words & photos by Dominick Mastrangelo, more words by Zach Pollack

Ra Ra Riot

Ra Ra Riot played to a sold-out crowd at the Howard Gilman Opera House in Brooklyn on Friday (2/5). The Syracuse-based band played an energetic set and threw in a couple of Kate Bush covers (finishing the show with "Hounds Of Love".) "Suspended in Gaffa" appeared on 2008's critically acclaimed The Rhumb Line of which the band played all of its songs.

The Antlers, architects of one of last year's critically acclaimed records, Hospice, opened with a taut, haunting set, placed in stark contrast to the headliner's flowing, uptempo pop songs. - Dominick

Peter Silberman, Michael Lerner, and Darby Cicci collectively known as The Antlers took the stage at BAM's Howard Gilman Opera House at a prompt 8:10pm. This kicked off the 4th night of BAM's Sounds Like Brooklyn Festival. Silberman commanded audience attention with his sweeping falsettos, and impressive guitar tones coming from his daisy chain of pedals. They had a two man horn section join them (Tim Cronin and Jon Natchez), adding depth to their already dense sound. The band's set largely consisted of songs off of Hospice.

Ra Ra Riot headlined the show, featuring a string quartet and a four man horn section. The band sounded impeccable live, and carried though their set with the poise, grace, and energy of a well practiced rock band. In four short years since forming the band Ra Ra Riot has grown a large fan base, which was certainly apparent at The Howard Gilman Opera House Friday night. Cellist Alexandra Lawn and violinist Rebecca Zeller add to the already dense rhythms of the band with their sweeping string section.

Friday night's show was the third and last 'Sounds Like Brooklyn' show at BAM this year. The first two were Les Savy Fav / Vivian Girls and Rain Machine / Anti-Pop Consortium. More pictures from Ra Ra / Antlers, below...

Continue reading "The Antlers & Ra Ra Riot played BAM (pics)"

The Antlers @ City Winery in Jan (more by Tim Griffin)

Tune-Yards @ MHOW in Nov (more by Ryan Muir)

tonight in NYC
* Aziz Ansari @ Comix
* Baby Dee @ The Stone
* Blockhead @ Mercury Lounge
* Lez Zeppelin @ Gramercy Theater
* Anti-Flag @ Starland Ballroom
* The Soft Pack @ Cake Shop (Late Show)
* Delta Spirit, The Willowz @ Union Hall
* Hot Chip, Free Energy @ Highline Ballroom
* Future Lives, War Party, Erostratus @ Union Pool
* Josh Rouse, Christina Courtin @ (Le) Poisson Rouge
* We Are Wolves @ The Studio at Webster Hall (Late Show)
* Saxon Shore, American Dollar @ Knitting Factory Brooklyn
* Sightings, Queening, Rrind, Miami Nights @ Death By Audio
* Those Darlins, The So So Glos, Pine Hill Haints @ Bowery Ballroom
* MOPDTK, Pink Noise @ Zebulon (BAM's Sounds Like Brooklyn Festival)
* Unsound w/ Carl Craig, nsi. @ Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center
* Tanlines, Acrylics @ Brooklyn Bowl (BAM's Sounds Like Brooklyn Festival)
* Morgues, Ryan Scott @ Petes Candy Store (BAM Sounds Like Brooklyn Festival)
* Neon Indian, Teengirl Fantasy, Beach Fossils, Adventure, Blissed Out @MarketHotel
* The Prigs, The Woes, Kagero, Daniel Wayne @ Southpaw (BAM's Sounds Like Brooklyn Festival)
* Keepaway, Oberhofer, Radical Dads, Queen of Quartz @ The Studio at Webster Hall
* tUnE-YaRds, Takka Takka, A Rose Parade @ The Bell House (BAM's Sounds Like Brooklyn Festival)
* Ra Ra Riot, The Antlers @ BAM Howard Gilman Opera House(BAM's Sounds Like Brooklyn Festival)
* The Metrosonics, Jean Grae, Rich Medina, Scribe, Chela @ Littlefield (BAM's Sounds Like Brooklyn Festival)
* Scott Fragala, The Debutant Hour, Ching Chong Song, The Wowz, Huggabroomstick, Marionettes From Hell @ Goodbye Blue Monday (BAM's Sounds Like Brooklyn Festival)

The Unsound Festival continues.

