Now we really know what's going on. The CBGB Festival is happening July 5 - 8 at some 30 venues across the city, with over 300 bands participating, including the previously mentioned free Guided by Voices, Pains of Being Pure at Heart, and Cloud Nothings show at Summerstage (which now also includes The War on Drugs), the The Baseball Project and Craig Finn at City Winery, L.A. Guns at Highline, the Cro Mags, Sick of it All, Vision of Disorder, Absolution, and Sal Naim show at Webster Hall, and D Generation's Bowery Electric show. Newly added artists include Rocket from the Tombs, MEN, PS I Love You, Reggie Watts, Gary Lucas, Weekend, and more TBA. The full list of currently confirmed artists is below.

It's also a film festival with both new and classic rock films/docs, including the world premiere of The Rise and Fall of The Clash, plus American Hardcore, Color Me Obsessed: A Film About The Replacements, The Dead Boys - Live at CBGB/OMFUG 1977, I Am Trying to Break Your Heart, Kurt Cobain About a Son, The Sacred Triangle: Bowie, Iggy & Lou 1971-1973 and more.

In addition, they've added a CMJ/SXSW-like music industry conference with panels/workshops concerning the music industry, independent artists, and a CBGB "Tales from the Club" panel each day. All conferences take place at the Sunshine Cinema and East Village Cinema. The festival also closes with the "distilled spirits fest" at Beekman Beer Garden on July 8.

There are variety of badges available too, from music and film showcase badges to one that get you into everything (or potentially at least...badges don't guarantee admission). The press release we got claims badges have been on sale since May 7 but this is the first we've heard about it. Regardless, early bird prices on music showcase badges is $69 and runs through May 31. It jumps to $79 if you buy before July 4 and walk-up badges once the fest starts are $89. Film fest badges are $99/$159/$219 for earlybird/regular/walk-up. You can also get a music conference badge which gains you entry to the showcases, workshops, and panels, and a music/film combo badge which gains you entry to all of that plus the film screenings. Full details on the vast array of CBGB Festival badge options are at their website. What this means to people who already bought tickets to individual shows already but want a badge too, we're not sure.

A list of all confirmed bands, films, conferences, and participating venues is below.

Continue reading "CBGB Festival announces details: badges, bands, films, industry conference, and booze"

Best Coast at LPR (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Best Coast have announced a big tour in support of their new LP The Only Place, due on 5/15 via Mexican Summer. Check out the tracklisting/art for The Only Place below.

The tour, part of which is with Jeff The Brotherhood (who recently played Terminal 5), and part of which is with Those Darlins (who recently lost a member), kicks off in LA in May and hits NYC at Terminal 5 on July 17th (with Those Darlins who they also played that Planned Parenthood event with at Le Poisson Rouge). Tickets for the NYC show go on AMEX presale Wednesday (3/7) at noon, and regular sale on Friday.

The NYC stop falls toward the end of fashion mogul Beth Consentino's trek, and is also one of TWO stops they'll make to the NYC area this summer, the first being... supporting Metallica in Atlantic City. All dates are listed below.

Those Darlins dont have a new record but do have a new EP on the way, AND they will join on for a covers LP of the Repo Man soundtrack(!)

If you have ever seen Nikki or Linwood's VHS collections, you know that their copies of Repo Man are well worn. Hell, we are pretty sure that Nikki's not driving might have something to do with Miller's philosophizing.

So, it is very cool that we can now announce that Those Darlins have recorded a cover of the Iggy Pop title track for an upcoming tribute album on American Laundromat Records.

All tour dates, SXSW included, and the new BC album cover, below...

Continue reading "Best Coast announces new LP & tours with Those Darlins & JEFF the Brotherhood (dates)"

photos by Stephanie Crumley, words by BBG

American Nightmare in MA

American Nightmare (aka Give Up The Ghost) reunited for two shows: Club Lido in Revere, MA on December 29th and one in Los Angeles on 12/31. The shows, their first in close to eight years, featured the lineup of Wesley Eisold (of Cold Cave), Timothy Cossar, Joshua Holden, Brian Masek, and Alex Garcia-Rivera, and featured notable support with the East Coast getting appearances from All Pigs Must Die, Colin of Arabia, and Salvation while the West Coast got Trash Talk, Touche Amore, and Weekend. Pictures, videos and the partial setlist from the MA show are in this post.

Jacob Bannon recently interviewed Wes & Tim for the Deathwish podcast, discussing the details behind the reunion. Stream that in full on the Deathwish player or download a copy via iTunes. Deathwish recently reissued We're Down Til We're Underground and Background Music on vinyl. Order yours at their eStore.

Pictures/video/setlist, below...

Continue reading "American Nightmare aka GUTG reunited (pics, video, setlist)"

The Kills @ MusicFestNW 2011 (more by Autumn Andel)

The Kills, who are about to celebrate their 10th anniversary, will head out on a headlining tour in early 2012 with JEFF the Brotherhood and Hunters. Beginning in Chicago on January 20th, the Kills will end it back at their favorite NYC venue Terminal 5 on February 11th. Tickets for all North American dates go on band presale today. Tickets for the NYC show go on AmEx presale Wednesday and general sale Friday.

Meanwhile the Kills will spend November traveling around Europe with Weekend. All tour dates and a brand new video for "Baby Says", below...

