photos by Leia Jospe

Forced to listen to that sucky band Lightning Bolt giving a concert right outside my window:( -Xtine000

Lil Wayne is here at the lightning bolt show no shit!!! -rezound

Lightning Bolt show was fucking mindblowing. Knee is pretty fucked up from mosh. -aMetallurgist

I don't think Lil Wayne was there, but Jay-Z was at the Grizzly Bear show which was happening at the same time in the same borough. Lightning Bolt's new disc, Earthly Delights, comes out October 13th on Load Records.

More pictures below...

Continue reading "Lightning Bolt, Teeth Mountain & Talk Normal @ Broadway Backyard in Brooklyn - pics "

Details below...

Continue reading "Bikes in the Kitchen show Saturday (noon-??)"

DOWNLOAD: Vivian Girls - When I'm Gone (MP3)

photos by Joseph Xu, words by Andrew Frisicano

7:07 p.m.: The Vivian Girls put out one of my favorite albums of 2008, and their brief but hard-hitting set [at the Pitchfork Festival] doesn't disappoint. Big, melodic bass lines provide a foundation for innocent harmony vocals, a mix of tart and sweet that proves irresistible. Only disappointment, they didn't play "Where Do You Run To." [Chicago Tribune]

After a set of September/October tour dates in Japan & Australia, Vivian Girls are also tentatively scheduled to play a Halloween show that will "tentatively" (how Todd P lists it) happen at the Ridgewood Temple (1054 Bushwick Ave). Todd also lists two other shows that same night: Mount Eerie at the Market Hotel with Malkuth and Liturgy, and a show with Wooden Shjips, Religious Knives, and Crystal Stilts (who feature ex-Vivian Girl Frankie Rose on drums) at a venue TBA.

Meanwhile over in South Brooklyn, the Bell House will host a late show with Junior Boys and an early show with the King Khan & BBQ Show and Dum Dum Girls (who feature ex-Vivian Girl and current Crystal Stilt Frankie Rose on drums) (maybe not again though), on a Halloween that is shaping up to be a big night for NYC concerts this year (many that should not be competing).

Mroe pictures and interviews of the Vivian Girls at the Pitchfork Festival, with all tour dates, are below...

Continue reading "Vivian Girls vs Crystal Stilts vs Dum Dum Girls - Halloween 2009 in NYC & tour dates & pics & stuff"

DOWNLOAD: Tyvek - Air Conditioner (MP3)

2NITE's shows @ MARKET HOTEL will definitely feature a huge, awesome, new soundsystem & probably (presuming the installation today goes as scheduled...) AIR CONDITIONING!!!! waiting on some variables for the a/c to happen, but cross your fingers! -Todd P

Continue reading "Market Hotel got a soundsystem & air conditioning (maybe)"

photos by Tim Griffin, words by Andrew Frisicano

The Woodsist/Captured Tracks Festival's Day One (7/3) was moved inside the Market Hotel. Thankfully, the weather held out for its second, 4th of July lineup, which went off as planned in the grassy, rock-filled lot of 979 Broadway Backyard.

I arrived just as Real Estate was going on, and the New Jersey band nearly stole the show with dreamy rock that seemed to be made for a sunny afternoon. The Beets held down their set with a casualness befitting a park lodge show (kind of what the fest was on a slightly bigger scale). The guys gave new meaning to the word "ramshackle" as things seemed to be toppling over continually onstage.

German Measles played a set before I got there. Bill caught them and said they "aren't actually that bad... But they're also not very good. And that kind of seems to be the point. Shambolic is an understatement, like 'why rehearse when we can just play shows?"

The Great Excape did a set of Jersey-style pop-punk that included their own theme song, several politically-themed tunes (a nice touch) and a cover of "Summertime Blues." Ganglians brought one of the day's only keyboards, and burst with a flurry of reverb and overdrive.

Brilliant Colors started out with straight-ahead noise punk, with a bit of a melody void left by their super-reverbed vocals (maybe a theme of the night) and washed-out guitar. When the bass stepped up its riffs a few songs in, the band immediately sounded twice as catchy. The Fresh and Onlys took that bass-forward momentum and went with it. Their bassist pounded the notes in between and then some. As a result, the group had one of the most complete sounds of the night (with a tambourine and three-part harmonies rounding it out). They dedicated their last song to the member of Tyvek in the hospital (the reason for that band's cancellation). Hopefully their situation turns out better.

