Vampire Weekend - Holiday

Here is Vampire Weekend's music video for their song 'Holiday'. It's a great video with super vintage feel. Goin all the way back to colonial times for this one!

Vampire Weekend - New Music - More Music Videos

Dear God 2.0

Dear God is a track we have talked about before. The Roots were very impressed when Monsters of Folk stopped by Late Night to perform. They brought the band back into the studio for their own take on Dear God. They keep some elements of the older version while completly reworking the beat. Roots rapper Black Thought has two verses and Jim James holds vocals down for MOF. Grab a free download below. The Roots album 'How I Got Over' is due out June 22.
The Roots - Dear God 2.0 by berman1125

Monster Rally - Free EP

 The next two months are jam packed for me. Lots of travel for music and summertime fun...this will lead to less internet time/blogging. I know, your like...Matt...it's been 3 days since you posted. Well, that's gonna happen over the summer. But here is something to make it worth the wait. Monster Rally has a free EP out now on their bandcamp website. The album cover best describes the music. Beach loops...throw this shit on while chillwaving at the beach with your friends. It's perfect background music for relaxing in the sun, something I try to do on the reg. Download this for free and have yourself a great day now!

FREE download of Monster Rally's EP -----> HERE

How 2 Survive Your DMB Show

Lets get one thing straight. As indie as this blog tends to be, it's roots are Dave Matthews Band. At least 5 shows are on the schedule for me this summer. Hartford is the tour opener, which I have never attended before...so I'm really pumped for that. Fuck you if you think they are lame. You don't know what good music is if you think Dave Matthews Band is a talentless band. You suck, sorry...just stop reading. Now that I got that out of my system, lets go over some basic pointers to have the best DMB experience possible. These tips can be used at almost any venue but, I will naturally be focusing on The Meadows... yes I still call it that, in Hartford.

If you have been to Hartford before, you know that the tailgating scene is second to none. We know how to pre-game better then anyone in the country. I advise getting there early to enjoy the entire day. The Meadows parking lots won't open until at least 3, and probably not until 4-4:30. If you show up early, you might be able to hang at Burger King for a while. Also, I placed a call to the popular Goodyear parking lot, they will NOT be parking cars this year...as well as some, but not all private lots. I guess the cops asked business to not allow private parking because of so many people showing up just to tailgate, with no tickets. Some lots have cooperated, some have not. So, parking will be a tad different this year. No word on what the Mercedes lot will be doing. If this is your first time, the show Friday starts an hour later the usual. The reason for this is the interchange of 84/91...its gridlock on a Friday afternoon...mix that with DMB traffic, and Memorial Day weekend traffic...things will be getting hectic fast.

If you are coming with a group of cars, it's going to be hard to park together unless you pull in at the same time to a private lot and pay to park. It just gets too congested when you are parking at Expo or the dirt lots at The Meadows. Everything will be found on Weston St. that turns into Reverend Moody's as you cross the bridge. From Carmax to to Market Street, there will be parking and partying on both sides of the road.So once you get all settled, it's time to get down to the party. All the action will be going down in The Expo lot and the dirt lots. That's where you will find all the people. Other popular spots include Hotel lots on the main drag, free parking over the bridge, strip club (not kidding). If you parked private, you can pretty much do as you please. The cops don't have a right to go in there unless something bad happens. If you park for free, you need to be a little more careful. They usually allow tables. If you are a group of teenagers bring 100 solo cups for booze/beer (never be caught with a can), but also a few jugs of juice that you can put on said table when the cops show up. The cops do not like the tables being used for beer pong, but it's not hard to get around that. As long as you act respectful when they are around you, they will leave you alone. They will have plenty of drunk frat boys to arrest, just be cool when they are around and you will be fine.

