by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: The Stepkids - Shadows on Behalf (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Stepkids - Legend in My Own Mind (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Cuckoo Chaos - Just Ride It (MP3)

The Stepkids

Is it too late to say Happy New Year to all of you out there? Probably. Okay, nevermind. It is a New Year though, and the rock machine is already in full swing. If you haven't spent all your money on tickets to the chickfactor fest (I can't tell you how psyched I am to see Small Factory) there's some good options.

Top of my list this weekend is the previously mentioned Stepkids show at Knitting Factory on Saturday (1/14). Their self-titled debut made my Favorite Albums of 2011 list (#36) and don't feel it got enough attention. I wrote:

Like The Bees, The Stepkids recreate a specific era of sound -- early '70s psychedelic soul -- with such skill you might think it was some obscure Fifth Dimension album or outtakes from Psychedelic Shack. That it works beyond an exercise is mimicry shows how talented these three are.

And they are crazy talented. All three members write and sing and spent time playing with the likes of Alicia Keys, Lauren Hill and 50 Cent before deciding to take a stranger path in music. I do wish they'd make a 15-piece Stepkids Love Unlimited Orchestra so they could really do the complexities of the album justice in a live setting, but what they accomplish as a trio is still pretty damn impressive. (A killer light show helps in that department.) They were great when they played our day party at Public Assembly during CMJ week during which we taped them doing an acoustic cover of Nirvana's "Heart Shaped Box" which you can watch at the bottom of this post. Also down there is the Tom Sharpling-directed video for "Legend in My Own Mind" which is pretty funny.

Cuckoo Chaos

Opening for The Stepkids are San Diego band Cuckoo Chaos who also play Friday (1/13) at Mercury Lounge with Country Mice. The band have toured with Anna Calvi and were last in town during CMJ. The band play an appealing take on afrobeat-y indie rock with nice harmonies. I do really like their song "Just Ride It" which is downloadable at the top of this post. If you like that one, check out their album Woman (listen on Spotify, buy at eMusic) and consider going to one of their shows this weekend.

Radical Dads at Brooklyn Night Bazaar, December 2011

A few spots above the Stepkids on my Albums of 2011 list (#29) is Radical Dads' debut, Mega Rama, which is nine tasty chunks of shouty/catchy indie rock wrapped up in one of my favorite sleeves of the year. They're also a total blast live, as evidenced by anyone who showed up early to the BV-presented show at Brooklyn Night Bazaar last month.

You've got your first chance to catch Radical Dads in 2012, as previously mentioned, Friday night (1/13) where they play Cameo Gallery. The whole evening's card is pretty stacked with local talent. Also playing are mellow folk pop band Backwords (stream their new album below), the sloppy pop of Moonmen on the Moon, Man and the electro-tinged stylings of Yanqui.

King Krule, last night at Mercury Lounge

I would mention the King Krule shows happening this weekend but as they're all sold out, you're either going or you're not. I thought he was good when I saw him at Glasslands during CMJ. He looks even younger in person, but that voice seems to be from someone 30 years older. Anyway, a few more weekend picks are below, day-by-day....

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 12

Chain And The Gang, 5 Dollar Priest, Eleanor Friedberger, Nicole Atkins and many more play a Jonathan Toubin benefit at Music Hall of Williamsburg tonight.

Next door at Public Assembly, the Juan Maclean and Com Truise are playing a party celebrating new MTV show I Just Want My Pants Back. Tickets were free with RSVP but list is at capacity.

continued below...

Continue reading "The Stepkids, Cuckoo Chaos, Radical Dads, Backwords & more in This Week in Indie"

by BBG

Total Control at Fun Fun Fun Fest (more by BBG)

In addition to their previously discussed dates with Thee Oh Sees, Australia's Total Control have added a third NYC date which is actually happening before the others. The band will team with The Men, Nude Beach & Kicking Spit at Saint Vitus on 11/16. Tickets are on sale OR you can roll the dice and try to win a pair! Details on how are below.

Meanwhile The Men, who are going to SXSW in March, will support Russian Circles and Deafheaven at Bowery Ballroom tonight (11/14) and Maxwell's tomorrow.

Total Control's NYC shows with Thee Oh Sees happen at 285 Kent on 11/17 with The Beets and Doomsday Student who ripped it at Public Assembly (tickets), and at LPR on 11/18 (tickets).

All tour dates, contest details, and some streaming audio, below...

Continue reading "Total Control playing 3 NYC shows this week, The Men too"

As you know, Williamsburg music venue Bruar Falls is sadly closing at the end of this month. As just mentioned, tonight is their first "Last Night Ever". The full final (as of today) schedule below...

Continue reading "Bruar Falls is having its Last Week Ever"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: The Beets - Doing As I Do (MP3)

Like Xray Eyeballs before them, The Beets have signed with Sub Pop subsidary Hardly Art who will put out the band's third album, Let the Poison Out, on October 24. This is the fourth Brooklyn band the label has signed: Golden Triangle, Xray Eyeballs and La Sera are the others.

We've got the first-released song from it, the Turtles/Troggs-ish "Doing as I Do." Grab it above. It's pretty hi-fi, at least compared to the rest of the Beets releases, and the band clean up pretty nicely.

Judging from the new press photo, The Beets have a yet another new drummer. Maybe they'll keep hold of this one. The Beets also have a few dates coming up, including Saturday night (9/17) at Knitting Factory with fellow Hardly Art band Hunx & His Punx, as well as an Orta Blu fundraiser Monday night (9/19) at Skylight West Rooftop.

All dates and the album cover art and tracklist below...

Continue reading "The Beets sign to Hardly Art (new MP3 & dates)"

photos by Tim Griffin

Drive-By Truckers @ Stubb's

Y'ALL:
Last Wednesday, I fell down and cut my hand.
Fifteen stitches in my left palm.
Wish I had a cool story, but I don't.
The movie version would have me getting cut by a bottle of rot-gut whiskey in a bar fight.
No doubt defending the honor of someone or another.
My heroics bookended by a scene of me carrying my hand for reattachment by a disgraced former surgeon in the back of a grimy tattoo shop because lack of insurance would preclude being seen by a real doctor.
I would be brave and not cry or complain.

Hurling would be out of the question.

Ahh, the movie version.

Unfortunately, the truth is kind of tame, lame even.
I was picking my daughter up at first grade, carrying a bottle of water.
I tripped and fell (in front of her entire class).
I fell, shattering the glass which I then duly landed upon, pushing shards up into my hand.
My fucking left hand.
Fifteen stitches in my palm.
No biggie. No cut tendons or damaged muscle. Missed that artery (bled like a stuck pig though).
Hurts like hell, but it won't long and I will be as good as new in a month or less.
Unfortunately, I can't play guitar for a few weeks and we have a tour beginning this week.

In the words of Three Dog Night, "The show must go on".
My friend Kevin told me, as I was bleeding all over the playground, awaiting my ride to the Emergency Room, "You guys have too many guitar players anyway."
Nonetheless, to insure everyone's Premium Rock and Roll Experience, we have recruited our friend Will Johnson, from Centro-matic to fill in on guitar, covering the SG through a Fender Vibro-King parts.
I will be in full front man mode, on other words, it's dancing shoes time.
I always wanted to be Phil Mogg, and for the next couple of weeks...