Dum Dum Girls had to be one of the night's cleanest sounding groups. The band relied heavily on singer Dee Dee's vocals, which harmonized with drummer Frankie Rose on their songs' many hooks.

The atmospheric rock of Woods definitely got jammier as it progressed. As Bill Pearis pointed out, the group's fourth member, who sat on the floor twiddling effects and singing into a microphone strapped to his face, was a bit strange considering the rest of the guys were dressed proper enough for church. Whatever you have to do to make it sound good I suppose.

Kurt Vile & the Violators roared into the night as the sun finally went down. Vile and Vivian Girls (who, as one commenter pointed out, "played with a great intensity") more than warmed up the crowd for Thee Oh Sees, who capped the night (for some) with an unstoppable set. Frontman John Dwyer was literally foaming at the mouth as a streak of white drool smeared across his face for part of the set. Thee Oh Sees' strange, repetition-laced anthems are amazing for shaking and rattling, as the crowd proved. The band even got talked into playing an encore before sending everyone into the night.

The rest of the pictures from Day Two, with a bunch of videos, below...

Continue reading "Woodsist/CT Fest Day Two in pics & video (Thee Oh Sees, Real Estate, Ganglians, Fresh & Onlys, Woods & more)"

DOWNLOAD: Woods - To Clean (MP3)

"...it has been damn near impossible to keep up with [Blank Dog] Mike Sniper's Captured Tracks label, who have hit the ground running with eight releases since the start of the year and many more slated for the near future. Captured Tracks is, to put it plainly, an outlet for Mr. Sniper to release records by bands he loves. In his mind it is "not a boutique label, " and by that he means that the releases are not meant to become instant eBay collectables, and will remain in print as long as there are people buying them. Some will have limited edition versions with alternate artwork or bonuses, but even these editions are easily and widely available. Affordable, available and well made, Captured Tracks is the populist record label. " [Agit Reader]

Continue reading "Woodsist/CT Festival - final 2-day lineup, set times, tickets "

by Andrew Frisicano

The rain held off for Todd P's Unamplified Acoustic BBQ at Fort Tilden Beach on Sunday, June 14th. At the show, a sizable crowd congregated along the dunes where acts from the day's lineup played on acoustic guitars, hand percussion and various other things (xylophone, a small boombox, etc).

Park rangers watched from the hills behind, and only intervened, as far as I could tell, when people walked onto the dunes or into the water.

On the beach, the temperature was at least 10 degrees cooler, with a strong wind that carried away a lot of the sound. I caught a couple acoustic acts, and Puttin on the Ritz' B.J. Rubin, who told a story about going to Monterrey with Todd. White Diamonds decided to spin the unamplified theme, opting for a performance-art set that featured an iPod hooked to a stereo. The band clanked on bells, hit a drum and threw clumps of sand in the air. Even with a bit of sand in their hair, everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.

It looks like the group moved toward the water later in the day to gather more closely around the bands (via Dumbo Books of Brooklyn)...

The bands started moving down to the water as the day waned. As far as we could hear, nobody introduced anyone, and when bands alternated, they sometimes passed on their instruments.

We noticed what we think was Todd P talking to the park rangers back by the rise where the beach begins (or ends). On our way out via the concrete path, we asked the park rangers if we could take their photos. No dice, not even for an alter kocker wearing a blue Rockaway Beach Surf Shop t-shirt. But the rangers, who tolerated the nude beach back in our day at least, said they enjoyed the day and had no trouble.

