DOWNLOAD: Lower Dens - "Brains" (MP3)

The National have announced that they're headlining and curating at ATP in Minehead UK, which is happening from December 7-9, 2012. So far, in addition to The National, the lineup (not very surprisingly) includes Sharon Van Etten (who plays the sold out Mercury Lounge tonight), My Brightest Diamond, Wye Oak, Megafaun, The Antlers, Buke and Gase (FKA Buke and Gass), Lower Dens, Owen Pallett, Boris, Tim Hecker, Kronos Quartet, Suuns< and Dark Dark Dark. More artists TBA. Tickets go on sale Friday (1/20) at 2 PM.

Maybe this lineup will shed some light on the bands Aaron and Bryce Dessner will be choosing when they curate BAM in May.

ATP's NJ festival happens in September and is being curated by Greg Dulli.

Speaking of Lower Dens, they've just revealed plans to release a followup to their 2010 debut LP, Twin-Hand Movement. The new album, titled Nootropics, will be out April 30 via the Domino affiliate label Ribbon Music. Grab the fast paced lead single, "Brains," at the top of this post and stream it below. Also below is the album artwork and tracklist.

Continue reading "The National curating an ATP; Lower Dens announce new LP"

by Andrew Sacher

New album STROKED: A Tribute to Is This It, as the title hints, is a tribute to The Strokes' massively influential debut Is This It. The album was released for free on Stereogum today (7/26). They write:

Is This It was recorded in NYC at Transporterraum with Gordon Raphael. When it was finally released in the States in the Fall of 2001, a decade after Nevermind, it helped not only put contemporary New York City in the forefront of music lovers' minds, it offered an easy reference for people to dig backwards into the Big Apple's rock 'n' roll past. For certain younger fans, it was maybe the first time they carefully considered Television (the late '70s), the Velvet Underground (mid '60s to early '70s), and other lesser known garage and rock and whatever bands that inhabited a dirtier, grubbier Manhattan. The title's pure Richard Hell. The original sexy album cover a minimalist echo of New York Dolls (via Roxy Music). It's no coincidence that 2001 NYC -- eventually, especially Brooklyn -- ended up being known for its post-punk revival. (See, for instance, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Liars, Black Dice, Vice Records' No New York nodding collection Yes New York, etc.) Is This It was a history lesson, but one with enough new ideas to also offer a roadmap.

--
Cities Aviv

Wise Blood contributed "Someday" to "Stroked". He and fellow weirdo rapper Cities Aviv share a bill on September 1 at Glasslands in Brooklyn. The show is one of many scheduled around the world for Wise Blood, but is Cities Aviv's only date we see scheduled at the moment. Tickets for the Brooklyn show are on sale now.

Wise Blood's tour includes another NYC show two days later. He plays a Jelly RockBeach show on September 3 with Pictureplane and others TBA. More dates are listed below.

Cities Aviv, the self-proclaimed "Post-Death" rapper, is also on the Glasslands bill with Wise Blood. The Memphis native released his debut full length Digital Lows on May 2. The album's production credits go to a number of virtually unknown producers, Muted Drone, RPLD GHOSTS, Danny Dee, Upgrayde, and Royal'T. The beats are dreamy, reverb-soaked headknockers that sound about as woozy as that album art (below) looks. Cities Aviv takes the beats, which on their own would make up a pretty solid chillwave album, and spits biting lines with a classic southern drawl. Fille Catatonique provides sung vocals which blend quite nicely with the album's vibes. The final track, "Float On," features Cities Aviv rapping over chillwaver Blackbird Blackbird's cover of the Modest Mouse song, that he recorded for 2010's Happy High EP. It's a fun way to end the album, and is far better than Lupe Fiasco's "The Show Must Go On," which sampled the Modest Mouse song earlier this year.

Cities Aviv isn't exactly the only rapper crossing into lo-fi/indie-approved territory lately, but he's certainly approaching the crossover from a unique angle. Digital Lows isn't nearly as blown out as, say, Shabazz Palaces, but he's still got way more experimentation going on than guys like Wiz Khalifa or Theophilus London. Grab the album for free at his bandcamp and check out some songs below.

All tour dates, videos, album art and tracklist below...

Continue reading "Stereogum giving away Strokes tribute album, Cities Aviv giving away an album too, playing Glasslands w/ Wise Blood"

photos by Amanda Hatfield and Timothy Griffin

Adventure (by Tim)

Braids (by Tim)

Braids and Adventure are on tour with Toro y Moi now. The three bands play sold out shows at Music Hall of Williamsburg and Bowery Ballroom on Sunday (4/10) and Monday (4/11).

As discussed and/or pictured HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE, we threw a free, three stage party with M For Montreal at Swan Dive and Barbarella in Austin on Saturday, March 19, 2011.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by, to all the bands who played and to Ramesh for DJing. Sorry to Bass Drum of Death for not getting to play due to some confusion. Thanks to the cast of Workaholics for stopping by and for doing some hosting (catch their show on Comedy Central now!). Thanks also to Izzoz, Sensible Portions, Honest Tea, VegAustin, Raw Revolution, NadaMoo, Firefly Vodka, Line 6, Korg, Vox, Blackstar, Nudie Jeans, and ASCAP. Thanks to everyone else that helped and to anyone I forgot.

A whole bunch more pictures from the whole day are below...

