words by Andrew Sacher, photos by Toby Tenenbaum

The night began with a great opening set from The Walkmen at Williamsburg Waterfront on Saturday (9/24). The set was made up largely of the band's calmer songs and hit an interesting point during the galloping "Blue As Your Blood," when lead singer Hamilton Leithauser crooned, "The sky above is blue as your blood." Everyone and their cell phone cameras turned around to find that the sky above was actually a really intensely vibrant orange.

At around 7:50 PM, Fleet Foxes walked out onto the stage before the sold out Williamsburg Waterfront and after a shout out to The Walkmen, drifted into the lifting psych folk of "The Plains/Bitter Dancer." Since I last saw Fleet Foxes they've added a sixth member (their lineup now includes Morgan Henderson, formerly of The Blood Brothers), and are able to flesh out their set with even more layers of instrumentation than on their earlier tours. Morgan brings an array of woodwinds and string instruments to the band's sound and helps create more space for the other members to rotate between different instruments as well.

After opening with one of the strongest songs on Helplessness Blues, Fleet Foxes took us back with two Sun Giant tracks, "Mykonos" and "English House," before returning to their more recent material. The new and old songs fit together perfectly in a live setting. This came across most prominently when Robin Pecknold's performance of "Montezuma" was accompanied only by the lush vocal harmonies of his bandmates until they returned to their instruments on the last chord of the song, leading directly into "He Doesn't Know Why." Fleet Foxes hit their highest peak in the set with their 8-minute psych-prog opus "The Shine/An Argument." Beginning with Robin's delicate acoustic guitar and gentle vocals, the song slowly began to build as Robin howled, "Sunlight over me, no matter what I do," and harmonies floated into the mix. On the first hit of J. Tillman's thundering drums which drive the song's second passage, shapeshifting psychedelic visuals took over the screen that hung on the stage's backdrop. Robin and Co. added in tremendous harmonies secured by the "In the morning" refrain, which eventually meandered off into the song's third passage, complete with images of green apple trees and Morgan Henderson's fantastic avant-sax solo. The song eventually faded into "Blue Spotted Tail" which, after the otherworldly ending of "The Shrine/An Argument," felt like a return to reality led by unanswerable questions like, "Why is life made only for to end?"

After playing "Grown Ocean," Fleet Foxes left the stage and after a short break, Robin returned by himself to play a new song that he had finished a few weeks ago. He was then joined by the rest of his band for three more songs including, "Sun It Rises," the much anticipated "Blue Ridge Mountains," and recent single "Helplessness Blues."

More pictures, videos, and setlist from the show below...

Continue reading "Fleet Foxes played Williamsburg Waterfront w/ The Walkmen (pics, video, setlist, review)"

"Post-concert drug orgy mob nightmare erupts on North 7th Street in Williamsburg thanks to the Open Space Alliance."

the calm before the storm @ Williamsburg Waterfront (photo by Schoetz)

As you may have heard/noticed (if you weren't at the Hold Steady at Beekman Beer Garden that night), jam banders (who weren't at the rescheduled Dave Matthews Band Caravan on Randall's Island) invaded Williamsburg Saturday night because Widespread Panic headlined the Williamsburg Waterfront.

Not surprisingly, some residents weren't too happy with the scene and widespread panic ensued. Gothamist points out that some people still aren't over it and the following open letter to OSA, aka the Open Space Alliance, was drafted:

On Saturday night, September 17, 2011 between approximately 9:40 PM and 10:20 PM the following events took place on North 7th Street off the corner of Kent Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

A lawless drug nightmare erupted on my street after Saturday night's OSA concert featuring the band called Widespread Panic.
At about 9:40 PM the noise from the concert in the East River State Park had finally ended. So I was about to try to get some video editing work done on my computer when my attention was drawn to loud popping sounds, sounds of gas rushing and the roar of large crowd outside on the street. When I looked out my front window I was horrified to see a huge mob collecting. A group of nitrous oxide balloon sellers had assembled next to a dumpster across the street. Hundreds of people, if not more, were gathering up and down the block buying balloons filled with the gas and inhaling them. Concert-goers already drunk from the East River State Park were becoming even more highly intoxicated from the nitrous oxide. They were wandering around like zombies holding fists full of balloons.

