Osheaga Festival is returning to Montreal's Parc Jean-Drapeau from August 2-4. This year's lineup includes The Cure, Mumford and Sons, Phoenix, New Order, Vampire Weekend, Kendrick Lamar, Hot Chip, Alt-J, Beach House, Explosions in the Sky, Big Boi, Baauer, Father John Misty, Disclosure, Frightened Rabbit, Angel Haze, Jessie Ware, DIIV, Guards, and many more.

3-Day passes go on sale Friday (3/15) at noon. There are still over 20 artists TBA, but you can browse the complete initial lineup below...

Continue reading "Osheaga Festival 2013 lineup & tickets (The Cure, Phoenix, Vampire Weekend, Kendrick Lamar, New Order and more)"

photos by Dominick Mastrangelo

Passion Pit/Bloc Party/The Shins at Osheaga - 8/5/12

Osheaga 2012 wrapped up on Sunday, August 5. It was one of the few dates for Passion Pit this month after they cancelled much of their tour. Exclaim caught their set and wrote:

Leadoff "Take a Walk" set Angelakos in motion, his vocals wandering octaves. Similarly, the ascending "Moth's Wings" grew from its telltale jangly strands to a sonorous sing-along and the aforementioned "Carried Away" juxtaposed driving synths with a stickier-than-cotton-candy vocal hook.

Cuts from the excellent Gossamer fared well, though old faves "Little Secrets" and "Sleephyhead" pushed the gig over the top with wet punters writhing under ponchos.

Pictures and review of day 1 are HERE. Pics of day 2 are HERE. More from day 3 are below...

Continue reading "Osheaga day 3 in pics (The Shins, Passion Pit, Bloc Party, The Black Keys, Metric, Santigold, Dan Mangan & more)"

photos by Dominick Mastrangelo

Garbage/Feist/JAMC at Osheaga - 8/4/12

Nineties alt-rock heroes Garbage returned this year with a new album, a refreshed attitude and a Shirley Manson who looked like she hasn't aged a day in her life. What's more impressive, though, was the fact that their repertoire of classic cuts didn't sound outdated at all. Instead, we're reminded that synth-laden rockers "Push It" and "Stupid Girl" were, in fact, much more ahead of their time and as a result sound brand new nowadays. Garbage was a cool blast from the past that festivalgoers who were unaware of their age would've mistaken them for a bright and exciting up-and-comer. - [National Post]

Actress Jessica Paré (aka Don's wife and "Zou Bisou Bisou" singer on Mad Men) joined The Jesus and Marcy Chain for "Just Like Honey" (which Scarlett Johansson sang on at Coachella '07) and "Sometimes Always" and video of that is below.

Pictures and review of day 1 are HERE. Day 3 is coming soon. More from day 2 are below...

Continue reading "Osheaga day 2 in pics (Jesus and Mary Chain, Feist, Garbage, Yeasayer, A$AP Rocky, Raveonettes, Black Lips & more)"

by Dominick Mastrangelo

Florence / Dum Dum Girls / the scene, Osheaga Fest 8/03/2012

"I can't believe we walked the whole thing."

This was the opening of an e-mail Saturday morning from my friend, the Montreal based singer-songwriter Leif Vollebekk. Day 1 of Montreal's Osheaga Music and Arts Festival (8/3) was in the books and instead of joining the crush of people all trying to get into the Metro, we opted to walk with a much smaller group of people from Parc Jean-Drapeau, the festival's home, over the closed-off Jacques Cartier Bridge back to the Mile End.

"You know," Leif's e-mail continued, "we could've all just waited for the subway, but then we might have been accused of being reasonable."

What came before the trek from the island to the mainland was a hot, dusty, sweaty blur of music and dancing and a sold-out crowd determined to pull every ounce of enjoyment from their day out.

The highlight for me on Day 1 was always going to be Sigur Ros, who I'd seen just a days before in Philadelphia. Sure, Justice may have been the official headliner on the day, but the Icelandic band, even restricted to their one-hour time slot, felt like the real headliner and reduced the electronic duo and their glorified DJ booth to the equivalent of an afterparty.

