by Alex Lewis

Bryce Dessner (we think) @ the Big Ears Festival (more by Andrew Frisicano)

While in Knoxville for the Big Ears Festival (March 26-28, 2010), you knew you were at the right show if Bryce Dessner was in sight. When The Ex performed Friday night, Dessner was in attendance with his entourage that included his twin brother Aaron and Sufjan Stevens. This turned out to be one of the most exciting shows of the weekend. On Saturday, instead of seeing Vampire Weekend at the Tennessee Theater, he was at the Knoxville Museum of Art for the Big Ears film co-op that featured presentations of experimental films with live improvised performances from a number of the festival's artists. Then again, it was hard to miss Bryce completely, as he performed with Clogs, The National, and in a number of other settings.

The intimate relationship between artists and audience at Big Ears is one of the most unique parts of the experience. This interface takes place partly because Knoxville is small and there are few places for artists to hide. But it's also built into the festival's program and embodied by its co-curator. I met with Bryce at the Knoxville Museum of Art after the film co-op. We discussed the festival, venues in NYC, and more...

--

How did you get involved with Big Ears?

Ashley [Capps, head of AC Entertainment] called me about a year ago, probably because of Dark Was The Night. But then also because of a much smaller festival that I've run in Ohio for the past 5 years. He was basically just fishing to see if I was interested in coming down [to Knoxville] and doing something. He was very open-minded about what that might be. Originally, he didn't care if The National played. He was more interested in Clogs because we don't often get the opportunity to do something like this. I'm usually wary of curating. Inside Cincinnati I know I can control because it's a very small thing. It's just a very small theater and that's the only venue. It's a very intimate kind of thing and because I've billed it for years now people understand what's going to happen. It's very flexible.

So in the past I've been asked to do other festivals and I've usually said "no", mainly because it's rare to find someone who is open-minded and cool to go with it. So basically Ashley is that person. As much as any musical collaborator that I love and have a great time with, he is that person for this. Working on a festival is so ephemeral and in the moment, that it's kind of my favorite thing in music. More than the commercial side of the industry that's related to releasing records, festivals just happen and then they're over. Especially if there's site-specific going on that's really only happening at that festival. I think that Big Ears is kind of new. It's a different format for hearing music. I got the sense that Ashley was interested in pushing something in that way and that's why I said, "sure".

continued below...

Continue reading "an interview with Bryce Dessner (Big Ears co-curator and guitarist in Clogs/The National)"

by Andrew Frisicano

this post concludes our Big Ears 2010 Festival coverage. links to the first two posts are also below...

"When people ask what my favorite place to play is, I tell them about this place. It's like playing inside an Easter egg," quipped My Brightest Diamond's Shara Worden, gazing at the deep-sea blue dome overhead at Knoxville's Tennessee Theater. The psychedelic cavern, a mish-mash of decorative styles and colors, served as the home to the Big Ears festival's largest shows, and its final act on Sunday night, with headliner the National.

The National's presence was felt long before they took the stage - in the hand of guitarist Bryce Dessner, who co-curated the fest, in the National members' supporting gigs, playing behind Doveman, Clogs and others, and in the abundance of friends and fellow Brooklyn-ites in the Big Ears lineup. Of course, those are all connected. One look at the stage during the first song of the National's encore - "Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks" off their forthcoming High Violet - revealed a selection of Big Ears' top acts - Nico Muhly, St. Vincent, Shara Worden and sometimes-National members Padma Newsome and Thomas Bartlett (Sufjan came out for a song, but not during the encore), all of whom performed earlier in the weekend on their own. (Read here about days one and two)

Attendees also had the chance to opt for music outside of that circle. At Big Ears Annex, Tim Hecker and Ben Frost collaborated for a set of fragile, icy noise (they both played on their own earlier too - Hecker opened for Bang on a Can All-Stars' performance of Music For Aiports and the Books at the TN Theater). Trio Konk Pack took the same stage later for improvised noises, pops and whirs - like the soundtrack to an invisible film. The night before, one could choose between Liturgy and Gang Gang Dance - two bands at the top of their respective genres - while Terry Riley's In C filled the Tennessee Theater to its elliptical rafters.

