance and Interpol - set up on the first floor studio's back loading dock, which was open to 14th street and the adjacent High Line Park. Gang Gang Dance sounded dependably sturdy in the cavernous garage. Interpol played an 11-song set with four new songs (including the slow-building "Lights") - tight and together, and ready for bigger arenas. The stage was open on three sides, so even without a spot in the front of the stage you didn't get locked out.

I didn't see much on the first floor lounge - Salem took a while to set up and I skipped them to catch Interpol. Neon Indian played the downstairs too, where DJs spun throughout the day. The eighth floor of the building was also part of the show (as was the penthouse/roof VIP-area above it). On eight, there was a screening room where Spike Jonze's I'm Here, a surrealist robot drama, played among other things, as well as installations like Nick Zinner's gothy, minimal photo and ambient-score room.

After M.I.A. I went to downstairs to find Mark Ronson DJing in the first floor gallery. MNDR was on stage with him singing her song "Fade to Black". She also reportedly performed Ronson's new single "Bang Bang Bang" before I got there. NME also says...

"Phantom Planet's Alex Greenwald [sang] the Ronson-tweaked version of Radiohead's 'Just' while executing an impressive crowd-surf.

Ex-[Pipettes] singer Rose Elinor Dougall took to the stage for two new 'Record Collection' tracks, 'Hey Boy' and 'You Gave Me Nothing' - the latter a song co-written by Jonathan Pierce of The Drums. Ronson ended the night with the first public airing of 'Somebody To Love Me', which features vocals from Boy George.

Ryan's Die Antwoord pictures were already posted (as were Ben's of Interpol). The rest of Ryan's pictures, and some videos, below...

Continue reading "a take on the Creators Project event @ Milk Studios - pics & video of Mark Ronson, MIA, MNDR, Rapture & more included"

photos by Leia Jospe

Drake show @ South Street Seaport (more by Chris La Putt)

Senseless violence marred a Drake concert at South Street Seaport Tuesday night, prompting police to pull the plug on the show before the rap phenom ever had a chance to grab a mic. "Everybody was pushing up, trying to get to the front," said Tamika Johnson, 31, of East New York, Brooklyn. Johnson and her 6-year-old daughter were among thousands who turned out for the free show, part of a publicity blitz marking the release of the up-and-coming Canadian rapper's debut album, "Thank Me Later." "People in the front started leaving because they were getting crushed," Johnson said. "Then they started throwing bottles from the balconies." Fights broke out as rowdies tossed flower pots from the upper floors of the Seaport down onto the crowd on the street, said Jasmine Arroyo, 23, of Brooklyn. Arroyo said the scene turned into "a madhouse" as people on the street began firing plastic bottles and "any object they could find" at the flower-pot-hurlers. [Daily News]

Continue reading "video of people throwing chairs from the 2nd level Pizzeria Uno into the Seaport concert crowd (and more pics)"

photos by Chris La Putt

"dear lord, i hope the Pizzeria Uno is ok" - Isfet

Chris La Putt was on hand to see Ninjasonik play less than one song at South Street Seaport this fine Tuesday evening (6/15). As previously mentioned, not counting Hanson's soundcheck, that was all the music the giant crowd got to hear. Headliners Hanson and Drake never got to perform as the cops quickly shut down the free show to be safe. They potentially either stopped or started a riot. Taking their lead, Chris ran right home. His pictures (mostly from the point of view of the photopit in front of the stage), including more of the Pizzeria Uno acrobat, and a video showing the chaos (which doesn't compare to the video that shows people throwing things), below...

Continue reading "pictures & video from the Ninjasonik, Hanson & Drake not-show @ South Street Seaport in NYC"

"Had to cancel the free NYC show today because of a crazy audience that was braking things at the mixing board. -Z" - Hanson (about 7:20 pm)

"Police are shutting down the show at South Seaport! I'm on my way anyways...Drizzy Hendrix Woodstock 2010" - Drake (about 7:30pm)

"Hope everybody is able to stay calm and that things don't get out of hand. Again we are sorry that we could not play! -Isaac" - Hanson (about 7:30 pm)

"NYPD will not let me go on stage tonight" - Drake (around 7:32)

South Street Seaport around 7pm - June 15, 2010 (AON_Boss_Casino)

Hanson is supposed to be on stage performing as I type this. Ninjasonik played half a song. Drake is... on his way to the show? Hopefully everyone remains calm. No riots.

