Ringo Deathstarr at SXSW 2011 (more by Bill Pearis)

" I call a lot of things shoegaze, but these three have the classic '90s sound -- including Kevin Shields' glide guitar style -- down pat. Some seriously catchy songwriting keeps it out of pastiche territory. They are good and loud on the Palm Door patio, my first of many Lone Star tallboys of the week in hand, and it's a great start to the fest." [Bill]

Ringo Deathstarr, who just played Chaos in Tejas this past weekend (we didn't catch them though), will support Trail of Dead on a week-long run directly before heading out on a three week headlining tour at the end of June. The tour stops at Brooklyn's Shea Stadium on July 3 with Vandelles, Heaven, and Dead Leaf Echo.

Ringo Deathstarr released Colour Trip back in March. Check out a soundcloud stream of the entire album HERE, and the video for "So High" and more dates below...

Continue reading "Ringo Deathstarr album streaming, band touring (dates)"

photos by Amanda Hatfield and Timothy Griffin

Adventure (by Tim)

Braids (by Tim)

Braids and Adventure are on tour with Toro y Moi now. The three bands play sold out shows at Music Hall of Williamsburg and Bowery Ballroom on Sunday (4/10) and Monday (4/11).

As discussed and/or pictured HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE, we threw a free, three stage party with M For Montreal at Swan Dive and Barbarella in Austin on Saturday, March 19, 2011.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by, to all the bands who played and to Ramesh for DJing. Sorry to Bass Drum of Death for not getting to play due to some confusion. Thanks to the cast of Workaholics for stopping by and for doing some hosting (catch their show on Comedy Central now!). Thanks also to Izzoz, Sensible Portions, Honest Tea, VegAustin, Raw Revolution, NadaMoo, Firefly Vodka, Line 6, Korg, Vox, Blackstar, Nudie Jeans, and ASCAP. Thanks to everyone else that helped and to anyone I forgot.

A whole bunch more pictures from the whole day are below...

Continue reading "BV/M For Montreal Austin Day Party in pics (Braids, Adventure, Owen Pallett, Little Scream & many more)"

words & photos by Chris Gersbeck

!!! @ the BrooklynVegan/MFM Day Party Saturday

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sharon Van Etten @ the Red Ryder SXSW showcase

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

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

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

Pictures from everything mentioned above, below...

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

by BBG

DOWNLOAD: True Widow - "NH" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: True Widow - "Skull Eyes" (MP3)

Reverb-drenched shoegaze, 70s-riffery and the slow-burn of Low converge on the latest True Widow, a Dallas band whose new LP As High As The Highest Heavens And From The Center To The Circumference Of The Earth, via Kemado. The record is currently up for preorder and features "NH" and "Skull Eyes", the former of which premieres in this post. Download both above, or stream them below.

True Widow will be at SXSW, logging time at the Kemado showcase at Valhalla on 3/17 (with new-look Zoroaster, Rwake, Christian Mistress, and many others), and at the Thrasher Deathmatch party at Scoot Inn on 3/19. In May they hit the road with Trail of Dead and Surfer Blood which brings them to NYC twice: Bowery Ballroom on 4/29 and Music Hall of Williamsburg on 5/13.

Surfer Blood are also playing SXSW, including the free BrooklynVegan party Wednesday at Emo's, and Trail of Dead will be in Austin too. You can catch them at our free Saturday party at Swan Dive/Barbarella.

All True Widow tour dates, a video, and those song streams are below.

