by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Seapony - Dreaming (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Seapony - Blue Star (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Eternal Summers - Prisoner (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Kindest Lines - Destructive Paths to Live Happily (MP3)

Seapony

It's year three of the Northside Festival, which for one weekend a year makes Williamsburg's music scene just a little crazier than it already is. This first night (tonight) is maybe the strongest overall, in that there are a lot of great showcases set up where -- if you don't have a badge -- you can stay put and get a quality night of music. Or if you do have a badge ($70 bucks, a good deal if you plan on going all four nights) -- some tough decisions. These are my personal picks, and not a comprehensive guide. Clearly lots more is going on (and even more shows that aren't part of Northside).

Radical Dads

NYC Popfest has put together a really good show at Bruar Falls tonight featuring Eternal Summers, Reading Rainbow, The Secret History and Seapony. I highly recommend all four bands, but do consider going early (8:30) for Seapony who are here from Seattle and should appeal to those who covet 7"s from Sarah and Creation Records. MP3s from Seapony and Eternal Summers are at the top of this post.

Over at Union Pool,  Tiger Mountain booking (aka Skippy who books the Rock Shop) has a quality line-up of locals for ya. If you're looking for a great way to kick off your night, go here at 7:30 for Hospitality who make winsome but not unmuscular pop. Highly recommended. Later on in the evening is '90s indie rock loving Radical Dads whose great debut, Mega Rama, was released this week. (But not on vinyl...boo!). Pursesnatchers (Doug from Dirty on Purpose's band) finishes the night. Also playing: Lady Lamb the Beekeeper and Indian Rebound.

Kindest Lines

Meanwhile at Public Assembly the good folks of No Fun Productions, The Bunker and Wierd Records, have an evening of minimal synth, coldwave, industial and other dark arts planned. Performers include noise and sound artists Rene Hell and Carlos Giffoni; the ethereal, danceable sounds of Laurel Halo; synthpop traditionalists Xeno & Oaklander who make their music with seriously old-school sequencers and keyboards (patch bays are involved); and New Orleans' Kindest Lineswho make pop music that should appeal to fans of early New Order (and, yes, The Cure).  There's also a host of acclaimed DJs spinning in-between sets.

X-Ray Eyeballs

Primo Chicago garage label HozAc Records is hosting the debauchery at Shea Stadium tonight, with Xray Eyeballs (who also play the Kanine show Friday at Knitting Factory), the K-Holes, Making Friendz and My Teenage Stride in there as well to pop things up a bit.

Randoms: I also recommend catching Zaza at Coco66 (11:45, dark and sexy) and Mr. Dream at Glasslands (Midnight, '90s indie rawk).

Again, just my picks. Do go see some music tonight!

Continue reading "Bill's Northside Fest picks (Day 1)"

Village Voice: What is "Crystal" about?

Xray Eyeballs frontman O.J. San Felipe: "Crystal" started off as a song about these girls I knew who did too much crystal meth, but somehow it evolved into kind of a break-up song, unexpectedly. So now it's a crystal meth breakup song!

Village Voice: What inspired it musically?

Xray Eyeballs frontman O.J. San Felipe: I was inspired by New York City in the late-night hours. Just ending up at random places with random people and situations and exposure to danger and shady things . . . I like going out dancing, and I wanted to make a song that DJs can throw on and make people dance at the immediate drop of the needle, or right when the bassline kicks in . . . kinda like when the Cure's "Just Like Heaven" comes on at a party and people freak out. Not to say we sound like the Cure or anything, but the way people lose it when that first bouncy drumbeat and bassline comes on, that's a hard thing to capture.

Poppy, garagey, punky, and even dancey, Brooklyn band Xray Eyeballs have released the previously (and hotly) discussed "Crystal" video from their upcoming LP Not Nothing, due April 19 On Kanine Records. The preview pictures weren't really that NSFW but the video definitely is (not to mention a bit bloody and violent too). Like Frankie Rose before them, the Brooklyn ladies of Golden Triangle/Xray Eyeballs (Alix Brown and Carly Rabalais) show a surprising amount of skin. Check the video, which also stars members of The Pains of Being Pure at Heart and Girls at Dawn, for the first time below.

