Hail Social's Modern Love & Remixes

Hail Social, electro dance-rock popsters from Jersey, self-released their album Modern Love & Death in January. Formerly signed to Polyvinyl, the band set out the DIY route, with great results. Stream their album below:

Stars Are In Our Bedroom

Canadian pop rockers Stars are releasing their new album called In Our Bedroom After the War on September 25th via Arts & Crafts. The band will be on tour this Fall, but have yet to announce dates.

The new single, "The Night Starts Here," actually sounds a lot different from the tracks on Set Yourself On Fire. Amy and Torquill still trade off on the vocals, but the track is very bass heavy and features a lot of synthesizers and sparse guitars.

DOWNLOAD: Stars - "The Night Starts Here" (MP3)

Tracklisting below:
1. "The Beginning After The End"
2. "The Night Starts Here"
3. "Take Me To The Riot"
4. "My Favourite Book"
5. "Midnight Coward"
6. "The Ghost Of Genova Heights"
7. "Personal"
8. "Barricade"
9. "Window Bird"
10. "Bitches In Tokyo"
11. "Life 2: The Unhappy Ending"
12. "Today Will Be Better, I Swear!"
13. "In Our Bedroom After The War"

Polyvinyl's Got Some Sweet Deals

This may seem like a weird, promotional blog post, but I promise it's not. I was just reading through the Polyvinyl Records newsletter, and saw that they're having this crazy sale at their e-store. CDs are now $4, LPs are $3. The Mates of State DVD Two of Us, which is the making of Team Boo, is only $5! There's also some stuff by Pele, Rainer Maria and The M's.

So anyway, head here if you wanna buy some cheap music and merch!

Bangin' With Limes

Bang Lime is the dance-rockin' duo of Joules Scott Key and Joshua Winstead from Metric. Their debut album, Best Friends In Love, will release on August 14th on Last Gang Records. They'll also be touring and will hit the NYC area on August 22nd and 23rd, at Union Pool and Mercury Lounge.

Head to their myspace to stream their songs.

Via CMJ.

Feist & Friends On Conan

A couple weeks ago, Feist performed "1234" on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.

Watch this lively and captivating performance featuring Grizzly Bear, Patrick Daughters (video director of "Mushaboom", "1 2 3 4" and "My moon My man"), Mary Rozzi (the photographer who took the Reminder" album cover photo), Simone Rubi (the designer of the album artwork) and Dianne Montgomery (guest tap dancer from the live tour) among other friends.

Scientists and Chiefs

After finishing up their new album and doing some festival hopping, We Are Scientists will tour around the UK awhile with the Kaiser Chiefs. The band is currently at The Plant in Sausalito, Cali recording an album they have many titles for, including Do Smoke Detectors Detect The Smell Of Smoke?, Mermaid Stewwwww (Yuck!), and What # of $ Do That Cost?

11/21 - Exeter, UK - Exeter Westpoint Arena*
11/22 - Bournemouth, UK - Bournemouth BIC*
11/24 - Cardiff, UK - Cardiff CIA*
11/26 - Birmingham, UK - Birmingham NIA*
11/28 - Nottingham, UK - Nottingham Arena*
11/30 - Manchester,UK - Manchester Evening News Arena*
12/03 - Sheffield, UK - Sheffield Hallam FM Arena*
12/04 - Hull, UK - Hull Arena*
12/10 - Newcastle, UK - Newcastle Metro Radio Arena*
12/14 - London, UK - London Earls Court*

There's also a New Year's Eve show on the calendar in Brooklyn. Or is there? Their myspace is confusing. Note to the Scientists: What's the deal with your space?

I Was Tamed By Rock And Roll

Last night [June 26th], I saw Wilco again, this time at Warsaw in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. And I tell you what, last night's set kicked the Hammerstein's show's ass. Not to say that there weren't downers at the show last night. It was super crowded, and the people trying to dance just pissed everyone off cause that resulted in stepping on feet and elbowing sides. The other downer was that it was so f'ing hot in Warsaw. Steph said she felt like she was at Coachella again. But I said it was worse, because at Coachella there's an amazing breeze at night and at Warsaw it was just humid and sticky. All that aside, Wilco played a pretty phenomenal show last night. It lasted for about 2 1/2 hours, and I could've listened for 2 1/2 more.


Jeff Tweedy wasn't as talkative as he was the night before. Last night they were down to business, opening with "Sunken Treasure," which made the crowd SO rowdy. Later in the set came "Handshake Drugs," "Pot Kettle Black" and "Hummingbird." But it was the encores that made the show really special. First encore: "Either Way," "Ashes of American Flags," "Reservations" (!), and "Spiders (Kidsmoke)." Second encore: "Hate It Here," "The Late Greats," "Hoodoo Voodoo" and "Outta Mind (Outta Sight)."

Pics via Muzikspy on Flickr.
Full setlist on BrooklynVegan.

The Summer Of McCarren Pool

Summer '07 will definitely be the summer that NYC'ers remember as being the summer they were at McCarren Pool. There's too many good shows going on to miss heading out to Williamsburg for some pool fun.

