The Rural Alberta Advantage at Coachella 2011 (more by David Andrako)

The Rural Alberta Advantage have a few shows coming up this fall including the free Cultivate Festival in Chicago. One week later, the band will play a Brooklyn show at Music Hall of Williamsburg on October 8. Tickets go on sale Friday (9/16) at noon with an AmEx presale starting Wednesday (9/14) at noon.

Only a few other dates have been announced at this point. Maybe a tour will be announced soon. Those dates that have surfaced, along with a video are below...

Continue reading "The Rural Alberta Advantage announce some shows"

Smoke DZA

today in NYC
* Mingus Mondays @ Jazz Standard
* ZZ Top @ NYCB Theatre at Westbury
* Rocco DeLuca @ Rockwood Music Hall
* Dickey Betts, Kristy Lee @ City Winery
* Male Bonding, Love Inks @ Mercury Lounge
* Safe, Gem Club, Evi Antonio @ Cameo Gallery
* Smoke DZA, Asap Rocky, Bun B, Va$htie @ SOB's
* Mick Barr, Kevin Hufnagel, Andrew Hock @ Zebulon
* Shaina Taub, The Superpower Horns @ Rockwood Music Hall
* Extra Arms, Panic Manor, Diehard, Sexy Neighbors @ The Rock Shop
* Steven Page (Barenaked Ladies), The Jay Baird Band @ Mercury Lounge
* Robbers On High Street, The Candles, Hurricane Bells @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Dustin Wong, Teen Dreams, Nelly Kate, Shams, Nonhorse @ Death By Audio
* Remember: the Music of Michael Jackson featuring Duwende @ Highline Ballroom
* We Are Augustines, Princeton, Guards, Cerebral Ballzy (Daytrotter Barnstormer) @ The Living Room
* The As-Is Ensemble, Tony Scherr Trio with Anton Fier and Rob Jost, Robbie Fulks @ The Living Room
* Teddy Kumpel Loopestra, Holidays In London, Elaine K, Lesley Roley, Ippazzi @ Rockwood Music Hall

The Stone is closed tonight.

ZZ Top were supposed to play Westbury on Sunday. It was postponed until tonight.

Their Saturday show at Brooklyn Bowl was cancelled, but the Daytrotter tour hits the Living Room in NYC tonight with Cerebral Ballzy who didn't get a chance to play the Afro Punk Fest on Sunday.

Breakfast at Sulimay's reviews Bon Iver. Video below...

The Rural Alberta Advantage's recently released video for "Muscle Relaxants", below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Monday? (Michael Jackson's birthday)"

photos by David Andrako

Here are a few things that happened on Coachella Day 1:

• it was hot.
• lots of celebrities, like Coachella regular Danny Devito, were walking around
• The Black Keys, Kings of Leon and the Chemical Brothers were the big headlining acts of the day (all on the main Coachella Stage)
• people wore funny outfits, and sometimes NSFW outfits.
• people sinned.
• Lauryn Hill started late, but not too late (aka she still got to play).
• Cee Lo showed up very late, apologized, but acted mad he had to play a short set. He used that anger to give his set-closing hit "Fuck You" context.
• Odd Future predictably drew a huge crowd, and were joined by Pharell.
• Odd Future's set resulted in a possible broken nose (again)
• There were 20 arrests
• Paul McCartney was there, and along with Usher, stood on stage during Afrojack's set.
• YACHT played
• Many other people played, and lots of other stuff happened too, as you can see in the pictures below...

What were your highlights of Coachella Day One? Are you there or watching the stream?

Photographer David Andrako managed to catch 18 acts and other random stuff in between on Friday. His pictures from the whole day continue below...

Continue reading "Coachella 2011 Day 1 in pics (Chemical Brothers, Black Keys, Robyn, Interpol, Cee Lo, Crystal Castles, Sleigh Bells & more)"

photos by Amanda Hatfield and Timothy Griffin

Menomena (by Tim)

After 14 hours of BrooklynVegan shows on Wednesday with barely a break (Emo's and then Swan Dive), and while BBG was holding down a stage at Emo's again, we returned to Swan Dive on Thursday, but this time with the addition of the two connecting stages at Barbarella for another full day BrooklynVegan Day Party. The 3-stage affair featured 19 bands, DJ Anika, and comedian Brody Stevens as host.

The day couldn't have started better, as we had one of the artists I was most excited to see playing live on the Swan Dive stage right at noon, and that was the tall, well-dressed and significantly bearded Josh T Pearson. I only wish I wasn't still hecticly dealing with issues after the doors opened so I could have been one of the people sitting down and enjoying his solo set of songs taken from his new album Last of the Country Gentlemen which is out on Mute on March 29. What I did hear sounded great.

Meanwhile, Savoir Adore kicked things off on the outside stage while Shannon & the Clams got things going inside Barbarella. Navigating the three stages and not getting lost was definitely one of the challenges we gave attendees at the venues we camped out at for day shows all week.