As far as grilling, I think you can...I'm not sure on the whole open flame policy, but I know I've seen people grilling. As far as smoking goes, I recommend packing bowls in the parking lot..and smoking them in the car. Blunts are not a great idea for the parking lot because they last like...20 minutes and cops will probably stop by within that time period. So just smoke up fast and bring in a bunch of joints to the show. So...now you are good and buzzed up, the show starts at 8. I recommend checking out the opener Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings but if you must keep partying, DMB will take stage at roughly 9:20 on Friday night and 8:20 on Saturday.

Do not underestimate traffic getting into the venue, it's like a bunch of fucking sheep...but with Whalers/Redsox/Yankee chants. Stay close, have a buddy system and then meet up with everyone once you get into the venue. Cell service will be limited. If you have lawn, I recommend taking the stairs up to the backside of the lawn, it's much easier to walk down and find a spot then climb up the mountain that is The Meadows lawn. Now, when it comes to drinking and smoking in the Lawn/Pav...lots of different rules. It's easier to smoke in the lawn, but easier to drink in the pav. Always have someone on the lookout. The Meadows workers will be walking around the lawn and will be looking for drinkers without wristbands...there is gonna be so much weed going around that it will be almost impossible for you to be singled out, unless you go walking up to a security gaurd with a fatty. If you are inside, the lights are dark, and you are in rows...they wont be looking for your wrists, just the cloud of smoke that is coming from your seat. Be courteous to those around you, ask them and make sure it's okay for you to smoke near them...and take BIG hits, also share it! If you are in the lawn, I don't recommend going to the bathroom, it's like a 20 minutes journey. You could always chance it at the fence, but get caught there and you will be thrown out.

So the show went great, and none of your friends died (hopefully)...now it's time to get back to your car. If you parked in the free parking, it's going to be a long wait...may I suggest going back to your car and opening up the grill for a little late night snack before getting out of the lots? There is no need to rush, it will be gridlock for a least an hour after the show...but I hope this post helped you get ready and get excited for the summer tour ahead. Since the boys will be taking 2011 off, I hope they treat this year as something special. See yall next week in Hartford and then the following week up at SPAC. Here are three of my favorite moments from last years tour.

Childish Gambino

Donald Glover aka Childish Gambino is most known for his star role on NBC's Community. He is also a rapper, we wrote about him in Feb. Here is a free download of his rap mixtape 'I Am Just a Rapper Pt.2' Below I have posted 2 tracks from what will be his first all original album 'Culdesac'. I think his stuff is really original, with a Lil Wayne flow to how he speaks. Donald also works his comedic side into his work as well, which is hard for people that it just doesn't come natural to. Also, check out his website http://www.iamdonald.com/ for all things awesome.
I Be On That (ROUGH) - Childish Gambino by berman1125
So Fly (ROUGH) by Childish Gambino

Janelle Monae - Arch Android & More

I had a musical orgasm last night while watching Late Night w/ David Letterman. Janelle Monae (Myspace) was the musical guest, and let me tell you, she is what's right with music. Her music is a blend of every genre. Swing, Big Band, Soul, Motown, Jazz, Hip-Hop, Dance, you name it...she plays it. Girl's got the moves of James Brown, the pipes of Rihanna, and a backing band that could support either Sinatra or Big Boi... not to mention she is sooooo sexy. I was blown away by the performance. You can watch it below. She has her first full length album out now 'The Arch Android' so go buy it HERE

....but thats not all!

When I woke up today, there was a tweet from HPSU... they are working very hard to throw a free show at The Bushnel Park. Not much info is known yet, but some did leak out this morning. The show will be held July 23rd in honor of Hartford's 375th anniversary. THEY GOT JANELLE MONAE!!!!!!!!!!! I can't believe it! Last night was the first time I heard her, I was blown away, and now I get to see her for free at what will be Hartford's biggest summer party. See ya there yallll! I'l be sure to keep everyone updated when more info about the show becomes available

HPSU: Javelin/Lemonade - The Warehouse

There is a reason that I don't review a lot of the shows that I go to. I'm too fucked up. I refuse to be 'that guy' with the pad and pen jotting down show notes. I would much rather have a great time with my friends before showing up and continue drinking and drugging while at said show. This worked out to be the perfect formula for another HSPU event. This message is brought to you by Red Dog the official road soda of summer 2010.

