Moonface at Mercury Lounge in July (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Last month, Moonface (aka Spencer Krug) released his debut LP under the moniker and wrapped up a tour in support of the album which hit Mercury Lounge on 7/20. After an appearance at this year's POP Montreal in September, he'll tour again. A full set of dates hasn't been announced yet, but a few are starting to surface including one on October 30 at Bowery Ballroom. Tickets go on sale Friday (9/9) at noon.

In related but unfortunate news, despite being part of the recently announced lineup, Handsome Furs are not playing CMJ afterall. The dates they are playing are listed HERE.

Moonface dates below...

Continue reading "Moonface playing Bowery, Handsome Furs not playing CMJ"

photos by Tim Griffin

Handsome Furs @ the Mohawk

For their part, the Furs are eager to keep returning to places where few other Western bands ever venture, to maintain the friendships they've forged and the fanbases they've built. The tours sharpen the couple's perspective on their art, their politics, and the Handsome Furs' existence itself. Says Boeckner, "Instead of going into this band being like 'We're against this! We're against that!', it's, 'We're against these things, but we also feel happy and positive that we're able to make music.'" [National Post]

And though we don't know the venue yet, we do know that Dan Boeckner and Alexei Perry will be back in NYC in October for CMJ UPDATE: Handsome Furs are not actually coming to CMJ anymore. All tour dates and more Austin pictures below...

Continue reading "Handsome Furs played the Mohawk & Waterloo Records (pics), keep on touring (dates)"

photos by Amanda Hatfield

"#moonface at mercury lounge. Expectations super exceeded. So, SO good. Also Spencer looks great." - Jed Crocker

Moonface (aka Spencer Krug of Wolf Parade/Sunset Rubdown) played Mercury Lounge on Wednesday (7/20) as part of an ongoing tour. Spencer performed with with an organ and was accompanied by a drummer. They played every song on the recently released LP Organ Music Not Vibraphone Like I'd Hoped and the non-album track "The Way You Wish You Could Live in the Storm." They ended their set with "All Fires," one of Spencer's contributions to his project with Dan Bejar and Carey Mercer, Swan Lake.

Flowchild opened the NYC show which happened right after EMA in the same venue. Pictures, videos, and setlist are below...

Continue reading "Moonface @ Mercury Lounge w/ Flowchild (pics, video, setlist)"

Handsome Furs have released a new and NSFW video for "What About Us", the sixth track on their spankin' new LP Sound Kapital. Stereogum talked to the video's director Scott Coffey who explained how "the video ties into Sound Kapital's [NWFW] cover art?...

"I conceived the cover photograph. With the exception of the wonderful Chinese water park shots, the photo art was conceived by me during our video shoot -- the cover shot, the back cover of the Furs in the car with the creeping hand, the freeway and night shots where all taken as I made the video. Alexi and Dan chose that great shot of the naked woman on the car for the cover, but I didn't now that was going to be the cover when I shot it. I liked the idea of the album art and video being integrated. I like the idea of a unified vibe and theme for the album art and video. Sort of like the modern version of a 1970's concept album."

Handsome Furs hit Webster Hall on August 18th as part of a larger US/EU tour that kicks off next week and ends in middle October. Tickets are still available for the NYC show, and all tour dates are below under the new video...

Continue reading "new Handsome Furs NSFW video, updated tour dates"

Handsome Furs at the Great Escape in May (more by Tim Griffin)

"It's like a friends and family affair tonight," declared Wolf Parade singer/guitarist Dan Boeckner at the beginning of what had been announced as the indie rock band's final show at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver Monday night...

...In a way, wrapping things up in Vancouver after a somewhat surprising appearance at the Sasquatch! Music Festival last weekend was fitting...

"It wasn't until Krug said, "This is our last show for (a) long time," after Cloud Shadow on the Mountain, that reality set in.

Wolf Parade revisited some glorious moments: Shine a Light, I'll Believe in Anything, Little Golden Age, and Kissing the Beehive, and fans couldn't have asked for more.

