Last night Deerhunter played a show in D.C. without guitarist Colin Mee. Now Pitchfork is reporting that Mee has left the band and will not be rejoining it anytime soon. All this news just hours before the band are set to take the stage at the Seaport. A show goer last night was nice enough to e-mail Pitchfork the following account of the show last night...
"So last night at the Black Cat in DC Deerhunter showed up minus guitarist Colin Mee. [Frontman] Bradford [Cox] played his Fender Jazzmaster through the whole set (except for "Dr. Glass"). His only mention of the missing Mee was that they were now a four piece and this was their first show as such (He mentioned this about four different times throughout the show offering no details or reason for the line-up change). I can't say the music suffered (the music was a bit different though) but Bradford's stage antics were all but gone because of his new guitar duties."
What do you mean Bradford's stage antics are gone? Does this mean Karen O won't be sitting at the foot of the stage heckling Bradford tonight? Does it mean no more long soliloquies from Bradford after the band finish there set? One can only hope not.
Of course the band and its fans are not the only one's suffering from Mee's departure, Mee himself is probably not the happiest guy on Earth right now. Pitchfork also managed to catch up with him to find out why he left the band. Here's what he had to say...
"This sense of being overwhelmed was exacerbated by the fact that I felt we were receiving (and creating) too much press that had nothing to do with any new music being created. I don't want to be overexposed. I don't want the world to know what our excrement looks like or what we are selling on eBay or whether we got robbed. I think that it devalues the music and it is just a way to maintain attention when the music should just speak for itself.
I understand that is not the way the media works but I found it disgraceful and sensationalistic. I felt misrepresented and that the band was being portrayed as opportunists. I was willing to tolerate it, however, but I am not going to put my life on hold for this."
That just plain sucks for everyone involved. You can of course read the full interview on Pitchfork. Here's hoping tonight's show doesn't suffer because of all this!
Deerhunter - "Tree Spies"
Deerhunter - "Cryptograms"
Friday: Excuse me while I shed a tear or two here. Tonight is the final River to River show at the South Street Seaport for the season and it has been another unforgettable summer on Pier 17. There has been many 32oz. beers had for only $4.50, many bands have been watched, many sunsets to our backs, and for the final time of 2007 we'll be taking all of that in. Tonight's finale may just be the best lineup of the season with Deerhunter opening up for Battles. The creators of two of my top 5 albums of 2007 (so far), one of my favorite venues in the city, and 32oz. beers for $4.50, sounds like an amazing way to say goodbye to the summer. Thanks again for a wonderful year!!!Battles - "Prismism"
Deerhunter - "Tree Spies"
Not Closing out the Seaport:
Clutch @ Bowery Ballroom (SOLD OUT)
The Epochs @ Cake Shop
High Places @ Death By Audio (my brother recommends!)
Langhorne Slim @ Europa
And They Fell + Captain Ahab @ Sound Fix (FREE)
The Subjects @ Union Hall
Saturday: For the early parts of Saturday morning I'll be giving my lovely lady a hand with moving into her new apartment. For the better part of a month she has been homeless and relying on the graces of her friends and extremely patient and wonderful boyfriend, who have been supplying her with places to sleep and now she'll finally have a new official home in Chelsea. Congrats Rachael, hope you enjoy the new digs!Following the big move it will be party central throughout the city as we have a slew of BBQ's to attend to and lots of beers to drink. With most people out of town for the weekend or out and about at parties the venues of New York will pretty much seem like a ghost town. There are a few worthy shows you can check out which are listed below, but you won't catch me wasting the last unofficial days of summer in a music venue!
UPDATE!!!: According to Brooklyn Vegan, Clipse and Vampire Weekend will be playing a completely free show at Columbia University on Sunday at 2pm in Low Plaza! Effing sweet!!!
Labor Day Weekend in the City:
The Explosion @ Knitting Factory (last show ever!)
USAISAMONSTER @ Mercury Lounge
Sunday: With the cancellation of the Dan Deacon scavenger hunt today Edit: There is now something to do as vLes (the interactive Lower East Side) will be throwing a bash over at Cake Shop featuring recent Pop Tarts interviewee The Virgins and the always awesome Matt & Kim!!! That's right Matt & Kim at Cake Shop! This is gonna be off the chain! Starts at 10pm with an open bar from 10:30 - 11:30 as if you needed more incentive.
Matt & Kim - "Yea Yeah"
Labor Day Weekend in the City:
Sebadoh @ Europa
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Friday's Links:
- Brooklyn Ski Club has a post this morning informing me that Taco Bell will be giving gigging bands free food after their shows! That's a pretty sweet deal if you ask me 'cause I love me some Taco Bell. In fact I think I'm gonna have Taco Bell for breakfast now. Excuse me.
- My boy Wes over at Sit Down Stand Up, has tracks from Britney and Baby Elephant today. Personally I'm way more excited about the Baby Elephant track. Who is Baby Elephant? Well I'm glad you asked, its another incarnation of Prince Paul bitches! And if you don't know who that is, I feel really, really bad for your soul.
- Gothamist has a post about advice for incoming freshman at NYU and the comments left below it are nearly priceless.
At the start of last year it seemed that everywhere you looked someone was raving about this new band called Beirut, that was basically the musical genius Zach Condon playing a plethora of instruments and singing in his bedroom. Indie music fans, bloggers, and rock critics were raving about the new group and its old world sound, that seemed to transport us back to the days when gypsies roamed through the forests cursing those that did them wrong. Since releasing The Gulag Orkestar Beirut has only picked up steam. They spent most of last year touring to packed audiences and the strength of their live show combined with the album grabbed the attention of a slew of people, leading to extremely high expectations for the follow up The Flying Club Cup.Instead of continuing to explore the sounds of Eastern Europe, Zach has moved west for the sophomore LP, dabbling in French chanson music - a lyrically driven form of music - with sweeping string arrangements and a new variety of horns. The one place where The Flying Club Cup continues to remind us of The Gulag Orkestar is in Zach's voice which is as rich and beautiful as the first time you heard it. They also continue to explore a world of instruments that their contemporaries have more or less forgotten about; with accordion, French horn, organ, and euphonium being present throughout the album. The Flying Club Cup is more of a band effort this time around, as members of the touring band went into the studio with Zach this time around and built more of a collective effort, which includes having Owen Pallett (Final Fantasy) arranging the strings found on the album. The collective effort of the band along with Zach adds a new level of energy to the recordings that rivals the energy found on stage when the band plays together. During The Gulag Orkestar it sometimes seemed as if songs weren't allowed to grow legs and roam around, but here they are pushed out and made to dance.
It also seems that in the year since their debut, Zach Condon has become pickier with his lyrics. Instead of mostly using his voice as an additional instrument, Zach has chosen more emotional and meaningful words to accompany his majestic music to display a growth within himself that is more confident and more willing to take a chance in trying something new. The lyrics are no longer "dopey", as Pitchfork once described them, but they are a sign of a young man growing into himself and adjusting to life as an adult.
The album is a brilliant follow up to The Gulag Orkestar showing a powerful willingness to explore new territory instead of staying still with what you are comfortable with. The Flying Club Cup shouldn't disappoint people that were looking for more of the same from Beirut, the elements are still there in Zach's voice and the playfulness of the music, but as a band Beirut has taken a decided step forward here to try out new things and play with more exuberance than they had previously. Considering the amount of passion and energy they put into their live shows following The Gulag Orkestar I am really looking forward to seeing what they can do live with the songs found here, that should be very interesting. The Flying Club Cup is set to be released October 9th, make sure to pick it up the day it comes out!
Beirut - "Cliquot"
Beirut - "The Flying Club Cup"
buy it at insound!
(Editors Note: I realize that Kanye West's new album leaked to the internets yesterday too and normally I'd be all over all things Kanye but I wasn't able to download it last night so I didn't get a chance to hear it so Beirut stays as the leak of the week. Just thought you'd like to know.)
Earlier this year I caught wind of a great young band from the D.C. area called Jukebox the Ghost. The band quickly caught my attention with a great performance at Piano's and an excellent EP release. Well Jukebox recently opened my eyes to another D.C. band called Le Loup, proving the power of a good word of mouth campaign.Le Loup features eight members, all of whom sing and play a variety of instruments that feed off of each other and work together to create a sound larger than any one of them could have made alone. Because of this each song on their myspace sounds epic and sprawling encompassing every inch of the cheap $10 headphones I'm listening to them with. It's reminiscent of Danielson in the way that it uses each and every member to create blissful pop melodies.
Recently the band have been receiving a ton of press from Stereogum to Pitchfork, their local papers, and everywhere in between have been jumping on the Le Loup bandwagon and for good reason. Having signed to Hardly Art (a Sub Pop sub label) Le Loup will be releasing their debut album, The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations' Millenium General Assembly on September 11th and will be playing a handful of dates this fall including one in New York at Piano's with Jukebox the Ghost. It must be an exciting time to be in Le Loup and as a music fan its exciting just to have found Le Loup! Check 'em out, I don't think you'll be disappointed.
Le Loup - "We Are Gods! We Are Wolves!"
Le Loup Website
Le Loup on Myspace
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Thursday's Links:
- My Old Kentucky Blog has Bowerbirds stop by their Sirius show for an in-studio performance. Check out the sweet results!!!
- LAist points out that the wall Elliott Smith posed in front of for the cover of his album Figure 8 has been defaced by some idiot named 'Mouse'. As some of you may know the wall has been used a tribute to Elliott and is covered in good will messages to the departed singer. That's just so wrong.
- Pitchfork has St. Vincent on their Guest List.
Throughout my teenage years my musical taste rarely strayed from the punk rock realm. I was a big fan of pop-punk bands, of the old school punk bands that started a revolution, of hard core bands where I could throw down in massive pits, and anything with that fast paced, high energy sound that I just couldn't get enough of. Because of this you might assume that I frequented CBGB's as a young punk, but honestly I didn't. I only managed to make it to the mecca of punk twice in my life once to catch Rancid and once to see Sum 41. Still, last year when the hallowed doors of the legendary venue were shuttered for good, and the awning was ripped down to be perserved in some Las Vegas off-shoot of the club, I was saddened that I never made it there more and that my kids wouldn't be able to see bands there while they were growing up. The place was the stuff of legends with its graffiti covered walls, revered performers, and of course their legendary owner Hilly Kristal. Though he intended the club to be a country and blue grass venue when it opened back in 1973, Hilly gave the kids - with their raw sound - a chance on the stage and was rewarded by becoming huge part in the punk revolution. He created a brand thanks to the success of bands like Blondie, The Ramones, Talking Heads, Television, and many many more.
Today Hilly passed away due to complications from lung cancer at the age of 75. That's the medical reason they gave, but knowing we are just about a year removed from the closing of his club I'd have to say something about that played a part. You hear all the stories about people retiring and dying soon after and though he wasn't officially retired, I'm sure some part of him deeply missed being at 315 Bowery.
So today Hilly joins Joey, Dee Dee, Johnny, and all the other punks that have gone before him and hopefully they'll find a place to put a new CBGB for them all to get together and have some fun.
Many people have written about Hilly today, a list of some of the best one's is below.
Brooklyn Vegan
Gothamist
CMJ
MTV
Pitchfork
The A.V. Club
The Punk Vault
Punk Turns 30
Billboard
NME
- I've been enjoying a bit of a relaxing week following last weekend's After the Jump. For the first week in a long time there are no meetings to attend to, very few shows I have the desire to go to, and thanks to the holiday weekend ahead there's very little for me to do at work (knock on wood). A guy could get used to this sort of thing, but probably not me.
- Bradford is now doing remixes. This guy is awesome.
- Sports Note #1: Following Monday's awful 16-0 loss, and a road trip where they lost two of three to the Angels and three of four to the Tigers I was all but ready to count my Yankees out. I was beginning to plan an October vacation and was all set for them to just bow out. Then last night the Yankees stood up and said "We're not going anywhere" with a rousing 5-3 beating of the hated Red Sox. Now I don't know what to think, if the team plays like it did last night to finish the season we'll be talking playoffs in a couple of weeks, if they play like the team on the road well then obviously no playoffs. What do you think? Are the Yankees going to make the playoffs???
- Gothamist interviews Earlimart.
- TV Note #1: I watched part of Entourage this past Sunday after not watching for a couple of weeks. It was a pretty sweet episode and I really must catch up once I get cable in the apartment. But do you think Kanye just shows up in the private airport and picks up actors all the time?
- Prefix has itself a sit down interview with the boys of No Age, one of those bands I haven't written nearly enough about this year. It's a fucking sweet interview though so nice job Prefix!
- Subinev has a list of the side projects that have sprung up from the demise of Pretty Girls Make Graves. I will make it a solid bet that at least half of these bands will merit listening to.
- Sports Note #2: Last year's cinderella story, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, kick off their 2007 season tomorrow night against the lowly Buffalo Bulls. I don't know why the Knights are opening up their schedule with such a cream puff but it should give Heisman hopeful Ray Rice a chance to pad his stats early on in the year.
- Stylus has an interview with Young Marble Giants.
- TV Note #2: I noticed yesterday, while watching a syndicated episode of The Simpsons, that TMZ.com has gotten itself a TV show on the old Fox network. This really pissed me off as this means there will be only one syndicated Simpsons episode a day. This is like when they brought back A Current Affair, my only hope is that TMZ lasts as longs as A Curent Affair's comeback did.
- The A.V. Club previews new TV shows coming to us this fall.
- Sports Note #3: We are a week away from the NFL Kickoff, which means its time for me to make some predictions. I will be bold here, I will not go for the standards, the people everyone else are picking. I'm taking some long shots and I'm riding them to the Super Bowl!!! NFC first...
- NFC East Champ: Dalls Cowboys - no doubt, unless Eli is suddenly as good as his older brother
- NFC North Champ: Green Bay Packers - sorry I don't trust Cedric Benson as my starting running back
- NFC South Champ: New Orleans Saints - I would have picked the Falcons, but not without Mike Vick
- NFC West Champ: San Francisco 49ers - Welcome back to prominence boys, we missed you!!!
- Wild Cards: Chicago Bears & St. Louis Rams
- AFC East Champ: Miami Dolphins - sure the running game ain't great, but they've improved at QB and have a robust defense
- AFC North Champ: Baltimore Ravens - once again, gotta love the D
- AFC South Champ: Tennessee Titans - call me crazy, but I love Vince Young
- AFC West Champ: San Diego Chargers - if you pick against the Chargers this year, you will probably be wrong.
- Wild Cards: New York Jets & Cincinnati Bengals (that's right no Colts...)
- NFC Champ: San Francisco 49ers
- AFC Champ: Baltimore Ravens
- Super Bowl Champ: San Francisco 49ers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- MVP: Reggie Bush
- Defensive Player of the Year: Jason Taylor
And here's some tracks...
Pink Floyd - "Bike" (off the upcoming 2-CD reissue of Piper At the Gates of Dawn)
Papertrigger - "We Are Nations Now"
With the After the Jump Fest firmly in my rearview mirror I can finally point my attention towards October's CMJ Music Marathon. This year the marathon exhibition of independent bands will be held October 16th - 20th with a slew of bands I have both seen and not seen, want to see and could care less about. Last week CMJ announced the first set of bands to be added to the list and today an updated list appeared led by the likes of Band of Horses, M.I.A., and Vampire Weekend. Though venues, dates, and times have yet to be released these two music news items got me amped for the marathon, which is always one of the best times to be a music fan in New York and should be just as excellent this year.
I'm sure Chris will start all his CMJ rumors soon and will probably hit the nail on the head more times than not. At some point in the coming weeks day shows will be announced hosted by a variety of sources that are usually free and most of the time better than the big showcases. I'm also trying to plan some day shows for the week long fest so if you are a venue, sponsor, or band that would be interested in being involved please contact me via e-mail.
Here's the list of bands scheduled to play so far...
Band Of Horses
M.I.A.
Vampire Weekend
Earthless
o'death
Celebration
The Meat Puppets
Rock Plaza Central
The Black Hollies
Old Time Relijun
Takka Takka
Jennifer O'Connor
Health
Centro-matic
Chris Mills
The Teeth
Le Loup
The High Strung
De Novo Dahl
Lewis & Clarke
Moon + Moon
AIDS Wolf
Joan As Policewoman
Catfish Haven
Monotonix
Mike Kinsella
Palomar
Get Him Eat Him
Nashville Pussy
Big Bear
Ecstatic Sunshine
Gowns
The Warlocks
Keep checking the CMJ Music Marathon Site for more info.
I'm sure Chris will start all his CMJ rumors soon and will probably hit the nail on the head more times than not. At some point in the coming weeks day shows will be announced hosted by a variety of sources that are usually free and most of the time better than the big showcases. I'm also trying to plan some day shows for the week long fest so if you are a venue, sponsor, or band that would be interested in being involved please contact me via e-mail.
Here's the list of bands scheduled to play so far...
Band Of Horses
M.I.A.
Vampire Weekend
Earthless
o'death
Celebration
The Meat Puppets
Rock Plaza Central
The Black Hollies
Old Time Relijun
Takka Takka
Jennifer O'Connor
Health
Centro-matic
Chris Mills
The Teeth
Le Loup
The High Strung
De Novo Dahl
Lewis & Clarke
Moon + Moon
AIDS Wolf
Joan As Policewoman
Catfish Haven
Monotonix
Mike Kinsella
Palomar
Get Him Eat Him
Nashville Pussy
Big Bear
Ecstatic Sunshine
Gowns
The Warlocks
Keep checking the CMJ Music Marathon Site for more info.
Liars are a band that seem to be constantly exploring the world of music. Rather than choosing a sound and attempting to build on it, each new album the band makes brings with it an almost completely revamped sound that is built with different forms of music each time. Beginning with They Threw Us in a Trench and Stuck a Monument On Top, which was loaded with a dance-punk like sound, to 2004's They Were Wrong So We Drowned, which was a complete slap in the face to fans that had been won over by their debut with its toy like noises and collages of made up sounds, and finally to last year's brilliant Drum's Not Dead, which saw the band fed up with the seen in Brooklyn, moving to Berlin, and mixing their art-punk beginnings with a new found love of deep dark percussions and a fascination with their newly surrounding Krautrock. The changes are obviously done with intent to keep Liars form seeming stagnant perhaps, or to keep their fans guessing, or maybe its because after touring for a few months in support of each album they get bored of playing the same songs in the same manner over and over again. But with the success of Drum's Not Dead the change is now something fans of the band look forawrd to, they are hoping to hear something completely different, to have to acclimate their ears to the new things Liars have in store for them. Well, with Liars fans are sure to hear some changes in the band as they have resorted to the same post-punk, dance-punk, art-punk, whatever the fuck punk you wanna call it, that first garnered them attention with their debut.Okay so its not quite like their debut, they do maintain a sense of darkness that seems to have grown since leaving Brooklyn, and the songs don't necessarily make you want to dance as much as they make you want to drone out (well some of them you can dance to, I guess, if you dance in the South Park goth way.). Missing from this album are the character driven songs, the half hour experiments of sound, the stories of witches; but, in their place are 12 actual songs, with normal, mostly comprehensible titles, that are built on pounding drums, strong guitar, and melodies - that's right folks I said melodies. Its almost as if Angus Andrew had something to say and wanted people to really listen so he sang it with as truly as he could.
Liars gets off to a great start with "Plaster Casts of Everything", a tremendously powerful song where Angus starts singing about running away over a thumping beat, and a furious guitar riff that I absolutely love. Towards the end of the song it bleeds into what seems to be a completely different song, thus setting the bar for the eleven songs that come after it. From there on out you can be surprised at every turn the band takes, and through multiple listens will find little bits here and there that you missed on your last listen. All of those things are qualifiers for what takes an album from 'good' status to 'great' and you would not be wrong to call Liars great.
Fans of any of the first three albums, new listeners, people with ear drums, should run out and buy this album today without a second though. I don't care if you have rent to pay this week, that $15 will not make the difference between paying it or not. This is surely one of the strongest releases of the year, one of the Liars' finest pieces, and an absolute gem of an album. You will surely regret not having this in your collection!!!
