Bon Iver @ Pianos, NYC (BV CMJ) - Oct 17, 2007 (CRED)

Bon Iver played two shows during CMJ - the first was at Bowery Ballroom on October 16th (the BV official showcase)...

...the first set we saw at CMJ '07 will probably be one of the very best: We learned Bon Iver is simply astounding. (We also learned it's pronounced "bone ee-vare.") [Stereogum]

... and the second was the BV day party on October 17th. He was the only artist who played two BrooklynVegan parties, and it was because when I first booked him I didn't want him to make the trip all the way to NYC just to play one show, especially if he was going to be the opener on a 7-band bill. If you came to see him/them at Pianos and were confused about when and where he was going on....

The members — three of them in this incarnation — were scheduled to play a free show at 5:30, upstairs at Piano’s. But if you had left someplace early (a meeting at the Midtown headquarters of a newspaper, for example) to rush downtown, you would have found you had plenty of time to spare. Thanks to the usual complexities of club scheduling (one passerby mentioned a particularly thorough Meat Puppets set), the show was moved to the main stage, and it didn’t start until sometime after 7. [NY Times]

...it was because we made a last minute decision to move him to the main stage after Celebration. We did that because there seemed to be time to do it (oops), and because the upstairs room didn't really have all the equipment Bon Iver needed. Luckily...

The show was worth the wait. (Not to mention the price.) [NY Times]

Thanks to everyone who waited around to see him. Coincedentally, he started at the same exact time as the night before - except the delay at that show was due to one of the bands not showing up.

Both shows were great, but the Bowery one was my favorite one - it was first, and the acoustics/sound/whatever was amazing (Justin even said so himself during the performance). Luckily then, (no offense to Pianos who have been amazing), Bowery is where Bon Iver is playing again next - he's opening for Elvis Perkins on December 7th. That show will be solo though (just Justin) - we'll see how that goes - I'm sure fine (though I liked that band!) Tickets are on sale. More tour dates and pictures below....

Continue reading "Bon Iver played two BV shows + more 2007 Tour Dates"

DOWNLOAD: Team Robespierre - 88th Precinct (MP3)

Team Robespierre @ Pianos (BV CMJ), NYC - Oct 17, 2007 (CRED)

Like the DeathSet, Team Robespierre are a young band I love. And like The DeathSet, Team Robespierre have played a bunch of Todd P shows, and have been photographed plenty of times by Tod Seelie. One such show was the Todd P Impose showcase that Dan Deacon, The Deathset and Team Robespierre played together at Silent Barn in Brooklyn on October 16th. It was the night before the BrooklynVegan day party at Pianos (in Manhattan) that TD & TR both also played. Yes, the two bands have a lot in common, but unlike The DeathSet (who are from Baltimore like Dan Deacon), Team Robespierre are from right here in Brooklyn.

It was daytime, and there was minimal crowd surfing, but the show at Pianos still rocked. hard. Like the DeathSet who played later on (but more on the stage instead of the middle of the room). Later that night TR also played the Oh My Rockness showcase at Knitting Factory. Miss Modernage was there. Here's a pic from the Brooklyn Silent Barn show....

Team Robespierre @ Silent Barn, Brooklyn, NYC - Oct 16, 2007 (CRED)

NEXT: It doesn't get much better than this (in Manhattan). Tickets are now on sale for the December 15th show at Mercury Lounge. Team Robespierre AND Yeasayer are both playing it (it's a Friction party).

Team Robespierre are also playing Hampshire College on October 26th, and a show in Brooklyn the day after that.

DOWNLOAD: Foals live on WOXY @ SXSW 2007 (MP3)

The set I witnessed by Foals at Pianos on Saturday (Oct 20, 2007) was by far one of the highlights of my CMJ this year. The show was part of the free afternoon party I threw there, and seeing Foals back-to-back with the Maccabees made it even better.

Foals were also the first band of that day that really packed the room (probably partly because they were playing 2nd-to-last at a party that started at noon). And though obviously derivative of something or other (who isn't?), I now know that they don't just "sound like Bloc Party". They are awesome in their own way, and extremely tight. In fact, unlike their older recorded stuff, their live show didn't remind me that much of Bloc Party at all - except that both bands are British, are good, and might be classified as "dance punk".

