You boys like Mex-he-co?

Tijuana

Oh hell yeah. This is what I'm talking about. Thanx to FOTP for the heads up. And for posting their demo EP that you can download for free here.

This is really really good.

Coyote Eyes Show #2

Update: the antlers got added to that bill. (thanx anon commenter)

Update #2: Coyote Eyes Show Canceled

"Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond our control, it looks like our show on Friday is no longer going to happen. Thanks to everyone who was planning to attend. We'll let you know when we have something else lined up."

Bridges and Powerlines - Pianos Residency

Glad to see these guys are finally starting to get a little buzz. They deserve it.

They're playing with some good band too:

Nov 5 2008 8:00P	pianos (residency!) w/ in cadeo, boy genius	new york, New York
Nov 12 2008 8:00P	pianos (residency) w/ square wave punch, finding fiction, dancer vs politian	new york, New York
Nov 19 2008 8:00P	pianos (residency) w/ bella noir	new york, New York

Your Arsenal @ Mercury Lounge Tonight

Benzos-related band/project Your Arsenal plays Mercury Lounge tonight with Apollo Sunshine.

One down, two to go.

Show one of the Born Ruffians trifecta is in the books. According to the band, who said this many times throughout, it was their "best NYC show ever." Clearly the Vampire Weekend set is starting to catch on to this band, because the place was packed with the same sort of singalong to every song crowd that go to all of their shows, which is not a bad thing. In fact, it probably means that these guys are on the cusp of a major breakout. Good for them. Also, the fille to garcon ratio was very favorable. Reminded me of a road trip to Geneseo, if you know what I mean.

I should probably end my pursuit of the trifecta, because it will be hard to top last night's show, but they did not play Piecing It Together, the song with my favorite guitar riff of '06, so I will forge on!

BTW - I swear that Square Wave Sean moonlights as the bass player for the Ruffians. Either that or dude is his fucking doppelganger.

AND - Plants and Animals were also VERY VERY VERY GOOD. And I wussed out again. Was going to yell out "Where's Meg?", but didn't. Pathetic.

Wristbands & Handstamps - CMJ '08

If you haven't been following along over @ Bumpershine, here's how my CMJ went:

Wed:

CMJ finally begins for me around 10:00pm. HURRAY!

See at least one song by - Bad Veins, The Lisps, Motel Motel, My Teenage Stride, A Sunny Day In Glasgow (very good), Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Crystal Antlers (didn’t like them as much as I thought I would), The Muggabears (love love love), and Juvelen (out of control). I might have seen Heloise and Ringo too.

Then there was a crazy car ride over to Ludlow, and a random stop at Cake Shop for The Browns and The Muslims. I immediately understood why The Muslims are playing every show @ CMJ.

Thurs:

Pick up badge and then straight to Pianos. Saw some of Sebastian G (Ehh). Loved Wye Oak. Had dinner during Phosphorescent. Over to Fader for Tobacco (interesting), Friendly Fires (VERY GOOD), one song by Death Vessel and then off to The Annex. Little Boots TOOK FUCKING FOREVER to get set up, but when they finally started playing, I liked them. She’s no Katy Perry (swoon), but she’s also kinda sexy. First time seeing Passion Pit and I liked not loved them. Need to see them again I think. Then to Mercury for Pela who NEVER disappoint. I don’t get why they are not HUGE. Jukebox the Ghost were tight as a drum but looked tired. Woke up with one of their songs in my Friday morning (afternoon?). Get some rest boys, three more shows Friday. Then tried to get into HIFI (a line? really?) before going over to Studio where I saw that Japanese Motors guy hang from that sprinkler pipe. Would have been amazing if the pipe had broke. The End.

Fri:

Friday was as much about what didn't happen as what did happen. Started the day @ Bell House for travels first NYC show. They were excellent. Told me that Metal Hearts and Victory At Sea were officially dead and that travels will be back in town again soon. Also saw a little bit of Wild Sweet Orange. The little bit I saw was solid. Went to Lit to see Snowman, but I guess they weren't able to make the trip from Australia. Earlier in the day I found out that The Black and White Years had cancelled their trip from Austin to CMJ as well, so also didn't get to see them Friday. Went to Fader and saw a different Aussie band, The Seabellies, who were pretty good. Then School of Seven Bells came on and I think they were also good, but those two girls are way too distractingly beautiful. Heard one Phenominal Handclap Band song before heading to Acme for a delicious dinner. After dinner went downstairs for LoveLikeFire. They were so great. I'm jealous of San Fran folks that get to see them play with Finest Dearest all the time. They were the last band I saw for a while, because Mercury, Pianos, and Cake Shop all were not letting anyone else in. Prav texted me and told me to come to Irving Plaza, so I did and got there right in time for Late Of The Pier. I don't know how to describe them. Disco metal psyche rock? Wanted to see Soulwax, so I hung out while James LaVelle of Unkle djed for an hour. He was really good but I was too tired to enjoy it and ended up leaving before Soulwax.

