The Rakes US tour dates!

To coincide with the digitial release of their third album, Klang!, the Rakes are coming back to the States and Canada for a very brief jaunt (if you will). We're pretty excited, and are hoping a few more dates will pop up soon!

October 31 - Los Angeles, CA - The Roxy
November 1 - San Francisco, CA - Slims
November 3 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Urban Lounge
November 4 - Denver, CO - The Bluebird
November 6 - Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock
November 7 - Chicago, IL - Double Door
November 9 - Toronto, ON - Mod Club
November 10 - Montreal, QC - Petit Campus
November 11 - Boston, MA - Great Scott
November 12 - New York, NY - Highline Ballroom

Hockey - Mercury Lounge - August 10, 2009

We've been having a very mild summer on this side of the pond, barely reaching 85 degrees on a daily basis. But on August 10th, the real feel temperature soared over 100 degrees, which made for a very sticky evening at Mercury Lounge with four bands on the bill!

When we arrived at Merc, there was a line a good 30 people deep hoping to score a ticket to the sold out show, something rarely seen at Merc, and we've even seen The Fratellis there! That alone is a sign of good (no, great) things to come for Portland's Hockey!

Hockey are our new favorite band. Or are they our favorite new band? I think it's both. It's not very often that we get this excited about a new band (let alone, an American band), but we here at NYC2LON are pleased as punch with our new discovery. Hockey have a fresh take on old sounds. A little bit country? Check. A little bit rock n roll? Check. A little bit...hip hop? Yep. They manage to combine genres (sometimes within the same song) without sounding like they're trying too hard (or sounding ridiculous). It was 100 degrees outside, and the inside of Mercury Lounge was a sweatbox, but that didn't stop the sold out crowd from making it sweatier.

And if you don't believe us, you'll have to see them yourself to find out. They have a few tour dates left in the States, but are then heading east to conquer the UK. We have a feeling they're gonna pull a Kings of Leon and become a huge band in Europe and then next thing you know, they'll be headlining Madison Square Garden!

You should definitely Listen If You Like (LiYL): Disco, Bruce Springsteen, Duran Duran's 'Hungry Like the Wolf', Bob Dylan, Razorlight, and/or Vampire Weekend. Their debut album, Mind Chaos, is out September 21st (UK)/October 6 (US)!

Jamie T - Chaka Demus Video

Jamie T - Chaka Demus on MUZU.

As it gets closer and closer to the release date of Kings and Queens (September 8), we're getting little bits and pieces to whet our appetite of the new sound of Jamie T! This is the second video/single released, and we must admit, the anticipation for the full album is killing us!

Julian Casablancas, Phrazes for the Young, & The Strokes...we're excited!

Not to toot our own horn (toot toot), but we've been obsessed with The Strokes from the beginning, seeing them at tiny venues like the TLA in PA and The Stone Pony in NJ, amongst many other venues in the greater tri-state area! It's been over three years since we've seen them and even longer since we've heard some music from the five-piece, whose impact on music is immeasurable!

Now the ever-so-charming front man is hoping on the bandwagon to do his own solo work, following in the foot steps of three-fifths of his band mates (read: Fabrizio Moretti's Little Joy, Albert Hammond Jr's self titled work, and Nikolai Fraiture's Nickel Eye). So, in his first interview in over three years, Julian Casablancas is discussing the future of both The Strokes and his solo project, who's debut album, Phrazes for the Young, is scheduled for a fall release date!



Of course, this made us nostalgic for simpler times, for the single that started it all, before the movie star and model girlfriends, marriages, and possibly the cutest twin babies we've ever seen, and leave you with "Last Nite"!

Siren Festival - Coney Island - July 18, 2009

Words by Vaughn Kritsas
Photos by Chris La Putt via BV

A veteran of the annual Village Voice Siren Fest for the past 5 years, this year marked the first year that I could legally drink and the first year that I made a conscious effort to see the headliner of the main stage. Prior years I would usually stick with the Stillwell Stage headliner, except for the NY Dolls, who draw a more eclectic musical presence to the show. Usually I would strategize about running from stage to stage to catch as many bands as humanly possible in the heat stroke inducing sun. However, this year I decided to chill out and take Siren Fest for what it really is: a free concert.

