photos by Tim Griffin

Cheeseburger @ BV-SXSW

Sunday (7/10/11) is the penultimate Sound Bites Series show with pow wow! who are currently finishing up their debut album. After garnering a lot of buzz (and playing what seemed like every week) back in 2009, they took most of last year off to regroup and rethink. With a slightly retooled sound -- they're definitely a little more '80s indie and a little less early '00s rock now -- they'll play the Fulton Stall Market at 3PM. I DJ before and after.

Then after the Sound Bites show, you should head over to the Beekman Beer Garden for the first of the summer's Beach Party shows. This week it's the wildness that is Cheeseburger, plus Hard Nips. I hope Beekman (formerly Water Taxi Beach formerly Spiegeltent) is ready for flying beer. This should be fun. With the truncated Seaport Music Festival schedule this year (and no Pool Parties) I'm glad more is going on down at the Seaport, one of my favorite places during the summer.
[This Week in Indie]

Continue reading "Cheeseburger kick off free Beekman Beach Party series Sunday --- here are some belated SXSW pics to celebrate"

photos by Tim Griffin

DOWNLOAD: A Sunny Day in Glasgow - Drink drank drunk (MP3)

Philadelphia's A Sunny Day In Glasgow will release a new LP entitled Autumn Again on October 19th "as a FREE DOWNLOAD until Autumn ends and limited maroon 12? vinyl." Grab "Drink drank drunk" right now above. Cover art and full tracklist below.

Why are they giving it away for free? One reason might be because the songs were recorded back when they made their 2009 album Ashes Grammar. They didn't make it on that album or on to Nitetime Rainbows, the EP that came out earlier this year.

A Sunny Day In Glasgow are playing Knitting Factory in Brooklyn on October 26th (tickets on sale Saturday) and The Mercury Lounge on October 30 (tickets on sale now). Presumably there will be full tour announced soon.
In March the band played the free BrooklynVegan/Anso day party at Spider House in Austin. Pictures from that event, are also below...

Continue reading "A Sunny Day in Glasgow releasing free album, playing NYC, played Austin in March (belated pics) "

photos by Tim Griffin, words by Andrew Frisicano

DOWNLOAD: The Dutchess & The Duke - Living This Life (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Dutchess & The Duke - Hands (MP3)

The Dutchess & the Duke @ Spider House

Seattle's The Dutchess and the Duke are led by songwriters Jesse Lortz and Kimberly Morrison. Their most recent americana-folk LP, Sunset/Sunrise, came out in October 2009 (shortly before they played the BV CMJ loft party). Two songs from that record are above. The duo (who sometimes play as a full band) performed an amazing, informative set at the Hardly Art showcase at SXSW earlier this year (Jesse offered one *unverified* tip on how to get around Austin's smoking ban: light up on stage, and it's first-amendment-protected art). That same week they performed an acoustic-on-the-ground show at Spider House. A set of pictures from the latter are in this post. Most recently they opened for New Pornographers at the Bell House and other shows on the collective's tour.

The group comes back to NYC for a pair of shows on a short tour this September. The first is September 3rd at Union Pool. Tickets are on sale. The second happens September 4th at Mercury Lounge with The Wailing Wall. Tickets are on sale.

Videos of the group, more SXSW pics and all tour dates are below...

Continue reading "The Dutchess and the Duke are playing more shows (dates), played Spider House in Austin (belated pics) "

words by Bill Pearis, SXSW photos by Tim Griffin,

DOWNLOAD: Frankie Rose and the Outs - Little Brown Haired Girls (MP3)

Despite her dislike of touring, Frankie Rose is taking the Outs on the road in October to support their self-titled Slumberland debut which is released September 21. You can download "Little Brown Haired Girls" from the album at the top of this post. The East Coast tour launches October 18 in Chapel Hill but more dates seem likely to be added, certainly on the way down to North Carolina. Before that, the Outs have two local shows scheduled: Saturday, August 14 at the Jelly's Rock Yard with Chief, Minks and Total Slacker; then an official record release show at Glasslands on September 15 with Light Asylum, Minks and Mirror Mirror (tickets).

