The xx at Webster Hall in 2010 (more by Bao Nguyen)

We heard a new demo back in December, and then some live recordings of new songs more recently, and now The xx have finally announced the followup to their excellent 2009 self titled LP. The album's called Coexist and it comes out on September 11 via Young Turks. They'll tour in support of the album this summer and come to NYC for a show on August 2 at Terminal 5. Did you get tickets? They went on sale at noon and sold out almost immediately. Maybe they'll add a second date?

Speaking of UK bands playing Terminal 5 with new albums coming out, Bloc Party also announced that their new record, Four, will come out August 21 via Frenchkiss. They'll be playing three Terminal 5 shows with The Drums which go down on August 7, 8 and 9. The latter two are sold out but tickets are still available for the 8/7 show. Check out the cover art and album trailer for Four below.

Continue reading "The xx & Bloc Party reveal details on their new albums"

The xx at Webster Hall in 2010 (more by Bao Nguyen)

Just a reminder: Tickets for The xx's August 2 show at Terminal 5 will go on sale Friday, June 1 at Noon with an AmEx presale on Thursday, May 31 at Noon. That is all.

Continue reading "tickets for The xx's Terminal 5 show go on sale Friday"

The xx at Webster Hall in 2010 (more by Bao Nguyen)

Gossip's headlining show at Terminal 5 tonight (5/22), that SSION & Creep are opening, not only still has tickets available, but will be streaming online at the Bowery Presents YouTube channel at 9:45 PM. And tonight's show isn't the only thing Gossip is streaming. Listen to their new album, Joyful Noise (which is out today via Columbia), in its entirety over at Exclaim.

Tickets for The xx's upcoming Terminal 5 show, announced earlier today, go on sale June 1 at noon. with an AmEx presale starting May 30 at noon.

And finally, since we're talking about Terminal 5, we were offered a pair of tickets to give away for the Wednesday (5/23) Meshuggah, Baroness, Decapitated show, so let's do it. Contest details below...

Continue reading "xx ticket info posted; Gossip streaming live tonight; win tix to Meshuggah"

The xx at Webster Hall in 2010 (more by Bao Nguyen)

The xx, who are working on a new album this year, have just announced a few North American dates in the midst of their mostly-European touring schedule. They'll head over to our shores in late July and stick around through early August, when they'll play a NYC show at Terminal 5 on August 2. Tickets are not on sale yet but check ticketmaster for updates.

Late last year, The xx dropped a new demo called "Open Eyes," which you can listen to HERE. They've since been playing a handful of small shows in London previewing more new material, which will presumably end up on the new album. Check out streams of five new songs recorded at one of their London shows, along with a list of all dates below...

Continue reading "The xx add North American shows including Terminal 5 (dates); previewed new material live in London (listen)"

Poland's Open'er Festival (July 4-7, 2012) has announced their initial lineup which is Bjork, Justice, and The xx. Not too shabby. Tickets are on sale, and the rest of the lineup will be announced in the coming weeks.

More importantly. tickets are on sale (at 10am) for all 10 NYC Bjork shows (which had a presale earlier in the week).

The xx @ Mercury Lounge (more by Tim Griffin)

Listen below!

Continue reading "The xx share a new song demo (listen)"

DOWNLOAD: The Antlers - "VCR" (The xx cover) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Korallreven - "Sa Sa Samoa" (ft. Julianna Barwick) (MP3)

The Antlers at Moogfest (more by Diana Wong)

We recently mentioned that Sharon Van Etten and Shearwater are planning a tour together that hits NYC at Music Hall of Williamsburg on February 24 and Bowery Ballroom on February 25. Tickets for both NYC shows are available for AmEx presale now, and general sale starts Friday (11/11) at noon. All dates have also since been announced and are listed below.

After the tour, Sharon will go on a string of dates with The War on Drugs, who open for The National at Beacon Theatre the night before Sharon does. Sharon's new album, Tramp, comes out February 7 via Jagjaguwar.

Sharon's friends and fellow Brooklynites The Antlers are following their release of Burst Apart, which came out earlier this year, with the (together) EP, which features material from the Burst Apart sessions. It includes collaborations with Neon Indian, Bear In Heaven, Nicole Atkins, and a cover of The xx's "VCR," which you can download above. The EP's tracklist is below. The Antlers are currently on a European tour and will return to NYC for a Webster Hall show on December 10 with Suuns. Tickets for that show are still available.

