Jose G (Junip) @ Irving Plaza in 2010 (more by Toby Tenembaum)

Jose Gonzalez will in fact be the musical guest at Rooftop Films' screening of the movie about him...

Rooftop Films is excited to announce that Jose Gonzalez will be the headlining artist for the 2011 Summer Series Live Music program. Rooftop's music programming has long been ahead of the curve and is an integral part of what makes Rooftop events so distinctive. Rooftop Films is proud to continue this tradition with Mr. Gonzalez's performance, along with concerts by rising stars such as the Brooklyn based bands Widowspeak, playing on May 27th and Snowmine, playing June 3rd. Additional bands will be announced shortly.

Mr. Gonzalez will perform on Sunday, June 19th, ahead of the new documentary The Extraordinary Ordinary Life of Jose Gonzalez, in which filmmakers Mikel Cee Karlsson and Fredrik Egerstrand follow the fascinating Swedish artist for three years at home, in the studio, and on tour around world.

As previously mentioned, Prylf and other special guests will be performing with the musical movie "Sound of Noise" tonight (5/19). (And the timing of this is actually a coincidence but) Ela Orleans, who I just highlighted one post ago (and who also plays a show tonight) plays with the Rooftop film screening on 5/26.

Jose Gonzalez ALSO plays a NYC show tonight, but as part of his band Junip at Bowery Ballroom as part of their tour with Acrylics. High Highs are also on the bill. Tickets are still available.

Junip will be back NYC this summer to play a free show in Prospect Park with the Books and Doveman on June 17th, two days before Jose makes his 'Rooftop' appearance.

by Rachel Kowal

Dustin Wong

The weather may have been a bit brisk, but the long lines stretching around the New Design High School last night signaled a strong start to the fifteenth year of Rooftop Films.

Though there are a number of summer movie festivals, Rooftop Films is a bit different from the rest due to its extensive schedule (45+ events from now through August 20), diverse and lofty locales (15 spread out over 4 boroughs), and unique material (emerging talents, recent productions). Oh yeah... and nearly all the screenings also feature live music and free booze after the show.

After a brief introduction from the festival's founder, Mark Elijah Rosenberg, Friday night's show began with a solid performance by Dustin Wong. Grabbing a chatty audience's attention can be a difficult task - especially when that audience is 600 people strong and perhaps more interested in the movie programming than in the pre-show. But for a one-man, one-guitar affair, Wong put on a surprisingly compelling show. With help from an army of pedals, he looped together layer after layer, beginning with the rhythm line and methodically adding quick-fingered guitar melodies and chords until he had crafted a lush, cinematic sound.

Wong's thirty-minute performance ebbed and flowed in intensity over the course of his set, but he didn't pause once for even a beat of silence. Then suddenly, after about thirty minutes of continual play and a few late vocal additions, Wong put down his guitar, bowed slightly, and sheepishly muttered a quick "thank you" before Rosenberg came back to introduce the next segment of the evening.

Typically, the events hinge on a full-length film, but Friday night's program featured nine shorts, each one tied to the theme of storytelling. They ranged from random (Chris Beckman's montage of Youtube videos in Oops), to zany (Matthew Silver's street corner prophet in Heartpocalypse), to unsettling (Carter Smith's taken on high school sex life in Yearbook), and just plain disturbing (David O'Reilly's sadistic and suicidal cartoon creations in The External World).

Stand-outs for me included Olivier Treiner's short The Piano Tuner, which begins as a comedy and ends on a rather surprising and suspenseful note, and David Lowery's heartwarming piece The Pioneer, which features Will Oldham (Bonnie 'Prince' Billy) spinning a bedtime tall tale to an adorable little boy.

Sure, they may not be screening any cult classics but Rooftop Films offers a nice alternative to the typical summer offerings. Other featured musicians yet-to-come include: Widowspeak, Secret Mountains, and Snowmine.

Meanwhile you can catch Widowspeak tonight (5/17) at 285 Kent with Vivian Girls.

The next Rooftop Film is Thursday (5/19) and features the film The Sound of Noise ("A clever and maniacally entertaining Swedish comedy about a group of "musical terrorists" who break into hospitals, banks, and other public places to play compositions using the surroundings as their instruments") with live music from Swedish band Prylf AND "Special LIVE Heavyweight Drum Battle between the Drummers and the Filmmakers!" Movie trailer below.

Dustin Wong plays another NYC show Wednesday night (5/18) at Silent Barn with hear hums, emily reo, dark sea of awareness, and philip seymour hoffman. Dustin's band
Ponytail released a new album in April. A video of Dustin in action can be watched below...

