Posted on 16 January 2009
DOWNLOAD: The Hold Steady - The Swish (MP3)
Bankrupt electronics retailer Circuit City Inc. said Friday it has asked for court approval to close its remaining 567 U.S. stores and sell all its merchandise…
…”We are extremely disappointed by this outcome,” James Marcum, acting CEO for Circuit City, said in a statement. “We were unable to reach an agreement with our creditors and lenders to structure a going-concern transaction in the limited timeframe available, and so this is the only possible path for our company.”…
…The company said the sale would begin Saturday and run until March 31, pending court approval. The retailer’s Web site and call center will cease to operate after Jan. 18. Circuit City said employees will receive 60 days notice of the termination. [CNN]
It was announced a few days ago that Virgin Megastore is also closing its Times Square location.
Continue reading “Circuit City, RIP” at BrooklynVegan.com
Posted on 16 January 2009
photos by Faith-Ann Young
I saw Ida Maria for the first time last night (1/15). At approximately 9pm she blew in like a tornado, and 30 minutes later she was gone. Jax Rock Insider recently saw her show in LA…
…..well…all I can say really is “Oh My God.” The woman is a rock goddess. She wore a gold flapper dress and over the next 30 minutes proceeded to shimmy, shake, writhe, and rock the fuck into the entire audience’s collective heart. There have been occasions in the past where female indie pop stars use their sultry attitude and bad girl stage behavior to launch them to superstar status (Lily and Amy I’m looking at you) Ida blew both of them out of the water for me. Ida Maria is the real deal.
As some in the comments pointed out, Karen O is a good comparison if you want to talk about her actual performance. Music Snobbery was also there last night, and wrote, “She is THE rock goddess of 2009.” Now I also know what Bill has been raving on about.
Ida plays again in NYC, tonight, January 16, 2009, for the lucky ones with tickets at Union Hall in Brooklyn. If you missed her this time, don’t worry I’m sure she’ll be back soon. Listen at MySpace. More pictures and the setlist from Mercury Lounge below…
Continue reading “Ida Maria rocked Mercury Lounge, NYC - pics” at BrooklynVegan.com
Posted on 16 January 2009
Those Darlins @ Bowery Ballroom (more by Nathan Miller)
Aside from their apparent taste for fur (that hat?) (and maybe an old jacket?), and the occasional less-than-steller instrumentation and/or singing (it’s not always about perfect playing), there’s no denying (I’m asking for it with that one) that Those Darlins are an entertaining band. Last night (1/15) at Mercury Lounge, the crowd (myself included) seemed to be enjoying the young trio+drummer’s country tunes - they were the perfect way to warm everyone up for Norway’s Ida Maria who came up, and tore the place up, next.
Show bookers seem to already know this about Those Darlins. If you haven’t noticed, much like the Vivian Girls, this mostly-female band is suddenly appearing on every other (alt-country) bill. To name a few… they’ve recently played with O’Death, Heartless Bastards, Langhorne Slim, Deer Tick, Boss Hog, and have an upcoming tour scheduled with Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys (which has them back at Bowery and Music Hall). Last night they opened for Ida Maria at Mercury Lounge, and TONIGHT (1/16) they play with The Soft Pack (formerly the Muslims) and the Browns at Mercury Lounge (again). Saturday night they play their 3rd NYC show in a row (they’re from Tennessee) at Union Pool (also with The Soft Pack).
Check out some of TD’s recorded songs at MySpace. All tour dates below….
Continue reading “Those Darlins - 2009 Tour Dates (4 more NYC shows)” at BrooklynVegan.com
Posted on 16 January 2009
“To date, Luke Temple has been unconfined by genre. His full-length debut Hold a Match for a Gasoline World presented heartfelt folk tunes and expansive pop numbers filtered through a unique outsider perspective. Last year’s follow-up Snowbeast was an avant statement full of interwoven light and dark imagery recorded entirely in his Brooklyn bedroom.
Developed over a two-month period of stream-of-consciousness recording in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, Luke’s self-titled debut under his new moniker Here We Go Magic is a remarkable departure from his signature singer-songwriter material. Luke recorded the album at home using analog synths, a cassette 4-track, and his trusty SM-57 mic, coloring the sound with warmth and creating textures you want to wrap yourself in.” [says Luke’s PR/bio]
The rebranded Luke Temple has a bunch of shows coming up including some with Department of Eagles which includes the sold out show at Bowery Ballroom on January 19th. There’s also February 15th at Southpaw, March 3rd at Le Poisson Rouge, SXSW, and a whole bunch of non-NYC/Austin dates across the country, BUT FIRST the old-original-actual Luke Temple will be playing a solo show tonight, January 16th, at Le Poisson Rouge with Jonah Smith.
