Dinosaur Jr @ MHOW in June (more by Toby Tenenbaum)

tonight in NYC
* DANCE
* Lights On @ Bruar Falls
* Madonnathon @ BB King's
* Gil Scott-Heron @ Blue Note
* Antifolk Festival @ Sidewalk Cafe
* Night Horse, Orphan, Tournament @ Union Pool
* Overmars, Battlefields, Inswarm, Mortals @ Europa
* Peripatetics (Liberty Ellman & Vijay Iyer) @ The Stone
* Dinosaur Jr., The Walkmen, Saviours @ Central Park Summerstage
* Asshole Parade, Gomek, Obnoxious Noise, Psychic Limbs @ Cake Shop
* Jones Street Station, US Royalty, Drink Up Buttercup @ Studio at Webster Hall
* Out of Doors Fest w/ Africa Aye, Ibboru, Ricardo Lemvo, Makina Loca @ Damrosch
* Del tha Funky Homosapien, Gravy Train!!!!, DD/MM/YYYY, Kenan Bell @ Williamsburg Waterfront
* Northampton Woods (Thurston Moore & Bill Nace), Carlos Giffoni, MV Carbon & Okkyung Lee duo @ Glasslands
* Shilpa Ray & Her Happy Hookers, Bad Credit No Credit, Back Pockets, No Mas Bodas, Adrienne Anemone @ Littlefield

Free outdoor music tonight includes this week's Pool Party with Del tha Funky Homosapien, Gravy Train!!!!, DD/MM/YYYY and Kenan Bell at Williamsburg Waterfront, Lincoln Center's Out of Doors Fest with Africa Aye, Ibboru, Ricardo Lemvo and Makina Loca at Damrosch Park, and a a Central Park Summerstage show with Dinosaur Jr., The Walkmen and Saviours.

Sidewalk Cafe's Antifolk Festival closes tonight with sets from Larkin Grimm and more.

Lights On play Bruar Falls.

Night Horse, who recently played Pianos with special guest Graveyard, play a set at Union Pool with Orphan and Tournament.

Overmars, Battlefields, Inswarm and Mortals visit Europa, while Asshole Parade, Gomek, Obnoxious Noise and Psychic Limbs play Cake Shop.

Creed, having conquored Jones Beach last night, moves on to decimate Jersey with a show at PNC Bank Arts Center tonight.

A new video promo for The Most Serene Republic, below...

A clip of Dinosaur Jr. playing "Feel the Pain" live on TV is posted below. Also below is an NME interview with J Mascis.

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Sunday?"

DOWNLOAD: Most Serene Republic - Heavens to Purgatory (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Grand Archives - Silver Among the Gold (MP3)

The Most Serene Republic are going on tour this fall in support of their newest record, ...And The Ever Expanding Universe, which is out now on Arts & Crafts. Check out a track from it, above. Those tour dates, which kick off in September, include NYC shows at (Le) Poisson Rouge on October 8th and Southpaw the next night.

The band will be joined at both shows by Seattle's Grand Archives, who join them for the bulk of the tour. That band's new record, Keep In Mind Frankenstein, is due September 15th on Sub Pop. The label writes, "[the disc] opens with the bittersweet elegy 'Topsy's Revenge,' inspired by the infamous 1903 newsreel footage of Thomas Edison electrocuting a rogue Coney Island elephant" (that's timely). Check out a track from the record above; album art and track list are below.

Tickets are on sale for Le Poisson Rouge and Southpaw.

Most Serene are also on the new Arts & Crafts sampler.

In June, Most Serene Republic previewed tracks from their new album at a set of NYC shows, as well as a stop at Toronto's NXNE. Check out two new album songs and the busy stage at that gig (being on Arts & Crafts requires the band to have at least half a dozen members) with all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Grand Archives & Most Serene Republic - tour dates, albums"

NXNE has announced its lineup for the 15th edition of the festival, taking over Toronto from June 17 - 21, 2009.

NXNE will be taking over Toronto with live performances, films, and conference sessions in neighbourhoods all over the city. The hub of this invasion is Yonge-Dundas Square, where a huge shot of adrenaline will slam straight into the heart of downtown with four days of free concerts on the NXNE Mainstage, featuring performances by Black Lips, Burning Brides, Wintersleep, The Sonics, Youth Brigade, The Cool Kids, GZA and more.

Continue reading "NXNE (North By Northeast) 2009 lineup"

by Andrew Frisicano

The Arts & Crafts crew will be in full force this summer. There's the new Apostle of Hustle album and accompanying shows; Olympic Island Fest in Toronto with Apostle of Hustle and label stalwarts Broken Social Scene; Gentleman Reg's scheduled dates in support of his new disc; Bell Orchestre's new album and upcoming shows (with a NYC date on April 30th); and Constantines playing Lollapalooza (with Los Campesinos!) and the Central Park Summerstage gig with EITS. All of the aforementioned acts -- minus Broken Social Scene and Los Campesinos! -- have NYC gigs scheduled, so click the links for info.

