by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Rooftop Vigilantes - Seth No Jump (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Rooftop Vigilantes - Kitty Vacant (MP3)

Rooftop Vigilantes @ Scion Garage Fest (more by Taylor Keahy)

Lawrence, Kansas' excellent, farfisa-rockin' Rooftop Vigilantes are here this week for CMJ, playing three shows: Cake Shop on Friday (10/22); early Saturday night (10/23 7:50PM) at Bruar Falls for the all-day Cape Shop party,  and then later that night at Cake Shop (12:20 AM) for the Daed Pizza showcase.

These will be the first shows Rooftop Vigilantes have played in NYC this year, as their planned March tour never quite made it out of the gate. If you've never heard them before, check out the two MP3s at the top of this post. Here's what I've said about them in the past:

These guys are up there with BOAT in in the shambly, anthemic, super-catchy school of indie rock -- and if this sounds a little tighter, more pointed than anything on their debut, there's a reason. The band trekked to Baltimore, MD to record the album with Jawbox/Burning Airlines' J. Robbins behind the boards, which seems like a perfect match with Rooftop Vigilantes' sound which has been described in the past as "a very drunk Fugazi."

No word on when that record is coming out, but it is in the can and waiting to be heard. They are seriously great live, so do catch them if you can. The band recently played the Scion Garage Fest in their hometown, and a couple videos from that are below, along with some show flyers and all 2010 tour dates...

Continue reading "Rooftop Vigilantes on tour (CMJ dates + Garage Fest videos) "

photos by Taylor Keahey

The Gories

"I, for one, enthusiastically accept Scion as my new corporate overlord. If they can bring the Gories, the Oblivians, King Khan and a cast of garage punks from far and wide to town in one day, they can sell me a sewage soda and I'd say thank you.

That's because Scion sponsored Garage Fest, an event that brought almost 30 bands to Lawrence [on 10/2]. From 4 p.m. 'til nearly midnight I had a cornucopia of raw rock to choose from....

...my number one show on the list: Detroit's incendiary trio, the Gories. Mick Collins, who's arguably better known for his garage-meets-soul outfit the Dirtbombs, is somewhat of a musical hero to me, and I wasn't about to miss the reunion of one of his first -- and probably most raw -- bands. They didn't disappoint. A big crowd for the not-so-spacious Jackpot heaved toward the stage, almost in unison...

I made one last trip to the Granada to catch Memphis' the Oblivians anyway. The trio, originally around in the early '90s, was the cherry on top of the day's punk sundae. I decided to go sans ear plugs and just let it rip. Matt and Disco had staked out a spot front and center, but I didn't have the energy to fight my way up there for long. As I hung toward the fringe of the front crowd, I saw one more thing I can now check off my list of rarities: a guy in a wheelchair crowd surfing." -[The Pitch]

Scion Garage Fest went down in Lawrence, KS over this past weekend. A spoiled New Yorker, who had chances (sometimes Scion-sponsored) to see The Obvlivians and the Gories and many of the other bands on the bill over the past year, might not quite bow down before the lineup, but it was pretty rockin' nonetheless.

A set of pictures from the show, including The Raveonettes, Gories, Oblivians, Times New Viking, Black Lips sideproject The Gaye Blades, Thee Oh Sees and others (though none of King Khan, Best Coast, Tyvek, The Clean, The Greenhornes and some others on the four-venue bill) continue below...

Continue reading "Scion Garage Fest happened (here are some pics) "

words and photos by BBG

After playing a free show at Mercury Lounge, Maxwell's, and ATP NY in the span of three days, The Greenhornes will circle back to NYC for an encore at Bowery Ballroom on 11/30 with Cory Chisel & The Wandering Sons The Ettes. Tickets go on sale Friday 10/8 at noon. The show is one of a few select US dates and the only East Coast date (thus far) for the band following a UK tour.

Those of you planning your New Years Eve can head out to Chicago. The band will be opening for the Black Keys at the Aragon Ballroom that night and on New Years Day.

Full tour dates for The Greenhornes are below, as well as a lost set of pics from ATP NY 2010, where the band played a mid-day set on ATP's third day at Kutchers. The band also played Scion Garage Fest 2010 in Lawrence Kansas over this past weekend. Vaudeville Villain was there and wrote, "The Greenhornes had just started their set. Never heard of them. They were incredible. Stripped down, pounding garage rock."

All dates and more of those pics below...

Continue reading "the Greenhornes played Garage Fest, add a NYC show, playing Chicago New Years Eve (dates & more ATP NY pics) "

by BBG

Pierced Arrows (photo by Simone Muller)

Pierced Arrows are out of the gate and on a US tour that will take them through the tail end of October ending in -no lie- Weed, California. But before the band makes it to that mythical leaf, the Northeast is in their (war)path, which means a pair of shows for NYCers: Oct 7 at Knitting Factory (tickets) and Oct 8 at Mercury Lounge with Tunnel of Love (tickets).

Though the band isn't on for Scion Garage Fest 2010 (that goes down this weekend in Lawrence, Kansas), they were on the 2009 edition alongside Roky Erickson, Black Lips, King Khan & BBQ, and many many others. Check out some videos of Pierced Arrows playing that fest in 2009, with all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Pierced Arrows on tour, not playing Scion Garage Fest this weekend (they played last year)"

The Greenhornes 2007

After detours in The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather among other projects, The Greenhornes are back at it and will release their first LP of new material in eight years via Jack White's Third Man imprint. The record, entitled Four Stars, will be proceeded by select east coast dates that will include Mercury Lounge on 9/3 (free with RSVP) and Maxwell's on 9/4 with The Black Hollies (tickets) leading up to their appearance at ATP NY on 9/5 ("full" lineup).

A month later (on 10/2), The Greenhornes are confirmed for Scion Garage Fest 2010 in Lawrence, Kansas alongside a plethora of killer notables including The Oblivians (who recently played Knit), The Gories (who just played Bowery and toured with Oblivians), The Raveonettes (who are playing Bumbershoot), King Khan & The Shrines (who are playing Santos and Bell House), Best Coast (who just played the Seaport and like weed), Tyvek, Thee Oh Sees, Hunx & His Punx, and a ton of others.

Much like Scion Rock Fest, the show will take place across four venues and is FREE, but RSVP is required. Full lineup is below.

Some videos and the full Scion lineup & flyer is below...

Continue reading "The Greenhornes playing shows - ATP, a free one @ Mercury & Scion Garage Fest (full lineup - Oblivians, Gories, more) "