They did get two encores, including tumultuous renditions of This Heart's on Fire and You Are a Runner and I Am My Father's Son, and culminating with that final Dylan cover.

Boeckner will now focus on project Handsome Furs with his wife, Alexei Perry, and Krug will move on to Moonface.
[Montreal Gazette]

And meanwhile, Moonface will have a new album out and is touring soon.

And we recently mentioned a number of Handsome Furs dates this summer including NXNE, but the band just added a bunch more leading up to their September appearance at MusicfestNW. The new dates include an NYC show at Webster Hall on August 18. Tickets go on sale Friday (6/3) at noon. All dates are listed below.

While you wait for Handsome Furs' new album, Sound Kapital to come out (June 28 via Sub Pop), check out their iTunes Live from Montreal EP which is available now. The EP includes two cuts off the new album, "No Feelings" and "Repatriated" (which you can also grab here), and three off 2009's Face Control. Check out the tracklist and more Handsome Furs dates and the other stuff, below.

Continue reading "Wolf Parade played their last show "for a long time", Handsome Furs add more tour dates (Webster Hall included)"

photos by Josh Darr

"Wolf Parade's bombastic performance on day two of the 2011 Sasquatch Music Festival was a bittersweet one: After finishing a tour last year in support of its third album, Expo 86, the band announced that it would be going on indefinite hiatus after a small number of shows in 2011. Its set at Sasquatch was its penultimate performance, and it played with the force of a band that knows it will soon be playing its ragged, world-weary songs for the last time." [listen to it @ NPR]

Continue reading "Sasquatch 2011 in pics (the rest of Day 2, Wolf Parade & more)"

photos by Tim Griffin

Handsome Furs @ The Great Escape

Speaking of Wolf Parade, Handsome Furs revealed the NSFW album art for their third album Sound Kapital (below) which comes out June 28 via Sub Pop. They've also made another song from the album available in exchange for your email address. Check out "Repatriated" below, and "What About Us" here.

Dan Boeckner and Alexei Perry recently got back from a trip to Brighton, England where they played the M For Montrea/BrooklynVegan Great Escape showcase at The B'ton Coalition on Friday, May 13th. Pictures from the UK show are in this post.

Their next show will take place in Toronto as part of the NXNE Festival to which they were recently added....

NORTH BY NORTHEAST announces the third wave of bands for the 17th edition of the festival, taking over Toronto June 13-19, 2011. Tickets are now available online at www.nxne.com.

NXNE has just confirmed that hardcore heroes FUCKED UP and glam gallant DIAMOND RINGS will join the Yonge-Dundas Square (YDS) line-up that includes previously announced acts such as Devo, Stars, The Pharcyde, Land of Talk, Digable Planets, Descendents, OFF! and Men Without Hats.

Men Without Hats will also play an intimate club show on Thursday, June 16 at The Great Hall in addition to their YDS performance - and Fucked Up headlines the NOW Magazine showcase on the same night, at Wrongbar.

Newly announced as part of the NXNE Music Festival are HANDSOME FURS, previewing tracks from the new album Sound Kapital, GRIMES with her genre-bending pop, retro Manhattan garage-pop stars THE POSTELLES, Los Angeles four-piece SUPERHUMANOIDS, Portland folk outfit HORSE FEATHERS, Pixies tour mates IMAGINARY CITIES, action comic-punk band PEELANDER Z, Nashville garage punks HEAVY CREAM and critically acclaimed one-man band GUARDS.

Continue reading "Handsome Furs played the Great Escape, added to NXNE, made NSFW cover art, etc (pics, dates & a new MP3)"

DOWNLOAD: Moonface - "Fast Peter" (MP3)

Organ Music Not Vibraphone Like I'd Hoped

Wolf Parade/Sunset Rubdown vocalist Spencer Krug announced the first-ever tour for his Moonface project, which hits NYC on July 20 at Mercury Lounge. Tickets for the NYC show go on sale this Wednesday (5/25) at noon. All dates are listed below.

