Jan 31, 2008

Tonight (and Saturday) Teenagers in New York



RSVP.

Honestly...I am semi-dreading how packed this is going to be. Over 1,000 people have already RSVP-ed. The last time something had an RSVP that high at Hiro was when Chromeo was here this past summer, and the line was around the block. Get your ass there early and numb the pain of being surrounded by hellish people with some free beer.

This should be an interesting event. I'm not sure how I feel about the Teenagers as a band. I really like "Homecoming", but I absolutely can't stand "Starlett Johansson". I really like their remixes of Air's "Mer Du Japon" and Simian Mobile Disco's "It's the Beat", so I am looking forward to seeing them dj more than seeing them live.

They are also playing a free all ages show at Cake Shop on Saturday, followed by a live show at Studio B:

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Jan 29, 2008

MSTRKRFT updated US Tour Info





Remember last week when I was all excited about MSTRKRFT's US Tour? Well it just got even better - LA Riots, Lazaro Casanova, and the Bloody Beetroots are also on the bill for the Studio B show and also some of the other nights on the tour. Check LA Riots' myspace for info on the other dates. Also, The Bloody Beetroots are playing at Hiro the night before the Studio B show.

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Chromeo at Bowery Ballroom; Steve Aoki, Chromeo, and A-trak at Studio B, 1/26/08

Another night running late where it thankfully didn't matter. Arrived at Bowery Ballroom a little after 10 maybe? Waited in a ridiculously slow-moving coat check line while Kid Sister performed. Got a good spot towards the front on the right once all that was over. Was doing fine until the really tall guy next to me ended up in front of me once Chromeo went on (close to 11). This is not one of those bitching about tall people posts. I was perfectly delighted to lean over to see Chromeo, but what wound up getting to me was the tall dude in front of me, and semi-tall dude next to me were creating a hellish wall of heat. I'm still getting over a hellish cold from last week and hot was not what I wanted to be, so I was not having the best time. Thankfully someone up and to my left moved and I was able to move over and get some fresh air. Unfortunately if I start off not having the best show experience it sometimes takes a little while for me to get back into a good mood. This was one of those times. Finally after a few more songs I snapped out of it and started to enjoy myself. I don't remember the setlist, but they played pretty much every Chromeo song you wanted to hear. They must have played nearly all of Fancy Footwork, and some older stuff I didn't know.


I was chatting with my friend Eddie a few hours before heading to the show. I had seen Chromeo for the first time at Hiro last summer, having heard very little of their material before. I was appalled to see a line stretching around the block, but was able to get in. Hiro was probably the most packed I have ever seen it, and when Chromeo went on people went nuts...the way you would see girls go nuts in the 60's when they saw the Beatles. I recommended Eddie go see them (he was up in Montreal at the time) and it was the same craziness up there but he just thought it was that way because Chromeo are from Montreal.

We were trying to pinpoint why people are sooooo f-ing insane when it comes to Chromeo. While Fancy Footwork is a good album, I don't really get super duper excited and pumped listening to it like I do when I listen to a lot of other electro/dance albums. But at the show the crowd's energy was undeniable. And as annoying as my night started, there is something about all of the Chromeo jams that just make you dance. You don't really have a choice. There is something in their music that physically makes you get down. Even their songs that don't seem that upbeat and dancey, case in point, one of their encores - "100%" - when you listen to it on the album, it's definitely one of their more mellow tracks. When they started playing it at the show I even thought to myself, hmm I wonder how this is going to go over. Literally within 10 seconds I realized it was going over fine as I and everyone around me was getting down. Something about Chromeo and their music just has feel good pop appeal.


Anyway...overall, a good show. If I did not start off having a crappy crowd-related experience, I probably would be saying it was a really great fun show.


Other things of note:

1. Chromeo seem really humble and thankful for the success they are experiencing now. From what Dave was saying it seems like they used to play New York a lot when they first started out, and they seemed very appreciative of playing Bowery as the headliner. It made you like them even more.

2. They have lights similar to the ones in Simian Mobile Disco's live set-up, however they are not blinding and synced up with the beats.

3. Steve Aoki walked in right in front of me which was really hilarious considering he was supposed to be playing Studio B later. Halfway through the show I realized he was standing like 5 feet away from me, actually watching the show. It all just struck me as very funny.