After Shannon came Hunx & His Punx who Shannon also plays with. As Andrew pointed out, "Hunx seemed pretty annoyed about the five-show day ahead of him. "Come see the last one," suggested Hunx, saving the goods for that final push. The Punx band showed off admirable chops though, with the drummer pounding away and girl-group-style backups by the bassist." Andrew continues:

"Out at the venue's back stage, Dominique Unique Young had a two-man band providing soulful hooks for her club bangers, which were just fine in the brutal sunlight. And then at Swan Dive, Rural Alberta Advantage made a push for anyone, like me, who hasn't checked out their new disc, Departing, yet to do so soon (live, drummer Paul Banwat easily does the work of two guys)."

"...arriving just in time to catch the end of Fergus & Geronimo and Beans' sets. Trying to navigate between the two connected clubs -- blazing sunshine at the patio stage, pitch black for the Barbarella inside stage -- was a bit tough.

I watched most of Yuck's set and thought they sounded great. Not the most exciting band to watch, but that's okay, not everyone can bounce around the stage like Superchunk to whom they owe more than a little sonic dept. Speaking of, Mac McCaughan was their for their whole set which I thought was kind of awesome. I asked him if he was there to collect royalties from Yuck. He laughed and said, "No way, I love these guys!"

From there it was out to the Patio for Obits' set. There's something about their pedal-to-the-metal rock that sounds a little better in Texas. Plus they played the two songs I really wanted to hear: "You Gotta Lose" from the new album Moody, Standard and Poor, and their first-ever single "One Cross Apiece."

After scarfing down some tacos (courtesy of the El Diablo truck in Barbarella's backyard, yes a sister truck to the one here at Union Pool), I caught a little of Screaming Females, rip-roaring as usual, and Menomena."

Mellowhype (by Tim)

But the main attraction of the day goes to... Mellowhype who were playing their second-ever show as Mellowhype (their first was a day earlier at their new label Fat Possum's party at Club DeVille), and who brought the whole Odd Future crew with them (anyone who was in Austin anyway), Tyler included. It was a beyond-packed house full of excitement...

"The assembled crowd of hipsters, blipsters, and media types went nuts when the beats dropped, as this still-teenaged hip-hop collective has been drawing favorable comparisons to early Wu-Tang, especially in terms of production aesthetic and overall energy." [Houston Calling]

Thanks to Izzoz, Line 6 (the mics), Korg (keyboard), Vox (amps), Blackstar (and amps), Sensible Portions, Honest Tea, ASCAP, NadaMoo, Raw Revolution, Sailor Jerry, SPARKS, all the bands, Zach, Nevona, our bartenders, sound guys, Ramone, everyone who stopped by and anyone else I'm forgetting.

Lots more pictures and videos from the whole day, below...

Continue reading "BrooklynVegan Thurs Austin day party pics (Mellowhype, Yuck, Menomena, Obits, Beans, Rural Alberta Advantage & more)"

words & photos by Andrew Frisicano

Wednesday

Twin Shadow @ Fader Fort

A crowded backyard tent filled with cigarette smoke, free open-faced tacos (pork, chicken, brisket or veggie), a man carting a dolly of Lone Star cases through the crowd, and a pair of middle-aged guys picking a fight with each other on a Wednesday afternoon. "Doesn't he know I'm a ticking time bomb?" the offended guy says, a bit like he's not joking. JEFF the Brotherhood is playing too, which is more or less the occasion for all of this, my first show of SXSW 2011. The JEFF brothers aren't really the focus though, since they'll be playing a dozen other times this week, and most of the people are concentrating on the tacos, their conversations or their inability to get away from the door of the totally (did I say?) packed room.

In spite of that, the band is tearing through songs from Heavy Days and their new LP We Are the Champions, and between songs tossing out free vinyl singles into the crowd: "Those are going to slice someone's neck open," says Jake before slinging a few more across the room. They go into "Bummer," a ballady, Dino Jr.-style headbanger, that's one of the standout new tunes.

Trash Talk @ BV/Feed the Beat Day Party (photo by Samantha Marble)

Ty Segall's entertaining and totally worthwhile band is up next, but the BrookylnVegan day show at Emo's is also currently happening, the highlight of which has to be the simulatneous staging of Cali punks Trash Talk (who went on before Kylesa) and Mister Heavenly (who went on before Surfer Blood). Mister Heavenly are a supergroup of-sorts you've heard about. On the inside, Trash Talk frontman Lee Spielman towers over everyone with the body of a scarecrow and a scary-as-hell perma-scowl; he smashes his forehead with the microphone a few times to draw blood. "Stick around for Surfer Blood," he says, before crawling into the crowd and standing on what I can only hope were someone's shoulders. People start edging toward the door. On the outside stage, Mr. Heavenly performs an appropriately lovely set, its two frontmen trading verses in their own styles.

After that, the Fader Fort brought Twin Shadow on stage, the bedroom-pop project of George Lewis Jr. that's become a wildly good live band. For an outdoor venue, the system sounded impressively balanced and clear - which would turn out to be a rarity at the festival. That was 'specially good for Yelawolf, whose songs sounded vital in a way that your iPod just can't do. With no crew to speak of, his solo athletics put in an early bid for best-of.

Yelawolf @ Fader Fort

Later that night at Stubb's, Yuck and James Blake played what would be the first of several for both. Both did well on the big stage, a portent of things to come, vibing out in their respective styles: fuzz rock and chilled-out pop. Check out both of their sets for yourself at NPR- Blake and Yuck.

continued below...

