Psychedelic Horseshit at SXSW 2009 (more by Jacob Blickenstaff)

Psychedelic Horseshit will play on Saturday (7/23) at Death By Audio the day before they open for Swirlies at the free Beekman Beer Garden show. PH also play DC with Swirlies who will be on a four-date tour.

DeGreaser, Lame Drivers and Tyme Crisis are also on the Death By Audio show. Tyme Crisis, who will be making their debut performance at the Brooklyn show, are Henry Hynes of Home Blitz and Owen Kline. The venue doesn't list a special guest, but the Facebook invite does say "Perhaps also secret special guest band TBA." That's not a very strong statement, but it's probably worth noting that Psychedelic Horseshit's good friends Times New Viking will be playing a free show in Prospect Park earlier that same evening with The Feelies and Real Estate. Swirlies, play an afternoon show in Philly that day, so I guess they're not out of the realm of possibilities either.

All dates below...

Continue reading "Psychedelic Horseshit playing shows, 1 @ DBA (with secret guest?) --- Times New Viking here this week too (dates)"

The number of great and FREE NYC shows set for this summer grows by the day, and now we have a new set to occupy six Sundays. The new Beekman Beer Garden at the South Street Seaport will host a six week "Beach Party" series kicking off on July 10th.

With the iconic Brooklyn Bridge and East River as their backdrop, the respective bands will take the stage on the Beekman Beer Garden's 200-ton sandy beach at 3 p.m. Sunday afternoons.

Presented in association with producers involved with the indie-oriented Seaport Music Festival on Pier 17 (south side) and the RiverRocks series on Pier 54, the Beach Party concerts are free, and limited to 1,100 people. Doors open at 11:30 a.m., and all shows are 21 and over.

Check out the schedule and flyer below...

Continue reading "Beekman Beer Garden hosting 6 free shows (Raveonettes, Mission of Burma, Cheeseburger & more)"

Back in 2009 Bill wrote:

"Veteran Boston dream pop band Swirlies will be playing their first shows in almost five years in February '09, including one at Mercury Lounge. Formed in 1990, Swirlies' "Chris R" was the opening track on the seminal 1992 indiepop compilation One Last Kiss that also featured Lilys, Magnetic Fields, Velocity Girl, Small Factory, Black Tambourine and more. Since then, they've released a string of swell 7" singles and albums, including 1993's Blonder Tongue Audio Baton and 1996's They Spent Their Wild Youthful Days in the Glittering World of the Salons. (Most of their records are available as free downloads from their website, by the way.) Few American bands have done the shoegazey thing as well as them."

Now it's 2011 and "Swirlies are together once again performing a smattering of rare live shows on the east coast, with original band members Damon Tutunjian and Andy Bernick, joined by Rob '(The) Doctor Laasoko' Laakso (Amazing Baby) and drummer Adam Pierce." It's four shows total and they're listed below...

Continue reading "Swirlies playing shows this summer"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Howlies - Chimera (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Gringo Star - All Y'all (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Spacecamp - Girls on Bikes (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Swirlies - Chris R. (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Swirlies - Bell (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Real Estate - Suburban Beverage (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Uninhabitable Mansions - We Misplaced a Cobra in the Uninhabitable Mansion (on WFMU) (MP3)

For about a year now, Cinema 16 has been giving short films a live soundtrack courtesy of local bands. Up till now, it's been happening at the Starr Space in Bushwick, but tonight (2/25) Cinema 16 heads to The Bell House for a double feature with four shorts and original music from Wild Yaks and Artanker Convoy.

Wild Yaks perform to leftist group Public Theater's Pie in the Sky and Edwin S. Porter's early cinema (1906) short Dream of a Rarebit Fiend. I actually caught them doing this at Cinema 16 a couple weeks ago and their ramshackle, Tom Waits-y wailing rock fit well especially with the Depression-era Pie in the Sky (which stars Elia Kazan!). Artanker Convoy, whose music leans toward the instrumental, atmospheric and trippy, are a more obvious fit for this kind of project. They'll be performing to an abstract animation by Harry Smith and Robert Enrico's Oscar-winning 1962 short, An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, which was shown in America as an episode of The Twilight Zone. Again, both bands have composed original music for this that's unlikely to be heard anywhere else, so it's definitely something worth checking out. Also: free ice cream.

Howlies

Thursday (2/26) at Death By Audio are two of Atlanta's better rock bands (and there are a lot of 'em down there, let me tell you): Howlies and Gringo Starr. I particularly like the Howlies, who are celebrating the release of their debut album, Trippin' With the Howlies, which is one of the more fun rock records I've heard in a while. While steeped in nods to the '60s (surf rock, the Zombies, Love, the Troggs, etc) they've got good songwriting chops to go along with their good taste. Gringo Star, apart from the groan-worthy name (though it's better than A Fir-Ju Well which is what they used to be called), are a garage-rockin' party band not unlike Mando Diao that don't seem to have more of an agenda than having a good time. (And wanting you to have a good time too.) Which these days, should be enough. I can't say I listen to their latest album, All Y'all, a whole lot but they're fun live. Also on the bill: Brooklyn-via-Brazil duo Soundscapes who make '80s-inspired ethereal guitar pop, and Bonnie Baxter who you may have seen open for Apes and Androids at Music Hall of Williamsburg last month.

