Danny Brown at Knitting Factory Brooklyn in March (more by Fred Pessaro)

Rapper Danny Brown is inspiring retweets and making headlines for an alleged incident that took place while he was on stage in Minneapolis on Friday (4/26), as City Pages reports...

Live performance is an incredibly intimate bond between artists and fans, but that intimacy got busted worse than Danny Brown's front tooth during Friday's show on Minneapolis's West Bank. At minimum, the Detroit rapper led several fans at the sold-out Triple Rock Social Club to believe, and many proclaiming on Twitter, that they saw a female concert-goer in the front row performing oral sex on him. At max, the 18-and-up crowd witnessed something putting Brown's evening put alongside Jim Morrison's "Miami Incident."

Danny and Kitty's tour hits NYC on May 7 at Irving Plaza. At the very least, we can count on it being unpredictable. Tickets for that one are still available.

Updated tour dates are listed, along with a stream of Danny Brown's "#ExpressYourself," below...

Continue reading "Danny Brown on tour, reportedly got intimate w/ fan on stage"

UPDATE: Michelle issued a statement.

Michelle Shocked has gone silent after a homophobic rant at a San Francisco concert Sunday night that has left her without a U.S. tour. Ten out of eleven of her upcoming concert dates have been canceled by the venues themselves, Billboard has confirmed.

Clubs from Santa Cruz, CA to Evanston, IL have pulled Shocked from their schedules. Meander's Kitchen in Seattle nixed her April 26th show "due to her homophobic performance in San Francisco last night, during which she actually said 'God Hates Fags,'" the club wrote on Facebook. [Billboard]

UPDATE: Michelle issued a statement.

The list of shows she was just booted from, SPACE in IL included, is below...

Continue reading "Michelle Shocked shows cancelled after homophobic rant"

If it is true that Beyonce did lip-sync at Monday's inauguration, she wouldn't be the first artist to perform that way at a major national event. Here are a few examples:

* In 1991, Whitney Houston lip-synced her iconic interpretation of "The Star Spangled Banner" at the Super Bowl.
* Oscar-winner and former "American Idol" contestant Jennifer Hudson did the same thing with the anthem at the Super Bowl in 2009.
* Faith Hill also performed to a backing track for "America The Beautiful" at the same event in 2009.
* At President Obama's first inauguration in 2009, Yo-Yo Ma's performance came into question over "hand syncing." The acclaimed cellist had said the instruments weren't working properly in the very cold weather.

There were even reports that speculated Madonna was lip-syncing during her appearance at the 2012 Super Bowl half-time show. "The only thing Madonna proved during the Super Bowl 46 show is her irrelevance; the halftime show was so obviously lip synced that it was painful," wrote SBNation's JP Starkey. [CBS]

Video of the Inauguration performance in question below...

Continue reading "Beyonce makes the front page for possibly lip syncing"

Jack White @ ACL 2012 (more by Glen Brown)

PRESS RELEASE:

Jack White has issued the following statement to correct an excerpt from his upcoming cover story in British Esquire that was taken completely out of context--and actually edited to change its original meaning--in an NME.com news post.

The original quote referred to the state of image-based celebrity in general was twisted by the NME who changed the original quote, tacking the words "Lady Gaga's music" on to the original quote--words Jack never actually said.

White commented in full:

I'd like to address the recent tabloidesque drama baiting by the press in regards to Lady Gaga. I never said anything about her music, or questioned the authenticity of her songs in any way. I was in a conversation about the drawbacks of image for the sake of image, and that it is popular nowadays to not question an image in front of you, but only to label it as "cool" or "weird" quickly and dispose of it. I don't like my comments about Lady Gaga's presentation being changed into some sort of negative critique of her music. If you're going to try to cause drama, at least get the quotes right. I think journalists should also be held accountable for what they say. Especially publications like the NME who put whatever words they feel like between two quotation marks and play it off as a quote. maybe somebody with more lawyers can take them to task, but I'll just use the internet and twitter instead. I also think that kind of tabloid drama encourages artists to not express their opinions in the press, and instead give polite soundbites that don't stimulate thought about creativity and the consumption of art in its many guises. Peace to lady gaga and I fully congratulate and compliment her on her championing of gay rights issues and the momentum it's given to help create change.