Liars - "Plaster Casts of Everything"
Liars - "Freak Out"
buy it at insound!
Also Released:
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Tuesday's Links:
- Brooklyn Vegan broke some bad news last night - the Dan Deacon scavenger hunt scheduled for Sunday has been canceled due to poor ticket sales. I guess that proves not even the musically inclined people are in town Labor Day weekend.
- Music Snobbery posted a quick story about Kate Nash signing to Geffen Records yesterday. It also reveals her two September New York dates!
- Subinev is also smitten with the new Liars album.
- Pitchfork lets us know that Atlanta has been chosen for the next Burn to Shine DVD, even though volumes four and five are still in production. The Atlanta one will feature Mastodon, Deerhunter, Black Lips, and Snowden and for those four alone will be wortht he value of purchasing it.
At this point readers of New York music blogs are probably sick and tired of hearing about the blog currated festival known as After the Jump. For the past few weeks we have been pushing it through every post of our collective 22 blogs, and I know it may have been us beating a dead horse over it but we were really excited about all our hard work coming to fruition. Well, Saturday was finally the day for us to see what our collective powers were capable of and I have to say I was mighty impressed with everything that went down. The bloggers united to make the show run as seamlessly as possible, bands played their hearts out, and fans danced until they couldn't dance any more. The whole day was fun, musical, for a good cause, and enough of a reason to make me want to do it again next year on an even grander scale. I'm going to keep this review simple with as few words as possible and mostly lists and pictures to recap my experiences, I'm sure there will be more than a few reviews throughout the day.
Top 5 Bands:
Ra Ra Riot - As always Ra Ra Riot porved an irresistable force as they drew probably the biggest and most enthusiastic crowd of the day and impressed from the start of their set. They absoltuely blew me away with "St. Peter's Day Festival", a song written by their deceased drummer that always leaves me with goosebumps after hearing it. If this is not the next big band in indie rock then I don't know who is.
Jukebox the Ghost - Playing the steamy side stage, this DC trio were as tight as possible introducing us to a handful of new songs while playing the crowd pleasing tunes off their debut EP. This band will be taking up residency at Piano's in September so you can expect a lot more about the band from me.
Bling Kong - We weren't quite sure how this super large band with somwhere in the neighborhood of 10 members would fit on the side stage, but they managed to squeeze in and pack every inch of the room with a crowd that was excited and sweaty throughout their half hour set. With some of the cutest singers in music (to hell with The Pipettes!!), Bling Kong wowed me my first time seeing them and may just have a new fan for life.
Locksley - The last time I saw Locksley I was well on my way to having one of the most drunken and embarrassing nights of my life. So hopefully you can forgive me if I say I really don't remember what I saw from them that night. Well, Saturday was completely different. Though I still wound up quite drunk by the end, the band went on early enough that I was still lucid enough to rock out and remember watching a superb set from a very promising young band.
The Teenage Prayers - I was kind of expecting The Teenage Prayers to actually be teenagers, their slightly older ages did not prove to be a problem for the young band. They didn't get all achy or tired as twenty somethings are known to do and were able to capture the early arrivals in the crowd getting a few to dance and getting myself into it enough to neglect some of my early duties to watch the band rocking.
Top 5 Favorite Moments from the Day:
Introducing Ra Ra Riot - Though we had a superb host in Sara Schaefer for most of the day, she had a prior engagement that she had to dart off to so I was left to help Matt and Chris out with the raffle portion of the show. Following the raffle I had the chance to introduce one of my current favorite bands Ra Ra Riot, who have actually been scheduled to play past shows of mine but had to cancel for various reasons. So it was a real thrill to introduce them as "one of the best bands in New York" and to jump off stage and watch them launch into their set.
Being Interviewed by CONCERT.tv - I still find it strange when people want to ask me questions about things. I've been interviewed a couple of times but this was the first time I was ever in front of a camera being asked questions by a lovely host about a festival that I had a hand in putting together. It was fun and exciting and I can't wait to see it once it goes live on the website, or even better on their HD TV channel!
Meeting People - Though I suffered a severe bout with carpal tunnel after shaking so many hands I was completely impressed with meeting so many people. From the bands, to sponsors, to the folks that were just there to listen to the sounds of the bands, it was a great experience to get to know some of these people even if it was just a five minute conversation.
The Chocolate Covered Pretzels in the Green Room - No I'm not kidding they were that freaking good!
Getting My T-Shirt and Realizing it Was Really Happening - Talking to the other bloggers on Saturday afternoon I got the feeling that we were all a little awed by the fact that this actually got off the ground and happened. At the beginning people were practically betting on whether it was going to happen or not, and when it finally did I think we were all a bit surprised by it. It was great watching everyone grabbing t-shirts and pins and then running around like chickens with their heads cut off because it meant that we had accomplished something and that we could do it again if we want to. I'm impressed by everyone that was involved and I can't wait to work with you all again.
Top 5 Bands:
Ra Ra Riot - As always Ra Ra Riot porved an irresistable force as they drew probably the biggest and most enthusiastic crowd of the day and impressed from the start of their set. They absoltuely blew me away with "St. Peter's Day Festival", a song written by their deceased drummer that always leaves me with goosebumps after hearing it. If this is not the next big band in indie rock then I don't know who is.Jukebox the Ghost - Playing the steamy side stage, this DC trio were as tight as possible introducing us to a handful of new songs while playing the crowd pleasing tunes off their debut EP. This band will be taking up residency at Piano's in September so you can expect a lot more about the band from me.
Bling Kong - We weren't quite sure how this super large band with somwhere in the neighborhood of 10 members would fit on the side stage, but they managed to squeeze in and pack every inch of the room with a crowd that was excited and sweaty throughout their half hour set. With some of the cutest singers in music (to hell with The Pipettes!!), Bling Kong wowed me my first time seeing them and may just have a new fan for life.
Locksley - The last time I saw Locksley I was well on my way to having one of the most drunken and embarrassing nights of my life. So hopefully you can forgive me if I say I really don't remember what I saw from them that night. Well, Saturday was completely different. Though I still wound up quite drunk by the end, the band went on early enough that I was still lucid enough to rock out and remember watching a superb set from a very promising young band.The Teenage Prayers - I was kind of expecting The Teenage Prayers to actually be teenagers, their slightly older ages did not prove to be a problem for the young band. They didn't get all achy or tired as twenty somethings are known to do and were able to capture the early arrivals in the crowd getting a few to dance and getting myself into it enough to neglect some of my early duties to watch the band rocking.
Top 5 Favorite Moments from the Day:
Introducing Ra Ra Riot - Though we had a superb host in Sara Schaefer for most of the day, she had a prior engagement that she had to dart off to so I was left to help Matt and Chris out with the raffle portion of the show. Following the raffle I had the chance to introduce one of my current favorite bands Ra Ra Riot, who have actually been scheduled to play past shows of mine but had to cancel for various reasons. So it was a real thrill to introduce them as "one of the best bands in New York" and to jump off stage and watch them launch into their set.
Being Interviewed by CONCERT.tv - I still find it strange when people want to ask me questions about things. I've been interviewed a couple of times but this was the first time I was ever in front of a camera being asked questions by a lovely host about a festival that I had a hand in putting together. It was fun and exciting and I can't wait to see it once it goes live on the website, or even better on their HD TV channel!
Meeting People - Though I suffered a severe bout with carpal tunnel after shaking so many hands I was completely impressed with meeting so many people. From the bands, to sponsors, to the folks that were just there to listen to the sounds of the bands, it was a great experience to get to know some of these people even if it was just a five minute conversation.
The Chocolate Covered Pretzels in the Green Room - No I'm not kidding they were that freaking good!
Getting My T-Shirt and Realizing it Was Really Happening - Talking to the other bloggers on Saturday afternoon I got the feeling that we were all a little awed by the fact that this actually got off the ground and happened. At the beginning people were practically betting on whether it was going to happen or not, and when it finally did I think we were all a bit surprised by it. It was great watching everyone grabbing t-shirts and pins and then running around like chickens with their heads cut off because it meant that we had accomplished something and that we could do it again if we want to. I'm impressed by everyone that was involved and I can't wait to work with you all again.
Monday: By the End of Tonight @ Cake Shop 7pm $5
Personally I'm still recovering from After the Jump Fest, but for those of you a little more intrepid than I am I'd suggest checking out By the End of Tonight at the Cake Shop this evening. The band is hard charging, full of energy, and absolutely explode when they get on stage. If that's not enough to get you hooked, it's only $5 and you may just discover your new favorite band.
By the End of Tonight - "When It Rains I Think of You"
Tuesday: Alina Simone @ Cake Shop 8pm $6
I've been told by a slew of people to check out Alina Simone, I haven't done that yet but maybe, just maybe tonight will be the night where I finally take that advice. If you're in the mood for a good looking songstress that knows how to write a tune, I'd suggest joining me in meeting Alina.
Alina Simone - "Nightswimming"
Wednesday: Meat Puppets + Oxford Collapse @ Knitting Factory 8pm $20
My first ever exposure to the Meat Puppets was seeing them walk on stage during Nirvana's Unplugged episode and playing along with the band I loved. Since then I have enjoyed the Meat Puppets, though I've never been a die hard fan. Now I've got a chance to see them live and I think I'm gonna take it. Plus it doesn't hurt that they have the always awesome Oxford Collapse opening for them!
Meat Puppets - "Enemy Love Song"
Oxford Collapse - "Kenny Can't Afford It"
Thursday: VHS or Beta + Walter Meego @ Studio B 9pm FREE (w/RSVP)
I know a lot of people are really excited about VHS or Beta right now, but personally my reason for going to this show would be to see Walter Meego for the first time. The duo is following in the footsteps of DataRock, Hot Chip, and any of those bands that have that electronic side to them, and to me that's a good thing. It seems like this is the future sound of music and I'm loving it so far.
Walter Meego - "Romantic"
Friday: Battles + Deerhunter @ South Street Seaport 7pm FREE
Tonight is the last night at the South Street Seaport for the summer and it couldn't possibly end with a better lineup. Featuring the makers of two of my top 5 albums of the year so far (1 and 5 respectively), I will be there early and be fully prepared to rock out and dance up a storm during these two bands. If you even think for a second about doing something else on Friday night you are out of your fucking mind. It's that simple.
Battles - "Atlas"
Deerhunter - "Cryptograms"
Saturday: ???Any suggestions???
Sunday: Dan Deacon + Ra Ra Riot @ ???(NY Magazine Scavenger Hunt)
Details on this show are here...its a pretty cool idea.
Dan Deacon - "Wham City"
Ra Ra Riot - "Every Year"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday's Links:
- Brookyln Vegan lets me know that there is a rumor that My Bloody Valentine may be reuniting for Coachella in 2008. If this is the truth and they play no where else I may finally have an actual reason to stop avoiding California.
- Wes interviews Aesop Rock.
- Pitchfork gives the "no duh" Best New Music stamp of approval to the new Liars album, Liars. I will be doing the same tomorrow, just you wait.
- Alberto Gonzalez has finally bit the big one and resigned from office.
Personally I'm still recovering from After the Jump Fest, but for those of you a little more intrepid than I am I'd suggest checking out By the End of Tonight at the Cake Shop this evening. The band is hard charging, full of energy, and absolutely explode when they get on stage. If that's not enough to get you hooked, it's only $5 and you may just discover your new favorite band.
By the End of Tonight - "When It Rains I Think of You"
Tuesday: Alina Simone @ Cake Shop 8pm $6
I've been told by a slew of people to check out Alina Simone, I haven't done that yet but maybe, just maybe tonight will be the night where I finally take that advice. If you're in the mood for a good looking songstress that knows how to write a tune, I'd suggest joining me in meeting Alina.
Alina Simone - "Nightswimming"
Wednesday: Meat Puppets + Oxford Collapse @ Knitting Factory 8pm $20
My first ever exposure to the Meat Puppets was seeing them walk on stage during Nirvana's Unplugged episode and playing along with the band I loved. Since then I have enjoyed the Meat Puppets, though I've never been a die hard fan. Now I've got a chance to see them live and I think I'm gonna take it. Plus it doesn't hurt that they have the always awesome Oxford Collapse opening for them!
Meat Puppets - "Enemy Love Song"
Oxford Collapse - "Kenny Can't Afford It"
Thursday: VHS or Beta + Walter Meego @ Studio B 9pm FREE (w/RSVP)
I know a lot of people are really excited about VHS or Beta right now, but personally my reason for going to this show would be to see Walter Meego for the first time. The duo is following in the footsteps of DataRock, Hot Chip, and any of those bands that have that electronic side to them, and to me that's a good thing. It seems like this is the future sound of music and I'm loving it so far.
Walter Meego - "Romantic"
Friday: Battles + Deerhunter @ South Street Seaport 7pm FREE
Tonight is the last night at the South Street Seaport for the summer and it couldn't possibly end with a better lineup. Featuring the makers of two of my top 5 albums of the year so far (1 and 5 respectively), I will be there early and be fully prepared to rock out and dance up a storm during these two bands. If you even think for a second about doing something else on Friday night you are out of your fucking mind. It's that simple.
Battles - "Atlas"
Deerhunter - "Cryptograms"
Saturday: ???Any suggestions???
Sunday: Dan Deacon + Ra Ra Riot @ ???(NY Magazine Scavenger Hunt)
Details on this show are here...its a pretty cool idea.
Dan Deacon - "Wham City"
Ra Ra Riot - "Every Year"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday's Links:
- Brookyln Vegan lets me know that there is a rumor that My Bloody Valentine may be reuniting for Coachella in 2008. If this is the truth and they play no where else I may finally have an actual reason to stop avoiding California.
- Wes interviews Aesop Rock.
- Pitchfork gives the "no duh" Best New Music stamp of approval to the new Liars album, Liars. I will be doing the same tomorrow, just you wait.
- Alberto Gonzalez has finally bit the big one and resigned from office.
I'm hoping to actually celebrate the anniversary of this blog some time in September. Unfortunately due to my vacation, moving, and planning the After the Jump Fest I wasn't able to get the ball rolling in time to get it planned for today so we'll have to wait a couple more weeks so we can do this right. But I just wanted to say a couple of thank you's to the people that have helped me over the past year with this whole blogging endeavor.
Rachael, Tim, Chris, Cesar, Sammy, Jeremy, Eric, Peter, Jen, Matt, Bryan, Chris, Rory, Adam, Steve, Terrance, Bowie, Nora, Katie, Chrissy, Wes, Dave, Dan, Rocky, Shaun, Mike, Eddie, Jessica, Anasatia, Bree, Annie, Liz, Kristina, Adam, James, Mary, Sophie, Torr, Rosemary, Jeff, Alison, Chris, Matt, Dave, Daniella, Ryan, Manny, Russel, Peter, Eddie, Phil, Josh, Seth, Mike, Ben, Tommy, Jesse, Sean, Blaire, Matt, and anyone I forgot because I'm sure I did, THANK YOU!!!!
Rachael, Tim, Chris, Cesar, Sammy, Jeremy, Eric, Peter, Jen, Matt, Bryan, Chris, Rory, Adam, Steve, Terrance, Bowie, Nora, Katie, Chrissy, Wes, Dave, Dan, Rocky, Shaun, Mike, Eddie, Jessica, Anasatia, Bree, Annie, Liz, Kristina, Adam, James, Mary, Sophie, Torr, Rosemary, Jeff, Alison, Chris, Matt, Dave, Daniella, Ryan, Manny, Russel, Peter, Eddie, Phil, Josh, Seth, Mike, Ben, Tommy, Jesse, Sean, Blaire, Matt, and anyone I forgot because I'm sure I did, THANK YOU!!!!
Right before I left on vacation I sat down with Oppenheimer before their performance at Union Hall for a little chat about recording their new album, touring with They Might Be Giants, and their favorite Simpsons quote of all-time. The boys proved to be the Irish stereotype in that they were chatty and friendly the entire night and gave up more info than I could have possibly hoped for. Plus, I got to see them live which is always a treat! Here's the interview...
- You guys are in the process of recording the follow-up to your self titled debut album, have you settled on a name for the album yet?
Shaun - It's called "Take the Whole Midrange and Boost It"; what do you think of that? Is it a good album title?
- How did you guys come up with that name?
Rocky - I was on tour with a band and they were sound checking and they were on stage and one of their keyboard players was complaining to their sound engineer about the monitors and it got really bad and then he said, in a very thick Norwegian accent, "Take the whole midrange and boost it!" and for the rest of our tour with that band that was just a phrase that we would randomly shout out. It was just a really funny thing that somebody said once.
- When do you think the album will be released?
Both - February
- On your blog you mention that you've reached out to a band to remix one of the new songs that you totally expected to refuse to do it. Who is that band?
Rocky - I'm so nervous that it might not happen, but it seems like its gonna happen. Do you know a band called Ghengis Tron? From Philadelphia? Can you imagine what that's going to sound like? They're just one of those bands that we've played with in the past year and they just completely blown our perception of what music should sound like and we like to wake up our soundman with their songs every morning.
- Have you ever had any of your songs remixed before this?
Rocky - Just one track, we had "Breakfast In NYC" remixed by a band called Skibunny from Belfast and it got used on the Nike website for something, we were nervous about it cause we've been friends with them for years.
- On the album there are a slew of guest appearances, who are the most
notable appearances by? What made you reach out to some many people to have
a hand in the new album?
Rocky - Our friend Hornby who plays in a Belfast band We Are Knives makes an appearance on guitar, which takes it somewhere else completely. We have also asked Matt from The Bronx to do guest vocals on a track, he has completed them apparently, but whether they arrive back in Belfast in time is another question! We were keen to push the boundaries and install the new influences we've had over the past year to represent what we're thinking and doing. We also had a lot of our favourite Belfast singers, and even a couple from Sweden, guest on the chorus of a song. It's really neat to be able to include people we respect a lot, and also means I don't just have to look at Shaun in a studio for 2 months!!!
- What changes have you guys made in recording the new album compared to
your self titled debut?
Rocky - We moved into a dedicated space for this recording, we bought a lot of new equipment,
and we recorded it all in one time, rather than a day a week over the course of a year. We were more adventurous in sounds and the things we played on there.
- You guys have played in New York a bunch of times now, are there any venues that you like to play better than the rest?
Shaun - The one that we are sitting in right now (Union Hall) I love, its really friendly, Skippy is a gentleman. He was one of the first people in New York to put us on and he's so helpful with everything. Unlike Belfast or London, I've never had a bad experience in New York.
- Your songs have appeared on TV now, one on How I met Your Mother and Ugly Betty, are there any shows you'd really want one of your songs to appear on?
Rocky - THE SIMPSONS! If I don't get on the Simpsons before they die I'm never going to be happy. Could you imagine that, since I've been 8 years old I've wanted to somehow be a part of that.
Shaun - I don't know about a TV show, but I'd like to be a part of David Lynch movie.
- Besides having your music in TV shows, you recently let Fuji Films use your song "Nine Words" in one of their commercials. How do you feel about that, did you have to really think about it before you'd let it be in a commercial?
Rocky - To be honest without that commercial I don't think we would have been able to go on, it'd be back to work trying to pay our rent. It was only a couple months ago but it was probably the most important time for it to happen for us because we had just run out of money recording the album and we got offered the chance to come and play with They Might Be Giants and we were gonna have to say no. If it had been something political or something we weren't comfortable with we would have given it some hard thought but its a camera company who's products I own.
- You have just been announced as the opener for the entire They Might Be
Giants tour. How do you guys feel about that?
Rocky - It still doesn't feel real! I cannot wait, we have two more festivals in the UK, and then we're in the States for the best part of three months, probably playing to more people than we ever have before, and we get to see They Might Be Giants every night.
- How do you think crowds across the U.S. will react to your music? Have you guys ever toured across the country like this?
We have looped the country once, with Mosquitos, which was a fine experience. We've also been back and forth from NYC to Austin and around the East Coast. We get to go to some new states this time, and play bigger venues with a lot more people!
