Lightning Bolt is crazy. They have the loudest, rumbliest, most rocking live show, and it is something not to be missed. Combine that with the outdoors on a nice spring day- the juxtaposition is sure to be magic! Plus, you also get to see Pterodactyl, Ducktails, and So So Glos. AND enjoy street booths manned by NYU students. Which, you know, might be a good thing or a bad thing. The music, though, that's definitely a good thing. MP3: "Dead Cowboy" - Lightning Bolt
I'll be honest, I'm mostly recommending this show because it's free. But that's fantastic, because this is a pretty damn good quality show for no money! You have to RSVP here , and entrance is based on capacity, but Cults are fun and Oberhofer is one of those deservedly-hot-right-now young bands that it seems like we've all been talking about for years (but it's actually only been since October). Puro Instinct (they used to be Pearl Harbor), well, I think their music is mediocre at best and that people have taken a shine to them because they photograph [...]
Technically, The Crocodiles are headlining this show, but what I would do is go for the first three bands. The Fresh & Onlys! Young Prisms! Bass Drum of Death! That is some good rock n roll on a nice, big stage with a nice, big soundsystem. I've been listening to a lot of Fresh & Onlys lately, and I'm consistently impressed at the clever way they put their albums together. They're the kind of garage band where every song sounds totally different, which isn't the easiest thing to do. Check one out below. MP3: "Dude's Got [...]
This show happened, but I wrote this up and forgot to post it. And the MP3 is really good: When your average indie music fan is presented with instrumental, more experimental music, I think the general reaction tends to be, "Okay, that's nice, but I'm probably not going to listen to that, and it would honestly probably be boring to watch an entire concert of." They might not admit that out loud, but I'm guessing they're probably thinking it. Maybe they sort of like Mogwai, but that's the extent of it. Woodsman isn't something that you're [...]
It's an epic battle of two shows this Wednesday, vying for your favors in a Austenian struggle of awesomeness. Bowery Ballroom is seductively batting its eyes at you with DOM, MINKS, Fergus & Geronimo, and Total Slacker. A total babe! How could a show get better than that? It seems like the obvious choice. But then Cake Shop comes around writing you love letters with Davila 666, Hunx & His Punx, and Shannon and The Clams, and it's suddenly clear that Cake Shop is actually Mr. Darcy. Sure, they're playing again on Saturday at Glasslands (and with K-Holes, too, but [...]
Drawing by Meredith Leich Record Store day is fantastic in theory. There's all these bands playing for free and you can go see them and buy new exclusive records and hang out all day and then record stores live forever. In reality, it's more like, "Man. I really want to buy all these records. What's that? Oh right, I work a crappy day job and have no money for food or rent, so I probably shouldn't buy these records and support bands and record stores, even though I really want to." But I say, throw caution to the [...]
It's not too often you get a chance to see fantastic bands above 14th street, or really above Houston for that matter, but this Friday WBAR at Barnard College is putting on their annual WBAR-B-Q . I went last year- it was cold and rainy and so inside their somewhat gloomy gym, but it was still worth the trek to see Blues Control and observe real stressed-out college scenester wannabes in their natural environment. A good show AND a good anthropological experiment. This year, the weather is supposed to be nice and the lineup is even better. What wouldn't I [...]
The last few days have been all basement bro rock, so here's something a little different. Check out Brooklyn-via-South Florida's Helado Negro aka Roberto Carlos Lange. He's on Asthmatic Kitty, the same label as Sufjan. So if you like that kind of thing, it's worth checking this show out. If you like anything a little different, it's worth checking out, too. It's cool stuff. The record label calls it Latin psyche-funk-folk epic. Listen below and see him at Union Pool on Thursday. MP3: "Playas" - Helado Negro
This Wednesday's show is a real sloppy guitar party at Silent Barn. I really like all of the Turbosleaze songs I've heard- all angular guitars. That's pretty much it. Angular guitars. Really upbeat songs, too. Take a listen below; they're cool. And they seem like fun live. I'm not sure if this is your idea of fun , but it looks fun to me. White Fang are from Oregon, and they play sloppy, gross punk rock and roll. Think of The Beets except from the West Coast and a little more drunk [...]
Darlings have a new EP out! That's good news, especially for anyone who's ever listened to Yeah I Know. There are truly some puzzling things about this whole indie rock game, and one of life's biggest mysteries is how terrible, terrible Brooklyn bands keep blowing up and Darlings haven't yet. This is one of the best bands in the borough, period. New song below. Surf City, from New Zealand, are also worth checking out. Lots of fast, pop-ish guitar that's got enough drive to keep it interesting. I'd never heard of Little Racer before, but their [...]