We arrived to The Warehouse around 10:45, the perfect time to arrive. @dirty_dustin was spinning before Lemonade came on, right around 11. The building, which at first seemed empty really filled up once Lemonade took stage...and this dance-rock group had The Warehouse bumpin. Live drums are key here. They really add to the full sound...and on the last jam, everyone in the band was playing drums. Another cool percussion feature they used was sampling in steel drums...it really makes it much more of a tropical feel, and that is my theme for summer. This band is hard to pin-down, they have a sound of their own in a genre where a lot of people are making the same sound. They stray from that, it really works for them.

Javelin took stage after what I thought was a short intermission, (probably just lost track of time, too much fun being had) with one cymbal, a drum pad, and a bunch of buttons. Their new album 'No Mas' is a chilled out techno...something that you can jam to while studying. Live, they are a different story. Every track they chose had two things: 1- every song they played was long, they were not affraid to make a song go towards five minutes...when most songs I am hearing lately tend to end before three minutes. 2- Every song brought the heat. Dudes (not our group) were taking off shirts left and right. It must'a been something in the punch, but everyone was feelin the love on Saturday night in the Heartbeat. Javelin's music is fun, and that's what everyone had...it was an undeniably great time.

Next event for HPSU is 5/28 http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=121919791168201&ref=mf

Vampire Weekend Fall Tour w/ Beach House & Dum Dum Girls

My dreams have come true. Two of the best performances of live music I have seen this year, have been by Dum Dum Girls and Beach House. Guess who is one of the bands I have been dieing to see, but have yet to make it to a show...Vampire Weekend. And now, all 3 of them are playing the same fucking show! Wow, this is going to be a hard ticket to come by... but this is a must see show. All 3 acts are just on the tops of my favorites list. They will be making their way to Boston with a stop at the Bank of America Pav, as well as a 3 night stand at Radio City in New York. Here are all the rest of the dates:

08-28 Vancouver, British Columbia - Malkin Bowl *^
08-29 Redmond, WA - Marymoor Amphitheater *^
08-31 Troutdale, OR - Edgefield Amphitheater *^
09-03 Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheater *^
09-05 Chicago, IL - Aragon Ballroom *^
09-07 Toronto, Ontario - Molson Canadian Amphitheater *^
09-08 Montreal, Quebec - Metropolis Theater ^
09-11 Columbia, MD - Merriweather Post Pavilion *^
09-12 Boston, MA - Bank of America Pavilion *^
09-15 New York, NY - Radio City Music Hall *^
09-16 New York, NY - Radio City Music Hall *^
09-17 New York, NY - Radio City Music Hall *^
09-26 Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Bowl *%
* with Beach House
^ with Dum Dum Girls
% with the Very Best

Here We Go Magic - Collector

The indie rock group Here We Go Magic is releasing their second album 'Pigeons' on June 8th via Secretly Canadian. It leaked last month, and the album is fantastic. Upbeat, catchy, guitar driven, clean vocals... a nice change to the fuzzy lo0finess we have all been listening to of late. The lead single off the album is 'Collector' best described using all the adjectives I stated above. The track got 'Best New Music' from Pitchfork, and here is the music video for it. They took a step back for the music video. Extremely retro, fuzzy, and lofi... completely opposite of the music

NO DMB in 2011

 

As we feel the excitement building for this summer, we wanted to let everyone know that after twenty years of consecutive touring, Dave Matthews Band will be taking 2011 off. We feel lucky that our tours are a part of so many people's lives, and wanted to give everyone as much notice as possible.  We're excited to make this summer one of our best tours yet, and look forward to returning to the road in 2012.