Xray Eyeballs play DC tonight (3/7) as part of a tour through SXSW that ends on 3/26 in Ohio. All tour dates and the new album tracklisting are below...

Continue reading "Xray Eyeballs get even more NSFW in 'Crystal' ---- (BV video premiere, new album info & tour dates too) "

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: BNLX - Do Without (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: BNLX - Where is the Love? (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: BNLX - When Doves Cry (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Sweet Bulbs - Kissing Clouds (MP3)

Mitch Easter

A lot of cool shows this week/weekend, some of which might be a bit under the radar. Let's get into it. Alt rock legend Mitch Easter, in addition to being part of that upcoming Big Star Third show, is on a rare Northeast tour right now that pulls into town Thursday (2/17) at The Rock Shop.

While he's maybe best known as a producer (the first two R.E.M.'s albums [with Don Dixon], Pavement's Brighten the Corners, Moose's ...XYZ among other things), Easter has had a long career as a musician, as a part ofThe Sneakers in the late '70s and frontman/songwriter for Let's Active, easily one of the most underrated bands of the '80s. He's also an incredible guitarist, and Let's Active albums are resplendent with awesome axe-work.

I like everything they ever did but 1986's Big Plans for Everybody is especially great, one of my favorite albums of that decade. Mitch put the kybosh on Let's Active in 1990 and didn't release any original material until 2008's Dynamico, an album which showed he still has chops and songs to spare.

Mitch's set at The Rock Shop is going to be heavy on the Let's Active tunes and if there's a song you really want to hear, like "Talking to Myself" from Big Plans, you can make a request. Opening the show are Brooklyn's own Boy Genius whose album from last year, Staggering, was produced by Mitch and is worth checking out. Also playing: Overlord.

I'm pretty excited about this next one. Minneapolis' awesome and enigmatic BNLX play their first-ever NYC shows this week, stopping at Fontana's tomorrow night (2/17) and The Rock Shop on Friday (2/18).

BNLX seemingly stormed out of nowhere early 2010, releasing a new EP each quarter, featuring hand-printed, Neu!-esque sleeves and press releases like this:

-BNLX has been meeting and / or exceeding expectations since its inception in Q1 2010
-BNLX provides mission-critical services to the entertainment sector in the following categories:
--"music" (noise)
--found art -beatz / rhymez
--mélodies angéliques
--obfuscation / parallax
-these services are rendered in the live, recorded, and conceptual spheres
-BNLX is comprised of both organic and inorganic members
-this allows BNLX to achieve standards of performance surpassing nominal criteria
-Stage One of the BNLX First One Year Plan commenced in March, 2010; it has been successful
-Stage Two - the release of BNLX EP #2 - will be executed June 25th, 2010
-BNLX EP #2 will be available as a numbered limited edition CD art package
-it will also be available through iTunes, other digital retailers, and piracy

Keeping things mysterious, you could mainly only focus on the music which is pretty awesome: blistering post-punk inspired rock, with male/female, call-and-response vocals, feedback, harmonies, old-school drum machines and ridiculously catchy choruses. The first three EPs were all originals, and the fourth EP was all covers, including great versions of Rhianna's "Shut Up and Drive" and hometown legend Prince's "When Doves Cry." BNLX actually played the latter at First Avenue last month at an Onion party, which takes balls.

That obfuscation didn't last two long as people figured out that BNLX was the work of Minneapolis indie rock mainstay Ed Ackerson, who has led such excelent bands as The 27 Various and Polara over the last 25 years as well as running Susstones Records. His wife Ashley -- they're both also in Moodswings -- is the other half of the band. BNLX have culled the best of the four 2010 EPs as a free sampler which you can download for free. You can also check out a few of the songs, including that Prince cover, at the top of this post.

The Rock Shop show is part of the monthly Hard Light party which is a must for lovers of shoegaze, post-punk, '60s psych, Krautrock, metal, Sweden, feedback, '90s indie rock, and guitars in general. In addition to BNLX, Hard Light promises "drink specials- weirdo cult movies - and loudness."

