photos by Amanda Hatfield

Chairlift released their new-wavey sophomore LP, Something, on January 24 and played a record release show one night earlier at Bowery Ballroom (1/23) with Violens and Dive. The show seemed to have gone pretty well until frontwoman Caroline Polachek was mauled by a drunk fan who refused to get off stage during the last song of the encore. A video of this show finale and another of Chairlift playing Something opener, "Amanaemonesia," along with more pictures from the show (Chairlift keyboardist Olga Bell aka Bell included) is below.

This weekend, Chairlift will kick off an Australian/European tour and upon returning to North America in March for SXSW, they'll head out on a full North American tour with fellow pop strivers Nite Jewel that runs from late March into April. The two bands play their last show together in Philly two nights before Nite Jewel headline Bowery Ballroom on February 24. Tickets are not on sale yet but check ticketmaster for updates. Chairlift have no upcoming NYC show, but stay tuned for an announcement (probably Webster Hall) soon.

All dates, more pics, and videos below...

Continue reading "Chairlift played Bowery Ballroom w/ Dive, Violens & a crazy fan on stage (pics, video & more dates) "

DOWNLOAD: Mac DeMarco - "Baby's Wearin Blue Jeans" (MP3)

Mac DeMarco

We recently mentioned the newest Captured Tracks signee Mac DeMarco is releasing his debut EP, Rock and Roll Night Club, on the label on March 20. It's since been announced that he will open for Captured Tracks labelmates Beach Fossils and their upcoming Music Hall of Williamsburg show on March 2. Tickets for the show are still available. No other Mac DeMarco dates to report at the moment.

Meanwhile, Beach Fossils side project Dive can be found opening for Violens and Chairlift at Bowery Ballroom on 1/23. Updated Chairlift and Dive tour dates are listed below.

And don't forget to catch the touring Blouse and other Captured Tracks bands at 285 Kent on 1/31.

If you haven't already, you can grab Mac's single "Baby's Wearin Blue Jeans," at the top of this post and stream it below...

Continue reading "Mac DeMarco opening for Beach Fossils; Dive opening for Chairlift (updated dates)"

Chairlift at Mercury Lounge in October (more by Diana Wong)

Chairlift are releasing their second full length, Something on January 24 via Columbia. You can stream two tracks off that album, "Met Before," "Amanaemonesia"," and "Sidewalk Safari," and a Sampha remix of the latter below.

They'll tour in support of the new album in January with an NYC show on January 23 at Bowery Ballroom with Violens. That tour also initially included a show at Symphony Space on January 19, though it appears to have been removed from Symphony Space's site. Tickets for the Bowery Ballroom show go on sale Friday (12/9) at noon with an AmEx presale starting Wednesday (12/7) at noon.

All dates and song streams below...

Continue reading "Chairlift releasing new album, playing shows in January"

Chairlift @ All Points West 2009 (more by Tim Griffin)

After realizing that I couldn't find any info today confirming that James Murphy was DJing a VPL block party on Mercer Street tonight (9/8), I looked into it a little more and found out that the block party is cancelled, James Murphy included. Instead, and as listed at the Fashion's Night Out website, VPL (5 Mercer Street) is having this @ 6:30PM --- "Seldom House: A Covers Set by Caroline Polachek (Chairlift), Jorge Elbrecht (Violens), Will Berman (MGMT) and Leo Fitzpatrick." That's inside the store.

If you still want to some DFA action, Holy Ghost! plays the Prada store @ 6PM.

You can also catch Andrew VanWyngarden from MGMT aka DJ iDEATH with DJ Patrick from Chairlift entertaining people for Fashion's Night Out at Curve @ 8PM (that's at 83 Mercer St).

Also Tanlines AND MNDR AND Freelance Whales play Theory (38 Gansevoort St) starting @ 6PM.

Upcoming Chairlift shows are listed HERE.

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: BNLX - Living in Exile (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: BNLX - Vaporize (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: BNLX - Dance Dance Dance (on the Radio) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks - Senator (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks - Tigers (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Male Bonding - "Bones" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Male Bonding - Tame the Sun (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: David Kilgour & the Heavy Eights - Diamond Mine (MP3)

I guess we'll start this week with Stephen Malkmus who is doing two in stores on Thursday: Academy Records in Williamsburg at 6pm and then Other Music at 9PM. His new album Mirror Traffic, as you may know, was produced by Beck. I'm not sure what that was supposed to connote (more acoustic guitars? L. Ron Hubbard references?) but it's a pretty typical Malkmus solo album with some tight pop songs ("Tigers," downloadable above, and "Stick Figures in Love") and maybe a little more focused and less jammy than he's been in a while. But not much less jammy.

I'm the guy that thought his first solo album was a step in the right direction and has been somewhat ambivalent by what's followed since. But they're always worth hearing. Malkmus and the now Weiss-less Jicks are on tour next month and all upcoming tour dates are at the bottom of this post, along with the video for "No One Is (As I Are Be)."

Voluminous and enigmatic Minneapolis duo BNLX are visiting this week, playing The Rock Shop tonight (8/24) and Pianos on Thursday (8/25). This is their third trip to NYC, and the first since releasing the 6th release in their quarterly EP series. It's description in typical BNLX corporate-speak:

BNLX commences the next phase in the BNLX First One Year Plan (extension two) with its sixth consecutive quarterly EP release of "music." These compositions combine rhythmically-expressed poetry in popular idiomatic vernacular ("rhymes") with pulsating percussive elements ("beats") and harmonic modulations/variations/transpositions (melody). The resulting unique juxtaposition of auditory and narrative elements can only be described as "music". Thematic topics on this release include IED's, event horizons, beards and banjos, and deposed royalty. "Vaporize" leads off the EP with a high-energy blast of high velocity psychedelic noise pop.

The Rock Shop show is with Delaware's Sky Drops; the Pianos show also has Jeane (who I finally saw last week, liked 'em), Phone Home and Ventilader.

Speaking of regimented release schedules, Violens have been releasing a digital single every month this year, the latest of which, "Through the Window," is my favorite so far. With a skittering drumbeat and delay-drenched arpeggiated guitars, it sounds a little like Kitchens of Distinction (if you remember that early '90s band). Violens will be playing a lot of their new material tonight (8/24) at Glasslands.

The rest of tonight's bill is also worth checking out. Dive is the new band from Zachary Cole Smith who used to play drums (and wear mom jeans) in Beach Fossils. (He's also played in Soft Black and with Darwin Deez.) The one track I've heard is definitely a bit Fossil-ized, but am curious to hear more and see what they're like live. Dive play again on September 1 at Shea Stadium with Caged Animals and Forest Fire.

Opening the Glasslands show is Philadelphia's psych-shoegazers Arc in Round. whose most recent EP is cacauphonous and captivating...and sound like they might be very good live.

---

Personal and the Pizzas are delivering in our area this weekend: Friday (8/26) at Maxwell's and Saturday (8/27) at Death by Audio. If you like good time Ramones style rock n' roll, and pizza (with extra cheese) you're gonna have a good time. I don't know what else to tell ya. There's video at the bottom of this post.

