LA Fest FYF Fest is celebrating 10 years this year, and will take over Los Angeles State Historic Park on August 24 & 25. Check out the massive lineup in the poster above, and in alphabetical order below...

Continue reading "FYF Fest 2013 Lineup (My Bloody Valentine included)"

Four Tet / Dead Skeletons

today in NYC
* Snakeoil @ The Stone
* Redfoot @ Tammany Hall
* Four Tet, Koreless @ Webster Hall
* Dessa, Brick + Mortar @ Union Hall
* Molly Ringwald @ Iridium Jazz Club
* Califone @ Secret Manhattan Venue
* Doldrums, Empress Of @ Mercury Lounge
* Big Terrific Comedy Show @ Cameo Gallery
* Corita, Big Quiet, All Forces, Luff @ Cake Shop
* New Atlantic Youth, The Split @ Cameo Gallery
* The Presets, Dragonette, Slassixx @ Terminal 5
* Dana Falconberry, Paperbird @ Mercury Lounge
* Drowners, Tweens, Total Slacker, LODRO @ Pianos
* XNY, Don Ryan, Those Clever Foxes @ Knitting Factory
* Dead Skeletons, Night Beats, Cosmonauts @ Glasslands
* Todd Barry, Janeane Garofalo, Robert Kelly @ The Stand
* Twenty One Pilots, New Politics, Five Knives @ Bowery Ballroom
* Father Figures, Cuddle Magic, Leverage Models @ Death By Audio
* Steve Earle and the Dukes, The Mastersons @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Elizabeth and the Catapult, Antennas Up, Johnny Miller @ Rockwood Music Hall
* Colin Stetson, Rafiq Bhatia, Sarah Neufeld (of Arcade Fire) @ Le Poisson Rouge
* Alan Roche, Real Live Tigers, Dead Elephant Bicycles, Gabrielle Herbst @ Silent Barn
* The Tablets, Dead Sexy Shelia, The Adventures of Silver Spaceman @ The Rock Shop
* Ask Me Another with Daniel Okrent (creator of Fantasy Baseball) @ The Bell House
* Big Mean Sound Machine, Thunder Body, Fire Paint & The Love Divine, Revi Roza, DJ Jack Tripper @ Brooklyn Bowl

Wanna check out some up-and-coming bands for free? Pianos has Drowners, Tweens, Total Slacker, and LODRO tonight on the early side (starting at 7 PM) at no cost to you, the live music lover.

Icelandic psych band Dead Skeletons are in town this week, playing with Night Beats tonight at Glasslands (tickets) and tomorrow (5/9) at Mercury Lounge with Heliotropes and Mone (tickets). Check out their dark and groovy single "Kundalini Eyes" below.

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The recently-reformed Last Splash lineup of The Breeders were on The Late SHow with Jimmy Fallon last night, playing their hit "Cannonball" which you can watch, along with a web-only performance of their country-ish "Drivin' on Nine," below.

Continue reading "What's going on Wednesday?"

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

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

Full lineup below...

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

Cincinnati trio Tweens make garagey, nasally, punky pop that is equal parts rauccous and infectious. Songs like "Mean" and "Rattle&Rollin'" are both especially catchy and seem prime for a label like Burger that lives for this stuff. You can stream them below along with their "Live at Mohawk" EP that isn't actually live and features a bunch of girl group covers.

Tweens caught they ear of fellow Ohio resident Kim Deal who has tapped Tweens to open for a few Breeders shows, including Monday's sold-out show at Webster Hall (5/6). After that, Tweens will play Shea Stadium on Tuesday (5/7) which is a record release show for Japanther that also features Grand Rapids. Then at Pianos on Wednesday (5/8) with LODRO, Total Slacker and new Frenchkiss signees, Drowners. That show starts early -- LODRO is on at 7 PM -- and is FREE.

Tour dates are listed, with those streams, below.

Continue reading "Cincinnati band Tweens opening for The Breeders and other NYC shows (dates, streams)"

photos by Dana (distortion) Yavin and P Squared Photography

"Bell House so '90s right now I gotta tie a shirt around my waist. #Breeders" - @mehpatrol

(by Dana [distortion] Yavin)

Ahead of their full tour in support of the 20th anniversary of Last Splash, The Breeders came to NYC for a show at The Bell House this past Friday (3/29), where they played the classic album in full and also stuck around for an encore which included material from their other early '90s releases -- three tracks from their other full length, Pod, and also some stuff from the Safari and Head to Toe EPs.