First, there are the pool parties. JellyNYC has done a phenomenal job booking amazing bands like TV On The Radio, Man Man, Dan Deacon, Blond Redhead and I'm From Barcelona, among others. Those shows are all free. RSVP at Going.com.

Then there are the ticketed shows:
Cat Power, Built To Spill - July 7th
Sonic Youth do Daydream Nation - July 28th
Erasure, Young Love - August 3rd
Beastie Boys - August 9th
Feist, Kevin Drew - August 29th
Modest Mouse, Love As Laughter - September 8th

The Modest Mouse show was originally scheduled for Keyspan Park, but just got moved to McCarren Pool and rescheduled for a month later than the original date. Band of Horses was supposed to play the Keyspan Park show, but there's no word on if they'll do the McCarren Pool show. However, they are playing the latest NYxNY Magazine event, which is a Bad Art Auction hosted by Zach Galifianakis at Hiro Ballroom. Tix are $30 and available here.

Pic via spinachdip on Flickr.

Wilco Loves Macramé

Before last night, I had never seen Wilco live. I absolutely love their albums, and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot will forever be in my Top 10, but for some reason I always missed them. I imagined Jeff Tweedy to be sullen and intense, but instead he was energetic and charming and the perfect frontman for such an amazing band. He had funny stage banter, played patty cake with the guitarist and even brought down a macramé owl. I don't think I've ever seen a band that sounds this good live. Every single member of the band kills on their instruments. I mean, they are bad asses.


In John Roderick's Bonnaroo blog, he talked about how it was an amazing feat that Wilco could create such an intimate atmosphere at a festival of 80,000 people. But I think that's what a tight band like Wilco can do, that the hundreds of other bands cannot. Even in a big venue like Hammerstein Ballroom, where I often feel claustrophobic and think I might as well be home watching the band on TV, Wilco somehow make it seem like they're playing only for you.

The highlight of the set for me was "Hate It Here," which surprised me because it's definitely not one of my favorite Wilco songs, but they brought it to life. Other highlights include "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart," California Stars," "Via Chicago," "Poor Places" and "Jesus, Etc." Their set was pretty much comprised of Sky Blue Sky and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, with was fine by me.

Pics via Muzikspy on Flickr.

A Skin, A Night

#40.3 - The National - Start a war

The National star in a new documentary, filmed by Vincent Moon, of La Blogotheque fame called A Skin, A Night. The documentary looks like it will be a "making-of" type film, like I Am Trying To Break Your Heart. You can watch clips online here. My favorite is the clip of "Gospel," where Matt Berninger and Bryce? are sitting on a sail boat. Above is the take away for "Start A War." You can also watch the take away for "Ada" on La Blogotheque. No word on when the film will release.

Via Gothamist.

Every now and then I get super obsessed with a band, and right now it's The National. Usually this happens after seeing an amazing show. I guess my first obsession was Sufjan Stevens. I saw night 2 of his 5-night? run at Bowery Ballroom two summers ago, and after that it was over. I was hooked. My latest one was Arcade Fire, after seeing them at Judson Memorial Church. And now it's The National after seeing them at Bowery. Just wanted to explain that to y'all in case you see a lot of The National on this blog...

Anyway, catch them at Pier 17 at the River to River Festival on August 17th with The Forms and Takka Takka.

Also, you can stream The National's sold-out show at the 9:30 Club from last week on NPR. It's great.

Bloc Party Tracks For Free?

I was reading NME.com today and stumbled across an interesting article about how Bloc Party, among several other bands, will soon be giving their tracks away for free on the We7 website in a deal that V2 Records recently made. The other bands include Stereophonics, The Rakes, Cold War Kids and Little Man Tate.

We7 makes it possible for you to enjoy free music downloads - but the artist still gets paid! Every time you download a free MP3 or video from We7, a small payment will be made to the relevant artist.

This is because we allow global brands and companies to include a message on the music tracks that users download for free, for up to 10 seconds or less on audio.

So you download music for free, brands pay for their message and your favourite musicians and artists get paid! Free music downloads are simple, legal and safe with We7.

If you want to download a music track without an ad, you'll be able to buy the MP3 at the normal price.

But for a free music download, We7 will feature the ad at the start of your music track. However, four weeks after you download your free track, We7 will give you the option of having the track 'ad free' - so you'll be able to take full advantage of our new free music download model.

This certainly is a new business model for digital music, but I'm not sure that I like it. I do think that it's a good place to start, and it gets the conversation going in the right direction. However, I would not want to listen to an ad every time I put on a certain song. It just ruins the moment. What do you guys think?

Download some Bloc Party without the ads:
DOWNLOAD: Bloc Party vs. Gwen Stefani - "What You Hunting For?" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Bloc Party vs. Coldplay - "Hunting For Witches In My Place" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Bloc Party vs. Madonna - "Groovecopter" (MP3)

Beirut's Back!

Yes, just in time for my newest song obsession ["Scenic World" off Lon Gisland] Beirut has announced a release date for his new, still untitled album, October 9th. The album will be released by Ba Da Bing! Records and features strings and guest vocals by Owen Pallett [aka Final Fantasy].

