by BBG

DROP OUT OF LIFE WITH BONG IN HAND......

BrooklynVegan: A lot of your US fans are wondering why [Sleep] aren't doing a US tour or even a show in San Francisco and NYC. Whats the reasoning? Is that mostly due to Chris?

Sleep's Matt Pike: I think the dude just wants to retire.... He lives up in the hills and he's got a lot going on... I don't think the rock lifestyle is really for him. Chris is really a "to himself" kind of guy... he's an awesome guy and an awesome drummer. But yeah, I don't think that's the lifestyle he wants... and me and Al... both of us are obviously lifers. But he still wanted to [reunited Sleep for shows in Europe] genuinely to wrap up what we started so long ago... and for our fans. I mean we played Jerusalem as Dopesmoker for a long time on tour, but people didn't even get into it until we broke up.

To continue our year-long celebrations of Ten Years of ATP we are thrilled to announce that All Tomorrow's Parties will return to Kutsher's Country Club, Monticello for it's third ATP New York festival over Labor Day weekend, running from Friday 3rd September - Sunday 5th September. Weekend and Day Tickets are available, with a Layaway Ticket option available. [ATP]

Al Cisneros of Sleep/Om recently played NYC as part of Shrinebuilder along with Rwake and Liturgy. Pics from that show are here. Matt Pike of Sleep also played NYC recently, as part of High On Fire. Dig on pics from that show here and here.

Another flyer, more info on this year's fest, and some videos from the Sleep reunion in the UK are below...

Continue reading "ATP NY 2010 tickets on sale - Sleep performing Holy Mountain! + Stooges confirmed & Mudhoney & the Scientists"

Former Velvet Underground members Lou Reed, Maureen Tucker and Doug Yule will make an extremely rare joint public appearance on Dec. 8 at the New York Public Library. The three will discuss the Velvet Underground's music and legacy with rock journalist David Fricke as part of the "LIVE from the NYPL" series.

The unprecedented reunion of the legendary New York band comes on the heels of the publication of "The Velvet Underground: New York Art," a new compendium of previously unseen photographs, poster and cover designs by Andy Warhol, Lou Reed's handwritten music and lyrics, underground press clippings and other reviews, flyers, handbills and posters. The book, published by famed Italian book house Rizzoli, contains a recorded conversation between Reed and Tucker as well as contributions from Vaclav Havel and Jon Savage.

The event will take place in New York City at the Celeste Bartos Forum in the NYPL's Stephen A. Schwarzman Building on 5th Ave. and 42nd St. General admission tickets are $25, and $15 tickets are available for library donors, students and seniors through the NYPL website. [Billboard]

The book that the library event is celebrating (The Velvet Underground: New York Art), is not the one pictured above. The pictured book is another new one (by music critic Jim Derogatis) called The Velvet Underground: An Illustrated History of a Walk on the Wild Side.

The Velvet Underground changed lineups many times. Notably missing from the library event are John Cale (alive and well) and Sterling Morrison (RIP). The band formed in 1965. Doug Yule replaced John Cale in 1968. Lou Reed left in 1970, and then the band didn't even break up until February of 1973. Drummer Maureen Tucker was in the band the longest (though technically she's not an original member - the very first drummer was Angus MacLise - RIP).

Lou Reed is playing (or maybe not actually playing) music at Columbia's Miller Theatre on Friday, February 5, 2010.

On October 30th, Lou Reed joined Metallica at the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame concert at MSG in NYC for a rendition of "Sweet Jane". It will be aired on TV Thanksgiving weekend, but you can watch audiences videos of it below. Metallica just returned for two headlining shows at the same venue the other day.

Moby performed "Take a Walk on the Wild Side" at a concert in Paris on November 13th. Video below.

One day later (11/14), Lou himself performed in Prague with the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Jirí Belohlavek. It was a concert in honor of the 20th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution (not to be confused with Lou's band with a similar name). Renee Fleming joined Lou for a beautiful and operatic version of "Perfect Day". Suzanne Vega also performed at that show. Check those videos out below too...

