Jay-Z @ APW in Liberty State Park, Jersey City, NJ - 7/31/09 (photo by Tim Griffin)

Brooklyn's own Jay-Z opened up his headlining set at All Points West on Friday night with a cover of the Beastie Boys classic "No Sleep Till Brooklyn". Was it a fitting tribute to the group that he replaced on the lineup (due to MCA's diagnosis of cancer) or was it Jay-Z's way of reminding New Jersey what he plans on doing with the Nets? OK, I'll go with the former, and it was our own great Jay-Z festival moment (at his first-ever US festival appearance). The UK's Glastonbury got the (less sincere) tribute to Oasis in 2008.

Speaking of Glastonbury, All Points West got its mud... which came from the rain that miraculously cleared up before Hova took the stage (at which point he covered "No Sleep" with the "Beastie Boys at the Garden" line in the first verse changed to "Jay-Z at All Points West.", and then...)

Immediately after that, he performed his own "Brooklyn (Go Hard)."

Later, he dedicated his entire set to Beastie Boy Adam Yauch. It was Yauch's illness -- he has been diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in a salivary gland -- that forced the group's cancellation, last week.

In his 80-minute day-closing set, Jay-Z also performed hits like "99 Problems," "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)," "Big Pimpin'" and "Dirt Off Your Shoulder," as well as his recent single "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)." [NJ.com]

Continue reading "Jay-Z closes out rainy Day 1 of All Points West (pic, video)"

DOWNLOAD: Esau Mwamwaya and Radioclit - The Very Best Mixtape (ZIP)
DOWNLOAD: The Very Best - Warm Heart Of Africa (w/ Ezra Koenig) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Very Best - Warm Heart of Africa (Metronomy remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Very Best - Warm Heart of Africa (Architecture in Helsinki rmx) (MP3)

LPR photos by Kwesi Abbensetts, Supreme Trading photos by Ryan Muir

Esau Mwamwaya @ Le Poisson Rouge - July 18, 2009 (by Kwesi Abbensetts)

The Very Best (production duo Radioclit and Malawian singer Esau Mwamwaya) played a late-night show at (Le) Poisson Rouge on July 18th. They were joined by two backup dancers (one of which was on crutches!), and Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend for one song. He stopped by to contribute his part on "Warm Heart Of Africa." That track and two new remixes are posted above.

Ezra Koenig @ Le Poisson Rouge - July 18, 2009 (by Kwesi Abbensetts)

The Very Best's debut record, Warm Heart of Africa, is due to come out on Green Owl, the NYC-based record label that was founded by Benjamin Brewer (the father of M.I.A.'s child), on September 22nd (available digitally August 25). Ezra and M.I.A. both sing songs on it. That album is not to be confused with Esau Mwamwaya & Radioclit Are The Very Best which was the mixtape (that contains songs by Vampire Weekend and M.I.A.) they released for free in 2008. Grab that above.

On Saturday night (7/25) (exactly a week after the LPR show), Radioclit brought "their wild monthly London residency, SECOUSSE, to the States for an all out UK vs. BK battle of the riddims." And by "the states", they mean Supreme Trading (or the former Supreme Trading building at 213 N 8th St) in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Green Owl artist Janka Nabay was also on the bill.

"While many genres of African music have made the crossover to the west (Afrobeat, Highlife, etc), Sierra Leone's traditional Muslim street songs, or Bubu music, have not. The king of Bubu is Ahmed Janka Nabay, an amazing humanitarian musician whose life has been shaped by Sierra Leone's civil war." [Straw vs Gold]

Ahmed Janka @ Supreme Trading - July 25, 2009 (by Ryan Muir)

AND, it ends up that Saturday night's show at Supreme Trading was also a sort-of-secret Very Best show. Radioclit did DJ, but then performed with Esau too (no Ezra this time though). More pictures from both shows and the new album artwork, below...

Continue reading "The Very Best (new remixes) played LPR (w/ Ezra Koenig) & Supreme Trading (a secret show?) w/ Ahmed Janka - pics "

DOWNLOAD: Esau Mwamwaya and Radioclit - The Very Best Mixtape (ZIP)
DOWNLOAD: The Very Best - Warm Heart Of Africa (w/ Ezra Koenig) (MP3)

European producers Radioclit and Malawian singer Esau Mwamwaya have been working together under the name The Very Best for the past two years. You can check out their debut mixtape, which came out last year and samples M.I.A, Vampire Weekend and Michael Jackson, reposted above. "For the recording, the band brings some guests on board: M.I.A. for 'Rain Dance' and Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig sings on 'Warm Heart Of Africa.'"

