Music - News

Short & Sweet NYC Sat & Sun August 21st & 22nd

Saturday August 21 Location: Williamsburg, Brooklyn Bands: Juliette Lewis Get Tickets Here Show time: 8 PM Venue: Music Hall of Williamsburg Food: Fornino Bar: D.O.C. Wine Bar Miscellaneous: Verb Café At this point, Juliette Lewis is sort of a cult actress having been part of such classic films as Natural Born Killers and what’s Eating Gilbert Grape? Now a frontwoman, she’s actually as good a singer as she is an actor, which is no easy feat. Joining her is Dearly Beloved. What also rocks is finding a decent pizza! Fornino offers just that, wrapped up in an original concept. Serving wood oven burning pizza, the menu is broken up into three generations, the first being your basic pizza ingredients while the second and third go off the gourmet deep end, giving you more than 20 options total. For drinks, the D.O.C. Wine Bar has a homey atmosphere and an excellent wine list of strictly Italian wines and small plates of food. If coffee is your thing, The Verb Café offers not only coffee but sandwiches, desserts, and soup. Chill at a table and write that novel, look for jobs online, or hang with a friend like everyone else there. Saturday August 21 Location: Carrol Gardens, Brooklyn Band: Asobi Seksu Show time: 8 PM Venue: BKLYN Yard Food: Jake’s Barbecue Restaurant Drink: Brooklyn Social Miscellaneous: The Coffee Den Shoegaze act Asobi Seksu make dreamy pop and play in support of last years Rewolf. For great Kansas City style BBQ, check out Jake’s Barbecue Restaurant where the use of dry rubs, sauce, and slow cooking make for some mouthwatering food. Try the Pulled Pork Platter ($14.50), the Half BBQ Chicken ($12.95) or any number of combinations. A former Italian Social Club, Brooklyn Social still has that old 1930s charm and a great drink menu with mixed drinks falling in the $8 range. As much of a fan I am of Dunkin Donuts coffee, I say skip it and try The Coffee Den. They have a nice selection of coffee’s from dark to light roasts and even have Gorilla Coffee, one of the best and darkest in the city. Sunday August 22 Location: West Village, NYC Event: 11th Annual Hudson River Park Blues BBQ Festival Show time: 2 - 9 PM Venue: Hudson River Park Food: Koo Sushi Drink: Blind Tiger Ale House Miscellaneous: Peanut Butter and Co. Nothing says summer better than BBQ and add some great blues and you’ve got a southern delicacy right in the heart of Manhattan. At the 11th Annual Hudson River Park Blues BBQ Festival performers include Smokin' Joe Kubek and Bnois King Band, Janiva Magness, Joe Louis Walker featuring Murali Coryell, Teeny Tucker Revue, and Cyril Neville with BBQ from Brother Jimmy's BBQ, Char No.4, Dinosaur Bar B Que, and Fatty 'Cue. A little known sushi joint, Koo Sushi offers affordable and fantastic fish with an impressive number of specialty rolls. For a bar that looks like any other, Blind Tiger Ale House offers an impressive number of beers including draught, bottled, cask and one called Louise’s Bloody Beer. Try it if you dare! If you’re in the mood for some comfort food, Peanut Butter and Co., offers some PB heavy hitters like the Elvis, a PB, banana, and bacon sandwich that tastes better than it sounds.

Sufjan Stevens drops All Delighted People EP

Sufjan Stevens just released a new EP entitled All Delighted People. You can pick it up on his Bandcamp page here. His website reads: "The EP, All Delighted People, is built around two different versions of Sufjan’s long-form epic ballad "All Delighted People," a dramatic homage to the Apocalypse, existential ennui, and Paul Simon’s "Sounds of Silence." Sounds delightful, yes! The song was originally workshopped (oh we hate making workshop a verb, but time is money!) on Sufjan’s previous tour in the fall of 2009. Other songs on the EP include the 17-minute guitar jam-for-single-mothers "Djohariah," and the gothic piano ballad "The Owl and the Tanager," a live-show mainstay (and Debbie Downer if you ask us; what’s it doing on a "Delighted" EP?). The full track list is available below." All Delighted People: 01 All Delighted People (Original Version) 02 Enchanting Ghost 03 Heirloom 04 From the Mouth of Gabriel 05 The Owl and the Tanager 06 All Delighted People (Classic Rock Version) 07 Arnika 08 Djohariah

