Fiona Apple @ Bowery Ballroom in March (more by Dana (distortion) Yavin)

Fiona Apple, whose current tour schedule already included Denver's Paramount Theatre on 7/20, the Seattle Paramount Theatre on 7/25, Terminal 5 in NYC on 10/16 & 10/17, and Wellmont Theater in NJ on 10/12, has just announced a few more shows including 10/13 at The Paramount in Huntington, NY (aka Long Island and another Paramount), 10/16 at Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, NJ, and 10/19 at the Palace Theatre in Albany.

Tickets for the Long Island show go on general sale on Friday, 7/13, at 10am, but first a venue pre-sale will start on Wednesday at 10am (PASSWORD = PULSE). Albany and Red Bank tickets also go on sale Friday. Tickets are still available for the Wellmont show, and for both Terminal 5 shows.

An updated list of tour dates (with possibly more TBA), all with Blake Mills (who opens and plays in her band), below...

Continue reading "Fiona Apple adds more NY & NJ shows (updated tour dates)"

photos by Greg Cristman

The music was mondo intense --- almost more intense than its performers at first --- and proved why this band is one of the major progenitors of alternative rock, and still remains on top. Material from its most recent release, "Great Escape Artist," was dished out liberally among the hits. The band opened with the new track "Underground" before diving into "Mountain Song," which sent several in the audience into a panty-wetting frenzy. The stage set was a sexed-up Warhol carnival with live girls punctuated by cinematic ones.
-[Rochester City Newspaper]

Jane's Addiction headlined Paramount Theater in Huntington, NY on March 4th with Black Box Revelation, part of their Theatre of The Escapists Tour. The above review comes from their Rochester show which was a few days before Huntington which is pictured in this post.

The tour continues tonight at a sold-out Wellmont Theater and soldiers on through late May, thanks to a new leg of dates added recently. All tour dates, pictures from Long Island and the setlist too, below...

Continue reading "Jane's Addiction played The Paramount on Long Island, play Wellmont Theatre tonight (pics/updated tour dates)"

Jane's Addiction at Irving Plaza in 2011 (more by Dana (distortion) Yavin)

Jane's Addiction resurfaced in 2011 with The Great Escape Artist, their first new album of original material since 2003's Strays. They followed the release of the album with a club tour that included two nights at Irving Plaza. In February and March, they'll head out on another tour, dubbed the "Theatre Of The Escapists" tour, where they plan to hit various theaters in North America with support from Black Box Revelation.

According to a statement from Perry Farrell:

We chose to play as many of the great theatres that we could find because we wanted to immerse the audience in a unique experience unlike any they have ever seen at a rock show. Expect an orgy of musical and visual delights. We like orgies, and hope you do too.

That tour hits the NYC-area twice: on March 4 at The Paramount in Huntington, NY and on March 6 at The Wellmont Theatre in Montclair, NJ. Tickets for the Long Island show go on venue presale Wednesday at 10am with general sale starting Saturday at the same time. Tickets for the NJ show go on sale Saturday at noon.

All dates are listed below...

Continue reading "Jane's Addiction going on theater tour, NJ & Long Island included (2012 dates)"

photos by Greg Cristman

Cheap Trick was amazing... the band barely let up; if there was a second or a pause they ripped into another song, played The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour as if they owned it. "She's Tight" which brought back images of the video from thirty years ago. "The Dream Police" which I would say is my favorite, and "I Want You to Want Me". Rickie Nilsson kept flipping guitar picks out into the audience and like a kid I wanted to get one. -[Train Writer]

Cheap Trick played The Paramount in Huntington, Long Island on December 8th, with support from Mickey Leigh's New Yorkestra (Mickey Leigh is Joey Ramone's brother). The band has two more dates set on their calendar before the clock strikes 2012, on December 28th at Buckhead Theater in Atlanta and on New Year's Eve in St. Petersburg, FL at Jannus Landing.

So far, no plans to have Cheap Trick perform at the, um Cheap Trick. As BV Chicago posted last month...

Cheap Trick, the Rockford band behind the '70s hits "Dream Police" and "I Want You to Want Me," announced that it will "curate" a museum and music venue in a former Buick dealership at 2245 S. Michigan in the emerging Record Row-Motor Row district.

Band manager David Frey said in a statement that Cheap Trick Chicago will be "a one-of-a-kind eatery, unique musical instrument museum, radio station, and performance space as well as rooftop and outdoor and event space in the future Music Row in Chicago."

...The announcement is a continuation of Fioretti's vision to link the historic Chess Records site, 2120 S. Michigan; the empty Vee-Jay and Brunswick Records site, 1449 S. Michigan, and vacant auto dealerships into an entertainment district that would blend history, recording studios, hotels and restaurants.

