White Lung @ Bowery Ballroom last weekend (more by Fred Pessaro // BBG)

As mentioned a few times, the Village Voice's 4Knots Music Festival goes down on June 29 at Pier 17 at South Street Seaport with headliner Kurt Vile & the Violators, plus The Men, Parquet Courts and Marnie Stern. The fest just announced five more acts: Reigning Sound, White Lung (who just played with Parquet Courts at Bowery), The Babies, Fat Tony and Heliotropes. With two stages to fill, there's still more acts to be announced.

Reigning Sound's Greg Cartwright will get to know the Pier 17 stage pretty well by summer's end, as his other band, Oblivians, will play there for the Seaport Music Festival on June 7, which is also free. As mentioned, Reigning Sound recently signed to Merge Records who will release that band's new album at some point this year.

Continue reading "4Knots Music Fest adds Reigning Sound, White Lung, The Babies, Fat Tony and Heliotropes to 2013 line-up"

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion at Bowery Ballroom in Nov (more by Lionel Bergeron)

As you may know by now, Norton Records suffered much damage during Hurricane Sandy, and they've been getting a good deal of support form the community to help them rebuild. Jonathan Toubin did a benefit show in November and Obits have one coming up in January. A week before the Obits show, you can catch another garage punk crew, Reigning Sound doing a Norton Records benefit at The Bell House on January 11 with The Swingin' Neckbreakers. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

Speaking of Jonathan Toubin, two days after the Reigning Sound show, he'll be at The Bell House (1/13) to help another force in music damaged by Hurricane Sandy, WFMU. That show also features Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, The Relatives, Dot Wiggin, and Di Dionyso. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

As usual, Jonathan Toubin has many other NYC shows coming up.

For The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, that Bell House show is part of a US tour they'll be on in 2013. All dates on that tour are listed below.

Continue reading "Jon Spencer touring, playing WFMU benefit at Bell House, where Reigning Sound plays a Norton Records benefit (dates)"

The Greg Dulli-curated ATP NY is this weekend (9/21 - 9/23) and organizers just released the schedule which you can check out below. Music (and comedy on Friday) happens on two stages with films, talks and bingo taking place on the Queen of Hearts boat which is docked just nearby. If you're wondering, Frank Ocean is at 11:45 PM on Friday. Also, Chavez dropped and and have been replaced by JEFF the Brotherhood (Sat. 9/22 7 PM).

Tickets are still available to all three days which can be gotten online or at Other Music. Peruse the full schedule below, perhaps while listening to the ATP mixtape that Greg Dulli made for us.

Continue reading "ATP NY 2012: full schedule"

Reigning Sound

Merge Records have added two new artists to their roster: Memphis, TN's long-running garage greats Reigning Sound (previously on In the Red), and Lambchop guitarist William Tyler whose 2011 instrumental solo album, Behold the Spirit, was well-received (stream it at Spotify). Neither act have specific release news but look for albums from both in 2013.

Meanwhile both Tyler and Reigning Sound will be part of Merge Records' official CMJ showcase which will be at Mercury Lounge on October 18 with Telekenesis, Eleanor Friedberger, Mount Moriah and Superchunk frontman/label domo Mac McCaughan also on the bill. It's the first CMJ showcase Merge has had since 2008. Tickets go on sale Friday, September 21 at noon with an AmEx presale starting Wednesday (9/19) at noon.

The only artist on the Merge CMJ showcase that has any other upcoming tour dates listed is Telekinesis, though none in NYC. Those are listed below.

Continue reading "Reigning Sound and William Tyler sign to Merge, playing label's CMJ showcase w/ Telekinesis, Eleanor Friedberger and more"

That didn't take long. Last night we posted it as a rumor. Today it is confirmed (removal of Louis CK included):

ATP Concerts today announce the relocation of this September's New Jersey based I'll Be Your Mirror festival event to Pier 36 in Manhattan, New York.

Pier 36 was the intended home for I'll Be Your Mirror beginning in 2013 - but due to unavoidable logistical concerns (along with a lack of available fan accommodations in Asbury Park), ATP has decided to move there for this year's event.

New additions to the festival today include: Philip Glass & Tyondai Braxton, Janeane Garofalo, Lightning Bolt, Lee Ranaldo, Chavez, Kurt Braunohler, Afterhours, Joseph Arthur, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, The Album Leaf, The Psychic Paramount, Braids, Tall Firs, Blanck Mass, Endless Boogie, Demdike Stare and DJ Jonathan Toubin with more to be added to all three days - see below for more info on the new additions...