Continue reading "BV/M For Montreal Austin Day Party in pics (Braids, Adventure, Owen Pallett, Little Scream & many more)"

If you've been following along, you know that this is finally the NINTH and FINAL BrooklynVegan SXSW 2011 show announcement! This one happens on Saturday, March 19th in Austin, at both Swan Dive and Barbarella (they connect). It runs from noon-6pm and is 100% free. We are doing it with our friends from M For Montreal and it looks like this:

STAGE 1 (SWAN DIVE)
12:00 PM New Moods
01:00 PM Oh Land
2:00 PM Austra
3:00 PM Little Scream
4:00 PM Owen Pallett
5:00 PM Braids

STAGE 2 (Barbarella main stage)
12:00 PM Baths
1:00 PM Misteur Valaire
2:00 PM !!!
3:00 PM Trail of Dead
4:00 PM Mount Kimbie
5:00 PM Daedelus
HOSTED BY: the cast of Workaholics
DJs: Ramesh (of Voxtrot) & 70's Bush

STAGE 3 (Barbarella small stage)
12:00 PM Bass Drum of Death
12:45 PM Adventure
1:30 PM Versus
2:30 PM Malajube
3:15 PM Suuns
4:00 PM Weekend
5:00 PM PS I Love You

And this party will also have:

• FREE vegan Izzoz breakfast tacos while supplies last!
• lots of FREE snacks courtesy of Sensible Portions!
• a lot of FREE Honest Tea!
• FREE Raw Revolution bars to eat.
• FREE vegan ice cream from NadaMoo
• FREE Firefly Vodka cocktails all day (while supplies last.)
• more FREE DRINKS TBA.

• Our official microphone sponsor Line 6.
• and our backline sponsors Korg, Vox & Blackstar.
• our sponsor Nudie Jeans.
• and to ASCAP for sponsoring too.

To celebrate the BrooklynVegan + M for Montreal party, Nudie Jeans is also giving away 5 pairs of jeans (one pair for each day leading up to the party). For your chance to win, friend Nudie Jeans on facebook and send an email titled BROOKLYN VEGAN to nudie@wantagencyinc.com. For those at the party, we'll also be raffling off more Nudie Jeans you can win while you're there.

We're also happy to announce that, for the second year in a row, we'll be partnering with our friends at VegAustin to host a vegan bake sale for charity at the party. All proceeds will be donated to Compassion Over Killing.

Check out the flyer and stuff below...

Continue reading "BrooklynVegan & M For Montreal Free Saturday Austin Day Party lineup (3 stages @ Barbarella & Swan Dive)"

photos by David Andrako, words by Rachel Kowal

When you hear the word 'ecstatic,' chances are classical music isn't exactly the first thing that comes to mind. Even Thomas Bartlett (aka Doveman), one of last night's featured musicians, admitted that his music was "kind of quiet" and snoozy." But a cursory glance at Nadia Sirota's frenzied delivery on the viola, and the classicaly-bent Ecstatic Music Festival's choice adjective doesn't seem like such a misnomer.

The evening was arranged in three parts, one for each of the featured musicians. Of course, the performances were also highly collaborative and often called for all five performers (including violinist Rob Moose and cellist Clarice Jensen) to be on stage. "We're all friends and drinking companions," Bartlett revealed.

As evidenced by the the recent stringof Burgundy Stain Sessions at Le Poisson Rouge, Bartlett is no stranger to performing with a wide range of talented musicians, but after nearly a month of touring solo in Australia, he averred that extra musicians were a welcome addition. "I think I'm hallucinating the quartet," joked the jet-lagged pianist early into the show. Bartlett and company played a selection of Doveman's melodious songs, including a brand new one about lost love that he wrote during his recent trip abroad.

Following Bartlett's portion, Nadia Sirota moved to the center of the stage, her viola tucked safely under her arm. With its measured, gentle introduction, her first piece, 'Drums and Viola' provided a smooth transition from Bartlett's music into her more frenetic contributions. But with each passing movement of the song, the tension rose. To keep up with the heightened pace, Sirota inhaled sharply every few beats, which made her performance even more physical and impassioned. Like Thomas Bartlett, Sirota was also thrilled to present a new piece - Missy Mazzoli's 'Tooth and Nail'.

The final leg of the show featured Owen Pallett's sprightly selections. Though he is best known for his elaborate violin-looping skills, Pallett (who used to be known as Final Fantasy) started on the keyboard, accompanied by Bartlett and the slightly truncated strings section. After a few songs however, he picked up the violin so as not to betray his fans or the event poster. The majority of Palett's songs came from his last album, Heartland, but he also played an older song or two, including "He Poos Clouds."

Besides one odd technical difficulty when the music halted temporarily during the "difficult" song ("Lewis Takes Off His Shirt"), the acoustics were excellent, thanks largely to the carefully-engineered wood paneling in Merkin Concert Hall.

After each musician had the chance to show off a selection of songs from his or her repertoire, the group united on stage once more to conclude the evening with Neil Young's "Only Love Can Break Your Heart."

--

Doveman has more shows coming up and Owen Pallett is headed down to Texas now. More pictures from the Ecstatic show, below...

Continue reading "Owen Pallett, Thomas Bartlett, Nadia Sirota & friends got 'Ecstatic' @ Merkin Concert Hall (pics)"

Owen Pallett at Wellmont Theater (more by David Andrako)

Owen Pallett is in NYC. He spent last night at Terminal 5 checking out OMD, and he'll play Merkin Concert Hall TONIGHT (3/9) with Nadia Sirota & Thomas Bartlett (Doveman) as part of the ongoing Ecstatic Music Festival. Tickets are still available for all of you procrastinators.

Owen Pallett is also one of the artists, like Austra and Oh Land, that we're happy to announce will be playing the Swan Dive on 3/19 as part of the three stage BrooklynVegan/M for Montreal Day Party (he then plays the Stereogum stage at Pure Volume House way later that night). Pallett and Austra both also on board to play the Domino showcase on 3/17 at Emo's with Cass McCombs, The Kills, and King Creosote. All tour dates and some videos are below.

Doveman also has a pair of other upcoming NYC dates - the star-studded show next week at LPR (3/16, tickets) and April 5th at Bowery Ballroom with Justin Bond (tickets).

