by Bill Pearis and Andrew Sacher

Ex Cops DJing at Other Music, RSD 2012 (more)

We're about a week out from Record Store Day 2013. When it began in 2008, RSD was a celebration of brick-and-mortar stores in the face of digital downloads, offering up exclusive releases to get people out to stores. It's blown up considerably since then, with hundreds of RSD-only releases. (Many of which fall into the hands of folks who turn it around on Ebay that same day, but what can you do?) While it is a mob scene these days, there is no doubt it helps what record stores there are left -- though not enough, as Record Store Day will be the last day for Williamsburg's Sound Fix. Participating stores around the country are listed here.

There are always some pretty cool exclusives too, items that may have never seen the light of day without RSD. With that in mind we've gone through the list of North American RSD exclusives to highlight a few things to keep an eye out. This isn't comprehensive, just stuff we wanna get. What records are you trying to get this year?

We've written about the Sacred Bones comp, the Astralwerks comp, Old 97s, Frightened Rabbit, Austra, Sonny & the Sunsets, and Titus Andronicus Check out our new list below...

Continue reading "a guide to Record Store Day 2013"

DOWNLOAD: Silver Jews - Secret Knowledge of Back Roads (MP3)

by Bill Pearis

Silver Jews fans get happy (if that's possible): Drag City is releasing Early Times, which collects the band's early Dime Map of the Reef and The Arizona Record singles, both of which are about 20 years old, out of print, and date from the days when more people thought of Silver Jews as a Pavement side project (Stephen Malkmus and Bob Nastanovich were members then) and not an outlet for songwriter David Berman. The LP/CD will be out June 19.

You can download "Secret Knowledge of Back Roads" from Early Times at the top of this post. It's raw and barely recorded just like it should be (and was) and will sound just fine next to that Ohsees tour casette you bought that one time at a show. Early Times art and tracklist are below.

Continue reading "Silver Jews reissuing early recordings (MP3)"

photos by Graeme Flagenheimer, words by Nick Dierl

No Age kicked off the night's festivities at the Hollywood Bowl Thursday night (9/30); playing in front of a hometown crowd with the confidence and humility that has gained Dean Spunt and Randy Randall such great acclaim in both Los Angeles and worldwide. With the addition of third live member William Kai Strangeland-Menchaca their sound has been fleshed out enough to fill the entirety of the outdoor theater. Burning through both old favorites and songs from their brand new album Everything In Between, they were an energizing start to the evening.

Sonic Youth took the stage next and opened their set with the calm poise one would expect from such tried and true veterans. Despite their elder status in the rock community they still rocked with the best of them, with Steve Shelley's bombastic drumming and Kim Gordon's bass accompanying the guitar heroics of Lee Ranaldo and Thurston Moore. Their experience showed through most obviously during the noise interludes and outros of the songs as they meticulously built a swarm of dissonant feedback, with Gordon scraping her bass across the stage at one point, only to snap harmoniously back into unison with everyone else a moment later. Sonic Youth continued to prove that, despite their age, they are still in the prime of their live career.

Pavement opened their headlining set with crowd pleaser "Cut Your Hair" with exuberance and energy, as if they had never taken an eleven-year break. Stephen Malkmus' jangly guitar bravado and playful banter with the crowd from the show's start set the mood for what would turn out to be a wonderful set. After Watery, Domestic cut "Frontwards", they moved into what Malkmus referred to as "the California diptych" of "Gold Soundz" and "Shady Lane" (supposedly Irvine and Silverlake, respectively). This made their intention to play crowd favorites clear early. Selecting songs from the breadth of their catalog, they kept mostly to the raucous tunes, rarely breaking out the slower numbers (save for set highlights "Grounded" and "Spit on a Stranger").

The band was congenial and grateful toward the crowd at the Bowl, exactly as one would hope a group in their position to be on one of the final American dates of their reunion tour (that included five NYC shows). Malkmus seemed sincere later in the set as he delivered the chorus of "Stereo", another of the night's highlights, singing excitedly "I'm on the stereo!", almost as if he was legitimately still surprised that people care about his songs. Bob Nastanovich brought great energy to the show the whole night, getting right into the thick of the people at the front of the crowd during Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain gem "Unfair". The swagger and personability of the whole band throughout the night made for a spectacular evening worth waiting the last eleven years for - a successful victory lap for one of indie rock's greats that will hopefully be repeated soon.

Due to time constraints, Pavement didn't get to do an encore though Graeme got a peak at the written setlist which did have "Two States" and "AT&T" listed. The LA crowd still got 17 songs.

Both Sonic Youth and Pavement move on to Vegas for the weekend (where both of their sets will be streamed online from). More pictures and the full Pavement setlist from Hollywood Bowl, and a few videos, below..