Continue reading "The Kills going on tour w/ JEFF the Brotherhood & Hunters (dates, presale & new video)"

photos by Diana Wong

Weekend @ Stratosphere Sound

Like last year, a bunch of bands were invited to Stratosphere Sound studios during CMJ to record a couple of songs with recording engineer Geoff Sanoff. The songs are going to be released via Insound for free soon (look out for one to premiere on BV as well). Bands included Caveman (who played like 10 CMJ shows and the BV Hold Steady show a month before CMJ), WATERS, Weekend (who played the BV official showcase and in a Puma store), Gauntlet Hair (who played a BV day party too), Widowspeak (ditto), 1,2,3 (that's the name of a band), and Tall Ships. Here are some pictures from the day (Friday, 10/21). They continue below...

Continue reading "Weekend, WATERS, Gauntlet Hair, Widowspeak, Caveman & other bands recorded sessions @ Stratosphere Sound (pics)"

photos by Chris La Putt

DOM in the Puma Store

For CMJ, SPIN hooked up with the Puma store in Union Square to present a series of free in-stores. Wednesday's schedule included one of the three shows that The Duke Spirit played, one of Dom's many CMJ 2011 appearances, and even a set by Weekend (who played the BrooklynVegan official showcase on Friday night). This Puma commercial continues below...

Continue reading "bands like Dom, the Duke Spirit & Weekend played in a Puma store (pics)"

photos by Amanda Hatfield

Raphaelle Standell-Preston of Braids/Blue Hawaii @ MHoW

Like she was when in February, Canada's Raphaelle Standell-Preston was fighting a cold when she returned to NYC to play the BrooklynVegan CMJ showcase at Music Hall of Williamsburg on Friday night (10/21). That didn't stop her from performing at the show twice though! Her electronic and atmospheric duo project Blue Hawaii bravely opened the show to the smallest audience of the night at 7pm (less than one hour after the BV day party at Public Assembly ended right next door). She then sang again at 10pm in Braids, but this time to the largest audience of the night. The room was packed to capacity as Braids performed their "absolutely beautiful" music. Seeming overwhelmed by their grand reception, Raphaelle thanked the crowd over and over as they ended their set and their tour with Pepper Rabbit who played at 8.

There's a rumor that the BV showcase may have been Pepper Rabbit's last show ever. Hopefully that's not true. To quote Hannah Angst, "Pepper Rabbit puts on an amazing show- I love when so few people can make that much noise." Maria Sherman said that, "the best part of [the] pepper rabbit show [was] John Norris screaming every lyric."

After Pepper Rabbit and before Braids, came Active Child. Elizabeth Rowe of the Examiner says:

Active Child stole the show with their 9pm set. Pat Grossi, the mastermind of the Active Child project, juxtaposes his chilling, choral falsetto and delicate harp-playing with the sonic intensity of electronic drums and keyboards. Reminiscent of How to Dress Well's deconstructed R&B with thundering electronic percussion, the band is ultimately difficult to categorize -- Active Child is an experiment in sonic contradiction as much as anything, and a compelling one at that. Songs were expansive, even grandiose affairs with the air of traditional choral music. The performance was finely-tuned, down to the apparent decision on the part of the band to wear matching scoop-neck t-shirts in slightly different neutral shades.

After Braids came the final set of the night, and that was from the great San Francisco post-punk band Weekend (I feel like it doesn't need to be written anymore that Weekend is not to be confused with The Weeknd or Weekends, but at least one person asked me to clarify this weekend, so I think I should keep writing it). Metro.us saw Weekend and says:

Bringing your own lights is an effective move that makes you stand out from the thousand other bands. You can better capture what you know as the es-sence of your own music. Weekend brought three long red tube lights to put beside their instruments, evoking electric heaters, warming up their icy goth rock sound.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by. Sorry if for some reason you couldn't get in! More pictures below...

Continue reading "BV CMJ 2011 showcase @ MHOW w/ Braids, Active Child, Weekend, Pepper Rabbit & Blue Hawaii (pics)"

Braids @ Mercury Lounge (more by Andrew St. Clair)

Though you may have noticed it on Music Hall's site already, I'm excited to announce the lineup of the 2011 BrooklynVegan official CMJ showcase, happening at Music Hall of Williamsburg on Friday, October 21st. It looks like this:

7pm Blue Hawaii
8pm Pepper Rabbit
9pm Active Child
10pm Braids
11pm Weekend

Montreal's Braids (not to be confused with Braid), covered countless times on this site also played a BV-SXSW 2011 party and are currently nominated for the Polaris Award. I'm honored to host them twice in one year.

Blue Hawaii, more of a rarity, is Braids front-woman Raphaelle's solo project. You don't see Blue Hawaii's name on a bill very often, though maybe you just caught them when they opened for Braids at Mercury Lounge on September 6th. Get there early! Raphaelle on stage once is something not to be missed, let alone twice in one night!

Active Child @ Bowery Ballroom (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Active Child, whose last NYC was a sold out one at Bowery Ballroom just last week, will play an early 9pm set even though they could probably be headlining the night themselves. No lack of BV Active Child posts too if you want to find out more about the LA-based ex-choir boy harp playing artist (Active Child also played a BV SXSW party in March 2010).

