Man Man @ Rothbury 2009 (more by Graeme Flegenheimer)

tonight in NYC
* Soulive @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Jesse Malin @ Bowery Electric
* Man Man, Born Ruffians, Javelin @ NYU Kimmel Center
* Tally Hall, Jukebox The Ghost, Skybox @ Bowery Ballroom
* Gunfight, Shark?, Quiet Loudly, Scary Living @ Glasslands
* Mayer Hawthorne and the County, Nikki Jean @ Webster Hall
* The Garden Grows w/ Nate Martinez, Josh Kaufman @ Sycamore
* Japanther, Cerebral Ballzy, Filthy Savage @ Mercury Lounge
** Tigercity, VHS or BETA (DJ), Wave Machines @ (Le) Poisson Rouge
* Stars of Track and Field, Patryk Larney, Weatherbox @ Maxwell's
* Silk Flowers, Prince Rama of Ayodhya, Blissed Out @ Market Hotel
* J Roddy Waltson & the Business, Silkamoor Rooney @ Mercury Lounge
* Animal Collective & Dany Perez: Temporal Gyrus @ Guggenheim Museum
* Sir Majesty, The Ditty Committee, Jason Anderson @ Pete's Candy Store
* The Radio Barrons, Resistor, Open Ocean, Hundred In The Hands @ Pianos
* Gray Goods, Art Sorority For Girls, Soft Black, Ed Vallence @ Bruar Falls
* Brian Scary & The Shredding Tears, Yukon Blonde, Autumn Owls @ Littlefield
* Outpost, Ceremony, Screen Vinyl, Image, 999999999 @ Knitting Factory Brooklyn
* Patrick Bower the World Without Magic, Sparrow House, Reading @ Union Hall
* Sunburned Hand of the Man, Nancy Garcia, Grasshopper, Zebu, Sord @ Death By Audio
* Cage the Elephant, As Tall As Lions, Morning Teleportation @ MHOW
* Arthur Russell Tribute release w/ Loose Joints, Dinosaur L musicians @ Santos Party House
* Hunter Gatherer, Dan Peck Trio, Wet Ink, Timetable Percussion, Glissando Bin Laden @ Issue Project Room

Wave Machines kick off a tour with their show at Le Poisson Rouge tonight.

Wave Pictures don't get here until March 15th.

Sunburned Hand of the Man cancelled their show tonight, but all the other artists on the DbA bill are still playing.

Tickets seem to still be on sale for the early Animal Collective installation/show today. The late one is sold out.

Patrick Bower & The World Without Magic, discussed here, play Union Hall tonight with Sparrow House (ex-Voxtrot) and The Reading.

The Hundred in the Hands, discussed in the same recent post, play Pianos tonight.

A new episode of Breakfast at Sulimays below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Thursday?"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Toro Y Moi - Blessa (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Patrick Bower - The Dark Lord of Love (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Morning Benders - Promises (MP3)

Wild Beasts @ Union Pool in 2009 (more by Tim Griffin)

Of all the things going on this week -- and there is no shortage of options as usual -- my number one pick would be for you to see Wild Beasts, who are on tour and play Bowery Ballroom on Friday (2/26, sold out) and Music Hall of Williamsburg on Sunday (2/28) Tickets still available for the Brooklyn show and we have a pair to giveaway. Details at the bottom of this post.

Their second album, Two Dancers, was my favorite album of 2009 and I still hear some new and amazing little detail every time I listen to it. I went to all three of their New York shows last September, all of which were great. The fluid interplay between the band is something to behold -- a real case of four people working as one mesmerizing whole. And those who still haven't gotten used to their vocal style, I say go see them live and everything makes more sense. Wild Beasts are one of a kind, at the top of their game, and you're dumb to miss them.

Both shows feature Toronto's Still Life Still as openers, and Violens will also play the MHoW show. Both openers also head to SXSW in March.

Morning Benders

The other undeniable show this weekend is Saturday (2/27) at Market Hotel with a line-up that almost dares you not to go: Surfer Blood, Turbo Fruits, Beach Fossils, Grooms and Morning Benders. All bands I've written about in this weekly column more than once. Now most of these bands -- including out-of-towners Surfer Blood and Turbo Fruits -- play here enough that most people have seen them already. Except Morning Benders, recent transplants from San Francisco who have kind of blown up over the last two weeks thanks in part to a great new album, Big Echo (out March 9 on Rough Trade), as well as a killer live performance video (shot for Yours Truly) of the LP's lead track, "Excuses," that's been making the rounds. The version on the album is already pretty lovely, but here, done Phil Spector style with the Big Echo Orchestra (John Vanderslice and Christopher Owens of Girls among them) is pretty special. You can watch it at the bottom of this post, and download the MP3 of "Excuses" from The Morning Benders website for the mere price of your email address. The MP3 for "Promises" is above. Anyway, see them now before the album comes out and they no longer play places like Market Hotel.