Speaking of shoegazy stuff, Tamaryn is back in NYC for her first proper shows since CMJ 2010. She plays Don Hill's on Thusday (2/17), and then an afternoon show at PS 1 on Saturday (2/19). I loved her debut album, The Waves, which came in at #12 on my Favorite LPs of 2011 list, and it's still in pretty heavy rotation here at TWII Headquarters (aka my kitchen). It reminds me a lot of the first Verve album,  tsunami waves of guitar matched with a nimble, groovy rhythm section and Tamaryn's lovely vocals.

There are a lot of chilly ice princesses out there right now, but I think Tamaryn deserves the crown. (Though I haven't heard the Austra album yet.) I thought she and her band were great at Coco66, those three songs before the cops shut it all down. If you can't make these shows, she'll be back in April touring with The Raveonettes, including two nights at Music Hall of Williamsburg (4/20 and 4/21). All Tamaryn tour dates are at the bottom of this post.

Keeping with the theme, let's talk a bit about Sweet Bulbs, "Brooklyn's blurriest pop band," whose album came out this week on Blackburn Recordings. It's choc-a-bloc with seriously catchy songs that are buried under layers of swirly guitars and effects pedals and other sludge. As someone who loved bands like The Swirlies, Drop Nineteens, Lilys and Henry's Dress, this is right up my alley. For those mystified by that litany of obscure '90s indie bands, just know Sweet Bulbs make beautiful noise. You can download "Kissing Clouds" from the album at the top of this post.

Sweet Bulbs play Bruar Falls this Saturday (2/19) with White Laces, Arches, and Tungs. Do check 'em out.

That's the main stuff this week. A few more picks, day by day are below:

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 16

The Church play three albums from their catalog in their entirety tonight at Highline Ballroom: Untitled #23, Priest=Aura, and Starfish. That's over three hours of music, which seems like a lot to me even for a devoted Church fan. Maybe if it was Heyday instead of Untitled #23 I'd be more inclined to go. They'll do it again tomorrow (2/17) at BB King's.

Tonight is also the third week of ARMS' February residency at Pianos, this week with The Silent League, Your Youth, Inlets and Thunder & Lightning (which is the new band from Brent Katz who was Todd Goldstein's bandmate in Harlem Shakes). ARMS were teriffic last week, this is highly recommended.

continued below...

Continue reading "Mitch Easter, BNLX, Tamaryn, Sweet Bulbs & more in This Week in Indie"

Before there was Brooklyn Bowl, there was The Gutter. And now the original Williamsburg bowling alley has added an event space of its own called The Back Room which has a capacity of 100 (considerably smaller in scale than the also-venue-in-a-bowling-alley Brooklyn Bowl). The Back Room, which is also available to rent for private parties, will offically host its first public concert on Friday, January 7th, with The Runaway Suns, Sorceress, and Haunted Boots. Another two shows are scheduled in the near future too. On February 18th you can catch The Caulfield Sisters, Xray Eyeballs, & Florida, and February 26th will see Bad Girlfriend & more TBA. All three currently scheduled shows are advertising doors at 8pm with a $5 cover.

by BBG

Alix of Golden Triangle (left) needs your attention... and for a good cause!

The Rock Lottery began in Denton, TX in 1997 (and in Seattle in 2006). This will be Brooklyn's inaugural Rock Lottery. The premise is simple, but effective. Twenty-five hand picked musicians meet at 10:00AM at the evening's performance venue. These volunteers are organized into five groups through a lottery-based chance selection. The five separate groups are then released to practice at different locations. The musicians have twelve hours to create a band name and three to five songs (with a one cover-song limit). The groups will then perform what they have created that evening in front of a waiting audience.

The Rock Lottery compiles those 25 musicians from varying backgrounds in an attempt to move each out of their comfort zones and into musical exploration. The participants, which include members of Liturgy, Oberhofer, King Missile III, Death Set, Bear In Heaven, Family Band, Les Savy Fav, White Rabbits, and many others, will perform their new pieces at Knitting Factory on Saturday (12/18). Tickets are on sale, and proceeds from the show will go to World Savvy, a local charity focused on teaching the "next generation of leaders to learn, work and live as responsible global citizens in the 21st century."