After waiting forever in the coat check line (conveniently near "talking really really loud" guy, who got really louder when talking about the writers strike, b/c much to my dismay this asshole was a writer) I cabbed it to Studio B (which wound up being pretty reasonable) since Mike and Josh had already been there for hours. Got in just as Aoki was starting his set. My deal with Aoki has been...I just somehow never got into him, and then I got kind of turned off after seeing tons of pictures of him at parties completely trashed and not dj-ing. All of that went out the window once I saw him dj Saturday. He was fricken awesome. He spun a really solid electro set. New stuff, classic stuff, it was great and consistently banging. There were multiple times where I was wishing he would play a specific track and he did - it wasn't a predictable set, he was just making all the right moves. He only dj-ed for a short while, then Chromeo took the decks and played some good stuff, not the smoothest transitions, but good selections. Then A-trak spun for a while, also very good. By that point, maybe 2ish? I was really tired. I hadn't been drinking at all since I was out b/c I was drinking for a while with friends before I left to go out. I was really thirsty for just water or a coke, but Studio B was insanely packed and hot (they really need to find a better way to ventilate that place b/c once it gets hot it just stays that way) and I had a nice area of personal space going over by the railing so I didn't wanna move. But then all of a sudden I got really nauseous, and then there was a line for the bathroom. So I called it a night. I felt better once I got some air, but it was late and I was (and still am) trying to kick this cold. I was pissed b/c it was turning into such a good party, but oh well. They'll all be back. Hopefully soon. Overall a very fun evening.

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Radio 4, Dragons of Zynth, and Eamon Harkin at Studio B, 1/25/08

Arrived at Studio B about midnight, thinking I was running late for more of a "show" vs. dj-oriented night. But of course I wasn't. Dragons of Zynth hadn't even gone on yet. They started their set shortly after and overall I wasn't too into them. I really wasn't into their first song at all - just very blah. They picked up after that, and actually started to remind me of super old school Red Hot Chili Peppers...but too much. It seemed like they were trying really hard to sound that way. It just made me wish I were seeing the Peppers way back in the day instead of seeing them.

Around 1 Radio 4 went on. Overall, it was not the best Radio 4 show I've been to, but it was still quite good, especially considering they haven't played an official show since this past summer. They started off a little rough, but once they got going it sounded more like a typical, good, upbeat Radio 4 show. Their set was a good mix of more recent material off of their last album, Enemies Like This (which I highly recommend), some old classics off of Gotham, a few off of Stealing of a Nation, and couple of new songs to be released on their new album this spring - Relentlessly Turbulent (the single) is really good, as is Election Summer (the other new song they played). Really looking forward to their new album. Here's the setlist from Friday's show:

Certain Tragedy
Shake the Foundation
Enemies Like This
Relentlessly Turbulent
Pretty Good Lie
Start a Fire
Absolute Affirmation
Too Much To Ask For
State of Alert
Election Summer
As Far as the Eye Can See


Also, Eamon Harkin was dj-ing in between the bands for part of the evening and he was pretty good. He was doing a lot of really subtle Chemical Brothers samples which made me quite happy.

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Jan 28, 2008

February 14th Degenerates Party

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Jan 27, 2008

Trevor Playgroup Jackson dj-ing at Love February 7th!!!

I love finding things like this in my inbox:



It's going to be great. More info, advance tickets, etc. here.

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Jan 24, 2008

La Decadanse presents Blogger's Delight at the Knitting Factory with Numero# and Sports 1/21/08

I'd been looking forward to this show ever since I first heard about it back in December. Numero#'s "Hit Pop" was on the radio at least 5x a day while I was up in Montreal this past summer, and probably my only regret from that trip was missing their show when I was up there.

Fittingly I dragged my Montreal travel buddy Eddie along Monday night. We met up with Busy Paul at around 10. The Knitting Factory had a decent sized crowd given how early it was. The show was all ages and it definitely showed. There were literally 16 year olds there. We felt like the cool chaperones at the prom. Anyway...the ladies from La Decadanse were selecting some fine electro when we got there. By 11 the place had gotten pretty full and Numero# took the stage:



This is the only evidence I have of the experience (thanks to Busy Paul and his cellphone) because I was too busy getting down with 1/3 of the electro triangle and Eddie. The dudes from Numero# have created music and a live show that is the definition of cheesy French electro-pop bliss. It's upbeat and you can't help but dance and enjoy yourself. My favorite part of the show - the transition from Celine Dion to Hit Pop:



You can watch the entire rest of the show here!

