Beirut at Terminal 5 in 2011 (more by VIncent Cornelli)

Beirut are currently on an international tour that includes dates in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and South Korea. They're beginning to reveal some North American dates happening later on this year, including Coachella and a NYC show happening on August 29 at Rumsey Playfield in Central Park (aka Summerstage). Tickets go on sale Friday (1/13) at noon with an AmEx presale starting Wednesday (1/11) at noon.

That makes the total Central Park Summerstage shows, as of January 2012, up to four already. The other three are Foster the People, one of which was just announced with Tokyo Police Club on June 11 (AmEx presale also starts Wednesday at noon).

All currently known Beirut dates below...

Continue reading "Beirut & other Summerstage shows announced"

photos by Chris La Putt

Grace Potter sat in the grass with her guitar Wednesday, outside her home in Waitsfield, and wrote a new song. Its called "The Mad Mad River."

For years, Potter had resisted the temptation to write about Vermont, she said. "I thought it was kind of cheesy," Potter said.

But in the sunshine Wednesday, a hint of fall in the air a beautiful moment three days after coming home from the road to flood-stricken Waitsfield, Potter wrote about the place "that is such a deep part of who I am."

The chorus is: "There's hope in the valley after the 100-year flood/because the Mad Mad River runs in our blood."

Potter, 28, will debut the song Oct. 9 at the Flynn Theater in Burlington, where she and her band, the Nocturnals, will play one of two benefit concerts for Vermont flood relief. [Burlington Free Press]

Continue reading "Grace Potter, Big Head Todd and the Monsters & Floating Action played Summerstage (pics)"

photos by Jessica Amaya

"Wilco gets everything backwards.

Rock bands are supposed to start small, releasing music on obscure, independent labels, and working their way up to a major record company contract. Wilco, though, began their career on a major label subsidiary in 1994, divorced it to release 2001's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, signed to another subsidiary, and, four studio albums and one Grammy later, decided to start their own indie imprint, dBpm Records. Their first release on that label, The Whole Love, is out today." [The Atlantic]

Continue reading "Wilco release new album, played their 2nd Summerstage show w/ Nick Lowe in the rain (pics & setlist)"

Wilco @ Rumsey Playfield (Central Park) -- 9/22/2011 (photo by beaucolburn)

"Loved the show..nice mix of the new album--love it!, plus the usual "singalongs" and plenty of older gems. Was that tweedy's son dancin' on stage? And except for the lines at vending, I really enjoyed the venue tonight.
And no rain!
Back tomorrow for round 2. For those going, Wilco on about 7:50, played a little over 1.5 hours, then back for an extended encore. Total show 2-2.25 hours I'd say. 25 songs!" [A Cherry Ghost]

Continue reading "Wilco played Central Park Summerstage (setlist), will again tonight "

Tickets for Wilco's 9/22 Summerstage show, after two presales, went on sale today (7/15) at noon and quickly sold out. Fortunately, Wilco have announced a second date the next night (9/23) at Summerstage. Tickets for the newly added show go on sale Friday (7/22) at noon. Nick Lowe opens like he does the night prior.

As mentioned earlier today, you can pre-order the "I MIght" 7" at the Wilco webstore.

Updated tour dates below...

Continue reading "Wilco adds 2nd Central Park show (updated dates)"

by Andrew Sacher

Florence on GMA @ Rumsey Playfield (juleskills)

Since Good Morning America concerts now happen at Rumsey Playfield aka Central Park Summerstage (full schedule below), Florence & the Machine actually played the outdoor NYC venue twice on Friday (6/24). She played a short set early in the morning for Good Morning America and then a proper Summerstage show later that night with Twin Shadow and Bubbles. At the night show Florence opened the track "Blinding" by singing the intro to Lady Gaga's "Judas" (Lady Gaga notoriously played the first 2011 Good Morning America show on May 27th). Check out a video of that and some others from both Florence shows below.

Twin Shadow's next NYC show is at Webster Hall with Diamond Rings.

what is that over her shoulders???

Beyonce, whose new album 4 was released today (6/28), who also just headlined Glastonbury (with help from Tricky), and who plays the NBC NYC fireworks show, plays Good Morning America at Rumsey Playfield on July 1.

Beyonce's new album seems to be what everyone has been talking about, especially since it leaked back on June 7th. Even Beyonce addressed the leak on June 8th:

My music was leaked and while this is not how I wanted to present my new songs, I appreciate the positive response from my fans. When I record music I always think about my fans singing every note and dancing to every beat. I make music to make people happy and I appreciate that everyone has been so anxious to hear my new songs.

