Antony @ Radio City (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Antony played a show at Radio City Music Hall last night. And this was just announced:

Tibet House US is thrilled to announce that Antony and Stephin Merritt have joined the bill for the 22nd Annual Benefit Concert at Carnegie Hall on Monday, February 13th, 2012 at 7:30pm. This year's esteemed line-up, curated by Philip Glass, the concert's artistic director, includes Lou Reed, James Blake, Dechen Shak-Dagsay, Laurie Anderson, and Rahzel, in addition to Antony and Stephin. Tickets are on sale now and available through the Carnegie Hall Box Office. Special packages that include concert tickets and a fundraising reception following the show with the event's Honorary Chairpersons Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard and the evening's performing artists are available through Tibet House US.

James Blake is also DJing Le Poisson Rouge while he's in town.

The Magnetic Fields are going on tour in March and April.

by Andrew Sacher

James Blake at MHOW in October (more by Amanda Hatfield)

The 22nd Annual Benefit Concert for Tibet House US is taking place this year at Carnegie Hall on February 13. Philip Glass, who is the artistic director for the Tibet House benefits, will perform alongside an as-usual incredible lineup which includes James Blake, Dechen Shak-Dagsay, Laurie Anderson, Rahzel, and more to be announced. Tickets are on sale now via Carnegie Hall and special packages that include a fundraising reception following the performance will be available soon via Tibet House US. More details below.

Philip Glass also has tons of upcoming events in celebration of his 75th birthday.

James Blake, who put out one of our favorite albums of 2011 capped the year off with the three-track Love What Happened Here EP. The title track recalls the material of James' 2010 EPs but throws splashes of funk and R&B with grabbing vocal samples and synthetic horn flourishes. The next track, "At Birth," is a more ambient affair which also brings to mind parts of his earlier work, but the final track, "Curbside," builds off instrumental boom bap and if not for the trademark vocal samples it would sound almost nothing like any of his other material. Buy the EP at eMusic and stream all three of its tracks below.

Details on the Tibet House US show and streams below...

Continue reading "James Blake released an EP, playing Tibet House Benefit in NYC (with Philip Glass, Rahzel & more)"

photos by Eric M. Townsend

Santa Questlove

Rahzel + Shaggy tearing it up, free apple cider shots for the ENTIRE club from our main man + Brooklyn Bowl owner Pete Shapiro, and Big Freedia and her "Azz Everywhere" - you know, just another legendary Okayplayer Holiday Jam with The Roots. What else was amazing? Free dranks thanks to Heineken, aerialists doing the splits above The Roots, and opening DJ sets from OKP Editor at large, Eddie "STATS" and OKA's own Chief Boima, along with LargeUp's own DJ Gravy and so much more. Warming up the stage, the Music Unites Youth Choir opened the show, followed by Black Thought co-signees The Wurx who brought fresh Philly-style raps.

Next up, godfathers The Roots took the stage for an extended jam with a laundry list of Okay family and friends. Throughout the night special guests included Gary Clark Jr. who graced the stage and flexed his guitar chops, Big Daddy Kane who spit classics alongside Black Thought, and Rahzel who showed why he's the human beat box extraordinaire. Angelique Kidjo and Bajah + The Dry Eye Crew tore it up, repping Okayafrica all the way. And LargeUp kept shit bombastic with Shaggy and Patra the Dancehall Queen, along with Mr. Eazy, Red Fox, and Rayvon. We also got some instrumental goodness thanks to Ray Angry and Robert Glasper on keys, repping for Revivalist. And after all that, DJ ?uestlove brought it home on the 1s and 2s with a Bowl Train after-party. [OkayAfrica]

Gary Clark Jr., who also guested at the show, played his own show at Mercury Lounge two days earlier (12/13). You can check out a review of that show on Bowery's website.

Questlove DJs Brooklyn Bowl again tonight (12/22). He tweeted, "Tonight at @brooklynbowl. We celebrate the 5th Anniversary of James Brown's exodus. All James All Jams. #BowlTrain." Tickets are still avilable. He also gives Manhattan some love and DJs at S.O.B.'s on January 3. Tickets are available for that too.

More pictures and a video from the Okayplayer show below...

