photos by Matthew Eisman

"As the set progressed Mr. Barnes sometimes set clowning aside. Although he sang "Casualty of You" in a gold lamé robe and a miterlike headpiece, it was a bitter piano dirge. He performed most of his set-closer, "The Past Is a Grotesque Animal," without the dancers, as its relentless drumbeat and tense tremolo violin led him toward desperate incantation. And then, for encores, came three songs from Michael Jackson's "Thriller" -- another way to wrap anxieties in gleaming pop.

Of Montreal shared the bill, and the stage, with Janelle Monáe; she sings on "False Priest," and Of Montreal appears on her album, "The ArchAndroid" (Wondaland Arts Society/Bad Boy/Atlantic). Ms. Monáe has a bright voice with more than a hint of Michael Jackson in it, and she shares Of Montreal's fondness for funk, soul and new wave, for science fiction and for overstuffing songs. Her set zoomed through styles and ideas -- rock and soul, swing and Hendrixy psychedelia, futurism and romance. She went high-stepping through them all like a vaudeville trouper, complete with black-and-white saddle shoes to show off footwork ready for Broadway." [NY Times]

Continue reading "Of Montreal & Janelle Monae played Terminal 5 again (twice) - pics, setlist & video of the Michael Jackson medley"

by BBG

Enslaved at The Grand Ballroom in 2009 (more by Chris LaPutt)

Enslaved will hit the road with Dimmu Borgir (vom), Blood Red Throne, and Dawn of Ashes for a string of dates entitled Darkness Reborn, which will impact Terminal 5 on 11/8. Tickets go on sale Friday (9/17) at noon (with maybe an AmEx presale at 11AM Wednesday).

The progressive black metal band will welcome their new LP, Axioma Ethica Odini, via Nuclear Blast on 9/28 (currently on presale). Enslaved recently launched a contest for a fan-filmed video to the song "Ethica Odini" which includes a free download of the track. For rules/regs and the MP3 (in exchange for your email addy) head to the video site.

All tour dates and some video is below...

Continue reading "Enslaved touring with Dimmu Borgir, playing T5..."

Ted Leo @ FYF Fest 2010 (more by Chris Juarez)

We will be releasing a small quantity of GA tickets for Matador 21 next week by lottery. Winners will be picked at random and notified on Tuesday, September 14th at 9:00am. Winners will have 24hrs to purchase their tickets. If they fail to do so, a new winner will be selected the following day at 9:00am. All winners will be given the option to purchase 2 tickets at $250 each + service fees and taxes. This is your last chance (we hope!) to be part of the greatest weekend in human history

To enter the lottery please send an email to 21@matadorrecords.com with the title, "21 LOTTERY" in the subject line of your message.

Thanks!
Matador Records

On the Matador 21 schedule you'll see that both The New Pornographers and Ted Leo & the Pharmacists play the final day of the festival, Sunday, October 3rd. It was also just announced that those same two bands will share a bill again two months later in NYC. Tickets for the Monday, December 6th show at Terminal 5 in NYC go on service-fee-free Presale today (9/14), AmEx presale Wednesday at 11am, and then general sale Friday at noon.

In between Las Vegas and NYC, the New Pornographers will play a series of dates with Tokyo Police Club who also have a bunch of shows scheduled without their fellow Canadians. All dates are listed below.

Ted Leo has an even busier schedule between now and December, and as usual, good taste in openers. In September and October he'll hit the road with So Cow and then Kevin Seconds and then Screaming Females again.

Screaming Females meanwhile are on a tour that passes through Brooklyn on Wednesday, September 15th. Tickets for the Knitting Factory show are still on sale.

All dates and stuff below...

