Category Archives: Event

July 31, 2009 · 8:13 AM

Jam of the Day – Elbow your way into All Points West

The second annual All Points West Festival kicked off today in Liberty State Park, NJ. If you’re headed over on the ferry for one, or all, of the days get excited cause it’s sure to be a weekend of excellent music. Each day has a pretty incredible lineup (although Sunday’s is the best) and many ev2bk favorites including Jay Z, The Fleet Foxes, Vampire Weekend, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, St. Vincent, Coldplay, MGMT, Lykke Li, and the Black Keys are set to perform.

Sure to be a highlight on Sunday are English alt-rock band, Elbow. The band formed back in 1990 and lead vocalist and lyricist Guy Garvey, bassist Pete Turner, drummer Richard Jupp, guitarist Mark Potter, and keyboardist Craig Potter have released four studio albums and four EPs since. Rumor has it that the band is named after a line in the BBC TV mini-series The Singing Detective where a character says that the word “elbow” is the most sensuous word in the English language, not for its definition, but for how it feels to say it? Having just said it aloud a few times I have to say I surprisingly agree. Seriously, try it, you’ll see what they’re talking about.

Elbow has a really innovative sound and Garvey’s voice is hauntingly unshakable. Since winning the 2008 Mercury Music Prize for their fourth album, The Seldom Seen Kid, it seems like they are finally having some much deserved commercial success. These guys not only sound hot recorded but really on point live, as you’ll see below.

Elbow – Mirrorball:

-Melissa

Ed. note: Thanks to our San Fran correspondent JVM for her song recommendation.

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July 23, 2009 · 10:57 PM

Jam of the Night – It’s Raining Ted Leo Jams

Earlier this evening, there was a lot of speculation about whether or not Ted Leo and the Pharmacists were going to be able to play their free show tonight at Pier 54, since he said on their website and Twitter that they would do their best as always to persevere and play the show come rain or high water.

Apparently they played!

Ted Leo @ Pier 54 (from Twitpic)

Ted Leo @ Pier 54 (from Twitpic)

Not so timorous, Ted. Way to give the people what they want. So in honor of his valorous move, here’s a really strange (but secretly hilarious) video of the great jam “Timorous Me.” I’m not sure who this director dude is, but this video is bonkers.

Ted Leo + Pharmacists – Timorous Me:

-Drew

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July 22, 2009 · 7:51 PM

JOTD Update – Siren Festival Wrap-up

Behind the Stillwell Stage @ Siren Music Festival

Backstage at Stillwell @ Siren Music Festival

I’m not sure how many of you made it to Coney Island for the Siren Music Festival last weekend but, if you did come, hopefully you made it there by 2:30pm, when Bear Hands played. It was such a great day to be outside drinking some beers and enjoying live music! Bear Hands played a pretty tight set, including the song “Frank” that they hadn’t played in a while, and all the regular favorites such as “Golden,” “Sickly Brunette,” and “Can’t Stick Em” before they finished up with a spontaneous-crowd-hand-clap-backed version of “What a Drag.”

Bear Hands @ Siren Music Festival 2009 (7/18/09)

Bear Hands @ Siren Music Festival 2009 (7/18/09)

What was really interesting to me is that it seems like some of the songs – most notably “Frank” – have been re-tooled in the studio and are sounding really sleek and sing-along ready. I am expecting a fantastic reception to their full length (probably being released in late winter?), especially if this live show was a taste of things to come.

One of the most fun/funny moments of the show was when Dylan called Das Racist up on stage to perform a rendition of their unexpected hit “Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell” over the band playing a live cover of Jay-Z’s “D.O.A.” and a hail of “Yeah”s, “Uh-huh”s, “No”s and the general histeria/noise that ensued. Fun times all around, although I wasn’t sure that the crowd really had any sort of idea what was going on.

On a side note, Das Racist is playing a show tonight at Union Pool with our friends The Tony Castles and IN, which should be a really hot sweaty time. Come join us!

There were a ton of great other performances over the course of the day, although we spent most of our time at the Stillwell Stage. But near the end of the night, as the sun set and the general revelry-level creeped up a notch, we made it over to the main stage to check out Built to Spill. They were awesome as always, and ended the festival on a perfect note, right next to the Wonder Wheel:

Wonder Wheel after dark

Wonder Wheel after dark

Good night, Brooklyn.

-Drew

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July 10, 2009 · 11:06 PM

Jam of the Day – Bastille Day Celebrations

Many Bastille Day celebrations are planned around bk this weekend. Our favorite here at ev2bk is the Bastille Day Street Fair going on this Sunday from noon to 10pm hosted by Bar Tabac. The celebration will shut down Smith Street to set up a sandy pétanque (a French game similar to bocce) court, Bar Tabac will blast louder-than-usual live music and serve brunch and French cocktails. This year’s featured band will be The Baby Blue Orchids. Another latin flamenco band will also perform.