Top Five Albums to Take on The Road:
Bronx - Bronx II (Rocky)
My Bloddy Valentine - Loveless (Shaun)
Les Savy Fav - Go Forth (Rocky)
Mates of State - Team Boo (Rocky)
Brian Eno - Thursday Afternoon (Shaun)
Top 5 Music Blogs: (all by Rocky)
Pop Tarts Suck Toasted (yay! nice choice fellas!)
Drowned in Sound
Heckler Spray
Gorilla vs. Bear
Kids on School Buses
Top 5 Bands from Ireland: (all by Shaun)
The Undertones
My Bloody Valentine
We Are Knives
The Chalets
Ash
Top 5 Venues You've Played Thus Far: (Rock & Shaun combined)
Union Hall (New York City)
Wounded Bookshop (Fredericksburg, Virginia)
Bickett Gallery (Raleigh, North Carolina)
Luminaire (London, England)
Limelight (Belfast, Ireland)
Top 5 Oppenheimer Songs to Play Live: (Both Combined)
"Saturday Looks Bad to Me"
"My Son the Astronaut"
"Time Loss Gain"
"Allen Died"
"This is Not a Test"
Top 5 Simpsons Quotes: (all Rocky)
"Do you want me to switch the bubbles on" - Jasper
"Don't touch me! Nothing gives you that right!" - um???
"Gym what the hell is a gym?...Oh gym" - Homer (obviously gym is mispronounced by Homer here)
Homer(in childish voice): "Daddy, would you ask the nice man for some candy?"
Normal Homer: "No son"
Child Homer: "Then at least get some candy for yourself."
"Everything's coming up Milhouse" - Milhouse
Top 5 Bands You'd Like to Tour With:
Daft Punk (Shaun)
The Bronx (Rocky)
Kraftwerk (Shaun)
David and the Citizens (Rocky)
A Camp (Shaun)
All-Time Best Lineup for a Single Show (max four bands)
Rocky:
Sleater-Kinney (headliner)
Mates of State
Boo Radley's
AC/DC
Shaun:
My Bloody Valentine
Spiritualized
Pixies
Mercury Rev
Oppenheimer - "Breakfast in NYC"
Oppenheimer - "Saturday Looks Bad to Me" (Live @ Tonic via) (via Ryspace)
Oppenheimer w/They Might Be Giants Tour Dates:
Wednesday 9/12: Baltimore, MD @ Ram's Head Live
Thursday 9/13: State College, PA @ State Theatre
Friday 9/14
Saturday 9/15: St, Louis, MO @ The Pageant
Sunday 9/16
Monday 9/17: Minneapolis, MN @ First Ave
Tuesday 9/18: Iowa City, IA @ Iowa Memorial Union Ballroom
Wednesday 9/19
Thursday 9/20: Boulder, CO @ Boulder Theatre
Friday 9/21: Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot
Saturday 9/22: Boise, ID @ Egyptian Theatre
Sunday 9/23: Missoula, MT @ University of Montana Center Ballroom
Tuesday 9/25: Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
Wednesday 9/26: Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre
Thursday 9/27: Portland, OR @ Roseland
Friday 9/28: Sacramento, CA @ Empire
Saturday 9/29: Santa Cruz, CA @ Rio Theatre
Sunday 9/30: San Francisco, CA @ Fillmore Auditorium
Tuesday 10/2: Ventura, CA @ Majestic Ventura Theatre
Wednesday 10/3: Los Angeles, CA @ Avalon
Thursday 10/4: San Diego, CA @ House of Blues
Friday 10/5: Anaheim, CA @ House of Blues
Saturday 10/6: Tucson, AZ @ Rialto Theatre
Sunday 10/7: Santa Fe, NM @ Santa Fe Brewing Co.
Thursday 10/18: New Haven, CT @ Toad's Place
Friday 10/19: Waltham, MA @ Brandeis University OPPENHEIMER only
Saturday 10/20: Northampton, MA @ Calvin Theatre
Wednesday 10/24: Richmond, VA @ Toad's Place
Friday 10/26: Durham, NC @ Carolina Theatre
Saturday 10/27: Ashville, NC @ Orange Peel
Tuesday 10/30: Greenville, NC @ The Handlebar
Wednesday 10/31: Charleston, SC @ Music Farm
Friday 11/2: Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
Saturday 11/3: Chattanooga, TN @ R&B
Tuesday 11/6: Newport, KY (Cincinnati) @ Southgate House
Wednesday 11/7: Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall
Thursday 11/8: Indianapolis, IN @ The Vogue
Friday 11/9: Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall
Saturday 11/17: Cleveland, OH @ Case Western Reserve University
Friday 11/23: Washington DC @ 9:30 Club
Saturday 11/ 24: Philadelphia, PA @Theatre of Living Arts
(P.S. - They are most likely going to be playing CMJ, hence the huge gap in dates in October!)
- You guys are in the process of recording the follow-up to your self titled debut album, have you settled on a name for the album yet?
Shaun - It's called "Take the Whole Midrange and Boost It"; what do you think of that? Is it a good album title?
- How did you guys come up with that name?
Rocky - I was on tour with a band and they were sound checking and they were on stage and one of their keyboard players was complaining to their sound engineer about the monitors and it got really bad and then he said, in a very thick Norwegian accent, "Take the whole midrange and boost it!" and for the rest of our tour with that band that was just a phrase that we would randomly shout out. It was just a really funny thing that somebody said once.
- When do you think the album will be released?
Both - February
- On your blog you mention that you've reached out to a band to remix one of the new songs that you totally expected to refuse to do it. Who is that band?
Rocky - I'm so nervous that it might not happen, but it seems like its gonna happen. Do you know a band called Ghengis Tron? From Philadelphia? Can you imagine what that's going to sound like? They're just one of those bands that we've played with in the past year and they just completely blown our perception of what music should sound like and we like to wake up our soundman with their songs every morning.
- Have you ever had any of your songs remixed before this?
Rocky - Just one track, we had "Breakfast In NYC" remixed by a band called Skibunny from Belfast and it got used on the Nike website for something, we were nervous about it cause we've been friends with them for years.
- On the album there are a slew of guest appearances, who are the most
notable appearances by? What made you reach out to some many people to have
a hand in the new album?
Rocky - Our friend Hornby who plays in a Belfast band We Are Knives makes an appearance on guitar, which takes it somewhere else completely. We have also asked Matt from The Bronx to do guest vocals on a track, he has completed them apparently, but whether they arrive back in Belfast in time is another question! We were keen to push the boundaries and install the new influences we've had over the past year to represent what we're thinking and doing. We also had a lot of our favourite Belfast singers, and even a couple from Sweden, guest on the chorus of a song. It's really neat to be able to include people we respect a lot, and also means I don't just have to look at Shaun in a studio for 2 months!!!
- What changes have you guys made in recording the new album compared to
your self titled debut?
Rocky - We moved into a dedicated space for this recording, we bought a lot of new equipment,
and we recorded it all in one time, rather than a day a week over the course of a year. We were more adventurous in sounds and the things we played on there.
- You guys have played in New York a bunch of times now, are there any venues that you like to play better than the rest?
Shaun - The one that we are sitting in right now (Union Hall) I love, its really friendly, Skippy is a gentleman. He was one of the first people in New York to put us on and he's so helpful with everything. Unlike Belfast or London, I've never had a bad experience in New York.
- Your songs have appeared on TV now, one on How I met Your Mother and Ugly Betty, are there any shows you'd really want one of your songs to appear on?
Rocky - THE SIMPSONS! If I don't get on the Simpsons before they die I'm never going to be happy. Could you imagine that, since I've been 8 years old I've wanted to somehow be a part of that.
Shaun - I don't know about a TV show, but I'd like to be a part of David Lynch movie.
- Besides having your music in TV shows, you recently let Fuji Films use your song "Nine Words" in one of their commercials. How do you feel about that, did you have to really think about it before you'd let it be in a commercial?
Rocky - To be honest without that commercial I don't think we would have been able to go on, it'd be back to work trying to pay our rent. It was only a couple months ago but it was probably the most important time for it to happen for us because we had just run out of money recording the album and we got offered the chance to come and play with They Might Be Giants and we were gonna have to say no. If it had been something political or something we weren't comfortable with we would have given it some hard thought but its a camera company who's products I own.
- You have just been announced as the opener for the entire They Might Be
Giants tour. How do you guys feel about that?
Rocky - It still doesn't feel real! I cannot wait, we have two more festivals in the UK, and then we're in the States for the best part of three months, probably playing to more people than we ever have before, and we get to see They Might Be Giants every night.
- How do you think crowds across the U.S. will react to your music? Have you guys ever toured across the country like this?
We have looped the country once, with Mosquitos, which was a fine experience. We've also been back and forth from NYC to Austin and around the East Coast. We get to go to some new states this time, and play bigger venues with a lot more people!
Top Five Albums to Take on The Road:
Bronx - Bronx II (Rocky)
My Bloddy Valentine - Loveless (Shaun)
Les Savy Fav - Go Forth (Rocky)
Mates of State - Team Boo (Rocky)
Brian Eno - Thursday Afternoon (Shaun)
Top 5 Music Blogs: (all by Rocky)
Pop Tarts Suck Toasted (yay! nice choice fellas!)
Drowned in Sound
Heckler Spray
Gorilla vs. Bear
Kids on School Buses
Top 5 Bands from Ireland: (all by Shaun)
The Undertones
My Bloody Valentine
We Are Knives
The Chalets
Ash
Top 5 Venues You've Played Thus Far: (Rock & Shaun combined)
Union Hall (New York City)
Wounded Bookshop (Fredericksburg, Virginia)
Bickett Gallery (Raleigh, North Carolina)
Luminaire (London, England)
Limelight (Belfast, Ireland)
Top 5 Oppenheimer Songs to Play Live: (Both Combined)
"Saturday Looks Bad to Me"
"My Son the Astronaut"
"Time Loss Gain"
"Allen Died"
"This is Not a Test"
Top 5 Simpsons Quotes: (all Rocky)
"Do you want me to switch the bubbles on" - Jasper
"Don't touch me! Nothing gives you that right!" - um???
"Gym what the hell is a gym?...Oh gym" - Homer (obviously gym is mispronounced by Homer here)
Homer(in childish voice): "Daddy, would you ask the nice man for some candy?"
Normal Homer: "No son"
Child Homer: "Then at least get some candy for yourself."
"Everything's coming up Milhouse" - Milhouse
Top 5 Bands You'd Like to Tour With:
Daft Punk (Shaun)
The Bronx (Rocky)
Kraftwerk (Shaun)
David and the Citizens (Rocky)
A Camp (Shaun)
All-Time Best Lineup for a Single Show (max four bands)
Rocky:
Sleater-Kinney (headliner)
Mates of State
Boo Radley's
AC/DC
Shaun:
My Bloody Valentine
Spiritualized
Pixies
Mercury Rev
Oppenheimer - "Breakfast in NYC"
Oppenheimer - "Saturday Looks Bad to Me" (Live @ Tonic via) (via Ryspace)
Oppenheimer w/They Might Be Giants Tour Dates:
Wednesday 9/12: Baltimore, MD @ Ram's Head Live
Thursday 9/13: State College, PA @ State Theatre
Friday 9/14
Saturday 9/15: St, Louis, MO @ The Pageant
Sunday 9/16
Monday 9/17: Minneapolis, MN @ First Ave
Tuesday 9/18: Iowa City, IA @ Iowa Memorial Union Ballroom
Wednesday 9/19
Thursday 9/20: Boulder, CO @ Boulder Theatre
Friday 9/21: Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot
Saturday 9/22: Boise, ID @ Egyptian Theatre
Sunday 9/23: Missoula, MT @ University of Montana Center Ballroom
Tuesday 9/25: Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
Wednesday 9/26: Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre
Thursday 9/27: Portland, OR @ Roseland
Friday 9/28: Sacramento, CA @ Empire
Saturday 9/29: Santa Cruz, CA @ Rio Theatre
Sunday 9/30: San Francisco, CA @ Fillmore Auditorium
Tuesday 10/2: Ventura, CA @ Majestic Ventura Theatre
Wednesday 10/3: Los Angeles, CA @ Avalon
Thursday 10/4: San Diego, CA @ House of Blues
Friday 10/5: Anaheim, CA @ House of Blues
Saturday 10/6: Tucson, AZ @ Rialto Theatre
Sunday 10/7: Santa Fe, NM @ Santa Fe Brewing Co.
Thursday 10/18: New Haven, CT @ Toad's Place
Friday 10/19: Waltham, MA @ Brandeis University OPPENHEIMER only
Saturday 10/20: Northampton, MA @ Calvin Theatre
Wednesday 10/24: Richmond, VA @ Toad's Place
Friday 10/26: Durham, NC @ Carolina Theatre
Saturday 10/27: Ashville, NC @ Orange Peel
Tuesday 10/30: Greenville, NC @ The Handlebar
Wednesday 10/31: Charleston, SC @ Music Farm
Friday 11/2: Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
Saturday 11/3: Chattanooga, TN @ R&B
Tuesday 11/6: Newport, KY (Cincinnati) @ Southgate House
Wednesday 11/7: Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall
Thursday 11/8: Indianapolis, IN @ The Vogue
Friday 11/9: Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall
Saturday 11/17: Cleveland, OH @ Case Western Reserve University
Friday 11/23: Washington DC @ 9:30 Club
Saturday 11/ 24: Philadelphia, PA @Theatre of Living Arts
(P.S. - They are most likely going to be playing CMJ, hence the huge gap in dates in October!)
Happy Birthday to my little brother MATT!!!!!
Friday: The free summer shows have almost run their course for 2007, but the Seaport keeps it going just a little bit longer with two more weeks of shows. Next week is the blockbuster one with Deerhunter and Battles performing, but this week we get the excellent lineup of The Last Town Chorus followed by nearly twee indie poppers Camera Obscura. Like I said earlier in the week I have not listened to their last gem of an album nearly enough and I'm hoping to atone for that error in judgement by seeing them rock it out here! As always with the Seaport get their a bit early (show starts at 7pm), dress appropriately, and bring a few bucks to get some big beers up at the seafood place in the mall!!! (full details here!)
Immediately following Camera Obscura's last note I am hoping to hightail it to Sound Fix Records for an intimate performance by one of the finest new bands around - White Rabbits. Not sure how the multiple drum kits and slew of members will fit in there along with the amount of fans they have, but I am sure they will find a way to make it happen. This gets going at 10pm, and is of course completely free.
If all that isn't enough for you there is an official After the Jump pre-party happening tonight on a rooftop in Brooklyn. So if you are at Sound Fix you should be pretty damn close to this and you should stop by. They have a few bands playing including my Monday recommendation this week Luke Temple and DJ David Bruno as well. Oh yeah and there's free beer while it lasts.
Also Performing Live and In Person Tonight:
Octopus Project + Goes Cube @ Bowery Ballroom 8pm $20
Mancino @ The Delancey 7:30pm $8
Beach House + Papercuts @ Union Hall 9:30pm $12
Saturday: Beginning at 1pm you can hang out with 22 New York City bloggers as we watch some of the best bands around rock out for charity at Studio B. At this point you should have heard enough info on this show to absolutely blast your brain into submission, and to beat you into going to the show. Of course there are two parts to this show, the day show being free and the night show costing $12. Here's the lineup's you'll be getting for both:
FREE Day Show Schedule:
MetroMix.com Stage:
2pm The Teenage Prayers
3pm Locksley
4pm Golem
5pm Ra Ra Riot
6pm Spectrum
CONCERT.TV Stage:
2:30pm Jukebox the Ghost
3:30pm Bling Kong
4:30pm Goes Cube
5:30pm Apache Beat
MetroMix.com Night Stage:
10pm The Virgins
11pm Soulico
12am Free Blood
1am Riot in Belgium
w/DJ sets by
Finger on the Pulse
David Bruno
Sunday: Ealier this year I got to see a park in New York that I had never visited before when I caught the Boredoms 77Boadrum at Empire Fulton Ferry in Brooklyn. Today I'm hoping to get a chance to see another park I've never been to when I visit Socrates Sculpture Park in Long Island City for a free performance by The Fiery Furnaces. You all know everything you need to know about the band already so I'm not going to bore you with any other reasons to go, just do it.
Not Performing in Cool Parks:
826NYC Benefit feat. Grizzly Bear, A.C. Newman, Feist, Britt Daniel, Jim James, Sarah Vowell, and Demetri Martin @ Beacon Theater 7pm $35
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Friday's Links:
- The Decemberists have announced a planned tour that will have two stops in each city they visit. One night the show will be devoted to the epic, long songs the band have built such as "The Tain", while the other night will feature the much shorter, more standard pop length songs like "O, Valencia". I hope to be attending both when they hit New York! Filter has the full dates.
- Product Shop has officially offered Operation Ivy the grand sum of $1,000 to perform during the CMJ music marathon this year. Not quite the $75,000,000 Morrissey turned down for a Smiths reunion, but amazingly a reunion I'd be more interested in seeing.
- Stereogum names Le Loup as a band to look out for and I couldn't agree more. In fact I am pissed that they wrote something about them before I did.
- Music for Kids Who Can't Read Good interviews Murray Hewitt, band manager for Flight of the Conchords.
Friday: The free summer shows have almost run their course for 2007, but the Seaport keeps it going just a little bit longer with two more weeks of shows. Next week is the blockbuster one with Deerhunter and Battles performing, but this week we get the excellent lineup of The Last Town Chorus followed by nearly twee indie poppers Camera Obscura. Like I said earlier in the week I have not listened to their last gem of an album nearly enough and I'm hoping to atone for that error in judgement by seeing them rock it out here! As always with the Seaport get their a bit early (show starts at 7pm), dress appropriately, and bring a few bucks to get some big beers up at the seafood place in the mall!!! (full details here!)Immediately following Camera Obscura's last note I am hoping to hightail it to Sound Fix Records for an intimate performance by one of the finest new bands around - White Rabbits. Not sure how the multiple drum kits and slew of members will fit in there along with the amount of fans they have, but I am sure they will find a way to make it happen. This gets going at 10pm, and is of course completely free.
If all that isn't enough for you there is an official After the Jump pre-party happening tonight on a rooftop in Brooklyn. So if you are at Sound Fix you should be pretty damn close to this and you should stop by. They have a few bands playing including my Monday recommendation this week Luke Temple and DJ David Bruno as well. Oh yeah and there's free beer while it lasts.Also Performing Live and In Person Tonight:
Octopus Project + Goes Cube @ Bowery Ballroom 8pm $20
Mancino @ The Delancey 7:30pm $8
Beach House + Papercuts @ Union Hall 9:30pm $12
Saturday: Beginning at 1pm you can hang out with 22 New York City bloggers as we watch some of the best bands around rock out for charity at Studio B. At this point you should have heard enough info on this show to absolutely blast your brain into submission, and to beat you into going to the show. Of course there are two parts to this show, the day show being free and the night show costing $12. Here's the lineup's you'll be getting for both:
FREE Day Show Schedule:
MetroMix.com Stage:
2pm The Teenage Prayers
3pm Locksley
4pm Golem
5pm Ra Ra Riot
6pm Spectrum
CONCERT.TV Stage:
2:30pm Jukebox the Ghost
3:30pm Bling Kong
4:30pm Goes Cube
5:30pm Apache Beat
MetroMix.com Night Stage:
10pm The Virgins
11pm Soulico
12am Free Blood
1am Riot in Belgium
w/DJ sets by
Finger on the Pulse
David Bruno
Sunday: Ealier this year I got to see a park in New York that I had never visited before when I caught the Boredoms 77Boadrum at Empire Fulton Ferry in Brooklyn. Today I'm hoping to get a chance to see another park I've never been to when I visit Socrates Sculpture Park in Long Island City for a free performance by The Fiery Furnaces. You all know everything you need to know about the band already so I'm not going to bore you with any other reasons to go, just do it.