Around the corner from the Annex at the Pilot Light, KnoEars, an unaffiliated, somewhat anti-Big Ears DIY Fest, hosted an all-day lineup that included homemade noise, Replacements-style punk and more emanating into Sunday's rainy street.

Terry Riley, selected to be this year's resident guide, performed four times over the three days - all in different settings. Other repeat acts like Thomas Bartlett (Doveman), who played with Sam Amidon, the fest's first act (interviewed here), and The National, its last, were frequent Knoxville fixtures for the three-day fest, running to their own gigs or enjoying others'.

"Mr. Riley also enjoyed a fair number of other people's shows, especially the art-song band Clogs. ("They were the hit for me," he said, beaming over breakfast on Monday morning. "Great performers, great writing. I'm going to buy their CD when I get home.")" [NY Times]

More pictures and videos from the fest are below...

Continue reading "Big Ears Fest Day 3 - The National, My Brightest Diamond, St. Vincent, Tim Hecker & Ben Frost, more (pics, video, review) "

by Andrew Frisicano

Sufjan Stevens

Collaborations were the order of the day on Big Ears' Saturday, March 27th schedule (day two). At 1pm, the 802 Tour - Nico Muhly, Thomas Bartlett (Doveman) and Sam Amidon with violist Nadia Sirota - performed songs written by each. The National's Dessner brothers and drummer Bryan Devendorf joined for a selection of full-band Doveman songs, and the finale was a clamoring, epic version of the folk song "The Two Sisters" arranged by Nico (part of the percussion included Nico combing Thomas's hair). Sam played his own set with help from Thomas one day earlier, and later Saturday night.

Before that, the day started with Andrew W.K.'s Q&A-heavy lecture at the Knoxville Museum of Art (he played a set of music the night before) and a Bang on a Can All-Stars set that included works by Dave Longstreth, both at noon. Dirty Projectors performed later in the day (3:45pm) at Tennessee Theatre on a bill that also included DJ/Rupture and William Basinski who went on at the same time as Liturgy (who played at the Big Ears Annex at 2pm and then again at Pilot Light at midnight).

Clogs took the stage at the Bijou Theater with guests as well. Rumors of a solo set by Sufjan Steven circulated, but he only played one of his own songs, "Barn Owl Night Killer," on piano. Clogs were also assisted by Shara Worden, Aaron Dessner and Calder Quartet. Matt Berninger was delayed en route to Knoxville, so he didn't make his duet on "Last Song," for which main Clog Padma Newsome filled in. That wasn't the actual last song - new-album closer "We Were Here" was, which featured Sufjan on vocals and banjo along with Shara Worden and guitar by Aaron Dessner. A similar show happened in Brooklyn a few days earlier.

Joanna Newsom

The Saturday headliners - Vampire Weekend and Joanna Newsom - both played to sold out crowds (Vampire Weekend at the sprawling, ornate-adorned 1600 seat Tennessee Theater with opener Abe Vigoda). Joanna Newsom's set was opened by Fred Armisen aka Jens Hannemann, a master of "complicated drummer technique." Armisen also joined her set for one song to play awkward and out-of-place cowbell.

At the Tennessee, the night ended with Terry Riley's Autodreamagraphical Tales - music from Bang on a Can over Terry reading from his actual dreams (Eastern religion and weed popped up frequently) - and In C, led by BoaC's Evan Ziporyn and featuring the rest of Bang on a Can All-Stars as well as Calder Quartet, Clogs, Nico Muhly, Nadia Sirota, Gyan Riley, and Terry on voice. The open-ended song stretched to an hour, canceling out any chance to catch late night sets from Javelin and Gang Gang Dance. Gang Gang was stil going when I arrived, but the club shut down the power mid-song and flipped on the lights promptly at 3am, sending everyone home.

A recap of Friday is HERE. More pictures and videos from Saturday are below...

