The 2012 edition of MusicFestNW takes place in September 5 - 9 at 18 venues in Portland, OR and will feature performances from over 150 bands, including Passion Pit, Hot Snakes, Girl Talk, Danny Brown, Beirut Silversun Pickups, Dinosaur Jr. and Sebadoh, many more.

In addition to those previously announced artists, MFNW has just added The Hives, Flying Lotus, Wild Nothing, DIIV, Quasi, Moon Duo, My Goodness, DZ Deathrays, and Strand Of Oaks to the already impressive line-up. Wristbands, available various levels and packages, and tickets to individual shows are on sale now. Check out the complete MFNW lineup below.

Continue reading "MusicFestNW 2012 lineup expands (The Hives, Flying Lotus, Quasi, DIIV, Passion Pit, Hot Snakes, Beirut, Swans & many more)"

DOWNLOAD: J. Mascis - "Not Enough" (MP3)

Sebadoh at Pitchfork 2008 (more by Elizabeth Weinberg)

Dinosaur Jr haven't called it quits (again), but their members are fully engaged in their own separate projects in the coming months.

Lou Barlow's Sebadoh will hit the road in early February for a set of West Coast dates with Quasi followed by a set of East Coast dates in early April that aren't fully announced yet. Those dates include a pair in NYC at Bowery Ballroom on April 9th and 10th. Tickets for both shows (9th here, 10th here) are currently (as of noon) on AMEX presale, and go on regular sale at noon on 1/21.

Meanwhile, J Mascis is prepping his solo effort Several Shades of Why for release on Sub Pop. The LP, available for preorder now, which is "nearly all acoustic" is his first official solo effort and features ten tracks including "Not Enough" available for download above. J Mascis has a few dates of his own in the coming months too, and like the album they will be acoustic. First he's playing with Kurt Vile and then with The Black Heart Procession. Those include NYC shows with Kurt Vile on March 24th at Mercury Lounge and March 25th at Music Hall of Williamsburg. Tickets for Mercury are currently on AMEX presale (as of noon) and go on regular sale at noon on Friday (1/21). Tickets for Music Hall if Williamsburg also go on sale Friday.

All currently known tour dates and an excellent/in-depth interview with J Mascis is below...

Continue reading "J Mascis touring w/ Kurt Vile, Sebadoh playing gigs too (dates) "

"heading to NYC to play the PORTLANDIA premiere!" - The Thermals

"good flight. I finally learned what the mile high club is. I always thought it meant getting stoned in Denver" - The Thermals

The Thermals @ 2009 Pitchfork Fest (more by Joseph Xu)

"Allow us to introduce you (against their wishes) to Forbidden Friends!

Forbidden Friends is part secret society, part torrid love affair. The kind of experience you cherish, yet would kill to keep secret. Well as of this moment the secret is OUT. You can wash your dirty sheets as many times as you want, but once the world knows all your steamy indiscretions there's no going back! Might as well post all your (formerly) deep, dark secrets as your next status update. Forbidden Friends may have hoped to keep their little club private, but it's too late now! The gossips have spoken and won. Let's tell EVERYBODY. Please help us!

Forbidden Friends is a new band from Hutch Harris, lead singer and mastermind of The Thermals, Portland's last great post-pop-punk-power trio. Initially conceived as a way for lovers to send hidden messages in plain view (isn't there an app for that?), Forbidden Friends is now a legitimate, public work of art. The band is at once old fashioned (acoustic instruments, mono mixes), forward thinking (reference-less, incredibly danceable), and timeless (classic lyrical themes of love and desire.)

Forbidden Friends will release their debut single, "Tiny Hands", on the Kill Rock Stars label March 15, 2011, on vinyl (7") and digital download. It is accompanied by the b-side "For You". Harris played the basic instruments (drums, guitar, bass, vocals), and was assisted in the studio by his fellow Thermals Kathy Foster and Westin Glass, as well as Michael Lerner of Telekinesis, on percussion. Both songs are truly upbeat and fun, and are the perfect introduction to this exciting new band." [Kill Rock Stars]

Portlandia, starring Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein, premieres on Friday, January 21, 2011 at 10:30 PM ET/PT on IFC, but you can watch it now in the video embedded below.