After filling up on Coney Island's very own Nathan's hot dogs and two XL Coors Lites (only $6.50!) I made my way to the main stage to catch the Japandroids. Hailing all the way from Vancouver and selling out their previous NY stop at Pianos, I was anticipating their brand of teen anthems spewed with 90s fuzz. For some reason listening to the Japandroids seems so wrong; however, to deny oneself enjoyment of lyrics like "your style is such a mess, I shoulda known I used to date a stylist" backed by loud snare and crash cymbals is a fucking crime.

Despite having a great time enjoying a beer and listening to the Japandroids, I made a snap play decision to scamper off to the Stillwell Stage to catch Thee Oh Sees. It was during my run to the Stillwell Stage that my masculinity was put to the test in the form of a simple game of "Shoot-the-Freak" and the XL beers from Nathan's finally caught up with me. When I finally reached the press pit I was told that I actually missed Thee Oh Sees set. I guess my 2009 Siren Fest experience has been denied its right to lo-fi psychedelic garage rock.

Next up: Future of the Left. Hailing all the way from the bowels of Cardiff, Wales, Future of the Left took to the stage screaming such lyrics as "violence will solve everything" and "Audience Please! Every minute matters!" backed by crunchy guitar rock and deep distorted heavy bass. The angsty crowd took to Future of the Left with great energy by showcasing their fist-pumping and head-banging techniques. This ultimately culminated in bassist Kelson Matthias (who previously took jabs at America’s good ole Cheetos) throwing himself over the much-disliked press barricade into the flock of adoring angst ridden fans.

I would say it would be hard to follow such a strong act, but Brooklyn three-piece A Place to Bury Strangers successfully brought their tinnitus inducing noise-rock to the sunny shores of Coney Island. While the breeze rolled off the Atlantic Ocean, frontman Oliver Ackermann crafted simple pop melodies drenched in feedback, which called to mind such predecessors as My Bloody Valentine and Jesus and Mary Chain. A beach may be the wrong place to see such a band, who are known for playing dark, dingy Brooklyn lofts, but Oliver and co. held their own and blasted the audience with enough feedback to shake The Wonder Wheel and the Cyclone.

Taking the headlining slot for the main stage was none other than Built to Spill, who are set to release their first album in three years, There Is No Enemy, this October. Kicking their set off with “Liar” from their latest LP, Built to Spill threw down the gauntlet for naysayers who constantly draw comparisons to the Neil Young and Crazy Horse riffage. The setlist consisted of a nice mix of four previous LPs and was completely void of songs from Perfect From Now On, which the band played in its entirety at their last NY appearance. As the sun set, Built to Spill moved into such crowd favorites as “You Were Right”, which was met with crowd singalongs. The band ended the night with “Carry the Zero” while I was wondering who has the better beard: Doug Martsh or Brett Netson?

What's In My Bag? With Tim Burgess

I know it's technically 'The Charlatans UK' but I'm pretty sure that's only because of some fun little lawsuit involving a band with the same name. (Ahhh yes, after Wikipedia-ing, turns out there's a US Charlatans). The bands Blink and Blink 182 come to mind, but does anyone actually listen to the band Blink? And has anyone ever listened to the other Charlatans? No, I rest my case, and have successfully, once again, gone on a major tangent!

Let's get back on track here... It's always interesting to see what people in bands purchase these days, especially when it comes to their music choices. So below, you can see what records (yes, like actual records) Tim Burgess bought on a recent outing. All we have to say is, have fun uploading those records onto your computer so you can turn them into mp3s so you can put them on your iPod!



The Charlatans (UK) have a US tour coming up this September with Hatcham Social set to open! Check out all of the tour dates either here or here!

The Mighty Boosh - Bowery Ballroom - July 21, 2009

They say (I don't really know who 'they' are) the most important thing to do when studying abroad is to immerse yourself in their culture. Now, if you're like me and you studied abroad in the UK, that basically means drink a lot (sometimes even Irn Bru), eat fish and chips, see fantastic British bands, and most importantly, become obsessed with The Mighty Boosh!

If you have no idea what The Boosh are, then I'm afraid reading about them here will really do you no good. In order to fully understand and appreciate them, you'll have to see their TV show, which you finally can, now that they're releasing the DVDs in the US in the American format!

To celebrate this milestone, the whole cast of the Mighty Boosh finally got off the stand by list and got a flight to America, to do two Myspace Secret Stand-Up performances, in both NY and LA. The New York show was literally announced the day prior and because it was first come first serve, the line(s) outside Bowery Ballroom were absolutely chaotic! Doors were at 9pm and shortly after opening, they were closed, and many fans were left outside. Fans of The Boosh are past borderline cult-ish, and there were many people dressed up as Howard Moon, Vince Noir, Naboo, Bob Fossil, and of course, Bollo. One fan went so far as to create a larger than life size Ruby, who on the show is Vince's "special friend" i.e. a "lady" interest of his which is actually just a stick with a coconut as a head!