Continue reading "Owen Pallett plays NYC tonight, heading to Texas for SXSW"

As previously announced, the 2011 Ecstatic Music Festival, presented by New York City's Merkin Concert Hall in association with New Amsterdam Records, is a showcase of imaginative collaborations between more than 150 genre-pushing composers, songwriters and performers who represent a new generation of artists combining diverse influences and techniques to explore the intersection of classical and pop music. All concerts will include premieres. The festival opens with a free seven-hour marathon on January 17, 2011, and continues with 13 additional concerts until March 28, 2011. All concerts will take place at Merkin Concert Hall.

Continue reading "Ecstatic Music Festival kicks off on 1/16, runs through 3/28 (updated schedule w/ tUnE-yArDs, Dan Deacon, Owen Pallett)"

Beach House @ Prospect Park (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Kevin Drew's Favorite Albums of 2010 (via)

The National, High Violet (4AD)
Here We Go Magic, Pigeons (SECRETLY CANADIAN)
Beach House, Teen Dream (SUB POP)
Big Boi, Sir Luscious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty (PURPLE RIBBON/DEF JAM)
Owen Pallett, Heartland (DOMINO)
Brian McBride, The Effective Disconnect (KRANKY)
Bishop Morocco, Bishop Morocco (HAND DRAWN DRACULA)
Four Tet, There Is Love in You (DOMINO)
Matthew Dear, Black City (GHOSTLY INTERNATIONAL)
Pastor T.L. Barrett and the Youth for Christ Choir, Like a Ship… (Without a Sail) [reissue] (LIGHT IN THE ATTIC)

Kevin Drew's band Broken Social Scene is touring soon and playing Terminal 5. Big Boi has a show coming up at Terminal 5 too. Beach House have two shows coming up at Webster Hall as part of a short tour, and they played Conan last night (12/20). Video below...

Continue reading "Kevin Drew likes Beach House who played Conan last night"

words by Rachel Kowal

On Friday and Saturday night, singer Sam Amidon has hosted a series of sold-out shows at The Kitchen, an arts space in Manhattan that boasts an impressive Board of Directors that includes the likes of Philip Glass, Nico Muhly and Bryce Dessner to name a few.

With its austere, DIY theatre vibe, the setting was a bit unconventional, but then again, so was the performance. Much more than simply an evening of folk songs, ballads, and hymns, Amidon projected random video clips and odd, hand-drawn cartoons onto the large screen lining the back wall.

There were two clusters of instruments and laptops on stage - one for Amidon and the other for one of his regular collaborators, Shahzad Ismaily. Due to Amidon's mesmerizing presence, it's easy to overlook Ismaily on percussion, but only because his contribution is effortlessly subtle and effective.

Amidon began his multimedia show with a series of video clips, including one of himself in a rowboat, narrating the tragic tale of "a young child of indiscriminate gender, wearing a green raincoat who ran away from home at the age of 10." With such a vivid and candid performer like Amidon, it's often hard to tell if it's all an act or if he's a bit crazy, but that's part of the appeal.

As was quickly evidenced by both his home videos and his live performance, Amidon can hardly contain his odd stories and asides. With Amidon, it's about the journey - however winding or disjointed it may be. And with a fair amount of sing-a-longs thrown in to keep the audience engaged, it's hard not to feel that we're all weary travelers on the same odyssey.

Of course, the bulk of Amidon's show comprised songs from his last two albums, but he also played a quick succession of short folk songs. And yes, besides the more conventional aspects of the performance, he displayed everything from 'liturgical dancing' and chaotic vocal exercises to a book review (Peter Biskind's "Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex-Drugs-and-Rock 'N' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood" - apparently terrible), a conversation between a piece of broccoli and a jar of maple syrup (naturally, about love and depression), and an R. Kelly cover ("Relief").

It may not have been the most coherent experience, but Sam Amidon's grab bag performances never cease to entertain and enliven.

--

Both Sam Amidon and Shahzad Ismaily also play in Thomas Bartlett's Doveman, so maybe they'll be there in March when Doveman goes on a very short tour with Nadia Sirota in March. That very short tour includes two shows in Minneapolis and that one taking place at Merkin Concert Hall on March 9th with Owen Pallett.

Nadia Sirota and Sam Amidon, along with The National's Bryce Dessner and Bishi, will also participate in Tell The Way at St. Ann's Warehouse on February 10th, 11th and 12th...

Tell The Way is a newly commissioned collaborative work created for the Brooklyn Youth Chorus (Dianne Berkun, Artistic Director) by the ubiquitous Nico Muhly. Loosely based on medieval and colonial English travel narratives, the work draws from American folk sources, prayers for the Royal Navy, early colonial diaries, Mandeville, Herodotus and Marco Polo. Nico Muhly's music is propulsive travel-music, but at the heart of Tell The Way are three meditative collaborations between Muhly and Bishi, Muhly and Bryce Dessner and Muhly and Sam Amidon. An ensemble of strings, percussion, piano, and flute augment the voices of the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, Bryce's guitar, Sam's banjo and fiddle, and Bishi's sitar.

All tour dates and Sam's Kitchen setlist, below...

Continue reading "Sam Amidon played the Kitchen (review & setlist), playing Nico Muhly's 'Tell The Way' @ St. Ann's Warehouse (dates)"

Francesco Santocono: "'81"
A Voice Heard on Baer Mountain: "Autumn"
Sarah Katheryn: "Baby Birch"
Joel Cathey: "Book of Right-On"
Guy Buttery: "Book of Right-On" (instrumental)
Josh Mann: "Bridges & Balloons"
Chris Leeds: "Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie"
Ian Cooke: "Colleen"
This Is Deer Country: "Easy"
Doublewuzzy: "Flying a Kite"
Rosa Hinksman: "In California"
White Elephant Gift Exchange: "Inflammatory Writ"
Ian Cooke: "Monkey & Bear"
Billy Bragg: "On a Good Day"
Kristina Forrer: "On a Good Day"
Owen Pallett: "Peach, Plum, Pear"
M. Ward: "Sadie"
Ben Sollee: "Sawdust & Diamonds"
David Miele: "Soft as Chalk"
The Moscow Coup Attempt: "Sprout and the Bean"
Melissa Stylianou: "Swansea"
Jennifer Schmitt: "This Side of the Blue"

Joanna Newsom plays Carnegie Hall tonight! She is not however appearing on the The Simpsons...

