photos by Amanda Hatfield

Death at BrooklynVegan SXSW party - 3/15/13

Rediscovered Detroit protopunk legends Death are still around, and as they mentioned at our BrooklynVegan Thursday SXSW party, they've got a new album coming out this year. Though details on that album are still sparse, we'll most likely get a chance to hear some of the material when they play a one-off in NYC on July 1 at Le Poisson Rouge. Tickets for that show are not on sale yet but check LPR's site for updates.

UPDATE: Tickets are on sale now. Rough Francis and The Everymen open the show.

At our SXSW party, Death played our punk-oriented stage which also included sets from Cloud Nothings, METZ, The Spits, Milk Music, Single Mothers, and Rough Francis (whose lineup features sons of the members of Death). A belated set of pictures of Death and all the other bands on that stage is in this post.

More pictures, and a full stream of Death's 1974-recorded, 2009-released For The Whole World To See, below...

Continue reading "Death playing a one-off at Le Poisson Rouge +++ belated pics from their BV-SXSW show w/ Single Mothers, Milk Music, more"

photos by Sarah Frankie Linder

Beach Fossils/The Spits/Parenthetical Girls

The second of our four SXSW day parties at connected Austin venues The Main and The Jr. happened Thursday (3/15). In addition to Cloud Nothings' joyously raucous set, The Main was fairly wild all day. We got reunited Detroit protopunk legends Death, fellow Micheganites The Spits, Pacific Northwest fuzz-freaks Milk Music, highly-excitable Canadians METZ, plus Rough Francis and Single Mothers.

Meanwhile on The Jr. stage, things were a little more indie, with a double shot headlinging sets from two Captured Tracks bands, Widowspeak and Beach Fossils. Not to mention: Dutch artist Jacco Gardner made amazingly precise recreations of late-'60s baroque pysche pop; Scotland's PAWS did raw-throated, seriously catchy yell-alongs; Parenthetical Girls kept Austin strange during their mesmerizing set; Toronto's Moon King gave a dose of shoegaze; plus Japanese singer-songwriter Shugo Tokumaru and the folky sounds of J. Thoven. What a day!

For those reading this in NYC, don't forget Parenthetical Girls play Glasslands on March 25 (tickets) and Bowery Electric on March 26 (tickets); and Jacco Gardner plays Mercury Lounge on March 23 with his Trouble in Mind labelmates Mmoss (tickets)

In addition to the music, Onkyo was there, sampling their new headphones which hit stores next month. mophie, maker of invaluable iPhone chargers, were giving away discount cards good at their pop-up shop which was set up right across the street on Red River.. We were also serving complimentary Jameson, and Zico coconut water, free vegan queso and chips from Food For Lovers, and free vegan breakfast tacos from Pink Avocado. We also had BrooklynVegan t-shirts for the first 50 people in the door, thanks to American Apparel. Also thanks to our other sponsors, Korg, Vox, Blackstar, Creative Recreation, Signazon, Mirrored Media, ASCAP, and Redigi.

Our free Friday day party at The Main and The Jr. just got underway. The Main stage will be crowded for 20-something headliners The Polyphonic Spree, and that side will also have sets from Akron/Family, The Thermals, Shout Out Louds, Diamond Rings, TOY, and Half Moon Run.

The Jr. stage today is curated by out loud brethren at Invisible Oranges, with Today is the Day, Pallbearer, Royal Thunder, Inter Arma Batillus, and Babtists.

Then tonight is the official BrooklynVegan showcase at Maggie Mae's Rooftop with 3421, Brooke Candy, Giraffage, Man Without Country, Mykki Blanco, Pictureplane, The Underachievers, XXYYXX, and Zebra Katz. If you're in Austin, come on down!

More pics from Thursday's day party are below.

Continue reading "BrooklynVegan SXSW Thursday day party in pics (METZ, Beach Fossils, Widowspeak, Parenthetical Girls, Spits + more)"

by Bill Pearis, Fred Pessaro and Andrew Sacher

Savages @ CMJ 2012 (more by Dominick Mastrangelo)

SXSW gets underway today (3/13) in earnest, with 83,207 bands* playing SXSW this year. Trying to figure out who to see can be an overwhelming feeling. (Actually, just standing on 6th St. on Friday night is an overwhelming feeling.) Hopefully this post will give you some inspiration if you're among the throngs of people. Or maybe just some new stuff to listen to if you're not there.

Of course you could just hang out at all our day parties (our first starts at noon today!) and evening showcases, as we're really proud of our line-ups. But there are bands who we are pumped to see who aren't playing too. So here are 40 bands we're genuinely pumped to see in Austin this week. We made a Spotify playlist of all the bands (at least the ones on the service) you can stream below.

