Pretty Good Friends @ Williamsburg Waterfront 2011 (more by David Andrako)

New Brooklyn outdoor venue Williamsburg Park (located at 50 Kent), which formally announced itself along with news that Refused were playing there, and then today announced a My Morning Jacket show, also have three other shows on the schedule, and they are all listed below...

Continue reading "Williamsburg Park announces more shows (5 total, 1 is free) "

by BBG

Still from OFF!'s "Wiped Out" video

OFF! are back with their first official LP due on May 8th via Vice Records. The self-titled LP is the source of the recently released "King King Brigade" and a track called "Wiped Out" which now has a video which makes its debut here. Watch it below. Preorder a copy of the album on vinyl or CD.

As previously discussed, OFF! are touring in May and July (with Refused), and are scheduled to play two NYC shows in those months, including May 29 at Bowery Ballroom with Cerebral Ballzy and The Coathangers (tickets) and July 18th at Williamsburg Park with Refused (tickets).

They've since added even more shows in Europe. All dates, the new video and a stream of "King Kong Brigade", below...

Continue reading "OFF! add tour dates, are "Wiped Out" (video premiere)"

OFF! at BV/POTR Deathmatch (more by Tanner Douglass)

Born in Chicago, Riot Fest expanded to Philadelphia last year, and will keep that fire burning in 2012. This time around, Riot Fest East will host The Promise Ring, August Burns Red, Boy Sets Fire, Gameface, Hirs, Refused & OFF!, and more. The festival, which runs from July 19th - July 21st has yet to reveal the full lineup, but three-day passes and tickets for the Thursday show (see flyer above) are on sale.

The Promise Ring's appearance is one of at least four dates for the band, with two going down at or around Bamboozle and another at The Fillmore in San Francisco on September 1st. The band recently did a few dates include one in Chicago (pictures here).

Refused and OFF! will also hit Brooklyn on tour.

Off! @ Scoot Inn for BV-SXSW 2012 (more by Tanner Douglass)

As previously posted:

"Tickets to the July 18 Brooklyn Refused & Off! concert at Williamsburg Park will be available on Friday, March 30 at 12pm EST via Ticketmaster.com, charge by phone 800.745.3000, Service charge free tickets are available at the Best Buy Theater box office, 1515 Broadway at West 44th Street, 212.930.1950, and Sound Fix Records, Williamsburg's independent record store, located at 44 Berry Street in Brooklyn."

More Refused & Off! dates HERE.

by BBG

DOWNLOAD: OFF! - "King Kong Brigade" (MP3)

Dennis of Refused on stage with Invasionen at By:Larm (more by BBG)

Refused's initial run of dates is getting less and less exclusive with every passing day. The reunited Swedish band have announced yet ANOTHER batch of North American tour dates happening in July. These are in addition to the previously discussed, sold-out, April shows at Coachella, Terminal 5 and more. The dates include yet another NYC stop, this time on July 18th at the newly christened Williamsburg Park, as well as stops in Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, and more. Full slate of dates which will see support from OFF! are listed below. Tickets for the new dates are currently on presale. (username: refused, password: tickets) And:

"Tickets to the July 18 Brooklyn concert will be available on Friday, March 30 at 12pm EST via Ticketmaster.com, charge by phone 800.745.3000, Service charge free tickets are available at the Best Buy Theater box office, 1515 Broadway at West 44th Street, 212.930.1950, and Sound Fix Records, Williamsburg's independent record store, located at 44 Berry Street in Brooklyn."

----

In related news, OFF!, who recently played the BV/POTR Deathmatch show at Scoot Inn (pictures HERE, HERE, and HERE), have a new single out from their forthcoming debut LP with Raymond Pettibon art. Check out the art and listen to the new song "King Kong Brigade" (which you can also download above), with all tour dates, below

Continue reading "Refused add tour dates with OFF! (who released a new song) ---- PRESALE happening now"

Goodbye state park Williamsburg Waterfront. Welcome city park Williamsburg Park. Located less than a block away from last summer's venue, between North 11th and North 12th at 50 Kent (I hope they book 50 Cent), Williamsburg Park is the new outdoor Brooklyn venue that will host OSA-presented concerts this summer in Williamsburg. The new space won't have a water view, but it also won't have a caged off beer area or state troopers walking around. And unlike at Williamsburg Waterfront, all money raised at Williamsburg Park will stay in the city. There will be food and, as mentioned, beer.

