Chairlift @ Capitale, Feb. 2013 (more by Dylan Johnson)

As mentioned, Bear in Heaven are playing short film showcase Tropfest which happens in Prospect Park's "Nethermead" on June 22. Since that post, the full line-up was announced: Chairlift, Bear in Heaven, Ghost Beach and People Get Ready will perform, and Neon Indian will DJ. Free tickets are still available.

Meanwhile, Chairlift will play DJ, strangely enough, also in Prospect Park's Nethermead this Friday for GoogaMooga. between Flaming Lips and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

Chairlift's Caroline Polachek provided vocals on Ice Choir's track, "Everything is Spoilt by Use" and you can check out the recent video for that song and more tour dates below.

Continue reading "Chairlift & DJ Neon Indian also playing Tropfest (get free tix)"

Parquet Courts on a bridge in Austin last month (more by Amanda Hatfield)

As mentioned, Crossing Brooklyn Ferry, the festival curated by The National's Bryce and Aaron Dessner, will return to BAM from April 25 to 27. Since we last spoke, the lineup has been expanded to include Parquet Courts, Phosphorescent, Burgundy Stain Sessions w/ Doveman, Exitmusic, Graphic Score: Clara Claus w/ Bryce Dessner, People Get Ready, Derek Bermel, and Timo Andres. Those artists join the previously announced lineup of The Roots, Solange, TV on the Radio, David Longstreth, Julia Holter, Eleanor Friedberger, and more.

Check out the day-by-day lineup, which includes a film shorts program each day, a TBA visual art installation, and an afterparty/dance party on the Saturday, below. 3-Day passes and tickets for April 25, April 26, and April 27 are still available.

Bryce Dessner performing 'Planetarium' last month (more by Amanda Hatfield)

In related news, The National, who have been playing material live from their upcoming album, Trouble Will Find Me, have just officially revealed album single, "Demons." Check out the video for that track below.

The National's tour includes their huge Brooklyn show at Barclays Center on June 5 with Youth Lagoon. Tickets for that show are still available.

Video and Crossing Brooklyn Ferry lineup below...

Continue reading "updated Crossing Brooklyn Ferry 2013 lineup +++ The National's new single (listen/watch)"

Danielson at Knitting Factory in 2010 (more by Ben Lozovsky)

As mentioned, Jeffrey Lewis added a fourth show to his Mercury Lounge residency with Peter Stampfel, which happens this Sunday (3/31) (tickets), and before he heads out on his European tour in April, he'll play another NYC gig. This one's especially exciting because it's with Danielson Famile, who haven't played together in a pretty long time (Danielson has played without the Famile more recently though). Welcome Wagon is also on that bill and tickets are on sale now. It's one of two announced Danielson Famile dates, the other being in Philly at Union Transfer (4/15) a day earlier with Deerhoof and People Get Ready.

Daniel Smith will be DJing the Wovenhand show at Littlefield on April 12 (tickets). Wovenhand (David Eugene Edwards of 16 Horsepower) are signed to Danielson's Sounds Familyre label.

Updated Jeffrey Lewis dates are listed, along with a spotify stream of Danielson's 2006 album, Ships, below...

Continue reading "Danielson Famile playing shows again (1 w/ Jeffrey Lewis)"

photos by David Andrako

Local Natives at Music Hall of Williamsburg - 2/1/13

Local Natives released their sophomore album, Hummingbird, at the tail-end of last month (1/29) and kicked off a tour in support of it. That tour included a show in Brooklyn on Friday (2/1) at Music Hall of Williamsburg, followed by two consecutive dates in Manhattan at Bowery Ballroom (2/2 and 2/3), all three of which were sold out.

At the MHOW show, they were joined by The National's Aaron Dessner, who produced Hummingbird, and you can watch Aaron joining the band in the archived video of the full set (below), which initially streamed live at the Bowery Presents YouTube page. The set was a pretty fair split between the band's new album and their 2010 debut, Gorilla Manor. You can check out the full setlist (which has pretty much been the same every night on this tour) below.

The MHOW also featured David Byrne's friends People Get Ready, a fitting opener for a band who regularly covers the Talking Heads. More pictures of both bands, and Local Natives' video and setlist below...