Lastly, we've got Male Bonding rolling into town: Glasslands on Saturday (8/27) and Mercury Lounge on Monday (8/29). The UK band's new album, Endless Now, is out next week and as mentioned before it moves away from the swampy sound of their debut into defiant mid-fi. Any more fidelity with melodic punk like this and you might start getting into Blink-182 territory. This album is as produced as it needs to be and is a pretty fun listen with just enough shoegaze nods to keep old guys like me interested. You can download two songs off it at the top of this post.

The band are on tour with Austin's Love Inks who are 180 degrees from Male Bonding's sound: gentle, minimal, croony. The jury is still out on their live show (my jury at least) but I do really like their album.

That's the main stuff I'm talking about this week. A few more worthy picks -- day by day -- are below.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24

Head to Pianos to catch dark and sexy ZAZA,  who play with Australian group Sherlock's Daughter who are on an extended New York holiday, as well as My Best Fiend, Our Mountain, and Alak.

continued below...

Continue reading "Stephen Malkmus, BNLX, Male Bonding, Violens, David Kilgour, Dive, Joe Pernice & more in This Week in Indie"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Violens - Acid Reign (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Violens - Violent Sensation Descends (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Fergus & Geronimo - Powerful Lovin' (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Warm Ghost - Open the Wormhole In Your Heart (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Weed Hounds - Beach Bummed 7" (ZIP)
DOWNLOAD: Acylics - Nightwatch (MP3)

Violens

We'll start of this week with a giveaway. Violens play Santos this Saturday and if you'd like to win a pair of tickets to the show as well as a copy of the band's new album, Amoral, just send an email to BVCONTESTS@HOTMAIL.COM with "VIOLENS" as the subject and we'll pick a winner at random.

I think Violens' debut is a pretty sweet slice of glossy goth pop, heavily in debt to bombastic '80s UK mope but with a modern sheen. If it's out-of-step with what's currently in favor in Brooklyn, it's all the more distinctive for it. It also sounds really good loud. Amoral may hold up pretty well down the line, too, as songs like "Violent Sensation Descends," "Acid Reign" (both downloadable above) and "The Dawn Of Your Happiness Is Rising" are cleverly-produced and catchy-as-hell.

The whole Santos show should be pretty fun, with the awesome Light Asylum and Caveman opening (plus, BBG reports that Krallice drummer Lev Weinstein is now playing as a member of Violens too).

John Grant

What else is going on this week? MOJO Album of 2010 recipient John Grant plays two shows this week: an early show tonight (12/8) at Mercury Lounge and then Saturday (12/11) at The Rock Shop. If you haven't checked out the former Czars frontman's solo debut -- produced and backed by Midlake -- you should really do so. From MOJO's year-end review:

[Midlake]'s intervention supplied confidence, empathy and a meticulous '70s soft rock sound, allowing Grant to channel a life's worth of vitriol and self-flagellation into songs of spiritual hunger, emotional fireworks and bile-black humour that always searched for self-improvement and atonement. Here were tales of alcohol and cocaine dependency, self-hate and destructive love affairs that raised the twin ghosts of Patsy Cline and Karen Carpenter. The result was in an intensely bittersweet pop record, that, like a couple of similar MOJO classics before it -- Antony's I Am a Bird Now and Bon Iver's For Emma... -- sounded like it's creator had been waiting his whole life to make.

Tricky

Trip hop pioneer Tricky is here this week as well, with shows at Le Poisson Rouge tomorrow (12/9) and Brooklyn Bowl on Friday (12/10). Here's one of those artists that even that despite a string of lackluster records, I always give the new album a chance. While there are more than a few regrettable moments on Mixed Race (I don't think anybody could make a Peter Gun sample work in 2010), there's also some of the best we've heard from him in ages that drip that paranoid, slow-burn cool that made his first two albums classics.

Atlas Sound, Feb 2010 @ the Bell House (more by Dominick Mastrangelo)

While Deerhunter's terrific Halcyon Digest is finding its way into many's Top Ten of 2010 lists (maybe mine, we'll see), Bradford Cox stays busy as Atlas Sound who play an Maxwell's on Friday (12/10) and The Bell House on Saturday (12/11). Has any other artist been on such a creative hot streak as Cox since 2008? The guy releases at least one "official" album a year in one of his two guises, with regular demo dumps via his blog that are almost always worth downloading. Like the four-part Bedroom Databank series we got in the last two weeks. May this ride never end.

---

And a few more picks, day-by-day, for shows not covered above.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 8

It's the 30th anniversary of John Lennon's death, and Glasslands pays tribute tonight with a cavalcade of indie names, including: Acrylics, Amazing Baby, Nicole Atkins, Here We Go Magic, Eytan & The Embassy, Psychic, Teen, The Royal Chains, Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson, Bizi Gara, Class Actress, and Brian Harding. Proceeds go to Arts Education International.

My Teenage Stride, who have five new downloadable songs up on WFMU's Free Music Archive, play Pianos tonight with The Art of Shooting, Minneapolis duo Fort Wilson Riot, and Desert Stars.

Over at Death by Audio, you can catch a rock-solid bill featuring bash-pop duo Sisters, Total Slacker offshoot Web Dating, indie rock quartet Shark?, sleazoid garage rockin' X-Ray Eyeballs, and Philly duo Slutever.

Captured Tracks band Further Reductions bring the minimal synth sound to the Weird Party at Home Sweet Home.

continued below...

Continue reading "Violens, John Grant, Tricky, Atlas Sound, Weed Hounds, Acrylics, My Teenage Stride & more in This Week in Indie"

today in NYC
* the Halloween parade
* Justin Bond @ Joe's Pub
* tribute bands @ Union Pool
* Sun Ra Arkestra @ Sullivan Hall
* The Dresden Dolls @ Irving Plaza
* The Black Crowes @ Best Buy Theater
* The Old Ceremony, Mascott @ The Rock Shop
* Rocky Horror Picture Show Anniversary Party @ Le Poisson Rouge
* World/Inferno Friendship Society (Hallowmas 2010) @ Brooklyn Bowl
* The Felice Brothers, Adam Haworth Stephens @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Robbers On High Street (as ELO), Black Dragon, Blue Album Group @ Mercury Lounge
* Delicate Steve, Golden Ages, Crinkles, Lawrence Welks and Our Bear To Cross @ Cake Shop
* Das Racist, Keepaway, Pictureplane, The Intelligence, The Beets, Cassie Ramone & Justin from The Babies as The White Stripes, Janka Nabay, Blissed Out @ Ridgewood Temple (Todd P's Halloween Party)

This year is the 38th Annual Village Halloween Parade.
This year's theme: "Memento Mori"

Twenty years ago the iconic Day of the Dead puppets first appeared in the Village Halloween Parade, our festival of All Souls to ritual traditions worldwide -the Guede in Port-au-Prince, the Skull and Bones Gang of New Orleans, in the calaveras of Oaxaca, the Midnight Robbers of Trinidad, and beyond. Often it is in the places where tragedy is more ubiquitous and everyday existence can be more of a struggle, that expressions of the Dead are the most exuberant, a reminder that life itself, despite itshardships, is a gift. The Dead - as they return to drink coffee, play checkers, watch TV,but above all, to dance - offer us a mirror to see with fresh eyes the everyday things in our lives, rendered invisible by routine. Every sound, action, and motion we take for granted, they rejoice in - on the one night they can. So each year, when the skeletons take their place at the head of the Halloween Parade, they are not grim expressions of the morbid but rather joyful reminders of all that is vital.

