What The Heck Fest is taking place this weekend in Anacortes, WA from July 15-17. Bands playing include Mount Eerie, Earth, Liturgy, and many others. 3-Day passes are sold out but partial passes are still on sale. Full lineup below.

Mount Eerie (aka Phil Elverum and whoever he has playing with him at the moment) also has a few other shows coming up in the next few months. In September, like Guided By Voices, he'll play Hopscotch Fest. he plays a NYC show shortly after that on September 26 at Le Poisson Rouge. The LPR show and What The Heck Fest are both with Nicholas Krgovich (of No Kids), who played with Phil at Northside. Tickets for the NYC show are on sale now.

All (three) tour dates and What The Heck Fest lineup below...

Continue reading "upcoming Mount Eerie shows, What the Heck Fest in WA"

Theophilus London will headline the "Official Northside Festival Opening Party" at Music Hall of Williamsburg on Thursday, June 16th. Tickets go on AmEx presale Wednesday at noon, and then general sale Friday at noon. You can also try to get in with a Northside Festival badge.

The hip hop artist is one of 65+ new artists being officially added to the lineup of this year's Northside Festival (June 16-19 in various venues across Williamsburg and Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NY). Here's the full list:

Continue reading "Northside Fest adds 65+ bands to lineup, Theophilus @ MHOW, Mount Eerie, Iceage & more ++ open studios & DIY films"

by Andrew Frisicano

Mount Eerie's Phil Elverum @ Market Hotel...

The haunting, cryptic grind of Malkuth and the high-intensity shriek of Liturgy (in full corpsepaint) were quite the introduction for Mount Eerie's headlining set at Market Hotel on Halloween. The latest opus from Mt. Eerie (aka Phil Elverum), Wind's Poem, is a metal-inspired noise odyssey that manages to expertly pair brutal passages of distortion with ethereal lyrics and tender interludes usually found in his acoustic work. The somewhat rare occurrence of Phil's full-band tour, armed with the abrasive new album, was the obvious impetus for the creative holiday-night booking. Mount Eerie's live set, with Elverum backed by No Kids' Nick and Julia on synths and two drummers (one of which manned a massive gong), did not disappoint with its dynamic range - guitars blasted and died alongside Phil's whispered words.

No Kids, the quiet, restrained indie pop trio responsible for 2008's excellent Come Into My House, must have felt a bit out of place in the opening Halloween-night spot, but it was a different scene the following night at (Le) Poisson Rouge (I showed up too late to see them on Halloween so I stopped by the next night at LPR). At that show, the band followed classical pianist Dina Pruzhansky, whose opening set included selections from Debussy and Schumann. Welcoming the diversity, singer and songwriter Nick Krgovich played all his synth parts on the club's grand piano. Phil Elverum has been playing drums with the group all tour (drummer Justin Kellam has been living in Berlin) . His casual, sound-sensitive approach to the kit is rooted in his production style - subtle and unafraid of the occasional slip.

No Kids played a set of all new songs written for a forthcoming LP expected in fall 2010 (no word if they played the supremely excellent "For Halloween" on the night itself). The tunes dealt in Tin Pan Alley melodies (aided by the piano for synth substitution) and lyrics that painted a Hopperesque picture of isolation (and focused on Hollywood in specific terms). The crowd sat, still in a haze from Halloween, and soaked in the restrained songs.

I didn't see Tara Jane O'Neil's set either night. I don't believe she played at Market Hotel, but she was definitely set up to go at LPR. The Mount Eerie/No Kids/TJO tour continues through November 8th. Dates and more pictures from both shows are below...

Continue reading "Mount Eerie & No Kids played LPR & Market Hotel w/ Liturgy & Malkuth on Halloween (pics) "

King Khan & the Shrines @ Sasquatch 2009 (more by Chris Graham)

The Almighty Defenders CD, out September 22nd on Vice, brings together the Black Lips, King Khan and Mark Sultan. The latter two make up King Khan & the BBQ Show, which is the band that'll be playing Brooklyn's Bell House this Halloween (its an early show - 7:30pm doors / over by 10:30pm) (there's a TBA late show at the same venue). Prizes for best costume. As you can see above, King Khan already has some ideas in mind. Tickets are on sale now.

Can't make it Halloween? King Khan and BBQ are also playing Bowery Ballroom one night earlier (10/30). Ticket info TBA. Full tour dates are still forthcoming, but there are a few more below (including November 1st in Philly). They'll be touring in support of the new King Khan & the BBQ Show album, Invisible Girl, out November 3rd on In the Red.

