by Bill Pearis

chickfactor #1 with cover stars Small Factory

chickfactor will celebrate its 20-year anniversary with five blissful nights of sparkling indie pop on the Northeast Corridor of the USA (three in NY; two in DC) including the first shows in years by Black Tambourine, Small Factory, Pipas, The Aislers Set, A Girl Called Eddy, The Softies, The Lois Plus, The Legendary Jim Ruiz Group and Fan Modine and rare performances from such pop luminaries asStevie Jackson (Belle & Sebastian), Frankie Rose, Lilys, Lorelei, Dot Dash, Versus, Bridget St John and Honey Bunch.

chickfactor started in 1992 in D.C. and New York by pop-loving maniacs Pam Berry and Gail O'Hara, who used to travel up and down the East Coast seeing Small Factory, Honey Bunch, the Wedding Present and any other fine indie-pop bands of the era. We are spoiled silly and lucky as all get-out to be able to present this super-stellar line-up. Get your ticket fast, do not dilly-dally!

For chickfactor's 20th anniversary, founders Gail O'Hara and Pam Berry have put together a five-day, two-city festival that gathers many of the zine's most loved bands, many of whom haven't performed in 15 or more years. It happens April 6 and 7 at the Artisphere in Arlington, Virginia and then in NYC April 10 -12 at The Bell House (Maybe some of you went to the 10th anniversary show at Fez?).

Tickets for the Bell House are on sale today (1/12) noon and are $25 for individual nights (4/10, 4/11, 4/12) or $70 for a three day pass.

The shows shows break down like this:

April 6 (Artispace, Arlington, VA): Stevie Jackson, Frankie Rose, Honey Bunch, The Dot Dash

April 7 (Artispace, Arlington, VA): Black Tambourine, Lilys, Fan Modine, Lorelei

April 10 (The Bell House, Brooklyn): Black Tambourine, Small Factory, Versus, The Lois Plus + Special Guests.

April 11 (The Bell House, Brooklyn): The Aislers Set, Pipas, Bridget St. John, The Legendary Jim Ruiz Group

April 12 (The Bell House, Brooklyn): Stevie Jackson, Honey Bunch, A Girl Called Eddy, The Softies

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Black Tambourine (first East Coast shows in 20 years) and The Aislers Set (first in almost 10 years) are the big draws here, but this writer is especially excited about folk pop trio Small Factory who haven't played together in 15 years and Minneapolis' The Legendary Jim Ruiz Group whose 1995 album O Brother Where Art Thou? is a lost '90s classic (they're promising a new album this year too).

This comes a mere month before the sixth annual NYC Popfest (happening May 17 - 20) which means this spring is likely to be a very good year for indiepop fans. NYC Popfest hasn't divulged any of its line-up, but I hear it may be their most ambitious yet.

Click though for a detailed rundown of the chickfactor fest line-up, plus some vintage videos from the groups involved.

Continue reading "Black Tambourine, Aislers Set, Small Factory, Legendary Jim Ruiz Group & more reuniting for chickfactor festival"

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)"

by Bill Pearis

Pete & the Pirates @ SXSW Convention Center

Wednedsay, Thursday, Friday, and now Saturday...

"This is the weirdest gig we've ever played. I feel like we're in Las Vegas and you are all eating dinner." Pete & the Pirates singer Thom Sanders was remarking on the weirdness of playing the Dot Com Day Stage at 1PM in the Austin Convention Center. Folding chairs were set up near the stage, there were couches around the periphery, more the kind of place where some CEO reveals annual earnings than hearing some sprightly indie pop.

Yet Pete & the Pirates made it work, 'cause they're so damn good. (The bloody mary I was drinking probably also helped.) They charmed the pants off the room. We got a smattering of songs from their first album, and a few from One Thousand Pictures which is due out in May. This was a great way to start my final day of SXSW.

From there it was off to our final day party of the week, which we were throwing with our friends at the M for Montreal festival. The line-up was pretty sick, if I do say, with !!!, Weekend, Austra, Braids, PS I Love You, Braids, Trail of Dead, Owen Pallet and more. The weather had cooled off a bit making both the outside stage at Barbarella and Swan Dive more comfortable than Friday and it was a great afternoon of music. Highlights for me: Versus, who I'd seen the night before, a kick-ass set from !!! who I don't think I've seen play in three years, an abbreviated but great Suuns, and another killer set from Weekend. (Look for an interview with Weekend soon.) I wish I'd gotten there in time to see Montreal's quirky, funky Misteur Valaire who I heard were the perfect lead-in to !!! (editor's note: they were!).

continued below...

Continue reading "Bill's Week in Austin (Day 4 - Pete & the Pirates & more)"

by Bill Pearis

Wounded Lion @ Shangri La

After Wednedsay and Thursday... I spent most of Friday afternoon -- the hottest day of the fest, well into the '80s --at Sailor Jerry-sponsored East Side dive Shangri La where Chicago label Trouble in Mind was throwing a party in the back yard. Their party at Scoot Inn the year before was one of my favorites of SXSW2010 and I'd have to say the same the same of 2011. The label, run by husband and wife Bill & Lisa Roe (who are also in CoCoComa), is mostly a 7" label, releasing great singles from some of the best garage-pop artists around. Many of whom were there at Shangri La.

