Willis Earl Beal at Bowery Ballroom in April (more by Toby Tenebaum)

Bobby Womack and Willis Earl Beal's free Central Park show, which was set to happen on June 7, has been postponed due to illness. The makeup date is TBA but they "plan to reschedule this show in mid-July with both artists still on the bill." Stay tuned for more info. This comes less than a week after Bobby posted to his facebook page that he successfully underwent surgery and does not have cancer. Hope all is well with the recovery, Bobby!

Meanwhile, Bobby Womack has been preparing his new album, The Bravest Man in the Universe, for a June 12 release via XL. It's Womack's first album of original material since 1994 and was co-produced by Damon Albarn (who he worked with on Gorillaz's Plastic Beach) and XL label head/record producer Richard Russell. So far he's revealed the tracks, "Please Forgive My Heart," "The Bravest Man in the Universe," and most recently, "Dayglo Reflection," which features Lana Del Rey. You can check all of those out below.

Speaking of Willis Earl Beal, he was arrested over the weekend after his performance at the Le Guess Who? Festival in the Netherlands for allegedly kicking a homeless man in the face (via Pitchfork). In a YouTube video (which you can watch below), Willis said his goodbyes to to the crowd with the following:

Because of a few bad apples, we all miss out on one more glorious, fantastic, lovely performance. I love you, and I even love the guy whose face I kicked in. I love him, too. He's a good guy! He's just drunk, a little.

Bobby Womack streams and Willis Earl Beal video below...

Continue reading "Bobby Womack and Willis Earl Beal postpone Summerstage show; Willis free from jail; listen to new Bobby Womack songs"

by Bill Pearis

Get well soon, Jake! This only affects four dates of their tour with Best Coast -- Those Darlins begin as openers starting June 26, which includes the 7/17 show at Terminal 5 -- but it will unfortunately mean JEFF's appearance at Choas in Tejas this is a no-go.

The rest of JEFF's June tour dates are still on, including their June 17 show at Bowery Ballroom (tickets are still available) and June 18 show at Maxwell's (tickets). All unaffected tour dates are below.

In happier news, JEFF the Brotherhood just released their new EP, Hypnotic Knights, which is the first release through their new deal with Warner Brothers (a phrase that still seems a little unbelievable). The four songs are all from the band's third album, similarly titled Hypnotic Nights, which is out in July on Warner Brothers via Jake and Jamin's Infinity Cat label. The fidelity is a little higher (Black Keys' Dan Auerbach produced), but this is still the JEFF we know and love. You can stream the Hypnotic Knights EP below.

Continue reading "JEFF the Brotherhood cancel dates with Best Coast (Jake broke his hand) but other dates still on; new EP out now, album in July"

DOWNLOAD: Grouper - "Demona" (Dead Moon cover) (MP3)

The Bug

Earlier this year, The Bug (aka Kevin Martin of King Midas Sound) announced that he'd be starting a new label and sub-genre called Acid Ragga, which will be an imprint of Ninja Tune. The first release for the label is a single called "Can't Take This No More" which features vocals from Daddy Freddy b/w "Rise Up" featuring vocals from Hype Williams' Inga Copeland. You can stream a clip of "Can't Take This No More" below.

The Bug just revealed in an interview with FACT that he's been talking to Evy Jane about putting out a single of theirs on his new label too:

When I contacted Evy Jane, Jeremiah, the dude from the group, had seen me live about five years ago in Canada and he said it had been a totally formative experience. And the girl from the group, Evelyn, was massively into grime and ragga. It's just weird, man, weird synchronicity, and I can't even pretend to understand it, but it's great. Extending the past, and just building for the future.

In The Bug's FACT interview, he also spoke about working with Grouper (Liz Harris) for his new album, Angels & Devils, which will also feature guest appearances from Death Grips, Gonjasufi, JK Flesh (Godflesh/Jesu), The Spaceape, and Flowdan + Warrior Queen. On working with Grouper, The Bug said, "When I contacted Grouper, I was stunned that she'd even heard of me, and doubly stunned when she told me she'd been playing her mum 'Skeng' about two weeks before."