Continue reading "Local Natives (joined by Aaron Dessner) played MHOW w/ People Get Ready (pics, setlist & video of full set)"

A Sunny Day in Glasgow are wrapping up work on their new album which was funded via Kickstarter. The band are also looking to road test the tunes on a few East Coast dates. After hitting Baltimore last night, they'll hit NYCF tonight (1/16) for a show at Pianos with Friend Roulette, Desert Stars, Relatives and Heidi Harris. Tickets are $8 at the door. Thursday (1/17) ASDIG will hit their Philadelphia hometown for a show at The International House.

Meanwhile, Jen Goma's other band, People Get Ready, have two shows coming up: February 1 at Music Hall of Williamsburg opening for Local Natives (sold out); and then a headlining show at Mercury Lounge on February 8 with Man Forever and Color War (tickets available). PGR are also currently on the cover of The Deli magazine.

photos by PSquared Photography; words by Bill Pearis

Shuggie Otis @ Highline Ballroom, 1/10/2012

For his first New York show in ages, it was not an auspicious start for Shuggie Otis. Taking the Highline Ballroom stage in a long coat and scarf, his Gibson 335 was silent. A roadie came out, tried mashing power plugs into place to no avail. Shuggie switched to a Strat, was ready to start when the roadie yelled, "I got it working!" The crowd cheered as Shuggie and his band kicked in with the title track from his 1974 opus Inspriation Information and we were blasted back in time.

That album was the last Shuggie Otis, 59, made, though that is about to change on April 16 with re-release of Inspiration Information that will be packaged with a "new" album, Wings of Love, that features unreleased recordings from the last 40 years. We got a few of those new tracks, like the title track, "Trying to Get Close to You" and "Doin' What's Right" which Shuggie said was "Freedom Flight Part 2." The latter was especially good, definitely not throwaway material.

That said, the biggest cheers came from hearing his classic '70s material like "Aht Uh Mi Hed," "Sparkle City," "Island Letter" and, of course, "Strawberry Letter 23." While Shuggie's vocals have dropped a couple octaves over the years, he can still play guitar and nailed that songs's hammered-on outro riff. With much help from an ace backing band (including a piccolo player), this was a most welcome return.

Last night's Highline show was a "Summerstage preview" show that also featured London soul singer Ofei (whose set ended abruptly with a microphone drop halfway through a song), indie rock band People Get Ready, gospel singer Joshua Nelson, and Kool Herc on DJ duty between sets. Shuggie, who plays BB King Blues Club on April 19 (tickets), told our photographer that he's playing Summerstage too.

More pictures from Shuggie's set at Highline, plus the setlist and video of "Inspiration Information," are below.

Continue reading "Shuggie Otis played Highline Ballroom (pics, video, setlist)"

As mentioned, cult psychedelic soul singer/instrumentalist Shuggie Otis, who released three solo albums including 1974's classic Inspiration Information (whose song "Strawberry Letter 23" you may recognize as the sample in Outkast's "Ms. Jackson"), is reissuing that album this year with bonus tracks along with a compilation of previously unreleased material recorded between 1975 and 2000 called Wings of Love. The albums come out April 16 via Epic/Legacy and can be pre-ordered now. That's the cover art above and the tracklists for both albums and a stream of Inspiration Information are below.

Shuggie announced a tour in support of the new album which hits NYC on April 19 at BB King's (tickets) and he's recently expanded it to include international dates and another NYC show happening much sooner at Highline Ballroom on January 10 with People Get Ready, Ofei, Joshua Nelson, and DJ Kool Herc. That show is being co-presented by Summerstage and Santa Monica Pier Curators and tickets are on sale now.

An updated list of dates, album tracklists, and streams are below...

Continue reading "Shuggie Otis reveals more album details, expands tour including NYC date next week (updated dates)"

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Tickets for Governors Ball 2013 (June 7-9) go on a limited holiday presale today at 11 AM.

Tickets for the Yes show at Beacon Theater, where they'll be playing The Yes Album, Close to the Edge, and Going for the One in full, go on sale today at 11 AM.

Tickets for the newly added Tegan & Sara (who don't play with The Killers tonight) show at Beacon Theatre go on sale today at 11 AM.