Continue reading "Big Ears Fest Day 2 - Joanna Newsom, Clogs w/ Sufjan, Fred Armisen, Nico Muhly, Terry Riley, more (pics, video, review) "

by Andrew Frisicano

Sam Amidon, accompanied by Thomas Bartlett, ushered in the first show of the 2010 Big Ears Festival at the Knoxville Museum of Art on Friday (3/26) with "Wild Bill Jones," his own version of the Appalachian folk song, punctuated with a piercing scream half-way through. "These are all folk songs, some from around here," said Sam, which was the right thing to say at the KMA, an institution whose collection and staff brims with East Tennessee pride. After a welcome by festival organizer Ashley Capps (whose AC Entertainment also organizes Bonnaroo) and co-curator Bryce Dessner, Calder Quartet and violinist Iva Bittova led the audience through the folk-inspired world of Bartok, Janacek and guitarist/composer Fred Frith.

A little after 7pm at the gorgeous Bijou Theatre (est. 1909), Terry Riley and his quartet - consisting of his son Gyan on classical guitar, Tracy Silverman on electric violin and Ches Smith on drums and marimba - played a series of extended ragas and genre-morphing songs. By midnight, an ecstatic crowd of all ages filled the hall for the xx. Just a few hours before, University of Tennessee basketball advanced to the NCAA Elite 8, and the partly collegiate crowd carried the celebratory mood to the gig. Some danced in front of their seats or in the aisles, and cheered in anticipation - in one opera box, an exhibitionist couple shared a drunken embrace dangerously close to the railing. Clandestine cigarettes were smoked as the xx performed their moody rock alongside minutely choreographed stage lights.

The earlier jj were even more laid back than the xx, with a sole singer, Elin Kastlander, standing before video projections that included an Italian soccer game, romps on the beach by Elin and co-member Joakim Benon, and whales and other nature scenes. We also got to see Elin roll a big blunt on screen, which might speak to her onstage ambivalence and generally lackluster approach. She did pick up an acoustic guitar once, as did her blond gentleman collaborator, Joakim, for a few numbers. With the music on autopilot, everything else - from the canned "native" beats to the narcissistic video - seemed to follow suit.

The first act had much better luck: Nosaj Thing's post-apocalyptic electronica, riddled with blippy bullets and ghostly echoes, destroyed the darkened theater. The xx gig was one of of the fest's sold out gigs (the others are currently Vampire Weekend and Joanna Newsom) but those with all-access Inner Ear passes ($250 now, but cheaper if you bought earlier) had no trouble finding front-row first-come, first-served seats if they showed at least 15 minutes before doors. The passes are pricey, but a good deal even if you make it to only 1/3rd of the 30-some shows at the fest.

A few blocks away, Andrew WK and the Calder Quartet finished their set with a cover of John Cage's 4'33" - or as Andrew put it "Johnny Cage! Fatality! Mortal Kombat!" The room was divided between those trying to rebel ("Play music!"), those trying to explain the piece ("It's supposed to be people talking"), those shushing, and those just enjoying the spectacle. Andrew returned for an encore of "Party Hard" (piano, voice and crowd participation) and brought out Calder's Eric Byers for a Bach cello piece, accompanied by an interpretive dance by Andrew WK (think "an impressionistic karate kid") dedicated to the late Merce Cunningham.

The compact nature of the participating venues in downtown Knoxville (one mid- and one large-size theater and a handful of smaller club-like spaces) gives Big Ears an intimate feel, and the festival's musicians - most recognizably, Sufjan Stevens, though his only performance is in a supporting role with Clogs (The BQE is being screened too) - can be seen hopping from venue to venue along with the fans.

The difficult decisions of Big Ears day one - Dutch post-punks the Ex against newcomers the xx - only intensify as the festival progresses, with the headliners like Joanna Newsom, Vampire Weekend and composer in residence Terry Riley all going head to head on Saturday.

More pictures and video from Big Ears day one are below...

Continue reading "Big Ears Fest Day 1 - Sam Amidon, jj, The xx, The ex, Terry Riley, Andrew WK, Nosaj Thing, more (pics, video, review)"

photos by David Andrako

"Clogs tonight at the Bell House Brooklyn w/ the astonishing Shara Worden and (briefly) Sufjan Stevens: Complex, transfixing, transcendent" - Frank Rose

As promised, Sufjan showed up to perform with Shara Worden and Clogs (featuring members of the National) at the Bell House last night. The whole crew is now off to Tennessee for the Big Ears Festival which kicks off Friday with performances by Sam Amidon, Andrew WK, The xx, Ben Frost and others (full schedule HERE). Some more pictures from last night's Clogs show in Brooklyn below...