Earlier in the day, The Walkmen featured Skyler Skjelset of Fleet Foxes on bass and guitar and Icelandic band Of Monsters and Men packed the field at the Scene Verte stage on the other end of the park for their mid-day set.

The Dum Dum Girls set was delayed with sound issues and once they got going the tech guys spent most of their set running back and forth across the stage adjusting and fixing gear. It was the beginning of a trouble-filled weekend at the Scene des Arbres stage where delays were constant and, on Day 3, Zola Jesus' set was controversially cut short as thunderstorms rolled through. (Festival officials shut her set down just as the worst of the storm had passed.) She took to Facebook to voice her frustration (though what happened in Montreal was nothing compared to what went down at Lollapalooza in Chicago the same weekend).

Gary Clark, Jr. impressed over at the Scene Verte as his loud, fuzzy guitar riffs conjured dancing girls and good vibes.

Along with a beautiful set from Florence and the Machine and a raucous end-of-the-night set from Montreal's Les Breastfeeders, it was a great start to the festival.

Stay tuned for more on Day 2 and 3. More Osheaga Day 1 photos are below.

Continue reading "Osheaga Festival - Day 1 review and pics (Sigur Ros, Florence, The Walkmen, Dum Dum Girls, Of Monsters and Men, & more)"

Zeus at BV-SXSW 2012 (more by Amanda Hatfield)

In case you need a last-minute excuse to get out of town, and you're not going to the sold out Lollapalooza in Chicago, single day tickets are still on sale for the amazing-looking Osheaga Festival in Montreal this weekend. The Canadian festival lineup includes names like The Black Angels, M83, Sigur Ros, Feist, Garbage, SBTRKT, The Shins, Justice, Polica, The Walkmen, A$AP Rocky, Florence & the Machine, Austra, The Weeknd, and even Passion Pit who cancelled most other upcoming dates (but who are also playing Lollapalooza).

The Montreal festival will also feature sets by German techno composers Brandt Brauer Frick and Canada Arts & Crafts band Zeus. And though Zeus and BBF don't have much in common musically, they are both now spending a couple of pre-fest days in NYC, starting with shows tonight (Thursday, 8/2).

As previously mentioned, "Brandt Brauer Frick Ensemble" will make their U.S. debut as part of Lincoln Center Out Of Doors tonight. "Strings, horns, and piano go techno with the help of a Moog synthesizer in the alchemic reactions of Germany's electro-orchestra, the Brandt Brauer Frick Ensemble, in their first U.S. show." The free show also includes "On Sacred Ground: Stravinsky's Rite of Spring arranged and performed by The Bad Plus."

"Brandt Brauer Frick Trio" play Santos on Friday with Ef Es VII / 2. Tickets are still on sale.

Zeus meanwhile play the Rock Shop in Brooklyn tonight (8/2) with Robbers on High Street, and then play again at Mercury Lounge on Friday (8/3) with ARMS. Tickets for the Rock Shop show and the Mercury Lounge show are on sale now. The shows are part of a tour which brings them back to Canada to play Osheaga by Sunday. All dates are listed below.

Not surprisngly, Arts & Crafts are well represented at their country's music festival, and in honor of that they're giving away a prize pack of CDs on Facebook. Those CDs include Zeus, Feist, Dan Mangan, and Bloc Party who are signed to Arts & Crafts in Canada. Frenchkiss Records is putting out the new Bloc Party record in the US where Bloc Party visit after Osheaga for three sold out shows at Terminal 5 with The Drums. One of those shows, the 8/8 one, will stream live on Bowery Presents' Youtube channel. We have a pair of tickets to give away for the 8/9 show. Details, the trailer video for the stream, a new Bloc Party song and more tour dates, some with Ceremony, below...

Continue reading "Brandt Brauer Frick & Zeus are here; Osheaga is this weekend; Bloc Party streaming NYC show (win tix!)"

As we mentioned previously, Australia's Tame Impala are visiting this side of the globe for a few festival dates, including Lollapalooza, Osheaga and Outside Lands. While in North America, the band will play a just-added NYC show at Music Hall of Williamsburg on August 7. Tickets go on sale Friday, August 3 at noon.

