Wolf Parade at T5 New York

Terminal 5. Sometimes you have to endure horrific security guards, bad views, inferior sound and unpleasant staff to see your favorite bands and tonight was no exception. Wolf Parade stormed on stage and made these not so pleasant memories fade quickly within the first few songs. The band was in top form on their first of two NYC shows. They performed amazingly tight as they blended their new and old material into an amazing live set.

Singer guitarist Dan Boeckner was looking extra wolfy with his new beard and vocalist Spencer Krug looked extra bookish hiding behind his large keyboard occasionally popping his head up like a crazed muppet. The two singers took turns howling and screaming in songs and shrieking heartfelt melodies in cadence in the choruses. Drummer Arlen Thompson was on fire on keeping beats in time and adding some really great dynamics to the tunes. Hadji Bakara kept quiet behind the keys as usual twisting and turning sound effects but Dante DeCaro was out much more on display out in the front of the stage singing and playing bass with the two band leaders.



My Wolf Parade experience began in Montreal in 2004 as I was recommended their self released six song EP from the owner of Cheap Thrills record store. I loved the raw intensity of their original recordings off the first two EPs and was not too impressed with the Issac Brock produced Apologies to the Queen Mary debut. I was hoping that their new album would capture their rawness on their new LP At Mount Zoomer but I found it a little flat; not the music, just the recording. Their new material sounded amazing live it had that Wolf Parade oomph that seemed to be missing. During the end of their set, Spencer told the energized crowd to please mosh nicely and that it wasn't even that fast a song. The band ended the show with the epic "Kissing the Beehive," on which Dan's guitar solos were shrilling to say the least.



The band returned to the stage and Dan said he gets nervous about playing New York City shows and thanked the crowd for being so nice. They played "Shine A Light" and another tune from Apologies. Two shows at T5 and this one sold out: I think next time New York sees Wolf Parade might be at Radio City Music Hall.

Atlas Sound at South Street Seaport

We caught Bradford Cox's performance as Atlas Sound at South Street Seaport last Friday. He alone performed his lo-fi bedroom tunes off his debut album "Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See but Cannot Feel" using loops, samples and effected acoustic guitar and his voice. Bradford ended the show with a new tune called "Logos," which he said would be the last song on his upcoming album.

Tapes N Tapes NYC Shows

Tapes 'n Tapes play McCarren Park Pool with The Black Keys and Love as Laughter on Lorimer Street & Bedford Avenue. Doors open at 6:30pm visit here for more info. Tapes 'n Tapes will also perform a free Acoustic In-store slash After party at 10:30pm at Sound Fix at 110 Bedford Ave in Brooklyn a few block from McCarren Pool.

Ghostland Observatory in Prospect Park

Austin, Texas's Ghostland Observatory brought their laser light show to Brooklyn's Prospect Park Bandshell. Frontman Aaron Behrens ran around the stage hyping up the crowd as Thomas Ross Turner wearing a cape controlled the drums and synthesizers.

Free Atlas Sound show NYC Tonight

Bradford Cox's (Deerhunter) side project Atlas Sound will perform a free set along with Brooklyn's Crystal Stilts at South Street Seaport. For more info please visit www.seaportmusicfestival.com.

Grizzly Bear Two Weeks on Letterman

Grizzly Bear performed their debut on Letterman. The new song filled with rich harmonies titled "Two Weeks" features Ed Droste on lead vocals and Omnichord and has guitarist Daniel Rossen on organ.

Tami Lynn plays 5 Spot

Coke Music Bottles for Beijing 2008 Olympics

Coca-Cola released a series of eight uniquely designed Coke bottles for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Each bottle is a collaboration between a visual artist and a musician. There's a code on each bottle to download music by one of the eight musicians including Benny Benassi, Cezar, Jay-J, Jes, Kaskade, Lucas Prata, Serge Devant, Tiesto.

Download "Be It All" by Jes

M83 Tour Dates

The M83 tour is in support of M83's fifth album "Saturdays = Youth" released April 2008 on Mute. "Saturdays = Youth" debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top New Artist Heatseekers Chart and went #1 on the CMJ Top 200.