Continue reading "Clogs played the Bell House w/ Sufjan Stevens, Shara Worden & Olof Arnalds (pics), Big Ears Festival kicks off Friday"

DOWNLOAD: The National - Bloodbuzz Ohio (MP3)

High Violet - out May 11th on 4AD

The next National-related event is tonight (3/24) at The Bell House.

DOWNLOAD: Clogs - Red Seas w/ Padma Newsome (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Clogs - On The Edge (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Clogs - Three-Two (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Clogs live on WNYC (MP3)

Olof Arnalds @ SXSW 2010 (more by Dominick Mastrangelo)

Chamber group Clogs played live (and spoke) on WNYC on Monday. You can listen at their site (and download it above).

Wednesday night (tonight, 3/24) is Clogs' record release show at The Bell House in Brooklyn. They've confirmed that Sufjan Stevens and My Brightest Diamond's Shara Worden (who also played with them on WNYC and was a special guest at the Regina Spektor show at Irving Plaza Tuesday night) will be their guests. Whether Sufjan will sing or not isn't 100% clear, but like Shara, he does sing on the new album.

The National's Padma Newsome and Bryce Dessner are permanent members of Clogs. Bryce's twin brother Aaron and the National's Matt Berninger aren't, but will also play with the group when they perform at the Big Ears Fest in Knoxville, Tennessee this weekend.

Opening the Brooklyn show is Julianna Barwick and Olof Arnalds who was just in Texas for SXSW. Tickets are still on sale.

Full Big Ears schedule at their site.

Continue reading "Clogs played WNYC (listen), confirm that Sufjan & Shara Worden will join them in Brooklyn (and in Knoxville)"

photos by Bao Nguyen

Amazing I spent $20 to see one of my favorite bands play a club show to debut material for their upcoming album. Played for about One Hour and Forty minutes. All other bands please take note. -Anon 6:05

The National closed their two-show engagement at the Bell House with a show Friday night (3/12). Like night one, the band mixed songs off their forthcoming LP, High Violet, with older material. According to the set list below, they added "Brainy," "Mistaken for Strangers" and "All The Wine" for their second night (and cut "Start a War").

Their upcoming shows include an June 16th show at Radio City Music Hall, and one in Prospect Park in July. Their next scheduled show happens March 28th in Knoxville, TN's Big Ears Fest.

More pictures and a set list from Friday's show are below...

Continue reading "The National @ the Bell House (night 2) - pics & setlist"

photos by Tim Griffin

"The National had debuted the opening track from their new album High Violet (May 11 on 4AD) on Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday night (video) which set the stage for what The Bell House performances would bring. Playing to a packed house, we were privileged to hear 10 songs not from any of the albums, thus presumably all on "High Violet." In form with everything the National have every put together, all of the tracks were really wonderful, but too many new ones for me to give substantive commentary. Bryce thanked the crowd and confessed that tonight was the first night that many of these songs were being performed live and though I'd never heard 10 of them live, several have been played in the past. Often when bands I know play songs I'm not familiar with, it can be off-putting, but hearing these songs just heightened my anticipation for the release of High Violet. Apparently the band has gotten so deep into the new album that some of the old songs seem like distant memories, as Matt laughed at himself when he couldn't remember how to begin Start a War, needing the audience to get him started, reminding me of Dylan's 1964 performance of I Don't Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met). Matt also opened up a little on some of his earlier songs, mentioning that his wife Carin Besser co-wrote two of my favorite songs from Boxer, namely Slow Show and Apartment Story; two songs that I really think makes The National one of the best story-teller bands." [backseat sandbar]

Continue reading "The National played new songs @ the Bell House - pics & setlist from night 1 w/ Ethan Lipton"