There was not ONE SINGLE COP to be seen anywhere. I called 911 and explained what was taking place. The 911 operator was having difficulty understand the situation so I gave him the location and pleaded, 'Just send the police now. We need help here!', and hung up. Afraid for my safety while filming on my stoop, I used my heel to keep the door open behind me just in case I had to escape. In one of the last clips you can see a couple of men coming toward me in a menacing way.

Anyway, I'm really sorry to anyone that appears in these videos, but there are videos which were posted to the StopOSAConcerts Youtube account (the quote at the top of this post comes from one of the video descriptions), and so, well, you can watch them below....

Continue reading ""lawless drug nightmare" after Widespread Panic concert! Nitrous zombies roamed Williamsburg!"

photos by Amanda Hatfield

The strong double bill that can be abbreviated as TVOTR/BSS hit WW in Brooklyn last night (9/8). More pictures from the show and both setlists, below...

Continue reading "TV on the Radio & Broken Social Scene played Williamsburg Waterfront (pics & setlists)"

photos by Dana (distortion) Yavin

"How the hell in the world did i end up at a dr dog/bright eyes show?" - Big Troubles

"Martin's band Real Estate is playing at the Williamsburg Waterfront with Dr. Dog and Bright Eyes!" - Breanne Joyce

"dr. dog just slaughtered providence. bright eyes are mopping the floor trying to clean up the bloodbath that was dr. dog." - Deer Tick

"Bright Eyes/Williamsburg Waterfront has taken the #1 spot in my Best Concerts of 2011 list. Apologies, Ra Ra Riot/Prospect Park." - Jenny Owen Youngs

"$50 a ticket for dr. dog/bright eyes. i will never ever be a bright eyes fan now. I hate you conor oberst. hate." - Sarah M

Dr. Dog @ Williamsburg Waterfront

Bright Eyes @ Williamsburg Waterfront

Bright Eyes, Dr. Dog and Real Estate played Brooklyn's outdoor Williamsburg Waterfront on Wednesday night (8/31). A set of pictures from that show continues, along with Bright Eyes' setlist, below...

Continue reading "Bright Eyes, Dr. Dog & Real Estate @ Williamsburg Waterfront (pics & setlist)"

Real Estate @ Big Sur (more by Natasha Ryan)

Tonight's Bright Eyes/Dr. Dog show at Williamsburg Waterfront is being opened by Real Estate. Doors are at 5:30pm. Tickets are still on sale.

photos by Jacob Blickenstaff

Jonathan Coulton @ Williamsburg Watefront

After playing a waterfront show last month with They Might Be Giants, Jonathan Coulton will take to the high seas on Friday August 19th for a show aboard the Jewel, a Rocks Off NYC Concert Cruise. Tickets are on sale. The show is a prelude to his US tour with TMBG which will occur in two legs: East Coast/Midwest in September and West Coast in November. Full tour schedule is below.

If you can't make it on Friday, you can still catch comedian/songwriter "JoCo" on a boat, but the destination will be much different...

JoCo Cruise Crazy II is a 7-day Southern Caribbean cruise in 2012 on Holland America's ms Westerdam, with music, comedy and performances from Jonathan Coulton and friends. It departs from Ft. Lauderdale, FL on February 19th and returns February 26th, with ports of call at Half Moon Cay, Bahamas; Oranjestad, Aruba; and Willemstad (Curacao), Antilles.

All dates and more of a second set of pictures from Coulton's rainy appearance at Williamsburg Waterfront, below...