Definitely check out the three tracks streaming at MySpace. All dates below…
Continue reading “Luke Temple’s new band HERE WE GO MAGIC - 2009 Tour Dates (Department of Eagles, LPR, SXSW…)” at BrooklynVegan.com
Posted on 16 January 2009
Zipper Factory (more by Chris La Putt)
The Zipper Factory, a theater and tavern, has closed, its owner, Lee Z. Davis, said. The theater, which opened in 2001, was home to such productions as “The Sensuous Woman” by Margaret Cho, “Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris,” “Jesus Is Magic” by Sarah Silverman, “Betty Rules” and Alan Cumming’s adaptation of Jean Genet’s “Elle.” Payments for advance tickets for shows scheduled at the theater will be refunded. … “Altar Boyz,” the musical comedy about to begin its fifth year at New World Stages, will make tickets available on a “pay what you can” basis for the 8 p.m. performance on Jan. 21. Tickets, which will cost a minimum of $1 for the theater restoration fee, will be available at 7 p.m. on a first-come/first-served basis. Regular prices for the show are $26.50, $59.99 and $79.99.Smallest Audience for ‘Idol’ Debut in Series History. [NY Times]
Sad. I guess the Lisps played one of the final shows there (1/9-1/10).
Sarah wrote in, “I am sure you heard of the Zipper Factory demise - I was in NYC to see Walter Sickert & the Army of Broken Toys play (1/13) and was arriving as everyone was being kicked out of the building. Edrie was kind enough to give free CDs to everyone who showed up (the show was almost sold out according to the producer). There is a great note about it here on their Face Book“. You can also read it on MySpace.
Playbill adds, “David Conrad Brouillard and Bill Coyle served as the theatre’s most recent artistic producer and producing associate, respectively. Coyle, a respected longtime publicist and promoter in New York City’s theatre community, told Playbill.com, “David and I are currently exploring our options of starting over ourselves. We met with the owner to try to re-open on our own, but without any notice or planning we don’t have the resources in place to give three months [rent] up-front. …It’ll be a while before we know anything.”"
Continue reading “NYC venue The Zipper Factory is (suddenly) closed forever…” at BrooklynVegan.com
Posted on 16 January 2009
PETER DOHERTY
SOLO DEBUT ALBUM
GRACE/WASTELAND SET FOR MARCH RELEASE
“Last of the English Roses” Is Planned First Single
NEW YORK - The first solo album by singer-songwriter PETER DOHERTY (Babyshambles, The Libertines) is complete, and scheduled for North American release on Astralwerks on March 24, 2009, the label announced today.
The album, Grace/Wasteland, was recorded over a month of sessions in autumn 2008 at London’s legendary Olympic Studios with producer Stephen Street (The Smiths, Blur, Cranberries, Kaiser Chiefs). Street also produced the 2007 top 5 U.K. album Shotter’s Nation by Babyshambles, Doherty’s current band.
Album collaborators include guitarist Graham Coxon (Blur), who plays throughout the album; Scottish singer Dot Allison, who co-wrote the duet “Sheepskin Tearaway,” which was also featured on Babyshambles’ live DVD Up the Shambles; and poet Peter “Wolfman” Wolfe, co-writer and guitarist on “Broken Love Song”. Doherty had previously made a guest appearance on Wolfe’s U.K. No. 7 single and Ivor Novello Award-nominated song “For Lovers”.
Also contributing are Babyshambles members Mick Whitnall on guitar, Drew McConnell on bass, and Adam Ficek on drums.
Further album tracks include “Arcadie,” “Through the Looking Glass,” “Salome,” and “1839 Returning.”
With the Libertines, Peter Doherty recorded the U.K. No 1. album The Libertines, and the U.K. No. 2 single “Can’t Stand Me Now.” Babyshambles have released two U.K. Top 10 albums, Down in Albion (2004) and Shotter’s Nation (2007). He is also the author of The Books of Albion: The Collected Works of Peter Doherty (Orion Books, 2007). Doherty was named Hero of the Year in February 2008 at the Shockwaves NME Awards.
In other news, “St. Lucia’s tourism chief is praising Amy Winehouse for bringing publicity to the Caribbean island.”
Also, Graham Coxon is playing with Blur again, and Dirty Pretty Things announced their breakup in October.
Continue reading “Peter Doherty is releasing a solo album, Amy Winehouse has been helping bring tourists to St Lucia” at BrooklynVegan.com
Posted on 16 January 2009
Singer Boy George, who was convicted of falsely imprisoning a male escort in his flat in Shoreditch, east London, has been jailed for 15 months.
