photos by Tim Griffin

Phosphorescent @ the Parish in Austin

Phosphorescent has been on tour since before Coachella. Let's give Matt and band a proper welcome home at Brooklyn Bowl tonight (5/11). Tickets are still on sale, and if you act quick you can try and win a pair on our Facebook too.

Back on May 5th, Phosphorescent played a show at The Parish in Austin, Pictures from that show are in this post. They include an audience member who helped Matt sing "Wolves" on stage, and opener Family Band (who also open the Brooklyn show). More of those pictures, a recent La Blogoteque Take Away Show video, and more upcoming dates (Bonnaroo included), below...

Continue reading "Phosphorescent & Family Band played the Parish (pics) & a Take Away Show (video), play Brooklyn Bowl (tonight)"

words & photos by David Andrako

Yellow Ostrich, which began as the solo recording project of Alex Schaaf, played a 35-minute midnight set to an enraptured crowd at Bowery Electric on a Monday night in December. The duo, which also features Michael Tapper (We Are Scientists/Bishop Allen) on drums, has been playing shows around New York City (where they now call home) for the last 6 months supporting their latest album The Mistress (which was self released in October). One of those shows was a La Blogoteque Take Away Show taping. The video from that was recently posted and you can watch that below with more pictures from Bowery Electric.

The Bowery Electric set opened with the standout track from the LP, "Whale" (recently featured as KEXP's "Song of the Day") and featured songs from several of Yellow Ostrich's 6 albums and EPs all of which are available for free on the band's Bandcamp site. Afternoon Records, home of Pomegranates and John Vanderslice, will release a remastered version of The Mistress in February of 2011.

Catch Yellow Ostrich this Tuesday night, 1/4, at Mercury Lounge. Pictures, setlist and videos below...

Continue reading "Yellow Ostrich played Bowery Electric & a Take Away Show (pics & video), playing Mercury Lounge (Tuesday)"

DOWNLOAD: Lost in the Trees - Walk Around the Lake (MP3)

"Lost in the Trees is the music of Ari Picker, a songwriter from Chapel Hill on a bit of a mission: Take a pinch of the brilliance found in classical music and mix it with his own. Lost in the Trees is orchestral folk where the "orchestral" part isn't an afterthought. This is mighty potent stuff." [NPR]

Continue reading "Lost in the Trees - new LP on ANTI, in NYC now (videos, MP3)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Parlovr - Pen to the Paper (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Suuns - Arena (MP3)

Making good use of those year-long visas, Montreal trio Parlovr are heading back down to the States next week for a short North East tour, with two stops here in NYC: Wednesday, July 21 for an early show at Mercury Lounge and and Friday, July 23 at Knitting Factory. Both show are with fellow Montreal act Suuns. (More on them further down this post.)

Parlovr's 2008 debut just got a belated stateside release  -- download "Pen to the Paper" at the top of this post -- and the band are about to head back into the studio for its follow-up. As I've said before, they're an entertaining live band. Here's what I wrote from last year's M for Montreal:

The band's self-titled, self-released 2008 album does not do them justice, making them sound like a Wolf Parade Jr. Live, Parlovr are way more energetic, fun and melodic -- though it may have also had something to do with a fair amount of new material in their set. Singers Louis Jackson and Alex Cooper semi face each other from opposite sides of the stage rocking back and forth like manic Drinking Birds, flipping their '90s skate rat hair around, while mountain man drummer Jeremy MacCuish holds down the beat. They clearly enjoy playing, and it's a lot of fun to watch too.

After their U.S. jaunt, Parlovr will head back to Montreal, where they'll play a free warm-up party for the Osheaga Festival on July 29 at Cafe Campus that is being sponsored by Brooklyn Vegan, M for Montreal, Canadian music mag Exclaim and Blue Skies Turn Black. The 2010 Osheaga Festival is July 31 and August 1, with Arcade Fire, Weezer, Pavement, The National and Metric among the bands playing.

The BV/M4M show is one of a few "Osheaga in the City" events leading up to the big Festival weekend and also features Isis of Thunderheist and Sean Nicholas Savage.

Suuns

Meanwhile, Suuns will continue on in the U.S. after their dates with Parlovr. The band, who until just a couple month ago were known as Zeroes, will hit the road, opening for some of the dates on Land of Talk's fall tour. (Their portion of the tour will end before Land of Talk plays Bowery on November 6 though.) The band's EP, Zeroes, is quite good, sounding a little bit like Clinic -- dark and claustrophobic but also capable of going epic, as on "Arena" which you can download at the top of this post. This will be a good double-bill.

