photos by Tim Griffin

The Mayfair Set

"Festival is a very misleading term to describe this showcase because this wasn't really a festival. There were a lot of bands playing which is a prerequisite for a festival, but beyond that there wasn't a whole hell of a lot that qualified this as a festival. It was basically just a really kick-ass show that lasted for two days. There was rain on Friday, and the show was moved indoors. I discovered this after circling the block several times. I could hear the music, and I could tell something was definitely going on but for the life of me I could not find the fucking place. Finally, I stopped two people who looked like they would definitely know where the show was and when I asked them "Do you know where the show is?" they responded by saying "Show? What show?" and then I tried again, this time clearing my throat before speaking, "I am looking for the Woodsist/Captured Tracks Fest-i-val. Would you happen to know where it is located?" and then the bro gave me an approving nod and explained to me that the show was going on above a grocery store called Mr. Kiwi's and that the way to get there is to slip through the door on the side. Many thanks to that dude because I found what I was looking for shortly there after." [no gift for the gab]

Considering all the rain we've been having, it's amazing how nice it ended up being over Fourth of July weekend. Saturday's show in Battery Park, as well as the 2nd day of the Woodsist/Captured Tracks Fest at 979 Broadway Backyard had beautiful weather. Friday's show at South Street Seaport was completely dry and breezy as well. Unfortunately though, there was some rain earlier on Friday (6/3), and so the Woodsist Fest organizers were forced to make a decision, and that decision was to move the day's festivities to Market Hotel... the very, very hot Market Hotel.

Bands on the bill for that first day were Blank Dogs, Psychedelic Horseshit, caUSE co-MOTION!, the Mayfair Set, Gary War, Little Girls, Kid Romance, Beachniks, and the Gutsies. What were the highlights?

As Bill pointed out, the Mayfair Set is "a collaboration with Blank Dogs (and Captured Tracks domo) Mike Sniper" and Dee Dee from Dum Dum Girls, who, as I just pointed out, is actually Kristin Gundred from Grand Ole Party. Live it was Kristin, Mike, JB from Crystal Stilts, Jeremy from Woods, and Jarvis Taveniere from Woods, Meneguar & other bands. For Mike and Kristin, it was the first of two bands they debuted at the fest over the weekend. On Saturday it was Dum Dum Girls. Both new bands were filled out by members of other bands (Dum Dum Girls had a Crystal Stilt and a Crocodile).

More pictures from Day One (minus the first three bands), below...

Continue reading "Woodsist/CT Fest Day One in pics (Mayfair Set's debut, Crystal Stilts, Blank Dogs, PH, caUSE co-MOTION! & more)"

Oxford Collapse @ Prospect Park (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

Oxford Collapse announced on June 22nd that they are breaking up...

Hey friends,
After eight years, 450 shows, and four albums, we've decided that we've reached the end of the line. To paraphrase the Grateful Dead, "what a long, strange, eye-opening, stomach-bursting, heart-breaking, bittersweet, educational, enlightening, mind-numbing, 'why-are-we-doing-this-shit?'/'who-gets-to-do-this-shit?,' absurd, amazing trip it's been." To paraphrase another sage poet, "you gotta know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em." To quote G. G. Allin, "life sucks, scum fuc."

Sad. The NYC band signed to Sub Pop in 2006. Sub Pop lists four full-length albums that were released since then, though two of those are reissues that were originally released on Kanine Records in 2004 and 2005. In 2005 they shared a Kanine Records CMJ bill with Grizzly Bear at Pianos. For CMJ 2006 they played a BrooklynVegan day party in the basement of Fontana's with The Thermals. More memories HERE.

The band's final two shows will be July 17th at Maxwell's with Frightened Rabbit (already sold out) and July 18th at Under the Tracks (508 W. 25th St) with CaUSE co-MOTION!, The Beets and Rape Excape (aka The Great Excape who are reuniting for the Woodsist Fest on July 4th) (and promised special guests as well). We're not exactly sure what the venue is like, but the band writes "Don't worry about advance tix - this place is huge!"

