photos by Dominick Mastrangelo

Of Montreal / Ducktails @ Savannah Stopover, 3/8/2013

Amazingly, Athens-based of Montreal's gig was their first ever in Savannah.

Of Montreal's show in the park was also the first time the sweeping backdrop of our so-called band shell was used to full effect. Surreal and colorful, the dancing images looked almost as wonderful from a distance as the ridiculous stage theatrics appeared up close.

That event might have been the signature event of the third annual indie music festival that lures many bands headed to Austin for SXSW, but there were plenty of other gems.

Thursday's opening night lineup was especially impressive.

To get the festival rolling, the rich sounds of The Last Bison filled up the glorious North Garden at the Ships of the Sea Museum. The music ended about six hours later, with Mac DeMarco finishing his set by crowd surfing at The Jinx.

In between, a couple of dozen acts played at a variety of downtown venues, including Thurston Moore and his new band Chelsea Light Moving in the beautifully renovated ballroom at the Knights of Columbus on Liberty Street. - [Savannah Now]

As mentioned, the Savannah Stopover happened over the weekend in its namesake Georgia town with bands from all over the world playing on their way to SXSW. BV photographer Dominick Mastrangelo was there the whole weekend and here are pics from Friday (3/8), including shots of Of Montreal, Braids, Ducktails, Chris Cohen and more. Check them out below.

Continue reading "The Savannah Stopover: day 2 in pics (of Montreal, Ducktails, Braids and more)"

SXSW is no doubt a great way to see a lot of bands in a short amount of time and can be a lot of fun. But it can also be a little much for some. If you'd like to see many of the same bands but in a more genteel setting, you might be interested in The Savannah Stopover which happens the weekend before SXSW (March 7 - 9) in at various clubs in Savannah, Georgia. Over 100 bands will play, including Of Montreal, Merchandise, Mac DeMarco, Chelsea Light Moving, Hunters, Braids, Delicate Steve, Turbo Fruits, Ducktails and loads more.

Tickets ($30 per day or $75 for three-day pass) are on sale now and more info is at Savannah Stopover's website. The full announced lineup is below.

Continue reading "of Montreal, Chelsea Light Moving, Merchandise, Mac DeMarco, & more playing Savannah Stopover before SXSW"

DOWNLOAD: Blessed Feathers - "Winter Sister" (MP3)

Wisconsin folk duo Blessed Feathers released their debut EP, Ocean of Weeds, earlier this month, and you can stream the entire thing below. The EP was produced by Kevin McMahon (Titus Andronicus, Real Estate) and also features Thor Harris of Swans. You can also grab a free MP3 of one of its tracks, "Winter Sister," at the top of this post, and check out the video for another, "Holyoke/Springfield," below.

The band just landed in NYC for CMJ, and you'll have a number of chances to see them, including the free BrooklynVegan day party on Friday (10/19), where they'll play an opening set in the back room at noon.

In addition to that, they'll play the SESAC showcase at Cake Shop tonight (10/17); the Popular/MCT day party at Bowery Electric on Thursday (10/18) with GHXST, Savoir Adore, Ambassadors, Santah, and Royal Canoe; the Fred Perry Artist Lounge at Stratosphere Sound Recording Studios on Thursday with The Luyas, Poor Moon, Foxygen, Ape School, So So Glos, Slug Guts, and Bleeding Rainbow; the Planetary Group day party at Pianos on Friday (10/19) with The Orwells, The Intelligence, San Cisco, Turbo Fruits, Rah Rah, Twerps, The Trouble with Templeton, Tim Chaisson, Skipping Girl Vinegar, Elephant Stone, and Ditka; and the Bowery Presents day party at Pianos on Saturday (10/20).

A list of all Blessed Feathers dates, a flyer for their CMJ shows, EP stream, and video are below...

Continue reading "Blessed Feathers are here for CMJ (including BV Friday day party) -- dates, EP stream, video, MP3"

by Bill Pearis

As mentioned previously, Savoir Adore's new album, Our Nature, is out next week and the band have just released a new single from the record. "Empire of Light" is one of the more contemplative, ethereal tracks on the album which in general is a bit more groove-oriented than their first. We've got the premiere of the track's video that has the band piled in a Sprinter van driving around sun-dappled upstate New York. You can check it out below.

Savoir Adore play a record release party for Our Nature in NYC tonight (10/9) at Knitting Factory with tourmates Ghost Beach and Royal Canoe. Tickets are still available but if you're like to go for free, we're also giving a pair away. Contest details and the video for "Empire of Light" are below.

Continue reading "Savoir Adore made a new video; their record release show is tonight in Brooklyn (win tix!)"

Doldrums at MHOW last week (more by Amanda Hatfield)

As mentioned, Doldrums (the project of Airick Woodhead) and Moon King (the project of Airick's brother/collaborator Daniel), who were both just in NYC will return for CMJ. We already know that Doldrums will be playing the Windish showcase at Mercury Lounge on October 17 with Hundred Waters, Strange Talk, High Highs, Mozart's Sister, and more (tickets).

It's now been announced that Doldrums and Moon King will team up for the M for Montreal CMJ showcase on October 19 at Arlene's Grocery. Mozart's Sister (who also shares a bill with Doldrums at the Windish showcase) is on the bill, as is Braids side project Blue Hawaii. The rest of show includes ex-DD/MM/YYYY krautrockers Absolutely Free, Royal Canoe (who are going on tour with Savoir Adore), impressive live dance rock outfit Plaster, TOPS, and Ariane Moffatt. No advance tickets for this one at the moment. You can also try to get in with your CMJ badge.

M For Montreal set times along with a list of all Doldrums dates and a song stream are below.

Continue reading "Doldrums, Moon King, Blue Hawaii and more playing M for Montreal CMJ showcase (dates)"