Music - News

Kevchino.com bands to check out at SXSW

We've picked some of our favorite bands to add to you SXSW 2010 schedule. Click the links below to the artist's myspace pages for show details or check the official SXSW schedule here. We also listed next to the band what days they're playing official SXSW events and/or day parties. 01. Warpaint (Wed Thu Fri Sat) 02. Sharon Van Etten (Thu Fri Sat) 03. Shilpa Ray & Her Happy Hookers (Thu Fri Sat) 04. Real Estate (Wed Thu Fri Sat) 05. Memory Tapes (Thu Fri Sat) 06. Frankie Rose and The Outs (Wed Thu Fri Sat) 07. Washed Out (Wed Thu Fri Sat) 08. Rey Villalobos (Sat) 09. Drink Up Buttercup (Wed Thu Fri Sat) 10. Dum Dum Girls (Thu Fri Sat) 11. Broken Social Scene (Thu Fri) 12. Broken Bells (Wed) New team up with Danger Mouse The Shins frontman James Mercer. 13. Admiral Radley (Thu Fri Sat) New band with Jason Lytle and Aaron Burtch of Grandaddy & members of Earlimart. 14. Monogold (Sat) 15. Local Natives (Thu Fri Sat)

Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse RIP

Deeply shocked and saddened by the news that Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse took his own life. He was one of my favorite musicians. In his long career in music he had worked with Thom Yorke of Radiohead, David Lynch, The Flaming Lips, Danger Mouse, PJ Harvey, Tom Waits, Daniel Johnston and many more amazing artists. His beautiful music will not be forgotten. Here is a link to a brief interview I did with Mark back in 2003.

Hannis Browns debut video entitled Oh Ah Ee

The opening song "Oh Ah Ee" from Hannis Brown's debut album entitled, Oh Ah Ee is set to be released April 6th, 2010. The video was directed by Erin Levendorf and Austin Kennedy. Brown's music combines weird indie rock with the controlled chaos of groups like Battles and Dirty Projectors, explosions of free jazz and aleatoric new music. To preview a few more songs off the debut LP, visit www.myspace.com/hannisbrown.

Short & Sweet NYC Sat & Sun March 6th & 7th

Saturday March 6 Location: Williamsburg, Brooklyn Band: RJD2 Get Tickets Here Show time: 9 PM Venue: Music Hall of Williamsburg Food: Dumont Burger Drink: Radegast Hall & Biergarten Miscellaneous: Verb Cafe A DJ who’s a maestro of sound in his own right, RJD2’s new album The Colossus is completely inventive, grabbing from all over the musical spectrum while still making it his own. Also on the bill are Break Science and Happy Chichester. With one of the best burgers in Williamsburg, Dumont Burger offers theirs with gourmet toppings, in addition to sandwiches, salads and their amazing mac & cheese. So you consider yourself a beer connoisseur and like to party? You can do all that and eat at Radegast Hall & Biergarten. The Austrian/German menu perfectly compliments the 12 beers on tap and more than 30 German and Austrian bottles at this large beer hall. One of the oldest and best hipster hangout coffee shops, The Verb Cafe offers up excellent coffee and baked goods, a boho vibe and big windows to watch the days pass while collecting unemployment! Saturday March 6 Location: Williamsburg, Brooklyn Band: Ikebe Shakedown Show time: 10 PM Venue: Rose Live Music Food: Egg Drink: Savalas Miscellaneous: Fabiane’s Café & Pastry Shop If you like your Afrobeat down and dirty then Ikebe Shakedown, a Brooklyn-based collective of musicians will get you off your ass and on the dancefloor. Get some of the best egg omelets in Williamsburg at Egg, like the Eggs Rothko ($8.50) with an easy-cooked egg in a slice of Amy's brioche and topped with Grafton cheddar. Plus they have a dinner menu with the likes of fried chicken! If you’re looking to dance afterwards, Savalas has both great DJs and drink specials on top of delivering on the fun factor. Fabiane’s Café & Pastry Shop is a great little cafe in the heart of Williamsburg that’s great for not too late night people watching. Try one of their fantastic desserts or sip coffee and stare at the passing hipsters. Sunday March 7 Location: Midtown West, NYC Theater: The Tempest Show time: See website for details; Through March 13 Venue: BAM Harvey Theater Food: Junior’s Drink: O’Connor’s Miscellaneous: Thomas Beisl As part of BAM’s three-year Bridge Project, where British and American actors join forces to perform together in some of Shakespeare’s greatest works, Sam Mendes directs The Tempest, starring Michelle Beck, Christian Camargo, Stephen Dillane, Ron Cephas Jones, Juliet Rylance and Thomas Sadoski. Known more for its cheesecake than anything else on its menu, Junior’s also offers fantastic diner and deli style eats from steak burgers to deli sandwiches. If you can make it through dinner, the cheesecake will be worth the wait! One of Brooklyn’s most interesting dive bars, O’Connor’s offers cheap drinks in a place where Park Slope hipsters meet old-time drinkers, making for one of the oddest pairings that works. An excellent place to get schnitzel and goulash and other Austrian delights, Thomas Beisl is right across the street from BAM.

