Neko Case @ All Points West 2009 (more by Chris La Putt & Tim Griffin)

Neko Case has some new stops on her fall North American tour. Her previously announced date at Beacon Theatre on November 16th, with Joey & John of Calexico opening, seems to only have single tickets available. One of the new shows is a performance the night before (11/15) at Wellmont Theatre in Montclair, NJ. Tickets for that go on sale Friday, September 18th at noon. Joey & John of Calexico open NY & NJ (and a few other dates on her tour).

Case is also on the lineup for the New Yorker Festival (October 16th-18th). More specifically, "Neko Case talks with Sasha Frere-Jones: A Conversation with Music" happens at 7:30 p.m. at Acura at Stage37 on 508 West 37th Street on Saturday, October 17th. Tickets for that and all New Yorker Festival events also go on sale Friday at noon.

The singer recently stopped by NPR's World Cafe Live for a session on September 11th. She's currently on a short UK tour, that included a stop in Nottingham on September 12th...

Neko Case took us on a whirlwind tour of her wildlife theme park with songs from Blacklisted, Tigers Have Spoken and Fox Confessor, all evidence of her growing stature as one of alternative country's most original writers.

Orchestrally, "Middle Cyclone" was a quieter number, her backing singer Kelly Hogan playing a poignant musical box.

Hogan supplied most of the spoken intros. "Things That Scare Me" opened a group featuring "People Got A Lotta Nerve", "Fever" and "I'm An Animal". "Hold On, Hold On" was a cracking product of the redhead's partnership with the Sadies. [This is Nottingham]

Continue reading "Neko Case updates tour schedule (Wellmont Theater), New Yorker Festival tix on sale Friday"

Steve Martin @ Rubin Museum in May (more by Ryan Muir)

Years ago, in my old comedy act, I said, "You just can't play a sad song on the banjo." This was for comic effect only, because I knew the banjo had a capacity for mournful melodies and the "high, lonesome sound." As I was sometimes mournful, sometimes lonesome, and sometimes high, this suited me perfectly. I also found myself passionately affected by the banjo's driving staccato, darting rhythm, and inexplicable sadness. It was as though the banjo generated nostalgia for experiences I never had, joy I was yet to experience, and melancholy that was yet to come. [Steve Martin - Liner notes to "The Crow"]

All tour dates are below...

Continue reading "Steve Martin & the Steep Canyon Rangers - 2009 Tour Dates "

photos by Tim Griffin

"I can't help but say the word CUTE when it comes to seeing these guys live. They're super smiley and with Richard Butler's jumping and hip shaking and swirls, you can't go wrong. The saxophone player, Mars Williams, was AMAZING. They didn't have him play when I saw them back in 2005(i think?). This guy may be a little short, but he has a lot of energy to belt out the solos that he did. I was a little upset not to see guitarist John Ashton, but the new guitar player was great. The keyboardist wasn't really needed on most songs in my opinion, I'm sure she's awesome and really sweet! Tim Butler will always be cool with his shades and bass lines. It was also cool to see the drummer from Love Spit Love, Frank Ferrer, too." [WHATTITW]

Continue reading "The Psychedelic Furs @ Wellmont Theater in NJ - pics, video"

Pete Yorn has added to his two-month North American summer tour a show at NJ's Wellmont Theatre on Friday, July 24th (tickets on sale Friday, June 19th at noon). The previously announced NYC dates are July 28th and 29th at Webster Hall.

The singer also added a last-minute CD release show at the much smaller Joe's Pub on Thursday, June 18th to mark the release of his latest disc, Back and Fourth, though that is sold out.

If you missed tickets to that (and have time to wait in line), you can still catch Yorn playing at the Apple Store in Soho tomorrow (June 16th) at 7pm. First come, first served.

In addition to that new album, Yorn will also be releasing a CD with Scarlett Johansson in September.

A video of Yorn covering The Smith's "Ask" at Joe's Pub in 2006, below...