His live debut for the new project took place earlier this month (5/6) at the secretly-located Brooklyn venue Envelope, and he played a show in Montreal since (a low quality video from the latter is below).

The tour is in support of his upcoming full length Organ Music Not Vibraphone Like I'd Hoped, which serves as the follow-up to his debut EP Dreamland EP: Marimba and Shit-Drums. According to Krug, the album is "something between pop and lush drones." Organ Music drops August 2 via Jagjaguwar. Download the track "Fast Peter" from the album above.

The tracklist, live video, and all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Moonface announces new LP & tour (MP3 & dates)"

Spencer Krug's solo project Moonface will be in Brooklyn at the secret venue Envelope for his first ever performance under the Moonface moniker. The show, originally scheduled for tonight (4/20), has been moved to Friday, May 6. The $25 ticket includes 3 fancy drinks and the location of the Bushwick venue. The show is being opened by Matteah Baim. Moonface's 2010 EP Dreamland EP: Marimba and Shit-Drums can be downloaded on his website. Donations welcomed.

In other Wolf Parade news, Handsome Furs just came through town on their tour which is still underway. Their upcoming third album Sound Kapital drops June 28 via Sub Pop. A new track, "What About Us," can be downloaded here.

Big names and regulars aside, there are a few bands I want to highlight on the just-announced Sasquatch lineup: Wolf Parade ("indefinite hiatus" rumors be damned), The Flaming Lips (performing "The Soft Bulletin"), Death From Above 1979 (now three reunion shows total), Guided By Voices (they're not done yet), and... Archers of Loaf (!). The full lineup of the fest that goes down in Gorge, Washington in May (Memorial Day Weekend), is below...

Continue reading "Sasquatch 2011 lineup announced (Archers of Loaf, Guided By Voices, Wolf Parade, DFA 1979 & "The Soft Bulletin" included)"

DOWNLOAD: Wolf Parade - What Did My Lover Say? (It Always Had To Go This Way)
DOWNLOAD: Wolf Parade - Ghost Pressure (MP3) (MP3)

Wolf Parade @ the 2010 Pitchfork Festival (more by Kate Gardiner)

Seattle Times: What do you mean in "Yulia" with the lyric "The radio sings a patriot song / it's the devil that you know"? Are you talking about government propaganda in mainstream pop music?

Dan: Actually that was government propaganda in late-1960s USSR. That song is one of the most topical-fiction songs that I've written. I watched this great documentary on the Soviet space program called "The Red Stuff," and they're interviewing this woman. I forget her actual name, but for the song I changed her name to Yulia. She's talking about how her husband was lost in this failed attempt to land a Soviet space capsule on the moon before the Americans. They overshot their orbit, and are presumably still floating in space. She was listening the radio broadcast, and then it cut out. I guess when mission control found out the capsule was a goner, they started playing patriotic music over the radio, and that was the moment she knew her husband was gone. Amazing documentary, totally worth watching. It's downloadable.

Continue reading "Wolf Parade announce more 2010 Tour Dates"

Day 1 photos by Weekly Dig, Wolf Parade photos by Kate Gardiner

Panda Bear @ Pitchfork Fest Saturday evening (Suckafreemike)

"Dear panda bear: you're playing a music festival, not an art installation." - Etan

"The only explanation for Panda Bear's set at the Pitchfork Music Festival is that it's a practical joke on people who are not on drugs." - lifeinzembla

"Panda Bear killed it. set was almost exclusively new stuff. pushing the art to the next level." - Luke Tipton

Panda Bear @ Pitchfork Fest Saturday evening (iissaaacc)

More pictures from the 2010 Pitchfork Music Festival, below...

Continue reading "mixed reactions to Panda Bear & more pictures from the 2010 Pitchfork Festival (Days 1 & 2)"

photos by Vincent Cornelli, words by Rachel Kowal

Spencer & Dan

Zola Jesus' rise over the last year has been rather meteoric, and judging from her live performance, it isn't hard to see why the young artist has been the subject of so much hype. Even her name - Nika Roza Danilova - is commanding. Nika possesses (and I mean possesses) a rich, husky voice that boomed through the amps and powerfully resonated throughout the large space at Terminal 5.