The Very Best are making a limited number of US stops before their set at the Pitchfork Festival on July 19th. One of those will be at NYC's (Le) Poisson Rouge on Saturday, July 18th, where they appear with Dragons of Zynth, the Que Bajo?! dance party, DJ Uproot Andy, Geko Jones, Zuzuka Poderosa, DJ Supervixen and Açai Girl. Tickets are on sale.

Two Very Best videos, with a flyer for the show, and all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "The Very Best are here - playing CA, NYC & the P4K Fest"

DOWNLOAD: The Glass - Wanna Be Dancin' (Radio Edit) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Glass - Come Alive (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Grum - Sound Reaction (Heart Beats) (original mix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Grum - Sound Reaction (Heart Beats) (radio edit) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Grum - Sound Reaction (Heart Beats) (the Revolving Eyes remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Grum - Sound Reaction (Heart Beats) (the Phantom's Revenge remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Hostage - Special Brew (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Hostage - Concrete Mix (MP3)

Fake Blood @ Cheeky Bastard - 213 N. 8th St., Williamsburg (more by Nicky Digital)

Last week in dance was another busy one as usual. I wasn't around for the weekend but managed to get out a bit before then. On Thursday I caught an awesome set from Fake Blood in Williamsburg, followed by a great night of dancing downstairs at APT on Friday, where Trus'me dropped everything from disco, house, and techno to soul at Disco3000. The dancing continues this week, starting with Thursday and Friday:

Continue reading "the week in Dance w/ Showtrotta (part 1)"

Phish @ Bonnaroo 2009 (Graeme Flegenheimer)

"We discussed playing a 45-minute version of 'China Cat Sunflower,' [at Bonnaroo 2008]" said MGMT guitarist James Richardson with a straight face shortly before his set, sporting a well-worn tie-dyed Grateful Dead T-shirt. "I think pretty much everybody in MGMT secretly loves jambands--well, not so secretly. We always have."

A few yards away his bandmates are catching up with Vampire Weekend drummer Chris Tomson, who despite his band receiving an impressive 8.8 ranking by seemingly devout hippie-hater website Pitchfork, is proudly decked out in a T-shirt that meshes the Phish and the Philadelphia Phillies' logos. "When it was announced and the band's names were listed, I remember thinking that everyone was going to playing there," he reminisces about his experience at the first, more jamband-oriented Bonnaroo in 2002....

...Indeed, though both the blogosphere and the mainstream media are quick to make it seem like hipsters and hippies are as different as hair gel and hemp, in reality some of the day's most popular "indie bands" have at least one direct tie to the jamband world--not they're openly citing String Cheese Incident as they're favorite band on Facebook. Yeasayer's Ira Wolf Tuton played in Disco Biscuits' associates The Ally, Band of Horses' Bill Reynolds was a member of jam-friendly roots rockers Donna the Buffalo, Brazilian Girls' Jesse Murphy had another life in John Scofield's Uber-Jam, Leslie Feist sang on The New Deal's Gone Gone Gone, New Deal's Dan Kurtz doubles in the electo-pop band Dragonette, all three members of the Lake Trout spinoff Big in Japan serve as the backing band for UNKLE and even the members of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Interpol have name-checked Phish...." [Jambands.com]

Bonnaroo 2009 headliner Bruce Springsteen joined Bonnaroo 2009 headliner Phish on stage at Bonnaroo 2009 last weekend. Video of that below...

Continue reading ""Relix uncovers indie rock's true jamband roots""

photos by Chris Graham

As you may have heard by now, Vampire Weekend's Rostam Batmanglij and Ra Ra Riot's Wes Miles have a group called Discovery who have an album coming out on XL Recordings on July 7th. Guests on that album include Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig and Dirty Projectors' Angel Deradoorian. Two songs are at MySpace. The cover art and tracklist are below along with more pictures of Ra Ra Riot taken at this year's Sasquatch Festival....

