DOWNLOAD: Team B - The Last Christmas (MP3)

Team B has been very generous lately. First came a free Christmas song (MP3 above). Then a 9-song EP called "The Lost Son" (cover art above). Download the EP at their website. Catch them live with Wild Yaks at Union Pool tonight (1/16). More info below...

Continue reading "a free Team B EP, Christmas song & a NYC show (tonight) "

DOWNLOAD: Team B - On My Mind (MP3)

Team B @ Union Pool in November (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

Team B, the band fronted by Kelly Pratt -- a horn player who's spent a good portion of the past two years touring with Arcade Fire and Beirut -- will be headlining a week-long tour in June. Accompanying them will be New Numbers (featuring Josh Abbott and Mike Fadem of Jealous Girlfriends, the latter who also drums for Team B).

Their tour includes a show at NYC's (Le) Poisson Rouge on June 27th. Tickets are on sale now.

The band's self-titled debut record, which features members of LCD Soundsystem, Arcade Fire & Beirut, hit iTunes in May and is out now on CD through Tonacity Recordings.

The band played its first show in November 2008.All tour dates below...

Continue reading "Team B (Kelly Pratt of Beirut) - 2009 Tour Dates, album out"

Team B @ Union Pool (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

Team B will be playing Friday 1/23 at the 92Y Tribeca. We will be joined by our friends Freetime (Jason of Team B's band) and Lame Drivers. I know I promised special guests last time and didn't deliver, but this time watch out! You can buy advance tickets here for $10.

In other news, you can buy our record on iTunes now. Also, stay tuned for some possible upcoming show and tour info....

That message is from Team B member Kelly Pratt who also plays in Beirut with Jon Natchez, Tracy Pratt, and Jason Poranski who are also all in Team B. So far they've only played one other NYC show.

They'll all also be playing with Beirut at Vassar, BAM, and Music Hall of Williamsburg. Check out the short Team B documentary below if you haven't already...

Continue reading "Team B (members of Beirut) playing 92YTribeca, on iTunes "

Team B @ Union Pool (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

Everything (ok, maybe not everything) you need to know about Team B in the video below...

Continue reading "a 6 minute Team B/Beirut/Kelly Pratt documentary (video)"

words and photos by Kyle Dean Reinford

Last night (11/10) I caught the first-ever performance of Team B at Union Pool in Brooklyn. I normally wouldn't try to hit a concert two hours after flying back from Austin, but the night was too tempting. Team B is Kelly Pratt (Beirut/Arcade Fire) 's brainchild, and the record features appearances from many great musicians including other members of Arcade Fire and Beirut.

I'm glad I made the effort. The group of multi-instumentalists played about half of the new album, along with a few other songs. "On My Mind," "Empty Hallways," and "Papa's Waltz" were personal favorites. Overall, I was overwhelmed with the amount of musical talent on the stage.

If you were there, you probably also remember the constant yelling of a drunken friend of the band in the front row. After they played "Hang Me", she yelled "Yay! Suicide!!!".... This spoiled some of the intimacy of the small venue, but, to accentuate the positive, I guess it also helped ease some of the tension of the band's first-ever-show and made for less awkward transitions between songs.

Kelly and band-member Jon Natchez are getting ready to hit the road with Herman Dune for a month or so (including 2 NYC shows this week), so don't expect to see any upcoming Team B shows soon, BUT Kelly told me he's trying really hard to make sure this band happens. Based on what I saw last night, I really hope it does. More pictures and the setlist below...

Continue reading "Team B (Kelly Pratt) @ Union Pool, Brooklyn, NY - pics"

DOWNLOAD: Team B - On My Mind (MP3)

Team B is the new musical endeavor of Kelly Pratt. While written and recorded primarily on tour with Arcade Fire and Beirut in 2007 and 2008, help was also found with his amazing friends Pat Mahoney on drums (LCD Soundsystem), Jon Natchez and Perrin Cloutier from Beirut, and Richard Reed Parry (Arcade Fire) on a track or two.

We don't have a label yet, but the cd is available now through this website, and will be available in a couple of weeks through other online outlets. If you want a copy just click on the link below and ye shall receive. Price is only $10 plus $2.50 for shipping (in the U.S). If you live outside the US please include $6.50 for shipping.
[Team B]

Check out the three songs streaming at MySpace. Download one of them above. Check out Team B live, TONIGHT (November 10th) at Union Pool in Brooklyn (11 pm). It's their first show ever, and they're promising it will be their last this year. The full band looks something like this:

Kelly Pratt (Beirut, Arcade Fire)
Tracy Pratt (Beirut)
Ryan Smith (Twin Thousands, Stars Like Fleas)
Jon Natchez (Beirut, Stars Like Fleas)
Jason Poranski (Beirut, FreeTime)
Mike Fadem (The Jealous Girlfriends)

Special guests have also been promised.

Jon Natchez's credits also inlude Shugo Tokumaru's live band, Bishop Allen, The Citizens Band, Escort and.... Skavoovie! Jon and Kelly also sometimes play together at venues like the Stone.

Mike Fadem's band The Jealous Girlfriends are going on tour with Nada Surf and have a NYC show coming up (Dec 10) at The Studio at Webster Hall where they also played during CMJ.

Stars Like Fleas have a track on Habitat, "a two disc set including 29 artists, covering the various manifestations of 'electronic music,' and produced as a benefit for Habitat for Humanity." You can get that at Asthmatic Kitty.

A video of Kelly, Tracy and Jon playing with Herman Dune at Union Hall below...

Continue reading "Team B (Kelly Pratt + Jon Natchez & other Beirut members) - an MP3, a Brooklyn show Monday"