Continue reading "Pavement, Sonic Youth & No Age played Hollywood Bowl in LA (pics, video & setlist)"

photos by Matt Karp, words by BBG

Jenny Lewis of Jenny & Johnny @ Williamsburg Waterfront

Flipping through the channels the other night, I came upon Inside The Actor's Studio with guest Betty White. They cut to a Golden Girls clip and guess who was holding Rose's teddy bear hostage with a squirtgun filled with red ink? The one and only Jenny Lewis.

Jenny graduated from stick-up kid to professional musician long ago. Rilo Kiley released their first album in 1999, she went solo in 2006, and most recently she teamed up with her boyfriend "Johnny" Rice to write and record I'm Having Fun Now. That album has been out since August 31st, and Jenny and Johnny will hit the road for more shows in October and November. Those now include a CMJ show at Irving Plaza on 10/19. Tickets for the NYC show go on sale NOW (at 10am).

Jenny & Johnny have already passed through these parts, and recently. The band played Maxwell's on 9/21 and two days before, supported Pavement alongside Endless Boogie at Williamsburg Waterfront (where Belle & Sebastian play the last show of the season tonight). We now have pictures from that Brooklyn show.

More of those pictures, all tour dates, and the video of Jenny on the Golden Girls, below....

Continue reading "updated Jenny & Johnny tour dates (now with a NYC CMJ show) ++ pics from their Brooklyn show "

photos by Greg Cristman

Pavement @ Summerstage Friday

After six nights in gotham that included one show in a bonafide downpour, two TV appearances (Colbert and Fallon), and thousands of tickets sold to five live shows, Pavement moved on to Marland Saturday to play the free Virgin Mobile FreeFest that went down at Merriweather Post Pavilion...

"False starts, aimless guitar-noodling, and Stephen Malkmus' sloppy 'do: Yup, it was a perfect Pavement set. Now several months into its reunion, the legendary indie-rock quintet cycled through every song but "Box Elder" that's essential to a Pavement show, often with heavy audience accompaniment. Some of the crowd's favorite singalong lines: "No big hair!" in "Cut Your Hair"; "Not here, babe!" in "Summer Babe"; "Don't worry, we're in no hurry!" in "Range Life." It was uncharacteristically unslackerish, which is to say Bob Nastanovich wasn't the only member rocking out. Malkmus was in particularly good spirits. After the band ended "Spit On a Stranger," he joked that he'd auditioned with the song for American Idol. "I couldn't hit the high notes," he said." [Spin]

Pavement's NYC victory lap ended one day earlier with their fourth show at Summerstage/Rumsey Playfield. We previously posted the set list and promised more pictures from the show. Here they are (though none of opener The Beets unfortunately).

On Sunday Pavement played Atlanta, and the band has five more dates to go before they hang it up again (or will they?) (should they?). Those dates include Hollywood Bowl in LA with Sonic Youth and No Age, and the Matador 21 Festival.

Setlists from Maryland and Georgia, along with the rest of the pictures from Summerstage Friday, below...

Continue reading "Pavement played Virgin FreeFest (setlist) after completing their run of 5 NYC shows (one more set of Summerstage pics) "

Pavement @ Central Park Summerstage - Sept 24, 2010 (pic by Greg Cristman)

That's a picture of the setlist from Friday night's Pavement show in Central Park, the fourth of four Summerstage shows, and the fifth of five NYC shows that kicked off Sunday night at Williamsburg Waterfront. They substituted 'Heaven Is A Truck' for 'Fight Generation', and those hands reportedly belong to the woman who gave birth to Mark Ibold. More later.

Pictures from Thursday night's show, and their remaining reunion tour dates, HERE.

photos by Matthew Eisman

Pavement @ Summerstage, Thursday, 9/23/10

Jacob Ganz: Hi Matthew. How was the show [Thursday night]?

Matthew Perpetua: This was the weird night.

MP: The night in Williamsburg was good, but kind of an off night. The first Central Park show was just wonderful, they were as on as they possibly could be: Great moods, playing as well as you could hope for. Dream Pavement show. The second show was the rainy night, and was kinda dramatic and I think there was a real intensity to the audience because of the weather conditions. Tonight was the one where they were kinda tired, odd moods, a bit sloppier, definitely just kinda weird and goofy.

MP: I've liked that all the shows have been different types of Pavement shows, and I'm glad one of them was like this.

JG: How many times have you seen them play now?

MP: I saw six shows in the original run, and I'll see six in the reunion tour.

MP: So as of tonight, it's 11. And I've seen Malkmus solo or with the Jicks many times over, and I've heard dozens of live bootlegs.

Who else is going to all five NYC shows? Counting Matthew, I know of at least two. I knew three, but one of them sold their tickets to the rainy night after scoring some tickets to see Yeah Yeah Yeahs at Monster Island. They could have actually done both but didn't want to take the chance (Jen Pelly did take the chance and saw both shows that night) (not that four out of the five shows isn't impressive).