Not Performing in Cool Parks:
826NYC Benefit feat. Grizzly Bear, A.C. Newman, Feist, Britt Daniel, Jim James, Sarah Vowell, and Demetri Martin @ Beacon Theater 7pm $35
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Friday's Links:
- The Decemberists have announced a planned tour that will have two stops in each city they visit. One night the show will be devoted to the epic, long songs the band have built such as "The Tain", while the other night will feature the much shorter, more standard pop length songs like "O, Valencia". I hope to be attending both when they hit New York! Filter has the full dates.
- Product Shop has officially offered Operation Ivy the grand sum of $1,000 to perform during the CMJ music marathon this year. Not quite the $75,000,000 Morrissey turned down for a Smiths reunion, but amazingly a reunion I'd be more interested in seeing.
- Stereogum names Le Loup as a band to look out for and I couldn't agree more. In fact I am pissed that they wrote something about them before I did.
- Music for Kids Who Can't Read Good interviews Murray Hewitt, band manager for Flight of the Conchords.
My invitation to the BOAT party must have gotten lost in the mail a few months back when they released their glorious new album Let's Drag Our Feet, but luckily the invitation finally arrived at my door and I have been welcomed into their joyous sounds with wide open arms. For the past two or three weeks I have been absolutely addicted to this album, spinning it over and over again on my iPod (note: on one continental plane ride I listened to the album three consecutive times, yeah that's just sick when you have over 4,000 other songs at your finger tips!), and have become quite the BOAT enthusiast.With a load of exuberance, melody, and sing-a-long choruses, Let's Drag Our Feet is a beautiful example of what can happen when a band is having fun making music. The songs on this album swoop around you and force you to tap your toe along with every note if you're sitting down (as I am now), or bounce around if you are standing up. I could go ahead and list all my favorite tracks off the album, but you might as well just flip the album over and read the track listing because all the songs are my favorites! Does that sound corny? It probably is, but they really are fantastic, joyous bits of pop-rock joy.
At times the band can incorporate several different sounds into one song going from some Animal Collective influence to some Islands and on to some Boy Least Likely To. Its a great combination of happy sounds which all but guarantees a smile being left on your face, and that's exactly why I like it - because it sounds like the feeling of being happy.
It doesn't seem like BOAT has made a trip to the East coast to play us their tunes live yet, but I guess that's a good thing seeing as I am new to this party and would really regret not knowing about them if they had played here. So hopefully, they will make it out here one day and we can rock out with smiles upon our faces as they thrill us with their incredibly fun tunes. (BOAT if you're reading this I will host you at my place if that's what it takes to get you out here!) You can go ahead and buy their album here after you check out the tunes below!
BOAT - "The Bar is Too Low to Fail"
BOAT - "Sore Toes and Elbows"
BOAT's website
BOAT on Myspace
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Thursday's Links:
- Pitchfork has Aesop Rock on its Guest List today.
- Earfarm added another interview to the growing list of After the Jump bands interviewed so far as he sat down with Locksley for a quick chat.
- Liars and Architecture in Helsinki united to out Fall Out Boy guitarist Joe Trohman as an actual talented musician who just happens to stand behind Pete Wentz' spotlight night after night. (via MTV.com)
For the past few months 22 New York based bloggers, myself included, have toiled to bring New York another free music festival while supporting a good cause at the same time. The result is the After the Jump Fest which will make its debut on August 25th at Studio B in Brooklyn. The festival features a wide array of bands that have been hand picked based on their innovative sounds and their abilities to make a crowd have a great time, all while embracing the new, digital world of music.
With a free day show, and a fairly inexpensive night show (all proceeds going to charity, which I will get to shortly), you'd be crazy not to head on over to Studio B to join us for the event. The day show features a slew of buzzed about bands that are about to break into the big time and the night show offers the same, with a slightly more dance feel to it. Aside from the bands there will be booze (free Colt 45 at 9pm for you night show enthusiasts), food, and lots of fun all for a good cause.
During the day show a raffle will be held to raise money for a music class in a New York City public school that needed new equipment to learn with. Our goal is to raise $10,000 for this and we're counting on your generosity to reach that goal. There is a load of prizes in raffle including CD's, prize packs, and of course 2 CMJ Music Marathon Badges that will give you total access to the CMJ Marathon in October. (current list of prizes)
Now here's a break down of the bands playing the show and some sample of their music to help convince you all to join us on Saturday!!! (we could also use your help during the day)
MetroMix.com Day Stage:
2pm - The Teenage Prayers (interview by The Modern Age); the first of many NYC based bands (hey we're a bit biased sorry), The Teenage Prayers are well versed on getting New York crowds rocking. They have played a bunch of blog sponsored events in the past and should get the ball rolling nicely at the fest.
3pm - Locksley ; another New York based band, also well versed in the NY crowds and in playing blog shows, Locksley have been gaining a lot of momentum since the release of their album Don't Make Me Wait. The band combines pop sensibility with a general itch to turn up all their equipment and rock it which, believe it or not, is an amazing combination.
Locksley - "My Kind of Lover"
4pm - Golem; probably the craziest band playing the fest, they have been grouped with the likes of Beirut and Gogol Bordello because of their old world sound but this band speeds it up and forces you to dance like you were at your bat mitzvah all over again.
Golem - "Warsaw is Khelm" (via i rock i roll)
5pm - Ra Ra Riot; regular readers of Pop Tarts are probably getting sick and tired of hearing about Ra Ra Riot, or they have already taken my advice and fallen in love with the band. Having first seen them nearly a year ago I have become an impassioned fan of the band seeing them every time they blow through town no matter who they are playing with or where. Seeing them live is an awesome spectacle as the only member that stays in one spot the entire show is the drummer, and I suspect that is only because of the limitations of his instrument.
Ra Ra Riot - "Every Year"
6pm - Spectrum (interview by The Music Sluts); I have no clue who these people are.
CONCERT.TV Day Stage:
2:30pm - Jukebox the Ghost (interview by Music Snobbery); having just graduated from college, this young threesome is poised to become a giant on the music scene. Their piano led ways and wistful lyrics have led some to compare them to Ben Folds and They Might Be Giants, but this band is sure to carve out their own niche in the world. They also have an excellent stage presence which will surely be on display for all of you on Saturday.
Jukebox the Ghost - "Hold It In"
3:30pm - Bling Kong (interview by Disconap); featuring more members than any other band performing at the fest, we're really not sure how they're all going to fit on the stage but once they find a way we are sure they are going to blow you away. Their sound has been raved about all over New York and if you haven't caught them yet this may be one of your last chances to catch them in an intimate setting.
Bling Kong - "Enter Bling Kong"
4:30pm - Goes Cube (interview by Subinev); Goes Cube doesn't exactly do things by the book. Instead of naming their songs they number them, which makes for a pretty interesting set when the members don't remember which number is which song, but also keeps things fairly simple for this New York band.
Goes Cube - "26"
5:30pm - Apache Beat; I apologize Apache Beat, but this will be my first exposure to you. I therefore have nothing to say here.
MetroMix.com Night Show Stage: (buy tickets!)
10pm - The Virgins (interview by Me); another rocking New York band, that has gained some big name press since touring the country with Jet earlier this year. Of course the association with Jet may not win them any indie points, but the band could care less about their image as they let their rocking garage sound do the talking for them rather then looking good. Though they certainly do look good ladies.
11pm - Soulico (interview by The Music Slut); an Israeli dance band comes to Brooklyn. Fits nicely I think, and I think you'll find the same.
Soulico - "Pitom Banu"
12am - Free Blood; I believe Free Blood is a project helmed by former members of !!!. I could be wrong in this assumption but that is what I have been led to believe. I have yet to hear them, but if that first sentence does ring true I have no fear that they will be absolutely amazing.
1am - Riot in Belgium (interview by Product Shop); foreign DJ's here to make you shake your butts. Like Justice and Simian Mobile Disco and the rest of their kind these folks are about to blow up on this side of the Atlantic.
Riot in Belgium - "La Musique" (Adam Sky remix)
Of course this show would not be possible without our sponsors who you should visit on a daily basis...
Cellfish Media, MetroMix, CONCERT.TV, Indaba Music, Imeem, CMJ, Xanga, and Colt 45.
While planning my vacation in London I noticed that Dan Deacon would be playing in the city while I was there and I was determined to take the opportunity to see him live in a small, foreign venue where the kids wouldn't know exactly what Dan was all about. It was during this time that I thought maybe Dan would like to sit for an interview and sure enough it all worked out and I got to chat with Dan about everything going on in his crazy life; from touring with Girl Talk, to his current UK tour, his upcoming scavenger hunt show, recording a new album, and the Baltimore scene. It was a blast meeting him and watching him perform!!!- How's the European tour going so far?
Really well, a couple of the shows sold out. Which sort of blew my mind. My record isn't really distributed well out here so its pretty amazing.
- You haven't been here before, have you gotten to see any of the sites?
I guess I saw like Big Ben and the Palace. Last night in Paris we hung out on this boat on the Seine river. There was this party on the boat and this guy hooked us up with passes.
- How are the crowds reacting to sets here?
They're good, a little reserved at first, but by the end they get into it.
- Is it similar to the reaction you get at home?
Its similar to the reaction I got at home when I first started when people would just kind of stand there and watch at the beginning and towards the end get into it. Where now people sort of know what to expect a little bit and its more rowdy off the bat.
- Are there any cities you're looking forward the rest of the tour?
I'm really looking forward to Helsinki.
- You're coming out with your DVD that you collaborated on with Jimmy Roche, that mixes your music with visual images of Arnold Schwarzenegger. How'd the idea of this come about?
I wrote the piece of music and I was practicing it at Wham City, which is where we live, and Jimmy came in and said "what the hell are you doing?". Put it with two live drummers, its fourteen minutes long, its no live vocals, its very...intense piece. And he sat in on the rehearsal and he said 'I'd love to make visuals for this'. We had been talking for years about doing something with Jurassic Park or using mass Hollywood stuff and getting more and more into pshycadelica. And he said why not make all the visuals Schwarzenegger stuff, and at first I didn't know if it would be that cool, though I love Schwarzenegger. But he blew me away with it, and then we made another piece to follow that up and another piece to follow that up.
- Do you have a favorite Arnold film?
I really love Total Recall.
- During the DVD does Schwarzenegger talk during it?
No, no there's no sounds. We're working on another piece to follow this where we'll include sound from the movies as well as the music .
- If Arnold got his wish and immigrants were allowed to run for president would you vote for him?
YES!
- Just because he's Arnold?
I think it would help bring about the end of the world, which I am looking forward to!
- I recently read that you'll be doing a show with NY Magazine in New York Labor Day weekend which centers around a scavenger hunt. Did you have any part in coming up with that idea?
They offered me a chance to do, but I don't really know what to include because I've been traveling. Hopefully it'll include something to do with the Cake Shop, maybe I just gave something away.
- Can you tell us where you're going to play?
No, that would ruin the whole thing!
- You're big in the Baltimore scene, which you guys call 'Wham City'...
We're part of the Baltimore scene.
- Are there any bands that you're a really big fan of from there right now?
It's not a band but its this guy Ed Shrader. He does a live format talk show at venues, galleries, bars. Ed's an amazing performer and comedian who's really fucking good. He's doing a show in New York at this place called Space Space which should be on whamcity.com with all the info. But him, this band called Santa Dads are amazing.
- Now you came to Baltimore via SUNY Purchase, where are you originally from?
West Babylon, Long Island
- What made you decide to move to Baltimore?
Some friends who had lived there really pumped it up and a few people went down to visit and really liked it. It just seemed like the right place...wow they have really small pool balls here...at the right time we found a really cheap warehouse.
- What made you decide to take your setup off the stage and just stick it in the middle of the floor?
I think most of the shows I did when I first started didn't have stages. So I got used to people being right up front and then when I did set up on a stage I just didn't feel as comfortable, and it felt weird, and people wouldn't dance as hard, so I just sort of made it a rule.
- Do places like McCarren Park Pool freak out when you start setting up on the floor?
No they were pumped on it. The Pitchfork fest was very pro me doing it, but the promotions crew or whatever they call it, they hated the idea.
- And then you got shut down, which must have been pretty cool?
No that sucked!
- Well how far into your set were you?
I had probably like 14 minutes left, I was right at the end of "Sounds like the wind(?)" so maybe another 30 seconds of that, and then I was going to go into "Wham City" and i just wish that could have happened. I was so looking forward to playing with this large group of people, and P-fork really pumped that song, and I made like 500 lyric sheets and all these posters. I think it would have been cool. I did it at Whartscape like a week later.
- How was Whartscape?
It was fun, it was like the most fun I had at a show in a long long time. It was really laid back, with a ton of bands and everyone was cool.
- With the whole floor setup, what's the craziest thing that's happened while interacting with the crowd like that?
I did this show in New Orleans and I was probably midway through the second song and this kid was dancing and his foot got caught in the cord and just pulled all the gear onto the floor. And I just ended the set.
- You're about to go on tour with Girl Talk, how'd that whole tour come about?
We've been friends for a long time, and Greg has helped me out a great deal and he's really good at hooking up his friends who aren't as successful as him and getting them attention. I don't think Pitchfork would have given me as much attention if Greg hadn't first mentioned me in his Guest List interview.
- Now who do you think is gonna make the fans sweatier?
I don't know they dance pretty hard for both of us, very differently.
- You're about to start recording again, do you have any plans laid out for it?
Yeah its all done, the album is done I just need to record the vocals. And then that's it, basically whenever I have any down time I've been listening to it again and again. So as soon as I go home its fresh in my mind.
- Are you gonna play any of it for us tonight?
I do "Sounds Like the Wind" which is on the album, this song "Woof Woof" that I do in the set and I might open up with a new one, its not new but its on the new album and I've never opened with it before but its my third show in London on this tour and i kinda wanna mix the set up. I'm really excited for it to come out I think...."Spiderman of the Rings" is kind of like you have a party and you put the candy and chips out and this album is sort of like the main course. Its been like the evolution of my work for a long time the longer form pieces, not less poppy but more spiritual and ritualistic very in my mind a ritualistic album.
- Do you have a title for it?
I've been calling it Braumst (I am totally spelling this wrong!). But I'm not exactly certain what I'm gonna call it. I really wanna call an album Ghostbuster Crook, but I don't think this is the album to be called Ghostbuster Crook.
- Do you have any idea when its gonna be released?
It'll be out in March or April...plus it'll be nice not to tour for a while. I've been on tour for like three years.
Top 5's:
- What are your Top 5 Albums of 2007 so far?
Santa Dads - Hannah Moody
The Prog Dogs - Beer is Wormtongue
The Double Daggers - Ragged Rubble
Aa - GAame
The Bird Names - Wooden Lake/Sexual Diner
- What have been your Top 5 shows of the year so far?
Whartscape
Video Hippos
Scrummage University Show
Marnie Stern @ Kern Gallery
Sewn Leather @ a warehouse in New Orleans
- What are the Top 5 things you're looking forward to for the rest of the year?
recording
unpacking
starting the sequel DVD
opening the new Wham City
sleeping in my own bed
- Who are the Top 5 bands you'd most like to tour with?
Devo
Talking Heads
Conlon Nancarrow
Eats Tapes
Raymond Scott
Dan Deacon - "Jimmy Roche"
Dan Deacon - "Splish Splish"
- It's only my third day back from my summer vacation and I already feel like I need another vacation. Ugh.
- Billboard.com has a chat with Les Savy Fav about their first album since 2001, Let's Stay Friend. Considering the amount of times they've hit New York to play live shows its kind of surprising they haven't released anything in so long, but I am really looking forward to the new album!
- Sports Note #1: I absolutely despise the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim with a passion that rivals that of my loathing of the Red Sox.
- Largehearted Boy has an interview by Eugene Mirman of Alina Simone. Gotta love the comedians asking musicians questions.
- TV Note #1: I finally caught a new episode of Flight of the Conchords (which has been picked up by HBO for another season!) for the first time in a couple of weeks. I haven't caught up on all the episodes I've missed, but Sunday's episode was fantastic! If you're not watching this show then you must be like me and be without cable right now.
- The Glorious Hum sat down for a chat with Justin Rice of Bishop Allen, who happen to be one of my most played bands right now. Make sure you check out the chat and also the band's fantastic music.
- You may have seen my interview with The Virgins yesterday that is part of the promotion for After the Jump Fest. Well, many of the other bloggers involved have been interviewing bands too; The Music Slut interviewed our headliner Spectrum, Music Snobbery sat down with the piano wielding Jukebox the Ghost, the Sluts also made time for a chat with Soulico, Product Shop went after the night headliners Riot in Belgium, Disconap hangs with Bling Kong, Subinev get numeric with Goes Cube, Ear Farm sowed its oats with Locksley, and Miss Modern Age woos The Teenage Prayers. Lots of reading to get you prepared for Saturday's insanity! (plus more on the fest at some point this week!!!)
- Sports Note #2: Football is almost here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- Lots of tours were announced this week here's a peek at some of the better ones: BV has the date for The Gossip with The Long Blondes, Mercury Prize nominee Bat for Lashes will be coming 'round in the fall, CMJ drops some Donnas dates on us, and of course the big announcement of the week is that Bob Dylan and Elvis Costello will be joining forces for a mega-tour (via P-Fork).
- TV Note #2: On Sunday night, jet lagged as I was, I managed to mostly catch up on Rescue Me. I think I still missed an episode or two in there but man has the season really picked up since Jerry took his life. It has been a non-stop roller coaster with lots of laughs pushing the cars around the bends. What a great show.
- Gorilla vs. Bear pointed me to an interview of M.I.A. by none other than the legendary Spike Jonze! A great time ensues.
- The best band blog around, The Deerhunter Blog, continues to impress with lots of free music from the band and pictures that show visual evidence of why I want to be friends with Deerhunter. I love reading this stuff, I really really do.
- Best Week Ever makes sure you know what songs to absolutely not sing at karaoke next time you go. Personally, I always try to get in a duet of Meatloaf's "Paradise By the Dashboard Life" if someone actually managed to goad me into going.
- Book Note #1: I picked up the Best American Music Writing 2006 before I left for vacation and have absolutely loved it. With articles tackling the history of M.I.A., R. Kelly's Trapped in the Closet video, and a load of other awesome topics it never leaves bored or flipping around to find a better story. Very nice compilation folks, but maybe next year you can include me.
- Brooklyn Vegan let us know sometime last week that Nick "no longer called Diamonds" Thorburn (of Islands and Unicorns fame) would be performing a show at Mercury Lounge tomorrow night under the name Juiced Elfers which is apparently a side project of sorts. I'm planning on going aren't you???
- CMJ.com decided to put their Spotlight on the makers of my favorite album of the year Battles!
- Pitchfork has a new studio track from Radiohead. Yeah that says what you think it says.
Okay folks that's enough links and thoughts for this week. Instead of tracks for the week I have a couple of videos for After the Jump Fest. Hope you like 'em!
The Virgins are set to play the blogger sponsored After the Jump Fest on Saturday night during the upbeat, dance happy night show. I got a chance to chat with Donald Cummings here's what he had to say about the fest, touring with Jet, and a few other topics.
- So you guys recently got back from a national tour with Jet, what was
that experience like?
It was the best thing ever, fairy tales can come true, etc. Those guys are champions, a real rock n' roll band. It was a beautiful experience, and they're all
beautiful guys - they showed us the ropes on our first tour.
- Did the crowds across the States take to you well?
We had no idea what to expect, we were/ are very green, they took to us well, it was really liberating, the kids were amazing, some asshole heckled us on the second night of the tour but that was it, mostly we all danced around and had a ball.
- How does touring the rest of the country compare to playing New York?
New Yorkers can be a little uptight, sometimes shows feel more like a stand off than anything else, I love to watch people dance, New Yorkers need to loosen up a bit, but it's our home town and most of the venues in the city have really good sound with great sound guys so it's really a pleasure to play in the city and we feel a lot of love when we can hear our friends in the crowd. They're all very supportive and i think that energy catches on so the shows in NY are probably our best
- You guys just finished and released a brand new EP, why'd you opt for
the short player rather than going for a full length album?