Continue reading "Okayplayer Holiday Party pics (Roots, Big Daddy Kane, Shaggy, Big Freedia, Gary Clark Jr, Angelique Kidjo & many more)"

photos by Brook Bobbins

Talib Kweli / EPMD

The energy and atmosphere was so Hip-Hop in every way! The crowd roared as the legends of the game hit the stage. A top memorable moment of the event was the LOX reunion. Styles P, Jadakiss, and Sheek Louch all hit the stage and performed classic material. They all did solo verses as well. The crowd went crazy when Styles P did his verse off Rick Ross' " B.M.F." Overall it was a great night for Hip-Hop. If you were there you would have felt that love, that energy and most important, you would understand that Hip-Hop is not dead. -[MsDramatv.com]

Yo MTV Raps of 1990s exploded onto the stage at Best Buy Theater on June 30th, as Hot 97 hosted a lineup of hip hop greats from the era and beyond. Headlined by Talib Kweli, the show featured appearances from EPMD, The Lox, Large Professor, M.O.P., Keith Murray, Nice n Smooth, Brand Nubian, and many many others. Pictures from the show, which include shots of DJ Premier, Pharoahe Monch, JuJu of The Beatnuts, Lil' Ceasar, and many others, continue below...

Continue reading "Talib Kweli, EPMD, The Lox & many more Saluted Hip Hop @ Best Buy Theater (pics)"

photos by Samantha Marble

"Subway problems, sweltering temperatures and long queues were all overcome by the hardy bunch of FNM fans who attended the third and final date of Faith No More's three-date East Coast mini-tour last night. The "surprise song" did not appear but consensus seemed to be that Faith No More again delivered a stunning set with old favourites like Worm and The Crab Song getting rare airings." [Faith No More 2.0]

This time, with James Chance as the musical opener, Faith No More again played a 20-song, 2-encore set (that this time included The Real Thing and Ben and ended with Stripsearch, and didn't start with Reunited). The whole setlist, along with more pictures from Monday's show (including one that is kind of NSFW), below...

Continue reading "Faith No More, Rahzel, James Chance & Neil Hamburger @ Williamsburg Waterfront - night 2 pics, video & setlist"

words and photos by Keith Marlowe

The crowd erupted in cheers, over a decade in the making, when Faith No More took the stage at the Williamsburg Waterfront last Friday. After reforming in Febuary of 2009, the band had played dozens of dates in the UK, but didn't play the US until April of this year, and that was just four shows in California. So this was the first time they had been anywhere near the East Coast since breaking up in 1998. It was fitting that their first song (as it has been on many tour dates) was "Reunited," by Peaches and Herb.

The band came out dressed in different colored pastel suits. The two founding members, drummer Mike Bordin and bass player Bill Gould, (who started the band in 1981) and keyboardist Roddy Bottum (who joined in 1982) were joined by Jon Hudson, the most recent addition (he joined in 1997 to help with songwriting on "Album of the Year".) Mike Patton was the last to appear, and he came out slowly, walking with a cane. I wondered if there were going to be any Willy Wonka type antics, but after singing with the cane for a couple songs, he tossed it to the side of the stage. I couldn't tell if he was really hurt, but he did seem to move less than when he played with other bands in the last couple of years.

Faith no More played a pretty even mix of the albums they made after Mike Patton joined in 1989. They started their original material with "From Out of Nowhere" which, fittingly, is the first song on "The Real Thing," the first album they made with Patton. From the beginning notes of "Nowhere" the crowd started singing along, and it kept up throughout the entire concert (minus Chariots of Fire.) It's been a long time since I heard that many people sing along with an entire show and it really added to the experience. What didn't add to the experience was the way the "beer-drinkers" were sectioned far off from the rest of the audience. It seemed there were many unnecessary barricades, and all the grass near the stage was sectioned off, removing the only comfortable option for anyone who wanted to sit and watch the show. And did there really need to be separate lines for beer tickets and beer?

Mike Patton instructed the crowd several times to turn around and check out the amazing view ("you fuckers live here") instead of looking at the band, but nobody was having any of it. The skyline isn't going anywhere (hopefully), but there's no telling if Faith No More will ever be back in NYC again. They kept everyone riveted through the set, which included covers "Easy" and "I Started a Joke." The first encore started with Vangelis, another live staple, and the second encore consisted of "We Care a Lot," the only song off their first two albums from the Chuck Mosely era.

Rahzel opened the show with his one man vocal act, performing original songs and covers such as Wu-Tang. The amount of bass he was able to produce was impressive, and his beats shook the speakers. . He somehow managed to do the verse and chorus of a song simultaneously. He spent a lot of time talking about hip-hop, the importance of women not getting impregnated by poor men, and why dudes should be sure to keep themselves wrapped. Some of the talking got old, but it was cute when he brought his youngest son up and told the crowd about him. His son alternated between looking like he was going to laugh and cry.