Then there's her distinct aesthetic. Nika, now a platinum blonde, has a knack for theatrics. For Tuesday night's show, she wore a black cloak of sorts, complete with a large hood that effectively transformed her into a spectre when she pulled it on. At the beginning of her set, she paced slowly back and forth across the length of the stage, but with each song, her movements became more desperate and her hand motions, more exaggerated until the only thing left to do was to strike a dramatic pose.

The National's Matt Berninger sips chilled white wine and rushes the crowd during the more raucous songs. Nika Roza Danilova climbs on top of things and dramatically serenades the audience from on high. It seems to be her trademark. At last night's show, she perched atop an amp while singing the moody ballad, "Night."

Zola Jesus' music is a strange combination of subdued and melodramatic as if it can't quite decide what it wants to be, but maybe the point of interest lies in this stark contrast.

Mools

If Zola Jesus has been inescapable in the blogosphere lately, Moools has been sorely underrepresented despite their connection to K Records and artists like Modest Mouse and Deerhoof. When the band's three slightly-older men walked on stage, they were treated somewhat skeptically by the audience, but with their live instruments, jovial (attempts at) banter, and heavier sound, the Japanese trio definitely altered the mood of the room and quickly captivated the audience. There are no gimmicks or bells and whistles here - just straight-up rock. Instead of being the focal point, Moools' vocals are used more for ornamentation and to offset the quieter portions of the music.

While Zola Jesus didn't break character once to address the audience between songs or even to crack a smile, Moools clearly seemed to be enjoying themselves on stage, and it reflected in their music. Their guitar player was shaking with energy - as if his mass of wild, curly hair provided him with an otherworldly power source. Not even an impromptu fire alarm during their last song could hold them back. They soldiered on, through the high-pitched whistle and the blinking white lights.

Last year, Wolf Parade's two chief members, Spencer Krug and Dan Boeckner, each released albums with their side projects (Sunset Rubdown and Handsome Furs, respectively), but 2010 seems to be the year of the wolf. Their new album Expo 86 is arguably the most cohesive Wolf Parade album to date.

Wolf Parade are definitely pros at this point. They know how to put on a good show and how to engage the audience by keeping the banter to a minimum and letting the music speak for itself. When Boeckner or Krug spoke up at all, it was mostly to reiterate how thankful they were to be playing in NY. "A lot of bands say that playing in New York is something of a drag, but we've always had a blast playing here," said Krug.

Instead of relying on either their vocals or instrumentation, Wolf Parade excels at both. Krug and Boeckner keep things fresh by tag-teaming the vocal responsibility, and each of the four members adds a distinct flavor to the mix. It's normal for guitar solos to rock, but Wolf Parade also boasts some sick synth solos, as evidenced in the very first notes of their opening number, "Soldier's Grin."

Though the majority of their set consisted of songs from their new album, they also threw in a handful of older tunes, including, "Dear Sons and Daughters of Hungry Ghosts," "I'll Believe in Anything," and "Shine a Light." The energy may have swelled when they reach further back into their repertoire, but in general the crowd responded enthusiastically to old and new material alike. It was the new song "Cave-o-sapien" that initiated the crowd surfing - not something from Apologies to the Queen Mary.

Wolf Parade concluded their set with an impressive three-song encore that featured a song from each of their three albums. As if testing the patience of the Terminal 5 staff, they concluded with "Kissing the Beehive," a song so epic in scope that it's like a three-for-one deal.

As a testament to how hard the Montreal four-piece rocked, by the end of the night, band members and fans alike were dripping in sweat - despite the fact that the A/C was blasting. Terminal 5 may not be known for their sound system, but Wolf Parade somehow managed to conquer the challenges posed by such a large venue and came out shining.

Wolf Parade continue on tour, and can be found at the Pitchfork Festival this coming weekend. Their T5 setlist, more pictures and some videos, below...