The Thermals, after the Portlandia party (1/19), have some dates scheduled on the west coast followed by a European tour with The Coathangers. Their list of dates, and Carrie's new band Wild Flag's updated set of dates, and pretty much every upcoming Kill Rock Stars-artist tour date currently listed by the label, is below...

Continue reading "Hutch of the Thermals forms new band 'Forbidden Friends' (Thermals playing a Portlandia party in NYC & other dates)"

Lucha VaVOOM @ Webster Hall (more by Tim Griffin)

tonight in NYC
* Lucha Va Voom @ Webster Hall
* Jonsi, Death Vessel @ Terminal 5
* Bora Yoon, Luke DuBois @ Roulette
* Extra Life, Larkin Grimm, Queening @ Cake Shop
* James Subudhi, Sweetheart Parade, Teru'ah @ Zebulon
* The Fancy, Corey Dargel, Cornelius Dufallo @ Joe's Pub
* B. Shropshire, Backlights, The Last King Of England @ Bruar Falls
* Dimmer, Starcrossed Signs, Milk and Blood, John Reagan @ Knitting Factory Brooklyn
* Jonathan Kane's February, Audrey Chen (A birthday celebration for Suzanne Fiol) @ Issue Project Room

B. Shropshire, playing Bruar Falls tonight, used to be in Human Televison (RIP) and has a cover of Mazzy Star's Fade Into You streaming on his MySpace.

Wrestling and burlesque show Lucha Va Vaoom returns to Webster Hall tonight, comedian Todd Barry included.

Quasi's new video for "Little White Horse" below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Sunday? (Mother's Day)"

photos by Dominick Mastrangelo

"[Quasi] played for about an hour, running through most of the catchier songs from [new album] American Gong, including "Everything & Nothing At All," "Black Dogs and Bubbles," "Rockabilly Party," and "Laissez le Bon Temps Roulez"...that song's lyrics perhaps embody the philosophy of the mature musician in a musical form that favors the youthful. As individuals, the members of Quasi have played with everyone from the late, great Sleater-Kinney and Elliott Smith, to Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks and Bright Eyes. "You might say your race is run or you can rise up on the sound in the center of the sun ... I used to be mad, not crazy, just mad, not anymore, the receding taillights of a teenage dream." Not only is rock and roll not the fountain of youth, but it often eats its own young. Getting older is not for sissies, especially if you are a rock musician.

Performing only a few songs from other releases, including "All the Same, "Sword of God," and for an encore, that great Portland anthem "It's Raining," they ended the show with a perfect rendition of "Pictures of Lily," another song about the dangers of being misled by dreams. Quasi hasn't given up their dreams, they have brought to them a steel edge, pulsing beats and ferocious chords that do not go gently into that good night." [Metro Music Scene]

Both gig were with UK band Let's Wrestle, whose tour with Quasi continues up till May. It was Let's Wrestle's first time in NYC since CMJ after a failed attempt at visiting before SXSW. Blair also opened the NYC show.

The Quasi set was recorded by NYCTaper. His setlist with more pictures and videos from the Bowery show (including a shot of the setlist) are below...

Continue reading "Quasi, Let's Wrestle & Blair played Bowery Ballroom - pics, video, setlist, recording"