Some artists who are unable to play the new location - the following statement comes from Louis CK's management:

"Louis CK who was originally scheduled for the Asbury Park event will not be performing at ATP in Manhattan due to scheduling conflicts. Check louisck.com for info about his tour schedule."

Sharon Van Etten, Reigning Sound and Factory Floor will also not be available to perform. All other previously announced artists will perform as originally scheduled.

"We hope that the new venue will make for an incredible event and open up many other accommodation options to fans who were unable to find rooms in Asbury Park," comments ATP's Barry Hogan. "We sincerely apologise to those inconvenienced by the move and hope that any problems caused may be minimised by the relatively small distance between the two locations. Anyone who is unable to attend due to the move or due to the cancellation of Louis CK can claim a full refund by contacting their ticket agent between now and July 31st."

Pier 36 is a new indoor venue sitting on the edge of the East River between the Manhattan & Williamsburg Bridges - it's outside area boasts glorious views of Brooklyn and the Statue of Liberty.

The Saturday night of this year's festival will be headlined by The Afghan Whigs (who have reunited after a 13 year hiatus) and curated by their frontman Greg Dulli, with ATP curating the Friday and Sunday nights.

Tickets are on sale now via ATPfestival.com priced at $199 for the Weekend, with Day Passes also newly available priced at $60 for Friday & $75 for Saturday/Sunday.

Full information on the additions to all three days of the line-up...

Friday will feature both music and comedy - we can now announce a musical headliner for Friday, as esteemed composer PHILIP GLASS teams up with TYONDAI BRAXTON (former Battles frontman) for a completely unprecedented live collaboration. Other stellar additions to the day's musical line-up are LIGHTNING BOLT - one of the world's most unmissable live acts, and LEE RANALDO of Sonic Youth. Joining the Friday on the Comedy stage is none other than standup/actress JANEANE GAROFALO, newcomer KURT BRAUNOHLER, with more to be confirmed. Friday tickets cost $60.

Saturday, headlined by THE AFGHAN WHIGS and featuring a stellar list of artists chosen by the Whigs' frontman Greg Dulli, has three new artists. First up are alternative rock band CHAVEZ, who returned to the live arena in the last few years to much acclaim, and they're joined by Italy's AFTERHOURS (past collaborators with Greg Dulli) and Ohio based singer/songwriter JOSEPH ARTHUR. They join the previously announced Saturday line-up of The Afghan Whigs, The Roots, José González, Mark Lanegan Band, Dirty Three, The Antlers, The Dirtbombs, Scrawl, Emeralds, Vetiver, Charles Bradley And The Extraordinaires and DJ Questlove with more to be confirmed. Tickets for this day cost $75.

Sunday will be headlined by one of the incomparable live shows from legendary Canadian post-rock pioneers GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR. Also newly confirmed are Canada's fantastic BRAIDS, Britain's DEMDIKE STARE and BLANCK MASS (feat Benjamin Power of F**k Buttons), intense New York post-rock from THE PSYCHIC PARAMOUNT, a return ATP performance from THE ALBUM LEAF, cult rock quartet ENDLESS BOOGIE, alt folk duo TALL FIRS, and DJ JONATHAN TOUBIN. They join the previously announced Sunday line-up of The Make-Up, Hot Snakes, The Magic Band, Autolux, Thee Oh Sees, I Break Horses and Quintron And Miss Pussycat (moving to this day from Saturday) with more to be confirmed. Sunday tickets cost $75.

As well as the live music line-up and comedy on the Friday, our friends at The Criterion Collection will return to run the Cinema across the weekend. All three days feature DJs and other activities to be confirmed in the months ahead. Each day runs from noon-midnight.

Continue reading "confirmed: ATP moves from Asbury Park to NYC, adds artists"

photos by Zach Pollack, words by Parker Langvardt

Nardwuar w/ Andrew WK // Reigning Sound

Calgary's multi-venue Sled Island festival took place at the end of last month. Pictures and a review of Day 1 are HERE, and now we continue with Day 2 is in this post.

We started the second night of the festival at National Music Centre, catching about a song and a half of a Vancouver band called Beekeeper. Their enthusiastic frontman invited the audience on stage for the last song, which began with a Latin rhythm and eventually took a turn toward psychedelic punk.

Next was We Are The City of Kelowna, British Columbia. Their set was rhythmic and dynamic, touching on many different genres like jazz, math rock, blues and R&B. They also brought some glitchy drumming into a new, keyboard-oriented song that they played. It was less conventional than the rest of their set, but still fit in well.

