Asheville, North Carolina festivalMoogfest, scheduled for October 28-30, announced its initial lineup via AC Entertainment. Moogfest’s Halloween harvest of musical delights builds on the success of last year’s reinvention of the Moogfest concept in the city that Bob Moog, founder of the Moog synthesizer, called home.
The final Moogfest 2011 lineup will feature performances by over 60 artists in numerous venues throughout downtown, including the Asheville Civic Center Arena, the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, and Orange Peel Social & Pleasure Club. The festival will also host workshops, talks, interactive experiences and art exhibitions and installations.
Weekend passes for Moogfest 2011 will go on sale on Saturday, June 4, at 12 Noon Eastern exclusively at www.moogfest.com.
The Naked and Famous are set to explode and SXSWers are perfectly poised to see this band in some intimate settings before they really take off.
Just this week, The Naked and the Famous was awarded the Philip Hall Radar Award–an award for the band most worth to graduate from NME’s Radar pages–at the Shockwaves NME Awards 2011. Their single “Young Blood,” which you can watch below, is just starting to make impressions on US alternative radio stations. It’s kind of how I picture what Passion Pit would have sounded like with some female members in the band instead of all guys. It’s a catchy dance jam.
They’re playing several sets in Austin amid their European tour. I plan on catching them at the Windish Agency’s Party on Friday, March 18 at Emo’s.
They’ll be back to the US to tour more fully in April and May.
While fans are waiting for Champ to hit store shelves on June 8, the band was kind enough to satiate musical appetites with an early stream of their tune “Wait Up (Boots of Danger).”
They’ll be hitting up Bonnaroo and touring with Passion Pit after the album’s release. Full dates are below.
Tour Dates:
Apr 27, 2010 Mr. Small’s Theater – Millvale, PA
Jun 9, 2010 The Tabernacle (with Passion Pit) – Atlanta, GA
Jun 11, 2010 Bonnaroo – Manchester, TN
Jun 12, 2010 Club at Firestone (with Passion Pit) – Orlando, FL
Jun 13, 2010 The FIllmore (with Passion Pit) – Miami Beach, FL
Jun 14, 2010 The Ritz Ybor (with Passion Pit) – Tampa, FL
Jun 16, 2010 House of Blues (with Passion Pit) – New Orleans, LA
Jun 17, 2010 Warehouse Live (with Passion Pit) – Houston, TX
Jun 18, 2010 Stubb’s (with Passion Pit) – Austin, TX
Jun 19, 2010 Stubb’s (with Passion Pit) – Austin, TX
Jun 21, 2010 Palladium Ballroom (with Passion Pit) – Dallas, TX
Jun 23, 2010 The Pageant (with Passion Pit) – St. Louis, MO
Jun 25, 2010 Royal Oak Music Theater (with Passion Pit) – Royal Oak, MI
Jun 27, 2010 Mann Center (with Passion Pit) – Philadelphia, PA
Jun 29, 2010 Prospect Park Bandshell (with Passion Pit) – Brooklyn, NY
Jun 30, 2010 Governor’s Island (with Passion Pit) – New York, NY
You should already know that those of us at PopWreckoning love a good cover song. Now, usually we spotlight other indie acts covering fellow today we want to give special attention to a group delivering great cover after great cover: The PS22 Chorus.
If you’re unfamiliar with the PS22 Chorus, it is an elementary school chorus from Public School 22 in Graniteville, Staten Island (New York). Director Gregg Breinberg formed the group of 60-70 fifth graders and blogs about their experiences and covershere. Since their formation, they’ve received attention from artists such as Matisyahu and Tori Amos, as well as television attention. They’ve even performed for President Obama. Perhaps you remember hearing their vocals on Passion Pit‘s debut album Manners?
Though the group has already exploded on the interwebs and you might already be aware of them, we wanted to share of few of their covers of some of PopWreckoning’s favorite artists.
