Black Lips @ Bowery Ballroom in August (more by Diana Wong)

The Black Lips will be peforming live from NYC over the internet today, 10/27, at 2pm EST. The Chevy Sonic-presented performance can be watched in the video player embedded below.

And that's just one of two big events for the Black Lips in NYC today. The next happens at Union Pool tonight. There they'll DJ a party thrown by their label (Vice) which was curated by their labelmates The Raveonettes. Bands performing at the free vitamin water-sponsored show are Minks, The Rassle and Zaza. Raveonette Sune Rose Wagner, who was recently laid up, will be doing some DJing as well. RSVP is necessary and is now back open.

Saturday night catch the Black Lips live on stage at Webster Hall with Davila 666 & Xray Eyeballs. Don't forget to wear a costume. Tickets are still on sale.

Continue reading "Black Lips streaming live today, DJing tonight @ Raveonettes-curated show in Brooklyn"

Sune Rose Wagner at Beekman Beer Garden (more by Amanda Hatfield)

This past week has been a rather dramatic and tumultuous week with Sune ending up in the hospital. First off waiting for the diagnosis which is where you drive yourself crazy with all the fear, anxiety and various obsessive thoughts of terminal diseases. Then there's the aftermath of dealing with the reality of things.

Albeit, we have decided that the shows must go on and that there is always a solution. We have been here before back in 2008 when I was ordered to stay horizontal for 5 months. And this time it's Sune who has to rest and heal. I will go to Europe and spread our Rave gospel. I'm terrified and overwhelmed by the task of playing without Sune, but also encouraged and motivated by the challenge. Needless to say it will be a deconstructed Raveonettes. I will have my two danish knights by my side and we will give you all we've got.

See you out there.
Sharin

The above message was posted by Sharin Foo of The Raveonettes to their blog on Tuesday (8/9). The post is a follow-up to one posted a day earlier (8/8) stating that Sune Rose Wagner was admitted to the Beth Israel Medical Center in Manhattan for a herniated disc. Sune was released from the hospital but has six weeks of intense physical therapy ahead of him, which is causing him to miss The Raveonettes' European tour. Some pictures and more info about the hospital can be found on The Raveonettes blog.

The Raveonettes were in NYC to play Beekman Beer Garden on July 31 with Eternal Summers the day before both bands played Maxwell's in NJ.

Best of luck to Sune, Sharin and the rest of the Raveonettes team. European tour dates below...

Continue reading "Sune is laid up after a trip to a NYC hospital, so Sharin is playing the Raveonettes European tour without him"

photos by Amanda Hatfield

The Raveonettes

The Raveonettes played a free Beach Party at Beekman Beer Garden on Sunday (7/31) with Eternal Summers. The day party was the day before both bands played Maxwell's in NJ. According to The Tear-N Tan Files, "Opening up was Virginia's Eternal Summers putting on a pop/post punk set with a tinge of surf for a faster summer feel.... The Raveonettes played an amazing set with a 2 song encore, but still a way too short set. The intense distortion was made all the more beautiful by Sharin Foo and Sune Rose Wagner's beautiful harmonies."

The sixth of six free Sunday shows at Beekman Beer Garden happens this Sunday (8/7) with Mission of Burma. If you haven't been there yet, the part-beach outdoor venue is around the back of the mall right on the pier at South Street Seaport.

More pictures and videos from the Raveonettes show below...

Continue reading "The Raveonettes & Eternal Summers played Beekman Beer Garden (pics & video)"

If you don't want to go all the way out to Long Island and spend 200 dollars in the process to see soulful R&B (Jill Scott at Jones Beach), you can get your fix for free right here in NYC. As mentioned in What's Going on Thursday, Chrisette Michele (who Jill Scott has interviewed) plays a free show tonight (7/28) in Springfield Park.

For some more venerable musicians, who may have very well influenced artists like Chrisette and Jill, blues guitarist/singer Taj Majal plays a free show tonight (7/28) at World Financial Center and Motown vets Mary Wilson of The Supremes and The Spinners play for free at Seaside Summer Concert Series in Coney Island tonight (7/28).

As mentioned multiple times, including This Week in Indie, Metronomy play Hudson River Rocks tonight (7/28) with Class Actress and American Royalty.

Some pretty major free shows are also happening on Friday (7/29). And I'm not even talking about the free 3 Doors Down show or Journey show. They Might Be Giants are playing a free Williamsburg Waterfront show with Eugene Mirman and Kristen Schaal. Their show is one of few this summer before they head out on tour in support of their recently released album Join Us. You can also head over to House of Vans for the unreal lineup of Fucked Up, Cro-Mags, Screaming Females, and Pissed Jeans. We're also giving away VIP tickets to the show. Contest details HERE.

If you're trying to see free music on Saturday (7/30), I can't imagine why you would want to be anywhere other than the Mad Decent Block Party at South Street Seaport. The party will be headlined by Gang Gang Dance and also feature Zeds Dead, Claude VonStroke, BAIO (Vampire Weekend DJ set), The Hood Internet, Bosco Delrey, and PO PO. If you're into the block party, and specifically Chris Baio of Vampire Weekend's DJ set, you've got time afterwards to head over to Brooklyn Bowl and see a DJ set by another NYC indie band member Albert Hammond Jr. (of The Strokes). Doors are at 11 PM.

On Sunday (7/31), head back to the Seaport for the great lineup of The Raveonettes and Eternal Summers at Beekman Beer Garden .

If you don't make it to that show, you could check out the equally great JEFF the Brotherhood, Kingdom, and Friends free show at Rockaway Beach Boardwalk. RSVP required.

On Monday (8/1) , Surfer Blood play a free late show at Mercury Lounge.

