photos by Andrew St. Clair

Shonen Knife & CJ Ramone

For the encore [Shonen Knife] returned sporting leather jackets which would lead to their homage to the legendary Queens band [the Ramones]. From there we got seven song high-powered set of Ramones classics... Just before 'Scattergun' was delivered, the girls introduced their special guest C.J. Ramone, who joined them to sing the tune and remained with them for the final numbers. -[Piercingmetal via BraveWords]

Perky Japanese punks Shonen Knife celebrated both their 30th anniversary and the catalog of the Ramones with a special appearance by CJ Ramone at Bell House on Friday (11/18). In total they performed eight Ramones covers during their "Osaka Ramones" set. There are thirteen covers on their tribute CD with the same name. Tou can see the full Bell House setlist, along with more pictures and some videos from the show, below.

Shonen Knife have officially concluded their US tour with dates in upstate NY this past weekend (after Bell House). If you missed them, pick up a copy of their Christmas single to tide you through the holidays.

More stuff, including pictures of Hard Nips and Heavy Cream who opened the show, below...

Continue reading "Shonen Knife played the Bell House w/ Hard Nips, Heavy Cream & special guest CJ Ramone (pics, video, setlist)"

Shonen Knife at Knitting Factory (more by Andrew St. Clair)

Hopefully Shonen Knife can kick back for a bit of r n' r amidst their current US tour. The band has tonight off before resuming their US tour tomorrow in Minneapolis, eventually making their way to The Bell House on 11/18. Tickets are still on sale for the show that also includes fellow women rockers Heavy Cream and Hard Nips.

In the meantime, get ready to celebrate the holidays the Shonen Knife way:

A lovely gift this Christmas Shonen Knife!

In 1991 Shonen Knife released the indie classic holiday themed "Space Christmas" single, in 1999 "All I Want for Christmas" (with the help of Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore) and now in 2011 the trio continues this tradition celebrating the season and the band's 30th An­niversary with a new maxi single called "Sweet Christmas" available November 29th both as a digital release and on CD by Good Charamel Records (www.goodcharamel.com) in North America!

The Maxi Single includes the track "Sweet Christmas"a pop punk homage to their fondness for eating Christmas sweet cake and celebrating with friends. The "Sweet Christ­mas" Maxi Single also includes a more traditional offering with a version of the classic "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" as well as an acoustic version of the title track "Sweet Christmas" to help you celebrate the Holiday!

Look for those new Christmas songs digitally and on CD (via Good Charamel) on 11/29.

All remaining tour dates on their 30th anniversary tour, some recent video of the band covering Ramones, and the Christmas single art and tracklist, below...

Continue reading "Shonen Knife on tour, announce Christmas maxi single"

Fucked Up at House of Vans in July (more by Chris La Putt)

Bruise Cruise II, which will take place February 10-13, 2012 off the coast of Miami, added a few more artists to their lineup earlier this month. Those additions include Fucked Up, The Togas (feat. Ty Segall, Philip Sambol of The Strange Boys, Lance Wille of Reigning Sound, and Shannon Shaw of Shannon & the Clams), Vivian Girls (DJ set), and more to be announced soon. Tickets for the cruise are on sale now.

Bruise Cruise and Panache Booking (who co-founded the cruise) have a CMJ showcase scheduled too. The showcase will take place at Public Assembly on October 22 with Shonen Knife, Cheeseburger, White Fence, Vockah Redu, Turbo Fruits, Jacuzzi Boys. and others. Tickets for the showcase are on sale now, or you can try to get in with a CMJ badge.

Panache Booking are also doing their own showcase at Knitting Factory on October 20 with Matthewdavid (who plays Highline Ballroom with Dam-Funk 5 days later), Pterodactyl, Evi Antonio, Mike Viser, and The Immaculates. TIckets are on sale now.

Speaking of Fucked Up, who just played Webster Hall with Wavves, they've got a video for the song "Do You Feed" by the fictional band Animal Man, from Fucked Up's fictional compilation album. You can watch that below. You can also watch a video of Damian Abraham dancing on stage with Yo Gabba Gabba.

