photos by Amanda Hatfield; words by Bill Pearis

Wax Idols at Cake Shop - 5/3/13

San Francisco's Wax Idols brought their tour with TV Ghost through NYC for two shows over the weekend. First, they hit Cake Shop on Friday (5/3) for a show with The Laurels and Far Out Fangtooth. The more gothy post-punk direction of Wax Idols' very good new LP, Discipline + Desire, is definitely a more natural fit for Hether Fortune and the band put on an intense, rocking show. If you like Savages and haven't checked out Wax Idols yet, you should. (If they are not quite the musicians Savages are, Wax Idols deliver more hooks.) TV Ghost threw themselves into their performance as well, or in the case of singer (and Fortune's husband) Tim Glick, threw himself around the stage. The next day, they headed over to Brooklyn for a show at Shea Stadium.

More pictures from Cake Shop, plus a few videos and the setlist from Wax Idols performance, are below...

Continue reading "Wax Idols, TV Ghost, The Laurels & Far Out Fangtooth played Cake Shop (pics, video, setlist)"

by Bill Pearis

Wax Idols new album, Discipline + Desire, is out this week via Slumberland and, as mentioned, marks a decided left turn from the garage pop of their first album to the darker sounds of early-'80s gothy postpunk. Which they do very well and there are some grabby hooks amongst the jagged guitars, driving rhythm section and Hether Fortune's impassioned wails. (The Chameleons' Mark Burgess helped a little on the production end, adding bass -- and cred -- as well.) You can stream three tracks from the LP below and the whole thing can be heard over at Pitchfork.

Wax Idols have expanded their tour with TV Ghost a bit, adding a second NYC show, playing Cake Shop on May 3 that also has Australia's Laurels on the bill. That's one day before their show at Shea Stadium (5/4). All tour dates are listed below.

Continue reading "Wax Idols released 'Discipline + Desire' (stream it), add tour dates, including second NYC show"

by Bill Pearis

San Francisco's Permanent Collection released their debut album, Newly Wed Nearly Dead, last August on Loglady Records. Frontman Jason Hendardy, who runs the label with Lauren loPrete, used to be in Young Prisms and there's more than a little shoegaze in PC's sound but is definitely poppier than Hendardy's old band. You can stream the whole thing below.

Permanent Collection are visiting NYC at the moment, playing Shea Stadium tonight (3/8) with Darlings, Field Mouse, and Honeydrum (info here, that's a good show!); and the previously-mentioned Cake Shop show on Saturday (3/9) with Italy's His Clancyness, Spires and former Get Him Eat Him frontman Matt LeMay.

Meanwhile, Cake Shop and Loglady will be in Austin next week for SXSW, co-presenting a showcase that happens Friday (3/15) at Trailerspace Records. Permanent Collection are playing, as are Part Time, California X, TV Ghost, Grandma's Boyfriend, Waxahatchee, and Dead Angle (ex-Tartans). It's a free show, all ages. More info here, and all Permanent Collection dates are listed, along with the Loglady/Cake Shop flyer, below.

Continue reading "San Francisco's Permanent Collection are on tour, including two NYC shows ++ Cake Shop/Loglady showcase during SXSW"

by Bill Pearis

San Francisco's Wax Idols will release their second album, Discipline + Desire, on March 26 via their new home Slumberland Records. That's the cover art above. The new album, produced by Monte Vallier (of Half Church and Swell) and bandleader Hether Fortune, is a marked departure from 2011's No Future, trading in garage-y punk for full-on gothy post-punk a la Siouxsie & the Banshees or The Chameleons. In fact, the latter's Mark Burgess offered "an extra set of ears" during the recording process and played bass on album-closer "Stay In." As much as I liked No Future, the new direction (previewed on last year's "Schadenfreude" single) is a more natural fit for Fortune. You can stream "AD RE:IAN" from it below.

The band will hit the road in March for a West Coast / Southwest tour towards SXSW and then head out for Midwest / East Coast dates later in the spring with TV Ghost, including one in NYC at Shea Stadium on May 4. I would expect them to add at least one more show while they're here (the WIERD party would be a good fit). All tour dates are listed below.