When Nardwuar took the stage with his band The Evaporators, he asked for more vocals in the monitor and then asked the audience, "Monitors. What does that remind you of?" After some responses from the audience, he went through a weird little association game with Titus Andronicus ("Tittus Andromedus" and other mispronunciations), who got their name from the boat that fought the Monitor in the Civil War. In Nardwuar's words, "A plus B equals C!" He mentioned up former New York governor Mario Cuomo and a Canadian gas station called Domo to start a chant of "Mario Cuomo works at Domo," which developed into the first song with a quick keyboard part from Nardwuar and a continuous drum beat. The second song started with some bizarre sumo grunts and jumps, which he made several audience members do with him until they formed a weird grunting conga line of sorts. They covered "Barney Rubble is My Double" by a Calgary band called The Hot Nasties, and performed an original song about blowing up a rock in a river called "Ripple Rock." The Evaporators simple pop-punk is made hilarious by Nardwuar's actions, weird inflections, and ridiculous choruses. He asked the audience to suspend him in the air, lying face down with a helmet on, with more fans holding his keyboard in front of him. When he asked for one more guy to help him out, he was joined by Sled Island co-curator Andrew W.K., who performed "Party Hard" with The Evaporators along with several other songs.

We made our way over to Republik, where we caught the end of Sled Island veterans Legs' set. Vocalist Allie Sheldan sang strongly with a raspy voice over some western-sounding guitar. They ended with a somber bluesy song called "I've Got a Sadness in My Heart."

Next was a Winnipeg powerpop duo called Cannon Bros, who had a touch of garage rock in their sound. Then we caught the upbeat pop rock of Calgary quartet Feel Alright, who blended reverby surf pop with a country edge. And then finally, a much anticipated set from Reigning Sound, whose rock and roll vibes made for a killer show.

Afterwards, we ventured over to Dickens to catch Hot Snakes, but after waiting in line for a half hour they declined to let anyone else in the venue for the sold-out show. Hot Snakes played Orion Fest in Atlantic City a few days later.

More pictures from Sled Island day 2 are below. Coverage of day 3 is coming soon...

Continue reading "Sled Island day 2 in pics and review (Reigning Sound, Legs, Evaporators joined by Andrew WK, Feel Alright & more)"

The 2012 edition of Calgary, Alberta festival Sled Island is set to take place from June 20-23 at venues throughout the city. This year includes over 200 bands performing at 30 venues plus a large comedy schedule, film screenings, and art shows.

Sled Island 2012 will once again use outdoor venue Olympic Plaza as its main stage, featuring performances by Feist, The Hold Steady, Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks, The Dudes, Shabazz Palaces, Parlovr, and others.

Acts including Russian Circles, Hot Snakes, The Antlers, Boris, Thurston Moore, Willis Earl Beal, Trust, Yamantaka // Sonic Titan, Terry Malts, Neil Hamburger, How To Dress Well, The Evaporators (aka Nardwuar's band), DJ Jonathan Toubin, Hannibal Buress, Andrew W.K., Tim Heidecker, Archers of Loaf, and many more will be performing at various bars and venues. Check out the full lineup at the bottom of this post.

Festival passes, individual tickets for some clubs shows, and tickets for the Olympic Plaza events only are all on sale. The full festival schedule iwill be announced in June.

Full lineup and 2012 festival trailer below...

Continue reading "Feist, Stephen Malkmus, The Hold Steady and lots more playing Calgary's Sled Island Festival (full line-up)"

Reigning Sound will kick off a string of mostly-Midwest dates with a show at Maxwell's on June 13th, before heading out for dates in Canada (including NXNE) and then looping back. Tickets are on sale for the NJ date.

Nude Beach, recently profiled here, will support the band in Philadelphia though support at Maxwell's has yet to be announced.

Reigning Sound recently released , a mini-LP available for free download via Scion. Stream one of those tracks below.

Still no update on that impending Oblivians record, but hopefully Greg Oblivian will spill the beans at some of the tour dates that are listed below.

Continue reading "Reigning Sound touring in June, playing Maxwell's & NXNE"

by BBG

Brooklyn band Nude Beach's new LP II has a a pronounced punk edge, while falling somewhere between the Americana of Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen and The Replacements. The sunny, well-crafted, and damn-near infinitely playable straight-up rock n' roll long-player, out now on vinyl, is currently streaming in full below. Order your copy via No Idea or get the digital via the band.