Continue reading "True Widow releasing an LP on Kemado (MP3 premiere), playing SXSW, touring w/ Surfer Blood & Trail of Dead"

If you've been following along, you know that this is finally the NINTH and FINAL BrooklynVegan SXSW 2011 show announcement! This one happens on Saturday, March 19th in Austin, at both Swan Dive and Barbarella (they connect). It runs from noon-6pm and is 100% free. We are doing it with our friends from M For Montreal and it looks like this:

STAGE 1 (SWAN DIVE)
12:00 PM New Moods
01:00 PM Oh Land
2:00 PM Austra
3:00 PM Little Scream
4:00 PM Owen Pallett
5:00 PM Braids

STAGE 2 (Barbarella main stage)
12:00 PM Baths
1:00 PM Misteur Valaire
2:00 PM !!!
3:00 PM Trail of Dead
4:00 PM Mount Kimbie
5:00 PM Daedelus
HOSTED BY: the cast of Workaholics
DJs: Ramesh (of Voxtrot) & 70's Bush

STAGE 3 (Barbarella small stage)
12:00 PM Bass Drum of Death
12:45 PM Adventure
1:30 PM Versus
2:30 PM Malajube
3:15 PM Suuns
4:00 PM Weekend
5:00 PM PS I Love You

I'm ready to fall over.

And this party will also have:

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

AND THANKS TO:

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

Stay tuned to @bvSXSW on Twitter for SXSW news and announcements all week long, and because it's where we'll be giving away a Blackstar HT-5 Amp.

To celebrate the BrooklynVegan + M for Montreal party, Nudie Jeans is also giving away 5 pairs of jeans (one pair for each day leading up to the party). For your chance to win, friend Nudie Jeans on facebook and send an email titled BROOKLYN VEGAN to nudie@wantagencyinc.com. For those at the party, we'll also be raffling off more Nudie Jeans you can win while you're there.

We're also happy to announce that, for the second year in a row, we'll be partnering with our friends at VegAustin to host a vegan bake sale for charity at the party. All proceeds will be donated to Compassion Over Killing.

Check out the flyer and stuff below...

Continue reading "BrooklynVegan & M For Montreal Free Saturday Austin Day Party lineup (3 stages @ Barbarella & Swan Dive)"

photos by Samantha Marble, words by BBG

The walls of Littlefield were adorned with Conrad Keely's intricate pen/ink tributes to sci-fi, as his band ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead celebrated the release of their new LP Tao Of The Dead with Takka Takka on Tuesday (2/8). Trail of Dead stripped down to a four piece for the show, sans keyboards, and though the band hadn't gotten their "sea legs" (per Jason Reece), they ripped through faves like "Richter Scale Madness", "Caterwaul", "Fake Fake Eyes", "A Perfect Teenhood", new tracks like "Pure Radio Cosplay" and "Ebb Away" before closing with "Relative Ways" as an encore. Takka Takka's set consisted of mostly new material that they were trying out for the Littlefield crowd. Their new album is due spring 2011.

Trail of Dead will be back around when they tour with Surfer Blood in May.

More pictures and the setlist (which leaves out "Relative Ways", the encore) from the Brooklyn show, are below...

Continue reading "Trail of Dead played w/ Takka Takka (and showed art at) Littlefield (pics, setlist)"

DOWNLOAD: And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead - "Weight of the Sun" (MP3)

Conrad works on TOD art

Tao of The Dead is due on February 8th, and as previously discussed ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead will celebrate with a Record Release show at Littlefield on 2/8, one of THREE NYC dates set for the band in the coming months (the other two are part of their tour with Surfer Blood). Tickets for Littlefield are still available but we also have a pair of tickets you can win. Details are at the bottom of this post.

Also at the bottom of this post is the premiere of a clip from a new documentary by Justin Zimmerman about the art of TOD frontman Conrad Keeley whose art will also be on display at the Littlefield show, and graces the cover of Tao of The Dead.

This post also contains two of Tao of The Dead's twelve tracks - "Summer of All Dead Souls" and "Weight of the Sun" are both streaming below, and you can download one of them for keeps up above.

Continue reading "listen to a new Trail of Dead song, preview a documentary on Conrad's art, win tix to the Littlefield show"

Trail of Dead at Mohawk (more by BBG)

Who says you have to wait until April or May? Tickets for NYC dates of the previously discussed ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead/Surfer Blood tour at Bowery Ballroom on 4/29 (here) and Music Hall of Williamsburg on 5/13 (here) are still available, but the band has added another much smaller and much sooner show.