Continue reading "Todd P's 2009 unamplified BBQ @ Fort Tilden Beach - pics "

Clouds @ Webster Hall in 2008 (more by Jason Bergman)

tonight in NYC
* DANCE
* THIS WEEK IN INDIE
* SUNDAY AT NORTHSIDE
* Baby Gramps @ Jalopy Theatre
* Mira Billotte @ Bruar Falls (NS)
* Ponytail, Thank You @ Studio B (NS)
* Alarm Will Sound @ (Le) Poisson Rouge
* Vision Festival @ Abrons Arts Center
* Erik Friedlander, Alan Licht @ The Stone
* Laura Gibson, Musee Mecanique @ Union Hall
* The Sundelles, Air Waves, Browns @ Bruar Falls (NS)
* The Coathangers, K-Holes, Ex-Humans @ Glasslands (NS)
* Todd P's Unamplified Acoustic BBQ @ Fort Tilden Beach
* Black Dice, Awesome Color, Soft Circle @ Bowery Ballroom
* Telekinesis, An Horse, Fol Chen, Solid Gold @ Mercury Lounge
* The Dodos, Phil and the Osophers, Laura Gibson @ Studio B (NS)
* So Cow, Knight School, Gutsies, The Specific Heats @ Shea Stadium
* Mika Miko, Strange Boys, X-Ray Eyeballs, Silk Flowers @ Cake Shop
* Bill Callahan, Sir Richard Bishop @ Music Hall of Williamsburg (NS)
* Susu, King's Crescent, Martin Bisi, Alina Simone, Kerry Kennedy @ Spike Hill (NS)
* Ida Maria, Prayer for Animals, Aaron Behrens, The Dirty Banquet @ The Bell House
* The Drums, Drawlings, Dinosaur Feathers, La Strada, Wild Yaks @ Public Assembly (NS)
* Doomriders, Clouds, Sourvein, Cough, Unearthly Trance, Javelina, Howl, Litury, Wetnurse @ Europa (NS)

NS=Northside Festival

Northside, Bonnaroo and Download Festivals all close today.

It's also Day Two of the Big Apple BBQ.

MHOW hosts Sir Richard Bishop & his Freak of Araby Ensemble and Bill Callahan. It'll be your last chance to catch either perfomer in NYC for a while, and to view the first-ever BrooklynVegan photo show.

BrooklynVegan's Black Bubblegum-curated Northside metal showcase at Europa is tonight. Zoroaster, who was forced to cancel because of injury, has been replaced by Unearthly Trance. Still time to grab your ticket.

Ponytail's Northside show tonight has been moved from The Shank to Studio B. Tickets are still on sale.

We recently posted an MP3 of cellist Erik Friedlander. Tonight he plays an original program entitled "Block Ice & Propane--Taking Trips to America: Stories & Images" at the Stone. The composition "inspired by Erik's experiences as a child traveling across the United States with his family during the 1960's and '70s" will be accompanied by work from filmmaker Bill Morrison and Erik's family photos.

King's Crescent at Spike Hill tonight will feature Fiery Furnaces' Matthew Friedberger and Bob D'Amico.

Laura Gibson plays a Northside show opening for the Dodos at Studio B and headlines at Union Hall tonight. Those will be your only chance to catch the Portland singer -- her June 16th Mercury Lounge show with Sharon Van Etten appears to have been canceled.

Black Dice play the Bowery Ballroom with Awesome Color and Soft Circle.

Todd P's Unamplified Acoustic BBQ @ Fort Tilden Beach is today. A message from Todd on the show, with its full lineup, is posted below...

Continue reading "What's going on Sunday?"

by Black Bubblegum

DOWNLOAD: Liturgy - "Ecstatic Rite" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Howl - "Oma" (MP3)

Howl

A few months after wowing me at SXSW (twice), Relapse Records have announced the signing of Providence's Howl! Congrats dudes and lady!

Howl is one of many greats lined up for the BV-BBG Northside Show at Club Europa on June 14th. Make sure that night is free to receive a severe pummeling from:

* Doomriders
* Zoroaster
* Clouds
* Sourvein
* Javelina
* Cough
* Howl
* Wetnurse
* Liturgy

Liturgy dropped their 2008 LP Immortal Life on Infinite Limbs (get it here), but have completed recording on their next LP, Renihilation, which will see will release on the mighty 20 Buck Spin (!!!) this fall. "Ecastatic Rite" is from that LP, and downloadable above.

The band will be playing a double header on June 14th, having also lined up an acoustic (!) gig earlier in the day along with 47 others as part of Todd P's Unamplified Acoustic BBQ.

And you can catch Liturgy TONIGHT, Friday, June 5th, at Market Hotel. They're on the bill with Titan, Child Abuse, Nymph, and Gay Beast.

Liturgy is also part of an ongoing art exhibition at Dispatch entitled Mirror Me by Brandon Stosuy & Kai Althoff. More details on that exhibition are here.