The album will be one of the many projects Liz has been involved in this year, including the excellent collaborative album with Tiny Vipers as Mirrorring, Foreign Body, the score for The Perception of Moving Targets, which screened at this year's Sundance FIlm Festival, the two-track but almost hour and a half long CD-R, Violent Replacement, and a recorded cover of Dead Moon's "Demona," which you can download above or stream below.

Continue reading "Evy Jane not playing Glasslands tonight; potentially working with The Bug who has a new label and guest-filled LP"

This was announced last month, but I'm admittedly not paying close attention to what is up with Sinead, and just realized it when I saw that tonight's Beacon Theater show was cancelled...

"With enormous regret I must announce that I have to cancel all touring for the year as am very unwell due to bi polar disorder," she revealed in an online message.

The Irish singer added, "So very stupidly I ignored his advice to my great detriment, attempting to be stronger than I actually am."

The 45-year-old vocalist played a few shows earlier this year and was supposed to hit the road again this spring behind her new album, "How About I Be Me (And You Be You)?."

In December, O'Connor announced her split from therapist Barry Herridge after 16 days of marriage. They tried to reconcile, but eventually called it quits in January 2012. [CBS]

This train is no longer making all stops

Van Halen have canceled most of their summer reunion tour, affecting all tour dates after their June 26th show in New Orleans. Over 30 shows have been abruptly postponed, including the July 13 show at East Rutherford, NJ's Izod Center on 7/13. No explanation has been given for the canceled dates... are the boys fighting again?

A full list of Van Halen dates, both still scheduled and postponed, are below.

Continue reading "Van Halen cancel/postpone most of summer tour"

Death Grips (did not cancel) Coachella 2012 (more by David Andrako)

Music Hall of Williamsburg has officially listed Death Grips' upcoming Brooklyn show as cancelled, and even ATP, whose NJ event isn't until the fall has written, "Death Grips announced this weekend that they are cancelling all future live performances. Sadly this includes the planned shows at I'll Be Your Mirror London & New Jersey and at the Primavera Sound events. We apologise to those that are disappointed by the band's cancellation."

Still no new messages from the band who surprised everyone on Friday with a vague "there are no longer any scheduled shows" message. The first show they missed was the Sacramento Electronic Music Festival on Saturday.

In other ATP NJ news, their headliner and curator just announced a Bowery Ballroom show.

Death Grips kept their word. They wrote that "there are no longer any scheduled shows", and sure enough they didn't even show up to the one-off gig they had scheduled as part of the Sacramento Electronic Music Festival (aka SEMF) in their hometwon of Sacramento on Saturday night. Are they even telling the truth about needing to finish an album? Nobody seems to know where they are. Their Facebook message was a hit and run. Since our post about it, Music Hall of Williamsburg, the Brooklyn venue Death Grips are scheduled to play in June, even tweeted that they're "still waiting on official word about possible Death Grips cancellation. If show is cancelled we'll issue refunds. Please stay tuned." It's not looking good.

Shlohmo, who is back at Glasslands later this month, did play SEMF 2012 though (as you can see in one of the tweets above). As did Sacramento artists Little Foxes, Paper Pistols, Tel Cairo and the Portisheady Dusty Brown, as you can see in the videos below...

Continue reading "Death Grips didn't show up to Sacramento Electronic Music Fest (but Shlohmo, Dusty Brown & Little Foxes did)"

You might not want to buy your ticket to June 13th at Music Hall of Williamsburg just yet. As BV Chicago pointed out, Death Grips posted the following short message to Facebook yesterday:

"we are dropping out to complete our next album NO LOVE. see you when it's done. (there are no longer any scheduled shows)"

The Facebook post already has a ton of comments. Here are some choice ones:

" I'm not massively angry at this. I'm totally crestfallen though. I wish there was a bit more info about. I've rang ticket vendors and venues and no one seems to know a thing. Also if this actually is the true then a sorry in the post would've just been common courtesy. Wow, reading this back I can see how hilariously British this all sounds!"

Dudes need to shape the fuck up. I love Zach Hill as a musician... but as a person the dude has got to fucking get his shit together if he wants to not have this all go way over his head. I mean, the dude has been touring all across the world for years... finally gets a solid project going since Hella with some guys and then they cancel a tour for like their third time? Then people start coming out about how the individual members are (which I know the truth about Zach Hill, always have, seen facts of his shit) and it's all starting to add up that either these dudes don't give a shit in the worst way possible, or they're full of themselves in the worst way possible.

