"When Mogwai asked me to shoot a live film with them, it was supposed to happen in Japan. Finally, it had to be in Brooklyn, at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, over 3 nights. Yeah, a bit less exciting, but hey it wasn't really the point. The point was: how to film Mogwai? How to take up the challenge of filming, not only a band on stage (i already expressed many times my lack of interest for the exercice), but MOGWAI!?
Who ever saw Mogwai? a band you would feel more than see - i spent most of their shows eyes closed. How to add images to their sounds, and why?
I asked old pal Nathanael Le Scouarnec to work with me on this. He did most of the edit on the film, and i have to say it's a mindblowing work. The combination of its edit skills and a cherished b/w aesthetic, makes Burning, a 50 minutes experience hopefully reaching towards abstraction at some point. Ah but, it's a film you have to see on a BIG screen with a BIG sound, deal?" - [Vincent Moon, Burning's director]

Mogwai releases their new live DVD document Burning and LP Special Moves TODAY in DVD, downloadable video, CD, and LP packages (order them). For those of you who enjoy your film-going experience en masse, the band is screening the film at multiple outlets over the coming months including the newly added 9/11 showing at the Met, and TONIGHT (8/24) at Music Hall of Williamsburg (tickets).

Want to go to MHOW tonight? We have two pairs of tickets available for giveaway. Details on how to win, with videos and UK tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Mogwai live DVD out & screening today & at the Met (win tix)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Braids - Lemonade (MP3)

Montreal's Braids will be in NYC next week, playing Knitting Factory on Tuesday May 25 with Depreciation Guild (whose very good second album Spirit Youth is out this week) and Wild Nothing (their debut, Gemini, which is also quite good, is out that day), and then an early show at Mercury Lounge on May 27 (no advance tickets) with fellow Montreal residents The Luyas who just can't seem to stay away from our city now that they've broken their NYC cherry (they were here the other day to play a 20 minute set at the National's High Violet Annex). Is there a cheap bus that we should know about?. There's also going to be a "secret loft show" (maybe like The Luyas one last month) on May 26 that we'll have info on next week.

Both Depreciation Guild and The Luyas are good pairings for Braids (not to be confused with '90s emo band Braid) whose sound is both ethereal and expansive, that reminds me a bit of being in a half-awake, dreamlike state. It's lovely stuff.

The band's debut, Native Speakers, is finished and awaiting a release date but in the meantime you can download "Lemonade" from it at the top of this post. There's also a lovely Vincent Moon directed Take Away show of Braids doing "Lemonade" further down this post.

Braids are currently playing a few dates with Holly Miranda (another apt pairing) before the shows next week here in New York.

Videos and dates below...

Continue reading "Braids are touring - video, MP3, 2 NYC dates (1 w/ the Luyas)"

On Saturday, February 13th, filmmaker Vincent Moon of La Blogotheque will be at UnionDocs (322 Union Ave) in Brooklyn to screen and discuss Take Away Shows and other shorts. Tickets to the event are on sale.

As you probably know, his live music videos are among (if not) the best around. The newest Take Away Show captures The Low Anthem (who are playing NYC in April) at Grand Central Terminal and along the Hudson River. Those and a few others are posted below...

Continue reading "Take Away Show screening w/ Vincent Moon Saturday"

photos by Ryan Muir

Happy Holidays! I take on more than I can handle. That results in a lot of unposted content. In the name of catching up, while also taking it easy during this final week of the year, here's some of that lost material.

Then, rising Montreal outfit Clues gave a packed house of industry insiders a glimmer of this city's future sound. Fronted by the confident falsetto of Alden Penner (formerly of eccentric indie act Unicorns) and also led by Brendan Reed, who used to drum in Arcade Fire and Think About Life, these five indie kids channeled Led Zeppelin's guitar grooves, Vampire Weekend's poppy song structure and Sunset Rubdown's angular vocals and unpredictable soundscapes.

Just two years after their very first live show, which actually took place at Pop Montreal 2007, Clues have honed their chemistry and sharpened their sound. Those who missed the band live should consider, ahem, searching around for their self-titled debut which their hip hometown imprint Constellation Records released earlier this year. [Spinner]

The show being reviewed is the BrooklynVegan showcase that happened at this year's Pop Montreal festival in October, where Clues shared a bill with Micachu. Clues also taped some Take Away shows with Vincent Moon (pictured above) for La Blogoteque during the festival. Those videos with more pictures from both events, below...

Continue reading "Clues @ Pop Montreal 2009 - pics & Take Away Show videos "

photos by Ryan Muir

"The band on everyone's lips [at Pop Montreal] was local solo artist tUnE-YaRdS, a.k.a. Merill Garbus, whose looped ukulele electronica captured many people's attention at the festival. (Her track "Sunlight" was also the de facto Plateau coffee shop jam.) Though attendees planned to give it up for Faust, and sang the praises of local heroes like The Luyas, you couldn't escape the giddy enthusiasm they had for Think About Life. Dancing in a packed room with everyone I'd met that week, I finally understood just how small the Anglo music scene really was. And I kinda liked it that way." [Eye Weekly]

Merill Garbus performed at least three times last week in Montreal. One emotional show was her last with her band Sister Suvi (RIP). One (pictured above) was in a museum...