"[On October 19th], a rumor of Joanna Newsom appearing on an upcoming episode of The Simpsons quickly circulated on the Interweb. This appears to have originated in an article from Malibu Magazine that was unfortunately incorrect and misunderstood. (Malibu Magazine has now corrected it online.) Joanna Newsom has released a statement regarding this rumor:

"Regrettably, the awesome rumor of my upcoming cameo on The Simpsons is unfounded. I remain, however, steadfast as always in my commitment to the character of Lisa, whom I have of course had the privilege of voicing for the last twenty-one years, in my dreams. Thanks for the memories, gang!" [press release]

Continue reading "a Joanna Newsom tribute comp, Carnegie Hall tonight "

"arcade fire. scarlett johansson. snl. win." - Paul

"Sometimes SNL shows me great new bands that I cant believe I haven't heard of... Arcade fire is not one of them #bandsthatsuck" - dj tillery

"Arcade fire is super weird." - Sarah Evans

"Could arcade fire be the worst band to ever grace snl?
Im beginning to think so." - Lauren Burdick

this was someone's ticket to see Arcade Fire on SNL (trishavirga)

Arcade Fire made their second appearance on Saturday Night Live last night (11/13/10). Videos from the show, and more below...

Continue reading "Arcade Fire played SNL again (video)"

words by JW Byer, Pop Montreal 2009 photos by Ryan Muir

Just when you thought Montreal was tapped out on its music talent, along comes Little Scream. Singer-songwriter Laurel Sprengelmeyer aka Little Scream (who bears a striking resemblance to a young Susan Sarandon), just finished up The Golden Record, her first studio album, co-produced by Richard Reed Parry of the Arcade Fire and Belle Orchestre.

The album was recorded in Montreal and New York, in the home studios of Parry and Aaron Dessner of the National. Both artists contributed to the album, with Parry playing on multiple tracks. Additional guest musicians include Mike Fueurstack (Snailhouse), Becky Foon (Silver M. Zion), Patty McGee (Stars) and Sarah Neufeld (Arcade Fire, Belle Orchestre).

The Golden Record (named after the 1977 Voyager space shuttle time capsule recording) is filled with stunning vocals and a beautiful use of reverb on songs such as "Your Radio." There are influences that span from the genre of folk on "Black Cloud," to the classical "Boatman." The heavy intro on "Cannons" bears the mark of Parry's work that can be heard in the Arcade Fire, but is unique at the same time. I was hooked right away with the soothing sounds of "Amahl," the album opener (a tribute to the Menotti opera that bears the same name), and the ballad that is "The Heron and the Fox."

There is good news for fans. Little Scream is on tour, playing this Saturday at the Pop Montreal Festival and the following Tuesday, 10/5, at Brooklyn's the Rock Shop. Tickets are still on sale for the Brooklyn show which is being headlined by Marnie Stern and also includes a set by the Forms.

LS is really excited to be playing the Pop Montreal Festival with Mary Margaret O'Hara, saying "she's kind of one of the reasons I play music." This set will also include guest musicians Becky Foon and Jess Robertson, and as previously noted, Doveman is also on that bill.

Later in October, Little Scream will head out on a Canadian tour with Owen Pallett before joining up with Suuns and Land of Talk, November 6th Bowery Ballroom included.

A limited run of CD's will be available at live shows, starting at the end of October. An official album release is slated for next spring. For a preview of The Golden Record, you can listen to new tunes at www.listn.to/littlescream and at her MySpace.

All tour dates and a Vincent Moon-directed Take Away Show, with pictures Ryan Muir took while that Take Away Show was being recorded at Pop Montreal last year, below...

Continue reading "a spotlight on Little Scream (tour dates included) "

words & photos by David Andrako

The National kicked off the third leg of their North American tour supporting High Violet on Friday night at the Wellmont Theatre in Montclair, NJ. The band is playing theaters and auditoriums until Mid-October along with two festivals, Austin City Limits on October 10th and the Treasure Island Music Festival in San Francisco on October 17th. Then comes a two-week break before playing 21 gigs across Europe from mid-November through the first week of December. As if that isn't enough travel, the band is playing a string of shows in Australia and New Zealand around New Year's Eve.

Friday night's opening act, Owen Pallett, who recently opened up for the Dirty Projectors at Terminal 5, was accompanied by Thomas Gill for a brief 40 minute set which was comprised mostly of songs off his latest album, Heartland. The duo were able to layer harmonies, Owen's violin, and Thomas's guitar into a mix that sounded as clean and good as the album. After opening for the The National on this leg of their tour, Owen returns to Canada for several shows through the end of October.

The National's set opened with "Runaway", the slow building track from High Violet. They performed it on a barely light stage, and proceeded to run through a 19 song set that featured songs from the band's 5-album catalog. Highlights of the set included a particularly energetic version of "Squalor Victoria" and show closer "Terrible Love". The latter featured lead singer Matt Berninger's only attempt of the evening to wade out into the crowd.

More pictures and the setlists from the NJ show, below...

Continue reading "The National & Owen Pallett played Wellmont Theatre in NJ (pics & setlists)"

photos by Matthew Eisman

After a string of festival dates, and shows in DC and Philly, Dirty Projectors returned to their native NYC to headline the cavernous halls of Terminal 5 with Owen Pallett on Saturday night (9/11)...

