Bumbershoot is returning to Seattle this year from August 31 to September 2 at Seattle Center. This year's lineup was just announced, and it includes Death Cab for Cutie performing Transatlanticism (in case The Postal Service reuniting wasn't enough Ben Gibbard nostalgia for you), Kendrick Lamar, MGMT, The Breeders, The Zombies, Alt-J, Deerhunter, Baroness, Crystal Castles, Gary Numan, Joey Bada$$, Eric Burdon, Bob Mould, David Bazan, Charli XCX, Redd Kross, The Men and more.

Tickets (3-day passes, 2-day passes, and single day tickets) for the festival are on sale now.

Full lineup below...

Continue reading "Bumbershoot 2013 lineup & tix (Death Cab for Cutie, MGMT, Kendrick Lamar, Breeders, Zombies, Alt-J, Deerhunter & more)"

by Tim Griffin

BRMC / Acid Mothers Temple / Warpaint at Austin Psych Fest - 4/26/2013

Last year Austin Psych Fest was held at Emo's East and Beauty Ballroom (RIP), the year before at the Seaholm Power Plant, and this year APF, which happened last weekend (4/26 - 4/28) has found what might be a permanent home at Carson Creek Ranch. The two seemed to fit well; open skies, trees, and a river (just minutes from downtown Austin) made for a great new location. Pictures of the ranch, and many of Day 1's bands (Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Warpaint, Raveonettes, Tamaryn, Acid Mothers Temple, Tinariwen and more) and other goings-on are in this post.

BMRC play NYC on Saturday (5/4) at Terminal 5 with fellow Psych Fest vets Bass Drum of Death and tickets are still available.

Sailor Jerry invited me along for the ride and hired me to take some pictures for them as well. They had an AirStream back stage where much ink was dispensed (in the form of tattoos) as well as happiness (in the form of rum). Austin Tattoo artists Keith Underwood and Philip LaRocca manned the needles for those who stopped by for some permanent souvenirs. Pictures of some of that in the set, too.

Over at BV Austin, you can check out portraits taken at the fest by photographer Natasha Ryan. More pics from Day 1 of Austin Psych Fest below...

Continue reading "Austin Psych Fest: Day 1 in pics (BRMC, Acid Mothers Temple, Tinariwen, Tamaryn, Raveonettes, Warpaint ++ more)"

Tamaryn is DJing at New York's Museum of Modern Art on Sunday evening (4/7) as part of a PopRally event called "Abstract Currents." Against projections of one-minute videos submitted by the public, Tamryn will provide a "hypnotic soundtrack to the collectively built abstract videoscape." It's in conjunction with MoMA's Abstraction, 1910-1925 and Abstract Generation: Now in Print exhibition and tickets are still available.

Later this month, Tamaryn will be in Texas' state capital for Austin Psych Fest (Apr. 26 - 28), which features a pretty amazing line-up that runs the gammut of "psychedelic," including Deerhunter, Spectrum, Black Mountain, OS Mutantes, The Moving Sidewalks, Clinic, Besnard Lakes, Elephant Stone, Roky Erickson, Sweden's GOAT and a bunch more. The fest just announced the day-by-day line-ups which are listed below.

Continue reading "Tamaryn DJing MoMA; Austin Psych Fest finalizes lineup"

photos by Amanda Hatfield

San Francisco's gothy shoegaze queen Tamaryn just got back from a European tour and was nice enough to stop in NYC before heading home to play a show last night (2/21) at Music Hall of Williamsburg. Joining her were friends Azar Swan (who played a Tamaryn afterparty last year) and Milagres. Did you make it to this show? Both Tamaryn and Milagres say this was their last NYC show for a while. More pictures from MHOW below...

Continue reading "Tamaryn played MHOW w/ Milagres and Azar Swan (pics)"

As mentioned, Azar Swan (formerly Religious to Damn) will open for Tamaryn at Music Hall of Williamsburg on Thursday (2/21) and tickets are still available. The Brooklyn-based duo just released a new track, "Lusty," which is appropriately named, hot and sweaty with a clattering tribal beat that goes wonderously mental as it approaches the two-minute mark. You can stream it below.

Continue reading "Azar Swan drop new track "Lusty" (stream it), opening for Tamaryn in NYC next week"

"My Morning Jacket was formed in 1998 in Louisville, Kentucky by singer, songwriter and guitarist Jim James (real name: James Olliges Jr). The original line-up also included three members of the Shelbyville emo-punk band Winter Death Club; namely John McQuade (later known as Johnny Quaid - guitar and vocals), Tom Blankenship (later known as Two Tone Tommy - bass) and J. Roberts (later known as J. Glenn - drums)." [Wikipedia]

MMJ bassist Tom Blankenship (who also recently helped out with Brooklyn Rock Lottery) gave us his list of Top 10 LPs of 2012. While it includes year-end list mainstays Frank Ocean and Alt-J, there are some surprises as well. You can check out his year-end picks below.