Short & Sweet NYC Friday August 20th

Friday August 20 Location: Lower East Side, NYC Band: Admiral Radley Get Tickets Here Show time: 8 PM Venue: Mercury Lounge Food: Paladar Drink: Welcome to the Johnsons Miscellaneous: Economy Candy Featuring members of Earlimart and Grandaddy Admiral Radley are a super group of sorts building on their past indie glory and making really great music. Here they unite and hit the road to share their love of California with their album I Heart California. Joining them are Hooray for Earth. Paladar, whose celebrity chef, Aarón Sanchez is from the Food Network show “Melting Pot,” delivers a Pan-Latino concept taking traditional Spanish fare and adding deliciously executed gourmet twists. Feeling retro? Then Welcome to the Johnsons is the place for you. It’s like being in your uncles wreck room from the 70s. With all wood paneled walls, plastic covered couches, and a Pac Man machine, this bar is out for a good time. Stop by Economy Candy and get a small taste of what it might be like to walk through Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory, minus the hijinks, as there’s all sorts of candy everywhere. A real NY landmark, it’s been around since 1937. Friday August 20 Location: Williamsburg, Brooklyn Bands: Das Racist Get Tickets Here Show time: 8 PM Venue: Glasslands Food: Dumont Burger Drink: Radegast Hall & Biergarten Miscellaneous: Verb Cafe The heavily hyped Brooklyn hip-hop trio Das Racist rock the Glasslands. Joining them are BBUand Lionshare. With one of the best burgers in Williamsburg, Dumont Burger offers theirs with gourmet toppings, 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!

Warpaint release The Fool

Warpaint. The Fool is set to come out on October 26th, 2010 via Rough Trade! The band weave intricate guitar lines, hypnotic vocals and driving post punk rhythms into gorgeous, sprawling songs that skirt the line between psychedelia and intimacy. Both live and on record, Warpaint sound like they're channeling something truly otherworldly, and mystical. Recorded in LA, The Fool was produced by Tom Biller (Beck, Karen O, Liars), with further mixes from Andrew Weatherall (New Order, Primal Scream, Bjork) and Adam Samuels (John Frusciante, Daniel Lanois). The Fool follows their Exquisite Corpse EP, released in 2009. The all-girl quartet from Los Angeles has toured incessantly over the last twelve months; with standout performance at CMJ and SxSW. They have also shared the stage with Band of Horses, Yeasayer, Javelin, and The Walkmen. In October, Warpaint will be the direct support for The xx fall U.S. tour. Warpaint is Emily Kokal (vocals/guitar), Theresa Wayman (guitar/vocals), Jenny Lee Lindberg (bass/vocals), and Stella Mozgawa (drums). Track listing: 1. Set Your Arms Down 2. Warpaint 3. Undertow 4. Bees 5. Shadows 6. Composure 7. Baby 8. Majesty 9. Lissie’s Heart Murmur Warpaint - US Tour dates: 8/18 Chapel Hill, NC Local 506 8/19 Knoxville, TN Pilot Light 8/20 Nashville, TN Exit/In (w/Royal Bangs) 9/4 Los Angeles, CA FYFest 9/22 Los Angeles, CA Hollywood Palladium (w/The xx) 9/23 Oakland, CA Fox Theatre (w/ The xx) 9/24 Portland, OR Holocene (w/ The xx) 9/25 Seattle, WA Paramount Theatre (w/ The xx) 9/28 Chicago, IL The Chicago Theatre (w/ The xx) 9/29 Toronto, ONT Massey Hall (w/ The xx) 10/1 Montreal, QUE Place Des Arts Maissoneuve (w/ The xx) 10/2 New York, NY United Palace (w/ The xx) 10/4 Philadelphia, PA Merriam Theatre (w/ The xx) 10/5 Washington, DC 9:30 Club (w/ The xx) 10/6 Atlanta, GA Tabernacle (w/ The xx) 10/8 Dallas, TX Granada Theater (w/ The xx) 10/10 Austin, TX ACL Festival