We only have Will Johnson through New Orleans, then we will have to improvise, but that's one of the things we do best, so STAY TUNED.

So come out to this, hopefully once in a lifetime DBT Show.
We guarantee you a great time and a Premiere Go-Go Extravaganza that you'll be telling your Grandkids about (maybe sooner than later).

Oh and Bob, the 9th is my son's birthday and it's GO TIME.

Long Live Rock and Roll and Country Soul.
Captain Hook
(Patterson Hood)
(or is it Dr. Hook?)

An injured Drive By Truckers played a headlining show at Stubb's in Austin on 9/1 with Will Johnson on guitar and with Will Johnson's band Centro-Matic opening. The New Orleans date has now also passed, but the show goes on and DBT continue their tour on 9/7 in Tuscaloosa AL (a benefit for tornado relief).

The current trek never comes east, but in October DBT play a string of shows with Those Darlins not long after Those Darlins play The Bell House in Brooklyn with The Beets and Brothers. Tickets are still on sale for that show. Centro-Matic play MusicFestNW this coming weekend in Portland.

All dates and more pictures from the Austin show, below...

Continue reading "Drive-By Truckers played Stubb's, Patterson Hood cut his hand, Will Johnson filling in on guitar (pics & more dates)"

Live at the Gantries is a series of free, outdoor performances featuring a collection of Queens-based musicians as diverse as the borough. 2011 performances include: Latin jazz, indie rock, bluegrass string band, a gamelan orchestra, percussion chamber music ensemble, and a blues-rock band.

Live at the Gantries starts Tuesday, July 12 and continues every Tuesday through August 16. Every show starts at 7 o'clock and ends with a spectacular sunset at Gantry Plaza State Park, a 10-acre waterside oasis between 49th and 50th Avenues along the East River [in Long island City].

The Beets play the free show tonight (7/19). Full summer schedule below...

Continue reading "free concerts in Gantry Plaza State Park"

DOWNLOAD: Pure X - "Dry Ice" (MP3)

Pure X photos by Grant MacAllister

Pure X opening for This Will Destroy You in Chicago in May

Austin's Pure X (formerly Pure Ecstasy) are releasing their first full length, Pleasure on July 5 via Acéphale in North America. A limited edition LP is available for pre-order on Acéphale's website. The first LP pressing is limited to 1000 copies on heavyweight vinyl, and the first 200 on ultraclear vinyl with red splatter. Grab the MP3 for "Dry Ice" above and check out the track "Twisted Mirror", along with the full tracklist and cover art, below.

The band recently finished up a tour with This Will Destroy You that hit Bowery Ballroom on June 2nd. A few pictures from their set on 5/28 at Bottom Lounge in Chicago are in this post

They've got a few upcoming dates in July, including two NYC shows: July 8 at 285 Kent and July 9 at Ding Dong Lounge. The 285 Kent show, presented by Chocolate Bobka, also has Tonstartbandht, FORMA, and RUN DMT on the blll. Ding Dong Lounge doesn't acytually list Pure X on the July 9th show which has Fungi Girls, Cough Cool, and Expensive Looks on the bill, but we'll assume for now at least that they are also playing it.

Fungi Girls opening for Hunx in Austin (more by Tim Griffin)

"Texas' Fungi Girls are back making news with a teaser of two songs from their second LP, Some Easy Magic, scheduled to be released July 11 from Hozac Records. Take a listen to two of the songs off the LP and feel free to download one of 'em. It's not a stretch to say that we'll be getting some more of that hazey, nostalgic, garage/surf that they do oh so well." [Chromewaves]

For fellow Austinites Fungi Girls, the Ding Dong Lounge show is one day of a much larger tour that also includes July 8th at Death By Audio with The Beets, Xray Eyeballs, and Fergus & Geronimo. All dates are listed below.

All dates, pics, soundcloud streams, album art and tracklist below...

Continue reading "Pure X releasing 'Pleasure', playing shows, one with Fungi Girls (who are touring too) -- MP3s, live pics, dates"

As mentioned Merge labelmates Jonny and Apex Manor were forced to cancel their tour which would have hit Le Poisson Rouge tonight (6/9). All is not lost though. Apex Manor have scheduled a show instead tomorrow (6/10) at The Rock Shop with Chris Bathgate and The Long Eye. Tickets are on sale for what is now Apex Manner's only upcoming show

In other Merge news, The Rosebuds (as mentioned) and The Ladybug Transistor both released albums this week. "Clutching Stems" can be streamed at Merge's site (where you can also buy it).

The Ladybug Transistor's previously announced tour hits NYC on July 6 at Knitting Factory with The Beets and James Ausfahrt of Love Is All. Tickets are still on sale. Ladybug also recently announced a few west coast dates in September including MusicfestNW. Updated dates below...

Continue reading "Jonny still not coming, Apex Manor add a show, The Ladybug Transistor released an album (it's streaming)"

DOWNLOAD: Gardens & Villa - "Black Hills" (MP3)

Craft Spells at Culture Shock - photo by Hannah Tashkovich

Craft Spells are heading out on tour with Secretly Canadian signees Gardens & Villa in July. The tour stops by Mercury Lounge on July 30 with support from Selebrities. Tickets are on sale now. Craft Spells will immediately follow the July dates with a short August run supporting The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. In April they were here as part of a tour with Beach Fossils. They also played Purchase festival "Culture Shock" during that trip. A few photos from the school show are in this post.

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Gardens & Villa...

Santa Barbara's Gardens & Villa are releasing their self titled debut July 5 via Secretly Canadian. Watch the video for the track "Black Hills" below and download the MP3 above. The dates with Craft Spells are part of a longer summer tour the band is going on in support of the album, including a run with Foster the People that hits at Music Hall of Williamsburg on June 20 (sold out). They also play Glasslands on June 24 with The Beets, Tony Castles, and Moon King (not to be confused with Moonface). Tickets for the Glasslands show are still available.

All dates, more pictures of Craft Spells at Culture Shock, a video, and the Gardens & Villa album artwork and tracklist are below...

Continue reading "Gardens & Villa touring w/ Craft Spells, releasing an LP on Secretly Canadian (dates, MP3, video)"

Cocorosie @ MHOW in 2010 (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Brooklyn venue Glasslands have booked a pretty impressive list of upcoming shows this month and next. We've already mentioned last night's John Maus show, the John Maus show coming in June, tonight's Julliana Barwick/Helado Negro show, Adventure and Pat Jordache (5/14), Cymbals Eat Guitars (5/20), an acoustic show with Dum Dum Girls and Crocodiles (5/27), and Love Inks (6/2).

Most notably, in addition to those, CocoRosie play Glasslands on May 23. At the moment it is their only US show before heading to Europe for a July tour. Openers TBA. Tickets are on sale now.

Meanwhile, Princeton play Glasslands on Wednesday, May 11 with High Highs, New Villager, and Ivana XL, before they open for CSS and Sleigh Bells at Music Hall of Williamsburg (5/12) and Bowery Ballroom (5/15). Tickets are on sale now.