The National @ Outside Lands 2009 (more by Chris Graham)

tonight in NYC
* Louis CK @ Caroline's
* WASP @ Gramercy Theatre
* Puscifer @ Grand Ballroom
* ETHEL Plays JacobTV @ Merkin Hall
* Blasco, Open Ocean @ Zebulon
* Gilberto Gil @ Nokia Theatre
* Jesse Malin @ Bowery Electric
* Allman Brothers @ United Palace
* Prong & Soulfly @ Starland Ballroom
* Care Bears on Fire @ Barnes & Noble
* Chubb Rock, Dres of Black Sheep at SOB's
* Zombi, Titan, Bassoon @ Europa
* Yacht, MNDR, Bobby Birdman @ Bowery Ballroom
* Soulive w/ Questlove & Rahzel @ Brooklyn Bowl
* The Magnetic Fields, Darren Hanlon @ Town Hall
* Choir of Young Believers, Arms, Anni Rossi @ Pianos
* Shrinebuilder, Wolves In The Throne Room, Salome @ NYU
* Dangles, Fuzz Orchestra, Invisible Circle @ Death By Audio
* Jenny Owen Youngs, Bess Rogers, Allison Weiss @ Union Hall
* The National, Ethan Lipton & His Orchestra @ The Bell House
* Kronos Quartet plays Terry Riley @ Carnegia Hall's Zankel Hall
* Neckbeard Telecaster, Big Honey Mama, Brown Bird @ Union Pool
* Foreign Born, Free Energy, Clovers, Linfinity @ Mercury Lounge
* Diehard, Standard Fare, Makeout Videotape, Sally Head @ Cake Shop
* Fluffy Lumbers, Wild Nothing, Miho Hatori, Blissed Out @ Market Hotel
* FIXED w/ Simian Mobile Disco (DJ), JDH & Dave P @ (Le) Poission Rouge
* Iran, Arboretum, War of Northern Aggression @ Knitting Factory Brooklyn
* Exit Music, Timber Rattle, Jason Anderson, Maya Solovey @ Pete's Candy Store
* Mustard Pimp, Hesta Prynn, The Willowz, The Auctioneers @ Santos Party House
* Dillinger Escape Plan, Darkest Hour, Iwrestledabearonce, Animals as Leaders @ Irving Plaza
* ArpLine, Letting Up Despite Great Faults, Home Video, Million Young, Love Like Deloreans, Mystery Roar @ Glasslands

Zombi is coming all the way from Pittsburgh to play Europa in Brooklyn tonight. We have two pairs of tickets to give away. If you want them email BVCONTESTS@HOTMAIL.COM (subject: Zombi). Include your first and last name.

After their set at NYU (tickets to non-NYU students available at the door), Al Cisneros and Dale Crover of Shrinebuilder will scoot over to The Charleston to play DJ for the after party.

Puscifer play Grand Ballroom tonight and The Apollo on Saturday.

The National play their first of two shows at The Bell House tonight. Last night they were on Fallon. Video below..

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Thursday?"

The National recording the new record...

The National's new record will be called High Violet, and it'll come out May 11th on 4AD. Way sooner than that, the band is heavily rumored to be playing two last minute surprise shows in Brooklyn. The dates are Thursday (3/11) and Friday (3/12) at the Bell House. Tickets may even go on sale today at noon.

The National previously announced a show at Prospect Park in July with Beach House opening and a show at Radio City Music Hall in June. Before that, the band will be playing scattered shows around the country (and in Europe). Those include Big Ears Fest at the end of March, Sasquatch in May and Bonnaroo in June. All tour dates and video from their SummerStage show back in August of 2008 are below...

Continue reading "The National name new album, playing 2 shows at The Bell House this week? (and other tour dates) "

photos by Dominick Mastrangelo

Antlers / Editors

"People don't mean any harm,'' the Antlers singer said from Brooklyn in a recent phone interview. "But they'll ask, 'Is the song 'Bear' about abortion?' before they even say hello. Whoa, what? It's like going up to a stranger and asking how their mom died. I don't know how I feel about it.''

But you can't blame fans for feeling close enough to the heartbroken narrator of the band's breakout record, "Hospice,'' to ask for details. The lo-fi concept album, centered on a terminally ill patient and her caregiver, is intimate and haunting. The 10 tracks deal with loss, death, guilt, and even Sylvia Plath ("Sylvia, get your head out of the oven / Go back to screaming and cursing, remind me again how everyone betrayed you.'') The stuff of nightmares, really.