Continue reading "more Matador 21 tickets, the final lineup, a New Pornographers/Ted Leo show in NYC & other dates"

The Walkmen on Governors Island in August (more by Dominick Mastrangelo)

"We took two trips to Lisbon over the course of writing this record... None of us had ever been there, and we were really blown away by the place. The topography and architecture are stunningly handsome. Even when we were there for the rainy season - it literally never stopped raining - it was a trip that outshone a lot of others. We've never had much luck at all in Europe, and the Portuguese were surprisingly accommodating. I think those two trips really helped keep us motivated while making this record. We named the record Lisbon as sort of a 'thank you' and a small tribute." -[The Walkmen frontman Hamilton Leithauser to NPR]

The last NYC show took place on Governors Island in August. The next will happen at Terminal 5 on December 2nd. Tickets go on AmEx presale Wednesday (9/15), and then regular sale at noon two days later.

All Walkmen tour dates and a bunch of Big Ass Lens videos from Governors Island show, below...

Continue reading "new Walkmen album stream & updated dates w/ new NY show"

photos by Matthew Eisman

After a string of festival dates, and shows in DC and Philly, Dirty Projectors returned to their native NYC to headline the cavernous halls of Terminal 5 with Owen Pallett on Saturday night (9/11)...

Pallett's set began after he announced (and tweeted!) that he was having a set list crisis. The set was decidedly split into two acts. First came his solo looping and building detailed architectural songs using just violin and MIDI keyboard... For the second half, Thomas Gill came to the stage, providing multi-instrumental layers on top of the looped violin textures. From bopping auxiliary drums on "The Great Elsewhere," to shredding guitar on "Many Lives -> 49 MP." ...As amazing and obviously talented Pallett is on his own, the addition of a second member to the stage show keeps him from being considered too gimmicky or one trick-y.

... From the beginning of the [Dirty Projectors] set with the harmonic shrieks of "Fucked For Life," and blasting strobe lights into the eyes of everyone in the crowd, it is easy to get sucked into how much of a powerful rock force these guys are and forget how weird these songs actually are. Catchy and rocked out to be sure. But when it comes down to it, these alien harmonies sung by Amber Coffman, Angel Deradoorian and Haley Dekle, along with Longstreth's finger-mashing guitar licks, these are not songs that many bands selling out big rock venues could dream of writing. - [FreeWilliamsburg]

The perfectly harmonized band (DP) is currently on the road through the end of September (with Happy Birthday and then Dominique Young Unique), but will be back in the tri-state area to play Madison Square Garden with Phoenix on 10/20 (tickets) before playing Fun Fun Fun Fest.

More pictures from the T5 show, a shot of the setlist and a video, below...

Continue reading "Dirty Projectors & Owen Pallett played Terminal 5 in NYC --- (pics, video, setlist)"

photos by Diana Wong

"The Scissor Sisters, a home town band born in NYC's gay dance clubs, proved Tuesday that you can't be too campy.

At the first night of two performances at Terminal 5, the Sisters -- featuring him-and-her lead vocalists Jake Shears and Ana Matronic in leather and Lycra -- played a powerhouse 100-minute set that seemed to release all of the band's pent-up energy after a four-year stage and recording hiatus.

The colorful, burlesque-inspired show combined fashion, frantic dance moves and falsetto vocal harmonies that would have made the Bee Gees jealous. The Scissor Sisters also projected a B-52's-like knack for call-and- response party anthems." -[NY Post]

More pics from Wednesday with the setlist, some videos and lots more tour dates (which they're playing in support of a new album), and the new video for "Any Which Way", below...

Continue reading "Scissor Sisters played 2 nights @ Terminal 5 -- pics, setlist, videos & updated tour dates "

photos by Zachary Alex Stern

"Last night I went with some friends to see Crystal Castles at Terminal 5 for HARD Summer Tour and it was an awesome show. Sinden, Destructo, and JDH & Dave P opened and I have never seen so much sweat in my life. Alice Glass fell on me." [Cactus Crown]

Continue reading "Crystal Castles, Sinden & Destructo @ Terminal 5 (HARD pics)"

words by Rachel Kowal, photos by Matúš Bence

"devendra is sessy" -Carenish

"Devendra Banhart.. *sigh* you make me smile (: Marry me?" - RaverBabies

"Adam Green is dressed as a pirate so this already rules" -Hello Smashley

When Adam Green (formerly of Moldy Peaches) launched into Edward Elgar's graduation classic, "Pomp and Circumstance," mere seconds after walking on stage, I cringed. His set could go one of two ways: funny-bad, or just plain terrible.