All Liturgy dates, and a video from a previous time they played Market Hotel, are below...

Continue reading "Howl sign to relapse (MP3), Liturgy playing BV-BBG show (Northside), acoustic BBQ (Todd P) & Market Hotel (tonight)"

Sunday June 14th @ FORT TILDEN BEACH
:: FREE ALL AGES UNAMPLIFIED ACOUSTIC BBQ 2009
:: each year we throw an informal, quiet party in a beautiful public place, w/
:: many diverse musicians playing two or three songs w/ no amplification
:: this year, it's on Fort Tilden Beach in the Rockways! best beach in NYC! [Todd P]

Continue reading "Todd P's UNAMPLIFIED ACOUSTIC BBQ 2009 (at Fort Tilden)"

Broadway Backyard (more by Tim Griffin)

Woodsist and Captured Tracks have joined forces with Todd P to present a two-day festival of bands at Broadway Backyard in Brooklyn this July 3rd and 4th. More info and full lineup (so far) below....

Continue reading "Woodsist & Captured Tracks throwing a festival in Brooklyn"

words by Andrew Frisicano, photos by Tim Griffin

Dan Deacon, wearing an arm sling because of a dislocated shoulder, played three shows in NYC over the weekend (3/16 & 3/17). The first was a performance at 979 Broadway Backyard, an open lot in Bushwick, Brooklyn under the M train. The spacious spot was a mixture of rocky terrain, freshly cut grass and refuse-laced rubble. Amazingly, even with stage diving through most of the show and Dan Deacon's constant dancing instructions that sent people running across the space, there weren't any (more) major injuries (that I know of) from falling on the dark, uneven ground.

Acoustically, Deacon and the band sounded much better than at their Brooklyn Masonic Temple performance last December (didn't see NYU in April). "The ensemble," as Deacon referred to his band throughout the night, played clearly, with a sound that added nuance to Deacon's usual overblown-synth sound.

Dan Deacon stood on stage all set and filled the space between songs with instructions for dancing, rants about elves, warnings about stavediving (particularly after someone knocked his gear on to the front row) and appreciation to the neighborhood. The heavy crowd participation (singing, making people-bridges, dancing in a circle) came off as genuine and matched the spirit of the ad hoc venue (which I'm sure took a lot of cooperation to get together), its summer-fest vibe and the energetic crowd.

Teeth Mountain and Future Islands opened the show. One commenter writes that "homosexuals were an unannounced special guest, right at 6:15."

The second and third Dan Deacon shows of the weekend were at the Bowery Ballroom on Saturday, March 16th. How were they? On Sunday he played the 9:30 Club in DC, and like they did for Animal Collective, NPR recorded and is streaming the whole show.

More pictures from the Friday show with all tour dates from Dan Deacon's upcoming European tour, below...

Continue reading "Dan Deacon played Broadway Backyard in Bushwick (pics), Bowery Ballroom & the 9:30 Club (NPR stream) "

Dan Deacon @ NYU (more by Anna Scialli)

Dan Deacon and his ensemble kicked off their current tour at NYU in April. and now they're back for three NYC shows this weekend. The first, which previously had a TBA location, will be happening in Brooklyn tonight (5/15) at 979 Broadway Backyard (map). Todd P writes

2NITE, early! - a huge outdoor DAN DEACON ENSEMBLE extravaganza, starts early evening in the same HUGE lot under the train in Bushwick where Lightning Bolt played last fall! It's a beautiful urban outdoor space, & we've got an amazing rainout location hooked up directly across the street in that gorgeous old neoclassical bank building "martial arts studio" @ Broadway & Stuyvesant. It'll be phenomenal, rain or shine!

Dan Deacon played with So Percussion at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple show on December 11th, 2008, with the Dirty Projectors. On Friday, May 22nd, So Percussion are scheduled to premiere a new piece by Dan Deacon at Galapagos in Brooklyn. That composition, still a work-in-progress, "may include pouring liquids onstage, amplified coke bottles, and other oddities..." The show is part of the Undiscovered Islands series (which presents a show with violist Nadia Sirota and others, tonight/Friday).

Full lineup for the Friday night Dan Deacon show below...