Endless Boogie opened for Pavement in Central Park last night. The Beets open the 5th and final NYC show tonight (9/24). Pavement also appeared on Fallon last night.

After NYC, Pavement heads down to play the free Virgin Fest at Merriweather Post Pavillion, stops in Atlanta, Texas and LA, and then ends it all (or do they?) at the Matador 21 Festival in Vegas. (and actually, are there any scheduled shows after that? I can't find any, but thought I maybe saw one announced for overseas).

UPDATE: I knew I saw other dates get announced. They are in Brazil and Argentina and happening in November (thanks Hiro).

All dates and more pictures from last night's Rumsey Playfield show (including the setlist again), below...

Continue reading "8 more Pavement shows to go? here are pics from last night (who went to every NYC show?)"

As Jimmy Fallon blogger Sara Schaefer points out, "Pavement!!! The indie rock legends took over Late Night last night, and brought along our Play Guitar with Pavement contest winner, Steve Goss. On air, they performed "Unfair", and they stuck around to do a special performance of "Stereo" exclusively for our site. Steve Goss fit right in and the band rocked it." If you went to the Central Park show last night, you could have watched this after you got home. Videos below...

Continue reading "Pavement played 2 songs for Fallon (videos) "

Pavement @ Central Park Summerstage - Sept 23, 2010 (via Keith G)

Four down. One to go. More on Thursday night's Rumsey Playfield show (pictures included), and some video from Pavement's appearance on Fallon (also happened last night), later.

PREVIOUSLY: NIGHT THREE, NIGHT TWO, COLBERT, NIGHT ONE.

Pavement @ Summerstage (more by Dominick Mastrangelo)

today in NYC
* Demetri Martin @ Town Hall
* Mark Olson @ Joe's Pub
* Vince Neil @ Irving Plaza
* Jaymay @ Rockwood Music Hall
* Lichens @ Factory Fresh
* Hank Roberts @ The Stone
* Gordon Voidwell @ BAM Cafe
* Abigail Washburn @ Joe's Pub
* Yeah Yeah Yeahs @ Mercury Lounge
* Stars, Wild Nothing @ Terminal 5
* The Acorn, Basia Bulat @ Littlefield
* Porcupine Tree @ Radio City Music Hall
* ZO2, Sweet Cyanide @ Gramercy Theatre
* Vitalic, Annie Mac @ Webster Hall
* Electric Six, Fall On Your Sword @ Maxwell's
* David Bazan, The Mynabirds @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Joey Baron, Robyn Schulkowsky @ The Stone
* Mighty Tiny, Thy Burden, Victory Gin @ Zebulon
* Mazing Vids, Soft Metals, Innergaze @ Bruar Falls
* Pavement, The Beets @ Central Park Summerstage
* Sloan Wainwright, Pearl & the Beard @ the Living Room
* Laurie Spiegel, Joseph Kubera @ Issue Project Room
* The National, Owen Pallett @ The Wellmont Theatre
* Ra Ra Riot, Anamanaguchi @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Murder By Death, Ninja Gun, Samantha Crain @ Union Pool
* Garotas Suecas, The Babies, Sundelles, Holger @ Cake Shop
* Workout, Super Mirage, Hey Stranger, Hello Nurse @ Pianos
* Alice in Chains, Deftones, Mastodon @ Madison Square Garden
* Big Head Todd & The Monsters, Carbon Leaf @ Best Buy Theatre
* Laurie Anderson (performing Delusion) @ Brooklyn Academy of Music
* The Hundred in the Hands, Blood Orange, Blondes (DJ set) @ Coco 66
* Le Sphinxx, Psycho Wipeout, Koko Ono (Showpaper Benefit) @ Silent Barn
* Japanther, This Runs On Blood, Math The Band, Mirrors & Wires @ Shea Stadium
* Avey Tare, Crocodiles, Kria Brekkan, Headless Horseman (RSVP here) @ Glasslands
* Blank Dogs, Snakes Say Hisss, I'm Turning Into, Sweet Bulbs @ Tortilleria Mexicana Los Hermanos
* Red Wire Black Wire, Infrastructure, Swoon, Novae, Peculiar Gentlemen @ The Studio at Webster Hall
* Escort (live), Mister Saturday Night, Darshan, Midnight Magic, Rub and Tug DJ's @ Highline Ballroom

Blank Dogs are playing a show tonight.

Bettie Serveert and The Art of Shooting @ Maxwell's is rescheduled for Wednesday, November 3rd.

Willifest is happening, and Coney Island has a film festival kicking off today too. So does all of New York.

Read about the Laurie Anderson show going on at BAM.