With a capacity of roughly 7000 people, the work-in-progress Williamsburg Park will host as many as 20 shows this summer, with about 1/3 of them being free. There might be other things happening there too (they still have a lot to figure out). You can see artist renderings of the space above, though those are not final sketches. In fact, there will definitely not be a raised viewing platform right in the center of the space.

The first show announced is Refused & OFF! on July 18th, part of a tour for the two bands. Tickets are on PRESALE now (username: refused, password: tickets). And:

Tickets to the July 18 concert will be available on Friday, March 30 at 12pm EST via Ticketmaster.com, charge by phone 800.745.3000, Service charge free tickets are available at the Best Buy Theater box office, 1515 Broadway at West 44th Street, 212.930.1950, and Sound Fix Records, Williamsburg's independent record store, located at 44 Berry Street in Brooklyn.

Stay tuned for more show announcements soon.

photos by Greg Cristman, words by BBG

Trash Talk @ Scoot Inn, Austin, TX

The BrooklynVegan/Power of The Riff day show took over two stages at Scoot Inn on 3/16, and one day of the multi-day Converse/Thrasher Deathmatch at the venue. With a ticket price tag of free and a stacked lineup that included High On Fire, Trash Talk, Off!, Ceremony, Deafheaven, Black Cobra, Full of Hell, Dead In The Dirt, Code Orange Kids, Heartless, and Balaclava, its understandable that there was a line around the block for most of the amazing day.

We already posted one set of photos from the show at BV Austin, including shots of Heartless, Ceremony, Balaclava, Full of Hell, and Code Orange Kids. Here are some pictures & video of High on Fire, and Off!, and more of Balaclava, Trash Talk, and Ceremony. Photos of Dead In The Dirt, Deafheaven, Black Cobra, and others are on the way. More below...

Continue reading "pics & video from the BV/Power of The Riff Deathmatch party at Scoot Inn (part 2)"

Off! @ a Way Out West aftershow in Gothenburg in 2011

As we were just saying, Off! were putting the finishing touches on their new album. This new press release from Vice Records has even more info:

In a creative pace to match the breathless vehemence of their music, punk/hardcore luminaries OFF! have announced the follow up to their much heralded debut First Four EPs will arrive in the form of a self-titled full length May 8th, 2012 from Vice Records. Barrelling through sixteen high intensity tracks in as many minutes, the album demonstrates the LA quartet had still further to ratchet up their visceral sonic maelstrom, delivering a "dark party" soundtrack of unleashed exasperation and bitterness executed with a rigorous precision that more than lives up to the cavalcade of accolades heaped upon them so far by the likes of Pitchfork, NPR, LA Times, among many others. Full tracklist below.

In conjunction with the impending release the band have announced a string of live dates in support of the album including a trio of appearances at next month's SXSW Festival and select record release shows in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, and San Diego. The Los Angeles show, which serves as the album's proper record release, is booked at the legendary Whiskey a Go Go, former host to many of the most important punk/hardcore bands of the early 80's including The Germs, The Ramones, The Misfits, and countless others.

Tickets for the previously mentioned NYC show at Bowery Ballroom are on sale now. All tour dates are listed, along with the new album tracklist, and a set of pictures I took in Sweden last year, below...

Continue reading "OFF! announce LP & more shows (NYC on sale now) ---------- tour dates & belated Way Out West pics"

OFF at House of Vans (more by BBG)

OFF! have been keeping busy in the studio working on a new album which is already recorded and possibly even mixed by now. Stay tuned for more info.

Meanwhile, as you know, Off! will head down to Texas to play Bro Fest and shows during the SXSW festival (including the BV/Power of The Riff show).

The crew also recently announced participation in the Burgerama Festial in Santa Ana, CA on March 24th. The fest (brought to you by Burger Records) will feature Wavves, Strange Boys, Ty Segall, and many others. Tickets are on sale. Flyer below.

Off! have also just announced a NYC show on May 29th at Bowery Ballroom (right before they fly to Spain for Primavera Sound). Tickets go on AMEX presale at noon on 2/29 and regular sale on Friday.

All tour dates, that Burgerama flyer and some video including some of No Flag (No Age + Black Flag), below...

Continue reading "OFF! mixing new LP, add NYC show & Burgerama to schedule"

by BBG

High on Fire at Fun Fun Fun Fest (more by BBG)

March 16th, March 16th, March 16th! If you're going to be in Austin, save the date on your calendar folks! On Friday March 16th, 2012 at Scoot Inn (1308 e4th St), BrooklynVegan, The Power of The Riff, and Southern Lord will combine forces for a MARATHON of events that kickoff at noon and end waaaaay after the sun goes down.

