The unwavering NYC video god (((unartig))) has swooped in with his best of for 2012, listing off important topics like "Best Album", "Best Show", "Goosebumpiest moment" and the all important "The show at which I wished I could secretly inflict everlasting and agonizing pain upon everyone." His picks for those are listed, along with accompanying video, below. (see his 2011 list HERE and 2010 HERE)

(((unartig))) was last seen shooting video at Eyehategod at Saint Vitus on Tuesday (11/27). Pictures from that show are HERE and last night's show are HERE. Stay tuned for his footage.

Continue reading "(((unartig))) names his favorite (and not so favorite) musical moments of 2012 (each with a video)"

Lets face it, we're barely into CMJ 2012 and already in overload. So, we've decided to add a healthy alternative to the glut of Friday night showcases...Welcome The un-CMJ party at Saint Vitus in Brooklyn on Friday (10/19)!

Sure we have some of the same things at our party that makes CMJ great- complimentary PBR, Sailor Jerry and Mercy Drink while supplies last, as well as some buzzy bands, but The un-CMJ has something else to offer as well... a chance for YOU get in on the action! Infinity Spaceship, which features current & former members of Primitive Weapons, Nakatomi Plaza, Ludlow Lions, On The Might of Princes, Ghost Robot Ninja Bear and The Judas Knife, will headline the evening with one of their signature punk/hardcore/indie karaoke sets!

Sign-up to get in on the action - the Infinity Spaceship karaoke shows are always an amazing time. Check out some video of Infinity Spaceship in action below. What song are you going to sing?

Before the ripping and personal rock n' roll experience, you can get to Vitus to catch sets from Canadian psychedelic synth-y pop band Absolutely Free and Kirin J Callinan.

Absolutely Free is the new project from 80% of the band known as DD/MM/YYYY, and the band is preparing to release their debut 12" via One Big Silence, the label run by Mike of Fucked Up. Stream half of that release, the song "UFO", which recently got 'best new track' at Pitchfork, below.

As recently discussed, Aussie guitarist Kirin J. Callinan is in town for CMJ and we can't wait to check out his gothic soundscapes in one of a very few select appearances the show.

This event goes down TOMORROW NIGHT (10/19) and will cost you absolutely nothing (it's absolutely free) to get in! So head to Saint Vitus for the 7:30PM opening ad grab a free drink at the bar. Prepare by streaming some material from both bands and checking out Infinity Spaceship below.

ALSO, REMINDER: Saint Vitus will host the BV-BBG showcase the next night (10/20). Tickets are still available. And before both Saint Vitus shows, spend the day with us at Public Assembly.

Continue reading "BV Presents 'Un-CMJ' Friday night at Saint Vitus -- LIVE BAND KARAOKE, 2 awesome other bands, free drinks & admission"

photos by Rebecca Reed

Sick of it All / Chain of Strength @ Irving Plaza, 10/12/2012

The second night of the Revelation Records 25th anniversary (on 10/12) featured a headlining appearance from the recently added Sick of it All, along with sets from the reunited Chain of Strength (who played Acheron), NJ's Mouthpiece, DC favorites Damnation A.D. plus Popeye of Farside, who opened the evening with a solo performance. The show marked the halfway point of a four night stay at Irving Plaza (pics from the first night HERE).

Meanwhile, Friday night also featured another Revelation-related show, a sold-out appearance of night one performers On The Might of Princes at Saint Vitus.

More pictures from Rev25 night two are below.

Continue reading "Revelation Records 25 night two in pics: Sick of it All, Chain of Strength, Mouthpiece, Damnation AD + more"

photos by Toby Tenenbaum

Underdog / crowdsurfer, Rev25 @ Irving Plaza, 10/11/2012

The first night of the Revelation Records 25th anniversary(10/11) featured a headlining appearance from Texas is The Reason (who played MHoW on Wednesday), along with sets from Underdog, Shades Apart, Gameface and On The Might Of Princes (who play a sold-out Saint Vitus tonight). Hardcore bands love their covers and the Revelation show was no different; Shades Apart covered "Tainted Love" by Soft Cell and Gameface covered the first few bars of "Wonderwall" by Oasis.