Didn't have enough songs that were properly recorded for a full length, we made the EP so that there was something to take home after the shows
- What's been the response from fans so far, and how do you guys feel
about the way the EP came out?
I've never listened to it all the way through, I just want to change everything, but the other guys like it so I'm happy that it's out there.
- Now you have agreed to play the After the Jump fest which we are
extremely grateful for, are there any bands you are looking forward to
seeing at the show?
Looking forward to seeing everyone!
- Obviously this festival is meant to raise money for the
underprivileged schools in New York city, and specifically the music
programs within them. Did you guys ever participate in school music
programs?
We sang show tunes at my grade school, a few unfortunate ladies tried
to teach me to play the recorder, but I was disruptive
- What are the band's plans following the festival? Some more touring? Some rest?
We're going to start recording a full length in Sept, back on the road in Oct. w/
Tokyo police Club and White Rabbits
- One of our sponsors for the fest is the CMJ Music Marathon, are you
guys planning to play?
I have no idea, are we invited?
- Playing the night portion of the fest you're going to be playing with
some really crazy dance bands, what's your take on that whole scene of
DJ's, mash-ups, and the like? Do you feel that's the future of where
music is going?
We've been appropriated into some questionable mash ups, I don't know, I love dance music and dance bands, I've yet to successfully predict the future.
Okay now I like to just get a list of Top 5's, a la High Fidelity
- What are the band's top 5 albums to play in the van on the road?
I don't have an iPod, so I have a big bag of CD's in the front of the van...
on the road you kind of have to stick to the classics everything else gets annoying QUICK...
Diamond Dogs - David bowie ("one more time!" - Everyone)
All That Jazz - Motion Picture Soundtrack ("wtf, you guys are driving
me crazy!" - Aviva, our tour manager)
Combat Rock/ Sandinista - The Clash ("did you hear that weird sound
coming out of the speaker under the seat in the back row?" - Wade)
Harvest/ After the Gold Rush - Neil young ("could you switch this to
the front speakers? We're trying to sleep! - Wade)
Blood On the Tracks - Bobby D ("please Donald, stop playing this
fucking shit, you're killing us!" - unspoken vibe from Everyone, i
know what they say when i get out to hit the rest stops)
- What are the top 5 original Virgins songs to play live?
Rich Girls
Fernando Pando
Fast Times
Love is Colder than Death
Jet Set
- If you could tour with any 5 bands ever; living, dead, defunct, etc,
who would they be?
Rolling Stones 72 American tour
Def Jam tours raising hell 86 and together forever 88
Sex Pistols American tour 78
David Bowie Diamond Dogs tour 74
Dennis Hopper "The Last Movie" college tour 71 - ?
- If you were ever asked to participate in a Guilty Pleasures album (aka
an album where you cover a tune that you might be a bit ashamed to
play) what would be the five most likely songs you would play?
We don't have any problem covering our guilty pleasures, come to a show you'll probably hear one or two.
- Who are your top 5 local bands right now?
Lissy Trullie and the Fibs
A.R.E. Weapons
Gang Gang Dance
Mod Rocket
The Virgins
- What are the 5 best venues you've ever played?
A crazy baby blue theatre in Kentucky
Bowert Ballroom - NYC
House of Blues in Chicago
Olympia in Paris
St. Mark's Church in New York
- Top 5 places to eat on the road?
Any hotel w/ room service
, no way, not again!" - Everyone)
Gas Stations ("Hey, i got you a present, check out this zany souvenir" - Nick)
Whole Foods ("it's a miracle!" - Everyone)
Trader Joe's ("sucks" - Donald)
- So you guys recently got back from a national tour with Jet, what was
that experience like?
It was the best thing ever, fairy tales can come true, etc. Those guys are champions, a real rock n' roll band. It was a beautiful experience, and they're all
beautiful guys - they showed us the ropes on our first tour.
- Did the crowds across the States take to you well?
We had no idea what to expect, we were/ are very green, they took to us well, it was really liberating, the kids were amazing, some asshole heckled us on the second night of the tour but that was it, mostly we all danced around and had a ball.
- How does touring the rest of the country compare to playing New York?
New Yorkers can be a little uptight, sometimes shows feel more like a stand off than anything else, I love to watch people dance, New Yorkers need to loosen up a bit, but it's our home town and most of the venues in the city have really good sound with great sound guys so it's really a pleasure to play in the city and we feel a lot of love when we can hear our friends in the crowd. They're all very supportive and i think that energy catches on so the shows in NY are probably our best
- You guys just finished and released a brand new EP, why'd you opt for
the short player rather than going for a full length album?
Didn't have enough songs that were properly recorded for a full length, we made the EP so that there was something to take home after the shows
- What's been the response from fans so far, and how do you guys feel
about the way the EP came out?
I've never listened to it all the way through, I just want to change everything, but the other guys like it so I'm happy that it's out there.
- Now you have agreed to play the After the Jump fest which we are
extremely grateful for, are there any bands you are looking forward to
seeing at the show?
Looking forward to seeing everyone!
- Obviously this festival is meant to raise money for the
underprivileged schools in New York city, and specifically the music
programs within them. Did you guys ever participate in school music
programs?
We sang show tunes at my grade school, a few unfortunate ladies tried
to teach me to play the recorder, but I was disruptive
- What are the band's plans following the festival? Some more touring? Some rest?
We're going to start recording a full length in Sept, back on the road in Oct. w/
Tokyo police Club and White Rabbits
- One of our sponsors for the fest is the CMJ Music Marathon, are you
guys planning to play?
I have no idea, are we invited?
- Playing the night portion of the fest you're going to be playing with
some really crazy dance bands, what's your take on that whole scene of
DJ's, mash-ups, and the like? Do you feel that's the future of where
music is going?
We've been appropriated into some questionable mash ups, I don't know, I love dance music and dance bands, I've yet to successfully predict the future.
Okay now I like to just get a list of Top 5's, a la High Fidelity
- What are the band's top 5 albums to play in the van on the road?
I don't have an iPod, so I have a big bag of CD's in the front of the van...
on the road you kind of have to stick to the classics everything else gets annoying QUICK...
Diamond Dogs - David bowie ("one more time!" - Everyone)
All That Jazz - Motion Picture Soundtrack ("wtf, you guys are driving
me crazy!" - Aviva, our tour manager)
Combat Rock/ Sandinista - The Clash ("did you hear that weird sound
coming out of the speaker under the seat in the back row?" - Wade)
Harvest/ After the Gold Rush - Neil young ("could you switch this to
the front speakers? We're trying to sleep! - Wade)
Blood On the Tracks - Bobby D ("please Donald, stop playing this
fucking shit, you're killing us!" - unspoken vibe from Everyone, i
know what they say when i get out to hit the rest stops)
- What are the top 5 original Virgins songs to play live?
Rich Girls
Fernando Pando
Fast Times
Love is Colder than Death
Jet Set
- If you could tour with any 5 bands ever; living, dead, defunct, etc,
who would they be?
Rolling Stones 72 American tour
Def Jam tours raising hell 86 and together forever 88
Sex Pistols American tour 78
David Bowie Diamond Dogs tour 74
Dennis Hopper "The Last Movie" college tour 71 - ?
- If you were ever asked to participate in a Guilty Pleasures album (aka
an album where you cover a tune that you might be a bit ashamed to
play) what would be the five most likely songs you would play?
We don't have any problem covering our guilty pleasures, come to a show you'll probably hear one or two.
- Who are your top 5 local bands right now?
Lissy Trullie and the Fibs
A.R.E. Weapons
Gang Gang Dance
Mod Rocket
The Virgins
- What are the 5 best venues you've ever played?
A crazy baby blue theatre in Kentucky
Bowert Ballroom - NYC
House of Blues in Chicago
Olympia in Paris
St. Mark's Church in New York
- Top 5 places to eat on the road?
Any hotel w/ room service
, no way, not again!" - Everyone)
Gas Stations ("Hey, i got you a present, check out this zany souvenir" - Nick)
Whole Foods ("it's a miracle!" - Everyone)
Trader Joe's ("sucks" - Donald)
When I first heard Architecture In Helsinki's second studio album, In Case We Die, it must have been months after it was first released. It was my first exposure to the Australian twee group and I was in love mere minutes into listening as the second track, "It's 5!" blared into my brain and stuck there for the next few weeks. Since my first listen I have returned again and again to the album, each time a new song becomes lodged in my head for a few days and I'll walk the streets of New York humming a chorus or two to myself all day long.Listening to their follow-up, Places Like This, is like deja vu as I have had the same feeling since the first time I heard the lead single off the album, "Heart it Races". Using a sing-a-long rhythm section and their signature cutesy harmonies, the song is such an immediate addiction it may wind up being hazardous to your health. Though the lyrics seem to be completely devoid of reason I can sing each one of them, and do quite often when I find myself listening to it in the car or in my room. The rest of the album proves to be the same way, as the album is littered with syrupy sing-a-long choruses, and enough synths and rhythms to get even the most cynical indie kids moving a bit.
Places Like This opens with the sounds of a video game like explosion and its such an apropos opening as the rest of the album explodes with some of the finest twee music these ears have ever heard. A lot of the music found on the album is reminiscent of In Case We Die, but it seems the band has attempted to fit more into each song. Extra synth sounds, more singers, loads more harmonies, and even more infectious lyrics make this a fair sized step up from the previous album, which hopefully will push Architecture in Helsinki to the next level in the music world.
Being fun from the beginning to end, is just the first of many reasons to run out and buy this album today, but it is the most important reason. In a world where music is coming at you from every conceivable angle, it is important to remember that this art is meant to entertain and that is exactly what Architecture in Helsinki manage to accomplish with Places Like This!
Architecture in Helsinki - "Heart It Races"
Architecture in Helsinki - "Like It or Not"
buy it at insound!
Also Released Today:
Monday: Luke Temple @ Sound Fix Records 8pm FREE
Not too sure who Luke Temple is, but based on a brief listen to the Myspace I'm into it enough to recommend a trip to Sound Fix Records to see them for free! Not too much else going down tonight though.
Tuesday: The New Pornographers @ Bowery Ballroom 8pm $20
By the time you read this this show may be sold out, but as I wrote it I was on the page trying to decide whether it was worth $50 for two people to go to this show. Seeing as my funds have been sorely depleted thanks to a ridiculous exchange rate on the Sterling Pound I'm probably going to have to pass, but you shouldn't!
The New Pornographers - "My Rights Versus Yours"
Wednesday: The XYZ Affair, Dappled Cities, & Via Audio @ Union Hall 7:30pm $8
All three of these bands have been blazing up the blogs in the past few months and for good reason - they rock. Its a very solid bill at an excellent venue for not a lot of money, and you would be crazy to miss it. That's all.
Dappled Cities - "Within Hours"
Thursday: Eats Tapes @ Death by Audio 8pm $tba
While in London I almost caught Eats Tapes playing with Dan Deacon, but left before he came on due to exhaustion. I will try and make up for that terrible decision tonight. Dan also highly recommends him.
Eats Tapes - "It's Coming to Get You" (Yacht Remix)
...also Camera Obscura @ Sound Fix Records 8pm FREE
I'm going to see them at the Seaport tomorrow, this may just be a bit too packed for my liking!
Friday: Camera Obscura @ South Street Seaport 7pm FREE
Camera Obscura is one of those bands that often get lost in the throng of wonderful indie pop bands on my iPod, but I really should listen to them more then I currently do. There last album was magnificent, and I've never seen them live so I'm really looking forward to it.
Camera Obscura - "If Looks Could Kill"
...then White Rabbits @ Sound Fix Records 10pm FREE
One of the best new bands of the year, if you live in New York and haven't seen them yet you're missing out on one of the best live bands around town. Do whatever you must to make it to this free instore!
White Rabbits - "The Plot"
Saturday: After the Jump Fest @ Studio B (Day Show) 1pm FREE
After months of work we finally get to see what our work amounts to. This is a fest that will be hosted by 22 different bloggers all of whom have toiled through long meetings and spent a ridiculous amount of time getting this together. The day show features a slew of awesome bands including Ra Ra Riot, Jukebox the Ghost, Spectrum, Goes Cube, Bling Kong, and many more. The event is being held completely for free, though you will be asked for donations which will be going to a school's music program and will get you a raffle ticket for some great prizes. More on this show throughout the week.
Ra Ra Riot - "Every Year"
Jukebox the Ghost - "Hold It In"
Goes Cube - "26"
...then After the Jump Fest @ Studio B (Night Show) 9pm $12
Not as cheap as our day show, but all the proceeds go to the charity mentioned above. This is a way more dancey type of show with The Virgins, Free Blood, Soulico, and Riot in Belgium. Should be a good one!
Sunday: The Fiery Furnaces @ Socrates Sculpture Park
The Fiery Furnaces + Free - McCarren Park on a Sunday = where I'll be!
The Fiery Furnaces - "Quay Cur"
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Monday's Links:
- Archetypal Drunks is celebrating their second anniversary of posting mixes with a sort of "Best of" mix. Its excellent and you can download the whole thing which I suggest you do soon!
- Bumpershine interviews Slap You in Public (aka David Bruno) who will be DJing during the night portion of After the Jump Fest on Saturday night.
- By some used belongings from Bradford Cox of Deerhunter.
- Obscure Sound talks about The Jealous Girlfriends! You should go listen!
- Daytrotter has some in-studio sounds from Menomena!
- Pitchfork interviews Okkervil River, makers of the latest Best New Music album.
- Art Brut and The Hold Steady have announced a massive tour combining their ferocious live talents as one. Having spoken to Eddie last week, I was a bit worried that they would be playing Roseland Ballroom but it seems the bands have decided to try out the new Terminal 5 instead. Good choice Eddie! I hope I had some hand in that. (dates via Pitchfork)
Not too sure who Luke Temple is, but based on a brief listen to the Myspace I'm into it enough to recommend a trip to Sound Fix Records to see them for free! Not too much else going down tonight though.
Tuesday: The New Pornographers @ Bowery Ballroom 8pm $20
By the time you read this this show may be sold out, but as I wrote it I was on the page trying to decide whether it was worth $50 for two people to go to this show. Seeing as my funds have been sorely depleted thanks to a ridiculous exchange rate on the Sterling Pound I'm probably going to have to pass, but you shouldn't!
The New Pornographers - "My Rights Versus Yours"
Wednesday: The XYZ Affair, Dappled Cities, & Via Audio @ Union Hall 7:30pm $8
All three of these bands have been blazing up the blogs in the past few months and for good reason - they rock. Its a very solid bill at an excellent venue for not a lot of money, and you would be crazy to miss it. That's all.
Dappled Cities - "Within Hours"
Thursday: Eats Tapes @ Death by Audio 8pm $tba
While in London I almost caught Eats Tapes playing with Dan Deacon, but left before he came on due to exhaustion. I will try and make up for that terrible decision tonight. Dan also highly recommends him.
Eats Tapes - "It's Coming to Get You" (Yacht Remix)
...also Camera Obscura @ Sound Fix Records 8pm FREE
I'm going to see them at the Seaport tomorrow, this may just be a bit too packed for my liking!
Friday: Camera Obscura @ South Street Seaport 7pm FREE
Camera Obscura is one of those bands that often get lost in the throng of wonderful indie pop bands on my iPod, but I really should listen to them more then I currently do. There last album was magnificent, and I've never seen them live so I'm really looking forward to it.
Camera Obscura - "If Looks Could Kill"
...then White Rabbits @ Sound Fix Records 10pm FREE
One of the best new bands of the year, if you live in New York and haven't seen them yet you're missing out on one of the best live bands around town. Do whatever you must to make it to this free instore!
White Rabbits - "The Plot"
Saturday: After the Jump Fest @ Studio B (Day Show) 1pm FREE
After months of work we finally get to see what our work amounts to. This is a fest that will be hosted by 22 different bloggers all of whom have toiled through long meetings and spent a ridiculous amount of time getting this together. The day show features a slew of awesome bands including Ra Ra Riot, Jukebox the Ghost, Spectrum, Goes Cube, Bling Kong, and many more. The event is being held completely for free, though you will be asked for donations which will be going to a school's music program and will get you a raffle ticket for some great prizes. More on this show throughout the week.
Ra Ra Riot - "Every Year"
Jukebox the Ghost - "Hold It In"
Goes Cube - "26"
...then After the Jump Fest @ Studio B (Night Show) 9pm $12
Not as cheap as our day show, but all the proceeds go to the charity mentioned above. This is a way more dancey type of show with The Virgins, Free Blood, Soulico, and Riot in Belgium. Should be a good one!
Sunday: The Fiery Furnaces @ Socrates Sculpture Park
The Fiery Furnaces + Free - McCarren Park on a Sunday = where I'll be!
The Fiery Furnaces - "Quay Cur"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday's Links:
- Archetypal Drunks is celebrating their second anniversary of posting mixes with a sort of "Best of" mix. Its excellent and you can download the whole thing which I suggest you do soon!
- Bumpershine interviews Slap You in Public (aka David Bruno) who will be DJing during the night portion of After the Jump Fest on Saturday night.
- By some used belongings from Bradford Cox of Deerhunter.
- Obscure Sound talks about The Jealous Girlfriends! You should go listen!
- Daytrotter has some in-studio sounds from Menomena!
- Pitchfork interviews Okkervil River, makers of the latest Best New Music album.
- Art Brut and The Hold Steady have announced a massive tour combining their ferocious live talents as one. Having spoken to Eddie last week, I was a bit worried that they would be playing Roseland Ballroom but it seems the bands have decided to try out the new Terminal 5 instead. Good choice Eddie! I hope I had some hand in that. (dates via Pitchfork)
Tomorrow afternoon, sometime around 7pm, people will be filling out of McCarren Park Pool having watched some excellent music while spending the day surrounded by friends and hipsters in the sun. For the past two summers we have enjoyed these wonderful Pool Parties brought to us completely free by the good people at Jelly NYC. Loads of amazing bands have stopped by to lend their music so a care free sunny Sunday afternoon. Has there been a better place to spend a summer Sunday than McCarren Park Pool? It'd be hard to find one.
Unfortunately today's show featuring Ghostland Observatory and Yacht seems like it will be the final show ever as the Parks Department seems determined to return the pool to, well a pool. You can still speak up and say something, but even that doesn't seem like it will do much good. So with this I bid adieu to the McCarren Park Pool parties because even more unfortunate my plane from London won't be landing till late in the afternoon and I will miss my chance to say goodbye in person.
It was great fun spending so many days in the sun watching such great live acts and hopefully something similar will come about somewhere for next summer. For now here's my Top 7 acts from the two years at McCarren.
Top 7 Acts at JellyNYC Pool Parties:
7. Annuals
6. Oxford Collapse
5. The Walkmen
4. ?uest Love (as DJ during Deerhoof)
3. Beirut2. I'm from Barcelona
1. Deerhoof
(note: I missed some awesome performances like Les Savy Fav, Dan Deacon, and TV on the Radio so if you want to chime in with your own list please do so in the comments!!!)
Ghostland Observatory - "Sad Sad City"
Yacht - "I Saw You"
I'm from Barcelona - "Chicken Pox"
Deerhoof - "+81"
Annuals - "Such A Mess"
Oxford Collapse - "Proofreading"
Unfortunately today's show featuring Ghostland Observatory and Yacht seems like it will be the final show ever as the Parks Department seems determined to return the pool to, well a pool. You can still speak up and say something, but even that doesn't seem like it will do much good. So with this I bid adieu to the McCarren Park Pool parties because even more unfortunate my plane from London won't be landing till late in the afternoon and I will miss my chance to say goodbye in person.
It was great fun spending so many days in the sun watching such great live acts and hopefully something similar will come about somewhere for next summer. For now here's my Top 7 acts from the two years at McCarren.
Top 7 Acts at JellyNYC Pool Parties:
7. Annuals
6. Oxford Collapse
5. The Walkmen
4. ?uest Love (as DJ during Deerhoof)
3. Beirut2. I'm from Barcelona
1. Deerhoof
(note: I missed some awesome performances like Les Savy Fav, Dan Deacon, and TV on the Radio so if you want to chime in with your own list please do so in the comments!!!)