Nude Beach will play Glasslands on June 6th, joining Marvin Berry & The New Sound and Highway Gimps as support for The Babies. Tickets are on sale. The band will also hit Philadelphia on June 19th at Kung Fu Necktie as support for Reigning Sound (tickets) during that band's string of dates (that hit NJ).

Stream the new LP and check out some live video below.

Continue reading "stream Nude Beach's new LP, see them in Brooklyn or Philly"

Off! @ NXNE 2011 (more by Natasha Ryan)

The most memorable thing that happened the year I visited Toronto for NXNE was Iggy Pop & The Stooges playing their big, outdoor, free, no-ticket-or-badge-required show downtown at Yonge-Dundas Square. Last year the Descendents did it. This year they've landed the Flaming Lips which should be an amazing spectacle. And:

NXNE Music has confirmed that Bad Religion, Raekwon & Ghostface Killah and Matthew Good will headline free shows at Yonge-Dundas Square (YDS) throughout the seven-day festival. The NXNE Music line-up also includes performances at YDS and in the clubs by Of Montreal, No Use For A Name, Purity Ring, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Death Grips, The Men, Bleached, Good Riddance, METZ, Ceremony, Plants & Animals, The Death Set, The Sadies & Andre Williams, Oberhofer, Reigning Sound, Action Bronson, 2:54, Yamantaka/ /Sonic Titan, The Hundred in The Hands, Rival Schools, Killer Mike, Young Magic, Hayes Carll, Friends, Hollerado, Bran Van 3000, The Black Belles, Doldrums, Odonis Odonis, Mac DeMarco, Bass Drum of Death, Porcelain Raft, Exitmusic, Violens, Grass Widow, Eight and a Half, DZ Deathrays, Jonathan Toubin, Art vs. Science, B L A C K I E, The Nils and Ivan Julian (ex-Richard Hell & The Voidoids).

This year's fest takes place at multiple venues across Toronto from June 11-17, 2012. Tickets are on sale.

Last year BrooklynVegan co-hosted a boat party with M For Montreal and Bruise Cruise.

They say:

ATP are very pleased to confirm our return to Asbury Park, New Jersey USA with a new I'll Be Your Mirror event, the Saturday night of which will be headlined by The Afghan Whigs (who have reunited after a 13 year hiatus) and curated by their frontman Greg Dulli. Formed in 1986, the bands career from then until 2001 saw them release six critically acclaimed albums during their career. Fusing classic rock with grunge-era distortion and a heavy soul influence, The Afghan Whigs were one of the most renowned live bands of their time and ATP is excited to be a part of this long awaited reformation.

We are also very excited to present Grammy Award winner LOUIS C.K. (handpicked by Greg Dulli) who will be making a rare festival appearance, the fantastic THE ROOTS, JOSE GONZALEZ, a show from the reformed THE MAKE-UP and many others, see below for full line-up confirmed so far.

After previous years in upstate New York, ATP moved to the iconic Asbury Park waterfront in 2011 for a hugely successful I'll Be Your Mirror event co-curated and headlined by Portishead, and we are very happy to return to this very special location in September. The Convention Hall has seen the likes of Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, The Doors and Rolling Stones grace its stage and the Paramount Theatre has welcomed stars such as Tony Bennett who often insists on playing a song with all the electrics turned off to demonstrate the amazing acoustics of the room. Once again the ATP experience will be taking over the boardwalk, with the main shows taking place at the Convention Hall and Paramount Theatre, and other events happening at the Berkeley hotel (former home of Johnny Cash).

As well as the live music line-up of 35+ acts across the weekend, Friday will feature a Comedy stage, and we're very pleased to announce that our friends at The Criterion Collection will return to run the Cinema across the weekend. All three days feature DJs and other activities to be confirmed in the months ahead. Performances take place indoors with great soundsystems, so you have no need to worry about the weather, and Asbury Park is easily accessible via public transport from nearby cities.

Continue reading "ATP I'll Be Your Mirror NJ -- initial 2012 lineup (Louis CK, Make-Up, Mark Lanegan, Dirty Three, Hot Snakes, Antlers, Roots, more!)"

photos by Jason House

Great Gaylord @ the Bell House

After a raucous, sold-out first night of Norton's 25th Anniversary celebration at the Bell House, the party continued at the Brooklyn venue on Friday (11/11) where once again the night was opened by The Nor-Tones ("Norton's all-employee band includes members of the Little Killers, Daddy Long Legs, Stalkers, Girls At Dawn and LiveFastDie playing the hits of the Norton catalog.")