Continue reading "Wolf Parade, Moools & Zola Jesus @ Terminal 5 (pics, setlist)"

today in NYC
* Stumblebum Brass Band @ Barbes
* Jukebox The Ghost @ 92YTribeca
* NY Philharmonic in Central Park
* The London Souls @ Cameo Gallery
* The Acorn, Communipaw @ Maxwell's
* Laurie Anderson @ Le Poisson Rouge
* Candy Claws & We Are Country Mice @ Pianos
* Squeeze, Cheap Trick @ Radio City Music Hall
* Wolf Parade, Moools, Zola Jesus @ Terminal 5
* Huey Lewis And The News @ The Wellmont Theater
* Salome, Landmine Marathon, Wetnurse @ Union Pool
* Nels Cline & Jenny Scheinman @ Village Vanguard
* Altered States, Ava Luna, Lord Scrummage @ Shea Stadium
* Brothers, Milk and Blood, New Moods, Butchers and Bakers @ Cake Shop
* Your Skull My Closet, The Stationary Set, Monogold @ The Studio at Webster Hall
* The Beets, German Measles, Pink Reasons, Liquor Store, Harry and the Commish @ Death By Audio

Sorry this went up so late today!

What else?

DOWNLOAD: Yeasayer - O.N.E. (MP3)

Yeasayer @ MHOW in February (more by Jessica Amaya)

tonight in NYC
* The Fall listening party @ Coco 66
* Golden Triangle @ Sound Fix Records
* Ralph Gibson & Alan Licht @ The Stone
* The Brothers Macklovitch @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Mary Halvorson & Elliott Sharp @ The Stone
* Yeasayer, Seagull, Sleigh Bells @ Webster Hall
* Horse Feathers, Lay Low (early) @ Mercury Lounge
* Cymbals Eat Guitars @ Wonder Bar (Asbury Park)
* The New Pornographers listening party @ Arrow Bar
* Royal Forest, Radical Dads, New Colossus @ Cake Shop
* Hounds of Hate, New Yoga, Laurel Halo @ Glasslands
* Murder By Death, Ha Ha Tonka, Linfinity @ Bowery Ballroom
* Twin Tigers, Gift Horse, Young The Giant, Reckless Sons @ Pianos
* Corinne Bailey Rae, Daniel Merriweather @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, R. Stevie Moore (late) @ Mercury Lounge
* Family Of The Year, Gold Motel, Willy Mason @ Knitting Factory Brooklyn
* Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt, The Shakes, The Eskalators, Jason Anderson, Ghost Mall, Jesse Cooper Levy @ Silent Barn
* Pet Ghost Project, Alcoholic Faith Mission, Peasant, Saadi, Hymns, The City and Horses @ Death By Audio

The Fall's new record, Your Future Our Clutter, comes out today on Domino Records. We're hosting a release party for it at Coco 66. DJs fred vodkia and prizes too. Details here. Flyer below.

There's a listening party for New Pornographers' Together, which is out today, at Arrow Bar. The band will be on Fallon Wednesday ngiht, and they play Woodstock, NY on May 6th and Terminal 5 in June.

Broken Social Scene, whose new album is out too, play two NYC shows this weekend.

The National play BAM soon. Not many details have been announced yet though.

Lou Reed, Sonic Youth, Moby and others are playing benefit @ Hiro Ballroom on May 19th.

Les Savy Fav, Liars and Fucked Up are all playing the same Brooklyn park this summer.

Chapterhouse's tour, which was to stop at The Bell House tonight, was postponed.

Listen to a hot new Wolf Parade song below...

Yeasayer headline Webster Hall tonight. Mad Decent is running a Yeasayer remix contest. Video for Yeasayer's O.N.E. below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Tuesday?"

by Andrew Frisicano

DOWNLOAD: Zola Jesus - Night (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Zola Jesus - Clay Bodies (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Zola Jesus - Smireye (MP3)

Zola Jesus @ Bowery Ballroom in April (more by Lori Baily)

Zola Jesus, singer Nika Roza Danilova who's been likened to Diamanda Galas, Siouxsie and Karin Andersson (check out for yourself above), has a few notable shows coming up this June and July. First, she's on the bill for NXNE in Toronto June 14th-20th.

