Grimes aboard the SS Coachella 2012 (more by Greg Cristman)

Names like Grimes, Stars, Woods of Ypres (RIP), Crystal Castles, Metric and Leonard Cohen sit side-by-side with names like Justin Bieber, Carly Rae Jebsen, Celine Dion and Drake as part of the 2013 nominees for the Juno Awards, Canada's answer to the Grammys.

"Electronic Album of the Year" nominee Grimes is most likely stoked to be named in the company of some of her favorite artists of 2011 (namely, Beiber & Taylor Swift). Her competition in that category is pretty stiff: Purity Ring, TRUST, Crystal Castles and Daphni. Meanwhile, I'm guessing Justin Bieber is stoked to not be mentioned anywhere near his arch enemy Patrick Carney, even though Carney has backed off a bit and is now known as himself again on Twitter.

The 2013 Juno Awards will be given out on April 21. Nominee list below...

Continue reading "Grimes, Justin Beiber, Metric, Leonard Cohen, The Weeknd, Crystal Castles and Drake among the 2013 Juno nominees"

Click it for the bigger poster.

Stars at Webster Hall in September (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Stars have been touring their new album, The North, a good deal this year, and will continue to do so internationally into 2013. They're in Europe now, and after hitting up Australia and multiple countries in Asia this February, the band will head back to North America where they'll play NYC on March 8 and 9 at Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn. Tickets for those shows, which will be more intimate than their sold out Webster Hall show in September, but not nearly as intimate as their Mercury Lounge show from later that night, go on sale Friday (12/14) at noon. All dates are listed below.

For the Asian portion of their tour, Stars have launched a Pledge Music project, which will enable fans in any country to follow along with them, gain access to a live digital EP, and more.

In other news, Eight and a Half, who call Arts & Crafts (Stars' former label) home, have just revealed a remix of their track, "Backlines." A stream of that remix, and a list of all dates are below.

Continue reading "Stars announce international tour, remixed by Eight and a Half (dates & stream)"

via @jakerocksoff

We already posted lots of posts today. Here's some more, and some reminders too...

With the opening of the Barclays Center (follow @BrooklynVegan on Twitter for some scenes from the chaos), both New York and Time Out ponder the changing landscape of Brooklyn in this week's issues.

Speaking of the new venue, Lady Gaga's MSG (2/22) & Barclays Center (3/6) shows sold out today, so she added one more at each venue. The new dates are 2/23 @ MSG and 3/7 @ Barclays. Both go on sale Friday, October 5th at 10am.

Other NYC shows that went on sale today include JEFF the Brotherhood, Field Report, Diamond Rings, Anais Mitchell, Kelly Hogan, Callers and Petty Fest.

And regarding that Staten Island politician talking shit about her, Lady Gaga thanked him.

As mentioned, Soundgarden is releasing a new album, their first in 15 years, on 11/13. Now you can hear the first song which is streaming at the bottom of this post.

In other bands who were good in the '90s Barclays Center news and, Smashing Pumpkins warmed up for their arena tour with an intimate, two-and-a-half-hour show at Stubb's in Austin last night. The tour hits the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Halloween.

Listen to the title track from Bad Brains' forthcoming new album.

Apple knows its maps app sucks.

Trevor Dunn, who is currently on tour as a member of Melvins Lite, took to his tour diary to comment on Green Day frontman BIlie Joe Armstrong's recent freakout: "That guy's main problem is that he doesn't realize that he is Justin Bieber."

Do you love the blown-out, pixelated artork on MIA albums? You may want to buy here coffee table book then.

On a somewhat similar publishing tip, Diplo "and photographer Shane McCauley are launching the zine series Blow Your Head. Each volume will explore a different country and musical genre.

Tour diaries are hot these days. (Have you read ours with Kelly Pratt whose touring with David Byrne and St. Vincent)? Diamond Rings and Stars writing about their adventures on the road for The Huffington Post. Those adventures included a show at Webster Hall this week.

Winter is coming for everyone, it seems. Neko Case tweeted today: "Dude. I'm just gonna admit to being balls-deep in Game of Thrones on CD."

While on the subject of rock star confessions, a recent quote from Pete Townshend: "What I remember of the size of Mick Jagger's penis - I remember it as being huge and extremely tasty."

