photos by Sarah Frankie Linder

Polyphonic Spree/Thermals/Diamond Rings

The Main was packed for our Friday SXSWS day party (3/15). That includes the the actual stage, as all 23 members of The Polyphonic Spree on hand to headline. The Spree's joyous set ended with their cover of Nirvana's "Lithium" that had the whole place singing. Diamond Rings -- who now count Miracle Fortress/Think About Life's Graham Van Pelt as a touring memeber -- tore the place up too with one of the most fun sets on our stage this week. So did The Thermals, for that matter. The Main also saw sets from UK neo-postpunk act TOY, Swedish pop vets Shout Out Louds, Akron/Family, and Montreal's Half Moon Run. The Jr. stage was curated by our loud brethren at Invisible Oranges (and Heavy Dicks) and will have pics of that carnage soon. Meanwhile, dig into more of Friday's action from The Main below.

In addition to the music, Onkyo was there, sampling their new headphones which hit stores next month. mophie maker of invaluable iPhone chargers, were giving away discount cards good at their pop-up shop which was set up right across the street on Red River.We were also serving complimentary Jameson, and Zico coconut water, free vegan queso and chips from Food For Lovers, and free vegan breakfast tacos from Pink Avocado. We also had BrooklynVegan t-shirts for the first 50 people in the door, thanks to American Apparel. Also thanks to our other sponsors, M for Montreal, Korg, Vox, Blackstar, Creative Recreation, Signazon, ASCAP, MailChimp and Redigi.

Today (3/16) is the final free BV SXSW day party at The Main and The Jr. The fun starts at noon CDT and The Main stage is co-presented by our friends at Pianos and features Unknown Mortal Orchestra, A Place to Bury Strangers, Austra, Foxygen, Palma Violets, Autre Ne Veut and Empress of. The Jr stage has King Tuff, Dodrums, MS MR, The Orwells, Peace (UK), Feathers, White Lung, and TEEN. That is a pretty amazing line-up if we do say so ourselves.

And tonight is the offical BrooklynVegan/Invisible Oranges SXSW showcase with KEN Mode (who replace Pinkish Black), Homewrecker, Full of Hell, Mutilation Rights, John Baizley, and Pallbearer. If you're in Austin, come on down!

Continue reading "BrooklynVegan SXSW Friday day party in pics (Polyphonic Spree, Thermals, Diamond Rings, Akron/Family + more)"

by Bill Pearis, Fred Pessaro and Andrew Sacher

Savages @ CMJ 2012 (more by Dominick Mastrangelo)

SXSW gets underway today (3/13) in earnest, with 83,207 bands* playing SXSW this year. Trying to figure out who to see can be an overwhelming feeling. (Actually, just standing on 6th St. on Friday night is an overwhelming feeling.) Hopefully this post will give you some inspiration if you're among the throngs of people. Or maybe just some new stuff to listen to if you're not there.

Of course you could just hang out at all our day parties (our first starts at noon today!) and evening showcases, as we're really proud of our line-ups. But there are bands who we are pumped to see who aren't playing too. So here are 40 bands we're genuinely pumped to see in Austin this week. We made a Spotify playlist of all the bands (at least the ones on the service) you can stream below.

Check out our list below...

*not the actually number of showcasing bands. But it feels accurate.

Continue reading "40 artists we're excited to see at SXSW"

As you know, BrooklynVegan is returning to Austin for SXSW this year and throwing four days of day parties at The Main & The Jr aka 603 Red River Street at the corner of 6th aka the old Emo's location. Those happen Wed (3/13), Thurs, Fri and Saturday (3/16). All shows are 100% FREE with RSVP.

We announced Saturday and Thursday, and now HERE IS FRIDAY...

Continue reading "BrooklynVegan free SXSW 2013 Friday day party lineup (Polyphonic Spree, Thermals, Akron/Family, Shout Out Louds, Diamond Rings, TOY, Half Moon Run & more)"

by Bill Pearis

Bad news from UK band TOY, who were to have played their first NYC shows next month:

Bad news - the company processing our visas in the US have been delayed, which means that the New York shows have had to be cancelled. We were so excited about playing and are very sad and sorry to announce this.