Not something you want to wake up to 2 weeks before the summer tour starts in Hartford. This band has been touring non-stop for 20 years. They deserve the break, there is no doubt about that...am I disappointed? Yes, obviously, this band has been one of the most important things in my life for the past 8 years. The people I have met, the experiences I've had, memories made for a lifetime....all over some silly music. I am hoping that this will open up the song selection for this tour. 

I originally thought that this would be a 'Big Whiskey' heavy tour...but with the news of 2011 being a no-go, I really hope that the band will expand their catalog and include some rare songs that the fans really want. 2011 will be a weird summer, DMB @ the meadows has been a tradition for a long time. A lot can happen in a year, I hope the band is serious about 2012. I would hate for them to get involved with other things and this be the end of DMB as we know it. I hope the band returns to form AS IS in 2012. Enjoy the time off boys, I hope you use it for the right reasons.

Phish on Fallon

Phish returned to Late Night for the first time in 6 years! They are playing during 'Rolling Stones Cover' week, every musical guest has played a Rolling Stones song. The one and only Kieth Richards was in the house as a guest, and introduced the band. They covered 'Loving Cup' off The Stones record 'Exile on Main Street'. Such a good jam, phish is godly, take note all you three chord guitar jammers (me included)...this is how you really play music.
PS. Look @ all the Phish- heads....soooooo funny

Chillest Dog Ever

Yo, this dogg b chillwavin 4sure!

Hartford Party Starters Present: Javelin & Lemonade 5/15

What are you doing this Saturday night? Whats that? You are going to some dumb house party to play beer pong for the 1000th time? No...you're not...because you will be going to The Warehouse in Hartford for what is the official kickoff for summer 2010. The Hartford Party Starters are hosting the event and they have fielded Javelin and Lemonade. It's going to be a dance party for the ages, so don't show up and stand in the corner all night. Both bands have strong ties to the electronica/techno side of things, but still have that full band feel to them. They will NOT be standing around staring at a laptop all night, things will be hot and sweaty in the heartbeat this weekend! Local DJ's PK Ripper and Dirty D will be spinning all night as well.

Grab some friends, get drunk(have a dd), get to The Warehouse, dance yo ass off. If this seems like something you 'aren't into' I really think you should give this show a chance. Hartford is a cool place to hang out and it's a good chance to see quality jams in a small venue. All the info you need is in the flyer posted on top, but here is the Facebook group and Hartford Party Starters Twitter. See yall on Sat!

Local Natives - World News Video

Local Natives are el fuego. Their debut album 'Gorilla Manor' has been el fuego since it came out. The new video for 'World News' is also el fuego. Enjoy the el fuegoness.

Wolf Parade - 2 New Tracks

Two Wolf Parade tracks have hit the interwebs, 'Ghost Pressure' and 'What Did My Lover Say' they are off the upcomming third Wolf Parade album 'Expo 86'. I totally forgot to post this last week, but here it is now... and you will be wanting these tracks, essential summer listening. Guitar driven synth ecstasy, one of my most anticipated releases for this year..
Wolf Parade - Ghost Pressurebypitchfork
Wolf Parade - What Did My Lover Say (It Always Had To Go This Way)bypitchfork

Free Sub-Pop Sampler

You may remember when we posted a Sub Pop 2010 Sampler in Janurary. They have now updated the list, putting some of the new singles on it...and it is available FO FREE at Amazon. This is must hear music, and it's free...there really is no excuse for you not to have these tunes on your Ipod. New Wolf Parade track, Beach House, Male Bonding, Avi Buffalo, Dum Dum Girls, are just a few of the names on the list. Head on over to Amazon to get the free download.

FREE Download of Sup Pop's 2010 Sampler ------>HERE!!! and thanks to @LittleLala for the tip!