I'm not sure how Adam Green managed to get on the bill last night (8/19). Sure, he was quite a sight to behold in his black pirate hat and complimentary red jacket and Devendra did speak positively of him later in the show (and even called him a 'genius'), but thanks to Green's failed jokes, mediocre talent, copious allusions to drugs, and eye-rolling stage antics, his performance fell flat. To be fair, it was hard to tell if Green knew his act was a total farce or not, but if it was all a joke, he didn't have the charisma or cleverness to pull it off. A bizarre opening band is somewhat fitting for a show headlined by Devendra Banhart, but I expect the eccentricities to be underlined with talent.

In a failed attempt to incite the audience and fulfill his rock 'n roll fantasy, Green kept walking out to the barrier between the stage and the audience and reaching out to people in the front, but with the exception of a handful of fans, the majority of the people in the audience couldn't even muster a response between songs. Instead of pushing forward, they left large pockets of space scattered throughout the floor, which Green found out the hard way when he tried (and failed) to crowd surf, leaving his band mates on stage to cringe in embarrassment as they continued to play.

During the one song that Green attempted to play solo, he managed to forget the lyrics ("I didn't have my passport, so they turned me into snow"), interrupt himself ("What is that echo? Do you hear that?"), and accidentally repeat a verse. By the time he feebly ripped through his white V-neck undershirt as he sang the line "she grabbed me," audible groans mixed with cheers. When he leaped into the pit for another round of (failed) crowd surfing, it wasn't long before the venue's bouncer intervened and tossed him back on stage. Finally, after nearly 50 minutes of shenanigans, Adam Green trounced off stage in his pirate captain garb, but not before briefly stopping mid song to sing a few lines from the chorus of "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" by Green Day.

Suffice it to say that I was relieved (and a bit confused) when a relatively clean-cut man in a button-up shirt and fitted blazer walked on stage. Had Devendra Banhart really traded in his signature look - the messy long hair and mountain man beard? I admit I wasn't convinced it was him until he started singing, and I heard the characteristic warble in his voice. I couldn't help but smile when I realized what he had chosen for his first song - "Long Haired Child."

All of my lingering frustrations about the opening band quickly faded away. The contrast between the two artists was astounding. Green and Banhart may both be showmen, but with the latter, it doesn't feel like a cheap gimmick. Devendra and The Grogs played well off each other. Though the majority of the songs were Banhart's (with the exception of some covers), members from The Grogs often lent their vocal talents to the mix. The interplay between Banhart and Grogs drummer Greg Rogrove was especially compelling early in the set with "Shabop Shalom." Rogrove began the song with a smooth, spoken word introduction turning to Banhart who walked over to sing directly to him in response.

In addition to facilitating a more raucous sound with the help of a backing band, Devendra also appeased the audience by playing a portion of his set solo. The mood in the room shifted dramatically from the first of his solo songs, "The Body Breaks." Suddenly instead of a whirlwind of lights and effects, just two white, immobile spotlights illuminated Banhart first on guitar and then the organ as he played through a handful of older songs.

Midway through his set, Banhart asked for requests and was met by a largely indecipherable jumble of screams. Banhart did his best to address the requests, but each song he sang was enthusiastically received by the audience. He even managed to break a string sometime near the end of the epic song "Seahorse," which featured lovely backing vocals and something bordering on a jam session. He also played a number of entertaining covers, including an impassioned rendition of the Taylor Dayne hit "Tell It To My Heart."

Though he had certainly played a lengthy set, Banhart returned to the stage to rapturous applause and churned out another three songs. Though I often find myself growing restless by the end of a show, this was not the case last night. When I glanced at my watch at the end of the encore, I was surprised to see that Devendra Banhart and The Grogs had played for nearly two hours. Thankfully, the encore did not include a cameo by Green.

More pictures, a video and Devendra's setlist from the show, below...