Continue reading "My Morning Jacket's Tom Blankenship lists his Top 10 albums of 2012"

Tamaryn @ Mercury Lounge, 11/9/2012 (more by PSqauared Photography)

Tamaryn was here not too long ago, playing Mercury Lounge and Knitting Factory last month. She has just announced another NYC show, moving on up to Music Hall of Williamsburg on February 21 with support from Azar Swan who you may remember made their live debut at the afterparty for Tamaryn's Knit show. Tickets for that show go on sale Wednesday, December 19 at noon. It's the only North American date on Tamaryn's tour schedule right now, apart from an appearance at the 2013 Austin Psych Fest in April.

Tamaryn recently released a video for "The Garden" which from her very nice second album, Tender New Signs, and you can watch that below, as well as check out a list of all upcoming tour dates.

Continue reading "Tamaryn made a new video, playing shows (dates, video)"

photos by PSquared Photography

Tamaryn @ Mercury Lounge 11/9/2012

Tamaryn played two area shows over the weekend, including a stop at Mercury Lounge on 11/9 with Young Prisms (who also played Glasslands) and a show the next night at Knitting Factory (11/10) with Starred and Alexis. The shows were part of a tour in celebration of Tamaryn's new LP, Tender New Signs, which is out now. Pictures from Tamaryn (we missed Young Prisms) from Mercury Lounge below, alongside video from Knitting Factory.

Later Saturday night, Tamaryn also stopped in to DJ her KF show's afterparty at The Flat which also featured the live debut of former Religious to Damn-ers Azar Swan. Check out video from Azar Swan's performance below.

Continue reading "Tamaryn played Mercury Lounge and Knitting Factory, DJed KF afterparty with Azar Swan (pics/video)"

Tim Cohen of Fresh & Onlys/Magic Trick in Big Sur in 2011 (more by Natasha Ryan)

The Fresh & Onlys are in town this week, playing Music Hall of Williamsburg on Thursday with Quilt and tickets are still available. If you haven't listened to their new album (and first for Mexican Summer), Song Slow Dance, you can stream it below via Spotify. With this album, the band have pretty much escaped the "garage rock" pidgeonhole they never really belonged in in the first place, making lovely gloom pop that owes as much to the Go-Betweens and Echo & the Bunnymen as the 13th Floor Elevators.

While in town, F&O frontman Tim Cohen will perform solo tonight (under the Magic Trick moniker) at Glasslands (11/7), opening for fellow San Franciscans Young Prisms. Tickets are available for tonight's show too. Magic Trick (the full band version) will be back in the new year when they tour with Father John Misty, including Webster Hall on January 14. Tickets are still available to that show.

Young Prisms, meanwhile, are here on tour with gothy shoegazer Tamaryn and the two play together at Mercury Lounge on Friday (11/9) and tickets are still available. Tamaryn also plays Knitting Factory on Saturday, but without Young Prisms. Instead, Starred and Alexis will open that show and tickets are still available as well.

Magic Trick and Fresh & Onlys dates are listed below, along with the F&O album stream.

Continue reading "Tim Cohen playing Glasslands tonight before Fresh & Onlys' MHOW show; Magic Trick touring with Father John Misty"

by Bill Pearis

Zohra Atash and Josh Strawn have disbanded/retired Religious to Damn and have reconfigured their sonic matrix as Azar Swan which is a decidedly more electronic project while retaining that gothy vibe. Azar Swan have just released their first track to the world, "Amrika," and you can stream that below.

Azar Swan will be making their live debut at The Flat on November 10 which will also serve as the official afterparty for the Tamaryn/Starred show at Knitting Factory earlier that night. Tamaryn will DJ along with Silent Drape Runners. $5 gets you in the door and the party starts at 11 PM. Flyer for the show (designed by Weekend's Shaun Durkan) is below.

Continue reading "Religious to Damn are now Azar Swan, making live debut in November (stream a track)"