Continue reading "Wax Idols ready new LP, going on tour including SXSW and NYC (dates, stream)"

Frightened Rabbit @ T5, Nov. 2010 (more by Lionel Bergeron)

SXSW has just announced another round of bands for the 2013 edition of the annual music festival that will happen March 12 - 17. This brings the total current number of acts to around 1300. Someome of the highlights include Vampire Weekend, Frightened Rabbit, The Thermals, Black Lips, Camera Obscura, Merchandise, Bleached, Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire, Eagles of Death Metal, Parenthetical Girls, Indians, Night Beds, IO Echo, KEN Mode, Prince Paul, Pure Bathing Culture, Sepalcure, UK motorik post-punks TOY, Finnish instrumentalists K-X-P, Toronto's Moon King, UK indie rockers Splashh (not Brooklyn Splash with one "h") and loads more. Head to BV Austin for the whole Round 3 list.

photos by Keith Marlowe & Harriet Roberts

The Spits @ Knitting Factory

Photographers Harriet Roberts and Keith Marlowe spent their weekend with The Spits/TV Ghost, taking in not only the Cake Shop show on 3/1 (which we previously posted other pictures from) but also Knitting Factory (on 3/2) AND Sonar in Baltimore on 3/3 (with Livids and Murder). Pictures from all three shows, along with video from Knit courtesy of UN:ART:IG, below....

Continue reading "A weekend with The Spits & TV Ghost (more pics from Cake Shop, pics & video from Knitting Factory and Sonar too)"

photos by Sarah Coulter

The Spits @ Cake Shop

The Spits left a sweaty mess for Cake Shop last night (3/1), one of a pair of NYC dates for the band with their tour-mates TV Ghost. Last night also featured appearances from Night Birds and Livids, neither of which will be at Knitting Factory tonight (3/2); look for a DJ set from Tony Lo-Fi in their stead. Tickets are still available.

Pictures from Cake Shop are below.

Continue reading "The Spits played Cake Shop w/ TV Ghost, Night Birds & Livids (pics), play Knitting Factory TONIGHT"

by BBG

The Spits at Chaos in Tejas (more by Keith Marlowe)

The Spits know their way around a poppy-Ramones-y hook, so look for the band on the road as part of a string of dates with TV Ghost dubbed the "Blazing Blowout" tour. The dates, which kick off in late February, include a stop on March 1st at Cake Shop and March 2nd at Knitting Factory. Tickets to the Brooklyn show are on sale. All shows are listed below.

TV Ghost is preparing to release the new "Phantasm" b/w "Panic Area" 7" via Sweet Rot Records. The band released their latest LP Mass Dream last year; check out a video from the LP below.

The Spits released last year's BV favorite V via In The Red Records. Check out some live video from the band's New Year's Eve appearance at Cobra Lounge in Chicago below, alongside the tour dates.

Continue reading "The Spits going on tour with TV Ghost (2012 dates)"

photos by Sarah Coulter

Nobunny @ Kniting Factory

"NOBUNNY IS MY NEW FAVORITE BAND. HOLY SHIT.

If there were ever a band to embody a musical representation of my soul, it would probably be Nobunny. ...Their show at the Knitting Factory last night ...was hands down the best show I have been to all summer, if not since SXSW (perhaps even before). Nobunny himself had a stellar presence and looked absolutely regal in his leather bolero jacket and black skivvies." -[Midwestern Miscreant]

Nobunny is still on the road, playing Baltimore at Golden West tonight (7/5) and eventually hopping his/their way back to California by the end of the month. TV Ghost, who also played Philly with Nobunny, is finished touring for now. Shellshag play Cinders Art Gallery on July 8th. All Nobunny dates and more pictures below...