Sat:

Saturday went much better, well except for our showcase being cancelled. I had been avoiding the bands that were playing our Sat showcase, so I was glad that was able to catch Ruby Suns @ Music Hall. They reminded me of a simplified Architecture in Helsinki. Ate a free hot dog and then went next door for Drink Up Buttercup. Great as usual. Went back to Music Hall for Monotonix and WTF. I think seeing Monotonix is like finding a used condom in your room. It's pretty foul but you know that something awesome happened. Then walked over to Glasslands for Moby Dick and The End of the World. Both were good. Ate dinner @ Papa Lima. Off to Fat Baby. Saw Real Ones (very fun) and FanFarlo (very good, if not just a little tooo much like Beirut, BSS, CYHSY, etc.). Then went to Mercury Lounge to see Wye Oak again. They have the honor of being the only band that I saw twice during CMJ and I wish I had seen them a hundred times. SOOOOOOOOO GOOOOOODDD. Then to Delancey for a nice set by the creators of my favorite album of '08, The Secret Life of Sofia. After them I teleported over to the Red Bull Space just in time for Delta Spirit and FREE!!!! Guinness. So, Trashcan is pretty much the song of '08, right? Then Scotty beamed me over to Rehab for The Coast, who were so great that I decided to end my CMJ after seeing them.

All in all another excellent CMJ experience. And even though I am still recoving:

Who is up for doing the Born Ruffians trifecta with me this week? Meet me @ Mercury tonight around 10. Plants and Animals are playing too!

Our flyer for this showcase makes me hungry.

After The Jump CMJ '08 Day Party

Delivering on my promise. Want some set times? Here they are:

12 - Fight Bite
1 - High Places
2 - the Homosexuals
3 - Women
4 - Bearsuit
5 - MBAR
6 - Passion Pit
7 - the Ruby Suns
8 - Crystal Stilts

UPDATE: SHOW HAS BEEN CANCELLED. We are all very sorry for any inconvenience.

Our showcase is better than your showcase.

After The Jump Official CMJ '08 Showcase

We are also hosting a day party at The Yard on Saturday. Flyer coming soon.

Now I just need to figure out what I'm going as...

Because this is most likely where I will be:

Friday October 31st @ DANBRO STUDIOS WAREHOUSE @ GOLDENROD BREWERY

:: TODD P / PANACHE BIG HALLOWEEN BASH

:: MATT AND KIM
:::: DMBQ
:::::: PONYTAIL
:::::::: AIDS Wolf
:::::::::: the HOMOSEXUALS
:::::::::::: SCREENS
:::::::::::::: Fiasco
:::::::::::::::: Child Abuse

[ DANBRO STUDIOS WAREHOUSE @ GOLDENROD BREWERY ]
268 Meserole St @ Bushwick Pl | East Williamsburg Industrial Park, Brooklyn
L-Montrose, G-Broadway, JM-Hewes | ALL AGES | no phone | doors 8pm
-- WEBSITE --> http://danbrostudios.com

[ curated by Todd Patrick and Michelle Cable ]

Coyote Eyes

New band alert! First show alert!

Coyote Eyes

travels @ CMJ!

Finally. travels will be playing their first NYC show! Lovebirds Anar (of Metal Hearts) and Mona (of Victory at Sea) will be @ the beautiful, classy, comfortable, brand new venue Bell House on Fri Oct 24. They are just one of many bands that will be appearing at the Bell House when Gothamist takes over the venue for the entire week of CMJ.

So far there have not been any CMJ sets that have popped out at me as "must attends". Except for this one. Therefore, I am filing this under HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

We all got wood and nails

So here's what my listening pattern has been recently:

Something new (like Dear Science, Lunglight, In Ear Park, No Deliverance, Life Like, Animal, The Family Afloat), The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me (from here on referred to as TDAGARIM), something new, TDAGARIM, something new, TDAGARIM, something new...and the occasional Meadowlands thrown in for good measure.

It took quite a long time, but my opinion of TDAGARIM has grown from "eeehh, it's ok" to "desert island disc (download?)"

Which gets me to this -

Jesse Lacey
Kevin Devine / Brian Bonz
Tue 11/25
on sale 10/16 12:00 pm
16+
Doors 6:30pm / Show 7:30pm
$14 advance / $17 day of show

Fuck yes. I cursed myself for missing his last solo show. It is time for me to atone.

BTW - Brand New were one of the top highlights of my Lolla '08 experience. I think I enjoyed their set more than I enjoyed Radiohead's.

Speaking of Radiohead - Mexico dates have been confirmed for March. Who's going? I'm waiting to see how this plays out. See what other countries they will also be playing South of the Border. Or if they play Coachella '09 while continent hopping.

Such a wuss

I really am. Tried to get up the nerve to yell out something witty @ Webster Hall last night, but I chickened out. I was thinking about going with "George Lucas" or "Indiana Jones". But no. Everybody else was doing it, so why not me? And there were plenty of opportunities to. Oh well.

Anyway, GREAT show last night. I have been listening to Fleet Foxes' Ragged Wood over and over and over and last night lived up to the hype. Great sound, except for during one of the songs where he played solo that the sound dude seemed to fall asleep. Cringe worthy. Was also VERY NICE to not have pounding house coming up from underneath for once. I would very much like to see these guys again soon, but I would GIVE ANYTHING to see Crystal Skulls again. Seriously guys. It's time to come back to NYC.

Yes, I stole the photo above from BV.