Radiohead to play Colbert, SNL and Roseland Ballroom

Whether or not they will actually be able to prevent scalping and exorbitant ticket prices it sure would be nice to get your hands on a couple of these. Let the complaining begin…

Press Release:

Radiohead has confirmed two shows at New York City’s Roseland Ballroom to take place September 28 and 29. Tickets will go on sale at 10:00 AM on September 26 at www.ticketmaster.com. There is a 2 ticket limit per household. All tickets will be available for pick up at will call the evening of the event beginning at 6:30 PM and entry into the venue is required immediately upon receipt. No tickets shall be distributed prior to the event.

Radiohead will also appear on a very special one-hour episode of The Colbert Report featuring multiple songs and interview segments and will be musical guest on the September 24 season premiere of Saturday Night Live.

These United States continue to believe in Rock ‘N’ Roll

While last Thursday night may have meant the bright lights and free drinks of Fashion Night Out to many spending their evening in lower Manhattan, a sparse but fortunate crowd thirsting for a grittier scene was well rewarded at the Mercury Lounge. The warm glow of the historic rock club welcomes patrons through the intimate, if narrow, wood-clad bar to a dark, bare-bones venue that lets the music color the scene. We last met up with These United States when they came to see The Yes Way in Lexington and again at SXSW, but now it was the DC and Kentucky natives turn to paint our town with tremendous conviction.

These United States have proven to be a workhorse act since emerging in 2008, having released four studio albums in that time. Front-man Jesse Elliot sets the tone with grainy, off-cadence vocals that capture the soul of the Cold War Kids’ Nathan Willett and play well against the band’s twangy, garage sound in the same spirit as the Black Lips. Also deserving praise are the invaluable contributions of drummer Robby Cosenza. The band may indeed be at their best when Cosenza’s aggressive thumping drives their sound, as could be heard on the opening break-up anthem “I Want You to Keep Everything.” Cosenza even lent his talents to the harmonica for the southern-fuzed working man’s blues “The Business” — another highlight of the evening.

Though no new musical barriers will collapse, nor shall any daring creative endeavors be tested at the hands of These United States, they deliver fun, authentic, Rock ‘N’ Roll and appear to have a good time doing so… visible as Elliot cut loose and embraced the lawlessness of “Honor Amongst Thieves.” While the show did lull a bit during its third quarter, one had little time to mingle at the bar or head outside for a smoke before the band exploded into a tremendous two song finale that included a rocked-out “The Important Thing” and funk-fueled “When You’re Traveling at the Speed of Light.”

The impressive energy continued into an inspired encore performance of debut-album favorite “First Sight.” This final song of the night seemed to embody the simple philosophy of the band itself, as the audience was left with the words “we believe in Rock N Roll” echoing in their heads. My belief was affirmed as These United States offered some very compelling evidence.

Twin Shadow and Diamond Rings: big sounds, small stage

The music venue at Maxwell’s in Hoboken (for those not familiar) is housed in the rear of what strongly resembles an Applebee’s restaurant. Past the swinging doors is a small, cave-like lair with exposed brick and stone juxtaposed against harsh red lighting. Hugging the rear and stage-right walls are limited vinyl bleacher-like (though only a single row) seating, complete with a no-frills bar to the adjacent side which should have made for an intimate setting for a highly publicized act such as Twin Shadow. However, at the same time one could not help but feel a slight disconnect from the NYC scene. The streets of Hoboken are eerily quiet, the crowd subdued, and the bar underutilized… compared to the socially acceptable alcoholism of Brooklyn. This slight lack of scene “authenticity” could be felt in the room throughout the night, but didn’t fully distract from solid performances by both Diamond Rings and Twin Shadow.

One-man glam band Diamond Rings took to the stage first. Clad in red leather, a white tee and sporting a Vanilla Ice quiff the stringy blonde joked he was “doing his best Bruce Springsteen impression.” His haunting baritone voice filled the room the way The Boss might, though he had only the support of a synthesizer and drum machine rather than the celebrity laden E Street Band. A lesser artist might have difficulty carrying a performance with vocals that at times seemed to drown out the electronic instrumentation, let alone man the stage solo for an audience that didn’t appear overly familiar with his work. Admirably, Diamond Rings conquered both of these tasks as he dazzled with strong performances of “Play By Heart” and “Something Else” all while charming the crowd. He received a particularly strong response when he strapped on a guitar and rocked out to a very uptempo “Wait & See.”

