Tokyo Police Club played their first of five NYC shows last night....

TPC, NYC, 2008
April 20 @ Bowery Ballroom (LAST NIGHT) (how was it?)
April 21 @ Music Hall of Williamsburg (TONIGHT)
April 22 @ Bowery Ballroom
April 22 @ Virgin Megastore, Union Square (7pm, free)
April 23 @ Sound Fix of Williamsburg (hopefully) (8pm, free)

Their new record "Elephant Shell" is out April 22nd. Until then (tomorrow) you can listen to the whole thing @ MTVu. All tour dates and their new video below....

Continue reading "Tokyo Police Club - 5 NYC shows (2 free), new album stream"

Tickets just went back on sale for the two previously-sold-out Tokyo Police Club shows at Bowery Ballroom (Sunday & Tuesday). They're also playing a third (also sold out) NYC at Music Hall of Williamsburg (Monday).

DOWNLOAD: Tokyo Police Club - In A Cave (MP3)

TPC tour dates here. "Elephant Shell" release info below...

Continue reading "Tokyo Police Club - In A Cave (new MP3)"

Apr. 20 - Bowery Ballroom (sold out)
Apr. 21 - Music Hall of Williamsburg (still on sale)
Apr. 22 - Bowery Ballroom (on sale Thursday @ noon)

TPC in the basement of Roseland, NYC (Leia Jospe)

Following on one of the most well received 16 minutes of music in recent history (2006's A Lesson In Crime EP), Ontario's favorite sons TOKYO POLICE CLUB confirm the completion and release of their first full length album, Elephant Shell, due out late April on Saddle Creek in North America and Memphis Industries in the UK.

Continue reading "Tokyo Police Club - new album - 2008 Tour Dates"

* American Music Awards
* VNV Nation is at Music Hall
* Ani Difranco is playing Town Hall
* The Bird and the Bee are @ the Gramercy Theatre
* Buck 65 was moved from Bowery Ballroom to Mercury Lounge

The American Music Awards are on tonight, The White Stripes (friends of Beck) are up for Favorite "Alternative Rock Music" Artist. Their competition? Linkin Park and My Chemical Romance (only three artists are nominated in each category). Nickelback, Maroon 5 & Linkin Park are competing for "Favorite Band, Duo or Group". I guess there's no reason to watch that one. Performers include Duran Duran (who were recently affected by the Broadway strike) and Rihanna (who appears on a new disc of Def Jam rarities). Slash (who has a new book out) and Gene Simmons (who doesn't care about Radiohead) are both presenting awards.

Speaking of awards, below you'll find a bunch of videos from the mtvU ones (including one of Spank Rock live-blogging). What else?

Continue reading "What's Going on Sunday? (American Music Awards)"

Tickets go on sale Wednesday for a December 18th Lupe Fiasco "record release" show at the Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza. The new record is called "The Cool", and the first single "Superstar" is streaming at Lupe's page.

I saw Lupe Fiasco perform last week - ONE WHOLE SONG (and with a member of Fall Out Boy) at the mtvU awards at Roseland - the same show Spank Rock was drunk at. That's Lupe in the photo above. It was taken by Leia Jospe for BrooklynVegan. So were all the other pictures in this post. More photos of Lupe, Rilo Kiley (played 2 or 3 songs), Annie Lennox (accepted an award), Peter Bjorn and John (nominated, men about town), Spank Rock (played 2 songs), Tokyo Police Club (played 2 or 3 songs, then explored the basement of Roseland with us) & other characters present at the event....

Continue reading "LUPE FIASCO playing NYC + pics from the 2007 WOODIES (Tokyo Police Club, Spank Rock, Rilo Kiley)"

DOWNLOAD: Tokyo Police Club - Citizens of Tomorrow (MP3)

not actually Amy Winehouse (CRED) (MORE)

Amy Winehouse's father Mitch has claimed that his daughter cannot get into the USA because she was duped into signing a drugs possession confession.

