Tapes 'n Tapes, who toured earlier this year with Oberhofer, and who stopped by SXSW this year, have announced another 2011 tour in support of their new album Outside.

The new tour has them back in the NYC-area at the end September. They play Bowery Ballroom on September 30th (10 days after Clap Your Hands Say Yeah play there) and Maxwell's in Hoboken on October 1st. Both shows go on sale Friday at noon (Bowery and Maxwell's). All dates and a brand new video for new album track "Badaboom", below...

Continue reading "Tapes 'n Tapes made a new video, announce tour (dates)"

Lollapalooza last year (more by Josh Darr)

Lollapalooza celebrates its 20th anniversary this year with some huge names on its just-announced lineup. See it in full below.

The festival has obviously changed over the years. What started out as a farewell tour for Jane's Addiction with a 'touring festival' lineup that included the Rollins Band, Nine Inch Nails, Butthole Surfers, and Souxsie & The Banshees, has turned into a one-weekend Chicago festival that Lady Gaga co-headlined last year. As leaked a while ago, Foo Fighters, Muse and Eminem all play this year, as will Coldplay, Cee Lo Green, and My Morning Jacket along with the reunited Cars and the continuing-to-be-reunited Big Audio Dynamite and Death From Above 1979, and a bunch of other bands which may or may not be worth the ticket price depending on how you feel about the headliners and generally seeing bands in big, hot, outdoor crowded parks (Lollapalooza happens in Chicago's Grant Park from August 5th - 7th).

Full 2011 Lineup and a couple of videos (one from 1991, one from 2010), below...

Continue reading "Lollapalooza 2011 lineup announced"

by Bill Pearis

Yo La Tengo @ Pitchfork Fest 2009 (more by Joseph Xu)

What, it's Tuesday already? CMJ is here and I'm not really ready. Can we postpone for a week? No? All right. Here we go. Let's not go too crazy tonight (10/19), there's still four more days of this to come.

DAYTIME

Pretty much all the free daytime action happens on Ludlow St. today. Biggest among them is The Music Slut's party at Pianos, which features the dark synths of Brahms, the cheery synths of Hooray for Earth, plus Oberhofer (who play our day party on Friday), Young the Giant, Pearl and the Beard, and more. Party starts at noon, with the first band (Vancouver's Yukon Blonde) on at 1PM.

Moving down the street, Paper Garden Records has a showcase at The Living Room, with Denmark's Alcoholic Faith Mission, two bands from Toronto (Freedom or Death, Kidstreet), Emmanuel and the Fear, Motel Motel, Young Mammals and Saadi. First band is on at 1PM.

And then at Cake Shop, it's the Flower Booking/CapeShok party with Million Young, Sunglasses and Azalia Banks. This one starts a little later -- first band is on at 4PM.

And somewhere between day and night is the free New Zealand showcase at Le Poisson Rouge which starts at 5:45PM. I especially recommend you check out Lawrence Arabia, whose material ranges from delicate folk to ELO style orch-pop. Also playing:  electropop artist Zowie, Kids of 88, Street Chant, Ruby Frost and Electric Wire Hustle. Did I mention it's free? You do need to RSVP if you don't have a badge.

NIGHTTIME

Big ticket shows for tonight: Yo La Tengo play for free at the official CMJ kickoff show at Brooklyn Bowl with Screaming Females (who play our showcase Thursday night) and DOM (who play our Friday day party); Former Afgan Whigs frontman Greg Dulli is at Bowery Ballroom with Craig Wedren; and Jenny and Johnny, Wild Nothing, Times New Viking, Happy Birthday and La Sera (Kickball Katy of  Vivian Girls) at Irving Plaza;

If you wanna dance, you might want to head to Highline Ballroom for a night bands that sound like they could be on a Kitsune Maison compilation: the electro-soul sounds of Dan Black, Italo-disco lovers The Golden Filter, helium voiced Neon Hitch, Denver's The Chain Gang of 1974, and more.

UPDATE: "Chain Gang has dropped off tonight's show due to food poisoning. All other shows are set to occur as scheduled." (10/20 @ Maxwell's, 10/22 @ Cameo, 10/23 @ Santos)

For hip hop, it's Duck Down Music vs. Blacksmith at LPR.

And tonight at Cake Shop is your only chance this week to catch The Billy Nayer Show (11PM), the live band behind such cool sci-fi western musicals as The American Astronaut and last year's Stingray Sam. (Frontman Cory McAbee also directs and stars in them.) They're a one-of-a-kind, and playing as part of the Panache Booking showcase that also features Audacity, Dinowalrus, Onra, Janka Nabay, O'Death and Gary Wilson.