Underage, obnoxious drunk girls aside, I cannot remember the last time I enjoyed a show as much as I did this one. I’m still reeling from Passion Pit and all shows since have been ho hum in comparison.
For those who have been living under a rock, Passion Pit is an electronic dance act that began as a solo project of Michael Angelakos. I’ve been following the act since the early Chunk of Change EP through present day. They just released a deluxe version of Manners available here.
Maybe it was that I was just too excited for Passion Pit or maybe it really was that the openers were lackluster, but bizarre genre picks in the southern/grunge rock of Bear Hands and the soul jams of Mayer Hawthorne and the County had me scratching my head. Bears Hands is relatively new, and I think with some more practice, they might be able to sort out some of their pitch problems. Mayer Hawthorne and the County was just kind of odd. They wore matching suits and the lead singer was prone to large gestures. I think he spent at least 90 percent performing with his hands stretched out above his head as if conducting a choir. They did throw me for a major loop when they mixed in a bit of Biz Markie’s “Just a Friend.” Perhaps in another setting, these openers would have been better, but I think the venue was just too big, their sounds too garbled in the system and the biggest issue of all for me – they were just out of place. I wanted to dance and neither could deliver.
Mayer Hawthorne and the County Set List:
Star Time
Easy Lovin
Make her Mine
Maybe So, Maybe No
Shiny & New/Rain
Don’t Mess with Bill
One Track Mind
Blue Sky
Green Eyed Love
Biz/Just Ain’t Gonna
The Ills
Passion Pit did not disappoint on the dancing front.
Watching roadies set up was like being delivered into synth heaven. I didn’t even know that many synthesizers could be on one stage without the universe exploding. Short translation – It’s awesome.
Passion Pit delivered a set filled with popular Manners and a few surprises. Angelakos danced around the stage singing in his signature falsetto while rushing to reach out to the audience and play a few quick notes on the keys. The light show, the performance, it was all spectacular, but the really brilliance of this show was the community. I can’t decide if it was more fun to listen to Angelakos and company on “Little Secrets” or to join with the audience throwing my hands up above my head, while shouting “Higher and higher and higher.”
The set was enough to put a smile on this concert lover’s face, but then Passion Pit came back out to deliver one of the best encores ever. Off the newly released deluxe manners, Passion Pit performed a cover of The Cranberries‘ “Dreams.” Perfect for that lovely falsetto. You can check out a recording on NPR here.
A recorded mixed voice squealing “everything is going to the beat” signaled the final song of the night, “Sleepyhead.” Angelakos tried to thank the crowd and speak over the intro music to the song, but the front row all yelled for it to be started over – in unmarred completion. Angelakos stumbled back in disbelief at first before a coy smile crept up in the corner of his mouth. He nodded at his band mates and an explosive rendition of “Sleepyhead” began.
Do yourself a favor: see this band. But participate! No more leaning against back walls of venues with arms crossed and a jaded expression on your face. It’s time to participate, dance and have fun when you go to shows and Passion Pit is just the band to bring you out of your shell.
Passion Pit Set List:
I’ve Got Your Number
Make Light
Better Things
Moths Wings
Swimming in the Flood
To Kingdom Come
Let Your Love Grow Tall
Folds in Your Hand
Smile Upon Me
Little Secrets
—
Eyes As Candles
Dreams – the Cranberries cover
Sleepyhead
Like Passion Pit, Hockey is an American band I was introduced to last winter not by American radio but by the lovely Nemone Metaxas, one of my favorite DJs on BBC6music. I loved the exuberant “Too Fake” the first time I heard its electronic dance pop goodness through my computer speakers. My interest in the Portland band was further piqued when I learned they had toured in the UK in early 2009 as support for Friendly Fires. The problem was getting a chance to see the band stateside. The band has toured North America a couple times now, but had never played in D.C., so when I got the alert a while back that they would be playing the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hotel, I was chomping at the bit.