Thank you.

Jack White III

Back in 2008 we posted a diss video by DeLon (watch it below), aimed at fellow Sri Lankan rapper M.I.A.. He mixed gruesome images with her popular song "Paper Planes" to get the point across that she was not a "freedom fighter", but in fact showing support for alleged terrorist group called the Tamil Tigers. M.I.A. responded, denying his accusations and claiming DeLon was just looking for publicity at her expense.

M.I.A. has continued to have an eventful life in the public spotlight since then, and DeLon (pictured above) is now just one of many on the long list of M.I.A. haters, but what has DeLon, who lives in Los Angeles, been up to for the past four years? Well, in addition to continuing his music career, which most recently included landing a spot on a tour with America's Got Talent artist Lindsey Stirling (I don't watch the show, so don't ask me who she is), DeLon has allegedly been dealing with "death threats and a vicious internet smear campaign aimed at destroying his reputation [that was] unleashed by Tiger supporters." Yeah, fun!

Now he says that campaign successfully cost him this latest tour. Today he announced that he was forced to quit the tour with Lindsey because "fans, sponsors and parents who took their kids to his concert were a Google search away from believing he was a criminal." In order to help clear his name, he has posted what looks like a letter from Sri Lanka Consul General Dr. Hector Weerasinghe in Los Angeles, which says DeLon is innocent of any crimes and backs up the allegations that "tactics" are being "used to vilify his character and sabotage his endeavors for peace". But now DeLon plans to take it even further and use his time off to work on scrubbing the dirt off the internet.

Check out a "news report" on YouTube that claims DeLon is a child predator, the original M.I.A. diss video, a video statement posted by DeLon today, and his full press release, below...

Continue reading "Sri Lankan rapper DeLon still suffering consequences of speaking out against M.I.A. & the Tamil Tigers"

As we were saying, original Cro-Mags member Harley Flanagan told website NYNatives that he was acting in self defense when two members of his old band were injured by him at Webster Hall on July 6th. NYNatives since posted Harley's entire statement...

"According to Harley, he was invited to the dressing room back stage and instead of being welcomed as he expected he was jumped by a group of men. "When I saw that door get pulled shut I was literally fighting for my life. I was afraid these guys were going to kick me half to death, roll me down the back steps and that no one would see it... and there would be no witnesses and that would be that....and all I could think about was getting home safe to my kids...I wanted to save my life, to protect myself and these guys were trying to do me in."

Continue reading "Harley Flanagan says he was invited to Webster Hall & jumped; John Joseph issues statement, says he's a liar"

by BBG

Nas at Rock The Bells (more by Dana (distortion) Yavin)

Cue sad trombone...

The next time you buy a Nas album, you're really just handing your money over to the government -- because the rapper's delinquent tax filings have caused Uncle Sam to begin garnishing his wages... Nas is in tax debt up to his eyeballs ... if his eyeballs were $6,000,000 tall.

So the government has finally tired of waiting for Nas to pay up, so they filed documents in the state of Georgia to have his wages garnished -- via the music publishing organizations BMI and ASCAP -- until the debt is paid off. -[TMZ]

Nas did show up for SXSW this year though, and spoke to a VEVO interviewer in the process. Watch that talk below...

Continue reading "Nas's wages garnished by the IRS"

by BBG

Aaron Kenyon with a current project, Djam Karet

Aaron Kenyon, a founding member of Man is The Bastard, has weighed in on the controversial appropriation of the iconic skull logo by Akron/Family, and his views differ from that of his ex-bandmates. Check out Kenyon's statement below.