The FREE daytime portion, in conjunction with the four-day Thrasher/Converse "Death Match" event at the venue, is an all-ages shindig that will kick off at noon and feature a skateramp with skaters and bands all day long. Shortly after doors open, expect to see eleven bands across two stages including sets from the following:

March 16, 2012 @ Scoot Inn, Austin, TX (noon-6pm)
* High on Fire
* Off!
* Trash Talk
* Black Cobra
* Ceremony
* Deafheaven
* Full of Hell
* Heartless
* Balaclava
* Dead in The Dirt
* DNF (members of Trash Talk, Touche Amore)

That's right... High on Fire AND Off! AND Trash Talk (playing their FOURTH year of SXSW shows with us) AND Black Cobra AND Ceremony all in the same space, not to mention the awesome undercard of bands like Deafheaven (playing their second year of SXSW shows with BV), new favorites Full of Hell, Balaclava, Heartless and Dead in The Dirt. It is going to be insane, so bring a hard hat.

As the day show comes to a close, we'll get ready for our night show at the same venue... amounting to a total of FOURTEEN HOURS of destruction! Not to mention the food trucks, a full bar, and so much more to keep you fed and hydrated (or buzzed, depending on your poison) during the onslaught. Stay tuned to BrooklynVegan for details regarding the official night showcase (it has been announced), and for more about the day show (or our OTHER day show on Saturday at Lovejoys), including set times. In the meantime, head below for video of some of the bands playing our MEGA-show at Scoot Inn on March 16th!

Continue reading "BrooklynVegan, Southern Lord & Power of The Riff present a back-to-back day show/official SXSW showcase at Scoot Inn"

photos by Dominick Mastrangelo & Josh Darr

Fleet Foxes / Zola Jesus

Pitchfork Fest day two (7/16) had a pretty great variety of acts. In addition to newer acts like No Age, Zola Jesus and Twin Shadow, day two made way for a number of more classic artists including the recently reunited Dismemberment Plan, hardcore punk 'supergroup' OFF!, and instrumental hip hop vet DJ Shadow. You might include Destroyer and The Radio Dept. in that group too, who both played day two of the fest.

Fleet Foxes, who also played Pitchfork Festival in 2008, headlined. Catch Fleet Foxes in NYC when their tour with The Walkmen hits Williamsburg Waterfront on September 24. Tickets for this great double bill are still on sale.

Gang Gang Dance (pics) and G-Side (pics) played day two also. More pictures from that day below...

Continue reading "pics from Pitchfork Fest 2011 -- Day Two"

by BBG

OFF!, Lemuria

There was a time in the not-too-distant past when the idea of Superchunkplaying a song with Keith Morris or covering the Misfits would have been sneered at and scoffed upon as blasphemy. Though the North Carolina band has always been lumped in with an indie scene, Superchunk's power-pop has a definite bite to it, a fact that becomes much clearer on the live stage. Superchunk is a punk band and they ruled the FYF-presented show at House of Vans last night, tearing through fun covers of "Where Eagles Dare" and "Gimme Gimme Gimme" and bouncing like their shoes were spring-loaded.

Support for Superchunk was similarly strong. Lemuria opened the show, playing poppy punk-inflected ballads that owed debts to the headliner as well as other 90s greats like Velocity Girl and Breeders. OFF! know their way around a live show, and the band played a reliably raucous set that dipped into their split with Trash Talk and recent 4x7". Pitting was limited and though blood was shed on the floor of the mosh pit, it was reportedly nowhere near insanity that erupted during Ceremony. Cro-Mags/Fucked Up/Pissed Jeans? Wear a helmet.

Aside from the aforementioned covers that occupied 2/3 of their encore (the last 1/3 was "Hyper Enough" from Here's Where The Strings Come In), Superchunk's set touched on moments from their entire discography including their latest Majesty Shredding. It has been over a decade since I last saw this band and I am happy to say that besides some grey hair (a few lost ones), this indie mainstay is intact and as good as ever live.

We alrady posted one set of pictures. A second, along with the Lemuria & Superchunk setlists, is below....

Continue reading "more pics from Lemuria, OFF! & Superchunk in the Vans warehouse (review & setlists too)"

photos by Andrew St. Clair

Here's a set of pictures from last night's House of Vans show, Keith Morris on stage with Superchunk included. A full review and second set of pics is coming momentarily. Check out the rest of these below...