I got there as Seattle trio Night Beats were just starting. Never heard them before, but really dug their psych-garage sounds, and they definitely looked the part. They ended their set with a cover of The Count Five's classic "Psychotic Reaction," giving their version a little swing which made it their own. Look for Night Beats debut LP out on Trouble in Mind this summer.

While Cheap Time were playing, I noticed Lars Finberg milling about the yard...what was he doing here? The Intelligence were definitely not here, was his side-project Puberty playing and I didn't know it? No, he told me he was playing drums for L.A.'s Wounded Lion for their Austin shows. I was already looking forward to seeing WL, now even moreso.

I was getting a little antsy and decided to walk around the East Side a bit, stopping by Cheer Up Charlies where I caught a few songs by Norway's Tôg (who are in NYC as we speak) before heading back to the Trouble in Mind party to catch Nashville's The Paperhead. Looking a bit like Red Kross, the band -- all about 19 I think -- are trippier than anyone else on the bill. Their debut just came out on TiM.

Next up Wounded Lion, whose self-titled debut was one of last year's more underrated records. I think seeing them live would change naysayers opinion, they were one of the rockin'est, most fun shows of the week. Two singers: main man Brad Eberhard does the heavy lifting and guitar playing, while singer/percussionist Raffi Kalenderian is more in the Bob Nastanovich of the band, going apeshit with the tambourine and generally keeping things entertaining. There is much switching of instruments. They also let Lars Finberg take lead vocals for the Intelligence's "Turned to Puke." I really thought they'd do "Pony People," a Wounded Lion song that The Intelligence covered on Fake Surfers, but no. Great, great set.

I then Sprinted over to the BrooklynVegan party at Swan Dive for John Grant. Friday was hot and Swan Dive didn't seem to have AC or even ceiling fans and it was an oven in there, but it didn't matter. Another of my favorite shows of the week. I'd seen him play solo at Mercury Lounge, but this show was with Midlake, his backing band on last year's amazing Queen of Denmark. With the band, Grant's late-'70s leaning epics came to lush life. The drums sounded gigantic. So did Grant's voice. All that was missing was sequined clothing and glasses that made points of light look like starbursts. Highlights for me: power-ballad "Mars" and "Chicken Bones" which is some kind of sonic collision of Gordon Lightfoot and Harry Nilsson.

John Grant @ Swan Dive

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Continue reading "Bill's Week in Austin (Day 3 - Wounded Lion, John Grant, PS I Love You, TSOOL, WhoMadeWho, Wye Oak, Versus & more)"

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

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.

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

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)"

Versus

The once extinguished but now active Versus is scheduled to play Mercury Lounge on February 19th, their lone East Coast date as part of a handful of US dates late next month. Tickets for Mercury Lounge go on sale at noon. The band released their first LP in ten years, On the Ones and Threes, via Merge Records in 2010.

You can also catch Versus's Richard Baluyut when he appears during Jennifer O'Connor's residency at Rock Shop on February 8th. Tickets are still available, and he'll be joined by Charles Bissell of The Wrens and Kendall Meade of Mascott.

Speaking of Charles Bissell, he is also on the bill of a Project Matters Benefit at Maxwell's in Hoboken on January 23rd with Cymbals Eat Guitars and Escape Directors. Tickets are on sale.

Versus is also on board for Noise Pop 2011 in San Francisco, CA. To be exact, they play Cafe Du Nord with their touring labelmates Telekinesis & The Love Language on February 23rd. The whole festival will take place at multiple venues from February 22-27 and will also feature appearances from Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie, The Postal Service), Ted Leo (solo), The Concretes (who are touring), Waaves & Best Coast (who are touring together), How to Dress Well (who plays Brooklyn soon), No Age, Yo La Tengo, and many other favorites. The full slate of initially-announced bands is below, and you can get your badges now.

Full list of Noise Pop bands, some video and all Versus dates are below.

Continue reading "Versus playing shows, Cymbals Eat Guitars playing a benefit, Noise Pop initial lineup announced (Ben Gibbard & many more)"

Kaia Wilson & Jennifer O'Connor

Move over Palomar, it's singer-songwriter Jennifer O'Connor's turn to start bringing special guests like Charles Bissell to special residency shows at new Brooklyn venue the Rock Shop. Jennifer writes...

"I am going to be hosting and performing in a monthly songwriter's series called Tower of Song that will take place on the second Tuesday of every month in 2011.

Each month I will invite three other songwriter's to join me and we will get together at the Rock Shop and each play a handful of songs and talk about our songwriting processes a little bit and collaborate and maybe play a cover or two. I think it's going to make for a really interesting night of music, especially for those interested in the "song" as an art form and maybe learning about how different folks write. I, for one, am totally excited to see what comes from it."

Jennifer, as she explained above, will also be playing at each show. She is also working a new record which she hopes to "have out some time later this year." Flyers, and a video of Jennifer covering "Waterfalls" with Clint Assay, Andrew Singer and Amy Bezbelow at Joe's Pub on December 15th, below...

Continue reading "Jennifer O'Connor starting a monthly series @ the Rock Shop"

UPDATE: Arcade Fire Daily Show videos are HERE.

