photos by Jessica Amaya

Dum Dum Girls @ Cake Shop - 2/6/12

As hinted earlier and then 100% confirmed before showtime, Dum Dum Girls & Widowspeak layed Cake Shop last night (2/6) with The Babies, and Punks on Mars. It looked like both Widowspeak and Dum Dum Girls were sporting new bass players. Here are some pictures.

Three of the four bands (sans The Babies) will play again at Music Hall of Williamsburg tonight (2/7, tickets) and at Maxwell's on 2/11 (tickets). Both NYC-area shows are part of a larger tour for Dum Dum Girls/Widowspeak. All DDG dates, including the recently-announced Sasquatch, and more pictures from Cake Shop, below...

Continue reading "Dum Dum Girls & Widowspeak played a secret show @ Cake Shop w/ the Babies & Punks on Mars (pics) "

The Black Keys are releasing their new album El Camino via Nonesuch on 12/5 and will play a NYC show at a TBA venue on that same day. Stay tuned for more details and for the chance to win a pair of guaranteed entry tickets to the show (it might be free) right here on BrooklynVegan.

Meanwhile you can catch The Black Keys on Saturday Night Live this weekend (12/3) along with host Steve Buscemi, and you can stream five new songs at the band's site. They're also hitting Colbert (12/6) and Letterman (12/7) while in town.

this is the actual show flyer, and a screenshot of Little Shalimar's Facebook...

My first guess, based on multiple clues above, is The Phenomenal Handclap Band, though then I don't get what the secret is all about. Who do you think is playing with Little Shalimar and Tit n Twat at Union Pool tonight (7/12)?

UPDATE: Antibalas, who also plays Fort Greene Park today, makes much more sense (thanks Andrew)

The "special guest" playing Pianos Friday night with Selebrities is Puro Instinct whose tour with John Maus just brought them to both Glasslands and Mercury Lounge. Pics from Mercury Lounge are on the way, and we already talked about Glasslands (though briefly). If you missed it, Bill wrote:

" I caught [John Maus and Puro Instinct[ at Glasslands. Maus' show, which shouldn't work, does thanks to his dedication and intensity. A little goes a long way, though. (I really like the new album, I should say.) Puro Instict can really sing and play... better songs will come with time. They're young."

The Pianos show is a benefit for human trafficking survivors and advanced tickets are on sale. Slowdance, Yvette, Care Bears on Fire (even younger than Puro Instinct) and Blissed Out DJs are also on the bill.

Updated Puro Instinct tour dates, and a video they posted with a current Kickstarter campaign they have going, below...

Continue reading "Puro Instinct played Glasslands & Mercury Lounge, are the secret guest Friday night @ Pianos (updated dates)"

James Blake @ SXSW 2011 (more by Dominick Mastrangelo)

today in NYC
* Reggie Watts Radio Play
* Peter Garland @ The Stone
* Big Terrific @ Cameo Gallery
* Paul Simon @ Beacon Theatre
* Mandingo Ambassadors @ Barbes
* The Growlers, Ba Babes @ Maxwell's
* Vaz, Dead Rider, Bbigpigg @ Cake Shop
* The Steven Lugerner Septet @ Barbes
* James Blake DJ set @ Tammany Hall
* Yo La Tengo, The Baxx Sisis @ The Bell House
* James Blake, Active Child @ Bowery Ballroom
* Phosphorescent, Family Band @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Brenn, The Stationary Set @ Rockwood Music Hall
* Chris Thile, Michael Daves @ Rockwood Music Hall
* Deftones, Dillinger Escape Plan @ Starland Ballroom
* Velnias, Ruin Lust, Lonesummer, Ithi @ The Acheron
* Sleigh Bells, CSS, Mr. Dream, Seagull @ Webster Hall
* Princeton, High Highs, NewVillager, Ivana XL @ Glasslands
* Drop the Lime, Cubic Zirconia @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Malajube, Deleted Scenes, Pretty & Nice, Bozmo @ The Rock Shop
* Destruction, Heathen, Warbeast, No Remission @ Highline Ballroom
* Manchester Orchestra, Cage The Elephant, O'Brother @ Terminal 5
* New York Funk Exchange Rocks Off Concert Cruise on The Halfmoon
* Kill to Kill, Gross Relations, Raccoon Fighter, The Horehound @ Don Pedro
* D. Charles Speer & The Helix, Zachary Cale Band, Gray Goods @ Union Pool
* Robot Princess, Trachtenberg Family Slideshow Players, Meshach Jackson @ Pianos
* Dinosaur Feathers, The Armchairs, Ball of Flame Shoot Fire, Horses Mouth @ DBA
* Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., Generationals, People Get Ready, Phil & The Osophers @ Mercury Lounge
* MATA fest w/ Corey Dargel, Angleica Negron, Dither, Cantori NY, Chris Danforth and the Danforths, Florent Ghys @ Le Poisson Rouge
* Prince Rama, Pikachu-Makoto (members of mems Acid Mothers Temple, Afrirampo), Quiet Hooves, Bubbly Mommy Gun, Mugu Guymen @ Monster Island Basement