The Outs have slimmed to a four-piece (no more keyboardist) and have become a pretty solid band in the last year. Maybe you caught their last-minute late night set this past Saturday (7/24) at Cameo, sharing the bill with Magic Kids and Xray Eyeballs. (Video from that below.) The album, 11 songs clocking in just under 30 minutes, has a definite through line of all the bands Rose has been in over the last three years (Vivian Girls, Crystal Stilts) but she is definitely doing her own thing, with an emphasis on multi-part harmonies. (Most evident on their gorgeous cover of Arthur Russell's "You Can Make Me Feel Bad" which there's live video of below.) It's more mellow, dreamy, than anything she's done before. Twangier too.

All Frankie Rose and the Outs tour dates, plus album art and a couple live videos, and a set of unplublished pictures from SXSW this year, are below...

Continue reading "Frankie & the Outs album info, MP3, video, tour dates & pics"

GT photos by Tim Griffin

DOWNLOAD: Thee Oh Sees - I Was Denied (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: So Cow - Start Over (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Golden Triangle - Neon Noose (MP3)

Golden Triangle @ the Spider House in March

As we just pointed out, Friday (7/16) at the Seaport Music Festival it's Thee Oh Sees, Golden Triangle, and So Cow. The free show starts early, with So Cow on at 6:30. (Bill is DJing in between sets, just an FYI.) As two of the three bands are from out of town, there are a few related shows you might want to know about too.

Tonight, 7/15, at Death by Audio, main Oh See John Dwyer is performing with Sam Hilner of Zs. Not sure what this duo is cooking up, but given the rest of the line-up I'd say we're in for an evening of experimental, improvisational noise. The rest of tonight's bill: Charlie Looker of Extra Life, and The Weasel Walter Trio.

Now some of you might be saying: "hold on, aren't So Cow and MINKS were playing Death by Audio tonight?" That was definitely listed in a few different places as such, but that either was never actually the case or has been changed. However, So Cow is playing Death By Audio on Saturday (7/17) with Yvette and the Sundelles. Flyer and other dates below.

Thee Oh Sees new EP, Warm Slime, is six more short servings of the band's patented style garage, thick as oatmeal, plus one 13-minute freakout that opens the record. You can download "I Was Denied" at the top of this post. Also up there: a track from So Cow's first official full-length, Meaningless Friendly, and Golden Triangle's "Neon Noose".

Thee Oh Sees flew in just to play the Seaport (sort of), but will tour in September when they return to NYC to play Santos Party House. We know that last bit because tickets are on sale. All dates below.

The only local band in the group, Golden Triangle, play in town rather often (though they have no other shows besides the Seaport listed at the moment), and they were in Austin this past March for SXSW where they played our day party at Spider House (the same party Thee Oh Sees played). Lots of bands played that show actually, but the pictures got lost in a hole until this week when we also posted sets of The Beets and Kid Congo Powers. Now here are the Golden Triangle pictures.

The rest of those pictures and the above-mentioned tour dates, below...

Continue reading "So Cow & Golden Triangle playing the Seaport Friday too ++ DBA shows, Spider House pics & other related stuff"

words by Andrew Frisicano, photos by Tim Griffin

DOWNLOAD: Thee Oh Sees - I Was Denied (MP3)

Thee Oh Sees started out their long Thursday, March 18th (yes, all the way back in March) with BrooklynVegan's day show in the sun at Austin's Spider House. Their set, pictured here, was the first of three that day for the band. The last called on them to haul a PA, gas-powered generator and gear onto the Lamar Pedestrian Bridge, and didn't end till around 4am. Post-SXSW, the road warriors twice tried to make it across the border for a sadly unrealized mountainside set at MtyMx.

Those examples and many others as proof, Thee Oh Sees' slobbery live show is one of the best around. Check out their new EP, Warm Slime, which was released May 11th on In the Red. Download "I Was Denied" from that record above.

Thee Oh Sees are in town to play a free show at the South Street Seaport this Friday, July 16th with Golden Triangle and So Cow. John Dwyer can also be found at Death By Audio tonight (7/15). Also happening in Brooklyn tonight: a Vice party at Party Expo with a secret guest. hmmmm.

The Vice party flyer, the new Oh Sees album and art and tracklist, and a bunch more pictures from our show at Spider House, below...