If you haven't checked out Tame Impala's new single, "Elephant," you can stream it below. Their new album, Lonerism, is out October 5.

Also below: a new video from Tame Impala side project Pond.

Continue reading "Tame Impala playing Music Hall of Williamsburg next week!"

Tame Impala's new album, Lonerism, is due out in October. The Australian psych-rockers will release the album's first official single in August, a glammy stomper called "Elephant" which you can stream below. The cover art is above. Remixes will soon be available by Canyons and Todd Rundgren (!).

Tame Impala will be in North America soon for a few U.S. festivals, including Lollapalooza in Chicago, Osheaga in Montreal and Outside Lands in San Francisco. (Sorry NYC!) All upcoming tour dates are listed below, along with the "Elephant" stream and Lonerism cover art and tracklist.

Continue reading "listen to new Tame Impala single, "Elephant""

JAMC at The Fillmore, SF 6/14/2012 (via @Starflyerboy)

As we knew The Jesus & Mary Chain were heading to the East Coast (Osheaga in Montreal in August and Hopscotch in North Carolina in September), and various dates around Hopscotch have leaked, but we've been wondering when and if an NYC show might appear. Turns out there are two: the JAMC will play Irving Plaza on September 13 and 14. Tickets for the 9/13 and 9/14 shows go on sale Friday, June 22 at 10AM with a presale starting June 21 at 10AM. All currently known JAMC dates are listed below (more to be announced).

The Reid brothers played California last week, with a Stop at the Fillmore in San Francisco on 6/14. Here a bit of SF Weekly's (mostly) positive review:

Last night at the Fillmore, The Jesus and Mary Chain botched the beginning of three different songs, accidentally knocked over multiple microphone stands, and dropped many drum sticks. The Reid brothers, Jim and William, who comprise the group's core, bickered; additional guitarist John Moore was told to "shut up"; and the microphones fed back intermittently. Yet it was incredible how well all of this negativity suited the band.

The JAMC's aesthetic is marked by a duality that permeates every facet of its existence. Each hook is balanced with noise. Its catchiest tunes are usually the most depressing lyrically. During the band's set last night, this duality manifested itself in more than just the songs. Adorned in black blazers underneath minimal lighting, and enshrouded in gratuitous clouds of smoke, the group maintained a stoic attitude throughout the evening that was only broken by fits of frustration...

... The most upbeat tunes were followed by the most mournful, and activity on the sold-out dance floor degenerated into a bog of underwhelmed fun-seekers. Seemingly in a reaction to the morose pace of "Sidewalking," one attendee clambered on stage and began crawling. For the duration of the song's final verse, chorus, and outro, the woman slowly crawled her way from one side of the stage to the other, uninhibited, and looked decidedly cool doing it. A frenzied stage diver would not have had nearly the same effect. Anticipating the inevitable plunge and capture, she donned shades and plodded along with the perverse determination of a cult ritual. Like the tragic heroine in a JAMC lyric, she made a spectacle before self-destruction. [SF Weekly]

Continue reading "The Jesus & Mary Chain add two NYC shows @ Irving Plaza, played San Francisco & other gigs in CA (setlist & dates)"

We just posted about Austra who's coming back to North America (including 9/19 at Music Hall of Williamsburg) after a tour of Europe. She's also one of many artists playing the 2012 Osheaga Festival in Montreal which happens August 3 - 5. Tickets are still available for the three-day event.

In addition to Austra, Osheaga plays host to The Black Keys, Snoop Dogg, Justice, Metric (who play Radio City Music Hall soon), Sigur Ros (who play Prospect Park and are streaming their new LP), Florence & The Machine (who plays Jones Beach this summer), The Weeknd, Passion Pit (who play Governor's Ball soon), The Jesus & Mary Chain, MGMT, Santigold (who just played Irving), Zola Jesus (who just played the Guggenheim) and many many more.

Full Osheaga lineup is below.