The singer's father told 'This Morning' that Amy was asked to sign a form after her recent arrest in Norway but she did not know what she was signing. Winehouse and her husband Blake Fielder-Civil were arrested for possession of marijuana but the singer's father claims that this was a mistake. "It didn't belong to her, it belonged to someone else on the tour. They arrested Blake, Amy and the person who was responsible."

"They only released them after they signed a form, which they were told was a release form," he said.

"It was in Norwegian. It was actually a confession, so this is being dealt with now by the Norwegian authorities and the British consulate because the ramifications of that are that she now cant get into the States and she was meant to go next week."

Amy is also scheduled to play Saturday Night Live on November 10th. More TPC tour dates below..

Continue reading "Tokyo Police Club playing Woodies. Amy Winehouse? SNL"

DOWNLOAD: Tokyo Police Club - Be Good (from Dinner with the Band) (MP3)

outside Bowery Ballroom - Aug 13, 2007

All I know is that after Tokyo Police Club finished their set (and one-song encore), I went outside and there was this guy on the ground surrounded by police. I snapped the above photo with my phone. A second guy was wiping blood off his own nose, and then an ambulance came, and then the guy you see on the ground was taken off in the police car. Exact details are unknown, but supposedly the guy in handcuffs (probably very drunk) just decided to walk up to this other guy near the end of TPC's set, and just punch him right in the face for no reason - possibly to try and start up a mosh pit or something.

TPC played a great set, that, for them - was long, and full of new material. I'm excited to hear their new album coming out on Saddle Creek. They're about to start recording it any day now. I also (surprisingly) really enjoyed Harlem Shakes' opening set, and even the one by opener-opener King Left. I didn't take pictures (inside), but here's one I like from a show they recently played in their hometown of Toronto....

On October 3rd, TPC is opening for Bloc Party at the Theatre at MSG in NYC. More tour dates, and TPC's new video for 'Citizens of Tomrrow', below....

Continue reading "guy arrested @ TOKYO POLICE CLUB @ Bowery Ballroom, new video, Bloc Party"

Tokyo Police Club @ Glastonbury 2007 (CRED)

Fresh off an appearance at the 2007 Glastonbury Festival, Tokyo Police Club have added a 2nd show at Bowery Ballroom in August.

some of TPC's 2007 Tour Dates
8/10 - Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY (SOLD OUT)
8/11 - Maxwell's, Hoboken, NJ (SOLD OUT)
8/12 - Middle East Downstairs Cambridge, MA
8/13 - Bowery Ballroom New York, NY (NEW)

Tickets will probably go on sale Wednesday? More tour dates & a new TPC video HERE. An interview with TPC HERE, and even more TPC HERE. Bloc Party @ Glastonbury HERE, and more pics from Glastobury HERE.

The video quailty on these Dinner w/ The Band things is really good...

Continue reading "VIDEO: Tokyo Police Club on Dinner w/ The Band"

Pitchfork premiered the real video today, so rather than repost it, here's one live from Sasquatch of the same new single....

Continue reading "VIDEO: Tokyo Police Club - Your English is Good (live)"

The following review of Day 2 (May 27, 2007) of the 2007 Sasquatch! Festival in George, Washington is brought to you by Jerry Yeti exclusively for BrooklynVegan.com. If you're just joining us, you may want to start with Day 1.

Things kicked off at the Gorge on Sunday with a few more blankets, a nice spot on the terraced grass, and a sweet DJ set by Mix Master Mike. This was followed up by the hip hop duo Blackalicious. Both of these acts got the early attendees jumping. Blackalicious brought out their "Alphabet Aerobics" with its increasingly sped up delivery, but it was "Rhythm Sticks" that got people truly moving. If the ground wasn't on bedrock, the floor would have given way under all that impact.

All warmed up, Bad Brains was the only set on Sunday we were sure not going to miss. While we waited near the epicenter of anticipated mayhem, one of their most enthusiastic fans attempted to get others around him equally as stoked. He singled out a small guy that -as he informed him- was going to be propelled into the air. And sure enough, when the band appeared, he launched the poor kid into the unsuspecting crowd behind him. No, the bedrock below him did not give way. As the mosh pit grew in size, so did the size of the guys thrashing around in it. One giant of a man wore a Professional Slam Wresting shirt and bulldozed his way around. H.R. is a startling front man, appearing quite tranquil despite the tumult below - like a prophet amidst a storm. Dashingly dressed, if you had a video on mute, you would be baffled by the calm on stage, and the reaction below.