As the beloved dancing skeletons enter their third decade in the Village Halloween Parade, we seek to honor them - and in doing so, to honor all those who have walked in their footsteps. Official Parade puppeteers Superior Concept Monsters, Master Puppeteer Basil Twist and Haitian Artist Didier Civil plan to work with the Mexican, Haitian and arts communities to make and remake, create and re-create, re-envision and resurrect the entire Day of the Dead section, calling forth not only the spirits of the Dead, but many of the puppets of past VHP artists that had long been absent from the streets of Greenwich Village. Drawing on traditional forms from Trinidad to Tibet, Haiti to Mexico, new 12'-foot tall skeletal puppets will add new life to the VHP's jubilant underworld - a cortege drawn by galloping night-Mares, an illuminated Ghost Train, and a dozen brand-new dancing Calaveras skeletons and who knows what else to join their brethren at the head of the Parade.

As the perennial community of Halloween volunteers gathers again this year to build and rehearse our memento mori ("Remembrance of Death") we'll look back on 37 years of Halloween in NY with another Latin adage: "Vita Brevis Ars Longa" : life is short, but art endures.

The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black was supposed to play Santos Party House, but the venue is closed.

Did you catch Legendary Pink Dots at Le Poisson Rouge the other night? Since their tour was announced, they were also added as opener for tonight's Dresden Dolls show at Irving Plaza.

That Dresden Dolls show also promises "special guests, rare performances, and a cacophony of Brechtian entertainment." AND: "This triumphant return will be documented by the Dresden Dolls fan base in a project spearheaded by This One Is On Us. Fans from all over the world will record, edit, design, and promote to produce a DVD of the evening for all the world to cherish and enjoy. This project aims to blur the link between author and reader even further - until both are one and the same."

Tonight's show at Union Pool show:

HALLOWEEN
8PM $5
DAMN! a Halloween tribute to WHAM!
(Max and Kev from Pizza Party on EVR)
THE CURE(Warm Ghost)
VIOLENT FEMMES(McDonald's)
ELO(Members of The Mad Scene and The Flaming Fire)
DANZIG/MISFITS(Members of Love as Laughter, Children, and Violent Bullshit

Check out Howlies' new Halloween-friendly video for "Zombie Girl" below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Sunday? (Halloween) "

by Andrew Sacher

DOWNLOAD: The So So Glos - "Lindy Hop" (MP3)

So So Glos Fans (more by Zach Stern)

The lineup has been announced for this year's SUNY Purchase Fall Fest, an annual one-day, students-only festival which will take place on November 5th in the SUNY Purchase Student Center (The Stood). Fall Fest '10 (aka Halloween 2) will be headlined by Raekwon, and features a very varied lineup of other acts including Death who just announced a NEW album...

BASEMENT OF WHAT WAS ONCE KNOWN AS GROOVESVILLE STUDIOS - DETROIT, MI - May 7th, 2010

"After searching for almost eight hours, I removed a box with a Master in it and vaguely saw some big red letters on the box below it. I shinned the light on this box to clearly see the writing in big red letters DEATH. I screamed with excitement DEATH!!, DEATH!!, DEATH!! Everyone in the building starting to scream and wildly cheer and applause. Upon seeing those tapes, it brought it all back, David had written those big red letters on the tape. Engineer Jim Vitti had jokingly drew a skull and crossbones on the box after the name to which David did not like telling him "We are not that kind of Death". I was full of emotion, I cried. We were all elated, Jacque was elated, I called up Dannis who was in Vermont and he began to joyfully celebrate. I thought about David. If David were here with us all that has happened to Death up to this point would pale in comparison to what we found today. The tapes were right where Brian said they were sitting there awaiting us for 34 years." - Bobby Hackney

Spiritual, Mental, Physical is the new Death CD/LP and it will be released 01/25/11.

The So So Glos will also be performing at SUNY, and are about to embark on a Five Borough NYC tour to celebrate the release of their new EP, Low Back Chain Shift, which came out Tuesday, October 12. The NYC tour happens to take place during CMJ, kicks off in Staten Island, includes a Queens BBQ with Patrick Stickles of Titus Andronicus, and a showcase at Pianos...

Friday, Oct. 22
at Pianos
158 Ludlow St

Force Field PR Official CMJ Showcase
08pm - Lord Huron
09pm - La Sera
10pm - Violens
11pm - Woven Bones
12am - Wild Nothing
01am - The So So Glos

FREE w/ CMJ Badge
or $10 advance / $12 at door

Omar Souleyman will be performing at SUNY as the concluding date on his current tour, which also includes a November 2nd show at MHOW. Updated dates below.

Fucked Up is also returning to Purchase after getting their set cut short by the police at their 2008 Culture Shock Performance.

Full Purchase lineup, videos, and other tour dates below...

Continue reading "Purchase Fall Fest, new Death, So So Glos dates, Omar Souleyman's updated schedule & stuff"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Twin Shadow - Slow (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Total Slacker - Cops Freak Me Out (MP3)

Summer Blondes

Ok it's a busy weekend of shows. It always is, I always say that. But this TWII is seems more packed than most. No doubt, it is time to try a little harder in the band name department. Especially when it comes to beachy ones of which, anyone who even casually checks in with Pitchfork can tell you, there are too many of. Adding to the band name clutter and confusion are Oakland, CA's Summer Blondes who are visiting us this weekend. They play tonight (7/21) at Shea Stadium, a house party in Bushwick on Friday (7/23) and Bruar Falls on Saturday.

Given their name and hometown, it may not surprise you learn that Summer Blondes (who are dudes, maybe that's a surprise) make low-fi surf garage rock. That said, and lack of moniker originality aside, I like these guys. Alternating between laid back instrumentals and blown-out rockers (and some that most interestingly fall in between), there's more musicality going on here than you might expect. Also: their drummer is a manic powerhouse, and their singer/screamer appears to be a little nuts. No records out yet, but the band do have CDR demos they've been handing out at shows so keep an eye/ear out for those.

Pujol

Also playing that Saturday Bruar Falls show are Nashville's Pujol who are on JEFF the Brotherhood's Infinity Cat label. Is it just me or does it seem like there's a Nashville band in town every weekend? Bye bye JEFF and Heavy Cream, but hello Pujol. You may know him from Wizardz or MEEMAW if you follow the Nashville scene closer than I do. Like all the bands on the Infinity Cat roster, Daniel Pujol makes poppy, punky party rock that is hard to dislike.