On Tuesday (8/2), you can check out the oldest of old school hip hop at Summerstage with Sugarhill Gang. If you prefer reggae over hip hop, you might be in luck by heading over to City Winery for the Hudson Square Music and Wine Festival with CCB Reggae All-Stars.

On Wednesday (8/3), The Budos Band plays a free Summerstage show in Staten Island. You can also catch them tonight (7/28) at a not-free Rocks Off Concert Cruise. A-Trak also DJs on Wednesday (8/3) at the new Fool's Gold Store in Brooklyn. Summerscreen in McCarren Park is screening Clueless, and Zambri is performing.

Things in the free concert world pick up again on Thursday (8/4). It's been revealed that Mystery Night at Seaside Summer Concert Series will be 'The Queen of Soul' Aretha Franklin who just played Jones Beach (and who cancelled last time she was scheduled to play Coney Island). As awesome as that show will probably be, if something modern is more your style, House of Vans, who continue to bang out killer lineups, has Man Man, Glass Candy, and Crystal Antlers on the bill for Thursday's (8/4) show.

Also, don't forget that Summerstage and Celebrate Brooklyn are continuing to present free shows throughout the summer, including many this week.

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Twin Sister - "Bad Street" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Your Youth - What Smarts (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Metronomy - "The Bay" (Clock Opera Remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Class Actress - Keep You (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Sonny and the Sunsets - I Wanna Do It (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Sonny and the Sandwitches - Throw My Ashes from This Pier When I Die (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Night Beats - Puppet on a String (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Craft Spells - After The Moment (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Craft Spells - Party Talk (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Gardens & Villa - Star Fire Power (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Gardens & Villa - Star Fire Power (MP3)

Oh man it's another crazy week. Let's get into it. Tonight's free SummerScreen in McCarren Park tonight is pretty hard to pass up. Not only are they showing the John Hughes classic Ferris Beuller's Day Off (which is 25 years old this year!) but they got Twin Sister to play before it. In addition to performing lots of songs from their forthcoming album on Domino Records, Twin Sister will also be debuting the music video for their single, "Bad Street." You can download the MP3 of that at the top of this post.

Speaking of MP3s, we've also got one up there from Your Youth who are also playing SummerScreen tonight (6:45PM) and couldn't be more different from Twin Sister. "What Smarts" is a new track from the local duo who are kind of proto-grunge punk. Catchy stuff.

It would be really cool if, say, Your Youth covered "Beat City" by The Flowerpot Men and Twin Sister maybe did Dream Academy's "The Edge of Forever". (Why has Ferris Bueller never gotten a posthumous soundtrack release?) Probably won't happen but one can hope. In addition to the movie and the bands, there's loads of giveaways and such.

Metronomy

The show I am absolutely most excited about this week, without a doubt, is Metronomy who play Hudson River Rocks on Pier 54 on Thursday. Metronomy's third album, The English Riviera, just got nominated for the Mercury Prize (sure to lose to James Blake) and got its stateside release yesterday. As I wrote previously:

The new record retains Metronomy's slightly askew, claustrophobic sound while broadening its scope. There's glammy funk ("We Broke Free," the Roxy-ish "She Wants"), a guitar pop ("Everything Goes My Way," a duet with Roxanne Clifford of Veronica Falls), waltz-time ballads  ("Trouble"), and more typical Metronomy-style twitchy disco ("The Bay," "Corrine."). It's also got one of the 2011's best singles, "The Look."

It's definitely one of my favorite albums of the year. (Their last album, Nights Out, was my favorite album of 2008.) The vinyl version comes with the CD which is a trend I would like to see all labels doing. Highly recommended. Watching a few live performance clips , I'm glad to see they're still wearing stick-it-and-click-it lights on their shirts that was a highlight of their old stage show -- even though they're a proper band now (they didn't used to have a drummer).

Also playing the Pier 54 show is American Royalty and Class Actress whose debut album Rapproacher is out October 11 on Carpark. You can snag "Keep You" at the top of this post. Do get there early for openers American Royalty who came out from L.A. just for this show. I caught them at SXSW this year and they kept me entertained on Saturday evening when I was basically burned out on seeing live music. You can check out their hodgepodge electro sound via their Bandcamp page. And if you want to see them again, American Royalty play Lit on Saturday (7/30).

If you want to keep the party going on Thursday after Metronomy, head over to Glasslands for all your sissy bounce italodisco soulclap free booze needs. New Orleans Vockah Redu is like Big Freedia but with more choreography and a subscription to Vogue. (Check out the video at the bottom of this post.) They also play the PS1 warm-up on Saturday. Also playing is Portland's Miracles Club, who played PS1 last weekend. Jonathan Tobin is DJing, it's My Open Bar's 5th anniversary, it's a party.

Sonny

What else is going on this week? Sonny & the Sunsets are backfor the first time since October, playing Mercury Lounge on Friday (7/29) and Glasslands on Saturday (7/30). Have you checked out Sonny's new album, Hit After Hit? As I wrote previously:

Unlike last year's laid back and folky Too Young to Burn, the new album is more of a party --inspired by '60s pop and garage. Opening track "She Plays Yo-Yo with My Mind" cribs liberally from The Standells' "Dirty Water."

At least a couple of the songs on Hit After Hit (including "I Wanna Do It") are reworked versions of songs written for Smith's 100 Records project which you might have caught at the late Cinders Gallery last summer. Embued with Smith's (and fellow Sunset Kelley Stoltz) encyclopedic knowledge of pop and his wry sense of humor, Hit After Hit's a great little record.

Tourmates for this go-round are fellow Bay Area residents The Sandwitches who were described by Sunsets drummer/producer Kelley Stoltz thusly: "Imagine a 60's Girl-group is on tour and their van breaks down near a gothic castle high on the hill, Dario Argento invites them in to perform a concert for his tweaked actors in a big dark red room inside and, if the dream is right, it's the Sandwiches - they'd fit right in with those misfits and speak the same language. I'd like to be there to dance."