Unfortunately that was the last full set on the main stage before Polyphonic Spree had to cease for the blustery wind. It got cold within minutes, and sundown was still four hours away. While the crew re-prepped the stage to handle the winds, and let the worst of them pass, people migrated over to Tokyo Police Club at the Wookie. The Toronto band sensed they were playing for a much larger crowd, and they delivered. Their invigoration and charm very likely won over a few new fans.....

Continue reading "Sasquatch! 2007 | Sunday review in words & pics"

DOWNLOAD: Tokyo Police Club - Be Good (live on Daytrotter) (MP3)

Montreal's BrooklynVegan Mike sat down with Toronto's Tokyo Police Club at a show they were playing in Montreal in early April. They talked about such topics as how the band got their start, Pop Montreal, Daytrotter, Pitchfork, Cold War Kids, NME, and they may have even started a feud with UK buzz band the Horrors. Full transcript below.....

(BrooklynVegan Mike in BOLD...)

I read the bio of the band on the website, and I had a couple questions about it. If you read enough one sheets, you get a romanticized view of how a band comes together. On yours, it mentions how when you first formed, no one was really into your stuff at all, and then this Pop Montreal invitation came about. Is that accurate?

Graham: Yeah. I wrote the bio. I was trying to copy one-sheets as much as I could. I was trying to be pro. That's entirely true.
Josh: It wasn't that no one was into it, just that we weren't playing at all.
Graham: Right. And then playing Pop Montreal was the only thing that made us be a band. In all seriousness, if it wasn't for that Pop Montreal festival, we wouldn't have done anything. Ever. I cannot overstate the importance of Pop Montreal.
Josh: Before Pop Montreal we played a few low key shows in Toronto, for other bands, you know? Pop Montreal was the first time we played to a crowd, at all, that was there to see us.

So how did you get the invite? Did you know someone?

Dave: We just sent our application and twenty bucks in the mail.
Graham: We had always talked about applying for things like CMW and North By Northeast and other stuff around Toronto but we never got around to it. We are lazy guys. For whatever reason, the Pop Montreal thing actually got done. I don't know why. We actually had to do work for it. I guess it was just the hand of fate.
Josh: It was the best twenty bucks we ever spent.

Continue reading "an Interview with Tokyo Police Club"

Though technically signed to Paperbag Records in Canada, Tokyo Police Club are practically an unsigned band who are young, and doing awesome things like playing Letterman and headlining Bowery Ballroom (tickets on sale) (Maxwell's too), so enquiring minds what to know just WHO they will finally sign with. Will it be a major? Will it not be a major? Word on the street says it will be....Saddle Creek - home of Bright Eyes, The Faint, Cursive, and Maria Taylor (not a major). Maybe, maybe not.

Other people who recently signed on the dotted line
* Marissa Nadler signs to Kemado records (duh)
* Caribou (not Manitoba) signs to Merge

Merge Records is thrilled to announce that we will be releasing Andorra the new album from Caribou on August 21st, 2007. The album will be released in Europe on August 20th (City Slang).

Merge Records is proud to announce that we will be releasing Our Ill Wills, the new album from Swedish pop wunderkinds Shout Out Louds, in September of 2007. The new album, which is a follow up to their extraordinary debut, Howl Howl Gaff Gaff, will be in stores on September 11th 2007. Our Ill Wills contains 12 tracks recorded in Sweden during the late fall of 2006. The album was produced by Bjorn Yttling of Peter Bjorn & John.

Toronto-based Arts & Crafts Productions are pleased to announce the signing of Cardiff, Wales septet Los Campesinos! to their North American roster of artists and will release Los Campesinos! enhanced debut EP Sticking Fingers Into Sockets on July 3rd.