If you need more, maybe you'd like to read some Phil Collins erotic fan fiction?

Speaking of St. Vincent, today is Annie Clark's 30th birthday. Happy Birthday, Annie! We always liked this picture of her, by Chris La Putt, from her days as a member of the Polyphonic Spree:

Catch St Vincent and David Byrne in Williamsburg Park on Saturday. How was their second Beacon show? Check out pictures from the first (also by Chris La Putt).

It's also Les Claypool of Primus' birthday, who turn 49. Catch Primus on tour this fall.

Not that surprising, but awesome -Austin just became the first Texas city to endorse marriage equality.

Austin music venue Scoot Inn, a popular place to be during SXSW, has a new owner.

Kreayshawn's new album flopped.

Mumford & Sons' new album probably won't.

more stuff below...

Continue reading "ALSO: new Soundgarden & Bad Brains songs; MIA art book; Diplo's new zine; Phil Collins erotic fan fiction; Apple maps & more"

photos by Amanda Hatfield

Stars / Diamond Rings at Webster Hall, 9/22/2012

Stars played twice in NYC on Saturday (9/22), playing an "early" show (meaning done at the usual time) at a sold-out Webster Hall followed by a later show that night at Mercury Lounge with Savoir Adore. Both shows, and the rest of their current tour, are in support of Stars' fine new album, The North.

The tour with Diamond Rings, who joined them at Webster Hall with California Wives, stretches till late November, at which point Stars will hop the pond to play a string of dates in the EU. Diamond Rings, meanwhile, will continue to tour North America with a headlining show at Bowery Ballroom on December 4 in support of his new album, Free Dimensional. Tickets to that show go on sale Friday (9/28) with a AmEx presale happening Wednesday (9/26).

All Stars and Diamond Rings tour dates and more pictures from Webster Hall are below.

Continue reading "Stars played Webster Hall with Diamond Rings who will play Bowery Ballroom in December (pics, dates)"

Stars at Deluna Fest 2011 (more by Dana (distortion) Yavin)

As mentioned, Stars came out with a new album, The North, earlier this month and will kick off a tour with Diamond RIngs next week in support of it. That tour hits NYC on September 22 at Webster Hall with California Wives. That show is sold out but Stars will play a free show later that night at the much smaller Mercury Lounge (9/22) with Savoir Adore. You can reserve yourself a spot at that show by picking up "tickets" from the Thrillcall iPhone app, starting Tuesday (9/18) at 10 AM.

An updated list of Stars dates is below.

Continue reading "Stars playing an intimate show at Mercury Lounge after their sold out Webster Hall show (updated dates)"

by Andrew Sacher

Diamond Rings at Webster Hall in 2011 (more by Chris La Putt)

Diamond Rings, the synth pop project of John O'Regan, will release his sophomore LP, Free Dimensional, on October 23 via Secret City. The album was produced by Damian Taylor (Bjork, Austra). You can watch the video for the album's first single, "I'm Just Me" and a teaser video for the album below. A Yelle remix of the single is available in exchange for your email address here.

Like fellow new waver Twin Shadow did on his recently released sophomore LP, Diamond Rings is favoring much bigger and more polished production for this one, and and can definitely no longer be referred to as bedroom pop. That's not necessarily a bad thing though -- check the song out for yourself and let us know what you think.

Diamond Rings will be heading out as a support act for fellow Canadians Stars on their upcoming tour, which hits NYC on September 22 at Webster Hall. Tickets for that show are still available, and they include a download of the new Stars album. California Wives is on the tour as well.

Stars have also just revealed another new track off of their upcoming LP, The North, called "Hold On When You Get Love And Let Go When You Give It" which you can stream below.

That stream, a list of all dates, and the Diamond Rings videos are below...

Continue reading "Diamond Rings releasing new LP, touring w/ Stars, who have a new song (dates, videos & streams)"

As previously mentioned, Montreal's Stars have a new album, The North, coming out in September and the band just announced a North American tour, including an NYC stop at Webster Hall on September 22. No openers have been announced yet but tickets to that show go on AmEx presale today (7/11) at noon and are on sale to the general public on Friday, July 13 at noon.

All Stars tour dates are listed below, along with a stream of The North single, "The Theory of Relativity."