Continue reading "Colin Stetson, Twin Shadow, Odd Future, James Blake, JEFF the Brotherhood, Yelawolf, more (Andrew F's week @ SXSW)"

words & photos by Chris Gersbeck

!!! @ the BrooklynVegan/MFM Day Party Saturday

By the time Saturday rolled around in Austin, I was admittedly starting to tire of the massive crowd that had been occupying 6th Street since I arrived on Tuesday. That didn't stop me from hitting up as much live music as I could in that final day though. Thanks to an insane amount of free day parties, this was a relatively easy task, albeit an exhausting one.

To start things off, Jonny Corndawg (who has a Brooklyn Bowl residency coming up) was playing a Fiji Water-sponsored, artist-only brunch in the upstairs of Barbarella where the BrooklynVegan/M For Montreal Day party was happpening downstairs (with !!!, Trail of Dead & more). Though I've seen Corndawg several times before, it goes without saying that he's an entertaining performer/songwriter, and his intimate set was well received by the early morning brunch-eating fans.

After that I jetted downstairs to the outside Barbarella stage to catch one of the weirder performances I'd seen all week. Misteur Valaire, a five piece Canadian dance-punk outfit energetically jumped around stage, switching instruments on nearly every song, and often breaking out into choreographed dance sequences. To say it was odd is an understatement, but nonetheless I had a smile on my face the entire time. It was also a great way to embrace us for the crazy dance party that ensued when !!! (chk-chk-chk) took the stage next.

Nic Offer, easily the greatest short-shorts wearing frontman in indie rock, made no hesitation in getting the increasingly packed outdoor crowd dancing for !!!'s set. Though he did express his dismay of there being a couch on the dance floor (yes, for some reason there was a couch in the middle of the dance floor), Offer used it as a prop to jump into the middle of the crowd several times. And their tribute to the late Nate Dogg, a cover of "Get Up", was a great way to conclude their set.

Up next on the Barbarella outdoor stage was Austin's own Trail of Dead, who initially suffered from sound/equipment problems, but eventually got it together to play a pulverizing set to the still packed outdoor stage. Though short in length, it was in no way short on enthusiasm, and Trail of Dead blasted through their set as they flung themselves around on stage. Bassist Autry Fulbright III even broke a bass string towards the end of their ecstatic concluding song, a feat I've rarely seen accomplished.

After an ill-fated trip to the free Mess With Texas party where I hoped to catch the Dead Milkmen and Odd Future (the location was so dusty and packed it was unbearable), I was able to make it into the official Red Ryder SXSW showcase at the Central Presbyterian Church on 8th Street in time to witness a jaw dropping performance from Sharon Van Etten.

Sharon Van Etten @ the Red Ryder SXSW showcase

Van Etten was one of the more talked about performers of the entire SXSW festival, and I couldn't have been happier to catch her set after missing her at the BrooklynVegan showcase earlier in the week. The church made for absolutely breathtaking acoustics. Members of Wye Oak and TV on the Radio's Kyp Malone watched from the balcony. I cannot stress it enough, do not miss her upcoming show at the Music Hall of Williamsburg on April 16th.

Portland, Oregon super-sized group Typhoon followed Sharon Van Etten, and though that may have been the problem, it was also a reminder that often less is more. Not to say they didn't put on a heartfelt performance, or that the massive church setting wasn't perfect for their big, full sound, but their enthusiasm at times came off as a bit much. Though if you're a fan of the Polyphonic Spree or We're From Barcelona, Typhoon is likely right up your alley.

After catching them at the Bowery Ballroom the week prior, I was definitely excited to see the Rural Alberta Advantage again. They didn't disappoint. Stating that they played the same venue at SXSW in 2009, keyboardist Amy Cole expressed a slight feeling of déjà vu, but said they were happy to be performing in such a space for a second time. What was apparently a repeat of that '09 performance, the band returned for an encore of a stripped down performance of their song "Good Night" surrounded by the crowd, completely un-mic'd and unplugged. It was an entrancing and honest moment from the Canadian band, and a perfect way to end a long, long week of live music where I also caught sets by The Kills and Atlas Sound.

Pictures from everything mentioned above, below...

Continue reading "!!!, Trail of Dead, Misteur Valaire, Sharon Van Etten, TRAA, Corndawg, Atlas Sound & more (Chris G' SXSW recap & pics)"

photos by Amanda Hatfield

TRAA

Back before they played SXSW, but after Bowery Ballrooom, TRAA, Pepper Rabbit and The Loom played a Brooklyn show at Knitting Factory. Pictures from that show are in this post and they continue below...

Continue reading "The Rural Alberta Advantage, Pepper Rabbit & the Loom played Knitting Factory (pics)"

We've lost our mind and are doing nine BrooklynVegan shows at SXSW this year. It all starts Wednesday during the day on two stages at Emo's, and continues Wednesday night at Swan Dive where we might as well stay overnight because Thursday at noon is when we start the first of three day parties in a row at the same place (Swan Dive) and Barbarella (they connect).