The entire night was filled with video clips from the show, which were barely audible over the entire audience screaming the quotes and singing along to the songs. Vince (Noel Fielding) and Howard (Julian Barratt) performed skits, dark "theater", the occasional song, and most importantly a very brief crimp! Crimping for those not in the know, is when two or more people come together to create an a cappella scat-style nonsense song. To truly appreciate this, below is a video of when The Boosh performed the impossible 4-way crimp!

I tried stealing this, but failed miserably!

After about an hour long set, and appearances by Naboo, Bob Fossil (who taught the crowd some fantastic dance moves), and Bollo; Bowery Ballroom turned into a night club, where Brit-Pop music was being blasted from the speakers. While The Boosh's US debut was clearly a success, they only have one show left in the US, and unfortunately for middle-America, it takes place on the West Coast next Tuesday at The Roxy!

Things I learned from The Boosh last night:

• Step-ladders can be used to finger bang a giraffe
  
• Pinatas can be filled with semen
  
• The Moon's got 99 problems, but the bitch ain't one
  

Hell Yeah - The First Mighty Boosh show in the US

THE MIGHTY BOOSH
First Ever US Show

Tuesday
JULY 21, 2009
FREE! ALL AGES!
Doors @ 9:00 PM
@ Bowery Ballroom

PLEASE NOTE: This show is first come, first served. So get there early and stay in line.

Jelly Pool Parties 2009!

I mean, the flyer basically does all the blogging for me, but let's see what little insight I can shed here. First of all, as many of you may know, McCarren has been closed so the location has changed to the Williamsburg Waterfront, which is located at 90 Kent Ave. @ N9th. At this new location there will be on-site dodgeball, three-on-three basketball, a larger capacity, as well as a view of the Empire State building! Oh, and one last thing, IT'S ALL FREE!!!

WOO and BOO: EP edition

Two of our favorite artists released EPs just yesterday, and while they not only meet the requirements of this website (one from the States, one from the UK), they also have been artists we've been following for quite some time. Unfortunately, only one passed our strict screening test to go on to become a "WOO," while the other one fell a wee bit flat...

And the WOO goes to: drum roll please...... Jamie T for his EP Sticks 'n' Stones! This EP is the stepping stone between Jamie's disgustingly perfect debut, Panic Prevention, which was released over two years ago, and his upcoming sophomore release, Kings and Queens. With just four songs, the EP gives you a preview of what to expect on his upcoming album. It is clear that while Jamie is still true to his Panic Prevention roots, he is going in an entirely new direction with both this EP and Kings and Queens.

The namesake for this EP, and Jamie's first single, "Sticks 'n' Stones" eases his fans into the new direction he's going by being equal parts Panic Prevention and Kings and Queens! Both "St. Christopher" and "On the Green" are different versions of the same Jamie T we've always known and loved. "St. Christopher" is stripped down, and while I hate to say this, a little bit Razorlight! "On the Green" is Jamie's take on country/blues, and to be completely honest, it's incredible! It's as if Jamie went to the South, chewed straw, and sat on a porch with a banjo in hand. "The Dance of the Young Professionals" is gypsy punk, so much so that Gogol Bordello should watch their backs! This EP should tide everyone over 'til the release of Kings and Queens and while Jamie just announced a crop of UK tour dates, we really need him back in the States, so buy this EP, PLEASE!!!

Then we have the BOO award, which regrettably belongs to the now very famous Spoon, with their newest EP, Got Nuffin. Now, we here at NYC2LON have been fans of Spoon for as long as our young lives would allow it, so it comes with great remorse that they've made the BOO list. But with only three songs, and one that is instrumental, it's hard to forgive this EP. While their single "Got Nuffin" is the Spoon we all know and love, the rest of the EP leaves much to be desired. The only other song with lyrics, "Stroke Their Brains," while typical in Spoon fashion, does seem a bit drawn out with Britt doing what I like to call "reverb voice" a little too much on the track. I suppose this EP is meant to whet our Spoon appetites, as Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga is already two years old, and they've been M.I.A. for quite some time. Unfortunately, it just doesn't fill the gap that those two years has created, and we're hoping their next full length release will be out sooner rather than later.