Another Halloween NYC gig happening in Brooklyn is the Mount Eerie metal show at the Market Hotel. His tourmates, No Kids and Tara Jane O'Neil, will also be his backing band for a set that promises "2 drummers, some gongs and a wall of amps." Liturgy is one of the bands on the bill. Another will be Malkuth. That tour formerly had a TBA for another NYC show. That will happen (with No Kids & TJO playing sets too) on Sunday, November 1st at (Le) Poisson Rouge. Tickets for that Manhattan show (which does not include Liturgy or Malkuth) are on sale (Market Hotel doesn't have advanced tickets).

The LPR show is put on by Wordless Music, who has a bunch of big shows coming up (not the least Rhys Chatham's A Crimson Grail on Saturday). There's also Warp20NYC, the Wordless series at Columbia's Miller Theatre, Deefhoof and Why?.

The Market Hotel show is curated by Brandon Stosuy - music writer and organizer of Show No Mercy (that Black Bubblegum co-curated this past Sunday). Tonight (August 5th) Brandon will be be presenting from his "in-progress oral history of American black metal [briefly excerpted at Believer] joined by Matt Luem for "Joe's Pub's Happy Ending Reading & Music Series. Also at the event will be "Rachel Cohen reading from her book A Chance Meeting: Intertwined Lives of American Writers and Artists. And Lawrence Weschler reading from his work on the visual artists David Hockney and Robert Irwin. And Colin Stetson delivering an opening invocation on saxophone. And Buke & Gass playing a short set of clear voiced yet fuzzed out pop experiments on homemade instruments." Tickets are still on sale.

Videos, new KK&BBQ album tracklist and tour dates from King Khan & the BBQ Show, below...

Continue reading "King Khan & BBQ Show's new album, tour dates, NYC shows, Halloween in Brooklyn, Malkuth, Mt Eerie, Joe's Pub & stuff "

by Andrew Frisicano

DOWNLOAD: Mount Eerie - Wind's Dark Poem (MP3)

Mount Eerie/Phil Elverum is going on tour this fall. In addition to his dates with Why?, Elverum will be headlining a trip with friends and collaborators Tara Jane O'Neil and No Kids. One NYC stop on the tour will be a Halloween show at the Market Hotel with an eclectic bill of metal bands Liturgy and Krallice, the minimal folk of Tara Jane O'Neil, and No Kids's indie pop. (There's also a TBA NYC show for Mount Eerie on November 2nd.)

UPDATE: Krallice are not playing the Halloween show (which is curated by Brandon Stosuy of Show No Mercy), anymore. Another band will be announced instead. We also found out that No Kids will be Phil's backing band. That is all.

If that lineup sounds strange, it might make more sense after looking at the lineup of this year's What The Heck Fest, or hearing the new Mount Eerie record, Wind's Poem, which is out now on his own PW Elverum & Sun label. The double LP covers a range of sounds from the first blast of introductory noise (as heard in the inaugural track, above) to more melodic, image-driven storytelling to creepy marimba-eque textures (notably on "Between Two Mysteries"). No idea if live he'll be doing the songs with band, iPod or solo.

Elverum just wrapped up What the Heck Fest 8, which ran July 17-19 and brought a lot of great artists to his hometown of Anacortes, Washington...

What the Heck Fest is a festival out of Anacortes, Wa put on (more-or-less) by Phil Elverum of Mount Eerie and Geneviève Castrée of Woelv. It's kind of like summer camp with tons of indie bands. They've been at it for 8 years now. This year's fest was awesomely diverse (highlighted humorously saturday night with Olympia black metal superstars Wolves in the Throne Room following posi indie folkster Kimya Dawson) and I really couldn't have been more pleased to have the presence of so many things that didn't fit the k records/indie rock mold that people assume this festival is in the mix. [Letters With Mixtapes]

