Brooklyn Vegan

Lucinda Williams releases her album tomorrow, Little Honey, which finds the singer-songwriter surprisingly content.

Vic Chesnutt, Elf Power, and The Amorphous Strums' Dark Developments combines some of my favorite musicians in this release from Orange Twin.

The week's release list is filled with worthwhile music, from what I have already heard I can recommend The Courteeners' St. Jude, Frances' All the While, Hearts of Palm UK's For Life, Holly Golightly and the Brokeoffs' Dirt Don't Hurt, Nick Jaina's A Narrow Way, and Windy & Carl's Songs for the Broken Hearted.

Holiday music continues to released in droves, this week in no exception. You can celebrate a Psychobilly Christmas, a Jazz & Blues Christmas (compiled by Putumayo), a Classic Rock Christmas, Christmas A Go-Go or even a metal Xmas and headbanging New Year. Not into compilations? Spend a classical holiday with Yo-Yo Ma's Songs of Joy & Peace or a more rocking time with The Fleshtones' Stocking Stuffer.

Any recommendations from the week's music release list?

This week's interesting CD releases:

Al Jarreau: Christmas
Ame: fabric 42
Andy Bopp: This Guitar Kills Singer Songwriters
Ane Brun: Changing of the Seasons
Army Navy: Army Navy
Ashanti: The Vault (digital)
B.B. King: Collector's Edition
Bart Davenport: Bart Davenport
Betty Botox: MMM Betty! EP
Bill Madden: Child of the Same God
Black Eyed Soul: Black Eyed Soul
Bob James & Hilary James: Christmas Eyes
Boo and Boo Too: No Tempo
The Botticellis: Old Home Movies (vinyl)
Brother von Doom: Relentless
Buena Vista Social Club: Buena Vista Social Club At Carnegie Hall
Buttless Chaps: Cartography
Chandeliers: The Thrush (vinyl)
Chet Baker: Chet in Chicago (vinyl)
Cool Hand Luke: The Sleeping House
Copeland: You Are My Sunshine
The Courteeners: St. Jude
Cranes: Cranes (import)
Dave Mason: 26 Letters 12 Notes
David Bowie: iSelect
Dead C: Secret Earth (vinyl)
Decemberists: Always the Bridesmaid: A Singles Series - Voume 1
Dillinger Four: Civil War
Early Man: Beware The Circling Fin
Elvis Presley: Elvis Presley Christmas Duets
Enigma: La Puerta Del Cielo (import single)
The Fleshtones: Stocking Stuffer
The Foreign Exchange: Leave It All Behind
Frances: All the While
Frank Turner: Love Ire & Song
F*ck Buttons: Colours Move (vinyl single)
Giant Sand: Provisions (vinyl)
Gojira: The Way of All Flesh (vinyl)
Gomez: Bring It On (10th Anniversary Edition)
Haste the Day: Dreamer
The Haunted: Versus
Hearts of Palm U.K.: For Life
Holly Golightly and the Brokeoffs: Dirt Don't Hurt (vinyl)
Houston Calls: The End of an Error
I'm from Barcelona: Who Killed Harry Houdini
Indian Jewelry: Free Gold (vinyl)
Ingrid Michaelson: Be OK
Jimmy Thackery & the Drivers: Inside Tracks
Johnny Cash: At Folsom Prison Legacy Edition (2-CD & DVD)
Kate Campbell: Save the Day
Keane: Perfect Symmetry (2-CD deluxe edition)
Killing Joke: Peel Sessions 1979-1981
Kinetic Stereokids: Have A Nice Day EP