P4K clues us in to Zach's frame of mind while writing this new album:

Just don't expect Beirut's beloved Balkanisms on this one. As Condon told us last month, "I was listening to a lot of Jacques Brel and French chanson music-- pop songs shrouded in big, glorious, over-the-top arrangements and all this drama...very much throwing myself in the world of classical pop music" while writing and recording the latest LP.

Beirut will also be doing a mini-tour through Europe and major cities in the States. They'll be in New York on September 24th at the Society for Ethical Culture for the Wordless Music Series and on September 26th at the Delacorte Theater. Is this a Summerstage show?

Head to P4K for the full tracklist and Fall tour dates.

Below is a video of "Scenic World" live at a Spin event:

New Pornographers and Midlake: JULY 4th

GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!

Just got mine :)

New York Is Making Music

Tomorrow, June 21st, will be the first ever Make Music New York festival, which will celebrate live music in all 5 boroughs. And the best part is that it's all free!

Make Music New York is a new live, free musical celebration across the city that will take place for the first time on June 21, 2007.

For one day, public space throughout the five boroughs – sidewalks, parks, community gardens, and more – will become impromptu musical stages, dance floors, and social meeting points. Thousands of amateur musicians, in every genre, will be able to play on the sidewalks for the biggest crowds of their lives. Professional musicians will be able to attract new audiences, who will come out from under their headphones to hear unfamiliar groups risk-free. And everyone will be invited to sing along and enjoy the first day of summer.

The idea started in France, when the Director of Music at the Ministry of Culture lamented the fact "that the French owned more than four million musical instruments. Three quarters of these instruments lay deteriorating in cupboards, attics and cellars before departing this life in dustbins and on rubbish tips."

The event is set to take place every June 21st. Musicians will be performing everywhere in the city, on sidewalks, in front of buildings, closing whole blocks! This year there will be over 560 performances. Overwhelming, right?

I took a look at the listings on the Time Out website, and here are some of my picks:
JellyNYC presents Cheeseburger, Best Fwends and Oxford Collapse on North 7th and Bedford. From 6PM-9PM.
Semi Precious Weapons will be playing on North 5th and Bedford from 8PM to 9PM. CANCELLED due to studio work!
Statues of Liberty are playing on Jane St. and Hudson St. at 8PM.
Stereo Stereo are going on before Semi Precious Weapons on North 5th starting at 7PM.

What are you gonna see?

Oh No! Oh Tour!

Yay, Oh No! Oh My! are finally coming back to NYC soon. This new tour will be in support of their new EP Between the Devil and the Sea, which features 5 tracks and will be released on August 7th on Dim Mak.

Most of the tour is with Brooklyn natives Au Revoir Simone [who've definitely been making the rounds lately! Peter Bjorn and John? Voxtrot? Music sluts!]. They'll be closing the tour in NYC on August 9th at Mercury Lounge. I saw them during CMJ06 at The Living Room, and they just had so much energy and enthusiasm, so I really want to check them out when they play their own show.

DOWNLOAD: Oh No! Oh My! - "Party Punch" (MP3)

07-05 Austin, TX - The Parish
07-12 Lubbock, TX - Jake's Backroom
07-14 Las Vegas, NV - Beauty Bar *@
07-17 Santa Barbara, CA - Velvet Jones *@
07-18 San Francisco, CA - The Independent *@
07-19 Los Angeles, CA - The Troubadour *@
07-20 San Diego, CA - Beauty Bar @
08-10 Memphis, TN - HiTone Café
08-13 Boston, MA - TT the Bear's %
08-14 Montreal, Quebec - Main Hall %
08-15 Toronto, Ontario - Lee's Palace %
08-16 Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom %
08-17 Chicago, IL - Abbey Pub %
08-18 Minneapolis, MN - 7th St. Entry %
08-21 Seattle, WA - Chop Suey %
08-22 Vancouver, British Columbia - TBA %
08-23 Portland , OR - TBA %
08-27 Tucson , AZ - TBA %
08-29 Denton, TX - Rubber Gloves %
08-30 Austin, TX - TBA %
08-31 Houston, TX - TBA %
09-01 Baton Rouge, LA - Spanish Moon %
09-02 Birmingham, AL - Bottle Tree %
09-03 Atlanta, GA - Drunken Unicorn %
09-04 Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506 %
09-05 Washington, DC - The Rock and Roll Hotel %
09-06 Baltimore, MD - Ottobar %
09-07 Philadelphia, PA - TBA %
09-08 New York, NY - Mercury Lounge %

* with Let's Go Sailing!
@ with the Deadly Syndrome
% with Au Revoir Simone

Via P4K.

Kevin Drew is Tbft'd

Umm yeah, whatever that means...
So I know you've read this on every blog today, but it's too good not to post.

"Tbft" is the second song off Kevin Drew's solo album Broken Social Scene Presents: Kevin Drew Spirit If. The album will be released on September 18th on Arts & Crafts and "unfolds like an emotional comic book. Drew's songwriting addresses all his favourite topics: fucking, fighting, fearing and hope."

