by Bill Pearis

We are Wolves

It's the week before Thanksgiving so I must be in Montreal. This is my third time attending the M for Montreal Festival, which is celebrating its Fifth Anniversary this year. There are more "international delegates" attending than ever before: journalists, agents, music supervisors, songwriters, label folk, and other industry types here to check out nearly 30 bands the festival organizers have deemed "export ready."

Also in attendance is KISS bassist Gene Simmons who will MC the big M for Metropolis concert on Saturday night that features Preistess, The Dears, Misteur Valaire and others. He's also filming an episode of his A&E series Family Jewels while here, and his presence is felt even when he, his ten-strong entourage and crew of cameras are not actually nearby.

This is as much a conference as it is a music festival. There's not much time for sightseeing, as delegates' days (especially the media delegates) are a full schedule of press conferences, schmooze brunches, panel discussions, meet-n-greets and more. Then nights are spent checking out the bands on an equally regimented schedule. We see all the bands, there's no running around between clubs.

Wednesday is kind of a warm up day for the festival with the bands playing being "unofficial" selections. In fact, Wednesday night featured the first-ever non-Canadian bands in M's history at an event presented by two other international festivals: Iceland Airwaves and the UK's Great Escape .

There are two Icelandic bands. Seven-piece Retro Stefson, barely into their 20s, make kitchy '80s Eurodisco that would be at home on the Lido Deck of The Love Boat. More grooves than songs, but they are fun and cute and young and try to get the crowd to do some synchronized dancing. (Delegate participation on this...notsomuch.) Hopefully things like choruses and verses and middle eighths will come with time.

Reykjavík's Lay Low is basically a showcase for singer-songwriter Lovísa Elísabet Sigrúnardóttir who is no slouch with an acoustic guitar either. Her folk pop was maybe a little too gentle for a crowd that had been plied with free booze for the previous three hours, but I thought it was still pretty lovely, sort of if the Concretes hired Bjork's less quirky sister to take over for Victoria Bergsman.

On the Great Escape stage we had two Montreal bands, both of whom I'd seen before. Braids use their voices more as another instrument than a conveyor of lyrics. There are points during their set when the harmonies meld with the band's stretched out grooves to achieve ethereal bliss worthy of The Cocteau Twins. Their set is better than the one I'd seen at Knitting Factory back in May, not to mention besting many of the "official selections" at M the following days. NYC folk can catch Braids open for The Radio Dept at Knitting Factory (11/30) and Bowery Ballroom (12/01) in less than two weeks.

The show ran about an hour late which means We Are Wolves didn't take the stage until 1AM. Their garagey electro-rock is  pretty on which elevates my flagging energy, but not enough. It's an action-packed week ahead but I call it a night.

To be continued. A set of pictures from Wednesday continues below...

Continue reading "M For Montreal 2010 - night 1 in pics & review (We Are Wolves, Braids & Icelandic bands too)"

I've been announcing individual bands on this party before now. Finally we have the full exciting lineup!

You know M For Montreal as the Canadian festival we've visited for two years in a row. Their yearly festival showcases bands from their home city in their home city, and they take that show on the road each year to both CMJ in NYC and SXSW in Austin (we already announced their official 2010 night showcase).

Being that we are such huge fans of so many Montreal bands, I thought it would be a great idea see if they wanted do a party together... and here we are. The lineup mixes some of our favorite Montreal bands with some or our other favorite Canadian (like Jason Collett of Broken Social Scene) and non-Canadian bands (like Andrew WK).

We have 13 bands total, a DJ set by another band, free ice cream from the Ice Cream Man (some of which is vegan), free vegan food courtesy of Austin's own Daily Juice and other surprises (drink specials on this particular party are pending). We're also proud to announce that KEXP is the official radio sponsor of all BV day parties this year. You'll find them, video cameras in hand, at many of our day parties throughout the week including this one. Those in attendance at this show will also have a chance to check out and win a pair of Nudie Jeans (another one of our kind sponsors).

Also unlike any other BV day party, this one is officially part of SXSW. That does NOT mean you need a badge. NO BADGES REQUIRED for this free show, but you will find the party listed on SXSW.com (and you can add it to your schedule on there). Full lineup with set times below...

Continue reading "BrooklynVegan & M for Montreal free SXSW day party lineup (Roky Erickson, Andrew WK, Voivod, Holy Fuck, Local Natives, other bands, free food & more)"

DOWNLOAD: Think About Life - Johanna (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Think About Life - Havin My Baby (MP3)

Think About Life @ Arlene's CMJ 2009 (more by Chris La Putt)

Speaking of Canada, Montreal's Think About Life just finished up a run of February shows in Europe. Stateside, they have plenty of shows coming up, including SXSW in Austin where you can catch them at the official M For Montreal showcase at Paradise on Thursday, March 18th. The full lineup for that show:

La Patère Rose @ 8:00 p.m.
The Lovely Feathers @ 9:00 p.m.
Parlovr @ 10:00 p.m.
Beast @ 11:00 p.m.
Think About Life @ 12:00 a.m.
We Are Wolves @ 1:00 a.m.