Kristin Chenoweth: A Lovely Way To Spend Christmas
Ladyhawke: Paris Is Burning EP
Lindstrom: Where You Go I Go Too EP (vinyl)
Los Campesinos: We're Beautiful We're Doomed (import)
Los Lonely Boys: Christmas Spirit
Lotus: Hammerstrike
Lucinda Williams: Little Honey (vinyl)
Marcio Local: Three Inches of Music Series
Martin Sexton: Solo
Menahan Street Band: Make the Road by Walking
Mighty Underdogs: Droppin' Science Fiction (vinyl)
The Music: Strength in Numbers
New Kids On The Block: Merry, Merry Christmas
Nick Jaina: A Narrow Way
Nick Warren: Lima
Nikka Costa: Pebble to a Pearl
Nina Simone: Remixed & Reimagined (vinyl)
Oh My God: Fools Want Noise
The Organ: Thieves EP
Panthers: Goblin City (vinyl single)
Parties: Can't Come Down
Pillars & Tongues: Protection
The Qemists: Join the Q
Ray Lamontagne: Gossip In The Grain (vinyl)
Rebelution: Courage to Grow
Religious Knives: The Door
Robyn Hitchcock: Luminous Groove (8-LP vinyl box set)
Run On Sentence: Oh When the Wind Comes Down
Santana: Multi-Dimensional Warrior
Secret Machines: Secret Machines
Sex Pistols: Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols (vinyl reissue)
Shai Hulud: A Profound Hatred of Man (vinyl reissue)
Shai Hulud: Hearts Once Nourished With Hope and Compassion (vinyl reissue)
Shearwater: The Snow Leopard EP (digital)
Sixpence: None The Richer: The Dawn of Grace
Sleeping in the Aviary: Expensive Vomit In A Cheap Hotel
Snow Patrol: Take Back the City (import single)
The Spores: Doom Pop
Static X: Cannibal Killers Live (with DVD)
Swervedriver: Mezcal Head (import & remastered)
Telepathe: Chrome's On It EP (vinyl)
The Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt!: Three Inches of Music Series
Tobacco: F*cked Up Friends (vinyl)
Todd Snider: Peace Queer
Tony Bennett: A Swingin' Christmas
Townes Van Zandt: Delta Momma Blues (vinyl reissue)
Townes Van Zandt: Townes Van Zandt (vinyl reissue)
U2: Under a Blood Red Sky (remastered vinyl)
Ultravox: Vienna (remastered)
Unearth: The March
UnSun: The End of Life
Van She: V (import)
Various Artists: Born to the Breed: A Tribute to Judy Collins
Various Artists: Christmas A Go-Go
Various Artists: Classic Rock Christmas
Various Artists: The Hotel Cafe Presents...Winter Songs
Various Artists: How To Lose Friends & Alienate People (soundtrack)
Various Artists: Psychobilly Christmas
Various Artists: Putumayo Presents: Jazz & Blues Christmas
Various Artists: Tinkerbell (soundtrack)
Various Artists: W. Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Various Artists: We Wish You a Metal Xmas...and a Headbanging New Year
Vic Chesnutt, Elf Power, and The Amorphous Strums: Dark Developments
Visitations: The Conundrum Tree
Vivian Girls: Vivian Girls (vinyl)
War: Greatest Hits Live
Windy & Carl: Songs for the Broken Hearted
Winterpills: Central Chambers
YACHT: Summer Song (vinyl single)
Yngwie Malmsteen: Perpetual Flame
Yo-Yo Ma: Songs of Joy & Peace (2-CD deluxe edition)
Yonlu: Three Inches of Music Series