UPDATE: The final show has moved to COLLECTIVE HARDWARE @ 169 Bowery

Full details and more of the band's goodbye note, below...

Continue reading "Oxford Collapse breaking up - final 2 show details (NJ & NYC)"

DOWNLOAD: Woods - To Clean (MP3)

"...it has been damn near impossible to keep up with [Blank Dog] Mike Sniper's Captured Tracks label, who have hit the ground running with eight releases since the start of the year and many more slated for the near future. Captured Tracks is, to put it plainly, an outlet for Mr. Sniper to release records by bands he loves. In his mind it is "not a boutique label, " and by that he means that the releases are not meant to become instant eBay collectables, and will remain in print as long as there are people buying them. Some will have limited edition versions with alternate artwork or bonuses, but even these editions are easily and widely available. Affordable, available and well made, Captured Tracks is the populist record label. " [Agit Reader]

The previously announced Brooklyn Festival got much, much more interesting...

Continue reading "Woodsist/CT Festival - final 2-day lineup, set times, tickets "

photos by Tim Griffin

====| THURSDAY 5/28 @ MONSTER ISLAND BASEMENT |====

:: the Homosexuals
:::: TYVEK
:::::: caUSE co-MOTION!
:::::::: Imaginary Icons

| MONSTER ISLAND BASEMENT |
128 River St @ Metropolitan Ave | Williamsburg, Brooklyn
L-Bedford, G-Metropolitan, JM-Marcy | 8pm | all ages | $7

I just realized that not only are Tyvek back in town with dates we never posted yet (the first of which is tonight as you can see above), I also have this nifty set of unpublished pics from when they opened for Asobi Seksu at Bowery Ballroom that were also never posted. More of those pictures, and all dates (3 NYC shows included), below...

Continue reading "Tyvek are back - 3 NYC shows ++ pics from Bowery Ballroom "

Crystal Stilts @ The Shank - Sat, April 25 (Ryan Muir/Metromix)

Crystal Stilts are playing Cake Shop tonight (4/30). This show is not to be confused with the previously announced CS Cake Shop show which isn't until June. ,

Tonight's show, which was curated by Liam of caUSE coMOTION, is also Cake Shop's The World's Birthday Party show which means if you were born in April, you can get in for free. Prince Ruperts Drops (formerly The Woods and The Frams) and Beachniks are also on the bill.

Crystal Stilts last few local shows were Sunday night at Maxwell's (happy birthday Musicsnobbery), Saturday night at The Shank (courtesy of Topman), and opening for The Dead Weather at Bowery Ballroom. All future dates below...

Continue reading "Crystal Stilts, who just played the Shank & Maxwell's, are playing the Cake Shop birthday show tonight/Thursday"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Woodhands - Can't See Straight (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Woodhands - Electric Avenue (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Rooftop Vigilantes - Drew Want Dino (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Rooftop Vigilantes - Copper is Free (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: caUSE co-MOTION - This Just Won't Last (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Right on Dynamite - Mantra for the Madness (MP3)

Woodhands

Toronto dance-rock duo Woodhands are back in NYC this week for the first time since playing last summer with Crystal Castles at Studio B. I caught them when I attended M for Montreal back in November and they were really fun live, putting on a sweaty, two-man disco party. Singer Dan Werb rocks a keytar as unironically as one can, and drummer Paul Banwatt is a human drum machine. They also, when I saw them, brought their own laser light show which I certainly hope comes with them this week when they play Death By Audio on Thursday (2/12) and The Studio at Webster Hall on Friday (1/13). For some reason I find the idea of lasers at Death By Audio hilarious and awesome. Hopefully they'll also do their cover of Eddie Grant's '80s classic "Electric Avenue" which you can download above.