Continue reading "Jonathan Coulton playing boats & shows with TMBG (more dates & pics from Williamsburg Waterfront)"

photos by Dana (distortion) Yavin, words by Andrew Sacher

Kurt Vile and the Violators started the evening pretty early at Williamsburg Waterfront on Friday (8/12), taking the stage at a prompt 6:30 PM. The crowd hadn't filled in too much yet but those who did make it out early were treated to a short, but great set. Drawing almost entirely from his recently released Smoke Ring for My Halo, Kurt's shoegazey folk rock kicked off the show well and was especially fitting on the sunny waterfront with whiffs of barbecue and cigarette smoke floating through the air.

Up next was Wild Flag, who initially won me over when I saw them open for Bright Eyes earlier this year at Radio City, but their Radio City set doesn't compare at all to what they did at the waterfront on Saturday. The all-girl indie supergroup, featuring Carrie Brownstein and Janet Weiss of Sleater-Kinney, Mary Timony of Autoclave and Helium, and Rebecca Cole of The Minders, were greeted to tons of immediate applause as soon as they stepped out onto the stage. Unlike at Bright Eyes, where many people in attendance seemed unfamiliar with the group, this crowd was giving the band some serious support, and that might have encouraged them to rock even harder.

As Bill pointed out, Wild Flag's album is not out yet and hasn't even leaked, but even being only vaguely familiar with their material from live shows and various online singles, I was blown away by every song. The two frontwomen (Carrie and Mary) switched off lead vocal duties every other song and both of them ripped through killer guitar solos. I was a little more drawn to the Carrie-fronted songs because of how ferocious of a performer she is, but needless to say, Mary's were excellent as well. I feel more than confident in saying that Friday's show is not the last I will be seeing and hearing of Wild Flag.

Sonic Youth took the stage a little after 8 PM as their 5-piece incarnation of the band with Pavement's Mark Ibold, unlike last summer's NYC show at Prospect Park, when it was just the four of them. They launched right away into a handful of old material, focusing most heavily on 1985's Bad Moon Rising, and diving as far back as Confusion is Sex and the Kill Yr Idols EP. After a few more old favorites like "Kotton Krown" and "Eric's Trip," the band played a few cuts off their most recent proper LP, 2009's The Eternal. Having Mark on stage gave Kim Gordon the opportunity to put down her bass and sing. And as Kim proved when she left the constraints of a mic stand and took to the front of the stage during the pummeling "Sacred Trickster," she's an electrifying frontwoman. She carried the band as if she was solely a vocalist for their entire career.

They played material from 1983 alongside stuff from 2009, all sounding like it came from the same brilliant place. While most bands who are thirty years into their career are either fading away or living off of the nostalgia of their older material, Sonic Youth continue to sound and perform as fresh as ever. They thrash around stage with a youthful fervor that could destroy the hip-to-be-bored lo-fi scene who cite the band as an inspiration. And while you could try to argue that the similarities between their newer and older material is a negative thing, you'd be leaving out the fact that with only guitar, bass, and drums, all of it sounds like music from a time period that the rest of the world hasn't experienced yet.

Kim returned to the front of the stage around 9pm to sing "Drunken Butterfly" off 1992's Dirty. The band then left the stage after what seemed like far too short of a set. The crowd was audibly disappointmented. However, Sonic Youth quickly began making up for it when they returned for the first of three encores. Kim gave a shout out to Wild Flag and dedicated the song "Flower" to them. After leaving and returning to the stage a couple more times, the band were preparing to play their actual last song when a fan threw a ukulele to Lee Ranaldo, which he used to create the noise intro to "Inhuman." As the song progressed, Thurston Moore unplugged the bass he was playing and started making feedback with his guitar cable that he proceeded to wrap around his neck and body as he sang into the mic that he'd ripped off the stand. Mark Ibold and Steve Shelly kept what was left of the song's structure intact as Kim and Lee continued to create layers and layers of guitar noise. The band stretched the song's ending for at least twice the duration of the recorded version as Thurston kicked around stage moaning and shrieking "inhuman" and Lee swung guitars around by drumsticks lodged underneath their strings, completely stripping at least three of them. By the song's end, Thurston had uprooted the mic setup, and over a sea of fading feedback he said, "With the power of love, anything is possible," threw the mic down and walked off stage.