Continue reading "3 Velvet Underground members reuniting in a NYC library, Lou Reed played w/ Renée Fleming (video) + 2 new VU books "

by Bill Pearis

Field Music

Sunderland, UK's indie-prog-pop band Field Music are back from a two-year hiatus, with a new line-up and a new LP, Field Music (Measure), due out in February. Before that, Field Music will play The Bell House on December 3 -- their first NYC show since March 2007. Tickets are still on sale. Still anchored around brothers Peter and David Brewis, Field Music are now a quartet, with two new members replacing keyboardist Andrew Moore who is training to be a professional chef.

During their hibernation, both Brewis had high concept solo projects: David recorded under the name School of Language, an almost clinical exploration of phonetics; and Peter made the excellent The Week That Was, a concept album about the news media that was equally influenced by Paul Auster and '80s Trevor Horn production style. David played drums with The Week That was, so it's not like the Brewis brothers had that much time apart. And judging from the new two tracks they've offered up as a free download (after giving them your email address), Peter and David are still doing their own thing, just now under one roof. David's "Each Time is a New Time" starts off with a almost Southern-fried boogie rock riff before being worked into a more familiar baroque/prog vibe, and Peter's string-laden "Measure" at least sonically sounds like a Week That Was track.

Pulsars

The Bell House show is one of two U.S. dates Field Music are playing (the other being Dec. 5 in Chicago), and is actually a birthday party for Skippy who books the club (and Union Hall). The whole night is kind of awesome. In addition to Field Music, he talked '90s synth pop act Pulsars into reforming just for this show. The Pulsars (brothers Dave and Harry Trumfio) were kind of a big deal for a hot moment in the mid-'90s, one of the first bands signed to Herb Albert and Jerry Moss' Almo Sounds label who released their debut album in 1997. The band got sidelined when Dave Trumfio's production work became sought-after, leaving the Pulsars' second album sitting on the shelf, near-finished. The Trumfios are still talking about finishing it, and are also now recording under a new name, Our Future.

Also playing are Baltimore's terrific Wye Oak who are one of my favorite live bands of the last few years. Their second album, The Knot, was a bit of a grower, replacing some of their more obvious poppier moments with a warm hypnotic drone. It's a lovely record. The Brooklyn show is one of four December dates for them. They're all listed below.

There's a fourth act on the Bell House bill, cryptically listed as "Rumours." I've heard no, uh, rumors, as to who it might be but given Skippy's soft rock proclivities I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out to be a Fleetwood Mac cover band or something. But that is 100% speculation.

The Bell House is pretty rockin' all December longer. In addition to Skippy's birthday bash, Sloan play the very next night (December 4), and That Petrol Emotion their first NYC show in 15 years on December 12. There's also the fourth annual Blip Festival which happens December 17 - 19.

Videos and applicable tour dates below...

Continue reading "Pulsars reuniting for one Brooklyn show w/ Field Music, Wye Oak & "Rumours" (++ other tour dates & stuff) "

...," the Sasquatch! Festival returns for its ninth year May 29-31 (Memorial Day Weekend), 2010 at The Gorge in Quincy, WA. For the first time, a special discounted 3-day festival pass will be available in time for the holiday gift season on Saturday, November 7 at 10:00 A.M. (PST) via sasquatchfestival.com. There are a limited number of discount passes, which will be available through December 31, 2009. Recently reunited indie rock legends Pavement will be performing. The festival's complete lineup will be announced February 16.

Other rumored U.S. appearances are Coachella and the Pitchfork Festival. Meanwhile Pavement member Spiral Stairs just released a new album. The new Spiral Stairs video, and all Pavement dates, and who Pavement has picked to play their sold out ATP fest so far, below...