"Sounds Like Brooklyn" runs all weekend at various Brooklyn venues. The final 'big' show is the Ra Ra Riot / Antlers gig at BAM tonight.

Sourvein has cancelled their show at The Charleston tonight.

Aziz Ansari does 8 shows at Comix this week.

Those Darlins play Bowery Ballroom tonight.

Tune-Yards plays The Bell House tonight.

Blockhead plays Mercury Lounge tonight.

Tonight's Hot Chip / Free Energy show is free and first-come, first served.

St. Vincent's new video for "Laugh­ing With A Mouth Of Blood" is below.

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Friday?"

photos by Vincent Cornelli

Rain Machine @ BAM's Howard Gilman Opera House

post-show: still smitten with kyp. he was great. funny and personable and best alone on stage (esp. with howler monkey backup chick with them? yeesh) AND anti-pop consortium killed it. they were so good. i kind of felt bad for them, though; sitting at shows is weird which is the one reason i'm not more of a fan of seeing concerts like that at bam, and it must be double weird for a bunch of rappers up on stage to be performing in front of an awkwardly seated audience. no matter, though, their energy was great and it made me like the new album even more. [The Vagabond]

The above review is of Rain Machine's Satureday night (January 30th) Sounds Like Brooklyn show at BAM's Howard Gilman Opera House with Anti-Pop Consortium. Les Savy Fav and Vivian Girls kicked off the fest (which has shows through February 6th) at the venue the night before (1/29).

Kyp & Co. recently stopped by Daytrotter to play song's off the Rain Machine debut, which came out on Anti- in September.

Though Kyp and the rest of TV on the Radio are still taking a break, Iran, a group fronted by filmmaker Aaron Aites that sometimes includes Kyp, has an upcoming show. They'll be playing at Knitting Factory on Thursday, March 11th with Arbouretum. Tickets are on sale.

More pictures from the BAM show are below...

Continue reading "Rain Machine & Anti-Pop Consortium played BAM Opera House (pics), Iran Playing Knitting Factory"

by BBG

DOWNLOAD: Saxon Shore - "This Place" (MP3)

Saxon Shore (photo by Geordy Peterson)

American post-rockers Saxon Shore hit back. It Doesn't Matter, the quintet's follow-up to 2005's The Exquisite Death of Saxon Shore is a welcome return to form for the band and their original leader Matthew Doty.

Having gone through a long period of upheaval - be it line-up changes and relocations - the band spent four solid years as a unit before plucking up the courage to hit the Tarbox Road Studios Cabin out in Cassadega, New York.

Apt then, that the unearthing of It Doesn't Matter follows a line of melodic delicacy that recent post-rock efforts appear to have departed. Album opener "Nothing Changes" rocks gently into the onslaught of feedback drenched guitars while 'Bar Clearing Good Times' maintains an unexpected steadiness that other same-vein bands like Explosions In The Sky often make the habit of breaking from. -[Altsounds]

Saxon Shore released their gorgeous Dave Fridmann-produced LP It Doesn't Really Matter last year. The song "This Place" from that album is available for download above. You can catch the band live (their only upcoming scheduled show) at the Knit on 2/5 as part of the Sounds Like Brooklyn Festival put on by BAM ("60+ shows. 15 venues. 2 weekends. Celebrating Brooklyn's best music and bands with shows throughout the borough.") American Dollar and The Abbasi Brothers open the NYC show. Tickets are on sale.

Les Savy Fav @ BAM - 1/29/10 (photo by Steven P. Marsh)

'Sounds like Brooklyn' kicked off last night (1/29) at BAM (the only venue hosting shows during this first weekend of the fest) with Les Savy Fav and Vivian Girls...