If you missed it, Man is the Bastard member Eric Wood initially made his thoughts known via Facebook which in turn led to ex-member Israel Lawrence weighing in and a public response from Akron/Family as well.

--

In semi-related news, Disney will no longer carry a highly-controversial t-shirt that molds the iconic Joy Division Unknown Pleasures album cover into a Mickey Mouse silhouette. Band members fell on both sides of the fence on this issue, with Peter Hook commenting to the LA Times that it was "flattering" and drummer Stephen Morris commenting that it was "horrible" and he was "quite angry".

Aaron Kenyon's statement on Man in the Bastard, below..

Continue reading "today in shirts: Disney stops carrying Joy Division design; another ex-Man is The Bastard member weighs in on Akron/Family issue"

by BBG

Bastard Noise at Maryland Deathfest (more by BBG)

Isreal Lawrence of ex-Man Is The Bastard fame is in contact with Akron/Family regarding the logo issue and is writing about it publicly in a MiTB open group on Facebook. Though Akron/Family has thus far chose to not make a public statement, in a note to Lawrence, A/F bassist Miles admits that his band "clearly 'stole'" the logo as well as the Crass circle, but that it was a tribute (which Lawrence admits did occur to him). Lawrence seems to understand, but suggests Akron/Family stop avoiding the issue publicly. Read it all below.

In possibly more important news, The Bastard Noise have shared a split with Actuary, one of a few Pro-Noise releases currently available at their bandcamp. Stream that below and download them for free at their site.

Continue reading "Akron/Family bassist says MITB skull use was a tribute; Israel Lawrence suggests they make a public statement UPDATED"

by BBG

Dropdead at Europa (more by Keith Marlowe)

Chaos in Tejas have announced another round of bands for their 2012 shindig (first round here), including rare appearances from legendary post-hardcore band Moss Icon (a one-time only reunion), as well as Japan's Reality Crisis and Skizophrenia (their only US dates), and repeat offenders/favorites like Dropdead, Municipal Waste, Midnight, Ares Kingdom, Puerto Rico Flowers, Xeno & Oaklander, Thou, the Rival Mob, Boston Strangler, Crazy Spirit, Brain Killer, Power Trip, Wiccans (who just played one of the final shows at Emo's), and many many others. A full list of additions and the new flyer is below.

Since the original announcement, two previously announced bands have dropped off the original lineup: Mexican black metal band Nyogthaeblisz disappeared from the lineup after their anti-Islamic/Semitic/Abrahamic stance and involvement in known NSBM (National Socialist) label Satanic Skinhead was pointed out by a few blogs. That led to Antisect and The Mob even threatening to not play. Word then spread that Disma's Craig Pillard released nazi-glorifying records under the name Sturmfuhrer. Disma then dropped out as well due to "the drama" that ensued. Craig would not comment on the matter, but other members of Disma say he has changed.

In related news, Thou will hit the road for a string of dates with The Body this week on the West Coast. Both bands will also be at the inaugural Gilead Media festival (chaired by the Gilead Media label) in Oshkosh, Wi on 4/28 and 4/29 which will feature appearances from (in alphabetical order) Arms Aloft, Aseethe, Ash Borer, Baby Boy, Darger + Plague Mother, False, Fell Voices, Get Rad, Hell, Loss, Mutilation Rites, Northless, Protestant, A Scanner Darkly, and Sleepwalker. More details are available at the site.

All tour dates, new additions to Chaos in Tejas, and the show flyer is all below.

Continue reading "Chaos in Tejas adds bands & loses some due to controversy; Gilead Media launches festival"

Odd Future at Highline Ballroom (more by Brook Bobbins)

Notorious Chicago music journalist Jim DeRogatis writes...