Continue reading "Thee Oh Sees played Spider House (pics), playing South Street Seaport Friday ++ "Special Guest" playing Vice party tonight"

photos by Tim Griffin

Kid Congo Powers (aka Brian Tristan of The Gun Club, The Cramps and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds) was one of the many artists who played the BV/Anso show at the Spider House during SXSW this year. And like The Beets earlier this week, here are the long lost pictures from that show along with news of some new tour dates.

You can catch Kid Congo Powers at Brooklyn Bowl on September 17th. More dates and pictures below...

Continue reading "upcoming Kid Congo Powers shows & belated live pics "

photos by Tim Griffin

The Beets, from Jackson Heights

The Beets have at least five six upcoming shows this summer, all in NYC, and one that is tonight (7/13) at Death by Audio with German Measles, Liquor Store, and Pink Reason. The flyer is below. They return to the same venue on August 15th with Tyvek, but before then play an all Beatles set at Shea Stadium, play at Silent Barn, and play on a boat. They also play the first free Jelly show at Rock Yard.

All dates, and a set of pictures and a video from that BV/Anso Day party at SXSW, below...

Continue reading "The Beets - upcoming shows (1 tonight), live pics & a video "

Inlets photos by Eric Schwortz, DM photos by Tim Griffin

DOWNLOAD: Inlets - In Which I, Robert (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Inlets - Bright Orange Air (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Inlets - Spotsylvania (MP3)

Inlets @ Permanent Records

Inlets played a set at Permanent Records in Greenpoint on Friday, May 21st. The week prior, the band played an in-store of sorts at the National's High Violet Annex. Their new record, Inter Arbiter, came out in April on twosyllable Records, and two tracks from that are re-posted above, along with "Spotsylvania," a non-album track cut during the same session.

Coming up, frontman Sebastian Krueger and the band, along with tourmates DM Stith and Silje Nes, will play tour kick-off shows on June 12th at 92YTribeca (tickets) and June 13th at Littlefield (tickets). After that, a North American tour follows, which is then capped by a July 21st show at Joe's Pub. Tickets are on sale.

DM Stith @ Spider House in Austin

DM Stith's new album, HEAVY GHOST APPENDICES, will be released this week on Asthmatic Kitty. Per a press release, it "revisits this secret world [that was explored on its predecessor Heavy Ghost] and adds to its cartography a series of hidden coves, unexplored forests, and new landscapes". The full tracklist for the 2-CD set is below. You'll notice it is full of covers and remixes.

I last saw DM in Austin in March at the BV/Anso day party at Spider House. It was the early afternoon, sunny, and outdoors. Admittedly that wasn't an ideal situation for DM, his string quartet and their quiet songs. That said, I was busy running back and forth at the time, so don't remember too much about it. Belated pictures from that performance are in this post though.

Silje Nes (hailing from "Bergen / Berlin Norway") will release a new single, 'Crystals', on June 7th via FatCat Records. The full length, 'Opticks', will be released on the 13th of September.

More pictures from both mentioned shows and all tour dates are below...

Continue reading "Inlets (played Perm Records) touring w/ DM Stith (new album) & Fat Cat's Silje Nes - 3 NYC shows, other dates, pics & more"

photos by Tim Griffin

THIRSTY: ...What's your plan for the next few months of riding this big wave after SXSW?

Jim Jones: Well, I mean like we're really keen to sort of like work in the States. Obviously it's like sort of the birthplace of rock n' roll.

Rupert Orton: It's our calling card, coming to SXSW. It's alright. Play a bunch of shows - this is what we do, this is what we're about, hopefully people will pick up on it, and taking it to the next stage would mean doing a longer tour and coming back for some more dates. I think we're coming back to New York in late July for a few shows in Brooklyn and Manhattan. Build it up. I mean we're more, obviously we're more established in Europe and the UK and France but we'd like to build up here, you know, cause we're playing essentially American music.

Coming up, the Jim Jones Revue will be playing a trio of New York shows to celebrate the US release of their self-titled debut LP. The band already has another album in the can too. The first of those shows will be on Thursday, July 22nd at Mercury Lounge (tickets), followed by Maxwell's on July 23rd (tickets) and Knitting Factory on July 24th (tickets).

More pictures and all tour dates are below...