Continue reading "Discovery = Vampire Weekend + a bit of Angel Deradoorian + Ra Ra Riot who played Sasquatch - pics "

"Though promoters around the country report strong early ticket sales for festivals and summer tours, the recession is causing jitters. This year Coachella, which has the most glamorous reputation of all American festivals, began selling tickets on layaway, and 18 percent of its customers took that option, Mr. Tollett said.

The proliferation of big festivals, like Bonnaroo near Nashville and Lollapalooza in Chicago, has not been without casualties. This year Langerado in Miami shut down, citing the economy. The Pemberton Festival in British Columbia is on hiatus after only one year, although its promoter, Live Nation, said the problem was permit delays." [NY Times]

Continue reading "Lollapalooza 2009 - the official & complete lineup"

by Black Bubblegum

DOWNLOAD: Guru - "Who Got It On Lock" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Guru - "Jazzy Ways" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Guru - "State of Clarity" featuring Common (MP3)

DJ AM with the legendary DJ Premier and Stretch Armstrong

As we discussed before, this Saturday (4/18) marks the Vampire Weekend/Talib Kweli show at Columbia University. According to an email sent to alumni (thx J):

DATE: Saturday, April 18
TIME: 3:00 - 5:00PM
LOCATION: Columbia University's Low Plaza
RSVP: This is a ticketed event open to the first 300 Class of 2008 CAAL members who renew their annual CAAL membership by April 13th. Only ticket holders will be admitted through campus gates.

Speaking of DJ Premier, his (ex?) partner in Gang Starr, Guru has scheduled a show at SOB's on May 13th with Solar (not to be confused with Guru's other collaborator, MC Solaar) and The 7 Grand Players and featuring K-Born and Highpower. Tickets aren't on sale as of this posting, but are priced at $20/$22 day of the show. K-Born & Highpower is signed to Guru and Solar's label, 7 Grand Records. Guru's new album, Lost & Found, is due on May 19th.

Talib Kweli is also teaming back up with Mos Def for two Black Star shows at Nokia Theatre at the end of May. You can also catch him with Hi-Tek (Reflection Eternal) at the Rock The Bells fest this summer.

No word on the Rock Steady Crew 32nd Anniversary show thus far, but we'll keep you informed.

Continue reading "Talib Kweli playing Columbia & Fat Beats, Guru playing SOBs "

James Murphy & Pat Mahoney dressed for the prom (more by Ryan Muir)

After years of raised expectations and inevitable disappointment, after Pretty in Pink and Saved By The Bell season 4 (we remember it, too), 826NYC and Bowery Presents are happy to finally bring you THE PROM YOU WERE PROMISED, a night of formal wear, butt-kicking dance music, and actual spiked punch, featuring rare DJ sets by VAMPIRE WEEKEND, PAT MAHONEY (of LCD Soundsystem), and HERCULES & LOVE AFFAIR, along with jokes from host LEO ALLEN.

The evening will benefit 826NYC, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting students ages 6 to 18 with their creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write.

PROM BASICS:
Who: You, and a date. (Date not required)
Dress code: Prom attire (Your old gown/tux/suit, or the jeans and sneakers you wished you'd worn.)
What: The prom night you've been waiting for.
When: Thursday, May 21, 2009, at 9 p.m.
Where: Music Hall of Williamsburg, 66 North 6th Street, Brooklyn
Why:
1) For the kids-all proceeds benefit 826NYC
2) For the music-three killer DJ sets, each of them worth the price of admission
3) For the replacement memories, made to last a lifetime

A video about 826NYC below...

Continue reading "826NYC having a prom at MHOW (w/ DJ Vampire Weekend)"

Following last year's inaugural event, festival producers began work immediately on resolving concerns expressed by fans in attendance. They have worked closely with their partners at NJ Transit to improve light-rail service and capacity. As an added value for 2009, festival goers who choose to travel to the site utilizing the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail line can ride for free throughout the weekend with their ALL POINTS WEST festival ticket. Additionally, based on the popularity of the ferry as a mode of transportation from lower Manhattan to Liberty State Park, the frequency and size of the ferryboats will increase at a reduced price for festival attendees.... The producers have also worked with their partners at Liberty State Park to improve the fan experience in the beer gardens. This year's areas will be larger, have shorter lines, and feature shade tents, views of the stages and food concessions...

