photos by Erez Avissar

On his records, [Ariel Pink] disguises himself in swaths of lo-fi tape hiss, but live he must get creative... His five-piece Haunted Graffiti opens with "Beverly Kills" from this year's major-indie debut Before Today and it is striking how close the band sounds to the record. Even with five people juggling Pink's self-made duties, details, and voiceovers, it is hard to imagine that learning this stuff was easy.

But as they continue into "L'Estat (Acc. to the Maid)," the details quickly succumb to the limitations of the [venue]: Guitar surfs and slides become difficult to catch, and all the tempo changes melt together. Some of the tunes that follow, like "Menopause," sound like songs by Yes. Luckily, the new-wave itch of "Fright Night" and celestial four-man chorus on "Round and Round" manage to poke through beautifully.

The co-headliners for this show, Brazil's legendary band, Os Mutantes, were an odd fit for this pairing, but being odd is the only thing that is ever fit them.

Pink's homemade productions race back to the '80s, '70s and '60s, but Os Mutantes, in the '60s themselves, redefined psychedelic futurism. Sérgio Dias and company do not disappoint on the Salvador Dali front, all dressed in caftans (save Bia Mendes in a short black jacket) with a flutist in tow, dabbing Tropicália rhythms with flourishes of English folk and opera betwixt drum breaks worthy of James Brown.
[Philadelphia Inquirer]

That review comes from the Friday night, 11/12, Os Mutantes and Ariel Pink's Haunted Grafitti show at the Trocadero in Philadelphia. The two bands then played Webster Hall in NYC with (a horned) Diva, one night later, Saturday night, 11/13. The pictures in this post are from that NYC show - both from in front of the stage, and some taken behind it (pictures from last time Os Mutantes played Webster Hall are HERE).

Os Mutantes and Ariel Pink have the night off tonight (11/15), but will play Montreal Tuesday before heading back in to the US by the end of the week. Both recently played Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin Texas as part of their tour together. All dates HERE. More pictures below...

Continue reading "Os Mutantes, Ariel Pink & Diva played Webster Hall (pics)"

Tim's complete set of pictures from FFF Fest Saturday are split into two posts: HERE and HERE. A third set, that I took with far inferior skills and camera, but that fills in some blanks and includes stuff like a dude being thrown into a pool filled with thumbtacks, a member of Gwar storming the stage during Municipal Waste's set, and people waiting in line to get Wavves' autograph, continues below...

Continue reading "Fun Fun Fun Fest 2010 - Day Two in pics (part 3) - Jacob Calle, Butcher Bear and Charlie, Gwar vs Municipal Waste & more"

photos by Tim Griffin

Big Freedia

The 2010 edition of Fun Fun Fun Fest is now complete. You saw pictures from the first night. We have lots of possitive things to say coming up, but for now here is a part two of our photos - all from day two aka Saturday (11/6). They continue below...

Continue reading "Fun Fun Fun Fest 2010 - Day Two in pics (part 1) - Big Freedia, Antlers, Wavves, Devin the Dude, Os Mutantes & more) "

Ariel Pink at FYFest (more by Rachel Carr)

Following a stint of dates with The Flaming Lips (none of which hit NY, or contain all of The Soft Bulletin) Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti will hit the road with the Brazilian Tropicalia greats Os Mutantes to play a string of shows including Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin and Webster Hall on Nov 13th. Webster Hall ticket info is forthcoming.

Though previously believed and later postulated, Ariel Pink WASN'T a member of the "LA Supergroup" who played a show at a greater Police State, er, Los Angeles art gallery over the weekend....

With an art exhibit dedicated to the darker forces of Los Angeles, Esteban Schimpf may have gotten what he asked for inviting a mystery band called Highons to play his closing reception.

The secret Schimpf set up was that Ariel Pink would be one of the masked members irking out strange noises in the corner of Carmichael Gallery. But either Pink grew a few inches since FYF Fest, or the guy wearing a silver space suit was somebody else, an impostor. And they would have gotten away with it, had an intrepid reporter not gotten involved...

...When asked [after the show], the silver spaceman refused to remove his mask and disappeared. A girl walked by and whispered, "Hey, that was my roommate and his friends. That was not Ariel Pink." Doo doo hit the fan.

Yesterday, Schimpf said he was still "in the dark" about the Ariel Pink mystery. "But I don't care," he said. "It was a great show and everyone liked it and had a good time."
-[full story at theLA Times]

All tour dates and some recent Ariel Pink video is below...