Tickets for the Don Giovanni showcases with Screaming Females, Laura Stevenson and the Cans, Stormshadow, Lemuria, Jeffrey Lewis, Waxahatchee, Hilly Eye, and more go on sale today at noon (2-day pass option included).

Tickets for the newly-added Desaparecidos show at Webster Hall with Joyce Manor and States & Kingdoms go on sale today at noon.

Tickets for the Stars shows at Music Hall of Williamsburg go on sale today at noon.

Tickets for the Bob Mould shows at Bowery Ballroom go on sale today at noon.

Tickets for the Frightened Rabbit show at Terminal 5 go on sale today at noon.

Tickets for the Ultraista and Prefuse 73 show at Music Hall of Williamsburg go on sale today at noon.

Tickets for The Maccabees shows at Bowery Ballroom and MHOW go on sale today at noon.

Tickets for the Man Man and Murder by Death show at Music Hall of Williamsburg go on sale today at noon.

Tickets for The Ruby Suns show at Mercury Lounge go on sale today at noon. Tickets for their Knitting Factory show are on sale now.

TIckets for the Mount Moriah and Blessed Feathers show at Mercury Lounge go on sale today at noon.

Tickets for the Annuals, Slam Donahue, Ludwig Persik, and Tab the Band show at Mercury Lounge go on sale today at noon.

Tickets for the Alpine show at Mercury Lounge go on sale today at noon. Tickets for their Glasslands show are on sale now.

Tickets for the Mykki Blanco show at Mercury Lounge go on sale today at noon.

Tickets for the Ex Cops show at Mercury Lounge go on sale today at noon. TIckets for their Glasslands show are on sale now and tickets for tonight's Webster Hall show where they open for Paul Banks are still available.

People Get Ready are playing Mercury Lounge on February 8 with Color War. Tickets for that show go on sale today at noon.

Tickets for the Trey Anastasio shows at Capitol Theatre and Wellmont Theatre go on sale today at noon.

Austra is DJing Glasslands on January 25. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

A bunch of shows at Town Hall just went on sale.

Geoff Rickly of Thursday recently released his first solo material, and is playing an acoustic show at The Sutdio at Webster Hall on February 2 with Vinnie Caruana and others. Tickets for that show go on sale Tuesday (12/18) at 10 AM.

photos by Greg Cristman; words by Bill Pearis

Jeff Goldbloom / fish. @ Brooklyn Rock Lottery 3

The third annual Brooklyn Rock Lottery happened at Knitting Factory on Saturday (12/1). Musicians of varying styles and ages met at 10 AM and put their names in a hat and the five drummers picked their bandmates at random out of it. They then spent the day coming up with a name, writing original songs and practicing and made their stage debut that night. Proceeds from tickets and merch went to Hurricane Sandy relief. It was a lot of fun.

Even though the members were chosen at random, it seemed like the bands formed kind of naturally and had a cohesive sound. First up for the night was Jazz Karate, which featured Kenny Bernard (Ra Ra Riot), Franz Nicolay (ex Hold Steady / Against Me!), Pamela Martinez (Teletextile), Matt Singer, and Tom Blankenship (My Morning Jacket). With a harp and an accordion onstage, their music veered towards gypsy jazz and included a song about Tony Danza.

Next was Jeff Goldbloom whose members were Lua Rios (Gold Lake), Nick Sylvester (Mr. Dream), Noah Kardos-Fein (YVETTE), and Craig Lulada Pfunder (VHS or Beta). With a distinct sound -- heavy, shoegazy guitar epic-ry -- they were definitely the one group of the night that I'd actually want to see again. Good!

Then came the band I was most looking forward to, that had Yuck drummer Jonny Rogoff, Hospitality bassist Brian Betancourt, and Spanish Prisoners main man Leo Maymind, not to mention Dave Harrington from Nicholas Jaar's band and Gang Signs' Bryan Quackenbush. I was expecting melodic pop, but their name -- fish. -- shoulda been a giveaway. They played one 12-minute "jazz odyssey" type jam that showed just how good their collective musicianship was, but this has never been my thing.