... or the Housing Works Bookstore where they'll play tonight (2/25) with the garagey Shark? and twinkly folkies Cuddle Magic. Max Silvestri hosts. Presented by the Hype Machine, it's also a CD swap where you can take all those CDs you've ripped and trade them for others you don't have yet. Admission is $5 and at least one CD. Do bring something someone people would want to listen to, and not that CD of your cousin's ska band, OK?

The Morning Benders also play Mercury Lounge on April 22 (tickets still on sale). All tour dates for the band are at the bottom of this post.
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Some more show picks shows by day:

THURSDAY 2/25

Toro Y Moi is playing Cameo Gallery but surprise surprise: Best New Music + 75 person capacity = sold out show. There will be some tickets ($5) available when doors open at 8PM. Twin Sister are also on the bill so if you already have tickets for this, show up early and see them -- they're great. If you don't make it in, Toro Y Moi rolls back through town on March 26 where he'll play Brooklyn Bowl with New Zealand's Ruby Suns. He'll be at SXSW too. All tour dates for him are at the bottom of this post.

Patrick Bower

Patrick Bower and The World Without Magic are likely to play tunes from their new EP, The Dark Lord (of Love), at Bruar Falls. You can download the Scott Walker-esque title track at the top of this post. It's pretty different than the more beardy folk of his solo work. I dig it. The show's free and also features country-ish Beau Jennings & The Holy Tulsa Thunder and the delicate orch-folk of Balene.

North Highlands, Dream Diary and Knight School are at Death by Audio. Now is the time to catch North Highlands, who were excellent at Bruar Falls last week and I think will be taking things to the "next level" (whatever that means) soon. Dream Diary are getting really good too, especially if you like Pastels-style indiepop, and Knight School are NYC's nerdiest, funniest, catchiest, tinniest band.

And at the Bell House there's laptop shoegaze maestro Ulrich Schnauss who made one of my favorite records of the '00s, A Strangely Isolated Place, and apparently had a hand in recently coaxing Chapterhouse out of retirement. It's actually a pretty cool night if you're into dreamy soundscapes. Also on the bill is Mark Van Hoen who was a founding member of awesome '90s band Seefeel (seek out 1993's Quique) and who's made music under the name Locust since the mid-'90s. Local dreamweavers Luxa open the night.

FRIDAY 2/26

If you weren't able to squeeze into Cameo on Thursday, Twin Sister play the equally tiny Matchless. As I said recently, they're probably the best new band I've seen in some time. I will say I'm predisposed to like their mix of Stereolab and Sade, but I was wowed when I saw them at Bruar Falls.

A Sunny Day in Glasgow are back in NYC, playing  Mercury Lounge (tickets). They've got a new EP, Nitetime Rainbows, coming out next week that shows off their more experimental, soundscape-y side. Which side will we get Friday? This is the start of a lengthy tour which of course includes SXSW. Acrylics, who I love, are also playing the Mercury Lounge show.

Another chance to see Knight School, this time early on at Bruar Falls with awesomely loud (yet poppy) duo Sisters, sonic manipulator Noveller and the psych punk assault of Lame Drivers. After this show, Sisters hit the road with another Brooklyn duo, Coasting, for the tour heading to SXSW and then join up with Irish band So Cow after the fest. Tour dates are below.

SATURDAY 2/27

Hospitality haven't played live in at least six months, due mainly to their bass player's duties in White Rabbits. He won't be at Bruar Falls on Saturday so we'll be seeing a slightly different line-up of the band but I'm glad to have them back. Singer Amber Papini is quite the charming singer. They're opening for Swedish duo Wildbirds & Peacedrums -- who are also playing an early show at Mercury Lounge on Friday.

Another local band that hasn't played in ages: The Hundred in the Hands, whose song "Dressed in Dresden" I listened to a lot last summer. It's the only song on their Myspace, apart from about 10 different remixes. It's a good track, but I'm curious to see how many other songs they have. With Glasslands doors at 11 and two other bands on the bill (Ra Ra Rasputin, Esque) it'll be a late night.

SUNDAY 2/28

Go see Wild Beasts. Seriously.

