Blog: Get Glucky

Wow ok so we were gone for a minute, the last week in New York turned out to be crazy busy and there was barely time to eat let alone blog. We got to catch the Wolf Parade show with the lovely and not to mention awesome, Wintersleep, opening for them. Caught another Bon Iver show with the amazing Bowerbirds opening and then caught a plane home to London which is where I am now. We've already written about the Black Cab Sessions before and the latest one they've posted for their 50th edition is pretty great. [...]

I went to see Bon Iver play at the Bowery Ballroom last night - he was great as usual, had a couple new songs in the mix as well as a stunning cover of a Nashville songwriter that he did with the Bowerbirds acapella as the encore. However, i've been to see Bon Iver quite a few times so I feel another live show review is possibly not necessary. Who I do want to focus on however is Bowerbirds . They're my favourite opening band that i've seen in a long time. After [...]

"Crawl," From Band's Upcoming Album "Only By the Night," Now Available Through Web site "Only By The Night" Out on RCA on September 23 SPIN.com is proud to present an EXCLUSIVE free download from Kings of Leon. The song being featured is titled "Crawl," the first track (although not the official single) from the forthcoming "Only By The Night," due Sept. 23 through RCA. The band has also been known lately to lead off their propulsive live sets with the track. It's the first new [...]

In town to play his first "solo" NYC show, we met Brendan in a kids playground on the Lower East Side to have a quick chat about the record, what's in store for Broken Social Scene and beards... Yet again we have a cool little give-away for you. To win signed drumsticks by Brendan Canning email getglucky@googlemail.com with the subject: Brendan Canning and your name and address and we'll notify the winner by Wednesday evening. How long have the songs [...]

We ran (well, took the subway) over to Williamsburg to catch the boys from Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin before they played their show at Music Hall of Williamsburg and what lovely guys they were. We have a couple awesome signed SSLYBY posters to give away. To win just email the usual address getglucky@googlemail.com and state your name and address and we'll notify winners by Wednesday 23rd July. How do you feel like the band changed in terms of sound [...]

On yet another hot and sweaty night in New York City I arrived at the Highline Ballroom to see one of the UK's best exports – Dizzy Rascal. He was playing a far smaller venue than he would at home, but what was most confusing was that it wasn't sold out, the venue was only 2/3rds full. Whether this is attributed to the fact that hip-hop lovers have no more room in their ears what with Lil' Wayne taking over… well everything or that Dizzee is not as popular as he once was, I'm not sure. [...]

July 17, 2008 // Omaha, NE – Saddle Creek have announced the signing of Montreal trio Land of Talk in the United States and are set to release their debut full-length, Some Are Lakes October 7. The album was recorded in Montreal with Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) and is the follow up to their acclaimed 2006 EP, Applause Cheer Boo Hiss, which found Land Of Talk featured in publications such as Paste Magazine, and receiving glowing reviews in SPIN and Pitchfork, who called the EP, "a muscular record of gut-level riffs and fist-pumping choruses." [...]

News just in: NAS TO PERFORM INTIMATE MYSPACE RELEASE SHOW IN LOS ANGELES AT THE ROXY ON SUNSET ON JULY 18 NEW UNTITLED ALBUM OUT JULY 15 ON DEF JAM RECORDS MySpace Music is proud to announce that Nas will be performing a free show for his MySpace friends in West Hollywood at 10:30 p.m. at the Roxy on Sunset - a show being powered by Saints Row 2. Celebrating his soon-to-be released, highly-controversial untitled album, Nas will give fans a taste of what's in store [...]

Our snapshot series is a new addition, and doesn't actually have a firm definition in terms of content. For the moment it's just Get Glucky briefly catching up with people at shows, having a quick chat about songwriting, career etc. and then posting it here for you lovely people. Mike Reis took on the first one. Johnathan Rice is not your typical Saddle Creek country-tinged rocker. His music contains the same honest lyrics and steel guitars as members of the Omaha label, he is touring with Maria Taylor, and his last album [...]

Oh it was about time for a new song obsession, it is the rule of summer that you're meant to get hooked on some random song that makes you remember that summer forever more. The first comes form Passion Pit , the second - from Boy Crisis . French Kiss is an already established label for having cool, new & weird stuff and one of their latest additions caught my eye and then bit my ear off (in a good way). <img src=" Passion Pit [...]