And I hate to do this but I have no self control. I am obsessed with this hilarious Celine Dion clip:



Umm...back to the show. After Numero#, Sports started dj-ing. Their set was fun and dance-able...but their transitions seemed a little late. Like the song would almost be completely over when they would start thinking about fading in another. Things would kind of wind down for a second before going into the next song. Also, they weren't playing anything that exciting. It was a fun set, just nothing crazy.

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Friday

Another night of decisions:



Friends of friends, Hollis Browne at Midway. They have a very unique bluesy, classic rock sound that is rare among all the indie bands found nowadays. This could be a good chance for them to get a record deal so please check them out. They go on somewhere around 8:30-9ish. It's $5 to get in until 9, $10 after.

After that I recommend heading over to Studio B:



Radio 4 haven't played a New York show since last June! They're been working on their new album. They play very upbeat, highly danceable rock. Should be a great show. Advance tickets here.

Alright here's where it starts to get hairy. 3 conflicting options:



L.A. Riots do some great remixing, but F-you Le Royale! I'm still bitter. If you're a dude and you wanna go be sure to find yourself 2 lady friends.

or



If anyone knows how to throw an insane, dance party it's Trouble & Bass. I can guarantee you it's going to be good because their parties always are. Also, Love's sound system will physically move you. This month's party features Dexplicit from the UK. It's $10 until 1am. Advance tickets here.

Finally...



Fixed and Modular team up to throw a banger, with any luck (and with some help from Australia's Dangerous Dan of the Bang Gang) reminiscent of some good old times at the Tribeca Grand.

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Jan 23, 2008

Tonight:



Alexander Technique, DJ Cat NYC, Jen Lasher & DJ SoWhat

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Simian Mobile Disco US Tour


One of my favorite British dj duos are back again. I could not be happier. They are playing Flavorpill's One Step Beyond in March at the Museum of Natural History! Tour dates (some are live, some are dj sets):

Mar 15 2008
Mess With Texas @ SXSW - LIVE Austin, Texas

Mar 17 2008
Sonotheque - DJ Chicago

Mar 19 2008
MJQ - DJ Atlanta

Mar 21 2008
Circa - DJ Toronto

Mar 23 2008
Coda - DJ Montreal

Mar 28 2008
Flavourpill Event - LIVE New York

Apr 23 2008
Richards - LIVE Vancouver

Apr 24 2008
Neumo’s - LIVE Seattle

Apr 25 2008
Holocene - LIVE Portland

Apr 26 2008
Mezzanine - LIVE San Francisco

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Tomorrow Night



Hadn't heard of Catz n' Dogz (a side project of 3 Channels) until I saw the flyer. Just started listening to some of the stuff on their myspace and they're growing on me. One of the things they're most known for is their remix of Claude von Stroke's "Who's Afraid of Detroit?" which I now realize I've heard. They're supposed to be very housey. In any case...I've been to a few of the Dirtybird parties at APT before and Justin and Tanner know how to throw down, and the nice, loud system there turns the basement of APT into a dance-filled sweatbox (in a good way of course).

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Jan 22, 2008

MSTRKRFT US Tour


Could there be any more good news today?!

Feb 26 2008
NEUMOS (ALL AGES) SEATTLE

Feb 27 2008
HAWTHORNE THEATRE (ALL AGES) PORTLAND

Feb 29 2008
HENRY FONDA THEATRE (ALL AGES) LOS ANGELES

Mar 1 2008
NOISEPOP FESTIVAL @ MIGHTY (21+) SAN FRANCISCO

Mar 3 2008
JET (21+) LAS VEGAS

Mar 5 2008
BELLY UP (ALL AGES) ASPEN

Mar 7 2008
STUDIO B (19+) BROOKLYN

Mar 8 2008
VISION (21+) CHICAGO

Mar 9 2008
THE TRALF (ALL AGES) BUFFALO

Mar 11 2008
WOODY’S (21+) PHILADELPHIA

Mar 12 2008
OTTOBAR (ALL AGES) BALTIMORE

Mar 13 2008
MASQUERADE (18+) ATLANTA

Mar 14 2008
RICH’S (18+) HOUSTON

Mar 15 2008
SXSW @ VICE (FORMERLY EXHADOUS) AUSTIN

Mar 16 2008
LIZARD LOUNGE (18+) DALLAS

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Cut Copy Announce US Mini Tour


10th MAR LA @ Echo

12th MAR SXSW @ Elysium

15th MAR NYC Studio B

17th MAR NYC Mercury Lounge
Tickets on sale here January 24th (Thursday) at noon EST.