Once the full tour actually kicks off, the band will be back in NYC for a larger show at Webster Hall on May 6, which is now sold out.

More pictures from The Bell House, along with the setlist and a video of The Breeders playing their cover of The Beatles' "Happiness is a Warm Gun" at the show, below...

Continue reading "The Breeders celebrated the 20th anniversary of 'Last Splash' at The Bell House (pics, video, setlist)"

Pitchfork Festival 2012 (more by Fred Pessaro // BBG)

The final Pitchfork Festival lineup has now been announced, and in addition to previously announced acts like R. Kelly, Joanna Newsom, and Swans, it now includes M.I.A., Lil B, Solange, Wire, Yo La Tengo, Low, Savages, Toro Y Moi, Phosphorescent, Metz, Autre Ne Veut, Mikal Cronin, Parquet Courts, Merchandise, Woods, Julia Holter, Glass Candy, Andy Stott, Pissed Jeans, Frankie Rose, Ryan Hemsworth, Waxahatchee, Blood Orange, Daughn Gibson, Evian Christ, White Lung, KEN Mode, and DJ Rashad.

Three-day passes and single-day tickets are still available.

In other Chicago music festival news, Lollapalooza early bird passes went on sale today, sold out, and then regular 3-day passes went on sale and sold out. Single day tickets go on sale April 9.

Full Pitchfork Festival lineup and schedule below...

Continue reading "M.I.A., Solange, Wire, Savages, Phosphorescent, Julia Holter, Waxahatchee, KEN Mode & more added to Pitchfork Festival"

Pitchfork Fest 2012 (more by James Richards IV

After already announcing R. Kelly, Björk, and Belle and Sebastian as the headliners for this year's Pitchfork Music Festival, P4k has revealed that those artists will be joined by Joanna Newsom, The Breeders (playing Last Splash), Swans, El-P, Killer Mike, TNGHT, Chairlift, Sky Ferreira, ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead, Rustie, Mac DeMarco, Foxygen, Angel Olsen, Trash Talk, and Tree.

More artists are still TBA and three-day passes and individual day tickets are still available.

Current lineup/schedule below...

Continue reading "Pitchfork Festival announces more acts (Joanna Newsom, Breeders, Swans, Rustie, Killer Mike, El-P & more)"

We knew The Breeders were playing their first Last Splash reunion show at the Bell House on March 29 which sold out immediately. But the Deals and co. have just announced a full tour which includes another NYC show at Webster Hall on May 6. Tickets for that show go on AmEx presale on Wednesday (2/6) at noon with the general on-sale happening Friday (2/8) at noon.

So far, only East Coast shows have been announced (plus Detroit), so there may be more to come. All announced 2013 tour dates are below...

Continue reading "The Breeders announce more North American 'Last Splash' dates, including second NYC show at Webster Hall"

As you may know, The Breeders' Last Splash turns 20 this year and the line-up of the band that made that record is getting back together to play the album in full. While only European dates have been announced thus far (including Primavera Sound and the Deerhunter-curated ATP UK), SPIN reports that the band's first show will be here in NYC at The Bell House on March 29. Tickets go on sale Wednesday (1/30) at noon.

An updated list of Breeders tour dates is below....

Continue reading "The Breeders first 'Last Splash' show happening in NYC at The Bell House (updated dates)"

by Bill Pearis

Ahhhooohooh! The Breeders' classic second album, Last Splash, will be 20 years old in 2013 and they are celebrating with a deluxe reissue and play-the-album tour. Not only will they play Last Splash front-to-back, but it'll be the line-up of The Breeders that made the album, too, which means original bassist Josephine Wiggs and drummer Jim MacPherson in addition to the Deal sisters who have kept the Breeders' flame alive with different rhythm sections.

No dates have been announced yet other than the All Tomorrow's Parties festival in Camber Sands, U.K. which happens June 21 - 23, 2013 which is curated by Deerhunter. They are promising dates in Europe and the U.S. so stay tuned.

As for the reissue, it's being dubbed LSXX and will be out in April. No tracklisting yet. A couple Last Splash videos are below.

Continue reading "The Breeders celebrating 20 years of 'Last Splash' with deluxe reissue and tour with that LP's line-up"

Via Buzzfeed & Laughing Squid, comes this handwritten list Kurt Cobain made, as published in Journals in 2002. Read the whole thing typed, below...