"Hospice,'' self-released by Silberman last March, garnered serious buzz and ended up on several best-of-2009 lists. Venerable indie label Frenchkiss Records re-released the album in August. The Antlers headlined a sold-out show at the Bowery Ballroom in December and are on a tour with Editors.... [Boston Globe]

Coming up for The Antlers: a tour of Europe, a headlining tour with Phantogram, an opening slot on The National's upcoming dates (including Radio City Music Hall, but not Prospect Park), and... the BrooklynVegan day show at Club DeVille in Austin on Friday, March 19th with Lucero and more bands TBA. They then play the Frenchkiss & Mom+Pop official SXSW showcase at Galaxy Room (formerly Radio Room & Borboun Rocks) that same night (with Freelance Whales, Local Natives, An Horse, Suckers, and Les Savy Fav).

All dates and more pictures below...

Continue reading "The Antlers played Terminal 5 w/ Editors (pics, setlist), playing BV SXSW, touring w/ Phantogram, National (dates) "

We'll get a more complete press release in the morning (and confirm what is listed below is 100% correct), but in the meantime below is a picture of the 2010 Sasquatch poster (that someone Tweeted) and the lineup as read by Bradford Cox at tonight's Atlas Sound show in Seattle (and being listed all over the Internet)....

Continue reading "Sasquatch announces 2010 lineup (includes Massive Attack & My Morning Jacket) (and many more) "

After a hectic day of updating the constantly updating Bonnaroo lineup page, the entire thing has been announced. Gwar, Norah Jones, and the rest of the lineup below...

Continue reading "the complete 2010 Bonnaroo lineup (Stevie Wonder, The Melvins, Kings of Leon, Isis, Local Natives & many more) "

by Ryan Barkan

Tracy Morgan & Stevie Wonder (picture via Hipster Runoff)

Super Bowl XLIV (44) took place Sunday night in Florida between the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints. The Saints semi-upset the Colts to win the big game for the first time in the franchise's history. This post is a special edition of the long lost "Week In Music Licensing" post and as such, that's the last you will hear about the game. Grizzly Bear, Arcade Fire, many videos and more below...

Continue reading "music & commercials of Super Bowl XLIV (Grizzly Bear, Arcade Fire, The Who, Mini Kiss, The Heavy & more) "

Beach House @ The Bell House last Tuesday (1/26) (more by Jonny Leather)

Due to the overwhelming demand for our June 16th show at Radio City Music Hall, we've decided to add another New York show this summer in beautiful Prospect Park as part of Celebrate Brooklyn on July 27th. We're very excited to play just a few blocks from home and to have Beach House join us as a special guest (if you haven't heard their incredible new album "Teen Dream" yet, you should). We'll be in touch again soon regarding additional shows as we firm up plans.[The National]

There are also limited tickets still available for their June 16th Radio City show.

National side project Clogs have an upcoming show and a new album coming out. as well.

Beach House have a spring tour of their own coming up, part of which is opened by Washed Out (though maybe not their Webster Hall show in May). Washed Out just added an April 10th Music Hall of Williamsburg show with Small Black (who are at Brooklyn Bowl Saturday, Feb. 6) and Pictureplane to their three-band tour together (they're already playing two nights at Mercury Lounge in March). That trip goes to SXSW and Mexico too. Tickets to the MHOW show go on sale Friday at noon. All dates below...

Continue reading "Beach House opening for the National in Prospect Park, Washed Out & Small Black expand tour (dates) "

With the new National record coming out, don't forget there's also a new Clogs record, The Creatures in the Garden of Lady Walton, out March 2nd on Brassland (cover art above). On that record, the band, headed by Padma Newsome and The National's Bryce Dessner, will be joined by vocalists Shara Worden, Matt Berninger and Sufjan Stevens (who is also a confirmed guest on the new National). Clogs just put out a pre-album EP titled Veil Waltz. They're also playing live including a Brooklyn show at the Bell House on March 24th. Tickets are on sale now.

Shara Worden (aka My Brightest Diamond) recently headlined a show of her own at Bowery Ballroom one night before she made a special appearance for Haiti at Music Hall of Williamsburg.

More info on the new Clogs album and all dates below...

Continue reading "new Clogs album features lots of Shara Worden & some Sufjan - 2010 dates include Brooklyn (on sale)"

Pitchfork: Sufjan Stevens played on the last album. Do you have any guests on this one?