Continue reading "Devendra Banhart & the Grogs and Adam Green played Terminal 5 (review, setlist, a video & some pics) "

Cadillac Sky in the studio w/ Dan Auerbach

The November 15th Mumford and Sons show at Terminal 5 is sold out, so they added a second show for November 16. Tickets go on American Express presale on Wednesday at 11 AM and general public sale starts Friday at noon.

Both shows are being opened by fellow UK artist, King Charles (Mi7 Records), and the Texas bluegrass-infused rock band Cadillac Sky who recently released their third full length album, Letters In The Deep, on Dualtone Records. The album was produced by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys. Two "making of" videos below...

Continue reading "Mumford & Sons, Cadillac Sky & King Charles add another gig"

photos by kolored

DOWNLOAD: Sue Jorge & Almaz - Everybody Loves The Sunshine (MP3)

Seu Jorge @ Terminal 5 - July 30, 2010

"When Seu Jorge sauntered onstage at the Trocadero [in Philly] on Wednesday night, he seemed to have taken the crowd by surprise. It's not like an artist of his stature to forgo an opening act and start playing at 9 o'clock sharp. Nor is it like Jorge to begin a show without the sunny samba and bossa nova grooves of his native Brazil, but rather with a brooding downer filled with dissonant guitar and anguished wails.

Then again, Jorge's always been a bit difficult to pin down. The singer-songwriter from Rio de Janeiro has made successful turns at acting in widely acclaimed films such as City of God and Wes Anderson's The Life Aquatic - the latter of which Jorge scored using nothing but David Bowie songs translated to acoustic guitar and Portuguese. Now he's touring with his new band Almaz, in support of their self-titled debut album of bilingual, pan-genre cover songs.

The familiar South American rhythms soon returned to the mix, however, leaving the biggest surprise one even Jorge might not have foreseen: the sparse crowd. With only a couple hundred fans in attendance, the venue left plenty of wiggle room for dancing and cavorting on the floor.

To Almaz's credit, they responded to a lackluster turnout in the best way a band can: by making fools of everyone who wasn't there...

...Using its new album as a template, the band mostly served up covers of everybody from Krautrock progenitors Kraftwerk to famous jazz vibraphonist Roy Ayers, through the colorful lens of Brazilian psych-soul. Though even the show's most obscure selections were a delight to hear, highlights included a take on Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust," a medley of Jorge's own material, and a wonderfully laid-back inversion of Michael Jackson's "Rock With You."... [Philadelpha Inquirer]

Continue reading "Seu Jorge & Almaz on tour, played Terminal 5 (pics, setlist)"

photos by Matthew Eisman

"They opened with a strong, stirring rendition of "Start A War" (Featuring the immortal lyrics: "You were always weird but I never had to hold you by the edges like I do now. Walk away now. And you're gonna start a war.") and they never looked back. Highlights included stellar performances of "Bloodbuzz, Ohio," "Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks," "Fake Empire" and "Mr. November" some charming, semi spastic arm waving gestures by the tall skinny lead singer with the wonderfully soulful baritone voice and a delicious veggie dog from the roof deck. They closed the show with "Terrible Love"--the opening song from their newest album. The only disappointment for me was they they did not perform "Racing Like a Pro" or the magnificent "Gospel." But it was a really great night. And a great live musical christening of my second half century." [Teddy Vegas]

Continue reading "The National, Suckers & Kurt Vile @ Terminal 5 (SPIN 25) - pics, setlist, live audio "

photos by Diana Wong

"Black keys midnight show at Terminal 5 melted my face. I officially have no fuckin face!" - Joe Thompson

Despite playing a headlining show at Summerstage earlier in the evening, the Black Keys still managed to melt faces for 90 minutes and 22 songs at Terminal 5 last night (7/28). The SPIN/ZYNC show, the third in a series of five, was opened by The Whigs and Lee Fields and the Expressions (including some familiar Daptone faces)...