Tickets are on sale for a Baeblemusic & Superball Music-presented Trail of Dead show at Littlefield on February 8, where the band will play in celebration of their new LP Tao of The Dead, as well as showcase some of Conrad Keeley's art ("Not only will Keely be displaying original art from the new album, he'll also be debuting two large scale paintings.").

Updated tour dates and some videos below...

Continue reading "Trail of Dead playing a record & art release show in Brooklyn"

Trail of Dead at APW 2009 (more by Chris La Putt & Tim Griffin)

...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead will team up with Surfer Blood for a North American tour in late April/early May. That tour will hit NYC twice: April 29th @ Bowery Ballroom (tickets on sale soon) and May 13th @ Brooklyn Bowl (ditto).

Trail of Dead recently posted "Summer of Dead Souls" from their forthcoming LP Tao Of The Dead at Spin Magazine, and are prepping to release said LP via their own Richter Scale Records on February 8th. In that same piece, Conrad Keeley said:

The LP is split into two parts, Part I and II, each recorded in a different tuning (Part I is in D, while II is in F). Part I is divided into 11 tracks or chapters, which play together play one long song, while Part II is an epic, 16-minute-long track with six movements, that's produced by Coady. This format is an homage to frontman Conrad Keely's childhood influences.

"It's the way I listened to albums when I was a kid, seeing as some of my favorite records were Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, Yes' Relayer and Close to the Edge, and Rush's Hemispheres," the 38-year-old rocker says. "I always liked listening to records that were just a continuous piece, like an orchestra or a symphony."

Full tracklisting and album art, and all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Trail of Dead releasing new LP, touring w/ Surfer Blood(dates)"

by BBG

DOWNLOAD: Midnight Masses - "There Goes Our Man" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Midnight Masses - "Walk On Water" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Midnight Masses - "Heaven" (MP3)

Midnight Masses with Conrad and Jason of Trail of Dead

If it's February 2010 and a Wednesday, then odds are even that Midnight Masses are at Union Pool. The band began a weekly residency at the venue on February 3rd which continues this week (on Feb 10) with Mon Khmer and Light Asylum. Feb 17th includes Living Days (+TBA). Finally, they go out with a bang on Feb 24th, as the band will be joined by "the original lineup" of And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead (Conrad & Jason playing as a duo?).

Midnight Masses recently dropped "Red Ribbon Song (For Those Who've Gone)" for a name-your-price download. All proceeds will benefit the National AIDS Fund and the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD).

All Midnight Masses dates, and a whole bunch of videos, below...

Continue reading "Midnight Masses currently in residency at Union Pool - final show is w/ Trail of Dead ('original lineup')"

As the Jewish faithful begin the Rosh Hashanah holy days or Jewish New Year Friday at sunset, they will be saying special prayers and lighting special candles.

Beginning Saturday or Sunday, depending on the congregation, the sounding of the shofar - a trumpet made from a ram's horn - will begin. The ritual is symbolic of what the High Holy Days are about: a call for introspection, forgiveness and changing one's course in life, said Rabbi Charles A. Klein of the Merrick Jewish Centre.

It "asks us to wake up, to take a serious look at our lives," he said, "and not just to sleep away our lives." [Newsday]

Usher in the Jewish year 5770 this weekend with Trail of Dead and the Secret Machines. The two bands are on tour together and will play post-sundown shows tonight (9/18) at Webster Hall with Midnight Masses, and Saturday (9/19) at Music Hall of Williamsburg with Freshkills and Sleigh Bells. Neither is sold out at the moment.

Saturday night there is an afterparty at Beauty Bar in Brooklyn.

Actual Roch Hashanah event listed in This Week In Indie.

Future of the Left @ Siren Fest (more by Chris La Putt)

"The only bad part about the [Future of the Left] set [in San Francisco] was how quickly it was over; each opening act played for roughly 40 minutes and it seemed like that FOTL played for maybe five or ten more. There was easily enough time for another song or two (I would have liked to hear "The Lord Hates a Coward" or "I Am Civil Service"), but the last song ended in the bassist jumping off the stage, giving his bass to someone in the crowd, and doing push-ups while feedback kept coming through the guitar amp, the drum set was taken apart on stage while still being played and the whole thing was a myriad of confusion and awesomeness." [PunkNews]

Get ready for more push-ups and feedback when Future Of The Left return to NYC for a show at Music Hall of Williamsburg on Friday, October 30th. Tickets go on sale Friday, August 28th at noon.