M For Montreal's nighttime showase is not to be confused with the M For Montreal & BrooklynVegan daytime showcase that is happening at Galaxy Room (formerly Radio Room) on Saturday, March 20th featuring Roky Erickson backed by Okkervil River, Andrew WK, and more (Montreal and non-Canadian) bands TBA.

In total Think About Life will be on the North American Road from March 12th through April 30th, making two NYC stops along the way. They play Mercury Lounge on Tuesday, April 27th. Tickets are on sale now. Two days earlier they will be one of the band's at this year's WBAR-B-Q on Sunday, April 25th at Barnard College. Last year's WBAR-B-Q was played by Gang Gang Dance, Free Blood and more.

The two tracks above from their 2009 record Family. All tour dates and the video for their future-disco epic "Sweet Sixteen" are below...

Continue reading "Think About Life touring, playing SXSW (M For Montreal showcase), WBAR-B-Q, Mercury Lounge & more - 2010 dates"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Oberhofer - Away FRM U (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Golden Triangle - Neon Noose (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Morning Benders - Promises (MP3)

Oberhofer

If you were like me, you spent last night at home puzzling over the LOST premiere (or maybe you went to the Bell House to watch it.) But maybe in an alternate universe I chose instead to go see Oberhofer at Pianos last night. And also in that alternate universe, everyone has health care and I own my own apartment and there is a jukebox in every high school cafeteria. I digress. Luckily for me in this world, Oberhofer are playing again this Friday (2/5) at The Studio @ Webster Hall with Radical Dads.

There's no shortage of bedroom rockers out there hawking their one-man-bands on MySpace, but Oberhofer definitely have something. While there is plenty of every home recording enthusiast's best friends, reverb and distortion, Oberhoffer is not Wavves-style scuzz. The most obvious comparison is probably The Dodos (clattery drums, glockenspiel, whistling), but I even hear a little Real Estate in there too on the track "Away FRM You" which you can download above. You can download a seven-song EP via his MySpace by giving up your email address. While the recordings are just Brad, he's put together an actual band which is what you'll The Studio @ Webster Hall on Friday.

Savoir Adore

Savoir Adore will play Cake Shop the next three Thursdays. Their debut, In the Wooded Forrest, is loaded with great big pop songs and made my Favorite Albums of 2009 list and they are great live too, so if you've yet to check them out live don't wait any longer. The band has hand-picked the bands for their residency shows, and this Thursday (2/4) is especially good, featuring the very good and fun French Horn Rebellion who you might also see opening for Hot Chip this weekend. The two bands help each other out live (FHR's David Perlick-Molinari plays guitar in Savoir Adore; Savoir's singer Paul Hammer plays drums in FHR) so there should be a good party vibe going on.

Also on the bill are DJ/electronic artist Pocketknife and singer-songwriter Cameron Hull. If you'd like to go I've got a pair of tickets to give away. Just send an email with "Savoir Adore" as the subject to BVCONTESTS@HOTMAIL.COM and a winner will be chosen at random.

Hot Chip's show with French Horn Rebellion happens Saturday night at Music Hall of Williamsburg. It's sold out, but you can also catch Hot Chip one night earlier at Highline Ballroom with Free Energy. The MySpace Secret Show is free - first come, first served.

Twin Sister

There's a lot going on this week. Also Thursday, at Studio @ Webster Hall is another Twin Sister show put on by blog Chocolate Bobka. (Seriously, McGregor puts on shows like some people put on pants [ie fairly often].) I finally got to see Twin Sister last Friday at Bruar Falls and I was pretty blown away by how good they are live. Last year's Vampires with Dreaming Kids EP (downloadable from their website), as good as it is, doesn't really give an accurate picture of what they now sound like. These days, they're combining '80s-back-to-jazz (Sade, Style Council) with more drony/Krautrock type stuff (Notwist, Stereolab). They were just fantastic live, and I haven't come away from a show that excited about a new band in some time. Totally impressed. Twin Sister have a bunch of shows coming up and I do suggest you check them out soon, as I think 2010 is gonna be big for them.

In addition to Twin Sister, the line-up includes Big Troubles -- who I like and have written about them before), as well as Run DMT, Pigeons, and Alice Cohen.

And a few more quick recommendations:

Miniboone have their record release party at Glasslands on Wednesday night (tonight, 2/3) with a few other worthy bands: Shark?, I'm Turning Into and Pet Ghost Project. $8.