SBTRKT at Lollapalooza 2012 (more by James Richards IV)

today in NYC
* Scott Kettner @ Barbes
* Questlove @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Wyatt Cenac @ Carolines
* Trumpet Grrrl @ Littlefield
* Blues Traveler @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Menomena, PVT @ Bowery Ballroom
* The Go Gos @ Best Buy Theatre
* Night Beds, Brazos @ Union Pool
* Coheed & Cambria @ Webster Hall
* Blind Shake, Vaz @ Death By Audio
* R. Stevie Moore @ Knitting Factory
* Pujol, Little Racer @ Mercury Lounge
* Martha Wainwright @ (le) poisson rouge
* Janeane Garofalo @ Eastville Comedy Club
* Secret Chiefs 3: Ishraqiyun @ The Stone
* SBTRKT, Kilo Kush, Koreless @ Terminal 5
* Port St. Willow, Conveyor @ Mercury Lounge
* Jef Brown + Aaron Moore Duo, Arki @ Zebulon
* Army Navy, Deadbeat Darling @ The Rock Shop
* Luke Jenner of The Rapture, Van She (DJ Sets) @ The DL
* The Phantom Family Halo, Bezoar @ Public Assembly
* Mohammed Fairouz @ Our Lady of Lebanon Cathedral
* Thieves Like Us, Heavenly Beat, New Myths @ Glasslands
* YOU., Ana Lola Roman, Night Vision @ The Bowery Electric
* Butter The Children, Half Day, Kissing Is A crime @ Big Snow
* Naam, Dream Affair, Far-Out Fangtooth, Dolores Boys @ Shea Stadium
* Ryan Jarman (of The Cribs), Mon Khmer, Bennio Qwerty @ Cameo Gallery
* The Growlers, Sean Bones, Denny and the Jets @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Texas is the Reason, Gameface, On the Might of Princes, Shades Apart, Underdog @ Irving Plaza

Tonight is the first night of Revelations Records 25th Anniversary celebration at Irving Plaza with Texas is the Reason, Gameface, On the Might of Princes, Shades Apart, and Underdog. The party goes through Sunday.

Dead Oceans signee Night Beds plays his first of two NYC shows tonight.

Ryan Jarman of the Cribs plays a solo show at Cameo tonight.

There is a listening party for Tamaryn's new album, Tender New Signs, tonight at The Hole Shop (312 Bowery) from 6 - 9 PM with complimentary Brooklyn Brewery beer. More info here and she'll play live in NYC next month.

Follow @BrooklynVegan on Twitter.
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Be our friend on Facebook too, and BV Austin's friend on Facebook and BV Chicago's friend on Facebook.

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What else?

Negative Approach earlier this month in Chicago (more by Carmelo Espanola)

Penn Badgley in 'Greetings From Tim Buckley'

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

Did you know that Penn Badgley (aka Dan on Gossip Girl) is playing Jeff Buckley in upcoming biopic, Greetings from Tim Buckley? He's even been doing some stealth secret shows in NYC. Watch the trailer below.

Randy Newman is dreaming of... a white president.

As mentioned before, The Killers show at The Paramount is being webcast tonight, which will be directed by legendary German filmmaker Werner Herzog. He also directed a mini Killers documentary, which you can watch below.

Speaking of The Killers, they just announced a tour with Tegan & Sara that will hit Madison Square Garden.

Speaking of MSG, tourmates Aerosmith and Cheap Trick just announced a show there too. Madonna plays there twice in November which is when Neil Young is there too.

Whose new cover art is better: Neil Young's or Titus Andronicus'?

Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs has a new video for his single "Your Love" which you can watch below.

You can stream Natural Child's new album, Hard in Heaven, over at Spinner.

Read part 2 of Kelly Pratt's tour diary written on the road with St. Vincent and David Byrne. Part 2.5 also went up today at BV Chicago.

A plethora of heavy music live photographs by Carmelo Espanola also went up today on BV Chicago.

A music monitoring firm has determined that Drake is currently the most pirated musician in the United States. If you live in the UK, it can tell you what artist is the most pirated in your neighborhood.

more stuff below...

Continue reading "Also: Penn Badgley IS Jeff Buckley, Drake most pirated in US, Herzog's Killers doc, MSG shows, Promise Ring cover Adele & more..."

by Andrew Sacher

DOWNLOAD: Starred - "No Good" (MP3)

Brooklyn/LA duo Starred aka Liza Thorn (who previously played with ex-Girls frontman Christopher Owen in Curls) and Matthew Koshak are set to release their debut EP, Prison to Prison, on November 20 via Pendu Sound (also home to Chelsea Wolfe). Given that label's preference for dark, brooding music, it's no surprise that they took interest in Starred, who play the sort of dream pop that has more in common with slowcore and psychedelic folk than much of their shinier, synthier contemporaries. You can stream two EP tracks, "Cemetery" and "Call From Paris," and check out the video for the latter below. They've also got a 7" single on the label for the track "No Good," which you can download above or stream below.

Starred have a couple upcoming shows Brooklyn shows, including one this week at Glasslands on Tuesday (9/11) with Captured Tracks band Cosmetics, ex-Team Robespierre band Black Marble, and Warm Ghost. They'll also play with Tamaryn and Cool Angels at Knitting Factory on November 10. Tickets for the Glasslands show tickets for the Knitting Factory show are on sale now.