The M83 live setup for this tour includes Anthony Gonzalez on vocals, guitars and keyboards, Loic Maurin on Drums, Pierre-Marie Maulini on bass and guitar and featured album vocalist Morgan Kibby (of LA-based band The Romanovs) on vocals and keyboards.

TOUR DATES
Thu 11/13 - Washington, DC @ Black Cat
Fri 11/14 - New York, NY @ Webster Hall
Sat 11/15 - Philadelphia, PA @ Starlite Ballroom
Sun 11/16 - Northampton, MA @ Pearl Street Nightclub
Tue 11/18 - Boston, MA @ Middle East Downstairs
Wed 11/19 - Montreal, QC @ Studio Juste Pour Rire
Thu 11/20 - Toronto, ON @ Opera House
Fri 11/21 - Chicago, IL @ Bottom Lounge
Sat 11/22 - Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock Social Club
Tue 11/25 - Seattle, WA @ Neumo's
Wed 11/26 - Vancouver, BC @ Richards On Richards
Thu 11/27 - Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
Fri 11/28 - San Francisco, CA @ Fillmore
Sat 11/29 - Los Angeles, CA @ Henry Fonda Theater

Feist plays free NYC show & Sesame Street

Feist will perform a free concert in Bryant Park for Good Morning America this Friday, July 25th.

It’s early, but it’s free so who’s complaining. Get up. Or Stay up. “Good Morning America” airs from 7:00 – 9:00am and Feist will perform as part of their outdoor concert series starting oh about 8:44am exactly. Get a good spot and watch Sam Champion boogie down. Bryant Park NYC is at 41st and 6th Avenue, behind the New York Public Library.

When you arrive at Bryant Park stand on the general audience line that has formed at the back entrance of the park. This is a free concert open to the public. You do not need tickets. You may bring signs and wear t-shirts in support of the artist.

Feist will appear inSesame Street's 39th Season Premiere episode airing on 8/11 on PBS KIDS.

BLKTop at Union Pool 7/18/08

BLKTOP is a musical project which consists of Tommy Guerrero, Ray Barbee, Matt Rodriguez, Chuck Treece. The band play funk, soul, afro-beat and share a love of music, skating and wearing Vans shoes. More soon . . .

DJ Shadow & Cut Chemist McCarren Pool

When I arrived at McCarren pool, reviewer Dave Lipp told me about the decomposed body, which was found around ten that morning in a shed near the pool. I thought of all the shows I had recently been to such as Devo and The Breeders while this body lay decomposing. Eerie to say the least. The news did not deter Brooklyn concert goers, who were still trickling in as Gift of Gab opened the show followed by a set by DJ JazzyJay.

Turntablists DJ Shadow & Cut Chemist took the stage a little before sunset. Shadow came out and welcomed the audience a spoke a little bit about The Hard Sell and then played a short and silly instructional film explaining the details of what the duo set out to do.



Both DJs were armed with only a few record cases of vinyl 7 inches, 8 turntables, a mixer and a pedal board. The concept of only playing seven inches had been explored previously by the pair when they teamed up for Brainfreeze and Product Placement, but this set was much more diverse and they delivered over two hours of music ranging from funk, rock, new wave, eastern, metal and even video game themes. They blended the music of Zepplin's "Stairway to Heaven" with the lyrics of theme song to Gilligan's Island, and sped up the pitch on Blondie's "Call Me" to accompany an Alvin & The Chipmunks video playing on the large screens serving as their backdrop, and even managed to mix in "Everlong" by Foos Fighters with an oldies tune.

They played a huge set then another back to back and then came out in front of the stage with portable turntables and mixers strapped to their bodies and did a rocking jam. The duo played well after McCarren Pool's ten o'clock curfew and then left the stage thanking the appreciative audience.

Radiohead "House of Cards" Video

Radiohead released a video for "House of Cards" using no cameras or lights but a 3-D Scanner. Make sure to watch the making of video below. If don't have tickets to see them live click here.