DOWNLOAD: Kevin Drew - "Tbft" (MP3)

Also:

BSS co-founder Brendan Canning will also release a solo album, due in early 2008. Drew and Canning decided to make records as solo projects, drawing in the social scene community to play key supporting roles, in a return to the creative process that was the initial spark for BSS.

Andddd, Feist and Broken Social Scene: Kevin Drew's "Spirit If" are playing at McCarren Pool on Wednesday, August 29th. Tickets are $29.

So now the real reason for this post: If you go to Kevin Drew's Arts & Crafts website [link above] there's a really creepy loop of him eating cereal. Yeah. I like it.

Grip Like A Video

The Go! Team's new single "Grip Like A Vice" has definitely been one of my go-to dance anthems of the past few weeks. The other is The Sounds' "Tony The Beat," which I know is a little old, but put it on and try not to dance. I dare you.

Anyway, listening to "Grip Like A Vice," I totally imagined the video to be all bright colors and people dancing and going crazy. But The Go! Team decided to get a little more political on us: going black & white, highlighting phrases like "the people's choice," "what you gonna do" and "look out," featuring sign language, bags over the guitarists' heads, map imagery and cop cars.

But rest assured, because there are still people dancing.

The Go! Team recently signed to Sub Pop. Their sophomore album Proof Of Youth will be out on September 11th.

Late Night With The White Stripes

Last night, The White Stripes performed two songs on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. The first was "Icky Thump."

Kinda poor video and sound quality, but you get the gist of it. Conan's loving it, saying "That's the real thing. I could hear that twice!"

Anyone get lucky and score tix to see them at Irving Plaza tonight?

Icky Thump is out today. Buy it at Insound.

The Sun Is Out

"The Sun Is Out" is the new documentary series about the making of Apples in Stereo's newest release New Magnetic Wonder. This is the first video in a series of 5. In this webisode, we see Robert Schneider eating lots of pizza, the band recording in Trout Studios and hear a story about how the drummer from The Flaming Lips split Hilarie's cymbal in 2 about 10 years ago.

Did anyone catch them at Summerstage? I didn't. I was working :( How was it?

Ryan Adams Gets His Brain Picked

There's a rather interesting article in the Times today about Ryan Adams. Well, I guess it doesn't really say anything that we don't already know. It details his drug addiction and how his girlfriend Jessica Joffe pretty much saved his life. It also talks about how Ryan works in the studio, and his insanely fast writing process. Luke Lewis also detailed how he and Ryan would contrive fights to drum up more press.

Luke Lewis, the chairman of the Nashville division of the Universal Music Group, of which Lost Highway is a part, seemed wistful as he pondered the departure of his old nemesis. “He’s like a kid to me,” Mr. Lewis said. “I’ve always loved him. We’ve had a couple of fights, and we’ve actually contrived a few fights, to be honest. It wasn’t lost on either of us that it’s not a bad thing for him to be the petulant child of a record label.”

So will he try to convince Mr. Adams to stay with Lost Highway? “If you love him, set him free,” Mr. Lewis said with a laugh that suggested a former partner who recalled the bad times as well as the good. “Do I want to stop being friendly with him? Never. Is he a valuable asset to a label? Yes, no question. Did we make money? Yes, both of us. I have no sour grapes about it at all.”

Later in the article, the subject of Ryan's label deal is brought up again.

With more than a year’s sobriety under his belt, a new album and an open road ahead of him in terms of how he chooses to release his music, Mr. Adams nonetheless continues to dream of a world better able to accommodate his particular brand of unfiltered creativity. It’s evident that a conventional record contract will never satisfy him. It’s even possible that he could end up epitomizing the recording artist of the future: making music available online at will, performing theater-size shows for a devoted core of fans and leaving it up to his audience to decide which of his songs they care to own.

That would be pretty damn cool if that happened. An artist as amazing as Ryan Adams giving away all his music for free? What a can of worms that would be!

Read the whole article here.

Easy Tiger is out on June 26th. Pre-order it at Amazon.

DOWNLOAD: Ryan Adams - "Wonderwall" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Ryan Adams - "New York, New York" (MP3)

This Week In Indie Rock

I've been busy this week with In The City stuff, and will update on all that later, but for now I'm jacking BV's style and setting you up with a bunch of links.

Spoon's new album Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga is now streaming in it's entirety at Merge. The White Stripes secret Icky Thump release show is on June 19th at Irving Plaza. You can get tix tomorrow starting at 10am at the Irving Plaza box office. Tix are $30. Get ready to camp out. New Pornographers tix for the July 4th Battery Park show went out to the first 500 subscribers on the River to River website. I missed out :( But more tix will be released on the 20th. Paul McCartney played a secret free show at Highline Ballroom. It was amazing. I was lucky to be there (my review coming soon). Franz Ferdinand played a short set at Bowery Ballroom. Feist played two shows at Town Hall. Kevin Drew was there the first night and they played "Lover's Spit" together. They'll BOTH be playing a show at McCarren Pool this summer. Bonnaroo starts today. Wilco, The Police, The Flaming Lips, The Hold Steady, Annuals and The White Stripes will all be there. Peter Bjorn and John will be playing with The Fratellis at Roseland Ballroom in September. What else am I missing?