Hardcore Lørd were next and it was almost entirely electronic, with tons of gear and lots of wires onstage. The band was Oliver Chapoy (Certain Creatures / ex Warm Ghost), Michael Sheffield (Sweet Bulbs / Heaven's Gate), Sara Lucas (Callers), and Christopher Puidokas (who toured with Blonde Redhead / The Silent Years). They took forever to set up but were probably my second favorite of the night, warm and ethereal.

The last band of the night was Nylon Guy and easily the most odds-n-sods, with Tyler Villard (Bezoar), Ian Young (touring saxophonist of M83), George Langford (Javelin), Jen Goma (People Get Ready / Sunny Day in Glasgow), and David Sheinkopf (The Subjects). No concessions were made to have a cohesive sound and everybody got to do their thing -- Villard doing a lot of hammer-on soloing, and Young smnoothing things out with his horn, and everyone else just kind of filling in the gaps. They did do a decent cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark," though.

ANIMAL New York were there too and got straight-off-the-board recordings of everybody except Nylon Guy. Check out streams of the other bands, as well as more pics from Brooklyn Rock Lottery 3, below.

Continue reading "members of My Morning Jacket, Yuck, Hospitality & more joined forces for Rock Lottery 3 (pics, streams)"

On Friday, my last day at CMJ, I hit the jackpot and walked away with something I'll remember for years to come. The band was People Get Ready, but honestly this was more than a band -- this was the best mix of performance art and music I've seen in decades. Watching this show, called Specific Ocean, felt like seeing a a group create a live music video for each song. The buoyant, celebratory work took place at a large, black box theater space at New York Live Arts, and was full of the kind of surprises I want out of music and theater. - [NPR's Bob Boilen]

NYC pop band/performance art ensemble People Get Ready is Steven Reker, former Yeasayer drummer Luke Fasano, James Rickman (ex-Lizzie Truile, ex-Slow Gherkin), and Jen Goma (A Sunny Day in Glasgow). Reker used to be in David Byrne's band and the onetime Talking Head recently plugged them in an email:

A few years ago, I toured with some wonderful musicians and dancers. Among them was Steven Reker, whose group, People Get Ready, just released their debut, full-length digital record on Brassland Records. Good group, good songs, but there's more...

I saw an earlier iteration of the group at the Kitchen here in NY. They integrate dance, movement, performance, music and singing in a way I haven't seen before, and it's very promising. It is something I've been trying to do in recent years as well, and People Get Ready are taking it to places I haven't seen before.

People Get Ready played three nights at NY Live Arts during CMJ week which was also when the band's self-titled was released (10/16). You can stream the whole thing below. If you missed those shows (like we did) you can go see them at Glasslands on Saturday (10/27) for their official record release party. As it's a tiny stage there, you're just getting the band version of PGR but you're more than welcome to dance yourself. The show also has Future of What on the line-up and tickets are still available. Flyer for the record release party and the album stream are below.

Continue reading "People Get Ready released debut LP (stream it), playing NYC record release party"

words by Andrew Frisicano, photos by David Andrako

The Walkmen @ BAM

BAM's Bryce and Aaron Dessner-curated Crossing Brooklyn Ferry series/festival had its first night Thursday. It continues tonight/Friday with a lineup headlined by St. Vincent and The Antlers (and Saturday with Beirut and Atlas Sound).

Music kicked off at 5pm with early slots filled by indie-classical acts like yMusic and JACK Quartet. Composer-uke-player Jherek Bischoff started things out inside the Howard Gilman Opera House at 7pm, and his set featured guest spots from David Byrne and Amanda Palmer. Check out the pictures below.

The first band I saw was Twin Shadow, an act that always sounds a lot better to me on record than live (something about George Lewis Jr.'s voice and the intricacies of the production don't translate exactly on stage). A welcome special guest, the Blackfire Percussion, added drum corp percussion on a few of the songs.

Sharon Van Etten powered through a set that highlighted how much she's evolved since her early acoustic days. She offered a throwback to her Because I Was In Love debut with a solo version of "I Fold" dedicated to her parents. Aaron Dessner, who produced Tramp, played guitar on a few of the tracks. And Sharon tapped "Serpents" for the triumphant, soaring closer.