Continue reading "Pete Yorn adds shows (Wellmont, Joe's Pub, the Apple store) "

photos by Tim Griffin

"Besides their dedication to their art, most [of those participating in Dark Was The Night are] successful -- but one senses that fame wasn't their primary engine for choosing a career in music. There was no hierarchy in this group -- everyone was treated as an equal, and participated with everyone else where they could. Many were already acquaintances or friends. Times have changed. No one was drunk, on drugs or two hours late for rehearsal. There was no "rock star" behavior. That could sound boring -- but such rebellious, clichéd behavior hasn't always guaranteed good music. When great music would surface from a personal or professional mess, it often seemed like a rare but happy accident, unlikely to be repeated." [David Byrne]

Last night (6/3), David Byrne brought his Eno-show to the Wellmont Theater in Montclair, NJ. Now on a 2nd-leg of his 2009 U.S. tour (the first leg included two shows at Radio City) , Byrne will bring the show to Prospect Park in Brooklyn, NY on Monday June 8th. That 'Celebrate Brooklyn' show is FREE.

All tour dates, more pictures from the Wellmont show, and three videos Fader made of David Byrne giving a guided tour of his office, below...

Continue reading "David Byrne - Wellmont Theater pics, tour dates, video office tour, free show reminder & a Dark Was the Night blog post..."

DOWNLOAD: Ape School - Wail to God (Daedelus Remix) (MP3) (via)

"Keane is not the coolest band to blog about when I'm all indie rock up in your business. I am a slightly apologetic Keane fan. I think there are a few bands that can make dynamic, catchy singles that can appeal to the masses while still be genuine and heartfelt. I can see the fellas sweating over lyrics in studios, rather than thinking what would sell to the Wal-Mart crowd.

More than anything, and the reason I would see the band again in another few years, is that they are an unabashedly energetic live act. Sometimes, I'll take a great live act first. As for tonight, a 90-minute set filled with their hits and the obligatory Springsteen cover to soothe the Jersey folks." [Music Snobbery]

Now that the tour is over, The Helio Sequence are going on a headlining tour of their own which starts tonight at Music Hall of Williamsburg (5/28). Also playing the Brooklyn show are Ape School, and the UK's Howling Bells who are currently on tour with... Coldplay! They can trade piano rock war stories. Speaking of which, did you know that...

After listening to Tim Rice-Oxley's piano playing during a weekend at Virginia Water, Surrey in 1997, Chris Martin invited him to join his newly formed band Coldplay. However, Rice-Oxley declined because he did not want to leave The Lotus Eaters, stating "I was seriously interested, but Keane were already operational and Coldplay's keyboard player idea was dropped." [Wikipedia]

Daedelus has his own Brooklyn show coming up too - this June as part of the Northside Festival.

I have three pairs of tickets to giveaway to tonight's MHOW show. Details on how to win, and all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Helio Sequence played Radio City w/ Keane, playing MHOW w/ Ape School (ex-Holopaw) & Howling Bells (tonight)"

UK New Wavers the Psychedelic Furs are playing a set of Northeast US dates in June. Those include a show at the Wellmont Theatre in Montclair, NJ on Saturday, June 13th. $25.00 tickets go on sale Friday, May 8th at noon.

More dates below and TBA, including additional European shows this summer. One EU date already set is the Benicassim Fesival in Spain on July 19th.

The band's current lineup includes founding brothers Richard Butler and Tim Butler, classic lineup guitar player John Ashton, drummer Frank Ferrer from Love Spit Love (Richard Butler's post-pfurs band) and more recently Guns N' Roses, keyboardist Amanda Kramer and saxophonist Mars Williams.

Furs music videos, including two crowd clips of the band in Jersey in 2007, with all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "The Psychedelic Furs - 2009 Tour Dates (Wellmont Theater)"

photos by Tim Griffin

Morrissey, the wry British icon of modern rock, tipped his hat to New Jersey by warbling the chorus of Bruce Springsteen's current single as he walked on stage at the Wellmont Theatre in Montclair Monday night [3/16].

"I'm workin' on a dream," Morrissey crooned, with just the right combination of mockery and respect.

To hear Springsteen's optimistic line emanate from Morrissey, who tends more toward the Oscar Wilde/Joe Orton school of narrative, was flat-out funny. The brevity of the parody made it that much more effective.-[from Asbury Park Press]

Morrissey's physical language was mostly refined and small and practical: a raised hand for emphasis, some delicate cross-stepping five feet to the right or left. Twice he took off his well-fitting dress shirts, and both times he threw the shirt to the audience: an impressive expense for Montclair, on the 11th night of a 78-show tour. He was telling us that he sympathizes with anyone flighty enough to worship a pop star. He was also telling us, perhaps, that he has calculated his own worth.-[NYTimes]

More NJ Morrissey pictures below...