Tickets went on sale for Crime In Stereo's final Brooklyn show.

Pavement week is coming to an end. The fifth of five NYC shows happens tonight at Summerstage. A couple of videos from Thursday night, and one of the rainy Wednesday show where the crowd is going nuts, below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Friday?"

photos by Diana Wong

you can see the rain in the light

Considering the band split apart in 1999 and most everybody in attendance bought tickets to the show a full year ago, there wasn't going to be anything keeping hardcore Pavement fans from Wednesday night's (September 22) concert at Rumsey Playfield in New York's Central Park. The weather certainly tried though, as a thick fog of humidity gave way to steady rain and a spectacular display of lightning (so spectacular, in fact, that the producers actually pulled the band off stage for 15 minutes half way through the set, for fear of lightning strikes).

With the weather threatening to derail the entire evening, Pavement found a completely new gear. Eschewing the sharp between-song banter that colored earlier shows on this reunion tour, the band tore through their set mostly in an effort to cram in all their songs but also because they remain clearly thrilled by the aspect of playing these tunes together again. ...Something clearly lit a fire under the asses of Stephen Malkmus, Bob Nastanovich, Scott "Spiral Stairs" Kannberg, Steve West and Mark Ibold, as they were feisty, firey and tight (despite a few false starts)...

"Thanks for sticking with us," Malkmus said at the end of the set. He was probably talking about the rain, but he could have been talking about the 10 years in between appearances that gave his quirky songs a new energy that he clearly enjoyed. Will Pavement make another album? It seems doubtful. But they sure do seem to like being in Pavement again. -[MTV]

The band played most, if not all, of their setlist last night (in the rain).

Pavement round four kicks off tonight (9/23) at the also-sold-out Summerstage (but you can get a ticket for cheap outside) with Endless Boogie (who was one of the openers at the first show at Williamsburg Waterfront).

Times New Viking opened last night, and will be playing another show at the Meat Locker in Montclair, NJ TONIGHT (9/23). Times New Viking's other upcoming shows include a stint with the reunited Guided By Voices.

More pictures from last night's Summerstage show (including another of the setlist), below...

Continue reading "Pavement played Rumsey Playfield again (pics), with Times New Viking (who play the Meat Locker tonight) "

"Saw Pavement frontrow/center in the rain/thunder/lightening, got a setlist, made it 2 BK in time for YYYs at Secret Project Robot. Oh my god" - Jenn Pelly

"Ready to relive tonight's Pavement concert in the pouring rain. Can you make that happen? Kind of night that keeps me in love with my NYC." - Jenna Schnuer

"Pavement in the pouring, pouring rain. Best show ever." - Cara McDonough

Pavement @ Central Park Summerstage - Sept 22, 2010 (via Keith G)

Those who braved the weather Wednesday night ended up getting a still-great Pavement show, but a slightly shorter and much wetter one than the one the night before at the same Central Park venue. Lightning caused an unplanned intermission, but the show did go on after the break, even though the rain didn't stop.

Keith, who sent in the setlist (thanks!), reports that despite the break, "I'm pretty sure they played everything on the list. During the end of the show they played Linden, then Here, then Conduit to close out the show." More, including a full set of pics, coming later HERE.

Times New Viking opened what was the third of five Pavement reunion shows happening in NYC. Thee Oh Sees opened the night before. The first NYC show was Sunday night at Williamsburg Waterfront with Jenny and Johnny and Endless Boogie. Endless Boogie open again tonight (9/23). The final NYC show is Friday with The Beets.

Download the first show at NYC Taper.

Check out a 15 minute Big Ass Lens video from the first show, below...

Continue reading "Pavement played in the rain (NYC night 3 setlist)"

photos by Dominick Mastrangelo, words by Bill Pearis

"Welcome," Stephen Malkmus greeted the crowd at Summerstage. "So, these are the real shows. The first shows. The others were just warm-ups."

The two-hour, 27-song set Pavement played did nothing to dispute that statement. It's true what everybody's said about this reunion tour. They were never this good, never this fun during their original '90s incarnation. At least the three times I saw them. The last time -- Irving Plaza, 1999 -- the band were clearly sick of each other and only percussionist Bob Nastanovich, ever the cheerleader, seemed to be carrying the torch.

Not so tonight though, at the first of four consecutive Pavement shows at Summerstage (aka Central Park's Rumsey Playfield). Malkmus, Nastanovich, Scott Kannberg, Mark Ibold and Steve West seemed to be genuinely having a blast. After "Range Life," Malkmus quipped, "That was a really good version of that one, and I've heard them all."