25th April COACHELLA FESTIVAL california

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Justice show moved from Madison Square Garden


to the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden. Info from the Bowery Presents:

** Tickets purchased for the JUSTICE show at Madison Square Garden will be exchanged for tickets to the WaMu Theater at MSG show.

** Patrons who purchased tickets with a credit card will have the new ticket mailed to them.

** Patrons who purchased tickets through an outlet with cash will have their tickets exchanged at the door the night of the show.

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Tim Fite at Joe's Pub, 1/19/08

Went to yet another excellent Tim Fite show at Joe's Pub Saturday night. It included the following Tim Fite staples (in no particular order):

A rat named Juice
Looking Good
Still Looking Good (ending in cottage cheese instead of blood sausage)
Burn It Down

It's All Right Here
Away from the Snakes
No Good Here
In Your Hair
45 Remedies
Took A Wife
I Hope You're There

And also a few new songs (maybe 3 or 4), some of which were more on the slow, bluesy side and quite good. I imagine they will be on his new album due out this Spring on Anti Records.

Tim seemed very enthusiastic about the turnout and also how much longer than usual he was given to play. He took full advantage of the time element by reading, in it's entirety, this:



Caps for Sale is a children's storybook. It's about a cap salesman and some hijinks with monkeys. Let's just say Tim's reading was dead on, awesome, and hilarious, and involved audience participation.

I didn't take any pictures because I was far away, but I found some here on flickr.

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Muscles is out of control!

Was just over at Muscles' myspace when I spotted the t-shirt for his March '08 tour:



Hilarious! I guess if it's already part of the lyrics to one of your songs putting it on a t-shirt isn't too much of a jump.

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Chromeo Tickets

Going out so much lately has finally caught up to me and I am home from work illin today. But everything has an upside. For those of you who are forgetful like me and missed out on getting tickets to either of the sold out Chromeo shows at Bowery Ballroom this weekend/next week, I just checked Ticketmaster for the January 26th show and was able to snag one. So, if you missed out keep trying!

Also, did a bunch of stuff this weekend. Reviews coming soon.

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Jan 18, 2008

Midnight Juggernauts US Tour Dates Announced

US TOUR (more to come...)
23 Apr 2008
Mezzanine San Francisco, California

29 Apr 2008
Hi-Dive Denver, Colorado

2 May 2008
Double Door Chicago, Illinois

3 May 2008
Anti Toronto, Ontario

4 May 2008
Les Saints Montreal, Quebec

6 May 2008
9:30 Club washington, Washington DC

7 May 2008
Johnny Brendas Philladelphia, Pennsylvania

9 May 2008
Bowery Ballroom New York, New York

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Jan 17, 2008

Thursday...

Usually the night out...but tonight I am doing nothing!! I am exhausted...if you're not, I seriously recommend hitting this show:



I posted a little about Tippy when I heard she was going to be at the next Mas party coming up. She's definitely worth checking out. Also, Scott Melker is dj-ing afterwards and he was the one playing some great hip hop jams at the Fader party last night if you're in the mood for that.

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Fader Issue 51 party at Studio B 1/16/08

Got back from Studio B a little after 1.

Arrived a little before 10. No line, no problems with the list. Decent sized crowd inside. Opening dj (who I later learned was Scott Melker) was playing like...MTV hip hop jams of the past 10 years, which was fun, but all I wanted was to see Switch.

Somewhere between 10 and 11, Izza Kizza went on. They weren't very good. They were rapping, but over really well known beats and songs, i.e. the theme from Cheers (which was actually one of the cooler ones they did), and when I say "rapping" what I mean is singing along for a while, then spitting a few verses. It was like dudes who thought they could rap meets karaoke. Whack!

Santogold was on between 10 and 11. I actually had no idea what to expect. I'm not sure how I feel about her. A few songs I liked, a few I wasn't into. Then at some points she sounded very shrilly, but in all fairness Studio B was really loud and I forgot my earplugs. So yeah, need a second go before I decide. Her back-up dancers reminded me of this:



In retrospect they were less good than the ones in the youtube vid, but at the time that's what I was reminded of. And they were decent - good energy.

Other random weird Santogold observation. She did a song that reminded me a lot of Professor Murder's "Flex-it Formula". Will have to look into that.