Continue reading "Mount Eerie - 2009 tour dates (Market Hotel on Halloween w/ Liturgy, No Kids, Tara Jane O'Neil & ???) +++ MP3"

tonight in NYC
* DANCE
* Green Day @ Webster Hall
* Free Energy @ Mercury Lounge
* Iron and Wine @ Other Music
* Pink Noise, The Fakers @ Zebulon
* TV Baby, No Bra @ Santos Party House
* Joey Ramone's birthday party @ Irving Plaza
* Monotonix, The Homosexuals, Rice @ Europa
* Liechtenstein, Cats On Fire, Boy Genius @ Bruar Falls
* Ear Pwr, Adventure, Anamanaguchi, Gravesxxx @ Death By Audio
* Jonah Matranga, Mia Riddle, Damn This Desert Air @ Maxwell's
* Sisters, Shellshag, Stupid Party, Michael Jordan @ Silent Barn
* ISSUE Project Room's Sixth Anniversary Benefit @ Galapagos Art Space
* Southern Culture on the Skids, Los Straightjackets @ Bowery Ballroom
* Skeletons, Nick Krgovich, Katie Eastburn, To Bad Catholics @ Cake Shop
* Asylum Street Spankers, The Defibulators, Mamie Minch @ The Bell House
* Federation Sound System 10th Anniversary w/ Sean Paul, others @ Santos Party House

Green Day played Bowery Ballroom last night. The NY Times has a few pictures.

Suckers' new video for "Easy Chairs" below...

Continue reading "What's going on Tuesday?"

by Andrew Frisicano

Mirah + No Kids @ Highline Ballroom (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

Mirah will play a show at NYC's Market Hotel on Sunday, May 3rd with TJO (aka Tara Jane O'Neil), Tall Firs, and Air Waves. Mirah's latest record, (a)spera, came out on K Records on March 10th. O'Neil's own K Recs release, A Ways Away, is due out May 5th.

Market Hotel is a considerably different venue than the Highline Balroom, which Mirah and O'Neil played when they last visited NYC during last year's CMJ. In May, Mirah will tour across Europe with Tara.

Mirah, Tara and No Kids all also meet at What the Heck Fest in Anacortes, WA, which runs July 17th-19th. The line-up for the three-day fest is posted below. Passes are on sale.

No Kids, who also played that Highline show, have their own NYC dates coming up in May. Singer Nick Krgovich will play two shows with To Bad Catholics, his side-project with No Kids singer/synth player Julia Chirka. They'll visit the Cake Shop on Tuesday, May 19th with Skeletons. Then, they'll perform at new Ditmas Park venue Sycamore on Wednesday, May 20th. Katie Eastburn (from Young People) opens both shows.

Nick Krgovich recently gotten into writing musicals (which seems to be a something of a trend). Perfomances of Krgovich's "In The Yard, Havin' Fun," commissioned by Vancouver's PUSH Festival, took place in early February. The show included contributions by Parenthetical Girls, Juana Molina, and others.

On No Kids' Myspace is a remix of the band's "For Halloween" done by "Robby from the terrific PDX [a.k.a. Portland] group WHAT'S UP?...for an upcoming 12"."

"In The Yard, Havin' Fun" poster, all tour dates and full What the Heck Fest line-up, below...

Continue reading "Mirah, Tara Jane O'Neil & No Kids - new albums, projects, NYC shows, 2009 tour dates & What the Heck Fest"

By Andrew Frisicano

DOWNLOAD: Le Loup - "Shenandoah" (MP3) (on Amnesty comp)
DOWNLOAD: Joan Jett & the Blackhearts & guests - Silent Night (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Deer Tracks - Christmas Fire (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Twiggy Frostbite - Bells & Chimes (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Emotron - Santa Claus (I Still Believe In You) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: (Savanteous Q Malmsteen) - What Do You Get A Wookie for Christmas
DOWNLOAD: The Revelations - It's That Time Of Year (MP3)

With holiday mixes in the air, Amnesty International has released I'll Stay 'Til After Christmas, a benefit comp featuring No Kids, Blitzen Trapper, Parentheitcal Girls, Sally Shapiro, and more (full tracklist below).

Then there's the free all-Swedish Xmas mix up at Swedes Please. Among the songs posted is the new duet between The Hives and Cyndi Lauper, "A Christmas Duel," video below (or buy the song on iTunes).

Speaking of Cyndi and good causes, True Colors is auctioning off a chance to hang out with the Best Electronic/Dance Album nominee as part of its first annual online charity auction to benefit GLBT equality groups the True Colors Fund, CenterLink, and Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG).

The package includes "1-hour voice lesson, plus lunch, with Cyndi Lauper, in NYC. 2 roundtrip domestic coach tickets on American Airlines and a 2-night stay at Hotel on Rivington included." It's currently going for $4,000. Full list of items on auction here.

And speaking of Christmas music and female 80's icons that have toured for True Colors...

"Blackheart Records, the rock label Joan Jett started over 25 years ago, has released its holiday compilation record, and it's available at the iTunes store. The 11-song digital album features rocked-out holiday standards and originals recorded by Jett and Blackheart bands including Girl in a Coma, The Dollyrots, The Cute Lepers and more."