LCD Soundsystem @ Studio B in 2007

tonight in NYC
* Mike Birbiglia @ Caroline's
* Questlove (DJ) @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Caetano Veloso @ Terminal 5
* "The John Oates Party" @ Canal Room
* Janelle Monae @ Highline Ballroom
* David Garza, Cate Le Bon @ Union Hall
* Midlake, John Grant @ Bowery Ballroom
* Toshimaru Nakamura @ Issue Project Room
* Rocky Votolato, Brooke Waggoner @ City Winery
* LCD Soundsystem @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Zaza @ Webster Hall
* Fixed w/ SonicC, JDH & Dave P @ Santos Party House
* High Places, Soft Circle, Bow Ribbons @ Shea Stadium
* Electric Jellyfish, Mike Wexler, Up Died Sound @ Zebulon
* Florence and the Machine, Holy Hail @ (Le) Poisson Rouge
* Juiceboxxx, Shams, Bodega Girls, Light Asylum @ North 4th
* Radical Dads, Thunderfakers, Conversion Party @ Union Pool
* Serena Maneesh, The Depreciation Guild @ (Le) Poisson Rouge
* Weasel Walter, Toby Driver, Charlie Looker, 10 @ Silent Barn
* Mon Khmer, Your Nature, Kordan @ The Studio at Webster Hall
* Tim Barry, Red Clay River, Jonny Corndawg @ Knitting Factory
* Morning Fuzz, Finding Fiction, Making Tents, Caves @ Glasslands
* The Bombettes, Deep Sleep, No Friends, Night Birds @ Bruar Falls
* Little Gold, We Are Country Mice, Backwords, Neon Gloworms @ Cake Shop
* Penguin Prison, Solid Gold, Das Racist, Bad Brilliance @ Mercury Lounge
* Libraries On Fire, Doug Gillard, Landlady, Big Troubles @ Death By Audio
* Nashville Pussy, Green Jelly & Psychostick on a Rocks Off Boat

Tonight was supposed to be that Mayhem show at Irving Plaza. The related makeup show of sorts happens at Europa on April 18th.

Tonight Silent Barn hosts a few worthy out-there acts: Weasel Walter's Cellular Chaos, which at a gig earlier this year (on video below) featured Weasel on guitar, Talibam's Kevin Shea on drums and Ceci Moss on bass; Kayo Dot's Toby Driver and Mia Matsumiya as Tartar Lamb; Charlie Looker of Extra Life playing solo; and a band we know nothing about, 10, apparently on tour from S. Korea. - AF

As somewhat hidden in a Jonny Corndawg post which was a Delta Spirit and MG&V post, Tim Barry of Avail is headlining a show at Knitting Factory tonight.

Questlove DJ's every Thursday in April at Brooklyn Bowl.

Quasi performed for KEXP. Check out a video below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Thursday?"

We'll get a more complete press release in the morning (and confirm what is listed below is 100% correct), but in the meantime below is a picture of the 2010 Sasquatch poster (that someone Tweeted) and the lineup as read by Bradford Cox at tonight's Atlas Sound show in Seattle (and being listed all over the Internet)....

Continue reading "Sasquatch announces 2010 lineup (includes Massive Attack & My Morning Jacket) (and many more) "

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Let's Wrestle - We Are the Men You Will Grow to Love Soon (MP3)

SXSW is almost exactly a month away and BrooklynVegan is going to be very active there, throwing more than a couple parties (official and unofficial) which we'll be telling you more about as it gets closer to the actual festival. Despite what music blogs lead you to believe (and the mass of people that will be there), not everybody goes to Austin in March. With that in mind, we're trying to bring a little SXSW to NYC this year by throwing a pre-Festival party on March 15 at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn with three (possibly four) bands on their way to Austin: Let's Wrestle, Casiokids, and The Wave Pictures. Stay tuned for one more band TBA. Tickets are only $8 and on sale now.

Let's Wrestle have just signed to Merge, who will be putting out their great debut album, In the Court of Wrestling Let's, on March 23. (The import made my Best of 2009 list.) You can download a track from it at the top of this post. Maybe you caught one of their CMJ shows back in October -- they're a lot of fun. In addition to our show and SXSW, Let's Wrestle will be on tour with Quasi in April -- including a 4/22 stop at Bowery Ballroom (tickets). All tour dates below...