Either way, the music remains great, but fuck them and their shady bullshit.

The way certain people on here are reacting to this is wayyy out of context in terms of the way these guys work... If any of you could grasp a single second's substance of their message that they portray in their music well then you would comprehend that following the ordinary model for a musician to tour once an album is released is THE last thing this group is concerned with. Instead they are offering TWO full blown pieces of work which would give you 3 releases to listen to from a group, who would be, at that time only two years into their formation. Yeah sure that doesn't mean what they did was all dandy and fine and everyone should be smiling about it but if you sat on this comment box and pulled out a "OMG YU GUYZ CANT DO DISSS" or a "WUZ IT LA RIED DAT SAID U CUDNT COME OUT 2 PLAYYYY??" - well then you don't understand that this group probably cares more about finishing off that album that they promised EVERYONE they would release under a major label, than all of our shitty little opinions, including mine......YO WHO THE FUCK AM I KIDDING THO, FLATLANDER THE FUCK U PLAYING U AT SON? ZACH...THE FUCK U PLAYING AT SON? RIDE.....WHY THE FUCK IS YOU TOO BUSY TRIMMING DAT BEARD TO PLAY A SHIT LITTLE SET FOR US SON?

Death Grips previously announced their plans to release two albums on Epic, including the great Money Store which was released on 4/24.

by BBG

NOT Sham 69, but Cockney Rejects

Bad news from the Sham 69 (Pursey/Parsons) camp...

"In March my father was diagnosed with asbestosis lung cancer. Since then the situation for my family has got worse and my fathers prognosis is not good as it has just become apparent that he has the most aggressive form. We have just been told that he now only has weeks to live and indeed his condition is already deteriorating. My family has only recently lost my mother so this makes it very difficult for me not to be here for my father and family. You will have to forgive me but I have to tell you now so you can at least have time to inform all fans. I am so sorry for this situation." - Jimmy Pursey

The news means the cancellation of all US dates; the NYC show has been scrapped altogether (refunds available via the point of purchase), but Sham 69 was replaced by oi greats Cockney Rejects at Chaos in Tejas and Punk Rock Bowling. Tickets are still available for both Punk Rock Bowling and Chaos in Tejas in various increments (festival passes, shows by day, etc).

Check out the latest Chaos in Tejas flyer, along with some Cockney Rejects videos below.

Continue reading "Sham 69 cancels all dates due to family emergency; Cockney Rejects take their place @ Chaos & PR Bowling"

Memoryhouse (more by Dominick Mastrangelo)

Despite a recent, horrible gear theft (list below) which caused the cancellation of last night (Philadelphia) and tonight's (Boston) shows for Memoryhouse, the band are continuing on their tour with Washed Out and they've even added a third NYC show! In addition to their sold out shows with Washed Out at both Highline Ballroom and Music Hall of Williamsburg, and their own show Saturday night at Public Assembly with Ex Cops, Memoryhouse will play a free afternoon in-store at Permanent Records in Williamsburg on Saturday too. P-recs says:

The big day is upon us. Record Store Day is this Saturday, April 21st.

We are opening at 11am. We will have countless exclusive & limited edition releases to commemorate the occasion. We will have special giveaways throughout the day. We will have treats for our earliest customers. We will have live performances from Mattison at 1pm & 5pm. We also have Sub Pop's Memoryhouse coming in at 3pm for a special acoustic performance.

A few more notes to remember going into this special occasion:

-We have gone to great lengths to make sure we have stock on as many RSD exclusive titles as possible. However, due to the highly limited nature of some of these releases, quantities are often extremely limited. Many titles sell out instantly, so arrive early to avoid disappointment.

-*We are doing absolutely NO holds or special orders for any RSD exclusive titles.* They are sold on a first come, first served basis.

-We generally don't receive our RSD product until VERY shortly before the big day, so please don't call asking what we will have in stock. We are not holding out on you! We are trying to get as much as possible, but like you, we generally don't know specifics in advance.

It's gonna be a great day. Can't wait to see you all then.