The band's last NYC show was at Siren Fest on July 18th, where they shared a bill with Japandroids. Japandroids are coming back soon too - they play September 24th at the Mercury Lounge with Mt. St. Helen's Vietnam Band. Tickets are still available.

And for CMJ, which is quickly coming up, Japandroids will play an October 22nd Death+Taxes Party at Glasslands, and a Polyvinyl Records CMJ show on October 23rd at the Bell House (and more dates TBA). Joining them at the latter will be Headlights, the currently-on-tour Cale Parks and James Husband. Tickets are on sale now.

FotL will be touring the US and Canada this October with Trail of Dead (who didn't get to play their Pool Party show due to lightning, but did get to play a set at All Points Wet). Trail of Dead's next NYC shows are September 18th and 19th at Webster Hall and Music Hall of Williamsburg with Secret Machines.

All tour dates below...

Continue reading "Future of the Left touring in October, Japandroids too - Polyvinyl @ CMJ, Trail of Dead & other 2009 tour dates"

photos by Chris La Putt & Tim Griffin

mud, Tool & Ice T

During his Friday night set at the All Points West festival in Jersey City, Jay-Z took a moment to salute trail-blazing gangsta-rapper Ice-T, who, Jay-Z said, was "in the house." And Saturday afternoon, Ice-T took the stage to perform as a backing rapper during Kool Keith's second-stage performance.

"Sometimes it's just cool to stand on the side of the stage and be a hype man," said Ice-T.

He did, though, perform parts of his own raps, "Hardcore" and "God Forgive Me," a cappella.

With his confident, casually commanding flow, he made a strong impression in his few brief moments in the spotlight.

In addition to Jay-Z and Kool Keith, hip-hop acts like Q-Tip, the Knux and the Cool Kids have performed at All Points West. Hip-hop, though, will not figure prominently in the third and final day of the festival, Sunday. [NJ.com]

Though it didn't rain on Saturday (8/1), it was still super muddy. There were dry spots, but you literally could not walk from one place to another without going through some mud. Other highlights of the second day of All Points West included comedy by Tim & Eric in the tent (aka the third stage), back-to-back sets by St. Vincent and Neko Case on the 2nd stage, and the Arctic Monkeys and Gogol Bordello on the main stage. But nothing topped the end of the day. Now fully dark out and perfect weather, My Bloody Valentine, with the Statue of Liberty to their right and the Manhattan skyline straight ahead of them, delivered the power. The hour they played was, for me, the perfect festival experience.

My Bloody Valentine

It helped that My Bloody Valentine, as they are known for being, were LOUD. Maybe they didn't seem as loud as they did inside a club, but they were loud enough that even those in the bleachers were putting on their earplugs if they had them. After their set I ran all the way back to the dance tent (pretty much the farthest distance you would have to ever go at this festival) to catch Crystal Castles. The tent was packed with the largest concentration of youth I'd seen in Liberty State Park up until that point. Everyone was dancing and cheering. Before CC were finished I ran back to the main stage to watch Tool.

During My Bloody Valentine I thought, "well, there are plenty of people here, but I guess they could fit a lot more". Ends up, all of those people that could fit, they showed up for Tool! Did they all just get there? Were they hiding in other areas? Either way, it totally hit me by surprise when I got back to the stage. I was also surprised, but happy, that Tool hadn't gone on yet. They don't play a super long set, so maybe they delayed to make the show go until curfew.

Once they did start, the amount of fist pumping (much bro fist pumping included) going on almost matched the amount of people in the park. I wouldn't consider myself a Tool fan, but there was no denying the awesomeness of their show.