Continue reading "Superchunk, Off! & Lemuria @ House of Vans in pics (part 2)"

Mac & Keith (photo by Andrew St. Clair)

We have a full post with pictures and review of last night's show at House of Vans coming, but meanwhile check out a video of 2/3 of Superchunk's encore, aka the part where (Off!'s) Keith Morris came out and performed Gimme Gimme Gimme (Black Flag) and Where Eagles Dare (Misfits) with Mac and band. It was pretty amazing (especially the Misfits part, no offense Keith). Video below...

Continue reading "Superchunk played Black Flag & Misfits w/ Keith Morris (video)"

photos by Andrew St. Clair, words by BBG

Ceremony @ House of Vans

Cults @ House of Vans

To be clear, the below video is NOT the latest from Integrity. Actually, it is the latest video from the much more serene Cults, who uses "Go Outside" from their debut LP to soundtrack clips of the Jim Jones cult and the surrounding compound. Sick shit guys... thats a compliment.

"To tell the story of Cults' hauntingly beautiful track, "Go Outside", I was inspired to bring the band inside the world of Jim Jones' famous religious cult, Peoples Temple, and the eventual tragedy in Jonestown. Fortunately, when exploring the feasibility of this video I became acquainted with Fielding M. McGehee III, an expert on Peoples Temple history and the primary researcher for the Jonestown Archive. It is thanks to him and his encouragement that I was able to take on this project and through his support gained access to over two and half hours of home videos showing Peoples Temple in Jonestown." - [director Isaiah Seret]

Cults played House of Vans on June 30th as part of a killer (not in a Jim Jones-way) lineup that included new-Matador-signees Ceremony, HEALTH, and No Age. The show was packed and bonkers from the beginning with a full-on mosh pit breaking out for opener Ceremony who were followed by Cults who in turn filled in the large warehouse with less-violently acting people. HEALTH and No Age followed. Pictures are in this post and many more of them are below.

House of Vans is basically this super large sweet warehouse that is sometimes used for skateboarding with a big stage for the bands. It sounded good and there was plenty of room for people to see, dance, mingle, and hang out in the courtyard outside which included a bar with FREE BEER, and portapotties. Food too (not sure if that was free).

House of Vans will host a similarly great party on Thursday (7/14, tomorrow), with Superchunk headlining and OFF!/Lemuria providing support. RSVP is still open.

OFF!, Superchunk, HEALTH and No Age all play the Pitchfork Fest in Chicago this weekend.

Off! also just released a new live video. The whole 37 seconds of it is also below...

Continue reading "new Cults video & pics from the No Age, HEALTH, Cults & Ceremony show @ House of Vans (which opens again Thursday)"

photos by Natasha Ryan

Ty Segall on a boat

1.You can actually get kicked off the boat
Things got pretty rocking on the M for Montreal and Brooklyn Vegan Bruise Cruise Saturday afternoon [June 18th]. But we did find out a useful tidbit yesterday: you can actually get kicked off the boat. You'd think once you were in international waters, there wouldn't be a lot of law enforcement going on. But one dude came within an inch of getting booted off the boat for burning down one too many j's. Turns out security can actually call you a water taxi if you're being too naughty to escort you back to the dock. Or at least they can threaten do that. The guy threw his spliff over board before we got to see it actually happen.

2. Steve McDonald from Redd Kross/OFF is THE Steve
Midway through Ty Segall's set he started to call around for his friend "Steve" to come up and join him for a tune. Steve wasn't in the belly of boat though at the time, so every one started yelling "Steve" not really knowing who they were calling. Turns out it was Steve McDonald from the Redd Kross, who was in town with his band OFF! It was bit of a coincidence too because the last time I had seen him perform was with Redd Kross opening for the Lemonheads at the Opera House in 1993. I also got to see Evan Dando and Juliana Hatfield this weekend. So it was like a double-blast from the past.

That's two of the five things that Scott from the National Post learned at our boat party in Toronto during NXNE. More pictures from the water born show (though none of Uncle Bad Touch unfortunately), below...