Night two also featured a set by mysterious cover band the Condo Fucks (aka Yo La Tengo) with Great Gaylord ("the Greatest Lousy Singer of all time"?). For the Condo Fucks it was their second NYC show in a short amount of time, though their first one at Mercury Lounge was sans Gaylord. Yo La Tengo will play eight more sold out shows over Hanukkah at Maxwell's (where Sunday's Norton show headliner The Sonics played on Saturday).

Also on the Friday night bill, some of which fell under the "R&B/Soul revue" umbrella, was Jackie and the Cedrics, a new lineup of Greg Cartwright's band Reigning Sound (featuring members of The Jay Vons), Mark Sultan (aka BBQ whose old partner King Khan played the night before), Lonnie Youngblood and the Bloodhounds with special guest Mick Collins (of the Gories and the Dirtbombs) on guitar, The Mighty Hannibal, Andre Williams (who also stopped by the night before), and Happy Organ man Dave "Baby" Cortez on keys.

More pictures and videos from most of Friday's bash, below...

Continue reading "Norton Records party @ the Bell House - night 2 pics & video (Condo Fucks, Reigning Sound, Mark Sultan, Mighty Hannibal & more)"

Detroit Cobras on a boat in 2010 (more by Andrew St. Clair)

As mentioned in What's Going on Thursday?, the Detroit Cobras played Maxwell's in Hoboken, NJ last night (8/11) with The Booze. They'll do it again in Brooklyn tonight (8/12) at The Bell House with The Baxx Sisi's and Des Roar. Tickets are still available.

Frequent tour-mates and sometimes member sharers, Reigning Sound, have shows coming up too. We mentioned that they play the Norton Records Anniversary shows at The Bell House in November, though the night they play, night 2, with Jackie and the Cedrics, is now sold out. Luckily both of those bands will appear at pre-fest show on November 9 at Maxwell's Tickets are on sale.

Night 4 of the fest, when The Sonics headline, is also sold out, though tickets are still available for nights 1 and 3, and for the show The Sonics play at Maxwell's on November 12.

Detroit Cobras video for "Cha Cha Twist" below...

Continue reading "Detroit Cobras are here, Reigning Sound are coming"

"The Sonics? Wow!" - Anonymous | May 15, 2009 9:52 AM

Classic NYC garage rock label Norton Records will celebrate their 25th Anniversary over the course of four nights at The Bell House (Nov 10-13). The shows feature some pretty incredible artists, including most notably The Sonics, whose 1965 garage rock classic Here Are The Sonics is regarded by some as the first punk rock album. Norton Records reissued the album in 1999. The Sonics headline the last night (11/13) of the run. Tickets are on sale now for all four nights.

Tickets are also on sale for a daytime Sonics show happening November 12th at Maxwell's. You can hit this show and still not miss the show later that night at the Bell House. Sunday during the day is the Brooklyn Record Riot at Warsaw.

The Sonics need no introduction, but those not familiar should consider that Kurt Cobain said in a Nardwuar interview that "They got the most amazing drum sound I've ever heard. Still to this day, it's still my favorite drum sound. It sounds like he's hitting harder than anyone I've ever known." The White Stripes call them the "epitome of '60s punk," "harder than The Kinks," and say that "life becomes better after buying a Sonics record." Newer band Japandroids love them too, and say, "When you listen to it, even at low volumes, it sounds like it's blasting. And I like how you can feel they would melt your face if you saw them live." Don't sleep on catching them live. Last time they were in NYC was 2007. Who saw them at Warsaw? How was it? Check out videos from a December 2010 KEXP appearance below.

Fellow '60s garage rock vets ? and the Mysterians, best known for their 1966 single "96 Tears," headline the night before them. Other noteworthy bands include The Real Kids, led by John Felice of the The Modern Lovers, and The Randy Fuller Four. Randy Fuller was part of his brother's group The Bobby Fuller Four in the 1960s, who recorded the first successful version of the single "I Fought the Law," popularly covered by The Clash. Folllowing Bobby's untimely death in 1966 at age 23, Randy took over the group, which he renamed The Randy Fuller Four.

Reigning Sound, Mark Sultan (BBQ), The Condo Fucks, A-Bones, Flamin Groovies.... there are so many people on these bills, it's too much to list. Full lineup and some videos, below...