Fresh off tour and recently the subject of adoration from both GQ and Spin, all eyes were on front man George Lewis as Twin Shadow opened with a stirring rendition of “Shooting Holes”. It could instantly be noted that the house sound better suited the full instrumentation of the band than it did Diamond Rings. The crowd came to life for the catchy synth-driven “When We’re Dancing” and “Castles in the Snow,” though it was a tempered excitement. This presents what seems to be an issue in seeing a band like Twin Shadow live. Described by their publicist as “hazily new-wave tinged pop” it often gets a little too hazy and sucks excitement from the air. Regardless, the band showcased a very tight sound and the left the crowd wanting more as they closed with “Tether Beat” before a encore (sans backstage) performance of “Forget.”

The small size of the venue allowed for unique opportunities as both Twin Shadow and Diamond Rings could be seen mingling in the audience before and after their performances. I caught up with Diamond Rings who admitted to feeling “somewhat limited” by the stage space. Fans can expect him to continue to push the envelope as he excitedly noted his “rapping skills” which will be further displayed on his second album, due out Summer 2012. The yet-to-be-titled LP, halfway completed to date, will attempt to “add fullness to the sound while not abandoning the bare-bones, almost folk-esque style of composition.” While that seems difficult at best to accomplish the pending attempt is admirable and interesting.

No Girls, Just Musicians… Beast Make Bomb lay stereotypes to rest

Beast Make Bomb was introduced to me earlier in the summer, but in order to see them I had to take my middle aged ass (Brooklyn standards) out into the real Bushwick. Not the gentrified East Williamsburg coffee shop mecca, I had to go to a sweat shop of a room beneath the elevated train, between the liquor and .99 cent stores. Upon arrival no one knew the set times, which was probably a result of being over an hour behind schedule and half the bands still yet to load-in. Typically, I would have huffed and left, but instead I gave them the benefit of the doubt and once they took the stage it instantly became obvious it was worth the wait.

Beast Make Bomb has the typical aesthetic of a mixed-sex Brooklyn post-punk melodic-pop band. However, unlike their counterparts BMB stay far away from the token girl on bass or synth. It’s the guitar responsibilities that have been handed to / taken over by the ladies (Ceci Gomez and Glenn VanDyke). While Glenn takes the helm with the more complex lead roles, Ceci shows her chops often and skillfully. There’s also a sultry and confident vibe to Ceci’s stage presence that is so captivating, that I dare to say reminds me of Patti Smith. BMB recently released a video for their current single “Party Monster” which is just the tip of their potential iceberg.

While Beast Make Bomb’s current recordings reflect a more simplistic party style that is yet to push any musical boundaries, recently at Cameo Gallery they did debut a yet to be named/recorded track that I hope represents their sound moving forward. It’s a more sinister and complex soundscape, with off-tempo percussion and far more intricate guitar parts that allows their talent to truly shine. Beast Make Bomb are without-a-doubt on to something big… which is needed as they single-handedly lay to rest the stereotype that girls are limited to keys, bass or power chords.

You can see Beast Make Bomb on Thursday October 20th at Bowery Electric when they play our CMJ showcase.

Bushwick Walkabout Festival

Thanks to our friends at Kissing Booth we have a great wrap up video from the Bushwick Walkabout Festival. We can’t thank all the bands who participated enough and another huge thanks is in order to all the positive press we received. We look forward to more bands, more booze and even lower ticket prices next year!

Check out what some people had to say:

QRO Magazine Says: “A strong and diverse line-up of bands you don’t know but you should is hard to pull off, but Bushwick Walkabout did it.”

CMJ says: “When it comes down to it, the point of a music event, no matter how big or small, is for the people in attendance to enjoy what’s going on at the front.”

The L Magazine Says: “The idea being that maybe, one or two years from now, these will be the bands everyone will declare are “killing it”

Scout Mob Says: “We dig you, Bushwick Walkabout, for reminding us how simple and spirited an indie music fest should be.”

Bushwick Daily Says: “Bushwick Walkabout Festival this Friday and Saturday was simply awesome.”