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Friday (2/27): The Spicy Times blog (a joint production of the ladies behind Jinners and I Rock I Roll) is having its monthly party at Union Hall with a pretty great lineup with two bands I've written about before: Uninhabitable Mansions that features Robbie and Tyler from Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Annie of Au Revoir Simone and who will be selling their debut 7" at the show; and Spacecamp, who are as we speak finishing up work as backing band on Lightspeed Champion's second album. Maybe they'll bring him along? Weirder things have happened. Also on the bill: Staten Island's all-girl seven-piece Vessels and free Colt 45.

Also Friday is that Swirlies show at Mercury Lounge, their first NYC show in five years. Swirlies also play Philly tomorrow (2/26) and Boston on Saturday (2/28).

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Saturday (2/28): It's Cake Shop's monthly The World's Birthday Party party. If your birthday is in February you get free admission, a gift at the door and two free drink tickets. If you're not a February child, it's $8. Bands include Boston's Major Stars who should light up the joint with their stoner hard rock riffs, and Spectre Folk which features Mike of Magik Markers.

Real Estate

Late night Saturday at Cake Shop, it's a free show with New Jersey's Real Estate who are kind of getting a ton of hype right now from the likes of Pitchfork and Stereogum and Gorilla Vs Bear and others, all on the back of one three-song, white vinyl 7" which I have to admit I do like a lot. (Also having Matt Mondanile [aka Ducktails] in the group doesn't hurt.) Galaxie 500 seems to be the go-to reference for Real Estate and there is that dreamy vibe to their songs, but I'd also site criminally-overlooked '90s band Acetone as well. They've got a second 7" due out soon on Woodsist, so don't expect the interest to die down anytime soon. In addition to the Cake shop show, Real Estate have shows next week at Glasslands and Dead Herring, as well as an upcoming tour that includes a bunch of stops in Austin during SXSW (though none of them at official showcases). All tour dates at the end of the post.

Also Saturday: lovers of shoegaze, dreampop and goth should head straight to Mercury Lounge for a pretty stellar bill of Mahogany, The Depreciation Guild, Blacklist, Cruel Black Dove, and Home Video. Tickets are on sale.

That's all for this week. Tour dates and some videos after the jump....

Continue reading "Real Estate, Cinema 16, Howlies, Spicy Times, Major Stars, Mahogany, Swirlies & more in This Week in Indie "

TT & SS

Takka Takka has three NYC shows coming up at the moment. The first is the previously-mentioned Guilt By Association party this Saturday night at Music Hall of Williamsburg that Jukebox the Ghost, Lowry, and Robbers on High Street are also playing. It's a "Guilt by Association" party because that's the name of the new album that all the artists on the bill contribute a cover track to. Tickets are still on sale.

Almost a month later Takka plays a show at Mercury Lounge. It's February 27th with the Swirlies. And the third show is March 15th at Cake Shop. That one is also the first night of a tour they're going on with Sister Suvi that will bring both bands from NY to SXSW (and then also other places).

Sister Suvi is Patrick Gregoire of Islands' other band. Here's a live review...

Montreal/Toronto three-piece Sister Suvi blessed the hundred-plus patrons at the expansive Hart House performance hall with a relentless display of innovative, energetic (and alternating) instrumentation, so much so that lead singer Merrill was tinged crimson by the second song. Her comedic character carried the songs with impressive gusto, and her ukulele skills were not to be scoffed at, especially when she pulled out her violin bow and went to town with an even more animated display of performance power. [NOW Toronto]

All dates below...

Continue reading "Takka Takka & Sister Suvi - 2009 Tour Dates "

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Swirlies - Chris R. (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Swirlies - Bell (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Swirlies - In Her Many New Found Freedom (MP3)

Veteran Boston dream pop band Swirlies will be playing their first shows in almost five years in February '09, including one at Mercury Lounge. Formed in 1990, Swirlies' "Chris R" was the opening track on the seminal 1992 indiepop compilation One Last Kiss that also featured Lilys, Magnetic Fields, Velocity Girl, Small Factory, Black Tambourine and more. Since then, they've released a string of swell 7" singles and albums, including 1993's Blonder Tongue Audio Baton and 1996's They Spent Their Wild Youthful Days in the Glittering World of the Salons. (Most of their records are available as free downloads from their website, by the way.) Few American bands have done the shoegazey thing as well as them.

They've also had nearly as many line-up changes as records, though singer-guitarist Damon Tutunjian and bassist Andy Bernick have remained constant throughout. They've never broken up, just taken a few extended sabaticals. The most recent version of Swirlies, which has been fairly constant since the late-'90s and whose last shows were with the Lilys in 2004, includes Rob Laakso (Diamond Nights, Mice Parade) who is also now in Amazing Baby. Hopefully these shows -- Philly, Boston and NYC -- will spur some new records as well.

What to expect? "I'm sure something will break, there will be lots of tuning breaks, we'll play too loud and I will consequently sing off key, and no one will remember how to play the songs," says Damon. "In other words, it should be business as usual. What better way to spend my spring break, right?"

Tickets for the February 27th Mercury Lounge show are now on American Express presale. They go on regular sale at noon. All dates below...

Continue reading "Swirlies are back again - 2009 tour dates, free albums "