The Soft Pack's debt album is out today, well worth buying, and they play a free all-ages show at Cake Shop on Friday (2/5). Doors are at Midnight. One of my favorite live bands of the last two years. if you miss the small venue show, they'll back back in March April to play Maxwell's, Mercury Lounge and Music Hall of Williamsburg (all just went on sale).

Montreal's We Are Wolves are in town this weekend, and play The Studio @ Webster Hall on Friday (2/5) and Brooklyn Bowl on Saturday (2/6). The Saturday show is also the Hot Chip MHOW afterparty with a DJ set by the band.

Golden Triangle's debut for Hardly Art, titled Double Jointer, is out on March 3 and you can download an MP3 from it, "Neon Noose," at the top of this post. The band will be going on tour around that time as well (tour dates below) but play a one-off show this Saturday at Union Pool with the Cramps-y garage of K-Holes. This should be a fairy debauched good time.

Acrylics play twice this weekend: Friday night (2/4) at Brooklyn Bowl with Tanlines as part of BAM's "Sounds Like Brooklyn" Festival. Then they're on a kind of amazing bill the next night (2/5) at Glasslands that is officially the record release party for Class Actress' debut EP. Grizzly Bear's Chris Taylor (who runs Terrible Records that both bands are on) DJs. The show also features Blood Orange (aka Dev of Lightspeed Champion) and The Morning Benders. That's a good show!

An MP3 from The Morning Benders' new album Big Echo (out March 9th on Rough Trade) is above. All of their March and April tour dates in support of the new record are below.

There's a new video for Acrylics' "Molly's Vertigo" after the jump as well, along with tour dates and flyers...

Continue reading "Oberhofer, Twin Sister, Savoir Adore, Golden Triangle, Acrylics, Morning Benders & more in This Week in Indie"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: We Are Wolves - Blue (MP3)

At this point it's passed by funny and verges on absurd. When I mention to Alexander Ortiz that there is a We Were Wolves in Beaumont, TX and a We're Wolves (get it... werewolves?) from Belgium he can only chuckle. When his thrashy synth rock trio from Montreal named themselves nearly a decade ago (after a t-shirt he designed with a skull smashing through a keyboard) there wasn't also a Wolf Parade or an AIDS Wolf sharing the island.

Because we're not commercially a big band we don't exist [in the same way] for the world. Our name came around 2000, but in 2005 we were doing a show in Portland and a drunk kid comes up saying 'What's up with you fuckers, using the same name as everybody else,' and he mentions Wolfmother."

Once you get past the nomenclature, any resemblance to Australian faux classic rock melts away. Their debut on Fat Possum records, Non-Stop Je Te Plie en Deux, was a visceral blend of grimy guitar over hypno-synths with percussion both live and electronic. It got them compared to everyone from the Cramps to Suicide to Devo. Now on their third album, and second for Canadian indie label Dare to Care, the sound hasn't changed so much as been refined. [Exclaim!]

Montreal's synth rocking We Are Wolves release that third album, Invisible Violence, out February 2 on Montreal label Dare to Care and will be in NYC for two shows that week: Feb. 5 at Studio @ Webster Hall and Feb. 6 at Brooklyn Bowl after with Small Black (tickets) and WITH Hot Chip (DJ). You can check out "Blue" from the new album at the top of this post.

We Are Wolves were last here during CMJ. A couple videos, including the NSFW "Coconut Night," tour dates and a flyer for the Studio @ Webster Hall follow below...

Continue reading "We are Wolves releasing album (MP3), playing shows (dates)"

SXSWeek 2010: March 12-21
Interactive: March 12-16
Film: March 12-20
Music: March 17-21

The intial lineup of bands playing the music portion, below...

Continue reading "SXSW 2010 - dates & initial band lineup "

words by Bill Pearis, photos by Chris La Putt

Parlovr

I said it a few time throughout CMJ week this year: Montreal just tries harder. I'm not saying the city's artists make better albums than everyone else, but as far as giving their all on stage, band-for-band, Montreal groups are much more likely to entertain you than one from another city. Maybe that's just the one's they're sending us, but there was plenty of evidence to support this theory during CMJ 2009, and no place more concentrated than at the M for Montreal showcase at Arlene's Grocery on Wednesday (10/21) where there were six of the city's bands on display.

The night started early with a sampling on Montreal's most famous drunk food, poutine, and a set by up-and comers Parlovr (pronounced "parlour," if you're wondering) who made an impressive, shouty racket. The manic trio feature two guitarists (one of whom also plays keyboards) who take turns on vocals and flipping their hair around, while their bearded drummer walloped away.

Silly Kissers

Silly Kissers had most NYers in the audience looking around uncomfortably -- we're not used to synthpop bands who wear mime make-up -- and maybe here's a MTL band trying a bit too hard in that department but their songs were kinda catchy and a group of girls in front of me were dancing nonstop and singing along.