Neil Hamburger was next (and reportedly first), and he really seemed to quickly divide the crowd into people that thought his act was funny, and people that would have preferred silence until Faith No More came out. "What's the difference between Courtney Love and the American Flag? It's wrong to piss on the American Flag," gives a pretty accurate representation of his jokes. He's like a cross between a pop-culture Henny Youngman and John Waters. A big part of his bit seems to be chastising the hecklers that he knows he's going to get. A lot of his taunts at the audience were funnier than his jokes.

Faith No More went on to play Philly on Saturday and Williamsburg again on Monday (pics from that one HERE) and are now headed to Europe to play festival dates for the rest of July. They have no more "official" plans after this month.

We already posted this show's setlist. Pictures from it continue below...

Continue reading "Faith No More @ Williamsburg Waterfront -night 1 pics/review"

Faith No More @ Williamsburg Waterfront - Friday, June 2nd (via my phone)

**Due to MTA construction there is no L Train service between 8 Ave, Manhattan and Myrtle-Wykcoff Aves, Brooklyn**

Here are 3 alternate options to get to the Williamsburg Waterfront from Manhattan:

-Take the 7 Train to 45th/Court House Square and then transfer to the G Train at 23 Street-Ely Avenue, then take the Brooklyn Bound G Train to Nassau Ave.

-Take the J, Z, or M Train to Marcy and there are shuttle busses to Bedford Ave, or it is a short walk to the venue
-Take the E Train to 23 Street-Ely Avenue and Transfer to the G Train to Nassau Ave

In Brooklyn take the M to Marcy Ave, or take the G train to Nassau Ave. There are also shuttle busses running along the L line beginning at Myrtle-Wycoff and ending at Lorimer St. From the Lorimer stop, walk west down Metropolitan to North 6th St. (under the BQE). Continue west to Kent Ave. and go two blocks north to North 8th St.

If you were at the same venue on Friday night, July 2nd, then you probably know that Faith No More played a 2-encore, 20-song set that ended with "We Care a Lot", included "Epic" but not "Falling to Pieces", "The Real Thing", "Zombie Eaters", "War Pigs" or "Edge of the World". It also included, like the rest of the tour, an opening cover of "Reunited", and unlike Coachella, their cover of "Easy".

One night later in Philly they switched things up a bit. Brooklyn got a Bee Gees cover on Friday. Philly, like Coachella, got the Jackson 5's "Ben". Both nights got Vangelis to kick off the encore, but Philly only got one encore (no "We Care a Lot" for them at all).

Not counting his little son that he brought up (aka embarrassed) on stage, Rahzel played completely solo during his opening set on Friday. Mike Patton didn't join him and he didn't later join Faith No More... like he did in Philly for "Chinese Arithmetic".

A full set of pictures from the Brooklyn show is coming soon. Meanwhile the Brooklyn and Philly setlists, and some videos, are below...

Continue reading "Faith No More play Brooklyn again tonight (NO L TRAIN SERVICE) ++ the setlists from Friday & Saturday "

Funnyman Neil Hamburger, known for, among other things for his Poolside Chats, is opening all three Faith No More shows this weekend, including two at the Williamsburg Waterfront (known for, among other things being the new "Pool").

Each Brooklyn show also has a third opener. Rahzel opens Friday (I wonder if Mike Patton will perform with him) and James Chance opens Monday. According to Roddy Bottum, "Doors 530, James Chance maybe 6 or 630, Neil Hamburger at 7 or 730, FNM at 8. K?" An anonymous commenter wrote the same.

All Neil dates below...

Continue reading "Neil Hamburger, James Chance & Rahzel are opening for Faith No More (and playing other dates) "

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 24 -- Mike Patton (Fantômas, Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, Peeping Tom and the forthcoming Mondo Cane amongst others) has just completed his first major motion film score for the film "Crank 2: High Voltage" (Apr. 17 release).

While Patton has often dabbled in film whether it was lending his voice to the creatures in "I Am Legend", his score for the indie film noir short "A Perfect Place" or Fantômas' film scoring interpretation via The Director's Cut, this marks his first proper film score.

Created during the latter half of 2008, Patton holed up in a Los Angeles studio and eliminated all other projects during the recording, a point worth noting as he is well known for being one of modern music's most prolific artists.