Short & Sweet NYC Friday March 5th

Friday March 5 Location: Lower East Side, NYC Band: Emily Jane White Show time: 8 PM Venue: The Living Room Food: San Loco Drink: Max Fish Miscellaneous: Sugar Sweet Sunshine With an awesomely distinctive voice, Emily Jane White makes a spooky good blend of folk dusted with blues in a gothic way. San Loco may not serve the greatest Mexican food ever, but it certainly isn’t bad. The prices are inexpensive—you can get a heaping amount of nachos for as little as $3.75—and telling by the heavy traffic, the place is doing just fine. What I like about Max Fish is that it’s a local bar for local artists, whose walls host monthly art exhibitions. There’s a pool table in the back, and drinks aren’t pricey—unlike many new bars springing up in this neighborhood. For one of the best cupcakes in the city, Sugar Sweet Sunshine has 10 varieties, in addition to cakes. Try the Sexy Red Velvet or the Bob, a yellow cupcake with chocolate almond buttercream. Friday March 5 Location: Union Square, NYC Event: Subterranean Get Tickets Here Show time: 10 PM Venue: D-Lounge Food: Chat ‘N’ Chew Drink: Pete’s Tavern Miscellaneous: Whole Foods The terraNOVA Collective presents Subterranean, a monthly variety show celebrating music, spoken word, burlesque, magic, storytelling, short play readings and vaudeville acts. This one features Micia Mosely (Nursha Project) hosting with performances by spoken word artist Roger Bonair-Agard (MASQUERADE: calypso and home), comedian Carolyn Castiglia (NBC’s “Last Comic Standing”, Brown Ambition) and performance artist Red Summer (Two Fingers Press, Nursha Project). For food with a Southern flair in Union Square, Chat N’ Chew makes some kickass fried chicken, pork-chops and meatloaf. In the running for oldest bar in NYC, Pete’s Tavern has been around since 1864 and was made famous by author O. Henry who wrote “Gift of the Magi,” in one of its booths. One good thing about the Union Square location of Whole Foods is that it’s not only a reprieve from this tourist heavy area, but with its huge windows, you can sit, get healthy organic food and drink, and watch the insanity like it’s a movie.

Now and Then: Adam Green

Adam Green is also known as the dude that discovered the Moldy Peaches (there was also a girl named Kimya Dawson that helped). Currently, Adam is making his own music, and his album Minor Love was released in January of this year. The below single “What Makes Him Act So Bad” is from that release. But the other video is “Lucky Number 9,” from the Moldy Peaches album of the same name. Adam Green Tour Dates: APR. 1 VANCOUVER, BC VENUE APR. 2 SEATTLE, WA CHOP SUEY APR. 3 PORTLAND, OR DANTE’S APR. 5 SANTA CRUZ, CA CREPE PLACE APR. 6 SAN FRANCISCO, CA CAFE DU NORD APR. 7 SAN FRANCISCO, CA CAFE DU NORD APR. 9 SAN DIEGO, CA THE CASBAH APR. 10 LOS ANGELES, CA TROUBADOUR APR. 13 DENVER, CO LARIMER LOUNGE APR. 14 KANSAS CITY, MO RECORD BAR APR. 15 CHICAGO, IL SCHUBAS APR. 16 CLEVELAND, OH GROG SHOP APR. 17 TORONTO, ONT MOD CLUB APR. 19 MONTREAL, QUE LA SALA ROSA APR. 20 BOSTON, MA GREAT SCOTT APR. 21 PHILADELPHIA, PA JOHNNY BRENDA’S APR. 23 NEW YORK, NY BOWERY BALLROOM APR. 24 NEW YORK, NY BOWERY BALLROOM

Kevchino.com Austin Party!