Continue reading "pics from the M For Montreal/BV NXNE 'Bruise Cruise'"

DOWNLOAD: Mister Heavenly - "Pineapple Girl" (MP3)

Descendents at FFFFest (more by Tim Griffin)

Much like last year, FYF Fest 2011 is poppin' off with some incredible bands, many of whom recently reunited. This year the LA fest will host a coveted Descendents appearance, a Death From Above 1979 show, Guided By Voices, another Kid Dynamite reunion, The Dead Milkmen, Explosions in the Sky, the return of The Weakerthans and many, many notable others. Full lineup is below. The show goes down at 1st and Main in downtown Los Angeles on September 3rd. Tickets are on sale.

Future Islands plays FYF Fest and plays Death By Audio in Brooklyn TONIGHT (6/28).

For Kid Dynamite, which features members of Lifetime, Paint it Black and None More Black, the reunion is their first since re-emerging for This is Hardcore last year with Ink & Dagger. The band called it quits in 2000 and reunited in 2005 at CBGB and some other times too. I hope they schedule another NYC show, but it's just LA for now.

This is Hardcore THIS YEAR features an appearance from Ressurection, which also featured Dan Yemin on guitar. Tickets for This is Hardcore 2011, taking place in Philly's Starlight Ballroom, is mostly sold-out, with tickets for the Sunday show still available.

The Descendents appearance at FYFest is one of several dates scheduled for the reunited band, NYC's Roseland, Chicago Riot Fest, and Philly's Riot Fest included. Tickets are still available for the 9/23 Roseland show.

Mister Heavenly will hit the road for a string of dates on the West Coast leading up to FYF Fest. Check out their full tour schedule below, and look for their new LP Out of Love on 8/16 via Sub Pop. Check out "Pineapple Girl" from that record above.

The Death From Above 1979 appearance is one of several slated for the band in the coming months, including a 7/22 appearance at Williamsburg Waterfront. Tickets are still available OR, you can try your hand by winning a pair at our Facebook. The full set of DFA1979 dates are below.

The Weakerthans have a few other dates slated for Europe and Canada in the coming months. Hopefully they add more US dates too. All dates for now are listed below.

A few bands on the FYFest lineup (namely, Cults, Off!, and No Age) will also appear in NYC at the House of Vans this summer, and for FREE. The FYF-presented House of Vans series of shows starts this Thursday (6/30). You just have to RSVP to get in (and maybe get there early).

All Weakerthans, DFA1979, and Mister Heavenly dates, some video, and the full FYF Fest lineup is below.

Continue reading "FYF Fest in LA, This is Hardcore in Philly, Future Islands in BK, Mister Heavenly on tour, a DFA1979 contest & more"

photos by Tamara Porras, words by Andrew Sacher

J & Henry

Off!, lead by former Circle Jerks/Black Flag frontman Keith Morris, kicked off night four of Dinosaur Jr's Bug tour at Terminal 5 last night (6/23). Keith prefaced the show with an introduction of Off!'s veteran lineup that includes Dimitri Coats (Burning Brides), Mario Rubalcaba (Earthless/Hot Snakes/Rocket From the Crypt) and Steven McDonald

(Redd Kross). Off! launched directly into album opener "Black Thoughts" and immediately met and exceeded the expectations set by the impressive lineup. With some of the crispest tones and sharpest hits, the band thrashed along ruthlessly as they pummeled through minute-long blasts, which acted as the perfect backdrop for Keith's piercing screams and powerful on-stage force. Despite the fact that the large venue was only about half-full at this point, Off! delivered as if the room was packed. Keith Morris, with Black Flag's Nervous Breakdown EP and a long stint in Circle Jerks under his belt, had every right to act like he knew he was a legend, but instead he modestly expressed how grateful he was for the people that came out early to catch their set.

Keith and band

Though Off! were certainly a difficult to act to follow, Fucked Up took a stab at it with almost the exact opposite approach to punk. While Off!'s songs rarely reach the 2-minute mark, Fucked Up's usually double or triple it, and explore much artier territories. Their set consisted mainly of material off their recent epic David Comes to Life, and though the set wasn't especially long, they hit most of the album's high points. Fucked Up played as hard as ever, and the new songs really pulled through live. The only downside was the size of the venue. Damian's usual antics, like going into the crowd and holding the mic out over the audience work well in smaller clubs, but if you weren't in the first few rows at Terminal 5, it came off less successfully than the band deserved. Things should be a little better at 285 Kent on Saturday night.