The opening act for the night werethe Postelles, a New York City band that Rolling Stone has described as “channel[ing] Joe Jackson and Elvis Costello and – more recently – the Arctic Monkeys and the Strokes, building songs from brief guitar stabs and sounding like the wound-up early hours of what will be a long Saturday night on the town. There are elements of both mod and post-punk, but the Postelles have a sneering attitude all their own…” Interesting description. Frankly, they sound to me more similar to New York-based indie rockers Locksley and Sunderland, England’s Frankie and the Heartstrings, bands that have gone back in time to perfect the ‘60s pop / rock ‘n’ roll band model.
Make no mistake: the Postelles have a sound all their own and they sound great live, led by lead singer/guitarist Daniel Balk’s yearning vocals. Sometimes I wish I had the talent to come up with a good pop melody. The Postelles definitely can, as evidenced by the guitar-jangly “Sleep on the Dance Floor,” one of their set’s highlights. The title of the song “Hey Little Sister” sounds like it was written by Lennon/McCartney (do “Hello Little Girl” and “Little Child” ring any bells?), and I thought it was just amazing live, guitarist David Dargahi taking on lead vocals and mixing things up a bit. In a way, I was glad the Constellations canceled, because that meant we got a longer set from the Postelles than fans in other cities. The band’s debut EP White Nights was released the first week of March on Capitol Records / Astralwerks and is available now.
The Postelles Set List
Looking Glass
White Nights
She She
New song
Beat on the Brat (Ramones cover)
Stella
Hey Little Sister
Can’t Stand Still
Sleep on the Dance Floor
1, 2, 3 Stop
Hockey were supposed to go on at 10 (with the Postelles at 9) but they didn’t actually get on stage until 10:40, fortuitous for latecomers who crammed in at the front of the stage. When the band came on stage to tinker with their instruments, lead singer Ben Grubin flashed me a grin, so I knew I was in for a good show. Their debut album Mind Chaos is such a fun, fun record that I had way too high expectations, envisioning that they’d all appear dressed as colorfully as their record with hats and bandannas, and be jumping all over the stage. No such luck.
Instead, Grubin came on in a trademark hoodie but soon peeled it off to reveal a stripy white and orange tunic over black jeans. He was bopping around the stage excitedly and man-handling his microphone reminiscent of another of my favorite musicians, Londoner Patrick Wolf. Alternately between guitar, harmonica (for the folky “Four Holy Photos,” proving the band’s versatility), and a percussion set-up, he was clearly the star of the night. Seeing that Wednesday was St. Patrick’s Day and the crowd at the RnR was rowdier than normal for a weeknight, a new song that I think is called “DJ” seemed entirely appropriate, introduced by Grubin as “[Irish] jig and bluegrass music.”
“3 A.M. Spanish” was a high point of their set, the bass lines from Brian White and hot beats from touring keyboardist Ryan Dolliver just fabulous with Grubin’s hip hoppy vocal approach, punctuated by yelps for the chorus. They also didn’t disappoint with my absolute favorite song from Mind Chaos, “Song Away.” If there was ever a song that could lift your spirits, this is definitely it, with its refrain of “tomorrow’s just a song away.” And really, it is, isn’t it?
Check out this video of the song from their performance at Lollapalooza last summer. I hope this explains why I don’t have too many good photos of him, the man cannot keep still! Just thinking about it, I’m so eager to see the band again very soon.