Continue reading "Pavement playing Sasquatch Festival (and at least 17 other 2010 shows so far - Primavera, ATP & more)"

by BBG

Split Lip LIVE 5/2/09

Split Lip is responsible for the Midwestern emo-core sound, together with bands like Endpoint, and a group they inspired, The Get Up Kids. After gaining acclaim in the small international hardcore community for their debut album, the band switched gears to more country-leaning pop rock... and changed the name of their band to Chamberlain, re-releasing their second album (Fate's Got A Driver) under the new moniker.

In late 1995, the band again returned to Detroit to record "Fate's Got A Driver" It was this record that set the gold-standard for emo-core. The intricate guitar work and soulful emotive lyrics laid the foundation for bands to come, such as The Get Up Kids. The summer of 95 saw the band hit the road again, this time with Ohio's Colossus of the Fall, and DC's Samuel. It was during this month-long outing that the decision came to change the name, and direction of the band. Moore and Rubenstein returned to the studio in late 1995 and re-recorded the vocals and re-mixed the album, and Chamberlain was born. -[Wiki]

Continue reading "Split Lip / Chamberlain playing NYC reunion show"

by Black Bubblegum

Pioneering Washington, D.C.-based rock band Jawbox will make its first appearance of any kind in 12 years when it performs Dec. 8 on NBC's "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon."

For now, there are no concrete plans for additional shows from Jawbox, who along with Fugazi and Shudder To Think was the third pillar of the hugely influential DC hardcore scene in the early 1990s....

As a precursor to the "Late Night" performance, Jawbox will on Nov. 23 reissue its 1994 major-label debut, "For Your Own Special Sweetheart," on Coletta and Barbot's own Desoto Records label, complete with the three bonus tracks from the "Savory +3" EP: "68,""L'il Shaver" and a cover of the Big Boys' "Sound on Sound." [Billboard]

Continue reading "Jawbox reuniting... for Jimmy Fallon TV appearance"

photos by Lori Baily

LA Record (via): When Teenage Jesus and the Jerks played in New York City last year, it was always set up as a one-shot deal. Yet here we are.

Lydia Lunch (vocals/guitar): I never thought I would have done reunions--it's ridiculous to me. It's Thurston Moore that's to be blamed with his no wave book that he put out last year. A few months before it was coming out he was actually in Barcelona on my couch and he turned to me and said, 'Well, what about a Teenage Jesus reunion?' I said, 'What about the fact that they're all dead except for Sclavunos? Are you ready to take the wrath of the wire coat hanger and play bass?' And he jumped up and down and said, 'Yes!' So that's how Teenage Jesus got together in the beginning. He decided he'd go under the coat hanger so we did the New York show and then we developed All Tomorrow's Parties. I guess the final nail in the coffin for the next couple of shows was based in the fact that in Montreal there's something called a Pop Symposium--they invited me last year with my multimedia thing and then they got the snifter of Teenage Jesus and they were so kind and I said, 'Well, I'm not going all the way to the States for one fucking show--I don't even want to come there for five shows!' Also the fact that I knew Thurston couldn't do it and so my favorite bass player in the world must be Algis Kizys from the Swans and he's doing it. This is what you get in L.A.--Jim Sclavunos, the original bass player, now on drums and Algis Kizys from Swans on bass--how could I say no? Mostly to me, it's kind of ridiculous. It's absurdist and I've always been absurd anyway. I've always considered myself a Dadaist and it's the most Dada fucking music, and it must be the most Dada idea that 30 years later we're doing this. One of the reasons is there is still not enough women playing ugly fucking music as a counter to all these pop princesses.

One night later Lydia Lunch joined JG Thirwell and a bunch of pop princesses for a benefit show at Carnegie Hall.

One night earlier (Friday), Pissed Jeans headlined WFMU Fest. Faust were the night before that (Thursday). More pictures from Saturday, below...

Continue reading "Teenage Jesus & The Jerks played (ugly music at) the WFMU Fest @ MHOW (blame Thurston Moore) - pics"

The Cranberries: hot or not?

Foreigner plays Nokia Theatre in NYC tonight (10/2).

America plays Nokia Theatre on October 16th. Tickets are on sale.