Continue reading "Dan Deacon is here -- 1st of 3 shows is in Bushwick tonight ++ So Percussion performs Dan's work next week"

words & photos by Jacob Blickenstaff

(It was this photograper's first Todd P show in NYC, I guess I'm quite late getting on the bandwagon, but oh well.)

I checked the address a couple times before opening the door of the unmarked building across from an auto salvage, somewhere in the back of my head asking 'what would Liz Lemmon do in this situation'.

An hour after doors was apparently still a couple hours early to get there. The three bands on the bill from Philly (all except Gary War) were delayed by the crummy spring rain storms that befell the region. Todd P paced around, making eclectic selections on his iPod and announcing to the small crowd distributed on the couches that there was a rain delay. It was cold and damp, wind blew in through the open and broken windows and a resident orange tabby climbed in and out making its way over to a Fender amp to use its grill as a scratching pad. Spirits picked up for Todd and his crew when the pizza guy arrived.

Expecting unhinged DIY bacchanalia, the vibe turned out to be subdued and mellow. The opening band, Birds of Maya, was the last to arrive. There were reports they had gotten lost in the no-man's-land of outer Bushwick/Ridgewood. They set up quickly and played a short set, hard rock riffs with impressive 'dee-da-lee dee-da-lee waaaaah' guitar solos. Next was U.S. Girls consisting of Megan Remy and a red suitcase containing a cassette recorder and a couple pedals. Her voice and reminded me of Cindy Lauper even through the distortion and chant-like structures of her songs. Gary War was third with a three-piece outfit playing fast-paced punk stuff with some kind of underwater/Aquaman sounding effect on the vocals.

Now to Kurt Vile - I liked this guy. Underneath the codification of his music as psych, lo-fi, bedroom music, etc. is a very good singer/ guitarist/songwriter. Kurt played acoustic guitar, run through a bit of effect and echo, and sang. He started and ended solo, and had two additional guitar players with him, one of whom also played a mean harmonica on one song. Led by the guitar and the lyric, the music was much more direct than anything I had heard of on his recordings. Some of the songs did have a cyclical, drone structure but there was movement within it, and the lyrics and delivery pulled me in like Lou Reed singing a Leonard Cohen recording with the Band in the basement of Big Pink. The guitar work owed a lot to John Fahey (and I mean that as a compliment) with the finger picking, echo effect and alternate tunings. I hate to throw such big names around, but there is something special to Vile's songs and music and I hope the music world will see it all come together soon.

More pictures from the show below...

Continue reading "Birds of Maya, U.S. Girls, Gary War & Kurt Vile @ Silent Barn in Ridgewood, Queens - pics"

by Bill Pearis

I saw upwards of 50 bands during the four days of SXSW. These were the most memorable. I think.

--

1. Pete and the Pirates (Emo's Annex, 3.20.2009)

Easily the best band I saw at SxSW this year. Of course, as their album Little Death made my Best of 2008, I already had a predilection to like them but Pete and the Pirates so nailed their great songs live -- the harmonies, the guitar interplay, everything -- that I just had a big grin on my face the whole time. My only regret: not seeing them more than once.

Continue reading "Bill's Top 10 SXSW 2009 highlights (with pics, videos)"

photos by Leia Jospe

"CD sales are down. Digital hasn't caught up. Record companies are consolidating. New bands are trying to find their own way.

Despite all the challenging news, thousands of industry professionals and eager music fans turned out for the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin, Texas, over the weekend. The festival, tailored to recording industry talent seekers and the talent they seek, officially ended Sunday.

While optimism ran high at the five-day whirlwind of panel discussions, trade shows, live concerts and private parties, much of the conversation throughout the event focused on the sobering reality of the music industry's uncertain future.

"Obviously we're going through a transition. All of the major record labels have gone through some sort of cost-cutting and consolidation over the last few years," said Rand Hoffman, head of business and legal affairs at Interscope Geffen A&M Records.