So what do the two ladies in the above picture have to do with The Rock Lottery? The one on the left is bassist Alix Brown of Golden Triangle, who is a participant in the show. The lady on the right is Carlie Rabalais (also Golden Triangle) and the picture is a production still taken from the video shoot for "Crystal" by Carlie's other band X-Ray Eyeballs who will release heir debut album, Not Nothing, via Kanine Records on April 19th, 2011. No word on when "Crystal" will hit the rounds, but you can catch the band at a pair of shows in the near future, including supporting Tyvek and Fergus & Geronimo at Mercury Lounge on 1/16 (tickets are still on sale) and Bruar Falls this Wednesday (12/15) with Food Stamps + My Teenage Stride.

Full participant list in The Rock Lottery, some recent video of X-Ray Eyeballs at Shea Stadium, and tour dates below.

Continue reading "Brooklyn musicians getting together for a 'Rock Lottery', X-Ray Eyeballs getting together for shows (and a bath)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Fergus & Geronimo - Powerful Lovin' (MP3)

Soulful, garagey Fergus & Geronimo, who recently moved here from Texas, are not spending the month before their debut album Unlearn comes just sitting around twiddling their thumbs. No, they're headlining Thursday night, 12/9, at Cake Shop with I'm Turning Into and Soft Landing (feat. member of Beruit).

Fergus & Geronimo also share a bill with Tyvek and X-Ray Eyeballs at Mercury Lounge on January 16th, which is two days before Unlearn is released via Hardly Art. Tickets for the 2011 show go on AmEx presale at noon, and general sale on Friday.

You can download "Powerful Lovin'" from Unlearn at the top of this post. Watch a Yours Truly video with the full album tracklist below...

Continue reading "a Fergus & Geronimo MP3 & upcoming shows (1 w/ Tyvek)"

by Andrew Frisicano

The Fresh & Onlys squeezed in a late-night Shea Stadium appearance on November 3rd, in lieu of the canceled second NYC date on their tour with Clinic (they were supposed to play the larger Music Hall of Williamsburg that night, and played Bowery Ballroom one night earlier).

At the smoky venue (someone always sees fit to light up half a pack inside, despite the outdoor terrace), the group delivered a tight post-midnight set on the heels of two of the best garage-pop sides of year - the August in My Mind EP and their new LP, Play It Strange. Both of those records showcase the band's melodically focused songwriting, the first with swathes of lo-fi compression, and the latter with cleaner vintage production (steered by Fucking Champs' Tim Green). Frontman Tim Cohen's mystery-soaked baritone thrives on top of the surfy, atmospheric leads of Wymond Miles (who sports a mountainous beehive of a haircut live), and the rest of the band follows suit. The SF crew were at the top of their game, and hopefully they keep the momentum into 2011.

Joining them at Shea were the moody, menacing Royal Baths (a fellow Bay Area band), Golden Triangle-connected locals X-Ray Eyeballs and female-fronted pop group Dutch Treat.

A few more pictures from the show including 1 of the F&O setlist, with the few tour dates they have left, are posted below...

Continue reading "The Fresh & Onlys & Royal Baths played Shea Stadium (pics)"

DOWNLOAD: People of the North - Tunnels (MP3)

Oneida's Ocropolis @ ATP NY 2009 (more by Ryan Muir)

Started by Kid Millions and Bobby Matador of Oneida, People of the North is an ongoing but sporadic outgrowth of that restlessly experimental Brooklyn assemblage. Since the first tour in early 2003, POTn has served as another language emanating from the screaming mouth of the O. It has always included Kid and Bobby, and usually other members of Oneida as well. The entirety of Oneida has performed together under the POTn label at venues including the Frying Pan and the Mercury Lounge.

People of the North has provided compositions that have worked their way into Oneida's most cherished repertoire, including "Up with People" (from Happy New Year) and "Lavender" (from The Wedding).

