photos by Jake Forney

"Kicking off Pop Montreal [Wednesday] night, NoBunny took the stage by force - a gang of musically inclined vagrants clothed in barely there Y-fronts and strategically placed rabbit accessories stormed Sala and its punk pitched transient company. Growling into the microphone numerous times, "This song is about a so and so and an eskimo" they went on to play favorites "I am a Girlfriend", "Give it to Me", and "Mess Me Up". Hunx & His Punx came on next, reveling in all their gay glory. Appearing besequined, with feathered caps and bare chests, they declared their fervent love for cock and sexual pleasures of all kinds. I'd never heard of them before, but the lead singer definitely made his mark in my memory. Moaning and groaning, gyrating on the floor, he begged for someone, anyone to pee on him. Box Elders was the final band preceding the headliner. Their act was dated and ranging from somewhat to hardly enjoyable; not much else to say about that. Finally, Jay Reatard made his appearance. A youngish man with waves of dirty blonde hair, rough around the edges, I'd say his looks are much better accentuated in person than in photographs. The man treated us to renditions of "Greed, Money, Useless Children", "My Shadow", "Oh It's Such a Shame", and after forty minutes of solid punk made his exit. Direct and to the point, Reatard made little conversation and got straight to the music. After all the formalities, most seemed to appreciate this, getting down and dirty almost instantaneously. He did good." [the neighbours]

That reviewer from Wednesday night's Pop Montreal show (which unfortunately did not have a positive experience with Box Elders) puts Jay's set time at 40 minutes which is double what the guy who never actually made it inside said,

Last night (10/1), Thursday (one day later), the same Shattered Records lineup came to Le Poisson Rouge in NYC, though they reversed the order. Nobunny went on last, which for a show that didn't start until 11:30pm, meant a set time of after 2am. Also, the above review doesn't mention Useless Eaters who opened the NYC show with Jay on guitar. Jay played his own set third on the bill...

"Regardless of one's feelings about [Jay's new] record (and particularly, the production), [his middle-of-the-night-headlining set showed those songs to be as much classic Reatard as anything in his catalog. While not riot-crowded, Le Poisson Rouge was comfortably packed with fans who didn't mind the late start time and threw themselves into the music, sometimes literally. [In the live recording of the show posted at NYCTaper, you can] hear Jay, during "Watching You," heckle a fan down in the pit who got a little too enthusiastic (and apparently, was waving a really gross sweater over his head). The set may have only been 35 minutes long, but this was another 35 minutes (and 15 songs!) of pure southern punk gold" -Acidjack

I think it's safe to say that Jay's sets are "less than an hour". Check our interview with him HERE. More pictures from last night's show, and Jay's setlist, below...

Continue reading "Jay Reatard, Useless Eaters, Box Elders, Hunx & His Punx & Nobunny (Shattered Records) @ Le Poisson Rouge - pics "

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Fluffy Lumbers - Cruisers (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Thomas Function - Belly of the Beast (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Cheap Time - Woodland Drive (MP3)

Cheap Time

As you may have heard, Jay Reatard's Shattered Tour blows into town tonight (10/1) at Le Poisson Rougue, having seen every band on tonight's bill except for Useless Eaters, I can say this sounds like a whole lot of fun. Except for the part that it's a five band bill where doors don't open till 11pm, which seems super late for a 21+ show. So if you don't have to get up and go to work on Friday, or you've evolved beyond the need for sleep, definitely check it out. (The scheduled set times for the night is below.) Expect nudity, maybe some blood, and a whole lot of catchy garage punk pop from Box Elders, Nobunny, Hunx & His Punx, Useless Eaters, and your host for the night, Mr. Reatard (who is also performing with Useless Eaters). You can download a free sampler featuring all the artsits on the tour at the bottom of our just-posted interview with Jay.

A band that are on some of the Shattered Tour dates, though not tonight's, are Cheap Time who are gonna be in town this weekend playing Friday (10/2) and Saturday (10/3) at Silent Barn. This Tennessee trio leans more on the catchy punk and less on blown-out levels and reverb than many of the bands lumped in the garage universe, with their new single "Woodland Drive" being a big leap forward sonically and songwriting-ly.

Friday's show also has Fluffy Lumbers on the bill. Their song "Cruisers" has gotten a lot of play on my stereo over the last two months. You can download it at the top of this post. The band's line-up is in flux at the moment, so I'm not sure how many Fluffy Lumbers there are at this point, but they're worth listening to. Also playing: art-punks White Diamonds and Beachniks which includes members of German Measels and Crystal Stilts.