-p-recs

Continue reading "Memoryhouse gear stolen on tour with Washed Out; NY shows still on & they added a RSD in-store @ Permanent Records"

He was supposed to be in NYC on April 24 & 25, but "will reschedule at a later date TBA." Damn

Levon Helm (more by Chris La Putt)

Sadly, tonight's Levon Helm show at Wellmont Theater in NJ (4/6), which was a make-up show to begin with, has been cancelled (postponed again) due to back injury (much like his March 30th Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom show was too). Stay tuned for more info. UPDATE: This statement has been posted:

Unfortunately, tonight's Levon Helm show at The Wellmont Theater has been postponed. Levon has had a slipped disk in his back this past few weeks as you may have heard, and despite daily therapy, it hasn't healed enough for him to move freely enough to travel or sit at the drums for any length of time. Levon would like to assure everyone that his health otherwise has been excellent as of late. Levon and the band have had a strong run of touring this past month and were very much looking forward tonight's show in Montclair with Deer Tick. Levon and the band are eager to get back on the road and hope to see all the fans soon. We are very sorry for any inconvenience this has caused. Refunds will be available at point of purchase.

Deer Tick was supposed to be opening that show, but now won't be playing another show until their tour starts in MA on 4/19. All is not lost for Jersey though, tickets are still on sale for the show Deer Tick play at the Stone Pony on 4/20 with Turbo Fruits (who join Deer Tick on the road for over a month).

That Deer Tick/Turbo Fruits tour goes from NJ to Washington where Deer Tick are on the lineup of the 2012 Sasquatch Festival which is now officially SOLD OUT.

Speaking of festivals, Pitchfork Fest just added a bunch of bands to the lineup, and organized them by day.

Speaking of Jersey, Bruce Springsteen just played there on Tuesday and Wedneday, and plays NYC at Madison Square Garden tonight.

Check out some videos of Levon and Bruce playing together at the Stone Pony in the 80s, below...

Continue reading "Levon Helm show postponed; Deer Tick tour soon; Sasquatch sells out; Pitchfork Fest expands; Bruuuuuce"

photos by Chris La Putt

Willis Earl Beal @ Mercury Lounge

Willis Earl Beal is on a tour which brought him to NYC for a Glasslands show on 3/29 with Zulu Winter and a Mercury Lounge show on 4/1 with She Keeps Bees and Fenster (who play again at Knitting Factory on 4/4). Pictures from the Mercury Lounge show are in this post. More below.

That tour was supposed to include an opening slot at SBTRKT's Webster Hall show tonight (4/3) (which is sold out, Sepalcure is still opening, and will be streaming online) but Willis has cancelled tonight's show due to illness. The official statement reads, "Unfortunately Willis is sick and his doctor has ordered him not to perform tonight. The rest of the tour dates are on as planned." Bummer.

UPDATE: DJ Jim E Stack, who played with SBTRKT last night at Music Hall of Williamsburg, will open for SBTRKT in Beal's place tonight.

The rest of that tour includes dates with WU LYF that brings both bands to NYC on MHOW on 4/26 and Bowery Ballroom on 4/27. Willis will also be back in NYC for the Questlove-curated Shuffle Culture Fest at BAM which goes down on April 19 and 20.

Willis also just made a video for "Montony" off his debut LP, Acousmatic Sorcery, which is out now on Hot Charity. That video, updated dates, and more pics from the 4/1 show at Mercury Lounge, below...

Continue reading "Willis Earl Beal made a video, played Merc w/ Fenster & She Keeps Bees (pics), IS NOT playing w/ SBTRKT tonight (dates)"

Sadly, the March 12th La's show is, not that surprisingly, cancelled. Official reason: "due to health reasons" (hope it's not too serious!). It's is unclear if the rest of "New York Sound City" is still happening, though its website makes it appear to still be on.

by Bill Pearis

Kwes

We've got some news on the Django Django front. As you may remember, BrooklynVegan is presenting the band's Stateside debut at Glasslands on March 10. The show was supposed to be with Kwes, but unfortunately due to visa issues, he had to drop off the bill. (He's hoping to still make it in time for SXSW.) Opening instead will be New Haven electronic prankster D. Gookin, whose Spiral Style was released on Moodgadget last fall (and streamable below). I'll be DJing in between bands. There are still a few tickets left for this late show (doors at 11:30).

