by Andrew Sacher

Speedy Ortiz at WBAR-B-Q in April (more by Amanda Hatfield)

As mentioned, Northampton, MA's Speedy Ortiz have signed to Carpark Records and will release their debut album, Major Arcana, on June 9 via their new label. The album perfects the formula Speedy Ortiz had on the Sports EP and "Ka-Prow!" 7" and tops both of those releases. That's immediately evident from the album's first single, "Tiger Tank," which starts out like the Speedy Ortiz we're familiar with, but by the chorus is bringing in melodic left-turns and powerful crashes that show how big of a force this band can really be. Listen to the song over at NPR.

As mentioned, Speedy Ortiz have a number of upcoming shows, including a few previously discussed NYC shows on May 17 at Silent Barn with Island Twins, Advaeta, Idiot Genes, and Lunchbox; Cake Shop on May 31 with two great Brooklyn bands Sleepies and Bennio Qwerty; and an unofficial Northside show on June 15 at Big Snow Buffalo Lodge.

The rest of the lineup for that Big Snow show has been announced and it includes Pile and Fat History Month (who just played NYC together), in addition to Two Inch Astronaut, Grass Is Green, Ovlov, Porches., and Hive Bent. The show is being presented by Exploding In Sound Records and Gimme Tinnitus.

Speedy were also since announced for a NYC Popfest show happening on June 1 at Public Assembly with Ringo Deathstarr, Sua, and Advaeta. Advance tickets for that show are on sale now. Popfest was supposed to be on both stages at Public Assembly, but with renovations all the other bands originally booked except Ringo Deathstarr were moved to The Bell House (more on that in a Popfest-specific post coming soon). Festival passes are still accepted.

Updated dates are listed below...

Continue reading "Speedy Ortiz release a song from new LP, playing w/ Ringo Deathstarr, Northside Fest w/ Pile & more (updated dates)"

by Andrew Sacher

Sleepies at Glasslands in January (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Brooklyn punks Sleepies play locally a lot, and they've got more hometown shows coming up with some pretty great lineups. This Tuesday (4/23) at Death by Audio, you can catch them opening for the Merge-signed Barren Girls on their previously announced tour (which also hits Cake Shop on Wednesday with Weird Womb and Prima). Advaeta is on the DBA show too. $7 gets you in at the door.

Sleepies will return to that venue on May 11 to join the previously announced lineup of Fat Creeps, Turnip King, and Zebu. Admission is $7 at the door. Both Turnip King and Fat Creeps have other upcoming NYC shows too.

Sleepies released their newest album, Weird Wild World, back in 2012 via Godmode (part of the Frenchkiss Label Group). It was produced by Ben Greenberg of fellow Brooklyn punks The Men, and along with that band and Nude Beach (who Sleepies have played with), Weird Wild World is one of the better representations of Brooklyn's current punk 'n' roll scene. The album is loaded with memorable tracks that see singer Thomas Seely snarling over huge, brash guitars, sounding fiercely sarcastic when delivering lines like "I take this all VERY seriously." But tracks like "Waste Water" prove they work in calmer settings, too.

You can stream the entire album on Noisey. Check out the music video for "Terra Firma," a live video of the band playing "Setbacks" at Death by Audio, and a stream of "Seriously," below.

Continue reading "upcoming Sleepies shows +++ videos & song streams"

by Andrew Sacher

Speedy Ortiz @ Music Hall of Williamsburg - 4/11/13

Northampton, MA's Speedy Ortiz, who we profiled earlier this year after the release of their very solid Sports EP, are following that with a new 7" on April 30 via Inflated Records. The two tracks on the 7" -- "Ka-Prow!" and "Hexxy" -- were produced by Justin Pizzoferrato who also just produced the Chelsea Light Moving album (Speedy Ortiz have also toured with CLM and currently reside in the same city as Thurston), and their sound works really well with the type of guitar tones that Justin got on the CLM album. You can stream "Ka-Prow!" below and pre-order the 7".