Kevchino.com & The Nym Guy presents A free show with: Shilpa Ray & Her Happy Hookers (8:15pm till 9:00pm) Sharon Van Etten (7:15pm till 8:00pm) Drinkup Buttercup (6:30pm till 7:00pm) Villagers (5:45pm till 6:15pm) Rey Villalobos (of The Coral Sea) (5:00pm till 5:30pm) Princeton (4:15pm till 4:45pm) Joannabarbera (3:30pm till 4:00pm) Seabear (2:45pm till 3:15pm) Sarah Castro (2:00pm till 2:30pm) Odawas (1:15pm till 1:45pm) Anni Rossi (12:30pm till 1:00pm) Monogold (11:45am till 12:15pm) Brittain Ashford (11am till 11:30am) ThreeLeaf (10:25am till 10:45am) Café Mundi 1704 East 5th Street Austin, TX Saturday March 20th, 2010 | 11am till 9pm Live Performing Art by James Kahni, DJ's and more details to be announced soon.

Short & Sweet NYC Sat & Sun Feb 27th & 28th

Saturday February 27 Location: Upper West Side, NYC Event: Tibet House 20th Annual Benefit Concert Show time: 7:30 PM Venue: Carnegie Hall Food: Gordon Ramsey at the London Drink: Social Miscellaneous: Brooklyn Diner Commemorating the Monlam Prayer Festival traditionally held at the time of the Tibetan New Year, the Tibet House 20th Annual Benefit Concert will be led by artistic director Philip Glass, and will include Iggy Pop, Patti Smith with Jesse Smith, Regina Spektor, Gogol Bordello, Pierce Turner, Bajah + The Dry Eye Crew and Tenzin Kunsel. Everyone’s favorite celebrity chef, who most are likely afraid of, Gordon Ramsey serves a three-course French menu with international flare at Gordon Ramsey at the London. Make reservations early and wear a jacket, as the place only has 45 seats. If you’ve seen his shows, I’m sure you know that you don’t want to piss off this chef! Social, a three floor bar and lounge is big enough to never get bored in and is a great place in that area of town to drink and, well, you know the rest! Finding a restaurant that isn't super expensive and serves good home style food in Midtown can be a chore, but at Brooklyn Diner, they hit the spot for really great food with an old school diner feel. Saturday February 27 Location: Union Square, NYC Bands: The English Beat + Fishbone Get Tickets Here Show time: 7 PM Venue: The Fillmore at Irving Plaza Food: Maritime's Matsuri Drink: Hiro Miscellaneous: Cha An Japanese Tea House Looks like ska is making a comeback . . . again. And leading the pack, at least at this show, is The English Beat, who put out some amazing music in their heyday. But the band to watch is Fishbone, who have been putting on high energy performances for over two decades and show no sign of stopping. Catch them any chance you get to see how a band should incite a live crowd. After working up an appetite, head over to Maritime's Matsuri*, with Chef Tadashi Ono’s highly acclaimed Japanese food (*be sure to make a reservation). At Matsuri the fish is so fresh because it’s flown in from Japan daily. I highly recommend the sushi with one of over 200 kinds of sake they stock. After dinner, head to the Japanese-themed bar Hiro for a dimly lit cocktail to lubricate your mind. After trying to gather yourself after your night of fun, you might want to head down to Cha An Japanese Tea House to sip some Matcha tea and calm yourself down. Sunday February 28 Location: Lower East Side, NYC Film: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory Show time: 12 AM Venue: Landmark Sunshine Cinema Food: Paladar Drink: Pianos Miscellaneous: Motor City Bar Before Tim Burton and Johnny Depp got their hands on Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory—the classic story of Charlie Bucket, who won one of five golden tickets to tour the secretive chocolate factory, owned by the very quirky Willy Wonka—Gene Wilder owned that movie, and this original version of the film is arguably still the better of the two. With a Pan-Latin menu, Paladar offers traditional Spanish dishes with a twist in a fun and funky atmosphere. Try the Salmon a la Plancha Pan, a seared salmon with spring vegetable picadillo & serrano-ramp vinaigrette ($17). If you still want to party afterwards, a good place for that is Pianos. A lounge in front, rock club in back, and a DJ dance party on the second floor, Pianos is a good place to party hard. Though loud, Motor City Bar is an homage to Detroit as license plates and other car parts adorn the walls, the DJs here play “THE ROCK” all night, and the vibe has everyone on the lookout for a good time.