Sonny Smith put out a record with The Sandwitches last year, so I'd expect to hear those tracks at these shows. Check out one of them, the twangy, mournful "Throw My Ashes from This Pier When I Die" at the top of this post. I caught Sonny last year when he toured with Kelley Stoltz and it was a great show. Sonny doesn't get enough attention i don't think, so do try and make it to one of these shows.

The Night Beats

Seattle trio The Night Beats are currently on tour with The Black Lips opening for sold out shows at Bowery Ballroom on Friday (7/29) and Maxwell's on Saturday (7/30). But if you wanna catch them in a non-sold-out enviroment, free of the Black Lips, they play Sunday night (7/31) at Shea Stadium with Sweet Bulbs, Dinowalrus, Liquor Store, and Yvette.

The Night Beats' stomping debut is out now on Trouble in Mind. I caught the band at the label's party during SXSW:

I got there as Seattle trio Night Beats were just starting. Never heard them before, but really dug their psych-garage sounds, and they definitely looked the part. They ended their set with a cover of The Count Five's classic "Psychotic Reaction," giving their version a little swing which made it their own.

Check out "Puppet on a String" from their TiM debut at the top of this post. The Shea Stadium show is solid, I like all the bands on the bill.

Craft Spells

Speaking of Seattle, Craft Spells are back in town, playing Mercury Lounge on Saturday (7/30)  -- their first area show since playing here back in April. Live, they eschew the keyboards that are so abundant on their Captured Tracks album in favor of a guitar-oriented line-up which works just fine. (It's very Orange Juice.) They are young and enthusiastic and the songs are ridiculously catchy.

The band are on tour with Santa Barbara, CA's Gardens & Villa who are dreamy and synthy and danceable (kinda like Tony Castles). Their debut album just came out via Secretly Canadian and you can download two tracks from it at the top of this post. Also playing are local synthpop act Selebrities whose free downloadable EP evokes favorable comparisons to all sorts of '80s groups. You can download a free EP from Selebrities here.

Eternal Summers

And finally, don't forget about this Sunday's Beach Party at Beekman Beer Garden with Raveonettes and Eternal Summers. The Raveonettes new album, Raven in the Grave, is a slow burn compared to 2009's poppy In and Out of Control but no less enticing and I've always enjoyed them live. And Eternal Summers can do no wrong for me right now. This will be a very fun show, and likely the first where they might have to turn people away because of capacity so come early. Free!

Ok, that's the main stuff I'm highlighting this week but there are quite a few more recommended shows listed day-by-day below.

The Psychic Paramount @ Union Pool -- 7/26

Disappears @ Union Pool -- 7/26

WEDNESDAY, JULY 27

I had my mind blown twice at Union Pool last night: first by the smoke-machine fueled power of The Psychic Paramount (modern instrumental acid rock? Incredible!) and then by Disappears whose new material written with Steve Shelley is groovier, a little slower than their pedal-to-the-metal first albums but equally awesome. (More Neu!, less Stooges.) They play tonight at Cake Shop. Get up close and watch Disappear's bassist lay it down track after track.

There are so many shows tonight! But if you want to see three of the best bands in NYC right now, head to Mercury Lounge for North Highlands, ARMS and Hospitality. All three groups are holding onto new albums that I am dying to hear. Hospitality were incredible when they played my final Sound Bites show down at Fulton Stall Market two weeks ago.

Avi Buffalo test out new material for their second Sub Pop album at the Rock Shop tonight. With Nic Frietas.

Metronomy aren't the only Mercury Prize nominees in town this week. Anna Calvi plays tonight at Le Poisson Rouge.

Out at Bushwick's Brooklyn Fireproof, you can see The Gytters (who I wrote about last week) and Cake Shop house band Moonmen on the Moon, Man... along with Nighty Night and Beat People.

The Barr Brothers, who I really liked at M for Montreal last year, play Rockwood Music Hall tonight. They recently signed to Secret City, home of Patrick Watson & the Wooden Arms, Plants and Animals, Miracle Fortress, Basia Bulat and more.

continued below...

Continue reading "Metronomy, American Royalty, Twin Sister, Sonny & the Sunsets, Night Beats, Craft Spells, Avi Buffalo & more in This Week in Indie"

The Raveonettes at MHOW (more by Amanda Hatfield)

If you have an aversion to daylight, copious amounts of beer, freeloaders, or the Hudson River then I have the ideal Raveonettes show for you. In addition to their upcoming free show at Beekman Beer Garden on July 31st with Eternal Summers, The Raveonettes have added a show at Maxwell's the following night (8/1). Tickets are on sale.

The Raveonettes recently released a single for "Apparitions" b/w "Sun Goes Down", which is available now via iTunes.

All tour dates and some video is below.

Continue reading "The Raveonettes playing Maxwell's before free NYC show (updated tour dates)"

The number of great and FREE NYC shows set for this summer grows by the day, and now we have a new set to occupy six Sundays. The new Beekman Beer Garden at the South Street Seaport will host a six week "Beach Party" series kicking off on July 10th.

With the iconic Brooklyn Bridge and East River as their backdrop, the respective bands will take the stage on the Beekman Beer Garden's 200-ton sandy beach at 3 p.m. Sunday afternoons.

Presented in association with producers involved with the indie-oriented Seaport Music Festival on Pier 17 (south side) and the RiverRocks series on Pier 54, the Beach Party concerts are free, and limited to 1,100 people. Doors open at 11:30 a.m., and all shows are 21 and over.

Check out the schedule and flyer below...

Continue reading "Beekman Beer Garden hosting 6 free shows (Raveonettes, Mission of Burma, Cheeseburger & more)"

photos by Amanda Hatfield

Tamaryn @ Music Hall of Williamsburg -- 4/21/11

The Raveonettes and Tamaryn played tour-ending, sold-out shows at Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn on the past two nights. A set of pictures from last night/Thursday's show is in this post, and it continues, Raveonettes setlist included, below...