So by 12ish Santogold was done. Someone was on the decks, and then it went to Switch. He was spinning the beginnings of a good set...but everyone was just milling around and chatting, and it was literally me and maybe 10 people out of the entire place dancing. Then once all the chatters left it was an empty floor and the 10 of us. Ridiculous. Even ran into Drop the Lime at the bar and he agreed. Whackness.

About 12:30 Diplo took over and he was pretty good too. He was really trying to get the remaining "crowd" into it, MC-ing and everything, but it just wasn't happening.

It was so frustrating to see 2 talented individuals' performances going to waste because people are clueless. Their loss!

By 1 the floor was so empty and i was so tired that I called it a night. Have some z's to catch up on after this past weekend and last night. Managed to grab a couple of pics of Switch doin his thing before I left though:



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Jan 16, 2008

Tonight

Still recovering from last night's 205 outing. What better way to recover then to go out again.

There's this which has taken priority over everything else since Switch is from the UK and is not here nearly often enough:


RSVP

Two good New York crews, holdin it down:




RSVP

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Moby, Justin Martin, and Jacques Renault at 205, 1/15/08

Hit 205 club last night with Busy Paul around 11:30ish. Never been there before. It's on a corner, relatively quiet, no line, no bullshit. It's a Tuesday night. We walk in and it is PACKED. They're playing like reggae-ish stuff. The place totally has the whole Warhol/Factory vibe that they're shooting for - the silver walls, filing cabinets, and random furniture everywhere.

We get drinks and head downstairs seeking some more electro-oriented tunes. Warhol themed down there too - writing printed on all the walls. There was a decent amount of people down there, but not packed like upstairs. I think it was Justin and some other dude (who didn't really look like Jacques, but I could be mistaken) spinning some...dun dun dun...good disco...something many people are not aware of.

Busy Paul and I are chatting, discussing grand plans for the electro triangle, music, etc. Run into some friends of his and around 1 get word from Mike that he's on his way. Just before that we see Moby wade past us through the crowd to get to the booth. This whole time Justin and co. are just laying down the disco, slightly veering a little more towards electro towards the end. The energy and tension is building. The dance floor is packed. I'm about to turn to Paul and tell him the place is about to explode, but before I get the words out, he says them to me. Hah. Sweet validation.

About 20 minutes after we spot Moby he starts spinning, and after just a couple of songs Mike gets there. The triangle is complete and Moby starts dropping some heavy, great jams. They were all pretty awesome and I had no idea what they were...and I didn't care. It was a pretty sick party in its own right, but for a Tuesday - AMAZING. Unfortunately some peeps had meetings and job interviews today. So we called it quits mid-set around 2. We unanimously agreed that it was dope and that Tuesday is just +hr and -e from being the new Thursday.

A couple of pics thanks to Mike's Blackberry Pearl...(oooh,ahh!) and my crowd maneuvering:



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Jan 14, 2008

Tomorrow Night!

Things get poppin early in the city this week (which is good b/c there is jack going on this weekend). Tomorrow:



From Moby's journal:

"i'm going to be digging through my old
record boxes and playing some
obscure old house tracks that i haven't
played in years.
jacques and justin always throw good
parties, so it should be a fun night.
oh, i think i'm dj'ing at 1a.m, or thereabouts."

Should be interesting to say the least. I'm wondering how it will compare to the Degenerates parties he's been having at Hiro for the past few months. Also, Moby's absolutely right about Jaques and Justin killing it. Don't sleep!

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Jan 13, 2008

Verboten at Studio B w/ Van Scott, Alexander Technique, VNDLSM, Radioclit, 1/12/08

Hit Studio B at midnight. No line, no muss, no fuss, just like the good ol' days at Studio B.

Van had already started his set when I arrived. I know he played "Heater" by Samim right when I first got there followed by a bunch of others that I knew but was blanking on the titles. I any case...it was a solid set. Very current, but still retaining certain Van Scott qualities from what I remember him playing back in the day before he was a dj.

Alexander Technique followed, and I think he and Van might have gone back and forth a bit, but not 100% sure about that. It was one of those deals where there were a few people in the booth, hard to tell what was going on/who was doing what. I do know that he dropped a remix I didn't recognize (maybe his own?) of Chromeo's Needy Girl, We Are All Prostitutes (Crookers' Remix?), TTC's Une Bande de Mec Sympa, Daft Punk's Television Rules the Nation/Around the World mash-up from their past tour, then some Justice, and then hell kinda broke loose on the dance floor and it was great. A very different set from when I saw him open for Felix a few months ago, but definitely just as good (just in a different way - more current stuff, less rock/90's remixes).