Speaking of The xx, they've recently begun working on a new album and have started a blog, where they've posted the message:

We have started recording our second album! We have also started this blog where we will post our inspirations + pictures + favourite songs. We hope you enjoy it! Lots of Love, The xx

The Walkmen, whose drummer Matt Barrick guests on Sharon's new album, are also working on a new album with producer Phil Ek which will be released next year on Fat Possum/Bella Union.

Julianna Barwick, who is also a guest on Sharon's album, recently released the Matrimony Remixes EP, which features remixes of two of the tracks off of her most recent LP, The Magic Place, which came out earlier this year. The entire EP is available to stream and download for $5 on bandcamp and features remixes by Diplo & Lunice, Helado Negro, Alias Pail, and Prince Rama. Julianna also provided guest vocals to Korallreven's debut LP, which comes out November 15 via Acephale. Her vocals appear on the song "Sa Sa Samoa," which you can download above.

All dates and (together) tracklist below...

Continue reading "new Antlers EP, an xx cover, updated Sharon Van Etten dates, Julianna Barwick & more"

Tickets are still on sale for tonight's Jamie xx DJ gig. Opening sets by both Sepalcure and Creep sweeten the deal. Jamie's collaborative album with Gil Scott-Heron ("We're New Here") is out today.

Romy from The xx lends vocals to a Creep song.

A new Converse-produced 'short film' about Jamie can be watched below...

Continue reading "Jamie xx is here, 'We're New Here' is in stores"

Klaxons

After an appearance at SXSW in Austin followed by the Ultra Music Festival in Miami (full lineup belolw), the Klaxons will play shows on their way to the sold-out Coachella Festival in California. It looks like a full tour is still TBA, but (UPDATE: full tour now announced and) the dates will include a NYC show at Webster Hall on March 29th with Brooklyn's A Million Years (who also play Mercury Lounge on 2/11) and Brooklyn's Creep. Tickets for the Manhattan gig go on AMEX presale Wednesday at noon (2/2) and regular sale 48 hours later. All dates are listed below.

Creep is a duo comprised of Lauren Dillard and house DJ and producer Lauren Flax. Flax is also Fischerspooner's touring DJ. Creep recently dropped a video for "Days" directed by Fischerspooner Warren Fischer. The song features vocals from Romy Madley Croft of The xx. Check out that video below and look for Creep's debut LP later this year. Meanwhile they also have other collaborative singles planned with Reggaeton-R&B twins Nina Sky, Nomi Ruiz and Planning to Rock.

Speaking of Nomi Ruiz (who is best known for her role in Hercules & Love Affair), Nomi's current project Jessica 6 recently announced a March 1st Mercury Lounge show. That gig takes place not long after the band gets back from a European tour. All dates below.

Flax can also be found at One Step Beyond at The American Museum of Natural History this Friday (2/4), where she'll DJ alongside Scissor Sisters (who are also DJing) and Activaire. Tickets are still available. Scissor Sisters play live at Wellmont Theater on 2/18 (tickets available), a few days before they hit MSG at part of their tour with Lady Gaga.

Check out the video for Creep's "Days" (with Romy Madley Croft), and all tour dates, and the complete Ultra Music Festival lineup, below.

Continue reading "Klaxons dates, a Scissor Sisters DJ gig, Creep, xx, Jessica 6 (and the complete Ultra Music Festival Lineup)"

Gil-Scott Heron @ Marcus Garvey Park (more by Benjamin Lozovsky)

In February 2010, Gil Scott-Heron released "I'm New Here", his first album in thirteen years. In August 2009, as a member of The xx (and producer) Jamie xx released his debut album "xx".

"NY Is Killing Me" is the first song from "We're New Here", Jamie xx's reworking of 13 tracks from the Gil Scott-Heron "I'm New Here" sessions.

Gil, whose album is already appearing on many year-end lists, was supposed to play BB King's on October 7th, but instead he is playing the NYC show TONIGHT (11/30). Tickets are still available. All dates, more new album info, and the streaming track below...

Continue reading "listen to Jamie xx's reworking of 'NY is Killing Me', see Gil Scott-Heron live (TONIGHT)"

photos by Tim Griffin

The xx @ Austin City Limits 2010

"Let's put it this way. If you ever want to get into someone's pants, there's no need for red roses or pick-up-lines. Totally unnecessary. All you really need to woo your love-to-be are the sweet, melodic verses of The xx.