Then came BEAST who took most of the crowd by surprise, and won most of them over by the end of their set. As I said before, singer Betti Bonafassi is a magnetic performer, and when she sings off-mike for the opening of "Ashtray," the power of her voice becomes instantly apparent. The rest of the band are no slouches either. Drummer and co-songwriter Jean-Phi Goncalves occasionally picks up a megaphone and starts rapping in French, guitarist Serge Pelletier lays down Morricone-like leads, and it's hard to miss Jonathan Dauphinais' instrument -- a bass/keyboard combo that looks to have been fused together MacGuyver-style. (BEAST also played a great early set three days later at our Saturday day party at Pianos.)

By the time Think About Life took the stage, Arlene's Grocery was packed and the crowd was ready for fun. As good as they were playing a very, very early opening set at the Brooklyn Vegan showcase at Music Hall of Williamsburg the night before, the band clearly is fueled by the audience and the crowd was eating it up. It was easily one of the top five sets I saw at CMJ this year. It doesn't hurt that their new album, Family, is awesome -- loaded with stick-in-your-head jams, including "Sweet Sixteen" and "Young Hearts." Also, adding singer Caila Thompson-Hannant (of Shapes & Sizes) gives frontman Martin Cesar someone to play off of, which just makes them all the more fun.

Duchess Says

At this point I had to exit, but there was also We Are Wolves and Malajube, followed by the awesome mayhem that is Duchess Says, who also played our Thursday day party at Pianos. By the looks of these photos, and from reading people's Twitter feeds, Duchess Says' show at Arlene's was wild (when people wrote they "destroyed" Arlene's, it was more literal than most "killed it" CMJ tweets). The band clearly won over the Pianos crowd too (NY Times included) and anyone who has been within 20 feet of singer Annie-Claude in performance mode will never forget it.

Video of Parlovr, Think About Life and Duchess Says, plus lots more pictures from the M for Montreal showcase (and one set from Pianos), after the jump...

Continue reading "M for Montreal @ CMJ 2009 - pics (Think About Life, Duchess Says, Parlovr, Beast, Malajube, We are Wolves, Silly Kissers)"

by Bill Pearis

Surfer Blood

NIGHTTIME

As I mentioned in that big post about Montreal bands at CMJ, The High Dials are among them and are just great live -- sort of country-tinged jangly shoegaze -- and they're impressive live. They play Lit Lounge at 10:15 and then Arlene's Grocery at 12:30AM. If you like Ride, The Byrds, or Brian Jonestown Massacre, you shouldn't miss these guys. Also playing at Lit Lounge, earlier in the evening (8:30) are Montreal's Black Diamond Bay which features a couple former members of the Dears and feature a similarly bombast rock sound. They're very good live too, especially if you have an appreciation for the live musician O Face.

If you like electro /dance there is an insane lineup at Santos tonight. And it's free. No badges required. The killer lineup includes three UK dancepop acts: Dan Black whose album Un is pretty fun; the borderline-novelty (but fun) Man Like Me and trio We Have Band who played here back in March. It keeps going: there's also Australia's Midnight Juggernauts, Montreal's We Are Wolves, Denmark's Spleen United (somewhere between Placebo and Presents), Toronto's Parallels, and LA's Paparazzi. There's also a slew of NYC acts: Maluca, The Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt, Lemonade,Heartsrevolution, Javelin, and The Golden Filter. Did I mention it was free?

At Union Pool, the folks at Panache Booking are showcasing a big handful of their bands, many of which have unnecessary repeated consonants: recent Brooklyn Vegan Day party veterans JEFF the Brotherhood and Lovvers, plus Flexions, zZz, Turbofruits, UUVVWWZ, and Dark Meat. Having seen at least half of these bands, I'm going to go ahead and say this'll be quite a party, whether you like it or not.

If you're going to the Pitchfork/Showpaper show at Market Hotel and wished that it was rock all night instead of switching over to electronic acts/DJs after midnight, your admission will also get you into the show happening down the street at Todd P's Above the Auto Parts Store venue (600 Bushwick), which has four great bands: Sisters, Screaming Females, Surfer Blood (again) and JEFF the Brotherhood (again). To get in for free you need to get there before 11PM; afterwards it's $10.

Or, you might think about heading to Silent Barn before or after (or instead of). Popjew has a great line-up of bands, including much-loved-by-me Let's Wrestle, A Classic Education (who were great at our Thursday day party), twangy West Coasters Slang Chickens, My Teenage Stride and the electro-rock of Jacques Detergent.