UPDATE: They also open for Dum Dum Girls at Europa on September 30 with Chez Deep. Tickets for that show are still available.

There's also another chance to catch Black Marble in NYC this month at Public Assembly on September 21 with Plastic Flowers, Indian Flowers, and Total Slacker, plus DJ sets by Heavenly Beat, Pictureplane, The Death Set, Creep, and Le Sphinxx. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

Starred streams, video, cover art and tracklist below.

Continue reading "Starred releasing EP on Pendu, playing shows (dates, streams, video and MP3)"

Tamaryn at Emo's in Austin, April 2011 (More by Tim Griffin)

San Francisco ethereal vibestress Tamaryn is set to release her new album, Tender New Signs, on October 16 via Mexican Summer. You can stream the first single from the album, "I'm Gone," at the bottom of this post. (It's available now on 7" as well.) She'll also be touring this fall with two NYC dates: November 9 at Mercury Lounge and November 10 at Knitting Factory. No ticket info yet for either of those shows but you can keep checking Ticketmaster for Mercury Lounge and Ticketfly for Knitting Factory.

UPDATE: Young Prisms open the Mercury Lounge show and play Glasslands two days earlier (9/7) (tickets) and Starred and Cool Angels open the Knitting Factory show. Merc tix go on sale Friday (8/24) at noon and Knit tix go on sale Friday (8/24) at 10 AM.

Tamaryn song stream and tour dates are listed below.

Continue reading "Tamaryn releasing new LP, touring this fall w/ 2 NYC shows (dates)"

The xx at Rock Werchter 2012 (more by Tim Griffin)

today in NYC
* GQ @ Tappan Park
* Jon Madof @ The Stone
* Anya Marina @ Joe's Pub
* Mathias Kunzli @ The Stone
* Sponge, Jounce @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Chrisette Michele @ BB King's
* Tu Fawning, AU @ Mercury Lounge
* Brown Bird, Sean Rowe @ 92YTribeca
* Toadies, Helmet, Ume @ Webster Hall
* Dukes of September @ Beacon Theatre
* Biz Markie (DJ Set) @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Jennifer Castle @ Rockwood Music Hall
* Blitz The Ambassador @ MetroTech Commons (noon)
* Pigs, Tidal Arms, Fashion Week @ Union Pool
* Gold Panda, Shigeto, Beacon @ Bowery Ballroom
* Xeno & Oaklander, Laurel Halo @ Cameo Gallery
* The xx, Jacques Greene, New Look @ Terminal 5
* Da Beatminerz, X-ecutioners @ Public Assembly
* Washed Out, Chairlift, Lemonade @ House of Vans
* Haim, POP ETC, Savoir Adore @ Santos Party House
* Ben von Wildenhaus, Dimestore Dance Band @ Zebulon
* Com Truise, Them Jeans, Sean Glass @ Hudson Terrace
* JC Hopkins Biggish Band (Tom Waits tribute) @ City Winery
* Pegasus Warning, Dpony, Condo Ron Zambri (DJ) @ Cake Shop
* Cudzoo & The Faggettes, The Naked Heroes @ Mercury Lounge
* Francesco Tristano, Michel Reis, Aaron Kruzik @ Joe's Pub
* Zeus, Robbers on High Street, Country Mice @ The Rock Shop
* Zongo Junction, Big Mean Sound Machine, Beyondo @ Littlefield
* Talib Kweli, The Higher Concept, The Rooks @ Highline Ballroom
* Tito Ramsey, Treasure Teeth, Reputante, Ice Cream @ Glasslands
* Sunbears!, Le Blorr, Lunic, Bright Light Bright Light @ Pianos
* Sound Pellegrino Thermal Team, LOL BOYS, Sleepyhead @ Drom
* Ruby Fray, Air Waves, Heaven's Gate, The Great Valley @ Death By Audio
* Butter The Children, Grass Is Green, Shores, Empty Orchestra @ Big Snow
* Immortal Technique, Homeboy Sandman, Tru Fam, Oddisee @ Public Assembly
* The Bad Plus, Brandt Brauer Frick @ Lincoln Center's Damrosch Park Bandshell
* Magical Mistakes, Catamaran, Mutual Benefit, Cuddle Formation @ Shea Stadium
* Dennis DeYoung: The Music of Styxx, Lou Gramm: The Voice of Foreigner in Coney Island
* Wiz Khalifa, Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q, Chevy Woods, Chiddy Bang @ Jones Beach
* Extra Life, Larkin Grimm, Ice Choir, Beige, Das Racist (DJ) @ Secret Project Robot
* Nina Sky, Chippy Nonstop, Brenmar, Roxy Cottontail, Ferrari Snowday @ The Studio at Webster Hall
* Vacationer, Aaron Embry, Aaron Lee Tasjan, Caleb Hawley, Cold Specks, special guest @ Union Hall
* Bill Frisell, Greg Leisz, Jenny Scheinman, Tony Scherr, Kenny Wollesen (All We Are Saying: Bill Frisell Explores the Music of John Lennon) @ Le Poisson Rouge

"Donnie Darko" screens in Tompkins Square Park. Show up early for free pizza from Two Boots who are celebrating their 25th anniversary at this, and at an upcoming show in East River Park.

