not even jail

The annual CMJ marathon starts today. I'll definitely be at a few shows, but i'm sorta giving up the idea of trying to see as much as possible in the shortest amount of time possible. Is that a sign of old age? Probably. CMJ's always a fun week for new york, i'll be reporting all the good stuff!

Tonight, The Tarts of Pleasure are hosting a party at new venue Snitch! Probably the first of many great parties to come. I highly recommend you check all the bands out, details here. I also love Ultragrrrl's new label Stolen Transmission and her approach to helping unsigned bands... such a good idea!

A word on the past few days. Interpol at the Bowery... this is was the first show of their fall Antics fall tour, and you could kinda tell. There were some fuck-ups, guitars glitches, and lots of downtime in between songs. Somehow, they still put on a great show. Everyone was excited to hear the still-in-minority new songs live, and i was particularly happy to see them again at the Bowery and hear Leif Erikson and NARC. Beautiful lightshow as well, i only wish they played a little longer, in fact, they were supposed to come back for a second encore and play Stella, but they didn't. I bet that a solid month of touring will bring them back to Hammerstein with a much tighter set.

Atomique this week was a blast , lots of new faces, loads of great tunes, many free drinks, and a strange young boy who kept requesting all Smiths songs on little pieces of paper... hmm.... anyway, next week, i'm super excited to have Tony Fletcher as my guest DJ! I'll give you all the details in time...

Finally last night, 6 very generous bands played a benefit show at Rothko and were all great sports about it. Amongst the highlights, Magnet from Norway was astonishingly good, Say Hi to Your Mom impressed the hell out and me, The So and So's from Boston have a great female singer, and miami's Modernage was a lot of fun. All profits went to Concerts for Change.

Have i mentioned Oh My Rockness yet?

blue light special

Tonight, best monday night ever at ATOMIQUE @ Eleven (downstairs lounge). Not only will there be two hot lady DJs behind the turntables, a listening party for the new Music album, but this week, we're also offering our first Blue Light Special!!

Starting at 9pm for 15 minutes, and around every 1 1/2 hours for 15 minutes, we'll be giving away free drinks!! It might be shots, beers, cocktails... who knows? But its FREE. Just listen for the Blue Light Special announcement throughout the night!

Monday October 11th
Filter Magazine presents...
The Music - Welcome to the North listening party with free giveaways!
Guest DJs: Ilirjana + Cat

:: Party starts at 9pm, The Music preview at 9:30pm!
:: Beers and Well Drinks 1/2 off for the first 2 hours!
:: NO COVER! - 21+

Eleven (Downstairs Lounge) - 152 Orchard between Stanton and Rivington St.
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TOMORROW, tuesday october 12th, i'm hosting a pre-CMJ Concert for Change fundraiser at Rothko! Some of the finest bands will be playing, including MAGNET from Norway, and Ultragrrrl will be providing the tunes in between the bands.

Line-up:
11:45 - The Vitamen
11:00 - Modernage
10:15 - The So and So's
9:30 - Ben Arthur
8:45 - Say Hi to Your Mom
8:00 - MAGNET
Guest DJ: Ultragrrrl

$8 Advance tickets ++ $10 day of show.
Rothko :: 116 Suffolk St. between Rivington and Delancey.

my beautiful leah

Perhaps the best news i heard all week was that local band Benzos is opening for Blonde Redhead at Irving Plaza on their second night there (10/28)! Unfortunately, i will not be in town for the show, but if you're here and love either or both bands, go support!
It's really great to see the bands you like get some really good gigs and recognition... Dirty on Purpose will soon open for Arcarde Fire at the Bowery, it will no doubt be a sold out and amazing show. Asobi Seksu, who are featured in this month's Nylon Magazine, are going on tour and will play with Earlimart on a couple of dates. It's all so great to watch happen.

This week's been quite amazing gig-wise. On wednesday, i saw PJ Harvey at Hammerstein Ballroom, and though, none of her shows this year will compare to the Knitting and Pianos shows she played earlier, she and her band delivered another superb performance. They opened with Dress and went on to play such gems as 50ft Queenie, Who the fuck?, Meet Ze Monsta, Me-Jane, and the best received song of the night Rid of Me. This number never fails to get the crowd in the most effervescent of states, and will always be to me one of the best live songs ever performed. Surprisingly, she didn't play a lot of the new album and really brought on the oldies and rarities. This is very different than on the Stories... tour where every night she would play more than half of the album. It makes me wonder, does she not like to perform the new songs as much? Personally and strangely, i haven't spent a lot of time with Uh Huh Her, so it didn't bother me too much. Her band was very energetic and into the show. She came back for two encores and suprisingly didn't play her (only) MTV hit, Down by the water, but still left us happy after an hour and 1/2 of music. The only thing i regret is not being able to see her perform at all, since i was so far away from the stage.

On thursday, The Sons of Sound played their best show since the Mercury Lounge, this time at the Delancey. The sound was pretty incredible for the small basement venue, and the songs were tighter than ever. The band posted another new song on their site, check it out here. Also, read their interview in Sets and The City.

Sadly, i missed Rilo Kiley at the Bowery on friday, my fault completely... i'm hoping they'll be back soon.

I'm hosting a concert of change at Rothko this tuesday october 12th, i have some great bands lined-up, check out all the details here. I'll be posting more tomorrow. All profits from the show go to the Concerts for Change organization. You can buy Advance tickets here.

Also, late in the game, but congrats to Lindsay and Jason!