And at The Bell House, there's Au Revoir Simone and the related (literally, by marriage) Pursesnatchers; the lush, 60s-ish chamber pop of Florida's The Postmarks, indiepop ska band Still Flyin' and Brooklyn-via-Australia band The Miracles of Modern Science. The Bell House may seem like truly dedicating your night to one venue, but luckily it's one of the nicest, most comfortable in the city.

Other shows tonight include Mum, Sufjan's BQE screenings, the Sub Pop showcase, the Kemado/Mexican Summer showcase, and the Topman party with the Almighty Defenders and Neon Indian.

And then we rest. Saturday day parties HERE. Hip Hop shows HERE. Flyers and set times below.

Continue reading "CMJ 2009 - Bill's Saturday nighttime picks"

by Bill Pearis

Immaculate Machine

NIGHTTIME:

BrooklynVegan's got two parties tonight. Black Bubblegum is hosting an official metal showcase tonight at Fontana's (which happens right after our day party at the same venue), and we've also got the teeny tiny Loft Space party that is sold-out at this point.

One of the bands playing the loft party is Victoria Canada's Immaculate Machine, who may or may not have the lineup pictured above...

...To make life even more tricky for the band, vocalist and keyboardist Kathryn Calder, one of the remaining original members, has had to absent herself from touring after the terrible news of her mum's diagnosis with motor neurone disease; although Lynn Calder very sadly died earlier this year, Kathryn was not with the band this evening. Indeed, the touring line-up looked very different from the line-up advertised on the band's web presences, two boys apparently replaced by two girls.

So, amid confusion that appeared to verge on turmoil, could the band deliver the goods live? It turned out they very much could... [John Kell, Oct 20, 2009]

Immaculate Machine also play early-ish tonight (8:30) at the equally tiny Fat Baby for a showcase for their label, Mint Records. They've got trio of Canadian bands playing, most of whom rarely seem to make it down to America. Or, the East Coast at least -- most of their bands tend to be from Vancouver. In addition to Immaculate Machine, there's the garagey Pack A.D. and Hot Panda, who I caught last year at CMJ and are pretty good. The Mint Records showcase is also a good place to pick up their great fanzine, A Taste of Mint, which always features at least one classic Narduwar interview.

And a bit off the beaten path, the folks at the Seaport Music Festival are putting on a great showcase at their Seaport on the Side gallery space (corner of Front and Beekman). The line-up, which runs from 7PM - Midnight, includes Montreal's We are Wolves, the Danish electro sounds of Spleen United, and UK hip hop act Man Like Me. UK pop artist Dan Black was supposed to play but cancelled and has been replaced by Sweden's Moonbabies who played a killer opening set at yesterday's Brooklyn Vegan day party. Do go see Moonbabies if you can. They also play earlier in the night (8:30) at Crash Mansion.

One of the many, many highlight's of yesterday's Brooklyn Vegan day party at Piano's was JEFF the Brotherhood who put on an absolutely kick-ass closing set. Tonight, they've put together a showcase for their label, Infinity Cat, featuring a slew of Nashville bands: Heavy Cream, Natural Child, Denney & the Jets, Daniel Pujol, as well as Brooklyn's Sisters.

And, of course, JEFF who you should really try and see this weekend at some point. If there was one thing missing at Pianos yesterday, it was the smoke machines Jake and Jamin tend to use (Pianos doesn't allow them) and I have a feeling they'll be in full effect tonight.

And lastly, fellow Brooklyn blog Chocolate Bobka has teamed with Underwater Peoples and twosyllable records for a pretty great night of music at The Delancey, including Holiday Shores, Real Estate, Frat Dad, Pill Wonder and more. They're also promising free moonshine, which sounds a bit deadly to me but, hey, it is Friday night.

Daytime highlights HERE. Hip Hop highlights HERE. Fliers, a Moonbabies video, and other stuff below...

Continue reading "CMJ 2009 - Bill's Friday nighttime picks (Immaculate Machine, Infinity Cat, Seaport Music & more)"

by Bill Pearis

Duchess Says

We already mentioned that Montreal's Think About Life will be in town this week playing Tuesday night's BrooklynVegan showcase at Music Hall of Williamsburg and the M for Montreal night at Arlene's Grocery on Wednesday (10/21). Also playing the M4M show are electro-punks Duchess Says, whose only other show this week will be the BrooklynVegan day party on Thursday (10/22) at Pianos. Full line-up for that show will be announced soon.

Duchess Says were probably the wildest band I saw at last year's M for Montreal festival, due almost entirely to spitfire singer Annie-Claude. She is a woman possessed onstage, wild-eyed and not afraid to leap into the crowd... or drag the crowd onstage. They are loved in their hometown -- the show I saw, the crowd was going completely mental -- but they haven't toured that much in America so it's a real treat to have them here this week, and to have them at our day party.