Rooftop Vigilantes

This week is not as action-packed as last, but there are some other notable shows happening. Lawrence, Kansas' Rooftop Vigilantes highlight a very solid bill at Cake Shop on Thursday night (2/12). Their label describes them as "a very drunk Fugazi" which kind of works but they are poppier than that and actually remind me of semi-obscure San Francisco band Oranger. (Comparisons to The Replacements aren't unwarranted either.) Loose and wild, but with solid pop songs holding them up, their debut Carrot Atlas blazes through 16 songs in under half an hour and you can tell by the recordings that they'll be a lot of fun live. (Lawrence.com has a bunch of MP3s to download and an interview with the band.) Rooftop Vigilantes also play 92YTribeca on Friday (2/13) with Endless Boogie and Mike Bones. More Rooftop Vigilantes dates at the end of this post.

Also on that Cake Shop bill: caUSE co-MOTION, who just played with The Pains of Being Pure at Heart this past Saturday; Right on Dynamite who I've written about before; Beachniks which sometimes includes JB of Crystal Stilts but they are on a European tour as we speak so I don't think he'll be there; and Mr. Falcon who I know absolutely nothing about but the two songs on their MySpace are both really good.

-----------

And finally, tonight (2/10), Patrick Bower and Joe & the Flying Spoons are playing a free show at Zebulon. Bower's band has grown to include Doug from Dirty on Purpose and Steven Mertens of Spacecamp; meanwhile, Joe of Flying Spoons was in Dirty on Purpose and also features Chris of Spacecamp (and Patrick Bower's other band, World Without Magic). It's more than a little incestuous in the Williamsburg music scene. Both bands are vaguely country-ish, with Bowery leaning more towards lush, beardy folk, and the Flying Spoons more upbeat and feature a chorus of lovely ladies. Worth checking out.

Tour dates and videos after the jump...

Continue reading "Woodhands, Rooftop Vigilantes, Joe & the Flying Spoons & more in This Week In Indie"

The band formerly known as Tyvke, TVK and Tyvek are back in NYC in a few days to play three shows in a row...

1. Jan 09 - LESS ARTISTS MORE CONDOS, Manhattan, NYC - Tyvjk w/PSYCHEDELIC HORSESHIT, KURT VILE & THE VIOLATORSc NYC
2. Jan 10 - Market Hotel - Tyvjk w/ CRYSTAL STILTS, BOX ELDERS, MEDICATION, KID ROMANCE New York City
3. Jan 11 - GLASSLANDS, Brooklyn, NY - Tyvjk w/CAUSE CO-MOTION!, BEACHNIKS, KID ROMANCE, THE BEETS, TODD PURPLE, and DJs Brooklyn, NY

Their friends Psychedelic Horseshit don't have any any other shows listed. Crystal Stilts also don't have any other local shows scheduled.

Cause Co-Motion do have more shows listed. They're also opening for The Pains of Being Pure at Heart at Mercury Lounge on February 7th, playing Monster Island Basement on March 12th, and perrforming at Silent Barn on April 25th.

All Tyvjk dates below...

Continue reading "Tyvjk - 2009 Tour Dates (3 NYC shows, Crystal Stilts, Psychedelic Horseshit, CAUSE CO-MOTION!, SXSW)"

DOWNLOAD: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Come Saturday (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Everything With You (MP3)

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart have two upcoming NYC shows scheduled. The first is February 7th at Mercury Lounge which is also the first date of a tour the NYC band is going on with The Depreciation Guild. Cause CO-Motion! is also on the Manhattan bill and tickets are on sale. The second is March 13th at the Bell House which is the first date of a tour the band is playing on their way to SXSW.