SXSW are trying to sort out things with customs so that we can still play the shows in Austin. We can't wait to play in New York too, and will be rescheduling as soon as possible! We will announce further info as soon as we have it. xxx

by Bill Pearis

One of my favorite albums of last year was the debut album by UK band TOY. Featuring ex members of Joe Lean & the Jing Jang Jong (don't hold that against them) and fronted by Tom Dougall (brother of Rose Elinor Dougall), the band make motorik shoegaze that doesn't skimp on the hooks. (Yes, they are a little like The Horrors.) You can stream the album below and check out a few music videos ("Motoring" is especially good).

The band will be in North America for SXSW and will play two shows NYC on the way back: Mercury Lounge on March 19 with fellow UK band Swim Deep. Tickets go on sale Friday (2/15) at noon. TOY will then play Knitting Factory on March 20 and tickets to that show are on sale now.

Videos and streams are below.

Continue reading "UK band TOY playing NYC after SXSW "

Frightened Rabbit @ T5, Nov. 2010 (more by Lionel Bergeron)

SXSW has just announced another round of bands for the 2013 edition of the annual music festival that will happen March 12 - 17. This brings the total current number of acts to around 1300. Someome of the highlights include Vampire Weekend, Frightened Rabbit, The Thermals, Black Lips, Camera Obscura, Merchandise, Bleached, Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire, Eagles of Death Metal, Parenthetical Girls, Indians, Night Beds, IO Echo, KEN Mode, Prince Paul, Pure Bathing Culture, Sepalcure, UK motorik post-punks TOY, Finnish instrumentalists K-X-P, Toronto's Moon King, UK indie rockers Splashh (not Brooklyn Splash with one "h") and loads more. Head to BV Austin for the whole Round 3 list.

The Who @ Barclays Center, 11/14/2012 (more by Fred Pessaro // BBG)

today in NYC
* Alex Miller @ Pianos
* Big Terrific @ Cameo
* Grass Roots @ Barbes
* Melody Joy @ Party XPO
* Yo La Tengo @ Maxwell's
* NY Theremin Society @ Joe's Pub
* Lust for Youth @ Home Sweet Home
* Angelica Sanchez Trio @ The Stone
* Richard Buckner @ The Mercury Lounge
* James Blake, FaltyDL @ Bowery Ballroom
* Alex Clare @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* River City Extension @ The Mercury Lounge
* Mr. Dream, Alan Watts, Household @ Glasslands
* Amateur Blonde, Portraiture, Mancie @ Cake Shop
* Alessi, Davis, Laubrock and Rainey @ The Stone
* Deer Tick, Viking Moses, Ian O'Neill @ Brooklyn Bowl
* New Beard, The Motor Tom, The New Defense @ Pianos
* Rapstar, PC Worship, Normal Love, Lushes @ Big Snow
* Figure, Alex English DJ set, DJ Jess @ Webster Hall
* These Are Powers, Oneida, PC Worship @ Shea Stadium
* Pretendo, Snack Machine, Exploded View @ Death By Audio
* Heliotropes, Dead Stars, Lazyeyes, Quiet Loudly @ Muchmore's
* Ken Jacobs & Aki Onda: Nervous Magic Lantern @ Issue Project Room
* Stretch Armstrong, Q-Tip, Rich Medina, Clark Kent, Tony Touch @ Santos Party House
* Mr. Muthafuckin eXquire, Avan Lava, DJ Illyse Singer, DJ Good Goose @ Knitting Factory
* Sara Schaefer, Nikki Glaser, Pete Davidson, Emmy Blotnick, Stuckey & Murray, Judah Friedlander @ The Studio at Webster Hall
* Wild Yaks, Love as Laughter, Jonathan Toubin DJ set, Frankie Rose DJ set, TEEN DJ set, Thanksgiving Brown DJ set @ Union Pool
* 12.12.12 - The Concert For Sandy Relief w/ Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Bon Jovi, Billy Joel, Alicia Keys, Paul McCartney, The Who, Kanye West, Eddie Vedder, Dave Grohl @ Madison Square Garden