Apparently some of her LGBT fans are disappointed too (and are not dancing to every beat). According to Sandra Rose, after the album leaked, the actual release date was pushed back in part because of criticism from her gay fans. This has not been confirmed, but she wrote:

Beyoncé and her management team are worried about the lack of gay support for her more mature, ballad-heavy CD. "They're taking the album off the [release list] and retooling it," said my source [a confidential informant at the record label, who begged to remain anonymous]. "They're going to add 2 more songs with a club beat to send the gays to the dance floor."

The gay-marriage-legalization-downplaying New York Post, who earlier posted a story about Columbia expecting the Beyonce record to flop, don't like it either. The Daily News's Jim Farber on the other hand likes it (The Daily News also differed from the NY Post by actually doing cover stories on the legalization of gay marriage).

Speaking of Jim Farber, his other big Daily News article today was about "girly men" music ("everyone from [Bon Iver to] Sufjan Stevens to Devendra Banhart to Antony and the Johnsons to Iron and Wine to Grizzly Bear to the National to Fleet Foxes to Vampire Weekend"). He adds, "Snaking back a bit farther, you could also throw into this high-brow/low-virility crew Bright Eyes, the Decemberists and Death Cab for Cutie."

(so just to recap for a second: Gay people don't like the new Beyonce album. The NY Post doesn't like gay people, but does like Beyonce. The Daily News, despite a bit of homophobia, likes gay people and Beyonce.).

I think the Beyonce album's pretty good, except for the severely out-of-place lead single "Run The World (Girls)," which unfortunately is the only track with an official video so far (watch below). Most of the album's non-singles are the ones that demand repeated listens. Its highest points are hit when she belts out Etta Jamesian choruses like that of "Start Over," the earworminess of "Countdown," and the fact that its the first album since her debut to feature a member of Outkast (how bout that new Outkast album?). You can decide for yourself by streaming it. Buy a copy on Amazon.

The upcoming Good Morning America lineup also includes Mary J Blige on September 2, and Debbie Gibson & Tiffany, who are going on tour, on July 29. The full list of mainstream acts (like Beyonce and now Florence) that are playing the popular TV show's series is below.

Florence & Beyonce videos and stuff below too...

Continue reading "Florence & the Machine played Rumsey Playfield twice, Beyonce (whose new album is out) playing there too & stuff"

Wiz Khalifa @ Rock The Bells 2010 (more by Eric Townsend)

We're now up to four announced ticketed shows happening at Williamsburg Waterfront this summer. Thievery Corporation are playing the outdoor North Brooklyn space on Friday, June 24th, and tickets go on sale this Friday at noon which is also when Death Cab For Cutie/Frightened Rabbit tickets go on sale. The other two, which are already on sale, are Sonic Youth and Kid Cudi.

Wiz Khalifa, who plays the Roots Picnic on June 4th, and Monmouth University on July 29th, will play Central Park Summerstage on July 25th. Tickets go on presale Thursday at 10am, and then general sale Friday at noon.

Tickets go on AmEx presale today (5/4) at noon for Ratatat's upcoming show at the same Summerstage venue.

It's always confusing that, except from a promoter/series/financial/whatever point of view, "Central Park Summerstage" and "Rumsey Playfield" are actually the same venue even though you have to do two separate searches on Ticketmaster to find all the ticketed shows happening there. Ray Lamontagne and the Pariah Dogs are playing two Rumsey Playfield shows this year. The sold out 5/31 one was announced a while ago (with Brandi Carlile and The Secret Sisters opening), and the 9/26 one (with no openers announed yet) goes on presale Thursday at 10am, and then on general sale Friday at 10am.

In related news, Bon Iver's recently announced Prospect Park show is now sold out.

photos by Greg Cristman

Pavement @ Summerstage Friday

After six nights in gotham that included one show in a bonafide downpour, two TV appearances (Colbert and Fallon), and thousands of tickets sold to five live shows, Pavement moved on to Marland Saturday to play the free Virgin Mobile FreeFest that went down at Merriweather Post Pavilion...