The Saturday show also features New Orleans piano-based trio The Pharmacy, plus Columbus, OH's Guinea Worms, Brooklyn's Uzi Rash and The Sediment Club.

Thomas Function

Speaking of Silent Barn, Alabama's Thomas Function played there last night (9/30), their first NYC show since January. You've got two more chances to see them: tonight (10/1) at The Studio at Webster Hall and tomorrow (10/2) at Bruar Falls. Thomas Function have a new album, In the Valley of Sickness, which is out October 13 but I'm pretty sure they've got it to buy at their merch tables this weekend. I've only heard a few songs from it (you can download one at the top of this post). What I've heard sounds a just slightly less raucous than last year's Celebration, but I have a feeling the songs will be a bit wilder when played live. Both NYC shows (and all upcoming dates with TF) are with mysterious French dude Yussuf Jerusalem whose MySpace page and artwork might lead you to believe he makes some sort of scary black metal but in fact it's catchy, slightly gothy psych-rock not that far off from Ohio greats My Dad is Dead.

The Soft Pack @ Bowery Ballroom in March (more by Chris La Putt)

The Soft Pack are also back in town this weekend, playing their first shows since being odd men out on that NME tour that had them sharing the bill with UK acts Friendly Fires and White Lies. Their show at Bowery Ballroom on Friday (10/2) makes a lot more sense, with onetime 1928 labelmates The Sundelles, plus Right on Dynamite and The Dig. The band did spend part of their summer in Brooklyn, recording their debut for Kemado Records which should be out in early 2010. I haven't seen them since their Union Pool show back in January with Those Darlins which is one of the best times I've had all year, and I'm anxious to hear some new tracks, like "C'mon" which you can watch a live performance of at the bottom of this post.

There'll be more This Week In Indie later, including The Dø, Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Besnard Lakes, the return of Frank Sidebottom and more. Stay tuned. In the meantime, check out videos, flyers and tour dates after the jump.

Continue reading "Cheap Time, Thomas Function, The Soft Pack, Fluffy Lumbers & more in This Week in Indie (part 1)"

Jay Reatard @ the Wired Store (more by Tim Griffin)

As I was saying (and Bill will say even more about later), Jay Reatard and his Shattered Records crew (Nobunny, Hunx & His Punx, Box Elders & Useless Eaters) are on their way from Pop Montreal to NYC for a late show at Le Poisson Rouge tonight (10/1). Tickets are still on sale.

Yesterday, with some help, I rushed together some questions for an email interview with Jay (not the ideal format). Jay in turn rushed some answers back this afternoon, presumably from the road and after playing a late show last night. With that in mind, you can find that interview, which attempts to set the record straight on Jay's recent hate for Brooklyn, and what time Hamburghini practice starts, with all dates and tonight's set times, below....

Continue reading "an interview w/ Jay Reatard (whose Shattered Records tour hits Le Poisson Rouge in NYC tonight) "

Brent at work (at Pop Montreal) (run comrade)

Pop Montreal kicked off last night (9/30). It's not too late to drop everything and take a car over the border. I haven't been in a few years, but non-stop show hopping in a great foreign (but so close) city was a great experience. Plus, if you get there by tonight (10/1), you can check out the BrooklynVegan showcase featuring Micachu & The Shapes, Clues & Slim Twig! Other highlights of tonight include Think About Life, Fever Ray (who just completed a two-night run at Webster Hall), Mono (who also just played two NYC shows), Screaming Females (who are on tour and played Death by Audio Saturday), Loudon Wainwright III (who just had his family join him for a show at Highline Ballroom), Butthole Surfers (also on tour), The Intelligence (recently in NYC), and Sister Suvi (played Sycamore on Tuesday).

Last night's Pop Montreal schedule highlights included sets by Amy Millan (touring to NYC soon), Matt & Kim (playing a Halloween show with Weezer), The Phenomenal Handclap Band, and Jay Reatard...

"Usually arriving 20 minutes late to a Pop Montreal show makes you right on time. But I biked up to La Sala Rossa near 1 a.m. Thursday morning to find a crowd spilling into the street. Not a good sign. "Is it over?" I asked some friends, referring to Memphis punk upstart Jay Reatard's 12:30 set. Yup, came the reply. "Did he start early?" Nope. "But it was proper," said Ninja Tune's Jeff Waye. "Twenty-minute set - there's not many bands I want to see for more than 20 minutes."" [The Gazette]

To be more specific, last night's Jay Reatard show in Canada was the third stop on Jay's Shattered Records tour. The fourth stop on the tour is TONIGHT (10/1) at Le Poisson Rouge in NYC (11pm doors). Also on the bill (last night and tonight) are Shattered Records artists Nobunny, Hunx & His Punx, Box Elders, and Useless Eaters. All dates and the tour poster below.