Continue reading "Jim Jones Revue coming to NYC (dates), played SXSW (pics) "

by Andrew Frisicano

DOWNLOAD: La Strada - Wash On By (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: La Strada - My New Home (MP3)

La Strada boldly started off a long day of music on March 18th at the Brooklyn Vegan / Anso day show at the Spider House in Austin. I say bold because most showgoers were still rolling out of bed (or lost in a cab like our photographer Tim), and the blinding noon sun was a harsh start to the day. Not so with the sound of La Strada. In the daylight, the band's sunnier parts came though strong. In truth, there are also some clouds in their orchestral pop - minor keys pitted against bouncy rhythms and filled out by violin, cello, accordion and additional percussion. Of the two songs posted above off their new album, New Home, "Wash On By" falls firmly in the latter category, with an undeniably upbeat pulse. "My New Home" works both angles to an anthemic, emotional climax.

La Strada's new record, produced by Kyle "Slick" Johnson (who's credits include Cymbals Eat Guitars' debut, and work with Modest Mouse and Fischerspooner), is out this week on Ernest Jennings Record Co. Two tracks are above, and you can stream it in full here.

Last night they kicked off an East Coast US & Canada tour. For NYC, there's a record release show coming up on April 30th at Knitting Factory with labelmates Cuff The Duke (who also have a new CD out), Yukon Blonde and Beat Circus. Tickets are on sale.

A video of La Strada playing an acoustic set at SXSW (after the power went out at one of their shows), more pictures from our Spider House show, album info and all tour dates are below...

Continue reading "La Strada - new album out (free MP3s & full stream), on tour now - 2010 dates w/ a NYC show @ Knitting Factory"

photos by Tim Griffin

With Dyan Valdés on synth and an old British man on drums/guitars, EWITFR is like a lighter, bouncier, popier version of Art Brut. Fans not fear, the cleverness of Eddie Argos lyrics are still there. Announcing this band as a 'concept' band, Eddie delivered introductions to each song, including songs like Billys Jean, which was a response to the Michael Jackson's song Billy Jean. Other songs included Superglue, a response to Elastica's Vaseline and also 'Do Think Twice' a response to Bob Dylan's song Don't Think Twice. You get the idea.

Because of the small crowd, the show seemed rather intimate. It was made even more intimate when Eddie Argos took the microphone stand directly into the crowd and sang in the middle of the people who were there. At one point, I was looking at my phone to read a text message from Derek or Alli, only to look up to see Eddie singing directly into my face. Slightly embarrassed, I never reached for my phone again - it was that kind of intimate. The show ended with a rant on Avril Lavigne's song Girlfriend, followed by the band covering the original song boyfriend. [Panic Manual]

The group's previously hinted at North American tour kicks off in L.A. on April 23rd and gets to NYC for two shows on May 12th and 13th. Tickets are on sale for the first of those at Mercury Lounge, and the second at Union Hall.

All tour dates, more pictures & a live video are below...

Continue reading "Everybody Was In The French Resistance...NOW! - updated 2010 tour dates & pics from Spider House "

yes we've lost our minds...

BrooklynVegan & AnSo Present:
A Day Party in Austin, TX!
@ Spider House (2908 Fruth St @ Guadalupe)
Thursday March 18, 2010
Noon-7pm

ALL AGES-FREE [No badges, wristbands or RSVP necessary]
19 bands on 3 stages (1 indoor and 2 outdoor)
Full bar w/ Drink Specials. In house restaurant & backyard BBQ.

Stage #1
6:00 Human Eye
5:00 Tyvek
4:00 Thee Oh Sees
3:00 Golden Triangle
2:00 Lovvers
1:00 The Beets

Stage #2
6:00 Cheeseburger
5:00 Jim Jones Revue
4:00 Slim Cessna's Auto Club
3:00 Kid Congo Powers
2:00 Carletta Sue Kay
1:00 Or, The Whale
12:00 La Strada

Stage #3
5:30 UUVVWWZ
4:30 Everybody Was In the French Resistance Now (w/ Eddie Argos of Art Brut)
3:30 DM Stith
2:30 Odawas
1:30 A Sunny Day in Glasgow
12:30 The Sandwitches

Continue reading "BrooklynVegan & AnSo Present a kick-ass & free Austin 2010 Thursday Day Party (with a zillion bands)"