The singer, whose real name is George O’Dowd, denied the charge and claimed the victim, Norwegian Audun Carlsen, 29, had stolen photos from his laptop.
O’Dowd, 47, admitted handcuffing him to a wall in April 2007 but said he did so in order to trace the missing property.
Judge David Radford told the singer he was guilty of “gratuitous violence”. [BBC]
Continue reading “Boy George is going to jail” at BrooklynVegan.com
Posted on 16 January 2009
DOWNLOAD: Elvis Perkins in Dearland - Shampoo (MP3)
Elvis Perkins (born February 9, 1976) is a folk-rock singer-songwriter. He is the son of actor Anthony Perkins (an Academy-award nominated screen actor best known for his role as Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho), and a well known Elvis Presley aficionado, and photographer Berry Berenson, whose work appeared regularly in Life magazine. He was raised in Los Angeles, California and New York City. Perkins is a great-grandson of the fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli and a nephew of the actress Marisa Berenson. His paternal grandfather Osgood Perkins, was also an actor. Perkins attended Brown University, in Providence, Rhode Island. [Wikipedia]
As just mentioned, tickets went on sale today for the upcoming Elvis Perkins show at Bowery Ballroom. As also mentioned, that show is one of a few tour dates he and his band will be playing in March when their new album comes out. XL Recordings (the label) has since announced the exact date (March 10) and the album name “Elvis Perkins in Dearland” (which makes it self-titled). You can still stream three of the news songs, and you can now also download one of them above.
Continue reading “new Elvis Perkins MP3 from new XL self-titled album “ at BrooklynVegan.com
Posted on 15 January 2009
“NEW YORK (AP) — A US Airways plane has crashed into the Hudson River, sending passengers fleeing for safety in the frigid waters. New York City firefighters are responding to the crash. It was not immediately clear if there were injuries. Witness Barbara Sambriski, a researcher at The Associated Press, said, “I just thought, ‘Why is it so low?’ And, splash, it hit the water.” [Associated Press]
“Eyewitness News has learned a plane has crashed into the Hudson River. The plane is a US Airways flight 1549 from LaGuardia to Charlotte. There were 146 passengers on board the flight, along with 5 crew members. There is no report on their conditions. The plane went down near 57th street. The plane took off from LaGuardia at 3:11 p.m. Ferries are rescuing passengers, some who are seen standing on the wings of the plane.” [ABC News]
NY1 is saying it went down near 50th street, near the Intrepid. The plane is still intact and floating downstream. It may have hit birds, and seemed to be more of an emergency, and “smooth”, landing… They said a witness said all passengers survived.
CNN is reporting from the rescue area. Said people are in good shape, but freezing and shivering in blankets. A witness said he thinks everyone got off the almost-full plane. The pilot reported a “double bird strike”.
The West Side Highway is closed at 34th St…
The water is 40 degrees. Circle Line boats are helping with the rescue.
Continue reading “US Airways plane goes down in Hudson River…” at BrooklynVegan.com
Posted on 15 January 2009
DOWNLOAD: Telekenisis - Coast of Carolina (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Cut Off Your Hands - Turn Cold (MP3)
Telekinesis
“On April 7, 2009, Merge Records will release the debut album from Seattle’s Telekinesis entitled Telekinesis!. Telekinesis is the project of Michael Benjamin Lerner. Michael recorded Telekinesis! at Two Sticks Audio in Seattle with producer Chris Walla (Death Cab for Cutie, The Decemberists, Tegan and Sara). Michael wrote and sang all of the songs and played nearly all of the instruments on the album, but tours with a full band that includes David Broecker (guitar), Jonie Broecker (bass, keyboards), and Chris Staples (guitar).”
Telekenisis have a few shows lined up for the next few months - none in NYC yet, but they will be playing Noise Pop, SXSW, and a bunch of dates with Ra Ra Riot.
Ra Ra Riot also have a bunch of shows lined up without Telekenisis. For NYC, it’s just January 22nd at Bowery Ballroom which is the Planned Parenthood Benefit with Regina Spektor that sold out before it was even announced that they were also playing the show. They’re also playing Noise Pop, and SXSW, and a bunch of dates with both Passion Pit and Cut Off Your Hands.
Cut Off Your Hands officially release their debut LP, You & I, via Frenchkiss Records on January 20th. Download the first single for free above. They’re also playing SXSW (as are their labelmates Passion Pit).
All tour dates below…
Continue reading “Merge signs Telekinesis, Ra Ra Riot tour dates, Planned Parenthood, Cut Off Your Hands, SXSW, some MP3’s” at BrooklynVegan.com