More pictures, a video, and setlists from the show below...

Continue reading "Sonic Youth, Wild Flag & Kurt Vile played Williamsburg Waterfront (pics, review & setlist)"

photos by Dominick Mastrangelo

"Amazing performances last night by Death Cab for Cutie and Frightened Rabbitat Williamsburg waterfront in BKLN. Thank you." - JW Byer

Death Cab for Cutie played Williamsburg Waterfront last night (8/20 with Frightened Rabbit as part of their tour together. Like they did at their Bowery Ballroom show in June, Death Cab played a lot of older stuff in their set, only touching on about half of the new album Codes and Keys.

The Death Cab/Frightened Rabbit tour continues through the end of this month, but tonight (8/3) Frightened Rabbit play their own headlining show at MHOW with Right On Dynamite while Death Cab tape an episode of Live From The Artists Den. Tickets are sold out.

Pictures, videos and setlist from last night's show below...

Continue reading "Death Cab For Cutie & Frightened Rabbit played Williamsburg Waterfront (pics, video, setlist)"

photos by David Andrako

Like those who chose to spend their Friday night at an outdoor Long Island amphitheater watching Weezer & Flaming Lips, and those caught in the long line outside House of Vans, the people who decided on the free They Might Be Giants music & comedy show at Williamsburg Waterfront got wet. Visual proof continues (more about this show later), below...

Continue reading "comedy, rain & music @ Williamsburg Waterfront in pics (They Might Be Giants, Eugene Mirman, Kristen Schaal & more)"

photos by Vincent Cornelli

"Yes it's balls hot out, but still looking fwd to the outdoor Death from Above 1979 show tonight. Flaming asteroids couldn't keep me away." - Alex Navarro

"Dying from heat at Death From Above 1979 @ Williamsburg Waterfront at East River State Park" - Dave Surgan

"Seeing Death From Above 1979 at Williamsburg Waterfront. Yeah, no big deal, not like it's 103 degrees outside with 114 Heat Index. Nope." - Brendan Hilliard

DFA1979 in Williamsburg

Despite the heatwave, Death From Above 1979 played their first reunion show in NYC at Williamsburg Waterfront on Friday (7/22) with The Drums. DFA1979's 17-song set (encore included) consisted of almost the entire You're a Woman, I'm a Machine LP and Heads Up EP, and a couple b-sides. The Drums played most of their debut, and a bunch of songs off their upcoming LP Portamento too.

DFA1979 first announced their plans to be a band again at the beginning of the year and have since then also played SXSW, Coachella, and Sasquatch.

More pictures from the Brooklyn show and DFA's setlist below...

Continue reading "DFA1979 & the Drums played a hot Williamsburg Waterfront (pics, setlist)"

DOWNLOAD: They Might Be Giants - "Can't Keep Johnny Down" (MP3)

TMBG at Prospect Park in 2009 (more by Ryan Muir)

After some experiments with children's music, They Might Be Giants are back with the quirky alternative rock they became known for over the last three decades. Their fifteenth LP Join Us comes out this week (7/19) on the band's own Idlewild Records. The album was produced with long-time producer Patrick Dillet. Grab the album's single "Can't Keep Johnny Down" above.

TMBG will head out on an extensive international tour this fall after a few dates at the end of this month, including an in-store at Apple Store Soho on Wednesday (7/20) at 7 PM ("Pick up an admission wristband on July 19"), a free Williamsburg Waterfront show on July 29 with Eugene Mirman, Patton Oswalt, Todd Barry, Kristen Schaal and fellow geek-rocker Jonathan Coulton. Jonathan also opens the band's record release show the next day (7/30) at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ and most of their fall tour.