"Tune-Yards blew me away this time when she played at the Museum of Contemporary Arts.
This time she had a backing band and sounded alot better than her being just one musician.
There was also visuals during the show.
Totally packed the small theatre." [MW Music Review Blog]

And finally there was a private performance that was being filmed by Vincent Moon for a new La Blogoteque Take-Away show. It's her second Take-Away show as tUnE-YaRdS. The first was made at SXSW. You can watch the older one below.

Last night (10/6), tUnE-YaRdS shared a bill with Dragons of Zynth at Union Hall in Brooklyn. In November she's touring with Dirty Projectors (with four more NYC shows on that schedule). Ryan Muir, who spent a bunch of time with Vincent at Pop Montreal, was at all three of Merill's performances. More more pictures of both of the tUnE-YaRdS ones, below...

Continue reading "tUnE-YaRdS played Union Hall, a museum for Pop Montreal (pics), another Take-Away show (pics & video) "

by Black Bubblegum

Mogwai @ ATP (more by Zach Dilgard)

Mogwai kick off their three-night stay at Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn tonight (4/27-4/29). If you see video cameras, it's because the sold out shows are being documented for an upcoming film by independent flimmaker Vincent Moon of La Blogotheque Take Away Show fame.

If you miss the shows, you can also catch the band when they are back in the NYC-area over the summer to play All Points West. Their upcoming tour plans also include a lot more North American shows and a ton of European festival dates including T In The Park, Field Day, and the Oxegen Festival with the reunited Blur, Kings of Leon, Nine Inch Nails, Jane's Addiction, The Killers, and many many others.

Supporting the band on a large chunk of that North American trek are fellow Scots The Twilight Sad. TWS recently completed mixing of their upcoming LP (due "sometime this summer"), as evidenced by the following tweet: "lassssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssst day of mixing today, then wrestlemania." Who knew that the sensitive Scots enjoyed watching a man's head smash into a turnbuckle? In California, Mogwai also play three shows with Dead Meadow.

Stu from Mogwai has a twitter account of his own, and he plans to post setlists and "loads of pointless drivel" from the road. In addition, those interested in the culinary adventures of Mogwai can follow John Cummings's tweets here.

Dominic of Mogwai's other pastime, Crippled Black Phoenix, recently played Mercury Lounge on 4/12 while on tour with Brooklyn's Ghastly City Sleep. GCS has only one additional date on their calendar, May 10th in Philadelphia with the mighty Gods & Queens.

All Mogwai tour dates and a recent La Blogoteque live video of Mogwai from Reims is below...

Continue reading "Mogwai are here w/ the Twilight Sad + other 2009 tour dates"

DOWNLOAD: The National - So Far Around The Bend (MP3)

as promised...

Sharon Jones @ Nokia Theatre (more by Natasha Ryan)

4AD is pleased to announce Dark Was The Night - Live , a concert commemorating the newest Red Hot release Dark Was The Night. The show will take place Sunday May 3 at Radio City Music Hall and will feature several of the artists that contributed to the compilation including Dave Sitek, Dirty Projectors, Feist, My Brightest Diamond, The National, Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings plus more to be announced in the coming weeks. Tickets will go on sale this Friday, March 13 at 11am 9am via Ticketmaster. Dark Was The Night - Live begins at 8pm (doors will open at 7).

Dark Was The Night was released by 4AD on February 17of 2009, and was produced by Aaron & Bryce Dessner of The National. The compilation, comprised of 31 exclusive tracks, benefits the Red Hot Organization - an international charity dedicated to raising money and awareness for HIV and AIDS through popular culture. A complete track listing for Dark Was The Night is listed below.

Tickets will also go on Am Ex and "Internet" presale on Wednesday at 9am.

Pitchfork.TV (newly redesigned) seems to be down at the moment, but also:

This week also sees the release of several videos directed by groundbreaking filmmaker Vincent Moon. Moon shot the Dark Was the Night contributors The National, Dirty Projectors and Yeasayer each performing their song from the compilation in early February. These clips will roll out, one a day starting tomorrow, March 10, premiering on Pitchfork.tv

I wonder who else they'll add to this show. Grizzly Bear should still be in town. Sufjan Stevens lives here too. David Byrne? The whole Dark Was the Night tracklist below...

Continue reading "Dark Was the Night Radio City show CONFIRMED - Dave Sitek, Dirty Projectors, Feist, The National, Sharon Jones & more..."

The film follows Arcade Fire through the making and touring of their 2007 album Neon Bible, documenting the band at their Montreal studio, the making of promotional films and videos, along with live footage and a few short films made on the road.

Miroir Noir is directed by Arcade Fire friend and collaborator Vincent Morisset. Vincent was responsible for the interactive video for the song "Neon Bible" and for the Arcade Fire web design. The film was shot by Vincent Moon.

The digital download and standard edition DVD feature the 70 minute film Miroir Noir. The deluxe edition DVD contains bonus material including Arcade Fire's live performances on Jonathon Ross, Saturday Night Live and at Maida Vale.

The 70 minute film will be available globally at www.Miroir-Noir.com on December 15th as a one-off download in two sizes to suit preferred players. The physical standard and deluxe DVDs are planned for 2009 delivery (with digital versions delivered instantly).

Continue reading "A Skin, A Night - a film about THE NATIONAL & a new EP"