Continue reading "Ariel Pink touring w/ Os Mutantes (dates), an Ariel Pink imposter played a gallery in LA (or something like that) "

photos by Ryan Muir

"Just got back from playing Webster Hall with Os Mutantes. I think I can retire now." - DeLeon

Brazil has another reason to celebrate beyond landing a future Summer Olympics: one of that country's most beloved rock bands, Os Mutantes (The Mutants), is back on the road after a nearly three-decade break.

Touring North America after the release of their first studio album in 30 years, the seven-member band stopped at the Somerville Theatre Sunday and showed why many in South America consider it the Kinks, the Beatles and Crosby Stills & Nash rolled into one frenzied psychedelic party machine.

While Os Mutantes turned out pop hit after pop hit in Brazil in the '60s and '70s, the only original member, iconoclastic guitarist Sergio Dias, has made sure he's not leading an oldies act. [Boston Herald]

Os Mutantes' tour also included a stop at Webster Hall in NYC last night (10/8). DeLeon opened. More pictures from that show, below....

Continue reading "Os Mutantes & DeLeon @ Webster Hall in NYC - pics "

DOWNLOAD: Os Mutantes - Teclar (MP3)

What are their outfits made of?

Founding frontman Sergio Dias Baptista and his new incarnation of the near-mythical Os Mutantes have signed with ANTI- Records with plans to release Haih - their first record in 35 years - on September 8th.

2006 saw a reunion of sorts, with the band playing a handful of shows in London, New York, the Pitchfork Festival in Chicago, San Francisco and supporting the Flaming Lips at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, but it is the release of Haih in September that will mark the band's first recorded material since 1974 and their very first album to receive a worldwide release. Conceived by Sergio Dias with collaborations with other Brazilian legends Tom Ze (lyrics) and Jorge Ben (who wrote the song "Minha Menina"), Haih is a vibrant and timely return from one of world music's most important bands.

Check out a "Teclar," a track from the forthcoming release, above. Anti Records is also now home to Alec Ounsworth and Kyp Malone.

Os Mutantes are accompanying their new record with a series of upcoming tour dates. Those include a show at NYC's Webster Hall on Thursday, October 8th. Tickets are on sale now (at noon).

The trailer from an upcoming doc on the band, with Haih artwork and all currently known tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Os Mutantes - new album, MP3 & tour dates (Webster Hall)"

The lineup is coming together for Pop Montreal 2009 (September 30th to October 4th). Confirmed acts include Butthole Surfers, Fever Ray, Dinosaur Jr., Lou Barlow + The Missingmen, Loudon Wainwright III, Teenage Jesus & the Jerks, Thee Oh Sees, tUnE-YaRdS, to name a few.

Those interesting choices (like Lou Barlow with some configuration of Mike Watt's band?) are just part of the fest's usually-strong lineup. Full lineup so far, below...

Continue reading "Pop Montreal 2009 - initial lineup (Fever Ray, Os Mutantes, Butthole Surfers, Lou Barlow + the Missingmen...)"

Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival is taking place this year August 28th-30th at Golden Gate Park. Tickets for the fest go on Visa presale Wednesday, April 15th at 1pm ET, and general sale Sunday, April 19th at 1pm ET.

Like last year, the San Francisco fest shares a headliner with NJ's All Points West. In 2008, it was Radiohead. In 2009, it's the Beastie Boys.

Also on the schedule for the fest is the Dead Weather, Jack White's new band. Dead Weather plays its first show tonight (April 14th) at the Bowery Ballroom.

M.I.A., Ween, TVOTR, Mastodon, Os Mutantes, Extra Golden, Tom Jones, and many others are also playing. Full Outside Lands line-up and poster below....

Continue reading "Outside Lands 2009 festival lineup, Dead Weather tonight"

The five-disc Robyn Hitchcock box set I Wanna Go Backwards is tops on my shopping list for tomorrow. The 5-disc set includes the 80's albums Black Snake Diamond Role, I Often Dream Of Trains, and Eye, as well as two discs of unreleased material, titled While Thatcher Mauled Britain Part 1 & 2. Stereogum features an mp3 of the title track, and Yep Roc is streaming the entire thing.

This week's other reissues include six Black Crowes discs, as well as Johnny Cash's American Recordings and American III. A Led Zeppelin greatest hits album, Mothership is available in a limited edition that includes two CDs and a bonus DVD. It is also streaming this week at AOL (along with the new live Os Mutantes).

Folk singer Vashti Bunyan's Some Things Just Stick in Your Mind: Singles and Demos 1964-1967 is a must-purchase for me along with the new Christine Fellows album, Nevertheless. What are you picking up this week?

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