They Might Be Giants recently stopped by AV Club Undercover to take on Chumbawamba's "Tubthumping," which according to the band is "sort of like a They Might Be Giants song." They invited AV Club staff to join them in the room and sing the song's chorus.

Watch the video and check out all tour dates, album art and tracklist below...

Continue reading "They Might Be Giants releasing "Join Us", playing the Apple Store, touring (MP3 & dates)"

The Drums at Bonnaroo in June (more by Dana (Distortion) Yavin)

The Drums will release their sophomore LP Portamento on September 12 via Island. One week prior, they'll release the album's lead single "Money," which you can stream below.

The Drums have a few international shows scheduled through September, including a new one in Brooklyn. The Drums will open for Death From Above 1979 @ Williamsburg Waterfront on July 22. Tickets are still on sale. Both bands will also play Lollapalooza in August.

All tour dates, album art, tracklist, and song stream below...

Continue reading "The Drums reveal new album, song & UK dates, opening for Death From Above 1979 in Brooklyn"

Dr. Dog at Terminal 5 in February (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Dr. Dog has been an added as an opener to the Bright Eyes show at Williamsburg Waterfront. Tickets are still available.

A couple of weeks later they'll take part in another waterfront show in their home city...

"Music, film, visual arts and more will highlight the inaugural WHYY Connections Festival Friday, September 2 and 3, 2011. This exciting event, hosted by WHYY in partnership with the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation, will kick off Friday evening with a special advanced screening of episode 1 of Ken Burns' Prohibition. On Saturday, WHYY will showcase its commitment to the arts with live musical performances by Dr. Dog, The Baseball Project, Toy Soldiers, Kuf Knotz, Birdie Busch, and more!"

Continue reading "Dr. Dog playing Brooklyn w/ Bright Eyes, the inaugural WHYY Connections Festival in Philly & other dates"

People at Williamsburg Waterfront last year (more by Benjamin Lozovsky)

This summer's Williamsburg Waterfront concert season begins this weekend with a free show on Saturday (6/11) (5:30pm doors). For what it's worth, that show is Coheed and Cambria, Adrian Belew Power Trio and Tigers Jaw, but it is free. It's also one of three currently announced free shows (there will be five free shows total, one of which will be classical music). The other two announced free events are Eugene Mirman and Pretty Good Friends (Patton Oswalt will be one of those friends!) and special musical guests They Might Be Giants on July 29, and a children's show with Moey's Music Party and Story Pirates (who recently hosted a benefit) on June 19 at noon.

Ticketed shows include Death From Above 1979, Death Cab for Cutie, Sonic Youth, Bright Eyes, Thievery Corporation (with Dam-Funk & Master Blazter and Raphael Saadiq opening), TV on the Radio, Fleet Foxes and more. Check out the full lineup with openers listed below...

Continue reading "Williamsburg Waterfront opens this weekend, here is the full updated summer schedule"

Fleet Foxes at United Palace in May (more by Dominick Mastrangelo)

Fleet Foxes go on a short tour in July with an unannounced opener. According to their twitter, "super pumped for who we're touring with in July, but can't announce yet due to other tours." Fleet Foxes also have some dates in September scheduled with The Walkmen (!) including ACL where both bands appear, and at Williamsburg Waterfront on September 24. Tickets for the Brooklyn show go on sale Friday (6/10) at noon.

Welt Martin of The Walkmen called Fleet Foxes' debut his fourth favorite album of 2008. Great to see them play a show together, especially since Fleet Foxes have also "been such gigantic fans of theirs since their first album."

Meanwhile the Walkmen play this weekend at Bonnaroo. All tour dates below...