It's a two day pre-Halloween smoke fest. Snoop Dogg is at Nokia on October 29th (tickets). Cypress Hill is there one day later (tickets).

Speaking of industrial, Skinny Puppy plays Nokia on November 17th. Tickets are on sale.

And last but not least (I think, maybe), what's in your head, The Cranberries have reunited for a tour, zombie, zombie, and are playing Nokia Theatre on November 18th. Tickets are currently on AmEx presale, and go on general sale at noon today (10/2). Oh, Oh, Oh, all dates below...

Continue reading "The Cranberries (reunited), America, Skinny Puppy, other tix"

by Bill Pearis

Frankie Rose is mainly known as a drummer, having played in Vivian Girls, Crystal Stilts, and Dum Dum Girls, but she's also a songwriter (she wrote VG's "Where Do You Run To?") and will be releasing her debut single, "Thee Only One," on Slumberland Records on October 27. She's also got a new band, Frankie and the Outs, who will make their live debut November 7th at The Woodser which will be the first show in a longtime for that South Williamsburg spot. Grass Widow is also on that bill.

With the new band, Frankie is sadly no longer drumming for Crystal Stilts. The split was amicable, guitarist JB plays guitar on her single. I'm told Crystal Stilts have a new drummer already, and the new Stilts lineup will even share a bill with Frankie and the Outs at two east coast Slumberland 20th Anniversary parties -- November 13th at the Black Cat and November 14 at the Bell House. (More on those further down the post.)

The Outs are a five piece, all girls, with whom Frankie will move from the drum kit to guitar (and vocals). The single's A-side is a two-and-a-half minute wall-of-sound pop that is what you might expect from someone who spent time in Vivian Girls and Crystal Stilts. (It could be the sister of CS's "Love is a Wave.") The B-side, "Hollow Life," is more unexpected -- organ-driven, harmony-laden, dreamy and drum-free, owing a lot to Spacemen 3.

Neither the A-side or the B-side of Frankie Rose's single has made it onto her MySpace page, but you can listen to her demo of "Where Do You Run To," a track the Vivian Girls only played once live. However, Frankie says it will be part of the The Outs live repertoire.

Frankie will be behind the drum kit, though, for the Dum Dum Girls upcoming CMJ shows. This will be an all-girl line-up, apparently, unlike DDG's live debut at the Woodsist/Captured Tracks Festival this summer that included Crocodiles' Brandon Welchez on guitar and Captured Tracks major domo Mike Sniper on bass. But that's only for these shows.

As mentioned above, Frankie and the Outs will play the two Slumberland Records 20th Anniversary shows at the Bell House and Black Cat. The full line-up for both shows is : Crystal Stilts, Brown Recluse, Pants Yell!, Frankie and the Outs; plus some reunions of classic Slumberland bands The Ropers, Nord Express, and Lorelei. It will be the first Ropers and Nord Express shows in ten years. Additionally, the Bell House show features a "special guest headliner." And as D.C. was the original home of the label, I wouldn't be surprised if some different special guests played that one too.

I think that is enough for one post. Tour dates and some videos below...

Continue reading "Frankie Rose leaves Crystal Stilts, starts band, playing Slumberland Anniversary parties - full lineups & MUCH MORE "

photos by Kurt Christensen

"...Sunny Day Real Estate about to take stage at Terminal 5. Been waiting 10 years for this show." - Kevin Vasconcellos

"terminal 5 with my favorite season. never heard of sunny day real estate but they're pretty decent." - Dan Colonna

"...last nights Sunny Day Real Estate show at Terminal 5? Most amazing show I've been to in ages" - soynutz7

"The band was flawless and all the hits from both "Diary" and "LP2" were represented with amazing tenacity and one of the best sets I have seen in recent years. After they played the new song from the set, I yelled "10 more". Interesting note as of course I was wearing my Washed Up Emo logo shirt and at one point Jeremy looks up at the 2nd level and he squints, what feels like reads my shirt then laughs as he starts back into a verse. Was there a giant blow up of Pete Wentz's ego? Not sure but my point had been made, the crowd was washed up and old but we are here Sunny Day Real Estate and we aren't going away.
After a pleasant turn of events, I got to meet all the members of the band and some quality time was had. In those moments I learned and will share with some that will be helpful for this blog and hope you find exciting.