Opening with "Shady Lane," the set ran through most all the hits, with a few surprises like "Infinite Spark" and "Perfect Depth"  -- the latter wasn't on the setlist. (They also swapped out the setlist's "Spizzle Trunk" for "Heaven is a Truck.") "Summer Babe," "Here"  and "Spit on a Stranger" (we got nothing from Terror Twilight) were the only songs notably absent but we got "Shoot the Singer" (one of my favorites), plus "Debris Slide" and "Conduit for Sale" both of which featured Nastanovich on the mic, pacing the stage and working the crowd like one of the Beastie Boys.

You get the feeling that Nastanovich, who comes up with the setlists every night, is probably Pavement's #1 Fan. When he wasn't playing tambourine, keyboards, or the drums, he had the crowd cracking up with a stream of non sequiturs ("Did I ever tell you about the time Sun Ra fixed my car in Lexington, Virginia?"). A giant smile was on his face the entire time.

Mine too. For me at least, tonight's show transcended nostalgia. Ten years is a while to be away, but not too long. The guys somewhat shockingly all still look pretty much the same -- yet are playing better than ever. It's enough time to mellow egos, iron out differences and, you know, get better as musicians.. And make us to realize how much we missed them.

If you've been on the fence about trying to get tickets -- there were no shortage of people selling tickets outside the venue -- you should just go. One of the best times I've had at a show this year.

Thee Oh Sees

Openers Thee Oh Sees aren't really suited to such a big stage but made the most of it by packing into a ten foot square of the stage and treating it like it was Death by Audio. They sounded great for their ripping 30-minute set. "I could tell you a million stories about listening to Pavement," frontman John Dwyer said. "But you've all got 'em. They did save me one time on acid, so thanks for that."

There was lots of good between-song banter. Some highlights:

"Thanks for not losing your tickets over the last year." -- Kannberg

"I hear tickets weren't so hard to get this week, anyway. Face value...that's what we like to hear. Less than that...that's not good." -- Malkmus

"That song always reminds me of fondue." -- Nastanovich on "In the Mouth a Desert."

"'Grounded' is my Dad's favorite song. Couldn't you have picked one of mine?" -- Kannberg, who's dad was in the audience.

"I didn't realize they had such good weed on the Upper East Side" -- Nastanovich

"That was the Superchunk version of 'Gold Soundz.' In a good way, obviously." - Malkmus

"The real truth is 'Babtist Blacktick' is too fast for this age group." -- Nastanovich

Pictures continue, with the full setlist, below...

Continue reading "Pavement & Thee Oh Sees @ Rumsey Playfield (pics & setlist) "

Pavement @ Central Park Summerstage - 9/21/2010 (matte_)

* note: they didn't stick 100% to what is written

Full report coming HERE. Sunday night's setlist HERE.

Stephen Malkmus awkwardly sort-of-answered Stephen Colbert's questions last night on the Colbert Report, right before playing "Gold Soundz" (the "top track of the 1990's").

Pavement kick off their four-night run at Central Park Summerstage tonight (9/21). Their first NYC reunion show took place Sunday at the Williamsburg Waterfront.

Their next TV appearance is Thurday night on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Videos from Colbert below...

Continue reading "Pavement played Colbert (video), playing Fallon Thursday"

photos by Chris Gersbeck

"Superchunk top their pulverizing MHOW set with a Misfits cover for their encore. #horrorbusiness" - mike spinella

"i really wish superchunk would tour more often. one of the best shows of the year tonight at mhow." - jarid maged

"It was unclear just who was throwing the water balloons at last night's Superchunk show at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, but the band, back in town with Majesty Shredding, their ninth full-length record and first since 2001, were clearly tickled that their fans still had it in them.

"You guys are rowdy tonight," singer-guitarist Mac McCaughan told the packed house of former teenagers halfway through the set, by way of congratulations. "Good for you."" [Capital]

If you were feeling nostalgic last night (9/19) in Brooklyn, where would you go? You had at least two choices. Pavement was playing the Williamsburg Waterfront (one of their five area shows) and Superchunk was at the considerably smaller Music Hall of Williamsburg (their third of three NYC shows) with openers Toddy Barry and Wild Nothing. Well, if you didn't have an advanced tickets to Superchunk, and couldn't get one at the door, at least after your choice was made for you, you could just walk a couple more blocks where Pavement had plenty of room (Pavement also ended early enough to see the headliners of both shows).

Superchunk started their NYC run at Bowery Ballroom on Saturday, also played a free in-store at Other Music earlier on Sunday and will play Late Night with Jimmy Fallon TONIGHT (9/20), so set your DVRs if you'll be out too late dancing to tunes chosen by Pavement's Bob Nastanovich at the Living Room. Set Colbert to tape too because that's the TV show Pavement will be on tonight.

Comedian and Music Hall opener Todd Barry, who took part in the Eugene Mirman Comedy Fest earlier in the weekend (and later Sunday night), sat in on drums with Superchunk for a Misfits song. Pics and video of that below.