"Right now CD sales are falling more rapidly than digital is going up," he told a group of SXSW festival-goers at a panel discussion on the future of the industry." [CNN]

Continue reading "SXSW 2009 - Day 3 in photos by Leia"

by Andrew Frisicano

USAISAMONSTER @ the 1896 (more by Lori Baily)

-founded in early 2000 by Tom Hohmann and Colin Langenus out of the ruins of Boston legends Bull Roarer

-spring 2000, 1st incarnation includes 7 people, releases self titled diy cdr, does 1 week south eastern usa tour, breaks up

-summer 2000, becomes 4 piece with Jeremy Harris and Adam Tabor, diy releases trippy yet wholesome cdr, weedblood cdr, and soul jerker 7"er, does 1 week north eastern USA tour, breaks up -[USAISAMONSTER's web bio]

Before that final gig, the band also has a monthlong European tour in April, and two other planned NYC shows: on March 25th, USAISAMONSTER will join Arabrot (Norway), Uke of Spaces (Maine), Caethua (Maine) and Weirding Module at Brooklyn's Death By Audio. Then, on Thursday, April 2nd , USAISAMONSTER plays with Library is on Fire, Pterodactyl and Dj Scotty Karate at Glasslands Gallery.

All tour dates, a video from the band's "Brooklyn vs. Baltimore" show appearance on January 30th, and a full three-song set from Brilliant Corners in Keene, NH (recorded on April 21st, 2007), below...

Continue reading "USAISAMONSTER calls it quits - final 2009 dates (3 NY shows)"

Dirty Projectors @ Brooklyn Masonic Temple (more by Zach Stern)

Todd P's line-up of free/donations all-ages SXSW parties in Austin this year includes Dave Longstreth and (Angel) Deradoorian both solo on Friday night.

That and many more in the full schedule below...

Continue reading "Todd P's 2009 SXSW schedule"

Aids Wolf (DAVID WALDMAN. KWC)

"We are a cult . ************************ AIDS Wolf are the preeminent Formalist/Unknown Wave quartet, formed in Montreal, 2003. They have released two full-length records on SKiN GRAFT Records and Lovepump United as well as numerous collaborations, splits and seven inches. The membership is Chloe "Deluxxx" Skum on flamejob scream, Yannick "NoNo" Desranleau on Total Downward Thunder, Myles "BOP" Broscoe on Electric Mountain Range and Alex "Kozz" Moskos on Split-Skreen Desert Guitar. The band works and lives in Montreal, where they are presently composing material for concept record on Canadian Prime Ministers and French Military Strategy circa 1759, working on a Throbbing Gristle cover and eating well. **********************"

Continue reading "AIDS Wolf - 2009 Tour Dates (NYC tonight, US Girls, SXSW) "

Teengirl Fantasy (photo by josh sisk)

You don't hear too much from Celebration lately. Well, not totally true. The Baltimore band, known for being tight with Brooklyn's TV on the Radio, are credited as collborators on the new Holly Miranda album that was co-produced by TV on the Radio's Dave Sitek. And this Saturday night, February 21st, Celebration plays a Brooklyn show at Glasslands - the very venue members of TV on the Radio have turned up to play with their side projects in the last few weeks. TV on the Radio also have a NYC show coming up. Holly Miranda has a couple too.

Sound Fix Records, the venue, is not long for this world. Upcoming free shows there include a Friday night (tonight) performance by The Forms, and a Saturday one by Howlies. Tonight's Forms show, presented by Guilt by Association, also doubles as a Sound Fix benefit show, so look for the tip jar as its being passed around. Howlies' record "Trippin With Howlies" is out now. That is the occasion they'll be celebrating when they come back to town to play Death By Audio on February 26th.

Telepathe have been added to the Ladytron and Faint tour in April. That means they'll be playing Webster Hall on the 10th and 11th of that month. No need to wait that long though. In addition to some shows at SXSW in March, you can catch Telepathe twice in NYC this weekend, courtesy of Todd P. Tonight, February 20th, the show is at Market Hotel with These Are Powers, Teengirl Fantay, Soft Circle and Katie Eastburn. Saturday they play with Teengirl Fantasy, Hawnay Troof, and Silk Flowers at 92Y Tribeca. Todd P says...

Especially excited about the 2 shows this weekend featuring TEENGIRL FANTASY from Oberlin, Ohio. Teengirl Fantasy, aka Logan Takahashi and Nick Weiss, are two young guys currently attending Oberlin College, together they make drum machine and sampler heavy dance music that steals as much from the underground noise scene as it does from the dance world. Teengirl Fantasy smash those influences to make transcendently catchy adrenaline anthems that get everyone dancing.