Joanna Newsom on Kimmel last night

"Arcade Fire will appear on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart tonight [August 12th]. They'll perform "Ready to Start" from their new album The Suburbs which is currently the # 1 record in the country!

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart airs on Comedy Central at 11 PM EDT / 10 PM CST. Check your local listings for channel information and set your DVRs.

The Suburbs is available on CD, dbl-LP and digital download (with special digital artwork) in the Merge store."

Speaking of TV appearances and my favorite artists of 2004, Joanna Newsom was on Kimmel last night. Two videos from that appearance, below...

Continue reading "Joanna Newsom played Kimmel (videos), Arcade Fire playing Jon Stewart, Versus playing Rock Shop (and other dates)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Fergus & Geronimo - Girls with English Accents (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Fergus & Geronimo - Harder Than It's Ever Been (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Ty Segall - Girlfriend (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Ty Segall - Caesar (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Royal Baths - Nikki Don't (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Eternal Summers - Pogo (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Rayon Beach - The Memory Teeth (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Dog Day - Synastry (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Dog Day - Wait it Out (Mp3)
DOWNLOAD: Deerhunter - Revival (ZIP)
DOWNLOAD: Versus - Invincible Hero (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: How to Dress Well - Ecstasy with Jojo (MP3)

Wild Beasts @ Lollapalooza 2010 (more by Josh Darr)

Just like the August bounty of tomatoes, corn and zucchini that can be currently found at your local farmer's market, we looking at five extremely fertile days of live music, much of it free. Take advantage now -- this crop is extremely perishable.

Wild Beasts are stopping in NYC tonight on their way back from Lollapalooza, playing Highline Ballroom. Their second album, Two Dancers, was my favorite album of 2009 and a year later I'm still listening to it. It's up for this year's Mercury Music Prize and if anybody is going to beat The xx it'll be Two Dancers. If you missed their shows last September, or their appearances here in February , don't miss them this time. Tickets are still available. The fluid interplay between the band is something to behold -- a real case of four people working as one mesmerizing whole. And those who still haven't gotten used to their vocal style, I say go see them live and everything makes more sense.

Domino Records is offering a free downloadable four-song EP featuring "We've Still Got the Taste Dancing on Our Tongues" in original and remixed form, a track previously only available as a Japanese b-side and an acoustic version of "The Devil's Crayon." The download widget is at the bottom of this post and expires August 14 so get on that. And do go see them live tonight if you can. Denmark's The Kissaway Trail and UK artist Lone Wolf are also on the bill.

Fergus and Geronimo

It's been a year since Denton, TX's Fergus & Geronimo were last in town, and while they haven't released anything new since last summer's initial flurry of singles, that should change soon. The band have signed with Sub Pop subsidiary Hardly Art who will hopefully be putting out a record sooner than later. In the meantime, UK label Transparent (who put out "Tell it in My Ear" last year) have offered up a new F&G track "Girls with English Accents" that you can download at the top of this post. Maybe a little more dreamy/folky and less soul-tinged than their previous output, it's still another winner from this excellent four-piece.

I saw them at 92-Y Tribeca last summer and thought they were terrific. Fergus & Geronimo play Cake-Shop tonight (8/11) with Radical Dads and Little Gold. They then play Saturday (8/14) at Don Pedro's with Liquor Store, Home Blitz, Moonmen on the Moon, Man, and Nashville's Pujol. That sounds like a party.

Also here from Texas this weekend are Austin's Rayon Beach who play Bruar Falls on Saturday (8/14) and Death by Audio on Sunday (8/15). Like a lot of the bands on Hozac Records (or bands from Austin for that matter), this trio fit under the psych/garage umbrella but there's a decided Brit bent to their music. Baroque garage, is that a thing? Think Syd-era Pink Floyd or The Pretty Things more than Woven Bones. Make no mistake -- Rayon Beach can and do get plenty loud. It's just sometimes with pinkies extended. Check out Memory Teeth's title track at the top of this post.

The Bruar falls show is with Girls at Dawn and Xray Eyeballs; the Death by Audio show also features The Beets and Andrew Graham & Swarming Branch.

Ty Segall

We're just getting started. Ty Segall and The Royal Baths are here from San Francisco, playing Cake Shop on Thursday (8/12) and Death by Audio on Friday (8/13). For my money, it doesn't get much better in the new garage scene than this guy, who has been cranking out records over the last two years. Amazingly, they're pretty much all good, and each record goes somewhere new. The latest, Melted, just out on Goner Records, adds some nice '60s paisley pop touches. You can download two tracks from it at the top of this post. And he's great live.

The Royal Baths, meanwhile, are sort of the flip side to Ty's sunshine pop. I wrote before that they're "kind of bad trip acid rock, dark and seedy but not atonal. But it's definitely down the rabbit hole. In a good way." Royal Baths debut LP is due out on Woodsist in September and you can check out album track "Nikki Don't" at the top of this post.

Eternal Summers

Still more. Roanoke, VA's Eternal Summers are back -- they were last here for the Northside Festival -- for two shows: Thursday (8/12) at new Williamsburg venue The Pyramids and then Friday night (8/13) at Cake Shop. The band have signed with Kanine records who will put out their first full-length, Silver, in September. You can check out the album's first single, "Pogo," in the popular MP3 format at the top of this post. If you dig C-86 inspired pop like Brilliant Colors or Liechtenstein, you should definitely seek this duo out. Absolutely worth seeing live and nice folks too.