Before Dinosaur Jr. took the stage, Henry Rollins (aka the second Black Flag frontman on stage that night) conducted a much-anticipated interview with the band. Henry was a great person to interview Dinosaur Jr. Not only is he arguably the best speaker in punk rock, but the admiration between Dinosaur Jr. and Henry Rollins for each other was so clear. Henry opened his interview by telling us he is a "XXXL Dinosaur Jr. fan," and during the interview, when asked which live shows were influential on them, Murph mentioned Black Flag. In the interview they discussed things like how Dino got their start, the independent music industry, Husker Du (whose frontman Bob Mould should have been at Terminal 5 instead of 92YTribeca), Lou's departure from the band, and other related topics.

After the interview concluded, the members of Dinosaur Jr. left the stage shortly before returning to play Bug in its entirety. J Mascis began the show by saying, "We opened the other night with 'Freak Scene' and it was kinda weird so we're gonna play 2 songs that aren't on Bug first." The band quickly jolted through "In a Jar" and "The Wagon" before taking on their 9-track masterpiece Bug. The opening chords of "Freak Scene" rang throughout Terminal 5 as the crowd responded with cheers of admiration for the album's powerful opener. In typical Dinosaur Jr. fashion, J. Mascis stayed virtually still for the majority of the set, even when ripping through noisy, intricate solos, as Lou Barlow was bashing around stage. Though "Freak Scene" is by and large the album standout, some of the most exciting moments of the show came later on in the set. The band's energy on "Yeah We Know" and "Budge" was especially dead on. For the album closer, "Don't," Lou admitted that he had blown his voice out screaming the song on the first night of the tour so he invited a friend up to perform vocals. Dino turned the song into an extended jam as their guest vocalist writhed on stage and executed a frenzied rendition of Lou's screams on the track. Same story, same special guest at the Northampton show.

After the jammed out track subsided and Bug was over, the band performed an encore with three more tracks. The last one, a cover of "Chunks" by Last Rights, invited Fucked Up's Damian Abraham out to perform lead vocals. Once starting the song, it only took Damian a few seconds to end up back in the crowd, and for their guest vocalist who had performed on "Don't" to run back on stage, grab J's mic, and join Damian in the song. After the encore and much praise for the band from Damian, Dinosaur Jr. left the stage again, putting an end to a truly unforgettable night.

More pictures, video of the Henry Rollins interview, and Dino Jr.'s setlist below...

Continue reading "Dinosaur Jr. played "Bug" & talked to Henry Rollins -- Fucked Up & Off! played too @ Terminal 5 (pics, video & setlist)"

photos by Natasha Ryan

Keith Morris of Off!

Like they will TONIGHT (6/23) at Terminal 5 in NYC, Off! and Fucked Up played a show together in Toronto on June 16th. The free show happened as part of NXNE, outside in Toronto's central Yonge & Dundas Square. It was headlined by the Descendents. Pics are in this post.

Tonight's NYC show will be headlined by Dinosaur Jr. who will be playing "Bug" in its entirety, and other songs too. And like in Northampton, brave Henry Rollins will do some spoken word and live interviewing on stage right in the middle of the otherwise heavy and musical show. Tickets are still available.

--
Fucked Up

Saturday June 25th is the day that "special guest" headline the show with JEFF the Brotherhood and Iceage AT 285 Kent. Tickets for the show are on sale at Record Grouch in Williamsburg. "CASH ONLY! NO ONLINE SALES/HOLDS! DRAG YER ARSE TO THE STORE IN PERSON TO GET 'EM!"

More NXNE pics and all Fucked Up dates below...

Continue reading "Fucked Up & Off! are here, played NXNE (pics) --- (and btw: 285 Kent tix on sale @ Record Grouch)"

photos from a House of Vans show in March (more by Andrew St. Clair)

As promised, House of Vans, which is located at 25 Franklin St in Brooklyn, is hosting free shows this summer. Stepping in just at the right moment to possibly fill the gap left by the loss of the Pool Parties, there will be six free-with-RSVP Vans House Parties between June 30th and August 25th.

The lineups for the first two FYF-presented, all-ages shows have been revealed, as have all six dates to hold (all of which are weekdays). No Age, HEALTH, Cults, and Ceremony play the Greenpoint venue on Thursday, June 30. Superchunk, Off!, and Lemuria will play on Thursday, July 14. The other dates, with lineups still TBA, are July 29 (a Friday), August 4 (a Thursday), August 18 (a Thursday), and August 25 (a Thursday). RSVP links are at their site, and note:

"In order to gain access to the free shows at the House of Vans this summer, you must RSVP to reserve a place on the list. RSVP links are listed under each show on this site.