Check out our list below...

*not the actually number of showcasing bands. But it feels accurate.

Continue reading "40 artists we're excited to see at SXSW"

As you know, BrooklynVegan is returning to Austin for SXSW this year and throwing four days of day parties at The Main & The Jr aka 603 Red River Street at the corner of 6th aka the old Emo's location. Those happen Wed (3/13), Thurs, Fri and Saturday (3/16). All shows are 100% FREE with RSVP.

We announced the Saturday lineup, and then the Friday lineup, and now HERE IS THURSDAY...

Continue reading "BrooklynVegan free SXSW 2013 Thursday day party lineup (Cloud Nothings, Death, Parenthetical Girls, Widowspeak, METZ, Beach Fossils, Milk Music, Spits, Single Mothers & 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"

Frightened Rabbit @ T5, Nov. 2010 (more by Lionel Bergeron)

SXSW has just announced another round of bands for the 2013 edition of the annual music festival that will happen March 12 - 17. This brings the total current number of acts to around 1300. Someome of the highlights include Vampire Weekend, Frightened Rabbit, The Thermals, Black Lips, Camera Obscura, Merchandise, Bleached, Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire, Eagles of Death Metal, Parenthetical Girls, Indians, Night Beds, IO Echo, KEN Mode, Prince Paul, Pure Bathing Culture, Sepalcure, UK motorik post-punks TOY, Finnish instrumentalists K-X-P, Toronto's Moon King, UK indie rockers Splashh (not Brooklyn Splash with one "h") and loads more. Head to BV Austin for the whole Round 3 list.

Quicksand at Bowery Ballroom in August (more by Fred Pessaro)

As mentioned, Quicksand are going on a full reunion tour this month which culminates in the band's hometown of NYC on January 30 and 31 at Webster Hall. Quicksand have tapped some pretty great bands to support them on the tour. Single Mothers will open the first leg, followed Title FIght joining Quicksand for a number of dates, and Cymbals Eat Guitars will open the last four dates, including both NYC shows. The first NYC show is long sold out but tickets for the second night are still available.

Meanwhile, Single Mothers have many other 2013 tour dates including a NYC show on March 2 at The Studio at Webster Hall with Big Ups and special guests. Tickets for that show are still available.

An updated list of dates with openers below...

Continue reading "Cymbals Eat Guitars opening for Quicksand (updated dates)"

by Fred Pessaro // BBG

Now that their recent tour with Title Fight has drawn to a close (they played Bowery Ballroom in November), Canada's Single Mothers are scheduling dates in the new year as part of a campaign toward SXSW. So far dates are spotty, but look for the band to hit in NYC on March 2 at The Studio at Webster Hall. Tickets go on sale Saturday (12/15) at 9AM.

Another date of note in that recently announced set is part of Fucked Up's Long Winter series, monthly shows in Toronto that last until February. The band will join Fucked Up (who also play Warsaw next week) as well as Absolutely Free, The Highest Order, Dusted, Marine Dreams vs The Weather Station, Laura Barrett and Kristian Pedersen at The Great Hall on 12/14. This all-ages event will feature "immersive and interactive music, installations, visual art, readings, food and dance" and is "pay what you can."

Single Mothers released their self-titled EP late last year which you can stream below.

In related news, Fucked Up have a new video for "Inside a Frame" which you can watch below alongside the Single Mothers stream and a list of all dates.

Continue reading "Single Mothers touring in 2013, playing SXSW & NYC (dates); playing festival curated by Fucked Up (who have a new vid) "

by Andrew Sacher

Title Fight at Bowery Ballroom - 11/29/12 (via BrooklynVegan Instagram)

Kingston, PA punks Title Fight came to NYC for a sold out Bowery Ballroom show last night (11/29), the second to last night of their tour with Pianos Become the Teeth, SIngle Mothers, and Tigers Jaw, which wraps up in Philly tonight. The band have done some branching out from the straight ahead punk of their early days on their new record, Floral Green, and that was immediately evident last night, having opened the show with the Hum-esque "Head in the Ceiling Fan." The results of that new album have been great -- they've gained new audiences and if you ask me, Floral Green is by far the best thing the band has done to date.

But new levels of success and a growth in sound haven't tainted the band's young punk spirit a bit. They put every ounce of blood in their body into last night's show and the crowd reciprocated. They churned out rockers like "Secret Society," "Frown," and "Leaf" to raised fists, shout-alongs, and flocks of people rushing the stage. And though I mentioned that I think the new songs are their best yet, when they played older cuts "Symmetry" and "27," the floor opened up and people went apeshit. Naysayers may argue that Title Fight just sound like Hot Water Music and Braid (and they do sound like those bands), but when your music is as genuine and emotionally charged as theirs, it's too hard to ignore.