After that, she comes to NYC for a show on June 19th at Glasslands.

Then later im the summer, Zola Jesus plays with Bear in Heaven at their free South Street Seaport show on July 9th. Bear in Heaven also play Terminal 5 with Metric on May 16th, and have a ton of tour dates (including some with Twin Sister), which are posted below.

Further, you can catch Zola Jesus supporting Wolf Parade at Terminal 5 on July 13th (and on a couple of their dates on the West Coast). Tickets are still on sale. That's around the same time Wolf Parade's new record, Expo 86, comes out on Sub Pop. The cover is below.

All tour dates for Zola Jesus and Bear in Heaven below...

Continue reading "upcoming Zola Jesus shows include Glasslands, South Street Seaport, Wolf Parade (new album cover) & more (dates) "

Modest Mouse @ Terminal 5 in March 2009 (more by Chris La Putt)

Modest Mouse will join Faith No More and Nas & Damian Marley (tickets) as one of the acts set to play at Williamsburg Waterfront in Brooklyn this summer. Their Friday, July 23rd show will be ticketed/non-free (like the others mentioned). Tickets go on sale Friday at noon (which is when the just-added Faith no More show goes on sale too).

Modest Mouse's Brooklyn show is a week after they play the Pitchfork Festival which recently updated its lineup. New acts playing the Chicago fest include Big Boi, Major Lazer, Neon Indian, Beach House, Free Energy, Local Natives, Robyn & more. Check that out in full below. Single day tickets are still on sale.

UPDATE: Modest Mouse's Brooklyn show is one day after they play one in NJ.

Modest Mouse will be reissuing their third album, The Moon & Antarctica, on vinyl for its 10th anniversary, on Record Store Day - this Saturday, April 17th. "The album features restored original artwork and replicates the infinite lock groove found in the original vinyl pressings of 2000. The new vinyl reissue includes a download card for the album." All dates the the P4K Fest lineup, below...

Continue reading "Modest Mouse playing Williamsburg Waterfront, the Pitchfork Festival (updated full lineup) & other tour dates"

Wolf Parade @ Terminal 5 in 2008 (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

The Wolf Parade fansite reports that Wolf Parade will be touring the USA this July (which is supposed to be timed to coincide with a new album - see the comments). Dates include a NYC show back at Terminal 5 and the Pitchfork Festival (thx Hiro). All dates below...

Continue reading "Wolf Parade - 2010 tour dates (NYC, Pitchfork Fest, more)"

by Benjamin Lozovsky

Spoon has made a long and fruitful career out of simultaneously fulfilling and denying the expectations of fans, critics and record labels. On Friday night (3/26), the band greatly exceeded its own expectations by headlining a sold-out Radio City Music Hall.

It was a big deal for a band that's taken small but inquisitive steps over 16 years and 7 records. This show came in support of their latest effort, Transference, a moody yet powerful record of micro-experimentation that ultimately saw the band reinvigorating their inner scruffiness (they celebrated the release of that record by playing a much smaller NYC venue in January). But unlike some recent tour dates which saw Transference heavy setlists, on this night Spoon played a well curated sampling of many of their past gems; it felt like a therapeutic nod to history for a band eager to revisit the moments that brought them this far.

But it wasn't just looking back for the fuzzy feeling of nostalgia. Britt Daniel and co. breathed new sophisticated life into songs like "I Summon You" and "Someone Something." The latter was sung as a duet with Eleanor Friedberger of the Fiery Furnaces, one of several guests (Dan Boeckner of Wolf Parade and Stephen Patterson of White Rabbits) who appeared during the show. Dan and Eleanor performed one of their own songs with the group as well as assisting on Spoon numbers, as the headliner graciously and generously dolloped the trademark Spoon appliqué onto numbers like "Waiting To Know You" and "Modern World."