Don't let the name of the venue deceive you, this was not a hotel. Maybe once upon a time it was but last night it was a blank white door on the street in the middle of nowhere Brooklyn with no indication that anything was going on inside. All my friends always seem to have these exotic sounding nights out in Brooklyn lofts or warehouse spaces or whatever weird space they can find and i've always been slightly jealous, i've never managed to find those places. Well tonight, ah HA. I succeeded. I got there around 11.15 walked [...]

Oh yes. I did it. I got to both shows. Very proud of myself even if no one else cares. I got to Prospect Park and had a little giggle to myself when I saw they were taking umbrellas away from everyone. It was a little sadistic I admit, but it was so clearly about to rain so the fact that we wee all going to be in this together made me laugh and made me thankful that I didn't think to bring an umbrella. However I did have my laptop with me so when it started to [...]

Dear, Oh dear. It's so very hot and humid. I'm not actually sure how i'm surviving, or if i'm surviving, this person typing may just be what's left of me in the extreme humidity. Sorry postings have been slow, have been getting orientated in NYC and what with 4th July there weren't many shows around. I popped into the Crystal Antlers show at Other Music but to be honest, the sound was so incredibly loud and ear-piercing it blocked out any vocals or melody and was hurting my ears so [...]

Words: Ted Howard Alan Roberts has put together another album ("Performer: Everything") and there is plenty of reason for him to be fully proud of it. As a pop object that has been shined to a perfectly balanced coat of fuzz and shine, /Jim Noir/ is likely to have no equal this year. Hell, this album is just about a perfects sphere, and I think you could safely shave while looking at its surfaces. When the first proper song "All Right" kicks in, echoing multi-tracked vocal harmonies give way to a silly [...]

So although i'm now in New York I was in Canada for a couple weeks - Toronto and Montreal, and while the show pickings weren't huge, we did catch a few special shows. Toronto's own Vivek Shraya who we featured on the blog quite a while ago was playing a pre-pride gig at the Gladstone Hotel so we went along to check him out. Although he didn't have quite the audience he deserved in numbers, his particular brand of electro-pop never fails to make me smile, he's actually got a really brilliant voice which you can [...]

Hey Kids! Finally reached New York after a 14 hour (SNORE) train ride and am incredibly happy to be here even if it is a billion degrees here. Good news for you? Sure! There's a new mixtape about, if you haven't already heard it we've got it for you fresh out of the kitchen, the metaphorical kitchen. The Cool Kids are my favourite hip-hop act for a while, they sound like the perfect mix of old-skool hip-hop with modern production and beats, plus they don't seem to have egos the size of North America [...]

• The Cool Kids - Oscar The Grouch

I have now departed Montreal (queue sad noises). For lack of a more interesting way to put it, I had a bloody brilliant time. BIG shout out to my partner in Canadian crime and awesome Montreal tour-guide Lizzie, for showing me the fun/musical/adventurous ropes and providing a roof over my head. Oh and for any Land Of Talk fans out there, their new album sounds f*cking beautiful so get ready for that. On to briefly (as there wasn't as much to see) recounting the last day of Bonnaroo and then I can almost move into the present, won't [...]

Cat Power and Iron & Wine The reason I am reviewing these two totally non-related acts together is that I only saw a few songs from each set so can't really give them the full fleshy meaty reviews they deserve. In all honesty, I was lying down listening to Cat Power and when I woke up an hour later her set was almost over. Oh WHOOPS. Iron & Wine I'd seen recently in the UK but thought would be nice to catch again and songs like 'Teeth In The Grass' and 'Boy With A Coin' sound so [...]

I sit recapping the second day of Bonnaroo from another beautiful day in Montreal. The Postelles At festivals you're definitely meant to go see bands you've never heard of and then totally by accident find a new band that you love and then live happily ever after. I don't usually do this, maybe its bad but when i've paid my money I kind of just want to see the people that I know are going to rock my face off. I'd heard a little bit about The Postelles on the grape-vine so they [...]

So the first day at Bonnaroo was a testing one - not gonna lie. Took a flight from NYC to Nashville and after an hour and a half coach ride to the festival site I hauled my bags and my tent in the 90 degree heat in an attempt to find a place to set up camp. I won't fill you in on how my vision started blacking out from dehydration and how I almost passed out trying to set up the tent because i'm taking a wild guess in thinking that anyone reading this is not doing so to [...]