Hockey Set List
Work
Learn to Lose
Rebels Marry Young (new song)
3 A.M. Spanish
Four Holy Photos
DJ (new song)
Curse This City
Song Away
Preacher
Wanna Be Black
Everyone’s the Same Age
Too Fake
Put the Game Down
Tour Dates
Mar 21 – Snug Harbor / Charlotte
Mar 23 – Mercy Lounge / Nashville*
Mar 24 – Drunken Unicorn / Atlanta*
Mar 25 – Cafe 11 / St. Augustine, FL*
Mar 26 – Club Downunder / Tallahassee, FL*
Mar 27 – Bottletree / Birmingham*
Mar 29 – Thirsty Hippo / Hattiesburg, MS*
Mar 30 – Spanish Moon / Baton Rouge*
Apr 01 – Warehouse Live / Houston*
Apr 02 – Emo’s / Austin*
Apr 03 – Loft / Dallas*
Apr 05 – Brewing Company / Santa Fe*
Apr 06 – Larimer Lounge / Denver*
Apr 07 – Kilby Court / Salt Lake City
Apr 08 – Neurolux / Boise*
Apr 10 – Wonder Ballroom / Portland*
Apr 16 – Coachella Music Festival / Indio, CA
* with the Postelles
Cymbals Eat Guitars is now quite the formidable band. When I’m doing my usual trawling through British music magazine web sites, it’s great to see an American band get praised. Here’s an example: a couple months back, respectedFly Magazine brought the band into their London office to record songs for their FlyTV in the Courtyard series; not just any band gets invited to do these. Their profile has dramatically increased since the last time I saw them, in September 2009 at the Black Cat, opening for fellow New Yorkers the Pains of Being Pure at Heart.
At the time, they had a different line-up and amp problems plagued their set. Having been hand-picked by Wayne Coyne to support the Flaming Lips for a London residency last November and having played well-attended and well-received shows across the UK, Cymbals Eat Guitars already have some invaluable experience under their belts. Last Saturday night they played a sold-out show at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hotel in Washington. I don’t think the gravity of the event was lost on singer Joseph “Ferocious” D’Agostino, who sat cross-legged with guitar in lap prior to playing, as if gathering his thoughts and getting into the zone.
However, there were two opening bands, one of which I’ve missed twice before and the other I knew nothing about. You know you’re in for a unique experience when you see a banjo, a Korg, a xylophone, and a watering can filled with plastic drumsticks lined up on a stage. Collectively, Freelance Whales, a quintet from Queens, New York City, sound as if the masculine synth bits of Passion Pit and the mellowness of folky Fanfarlo has a love child. At times lead singer Judah Dadone sounds like Michael Angelakos but looks more like “the Big Bang Theory”‘s Johnny Galeckiwhen plugging away at his Korg or strumming a guitar or banjo.
Otherwordly synths may seem at odds with the folk music aesthetic but for Freelance Whales, it works. “Ghosting,” a highlight of their set, was described by Dadone as being about “sleepwalking to try and find your soul mate.” There’s quite a lot of industry buzz about this band, and it’s well-deserved: whether it’s masterful instrumentation or rich harmonies that ring your bell, there’s a lot to like about this band. Their self-released debut album Weathervanes will be released on April 13 in America.
I didn’t know anything about Brooklyn-based Bear in Heaven going into this gig, so I was pleasantly surprised – and even a bit wowed! – by the trio’s eclectic mix of experimental, rock, and dance sounds. The band is definitely rocking the facial hair: drummer Joe Stickney has a beard that makes him look like a cross between George Carlin andJarvis Cocker, and the other two have mustaches. Memorably, leader Jon Philpot (vocals / synth / guitar) responded with a jovial “mustaches forever!” when crowd-goers went ape about their love of what was described by someone near me as “one fierce mustache.”
Based on their grungy lumberjack look, you would not expect such interesting music. I definitely was not expecting the sheer power of drumming from Stickney, which worked great as the backbeat for the experimental numbers (like the fabulous “Lovesick Teenagers”) as well as the more dancey ones (“Wholehearted Mess,” for one). Guitarist Adam Wills gets kudos for discussing his pedal set-up with the guitar heads down at the front.
In their current incarnation, Cymbals Eat Guitars appear tighter live, a more well-oiled machine, with little discussion between band members required to move from one song to the next. In addition to playing tracks from their critically received Why There Are Mountains, they also debuted several new songs, including one that required keyboardist Brian Hamilton to artfully balance a triangle to hang from his mike stand. The highlights for me were “Under a Hazy Sea” and a personal favorite, “Indiana” (described to me by new bassist Matt Whipple with “I like to think of it as our Sonic Youth song that becomes a Beatles song“). On most songs, D’Agostino looked blissfully lost in the music while wailing on his guitar but when singing, the emotions pour out of his body as easily as the sweat beads roll off his cheeks. Whipple is an asset, his backing vocals a welcome addition to the live Cymbals Eat Guitars sound. These are four guys who are still very young and have a lot of promise.