Continue reading "Nobunny, TV Ghost & Shellshag played Mercury Lounge (pics)"

DOWNLOAD: TV Ghost - Wired Trap (MP3)

Metropolis Vintage's is hosting a punk and garage extravaganza, entitled Metropolis Fest 2, which is happening over two days in Brooklyn. Starting with a free show at Don Pedro on 5/20, the fun continues with a pre-party at Metropolis Vintage in Manhattan on Saturday, 5/21. That's followed by a big blowout later that night at Brooklyn Fireproof. Keep reading for more details and other upcoming NOBUNNY shows...

The always insane garage rocker in a bunny mask (and/or naked, etc) NOBUNNY will headline the second night of Metropolis Fest 2 at Brooklyn Fireproof. Also on that bill are White Mystery (their 5th of 5 NYC shows), Timmy's Organism (Timmy Vulgar from Human Eye and Clone Defects), Peace Killers (Jesse from Foster Care, Ex Humans), Johnny ILL Band (Chris from Terrible Twos), and The Psyched (Anthony from Tunnel of Love).

The night before at Don Pedro will feature performances from The Waldos (Walter Lure of the Heartbreakers), Marvin Berry & the New Sound, The Amputees, Cheesequake, Tiger Cage, and Fuck School. More details, including DJs, a flyer and the preparty, are below.

For NOBUNNY, the show is one of many he has coming up this summer. In June and July he'll be touring a bunch. That trip brings him back to NYC for two more shows, both with TV Ghost. There's Knitting Factory on July 1st (tickets) and Mercury Lounge on July 2nd (tickets). All dates are listed below.

TV Ghost meanwhile will be out on the road with The Spits in support of Mass Dream which came out on In the Red in April. Sample that album with an MP3 (above) and video & stream (below with all dates).

As mentioned above, Saturday's White Mystery show is their 5th in NYC this week. Their first is tonight (5/17) at Glasslands. Their NYC-tour flyer is re-posted, with everything else, below...

Continue reading "Metropolis Fest this weekend, Nobunny dates, TV Ghost MP3, White Mystery & more"

photos by Leia Jospe

"When you hear the stories that after Hisham Bharoocha left [Lightning Bolt] to form Black Dice, Chippendale took over vocals by jamming the microphone into his mouth, it all seems to make perfect sense. Lightning Bolt concentrate their efforts around the sheer propulsion and energy their music drives off. And while Chippendale has always been an excellent drummer, the vocals he provides here and there open up the sounds in immense manners. On the forever moving "Transmissionary," fused with menacing, twirling music that swirls and confuses, his vocals convey a ghostly blend of spectral vision - they're spooky, vital and completely necessary." [adequacy.net]

Black Dice, Mick Barr and TV Ghost opened for Lightning Bolt at Above the Auto Parts in Bushwick last night (10/30). Leia missed the first two bands, but more shots from the second half of the show, below...

Continue reading "Black Dice & Lightning Bolt played Above the Auto Parts Store in Brooklyn - pics"

Lightning Bolt @ Broadway Backyard in August (more by Leia Jospe)

"Fearsome in his trademark hand-made Mexican wrestler mask, Chippendale must have gashed his hand open at one point, and during the set, the yellow electric tape he'd used to affix the skin to his palm was destroyed a couple songs in. His voice sinister through a warped mouthpiece, he asked into crowd for a "professional" glove. No glove forthcoming, Chippendale nevertheless continued to play, blistered palms be damned. After the set, audience members chanting "LIGHT-NING-BOLT!" were treated to a two-song encore." [BushwickBK]

Lightning Bolt will be back on October 30th, and this time they're playing right down the street at another Bushwick space, Above the Auto Parts Store (600 Bushwick Ave @ Jefferson St). TV Ghost, who played WFMU Fest and couple other NYC shows last week), opens.

Lightning Bolt's new record Earthly Delights is out on Load Records on Tuesday (October 13th).

"Can Lightning Bolt even make a bad album? Well, I suppose if they, I dunno, started sporting J Crew, ripped off Paul Simon's whiteboy Afrobeat, and wrote a concept album about how rad their dad's Cape Cod estate is, sure, that would be relatively gnarly." [The Decibel Tolls]

All tour dates below...