In related news, Django Django have added a 2nd NYC show which we're also presenting.

Listen to some songs below...

Continue reading "Kwes cancels NYC show; D. Gookin takes his place"

Now a three-time Grammy winner, Levon Helm, former drummer of the Band, took the award for best Americana album last night, with his record Ramble at the Ryman.

Unfortunately, Helm was unable to attend the awards show due to an undisclosed "medical procedure" which also forced the postponement of his February 10th show at the Wellmont Theater in NJ. He's also sitting out of the next Midnight Ramble. His site reads: "Levon will be undergoing a medical procedure that will necessitate his absence from the February 25th Ramble. We wish him the best and we know he will have a speedy recovery. We'll continue with the normal Ramble schedule with special guests joining the band." We also wish him the best and a speedy recovery!" The last Ramble happened on 2/4 (they've been on a break since).

Things are looking good though because tickets are already on sale for a makeup NJ show taking place April 6 at The Wellmont Theatre. All tickets purchased for the canceled performance will also be honored at the show in April. Levon's next scheduled show is March 2nd in MA. All dates are listed below.

Opening for Helm at Wellmont, is Deer Tick, who will also be headlining their own NJ show at The Stone Pony on April 20 (tickets).

All Levon Helm, and all Deer Tick tour dates are listed below.

Continue reading "Grammy-winning Levon Helm recovering from a procedure, schedules new NJ show; Deer Tick too (dates)"

Bjork in Queens (photo by Julieta Cervantes)

Oh no!

"Due to illness, tonight's Björk show at the New York Hall of Science is canceled. Refunds will be available at the point of purchase.

Björk will perform at the New York Hall of Science on February 12th, 15th, and 18th and at Roseland Ballroom February 22nd, 25th, 28th, and March 2nd."

Continue reading "tonight's Bjork show is cancelled! (but she already played 2 & will play more)"

Damn. The show we just posted about yesterday is no longer with its headliner:

"Due to visa issues, John Talabot has just canceled his upcoming US dates, including FIXED Le Poisson Rouge on March 18th, but Tensnake is still on!"

Though it might be invite/contest-only, as you can see on Living Room's website, Howlin Rain are playing an acoustic show there at 7pm TONIGHT (2/6). Their tour which is now with D. Charles Speer & The Helix instead of Soliders of Fortune who cancelled, begins at Mercury Lounge on Tuesday (2/7) and hits Brooklyn Bowl on Wednesday (2/8).

As usual, since it's a Monday, the Living Room also hosts The Tony Scherr Trio with Anton Fier and Rob Jost followed by the Jim Campilongo Electric Trio with Stephan Crump and Tony Mason.

There's also an interesting show happening at Cake Shop which is right next door.

Howlin Rain's new album The Russian Wilds is out Valentine's Day, 2012. That's the cover art above.

Young Magic at Mercury Lounge in 2011 (more by Jessica Amaya)

Young Magic picked up quite a bit of buzz in 2011 with a few singles and multiple tours with Youth Lagoon. They also played one of our CMJ Parties.

Now they're set to release their debut LP, Melt on February 14 via Carpark. The album will feature material from their singles, including "Night In The Ocean," "Slip Time", "Sparkly", and "You With Air." You can stream all four of those tracks below, along with the album artwork and tracklist, and the video for "Sparkly."

A while back Young Magic announced a record release show scheduled to take place in their current hometown of NYC on February 18 at Mercury Lounge. That show was cancelled after tickets went on sale but was re-announced this week and tickets are on sale now. The show is being opened by Heaven, who also open the Swervedriver show at Bowery Ballroom (3/31).

Young Magic were also initially billed as the openers for YACHT's upcoming tour but have since dropped off (2/26 Brooklyn show included).

Video, streams, and album info below...

Continue reading "Young Magic drop off YACHT tour, schedule NY release show"

by BBG

Inquisition at Rites of Darkness (more by BBG)

Dear Fans, friends and supporters of Dark Funeral,

It is with great regret that we have to inform you today that our North American Tour has to be postponed. Due to circumstances and events way beyond our control, there is no other way but to postpone these dates. And yes, our triumphant return to the United States Of America is definitely not cancelled, but postponed. And we will try to announce the new North American tourdates as soon as possible, so you better stay tuned!