Both shows Eternal Summers are playing have pretty stacked bills. The Pyramids gig is with Philly's Reading Rainbow, all-girl quartet Rescue Bird, the shambly goodness that is German Measles and the wistful surf of Family Trees; Friday's Cake Shop show also has new-ish Brooklyn duo Yvette, the tinny, witty pop of Knight School and Halifax, NS band Dog Day.

Dog Day

Dog Day are actually here playing two shows. They play Thursday (8/12) at Bruar Falls in addition to the Cake Shop show on Friday. It's been a while since Halifax's mid-90s indie explosion that gave us Sloan and Thrush Hermit, but Dog Day are helping put the coastal city back on the map. Led by husband-and-wife team of Seth Smith and Nancy Ulrich, the quartet make moody, melodic indie rock that is not too dissimilar from The Figurines or The Comas. Last year's Concentration was one of 2009's lost gems. There's two songs to download at the top of this post and I highly suggest you do. You might find yourself saying "why haven't I heard these guys before?" Normally a quartet, for these NYC shows Dog Day will just be a duo of Smith/Ulrich and they'll be testing out new songs for their upcoming album.

Savoir Adore @ Coco66 for Northside (more by Don Gochenour)

And last but not least, Friday is the last Seaport Music Festival show of the season but they are really going out with a bang with The Wedding Present and Savoir Adore. I'm told we're getting a full 90-minute set from the Weddoes pretty close to what they played at Bowery Ballroom back in April: a career-spanning "hits" set and then they'll play 1989's Bizarro in full.

I saw the Bowery Bizzaro show and it was fantastic, especially the stuff from Side Two of the LP, the long, jangle-on-speed workouts of "Bewitched" and "Take Me!" David Gedge may be 50 but he can still tear into his guitar like Thatcher was still in office. There's video of "Take Me" from Bowery at the bottom of this post. The hits set was peppered with a few new songs too, which I thought were pretty good.

Savoir Adore, one of my favorite new NYC bands of the last few years, are always good live. If you have yet to check out their self-titled debut from last year, you definitely should.

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As if this wasn't enough, here are a few more picks by day that weren't already covered above:

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 11

Two of the best new bands of the last year -- Twin Sister and Oberhofer -- play Mercury Lounge with Ontario's MemoryHouse. Twin Sister and Memory House also play together on Thursday (8/12) at Monster Island Basement, the start of a two-week tour together. All dates at the bottom of this post.

At Coco 66 it's another installment of Show Off Your Sugar which pairs one band and one author to benefit 826NYC, a non-profit writing center for New York City students. Rock critic Chuck Klosterman reads and Here We Go Magic will rock.

continued below...

Continue reading "Wild Beasts, Fergus & Geronimo, Rayon Beach, Ty Segall, Eternal Summers, Dog Day, the Wedding Present & more in This Week in Indie "

DOWNLOAD: Versus - Invincible Hero (MP3)

Superchunk @ South Street Seaport July 2009 (more by Chris La Putt)

Those at LPR's Chris Knox benefit on May 6th got a taste of Superchunk when frontman Mac McCaughan closed his Portastatic set (backed by Yo La Tengo) with a rousing version of Superchunk's anthemic early single "Slack Motherfucker." Well, good news: Superchunk will be in NYC for proper shows at Bowery Ballroom on Saturday, September 18th and Music Hall of Williamsburg on Sunday, September 19th. Tickets for both shows go on sale Wednesday, May 19th at noon.

Maybe the shows will be in support of a new album...

"Superchunk never broke up or went on hiatus, they've just been moving slowly -- very slowly -- for the last decade, recording a handful of songs, playing one or two charity or small gigs a year. No particular event, (I thought it may have been their Coachella show last year) really pushed the idea of recording forward for Majesty Shredding, awesomely (just) named ninth Superchunk LP, according to drummer Jon Wurster. "I think it was having the time. Or maybe not even having the time but knowing that if we wanted to do this we have to make the time for it, which is kind of how it turned out. There was never really a defining moment where we decided, let's do this again, actually making an album," he says. "And I don't even think we had a goal in mind. I think it was just 'Let's see how it goes, and if we're still into it-it's like five songs, let's keep going.'" They found time together between their other gigs: Jon Wurster's been drumming for Mountain Goats, touring with Ben Gibbard, Jay Ferrar, and Carl Newman, and hosting WFMU's The Best Show, Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance run Merge records, while guitarist Jim Wilbur plays in Portastatic and works at a bookstore in Durham, North Carolina." [Stereogum]

About the new Versus album, Merge writes:

On the Ones and Threes is something of a return to form, featuring the reappearances of original member Edward Baluyut, and engineer Nicolas Vernhes (Animal Collective, Deerhunter, Cat Power, Spoon) who worked on Secret Swingers and Two Cents Plus Tax.

The deluxe-edition double-LP format will feature an alternate sequence and two additional tracks from the album's recording sessions. These extra tracks will also be available as a bonus for immediate download when you pre-order the CD or the deluxe double-LP in the Merge store beginning June 8.