Now and Then: Janelle Monae

Not that these things hold much water in our blogger communities but it’s only a matter of time before Janelle Monae wins her first Grammy. The exciting thing about it is that she deserves it. Her new album The ArchAndroid has an amazing modern-retro feel that is unmatched. It’s always exciting when someone is worthy of the recognition they receive. You heard it here first; 2011 will bring Janelle Monae a Grammy. Her new intimate video for “Cold War” allows you a glimpse at her new album. After it watch “Many Moons” from 2007’s Metropolis-Suite I: The Chase EP.

Belle & Sebastian new LP & Song!

Belle & Sebastian will release a new LP titled Write About Love on LP/CD/digital album, on October 12th. The band got together last week and they recorded the first part of the B&S TV show that we’ve been hinting at. Below is a clip to get you in the mood. The song is from the new record, and it’s called “I Want The World To Stop.”

Short & Sweet NYC Sat & Sun Aug 15th & 16th

Saturday August 14 Location: Lower East Side, NYC Band: Psychic Ills Show time: 8 PM Venue: Cake Shop Food: Social Drink: 151 Miscellaneous: Bereket Brooklyn electronic act Psychic Ills make instrumental compositions heavy on visuals that are both stunning and lush. Joining them are CAVE and Prince Rama. Where to go afterwards? Go straight to the bar, and that bar would be 151, where happy hour is 7 days a week from 6pm till 10pm and includes 2 for 1 drinks. For those that don’t want a liquid dinner first, check Social for comfort food including the Mac and Cheese (Macaroni covered in Three Cheese Truffled Mornay Sauce and topped w/Seasoned Bread Crumbs). For a late night eat, a favorite spot of mine is Bereket for falafels and to watch drunks succeed at spilling their food all over themselves and failing at picking up chicks. Not for the faint of heart! Saturday August 14 Location: Williamsburg, Brooklyn Bands: Nite Jewel Show time: 8 PM Venue: Glasslands Gallery Food: Wild Ginger Pan-Asian Vegan Café Drink: Teddy’s Bar & Grill Miscellaneous: Verb Café Nite Jewel make indie-pop with a retro 80s synth feel and some great vocals. Joining them are The Samps, Blood Orange, and ARP. For vegetarians and those not in the mood for meat, Wild Ginger Pan-Asian Vegan Café offers Pan-Asian cuisine in a relaxed earth-toned environment with a menu featuring veggies, tofu, seitan, and soy. The best thing about Teddy’s Bar & Grill is that it’s just got this great neighborhood vibe that’s warm and friendly, while also having a great menu of drinks and American bar food favorites like burgers, salads, sandwiches, and steak. A great place to get good coffee, take a seat, and watch the passing hipsters stroll by, Verb Café even has excellent sandwiches and baked goods to snack on before the show. Sunday August 15 Location: Williamsburg, Brooklyn Bands: !!! Show time: 2 PM Venue: East River State Park Food: Relish Drink: Radegast Hall & Biergarten Miscellaneous: Zebulon A pretty interesting lineup to say the least as electro-indie rockers !!! play this outdoor show with the likes of one of the best soul legends around, Lee Fields. Also on board are two great acts in Strange Boys and Future Islands. Though Relish looks like a 50s diner, this restaurant offers up some gourmet treats for dinner. With influences from all over the globe, Relish features diner classics like burgers and onion rings, and step it up with the likes of Blackened Yellow Fin Tuna ($21). Williamsburg’s first beer garden, Radegast Hall & Biergarten, has a beautiful all-wood interior, an enclosed outdoor backyard, and 12 German/Austrian beers on tap and more than 30 bottles. Another great bar in the area, Zebulon offers free live jazz and afrobeat. The drinks here are inexpensive, and I’ve never seen a bad show here.

