"J P, Chrissie and the Fairground Boys - Biography by Chrissie Hynde I first met J. P. Jones in London, November 2008. I was propping up the bar on my own at a party at The Double Club in Highbury.. I was about 5 screwdrivers in when some scruffy boy-band looking guy sauntered over to the freebie bar.. He was pretty hammered too, but we managed enough of a conversation for me to ascertain that he was a musician; recently gone solo after his band 'Grace' split, and grew up on a fairground in Wales... [stuff happened].... The Fairground Boys are, Patrick Murdock on guitar, Vezio Baccio , bass, Geoff Holroyde , drums and Sam Swallow on piano /keyboards. Chrissie Hynde , January 2010

Their first gig was in April in LA. Their next gig is in Brooklyn TONIGHT (6/2)...

Continue reading "JP Chrissie & The Fairground Boys = Chrissie Hynde's new band (playing a free show in Brooklyn tonight) "

photos by Chris La Putt

"Friday night's show at the Chevrolet Theatre in Wallingford was not just an exercise in nostalgia as playing songs from "Concrete" was Hynde's main objective. Eight of the night's 20 songs were from the new disc and Hynde was far from worried about disappointing the fans that came just for the classic cuts.

"We're going to be throwing some new songs at you," she said early in the set. "I hope you like them; if not, tough." [CT Post]

The Pretenders, Cat Power and Juliette Lewis (she dropped "the Licks) are on tour. That review comes from Friday's CT show. Since then they played the Stone Pony Summerstage in NJ, and last night (8/10) they played an outdoor, meat-free show at Central Park Summerstage in hot and humid NYC. More pictures from that show, and the CT setlist, below....

Continue reading "The Pretenders, Cat Power & Juliette Lewis @ Central Park Summerstage in NYC - pics (and a tour setlist)"

The Pretenders @ the Stone Pony Summerstage (relaxing)

"Fans going to the two New York metropolitan area Pretenders concerts -- August 9 at the Stone Pony Summer Stage in Asbury Park, NJ [last night], and August 10 at the Central Park SummerStage in New York, NY [tonight] -- might want to [save their appetites] before they enter the venues.

Concert promoter Live Nation is supporting Chrissie Hynde's vegetarian initiatives by removing all meat products from the venues, as well as providing a special vegetarian BBQ for radio contest winners at the Central Park show. Hynde is a longtime and well-known vegetarian and PETA activist." [TicketNews]

Cat Power and Juliette Lewis are also on the bill.

Juliette taking a break from rockin' out

"With an exciting new sound and significantly diverse collection of songs, Juliette Lewis is ready to unveil her new album, Terra Incognita via The End Records on September 9, 2009. Juliette has also announced a US summer tour with The Pretenders and Cat Power (dates to be announced shortly).

Fans can go to Juliette's MySpace to stream tracks from the upcoming album. Instrumental in creating the sound for this new record is the album's producer Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, leader of Mars Volta." [PR]

As previously posted, the incredible, but real bill of The Pretenders, Cat Power and Juliette Lewis is hitting Stone Pony's Summerstage in Jersey on August 9th. At the time there were just two dates announced - that one, and August 22 in Colorado. Now it's an entire tour which includes The Greek Theatre in LA, a show in CT, and one at NYC's Central Park Summerstage on August 10th. Stay tuned for ticket info. All dates below...

Continue reading "The Pretenders, Cat Power, Juliette Lewis - 2009 tour dates"

Leftover Crack fan in Texas (more)

Leftover Crack, Star Fucking Hipsters, Trash Talk, and The Casualties are playing Irving Plaza on July 3rd. Assuming Irving Plaza doesn't get shut down (unlikely) (or even if it does), this punk show is sure to be a good time. Tickets are on sale.

Less of a good time will probably be had at the punk show happening at Madison Square Garden on July 27th. Tickets for Green Day's big NYC show are on sale (@ 10am). They are also playing a few shows at much smaller venues, and Saturday Night Live this weekend.

The opposite of a good time will probably be had at the same big venue on October 5th. The Ting Tings are playing MSG with Pink. Tickets are on presale (@ 10am). PASSWORD = LEAPFROG

Probably fun, but still kind of lame? Aerosmith and ZZ Top play MSG on September 14th. Tickets are on AmEx and Internet presale now, and go on general sale Monday, May 18th, at 10am. It's the same day Kings of Leon play Nassau Coliseum.

Back to good times... Ween are playing the Stone Pony's Summerstage in Asbury Park on July 18th. Tickets go on sale Saturday at noon. Gene Ween is playing Brooklyn on May 21st.

Same venue, same summer (move over Blondie, Pat Benatar and The Donnas): The Pretenders, Cat Power and Juliette (and the Licks) Lewis are playing the Stone Pony's Summerstage on August 9th. Tickets are currently on Ticket Rush presale (password = live), and they go on general sale Saturday at noon. The same three ladies (bands) have an August 22nd Colorado show scheduled, so let's home for a full tour with NYC date too.