Continue reading "Morrissey @ Wellmont Theater in NJ - pics & setlist"

David Byrne & dancers @ Radio City Music Hall in NYC (photo by Jane Kratochvil)

"C warned me that there was a not so complimentary review in the NY Times this morning, and advised me against reading it. I don't read all the press and reviews we get, but as I do read that paper regularly, I would have inevitably stumbled upon it. Apparently the reviewer, Jon Pareles, loves the Bush Of Ghosts album and has some kind of nostalgia for those days. We all know music snobs who like to remind everyone that they heard so and so back when they were really good. This, however, is the same reviewer who leveled charges of "cultural imperialism" against Bush Of Ghosts in his Rolling Stone review back in the early 80's. For years afterwards, almost every interviewer asked me to respond to his charge, and many press articles quoted it. It was like the joke about "When did you stop beating your wife?" -- the charge was silly and ill-informed, but one was constantly put on the defensive, and even assumed to be guilty, simply by the question being raised. It was annoying, it lasted for years, and it hurt.

Given that track record, I guess 30 years from now he'll figure out what this show was about.

I still haven't read the review, and don't intend to. While taking criticism on board can be constructive, it can also be detrimental to the creative process if it's considered while that process is still under way. It undermines one's enthusiasm and will -- which is OK, beneficial even, but only after a tour (for example) is over. This review, by all reports, wasn't helpful criticism anyway -- it seemed to be one of those reviews that comes from some psychological issues the writer has -- and therefore even a belated reading is not going to help us refine what we do." [DAVID BYRNE]

Missed both Radio City shows? Good news! David Byrne has added a June 3rd show at the Wellmont Theater in Montclair, NJ. It happens after (over a month after) he gets back from the European leg of the "Everything That Happens Will Happen Today" tour. $65.00 & $45.00 tickets go on sale Saturday at 10 AM.

All tour dates, and TUTU VIDEO FOOTAGE, below...

Continue reading "David Byrne adds a post-European-tour NJ SHOW, takes on NY Times Radio City reviewer +++ Radio City TUTU video"

photos by Tim Griffin

"Ryan Adams was born on November 5, 1974 in Jacksonville, North Carolina to Susan and Robert Adams. His father left home when he was nine years old. His mother, an English teacher, encouraged Adams to read and as a child he became familiar with the works of authors including Jack Kerouac, Edgar Allan Poe, Sylvia Plath and Henry Miller.

Adams' grandmother played a modest role in his childhood, serving as his babysitter after school while his mother worked. When he was eight years old, Adams began writing short stories and poetry on his grandmother's typewriter. He is quoted as saying, "I started writing short stories when I was really into Edgar Allan Poe. Then later, when I was a teenager, I got really hard into cult fiction: Hubert Selby, Jr., Henry Miller, Jack Kerouac." At the age of 14 Adams began learning to play the electric guitar that his mom and stepdad had bought him, and shortly afterwards joined a local band named Blank Label. Although Blank Label did not stay together long, a three-track 7" record exists, dated 1991 and lasting less than seven minutes in total." [Wikipedia]

Continue reading "the Cardinals (Ryan Adams) @ Wellmont Theater -pics,setlist"

photos by Tim Griffin

"For Rufus Wainwright, being gay can be a bit of a distraction.

Wainwright, who has been open about his homosexuality since the release of his eponymous debut album in 1998, acknowledges that he isn't the only gay pop star, but believes he is the first to begin his career totally out of the closet.

Though his personal life has resulted in tons of press in the past decade, it has also been a liability, Wainwright told The Times.

"It's an exciting prospect, and always has been, but on the other hand, you know, it has diminished at times my success," he said. "But I can't really - there's no sort of skirting the issue, because it is just a plain fact."" [The Montclair Times]

More pictures from NJ below...