"Romeo and Juliet" screening with live music by The Love Show @ Celebrate Brooklyn

"Wet Hot American Summer" screens for free in Brooklyn Bridge Park. Look for the film's co-writers Michael Showalter & David Wain in the crowd. The Stella/State cast-mates are both NYC residents. I mean, maybe they'll want to see it too. DJ Conquerrah will provide some tunes.

High On Fire were scheduled to play Music Hall of Williamsburg tonight, but cancelled their whole tour.

There's a bunch of hip hop shows tonight.

The Arts & Crafts-signed Canadian band Zeus are in town for two shows, starting at the Rock Shop tonight and continuing at Mercury Lounge tomorrow (8/3) with ARMS (tickets). The shows are part of a tour which brings them back to Canada to play Osheaga on Sunday (8/5).

Follow @BrooklynVegan on Twitter.
Follow @bvChicago for just Chicago stuff.
Also follow @bvAustin for just Austin stuff.

Be our friend on Facebook too, and BV Austin's friend on Facebook and BV Chicago's friend on Facebook.

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Angel Haze has a new video for "New York," which you can watch below. Her next NYC show is on August 28 at S.O.B.'s.

Glen Hansard, Lisa Hannigan and John Smith covered The Band's The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" for AV Club Undercover. Check out a video of that below.

Tamaryn have a new song, "I'm Gone," off their upcoming record, Tender New Signs. Listen to that below.

Teengirl Fantasy revealed the track, "EFX" (feat. Kelela), off their upcoming record, Tracer. Check it out below. Their tour hits NYC for a Rocks Off Cruise on August 23.

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Thursday?"

by BBG

Religious to Damn at Glasslands (more by Nikki Sneakers)

BrooklynVegan is proud to announce that Religious to Damn will headline a BV/UN:ART:IG show at Saint Vitus in Brooklyn on Saturday (1/14) with support from ITHI (mem Serville Sect) and Sondra Sun-Odeon! $8 gets you into this 9PM show. Advanced tickets are on sale, and you can RSVP at Facebook if you want.

The show is one of a few select dates for the band, who will also hit San Francisco and LA in this round of dates (which are listed below). Facebook invite for the SF date, which also features Wax Idols & Alexis, is here, while the Facebook invite for the LA date curated by Tamaryn is available here. Stream a mix created by Tamaryn in honor of the show below.

The shows will be a celebration of the band's latest single, "Lovely Day", which makes its debut in this post. Stream the song, recorded/mixed by Colin Marston with synth production and drum programming from Shawn O'Sullivan (Led Er Est), below.

All song streams, tour dates and a video are below.

Continue reading "Religious to Damn schedules January shows, debuts new single (dates, song premiere & a mix by Tamaryn)"

Bloodiest @ Saint Vitus in Nov. (more by BBG)

When music documentarian (((unartig))) was first asked about a year end contribution, his initial reflex was: "Sausage - Hummus - Hitler!", the first two clearly being worse than the third. But then a performance enhancing Hewlett-Packard printer got in the way and spat out the list of 10 bands, video shot (((unartig))) included, that is below...

Continue reading "(((unartig)))'s top 10 music discoveries of 2011 (videos he shot included)"

The Outside Lands Festival, which runs from 8/12 - 8/14 in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, released their 2011 lineup in April (and now it's May, so consider this a catch up post). Tickets are on sale.

This year's fest will appearances from The Shins, Muse, Arcade Fire, Arctic Monkeys, The Black Keys, Phish (two sets), !!!, Erykah Badu, Big Audio Dynamite (who played Coachella and are also playing Lollapalooza), Girl Talk and many more. The full lineup is below.

Continue reading "Outside Lands 2011 lineup"

photos by Amanda Hatfield

Tamaryn @ Music Hall of Williamsburg -- 4/21/11

The Raveonettes and Tamaryn played tour-ending, sold-out shows at Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn on the past two nights. A set of pictures from last night/Thursday's show is in this post, and it continues, Raveonettes setlist included, below...