Also for download up there is a selection of holiday MP3's from the inbox.

Other Christmas album options this year include new ones by Sufjan's friend Rosie Thomas and Neutral Milk Hotel's Julian Koster, and one by The Raveonettes. For a Christmas show, check out the always fun McGarrigle Christmas Hour this Wednesday night at Carnegie Hall. Guests this year include Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson, Emmylou Harris and Justin Bond.

Videos (including one by Glasvegas) and tracklists below...

Continue reading "more Christmas songs & comps & charities - the Hives, Joan Jett, Cyndi Lauper, Sweden, No Kids, Glasvegas & more"

words by Andrew Frisicano, photos by Kyle Dean Reinford

Tara Jane O'Neil opened with her minimalist folk, backed by a drummer and a guitarist. The music, especially the last song with Mirah on bells and backups, explored pulses and rhythms with a droning guitar and extremely spare instrumentation.

No Kids took the stage, opening with "For Halloween" off of, what I'll admit is one of my favorite records of the year, Come Into my House. Having different expectations for No Kids than most, I was pretty forgiving, just excited to hear the songs live, but even so, the stage-show was a bit underwhelming. The arrangements, fleshed out with vocal harmonies, precision tight drums, and ample low-end on their Elverum-produced record, sounded hallow and stilted live. Another vocalist accompanying singer Nick Krgovich (any maybe even some of the album's acoustic-instrument flourishes) would have gone far. The songs where the two synths let loose and cut through the overbearing drums shined, and the band closed strongly with "Whatcha Doin'" off the Worried Noodles compilation CD. (Check out No Kids' singles, including the new "Prisoner of Desire," streaming at their Myspace, for how good they can be.)

(Note: No Kids return to the NYC-area for a post-CMJ Sunday show at Maxwell's with Casiotone For The Painfully Alone & Katie Eastburn.)

Mirah's voice alone is enough to freeze even the most obnoxious concertgoer (like the girl behind me broadcasting her conversation over the previous set). Sound issues, like the incessant guitar hum from the stage lighting, were a mild annoyance early on, with Mirah stopping songs short a few times and making asides about the sound throughout. She played a set peppered with favorites, including a good portion of Advisory Committee, and new tunes (she mentioned recently finishing work on a new album). O'Neil joined on electric guitar for a few songs in the middle of the set. Some highlights: Mirah and No Kids' Nick Krgovich duetting a capella on "Words Cannot Describe," the last track on Mirah's debut, "You Think It's Like This but Really It's Like This," and Mirah's set closers: "Cold Cold Water" and "Apples in the Trees." She returned with all of the night's performers for a foot-stomp and sleigh bells rendition of "The Garden."

More pictures from Wednesday night's show (10/22) below...

Continue reading "Mirah & No Kids @ Highline Ballroom (CMJ), NYC- pics"

DOWNLOAD: Deerhoof w/ Zac Pennington of PG - Gut Symmetries (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: No Kids - The Regrettable End (Parenthetical Girls) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Dead Science - Young Eucharists (Parenthetical Girls) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Parenthetical Girls - A Song For Ellie Greenwich (MP3)

"To celebrate the release of Entanglements, their first album for Tomlab, Parenthetical Girls asked some of their friends to cover and remix some of the songs from the album - the first two offerings came from labelmates No Kids and fellow NW avant heroes The Dead Science, who covered "This Regrettable End" and "Young Eucharists" respectively. Now Deerhoof have covered the song "Gut Symmetries" and we use the term "covered" loosely because they kept Zac Pennington's original vocals intact.

Continue reading "Parenthetical Girls covered by Deerhoof, No Kids & The Dead Science (3 MP3s) ++ 2008 Tour Dates"

by Andrew Frisicano

Mirah & Spectratone International @ Castle Clinton (cred)

Coming off her May Castle Clinton gig with Spectratone International, Mirah will return to NYC to play Highline Ballroom on Wed, Oct 22 with and No Kids and Tara Jane O'Neil ($15 tix onsale now). The show is one of nine dates Mirah is playing with No Kids, in support of her new rarities and B-sides record, The Old Days Feeling, out on Modern Radio..

After leaving Mirah, No Kids then meet up with Casiotone For the Painfully Alone (as he swings back from a September European tour) to play another area show at Maxwell's on Oct 26. No tickets for that yet.

No Kids released a split 7" EP with Mirah collaborator Mount Eerie last May on Caff/Flick. (Both also appeared on the Worried Noodles comp and played its release party last December.)