Tour Dates
Mar 10 – Pilot Light / Knoxville, TN
Mar 11 – Ear / Atlanta
Mar 12 – Harvest Of Hope Festival / St. Augustine, FL
Mar 13 – Will’s Pub / Orlando
Mar 14 – Engine Room / Tallahassee
Mar 16 – Mango’s / Houston
Mar 17-21 – South by Southwest / Austin
Mar 22 – Rhythm Room / Phoenix
Mar 23 – Casbah / San Diego
Mar 24 – Echo / Los Angeles
Mar 25 – Bottom Of The Hill / San Francisco
Mar 28 – Crocodile Café / Seattle
Mar 29 – Biltmore Cabaret / Vancouver
Mar 31 – Kilby Court / Salt Lake City
Apr 01 – Hi Dive / Denver
Apr 02 – Replay Lounge / Lawrence, KS
Apr 03 – Turf Club / St. Paul
Apr 04 – Schuba’s / Chicago
Apr 06 – El Mocambo Club / Toronto
Apr 07 – Il Motore / Montreal
Apr 08 – Middle East / Boston
2010 just might be the year female English singers break through big in America. Just like electropop goddesses La Roux and Little Boots, (Vanessa) VV Brownis already a major deal at home in England. But she’s cut from a slightly different cloth. Originally from Northampton, the 5-foot, 11-inch tall songstress is a model (recently scoring an advertising deal with UK supermarket chain Marks and Spencer) and has her own online vintage clothing store, in addition to being a successful songwriter not only for her own music but for other artists as well. Friday night Brown played to a packed club during Liberation Dance Party at Washington’s DC9. D.C. was just one of four stops on her first-ever headlining tour of America.
One of my picks for best bet in town, Liberation Dance Party goes on at DC9 every Friday night. I love it because Bill Spieler, the DJ / compère, does his research and always spins great dance, pop, and electronic tracks, mostly stuff I know well and mostly English. Right up my alley. Here’s a short list to give you an idea of what kind of music they played:
Brown and her three-piece band arrived on stage to loud, appreciative cheering. Her headgear should have been my first clue that this show was going to be as crazy as a Mardi Gras celebration, just 3 days late. I was a bit disappointed that her trademark retro hairdo and most of her face was obscured by a red, glittery, feathered headdress. But this was just part of the VV Brown spectacle. During her less than 40-minute set, she played most of the songs off her debut album released last year in the UK, Travelling Like the Light, written about a failed relationship.
She has excellent stage presence, giving insight into her songs, and effectively pumping up the crowd. Brown described one of her major hits, “Crying Blood,” as “the first song I ever wrote, the first song I ever released on 7″, the first song I ever wrote on a one-string guitar.” This is a good example of her music, with Brown’s punchy vocals, driving drums, and an overall infectious retro sound that mixes elements of pop and soul. After playing this, she talked about her background – her mother is Jamaican, and her father is Puerto Rican – and in honor of her heritage did a shortened version of the song in a reggae style, encouraging everyone in the club to raise their hands in the air and sway along to the island beat. “Back in Time,” a song about love and time travel, was prefaced with Brown’s cheeky insistence, “I would date Albert Einstein if I could.”
The most surprising moment of the night? Brown asking the audience, “Do you like hip hop? Can I do a cover of Drake‘s ‘Best I Ever Had’? Will you all go fuckin’ crazy?” What kind of questions are those for a D.C audience? Of course the crowd went crazy as she launched into her take of the Drake hit. The best moment of the night? Hands down it was “Shark in the Water,” the whole crowd bouncing to the rhythm and singing along to the fun chorus of the unconventional poppy love song. The smile on Brown’s face made me melt. Check out this live performance of the song on ITV’s “This Morning” show from last year.