Continue reading "Rooftop Films kicked off its 2011 season with help from Dustin Wong (who plays again Wednesday)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Generationals - Trust (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Gross Relations - No Lines (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Gross Relations - Blame the Record (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Shark? - Down Low (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Shark? - Shark? (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Savoir Adore - Sparrow (MP3)

Generationals

I take you away from trying to figure out the identity of The Modern Weepers (my favorite comment guess: Hard-Fi) to talk about shows happening this weekend. As always, this being New York City, there's lots of great options.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. are in town this week with Generationals and the two bands play tonight (5/11) at Mercury Lounge (sold out!) and tomorrow (5/12)  at The Rock Shop (not sold out!). Dale Jr Jr also play Kidrockers on Sunday [5/14] at the Rock Shop with Pearl and the Beard.

I feel like there's been enough talk about Dale, whose dreamy brand of synth rock can be heard on their pretty good upcoming album It's a Corporate World which is out June 7. So I'm here to talk about Generationals who are surely one of the few indiepop bands in New Orleans. Unlike Big Freedia, they haven't appeared yet on an episode of Treme but their new album Actor-Caster is loaded with clever, tunefull pop. What they do isn't particularly cool at this second in time, but I think stuff like this is never really out of style. You can download the title track to last year's great Trust EP at the top of this post and there's a widget below that will get you two tracks from Actor-Caster for the price of your email.

Malajube

Also here this week for a couple shows are Montreal's Malajube , playing The Rock Shop tonight (5/11) and will be at Bowery Ballroom on Friday (3/13) with the epic and amazing Besnard Lakes (and Nova Scotia's Wintersleep).  If you were in Austin for SXSW this year, you may have seen Malajube at our SXSW day party this year we co-presented with M for Montreal who we are co-presenting a show with this Friday in Brighton (if anyone is headed to the Great Escape).

Like a lot of folks, Malajube made a big impression on me in 2006 with their record Trompe-L'Oeil and, even more, their string of fantastic CMJ performances that year. The tunes were catchy, they were great live, the language barrier didn't matter so much. I must admit 2009's Labarinthes didn't make much of an impression but I've really been enjoying the band's brand new album La Cavern. The album is out now in Canada and will be available in the U.S. sometime soon on MB3 Records. Maybe they'll have it at the merch tables this week.

The new album walks the line between guitar pop and space rock and I keep imagining them performing songs like the vaguely disco "Le Blizzard" on the Muppet Show. There's a general soft filter '70s vibe to the whole of La Cavern that feels very comforting. You can listen to the whole thing via a streaming widget doohickey at the bottom of this post.

And go see the Besnard Lakes, for whom I have declared my love for many, many times. And go early for Malajube.

Echo & the Bunnymen are at Irving Plaza on Friday (5/13) and Saturday (5/15) playing their first two albums -- 1979's Crocodiles and 1980's Heaven Up Here -- back to back, in their entirety. This may not be quite as exciting as seeing them at Radio City doing Ocean Rain with a full orchestra, but it's still pretty awesome.

Especially because the albums are post-punk classics. Crocodiles is all scratchy nervous energy and contains no mediocre songs whatsover. I could list them all if you wanted, each one amazing. The whole thing still sounds fantastic. Heaven Up Here is considerably darker, more paranoid but no less definitive. "Over the Wall" is one of their best-ever songs. These two records are also a great showcase for Will Seargent's guitar-playing that still sounds innovative today. I'm a little sceptical of Mac's ability to belt out these songs -- it's gonna be a workout on his pipes -- but the chance to hear deep cuts like "All That Jazz," "It Was a Pleasure," "Happy Death Men," and "With a Hip" is exciting.

Opening for both shows is Bunnymen megafan Kelley Stoltz, who has covered Crocodiles in its entirety, both on record and as an infrequent but incredible tribute act that also featured Spiral Stairs of Pavement and Shayde Sartin who's now in The Fresh & Onlys. (They played CMJ 2003 at Arlene's Grocery, it was awesome.) Anyway, Stoltz is now an established artist in his own right, putting out terrific records on Sub Pop when not playing drums in Sonny & the Sunsets.  So if you're going to this show, do go early.

Gross Relations

We now enter the local band portion of This Week in Indie. Let's start with L Magazine 8 Bands runners-up Gross Relations who are playing three times this week: tonight (5/11) at Don Pedro with Raccoon Fighter and The Horehounds, then tomorrow (5/12) at Bruar Falls with deVries and Hunktronic, and on Friday (5/13) at Cake Shop with The Bynars, Field Mouse and Infinity Hotel.

The band have been releasing a series of digital singles via their bandcamp page, all of which exemplify their brand of supercatchy, keyboard-friendly indie rock. You can download the A-sides of the last two at the top of this post. "Blame the Records" is especially good. As I said previously, those keyboard lead lines make for easy comparisons to the Rentals which I'm gonna guess is probably what they were going for. Which is fine -- the hooks are undeniable.