Those two Parlovr takeaway shows, flyers and tour dates for both Parlovr and Suuns are after the jump.

Continue reading "Parlovr touring w/ Suuns (who tour w/ Land of Talk), playing free BV-presented Osheaga show & other dates ++ MP3s"

Land of Talk @ Bowery Ballroom in May (more by Andrew St. Clair)

Land of Talk are releasing their second full-length album, Cloak & Cipher on August 24th via Secret City (Canada)/Saddle Creek (US). The full tracklist and cover art are below.

The Montreal trio, led by Elizabeth Powell, will tour that LP through North America this fall, with shows spread from September to November. They play Bowery Ballroom on November 6th. Tickets are on AmEx presale now; general sale starts Friday at noon. Also, ticket+album bundles are available for NYC and the entire tour.

All tour dates and a videos from a recent and beautiful Take Away Show where the band plays a tune from the new record, are posted below...

Continue reading "Land of Talk announce new album details & 2010 Tour Dates (plus made some really awesome Take Away Show videos)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Braids - Lemonade (MP3)

Montreal's Braids will be in NYC next week, playing Knitting Factory on Tuesday May 25 with Depreciation Guild (whose very good second album Spirit Youth is out this week) and Wild Nothing (their debut, Gemini, which is also quite good, is out that day), and then an early show at Mercury Lounge on May 27 (no advance tickets) with fellow Montreal residents The Luyas who just can't seem to stay away from our city now that they've broken their NYC cherry (they were here the other day to play a 20 minute set at the National's High Violet Annex). Is there a cheap bus that we should know about?. There's also going to be a "secret loft show" (maybe like The Luyas one last month) on May 26 that we'll have info on next week.

Both Depreciation Guild and The Luyas are good pairings for Braids (not to be confused with '90s emo band Braid) whose sound is both ethereal and expansive, that reminds me a bit of being in a half-awake, dreamlike state. It's lovely stuff.

The band's debut, Native Speakers, is finished and awaiting a release date but in the meantime you can download "Lemonade" from it at the top of this post. There's also a lovely Vincent Moon directed Take Away show of Braids doing "Lemonade" further down this post.

Braids are currently playing a few dates with Holly Miranda (another apt pairing) before the shows next week here in New York.

Videos and dates below...

Continue reading "Braids are touring - video, MP3, 2 NYC dates (1 w/ the Luyas)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: The Luyas - Tiny Head (MP3)

The other highlight for me Thursday night was getting to see The Luyas who are really unlike anything else going right now. They almost defy easy description. The closest I came up with was "Joanna Newsom fronting Mercury Rev" which at least gets you near the right ballpark. Singer (and member of Miracle Fortress when Graham isn't playing solo) Jessie Stein's voice has a child-like quality to it, and the band can go from intimate to epic and joyous within a song. There's unusual instrumentation too -- Pietro Amato's french horn is integral to their sound, and Stein is the only person other than the Liars' Aaron Hemphill that I've seen play a Moodswinger. All these disparate elements shouldn't work together, but they do... and gorgeously. The Luya's 2007 debut, Faker Death, is good but the new material they played last night was even better. The band's new album is due in early 2010 and could be a real stunner.

While they haven't set a date for their new album, The Luyas' second album is finished and will be out hopefully sooner than later. Check out "Tiny Head" from it above and you can also hear new tracks "Canary" and "Moodslayer" via their MySpace. You can also check out an extended Take Away Session at the bottom of this post (filmed around the band's most recent Pop Montreal appearance), along with all upcoming tour dates. They really are something special live, so you might want to make room on your schedule this week to see them...

Continue reading "The Luyas are here - new MP3 & 4 NYC shows (1 w/ Parlovr)"

On Saturday, February 13th, filmmaker Vincent Moon of La Blogotheque will be at UnionDocs (322 Union Ave) in Brooklyn to screen and discuss Take Away Shows and other shorts. Tickets to the event are on sale.

As you probably know, his live music videos are among (if not) the best around. The newest Take Away Show captures The Low Anthem (who are playing NYC in April) at Grand Central Terminal and along the Hudson River. Those and a few others are posted below...