While there are no clearly defined boundaries separating POTn from Oneida, it might be fair to say that the music tends to be more staunchly devoted to minimalism, repetition, improvisation, and sternness than the wide-ranging efforts of the big brother band.

Deep Tissue was recorded at the Ocropolis in early 2009, with the participation of much of the O. The sessions were deep, and the skies were gray." [Jagjaguwar]

People of the North's Deep Tissue was released by Jagjaguwar in April. There are four songs on the album. You can download one for free above.

Catch People of the North live Friday night at Bowery Ballroom where they'll be opening for Portishead side-project BEAK>. Tickets are still on sale. It's BEAK>'s only NYC appearance, and one of only four they're playing in the U.S. Another one is Saturday at ATP upstate. The other two are in California (and they're all listed below).

Not leaving town this weekend and can't make it to ATP? Todd P and friends present another reason to not feel so bad, and Oneida (who were a big part of ATP NY in 2009), are involved in that too. Oneida will headline a 17+ band lineup (that also includes Oneida side-project Man Forever) at Monster Island on Saturday. The "Monster Island Block Party" kicks off at 2pm and is free. Full lineup and more details with all Oneida and BEAK> dates, below...

Continue reading "Monster Island Block Party Saturday, People of the North opening for Beak> Friday & other Oneida dates"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Fergus & Geronimo - Girls with English Accents (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Fergus & Geronimo - Harder Than It's Ever Been (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Ty Segall - Girlfriend (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Ty Segall - Caesar (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Royal Baths - Nikki Don't (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Eternal Summers - Pogo (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Rayon Beach - The Memory Teeth (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Dog Day - Synastry (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Dog Day - Wait it Out (Mp3)
DOWNLOAD: Deerhunter - Revival (ZIP)
DOWNLOAD: Versus - Invincible Hero (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: How to Dress Well - Ecstasy with Jojo (MP3)

Wild Beasts @ Lollapalooza 2010 (more by Josh Darr)

Just like the August bounty of tomatoes, corn and zucchini that can be currently found at your local farmer's market, we looking at five extremely fertile days of live music, much of it free. Take advantage now -- this crop is extremely perishable.

Wild Beasts are stopping in NYC tonight on their way back from Lollapalooza, playing Highline Ballroom. Their second album, Two Dancers, was my favorite album of 2009 and a year later I'm still listening to it. It's up for this year's Mercury Music Prize and if anybody is going to beat The xx it'll be Two Dancers. If you missed their shows last September, or their appearances here in February , don't miss them this time. Tickets are still available. The fluid interplay between the band is something to behold -- a real case of four people working as one mesmerizing whole. And those who still haven't gotten used to their vocal style, I say go see them live and everything makes more sense.

Domino Records is offering a free downloadable four-song EP featuring "We've Still Got the Taste Dancing on Our Tongues" in original and remixed form, a track previously only available as a Japanese b-side and an acoustic version of "The Devil's Crayon." The download widget is at the bottom of this post and expires August 14 so get on that. And do go see them live tonight if you can. Denmark's The Kissaway Trail and UK artist Lone Wolf are also on the bill.

Fergus and Geronimo

It's been a year since Denton, TX's Fergus & Geronimo were last in town, and while they haven't released anything new since last summer's initial flurry of singles, that should change soon. The band have signed with Sub Pop subsidiary Hardly Art who will hopefully be putting out a record sooner than later. In the meantime, UK label Transparent (who put out "Tell it in My Ear" last year) have offered up a new F&G track "Girls with English Accents" that you can download at the top of this post. Maybe a little more dreamy/folky and less soul-tinged than their previous output, it's still another winner from this excellent four-piece.

I saw them at 92-Y Tribeca last summer and thought they were terrific. Fergus & Geronimo play Cake-Shop tonight (8/11) with Radical Dads and Little Gold. They then play Saturday (8/14) at Don Pedro's with Liquor Store, Home Blitz, Moonmen on the Moon, Man, and Nashville's Pujol. That sounds like a party.