And the FREE Thursday lineup is:

STAGE 1 (Swan Dive)
12:00 PM Josh T. Pearson
1:00 PM Pujol
2:00 PM The Rural Alberta Advantage
3:00 PM Damien Jurado
4:00 PM Memoryhouse
5:00 PM Menomena

STAGE 2 (Barbarella Patio)
12:00 PM Savoir Adore
1:00 PM Alex Winston
2:00 PM Dominique Young Unique
3:00 PM Beans
4:00 PM Obits
5:00 PM Mellowhype (Odd Future)
HOSTING & JOKES BY: Brody Stevens

STAGE 3 (Barbarella Inside)
12:00 PM Shannon & The Clams
12:30 PM Hunx & His Punx
1:15 PM Gentleman Jesse & His Men
2:00 PM Pete & The Pirates
3:00 PM Fergus & Geronimo
4:00 PM Yuck
5:00 PM Screaming Females

Some notes: Mellowhype (aka Hodgy Beats and Left Brain of Billboard cover stars Odd Future - and whatever other Odd Future members decide to come along) are only playing one other show - their label's showcase at Club DeVille. Listen to David Fricke and get to Swan Dive in time to see Josh T Pearson. Shannon & the Clams and Hunx & His Punx share members, and have even been known to show their members. There are lots of bands with "and" in their name playing the Barbarella Inside Stage. Brody Stevens is funny! Anika will be spinning vinyl between sets during the second half of the day. I am super excited to be hosting Screaming Females for a second time.

This party will also have:

• FREE vegan Izzoz breakfast tacos while supplies last!
• lots of FREE snacks courtesy of Sensible Portions!
• a lot of FREE Honest Tea!
• FREE Raw Revolution bars to eat.
• FREE vegan ice cream from NadaMoo
• FREE Sailor Jerry cocktails while supplies last.
• more FREE DRINKS TBA.

• Our official microphone sponsor Line 6.
• and our backline sponsors Korg, Vox & Blackstar.
• and to ASCAP for sponsoring too.

Continue reading "BrooklynVegan Free Thursday Austin Day Party lineup ----------- (3 stages @ Barbarella & Swan Dive)"

photos by Chris Gersbeck

The Quad: I have to say, I've been to a bunch of shows here, and this is definitely one of the most engaged crowds I've seen.

Nils: That's definitely good to hear.

Paul: The people who come to our shows are super nice.

The Quad: It seems like your fans are really nice, for lack of a better word.

Nils: It's funny 'cause some people are like, 'oh, nice Canadians, do you get beat up by Americans when you go there?' It's like, oh, not most of the time, we have nice friends that come out, nice audience members. I guess we don't court danger too well as a band. (Laughs).

A set of pictures from Bowery continue below....

Continue reading "The Rural Alberta Advantage, Pepper Rabbit & the Loom played Bowery Ballroom (pics)"

Lord Huron has a slew of SXSW shows next week, as you can see in the list of dates below. Not long after that the Lord will hit the road with The Rural Alberta Advantage in April, but will then continue off on his/their own, eventually hitting Mercury Lounge on April 28th. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

All tour dates, a stream of the Mighty EP and the video for one of those tracks, "The Stranger", is below.

Continue reading "Lord Huron video, EP stream, tour dates & SXSW shows"

by Jacob Blickenstaff

The Rural Alberta Advantage played to a sold-out crowd at the Mercury Lounge on Wednesday January 13th. The band previewed their upcoming album, Departing in its entirety (out March 1st on Saddle-Creek Records), playing each side of the new album as a mini-set with songs from 'Hometown' at the beginning, middle and end of the performance. The band ended the evening with the appropriate 'Good Night', snaking their way into the audience to sing from the benches along the wall. Soft Landing opened.

If you missed it, the band heads back out on tour in March. Tickets are still on sale for the shows at Bowery Ballroom on March 10 and Knitting Factory on March 12th.

More pictures from the full setlist from the Merc show below...

Continue reading "The Rural Alberta Advantage played Mercury Lounge in NYC (pics & setlist)"

the Rural Alberta Advantage at a BV day party @ Emo's (more by Tim Griffin)

The Rural Alberta Advantage's 1/12 Mercury Lounge show is sold out, but luckily it won't be that long before they're back in town as part of a tour that will kick off on March 9th and will include a pair of NYC stops: March 10th at Bowery Ballroom (ticket info forthcoming) and March 12th at Knitting Factory (ditto). Shortly afterward, the band will head down south to take part in the SxSW debauchery again.

The tour is in celebration of Departing, their new LP due via Saddle Creek on March 1st of 2011. Full tour dates, Departing art/tracklisting, and some videos, below...

Continue reading "the Rural Alberta Advantage announce new album, tour dates"

Tickets are still on sale for DJ Shadow's upcoming show at Irving Plaza. And I have a couple of pairs you can win. Details below.

Tickets are still on sale for the Shearwater/Damien Jurado/Anni Rossi show at Music Hall of Williamsburg. And I have a pair you can win. Details below.

"WITNESS' 6th Annual Focus for Change Benefit Dinner & Concert" goes down on Thursday, December 2, 2010 at Roseland Ballroom in NYC. Co-Hosted by Peter Gabriel, there will be performances by Antibalas, Jimmy Cliff and Sheryl Crow. Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter, will be there too. Click the link to get your $750 tickets.