Continue reading "Let's Wrestle now on Merge, touring w/ Quasi, playing SXSW & a pre-SXSW BV show in NYC - MP3, video & 2010 dates"

by Andrew Frisicano

DOWNLOAD: Quasi - Repulsion (MP3)

Portland trio Quasi has a new album, American Gong, coming out on Kill Rock Stars February 23rd. "Repulsion," off that, is a catchy, twisted piece of indie-rock gold. The band knows something about "indie-rock" having connections to Sleater-Kinney (drummer Janet Weiss was a member), Steven Malkmus and the Jicks (which feature Weiss and bassist Joanna Bolme) and Elliot Smith (Sam Coomes played in Heatmiser and Quasi, when they were a duo, backed Smith on several tours).

Their previous tour dates have been updated with many more stops that run from March to the beginning of May. They play Bowery Ballroom on Thursday, April 22nd. Tickets go on AmEx presale Wednesday, January 13th at noon. General sale starts Friday, January 15th at noon.

Elliott Smith was/is also a Kill Rock Stars artist and the label recently announced some news related to reissues and an unreleased track.

All Quasi tour dates and videos of the band (Quasi & Elliott Smith covering "Paint It Black"!) are below...

Continue reading "Quasi - updated 2010 tour dates (NYC & more added)"

DOWNLOAD: Quasi - Repulsion (MP3)

Kill Rock Stars will be releasing the new album from Portland darlings Quasi on February 23, 2010. American Gong (cover art above) was recorded at Jackpot Studios by Kendra Lynn and was mixed by Steve Fisk (Unwound, Sleater-Kinney, Shoplifting) This is Quasi's first studio album since 2006's When The Going Gets Dark and first for Kill Rock Stars.

Quasi formed in Portland, Ore., in 1993, which means that it's been fearlessly rocking since long before your website launched or you booted up an iPod. For years -- 16 to be exact -- it was a duo consisting of Sam Coomes and Janet Weiss. In 2006, Joanna Bolme (of Stephen Malkmus + The Jicks) joined the band on bass.

Quasi doesn't have any NYC dates yet, but they're touring in February (Japan) and March (North America) which is when they will pass through Austin for SXSW. All dates below...

Continue reading "new Quasi album on KRS - MP3 & tour dates (SXSW)"

...," the Sasquatch! Festival returns for its ninth year May 29-31 (Memorial Day Weekend), 2010 at The Gorge in Quincy, WA. For the first time, a special discounted 3-day festival pass will be available in time for the holiday gift season on Saturday, November 7 at 10:00 A.M. (PST) via sasquatchfestival.com. There are a limited number of discount passes, which will be available through December 31, 2009. Recently reunited indie rock legends Pavement will be performing. The festival's complete lineup will be announced February 16.

Other rumored U.S. appearances are Coachella and the Pitchfork Festival. Meanwhile Pavement member Spiral Stairs just released a new album. The new Spiral Stairs video, and all Pavement dates, and who Pavement has picked to play their sold out ATP fest so far, below...

Continue reading "Pavement playing Sasquatch Festival (and at least 17 other 2010 shows so far - Primavera, ATP & more)"

photos by Faith-Ann Young

The Manhattan branch of the Knitting Factory is soon coming to a close. Final shows this month have included an Anticon cLOUDDEAD reunion, a WNYU show with Pylon, a big benefit for NY Cares, and a night of bands curated by Quasi. The latter was this past Satuday night, December 20th. More pictures from Quasi's headlining set below....

Continue reading "Quasi @ Knitting Factory, NYC - pics"

The above drawing is a segment of the songsheet Oneida passed out at Sunday night's show at Maxwell's in Hoboken (12/21). It was the first of eight Yo La Tengo Hanukkah parties at the NJ venue this year, and, as promised, the Brooklyn band (Oneida) opened the night. As also promised, comedian Paul F. Tompkins opened with a set of comedy. AND, I'm feeling really good right now because two (sort of) of my guest guesses also came true last night. Both Britt Daniel and Janet Weiss (I guessed Britt and "Quasi") joined Yo La Tengo for some songs. To quote an email I got from Josh,

Oneida opened.
Then Paul F Tompkins.
Then YLT with Janet Weiss
For the encore - Paul F Tomkins joined the band and sang a Hannukah version of [Johnny Cash's] "Ring of Fire"
Then Britt Daniel joined and sang a few songs including "Mother and Child Reunion" [by Paul Simon]

The shows continue tonight (Monday, Hanukkah night two). We now know the openers for night eight, but who will open tonight? Will it be Titus Andronicus? Will it be Antietam? I'm not sure. Post your guesses and facts in the comments.