Continue reading "Norton Records anniversary shows happening at the Bell House, two Sonics shows too!"

by BBG

Killing Joke at Irving Plaza (more by Greg Cristman)

Chaos in Tejas 2011 (June 2-5) has expanded its lineup yet again, adding Killing Joke (their first show in Austin in close to 15 years), Off With Their Heads, Mammoth Grinder, Career Suicide, Chinese Telephones, Title Fight, The Mind Spiders, and Underground Railroad to Candyland to its already stellar lineup that includes names like Youth of Today, Converge, Autopsy, and so many more. Full revised lineup is below.

Chaos in Tejas 2011 will also feature a set by Reigning Sound who will play The Bell House SATURDAY (2/18) and Maxwell's during the day TOMORROW (as part of a WFMU benefit - pledge here if you're not going).

Tickets are still available for The Bell House show - though reportedly not many. You can also try your hand at winning a pair! Contest details are below.

Full Chaos in Tejas lineup and some video is below too...

Continue reading "Chaos in Tejas adds Killing Joke & more (updated lineup), Reigning Sound in NYC now (win tix)"

Greg of Reigning Sound

Though tickets are still available to the previously mentioned Reigning Sound show at The Bell House on Feb 18th, the band has added another for those of you who prefer your garage riffs in the, um, daytime:

The Cherry Blossom Clinic is excited to host its first ever live show at Maxwell's in Hoboken NJ on Feb 19, Sat 3-6pm! Terre T will be doing her show from Maxwell's, spinning her favorite records and hosting a special live performance by the amazing, ruling Reigning Sound! This is a benefit for WFMU, so Maxwell's, Reigning Sound and hopefully YOU will be contributing to a good cause: the continuation of WFMU Freeform radio! The suggested donation is only $10 and you get to be part of of Terre's live remote show and see a great, rare daytime performance of the ever awesome Reigning Sound!! Maxwell's is located at 1039 Washington in Hoboken, NJ.

In related news, Parting Gifts which features Greg of Reigning Sound/Oblivians recently added some new dates though none in NYC. Those dates, all Reigning Sound dates, and some video is below.

Continue reading "Reigning Sound add afternoon WFMU show & other dates"

by BBG

Tragedy fan at Chaos in Tejas 2008 (photo by joecurry666)

After an initial lineup was announced earlier this year, Chaos in Tejas is back for more with another set of bands confirmed for the June 2nd - 5th Austin festival. Get to booking your ticket if you're interested in seeing Kriegshog (from Japan, their last show ever), a Youth of Today reunion (Ray Cappo, Porcell, Ken Olden + a drummer who isn't Sammy), Low Threat Profile, Omar Souleyman, Hooded Menace, Lower Dens, Double Negative, FYP, Oneohtrix Point Never, Veins (their only show ever), Universal Order of Armageddon, and many many others. Oh, and by the way, the previously discussed Autopsy appearance will be their only US show of the year. Full list of bands playing the multi-venue party is below.

In related news, Low Threat Profile (members of Lack Of Interest/Infest/No Comment) released their debut LP via Deep Six Records before the new year. Pick it up at your favorite distro/webstore, like Tankcrimes or Phantom City.

Universal Order of Armageddon play NYC TWICE soon; on 1/21 at Cake Shop with Trophy Wife (and more TBA) and 1/22 at Death By Audio with The Body, Orphan, and (according to Youth Attack) Salvation. Take note, the lineups have changed since we first posted, and differ from what Kill Rock Stars has posted (click the link for Baltimore and Philly date info too).

Current Chaos in Tejas lineup (more announcements are due soon), below...

Continue reading "Chaos in Tejas 2011 lineup expands (Kriegshog & Youth of Today included), Universal Order of Armageddon coming soon"

Greg Oblivian on stage with the Oblivians at Knit (more by Andrew Frisicano)

"OK, let's get back to the music! We've been hoping that Greg Cartwright might join us at Hanukkah for years now, whether with the Oblivians or Reigning Sound or solo -- the guy wears many hats. Turns out that all we needed to do to coax him north was share a record with him and his newest band, the Parting Gifts (which reminds me -- did I ever tell you that my mom was a contestant on Concentration?). Direct from recording a session for WFMU's Cherry Blossom Clinic, apparently the first time all six of them had ever played together, they sounded great -- who's writing better minor-chord songs than Greg Cartwright? No one. Add a couple of Coco Hames's more country-oriented numbers and their side of our split single, and night 2 was off to a roaring start." [Ira of Yo La Tengo]

If you missed them, unfortunately there are no dates laid out for The Parting Gifts in the near term, but Reigning Sound is playing the Bell House in Brooklyn on Feb 18th. Tickets are on sale for what appears to be their only scheduled show at the moment

Reigning Sound can be heard on that Nolan Strong tribute compilation called Daddy Rockin' Strong: A Tribute to Nolan Strong & the Diablos that also features contributions from Mark Sultan, Dirtbombs, A-Bones (whose member played with Yo La Tengo this week), Wreckless Eric & Amy Rigby (who both also played with Yo La Tengo this week), Gentleman Jesse & His Men, and others. Pick up a copy.