1ish VNDLSM hit the decks and shortly after Busy Paul hit Studio B (w/ both stick-on and actual moustache in tow...and some weird rave-tastic pocket effect going). Sadly the remaining 3rd of the electro triangle was out in LI :( Anyway...VNDLSM played some of their own stuff - Uh Oh, sadly neither the Rihanna nor the Chromeo remix :( They dropped some Boys Noize, Daft Punk's One More Time, Shake it to the Ground by Rye Rye, the Crookers remix of I Want Your Soul, Teenage Bad Girl's Cocotte!...a very good, dance-able set.

Radioclit went on at 2ish. It started off fine...they had this weird sample of a coyote howling, which was cool. They played some good stuff...D.I.M.- Is You...a bunch of stuff I didn't know that was good...but then there was a lot of weird stuff after that. It kind of made you scratch your head and think hmm wtf? So, a little before 3 we called it a night.

Overall a fun party. Looking forward to the next one...

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Jan 12, 2008

Holy Fuck at Le Royale, Dominique Keegan at Ruff Club at the Annex, 1/11/08

Last night was the second in what I expect to be a brutal 3 night run of fun & boozing.

Decided to see Holy Fuck last night at the last minute. Hung out at Mike's beforehand, headed over to Le Royale a little before 11. I was expecting it to be a little hellish based on what I read in some comments over at Brooklynvegan. But I mean, how bad could it be? BAD!

We get there and there is a very short line. We are at the front in 5 minutes. They're only letting in equal amounts of guys and girls = me, Mike, and Josh, not getting in. I'm realistic. I realize that unfortunately this bullshit exists when you go out, but...the door man was the biggest asshole about it ever! Like, I understand you're the door man and it's your job, and you have someone you have to answer to...but you don't have to be a bitch about it. Fuck him!

Anyway...after 15 minutes and herds of girls walking in without any guys, apparently he thought the male to female ratio inside was good enough to allow the 3 of us in. Motherfucker. I am so annoyed about this whole part of last night.

Anyway, we get in. We're on the list. It should have been free according to the flyer - NOPE, $10. Fuck you again GBH.

The crowd is whack hipster hell and it's packed. Alex English is spinning some ok jams, but a little dated (stuff from around this time last year) some of which would have been fine, but his transitions weren't very good.

Finally at 12:40ish Holy Fuck go on...and they are just really disappointing. One of those overly hyped blog bands that the crowd was just eating up. We stayed for 2 songs. Proceeded to refer to them as "Holy Suck" for the rest of the evening.

Got to Ruff Club around 1:30. We missed Kap10Kurt, but Dominique had just started dj-ing. He played a good set with actual transitions. He played some newer stuff, as well as some older jams (last year old, not classics) that are standing the test of time well, ie the Soulwax remix of Gravity's Rainbow (which Mike, Josh, and I heard 3 times that night). And while it was a different set than one of his you would've heard 5 years ago, it still had that Dominique, effortlessly banging, one good song after the other quality to it. Hope he dj's out again soon...

*priceless moment of the evening* - Busy Paul abruptly crashing the dancefloor doing the Daft Punk pyramid hand symbol and me initially thinking it was some random drunk guy.

3 nights of insanity continue tonight at Studio B.

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Jan 11, 2008

Friday!!!

I am in such a daze from Busy Paul's happy hour last night I totally forgot to post about what's going on tonight:



My friend Chuck recommended Holy Fuck to me the last time we hung out. Usually we like the same stuff, but when I checked them out this morning I was kind of on the fence about whether or not I was into them. I've heard they're very good live though.


There's also this:



I am really looking forward to this. Haven't been to Ruff Club in ages, and have been itching to see Kap10Kurt after I missed them at Studio B back in November. And a dj set from Dominique (1/2 of the Glass)?! Haven't seen him dj in ages. Definitely one of my favorites from back in the day when I first started going out to see dj's.

Don't let the rain ruin your Friday night!

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Jan 10, 2008

Sports!