Wild Nothing will be back in NYC in just 4 short days, as the band is scheduled to support Stars at Terminal 5 on 9/24 as part of a larger tour between the two. Tickets are still available.

More pictures, the Superchunk setlist, and video from both OM and MHOW (including one of Todd Barry playing "Horror Business" with the band), below...

Continue reading "Superchunk played Bowery, Other Music & coverd Misfits @ MHOW w/ Todd Barry & Wild Nothing (pics, video, setlist) "

"Just returned from tonight's Pavement show. When I grow up, I want to be Bob Nastanovich." - Eric Weaver

Pavement setlist - September 19, 2010 (michaeldayers)

"Pavement were amazing. They went on 8:10, done by 9:50. Endless Boogie were cool. Other opening band (jenny and something) was awful. Pavement did 25 songs and all 25 of them were among the best 100 songs ever written." [Anonymous]

One down, four to go.

Also, Bob Nastanovich is DJing the Living Room Monday night. Flyer below...

Continue reading "Pavement played NYC! (Williamsburg Waterfront setlist) "

Summerstage 2010 (more by Andrew St Clair)

It may be almost fall, but Rumsey Playfield aka Central Park Summerstage is coming back on the radar starting tonight (9/16). There are seven shows total at the outdoor venue between now and September 24th and they are:

1. 9/16 Cake
2. 9/17 Ween
3. 9/18 Broken Social Scene & The Sea & Cake
4. 9/21 Pavement & Thee Oh Sees
5. 9/22 Pavement & Times New Viking
6. 9/23 Pavement & Endless Boogie
7. 9/24 Pavement & The Beets

Except for the 9/21 Pavement show which is listed as "Summerstage", they all come up on Ticketmaster with a search of "Rumsey". I didn't try every Pavevent show, but tickets are still available for Cake, Ween and BSS, and there are definitely still tickets available for the first Pavement show which is the one happening in Brooklyn with Jenny and Johnny.

DOWNLOAD: Endless Boogie - Tarmac City (MP3)

The rumor as to why Jelly couldn't do the Pool Party at Williamsburg Waterfront this weekend is because the state, OSA or someone made up a rule that said no more than two shows can happen at the space per weekend, and OSA & AEG had already booked Primus/Gogol Bordello on Friday (tonight) and Nas & Damian Marley on Saturday. By the way, both of those shows are sold out. I am told that there will be no tickets at the door (except maybe from scalpers/people with extras).

The Pool Party this weekend is instead at Brooklyn Bowl.

Pavement play a ticketed show at Williamsburg Waterfront on September 19th. Tickets are actually still available, but that hasn't stopped Rocks Off from offering an alternative way to see the show...

"Wanna see Pavement's show at the Williamsburg Waterfront? Too bad sucka - it sold out quicker than you could say "step on a crack and break yo mamma's back." But lucky for you the stage faces the water.. and its fucking LOUD - we know, we tested it our during the Faith No More show. Took a boat out to watch and listen for ourselves. In fact, all the shows that happen there, we can hear all the way across the river at our marina at East 23rd Street. So we KNOW you're gonna be able to hear and see from the boat. And guess what... you can drink $5 beers on the boat. And you won't have to get a wristband from one vendor to then buy drink tix from another venndor to then walk through gated turnstiles and turn the ticket in for beer from yet a third vendor. Then you gotta stay in the penn and drink that shit like the piggy in Animal Farm. Fun Fun fun Til Your Daddy Takes the 12 Ounce Away.

We gonna make it nice and easy. And for only TWENTY BUCKS. Fuck man. We'll probably even be sure to leave late enough to make you not have to sit through that whiny chick from the Wizard. Come on out with us so we can point and laugh at the suckas who paid twice our price!" [Rocks Off]

Tickets for the boat are on sale.

Speaking of Pavement, more openers have been confirmed. Endless Boogie open the Summerstage show on Thursday, September 23rd. The Beets open Friday, September 24th. Openers for the other three NYC shows are listed HERE, but maybe there will be two openers for each show because Endless Boogie (who just released a new album on Tuesday - MP3 above) tell me that they may be opening at the Waterfront show too, and Slothbear say they're also opening the 23rd.

Times New Viking @ Public Assembly in 2009 (more by Ryan Muir)

Pavement's NYC shows (tickets)
Sun Sep 19, 2010 @ Williamsburg Waterfront w/ Jenny and Johnny
Tue Sep 21, 2010 @ Rumsey Playfield w/ Thee Oh Sees
Wed Sep 22, 2010 @ Rumsey Playfield w/ Times New Viking
Thu Sep 23, 2010 @ Rumsey Playfield w/ TBA
Fri Sep 24, 2010 @ Rumsey Playfield w/ TBA

--

Times New Viking hit the opening for classic bands lottery. They open dates on the Guided by Voices tour too.