Radical Dads

Radical Dads, meanwhile, were actually picked by the L Mag as one of those 8 Bands You Need To Hear and I certainly agree. And hear them you can Thursday at Cake Shop. The band's debut album, Mega Rama, is out next month and it's pretty damn good. I hear a lot of '90s DC  here -- more Simple Machines and DeSoto than Teenbeat -- whether that was intentional or not. Which means, basically, strident, melodic indie rock. The record is also a contender for my favorite album art of the year, done by Michael Deforge, which you can see below. Also below is yet another widget, this one will allow you to stream or download Mega Rama track "New Age Dinosaur." Oh, and they are quite good live.

Also playing that Cake Shop show tomorrow are Shark? whose debut album True Waste comes out May 24. The band worked with former Pere Ubu bassist Tony Maimone on the record and what I've heard sounds really good. You can download two tracks from the album up top, and Shark?'s Pixies-ish theme song is pretty fun.

And lastly, I'd like to write a little about Vacation who are opening for Oberhofer at Coco 66 on Saturday night (5/14). The band are pretty new. What started as a solo project for Paul Greenfield Daly, formed into a band during one of the blizzards this year. Vacation have only played out a couple of times (Brad Oberhofer was in the live incarnation briefly.) But I really, really like the songs available as free downloads on Vacation's Bandcamp site. While I wouldn't call it synthpop, Vacation are definitely danceable, kind of groovy and motorik.  The track "Jean" in particular sounds like a hit to me, definitely check that one out.

That Coco 66 show also has the lately ubiquitous Widowspeak, and with Oberhofer that makes for a pretty good Saturday night. If you can't make it this weekend, Vacation are playing Pianos on May 22 with Dinner at the Thompsons.

OK that's the big stuff this week. Here are a few more picks, day-by-day:

WEDNESDAY, MAY 11

It's a night of well-dressed pop at Glasslands with Princeton and the High Highs. I keep meaning to catch High Highs again, I was impressed when they played with Radio Department last year.

We haven't heard from locals Gray Goods since last year's Northside Fest. They emerge from their cocoon, sonically reborn, tonight at Union Pool, with Zachary Cale and D. Charles Speer and the Helix.

continued below...

Continue reading "Generationals, Malajube, Echo & the Bunnymen, Kelley Stoltz, Gross Relations, Radical Dads, Shark?, Vacation, Karaoke Underground & more in This Week in Indie"

one of many films playing during the Rooftop Films summer season

Rooftop Films have announced their initial 2011 movie screening schedule with events happening in NYC "every weekend from May 13th - August 20th." It's chockful of films - shorts and features, with subject matter as varied as wrestling, codependent lesbian space aliens, and a documentary on musician Jose Gonzalez. The films screen at "15 spectacular outdoor venues with stunning views across Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens & The Bronx," and as you know, are usually paired with a live music performance.

The live entertainment lineup is still mostly TBA, though they're listing the bands Fishermen Three and Secret Mountains on dates TBD. They'll also have filmmaker Q&As, "a live wrestling match at the screening of Robert Green's Fake it So Real, featuring the semi-pro wrestlers from that film, and a sneak attack performance by the musical guerillas from the Swedish comedy The Sound of Noise." No word on whether Jose Gonzalez will also accompany the screening of his film.

Stay tuned for music lineup updates as they come, but check out all the films and dates and other stuff that has been announced, below...

Continue reading "Rooftop Films --- initial 2011 schedule"

Rooftop Films popcorn @ New Design High School (more by Chris La Putt)

"Health gurus and nutritionists were outraged by news that a city school gives gym credits for selling hot dogs and soda.

The Daily News reported Sunday that New Design High School in lower Manhattan allowed students to work the concession stand at Friday night Rooftop Films screenings to get the physical education credits they need to graduate.

"This makes me so angry. If that ever happened in my son's school, I would boycott the school. Taking care of your heart and your body is just as important as math and English," said Janine Whiteson, a nutritionist whose fifth-grader son attends Manhattan's Public School 290. [Daily News] (via)

Continue reading ""parents outraged" that kids are getting gym credit for selling popcorn at Rooftop Films"

by Rachel Kowal

the rooftop (irinaskaya)

People packed into the chairs on the massive roof of the New Design High School in lower Manhattan in anticipation of the evening's theme - 'Hopelessly Devoted.' The weather was right, and the mood was ripe as Air's "Playground Love" rung out over the PA system and greeted the crowd.