--

this post brought to you by Largehearted Boy

Photos by Lori Baily

Yes, Neutral Milk Hotel's Jeff Mangum appeared, but as someone pointed out, that was just five minutes of of a 2.5 hour Elephant 6 collective show that also included two other members of Neutral Milk Hotel, one of whom (Julian) also performed at The Music Tapes. There were also NMH's Scott Spillane and members of Olivia Tremor Control (and OTC songs) plus "Circulatory System, Gerbils, Elf Power, Nana Grizol, Nesey Gallons" and more... have to agree that the show was overall pretty amazing...a little unfortunate that mangum didn't do any of his own songs, but it was a great surprise for him to even be there...he did seem quite pissed off in general though and especially when he was trying ot tussle with the big guy on stage...but what do i know....the one guy peaking/tweaking out on stage talking to himself was kinda weird..yea that afraid song was really good as well as the first song mangum came out for with the tuba...also really thought the drummer with the curly hair did some nice ones too... [anonymous]More pictures from Saturday night's show below...

Of Montreal played a NYC show one night earlier.

The Elephant 6 tour continues.

Photos by Eric M. Townsend

On his third long-player since emerging four years ago from the New England wilderness, folk-soul lumberjack Ray LaMontagne breaks from his own proven formula, goosing his delicately ragged croon with bright r&b horns ("You Are the Best Thing"), spaghetti-western whistles ("Meg White"), and Black Crowes-style Southern-rock guitars ("Henry Nearly Killed Me [It's a Shame]"). Whereas, in the past, longtime producer Ethan Johns kept the sonic clutter to a minimum in order to spotlight LaMontagne's remarkable vocals--Ray is somebody you wouldn't mind seeing with only an acoustic for accompaniment--here the pair construct an in-studio ecosystem nearly as elaborate as Lambchop's. [The Village Voice]Ray LaMontagne's new album Gossip in the Grain is out this week. On Saturday night (Oct 11), Ray played Radio City Music Hall in NYC. More pictures from that show below...

Photos by Chris La Putt

The quirky and talented Nellie McKay played a show at Spiegelworld in NYC last night, Sunday, October 12, 2008. It was billed as "Songs of Fear and Longing - Nellie McKay Covers the Classics" and that's exactly what she did. She sang a number of jazz standards by Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and Irving King, and also played less popular songs, and some of her own.

Tickets are now on sale for a show she's playing at (le) poisson rouge on December 2nd. All dates and more Spiegel-pictures, and a partial setlist, below...

The show was full, but Chris got in early, during soundcheck...

partial setlist
this was my last affair - billie holiday or ella fitzgerald
pennies from heaven - nellie mckay
you've changed - billie holiday ella fitzgerald
Two Sleepy People - hoagy carmichael
don't fence me in -
You Were Meant For Me - Gene Kelly
ps i love you - nellie mckay
vote for mr. rythm - ella fitzgerald
if i had you
take the a train
i wanna get married - nellie mckay
Mrs. Brown you've got a lovely daughter - Hermans Hermits
dream a little dream - mamma cass
won't you please be nice - nellie mckay
side by side - harry woods
mother of pearl - nellie mckay

Nellie McKay - 2008 Tour Dates
Oct 18 Washington, DC "Party for the Pigs" / Watkins Glen Farm Sanctuary Benefit
Oct 26 Greenwich, CT, Cole Auditorium
Nov 20 Pomona, CA, California Polytechnic University
Dec 2 New York, NY, Le Poisson Rouge

by Black Bubblegum (though not even close to metal)

Last month, indie rock blog Productshop NYC shuttered it's doors (RIP) to make way for Stories In High Fidelity, a place "for bands, record stores, labels and writers to share their stories, tour diaries, memories and so much more", a sort of "Huffington Post of music", if you will. To celebrate the launch, the site lined up a cocktail of noteworthy music writers like Chuck Klosterman (Sex, Drugs & Cocoa Puffs, Fargo Rock City), Dan Kennedy (Rock On: An Office Power Ballad), Rob Sheffield (Love Is A Mix Tape) and Marc Spitz (We Got The Neutron Bomb) along with musical guests Rocketship Park and a full headlining set by Jaymay. The "pre-CMJ extranvaganza" will be held at Highline Ballroom on Oct 20th, tickets are on sale.

After Highline Ballroom, Jaymay will hit the road with The Hotel Cafe tour... and although she won't be in NYC when the tour rolls through town at the Music Hall Of Williamsburg, Thao Nguyen will, along with Rachael Yamagata, Meiko, Emily Wells, & Samantha Crain. Tickets for the Brooklyn show are on sale. Full tour dates are below.

Compare/Contrast Hotel Cafe's lineup to the "singer/songwriter" one at the Blender tonight (10/13) with Chuck Ragan (Hot Water Music), Ben Nichols (Lucero), Tim Barry (Avail), and Frank Turner. Tickets are still available. "Chuck Ragan The Revival Tour" will be scooting through the US through mid-November, including a date at the Fun Fun Fun Fest with a shit-ton of great bands (but no Flipper), and a string of dates with Tom Gabel of Against Me! (who recently played a solo show of his own).

Thao Nguyen recently ate books with Paul Simon, Department Of Eagles, Tunde Adebimpe, Kyp Malone, Parker Posey, Ira Glass, Bobby Cannavale and Patricia Clarkson.

All tour dates below...