Continue reading "Stars announce tour, playing Webster Hall (dates)"

by Bill Pearis

It's been a couple years since Stars released a new album. That will be remedied when the Montreal group release their sixth album, The North, on September 4. (It's probably not a Song of Ice & Fire reference but that's where my brain goes immediately these days.) The album's being released by the band's own Soft Revolution records in Canada and ATO in the U.S.

You can listen to the LP's lead single "The Theory of Relativity" below or download it at Stars' website. It sounds like Stars, all right, and after 2010's lackluster The Five Ghosts, this seems promising. No word on live shows just yet, but you can check out The North's cover art and track list below.

Continue reading "Stars releasing 'The North' in September (stream a track)"

After teasing us with lineup addictions day by day over the past few days, the full lineup of Austin City Limits 2012 is finally here. Check it out below....

Continue reading "Austin City Limits Festival -- 2012 lineup "

William Fitzsimmons

The Wedding Present, Built To Spill's Doug Martsch, Tanya Donelly, Telekinesis, Stars, Katy Goodman, Kitten, William Fitzsimmons, and many others appear on "please, please, please," a new Smiths tribute album that will see the light of day in December via American Laundromat.

Meanwhile Morrissey is about to kick off a North American tour in Chicago on 11/10.

William Fitzsimmons' soft-spoken folk/rock is currently breaking hearts across the EU, a treak that will continue until just before the holidays. After a month off in January, he'll embark on another US tour in support of his recent LP Gold In The Shadow that will include dates from coast to coast and a stop at Bowery Ballroom on 2/18. Tickets for all US dates are currently on fan presale, with regular sale starting today for the Bowery Ballroom date.

All tour dates and some videos below...

Continue reading "William Fitzsimmons on new Smiths tribute album, announces tour (dates)"

photos by Dana (distortion) Yavin, words by BBG

Weeze & Matt & Kim @ Deluna Fest

Do you think Matt & Kim ever get depressed? Like down-in-the-dumps, face-on-the-bathroom-tile, razor-to-the-wrist bummed? And do you think any of that anger is channeled into their music in ways not visibly noticed? Is that perma-simpleton-smile actually a front for an aryan-supremacy agenda spelled out in morse code via the band's shiny light show? Head to a New Year's Eve celebration at Hammerstein Ballroom with Super Mash Brothers to do some investigation and report back if you come across some leads. Tickets are on sale. All of their dates are listed below.

Matt & Kim was one of many artists to perform in Florida at Deluna Fest from 10/14 - 10/16, joining names like Ra Ra Riot, Stars, Ladytron, Girl Talk, Weezer, Cake and others. Belated pictures from the first day of that festival that Jane's Addiction also played, are in this post. Many more below.

Ra Ra Riot has been touring since Deluna. They don't have anything scheduled in NYC, but they will be on the road for a while and all of their dates are also listed below...

Continue reading "Deluna Fest Day 1 pics w/ Weezer, Ladytron & many more, a Matt & Kim New Year's Eve show, Ra Ra Riot tour dates"

The observant Dan Mangan sees a bird flying around the photo studio

Fans of Arts & Crafts are in for a night of good jams, with (ex-A&C-ers) Stars at Music Hall of Williamsburg (with North Highlands) and an early show with Dan Mangan at Mercury Lounge (with Icewater), both going down in NYC TONIGHT (10/11). If you're just making the decision to try and do both, I hope you have your tickets to Stars already, though tickets for Dan Mangan are still available, Stars is sold out. Mangan welcomed his new LP Oh Fortune, which hit stores on 9/27 and is streaming in full below. All of his tour dates are down there too.

In related news, Zeus recently posted "Are You Gonna' Waste My Time?", the new song (streaming below) from their forthcoming A&C release due in early 2012. Zeus has dates scattered across October and into December, including an East Coast tour that will stop in Brooklyn at Knitting Factory on 11/16 supporting Sam Roberts Band. Tickets are on sale. All dates are below.

Feist's Metals is out now. The chanteuse took a few minutes out of her crypt-performing schedule to post a few songs which are streaming below. Catch Feist in a goth-in-a-different-way venue when she plays Howard Gilman Opera House on 11/2. "Very limited availability remains" for tickets, so call 718-636-4100 for more details.