I caught Speedy Ortiz in NYC last night (4/11) at Music Hall of Williamsburg, where they were opening for Marnie Stern and Talk Normal. They're the real deal live, and for a band that you'll usually see in more DIY venues (though maybe not for much longer), they sounded great in a room like MHOW. They do a lot of the loud-quiet-loud thing, and when it's loud, it's loud, with guitarist Matt Robidoux usually attacking his guitar or rubbing the fretboard against whatever he can find on stage. And from the little math rock tendencies they sometimes work in, it's clear that they're all great players too.

Speedy Ortiz have a number of other shows coming up, including some in NYC like the W-BAR-B-Q at Barnard College on April 27 with Waxahatchee, Swearin', Roomrunner, Twin Sister, and others (free). That same day, they'll play a Brooklyn's Shea Stadium with Aye Nako (whose new album comes out soon) and Big Ups (who L Magazine says you need to hear). They also play Silent Barn on May 17, Cake Shop on May 31 with Sleepies, and will be in NYC for Northside Festival.

All dates are listed, along with the song stream, below...

Continue reading "Speedy Ortiz releasing a new 7", played Music Hall of Williamsburg, playing more shows (dates & song stream)"

As mentioned, Beach Fossils' second album is out next week on Captured Tracks but you can stream the whole thing right now, below (via Hype Machine).

You also may know that Beach Fossils play Bowery Ballroom on February 23 to which Mr Dream and Sleepies have been added to that bill and is now sold out. If you missed out on tickets, fear not. The band just announced a show at 285 Kent on March 3 . No openers announced yet but tickets to that show are on sale now.

Album stream below...

Continue reading "Beach Fossils streaming new LP, sold out Bowery Ballroom, add NYC show at 285 Kent (updated dates)"

photos by Amanda Hatfield

Hilly Eye at Glasslands - 1/26/13

Hilly Eye played a record release show for Reasons to Live, which is out now on Don Giovanni, in Brooklyn at Glasslands on Saturday (1/26) with Sleepies and Advaeta. Pictures of all three bands are in this post.

They have other shows coming up including the Don Giovanni Brooklyn showcase in February and they've been added to our BrooklynVegan-presented Thermals show at 285 Kent (3/7), which Habibi will also play. Tickets for that show are still available.

More pictures from Glasslands and an updated list of Hilly Eye dates below...

Continue reading "Hilly Eye played Glasslands w/ Sleepies & Advaeta, added to BV-presented Thermals show (pics, updated dates)"

Broolyn DIY house show space Dead Herring will be no more soon. They announced:

Hey everybody, we're very sad to announce that January is gonna be our last month at Dead Herring. They're raising the rent on us and we can't afford to live here anymore so we're moving on. We're super bummed but also very grateful to everyone who's ever performed here and hung out with us and made the last 6 years here so awesome. Rest assured, we're going out big and we have a ton shows lined up for January. Dead Herring is dead! Viva Dead Herring!

Tickets for the Killing Joke show at Irving Plaza go on sale today at 10 AM.

Tickets are on sale now for the Titus Andronicus show at Glasslands on New Year's Eve. Despite what was originally announced, The So So Glos are not opening.

Ex-Titus member Amy Klein's band Hilly Eye, who play the Brooklyn Don Giovanni showcase in February, play a record release show for their upcoming Reason to Live at Glasslands on January 26 with Sleepies and ADVAETA. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

Tickets are still available for the Fucked Up show at Warsaw on Friday (12/21) with Lemuria, Night Birds, and Parquet Courts.

Tickets for Kim Gordon's project Body/Head's show at Union Pool are on sale now.

Tickets for the Geoff Rickly show at The Studio at Webster Hall with Vinnie Caruana and others are on sale now.

Tickets for the past Geoff Rickly collaborator Tim Kasher shows at Knitting Factory and Maxwell's are on sale now.

