Music Festivals | Music Vixen Blog

"Care Bears on Fire are absolutely awesome1"

Steven

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2009 CMJ Schedule, Top Picks

Published October 20th, 2009 by Karen

photo credit: rick

During the five days that the massive CMJ music and film festival takes over venues around NYC, one of the hardest things is plotting your schedule so that you don’t miss something you really wanted to see.

Thankfully, in one of the site’s better innovations in recent years, CMJ now offers a way to plan and share your CMJ schedule online.

Of course, it’s still up to you to decide whether to check out A Band Named Ashes, UUVVWWZ or any of the hundreds of bands in between (you could even be very specific and only see bands from, say, Nashville) but at least keeping track of your must-sees will be a little easier.

Fun fact: Superdrag and Type O Negative are still around and playing CMJ. Who knew?

Which bands are on your ‘must-see’ list for this year’s CMJ?

CMJ 2009 runs 10/20-10/24.

Complete CMJ 2009 line-up, schedule and highlights: Continue reading »

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Fire Destroys Georgia Theatre, Historic Athens Music Venue

Published June 19th, 2009 by Karen

ABOVE: The AthFest 2009 Music Festival may be forced to change its schedule after a fire destroys the historic Georgia Theatre in Athens.

Early Friday morning, flames erupted at the Georgia Theatre in Athens, putting the future of this historic music venue in question. The venue had just undergone a significant renovation in the past year.

No injuries have been reported, but nearly 50 firefighters were on-site this morning to control the blaze. Local Athens newspaper photos indicate that the venue’s roof has collapsed as a result of the fire which broke out around 7 a.m., the cause of which is still under investigation.

Originally a cinema, the popular music club has been home to a wide variety of musical performances over the years, including shows by Athens mainstays such as the B-52s and R.E.M.

Also somewhat uncertain is the fate of AthFest, a four-day music festival with dozens of performances by well-known and up-and-coming bands, including the Black Lips, Dead Confederate, Nappy Roots, Those Darlins and the Young Sinclairs. Several of the festival’s concerts were scheduled to take place at the Georgia Theatre.

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Top 10 NYC Shows this Weekend: Detroit Legends, Johnny Depp, Samurai Punk and More!

Published May 15th, 2009 by Karen

Above: Peelander Z combines punk rock, Power Rangers and, well, we’re not sure what else…

Each weekend in NYC there are so many concerts that it’s hard to decide which ones to attend.

To help you decide where to go, we’ve assembled a list of the weekend’s best concerts based on some interesting categories, including:

Best place to yell naughty words in public:
Best place to see a “Japanese Noodle Samurai Punk” band:
Best place to eat a cupcake and think about dinosaurs:
Best place to make lame Karate Kid jokes:
Best place to think about Johnny Depp and Scottish Twins:
Best place to realize you don’t miss Jeff Buckley that much:
Best place to find out what happens when Steely Dan and indie art-rock mix:
And more…

PLUS: We’ve got free mp3s and some very strange videos you can check out before you go to the shows.

So, what concerts are on our list for this week? Let’s find out… Continue reading »

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No Fun Fest Brooklyn Brings Sonic Youth, Black Pus, Bardo Pond, more

Published May 14th, 2009 by Karen

photo credit: beigeinside

No Fun Fest: Friday May 15-Sunday May 17 @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

Living in New York is expensive, but there’s still a bargain to be had: this weekend the Music Hall of Williamsburg is hosting Brooklyn’s No Fun Fest, three days of music with a bevy of noisy bands ranging from Sonic Youth, Black Pus, Bardo Pond, Blank Dogs, Thrones and, well, a bunch of bands we don’t really know…(Xeno and Oaklander, Jazzfinger?).

Is it just us, or does it seem like Sonic Youth is everywhere lately? Just sayin’.

No Fun’s three day passes ($60) and daily passes ($20) are considerably less-expensive than most of the other summer music festivals, many of which are so pricy they offer layaway ticket plans, which explains why most of the days are sold out already.

It might still be worth checking the box office on the day of the show, as last-minute tix are sometimes released for stuff like this.

Or, you can just check out some tracks by the bands that are playing, and check back soon for our roundup of the Top 10 Summer Music Festivals.

2009 No Fun Fest schedule and music: Continue reading »

"HOW COULD YOU NOT PLAY NEW YORK? COME ON NOW...."

DS

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New 2009 Pearl Jam Tour Dates. Ozzy vs Eddie Vedder Ukulele Video

Published May 6th, 2009 by Karen

Above: Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder rocks Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man”…on a ukulele, for some reason. Really.

Pearl Jam has just announced the dates of its 2009 tour. The band isn’t straying too far from home, but we imagine more dates will be added soon, so stay tuned for updates, if you’re into this kind of thing.

2009 Pearl Jam Tour Dates:
August 21 - Toronto, ON @ Molson Amphitheatre
August 23 - Chicago, IL @ United Center
Headlining: August 28-30 @Outside Lands Festival San Francisco
Headlining: October 4 @ Austin City Limits Festival
Eddie Vedder solo show: June 17-Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium.

Sorry, that’s it, Pearl Jam fans.

Ok, so it’s not exactly a world tour, but technically it is international since the band is crossing the border into Canada. Good job, guys.

In their defense, the Pearl Jam fellas are probably just tired from sitting around counting cash. The band has been celebrating the (almost) 20th anniversary of the breakthrough album Ten. (Wanna buy a copy for $125? Eddie Vedder is happy to oblige).

News of the band’s not-so-ambitious tour schedule comes after Pearl Jam’s depressingly lame-o TV appearance last week when dozen or so PJ songs were used in a special two-part episode of Cold Case, one of those dumber-than-Law & Order cop-shows on CBS.