Continue reading "Fleet Foxes & the Walkmen playing Williamsburg Waterfront (and other dates) "

Bright Eyes at Sasquatch 2011 (more by Josh Darr)

More artists have added Williamsburg Waterfront shows to their summer schedules. Bright Eyes' Radio City opener Wild Flag already have a waterfront show with Sonic Youth and Kurt Vile. Now Conor Oberst and co. have scheduled one too, on August 31. Tickets go on sale Friday (6/3) at noon.

Bright Eyes are keeping pretty busy this summer, touring and playing festivals. They just played Sasquatch, and are also scheduled to play Lollapalooza, ACL, and Music To Know Fest which is in the Hamptons two weeks before they play Brooklyn. All dates are listed below.

The other new Waterfront show, jam band fans will be happy to know, is Athens, Georgia band Widespread Panic who will play the outdoor space on September 17. Hide your wife weed. Tickets go on sale Friday (6/3) at noon.

All Bright Eyes dates below...

Continue reading "Bright Eyes touring, adds Williamsburg Waterfront show (Widespread Panic too) ---- updated tour dates"

"I lived in Manhattan in the '80s and we used to talk about 'bridge and tunnel' people," said Sunny Chapman, 60, a dance instructor and artist who moved to Williamsburg 16 years ago. "Now we talk about bridge and tunnel people coming in from Manhattan."

The crush of outsiders in the neighborhood "absolutely is Topic A," Ms. Chapman said. "One person will mention an episode of rudeness and the floodgates will open. They walk into me when they walk down the street texting."

That is not all. "Don't get me started on their giant $800 strollers running over my ankles in King's Pharmacy," she said

She added: "A lot of people from the old days carry guns. One of these days one of these suburban kids is going to say the wrong thing to the wrong person." [NY Times]

The focus of the NY Times article is mostly the now familiar battle between the Williamsburg Waterfront concerts and some angry residents.

The first and one of the only free shows happening at the Waterfront this summer is Coheed & Cambria on 6/11.

The first pay show is currently Thievery Corporation on 6/24, a show which now also has Raphael Saadiq on the bill. Tickets for that and other Waterfront shows are on sale.

DOWNLOAD: Thurston Moore - Benediction (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Thurston Moore - Circulation (MP3)

The above picture is an actual photo of Thurston Moore's new record 'demolished thoughts' on blue vinyl in front of one of the pressing machines. You can look for that in a store on Tuesday (May 24th) or pre-order directly from Matador. You can also download two of the album's nine tracks for free above.

Today is Friday, May 20th, which means that TONIGHT is Thurston's big record release show at Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn. As mentioned before, poet Eileen Myles and I Feel Tractor are opening the show. As maybe not mentioned, Thurston will be playing "with the full band (including Samara and Mary, and adding Keith Woods on guitar, Matt Heyner on bass and John Maloney on drums)." Tickets are still available, AND we have THREE PAIRS YOU CAN WIN. To sweeten the deal, each pair of tickets comes with a signed copy of the new album. Details on how to enter the contest are below.

As mentioned before, Thurston also has a free show coming up Monday inside the Other Music record store. As maybe not mentioned, that show will also be "plugged in and full band." After that, Thurston doesn't have any other dates scheduled until June and July. They are all listed below.

Most of Thurston's July dates are with Kurt Vile, who as mentioned before, is also opening for Wild Flag and Sonic Youth at Willimasburg Waterfront on August 12th. Tickets are still on sale for that show, tickets go on sale today at noon for the DFA1979 & TVOTR/BSS shows happening at the same venue this summer.

A flyer for tonight's MHOW show, the contest details and all Thurston dates, below...

Continue reading "Thurston Moore plays tonight (win tix & a signed copy of his new LP) +++ TVOTR, BSS & DFA1979 tix on sale today"

Kyp Malone of TVOTR at Radio City (more by Chris Gersbeck)

In the wake of the tragic passing of their dear friend and bandmate Gerard Smith, TV On The Radio have added an NYC show at Williamsburg Waterfront on September 8rd. Tickets go on sale at noon on Friday, 5/20 (the same time tickets to the DFA1979 show at the same venue go on sale). Openers TBA. UPDATE Broken Social Scene is opening!