"To my surprise, [Les Savy Fav] played very tight rhythms that zagged all over the place but were not sloppy. I was reminded of times I had seen Modest Mouse, Built To Spill or The Flaming Lips, with the music being loose and jangly, yet deliberate and well-crafted at the same time. The band itself held my interest quite well, as they played the straight men to the antics of Harrington, who, instead of being a distraction, complemented the instruments rather well, reminding me at times of Jello Biafra with his voice and dialogue with the audience. Yes, he was a crazy looking fat dude running all over the stage and into the crowd, but his angry-goofy-gibberish song rants, energy, enthusiasm and sheer earnestness overcame my pre-judgment. At the start of LSF's set, Harrington dropped into the crowd beckoning people to stand, and it ended up being the right thing to do. Despite the opera house setting with assigned seating, it quickly became apparent that it would take a lot more than that to contain the force that is Les Savy Fav." [Qbertplaya]

The fest continues tonight (1/30) at the same venue with a show by Rain Machine and Anti-Pop Consortium. Tickets are still available. The Antlers and Ra Ra Riot play the opera house venue on February 5th.

The full Sounds Like Brooklyn schedule, along with a Les Savy Fav video from last night, below...

Continue reading "Les Savy Fav played BAM, Saxon Shore playing the Knit, 'Sounds Like Brooklyn' underway - full schedule & more "

Les Savy Fav rides the ladder at Fun Fun Fun Fest (more)

"Launched in 2007, Sounds Like Brooklyn Music Festival (formerly known as Brooklyn Next) is BAM's annual showcase of the some of the most innovative music coming out of the borough. The program features concerts in the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, BAMcafé, and partner venues around Brooklyn that highlight the breadth and depth of music produced by Brooklyn artists working in jazz, hip-hop, rock, electronic, brass band, and every other hybrid genre in between. As a vehicle for artist development, Sounds Like Brooklyn focuses on emerging and mid-career musicians working at the intersection of innovation and tradition."

BAM's Sounds Like Brooklyn Festival will be happening this year January 29-30 and February 4-6 at BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, BAMcafé and other venues around town. Last year's lineup included Beirut, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Japanther. This year's shows include Les Savy Fav, Vivian Girls, Rain Machine, Anti-Pop Consortium, Ra Ra Riot and The Antlers. Tickets go on sale Monday, December 14th (or today, 12/9, for Friends of BAM). Full lineup and more info below...

Continue reading "Les Savy Fav, Antlers, Vivian Girls, Ra Ra Riot & more playing 2010 BAM Sounds Like Brooklyn shows"

DOWNLOAD: Harlem Shakes - Strictly Game (MP3)

"Technicolor Health was made after and during some tough times (involving serious sickness) for the [Harlem Shakes]. The record captures the weary, hopeful, and sometimes triumphal vibe of that period in their lives. Above all, the album is about surviving abject shittiness. But it's also about what new-wave bands and new-wave revival bands call, "modern life," as lived by five thoughtful men in their early and mid-twenties during a weird, sometimes miserable, mostly thrilling historical moment. Harlem Shakes have been obsessed by pop music their whole lives, and after all the reiterations, they still have great faith in its power to make you and them feel a little better about things, and to say something vital, and God willing, maybe even enduring."

Technicolor Health is a really good album. Gigantic Music doesn't release it until March 24th, but you can (legally) download one of the tracks from the album above. It's the same song they're currently streaming at their MySpace.

On February 24th Harlem Shakes leave on tour with Tokyo Police Club. February 25th, one day later, is the NYC show at Webster Hall that Born Ruffians are also playing. Tickets are still on sale. You don't have to wait that long to see HS though. They're also playing this Saturday night, February 14th, Valentine's Day, at Southpaw with Shilpa Ray and Phil and the Osophers. It's a late show. You can go to dinner and be done with Valentine's Day before doors even open at 10PM. The early show in the same venue is the one Jennifer O'Connor is playing with Mascott. And like tonight's Motel Motel / Holly Miranda show at the same venue, it's part of the Sounds Like Brooklyn festival (as is the Clap Your Hands Say Yeah / Chairlift show tonight at BAM).