THE HOTEL CAFE TOUR - 2008 TOUR DATES
10/13/2008 Solana Beach, CA Belly Up *
10/14/2008 Phoenix, AZ Martini Ranch**
10/16/2008 Dallas, TX House of Blues***
10/17/2008 Austin, TX Parish***
10/18/2008 Houston, TX Meridian Red Room***
10/20/2008 Birmingham, AL Workplay Theater^
10/21/2008 Nashville, TN Exit/In^
10/22/2008 Atlanta, GA Variety Playhouse^
10/23/2008 Gainsville, FL Common Grounds^^
10/24/2008 St Petersburg, FL State Theater
10/25/2008 Orlando, FL The Social
10/27/2008 Chapel Hill, NC Cat's Cradle^^^
10/28/2008 Washington DC 9:30 Club%
10/29/2008 Philadelphia, PA World Cafe Live%
10/30/2008 New York, NY The Bowery Ballroom%%
10/31/2008 Boston, MA The Paradise Rock Club%%%
11/01/2008 Brooklyn, NY Music Hall of Williamsburg#
11/3/2008 Cincinnati, OH Bogart's Front Room##
11/5/2008 Chicago, IL Park West##
11/6/2008 Minneapolis, MN The Varsity Theater###
11/7/2008 Madison, WI High Noon Saloon$
11/8/2008 St. Louis, MO Blueberry Hill$$
11/9/2008 Lawrence, KS Liberty Hall$$
11/11/2008 Denver, CO Bluebird Theater$$$
11/12/2008 Salt Lake City, UT Avalon Theater$$$
11/13/2008 Boise, ID Knitting Factory Concert House$$$
11/14/2008 Portland, OR Doug Fir Lounge!
11/15/2008 Seattle, WA Chop Suey!!
11/17/2008 San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall!!
11/18/2008 Los Angeles, CA Fonda Theater !!!

*w /Anya Marina, Meiko, Molly Jenson, Jamay, Erin McCarley,Holly Conlan
**w/ Meiko, Jamay, Erin McCarley
***w /Ingrid Michaelson, Meiko, Priscilla Ahn, Erin McCarley
^ w/ Ingrid Michaelson, Meiko, Priscilla Ahn, Erin McCarley, Katie Herzig
^^ w/ Ingrid Michaelson, Meiko,Priscilla Ahn, Samantha Crain, Erin McCarley
^^^ w/Ingrid Michaelson, Meiko, Priscilla Ahn, Erin McCarley, Thao Nguyen, Samantha Crain
% w/ Rachael Yamagata, Meiko,Jenny Owen Youngs, Thao Nguyen and Samantha Crain
%% w/ Rachael Yamagata, Meiko, Emily Wells, Thao Nguyen, Samantha Crain
%%% w/ Rachael Yamagata, Meiko, Jenny Owen Youngs, Thao Nguyen and Samantha Crain
# w/Rachael Yamagata, Meiko, Thao Nguyen, Emily Wells, Samantha Crain
## W/Rachael Yamagata, Meiko, Thao Nguyen, Jaymay, Alice Russell
### w/ Meiko, Thao Nguyen, Jaymay, Alice Russell, PLUS a very special guest
$ w/Rachael Yamagata, Meiko, Thao Nguyen, Jaymay, Alice Russell
$$ w/Rachael Yamagata, Meiko, Thao Nguyen, Kate Havnevik, Alice Russell, Jaymay
$$$ w/Rachael Yamagata, Meiko, Thao Nguyen, Kate Havnevik, Lenka, Emily Wells
! w/ Rachael Yamagata, Meiko, Thao Nguyen, Kate Havnevik, Lenka, Emily Wells and Catherine Feeny
!! w/ Rachael Yamagata, Meiko, Thao Nguyen, Kate Havnevik, Lenka and Emily Wells
!!! w/Rachael Yamagata, Meiko, Thao Nguyen, Kate Havnevik, Lenka, Emily Wells, Jaymay