Continue reading "The Raveonettes & Tamaryn played 2 nights @ MHOW (pics & setlist)"

photos by Tim Griffin

The Raveonettes @ Emo's

While they played nearly half of [new album] Raven and the Grave, which features a more dark and gloomy sound exemplified by songs like "Apparitions" and "Evil Seeds," The Raveonettes pleased their excitable [Austin] fans be delving deep in their back catalog. As a result, the set proceeded like a greatest hits revue with new material sprinkled in. Old standbys like "Here Comes Mary" and the jangly "My Tornado" were accompanied by early favorites "Love In A Trashcan," and "The Love Gang," Several of their late career hits were also present, including the insanely catchy "Heart of Stone," "Lust," and "Dead Sound."

Upon finishing their main set with new track "My Time's Up," the band gave the audience members a chance to relax their ears before coming back onstage. Foo took the mic for the haunting "Forget That You're Young" before the band closed out the night with "Aly, Walk With Me." [Austinist]

Tamaryn @ Emo's

Tuesday night, while Hunx and his Punx and Shannon and the Clams were playing on the smaller stage, the two bands were doing it on the Emo's main stage with help from opener Shapes Have Fangs. Tim took pictures of the Austin show, including this picture of a picture that was on the wall:

Scheduled for an August opening, Emo's East will be fashioned along the lines of Washington, D.C.'s 930 Club and will accommodate up to 1,700. It will feature state of the art sound and lighting, plus tons of parking. Citing the new ACL Live venue raising the bar, Emo's owner Frank Hendrix says Austin's current live music climate is right for Emo's East. "Both artists and live music fans in Austin are savvy and their expectations are increasing. We want to offer them a first class facility to meet those expectations." [Soundcheck]

Continue reading "The Raveonettes & Tamaryn are on tour, played Emo's who are opening another Austin venue (pics)"

Dr. Dog @ Governors Island over the summer (more by Tracy Allison)

today in NYC
* BNLX @ the Rock Shop
* comedy @ Union Hall
* Egypt 2000 @ The Stone
* People's Champs @ Barbes
* Bird Fly Yellow @ Sycamore
* Rob Wasserman @ The Stone
* Steve Arrington @ Southpaw
* Pajama Men @ St. Ann's Warehouse
* David Garrett @ Best Buy Theater
* Fences, PJ Bond, The Waltz @ Maxwell's
* Scissor Sisters @ The Wellmont Theatre
* John Mellencamp @ Radio City Music Hall
* Scott Kettner's Forro Brass Band @ Barbes
* Dither, Dawn of Midi @ Issue Project Room
* Red Horse, Crooks, Hobson's Choice @ Zebulon
* James Chance & Jonthan Toubin @ Home Sweet Home
* Nero, Hellfire Machina, Roommate @ Webster Hall
* Yann Tiersen, Shannon Wright @ Highline Ballroom
* Elysian Fields, Lucinda Black Bear @ Le Poisson Rouge
* Crystal Stilts, Beach Fossils, Widowspeak @ 285 Kent Ave
* The Caulfield Sisters, Xray Eyeballs, Florida @ The Gutter
* Dr. Dog, Jeffrey Lewis, The Head and the Heart @ Terminal 5
* Holy Ghost Tent Revival, Via Audio, Do It To Julia @ Littlefield
* Reigning Sound, Guitar Lightnin Lee, The Sights @ The Bell House
* Sneaky Legend, Jounce, Steel Phantoms, Spacecamp @ Cameo Gallery
* Girls of Porn, Monster Movie, Dipers, Little Italy @ Tommy's Tavern
* Passive Aggressor, Sleepies, Heavy Medical, Zulus @ Death By Audio
* Home Video, Kordan, ArpLine, Fan-Tan @ The Studio at Webster Hall
* Tayisha Busay, Year of The Tiger, Penmanship, Old Monk @ Spike Hill
* The Civil Wars, Deep River, Spirit Family Reunion @ Rockwood Music Hall
* Magrudergrind, Woe, Mutilation Rites, We Are All Savages at The Charleston
* Eyehategod, Misery Index, Magrudergrind, Strong Intention, Mutilation Rites @ Europa
* Smoota, Caravan of Thieves, Elizabeth and The Catapult, Casey Shea Band @ Rockwood Music Hall
* Blood Orange, Headless Horseman, DADS (Hima from Das Racist Quinn Walker from Suckers), Emil & Friends, Das Racist (DJ set) @ Pianos
* Screens, Void Vision, Yellow Tears, Small Time London Thug, Sensual Harassment, Food Stamps, Try Cry Try, Fay Victor (Williamsburg Fashion Weekend) @ Glasslands

Happy Birthday Yoko Ono.

Note that Phantogram are not playing Terminal 5 with Dr. Dog tonight.

Radiohead's new album is out now!