"False starts, aimless guitar-noodling, and Stephen Malkmus' sloppy 'do: Yup, it was a perfect Pavement set. Now several months into its reunion, the legendary indie-rock quintet cycled through every song but "Box Elder" that's essential to a Pavement show, often with heavy audience accompaniment. Some of the crowd's favorite singalong lines: "No big hair!" in "Cut Your Hair"; "Not here, babe!" in "Summer Babe"; "Don't worry, we're in no hurry!" in "Range Life." It was uncharacteristically unslackerish, which is to say Bob Nastanovich wasn't the only member rocking out. Malkmus was in particularly good spirits. After the band ended "Spit On a Stranger," he joked that he'd auditioned with the song for American Idol. "I couldn't hit the high notes," he said." [Spin]

On Sunday Pavement played Atlanta, and the band has five more dates to go before they hang it up again (or will they?) (should they?). Those dates include Hollywood Bowl in LA with Sonic Youth and No Age, and the Matador 21 Festival.

Setlists from Maryland and Georgia, along with the rest of the pictures from Summerstage Friday, below...

Continue reading "Pavement played Virgin FreeFest (setlist) after completing their run of 5 NYC shows (one more set of Summerstage pics) "

Pavement @ Central Park Summerstage - Sept 24, 2010 (pic by Greg Cristman)

That's a picture of the setlist from Friday night's Pavement show in Central Park, the fourth of four Summerstage shows, and the fifth of five NYC shows that kicked off Sunday night at Williamsburg Waterfront. They substituted 'Heaven Is A Truck' for 'Fight Generation', and those hands reportedly belong to the woman who gave birth to Mark Ibold. More later.

Pictures from Thursday night's show, and their remaining reunion tour dates, HERE.

photos by Matthew Eisman

Pavement @ Summerstage, Thursday, 9/23/10

Jacob Ganz: Hi Matthew. How was the show [Thursday night]?

Matthew Perpetua: This was the weird night.

MP: The night in Williamsburg was good, but kind of an off night. The first Central Park show was just wonderful, they were as on as they possibly could be: Great moods, playing as well as you could hope for. Dream Pavement show. The second show was the rainy night, and was kinda dramatic and I think there was a real intensity to the audience because of the weather conditions. Tonight was the one where they were kinda tired, odd moods, a bit sloppier, definitely just kinda weird and goofy.

MP: I've liked that all the shows have been different types of Pavement shows, and I'm glad one of them was like this.

JG: How many times have you seen them play now?

MP: I saw six shows in the original run, and I'll see six in the reunion tour.

MP: So as of tonight, it's 11. And I've seen Malkmus solo or with the Jicks many times over, and I've heard dozens of live bootlegs.

Endless Boogie opened for Pavement in Central Park last night. The Beets open the 5th and final NYC show tonight (9/24). Pavement also appeared on Fallon last night.

After NYC, Pavement heads down to play the free Virgin Fest at Merriweather Post Pavillion, stops in Atlanta, Texas and LA, and then ends it all (or do they?) at the Matador 21 Festival in Vegas. (and actually, are there any scheduled shows after that? I can't find any, but thought I maybe saw one announced for overseas).

UPDATE: I knew I saw other dates get announced. They are in Brazil and Argentina and happening in November (thanks Hiro).

All dates and more pictures from last night's Rumsey Playfield show (including the setlist again), below...

Continue reading "8 more Pavement shows to go? here are pics from last night (who went to every NYC show?)"

photos by Diana Wong

you can see the rain in the light

Considering the band split apart in 1999 and most everybody in attendance bought tickets to the show a full year ago, there wasn't going to be anything keeping hardcore Pavement fans from Wednesday night's (September 22) concert at Rumsey Playfield in New York's Central Park. The weather certainly tried though, as a thick fog of humidity gave way to steady rain and a spectacular display of lightning (so spectacular, in fact, that the producers actually pulled the band off stage for 15 minutes half way through the set, for fear of lightning strikes).

With the weather threatening to derail the entire evening, Pavement found a completely new gear. Eschewing the sharp between-song banter that colored earlier shows on this reunion tour, the band tore through their set mostly in an effort to cram in all their songs but also because they remain clearly thrilled by the aspect of playing these tunes together again. ...Something clearly lit a fire under the asses of Stephen Malkmus, Bob Nastanovich, Scott "Spiral Stairs" Kannberg, Steve West and Mark Ibold, as they were feisty, firey and tight (despite a few false starts)...

"Thanks for sticking with us," Malkmus said at the end of the set. He was probably talking about the rain, but he could have been talking about the 10 years in between appearances that gave his quirky songs a new energy that he clearly enjoyed. Will Pavement make another album? It seems doubtful. But they sure do seem to like being in Pavement again. -[MTV]

Pavement round four kicks off tonight (9/23) at the also-sold-out Summerstage (but you can get a ticket for cheap outside) with Endless Boogie (who was one of the openers at the first show at Williamsburg Waterfront).