All tour dates and song streams are below.

Continue reading "Dan Mangan & Stars are touring (not together, but both in NY) -- Zeus coming soon (dates, song streams & stuff)"

Stars at Littlefield in 2010 (more by Dominick Mastrangelo)

Stars have announced a short run of US dates this October. The dates kick off in Brooklyn on October 10 at Music Hall of Williamsburg. Tickets go on sale Friday (7/29) at noon. All dates, mostly in Florida, are listed below.

Stars have recently released The Bedroom Demos, an album of demos from their In Our Bedroom After the War album. According to Arts & Crafts:

"THE BEDROOM DEMOS" are the heart and soul of STARS' revered 2007 record 'In Our Bedroom After The War'... the real and honest bones of the album, before it was an album.

Fresh from touring the world with their breakout record 'Set Yourself On Fire', STARS hit their Montreal studio with Jace Lasek from The Besnard Lakes at the controls, and tracked a slew of new songs, live off the floor. Rough, unpolished and unfinished, these versions nevertheless give a secret glance into the world of their stellar songwriting, from a helter skelter 'Take Me To The Riot' to the definitive, single microphone recording of 'Barricade'. If you have loved a STARS song, you deserve to love 'The Bedroom Demos'

Speaking of Arts & Crafts, Dan Mangan has announced that:

"The new album is called Oh Fortune. It includes eleven songs. I thought of the title after reading about Gertrude Ederle, a female swimmer who swam the English Channel in the 1920s and crushed the previous world record (held, of course, by a man). She was a massive celebrity for but a moment, and they threw a momentous ticker-tape parade on her return to New York. Neat, hey?

The album will be released on September 27th on a fine label called Arts & Crafts and I must admit, I'm anxious to hear what you think of it. We like it, but, admittedly, it's an unbiased opinion. A-hem."

All tour dates and the NSFW Stars video for "Changes" below...

Continue reading "Dan Mangan is in NYC, Stars announce short tour, both have new Arts & Crafts albums"

Evan Dando at The Bell House (more by Graeme Flegenheimer)

Evan Dando & The Lemonheads have a few random upcoming dates scheduled. The Lemonheads will share a bill with The Canon Logic on April 28th at Maxwell's in Hoboken. Tickets are still available. You can also catch Josh Lattanzi of The Lemonheads at Bowery Ballroom on May 26 & 27 as part of the Bob Dylan tribute that will also include members of the Strokes, Hold Steady, etc, etc.

All other upcoming Evan Dando dates are in other countries at the moment, including a June 16th Evan & Juliana Hatfield show in Toronto for the NXNE festival which, like Brooklyn's own multi-venue festival Northside, recently expanded its lineup. Some of the other bands playing are in the title of this post. The rest are listed below.

All Dando-related dates and some videos below too...

Continue reading "Lemonheads playing shows, NXNE expands lineup (includes Descendents, Stars, Devo, OFF!, Juliana Hatfield, more)"

First came Friday night at Terminal 5 and then a surprise show at Littlefield last night. Now it looks like tonight's day off in Stars' tour schedule is not a day off at all. See above tweet by Gilt City. Location = The Studio at Webster Hall (same building that is housing tonight's Tallest Man show). Let us know if you're able to get in.

photos by Dominick Mastrangelo, words by Rachel Kowal

Since their Friday night show at Terminal 5 was not sold out, Stars kept their Sunday night performance at Littlefield a secret until the last minute, but word spread quickly, and last night the line to get into the venue continued well down the block.

Seeing Stars play such a small room is a treat. After quite a lengthy wait for the show to begin (the doors were at 8, but the start time was 9:45), the audience was eager to show their support - especially one fan who could hardly contain his excitement. Between nearly every song, he'd lavish some sort of praise on the band. ("I love you!" "You are beautiful!" "You guys blow my brains out!" and my favorite, "You're not REAL!") The crowd's energy helped fuel the band and elevated their performance.

"It's the city so nice, we had to play it twice," joked former New Yorker Torq Campbell when they finally walked on stage. "We're so happy people came out," he continued, then launched into an appropriate introduction for the evening, the slowly building song, "The Night Starts Here."

As per usual, the band scattered long-stemmed white roses and handfuls of petals throughout the crowd between songs - only this time, nearly everyone in the room got showered, not just the people crammed into the first few rows.

