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Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros aren’t quite a household name yet, but we have a feeling they will be one very soon. Last night, the ten-piece, joy-spreading ensemble brought its enlightened vibes to Music Hall of Williamsburg, where it played the second of two sold-out local shows. Photographer Peter Kleeman snapped a bunch of pics for the Volume, and you can check out the results above.
1. Maxwell and Common at Madison Square Garden
Neosoul star Maxwell just released his first album since 2001, the delicious BLACKsummer’s Night, which forms the first installment of a trilogy; tonight he raises the temperature at the Garden. Impressive support comes from hip-hop vet Common (who provides the boomy narration on Kid Cudi’s new album).
2. Great Lake Swimmers, Nina Nastasia and Sharon Van Etten at Music Hall of Williamsburg
Toronto songman Tony Dekker headlines as Great Lake Swimmers, and we’re stoked about tonight’s openers: Singular singer-songwriter Nina Nastasia has a new album in the offing and always electrifies live, and you can check out local songsmith Sharon Van Etten performing live for TONYhere.
3. Main Squeeze Orchestra at (Le) Poisson Rouge
This 18-piece all-gal orchestra is conducted by Walter Kuhr, who runs the accordion shop Main Squeeze. Tonight it celebrates the music of Kurt Weill…on accordion.
Yesterday, we advised you to go see John Fogerty, and today we’re championing an event celebrating Tom Petty.… Have we gone all geezerish on you? Nah, Petty Fest 2009, going down tonight at Bowery Ballroom, features an impressive cast of hot, young indie types, including lovable Stroke Fab Moretti, offbeat crooner Adam Green, atmospheric neo–torch singer Nicole Atkins and more. Get warmed up with this vintage clip from one of the ugliest-yet-coolest men in rock:
Those looking for something a little more adventurous, get thee to Glasslands. The Billyburg space hosts a stellar quartet of local avant-rock acts—Liturgy, Zs, Extra Life and TONY fave Larkin Grimm—all of whom are remarkably adept at combining the brainy with the visceral.
Handsome Furs comprises Wolf Parade guitarist Dan Boeckner and his good-lady wife, Alexei Perry. And when they’re not posing for American Apparel–style promo shots or releasing rockin’ albums (check out our review of Face Controlhere), they play a mean live show. Click past the jump to check out TONY photographer Stephen Kosloff’s pics of their gig at Music Hall of Williamsburg on Wednesday. And watch for those high kicks. Hiii-yah!
Pete Silberman began a prolific self-recording career a few years ago under the moniker of The Antlers. Now, he’s got two buddies along for the ride and an exciting new signing to Frenchkiss Records, which will release a remastered version of the trio’s Hospice in August.
The annual electronic-noise convocation No Fun Fest—featured in this week’s TONY—will probably always have to grapple with the stereotype of the staid, emotionless knob-twiddler. And though there was a bit of that going down at the fest’s concluding gig on Sunday at Music Hall of Williamsburg, no one who attended could argue that there wasn’t also some seriously visceral performance on display, courtesy of Black Pus (the incredible solo project of Lightning Bolt drummer Brian Chippendale, pictured above), Prurient/Kevin Drumm and Emeralds.
Click past the jump for a recap of the night, complete with live videos!
Shut out of the Vampire Weekend show at Joe’s Pub tonight? Join the club. And don’t fret, because the Volume has your back. For one thing, there are still tix available online for the Akron/Family show at Bowery Ballroom, which you no doubt read all about in this week’s TONY. The last local gig by these wild Pennsylvania freak-rockers featured a fireside Grateful Dead sing-along, so what in the world are you waiting for?!? To seal the deal, here’s a live performance of “Everyone Is Guilty,” off the band’s smokin’ new album, Set ’Em Wild, Set ’Em Free:
David Murray, a saxist who’s jammed out on tunes by the Dead—not to mention every flavor of jazz imaginable—hits Birdland for a pair of sets.
Legendary L.A. punk outfit Fear (which nearly started a riot on SNL in the early ’80s) drops into Greenpoint’s Europa for the first of two local shows.
Last night in Brooklyn, a couple of Scottish bands took over North 6th Street for the night. Unfortunately, the openers, The Twilight Sad, weren’t as punchy as the last time I’d seen them. Perhaps the heavy instrumentals and James Graham’s thick brogue are better suited to expanding outdoors or in a larger space. Everything felt cramped and forced last night.
Luckily, Mogwai shined. It’s the best I’ve ever seen the band perform, covering territory from Young Team to Happy Songs for Happy People right up to the full on ass-kicking that is “Batcat” off of the band’s latest. It was one post-rock power punch after another.
There was a man filming the band’s every move, and I overheard that he was from the French blog La Blogotheque. Here’s some of his recent handiwork for a recent performance of “Mogwai Fear Satan”:
I’d urge you to go to the MHW tonight or tomorrow if you have a chance (even if you’ve been urged before). It appears that tickets for both shows are sold out, but hey, you never know—some people might not be able to handle the noise.