As This Week in Indie reminds us, Tamaryn plays PS1 on Saturday and played Don Hill's last night. Video from that below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Friday?"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: BNLX - Do Without (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: BNLX - Where is the Love? (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: BNLX - When Doves Cry (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Sweet Bulbs - Kissing Clouds (MP3)

Mitch Easter

A lot of cool shows this week/weekend, some of which might be a bit under the radar. Let's get into it. Alt rock legend Mitch Easter, in addition to being part of that upcoming Big Star Third show, is on a rare Northeast tour right now that pulls into town Thursday (2/17) at The Rock Shop.

While he's maybe best known as a producer (the first two R.E.M.'s albums [with Don Dixon], Pavement's Brighten the Corners, Moose's ...XYZ among other things), Easter has had a long career as a musician, as a part ofThe Sneakers in the late '70s and frontman/songwriter for Let's Active, easily one of the most underrated bands of the '80s. He's also an incredible guitarist, and Let's Active albums are resplendent with awesome axe-work.

I like everything they ever did but 1986's Big Plans for Everybody is especially great, one of my favorite albums of that decade. Mitch put the kybosh on Let's Active in 1990 and didn't release any original material until 2008's Dynamico, an album which showed he still has chops and songs to spare.

Mitch's set at The Rock Shop is going to be heavy on the Let's Active tunes and if there's a song you really want to hear, like "Talking to Myself" from Big Plans, you can make a request. Opening the show are Brooklyn's own Boy Genius whose album from last year, Staggering, was produced by Mitch and is worth checking out. Also playing: Overlord.

I'm pretty excited about this next one. Minneapolis' awesome and enigmatic BNLX play their first-ever NYC shows this week, stopping at Fontana's tomorrow night (2/17) and The Rock Shop on Friday (2/18).

BNLX seemingly stormed out of nowhere early 2010, releasing a new EP each quarter, featuring hand-printed, Neu!-esque sleeves and press releases like this:

-BNLX has been meeting and / or exceeding expectations since its inception in Q1 2010
-BNLX provides mission-critical services to the entertainment sector in the following categories:
--"music" (noise)
--found art -beatz / rhymez
--mélodies angéliques
--obfuscation / parallax
-these services are rendered in the live, recorded, and conceptual spheres
-BNLX is comprised of both organic and inorganic members
-this allows BNLX to achieve standards of performance surpassing nominal criteria
-Stage One of the BNLX First One Year Plan commenced in March, 2010; it has been successful
-Stage Two - the release of BNLX EP #2 - will be executed June 25th, 2010
-BNLX EP #2 will be available as a numbered limited edition CD art package
-it will also be available through iTunes, other digital retailers, and piracy

That obfuscation didn't last two long as people figured out that BNLX was the work of Minneapolis indie rock mainstay Ed Ackerson, who has led such excelent bands as The 27 Various and Polara over the last 25 years as well as running Susstones Records. His wife Ashley -- they're both also in Moodswings -- is the other half of the band. BNLX have culled the best of the four 2010 EPs as a free sampler which you can download for free. You can also check out a few of the songs, including that Prince cover, at the top of this post.

The Rock Shop show is part of the monthly Hard Light party which is a must for lovers of shoegaze, post-punk, '60s psych, Krautrock, metal, Sweden, feedback, '90s indie rock, and guitars in general. In addition to BNLX, Hard Light promises "drink specials- weirdo cult movies - and loudness."

Speaking of shoegazy stuff, Tamaryn is back in NYC for her first proper shows since CMJ 2010. She plays Don Hill's on Thusday (2/17), and then an afternoon show at PS 1 on Saturday (2/19). I loved her debut album, The Waves, which came in at #12 on my Favorite LPs of 2011 list, and it's still in pretty heavy rotation here at TWII Headquarters (aka my kitchen). It reminds me a lot of the first Verve album,  tsunami waves of guitar matched with a nimble, groovy rhythm section and Tamaryn's lovely vocals.

There are a lot of chilly ice princesses out there right now, but I think Tamaryn deserves the crown. (Though I haven't heard the Austra album yet.) I thought she and her band were great at Coco66, those three songs before the cops shut it all down. If you can't make these shows, she'll be back in April touring with The Raveonettes, including two nights at Music Hall of Williamsburg (4/20 and 4/21). All Tamaryn tour dates are at the bottom of this post.

Keeping with the theme, let's talk a bit about Sweet Bulbs, "Brooklyn's blurriest pop band," whose album came out this week on Blackburn Recordings. It's choc-a-bloc with seriously catchy songs that are buried under layers of swirly guitars and effects pedals and other sludge. As someone who loved bands like The Swirlies, Drop Nineteens, Lilys and Henry's Dress, this is right up my alley. For those mystified by that litany of obscure '90s indie bands, just know Sweet Bulbs make beautiful noise. You can download "Kissing Clouds" from the album at the top of this post.