At first, taking the A train all the way up to the Bronx sounded like a less than ideal situation, but one must sacrifice distance for the love of music. Church by day and music venue by night, United Palace is a beautifully bipolar theater with acoustics that could put Carnegie Hall to shame. This venue was a perfect match for a band that has meticulously mastered the art of producing huge sounds from whispers. Going from the Mercury Lounge to United Palace, The xx have had quite the year, and this show was a testament to this." [The Wild Honey Pie]

At United Palace, and probably at other shows on the tour, the Mercury Prize-winning band covered Robin S's now-classic dancefloor hit "Show Me Love" (Robin S is not to be confused with Robyn who is currently causing people to tear up dancefloors). Video proof from the NYC show, with the video from their appearance on Jimmy Kimmel last night (10/11), and more ACL pictures, below...

Continue reading "The xx toured from United Palace to ACL, covered 'Show Me Love', wore red, played Kimmel (pics & video) "

Congrats xx. Tour dates below...

Continue reading "The xx won the 2010 Mercury Prize"

most of the photos by Josh Darr

The Strokes

Lady Gaga & Semi Precious Weapons (pic via Krista Davis)

Phoenix

"Lollapalooza wheeled out some big headliners in its sixth year on the Chicago lakefront, as a record 240,000 people poured into Grant Park over three days to see 130 performers, including Lady Gaga, Green Day and reunited grunge-era icons Soundgarden.

Size matters at Lollapalooza, as the festival expanded its reach westward by shutting down Columbus Avenue and spreading eight stages across 110 acres, up from 80 acres in previous years. Columbus Avenue was converted into a giant sidewalk lined with portable toilets, a simple but effective improvement that allowed fans to avoid the dreaded Buckingham Fountain bottleneck that had turned previous festivals into human traffic jams. The festival topped its previous three-day record of 225,000, reached the last two years.

Still, there was little room during some performances at the northernmost stages on Butler Field, where fans jostled shoulder-to-shoulder for space to see performances by Metric, Phoenix and Arcade Fire. Note to Austin, Texas-based promoters C3 Presents: How about widening the southern entrance to Butler Field or moving one of the stages onto Columbus Drive to relieve what is becoming an annual problem? It's only going to get worse if the festival approaches its new capacity of 95,000 a day in future years." [Chicago Tribune]

Continue reading "Lollapalooza 2010 -- Day 1 & 2 in pics "

Interpol, who just announced a summer tour that didn't include a NYC show, will play NYC's United Palace Theatre on Friday, November 5th. Tickets go on AmEx presale Monday, June 28th at 11am. General sale starts Thursday, July 1st at 10am.

That show is a proper hometown show for the band that'll be debuting their new lineup at the semi-closed Creators show on June 26th. Other shows for the quintet include a string of dates in the North America this summer (with a few in New Jersey) and two tours in Europe (one with U2) going into December.

Speaking of the United Palace (and bands with monochromatic wardrobes) - the venue is hosting the xx on October 2rd. That show is part of a tour that'll pair the band with spacey rock group Warpaint and the gothy, operatic Zola Jesus (who just played Glasslands and will be in NY this July). Tickets are still on sale. Right around the time of the show, Zola Jesus will also be dropping a new EP on Sacred Bones (October 12th to be exact). Her tour dates (which include a whole run with the xx and Warpaint) are below...

Continue reading "Interpol adds NYC show, Zola Jesus & Warpaint touring w/ xx"

The xx @ Webster Hall in March (more by Bao Nguyen)

"Marry me, Oliver!" was the cry from a desperate girl in the crowd when the trio finally took the stage under low light to begin systematically breaking hearts, including mine. (Mr. Blue Sky, don't fail me now!!) For those who missed Joy Division the first time, I am so happy you have your own version now -- as Oliver Sim and Romy Croft whispered the first words of a delicately slowed-down "Crystalised," they were joined by hundreds of quiet, worshipful voices in the crowd, and I found myself mesmerized by their totally depressing stage presence. (Croft's sadness alone could make a dorm at Sarah Lawrence crumble into dust.) Their strength comes in stillness, in the ability to distill all the dance grooves of their contemporaries into a single note plucked over and over from a single string. At close distance, they are a stunning live band.