Harlem Shakes are also playing a few shows with Bell XI in March. Tickets are on sale for a March 14th show at Highline Ballroom. All dates below...

Continue reading "Harlem Shakes - 2009 Tour Dates, a new MP3, a new album"

photos by Ryan Muir

Holly Miranda @ Zebulon

Holly Miranda, known most for her part in the Jealous Girlfriends, has at least four NYC shows coming up. Tonight (2/13) you can catch her at Southpaw, part of the Sounds Like Brooklyn Festival, with Motel Motel, The Canon Logic, and Ro Agents.

Wednesday (2/18) she opens for White Rabbits at the the first of their two shows at Mercury Lounge. Tickets are on sale. Ravens & Chimes are also on that bill. Bell and Polite Sleeper are the White Rabbits openers on Thursday.

Fast forward a month: Thursday March 12th you can catch Holly at Zebulon in Brooklyn (that's the venue I last saw her in, and where the pictures in this post came from). Tall Firs and Sharon Van Etten are also on that solid bill.

A month after that: Holly Miranda is opening for Nada Surf at the Bell House on April 15th. Tickets are not yet on sale.

Holly has a solo album coming out some time soon (probably when she finds a label to release it) . It was produced by TV On the Radio's Dave Sitek and Celebration's Katrina Ford. Holly said,

..its been a truly magical journey and a family affair, for sure. between katrina and dave producing, sean (of celebration) playing everything with ivory (including a pipe organ in baltimore we sent him to with a midi recorder), stewart and eric (from antibalas) killing it with the sax, trumpet and clarinet, and i think by the time we are done every member of tv on the radio will appear on the album..how sweet is that. plus katrina and i sing two songs together. OH and brendan (from ludlow lions) sings and plays on 'forest green oh forest green' ( a song we wrote together years ago)... there may still be a few guest appearances still to come.

More pictures and all dates below...

Continue reading "Nada Surf playing Bell House & other HOLLY MIRANDA shows"

Golem

caUSE co-MOTION! @ Market Hotel (more by Ryan Muir)

today in NYC
* Fashion Week
* Skeletons & Zs @ Zebulon
* Gil Scott Heron @ SOB's
* The So So Glos @ Crash Mansion
* Diane Cluck & Dufus @ Union Pool
* Action Painters, Mussels, Aa & Fiasco @ Southpaw
* Lambchop & Twi the Humble Feather @ Bowery Ballroom
* Golem & the Sway Machinery @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* The Cinematic Orchestra playing a movie score @ World Financial Center
* Woodhands, Love Like Deloreans, Ava Luna, & Blip Blip Bleep @ Death By Audio
* Mr. Falcon, Right on Dynamite, caUSE co-MOTION!, Rooftop Vigilantes & Beachniks @ Cake Shop

BAM's Sounds Like Brooklyn festival is this weekend. Most of the shows tonight, Friday and Saturday at BAM, Monkey Town, The Bell House, Union Hall, Goodbyle Blue Monday, Southpaw, Zebulon, Sputnik, Le Grand Dakar, Chief Bodega, Solomon's Porch, and Pete's Candy Store fall under that umbrella.

The So So Glos are also playing The Castle in Hell on Friday.

Rufus, Fat Mike and Darla on Pancake Mountain, in the video below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Thursday?"

words & photos by Jonny Leather

DOWNLOAD: Motel Motel - Coffee (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Motel Motel - Harlem (MP3)

If I had a reputation to gamble, I'd put it all on Motel Motel. I've said it all before, but this is a gifted band which equals the sum of all its parts. Each of the 5 members is a technically efficient musician that brings in different tastes and ideas. That in itself is the foundation for a good band with a unique sound. You put 5 guys influenced by the Pixies together, and you're gonna get a band sounding remarkably inspired by the Pixies. Motel Motel, on the other hand has influences all over the map, most noticeably classic folk, indie rock and even a bit of punk rock.