Sweet Bulbs play Bruar Falls this Saturday (2/19) with White Laces, Arches, and Tungs. Do check 'em out.

That's the main stuff this week. A few more picks, day by day are below:

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 16

The Church play three albums from their catalog in their entirety tonight at Highline Ballroom: Untitled #23, Priest=Aura, and Starfish. That's over three hours of music, which seems like a lot to me even for a devoted Church fan. Maybe if it was Heyday instead of Untitled #23 I'd be more inclined to go. They'll do it again tomorrow (2/17) at BB King's.

Tonight is also the third week of ARMS' February residency at Pianos, this week with The Silent League, Your Youth, Inlets and Thunder & Lightning (which is the new band from Brent Katz who was Todd Goldstein's bandmate in Harlem Shakes). ARMS were teriffic last week, this is highly recommended.

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Continue reading "Mitch Easter, BNLX, Tamaryn, Sweet Bulbs & more in This Week in Indie"

Tamaryn @ Coco66 during CMJ (more by Andrew St. Clair)

Anything good going on at Don Hill's this week for Fashion Week? Remember who they had playing there last Fashion Week?

As previously mentioned, (the fashionable) Tamaryn is coming to town to play PS1 on 2/19 (a couple of months before she returns as part of her tour with the Raveonettes), but now that will be her 2nd NYC happening in February. On the 17th she'll be playing a proper show (their "only solo show in Manhattan for the rest of this year") at Don Hill's with Religious to Damn (who she also collaborates with) and DJ Jeralyn. Fashion week will be over by then. More details and tour dates below...

Continue reading "Tamaryn adds Don Hill's show (after Fashion Week)"

The Raveonettes have announced a full North American tour in support of their fifth LP --- Raven In The Grave will be released on April 4 via Vice Records. The tour kicks off in Philly at the end of March and leads up to their previously announced 4/20 Brooklyn show at Music Hall of Williamsburg which is now accompanied by a 4/21 show at the same NYC venue. Tickets are still available for the 4/20 show, and the 4/21 show goes on sale Friday at noon.

All dates on the tour are with Tamaryn who you can also catch in NYC much earlier when she visits to play an event at PS1.

Music Hall of Williamsburg also just announced a show hapening two days after the Raveonettes leave the venue, and that is the one with Crocodiles, the Fresh & Onlys, and Young Prisms which also goes on sale Friday.

All tour dates below...

Continue reading "Raveonettes announce new LP, tour w/ Tamaryn, 2nd NY show (2011 dates) "

photos by Harriet Roberts and Nikki Sneakers

Religious To Damn (mem Blacklist/Vaura/A Stom of Light) played their record release party at Glasslands on 1/13 in celebration of Glass Prayer, the band's new LP out via M'Lady's Records on February 8th. The LP features an appearance from Tamaryn who (despite a supposed last minute cancellation) joined the band on stage. Kevin Hufnagel (Dystrhythmia/Gorguts/Vaura) opened with a solo set on acoustic guitar after Charlie Schmid and his percussion ensemble 'I Sing The Body Electric' performed Steve Reich's 'Drumming'. There was burlesque from Anna Copa Cabanna, and records were played by Jonathan Toubin, Jeralyn Mason, and WIERD honcho Pieter Schoolwerth.

The Glasslands show was free, but unfortunately you will have to shell out a couple bucks to catch Religious to Damn at one of their next appearances: 2/6 at Glasslands with The Vacant Lots, Exit Music and ZaZa, on 2/23 at Union Pool with Man's Gin or on 3/25 at Cake Shop with Tog. Man's Gin also plays Mercury Lounge on 2/12 with Scott Kelly and Wino. Tickets are still available for that one.

Tamaryn will be back in NYC when she opens for the Raveonettes at Music Hall of Williamsburg on 4/20 (tickets are still on sale), and she'll be back even sooner to be part of this just announced February 19th event at MoMA PS1.

Saturday, February 19, 2011 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM

Saturday Sessions: Hosted by Lauren Devine and Patrik Sandberg featuring performances by Tamaryn, Mirror Mirror, and visuals by Thunder Horse Video

Lauren Devine and Patrik Sandberg present an audiovisual experience featuring performances by Tamaryn and Mirror Mirror, with an immersive visual landscape by installation crew Thunder Horse Video. The one-time-only collaborative event will produce a synthesized encounter with Tamaryn's colossal and dense sound and the natural landscape that inspired it, exaggerated to unnatural proportion within MoMA PS1's physical space. Mirror Mirror's lead-in performance, with costumes by Lauren Devine, will further feature a synchronized video by artists Robert Bittenbender and Casey Jane Ellison.

Continue reading "Religious to Damn played Glasslands w/ help from Tamaryn (both have announced more shows) -- pics & dates"