Continue reading "Take Away Show screening w/ Vincent Moon Saturday"

photos by Ryan Muir

Happy Holidays! I take on more than I can handle. That results in a lot of unposted content. In the name of catching up, while also taking it easy during this final week of the year, here's some of that lost material.

Then, rising Montreal outfit Clues gave a packed house of industry insiders a glimmer of this city's future sound. Fronted by the confident falsetto of Alden Penner (formerly of eccentric indie act Unicorns) and also led by Brendan Reed, who used to drum in Arcade Fire and Think About Life, these five indie kids channeled Led Zeppelin's guitar grooves, Vampire Weekend's poppy song structure and Sunset Rubdown's angular vocals and unpredictable soundscapes.

Just two years after their very first live show, which actually took place at Pop Montreal 2007, Clues have honed their chemistry and sharpened their sound. Those who missed the band live should consider, ahem, searching around for their self-titled debut which their hip hometown imprint Constellation Records released earlier this year. [Spinner]

Continue reading "Clues @ Pop Montreal 2009 - pics & Take Away Show videos "

photos by Ryan Muir

"The band on everyone's lips [at Pop Montreal] was local solo artist tUnE-YaRdS, a.k.a. Merill Garbus, whose looped ukulele electronica captured many people's attention at the festival. (Her track "Sunlight" was also the de facto Plateau coffee shop jam.) Though attendees planned to give it up for Faust, and sang the praises of local heroes like The Luyas, you couldn't escape the giddy enthusiasm they had for Think About Life. Dancing in a packed room with everyone I'd met that week, I finally understood just how small the Anglo music scene really was. And I kinda liked it that way." [Eye Weekly]

"Tune-Yards blew me away this time when she played at the Museum of Contemporary Arts.
This time she had a backing band and sounded alot better than her being just one musician.
There was also visuals during the show.
Totally packed the small theatre." [MW Music Review Blog]

Last night (10/6), tUnE-YaRdS shared a bill with Dragons of Zynth at Union Hall in Brooklyn. In November she's touring with Dirty Projectors (with four more NYC shows on that schedule). Ryan Muir, who spent a bunch of time with Vincent at Pop Montreal, was at all three of Merill's performances. More more pictures of both of the tUnE-YaRdS ones, below...

Continue reading "tUnE-YaRdS played Union Hall, a museum for Pop Montreal (pics), another Take-Away show (pics & video) "

"No one ever expects this call. You're going about your daily life and then it happens. The phone rings, you answer, and Vincent asks: "What do you think about helping on a Take-Away show with Tom Jones?" What do I think? I think it's Tom whoa whoa whoaaaa mother fuckin' Jones! Actually . . . I don't know what to think. But we're doing it.

Now its time for the second call you don't expect. The phone rings and our liaison in the lobby passes the information onto us: Tom's ready; we can go up to the room. There's some real honest to god Hollywood magic going on up here. Tom is a star from an era before the record industry went bust. In fact, one of the biggest stars of this era and the whole manner of this scene reflects it - the fruit baskets, the amazing view of the city, the manager. His manager is a band manager out of a Woody Allen movie - over zealous, over protective, and hilarious. Tom is still in his bedroom so his manager is talking to us and making sure we're comfortable, but not too comfortable. I busy myself with the mics and don't even look up as I ask the body next to me if they think Tom will be ready soon. The body answers yes, and Vincent says, "Umm, Teresa . . ." I look to Vincent, who looks to me, and then we both look to the mystery person I was talking to. Yeah, it's Tom . . . Jones. Hi."
[LA BLOGOTEQUE]

La Blogoteque's Tom Jones story is continued at their site, and you can watch all three videos below...

Continue reading "Tom Jones Take-Away show (videos), Terminal 5 tonight."

"The driver lead us directly to Michael Stipe's place." [La Blogoteque]

Continue reading "R.E.M. does La Blogoteque Take Away Shows (videos)"

Continue reading "Yeasayer Take-Away Shows (videos) "

Handsome Furs @ Lee's Palace, Toronto - Dec 2007 (m wybenga)

Handsome Furs announced some shows. No NYC date yet, but there is a Philly one so things are looking good. Get your tickets via the pre-sale for most of the dates below, and check out the La Blogoteque Take Away Show videos while you're down there.....

Continue reading "Handsome Furs - 2008 Tour Dates, SXSW, presale, videos"