Continue reading "Superchunk playing NYC (dates) ++ new Versus soon (MP3)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Unrest - Cherry Cherry (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Versus - Deseret (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Rondelles - Please Shut Up (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Bossanova - Calvary (MP3)

Teen Beat Records is celebrating its 26th year of existence and in celebration, label founder Mark Robinson is getting the old band back together -- Unrest -- for a reunion tour, their first in 15 years.* The trio, including Bridget Cross and Phil Krauth, will play six East Coast shows, including two in the NYC area: July 7 at Maxwell's (tickets), and July 9 at the Bell House (tickets).

Robinson has had a number of bands since -- Air Miami, Flin Flon, Grenadine and, most recently Cotton Candy -- but Unrest is probably the band that people hold a special affection for. Formed while Robinson was still in high school, Unrest had its foundations in the DC hardcore scene but by the time Cross joined on bass/vocals in 1990, the band seemed to draw most of its influences from Factory Records and the C-86 scene. The band's finest moment, 1992's Imperial F.F.R.R., was tuneful, smart, funny, sexy and self-aware. You can download "Cherry Cream On" from it at the top of this post. The album's getting reissued on vinyl for this 26th Anniversary. Unrest broke up in 1994 and have only played once since -- at the Teen Beat 20th Anniversary show in 2005, though both Robinson and Krauth played on Cross' 2008 solo endeavor, Maybe It's Reno.

In addition to Unrest, the Teen Beat 26th Anniversary shows all have other bands from the label's history playing. Maxwell's will get The Ropers (who played last year's Slumberland anniversary shows) and former Aden guitarist Kevin Barker who now records as Curritruck Co.

The Bell House show is kind of a Teen Beat wet dream, with Versus (whose new album is due out on Merge sometime this year) also on the bill. Additionally we get a reformed, original line-up Rondelles, the criminally underrated late '90s band who played punky new wave in their teens in Albequerque, NM before moving to DC -- they had records out on Smells Like and K as well.

There's also a rare border crossing (and rare performance in general) from Vancouver, Canada's mercurial pop whiz Bossanova, whose 2006 debut on Teen Beat is kind of a lost gem. (Check out "Calvary" at the top of this post.) Robinson will perform double duty, also playing with Cotton Candy, the duo he formed with wife, Evelyn Hurley, who are an amusing mix of indie rock, performance art and late '70s commercial jingles.

Other shows on the tour will feature other Teen Beat acts, and the July 10 show at the Black Cat in DC will feature mini-sets from two seperate early Unrest line-ups. All tour dates and line-ups for each show, plus flyers and video are after the jump.

Continue reading "Teen Beat celebrating 26 years with an Unrest reunion tour"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: The Cribs - We Were Aborted (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: BOAT - Prince of Tacoma (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: BOAT - We've Been Friends Since 1989 (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: BOAT - Lately (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: BOAT - I'm a Donkey for Your Love (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: BOAT - Last Cans of Paint (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Pants Yell! - Cold Hands (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Frankie Rose - Thee Only One (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Brown Recluse - Night Train (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Brown Recluse - Contour and Context (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Ropers - Revolver (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Nord Express - The Natural (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Lorelei - Stale Houses (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Max Tundra - Which Song (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Deastro - Reaction To Substance M (MP3)

Tonight (11/11) and tomorrow are the last two shows of The Answering Machine's extended NYC visit, playing Bruar Falls tonight (with Dinnosaur Feathers and Zambri) and Cake Shop tomorrow (11/12, with Sholi). As I've said before, this Manchester band make superior Brit Indie and like their debut album, Another City, Another Sorry, quite a bit. You can get the whole thing at their bandcamp.com page.

The Cribs

Speaking of superior Brit Indie, The Cribs fourth album, Ignore the Ignorant, was released this week, just in time for their shows at Bowery Ballroom on Thursday (11/12, still tickets available) and Friday (11/13, sold out). As you may know, The Cribs are now a four-piece, having added Johnny Marr to their otherwise all-Jarman lineup for the writing and recording of the new album which actually does sound like what you might expect it to. You've still got the big choruses and raw energy The Cribs are known for, but now with the flourishes and panache the onetime Smith is known for. I'd even say Ignore the Ignorant finds Johnny Marr sounding like Johhny Marr for the first time since his days in The The. It's a really strong record. But The Cribs are almost always better live than on record. I will be curious to see how Marr will affect the usual antics of Gary, Ryan, Ross. Will brothers still act like brothers when there's a legend nearly twice their age on stage?

The shows I'm most looking forward to this weekend are from Seattle's BOAT, a truly fun live band whose new album, Setting the Paces, is just terrific, loaded with irresistible indie pop, as much as you can fit on tangerine-colored vinyl. We're talking giant hooks, lyrics that are funny without being novelty (and have just enough of the crying-on-the-inside clown thing going on too), and production that is neither slick nor low fi. This is how it's done, and I've no doubt this will find its way into my Best of 2009 list.

BOAT play Union Hall on Friday (11/13) and Bruar Falls on Saturday (11/14) and you really should do yourself a favor and go see one of these shows. They don't make it East very often. Their live shows are fairly interactive -- they pass out bags of confetti and homemade shakers, and often work with signs and props -- but it never feels forced. They just want you to have a good time. The Union Hall show on Friday is with How I Became the Bomb; Saturday's Bruar Falls show is with Miniboone and Shark?