Their self-titled album (pictured above) will be released in February 2009. Grab two tracks from it above. Check out a video, some pics from the show they played at MHOW with Bishop Allen in November, and all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - 2009 Tour Dates, a new album & some MP3s & live pics"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Crystal Stilts - Shattered Shine (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: caUSE co-MOTION - Which Way is Up? (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Bearsuit - I Thought You Said You Were Blind (MP3)

Crystal Stilts

A few items of note that I neglected earlier in the week. Brooklynites and Slumberland Records labelmates Crystal Stilts and caUSE co-MOTION are playing Death by Audio on Saturday (10/4) which is a warm-up, of sorts, to their nine-date U.S. tour together that officially kicks off two weeks later with some shows at CMJ.

Both bands have their Slumberland debuts coming out on October 28: Crystal Stilts' much-anticipated full-length debut, Alight of Night, which I think is one of the year's best albums, reminiscent of The Chills and Felt, but also late '50s twangy rock and, yes, Joy Division; and caUSE co-MOTION, who don't have a song yet over to hit the two-minute mark, compile their five, brittle Glasgow-influenced pop 7" singles for a 14-song, 20-minute blast.

caUSE co-MOTION (yes, the capitalization is annoying to type) will also be opening for Franz Ferdinand on Wednesday (10/8) at the Music Hall of Williamsburg show, which seems a good match. Both bands (CS and CC) are playing a load of shows at CMJ, including what is maybe the show on Thursday, Oct. 23, the Force Field PR showcase at Pianos that also includes Au, Duchess Says, Fight Bite, Physics of Meaning, Donovan Quinn & the 13th Month, and Stars Like Fleas.

caUSE co-MOTION

If you want to make an entire day of it in Williamsburg on Saturday (10/4), come in the afternoon to bookstore Spoonbill and Sugartown where Peter Saville will be signing stuff and talking to people from 1 - 3PM. If you're a Factory Records aficionado or just saw 24 Party People, you probably know Saville is the man who designed all of Joy Division and New Order's album covers, as well as Section 23, A Certain Ratio, Happy Mondays and also records for Pulp, Suede, and, uh, Gay Dad.

Saville deserves a place in history if for nothing else than the famed floppy disc replica that was New Order's "Blue Monday" 12" single. He's got a couple recent coffee table books, including Art, Fashion and Work for Hire: Thomas Demand, Peter Saville, Hedi Slimane, Hans Ulrich Obrist and Cristina Bechtler in Conversation, and last year's Peter Saville: Estate 1-127, though if you brought a copy of Unknown Pleasures he'd probably sign that too.

If you have interest in Saville's work, which includes typography, you might also want to swing by his website which includes free downloads of most of the fonts he created for New Order and Joy Division over the years. Pretty cool.

Bearsuit

Lastly, UK band Bearsuit are coming over later this month for their first-ever American tour, including NYC stops before and during CMJ. The six-piece, who hail from Norwich, are not unlike Los Campesinos! with their shouty, girl-boy vocals, manic pace, and catchy songs. They also have adorable, cutesy-poo graphics, tend to dress in matching costumes (though not in bear suits), and often have giant inflatable BEARSUIT letters with them onstage. It's the kind of thing you either find totally endearing or totally vomitous. I'm on the endearing side and can't wait to see them.

Bearsuit's show at Cakeshop is with local Brooklyn band Boy Genius who I've meant to write about for some time but haven't. Boy Genius are definitely within the indiepop realm but not too sugary, not too precious, relying on well-crafted melodies and gentle, mostly-acoustic instrumentation to carry the songs. They'll also be playing with Elk City (featuring former Luna guitarist Sean Eden) at Union Hall on October 18th. You can get a new Boy Genius song, "Eleanor," for free on the new mix from Norwegian indiepop blog Eardrums (also featuring Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Pelle Carlberg, the Lodger and loads more, worth the download.) Boy Genius deserve more attention than they've gotten, hopefully that will come soon.

All tour dates below...

Continue reading "caUSE co-MOTION, Crystal Stilts, Bearsuit, Peter Saville, Boy Genius and more in this Week in Indie"