High Highs also play a show on May 19th with Acrylics and Junip at Bowery Ballroom, and they open for Memoryhouse at two NYC shows in June. All dates are listed below.

Xylos, McDonalds, Mansions & Junipers, and Flashlights are playing Glasslands on May 12. Tickets are on sale now.

Dirty Beaches @ Bowery Ballroom (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Dirty Beaches plays Glasslands with Psychedelic Horseshit, Pterodactyl, and Beige on May 13 (tickets), a day after they play Mercury Lounge with Widowspeak (5/12). All tour dates, South Street Seaport included, are listed below.

White Mystery, who just released their sophomore full length Blood & Venom, play Glasslands on May 17 as the kick off to a 5-night NYC run that looks like this:

05/17/11 Glasslands Brooklyn, New York
05/18/11 Generation Records New York, New York
05/19/11 Public Assembly Brooklyn, New York
05/20/11 Death By Audio Brooklyn, New York
05/21/11 Brooklyn Fireproof Brooklyn, New York

Tickets for the Glasslands show are on sale now. All of their dates and a NYC show flyer, below.

My Teenage Stride play an early show at Glasslands on May 21 with Sea Lions, Beachniks, The Surprisers, and Plains. No advanced tickets for that one, or for the free show they're playing at South Street Seaport this summer.

French Horn Rebellion, who recently released Infinite Music Of French Horn Rebellion, are playing Glasslands on May 26 for their album release party. The show is being opened by Savoir Adore, who play Brooklyn Museum on 5/13 and the In Vino Wine Bar on June 26 (Tickets). Tickets for the Glasslands show are on sale now. French Horn Rebellion are on tour with Yelle now.

Unknown Mortal Orchestra, who are currently on tour with Portugal. The Man and Telekinesis play their own show at Glasslands on June 4, one day after they play Webster Hall with those bands. Unknown Mortal Orchestra are releasing their self titled debut on June 21 via Fat Possum. Hear three songs off the album on Fat Possum's website. Tickets are on sale now for the Brooklyn show with with Balkans + more TBA. Updated dates are below.

The Beets (maybe you saw them Saturday at Cake Shop) play Glasslands on June 24. Openers TBA. Tickets on sale now. Meanwhile they are out on tour.

Videos and dates below...

Continue reading "Cocorosie, Princeton, White Mystery, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Dirty Beaches, Savoir Adore & other shows"

by Bill Pearis

I absolutely hated Cake Shop, which opened around this time back in 2005, the first few times I went. Not the idea of the place, which was fantastic: part coffee shop, part record store, part indie rock venue. More the practicality of the place. The inclined floor meant that you had to (and still do) have to be in the first few rows of people to see anything. I was used to the clear sightlines of Mercury Lounge and Bowery Ballroom and Knitting Factory. What the hell was this?

But the place became hard to avoid if you went to a lot of shows. The people booking seemed to get really good shows, and some surprising ones. And they clearly loved '90s indie rock and Flying Nun. I think it was the in-store with The Bats back in March of 2006 that finally warmed my heart to Cake Shop. It was around this time as well that I learned that if you wormed you way to the front of the downstairs room, not only could you see, there is an intimacy and connection with the bands you don't get at many other "legit" venues. Some of my most memorable shows of the last few years have been there.

While the record store has given way to more couches, Cake Shop remains one of the places in the city to catch emerging talent -- and cool veteran artists almost no one else would book. As previously mentioned, the venue celebrates its 6th Anniversary on Saturday night (5/7) with six bands for six bucks. Headlining are The Beets whose new album, Stay Home, is another fine slab of protopunk folk rock, this time slightly less murky. The guys, who managed to get themselves featured on the Howard Stern Show recently, are heading on tour with Eternal Summers soon and all dates for that are below.

Also playing are New Zealand's Surf City, whose sound reverberates with their country's indie rock past. They are maybe the most Flying Nun sounding NZ band never to be on Flying Nun. The new album, Kudos, is worth checking out. (They're here recording another.) Then there's Conversion Party whose anthemic pop stylings should be more popular (seriously these guys are good). If you can't make it Saturday, they play Cake Shop's sister venue Bruar Falls tonight (5/6).

More bands playing: Holy Shit who is San Francisco artist Matt Fishbeck (and sometimes Ariel Pink). At their website you can listen to what is certainly the only electro cover ever on Felt's "Final Resting of the Ark." Still more: reclusive Faunelle (dreamy, gothy synths) and poet Ariana Reines.

Holy Shit also play Monday at Glasslands with John Maus.

Beets tour dates below...

Continue reading "Happy Birthday Cake Shop (happy tour Beets) (Holy Shit)"

DOWNLOAD: Surf City - Kudos (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Surf City - Crazy Ruler of the World (MP3)

Surf City

If you missed them in April:

NZ shoehazers, Surf City will hunker down in New York City to begin recording their follow up to the acclaimed Kudos (to be released by Fire Records in 2012). They will be stepping out for a few shows in the NYC area to rip through new material and a barrage of Surf City favorites.

05.04 - Brooklyn, NY - Brooklyn Bowl
05.07 - New York, NY - Cake Shop

Tonight's Brooklyn Bowl show is only $5.00 and with Xray Eyeballs and Darlings.

The Cake Shop show is the "CAKESHOP 6th ANNIVERSARY MELTDOWN! - balloons, festivalities, drink specials and all the usual awesome shy!!" Surf City play that Saturday night show before The Beets, and after Conversion Party, Holy Shit (not to be confused with Holy Fuck), Fanuelle, and Arianna Reines.

For 5-piece Brooklyn (via CT) band Conversion Party, the Cake Shop show is also the 2nd of two EP release parties. The first is one day earlier at Bruar Falls. Their new Sean Greenhalgh (drummer of CYHSY)-produced four-song EP was recently released on Kimono, and it's streaming in full at their Bandcamp page.

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: White Fence - Get That Heart (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: White Wires - Be True to Your School ('Til You Get Kicked Out) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Buffalo Tom - "Arise, Watch" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Modern Skirts - Happy 81 (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Modern Skirts - Bumber Car (MP3)

White Fence

It's been kind of a bummer week with way too many great musicians lost (Gerard Smith, Poly Styrene, Pheobe Snow) but Spring is finally here and, well, the beat goes on. Lots of worthy shows this week.

First up is White Fence who are making a rare trip to the East Coast this week, playing a few shows here in NYC: Thursday at 285 Kent with Woods and Spectre Folk, then Saturday (4/30) at Cake Shop. I feel fairly certain that they are also "Beige Swordfights" listed as part of a sweet Death by Audio show on Friday (4/29) that includes The Beets, Fergus and Geronimo and The Sundelles.

White Fence is Tim Presley who also fronts LA psych-rock band Darker My Love. Where that band is more groovy in a JAMC/BJM kind of way, White Fence sounds like a lost nugget from the late '60s flower power scene. White Fence released its debut on Woodsist last year, and the second album, ...Is Growing Faith, came out this January. Both records are weird and wonderful, lots of great songs made more interesting with vintage sound and old-school tape effects. If you like Love, The Left Banke or, more recently, the Lilys (to name three L bands) you'll dig White Fence's scene.

