Once known as Andy Warhol’s house band, the Velvet Underground is the archetypal NYC band that spawned devotees (and brazen imitators) ranging from Jonathan Richman to the Strokes. Now, the revered group has announced sudden plans for an unexpected reunion—but there’s a catch, of course. Continue reading »
NYC
Be the first to comment NYC Halloween: Weekend Concerts
Published October 30th, 2009 by Karen
Halloween is here!
Now that you’re all dressed up, where are you going to go?
As always, we suggest checking out some concerts around NYC!
See what kind of rock’n’roll fun we’ve dug up for your wild weekend!
Plus, if you’re looking for a last-minute costume idea, we’ve got you covered with Top 10: Easy Halloween Costumes with a Music Theme.
Now, for those creepy weekend concerts: Continue reading »
"[...] Keep Reading: Jay-Z, John Legend Battle Onstage in NYC [...]"
Weekly Music News Higlights: Dead, Undead and More | Music Vixen BlogJay-Z, John Legend Battle Onstage in NYC
Published October 30th, 2009 by Karen
Although his song “Empire State of Mind” has become the unofficial anthem of New York City in recent weeks, Jay-Z didn’t hesitate to take a shot at the Yankees when performing the song prior to Thursday’s second world series game at Yankee Stadium.
(Read: Beyonce Defends Kanye: “He was Standing up for Art”)
In front of a stadium full of Yankees fans and players, Continue reading »
Tired of CMJ? Go Record Shopping!
Published October 23rd, 2009 by Karen
You can never have too many records...
The five-day onslaught of non-stop concerts CMJ music festival can be a little exhausting after a while.
So, if you’re in NYC and looking for a place to catch your breath between shows, why not head over to the annual WFMU Record and CD Fair?
This annual event is Continue reading »
Strokes Singer Goes Solo, but Did the Band Ever Matter?
Published October 23rd, 2009 by Karen
Just in time for the release of Phrazes for the Young, the debut solo album by Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas, NME takes an anti-nostalgic look back at the Strokes’ unpunctuated debut album, Is This It.
In its evaluation of the alleged NYC garage-rock hipsters/Drew Barrymore daters, the sassy Brit rock mag reminds readers that Continue reading »
2009 CMJ Schedule, Top Picks
Published October 20th, 2009 by Karen
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 »
Grateful Dead Light Up NYC Skyline
Published October 19th, 2009 by Karen
Tonight, if you see hippies being drawn to NYC like Batman to Gotham, there’s a good reason.
Although it is common for the Empire State Building to bathed in colored light in recognition of various occasions, tonight the skyscraper is going wild: with tie-dye.
The 102-story NYC building will sport a psychedelic lightshow in honor of the New York Historical Society’s Benefit for Grateful Dead Exhibition and Archive.
(Read: Billy Corgan starts Psychedelic Band with Navarro, ’60s Icons)
We’re not sure that having a building lit in your honor can compete with Continue reading »
Free NYC: Travis Sullivan’s Bjorkestra
Published October 16th, 2009 by Karen
If you’re looking for a weird, cheap (free!) way to spend your Saturday night, consider heading to BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music) and checking out the sure-to-be-strange stylings of Travis Sullivan’s Bjorkestra.
Billed as “visionary pop meets cutting-edge jazz” the eclectic troupe is basically a large-scale cover band that reinterprets the music of Icelandic icon Bjork, adding elements of improv, big band, jazz, electronics music and more to the already eclectic mix.
On record, it comes off a bit too indie elevator jazz for us at times, smoothing out all of Bjork’s crazy jagged edges, but maybe things spark into something wilder in a live setting.
Are you a Bjork fan? Check out the Bjorkestra’s sounds here (or watch the video below)and tell us what you think…
Doors open at 8pm, show starts at 9pm-best of all, it’s free.
BELOW: The Bjorkestra’s spin on Bjork’s classic, “Human Behavior.“ Continue reading »
Buzzy French Band Invades Big Apple (Store) for Free Concert
Published September 24th, 2009 by Karen
French buzz band Phoenix is bringing its buoyant electro-pop to the Big Apple, er, um, the big Apple Store, anyway.
The group’s latest album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix drew rave reviews in indie circles thanks to tracks like “Lisztomania” and ”1901,” and the band even landed high-profile gigs on shows such as Saturday Night Live.
(Read: Free Phoenix Download Lets Fans Remix “1901″)
Phoenix’s big weekend shows at Central Park are sold out (sorry), but you still have a chance to catch them live in NYC this week.
(Watch: Phoenix-”Lisztomania” Brat Pack video )
Tonight (9/24) band is setting up for a free concert at the Apple Store located in SoHo (map). Show starts at 8:30pm, but Continue reading »
The End of Pela :(
Published September 22nd, 2009 by Jason
Pela, an indie rock band from Brooklyn who were on the verge of releasing a new album, seemed poised to do big things but as of Friday they’ve called it quits. You can read the official post from their blog http://www.pelamusic.com/.
Pela had signed on to play a CMJ show in NY but we’re assuming that won’t be happening now. This is sad news as these guys are a very enjoyable band who didn’t hold anything back when they performed live. They will be missed.
The band recently played an acoustic set of some unreleased songs at NPR’s KEXP studio. Listen and Download the MP3s here: Pela: Brand-New Songs, Unplugged
Pela - Waiting on the Stairs from Matteo Bava on Vimeo.