Roomrunner at Mercury Lounge in September (more by Tracy Allison)

Baltimore noise punks Roomrunner, who were just in NYC for a few CMJ shows, including one with their sonic brethren METZ, will kick off a tour in NYC at Death by Audio tonight (11/11) with Sleepies and Eula (both of who teamed up as the Pixies for the Halloween covers show at DBA last night), and Big Ups. Roomrunner will return to NYC to open for Future of the Left when their tour hits Knitting Factory on November 27.

A list of all Roomrunner dates, a video of them at Paper Box during CMJ, and a stream of their Super Vague EP, which came out this past May, are below.

Continue reading "Roomrunner kicking off tour in NYC tonight, opening for Future of the Left at Knitting Factory (dates, stream, video)"

Union Pool this AM. Sign reads "Closed! Oh, Sandy!" (photo by Fred Pessaro // BBG)

Are you going stir crazy? Most shows are cancelled, but there are some options in Williamsburg tonight. As of 1PM today (10/30), Union Pool has been open for business. So head on over but remember, only one per bathroom due to excess "debauchery". Jonathan Toubin just tweeted, "@UnionPool & i just decided to throw a FREE party tonight to bring everybody together & make them feel better. i'll turning the soul stuff." UPDATE: here's more info.

Halloween (10/31) is on and poppin' for Union Pool as well, when the venue will host a covers show by the Union Ghouls, that features members of Polygamist, Mutant, Supremacy, Sun Ladders, Weeknight, Reni Lane, Public School, Riverwilde, and Gentlemen. They'll be performing songs by Black Sabbath, Nancy Sinatra, Wire, Suicide, AC/DC, and Celtic Frost. The party is free and starts at 8:30 PM.

Elsewhere in Williamsburg, Glasslands will also be open tonight (10/30) for "The World's Premier Alternative Rock Band Kerosene Hat" that features Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson and members of MGMT, Amazing Baby, Suckers and more is still a go. Heems from Das Racist will DJ. Doors are at 9 PM, $7 to get in.

Glasslands is also throwing a Halloween covers party on Wednesday (10/31) with a bunch of different (surprise) bands playing, choosing songs by:

8:45 GO GO's
9:00 Fleetwod Mac
9:15 Bauhaus
9:30 Stiff little Fingers
9:45 The Stooges
10:00 Led Zeppelin
10:15 Grateful Dead
10:30 Tom Petty
10:45 Mummies
11:00 Gary Puckett & the Union Gap
11:15 The Carrie Nation
11:30 GirlSchool
11:45 Cramps
12:00 BLITZ
12:15 Angry Samoans
12:30 Nirvana
12:45 Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show
1:00 Witchfinder General

Around the corner at Death by Audio, they're also doing a Halloween cover bands show that is still on that features:

Sleepies (w/mem of Eula) as The Pixies
Mr Dream as Siouxsie and the Banshees
Acid Problem as The Ramones
Heavens Gate as Joy Division
The Go-Guh's (mems Moonmen on the Moon, Man, Paper Fleet, I'm With Cupid) as The Go-Go's

Cameo will be open on Halloween too, hosting both Big Terrific comedy show on Wednesday early, and then later The Hold Steady's Dan Neustadt and some of his friends will be covering Michael Jackson's Thriller in its entirety, part of his "Off the Record" series.

Big Freedia at Brooklyn Bowl is also still happening as of this post. Same with World Inferno Friendship Society at Warsaw,

Heliotropes at 480 Pixels party in August, one of many bands who had shows at Delinquency this week, (more by Chris La Putt)

To all Delinquency family, friends, performers, and promoters: We regret to inform that we have been forced to close temporarily and relocate all CMJ shows:(((( Please stay tuned for new show locations. We are supper bummed but will be back in a few weeks to continue spreading the loving party vibes and good times we have all shared this amazing summer. - [Delinquency Facebook]

Tonight's Sleepies, Mr. Dream, Yvette, Alan Watts and Fasano show has been moved to XPO 929 (more info here).

