Fucked Up

Planning out your next 7 days of music will be tough: From Madison Square Garden to 285 Kent in Williamsburg, it might be tricky–and expensive–to see all of the most buzzed shows. Before we get to that, however, a brief point regarding a show we saw last week:  !!!/Friends at 285 Kent on Sunday night may have been our favorite show of the year.   Watching Nic Offer of !!! casually enter the venue (which lacks a back stage) and spend 20 minutes stretching as his band got ready provided a great prelude to an incredibly high-energy set. We are hoping he had a cramp-free Monday.

Tonight you may already have tickets for My Morning Jacket/Band of Horses at MSG. And we hope you made it on tomorrow’s RSVP list for Diplo at the Eyebeam Art and Technology Center, as it is now closed; if you missed out, hip up Ducktails, Amen Dunes and Big Troubles at the 285 Kent holiday party instead.

This weekend, see the debut of the Brooklyn Night Bazaar in Williamsburg, including three shows from the likes of the Hold Steady, Fucked Up, James Murphy and many more contributing acts.  We’d like to highlight the $10 ticket price for the Fucked Up show and the fact that it is STILL ON SALE.   That is only the first of the BrooklynVegan Presents shows this weekend; on Saturday, you can see Twin Sister, Widowspeak and Ava Luna at Bowery Ballroom for $8 (also not sold out).

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

10. Smoke and Mirrors @ Eyebeam Art and Technology Center w/ Diplo, Smoke and Mirrors
Thursday, December 15th at 9:00pm – 21+, FREE! – RSVP Closed

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Lana del Rey

This week’s Most Blogged About Shows begins with an observation: The most anticipated show over the next seven days is buzz girl du jour, Lana Del Ray, at the Bowery Ballroom on Monday. Right now, there are only 83 tickets available on StubHub, although the venue has a capacity of 550. Factoring in the guest list, Craigslist and all of the other secondary markets, we wonder how many “real” people actually purchased tickets to this event.

Okay, now back to the regularly scheduled programming. Thanksgiving is over and we’re done purging all of the turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes from last week. That means it’s time to go to some shows!

Starting with tonight: You might want to check out The Roots performing their new album “undun” at the Highline Ballroom. Tomorrow you can see the Dum Dum Girls, Dive and Xray Eyeballs at Brooklyn Bowl for only $10. The weekend brings a ton of options, including Gauntlet Hair, The Big Sleep (My Social List favorites!) and Dive performing at the Mercury Lounge on Friday and Black Star (Mos Def & Talib Kweli) playing twice on Saturday. Finally, if you haven’t heard about it yet, The Black Keys are playing a “secret show” on Monday to coincide with the release of their new album. We’ll update more about the show when we find out the exact details.

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

10. Goth Prom 1986 @ Diana Event Oval @ Barnard College w/ Balam Acab, Purling Hiss, Leather, RL Grime
Saturday, December 3rd at 7:00pm – all ages, FREE!

9. Black Star @ Best Buy Theater
Saturday, December 3rd at 8:00pm – all ages, $39.5 -> tickets

8. The Black Keys @ Secret Manhattan Venue
Monday, December 5th at 8:00pm – all ages, TBD (more…)

Real Estate

After spending last weekend dancing our pants off at the Brooklyn Electronic Music Festival, TMBASTWT (The Most Blogged About Shows This Week Team) is still recovering. Highlights included a great set by Diamond Rings on Friday night and some awesome dance music by a whole team of DJ’s at Public Assembly on Saturday. Life moves pretty fast, and the next seven days are pretty full.

If you aren’t busy occupying something, get your ass to Jersey to see Lykke Li and First Aid Kit at the Wellmont Theatre tonight. This may be your last chance to see First Aid Kit as the undercard—they just scheduled their own headlining gig at the end of March. (See on-sale information for the show below.) Although it’s not on our top 10 list, we’ll personally be checking out Nyle vs the Naysayers, Osekre, The Press and Dollar Coffee at Cameo Gallery.