That's it for this week. Videos, Wild Beasts contest, and tour dates are after the jump.

Continue reading "Wild Beasts, Morning Benders, Patrick Bower, Toro y Moi, Hospitality, A Sunny Day in Glasgow, more in This Week in Indie"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Marmoset - Peach Cobbler (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Marmoset - Florist Fired (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Marmoset - Winter (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Marmoset - Lemon Meringue Live (Zip)

Long-running Indianapolis band Marmoset will be in New York next week as part of a short East Coast tour supporting their sixth record, Tea Tornado, their first for Joyful Noise records. Like their previous albums on Secretly Canadian, Tea Tornado displays a heavy Brit influence with a distinctive, almost sinister tone. I asked former Indianapolis resident (and current World Without Magic frontman) Patrick Bower what he remembered about Marmoset from his time there:

Marmoset are one of the few bands from my time in Indianapolis that I count as "authentic," by which I mean they lived the life. They just made music constantly in their home studio near my house in Fountain Square and were never really part of the (largely non-existent) scene. I'm glad [Secretly Canadian's] Chris Swanson believed in them enough to keep putting out their records, despite the fact that they never really toured. I count The Record in Red as a bone fide classic, almost a perfect record. I remember seeing them in college before any of my bands got going, and I remember being struck by how creepy they were. It gave me the same feeling as watching Jandek or maybe Wesley Willis. To their credit, they maintain that eeriness to this day.

As Patrick notes, Marmoset don't tour much so go see them while their out of their nest. They play Cake Shop on September 9 (Wednesday) and Bruar Falls the next night (9/10). There's a few MP3s at the top of this post -- "Peach Cobbler" is from their new Tea Tornado, the others are from their Secretly Canadian days, and you can also download a live album (ZIP) as well. All dates below...

Continue reading "Marmoset on rare tour - new album, 2009 dates, some MP3's"

photos by Maryanne Ventrice

Drink Up Buttercup @ Bruar Falls

"After seeing somewhere around forty bands, eating exactly four amazing taco truck tacos, and drinking something like 40,000 beers, half of which were free and half of which I'm totally going to expense, the first annual Northside Festival has officially come to an end.

I believe I can speak on behalf of the L Magazine staff, as well as our sponsors and various partners, when I say thank you--to the people who bought badges, the press people who covered it, the pedestrians who stopped doing what they were doing so that they could watch bands perform on the street, the venues who trusted us with their spaces, the showcase presenters, and most importantly, to the nearly 350 bands that played--for making this entire thing an overwhelming success. [L Magazine]"

Mayanne Ventrice was running all over the place for the four dates of the Northside Festival. On the second day, Friday (6/12), she saw nine bands in four venues (Public Assembly, Spike Hill, Cameo, and Bruar Falls), stopped by Music Hall of Williamsburg for a peak at the BV photo show, and accidentaly caught Shilpa Ray playing with her band on the street. The rest of her pictures from that day are below...

Continue reading "Northside Fest 2009 - Day 2 in pictures "

We've got another slew of announcements for you today, starting with Swedish folk singer Kristian Matsoon, whose Tallest Man on Earth has been added to the Brooklyn Vegan showcase at Music Hall of Williamsburg (along with John Vanderslice and more TBA) on Friday, June 12. We're also pleased to inform you that the good people at the legendary Ninja Tune Records will be hosting a showcase, featuring Megasoid, Daedelus and Ghislain Poirier.

The Tallest Man On Earth was just one of many artists added to the previously announced Northside Festival lineup today. Full list below...

Continue reading "Northside Fest lineup expands w/ Ninja Tune showcase, etc"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Woodhands - Can't See Straight (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Woodhands - Electric Avenue (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Rooftop Vigilantes - Drew Want Dino (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Rooftop Vigilantes - Copper is Free (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: caUSE co-MOTION - This Just Won't Last (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Right on Dynamite - Mantra for the Madness (MP3)

Woodhands

Toronto dance-rock duo Woodhands are back in NYC this week for the first time since playing last summer with Crystal Castles at Studio B. I caught them when I attended M for Montreal back in November and they were really fun live, putting on a sweaty, two-man disco party. Singer Dan Werb rocks a keytar as unironically as one can, and drummer Paul Banwatt is a human drum machine. They also, when I saw them, brought their own laser light show which I certainly hope comes with them this week when they play Death By Audio on Thursday (2/12) and The Studio at Webster Hall on Friday (1/13). For some reason I find the idea of lasers at Death By Audio hilarious and awesome. Hopefully they'll also do their cover of Eddie Grant's '80s classic "Electric Avenue" which you can download above.