Ghostland Observatory - "Sad Sad City"
Yacht - "I Saw You"
I'm from Barcelona - "Chicken Pox"
Deerhoof - "+81"
Annuals - "Such A Mess"
Oxford Collapse - "Proofreading"
- It's day four in London. Last night we caught the incomparable Prince in perhaps the worst arena I have ever stepped foot in. Ridiculously pricey, horrible sound, and the rudest staff ever made it a night to forget. The pub after the show was helped in that.
- Next Saturday, August 25th, is After the Jump Fest at Studio B in Brooklyn. The lineup is packed with fantastic bands, tickets are still available for the night portion of the event, and us bloggers have begun posting interviews from the bands playing the show. The Music Slut posts their questions with Soulico and Music Snobbery has their questions with Jukebox the Ghost!
- Inflight Movie Note: On the way over to London I finally watched Kill Bill Vol. 1 and 2. I loved the action and the exaggerated death scenes, but it all got pretty boring towards the end of Vol. 2. I loved Vol. 1 but I only liked Vol. 2, hope that doesn't offend any of you Tarrantino fans.
- My brother posted his top 5 self titled albums of all-time yesterday and I like his list with one glaring omission. He left off The Clash The Clash!
- Ra Ra Riot has a Lounge Act up on WOXY!!!
- Pitchfork has itself an interview with Iggy Pop.
Aesop Rock - "Citronella"
Art Brut - "Emily Kane"
Matt & Kim - "Yeah Yeah"
Dan Deacon - "Jimmy Roche"
Having already rocked the Seaport this summer, as well as hit some of the hottest joints across the country in support of Tokyo Police Club, Ra Ra Riot has earned the right to play Bowery Ballroom. Granted they were playing in support of Tokyo again, but this was going to be there night (mostly I knew I wouldn't be hanging around to see Tokyo Police Club) they were going to own the Bowery stage.From the start the band took control of the crowd, rocking around the stage like they are known to do, and encouraging the kids in the front to do the same. Few moved as much as the band did, but they did their best to show their appreciation to the band that was giving their all on stage. The band was as tight and rock solid as I had ever seen them, though they still need to invest in tape to hold down their cables.
Relying mostly on the songs from their sparkling debut EP, the band steered their way around their songs with a growing confidence. Having already seen the band on multiple occasions I can say without rhetoric or being overly wordy that this band has grown in leaps and bounds in their ability to play their music and to keep the audience rapt to their every movement. The band still has the exuberance and enthusiasm they had the first time I ever saw them.
Its a pretty impressive balancing act considering all the ups and downs this nascent band have had, but its an amazing and positive sign that this band is going to make it through it all to reach untold highs in the music world. I can all but guarantee that the next time we see Ra Ra Riot at Bowery they will be the headliner.
If you ever find yourself in a band and trying to impress a member of the press, whether they are big or small, it would be a brilliant idea to honor them by dedicating a song to them. I'm not saying its necessary or anything like that, but man does it all but guarantee a solid review for the show! Not that I wasn't going to give them one anyway.Last Tuesday I got to see Oppenheimer for the first time since last August's Seaport show with Hot Chip. On that day they wowed me so much, so fast that I have spent the past year mentioning the band as much as possible. Every time they have come to New York I have talked them up, and yet I never managed to make it back to see a band I enjoyed so much. Their self titled debut album had been in heavy rotation over the past year, so when word came down that they would be playing again I reached out to their label to get an interview as well as a chance to see them live again.
Well following a wonderful chat with the band I was treated to a spectacular performance from the Irish duo. The band were ten times as tight and powerful as the first time I saw them, having refined their songs over the past year with loads of touring and a relentless dedication to their craft. Oppenheimer opened the set with the awkward kick off song "My Son the Astronaut". From there the band took barely a breath between songs pounding out most of the songs from their first album and a pair of new tunes, one of which was the songs dedicated to me. (Note: I have the full setlist at home and will upload that as soon as I get back to the States)
The set was blistering, and excellent from top to bottom as the nascent band hit all the right notes with me and the nearly packed house at Union Hall. For a band that has almost completed only their second album they are well beyond their years and their sound is truly the sound of the present along with like minded electronic, dance punk bands. It was a fantastic performance and from now on I will not wait an entire year before seeing them again. I'd suggest you do the same and make sure you check out this band immediately.More Pics on Flickr
I just received the news that Yankee great and amazing broadcaster, Phil Rizzuto has passed away at the age of 89. I'm not of an age to remember Phil's playing days but from the stories I've hear he was as slick a defensive player as there was and not too shabby with the old bat. But more importantly to me he was the person that I learned baseball from by listening to him call Yankees games as I grew up. From the time I was a young boy I would watch Yankee games on WPIX in New York to see the Yankees struggle at the time, but also to listen to Phil calling games. With his trademark "Holy cow!" call and his never ending stories of the histories of baseball. Never one to dazzle with stats he would let his tales of the days gone by, of playing ball with greats like Yogi Berra and Joe DiMaggio, of traveling between cities on buses, and of the kids he met signing autographs.Phil was truly a legend, at 5'6 he never should have been an All-Star or even a pro baseball player. But he persevered over the people that said he couldn't, that he was too small. He won an MVP, a load of World Series rings, and many many All-Star games. In this day of piss poor broadcasters I feel sorry for all the young baseball fans that will not get to learn the game from the hands of Phil Rizzuto. He will be missed by fans of the game everywhere.
As Mr. Steinbrenner so eloquently put today, "I guess heaven must have needed a shortstop." Rest in peace Phil, we'll miss you!
Well I knew it would happen at some point during my holiday but I didn't think it would be this soon! I have completely fallen behind on my blogging duties here on Pop Tarts Suck Toasted and have missed out on a lot of things. For starters I didn't have a chance to write up my review on the new Nina Nastasia and Jim White album and now Pitchfork has beaten me to the punch with an excellently written recommended review that garered the duo an 8.6 rating. I also have yet to post my show reviews from Friday or my Oppenheimer interview and show review. All of these things are hopefully forth coming but I have no idea when they will actually see the light of day.London has been a blast thus far though. After two days I feel like I am getting the hang of this country and their wrong side of the road driving though I have had to dodge a number of oncoming vehicles that were hell bent on destroying yours truly. The money system here I have not gotten used to and I have resorted to holding out a handful of their change to the pub keepers for them to take the money that I owe for my pint. I know its probably not the best idea but it seems that they are honest for the most part and I honestly don't have that much money in my hand to be giving away.
Yesterday we spent a good portion of the afternoon sightseeing in Westminster which was absolutely beautiful. Big Ben is not as big s they suggest he is but considering my cell phone isn't working over here and I don't have a watch it is most useful. Westminster Abbey had to be the highlight of the sightseeing excursion seeing all of the ornate tombs of the different British royalty no matter how pocked their histories have been was awe inspiring. We were unable to find Newton's tomb but there's possibly time for that later in the trip.
My evening saw me venturing out to Camden to see Brooklyn based band Matt & Kim away from their natural element and away from miune as well. They were spectacular last night, incredibly funny, and I hope to have a full review in the near future. The highlight of the evening and the trip thus far though was hanging with Art Brut's Eddie Argos at the show last night. The man is positively charming and if he wouldn't have mentioned his girlfriend last night I would probably have offered mine to him as a tribute to his brilliance as an artists and as a person. Rachael got a a picture of Matt and Kim with Eddie that is going to be up on either her blog or the CMJ blog at some point today!
Well we are off to the Tate Modern now to check out some of the finer pieces in British history. I hear they have an extensive collections of Blakes which I am thrilled to see. Later tonight is Prince at the O2 hopefully that will have a review as well. Well I'll keep you folks back in the States up to date as much as I can and I hope to have some regular blog posts for you guys at some point this week! Cheers!
Considering the simplicity of the new Nina Nastasia and Jim White album, You Follow Me, its quite impressive the depth that is within it. Using just a guitar, drum set, and Nina's remarkable voice the duo have crafted one of the most melodic and beautiful albums of the year.The album is centered around Nina's ear for a tune and their ability to pen a song together. The arrangements and writing found on the album are a collective effort from the duo, and their combined talents are immediately apparent from the first track, "I've Been Walking". You Follow Me is haunting in its ability to take so little and make so much out of it. Its a stunning piece of music that everyone should be sure to hear.
Nina Nastasia & Jim White - "I've Been Out Walking"
Nina Nastasia & Jim White - "There is No Train"
buy it at insound!
Also Released:
I'm in London enjoying all the bangers n' mash one can possibly consume and while I'm here I'm hoping to catch a little bit of the English night life by taking in shows at various venues around the town. Here's my picks for my week here!!!
Monday: Black Flowers + Concil + Icons of Elegance @ 93 Feet East
I don't know who any of these bands are or what they sound like. All I know is they are listed as "indie rock", the first 90 people to show up will be getting a free CD, and its completely free to get in. Sounds like my type of party. Plus, I'm sure I can check them out on myspace before the show or something like that.
Tuesday: Prince @ The O2
Yeah I've never been that big a Prince fan, but when we were discussing possible things to do during the trip I noticed he'd be playing one of his 20-something shows the week we were there and we jumped at the chance to see a living legend away from home. I'm sure I'll have a full review of the show and even more exciting - I'll be sitting in the 7th row!!!
Prince - "1999" (via ickmusic)
Wednesday:
Thursday: Dan Deacon @ Bardens Boudoir
Amazingly tonight we have the chance to see three great American bands playing in London as Bill Callahan of Smog, Spoon, and Dan Deacon are all playing here. I think I'm going to opt for the Dan Deacon show so I can get my sweaty dance on while I'm here.
Dan Deacon - "Splish Splish"
Friday: Spoon @ Borderline
Yeah so I guess when I said I would be taking in the culture of London I pretty much lied through my teeth. I mean this would be my third American based band of the week if I actually managed to get into the sold out show. However, it would probably be worth it and at least I'll be seeing the very best of London's music venues.
Spoon - "Don't You Evah"
Saturday:
Sunday: Ghostland Observatory + Yacht @ McCarren Park Pool 2pm FREE
Yeah I'll be on my way back to the States on Sunday afternoon so I'll most likely miss the final Pool Party of the summer. Its sad, but I had a great time all summer at McCarren and I'm really hoping they'll manage to be back next year somehow!
Monday: Black Flowers + Concil + Icons of Elegance @ 93 Feet East
I don't know who any of these bands are or what they sound like. All I know is they are listed as "indie rock", the first 90 people to show up will be getting a free CD, and its completely free to get in. Sounds like my type of party. Plus, I'm sure I can check them out on myspace before the show or something like that.
Tuesday: Prince @ The O2
Yeah I've never been that big a Prince fan, but when we were discussing possible things to do during the trip I noticed he'd be playing one of his 20-something shows the week we were there and we jumped at the chance to see a living legend away from home. I'm sure I'll have a full review of the show and even more exciting - I'll be sitting in the 7th row!!!
Prince - "1999" (via ickmusic)
Wednesday:
Thursday: Dan Deacon @ Bardens Boudoir
Amazingly tonight we have the chance to see three great American bands playing in London as Bill Callahan of Smog, Spoon, and Dan Deacon are all playing here. I think I'm going to opt for the Dan Deacon show so I can get my sweaty dance on while I'm here.
Dan Deacon - "Splish Splish"
Friday: Spoon @ Borderline
Yeah so I guess when I said I would be taking in the culture of London I pretty much lied through my teeth. I mean this would be my third American based band of the week if I actually managed to get into the sold out show. However, it would probably be worth it and at least I'll be seeing the very best of London's music venues.
Spoon - "Don't You Evah"
Saturday:
Sunday: Ghostland Observatory + Yacht @ McCarren Park Pool 2pm FREE
Yeah I'll be on my way back to the States on Sunday afternoon so I'll most likely miss the final Pool Party of the summer. Its sad, but I had a great time all summer at McCarren and I'm really hoping they'll manage to be back next year somehow!
If you thought I'd just forget that most of my readership is still in New York while I'm out galavanting around London you'd be crazy. Here's what I would have gone to this week had I been in town, though I do have to say I picked a fine week to go away as I won't be missing too much.
Monday: Junior Senior @ Highline Ballroom 7pm $15
I was going to recommend another show but it appears to be sold out so I guess I will go with Junior Senior. They're a band I've liked but never really gone crazy over, and I've never seen them live so that would be cool to do. Too bad I'll be across the Atlantic. Perhaps I can live vicariously through you?
Junior Senior - "Can I Get Low"
Tuesday: Cross Pollination @ Pianos 8pm FREE
I haven't been sent this week's lineup yet, but based on the other options out there for today its looking like its a guarantee that it will be the best show of the evening. Check it out.
Wednesday: Man In Gray @ Union Hall 7:30pm $8
Man in Gray pretty much wowed me with their latest release a couple of weeks ago and I've been on a full out kick of the band since then listening to the album pretty much non-stop. I don't know why more people aren't latching onto this band right now, you should latch onto them. Go to the show tonight, latch on, buy the album, it'll be good for you!!!
Man In Gray - "Stranded"
Thursday: No Idea!!!
Friday: The National @ South Street Seaport 7pm FREE
I've only missed a couple of the shows at this year's River to River fest and aside from missing Animal Collective despite being right down the block from it, this is the one I will regret not seeing the most. Last I saw The National they were opening for Arcade Fire and though I didn't love them I was all ready to see them again. Now it looks like I'll have to wait a little while longer to do so. Lucky you don't have to!
The National - "Start A War"
Saturday: Bishop Allen + Page France @ Bowery Ballroom 8pm $13
I like both bands, I like the venue, and sadly I still won't be back for this. Oh well I should still be partying in London though unless I'm completely broke at this point!
Bishop Allen - "Click Click Click Click"
Page France - "Hat and Rabbit"
Sunday: Ghostland Observatory + Yacht @ McCarren Park Pool 3pm FREE
Yeah I'll be on my way back to the States on Sunday afternoon so I'll most likely miss the final Pool Party of the summer. Its sad, but I had a great time all summer at McCarren and I'm really hoping they'll manage to be back next year somehow!
Ghostland Observatory - "Sad Sad City"
Yacht - "I Saw You"
...then Pterodactyl @ Don Pedro's 8pm $tba
This band will blow your mind away and make your hearing fade away for several days. If that's not a ringing endorsement I don't know what is.
Pterodactyl - "Esses"
Monday: Junior Senior @ Highline Ballroom 7pm $15
I was going to recommend another show but it appears to be sold out so I guess I will go with Junior Senior. They're a band I've liked but never really gone crazy over, and I've never seen them live so that would be cool to do. Too bad I'll be across the Atlantic. Perhaps I can live vicariously through you?
Junior Senior - "Can I Get Low"
Tuesday: Cross Pollination @ Pianos 8pm FREE
I haven't been sent this week's lineup yet, but based on the other options out there for today its looking like its a guarantee that it will be the best show of the evening. Check it out.
Wednesday: Man In Gray @ Union Hall 7:30pm $8
Man in Gray pretty much wowed me with their latest release a couple of weeks ago and I've been on a full out kick of the band since then listening to the album pretty much non-stop. I don't know why more people aren't latching onto this band right now, you should latch onto them. Go to the show tonight, latch on, buy the album, it'll be good for you!!!
Man In Gray - "Stranded"
Thursday: No Idea!!!
Friday: The National @ South Street Seaport 7pm FREE
I've only missed a couple of the shows at this year's River to River fest and aside from missing Animal Collective despite being right down the block from it, this is the one I will regret not seeing the most. Last I saw The National they were opening for Arcade Fire and though I didn't love them I was all ready to see them again. Now it looks like I'll have to wait a little while longer to do so. Lucky you don't have to!
The National - "Start A War"
Saturday: Bishop Allen + Page France @ Bowery Ballroom 8pm $13
I like both bands, I like the venue, and sadly I still won't be back for this. Oh well I should still be partying in London though unless I'm completely broke at this point!
Bishop Allen - "Click Click Click Click"
Page France - "Hat and Rabbit"
Sunday: Ghostland Observatory + Yacht @ McCarren Park Pool 3pm FREE
Yeah I'll be on my way back to the States on Sunday afternoon so I'll most likely miss the final Pool Party of the summer. Its sad, but I had a great time all summer at McCarren and I'm really hoping they'll manage to be back next year somehow!
Ghostland Observatory - "Sad Sad City"
Yacht - "I Saw You"
...then Pterodactyl @ Don Pedro's 8pm $tba
This band will blow your mind away and make your hearing fade away for several days. If that's not a ringing endorsement I don't know what is.
Pterodactyl - "Esses"
This weekend marks my third ever departure from the United States, and first ever venture from the continent known as North America. On Saturday night I'll be boarding a plane that is determined to bring me to London, England for a week long vacation with my girlfriend to her native land. Its exciting, and new, and really aggravating that I will have to miss some freaking sweet shows here this weekend, but I'm sure London is holding a slew of other entertainment possibilities as well. Here's what's on top in NYC though for you people sticking around in the suffocating August heat.
Friday: Normally the day before leaving on vacation is a bit hectic with packing, the tying of loose ends, and anything else you can think of before you bid a temporary adieu to your home; but, my day before vacation will be hectic for a very different reason as I'll be spending the evening running around the city trying to catch as many of these awesome bands as humanly possible. I will be spending the night going between two venues, Mercury Lounge and Bowery Ballroom, that are hosting three of my former Bands of the Week and the makers of one of the finest EP's of 2006. At Mercury Lounge you have The Silent League kicking things off at 8pm (hopefully on time at 8pm, guys, please!, I'm begging you here!!!) followed by Exit Clov and Drug Rug whom I will unfortunately have to miss. Immediately following The Silent League I will be dashing down to Bowery to catch Ra Ra Riot for the 92nd time and hope to catch Tokyo Police Club. The reason I hope to catch Tokyo Police Club is that I will be dashing back to Mercury Lounge to catch the 11pm (please be running late!) set of Los Campesinos! who I have not yet seen and must. Feel free ot tag along if you feel up to it!!!
The Silent League - "Time"
Los Campesinos! - "Frontwards"
Ra Ra Riot - "Every Year"
Tokyo Police Club - "Cut Cut Paste"
Also Jamming Tonight:
They Shoot Horses Don't They @ Cake Shop 8pm $8
Beastie Boys @ Hammerstein Ballroom 6pm $51
Les Sans Culottes @ Magnetic Field 8pm $8
The Thermals @ Maxwell's SOLD OUT
Au Revoir Simone @ South Street Seaport 7pm FREE
Dead Rabbit @ Tommy's Tavern Midnight $7
Wakey! Wakey! + Jukebox the Ghost @ Shhh...it's a secret!!!
Saturday: I believe it will be way too risky to try and catch Vampire Weekend's performance at the East River Ampitheater before catching my flight to London, so unfortunately I'll have to pass on the free show and catch them the next time but you should get your butts down there.
Vampire Weekend - "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa"
Bands I'll Miss by Being in London:
Tokyo Police Club + Ra Ra Riot @ Maxwell's SOLD OUT
They Shoot Horses Don't They @ Silent Barn 8pm $tba
Calla + Other Passengers @ Studio B 7pm $13
Sunday: Of all the shows I'll be missing in New York this week the one I am most upset to miss is the big bash at McCarren Park today. As the penultimate Pool Party of the summer, JellyNYC has really pulled out all the stops to treat us to an amazing lineup featuring Birds of Avalon, The Thermals, and Ted Leo & the Pharmacists. Based on the popularity of last week's Pool Party make sure you RSVP before the show and GET THERE EARLY!!!!
The Thermals - "A Pillar of Salt"
Ted Leo & the Pharmacists - "The High Party"
Also Being Missed By Me:
Oh No! Oh My! @ Studio B 7pm $10
Gang Gang Dance @ The Yard 1pm $15
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Friday's Links:
- NPR Music has selected Architecture in Helsinki's "Heart It Races" as its song of the day. Its a pretty good choice considering it is my favorite song of the year so far and will be pretty tough to knock off by anyone!!!