Pictures from the first night of the Irving Plaza celebration (none of OtMoP, sorry) adorn this post. Three of the five bands at Rev night one, namely Gameface, TitR and OtMoP, all took part in a free show on Wednesday night as well, with the latter two playing announced-last-minute/surprise sets at Saint Vitus (pics).

Later that night Acheron would host a headlining set from Chain of Strength, who are scheduled to play tonight (10/12) and Saturday (10/13) as part of the Rev25 celebration. Pictures of their appearance with Clear and Creem are HERE.

The celebration continues at Irving Plaza tonight with headliners Sick of it All, who will be joined by the aformentioned Chain Of Strength, plus Mouthpiece, Damnation AD and Popeye. Tickets are still available. Gear up for tonight's show by checking out more photos from Night One below.

Continue reading "Revelation Records 25 night one in pics: Texas is The Reason, Underdog, Shades Apart, Gameface + more"

words by Lauren Jackson, photos by Stephanie Crumley

Texas is The Reason at St. Vitus 10/10/2012

Texas is The Reason took the stage at St. Vitus Wednesday night (10/10) to perform a semi-secret late night mini-set at the end of the Gameface/Descender/Model Home show. The appearance was in addition to their showing at a sold-out Music Hall of Williamsburg with States & Kingdoms earlier that night. Pictures from both shows are below.

Enthusiasm ran high in the lead-off sets by Descender and Model Home, which was quickly followed by the last minute addition of Long Island emo heroes On The Might of Princes. By the time OTMOP took the stage, the dim back room of St. Vitus was crackling with giddy, adolescent energy. Someone shouted, "Is anyone here NOT from Long Island?" a split second before all the lights went out. And as the stage lit up, frontman Jason Rosenthal's strident, melancholic voice pierced into the long-since-past malcontent suburban kid of yesteryear.

For their set, St. Vitus wasn't St. Vitus, but the VFW Hall in Bellmore ten years ago or the rec center in Huntington... whatever deeply personal and nostalgic place that hardcore was born for them. Out of nowhere, strangers draped arms over each other's shoulders, smiled, and sang together with total abandon because they weren't strangers, really -- they shared a collective memory of this band, and that was all that mattered.

That sense of camaraderie carried through Gameface into Texas is the Reason. Though their set was short, the die-hards stuck it out til the end and reaped the reward of an intimate performance -- much smaller than the Music Hall of Williamsburg they played earlier that same evening and the Irving Plaza last night (10/11). Texas rattled through fan favorites like "Back and to the Left" and "A Jack with One Eye," as well as the lesser known but beloved "If It's Here When We Get Back, It's Ours." Even when they finished playing, there was no usual refrain of "That's it?!" Everyone was sated --audience and band included.

Texas is The Reason went on to play Revelation 25 last night and pictures from Irving Plaza are on the way. Until then, check out pictures from Music Hall of Williamsburg, pictures of Texas is The Reason and Gameface from Saint Vitus, and video of TiTR, Gameface and OTMOP all below.

Continue reading "Texas is The Reason played Music Hall of Williamsburg and Saint Vitus with On The Might of Princes/Gameface (pics, vid)"

by Fred Pessaro // BBG

Chain of Strength / flying trashcans at Acheron 10/11/2012 

Chain of Strength played Acheron last night (10/11) joined by support from Clear and Creem, a prequel to their two-night stay as part of Revelation 25. As expected, the lines at Acheron were massive by the time door hit at 11PM, with Brooklyn's Creem hitting at 11:30 sharp and the entire affair all wrapped up by 1:30AM. The room was wall-to-wall stagedives, X'd-up hands and energy for the entirety of their set. Pictures and video from Acheron are below.

