Best Coast @ Knitting Factory in April (more by Dominick Mastrangelo)

Greetings from Toronto. NXNE, the Toronto music/film/interactive fest is happening this week. It kicked off its music programming last night, Wednesday, June 16th, and runs through Sunday with shows at 50+ venues (here's a map of the spots). The festival also coincides with the now-affliated Broken Social Scene-helmed Toronto Island concert that features Pavement, Band of Horses, Beach House and others on Saturday, June 19th.

There weren't many Wednesday night shows. The official kick off party was just Eagles of Death Metal (sadly, without their normal bass player) at The Phoenix. And there was a gig or two with Canada's Hollerado (who have at least six shows at the fest lined up). One of them was up in the CN Tower.Still Life Still played the Mod Club with Denmark's The Blue Van.

One of the main hubs will be the free-to-anyone outdoor stage at Yonge-Dundas Square with headliners Thursday night X and Mudhoney, Friday night Sloan and k-os, Saturday night Iggy and the Stooges preceded by The Raveonettes, Wavves, Surfer Blood and others, and Sunday's De La Soul, Kid Sister, Phenomenal Handclap Band and NOLA rapper Big Freedia.

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Continue reading "NXNE is underway in Toronto -- a quick guide to the music "

Greg Dulli's Top Ten of 2009: (via)
1. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
2. Little Dragon - Machine Dreams
3. Tinariwen - Imidiwan: Companions
4. Wussy - Wussy
5. Various Artists - Gilles Peterson Presents Havana Cultura
6. Bat For Lashes - Two Suns
7. Handsome Furs - Face Control
8. The Aliens - Luna
9. Dam-Funk - Toeachizown
10. Kid Cudi - Man On the Moon: The End of Day

DOWNLOAD: Wussy - Airborne (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Wussy live on Woxy (Lounge Act) (MP3)

Wussy at WOXY (WOXY)

Cincinnati's Wussy, a four piece fronted by Lisa Walker and Chuck Cleaver (formerly of the Ass Ponys) play a rare show in NYC tonight (March 26) at 9pm at Cake Shop. From Robert Christgau's four star review of Left For Dead in Rolling Stone:

Instrumentally, imagine a Yo La Tengo too tight to get cute or far out dispensing a Velvet Underground derivative fluent enough to warm the erectile tissue of anyone with a thing for guitar drones. Then pray that some day it gets out of Cincinnati.

They are out of Cincinnati and on the road. They also play Maxwell's tomorrow. Listen to Wussy on their MySpace, at NPR and on KEXP. All dates below.....

Continue reading "Wussy - MP3, 2008 Tour Dates (NYC tonight, NJ tomorrow)"