Pallett's set began after he announced (and tweeted!) that he was having a set list crisis. The set was decidedly split into two acts. First came his solo looping and building detailed architectural songs using just violin and MIDI keyboard... For the second half, Thomas Gill came to the stage, providing multi-instrumental layers on top of the looped violin textures. From bopping auxiliary drums on "The Great Elsewhere," to shredding guitar on "Many Lives -> 49 MP." ...As amazing and obviously talented Pallett is on his own, the addition of a second member to the stage show keeps him from being considered too gimmicky or one trick-y.

... From the beginning of the [Dirty Projectors] set with the harmonic shrieks of "Fucked For Life," and blasting strobe lights into the eyes of everyone in the crowd, it is easy to get sucked into how much of a powerful rock force these guys are and forget how weird these songs actually are. Catchy and rocked out to be sure. But when it comes down to it, these alien harmonies sung by Amber Coffman, Angel Deradoorian and Haley Dekle, along with Longstreth's finger-mashing guitar licks, these are not songs that many bands selling out big rock venues could dream of writing. - [FreeWilliamsburg]

The perfectly harmonized band (DP) is currently on the road through the end of September (with Happy Birthday and then Dominique Young Unique), but will be back in the tri-state area to play Madison Square Garden with Phoenix on 10/20 (tickets) before playing Fun Fun Fun Fest.

More pictures from the T5 show, a shot of the setlist and a video, below...

Continue reading "Dirty Projectors & Owen Pallett played Terminal 5 in NYC --- (pics, video, setlist)"

words by Andrew Frisicano, some photos by Jonathan Bayer & Yvonne Rodriguez

"Once you've reached Madison Square Garden, you've reached the peak. You're the success story of the day, so one relaxes. There's no where to go, there's no higher, there's only the abyss waiting. So live free, for one night only." -Terry Gilliam on the Unstaged Pre-show video q

a win Win situation (by Jonathan Bayer)

Arcade Fire looked perfectly at home on the stage of Madison Square Garden Thursday night, the second show in their two-night run. At this one, the audience exceeded the nearly-full stadium, with an at-home crowd watching a live stream directed by Terry Gilliam broadcast over YouTube (the live channel has something like 600,000 views currently, though not sure that number means anything).

That bodes well for the band, who are still waiting on the first-week sales numbers for their possible #1, The Suburbs, which came out on Tuesday (and has been on sale digitally for $3.99 at Amazon). At the show, the new record's songs weren't totally unfamiliar. One, "The Sprawl II," even made the encore, and spurred a roar of recognition from the girls in front of me, who informed our cozy section of the song's title (with a peace sign for the two) and described its arc (slow at first, but then really awesome) as it started up. A faulty drum machine forced the band to restart the tune a minute in, allowing a reflective pause for the victory lap in progress.

The band was clearly reveling in the moments of the show. Win Butler sailed into the crowd multiple times, occasionally with his guitar still attached. In one impressive maneuver, the frontman walked along the seated section's railing like a balance beam, before jumping into the general admission pit, tangles of mic cord trailing behind him (a play from the Matt Berninger handbook). The band frequently rotated instruments, with pianos, keys, two drums kits, violins and an array of percussion all playing a part.

The second night's songs were close but not identical to night one's (and both differed from their Boston show a few nights ago). As before, their debut LP, Funeral, provided ripe stadium-level material for the set, filling a little less than half of it. The order changed, but only one new song was swapped outright: "Empty Room" replacing "Half Light II."

For me, the stadium aspect of MSG was kind of a strange novelty. From the distant seats, the experience of watching a band while reclining, huge soda and personal pizza/popcorn/whatever in hand, is in some ways closer to a YouTube stream than a crowded, sweaty live concert. Still, the in-person event had its rewards for those that weren't up front - the band's backdrop for the evening depicted an abandoned bridge overpass, with an rectangular block of lights similar to a football stadium. In front of that was a video screen, mostly likely meant to be a billboard, which projected forms and images for each song. Antiquated ghosts lit up "No Cars Go" and what I can only hope is the video for "The Suburbs" depicted a gang of kids riding bikes in Reservoir Dogs-style slo-mo through an eerie neighborhood development.

And the people: a view-obstructing beer vendor trolling the aisles, a group of teens trying to find someone to buy them beer, an energetic (chemically-enhanced?) man pirouetting around the stadium's perimeter, and thousands of fists raised in unison for the group rite of "Wake Up" (the latter being inspiring or frightening, depending).

and there was confetti...

Owen Pallett started out the night to a minimally filled stadium. "I'm so happy to be playing here for the 200 of you," he joked. Then responding to a heckler, "No, I'm not taking it off, I just got this. Sorry." The empty hall added a nice element of reverb for the people who were there, amplifying the work of Owen's orchestra-in-a-box loop pedal.

Similarly, Spoon sounded great, with help from a horn section and drums borrowed from Phil Collins (both on only a few songs). The band jammed through a taut set with favorites like "Jonathan Fisk" and "I Summon You" taking their place along the new Transference batch. For "No One Gets Me But You," the Roots' Owen Biddle joined to make a two-piece bass section (as he did on Fallon).

Some videos from the show's "Unstaged" live stream are already online. Fan videos too (including a nice close-up of Win in the crowd). The set list, some more picturs from night two (night one are HERE), and those videos are below...

Continue reading "Arcade Fire played MSG again (night 2 setlist, videos, pics) "

photos by Bao Nguyen

"The Arcade Fire was majestic." - Tumbleweed

"that arcade fire show was unreal." - Anonymous

"I never thought in a million years I would say this.....but Arcade Fire at MSG was one of the best things I've seen in years. I am still reeling and still thinking about how fucking amazing it was." - Anonymous

Arcade Fire's "The Suburbs" is making a run for No. 1 on next week's Billboard 200 albums chart. Industry sources suggest the new set could sell maybe between 120,000 to 140,000 by week's end (Aug. 8).