Videos below...

Continue reading "Bruise Cruise linueps, 1 @ CMJ, new Fucked Up video & stuff"

CMJ takes over NYC venues from October 18-22, and they just announced another round of bands that are playing. They are:

J Mascis, Shonen Knife, Gang Gang Dance, Boy & Bear, Cloud Nothings, Free Energy, T. Mills, Kendrick Lamar, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Casiokids, Oberhofer, Smif-N-Wessun, Pujol, Zomby, Joker, Painted Palms, Flatliners, Robbers on High Street, Bag Raiders, Young Buffalo, Skeletonwitch, Gary Clark, Jr. and 1, 2, 3.

if you click the links above, you'll see where some of those shows are happening. The previous CMJ announcement is HERE, though collectively that's still not a lot of bands announced by CMJ yet (many more have been announced by venues). Badge info here, but remember if all you want to do is go to shows, you can also just buy tickets to those shows.

Zomby is also playing Glasslands even sooner.

Japanese pop punkers Shonen Knife are celebrating their 30th Anniversary this year with Osaka Ramones: A Tribute to the Ramones. The album features covers of 13 Ramones classics including "Pinhead," "Beat on the Brat," "Psychotherapy," and others, and will be released on July 19 in the US via Good Charamel Records. Pre-order the album and listen to 30-second clips of each song on Good Charamel's website. According to Shonen Knife's Naoko Yamano:

Ramones were my all-time idols since I first heard their music from a radio and rushed to a record shop. This year is the 30th anniversary of Shonen Knife. For celebration, we decided to record a cover album of our favorite band the Ramones. The title is "Osaka Ramones" with our respect. I'm very happy to release an Osaka Ramones project and to recognize their contribution to the evolution of Shonen Knife.

In honor of the album and the band's 30th Anniversary, they will go on a North American tour this fall with support on some of the dates from Shannon & the Clams. The tour hits NYC twice. They play on October 22 at Public Assembly during CMJ towards the beginning of the tour. The band will then cross the country and return to Brooklyn on November 18 at The Bell House. Shannon & the Clams aren't on either of the NYC bills, and at the moment, neither is anyone else. Tickets are on sale now for the Bell House show. No ticket info for Public Assembly has been announced yet.

All tour dates, album preview, tracklist and a live video of "Ramones Forever" into "I Wanna Be Sedated" below...

Continue reading "Shonen Knife releasing Ramones tribute, touring (dates)"

photos by Andrew St. Clair

The Shonen Knife US tour has officially come to a close. Along that tour the peppy and colorful Japanese pop punk band played two NYC shows. The first one was at the Asia Society. Then two days later (9/28) they played Knitting Factory in Brooklyn with Hard Nips and Grooms. Pictures from that show are in this post.

And speaking of Japanese bands, a bunch more notable ones will be hitting NYC this weekend along with Anime Fest. The rest of the country should look out for Peelander-Z (also very colorful) who are on tour now.

More pictures from the Knitting Factory show, with their setlist in Japanese, below...

Continue reading "Shonen Knife, Hard Nips & Grooms @ Knitting Factory (pics) "

words and photos by Dominick Mastrangelo

Japanese trio Shonen Knife performed at the Asia Society Museum on Saturday (9/25) as part of the programming in support of the excellent Yoshitomo Nara exhibit Nobody's Fool that opened earlier this month. Nara designed the cover of their 1998 release, Happy Hour (the original painting hangs in the exhibition), and is a longtime fan of the pop-punk rockers. The band, with new drummer Emi Morimoto, played for about 70 minutes mixing material from a 17-album catalog including songs from their new full-length, Free Time, released in January. Morimoto, along with bassist Ritsuko Taneda and guitarist/lead-singer Naoko Yamano (the only original member left) signed autographs and posed for pictures with some rather passionate fans after the show.

