Last night Turbonegro closed out this year’s free summer show series at House of Vans. With support from Night Birds and Doomriders, the Norwegians brought the house down. Their hour long set basically resembled a greatest hits potpourri with a few songs from the new album in the mix. Below is a video edit that gives you a taste of a little bit of everything. Songs included are “All My Friends Are Dead”, “Back To Dungaree High”, “I Got A Knife”, “Get It On” and “I Got Erection”.
Impressions from Doomriders’ and Night Birds’ sets are after the jump. (more…)
We are only days away from the biggest electronic music festival in New York, and there aren’t enough fistpumps in the world that could make us more excited for it. But the Zoo can be a dangerous place, full of exotic animals, predators that lurk in the form of costumed freaks. The jungle is fierce my friend, but luckily for you, you have a guide. A guide who knows what lies in the bush, a scout of the first order who’s seen it all and knows what to avoid. A mentor, chaperone, and soothsayer rolled into one. We got this; we got YOU.
The first thing to consider before going to these festivals is what to bring. Of course you’ll need an outfit with bright colors, $2 sunglasses from St. Marks, some sunscreen for sure, and a picnic blanket you should to chill out on the plentiful grassy spaces. If you’re going for the day, you might want to consider bringing a large water bottle or camelback to refill at the free water stations, which will no doubt save you a good deal of money throughout the day.
Getting to Randalls is easy and painless. By far the best way to go is via cab, since the RFK bridge will drop you right into the festival from Manhattan, The Bronx, or Queens. Depending on the ticket purchased, you have two other options provided by the festival: shuttle bus or ferry. The ferry is sold out, but shuttle buses are still available through Electric Zoo and there is a public MTA option through the x60 bus from 125th and Lexington.
…at least according to LA Weekly. They get it right in a few cases (Bon Iver, Death Cab For Cutie) but come on… why all the hate for Beach House and Arcade Fire:
Who are these hipsters we see each day in the streets, on our Tumblr feeds, and on the local news? And why are so many in bands? It’s not the mere existence of hipster groups that distresses us — some of our best friends are hipsters, after all — it’s their lemming-like tendency to, if you’ll pardon a mixed metaphor, ape each other.
On its surface hipsterdom seems to be an individuality-grab, but most of today’s 20 and 30-something bands from Silver Lake and Williamsburg sound shockingly similar. They’re all playing variations of retro garage and soul music — or bringing glockenspiels and choirs on incestuous nationwide tours — all the while clad in vintage garb likely infested with lice. We’re not saying that they should be outlawed by, like, Congress or something. Just that they should be avoided. Here then, is our field guide to the worst offenders
No, but seriously. Unless you’ve been living under a rock (or if you just woke up, and in that case, I am jealous), you already know that Louis CK is playing THREE TEN DOLLAR shows, tonight at Bell House. If you’re like me, you’re wayyyyy too far away from Gowanus right now to have any chance of getting tickets, because they’re only available at the venue’s box office.
Relax. You should know by now that I’m here to console you with incredible shows that you actually CAN attend. Like Train and Mat Kearney tonight in Central Park.
Just kidding. Serious salt in the wound there, soul sister.
After some much needed rest and relaxation in the Green stage field, I made my way over to the Red stage for Spank Rock. The crowd was all fired up from DJ Rufio so once Spank Rock hit the stage it was an instant party. He came out with a full red jump suit on and just about knee high boots, looking like the love child of Will I Am and Latoya Jackson. From what I hear he’s always styling on stage. If there was a roof to be torn down it definitely would of came down. The crowd was full of musicians partying with Spank fans. Correct me if I’m wrong but I believe meshed in with all the chaos I saw the likes of Ninjasonik, Rufio, Flatbush Zombies, and Mr Star City(Yes I’m good at my job, I know everyone by face.). Here is a little footage I captured. The sun, the heat, restraining my head from bouncing, and this riot of a crowd made this very difficult to capture. Great set Spank! Enjoy!
On a related note. If you want to check out why Turbonegro loves FC St.Pauli, go to East River Bar in Williamsburg on Saturday, September 1 for the 6pm match viewing party of FC St.Pauli vs SV Sandhausen. The event is hosted by the local New York City FC St Pauli supporters group “East River Pirates“. These match viewing are usually a rowdy good time.
I made my way over to the Afro Punk Festival this weekend at Commodore Barry Park. First on my list was Ninjasonik. They played the skate park stage during the amatuer skate competition. See it how I saw it. Enjoy!
But on Sun, Marshall’s first full-length collection of new songs in more than six years, the Georgia native has taken a surprising turn from her long-established themes and sound to produce her most joyful, sonically adventurous album to date. Sun, out Sept. 4, is also the best record she’s ever made.
Fans hoping for another rainy-day companion won’t find much comfort on the appropriately titled Sun. The delicate guitar and piano lines — and the wispy, introspective poetry of earlier Cat Power recordings — have been obliterated by propulsive synths, drum machines and urgent, densely layered vocals. It’s a bold, sometimes epic and thrilling sound Marshall crafted and produced entirely on her own, playing every instrument and singing every part at her Malibu studio. The songs were later mixed by Philippe Zdar.
Marshall didn’t arrive at this point in her music easily. After releasing her soul-inspired album The Greatest in 2006, the singer was crippled by debt, went bankrupt and was briefly hospitalized for stress. She eventually began writing again, but abandoned everything she’d done after a friend told her the songs were too sad and familiar. So Marshall took time off to reevaluate her approach to music. After an extended hiatus, she returned to the studio with a new game plan that relied heavily on the electronics and driving dance beats heard on Sun. Marshall calls it her “rebirth.”
It can be hard for longtime fans of an artist to embrace changes as dramatic as the ones Marshall makes here. Sun may alienate some listeners who prefer to snuggle under a heavy blanket with Cat Power’s sadder, older sound. But the album is also likely to draw in a new batch of fans struck by its power and triumphant beauty. Either way, it’s one of 2012′s biggest surprises and best records: an irresistible collection from an inspired, fearless and curious artist.