Download the whole Oneida songsheet (thx Josh) as a PDF HERE. Check out a Yo La Tengo video from last year's Hanukkah run, below...

Continue reading "It's Hanukkah Bitch! Britt Daniel & Janet Weiss joined Yo La Tengo, Oneida & Paul F Tompkins @ Maxwell's last night"

by Bill Pearis

Quasi

This time of year is usually pretty slow, show-wise, but this seems to be an especially-packed week for shows. Here's some of the stuff I'm considering attending while I procrastinate on holiday gift shopping and doing all my year-end lists over on my own blog.

Crystal Stilts @ Less Artists More Condos (more by Gabi Porter)

Speaking of, while I haven't posted my Best Albums of '08 yet, I will tell you Crystal Stilts' Alight of Night did make the Top Ten. They're playing tonight (12/17) at Le Poisson Rouge and even though I've seen them more times this year than I'd like to admit (and will probably see them again later this week), I will probably be in attendance. They're opening for Bay Area neo-fokies Vetiver, whose new covers album, Thing of the Past, is rather lovely.

Vetiver

Hot Snakes

Also tonight (12/17), is that double-shot of ex-Hot Snakes/Drive Like Jehu/Pitchfork bands at Santos Party House: Obits, that's fronted by Rick Froberg; and headliners The Night Marchers, which features John Reis and two other members of Hot Snakes. I have to admit Obits is more of a draw for me, as the band also features Sohrab Habibion who used to front Edsel, one of my favorite bands from the '90s DC scene. Obits just released their debut 7", "One Cross Apiece," which I like a lot. Will there be a mini Hot Snakes reunion tonight? Probably not, but you can always hope for a Christmas miracle.

Plus Minus

Speaking of '90s indie rock survivors, Thursday (12/18) at Music Hall of Williamsburg is +/-, which is the band/solo project James Baluyut formed when Versus called it quits in the early part of this decade. Versus are playing shows again - and maybe recording new material (so I hear) - but +/- are still very much their own thing and going strong, having released their fourth album Xs on Your Eyes, back in October. Actually the whole line-up at MHoW that night is pretty great: Philly duo Pattern is Movement (who played a BV CMJ day party this year), Brooklyn indie royalty The Ladybug Transistor, and In Interview who I caught at NYC popfest back in June and who don't play nearly enough.

Also on Thursday (12/18): That A.C. Newman Get Guilty listening party at Stanton Public, which I originally thought was last week but wasn't. You can still RSVP for it at Insound. 8-10PM, free beer n' booze.

Sic Alps

And last but absolutely not least, the can't miss show of the week has to be Saturday's (12/20) three floor-event at Knitting Factory curated by indie rock's original keyboard-drum duo, Quasi. Mates of State, Matt and Kim, etc, bow down to Sam Combes and Janet Weiss. The line-up is kind of staggering: awesome San Francisco garage rock duo Sic Alps (who I've plugged before), the aforementioned Crystal Stilts (a late addition to the bill), Jeffrey Lewis, Soft Circle (ex-Black Dice), plus films by legendary animator Sally Cruikshank (one of which is where Quasi got their name) and Craig Baldwin. Oh yeah, Marnie Stern is also playing. Tickets are $20, and worth it.

Continue reading "Quasi, Vetiver, Crystal Stilts, Marnie Stern, +/-, Hot Snakes, Sic Alps & more in This Week in Indie"