Amidst all those moves is a new album by A & C's The Most Serene Republic. Their record, ...And the Ever Expanding Universe, is due July 14th. The label is offering a free MP3 of the album's second track, "Heavens to Purgatory," if you give them your e-mail address.

Even before that album's release, the band is dropping the online-only Digital Population EP on April 28th. That EP will consist of "digital MIDI versions of tracks from the band's 2007 album Population."

And this June, you'll have a chance to catch The Most Serene Republic at two intimate NY venues (part of a very short east coast tour) -- they play the Cake Shop on Thursday, June 25th, and Union Hall on Saturday, June 27th.

All dates, an update from the band about recent line-up changes and their upcoming releases, with track lists and album art from both releases, below.....

Continue reading "Arts & Crafts' busy summer + The Most Serene Republic (2009 tour dates & new albums)"

Miracle Fortess was planning on making their NYC debut at Bowery Ballroom during CMJ, but as you might remember, there were complications that stopped that from happening. They're going to try again - this time as part of a short East Coast tour with The Most Serene Republic. Tickets are on sale for a March 21st show at Mercury Lounge that Rolling Stone and Stereogum Band to Watch Liam Finn is also playing. All dates below....

Continue reading "Miracle Fortess & Most Serene Republic - 2008 Tour Dates"

White Rabbits @ Bowery Ballroom, NYC - Dec 13, 2007 (CRED)

* DFA holiday party
* Aimee Mann holiday show
* GZA @ Knitting Factory again
* The Hungry March Band are at Union Hall
* The Most Serene Republic @ Mercury Lounge
* Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip @ Mercury Lounge

Do you want to see The Most Serene Republic for free? I have one pair of tickets to give away to the first person who emails BVCONTESTS@HOTMAIL.COM (subject: Most) right now. Include your first and last name for guestlist. What else?

The Most Serene Republic are in the midst of a little East Coast tour. They hit Southpaw on Thursday, and Mercury Lounge the next day. The Merc show is an early one. The late show in the same venue is Dan Le Sac Vs. Scoobius Pip. Your Vegas opens for Most Serene. The Beatards open for Dan Le Sac. All tour dates below...

Continue reading "The Most Serene Republic - December 2007 Tour Dates"

The Most Serene Republic is streaming their new album Population (track by track) over at the Arts & Crafts website. See them at one of the three upcoming NYC shows they have going on, or at my CMJ show at Bowery after that.

Other new albums streaming this week (at AOL) include the new Go! Team, Pinback, Shout Out Louds, Animal Collective, Drug Rug, Oakley Hall, and Largehearted Boy's favorite: Ani DiFranco.

DOWNLOAD: The Most Serene Republic - Sherry and Her Butterfly Net (MP3)

The Most Serene Republic's sophomore release, Population, is out on Arts&Crafts October 2nd. In September, they'll play three NYC-area shows. All tour dates below...

Continue reading "The Most Serene Republic - 2007 Tour Dates, new album"

Said the Gramophone has a great remix of Stars' 'Ageless Beauty' by fellow Arts & Crafter The Most Serene Republic. (thx J)

* Vanmega saw TMSR open for BSS last week.
* Harmonium reviewed TMSR
* Tuning Fork reviewed Pitchfork's TMSR Review

The Most Serene Republic opened for Metric at Southpaw Thursday night (Oct 6, 2005), and I thought they seriously kicked ass.

Continue reading "The Most Serene Republic @ Southpaw, Brooklyn, NY | pics"

The Most Serene Republic @ Mercury Lounge 8-24-05

Above photo from kathryn's set at Flickr

"About three years ago, and virtually out of nowhere, Broken Social Scene appeared like some refreshingly talented blip on the indie music radar. Until this rogue band of Canadians started popping up on so many "wish I'd heard of them last year" lists, it was no stretch to say that not many people (especially outside of Canada) had heard of Arts & Crafts Productions.

Now, a mere three years after the fact, BSS has been elevated to household name status in new rock circles, played massive festivals like Coachella, and has a highly anticipated new album set to drop in the fall. As such, Arts & Crafts has expanded somewhat, offering up releases from other bands such as Stars, Feist and Apostle of Hustle. Each has garnered its own respective heaps of critical praise, but each has also contained a member of BSS, as have all A&C artists. That is, until The Most Serene Republic." [Popmatters]

The MSR CD is called Underwater Cinematographer. You can buy it at Insound.

* Music for Robots has a CD Review & MP3.
* Prefix also reviewed the CD.
* Sixeyes as well.
* HeartonaStick reviewed their show at Mercury Lounge.
* Coolfer said they played a great set.
* Loose Record says good show too.
* They're doing well in the Canadian Charts

The Most Serene Republic is touring with Metric. That means you can see them at Bowery Ballroom in NY on October 5th, and at Southpaw in Brooklyn on the 6th. They're also at Hiro Ballroom for CMJ as part of the Arts & Crafts 2005 showcase.