Thee Oh Sees, who were just in NYC for four shows, will play Santos Party House that same, September 21st, night.

Jenny (Lewis) and Johnny also play one other night with Pavement and a show at Maxwell's as part of their tour.

At least two dates on Pavement's upcoming tour are with Sonic Youth (Matador 21 & Hollywood Bowl). All Pavement dates, with openers, below..

Continue reading "Who is opening for Pavement?"

photos by Chris Graham

Pavement @ Sasquatch Fest 2010

The above-pictured Pavement show took place in May 2010 (and wasn't free). In September, Pavement will play Virgin Mobile FreeFest (and it is free)....

"Breaking from traditional festivals, the Virgin Mobile FreeFest presented by Kyocera unveiled its lineup for the award-winning festival, selecting relevant, important, and eclectic headliners to represent this year's free show. This morning, Chairman of the Virgin Group Sir Richard Branson announced the lineup on Virgin Mobile Live, the company's new Internet music stream available on Virgin Mobile websites.

The lineup will include:

M.I.A., LCD SOUNDSYSTEM, PAVEMENT, T.I., LUDACRIS, JOAN JETT, THIEVERY CORPORATION, MATT & KIM, JIMMY EAT WORLD, THE TEMPER TRAP, EDWARD SHARPE & THE MAGNETIC ZEROS, AND YEASAYER;

DANCE FOREST: CHROMEO, SLEIGH BELLS, DIE ANTWOORD, MODESELEKTOR, AND NEON INDIAN

Virgin Mobile FreeFest will be held Saturday, September 25 at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Md. Tickets to the 2010 Virgin Mobile FreeFest will be available to the public on www.ticketfly.com at 10 am EST on Saturday, July 24th.

Not bad for a free show (and yet another Pavement show!). More details, with the full set of pictures of Pavement playing this year's Sasquatch Fest, below...

Continue reading "Virgin Mobile FreeFest lineup +++ Pavement Sasquatch pics "

photos by Kate Gardiner

Major Lazer @ Pitchfork Fest Sunday

"The tempo picked up again with Major Lazer at 6:15 p.m., and--hallelujah!--it stayed at a pretty high level through the end of Pitchfork 2010...

...Though Young is missing from the [Pavement] reunion, Stephen Malkmus and his bandmates were musically concise, tight, and focused, and they delivered many of their best songs--"Range Life," "Frontwards," "Greenlander," and "Unfair" among them--in versions that were every bit as strong as they were back in the day, and better in some cases than that last stage of the group. Since the music always seemed timeless, there was less of a taint of nostalgia here then with, say, the Pixies reunion, though to be sure, the motivations probably were very much the same, and mostly colored green... [Jim DeRegatis]

The 2010 Pitchfork Festival has come to an end, and if you've been following along, you saw pictures from Day 1 & 2, pictures of LCD Soundsystem, and more pictures from Day 1 & 2. Now a set of pictures from the third and final day, with a bunch of setlists from all three days (including Pavement's), below...

Continue reading "Pitchfork Fest 2010 in pics & setlists (Day 3 - Pavement, Big Boi, St Vincent, Major Lazer, Lightning Bolt & more) "

Matador's 21st birthday fest will be happening in Las Vegas October 1st-3rd. For it, they've pulled the cream of the indie-rock crop. Previously speculated headliners Belle & Sebastian and Pavement will be there - on top of that, Guided By Voices will be reuniting to play, "in the band's "classic '93-'96 lineup!" The most recent show for GBV was New Year's Eve 2004/05.

In addition to those three, the lineup includes Sonic Youth, Spoon, Yo La Tengo, Cat Power, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, New Pornographers, Superchunk, Ted Leo & the Pharmacists, Guitar Wolf (who also play NY), Chavez, Girls, Fucked Up, Harlem, Cold Cave, Shearwater, Kurt Vile and Jeffrey Joe Jenson. More will be annonuced July 5th.

A flyer is below...

Continue reading "Matador Fest lineup announced - Guided by Voices reunion! + Guitar Wolf, Belle & Sebastian, Pavement & many more"

by Andrew Frisicano

As the sun hid its face behind the island's ring of trees, Pavement took to a Toronto stage for the first time in a decade.

The crowd was a little diminished at this point. Presumably, Toronto didn't want to miss out on the other aging rockers, Iggy and the Stooges, who were playing a free gig at Yonge-Dundas Square starting at 9 p.m.