White Wires

Keeping with the color scheme, Ottowa, Ontario's White Wires are back in town for a one-off show on Thursday at Bruar Falls as part of a fun line-up of party rock and power pop. One of my favorite live bands of the last few years, White Wires play no-nonsense three-minute pop and do so with a joy you can't fake. White Wires new album, WWII, gets in and gets out in less than 30 minutes and should appeal to fans of the Nerves, early Tom Petty and The Undertones.

The rest of the show, brought to you by the good folks at Daed Pizza, looks pretty cool too with all-girl trio Babyshakes, and Games which is a new band formed from ex-members of Gentleman Jesse and Busy Signals. Obviously, this is not the synthy Games who now go by Ford & Lopatin. You can listen to this Games' swell debut single over at the Rob's House Records website.

Buffalo Tom

What else? Buffalo Tom play Bowery Ballroom on Thursday (4/28). The Boston trio were once dubbed "Dinosaur Jr. Jr." (being signed to SST and having J Mascis produce your debut, it was an easy joke) but became one of the most popular bands of the early '90s alt rock scene. 1990's Birdbrain and 1992's Let Me Come Over are indie rock classics that were unavoidable on college radio and Alternative Nation (or episodes of My So-Called Life) and still hold up.

The band went on hiatus around 2000 but returned with 2007's Three Easy Pieces and have just released a new album, Skins, which came out in February. It's pretty good. More mature, yes, but Buffalo Tom can still bring the noise too. If you have any doubt, you can download the entirety of Buffalo Tom's Mercury Lounge show from November 2010 courtesy NYC Taper. You can also check out a track from Skins at the top of this post.

Modern Skirts

And finally, Lord Huron are here on Thursday (4/28, the night of Too Many Good Shows) at Mercury Lounge. (And at tonight at MHoW with Femi Kuti) (we're giving away a pair of tickets on Facebook). I like their EP well enough, and the Merc show seems likely to sell out, so I'm really here to say if you're going do go early enough to check out North Highlands who play right before them. It's their first show in a long time, as the band have been putting finishing touches on their debut album which they've been working hard on all winter. The band are promising lots of new songs which is pretty exciting. Anyone who's seen them play know North Highlands are great live and I think 2011 is gonna be a big year for them. Go see 'em! And yeah, stay for Lord Huron I guess.

That's mostly it for this week. A few more daily picks are below:

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27

Blogs may have gotten over their crush on Austin band Oh No! Oh My! but that doesn't mean they've gone stale. Hear their still-catchy indiepop tonight at The Rock Shop tonight. Go early to catch Atlanta's underrated Modern Skirts (check out two tracks at the top of this post).

Diehard, who've been busy recording their Kickstarter-funded debut album, try out some songs live at Cake Shop. One of NYC's best indie rock rock bands.

continued below...

Continue reading "White Fence, White Wires, Games (not Ford & Lopatin), Buffalo Tom, North Highlands, Modern Skirts, Yelle & more in This Week in Indie"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Naked on the Vague - Clock of 12's (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Trust - Candy Walls (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Fresh & Onlys - Do You Believe in Destiny? (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Cuffs - Privilege (MP3)

Naked on the Vague

It's spring, it's Passover/Easter, flowers are blooming...let's talk goth. Sydney, Australia's Naked on the Vague are here this weekend for two shows: tonight (4/22) at Coco66 with Sacred Bones labelmates Trust and Silk Flowers, and then Saturday (4/23) at Bowery, kicking off their tour with Zola Jesus and Cult of Youth.

Naked on the Vague's new platter, Twelve Dark Noons, which is also the name of a new film that made its U.S. debut last night (yes I'm a little behind) at 92 Y Tribeca, and the band played an "experimental music" set beforehand. Tonight's show is a little more normal for the band -- it's the record release party -- though may not be normal to you depending on what you listen to.

Core duo Lucy Cliche and Matthew Hopkins have recently expanded the band to a four-piece, making for a fuller-sounding dark and doomy racket. Hopkins describes the new album as "Dracula fronting the B-52s." I'm not sure that's how I;d describe it, but this is certainly a more accessible record than last year's Heaps of Nothing which came out on Siltbreeze. If you like the '80s goth touchstones, you'll be into this. Check out "Clock of 12's" at the top of this post and the video is below.

Trust

Opening tonight are Toronto duo Trust who played earlier in the week at the Wierd party at Home Sweet Home. You may recognize Maya Postepski if you've seen Austra play live (she's their drummer). Along with singer Robert Alfons the duo "combine dark synth arpeggios, live and programmed drum beats with haunting, effected vocals." Hear all those things in Trust's debut single, "Candy Walls," which is downloadable above. (And watch the well-photographed, vaguely creepy video below.) Similarities to Postepski's other group are evident, which is to say if you like Austra but wish the songs were sung by a guy who kind of sounds like the Crash Test Dummies dude...Trust is pretty close to that. And not a bad thing. Locals Silk Flowers open tonight's show.

Trust will open for Austra on U.S. dates in May (including 5/23 at Mercury Lounge) if you can't see them tonight.

the Fresh & Onlys

Keeping thing within the Sacred Bones realm, San Francisco's Fresh & Onlys are here tomorrow (4/23) at Music Hall of Williamsburg as they're on tour with Crocodiles. The band have been on a prolific tear for the last two years but have kind of slacked off in 2011. It's April and they've only just released their first record on the year. But it's a good one, Secret Walls (on aforementioned label), continues the band's differentiation from the SF garage scene they were lumped in with. There's not one rocker amongst its six tracks. Which is not a bad thing at all. Tim Cohen's songwriting just keeps getting better and the EP's expansive sound here is a great showcase for the superior musicianship found in all corners of the band. Lovely stuff.

The MHoW show is a pretty happening bill. In addition to Crocodiles, you've got Bay Area shoegazers Young Prisms and Bass Drum of Death, the latter of whom also play tonight at Glasslands.

Karkwa

Shifting gears, tonight at Pianos are Karkwa from Montreal who you might remember won the Polaris Music Prize in 2010 for Les Chemins de Verres, the first-ever Francophone album to receive the award. Yes, that means they sing in French though that really shouldn't stop you from digging them. I've described them before as the French-Canadian Radiohead, which is reductive but gets you there. So if you can listen to Sigur Ros and not worry about what they're saying, you can do the same for Karkwa. Check out their video for single "Le Pyromane" at the bottom of this post. They play giant rooms in Canada so to be in a room as tiny as Pianos should be interesting.

Cuffs

As previously mentioned, former Swell Maps and Television Personalities guy Jowe Head is here, playing tonight at Bruar Falls and tomorrow (5/23) at Cake Shop. Tomorrow's show is especially enticing, as it's the NYC debut of Cuffs which is the new band from Andrew Churchman who fronted much-loved Boston band Pants Yell! (That's their exclamation point, not mine.) Cuffs also has Pants Yell! drummer Casey Keenan, as well as "a member of Reports and the blonde kid from Big Troubles."