It's springtime! Pretty much! This means that for the next six months, we'll want to sit around all afternoon drinking beers and listening to bands. Right? That's what I want to do anyways, as soon as the weather is remotely warmish. Shea Stadium is kicking off the season of warm weather band fun with the Brain Cave (Brainwave?) fest this Saturday from 2PM-2AM. The lineup is your standard Brooklyn cast of characters, with some of my favorite likes Mr. Dream, Dinowalrus, and Shark?. More than that, I think it's going to be a pretty cool place to hang out, whether [...]
I think I'm starting to lose my touch. I look at all the show listings with the new bands, and none of them interest me very much. Maybe we're in a lull. Does anyone feel like we're in a musical lull, for the past several months or so? I sure do. Luckily, FINALLY, a band I could get on board with tomorrow, though! MV & EE have been around for awhile. If you're unfamiliar, I would classify them solidly in the New Weird America camp- messing around with Americana and acid rock guitar solos. I saw them at the Abrons [...]
Wire is the real deal. They were part of the original British punk movement, forming in London in 1976. They weren't as sweet or as snotty as some of their peers, they were darker and more driving in the places they took punk rock and made it their own. They were active right up through the early nineties. Then again, in the last decade, where they've released three albums. These guys are legends, big time. If you can't make it to the show, I recommend taking a little time to familiarize yourself with their catalog. The below MP3 is an [...]
Mmmhhmmm, this is one of those reliably excellent rock-your-face-off shows. JTB is supposed to be the "secret guest," but the cat is all the way out of the bag at this point. JEFF has been playing places like Bowery and MHOW lately, so this show is going to be packed, sweaty, and an absurd amount of fun. All of the openers are excellent, as well. If you haven't listened to JEFF's new album, We Are The Champions , you're sorely missing out. It's excellent drum/guitar duo punk rock, but they do it better than anyone else out there right now. [...]
Ah, the infectious opening line, "Hey Boy, where's your girlfriend?" Magic Boys are almost sickeningly adorable, but still have plenty of well-deserved street cred to their names. The Memphis group's 2010 album, Memphis , didn't earn quite as much critical praise as I thought it might have, but for a band that lives in the spaces of sugary melodies, they're still pretty damn good. They're also adorable to watch. If you make it out to this Mercury Lounge show, you have the added bonus of Cults, the as of yet one-hit-wonders and authors of last year's summer single, "Go Outside." [...]
Ugh, I'm sure you already know that this week is LCD Soundsystem's last run of shows ever of all time, and I HATE T5, but it's kind of been a slow week for shows. If you've never seen LCD before, do it this week. You really should. Even if you only like them a little bit or know a few songs. I feel relatively certain that this will be one of those bands your future kids will think you're pretty cool over when you say you saw them when. Back in the day. And this is your last chance ever. [...]
I don't mean to be all "Las Robertas all the time," but this is THE show to be at this Saturday night. This new group called the Pita Gods have started putting together shows, and this is a helluva show to start off with. It's a who's who of upcoming Brooklyn talent (seriously, Sweet Bulbs, Sunny Ali & The Kid, and Telenovelas are three bands that are going to be in the next crop of Brooklyn exports, in a big way, even if that way is a bit overhyped) plus a really, really sweet out of town band. And if [...]
This is a pretty unusual show for me to recommend, especially when there's things like The So So Glos at 285 Kent. But let's be honest- how many Friday nights have we spent in basements seeing the So So Glos? Personally, quite a few (if your answer is none, then I vote you go to 285 Kent this Friday, regardless of this post's title). I could recommend J Mascis and Kurt Vile. I could also recommend PC Worship. I could also popularly recommend Jacuzzi Boys, who are in town this weekend from Florida. They've been getting mad buzz lately, but [...]
The Twerps are from Australia, and they have been getting a good deal of buzzzzz on the better blogs for the past month or two, and now they're on an American tour. In terms of current bands, they're like one part Strange Boys and one part Girls and one part 70s NYC punk band. It's all jangly with whiny vocals, but the songs have a laconic casualness to the them. They're the chillest punk songs I've heard in awhile. I like 'em a lot, and I think you will, too. And Big Troubles are always fun to catch, plus each [...]
The drought is over! The prodigal music industry employees return! While they're all nursing their hangovers (both from alcohol and tacos) and sleeping all day because they had a 6AM flight back from Austin on Saturday night, we will jubilantly rejoice at the first good shows in what seems like a long, long time. Take this Wednesday night at Union Hall. Las Robertas are from Cost Rica, so you're not going to get a lot of chances to catch these guys. Their fun mix of punk and 60s girl group inspired music will make for a FUN Wednesday [...]
The New York Rockmarket
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iTunes Leaks Kanye West’s Yeezus tracklisting??
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