On Monday night, a packed house of 3,500 donned complimentary ear plugs so they could “hear” the songs of MY BLOODY VALENTINE. Without proper protection, the undulating noise-wave from the stage would sound like your average airplane attempting to take off inside an enclosed hangar for an hour and 20-odd minutes.

Reports of My Bloody Valentine upholding their reputation as the loudest live band on earth - at their first U.S. appearance in 16 years at the All Tomorrow’s Parties festival in the Catskills the evening before - added a dimension of danger and excitement to seeing this highly influential band. Newly ear-damaged, indignant MBV fans have been comparing their post-show hearing losses on MBV’s online forum for months since the band’s UK reunion appearances.
For all the ear-threatening talk, it’s safe to say that pretty much everyone there last night knew what they were getting into; basically, a sonic attack which can be physically felt. (more…)

Photos by Michelle Rakshys

You’d never think it, but advertising guys in dress shirts like to get down just as much as advertising women like to grind on Pharell.

Last night at the Advertising Week party, Big Boi and N.E.R.D convinced the suits to wave their hands in the air (like they just don’t care.) Though Big Boi was fun, throwing both solo and Outkast songs, N.E.R.D carried the crowd. Pharell related to the audience saying “Have you ever had your idea stolen in your office? You’re in a meeting with a hater, who says it won’t work, and sure enough next year he’s using it in his presentation. Next time that happens, I give you permission to stand on your desk and yell ‘I’m a Rock Star!’” as the group went into the hit “Rock Star” off their first record.

While trying my hardest to interpret the dance moves of the button-down wearers around me, I grabbed a few photos with my iPhone. (more…)

Photos by Graham Rothenberg

Sigur Rós returned to New York City last night for the first two shows at United Palace Theatre. These mark the third and fourth times they’ve graced NYC with their presence this year (after performances at the Grand Ballroom and Museum Of Modern Art in June). The band is supporting their latest effort, the critically-acclaimed Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust. (more…)

Photos by Matt Kleinschmidt

On Friday radio station RLC, better known to the world as 90.3FM The Core held a show at the Cook Campus Center at Rutgers University.

The show boasted a pretty awesome lineup of New Brunswick’s own The Gaslight Anthem, as well as Polar Bear Club, NYC’s The King Left, and another up and coming Brunswick band, Let Me Run. A last minute cancellation by Polar Bear Club (their van broke down) slimmed down the lineup for the night but didn’t change much of the good vibe atmosphere of the room.

After being thoroughly rocked, there was nothing left to do but head out into the rainy New Brunswick air and answer the debate of whether to eat either Fat Cats from the Grease Trucks or roll over to Stuff Yer Face for the Potachoes. (more…)

Fucked Up will be playing in the basement of Generation Records tomorrow night, Friday, September 12th. Space is extremely limited so if you want to get in, e-mail fuckedup@matadorrecords.com NOW. Show will begin at 8 P.M.

Generation Records is located at 210 Thompson St. New York, NY.

PASSION PIT finished their residency at Pianos last night to a packed house. The show sold out way before doors and there was a ton of people stuck outside. Their set was super tight and the majority of the crowd was getting down and shaking their asses. The boys will be back to New York City twice in the next two months so check their Myspace page for updates. Their Chunk Of Change EP comes out through French Kiss Records on September 16th.

PRE-ORDER: Passion Pit :: Chunk Of Change EP

Check out a video I took of the show last night after the jump. The image quality blows because Pianos never turned the lights on fully last night but the sound quality is great. Enjoy. (more…)

During the twelve songs PEOPLE IN PLANES performed for the early set at Mercury Lounge Monday evening, the band effortlessly patch-worked together numerous colorful bits of apparently unrelated styles and across-the-board influences. The five Welsh gents of this group expertly embrace a concoction of genres and musical texturing, resulting in solid one-of-a-kind songwriting, and simply riveting stage energy.

The set’s selections drew from a huge spectrum of styles, ranging from Smashing Pumpkins-infused classic rock, to development of a unique head-banging Brit-pop/Pantera hybrid. (Yea…what?) It is no wonder this band has become known for their distinctive contribution to the modern British musical invasion. Even tunes with the most minimalist of structures were overlaid with fascinating instrumental detailing, frequently including whimsical secondary guitar melodies, and going as far as the addition of unexpected synth-fem background vocals. Singer Gareth Jones’ creates variety both in terms of lyrical interest and tone, and just as the instrumental compositions drew from many eras and areas for inspiration, his melodies and phrasing suggested greats including (but not limited to) Thom Yorke, Cedric Bixler-Zavala, Ozzy Osbourne, and Billy Corgan. (more…)

Last night, Conrad Keely and Jason Reece brought …AND YOU WILL KNOW US BY THE TRAIL OF DEAD back to their original two piece form, switching up which instruments they played throughout the night. The band rocked just as hard as being a 10 piece with two full drum kits.

The seemingly short set featured classics like “Source Tags And Codes” and “Another Morning Stoner” (which was loosely dedicated to Buddha and the Dalai Lama) as well as some older tracks from Madonna, and one new song. The new track was performed with Keely on keyboard and Reece on drums, despite being stripped to two instruments, the song had a really heavy sound with nice vocal melodies. The song sounded awesome and it will be interesting to see how the song sounds with a full band.

Opening the show was SHOCK CINEMA who Conrad also performed keyboards with. The band had a very dense spacey indie rock sound that was well matched with the female vocalist. Definitely a band to watch out for.

You can check out some pictures of both bands and a video of Trail of Dead after the jump. (more…)

Oh snap! More MURDER BY DEATH music is coming our way! It’s virtually impossible for us to hate anything this band does so we’re officially excited.

The band is putting out a 7-inch with tourmate and longtime friend. William Elliot Whitmore. This isn’t the first collaboration between The Death and Whitmore. Back in 2003 Whitmore provided some sing-about-buckshot-through-a-telephone backing vocals for the band’s sophomore album, Who Will Survive, And What Will Be Left Of Them?

They are doing this release in the classic split 7-inch style, with the band’s covering each other’s songs. Murder By Death hopes to make this the first of many future splits done in this style.

The pressing will be limited and available through a pre-order on their website starting September 15th. The band also plans to sell copies on their national tour with Whitmore. The artwork for the split will be done by Drew James, the same artist who did the art for Who Will Survive…

The Death’s have also convinced former keyboardist, Vincent Edwards to sit in with them for one of their Chicago dates (11.20 at the Metro). The remaining Vincent-less tour dates can be seen after the jump. (more…)

LAURA WARSHAUER dropped by our offices this afternoon to perform a few songs for us in the laid back settings of our conference room. Considering how busy and noisey our office normally is, it was quite a site to see all 18 of us in a room listening intently and quietly as Laura performed. In fact I was the loudest one with the camera shutter click as I snapped pictures. (more…)