You know that feeling you’d get in school assemblies as a kid, where everything was so hushed and boring, you’d have an urge to stand up and scream nonsense/convulse around, etc.? Well, that pretty much nails the Ponytail live experience. Ponytail hails from Baltimore, and its four members are all in their early twenties but look like teens. Singer Molly Siegel in particular looks like she’s stepped out of The Goonies; Saturday night, she was dressed in an oversize red T-shirt with a picture of a giant burger on it (check out Brooklyn Vegan’s great pics here).
If you’re familiar with Ponytail’s oeuvre—it’s now released two albums of gleeful, kaleidoscopic punk-pop—you’ll know there’s a lot of yelping, screaming and cooing going on. Live, though, it takes on a whole new dimension, Siegel bouncing, jumping, shaking and just looking delighted to be there. “I hope you guys aren’t bored yet,” she said, in a set that whistled by in what seemed like ten minutes, “’cause we’re not!” (this much was evident). Props should also go to the rest of the band; the two skinny dudes tickling all kinds of colors out of their guitars (there’s no bassist), and their superfast drummer and his Ritalin-disco grooves. The crowd loved it (one brave soul even attempted a stage dive, owww), bouncing gamely and singing along to Siegel’s “Oh no! I’m late for school!”
Check out that track, “Late for School,” after the jump.
Listen to Comet Gain for only one or two songs and risk walking off with the impression of a routine indie band—scruffy and likable, no need to write home. This would be a mistake: Given time, the long-running British band is a revelation, a largely unheralded treasure of the underground. The band performed at Music Hall of Williamsburg last night, its first New York show since 2001. In that time, the musicians did not break up, reunite, slip out of fashion, into fashion and then out of fashion once more; they just didn’t bother playing here. In an age of ready availability, absence can be bliss. The venue was not packed, but the cluster of fans were enthused—a cult defined. Read more »
Details are still very sketchy, but we can already tell that Northside Festival is going to be one of the biggest indie concert draws of the summer. Sponsored by The L Magazine and spanning “nearly every music venue, big and small, in Williamsburg and Greenpoint”—e.g., from the cushy Music Hall of Williamsburg to the neighborhoody Spike Hill—the event runs June 11 through June 14. In the illustrious tradition of CMJ and SXSW, Northside is handing over curation duties to a variety of local entities, such as blogs (Brooklyn Vegan), labels (Frenchkiss), stores (Sound Fix), radio stations (WFUV) and the like. What, no TONY/The Volume showcase (hint, hint)?!? Only a handful of bands have been announced, though we did spot a pic of The Pains of Being Pure at Heart on the fest’s website. As for the rest of the lineup, we’ll keep you posted as it solidifies.
You’d think one would develop a pretty thick skin by playing in a hardcore band for more than 20 years. But Propagandhi singer-guitarist Chris Hannah and drummer Jord Samolesky, who cofounded the group in Winnipeg back in 1986, seemed pretty miffed at the crowd during their show at Music Hall of Williamsburg last night. The first offense came as the quartet was taking the stage and a “Let’s go, Rangers!” chant broke out. Both men, avowed fans of Canadian hockey, assumed looks of disgust; Samolesky grabbed the mike and whined, “Will you please shut up?” Then a few songs into the set, a stage-diver came flying toward Hannah and smashed his mike stand into his mouth, sending him reeling. Stepping back up, he snarled, “If you do that again, I’m gonna stomp your face.” Read more »
Atlanta’s Black Lips are increasingly becoming more well known for their shenanigans than for their music: They just fled India on a tour through the country, worried about being convicted of onstage homosexual acts. You see, the members have been known to kiss, spit in each other’s mouths and do everything short of…actually, do just about everything to each other.
While we’re all for pissing on one another in the name of rock & roll, it’s a shame that Black Lips’ brand of garage punk isn’t the primary focus of attention. The band’s latest, 200 Million Thousand, is an excellent, chaotic effort. (Listen to the entire record here.) Here’s a cut, “The Drop I Hold”:
Ohhhhh girl, I knew you’d want to spend more time in New York with yours truly. Those two Apollo dates on Friday and Saturday weren’t enough for you, were they? You just had to go ahead and plan a show Thursday night at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. Don’t say it’s a coincidence that the show is just minutes away from my bedroom—you know it’s not.
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1. 
You know that feeling you’d get in school assemblies as a kid, where everything was so hushed and boring, you’d have an urge to stand up and scream nonsense/convulse around, etc.? Well, that pretty much nails the Ponytail live experience. 
Listen to 
Details are still very sketchy, but we can already tell that 
You’d think one would develop a pretty thick skin by playing in a hardcore band for more than 20 years. But 
Atlanta’s Black Lips are increasingly becoming more well known for their shenanigans than for their music: They just fled India on a tour through the country, worried about being convicted of onstage homosexual acts. You see, the members have been known to kiss, spit in each other’s mouths and do everything short of…actually, do just about everything to each other.
Ohhhhh girl, I knew you’d want to spend more time in New York with yours truly. Those two Apollo dates on Friday and Saturday weren’t enough for you, were they? You just had to go ahead and plan a show Thursday night at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. Don’t say it’s a coincidence that the show is just minutes away from my bedroom—you know it’s not.