"On a bill loaded with indie rock, Tool seemed initially distinguished by their popularity. They were the only band on Saturday's bill to have a platinum record, and the only performers to have won Grammys, and the only ones with enough starpower to sell out arenas on their own. And yet despite their high profile, Tool hardly behave like a mainstream band. Saturday's set was an exercise in atmosphere -- a dark, riveting performance that minimized the members of band while foregrounding their stranger sensibilities.

Visually, the show was stunning. Tool perform to a series of bleak films mostly created by the artist Adam Jones, and beamed out giant-size across Liberty State Park they seemed more imposing and unnerving than ever. Opening with the sinister, twisting "Jambi," the group slowly worked its way through a set that spanned its small catalog. Part of what makes Tool concerts such visceral experiences is the band's peerless sense of control and release. Songs start with icicle drip guitars and rolling, tribal percussion, steadily building to perfectly timed explosions of sound. When paired with Jones' frightening films, it became more like a theater experience than a concert. At times it was remarkably easy to forget there was a band onstage at all." [Rolling Stone]

I took the light rail to the park, but then the ferry home. Props to APW for making the ferry experience a much, much better one this year (no line at all, huge boats, very quick trip home, and I didn't even leave until Tool was finished).

Pictures from APW day one HERE. More from day two below...

Continue reading "All Points West 2009 - Day 2 in Pictures (Tool, mud & Ice T)"

the Waterfront - emptied out due to lightning - July 26, 2009 (by Kurt Christensen)

Trail of Dead never got a chance to play the Pool Party at the Williamsburg Waterfront on Sunday. Grupo Fantasma, HEALTH, and Black Lips did get to perform before they called it for lightning though. More pictures soon. In the meantime, I posted seven other sets of photos on Sunday (still not caught up either), and then there's the pretty pics from the sunny South Street Seaport show on Friday, and Thursday's Ted Leo show where bands were also cut due to the weather.

If you were looking forward to Trail of Dead, don't worry, they play the NYC-area three more times between now and September 19th (though not for free). The first chance to see them again is this very Saturday at All Points West. They go on at 1:50 PM.

This coming Sunday's Pool Party at Williamsburg Waterfront is the one with Dan Deacon, Deerhunter, and No Age (playing in the round). It's unfortunate that it conflicts with All Points West.

The current weather report lists isolated and scattered thunderstorms on Friday (30% chance of rain) and Sunday (40% chance of rain). Saturday is partly cloudy (20% chance of rain). The chances of no-rain are thankfully much higher.

What did you do this weekend?

Nardwuar posted a video interview with Little Boots. Below...

Continue reading "lightning ended the Pool Party before Trail of Dead could play"

photos by Chris La Putt

Thee Oh Sees

"Largely unfamiliar with the bands on the roster, my husband and I went to Coney Island on Saturday to see Built to Spill headlining on the main stage of the annual Siren Music Festival. Normally, I love free shows. I like the freedom to walk away from a disappointing or uninteresting performance-as we did from Monotonix-without feeling guilty. And ticketless shows tend to draw all types, which appeals to the voyeur in me. Neither of us had been to Coney Island before, so it was mildly amusing to see the confluence of century old kitsch and aggressive marketing tactics by softdrink companies. (We tried a sample of something called Vio, "the world's first vibrancy drink," and it tasted vaguely like flourescent lighting and perfume.)

Anticipating the rush toward the stage as Built to Spill began, we found a decent spot where we'd be able to hear the band, if not see their faces. It was as close as we could get without my cheeks grazing across sweaty pectorals while trying to squeeze through. This is the point at any show when the fan in me starts to grin and breathe faster, to feel like I'd rather be right here than anywhere else in the world. To our horror, not only were the people around us talking so loud that we could barely hear the music, they weren't even facing the stage. The crowd was mingling as though at a singles mixer, drink in hand, shouting over the din, completely oblivious to the band on stage.

Now, while I've been known to complain about NYC hipsters at opportune times (like when I'm on the downtown L train), I generally think people are too hard on them. They're pretty benign as far as contrived fashion/music subcultures go. But when they prevent me from hearing and seeing a live performance by one of my favorite bands, simply because they can't stop yakking and flirting for a single minute, I feel, well, displeased.