CHUCK RAGAN, BEN NICHOLS, TIM BARRY - 2008 TOUR DATES
October 13 - Blender Theater At Gramercy NY, New York*
October 14 - Blackcat DC, Washington DC*
October 15 - Belvedere's, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
October 16 - The Magic Stick, Detroit, Michigan**
October 17 - Reggie's Rock Club Chicago, Illinois**
October 18 - Triple Rock, Minneapolis, Minnesota***-
October 19 - Turner Hall , Milwaukee, Wisconsin***
October 20 - Nutty's, Sioux Falls, South Dakota***
October 22 - Aggie Theater, Ft. Collins, Colorado^
October 23 - The Marquis Theater, Denver, Colorado^
October 24 - the Venues Club Sound, Salt Lake City, Utah^
October 25 - The Filling Station, Bozeman, Montana^^
October 26 - El Corazon, Seattle, Washington^^^
October 27 - The Hawthorne Theater, Portland, Oregon^^^
October 29 - Coopers, Nevada City, California^^^
October 30 - Slims, San Francisco, California^^^
October 31 - The Glass House, Pamona, California %
November 1 - The Knitting Factory, Los Angeles, California%
November 2 - The Casbah, San Diego, California %
November 4 - The Beauty Bar, Las Vegas, Nevada %
November 5 - The Clubhouse, Tempe, Arizona %
November 6 - The Launchpad, Albuquerque, New Mexico%
November 7 - Tequila Jungle, Lubbock, Texas %
November 8 - The Prophet Bar, Dallas, Texas %
November 9 - Waterloo Park, Austin, Texas %%
November 10 - Walter's on Washington, Houston, Texas %
November 13 - Juanitas Cantina, Little Rock, Arkansas %
November 14 - Hi-Tone, Memphis, Tennessee %
November 15 - Work Play Theater, Birmingham, Alabama %
November 16 - New Brooklyn Tavern, Columbia, South Carolina %

* w/ Frank Turner
** w/ Sundowner
^ w/ Jon Snodgrass
^^ w/Jon Snodgrass and Austin Lucas
^^^ w Kevin Seconds
% w/ Tom Gabel of Against Me!
%% w Fun Fun Fun Fest
*** w/ Austin Lucas

Moby and Carla Rhodes helping animals (more by Lori Baily)

today in NYC
* DANCE
* Les Paul @ Iridium
* The Notwist & Dosh @ Webster Hall
* Bearsuit, Boy Genius, CJ Boyd @ Cake Shop
* Atmosphere @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Love is All, Titus Andronicus, Abe Vigoda @ Maxwell's
* Queen Latina, Amanda Lepore, DJ Sammy Jo @ Mercury Lounge (Scissor Sisters)
* The Dead C, Sightings, Northampton Woods, King Darves @ Bowery Ballroom
* Chuck Ragan (Hot Water Music), Ben Nichols (Lucero), Tim Barry (of Avail) @ Gramercy Theatre

Paul Simon was born today in 1941 (age 67). He played a few songs at Town Hall the other day.

Kele Okereke was born today in 1981 (age 27).

The Undisputed Heavyweights play their final show tomorrow.

Ed Sullivan died today in 1974.

"Columbus Day is traditionally marked by going to parades that honor the man credited with 'discovering' America. But for Native Americans, whose ancestors were displaced and marginalized by the European journey to this continent, it's a day of somber reflection or even mourning." [NPR]

Video of Vivian Girls playing their record release show at Silent Barn below...

What else?

Vivian Girls | NYC @ Silent Barn | Oct 11 2008

Photos by Nathan Miller

Against Me!, Ted Leo & The Pharmacists and Future of the Left are on tour together. Saturday night (October 11th) that tour hit Webster Hall in NYC (one night after Starland Ballroom in NJ). We already posted the pics from Future of Left's set. The rest of the NYC pics are below...

Ted Leo...

Against Me!...

Future of the Left pics are here.

DOWNLOAD: The Dead C - Canine (edit) (MP3)

The NYC The Dead C show at Bowery Ballroom we talked about back in July is finally here and tickets are still available. Reissues of DR503 / The Sun Stabbed EP (2XLP) and Eusa Kills / Helen Said This will be released by Ba Da Bing Records and Jagjaguwar on November 4th.

The track available for download right here in this post is an edit of "Canine" which is a song that takes up one entire side of the band's new tour-only 12" made of vinyl that plays from the inside out (you need to put the needle normally where the record would end, and it slowly turns outward). You can pick that record up at tonight's NYC show or on any other dates of the short tour.