When some 20,000 concertgoers arrive at Union Park on July 16 in the middle of this summer's Pitchfork Music Festival, they'll be greeted by members of several Chicago groups dedicated to raising awareness about domestic violence, sexual assault, and violence against gays, protesting that day's booking of controversial rappers Odd Future

This blog [at WBEZ] first asked the question "Pitchfork & Odd Future: Endorsing rape or showcasing art?" in a post on May 2nd that featured extensive comments from festival and Web site honchos Ryan Schreiber and Chris Kaskie, who defended the booking. The interview generated considerable comment here and elsewhere, from people disgusted by the hateful lyrics from the much-buzzed underground rappers dedicated to shock and outrage, as well as from their fans and boosters.

However, Pitchfork rejected a request by Rape Victims Advocates for space inside the fest to present their views, saying that all of the booths for non-profit organizations already had been assigned. And this blog still is waiting for comments from the most notable female performers sharing the weekend's bill with Odd Future: Merrill Garbus of tune-yArDs, Neko Case, and electronica musician Ema.

Yesterday, Between Friends, a nonprofit agency with a 25-year history "dedicated to breaking the cycle of domestic violence and building a community free of abuse" announced that it will be taking to the West Side streets around Union Park, handing out 5,000 cardboard fans "with a powerful message about violence against women and resources listed on them" resulting in "a sea of fans cooling down concertgoers while hopefully getting them discussing the issue and knowing where to turn for help."

The group, which presents educational programs at schools and community centers, frequently makes use of music to illustrate the plague of violence against women--witness its video below juxtaposing Rihanna and Odd Future hero and progenitor Eminem--and some of its leaders regularly attend the Pitchfork Festival, which usually takes pains to be the most socially conscious and community-oriented of Chicago's big musical celebrations. Pitchfork booking Odd Future is not unlike Whole Foods deciding to sell fried Twinkies, factory-bred chicken, and tuna with 10 times the mercury content.

"It's contrary to what they stand for," said Between Friends Programs Director Yesenia Maldonado. "We do respect the fact that they have the right to have the music that they feel people are interested in at their fest. But we'd like to make sure that they have the resources available while they're there. This is a huge venue and we really want for people who haven't heard these shocking lyrics--maybe they're coming for another band and this is the first time they'll be hearing [Odd Future]--we want to make sure that we let them know that this is something that we're taking notice of, and we really want to get the other view out there as much as possible."" -[Jim DeRogatis]

Continue reading "Domestic violence groups protesting Odd Future @ Pitchfork Fest (which released its schedule)"

photos by Chris La Putt

"... So we met with Sean in private and asked him nicely to sort this chick out and only deal directly with us like we had been doing up to this point.Sean told us that his boss is a bit psycho and that he is bound by the contract he signed and that there's not much he can do about her lies to the press.At this point, we decided to just let it all be and not make a big scene.We were kind of let down that Sean didn't have enough of a spine to stick up for his 'friends' but we also thought, "Fokkit, let's just carry on making new shit...whatever."

However when we heard last night that Sean's boss had told the Guggenheim museum that her new up and coming director was the mastermind behind DIE ANTWOORD we kind of lost it.Sometimes enough is enough.

With all this said, Sean is fuckin talented and a sweetheart, but in life it's good to keep it real, tell the truth, and stick up for your friends.

This is why we say, "A fake friend is worse than a wild animal because wild animal can harm your body but a fake friend can harm your mind."

And that's why we also say "Love all but trust no-one."...
[Die Antwoord]

Die Antwoord made a last minute move from being opener for Deadmau5 at Roseland to instead headlining their own show at Gramercy Theatre in NYC last night (Friday, 10/29). The Knocks ended up opening the show, and Die Antwoord played 12 songs as you can see on the setlist which is with the rest of the pictures, below...

Continue reading "Die Antwoord played Gramercy Theatre in NYC w/ the Knocks (pics & setlist), are controversially in the Guggenheim "

"new Showpaper cover's apparently scandalising the community. haha get over it, the back of VillageVoice or NYPress is ok, but not out front?" - Todd P

The above quoted tweet above doesn't flat out say what you'll find on the cover of the new issue of Showpaper, their 89th one-sheet, designed by artist Borden Capalino, but it gives a pretty good idea. For that image, which mimes the fairly explicit ads in many NYC weeklys (and brings to mind the fact that Craigslist recently removed its own 'adult services' ads), click below.