Depp, MacGowan, Cave & Chrissie Hynde Cover

Shane MacGowan, Johnny Depp, Nick Cave, Chrissie Hynde & Friends cover a Screamin Jay Hawkins classic “I Put A Spell On You” for Haiti. So moved by the plight of the people of Haiti, Shane and his long term girlfriend, writer Victoria Clarke made calls to friends and associates from which began the process of recording a track from which ALL proceeds go to Concern, a charity who have provided assistance to some of the poorest countries in the world including Haiti, even before the earthquake struck. Some of the stars on the record include - Nick Cave / Bobby Gillespie / Glen Matlock / Johnny Depp / Chrissie Hynde / Paloma Faith / Eliza Doolittle. Please pre-order the single by clicking here or you can text SPELL (all in capitals) to 78789 (the text costs £1.50).

Short & Sweet NYC Friday Feb 26th

Friday February 26 Location: Lower East Side, NYC Band: A Sunny Day in Glasgow Show time: 9 PM Venue: Mercury Lounge Food: Clinton Street Baking Company & Restaurant Drink: Verlaine Miscellaneous: Gus’s Pickles You may think that A Sunny Day in Glasgow are from Scotland, but the band is actually from Philadelphia, and are known for blending an awesome amount of dreamy guitars and pop melodies making some beautiful songs. For din-din, check out Clinton Street Baking Company & Restaurant. They serve up sandwiches, omelets and baked goods for breakfast and lunch. But for dinner, expect the likes of pan seared halibut with sweet corn succotash, herb roasted tomatoes and summer squash ($19). Named after the poet Paul Verlaine, Verlaine offers an Asian food and drink menu. While you can’t order the absinthe that probably helped kill the poet, you can order drinks like the El Chupacabra, which is better tasting with a kick of its own. If you like pickles, Gus’s Pickles has been around since 1910. It’s a landmark spot, and still makes a great pickle. Friday February 26 Location: Lower East Side, NYC Band: Red Pens Show time: 10 PM Venue: Pianos Food: San Loco Drink: Max Fish Miscellaneous: Sugar Sweet Sunshine Hailing from Minneapolis, Red Pens are a duo who make wall of sound rock reminiscent of Sonic Youth and feature heavy guitars and some great drumming. Let’s face it, San Loco does not serve the greatest Mexican food ever. But it certainly isn’t bad. The prices are inexpensive, you can get a heaping amount of nachos for as little as $3.75, and telling by the heavy traffic, the place is doing just fine. What I like about Max Fish is that it’s a local bar for local artists. Its walls play host monthly for art exhibitions, there’s a pool table in the back, and drinks aren’t pricey, like many new bars springing up in this neighborhood. For one of the best cupcakes in the city, Sugar Sweet Sunshine has 10 varieties, in addition to all their cakes. Try the Sexy Red Velvet or the Bob, a yellow cupcake with chocolate almond buttercream.