Fistful of Mercy is Joseph Arthur, Ben Harper & Dhani Harrison, and you can catch them at the Apollo Theater on November 17th. Tickets are still on sale.

Tickets go on sale at noon for the upcoming Girl Talk shows at Wellmont Theatre and Terminal 5.

Tickets go on sale at noon for Gang of Four's show at Webster Hall.

Tickets go on sale at noon for the Interpol show at Radio City Music Hall.

Iron & Wine Radio City tickets are on sale now.

Tickets go on sale at noon for the Tokyo Police Club/Two Door Cinema Club show happening at Temrinal 5.

Josh Ritter & the Royal City Band play Terminal 5 on 2/12. Tickets are on sale.

Pete Yorn and Ben Kweller play Terminal 5 on 3/11. Tickets are on sale. Way before that you can catch Ben Kweller on his own solo tour which is underway now.

Bindlestiff Family Circus has been added as an opener to the New Years Eve Drive by Truckers show at Terminal 5. Tickets are still on sale.

UK band Peggy Sue are worth getting to Terminal 5 early on November 19th. They open that date for Kate Nash. Tickets are still on sale.

Randy Newman plays Town Hall on March 5th. Tickets are on sale.

Ray Davies plays the Beacon Theatre in NYC with the Dessoff Chamber Choir on Wednesday, November 24th, two days before his previously announced NJ show. Tickets are on sale.

Lia Ices, full of CMJ buzz, plays Mercury Lounge on 12/14. Tickets are on sale.

Rural Alberta Advantage play Mercury Lounge on 1/12. Tickets are on sale.

Contests below...

Continue reading "Peter Gabriel, Randy Newman, Ray Davies, Josh Ritter, DJ Shadow, Interpol, Girl Talk, Fistful of Mercy, Lia Ices & other tickets"

photos by Tim Griffin

"Just saw Fucked Up tear it up at Emo's, with a cameo from two of the Wu Tang Killa Bees. That's gonna be hard to top" - mehan jayasuriya

"FUCKED UP: Frontman Pink Eye says Emo's was first place he ever went shirtless. "Fat guys everywhere felt a little bit skinnier."" - Rolling Stone

""GZA? He just couldn't make it," Killah Priest told BrooklynTheBorough.com later. "He told us to come and help him out. He'll be here though - somewhere - he'll be here.""

"The first show I caught at South by Southwest was The Morning Benders at Emo's for the Brooklyn Vegan day party. I talked with Christopher Chu, the lead singer and while he was warming up near the stage, I snapped a few pictures. If you have not purchased Big Echo, their latest album it is worth the dinero." [Harmon Drive]

The last few bands got slightly longer sets due to the gap in the schedule that GZA created. The capacity crowd enjoyed free Magic Hat beer, Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka, Vitamin Water, Mr. Natural breakfast tacos, Nadamoo coconut milk ice cream, Daily Juice catering, Raw Revolution bars and Hail Merry granola. It was an amazing first day at the festival that was quickly followed by our official showcase right down the street at Club DeVille. More pictures from this stage (metal coming later), and a video clip of the Killah Priest part, below...

Continue reading "BrooklynVegan Emo's day party pics (SXSW 2010 - Fucked Up, Titus Andronicus, Japandroids, Morning Benders, more) "

As previously mentioned, we've lost our minds and are doing seven shows in Austin during SXSW this year. The first of those parties kicks off at Emo's at noon on Wednesday, March 17th, 2010 (doors @ 11:30am) on two 100% FREE stages:

Outside/Main Stage
12:00 YellowFever
12:45 The Rural Alberta Advantage
01:30 The Morning Benders
02:15 Japandroids
03:00 Titus Andronicus
03:45 The Black Angels
04:30 GZA
05:15 Fucked Up

DJs: Finger on the Pulse

Inside/Metal Stage (Emo's Jr)
12:00 - Kill The Client
12:35 - The Atlas Moth
01:20 - Javelina
02:05 - Dark Castle
02:50 - Salome
03:35 - Landmine Marathon
04:20 - Withered
05:05 - Torche

FREE DRINKS COURTESY OF: Magic Hat & Firefly Vodka & Vitamin Water (while supplies last)
FREE VEGAN BREAKFAST TACOS COURTESY OF: Mr. Natural
(starting @ noon. while supplies last)
MORE FREE FOOD COURTESY OF: Daily Juice (catering from 2-5)
MORE FREE FOOD COURTESY OF: Raw Revolution Bars
MORE FREE FOOD COURTESY OF: Hail Merry

Thanks Zach Jaeger for the sweet flyer.

The Morning Benders, The Rural Alberta Advantage, Austin's own YellowFever, AND GZA are all being announced for the first time in this post. Those following along already knew about Fucked Up, The Black Angels, Titus Andronicus, and Japandroids.

It should be a wild first day in Austin and needless to say, we're very excited for this one. And did we mention this was all free? No RSVP. No Badges. Just stop by. Get there early if you want a free vegan breakfast taco. Stay around if you want even more catering by Daily Juice. Drink for free from our 10 kegs of Magic Hat beer and the many bottles of Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka that we'll be pouring. Then after the show, if you're still hungry (and standing), get dinner quickly and head over to the official BrooklynVegan SXSW showcase at Club DeVille right down the block (Dawes go on at 8, Serena Maneesh finish things off at 1am). Then get some rest because you've got 19 more bands to catch on Thursday afternoon at Spider House.