Radio City Music Hall is often a tough sell for rock fans, and Friday was no exception. It wasn't until midway through Spoon's first set, when the band was augmented by a seven piece horn section for numbers like "Don't You Evah" from their brass heavy 2007 album Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, that the crowd finally took notice of the scorching effort brought forth by the band members and joined in on the revelry of this potential poster child for indie rock perseverance affixing its name to such an illustrious marquee.

Attempting to warm up the crowd were lively but somewhat underdeveloped The Strange Boys (sans new member Jenna Thornhill-DeWitt) and Deerhunter. Many attendants preferred to mingle in the gold-plated lobby of Radio City rather than check out the openers, but neither band did everything they could to completely win over the crowd either. Deerhunter didn't outright disappoint, but they didn't sound as impactful as normal. For the majority of their performance, the powerful streams of noise normally associated with the band were muted in the large hall. Instead the bare trappings of their songwriting were exposed, which might have been an interesting contrast for a frequent listener, but to the uninitiated came across as listless and at times sluggish. When Bradford Cox and his bandmates played to their more expansive and propulsive leanings though, things improved. They finally turned up the volume and intensity in the finale which was topped off with a long cacophonously exciting outro. Then they seemed to be having fun as eccentric noise makers in such a staid arena.

Still neither of the younger bands could match the passion of the older Spoon, who now might be considered elder statesmen of the genre they often like to eschew connections with. Daniel has an ageless croon, even if it faltered occasionally Friday. One couldn't help but feel Spoon could go on forever taking small steps at musical progression and growth. As a performance though, this was one giant leap.

More tour dates HERE. The full Radio City setlist with more pictures and some videos, below...

Continue reading "Spoon (and Dan Boeckner & Eleanor Friedberger), Deerhunter & the Strange Boys @ Radio City Music Hall - pics & video"

photos by Alex Reside

"the show was AMAZING! i think from my posts on this board it's apparent that i am of the krug persuasion (what can i say, i dig accordions and marimba) but dan may be my new hero, and alexei my heroine. so much energy and audience dance parties galore.

the best part though, the two of them are just so HUMBLE and seemed genuinely honored that so many folks came out to see them. alexei kept putting her hands to her heart as if she couldn't believe where she was...it's just so great to see bands that truly appreciate what they've achieved, and to see audiences having such a good time...everybody wins.

and they are just so fricking CUTE and lovely together. at one point they touched foreheads and gave each other big happy excited faces - it was such an "awwww" moment (who knew dan boeckner was capable of soliciting an "aw?")" [stuntgirl]

As stuntgirl pointed out, it was a great show. I completely agree with the humble/appreciation thing. Dan is also so funny and still talking about how NYC, and especially Bowery Ballroom, makes him nervous because of the time in 2005(!) that Wolf Parade played there and the Internet talked about how drunk he was the next day (sorry Dan!). More pictures from last night's show below...

Continue reading "Handsome Furs, Dri & the Cinnamon Band @ Bowery Ballroom - pics "

DOWNLOAD: Handsome Furs - I'm Confused (MP3)

Handsome Furs @ Mercury Lounge (more by Dominick Mastrangelo)

Which musical components of the new album do each of you think are the most influenced by your travels in the East?

Dan [Boeckner]: I was really influenced by this specifically Eastern "cheap" sounding techno. Songs where the equipment might not be as up to date as their western contemporaries but the spirit is stronger. Also the abrasiveness of early Polish and Russian punk guitar sounds I found really exciting...as if the instrument was struggling to live. That's something completely missing in Western indie rock...making fearless, strange sounds with limited resources. We also tried to work in some of the hard repetition of socialist architecture into the bass and drums. Just raw blocks of sound. [an interview @ Short and Sweet NYC]

The band is currently on tour in Europe, and they've added more North American shows this summer. Those include a Tuesday, July 7th show at the Bowery Ballroom. Tickets for that, and all new dates, are available now via a presale. Tickets through Ticketmaster go on AxEx presale Wednesday, April 29th at noon. General sale starts Friday, May 1st at noon.

Speaking of members of Wolf Parade, Spencer Krug's Sunset Rubdown is also just announced a bunch of dates including June 12th at Studio B.