The Shins frontman & Danger Mouse team up

James Mercer of The Shins and Brian Burton a/k/a Danger Mouse release the self-titled first album by their new band Broken Bells on Columbia Records March 9, 2010. The band will make its first ever television appearance that same day on The Late Show with David Letterman. The record's release will be previewed by full length streaming previews NPR.org/music and Myspace.com beginning March 1, marking the first time the two sites have shared such a debut event. In addition to standard CD, LP and digital versions, Broken Bells will also be released in a limited edition one-of-a-kind music box configuration available at finer music retailers. The record will also be available at Starbucks locations. Broken Bells' release week will continue apace with another TV appearance and two special intimate live performances: The band will make its New York live debut March 10 at Brooklyn's Music Hall of Williamsburg, followed by a March 11 appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and a March 14 one-off at the Troubadour in Los Angeles. The following week the band will play NPR's SXSW opening night gala at Stubbs in Austin TX alongside Spoon, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, The Walkmen and more. Broken Bells' release has been preceded by overwhelmingly positive critical response, with Rolling Stone awarding the album a 4-star lead review and and previously running a Hot List lead on the single "The High Road," while Wired called it "crazy good stuff," Laist.com remarked of the band's recent live debut "Try to imagine what (Broken Bells) might sound like and your expectations would be met and likely exceeded." Broken Bells features Mercer on vocals, guitars and bass while Burton plays organ, drums, piano, synths and bass. The pair play all the instruments on the album with the exception of a full string section arranged by Daniele Luppi. Broken Bells was recorded by Todd Monfalcone and Kennie Takahashi at Mondo Studio in Los Angeles and produced by Danger Mouse. Each a long-time fan of the other's work, Burton and Mercer first met face-to-face backstage at the 2004 Roskilde Festival in Copenhagen. The pair immediately hit it off and kept in touch over the prevailing half decade and in May 2008 seized the opportunity to finally collaborate on original music together. Broken Bells was pared down from more than 20 pieces of new music written and recorded to the 10 songs that coalesced together the most seamlessly. MARCH 9 LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN APPEARANCE CONFIRMED MARCH 11 LATE NIGHT WITH JIMMY FALLON ALSO CONFIRMED Live Shows On Sale Now in New York, Los Angeles, Austin NPR Music First Listen and MySpace Listening Previews Commence March 1

Massive Attack Tour info

Massive Attack have announced their first North American tour in four years, in support of their latest studio effort, Heligoland. The North American dates will kick off May 7th in Toronto, ON and will wrap a few weeks later at this year's Sasquatch Festival in George, WA. The duo will play 2 shows in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco with general on sale beginning March 5th. After its February 9th release on EMI's Virgin Records, Heligoland, debuted at #46 on the Billboard 200, marking the highest U.S. chart position of Massive Attack's career. An all star cast joined founding members Robert Del Naja (3D) and Grand Marshall (Daddy G), which included Damon Albarn, Mazzy Star’s Hope Sandoval, Martina Topley-Bird, Elbow’s Guy Garvey and TV on the Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe. May Tour Dates: 7 Toronto, ONT - Sound Academy 9 Toronto, ONT - Sound Academy 11 New York, NY - Terminal 5 12 New York, NY - Terminal 5 18 Los Angeles, CA - Wiltern Theater 19 Los Angeles, CA - Wiltern Theater 25 San Francisco, CA - Warfield Theater 27 San Franciscos, CA - Warfield Theater 30 George, WA - Sasquatch Festival

Beach House 1st LP back in Print

Heartbreakbeat Records announced the re-release of Beach House's first LP. It has been remastered and is now back in print! The remaster was done at Salt Mastering (Brooklyn) by the talented Paul Gold. The LP is on black vinyl and features the same deluxe packaging as the first white vinyl pressing. So in lieu of white vinyl new customers get improved sound quality, and those who got the first press get to keep their record collector cred intact. Beach House is currently on tour all over the EU, but will have copies of the LP when they tour the US later this year. The LP is available right now on Heartbreakbeat Records website and from other fine online and physical retailers right now.