The National's Matt Berninger: We have a bunch of people who have come in and out of the studio, which is behind Aaron's house. It was sort of an open door policy; friends come over and do stuff. So a lot of people did do things. I don't know exactly how much of everything we're going to keep. I will say that Sufjan did something that we are going to keep on a song. He sang some weird little backing vocal melodies-- no words. It was on a song that had just the right sort of odd, creepy vibe. There are a few other people that have come in and out. I don't want to say who yet [laughs] because we still might be editing them out. But I'm pretty sure that the little Sufjan vocal thing is going to be in there. It really did something special with that song.

The National's spring/summer tour dates are approaching. Only single tickets are left for their Radio City show on June 16th, so not totally surprisingly, the band has added a 2nd show, though not at the same venue or in the same month. It's a ticketed Celebrate Brooklyn show at Prospect Park Bandshell Tuesday, July 27th. Tickets go on sale Thursday, February 4th at 2pm.

Various videos of the National with friends (and alone) are below...

Continue reading "The National add Prospect Park show ++ Sufjan on new LP"

The National @ Outside Lands 2009 (more by Chris Graham)

We have exciting news for you this morning. We are very pleased to announce the first tour dates in support of our new album in April, May and June.

The as of yet untitled follow-up to Boxer will be released worldwide in May on 4AD (specific date TBA). The shows begin at the Big Ears festival in Knoxville, Tennessee on March 28th followed in April by two special shows April 22nd and 23rd at the National in Richmond, VA. We will then play Royal Albert Hall in London on May 6th, Le Zenith in Paris with PAVEMENT on May 7, and Astra in Berlin on May 9 before starting a North American tour in Los Angeles at the Wiltern on May 22nd. Ramona Falls will be opening our US shows on the west coast. - The National

This will be the National's first album on 4AD which absorbed Beggars Banquet which is the label their last album was on. Other ticket links and all dates below...

Continue reading "The National announce new 4AD album & 2010 Tour Dates (including Radio City Music Hall in NYC) "

The Big Ears Festival, happening March 26-28 in Knoxville, TN, recently expanded its lineup to include the National, Dirty Projectors, Bang On A Can All-Stars, Iva Bittova, Ben Frost, Tim Hecker, Tracy Silverman, and Buke & Gass. Those are in addition to the previously announced acts of Vampire Weekend, the Calder Quartet, 802 Tour (Nico Muhly/Doveman/Sam Amidon with Nadia Sirota), Joanna Newsom, St. Vincent, Andrew WK, The Ex, Gang Gang Dance, Clogs, The xx, Javelin, DJ/rupture (solo), DJ/rupture and Andy Moor, My Brightest Diamond, Gyan Riley and jj.

Big Ears is being co-curated by Bryce Dessner of the National, who's also bringing some great acts to his hometown of Cincinnati for MusicNOW Festival. For that, the city's Memorial Hall will host three shows: Joanna Newsom on March 30th, St. Vincent and yMusic on 31st, and Justin Vernon April 1st. Annie Clark a.k.a. St. Vincent has been commissioned to write a piece for the fest that yMusic will perform. More guests TBA. Tickets and three-night passes are on sale.

Joanna Newsom is coming to NYC in March. Tickets are now on AmEx presale. Justin Vernon (aka Bon Iver) is here sooner (this Thursday). St. Vincent has a show coming up at Lincoln Center.

Terry Riley

Joanna Newsom is one of the announced acts for this year's Big Ears Fest in Knoxville, TN, March 26th-28th. Others on the initial lineup include Vampire Weekend, St. Vincent, the Calder Quartet, Andrew WK, The Ex, Gang Gang Dance, Clogs, 802 Tour (Nico Muhly / Doveman / Sam Amidon with Nadia Sirota), The xx, Javelin, DJ/Rupture (solo), DJ/Rupture and Andy Moor, My Brightest Diamond, Gyan Riley, and jj. The fest's artist in residence is composer Terry Riley and a number of his works will be performed (including 'In C'). Bryce Dessner of the National is also one of the curators. Weekend tickets are on sale now. Tickets to invididual shows will be announced later this month, along with the schedule (shows are at different venues around town).

Some of those initial acts have tours booked around the same time. That is the case for Vampire Weekend, the xx and jj tour and Joanna. More info on the fest below...