Lame TV sell-out attempts aside, Pearl Jam remains one of the cooler groups of grungy Seattle granddads still making music (yes, Chris Cornell, we’re still rolling our eyes at you).

"I like White Rabbits... still haven't gone to see them though. How are they live?"

Jason

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Top 10 NYC Shows This Weekend: King Khan, Golden Triangle, Dark Was the Night and More!

Published May 1st, 2009 by Karen

Above: On our list twice, King Khan & the Shrines rule our list of 10 Shows to see in NYC this weekend.

Don’t spend the weekend complaining that there’s nothing to do!
Here are 10 cool things you could do this weekend in the NYC area. Rock’n'roll, garage-rock, soul, Australian pop and indie-rock -we’ve got it all!

Keep reading for the complete 10-show list (plus videos and mp3s), including Feist, Bat for Lashes, the Kills, the National and dozens of other bands we think are worth checking out this weekend.

We’re starting things off with a free music festival today at NYU.

Top 10 NYC Shows This Weekend May 1-3, 2009

1. Who: Golden Triangle, White Rabbits, Motel Motel, Teengirl Fantasy and More
      When: Friday 5/01/09 (NYU Strawberry Festival)
      Where: NYU Strawberry Festival:Washington Sq. Park
      Details: Golden Triangle and some other cool up-and-comers hit the stage for an all-day music fest. Now for our three favorite words: Free, All Ages. Starts at noon. Not sure if it’s indoors or not, so you might wanna bring an umbrella just to be safe.

2.   Who: King Khan & The Shrines, Mark Sultan (of King Khan and BBQ Show), Georgiana   Starlington
       When: Friday 5/01/09
       Where: Music Hall of Williamsburg
       Details: An MV favorite, Berlin-based superstar (almost) King Khan is back in NYC, this time with his 10-piece rock/soul/chaos band, the Shrines. Khan’s usual musical partner BBQ (AKA Mark Sultan) opens the show along with an interesting new outfit, Georgiana Starlington(review).
       Free Download: King Khan & the Shrines: Land of the Freak mp3.

3. Who: The Dears, Great Northern, Eulogies Continue reading »

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Bamboozle Fest 2009: No Doubt, Cover Bands, Third Eye Blind Reunion (?)

Published May 1st, 2009 by Karen

This weekend, New Jersey is going to be filled with even more, um, unusual folks than usual as the Bamboozle Festival rolls into town and lures all the emo kids out of their bedroom-mope-caves for a weekend of unnecessary reunions and pop-punk cover bands. Um, sweet?

Expect a weekend of bad haircuts and worse music. Sorry, dorks.

Among the bigger names on this year’s bill are Third Eye Blind (seriously?!), No Doubt (newly reunited, for some reason), Fall Out Boy (insert your own Bronx Mowgli joke, here), Asher Roth, Taking Back Sunday, and the Maine (owners of the worst emo haircuts in recent memory).

No Doubt is headlining the fest, but Gwen Stefani’s hubby, Gavin Rossdale, isn’t quite as lucky these days. He’s relegated to playing after Bloodhound Gang on Saturday afternoon.

On the plus side, at least Gwar (who claim to be aliens from Antarctica sent to rule the earth, or something like that) will be there, rocking their homemade costumes and fake blood. (Remember when Gwar was on on Jerry Springer?)

If that’s not bad enough, the day before Bamboozle, NJ is hosting the Hoodwink Fest-a festival of cover bands featuring bands you’ve probably never heard of doing songs by bands they should probably just leave alone.

Boys Like Girls will play Coldplay songs.
Anti-Flag plays the Clash
Sum 41 plays Metallica
And so on.

Some lesser-known bands are playing Avril LaVigne and Britney Spears. Wow, pop-punk bands doing lame pop songs. Um, is this funny anymore?

Full line-up, at the Hoodwink Fest page.

Complete 2009 Bamboozle Fest line-up, after the jump. Continue reading »

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2009 Sonic Youth Tour Dates, Secret Show and Free Mp3

Published April 29th, 2009 by Karen

photo credit: [charlie cravero]

Sonic Youth may be one of the oldest bands rockin’ the stages at this year’s big summer music festivals (Austin City Limits Festival, Capitol Hill Block Party, etc.), but the gang is full of energy. In fact, the NYC group is gearing up for a full-on summer tour.

(Complete 2009 Sonic Youth Tour Dates, after the jump.)

The last time we saw Sonic Youth, it was at an outdoor show and the band spent what seemed like forever rubbing their guitars on the shrubs in front of the stage and creating experimental sounds, sonic textures and feedback.

Or maybe they were just doing some gardening or something. We don’t know. It was not fun. Hopefully, this tour will be better.

If you haven’t heard it yet, check out “Sacred Trickster,” the surprisingly rockin’ lead single from Sonic Youth’s new album, The Eternal. Kim Gordon handles vocals and brings some much-needed excitement to this sometimes, um, less-than-exciting, racket.

The album marks Sonic Youth’s first release for big-name indie imprint Matador Records (Jay Reatard, Condo Fucks, Brightblack Morning Light, etc.) since splitting from mega major, Geffen Records. Welcome back.

2009 Sonic Youth Tour Dates: Continue reading »

"blur: give us it!"

Jason

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Music Video Quiz: Mysteries, Gorillas and Brit-Pop?

Published April 27th, 2009 by Karen

It’s Monday again, so that means we’re dusting off another one of our favorite music videos to help you beat those Monday morning blahs.

Check out the clues, and see if you can guess what today’s video is, then tune in below and enjoy.

Today’s pick features:

1. A missing-person mystery.
2. Dancing food.
3. A gorilla guitarist.

Do you know what this odd-ball video is?
More info on the video, the band and upcoming tour dates , after the jump.