There's tons more shows, obviously. But that's what looks interesting to me. What are you going to see? Flyers and day party set times are below.

Continue reading "CMJ 2010 - Bill's Tuesday picks & stuff (Yo La Tengo, The Billy Nayer Show, Greg Dulli, day parties & more) "

DOWNLOAD: First Aid Kit - Sailor Song (live) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: First Aid Kit - Hard Believer (MP3)

Swedish female folk duo First Aid Kit never made it to CMJ 2009, MusicSnobbery CMJ show included. So they're going to try it again. MusicSnobbery presents First Aid Kit and The Loom at Joe's Pub on Saturday, October 23rd. It's a late show (11:30pm), and tickets are on sale.

Whether that show is actually part of CMJ or not is unclear (I don't think it is), but the other two shows the band plays in NYC that week definitely are. You can also catch First Aid Kit as part of the Saddle Creek/Wichita CMJ showcase at the Delancey on October 21, and as part of the Windish Agency showcase at Rockwood Music Hall one day later:

10.22 | FRIDAY @ ROCKWOOD MUSIC HALL
CMJ Music Marathon
8-12am The Windish Agency Presents:
8:00pm Apache Beat
9:00pm Sun Airway
10:00pm Crayon Fields
11:00pm First Aid Kit
12:00am Lower Dens
1:00am The Prigs

And speaking of Windish showcases, the announced lineup of the one they're throwing at Santos Party House on the 23rd recently got much bigger. In addition to School of Seven Bells, there will also be sets by Asobi Seksu, Cults, Big Freedia, French Horn Rebellion, Bikini, Royal Bangs, Superhumanoids, Dominique Young Unique, Chain Gang of 1974, The Good Natured and Delicate Steve. Tickets are on sale.

Those NYC dates come at the end of a North American tour for the duo. That tour kicks off on September 30th in Seattle, includes Austin City Limits, and a bunch of shows with Ferraby Lionheart opening. All dates are listed below.

If you're familiar with First Aid Kit's music, you probably know that the girls stuck gold with their cover of Fleet Foxes' "Tiger Mountain Peasant Song" (video below). It was so good they even included the track on their 2008/2009 release, "Druken Trees" which was released on Karin Dreijer Andersson of Fever Ray/The Knife's Rabid label in 2008, and then re-released by Wichita in 2009.

That 2009 release, though 8 tracks long, fell into the EP or mini-LP category. The girls' debut LP, The Big Black & Blue, was released earlier this year on Wichita. The third single from that album is "Ghost Town" and is being released this Tuesday by Wichita as a 7" with a new great cover as the b-side. That cover is "When I Grow Up" by Fever Ray.

Listen to that cover, the Fleet Foxes cover, the official video for the single, and all dates, below....

Continue reading "First Aid Kit covered Fever Ray (listen!), touring, playing CMJ (MP3, stream, video & dates) "

photos by Andrew St. Clair, words by Patricia Scull

Dan Black @ Bowery Ballroom

Dan Black headlined Bowery Ballroom on Thursday night (9/10), one night before he played a pair of Fashion's Night Out events. Dan returns to play a dancey BMI & SPIN CMJ showcase at Highline Ballroom on on October 19th, eleven days after he is scheduled to play Austin City Limits 2010. Also playing that CMJ show are The Golden Filter, Neon Hitch, Boy Crisis, Body Language, and The Chain Gang of 1974. Tickets are on sale for those who don't have and/or want to chance getting in with a CMJ badge.

Pictures and a review of the Bowery Ballroom show, continue below...

Continue reading "Dan Black played Bowery Ballroom (pics), playing CMJ (tix) "

"The best band from last night were the Chain Gang of 1974. Caribou the headline act were boring and I missed most of Phantogram. Fun anyways" - Hayley Hughes

"yick, chain gang of 1974 definitely won't win any awards for theie lyrical prowess. better luck next time y'all." - Taylor Self

"Chain Gang of 1974 are fun. Thought they were doin LCD Soundsystem's 'Us v Them' but no. Bass driven, dancey. May check em out at bkbowl too" - Ryan Muir

"Caribou BROUGHT IT at Governors Island last night. Dancin shoes worn out. Hopefully I can drag myself to Siren Fest..." - Chris Macowski

--

photos by Andrew St. Clair, words by Rachel Kowal

DOWNLOAD: Phantrogram - Mouthful of Diamonds (Michna remix) (MP3)

Caribou @ Governors Island Friday night

When the members of The Chain Gang of 1974 kicked off the evening's show at 8:00, the area in front of the stage was only sparsely populated, but people continued to filter in from the ferry as the sky dimmed. From the first notes of the thumping bass line, and the repetitive chorus of their opening song ("Stop!"), I admit I was pretty skeptical of the Denver artist and his backing band.