Continue reading "The Raveonettes & Tamaryn played 2 nights @ MHOW (pics & setlist)"

photos by Tim Griffin

The Raveonettes @ Emo's

While they played nearly half of [new album] Raven and the Grave, which features a more dark and gloomy sound exemplified by songs like "Apparitions" and "Evil Seeds," The Raveonettes pleased their excitable [Austin] fans be delving deep in their back catalog. As a result, the set proceeded like a greatest hits revue with new material sprinkled in. Old standbys like "Here Comes Mary" and the jangly "My Tornado" were accompanied by early favorites "Love In A Trashcan," and "The Love Gang," Several of their late career hits were also present, including the insanely catchy "Heart of Stone," "Lust," and "Dead Sound."

Upon finishing their main set with new track "My Time's Up," the band gave the audience members a chance to relax their ears before coming back onstage. Foo took the mic for the haunting "Forget That You're Young" before the band closed out the night with "Aly, Walk With Me." [Austinist]

The Raveonettes (who did not make it to SXSW due to visa issues) and Tamaryn are currently traveling across the country together on a tour that concludes with two nights of shows at Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn. The 4/20 show is currently sold out, but 4/21 is still on sale.

Tamaryn @ Emo's

Tuesday night, while Hunx and his Punx and Shannon and the Clams were playing on the smaller stage, the two bands were doing it on the Emo's main stage with help from opener Shapes Have Fangs. Tim took pictures of the Austin show, including this picture of a picture that was on the wall:

Scheduled for an August opening, Emo's East will be fashioned along the lines of Washington, D.C.'s 930 Club and will accommodate up to 1,700. It will feature state of the art sound and lighting, plus tons of parking. Citing the new ACL Live venue raising the bar, Emo's owner Frank Hendrix says Austin's current live music climate is right for Emo's East. "Both artists and live music fans in Austin are savvy and their expectations are increasing. We want to offer them a first class facility to meet those expectations." [Soundcheck]

More pictures from the Raveonettes/Tamaryn show are below...

Continue reading "The Raveonettes & Tamaryn are on tour, played Emo's who are opening another Austin venue (pics)"

by Bill Pearis

Wounded Lion @ Shangri La

After Wednedsay and Thursday... I spent most of Friday afternoon -- the hottest day of the fest, well into the '80s --at Sailor Jerry-sponsored East Side dive Shangri La where Chicago label Trouble in Mind was throwing a party in the back yard. Their party at Scoot Inn the year before was one of my favorites of SXSW2010 and I'd have to say the same the same of 2011. The label, run by husband and wife Bill & Lisa Roe (who are also in CoCoComa), is mostly a 7" label, releasing great singles from some of the best garage-pop artists around. Many of whom were there at Shangri La.

I got there as Seattle trio Night Beats were just starting. Never heard them before, but really dug their psych-garage sounds, and they definitely looked the part. They ended their set with a cover of The Count Five's classic "Psychotic Reaction," giving their version a little swing which made it their own. Look for Night Beats debut LP out on Trouble in Mind this summer.

While Cheap Time were playing, I noticed Lars Finberg milling about the yard...what was he doing here? The Intelligence were definitely not here, was his side-project Puberty playing and I didn't know it? No, he told me he was playing drums for L.A.'s Wounded Lion for their Austin shows. I was already looking forward to seeing WL, now even moreso.

I was getting a little antsy and decided to walk around the East Side a bit, stopping by Cheer Up Charlies where I caught a few songs by Norway's Tôg (who are in NYC as we speak) before heading back to the Trouble in Mind party to catch Nashville's The Paperhead. Looking a bit like Red Kross, the band -- all about 19 I think -- are trippier than anyone else on the bill. Their debut just came out on TiM.

Next up Wounded Lion, whose self-titled debut was one of last year's more underrated records. I think seeing them live would change naysayers opinion, they were one of the rockin'est, most fun shows of the week. Two singers: main man Brad Eberhard does the heavy lifting and guitar playing, while singer/percussionist Raffi Kalenderian is more in the Bob Nastanovich of the band, going apeshit with the tambourine and generally keeping things entertaining. There is much switching of instruments. They also let Lars Finberg take lead vocals for the Intelligence's "Turned to Puke." I really thought they'd do "Pony People," a Wounded Lion song that The Intelligence covered on Fake Surfers, but no. Great, great set.

I then Sprinted over to the BrooklynVegan party at Swan Dive for John Grant. Friday was hot and Swan Dive didn't seem to have AC or even ceiling fans and it was an oven in there, but it didn't matter. Another of my favorite shows of the week. I'd seen him play solo at Mercury Lounge, but this show was with Midlake, his backing band on last year's amazing Queen of Denmark. With the band, Grant's late-'70s leaning epics came to lush life. The drums sounded gigantic. So did Grant's voice. All that was missing was sequined clothing and glasses that made points of light look like starbursts. Highlights for me: power-ballad "Mars" and "Chicken Bones" which is some kind of sonic collision of Gordon Lightfoot and Harry Nilsson.

John Grant @ Swan Dive

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Continue reading "Bill's Week in Austin (Day 3 - Wounded Lion, John Grant, PS I Love You, TSOOL, WhoMadeWho, Wye Oak, Versus & more)"

The Raveonettes have announced a full North American tour in support of their fifth LP --- Raven In The Grave will be released on April 4 via Vice Records. The tour kicks off in Philly at the end of March and leads up to their previously announced 4/20 Brooklyn show at Music Hall of Williamsburg which is now accompanied by a 4/21 show at the same NYC venue. Tickets are still available for the 4/20 show, and the 4/21 show goes on sale Friday at noon.