More details on the items above will be posted at the apwfestival.com. The entire lineup (it's good!) and ticket info, below...

Continue reading "All Point West - 2009 festival dates & lineup (Tool, My Bloody Valentine, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Beastie Boys, Coldplay)"

by Black Bubblegum

DOWNLOAD: Mos Def - "Quiet Dog" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Mos Def - "Life in Marvelous Times" (MP3)

Mos Def @ Rock The Bells 2008 in Jones Beach (more by villageslum)

The crew that proved they were "Fortified Live" and brought about a "Re:Definition" of indie hip hop are back! Talib Kweli & Mos Def will reunite to perform TWO SHOWS at Nokia Theater on May 30th. Tickets are on AMEX presale now (3/25) and go on sale to gen pop on 3/27 at noon for the early show (7PM) here and the late show (11:30 PM) here .

Mos Def is also makin' moves all by his lonesome, having recently announced a spring 2009 release of his new album The Ecstatic via a video short. Mos recently dropped a video for "Life In Marvelous Times" from that record, viewable below. Check out two MP3's, "Quiet Dog" and "Life in Marvelous Times", above.

Kweli recently reunited with Hi-Tek to breathe life back into Refection Eternal during a residency at the Blue Note in early March. Kweli has a few new dates lined up so far, including one free show at Columbia University on April 18th as part of Bacchanal '09 with, according to post at Columbia's Spectacle that has since been removed, Vampire Weekend.

All tour dates and video...

Continue reading "Black Star reunited for 2 NYC dates, new Mos Def, a free Vampire Weekend show? & other Talib Kweli news"

by Ryan Barkan

Smashing Pumpkins @ United Palace Theatre, NYC(more by Chris La Putt)

Lately it seems all Billy Corgan wants to do is either get involved in political battles or license his music for entertainment purposes. Case in point, the Billy Corgan avatar is playable in Guitar Hero World Tour, released last October. That was followed by a three-song Smashing Pumpkins GH track pack becoming available for download as DLC in December. Then, on the biggest advertising stage of the year (i.e. the Super Bowl) a new single "FOL" was dropped in a spot for Hyundai. The Super Bowl one-upper came recently when Billy decided to let loose...for the first time...arguably the band's biggest song ("Today") on a Visa commercial. Visa was not done there however, as Billy and the Pumpkins just weren't enough music for the brand to express itself via 30 second spots.

The credit card company dusted off '70s rock band The Moody Blues' classic jam "Tuesday Afternoon" for a spot dubbed "the Aquarium". To finish off, the coolest of the recent Visa spots has creative direction around the Brooklyn-based performance artist known as "Crutch", Bill Shannon. The commercial sees Bill dance through city streets with his patented crutch dance technique to the Don Thomas song "Come On Train". Watch the Smashing Pumpkins one below.

Other Notable Licensing News:

The Magnetic Fields song "Underwear" appropriately provides soundtrack to an artsy, dream sequence-esque commercial for Puma. Watch it below.

Both Vampire Weekend (about 8 seconds of "Campus") and Beck's "E-Pro" were enlisted for this commercial trailer for the new Paul Rudd film "I Love You Man".

continued below...

Continue reading "This week in Music Licensing"

photos by Tim Griffin

"It's been 10 years since Tibet was the hot issue in the rock community, but some stars still carry the torch. One of the biggest forums for this activism is the annual Tibet House benefit in New York, where an eclectic group of artists bands together to salute Tibetan culture.

This year's concert, held [Tueusday] at Carnegie Hall, started off on an energetic note, with Antibalas raising the sedate crowd to its feet. After playing a song, they were joined by Beninese singer Angelique Kidjo, who wowed with an energetic cover of the Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter," before performing one of her own songs, "Emma." Antibalas then exited stage right, while bluesman Keb' Mo' joined Kidjo for one more tune.

Curator Philip Glass then took the stage to introduce his son Zack, who was performing with the Patti Smith Band. The younger Glass played two pleasant, mainstream folk-rock tunes, the furthest thing possible from his father's experimental compositions. He was followed by Vampire Weekend, who played with a string quartet and debuted a new song that sounded even more influenced by Paul Simon's "Graceland" than its previous work, as well as "M79" from its self-titled debut.