Foals are a dance-punk band from Oxford. The five-piece group are known through extensive live playing around Great Britain for its mix of indie with elements from techno and math rock. [Wikipedia]

Are they signed to Sub Pop? Probably, but we'll have to wait to find out. Later that night Foals played with Le Loup, The Brunettes, and Band of Horses at Bowery Ballroom (it was the Sub Pop/Hardly Art showcase).

NME reviewed the Pianos show, and Leia Jospe was in the house to snap some photos - those are the ones you see in this post. More below....

Continue reading "Foals @ Pianos (BrooklynVegan CMJ), NYC - pics"

The Deathset @ Pianos, NYC - Oct 17, 2007 (CRED)

TheDeathSet = awesome. They played on in the middle of the floor (like their friend Dan Deacon does) @ the BrooklynVegan day party at Pianos yesterday (Oct 17, 2007), and they are/were fun - very, very, very, fun, and good, and full of energy, and just smiling, and so good. And they played right before the Meat Puppets (who I was hoping would manage to catch some of the DeathSet's set, but I don't think they did. DeathSet's also-awesome friends from Team Robespierre did stick around after their also-awesome set to support though - more on them later.)

"...Last time I saw the band they were on the big stage at the South Street Seaport, and though it was a great performance it was certainly lacking something. As it turns out that something was intimacy...." [Pop Tarts Suck Toasted]

More photos & tour dates, below...

Continue reading "The DeathSet, Pianos, awesome (BrooklynVegan CMJ show)"

Meat Puppets @ Pianos, NYC - Oct 17, 2007 (CRED)

Meat Puppets played one of their three NYC-area shows yesterday afternoon at Pianos - part of the BrooklynVegan series of free parties happening during CMJ this year. Meat Puppets played their official showcase at Lion's Den later that night. Download a lossless version of the Pianos show from NYCTAPER.

...they entertained a packed room with a loose and playful set that featured several improvisational segments. The highlight was the 12-minute version of "Up on the Sun" that began with an introduction jam that melded neatly into the song.

Thanks to ystrickler for the above photo. Check out three by Bao Nguyen below....

Continue reading "Meat Puppets @ Pianos for BV CMJ -- nyctaper taped it"

TODAY! (Oct 17) @ Pianos in NYC . free show. 15 bands including MEAT PUPPETS, and including Elk City, and including Bon Iver who also played a mesmerizing set at Bowery Ballroom last night. DJ Annie Mac. open bar too.

DOWNLOAD: Team Robespierre - 88th Precinct (MP3) (via)
DOWNLOAD: Joan As Policewoman - Eternal Flame (MP3)

Team Robespierre & Joan as Policewoman

As you know, I'm throwing a total of five shows during CMJ this year. The first is Tuesday night October 16th - an official showcase that you can buy tickets for. The second is the very next day - a 2-floor (whole club) FREE day party at Pianos on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Bon Iver, Sparrow House, and others (TBA) are playing upstairs. Here's who is playing downstairs....

Wednesday October 17, 2007
12:00 Cut Off Your Hands (album stream & more info)
12:45 Team Robespierre (MP3 above & more at MySpace)
01:30 Le Loup (info)
02:15 Joan as Policewoman (MP3 above & more info)
03:00 THE DEATHSET (info)
03:45 The Meat Puppets (info)
04:30 Celebration (info)

No badges needed. No money needed. Just get there before it fills up. 21+, Drink specials and more details to be announced soon.

Annie Mac (BBC) will also be our very special guest DJ in the front room from 4-5pm. Other DJ's TBA too.

Thanks to everyone who came out to the first of three BrooklynVegan day parties at Pianos yesterday (Wednesday November 1, 2006). It was an exhausting, but successful day full of great live music.

THE LITTLE ONES GETTING CREATIVE WITH THE FLYERS

DAVE HILL HIGH ON VITAMIN WATER

WYNN WALENT & DAVID DEPORIS PLAYED UPSTAIRS

(DJ) JACKSON POLLIS GOT DOWN WITH THUNDERBIRDS ARE NOW!

CSS PACKED THE HOUSE

FERRABY LIONHEART WAS THE PERFECT ENDING TO A LONG DAY

...and somehow we ended right on time.