Tonight is the ridiculously star-studded 12.12.12 The Concert for Sandy Relief at Madison Square Garden, featuring Paul McCartney, The Who, The Rolling Stones, Kanye West, Bon Jovi, Alicia Keys and many more. If you didn't get tickets it's being broadcast basically everywhere. More info on where to watch here.

Follow @BrooklynVegan on Twitter.
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Also follow @bvAustin for just Austin stuff.

Be our friend on Facebook too, and BV Austin's friend on Facebook and BV Chicago's friend on Facebook.

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UK group Toy just released a video for their song "Make it Mine" which is from their fairly-new debut album. You can watch it below.

Twin Shadow released a new video for his live-at-KCRW version of "The Ones" and you can watch that below too.

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Wednesday (12.12.12, Hanukkah night 5)"

Long-running UK music weekly NME has just published their Year-End issue and have named Tame Impala's Lonerism as album of the year, with Grimes, Frank Ocean, Crystal Castles and Alt-J rounding out the Top 5. Tame Impala offshoot Pond comes in at #7. Check out the entire Top 50 list below.

As mentioned before, Tame Impala just announced a 2013 tour, and will play Terminal 5 in NYC on February 19. Tickets for that show go on sale Friday (11/30) at noon.

NME's Top 50 LPs of 2012 are listed below.

Continue reading "NME Top 50 Albums of 2012; Tame Impala 'Lonerism' gets #1"

The Fly is the "UK's most popular new music magazine," but if you haven't heard of it, its because it's a free monthly that doesn't really get international distribution. You can however read it online. The mag just released it's year-end issue and topping their Best Albums of 2012 is Sharon Van Etten's Tramp (which was just released in a Deluxe edition, a fine Xmas gift don't you know). Sharon narrowly beat out Grimes, whose Visions came in at #2. The whole list, in ascending order, is below and you can read what The Fly said about each album here.

By the way you can still get tickets for the December 15 show at Cameo that Sharon curated with She Keeps Bees and Speck Mountain and "Special Guest."

A list of the Fly's Top 50 Albums of 2012 is below.

Continue reading "'The Fly' magazine's Top 50 LPs of 2012 (Sharon Van Etten #1)"

Jack White @ Radio City Music Hall, 9/30/2012 (more by Greg Cristman)

In addition to the Fleetwood Mac cover story (and Rumours cover CD that comes with it), the new issue of MOJO is the 2012 Year-End wrap-up with the best albums list which is topped by Jack White's Blunderbuss. Their list is definitely different than most, but also in line with the mag that puts the Beatles on the cover at least once a year. You can check out MOJO's Top 20 below.

Continue reading "Jack White tops MOJO's Best LPs of 2012 list"

Rough Trade Shop is always one of the first to list their top albums of the year, and their list is always a good one to look at. This year is no different. Check out their Top 10 list, below...

Continue reading "Rough Trade's Top 10 Albums of 2012"

The Psychic Paramount at Cameo, July 2012 (more by Caroline Harrison)

Grimes at Pitchfork Fest 2012 (more by Chase Turner)