Rooftop Films founder and artistic director Mark Elijah Rosenberg introduced the band of the evening with a big grin on his face, saying: "We are very pleased to present you with one of my favorite bands tonight. Give it up for Frances." (There was a reason for the wildly effusive introduction, as we would later learn.)

Frances may not be as hip as some of the other bands lined up to play for Rooftop Films this summer, but they also seemed more at home on stage than last week's season opener, Twin Sister. Frances played eight songs in total, including a number of new songs that lead singer and bassist Paul Hogan says they hope to record on a new album.

The roof of the NDHS is a hard space to play. It's wide open, spans three separate semi-walled off sections, and many people talk throughout the performance. But despite these potential setbacks, the pleasant indie pop of Frances, who played again Saturday night at Pianos with ARMS, was well-suited to Friday evening's romantic theme.

Interestingly, the event that got the biggest cheer from the audience wasn't the music... or the films. As Mark Elijah Rosenberg introduced the shorts for the evening, he called up his girlfriend, Stephanie Skaff (of Frances), and things got a little bit mushy. "I love you. I will always love you," said Rosenberg. Then, the inevitable: "Stephanie Skaff, will you marry me?" At this point, the shrieks from the audience were so loud that they overshadowed Skaff's response, so she leaned down into the mic, and said, "Of course I said yes!"

The films for the evening were a bit overshadowed by this dramatic proposal, but they were still fun to watch. In some ways, the romances on screen seemed less scripted than the real-life proposal. The six shorts covered everything from "the best/worst first date ever," to kissing cousins, lovesick octopi, and a group pilgrimage to Iowa in the name of gay marriage. Two directors were also present - Gillian Robespierre ("Obvious Child) and Cody Stokes ("Heartland Transport").

Spike Jonze's eagerly anticipated Absolut-sponsored short "I'm Here" is a delightful - if not a bit sad - story of a devoted (robotic) boyfriend who is willing to sacrifice it all for his clumsy robotic girlfriend. Besides looking fantastic, it also has a pretty killer soundtrack. Songs by Of Montreal, Animal Collective, Girls, and Aska (of Moonrats) all factor into the score. You can stream Jonze's short in its entirety (35 mins) at its website. The trailer is below.

Another standout short was "Obvious Child," which features new SNL cast member, Jenny Slate. "Obvious Child" tells the awkward and surprisingly comical story of a bad break-up, a drunken hook-up, and the unplanned pregnancy that ensues. Watch that in its entirety below.

The evening concluded with free drinks at Fontana's, and I can't help but wonder if anyone took Rosenberg's advice and made a move.

--

Rooftop Films happened again on Saturday at the same venue, and that's where it will be again this Friday (5/28) and Saturday (5/29). Thursday you can catch them in Brooklyn w/ a performance by Natureboy.

Continue reading "Rooftop Films founder proposed to Frances member @ New Design High School Friday, Spike Jonze & Jenny Slate screened"

photos by Chris La Putt

Twin Sister

Rooftop Films officially kicked off their 2010 season of showing films on roofs accompanied by opening bands. Twin Sister helped launch the series on Friday night at the Design High School on the Lower East Side (350 Grand Street). Nine short films were screened including "Star Wars: Retold" which you can watch in its 4-minute entirety below.

Saturday night's show, also at Design High School, was a sneak peek at Kevin Asch's Holy Rollers which is about Hasidic Jews smuggling ecstasy into New York City. Mahogany was originally supposed to play that one, but they canceled and were replaced by Sephardic indie rockers DeLeon.

Rooftop Films continue this weekend (5/21-5/22) at Design High School again. Friday will have music by Frances. Saturday has Brooklyn hip hop group Cloud.

Catch Twin Sister this summer at the BV Northside Festival show at MHOW. Pictures from Friday and Saturday (5/15-5/16) continue below...

Continue reading "Twin Sister & DeLeon played Rooftop Films (pics) "

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: The Fresh & Onlys - Diamond in the Dark (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Veronica Falls - Found Love in a Graveyard (MP3)

The Fresh and Onlys

Last week, I focused on shows you could get into if you didn't get tickets to the weekend's many, many worthy shows. For this refreshingly informed and enthusiastic edition of TWII, all the exciting stuff (in my opinion) doesn't have advanced tickets. (Only one sold-out exception.) It's a pretty exciting weekend for music, so let's get into it.

San Francisco's fantastic Fresh & Onlys are back in town, playing Friday night (5/14) at Monster Island with Golden Triangle (who headline), The Babies and Coasting (who recently performed at that Chris Knox benefit). They also play Saturday (5/15) at Cake Shop with Liquor Store, Darlings, Girls at Dawn, and Xray Eyeballs (OJ from Golden Triangle's other band). Regular readers of this column, if those exist, know I'm a pretty huge fan of F&Os, but I really do think they're one of the best new bands out of the San Francisco scene. And one of the few bands whose quality nearly matches their hyper-prolific output.