Bishop Allen On Tour

Bishop Allen just announced dates for their new tour in support of their second LP, The Broken String. The album will be released on July 24th by Dead Oceans. It contains a sort of "best of" selection from their EPs of 2006, including favorites "The Monitor" and "Click Click Click Click."

During this tour, they will be playing in NYC twice! Once at a free show at the Seaport Pier 17 on July 20th and another time to close their tour at Bowery Ballroom on August 18th. Tour support will be Page France and The Teeth. I look forward to seeing them again since I had so much fun at their last NYC show.

Tour dates below:
06/27 - Chicago, IL - Beat Kitchen
06/28 - Toronto, ON - Lee's Palace
07/20 - New York, NY - South Street Seaport
07/21 - Philadelphia, PA - North Star*
07/22 - Washington, DC - The Black Cat**
07/23 - Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506**
07/24 - Atlanta, GA - The Earl**
07/25 - Baton Rouge, LA - Spanish Moon**
07/26 - Houston, TX - Proletariat**
07/27 - Austin, TX - Emo's**
07/28 - Denton, TX - Haileys**
07/31 - Los Angeles, CA - Echo*
08/01 - San Francisco, CA - The Independent*
08/03 - Portland, OR - Doug Fir*
08/04 - Seattle, WA - Crocodile Cafe*
08/07 - Denver, CO - Hi Dive*
08/09 - Chicago, IL - Subterranean*
08/10 - Bloomington, IN - The Bluebird*
08/17 - Cambridge, MA - Middle East Downstairs*
08/18 - New York, NY - The Bowery Ballroom*
* with Page France
** with Page France, The Teeth

Via CMJ.

DOWNLOAD: Bishop Allen - "Rain" (MP3)

Secret White Stripes Show?

Yesterday, PSNYC got everyone excited by mentioning that there would be a secret White Stripes show in New York soon, but didn't say much more than that.

Now, they've given us a little more info. Apparently, Virgin Megastore in Union Square will be giving away the tickets. I'm assuming that you can just go to the store and enter the contest? It says no purchase necessary, so you don't have to pre-order the album or anything. Anyway, the show will be on June 19th, the day Icky Thump releases. Doesn't say which venue it'll be at.

Also, PSYNC said that "Management swears they will be scanning for multiple entries and throwing them all out if caught," but on the above poster it says "Enter Now. Enter Often." Hmmmmmmm.

I'll check it out today and post an update later.

Apples In NYC

This Saturday, June 16th, Apples In Stereo will be performing at Central Park Summerstage for free! Along with Television and Dragons on Zynth, the show is being billed as "three generations of alternative rock music."

But aside from that, I also wanted to clue you in to a more intimate Apples show. The night before the Summerstage show, June 15th, Apples In Stereo will be performing at a benefit for Housing Works Bookstore. Tickets are $25, include a free beer, and you get a chance to win a custom painted guitar by Steve Keene. Buy tix for the benefit here.

Housing Works Bookstore Café is an independent cultural center that offers patrons a unique opportunity to join the fight against AIDS and homelessness. Arts-based philanthropy in practice, they allow visitors to make a difference simply by buying or donating books; eating at their cafe; coming to concerts, readings, and special events; or volunteering for our staff. Housing Works provides housing, healthcare, job training, and advocacy for New Yorkers living with HIV/AIDS. As an activist organization, they are committed to implementing the systemic changes necessary to ensure that AIDS and public health policies are sound in concept and equitable in administration. Support them!

Icky Thump-ness

Icky Thump, the new White Stripes album, is now supposedly streaming on MTV's The Leak. I say supposedly because I can't get it to work on my computer. Anyone have better luck?

Wondering what that above image is? That's right. Jack White in USB Drive form.

Jack and Meg USB drives. Custom created for The White Stripes, each 512-megabyte drive contains a copy of their new album in the Apple Lossless Format. There were only 3,333 of each drive created. Visit The White Stripes web store here.

Now you can carry Jack White in your pocket. Sweet.

Jose Gonzalez Is Keeping On

As previously reported, Jose Gonzalez releases his second full-length, In Our Nature, on September 25th. And now, he has announced his tour to support the album. Officially kicking off the tour two days after the release, Jose will start in NYC with two nights at Gramercy Theater.

Dates below:
09-27 New York, NY - Gramercy Theater *
09-28 New York, NY - Gramercy Theater #
09-29 New York, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg
09-30 Boston, MA - Paradise #
10-01 Philadelphia, PA - World Café #
10-02 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club #
10-04 Chicago, IL - Park West #
10-05 Portland, OR - Aladdin Theater #
10-07 Seattle, WA - Showbox #
10-08 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall #
10-09 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall #
10-10 Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theatre #
10-12 Denver, CO - Bluebird Theatre *
10-13 Minneapolis, MN - Fine Line Music Café *

* with James Blackshaw
# with Savath & Savalas

Via P4K.

And don't forget that he's at Spiegeltent in August!

PS: Nice hair!