Cuffs are working on some real recordings as we speak but you can listen to some demos at their Bandcamp site, one of which you can download at the top of this post. For those familiar with Churchman's previous band, you already mostly know what to expect here. He's still writing delicate indiepop, though Cuffs have a little more groove. I remember him saying at Popfest (PY!'s last NYC show) that the new stuff would be more Prefab Sprout influenced and you can hear that lonely jazzy sound in "Albert Kroft."

Pants Yell! were always a louder, more rocking band live than on record, and I bet the same holds true for Cuffs. There also seems to be a little jammy-ness with them too (maybe the Big Troubles factor), so I'm really curious/excited for tomorrow's show.

That's the main stuff this weekend, but there are a few more day-by-day picks below.

FRIDAY, APRIL 22

Personal & the Pizzas, who played last night at Maxwell's, are at Cake Shop tonight laying on the cheese with Georgia's Barreracudas and Los Vigilantes. Personal & the Pizzas and the Barreracudas also play Bruar Falls on Sunday (4/24).

The Bass Drum of Death show tonight mentioned up the post is also with So So Glos, Xray Eyeballs, and Night Manager.

If you like The Drums, check out The Young Friends (who are signed to the Drums' Holiday Records) at The Gutter with Beacon and Kosovo.

SATURDAY, APRIL 23

It's a hard-to-pass-up bill at Glasslands tonight, with Hunx & His Punks, Shannon & the Clams (who played Cake Shop already this week), the wonderful Grass Widow and the K-Holes. Catch Grass Widow again on Sunday (3/24) at Death by Audio with Talk Normal.

And if you want to see that show, chances are you wish you could see Davilla 666 (who played Cake Shop earlier this week too), The Beets and Xray Eyeballs at Knitting Factory.

SUNDAY, APRIL 24

Personal & the Pizzas play Bruar Falls.

That's it for this week. Tour dates and videos are below...

Continue reading "Naked on the Vague, Trust, The Fresh & Onlys, Cuffs, Karkwa, Personal & the Pizzas & more in This Week in Indie "

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Dirty Beaches - Lord Knows Best (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Dum Dum Girls - He Gets Me High (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Widowspeak - Harsh Realm (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Esben & the Witch - Warpath (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Wise Blood - B.I.G. E.G.O. (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Mr. Dream - Crime (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Duzheknew - Came Out the Other Side (MP3)

Dirty Beaches

We're 1700 miles and two weeks away from the eye of the storm, but you can feel the SXSW hurricane forming from here. People have begun talking about breakfast tacos and the clubs are filling with bands from Canada, Scandinavia and the UK. Even moreso than normal.  There is too much going on. Decisions, decisions. Let's get into it.

Tonight (3/2) marks the American debut of UK duo Summer Camp who play an early show at Mercury Lounge with High Highs.

Dirty Beaches play two shows this week: a headlining slot at Glasslands on Thursday (3/3) and then opening for Dum Dum Girls at Bowery Ballroom on Friday (3/4). The pseudonym of Montreal artist Alex Zhang Hungtai, Dirty Beaches sound like a band invented by David Lynch (or maybe Jim Jarmusch), like a half-remembered dream infected by an oldies station playing on a vintage transistor radio. It also kind of sounds like Suicide. Dirty Beaches' forthcoming album, Badlands (out March 29 and pictured above), is at times pretty, twangy and vaguely sinister. He's definitely got a vision to what he's doing. Check out "Lord Knows Best" at the top of this post for a sample.

The Glasslands show also has Austinites (and TWII faves) YellowFever on the bill, as are Widowspeak whose new single is out now on Captured Tracks (the a-side is downloadable above), and Ela Orleans. Plus, Dee Dee of Dum Dum Girls is DJing. This should be a good night.

As should Dum Dum Girls' show on Friday. Their new EP, He Gets Me High, came out on Sub Pop this week and you can download the title track at the top of this post. I loved DDGs' debut, but I think these new tracks are a definite improvement: a little tougher, the production's better and the songs are solid. And I dig the Smiths cover as well.

Former Dum Dum Girls drummer Frankie Rose is also on the bill, and she has dropped The Outs from her name... and the band. This show will mark the debut of her new group and perhaps a new sound? We shall see. Frankie is promising mostly new songs for this one and I'm curious as to what Frankie Rose Mark 2 will be like.

Rounding out the Bowery line-up are MINKS. Tickets are still available.

Esben and the Witch

Also here this week are UK neogoths Esben & the Witch who play The Bell House on Friday (3/4) and then Mercury Lounge on Saturday (3/5). While I'm not crazy about their debut album, Violet Cries, which meanders a bit and generally takes too long to get going, I do recommend going to see them live. Guitarist Daniel Copeman rivals The Edge or Kevin Shields for the Most Effects Pedals award and the sounds he creates with them is genuinely mesmerising. He is also a whirlwind onstage. They are so much more compelling live, and worth giving a shot even if the record does nothing for you.

Opening the Mercury Lounge show is Wise Blood who has gotten a lot of love from Pitchfork, Altered Zones, GvB, etc. The alter-ego of Chris Laufman, Wise Blood is firmly in the low fi sample-based collage world. Some of it is pretty interesting for sure  -- check out a track at the top of this post --  but I'm always a bit dubious about seeing this kind of stuff live. Maybe he'll pull it off. Maybe he'll be the next How to Dress Well. How was he last night at Glasslands with Young Magic? Wise Blood will also be at SXSW.

Duzheknew

Representing Canada this week are Duzheknew and Cousins who play Bruar Falls on Sunday (3/6) and Death by Audio on Monday (3/7). Both bands hail from Halifax, Nova Scotia -- a town that hasn't had much of a scene (from what I can tell) since its '90s heyday of Sloan, Eric's Trip, Jale and Thrush Hermit. Duzheknew, from the tracks I've heard (like the one at the top of this post), sound somewhere between Wolf Parade (vocally), early Talking Heads and their hometown indie elder statesman. Cousins are a little more straight-up garage rock. Both sound pretty good.

Mr. Dream

And now onto some local action. Mr. Dream's debut album, Trash Hit, was released this week and will certainly appeal to those with a fondness for early '90s indie rock, be it Nirvana, The Pixies, Jesus Lizard, etc. Which is to say it's loud, it rocks, there is some yelling and snarling... but it's also got hooks,  no shortage of tunes, and badass flinty basslines all over the place. You don't have to remember the early days of Late Night with Conan O'Brien to dig Mr. Dream. As far as I'm concerned this kind of stuff is timeless. You can download "Crimes" at the top of this post and stream the entire album via a widget below.

Mr Dream celebrate Trash Hit's release this Friday (3/4) at Glasslands, with Sleepies and Fort Lean (making their debut) along for the ride. I also hear Derek from Sleigh Bells will be performing as well, but not sure exactly in what capacity. Mr. Dream will tour with Sleigh Bells in April.

Shark?

Another Record Release show is happening Friday night, this time at Cake Shop where Shark? celebrate the birth of their new 7" single "Kreegah." It's too bad Shark? and Mr. Dream couldn't have coordinated their parties together as Shark?'s straight-up, super-catchy indie rock would have made a great opening act. You can stream both sides of the single below. Personally, I'm partial to the b-side, "You Don't Love Me (Anymore)." Both songs will be on the band's debut album, True Waste, which was produced by Pere Ubu bassist Tony Maimone and should be out sometime soon?