The Ettes played NYC two days before The Parting Gifts hit Maxwell's, supporting The Greenhornes at Bowery Ballroom on 11/30. The band currently has one upcoming show: January 16 at Pour House Music Hall in Raleigh, NC.

The Parting Gifts videos from Maxwell's and other recent vids of The Ettes and Reigning Sound are below...

Continue reading "The Parting Gifts played shows, Reigning Sound playing one"

by BBG

Autopsy at MDF (by Justina Villanueva)

One of the worst things about Maryland DeathFest this year was that it fell on the same weekend as Chaos in Tejas in Austin. Thankfully, you won't have to make a choice next year as Chaos in Tejas 2011 will take place on 6/2 - 6/5 (MDF is in May). What's more, the Austin festival has announced its first round of as-many-as-100 bands including Autopsy (their second US show in 20 years), D-Clone (Japan, U.S. exclusive), Extortion (Australia), Isterismo (Japan, U.S. exclusive), Miasmal (Sweden), Ceremony, Xibalba (Mexico), The Slowmotions (Japan, U.S. exclusive), Perdition, Crazy Spirit, Vile Gash, Origin of [m] (Japan), Bone Sickness, Innumerable Forms, Reigning Sound, and Unbroken. That's an impressive cross-section of metal/crust/punk/hardcore so far, with a slate of indie and hip hop artists to be announced across the festival's seven venues. Stay tuned for updates.

Meanwhile a few of the Chaos in Tejas bands have been announced for Maryland Deathfest 2010 too, which has been finalized with the addition of Tragedy to the lineup. Full MDF lineup is below and tickets are on sale.

Current Chaos in Tejas and the full MDF lineups and some video is below too...

Continue reading "Chaos in Tejas (June 2-5) announce intial 2011 lineup, Maryland Deathfest (May 26-29) announces their final "

DOWNLOAD: Mark Sultan - The Wind (Nolan Strong cover) (MP3)

Mark Sultan at Bowery Ballroom in 2009 (more by Tim Griffin)

With King Khan and BBQ apparently going their separate ways, BBQ (aka Mark Sultan) has scheduled a one-man-band tour of his own.

King Khan and BBQ were originally scheduled to play shows this month, including one at the Bell House, but those were all cancelled and an October King Khan and the Shrines tour quickly showed up instead.

Now Mark 'BBQ' Sultan, who released his new LP $ via Last Gang Records (Metric's label) earlier this year, has an October tour of his own including an October 16th early show at Mercury Lounge in NYC. Tickets for that show are on sale now. The tour ends with Mark opening a bunch of dates for Deer Tick.

Mark also has a track on a new Nolan Strong tribute album. Nolan was a 50's R&B singer, and his fans (other artists who contributed songs to the album) include Lenny Kaye, Reigning Sound, Gentleman Jesse, A-Bones, and the Dirtbombs. Order the album at The Wind Records. Grab Mark's track for free above.

Full comp tracklist, Mark's new NSFW video for "Status", and all tour dates below...

Continue reading "Mark 'BBQ' Sultan plans a tour (dates), makes NSFW video, contributes to Nolan Strong tribute comp (MP3)"

photo: Andy Junk

"Why did The Spits beat out Reigning Sound for my favorite album of '09, even though [Reigning Sound's] Love and Curses makes me want to move back to the South and drive around in my grandfather's powder blue Cadillac with the curb feelers and a chain link through the hood so crackheads don't steal the battery? Because I hadn't heard The Spits before this past summer, and I love that thrill of discovery. Also, The Spits are a juggernaut live, while Greg Cartwright spends two hours tuning his guitar in between each two-minute song, killing his band's live momentum." [CT Terry @ Razorcake]

Frontman Greg Cartwright (ex-The Compulsive Gamblers & The Oblivians) and co. have a few scattered dates around the south in April before coming north for the gigs that include a June 19th show at Southpaw with the Anabolics (tickets on sale) and June 20th show at Maxwell's (tickets here). All dates with videos of the band's powerful live show (above tuning comments aside) from some recent-ish gigs, below...