Continue reading "Rufus & Lucy Wainwright @ Wellmont Theater in NJ - pics"

Doug Gillard playing with Yo La Tengo (more by Natasha Ryan)

Doug Gillard kicks off his previously-announced, month-long residency at Pianos in NYC tonight (1/7). Here's who else is on the bills:

Jan 7 - Regal Standard (Jason Narducy & Larry Schroeder acoustic) & Graham Smith (Kleenex Girl Wonder)
Jan 14 - Gramercy Arms & Abigail Warchild
Jan 21 - Unsacred Hearts & Arrows (Russ Fink)
Jan 28 - Mascott (Kendall Meade) & The Octagon

Graham Smith's band Gates of Heaven are playing Cake Shop on January 9th, Glasslands on January 27th, and Monkeytown on April 28th with Bowerbirds.

Doug Gillard's only other upcoming show is February 8th when he and band open for The Black Keys at the Wellmont Theatre in Montclair, NJ.

More pictures of Doug playing a recent Hanukkah show with YLT, HERE.

The Black Crowes will record new, original material for an upcoming album during four sold-out concerts at Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, New York, in February and March. This run of performances at the recording studio built decades ago by the 2008 Grammy winner and former drummer for the Band are being billed as "Cabin Fever Winter 2009." The shows on February 21, 22, 28 and March 1 sold out in less than two days.

"We're thrilled," Helm, who's not scheduled to perform, tells Rolling Stone. "It kind of shows me that we're doing things right." Over the last few years Helm has staged "Midnight Ramble" house concerts at the studio -- Saturday night performances Rolling Stone named Best Jam Session that feature special guests sitting in with the Levon Helm Band... [Rolling Stone]

The Levon Helm Band is also playing Wellmont Theatre in Jersey on February 7th. All dates, including a bunch of Rambles, below...

Continue reading "Levon Helm - 2009 Tour Dates (Beacon Theatre) (presale)"

NYC-area Morrissey tickets are going on sale Friday. Bowery Ballroom (21+), Webster Hall (18+), and Wellmont Theatre (all ages) go on sale at noon 11:00. Carnegie Hall's sale also starts at 11am (also all ages). All four shows are presented by The Bowery Presents. Ticket prices are above. All dates are HERE.

Continue reading "Morrissey tickets on sale Friday: Bowery Ballroom & Webster Hall ($75), Wellmont Theater ($45/55), Carnegie Hall ($75)"

today in NYC
* DANCE
* FIXED @ Studio B
* Gary Lucas @ the Stone
* Walter Schreifels @ Bar 4
* The Fleshtones @ the Bell House
* Menahan Street Band & Naomi Shelton @ Southpaw
* Longwave, The Dig & The Silent Years @ Bowery Ballroom
* Tombs, Bloodhorse, Keelhaul & Acid Tiger @ Union Pool
* The Mugs, Mussels, Limbs & Red Tag Rummage Sale @ Cake Shop
* Quasi, Sic Alps, Marnie Stern, Soft Circle, Jeff Lewis & Crystal Stilts @ KF
* Lake Trout, The Jones Street Boys, Wax Fang & Charles Atlas @ Mercury Lounge
* Pwrfl Power, Care Bears On Fire & Rachel Trachtenberg @ Death By Audio
* The Homosexuals, Blonde Acid Cult & a lot of bands @ the Studio at Webster Hall

Tickets are on sale for the Ryan Adams show at Wellmont Theatre in Jersey.

The Black Keys also added a show at Wellmont Theatre. Tickets are on sale for that too. Same goes for Lucinda Williams.

Video of Harvey Milk performing "Crush Them All", below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Saturday?"

Ryan Adams @ MSG - Dec 17, 2008 (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

Ryan Adams and Oasis play their second-to-last show together tonight (12/19) in Camden, NJ. It was also just announced that Ryan Adams will return to Jersey to play a show at Wellmont Theater in Montclair on February 22nd. Tickets for the 'Cardinals' show go on sale Saturday at 10AM. All previously-announced 2009 tour dates, HERE. Pics from MSG, HERE.

photos by Tim Griffin

"I had the pleasure to see B.B. King at the Welmont Theatre in Montclair, NJ last week. B.B. was awesome as usual, but what impressed me more, was the restoration of this theatre. The Wellmont was one of my mainstays growing up as kid in the area in the 70's and 80's. With such theatres as the Bellevue, the ClairRidge and the Royal Theatre in Bloomfield, the Wellmont was considered the "dirty theatre", and usually a last choice between the other theatres. However, it had some mystique to it, and as kids we were some times able to sneak in the side exit." [Pete the Mac]

Guitarist Joel Zoss opened the show with a set of mostly old blues songs, including one by Leadbelly. More pictures below...