I've seen them quite a few times now, and every time I'm just a bit more blown away at their compositions. With each performance they seem to get tighter, and seem to add something else to make their songs even grander. Their first album "New Denver" was a great record, pretty much overlooked by the music media, but the new songs they are introducing to their sets are even more dynamic and ambitious. The guitars are bigger, the lyrics smarter, and they've very intelligently brought vocal harmonies into the mix.

Saturday night (1/31) they played Market Hotel in Brooklyn and just as always they played with a refreshing enthusiasm, taking a break midway through the set to wish guitarist Mickey Theis a happy birthday with a lit birthday cake.

While they haven't yet gotten the praise they deserve, 2009 could definitely see that change. Their next NYC show is February 13th at Southpaw - part of the BAM Sounds Like Brooklyn festival happening at multiple venues in the borough. The Canon Logic and Holly Miranda are also on that bill. More Motel Motel Market Hotel pictures, and a couple more dates, below...

Continue reading "Motel Motel - Market Hotel pics, MP3s & some more shows "

DOWNLOAD: Skeletons - The Things (MP3)

"With a sound that truly verges on unclassifiable, Brooklyn-based freak-niks Skeletons are an anomaly even at the venerable Tomlab label, which stables an entire herd of experimental artists. For a group to stand out as uniquely off center amid labelmates such as Xiu Xiu and Deerhoof is rather remarkable.

Fronted by singer/multi-instrumentalist Matt Mehlan, the fifth full-length album ["Money"] under the Skeleton's banner (third for the full group) features dispirate, seemingly incohesive musical undertones that are tenuously held together by Mehlan's R&B/pop croons. Fretboard noodling, sputtering drums and a menacing bass undercurrent comprise a confounding blend on "The THINGS," which segues unknowingly into "RIPPER a.ka. The Pillows," the latter sounding like Perry Farrell fronting John Zorn's avant-jazz band Naked City. [Lost at Sea]

The band formerly known as Skeletons and the Girl Faced Boys are playing a show with Extra Life, John Dwyer & Sam Hillmer (mems ohsees, Zs), and John Fell Ryan of Excepter tonight/Friday (1/2) at Death By Audio. The show was moved from its original location of Le Poisson Rouge. Skeletons will also take part in the "Shinkoyo Circus" happening at Roulette from Jan 27 to Jan 29, and in BAM's 'Sounds like Brooklyn' fest with a show at Zebulon on February 12th. Download an MP3 above. Listen to more songs at MySpace. All dates below...

Continue reading "Skeletons - MP3 & 2009 Tour Dates (DBA, Roulette, Zebulon)"

DOWNLOAD: Beirut - Elephant Gun (MP3)

Beirut @ Sasquatch 2008 (more by Chris Graham)

Sounds Like Brooklyn Music Festival is a borough-wide celebration of Brooklyn's musical talent, comprising mainstage events at BAM (performances by Beirut, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Kaki King, and Chairlift), music in BAMcafé, off-site performances at thirteen Brooklyn venues (The Bell House, Bodega, bushbaby, Le Grand Dakar, Frank's Lounge, Goodbye Blue Monday, Monkey Town, Pete's Candy Store, Solomon's Porch, Sputnik, Southpaw, Union Hall, Zebulon), and a BAMfamily event (featuring Guy Davis).

BAM Executive Producer Joseph V. Melillo commented, "Sounds Like Brooklyn Music Festival demonstrates BAM's continuing commitment to celebrate the borough's vibrant music scene and its wealth of talent. We're thrilled to partner with many of Brooklyn's most dynamic clubs and venues, and we're excited to present exceptional artists in our own house."

Tickets are now on sale for Friends of Bam only. Public sale begins Friday December 12th. More dates and details below...

Continue reading "Beirut, CYHSY, Kaki King & Chairlift playing Sounds Like Brooklyn Music Festival @ BAM"