"But the show belonged to Auerbach and Carney -- even when they had help. About halfway into the set, two members of Fields' backing band came out to play bass and keyboard for a few numbers. The extra muscle made songs such as Brother's "Everlasting Light" sound a tad conventional when compared to the lean aggression that fired "I Got Mine," from 2008's Attack & Release, but the former song's creeping eighth note bassline and eerie, clanging keyboard stabs were thrilling in their own right." [SPIN]

Continue reading "The Black Keys, Lee Fields & the Whigs played Terminal 5 (SPIN 25) - pics & setlist"

Miike Snow @ Sasquatch Fest (more by Chris Graham)

Miike Snow have sold out their October 6th show at Terminal 5. As a result, they've added another gig at the same spot for the next night, Thursday, October 7th. Tickets are on AmEx presale; general sale starts Friday at noon.

The Swedish synth-dance-pop band played three NYC shows with Delorean in March. Their current tour hits five continents. All dates are below...

Continue reading "Miike Snow add another show - updated 2010 tour dates"

photos by Vincent Cornelli

"Everyone always says that when bands play places like L.A. and New York that no one wants to have a good time," frontman Wayne Coyne told the giddy crowd at Manhattan's Terminal 5 before The Flaming Lips' show last night. "But I think that's fucking bullshit!" [SPIN]

Continue reading "Flaming Lips & Fang Island played Terminal 5 (pics & setlist)"

photos by Jen Maler

"Billy Corgan says something about being our rock n roll puppet, still has beef w/ Pavement, mimes puppet him killing "guy from Pavement"" - BrooklynVegan

"LOL, one guess at the only thing @BrooklynVegan cared about from tonight's show. It's just too easy for Billy to troll the indie bloggers..." - Hipsters United (a blog about the Smashing Pumpkins)

Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan had one message for long-time fans last night: I'm sorry.

The indie rocker issued the apology for reasons that remained unclear Monday night during a sold-out performance at Spin magazine's 25th anniversary concert at Terminal 5.

"For the old-school fans, sorry for what I've done to you," lamented the crooner, who headlined the event.

"We love you guys. Thank you so much." [NBC]

Don't forget that all five SPIN shows, including tonight's Flaming Lips show, are streaming online. For part of the show last night I was watching the stage with one eye, and the live video they were capturing with the other (on a TV screen), and the video was actually more fun to watch. They were doing a great job thanks in part to the serious set up they have going on with cameras flying over people's heads and on stage and in the photo pit.

The venue was decked out with SPIN magazines - on tables and pasted on the walls along with "Zync Zones" and other sponsor stuff.

It's hard to get past the new band, and I wasn't really expecting much from the Billy Corgan show, but they sounded and looked (lights, stage setup, outfits) good. There was lots of wailing by Billy and a bunch of highlights in the set list, which you can see below with more pictures and some videos (grabbed from the stream) from the show...

Continue reading "Smashing Pumpkins @ Terminal 5, NYC (SPIN 25) - pics, setlist"

photos by Jen Maler

We got in to Terminal 5 too late to catch their opening set last night (which was their fourth and final NYC-area show this week), but Jen Maler managed to grab the guys from The Jim Jones Revue for some portraits which you can see in this post. They continue below with a new set of tour dates that this time includes NYC and beyond....

Continue reading "the Jim Jones Revue played Terminal 5, announce more dates "

photos by Vincent Cornelli, words by Rachel Kowal

Spencer & Dan

Zola Jesus' rise over the last year has been rather meteoric, and judging from her live performance, it isn't hard to see why the young artist has been the subject of so much hype. Even her name - Nika Roza Danilova - is commanding. Nika possesses (and I mean possesses) a rich, husky voice that boomed through the amps and powerfully resonated throughout the large space at Terminal 5.

Then there's her distinct aesthetic. Nika, now a platinum blonde, has a knack for theatrics. For Tuesday night's show, she wore a black cloak of sorts, complete with a large hood that effectively transformed her into a spectre when she pulled it on. At the beginning of her set, she paced slowly back and forth across the length of the stage, but with each song, her movements became more desperate and her hand motions, more exaggerated until the only thing left to do was to strike a dramatic pose.

The National's Matt Berninger sips chilled white wine and rushes the crowd during the more raucous songs. Nika Roza Danilova climbs on top of things and dramatically serenades the audience from on high. It seems to be her trademark. At last night's show, she perched atop an amp while singing the moody ballad, "Night."