If you can't make the Bruar show, Pujol also play Silent Barn on Sunday night and that one's with The Beets, Knight School, and Moonmen on the Moon, Man. Check out a couple Pujol music videos at the bottom of this post with all dates.

Moving from Nashville to Memphis, as mentioned in the previous post, we've got Magic Kids in town for a couple of show. Read more about that there.

Twin Shadow

For being in a band who have never done a whole lot for me one way or the other (there, I admit it), I like every band on Chris Taylor's Terrible Records.  The label's next release is the debut from locals Twin Shadow which will be out September 28. The brainchild of stylish New Yorker George Lewis Jr., Twin Shadow mix a variety of '80s influences into a pretty distinctive sound. For example, on "Slow," which you can download at the top of this post, you can hear a little Joy Division in the drumbeat, and the arpeggiated, delay-effected guitar is straight out of The Chameleons or U2's playbook. You can even hear a little Prince ("I Would Die 4 U") and Bruce Springsteen ("I'm on Fire") in there too. But he makes it all into something new.

Lewis, who sounds like The Blue Nile's Paul Buchanan but looks more than a little like Phil Lynott, is a charismatic cat on stage... see them now in small places while you can. Twin Shadow play Cake Shop Thursday (7/22) and Coco 66 on Friday (7/23). Both shows are with Hooray for Earth.

Free Energy @ the Pitchfork Festival (more by Kate Gardiner)

And last but certainly not least, this Friday's edition of the Seaport Music Festival might just be the biggest of the Summer with Free Energy, Best Coast and Loose Limbs. Best Coast couldn't be any hotter right now with just about every media outlet writing about their debut album which comes out next week. It's a fine showcase for Bethany Cosentino's natural way with a melody, her great Loretta Lynn-ish voice, and her ability to rhyme the word "crazy." Much has been made of the single-minded lyrical themes -- a very bad breakup, weed -- but I prefer to focus on those melodies and her voice which can stop you in your tracks. It a gorgeous record in that respect, and Best Coast, now with full-time drummer Ali (swiped from Vivian Girls), have been good the three times I've seen them this year (twice at SXSW, once at Knitting Factory). It's also Best Coast's only NYC show (not counting the invite-only one last night) until they return at the end of September. All tour dates are below.

Headliners Free Energy should be right at home on a big outdoor stage, as their album is loaded with festival-ready fist-pumping rock anthems, stealing the best bits of Thin Lizzy, ELO and '80s stadium rock. Perfect summer music, that goes down easier than Bud Light. Get there early for trio Loose Limbs (who are signed to Seaport Music Records), and I'll be DJing a second week in a row. Will I play The Darkness? Seems likely.

--

That's gonna do it for this edition. There's some more daily picks of things worth checking out that I didn't cover above:

WEDNESDAY, JULY 21

Montreal's Parlovr and Suuns play the first of their two shows this week at Mercury Lounge and both are worth catching (and one is now signed to Secretly Canadian). It's an early show.

You could make a Montreal night of it by then heading over to Home Sweet Home for the Wierd party where Automelodi play at Midnight.

Sludgy noisemerchants Total Slacker (check out new MP3 "Cops Freak Me Out" at the top of this post) and funky Ava Luna (who impressed during Northside) headline a bill at Glasslands that also includes Mala Strana and Baltimore's loud Weekends.

Diehard, who'll have a new EP out soon of catchy, classic-sounding indie rock,  at Union Pool with The Waylons and World War.

continued below...

Continue reading "Summer Blondes, Twin Shadow, Violens, Free Energy, Pujol, Best Coast, Midnight Juggernauts, more in This Week in Indie"

DOWNLOAD: Arp - White Light (MP3)

Nite Jewel, photo by Justin Loy

Nite Jewel, Ramona Gonzalez and collaboratot Cole M. Greif-Neill, have a new EP, Am I Real?, out digitally now (and on vinyl August 16th). It's streaming on their site currently.

"In the last two years, somewhere in between the bedroom & the studio proper (the living room?), the 6 songs of 'Am I Real?' were made and the tape hiss barely made it (please see b-side opener 'Falling Far'). Featuring subtly re-vamped & improved selections from last year's hard-to-obtain 'You F O' euro tour cd, the ep also offers the newer fully established ornate melancholy of 'Forget You & I' and the sophisticatedly restrained funk of the closing title track featuring Daniel & Andrew Aged of Teen Inc. Also found on this release are the further benefits of master facilitator & now-official NJ band member Cole MGN." Jason Darrah, Gloriette Records

Nite Jewel's upcoming tour dates include an August 9th show at Mercury Lounge with Violens and Prince Rama. Tickets are on sale. Then they have a double blast of shows on Saturday, August 14th. The first is a gig opening for Neon Indian, Prefuse 73 and Dom at their free Beach at Governors Island show. The second is a headlining show at Glasslands with The Samps, Blood Orange and Arp (who recently played Warm Up at PS1). Tickets are on sale.

Arp, as Pitchfork points out, "will release his latest full-length. The Soft Light [on] September 14 via Smalltown Supersound". An MP3 from that album is above...

"Leading up to the release of The Soft Wave, Alexis Georgopoulos [aka Arp] composed his first score for modern dance in Replica, a duet between Merce Cunningham and Trisha Brown dancers, which debuted at New York's New Museum. He played a live score to artist Doug Aitken's film Migration at 303 Gallery (New York), participated in the Boredoms-curated 8.8.08 88-drummer extravaganza in Los Angeles, and remixed Lindstrøm. His music was featured in director Gary Hurstwit's film Objectified. He also made music in Q&A (formerly Expanding Head Band), his new DFA project with partner Quinn Luke, and his band The Alps released two albums III & Le Voyage (Type) to critical acclaim. ARP shared bills with Cluster on the coast of Big Sur, Sonic Boom, White Rainbow, Four Tet, Lucky Dragons, Growing, and Wooden Ships, among others. The track "Potentialities" from In Light was recently featured on James Holden's DJ KICKS. Most recently, he released FRKWYS Volume III, a collaborative album with minimalist composer Anthony Moore, as part of RVNG's new FRKWYS series. The duo recently performed with a string section as part of New York City's Wordless Music Festival."

Continue reading "Nite Jewel released an EP, playing shows, Glasslands w/ Arp (who has an album coming soon) "

The new Skippy-booked, Bowery-associated, Park Slope music venue is selling tickets for (two) shows on Ticketfly.

UPDATE: They just added a bunch more shows to Ticketfly. The current July schedule is listed below...

Continue reading "the Rock Shop is announcing shows, selling advanced tickets "

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Toro Y Moi - Blessa (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Patrick Bower - The Dark Lord of Love (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Morning Benders - Promises (MP3)

Wild Beasts @ Union Pool in 2009 (more by Tim Griffin)

Of all the things going on this week -- and there is no shortage of options as usual -- my number one pick would be for you to see Wild Beasts, who are on tour and play Bowery Ballroom on Friday (2/26, sold out) and Music Hall of Williamsburg on Sunday (2/28) Tickets still available for the Brooklyn show and we have a pair to giveaway. Details at the bottom of this post.