I have been Hiro-ed out for a while, but they kept booking dj's that were too awesome to miss. I'm not saying that Sports aren't that awesome. I honestly haven't seen them before so I have no idea. I just am not obsessed enough (yet) to the point where I have to go see them. Doesn't mean you shouldn't though. Here's the info for tonight along with some info on Sports:



Another reason I am not tripping over myself to go see them tonight: they're playing the Knitting Factory in a little less than two weeks with Numero#. You can check Sports' style over at La Decadanse (who's hosting the event at the Knitting Factory) where they've posted Sports' awesome "I'm Hungry" mix, along with some of Numero#'s jams.

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Jan 9, 2008

Mas!

The folks at Mas are at it again.



The flyer took me somewhat by surprise...I had heard Busy P and the Rapture were gonna be there...but then I saw So Me...and then Tippy?!?!

I honestly couldn't believe my eyes when I saw a post about her earlier this week on Trash Menagerie, and now to see her on the same bill as Busy P and So Me is just a trip. I've known her for a while. First met her up at Vassar where my best friend went to school, back in 2002. Hung out with her a bunch of times while he was up at school there, and also during breaks when we were all in the city. She is really one of the most crazy, fun people I have ever met. And her tracks do not do her live performances justice. She is fierce and full of energy. Uffie better watch her ass!

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James Zabiela North American Tour


James Zabiela just announced a major North American tour from February into March. He hits New York on the 22nd of February (unfortunately at Pacha which is kind of hellish, with an equally hellish crowd).

I first got into James after a friend hounded me for literally an entire month about getting his Utilities album. It's on Renaissance, not exactly my favorite label, so I resisted. But once I got it I understood. It's a two disc set - disc one is "computed" using more modern technologies, disc 2 is a "recorded" traditional vinyl set. Not sure if the robot-loving James rigged it to be a pro-technology album, but disc one blows disc two out of the water. It's basically an hour of banging tech house with robot themes aplenty. Disc two is good background music...

Full list of tour dates on his myspace.

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The Count & Sinden signed to Domino

The Count (aka Herve) & Sinden signed to Domino.

Herve and Sinden Essential Mix

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Tim Fite News


from his email list:

"1. I will be playing my first show of 2008 at Joe's Pub on January 19th. There will be old songs, new songs, stories and sing alongs.

2. Due to a height surpluss left over from 2007, everyone will grow one millionth of an inch taller in the month of february.

3. In the spring of this year, I will be releasing a brand new record on ANTI-."

Tim's shows are always really good and fun. You should check out his show on the 19th if you can. Tickets here. Also, if you haven't been, Joe's Pub is a really great, intimate show space. Should work well for a Tim Fite show.

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Tonight & Saturday Night

Alexander Technique. He's great. Been looking forward to catching him again ever since seeing him dj before Felix da Housecat in November. This week you've got two chances:

Tonight:



and Saturday:



...which I am really looking forward to for 3 reasons:
1. Alexander Technique
2. Van Scott (who I haven't seen dj in forever, but who I'm always running into when I'm out)
3. VNDLSM! Their remix of Chromeo's Needy Girl has been all over the internets lately, and with good reason - it's awesome. But I had first caught wind of VNDLSM back in August when I got back from Montreal. I was looking for a version of Rihanna's Umbrella for a Monty mix that I still haven't made (that song was everywhere up there). Their spin on it is awesome...and I think very indicative of what they do - take songs that are alright, and make them BANG in their own little awesome way.

This is definitely the show I'm looking forward to this week.

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Jan 5, 2008

Justice to play Madison Square Garden

I didn't post about this on Friday when I first read about it, because I had read it on a billion blogs by then and figured everyone knew. In case you haven't heard though...Justice is playing at MSG on March 11th. The tickets are f-ing expensive! But I semi-accidentally bought one in a Mr. Oizo & hangover-induced haze. Then I found out here that the show will also include Chromeo (which makes me feel less mad at myself about their two Bowery shows coming up that sold out before I bought tickets), Busssy P, and Fancy (which made me much more excited about my hasty purchase!)

Are Justice + Chromeo + Busy P + Fancy + DJ Mehdi (just found out he's dj-ing too!) > $60-70? It's your call...

I'm kinda pumped to see a new Ed Banger who hasn't (to my knowledge) been stateside yet - Fancy. I like their song that is featured on Ed Rec. Volume 2 - "What's You Name Again" (Busy P remix), but that's pretty much the only thing I could find about them on the internets...*edit* It turns out I was mistaken...Fancy aren't on Ed Banger...and after hearing their stuff I think I am just into the Busy P remix's qualities and not so much Fancy.