Zola Jesus' music is a strange combination of subdued and melodramatic as if it can't quite decide what it wants to be, but maybe the point of interest lies in this stark contrast.

Mools

If Zola Jesus has been inescapable in the blogosphere lately, Moools has been sorely underrepresented despite their connection to K Records and artists like Modest Mouse and Deerhoof. When the band's three slightly-older men walked on stage, they were treated somewhat skeptically by the audience, but with their live instruments, jovial (attempts at) banter, and heavier sound, the Japanese trio definitely altered the mood of the room and quickly captivated the audience. There are no gimmicks or bells and whistles here - just straight-up rock. Instead of being the focal point, Moools' vocals are used more for ornamentation and to offset the quieter portions of the music.

While Zola Jesus didn't break character once to address the audience between songs or even to crack a smile, Moools clearly seemed to be enjoying themselves on stage, and it reflected in their music. Their guitar player was shaking with energy - as if his mass of wild, curly hair provided him with an otherworldly power source. Not even an impromptu fire alarm during their last song could hold them back. They soldiered on, through the high-pitched whistle and the blinking white lights.

Last year, Wolf Parade's two chief members, Spencer Krug and Dan Boeckner, each released albums with their side projects (Sunset Rubdown and Handsome Furs, respectively), but 2010 seems to be the year of the wolf. Their new album Expo 86 is arguably the most cohesive Wolf Parade album to date.

Wolf Parade are definitely pros at this point. They know how to put on a good show and how to engage the audience by keeping the banter to a minimum and letting the music speak for itself. When Boeckner or Krug spoke up at all, it was mostly to reiterate how thankful they were to be playing in NY. "A lot of bands say that playing in New York is something of a drag, but we've always had a blast playing here," said Krug.

Instead of relying on either their vocals or instrumentation, Wolf Parade excels at both. Krug and Boeckner keep things fresh by tag-teaming the vocal responsibility, and each of the four members adds a distinct flavor to the mix. It's normal for guitar solos to rock, but Wolf Parade also boasts some sick synth solos, as evidenced in the very first notes of their opening number, "Soldier's Grin."

Though the majority of their set consisted of songs from their new album, they also threw in a handful of older tunes, including, "Dear Sons and Daughters of Hungry Ghosts," "I'll Believe in Anything," and "Shine a Light." The energy may have swelled when they reach further back into their repertoire, but in general the crowd responded enthusiastically to old and new material alike. It was the new song "Cave-o-sapien" that initiated the crowd surfing - not something from Apologies to the Queen Mary.

Wolf Parade concluded their set with an impressive three-song encore that featured a song from each of their three albums. As if testing the patience of the Terminal 5 staff, they concluded with "Kissing the Beehive," a song so epic in scope that it's like a three-for-one deal.

As a testament to how hard the Montreal four-piece rocked, by the end of the night, band members and fans alike were dripping in sweat - despite the fact that the A/C was blasting. Terminal 5 may not be known for their sound system, but Wolf Parade somehow managed to conquer the challenges posed by such a large venue and came out shining.

Wolf Parade continue on tour, and can be found at the Pitchfork Festival this coming weekend. Their T5 setlist, more pictures and some videos, below...

Continue reading "Wolf Parade, Moools & Zola Jesus @ Terminal 5 (pics, setlist)"

words & photos by Tracy Allison

Last night (7/6) She & Him played a sold out show at Terminal 5. The show was the fourth of fourteen stops on their Summer 2010 tour which also included a free show at Governors Island on the 4th of July.

Not long after the doors had opened, the 3,000+ person venue was crowded with concert goers unwilling to stand outside in the near 100 degree heatwave. The audience was full of women wearing light-colored knee-length sundresses in the style of actress and She & Him member Zooey Deschanel.

At 8 p.m., comedian Eugene Mirman took the stage, asking the audience how many of them were aware that the opening act was a comedian and not a musician. While the crowd did not seem particularly impressed with the jokes told during Mirman's 30 minute set, he managed to win over people towards the front of the stage by handing out business cards with ridiculous slogans.