Thom Yorke Atoms For Peace shows

Thom Yorke announced today at www.radiohead.com/deadairspace that his band Atoms For Peace (previously billed as ????) will play a series of eight U.S. shows leading up to its April 18 appearance at the Coachella festival in Indio CA. The Atoms For Peace lineup remains the same as when the band performed three shows in Los Angeles last October: Yorke, Flea, Mauro Refosco, Joey Waronker and Nigel Godrich. See below for full itinerary and check www.waste.uk.com for on sale details. Thom Yorke/Atoms For Peace (Flying Lotus Supports New York Through Oakland) April 5 & 6 New York Roseland Ballroom April 8 Boston Citi Wang Theatre April 10 & 11 Chicago Aragon Ballroom April 14 & 15 Oakland Fox Theatre April 17 Santa Barbara Bowl April 18 Coachella

Now and Then: Frightened Rabbit

Just a few months back we did a Now and Then on Scotland’s Frightened Rabbit. Now that they have a new video for “Nothing Like You” and their new album The Winter of Mixed Drinks is a little closer to being released, we figured it was a perfect time to do another. The band will be at SXSW this year as well as Coachella. Check out the aforementioned new video as well as the one for “Heads Roll Off” from Midnight Organ Flight to get an idea of what you might hear.
Frightened Rabbit on MUZU

Public Image LTD aka PiL Tour Dates

Since returning in December 2009 for seven monumental concerts in the United Kingdom–their first shows in 17 years–PUBLIC IMAGE LTD (PiL) now continue into 2010 with a headlining North American tour starting Saturday, April 17 in San Francisco. After fronting the Sex Pistols, John Lydon formed Public Image Ltd in 1978. With their experimental sound fusing Rock, Dance, Folk, Ballet, Pop and Dub, PiL are regarded as producing some of the most diverse music of the 70s and 80s. As a band, the music and vision constantly evolved like no other, culminating in an incredible live experience. The North American tour will be preceded by a special performance at the COACHELLA VALLEY MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL on Friday, April 16 (opening day of the three-day event) in Indio, CA. It marks their first show in the United States in 18 years. Cited as one of the most innovative and influential bands in music history, PiL return to a country where they enjoyed a special relationship throughout their career for what are set to be stunning shows. The North American dates will be followed by a series of high-profile summer European Festival appearances. John Lydon (vocals), Lu Edmonds (guitar), Bruce Smith (drums) and Scott Firth (bass) earned critical and public acclaim for their concerts in December 2009, with many British media outlets championing them as the shows of the year. John Lydon: “I sound like a bag of kittens thrown down the staircase.” 2010 sees the 30th anniversary of the band’s first U.S. tour and also their U.S TV debut on “American Bandstand,” where singer John Lydon invited the audience onstage to dance with the band! Host Dick Clark famously introduced their appearance as "a memorable moment in rock n roll, something special and interesting.” The preliminary North American tour dates are as follows, with more shows to be added: Tour Dates: Fri 4/16 Indio, CA Empire Polo Field/Coachella Sat 4/17 San Francisco, CA Grand Ballroom @ Regency Center Tue 4/20 Seattle, WA Showbox at The Market Wed 4/21 Portland, OR Crystal Ballroom Fri 4/23 Salt Lake City, UT The Depot Sat 4/24 Denver, CO Ogden Theatre Mon 4/26 Kansas City, MO Midland Theatre Sun 5/2 Chicago, IL House of Blues Tue 5/4 Boston, MA Royale Boston Wed 5/5 Boston, MA Royale Boston Fri 5/7 Toronto, ON Kool Haus Sat 5/8 Montreal, QC Theatre L'Olympia de Montreal Tue 5/11 Baltimore, MD Rams Head Live Wed 5/12 Washington, DC 9:30 Club Fri 5/14 Pittsburgh, PA Club Zoo Sat 5/15 Atlantic City, NJ The Borgata Music Box Tue 5/18 New York, NY Terminal 5 For further PiL information, see: www.pilofficial.com

Sub Pop sign CocoRosie

The nomadic duo CocoRosie (currently and temporarily residing in New Mexico) spent much of 2008 writing and recording in Buenos Aires, Melbourne, Berlin, New York, and Paris, finding amazing and diverse musicians to collaborate along the way. The result is their 11-song Sub Pop debut, Grey Oceans, due out May 11th, 2010. Grey Oceans: Trinity’s Crying Smokey Taboo Hopscotch Undertaker Grey Oceans R.I.P. Burn Face The Moon Asked the Crow Lemonade Gallows Fairy Paradise Here I Come