Pants Yell!

I feel a little bad that BOAT's show on Saturday is competing with the Slumberland 20th Anniversary show at The Bell House for the indie pop consumer's dollar. As someone who spent his college years going on road trips to Washington DC to see shows and go record shopping, Slumberland is intertwined with my musical upbringing, be it thumbing through Velocity Girl, Henry's Dress and Aislers Set 7"s at Arlington's Go Records, or hearing Stereolab's Switched On for the first time at Smash on M Street.

It's kind of amazing that, after a few years of dormancy, Slumberland has come back stronger than ever in the last year with records that have achieved a national level of attention that seemed impossible in the '90s. I'm still stunned at how popular Pains of Being Pure at Heart have gotten. It's a label that continues to be a labor of love for owner Mike Schulman. Maybe the listening public (now with the wide-reaching abilities of the internet) has come around to his way of thinking.

Anyway, Saturday's eight-band spectacular is a hard-t0-pass-up bill for any indie fan, featuring label heavy hitters The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (previously unannounced) and Crystal Stilts. There's also Boston's Pants Yell!, whose new album Received Pronunciation was just released and is what I'd call a textbook "grower," one whose many pleasures don't reveal themselves till maybe the third listen. The band are also swearing it's their last, and plan to break up next year (Check out an MP3 of "Cold Hands" above). Additionally, the show has Philadelphia's baroque-ish Brown Recluse from the label's current roster, and what is likely to be most people's first time seeing Frankie & the Outs, who were really good opening for Grass Widow at the Woodser a week ago.

There's also sets from three bands from Slumberland's dreamy '90s era: Lorelei, who have been back together since 2003, and The Ropers, and Nord Express who I'm pretty sure are playing their first shows since disbanding. While I know some Slumberland fanatics were hoping, wishing, crossing their fingers Schulman and Bell House booker Skippy might pull a rabbit out of their hat with more classic Slumberland bands (The Aislers Set, Black Tambourine, Velocity Girl or Rocketship), it's hard to argue with this lineup. It's gonna be a great night.

Versus

While on the subject of '90s indie rock, Versus are playing at Knitting Factory on Friday (11/13). Now augmented with a violinist (at least at their fantastic Seaport set this summer), they're sounding as good as they did in the '90s. Maybe even better. I'm told there's a new Versus album in the can and they're just trying to work out the whens and wheres of its release. The whole line-up at the Knit is TeenBeat related actually, with label head (and former Unrest frontman) Mark Robinson's new band Cotton Candy; Plus Minus which features Versus' James Balyut and ex-member Patrick Ramos and who are equally popular in their own right; The Solitary Cyclist which includes John Lindaman of True Love Always, Plus Minus drummer Chris Deaner, and food blogger (and friend of mine) Ganda Suthivarakom who has also performed with Miho Hatori, as well as in David Byrne's Imelda Marcos opera, Here Lies Love. Which leads us to the other band on the bill: Filipino indiepop band Ciudad. They've been playing shows here for the last month or so but this looks to be the final one before they head back to the Philippines.

GhostDigital

A couple other quick shows of interest. If you ever wondered what became of Einar, the other vocalist in the Sugarcubes (the one who shouted things like "I really don't like lobster!"), his current gig is GhostDigital which matches weird electronics to his particular style of vocals. They play tonight (11/11) at Monkeytown with fellow homemade diode musician Caspar Electronics.

GhostDigital also play on Thursday (11/12) at Town Hall as part of Music For 16 Futurists, which is further described as:

An evening-length concert of original scores and newly commissioned compositions for the intonarumori, or "noise-intoners" As part of its celebration of the 100th anniversary of Italian Futurism, the Performa 09 biennial, in collaboration with the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC) and SFMOMA, has invited Luciano Chessa to direct a reconstruction project to produce accurate replicas the legendary instruments (8 noise families of 1-3 instruments each, in various registers) that Russolo built in Milan in the summer of 1913. As the first instruments capable of creating and manipulating noises through entirely mechanical processes, the intonarumori can be considered to be the original analog synthesizer, and the ancestors to the latest electronic synthesizers used today.

Sounds pretty cool. Aside: I used to fantasize that Einar formed a band with Fred Schneider. The most annoying band ever created.

OK that's it for this week. Videos and tour dates follow....

Continue reading "The Cribs, BOAT, Slumberland, Pants Yell!, GhostDigital, Versus, Music For 16 Futurists & more in This Week in Indie"

by Andrew Frisicano

Mac and Britt embrace (Triangle Music)

The much anticipated XX Merge Festival took place last week in North Carolina with a five-day (July 22-July 26), Wednesday to Sunday run of shows. Last night (Sunday)'s show with She & Him, American Music Club and Wye Oak was the only fully announced lineup. The other four nights (and one day) were a grab bag of any number of Merge bands past and present. Did you go? What were the highlights?

Conor Oberst & the Mystic Valley Band, who recently played a pair of big NY shows, headlined the fest's first night (which also included Magnetic Fields). Superchunk, which features Merge founders Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan, topped the bill of the second night. The third night included the reformed/reunited lineups of Spent, Polvo and Pipe.