"I think we could put the Cheap Trick project together by next year," Fioretti said Wednesday. -[Chicago Sun Times]

More pictures and the setlist from The Paramount on December 8th and all tour dates are below.

Continue reading "Cheap Trick played the Paramount w/ Mickey Leigh's New Yorkestra (pics, setlist), opening Chicago venue"

photos by Greg Cristman

The Pixies are currently still out on a "Doolittle" tour with Surfer Blood which started at NJ's Wellmont Theater back on 10/27. The bands returned to the NYC-area to play a Saturday night show (11/5) at Long Island's Paramount Theater...

"On stage banter and bassist Kim Deal's interaction with the crowd played a big role, as you couldn't help but feel like you were part of something special. Highlights of the show include performances of "Here Comes Your Man", "Monkey Gone to Heaven", and "Where is My Mind?" The night concluded with the band's 1988 single "Gigantic", which had fans singing along and moving to its iconic bass line. Members Black Francis, Kim Deal, Joey Santiago and David Lovering then took a bow and made their way backstage. Hopefully this was just a preview of what's in store for the Long Island music scene and this fantastic venue." [SpotonLI]

More pictures, including one of of the Pixies' setlist, below...

Continue reading "Pixies & Surfer Blood played Long Island's Paramount Theater (pics & setlist)"

photos by Dana (distortion) Yavin

Bonnie 'Prince' Billy

For those who experienced and loved ATP America's festivals in Monticello, NY, it may have been difficult to imagine how a change of location, from upstate New York to the New Jersey shore, could possibly improve and enhance the unique and uncanny event that it was known to be. Well, it has.

Friday afternoon the fans, followers and leaders of All Tomorrow's Parties arrived in Asbury Park, NY, a town that only five or so years ago was known for its high crime rate and abandoned boardwalk. It's likely that this decadence, however, is precisely what draws the festival and its goers to a new spot on the map, a mere hour south of New York City. Although the rain dampened the ground here at Asbury Park, it did not extinguish the ATP fire that was sparked on stage by Chavez, Reggie Watts with his knee-slapping musical spoofs (ironically fit for a music festival), event regulars Shellac, Hannibal Buress and Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, The Album Leaf and the absorbing Jeff Mangum (of Neutral Milk Hotel). -[Dossier]

---

Edan

Here is a full set of pictures I'll Be Your Mirror Friday. They continue below...

Continue reading "I'll Be Your Mirror 2011 -- pics from Asbury Park ATP Friday (Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, Shellac, Cults, Chavez, Edan & more)"

Jeff Mangum isn't on the list, but one could argue that the elusive frontman of Neutral Milk Hotel might be classifiable as an "outsider musician", much like Daniel Johnston (who he covered on Friday again) and Roky Erickson (who he covered on Sunday again). Those covers aside, Jeff's three ATP Asbury Park setlists, religous experiences for many, stuck 100% to songs he wrote.

At last night's show (Monday, 10/3), Jeff was also joined on stage for two songs by show opener A Hawk and a Hacksaw, his Neutral Milk Hotel band-mate Jeremy Barnes included. To quote one anonymous attendee, "I loved him just solo but when they came out it sounded like neutral milk hotel." It looks like we're one step closer to the full on reunion. The Neutral Milk Hotel box set is out 11/22.

Last night's setlist also included "Little Birds" which he didn't play the other two nights. Two quote wiki, it's "the only song by Neutral Milk Hotel written after the release of In the Aeroplane over the Sea of which a recorded version exists.

"It's the beginning of a story where a boy is in a not-so-nice situation. One day, little birds start to form around him in his room. They start coming into his body and he was very happy about this. But unfortunately he tries to share it with other people and they get very upset because this is something that he finds to be very beautiful but they don't find very beautiful and they want to destroy it." -Jeff Mangum

Jeff comes even closer to and in NYC when he plays sold out shows at Town Hall on October 29th and Landmark Loew's Theatre in Jersey City on 11/6. Jeff also has a benefit show scheduled in Woodstock. No openers have been announced for those.

Above photo by missdubs. All three Asbury Park setlists below...