Showpaper will be running a gallery on 42nd Street through the end of December. It opens this Friday, October 8th, with DJ sets by Das Racist and International Tapes and solo music from The Beets' Juan Wauters. The installation will have art, DIY video games...

More info with the new cover art, below..

Continue reading "the scandalous new Showpaper "

August 8th Pool Party (more by Benjamin Lozovsky)

Jelly has responded to OSA's cancellation of the final Pool Party and accompanying press release. Read Jelly's response in full, below...

Continue reading "Jelly responds to OSA, says thanks to everyone else"

Murphy's Law on a Rocks Off boat in 2004 (more)

Rocks Off reports...

"It's with regret that due to unforeseen circumstances (aka pressure from local authorities who unfoundedly seem to think that our planned show will be a magnet for "violence"), tonights' Murphy's Law show has had to be cancelled. We appreciate it's very late in the day, however all tickets purchased through Ticketweb will automatically be refunded in full. If you bought from a physical outlet you will need to go there for a refund, We apologise for the short notice. We at Rocks Off were really looking forward to this show, as well as last night's Cro Mags show that we also were forced to cancel, and hope we can find a way to make it up to you all soon." [Rocks Off]

Last night's cancellation was also a last minute surprise for the hundreds of people that planned on checking out, and undoubtedly having a safe time with, the Cro-Mags on a boat. The band, probably John Joseph, posted the following to Facebook afterwards:

"Scumbag rich fux in NYC
who don't want their chump rich people to have to go to their yacht
past our crew, greased the cops and had our show canceled. Well, the
fact that assholes didn't know how to act at the Murphy's Law boat show,
or the hip hop idiots stabbing people didnt help either! SORRY
...EVERYONE - see you in Philly Saturday"

So why the trouble all of a sudden? And what "hip hop idiots stabbing people" do the Cro-Mags mean? Well, apparently about a month ago there was a stabbing AFTER a boat cruise near the West Side Highway. It wasn't a Rocks Off boat, but it was violence happening in Manhattan that was at least in a small part related to entertainment on a boat. That caused cops to be on alert, and Rocks Off felt it hard when about a zillion cops showed up to their Peter Rosenberg Birthday Bash on July 21st (he's a Hot 97 DJ). The birthday party, which was a Pete Rock & DJ Premier show, left the dock an hour late after cops reportedly boarded and looked around. The boat was then tailed by police who were also waiting for the boat when it got back to shore. Nobody was arrested or making any trouble though (except the cops!).

Now this. No other boats are affected at the moment (like Tao Seeger tonight for instance). Hopefully no more are either.

UPDATE, GOOD NEWS:

!! VENUE CHANGE !!
The Murphys Law | Jimmy G's B-Day show tonight is NOT CANCELED but is relocated to a new venue!!! The annual boat trip was canceled and this great yearly event is now happening at Brauer Falls located at 245 Grand St in Brooklyn (across the street from Trash Bar) at 10pm.
Please spread the word and join the party!!!

Total Slacker @ St James Church (more by Vincent Cornelli)

CatholicVoteAction.Org, Culture War Notes, and Aufer A Nobis all have posts claiming "abomination", "sacrilege" and "desecration" at St James Church on Friday, 1/15. They're referring to the Real Estate, Beach Fossils, The Beets, The Tony Castles & Total Slacker show (that Curren$y was also a special guest at). Videos from the event below...

Continue reading "religious sites claiming St. James Church was 'desecrated'"

photos by Tim Griffin

HR of Bad Brains / security on stage during Bad Brains

"...At this point, Bad Brains were playing, and it was clear more trouble was in store, when some guy in some sort of medeival doungeon master getup tried to crowd surf during "Attitude," which inspired the security to storm the stage twelve or so deep, evacuate the Bad Brains, and stand like some sort of musclehead Stonehenge along the end of the stage, while their leader informed everyone, "This is not a concert, this is a party. Have a seat." Of course, the floor was covered in horrible grime and broken glass, but whatever.