Peter Frampton plays Stone Pony Summerstage on August 30th. Tickets are currently on Ticket Rush presale (password = live), and go on general sale Saturday at noon.

And don't forget Kylie Minogue tickets go on sale Saturday at 10am.

photos by Natasha Ryan

Chrissie Hynde has done it again.
Over the past three decades, she has often reinvented The Pretenders - sometimes to suit her changing tastes, sometimes out of tragic necessity. The current incarnation of The Pretenders, the ones behind last year's standout album "Break Up the Concrete," may be the most potent lineup since the original one.
This quintet - Hynde, longtime drummer Martin Chambers, guitarist James Walbourne and pedal steel guitarist Eric Heywood, and bassist Nick Wilkinson - is rooted more in Americana than British rock, but that doesn't mean Hynde has left her punk roots behind. They've actually forged a new sound on this tour, revving up some of the "Concrete" tracks and prettifying some of the poppier songs from the Pretenders catalog.
Some songs, like the new "Boots of Chinese Plastic" and "Don't Cut Your Hair," clocked in faster and more intense than their recorded versions. The classic "Thumbelina" seemed like it could catch fire as it rocketed to a cowpunk ending, while "Don't Get Me Wrong" sped up and got drenched in reverb.... [Newsday]

The Pretenders played Roseland Ballroom in NYC on Friday night (1/30). It was their second night of an almost-2-month tour that also had them in Atlantic City on Saturday. Tonight (2/2), they're at the 9:30 Club in DC. More NYC pictures, and the full setlist, below...

Continue reading "The Pretenders @ Roseland Ballroom, NYC - pics & setlist"

Tickets are on sale @ noon for the upcoming M. Ward show at the Apollo Theater.

Tickets are on sale (@ noon) for the upcoming Passion Pit show at Bowery Ballroom.

Tickets are on sale for the Beirut / Kaki King show at BAM.

Tickets are on sale for the Clap Your Hands Say Yeah / Chairlift show at BAM.

Tickets are on sale (@ noon) for the upcoming Modeselektor show at Bowery Ballroom.

Tickets are on sale (@ noon) for the upcoming Black Lips show at Bowery Ballroom. Tickets are on sale (@ noon) for the upcoming Black Lips show at Music Hall of Williamsburg too.

Tickets are on on sale (@ noon) for the upcoming AC Newman show at Bowery Ballroom. AC Newman is also playing the Bell House.

Tickets are on sale (@ noon) for the Ben Kweller show at Town Hall.

Tickets are on sale @ noon for the Pretenders show coming up at Roseland Ballroom.

Robbers on High Street are playing the Guilt By Association party at Music Hall of Williamsburg on January 31st. Tickets are on sale (@ noon).

Tickets are on sale for Antony's upcoming shows at Town Hall.

A bunch of shows also went on sale Thursday.

The Pretenders @ Highline Ballroom (more by Dese'Rae L. Stage)

The Pretenders announced a tour through North American starting January 29 at the Palace Theatre in Albany, NY with the final show taking place on March 14 in Reno, Nevada. The tour is the band's first extensive headlining tour since 2003.

The Pretenders touring line up of Chrissie Hynde Martin Chambers, James Walbourne, Eric Heywood, and Nick Wilkinson is touring in support of the band's ninth album, Break Up The Concrete, which was released through Shangri-La Music in October of 2008. The album, which Rolling Stone lauded as, "The best Pretenders album in years," was recorded in 12 days in Los Angeles and offers an especially gritty and immediate and recalls the band's earlier days. The album has spawned the single "Boots Of Chinese Plastic" which reached #1 on the AAA radio chart.

Their last NYC show was at Highline Ballroom around the time of the release of the new album. Their next is January 30th at the bigger Roseland Ballroom. Tickets should be on sale soon. All dates and the video for their new single, below...

Continue reading "The Pretenders - 2009 Tour Dates & new(ish) video"

Photos by Dese'rae L. Stage

The Pretenders played Highline Ballroom in NYC last night (10/7) - the same day their new album "Break Up The Concrete" was released on Shangri-La Music. Read reviews of the show here, here, and here.

One night earlier they appeared on Late Night with David Letterman. That video and more pictures from the Highline gig, below...

Continue reading "The Pretenders - Highline Ballroom pics, Letterman video"

The Pretenders "will release their new album Break Up The Concrete on October 7, 2008 through Shangri-La Music. This is the first studio album in 6 years." They play play Highline Ballroom in NYC on the same day. "A portion of the ticket proceeds will be donated to the New York Restoration Project and the MillionTreesNYC Initiative." Tickets are were on sale. Some videos below...

Continue reading "The Pretenders - a new album & a NYC show "