At this point, the tone of the show changed, with the elder Glass perforing an original piano composition with the string quartet. The piece was lovely, but felt out-of-place after so much upbeat rock. To add to the discombobulation, the National, who played two excellent new songs, followed Glass.

...Patti Smith, a fixture at many Tibet House benefits, took the stage with her daughter Jesse accompanying her on piano.... [full review @ BILLBOARD]

Continue reading "The National, Vampire Weekend, Patti Smith & more @ the Tibet House Benefit @ Carnegie Hall (2009) - pics"

Vampire Weekend's 2008 debut album was quick to draw frequent comparisons to Paul Simon's 'Graceland' for its incorporation of African musical influences. But the band members are quick to dismiss the notion.

"In some ways the fact that it's the only thing that comes up can be kind of frustrating," said Vampire's singer and guitarist Ezra Koenig in front of an audience at the TimesCenter on Saturday as part of the New York Times Arts and Leisure Weekend event. "It makes it sounds like that we're totally one-dimensional, that all we do is rip off Paul Simon. Even from the early days that became like a thing. I think the first time [somebody] yelled 'Paul Simon!' That was in Omaha, Neb., and I was angry for the rest of the show."

The band members approached the source himself to get his opinion of their work. "We did actually get to meet [Simon] when we did 'Saturday Night Live,'" Koenig said. "Rostam [Batmanglij, our guitarist,] had the forward thinking to say straight up, 'Do you think our album sounds like Graceland?' And he said, 'Not really.'" [Spinner]

photos by Leia Jospe

DOWNLOAD: Hot Chip & Robert Wyatt - We're Looking For A Lot of Love (Gees Mix)
DOWNLOAD: Vampire Weekend - Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Vampire Weekend - The Kids Don't Stand A Chance (Chromeo Remix)
DOWNLOAD: WhoMadeWho - TV Friend (Hot Chip Remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Peter Gabriel - In Your Eyes (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Robert Wyatt - Hasta Siempre Comandante (MP3)

Vampire Weekend @ Terminal 5

New Hot Chip EP

Despite their feverish schedule this year which took in numerous side projects, solo records, countless dancefloor-igniting remixes, production duties and, of course relentless touring (which culminated in their triumphal homecoming shows at Brixton Academy in November) that indefatigable, delightfully off-kilter five-headed electro pop colossus known as Hot Chip have somehow found the time to assemble a lovingly put together little present for their fans. And not only that, but they have managed to rope in the services of none other than the godfather of the experimental psych-prog world, Robert Wyatt and kindred mischievous electronic spirits Geese to help out as well.

Hot Chip with Robert Wyatt and Geese" contains the following tracks:

1. Made in the Dark (with Robert Wyatt)
2. Whistle for Will (with Robert Wyatt)
3. We're Looking for a Lot of Love (with Robert Wyatt and Geese)
4. One Pure Thought (remixed by Geese)

Click HERE to order your copy.

In other news, Pitchfork strangely named Hot Chip's Made in the Dark the 23rd album of the year. Bill said:

I am one of Hot Chip's biggest supporters, but Made in the Dark hasn't really held up for me (wheras the Warning still does). And Cut Copy at #4???? The Metronomy record crushes both of those.

Also, you may have heard about the cover of Vampire Weekend's "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" by Hot Chip and Peter Gabriel. The very man who is mentioned in the song, does the singing. Listen to it below.

Vampire Weekend recently ended their whirlwind year on a high note with 4 NYC-area shows, 3 of which were at Terminal 5 (the same venue Hot Chip played twice in October). They were also named the most overrated band of 2008 in Stereogum's Gummy Awards, and they got 7th best album of 2008 by Pitchfork. The latter seems less weird than Hot Chip's ranking, though it's probably even more globally controversial.

Coming up for Vampire Weekend: the Tibet House benefit concert @ Carnegie Hall and a NY Times speaking event.

Picture's from Vampire Weekend's third of three Terminal 5 show (the one Fiasco opened - 12/6), the Peter Gabriel song, and more, below...