Continue reading "Justice, Metric, The Black Keys, Sigur Ros and more playing Montreal's Osheaga Festival in August "

photos by Amanda Hatfield

Anna Calvi @ Bowery Ballroom

"...when Anna Calvi coaxed slinky licks, sweeping chords, and gasping runs out of her Telecaster, I couldn't help but smile. She can really play -- she leaves no room for questions of authenticity. she's there, and she's doing it, bringing a sensuality and nuance to her guitar playing that stands her apart from a lot of guitarists, both male and female." [Broken & the Blessed]

Anna and Cuckoo are now still on tour, and Anna's NYC return has already been announced. Tickets are on sale for a July 27th show at Le Poisson Rouge. That's three days before Anna plays Osheaga in Montreal.

Highlights of Anna's Bowery set included her covers of both Elvis's "Surrender", and Edith Piaf's "Jezebel". Videos of both (one from the Bowery show, one from a previous show), with more pictures and tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Anna Calvi played Bowery w/ Cuckoo Chaos & She Keeps Bees (pics & video), playing LPR, Osheaga & other dates"

photos by Chris La Putt

melophobe: From your experience, what's the best way to blow away a live audience?

Peter Silberman: Oh I don't know. It's tricky; it's in their hands. I've found that we've had the best experience when we feel connected to the audience and we feel like they're listening. You can't necessarily control that, but you can make the effort. A lot of bands definitely don't acknowledge the audience, they don't seem appreciative of them. And I think it's really important to appreciate the audience. They don't have to be there. They don't have buy tickets, they don't have to buy your record, they don't have to do anything, they don't have to give a shit about you. The fact that they do, is really cool. And it should not go unthanked.

melophobe: And honestly, as someone who is in the audience a lot, it seems like at the end of the day we are all there to share something. It's not just give and take, we all just supposed to come together and have a good time together. And go inside our heads or do whatever.

PS: Yeah. And if everybody feels like they are sharing something, then hopefully that will lead to a good show. If they like what you are doing. And I don't talk a lot on stage. The more I talk the less sense I make on stage for some reason, so I don't really talk that much, but I try to get across that...how important they are to us.

melophobe: What's a perfect record to you and do you aim for perfection when you write?

PS: Let me think for a minute. Well, I would say like Kid A is a perfect record, and that's an understatement. Not just perfect because every song is really good, it's perfect because it achieves this really, REALLY difficult thing of being incredibly strange, but being so listenable. And I've been working on just trying to, I mean I've been listening to that record for so long now. And I'm only now just starting to understand it. And these new kind of revelations I'm having about are making it better than I ever could have imagined.

Continue reading "The Antlers @ Pier 54 (more pics) (Osheaga this weekend) "

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Parlovr - Pen to the Paper (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Suuns - Arena (MP3)

Making good use of those year-long visas, Montreal trio Parlovr are heading back down to the States next week for a short North East tour, with two stops here in NYC: Wednesday, July 21 for an early show at Mercury Lounge and and Friday, July 23 at Knitting Factory. Both show are with fellow Montreal act Suuns. (More on them further down this post.)

Parlovr's 2008 debut just got a belated stateside release  -- download "Pen to the Paper" at the top of this post -- and the band are about to head back into the studio for its follow-up. As I've said before, they're an entertaining live band. Here's what I wrote from last year's M for Montreal:

The band's self-titled, self-released 2008 album does not do them justice, making them sound like a Wolf Parade Jr. Live, Parlovr are way more energetic, fun and melodic -- though it may have also had something to do with a fair amount of new material in their set. Singers Louis Jackson and Alex Cooper semi face each other from opposite sides of the stage rocking back and forth like manic Drinking Birds, flipping their '90s skate rat hair around, while mountain man drummer Jeremy MacCuish holds down the beat. They clearly enjoy playing, and it's a lot of fun to watch too.

After their U.S. jaunt, Parlovr will head back to Montreal, where they'll play a free warm-up party for the Osheaga Festival on July 29 at Cafe Campus that is being sponsored by Brooklyn Vegan, M for Montreal, Canadian music mag Exclaim and Blue Skies Turn Black. The 2010 Osheaga Festival is July 31 and August 1, with Arcade Fire, Weezer, Pavement, The National and Metric among the bands playing.