Sucka Pants was there - his CSS pics are here. Extrawack and Eric were there too. Yeti stopped by for lunch - luckily not dressed as his MySpace page. Micah Welner came by to sing one song with Thunderbirds are Now! and help Jackson DJ - he posted what they played.

More pics later. See you Friday.

Some past (and future) BrooklynVegan events....

March 12, 2008, official BrooklynVegan SXSW showcse, Austin, TX

Feb 26 - March 2, 2008, Noise Pop fest (media sponsor), San Francisco, CA

Feb 28, 2008, NYC

Oct 20, 2007, NYC

Kaiju Big Battel posing w/ fans @ BrooklynVegan party (MORE)

Every place Black Kids played during the 2007 CMJ Music Marathon was mobbed. That's not bad for a band that is still giving away its four recorded songs on its MySpace page, myspace.com/blackkidsrock. Black Kids were, it's true, playing small places like the R Bar on the Bowery, where they shared the stage with a pair of stripper poles, and the Annex, where an amp gave out during their first song. [NY Times]

Oct 17-20, 2007, NYC

Any post-CMJ document is obligated by Internet law to mention the Black Kids. Wouldn't want to be sent to blogger jail (no WiFi), and apparently our man WSB is complicit in this hype, for which even Mike D showed up to the Brooklyn Vegan R Bar showcase on Friday afternoon. [Village Voice]

Beastie Boy Mike D @ BrooklynVegan party @ R Bar - Oct 19, 2007 (cred)

Oct 16, 2007, official CMJ showcase, NYC

Kudos to our brother in blogging Brooklyn Vegan for curating a kick-ass CMJ opening night show at Bowery Ballroom!....the first set we saw at CMJ '07 will probably be one of the very best: We learned Bon Iver is simply astounding....Try and see him today at BV's day show at Pianos (5PM). [Stereogum]

Bon Iver @ BV CMJ - Oct 20, 2007 (MORE)

Sept 14-15, 2007, Austin, TX

St Vincent @ ACL afterparty, Austin, TX - Sept 15, 2007 (MORE)

July 14, 2007, NYC

Les Savy Fav @ Citysol, NYC - July 14, 2007 (MORE)

Spring 2007, USA

We're almost on tour!!! Dave and I are rehearsing like fiends. Btw, I'll be posting photos and a tour diary on Brooklyn Vegan. Annie from St. Vincent will be singing some songs with us. Exciting! Okay, no more exclamation marks... [John Vanderslice]

March 23, 2007, NYC

Tim Fite @ Sin-e - March 23, 2007 (MORE)

Human Giant @ BV/NY2LON show, Austin, TX - March 17, 2007

March 17, 2007, Austin, TX

The Fratellis @ Habana Calle, Austin, TX - March 17, 2007 (MORE)

a Yaris @ the BV/AAM party, March 15, 2007, Austin, TX

March 15, 2007, Austin, TX

outside Pianos - BrooklynVegan show, Nov 1, 2006 (MORE)

CSS, inside Pianos - BrooklynVegan show, Nov 1, 2006 (CRED)

This was an afternoon showcase on the first day of CMJ 2006 curated by the popular Brooklyn Vegan blog site. The place was well jammed as it was CSS's only freely accessible club date during the week, and they played straight after Thunderbirds Are Now! [Punkcast]

Dave Hill, Vitamin Water & flyer @ Pianos, BV party, Nov 1, 2006

Nov 1-4, 2006, NYC

"We made it to the second of three parties thrown during CMJ by our good friend Dave, who did an outstanding job making our lives easier by booking our favorite bands and putting them under the same roof for the day; see, we like to take it nice and lazy. Vegan's second show at Fontana's was the one we hit up, just in time for the tail-end of the Lo-Fi-Fnk set (that's pronouned "Low Fi Funk," despite the missing vowel)." [Stereogum]

Thermals @ Fontana's, BV show - Nov 3, 2006 (CRED)

Tokyo Police Club @ The Annex, BV show - Nov 4, 2006

June 29, 2006, NYC

special guest Ramesh from Voxtrot @ Syrup Room, June 29, 2006 (more)

Sept 13, 2005, NYC