Tuesday's Permanent Wave/Greenpointers Blog/Campers' Rule Records showcase (10/16) with Heliotropes, Leda, Beach Day, Backwords, The Suzan and Easy Lover has been relocated to Public Assembly.

Wednesday's We Listen for You / The Needle Drop / Beats Per Minute day party (10/17) with Dent May, Mac Demarco, Teen Suicide, Poor Lily, The Deloreans, Attic and Abasement has also been moved to Public Assembly

No word yet on where Wednesday night's Mobil party (10/17 with Heems, Sasha Go Hard, Kitty Pryde + more) will end up, or Bird Dog day party on Thursday (10/18 with Ava Luna, Royal Canoe, Fegrus and Geronimo, Murals and more), or the Old Flame Records / Heist or Hit Record day party on Friday (10/19 w/ Caged Animals, Your Youth, Gross Relations and more) but Delinquency has been posting updates on their Facebook.

Brisbane, Australia's Emma Louise will be playing a bunch of shows during CMJ (less than two weeks away) but if you want to catch her earlier than that, she's making her NYC debut at Rockwood Music Hall tonight (10/5) with an early 7:30 set (it's also free).

With her electronic-tinged folk-pop single "Boy" (pretty catchy we admit), Emma Louise has been making waves and you can watch the video for that below. Her 2011 Full Hearts and Empty Rooms EP was reissued by Frenchkiss Records this year and the label will release her new album in early 2013 which "Boy" will be on.

As mentioned above, she'll be here for CMJ and is playing the Frenchkiss Records Showcase at Pianos on October 17 with Devin, Black Light Dinner Party, Chains of Love, Sleepies (tickets); the Paradigm Showcase at Mercury Lounge on October 19 with Savages and more (sold out, but you can try your CMJ badge if you have one); and the Aussie Day BBQ at The Delancey on October 20, with a couple other parties with dates TBA.

Dates and videos below...

Continue reading "Emma Louise released new single, "Boy," making NYC debut tonight and will be here for CMJ (dates, video) "

Big Freedia at Santos in May (more by Chris La Putt)

Big Freedia has been on a tour that was supposed to come to NYC for a Rocks Off cruise in late August, but that show was cancelled due to weather. She's since announced that she'll return to NYC for a show on Halloween (10/31) at Brooklyn Bowl. Tickets for that show are available.

The Big Freedia show is one of many Halloween options in NYC, many of which we've already told you about (like Dita Von Teese who we also mentioned today). Some others that we haven't include the Halloween covers show at Death by Audio with Sleepies (as the Pixies), Mr. Dream (as ?), Acid Problem (as the Ramones), Heaven's Gate (as Joy Division), and more TBA; and the 'Monster Mash 7 Halloween Party' at Glasslands, which is being presented by New York Night Train (Jonathan Toubin's NYC dance party) and Alana Amram with DJ Naughty Panther. According to the event page, the "musical guests" are "Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, Abba, 60s Girl Group, 90s Medley, The Cramps, New Order, and more." Tickets for that show are available. Any other good ones that we missed?

A list of all Big Freedia dates is below...

Continue reading "Big Freedia playing one of this year's many Halloween shows"

Nude Beach at 285 Kent (more by Fred Pessaro // BBG)

Nude Beach's album II gets it's Other Music Recording Company re-release this week and with it a couple parties. The band play Other Music tonight (8/13) at 8PM which is FREE but limited capacity, followed by a show at Union Pool on Thursday (8/16) with Swearin', Golden Clouds and Yogurt Brain. If you haven't heard the album -- which came out in limited release earlier this year -- it's recommended for fans of The Replacements, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, Big Star and melodic punk with a dash of Americana. Stream it all at Spin.

In true Nude Beach fashion, the band has packed in yet another show, this time scheduled for the end of the summer at Death by Audio on August 29 with Naomi Punk, Sleepies and Shoxx.