All dates on the tour are with Tamaryn who you can also catch in NYC much earlier when she visits to play an event at PS1.

Music Hall of Williamsburg also just announced a show hapening two days after the Raveonettes leave the venue, and that is the one with Crocodiles, the Fresh & Onlys, and Young Prisms which also goes on sale Friday.

All tour dates below...

Continue reading "Raveonettes announce new LP, tour w/ Tamaryn, 2nd NY show (2011 dates) "

The Raveonettes at Scion Garage Fest (more by Taylor Keahey)

The Raveonettes will spend their New Years Eve in Los Angeles at The Standard Hollywoord with Autolux, and have already made plans for their NYC return in the New Year as part of a TBA tour with fellow fan of black clothing Tamaryn. The announced show takes place at Music Hall of Williamsburg on 4/20. Tickets are currently on AMEX presale and go on general sale Friday, 12/10 at noon.

Much like Light Asylum, Tamaryn was recently profiled in the NY Times for her fashion sense, and did a video interview with Fader (viewable below). Her new LP The Waves didn't make NME's favorite LPs of the year, but at least one writer at the publication thinks she deserves "Most Underrated".

Tour dates, and some video is below...

Continue reading "The Raveonettes playing LA on New Years Eve, will tour w/ Tamaryn (NYC show announced and on sale)"

photos by Taylor Keahey

The Gories

"I, for one, enthusiastically accept Scion as my new corporate overlord. If they can bring the Gories, the Oblivians, King Khan and a cast of garage punks from far and wide to town in one day, they can sell me a sewage soda and I'd say thank you.

That's because Scion sponsored Garage Fest, an event that brought almost 30 bands to Lawrence [on 10/2]. From 4 p.m. 'til nearly midnight I had a cornucopia of raw rock to choose from....

...my number one show on the list: Detroit's incendiary trio, the Gories. Mick Collins, who's arguably better known for his garage-meets-soul outfit the Dirtbombs, is somewhat of a musical hero to me, and I wasn't about to miss the reunion of one of his first -- and probably most raw -- bands. They didn't disappoint. A big crowd for the not-so-spacious Jackpot heaved toward the stage, almost in unison...

I made one last trip to the Granada to catch Memphis' the Oblivians anyway. The trio, originally around in the early '90s, was the cherry on top of the day's punk sundae. I decided to go sans ear plugs and just let it rip. Matt and Disco had staked out a spot front and center, but I didn't have the energy to fight my way up there for long. As I hung toward the fringe of the front crowd, I saw one more thing I can now check off my list of rarities: a guy in a wheelchair crowd surfing." -[The Pitch]

Scion Garage Fest went down in Lawrence, KS over this past weekend. A spoiled New Yorker, who had chances (sometimes Scion-sponsored) to see The Obvlivians and the Gories and many of the other bands on the bill over the past year, might not quite bow down before the lineup, but it was pretty rockin' nonetheless.

A set of pictures from the show, including The Raveonettes, Gories, Oblivians, Times New Viking, Black Lips sideproject The Gaye Blades, Thee Oh Sees and others (though none of King Khan, Best Coast, Tyvek, The Clean, The Greenhornes and some others on the four-venue bill) continue below...

Continue reading "Scion Garage Fest happened (here are some pics) "

The Greenhornes 2007

After detours in The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather among other projects, The Greenhornes are back at it and will release their first LP of new material in eight years via Jack White's Third Man imprint. The record, entitled Four Stars, will be proceeded by select east coast dates that will include Mercury Lounge on 9/3 (free with RSVP) and Maxwell's on 9/4 with The Black Hollies (tickets) leading up to their appearance at ATP NY on 9/5 ("full" lineup).

A month later (on 10/2), The Greenhornes are confirmed for Scion Garage Fest 2010 in Lawrence, Kansas alongside a plethora of killer notables including The Oblivians (who recently played Knit), The Gories (who just played Bowery and toured with Oblivians), The Raveonettes (who are playing Bumbershoot), King Khan & The Shrines (who are playing Santos and Bell House), Best Coast (who just played the Seaport and like weed), Tyvek, Thee Oh Sees, Hunx & His Punx, and a ton of others.

Much like Scion Rock Fest, the show will take place across four venues and is FREE, but RSVP is required. Full lineup is below.

Some videos and the full Scion lineup & flyer is below...

Continue reading "The Greenhornes playing shows - ATP, a free one @ Mercury & Scion Garage Fest (full lineup - Oblivians, Gories, more) "

Memorial Day Weekend officially opened the summer, and for those in the Pacific Northwest it also brought Sasquatch Music Festival (pictures from all three days are coming soon). Now the lineup for its Labor Day cousin, Bumbershoot 2010, has been announced. That fest, happening at Seattle, WA's Seattle Center September 4th-6th, will include headliners Bob Dylan, Mary J. Blige, Weezer, Hole, Rise Against, Neko Case, The Decemberists, J. Cole and "one more very special guest to be announced soon."

Tickets (including non-Mainstage 'economy' passes) are on sale now. The rest of the lineup (by day) for the seven-stage festival is posted below...

Continue reading "Bumbershoot 2010 lineup (Bob Dylan... Hole... Mary J Blige)"

The NXNE music festival (650 bands, 7 days, 40 films, 50 venues) happens in Toronto from June 14th-20th. The 2010 lineup for that fest so far includes Iggy & the Stooges, X, Les Savy Fav, Sloan, The Raveonettes, De La Soul, Man or Astroman, Thee Oh Sees and many more. The full list is posted below. Tickets are on sale.