Continue reading "Lightning Bolt new album out, playing Bushwick, other dates"

Major Lazer

tonight in NYC
* Violent Bullshit @ ABC No Rio
* Ponytail, Javelin @ The Bell House
* Rosanne Cash @ St. Ann's Warehouse
* Owen, The One AM Radio @ Union Hall
* Clutch, Lionize, Wino @ Irving Plaza
* Drummer, Royal Bangs @ Mercury Lounge
* Lord of the Rings @ Radio City Music Hall
* Mason Jennings, Anni Rossi @ Maxwell's
* Pierced Arrows, Thee Oh Sees @ Maxwell's
* Kiss, Buckcherry @ Madison Square Garden
* An Evening Without Monty Python @ Town Hall
* Mirah, Norfolk and Western @ Bowery Ballroom
* The Black Hollies, The Nouvellas @ Glasslands
* Bryan Scary & The Shredding Tears @ 92YTribeca
* Timber Timbre, Kate-Miller Heidke @ Mercury Lounge
* Stigma, No Redeeming Social Value @ Santos Party House
* Radio Happy Hour w/ Tunde Adebimpe @ (Le) Poisson Rouge
* Revival Times, The Frontier Needs Heroes, Zachary Cale @ Zebulon
* Big Digits, Ghost Mall, Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt @ Shea Stadium
* Youth Group, Don Lennon, Rubik Band, The Ghost Is Dancing @ Pianos
* Rainbow Party, Le Rug, Grocery Thief, Michael Jordan @ Silent Barn
* Peelander-Z, Math the Band, Uncle Monsterface @ Studio at Webster Hall
* Arthur Russell Tribute Concert & Reading @ Housing Works Bookstore & Cafe
* Hard Fest w/ Crookers, Major Lazer, Rusko, Jack Beats, Destructo @ Terminal 5
* Monotonix, Ill Ease, Turbo Fruits, Static Static, Stalkers, Emok @ Market Hotel
* Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions, Dirt Blue Gene @ Music Hall of W
* Roadside Graves, The Parson Red Heads, Loom, Exotic Animal Petting Zoo @ Lit
* Dinosaur Feathers, pow wow!, Reina Del Camino, Lame Drivers, Clean Equations @ Bruar Falls

Hard Fest hosts an NYC stop (which hopefully goes better than the L.A. edition this summer) at Terminal 5 with Crookers, Major Lazer, Rusko, Jack Beats and Destructo.

SET TIMES:
1:00 - 2:00 CROOKERS
12:00 - 1:00 MAJOR LAZER
11:00 - 12:00 RUSKO
10:00 - 11:00 JACK BEATS
9:00 - 10:00 DESTRUCTO
(Doors at 8:00 pm)

Black Keys side-proj Drummer plays Mercury Lounge with Royal Bangs.

Monotonix headline a bill with Ill Ease, Turbo Fruits, Static Static, Stalkers and Emok at Market Hotel. How was last night's show at Santos?

Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions, playing behind new disc Through The Devil Softly, visit Music Hall of Williamsburg with Dirt Blue Gene. It's sold out, but tickets are still available to the Monday show.

Pierced Arrows and Thee Oh Sees, two well-paired low-fi garage acts, play Maxwell's. For Thee Oh Sees, it will be their fourth NYC-area show in 3 days.

Mirah, who put out the amazing (a)spera earlier this year, plays Bowery Ballroom with Norfolk and Western who feature ex-Decemeberist Rachel Blumberg as a member.

Ponytail and Javelin play The Bell House with the recently-added Fiasco.

Rosanne Cash plays a special 'List' show at St. Ann's Warehouse for the second night in a row.

Housing Works Bookstore & Cafe hosts an Arthur Russell Tribute Concert & Reading with "Solo and duo performances of Arthur Russell music by Mira Billotte, Joyce Bowden, Peter Gordon, Steven Hall, Nick Hallett, Rachel Henry, Alex Waterman, Peter Zummo and others. Book signing for Hold on to Your Dreams: Arthur Russell and the Downtown Music Scene, a new biography of Arthur Russell, with author Tim Lawrence."