Shonen Knife played a 2nd NYC show at Knitting Factory last night (9/28 - pics on the way) and are on their way to Pop Montreal this weekend as part of their continuing North America tour.

More pictures from the Asia Society Museum below...

Continue reading "Shonen Knife played the Asia Society Museum (pics) "

by BBG

Now that Shonen Knife have revisited their LPs Free Time and 2007's fun! fun! fun! to give them the English workover complete with bonus tracks (order them), the Japanese band are about to invade our shores with their overtly cutesy Japanese pop-punk. The tour kicked off 9/8 in Seattle and will bring the band to NYC on 9/25 at The Asia Society (tickets) and 9/28 at Knitting Factory with Hard Nips and Grooms (tickets). All dates below.

If you can't make it to a show, you can at least pick up the band's new DVD Live At Mohawk Place. The live video was recorded in Buffalo, NY at Mohawk Place and features 18 songs, including one with original member Atsuko, and exclusive interview footage. Order a copy via the label.

Video from that DVD, some other video from two nights ago, and all tour dates are below...

Continue reading "Shonen Knife on tour in support of new stuff (dates) "

Pop Montreal 2009 (more by Ryan Muir)

POP Montreal, sort of like the CMJ of Montreal, but less industry-like, returns for the 9th time from September 29th to October 3rd. Check out the sneak peak of their intial lineup below...

Continue reading "Pop Montreal 2010 dates & initial lineup - includes SWANS"

photos by Liz Pelly

Jeff the Brotherhood are currently on tour with Shonen Knife. Both band played Maxwell's on Saturday, November 15th with Girls At Dawn. One night later (last night) they played at Great Scott in Allston, MA. The pictures, and one video, in this post are from that show.

The killer double bill hits NYC on Tuesday, Nov. 17th (tomorrow) at Brooklyn Bowl. Golden Triangle opens that one (making it a killer triple bill). Tickets are still on sale.

JEFF will also be playing a show at the Mercury Lounge on Monday, December 7th. Tickets go on sale Tuesday, Nov. 17th at noon. That's one day after the brothers, along with Stupid Party, open for Ted Leo and the Pharmacists at Bowery Ballroom (12/8).

All tour dates and more pictures are below...

Continue reading "JEFF the Brotherhood played Maxwell's & Great Scott (pics) w/ Shonen Knife -- Brooklyn Tuesday ++ NYC show added"

Annual Austin music festival Fun Fun Fun Fest lived up to its name once again today (Saturday, November 7th). And that was just Day One. The fun continues on Sunday which ends with a headlining set by Danzig (and Of Montreal on another stage). More coverage and pictures to come, but before I run out to the Saturday night afterparties (going to try and see Voxtrot at Mohawk and Negative Approach at Red 7), I just wanted to post a few pictures. Check them out below...

Continue reading "Fun Fun Fun Fest - Day 1 in pics "

photos by Paul Birman

DOWNLOAD: JEFF the Brotherhood - Bone Jam (MP3)

BV photographer Paul Birman happened to be in Nashville last week (10/13 to be exact) on the same day JEFF the Brotherhood were playing a hometown show at "Glenn Danzig's House" which is literally someone's house, though it doesn't actually belong to Glenn. The bill also included Grooms. The pictures in this post are from that show (and they're continued below)

JEFF the Brotherhood's new album Heavy Days was released the same day on vinyl and as a digital download. Their brand new video (a BV premiere) for the song, "U Got The Look", is below.

Tonight (10/21) JEFF kick-off a NYC-area CMJ run of shows in New Brunswick, NJ. Tomorrow (10/22) they play their first NYC gig at the free BrooklynVegan day party at Pianos. After CMJ they take a short break before heading out on the road with Shonen Knife. They're also back in December to open for Ted Leo at Bowery Ballroom. All dates and more pictures from Nashville, and that new video, below...