Sharon Van Etten @ BAM

The Walkmen navigated a set of new tunes and classics: in addition to putting out their sixth LP, Heaven, in June, this year marks the 10th-anniversary of their debut, Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me Is Gone. Among the songs played were "Angela Surf City," "In the New Year," "Blue As Your Blood" and new tracks "Heaven," "Heartbreaker" and "Southern Heart." Hamilton, as always, stretched the limits of his voice to good effect, especially on the haunting A Hundred Miles Off track "All Hands and the Cook." The band closed with an encore of "We've Been Had," which they noted was the first song they wrote as a band.

Between those last two I ventured to the BAM Cafe to see Zs, playing as a duo and sounding completed different than the last time I saw them in July. Guitarist Ben Greenberg describes the change as "The old stuff was like an old Soviet tank driving down Main Street; the new stuff is like a spaceship landing on City Hall." The shift from angular guitar and skronking saxophone to whatever they do now was pretty evident in the small snippet that I caught. Greenberg's guitar laid dubby rhythms lines while Sam Hilmer's sax played melodies and riffs off in the distance. Hopefully they'll line up more shows soon. (As Hubble, Greenberg makes the NYC debut of that project's "quadraphonic Hubble Superposition set" tonight.)

After that I caught a few songs by Yellowbirds, hidden up in Cinema 3 and playing to a crowd of about 20 people (including Conrad Doucette). The Jonathan Richman-esque two-piece was a nice surprise to find soaked in the smell of movie-theater popcorn.

(People Get Ready and Heather Broderick played, and a program of short films screened, but I arrived too late to see them. And I only caught a snippet of Callers by skipping the end of Twin Shadow.)

One bummer about the schedule is that, with the exception of the extremely early classical sets, it's impossible to see more than a few minutes of the smaller bands without skipping the headlining acts. That scheduling, and the vague, unnecessary "Brooklyn" theme, are a bit puzzling, but all in all the fest is a good chance to see bands like the Walkmen and Sharon Van Etten in the gorgeous Howard Gilman Opera House, a space that's surprisingly intimate and cozy for its size (and having the first few rows of seats removed for the crowd to stand was a nice touch).

More pictures from Thursday below...

Continue reading "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry night 1 pics & review (The Walkmen, Sharon Van Etten, David Byrne, Amanda Palmer, Zs & more)"

Remember that Dessner brother-curated festival, "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry," which is happening at BAM from May 3-5? And remember how when we posted the National-curated ATP lineup we suggested (for obvious reasons) that it might hint at the BAM lineup? Well, the lineup is out now, and there are definitely some similarities to that, and also not surprisingly, to the ongoing Ecstatic Music Festival which is great at highlighting the growing mix between indie rock and indie classical that the Dessners are huge fans of and participants in.

The three day Brooklyn Academy of Music festival includes The Antlers, My Brightest Diamond (w/ yMusic), Sharon Van Etten, and Buke and Gase who are all playing ATP, in addition to The Walkmen, St. VIncent, Beirut, Atlas Sound, Tyondai Braxton (formerly of Battles), Oneohtrix Point Never, Caveman, Sinkane, Twin Shadow, Jherek Bischoff, Pat Mahoney and Nancy Whang (DFA DJ set), Ava Luna, and others which are all listed below. As mentioned, the fest also includes the Brooklyn Youth Chorus and the NOW Ensemble.

3-Day Festival Passes go on sale Monday (3/5) to friends of BAM and Tuesday (3/6) to the general public. More details and schedule at the Crossing Brooklyn Ferry website.

Full lineup below...

Continue reading "National-curated BAM Festival lineup announced (Walkmen, St. Vincent, Beirut, Sharon, Antlers, Zs & many more)"

Flock of Dimes @ Glasslands in 2011 (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Jenn of Wye Oak's solo project Flock of Dimes is playing three shows this week starting tonight, February 16th in DC @ Black Cat, followed by the 17th in Baltimore @ Soft House, followed by the 18th in NYC @ Union Pool. All three shows are with Other Colors. People Get Ready also play the Brooklyn show.

Wye Oak is then heading to California for a couple of shows (one in LA and one in San Francisco for Noise Pop).