Continue reading "NXNE 2010 - initial lineup, dates & tickets"

photos by Rachel Carr, words by Daiana Feuer

"Wow. The Sahara is past capacity at Coachella for Die Antwoord. No midget. Waiting for the trainwreck but people dig it." - The Scenestar

"Seeing a shirtless Danny DeVito run across the stage while Faith No More played pretty much made my #coachella weekend." - stovn

Die Antwoord, Faith No More

Flopping phalluses are in this year according to Major Lazer and Die Antwoord. Each presented the intersection of beats, party-hyping, gross humor, and dancing in your underwear. Day 2 of the Coachella Music & Arts Festival had an overall far-out theme. Some with sexually explicit lunacy, others with psychedelic music. South Africa's Die Antwoord introduced zef-rap to the festival, South Africa's version of white trash hip hop-a bold, fearless expression of crazy stick a finger up your bum entertainment.

Before arriving at these culminating moments, the day progressed through a series of psychedelic and/or raunchy expressions. John Waters kicked things off with thoughts on crawling through pig poo, taking poppers, the pleasures of sploshing, and strange things he wants to do before he dies. Gossip's Beth Ditto hoped he was watching her blazing disco soul performance but was afraid to look backstage and see him smiling and waving at her. Gossip put on a set that inspired revelations on reality in the most self-empowering ways.

John Waters & Beth Ditto @ Coachella (this pics via Jermey Scott)

The day's best covers include Faith No More doing "Reunited" (they also covered Michael Jackson's "Ben"), Portugal, The Man's jamming Bowie's "Moonlight Daydream," and Girls' flawless "All I Have To Do Is Dream" by the Everly Brothers. The last was a most appropriate choice for the band with an Ariel Pink sensibility towards '50s ballads. MGMT brought the futuristic 1960s with songs from its new album. Many pointed out that the band didn't play "Kids", but that seems to miss the point that MGMT put on a pretty sophisticated, experimental live performance of the band's signature Indian headdress on Phil Spector Fraggle Rock sound.

The Raveonettes played as a duo and sans drum machine, adorably sharing a mic sometimes. The rest of the band remains trapped under lava in Iceland, figuratively speaking. Camera Obscura also shouted out bands stuck in the UK, dedicating "Let's Get Out Of This Country" to those who could not make it.

It seems almost every DJ this weekend has sampled Major Lazer's "Pon De Floor" except Flying Lotus, who took the stage all on his own (no Thom Yorke cameo included). After warming up the crowd with some first grade experimental hip hop, FlyLo brought out the big guns, sounds combined in layers and pitches that act like quaaludes on the light speed continuum. The Dirty Projectors girls evoked cool electronic birds and the Dezurik Sisters with their harmonizing powers. Beach House cooed the audience romantically as 50% of the band, Alex Scally, rubbed his slide up and down the frets.

Did that sound sexy? It's time to talk about sexy. The xx provided the mellow arousal Blonde Redhead and Portishead have given Coachella the last two years. People like The xx because they want sex that fits this soundtrack. They also want sex as excitingly goofy gross as Die Antwoord and to fall in love with a gal like Sia, all at the same time. Sia's beautiful voice closed the night in the Gobi tent, and though her accent rendered her side comments completely incomprehensible, everyone laughed and agreed with anything she said. On the other hand, as great and sexy as the Dead Weather sounded, I don't know if I want to bed someone who demands I treat her like my mother. Old Crow Medicine Show suggested letting a woman rule your mind leads to troubles during "Minglewood Blues." Instead, let her win your heart with country-fried dinner.

Faith No More's twelve-song set included a cameo by a semi-streaker who happened to be Coachella regular Danny Devito. You can see that happen in one of the videos below. Faith No More's whole setlist is down there too.

Porcupine Tree, Tokyo Police Club, Hot Chip, The Almighty Defenders, Les Claypool, Devo, and Muse were also on the bill Saturday. Our review, pictures and videos from Friday are HERE. Saturday continues below...

Continue reading "Coachella 2010 - Day Two in pics, video & review (Die Antwoord shots & Faith No More's setlist included)"

Wow...Public Image Ltd, The Specials, Grizzly Bear, Passion Pit, Echo and the Bunnymen, Grace Jones, Fever Ray, Devo, Hot Chip, Phoenix, Orbital, Spoon, Sly and the Family Stone, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Sunny Day Real Estate, Yo La Tengo, Mew, Camera Obscura, Gil Scott-Heron, The xx, John Waters, Dillinger Escape Plan, Deer Tick, Gary Numan... Full Coachella 2010 lineup below....

Continue reading "2010 Coachella line up announced (Faith No More, Pavement, Muse, Gorillaz, Thom Yorke, Jay-Z, LCD Soundystem, ???)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Beach Fossils - Vacation (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Horrors - Sea Within A Sea (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Fool's Gold - Surprise Hotel (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Raveonettes - Last Dance (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Raveonettes - Suicide (MP3)

The Raincoats

It's almost CMJ time and if you (and by "you" I mean "me") were smart you'd rest up till Tuesday... but there's a lot of good shows between now and then, so it's easier said than done. If you don't mind the rain and cold that this weekend is bringing.

Perhaps the most interesting show of the night is at Knitting Factory where legendary all-female post-punk band The Raincoats play as part of The Royal Flush Festival. With odd instrumentation, unconventional songwriting and a generally itchy, discordant vibe, the London group's three original albums (1979's self-titled debut , 1981's Odyshape, 1984's Moving) were mildly successful on the UK indie charts but proved highly influential. (Their records have aged exceptionally well.) Kurt Cobain was a huge fan, and actually got his label DGC to reissue the Raincoats' albums and convinced the band to reform and open for Nirvana on a 1994 UK tour, though he would die a week before it was to start. But the reformation proved creatively successful, and Raincoats recorded a third album, Looking in the Shadows, in 1996. They've stayed sporadically active ever since.