Short & Sweet NYC Friday August 13th

Friday August 13 Location: DUMBO, Brooklyn Event: GUMBO Show time: 10 PM Venue: Galapagos Food: RICE Drink: Low Bar Miscellaneous: Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory Celebrating their first anniversary, GUMBO, (Gay.DUMBO.Party), Real World: Brooklyn’s Scott Herman will bartend for a cause, plus there will be guest DJs and giveaways. RICE not surprisingly offers a pretty intense variety of rice, from brown to Bhutanese red. Most of the rice based dishes come in large and small sizes. Right below RICE is Low Bar, an extremely convenient place to grab a drink and catch some great DJs spin in a lounge environment. Right off the water, with a view of the South Street Seaport and the Brooklyn Bridge so close you can touch it, the only thing that could make this view better is ice cream. You’ll usually find a long line for Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory, but the sweet flavors are worth it! Friday August 13 Location: Williamsburg, Brooklyn Bands: Sunny and the Sunsets Show time: 8 PM Venue: NY Cinders Gallery Food: The Lodge Drink: Hope Lounge Miscellaneous: The City Reliquary San Francisco’s Sunny and the Sunsets make sweet beach pop and have a new album coming out in Tomorrow is Alright. Joining them are Beach Fossils. For dinner, The Lodge, with décor reminiscent of a log cabin and a menu coming from the same forest, serves comfort food in a warm and inviting setting. For drinks, Hope Lounge is a great stop. Exposed brick and earth tones mingle and the outdoor patio is big. The drink list is deep with beers from all over the world and tonight, expect a DJ to spin classic party jams. You may or may not have noticed The City Reliquary, a small storefront museum that shows artifacts of NYC, including a flashlight collection, but this place is definitely interesting to check out.

Deerhunter & Real Estate free show

Atlanta's Deerhunter & New Jersey's Real Estate play a free show tonight, Thursday, August 12th on NYC's Pier 54. The gates open at 6pm and Real Estate go on at 7pm. Pier 54 is located at West Street and 13th Street. For more info visit here.

SVE new single & Thompson Twins cover

Brooklyn's Sharon Van Etten just released a new single on iTunes titled "One Day" backed with a non-LP B-side of the Thompson Twins cover of "If You Were Here"! Look out for Sharon's full length album, Epic, on Ba Da Bing! in September. Pick up the single here.

Gorillaz Announce US Tour Dates

October 3 - Montreal, QC - Bell Centre - On sale August 14 October 5 - Wallingford, CT - Oakdale Theatre - On sale August 13 October 6 - Boston, MA - Agganis Arena - On sale August 6 October 8 - New York, NY - Madison Square Garden - On sale August 6 October 10 - Camden, NJ - Susquehanna Bank Center - On sale August 6 October 11 - Washington, DC - Patriot Center - On sale August 13 October 13 - Detroit, MI - Fox Theatre - On sale August 6 October 14 - Toronto, ON - Air Canada Centre - On sale August 13 October 16 - Chicago, IL - UIC Pavilion - On sale August 27 October 17 - Minneapolis, MN - Target Center - On sale August 13 October 19 - Houston, TX - Toyota Center - On sale August 6 October 20 - Dallas, TX - Verizon Theatre - On sale August 13 October 22 - Austin, TX - Frank Erwin Center - On sale August 13 October 24 - Denver, CO - Wells Fargo Theatre - On sale August 13 October 26 - Phoenix, AZ - Dodge Theatre - On sale August 6 October 27 - Los Angeles, CA - Gibson Amphitheatre - On sale August 6 October 30 - Oakland, CA - Oracle Arena - On sale soon November 2 - Seattle, WA - Key Arena - On sale August 20 November 3 - Vancouver, BC - Rogers Arena - On sale August 13