Continue reading "Kurt Cobain's 50 favorite albums"

by Bill Pearis

R. Ring is Kelley Deal of the Breeders and Mike Montgomery of Ampline and will play The Rock Shop on May 12, opening for Gem Club (their only upcoming date) and Mercury Lounge on May 13 with Beast Make Bomb. Both shows are part of a quick East Coast jaunt, and all tour dates are at the bottom of this post.

Those expecting Breeders-style raucousness should know R. Ring are much more low key and folky, but some of that Deal rasp and snarl is still there. The duo's debut single came out via Misra on Record Store Day which you can listen to here. Look for a more formal release from R. Ring later this year. You can also watch a couple R. Ring videos below as well, along with all tour dates.

Continue reading "Kelley Deal's new band R. Ring is touring (playing Rock Shop and Mercury Lounge) -- May 2012 Dates"

words and pics by BBG, additional Sonic Youth pics by Samantha Marble

Thurston

Unlike Friday (and Sunday), people weren't throwing devil horns on Saturday. With the Saturday lineup dominated by indie acts, including many longstanding ones (Sonic Youth, Tortoise, Dave Pajo/Papa M, Shellac, The Breeders, etc etc) there were less shirts that repped the heaviest of the heavy, like Dystopia, Grief and Electric Wizard, and more "vintage look" Judas Priest and Dio with bowl cuts, and 80's style librarian glasses. In other words, there was a definite crowd shift from day one to day two at the 2010 edition of ATP New York.

While cruising through the lobby on my way to my first performance, Text of Light with Lee Renaldo, I paused to catch Helen Money (on tour with Shellac) at the "Lobby Stage". The 10+ minutes of Text of Light was a bust - squalls of guitar feedback with wailing sax made for a fascinating few minutes, but grew tiresome quickly. Helen Money's looped cello was already gone by the time I had returned from the second stage, but I wish I hadn't left. Later on I would catch Frankie Don at the lobby stage, who played hits of the 70s and 80s with Casio presets while the drunk, acid-drenched, and generally out-there spazzed on the dance floor. It was my own personal Tim & Eric Awesome Show episode.

Fuck Buttons were the first band I caught on the main stage, and the tribal drumming, rumbling saw wave bass tones, and pulsing electronic soundtrack were well-represented in the Stardust Room. The band's live show stuck to their recent recorded output and was quite the contrast with my next conquest, the out-there chamber-folk of Fursaxa on stage two, complete with cello and harp. I preferred the former.

Sleepy Sun

After a bit of Tortoise's jazzy math post-rock rhythms, I scooted down to Sleepy Sun (playing Knitting Factory Monday night) on the second stage; the Cali psych-rock band impressed me so much in the exact same room last year. Their set was not as impressive this time around, but more so than The Breeders who played the larger stage later that night and were a touch messy/off-key as they stammered through hits like "Divine Hammer".

On the other hand, Shellac (who also played in 2009) and Papa M killed it though in much different ways. Shellac's treble-y stomping punk rock was a triumph, and their Kutsher's set ("We are Shellac, and we only play ATP shows") included recent faves like "The End of Radio" and "Steady As She Goes". The band nixed their now famous Q&A session during their show due to their shortened set time, so their usual dry-sarcastic humor didn't play out as much this go around. Hopefully they have no curfew Tuesday at the Bell House. Papa M delivered ambient-y guitarscapes on the second stage, impressing immensely.

If you live in NYC, you've probably had your share of live Sonic Youth experiences. I've seen them at least six times. But whether it was the atmosphere, perfectly balanced soundsystem, or the band having a particularly ripping night, SY delivered probably my favorite Saturday set, focusing primarily on earlier material (Daydream Nation was a focal point it seemed). The sound in the Stardust Room was (still) flawless, and they closed out the night with a bang (set list below).

I also saw bits of Avi Buffalo, The Books and Hallogallo on Saturday. I completely missed BEAK> (stay tuned for our coverage from their Bowery Ballroom show though), Sian Alice Group, and Apse (catch them Monday and Wednesday night in NYC). I also missed Explosions in the Sky, but Sam caught them (her pics coming soon).

Read about Friday HERE. Sunday coverage is coming. Saturday (with more pics also coming later), continues below...

Continue reading "ATP NY 2010 - Day 2 in review & pics (Sonic Youth, Shellac, Papa M, Sleepy Sun, Fuck Buttons & more) "

Frank Black is going solo acoustic at Joe's Pub in NYC on September 3rd and 4th. Tickets just went on sale. All dates below.

