Now solo, probably with less reverb

It seems that the heroes of shoegazer past are all doing solo tours now. Adam Franklin of Swervedriver will be at the Mercury Lounge on September 8 and Rob Dickinson of Catherine Wheel will be there on October 11. I know Mark Gardener of Ride has been around town recently too (I saw him at the Tribeca Rock Club at some point in 2004). It would be nice to hear some tunes from their former bands (like Mark did - a solo electric "Vapour Trail").

I'm gonna see Adam Franklin at his September 12 KEXP performance at the Museum of Television and Radio, which happens to be right next to my office. I've heard that these KEXP shows are great, and I'm looking forward to this.

Unsavory! at Route 85a this Friday night

I am returning to Route 85a in the East Village to spin your favorite Britpop/Indie/DancePunk/Electro tunes. Joining me this Friday is Dr. Maz (DeLuxe). Come out and play!

[Check out the setlist from Friday]

Everybody wants to be part of the rock scene

Check out video streams of Athlete's new single "Half Life" - high and low. "Half Life" is off of their sophomore effort, Tourist. I'm a fan of Athlete's melodic rock and thought that their first album, Vehicles and Animals, was excellent, especially "You Got the Style." Tourist starts were Vehicles left off. They are playing the Bowery on Ocotber 4.

Finally

Editors are finally coming to NYC and will be playing the Mercury Lounge on September 19. It looks like tickets will be on Ticketweb, but they haven't been posted yet. And Franz Ferdinand is taking Editors on a UK arena tour in November. Lucky them.

I can't wait for this show. "Munich" is my favorite song of the year, and "Fingers in the Factories" is not too far behind.

HOLD EVERYTHING - the Mercury Lounge calendar says that this show has been postponed. Boo!

And yet they play free secret shows all around the UK - including this Friday at the Truman Brewery Complex in London.

The Diggs

UPDATE - I went to Sin-e and saw them last night. Great show. Almost all of their songs quietly build up into a great crescendo of sound. I was impressed by the powerful sound that came from a three-piece band, something that a lot of three-pieces cannot do. You should see this band on one of the next three Thursdays.

---I was recently introduced to Brooklyn three-piece The Diggs. Great band. They are very emo rock-ish indie rock, and their song "Stagg" is excellent. They are starting a four show residency at Sin-e tonight, and are definitely worth checking out.

Shaun Ryder is a scary-looking dude

Have you seen the video for the new Gorillaz single "DARE"? Seeing Shaun Ryder's frankenstein-esque head is a frightening thing (as is meeting him in person, like I did last November - he's not really in tip-top shape). Here's the video stream - (windows media hi).

Great song too. Good to see Shaun back in action. NME reports that he's written two new songs for the Happy Mondays' gig at Get Loaded in the Park.

Unsavory! at Route 85a on August 16th

I will be at Route 85a on Tuesday the 16th for my new DJ night, Unsavory!, where I will play all of your favorite Britpop/Indie/DancePunk/Electro tunes. $4 domestic bottles and $5 cosmos all night. Come out and play!

[Update: see my setlist here]

The return of Franz

The Franz Ferdinand hype machine is warming up, getting ready for the fall release of their sophomore effort. You Could Have It So Much Better…With Franz Ferdinand will be released on October 3, preceded by a new single "Do You Want To" on September 19. NME has the full tracklisting here. I'm really surprised that none of these tracks have been leaked yet - I'm just waiting for that to happen.

Worth leaving Manhattan for

The line-up for the "Across the Narrows" shows was announced, with Oasis, The Killers, Beck and The Pixies headlining.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 1 – CONEY ISLAND
-Pixies
-Gang of Four
-Built to Spill
-Rilo Kiley
-Death From Above 1979
-Mando Diao
-Nine Black Alps

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 1 – STATEN ISLAND
-The Killers
-New York Dolls
-Interpol
-British Sea Power
-Tegan and Sara
-The Ordinary Boys
-Lake Trout

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 2 – CONEY ISLAND
-Beck
-Belle & Sebastian
-The Polyphonic Spree
-The Raveonettes
-Gang Gang Dance
-Whirlwind Heat
-Special guest to be announced

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 2 – STATEN ISLAND
-Oasis
-Jet
-Doves
-The Lemonheads
-Kasabian
-Jesse Malin
-The Redwalls
-Special guest to be announced

I think I'll be spending both days in Staten Island, although I wouldn't mind seeing The Pixies and Gang of Four.

Tickets are a little pricey - they will be sold individually for each of the four concerts at $55.00 per show. A $100.00 discounted combo ticket will be made available to patrons that will be good for any two shows. There will also be a VIP Package available for $250.00 per show. Tickets go on sale on August 12th.

Ktown

So I went out in Koreatown last night. For those of you unfamiliar with Koreatown, it's really just 32nd Street between 5th and 6th Avenues. I was part of a large group and the management of the place where we were put us in a swanky back room, which, of course, had a kareoke machine. Now while kareoke at a Korean bar is not atypical, this machine was stocked with some random material. Among the standard guitar ballads and top 40 hits were some random Britpop songs - we're talking non-"Wonderwall" Oasis, Suede, Stereophonics, and a crapload of Radiohead. Who in god's name is going to try to match pitch with Thom Yorke? I performed "So Young" to the bewilderment of my group - "who the hell is Suede and why are you using a falsetto?"

Shoegazing at Scenic

I keep forgetting to post something about the new shoegazer night at Scenic, "To Here Knows When." This night is promoted by the Loveless Music Group, which "was created to market, promote and cultivate a specific style of music" - namely the sonic, phazed-out effects of shoegazer. They are throwing this night every other Wednesday, and the next one (on the 17th) is free! I need to check this night out, as I'm a sucker for some good shoegazing.