And for those in NYC, don't forget that we're also hosting a free Morning Benders show, TONIGHT (3/8).

We also just announced the full lineup of our Saturday day party at Red 7 which is happening at the same time as our Saturday day party at Galaxy Room.

GZA's "Liquid Swords" video below...

Continue reading "BrooklynVegan presents a day party @ Emo's (Fucked Up, GZA, Black Angels, Torche, TRAA, Withered & much more) "

photos by Vincent Cornelli

"It's been a lot of shows since SXSW [2009]," says [The RAA's lead singer, Nils Edenloff] with a chuckle, taking a few minutes to call from a Tim Horton's somewhere off the 401. "I think by the end of [2009] we might hit 100 shows. I'm hoping we hit 100 because that would be pretty cool to say."

Just add it to the band's list of milestones. In addition to the above, you can score a No. 1 on the Canadian college radio charts, inclusion on the bill for Vancouver's Cultural Olympiad this February and credit for writing the Prime Minister's (or maybe just his assistant's) favourite song of the moment, "Edmonton."

Edenloff has a harder time ticking off his achievements from the last year. "It's funny because it feels like every step is a new high," he reflects. "When we first played New York [in January] at this little bar, Piano's, we felt like 'This is the most amazing thing ever.' I never thought anything would top that. And then SXSW, it was a crazy-amazing time down there, everything just went really well. And, you know, playing Alberta for the first time, if just feels like everything is getting better and better." [Dose.ca]

Continue reading "The Rural Alberta Advantage played Maxwell's, Mercury Lounge & Terminal 5 - pics & a setlist"

members of Passion Pit @ Pianos on NYE (drivemycarlye)

Member of Passion Pit played DJ at quickly-sold-out party at Pianos in NYC on New Years Eve. Tonight (1/8), they kick off their sold-out three night run of live shows at Terminal 5 in the same town. Each night has a different set of openers with Sunday being the official WTF member of the set...

Fri, 1/08 w/ The Rural Alberta Advantage & Joy Formidable
Sat, 1/09 w/ Joy Formidable & Arms
Sun, 10/10 w/ Tragedy: All Metal Tribute to the Bee Gees & Brahms

On Monday, the band will be in Brooklyn filming a video. In March they'll kick off yet another tour of the United States, starting in Buffalo. Those dates below...

Continue reading "Passion Pit DJ'd New Years Eve, play 3 NYC shows this weekend (w/ varying openers), add more 2010 tour dates "

snow by schatz

tonight in NYC
* Ronnie Spector @ BB King's
* Mos Def @ Highline Ballroom
* Currituck County @ The Stone
* Blip Festival alumni show @ Pianos
* Soft Black, Wide Eyed Beauty @ Death By Audio
* Uninhabitable Mansions, Pocket Knife @ The Cameo
* Matisyahu, Kevin Devine @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Lucy Wainwright Roche w/ Family & Friends @ City Winery
* The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (DJ) @ Insound Design Store
* The Willowz, Fan-Tan, Kill Kill Kill, Plumsucker @ Mercury Lounge
* Anamanaguchi, Starpause, IAYD, Magic Hammer, 8BK @ Public Assembly
* Theo Angell, Jozef Van Wissem, Grasshopper, Ghost Moth @ Silent Barn
* Bryan & The Haggards, Bobby Radcliff Trio, Elliot Sharpe 3, Jahn Xavier @CakeShop
* This Frontier Needs Heroes, Justice of the Unicorn, Class Actress, Cat Martino @ Union Pool

Didn't get enough blip? Public Assembly (flyer below) and Pianos both offer more today.

"DUE TO WEATHER THE MOS DEF SHOW HAS BEEN POSTPONED TO JANUARY 17. ALL TICKETS WILL BE HONORED OR REFUNDS ARE AVAILABLE AT POINT OF PURCHASE*"

Flyer for the Cookie Contest @ Union Pool below...

The Rural Alberta Advantage's video for "Drain The Blood" below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Sunday?"

The Neave: How was it playing alongside bands like the Meat Puppets and the Thermals? What artists or bands, if any, would you like to play/collaborate with in the future?

Mayhaw Hoons of The Shaky Hands: To me, the Meat Puppets tour was the best of all time. We had done five shows with The Shins a few years back, and that was amazing, but I feel like we never had a good connection with the fans. They were playing places like the Greek Theatre; an awesome experience, but kind of strange for us. With the Meat Puppets, we were having great shows every night to the best music fans ever. Plus, getting to know the band was a dream come true.

Thermals fans were a bit harder to crack. They are rabid kids. Some nights were amazing; some nights it was crickets. They wanted to get to their beloved Thermals and crowd surf. Every audience is different, but The Thermals themselves were always great to be around, and as I said earlier, we had an awesome time on the road with them.

We would love to tour with the Puppets again. Other great bands would be Big Business, Tom Petty or, I don't know, Shakira?

Their two-week, NYC-to-Cali tour kicks off Wednesday, December 2nd at Knitting Factory Brooklyn, with Takka Takka, Joshua Wise/Eyeses and tourmates US Royalty . Tickets are on sale.

