Paste hosts Portastatic, Oxford Collapse, many more at CMJ
Now that the dust-up with Sonicbids is taken care of, CMJ 2008 looks like it'll once again be one of the biggest and best music festivals in the U.S. this year. This in turn raises a bigger issue: all those poor performers gamboling about in canvas sneakers and relentlessly hip wool jackets are going to need a place to take refuge from New York City's merciless mid-October weather. Here at Paste, we think there's a better way. Your humble servants, in conjunction with KCRW Radio and Indie Outlaw, will be hosting the inaugural CMJ Artist Lounge at this year's CMJ... read more
Catching Up With... MGMT
On the strength of their full-length debut, Oracular Spectacular, the fellows of MGMT made a name for themselves as one of the buzziest acts to emerge from Brooklyn's indie rock hive this year. But that reputation may only be partly deserved: While co-founder and keys player Ben Goldwasser... read more
I Kiffe NY, CMJ showcase French hip hop at Hiro Ballroom
[Above: La Caution]Though Parisian MCs and DJs have most often garnered attention for their exercises in civil disobedience, the I Kiffe NY festival, which started on October 6 and lasts till the 28th, has taken a lighter approach to its display of France's urban arts and culture. On Oct. 24, the festival's procession of film, dance, music and lecture events will culminate at CMJ's French New Talents showcase at the Hiro Ballroom, featuring musicians La Caution, Mangu and Wax Tailor.... read more
Live Review: Pinback @ The Music Hall of Williamsburg 9/27/08
It's hard to nail down exactly what type of music Pinback plays (too complex for indie rock, too self-aware for prog) but to the sold-out crown at the Music Hall of Williamsburg on Sept. 27, it was clear that Pinback is a straight-up rock band, first and foremost. The night's closing tune even featured a moment of which the dudes of Spinal Tap would be proud: Bringing out opener Kylesa, the two bands performed an epic rendition of “June” with no less than four guitarists, four bassists and two drummers.... read more
Catching Up With... Shugo Tokumaru
[Above: Tokumaru performs at the Mercury Lounge.]On September 23rd, Toyko-based singer/songwriter Shugo Tokumaru made his New York City debut at the Mercury Lounge with an unconventional backing band: Jon Natchez and Perrin Cloutier of Beirut, Bryan Devendorf of The National and Lawson White of So Percussion joined the eclectic pop singer for a vibrant performance at a capacity house. It was an odd but welcome sight to see an artist from the other side of the world, who's seen little exposure in Western entertainment media (even these blog things we're hearing so much about), embraced with such fanfare. But one listen to Tokumaru’s latest record, Exit... read more
Broadway theaters pay homage to Paul Newman
Friday evening, the Broadway League devoted a moment of silence to Paul Newman's memory. The actor and philanthropist, who passed away on Sept. 26 at the age of 83, was best known for his screen work, but played several significant parts on the New York stage. House lights across Broadway were dimmed for one minute, just before curtain, in honor of his legacy.... read more
Live Review: Motörhead @ Roseland Ballroom, 9/20
"We are Motörhead, boys and girls. And we play rock 'n' roll." With this simple statement of fact, fabled frontman Lemmy Kilmister opened the legendary British rock band's set at the Roseland Ballroom, launching into a high-speed rendition of "Dr. Rock" that kicked off a night of fist-pumping, pretension-free thrash. In their 45+ minute set, the British heavy metal band ran through almost all of the fan favorites including "Metropolis," "Killed By Death" and "Overkill," as well as the obligatory rendition of "Ace of Spades." They even dusted off their acoustic guitars for an encore performance of "Whorehouse Blues." And though Lemmy and the band... read more
Williamsburg's Barack Rock to feature Andrew Bird, Eugene Mirman, more
If American voters valued musical taste as much as political prestige, Barack Obama would win a landslide presidential victory this November. On that note, Andrew Bird, The Fiery Furnaces, Guster and others (including some "special secret musical guests") will play at the Barack Rock fundraiser tomorrow at Brooklyn's Music Hall of Williamsburg to help Obama and VP nominee Joe Biden on their way to the White House.... read more
Live Review: The Stills @ The Music Hall of Williamsburg, 9/18
The Stills neither look nor play like they sound. Saturated onstage in an electronic bonfire glow, vocalists Dave Hamelin and Tim Fletcher didn't resemble the sensitive, love-lorn Canadian art school graduates they portray so well on their three studio albums. Every note they struck accompanied a natural rock god pose or back-flowing hair sweep, and despite the fragile undertones of their albums, the theatrics didn't feel insincere in the least.... read more
Live Review: Ólöf Arnalds @ Lutheran Church of the Messiah 9/16
A prominent figure in her Scandinavian music scene or a number of years, the folk singer/songwriter, guitarist and charango player (and new mother to an 8-month-old son) Ólöf Arnalds took the stage on Tuesday evening at Greenpoint's Lutheran Church of the Messiah with openers Sam Amidon and Kría Brekkan to a crowd of wide-eyed Brooklyn fans.... read more