The Phenomenal Handclap Band (pictured to the right) were set to play with Man Man and Brazilian Girls at The Beach on Governors Island Friday night (10/2), but that show has been canceled.

Shows in NY and Boston cancelled!!
This is really sad for us to announce, but the shows in NY and in Boston, OCt 2nd and 6th had to be cancelled, due to immigration issues. its a real drag, but we promise we'll play there soon, trying to make it before the end of the year.

we'll keep you posted. - Brazilian Girls

Immigration issues?

The Phenomenal Handclap Band are still opening for Chromeo at Irving Plaza on October 16th though, and they just announced their first big headlining show. It's December 11th at Bowery Ballroom, and tickets are now on AmEx presale with general sale beginning Friday at noon. No openers are listed yet. All dates below.

Meanwhile, Bruce Springsteen kicked off his five-night run at Giants Stadium last night. It was one of two shows that he'll perform the entire "Born to Run" album at.

A good night of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band for the first of five shows at Giants Stadium on Wednesday night. A 29-song show that lasted 3 hours and 14 minutes, one of the longest shows timewise of this tour.

It was nice to have the show start off with a new song. I believe it's the first time Bruce has played a unreleased song (not including Working On A Dream which he played at a political rally last year) since debuting "Long Walk Home" with the Sessions Band in London in November of 2006.

Of course the highlight of the evening was hearing the entire "Born To Run" album from start to finish as well as a classic 1978-style story in the middle of "Growin' Up." [Star Ledger]

Willie Nile came out and joined the band for a few songs during the encore. The tour continues Friday night when the E Street Band will play all of "Darkness on the Edge of Town". If you're going consider all transportation options. Video of the now-60 Bruce Springsteen discussing the birthday-related story (nightmare) in the middle of "Growin' Up", and other videos, below...

Continue reading "Pop Montreal (now), Bruce Springsteen (setlist), Man Man (canceled), Phenomenal Handclap Band, Jay Reatard (tonight)"

DOWNLOAD: Jay Reatard - Wounded (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Jay Reatard - It Ain't Gonna Save Me (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Box Elders - Stay (MP3)

Jay Reatard's bassist @ the Stuy Town Oval (more by Tim Griffin)

eMusic: Judging by the altercations you've had with a few of your fans, it can be tough walking around with a moniker like Reatard.

Jay Reatard: Their perception of the name, which I think of as being just mildly offensive, is what puts those negative thoughts into their heads. They anticipate something completely different from reality, and they react that way.

When I first started the Reatards, I just wanted to get to make a record. As long as I could survive until then, I could make that one and then survive until I made the next one. A lot of that early work was focused on being youthful and ignorant -- feeling immortal and thinking I could get away with whatever I wanted. After I turned 26 years old, I started thinking about things a little differently. I started to realize I'm not going to live forever, my heath is going to fail, I need a place to live. So either I grew up, or society broke me down. Either way, I started thinking more about my future, which was the opposite of everything else I'd ever done.

At this point, it would be easier to get to certain levels in the music industry if I wasn't called Jay Reatard, because it's an immediate turn off. I would definitely be playing to larger crowds, and have more money. Everything I didn't care about when I first called myself Jay Reatard, I could have more of now. But I'm fine with it -- I look at it as a litmus test for assholes. If you can't get past the name, then you can't afford the price of admission.

Jay Reatard's new disc, Watch Me Fall, is out August 18th on Matador. NYC will get a free listening party for the album at (Le) Poisson Rouge on Monday, August 17th, while the West Coast gets a slightly better deal. Jay Reatard will be playing a series of free record shop in-stores from LA to Vancouver through the end of August. Those dates are below.

This September, Jay Reatard reunites with his first band, the Reatards, for a set at Goner Fest in Memphis.

On Thursday, October 1st (a few weeks before CMJ) he'll headline a Shattered Records showcase (his imprint) at (Le) Poisson Rouge. Also on that NYC bill are Box Elders (who have other NYC dates coming up too), Useless Eaters, Hunx and Nobunny (both featured HERE). Doors are at 11:00pm. Tickets are on sale.