Pepper Rabbit also recently shared bills with Braids, though not in NYC where Pepper Rabbit also just headlined their own Mercury Lounge show. Grab the Freelance Whales remix of of their song "Rose Mary Stetch" HERE if you don't have it yet.

Weekend @ BV-SXSW 2010 (more by Tim Griffin)

Last but far from least is Weekend (not to be confused with The Weeknd or Weekends) who also played the same BV SXSW party in 2011 that Braids did (Malajube, who are in NYC now, played that show too). I'm excited to have them back too! To quote one BV contributor who I think speaks for most of us, "Weekend are one of my favorite new bands of the last year." Maybe you just caught them at one of their two packed NYC shows earlier this month. They played both Mercury Lounge and Glasslands with Talk Normal. Download/listen to their new track "Hazel" below.

NOTE: This is one of two official BrooklynVegan CMJ showcases. The other is much heavier and on a boat. Stay tuned for free day party announcements too.

Continue reading "BV-CMJ 2011 official showcase @ Music Hall of Williamsburg -- lineup & tickets"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Hedgehog - Toy and 61 Festival (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Hedgehog - Waiting for the Last Bus (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Royal Baths - Nikki Don't (MP3)

After surviving a couple minor major acts of nature, we deserve a long break. So for your Labor Day weekend... like usual, it's pretty slow, show-wise. But there are some things to do.

We'll start this week with a movie. Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life is finally getting a U.S. release (it came out in January 2010 in France), albeit a limited one, thanks in part to great reissue label Light in the Attic. The film started it's two-week Film Forum run last night and will be making its way around the country throughout the fall. All play dates are at the bottom of this post.

Heroic maybe, but for sure Serge Gainsbourg led a wild life before succumbing to cancer at age 62 in 1992. You could make a compelling film out of any period of his life, and that the movie tries to cram it all in -- from fleeing Nazi-occupied Paris as a child through his rise to fame, relationships with Bridget Bardot and Jane Birkin to his his '70s dalliance with reggae -- gives too much of your standard Behind the Music story arc.

But it's also untraditional at the same time. Writer-director Joann Sfar is a comic artist (this is his first film) and injects a big element of the absurd courtesy of a puppet-like alter-ego (alter-Id, really) that encourages Gainsbourg to do bad things. Eric Elmosnino, a dead-ringer for Gainsbourg, is terrific, as is the rest of the cast -- including Lucy Gordon as Birkin and Laetitia Casta as Bardot, plus appearances by eccentric singer Philippe Katerine and the late Claude Chabrol. It's got a great sense of style and, of course, the soundtrack is amazing. Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life could be better, but it's still worth seeing.

Weekend

As for actual shows, San Francisco's vociferous and awesome Weekend will be here on Saturday (9/3) at Glasslands and Sunday (/4) at Mercury Lounge. Both shows are with the similarly cacophonous Talk Normal.

Weekend have a new EP, Red, out September 20th on Slumberland which finds the trio exploring new sonic territory, though not the quiet kind. It's still rather pummeling but Shaun Durkan's vocals, previously hidden behind echo and backwards reverb, are dryer and more up front now. The sound is a little sharper all around, but the driving, melodic basslines and guitar squall remain. You can download Red track "Hazel" via a Soundcloud widget at the bottom of this post.

In addition to Talk Normal, the Glasslands show features their Slumberland labelmates Brown Recluse; the Mercury Lounge show also has Fan-Tan on the bill. All Weekend/Talk Normal tour dates are at the bottom of this post.

Royal Baths

San Francisco's Royal Baths bring their heavy psychedelia to Death by Audio on Friday (9/2) with Xray Eyeballs, Hunters and Mountain Cult. I wrote previously: "Royal Baths are kind of bad trip acid rock, dark and seedy but not atonal. But it's definitely down the rabbit hole. In a good way." At the top of this post you can download a track off of Royal Baths debut LP  from last year. The band have a split double-7" with Ty Segall due out on HoZac any time now. Keep an eye peeled for that.

Hedgehog

Bejiing's Hedgehog are back in America for the first time since CMJ: they play Bruar Falls on Sunday (9/4) and Cake Shop on Monday (9/5). After that they head out on tour with Xiu-Xiu and Kindest Lines, and all tour dates are at the bottom of this post.

I caught set at The Woods last year and the venue's atrocious sound didn't deter Hedgehog's tenacity, most ably embodied in Atom, their tiny pistol of a drummer. Looking at them, you might expect pop punk a la Japan's Blue Hearts, but Hedgehog make melodic indie rock. There's a couple tracks to download at the top of this post. They're a blast live, and there aren't a lot of shows Sunday or Monday, so here's a good international option for your concert dollar.

That's it of the "big" stuff in my world. Some more shows -- including a fair amount of free ones -- are listed day-by-day below.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1

Good show at Shea Stadium tonight. In addition to the recently-profiled Caged Animals, there's also new FatCat singings Forest Fire whose Walkmen-esque album Staring at the X is worth looking out for when it comes out in October on FatCat.

Nerdy rapper and Adult Swim voice talent MC Chris is throwing a record release party at Death by Audio for his new album Race Wars. It's also his birthday. Show is FREE.

continued below...