Due to capacity restraints each event will be first come, first serve. A line will form in front of the building at 5pm, no line ups are allowed prior to that. There will be food and drinks inside, no outside food and drinks will be allowed in."

Meanwhile Cults are on tour and in NYC now (and playing Summerstage this summer too), and Off! will be here soon with Dinosaur Jr., Henry Rollins and Fucked Up.

Evan Dando at The Bell House (more by Graeme Flegenheimer)

Evan Dando & The Lemonheads have a few random upcoming dates scheduled. The Lemonheads will share a bill with The Canon Logic on April 28th at Maxwell's in Hoboken. Tickets are still available. You can also catch Josh Lattanzi of The Lemonheads at Bowery Ballroom on May 26 & 27 as part of the Bob Dylan tribute that will also include members of the Strokes, Hold Steady, etc, etc.

All other upcoming Evan Dando dates are in other countries at the moment, including a June 16th Evan & Juliana Hatfield show in Toronto for the NXNE festival which, like Brooklyn's own multi-venue festival Northside, recently expanded its lineup. Some of the other bands playing are in the title of this post. The rest are listed below.

All Dando-related dates and some videos below too...

Continue reading "Lemonheads playing shows, NXNE expands lineup (includes Descendents, Stars, Devo, OFF!, Juliana Hatfield, more)"

by BBG

The Dwarves at Fun Fun Fun Fest (more by Tim Griffin)

"THE DWARVES were kicked off tour with Motorhead for sleeping with the girls the aging metalheads had hired to hang out backstage. They were banned from venerable punk dive CBGBs for breaking a table and bleeding on the floor, making the venue cleaner and improving its décor." [25 THINGS YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE DWARVES]

The Dwarves are celebrating 25 years of mischief with a new collection with songs titles like "The Dwarves Are Still The Best Band Ever", "We Only Came To Get High", and "Happy Birthday Suicide"...

That's right folks, the Dwarves magnum opus is done and set to drop May 10, 2011 on vinyl and cd, both including a free dvd! 25 years in the making the Dwarves Are Born Again features heroes from throughout the Dwarves saga. Blag the Ripper, HeWhoCanNotBeNamed, Rex Everything, the Fresh Prince of Darkness and a cast of thousands including Vadge Moore and Sgt. Saltpeter from the notorious Blood, Guts and Pussy record return to crush the ears of a desperate public.

Stream it below, or with a large amount of their output at their bandcamp. As you may/may not know Dwarves member Rex Everything currently goes by his government name Nick Oliveri (ex-Queens of The Stone Age, Mondo Generator).

The Dwarves have a few dates on the way including an appearance at Punk Rock Bowling in Las Vegas and two NYC dates: July 15th at Knitting Factory and July 16th at The Studio at Webster Hall. Tickets for both the Knitting Factory date and the Studio date go on sale Friday at 10AM. All other Dwarves dates are below.

--
Steve Ignorant rehearsing earlier this month

In other news, after a stutter a few weeks ago, TONIGHT (4/20) marks the return of Steve Ignorant to the U.S. to play Crass songs at Europa. Dog That Bites Everyone Thulsa Doom,A.P.P.L.E., and Goldblade open the Brooklyn show... though there is a rumor that Goldblade, who are supporting on the whole tour, may not get here in time for tonight's show due to visa issues (update: rumour confirmed as true) (maybe you caught them at Southpaw in 2003). if not, they will hopefully make it soon though, and definitely in time for the sold-out Santos Party House 'Crass songs' show on 5/8. Tickets for tonight's Europa show are still available, and a full list of Steve Ignorant tour openers is below (Santos has Goldblade, Cult Of Youth and Primitive Weapons).

Also tonight (4/20), strangely, ex-Black Flag/current-Misfits-er Dez Cadena will hit Park Slope venue Union Hall with his band Dez Cadena & The Broken Down Bitches, as well as The Slants and Lunic. Tickets are still available.

Speaking Black Flag, two Black Flag vocalists (Henry Rollins & Keith Morris with his band Off!) will share one stage (Terminal 5) as part of a show/tour with Dinosaur Jr. Since that show was announced, Off! also announced even more tour dates which are listed below.

And while we're on the subject, former Misfits vocalist Glenn Danzig heads out on a tour that hits Starland Ballroom in his birth state next month. The current version of the Misfits play Festival For Humanity in Vernon, NJ on May 27th.

In more modern punk news (and other "Off" news), Off With Their Heads will team with Dead To Me for a string of US dates surrounding their appearance at Best Friends Day, including Knitting Factory on August 4th with The Holy Mess and Brian Bruner. Tickets are on sale.

