DIIV

*Insert obligatory comment about the long lines and overall poor-planning of The Great Googa Mooga HERE*

Alright, I’m glad we got that out of the way.  Let’s move onto something a bit more current.  Complaining about Googa Mooga is sooooooo four days ago.  Next thing you know, I’ll be writing an op-ed about the Facebook IPO!  Onto the Most Blogged Shows of the Week.

We all cracked on the name when we heard it (or read it, I guess), but it looks like DIIV has the last laugh as they’re this week’s MOST BLOGGED show AND my EDITORS PICK, and that’s for their free Hype-Machine-produced and Toyota Prius-sponsored show at Brooklyn Bowl tonight.  It’s my pick for a few reasons.

1)     It’s free.

2)     DIIV are actually pretty awesome, if you haven’t heard them (or seen them) by now.

3)     KILLER MIKE is also on the bill (holy shit!)

4)     DIIV are about to blow up, so who knows what kind of venues they’re going to play from now on?  And at what cost?  Not that Brooklyn Bowl is “intimate” or anything, but you understand my meaning, no?

5)     The openers, High Highs and Beat Culture are no slouches.

6)     The first 150 people get some kind of “League Night” gift bags chock full of target-marketed goodies!

7)     Did I mention it’s free?

Make sure you show up early (Brooklyn Bowl opens their doors at 6 PM.) I’d guess this thing’s going to be packed.  I wouldn’t recommended showing up if you haven’t RSVP’d either, and that’s all closed up now.  If you get turned away, The Deli Magazine’s Emerging Artists festival continues tonight at Public Assembly and Spike Hill.  ALSO, a couple of awesome bands that have shared the bill with DIIV about 74 times (Night Manager, Heaven’s Gate) play Cameo Gallery for just $5 with some solid openers as well (Yvette, Mala Strana.)

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Foo Fighters

The MOST BLOGGED shows this week are somewhat enigmatic… and that has EVERYTHING to do with the Bamboozle music festival, which apparently our algorithm likes a whole lot.  And hey, there’s some stuff to like (and a lot to make you cringe.)

I’m a New Jersey native, who has no problem admitting that I spent a great deal of my youth at Jersey shore emo and hardcore shows.  That’s what this Asbury Park festival was originally known for, going back to its roots as the Skate and Surf Festival at the dilapidated Convention Hall.  Some of that remains on the bill (Brand New, Jimmy Eat World, Motion City Soundtrack, Hot Water Music, Promise Ring, to name a few of the friendly faces), but the rest of the lineup is something of a gigantic clusterfuck consisting of everything from wub-wub dubstep to bad comedy.

Andrew Dice Clay is probably the biggest “WTF” of the event, and he has a set scheduled on Sunday which is headlined by an equally “WTF” act (but for totally different reasons), Bon Jovi.  This isn’t AS MUCH of a surprise for me, as I’m somewhat familiar with the festival.  They usually have some incredibly off-the-wall act every year that really doesn’t fit (acts as diverse as MC Hammer and Skid Row has graced the festival’s stage in previous years), but Dice Clay might take the cake (though I’m not sure where.)

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Refused

I’m dreading the day where I’ll have to announce a holographic show.  By now you’re well aware of the meme that is holographic 2Pac.  If you’re not, check the blog post below.  And while I hate to contribute to the memeification of the internet… this one is pretty relevant here.

Because… it’s probably coming.

Detox?  Fuck, Dr. Dre wasn’t hauled up for the past decade working on rap’s version of Chinese Democracy.  He was potentially ushering in the next era in the live music.  Or… I hope not.  It’s a multi-pronged problem.  Is the era of holographic concerts upon us?  Will artists need to tour anymore?  Will we see a series of bastardized “revivals” or “resurrections” as musicians and record labels attempt to cash in on this hyper-futuristic, post-modern craze?

Cost is a big factor; the holographic 2Pac reportedly cost Dre and Snoop a cool four-hundred grand, so us indie-minded individuals are probably safe.  I don’t think Matador has the cash (or desire/questionable ethics) to book a Jay Reatard hologram tour, but how far away are we from Kurt Cobain fronting a Nirvana show with Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic?  Will Peter Hook try to go on tour with a holographic Ian Curtis in a big “fuck you” to the rest of New Order?  I’m unquestionably bordering on paranoia here – especially with Cobain (Hook is more likely, see the Unknown Pleasures and Closer tours), but hey, anything can happen.  I just hope Courtney Love doesn’t get any wild ideas.