It's understood that "The Suburbs" is greatly benefiting from its promotion in Amazon's MP3 store, where it's been sale priced for $3.99 since Monday. (The store began selling the album one day earlier than its official street date.)

There's a chance that Eminem's "Recovery" may possibly retake the No. 1 slot. The album slipped to No. 2 this past week, selling 159,000 (down just 15%).

Arcade Fire's last release in 2007, "Neon Bible," started at No. 2 with 92,000. It was blocked from the top spot by the No. [Billboard]

More pictures and the setlist from Wednesday (8/4), and a video of "Wake Up" with the entire very large venue singing along, below...

Continue reading "Arcade Fire, Spoon & Owen Pallett played Madison Square Garden in NYC (night 1 pics, video & setlist) "

Owen Pallett @ Webster Hall in April (more by Sarahana)

Arcade Fire collaborator and 2010 Polaris Prize nominee Owen Pallett (ex-Final Fantasy) has been added as the opener to both the August 4th and August 5th Spoon & Arcade Fire shows at Madison Square Garden (tickets). Those dates are in addition to his upcoming tours with both Dirty Projectors (he opens Terminal 5) and the National (he opens Wellmont Theatre).

Owen is giving away a free EP via Domino for one week only. The tracklist for that EP (Dan Deacon remix included) and all dates below...

Continue reading "Owen Pallett adds more tour dates, opening for Arcade Fire & Spoon @ MSG, giving away free EP"

The Besnard Lakes @ Bowery Ballroom in March (more by Andrew St Clair)

The short list for the 2010 Polaris Prize has been announced. The ten nominees are below...

Continue reading "2010 Polaris Music Prize short list announced (includes Caribou who will DJ Glasslands after the Governors Island show) "

photos by Chris Graham, words by Andrew Frisicano

Dirty Projectors @ Sasquatch Fest

Dirty Projectors have added the rest of the tour dates around their September 11th Terminal 5 show (Tickets are still on sale for that). The band covers a lot of ground on the short tour, going back to Seattle by the end of September. They just played the Seattle-area, Sasquatch Festival's second day (5/30). The pictures here are from that (Day one pictures from the same fest are here).

Between playing for David Byrne and DJing with Bjork, the band found time to cut a cover of Bob Dylan's "I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine" for Levi's, who will give you the song for your e-mail address. Don't expect too many fireworks - their version is a pretty straightforward, dorm-room take on the song. Levi's is also giving away songs by Nas, The Swell Season, and She & Him (The Shins, Passion Pit, and The Kills all have free tracks coming up).

Dirty Projectors' Terminal 5 show is being opened by Owen Pallett, who opens a few others on the tour too. Sub Pop garage-pop Happy Birthday and electro-party rapper Dominique Young Unique (whose video for single "Show My Ass" is below) open others. Owen goes on to tour with the National.

More Sasquatch pictures and videos (which capture the crowd singing "Happy Birthday" to Amber's dad, and some inspired "Stillness" dance moves) and all tour dates are below...

Continue reading "updated Dirty Projectors tour dates, a free Bob Dylan cover, pictures & video from Sasquatch"

photos by Chris Graham

Matt Berninger waves hi to the Sasquatch crowd

In order to the play the main stage, the lead singer of every band is contractually obligated to compliment the scenery: At least it seemed that way.

In fact, Damian Kulash of OK Go did it twice, calling the rolling desert vistas carved by the Columbia River "unbelieavable" and "amazing" before two different songs.

The National's Matt Berninger, the gangly embodiment of deep-voiced New York cool, at least waited until the last song to gush briefly about The Gorge Amphitheatre's majesty.

But who could blame them? Tens of thousands of years in the making, The Gorge is, rain or shine, one of the nation's most breathtaking concert venues. [OregonLive]

The National played Sasquatch Music Festival in Seattle over Memorial Day weekend. More pictures from that set and all tour dates (with openers) are below...

Continue reading "The National played Sasquatch (pics), touring w/ Owen Pallett (including the NJ show), playing other 2010 dates "

by Andrew Frisicano

DOWNLOAD: Chief - Night & Day (MP3)

Dirty Projectors & David Byrne @ Bowery in Nov '09

The MoMA Party in the Garden benefit with Karen O and Nick Zinner is tonight (5/25), and the Anthology Film Archives benefit with Lou Reed, Sonic Youth and Kenneth Anger's band Technicolor Skull was the week before (5/19).

Tomorrow (Wednesday, May 26th), there's the spring benefit for the Kitchen, a nonprofit performance and music space in Chelsea, that will honor David Byrne. The event, which includes dinner, drinks, etc. at Capitale (130 Bowery), will also feature performances by Dirty Projectors, Doveman, Nico Muhly, and St. Vincent. Tickets for that would have run you $500 a piece, if they weren't already sold out. Byrne isn't listed as playing at the event, though he has performed with both Dirty Projectors and St. Vincent in the past.

You can still nab a ticket ($75) to the somewhat less-exciting after-party with DJ Scott Campbell and music from California county-tinged folk-pop band Chief.

While in town, Chief, who just signed to Domino Records (and who live back in California now that they've graduated from NYU) are also playing a show at Mercury Lounge on June 2nd with She Keeps Bees and Caveman. Tickets are on sale. They'll also be at Union Pool on June 5th...

"California 4-piece Chief, comprised of early 20-somethings Evan Koga, brothers Danny and Michael Fujikawa and Mike Moonves, will release their stunning debut album Modern Rituals on August 17, 2010. The newest signing to Domino Records, Chief has already garnered a fervent following in NYC and LA as well as early radio support from KEXP, BBC Radio 6 Music and Zane Lowe's influential Radio 1 show. The band will set out on a run of select U.S. tour dates that begins this Friday, May 28th, but first they are proud to offer their lead single "Night & Day" as a free download" [Domino Records]

Dirty Projectors' other upcoming shows include a headlining gig at Terminal 5 on September 11th which Owen Pallett is now opening. All dates below.