- Pitchfork asks Simian Mobile Disco to tell them what they are into. And shockingly, Simian Mobile Disco obliges!
- The Tripwire is pointing us to a different sort of Lollapalooza review, a photo gallery of the many t-shirts on display during the fest. It's pretty sweet.
Friday: Normally the day before leaving on vacation is a bit hectic with packing, the tying of loose ends, and anything else you can think of before you bid a temporary adieu to your home; but, my day before vacation will be hectic for a very different reason as I'll be spending the evening running around the city trying to catch as many of these awesome bands as humanly possible. I will be spending the night going between two venues, Mercury Lounge and Bowery Ballroom, that are hosting three of my former Bands of the Week and the makers of one of the finest EP's of 2006. At Mercury Lounge you have The Silent League kicking things off at 8pm (hopefully on time at 8pm, guys, please!, I'm begging you here!!!) followed by Exit Clov and Drug Rug whom I will unfortunately have to miss. Immediately following The Silent League I will be dashing down to Bowery to catch Ra Ra Riot for the 92nd time and hope to catch Tokyo Police Club. The reason I hope to catch Tokyo Police Club is that I will be dashing back to Mercury Lounge to catch the 11pm (please be running late!) set of Los Campesinos! who I have not yet seen and must. Feel free ot tag along if you feel up to it!!!The Silent League - "Time"
Los Campesinos! - "Frontwards"
Ra Ra Riot - "Every Year"
Tokyo Police Club - "Cut Cut Paste"
Also Jamming Tonight:
They Shoot Horses Don't They @ Cake Shop 8pm $8
Beastie Boys @ Hammerstein Ballroom 6pm $51
Les Sans Culottes @ Magnetic Field 8pm $8
The Thermals @ Maxwell's SOLD OUT
Au Revoir Simone @ South Street Seaport 7pm FREE
Dead Rabbit @ Tommy's Tavern Midnight $7
Wakey! Wakey! + Jukebox the Ghost @ Shhh...it's a secret!!!
Saturday: I believe it will be way too risky to try and catch Vampire Weekend's performance at the East River Ampitheater before catching my flight to London, so unfortunately I'll have to pass on the free show and catch them the next time but you should get your butts down there. Vampire Weekend - "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa"
Bands I'll Miss by Being in London:
Tokyo Police Club + Ra Ra Riot @ Maxwell's SOLD OUT
They Shoot Horses Don't They @ Silent Barn 8pm $tba
Calla + Other Passengers @ Studio B 7pm $13
Sunday: Of all the shows I'll be missing in New York this week the one I am most upset to miss is the big bash at McCarren Park today. As the penultimate Pool Party of the summer, JellyNYC has really pulled out all the stops to treat us to an amazing lineup featuring Birds of Avalon, The Thermals, and Ted Leo & the Pharmacists. Based on the popularity of last week's Pool Party make sure you RSVP before the show and GET THERE EARLY!!!!The Thermals - "A Pillar of Salt"
Ted Leo & the Pharmacists - "The High Party"
Also Being Missed By Me:
Oh No! Oh My! @ Studio B 7pm $10
Gang Gang Dance @ The Yard 1pm $15
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Friday's Links:
- NPR Music has selected Architecture in Helsinki's "Heart It Races" as its song of the day. Its a pretty good choice considering it is my favorite song of the year so far and will be pretty tough to knock off by anyone!!!
- Pitchfork asks Simian Mobile Disco to tell them what they are into. And shockingly, Simian Mobile Disco obliges!
- The Tripwire is pointing us to a different sort of Lollapalooza review, a photo gallery of the many t-shirts on display during the fest. It's pretty sweet.
Seats + Daft Punk = Crappy Time for Pop Tarts
I was amped, and by amped I mean absolutely going out of my mind excited, for last night's Daft Punk show. My only problem with the show was that I was missing The Hold Steady at Prospect Park, but I'll get back to that in a bit. Anyway, I went into the show believing I had gotten floor tickets, I had my dancing shoes on, and was set to dance the night away to Daft Punk. Alas, I did not have field tickets but bowl tickets which was the beginning of the end of my night.
We got into the stadium a song or two in The Rapture's set. A fine performance by a fine band that I would rather see in doors where I could get really sweaty rubbing up against other Rapture enthusiasts. The field seemed to be going pretty nuts for the band which was a pleasant surprise, mostly cause I thought everyone would just be starting to feel the effects from the drugs they had popped earlier. Topping their set list in enthusiasm and reaction were the two gems off their last album, Pieces of the People We Love, "Get Myself Into It" and "Whoo! Alright - Yeah...Uh Huh". It was a tight set but everyone was pretty much giddy for the headliners.
It took them a while to set up the big pyramid, I guess they had to change a light bulb or two, but when Daft Punk finally took the stage they took it to a whirlwind of applause and chearing. Then the lasers started coming, slowly at first as the duo built a rhythm. Then it exploded and it was pretty and the music was good, though it got a little too repetative for my tastes at time. And ultimately, watching the people on the floor dancing and throwing their hands in the air I was insanely jealous and visions of jumping the barrier were leaping through my brain. There were moments, where I was into it though I was still restricted by the seats I started to feel the pulse of the show winding its way into my body, but then nothing.
It was frustrating to say the least. I regretted going to Daft Punk instead of The Hold Steady and that just should not happen. It should have been an event, a memorable, life altering event! Instead all I got was tired and bored and in the end almost despondent I left the show early, leaving it to the people in attendance that will remember that night the rest of their lives.
Many, many, many bloggers had a swell old time so if you wanna read the positive check it out there, from here its nothing but my own regrets and the fact that seats do not belong in electronic music!
Other Reviews from:
Music Snobbery
Central Village
Cracker's United
Core 77
Habitat 67
Melody Nelson
Music for Robots
I was amped, and by amped I mean absolutely going out of my mind excited, for last night's Daft Punk show. My only problem with the show was that I was missing The Hold Steady at Prospect Park, but I'll get back to that in a bit. Anyway, I went into the show believing I had gotten floor tickets, I had my dancing shoes on, and was set to dance the night away to Daft Punk. Alas, I did not have field tickets but bowl tickets which was the beginning of the end of my night.
We got into the stadium a song or two in The Rapture's set. A fine performance by a fine band that I would rather see in doors where I could get really sweaty rubbing up against other Rapture enthusiasts. The field seemed to be going pretty nuts for the band which was a pleasant surprise, mostly cause I thought everyone would just be starting to feel the effects from the drugs they had popped earlier. Topping their set list in enthusiasm and reaction were the two gems off their last album, Pieces of the People We Love, "Get Myself Into It" and "Whoo! Alright - Yeah...Uh Huh". It was a tight set but everyone was pretty much giddy for the headliners.
It took them a while to set up the big pyramid, I guess they had to change a light bulb or two, but when Daft Punk finally took the stage they took it to a whirlwind of applause and chearing. Then the lasers started coming, slowly at first as the duo built a rhythm. Then it exploded and it was pretty and the music was good, though it got a little too repetative for my tastes at time. And ultimately, watching the people on the floor dancing and throwing their hands in the air I was insanely jealous and visions of jumping the barrier were leaping through my brain. There were moments, where I was into it though I was still restricted by the seats I started to feel the pulse of the show winding its way into my body, but then nothing.
It was frustrating to say the least. I regretted going to Daft Punk instead of The Hold Steady and that just should not happen. It should have been an event, a memorable, life altering event! Instead all I got was tired and bored and in the end almost despondent I left the show early, leaving it to the people in attendance that will remember that night the rest of their lives.
Many, many, many bloggers had a swell old time so if you wanna read the positive check it out there, from here its nothing but my own regrets and the fact that seats do not belong in electronic music!
Other Reviews from:
Music Snobbery
Central Village
Cracker's United
Core 77
Habitat 67
Melody Nelson
Music for Robots
I really don't think I've done enough justice of getting Wakey! Wakey!'s name out there. I mean sure I really pushed him on you guys when I booked him for Rachael's Birthday show, but that was months ago and I believe I have only mentioned him once since then. That's unfortunate because the New York based pianist and singer is freaking great and should be heard by way more people.Its pretty easy to compare Wakey! Wakey! to Ben Folds, they both play piano, they both sing, etc., etc.; but, leaving it at that would be a damn crime. Equal parts funny and emotional, Mike Grubbs (aka Wakey! Wakey!) is an excellent song writer that builds songs of relationships and keen observations, sets them to piano, and then belts them out with his powerful voice. He has been seen all over the New York circuit of venues playing solo shows and shows with a full band and usually wows the crowds he's playing for.
Tomorrow night I'll be catching the Wakey! Wakey! experience for the third or fourth time and I have to admit I'm pretty excited for it, and considering I'll be seeing (hopefully) six bands tomorrow night that's saying something. Unfortunately for you guys tomorrow night's show is invite only so I can't give you all the details about it but I guarantee you'll hear about the show from me soon. Also, you can check out one of his upcoming dates below after falling in love with the song here!!!
Wakey! Wakey! - "Falling Apart"
Wakey! Wakey! Website
Wakey! Wakey! on Myspace
Wakey! Wakey! Tour Dates:
August 17th @ Rockwood (w/Sean Kiely of Square Wave Punch)
September 6th @ Rockwood
September 13th @ Rockwood
September 14th @ Piano's (w/Jukebox the Ghost)
September 20th @ Rockwood
September 27th @ Rockwood
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Thursday Links:
- Earvolution has a great list counting down the 10 Greatest Rock Bands that Never Existed! I can't say I agree with them all and he certainly omits quite a few big ones, but its a pretty fun list!
- Spinner.com brings us a new Aesop Rock track featuring John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats!
- Deerhunter's Bradford Cox continues to be the most engaging blogger from a band anywhere on the interview by answering a series of questions from fans and a few myspace surveys as well. Great stuff Bradford, keep it up!
- Gothamist informs us that the legendary metal venue L'Amour is returning, though instead of being in Brooklyn it will now be on Staten Island and instead of hosting legendary metal bands it now hosts shitty cover bands of legendary metal bands.
- Pitchfork has comedian Patton Oswalt discussing some of his favorite things on their Guest List!
- NPR Music has a story about the cello stylings of The Fiery Furnaces Erik Friedlander!
CMJ announced the intial acts for its 2007 Music Marathon which makes a move downtown this year after several years at Lincoln Center. The Marathon seems to be following the flow of the music industry this year with a bunch of electronic buzz acts making noticable waves in the lineup. Justice, UNKLE, Simian Mobile Disco, and many more join the likes of indie rock stallwarts Spoon, Islands, and Deerhunter with loads more acts to be announced in the weeks leading up to the fest. The Marathon will run October 16th - 20th and badge are on sale now.CMJ Music Marathon has also partnered with After the Jump Fest and are offering two badges as part of the raffle to raise money for musical education in New York City schools. After the Jump will be held August 25th on Banker St., Brooklyn outside of Studio B. Badges are currently on sale here, make sure you check it out!
Here's the rest of the acts announced thus far...
Spoon
UNKLE
Justice
British Sea Power
Mates Of State
Coheed And Cambria
Rodrido Y Gabriela
Xiu Xiu
Del Tha Funkee Homosapien
Dirtbombs
Mute Math
Jesu
Devin the Dude
The Ponys
Islands
Dan Deacon
Tiny Masters of Today
Eisley
Vietnam
Little Brother
Mickey Hart & Zakir Hussein
Brother Ali
Marnie Stern
No Age
Crystal Castles
MSTRKRFT
Chromeo
The Brunettes
1990s
Ruins
A-Trak
Foreign Islands
Kavinsky
Simian Mobile Disco
Deerhunter
and here's some tunes from some of them...
Deerhunter - "Cryptograms"
Spoon - "Ghost of You Lingers"
Justice - "Genesis"
Marnie Stern - "Patterns of a Diamond Ceiling"
As you may have heard a friend of Panda Bear followed his tour to record the live performances. For the past few weeks Mike of EatTapes has been working with the footage to make the best possible DVD he could and now it is available for order! The best part about this is that the DVD is completely FREE, but if you are a kind soul and I know most of you are then you will donate $5 - $10 so Mike can recoup what Bowery charged him. Oh and if you do donate you get your choice of bonus discs! This is a sweet deal, I just ordered mine and I can't wait to watch it!!!Panda Bear - "Comfy in Nautica"
- TV Note: Due to the fact that I still have yet to buy cable for the new pad (though it is getting closer, perhaps when I return from vacation) I have absolutely no TV news. I have been stuck watching lots of DVD's and playing drinking games with my roomie instead so don't cry for me just yet. I will need to do some major catching up on Flight of the Conchords, Entourage, and Rescue Me and probably some Weeds too, but I will get to it sooner or later!!!
- The Battering Room has the beginning and the end of the new album by The Mugs called, Here Tomorrow.
- The Music Slut has news on the forthcoming album from A Brief Smile, it is apparently nearing completion and will be called, now we all have horns. Personally, I can't wait to hear it!
- Movie Notes: Last week I managed to make it to the movies twice which brings my grand total for the year up to about 5 or 6. I find that to be absolutely nuts, especially considering there have been times in my life when I've seen every movie in theaters at the moment. I guess what I'm saying is that movies are just better on DVD now and I will only go to the movies for true landmark films like The Simpsons Movie and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
- Sure Juror has decided to re-release their album Smut for free on their website. The band are currently going through a bit of a rough time having just lost their drummer and are looking to shake things up a bit and get back to the music instead of the bullshit that goes along with the music.
- Sports Note #1: Don't look now but the Yankees are back looking like a true postseason contender! Yes they have beat up on the teams they are supposed to beat up on to get back into contention and have a really tough schedule coming up, but who's to say they can't take the upcoming series against Boston, Anaheim, Detroit, and Cleveland. Its possible, heck it might even be probable. Yes this is me returning to my true position that the Yankees are the best and everyone else can suck it!
- Quick Before It Melts has posted a pretty rockin' summer mix for you to take on your last minute vacations as the summer nears the end.
- Sports Note #2: Though I am not a Mets fan I'd like to offer a sincere congratulations to Tom Glavine as he joined the 300 wins club earlier in the week. Considering he may be the lats person there for the enxt couple of decades we should all probably celebrate this mark with much more esteem and hoopla than ye olde 500th homerun which has been eternally cheapened by people like Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, and of course that guy named Bonds.
- Pitchfork interviews the Bad Brains.
- Book Notes: I need a book or two to take away with me for the flights and such. Anyone got any good suggestions, leave 'em in the comments! Thanks!!!
- CMJ.com has an enormous article up that begins to ask questions of the current state of piracy in the music industry. It doesn't seem like a complete article though, and it appears to be extremely biased in favor of the record labels. I have a lot more thoughts on this, but I will attempt to compose them a bit better for all of you to read sometime in the future.
- Sports Note #3: Last night Barry Bonds surpased Hank Aaron as the all-time homerun king of major league baseball with his 756th career homer (which was caught by a New Yorker on his way to Australia!) I have taken many moments this year, often while reading the newspaper on the crapper, to think about how I would feel when it finally happened as we all knew it would. I don't argue the fact that this record is now forever tainted by the fact that there is no proof as to whether Bonds cheated or not. Sure the evidence is overwhelmingly against Bonds, but it has not been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt. But the record has been broken, it is no longer Aaron's it is Bond's at least until A-Rod breaks it in a few years. Bonds was always an excellent player, even well before the allegations ran rampant. He's the only player in history with 500 homeruns and 500 steals, he has been to the World Series, he won three of his MVP's when he was still skinny, and so I will accept that he has broken the most hallowed record in all of sports. My final argument for this is that if a spitballer held the record for most wins would we discount that? Was George Brett's homerun discounted for the use of pine tar? Was any record tainted by the admitted use of cocaine to get "up" for games during the 80's? Nope didn't think so.
I don't have any tracks to post at the moment I have been crazy all day thanks to the insanity of the transit system here in New York today. Hopefully I'll be able to update this at some point and have some extra tunes for you guys.
Last year I became enamored with the 29-member, Swedish twee band I'm from Barcelona. Their debut album, Let Me Introduce My Friends was a joyful, happy listening experience from beginning to end and I enjoyed it so much I called it my 44th favorite album of last year. That said, with so much no music coming at us this year I was forced to throw the album on the back burner and only occasionally catch pieces of it floating up during those shuffle modes I find myself doing once in a while. All that should change following their performance on Sunday at McCarren, I should listen to this album once a day if only to bring a smile to my face while listening!
Anyway, McCarren Park Pool was packed out for Sunday's pool party, it was so packed in fact that leaving midway through the final act's set the pool was still surrounded by a line several thousand people long despite organizers announcements that they were unlikely to get in to the pool. It was craziness, but it was also crazy fun for the people that did get in.I spent the first hour of the day there soaking up the scene and allowing whatever opening act was on to serve a mere background music to my hunt for ice cream and the best ways to cool down in the pool. Its probably unfair to the band, but I had a long weekend, I was there for one band, and it was freaking hot. So we searched McCarren for the fans that spray mist and any other way to stay cool, watched some dodge ball, and did little to nothing.
When I'm from Barcelona took the stage with their 29 members in tow I was waiting on a beer line and had to settle for listening to my favorite song by the band "Oversleeping". Its probably the most fun song on the entire album and is a constant reminder of how the majority of my weekday mornings are spent, but I certainly wasn't giving up my spot on the enormous beer line. With my beer in hand we waded around the people frolicking about in the pool and made our way to the front to watch the rest of the band's set.
And what a set it was! The band played practically every song off of their debut, threw in the fabulous B-side "Britney" and added a cover of Madonna's "Like a Prayer" for good measure. It was enough to make even the most cynical of cynics have a good time (well most of them at least). During the set the majority of the 29 members were basically extras, adding a little singing here, dancing a little there, wearing weird clothing the whole time, but it was fun and engaging, and there was confetti! Most eyes were on Emanuel Lundgren, but it was pretty difficult to focus on one member of the cast when there was so much going on on stage. 
For 45 minutes people danced and were jovial listening to I'm from Barcelona during their second ever U.S. show! It was as good as I expected especially seeing as I had forgotten how good they could be. I didn't stick around for Blonde Redhead and I'm glad I didn't because I'm sure it would have been extremely difficult to follow up the spectacle that was I'm from Barcelona.
When Okkervil River released Black Sheep Boy in 2005 it took a bit of time for momentum to build behind the album. Despite the fact that it was a brilliant album with majestic song writing from front man Will Sheff, people seemed to be completely oblivious of its existence. After months of touring and loads of word of mouth people finally began latching onto the album and it began popping up on year end lists everywhere. Now, two years later, the band returns with its amazing follow-up album The Stage Names. Hopefully this time around it won't take quite as long for people to warm up to the album.On the album opener, "Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe" Will and the band set the theme and the pace for the rest of the album. Using cinematic descriptions Sheff takes us on tour with him, telling his tales with fade ins and outs, sharp angles, and cutting words. A bit brighter than Black Sheep Boy, The Stage Names should push Will Sheff into the upper echelon of today's songwriters as it proves his abilities to turn a verse into a powerful emotional statement.
Throughout the album the band is equally sharp. Loaded with bruising drums and scathing guitar riffs, each song is taken to a higher level of emotional urgency thanks to the musical acumen of Okkervil River as a whole. The band has grown in leaps and bounds thanks to the extensive touring done in support of the last album, and that growth shines throughout the nine songs found here.
With such a small amount of songs on it, The Stage Names never hits a sour note. Each song is vital to the album's strength and plays their part in bringing it all together as one glowing piece of work. If people drop the ball on this album and take their time getting to it, it'll be a real shame because they'd be missing out on a pristine album full of classic song writing. Don't you drop the ball, make sure you pick it up today.
Okkervil River - "Unless It's Kicks"
Okkervil River - "Title Track"
buy it at insound!
Also Released:
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Monday's Links:
- Muzzle of Bees has an interview with Dan Maloney of one of my past Bands of the Week Death Ships. Its a good read, and an even better band, check them out!