James Blake is here.

Paul McCartney's son James McCartney is not here (or just not feeling well) (Rockwood Music Hall show cancelled).

Someone billed as "McQueen & Hall & Oates" is playing Rockwood tonight though. I'm not sure who it is, but if this tweet was meant to be a hint, than don't get your hopes up I guess. That said, I have no idea.

Oh and tickets are back on sale for the Chris Thile shows happening at Rockwood tonight and tomorrow.

We're giving away tix for the Ben Sollee shows happening at Rockwood tomorrow and the next day, via Facebook.

check out This Week in Indie

We're giving away tix on Facebook to tonight's Drop the Lime gig.

We're also giving away tix to the upcoming School of Seven Bells, Sun Airway, White Lies show at Terminal 5 on Facebook.

Floor appeared on Fox TV's Red Eye. Video below...

Steve Earle performed a song from his new album live on SiriusXM. Video below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Wednesday?"

After a week of research with no leads, I'm now asking you... Who are The Modern Weepers? According to Mercury Lounge's website (they play there on May 27th)...

"The Modern Weepers are a three piece band from Manchester, England. Well travelled and well known in their native England, The Modern Weepers continue to thrill audiences and critics alike with their electronic melodies and classic Mope Rock lyrics. Led by Mancunian frontman Gary Dibble and co frontman "Hugh," they are backed up by the American Chet Skinship on keyboards. Since Gary's recent release from Her Majesty's Prison in Wormwood Scrubs for political protests (Miners strike) and "Hugh's" "acquittal" on morals charges, the Modern Weepers will begin their 10 city USA tour on Friday, May 27th at New York City's prestigious Mercury Lounge."

We're not 100% who's playing The Rock Shop on August 18, but I couldn't help notice that the date is the day before Dean Wareham plays Galaxie 500 songs at Bowery Ballroom and that opener Tyburn Saints recently posted a Galaxie 500 video to their facebook page. $5 Tickets are on sale now.

Meanwhile, Dean & Britta play a free show this Sunday in Phoenicia, NY.

"Seth" @ Union Pool - July 24, 2010 (amythistle)

TheDeathSet, No Age, Lightning Bolt and Cap'n Jazz play today's free Pool Party at the Williamsburg Waterfront Brooklyn Bowl. Afterwards? Well, Cap'n Jazz is playing Maxwell's (yes, they are), and it looks like a band with five letters total in their name (?? ???) are headlining that Universal Order Of Armageddon show at Death By Audio. hmm...

Speaking of secret shows, Les Savy Fav guitarist Seth Jabour is getting married. To celebrate, his bandmates held him a bachelor party at Union Pool last night which was a ladies-only Les Savy Fav concert. That's a picture taken at the show above. One more, along with the invite, below...

Continue reading "Pool Party today, secret shows later & last night"

Ticketweb has a secret.

Green Day on stage after their musical (via)

The Broadway show "American Idiot" turned into a rock concert with a supercharged encore: a surprise appearance by Green Day, the band that wrote the music.

