Tombs @ the Studio in 2009 (more by Jason Jamal Nakleh)

today in NYC
* H2O on a boat
* Robert Black @ The Stone
* Ute Lemper @ Joe's Pub (early & late)
* Leon Russell @ Mexicali Live (NJ)
* Dr. Lonnie Smith Trio @ Jazz Standard
* Forest Fire, Oh Land, Normandy @ Glasslands
* Scott McMicken of Dr. Dog, Springs @ The Rock Shop
* Diddy, Rick Ross, Ciara & more @ Governors Island
* Hannibal Buress, King Sickabilly @ Knitting Factory
* Miya Masaoka, Mary Halvorson, Okkyung Lee @ The Stone
* Reid Paley Trio, Sam Chanse, Sugar Life @ Knitting Factory
* Nullsleep, Bit Shifter, Glomag, NO CARRIER @ Le Poisson Rouge
* Tombs, Radiation, Planks, Gods & Queens, Dawn @ Death By Audio
* Chromeo, The Suzan, Telephoned, Kid Sister @ Williamsburg Waterfront
* Metal Rouge, Sam Hamilton, Jane Austen, Greg Fox, Diablo @ Silent Barn
* Seaven Tears (Charlie Looker), Tartar Lamb (Toby Driver), Music of the American Avante-Garde (Bracken/Kidambi) @ Zebulon
* Religious To Damn, Fielded, Psychic Steel, Kevin Hufnagel @ Bruar Falls
* The Big Sleep, Fan-Tan, Sensual Harassment, Replicas, Michna (DJ Set) @ Cameo
* Mia Riddle, Pearl & The Beard, Madison Square Gardeners (Farm To Folk Fest) @ Union Pool (see below)
* New York Night Train's Ya Ya Yacht w/ DJ Mr. Jonathan Toubin & DJ Ian Svenonius
* Saviours, Priestess, Ramming Speed, Antidote [NYHC 1983], Rorschach DJ's, Hamsoken, Gatekeeper, Cult of Youth, Naam, Titan, Natur, Snake Sustaine, Primitive Weapons, Cleen Teeth @ Santos Party House
* K Holes, Electric Tickle Machine, My Teenage Stride, Food Stamps, Weekends, Weed Hounds, Shark?, Lost Boy, The Runaway Suns, The Caterpillers (and much more) @ Don Pedro (see below)

A lot to do today for a rainy Sunday at the end of a slow week.

Individual tickets are on sale today for the 2010-2011 NY Philharmonic concert season.

To make sure they don't get shut down, tonight's sold out H2O show happening on a Rocks Off boat is going to be dry ("Our First Ever NO BOOZE CRUISE - Straight Edge on the Hudson!"), which is ironic since those that step outside will probably not be dry at all thanks to the H2O coming down from the sky.

Good thing there's going to be a Pool Party on August 29th. Otherwise they would have went out on a rainy note. If it doesn't get cancelled, Chromeo, The Suzan, Telephoned, and previously-known-as "Special Guest" Kid Sister play the free show at the Williamsburg Waterfront today.

Today is the day The Specials were supposed to play in the rain at Central Park Summerstage.

Though there are still free events, there are no more free concerts on Governors Island this summer, which means tonight's potentially-soggy Diddy fans paid for their tickets. Same situation for the Jonas Brothers fans at Jones Beach.

Two indoor options today include "Farm to Folk Fest" at Union Pool (3-8pm) and "My Endless Summer" at Don Pedro from 4pm to 4am. Flyers and more information for both below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Sunday?"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Blind Man Color - Heavy Cloud Hustle (JVG Remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Beach Fossils - Vacation (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Mitch Easter - Time Warping (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Mitch Easter - Sudden Crown Drop (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Asteroid #4 - Flowers of Ours (MP3)

Beach Fossils

Hope everyone stayed cool this weekend. Before I get into picks for the first part of this week, I'd just like to point out that we've got a remix (a BV exclusive, I'm told) of Blind Man's Colour's "Heavy Cloud Hustle" in the popular MP3 format to download at the very top of this post. The band were in town this weekend and I caught their Saturday night set at Union Hall where I was surprised to see a traditional guitar-bass-drums-keyboard setup for a band whose album, Season Dreaming (out tomorrow 8/18) leans heavily into Animal Collective sound collage territory. They pulled it off pretty well for only have played live for a month, though the band could use a few more peppy songs.