Elm City Popfest May 14-15

The Elm City Popfest returns this weekend for three days and 17 bands of indie-pop revelry in the southern section of CT. Following the success of the first Elm City Popfest this past November, festival organizer and Tweefort/Feburary Records founder Danny Goodwin had to dig deeper this time around in order to top the original. Doubling in size, this installment of Elm City Popfest offers a range of local, regional, national and even international talent. Also, in addition to Artspace, there will be shows held at New Haven's 'Cafe Nine'. Head on over to CT Indie for the low down on what's happening and who is playing where. There is going to be tons of local talent like The Wee Bees and Womens Basketball playing so be sure to get out and support your local indie music.

Check these links out for what ya need:
February Records
Elm City Popfest
Tweefort Records Twitter

Full Lineup:
Day One - Friday, May 14th

9:30 The Wee Bees (New Haven)
10:30 Steven Deal (Milford, CT)
11:30 Veronica Falls (UK)
12:30 Boy Genius (NYC) feat. Mr. Ray Neal (of Miracle Legion)
@ Cafe Nine
doors 9pm / FREE / 21+
Day Two (DAY) - Saturday, May 15th
2:30 Roadside Attractions (New London, CT)
3:15 The Fictional West (New Haven)
4:00 Midstates (Chicago)
4:45 Panda Riot (Chicago)
5:30 EULA (New Haven)
6:15 The Field Recordings (Danbury, CT)
@ Artspace
doors 2pm / $5 / ALL-AGES
Day Two (NIGHT) - Saturday, May 15th
8:30 Procedure Club (New Haven)
9:15 The Secret History (NYC)
10:00 The Butterflies of Love (New Haven)
@ Artspace
doors 8pm / $5 / ALL-AGES

Day Three - Wednesday, May 26th
9:00 Allo Darlin' (UK)
9:45 Horowitz (UK)
10:30 The Tyler Trudeau Attempt (Brooklyn/New Haven)
11:15 Women's Basketball (Brooklyn/New Haven)
@ Cafe Nine
doors 8:30pm / FREE / 21+

Memoryhouse - Lately (Deuxieme)

Memoryhouse of our favorite label Arcade Sound Ltd (Magic Man, Teen Daze, MillonYoung) teased us with a few stills from their new music video for 'Lately(Deuxieme)' last month via their tmblr. The Canadian duo released the video today, it was directed by  Rinee Shah and Josh Lowman of Church and Steak. Pre-Order the 7'' at Inflated Records. Cloudy wishy-washy beached out....yummmm it's summer time.

Toro Y Moi - Yours Truly

It's been a while since I posted a Toro Y Moi track. 'Causers of This' is still my favorite album of the year. Now that it's summer time, it is getting even more plays on both ipod and vinyl player. Here he is performing 'You Hid' at Different Fur in San Fran. It is a very different take then the one heard on the album. It sounds fucking amazing. The vid was shot by Yours Truly and I grabbed it from GvB


TORO Y MOI "YOU HID" from Yours Truly on Vimeo.

LOCAL MUSIC ALERT!!!!! Benefit Concert for Haiti 5/15

The St. John's Youth Group has put together a concert to help send shelter boxes down to Haiti. Bands from Regional 7 include the Civics Project, JRE, and The Breakdown. The other artists are Luke Alibozek, Half Ecstatic, and String Theorie. Most of these bands can be found on Facebook or Myspace if you wish to hear them. There will also be many vendors with shirts, food, and other merchandise. Tickets are $10 if bought ahead of time at the school and $12 at the event. This all will be going down at the Pine Meadow Green at 3pm Saturday, May 15th.

This is a must see show if you live in or around New Hartford. Not only will you get to see what music is coming out of the high school now, you get to hear our very good friend Luke Alibozek (MySpace). I've been wanting to do a huge write up about Luke...just hasn't happened yet, I still plan on it once he gets his butt in gear ;). It is a real treat being able to see a friend that you grew up with performing his own music in front of crowds. He also has a great cover catalog of classic oldie and more alternative tunes. This, plus all the money going to benefit Haiti, do yourself a favor and get to this concert. Facebook Event

DP @ Wesleyan

I'm goin to see Dirty Projectors at Wesleyan today and you (probably) are not. Be jealous.