I think I’ll jump off this slippery slope for now and dive into the MOST BLOGGED shows this week.  Refused’s own RESURECTION at Terminal 5 is our most blogged show, and not surprisingly, is sold out.  Ceremony open for the Swedish hardcore-punk legends on Monday, and if you’re sans-ticket, you can stay downtown and catch Ceremony over at Mercury Lounge later in the night.

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Mastodon

It’s really hard for me to write this today.  I haven’t been in the best of moods since Rick Santorum decided to drop out of the race.  It’s just so fresh.  The initial shock has worn off, yes, but it’s a pretty deep cut, and I’m just starting to feel it.  So yeah, I apologize in advance if I’m not my usual chipper self.  I’m sure most of you can relate.  Oh well.  Time to get a head start on #Santorum2016.  Maybe some shows will make me feel better until then…

This week’s MOST BUZZED SHOW is definitely Santorum-approved: Mastadon, Opeth and Ghost: TONIGHT at the Roseland Ballroom.  Apologies to all you Brooklyn metal-heads; this one is sold out.

The (recently) late great John Chamberlain’s abstract expressionist sculpture exhibit Choices has been on display since February at the Guggenheim.  I haven’t had the chance to check it out yet, but I’m kind of glad I haven’t because Friday night is going to be the best time to see it.  This week’s EDITOR’S PICK is the first night of a three-part live music and art series at the Guggenheim, Divine Ricochet, which is inspired by Chamberlain’s 1991 sculpture.  Nothing against Zola Jesus or Cold Cave, who play the other two nights of the series: this is the night to see this exhibit.  Grouper AND Juliana Barwick are on hand for what promises to be a pair of captivating sets that are well-suited for this kind of event.

“Divine Ricochet takes its thematic cue from the poetic fusion, chaotic riffing, explosive color and sublime assemblage that characterized Chamberlain’s work.”

I can think of few musicians whose work better accompanies the work of John Chamberlain than Grouper.  She’s no stranger to experimental performances; just last year she composed a live score for Weston Currie’s visually stunning feature film, The Perception of Moving Targets.   And hey, Barwick’s ambient folk is nothing to scoff at either.

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Osekre & the Lucky Bastards - Photo by Chris Mather

This past weekend was an absolutely unreal weekend for music, fueled by our very own Aputumpu music festival.  I just want to say thanks to everyone who was able to make it out.  If you did, maybe we got to chat for a bit in between sets; I was there three of the four nights.

I had to miss Japanther on Sunday.  Sorry guys.  Word to the wise… don’t ever eat a pancake wrap for brunch.  Sure, an omelet with sausage, ham, bacon and pepper jack cheese wrapped in a buttermilk pancake, doused in syrup SOUNDS awesome (and to be fair, it TASTED awesome), but it doesn’t mix too well with a stomach that just got done processing a lot of PBR and vodka clubs.  I’ll spare you guys the details.  But hey, I did manage to make it out to the other nights.  SOME HIGHLIGHTS:

Osekre and the Lucky Bastards, who booked Aputumpu, stole the show Thursday night at Shea. My man Osekre knows how to get a crowd pumped up, no doubt.

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The Roots

This week’s edition of “Most Blogged About Shows” falls on a leap day.  Much has changed since the last leap day.

On February 29, 2008:

-      George W. Bush was in the White House.

-      “Road margaritas” were readily available from Turkey’s Nest on Bedford Ave.

-      The domestication of dogs continued, unabated.

-      Zucotti Park was just some concrete slab.

-      Chillwave was nothing more than a twinkle in Ernest Greene’s eye

What was our MOST BUZZED artist, The Roots, doing in 2008?

Why, they embarrassingly cut a single with FALL OUT BOY lead singer Patrick Stump!  Sorry guys, we didn’t forget about that (even if you tried to make us by cutting it from the LP.)  Don’t let that dissuade you from seeing them on Tuesday at the Apollo Theater.  One thing has NOT changed; The Roots are an INCREDIBLE live act and one of the best hip-hop acts of all time.  Don’t miss out.

My personal CAN’T MISS shows this week are Cults, Writer and Mrs. Magician on Friday night over at Maxwell’s, and Tennis and Hospitality, Monday night at Music Hall of Williamsburg.  I’m all about the female-fronted acts this week.

If you can’t make it all the way out to Maxwell’s on Friday, Matthew Dear, Blondes and Helado Negro bring their electronic stylings to Bowery Ballroom.  Don’t end the night there – hop on the M for the after-party over at Glasslands, which features a DJ set by Dabrye.

Speaking of Glasslands, they have an absurdly good hip-hop show this weekend with Oakland’s own Main Attrakionz, with BBU, Greedhead’s Big Baby Gandhi and Beans of Antipop Consortium.  Also at Glasslands, shoegaze-revivalists Widowspeak front a Captured Tracks showcase Saturday night, with Mac DeMarco and Quilt supporting.