"Wake up! Come on! Wake up!" shouted front-man Kamtin Mohager as the beats from "Stop!" were winding down. He tossed his yellow guitar pick into the crowd, broke out a tambourine (and his best falsetto), and enthusiastically launched into the next song. From there, things only got more ridiculous. Throughout the course of their short set, Mohager hurled everything from water bottles to CDs and even a pair of bright red Converse high tops into the crowd, striking anyone unfortunate enough to be in the way.

Later, as Mohager shouted the line, "Just bob your fucking head," the crowd stared on in disbelief (and mild amusement). The Chain Gang of 1974's set was entertaining - but perhaps not in the way Mohager intended. The over-the-top delivery, unpredictable projectiles whizzing through the air, and lyrics about getting high all made for quite a show - even if it was only accidentally entertaining at best.

Phantogram

Next up was the impossibly hip duo, Phantogram, from upstate New York. Immediately, the mood shifted. There's nothing accidentally hip about keyboardist/vocalist Sarah Barthel, right down to her perfectly angled haircut, chic black clothing, and deeply intoxicating voice. Behind the duo, a series of swirling, indistinct images (with the occasional urban or pastoral landscape) were projected onto the wall to accompany their soulful electro beats, which served as a nice segue to Caribou's trippy (but upbeat) psychedelic fair. From the pulsating beats and sexy vocals of "When I'm Small" to the moodier strains of "You Are the Ocean" (which guitarist Joshua Carter sings), Phantogram's songs are captivating regardless of the tempo.

Caribou also made use of the projector for their show, favoring concentric circles (like their recent album art) and other brightly colored geometric arrangements, but far from sticking to black, each of the four members donned a lightly colored shirt. Knowing they'd have plenty of time for things to escalate, Caribou kicked off their set with the slowly building "Leave House" from their spring release, Swim.

"Everybody, we're Caribou. How are you doing? Thanks for coming to see us," said front man Dan Snaith by way of introduction. Though the stage at Governors Island is a decent size, Snaith and his band occupied only about 20% of it. Instead of leisurely spreading out, they had elected to sit closely huddled in the middle, with a ring of monitors and amps surrounding them. From this intimate set-up, they looked at one another for subtle timing cues as many of their songs are elongated in a live setting to allow for trance-inducing instrumental interludes. Far from hogging the spotlight, the pleasantly unassuming front man spent more time facing drummer Brad Weber than the audience. At times, Snaith would join Weber on the drums in what seemed like perfect synchronicity, as if they two were riding the same trance. Meanwhile, the crowd at the beachfront danced around, appreciatively, in a way that was appropriately both subdued and carefree, depending on the song.

"Jamelia," the final track on Swim, was particularly intoxicating with its smooth vocals, chill beat, and hypnotic synth line. But just when the audience was starting to fall into a coma brought on by the song, Caribou followed up with the more upbeat (and truly expansive) "Sun," which sent ripples of life into the crowd that coincided with the song's periodic swells.

But with each passing minute, more people vacated the area and lined up at the gate - no doubt to land a spot on one of first ferries back to Manhattan. By this point in the summer, the long lines - one of the major drawbacks of the Governors Island shows - are no secret. When Caribou came back on stage for their encore, even more people filed out, leaving only the most dedicated (and blissfully unaware) fans to dance in the pit 'til the end of the show.

More pictures and a few videos from the show, below...

Continue reading "Caribou, Phantogram & The Chain Gang of 1974 played the Beach on Governors Island (pics) "

DOWNLOAD: Phantrogram - Mouthful of Diamonds (Michna remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Chain Gang of 1974 - Hold On (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Chain Gang of 1974 - Don't Walk Away (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Chain Gang of 1974 - Matter of Time (MP3)

Phantogram @ Brooklyn Bowl in December (more by Ryan Muir)

Governors Island Ferry Information Update for the Friday July 16th show (Caribou and Phantogram featuring The Chain Gang of 1974)

We encourage everyone to come early and enjoy the beach. Governors Island ferries will run from the Battery Maritime Building until 5:30PM. If you are on the island early, please make sure to get yourself to the Beach venue by 5:30PM where concert wristbands will be available
Dedicated concert ferries will depart after 5:30PM. Please enter the ferry queue at the NORTH end of the Battery Maritime Building.