Shark? hit the road next week, touring with the Sundelles on their way down to SXSW. Sundelles also have a show coming up at Glasslands with Cloud Nothing and Craft Spells. All tour dates are below.

And that is basically it for this week. Expect an equally-lengthy TWII next week. A few more day-by-day picks below:

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2

Tennis, La Sera, and Holiday Shores team up for their first of two NYC shows together, tonight at Bowery Ballroom. They then play The Bell House on Thursday (3/3).

Norway's Heroes & Zeroes play Pianos tonight before heading to Alaska to play a string of gigs in Alaska, believe it or not. Tonight's show is an eclectic bill to say the least, with with French psycho noiserockers Headwar and Koonda Holaa adding to the strangeness.

continued below...

Continue reading "Mr. Dream, Dirty Beaches, Wise Blood, Esben & the Witch, Frankie Rose, Duzheknew, Shark? & more in This Week in Indie"

photos by Andrew St. Clair

Beets fans? (@ Don Hill's)

As Bill pointed out, "The Beets kick off their winter tour at 285 Kent, with German Measles, Beach Arabs and Big Troubles. Their second LP, Stay Home, came out last month on Captured Tracks and is quite good and a slight step up the fidelity ladder from their debut." That tour-kickoff show happens tonight (2/17). The poster for it, all dates, and more pictures from a Fashion week show they played the other night at Don Hill's (it was the Rebecca Turbow Fall 2011 Presentation and and the DJ's were Peggy Wang of The Pains of Being Pure at Heart and Connor Hanwick of the Drums), below...

Continue reading "The Beets played a fashion show (pics), kicking off tour w/ German Measles @ 285 Kent tonight (dates)"

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

Keeping things mysterious, you could mainly only focus on the music which is pretty awesome: blistering post-punk inspired rock, with male/female, call-and-response vocals, feedback, harmonies, old-school drum machines and ridiculously catchy choruses. The first three EPs were all originals, and the fourth EP was all covers, including great versions of Rhianna's "Shut Up and Drive" and hometown legend Prince's "When Doves Cry." BNLX actually played the latter at First Avenue last month at an Onion party, which takes balls.

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.

continued below...

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

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Fergus & Geronimo - Powerful Lovin' (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Final Club - Tragic World (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Final Club - Hot Gaze (MEDIAFIRE LINK - ZIP)
DOWNLOAD: Tyvek - Underwater To (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Tyvek - 4312 (MP3)

Gruff

Welcome to the first This Week in Indie of 2011. We are 12 days into this year and I have yet to see a show. If you add in the time before Christmas...this might be the longest I've gone without seeing live music in a long time. That drought will end for me this week, maybe tonight, but certainly tomorrow (1/13) as Gruff Rhys plays Rockwood Music Hall. I was a little worried this snow was to cancel his flight today, but he is currently on route to NYC as I write this.

Still no word as to who'll be releasing his new solo album, Hotel Shampoo, in the US but it seems likely someone will. Hopefully we'll get to hear a lot it live. As anyone whose seen him before -- either with Super Furry Animals or solo -- know, Gruff is an entertaining guy, who always puts extra effort into his shows. Highly recommended. Eleanor Friedberger of Fiery Furnaces opens. Show starts early -- 7:30.

I also just watched Separado!, the musical travelogue documentary about Gruff's quest to track down distant relative (and '70s caped troubadour) Rene Griffiths in Patagonia. Like Rhys himself, the film is charming, scruffy, funny and full of good songs. Still not released in America but you can order the UK DVD (if you have a region-free player or watch on a computer) or, if you live in Williamsburg, rent it from Videology.

Fergus & Geronimo

Fergus & Geronimo release their debut album, Unlearn, on Hardly Art next week, and are playing three shows this weekend in celebration: Friday (1/14) at Death By Audio (official official release party) with Final Club, Easter Vomit (ex Beets), new Captured Tracks signees Widowspeak, and Philadelphia's premiere surf band Dry Feet; Saturday (1/15) at Columbia University hangout The Ding Dong Lounge with Final Club; and Sunday (1/16) at Mercury Lounge with Tyvek. Xray Eyeballs and The Gaming Commission.

While it suffers from a slight case of identity crisis (droney psych, garagey rave-ups, organ-fueled soul), track-by-track Unlearn is a pretty solid record. Fergus & Geronimo are good at all the styles they dabble in. Check out "Powerful Lovin'" at the top of this post -- that shows off their soulful side. And while I haven't seen them play live in a year and a half, they were good then so I can only imagine they've gotten better.

Final Club

If your eyes didn't glaze over at the list of bands two paragraphs up, you may have noticed Final Club are playing with F&G twice this weekend. The two bands were Denton, TX neighbors before Fergus & Geronimo moved to Brooklyn late last summer. Final Club are here just for these shows. They are worth seeing in their own right: sneery, melodic indie rock with a tendency to lean on the tremolo bar which gives them a little Swervedriver vibe. Confident and loud.

You can check out "Tragic World" at the top of this post. And if you like that, you can download their Hot Gaze EP as well. Look out for their excellent debut album, Blank Entertainment, later this year. In addition to the two shows with Fergus & Geronimo, Final Club play a headlining gig at Death By Audio tomorrow night (1/13) with Bogan Dust, Clinical Trials and Laserdisc.

Tyvek @ BV-SXSW 2010 (more by Tim Griffin)

Also as mentioned above, Tyvek are in town this weekend. While many of their peers have moved on to mid-fi production, the Detroit band keep it live and murky on their new album, Nothing Fits. It also sounds as anxious, angry and alive as the rest of their material. In addition to the Mercury Lounge show on Sunday mentioned above, they play Saturday night (1/15) at Glasslands with The Beets, Eternal Summers, and Sweet Bulbs. That is a good show. Do note it starts early, 8PM for real, as the Soul Clap dance party starts at midnight. I'll be there.

I should mention that openers The Beets have a new album Stay Home that's just out on Captured Tracks. After last year's swell, cleanly produced "Locomotion" single, they too (like Tyvek) are back to the same intentionally shitty "production" of their first album. (Maybe slightly less shitty.) Which, again, doesn't hurt them at all. The Beets are good songwriters I think, and especially good lyricists. And maybe if they can ever get a drummer to stick around for more than a month they might go places. Or just stay home. There's also a new Beets single, "Time Brought Age," and both the LP and 7" feature the bands signature comic artwork courtesy Matt Volz.

Mister Heavenly

What else? Oh yeah, Mister Heavenly play Bowery Ballroom on Sunday (1/16) with Sun Airway and Little Shalimar. This extra super group just signed to Sub Pop, and the label would like you to know the band features Nick Diamonds (Islands/Unicorns), Honus Honus (Man Man) and Joe Plummer (Modest Mouse). Of course most of the press so far has been about the group's sometimes bassist who you may know from his non-musical day job. I don't mean the banana stand.