Continue reading "Serge Gainsbourg, Weekend, Hedgehog, Royal Baths, MC Chris, Hunx, 'English Beat' & more in This Week in Indie"

Talk Normal @ Prospect Park 2010 (more by Lori Baily)

The Brooklyn based duo Talk Normal - comprised of Andrya Ambro (Drummer/Vocalist) and Sarah Register (Guitarist/Vocalist) -- are currently at home in NYC, hard at work on their second full-length. Three 7"'s have come out over the summer, most recently M'Lady Records (with artwork by Kim Gordon), preceded by a split on Fast Weapons Records with Thurston Moore, and a split on Klangbad Records with Christy & Emily.

Continue reading "Talk Normal kicking off tour w/ Weekend and then Wire in Europe (dates)"

Treasure Island Music Festival is returning to San Francisco, CA on October 15 and 16. The lineup includes Cut Copy, Beach House, The Hold Steady, Flying Lotus, Death From Above 1979, YACHT, Shabazz Palaces, The Antlers, St. Vincent, and many others. 2-Day passes go on sale Wednesday (7/27) 10 AM and single day tickets on Friday (7/29) at 10 AM.

Speaking of St. Vincent, if you haven't already, check out her new track at StrangeMercy.com. The full album is out September 13th via 4AD. More info and tour dates HERE. Still no info on tickets for her Met show.

Full Treasure Island lineup below...

Continue reading "Treasure Island Fest announces 2011 lineup, includes St. Vincent (who recently released a new song)"

Talk Normal @ Mercury Lounge in 2010 (more by David Andrako)

In addition to with EMA tonight, you'll have two more chances to catch Talk Normal in NYC in September when they open for Weekend at Glasslands (9/3) and Mercury Lounge (9/4). The shows are the week before Weekend plays Hopscotch Fest in Raleigh, NC. Tickets for the Glasslands show are on sale now and go on sale for the Mercury show Friday (7/22) at noon. UPDATE: More dates announced and listed below.

Guitarist Sarah Register of Talk Normal is also a producer, and she recently produced an album by NYC's GDFX aka Greg Fox (Liturgy, Dan Deacon Ensemble, Teeth Mountain, Guardian Alien). One Thing will be released via Impose Records as a blue 12" on August 16, and GDFX will play a bunch of shows around that time to help promote it. They're listed below along with one of the songs from the album. Liturgy is currently out on tour and will do even more touring later with Boris.

Weekend, recently played LPR instead of the Seaport due to rain. All upcoming dates are listed below...

Continue reading "Talk Normal & Weekend schedule dates, GDFX too"

The Wake and Weekend were scheduled to play the free outdoor show at South Street Seaport this evening, July 8, 2011, but due to rain, the show has been moved to Littlefield in Brooklyn. Doors are now at 9pm, but the show is still free. Bands at 10 & 11.

Poor Chris La Putt braved the weather and went to the Seaport to capture the action. His picture of the non-event is above.

In related news, tonight's Yankees game is postponed for the same reasons and that means Derek Jeter will have to wait a little bit longer before attempting his 3000th hit.

P.S. Want to see Animal Collective for free at Merriweather Post Pavillion (the MD venue) on Saturday night? We're running a last minute contest for two tickets now at our Facebook.

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Mickey - For You (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Fungi Girls - Doldrums (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Pure X - Dry Ice (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Grooms - Tiger Trees (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Wake - Oh Pamela (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Weekend - End Times (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: pow wow! - It's Not That Easy (MP3) 

Mickey

Ok it's really hot out but don't let that stop you from seeing some great stuff this weekend. We've got a couple bands on the Hozac label in town this weekend. First is Chicago glam punks Mickey whose debut Rock n' Roll Dreamer just hit the racks. It's a sleazy vision of excess that is part The Sweet, part Johnny Thunders, part Schlitz malt liquor and three bags of glitter dumped on top. It's hook-filled debauched fun. Check out "For You" at the top of this post for a taste. I have not seen Mickey live but all signs point to chaos.

Mickey play Death By Audio tonight (7/7) with Liquor Store, Ex-Humans, The Fucking Ocean and Sleepies (this show sounds like trouble), and then Friday (7/8) at Cake Shop with Habibi, Jigglers, Teardrops and Siberians.

Fungi Girls

The other Hozac band is Austin trio Fungi Girls who I've been wanting to see for some time. They play Friday night (7/8) at Death By Audio with Xray Eyeballs and The Beets, and on Saturday (7/9) at Ding Dong Lounge as part of a Group Tightener curated show with the label's bands Pure X (more on them below) and Expensive Looks, plus Cool Cough.

Still in their teens, Fungi Girls seem to have already digested a lifetime of psych-pop influences and make a racket that sounds fresh and well beyond their years. (Why aren't these guys on Slumberland?) 2009's Seafaring Pyramids was excellent and I can't wait to hear the new album, Some Easy Magic, which is out next month. You can download "Doldrums" at the top of this post which was the b-side to a Hozac 7" that came out last year.

Pure X, who play with Fungi Girls on Saturday, are also from Austin and maybe you knew them as Pure Ecstasy which they used to be called. (A San Francisco cover band laid claim to the name.) Now Pure X, the band just released their debut LP, Pleasure, this week and you can download "Dry Ice" from it at the top of this post. Altered Zones has a stream of the whole thing. Recorded live with no overdubs, Pleasure is lovely and languid, not unlike the first Cowboy Junkies album or Galaxie 500. It's a nice Sunday morning kind of album as I'm fond of saying.