The date takes place after the band jets around the globe for dates in Europe, Mexico, and Canada. They're also playing Pitchfork Fest, the just-announced Austin City Limits, and a few other places. Their last NYC show was a headlining one at Radio City. Their last Brooklyn show was right down the street from Williamsburg Waterfront, at Music Hall of Williamsburg.

TVOTR play Jay Leno TONIGHT (5/17). All tour dates and video from their recent appearance on Letterman, below.

Continue reading "TVOTR playing Williamsburg Waterfront (and Leno tonight) -- updated 2011 Tour Dates"

Death From Above 1979 at Coachella (more by David Andrako)

Lets pray that riot police won't be deployed when Death From Above 1979 play their NYC reunion show on the banks of the East River, at Williamsburg Waterfront on 7/22. Tickets go on sale on Friday (5/20) at noon. Openers TBA.

The NYC date is one of a few the band has scheduled for the summer, and a rare non-festival appearance for the band who will also swing by Sasquatch, Osheaga, Lollapalooza, and the recently announced Austin City Limits.

All tour dates are below along with some video of the now infamous incident at SXSW.

Continue reading "Death From Above 1979 playing Brooklyn & other dates"

Sonic Youth at Prospect Park (more by Lori Baily)

We are truly thrilled to announce that Other Music will be hosting a record release party for Thurston Moore's fantastic new solo joint, Demolished Thoughts, produced by Beck Hansen for Matador Records. Thurston and his band will be performing at the shop at 8 p.m. on Monday, May 23, and signing records after. Please join us -- and, need we say, get here early! - Other Music

Tickets are also still available for the previously discussed Sonic Youth show on August 12 at Williamsburg Waterfront that now also includes Kurt Vile on the bill, in addition to Wild Flag.

Kurt Vile & The Violators will play a sold out Bowery Ballroom on June 11th with Purling Hiss & Meg Baird, but NOT with Pissed Jeans who had to drop off the bill less than a day after it was announced.

All Kurt & Thurston dates, and the new video for Thurston Moore's "Benediction" from Demolished Thoughts, below...

Continue reading "Thurston Moore playing free show @ Other Music, Kurt Vile playing Waterfront show w/ Sonic Youth & other dates"

Wiz Khalifa @ Rock The Bells 2010 (more by Eric Townsend)

We're now up to four announced ticketed shows happening at Williamsburg Waterfront this summer. Thievery Corporation are playing the outdoor North Brooklyn space on Friday, June 24th, and tickets go on sale this Friday at noon which is also when Death Cab For Cutie/Frightened Rabbit tickets go on sale. The other two, which are already on sale, are Sonic Youth and Kid Cudi.

Wiz Khalifa, who plays the Roots Picnic on June 4th, and Monmouth University on July 29th, will play Central Park Summerstage on July 25th. Tickets go on presale Thursday at 10am, and then general sale Friday at noon.

Tickets go on AmEx presale today (5/4) at noon for Ratatat's upcoming show at the same Summerstage venue.

It's always confusing that, except from a promoter/series/financial/whatever point of view, "Central Park Summerstage" and "Rumsey Playfield" are actually the same venue even though you have to do two separate searches on Ticketmaster to find all the ticketed shows happening there. Ray Lamontagne and the Pariah Dogs are playing two Rumsey Playfield shows this year. The sold out 5/31 one was announced a while ago (with Brandi Carlile and The Secret Sisters opening), and the 9/26 one (with no openers announed yet) goes on presale Thursday at 10am, and then on general sale Friday at 10am.

In related news, Bon Iver's recently announced Prospect Park show is now sold out.

Williamsburg Waterfront last year (more by Benjamin Lozovsky)

As I previously wrote, "there will be concerts at the Williamsburg Waterfront this summer. In fact, the plan is to have 10 ticketed shows and 5 free shows." And, "The five free concert dates are still TBD, but one will be of a classical/philharmonic nature, and one will be geared towards kids. The free shows may or may not be on Sundays or even on weekends, and they will definitely not have anything to do with Jelly."