That night's show -- that also included San Diego's Lights On and Philly's Drink Up Buttercup -- was stolen by locals Beach Fossils who've figured out a distinctive sound: two guitarists but neither of them play chords, just single notes that play off each and the bouncy basslines. The band bounces around a lot too; nobody stands still in this band. It's a sound somewhere between the Clean and early R.E.M. and it's hard to dislike. I wish they'd drop the vibrato effects on the vocals which I think are an unnecessary affectation, but otherwise I'm a fan. They haven't put out anything yet, but they've got records out sometime soon on Woodsist and Captured Tracks (not surprisingly they played the festival put on by the same two labels), and you can download an MP3 of their track "Vacation" at the top of this post. They've also got ties to the Underwater Peoples Records who are putting on a show at Market Hotel this Saturday (8/22) that Beach Fossils are playing -- along with every band associated with the label. That includes Ducktails, sister band Real Estate, Air Waves, Fluffy Lumbers and bunch more. The show's only $5 and doors are at 4pm. Full schedule for the show is at the bottom of this post.

Ambulance LTD

Rewinding a bit, Ambulance LTD play their first shows this week since finally being released from their contract from former, bankrupt label, TVT. I really like their 2004 debut and hopefully we'll get to hear its John Cale-produced follow-up sooner than later, but you can get a taste live this week. The band's show tomorrow night (8/18) at Mercury Lounge is sold out, but you can still get tickets for tonight's show (8/17) at Union Hall. Both shows are with the great Savoir Adore so get there early and be sure to pick up a copy of their debut, In the Wooded Forrest, which is only available at their shows (or digitally) right now.

In town for two shows this week is North Carolina indie rock legend Mitch Easter, who plays Southpaw on Tuesday (8/18) and Maxwell's on Thursday (8/20). While he's maybe best known as a producer (the first two R.E.M.'s albums [with Don Dixon], Pavement's Brighten the Corners, Moose's ...XYZ among other things), but Easter has had a long career as a musician, as a part of The Sneakers in the late '70s and frontman/songwriter for Let's Active, easily one of the most underrated bands of the '80s. He's also an incredible guitarist, and Let's Active albums are resplendent with awesome axe-work.

I like everything they ever did but 1986's Big Plans for Everybody is especially great, one of my favorite albums of that decade. Mitch put the kybosh on Let's Active in 1990 and didn't release any original material until last year's Dynamico, an album which showed he still has chops and songs to spare. He opened for the dB's at Bowery Ballroom two years ago where he played most of Let's Active's big songs ("Every Word Means No," "Waters Part," "Fell," "In Little Ways") and has since been touring with his "Let's Active cover band" Gravel Truck that splits the set between classics and new songs. Easter helped shape the sound of the underground in the '80s and '90s, and is absolutely still worth checking out.

Both shows are with Amy Speace whose new album 'The Killer In Me' was engineered by Mitch.

The Asteroid #4

And lastly, Philadelphia's The Asteroid #4 is playing Tuesday night (8/18) at Glasslands in Brooklyn. The band recently toured with The Brian Jonestown Massacre which gives you a good idea of what you can expect, and they're not unlike Philly neighbors (The Sounds of) Kaleidescope... but they're better. Last year's These Flowers of Ours, is pretty ace, a nice blend of The Byrds, Ride and Spiritualized. You can stream the whole thing here and download the album's title track at the top of this post. The Glasslands show is with a couple likeminded bands: Austin's Runaway Sun and Brooklyn's Revival Times.

That's it for now. Tour dates, flyers and videos after the jump...

Continue reading "Beach Fossils, Ambulance LTD, Underwater Peoples, Mitch Easter, Asteroid #4 & Blind Mans Colour in This Week in Indie"