Baltimore screamo band Pianos Become the Teeth delivered a solid set as usual too, but the openers that impressed me the most were Ontario's Single Mothers. The band have been getting a bit of hype lately for their recently released self titled EP, but despite that, they bashed around on stage without any sense of entitlement. Their frontman (who sounds like a mix of Craig Finn and A-B Life-era Aaron Weiss) kept encouraging the crowd to go as nuts as he and the rest of the band were on stage. And to back his abrasive/flamboyant charisma, the rest of the band packed a huge punch of Dischord/SST post-hardcore n' roll, not unlike another hot new band, METZ.

Videos of Title Fight, Single Mothers, and Pianos Become the Teeth's full sets at their California shows, (via Cavis Tapes) are below.

Continue reading "Title Fight, Single Mothers, Pianos Become the Teeth and more played Bowery Ballroom (review + videos from CA)"

Assuming this isn't a joke, this copy of Title Fight's Floral Green currently has bids of $50k with less than 12 hours to go. The record was one of a run of 150 (#45 to be exact) and dropped less than two weeks ago at the band's record release party on 10/19 in Warrior Run. PA. If that sounds like a lot, please keep in mind there's free shipping on this item.

The band is currently on tour with Pianos Become the Teeth and Single Mothers, and have a clear tour pressing of the Secret Society 7" available at the merch table. 400 copies made, so pick one up and maybe you can get that Porsche you always wanted. NYCers can get their copy at Bowery Ballroom on November 29 (tickets).

Ontario punks Single Mothers just made a video for "Baby," the final track on their self titled EP, which dropped in 2011. The clip, directed and edited by Brittany Nichole Farhat, splices together black and white live footage of the band with bleak images and several appearances of the word "baby." At around 49 seconds in, you'll see Touche Amore frontman Jeremy Bolm (whose Deathwish imprint, Secret Voice, Single Mothers is signed to) in the crowd singing along. You can watch it below.

As mentioned, the band will hit the road this fall with Title Fight (whose new album, Floral Green, is streaming on Spinner) and Pianos Become the Teeth. The tour hits NYC on November 29 at Bowery Ballroom. Tickets for that show are still available.

Single Mothers also recorded a Daytrotter session, which was posted this past Friday (9/14). You can listen to that HERE.

Video is below.

Continue reading "Single Mothers made a video for "Baby" (watch)"

by Andrew Sacher

Title Fight

Title Fight, Pianos Become the Teeth, and Canada's Single Mothers (who we first wrote about HERE) all pull from different aspects of the post-hardcore genre, and the three bands will be bringing their individual stylings on tour together this fall. From Title Fight, expect it of the raspy-voiced Hot Water Music-esque variety, where Pianos Become the Teeth will bring soaring, post-rock-infused hardcore, and Single Mothers' Americana punk isn't too far removed from a heavier Hold Steady. You can catch the three bands in NYC when the tour hits Bowery Ballroom on November 29. Tickets are not on sale yet but check ticketmaster for updates. Tigers Jaw is also on the bill. A list of all dates and the tour flier are below.

Title Fight are also set to release their new album, Floral Green, on September 18 via SideOneDummy. You can check out the video for the album's single, "Head In The Ceiling Fan," below, where you can also download the song in exchange for your email.

A list of all dates, tour flier, that video and widget are below.

Continue reading "Title Fight releasing new LP, touring w/ Pianos Become the Teeth & Single Mothers (dates & video)"

by BBG

Craig Finn of The Hold Steady has blessed his tracks with tons of punk rock anecdotes over the years, but what would happen if he went back to the genre? Single Mothers might be that band, fusing Americana staples like Bruce Springsteen with wild and raucous punk rock on their latest Wild Party EP and self-titled EP, both of which you can stream below. The band recently signed to Secret Voice, the imprint of Jeremy of Touche Amore (who plays NYC soon).

Single Mothers is currently on the road with She Rides, and will play a pair of NYC shows starting tonight (6/28) at Death By Audio with The Greek Favourites and Trenchfoot, and again at Friendship Fest at Suburbia (330 Melrose Street in Brooklyn) the next day (6/29). Friendship Fest is a multi day, two-venue festival that kicks off tonight and goes down at both Suburbia and McKibbin Lofts (255 Mckibbin Street) and features 25+ bands over three days. Full lineup is below and tickets are still available.

All tour dates, streams and the Friendshipfest lineup is below.

Continue reading "Single Mothers on tour, playing tonight at Death by Audio and Friendship Fest this weekend"