Next show is hopefully Trail of Dead at All Points East. I'm bringing pepper-spray and my slapping hand." [Home on the Fringe]

I think she means All Points West, which is actually just one of four shows that Trail of Dead has coming up in NYC.

Chris's Built to Spill pics are HERE, Raveonettes pics HERE, and the rest below...

Continue reading "the 2009 Siren Music Festival in Coney Island - pics (part 1) "

"The emails have been piling up and everyone's asking, "dude, what's up with the Pool Parties?" Well DUDE, so sorry to keep you waiting, but here at JELLY we've been working our asses off to bring you one of the greatest free concert series in history. The Pool Parties are going to be extremely crucial this year, "epic" or "amazing" as you people say these days. Seriously, eight weeks of FREE shows on the waterfront of Williamsburg? Does it get any better? You might be thinking "waterfront"? Yeah, in case you didn't hear the McCarren Pool's closed so get over it :) , and yeah we kept the name Pool Parties even though the East River's not at a pool, so what? We've still got DODGEBALL, basketball, DJ's, bands, burgers the works! We love you more than your parents ever could, and if you want to have fun and hang out with us this summer. [Full schedule below]. Bring your friends but please don't bring these things [pictured above]. As you can see below, underage drinking will not be tolerated. . You guys wouldn't do that though, so there's nothing to worry about. Thank you for visiting and stay tuned!!" -Jelly

The big news here is that they finally announced! As far as this year's lineup, well, we figured most of that out already. The Black Lips will also play the show with Trail of Dead, HEALTH, and Grupo Fantasma. Jemina Pearl is also on the bill of the first show on July 12th (Mission of Burma). Full lineup poster and a video below...

Continue reading "JellyNYC announces Pool Parties @ Williamsburg Waterfront!"

by Black Bubblegum

Jason of Trail of Dead: Voted Best SXSW Crowd Yodeler (more here)

...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead has scheduled a pair of NYC shows for September 18th and 19th at Webster Hall and Music Hall of Williamsburg respectively, and both with Secret Machines in tow. Tickets go on AMEX presale at noon, with general sale starting on 6/26 at noon (WH here, MHOW here).

These new NYC shows are in addition to ToD's recently-added appearance at the All Points West Festival on August 1st... which is a little weird since you don't often see bands announcing shows when they're playing a local festival. We definitely will have to wait a while before APW headliner Yeah Yeah Yeahs announce another NYC show. Then again St. Vincent and Arctic Monkeys are doing it.

What's more weird though, is that we also have word that Trail of Dead are supposed to play the Williamsburg Waterfront on July 26th with HEALTH and Grupo Fantasma. What's weirdest of all is that we can't confirm that because not even one of the shows happening there this summer have been officially announced yet! (some bands have announced, but JellyNYC still hasn't released anything.)

Trail of Dead recently played NYC in February, logging a pair of shows between MHOW and Bowery Ballroom. Video from the MHOW show, as well as all AYWKUBTTOD tour dates are below...

Continue reading "Trail of Dead playing Webster Hall, MHOW, All Points West... and Williamsburg Waterfront??"

Trail of Dead @ SXSW 2009 (more by Black Bubblegum)

Although no formal announcement has been made, careful scientific analysis of the originally announced 2009 All Points West lineup, vs what is being advertised now, reveals some changes. First of all, Yelle, who not even one person guessed would be appearing at this year's festival anyway, is now actually not appearing at the festival. Five new artists are though. And they are:

• ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead (Saturday)
• La Roux (Sunday)
• Rye Rye (Friday)
• The Honey Brothers (Saturday)
• Xavier Rudd (Friday)

Everyone else (like Beastie Boys, My Bloody Valentine, Tool, Vampire Weekend, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, etc) is still the same. Tickets are still on sale. The festival takes place July 31-Aug 2, 2009 in Jersey City, NJ.

Related videos and tour dates below...