Their latest EP, August in My Mind, is new on Captured Tracks and the band have releases due out this year on Hozac, Sacred Bones and In the Red, who'll be putting out the band's third album (within a year!). The band are already in town -- I ran into bassist Shayde Sartin on the street yesterday and he said the band were hoping to do some recording while here. They are hard workers!

I'm happy to report that singer Tim Cohen's arm has healed after a nasty break last summer that had him switching guitar for keyboards for all of their previous NYC shows. So the axe is back, though I'm gonna guess he'll play a little of both this time out. The MP3 for August in My Mind's "Diamond in the Dark" is at the top of this post. And if you can't see them this weekend, The Fresh & Onlys will be back for the Northside Festival in June.

Veronica Falls

Also this weekend: the American debut of UK band Veronica Falls, who play Glasslands on Saturday (5/15) with Crystal Stilts, Minks and Home Blitz ($12 and you need to RSVP); and then on Sunday (5/16) at Bruar Falls with Frankie Rose & the Outs, German Measles and The Surprisers ($8). Both shows are pretty killer, line-up wise. Veronica Falls are kind like a Fantasy League indiepop band. They met at a Comet Gain show (!), with members culled from short-lived but awesome Glasgow bands The Royal We and Sexy Kids, as well as the excellent-and-still-going Your Twenties. They owe lots to their ancestors -- a song like "Stephen" just has to be about The Pastels -- are mopey without being morose, and are just twee enough to be endearing. It's a delicate line, but Veronica Walls walk it perfectly.

Mind you, they've only released one single so far, the great "Found Love in a Graveyard" (downloadable above) with its killer cover of Roky Erickson's "Starry Eyes" on the flip, but there are few bands recently who've left me so hungry for more. Their second single, the Crystal Stilts-ish "Beachy Head," is pretty good too and due out next week. Hopefully they'll have copies with them at the shows.

If you can't make either show, or you like them so much you want to see them again, by all means come to Cake Shop next Thursday (5/20) when Veronica Falls play NYC Popfest along with Sweden's Leaving Mornington Crescent, the UK's Horowitz, the Sweater Girls from Los Angeles, plus winsome locals Dream Diary and Elephant Parade. We're going to be giving away a NYC Popfest festival pass...stay tuned to this channel for details!

And a few more shows, night by night:

Continue reading "Fresh & Onlys, The Blow, Veronica Falls, Rooftop Films, Eddie Argos, the Lindsay Buckingham Appreciation Society & more in This Week in Indie"

Rooftop Films opening 2009 @ Open Road Rooftop (more by Ryan Muir)

Rooftop Films will open this year with a May 14th film & music event at Open Road Rooftop (above New Design High School, 350 Grand St in NYC), with music from Twin Sister (who have shows at a taqueria and elsewhere coming up). From there, the series will program movies and bands every weekend through August 15th.

On Friday, April 16th (tonight), there's a special pre-summer-season event with Norway's Hanne Hukkelberg at the Open Road Rooftop. Along with her set will be "a special presentation of Knut Eric Jensen's fantastic documentary, Cool & Crazy, a portrait of the dedicated members of Norway's Berlevag Male Choir." The unsubtitled trailer for that film is below. Tickets are on sale.

The schedule hasn't fully been announced yet, but what has, and a clip of last year's Troll 2 screening, are also below...

Continue reading "Rooftop Films - initial 2010 schedule includes pre-season kick-off tonight, Hanne Hukkelberg, Twin Sister, more "

Jay-Z @ Gramercy Theatre on 9.9.09 (more by Brian Ach/WireImage)

The Melvins @ Webster Hall in May (more by Ryan Muir)

tonight in NYC
* DANCE
* Jay-Z @ Madison Square Garden
* Ben & Vesper, Ortolan @ Sycamore
* Pomegranates, Phantogram @ Union Hall
* Gowns, US Girls, Noveller @ Cake Shop
* Shilpa Ray @ Rooftop Films on the LES
* The Cult (performing "Love") @ Terminal 5
* The Rapture, The Golden Filter @ Stone Pony
* All Tomorrow's Parties @ Kutshers Country Club
* Down, Evil Army, Weedeater & The Melvins @ Nokia Theatre
* Wild Beasts, Rifle, The Library Is On Fire @ Union Pool
* Telefon Tel Aviv, Hanne Hukkelberg, The Race @ The Bell House
* Nakatomi Plaza, The Reveling, The New Dress, Avec @ Shea Stadium
* Super Furry Animals, Real Estate, The March Fourth @ Highline Ballroom
* Wordless Music w/ Tim Hecker, Grouper, Julianna Barwick @ Miller Theatre
* Glenn Branca Ensemble, Paranoid Critical Revolution @ (Le) Poisson Rouge
* The Spits, Woven Bones, The Heart Punchers, Cerebral Ballzy @ Knitting Factory
* The Intelligence, Golden Triangle, Wild Yaks, Arrington De Dionyso, Smarts @ Market Hotel
* A Place to Bury Strangers, Sian Alice Group, Nine 11 Thesaurus, Experimental Dental School, Reading Rainbow @ Death By Audio