This weekend, you’ll have your chance to see the appropriately named metal band Mastodon with Dillinger Escape Plan and Red Fang. Unfortunately, their Saturday night show is sold out, so you may want to check out a nice lineup—Woodsman, Dive, Holiday Shores, Hear Hums and Flower Orgy—at Shea Stadium. (more…)

Diamond Rings

The fourth annual Brooklyn Electronic Music Festival is coming to North 6^th street in the ‘Burg this weekend, featuring six venues and over 40 artists. Get your booty shaking with a wide range of DJ, indie electronica and techno shows without having to deal with the bridge-and-tunnel crowd.  Some of the more exciting acts include Matthew Dear, Diamond Rings, Reggie Watts, Deadelus and a DJ set by Fischerspooner’s Casey Spooner and Lauren Flax.

I’ve attended twice in the past, and this is electronic music festival for people who stay away from electronic music festivals. Instead of teenybopper ravers rolling their pants off (they have their own option in two weeks here), there’s a more sophisticated crowd looking to take in some of the best up-and-coming DJs and electronic bands to hit the scene.

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Jay-Z and Kanye West

We’ve finally completed the four-week cycle of CMJ, starting with anticipation and ending up with severe liver disease.  A few key takeaways from our CMJ experience:

1. The single “I’m His Girl” by the band Friends is awesome.  Beware its ability to burrow deep into your consciousness.

2. Open bar at the Red Bull space is not to be trifled with.  We recommend you approach with extreme caution.

3. The boxers worn by one member of Main Attrakionz have a gravity-defying quality.  We’ve heard glue may be involved.

4. CMJ can be exhausting; plan your naps and snacks in advance.  Good spots include the Chick-Fil-A at the NYU dorms, the lox & cream cheese bagels at Russ & Daughters, and Whole Foods (for toilets & relaxations).

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CMJ 2011

Welcome to Part 2 of our 2011 CMJ picks.  We teamed up with My Social List (of The Most Blogged About Shows of the Week) to give you the rundown of some of the best music of the fest.  Last time we covered the first two days of CMJ; today we finish up with Thursday, Friday and Saturday.  Hopefully you already have your CMJ pass — or maybe you’ve been occupying Wall Street and want to enjoy some free music and booze.  Regardless, we hope to have you covered.

Thursday Afternoon Shows:

10:30AM:  KEXP CMJ w/ The Lonely Forest, Givers, Dum Dum Girls, Widowspeak @ The Ace Hotel – Free!

1PM:  Purevolume Smartlounge w/ Dum Dum Girls, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Araabmusik, The Stepkids, Gotye, Talib Kweli DJ Set, Nancy Whang DJ Set, Amrit Singh DJ Set – RSVP HERE & Download APP!

2PM:  SPIN PUMA Social Sessions w/ Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Maluca, Class Actress @ Puma Store Union Square – Free!

12PM:  Floating Fest w/ Body Language, CSLSX, Caveman, High Highs, Grimes, Warm Ghost, Porcelain Raft, Hands, Guards, Doldrums, Beat Connection, Little Red, Parlovr @ Pianos – Free!

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CMJ 2011

Welcome to Part 1 of our 2011 CMJ picks.  We teamed with My Social List (The Most Blogged About Shows this Week) to give you the rundown of some of the best shows of the fest.  First off, a quick tip: This year CMJ show-only badges are $150; in years past (unless you were a student), trying to get an all-access pass could cost you three times that much. Meanwhile, we’ll try to help you save a few bucks by recommending primarily cheap and free shows.

This list includes official CMJ shows & unofficial shows alike.  We tried to throw in some counter-programming so that those who don’t partake in music (losers!) or those sick of it can still be entertained.

Tuesday Evening Shows:

6PM: Live4ever Media CMJ w/ The Duke Spirit, Damndogs, Figo, Pint Shot Riot, The Minutes, Fifth Nation, 1,2,3, Le Blorr, The Dirty Grand, LA Riots DJ set, VHS or Beta DJ set, Boyhollow DJ set @ Brooklyn Bowl – Free with RSVP

7:30PM: Car Park / Paw Tracks Showcase w/ Class Actress, Dent May, Cloud Nothings, Young Magic, Adventure, Jimmy Whispers @ Public Assembly – Price TBD

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James Blake

We apologize for our tardiness today; we are toiling away at our list of CMJ shows to make sure you have the best and most choices available. There is a lot of great stuff in our Top 10 this week, so instead of pontificating, we’re getting right to the chase.