Tonight's show also features Soft Power which is the project from onetime Autoclave/Helium singer Mary Timony -- reason enough for many to go right there. Timony was one of the '90s most distinctive guitarists and songwriters, and her post-Helium solo work has been good too. Soft Power is apparently more of a collaborative effort -- bandmates Jonah Takagi (who plays a homemade baritone guitar) and keyboardist Winston Yu write and sing as well. The two songs on Soft Power's MySpace sound pretty good. The show is rounded out by onetime Slits guitarist Viv Albertine.

If you miss it, Soft Power have another show scheduled on November 14th at Southpaw.

The Horrors @ Bowery Ballroom earlier in the tour (more by Oren Loloi)

The Horrors are back in town tonight (10/15) playing Music Hall of Williamsburg, wrapping up their U.S. tour (their Maxwell's show was cancelled) supporting their great new album Primary Colours, which I've gone on about a couple times already. But we are getting close to Halloween, so what better time to embrace your goth side with this show? Tonight's show is with JAMC/Spacemen 3-loving San Diego band Crocodiles, a definite good fit with The Horrors, and soul/blues/gospel/punks Black Diamond Heavies.

Air Waves @ The Yard over the summer (more by Sarahana)

Meanwhile, over at Market Hotel is a solid, all-locals line-up, headed by Beach Fossils. I've had quibbles with their sound in the past (silly vocal effects) and they need to write a few more songs, like soon, but they've become a good band very quickly, and the last time I saw them they really had it together. As I've said before, there's a definite New Zealand vibe going on (maybe a little early R.E.M. too), super catchy songs with bouncy arrangements. I like them a lot. Also playing are Air Waves who've been playing around for a while now but have just gotten around to releasing their first EP which is really quite lovely, in a folky Velvet Underground kind of way. Singer Nicole Schneit is a talented songwriter and Air Waves' keep things simple and focused on the songs. Rounding out the bill are acid-prog collective Prince Rama of Ayodhya and PC Worship.

Speaking of Air Waves, they're looking for a drummer:

Someone reliable, good drummer, quick learner, committed, fun. After a bunch of CMJ shows, we have a 2 week European tour for February, and a March tour down to SXSW for the third time.

20-34 if possible. Female or male.

Love, Nicole

If you'd like to apply, you can do so via their MySpace.

Fool's Gold

L.A's Fool's Gold, not to be confused with A-Trak and Nick Catchdubs' record label of the same name, hit town for a string of shows that begins tonight (10/16) at the Cameo, continues Saturday at Cake Shop and runs through CMJ. Conceived by Israeli-born singer Luke Top and guitarist Lewis Pesacov, Fool's Gold are draw heavy influence from Afrobeat, but sing almost exclusively in Hebrew, and the band numbers anywhere from 8 - 11. There's a lot of buzz about Fool's Gold right now, the video for single "Surprise Hotel" has been making the rounds (and you can download the MP3 above). I'm not 100% on these guys yet, but I'm curious enough to see them live. The Cake Shop show also features a DJ set from Lemonade.

In November, Fool's Gold goes out on tour in support of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. That tour includes shows at Bowery Ballroom and Music Hall of Williamsburg. Tickets for both are on sale. All Fool's Gold dates are at the bottom of this post.

I should briefly mention Echo & The Bunnymen who play tomorrow (10/17) at Mercury Lounge which will certainly be a fun tiny place to see them if you got tickets. If not, they're back playing Hammerstein Ballroom on November 22. Much like 2005's Siberia, the new album, The Fountain, is better than I was expecting it to be, thanks mainly to Will Seargent's still-inventive, soaring guitar-work. He's a true original. Ian McCulloch's cigarette-fueled vocals are like a great big hug, warm and nostalgic, though his lyrics at times are more than a little cringeworthy ("I love that sweet sack you're in / I love your saccharine"). But they still sound like the Bunnymen (well, circa 1987).

And finally, if you missed The Raveonettes at Webster Hall (or Maxwell's) earlier this week, you can still see them at Music Hall of Williamsburg on Sunday (10/18). The band have never really strayed from their Phil Spector meets JAMC formula, but Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo began perfecting and elevating it with last year's Lust Lust Lust, and while they turn down the volume (or at least the distortion) for the new In and Out of Control, I think it's their best batch of songs yet -- nearly every song on it could be a single. You can download two of them at the top of this post. And even when they were making less inspired records, The Raveonettes were always a good live band. And here they're coming off two strong records. Go see them. Opening are Austin's Black Angels, who sound a lot like the Brian Jonestown Massacre but do it pretty well.

That's it for the weekend. Get ready for the CMJ onslaught. Tour dates and videos follow.

Continue reading "The Raincoats, Soft Power, Fool's Gold, Air Waves (need a drummer), Horrors, Bunnymen & more in This Week in Indie"

DOWNLOAD: The Raveonettes - Last Dance (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Raveonettes - Suicide (MP3)

The Raveonettes @ Siren Fest in July (more by Tim Griffin)

In addition to their NYC shows (October 14th at Webster Hall and Oct. 18th at Music Hall of Williamsburg), the Raveonettes will be playing a late-starting set (11pm) at Maxwell's on October 13th. Tickets are on sale.

Unlike their other shows, the Maxwell's gig won't be with Austin rock band The Black Angels, who are opening the October leg of the Raveonettes' tour.

The Raveonettes' new video for "Last Dance," off In And Out Of Control, which came out October 6th on Vice Records, is posted below. It's directed by Matthew Lessner, the same video whiz who gave us Dirty Projectors on a mountainside. That plus videos of The Raveonettes in the studio, answering questions and live at Rough Trade...

Continue reading "The Raveonettes - new album out, kicking off tour at recently-added Maxwell's show (tix) ++ videos, all dates..."

photos by Tim Griffin

The Raveonettes' new album In & Out Of Control will be available via Vice Records on October 6th. And they aren't just playing one NYC show with The Black Angels, they're playing two. Tickets for October 14th at Webster Hall, and October 18th at MHOW, go on AmEx presale Wednesday at 10:00am. And we don't just have one set of pictures of the Raveonettes from the Siren Festival, we have two. The rest of those pictures, and all tour dates (DC, California and Canada included), below....