St. Vincent has a headlining show coming up at Summerstage and she'll sing with Ben Gibbard at the June 8th Simon & Garfunkel-themed Summerstage benefit. You can also catch her playing DJ at Brooklyn Bowl tonight (5/25).

Speaking of David Byrne, he's been busy as usual. He's suing Florida governor Charlie Crist. And his Here Lies Love project came out in April. (Eerily, that record, about Philippine first lady and political figure Imelda Marcos, corresponded with the political success of Imelda and the Marcos family in a May election.)

There's a new book on Byrne & Talking Heads called Song and Circumstance: The Work of David Byrne from Talking Heads to the Present, which sports a cover photo by BV photographer Chris La Putt (taken at Byrne's Radio City show in 2009). Congrats Chris!

David Byrne's own book, Bicycle Diaries, came out last year. Videos of David's lecture on bikes, scenes from his 2009 "Songs of David Byrne and Brian Eno" tour, and all Chief & DP dates are below...

Continue reading "Kitchen Gala honoring David Byrne, show includes St Vincent, Dirty Projectors & Chief (now on Domino) - MP3, tour dates "

words & photos by Sarahana

Headliner Owen Pallett (no longer called Final Fantasy like he was when he played Webster Hall in December) joined opening act The Luyas for a few songs. Luyas singer Jessie Stein, who has an inviting demeanor, commented on Owen's shirt, "That looks like an 80's mom's shirt." It was a black top with some patterns sprawled around the neckline and printed in gold. He replied that it looked pretty manly. Jessie shared a story about how she and Owen used to be roommates (and then neighbors) when she was about 21; Owen would go down to practice and listen to bands like Animal Collective and Devendra Banhart, and Jessie would think "This stuff is never going to fly".

Extra Life was heavy music with a prominently featured violin, which added refined tragedy to raw anger. You could say Shakespeare meets goth, dorky meets scary. Unlike The Luyas and Owen Pallett, who are both from Canada, these guys are from Brooklyn. Front man Charlie Looker should definitely play Bartleby in a movie.

Owen Pallett's set was spectacular. He played several old songs solo, and had an additional musician, Thomas Gill, play percussion and guitar with him on new ones. Thomas is a talent on his own, which was most obvious when he helped Owen sing the chorus on the last song, a cover of Mariah Carey's "Sweet Fantasy".

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Extra Life's next show is May 9th at Cake Shop with Queening and Larkin Grimm ("Also in May, Planaria will release a split 12" single with Larkin Grimm, featuring the Extra Life cover of R Kelly's "Your Body's Callin'" and two new exclusive tracks from Larkin.").

The Luyas played a 'secret' show in Brooklyn one night earlier with sometime-Luya Sarah Neufeld of the Arcade Fire. Sarah did not join the band at Webster Hall, and she won't be with them tonight (4/23) at Sycamore.

Owen (who played as a member of Arcade Fire at Webster Hall in 2005) played Coachella over the weekend and now continues on tour. More pictures from last night at Webster Hall, with Owen's setlist, below...

Continue reading "Owen Pallett, Extra Life & the Luyas played Webster Hall in NYC - pics & setlist "

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: The Luyas - Tiny Head (MP3)

The other highlight for me Thursday night was getting to see The Luyas who are really unlike anything else going right now. They almost defy easy description. The closest I came up with was "Joanna Newsom fronting Mercury Rev" which at least gets you near the right ballpark. Singer (and member of Miracle Fortress when Graham isn't playing solo) Jessie Stein's voice has a child-like quality to it, and the band can go from intimate to epic and joyous within a song. There's unusual instrumentation too -- Pietro Amato's french horn is integral to their sound, and Stein is the only person other than the Liars' Aaron Hemphill that I've seen play a Moodswinger. All these disparate elements shouldn't work together, but they do... and gorgeously. The Luya's 2007 debut, Faker Death, is good but the new material they played last night was even better. The band's new album is due in early 2010 and could be a real stunner.

While they haven't set a date for their new album, The Luyas' second album is finished and will be out hopefully sooner than later. Check out "Tiny Head" from it above and you can also hear new tracks "Canary" and "Moodslayer" via their MySpace. You can also check out an extended Take Away Session at the bottom of this post (filmed around the band's most recent Pop Montreal appearance), along with all upcoming tour dates. They really are something special live, so you might want to make room on your schedule this week to see them...

Continue reading "The Luyas are here - new MP3 & 4 NYC shows (1 w/ Parlovr)"

photos by Rachel Carr, words by Daiana Feuer

Gorillaz Clash

The third and final round of the Coachella Music & Arts Festival was funky, and not just because the port-a-potties reeked. Keeping a loose theme every day (see Friday & Saturday), Sunday focused on relentless rhythm and groovy basslines. The absolute golden moment belonged to Yo La Tengo's blistering final song. Rhythm that revels in repetition + guitar that tries to destroy itself = wee mind blown. Sometimes the moodiest things are the most uplifting.

Thom Yorke brought his dancing shoes, his favorite Flea, and Nigel Godrich. His band Atoms For Peace played almost every song off The Eraser, many of which featured strong world rhythm sections. When Yorke didn't have a guitar in hand, he danced, whirled, and punched the air like he was rehearsing a scene from Fame. We wanted a high kick, but it didn't arrive. King Khan & The Shrines, on the other hand, featured legs flying all over the place, DJ Lance Rock and Yo Gabba Gabba characters, burning money, as well as a visit from the police-who crept on stage to snap pictures. Probably the first time Khan runs into cops and doesn't leave wearing cuffs. Sunny Day Real Estate had the audience offering bids to buy property, and Phoenix had people choking on dinner as they tried to dance and eat at the same time.