You can be thankful you’re a New Yorker this week, as you get the opportunity to see the two J’s: Jens Lekman & James Blake.  The shows are both sold out, but we’ve heard that StubHub now accepts kidneys in exchange for Ticketmaster tickets.  Bonus if you are in Brooklyn, as both are playing at the Music Hall of Williamsburg.  Other awesome options include Twin Shadow at Diamond Rings at Webster Hall, and Screaming Females at Bowery Ballroom.

10. Ladytron @ Terminal 5 w/ VHS or Beta and Sonoio
Saturday, October 8^th at 7pm – All Ages, $25 -> tickets

9. Screaming Females @ Bowery Ballroom w/ Underground Railroad to Candyland and Shellshag
Saturday, October 8^th at 8pm – 18+, $13 -> tickets (more…)

Jeff Mangum

This weekend, the lucky and the wealthy will be at All Tomorrow’s Parties. The intellectual and the pretentious will be at the New Yorker Festival. And everyone else will be scrambling to find something awesome. Summer is officially over, and October — one of the busiest music months of the year — is around the corner. Luckily, you have us to help sort you out.

If you attend just two New Yorker Festival events, we hope that they’re St. Vincent (Friday) and The National (Sunday). You’ll have an opportunity to not only see the bands discuss their music, but to see a couple of great shows well in advance of their other scheduled New York dates. If you are 50+, take comfort in the fact that you will finally be at an indie show surrounded by people your own age!

For those of you who can afford to drop a few hundred bucks on All Tomorrow’s Parties in Jersey, we’d like you to know how jealous we are.  Jeff Mangum and Portishead are enough — not to mention Cults, Battles, Chavez, The Album Leaf and the rest of the fest.

Find the rest of our Top 10 shows for the next seven days below — and check back later this week for our CMJ preview. Finally, for all of those that were not able to attend a festival this weekend, I leave you with this quote from my friend, Herman Blume:

You guys have it real easy. I never had it like this where I grew up. But I send my kids here because the fact is you go to one of the best schools in the country: Rushmore. Now, for some of you it doesn’t matter. You were born rich and you’re going to stay rich. But here’s my advice to the rest of you: Take dead aim on the rich boys. Get them in the crosshairs and take them down. Just remember, they can buy anything but they can’t buy backbone. Don’t let them forget it. Thank you.

TOP 10 SHOWS FOR THE NEXT SEVEN DAYS

10. Gardens & Villa @ Glasslands Gallery w/ Youth Lagoon & Gem Club

Friday, September 30^th at 9pm – 21+ $10 -> tickets

9. The National @ Sir State37 part of the New York Festival
Saturday, October 1^th at 7pm – 21+, Sold Out (more…)

Unknown Mortal Orchestra

Half of our top 10 shows this week will happen tonight and tomorrow, so we assume you may be pretty busy already. We are in the midst of a hurricane of announcements for new shows, as well, with Halloween, CMJ and even New Years Eve lineups rolling out. Keep your eyes peeled to Freewilliamsburg, My Social List and this column for updates about shows going on sale.

Tickets are still available for tonight’s show with Toro Y Moi, Ava Luna and Unknown Mortal Orchestra. You can also catch “The Big Four” – Metallica, Megadeath, Anthrax and Slayer – at Yankee Stadium; we hear that you may be able to exchange your first-born for good tickets.

We hope that you were able to get on the Vice RSVP list for tomorrow night’s Upfront Extravaganza with Rick Ross, A-Trak, Death From Above 1979, Tanlines and many more. The RSVP is now closed, and those who submitted will hear back today whether they made the cut. A good backup option is Glasslands with Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Hospitality, Blouse and Man/Miracle.

TOP 10 SHOWS FOR THE NEXT SEVEN DAYS

10. Caveman @ The Mercury Lounge w/ JPF
Thursday, September 15th at 9pm – 21+ $10 -> tickets

9. Javelin @ 285 Kent w/ Prince Rama and Amil Byleckie Band
Saturday, September 17th at 8pm – All Ages, $12 -> tickets at the door

8. Vivian Girls @ The Knitting Factory w/ Widowspeak and Amy Klein & the Blue Star Band
Tuesday, September 20th at 8pm – All Ages, $12 -> tickets

7. tUnE-yArDs @ (le) poisson rouge w/ The Suite Unraveling
Monday, September 19th at 8pm – All Ages, Sold Out

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