Poor Bad Brains. Or is it? With all due respect to these legends of hardcore and reformed homophobes, I don't know if I can ever recall a more phoned-in performance in all my life. This should come as no surprise, based on the ubiquity of weed stench emenating from their dressing room, and the equally ever-present site of all-time-greatest-hardcore-singer front-runner HR sitting motionless on a couch (seriously - this hardcore legend did not move an inch during the whole evening!). I mean, whatever floats yr boat, HR, more power to you, but for this Greatest Hardcore Band Ever to get onstage and have their singer remain motionless in body and completely monotone in voice... I dunno, it is just not how I imagined it might be. Disappointing at best.

Well, this whole scene was fucked, clearly, and my ladyfriend was getting more and more disturbed by the assholery on display (or sexual harassment, as she would call it, and perhaps rightly so) and the constant picture-taking by stangers, that she had to go home and try and live like a reasonable person. I wish I could have followed her, but as will become a theme throughout this sad tale, I really needed the money. So, I escorted her out of the building and out of the hellish nightmare that was this party, and I was glad to see her moving towards a more peaceful and decent evening..." [Patrick Stickles of Titus Andronicus]

He makes the whole night sound really horrible though - like really bad, which wasn't actually my own experience. I thought it was fun, though I wasn't kicked out. Security had a major presence, but what do you expect when you invite thousands of people to come drink for free in a giant warehouse in the middle of Williamsburg? My only discomfort was the bathroom lines. I almost peed my pants waiting for one of the porta potties!

Titus Andronicus performed as Weezer (a band that also played a Halloween show in NYC that night). They went on after Bad Brains (who played after Jesus Lizard) which was kind of weird because not that many people stuck around after the two headliners finished. Yes, HR of Bad Brains is a weirdo now and Bad Brains live are just kind of weird, but that's old news. Thanks to an enthusiastic crowd, the Bad Brains show was actually one of the craziest I can remember (security being weirdos for a minute aside). Read Patrick's whole rant HERE. More pictures from the show HERE. Watch some videos of the Bad Brains show, below...

Continue reading "Titus Andronicus didn't enjoy the Vice party"

by BBG

Skeletonwitch at Scion Rock Fest (more by Steven Brown)

Skeletonwitch must pretty much live in their van. Luckily that means that NYC has another SW date to look forward to, 11/14 at Union Pool with the incredamazing Black Anvil! Tickets are only $10 and currently on sale.

The Skeletonwitch show is one day of a "Blackened Weekend" from The Blackened Music Series, which also features the highly anticipated return of Krallice with Malkuth, Liturgy, and Orphan at Union Pool on 11/13, and the BV-sponsored Shrinebuilder/Rwake/Liturgy jawdropper at Le Poisson Rouge on 11/15 (tickets).

Liturgy is also playing with Malkuth at the previously discussed Mt Eerie / No Kids / Tara Jane O'Neil throwdown at Market Hotel on Halloween. Want to go? I HAVE A PAIR OF TICKETS AND A COPY OF Mt. Eerie's Wind Poems on LP for giveaway. Learn more at the bottom of this post.

Skeletonwitch recently dropped their new LP, Breathing The Fire and are currently on tour with Trap Them, Toxic Holocaust and The Black Dahlia Murder. That tour stirred up some controversy down south when they tried to play a Christian venue. Check out the news videos below along with a statement from Joel Grind of Toxic Holocaust, and all Skeletonwitch and Orphan tour dates, below....