All Tomorrow's Parties kicks off at Kutshers Country Club in Monticello, NY. WFMU will be broadcasting live from the fest Saturday and Sunday. Many of the bands playing tonight will be performing an entire classic album live.

The Cult aren't playing ATP, but they're also performing a full album live in NY tonight.

Fucked Up aren't playing tonight, but they're also performing a full album in NY, and tickets went on sale today.

Super Furry Animals warm up for ATP with a show at Highline Ballroom tonight (and Maxwell's tomorrow). This one is opened by local boys Real Estate and The March Fourth.

Real Estate also have a show scheduled for Saturday at Silent Barn with Desolation Wilderness.

Melvins play ATP on Saturday. Tonight they're at Nokia Theatre with Weedeater who played a semi-secret gig at The Charleston last night.

Jay-Z plays a sold-out 9/11 benefit at Madison Square Garden. If you can't be there, you can watch it commercial free and live on Fuse (9pm). Two nights ago Jay-Z played a much smaller show at Gramercy Theatre.

The Rapture played a Fashion Week party last night. Fashion week continues tonight, but the Rapture won't be around for it. Tonight they're in Jersey for a show at Stone Pony with The Golden Filter.

Telefon Tel Aviv is back on the road. Tonight they play The Bell House with Hanne Hukkelberg and The Race. Tomorrow they're at Mercury Lounge.

Wild Beasts play the last of three NYC shows tonight at Union Pool with Rifle and The Library Is On Fire. Last chance!

Noveller, who is at Cake Shop tonight, has been announced as one of the openers for The Jesus Lizard's upcoming NYC shows. Jesus Lizard play ATP NY tonight.

Nakatomi Plaza is playing two final farewell shows this weekend at Shea Stadium which is the venue These Arms Are Snakes just announced an upcoming show at.

Wordless Music's series of shows at Columbia's Miller Theatre continues with Tim Hecker, Grouper and Julianna Barwick.

Austin band Woven Bones' big tour stops at Knitting Factory Brooklyn. Also on the bill are The Spits, The Heart Punchers and Cerebral Ballzy. Woven Bones and The Spits also play Cake Shop on Saturday.

Knitting Factory is now on its third day as a music venue in Brooklyn. Les Savy Fav was the first band to play on Wednesday. Boss Hog (who also plays ATP this weekend) and Shilpa Ray was last night.

Shilpa Ray plays a probably-moved-indoors Rooftop Films show at 350 Grand Street @ Essex tonight (which is followed by an afterparty at Fontana's)

The Intelligence is in from Seattle to play Market Hotel with Golden Triangle, Wild Yaks, Arrington De Dionyso and Smarts. The Intelligence are also at Cake Shop on Sunday.

A Place to Bury Strangers, Sian Alice Group, Nine 11 Thesaurus, Experimental Dental School and Reading Rainbow are on the bill for the second night of The Maze at Death By Audio.

Good thing Glasvegas frontman James Allan was found, and good thing it was in NY because he and his band are set to open for Kings of Leon, not to be confused with Kings of Convenience, at the Izod Center on Saturday and again at Nassau Coliseum on Monday.

Glenn Branca Ensemble play with Paranoid Critical Revolution at (Le) Poisson Rouge. Tomorrow Branca talks with artist Dan Graham. Glenn played PS1 last Saturday.

If it stops raining, PS1 is again an option for this Saturday.

A new episode of Breakfast at Sulimay's below...

Move over Grizzly Bear... Sunset Rubdown also has a new video out! That is below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Friday (September 11th)?"

by Andrew Frisicano

DOWNLOAD: Kurt Vile - Overnite Religion (MP3)

Troll 2

Kurt Vile will be playing a Rooftop Films event on July 31st. There he'll ditch his backing band the Violators for a performance before a screening of the documentary on the film Troll 2, "the legendary worst movie ever made, according to IMDB ratings."

That flick is such an event, Rooftop Films decided to stretch it over two nights. On July 30th they will show the actual film, accompanied by a performance from The Drums (one of many upcoming shows from that band, who also played last night at the Bell House). Other bands with Rooftop Films shows scheduled include Stars Like Fleas and Teengirl Fantasy. Full schedule below.