Aussie sextet Architecture in Helsinki has signed to the Polyvinyl Record Co. for North America. AIH will release its new single "Heart It Races" on the label on CD, 12" and digital formats on June 5 and its eagerly awaited third full-length album Places Like This on Aug. 7. To make things more interesting, there will be several different remixes and cover versions of "Heart it Races" released as B-sides. The band will be touring the US in June.

Mute Records announces brand new signing Maps, a.k.a. James Chapman. Debut album We Can Create is set for release on Mute North America June 19th, 2007.

----

Stay tuned soon for an upcoming Tokyo Police Club interview by BrooklynVegan Mike where we don't ask them about Saddle Creek, but do ask them other stuff.

DOWNLOAD: Tokyo Police Club - Cheer It On (Trey Told Em remix) (MP3)

Tokyo Police Club are on Letterman tonight (April 19, 2007). The remix above is by Girl Talk sort of...

Trey Told 'Em is a new project dedicated to doing remixes, beats, and production work. Its members are Gregg Gillis (aka Girl Talk) and Frank Musarra, who also records electronic/rock music as Hearts of Darknesses and plays drums for various bands.

Tokyo Police Club @ South Street Seaport, NYC - Aug 25, 2006 (CRED)

Here's a list of the upcoming free concerts at South Street Seaport this year....

June 1 - Animal Collective & Danielson (River to River launch show)
June 16 - Brooklyn Philharmonic (w/ Target Children's Day & Fireworks)
June 17 - The Jonas Brothers
June 29 - TBA
July 6 - Fujiya & Migyagi & TBA
July 13 - Menomena & TBA (in conjunction w/ Brooklyn Vegan & Citysol)
July 20 - Bishop Allen & Rock Plaza Central
July 27 - TBA
August 3 - Turntables on the Hudson – Billie Holiday Remixed and Reimagined
August 10 - Au Revoir Simone & Metronomy
August 17 - The National & Takka Takka & The Forms
August 24 - TBA
August 31 - Battles & TBA
September 7 - TBA

More TPC tour dates here. More River to River concert listings here. The latest Summerstage schedule here. Look out for Girl Talk in Playgirl.

New "Cheer it On" video (Canadian version) below...

Continue reading "updated 2007 South Street Seaport concert schedule ++ Tokyo Police Club & Trey Told 'Em (REMIX)"

How were the shows?

Tokyo Police Club @ Bowery Ballroom, NYC - April 7, 2007 (CRED)

Tokyo Police Club played two shows with the Cold War Kids at Bowery Ballroom in NYC this weekend. Cold War Kids play a third show without Tokyo Police Club tonight (April 9) at Bowery, so Tokyo Police Club are playing their own sold out third show at Mercury Lounge.

Tokyo Police Club are touring again in August - they play their own show at Bowery Ballroom on August 10th. All tour dates below....

Continue reading "Tokyo Police Club in NYC + more 2007 Tour Dates"

DOWNLOAD: Loney, Dear - I am John (MP3)

Tokyo Police Club are touring with Cold War Kids. That puts them at Bowery Ballroom on April 6th, 7th AND 9th. They're also playing Mercury Lounge on the 9th. Tickets are still on sale.

Loney, Dear (yes, the, comma, is, part, of, his, name) is touring with Of Montreal. That puts him at Irving Plaza on March 10th. Two nights later he's playing with Tunng at Union Hall in Brooklyn. Tickets are still on sale.

Loney, Dear's album Loney, Noir came out last week on Sub Pop.

Tokyo Police Club just played the Plug Awards, but I missed them because they started too early I got there too late.

Previously
Loney, Dear | 2007 Tour Dates & CMJ pics
Tokyo Police Club @ Mercury Lounge, NYC | pics

Cold War Kids are giving away this free EP...

"We got asked to do a Benefit at the District Lounge in Orange on September 24th with Dustin Kensrue and Chuck Regan. It was through the Breast Cancer Walk that takes place in Costa Mesa the last several years. We decided to play some covers that we like with Nathan singing and playing guitar, Jonnie on the drums, and Maust recording. It's a pretty informal loose performance but we decided to let you hear it anyway."