Also here from Texas this weekend are Austin's Rayon Beach who play Bruar Falls on Saturday (8/14) and Death by Audio on Sunday (8/15). Like a lot of the bands on Hozac Records (or bands from Austin for that matter), this trio fit under the psych/garage umbrella but there's a decided Brit bent to their music. Baroque garage, is that a thing? Think Syd-era Pink Floyd or The Pretty Things more than Woven Bones. Make no mistake -- Rayon Beach can and do get plenty loud. It's just sometimes with pinkies extended. Check out Memory Teeth's title track at the top of this post.

The Bruar falls show is with Girls at Dawn and Xray Eyeballs; the Death by Audio show also features The Beets and Andrew Graham & Swarming Branch.

Ty Segall

We're just getting started. Ty Segall and The Royal Baths are here from San Francisco, playing Cake Shop on Thursday (8/12) and Death by Audio on Friday (8/13). For my money, it doesn't get much better in the new garage scene than this guy, who has been cranking out records over the last two years. Amazingly, they're pretty much all good, and each record goes somewhere new. The latest, Melted, just out on Goner Records, adds some nice '60s paisley pop touches. You can download two tracks from it at the top of this post. And he's great live.

The Royal Baths, meanwhile, are sort of the flip side to Ty's sunshine pop. I wrote before that they're "kind of bad trip acid rock, dark and seedy but not atonal. But it's definitely down the rabbit hole. In a good way." Royal Baths debut LP is due out on Woodsist in September and you can check out album track "Nikki Don't" at the top of this post.

Eternal Summers

Still more. Roanoke, VA's Eternal Summers are back -- they were last here for the Northside Festival -- for two shows: Thursday (8/12) at new Williamsburg venue The Pyramids and then Friday night (8/13) at Cake Shop. The band have signed with Kanine records who will put out their first full-length, Silver, in September. You can check out the album's first single, "Pogo," in the popular MP3 format at the top of this post. If you dig C-86 inspired pop like Brilliant Colors or Liechtenstein, you should definitely seek this duo out. Absolutely worth seeing live and nice folks too.

Both shows Eternal Summers are playing have pretty stacked bills. The Pyramids gig is with Philly's Reading Rainbow, all-girl quartet Rescue Bird, the shambly goodness that is German Measles and the wistful surf of Family Trees; Friday's Cake Shop show also has new-ish Brooklyn duo Yvette, the tinny, witty pop of Knight School and Halifax, NS band Dog Day.

Dog Day

Dog Day are actually here playing two shows. They play Thursday (8/12) at Bruar Falls in addition to the Cake Shop show on Friday. It's been a while since Halifax's mid-90s indie explosion that gave us Sloan and Thrush Hermit, but Dog Day are helping put the coastal city back on the map. Led by husband-and-wife team of Seth Smith and Nancy Ulrich, the quartet make moody, melodic indie rock that is not too dissimilar from The Figurines or The Comas. Last year's Concentration was one of 2009's lost gems. There's two songs to download at the top of this post and I highly suggest you do. You might find yourself saying "why haven't I heard these guys before?" Normally a quartet, for these NYC shows Dog Day will just be a duo of Smith/Ulrich and they'll be testing out new songs for their upcoming album.

Savoir Adore @ Coco66 for Northside (more by Don Gochenour)

And last but not least, Friday is the last Seaport Music Festival show of the season but they are really going out with a bang with The Wedding Present and Savoir Adore. I'm told we're getting a full 90-minute set from the Weddoes pretty close to what they played at Bowery Ballroom back in April: a career-spanning "hits" set and then they'll play 1989's Bizarro in full.

I saw the Bowery Bizzaro show and it was fantastic, especially the stuff from Side Two of the LP, the long, jangle-on-speed workouts of "Bewitched" and "Take Me!" David Gedge may be 50 but he can still tear into his guitar like Thatcher was still in office. There's video of "Take Me" from Bowery at the bottom of this post. The hits set was peppered with a few new songs too, which I thought were pretty good.

Savoir Adore, one of my favorite new NYC bands of the last few years, are always good live. If you have yet to check out their self-titled debut from last year, you definitely should.