Though they seemed a bit tired, Stars played a solid show and creatively drew a handful of more obscure from their discography to reward the T5 attendees for coming out to another show. Initially, Campbell's vocals were way too low in the mix, but (finally) after the ninth song, an audience member yelled out, "Turn up the vocals!" and the sound technician quickly complied. (Yet another benefit of playing such a small space.)

As was the case at their recent T5 show, Stars played a generous 5-song encore, which included a Smiths cover ("This Charming Man") and some banter about global warming, bad vibes, and Amy Millan's pregnancy. After the third song, Campbell addressed the room. "Do we have time for a couple more or is that sufficient?" Upon receiving an enthusiastic response from the audience, he continued as the opening notes of the crowd pleaser "Your Ex-Lover is Dead" rang out. "You know... I'm going to keep playing music until the day when I ask that question and people are silent."

Before their final song, the overzealous fanboy made his way to the front and whispered something into Campbell's ear. "You're going to marry your girlfriend?" Campbell repeated into the mic. "She's a lucky woman. Fantastic. Give it up for this dude. He's been awesome all night. He's half naked, he's in love. What more do you want from this man?" It was a nice moment. Then, after a sarcastic segue about heartbreak and failed relationships ("This probably has nothing to do with you"), Stars concluded their intimate set with "Tonight."

More dates HERE. Terminal 5 pics and setlist HERE. More pictures and the setlist from Littlefield, below...

Continue reading "Stars played little Littlefield (pics & setlist) "

words and photos by Dominick Mastrangelo

Montreal's Stars and Virginia's Wild Nothing are the latest casualties of the hit or miss sound at Terminal 5. To be fair, Stars are just as culpable for the uneven show Friday night (9/24), especially considering their familiarity with the venue (they played there in 2008).

If you're going to play T5 then you need to play as many upbeat songs as possible. After starting well, Stars' first misstep was bringing out a bench to perform one of their fastest numbers, "Ageless Beauty", stripped down. Way down. The stripped down versions should be saved for intimate shows (like the one happening at Littlefield TONIGHT, Sunday, 9/26). Any momentum built to that point was gone and didn't return until a singalong of "Your Ex-Lover is Dead" which was the highlight of the show.

That was followed by a confusing and rambling pre-encore lecture about the use of the military, coming out over the PA. Then Amy Millan came out alone to start the 5-song encore with "Celebration Guns." Songs like "Big Fight" and "Going, Going, Gone" never made it into the 23-song set which was dissapointing since the dynamic between the soft-around the edges Millan and the ever-intense, way-over-the-top Torq Campbell is the centerpiece for Stars. They closed the show with "Changes". A picture of the full setlist is below.

Stars are a good band and spent a good part of the night thanking the appreciative crowd, tossing roses and petals into the crowd. Campbell reminded everyone that they were a New York band first. Hopefully on their subsequent trips "home" they opt for playing the cozier Bowery Ballroom and Music Hall of Williamsburg on consecutive nights.

Wild Nothing opened the show, delivering a solid and business-like performance, though it was to a one-third capacity crowd in the echoey venue. More dates, including Littlefield tonight, HERE. More pictures and the setlist from the Terminal 5 show are below...

Continue reading "Stars & Wild Nothing @ Terminal 5 (pics & setlist) "

Friday night's Terminal 5 show never sold out so they kept this a secret until now. $10 tickets are on sale. All dates below...

Continue reading "Stars played Terminal 5, playing Littlefield SUNDAY"

photos by Chris Gersbeck

DOWNLOAD: Wild Nothing - Golden Haze (MP3)

There's a lot going on in Wild Nothing's world. The band, who hail from Blacksburg, VA, are packing their bags and moving to Brooklyn. Not really surprising, except that it took this long. They also have a new EP, Golden Haze, coming out on Captured Tracks sometime in the near future. Apart from the title cut (which you can download above), tracklistings on the CD, 12" and digital versions will vary, which reminds me of the way they used to release multiple versions of UK CD singles in the '90s to get a higher chart position. Fun with formats, or milking the fans? I guess if all the songs are worth hearing it won't matter.