Their second album, Two Dancers, was my favorite album of 2009 and I still hear some new and amazing little detail every time I listen to it. I went to all three of their New York shows last September, all of which were great. 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. Wild Beasts are one of a kind, at the top of their game, and you're dumb to miss them.

Both shows feature Toronto's Still Life Still as openers, and Violens will also play the MHoW show. Both openers also head to SXSW in March.

Morning Benders

The other undeniable show this weekend is Saturday (2/27) at Market Hotel with a line-up that almost dares you not to go: Surfer Blood, Turbo Fruits, Beach Fossils, Grooms and Morning Benders. All bands I've written about in this weekly column more than once. Now most of these bands -- including out-of-towners Surfer Blood and Turbo Fruits -- play here enough that most people have seen them already. Except Morning Benders, recent transplants from San Francisco who have kind of blown up over the last two weeks thanks in part to a great new album, Big Echo (out March 9 on Rough Trade), as well as a killer live performance video (shot for Yours Truly) of the LP's lead track, "Excuses," that's been making the rounds. The version on the album is already pretty lovely, but here, done Phil Spector style with the Big Echo Orchestra (John Vanderslice and Christopher Owens of Girls among them) is pretty special. You can watch it at the bottom of this post, and download the MP3 of "Excuses" from The Morning Benders website for the mere price of your email address. The MP3 for "Promises" is above. Anyway, see them now before the album comes out and they no longer play places like Market Hotel.

... or the Housing Works Bookstore where they'll play tonight (2/25) with the garagey Shark? and twinkly folkies Cuddle Magic. Max Silvestri hosts. Presented by the Hype Machine, it's also a CD swap where you can take all those CDs you've ripped and trade them for others you don't have yet. Admission is $5 and at least one CD. Do bring something someone people would want to listen to, and not that CD of your cousin's ska band, OK?

The Morning Benders also play Mercury Lounge on April 22 (tickets still on sale). All tour dates for the band are at the bottom of this post.
---

Some more show picks shows by day:

THURSDAY 2/25

Toro Y Moi is playing Cameo Gallery but surprise surprise: Best New Music + 75 person capacity = sold out show. There will be some tickets ($5) available when doors open at 8PM. Twin Sister are also on the bill so if you already have tickets for this, show up early and see them -- they're great. If you don't make it in, Toro Y Moi rolls back through town on March 26 where he'll play Brooklyn Bowl with New Zealand's Ruby Suns. He'll be at SXSW too. All tour dates for him are at the bottom of this post.

Patrick Bower

Patrick Bower and The World Without Magic are likely to play tunes from their new EP, The Dark Lord (of Love), at Bruar Falls. You can download the Scott Walker-esque title track at the top of this post. It's pretty different than the more beardy folk of his solo work. I dig it. The show's free and also features country-ish Beau Jennings & The Holy Tulsa Thunder and the delicate orch-folk of Balene.

North Highlands, Dream Diary and Knight School are at Death by Audio. Now is the time to catch North Highlands, who were excellent at Bruar Falls last week and I think will be taking things to the "next level" (whatever that means) soon. Dream Diary are getting really good too, especially if you like Pastels-style indiepop, and Knight School are NYC's nerdiest, funniest, catchiest, tinniest band.

And at the Bell House there's laptop shoegaze maestro Ulrich Schnauss who made one of my favorite records of the '00s, A Strangely Isolated Place, and apparently had a hand in recently coaxing Chapterhouse out of retirement. It's actually a pretty cool night if you're into dreamy soundscapes. Also on the bill is Mark Van Hoen who was a founding member of awesome '90s band Seefeel (seek out 1993's Quique) and who's made music under the name Locust since the mid-'90s. Local dreamweavers Luxa open the night.

FRIDAY 2/26

If you weren't able to squeeze into Cameo on Thursday, Twin Sister play the equally tiny Matchless. As I said recently, they're probably the best new band I've seen in some time. I will say I'm predisposed to like their mix of Stereolab and Sade, but I was wowed when I saw them at Bruar Falls.

A Sunny Day in Glasgow are back in NYC, playing  Mercury Lounge (tickets). They've got a new EP, Nitetime Rainbows, coming out next week that shows off their more experimental, soundscape-y side. Which side will we get Friday? This is the start of a lengthy tour which of course includes SXSW. Acrylics, who I love, are also playing the Mercury Lounge show.

Another chance to see Knight School, this time early on at Bruar Falls with awesomely loud (yet poppy) duo Sisters, sonic manipulator Noveller and the psych punk assault of Lame Drivers. After this show, Sisters hit the road with another Brooklyn duo, Coasting, for the tour heading to SXSW and then join up with Irish band So Cow after the fest. Tour dates are below.

SATURDAY 2/27

Hospitality haven't played live in at least six months, due mainly to their bass player's duties in White Rabbits. He won't be at Bruar Falls on Saturday so we'll be seeing a slightly different line-up of the band but I'm glad to have them back. Singer Amber Papini is quite the charming singer. They're opening for Swedish duo Wildbirds & Peacedrums -- who are also playing an early show at Mercury Lounge on Friday.

Another local band that hasn't played in ages: The Hundred in the Hands, whose song "Dressed in Dresden" I listened to a lot last summer. It's the only song on their Myspace, apart from about 10 different remixes. It's a good track, but I'm curious to see how many other songs they have. With Glasslands doors at 11 and two other bands on the bill (Ra Ra Rasputin, Esque) it'll be a late night.

SUNDAY 2/28

Go see Wild Beasts. Seriously.

That's it for this week. Videos, Wild Beasts contest, and tour dates are after the jump.

Continue reading "Wild Beasts, Morning Benders, Patrick Bower, Toro y Moi, Hospitality, A Sunny Day in Glasgow, more in This Week in Indie"

Wild Beasts kick off their first North American tour (with Still Life Still) in LA tonight (2/10). The trek runs through February 28th. and the final show is in Brooklyn at Music Hall of Williamsburg. Tickets are still available and Violens were added to that bill. The Bowery Ballroom show two nights earlier (which only has two bands on the bill) is sold out. A brand new video for "We Still Got The Taste Dancin' On Our Tongues" and all dates below...

Continue reading "Wild Beasts kick off tour w/ Still Life Still, release new video "

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Violens Winter Mixtape (website link to Zip)
DOWNLOAD: Acrylics - All of the Fire (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Class Actress - Careful What You Say (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Air Waves - Lightning (MP3)

Violens

A pretty killer line-up at Mercury Lounge tonight (12/9). Headliners Violens just got back from a big European tour opening for White Lies, and this looks to be their last show of 2009. They've been rather pokey in getting out their debut LP, but it looks set to finally come out early next year. You can get a taste on their downloadable Winter Mix Tape which features a couple album tracks, some remixes, demos, a cover of Saint Etienne's "Avenue" (!) -- plus singer Jorge Elbrecht singing overtop Wire's "Outdoor Miner" and The Byrds' "I See You." (The latter, he sings My Bloody Valentine lyrics). If you've never heard Violens before, this is a pretty good place to start, giving you a sense of the disparate influences the band bring together.