Rooftop Vigilantes

This week is not as action-packed as last, but there are some other notable shows happening. Lawrence, Kansas' Rooftop Vigilantes highlight a very solid bill at Cake Shop on Thursday night (2/12). Their label describes them as "a very drunk Fugazi" which kind of works but they are poppier than that and actually remind me of semi-obscure San Francisco band Oranger. (Comparisons to The Replacements aren't unwarranted either.) Loose and wild, but with solid pop songs holding them up, their debut Carrot Atlas blazes through 16 songs in under half an hour and you can tell by the recordings that they'll be a lot of fun live. (Lawrence.com has a bunch of MP3s to download and an interview with the band.) Rooftop Vigilantes also play 92YTribeca on Friday (2/13) with Endless Boogie and Mike Bones. More Rooftop Vigilantes dates at the end of this post.

Also on that Cake Shop bill: caUSE co-MOTION, who just played with The Pains of Being Pure at Heart this past Saturday; Right on Dynamite who I've written about before; Beachniks which sometimes includes JB of Crystal Stilts but they are on a European tour as we speak so I don't think he'll be there; and Mr. Falcon who I know absolutely nothing about but the two songs on their MySpace are both really good.

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And finally, tonight (2/10), Patrick Bower and Joe & the Flying Spoons are playing a free show at Zebulon. Bower's band has grown to include Doug from Dirty on Purpose and Steven Mertens of Spacecamp; meanwhile, Joe of Flying Spoons was in Dirty on Purpose and also features Chris of Spacecamp (and Patrick Bower's other band, World Without Magic). It's more than a little incestuous in the Williamsburg music scene. Both bands are vaguely country-ish, with Bowery leaning more towards lush, beardy folk, and the Flying Spoons more upbeat and feature a chorus of lovely ladies. Worth checking out.

Tour dates and videos after the jump...

Continue reading "Woodhands, Rooftop Vigilantes, Joe & the Flying Spoons & more in This Week In Indie"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Patrick Bower - See Ya When We See Ya (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Amazing Baby - Head Dress (MP3)

a version of Amazing Baby

Wednesday (8/20) has so many good NYC show options it's criminal. Top of the list for me is probably Seattle's BOAT at Union Hall, who (as listed in last week's post) played a great show on Sunday at Cake Shop, one of the most fun shows I've been to all year. Add locals My Teenage Stride to the Union Hall bill and I would say it's a can't miss, but... there's also The Muslims at Union Pool; Vivian Girls/BFF at Death by Audio; and week two of Passion Pit's residency at Pianos (to which there are still tickets, so much for my own McGee-esque overblown hyperbole).

If you do go to Pianos, might I suggest you sneak upstairs beforehand to catch Patrick Bower. He fronts one of my favorite local bands, World Without Magic, but has also just completed a solo album, Beach Closed, which will be out in September. His solo band (at least at this show) will feature members of The End of the World, The Art of Shooting and Daylight's for the Birds. You can hear a couple tracks from Beach Closed on Patrick's MySpace and you can download an MP3 above, and watch a video for the song further down this post.

Grand Archives

This Friday's Seaport Music Festival show should be a good one -- Grand Archives and Violens. Grand Archives' debut has been a real grower for me, one that I find myself listening to a lot. The CSNY vibe to the music really works, they put on a pretty good live show too and make room for choice covers. I like them more than their Sub Pop labelmates Fleet Foxes, but that's just me. And I'm anxious to catch Violens again, not having seen them play since May. I've worn out their three-song EP, though "Trance-Like Turn" (from a Green Owl Records compilation, video below) is their best song yet.

For those Brooklyn Vegan readers in the UK, Violens are opening for MGMT in November. Also playing those MGMT shows will be Amazing Baby, who remain my favorite new NYC band of 2008. That would be a hard tour to pass up if I lived over there, even though I'd say the headliner is the weakest live band of the three.

Amazing Baby also play this Friday (Aug 22) at Market Hotel where there is apparently open bar (Colt 45) all night long. I've seen them four times now -- each time a slightly different line-up but always good. Speaking of good and free, you should download Amazing Baby's Infinite Fucking Cross EP from their website. There's also an even newer song for download on top of this post. It's the same song they perform live in the video below (where you'll also find tour dates and other videos too).....

Continue reading "BOAT, Amazing Baby, Grand Archives, Violens, Patrick Bower & more in 'This Week in Indie'"