Continue reading "Hot Chip - an EP w/ Robert Wyatt & Geese, a Vampire Weekend cover w/ Peter Gabriel, free MP3s, Terminal 5 pics"

M83 @ Bowery Ballroom (more by Bao Nguyen)

Anthony Gonzalez of M83's Top 10 of 2008:

1. Chairlift, Does You Inspire You (Kanine Records)
2. MGMT, Oracular Spectacular (Columbia)
3. Fleet Foxes, Fleet Foxes (Sub Pop)
4. Vampire Weekend, Vampire Weekend (XL Records)
5. Hercules and Love Affair, self-titled (DFA Records)
6. Cut Copy, In Ghost Colors (Modular/Interscope)
7. No Age, Nouns (Sub Pop)
8. Free Kitten, Inherit (Ecstatic Peace)
9. James Blunt, All the Lost Souls (Atlantic)
10. Sun Kil Moon, April (Caldo Verde)

Speaking of which, no need to go to MSG to see M83 because they've added a smaller show at Irving Plaza, on the day they have off one day earlier. Tickets for the January 24th show are on sale. All dates below...

Continue reading "M83 name top 10 albums of 2008, add NYC show (on sale)"

Le Poisson Rouge's ode to Philip Glass/Chuck Close (more by Chris La Putt)

As someone kindly pointed out, tickets are now on sale for the 2009 Tibet House Benefit concert happening at Carnegie Hall on February 3rd. The list of artists confirmed so far is in the title of this post.

Vampire Weekend are in the middle of their three-night NYC run at Terminal 5.

Patti Smith also has a three-night December run of shows coming up in NYC, AND, like Vampire Weekend (these two artists have a lot in common), is speaking at an upcoming NY Times event.

The Tibet show is a month before the REM show at Carnegie Hall that Patti Smith is also playing and which was organized by Michael Dorf who has Philip Glass playing multiple shows at his new City Winery.

Philip Glass is also playing a Roulette benefit Saturday December 6th at Roulette.

The Tibet House benefit show is an annual show put on by Philip Glass. Patti Smith has played it before. So has Antony, Sufjan Stevens, The Black Keys, Trey, Ray Davies, Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson, Damien Rice, Band of Horses, and many, many more.

Video of Antony performing "You are My Sister" in 2006 (a fine moment), below...

Continue reading "2009 Tibet House Benefit concert w/ Philip Glass, The National, Patti Smith, Jesse Smith & Vampire Weekend"

Tickets are on Am Ex presale (@ noon) for the Webster Hall show Tokyo Police Club are playing. If you don't have an Am Ex, they also go on Artist Arena presale at 3PM. Regular Ticketmaster sale begins Friday.

Tickets are on sale (@ noon) for the Department of Eagles show at Bowery Ballroom.

Tickets for the upcoming Sharon Jones shows at Nokia Theatre are on Am Ex presale (at noon).

The Teenagers are playing MHOW on Thursday. Tickets are still on sale. Their other NYC show is opening for Vampire Weekend at Terminal 5.

Tickets are back on sale for tonight/Wednesday's Vampire Weekend show at Terminal 5.

Tickets are now on presale (PASSWORD = BUYTIXNOW) fot two shows Antony & The Johnsons are playing at Town Hall.

Martin Sexton is playing two shows at Town Hall in February too, and tickets are also now on presale (PASSWORD = BUYTIXNOW ?).

Tickets are on Am Ex presale (@ noon) for the recently added Black Keys show at Terminal 5.

OK Go are playing MHOW on March 8th. Tickets are on Am Ex presale (@ noon).

Tickets are on sale for the show Coliseum is playing @ Europa on February 27th.

Tickets are on Am Ex presale (@ noon) for the 2nd Crystal Castles show at MHOW.

Tickets go on sale Friday for Amanda Palmer's New Years Eve show.

The above design can be had on a t-shirt.

To Kill A Petty Bourgeoisie @ Brainwaves 2008 (Anti-Gravity Bunny)

today in NYC
* DANCE
* Family Guy @ Carnegie Hall
* Ludacris @ Highline Ballroom
* Fastball & L.P. @ Bowery Ballroom
* Fashion Wrestling w/ Shunda K @ Santos !
* Brian Wilson @ Capitol One Theature in Westbury
* Yip Yip, Mixel Pixel & NinjaSonik @ Cake Shop
* Jedi Mind Tricks & friends @ the Gramercy Theatre
* To Kill A Petty Bourgeoisie and Boduf Songs @ Pianos
* Treasure, Glass Ghost, Sharon Van Etten & Afternoon @ Glasslands

! "FASHION WRESTLING is an open-mat forum for experimental interactive fashion. It provides a low-cost venue for emerging or established designers as well as a non-traditional stage for avant-garde and interactive fashion experimentation. Fashion-wrestlers are judged as much on style as moves, the final decision lying with the camera: who takes the best picture? Humor is a plus. Fashion Wrestling lends itself to louder than mainstream values: action-fashion photography, pop-rock-punk-costumey-cartoony designs, and larger than life models. DJ Shunda K from Yo! Majesty runs the decks"

Tim Armstrong of Rancid was born today in 1967.