Going to see a band because there's a famous actor in it is usually a dumb reason to go (see Dogstar, 30 Seconds to Mars , 30 Odd Foot of Grunts, etc)... plus Mr. Cera is not an "official" member of the band and he may or may not be playing with them on Sunday (note that both the label and the venue told us they don't think Michael will be there). Luckily the rest of the band is known in their own right, so mabye you should go for that reason. Unfortunately there's no recorded music to hear yet, but their few shows so far have been well-documented on YouTube.

That's the main stuff. Here's a few shows, day-by-day, not covered above.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 12

Nashville-via-Ohio band Mona -- one of the BBC's picks for Sound of 2011 -- invade NYC this weekend, starting tonight at Rock Shop. They also play Mercury Lounge on Thursday (1/13) (with Devin Therriault) and Union Pool on Saturday (1/15).

Given the abbreviation of this column you're reading, I would be remiss not to mention that The Twees play The Studio @ Webster Hall, a record release show for their just-released EP. They actually don't sound twee at all. I would say Strokes-esque pop would get you closer to a description.

Quirky, occasionally proggy, pop band Steel Phantoms at Bruar Falls.

more below...

Continue reading "Mister Heavenly, Gruff Rhys, Fergus & Geronimo, Final Club, Tyvek, The Beets & more in This Week in Indie "

photos by Chris Doss

DOWNLOAD: Sun Airway - Put the Days Away (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Sun Airway - Oh, Naoko (MP3)

Bear in Heaven @ MHOW

"Sure, we're all sick of bands with the word "bear" in their names (to the point, that I'm actually sick of jokes about how many bands there are with "bear" in their name).

Bear in Heaven double up on annoying indie band trends by being from Brooklyn as well, but while it would be easy to dismiss them as a poorly named hipster band, they're actually a solid vaguely Krautrock sounding indie act worth seeing." [Tuscon Weekly]

It's on Tuscon!

Bear in Heaven concluded their tour Friday night in their home borough at Music Hall of Williamsburg. Fellow buzzbands Sun Airway and Twin Shadow opened the sold out show.

NYC Taper taped Bear in Heaven. Download it there. Setlist reposted below.

Btw, Bear in Heaven don't have any other North American dates scheduled at the moment, but they will be DJing that previously mentioned Liturgy show at Glasslands on December 9th. Delicate Steve is also on the bill.

Twin Shadow has this coming up:

Twin Shadow's video for "Castles In The Snow", with some more pictures from Music Hall of Williamsburg (Chris's camera broke at the show, so no pics of Twin Shadow and just a few of the other bands), below...

Continue reading "Bear in Heaven & Sun Airway played MHOW w/ Twin Shadow (who is playing Kidrockers) -- pics, setlist, live recording"

photos by Andrew St. Clair

Cassie & Justin as the White Stripes

"Todd P's Halloween party took place [Sunday] night at the Ridgewood Masonic Temple. most people were probably still recovering from Halloween observed the night before, but a respectable amount of ghouls and tricksters made their way to the show, headlined by so-hot-right-now hip hop ensemble Das Racist.

Halloween is a time when you can see what people are really about. They're either in a pre-packaged costume or they're trying too hard or they are legitimately clever and good-spirited. And for Das Racist, it can be all of the above all the time. These guys walk the lines between irony and sincerity; between novelty and legitimacy; between gimmickry and credibility. And while some people show up at the party dressed as a can of Four Loko, others as zombies or superheroes, Das Racist can just take the floor as themselves and still be baffling and maybe a little frightening.

This set was, by all definitions, a shit show. You know when your friends have an inside joke and they are cracking up about it, and the joke is sort of independently funny, but not nearly as funny as your friends' uproar would suggest? Combine that feeling with the feeling of seeing your little brother get way too drunk at a party you invited him to. That was what the stage presence of Das Racist was like. And it was a fucking party." [Free Williamsburg]

Das Racist headlined the show of mostly locals which included a set by Vivian Girl Cassie Ramone and Justin (both in the Babies) as the White Stripes, but more notable was that The Intelligence, in from Seattle, were on also on the bill (the Intelligence also played Cake Shop one night earlier). Denver's Pictureplane, who was the special guest at the show that took place last night (11/2) at Brooklyn Bowl, was one of the artists who played too. Boshra AlSaadi aka SAADI played with Janka Nabay & the Bubu Gang.

Blissed Out went on right at 8:00 along with the doors opening which meant not many people around to hear their set, but the 9-band show filled up as the night went on. More pictures below...

Continue reading "Cassie did play Jack! - Todd P/Panache Halloween show pics w/ the Intelligence, Das Racist, Pictureplane, Beets & more "

DOWNLOAD: The Intelligence - Thank You God for Fixing the Tape Machine (MP3)

Sunday October 31st @ RIDGEWOOD MASONIC TEMPLE
:: PANACHE + TODD P HALLOWEEN PARTAY
:: DAS RACIST
:::: PICTUREPLANE
:::::: the Intelligence
:::::::: the Beets
:::::::::: Cassie & Justin from the Babies --- as WHITE STRIPES
:::::::::::: Janka Nabay
:::::::::::::: Blissed Out
:::::::::::::::: more to come!!!!
| RIDGEWOOD MASONIC TEMPLE ]
1054 Bushwick Ave @ Gates Ave | Bushwick, Brooklyn
J,Z-Gates Ave, L,M-Myrtle/Wyckoff | 8pm | all ages | $13 in costume - $15 w/out

I suppose it's possible that she is actually playing Jack.

As mentioned all the way back in September, The Intelligence are currently on tour and will also play a NYC show at Cake Shop one day before Halloween with German Measles and The Beets.

By the way, Das Racist also play Southpaw, with Homeboy Sandman, on November 5th.

Updated Intelligence dates below...

Continue reading "The Intelligence coming, Cassie Ramone playing Meg White (at Panache & Todd P's Halloween Partay)"

"new Showpaper cover's apparently scandalising the community. haha get over it, the back of VillageVoice or NYPress is ok, but not out front?" - Todd P

The above quoted tweet above doesn't flat out say what you'll find on the cover of the new issue of Showpaper, their 89th one-sheet, designed by artist Borden Capalino, but it gives a pretty good idea. For that image, which mimes the fairly explicit ads in many NYC weeklys (and brings to mind the fact that Craigslist recently removed its own 'adult services' ads), click below.

Showpaper will be running a gallery on 42nd Street through the end of December. It opens this Friday, October 8th, with DJ sets by Das Racist and International Tapes and solo music from The Beets' Juan Wauters. The installation will have art, DIY video games...

More info with the new cover art, below..

Continue reading "the scandalous new Showpaper "

"The new location is a pristine secluded beach area called Raptor Point, at the North end of the main (decommissioned) runway of the abandoned airport, right on Jamaica Bay. Gorgeous views of Jamaica Bay, Mill Basin, and of the distant Manhattan skyline; and a pretty phenomenal sunset spot." - Todd P

Details below...

Continue reading "Todd P's Unamplified Acoustic BBQ is Sunday (new location) "

Don't worry, this has nothing to do with an outbreak of disease. Just a messed up and costly incident regarding a kitchen knife and airport security...