The BV/M4M show is one of a few "Osheaga in the City" events leading up to the big Festival weekend and also features Isis of Thunderheist and Sean Nicholas Savage.

Suuns

Meanwhile, Suuns will continue on in the U.S. after their dates with Parlovr. The band, who until just a couple month ago were known as Zeroes, will hit the road, opening for some of the dates on Land of Talk's fall tour. (Their portion of the tour will end before Land of Talk plays Bowery on November 6 though.) The band's EP, Zeroes, is quite good, sounding a little bit like Clinic -- dark and claustrophobic but also capable of going epic, as on "Arena" which you can download at the top of this post. This will be a good double-bill.

Those two Parlovr takeaway shows, flyers and tour dates for both Parlovr and Suuns are after the jump.

Continue reading "Parlovr touring w/ Suuns (who tour w/ Land of Talk), playing free BV-presented Osheaga show & other dates ++ MP3s"

Arcade Fire @ Mercury Lounge, 2004 (more)

Arcade Fire have been fairly quiet about their forthcoming, third album. Small tidbits have leaked out, like the fact producer Markus Dravs is working on it and that it is complete. Similarly, their summer tour dates are mostly unannounced, though Lollapalooza will be one stop. Now the band's website has been updated with a list of mainly-European summer shows. Three are in North America - Lollapalooza on August 8th, Montreal's Osheaga Festival on July 31st (the closest to NYC), and the Ottawa Bluesfest (July 6-18). The other headliners at Ottawa's massive annual fest include The B-52s, The Swell Season, The Flaming Lips, Passion Pit, Iron Maiden, Rush, Kevin Costner & Modern West, and Weezer. The full lineup is below.

In other Arcade Fire news, they're reportedly working with Spike Jonze on a short film.

"the only bits of information I've been able to uncover from official sources is that the project is another short film. It seems like Spike isn't off his short film kick just yet (if you haven't already, check out his robot love story I'm Here and We Were Once a Fairytale starring Kanye West). I also learned that the film is a collaboration with the band Arcade Fire. You might recall that Spike used Arcade Fire's "Wake Up," from their 2004 album Funeral, in the trailer for Where The Wild Things Are. No word on the length or what the official title might be. Thanks to /Film reader Sam for the tip."

All current Arcade Fire tour dates and the full Ottawa Bluesfest lineup are below...

Continue reading "Arcade Fire playing Osheaga, Ottawa Blues Fest & other shows (dates), Sarah Neufeld plays in the Luyas (tonight) "

DOWNLOAD: Blitzen Trapper - Heaven & Earth (new MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Blitzen Trapper - Black River Killer (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Blitzen Trapper - Gold For Bread (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Blitzen Trapper - Fur (MP3)

Blitzen Trapper will release a new album, Destroyer of the Void, June 8th on Sub Pop.

"During two distant and brief breaks from the band's near-incessant touring for Furr--one in January 2009 and the other in January 2010--Earley and a few of his bandmates entered the attic studio of the lauded Portland musician and studio engineer who had recorded Furr standouts "Lady on the Water" and "Black River Killer," Mike Coykendall (Bright Eyes, M Ward, She & Him). In those two winters, in that old attic, Coykendall worked with Earley to bring life to these songs, including material the songwriter had been working on for years, most notably the piano ballad "Sadie." The producer wasn't the only local luminary to fill out the album. Preternatural musical siblings Peter Broderick (Horse Feathers, Efterklang) and Heather Woods Broderick (Efterklang) wrote the album's string arrangements, while folk standout Alela Diane lent her angelic vocals to the duet "The Tree."" - Sub Pop

On June 2nd they kick off a tour that brins them to Webster Hall in NYC on the 16th. Tickets go on sale Friday at noon. All dates below too...

Continue reading "Blitzen Trapper - new album, MP3, 2010 Tour Dates"

by Andrew Frisicano

The 4th edition of the Osheaga Music and Arts Festival will take place in Montreal's Parc Jean-Drapeau on August 1st and 2nd. Osheaga is proud to announce that the headliners for this year's edition are the multi-platinum selling band Coldplay on Saturday, August 1st and hip-hop pioneers Beastie Boys on Sunday, August 2nd....Osheaga is one of only two North American festival appearances that Coldplay will make this year.