Continue reading "Forms, Howlies, Telepathe, Celebration & Teengirl Fantasy"

The Jackson Ave Steakhouse (via)

Vanishing Point's schedule still lists show starting on February 22nd. Maybe it's reopening soon. All I know is it was closed against its will since at least Friday the 13th.

In more positve NYC venue news, "Thanks to your top citizen Todd P, we've got a new all-ages DIY steakhou--er, show-space starting up this weekend." Stake House, aka The Jackson, is located at 12-23 Jackson Ave in Long Island City, Queens. Details for both of this weekend's shows, below...

Continue reading "The Jackson (Stake House) open, Vanishing Point closed"

photos by Toby Tenenbaum

Nathan Williams's starter Flock of Seagulls haircut was silly with sweat, slapping at his face and neck as he jerked around on the tiny stage at Less Artists More Condos in the West Village on Saturday night. But after nearly every song he stopped for a look in the virtual mirror. Not at the hair, but at less likely concerns. Was his guitar tuned properly? (It was not.) Could he hit the notes the next song required? (Define hit. And notes.) Musing about whether he could pull off a particular number, he demurred -- "No. I can't. Sorry." -- and then dove in anyway.

Slickness isn't really a concern for Mr. Williams, a one-man band from San Diego who records as Wavves, but crispness is. His terrific second album, "Wavvves" (Fat Possum), teems with scrappy, energetic, summery chunks of noisy pop: smart-aleckyness via Weezer, cooing via the Beach Boys, all masked by digital effects and a thick garage-rock haze. (The album is to be released this week on iTunes and next month on CD.) [NYTIMES]

Wavves will reportedly be back in NYC at the end of March.

Nodzzz went on first at Less Artists More Condos. Toby could't get through the door in time, but he did get lots of pics of the rest of the show. More of them below...

Continue reading "WAVVES, Woods, Blank Dogs (and Nodzzz) @ Less Artists More Condos, NYC - pics"

photos by Lori Baily

Vivian Girls were the last-minute/secret early-opener. More pictures from Friday night's show below...

Continue reading "Brooklyn vs. Baltimore (Dan Deacon, etc) @ the 1896 - pics"

HELLO EASTERN SEABOARD!

big news: FRIDAY'S SHOW HAS -MOVED- [from Danbro] TO: "THE 1896 -- 215 INGRAHAM ST @ GARDNER AVE

repeating: this Friday's -$3- epic mega show w/ Baltimore & Brooklyn bands has -MOVED-

here's the new info:

| THE 1896 |
215 Ingraham St @ Gardner Ave | East Williamsburg / Bushwick, Bklyn
L-Jefferson | 8pm | all ages | --| $3 |--

all other details remain the same, two stages, bands playing staggerred one after the other, great times, two towns coming together, etc

pro PA system on both stages, in two beautiful -heated- rooms, both w/ vaulted ceilings & great sightlines.

More Friday night show details below...

Continue reading "THE 1896 is the new location of Brooklyn vs. Baltimore "

Last night on Kent Ave (Photos by i'mjustsayin.)

"Around 1:30 a.m. alerts came in about a "fire in a factory/restaurant" on Kent Avenue (map) in Williamsburg. Word is coming in now that the "early morning fire gutted a landmark Northside diner, causing damage to an adjacent arts collective at Kent Avenue and Metropolitan." The establishment suffering extensive damages is the former Miss Williamsburg Diner (more recently 718), with the two-story building next door getting less scathed.

While the diner may be a long time fixture in the neighborhood (even making a cameo in Charlie Kaufman's Synechdoche, New York), the neighboring building known as "Monster Island" has recently drawn crowds through promoter Todd P. It also houses the Live With Animals and Secret Project Robot galleries, Mollusk surf shop, and possibly some band practice spaces". [Gothamist]

Todd P, shortly after I posted, added the good news that "through a stroke of very good luck, Monster Island survived this fire unscathed. Thanks everyone, especially the FDNY, for your help and your concerns!" He also told me that the damage was even just limited to a kicked in door and a broken window.

The Brooklyn music gods aren't happy right now. Just yesterday came the news that Sound Fix is closing their bar and stage.