The three-man band, and an additional guitarist, took to the stage after Thursday's show as girls in the audience screamed. The show opened Tuesday, and the producers may wish that Green Day would show up regularly.

"This is my first night on Broadway," the singer-guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong declared, then blared out the opening power chords of "American Idiot," the show's title song. In the first verse, he sang: "Can you hear the sound of hysteria? The subliminal mind BEEP America," censoring himself. [NY Times]

NOTE: one commenter says, "foxboro hot tubs is NOT the same as green day. it's the members of green day, but they are an entirely different band. they will NOT be playing green day songs at the concert; they have their own album, etc."

And as some suggested in the comments earlier, Green Day should also play some benefit shows for 924 Gilman when you get back out west.

Rockwood Music Hall's rumored new space opened earlier this month with a show by Zach Williams. It's right next door and they call it "Stage 2". Now I've Heard Everything reports that, "Stage 2 will have a capacity of 150 to 200, depending on the configuration, is adjacent to the current Rockwood Music Hall (which will get the retronym Stage 1) but must be entered separately...

"But one note: the name Stage 2, while true and accurate has absolutely no pizazz. Some friends and I decided a while back that this new larger place should be called The Rockwood Colosseum. And to some of us, that is what it will be."

Full Rockwood Music Hall schedule (stage 1 and 2) at their website.

A video of Poundcake performing live, below...

Continue reading "Rockwood Music Hall "Stage 2" now open (Grace Potter playing there before Poundcake tonight?)"

by Black Bubblegum

The scene of the crime (via Bridge & Tunnel Club)

BrooklynVegan and Chronic Youth (the people behind the recent secret Weedeater show) are proud to present.... well.... I can't say! What I can say is that on September 25th, one band that the hardcore faithful have waited a looong time to see will team up with another very influential band for one show at The Charleston. Both bands are also headlining other shows in NYC on the same night. One date. Two bands. Three shows. One that they're both playing at the Charleston.

The first band recently resurrected, despite having already undergone an Autopsy. The second band is what you might call Hellboy if he was born out of wedlock. Save the date.. More clues on the flyer below.

BrooklynVegan is also proud to sponsor Burnt By The Sun/Tombs/Black Anvil/Bloodhorse at Cake Shop on 10/2, Woe/Aluk Todolo/Malkuth/Castevet at Union Pool on 10/4, and Shrinebuilder @ Le Poisson Rouge on 11/15 (tickets here)! We will be giving away tickets to ALL of these shows, so look out!

Shrinebuilder is currently streaming a new track at their myspace.

Continue reading "BV co-presents a secret show w/ 2 bands @ The Charleston"

Wyld Stallyns is not a Bill & Ted tribute group (it is The Rapture).

The Depreciation Guild @ The Bell House in January (more by Jonny Leather)

Wolfmother (sort of) played the PNC Bank Arts Center in NJ with the Killers last night (9/2). The night before that it was at Jones Beach. Tomorrow it's Boston followed by Montreal and then Toronto. But tonight is a night off that they will spend at The Bowery Electric in NYC where they will go on after The Depreciation Guild who reportedly hit the stage at 10:30 PM.

For The Depreciation Guild, this is a warm up gig before they hit the road with The Pains of Being Pure at Heart and Cymbals Eat Guitars.

Wolfmother's new album Cosmic Egg is out October 13th via Interscope. All dates and an entertaining Wolfmother-album-promo video below...

Continue reading "secret Wolfmother show in NYC tonight ++ other Depreciation Guild tour dates"

John @ MSG (more by Tim Griffin)

...I don't know where yet though @ Rockwood Music Hall, 1am, free. Last night it was at Cake Shop after MSG. Tonight (8/4) they play MSG first again. Stay tuned.

DOWNLOAD: Future of the Left - The Hope That House Built (MP3)

Future of the Left @ Webster Hall (more by Nathan Miller)

Welsh trio Future of the Left (ex-mclusky) are coming to North America for a July tour in support of their latest record, Travels With Myself And Another, which is out now on 4AD. The first single from that is above.

