photos by Tim Griffin

"Reliving my High School days seeing the Lemonheads at Bowery Ballroom." -chrissanchez

The Lemonheads (Evan Dando w/ ex-Zero Boys Vess Ruhtenberg (bass) and Mark Cutsinger (drums) along with NYC-based guitarist, Xan Aird) headlined a show at NYC's Bowery Ballroom last night (6/25). The band is currently on tour in support of their new covers record that was produced by Gibby Haynes of the Butthole Surfers (who are playing Riot Fest in Chicago this year).

Last night was also the night that the world found out about the the death of Michael Jackson. Evan gracefully dedicated the show to him (which apparently not everyone approved of).

Openers for the show were Boston's Varsity Drag, and The Legends. Varsity Drag is Lemonheads co-founder Ben Deily's new band, BUT Ben did not actually play with the Lemonheads (just with Varsity Drag). For the Legends, it was their fourth of five NYC shows they played while they were here in NYC. Their fifth happened at Pianos later that night. More pictures from the Bowery show, including some setlist shots, below...

Continue reading "The Lemonheads, The Legends & Varsity Drag @ Bowery Ballroom in NYC - pics, setlists"

First there were three. Then there were four. Now there are five. The Legends open for The Lemonheads at Bowery Ballroom tonight, and then head over to Pianos to play a just-added set at 11pm (6/25).

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: The Legends - Always the Same (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Legends - Seconds Away (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Legends - Play for Today (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Legends - He Knows the Sun (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Legends - There and Back Again (MP3)

The Legends @ the Bell House - June 23, 2009

The Legends played the first show of their East Coast tour last night at the Bell House -- a loud, zippy set (a bit short for a headliner if you ask me), hitting most of the band's singles, including "There and Back Again," "Call it Ours," and the feedback-heavy new single "Always the Same." (No "He Knows the Sun," though, to the disappointment of a few very vocal, inebriated fans who seemed to be having a great time nonetheless.) The latter is a duet with Joe & the Flying Spoons' Liane Moccia who is also helping out on keyboards for the duration of The Legends' five-date East Coast trek, which now includes opening for the Lemonheads tomorrow night (6/25) at Bowery Ballroom. (Tickets are still available.) All Lemonheads dates below.

The Legends also play an early show tonight (6/24, 8:30) at Santos Party House with Eagle & Talon, Blacklist and We Are Country Mice; Friday (6/26) with Band of Skulls at The Studio @ Webster Hall; and Philadelphia's Kung Fu Necktie on Saturday (6/27). Video from last night, and updated tour dates, below...

Continue reading "the Legends played the Bell House, opening for Lemonheads "

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: The Legends - Always the Same (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Legends - Seconds Away (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Legends - Play for Today (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Legends - He Knows the Sun (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Legends - There and Back Again (MP3)

The Swedish invasion on NYC shows no signs of stopping. The latest - Stockholm's The Legends are playing NYC later this month, with three shows confirmed so far: June 23 at The Bell House, June 24 at Santos (with Blacklist) and June 26 at The Studio @ Webster Hall (with Band of Skulls). Don't be surprised if a couple more shows are announced.

The Legends, on record at least, is Johan Angergård who co-owns great Swedish label Labrador Records, home of Suburban Kids with Biblical Names (whoo just played NYC for Popfest), Radio Dept. (who also played Popfest and just released a new song) and Pelle Carlberg (who played NYC right after Popfest), among others. He's also one half of lush pop duo Club 8, as well as a member of long-running Swedish band Acid House Kings who toured the US with the Legends in July 2006.

Angergård is an '80s indie pop sponge who lists Lloyd Cole, Front 242, My Bloody Valentine, OMD and about 20 other disparate acts as influences on The Legends' MySpace page. That probably explains why The Legends can sound like a completely different band from album to album (albiet different bands influence by the '80s). Their 2003 debut, Up Against the Legends, was '60s influenced noise pop that could've been released on Creation Records in 1986; the follow-up, 2005's Public Radio explored gothy postpunk; and on 2006's Facts and Figures, The Legends went electrop pop. Angergård sheds a little light on this in an interview with The CheapPop.com:

The Legends albums follow my mood and it's about exploring new sounds. I want each album to feel like a debut album because it's a lot more interesting to do something for the first time compared to do the same thing over and over again. It keeps the curiosity alive. It even grows with every album. I'm surprised that not more bands and artists do it like that and the fact that so few bands do probably explains why album no. 3 or 4 from a band so rarely is their best.

The Legends' new album, Over and Over, is out in the U.S. on June 15 and is more an amalgam of everything Angergård has done so far than an exploration of one particular style, though it is far and away the noisiest thing he's ever done. Bright white feedback sheers off the album's two singles "Seconds Away" and the great "Always the Same" which is a duet with former Tralala singer Liane Moccia who is now in Joe & the Flying Spoons. (Spin.com has the video.) But there are also a fair amount of dreamy numbers that could've easily ended up on a Club 8 record. I think Over and Over might be The Legends' best since their first. There's a bunch of MP3s at the top of this post, including both singles from the new album and one song each from previous records.

The touring version of The Legends will be a four-piece and, given the nature of Over and Over, Angergård offers this advice via his Twitter: "Bring the earplugs!"

Continue reading "The Legends releasing new album (MP3), playing 3 NY shows "