Times New Viking opened last night, and will be playing another show at the Meat Locker in Montclair, NJ TONIGHT (9/23). Times New Viking's other upcoming shows include a stint with the reunited Guided By Voices.

More pictures from last night's Summerstage show (including another of the setlist), below...

Continue reading "Pavement played Rumsey Playfield again (pics), with Times New Viking (who play the Meat Locker tonight) "

"Saw Pavement frontrow/center in the rain/thunder/lightening, got a setlist, made it 2 BK in time for YYYs at Secret Project Robot. Oh my god" - Jenn Pelly

"Ready to relive tonight's Pavement concert in the pouring rain. Can you make that happen? Kind of night that keeps me in love with my NYC." - Jenna Schnuer

"Pavement in the pouring, pouring rain. Best show ever." - Cara McDonough

Pavement @ Central Park Summerstage - Sept 22, 2010 (via Keith G)

Those who braved the weather Wednesday night ended up getting a still-great Pavement show, but a slightly shorter and much wetter one than the one the night before at the same Central Park venue. Lightning caused an unplanned intermission, but the show did go on after the break, even though the rain didn't stop.

Keith, who sent in the setlist (thanks!), reports that despite the break, "I'm pretty sure they played everything on the list. During the end of the show they played Linden, then Here, then Conduit to close out the show." More, including a full set of pics, coming later HERE.

Times New Viking opened what was the third of five Pavement reunion shows happening in NYC. Thee Oh Sees opened the night before. The first NYC show was Sunday night at Williamsburg Waterfront with Jenny and Johnny and Endless Boogie. Endless Boogie open again tonight (9/23). The final NYC show is Friday with The Beets.

Download the first show at NYC Taper.

Check out a 15 minute Big Ass Lens video from the first show, below...

Continue reading "Pavement played in the rain (NYC night 3 setlist)"

photos by Dominick Mastrangelo, words by Bill Pearis

"Welcome," Stephen Malkmus greeted the crowd at Summerstage. "So, these are the real shows. The first shows. The others were just warm-ups."

The two-hour, 27-song set Pavement played did nothing to dispute that statement. It's true what everybody's said about this reunion tour. They were never this good, never this fun during their original '90s incarnation. At least the three times I saw them. The last time -- Irving Plaza, 1999 -- the band were clearly sick of each other and only percussionist Bob Nastanovich, ever the cheerleader, seemed to be carrying the torch.

Not so tonight though, at the first of four consecutive Pavement shows at Summerstage (aka Central Park's Rumsey Playfield). Malkmus, Nastanovich, Scott Kannberg, Mark Ibold and Steve West seemed to be genuinely having a blast. After "Range Life," Malkmus quipped, "That was a really good version of that one, and I've heard them all."

Opening with "Shady Lane," the set ran through most all the hits, with a few surprises like "Infinite Spark" and "Perfect Depth"  -- the latter wasn't on the setlist. (They also swapped out the setlist's "Spizzle Trunk" for "Heaven is a Truck.") "Summer Babe," "Here"  and "Spit on a Stranger" (we got nothing from Terror Twilight) were the only songs notably absent but we got "Shoot the Singer" (one of my favorites), plus "Debris Slide" and "Conduit for Sale" both of which featured Nastanovich on the mic, pacing the stage and working the crowd like one of the Beastie Boys.

You get the feeling that Nastanovich, who comes up with the setlists every night, is probably Pavement's #1 Fan. When he wasn't playing tambourine, keyboards, or the drums, he had the crowd cracking up with a stream of non sequiturs ("Did I ever tell you about the time Sun Ra fixed my car in Lexington, Virginia?"). A giant smile was on his face the entire time.

Mine too. For me at least, tonight's show transcended nostalgia. Ten years is a while to be away, but not too long. The guys somewhat shockingly all still look pretty much the same -- yet are playing better than ever. It's enough time to mellow egos, iron out differences and, you know, get better as musicians.. And make us to realize how much we missed them.

If you've been on the fence about trying to get tickets -- there were no shortage of people selling tickets outside the venue -- you should just go. One of the best times I've had at a show this year.

Thee Oh Sees

Openers Thee Oh Sees aren't really suited to such a big stage but made the most of it by packing into a ten foot square of the stage and treating it like it was Death by Audio. They sounded great for their ripping 30-minute set. "I could tell you a million stories about listening to Pavement," frontman John Dwyer said. "But you've all got 'em. They did save me one time on acid, so thanks for that."