If the crowds on Smith Street scare you away but you just need to get your pétanque game on, you can go to Cornichon on Grand St. in Williamsburg this Saturday and play in their tournament from 6PM to midnight. You have to RSVP for this one if you plan on participating with your team.

To get you in the mood, here’s a link to the national anthem of France, which will surely be played at some point or another this weekend/early next week:

La Marseillaise, French National Anthem:

-ev2bk

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July 7, 2009 · 8:00 AM

Jam of the Day – Inside a Boy

I hope everyone enjoyed the gorgeous holiday weekend. Now that you’re back in the city, easing into the week (hopefully with a little tan), we here at ev2bk wanted to welcome you back with a free show and a stellar new video. Tonight in the ev, Pianos is hosting the weekly Cross-Pollination show where two local singer-songwriters will each play a 45-minute solo set, followed by a three-song collaborative set where both artists share the stage. The two-hour concert is free and doors open at 7:30, so if you’re in need of your new music fix for the week, go check it out.

Liberated Matter created the Cross-Pollination concert series with the goal of strengthening the local music community and forging bonds between musicians and creating new collaborations. They pair musicians based on the diversity of their music styles as well as the compatibility of their sounds. Cross-Pollination at Pianos has been going on for two years now (since June 2007). They partnered with the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers, ASCAP, to produce the event.

Tonight’s featured local performers are Alex Drewchin and Louis Schefano (aka Louis) formerly of the mostly one-man-band, Regia. Listen below to get a sample of what you might here tonight from Louis Schefano, from his EP “Louis’s Freak Show Revenge.”

My Brightest Diamond, led by the operatically-trained, Brooklyn-based, singer-songwriter Shara Worden, performed at a past Cross-Pollination concert. The band released their first album, Bring Me the Workhorse, in 2006. Today’s jam comes to you from their 2008 release, A Thousand Shark’s Teeth. The haunting vocals on this track, at times reminiscent of Joni Mitchell, and the Anime-meets-Pixar escape video are definitely worth checking out.

My Brightest Diamond – Inside a Boy:

-Melissa

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June 15, 2009 · 5:16 PM

Jam of the Day – Save a Record Store, Get Limited Edition Vinyl

Well, we already know that it’s impossible to buy records at the Virgin Megastore anymore, given that it closed yesterday. But even though it’s a tough world out there, some groups of independent record stores have started to collectively organize in order to try to save themselves.

One such effort is Record Store Day, which was founded in 2007 by a group of like-minded individuals in the San Francisco area. Record Store Day, which celebrated it’s second anniversary recently (it is celebrated on the third Saturday of every April), was inaugurated on April 19, 2008, with events and performances throughout the country, including at our very own Sound Fix and Other Music.

Since it seems like the biz is in need of some serious help (like the kind of help that comes more than one day a year), the “consortium” behind Record Store Day recently announced a new program called Vinyl Saturday, which will be a self-described “new monthly unveiling of limited special vinyl pieces, [and] an irresistible lure to your local indie record store, where treasures of all sorts are glittering on the shelves.”

The first Vinyl Saturday kicks off this Saturday, June 20, and features new releases (available exclusively on vinyl for now) from Modest Mouse, Wilco, Green Day, and Pete Yorn’s new project with Scarlett Johansson. Quite a few record stores from the East Village to Brooklyn are participating. Apart from Sound Fix and Other Music, the NYC list also includes Academy Record Annex, Basement Mix Records, Black Star Music & Video, Bleecker Street Records, Downtown Music Gallery, Earwax Records, Etherea, Fat Beats, Generation Records, Gimme Gimme Records, Halcyon the shop, and Rock and Soul. You may want to give the places a call beforehand if you’re looking for one particular record, since these are all very limited releases and are likely to go fast.

Personally, I’m most excited to hear the new Modest Mouse tracks, which will be their second recent vinyl release following the failed attempt to participate in Record Store Day this year. I’m hoping that this one will be far better, given the disappointing “Satellite Skin/Guilty Cocker Spaniels” 7-inch effort. Seeing as “Satellite Skin” wasn’t released until May 26, and you may not have heard it yet (like me earlier today), you can check the video out here.

But since we’re looking to maintain the integrity of the Jam of the Day archives, the official Jam today is going to take you back to the Mouse of yesteryear. Enjoy.

Modest Mouse – Edit the Sad Parts:

Finally, I suppose it’s going against the whole point of Record Store Day, but if you can’t make it to an area record store, you can pick up a copy of the forthcoming Modest Mouse 7-inch online here.

Maybe you’re an indie fan on crutches, OK?

-Drew

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