You can also catch Frank at some upcoming Pixies shows.

And stop by Joe's Pub tonight (6/23) to catch Villagers.

The Breeders are playing two shows around their appearance at ATP NY this year. Those dates are below too...

Continue reading "Black Francis playing acoustic shows @ Joe's Pub & other dates, the Breeders playing gigs too"

photos by Julieta Cervantes, words by Andrew Frisicano

DOWNLOAD: The Long Count - Bull Run (feat. Kelley Deal) (MP3)

The Long Count premiered last night (10/28) at the Brooklyn Academy of Music while the Yankees were losing to the Phillies up in the Bronx. It's a risky piece - and not just because the pre-show epigraph was a radio broadcast of the last time the Yankees were swept in a World Series. The overarching "Creation" theme guides the piece's rise-collapse-rebuild structure, and its individual songs and their discrete musical worlds make each movement engaging and unexpected. Each part has its own center: At the beginning the band sounds like a chamber ensemble, with the two lead guitars playing in counterpoint. That transitions into a duet between twins Kim and Kelley Deal of the Breeders, whose smiles and lighthearted gait broke through any opening-night tension that might've been present. Their informality went against the general seated-show seriousness of the BAM Opera House. Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond), in contrast, was in total performance-art mode, bouncing around lithely in a series of choreographed gestures and rotating costumes. The Deals sang muffled, overdriven harmonies, in their classic style, before splitting to take their own numbers. Kim's song in particular , "Time to play" it might be called, crested into a bass-less din like a staticy AM radio that filled the hall. (Kelley's, "Bull Run," you can hear above.)

While the Dessners sat (and rose at moments) on stage, they trusted the weight of their composed music to the assembled band. For the complexity of the piece, and the precision to which it was arranged, the tightness of the well-rehearsed and conductor-less band was remarkable. The middle of the piece is a series of instrumental arrangements that progress from relative order to menacing crescendo. To transition certain segments, Colin Stetson (on bass clarinet and bari sax) explodes through the hall with freefrom circular breathing figures. For these moments he's wholly alone.

A massive symmetrical backdrop of flowing abstract landscapes looms over the musicians and audience. The final piece, a Morricone-tinged number sung by Kim Deal, plays before a breezy, sun-burnt plain.

The show happens again at BAM on Friday and Saturday. Tickets are still available. More pictures from Wednesday below...

Continue reading "The Long Count @ BAM in pics & review "

photos by Bao Nguyen

"Taking the stage were Kim and her sister Kelley along with the newer faces (including the drum and bass tandem of Jose Meledes and Mando Lopez, and guitarist Cheryl "from Florida" Lyndsey). They started off with the trippy "Hoverin'", an Amps song and went newer with Title TK, and then backward with cuts off of Last Splash and Pod. I personally wanted to see them play "Hellbound" and "Fortunately Gone", which tops my favorite Breeders songs, but they did play "I Decided" which I love. All the bigger songs got their turn, "Saints", "Cannonball", their cover of "Happiness is a Warm Gun", "Divine Hammer", "Safari". The sheer thrill of songs like "New Year" with an intense, buzzing guitar section really makes for a powerful set." [Kings County Bop]

Continue reading "The Breeders & Whispertown 2000 @ Bowery Ballroom - pics "

DOWNLOAD: Black Francis - All in My Mind (Love & Rockets) (MP3)

I would like to apologize to the Breeders for saying they would not sell out. I was a jerk about it and am truly sorry. I also apologize to their fans I may have offended with my stupid insensitive comments. Hope you liked the show.-Anonymous

The Breeders @ The Paradise in Boston 8/17 (more by Bryan Bruchman)

"Come one come all-I'm work shopping new introductions bare with me-Welcome to the 18th installment of the Jay Porks Never Ending concert series. Tonight brings us to the 'Sold Out' Bowery Ballroom at 6 Delancey St. in New York City. The Bowery is a venue that's been on my radar for a while, considering that the Bowery owns(or at least sponsors) most of the venues I attend for concerts in the city. Tonight the headliner, the band I'm here to see is the one, the only, THE BREEDERS." [The Jay Porks Blog]

On the horizon, Kim & Kelley Deal will be singing as part of The Long Count at BAM this fall, and Kim will be playing with her other band the Pixies, when they play NYC on their Doolittle tour this November.