In the back of a muddy tent? Maybe not so stunning -- I crawled out from the mobbed sidestage and wrapped around to the center of gen pop, where the crowd was already starting to wander away, engaged in conversation or spastic dancing or the eating of brown foods. Some dude walked past me and muttered something to his buddy about what would happen if "the dude from Depeche Mode who killed himself" could see this band. I started to notice that from afar, the stoic plucking of a single string with whispered lyrics layered on top doesn't really hold anyone's attention. But there wasn't much I could do short of find a border collie and try to herd people deeper into the tent, so I hung for a while, heard "Basic Space" (my patented I Can Leave If I Hear This Song™ system having gone into effect at midnight), and headed for the car. I may have shuffled my feet despondently a bit on the way there.
[Entertainment Weekly on the xx at Bonnaroo]

As previously mentioned, The xx will be in NYC for a free show at the Central Park SummerStage on Sunday, August 8th with Jack Penate and Chairlift. That's the day after the band plays Lollapalooza, and right before the band heads to Europe for a trip that includes an appearance at Oslo, Norway's Oya Festival. The full Oya lineup is below

The xx will be back in New York this fall for an October 2nd show at United Palace Theatre. Tickets go on sale Friday, June 18th at 11am. That date is part of a fall tour that includes stops at Pop Montreal and Austin City Limits.

All dates, a video from Bonnaroo, the Oya lineup, and the German Melt Festival lineup (they play that too), below...

Continue reading "The xx played Bonnaroo, playing United Palace, Summerstage, Lollapalooza, ACL, Oya, Melt!, Pop Montreal & other dates"

photos by Erez Avissar, words by Andrew Frisicano

In May, Vice and Intel announced the Creators Project, an art & music series that would be hosting events in various cities and on its website. The NYC kick off for that will be Saturday, June 26th at Milk Studios and will include performances by Interpol, Mark Ronson, Die Antwoord, The Rapture, Sleigh Bells, Gang Gang Dance, Salem, N.A.S.A., Neon Indian, Lemonade and others, plus a "very special guest." The event is free; RSVP here. How big is the space exactly? They write that "the eight-floor art gallery and performance space will host thousands of people for live concerts, art exhibits, film screenings and panel discussions by leading artists and the next generation of innovators."

It's the first of five events in different cities- the others are slated for London, Sao Paulo, Seoul and a three-day event Beijing.

For Die Antwoord, it will be their first NYC show, making the July gig at Governors Island their second.

For Interpol, it will be the first time we see them with their new lineup (unless they announce something else soon).

Pictures from the Creators Project announcement event, and a flyer and the full lineup of music and visual art (which includes work by Spike Jonze, Nick Zinner, Danny Perez/Animal Collective's ODDSAC and more) are below...

Continue reading ""Creators Project" announces free show w/ Interpol, Die Antwoord, Mark Ronson, the Rapture, Sleigh Bells, Gang Gang Dance, Neon Indian & more"

ACL 2008 (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

October 8-10, 2010 | Zilker Park, Austin, TX

"The Austin City Limits Music Festival began as a modest, two-day event and now, as it enters it's 9th year, has become a perennial American music experience. Taking place at the heart of Austin, Texas in the legendary Zilker Park, ACL Festival has grown to 3 days, 8 stages and over 130 bands."

Continue reading "Austin City Limits announces 2010 festival lineup (Eagles, Muse, Phish, Strokes, MIA, LCD, Spoon, Gayngs, more) "

The xx @ Webster Hall on March 31st (more by Bao Nguyen)

The xx couldn't stay away too long. Their last NYC show was April 22nd at Terminal 5 with Hot Chip. Their next NYC show will be a free one at Central Park Summerstage on Sunday, August 8th with Jack Penate and Chairlift. St. Vincent, Tune-Yards & Basia Bulat play the same venue one week earlier. Gil Scott-Heron, who a member of the xx is busy remixing, plays Summerstage this summer too.

The xx's only other announced dates at the moment are the tour they're doing from Sasquatch to Bonnaroo. All dates below...

Continue reading "The xx playing Central Park Summerstage w/ Jack Penate & Chairlift (and other dates) "

photos by Rachel Carr

Devo

"An aggregate 225,000 people bought tickets to see a [Coachella] roster headlined by Jay-Z, Muse and Gorillaz during the April 16-18 event at the Empire Polo Grounds in Indio.

The previous attendance record was set in 2007, when the headliners included a reunited Rage Against the Machine. Final figures are still being tallied, but AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips said the gross will exceed $20 million.