Continue reading "All Points West silently added artists - 2009 lineup additions (Trail of Dead, etc) and deletions (Yelle) "

words & photos by Black Bubblegum

... And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead headlined the Rhapsody Rocks event at The Mohawk in Austin on 3/19 joined by Joe Strummer look-alikes Glasvegas, School Of Seven Bells, Vivian Girls and Wavves. Between our day party, and Full Metal Texas with Kylesa & Black Math Horseman, it was a busy SXSW afternoon, so I was only able to catch a few minutes of Wavves and all of Trail of Dead, who were just amazing.

School of Seven Bells are scheduled to hit the road with Black Moth Super Rainbow, followed by a headlining show at Bowery Ballroom on June 12th (tickets here).

Glasvegas will be at MHOW on March 28th and Webster Hall on March 30th with Ida Maria. Both shows are sold out. Their "night off", March 29th, isn't a night off at all.... look for them on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

Wavves plays three shows on the exact same three nights... Market Hotel on Mar 28th, Cake Shop on the 29th, and Merc on Mar 30th with DD/MM/YYY (tickets here).

Vivian Girls will be at Music Hall of Williamsburg on April 2nd opening for Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti.

Trail of Dead just played NYC right before Austin. More tour dates and Austin pictures (including shots with Jason Reece performing in the crowd), below...

Continue reading "Trail of Dead SXSW pics & related news"

photos by Jonny Leather

DOWNLOAD: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Come Saturday (MP3)

As mentioned about a zillion times, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart are playing The Bell House in Brooklyn on March 13th with Let's Wrestle and Knight School. That show is now sold out, but if you don't have a ticket, don't worry... Let's Wrestle has other shows scheduled while they're in town, and The Pains of Being Pure at Heart now have two more NYC shows on their calendar. One of them is the just-mentioned May 12th Bowery Ballroom show which is now on American Express presale. The other is a month after that - June 18th at Cake Shop with Crystal Stilts. That last show is sure to be packed.

Between the Bell House (March) and Bowery (May) there will also be plenty of chances to see TPOBPAH elsewhere in North America, especially if you're going to SXSW where they currently have TEN shows scheduled including the TBA BrooklynVegan day party at Radio Room on Thursday March 18th, and the previously announced Pitchfork party happening at Emo's on March 20th.

Just the other day, the band opened one of the two NYC Midnight Masses/Trail of Dead shows. The So So Glos were the third band on the Bowery one in Manhattan, and the Pains of Being Pure at Heart were the third band on the Brooklyn show at Music Hall of Williamsburg. Jonny was at the latter, took some pics, and said,

Also on the bill for this show was pop shoegazers, and equally-long-moniker-possessing, Pains of Being Pure at Heart. Hot off of well-deserved Pitchfork praise for their new self-titled full length, Pains of Being Pure At Heart did not disappoint. Every minute of their all too brief set was just as sweet and luscious as their record, and though the vocals were never quite as enchanting, the rest of their sound was heightened by the great sound system and sheer volume which always seems to enhance shoegaze.

More pictures from that show, and all tour dates below...

Continue reading "The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Trail of Dead show pics & 2009 Tour Dates (BV SXSW & Cake Shop included)"

photos by Zach Stern

DOWNLOAD: Midnight Masses - Heaven (MP3)

"Oh Trail of Dead, you had me at the double drums. How do you prevent the incessant talking that goes on during shows? You play an intensely loud, ear-ringing set. Great energy from the crowd and the band. The new songs sounded great too and with the possible of exception of "Fields of Coal" all seemed to fit in nicely with their back catalogue." [Metro Distortion]

"Brooklyn's Midnight Masses is the collaborative fruit of Autry Rene Fulbright and Jason Reece. Fulbright, a native of Atlanta, relocated to NYC in 2007 before joining noisy TV on the Radio cohorts Dragons of Zynth and clocking hours with Kanine indie rockers Shock Cinema. Reece, of course, mans the guitar in Austin, Texas' And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead. In Midnight Masses, the duo's songs are complimented by the work of Roger Sisters member Miyuki Furtago, Destiny Montague of Shock Cinema, Santogold touring guitarist Eric Rodgers, and Giselle Reiber."