Show time is 8:00PM.

Wristbands will also be distributed at the Manhattan ferry departure point on a first-come, first-serve basis, starting at 5:30PM.

The above Michna remix is a premiere, and I threw a couple more Chain Gang of 1974 MP3s up there too to sweeten the deal. See you on Governors Island tonight! (though if you're not going you can listen on ConverseRadio).,

All Phantogram and Caribou tour dates below...

Continue reading "Michna remixed Phantogram (who play Governors Island w/ Caribou tonight) - MP3 (and ferry instructions)"

DOWNLOAD: The Chain Gang of 1974 - Don't Walk Away (MP3)

Denver's Kamtin Mohager is The Chain Gang Of 1974, a one-man band whose retro synthy music is well represented in the atmospheric "Don't Walk Away", the closing track on his recently-released album "White Guts". Download it above.

I also couldn't think of a better first-of-three opener for this Friday night's free show on Governors Island which is being headlined by Caribou and also features Phantogram on the bill...

Caribou & Phantogram
with The Chain Gang of 1974
Converse Presents "Gone To Governors" Live Music Series

Location: The Beach
Date: 7/16/2010
Notes:
* All ages
* 6:00 pm Doors
* 8:00 pm Show
* The Beach opens at 10am
* Come early and enjoy the day
* FREE!
* Please note: Because this is a free show, there is a FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE policy in regard to capacity.

If you miss it, Chain Gang of 1974 can also be caught one night later at Brooklyn Bowl. It's a late show that is also being billed as an "MIA CD Release Party".

All dates and a video for another song on the album, below...

Continue reading "The Chain Gang of 1974 - MP3, video & tour dates (Governors Island Friday, Brooklyn Bowl Saturday night)"

DOWNLOAD: The Morning Benders - Cold War (Wallpaper. Winter Remix) (MP3)

Caribou @ Bowery Ballroom (more by Benjamin Lozovsky)

What is now being considered the full lineup for the ten-show, Converse-sponsored "Gone to Governors" series at Governors Island is almost complete (openers still TBA). There are ten shows total - seven of which are on Saturdays. One is on a Friday. Two are on Sundays (one of which is July 4th). All except Local Natives on August 7th are free.

The lineup's latest additions include co-headliners Caribou & Phantogram with The Chain Gang of 1974 (July 16th), and Josh Ritter with openers Justin Townes Earle and Dawn Landes (August 8th).

Here's the whole thing:

1. June 05 - Yeasayer, Keepaway, Delicate Steve
2. June 19 - The Morning Benders, Freelance Whales & TBA
3. July 03 - Portugal. The Man & TBA
4. July 04 (Sunday) - She & Him
5. July 10 - Lucero & TBA
6. July 16 (Friday) - Caribou, Phantogram, The Chain Gang of 1974
7. July 17 - Dr. Dog & TBA
8. Aug. 07 - Local Natives & TBA ($10 ticket)
9. Aug. 08 (Sunday) - Josh Ritter & The Royal City Band, Justin Townes Earle, Dawn Landes & the Hounds
10. Aug. 14 - Neon Indian & TBA
11. Aug 15 - Dr. Dog

The doors are at 6pm, show at 8pm for all shows (except for the afternoon She & Him show, which has doors at noon, show at 4pm). I originally thought there would be shows every Saturday, but I'm told this is it (for now anyway).
http://www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2010/06/dr_dog_governor.html
Ferry service to Governors Island for the "Gone to Governors" shows is free. As previously reported the series is being co-produced by Bowery Presents, Highline Ballroom and Mad Dog Presents with Converse and event partner Water Taxi Beach. BrooklynVegan is the media sponsor.

The shows will be held at the Beach at Governors Island, one of three venues on the Island. The others are Colonel Row (where Passion Pit will be playing, for instance) and South Island Field (which'll host M.I.A./HARD NYC). Michael Franti & Spearhead w/ Trombone Shorty kicks off the season of pay-shows at the Island with a Thursday, June 3rd performance there.

The Morning Benders will headline the second show in the series on June 19th, and they just released new song "Go Grab A Stranger," a Big Echo b-side currently available as a limited tour 7", streaming below. A remix of their song "Cold War" by Oakland act Wallpaper is available above.

"Go Grab A Stranger" and more info on the Gov. Island shows are below...

Continue reading "Gone to Governors - full 10 mostly-free show lineup (Caribou, Phantogram, Josh Ritter, She & Him & Local Natives included)"