Mac McCaughan came out on stage before [Pipe] instead of the night's emcee and announced that there was a lone protester outside. He invited him up on stage and it was Jon Wurster decked out in Phillies gear as Philly Boy Roy. He was holding a sign that said "Boycot MERGE." He complained that Merge didn't have any Philly bands on their roster and Mac said that they have bands from Jersey, which is close to Philly. You never compare Jersey to Philly in front of Philly Boy Roy. It was hilarious.

All of this led to the introduction of New Jersey punks Pipe. As soon as they kicked into their first song, beer cans and plastic bottles started flying. Frontman Ron Liberti ate it up and even put himself in the line of fire, headbutting some of the cans while kicking some back into the crowd. Liberti bounded around the stage, essentially taunting the crowd. The crowd loved the band's antics as did I (but that may have been different if I hadn't managed to stay dry). [triangle music]

In addition to the Cat's Cradle shows (the venue for 4/5 of the night shows), Saturday featured a day show that included Julian Koster solo as Music Tapes and Mac McCaughan with violin accompaniment as Portastatic. A few videos from that set, below.

M. Ward, who's playing the Central Park Summerstage this Saturday (August 1st), played at the fest's Saturday night showcase. Zooey Deschanel joined him for a cover of the Beatles' "Birthday." Not too big of a surprise considering She & Him headlined the Sunday night show.

Other XX Merge artists who recently stopped in NYC include The Clientele and Richard Buckner (they played Music Hall of Williamsburg last Sunday), Versus and Superchunk (they played South Street Seaport last Friday), and Spent (they played Coco 66). Spoon didn't play a NYC show, but they were spotted in the audience of Paul McCartney's third of three shows at Citi Field in Queens. Destroyer is on his way up. He plays Bowery Ballroom on Thursday. Mark Eitzel (as American Music Club) played Le Poisson Rouge and Maxwell's before XX Merge, and now he's on his way back for a show at The Bell House.

Lineups for each night of XX Merge, with videos, and a bunch of setlists, below...

Continue reading "Merge celebrated their 20th w/ 5 days of shows in North Carolina (lineups, reviews, pics, video setlists...)"

photos by Chris La Putt

'Superchunk were awesome. I couldn't believe how much energy they had onstage. But Versus were good too.' - ]Anonymous | July 18, 2009 9:21 AM

"Twenty years of Superchunk. Twenty years of Merge Records. Mac MacCaughan and Laura Ballance, co-founders of both, have got to be feeling pretty good about things. And they certainly weren't at a loss for energy on Friday night. Following a great set from Versus (a sometimes-Merge band that's back at it after quite a few years off), Superchunk hit the gas and never let up.

As the sun disappeared behind the looming skyscrapers of the Financial District and mist thickened over the East River, the band laid down a set of songs from all over their two decades of existence. Though the Seaport has the potential to kill rock 'n' roll vibes with its touristy surroundings, Superchunk was immune to any such bumming-out. Instead they chugged, jumped, squealed and shouted like they were trying to blow the roof off of some smoky and sweaty midsized club.

And, indeed, they even seemed close to blowing the roof off of the dark and cloudy Manhattan sky, as a few errant rain drops hinted at an impending downpour. Fortunately, the deluge held off long enough for the band to bust out an encore of "Slack Motherfucker," a killer finale for a refreshingly spirited show." [John Ruscher]

Continue reading "Superchunk & Versus @ South Street Seaport - pics & videos "

a shot from the 1st Pool Party (last week) (more by Bao Nguyen)

Chances of rain aside, the free show prospects for this weekend are amazing. Tonight/Friday its the South Street Seaport (with Superchunk and Versus), Saturday is the Siren Festival in Coney Island, and Sunday brings Dirty Projectors, Magnolia Electric Co, and Crystal Antlers (not White Denim) to the Williamsburg Waterfront Pool Party.

Alternatively, Saturday also offers the the African Festival in Prospect Park, and Q-Tip and friends at Central Park's Summerstage.

Video of Magnolia Electric Co performing live (recently) (including one with The Avett Brothers), below...

Continue reading "Superchunk Friday, Siren Saturday, Waterfront Sunday (free NYC shows this weekend also include Q-Tip & African Fest)"

Indie rock nostalgia continues this summer at South Street Seaport. The band Versus have been added to the free show schedule that already includes Polvo and Superchunk (who Versus are opening for on July 17th). Superchunk and Versus are also playing the XX Merge Festival in July. And...

"Versus still continued to tour occasionally but began a recording hiatus in 2001 after it broke up for a short period and Richard Baluyut relocated to San Francisco. The members afterwards moved on to other bands - James Baluyut and Patrick Ramos formed +/-, Fontaine Toups formed The Fontaine Toups and Richard Baluyut converted his solo acoustic project Whysall Lane into a full band. [Wikipedia]

All dates below...

Continue reading "Versus playing Seaport & Mercury Lounge with Plus/Minus"

Versus keep randomly reuniting and playing shows. Their last one was opening for Yo La Tengo at one of the Hanukkah shows. Before that it was an unannounced show at Union Hall. This time they're playing between Crystal Stilts and Love is All at Bowery Ballroom on June 16th. Tickets are on sale.