That tour starts with a secret show (shhh) at Brooklyn's Spike Hill on Sunday, July 12th. The 8pm gig will act as an unofficial after-party to the Mission of Burma/Fucked Up/Ponytail show at Williamsburg Waterfront earlier in the day. I think the Spike Hill show will also be FOTL's first first headlining NYC show, and their first-ever Brooklyn show.

Their tour also makes NYC-area stops at Maxwell's on Monday, July 13th (with Me You Us Them) and Siren Fest on July 18th. Tickets to Maxwell's are still on sale.

Future of the Left's Andrew Falkous recently had a nice, long rant about why people should leave him alone about working with producer Steve Albini, who recorded a bunch of Falkous' Mclusky records. Faklous said...

..."I'm usually polite about it for the most part but it is very difficult to summon up the effort to answer the question for the seventh time in a day. You end up saying 'I just told that guy over there, see the guy in the orange, fucking ask him what it's like to work with Steve Albini, because I've already used up all the variant ways I can think of of expressing it."...

Continue reading "Future of the Left - 2009 tour dates (SECRET SHOW @ Spike Hill + Maxwells + Siren Fest + more)"

If you're in New York I have a special unannounced and invitation-only solo show in Manhattan TONIGHT [4/14] and we've saved a few seats to offer to you. There is only a VERY limited number of seats put aside and we'll give them out on a first come-first served basis until they're gone If you'd like to attend this show at 8:00 PM sharp, email my friend Todd at toddinbk@gmail.com before 4:00 PM EDT today and he'll let you know if you were quick enough to grab a pair for this special little show. If you don't make it tonight, I'll see you with my full band at Webster Hall on May 20 [tix].

Continue reading "St. Vincent playing a private show tonight (tix) + new video"

photos by Natasha Ryan

Yeah Yeahs Yeahs scheduled a secret show on short notice on Easter (4/12). People didn't know about it. People weren't sure if they'd be able to get in. And people were out of town or with relatives that night. That's probably why the line wasn't too nuts. It didn't even get crowded until halfway through opener Freshkills' set. Yeah Yeah Yeahs went on at 11...

"The show was easier to get into than anyone thought. As I noted several times above, there were tickets at the door. Called the santos line that morning, not the prerecorded message, but the direct line and they confirmed it. I got there around 5:30 and waited in line in the cold. If I got there at 7:00, it would have been fine. It was pretty secret for a secret show." [Ashok]

Yeah Yeahs Yeahs' next proper show (that we know about) will happen at Coachella on April 19th (the Santos show was probably a warm-up for that). Before that, the band's media blitz continues will appearances on both The Late Show with David Letterman (April 14) and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (April 15). More pictures from Santos below...

Continue reading "Yeah Yeah Yeahs played Santos Party House (pics & setlist), playing Letterman & Fallon b4 Coachella"

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are playing a secret show at Santos Party House in NYC on Easter Sunday, April 12th (8pm). It's one day after they appear on Saturday Night Live. Look for David Pajo on guitar. Their new album It's Blitz is out now.

Your Chance To Win Tickets to The Dead

The Dead today confirmed they'll perform three shows on Mon., March 30 in NYC at 3 different venues: an acoustic set (Bob Weir/Phil Lesh/Warren Haynes) at Angel Orensanz (showtime 5pm), an electric full-band (incl. Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann and Jeff Chimenti) set at The Gramercy Theatre (showtime 8pm) and the electric finale at Roseland (showtime 11pm).

Here's your chance to win tickets to one of these shows! Enter your information below and the lucky winners will be randomly selected and then notified via email. Some restrictions apply, so please click the link at the bottom of this page for the official rules.

This sweepstakes begins at 3:00:00 PM Eastern Time (12:00:00 noon Pacific Time) on Friday, March 27, 2009 and ends at 6:59:59 PM Eastern Time (3:59:59 PM Pacific Time) on Friday, March 27, 2009. Good luck!

The Dead are also playing The View on the same day, and going on tour in April.

As their first tour in five years gets set to launch April 12 in North Carolina, the DEAD have confirmed an appearance Thursday, April 23 on "Late Show with David Letterman" when the tour makes its way through New York City with a sold-out April 25 Madison Square Garden performance.