Arthur Russell's legacy is also being celebrated with Nomi at Public Assembly tonight.

TV Ghost played Silent Barn last night. Video below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Saturday?"

photos by Chloe Rice, words by Bill Pearis

Tonight (10/9) at Silent Barn is also your last chance (for now) to see Lafayette, Indiana's TV Ghost, who played a NYC show last night, and one last week with Veedee and Pissed Jeans at the WFMU Fest at Music Hall of Williamsburg. Pictures from that latter are below.

They're on In The Red, so you know there's gonna be some element of garage rock in there, but they've got a Birthday Party paranoid thing going in there that is the perfect soundtrack to your next nervous breakdown. And Halloween's coming up. Consider them for your party mix. Tonight's Silent Barn show also has Wizzard Sleeve, FNU Ronnies, and Unholy 2.

All dates, a video and MHOW pictures below....

Continue reading "TV Ghost - WFMU Fest pics, Silent Barn tonight, other dates "

Teenage Jesus & the Jerks @ KF in 2008 (more by Lori Baily)

WFMU will be putting on a three-day Brooklyn festival at the Music Hall of Williamsburg from October 1st-3rd. Its Thursday and Saturday night bills will be headlined by two classic acts, German krautrock-ers Faust and NYC No Wave punks Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, respectively, while Friday night will feature Philly's Pissed Jeans (who have a new record out) in the top spot.

TJ & the Jerks last reunited in 2008 for a night at the Knitting Factory where Thurston Moore played bass. And like Faust, they're also playing Pop Montreal around the same time.

Tickets for all three WFMU days go on sale Thursday, September 3rd at noon. Pissed Jeans is only $12 advanced. The other two are $20 each.

The station writes, "These shows will not be broadcast over the air/net." Full lineup and poster below...

Continue reading "WFMU Fest @ MHOW - 3 days of shows w/ Teenage Jesus & the Jerks, Pissed Jeans, Faust & more (Oct 1-3, 2009) "

Andrew Bird rocking for Barack (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

today in NYC
* Prince
* DANCE
* Frank Sidebottom!
* MSTRKRFT @ Webster Hall
* Brazilian Girls @ Terminal 5
* Beck, MGMT @ United Palace Theatre
* Of Montreal, Love is All @ Roseland Ballroom
* Dead Confederate, Kuroma @ Union Hall
* Project X with Kool Keith @ BB King's
* Yellow Fever, Daniel Francis Doyle & TV Ghost @ Silent Barn
* Matt Hales (of Aqualung), KaiserCartel @ Union Hall
* Citay, Christy & Emily, Land of Tomorrow @ Cake Shop
* Man Man, Titus Andronicus, Charlyne Li @ Webster Hall
* The Albertans, Sigmund Droid, Takka Takka @ Glasslands
* The National, Grizzly Bear & Stella @ Hammerstein Ballroom
* Against Me!, Future of the Left & Ted Leo @ Starland Ballroom
* Brad Mehldau, Chris Thile @ (le) possion rouge (A concert for Obama)
* The New Year, Dirty on Purpose, The Orsi @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* The Heartless Bastards, Langhorne Slim, Those Darlins @ Bowery Ballroom

David Lee Roth was born today in 1954 in Bloomington, Indiana, home of Dead Oceans records.

Dead Oceans Records recording artist Citay are at Cake Shop tonight.

Lafayette, Indiana band TV Ghost are on the same Todd P bill as Yellow Fever.

Those 10 free shows at Joe's Pub happen this weekend.

Did you get Diesel tickets today?

Don't forget to RSVP for the Crystal Stilts show Saturday.

Did you know Mike Patton made a song with Serj Tankanian?

Grizzly Bear play with the National at the NY Magazine party tonight. Most of the National was in the audience when Grizzly Bear side project Department of Eagles played their first show at the Bell House the other day.

Friendly Fires made a video for "Paris". Watch it below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Friday?"