Continue reading "The Raveonettes - updated 2009 tour dates (Webster Hall w/ The Black Angels) & more pics from Siren Fest"

photos by Chris La Putt

Thee Oh Sees

"Largely unfamiliar with the bands on the roster, my husband and I went to Coney Island on Saturday to see Built to Spill headlining on the main stage of the annual Siren Music Festival. Normally, I love free shows. I like the freedom to walk away from a disappointing or uninteresting performance-as we did from Monotonix-without feeling guilty. And ticketless shows tend to draw all types, which appeals to the voyeur in me. Neither of us had been to Coney Island before, so it was mildly amusing to see the confluence of century old kitsch and aggressive marketing tactics by softdrink companies. (We tried a sample of something called Vio, "the world's first vibrancy drink," and it tasted vaguely like flourescent lighting and perfume.)

Anticipating the rush toward the stage as Built to Spill began, we found a decent spot where we'd be able to hear the band, if not see their faces. It was as close as we could get without my cheeks grazing across sweaty pectorals while trying to squeeze through. This is the point at any show when the fan in me starts to grin and breathe faster, to feel like I'd rather be right here than anywhere else in the world. To our horror, not only were the people around us talking so loud that we could barely hear the music, they weren't even facing the stage. The crowd was mingling as though at a singles mixer, drink in hand, shouting over the din, completely oblivious to the band on stage.

Now, while I've been known to complain about NYC hipsters at opportune times (like when I'm on the downtown L train), I generally think people are too hard on them. They're pretty benign as far as contrived fashion/music subcultures go. But when they prevent me from hearing and seeing a live performance by one of my favorite bands, simply because they can't stop yakking and flirting for a single minute, I feel, well, displeased.

Next show is hopefully Trail of Dead at All Points East. I'm bringing pepper-spray and my slapping hand." [Home on the Fringe]

I think she means All Points West, which is actually just one of four shows that Trail of Dead has coming up in NYC.

Chris's Built to Spill pics are HERE, Raveonettes pics HERE, and the rest below...

Continue reading "the 2009 Siren Music Festival in Coney Island - pics (part 1) "

"Wormed all the way up to the front, hoping to hear some of the new songs the Raves have been working on for their new album, which didn't happen... a few songs in Sune mentioned that since the new album was just recently completed they didn't have enough time to practice the new ones. Minor bummer, but whatevs, live Raves is always rad, no? This was to be the 10th time I've seen 'em, for fuck's sake! Well, not exactly. This turned out to be the worst set I've ever seen by them, hindered by Sune's guitar being practically inaudible as well as some real jackass hecklers behind me. Or maybe the Raves are just vampires and they wilt in the light (first time I've ever seen 'em outdoors). Never mind. Decent, but not up to their usual awesomeness." [Tuddd's Muddd]

The Raveonettes' next Brooklyn show will be indoors, and it will take place at Music Hall of Williamsburg on October 18th, AND Austin's The Black Angels will open which is very good news (maybe the two bands will be touring here from Austin City Limits where the Raves are playing on October 3rd). Tickets for the Music Hall show go on sale Friday at noon.

More pictures and the setlist from the Siren Festival (the free Saturday show that the above review is referring to), and all Raveonettes tour dates (not many of them), below...

Continue reading "The Raveonettes played Siren (pics, setlist), playing MHOW "

The Village Voice is excited to announce the addition of A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS, THEE OH SEES, TINY MASTERS OF TODAY, JUSTINE D. and DeadHeat DJs to the line-up for the 9th Annual Village Voice SIREN MUSIC FESTIVAL™ at Coney Island on Saturday, July 18, 2009 from 12:00 noon - 9:00 p.m.

These artists join scheduled performers BUILT TO SPILL, SPANK ROCK, THE RAVEONETTES, FRIGHTENED RABBIT, GRAND DUCHY, MONOTONIX, FUTURE OF THE LEFT, JAPANDROIDS, MICACHU & THE SHAPES and BEAR HANDS at the free, all day, all ages music festival on two outdoor stages in historic Coney Island.

The 2nd Annual Official SIREN AFTER PARTY returns to Music Hall of Williamsburg on Saturday, July 18 at 9:00pm. FRANCIS AND THE LIGHTS and GORDON VOIDWELL are scheduled to perform with more to be announced.

Tickets for the after party are now on AmEx pre-sale, and go on regular sale Friday. The festival itself is free. You just take the train to Coney Island and follow the crowd.

Thee Oh Sees are also playing the Woodsist Fest on July 4th.

APTBS play Santos Party House with the Secret Machines this Friday night (6/19).

The following Siren bands also have shows scheduled at Maxwell's: Future of the Left, Built to Spill, Grand Duchy, and Frightened Rabbit.

Monotonix @ Mess With Texas (during SXSW 2009) (More)

[The Village Voice is] downright ebullient to announce the official details on this year's Siren Festival, which will, as always be free, all ages, and rain or shine. It'll take place on Saturday, July 18 at Coney Island and likely involve a crowd-surfing drummer. Without further adieu:

SIREN MUSIC FESTIVAL
At Coney Island, NYC

Saturday, July 18, 2009
Noon - 9:00pm

BUILT TO SPILL
THE RAVEONETTES
FRIGHTENED RABBIT
THE GRAND DUCHY
MONOTONIX
MICACHU & THE SHAPES

+ more TBA

Looking good already (thx Ryan).

Micachu is also playing the Capitol Hill Block Party in Seattle later that month.

Monotonix also has another Brooklyn show coming up much sooner.

Grand Duchy is Frank Black and Violet Clark.