Also playing the Osheaga Fest will be The Roots (who played APW last year, and...), who, because of their Jimmy Fallon gig, are mostly sticking to NYC-area gigs this year. They will also play the outdoor fest of their own in Philly over the summer.

This year will mark the fourth year for the Osheaga Festival. BV Mike was there last year: Day 1 and Day 2, and in 2007 too. The 2008 festival was also when Iggy & the Stooges - with Mike Watt - got their equipment stolen.

Tickets for the festival go on sale Friday, April 3rd at noon. More info and full (initial?) line-up below...

Continue reading "Osheaga Festival (in Montreal) - 2009 linuep announced"

photos by Bao Nguyen

DOWNLOAD: Sharon Jones - 100 days, 100 nights (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Menahan Street Band - Make the Road by Walking (MP3)

"Hey, Duffy: This is what soul sounds like: Tribal, earthy, hip-shakin', swerve-throwin' Sharon Jones." [Time Out Chicago]

Naomi Shelton first lifted her soulful voice into the Daptone family back in the Desco days of the late 1990s. Under her maiden name, Naomi Davis, she gave us "Forty First Street Breakdown," which has become a secret weapon for funk DJs....Naomi has a regular Friday-night residency at the West Village's Fat Cat, during which she and her band regularly blow away the audience with her powerful vocals, popping basslines, and spot-on harmonies (andfor only $3, it's probably one of the cheaper ways to change your life)...

...Menahan Street Band is one of the many projects of Thomas Brenneck, best known, perhaps, as the guitarist for the Dap-Kings, the Budos Band, and Amy Winehouse. Recorded entirely in analog in his Brooklyn home, Menahan Street Band's debut LP, Make the Road by Walking, out October 14, redefines the idea of bedroom project.

The pictures in this post are from the Virgin Festival. More of those, and some videos from Lollapalooza, below...

Continue reading "Sharon Jones played Summerstage, Lollapalooza, Osheaga & the Virgin Festival (pics, video, tour dates)"

by BrooklynVegan Mike

Day 1, Day 2....

The Go! Team @ Osheaga (Doùdoù)

It is an open secret that the Osheaga festival is on shaky ground. It is rumored that the festival lost money the last two years. This year was make or break. When I spoke with somebody connected with the festival, he commented that they really only need one big day to turn it around and come back next year. With a combination of big names (Jack Johnson, Broken Social Scene, The Weakerthans) and a string of artists with a rep for killer live performances (MGMT, The Go! Team, Gogol Bordello), Osheaga organizers seemingly set Day 2 (Monday August 4) as that day....

Continue reading "Osheaga 2008 - day 2 (a review with pics)"

by BrooklynVegan Mike

DOWNLOAD: Duchess Says - Ccut Up (MP3)

Osheaga (Vero.b)

Osheaga, the outdoor music festival in Montreal, celebrated its third birthday this weekend with a bevy of local acts, some emerging talent, and great live performers. Day one (Sunday August 3rd) of the festival was also one of the most hectic musical days in recent [Montreal] memory. The week long Francophone music festival, FrancoFolies, concluded the same day with a performance by former Osheaga artist Malajube, and Wolf Parade (another former Osheaga performer) finished a tour downtown with their first Montreal performance since the release of At Mount Zoomer....

Continue reading "Osheaga 2008 - day 1 (a review with pics & videos)"

by BrooklynVegan Mike

"There isn't any artistic integrity in just getting the band back together
and playing the old songs."

Neil Halstead, as a co-founder of Slowdive, was one of the architects of shoegazer, a genre that has seen a revival as of late with the reformation of My Bloody Valentine and Swervedriver. In 1995, most of Slowdive morphed into Mojave 3 and has since been making beautiful countrified dream-pop. Halstead also mellows things out more on his solo records. His sophomore release Oh! Mighty Engine dropped last week on Jack Johnson's label Brushfire Records. He is also currently on tour with Jack. (yeah, we know).