Vivian Girls Play Daytrotter

The Vivian Girls brought their summer pop musica to Daytrotter during SXSW this year. Check out their really really really good session below. Beautiful job ladies!

Free Download and Stream of The Vivan Girls Daytrotter Session----> HERE

Teen Daze - 'Four More Years'

So I am just going to keep reposting this article with updates because more and more information has oozed out from Teen Daze. They are now featured on Pitchfork's Forkcast and have just announced they will be releasing their EP 'Four More Years' off one of our favorite record lables Arcade Sound. They feature bands like Magic Man, Memory House, MillionYoung, and the just added Cool Runnings. Congrats to Teen Daze, and if you don't have the music...what the fuck are you waiting for, don't you want to say 'I knew these guys when....'

(The following was written on 4/27) Summer is just around the corner, and we have the new jam to help melt you into the summer sun. Teen Daze, from Vancouver has a total of 315 views on their myspace account (well a few more now) and is set to play their first show ever on May 8th. The song is 'Shine On You Crazy White Cap', the first single off their EP 'Four More Years'. It's a jaunty tune...reminds me a lot of Toro y Moi's song 'Freak Love'. The groups name describes the track best. It certainly is dazy...it's drenched in synth bliss and it flows just like The Farmington. 'Let's drive to the coastline, tonight' - that line pretty much sums up how I feel about my life right now. I just want to get in a car, drive to Cali, and never come back. Oh and I never want to grow up...just four more years plzzzz. Don't sleep on this! Check out their Myspace and grab a free download HERE. Thanks to white guys with beards for the link. Newest addition to OA's Best Beats playlist.


Teen Daze - Shine On, You Crazy White Cap from zeeeeej on Vimeo.
Shine On, You Crazy White Cap by berman1125

Cults - First Ever Performance

Cults has arguably the catchiest song of the year. 'Go Outside', just released on Forest Family has been chatted about by us here. Now there is a video of the first ever performance from the group. They played their first concert ever at The Mecury Lounge in New York a few days ago. Here is a video of 'Go Outside'

Neon Indian & Peter Gabriel Chat

Alan Palomo of Neon Indian sits down with the one and only Peter Gabriel to talk about life, music, and how awesome they are.

The National Play Pitchfork

The National played their new song 'Terrible Love' off of the new highily anticipated album 'High Violet'. This album hits the spot. I think it's just where I am in life. Confused, scared, lonely...'High Violet' really connects with me. Sonic soundwaves that move you, deep meaningful lyrics. One of my favorite albums this year.

I havn't been doing a lot of full album reviews, just havn't had the time/motiviation to sit down and write a huge write up. Things will get back to normal around here soon...but i highly recommend getting this album.

New Best Coast Tracks

Yes, this is another re-post...but Best Coast is very busy right now releasing new material.  They have a new 7'' single which you can get with buying a pair of eskuche headphones. You can also stream the 7'' which includes new songs 'Far Away' and 'Everyone's Gone' at the website. You can download 'Far Away' below. It's another pop gem...fuzzy, poppy, beachy, sad, everything we have come to love from Beth.
Best Coast - Far Away by berman1125

The song comes from Bethany aka Best Coast. It's featured in a web series as a prequel to an xbox game? Okay, sure! The song is beautiful. It's more country She & Him then fuzzy Best Coast. You can really hear Beth's voice shine through. She also does the oo'as and ahh's in the back. The song 'Our Deal' is again, about a boy and being confused about said boy. It's all wrapped up in that summer cali goodness that we love :) The song will be on the full length album due out later this year. Il post a download when I find it...until then you can stream it.


Best Coast 'Our Deal' Steaming ----> HERE

Avi Buffalo 'Whats In It For' Video

We let you stream the Avi Buffalo album here last week, now it's your turn to go buy it. Still need some convincing? Check out the music video for 'Whats In It For' the lead single off the new album. Now go buy.