Patton has also provided vocals to several videogames including "Bionic Commando," "Portal," "Left 4 Dead," and "The Darkness." He also lent his voice to Adult Swim's Metalocalypse (character name: Rikki Kix). Patton just wrapped up a trek across Australia with Fantômas as part of the Big Day Out festival. His upcoming schedule includes a performance with labelmates Zu (Mar. 19 @ Great American Music Hall in San Francisco), the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on Apr. 17 with Rahzel (ex-Roots beatboxer) and the highly anticipated reunion tour with Faith No More in Europe this summer.

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In related news, the pre-Patton frontman of Faith No More, Chuck Mosley, "is currently recording a new album at Ante Up Audio recording studios in Cleveland, Ohio. Multi-platinum producer/engineer Michael Seifert (Tori Amos, Regina Spektor, Dave Matthews, Bone Thugs 'n Harmony) is currently working on the new release with Chuck. The album is sure to please fans new and old, with a mix of hard rock and acoustic numbers." (thx Klaus)

Continue reading "Mike Patton scores film... Faith No More reunion confirmed?"

Headliners Paul McCartney, The Killers and The Cure are among the 130-plus acts set for the tenth COACHELLA VALLEY MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL (APRIL 17, 18 AND 19) at the beautiful Empire Polo Club in Indio, CA, the same grounds where the COACHELLA VALLEY MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL debuted in 1999. Other artists confirmed for America's most critically acclaimed music festival include Morrissey, Amy Winehouse, Franz Ferdinand, My Bloody Valentine, Leonard Cohen, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, Thievery Corporation, Yeah Yeah Yeahs (the complete line-up is listed below).

This marks the first ever U.S. festival appearance for McCartney who is currently supporting his latest release ELECTRIC ARGUMENTS.

"I have heard that Coachella is one of the greatest festivals in the world. I'm really excited to get out there and rock!" McCartney says.

Throbbing Gristle and the rest of the full (real) line-up (as of 1/30) is below:

Continue reading "Coachella 2009 - OFFICIAL lineup announced (My Bloody Valentine, Leonard Cohen, Paul McCartney, Morrissey, The Cure, Antony, Amy Winehouse...) - tix on sale"

photos by Faith-Ann Young

There were models at SOB's on [last] Tuesday [October 21, 2008] night. Or, at least, reasonable facsimiles thereof.

They might have been there for the aggregated talent from Washington, D.C., who headlined this showcase of artists on Allido Records. More likely, they were there for the label's co-founder Mark Ronson: onetime celebrity DJ, resurrector of vintage soul via his work with Amy Winehouse and others, and, it should be said, sometime squirer of models.

But if Mr. Ronson likes Wale, the rapper known best for his Seinfeld-themed mixtape "The Mictape About Nothing," then why couldn't they? To help plead his case, Wale enlisted the services of the go-go band U.C.B., likely one of the most proficient groups to be playing this festival, even if they weren't technically on the bill. Go-go music makes fantastic use of space in its rhythms, and when Wale gave in to the band's impeccable playing, as he did on "Nike Boots," he seemed at ease. But sometimes, he clustered his syllables together as if he were trying to out-percuss the percussion, making songs like "Back In The Go-Go" feel cluttered. [NY Times]

"Rhymefest kicked off his set....beasting out jams...He brought along with him suprise guest Rahzel (formerly of the Roots) mid set...Got the crowd perfectly rowdy.......especially when he ended with an Obama pitch : 'When I say O, you say BAMA' .....Next up, heavily hyped Brits, The Rumble Strips, took the stage with gleeful pop rock....(think Albert Hammond Jr. meets The Kooks.....) Got the killer hook-heavy jingle, Girls and Boys in Love, but also knocked out a sizzling cover of Amy Winehouse's Back to Black. Pretty damn cute. Aussie soul singer Daniel Merriweather brought major cred to the stage with the Dap Kings backing him.... Ronson played guitar at the end of his set....

Wale ended the set waxing lyrical to go-go influenced beats. He brought with him a heavy artillery of beatboxers, DC-based rappers, and friends- most of whom sported thick shades......In fact, most of the time, he relinquished the mic to his friends......as well as Daniel Merriweather who came back on stage for a rendition of 'Stop Me,' the hit from Ronson's solo album............Overall, Wale makes DC proud- a veritable talent....bringing home-grown DC music to more mainstream.... Was a jam packed night of talent.Ronson deserves a pat on his back.."

Continue reading "Mark Ronson's Allido showcase (Wale) @ SOB's, NYC - pics"