Continue reading "a Yellow Fever benefit "

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Fergus & Geronimo - Girls with English Accents (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Fergus & Geronimo - Harder Than It's Ever Been (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Ty Segall - Girlfriend (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Ty Segall - Caesar (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Royal Baths - Nikki Don't (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Eternal Summers - Pogo (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Rayon Beach - The Memory Teeth (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Dog Day - Synastry (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Dog Day - Wait it Out (Mp3)
DOWNLOAD: Deerhunter - Revival (ZIP)
DOWNLOAD: Versus - Invincible Hero (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: How to Dress Well - Ecstasy with Jojo (MP3)

Wild Beasts @ Lollapalooza 2010 (more by Josh Darr)

Just like the August bounty of tomatoes, corn and zucchini that can be currently found at your local farmer's market, we looking at five extremely fertile days of live music, much of it free. Take advantage now -- this crop is extremely perishable.

Wild Beasts are stopping in NYC tonight on their way back from Lollapalooza, playing Highline Ballroom. Their second album, Two Dancers, was my favorite album of 2009 and a year later I'm still listening to it. It's up for this year's Mercury Music Prize and if anybody is going to beat The xx it'll be Two Dancers. If you missed their shows last September, or their appearances here in February , don't miss them this time. Tickets are still available. The fluid interplay between the band is something to behold -- a real case of four people working as one mesmerizing whole. And those who still haven't gotten used to their vocal style, I say go see them live and everything makes more sense.

Domino Records is offering a free downloadable four-song EP featuring "We've Still Got the Taste Dancing on Our Tongues" in original and remixed form, a track previously only available as a Japanese b-side and an acoustic version of "The Devil's Crayon." The download widget is at the bottom of this post and expires August 14 so get on that. And do go see them live tonight if you can. Denmark's The Kissaway Trail and UK artist Lone Wolf are also on the bill.

Fergus and Geronimo

It's been a year since Denton, TX's Fergus & Geronimo were last in town, and while they haven't released anything new since last summer's initial flurry of singles, that should change soon. The band have signed with Sub Pop subsidiary Hardly Art who will hopefully be putting out a record sooner than later. In the meantime, UK label Transparent (who put out "Tell it in My Ear" last year) have offered up a new F&G track "Girls with English Accents" that you can download at the top of this post. Maybe a little more dreamy/folky and less soul-tinged than their previous output, it's still another winner from this excellent four-piece.

I saw them at 92-Y Tribeca last summer and thought they were terrific. Fergus & Geronimo play Cake-Shop tonight (8/11) with Radical Dads and Little Gold. They then play Saturday (8/14) at Don Pedro's with Liquor Store, Home Blitz, Moonmen on the Moon, Man, and Nashville's Pujol. That sounds like a party.

Also here from Texas this weekend are Austin's Rayon Beach who play Bruar Falls on Saturday (8/14) and Death by Audio on Sunday (8/15). Like a lot of the bands on Hozac Records (or bands from Austin for that matter), this trio fit under the psych/garage umbrella but there's a decided Brit bent to their music. Baroque garage, is that a thing? Think Syd-era Pink Floyd or The Pretty Things more than Woven Bones. Make no mistake -- Rayon Beach can and do get plenty loud. It's just sometimes with pinkies extended. Check out Memory Teeth's title track at the top of this post.

The Bruar falls show is with Girls at Dawn and Xray Eyeballs; the Death by Audio show also features The Beets and Andrew Graham & Swarming Branch.

Ty Segall

We're just getting started. Ty Segall and The Royal Baths are here from San Francisco, playing Cake Shop on Thursday (8/12) and Death by Audio on Friday (8/13). For my money, it doesn't get much better in the new garage scene than this guy, who has been cranking out records over the last two years. Amazingly, they're pretty much all good, and each record goes somewhere new. The latest, Melted, just out on Goner Records, adds some nice '60s paisley pop touches. You can download two tracks from it at the top of this post. And he's great live.

The Royal Baths, meanwhile, are sort of the flip side to Ty's sunshine pop. I wrote before that they're "kind of bad trip acid rock, dark and seedy but not atonal. But it's definitely down the rabbit hole. In a good way." Royal Baths debut LP is due out on Woodsist in September and you can check out album track "Nikki Don't" at the top of this post.

Eternal Summers

Still more. Roanoke, VA's Eternal Summers are back -- they were last here for the Northside Festival -- for two shows: Thursday (8/12) at new Williamsburg venue The Pyramids and then Friday night (8/13) at Cake Shop. The band have signed with Kanine records who will put out their first full-length, Silver, in September. You can check out the album's first single, "Pogo," in the popular MP3 format at the top of this post. If you dig C-86 inspired pop like Brilliant Colors or Liechtenstein, you should definitely seek this duo out. Absolutely worth seeing live and nice folks too.

Both shows Eternal Summers are playing have pretty stacked bills. The Pyramids gig is with Philly's Reading Rainbow, all-girl quartet Rescue Bird, the shambly goodness that is German Measles and the wistful surf of Family Trees; Friday's Cake Shop show also has new-ish Brooklyn duo Yvette, the tinny, witty pop of Knight School and Halifax, NS band Dog Day.

Dog Day

Dog Day are actually here playing two shows. They play Thursday (8/12) at Bruar Falls in addition to the Cake Shop show on Friday. It's been a while since Halifax's mid-90s indie explosion that gave us Sloan and Thrush Hermit, but Dog Day are helping put the coastal city back on the map. Led by husband-and-wife team of Seth Smith and Nancy Ulrich, the quartet make moody, melodic indie rock that is not too dissimilar from The Figurines or The Comas. Last year's Concentration was one of 2009's lost gems. There's two songs to download at the top of this post and I highly suggest you do. You might find yourself saying "why haven't I heard these guys before?" Normally a quartet, for these NYC shows Dog Day will just be a duo of Smith/Ulrich and they'll be testing out new songs for their upcoming album.

Savoir Adore @ Coco66 for Northside (more by Don Gochenour)

And last but not least, Friday is the last Seaport Music Festival show of the season but they are really going out with a bang with The Wedding Present and Savoir Adore. I'm told we're getting a full 90-minute set from the Weddoes pretty close to what they played at Bowery Ballroom back in April: a career-spanning "hits" set and then they'll play 1989's Bizarro in full.

I saw the Bowery Bizzaro show and it was fantastic, especially the stuff from Side Two of the LP, the long, jangle-on-speed workouts of "Bewitched" and "Take Me!" David Gedge may be 50 but he can still tear into his guitar like Thatcher was still in office. There's video of "Take Me" from Bowery at the bottom of this post. The hits set was peppered with a few new songs too, which I thought were pretty good.

Savoir Adore, one of my favorite new NYC bands of the last few years, are always good live. If you have yet to check out their self-titled debut from last year, you definitely should.

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As if this wasn't enough, here are a few more picks by day that weren't already covered above:

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 11

Two of the best new bands of the last year -- Twin Sister and Oberhofer -- play Mercury Lounge with Ontario's MemoryHouse. Twin Sister and Memory House also play together on Thursday (8/12) at Monster Island Basement, the start of a two-week tour together. All dates at the bottom of this post.

At Coco 66 it's another installment of Show Off Your Sugar which pairs one band and one author to benefit 826NYC, a non-profit writing center for New York City students. Rock critic Chuck Klosterman reads and Here We Go Magic will rock.

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