Versus named themself after the Mission of Burma album Vs. I bet that means they'll be at Bowery Ballroom one day earlier too.

DOWNLOAD: Phofo - Light That Menorah (MP3) (more)

Versus @ Maxwell's, NJ - Dec 4, 2007 (CRED)

Yo La Tengo @ Maxwell's, NJ - Dec 4, 2007 (CRED)

Jon Glaser & Jon Benjamin @ Maxwell's, NJ - Dec 4, 2007 (CRED)

Mark Arm from Mudhoney played with Yo La Tengo too. Mudhoney was in town to play three shows including one at the same venue a few days earlier (and one at Bowery Ballroom).

Money raised from the Hanukkah show went to Community Food Bank of New Jersey. Tonight's show (Hanukkah night 2) will benefit The Stone. Tonight's opener is rumored to be the Clean. Tomorrow is the dB's.

New Yo La Tengo tour dates below....

Continue reading "Yo La Tengo - Hanukkah night 1 (Versus, Jon Glaser, Jon Benjamin, Mark Arm)"

I don't have a good picture of Yo La Tengo's recent show at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, but check out this photo by Jonny Leather of rock-n-roll Ira at their last Webster Hall show.....

*Tues. 12/4-Tues. 12/11 The 8 Nights Of Channukah with Yo La Tengo and Their Heavy Friends. All shows are SOLD OUT. What follows is a list of the charities that will be receiving donations on each night in case you would like to contribute or just seek more info:

• *Tues. 12/4: Community Food Bank of New Jersey
• *Wed. 12/5 The Stone (John Zorn's nonprofit performance space in NYC)
• *Thurs. 12/6 Day One (aiding teenagers in violent relationships)
• *Fri. 12/7 MK Charities Inc. (Ponderosa Stomp in New Orleans, and related events to preserve and spread awareness of blues, soul, r&b, etc. culture)
  
• *Sat. 12/8 826NYC / Global Kids (2 organizations that promote education for the poor)
• *Sun. 12/9 Clean Ocean Action (of NJ)
• *Mon. 12/10 African Services Committee (immigration and HIV counseling their specialty)
  
• *Tues. 12/11 Fortune Society / Northeast Council of the Wrongfully Convicted

In other news, Yo La Tengo is scoring a new Emily Hubley film, and Yo La Tengo was the special musical guest at the recent non-taping of SNL at UCB.

DOWNLOAD: Versus - Deseret (MP3)

Peter Moren, Carl Newman & the happy couple @ Union Hall, Nov 10, 2007 (cred)

Eugene Mirman now pronounces you man & wife, Nov 10, 2007

Union Hall can now call itself home to at least two major indie rock weddings, and both weddings involved The New Pornographers' Carl Newman, and Union Hall mainstay comedian Eugene Mirman, in one way or another. The first wedding (August 4, 2007) WAS Carl Newman's, and (luckily then) Carl merely played at the second one. Carl and Peter of Peter Bjorn & John did a set of covers at the private Saturday night show that also included sets by Dean & Britta and The Mugs (not the Muggs). Congratulations to Union Hall's booker Skippy, and his new wife Courtney. More photos like the two in this post, at Flickr. Read an interview with Skippy (Jack McFadden) at Gothamist.

For Peter, that meant his third show at Union Hall. His first was with Bjorn and John - their NYC debut back in January, and his second was just one night before the wedding - he was the not-so-secret guest on Friday night's David Kilgour show....

Peter played a short impromptu set of songs he's working on for an upcoming solo album, working out arrangements in advance of his "real" solo show at Joe's Pub on November 19. Stress on "working them out." There were stops and starts, flubbed lyrics... but luckily Moren's a real charmer so nobody seemed to mind....[Sound Bites]

the real treat was after the night's show (including David Kilgour and Euros Childs) was supposed to be over.

1990s indie faves Versus reunited for their second show since breaking up in 2001. This wasn't the start of a reformation, however -- this was a 40th birthday present for former Teenbeat labelmate Matthew Datesman, who has logged time playing drums for various bands on that influential Arlington, VA label, including True Love Always, Aden, and currently Flin Flon. Teenbeat prez and Flin Flon singer Mark Robinson (who still looks like he's 25) was one of the 50 or in attendence, most of whom were super-psyched to be seeing Versus. [Sound Bites]

And as if that wasn't enough, Michael Showalter's new comedy album Sandwiches & Cats is out this week. What does that have to do with Union Hall? Well, it was recorded there! Stream it now at AOL.

As you probably know by now - mostly thanks to Michael Showalter & Eugene Mirman's weekly Sunday night show "Tearing the Veil of Maya", Union Hall has become - along with UCB and Rififi, one of the best places to catch a show by one of NYC's many "alt-comedians". Aziz Ansari, David Cross, Jon Benjamin, Leo Allen.....the list goes on.....

Sarah Silverman poses with a super-fan, Nov 1, 2007

That's right - Sarah Silverman herself was the the "surprise" at Todd Barry's 20th year in comedy celebration at Union Hall earlier this month.

Upcoming shows at Union Hall include Daniel Kitson, Travis Morrison, and Oppenheimer. Eugene Mirman & Immaculate Machine played their Sunday night.