Two tracks off the new album, including the first single "It Ain't Gonna Save Me," are above. The video for that song, with the trailer for "Waiting For Something," a short documentary about Jay Reatard, and all tour dates are below...

Continue reading "Jay Reatard - a NYC Shattered Records show (tix) & West Coast record store tour (dates) + MP3, video & documentary"

DOWNLOAD: Ty Segall - It #1 (MP3)

Ty Segall @ Cake Shop (more by Tim Griffin)

After my own greasy foray into a Popeye's a few blocks away, I was ready to see the wunderkind, who is freshly graduated from the University of San Francisco. Once upon a time, Segall was a one man band, but he's expanded his outfit to a three-piece. Clearly the night's headliner at Amnesia, he packed the joint. After sets by openers Snakeflower 2 and the Rantouls, he mostly played familiar songs from his 2008 self-titled release on CastleFace Records. However, he also delivered a few examples of his self-described "sludgier" work on the brand new Lemons (Goner Records).

Sludge or no sludge, Segall's solid work ethic is evident. He's constantly playing gigs at bars like the Knockout, the Hemlock, and the Eagle Tavern -- basically anywhere flannel is the prevailing fashion, alongside those straw fedora hats favored by the fixed-gear crowd. Despite his omnipresence on SF's dive bar scene, he's pretty modest about his dedication to his music. "There are a lot of ways that I am a slacker," he explains over the phone a month after the fateful Amnesia show as he and his band drive to New Orleans. "But if I'm not doing music, I feel like I'm wasting my time." [SF Bay Guardian]

An MP3 from Lemons is at the top of this post. Ty returns to NYC for a trio of shows on his North American tour in September. On September 18th, he'll play Death By Audio's 'The Maze' (the art installation being supported by this Saturday's 12-hour benefit at the venue).

Ty plays a Mercury Lounge show on September 20th with Golden Triangle and tourmates and fellow SF band The Mantels. Tickets for that go on sale Saturday, July 25th at noon. Ty Segall then goes to New Jersey for a September 21st show at Maxwell's. The Mantels opens that too, with Digital Leather. Tickets are on sale now.

Ty will be one of the acts at Goner Fest 6, put on by Goner Records September 24th-26th in Memphis, TN. Other acts include a reformed version of Jay Reatard's first band The Reatards, Thee Oh Sees, The Fresh & Onlys, Magic Kids (who are in NYC this weekend), Box Elders, The Intelligence, Nobunny, Cheater Slicks and just about every other vital band you could vaguely lump in with the current "garage" scene (No Sic Alps, though). Tickets for day one, two and three of the fest are on sale now (though three-day 'Golden Passes' seem to be either sold out or hard to find).

More info on that festival, with all Ty Segall dates and a couple videos, below...

Continue reading "Ty Segall tour dates (3 NYC shows) + 2009 Goner Fest lineup "

DOWNLOAD: Box Elders - Hole in My Head (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Jay Reatard - Always Wanting More (MP3)

As previously reported Jay Reatard's Shattered Records imprint is coming back into active duty. Among the imprint's planned releases are " six 7"s from artists hand-picked by Jay including "Jeffrey Novak (from Cheap Time), Nobunny, Hunx, Useless Eaters, Box Elders, Earthmen & Strangers, and legendary New Zealand lo-fi songwriter Chris Knox."

Nobunny happens to be in NYC for two shows starting TONIGHT (4/13)

Shattered Records also announced it will release "all 20 of Jay Reatard's albums" digitally, plus a new singles series and subscription club. The new site is offering new Reatard single "You're Gonna Lose" free to those who sign up for its mailing list. Full info below.

Jay Reatard is going on tour in June and July. That includes two NYC shows. The first, on Wednesday, July 1st, will take place in Stuyvesent Town! That one, billed as a "Stuytown Oval Concert", will presumably be free, outdoors, and have a mosh pit full of babies. The second will happen at Brooklyn's Music Hall of Williamsburg, one day later, on Thursday, July 2nd . Tickets for that go on sale Wednesday, April 12th at noon. TV Smith opens both NY dates.

Box Elders have two NYC dates scheduled - April 24th and 25th.

Jay will also play a show on Record Store Day (at Goner Records). On that day, April 18th, you will also be able to pick up his Record Store Day 7" split with Sonic Youth (being released by Matador).

Full Shattered Records press release, and all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Jay Reatard - 2009 Tour Dates (STUY TOWN & MHOW), full Shattered Records announcement (includes Nobunny) "