US Royalty will be joining the band for a few of those tour dates before being replaced by The Rural Alberta Advantage (in who are in NYC this January).

All tour dates and Shaky Hands' video for new song "Already Gone" are below...

Continue reading "The Shaky Hands kicking off December tour (dates)-- Wednesday night in Broolyn w/ Takka Takka, US Royalty"

by Bill Pearis

The Luyas

M for Montreal is an interesting festival, at times more like a conference or summer camp or one of those all-inclusive resorts -- but with better music. There are about 40 "international delegates" (of which I am one) who basically spend the whole weekend together, going to panel discussions, cocktail hours, dinners and, of course the nightly shows. It's not like SXSW or CMJ where there are 30 shows happening at the same time - we delegates see every band at M for Montreal.

Take opening night's (11.19) Selection Officielle at Juste Pour Rire. The venue is used mainly as a comedy club, but they have shows there too with a great soundsystem and, as You Say Party! We Say Die! singer Krista Leowen noted, "fancy lights" which have made it possible for me to take at least one non-embarrassing picture of each band with my crappy point-and-shoot. (Again, apologies to BV's many awesome real photographers.) Juste Pour Rire has two rooms -- the Bowery-sized Cabaret and the slightly smaller Studio, and while one band was playing in one space, the next band sets up, so there's little or no downtime between bands, apart from the time it takes to herd the audience from one place to the other.

While being industry-oriented, M for Montreal is open to the public and tickets to individual events are cheap. ($12.75 for individual nights.) And the public does come -- the place was packed and going bananas for Think About Life's headlining set. Having seen TAL a bunch of times in New York (including at the BV official CMJ showcase this year), even shows like the fairly off-the-hook one at Arlene's Grocery during CMJ last month -- it just doesn't compare to watching them with a hometown crowd. This line-up is still pretty new. Drummer and founding member Matt Shane left the band in October to go back to school, with Greg Napier taking over. More significantly, the band added a second singer, Caila Thompson-Hannant of Shapes and Sizes, to the fold, and she and Martin Cesar have great chemistry.

The band played almost all of their great new album, Family, which is slowly starting to catch on down here in America. Pitchfork may be going gaga for "Having My Baby", but the Montreal crowd knew there are even better songs on the album. "Johanna," "Young Hearts" and "Set You on Fire" all had the crowd bouncing off the walls, some of which the band trotted out a horn section for, but it was Family's "Sweet Sixteen" that sent them over the edge. Though maybe that had something to do with special guest vocalist Cadence Weapon who clearly knew all the words. Think About Life may or may not make you think about life, but they will make you forget your troubles while they're playing.

continued below...

Continue reading "M For Montreal 2009 - night 1 in pics & review (the Luyas, Miracle Fortress, Think About Life, Rural Alberta & more) "

DOWNLOAD: TRAA - Don't Haunt This Place (MP3)

Like Neon Indian, another band with a series of NYC gigs coming up, the Rural Alberta Advantage, have added to their upcoming tour dates; there will be four NYC-area chances to see them this January. TRAA play a sold-out show with Passion Pit and Joy Formidable at Terminal 5 on January 8th. (Passion Pit play T5 three times that week.) The Rural Alberta Advantage will then play a late show and an (added) early show at Mercury Lounge on January 9th. Tickets to the late show are on sale now, early show tix go on sale Wednesday, Nov. 11th at noon. TRAA will also be at Maxwell's on January 7th. Tix for that are still on sale.

A Rural Alberta Daytrotter session can be found HERE. Some videos and updated tour dates are below...

Continue reading "The Rural Alberta Advantage add 4th NYC-area show - updated 2009 Tour Dates, videos, & Daytrotter Session"

The Rural Alberta Advantage @ Bowery Ballroom (more by Oren Loloi)

The Rural Alberta Advantage will back in the NYC-area in January to play at least three shows. On January 8th they open for Passion Pit at Terminal 5, one of three Passion Pit shows at that venue (but the only one with Rural Alberta opening). On January 7th Rural Alberta play Maxwell's (tickets on sale now), and on January 9th they'll headline a late show at Mercury Lounge (tickets go on AmEx presale this Wednesday). All dates below...

Continue reading "Rural Alberta Advantage tour dates (Mercury & Maxwell's)"

photos by Oren Loloi

"Last, but in no way least, was Rural Alberta Advantage, who played their last NYC show of 2009. If you can believe it, the trio's percussive elements are highlighted even more live than on their smash album, Hometowns. In addition to the strong beats, Nils Edenloff's warbly croon wowed the audience throughout the mostly-originals set. A highlight was RAA's cover of Abba's "SOS" (of course, it's only fitting that a band that was formed at an open mic night would nail a re-interpreted Abba song!) Should, for some odd reason, you not care for RAA's music, it's worth going to a concert just for the history lesson. At the show, for instance, we learned that petrified wood is the provincial stone of Alberta, which is why it makes its way into "Drain The Blood" and that the best thing to do if you ever find yourself in Edmonton is to go to the Legislative Grounds and look directly at the lights. [CMJ]

Tickets are on sale (@ noon) for the show Rural Alberta are playing with Passion Pit at Terminal 5 on January 8th. More pictures from Bowery Ballroom, and all Lovely Feathers dates, below...