No matter which one you buy, "Golden Haze" is another sparkler from these guys who have been playing a lot of new songs at their shows. And if you haven't picked up their debut Gemini yet, I think it's one of the year's best. And with a permanent line-up (and a new, really solid drummer), Wild Nothing have been a really good live band too. [Bill]

On September 22nd Wild Nothing will leave on a tour with Stars who they'll support through October 9th in Detroit. That trip includes the September 24th show at Terminal 5 in NYC (tickets still on sale), which will actually be Wild Nothing's 2nd NYC show after today because they also open for Superchunk at Music Hall of Williamsburg on September 19th (Todd Barry is also on that sold out bill).

All WN dates and more Bowery pics, below...

Continue reading "Wild Nothing played Bowery Ballroom (pics), touring w/ Stars, opening for Superchunk (dates)"

by Andrew Frisicano

DOWNLOAD: Young Galaxy - Queen Drum (MP3)

We already touched on Young Galaxy in our day 1 roundup of NXNE. Here's another set of pictures from that show, with news that band be coming to the US for a tour in August. Their shows on that include an August 2nd show at Brooklyn's Littlefield. They'll also be touring Canada with Stars (a band that counts Young Galaxy frontman Stephen Ramsay as an ex-member) in October.

Young Galaxy's second album, Invisible Republic, has been out since last year in Canada - it'll get a US release on July 27th on Paper Bag Records. The record is one of 40 on nominee list for this year's Polaris Prize. Co-singer and keyboardist Catherine McCandles sings on the sweltering, moody track above.

More pictures from their June 17th set at Toronto's Mod Club and all tour dates are below...

Continue reading "Young Galaxy tour dates, NXNE pics, MP3 & album details"

photos by Toby Tenenbaum

Stars' Amy Millan @ Le Poisson Rouge - June 5, 2010

Stars followed up their Music Hall of Williamsburg tour stop at the beginning of June with another two-set show the next night at (Le) Poisson Rouge, which is where the pictures here are from.

The group's new album, The Five Ghosts, comes out today (6/22) through Arts & Crafts. For their next NYC appearance, Stars will be moving on up to Terminal 5 (again) - the show happens on Friday, September 24th. There's currently a fanclub presale for the whole tour, where you can also get a copy of the album and other merch too. Tickets for the T5 show go on AmEx presale Wednesday at 11am. General sale starts Friday at noon.

No Stars members were present at the big Arts & Crafts Fest that was the Toronto Island Festival this past Saturday, but ex-Stars member Stephen Ramsay played with his band Young Galaxy earlier in the NXNE week.

The Terminal 5 show is part of a larger fall tour across North America (which Stars are currently trekking across as part of their previous dates). More pictures from LPR, their video for the new song "Fixed" and all tour dates are below...

Continue reading "Stars album out - new tour dates, a presale, video & LPR pics"

DOWNLOAD: Dean & Britta - Making Me Smile (MP3)

"Sing Me To Sleep" is a really fun compilation of lullabies and popular songs re-imagined as lullabies by some of today's best indie artists including: Dean & Britta, Tanya Donelly, The Leisure Society, The Rest, Telekinesis, Jenny Owen Youngs, The Real Tuesday Weld, Snowbird, Neil Halstead, and many more. All proceeds from this wonderful album are donated to The Valerie Fund, a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization that provides support for the comprehensive health care of children with cancer and blood disorders. It's a beautifully produced album for indie-hipsters young and old.

Coming up, Joe's Pub will be hosting a June 13th show for the album with contributors Tanya Donelly, backed by a jazz ensemble, Jenny Owen Youngs and Julie Peel. This all-ages, kid-friendly (with face painting, free souvenirs and door prizes) starts at noon. Tickets are on sale.

Songs from the record (including Stars cover of the Smith's "Asleep") are streaming, and the Dean & Britta track is available above. Tracklist for the CD and show flyer are below...

Continue reading "Sing Me to Sleep - indie lullabies out now + an MP3 & NY show"

words by Rachel Kowal, photos by Andrew St. Clair

Between his DJ gig to kick off the evening and the two separate sets he played with Stars, frontman Torquil Campbell was on stage for nearly three hours, but he didn't seem to tire. As people filtered in the Music Hall of Williamsburg on Friday night (6/4), Campbell, billed as "Dead Child Star", selected a number of 80s tunes, delivered an impromptu lecture on Hall and Oates, and occasionally sung along to the songs he chose when the mood struck him.