Continue reading "Reigning Sound - 2010 Tour Dates"

It was my first time seeing Reigning Sound live, and it was certainly worth the drive to Detroit. The city's garage-rock faction was well represented. I'm told that was Detroit Cobras guitarist Mary Ramirez front-and-center for most of the night, singing and dancing like a superfan. Head Reigning Sound honcho Greg Cartwright, a legend in garage-rock circles for his work in the '90s with the Oblivians, was appreciative, taking several opportunities to thank everyone for coming out on a Monday night and calling Detroit "my home away from home."

Highlights of the evening for me included rousing versions of "Stop and Think it Over" by Cartwright's other former band, Compulsive Gamblers, and "You're so Strange," the final track off of Albums of the Aughts honoree "Time Bomb High School." [mlive]

From there the band heads north to finish up their tour with dates in Buffalo and Toronto. That means they definitely won't be sticking around long enough to cross paths with fellow Oblivian Jack Obvlivian who plays his own show at Southpaw on Sunday (11/22). Tickets for that are on sale too. All dates below...

Continue reading "Reigning Sound are here (Maxwell's tonight, Southpaw Friday), but not long enough to catch Jack Oblivian (Sunday)"

It's been five years since Greg Cartwright's Reigning Sound dropped their last full-length studio album, Too Much Guitar. Not that Cartwright has been resting on his laurels. The Reigning Sound backed Shangri-La Mary Weiss on her critically acclaimed comeback album, Dangerous Game, which was produced and largely written by Cartwright. The band performed with Weiss on tour, including an appearance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Cartwright also produced, penned songs for, and played in The Detroit Cobras for a spell. All the while, the Reigning Sound toured the US on and off and released a couple of live albums, yet never managed to get into the studio to record. All the while, Cartwright stockpiled loads of new tunes.

Finally, late last year, the band entered Ardent Studios in Memphis and laid down a bunch of songs. Some months later, they went into Echo Mountain Studios in North Carolina and recorded a bunch more. In the end, the band had more than enough for two albums, and carefully whittled it down to the cream of the musical crop.

Love and Curses (title comes from Memphis TV horror host Sivad) is a return to the sound and style of the Reigning Sound's incredible Time Bomb High School. The band once again features a full-time keyboardist, Dave Amels, and has jettisoned the lo-fi approach used on Too Much Guitar in favor of a bigger, warmer studio sound. As with Time Bomb High School, Love and Curses strikes a balance between soulful rockers and beautiful ballads. The results are a rock 'n' roll album as near to perfection as any one is likely to hear this year. [Midhaven Mailorder]

And the group is finally getting around to touring behind these new releases. They play Goner Fest in Memphis this weekend (9/24-9/26), then hit the road in November. They'll be at Maxwell's on November 19th and Southpaw on Nov. 20th. Tickets to both Maxwell's and Southpaw are on sale.

A teaser for the new record, with album art and tracklist, and all tour dates are below..

Continue reading "Reigning Sound - new albums out & Tour Dates announced!"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Rodriguez - Sugar Man (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Rodriguez - Heikki's Suburbia Bus Tour (MP3)

Born in Mexico but raised in Detroit, Sixto Rodriguez released two soulful folk-rock albums (musically not unlike Shuggie Otis or even Bill Withers) in the early '70s, filled with gritty tales of inner-city life, that barely created a ripple in the United States but became sizable hits in Australia and South Africa of all places. (He toured Australia with Midnight Oil in the early '80s.)

His cult status began to grow in America, finally, at the start of this decade, and last year Seattle label Light in the Attic did the first official reissues of Rodguigez's 1970 debut, Cold Fact. The reissue of 1971's Coming From Reality, just hit stores last week. There's an MP3 from each at the top of this post, and for more info, I highly recommend Fred Mills' article on the man over on Blurt. There's also a new Rodriguez Daytrotter session which is well worth downloading.

Rodriguez is currently on what is his biggest American tour in ages, with a stop at Bowery Ballroom this Friday (5/15) with The War On Drugs. His backing band for the East Coast dates are from Asheville, NC, and includes Obvlivians/Reigning Sound guitarist Greg Cartwright, as well as a horn section. West Coast backing duties will be handled by San Francisco's The Fresh & Onlys who played with Rodriguez last year, including a performance at Amoeba Records which there's video of below, along with tour dates...

Continue reading "Rodriguez is back - MP3's & 2009 Tour Dates"