Continue reading "The Rural Alberta Advantage played Bowery w/ The Lovely Feathers (pics) -- tix on sale for Terminal 5 w/ Passion Pit "

Passion Pit @ Central Park Summerstage (gohingplaces)

"This whole summer - the past three months - have been all festivals," said Passion Pit bassist Jeff Apruzzese. "So I feel like I'm finally getting used to it and now it's over."

So, was this exhausting, rainy weekend worth it?

It was for Passion Pit who said they would "love" to play at ACL again.

"Definitely [we would come back]," said keyboard player and guitarist for Passion Pit Ian Hultquist. "Hopefully when we come back it will be more relaxed and not super intense like it was today." [the battalion]

Opening the T5 show is a Canadian band who also got their NYC start at Pianos, and who is headlining their own show at Bowery Ballroom this Wednesday night (Oct 7). I'm talking about The Rural Alberta Advantage. Tickets are still on sale. Kittens Ablaze and The Lovely Feathers are the openers.

All dates below...

Continue reading "Passion Pit playing Terminal 5 w/ Rural Alberta Advantage who headline Bowery on Wednesday - 2009 Tour Dates"

DOWNLOAD: TRAA - Don't Haunt This Place (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Orenda Fink - Bloodline (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Orenda Fink - No Evolution (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Old Canes - Taxi On Vermont (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: UUVVWWZ - Shark Suit (MP3)

Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson @ Union Hall 10/1 (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson's Summer of Fear, the follow-up to his 2008 self-titled debut, is set for an October 20th release on Saddle Creek. The label, which recently signed the songwriter, tells the TVotR/Grizzly Bear-littered story of the new record...

TV on the Radio's Kyp Malone--a close friend since the pair met en route to a Grizzly Bear show in 2005--helped bottle Robinson's bruised hymns last winter, ramping up the tension in such standout tracks as "Death by Dust," "Summer of Fear pt. 2," "The Sound," and the 11-and-a-half draining minutes of "More Than a Mess," a haunting epic that deserves its own short film. (Or more than half of Side D; Summer of Fear is spread across two LPs like one of Robinson's favorite records, Tusk.) Since they both "have a tendency toward a generally and hilariously doom stricken worldview," Malone also understood what Robinson was going for with his redemption songs. After all, he was there that summer. He saw it all go down, and now that he's heard the whole thing told through Summer of Fear's relentless and raw tone poems, he can't wait to see what Robinson comes up with next. (Robinson is desperate to record his third record--yes, already. Written last year in the midst of touring to support his unexpected self-titled debut, he describes the disc as containing,"actual songs...as opposed to vaguely melodic litanies of grievance.")

October 20th will be a big day for Saddle Creek (home of Tokyo Police Club, Cursive and Land of Talk). It's also the release date for the latest by new signees Old Canes. The record, Feral Harmonic, is the Lawrence, KS band's second.

Old Canes architect Chris Crisci (also known as half of Appleseed Cast) constructed Feral Harmonic largely alone in his basement studio. He played the majority of the instrumentation himself with additional help from a cast of musician friends contributing various parts, including trumpet, harmophone, cello, and hammer dulcimer, among other instruments. As recording was regularly interrupted by touring, work, other projects, and life in general, production on the album took nearly three and a half years to complete.

The label will also be dropping a new album from Orenda Fink (Azure Ray, Art In Manila, O+S), titled Ask The Night, on October 6th.

Ask The Night was primarily recorded live to 8-track by Stephen Bartolomei (Mal Madrigal) in Orenda's former Omaha, NE, basement (she is now based in Los Angeles, CA), as well as by Andy LeMaster (Now It's Overhead; production on Bright Eyes, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, Azure Ray) in his Athens, GA, living room.

The album features a wide variety of players and singers, including producers Stephen Bartolomei and Andy LeMaster, Isaac Brock (Modest Mouse), Dan McCarthy (McCarthy Trenching), and Adrianne Verhoeven (Dri, The Anniversary, Art In Manila), among others. Four songs on Ask The Night are collaborations with Birmingham, AL-based artist and poet Chris Lawson...

The Rural Alberta Advantage's previously-self-released debut came out on Saddle Creek on July 7th. The band was featured on ABC's Amplified on August 17th, and they have shows coming up. Those include the Positive Jam with the Hold Steady in Ithaca on September 6th, and a show at the Bowery Ballroom on October 7th. Tickets for that go on sale Friday, August 21st at noon.

UUVVWWZ also released an album on Saddle Creek on July 7th, and they'll also be in NYC in October (for CMJ). In fact, they'll be playing what looks like an extremely sick bill at Union Pool on October 24th with An Albatross, Dark Meat, Lovvers, Flexions, ZzZ, and JEFF The Brotherhood.

For a taste of what Saddle Creek has been up to over the past year (before any of the new bands mentioned above), check out the free sampler they're giving away on Amazon. All upcoming TRAA and UUVVWWZ tour dates, and above-mentioned things, are below...

Continue reading "Saddle Creek: Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson, Old Canes & Orenda Fink ++ Rural Alberta Advantage & UUVVWWZ dates"