Sufjan Stevens Fall Tour Dates

Sufjan Stevens has a fall tour lined up. Dates below. 10.12 Montreal, QC: Metropolis Theater 10.13 Toronto, ON: Massey Hall 10.14 Royal Oak, MI: Royal Oak Music Theater 10.15 Chicago, IL: Chicago Theater 10.16 Minneapolis, MN: Orpheum Theater 10.17 Kansas City, MO: Uptown Theater 10.19 Austin, TX.The Long Center for Performing Arts 10.20 Dallas, TX: McFarlin Memorial Auditorium 10.22 Mesa, AZ: Mesa Arts Center – Ikeda Theater 10.23 Los Angeles, CA: The Wiltern 10.26 Oakland, CA:The Paramount Theater 10.28 Vancouver, BC: Orpheum Theater 10.29 Portland, OR: Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall 10.30 Seattle, WA: The Paramount Theatre 11.01 Salt Lake City, UT: Kingsbury Hall 11.02 Denver, CO:Paramount Theatre 11.04 Indianapolis, IN:Hilbert Circle Theatre 11.05 Knoxville, TN:Bijou Theatre 11.06 Atlanta, GA:The Tabernacle 11.07 Asheville, NC: Thomas Wolfe Auditorium 11.10 Philadelphia, PA: Kimmel Center 11.11 Boston, MA: Orpheum Theatre 11.14 New York, NY: Beacon Theatre 11.15 New York, NY: Beacon Theatre

Out In The Streets Music Festival - Line-Up

The Sky Report and Birdog present the Out In The Streets Music Festival on Saturday, August 28 at Brooklyn Fire Proof. The line up is: PSYCHOBUILDINGS, UNSOLVED MYSTERIES, SHADOWBOX, LAUREL HALO (VJ SET), COOLRUNNINGS, SIGMUND DROID, TINY VICTORIES, FAN-TAN, BELOVED ROGUE, POSTMAGIC, YES ALEXANDER. For more info visit here.

Punk Rock to Contemporary Art stickers book

Brooklyn authors DB Burkeman and Monica LoCascio have a cool new book featuring a collection of music and art stickers coming out September 14th, 2010 entitled Stickers: Stuck-Up Piece of Crap: From Punk Rock to Contemporary Art. You can watch a preview thirty second video below. You can pre-order the book on Amazon here!

Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings Free BK show

Come get your soul on with Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings backed by the Bushwick Philharmonic! Also on the bill is Budos Band & Honeydripper all live at Prospect Park. The gates open at 6pm! For More info visit . here.

Short & Sweet NYC Sat & Sun Aug 7th & 8th

Saturday, August 7 Location: Upper West Side, NYC Bands: Balkan Beat Box Show time: 7 PM Venue: Venue: Damrosch Park Food: Symposium Drink: Broadway Dive Miscellaneous: Sip High energy Middle East-meets-West band Balkan Beat Box is led by saxophone player Ori Kaplan and Tamir Muskat and is incredible live. Joining them is Mucca Pazza. Low priced anything near Columbia University is getting harder to find, but at Symposium, you’ll get Greek food that won’t force you to take a mortgage out. The Pastitsio (baked macaroni with ground meat for $9.95) is out of this world. It may not be the kind of dive bar you’re thinking, but Broadway Dive has a single malt scotch and bourbon menu big enough that you won’t even know where you are after a few. A coffee bar that also serves liquor, tapas, and baked goods all in one place? Sip sounds good to me. Saturday, August 7 Location: East Village, NYC Bands: The Antifolk Festival Show time: 7:30 PM Venue: The Sidewalk Cafe Food: Minca Drink: Common Ground Miscellaneous: Beard Papa Sweets Cafe Catch some of New York City’s brightest up and coming musicians at The Antifolk Festival where for years some of the best music you never heard of yet got its start. If you’ve never been to Minca for dinner, go right now! This small noodle bar makes some amazing ramen noodles from scratch. Try the Minca Ramen, a mild broth with pork, chicken & dried seafood ($8.50). One of the newer bars in the East Village, Common Ground has a dark wood interior, a relaxed atmosphere and excellent cocktails like the Blueberry Pie. If you like pastries filled with cream, check out Beard Papa Sweets Café. They offer cream fillings like earl grey, green tea, coffee and the standard vanilla, chocolate and strawberry, among others. Sunday, August 8 Location: Midtown West, NYC Bands: The XX Show time: 7 PM; FREE Venue: Central Park Summerstage Food: Zip Burger Drink: Subway Inn Miscellaneous: Kinokuniya Bookstore Check out one of the hottest indie rock acts around as The XX hit Central Park Summerstage. The cost: FREE. At Zip Burger, they offer farm-raised, organic and grass-fed meat and poultry, letting you build your own burger with plenty of gourmet toppings. The first time I went to Subway Inn I thought it was completely strange that there was a dive bar off Lexington Avenue, especially in this neck of the woods, but somehow it works. Born in the ‘30s, this bar has somehow remained, and thank God, as it’s easily the cheapest place in the area for a drink. For fans of Japanese pop-culture, Kinokuniya Bookstore has a large selection of Japanese themed books, videos, CDs, magazines, comics and stationary.