If you want to get a good cross-section of the Montreal scene, and aren't scared of seeing some bands who sing in French, you should definitely hit up Arlene's Grocery Wednesday night which has an excellent line-up. In addition to Think About Life and Duchess Says, the M for Montreal showcase features: "trip rock" duo BEAST, whose singer Betty Bonifassi provided the vocals for Triplets of Belleville. As I wrote after seeing them, she's got one of Those Voices (Shirley Bassey comes to mind) - smoky, world-wear, yet powerful, enough to cause the hair on the back of your neck to stand at attention. BEAST are playing four shows during CMJ, and all dates are below.

Also playing: Up-and-comers Parlovr play shouty, anthemic indie rock not entirely unlike Wolf Parade and they apparently wowed audiences at this year's Pop Montreal; Malajube who did very well for themselves when they played CMJ in 2006; MTL scene veterans We Are Wolves; and the electropop sounds of Silly Kissers.

The High Dials

Not playing that night but also from Montreal and also playing CMJ are The High Dials whose most recent album, Moon Country, made my Best Albums of 2008 list. If you're unfamiliar, they make country-tinged '60s-ish psych-rock, with great harmonies and occasional doses of druggy drone. The High Dials are playing two NYC shows this week, both on Saturday (10/24). First at Lit (10:15) and then at Arlene's Grocery (12:30). They are fantastic live, you should definitely clear some space for these guys. They're also playing a few East Coast coast while down in America, too, and those dates are below.

And while I'm talking about Canada and Arlene's Grocery, Thursday (10/22) is this year's Canadian Blast which has hard rockers Priestess, the anthemic alt-rock of Jets Overhead, funk-soul mashup Grand Analog, hip hop act Classified and youngsters Spiral Beach.

Tour dates, flyers and videos after the jump...

Continue reading "Duchess Says, The High Dials, Malajube & other bands from Montreal (coming to CMJ, touring)"

photos by Ryan Muir

DOWNLOAD: Think About Life - Johanna (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Think About Life - Havin My Baby (MP3)

Some things' strengths rest in the laurels of relative secrecy, allowing them to develop without the burden of public scrutiny or following. The opposite of the former statement applies to Think About Life, who Saturday night - or should I say, Sunday morning [at Pop Montreal] - proved yet again that they have the sharpest, most energetic, intensely electrifying, incredibly infectious live show this side of Parc Avenue during their late night spectacle at Pop Montreal's Espace Reunion. Toss in the fact that it was Martin Cesar's birthday, some unexpected (albeit extremely low-budget) pyrotechnics, and a strange character with his hand up a plastic owl's behind into the grand scheme of things, and you've got yourself an indomitable, impenetrable, unadulterated party on hand. Ripping through a raucous set that included old standbys such as "Cyanide," "Paul Cries," and "What The Future Might Be," as well as new fan favourites "Sofa-bed," "Havin' My Baby," and "Sweet Sixteen," alongside some exceptional samples courtesy of the likes of Lil Wayne and Biz Markie, the band (who were flanked by all its former members) stirred the crowd into an impassioned frenzy. Knocking knees, rubbing elbows, the mass below danced, bounced, even crowdsurfed through the impelling set, all the while glazed in a thick layer of perspiration. I could numerically gauge my enjoyment of Think About Life's performance by counting all of the bruises on my ankles and then dividing them over ten, but that would just be gratuitous." [the neighbours]

Think About Life's awesome new album Family got a US release last week (10/13) on Alien8 Recordings (the label put the disc out in Canada way back in May). Two vidoes off the new record are below ("Sweet Sixteen" and "Wizzzard") while a pair of MP3s (the first two of the album in fact) are posted above. More pictures from the above-described Pop Montreal set (from earlier this month), also below.

TAL will be in NYC for CMJ, but as usual their scheduled visit was short and random, and very easy to miss. To attempt to remedy that situation, I asked them to join the bill of the BrooklynVegan CMJ showcase at Music Hall of Williamsburg on Tuesday night. They accepted! They go on at 7pm sharp, before the Walter Schreifels set which is before the Wheel which is before Laura Marling which is before The Antlers which is before Fanfarlo (who SPIN says you should hear). Tickets are still on sale. Get there early!

Music Hall of Williamsburg is also where Think About Life played last time they came to town (with Ponytail and Real Estate).

Think About Life's only other, and previously scheduled, 2009 CMJ show is Wednesday, October 21st at Arlene's Grocery. That's the awesome M for Montreal showcase (flyer below) with fellow Canucks Duchess Says, Malajube, We are Wolves and Beast. More about this lineup later, along with a more-official announcement about Duchess Says being added to the free BrooklynVegan party happening at Pianos on Thursday (10/22) (not to be confused with the Dutchess and the Duke who are playing a BV CMJ show too).

And that's actually the second Canadian showcase at Arlene's in two days. The next night (10/22) the LES venue hosts "Canadian Blast!" with Priestess, Jets Overhead, Classified, Grand Analog and Spiral Beach.