- They consider emo a bad word and use it as an insult.
- Possible recording of a new album is a GOOD possibility when they get back from tour.
- They wanted to end with "Days Were Golden" as on the "How it Feels Tour..." but no dice.
- Dan from SDRE heard me yell "10 more" and agrees with me that the vibe is so good now it could happen!
- Dan also approves of WashedUpEmo.com and wants it to continue for its good work on education on his band and others like it.

Nuff said, I pretty much take that as if President Obama said it to me. I take your challenge Mr. Dan (was in Dashboard Confessional for a hot minute) Hoerner and will continue my fight against all that has been ruined with this genre, all that has been put in neon lights, tight pants and keyboards.

Take back the loud/soft dynamic, take back the screaming and heartfelt lyrics and TAKE BACK what is rightfully ours. Sunny Day Real Estate are back and God help me but I think we are making progress." [WashedUpEmo.com]

Continue reading "Sunny Day Real Estate played Terminal 5 in NYC w/ The Jealous Sound - pics, video & setlist"

by Black Bubblegum

Charles Maggio of Rorschach

June 1993 at ABC No Rio with Assuck & Scrog.

That's the last time that the mighty Rorschach blessed NYC. The band called it quits shortly after, splintering into projects like Gern Blandsten Records, Beautiful Skin, Deadguy, Kiss It Goodbye, and tons more, but those great successes only highlighted an undeniable fact: Rorschach were innovative and before their time.

After deciding to reunite earlier this year in honor of the 20th anniversary of the Remain Sedate LP, Rorschach announced a short east coast tour. The band is currently in the midst of that tour, which impacts Asbury Park in their native New Jersey tonight (9/24) and Santos Party House TOMORROW (9/25, tix here).

We spoke with the mighty Charles Maggio (Vocals, owner Gern Blandsten Records) to get to the bottom of the reunion and what we can expect going forward....

Continue reading "an interview w/ Charles Maggio of Rorschach (who are in the middle of their short run of reunion dates)"

'Please be advised this tour is not a prelude to additional jaunts and/or a permanent reunion.'

After years of speculation, the most important American band of the Nineties is returning to the stage with the lineup of Mark Ibold, Scott "Spiral Stairs" Kannberg, Stephen Malkmus, Bob Nastanovich and Steve West reuniting for dates around the world in 2010. Please be advised this tour is not a prelude to additional jaunts and/or a permanent reunion.

Described in their own Wikipedia entry as having experienced "moderate commercial success," Pavement's catalog for the Matador, Domino, Drag City and Treble Kicker imprints has come to define in the eyes of many the blueprint for independent rock over the past generation. An evidentiary compilation release is planned to coincide with the touring sometime in 2010.

The first show announced is a New York performance on September 21, 2010 at Rumsey Playfield in Central Park. A pre-sale begins at 10:00 AM EDT on Friday, September 18, 2009 (tomorrow). The password for the pre-sale is ZOWEE and the ticketing link is here. The general on-sale is slated for 10:00 AM EDT on Friday, September 25, 2009. Please note that tickets will be available without surcharges from the Nokia Theatre box office in Times Square and from Earwax at 218 Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg.

Please visit www.crookedrain.com for details on this on-sale as well as all Pavement news as it develops

PREVIOUSLY: Pavement reunion double confirmed w/ exact NYC date

"After years of "Pavement to Reunite?" headlines here on Pitchfork, we were a bit wary of yet another reunion report on BrooklynVegan last night. But shit, this one really seems to be legit.