There was lots of good between-song banter. Some highlights:

"Thanks for not losing your tickets over the last year." -- Kannberg

"I hear tickets weren't so hard to get this week, anyway. Face value...that's what we like to hear. Less than that...that's not good." -- Malkmus

"That song always reminds me of fondue." -- Nastanovich on "In the Mouth a Desert."

"'Grounded' is my Dad's favorite song. Couldn't you have picked one of mine?" -- Kannberg, who's dad was in the audience.

"I didn't realize they had such good weed on the Upper East Side" -- Nastanovich

"That was the Superchunk version of 'Gold Soundz.' In a good way, obviously." - Malkmus

"The real truth is 'Babtist Blacktick' is too fast for this age group." -- Nastanovich

Pictures continue, with the full setlist, below...

Continue reading "Pavement & Thee Oh Sees @ Rumsey Playfield (pics & setlist) "

photos by Andrew St. Clair

After a tumultuous early evening (I'm sure you heard or experienced it), Cake took to the stage at Rumsey Playfield (Summerstage) in Central Park to play a round of jams last night (9/16) to a wet crowd. Raincoats were not an uncommon site. Though the heaviest of the precipitation had long since passed by the time the band had launched into their set, Summerstage did get its share of rain during the band's performance though reportedly it did not disrupt Cake's set which kicked off at 8pm (no opening band) (it was "an evening with Cake"). The played "The Distance", "Frank Sinatra", "Comfort Eagle" and other songs before eventually shuffling off stage after 10PM, with a 15 minute intermission in between.

The show is part of a larger tour for Cake, and was the first of a string of seven Summerstage shows that continue tonight with Ween. More pictures from last night, below...

Continue reading "despite the storm, Cake played Summerstage (pics) "

photos by Eliza Koch

""This night is f---ing perfect," Coyne announced at the top of the show following his now-customary climb over the audience in a giant inflatable hamster ball. He wasn't necessarily talking about the music but rather about the weather, as the oppressive summer humidity had dissipated long enough to create a warm, breezy summer night. It provided the ideal backdrop for the Lips' set, which was heavy on the amorphous material from Embryonic. On the album, the melodies float several layers below the surface and are constantly teased out by the adroit production abilities of Dave Fridmann. In a live setting, the band let the fuzz do the talking, and allowed most of the tunes to build into swirls of distorted noise and churning beat science." [MTV]

Tonight, Tuesday, you can catch the band at Terminal 5 with Fang Island . The show is sold out, but it will also be streaming, like Smashing Pumpkins last night, online. The Flaming Lips return to the David Letterman show on Wednesday.

More pictures, a bunch of videos, and the setlist from Summerstage, below...

Continue reading "the Flaming Lips played Central Park Summerstage (pics, video setlist), playing Letterman Wednesday & T5 (tonight) "

Cake will be playing at Central Park's Rumsey Playfield on Thursday, September 16th. Tickets are on presale now for a charitable donation (only a dollar more than the regular ticket) (there's an "artist" presale too). AmEx presale starts Wednesday at 11am. General sale starts Friday at noon.

The show is part of a September tour that includes a show in Clifton Park, NY (near Albany) on September 13th. Tickets to that go on sale Friday at 10am.

The band, who maintain a pretty good environmental blog on the news section of their site, have shows in June and July too. All tour dates are below...

Continue reading "Cake - 2010 Tour Dates (Summerstage) "

Broken Social Scene's upcoming NYC show at Webster Hall in May sold out quickly. Tickets are on presale now for a just-added September 18th show at Rumsey Playfield at Central Park (Summerstage) .

by BBG

Steve of Torche, riding the (fat) waves (more by Justina Villanueva)

Over the coming weeks, we'll be announcing details of some of our (many) day & night shows happening in Austin during SXSW this year. Emo's on March 17th is the first of these shows, and mark my words, it will be utter pandemonium. Proof? The first announcement of more than twelve bands slated for the free gig is Torche. Stay tuned for more announcements, but until then, save the date.

Later that night we move over to Club DeVille for an official showcase featuring Serena Maneesh, Califone and more TBA. Then on Friday, we've also just revealed, that we'll be hanging out at Club DeVille again for another day party with Lucero and many more TBA there too.

The Wednesday BV Day Party is one of a handful of Austin dates for Torche before the band takes a breather, only to reignite for a string of dates with Coheed & Cambria and Circa Survive that include May 26th at Rumsey Playfield (aka Central Park Summerstage). Ticket info is forthcoming.