Since then three ticketed shows have been announced: Kid Cudi on Wednesday, July 6th (on sale), Death Cab For Cutie/Frightened Rabbit on Tuesday, August 2nd (on sale 5/6, but a presale starts 4/29), and Sonic Youth/Wild Flag on Friday, August 12th (on sale Friday). Seven more announcements to come.

Service Charge-free tickets are available at the Best Buy Theater Box Office (44th and Broadway in Manhattan) and at Sound Fix Records (44 Berry St. at North 11th St. in Brooklyn).

Two of the five free shows have also now been announced. The first is nothing like what Jelly would have booked: Coheed and Cambria, Adrian Belew Power Trio, and Tigers Jaw play the Williamsburg Waterfront on Saturday, June 11th. The second is sort of like what Jelly might have booked, but more closely resembles what you'd get at Celebrate Brooklyn: Eugene Mirman "& Pretty Good Friends Featuring Kristen Schaal & Many Surprise Guests" open for They Might Be Giants at Wiliamsburg Waterfront on Friday, July 29th.

Assuming TMBG won't be playing a kids set, and that the comedians will tell a few dirty jokes, the free kids show announcement is still to come, as is the classical concert date info (which means just one more completely unknown free lineup to come). Both announced free shows open their doors at 5:30pm.

All five shows, ticketed and free, are part of the "2011 T-MOBILE WILLIAMSBURG WATERFRONT CONCERT SERIES PRESENTED BY OSA" and "supported by Onitsuka Tiger, Vitamin Water, and Brooklyn Brewery."

All five shows are listed in an easy-to-read format below....

Continue reading "Williamsburg Waterfront adds 2 free shows (and 3 pay ones)"

Death Cab For Cutie at Radio City Music Hall (more by Eric M. Townsend)

In addition to the previously-announced "limited 13 date run" of small venues in support of Codes & Keys, Death Cab For Cutie have announced a larger set of North American dates taking place later in the summer. Those include an NYC show at a venue a little bit bigger than (the way sold-out) Bowery Ballroom. Tickets go on fan presale on 4/29 and general sale Friday May 6th for DCFC at Williamsburg Waterfront on August 2nd with Frightened Rabbit who open a bunch of shows on the tour (as you can see in the list of dates below).

The Lonely Forest are Death Cab's tour-openers during the small-venue part. They play the sold out Bowery show, but you can catch them in NYC even sooner: they play NYC this Friday night, 4/29, with the Joy Formidable at Webster Hall. Tickets are still available. All dates from that tour are also below.

DCFC will also appear on a forthcoming episode of VH1's Storytellers (airing 5/27) and recently posted a trio of songs from their new album to soundcloud. Stream all three below alongside all dates below...

Continue reading "Death Cab For Cutie touring w/ Frightened Rabbit (playing Williamsburg Waterfront) -- 2011 dates"

Tickets are still available for Thruston Moore's headlining show at Music Hall of Williamsburg, but his band Sonic Youth has announced a show set for this summer. Thurston and the gang will team with Wild Flag to play the Williamsburg Waterfront on August 12. Tickets go on sale Friday (4/29) at noon.

Thurston Moore is also curating The Stone for the tail end of April, and the venue welcomed a surprise appearance from Yoko Ono on Saturday night (4/23). She joined Kim Gordon who was listed on the bill "with guest". Video from that improvised performance, that also included Chris Corsano, is below.

Steve Shelley is scheduled to play 285 Kent Ave on Thursday (4/28) with Spectre Folk and will hit the road with Disappears next week.

All tour dates and that Kim Gordon/Yoko Ono video is below.

Continue reading "Sonic Youth & Wild Flag playing Williamsburg Waterfront (and other dates)"