According to a source who is real and official and not a figment of our imagination, Pavement will perform a benefit show at Central Park SummerStage on September 21, 2010. Mark your motherfucking calendars." [Pitchfork]

"Pavement embarked on a six month world tour in support of [Terror Twilight], during which time relationships within the group frayed, especially between Malkmus and the other members of the band. Steve West later recalled times on the tour bus where the singer would put his coat over his head, refuse to speak to anyone, and call himself "The Little Bitch". Critics noted that their setlist had started to include a number of their early songs, much like a band playing their greatest hits on a farewell tour. The lead singer's attitude continued to deteriorate as the tour wore on, finally coming to a head during their slot at the 1999 Coachella Festival. During the concert, Malkmus refused (or was possibly unable, due to illness) to sing, effectively turning their set into a mostly instrumental one. Nastanovich called a band meeting after the show, and Malkmus finally confided to his band-mates: "I just don't want to do this anymore."

The group's final concert together was at Brixton Academy in London on November 20, 1999. During the concert, Malkmus had a pair of handcuffs attatched to his microphone stand, and at one point told that audience, "These symbolize what it's like being in a band all these years." After the concert, he confirmed to people at the after-party that Pavement was now done "for the foreseeable future." About two weeks later, a spokesperson for Domino records told NME: "Pavement are retiring for the forseeable future to: 1. Start families 2. Sail around the world 3. Get into the computer industry 4. Dance 5. Get some attention."

In the summer of 2000, Malkmus called Kannberg and told him, "You need to change the website to say we aren't a band anymore. People keep asking me if we're breaking up and you know we're not a band anymore, right?" Kannberg told the singer that he needed to call the other members of the band to inform them that the band was finally breaking up, but Malkmus refused and Kannberg was left with the task of informing them. Steve West later admitted that he never received any official call about the breakup from anyone in the band, and discovered that Pavement had dissolved via the internet. Nastanovich later commented that "There was too much exhaustion for heavy emotion." [Wikipedia]

According to reliable sources, it's finally happening in 2010! There will be multiple, possibly four, nights of shows at NYC's Central Park Summerstage in September of that year. That could be part of a tour. That could be the end of a tour, the middle of a tour, or even the beginning of a tour, but it seems reasonable to speculate that they might make their official comeback at Coachella in April.

It's also time to start guessing who might be the big curator of September 2010's ATP NY festival (the job Flaming Lips had this year, and My Bloody Valentine the year before that). Might as well put Pavement high on the list of possibilities for that too.

Continue reading "the Pavement reunion is on - multiple nights @ Central Park Summerstage in 2010 + a tour? + Coachella? + ATP?"

photos by Ryan Muir

Make Major Moves: When we've talked in the past, I remember you saying that there was no way the Jesus Lizard would ever reunite -- mostly because you didn't think [drummer] Mac [McNeilly] would do it. And you said the same thing about Scratch Acid, and then Scratch Acid did that little reunion in '06...

David Yow: Well, I think that doing the Scratch Acid thing helped me learn to quit saying never, because I used to say never all the time and I think that it's bitten me in the ass a few times and made me look kinda foolish. I'm not even certain how this came about. I guess [guitarist] Duane [Denison] had played with Mike Patton, and Mike was curating All Tomorrow's Parties in England and he asked Duane if we could get our shit together to play ATP. So there was e-mail going around and stuff...and Mac said he was into it, but there wasn't time from the point that Mac said okay until the ATP thing, so we just kinda blew it off. And then Touch & Go started talking about wanting to do these reissues [of the first four Jesus Lizard albums] with all this extra stuff and we thought, "Well, what the fuck? Okay, let's do some shows." And originally it was just gonna be like three or four shows and it's built up into a total of 35 or 40.

Continue reading "The Jesus Lizard @ ATP NY 2009 - pics "

"We'll see where we can go," 53-year-old Lydon told the Guardian. "Some things may be quite similar, some may not."

December 2009 sees the return of Public Image Limited for 5 very special live dates in the UK. Their first shows in 17 years.

The shows will mark the 30th Anniversary of the release of 'Metal Box' but PiL will NOT be limited to tracks from one album and the tour will showcase their whole career.