Continue reading "Skeletonwitch show w/ Toxic Holocaust got some Christians upset -- 2009 tour dates, NYC shows & a Mt. Eerie contest"

"Fame Kills canned by Live Nation because tickets were not selling" -thehausofgaga

"@gagadaily creative differences!!!" - Laurieann Gibson

"Lady Gaga/Kanye West tour canceled due to "creative differences" (via Laurie Ann Gibson)" - thehouseofgaga

"Lady Gaga still appearing on SNL tomorrow to perform hits including "Paparazzi" and brand new single off The Fame Monster" - thehouseofgaga

"Lady Gaga said today that both she and Kanye West made the decision to cancel the "Fame Kills" tour, and that she will be embarking on her own headlining tour soon, while West plans to drop out of the spotlight.

"It was a mutual decision," Gaga said as she arrived for the Billboard Women in Music Event, where she is receiving this years Rising Star Award. "Kanye's going to take some time off. But the good news is that I'm going on tour in a few weeks." [Billboard]

Continue reading "Why was the Lady Gaga & Kanye West tour canceled?"

photos by Joseph Xu

"Damn homeboy in M83 has the weakest slap I have ever seen...inviting the crowd on stage is almost as stupid as stage diving to watered down synth-pop" - Jay Reatard

Anthony Gonzalez of M83 played a free NYC show at the WFC Winter Garden on July 14th. He then traveled to the Pitchfork Fest for a set on July 19th (which is where the photos here are from). On the way, Gonzalez had a bit of trouble at his show in Columbus, OH.

Moments before M83's set came to a finish, during closer "Couleurs", Kibby invited the mainly docile crowd on stage to "bring down the house together." While 30 or so accepted the invitation (including myself), and one concert-goer even went so far as to knock over the glass shield in front of Maurin, all three members remained unfazed and continued through their dynamic jam. Unfortunately, not everyone held those exact sentiments.

Production staff at the Wexner Center started breaking it up. Fans were ushered off stage, then abruptly pushed off, to which it became a screaming jamboree. Although the fans followed orders, Gonzalez was not happy. He wasn't having it. Because 30 seconds later, he waved fans on stage again, all in the name of dance. This time, however, production staff became angry, violent, and irate. Immediately, they pushed oncoming fans off the stage and stood at the front blockading people from jumping back up. This didn't sit well with Gonzalez, who blew up, yelling "Fuck you" into the microphone at the production staff for messing up their set, all while the two accompanying musicians continued playing. You can only imagine the musical genius at hand.

While one member of their touring staff tried to quell the argument, it was too late. Gonzalez left his post and confronted the production manager for the venue head on, hitting him violently with the open palm of his left hand. The crowd, which continued dancing, appeared stunned as well. Strangers turned awestruck to their neighbors as if to say, "Did you see that?". What's more (and kind of, um, bad ass), the band actually finished its song, and Gonzalez jumped into the excited crowd, who threw him up jubilantly. Soon after, M83 exited and the fans dispersed, knowing they not only saw a great show, but saw their newfound hero (Gonzalez) kick ass in their name.[Consequence of Sound]

That apology, a video of the event and Gonzalez discussing it the next day at Pitchfork (as the Thermals play in the background), with more pictures from Pitchfork, below...

Continue reading "Anthony Gonzalez (M83) slapped security (video), apologized (letter) +++ he played the WFC in NYC & Pitchfork (pics)"

" [Dios member] Morales says that, even after the [2004] letter, he was still opposed to changing the band name [from Dios to something else], but went with Dios (Malos) after a long, arduous process in which Dio's lawyers shot down many proposed alternatives. "I thought we should've used the silliness of the whole thing to get our name out more, maybe not even change the name at all and let him sue us," says Morales. "It would've been hilarious and would've been a good story. But there were too many [wimps] in Camp Dios at the time, so no one wanted to go to war with me."

With a new record label, Buddyhead, supporting them, Dios is back to their original one-word name, boldly announced in the title of their new album, 'We Are Dios,' which drops in late July." [Spinner]

It's come to our attention that at last night's Strength in Numbers showcase at Shea Stadium, the show's organizers refused to let in badge-holders. First and foremost, we sincerely apologize to anyone who was turned away-you spent good money on a badge that we said would grant you admission to this show, and we feel terrible about it.