Loney, Dear @ Union Hall

Last night [June 10th] was my third night in a row at Union Hall, but this time I was there to see Loney, Dear. Yay. I missed them the first time they performed there, so I was extra excited to see them play last night. Sunday shows are usually hard for me. No energy left from the weekend and a lack of motivation usually lead to restlessness. But Loney, Dear played the perfect set, with just the right balance of pleasant, folky, indie pop and a dash of intense rock. It was just the kind of music I wanted to hear last night.

Emil Svanängen is really so charming, especially with his Swedish accent. His stage banter was adorable, he kept saying things like "I have really mastered the English language. I know everything. Including the phrase 'Mr. Livingston, I presume.'" It was Loney, Dear's 100th (+ or - a few) and last show on this tour, but you could tell they wanted to go out with a bang. Emil said he could sum up the tour with two phrases, that are identical, "It's like I went to kindergarten and my mother forgot to pick me up!" but the first time with a sad face and the second time a happy one. Aw :( :)



My favorite songs last night were "I Could Stay," "I Am John," and "Sinister State of Hope." And seeing "The Meter Marks Ok" made me love it so much more. That song is amazing. They were also fond of sing-a-longs last night, opening with a song that the whole audience sang to and also doing a sing-a long for his first encore, "Here Come the Lonely Ones." I'm a sucker for audience participation, so this was a magical moment for me.

DOWNLOAD: Loney, Dear: "Sinister In A State of Hope" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Loney, Dear: "I Am John" (MP3)

Beat Up Old Scientists

On Saturday night [June 9th], I headed down to Mercury Lounge to see Beat Up Old Fellas play, aka We Are Scientists. Performing under a different name, the Scientists debuted all new material from their upcoming release. The last time I saw them was in December at the now defunct Northsix, where they did say that they would be residing in Williamsburg for the next few months to write and record their new album. And write they did.

It was a good set. I didn't know any of the names of the new stuff, but there is one song in particular with "Oh Oh Ohs" that I really liked. And I must say, I've been impressed with their vocals both times I've seen them. The backing vocals are spot on, and really give the band a much bigger sound. And Michael Tapper is an amazing drummer, always on it with that hipster disco beat. Oh, and Justin Rice from Bishop Allen, was the We Are Scientists photographer for the night. Aw indie bands helping each other out! I like it. Also, as you can see from the picture above, Chris Cain shaved off his trademark floppy hair and mustache! New look for a new album?

PS. Chris Cain, I like your bass. Your beat is nice.

Download a song they didn't play on Saturday.
DOWNLOAD: We Are Scientists - "Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt" (MP3)

And don't forget to see them at Siren Festival next month!

Analyzing Bright Eyes

I can't pretend that I'm the biggest Bright Eyes fan. So during his 7-night Town Hall stint earlier this month, for whatever reason, I just didn't get a chance to check him out. Various friends of mine did though, and basically the consensus was that there were some amazing moments, but Bright Eyes was also a little bored to watch [read: snoozefest]. So when I logged on to the NY Times this morning, I immediately clicked onto the link that said "Dissecting Indie Music Into Complex Charts," and was delighted to see that the Times had commissioned fellow music blogger Andrew Kuo to analyze all 7 nights of Bright Eyes.

True to my friends' reviews, Kuo seemed to be bored [like on the verge of falling asleep bored] during much of the shows. There were redeeming moments, like his favorite songs "Lua" and "Lime Tree," and interesting special guests (his favorite was Lou Reed). But overall, I couldn't help but notice that his "Quality Arc of Each Show" graph had a lot more lines at the bottom, where "Nap time! No, really, it's zzz time!" was the origin.

This graph thing is definitely the geekiest indie rock thing I've ever seen, but I appreciate the work and thought put into these graphs. Bravo, Kuo. Ha.

Download Kuo's favorite song "Lua" and my favorite "Something Vague" (bringing you back, right?).
DOWNLOAD: Bright Eyes - "Lua" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Bright Eyes - "Something Vague" (MP3)

Spoon Goes Ga Ga

Oh Spoon. You and your teasers. If you've been on the interweb at all this week, you've probably already read that Spoon's album is streaming, one track at a time until all the tracks are added, on Merge's website. Go here for the Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga jukebox.

The songs that are available so far are "Don't Make Me A Target," "The Ghost of You Lingers," "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb," "Don't You Evah" and "Rhythm And Soul." I'm really loving "Don't Make Me A Target" and "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb." And "Don't You Evah" brings me back to their "I Turn My Camera On" days.

July 10th is turning out to be a big release day, with Interpol's Our Love to Admire and now Spoon's Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga.

Catch them the day after the release, July 11th, for FREE at Rockefeller Park for the River to River Festival.

Bjork Is Cooler Than We Are

As if there was even a debate about Bjork's coolness factor...

Anyone who was at Coachella watching Bjork's set probably left the polo field asking, "What was the weird digital instrument thing her band used?" I know I was.

Luckily, Rolling Stone got that question answered for us:

A collection of so-called digital luthiers at the Audiovisual Institute at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona has created an insanely cool new instrument known as “the reactable.” The instrument is comprised of a glowing surface and a series of blocks. When the blocks are moved they make a sound that reflects both the sonic nature of that particular block and the way in which it was moved. The user can change everything from pitch to volume to duration of each sound simply by moving it.