1. Indoor Fireworks (MP3) (elvis costello cover)
2. Fast As You Can (MP3) (fiona apple cover)
3. Die Die Die (MP3) (dr dog cover)
4. I Don't Wanna Grow Up (MP3) (tom waits cover)
5. Tonite, You Belong To Me (MP3) (lawrence welk cover)
6. The Littlest Birds (MP3) (be good tanyas cover)

Cold War Kids @ The Annex, NYC | Nov 3, 2006

As many of you know, Cold War Kids (CWK) are playing a zillion NYC shows (including one at Pianos back on January 10th, and another one for SPIN at Hiro Ballroom on December 18th). They're also going on tour in March with Tokyo Police Club (TPC). CWK headline the U.S. shows . TPC headline in Canada.

I liked CWK when I saw them at Pianos in May, but for some reason I haven't really liked their live shows since. Last time I saw them was opening for The Hold Steady at The Annex during CMJ (pic above), and they just didn't seem like the same energetic band. Well, they personally have energy (see the sweat), but the songs seemed to be missing something.

Energy or not, Pitchfork or not, the band seems to be blowing up - all their recent NYC shows this month sold out pretty quickly, and now they're headlining two April nights at Bowery Ballroom with the always great Tokyo Police Club (who are doing pretty well themselves). One of the Bowery shows is ALSO ALREADY SOLD OUT....3 months in advance. These shows will be the second time Cold War Kids play two nights at Bowery - last time was opening for Tapes 'n Tapes.

Tokyo Police Club @ The Annex, NYC | Nov 4, 2006 (BrooklynVegan show)

The CWK/TPC tour starts in March and will almost definitely hit SXSW. Tokyo Police Club are also playing the Plug Awards at Irving Plaza on February 10th. Nathan Willett of Cold War Kids is playing a solo show at Knitting Factory on January 25th. All tour dates for both bands below...

Continue reading "Tokyo Police Club & Cold War Kids | 2007 Tour Dates & MP3s"

upcoming free shows @ Sound Fix in Brooklyn
Oct 18, 2006 7 PM Tokyo Police Club (TONIGHT!)
Oct 19, 2006 7:30 PM Masha Qrella
Oct 21, 2006 2 PM Small Sins
Oct 28, 2006 3 PM The Kooks (2 sold out NYC shows)

Tokyo Police Club are also opening for Art Brut at Warsaw tonight (Oct 18), and then headlining Maxwell's in Hoboken tomorrow while the Annuals are opening for Art Brut at Irving Plaza. All TPC tour dates below....

Continue reading "upcoming Sound Fix instores & Tokyo Police Club Tour Dates"

TPC @ MERCURY LOUNGE | JUNE 27, 2006 (CRED)

TORONTO STAR:You recently played the Mercury Lounge in New York. Were you nervous?

TOKYO POLICE CLUB: Only one of us had ever been to New York before. It was really hard to focus on the music, and not be tempted to (pause) go outside.

----

Tokyo Police Club are back in NYC TONIGHT (August 7, 2006) @ Pianos. Then they're back again to play a free show at South Street Seaport with Ted Leo on August 25th and then they're back again to open for Art Brut and The Spinto Band at Warsaw in Brooklyn on October 18th. They're also touring with Enon. All dates below...

Continue reading "Tokyo Police Club playing Pianos tonight | @ Seaport, w/ Art Brut, w/ Enon & other places too (Tour Dates)"

JUANA MOLINA @ THE SEAPORT | 7/7/06 (CRED)

NOTE: Elvis Perkins has replaced Richard Hawley on 7/28. Tokyo Police Club are playing with Ted Leo. Uncle John & Whitelock are the TBA band playing with the Spinto band. Dave Alvin is tonight.