The band are in town for two shows. In addition to the previously mentioned Saturday show with Fungi Girls, Pure X also play Friday (7/8) at sweaty 285 Kent for a Chocolate Bobka curated show with Tonstartsbandht, Forma, and Run DMT.

Grooms

If you go see Mickey tonight, Fungi Girls tomorrow and wanna make it three smoky nights in a row at Death By Audio, on Saturday (7/9) it's the record release party for Grooms' very good second album, Prom, which officially comes out next week on Kanine. The show is with Pterodactyl and The Immaculates.

The new album is a big leap from the band's debut, Rejoicer. The overt Sonic Youth-isms have melted and Grooms have come into their own with this one which feels confident and accomplished. It rocks pretty hard too, at times, but has pretty moments as well. Check out album opener "Tiger Trees" at the top of this post. Grooms were fantastic when I saw them at Northside but I imagine they'll be even more on their game at their Death By Audio home base.

The Wake @ NYC Popfest 2010 (more by Dominick Mastrangelo)

And finally a bunch of Seaport-related shows. Friday (7/8) is the third installment of the Seaport Music Festival with Scotland indiepop legends The Wake. As I wrote when they played Popfest last year:

"While they didn't get the attention their Factory Records labelmates New Order and Happy Mondays (or even A Certain Ratio) received, The Wake's catalog is well-regarded, especially 1985's Here Comes Everybody which is a bona fide  indie classic. Check out "O Pamela" at the top of this post. The band's hazy, reverb-laden sound has parallels to current bands like The Radio Dept or Wild Nothing, or any of the chillwave groups out there."

(editor's note: I was definitely wondering what random tourists may have thought when they came upon John Lennon's son and his supermodel girlfriend playing a show on the same stage recently).

Saturday (7/9) at the Seaport is an official "warm up" to next weekend's 4 Knots Festival, with Ted Leo and Screaming Females. Ted has played the Seaport five times and often not under the best conditions. He played in torrential downpours and with generator power the night of the 2003 blackout. Saturday he'll be marking the 10th anniversary of his album The Tyranny of Distance by playing it in full. Weather is supposed to be lovely.

Then on Sunday (7/10) is the penultimate Sound Bites Series show with pow wow! who are currently finishing up their debut album. After garnering a lot of buzz (and playing what seemed like every week) back in 2009, they took most of last year off to regroup and rethink. With a slightly retooled sound -- they're definitely a little more '80s indie and a little less early '00s rock now -- they'll play the Fulton Stall Market at 3PM. I DJ before and after. Check out "It's Not That Easy" at the top of this post.

Then after the Sound Bites show, you should head over to the Beekman Beer Garden for the first of the summer's Beach Party shows. This week it's the wildness that is Cheeseburger, plus Hard Nips. I hope Beekman (formerly Water Taxi Beach formerly Spiegeltent) is ready for flying beer. This should be fun. With the truncated Seaport Music Festival schedule this year (and no Pool Parties) I'm glad more is going on down at the Seaport, one of my favorite places during the summer.

If you want to hear more from the bands playing the Sound Bites Series, the Beach Parties, as well as Hudson River Rocks, the Seaport folks partnered with Insound for some free downloadable mixes. Bands include Austra, Metronomy, Xray Eyeballs, The Beets, pow wow!, DOM, Raveonettes, Radical Dads and more. I curated the Brooklyn Local mix with bands who have played both years of the Sound Bites Series, plus some other Brooklyn bands I think people should check out. 

OK that's it for this week. A few more Thursday picks are below.

THURSDAY, JULY 7

Steel Phantoms, ARMS, and Shark? are at Brooklyn Bowl. It's free if you go before 7PM. After that it's five bucks.

Colorado band School Knights play Shea Stadium with The Hairs whose singer used to have a band called Knight School. Weird, right? Also playing: Grand Rapids and Radical Dads whose new video for "New Age Dinosuars" is at the bottom of this post.

contininued below...

Continue reading "Mickey, Fungi Girls, Pure X, Grooms, The Wake, Weekend, pow wow! & more in This Week in Indie"

The second annual Hopscotch Festival will go down in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, across 12 different venues with over 135 bands, from September 8th through 10th. The lineup this year runs the gamut of independent music... from traditional indie staples (The Flaming Lips, Guided By Voices, Superchunk) to southern-inflected rock (Drive-By Truckers) to noise (Prurient) to hip hop (Beans) to garage (Jeff The Brotherhood) to funk (Budos Band) to metal (Krallice), and everywhere in between (Swans, Rhys Chatham, etc etc). Tickets are currently on sale. Full lineup is below.

Hopscotch happens almost three months after Guided By Voices play a Brooklyn Northside Festival show in McCarren Park (tickets) which is one day after Beirut plays a Northside Festival show on the same McCarren Park stage with... Sharon Van Etten (though she may have been accidentally announced at one point, they officially kept her placement on the bill under wraps until after Saturday's Music Hall of Williamsburg show). Tickets for Beirut/SVE are still on sale, and another opener will be added too.