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Sharon Van Etten

It was the last day of the school year; third grade, I believe.  I sat at my desk chewing the eraser off of my No. 2 pencil in anticipation of the two months of freedom, which lay ahead.  I obsessively cleaned my over-sized tortoise shell glasses with the bottom of my t-shirt.  The clock ticked… slowly.  Finally,  the bell rang, and FLASH, I was off.  I sprinted down the hallway exuberantly.  The strobe LED lights from my LA Gears reflected off the waxed linoleum floor, until they hit the black tar pavement of my elementary school’s playground.

Before I could go home for a summer of splashing around in the town pool and watching marathons of The Adventures of Pete and Pete, all day, on Nickelodeon; I would hang around the playground for the school carnival.  It was an annual tradition on the final day of the year.  I would eat cotton candy.  I would ride the scrambler until I threw up.  I would play tilted carnival games, with dreams of shoving a giant stuffed neon animal into my mom’s station wagon in my head.

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Jay-Z

The coverage of Todd P’s Real Estate show at K&K Super Buffet was pretty extensive, so we just wanted to take make one brief comment: The Most Blogged About Shows this Week team wants to apologize to the hosts of the random Bushwick loft party we crashed on our way home. Please let us know where we can leave the $2.79 we owe for the stove-top stuffing we stole on our way out.

If you have a million dollars, we hope you are seeing Jay-Z this Monday at Carnegie Hall. If not—and you’re interested in checking out a totally different hip-hop show—you should see Action Bronson, Mr. Muthafuckin eXquire and others at the soon-to-be-shut-down Southpaw on Thursday.

There are three great shows at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. Nicolas Jaar tonight; the sold-out Tycho, Oneohtrix Point Never (bonus to those who can pronounce this band’s name) and Beacon on Saturday; and Dum Dum Girls, Widowspeak and Punks on Mars on Tuesday.

Finally, the show that we are most excited about is an all-star lineup of hardcore at (le) Poisson Rouge with Ceremony, The Rival Mob, Hoax, Kim Phuc, Gods & Queens and the amazing Pissed Jeans.  The show unfortunately sold out—if you have tickets, let us know so we can join you.

On to the top 10 shows for the next 7 days…

10. Class Actress @ 285 Kent Ave w/ Pictureplane, Beige
Friday, February 3rd at 8:00pm – all ages, $12
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Real Estate

The reading on the Most Blogged About Shows This Week thermometer is clearly pointing to indie. From a Chinese buffet in Queens to the Allen Room at the Time Warner Center, kids in tight jeans will be enjoying some good music. Before we get into it though, we’d like to thank all of our readers who came out to My Social List’s first show at Shea Stadium last week. Ava Luna, Total Slacker, Caged Animals and Osekre & the Lucky Bastards all played thrilling sets to a totally packed audience

Speaking of Chinese buffets, Todd P has assembled a great show at K&K Supper Buffet on Saturday night. Real Estate, The Babies, Black Dice, Dogleather and DJ sets from Oneohtrix Point Never and Ducktails for $5? We’ll definitely be there.

He may have had a bit of a rough year, but Thurston Moore is performing as part of the American Songbook at the Allen Room on Thursday. If the Time Warner Center is too fancy (or expensive), you can check him out in Hoboken at Maxwell’s the next night.  With the status of Sonic Youth not completely clear, this may be turn out to be a great opportunity for his next big thing.

Finally, Glasslands continues to prove to be the best-booked venue in New York, with three shows on our top 10.  Check out The Hundred in the Hands tonight, Salva on Saturday and Megafortress on Tuesday. If you’re really ambitious, on Saturday you can sneak next door to 285 Kent to check out Blouse, Cosmetic, New Lines and Mosaic.

On to the top 10 shows for the next 7 days…

10. Blouse @ 285 Kent Ave w/ Cosmetics, The New Lines, Mosaic
Tuesday, January 31st at 8:00pm – all ages, $10
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This week we’ve got another special edition of TMBASTW!  On Friday, My Social List, the guys behind this column, are holding our first show at Shea Stadium in Bushwick. The show is headlined by Freewilliamsburg favorite Ava Luna and supported by Total Slacker, Caged Animals & Osekre and the Lucky Bastards.   In addition to the great bands, we are sponsoring an open PBR bar from 8:30-9:30.  The whole thing will only set you back $8.

Ava Luna, Total Slacker, Caged Animals & Osekre and the Lucky Bastards

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