Co-Pixie Frank Black recently contributed a track to New Tales To Tell: A Tribute to Love and Rockets, which came out Tuesday (Aug 18th) on Justice Records. Frank's track from that, "All in My Mind", off L&R's 1986 album Express, is posted above for your downloading pleasure.

He didn't appear at the release party/show on August 18th at the Ben Sherman store in Soho, but he will be at the show for, another tribute comp, Ciao My Shining Star - The Songs of Mark Mulcahy, which happens Sunday, September 20th at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. Also appearing at the concert will be Joseph Arthur, David Berkeley and more. Non-musical guests (of sorts) include the premiere of the Thom Yorke video "All For The Best" and a reading by graphic novelist Ben Katchor. Tickets go on sale Friday, August 21st at noon.

Joseph Arthur also has a series of shows coming up at City Winery.

That Mulcahy comp also has a slightly more personal story, via FrankBlack.net...

We have some sad news from a friend of our website and of FBF, Mark Mulcahy. Some of you might recognize the name as the singer/songwriter behind Miracle Legion and Polaris [of the soundtrack to Pete & Pete among other things], both of which featured Catholics David McCafferey and Scott Boutier, or perhaps you recognize the name from the liner notes of Christmass, as Mark provided backing vocals for both "Radio Lizards" and "Don't Get Me Wrong." Or maybe, like me, you saw Mark open for the Pixies in Atlantic City in 2005. Regardless, Mark's wife recently passed away, leaving him as a single dad to two small children. Some friends and admirers, including our Frank Black Francis, have recorded some of Mark's songs for a tribute record called Ciao My Shining Star: The Songs of Mark Mulcahy.

Radiohead has a new song out now (two actually).

The tracklist and art work for both tribute albums are posted below...

Continue reading "Breeders played Bowery, Frank Black playing Mark Mulcahy show @ MHOW (tix), on Love & Rockets tribute comp (MP3) "

photos by Bryan Bruchman

"I felt like an out-of-touch old man when I overheard the bartender saying that tickets were still available and that they probably wouldn't sell out. How did it come to this? With several hit singles and a platinum-plus album under their belt, the Breeders shouldn't have difficulty selling out a venue that has a capacity of only five or six hundred. Maybe it wasn't promoted well or maybe too many have forgotten about the band (despite releasing an album last year and a fresh, spanking EP a few months back), but they deserved better. Or else I can enjoy the intimacy of the raucous show and wear the ringing in my ears (that still hasn't subsided after twenty-four hours) as a badge of honor." [a review of the Newport, Kentucky show]

Continue reading "The Breeders, now in NYC, played the Paradise, Boston (pics) "

by Andrew Frisicano

DOWNLOAD: Aaron Dessner - We Were Born (from the Long Count) (MP3)

The Long Count
Oct 28, 30 & 31 at 8pm

Bryce Dessner, Aaron Dessner, and Matthew Ritchie

In an inspired collision of creative worlds, three inexhaustibly original artists--brothers Bryce Dessner and Aaron Dessner of indie rock royalty The National and omnivorous visual art phenomenon Matthew Ritchie--combine talents to create a song-filled myth about the beginning of time. A feast of images, instrumentals, and songs thick with primordial mystery, The Long Count pairs Ritchie's protean forms with a twelve-piece orchestra and the Dessners' gothic mix of electric and orchestral sounds.

Guest vocalists Kim and Kelley Deal (The Breeders [who are at the Bowery August 18th & 19th]), Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond), and Matt Berninger (The National) round out the line-up in this visionary collaboration between music and art.

Shara Worden has been keeping super busy and impressing Decemberists audiences across the country when she sings her part in the Hazards of Love production (and when she's doing Bob Dylan). Upcoming Decemberists dates include September 21st in Montclair, NJ.

Kim Deal, in addition to the above-mentioned BAM and Bowery shows, will be in NYC (and around the country) with the Pixies in November. The shows at Hammerstein Ballroom are now on sale.

The National recently played a set at All Points West in Jersey City.

Worden/National collaborator Sufjan Stevens premiered his show "The BQE" as part of BAM's Next Wave Festival in 2007. That show is being released as a DVD and going on tour, as is Sufjan himself.