PiL founder John Lydon will be joined by former members Lu Edmonds (Guitar & Misc) and Bruce Smith (Drums), plus new recruit Scott Firth (Bass).

Continue reading "John Lydon reforming Public Image Ltd -- UK tour dates"

Rorschach are back. Tickets are on sale for New York (Santos) and Philly (First Unitarian Church). NJ (Asbury Lanes) is on Ticketweb too, but is either sold out or not on sale yet.

Sad news to report from the Detroit hip hop scene....

Titus (Baatin) Glover, the Detroit rapper who co-founded the much-acclaimed Slum Village, has died.

The circumstances of his death remain unknown, [but] ...Baatin's body was found [Saturday] morning in the 14000 block of Anglin Street, said family friend Ty Townson, who was at the scene as Baatin's body was taken to the Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office.

Glover's mother, Alberta Glover, said she didn't know anything about how her son died. She said she's waiting for the medical examiner to tell the family something either Sunday or Monday.... Funeral arrangements are not yet set.

Baatin, who turned 35 in March, left Slum Village in 2002, later telling the Free Press he had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. He continued to record and play occasional solo dates before returning to the Slum fold for the group's upcoming album, Villa Manifesto, due Sept. 22. -[Detroit Free Press]

A memorial tribute was held Sunday night at 5 Elements Gallery in Detroit.

Videos below...

Continue reading "Baatin of Slum Village (recently reunited), RIP "

by Black Bubblegum

Rorschach-a-rockin'

According to the great folks at Prank Records, you now have the ability to mark a date on the calendar with respect to the impending Rorschach reunion.

"All original lineup, all original roadies, Jon Hiltz of Born Against on the sound board." September 23rd to the 27th. Details are Still being worked out, but so far it looks like this:

Continue reading "Rorschach reunion dates - 5 shows - Santos in NYC included"

Spent was an American Indie Rock band from Jersey City, New Jersey consisting of singer/guitarist John King, guitarist/occasional vocalist/keyboardist Annie Hayden, bassist/occasional vocalist Joe Weston and drummer Ed Radich.

Spent formed in the early 1990's in Jersey City, New Jersey. After releasing several EP's under various independent labels the band released their first full album. Songs of Drinking and Rebellion was released in March of 1995 on Merge Records, a indie label formed by Superchunk's Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance and a band that Spent toured with extensively throughout their career. In September of 1996 the band released an Ep entitled Umbrella Wars, which included a cover of Joe Walsh's A Life of Illusion. Umbrella Wars served as a teaser for their next album released a month later in October of 1996 entitled A Seat Beneath the Chairs. In 1997 John King joined Superchunk lead guitarist Joe Wilbur in a side project called Humidifier releasing the album Nothing Changes on Link Records. On July 21, 1997 the band officially split. In 1999 their last song "(I'll Clean Up) The Mess That You Are" appeared on the 10 year anniversary album of Merge Records called Oh, Merge. The band never received much attention outside of the 90's indie rock world. [Wiki]

Coco66 is killing it with the reunion booking lately. The Van Pelt just played a show there too.

Other bands playing XX Merge with upcoming NYC shows include Richard Buckner, The Clientele, Versus, Destroyer, Conor Oberst, Polvo, M Ward, and Mark Eitzel (as American Music Club).

Speaking of Mark Eitzel, his tour dates have actually been updated some since we last spoke. You can check them out below...

Continue reading "Spent playing NYC b4 XX Merge ++ updated Mark Eitzel dates "

Following a more than 10 year hiatus, all four original members of pioneering Seattle rock band Sunny Day Real Estate will regroup for a 20-date US tour starting Sept. 17th, 2009. In addition, Sub Pop Records will re-issue both Diary and the band's second full-length album, commonly known as LP2 (or "The Pink Album" for its entirely pink cover). Both re-mastered albums will include rare bonus tracks as well as newly written liner notes and will be released on both CD and LP Sept. 15, 2009, just prior to the start of the tour. [Sub Pop]

The tour includes a Sunday, September 27th show at NYC's Terminal 5. Tickets go on sale Friday, June 26th at noon. More info and all tour dates below...