Some more pictures of the action (update: HERE.. and) unfolding below....

Continue reading "too many people showed up to see Drake & Hanson @ the Seaport - show shut down by police"

UPDATE: this show didn't go as planned.

another free show at South Street Seaport this summer...

Continue reading "strangely, Drake & Hanson are playing the Seaport together"

Bad Brains @ Vice Halloween 2009 (more by Tim Griffin)

Bad Brains will be one of the bands headlining Afro-Punk 2010 happening in Fort Greene's Commodore Barry Park (a new location) from June 25-27 (Flushing Ave & N Elliot, Brooklyn). There's music for two days of the skate-heavy fest - Saturday's music includes Bad Brains, Game Rebellion, P.O.S., Ninjasonik, Belikos, Activator, The 54 and Cipher. Sunday's lineup is 24-7 Spyz, The Cool Kids, J*DaVeY, Martin Luther, The Memorials and Bad Rabbits, as well as a their "Culture Klash" DJ series with Q TIP Vs Afrika Bambaataa. Music is 1-9pm both days. Tickets are on sale.

An animated flyer and more details are below...

Continue reading "Afro-Punk 2010 - lineup includes Bad Brains, Ninjasonik, Q-Tip DJing, Game Rebellion, P.O.S. & more (tix on sale)"

words by BBG, photos by Nathaniel Shannon

Clipse at Highline Ballroom

Rock The Bells performer Clipse played Highline Ballroom on May 6th with an assist from Chiddy Bang, Ninjasonik, XV, and surprise guest Jadakiss. More pics from that show (but none of Jada - although there is video) are below...

Continue reading "Clipse, Chiddy Bang, Ninjasonik & special guest Jadakiss played Highline Ballroom - belated pics & video "

"Damn, I love Die Antwoord. It's like we've taken all the Disney Princesses at Stereotypes R Us, pulled off their wigs, forced their little legs together, and rammed them down the throats of the American purveyors of pop culture dreck, the soulless marketers who make millions every year by selling ersatz imperial myths to the rest of the world.

Okay, perhaps Die Antwoord aren't achieving quite that level of utter cultural domination, but allow me our little victories. The sight of Americans taking Yo-Landi and Ninja seriously is so delicious, I can almost forgive some of the excesses of the music. There's a 20 minute interview with Die Antwoord on Boing Boing, around their debut at the Coachella music festival in California, and it's a marvellous exercise in satire." [CHRIS ROPER | JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA]

Continue reading "Die Antwoord are playing NYC w/ M.I.A. (and others) "

Tickets are on sale at 10am for the Wolf Parade show at Terminal 5.

The Clipse are playing Highline Ballroom on May 6th with Ninjasonik. Tickets are on sale.

Tickets go on sale at the same time for a July 22nd "US Air Guitars Finals" show at Irving Plaza.

Tickets are on sale for the Buzzcocks show at Irving Plaza.

Tickets are on sale for the Goldfrapp show at Hammerstein Ballroom.

The final episode of Lost airs Sunday May 23rd. Tickets are on sale if you want to watch it at the Bell House.

Crystal Stilts, The 1990s, and Tanks Amigo plays The Bell House on April 22nd. Tickets are on sale.

The Middle East, Neon Indian, Crystal Castles & Local Natives tickets also went on sale.

Hold Steady & Willie Nelson tickets also went on sale.

Only three tickets left for the Will Johnson & Anders Parker NYC living room show.

words & photos by Andrew Frisicano

Wednesday - The Middle East @ Club DeVille (more by Tim Griffin)

I started toward MtyMx about 4 hours after my last SXSW show, so I haven't had much time to reflect on what happened in Austin - but before they become too irrelevant, here are some quick pictures and words of my personal highlights at the fest.

The Middle East covered the stage with an arsenal of instruments and percussion, bringing out a flute, a banjo, keys, an accordion, and a rain stick covered in bottle caps. Their set kicked off with a wobbling country-western number. "The Darkest Part" was a solemn, two-member affair, with the others jumping in as it progressed. And the barn-burning jams that built up to their finale, "Blood," brought to mind the more unhinged tunes Mumford & Sons (it clicked a moment later that they're touring together this May). Overall: a tight, short set (with a few nervous slips) in front of Club DeVille's cave-wall backdrop, which hopefully will lead into an engaging debut and tour.