Also below is a video from "a 20-minute animated and musical collaboration developed by Bryce Dessner and Matthew Ritchie" that premiered at the Kitchen in March (Sufjan Stevens played the harmonium), and trailers and music (!) for the other BAM Next Wave commissions including Imaginary City (the So Percussion show), Terra Nova (the DJ Spooky/ICE collaboration) and Meredith Monk's Songs of Ascension...

Continue reading "an MP3 from the upcoming National-Breeders-Worden show @ BAM, Long Count ticket info, Next Wave video previews"

DOWNLOAD: Times New Viking - Time No Hope (MP3)

Since we last spoke, The Breeders have expanded the dates and added openers to their August tour. Joining them at first will be Times New Viking (who have an MP3 off their forthcoming record, Born Again Revisited, above), and then Whisptertown 2000, who will be opening both of the Breeders' NYC shows at the Bowery Ballroom. Tickets for those shows, happening August 18th and 19th, are still on sale.

Though the Breeders didn't play the Pitchfork Festival over the weekend, if you were there you did hear their song "Saints" coming off the stage courtesy of The Thermals, who also covered Sonic Youth's "100%," Nirvana's "Sappy" and Green Day's "Basket Case."

After the show, Harris and bassist Kathy Foster told Spinner they've been playing the Nirvana and Breeders songs fairly often, but the other two were new. "Those are all of our favorite songs," Foster said. "We were a little nervous, but it was really fun."

Harris said he wasn't sure how 'Basket Case' would pop. "Pitchfork's such a hipster thing," he teased. "You've got to play it a little cooler. And it's Chicago too, so you gotta be cool. But we're not embarrassed to love Green Day."

Continue reading "the Breeders (covered by Thermals) - tour dates w/ Times New Viking (new album, MP3), Whispertown 2000 (in NYC)"

Tickets are now on AmEx presale for the two Breeders shows happening at Bowery Ballroom. Video of the Breeders playing the Beatles song "Happiness Is a Warm Gun" at the recent ATP fest that they partially curated, below...

Continue reading "Breeders Bowery Ballroom shows on pre-sale"

The Breeders @ McCarren Park Pool, July 13 2008 (more by Ryan Muir)

Pixies played their first high-profile UK gig in nearly four years tonight (June 14), performing before Neil Young at the Isle Of Wight Festival.

Opening their Main Stage set with 'U-Mass', the band treated fans to an 80-minute greatest hits set.

Early on in the set, bassist Kim Deal remarked that she found the island "very pretty", before giggling into the microphone. [NME]

Doubtless you know/saw enough of the last reunion tour to be well aware the Pixies are still very, very good at playing Pixies songs, and a full review would be kind of gratuitous: they were frickin' awesome.

There's no word on any additional Pixies dates yet, though Frank Black has announced some solo Black Francis shows, and is touring with his Grand Duchy project this summer. That group plays NYC's Siren Fest on July 18th, with a show the night before in Hoboken. Updated tour dates (FB and GD) are below.

The Pixies' Kim Deal has shows this summer too, with The Breeders. They'll be at Sled Island Fest in Calgary this weekend (June 26th). The band's also announced several August tour dates. Those include NYC shows on August 18th and 19th at the Bowery Ballroom. Tickets for both nights go on presale Wednesday, June 24th at noon. General sale starts Friday at 11am.

Kim and Kelley Deal of the Breeders will lso be performing as part of The Long Count, a BAM commissioned project by the National's Bryce and Aaron Dessner. That premieres in Brooklyn in October.

Pixies set lists, with all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Breeders playing 2 NYC shows, Deals playing BAM, Pixies played 2 shows (setlist), Frank Black announced more dates"

BAM has announced the schedule for the Next Wave Festival 2009, a series of fourteen new music, theater and dance pieces that'll run from September 15th to December 19th.

The lineup includes a number of awesome-looking BAM commissions and premieres.

Bryce Dessner & Aaron Dessner of The National (and Dark Was the Night fame) and Matthew Ritchie have put together a piece called The Long Count, to feature Kim and Kelley Deal (The Breeders), Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond, Decemberists) and Matt Berninger (The National) on vocals (Oct 28th-31st).

Imaginary City, a new 70-minute work by So Percussion, will be accompanied by video and take inspiration from the Italo Calvino novel of the same name (Oct 14th--17th). Meredith Monk will compose and perform in Songs of Ascension alongside her vocal ensemble and the Todd Reynolds String Quartet (Oct 21st--25th). (As a side note -- Reynolds and Monk both appeared, separately, at the Bang on a Can benefits at LPR on June 3rd.)