This Sunday he opens the third day of the All Points West festival in Jersey City - the same day Jack closes. You can also catch Neil one day earlier at the Surf Lodge in Montauk. We caught up with Neil after he opened the second day of the Osheaga Festival in Montreal on Monday. We discussed tour mate Jack Johnson, a Slowdive reunion, and the re-emergence of shoegazer.

---

You've played a lot of festivals in your twenty year career. How does it feel to open a festival?

Neil: It's a dubious honor, isn't it? [laughs]. I would trade in the honor for a few more people. But the people were really nice. Very sweet. We enjoyed it.

You've been opening for Jack Johnson on his tour. How has that been?...

Continue reading "an interview w/ Neil Halstead (Slowdive, Mojave 3) +++++++++++++++++ 2008 Tour Dates (All Points West)"

mike watt's 1963 gibson eb-3 "the little bass"

IGGY AND THE STOOGES
EQUIPMENT STOLEN ON AUGUST 4, 2008
OUTSIDE THE EMBASSY SUITES HOTEL
208 SAINT ANTOINE OUEST,
MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA

all equipment was in a rented penske 15 foot yellow truck with u.s. (michigan) license plate number AC46493 parked immediately outside the hotel, the theft had to have happened in the morning, between 6:30 and 7:30 am - truck and all gear stolen

Continue reading "Iggy & the Stooges (and Mike Watt)'s gear stolen in Montreal"

by BrooklynVegan Mike

Though the initial lineup has been announced for some time, more bands were recently added to the 3rd Annual Osheaga Music Festival (August 3 & 4, 2008). Spiritualized and The Kills are new additions to the Montreal outdoor music extravaganza that will be headlined by The Killers (on Day 1) and Jack Johnson (on Day 2). Other acts scheduled to appear include Iggy and the Stooges, Cat Power, The Go! Team, MGMT, and Plants and Animals.

Continue reading "3rd Annual Osheaga Music Festival in Montreal - lineup/dates"

Gogol Bordello @ The Leeds Festival 2006 (Guy Eppel)

Continue reading "Gogol Bordello - 2008 Tour Dates (McCarren/ACL/Osheaga / Virgin/Coachella/Bonnaroo/Rothbury/Popped)"

by BrooklynVegan Mike

Osheaga 2007 (CRED)

A label rep I was talking to told me that it takes a festival four to five years of good reviews and turnouts to be considered a serious destination on the festival circuit. In its sophomore year, Osheaga has followed up their triumphant debut with an impressive lineup that should continue the reputation they built for themselves last year. Once again, I was granted the task of covering this event...

Thunderheist @ Osheaga 2007 (CRED)

Arriving for day one of the two day festival around 12:30, I could hear the tail end of Apostle of Hustle opening the festivities on one of the alternating main stages. I made my way to the smaller stages on the other side of the park. Hopes were high for Thunderheist, a local hip-hop/house outfit comprised of DJ Grahm and female rapper Isis,. Taking the stage, Isis seemed to apologize in advance saying "we've been up all night." What followed was a rather limp set that took the wind out of my sails. I chalk it up to just a bad set, as I've heard that their smaller shows around town have been really good. It happens to the best of them. Over on the main stage, Jamie T performed to a somewhat apathetic audience. Unfamiliar with his music before that day, he vocally reminded me a lot of The Arctic Monkeys, a point I'm sure he'll have to have to answer questions about for years to come if his career gains traction.

Continued below...

Continue reading "Osheaga 2007 - Day 1"

The 2-day Osheaga Music Festival is happening this weekend in Montreal. Smashing Pumpkins, Bloc Party, Feist, M.I.A., Interpol, Arctic Monkeys, and Voxtrot are among the many artists playing. BrooklynVegan Mike will be on the ground to let us know how it all goes. It was at last year's festival that Mike first sat down with Wolf Parade's Dan Boekner (shortly after the infamous G Love cheese-throwing incident). He also talked to the Stills.

If Osheaga is Montreal's version of Lollapalooza & Coachella, then Pop Montreal is Montreal's version of SXSW & CMJ. And like CMJ, Pop Montreal also happens this October. Keep reading for more on that (by Mike)....

Continue reading "Osheaga this weekend, and Pop Montreal coming soon"