Sick of It All is scheduled to headline Irving Plaza tonight (10/12) as part of the second night of Revelation 25, joining CoS, Mouthpiece, Damnation AD and Popeye.

Meanwhile across town, the punk antidote to Chain of Strength was playing Lulu's: Japanese noise-punks D-Clone with Perdition, Nomad, Bortgang and more. Who went?

More pictures / video from Acheron are below, along with set times for the remainder of the Revelation shows.

Continue reading "Chain of Strength played Acheron w/ Clear & Creem (pics, vid), play Irving tonight with Sick of It All "

Confirmed! Texas is The Reason, who sold out Irving Plaza and the show they are playing at Music Hall of Williamsburg tonight (10/10), will scoot on up Manhattan Avenue to play a surprise, second show as part of tonight's show at Saint Vitus with On The Might of Princes, Game Face, Descender and Model Home. Entry is FREE, 21+ only.

by Fred Pessaro // BBG

Speaking of Rev25, Chain of Strength, who are scheduled to play two nights of the celebration, have added a late show THURSDAY (10/11) at Acheron (!) with Clear (ex Have Heart) and Brooklyn's own Creem. There will be very limited tickets at the door for civilians, with many of the tickets allocated to VIP wristbands for the Revelation Records attendees. Get there early! It should be nuts.

In other Revelation-extracirricular activites news, On the Might of Princes at Saint Vitus on Friday (10/12) is waaaay sold out, but luckily the band will play the venue TONIGHT (10/10) as well, part of a bill with Gameface, Descender, Model Home. The show is FREE and 21+. The show also promises "another possible special guest"... could it be Texas is the Reason (who have a sold-out show at MHoW tonight)?

Saint Vitus will also host the sold-out Into Another show on 10/13.

by Fred Pessaro // BBG

Sick of it All at Webster Hall, 2011 (more by Kurt Christensen)

Sick of it All have been added as the special guest at the Revelation 25 show on Friday (10/12) at Irving Plaza, joining on  Chain of Strength, Mouthpiece, Damnation AD and the newly added Popeye. Tickets are still available.

In related news, Texas is The Reason play a sold-out show with States & Kingdoms at Music Hall of Williamsburg tonight (10/10) and will be at Rev25 on Thursday with Underdog, Shades Apart, Gameface, and On The Might Of Princes. Both shows are sold-out.

In other news, Project X and Curl Up and Die have dropped off the Revelation shows entirely. Check out flyers for all Revelation shows below.

Continue reading "Revelation 25 goes down this week, Sick of it All added, while Project X & Curl Up and Die drop off"

by Fred Pessaro // BBG

In addition to their previously discussed appearance at Revelation 25, the reunited On The Might of Princes have added another, smaller show at Saint Vitus on October 12 (one day after their Rev appearance) with Tidal Arms, Image Society (ex Encrypt Manuscript) and World's Fair (ex Yes Sensei). Tickets are on sale and going fast.

On The Might of Princes have reunited before, playing sporadically since their split in May 2004. The band members have been involved in other projects such as The Brass, Vehicles, Gracer, Villa Vina, Limbs, Small Arms Dealer, and Primitve Weapons in the time since. Speaking of Primitive Weapons (who no longer use the services of OTMOP drummer Chris Enriquez), the band plays Saint Vitus on August 3rd with Mares of Thrace, Pilgrim and new addition Windhand (unmissable!).

After weeks of speculation, the full Revelation 25 lineups are finally here:

Thursday, October 11, 2012
Texas Is The Reason
Underdog
Shades Apart
Gameface
On The Might Of Princes

Friday, October 12, 2012
Chain Of Strength
Mouthpiece
Damnation A.D.
Curl Up And Die
Shook Ones

Saturday, October 13, 2012
Chain Of Strength
Bold
Battery
Shai Hulud

Sunday, October 14, 2012
Into Another
Youth Of Today
Supertouch
Iceburn

(Still waiting for that Quicksand show.)