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As if this wasn't enough, here are a few more picks by day that weren't already covered above:

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 11

Two of the best new bands of the last year -- Twin Sister and Oberhofer -- play Mercury Lounge with Ontario's MemoryHouse. Twin Sister and Memory House also play together on Thursday (8/12) at Monster Island Basement, the start of a two-week tour together. All dates at the bottom of this post.

At Coco 66 it's another installment of Show Off Your Sugar which pairs one band and one author to benefit 826NYC, a non-profit writing center for New York City students. Rock critic Chuck Klosterman reads and Here We Go Magic will rock.

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Continue reading "Wild Beasts, Fergus & Geronimo, Rayon Beach, Ty Segall, Eternal Summers, Dog Day, the Wedding Present & more in This Week in Indie "

words by Andrew Frisicano, photos by Marcus Lauer

Thee Oh Sees

Thee Oh Sees' third of four shows while in town was the first edition of Jelly's biweekly Saturday series at the Rock Yard, a new space in a gravel-floored, barbed-wire-surrounded lot. Whatever was there before, it's been cleaned up nicely with walls of Jelly-branded graffiti, vendors selling beer ($4), Jell-O shots, frozen boozy lemonade and hot dogs, and the McCarren relic inflatable slip 'n slide.

Thee Oh Sees played a jammier set than at their Seaport show the night before. One constant was Help's "Enemy Destruct," one of their catchiest tunes, caught on video below. Brigid's light-blue student-model Wurlitzer seemed to konk out during soundcheck, so she stuck to vocals and sleigh bells, while frontman John Dwyer found new destinations for his endless supply of saliva.

Before that, the Beets, X-Ray Eyeballs (featuring members of Golden Triangle, who played two of the other OCS shows), Tough Knuckles and Gun Outfit all played. Music ended a bit before 8pm.

Thee Oh Sees will be back in NYC for a September 21st show at Santos. Tickets are on sale.

The next free Rock Yard show is July 31st with the Skeletons Big Band, Family Band and Priestbird. Skeletons (not big band) play Death By Audio on Wednesday with Peter Evans/Tim Dahl/Mike Pride trio and "Sam Mickens & Darius Jones play the Dead Science."

All Skeletons tour dates and video of the Big Band in action at Roulette, with more Rock Yard pictues and a video, below...

Continue reading "more Rock Yard pics (Thee Oh Sees) & Skeletons dates (DbA)"

photos by Andrew St. Clair

Jelly's new Saturday series of free summer shows kicked off Saturday afternoon at their new outdoor space they've called Rock Yard. Originally a bit lacking in the exciting lineup department, the show suddenly became much more tempting when they announced the addition of Thee Oh Sees after the Seaport show (which by the way meant that last year Thee Oh Sees played Siren and this year they were coincidentally competing with it). And there was slip 'n slide.....

Continue reading "there was Thee Oh Sees, The Beets, slip 'n slide & more @ the Rock Yard on Saturday (pics)"

photos by Zach Stern

Mika Miko

IM // UR: Is the reason why you chose to go for a punk sound because you're not formally trained in playing your instruments?

Jenna from Mika Miko: We have been formally trained in punk music and we got christened at the Church of Satan.

How do you guys cope with touring? Who's period comes first (the dominant female always goes first and the rest align with hers)?

Jenna: We cope with touring by trying to relax very deeply whenever we can, sometimes cracking each other's backs and drinking kava kava, and organizing the van so that everything is like a Tetris maze, leaving us the most room possible (not very much). Also Seth gets his period first, and it stinks.

We read somewhere that you're all pretty vinyl crazy; how does this make you feel about the whole blog evolution and what how that whole scene has affected music?

Jenna: I myself am uninterested in music blogs because I think most critics have shitty opinions. I like when people share music with people that they think no one has heard, because that's useful and sweet.

The Mika Miko/Strange Boys tour played three gigs while in NYC. One happened June 13th at the Market Hotel (the other was Todd P's acoustic BBQ at Tilden Beach). The final one was June 14th at the Cake Shop with Silk Flowers and X-Ray Eyeballs. All pictures from that Manhattan show are below...

Continue reading "Mika Miko, The Strange Boys, X-Ray Eyeballs, Silk Flowers @ Cake Shop in NYC - pics"