Short & Sweet NYC Friday August 6th

Friday, August 6 Location: South Street Seaport, NYC Band: Yacht Show time: 6 PM; FREE Venue: South Street Seaport Food: Burritoville Drink: Jeremy’s Ale House Miscellaneous: Century 21 Electronic music meets multimedia art when Yacht takes the stage. Blending electro beats with lo-fi, they have catchy and dance-heavy songs. While most people buy hot dogs and grab a beer at expensive restaurants in the Seaport Mall, you’ll be smart and head over to Burritoville for inexpensive and delicious California-inspired burritos – all for under $10. For drinks, Jeremy’s Ale House has a lively crowd and a beer list that will get you a pint for $5 and under. If you get down to the financial district early, check out Century 21. They won’t try to sell you any property, but they have some great designer clothing on the cheap, plus the place is huge and perfect for roaming. Friday, August 6 Location: East Village, NYC Band: Thievery Corporation Show time: 8 PM Venue: Joe's Pub Food: Oyama Drink: Grassroots Tavern Miscellaneous: Mudd Cafe You have to love it when big longtime acts like the downtempo DJ duo Thievery Corporation play a smaller venue like Joe’s Pub. And with all the supporting artists that have worked with them, you never know who will show up. With sushi that’s half off all the time, you might think something’s wrong, but the fish is good and the rolls are inventive, making Oyama one of the best low-priced sushi joints in the city. Though St. Marks all of a sudden lost its charm, Grassroots Tavern hasn’t. This large dive bar has cheap drinks, darts in the back and old men behind the bar – all things a good dive bar should have. Excellent coffee served in a big mug and a healthy menu of food coupled with a year round enclosed outdoor backyard patio make Mudd Cafe a great little coffee shop in the area.

New Marissa Nalder Song

Boston's Marissa Nalder has a new song "Daisy where did you go?" available for download here. Marissa has been working on her self-titled fourth album and she has an east coast tour set with New York's Sharon Van Etten this fall. Sep 8 2010 | DC9 | Washington, DC Sep 9 2010 | Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar | Charlottesville, VA Sep 10 2010 | Hopscotch Festival at The Pour House | Raleigh, NC Sep 12 2010 |The Milestone | Charlotte, NC Sep 13 2010 | The Pilot Light | Knoxville, TN Sep 14 2010 8:00P 529 | Atlanta, GA

Now and Then: Ratatat

Ratatat are back with LP4. The follow-up to LP3. The name’s not so original, I know – but prepare for videos and songs that are much more innovative. First check out the creepy new video for “Drugs,” and then “Shempi” from LP3 after that.
Drugs

RATATAT | MySpace Music Videos

Warpaint Tour Dates

Warpaint upcoming tour dates with Javelin and Beach Fossils. Check out our interview with Theresa Wayman herehere. The girls will be performing a free New York show at the Whitney Museum on Friday, August 13th. 8/5 St Louis MO The Luminary Center for the Arts! 8/6 Chicago IL Double Door SOLD OUT 8/7 Chicago IL Lollapalooza 8/9 Detroit MI Magic Stick!# 8/10 Cleveland OH Grog Shop!# 8/11 Toronto ONT Wrongbar!# 8/12 Montreal QC La Sala Rosa!# 8/13 New York NY Whitney Museum FREE! 8/14 Providence RI AS220! 8/15 Allston MA Great Scott!# 8/16 Philadelphia PA Johnny Brenda's!# 8/17 Baltimore MD Ottobar!# 8/18 Chapel Hill NC Local 506# 8/19 Knoxville TN Pilot Light# 8/20 Nashville TN Exit In # ! w Javelin # w Beach Fossils