Continue reading "B.B. King @ the Wellmont Theatre, Montclair, NJ - pics"

Living legend B.B. King turned 83 in September. You wouldn't know it by his touring schedule. Catch B.B. tonight/Thursday, December 4th, at the Wellmont Theater in Montclair, Friday at the club with his own name in it, Saturday in Trenton, February 21st @ the Beacon Theatre with Buddy Guy, or at any of the shows listed below...

Continue reading "B.B. King - 2008/09 Tour Dates (with & without Buddy Guy)"

photos by Eric M. Townsend

Since the May 27 release of his chart-topping and critically lauded Blue Note Records album, Lay It Down, it has been a whirlwind year for legendary soul and R&B icon, Al Green. With Lay It Down, Green has delivered the highest debuting record of his accomplished career since his 1972 classic, I'm Still In Love With You.

Continue reading "Al Green @ the Wellmont Theater, Montclair, NJ - pics"

An hour before show time, a battalion of security officers was directing a convoy of concertgoers in S.U.V.'s, and traffic was flowing smoothly in an area known to wear down would-be diners and moviegoers seeking a coveted parking space.

Back in September, Joseph Hartnett, chief executive of the municipality, said, "Keeping all of these people moving is going to be a challenge in an already parking-challenged town." As it turned out, concertgoers said parking was less an issue than other factors, at least on a Tuesday evening when the theater was not filled to capacity.

"There's ample parking on the street -- I had no problem at all," said Chris Kunstadter, 53, of Bloomfield. Mr. Kunstadter received e-mail notification of the postponement in time to avoid heading out on Monday, but when he made it inside on Tuesday, he had a different concern.

"They should have seating on the lower level," he said, referring to the capacious open space near the main stage, where clumps of concertgoers convened. For this concert, seats were available only on the Wellmont's upper tier. [NY Times]

Yo La Tengo @ Maxwell's, Hanukkah 2007 (more by Daniel Arnold)

A letter from Yo La Tengo below...

Continue reading "Yo La Tengo are doing Hanukkah! Maxwells tix on sale soon! Stephen Colbert lives in Montclair! Vivian Girls opening NYE!"

Vampire Weekend are playing a show at the Wellmont Theater in Montclair, NJ on December 8th. That's two days after they finish their three-night run at Terminal 5 a short drive away, via the Lincoln Tunnel, in Manhattan. Ezra Koenig ("THE GUY FROM VAMPIRE WEEKEND") will also be performing in Manhattan with Fucked Up today, Tuesday October 14th, at 8:30 pm. $25.00 tickets for the NJ show go on sale October 18th at 10 AM.

Also coming up at the Wellmont: Yo La Tengo New Years Eve

Yo La Tengo @ ATP NY (more by Zach Dilgard)

Yo La Tengo and The Feelies are playing the Wellmont Theatre in Montclair, NJ on December 31st, 2008. Doors at 7. Show at 8. $35 tickets on sale Saturday October 18th at 10 AM.

Tickets are also on sale for other upcoming shows at the Wellmont like The Decemberists, Wolf Parade, Rufus Wainwright, The Backstreet Boys, Hinder, and Hanson. The only show there that is currently sold out is Bill Maher.

The Feelies recently played shows at Bowery Ballroom and Music Hall of Williamsburg. It was the same weekend Yo La Tengo were up at ATP.

Counting Crows are playing the first three shows at the end of October at the new Wellmont Theater in NJ. Tickets for all three shows are on sale (@ 10am).

Tickets are on sale (@ 10am) for the upcoming Smashing Pumpkins shows at United Palace (single day and two day passes).

Tickets are on sale for the upcoming Oasis show at MSG.

Tickets for the show O'Death are playing at Bowery Ballroom in December are now on sale.

And those $5.00 Mission of Burma / King Khan / Jay Reatard tickets are also on sale.

Tickets go on sale Saturday for almost every Wellmont Theatre show I listed plus a November 19h Tony Bennett one. Prices are listed at the Montclair, NJ venue's site.