Guided by Voices (whose Brooklyn show also has more openers coming) are also playing Pitchfork in July with Animal Collective whose Prospect Park show is now on AmEx presale.

Swans' upcoming NYC show is now on AmEx presale too.

Hopscotch lineup below...

Continue reading "Hopscotch Fest returns to Raleigh (2011 lineup announced), Sharon Van Etten officially added to Northside Fest"

fireworks @ the Seaport in 2010 (more by Chris La Putt)

INITIAL SOUTH STREET SEAPORT CONCERT LINEUP
June 24: The Ghost of a Sabre Tooth Tiger (Sean Lennon) + TBA
June 26: My Teenage Stride (Sunday)
July 01: Lower Dens & Dirty Beaches
July 03: The Hairs (Sunday)
July 08: The Wake & Weekend
July 10: Pow Wow! (Sunday)
July 15: The Radio Dept. & Asobi Seksu
July 16: 4Knots Music Festival (Saturday)

All Friday shows start at 7pm. Sunday shows, which are the return of our own Bill Pearis' Sound Bites series (but now on Sundays instead of at lunch), begin at 2pm. Both are part of the annual River To River Festival at The Seaport.

More free Seaport dates, shows and bands TBA, including maybe a Mad Decent Block Party.

photos by Amanda Hatfield and Timothy Griffin

Adventure (by Tim)

Braids (by Tim)

Braids and Adventure are on tour with Toro y Moi now. The three bands play sold out shows at Music Hall of Williamsburg and Bowery Ballroom on Sunday (4/10) and Monday (4/11).

As discussed and/or pictured HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE, we threw a free, three stage party with M For Montreal at Swan Dive and Barbarella in Austin on Saturday, March 19, 2011.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by, to all the bands who played and to Ramesh for DJing. Sorry to Bass Drum of Death for not getting to play due to some confusion. Thanks to the cast of Workaholics for stopping by and for doing some hosting (catch their show on Comedy Central now!). Thanks also to Izzoz, Sensible Portions, Honest Tea, VegAustin, Raw Revolution, NadaMoo, Firefly Vodka, Line 6, Korg, Vox, Blackstar, Nudie Jeans, and ASCAP. Thanks to everyone else that helped and to anyone I forgot.

A whole bunch more pictures from the whole day are below...

Continue reading "BV/M For Montreal Austin Day Party in pics (Braids, Adventure, Owen Pallett, Little Scream & many more)"

photos by Dana (distortion) Yavin

"Wire (yes, Wire ... the band) absolutely killed it
at the Williamsburg Hall of Music this eve." - J Simon

Wire @ MHOW

Wire arrived in NYC yesterday, and their busy day included taping an episode of Fallon that aired last night and then headlining Music Hall of Williamsburg after a set by their tour-opener Weekend. Both bands play NYC shows again tonight (4/6), though at different venues.

Madensuyu open for Wire tonight at Bowery Ballroom instead of Weekend (sold out). If you miss the Belgian openers, Madensuyu also play Pianos tomorrow (4/7), and Kenny's Castaways the night after that.

A set of pictures from Music Hall, setlist included, and the two videos from Fallon (in case you missed them), below...

Continue reading "Wire played Fallon & MHOW w/ Weekend (pics, video & setlist) ++ Madensuyu open tonight (and play other shows)"

As previously mentioned, "Less than three months after the album release, the post-punk legends [Wire] will hit the road for a short batch of East Coast dates. NYC gets a double dose with Music Hall of Williamsburg hosting on 4/5 and Bowery Ballroom on 4/6." You can also catch Wire on Late Night with Jimmmy Fallon tonight (4/5).

And as mentioned, Weekend open the Music Hall show and then play Mercury Lounge on 4/6. Madensuyu open the Bowery show.

PREVIOUSLY
* an interview w/ Weekend (on their tourmates Wire & stuff)
* Weekend add NYC show during tour w/ Wire (updated dates)
* Weekend touring w/ Wire (whose Red Barked Tree is out now)
* Wire announce new album & 2011 tour (MP3 & dates)

All dates below...

Continue reading "Wire are here w/ Weekend, play Fallon tonight"

by Andrew Sacher

"expect absolutely nothing from me..." - The Weeknd

Readers of this site should be very familiar with Weekend, who just played a BrooklynVegan SXSW party and who we just interviewed. Their tour with Wire hits New York this Tuesday (4/5). Tickets are still on sale for the MHOW show, and for Weekend's show at Mercury Lounge the next day.

Weekend is not to be confused with the Canadian hazy electro-R&B artist Abel Tesfaye who records under the moniker The Weeknd (in part because he spells it "Weeknd" and not "Weekend"). He's currently all the rage due to his nine-song mixtape House of Balloons which he released last week for free on his website. Hype wars are only adding to the attention. A Pitchfork Best New Music tag and praise from the Village Voice are in controversy with an article from The Guardian which insists "indie-leaning music critics are once again getting R&B spectacularly wrong." Rolling Stone calls the Weeknd an "Artist To Watch" ("mama if you can hear me... i did it.. i'm a rolling stone now..", The Weeknd Tweeted). NY Mag highlights a funny new "PBR&B" subgenre name people are using on Twitter to describe the "hipster R&B" category that also includes artists like How to Dress Well and Odd Future associate Frank Ocean.