Continue reading "Big Ears Fest - March 26-28 in Knoxville, TN (Terry Riley in residence, Bryce Dessner curator, xx, jj, VW, WK & more)"

photos by Joseph Xu

Happy Holidays! I take on more than I can handle. That results in a lot of unposted content. In the name of catching up, while also taking it easy during this final week of the year, here's some of that lost material.

More pictures from the 2009 Pitchfork Music Festival, below...

Continue reading "pictures from the 2009 Pitchfork Festival "

photos by Chris Graham

Happy Holidays! I take on more than I can handle. That results in a lot of unposted content. In the name of catching up, while also taking it easy during this final week of the year, here's some of that lost material.

The 2nd Annual Outside Lands Festival in San Francisco this past August benefited from a combination of improved planning and the luck of some of the nicest weather the city had seen all summer. The result was a far more pleasant and exciting experience for festivalgoers at this food, wine and music extravaganza.

The venue for the festival is extraordinary, taking up about a third of the massive Golden Gate Park. Once inside, it's hard to believe you're in the middle of a large city. Giant trees and grassy meadows block out any view of outside buildings, and the festival is arranged around the topography so that each group of stages has its own unique look and feel. There were many secluded areas and empty meadows nearby for those in need of respite from the music. Thanks to the efforts of innovative organizers, Outside Lands truly becomes a world unto itself. [Beachside Resident]

Continue reading "Outside Lands 2009 - Day 1 pics (Pearl Jam, The National, Q-Tip, Tom Jones, Akron/Family, Built to Spill, more)"

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 "

by Andrew Frisicano

DOWNLOAD: Aaron Dessner - We Were Born (from the Long Count) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Long Count - Bull Run (feat. Kelley Deal) (MP3)

Twins! (the Dessners & the Deals)

The Long Count kicks off its three show engagement at BAM's Gilman Opera House tonight (10/28). Tickets are still available for the show, as well as for the Friday (10/30) and Saturday (10/31) performances.

The 70-minute music and multimedia piece, commissioned by BAM Next Wave Festival, is the work of Bryce and Aaron Dessner of the National and visual artist Matthew Ritchie. But they haven't been working alone. At every step of composing and arranging the Long Count over the past year, the brothers have tapped into their crew of skilled collaborators. The 12-piece orchestra that will be joining them on stage counts talents like NYC violist Nadia Sirota (who played last month's Archipelago series show), sax/bass clarinet player Colin Stetson, and Antony & the Johnsons' guitarist/violinist/conductor Rob Moose (who in particular assisted with some of the arranging duties).

As previously mentioned, the Breeders' Kim and Kelley Deal (twins) collaborated with the Dessners (also twins) on much of the music - they sing for nearly half of the show. Other vocal turns will be taken by the Nationals' Matt Berninger and My Brightest Diamond's Shara Worden.

All four singers play roles in the narrative of the Long Count, which takes its story from the Mayan creation myth of Popol Vuh. In that, multiple sets of twins (in the story and on stage) experience repeated cycles of life and death until giving birth to the world as we know it. The original tale ties in strongly with a ballgame played by its main characters - an element which the Dessners have woven in with their love of baseball, particularly Cincinnati Reds and the Big Red Machine.

Musically, the Long Count sections posted above, both from the show's work-in-progress performance at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on September 11th, showcase the piece's diversity. The first, "We Were Born," highlights the minimalist pedigree of the show, while "Bull Run" layers those elements with fearsome orchestral lines and extremely creepy vocals by Kelley Deal.

Paired with the spooky nature of Mathew Ritchie's animation (which you can preview here) the show looks to be a good Halloween night warm-up as any. In fact, the early Saturday night show has the most tickets available, and it follows a pre-show Q&A (ticketed separately) led by Brandon Stosuy (who's curating the Mount Eerie + metal show at Market Hotel later in the night).

Bryce generously answered some of our questions over the phone while in the last week of rehearsal (and in the hectic center of CMJ week). More photos from the production, and that interview, where he reveals the existence of an unreleased Christmas album he made with Sufjan, details on the new National record and more, below...

Continue reading "an interview w/ Bryce Dessner of The National whose show, The Long Count, opens @ BAM tonight ++ 2 MP3's"