Continue reading "Sunny Day Real Estate reunites! - 2009 tour dates & reissues "

The Breeders @ McCarren Park Pool, July 13 2008 (more by Ryan Muir)

Pixies played their first high-profile UK gig in nearly four years tonight (June 14), performing before Neil Young at the Isle Of Wight Festival.

Opening their Main Stage set with 'U-Mass', the band treated fans to an 80-minute greatest hits set.

Early on in the set, bassist Kim Deal remarked that she found the island "very pretty", before giggling into the microphone. [NME]

Doubtless you know/saw enough of the last reunion tour to be well aware the Pixies are still very, very good at playing Pixies songs, and a full review would be kind of gratuitous: they were frickin' awesome.

There's no word on any additional Pixies dates yet, though Frank Black has announced some solo Black Francis shows, and is touring with his Grand Duchy project this summer. That group plays NYC's Siren Fest on July 18th, with a show the night before in Hoboken. Updated tour dates (FB and GD) are below.

The Pixies' Kim Deal has shows this summer too, with The Breeders. They'll be at Sled Island Fest in Calgary this weekend (June 26th). The band's also announced several August tour dates. Those include NYC shows on August 18th and 19th at the Bowery Ballroom. Tickets for both nights go on presale Wednesday, June 24th at noon. General sale starts Friday at 11am.

Kim and Kelley Deal of the Breeders will lso be performing as part of The Long Count, a BAM commissioned project by the National's Bryce and Aaron Dessner. That premieres in Brooklyn in October.

Pixies set lists, with all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Breeders playing 2 NYC shows, Deals playing BAM, Pixies played 2 shows (setlist), Frank Black announced more dates"

photos by Ryan Muir, words by Black Bubblegum

More than ten years later, The Van Pelt returned to NYC, playing Brooklyn for the first time ever on June 13th as part of a show at Coco66 that the band curated for the Northside Fest.

There were a lot of people in Greenpoint feeling all '90s Saturday night when The Van Pelt reunited as part of the Northside Festival.

The strangest moment of the night happened during the anthemic closer "The Speeding Train" when a drunken Van Pelt enthusiast-turned-awkward dancer/mosher acted aggressively enough to start a fight in the crowd. All this while we were hearing about the beauty of the puppy's chin. Singer and occasional Take the Handle contributor Chris Leo quipped that the moshers had missed the Agnostic Front show. It made it feel even more '90s that there was some sort of debate going on about the ethics of moshing.

Regardless, the show was about as incredible as anyone who followed the band way back when could have asked for. It seemed like the band stuck more often to songs from Sultans of Sentiment, but this song, which served as the encore, comes from their first record Stealing From Our Favorite Thieves. It is called "Magic Fantasy (We Are Provincial)." -[Take The Handle]

You can also catch Van Pelt front-man Chris Leo (brother of Ted who was in the crowd at Coco 66 on Saturday) at a reading this Friday night, June 19th at Bar Matchless in Brooklyn. Check out an interview with Chris Leo at the site Vol.1 Brooklyn.

Catch Ted Leo at one of his two upcoming NJ shows, or at the free one he's playing on a pier in NYC this summer.

The Van Pelt's first show back was at SXSW, and also with Frodus. Frodus played two shows down in Austin, and recently played Brooklyn too.

More pictures and video from the Brooklyn reunion show, below...

Continue reading "The Van Pelt played Coco66 (pics) ++ more shows & a reading "

"Naked Raygun is a Chicago-based punk rock group. Initially active from 1980 to about 1992, Naked Raygun had several short-lived reunions afterwards and a full-time reformation in 2006." [Wikipedia]

Continue reading "Naked Raygun is bringing the reunion east for 5 shows! ----- (4 w/ Paint it Black) - 2009 Tour Dates"