At 9 p.m., She & Him walked on stage to thunderous applause and excitement. For most of their performance, backup vocals were provided by Lily and Abigail Chapin, 2/3rds of the folk-pop group The Chapin Sisters.

Halfway through the set, Zooey Deschanel took a moment to discuss a pet peeve with the audience. "Do you guys know how to turn the flashes off your cameras?" She asked, "I'm not trying to be bossy, but A) it ruins a lot and B) it's bad for pictures. Let us handle the lighting." In fact, Terminal 5's security guards walked throughout the venue very strictly enforcing the "No Pictures" rule for the night.

She & Him played for a total of 1 1/2 hours, performing songs such as "Sentimental Heart", "You Really Gotta Hold On Me", "Brand New Shoes", "In The Sun", "Don't Look Back", "This Is Not a Test", "Take It Back", and "Home".

After an evening full of beautiful music, audience cheers, and Zooey Deschanel jumping around on stage with a tambourine, She & Him returned for a short encore with the show finally ending around 10:30 p.m.

More (legally taken, flash-free) pictures from the show below...

Continue reading "She & Him & Eugene Mirman played Terminal 5 (pics & setlist)"

Devendra Banhart's What Will We Be came out in October 2009. He played a pair of NYC shows and jammed with Yo Gabba Gabba around that time. He's back in NYC for a show with his band the Grogs on Thursday, August 19th at Terminal 5. Tickets go on sale Friday at noon.

He has other dates scheduled for this summer too. Those include Europe in July, a few other US dates in August and shows in the South in October.

One place he won't be playing is...Arizona. Just kidding, it's Israel. A few weeks ago he canceled a show scheduled for mid-June in Tel Aviv (and not because of his recent skateboarding accident). His note about that, a stream of the remix he recently did for Liars, the newish video for "Babies", and all tour dates are below...

Continue reading "Devendra Banhart cancels Israel show, schedules one in NYC --- 2010 tour dates, his Liars remix, the Baby video, more "

It's probably for the best that Ratatat's free South Street Seaport concert never came off, if they're expecting to fill two nights at Terminal 5 (though it's still possible there'll be a Paper-sponsored show somewhere too I guess...). Those T5 show happen Friday, October 8th and Saturday, October 9th. Tickets go on sale Friday.

Ratatat will also be on hand July 17th to DJ at PS1's Warm Up series (which kicked off over the weekend weekend with Delorean and Janka Nabay and others).

The band's new album, LP4 (pictured above), came out at the beginning of June on XL to mixed reviews. Two videos for songs from that record are below...

Continue reading "Ratatat released LP4, playing 2 NYC shows & DJing another"

photos by Greg Cristman, words by Rachel Kowal

The New Pornographers may be considered to be hopelessly passé by some, but for better or worse, they got a fair amount of play during my college radio days, so they are one of those bands that that I look back at fondly - even if their last two or three albums left me feeling somewhat ambivalent.

Founded in 1997, they're veterans of the Canadian indie rock movement. They've seen the industry evolve and shift to accommodate one fad or another, and through it all, they held their ground and continued to churn out expansive power pop medleys year after year. With Carl Newman (A.C. Newman), Neko Case and Dan Bejar (Destroyer) in the mix, The New Pornographers also served as something of a prototype for the modern supergroup.

For Saturday night's show at Terminal 5 (one night after the CD throwing incident in Boston), The New Pornographers focused heavily on their newest album, Together, playing all but three songs from it. But in addition to showcasing the new material, they dipped deeper into their discography and pulled out songs like: "Sing Me Spanish Techno," "Mass Romantic," and "The Electric Version." Their set list for the evening was expansive, but the band talked little between songs and sometimes powered into the next with no more than a brief break for applause. One of the show's major highlights came during the final song of their encore, "Testament to Youth in Verse," when Newman engaged the audience with a slowly building sing-along.

The sound throughout the evening definitely seemed to be too loud - especially with the Dodos. The levels were fine for build-ups and breakdowns, but everything in between suffered. Whenever a song picked up the tempo and increased in volume, the sound started to blend together to create one inchoate mass of energy. Individual guitar riffs became muddled and vocals, indecipherable.