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Jan 4, 2008

Friday Night Options

I am too tired to be writing this blog post, let alone go to any of these things tonight (but you never know). They all theoretically should be good. If I had to pick something I would say AC Slater (despite the scary Mario Lopez, Saved By the Bell images it puts in my head). His stuff is pretty good. I love his remix of Boys Noize's Shine Shine.



Other options:

Been wanting to see Metro Area for a while, but not really in the mood for their more disco-ey, laid back stuff after last night...but if Dave's set is anything like the one he spun at the Daft Punk Alive 2007 release party, I'm sure I will be kicking myself.


Not really into any of the other music, but Trouble & Bass dj's are always good:

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Mr. Oizo at Hiro 1/3/08



Pretty much just got back from seeing Mr. Oizo at Hiro. For once there was absolutely no line to get in...maybe they realized it was freezing out. They made up for it though but NOT having open bar from 11-12 - whack!

Anyway...
as I walk in the Chems' "Do It Again" is playing so I was instantly in a good mood. I get all settled, lose the coat, etc., go to order a drink, and who is standing right next to me but Busy Paul. Like a half an hour later Mike gets there. Finally at 1, Mr. Oizo goes on.

The dj before him set him up with an Uffie track, I think it was Ready to Uff...
For the next hour Mr. Oizo proceeded to play a bunch of good ones from the Ed Banger catalog including:

Mr. Oizo - Transexual
Justice - Let There Be Light
Mr. Oizo - Patrick 122
and a bunch more I can't remember.

It wasn't the typical Ed Banger-overloaded set entirely too common on dance floors lately though. He was tweaking all the songs a bit, and then in between them he was seriously just playing whatever the hell he wanted, like random old club tracks that I didn't even know...and Pump Up the Jam (at which point I turned around to see Mike getting down like there was no tomorrow) and Lose Control by Missy Elliott. It was a free for all.

I really loved it though. It was pretty much non-stop awesome-ness for the first hour. Some more stuff he played:

Boys Noize - Lava Lava or Arcade Robot? Can't recall.
Daft Punk - Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
Daft Punk - Face to Face
Chemical Brothers - Saturate (I lost it!)
Mr. Oizo - Flat Beat (lost it again!)

But then...the last half hour came...and it just got whack...the dude dropped some super slow jams. And I honestly thought he was kidding, and intentionally trying to clear the floor so that then he could drop something really great and hard...but then he didn't...and the next thing I knew Alex English was on the decks at 2:30!

Save for the devastatingly anti-climactic and slow ending, it was a dope set. The only way I could have been happier is if Mr. Oizo hadn't busted out Transexual and Patrick 122 so relatively early in his set, and if he had played some stuff from the Steak soundtrack.

Alex's set was pretty good after his...I know he played Apache and the D.I.M. remix of the Presets' My People. Can't complain. We saw some firemen lurking around, so we hit the coat check before the crowd got the hint.

Busy Paul wins the best facial hair remix award for his fu-man. Mr. Oizo gets best beard (duh!). George gets MVP for driving me "home" aka my boss' place where I am dogsitting and dropping a Mr. Flash cd on me.

Good times.

There's a ton of stuff happening here tomorrow. I would like to do it all, but that never works. Expect a post tomorrow with some options.

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Jan 3, 2008

Oh yeah, I used to know Quentin. He's a real, he's a real jerky.

I really don't know what else to say about Mr. Oizo (pronounced Wahh-zohh)...

He was kicking ass in '99 with Flat Beat (I am morally obligated to post the excellent, hilarious video):



Then he did a bunch of "weird experimental stuff" - Busy Paul.

And lately he's just been kicking ass and taking names:

His own stuff has been awesome -

Patrick 122
Transexual
Trina 700

His stuff on the Steak soundtrack with fellow Ed Banger - Sebastian, and Sebastien Tellier is dooope -

Ringardos
Steakskate
Chivers as Female
C.H.I.V.E.R.S.

Excellent remixes:

Something About You - Jamelia
Merrymaking At My Place - Calvin Harris


The beard! (4th one down)


Finally, probably the best testament to how awesome Mr. Oizo is...he is totally worth braving the 18 degree (actually probably even lower since it's only 15 degrees now and it's the middle of the day) weather with 15mph winds tonight.

DO NOT SLEEP!

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