Thursday - Thee Oh Sees @ (Spider House &) Lamar Pedestrian Bridge

I caught Thee Oh Sees twice on Thursday - once on the gorgeously sunny garden stage of the Spider House; once on a footbridge over Austin's Lady Bird Lake at 2am - and they played other shows as well. On the bridge the band traded songs with Home Blitz, who looked not-exactly-pleased to be standing in the freezing wind at 3am. Amps, a PA and a few worklights ran through a generator, and the assembled equipment threatened to topple over from the surging crowd. The band stretched out into extended jams that made the bridge literally shake. After a more than generous set, the crowd still prodded Dwyer and Co. for more, which they gave.

Friday - Billy Bragg @ MWTX Festival

Billy Bragg's set, to the wristbandless masses of MWTX (formerly Mess with Texas) focused nearly as much on politics as it did on music. He buttered up the crowd with "Help Save the Youth of America" and "To Have and Have Not" before speaking about healthcare reform, defeating the BNP and the ubiquity of corporations at SXSW ("This set is brought to you by my sponsor: Woody Guthrie."). His inspiring asides were genuine and welcome, and they lead into the crowd-pleasing closer, "A New England." He played again later on Friday night with a ton of guests.

Friday - Man or Astroman? @ MWTX Festival

On a completely different note, Man or Astroman? (back after a bit of a hiatus) headlined MWTX's south stage in full space regalia, with video flashing in the background and a pre-recorded narrator between songs. Their short burst of mostly instrumental surf-rock was anything but boring, and they closed it out by flicking on a huge Tesla coil.

Saturday - Major Lazer @ Carniville

My expectations were pretty low for Major Lazer, who were playing to an iced-over crowd on the massive, corporated-out stage at the Mexican-American Cultural Center (aka the Mad Decent/Iheartcomix/Jelly-presented Carniville for the fest), but they proved me wrong. The antics of hypeman Skerrit Bwoy and dancer Mimi made the frozen crowd erupt (the free T-shirts and foam guns being thrown off the stage helped too) - they mounted and humped everything in sight including crowdmembers, the rigging for the lights, and a ladder, which they used to dive onto each other for more dryhumping. Diplo got through most of Guns Don't Kill People, Lazers Do, with a brief assist from Ninjasonik. Did I mention the huge pink, furry monster on stage? He got some too.

Saturday - The Very Best (and then Freddie Gibbs) @ Scoot Inn

At Scoot Inn, the frigid evening grew on and most of the crowd there for the Pitchfork showcase stayed huddled around a campfire or in the bar's sauna-like interior - until The Very Best (who I missed opening for Major Lazer a few hours earlier). Esau, with a huge grin on his face, his co-mic-man (whose name I can't remember), a pair of dancers and DJ Johan Hugo all made good use of the short set. Their energy passed through the mic into crowd members for songs like "Julia" and "Warm Heart of Africa," which finished with plenty of the crowd on stage.

Freddie Gibbs, who I had never really gotten into before, was up next and seemed similarly unfazed by the cold as he rapped confidently about gangsta life. A handful of friends passed around a blunt and ceded the floor to Gibbs, who cooly made converts with his laid-back approach.

Saturday - Sleigh Bells @ Scoot Inn

Sleigh Bells brought the energy back up for the last set of the night (and for some, of SXSW). Despite being a relatively new commodity, both the band's halves, Alexis Krauss and Derek Miller, are assured, polished performers, and they made their appreciation for the crowd clear with their faultless set.

My many other highlights (bands I'll definitely be catching again in the future) included Califone (in NYC 3/30 & 3/31), La Strada, The Sandwitches, Kid Congo Powers, Private Life/Katie Stelmanis, Happy Birthday, Avi Buffalo, Man Man (who I've seen before, but seem to have a new thing going on) and Think About Life.

More pictures from all the sets above (and a ML video), are below...

Continue reading "SXSW 2010 highlights by AF (Thee Oh Sees on a bridge, Man or Astroman?, Major Lazer, Sleigh Bells, Billy Bragg, more) - pics"