Photos by Tim Griffin

Les Savy Fav played Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn on Sunday night (October 12) - the same venue they played a shorter set with less band members (for Barack) earlier in the week. Bear Hands and Phil and the Osophers opened the show last night. Fred Armisen joined LSF on drums for the encore. More pictures below...

Phil and the Osophers...

Bear Hands...

Les Savy Fav...

Les Savy Fav also recently played a set at ATP NY.

Expect very short sets. UPDATE: I was told this is a private event (sorry). More info and the other side of the flyer below...

Please join us at The Horticultural Society of New York (148 West 37th Street, 13th Floor) for an evening of live music & bingo to support Barack Obama!

We are pleased to announce

performances by:
Grizzly Bear • Nico Muhly • Zach Condon (Beirut)

an original Obama tribute & sing-along by Ben Hout

remarks by Howard Wolfson (Communications Director of Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign) [and music blogger]

fabulous prizes from
Beard & Bangs • Blind Spot editions • Built by Wendy • Dave Denis • Digby & Iona • Fake Estate • Freemans • In God We Trust • Mexican Summer • Opening Ceremony • Steven Alan • Unearthen • Vinegar Hill House and others...

and... delicious food & intoxicating beverages!

Friday October 17th, 8pm-midnight

minimum donation: $100 per person--we're trying to raise $20,000 for the Obama campaign--please help us hit this goal by giving as much as you can. Space is limited to 100 people.

yes we can! 
--Gemma, Glynnis, Piera, Roanne, & SuVampire Weekend, Crosby and Nash played an Obama benefit on Sunday. Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel have one coming this Thursday.

Grizzly Bear just played a show at Hammerstein Ballroom on Friday.

Photos by Kyle Dean Reinford

M.I.A.N.E.R.D.

Diesel Post 1, Post 2, Post 3, and the end...

they were sitting on top of the bar, just sitting there

the view from the ridiculously long bar line (below the small people)

ringmaster Joey Arias

Marty Markowitz was there too

the head of Diesel I think

Juliette Lewis w/ Diesel guy (a second after they publicly spoke to the crowd from that spot)

N.E.R.D. ended the night at 2am on the dot.

Dosh @ Mercury Lounge in May (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)
"One of the things that drives me crazy about the internet, and digitized music in general, is the proliferation of MP3s. I think they sound horrible. I would rather hear AM radio in mono than listen to MP3s. I would hate to bear that in mind when mixing a record, like, "How is this going to sound as an MP3?" But I suppose maybe I'll have to from here on out. And figuring out how to get paid is tough. Certainly, kids burning CDs and illegally downloading my music has been good for me, as far as me reaching more people, and it's not like I'm making that much more than nothing from iTunes. But there does seem to be an underlying feeling these days of, "Where is this whole thing going?" It seems like the only real way to make any money is to tour and sell LPs and CDs at shows, but I'm fine with it. Performing this music in front of other humans is the greatest job I could have ever imagined." [Dosh to Wired]Dosh is currently performing for other humans on tour with The Notwist. As previously announced, that tour hits Webster Hall in NYC tonight, Columbus Day, Monday, October 13th. Tickets are still on sale. All Dosh dates below...

Dosh - 2008 Tour Dates
Oct 13 - Webster Hall New York, New York *
Oct 14 - First Unitarian Church Philadelphia, Pennsylvania *
Oct 15 - 9:30 Club Washington DC, Washington DC *
Oct 16 - Beachland Ballroom Cleveland, Ohio *
Oct 17 - Logan Square Auditorium Chicago, Illinois *
Oct 19 - Shibuya O East Tokyo, Tokyo
Oct 20 - @ O-nest "DOSH & ROM live in Tokyo" Tokyo, Tokyo
Oct 22 - Metro Kyoto, Kyoto
Dec 27 - Cedar Cultural Center Minneapolis, Minnesota

* w/ the Notwist

Photos by Nathan Miller

DOWNLOAD: Future of the Left - The Hope That House Built (MP3)

First up was Future of the Left a Welsh trio featuring two members of the late, great Mclusky.