Bjork took one look at this intuitive, collaborative digital instrument and decided she had to have it for the Volta tour. There are only two reactables in the world, but Bjork was able to borrow one and incorporate it into her life show. “She saw it in action and she had to have it on the tour,” Bjork’s technical director Alan Pollard said of the quirky pop star’s reaction to the instrument. Cool, right?

Cool indeed. Only 2 in the world and Bjork "borrowed" one for her tour? Bjork is probably the only person that could pull that off. Well, maybe Beck could, too. Bjork and Beck. The two coolest people in the world.

We Are Beat Up Old Fellas

Last night [June 6th], We Are Scientists opened for The Long Blondes at Luna Lounge in Williamsburg. They played under the moniker Beat Up Old Fellas, and previewed a bunch of new material.

Setlist via NME:
'Spoken For'
'Best Behaviour'
'Rush N' Attack'
'Altered Beast'
'Impatience'
'Let's See It'
'Lethal Enforcer'
'Dinosaurs'
'Dig Dug'
'Tonight, Tonight'

They're playing as Beat Up Old Fellas again tomorrow at Maxwell's in Hoboken opening for Snowden and on Saturday at Mercury Lounge. Tix are still available for both shows.

We Are Scientists are also co-headlining, along with New York Dolls, the Siren Music Festival on July 21st.

DOWNLOAD: We Are Scientists - "Inaction" (MP3)

The Noisettes and The Maccabees @ Knitting Factory

I got to the Knitting Factory last night [June 6th] for The Maccabees' last three songs. They were cute. Had that boyish, British charm going for them. Too bad I didn't see the rest of their set.

Next up were The Noisettes. As far as rock bands go, I don't think The Noisettes could be any more different from the band I saw on Tuesday night, Interpol. Shingai Shoniwa, lead singer & bass and guitar player, was amazing to watch. She just flailed around on stage, made great eye contact with the audience, and her voice! The range on her voice and the way she uses it is just phenomenal.



I'd say the first half of The Noisettes' set was much better than the second half though. I was so into it during the first 4 or 5 songs, but after that, it got a little monotonous and it just seemed like the band lost a lot of energy.

I tell you what though, when British bands play in New York, the Brits come out in droves. They are such an enthusiastic crowd too, a nice change from the cooler-than-thou hipsters.

The Maccabees and The Noisettes are currently supporting Bloc Party on their US tour. They play Asbury Park Convention Hall tonight. You can also catch The Noisettes when they play the Siren Music Festival in Coney Island on July 21st.

DOWNLOAD: The Noisettes - "Scratch Your Name" (MP3)

YACHT Stuff

After much speculation about his dwindling involvement with the band, Jona Bechtolt (aka YACHT) has officially announced that he will no longer be a member of The Blow.

Jona Bechtolt, whose production skills, instrumentation, and beats can be found on The Blow's albums Poor Aim: Love Songs and Paper Television will no longer be a member of the band, in the studio or on the road - he is leaving in order to concentrate all of his energy on his primary project, YACHT. The Blow will continue on as the project of Khaela Maricich.

Although he is enormously proud of his work with The Blow, as well as happy for The Blow's continued success, he would like to clarify any confusion: the reason he was not on stage during any of this year's Blow performances is because he was performing live as YACHT, and working on his new YACHT album I Believe In You. Your Magic Is Real. which was released last month via Marriage Records.

That's kinda sad for The Blow, but I am really interested in seeing how YACHT develops. Haven't had a chance to see him live yet, but I hear it's great. Thoughts?

DOWNLOAD: YACHT - "The Summer Song" [Feat. Claire L. Evans] (MP3)
This song is apparently dedicated LCD Soundsystem, YACHT's current tourmates. Future tourmates include Architecture in Helsinki, Au Revoir Simone and Montag.

DOWNLOAD: YACHT - "It's Coming To Get You" [Eats Tapes Remix] (MP3)

Also, YACHT has a web series called YACHT On Tour Forever. Catch it here on youtube.

Download I Believe In You. Your Magic Is Real from emusic.

Interpol @ Bowery Ballroom

Interpol created quite the atmosphere last night [June 5th] at Bowery Ballroom. With 10 or 12 black light light bulbs hanging from the ceiling, a couple of lights with blue and red and white bulbs, and a of couple blue and red spotlights, the room was mostly dark. It was really the prefect setting in which to see a band like Interpol.


Playing the hits from both Antics and Turn On The Bright Lights, crowd favorites last night included "Obstacle 1," "Slow Hands" and their closer "PDA." The band sounds really tight, with no weak spot at all. I'm really loving the new single, "The Heinrich Maneuver," and it came off really well live. And Carlos D, the "self-styled ladies man" of the band, definitely lives up to his reputation. I'm digging the 'stache D, don't change it!