Following his DJ set, Campbell took a brief respite back stage, and the anticipation in the crowd grew. There was no opening band - at least not in the conventional sense. Instead, Stars played two sets. For the first, they showcased their upcoming album in its entirety. In typical Stars fashion, The Five Ghosts is an album full of somber but danceable numbers for the brokenhearted. Things like shadows, ghosts, dead leaves, and uneasy souls haunt their lyrics. Just take a look at the ghoulish song titles below to get a taste of the pervading tone, and picture Stars performing in front of two gigantic banners depicting what appeared to be dancing spectres covered in shrouds.

But their songs are not tunes tailor-made for the dead and heartless. As on their previous albums, sexual tension permeates their music and really brings it to life. Though it would be hard to top their sexy (and disturbing) hit "One More Night (Your Ex-Lover Remains Dead)," seeing Torquil Campbell and Amy Millan sing the line, "I don't want your body" back and forth to each other with their faces mere inches apart was pretty hot.

Throughout the evening, Campbell referred to Brooklyn with a touch of nostalgia. Before they built up a reputation for themselves in Montreal, the band allegedly spent some time in New York. "You know," Campbell said, "Stars started here in Williamsburg in 1997... but walking around today, I thought I was on acid. Things are so different. But we're honored to be part of the community again."

The audience, equally appreciative, listened to the new songs with rapt attention, prompting Millan to say, "You guys are doing great. Look at you. Who says the whole country has ADD? You don't!"

Following the conclusion of The Five Ghosts' eleven songs, Campbell expressed his delight that their experiment had worked, and the group took a short break while some Motown played in the background.

By the time Stars returned, white roses had been wrapped around the mic stands and placed throughout the stage. "Give it up for the opening band! Stars!" Campbell exclaimed playfully as he took to the stage for the third time of the evening.

From the opening notes on the melodica of "Your Ex-Lover Is Dead," (from 2005's Set Yourself on Fire), the energy level in the room spiked. Drummer Pat McGee conducted the crowd in an early sing-a-long, and Campbell threw handfuls of white rose petals into the crowd as the song concluded.

The songs for the second set were determined entirely based on online votes before the show from fans, which made for a pretty dynamic show. Apparently, New York was the only city that had voted on "A Thread Cut with a Carving Knife," which appropriately features a "hot and sultry" afternoon in June (and of course, an ending love affair).

Between the additional songs about love and death and the constant scattering of roses, it was quite a romantic evening. And yes, the Canadian five-piece totally closed on "One More Night," which was pretty hot ... even if the song is "literally about fucking someone to death" as Campbell unabashedly reminded the crowd. By the time they concluded their second set, only the rose adorning Millan's mic stand remained on stage. The rest were thrown into the crowd throughout the evening and either thrived in the hands of fans or lied abandoned on the floor, beneath feet and empty plastic cups.

The Music Hall of Williamsburg show was the first of two NYC concerts Stars performed over the weekend (part of a larger tour). The next was Saturday night at Le Poisson Rouge. More pictures and the setlist from Music Hall, below...

Continue reading "Stars played 2 sets @ Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn - pics & setlist"

"The 2010 Lollapalooza line-up is official: Soundgarden, Green Day, Lady Gaga, Arcade Fire, The Strokes, and Phoenix will headline, joined by Social Distortion, MGMT, Jimmy Cliff, Hot Chip, and The Black Keys. With 130 bands on this year's bill, its sure to be a weekend long feast for the ears.

It's a monumental year for Lollapalooza, filled with homecomings, reunions, and first-times. Soundgarden, 1992 and 1996 Lollapalooza alumni, return to the Lollapalooza stage for their first performance since 1997. Green Day will rock Grant Park sixteen years after their first Lollapalooza appearance. While Lady Gaga will headline the festival only three short years after playing the BMI stage at Lollapalooza 2007.

Arcade Fire returns to Grant Park, having played the reincarnated Lollapalooza in 2005. This is the first Lollapalooza for The Strokes - and also their first show in four years. And making their Lollapalooza debut: Phoenix." - Lollapalooza

Continue reading "Lollapalooza actually announces 2010 lineup "