After Brown and company left the stage, Spieler reappeared, encouraging us to make some noise for Brown and her band. The crowd’s efforts at hooting and hollering worked; they returned for a one-song encore to play what Brown admitted was a complete improvisation. (I really don’t think she was expecting this kind of reception in D.C. at all and looked sincerely touched by the adulation.) But it didn’t matter: with all arms waving in the air and gig goers shouting back lyrics to Brown, it was clear she had already won over the crowd with her animated live act.
It was sheer magic to witness the realization of a dream for the young woman standing before us. Years ago she wrote songs, alone in her bedroom, hoping for success one day. The audience’s excitement was not lost on Brown, who after the show Tweeted, “this was an absolutley [sic] fuckin unbelievable gig !!! sold out gig, absolutley [sic] amazing !! Im totally on a high !!! big time !!!!” And I agree. If Friday’s show was any indication, Brown is ready to take on the world.
VV Brown has another headlining date at the Great Scott in Allston, Massachusetts, on Monday before going on tour as a supporting act for Swedish electronic band Little Dragon starting in March. If you can’t see her live on this go-around, no worries, you’ll be able to see Brown on the small screen in the near future: she announced at the DC9 show that she and her band will be appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, and the Late Show with David Letterman soon.
Tour Dates:
Feb 22 – Great Scott / Allston, MA
Mar 22 – Rapture / Charlottesville, VA*
Mar 25 – Music Hall of Williamsburg / Brooklyn*
Apr 01 – Lincoln Hall / Chicago*
Apr 04 – Walnut Lounge / Denver*
Apr 05 – Urban Lounge / Salt Lake City*
Apr 09 – Nectar Lounge / Seattle*
Apr 11 – Wild Buffalo / Bellingham, WA*
Apr 12 – Mississippi Studios / Portland*
Apr 13-14 - Independent / San Francisco*
* supporting Little Dragon
Popular Cambridge, Massachusetts electronic act Passion Pithave announced a 18-date concert tour of North America for this spring. The band will travel to Australia, Japan, the UK, and Ireland before returning to American soil to play in Buffalo on March 28.
This month, the band sold out Boston’s House of Blues and three dates at New York’s Terminal 5. So expect tickets to be snapped up quickly for this outing.
Tour Dates:
Mar 28 – Town Ballroom / Buffalo
Mar 29 – Pullo Center / York, PA
Mar 30 – House of Blues / Cleveland
Mar 31 – Music Hall / Columbus
Apr 02 – Congress Theatre / Chicago
Apr 03 – Turner Hall / Milwaukee
Apr 04 – First Avenue / Minneapolis
Apr 05 – Beaumont Club / Kansas City
Apr 07 – Ogden Theatre / Denver
Apr 08 – In the Venue / Salt Lake City
Apr 10 – McDonald Theatre / Eugene, OR
Apr 11 – Commodore Ballroom / Vancouver
Apr 12 – Roseland Theater / Portland
Apr 14 – Freeborn Hall / Davis, CA
Apr 15 – Warfield Theatre / San Francisco
Apr 24 – Vanderbilt University / Nashville
Apr 30 – World’s Fair Park / Knoxville
May 01 – Bowdoin College / Brunswick, ME
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Concert Calendar
Nov 23, 2011
HaHa Tonka @ Recordbar, Kansas City MO
Nov 25, 2011
Thee Oh Sees @ The Granada, Lawrence KS
Asheville, North Carolina festival Moogfest, scheduled for October 28-30, announced its initial lineup via AC Entertainment. Moogfest’s Halloween harvest of musical delights builds on the success of last year’s reinvention of the Moogfest concept in the city that Bob Moog, founder of the Moog synthesizer, called home.
Popular Cambridge, Massachusetts electronic act 