Full tour dates are below, along with some Nude Beach II streams. West coasters and homies in the Rocky Mountains, look out for the band this fall... details forthwith. UPDATE, West coast/Midwest dates added.

Continue reading "Nude Beach re-releasing 'II' this week, playing shows (dates)"

photos by Amanda Hatfield, words by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Allo Darlin' - Dreaming (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Allo Darlin' - My Heart is a Drummer (MP3)

The Woods

Allo Darlin only played two shows during CMJ (their guitarist had to fly back to England for a wedding on Friday) and suffered dual indignaties last Thursday: the atrocious sound at The Woods for their day show and then having to play Kenny's Castaways.  I thought Elizabeth Morris was going to kill the sound guy at the Woods, but they persevered despite the omnipresent feedback.

They're back this Saturday, playing The Rock Shop as part of the Mondo! Halloween Party. They go on at 11pm - it's dj's the rest of the night (costumes encouraged). I know Saturday is main party night for Halloween stuff, but make room for this if you can. The band just released a new video for single "My Heart is a Drummer" which you can watch at the bottom of this post. Their debut album just got its North American release a couple weeks ago and you should definitely pick it up. And definitely definitely go see them. Hopefully they'll be back sooner than later.

Another set of pictures from the Woods show, continues below...

Continue reading "Allo Darlin' were here, coming back soon (more pics from the Woods, Mondo Halloween party reminder) "

photos by Chris La Putt, words by Rachel Kowal

Allo Darlin' @ The Woods

For me, day three of CMJ started at The Woods. With so much opportunity to see a good number of the bands featured in CMJ year round (sooo many Brooklyn bands), it's always not a bad idea to make an effort to see out-of-town bands, and The Woods were showcasing at least a couple - Hedgehog (China) and Allo Darlin' (UK).

I arrived in time to see about half of Hedgehog's set. Despite their cute name (and their adorable drummer, Atom), Hedgehog delivered a pretty raucous set. Though the kit may obscure nearly all of the tiny drummer, she propels the music with a fierce intensity. (In my slightly delusional state of sleep deprivation, I admit I had fantasies of Atom teaming up with Marissa Paternoster and starting a tiny girl super group.)

I had been looking forward to checking out Dream Diary, but apparently the set times had become somewhat jumbled, and we got Sleepies instead. Perhaps also frustrated with the change of lineup (or just craving a taco), the room was nearly empty for Sleepies' set, and even one of the members joked that they should just all go across town to see Surfer Blood. Yikes.

My main reason for heading over to The Woods was to check out Allo Darlin.' Since Sleepies' set was only 20 minutes long, we were somehow running ahead of schedule (a first for CMJ?), so Allo Darlin' actually got to do a soundcheck. Ironically, they also suffered the most from technical problems. Their set started out fine enough (so the vocals were too low... what's new?), but things got out of control pretty quickly. Let's just say the sound guy was lucky to be hiding behind a large plant (what?). Allo Darlin' were understanding to a point, but clearly grew frustrated by the problems and the lengthy break during their show. Despite the setbacks, it was still nearly impossible to refrain from smiling (at least when they were actually playing). If the number of photographers present is any indication of a band's promise, then the blogosphere must be expecting big things from Allo Darlin' - as their singer Elizabeth Morris pointed out, nearly everyone in the room had a camera. If you missed them at this or their only other CMJ show, catch them now on their tour that includes the Mondo Halloween Party at The Rock Shop in Brooklyn on October 30 (tickets are on sale).

From there it was a brief respite from music to attend my first CMJ party, an NPR Music-sponsored event. (Oh hi, Laura Gibson. Fancy meeting you here.), and then it was off to Mercury Lounge for The Extra Lens.

More pictures from the Impose/Pop Jew show at The Woods, including bands not mentioned in the review (The Othermen and Bright Lights), and a Bleary Eyed Brooklyn video from the show, below...

Continue reading "Allo Darlin', Hedgehog & others played the Woods (CMJ pics) "