Continue reading "JEFF the Brotherhood arrive for CMJ (dates), new album out now +++ pics from Glen Danzig's House ++ new video"

DOWNLOAD: Shonen Knife - Super Group (MP3)

Shonen Knife kick off the North American tour for Super Group (their new album) today (10/16) with a show at Santos Party House. Joining them will be Miho Hatori's New Optimism and Shellshag. Tickets are still on sale.

The rest of the dates for their tour have been greatly updated. Their post-Fun Fun Fun Fest run in November with Jeff the Brotherhood now includes a Saturday, November 14th show at Maxwell's (with Girls At Dawn too). Tickets are on sale. The penultimate date on the tour is a November 18th show at Brooklyn Bowl with Jeff and Golden Triangle. Tickets are up for that.

All updated dates are below...

Continue reading "Shonen Knife kick off tour - updated dates, Santos Friday"

August 25th, 2009 (Austin, TX) - Transmission Entertainment is pleased to announce the lineup for the 2009 Fun Fun Fun Fest, taking place on November 7th and 8th at Waterloo Park in Austin. Fun Fun Fun Fest made its first appearance on a cold Friday evening in 2006, offering a unique approach to festival booking, filling stages with talent bubbling from the underground: what sounded great, and what was making an impact, regardless of what mainstream media said was cool. What started out as a show for a few touring acts and local favorites has become a movement -- a festival that fans and bands alike realize needs to be experienced year after year.

Now in its fourth year, Fun Fun Fun Fest has made a significant impact on the country's winter calendar, successfully combining the vast worlds of indie, punk, rap, electronica and comedy while showcasing some of the city's most unique local businesses.

Greatest. Festival. Ever...

Continue reading "Fun Fun Fun Fest 2009 lineup (Jesus Lizard, Of Montreal, Gorilla Biscuits, LSF, 7 Seconds, D.R.I. & DANZIG!! & more)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: JEFF the Brotherhood - Bone Jam (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: JEFF the Brotherhood - Heavy Damage (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Lovvers - Human Hair (MP3)

As mentioned deep within another post, both JEFF the Brotherhood and Lovvers are both set to play at Union Pool on October 24 as part of a pretty killer CMJ show, along with UUVVWWZ, An Albatross, Dark Meat, Flexions, and ZzZ. So this seemed like a good opportunity to update you on the whereabouts and goings-on of these two bands, both of whom have large upcoming North American tours mapped out. All dates below.

Lovvers (pictured above) have released their debut album, OCD Go Go Girls, in the UK -- no North American date set unfortunately -- and it's a 33-minute blast of garage-y punk, indebted to '80s Twin/Tone and SST (look no further than the album's "d.boon " for proof) as well as the current L.A./The Smell scene. Noisy, but they never forget the tunes. I saw their Cake Shop show last month and they are a bundle of energy and expect you to have fun too: trying to provoke a reaction from solemn, photo-happy girl s standing at the front of the stage, singer Shaun Hencher planted a kiss right on the mouth. (Didn't work unfortunately, she stood there afterwards like it never happened.) Just warning you for when they tour again here in October (they also play Santos on October 20th). You can check out the video for OCD Go Go Girls title track (as well as live footage from the Cake Shop show) further down the post.

Nashville's awesome JEFF the Brotherhood, meanwhile, have managed to finish their album, Heavy Days, despite near constant touring. It pretty much rocks the whole way through, and is indeed heavy (three tracks on the album have that word in the title), sometimes veering into metal territory, then back into driving hard rock, with a little surf and psych in there as well. It's out October 13 on Infinity Cat. I've written about these guys plenty this year, but I will reiterate: Jake and Jamin are great live, so do go see them as they seem to be hitting most of North America between now and November where they'll be touring with Ted Leo, Ty Segall, and Shonen Knife. You can check out two tracks from Heavy Days at the top of this post. Cover art and tracklist along with all dates and videos, below...

Continue reading "Lovvers returning to America, playing Brooklyn (CMJ) w/ JEFF the Brotherhood (new album) - tour dates, MP3, video"

We already know the lineup for Austin's 4th annual Fun Fun Fun Fest on November 7th and 8th will include 7 Seconds, The Jesus Lizard, Red Sparrowes, and Atlas Sound and Broadcast.