Short & Sweet NYC Sat & Sun Feb 20th & 21st

Saturday February 20 Location: Park Slope, Brooklyn Event: Jersey Shore Dance Party Show time: 12 AM; FREE Venue: Union Hall Food: Chiles & Chocolate Oaxacan Kitchen Drink: The Gate Miscellaneous: Brooklyn Superhero Supply Co. Whether you’re a fan of MTV’s Jersey Shore or a true guido/guidette, celebrate the show that made the stereotype an accident you just couldn’t help but watch every week at the Jersey Shore Dance Party. Come dressed up as your favorite character or as a guido and a winner will be chosen for best costume. Ever have Oaxacan food? Chiles & Chocolate Oaxacan Kitchen serves up some fantastic, not-exactly-Mexican food. Try the smoky flavored Mole Negro, one of the best mole sauces I’ve had in NYC. Before leaving, you must try one of the hot chocolates – like the Chiles Y Chocolate. A hint of chipotle without too much heat is a nice kick start for the night. The Gate is a great Park Slope bar with excellent beers on tap and an outdoor courtyard to chill in. If time permits, you must—and I mean MUST—go to the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Co., a non-profit organization that helps kids with their writing, and is fronted by a store selling super powers. Saturday February 20 Location: Meatpacking District, NYC Comedy: Tom Green Show time: 8 PM Venue: Comix Food: Spice Market Drink: Plunge Miscellaneous: Little Pie Company (located at 407 W14th St.) Canadian comic Tom Green returns, bringing his slapstick comedy (remember The Tom Green Show and when he was a rapper?) to the stage. For dinner, if you can get a table, check out Spice Market. Chef and owner Jean-Georges Vongerichten converted this HUGE space into one of the sexiest Asian restaurants in NYC. Serving up exquisite dishes like the onion and chili crusted short ribs with egg noodles and pea shoots ($22), Spice Market impresses. If you choose not to stay at APT for drinks, close by is Plunge. Located at the top of the Hotel Gansevoort, this rooftop lounge offers stunning views of the city. If dessert is your thing, stop over at Little Pie Company, where pies are baked on-site. Whether you’re in the mood for sour cream apple, southern pecan or Mississippi mud pie, you can’t go wrong here. Sunday February 21 Location: West Village, NYC Event: Sunday Night Fixe Fetish Party Get Tickets Here Show time: 10 PM-4 AM Venue: (le) poisson rouge Food: Blue Ribbon Downing Street Bar Drink: Village Tavern Accessory: Bleeker Bob’s Fixe Magazine presents their Sunday Night Fixe Fetish Party, an evening of kinky entertainment celebrating the birthday of world class Fetish Model Julie Simone! Thrill to Fetish Performances & a video premier by Felix The Latex Slave! Dance as Resident DJ Xris SMack! & Special Guest DJ Xtine spin Goth, Industrial, EBM and more! Experience a spanking from house dominatrix Goddess Narcissa & The Mistresses of Le Salon De Sade! Behold as kinky Go Go Dancers Machine Sex, Amber Star & Kerri Taylor shake it as they have never shaken it before! Dresscode: Fetish, Goth, Pinup, Formal, All Black, Dress to Impress! For an eclectic menu that mixes upscale and down-home food, Blue Ribbon Downing Street Bar, a wine bar and restaurant, offers lighter fare including foie gras, cheese plates, caviar, and steak tartare. The Village Tavern is a really comfortable neighborhood bar that’s great for catching sports games or just chilling for a drink, which is what I prefer to do when I’m in the vicinity. Also in the area is Bleeker Bob’s . It’s one of the oldest independent record stores in NYC and the selection is deep. The place looks a mess, but the staff is surprisingly friendly and extremely knowledgeable about what they have.

The xx Europe show cancellations

The xx regret to announce the cancellation of the rest of their European tour after Romy Madley Croft’s father sadly died today. The cancelled dates are: 20th Feb St Malo, Route du Rock Winter 21st Strasbourg, Laiterie 23rd Rome Brancaleone 24th Milan Magazzini Generali 25th Munich Tonhalle 27th Cologne E Werk

Free Song Broken Social Scene