The program features a concert staging of the Philip Glass opera Kepler (Nov 18th, 20th, 21st). And, maybe in time for the first snow (...) a performance by DJ Spooky and the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) of Terra Nova: Sinfonia Antarctica, a piece "based around DJ Spooky's sound recordings in the Antarctic that explore the acoustic qualities of ice" (Dec 2, 4 & 5).

Most of the programs above will have an "Artist Talk" companion program, free to those with tickets to the event.

There's a couple ways to get tickets to the series. Friends of BAM will get the first stab at subscription packages, which let you pick a combo of shows to attend, on Monday, June 15th. Subscriptions for the general public go on sale Monday, June 22nd. Single ticket sales for Next Wave Festival starts Tuesday, September 8th (Aug 31st for Friends of BAM).

Full music lineup below...

Continue reading "BAM Next Wave Festival 2009 - members of The National, The Breeders, Shara Worden, So Percussion, DJ Spooky..."

a shot from Sled Island 2008 (more by Rae Holtsabum)

The Sled Island Music and Arts Festival -- taking place at various venues in Calgary, Alberta from June 24 to June 27 -- is pleased to announce the initial line-up and the inclusion of Olympic Plaza as the main venue on Friday, June 26. This year will include over 200 bands performing at 23 venues plus art shows, film screenings, and a comedy component at the Sled Island Music and Arts Festival.

Sled Island 2009 will feature performances by the influential indie rock darlings The Breeders (featuring Kim Deal of the Pixies) making their first Calgary performance, NYC post-punk revivalists Liars bringing the noise, the legendary Canadian metal band Anvil the recent subjects of the critically acclaimed documentary Anvil: The Story of Anvil and the garage rock assault of Tel Aviv's Monotonix known for their incredible live show. New Orleans-based musician and mad genius inventor of the 'drum buddy' Quintron & Ms. Pussycat will bring the party along with blood-soaked party rocker Andrew W.K. and Toronto-based electro tour-de-force Holy Fuck on the more 'offensive' front. Phil Elverum's (of The Microphones) latest moniker Mount Eerie will deliver a symbiotic balance of fuzz and folk matched by Owen Pallett's Final Fantasy surrealist violin stage performance. Calgary-based experimental icons Azeda Booth aim to mystify crowds along with their all-male psychedelic pop counterparts Women making their second festival appearance...The complete festival line-up and schedule will be revealed on June 1. [pr]

As previously reported, Colin Newman, vocalist and guitarist for Wire, will be guest curating this year's festival. Full lineup below...

Continue reading "Sled Island - 2009 fest lineup (Breeders, Liars, Anvil & more) "

by Andrew Frisicano

Pixies are back again - so far with just one UK date: June 14th at the Isle of Wight Festival (featuring Neil Young and more - tickets on sale here). "More [shows] to come", as promised by the band's Myspace.

Meanwhile, Frank Black and Violet Clark (husband+wife) have recorded a full-length as Grand Duchy. The record, Petits Fours, will be out April 14th in the US on Cooking Vinyl (out now in Europe). Track list below. The group's Myspace also asks for "submissions of an artistic nature for the creation of a compendium of Grand Duchy-themed art."

Frank Black's BlackFrancis.net cryptically speculates: "The negotiators continue the discussion about BLACK FRANCIS concerts for this year of the Ox 2009. Acoustic? 3 piece? GRAND DUCHY? PIXIES? Duets with movie stars? Poetry slam? Art exhibition? WHO SHALL KNOW THESE THINGS? Checking the site of blackfrancis.net can be a habit to have!!" Part of that picture is put together above, with certainly more to be announced.

Black also recently produced Art Brut's third LP Art Brut vs. Satan out April 20th (Europe on Cooking Vinyl) and May 12th (US on Downtown Records). The first officially released track "Alcoholics Unanimous" has a video which was posted here on Sunday and can also be watched below.

A book on the Pixies, Pixies: In Print, recently came out on Rock Reader Books. The 1,000-copy first printing "collects all of the revered and influential band's essential press interactions. Focusing on the group's 1987 - 1992 heyday and its subsequent 2004 - 2007 reunion, PIXIES: IN PRINT chronicles the history of the Boston-bred musical icons through essential interviews, essays and articles."

And, as previously mentioned, Kim Deal and The Breeders are curating/playing ATP UK Weekend 2 May 15-17. Full line-up, the Grand Duchy track list, some videos, and more below...

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