King Khan Gabba Gabba

Not every Julian Casablancas song captivated, but his band delightfully binged on rhythms. Each musician had a personal backbeat player supporting each fill. The drummer plus his sidekick especially sounded great. Matt & Kim's ebullient smiles inspired chaos in the audience, as usual. Mayer Hawthorne and the County revived Motown soulful brassiness and covered Biz Markie's "Just a Friend." The Big Pink played some new songs from next year's album, reaching out for Depeche Mode with a drummer in a pink bathing suit. Electro sweet popper Little Boots forgot her pants as well, wearing a sparkly shirt and knickers, and played with the lasers on stage. Charlotte Gainsbourg inaugurated her "first tour, first everything" with a feminine "Candy-O" sensibility, sometimes in French. Florence & the Machine rounds out the great lady performances of the day, and brought on Nathan Willett of Cold War Kids.

All clad in white, France's DJ ego-powers Club 75 demonstrated the ability to cooperate together with just a few elbows thrown. Cassius, Justice, Busy P, and DJ Mehdi still use CD's (so old school), and took turns passing on the headphones between them and finishing each other's remix sentences, trading places at each station. Backstage security bobbed along while staying tough. When it was their turn, Rusko turned the Sahara tent into a mechazoid robot battle and Orbital live-produced virtual reality anthems for Satan wearing Matrix miner lights around their heads. Infected Mushroom instructed on the benefits of "Becoming Insane" flanked by two mushrooms with red eyes.

The Middle East should not be confused with The Soft Pack, formerly The Muslims. The former may be from Australia but it sounds like a back porch band from Woodstock, and the latter offers a "Parasite" infestation that's as pure as sunshine and a neat drum set up that packs a giant tom punch. What appears as regular rock on headphones reveals its brilliance when experienced live. One of the strangest live moments of the festival belongs to Sly Stone, who played four hours late and on the wrong stage. He bitched, he slurred, he cursed, lay down, walked off, stopped songs and good grief, made a total mess of himself. But that's rock and roll.

Sly Stone made history look unable to get past its youthful drug phase, but Jonsi, Pavement, and Spoon come from a music scene that did a little bit less cocaine. Jonsi repped the awesomeness of Sigur Rós and great hats. Steve Patterson of White Rabbits joined Britt Daniels and the rest of Spoon to add percussion on "I Turn My Camera On". Spoon's tour-mate Bradford Cox (who played earlier in the day in Deerhunter) also joined Spoon on stage, like he did on their recent Kimmel appearance. Pavement ran through the hits during one of their first U.S. shows since reuniting. "That's the 90's in a nutshell," said Stephen Malkmus after the angsty "Unfair"...

"...Pavement, the iconic slacker band of the '90s, who took the main stage against what turned out to be one of the fest's chief attractions, the finally wildly popular French dance-rock band Phoenix, who wowed possibly the biggest crowd of the entire fest ... while Pavement played to a field half-full of true believers rather than the massive throngs many expected, and thought the band deserved.

No matter, though. Pavement still delivered a set that vindicated the group of prior crimes -- namely a Coachella performance near the end of their career so notoriously bad, many in attendance point to it as the moment the band decided to break up.

This night, however, they were tight, they were loud, and they sounded large on that vast field -- an odd statement, given the fact that in their heyday they were far more known for being introspectively small rather than arena-ready..." [The OC Register]

Radiohead Peppers For Peace

Daiana's Weekend Top 10:
1. Yo La Tengo's last song
2. Little Dragon's Yukimi
3. Gossip leading a revolution
4. Thom Yorke dancing to African rhythms
5. PiL giving a history lesson
6. Sly Stone wigging out
7. Bouncing penises + fat people in undies (Die Antwoord + Major Lazer)
8. Devo putting on the hats that ushered in modern pop culture for "Whip It"
9. John Waters corrupting many young minds
10. The Gorrilaz lyric: "Super fast jellyfish going super fast. You can't even see him but you wanna eat him."

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Owen Pallett, Local Natives, Miike Snow, and Yann Tiersen also played the fest Sunday. Gary Numan was among those who couldn't. Reviews & pictures from Day One, HERE and Day Two, HERE. Setlists (Thom Yorke and Pavement), pictures, and videos from Day Three, below...

Continue reading "Coachella 2010 - Day Three in pics, video & review (the Thom Yorke & Pavement setlists included) "

Akron/Family @ Outsida Lands 2009 (more by Chris Graham)

tonight in NYC
* Imelda May @ Southpaw
* Soulive @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Tilt @ Issue Project Room
* Mose Allsion @ City Winery
* Cruel Black Dove @ Littlefield
* Gil Scott-Heron @ The Blue Note
* Rogue Wave, Avi Buffalo @ Bowery Ballroom
* Gabriel Kahane @ Lincoln Center's Allen Room
* Beat Radio, Stars of Track and Field @ The Bell House
* Cubic Zirconia, Keys N Krates, MeLo-X @ Mercury Lounge
* 'What It Feels Like for a Girl' w/ Supercute @ 92YTribeca
* Happy Ending Music & Reading w/ Phosphorescent @ Joe's Pub
* Efterklang, Daniel Bjarnason, Sam Amidon @ (Le) Poisson Rouge
* Akron/Family, Warpaint, Please The Trees @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Armory Show opening w/ The Walkmen, Human Rights, Justin Miller (DJ) @ MoMA
* Cameron Hull, Guitars, Spanish Prisoners, Heavy Birds, The Shivers @ Glasslands
* Big Terrific Show w/ Max Silvestri, Gabe Liedman and Jenny Slate @ The Cameo

The new OK Go video is below...

Owen Pallett's new video for "Lewis Takes Off His Shirt", below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Wednesday?"