The Magnetic Fields US Tour

The Magnetic Fields, back from their European tour, are happy to announce that they will be touring stateside once again with a short string of performances this October. The shows kickoff Friday, October 10 in Minneapolis and end with a run up the East Coast that will include a return stop to the New York City area.

A limited number of pre-sale tickets for most shows will be available starting Tuesday, July 15th here.

Oct 10: Minneapolis, | MN The State Theater
Oct 11: Madison, WI | Overture Center for the Arts
Oct 13: Dallas, TX | The Majestic
Oct 15: Boulder, CO | The Boulder Theater
Oct 17: Atlanta, GA | Woodruff Arts Center
Oct 18: Raleigh, NC | Progress Energy Center
Oct 23: Jersey City, NJ | Loews Jersey Theatre
Oct 24: Columbus, OH | The Southern Theatre
Oct 25: Philadelphia, PA | The Merriam Theater
Oct 26: Washington, DC | George Washington University

Breeders close the Deal at McCarren Pool

The Deal sisters, Kim and Kelly both rocked the free McCarren pool show this Sunday. Matt and Kim and The Whip opened the free show. Did anyone notice the Breeders bassist was playing the bass left handed with a right handed bass turned upside down?

Beck on Tour

Beck has announced a series of US tour dates to follow his previously announced summer festival appearances. The announcement comes on the heels of the release of Beck's new album Modern Guilt, which Beck co-produced with Danger Mouse.

As always, Beck's creativity extends into the presentation of his music. The vinyl edition of Modern Guilt, which will be in stores July 22, includes download codes for high-fidelity (320 kbps) MP3s produced from a playback of the vinyl master. In other words, the first MP3 starts with a needle drop, and the ten MP3s will sound like a vinyl playback. Leave it to Beck to invent the first mobile turntable. Get tickets here.

08/21/08 - Reno, NV - Grand Sierra Resort and Casino
08/22/08 - San Francisco, CA - Outside Lands Festival
08/24/08 - Bend, OR - Les Schwab Amphiteater
08/30/08 - Seattle, WA - Bumbershoot Festival
09/19/08 - San Diego, CA - Street Scene Festival
09/20/08 - Hollywood, CA - Hollywood Bowl
09/22/08 - Phoenix, AZ - Dodge Theater
09/23/08 - Albuquerque, NM - Kiva Auditorium
09/25/08 - El Paso, TX - Abraham Chavez Theatre
09/27/08 - Austin, TX - Zilker Park, Austin City Limits Festival
09/29/08 - Kansas City, MO - Uptown Theatre
09/30/08 - Minneapolis, MN - Wilkins Auditorium
10/02/08 - Chicago, IL - Aragon Ballroom
10/03/08 - Chicago, IL - Aragon Ballroom

Two free Nomo shows in Brooklyn

Michigan's Nomo will grace Brooklyn with two free shows at Zebulon playing some world music, jazz, electronica and afrobeats after performing a show tomorrow evening at Joe's Pub. The band is currently on tour heading to California and back promoting their new album entitled Ghost Rock out now on Ubiquity Records. Be sure to catch a show from this amazing band.

July 11 2008 9:30P Joe's Pub New York, NY
July 12 2008 10:00P Zebulon Brooklyn, NY Free
July 13 2008 10:00P Zebulon Brooklyn, NY Free

Free St Vincent at Castle Clinton

Head down to the circular sandstone fort, now a national monument in Battery Park at the southern tip of Manhattan to catch a free St. Vincent show tonight. This structure is not where Bill was cheating on Hillary but a fort built in 1811 to fend off invaders. Now multi-instrumental artist Annie Clark AKA St. Vincent will take the stage. Tickets will be distributed two per person, outside Castle Clinton on a first-come, first-served basis starting at 5:00pm today. For more info please visit here.

Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson

Start your Forth of July with a bang and check out the documentary film Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson. The film features clips of never-before-seen or heard home movies, audiotapes, and passages from unpublished manuscripts of the great, late writer Hunter S. Thompson. Johnny Depp, Hunter's long time pal, who paid for the 2005 funeral in which Thompson's ashes were fired out of a cannon, narrates the film.

What would be more patriotic than learning a little more about this great American writer on Independence Day?