Phillips said the future looked bleak for AEG Live's nascent All Points West festival, which took place in 2008 and 2009 across the Hudson River from lower Manhattan at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, N.J.

"We're probably going to kill it," said Phillips. "As beautiful as (the site) is, it's very hard to get New Yorkers to cross that river. All Points West is an experiment that just didn't work." [Reuters]

Continue reading "more photos from Coachella, more confirmation that All Points West is not happening"

Hot Chip @ Terminal 5 - April 22, 2010 (jkrllz)

Hot Chip headlined their first of two shows at Terminal 5 in NYC last night (4/22). The xx, who could probably headline the venue themselves, opened the show. I don't have more pictures this time, and I wasn't at the show, but I found this amusing letter:

Continue reading "The xx & Hot Chip played Terminal 5 (a "self-proclaimed hipster" writes a letter to the fans)"

The xx @ Coachella (more by Rachel Carr)

The xx's ongoing tour, which just made a stop at Coachella, will be in NYC on Thursday, April 22nd for a show at Terminal 5 with Hot Chip.

After their last NY gig at Webster Hall, Jamie xx, who does the band's beats and drum pads live, DJed the afterparty at Santos. This time the party will be at (Le) Poisson Rouge where he'll DJ with (update: with Romy) and Finger On The Pulse. Tickets are on sale. Romy DJ'd the same venue in January (and it sold out).

The band just put out a new video for their song "Islands." That and Jamie's DJing date are below...

Continue reading "new xx "Islands" video, DJ gigs after NYC & Baltimore shows"

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)"

"The 2010 Lollapalooza line-up is official: Soundgarden, Green Day, Lady Gaga, Arcade Fire, The Strokes, and Phoenix will headline, joined by Social Distortion, MGMT, Jimmy Cliff, Hot Chip, and The Black Keys. With 130 bands on this year's bill, its sure to be a weekend long feast for the ears.

It's a monumental year for Lollapalooza, filled with homecomings, reunions, and first-times. Soundgarden, 1992 and 1996 Lollapalooza alumni, return to the Lollapalooza stage for their first performance since 1997. Green Day will rock Grant Park sixteen years after their first Lollapalooza appearance. While Lady Gaga will headline the festival only three short years after playing the BMI stage at Lollapalooza 2007.

Arcade Fire returns to Grant Park, having played the reincarnated Lollapalooza in 2005. This is the first Lollapalooza for The Strokes - and also their first show in four years. And making their Lollapalooza debut: Phoenix." - Lollapalooza

Continue reading "Lollapalooza actually announces 2010 lineup "

photos by Bao Nguyen

"They started their set behind a huge white curtain glorified with epic lighting that showed all three members as huge silhouettes dramatically playing "Intro". They played all of the songs on their debut album, including a cover of a Kyla song called "Do You Mind". Going into the show I was worried about how the xx would put the songs together live while keeping the crowd involved and interested. They had no problem. They gave songs like Basic Space and Night Time a new life live, engaging the crowd with extra bass and dance inspired electronics. Romy Croft and Oliver Sim's voices were top notch live delivering all of their lyrics with the same passionate consignment that made their debut so excellent." [We All Want Some]

The xx didn't play a show on Tuesday night (that we know of... maybe they played an Auto Show party like She & Him did for Audi last night), but jj used her off night to headline Knitting Factory and Nosaj Thing opened for Kode9 and Flying Lotus at Le Poisson Rouge on that evening (which was the show right after Tanlines and Micachu and the Shapes). Reviews of jj's live show haven't been very positive which used to be the same problem The xx had, but now more and more people are starting to say really nice things about the headliner's live show.

After this tour, the xx team up with Hot Chip for shows that include an April 22nd sold out gig at Terminal 5.

Jamie xx (who's working on a remix of Gil Scott-Heron's I'm New Here) DJed after their Webster Hall show at Santos as part of Fixed. Check out his remix of Jack Penate's "Pull My Heart Away" at WNYC. Jamie didn't remix it, but it should be noted that The Notorious xx, a mashup of Notorious B.I.G. and the xx, has been making rounds online.

More pictures and set list from Webster Hall are below...

Continue reading "The xx played Webster Hall w/ jj (who also played KF) & Nosaj Thing (who also played LPR) - pics & setlist"

by Andrew Frisicano

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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