But Pavement, equipped with a dedicated cult following, delivered to the fans. The fans including both Kevin Drew and Band of Horses' Ben Bridwell, who joined Pavement for Kennel District. Both were clearly ecstatic by the honour. The epitome of '90s indie rock, the California band blasted their feel-good lo-fi rock. It was all well-received nostalgia with hits like, Fight This Generation, Father to a Sister of Thought and Shady Lane. It was one of those down-memory-lane-we-go moments for sure. [Blog.to]

Pavement followed Broken Social Scene at Saturday's June 19th show on Toronto Island. The hometown BSS set was clearly a tough act to follow, but Pavement seemed up to the task, with opener "Cut Your Hair" setting the tone. The reunion tour is clearly not about coyness, and the set that followed was a satisfying string of hits that marked the band's first Canadian show in more than 10 years.
It goes without saying that people were excited, and the band seemed happy to oblige with 26 songs.

Bob Nastanovich hopped around and traded lyrics with Stephen Malkmus, who was personable if a little awkward (Malkmus called the show "relatively successful," which seemed like a weird thing to point out to a sold-out 10,000+ crowd who traveled to an island for the show).

The island itself was spacious with lots of leafy trees, and room to spread out while still being in earshot of the show. The six-foot stage meant you could see the band clearly even from the back of the crowd (though the location of the perpetual beer line was a bit too far off).

Pavement will be in NYC for five shows in September. More dates HERE. More pictures from the Toronto show, videos and the setlist, below...

Continue reading "Pavement @ the Toronto Island Festival - pics, video, setlist"

"With a horn section behind the already several-member group, Broken Social Scene began with 'World Sick' off their new album Forgiveness Rock Record and then 'Stars And Sons,' the latter with fans clapping repeatedly on cue as six guitarists jammed out the conclusion.

However, from there things got bigger and better, with Metric's James Shaw and Pavement's Scott Kannberg helping out on the danceable 'Texico Bitches.' Then Feist made her way onstage for '7/4 (Shoreline),' dancing around the stage when not sharing vocal duties with Drew.

The only problem perhaps with the set - aside from Drew irked that his guitar pedals weren't working - was how it seemed to peak halfway through. Following the plodding, precious ballad 'Sweetest Kill,' both Feist and Metric's Emily Haines appeared for 'Sentimental X's,' which had the crowd onside from the start." [Toronto Sun]

Sebastien Grainger (DFA1979) and John McEntire (Tortoise/Sea and Cake) also joined BSS on stage on Saturday, June 19th, on Toronto's Olympic Island. The full lineup for the 2010 edition of the annual Toronto Island Concert, which wasn't officially part of NXNE (but which did let in 250 badges) looked like this:

1:15 PM Toronto Revue (The Beauties, Flash Lightnin', Zeus)
2:45PM Timber Timbre
4:00PM Beach House
5:15PM Band of Horses
6:45PM Broken Social Scene
9:00PM Pavement

I left my downtown hotel in a cab at 3pm, and though the ferry station was only a ten minute drive away, I didn't actually get to the stage area until around around 4:45. I heard Beach House as I walked up, but I never actually saw them. I wasn't worried about catching Timber Timbre because I saw them the night before in a club (more on that later), and I knew I wasn't getting there by 1:00 (after being out till 4am at NXNE shows the night before) so I didn't even try.

The weather on Saturday in Toronto was hot and beautiful and Band of Horses (who played Grand Central Station in NYC one night earlier) (and the Williamsburg Waterfront in NYC one night later) sounded great as they played out to the thousands of people who were either watching them... or waiting on line for something. Lines were definitely a problem on the island. You usually had to wait a long time for food, bathrooms and most frustratingly to many, beer.

Then came Broken Social Scene and they were in top form - it was my favorite time ever seeing them. In fact, though I've seen the band more times than I can remember over the past six years, I was never 100% comfortable with their live show before. That changed on the island. Maybe it was because they were in their hometown of Toronto with all their friends (though sadly no Jason Collett or Amy Milan who are both on tour). Feist and Emily Haines together on stage contributed strongly to the specialness (par for the course for Toronto), and Lisa Lobsinger no longer feels like the new girl.

Full setlist (and lots more pictures and some videos) below.

As painful as it was to leave while BSS was playing their last song (aka I didn't stay for Pavement), I made the decision that I was going to catch The Stooges who played a competing show at Young Dundas Square at 9:30. My trip off the island was much quicker than my trip on. I got a ferry immediately and then a cab immediately and I was 40 minutes early for Iggy. I even caught the last ten minutes of The Raveonettes who played before the Stooges on the outdoor stage which was in the middle of a Times Square-like area of town. It was a complete madhouse (a free show in the middle of town open to anyone... with Iggy Pop), but more on that later.

Andrew Frisicano was with me on the island. He missed Band of Horses but stayed for Pavement. His post on the headliner is coming later. More about BSS and Band of Horses, with a ton of pictures and some videos and both setlists, below...

Continue reading "Broken Social Scene (w/ Feist & Emily Haines) & Band of Horses opened for Pavement @ Toronto's Olympic Island - pics, video, setlists"