Also playing Merc are Acrylics and Class Actress, both of whom are signed to Grizzly Bear Chris Taylor's Terrible Records. I've written about Acrylics a bunch of times are definitely one of my favorite new local bands. Their debut EP, All of the Fire, was produced by Taylor and came out a couple weeks ago and is at its best when Jason Klauber and Molly Shea sing together. The title track, which you can download at the top of this post, finds them at their Fleetwood Mac-iest, with that dreamy pedal steel and echo handclaps.

Class Actress

Class Actress, meanwhile, could be lumped in with the coldwave/darkwave scene depending on what song you hear first -- the synths on "Careful What You Say" are pretty icy -- but there's a strong heartbeat running through Elizabeth Harper's songs, and the EP (produced in part by Violens' Elbrecht) is pretty varied and quite lovely. I haven't seen her perform live yet, so I'm looking forward to tonight.

Yellow Fever

As mentioned previously, Yellow Fever are in town this weekend, ostensibly to play a record release party Saturday (12/12) night at Death By Audio for their debut LP on Vivian Girls Wild World records. Vivian Girls headline. Happy Birthday open. Yellow Fever's album is basically a compilation of everything they've released to date -- a couple CDR EPs and singles. They definitely work the "less is more" angle, with spare arrangements that play off Jennifer Moore's haunting vocals (not entirely unlike Cowboy Junkies' Margot Timmins). They're something special.

If you ask me, at this point in their popularity, Vivian Girls + Death By Audio = too much nutty behavior for me, so I'll probably catch Yellow Fever at Bruar Falls on Friday (12/11) where they play with Tyvek, Air Waves (a nice NYC match to Yellow Fever, download their song "Lightning" above) and Noveller (the musician, not the macroblogging service). Yellow Fever also play Silent Barn on Sunday (12/13).

Mountain Man

For those looking for a quieter option on Friday (12/11), Brooklyn blog Chocolate Bobka has put together a unique show at the Lutheran Church of the Messiah in Greenpoint featuring the spooky folk of Vermont's Mountain Man, Real Estate bassist Alex Bleeker, and Liam the Younger. It's not only acoustic, it's unamplified. The suggest brining blankets or yoga mats to sit on. More info on the exquisite flyer which is at the bottom of this post or available in a big version here.

Fiery Furnaces are playing this Friday (12/11) at Music Hall of Williamsburg and Saturday at Bowery Ballroom (Shilpa Ray opens both nights). While I don't like everything the Friedbergers do, it's always good to check back in with them as, chances are, it will sound completely different from the last thing. They've just released Take Me Round Again (out 12/15 on Thrill Jockey), which they're calling a covers record -- Matthew doing some of Eleanor's songs, and vise versa. The reworked versions of songs were also influenced by their "deaf descriptions" project on their website, where fans wrote reviews of FF's other 2009 release, I'm Going Away, before they actually heard the record. The AV Club NY has a nice interview with Matthew this week, where he talks about '70s television theme songs and what's next for Fiery Furnaces:

AVC: How do you see your music evolving from here?

MF: It's good to write music all the time, if that's what you want to do. When you're in a band, when you have something going, the hardest thing you have to do is to put everything into what's ongoing.. Especially these days you never know what you're supposed to do--if you should be more hectic, give away songs, or do a project with the voice from the Muppets. You have to have a record on Twitter. The band lends itself to do that sort of thing,

AVC: You mean gimmicky stuff?

MF: Yeah, we do a lot of gimmicky things, but it comes from us. We don't think that's so strange for us. But we've had people tell us, "Give a song away so you get people's e-mail addresses and you can send them an e-mail saying, 'Buy our box set for $90.'" All these [music] professionals, they don't know what they're doing. What can you do? You just have to do what you have energy to finish. Luckily you probably won't follow through on things you're not really into.

AVC: Does that mean we're not going to see you giving away an album on Twitter any time soon?

MF: Well, we are on Twitter, but someone did tell us, "If you're not on Twitter, you don't exist." That's the way the world is now. You could just be interested in writing in 140 characters, but it's also your obligation to be friendly too. We still have to figure out which way to go with that, so our Twitter posts aren't very interesting.

Continue reading "Violens, Class Actress, Acrylics, Mountain Man, YellowFever, Fiery Furnaces & more in This Week in Indie (part 1) "

Tickets are on AmEx presale (@ 11am) for the two Magnetic Fields shows happening at Town Hall. BAM tickets are currently on sale to 'Friends of BAM'.

Tickets are on AmEx presale (@ 11am) for the Hot Chip / xx show happening at Terminal 5.

Raphael Saadiq is playing Terminal 5 on December 4th. Tickets are on sale.

Alberta Cross is headlining Bowery Ballroom on February 4th. Tickets are on AmEx presale (@ noon).

Violens and Acrylics share a bill at Mercury Lounge on December 9th. Tickets are on sale.

Slim pickins for New Years Eve shows in NYC this year. Mercury Lounge has The A-Bones opening for The Detroit Cobras. Tickets are on sale.

Other New Years Eve options include Roky Erikson, Patti Smith, and two shows at Southpaw (Dean & Britta / The Felice Brothers).

DOWNLOAD: The Very Best - Warm Heart of Africa (Violens remix) (MP3)

"The problem with hearing so much music is it gets harder to be surprised. But this album defies all preconceptions and never settles into a genre that you could name and locate on the shelves or download menus." [Guardian]

Violens have three CMJ shows scheduled so far. One is at Bowery Ballroom with Kyp Malone's Rain Machine. Another is the Green Owl showcase with The Very Best at Le Poisson Rouge on October 21st. All tour dates below...

Continue reading "Violens remixed The Very Best (MP3), touring (CMJ dates) "

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)

The Very Best @ Supreme Trading in July (more by Ryan Muir)

The Very Best ("European production duo Radioclit and Malawian singer Esau Mwamwaya") are holding a remix contest for their song "Julia." It's the seventh track on their debut full-length, Warm Heart of Africa, which is out now digitally and out on CD October 6th on Green Owl Records. The raw files are hosted HERE and you can send your submission to tvbrmxcomp@gmail.com. Brooklyn's Javelin remixed the song, and you can check out their version on Green Owl's site.

The Very Best will play Green Owl's CMJ showcase on October 21st at (Le) Poisson Rouge. They share a bill with Theophilus London, Violens, Grandchildren, Ninjasonik and Nat Geo Music. Tickets are on sale, or you can try and get in with your CMJ badge.

Violens are also playing a CMJ showcase at Bowery Ballroom on October 24th.