All HF tour dates, with the "I'm Confused" video and live clips from their current European tour, below...

Continue reading "Handsome Furs - 2009 tour dates (Bowery Ballroom), presale "

words & photos by Dominick Mastrangelo

DOWNLOAD: Handsome Furs - I'm Confused (MP3)

The Handsome Furs played to an enthusiastic, sold-out crowd at the Mercury Lounge on Friday. Dancing and even trivia were on order as the Montreal, husband and wife duo of Dan Boeckner and Alexei Perry played in support of their upcoming record Face Control (Sub Pop). Boeckner explained that certain label and publicity folks were uneasy with the band selling copies of their new record in advance (it hits streets on March 10.) So, Boeckner and Perry held rounds of trivia between songs to win a copy of the new cd. Question: Who is Wayne Coyne's favorite Montreal band? Correct answer... Arcade Fire.

The Hundred in the Hands and a Kyp Malone-less Iran opened the show. More pictures below...

Continue reading "Handsome Furs, Iran & The Hundred in the Hands @ Mercury Lounge, NYC - pics"

Handsome Furs

Handsome Furs (the band featuring Dan from Wolf Parade) is playing a show with Iran (the band featuring Kyp from TV on the Radio) and The Hundred in the Hands (the band featuring Jason from the Boggs) at Mercury Lounge in NYC on Friday March 6th. Tickets for the small-Manhattan-venue show go on Am Ex presale Wednesday at noon, and regular sale on Friday.

Like the Handsome Furs, The Hundred in the Hands is a male/female duo. The female part of the latter is Eleanore Everdel whose credits include vocals on 'Lover's Day' off TV on the Radio's Dear Science, and vocals on Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson's album Summer Of Fear. They (THITH) also have a show scheduled for this Friday, January 30th, at Union Pool in Brooklyn. One of their videos is below.

The new Handsome Furs date comes four days before the release of their new album on Sub Pop, and is currently their only NYC show. All dates below...

Continue reading "Handsome Furs - 2009 Tour Dates (now w/ Mercury Lounge, Iran & The Hundred in the Hands)"

To Whom it May Concern

A petition was put together recently in order to persuade Canadian super group Swan Lake into touring. Most of you have posted on your sites about their forthcoming second record, Enemy Mine, which is due out March 24th on Jagjaguwar. In regards to touring, Jagjaguwar posted that "Swan Lake does not currently have any tour plans but is easily swayed by gold doubloons and/or enthusiastic mobs". Upon reading this, we the fans have come together to prove to the band that they definitely need to tour to support their new record.

We are urging all of you to help us in our quest. If you would post a link to this petition along with any upcoming posts about Swan Lake, we'd greatly appreciate it. Once we hit our target goal of 1000 signatures, we'll send the petition to Swan Lake's booking agent at Billions who will present the petition to the band. After being overwhelmed by the shear number of signatures, we're sure the band will want to hit the road.

http://www.petitiononline.com/swanlake/petition.html

Thanks for all your help.

Maria Carullo
http://wolfparade.nonstuff.com

DOWNLOAD: Handsome Furs - I'm Confused (MP3 from Face Control)

Getting a good night's sleep may be one of the best ways to prevent the common cold.

A new study shows that people who sleep less than seven hours per night are three times more likely than those who sleep at least eight hours to catch a common cold after being exposed to a cold-causing virus.

Researchers say it's been commonly thought that poor sleep increases your chances of coming down with the common cold, but until now there has been little scientific evidence to support that notion.
Sleep Fights Colds

In the study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers studied 153 healthy men and women. Each of the participants kept track of their sleeping habits for 14 days, noting how long and how well they slept the previous night as well as whether they felt rested.

After 14 days, the participants were quarantined, given nasal drops containing a cold-causing virus (rhinovirus), and monitored for five days for signs of a common cold.

The results showed that those who slept an average of less than seven hours per night were nearly three times more likely to develop a common cold than those who reported eight or more hours per night in the weeks leading up to the experiment.
[Web MD]