That said, we would also like to point out that if we're guilty of anything here, it was deciding to partner with an organization that would go back on its word in order to carry out what seems to be little more than a publicity stunt. For every copy of this flyer they distributed last night, we have an email from them stating in no uncertain terms, and with lots of exclamation points even, how thrilled they were to be a part of the Northside Festival.

We have a lot of work to do and a lot of music to see, so we don't want to dwell on this for too long. It's worth noting, though, that in orchestrating this stunt, which was meant to call attention to what they perceive as injustice, Strength in Numbers failed to realize that the only impact it would have was essentially to take money out of the pockets of people who support the work they do and the artists they love.

We apologize again, and hope that you enjoy the rest of the festival.

Sincerely,
The L Magazine & The Northside Festval.

The Great Pumpkin solves the mystery of why Northside Badge holders were not being let into Shea Stadium last night...

Last night was the first night of the North Side Festival. It started off really well with a great set by Ducktails at Cameo. We then headed over to Live at Shea Stadium to catch Marnie Stern and Magic Markers.

When we got to the show the guy at the door said that they were not accepting North Side Badges, and there was a sign saying that Marnie Stern canceled. He also handed me this flier...

Continue reading "no badges @ Shea Stadium last night because Strength in Numbers revolted against Northside Fest ++ Marnie Stern cancelled"

our deepest apologies to anyone who was expecting (respectively) to enjoy themselves at a dance show last night and instead felt the cold sting of a series of bullshit moves. The situation was unfortunately out of our hands but we greatly appreciate everyone who was looking forward to seeing us and especially to the people at Granada & C3 entertainment who worked with us empathetically amidst the long winded accusations. Though we can't change what CC apparently thinks of us and Granada, we at-least deserve an opportunity to defend our side of the story. Our explanation goes as follows:

Shortly after playing our set in Austin, Crystal Castles asked if they could use our guitar which we gladly agreed too. Shortly after the set the crew packed our gear and helped us load out. An FX pedal they used during their set was packed into our guitar cab (unbeknownst to us). Upon arriving back at my apartment we found it and immediately got ahold of their sound engineer offering to return it promptly. We were told to bring it to Dallas. The next day we arrive at the Granada in Dallas only to be asked to leave the premises by personal request of Crystal Castles via Tom Windish of Windish Agency. We handed the pedal to a sound guy and packed our shit without so much as an explanation for CC Party. Considering we were thrown out of the press pit during the show by their management, accused of mindfully drinking their booze, botching our guest list, and contentiously commenting this to our manager, the fact that they still have the nerve to accuse us of theft is flat out insulting. Do they truly think we'd stupid enough to compromise our reputation as a band, and ruin a rapport with a band we were initially honored to play with for a goofy FX pedal? Treating gigs like these flippantly is just something we don't do. That would be flat out moronic. We still have great admiration for Crystal Castles as artists and in all honesty they seemed very nice in Austin. But the lack of intervention to the arrogance of their management leaves me somewhat disappointed. Granada has already begun working out refunds and compensation. I commend their compassion for the fanbase they've built in Dallas. It's unfortunate that can't be said about the other party involved. I did a radio interview today explaining this shit storm (if things haven't already been made Crystal Clear) (MP3).

-Alan

Sounds like all "Alan" Palomo aka "VEGA" stole is someone's name.

Crystal Castles @ MHOW in Brooklyn (more by Ryan Muir)

Crystal Castles were supposed to play a show at the Granada Theater in Dallas last night (4/14). According to the band's manager:

"After witnessing the CC soundcheck, the owner of the club was afraid that CC would "blow up the soundsystem" and the show was cancelled, after three hours of arguing."

Continue reading "Crystal Castles (who cancelled last night) vs. Dallas, Texas "