Ninjasonik just posted a small tribute to Beau Velasco of TheDeathSet who recently passed away. "NY ceremonies for Beau will be this Fri & Sat". Stay tuned for more details.

Following their CMJ show, The Very Best has a short string of dates around North America. Album art, tracklist and all tour dates are below...

Continue reading "The Very Best touring (dates), playing Green Owl CMJ show @ LPR w/ Violens, Ninjasonik & more ++ a remix contest"

DOWNLOAD: Rain Machine - Give Blood (MP3)

"Rain Machine" with TVOTR in Philly in June (more by Tim Griffin)

TV on the Radio has become an alternative-rock sensation, with a blend of musical styles that's not only innovative but also brilliantly authentic. For vocalist/guitarist Kyp Malone (who just released the debut CD from his Rain Machine solo project), keeping it real, however, has its limits.

"It's pretty old. It's on the bedbug list," Malone says, complaining about the prewar building in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, where he's lived in a one-plus-bedroom, sixth-floor walk-up for the past four years. "I've seen people cycle through. They spray and bomb and all the things you're supposed to do, but it doesn't work."

Despite the building's bedbug misfortune (a bullet he's managed to dodge), the apartment, which Malone has shared since December with his artist girlfriend, Jessie, has served him well through multiple redecorations. [NY Post checks out Kyp Malone's apartment]

Kyp and Co. are currently on tour, working their way back from the West Coast. They'll play a CMJ show on October 24th show at Bowery Ballroom. Again, they'll have Sharon Van Etten opening, along with Violens, Imaad Wasif, Threes And Nines and Stricken City. Tickets are on sale Wednesday, September 30th.

There's a reason Sharon Van Etten and Kyp Malone seem to keep showing up at the same gigs...

Van Etten went to college in Tennessee to study recording but dropped out after her first year. To take her music in a more serious direction and to reconnect with her family, Van Etten moved to New York City. It was there that she hooked up with TV on the Radio's Kyp Malone, whose brother was a close friend of hers in high school. The connection proved fruitful for Van Etten.

"[Kyp] ended up taking me under his wing," says Van Etten, "introducing me to friends, and showing me new music that I didn't know existed. If it wasn't for him I probably would have played at a place called Zebulon, which is my favorite place in Williamsburg. I started playing more seriously and getting encouraged by people." [Microphone Memory Emotion]

Videos and tour dates are below...

Continue reading "Rain Machine played Bell House, doesn't have bed bugs, playing CMJ/Bowery Ballroom, is buds w/ Sharon Van Etten"

review and photos by Dominick Mastrangelo

As people filed out of the Music Hall of Williamsburg Monday night (8/24), comments like "gave me chills" and "that was amazing" could be overheard. Yes, it's garden variety, post-concert stuff, but as the buzz drifted down N. 6th toward Bedford Ave. it was clear those claims were not just hyperbole. Yes, Mew, the Danish art rockers, do epic as well and as effortlessly (and chill-inducing) as anyone. Despite confiding to the sold out Music Hall that they get "extra special nervous" when playing to a New York crowd ,the trio produced a breathless display of pulsating beats, soaring vocals and bizarre, and at times creepy (but always perfectly synced), video projections

Their new record No More Stories... (Sony BMG) drops today (8/25) and yet you could tell who already had the record by those mouthing the words to the set and record openers "New Terrain" and "Introducing Palace Players". The former featured band members, Jonas Bjerre, Bo Madsen, and Silas Utke Graae Jørgensen in spotlights in the middle of the stage to start before Madsen and Jørgensen moved to their instruments on the sides. Their supporting musicians took the stage to finish off the song and launch right into the angular, staccato beats of "Players."

The crowd found full voice though on older numbers "Special" and "The Zookeeper's Boy" from 2005's And The Glass Handed Kites (Song BMG). The youngest of the 16+ crowd lined the stage, pushing and straining to touch Bjerre like he was Jesus, or Morrissey.

The projected visuals were beautiful and twisted: cats playing violins, contrasty doll heads floating over the musicians, children providing the chorus of "Sometimes Life Isn't Easy" and on "Am I Wry? No", the simple squiggly script, 'Am I wry?'

For the encore, the sprawling "Comforting Sounds", Madsen came out, gushed his affection for the crowd who gushed right back, and as he began playing was joined by Bjerre and finally Jørgensen with the rest of the band building the song into its eight-minute fury. - Dominick

--

Amazing show, though a bit on the short side. Definitely the best Mew show I've seen so far. The choice of venue helped. Violens opened. Mew's next show is Wednesday night (8/26) at Terminal 5. It's their first date with Nine Inch Nails on the 'Wave Goodbye' tour (all dates here). More pictures below...

Continue reading "Mew & Violens @ Music Hall of Williamsburg, NYC - pics"

photos by Paul Birman

Contest winners and others who managed to get themselves on the guestlist were treated to a free show by Violens and Girl Talk at Hiro Ballroom in NYC last night (5/28). Hiro isn't the smallest venue, but it's much, much smaller than where Greg Gillis played the last three times he was in NYC. More pictures from the show, below...

Continue reading "Girl Talk & Violens @ Hiro Ballroom (Canon/SPIN party) - pics"

photos by Lori Baily

Violens' self-titled debut EP will be available in stores March 17 (available digitally now)! Having already received critical praise and radio play from stations around the US and UK (BBC1, 2, 6Music, KEXP and XFM), the digipack re-release has been expanded to include forthcoming single "Doomed", preview the video below.

Peaches kicks off a tour that includes a live show at
Webster Hall in May. And this Saturday (3/14) Peaches will play DJ at a show at Tribeca Grand Hotel. Violens are playing that show too, and it's free with RSVP! (tribecagrand@gbh.tv). Flyer and all Violens dates (including some shows at SXSW) and videos and more pictures below...

Continue reading "Violens - TSOOL tonight @ MHOW, a free Tribeca Grand show w/ DJ PEACHES, SXSW & other dates & videos"

As people have pointed out, A Place To Bury Strangers, Ra Ra Riot, Marnie Stern, and Apache Beat are sharing a bill at NYU's Kimmel Center (60 Washinton Square South) on March 5th...

CHILL 2009: Advance NYU Tickets on Sale Now! $10 NYU/$16 Public Doors: 7:30pm ++++++ 100% of Proceeds go to Charity+++++++ The Chill Concert is our annual fundraisiner concert to benefit the Chill Foundation, a charity organized by Burton; one of the snowboarding industry's largest players. The Chill Foundation seeks out at-risk, inner-city youths, and periodically gets them out of the city and to the mountain over the course of the winter.