Vile (with the Violators on hand) just played the first of several upcoming shows with Blues Control (who announced more fall dates, below) at Bruar Falls on July 17th. Blues Control's distorted wall of sound worked well through the club's cozy sound system, but the arsenal of the Violators maybe pushed the backline a little too far. Lyrics and flourishes that came through crystal clear at Broadway Backyard (where he played one of my favorite sets of the day) roared out as energetic albeit indeterminate gestures. Not quite as engaging, considering many of the songs still aren't out in recorded form.

Vile's Matador debut, Childish Prodigy, is still on the way. Check out mellow jam "Overnite Religion" off that, above. The full Rooftop Films schedule, with all Kurt Vile and Blues Control tour dates, and the Troll 2 trailer, below...

Continue reading "upcoming Rooftop Films (Troll 2) & other Kurt Vile tour dates "

photos by Chris La Putt

SATURDAY, JULY 4
AMERICANA - SOLD OUT - VENUE CHANGED!
Rooftop's annual celebration of the weird and wonderful country we live in. A sunset party with free drinks, a fantastic fireworks view, live music, and short film comedies, dramas and political documentaries.
Venue: The show has been moved to the roof of The Xchange.
Address: 640 W 28th Street, between 11th and 12th Avenue, 9th Floor (Chelsea, Manhattan)
6:00PM: Doors open
6:30PM - 8:00PM: Open bar provided by Radeberger Pilsner and Carlo Rossi sangria
7:00PM - 9:00PM: Music by Bachelorette, Love Like Deloreans, and Class Actress presented by Sound Fix
9:20PM: Great view of the fireworks
9:50PM: Films

Continue reading "Bachelorette, Love Like Deloreans, Class Actress, Rooftop films & fireworks in NYC - pics"

The Antlers will be playing an upcoming Rooftop Films show on Friday, June 26th at the Open Road Rooftop (350 Grand St). Tickets are on sale. The performance will be accompanied by a showing of the indie film Humpday, which comes out July 10th and costars Mark Duplass, formerly of the Polyvinyl band Volcano, I'm Still Excited!!. (As a side note, that now-broken-up band's only, self-titled LP is being released for the first time on vinyl by the label.)

Frenchkiss is the label releasing a remastered version of The Antlers' debut, Hopsice. That's out now digitally, and available in physical form on August 18th. The album is also currently streaming online.

The band's Friday, August 21st show at the Mercury Lounge will be its release party. Murder Mystery, Twin Thousands and Brent Arnold (solo cello) open. Tickets are on sale now.

Before that gig, you can catch The Antlers on the road with Frightened Rabbit. Both play the Pitchfork Festival.

NPR recently featured The Antlers in a segment that captures the band's Washington D.C. stop on its pre-SXSW tour.

All Antlers tour dates, with the upcoming Rooftop Films music schedule, which includes a 4th of July show with Bachelorette, below...

Continue reading "The Antlers tour dates & other upcoming Rooftop Films"

photos by Ryan Muir

Rooftop Films kicked off their 2009 season on Friday night (5/15). The event took place on the Open Road Rooftop (350 Grand Street @ Essex - Manhattan). Before the films, Cymbals Eat Guitars played a set of live music.

Upcoming bands haven't been announced yet, but a bunch of the movies have been. More pictures from the first night below...

Continue reading "Rooftop Films - pics from opening night (with Cymbals Eat Guitars) ++ the May & June movie schedule announced"

by Andrew Frisicano

O'Death @ Automotive High School (more by Chris La Putt)

The Rooftop Films 2009 Summer Series returns for our 13th season, screening every weekend from May 15 - September 20. This summer, Rooftop will host more than 40 unique outdoor events, featuring programs of new, independently produced films from around the world paired with New York's best and brightest musical acts. [press release]

Last summer, Rooftop started off June 6th with a program at Open Road Rooftop that featured now-defunct Brooklyn band Dirty on Purpose. Other program highlights (on the music side) from 2008 included Phosphorescent, O'Death (photo above), Deer Tick and others.

Cymbals Eat Guitars recently canceled some of their upcoming shows, including planned NYC gigs at Cameo on May 8th and an appearance at Santos Party House's DKMS benefit on Saturday, May 9th.

Cymbals Eat Guitars' first show since the cancellations will be the Rooftop Films event. Also coming up for the band is a Sunday, May 17th show at Glasslands, an opening spot for White Rabbits at the Bowery Ballroom on Thursday, May 21st, and a show at Southpaw on Wednesday, May 27th. Tickets for the White Rabbits show are still on sale.