today in NYC
* Brian Marsella @ The Stone
* Gojira @ Santos Party House
* Q-Tip (DJ Set) @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Aloe Blacc @ MetroTech Commons
* O.A.R., Rebelution @ Jones Beach
* Daily Show comedians @ 92YTribeca
* Big Black Delta, Silya @ Pianos
* Elle Varner @ Highline Ballroom
* Fake Blood @ Hudson Terrace Roof
* The Alternate Routes @ Joe's Pub
* Bethany & Rufus Roots Trio @ Barbes
* The B-52s, Love Funk @ Irving Plaza
* Golden Animals, Tiger Waves @ Pianos
* Royal Family All-Stars @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Stand, The Damn Choir @ Mercury Lounge
* Scott Kettner's Orgy in Rhythm @ Barbes
* The BoDeans, Sarah Borges @ City Winery
* Origin, Malignancy, Pyrrhon @ Saint Vitus
* Neg-Fi, Coso, NT, Sediment Club @ 929 XPO
* McGinty & White Sing Jimmy Webb @ Joe's Pub
* Joan Jett and the Blackhearts @ Coney Island
* Duk Duk Goose, Lil Kids, Happy Lives @ Cameo
* The Psychic Paramount, Cropduster @ Union Pool
* Ace Reporter, Lightouts, Overlord @ Union Hall
* Bloc Party, The Drums, Them Jeans @ Terminal 5
* Complexions Contemporary Ballet @ Prospect Park
* Lifeguard Nights, Razor Blazers @ Mercury Lounge
* Wild Nothing, Grimes, DIIV @ Pier 84 (River Rocks)
* Chain & The Gang, Habibi, Calvin Johnson @ 285 Kent Ave
* Ned Rothenberg/Ikue Mori/Catherine Jauniaux @ The Stone
* Lucinda Williams, Amy Cook @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Kelli Scarr, Alana Amram, Jim Campilongo @ Le Poisson Rouge
* The Building, Shy Hunters, Companion, Aaron Roche @ Glasslands
* Future Blondes, Little Debbie, Coxcombs @ Secret Project Robot
* !!!, Lenny Williams @ Lincoln Center's Damrosch Park Bandshell
* Wiccans, Warthog, Nuclear Spring, Altered Boys, Shoxx @ Acheron
* Direct Effect, This Routine Is Hell, Dead/Beat, Go Deep @ Cake Shop
* Braid, Owen, Laura Stevenson & The Cans, Aficionado @ Bowery Ballroom
* The Midnight Ghost Train, Reign of Zaius, Eidetic Seeing @ Public Assembly
* Planes Mistaken for Stars, The Sun, The Moon, The Stars, Those Mockingbirds @ Maxwell's
* The Toothaches, Teen Girl Scientist Monthly, Jackpot, Tiger, Late Guest At The Party @ Shea Stadium
* The Jukebox Romantics, Far From Finished, The Independents, Two Fisted Law, American Pinup, Lost In Society @ Knitting Factory

Lots of free shows today. Catch Aloe Blacc live at Metrotech Commons at noon; Grimes, Wild Nothing and DIIV play Hudson Park River Rocks; and !!! and Lenny Williams play Lincoln Center Out of Doors.

Brooklyn death metal oddballs Pyrrhon support Origin and Malignancy at Saint Vitus tonight. Stream a new demo track below.

Once in a Lullaby, the PS22 Chorus documentary, is showing this week at IFC Center. Meet the filmmakers at 7:30 tonight.

Don't want to be cooped up in a dark theater? You've got three free, outdoor summertime movies to choose from! Wall-E screens in Brooklyn's East River State Park,; The Big Lebowski screens in Tompkins Square Park and Barefoot in the Park screens in Brooklyn Bridge Park.

Today is John Cage day at MoMA.

Follow @BrooklynVegan on Twitter.
Follow @bvChicago for just Chicago stuff.
Also follow @bvAustin for just Austin stuff.

Be our friend on Facebook too, and BV Austin's friend on Facebook and BV Chicago's friend on Facebook.

Follow BrooklynVegan on Instagram.

Lower, part of the Danish punk movement that spawned favorites like Iceage and Var, are releasing their EP Walk on Heads on US shores via Blind Prophet Records (Sean Ragon of Cult of Youth's label). Stream it in its entirety below.

Check out "Dead and Gone," the new single from UK motorik mopegazers Toy which is streaming below.

Freddie Gibbs and Madlib team up on Shame, the EP available now via iTunes. Check out the video for the title track below.

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Thursday?"