After CMJ, Think About Life has a November Canadian tour with You Say Party We Say Die, but not until after TAL member Graham Van Pelt's band Miracle Fortress goes on a short tour with Liam Finn That trip includes a Bell House show on November 4th. Tickets are still on sale.

Think About Life played more than one show at Pop Montreal. In addition to the above-described showcase, they did a private taping for Canadian TV (to be broadcast Nov 4). Like he was for Tune Yards' La Blogoteque Take Away Show session, Ryan Muir was in attendance. Those pictures also below.

All of those pictures from Pop Montreal, more new album details, some videos, and all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Think About Life released album (MP3), played Pop Montreal (pics), playing CMJ (dates), added to BV CMJ show @ MHOW"

The Tallest Man on Earth @ Town Hall (more by Chris La Putt)

today in NYC
* DANCE
* Melpo Mene @ Rockwood Music Hall
* Erik Friedlander @ The Stone
* Relentless7 @ Mercury Lounge
* Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog @ Kntting Factory
* Meat Puppets & Oakley Hall @ Maxwells
* Letters To Cleo & Cassavettes @ Bowery Ballroom
* Bon Iver & The Tallest Man On Earth @ Town Hall
* Sebastien Tellier & Heartsrevolution @ (le) poisson rouge
* Bellmer Dolls, Effi Briest & Jessie Evans @ The Studio at Webster Hall
* Dan Deacon, Dirty Projectors & So Percussion @ Brooklyn Masonic Temple
* Zach Galifianakis w/ Mike Birbiglia @ Sleepwalk With Me
* Extreme Animals, Lucky Dragons & The Mae Shi @ E&L Auditorium (NYU)
* Suicide, A.R.E. Weapons, Goonsquad & Lone Wolf @ Europa
* Golem, J.A.C.K., Abacus & The Radpad Jazz Collective @ Union Pool
* Golden Animals, Gringo Star, & Another Saturday Night @ Don Pedros
* Will Sheff of Okkervil River, Charles Bissel (of The Wrens) & Bird of Youth @ MHOW

Extreme Animals are opening for The Mae Shi at NYU.
Golden Animals are at Don Pedro's.

Tickets for Dan Deacon/Dirty Projectors tonight are on sale: "Buy 2, Get 3rd Half Off"

Mos Def born today in 1975. Sam Cooke died today in 1964.

Elmer Valentine, RIP

Adrian Bromley, RIP

Dakota Culkin, RIP

Following in Sigur Ros's footsteps?, We are Wolves posted a (NSFW) sexy trailer for a (NSFW) new video at Youtube. Watch it below (before it gets taken down)...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Thursday?"

by Bill Pearis

Red Mass

Day one, Day two, Day three (Saturday)...The final day of M for Montreal featured two separate showcases. The closing night event, at the 2000-capicity Metropolis, featured the best of 2007's fest, including electropunks We Are Wolves and the Vegas-y, Franco-pop of Pierre Lapointe.

The daytime showcase was much more fun, held at the legendary Montreal punk/metal club Foufounes Électriques. Metal - steel, iron, aluminum - was everywhere, and the whole place seems to be welded together. Definitely the most rock n' roll venue of the festival. So, as you'd expect, we got two Franco Canadian hip hop groups, as well as easily the most chart-friendly act of the week. All good in their own way, just a bit of an odd juxtaposition.

Luckily, we also got Red Mass, who spit, pissed, shit and sweated rock n' roll. Certainly the most badass group to feature a clarinet player. Made up of members of infamous garage rock collective CPC Gangbangs, clad in crimson and about ten strong, Red Mass came off like a Brian Jonestown Massacre fueled by speed, The Sonics, MC5 and the Damned instead of the Velvets, Syd Barrett and narcotics. And instead of Joel Gion, Red Mass' percussionist wore only a Speedo and gold paint. King Khan and Mark Sultan (BBQ) are among those they list under "musicians & artists [that] have participated in the Mass".

"This is gonna be a bloody mess," singer Choyce told the crowd, though he obviously meant that as a positive. One guitarist stood on a speaker on one side of the stage, and the gold dude played cowbell and tambourine from the other. In the middle were crammed five or six on the tiny stage, with a few more standing on the floor. Did I mention this was their first-ever show? They barreled though about six songs and with so much onstage mayhem that I sort of felt punch-drunk by the end. It was the only performance of the week I wish had gone on longer.

Gatineau

Red Mass guitarist Giselle Webber (who seems to be in every third band in Montreal) also made an appearance during Gatineau's set. I don't know this for sure, but I'm going to go out on a limb and declare them to be the only hip hop band to feature a harpsichord player. (A drummer is probably more common, if just at Showbiz Pizza.) Gatineau's self-titled album won Hip Hop Album of the Year at this year's GAMIQ awards. Didn't understand a word, yet...awesome.