The main differences between the two bands are: 1) In FotL, there are a couple of songs in which Andy Falkous plays a keyboard instead of guitar; 2) Falkous and the bassist haven't grown to hate each other. Other than that, it's pretty much the same, and that is a very, very good thing. [Washington Post]Future Of The Left opened for Ted Leo and Against Me! at Webster Hall in NYC on Saturday night (Oct 11). It was their first NYC show which is part of a much larger North American tour that continues until October 28th. I couldn't make this show, so I'm looking forward to their return. More pictures from Webster Hall below...

They also played Starland Ballroom in NJ on Friday.

Photos by Kyle Dean Reinford

His latest CD, "Paper Trail," sold more than 560,000 copies in its first week to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 album charts, and his newest single, "Live Your Life" featuring Rihanna, supplanted the album's first single, "Whatever You Like," at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. [AP]As pointed out in the previous two Diesel party picture posts, after Hot Chip & Chaka Khan came T.I. who made an unbilled, but planned appearance which ended with Franz Ferdinand (who had just played two more Brooklyn shows earlier in the week) playing as his backing band which then went into Franz Ferdinand's set - the longest of the night. T.I. and F.F. collectively were the best entertainment of the evening. The circus performers were a nice touch too. That included two sets (female then male) of aerialists who performed above the crowd before TI and after FF. Circus was the theme with Joey Arias also acting as "ringmaster" and free cotton candy, popcorn and hot pretzels. T.I. didn't bring out Jay-Z like he did at his recent show at Highline Ballroom, but he did have someone else that represented Brooklyn (help?) and...T.I. also performed a song with the pregnant M.I.A., and called the lyricist "the hottest rap chick in the game right now, period." T.I. recently sampled "Paper Planes" for a collaboration with Jay-Z, Kanye West and Lil Wayne. The song, "Swagga Like Us," appears on "Paper Trail." [AP]More pictures from that part of the night below...

photos by Kurt Christensen, words by Andrew Frisicano

I was able to easily grab tickets at the door of Of Montreal's Friday night show at Roseland Ballroom. Though Love is All had already finished their opening set before I made my way to the main room, I caught their cover of "I Ran (So Far Away)," which I also heard at their Market Hotel show over the summer, from the entrance way.

Most notably, Of Montreal made good on their promise to amp up their stage show. Standing on a field of risers and platforms, the band performed before a row of projectors while a troupe of costumed actors wheeled in props and sets to illustrate the night's songs and transitions. The various background tableaux ranged from a Western saloon scene to the life, death, and resurrection of Kevin Barnes (or at least his onstage persona Georgie Fruit), both distracting from and adding to the music at different points in the night.

The peak of the onstage theatrics came mid-set during "St. Exquisite's Confessions," when Kevin Barnes mounted a nervous looking white pony (editor's note: WTF??), singing the song's first minute or so from atop it.

For whatever reason, most of the crowd stood feet planted, arms-crossed, moving only when provoked by "She's a Rejector" and other older songs. I suspect that the lackluster response stemmed from unfamiliarity with the mostly-new Skeletal Lamping material (the album isn't actually out until Oct 21, though copies could be had at the merch table) paired with the impersonality of the huge room.

For the encore, the band performed an unironic, straight ahead cover of "Smells like Teen Spirit" before closing with "Gronlandic Edit." Overall, the show was a good time, but lacked the communal party atmosphere of past Of Montreal shows I've been to.

More pictures below...

idiot

Photos by Tim Griffin

Finally, after numerous line-up changes through the years, all original Killing Joke members reunited for a new album and world tour.

Drummer, Paul Ferguson, rejoined the line up for the first time since 1987 enabling a whole new generation of fans to see Killing Joke's legendary original formation. Diehard fans have been waiting for this moment for two decades!

Bassist, Martin 'Youth' Glover also steps back into the live arena after a near 15 hiatus, having not played live with Killing Joke since 1994's Pandemonium tour.

The tour SAW Killing Joke take up a two night residency [at Irving Plaza in NYC] offering a different set on each evening. On the first night, they played their first two albums in their entirety, 1980's self-titled album followed by the album 'What's This...For!'. Their
second performance [Sunday, October 12th in NYC] in each city [treated] fans to 1994's Pandemonium and the Island Records singles of'79 to '80.Does anyone have the complete selist for each show? More pictures from night one (Saturday, October 11th) below...

opener Ascention of Watchers...