Casiotone is set to release an expanded CD edition of his Town Topic EP on Worried Noodles' label Tomlab. The EP also acts as the soundtrack for the film Stay the Same Never Change.

Look for more Casiotone tour dates in October and November and a new album in early 2009. All Mirah & No Kids dates below...

Continue reading "Mirah & No Kids - 2008 Tour Dates (Casiotone FTPA too)"

* Soft Circle @ Glasslands
* Kelley Stoltz @ Union Hall
* Jason Collett @ Mercury Lounge
* White Hinterland @ Mercury Lounge
* Spoon & Handsome Furs at Terminal 5
* Rihanna is playing Highline Ballroom
* Kaki King is playing Bowery Ballroom
* Jason Anderson at Pete's Candy Store
* Dirty Projectors & No Kids @ Music Hall
* Busta Rhymes & Missy Elliott @ Webster Hall
* Elton John is playing Radio City Music Hall
* Nick Lowe & Robyn Hitchcock @ Grand Ballroom
* Saul Williams & Dragons of Zynth at Irving Plaza

Stream the new Jason Anderson album at Spinner. See Jason Anderson at Pete's Candy Store - part of a month long residency.

Dirty Projectors tonight! Did you get the free Bjork cover they did for Stereogum yet? Happy hour before the show.

No Kids are opening for DP, but sadly they weren't that great live when I recently saw them (at my day show at SXSW). I heard they weren't that dynamic when they opened for the Dodos the other day at Mercury Lounge either. bummer.

Tay Zonday vs South Park vs gophers, etc. Below. What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Wednesday?"

DOWNLOAD: No Kids - For Halloween (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Clipd Beaks - Melter (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Parts & Labor - Fractured Skies (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Grand Ole Party - Look Out Young Son (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Mae Shi - Run To Your Grave (MP3)

THURSDAY, MARCH 13, 2008, FREE (flyer by Ryan Muir)

Emo's Annex
Holy Fuck 5:20
Phosphorescent 4:30
MEN (Le Tigre) 4:00
Lykke Li 3:30
MEN (Le Tigre) 3:00
Why? 2:30
No Kids 1:45
Peter Moren 1:00
Dawn Landes 12:15
The Ting Tings 11:30

Emo's Lounge
Fleet Foxes 5:30
Clipd Beaks 4:45
Genghis Tron 4:00
Parts & Labor 3:15
Team Robespierre 2:30
comedy by Eugene Mirman 2:15
Grand Ole Party 1:30
The Muggabears 12:45
The Mae Shi 12:00

Mp3's above. Videos below...

Continue reading "BrooklynVegan during-SXSW THURSDAY DAY PARTY"

The new Mountain Goats album, Heretic Pride, is garnering critical accolades (including an 8.0 in Pitchfork today), all of them deserved. Not only is John Darnielle's songwriting stronger with every new release, but he seems more comfortable with the production and collaborating musicians (including St. Vincent's Annie Clark here). Look for an interview with Darnielle on Largehearted Boy tomorrow.

A Mountain Goats release alone would make it a great music release week for me, but there are plenty more quality discs I can recommend. Bon Iver received plenty of music blog love for the hauntingly beautiful For Emma, Forever Ago. I can also strongly recommend American Music Club's The Golden Age, Allison Moorer's Mockingbird, Flowers Forever's self-titled debut, Headlights' Some Racing, Some Stopping, Mike Doughty's Golden Delicious, Raveonettes' Lust Lust Lust, and Throw Me the Statue's Moonbeams from what I have already heard.

Yep Roc reissues a remastered edition of Nick Lowe's classic album, Jesus of Cool, this week.

Poetry and Beat generation fans will be excited to see Jack Kerouac & Steve Allen's three-disc Poetry For The Beat Generation available as a standalone purchase.

What new releases you picking up this week? What can you recommend? Have I left anything worthwhile off the list?

Continue reading "Largehearted Boy's Interesting CD Releases This Week"

DOWNLOAD: No Kids - The Beaches Are All Closed (MP3)

No Kids' (not to be confused with No Age) album Come Into My House is out February 19th on Tomlab. Get one MP3 above, and one in another post. Tour Dates below...

Continue reading "No Kids - playing SXSW, shows w/ Dirty Projectors, MP3"

DOWNLOAD: No Kids - For Halloween (MP3)

There's Black Kids, Cool Kids, Cold War Kids, New Kids on the Block, Kid Sister, No Age, and now No Kids.....

Continue reading "No Kids - For Halloween"