ALL SHOWS FREE @ SOUTH STREET SEAPORT, NYC - 7PM
07/14/2006 - Dave Alvin and the Guilty Men w/ Chatham County
07/19/2006 - Conjunto Classico
07/26/2006 - Ray Sepulveda
07/28/2006 - Elvis Perkins & Nicolai Dunger w/ Benjy Ferree
08/02/2006 - Bio Ritmo
08/04/2006 - Hot Chip with Oppenheimer
08/09/2006 - Son Boricua featuring Jose Mangual & Jimmy Sabater
08/11/2006 - Josh Ritter with Nethers
08/16/2006 - Conjunto Imagen
08/18/2006 - The Box Tops featuring Alex Chilton w/ Tralala
08/25/2006 - Ted Leo + Pharmacists, DC Snipers & Tokyo Police Club
09/01/2006 - Spinto Band, The Black Hollies & Uncle John & Whitelock

Then there's the Spiegeltent.

CANADIAN COLLEGE RADIO TOP 50 CHART [source]
1. TOKYO POLICE CLUB A Lesson In Crime (Paper Bag/Universal)
2. VANCOUGER Losin' It! (Scratch)
3. PONY UP Make Love To The Judges With Your Eyes (Dim Mak)
4. LOVELY FEATHERS Hind Hind Legs (Equator/EMI)
5. SONIC YOUTH Rather Ripped (Geffen/Universal)
6. ISLANDS Return To The Sea (Equator/EMI)
7. BE YOUR OWN PET Be Your Own Pet (Ecstatic Peace)
8. MISSION OF BURMA The Obliterati (Matador/Beggars)
9. LADYHAWK Ladyhawk (Jagjaguwar)
10. CAMERA OBSCURA Let's Get Out Of This Country (Merge)

Look for them in the crowd at TV on the Radio tonight.

Previously
The Ballet, Ramesh from Voxtrot, Tokyo Police Club & Land of Talk @ Syrup Room, Brooklyn, NY | pics

THE BALLET

RAMESH FROM VOXTROT

TOKYO POLICE CLUB

LAND OF TALK

Thanks to everyone who attended, played, DJd, did sound, provided the venue, worked the bar, guarded the door, etc... It was a great night. Thanks to Bao Nguyen for being the official show photographer. The rest of his pics are up on Flickr.

One of the biggest highlights of the evening for me was watching Tokyo Police Club deliver their strongest performance I've seen yet (3rd time I've seen them). They seemed to be more in their element, and the crowd was really into it.....except Ryspace who was pissed he missed part of Ramesh's set. He has a recap and audio from the evening.

Sweatermusic said TPC were just what they were "looking for to forget the sweaty garage and rock".

" it was just really good, really solid, serious (and seriously good at grit and minors) sort of rock, solid the way its hard-but-fun to pick a single off a really excellent album, solid the way it platonically Should Be, you know, right." [if.so]

WesX3 said, "The Ballet was good. There were no stage lights in this venue so that was a bit odd but fitting to their hushed but zippy music." Bed for the scraping agrees that "it was really dark in there".

"The music was great with Land of Talk being my favorite of the night." [Wes wrote another nice recap]

Like Bushwick is Beautiful, I'm still recovering.

DOWNLOAD: Nature of the Experiment by TPC (MP3)

I've teamed up with Todd P to bring you this one......

THURSDAY JUNE 29, 2006
** Land of Talk (from Montreal)
** Tokyo Police Club (from Toronto)
** DJs Finger on the Pulse (from NYC)
** AND ONE MORE BAND TBA
@ Syrup Room in Brooklyn, NY (ALL AGES, $$ TBA)

SO JUNE 27-30 IS CRAZY
JUNE 27 - The Grates, The Lovely Feathers, Tokyo Police Club & Persephones Bees @ Mercury Lounge (21+)
JUNE 28 - Figurines, Land of Talk, The Little Ones & The Blend @ Mercury Lounge (21+)
JUNE 29 - Land of Talk, Tokyo Police Club, & TBA @ Syrup Room (all ages)
JUNE 30 - Voxtrot, Matt Pond & TVOTR @ Prospect Park (and every other show that night)

Previously
Tokyo Police Club @ Mercury Lounge, NYC | pics
Land of Talk @ Mercury Lounge, NYC | pics