Luckily for Terminal 5, the additional New Pornographers show at the Bell House on Sunday night wasn't announced until after Saturday night's show had already sold out. Given the vastly improved sound quality at the Bell House and its more intimate size and layout, couldn't help but wonder what Sunday night's show (where they promised to do at least ten different songs) was going to be like in comparison (pictures from that one coming soon).

I got to the venue too late to see The Dutchess and the Duke, who like the Dodos, are still on tour with The New Pornographers. More pictures (of all three bands) from the T5 show, and the headliner's setlist, below...

Continue reading "The New Pornographers, Dodos & the Dutchess and the Duke played Terminal 5 - pics & setlist"

photos by Zachary Alex Stern

Cocorosie's latest album, Grey Oceans, was released on May 11th by Sub Pop. Exactly one month later (this past Friday night), they headlined a show at Terminal 5 in NYC. Their friend Diane Cluck opened the show. Pictures and videos from the show, and more dates (they're on the road until July 2nd), below...

Continue reading "Cocorosie played Terminal 5 w/ Diane Cluck - pics, videos & more tour dates"

The Flaming Lips in Poughkeepsie in April (more by Ryan Muir)

Remember the five Spin 25th Anniversary shows announced in March? Here they are:

7/26 - Smashing Pumpkins @ Terminal 5
7/27 - The Flaming Lips @ Terminal 5
7/28 - The Black Keys @ Terminal 5 (a late show)
7/29 - The National @ Terminal 5
7/30 - Spiritualized playing Ladies and Gentlemen in its entirety @ Radio City Music Hall

The Spin shows are sponsored by American Express Zync, just like the National @ BAM show that happened in May.

The National have other dates (including Radio City June 16th) coming up. The Flaming Lips and the Black Keys both play Central Park SummerStage around the time of the T5 shows. In fact, the July 28th T5 show is late show following one of the Black Keys SummerStage shows.

Some related recent videos below...

Continue reading "Flaming Lips, Black Keys & the National, Smashing Pumpkins & Spiritualized playing SPIN 25th birthday shows (on sale now)"

DOWNLOAD: Smashing Pumpkins - Astral Plane (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Smashing Pumpkins - A Stitch in Time (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Smashing Pumpkins - Window Wake My Mind (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Smashing Pumpkins - A Song For A Son (MP3)

"The Smashing Pumpkins" are playing a string of "intimate" shows this July.

"The decision to play intimate venues keeps in line with the Pumpkins' "long-standing tradition of trying to start up new tours at smaller venues because it allows the band the opportunity to take some chances musically," explains Billy."

Billy Corgan & bassist Nicole Fiorentino

The NYC date is July 26th at Terminal 5 and an American Express ticket presale for that show will start Friday, June 11th at 10am. Public sale happens Monday, June 14th at 11am.

The Smashing Pumpkins tour Japan in August, and the band writes that they "plan to tour South America and Australia in 2010 and hope to return to the U.S. later this year." All of their currently announced tour dates, more info on the EP and a streaming player for it, are below...

Continue reading "'Smashing Pumpkins' released 1st of 11 EPs (free), playing 'intimate' shows - 2010 tour dates (Terminal 5) "

Florence & the Machine @ Terminal 5 in April (more by Toby Tenenbaum)

Spinner: What was it like touring with Florence and the Machine?

The Drums: It was a cool experience for us. I mean, we're a very new band. It's almost exactly a year since we played our first show, which was at this place called The Cake Shop on the Lower East Side in New York -- it's essentially a hallway and there were 40 people there. Twelve months later we're supporting Florence and the Machine at the Hammersmith Apollo for three sold-out shows.

Other bands with multiple nights booked at Terminal 5 at the moment are Empire of the Sun and My Morning Jacket.

Other US Florence dates around the T5 shows aren't out yet, but the band will be playing quite a few shows in Europe and Australia. Those dates are below...

Continue reading "Florence & the Machine tour dates (2 nights @ Terminal 5) "