Even less people understood fellow rappers Radio Radio who looked as if they jumped off the pages of Vice. The four-piece hail from Moncton, New Brunswick where the Chiac dialect, a mix of Acadian French and English, is spoken and is pretty much impenetrable to most of Canada. Whatever they were saying, it sounded good.

The other act of the afternoon was Colin Munroe who became a bit of a YouTube sensation with his cover of Kanye West's "I Want Those Flashing Lights." He writes his own stuff too, having made his album by himself in his bedroom or something. Munroe attempted to it all himself, playing drums and keyboards and singing, with a little help from a guitarist. Not really my thing, but he's clearly talented, and his radio-friendly pop that reminded me a bit of the New Radicals' Greg Alexander. If he doesn't make it as a solo artist, I have a feeling he's going to have a career as a songwriter. Look out Linda Perry!

More pictures and some videos below...

Continue reading "Bill reports from M for Montreal, Night Three (Red Mass)"

by Bill Pearis

Beast

The second night of M for Montreal was easily the best of the fest, with no bands I didn't like and three or four who were pretty incredible. Like the previous night, we were herded between the two performance rooms at Juste Pour Rire which is normally a comedy club, (Just for Laughs is the translation if you're French is like mine) but actually had great sound and lighting.

Judging by audience reaction alone, of which there were many locals in attendance, Beast were the most loved of the night - kind of impressive as the band only played their first live show in March. Some have called Beast "trip rock" which sort of works - you can definitely draw comparisons to Portishead or even Moloko, but they are heavier and louder. Most of the adoration, deservedly, goes to singer Betty Bonifassi, who was the main singing voice in the movie Triplets of Belleville, and who has one of Those Voices (Shirley Bassey comes to mind) - smoky, world-wear, yet powerful, enough to cause the hair on the back of your neck to stand at attention.

I also really liked Arkells who are from Hamilton, Ontario and who sounded to me like '80s heartland rock - both the Bruce Springsteen / Bob Seeger, and Replacements / Soul Asylum varieties. No pretension, just ridiculously catchy songs - I've been singing the chorus of their song "John Lennon" in my head ever since Friday.

Also on the bill: Chinatown, who were sort of a melding of The Strokes and traditional French pop with very catchy songs (in French); The night featured two new signings to Paper Bag Records (home of Tokyo Police Club and The Acorn), Winter Gloves and Woodhands. Montreal's Winter Gloves play keyboard-oriented indie rock a la TPC or Passion Pit and were definitely local favorites. Toronto keyboard-drums duo, Woodhands, were the only band to feature a laser show and were there to make you dance. You may have caught them when they played Studio B in Brooklyn with Crystal Castles.

CLAASS

The night's "official selection" ended with CLAASS, which is two-thirds of We Are Wolves plus a DJ friend on keyboards, have loads of style -- dressing like they were in a '40s noir film and shrouded in smoke machines. They pump out the kind of dance music I haven't heard since the heyday of Wax Trax! It's pastiche, but they do it well and I have a soft spot for this kind of stuff.

Next came the after-party which was free and open to the public. The place immediately flooded with kids, there to see Misteur Valaire, who I'd never heard of before, but are obviously massively popular in Montreal. Shout Out Out Out Out are the easiest comparison, but it's more musically varied (they're all trained jazz musicians apparently), more of a seamless dance party. Their album, which is available for free on their website, sounds more like the kind of club music you'd hear in Asian-fusion restaurants (but better) and absolutely does not do justice to their amazing live show. Hopefully they'll be bringing it across the border soon.

More pictures below...

Continue reading "Bill reports from M for Montreal, Night Two (Beast, Arkells, CLAASS, Misteur Valaire & more)"

by BrooklynVegan Mike

This past weekend (Saturday, March 1st to be exact) the 11th Annual Montreal Independent Music Initiative (or MIMI) awards were handed out, celebrating the best in the Montreal local scene. This decade has been pretty good to Montreal music locally and abroad. It was announced that last year saw the most releases (over 350) in the history of the awards. The winners received a sweet, engraved Shure microphone along with some cool perks such as grant money or studio time. Though some of my picks for the awards didn't win (specifically Krista L.L. Muir and Torngat), the artists who did pick up awards were definitely worthy of recognition. Without further adieu, here are the winners....

Continue reading "11th Annual MIMI Awards handed out in Montreal, Socalled"

DOWNLOAD: We Are Wolves - Fight & Kiss (MP3) (via)

We are Wolves always put on a good show. Tickets are on sale for a NYC one at Knitting Factory on December 13th. All tour dates below....

Continue reading "We are Wolves - 2007 tour dates"