In related news, Torche will team up with Boris to domestically release Chapter Ahead Of Being Fake for Hydrahead. No word on an exact release date. Torche's Steve Brooks is getting his old band Floor back together. Robotic Empire will release a mega-mega-mega boxset for the band. Preorder it here.

A new-ish video for "King Beef" and full Torche dates are below.

Continue reading "Torche - 2010 tour dates (NYC & BV SXSW day party included) "

photos by Ryan Muir

Phoenix's Thomas Mars in the SoHo Apple Store

"As a devoted follower of Phoenix, I was considerably excited to see them perform again after their appearance at the Apple Store last Thursday. While the music was gorgeously executed and the setlist was everything I could ask for, the quotidian annoyances of attending a large-capacity outdoor concert presented considerable obstacles. But Phoenix is the kind of band that is worth seeing even if frat boys are elbowing and shoving you, sorority girls are trampling on your feet, and everyone in your vicinity is blowing a variety of unpleasant smokes into your face all the while.

With that said, Phoenix played a set of songs mostly from Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, but with a few from Alphabetical and United, their earliest records. Thomas Mars owned the stage with great warmth, more so than at the Apple Store, and the band passed their enormous energy on to the vast crowd, which was undeterred by the rain that began to fall toward the end of "Rome" and steadily increased through the end of the encore. The two songs that Thomas and Laurent Brancowitz performed alone during the encore provided a glimpse of what a Phoenix show might sound like in a venue like the Bowery Ballroom." [Trust Me On This]

Continue reading "Phoenix played 2 Central Park shows w/ Passion Pit, Fallon & the SoHo Apple Store (pics, setlist) "

by Andrew Frisicano

The Wizard of Oz is being re-released on DVD September 29th. Why should you care? Because that's also the same day a free outdoor event is happening in Central Park to celebrate it (it's also the film's 70th anniversary). At the show (whick kicks off at Rumsey Playfield at 7:30 p.m. ET), ?uestlove (of The Roots), Jennifer Hudson, Julianne Hough, Bilal, "and a band assembled especially for the show" will be performing contemporary interpretations of classic songs from the film. That will be followed by a screening of the flick on a giant inflatable screen (rain location TBA if it rains).

Of course, if you're only interested in the Roots, you can always shell out for the cover at their Highline Ballroom residency (though it should be noted, their Sept. 29th performance has been canceled). If you prefer to never leave Brooklyn, the band is also playing a Thursday, October 1st show at Brooklyn Bowl. It only costs $10. Tickets are on sale.

For the Central Park show, we have a pair of VIP passes (not on sale) and a prize package from Netflix to give away. Details are below...

Continue reading "?uestlove & others playing w/ Wizard of Oz screening in Central Park (win VIP tix), Roots playing Brooklyn Bowl"

Pavement - 2010 Tour Dates
Tue, 9/21 @ Central Park Summerstage, NYC
Wed, 9/22 @ Central Park Summerstage, NYC
Thu, 9/23 @ Central Park Summerstage, NYC
Fri, 9/24 @ Central Park Summerstage, NYC

Continue reading "Fourth Pavement show @ Summerstage added!! (on sale)"

There was one. Then two. Now three! Will there be four?

Tickets to the newly-added, third (September 23, 2010) show are on sale now.
(password - ZOWEE)

the pavement outside Summerstage in 2008 (more by Ryan Muir)

Typically for Pavement, the decision to get back together was made in a lackadaisical way. Says [Scott "Spiral Stairs" Kannberg], "Steve [Malkmus] and I just had a conversation on the phone, and we'd never talked about it before at all. We've talked over the years, but the subject never came up. Then our agent asked us about these New York shows, so we went around to everybody in the band, and they said, 'Yeah, the time is right. If everybody's ready to do it, then we'll do it and see what happens.' There was no real impetus -- it just kind of happened naturally."

Right now, there's only one gig booked, a benefit at Central Park Summerstage on September 21, 2010. Says Kannberg, "We'll do some rehearsing in the new year. The Central Park shows, we'll probably end up doing one or two of those. There's festivals and stuff that we're talking to, like Coachella. After that, anything that happens in the future is in the future." [Rolling Stone]

UPDATE: a 2nd show was added after this pre-sale sold right out.

photos by Kurt Christensen

Continue reading "The Swell Season @ Rumsey Playfield, NYC - pics & setlist "