Live Review: Mugison @ Mercury Lounge, 9/20
When Örn Elías Guðmundsson, a.k.a. Mugison, took the stage at Mercury Lounge on Saturday night, he was not, as may have been expected, covered in blood and dirt, nor was he riding a giant gray horse. No, Iceland’s alterna-rock darling du jour and Paste Best of What's Next artist was just a boyishly handsome thirtysomething in a red cowboy shirt and cuffed jeans, with a bird-crest puff of dark blond hair, clean as a whistle.... read more
Live Review: My Bloody Valentine @ The Roseland Ballroom, 9/22
There's no more enjoyable way to make your ears bleed than to attend a My Bloody Valentine concert. The attendants at Midtown's Roseland Ballroom even gave nonverbal warnings as they passed out free ear plugs to the crowd that flooded the sold-out show. At 10 p.m., the Irish quartet nonchalantly walked onstage and delicately holstered their shiny, pastel Jazzmasters in front of a wall of Marshall and Vox cabinets. And then, without warning, an entire spectrum of distorted guitar and synth assaulted the venue as many learned why a group that has been absent since 1993 would be greeted back to... read more
Ira Glass, Paul Simon, others to host 826NYC benefit
826NYC, brainchild of McSweeny's wizard David Eggers, will be having its third annual Bookeaters benefit next month to raise money for their children's writing program. The program has attracted the likes of David Byrne, Sufjan Stevens and Feist in years past, and this year's line-up looks no less impressive.... read more
Live Review: Sufjan Stevens and St. Vincent jam out to Phil Collins, more @ BAM Takeover 2008
St. Vincent's Annie Clark modestly announced that she would be introducing new songs during her 45-minute performance at the Brooklyn Academy of Music's 2008 Takeover. It's the "right venue" to "embarrass" myself at, she quipped. Her statement didn't make much sense after rolling through an untitled track with a wicked salsa beat and "Bicycle," a lilting, melodic shuffle through ornate piano arpeggios. No, she was probably referring to her closing number, in which the Takeover curator himself, Sufjan Stevens, joined her on the melodica for a charming cover of Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight."... read more
Despite retirement, M.I.A. schedules Diesel xXx gig in Brooklyn
Diesel announced today that Sri Lankan singer M.I.A. will be performing at Diesel xXx in Brooklyn. The multi-city concert will take place on Oct. 11 at venues across the glo-- wait, what? Isn't she supposed to be retired? We've been crying tears of unfathomable sorrow ever since Ms. Arulpragasam announced to the world that she was quitting music forever, effective immediately, last month. We wrote the headline "M.I.A. Officially Retires" at the time, but it looks like we need a new one. How about "M.I.A. Is a Big, Stupid Doo-Doo-Head That Can't Stop Toying With Paste's Feelings"? You think we... read more
Built to Spill, Dinosaur Jr., Meat Puppets begin two-night stint at Terminal 5
Fresh off their weekend getaway at All Tomorrow's Parties 2008 in upstate New York (where it's apparently always 1992), Built To Spill, Dinosaur Jr., and Meat Puppets are prepping for their two night stint at Terminal 5. The doubleheader starts tonight, and we're unofficially dubbing it the Monsters of '90s Indie Rock Tour-- where the Rock Gods of yesteryear will perform for this decade's creative underclass.... read more
Live Photos: Ron Sexsmith @ The Bowery Ballroom 9/16
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Chiptune artists to converge at Blip Festival
[Above: Bubblyfish takes the seas with her sailor friend on the Blip Festival preview cruise.]Despite what Jack Thompson and your 4th grade teacher told you, videogames do not always inspire wanton bloodshed and antisocial behavior. An entire new generation of musicians is looking back to the early nineties when all it took was 15 bits of midi beats and synthesized riffs to constitute a musical work of art. For the third year running, Blip Festival is set to celebrate artists utilizing the very best resources in yesterday’s gaming technology for today's listening pleasure, Dec. 4th-7th at Brooklyn's Studio B.... read more
Live Review: Sons And Daughters @ Highline Ballroom, 9/8
It's a tough assignment to play a gig on a Monday night all the way over on 10th Avenue, but if any band has the energy to make a crowd forget the weekly slog, it's Scotland's Sons and Daughters. "What day is it, Sunday?" lead singer Adele Bethel asked the somewhat spare audience at Highline Ballroom before launching into another song. "Monday? Ugh." Cue the beat.... read more
Live Review: Dandy Warhols @ Terminal 5, 9/17
More than a few concert goers were likely intrigued by the scheduling of The Dandy Warhols two days apart from The Brian Jonestown Massacre,who performed at The Music Hall of Williamsburg on the 19th. The personal lives of both bands were viscerally exposed in the 2004 documentary Dig!, a 7-year rock 'n roll train wreck of brilliant filmmaking with highlights including a camera shot of bandmates snorting cocaine from underneath a glass table and the relationship of lead singers Courtney Taylor-Taylor (The Dandys) and Anton Newcombe (BJTM) transform from musical soul mates to bitter rivals. ... read more
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