by 'Week in Indie' Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Black Diamond Bay - "Blue Mace" (MP3)

Watching the new line-up of Dears at Hiro Ballroom two weeks ago during CMJ, as good as I thought they were, it was definitely a bit strange to hear older songs like "Lost in the Plot" and "22: Death of All the Romance" and not see the old band up there, especially emotive guitarist Patrick Krief and fill-loving drummer George Donoso. They were definitely part of what made the Dears (circa 2003 - 2006) so amazing.

So it's good to know Krief and Donoso are still playing together in Black Diamond Bay who are on a short East Coast tour this week, including three dates in NYC. What started as a Patrick Krief solo project while still in The Dears has become a full-blown band (rounded out with bassist Andre Bendahan and keyboardist Roberto Piccioni) with their self-titled debut out soon. (They're selling it at their shows now.) Krief's style isn't that dissimilar from what he did in his former band, heartfelt songs with a sort of epic swagger to it. Check out the MP3 above and video after the jump to see what I mean. And go them live. Dates follow as well.

Continue reading "Black Diamond Bay (ex-Dears) - 2008 Tour Dates (3xNYC)"

DOWNLOAD: Uncut - Hideaway (MP3)

Patrick Krief is in the Dears, and has an awesome song where he sings with Land of Talk's Elizabeth Powell streaming on his MySpace, and this very week he's in NYC doing his solo thing along with fellow Canadians Uncut (as seen on Pitchfork). Last night they played Mercury Lounge, and next:

Patrick Krief & Uncut - 2007 Tour Dates
Jul 18 - Maxwell's Hoboken, New Jersey
Jul 19 - Club Midway New York, New York
Jul 20 - Union Hall Brooklyn, New York
Jul 21 - Soundfix Brooklyn, New York

Too bad Lizzie is not still in town. More dates below....

Continue reading "Patrick Krief (Dears) & Uncut - 2007 Tour Dates"