Here's the set list, courtesy of The Music Slut:

"Pioneer To The Falls"
"Obstacle 1"
"NARC"
"Say Hello To The Angels"
"Take You On A Cruise"
"Mammoth"
"Slow Hands"
"Leif Erikson"
"The Heinrich Maneuver"
"Evil"
"Not Even Jail"
Encore:"Length Of Love"
"Stella Was A Diver And She Was Always Down"
"PDA"

Our Love to Admire is out on July 10th. Pre-order it at Insound.

DOWNLOAD: Interpol - "The Heinrich Maneuver" (MP3)

Pics via BrooklynVegan's flickr.

New Andrew Bird Videos!

The always reliable Andrea has clued us in to some great new live videos in Andrew Bird's new newsletter.

The first here is Andrew Bird's concert at the Paradiso in Amsterdam. Andrew opens with "The Supine" and closes with "Tables and Chairs," which seems to be his closer of choice as of late. "Imitosis" comes out especially well in this concert.



Next up is "Skin Is My" live in Paris:



And finally, "Imitosis" live in Paris as well, at La Maroquinerie.

White Stripes in NYC

The White Stripes are playing on July 24th at Madison Square Garden presented by Bowery Presents. Tickets are still available.

Just saw this news about their openers that night:

The White Stripes are happy to announce that Grinderman and the legendary Porter Wagoner (featuring Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives) will be opening for them at Madison Square Garden in New York City on July 24th. Grinderman are Nick Cave, Warren Ellis, Martyn Casey and Jim Sclavunos.

Here's the Spanish sub-titled video for "Icky Thump:"

DOWNLOAD: The White Stripes - "Icky Thump" (MP3)

When You Get Into A Volkswagen, Wilco Gets Into You

So, by now I'm sure you've heard of Wilco's six spot commercial deal with Volkswagen. Are you Wilco fans angry about this "selling out" or are you understanding that this is just another way for one of your favorite bands to make money?

P4K brings us the band's explanation:

"With the commercial radio airplay route getting more difficult for many bands," wrote the Chicago sextet on its official website, "we see this as another way to get the music out there."

They continued: "And we feel okay about VWs. Several of us even drive them."

Wilco also clarified remarks made in the Volkswagen press release announcing their licensing deal with the German automobile manufacturer, which claimed this was Wilco's first such licensing deal.

"If you're keeping track, this is not the first time Wilco has licensed a song to or even been involved in a commercial -- most recently a TV spot for Telefonica Mobile in Spain used a Wilco song and some years prior Jeff Tweedy appeared in a campaign for Apple Computer. Wilco have licensed hundreds of songs to television shows and films worldwide... from festival-only indie films to major motion pictures and weekly TV shows."

I must say, I feel OK about Volkswagens too. It could be worse, right? They could be the soundtrack for Starbucks.

Catch Wilco in NYC soon:
June 25th - Hammerstein Ballroom
June 26th - The Warsaw

Buy Sky Blue Sky at Insound.

Jamie T Releasing Panic Prevention Stateside

Yes! I've been waiting for this since March, when I saw his solo show at Mercury Lounge. Jamie T is set to release Panic Prevention in the US in September. Caroline Records is set to release the 13-track album in mid-September. He'll be touring to support the album in the States soon, but no dates have been set yet :( I'm excited to see what he'll be like with his band.

Tracklisting below:

01. Brand New Bass Guitar
02. Salvador
03. Calm Down Dearest
04. So Lonely Was The Ballad
05. Back in The Game
06. Operation
07. Sheila
08. Pacemaker
09. Dry Off Your Cheeks
10. If You Got The Money
11. Alicia Quays
12. Northern Line*
13. Raw Hide (featuring Lily Allen)*
* Bonus Track

Via CMJ.

DOWNLOAD: Jamie T - "Oh My Girl" (MP3)

John Pike, Ra Ra Riot Dummer, Found Dead

This is the kind of news that makes me sick to my stomach. I logged on to myspace today, and saw a bulletin from Ra Ra Riot titled "John." Weird title for a bulletin, I thought, so I clicked it. I found this message:

As many of you already know our drummer, John, passed away today. We would like to thank you for all of your love and support.

Love,
Ra Ra Riot

Then I did a little more research and found that after their show at the Living Room, in Providence, RI, the band went to an afterparty in Fairhaven, Mass.

Via Spin:

Pike had been missing since early Saturday morning (June 2), when the band, following a Friday (June 1) gig in Providence, RI, attended a late night afterparty in nearby Fairhaven, MA. Pike was last seen at the party around 3 A.M. wearing a yellow shirt and Levi's jeans. "He just disappeared from the party after the show," a band spokesperson confirmed to SPIN.com. When Pike didn't turn up Saturday, a search party dispersed on foot and soon discovered his mobile phone on a nearby beach. Next, authorities began drudging the bay and Pike's body surfaced from Buzzards Bay's waters at approximately 4:10 P.M., a band spokesperson confirmed to SPIN.com. "No foul play is suspected," the band's spokesperson said. The band has yet to make any statement or announcement about their future.

Hopefully this tragedy won't cause the demise of this band, because Ra Ra Riot is such a fun band. Such a sad story, our thoughts are with the band and friends & family of John Pike. Be careful when you're drunk out there kids! Sometimes drugs and alcohol lead to stupid decisions...