- The KEXP blog has a slew of videos from this past weekend's Lollapalooza. It seems to me out of all the festivals in all the cities, Lollapalooza is the most cluttered and the one where you will most likely make a mistake deciding which band to see at what time.
- Gothamist interviews Adam Horovitz (aka the King Ad-Rock) of The Beastie Boys. This is the band I wanted to headline our After the Jump Fest, unfortunately they were way too big to even take my call.
Monday: A Camp + Oppenheimer @ Union Hall 8pm $12
I don't know much about A Camp, but I know it features Nina Persson of The Cardigans and that's enough to convince me that I'd like to hear it at least once. With her luscious voice leading the way any band will sound remarkable and I'm sure that's the case with A Camp. It helps that my band of the week, Oppenheimer kicks off their week of New York shows with this one.
A Camp - "Walking the Cow" (via superb live)
Tuesday: Oppenheimer @ Union Hall 8pm $10
When I first heard that Oppenheimer would be returning to New York for a couple of shows I circled this date on the calendar because I was sure that the show with They Might Be Giants would be expensive and I knew Daft Punk was playing the same time as them on Thursday. So I planned on going to this show and I still do. You should as well.
Oppenheimer - "Breakfast in NYC"
Wednesday: They Might Be Giants + Oppenheimer @ Bowery Ballroom 8pm $25
Another Wednesday means another show from They Might Be Giants at Bowery Ballroom, unless of course you're willing to shell out over $50 to see The Beastie Boys at Central Park (I'm not). It also means you can check Oppenheimer for the third time this week, this time serving as the opener for They Might Be Giants. Am I pushing the Oppenheimer thing a bit too hard???
They Might Be Giants - "Climbing the Walls"
Thursday: Daft Punk + The Rapture @ Keyspan Park 7pm SOLD OUT
A couple of weeks ago, Absolut vodka held a ticket give away at Other Music. It was a Sunday morning, the tickets were given out at noon and thanks to that promotion I will be going to this show with two free tickets. If you did not get tickets for this show I feel bad for you, but at least you have the show below to somewhat make up for it.
Daft Punk - "The Brainwasher" (via The Music Sluts)
The Rapture - "The Sound" (via Rock Sellout)
...or The Hold Steady + The Big Sleep @ Prospect Park Bandshell 7pm $3
If it weren't for the rare Daft Punk show listed above I would surely be at this tonight. The Hold Steady have risen steadily to the top of my favorite bands list throughout the last two years with excellent albums and amazing (and extremely drunken) live shows. I'm not sure how drunken everyone will be in the middle of Prospect Park, but I'm sure the band plan to rock their adopted boroughs asses off!
http://www.box.net/shared/static/jir8nexczh.mp3
Friday: Tokyo Police Club + Ra Ra Riot @ Bowery Ballroom 8pm SOLD OUT
If it seems like I go to every single Ra Ra Riot show in New York City, well its true I pretty much do. The band is one of my favorite things going in music right now and every time I see them I have an absolute blast. I saw them last time they were in town with Tokyo Police Club at Mercury and it appears the two bands have moved up to the next level taking over the more spacious Bowery stage. I'm super excited to see both bands at one of my favorite venues in the city!
Tokyo Police Club - "Cut Cut Paste"
Ra Ra Riot - "Every Year"
...then Los Campesinos + The Silent League @ Mercury Lounge 8:30pm $10
Depending on the way time goes I am going to do my best to catch at least one of the two former Bands of the Week playing at Mercury tonight. Both bands caught my eye over the past few months and they have been in constant rotation since. If you do not have a ticket to the Ra Ra Riot show make sure you buy one to this right now. Do it! You'll regret it if you don't!!!
Los Campersinos - "Frontwards"
The Silent League - "Time"
Saturday: Vampire Weekend @ East River Amphitheater 2pm FREE
I've been extremely tempted to risk missing my flight to London to try and catch Vampire Weekend today. You see my flight leaves at 6:50pm out of Newark so I don't think I'm going to make it to the show. Luckily for me they live here and play quite often so I'm sure I'll see them again, but if you don't have prior obligations spend the day in the sun rocking out!!!
Vampire Weekend - "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa"
Sunday: Ted Leo & the Pharmacists + The Thermals @ McCarren Park Pool 3pm FREE
Here is a quick list of the free summer shows I have missed this summer and why; Animal Collective (working), Dan Deacon (moving), and TV on the Radio (goddaughter's birthday). Now because I will be on vacation in London I will be missing quite possibly the best overall lineup ever to hit McCarren. Don't be a fool, RSVP and go to this show. It will be amazing. I'm sorry I'll be missing it.
Ted Leo & the Pharmacists - "
The Thermals - "
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Monday's Links:
- Music Snobbery has interviewed one of my former Bands of the Week, Los Campesinos. I'm very excited that I'll be seeing the band on Friday night when they hit Maxwell's.
- In other former Band of the Week news, My Old Kentucky Blog has posted a new song by the lovely and amazingly talented Blair. Her new song is like a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich on a Monday morning...delicious! (p.s. - I am a bit hungry at the moment.)
- Okkervil River's new album, The Stage Names, gets the Pitchfork Best New Music stamp of approval. I happen to agree with it, and you will hear more of my take on the album tomorrow!
I don't know much about A Camp, but I know it features Nina Persson of The Cardigans and that's enough to convince me that I'd like to hear it at least once. With her luscious voice leading the way any band will sound remarkable and I'm sure that's the case with A Camp. It helps that my band of the week, Oppenheimer kicks off their week of New York shows with this one.
A Camp - "Walking the Cow" (via superb live)
Tuesday: Oppenheimer @ Union Hall 8pm $10
When I first heard that Oppenheimer would be returning to New York for a couple of shows I circled this date on the calendar because I was sure that the show with They Might Be Giants would be expensive and I knew Daft Punk was playing the same time as them on Thursday. So I planned on going to this show and I still do. You should as well.
Oppenheimer - "Breakfast in NYC"
Wednesday: They Might Be Giants + Oppenheimer @ Bowery Ballroom 8pm $25
Another Wednesday means another show from They Might Be Giants at Bowery Ballroom, unless of course you're willing to shell out over $50 to see The Beastie Boys at Central Park (I'm not). It also means you can check Oppenheimer for the third time this week, this time serving as the opener for They Might Be Giants. Am I pushing the Oppenheimer thing a bit too hard???
They Might Be Giants - "Climbing the Walls"
Thursday: Daft Punk + The Rapture @ Keyspan Park 7pm SOLD OUT
A couple of weeks ago, Absolut vodka held a ticket give away at Other Music. It was a Sunday morning, the tickets were given out at noon and thanks to that promotion I will be going to this show with two free tickets. If you did not get tickets for this show I feel bad for you, but at least you have the show below to somewhat make up for it.
Daft Punk - "The Brainwasher" (via The Music Sluts)
The Rapture - "The Sound" (via Rock Sellout)
...or The Hold Steady + The Big Sleep @ Prospect Park Bandshell 7pm $3
If it weren't for the rare Daft Punk show listed above I would surely be at this tonight. The Hold Steady have risen steadily to the top of my favorite bands list throughout the last two years with excellent albums and amazing (and extremely drunken) live shows. I'm not sure how drunken everyone will be in the middle of Prospect Park, but I'm sure the band plan to rock their adopted boroughs asses off!
http://www.box.net/shared/static/jir8nexczh.mp3
Friday: Tokyo Police Club + Ra Ra Riot @ Bowery Ballroom 8pm SOLD OUT
If it seems like I go to every single Ra Ra Riot show in New York City, well its true I pretty much do. The band is one of my favorite things going in music right now and every time I see them I have an absolute blast. I saw them last time they were in town with Tokyo Police Club at Mercury and it appears the two bands have moved up to the next level taking over the more spacious Bowery stage. I'm super excited to see both bands at one of my favorite venues in the city!
Tokyo Police Club - "Cut Cut Paste"
Ra Ra Riot - "Every Year"
...then Los Campesinos + The Silent League @ Mercury Lounge 8:30pm $10
Depending on the way time goes I am going to do my best to catch at least one of the two former Bands of the Week playing at Mercury tonight. Both bands caught my eye over the past few months and they have been in constant rotation since. If you do not have a ticket to the Ra Ra Riot show make sure you buy one to this right now. Do it! You'll regret it if you don't!!!
Los Campersinos - "Frontwards"
The Silent League - "Time"
Saturday: Vampire Weekend @ East River Amphitheater 2pm FREE
I've been extremely tempted to risk missing my flight to London to try and catch Vampire Weekend today. You see my flight leaves at 6:50pm out of Newark so I don't think I'm going to make it to the show. Luckily for me they live here and play quite often so I'm sure I'll see them again, but if you don't have prior obligations spend the day in the sun rocking out!!!
Vampire Weekend - "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa"
Sunday: Ted Leo & the Pharmacists + The Thermals @ McCarren Park Pool 3pm FREE
Here is a quick list of the free summer shows I have missed this summer and why; Animal Collective (working), Dan Deacon (moving), and TV on the Radio (goddaughter's birthday). Now because I will be on vacation in London I will be missing quite possibly the best overall lineup ever to hit McCarren. Don't be a fool, RSVP and go to this show. It will be amazing. I'm sorry I'll be missing it.
Ted Leo & the Pharmacists - "
The Thermals - "
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Monday's Links:
- Music Snobbery has interviewed one of my former Bands of the Week, Los Campesinos. I'm very excited that I'll be seeing the band on Friday night when they hit Maxwell's.
- In other former Band of the Week news, My Old Kentucky Blog has posted a new song by the lovely and amazingly talented Blair. Her new song is like a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich on a Monday morning...delicious! (p.s. - I am a bit hungry at the moment.)
- Okkervil River's new album, The Stage Names, gets the Pitchfork Best New Music stamp of approval. I happen to agree with it, and you will hear more of my take on the album tomorrow!
Labels:
daft punk,
free shows,
live music,
los campesinos,
mp3's,
oppenheimer,
ra ra riot,
ted leo,
the thermals
Friday: For the first weekend in months I will not be starting things off at the South Street Seaport. Unfortunately they have nothing planned for the evening and I also am scheduled to work some overtime on Friday so I won't be making it out to any of the other free events either. But that shouldn't stop you...Hopefully you have RSVP'd to the free CSS show at Studio B on Friday night already, if not you'll be on a list with over 2,100 other people and considering Studio B only holds about 1,000 that does not bode well for you or anyone else. Something tells me this is going to be a sweaty, packed in, show that I wouldn't enjoy just for those reasons even though CSS is an awesome band.
CSS - "Off the Hook"
If you haven't put in your RSVP for that yet then might I suggest checking out DFA DJ's, Tim Sweeney and Tim Goldsworthy at the midtown Apple Store instead. Beginning at 11:45pm the duo will be spinning super dance-able music so you can get down with your bad self while buying an iPod! Sounds like a good time to me, and seeing as I am right down the street I might try to stop by after work to dance off some stress!
Also Jamming Round the City:
The Police @ MSG $millions
The Foundry Field Recordings @ Galapagos 10pm $8
Erasure @ McCarren 6pm $40
Saturday: Once again I will be toiling away doing some overtime at work (vacations to London don't exactly pay for themselves) but will be air conditioned so I shouldn't complain too much. Hopefully I will get out in time for the Zune BBQ at the Empire-Fulton Ferry in Brooklyn. Featuring MIMS and Clipse it should be a crazy awesome time, but if that doesn't work out I'll probably just go see the Harry Potter movie at long last.Clipse - "Momma I'm Sorry"
Also Getting Paid to Play:
Dirty Projectors + Ecstatic Sunshine @ Death By Audio 8pm $7-$15?
Andrew W.K. @ Highline Ballroom 11pm $8
Foundry Field Recordings @ Piano's 8pm $8
Benji Cossa @ Sound Fix Records 8pm FREE
Sunday: Finally a day I am not working this weekend, so it will probably treat me by raining. (I'm hoping not, but I wouldn't expect any less) As usual my Sunday mornings will be filled with a rousing game of softball or two (hopefully two, its single elimination playoff time!), followed by a trip to McCarren Park Pool. This weekend we get to check out Blonde Redhead and I'm from Barcelona. This'll be my first time seeing both bands, but I absolutely adore both of their latest releases. Should be fun for the whole family.Blonde Redhead - "The Dress"
I'm from Barcelona - "Chicken Pox"
Also Winding Up the Weekend:
Leftover Crack @ Club Exit 7pm $8
Radio Tea @ Luna Lounge 7pm $8
When The Go! Team released its debut album, Thunder, Lightning, Strike in 2004, the album was littered with illegal samples and loads of hypnotic beats that seemed to capture the attention of every indie kid from here to Kuala Lampur. The band managed to clean up the album, and by clean up I mean remove samples that they couldn't get cleared, but the damage had already been done. Loads of people had already witnessed the full insanity of The Go! Team and the people demanded more. Well the demand has finally been heard and fulfilled as The Go! Team are set to release their second full length album, Proof of Youth, on September 11th.This week we got our first full glimpse of the album thanks to a bit of early leakage around the internet and upon hearing the album a couple of times around I have to say I almost as enamored as I was when I first heard Thunder, Lightning, Strike. I say almost because unlike their debut I had an idea of what to expect going into Proof of Youth. The first time I heard Thunder, Lightning, Strike was at the behest of my brother who said it would blow my mind and make geeks and nerds want to dance, and he was absolutely right I did want to dance, but with this second album I am struck with a bit a familiarity with what I am hearing, though that is not necessarily a bad thing.
The big difference between Thunder, Lightning, Strike and Proof of Youth is in the vocals of the tracks. On Proof of Youth the band reached out to Bonde do Role's Marina Ribatski and Solex to handle the majority of the vocal arrangements, which was a solid decision on the part of The Go! Team, as they handle vocals marvelously and it really does serve as an asset to the album. Musically, the album features another slew of samples, which I assume were easier to clear now that the band is on Sub Pop, that make you want to get out of your seat and dance immediately.
It may take a while for me to truly love this album, but such is the strength of an amazing debut album. The Go! Team set the bar a bit too high for themselves the first time out and this time merely match it rather than push it to the next level. The album is excellent though and will garner a lot of praise and accolades, and I'm sure people all over the place - myself included - will love dancing to it whenever its played. But hopefully they realize where they are now and they attempt to push it a bit further the next time around!
The Go! Team - Grip Like a Vice
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Friday's Links:
- M.I.A. talks to Pitchfork tackling everything from Diplo's actual involvement in the making of her music to the way she is treated because she is a woman in the music biz. Its a really, really good read.
- Bruce Willis performed a concert at the Kennedy Space Center?! I don't really know where to go with this, but apparently 7,000 people showed up to watch this proving yet again why Florida should not be allowed to vote in the elections.
- Here's a new track from Celebration called "Evergreen"!
- Tickets are going fast to the night portion of the After the Jump Fest, make sure you get yours ASAP! Also Music Snobbery has the list of items we will be raffling off during the festival so check that out!
Next week should be dubbed Oppenheimer week in New York. The Irish duo is set to play four different shows in New York next week and you wouldn't be out of your mind to try and catch all four shows. It's been more than a year since I first saw Oppenheimer opening up for Hot Chip at the South Street Seaport last year and in that time I have been completely hooked on the band's melding of electronic sounds with pop sensibilities. They also use a vocoder which hasn't been cool since before Frampton destroyed it.The duo have been making waves here and abroad for the past year with their self-titled debut album actually selling out of its original pressing over in the UK and doing solidly in the States as well. It makes sense in this day and age that they'd be able to make it as their sound seems to be the sound of the moment following in the foot steps left by people like Fujyia & Miyagi, Hot Chip, and many more. But it's not just because of the sound that the band are doing so well, they deserve a lot of credit for what they do within that sound. With just drums, guitar, and synths the band manage to create a beautiful soundscape that makes you want to sing along and dance till your legs are sore.
Currently the band is working on a follow up album (which I'll hopefully have more info on next week) and have a quick US tour set to coincide with their four New York dates. Its a good time for the Irish duo and as more and more people take notice of what they are doing it is bound to increase.
Oppenheimer - "Breakfast in NYC"
Oppenheimer on Myspace
Tour Dates:
August 4th; State College, PA - Chronic Town
August 5th; Fredericksburg, VA - Wounded Bookshop w/Ra Ra Riot
August 6th; Brooklyn, NY - Union Hall w/A Camp
August 7th; Brooklyn, NY - Union Hall w/The Postmarks
August 8th; New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom w/They Might Be Giants
August 9th; New York, NY - The Annex (Club NME)
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Thursday's Links:
- Zach Condon does a Take Away Show!
- Metro New York equates festivals to the new arena rock.
- Scarlett Johansson is recording an album of Tom Waits covers that is being produced by Dae Sitek and features members of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Will we finally have a notable actress turned musician? Probably not, but Pitchfork has more details.
- Sports Note #1: Yesterday the logo for next year's All-Start Game was unveiled at Yankee Stadium, the host of the game. As you all know this will be the last year that the third oldest stadium currently in baseball will be open so it is a fitting way to demolish the most historic park in baseball history. I will do my damndest to be at the Stadium that day!
- My brother, the write of A New Nuance, is looking for a few Barak Obama backing bands to play a show on Staten Island in the near future to raise some donations for his campaign as well as to raise awareness to his favorite candidate. Personally, I haven't selected a candidate to back yet but I'm sure the country would be much improved from where we are today if Senator Obama was leading the country for the next four years. Interested bands should contact my brother at timduffyster@gmail.com. Thanks!
- TV Note #1: Since moving to my new place last week I have been without cable television and I am starting to get a bit restless. I need to get this rectified but until then I'm hoping they are still DVRing my shows at home!
- Over at The Rawking Refuses to Stop! they have posted an extremely long and insightful piece about the crumbling record industry. Though this has nothing to do with the stuff going on at Victory Records which seems to be getting ready to sue just about everyone ever.
- Movie Note #1: In lieu of the old cable television watching I have been watching a lot of DVD's lately, though most of it is re-watching movies I already have. In the last couple of days I devoured a couple of discs from season 8 of South Park (always a good time), watched The Matrix, followed that up with the third installment of The Matrix (I always get the names mixed up and I despise the second one), and most of Animal House last night. Any suggestions for me to watch tonight???
- There's been a slew of bands announcing tour dates the last few days, here's a list of them; Art Brut, The Go! Team, Architecture in Helsinki, Figurines, Simian Mobile Disco, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and I'm sure several others as well.
- Sports Note #2: The Yankees are currently 3 games out in the Wild Card. My optimism is beginning to return.
- As you all have heard the Arcade Fire has joined forces with LCD Soundsystem to make a lot of Pitchfork readers cream their pants including yours truly. Well today word has come of the true opening act for this once-in-a-life-time event and it ain't no silly lightweight band, its freaking Les Savy Fav!!!! So before we dance our asses off to LCD, and sing to our hearts content with Arcade, we get to freak out with Les Savy!!!! This is going to be amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!(Thanks for the heads up Sluts!) Buy Tickets Here
- A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that the White Rabbits had covered The Specials version of "Maggie's Farm" well it seems they have done it again and Muzzle of Bees has proof!
- Obscure Sound has an amazing July compilation for everyone, which you can download individually or as a whole!!!
- Tickets are now on sale for the night portion of the After the Jump Fest at Studio B. The night show features performances by Riot in Belgium, Soulico, The Virgins, a slew of DJ's. maybe some other bands, and of course random appearances by drunken bloggers! Buy your tickets now before they are gone. (note all proceeds from this show go to a charity which you can read more about on the website! Yay!) Speaking of After the Jump, Music Snobbery has started to list the prizes that will be available for people who by raffle tickets. Check out his site to get the rundown of prizes, most of which are freakin' sweet and I would love to have.
With Bloglines down today that's about all I have for now so here enjoy some tunes...Bloglines is back up! More links have been added for your reading pleasure!
Aesop Rock - "None Shall Pass"
Les Savy Fav - "Je T'aime"
Arcade Fire - "Intervention"
LCD Soundsytem - "New York I Love You"
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