Like recent albums by James Blake and How To Dress Well, The Weeknd's mixtape is constantly crossing the lines between indie and R&B. With two Beach House samples (The Weeknd says their management is "cool as fuck"), a Siouxsie and the Banshees sample, and synthy beats that would feel far more at home at Electric Zoo than on an R. Kelly record, The Weeknd (whether he's ruining R&B or revolutionizing it) is certainly up to something worth listening to.

The Weeknd also has support from fellow Canadian Drake, who tweeted lyrics and linked to a song download before the mixtape was fully released. According to The Boombox who say Drake broke the new artist, it's rumored that The Weeknd, Drake and producer Noah "40" Shebib will be working together in the near future.

House of Balloons is available for free download on The Weeknd's website, but if you want to hear a couple songs first, check out the Beach House sampling "The Party & The After Party" and the album opener which contains the disclaimer, "You wanna be high for this," below...

Continue reading "Weekend vs. The Weeknd (get his free PBR&B mixtape now)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Weekend - Coma Summer (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Weekend - End Times (MP3)

Weekend @ SXSW (more)

Weekend have stayed pretty busy since the release of their acclaimed debut, Sports, on Slumberland last fall. The San Francisco trio take myriad post punk influences, and amp them into a unique -- and vociferous -- sonic assault. The band are about to hit the road with post-punk legends Wire, a tour which rolls into town next Tuesday (4/5) at Music Hall of Williamsburg. (They also play an early headlining show at Mercury Lounge on Wednesday [4/6] with Toronto's Little Girls.)

The band also just wrapped up ten shows at SXSW, which is where this interview took place, right after their blistering set at our Saturday day party. In an alley beside club Barbarella, I pulled the band aside for a few minutes of off-the-cuff talk about hearing protection, their upcoming tour with Wire , and what's next for the band...

Continue reading "an interview w/ Weekend (on their tourmates Wire & stuff)"

by Bill Pearis

Pete & the Pirates @ SXSW Convention Center

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

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

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

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

continued below...

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

by Bill Pearis

Yuck @ Barbarella (BV Party photo by Amanda Hatfield)

Moving on from Wednesday... Thursday, in some ways, was a bit of a bust for me. I blame St. Patrick's Day, one of my least favorite holidays. It is amateur hour. Attendance was up 40% at SXSW this year, and I'm guessing a lot of that was college kids on spring break all of whom already seemed to have had enough to drink by the time I hit 6th Street after the BrooklynVegan-curated portion of the Day Stage. It was a day spent trying to avoid getting puked on or punched.

Anyway, I headed over to our other Thursday afternoon event at Barbarella/Swan Dive, which was crowded but chill, arriving just in time to catch the end of Fergus & Geronimo and Beans' sets. Trying to navigate between the two connected clubs -- blazing sunshine at the patio stage, pitch black for the Barbarella inside stage -- was a bit tough.

I watched most of Yuck's set and thought they sounded great. Not the most exciting band to watch, but that's okay, not everyone can bounce around the stage like Superchunk to whom they owe more than a little sonic dept. Speaking of, Mac McCaughan was their for their whole set which I thought was kind of awesome. I asked him if he was there to collect royalties from Yuck. He laughed and said, "No way, I love these guys!"

Obits @ Barbarella (BV Party photo by Amanda Hatfield)

From there it was out to the Patio for Obits' set. There's something about their pedal-to-the-metal rock that sounds a little better in Texas. Plus they played the two songs I really wanted to hear: "You Gotta Lose" from the new album Moody, Standard and Poor, and their first-ever single "One Cross Apiece."

After scarfing down some tacos (courtesy of the El Diablo truck in Barbarella's backyard, yes a sister truck to the one here at Union Pool), I caught a little of Screaming Females, rip-roaring as usual, and Menomena before heading East to pick up my Fader Fort wristband. Probably a mistake to go to the one place with truly unlimited booze on St. Patrick's Day, it was a phantasmagoric scene of oversized spectacles, day-glo clothing, long lines, and marketing. And booze. Oh...and bands. Mazes, who I'd seen the night before, were playing and not many people seemed to be paying attention.

Most people seemed to be having the Best Time Ever but it was just a little much for me, so I opted for the green grass and relaxed vibe of the French Legation to catch Edwyn Collins which was just a pleasure. With a shit-hot band, including legend Dave Ruffy on drums, we got a 40-minute or so set, half of which was from his new album Losing Sleep, the rest from his back catalog, mostly from his Orange Juice days.

Missed opportunity: they didn't play OJ classic "The Day I Went Down to Texas." But otherwise no complaints. Just like at his Rock Shop show, the set's highlight was Losing Sleep track "In Your Eyes," with Edwyn's son Will singing co-lead, the part sung by Jonathan of The Drums. The Drums' Jacob Graham came out and played guitar with them too. Like his dad, Will Collins has pipes perfect for croony melodrama. Get this kid his own band!

Edwyn Collins @ French Legation

I zoned out at the Legation for a while before heading to Beauty Bar to see Swedish soft pop band Pacific! I love Pacific's first album, Reveries, a melange of '78-'82 soft rock influences, but had no idea what their live show would be like. I certainly wasn't expecting them to come out in cloaks and hoods. Backlit, they looked like Grim Reapers, albeit ones making music that would fit right in beside Air Supply and Falco.