Full Cymbals Eat Guitars message and tour dates, plus details on the Rooftop Films opening, with a video of Rooftop's '08 Animation Block Party featuring Plushgun, below...

Continue reading "Rooftop Films returns in '09 - Cymbals Eat Guitars play first"

"January 2009 will be a time of reflection for the entire country. As America looks to a future of change, the pundits will provide their own spin on what the last 8 years have meant.

CRAWFORD, an extraordinary documentary by first-time filmmaker David Modigliani, provides a unique perspective on the Bush presidency: through the eyes of the 705 residents of Crawford, Texas.

B-Side Entertainment is proud to announce a nationwide grassroots exhibition program for this exceptional film - "Host Your Own Farewell to W. - CRAWFORD's 50-State Screening Party". Through February, we will be coordinating grassroots screening events in all 50 states - red, blue, and everything in between."

"Before the film, Matteah Baim will be performing live, and throughout the show there will be free Radeberger Pilsner for all in attendance." I know Matteah most as a friend and collaborator of Cocorosie, Devendra Banhart and Antony, but she makes her own music too. Joining her at this free show, as her band I assume, will be Birdie Lawson and Hisham Bharoocha. I know Hisham best as an ex-member of Lightning Bolt and Black Dice, and most of all as Soft Circle.

All screening details below...

Continue reading "George Bush subject of documentary of Crawford doc, free NYC show tonight w/ Matteah Baim (and Soft Circle)"

As I hid in the comments yesterday, Parenthetical Girls weren't able to make it to NYC to open for Sunset Rubdown at MHOW tonight (Sept 16)...

"due to gross mechanical incompetence on the part of an auto mechanic, our engine basically blew up last night on our way to Boise. We towed back to Portland. The mechanic has to rebuild the engine, and it won't be done until either Monday or Tuesday. We will not be able to make it to the first Sunset Rubdown show. Hopefully we can make it to Philadelphia." [Zac from PG]

Sunset Rubdown also play Mercury Lounge on Wednesday.

Phosphorescent also play a Rooftop Films shindig at 350 Grand st. in Manhattan on Thursday.

I'm super excited to announce that ROOFTOP FILM's Summer Series will screen SONG SUNG BLUE on the lawn at South Point Park on Roosevelt Island SATURDAY, AUGUST 16th @ 9PM. THUNDER and her children, Rachel and Dana are all scheduled to be in attendance. The screening will be FREE and details can be found [here]...

...SONG SUNG BLUE has screened only once in NYC back in February to a packed house at IFC Center. This NYC screening comes at a wonderful time given the many emails of inquiry I continue to get from New Yorkers that could not make the previous screening or have since learned of the film.

As an extra bonus ROOFTOP FILM's will have a NEIL DIAMOND karaoke hour before the film that should be "off the hook". All are encouraged to [sign up] for an opportunity to belt out their favorite ND tune and make a beautiful noise as the sun sets over the big apple. [filmmaker Greg Kohs]

photos by Chris LaPutt

Not all of the "Rooftop Films" are actually on roofs. Last night (June 12, 2008) the show happened in the field at a high school right next to McCarren Park. The musical guest O'Death played for about 30 minutes. Then there were a whole bunch of short movies. A.R.E. Weapons plays one in Manhattan tonight. More pictures from last night below....

Continue reading "O'Death @ Automotive High School, Brooklyn, NY (part of the Rooftop Film series) (but not on a roof)"

Dirty on Purpose on a roof - June 6, 2008 (photo by Sarah Palmer)

Rooftop Films kicked off their 2008 season last week with a movie preceeded by a performance by Dirty on Purpose (who also opened for Swervedriver at Bowery Ballroom last night). Tonight (June 12) things keep going with a pre-movie show by O'Death. More O'Death tour dates below....

Continue reading "Rooftop Films continue tonight w/ O'Death, other tour dates"

Rooftop Films is proud to present a new partnership with Sound Fix Records!

Since 1997, Rooftop Films has been screening new independent films on rooftops throughout New York City. Live music has always been part of Rooftop's programming and this summer Sound Fix Records will be presenting the music for The Rooftop Films 2008 Summer Series....

Highlights from Sound Fix presents at Rooftop Films: Dirty on Purpose, O'Death, A.R.E. Weapons, Deer Tick...

The Rooftop Films 2008 Summer Series will consist of 38 unique, outdoor, film and music events. It will run from the first week of June through the end of September, with 2 or more events each week. All of the screenings will take place outdoors in New York City, either on rooftops or in other uniquely scenic locations. Live music precedes each of the films, and free after-parties or receptions follow most events.

Continue reading "Sound Fix/Rooftop Films/Music series kicks off tonight"