However, our appearance at the 70,000 Tons Of Metal-Cruise will take place as planned. Hope to see some of you there.

by BBG

Omegas at 538 Johnson (more by Keith Marlowe)

‎*** We regret to announce that Citizens Arrest will not be performing at ABC NO RIO this Saturday (12/17). Daryl has contracted a serious case of pneumonia and obviously, can not perform. We have been replaced by the OMEGAS. We apologize to any of you who have made extensive plans to see us. The show will still go on and the lineup is still stellar and worth your time. Remember it is a benefit for ABC NO RIO!***

No word on how Daryl's sickness will affect Funebrarum's appearance at the Acheron/Gorephobia/Mutant Supremacy show at Saint Vitus later that night, but we'll keep you posted.

UPDATE: Funebrarum cancels their Acheron appearance as well.

Get well soon Daryl!

Rumor is spreading fast that the reunited Guided By Voices have re-broken up, but they say that's not true:

Guided by Voices have not split up and continue to work on new material together. In addition to the album release of Let's Go Eat the Factory for January, the band are at work on another album, Class Clown Spots A UFO. Robert Pollard will also be releasing a solo record in March called Mouseman Cloud.

Unfortunately Guided By Voices are canceling their appearances at Primavera and ATP/I'll Be Your Mirror, due to personal reasons. The band apologizes for any inconvenience and disappointment, and thanks Primavera, ATP and the fans for their longterm support.

by BBG

Inquisition at MDF (more by BBG)

"This is Danny, the promoter for Rites of Darkness. I understand people have been getting frustrated with lack of news so I personally apologize for that. We have gone through a rash of cancellations which were beyond our control.. Paypal froze the Festival's account which caused delayed flights for months. By the time Paypal decided to release our account flights escalated beyond our set budget. So the show is NOT cancelled by any means but the following bands will not be performing: Root, Akitsa, Interment, Demonical, Valkyrja, Dead Congregation, Hour of 13, and Strid"

The festival has remained silent about the situation for close to two weeks, but finally updated festival-goers today. Their message, excerpted above and available in full below, explains the situation, but neglects to mention that Pagan Altar also cancelled (they were slated for a two hour set) and that Zemial cancelled too. Another band that is currently in flux, Stargazer, is reportedly without flights (the band is from Australia) at the moment. The listing is missing General Surgery, and no announcement has been made about the pre-fest which includes France's Hell Militia. Previously announced cancellations include Ondskapt, Urfaust, Behexen, and Sargeist. RoD has added new Profound Lore signees Pallbearer.

Reminder: two RoD bands, Inquisition and Disma, are scheduled to play The Studio at Webster Hall on 12/2 with Agrath. Tickets are still available.

UPDATE: Both Zemial and Pagan Altar are reconsidering their appearances. Statements from both are below.

UPDATED AGAIN: Disma, Funebrarum, Evoken, and Oak have all cancelled their appearances.

The most recent Rites of Darkness statement and the current lineup is below.

Continue reading "Rites of Darkness 2011 still on despite heavy cancellations UPDATED"

by BBG

Disma at Saint Vitus (more by Greg Cristman)

Mortuary Drape have unfortunately cancelled their entire US tour with Inquisition, including their appearance at Rites of Darkness and their 12/2 date at The Studio at Webster Hall with Negative Plane who has also dropped off of the bill. Inquisition is still playing though and the new-look 12/2 show will NOW instead also include appearances from Disma and Agrath. Tickets are still available.

If you can't make it to The Studio at Webster Hall, Inquisition will join Dark Funeral, Abigail Williams, and Gigan for a string of US dates that will hit Gramercy Theater on 1/30. Tickets are still available. Full tour schedule is below

The Studio show is one of many lined up for Daryl Kahan of Disma who will also do double duty on 12/17, first as part of Citizens Arrest at ABC No Rio, and then with Funebarum who plays with Acheron (the band), Goreaphobia, and Mutant Supremacy that night at Saint Vitus (ticketing info forthcoming).

All Inquisition tour dates and some video is below.

Continue reading "Mortuary Drape cancel US tour, Disma & Agrath added to NYC Inquisition show"