FFF's own "Lineup Leaks" page expands upon that list with Why? (whose tour is coming to NYC), GZA, Melt Banana, King Khan & BBQ Show and comedian Todd Barry.

BV would like to further leak that our most-favorite weekend in Austin will also feature sets by Alaska in Winter, Les Savy Fav, comedians Jake Flores, Joe Staats & JT Habersaat, VEGA, Lucero, Metallagher, The Night Marchers (they played Mess With Texas last year at the same venue), and Shonen Knife (part of their large upcoming tour).

Speaking of the Hot Snakes, Obits are scheculed to play the South Street Seaport in NYC tonight (7/31).

The official FFFFest "leak" page includes stage assignments, which are below. We have 2008's FFF Fest in pictures (day one & day two), and you can check out recap videos from 2006 and 2007, also below...

Continue reading "Fun Fun Fun Fest - initial 2009 lineup (includes Les Savy Fav)"

photos by Tim Griffin

DOWNLOAD: Ty Segall - It #1 (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Ty Segall - The Drag (MP3)

Ty Segall is one of many great garage rock acts coming out of San Francisco these days. He recently swung into NYC for a set of dates at the end of June. The pictures here are from his June 27th gig at the Cake Shop w/ Charlie and the Moonhearts and Girls (who also played Mercury Lounge on that trip).

Ty's new, second record, Lemons was released this week on Goner Records. You can peep "It #1" off that, and one track from his debut, above.

Ty's future plans include playing the West Coast portion of Shonen Knife's North American tour in October and November. All tour dates, album art, track list, and pictures from Cake Shop are below...

Continue reading "Ty Segall - album out now, MP3, pics from Cake Shop w/ Girls & Charlie and the Moonhearts"

DOWNLOAD: Shonen Knife - Super Group (MP3)

Good Charamel Records is proud to announce the signing of legendary female Japanese Garage Rockers "SHONEN KNIFE"!

GCR will be releasing their latest recording "Super Group" in August, 2009, with an extensive North American Tour to follow in the Fall.

Please stay tuned for up to the minute details on the release, appearances and the 2009 N.American tour !

That record, Super Group, came out last year in Japan. Shonen Knife's fall tour dates, while not announced in full, are starting to filter in. One confirmed gig will happen on Friday, October 16th at Santos Party House in NYC. Tickets are on sale.

Shonen Knife will be playing a string of their West Coast dates with Ty Segall, and several weeks of shows with JEFF the Brotherhood. The Jeff and Shonen tour dates include a Tuesday, November 17th show planned at the new Brooklyn Bowl. No ticket info for that yet.

JEFF the Brotherhood will also be in NYC even sooner - this week to be exact. Shows are at Death by Audio on July 15th, Cake Shop on the 16th, and "TBA" on the 17th. All dates below.

A video from Shonen Knife announcing the promotion of their touring bassist to "official" member, a clip their new album, and tour dates for the three above-mentioned bands, below...

Continue reading "Shonen Knife - 2009 tour dates (Santos & Brooklyn Bowl, JEFF the Brotherhood & Ty Segall) ++ US album release"

Shonen Knife will be "Back in the U.S.A." in November! Good news for fans, surely - as the #1 Question we get here is "when are they coming back again??!!" The tour will start on the East Coast on November 19... moving to the West Coast & ending in December. Looks like a great tour, Fans! The bassist for the tour will be original Shonen Knife founding member, Atsuko Yamano(!), who is now residing in the U.S. and will be up front again with the band on this tour. This will be the Mega-live Shonen Knife Experience! No information on a U.S. Release of "Fun! Fun! Fun!", as yet - but many of the songs on the initial Japanese release (see the following) are in english, so it is recommended that U.S. Fans secure a copy of the Japanese release!! (You can get the Japanese release at the shows on the tour.

All tour dates below....

Continue reading "Shonen Knife - 2007 Tour Dates"