Prior to the tour, on Monday, March 30, founding group members Bob Weir and Phil Lesh-along with touring guitarist Warren Haynes-will be interviewed on "The View" and perform acoustically.

The group's founding members--guitarist Weir, bassist Lesh and drummers Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann--reunited late last year at a Barack Obama fundraiser and are touring this Spring, with guitarist Haynes and keyboardist Jeff Chimenti.

In other tour news, the DEAD have confirmed a partnership with www.charityfolks.com, whereby a limited number of excellent tickets are being auctioned off with net proceeds benefiting DEAD-related charities. Beyond good seats for good causes, fans will also have the chance to bid on rare, signed memorabilia from the group's personal archives, including limited-edition show posters. To avert scalping, all auction winners will have to pick up their tickets in-person on the day of the concert.

Continue reading "The Dead playing secret NYC shows?, The View, other places"

photos by Ryan Muir

Beirut played a last-minute, free (though some were charged at the door?), secret show at Coco66 in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn last night (1/26). They stuffed as many people as possible into the small bar - many packed right into the adjoining rooom, and Beirut played for an hour, took a short break, and then played for another 30 minutes. I'm not sure it's fair to complain about anything at this show... They played new songs, many of which they're still rusty at, but that's probably why they scheduled the show - as a warmup for the much more important performances they have coming up at Vassar, BAM and MHOW. So far there are some complaints in the comments though - most related to Zach getting his drink on, and at least one by someone who misheard what Zach said about his ukelele. They're not all bad though...

"zach was drunk. but no drunker than anyone would be playing to a bar full of drunk youngens on a monday night. i was right up front and thought the sound, for a place whose acoustics are far from outstanding, was pretty decent. definitely nothing to complain about (and I enjoy complaining about bad sound). really see no reason to hate on this show. no it was not life changing, but it was definitely better than staying home on a Monday night watching reruns of man vs. food." [mcg]

Continue reading "Beirut's secret show @ Coco66, Brooklyn, NY - pics & video"

March of the Zapotec and RealPeople Holland

Beirut's two new EPs (pictured above) are out in February.

Beirut is playing Coco66 in Greenpoint (again) TONIGHT, Monday January 26th, at 10PM. It's free. Good luck.

Beirut also has Brooklyn shows coming up at BAM and MHOW, and one at Vassar.

words & photos by Kyle Dean Reinford

Ryan Adams & The Cardinals played a semi-secret show at Cafe Select today (10/28) on Lafayette Street. Nobody seemed to be able to confirm or deny allegations of the show until I got there for the (supposed) 2 o'clock show. I was told to come back at 4, and I'm glad I did. Ryan and the Cardinals played 8 acoustic songs for a crowd of 50 people - 6 off their new record, "Cardinology," out today, and 2 requests. The two requests were "If I Am A Stranger" (my request, actually), and "Cherry Lane," which we learned was based off of the Cherry Lane Theater.

Ryan was quite chatty as he tried to remember which songs were actually on the new album (he had to look at a copy to see the tracklist), and after the show he was as friendly as ever (no meltdown here). He even went so far as to call my friend Ian's boss to explain why Ian was late ("I needed his help during my set... I've been feeling sick"). All in all an excellent rainy afternoon. The guys were supposed to play another show at 6, but it was to be outdoors and was canceled due to the weather.

The show was the first NYC gig for Adams since Hammerstein last year, and he plays his next on Halloween at the Apollo. You'll also be able to catch them later this year with Oasis at MSG.

There's also a rumor of another possible secret show tonight (Tuesday, 10/28). More pictures and the full setlist from today below...

Continue reading "Ryan Adams (secret show) @ Cafe Select, NYC - pics, setlist"

Possibly one at Cafe Select on Lafayette at 2:00? Answer: not so far. Kyle got there a little after 2 and nothing was going on. Update #2: The show might be at 4:00 (the original message in the message board said 3:30) (and maybe a show at 6:00 which is maybe rained out).

Why?: because the new album came out today

Not secret show: Halloween at the Apollo (and MSG with Oasis)