From there it was off to Emo's Jr. to catch San Francisco's Magic Bullets. If you are ever in need of a pick-me-up, go see this band. Their singer is the dancin-est frontman I have ever seen, and the whole band really seems to enjoy playing...which is infectious. They ended their set with a cover of Altered Images' "I Could Be Happy," which fit right in with the band's sound (that owes more than a little to early-'80s Scottish pop).

Austra was playing at Emo's proper so we went to catch them. Buzz is just started to build for them but I think when their debut, Feel it Break, hits they will be unavoidable. The record is all hits and they've got a really good live show too, including identical twin sisters as backup singers. Eminently danceable, with soaring choruses, Austra have got it. I left before the Kills who went on next at what was the Domino showcase.

From here I met up with friends at Palm Door, near the Convention Center, and caught the tail-end of We Barbarians' set. The Long Beach trio's sound is not a million miles away from Bear Hands or Local Natives, dancefloor friendly rock. I thought they were pretty good. They hit New York in a couple weeks for two sold-out shows with Foster the People and Grouplove: Mercury Lounge on April 8 and Knitting Factory on April 9.

"You ready for some killer dubstep?" That's Shaun Durkan, bassist/singer for Weekend, who were up next. He kids, he kids. Intense and very, very loud, Weekend take a load of post punk influences and really do make them their own. They are just so good at what they do. You're knocked back by sheer force as Durkan's vocals swirl in and out as if from a parallel dimension. Easily one of the best sets I saw at SXSW. Weekend are in town in two weeks, for two shows: opening for Wire at Music Hall of Williamsburg on April 5, and then an early show at Mercury Lounge on April 6 with Toronto's Little Girls.

We decided to end the night with Gayngs at large outdoor club Mohawk who are supposed to be on at 12:30 but are still setting up equipment an hour later. With what seems like 30 people in the band, I can see how it would take so long but my energy flagged and I took off before they played, deciding to catch the Night Owl bus back to my friend's apartment instead.

A few more photos below, some video, and applicable tour dates...

Continue reading "Bill's Week in Austin (Day 2 - Yuck, Austra, Obits, Edwyn Collins, Weekend, Magic Bullets, We Barbarians & more)"

If you've been following along, you know that this is finally the NINTH and FINAL BrooklynVegan SXSW 2011 show announcement! This one happens on Saturday, March 19th in Austin, at both Swan Dive and Barbarella (they connect). It runs from noon-6pm and is 100% free. We are doing it with our friends from M For Montreal and it looks like this:

STAGE 1 (SWAN DIVE)
12:00 PM New Moods
01:00 PM Oh Land
2:00 PM Austra
3:00 PM Little Scream
4:00 PM Owen Pallett
5:00 PM Braids

STAGE 2 (Barbarella main stage)
12:00 PM Baths
1:00 PM Misteur Valaire
2:00 PM !!!
3:00 PM Trail of Dead
4:00 PM Mount Kimbie
5:00 PM Daedelus
HOSTED BY: the cast of Workaholics
DJs: Ramesh (of Voxtrot) & 70's Bush

STAGE 3 (Barbarella small stage)
12:00 PM Bass Drum of Death
12:45 PM Adventure
1:30 PM Versus
2:30 PM Malajube
3:15 PM Suuns
4:00 PM Weekend
5:00 PM PS I Love You

And this party will also have:

• FREE vegan Izzoz breakfast tacos while supplies last!
• lots of FREE snacks courtesy of Sensible Portions!
• a lot of FREE Honest Tea!
• FREE Raw Revolution bars to eat.
• FREE vegan ice cream from NadaMoo
• FREE Firefly Vodka cocktails all day (while supplies last.)
• more FREE DRINKS TBA.

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

To celebrate the BrooklynVegan + M for Montreal party, Nudie Jeans is also giving away 5 pairs of jeans (one pair for each day leading up to the party). For your chance to win, friend Nudie Jeans on facebook and send an email titled BROOKLYN VEGAN to nudie@wantagencyinc.com. For those at the party, we'll also be raffling off more Nudie Jeans you can win while you're there.

We're also happy to announce that, for the second year in a row, we'll be partnering with our friends at VegAustin to host a vegan bake sale for charity at the party. All proceeds will be donated to Compassion Over Killing.

Check out the flyer and stuff below...

Continue reading "BrooklynVegan & M For Montreal Free Saturday Austin Day Party lineup (3 stages @ Barbarella & Swan Dive)"

by BBG

Weekend at O'Briens (more by Bryan Bruchman)

Weekend's noisy and gothic post-punk LP Sports was one of my favorites of 2010, and though they'll hit the road for a US and EU tour with Wire (that includes an April 5th show at MHOW together), the band has scheduled another NYC show. Look for the San Francisco band to headline on April 6th at Mercury Lounge. Tickets go on sale at noon (1/28).

Tickets are also still available for the Wire/Weekend show at Music Hall of Williamsburg, and for Wire's April 6th appearance at Bowery Ballroom which is the same night as Weekend at Mercury Lounge. Madensuyu opens for Wire that night.

Wire's new LP Red Barked Tree is out now. Weekend tour dates and a video of "Monday Morning/Monongah, WV", below...

Continue reading "Weekend add NYC show during tour w/ Wire (updated dates)"