Friends, Austinites, countrymen, lend us your ears: THE BLACK ANGELS and LIVE MUSIC CAPITOL present PSYCH FEST 2 Friday March 13th through Sunday March 15th, in Austin, Texas, spiritual birthplace and global epicenter of psychedelia. What better way to honor the cradle of consciousness than a festival of hallucinogenic sights and sounds celebrating the town's musical heritage and spotlighting the best new vanguards of the most mind-bending music ever played? Your three-day key to the doors of perception is a scant $45 (or one day doses for $15 ) available online on www.livemusiccapitol.com and Austin record stores beginning Friday the 13th, 2.13.09. With a lineup featuring such acclaimed acts as Austin's own THE BLACK ANGELS, joined by A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS, DEAD MEADOW, THE WARLOCKS, Sky Sunlight Saxon of legendary garage rock innovators THE SEEDS and a constellation of rising underground stars from Austin and around the world including THE WOODEN SHJIPS, INDIAN JEWELRY, THE STRANGE BOYS, THE GOLDEN ANIMALS and many more, those doors will be rocked off their hinges. This year's Fest also features Austin's psych cult heroes, THE GOLDEN DAWN performing their 1968 album 'Power Plant' from start to finish. Prepare your earthly vessel for lift-off.

Marnie Stern is also playing a March 10th shown in Philly which doubles as the first night of a tour leading to Austin for SXSW where she'll play the Kill Rock Stars party @ Club DeVille on March 18th (in the afternoon) with The Thermals, Thao Nguyen, Horse Feathers, The Shaky Hands, and the pAper chAse. She's also, like Yann Tiersen, on the bill of one of the ATP's in Minehead in May. All of her dates below.

Ra Ra Riot have another NYC show coming up at Webster Hall, as well as tour dates with Death Cab For Cutie, Tokyo Police Club, and Passion Pit. They also appear on the recently announced Sasquatch lineup.

Apache Beat are currently in London where they'll play a bunch of shows with School of Seven Bells before coming back for the NYU gig. They also share a bill at Santos Party House on April 11th with Violens.

All dates below...

Continue reading "A Place To Bury Strangers, Ra Ra Riot, Marnie Stern, Apache Beat - NYU, Psych Fest, other tour dates"

photos by Lori Baily

Deerhunter, Bell and Violens are playing a show at Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn on Monday, December 8th. That's pretty soon, and tickets are on sale.

The occasion is the 2008 Stereogum Gummy Awards which has gone from being a simple online contest to a simple online contest with its own show. Voting for "Best Album", "Best Live Act", and other categories like "Best Music Blog" (hint) is going on now. The polls close December 2nd which is six days before this show.

Deerhunter last played the same Brooklyn venue on November 7th. While they were in town (with Times New Viking), they also played a show at Bowery Ballroom one day later - November 8th (exactly one month earlier than the Gummy date). Lori took pictures at that show, but we never posted them (until now). More pictures and all tour dates below...

Continue reading "Deerhunter playing Stereogum Gummy Awards (please vote) @ MHOW, TIX ON SALE ++ pics from Bowery"

They're not the most popular live band in NYC, but Telepathe do manage to land on a lot of good bills. One such good bill was one of the recent TV on the Radio shows at Masonic Temple. They also recently toured with Diplo, and they're opening one of the upcoming Vampire Weekend shows at Terminal 5. Tonight, November 20th, they play with Violens at Mercury Lounge. For that one I have two pairs of ticket to giveaway. Details on how to win and all Telepathe tour dates below...

Continue reading "Telepathe - 2008 Tour Dates, tonight w/ Violens, WIN TIX "

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: SpaceKamp - Girls on Bikes (MP3)

Spacekamp

This week's post is going to feel a bit like a clip show because I feel like I've talked about all these bands before, but still there's a lot going on in NYC.

Tonight (11/18) SpaceKamp are playing Williamsburg's Black Betty. As you may remember, this trio also back Adam Green (with whom they just got back from a European tour) when not making their own brand of extremely catchy '60s-ish guitar pop. So while they've only played a handful of shows as SpaceKamp, they've got many, many more under their belt together. And they've finally put songs on their on their MySpace page to check out, and there's one at the top of this post to download. (I've also got a different song over at my blog.) It's also the drummer's birthday tonight, so expect the show to be extra festive. Also on the bill: Joe and the Flying Spoons, featuring Dirty on Purpose's Joe Jurewicz as well as former members of Au Revoir Simone and Tralala. I've never seen either band before, so I'm looking forward to this one. (And full disclosure: I know members of each band, but I don't post about stuff I don't genuinely like.)

Previously on Lost

Thursday (11.20) there are three good options, the most interesting of which might be at The Bell House in Brooklyn. Previously on Lost claim to be the world's only "recap rock" band, who spent the first half of 2008 writing a song for every episode of ABC's island mystery series' fourth season -- you know, in case you missed it. And if you're jonesing for Season 4 to be released on DVD (Dec. 4) maybe seeing the whole shebang performed live will hold you over. The "Live Experience" features props and such -- I'm curious if they'll have a live smoke monster. Making the night all the more enticing is the incredible Reggie Watts who if you've never seen him do what he does live, it's reason enough to go. A couple of Previously on Lost videos are HERE.

Violens @ South Street Seaport (more by Chris La Putt)

Also Thursday is Violens at Mercury Lounge who are fresh off their European tour with MGMT. I was really impressed the last couple times I saw them (their show at the Seaport was especially good) and am hoping their debut album isn't far off as I've worn out their three-song EP. Word of warning: Violens can be monsterously loud. Bring earplugs. Also on the bill are two two local electronic duos: Telepathe and Picture Picture.

The Secret History

Over at Public Assembly (formerly Galapagos), we've got The Secret History and Mahogany. The Secret History is the new project from Michael Grace, Jr who used to front indiepop new wave lovers, My Favorite. This new project features most of his old band, but adds vocalist Lisa Ronson (unlike Mark or Samantha, her dad actually is late Bowie Guitarist Mick Ronson) to the fold. While the ties to the '80's are still there, especially the romanticism, The Secret History are bigger, more of a sweeping Roxy Music sort of feel. The band just released their debut EP, Desolation Town, on foppy Detroit label Le Grand Magistery. Meanwhile, Mahogany do classic shoegaze better than just about anybody else, writing great songs, are skilled with effects pedals and know how to put on a show.

Mahogany @ PopFest, Music Hall of Williamsburg

And speaking of Mahogany, the band's ever-morphing line-up has absorbed Blacklist's James Minor into the band. I mention this because Blacklist (of which Minor is still a major member) are playing on Friday (11.21) as part of Wierd Records' Fifth Anniversary party. The former goth in me still digs Bauhaus, the Bolshoi, Southern Death Cult, the Chameleons, etc. and Blacklist deliver the goods in that respect. Wierd Records, which could be described as a modern day equivilent to labels like Some Bizarre or Wax Trax!, began it's life as a weekly party at Williamsburg's Southside Lounge (later Home Sweet Home on Christie) and grew as it gained likeminded artists and musicians interested in the cold wave/industrial/noise, and yes, gothy side of pop. I don't know too much about the rest of the night's lineup but it includes Xeno and Oaklander, Led Er Est, and Opus Finis. I can only hope there will be strobes and smoke machines. Tickets are on sale. The flyer is below...

Continue reading "The Secret History, Violens, SpaceKamp, Mahogany, Wierd Records & more in This Week In Indie"