Killing Joke...

Killing Joke's last show of the tour will be October 14th at House of Blues in Chicago.

Photos by Kyle Dean Reinford

Not to be negative - overall a great night, but besides the hour+ wait to get a single drink, the biggest disappointment of Saturday night's free Diesel party was Hot Chip's extremely short set which was slightly made up for by the fact that Hot Chip immediately turned into Chakha Khan's backing band for some more songs - not an amazing feat, but out-of-the-ordinary enough to make it exciting. The entire night was live mashups with M.I.A. and child first coming out to sing with T.I. who then finished his set with Franz Ferdinand as his backing band. M.I.A. later performed with N.E.R.D. More Chaka Chip pictures below...

Hot Chip played two full NYC shows one week earlier.

Photos by Kurt Christensen

Love is All complete their string of east coast dates with a show at Maxwell's in Hoboken tonight (Monday, October 13) with Titus Andronicus and Abe Vigoda. On Friday they opened for Of Montreal at Roseland Ballroom. In November they return to the US, but this time to the west coast to play the Part Time Punks Festival and a bunch of other shows with Vivian Girls. Those dates and more Roseland pics below...

Love is All - 2008 Tour Dates
Oct 13 - Maxwell's Hoboken, New Jersey
Nov 16 - Part Time Punks Festival @ the Echoplex Los Angeles, California
Nov 17 - The Casbah ** San Diego, California
Nov 18 - The Smell ** Los Angeles, California
Nov 20 - Bottom of the hill ** San Francisco, California
Nov 22 - Backspace ** Portland, Oregon
Nov 23 - Nectar Lounge ** Seattle, Washington

** w/ Vivian Girls and Nodzzz

Photos by Lori Baily

On October 6 Rational Animal hosted the 3rd annual Gimme Shelter: Rock & Rescue benefit concert at NYC's Highline Ballroom. Debbie Harry, Moby, Jessie Malin, AdRock, and more came out to show their support for the cause. The event raised money and media awareness to help end euthanasia of healthy and treatable animals in NYC Shelters. Fundraising for the cause continues with the Rockstar Online Auction. Rational Animal is the leading advocacy group for at risk animals in NYC. More pictures from the event below...

Chi Chi Valente...

Dead Four Living...

Earl Greyhound...

Lissy Trullie...

Carla Rhodes and Heather Rabbit...

Moby and Carla Rhodes...

GoonSquad and Ad Rock...

Moby...

Debbie Harry...

Jessie Malin and Moby...

Bloody Social...

March 4th Marching Band...

Adam Green...

Heather, Chi Chi, Deb and Carla...

Photos by Zach Dilgard

NY Magazine held their 40th anniversary party at Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC on Friday night (Oct 10, 2008). Their were musical sets by Grizzly Bear and The National, and comedy by Stella's Michael Showalter, David Wain, and Michael Ian Black. More pictures from the evening (Oct 10, 2008) below...

The National...

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Grizzly Bear...

There's been some confusing press recently regarding the Dept of Eagles record. There are the inevitable comparisons between GB and DoE, which are sometimes annoying but ultimately who cares. Then there is the inevitable dorky wordplay that goes along with two interrelated animal-named bands (soaring with the eagles whilst nesting in the den of the grizzly bear!, etc.). It's unfortunate, but mostly it just confuses my older relatives. So whatever. Problem is this: there have been some suggestions that there is a rift between me and Ed and some offhand comments I've made about the last few years with grizzly bear and my friendship with Ed have been printed out of context, fueling gossip and scaring friends of the band. It doesn't look good, and I feel terrible about it. And I wouldn't be surprised if those remarks are reprinted over and over again in reference to In Ear Park.

Point is, there is nothing but love and respect between me and Ed. The last thing I want is for this DoE record to be seen as some kind of affront to him or the band. It absolutely isn't. It's a tangent from the band that happened while we took some time off. Ed has been incredibly supportive, and working with him on the new record has been amazing. It's an honor and a joy. So let it be known!
[Daniel Rossen]

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Department of Eagles played Town Hall and The Bell House earlier in the week.