Trail of Dead and Midnight Masses played Music Hall of Williamsburg on Friday, and then Bowery Ballroom on Saturday (with The So So Glos), and are now on tour. More pictures from Saturday's show, TOD's setlist, and all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Trail of Dead, Midnight Masses & the So So Glos @ Bowery Ballroom, NYC - pics (and tour dates & an MP3)"

by Black Bubblebgum

sunn o))) @ Knitting Factory (more by Damien Neva)


Ya hear that rumble? Thats the sound of great records perched in the distance waiting to descend on 2009 (more on that later). While this year will bring about great music and another set of "next big things", let's take the time to be thankful for 2008 and all of it's memorable records and shows. Here are my favorite records of 2008:

Continue reading "the year in Metal (Best of 2008, what's coming in 2009)"

Trail of Dead Generation Records (more by Tim Griffin)

RCRD LBL: So tell me about how you wrote [the song] "Bells Of Creation".

TOD's Conrad Keeley: Well, I wrote it after I saw a band, a friends band. We're friends with the guys from Secret Machines, we've toured with them before, and Ben from Secret Machines left to start his own band called School Of Seven Bells. And the show that I went to see them for the first time was really inspiring and [I was] really into what they were doing.

Where was the show?

I don't think that venue is around anymore, it closed. It was on Ludlow, just off Delancey on the Lower East Side. It was one of those clubs that just closed in the last year, you know a bunch of clubs were bought out by rent. So, I had that kind of sound in my head and I was inspired by that. The association of "Bells" being there, I named the song I was writing, inspired by that show, after a hymn, called "Bells Of Creation" that we used to sing when I was in school back in England. Every morning the school would have assembly, and all the kids would gather in the assembly hall and we'd all sing hymns. And that was one of my favorite hymns, "Bell Of Creation." It was just singular, "The bell of creation."

Trail of Dead have added even more tour dates since last time we spoke, and tickets are finally on sale for both Bowery Ballroom AND Music Hall of Williamsburg.

School of Seven Bells also have a bunch of shows coming up of their own.

On December 17th, Trail of Dead visited WNYC's Soundcheck. You can listen to that HERE. RCRD LBL has "Bells of Creation" for free download. All dates below...

Continue reading "Trail of Dead - updated 2009 tour dates, tickets & SOSB"

Tickets are now on sale for the Trail of Dead shows taking place at Bowery Ballroom. There's also a show at Music Hall of Williamsburg that's supposed to be on sale, but it's not on Ticketmaster yet.

Tickets are on sale (at noon) for the rescheduled Gene Ween Band show at Music Hall of Williamsburg. Tickets are also still on sale for the one happening at Highline Ballroom.

Tickets are on Am Ex presale (at noon) for the recently added Brooklyn Andrew Bird show.

Tickets are now actually on sale for the Bad Plus show happening at Bowery Ballroom.

Tickets are on Am Ex presale for the Gaslight Anthem show taking place at Webster Hall.

If you didn't get tickets in the Morrissy presale this morning, don't worry, there's always Friday.

More recent tickets-that-went-on-sale, HERE and HERE.

photos by Eric M. Townsend

Nick Diamonds/Thorburn of Islands put together a NY Cares benefit at Knitting Factory in NYC. It happened back on December 8th. The three floor event featured experimental music, art and someone on LSD in a cage on the bottom floor (Old Office), comedy (Eugene Mirman, Dave Hill, Tim Harrington of Les Savy Fav, God's Pottery, Jessie Klein, etc...) followed by Street Carnage (Gavin McInnes showing funny pictures and telling really dirty stories about them) on the second flooor (Tap Bar), and music (Conrad Keely, Leona Naess, Marnie Stern, Despot and Nick Diamonds) and comedy (Eugene Mirman and Fred Armisen) on the main stage. More pictures below...

Continue reading "the rest of the NY Cares Benefit pics (David Cross, Nick Diamonds, Fred Armisen, Street Carnage...)"