And last and probably least, CJ Ramone will play The Studio at Webster Hall on July 9th, performing "an all Ramones set with Ramones producer Daniel Rey on guitar". Tickets are on sale. Joey Ramone died a little more than 10 years ago, and his birthday will again be celebrated at Irving Plaza in May.

All tour dates and that Dwarves stream is below.

Continue reading "new Dwarves LP & dates, Steve Ignorant is here, Dez Cadena too ++ CJ Ramone, updated Off! dates, Off With Their Heads"

photos by David Andrako

DFA1979

"While it was kind of a running joke that the gnarled dance-punk band was one of the biggest reunions at this year's Coachella (Death From Above 2005 jokes abounded), the band reasserted what made them such a strange and compelling commodity in the first place.

Lacerating bass, Grainger's falsetto wails and a relentless rhythmic urgency both hearkened back to the mid-'00 dance punk craze, yet reminded the audience that their palpable violence set them apart from their more trend-minded peers.

"Romantic Rights" and "Blood on Our Hands" rode slithery, distortion-tangled bass lines over the kind of four-on-the-floor that bassist Jesse F. Keeler would explore more thoroughly in his disco aegis MSTRKRFT.The audience seemed simultaneously enthralled and a bit confused."
[LA Times]

Death From Above 1979's performance on Sunday was the second time the reunited band graced a public stage since announcing their return. The first was a semi-surprise appearance at this year's SXSW at March that got much more attention than anyone even anticipated due to a bit of violence that made the late night news. In May the band does it again at Sasquach.

Coachella 2011 concluded on Sunday with a big headlining set by Kanye West. I already posted some pictures from that one, but a more proper set is also in this post which also includes our full set of pictures from the California festival's final day (day one pics HERE, day two HERE).

Bon Iver's Justin Vernon who played Friday night with Gayngs, made two guest appearances on Sunday, first with the National earlier in the day and then with Kanye West during one of the most high profile sets of the weekend.

The other big set of Sunday was by the Strokes who weren't afraid to play the hits. Their full setlist is below.

The Strokes

PJ Harvey (who arrives in NYC this week) played her headlining set on the "Outdoor Theatre." It overlapped with both The Strokes and Kanye...

"Backed by a nimble three piece band, Harvey, with the Strokes audible from the nearby main stage during the silences between songs, delivered the most emotionally intense performance I witnessed at this year's Coachella, singing songs of violence, war, love and lust (mostly from her harrowing new Let England Shake), before a crowd of rabid supporters...." [SPIN]

a rabid supporter... (this pic not by David Andrako)...

More pictures from Sunday, below...

Continue reading "Coachella 2011 Day 3 in pics (The Strokes, DFA1979, PJ Harvey, The National, CSS, MEN, Nas, OFF! & more)"

photos by Keith Marlowe

Speaking of Off! (who will head out on tour with Dinosaur Jr and Henry Rollins in June), their tour with Trash Talk hit Santos Party House in NYC on 3/26, and though we missed the opening sets, we caught Off! whose beautiful mugs adorn this post. More pictures (Trash Talk cameo included) below...

Continue reading "Off! played Santos Party House (pics) "

Following J Mascis's current solo tour, Dinosaur Jr will hit the road for a select group of East Coast dates in June. These won't be your average Dinosaur Jr. shows though, because.... like they're doing for ATP in London in June, the band will perform Bug in its entirety. PLUS, Off! will open every show AND Henry Rollins will interview Dinosaur Jr. live at every show (Keith Morris and Henry Rollins both on the bill), AND at the NYC show which is happening June 23rd at Terminal 5, Fucked Up will also play an opening set.

Tickets for the four dates Off! are playing are currently on fan presale, and tickets go on regular sale on 4/8. Oh, and the short tour kicks off on June 21st at Calvin Theatre in Northampton, MA where Thurston Moore is also playing (but Off! is not). Proceeds from that first show will benefit Whole Children.

In related news, J Mascis recenly played a BV Day Party at Swan Dive followed by two NYC shows (he was also interviewed by Ted Leo), and Mike Hill of Tombs interviewed Henry Rollins for this website. Off! was just in town with Trash Talk and played Santos Party House.

All dates below...

Continue reading "Dinosaur Jr. performing 'Bug' live on tour w/ Off! & Henry Rollins (who will be speaking) (Fucked Up in NYC too!)"