You might not know who Fastball are, but you know The Way. The band who were famous in the 90's play Bowery Ballroom in NYC, tonight.

Video of Fucked Up playing with Ezra from Vampire Weekend HERE. Video inside Ezra's Brooklyn apartment below... Video of Fucked Up performing Black Flag's "Nervous Breakdown", also below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Tuesday?"

Fucked Up + Vampire Weekend @ the Rogan Store (more by Edwina Hay)

The video below...

Continue reading "Fucked Up + Vampire Weekend (the video)"

photos by Tim Griffin

Vampire Weekend shows
Dec 3 @ Terminal 5 w/ The Teenagers
Dec 4 @ Terminal 5 w/ Telepathe
Dec 6 @ Terminal 5 w/ Fiasco & Air Bombay
Dec 8 @ Wellmont Theater w/ Ra Ra Riot

Continue reading "Vampire Weekend openers, Woodies pics w/ Chromeo "

The 2009 NY Times Arts & Leisure Weekend takes place at the Timescenter in NYC from January 8-11. Tickets are on sale for events that include talks with Vampire Weekend, Patti Smith, Salman Rushdie, and Tom Cruise (thx Jeff).

Vampire Weekend are also playing 4 NYC-area shows in December. Patti Smith is playing two.

Lykke Li @ Music Hall of Williamsburg (more by Gabi Porter)

mtvU, MTV's 24-hour college network, today announced that college favorites Santogold, Vampire Weekend, Lykke Li and All Time Low will take the stage for a night of unforgettable live performances at the 2008 "mtvU Woodie Awards" - the definitive college music awards. All four are nominated for Woodie Awards this year, as voting continues on mtvU.com/woodies. Additionally, four college radio stations progressed today to the final round of voting as they battle to be named Best Campus Radio Station and five college bands were named as finalists for the "Best Music on Campus Woodie Award," each vying for a chance to be declared best college band in America.

The only awards to honor the music voted best by the college audience, the 2008 "mtvU Woodie Awards" will take place on November 12, 2008 at Roseland Ballroom in New York City and premiere on-air November 19, 2008 at 8pm ET on mtvU, mtvU.com and in high definition on Palladia. MTV, MTV2 and MTV News will also broadcast highlights from the musical performance-packed show.

Continue reading "Santogold, Vampire Weekend, Lykke Li playing 2008 Woodies "

Photos by Edwina Hay

DOWNLOAD: Fucked Up - No Epiphany (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Fucked Up - Twice Born (MP3)

In order to capture as much of the 12 hour show that the band Fucked Up played at the Rogan Store on the Bowery near where CBGB used to be yesterday (10/14), we set up photographic shifts. Ryan was 4-6, Chris was 6-8, Edwina was 8-midnight and Tim was midnight until 2am. We failed at getting anyone there from 2-4 in the afternoon when it started. We also ended up with overlap because naturally, people stayed longer than their alotted time period, especially Ryan who was there for 8 hours. That's Jon Josef of Cro-Mags and Cro-Mags (jam) fame above in the red t-shirt (not the first time a hardcore/punk legend has joined FU on stage). The rest of Edwina's pics are below...

Continue reading "Fucked Up & friends @ the Rogan Store - the final set of pics"

Vampire Weekend are playing a show at the Wellmont Theater in Montclair, NJ on December 8th. That's two days after they finish their three-night run at Terminal 5 a short drive away, via the Lincoln Tunnel, in Manhattan. Ezra Koenig ("THE GUY FROM VAMPIRE WEEKEND") will also be performing in Manhattan with Fucked Up today, Tuesday October 14th, at 8:30 pm. $25.00 tickets for the NJ show go on sale October 18th at 10 AM.

Also coming up at the Wellmont: Yo La Tengo New Years Eve