Continue reading "Jeff Mangum played 3 shows @ Paramount Theatre, was joined by Jermey Barnes, covered other outsider musicians (setlists)"

by BBG

Kyuss Lives! at Terminal 5 (more by Greg Cristman)

After playing a string of dates through 11/8 with MonstrO including Terminal 5 last weekend, Kyuss Lives! and The Sword will loop back to the NYC area as part of a new string of dates with Black Cobra that will include Long Island at the Paramount Theater on December 9th and Monclair, NJ at Wellmont Theatre on December 10th. All dates are listed below. Presale tickets for all new dates are on sale HERE. Tickets for the Wellmont show go on sale at noon on Friday (9/30). And yes, Nick Oliveri is on board for all dates except when the band hits Canada (and possibly Mexico too?) according to their publicist.

In the meantime, gear up for the Black Cobra show with Invernal, the band's new album due on Southern Lord on 10/11. Check out the new track "Avalanche" at Metalsucks, and preorder it now.

All tour dates and some video from Terminal 5 is below.

Continue reading "Kyuss Lives! & The Sword announce more dates, Wellmont & Paramount w/ Black Cobra included"

Union Transfer rendering

Lots of interesting stuff to report in the world of live concert promotions...

NYC concert promoter Bowery Presents, who already has expanded to NJ, Boston, Maine, and Canandaigua, NY (not to mention MSG, Jones Beach, the Meadowlands, Radio City, etc), is opening a new music venue in Philadelphia this month. In partnership with Philly's one and only Sean Agnew of R5 Productions, and Avram Hornik and Mark Fichera of Four Corners Management, Union Transfer is...

... "named after the original train depot station that occupied the building [and] was developed by the group to meet Philadelphia's need for a mid-sized live music space and will accommodate 600 people. The general admission venue boasts a flexible capacity and can manage up to 1,000 people for larger crowds. Located at 1004-26 Spring Garden St, steps from Center City, Union Transfer is slated to open on September 21, 2011.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah headline the very first show at the new space. Felice Brothers, Shellac, Mogwai, Tune-Yards, RJD2, Langhorne Slim, Little Dragon, CSS, Odd Future, Dum Dum Girls, Friendly Fires, The Black Angels, Boris, SBTRKT and many others are also already on the initial schedule.

In perhaps less exciting news for Bowery Presents, Mercury Lounge talent buyer Jay Belin has reportedly moved on and started booking Irving Plaza, Gramercy Theatre and the new Paramount Theatre in Huntington, Long Island for Live Nation.

The Paramount Theatre is...

...located on New York Avenue a block and a half north of Main Street. The space is the former home of the nonprofit Inter-Media Arts Center (IMAC), which closed its doors in 2009 after 26 years of hosting jazz, folk and blues concerts.

The 1,500-capacity venue has been undergoing renovations for months. Among the changes, there will be a VIP lounge on the balcony and a member's only "Founder's Room" with a separate entrance in addition to the general admission floor.

"With both the architecture and the vibe of the venue dedicated to quality sound, hospitality, and experience, The Paramount is sure to be a hotspot for all of Long Island, and especially for Huntington," the founders said in a news release." [Long Island Press]

Upcoming shows at the Paramount include Rusted Root, Elvis Costello, The B-52's, Weird Al Yankovic, BB King, Willie Nelson, the Pixies, Brand New and Ray Davies.

Speaking of moving on, Rock Shop booker Jack McFadden aka Skippy has moved to the music capital of Texas. He is still booking the Brooklyn club (and other NYC rooms) though. You just won't see him there as much.

Speaking of expanding, the race is on to see who can open in Chicago first. Will it be Brooklyn Bowl? or City Winery?

Speaking of Brooklyn Bowl, and last but not least for this post, the Wetlands is having a Class of '96 reunion at Brooklyn Bowl on Sunday (9/11). Ex-employees of the famed Tribeca club who will probably be in attendance include Rocks Off founder Jake Szufnarowski, Bowery Ballroom (and Union Transfer co-booker) Johnny Beach and of course ex-Wetlands owner and current Brooklyn Bowl owner Peter Shapiro. Brooklyn Bowl hosted a Wetlands get together of sorts in 2010 too, though that one was on a much sadder note, as it was to remember Wetlands' very first employee Dave Nolan who died of a heart attack last year.

photos by Tim Griffin

Globe and Mail: What chapter are you in now?

Steve Earle: Maybe it's the third one. This is my 14th studio album. The last five years, since I moved to New York, I feel at home for the first time in my life. I'm 56. It takes living in a place where I can see any movie or see live theatre or see great works of art, and have hundreds of choices in those areas. I need that stimulation now to write.

We continue to track Steve Earle's current trip across the country that will eventually see him back home playing shows at Music Hall of Williamsburg and Town Hall (tickets). Thursday night he played the Paramount Theater in Austin. A set of pictures from that show continues below...

Continue reading "Steve Earle @ Austin's Paramount Theater (pics)"