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by Fred Pessaro

Bolt Thrower at MDF (more by Fred Pessaro)

Maryland Deathfest 2013 kicked off yesterday (5/23) with a rare appearance from the legendary death metal band Bolt Thrower (on tour), along with Cobalt (also on tour, recently interviewed on IO on EVR), Japan's Abigail (part of a string of dates), Pallbearer, and local thrash favorites Noisem. The single stage event expands to four today, keep up with it all on the InvisibleOranges Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Pictures from the first day at Maryland Deathfest are available at InvisibleOranges.

Continue reading "Maryland Deathfest Day 1 in pics: Bolt Thrower, Cobalt, Abigail, Pallbearer, Deiphago, and Noisem" at brooklynvegan

Canada’s beloved indie label Arts & Crafts is celebrating 10 glorious years with a special compilation record, X. The collection brings together bands from the label’s roster for original compositions, like the just-released Broken Social Scene/Years collaboration “Day of the Kid”, plus covers of songs from Arts & Crafts’ past.

In the latter category, Ra Ra Riot and The Darcys team up to tackle “Time Can Be Overcome” by Constantines. Taken from the band’s one A&C release (incidentally their last before taking a break), Kensington Heights, the original is a sparse alt-country leaning ditty with scratchy, gruff vocals. The cover flips the script a bit, flushing out the sound with Riot-ous strings and quickening drums, while the vocals are delivered in steadier, smoother breaths. Listen in below.

Arts & Crafts: X will be available May 28th on LP, CD, and digital formats.

Arts & Crafts: X Tracklist:
01. Broken Social Scene x Years – “Day of the Kid”
02. Apostle of Hustle x Zeus – “Bizarre Love Triangle”
03. Feist x Timber Timbre – “Homage”
04. Still Life Still x Zulu Winter – “Era”
05. The Hidden Cameras x Snowblink – “The Chauffer”
06. The Darcys x Ra Ra Riot – “Time Can Be Overcome”
07...

Notoriously convivial Cologne-based techno label, Kompakt Records, turns twenty this year.

Rather than simply releasing a massive best-of boxset, producing a variety of celebratory merch items, and holding a series of birthday rave-ups (actually, they are doing all of these as well), they’ve asked composer, Gregor Schwellenbach, to create an album of classically-inclined arrangements of some of the standout tracks from the label’s back catalogue.

Having trained at Hannover’s prestigious Hochschule für Musik und Theater and studied with composers such as Heiner Goebbels, Michael Nyman, and electronic music pioneer Rüdiger Rüfer, Schwellenbach is steeped in a tradition stretching back centuries. His own compositions have been performed at esteemed international festivals of new music and for a wide variety of national theatres and broadcasters

Notoriously convivial Cologne-based techno label, Kompakt Records, turns twenty this year.

Rather than simply releasing a massive best-of boxset, producing a variety of celebratory merch items, and holding a series of birthday rave-ups (actually, they are doing all of these as well), they’ve asked composer, Gregor Schwellenbach, to create an album of classically-inclined arrangements of some of the standout tracks from the label’s back catalogue.

Having trained at Hannover’s prestigious Hochschule für Musik und Theater and studied with composers such as Heiner Goebbels, Michael Nyman, and electronic music pioneer Rüdiger Rüfer, Schwellenbach is steeped in a tradition stretching back centuries. His own compositions have been performed at esteemed international festivals of new music and for a wide variety of national theatres and broadcasters

DIIV @ Kidrockers, Brooklyn Bowl (more by Jessica Amaya)

Impresario Peter Shapiro -- owner of Brooklyn Bowl in Williamsburg and the former boss of Wetlands in Tribeca -- has picked a quiet pocket in the industrial neighborhood of Gowanus for a new "child-friendly" venture.
The 40-year-old father of two is turning an empty warehouse at 280 Bond St. into The Rock and Roll Playhouse, housing classes for the day-care crowd, a bar and a live-music theater...

...The Playhouse, slated to open this winter, will teach tots about music during the days in classes such as "Beatles for Babies," and "Drawing Rock and Roll," according to the project's website. - [NY Daily News]

Some local residents are worried that it will be a loud club at night and don't want booze to be served there. Peter Shapiro also has a hand in Port Chester's Capitol Theatre.

Continue reading "Brooklyn Bowl's Peter Shapiro opening kids music venue (with a bar for their parents) in Gowanus" at brooklynvegan

Last night, Portland’s Keller Auditorium played host to Vampire Weekend. The band ran through hits from their first two albums and played a significant chunk of their excellent new record Modern Vampires Of The City. We sent Colin McLaughlin to check it out.

Grizzly Bear appeared today on Ellen, where they performed “Yet Again” from their Top Star-earning album Shields. So if your Mom asks you about Grizzly Bear, here’s why.

Read and comment. From thedailyswarm.com.

Newly solo singer will hit the road in June

Chief Keef is once again drawing attention to himself for all the wrong reasons. On Thursday afternoon, the 17-year-old rapper directed a tweet toward Katy Perry which read: “Ill Smack The Shit out of her” and was accompanied by an emoticon of an open hand.

Keef’s beef with Perry stems from a tweet she made on Tuesday. “Just heard a new song on the radio called ‘I hate being sober’ I now have serious doubt for the world,” Perry wrote. (“I Hate Being Sober” appears on Keef’s major label debut, Finally Rich.)

Keef responded with a series of outrageous tweets, including “Dat bitch Katy Perry Can Suck Skin Off Of my Dick.” Keef then implied that he’d be recording a diss track about Perry.

Late Thursday night, Perry responded to Keef: “Mr. Keef! I’m sorry if I offended you. I heard a lot of people guesting on the song & didn’t even know it was you in particular. Actually… I’m a fan of your ‘Don’t Like’ video tbh. I was really just having a general opinion on our generations desire to be constantly intoxicated.”

Earlier this week, Chief Keef was arrested in Atlanta and charged with disorderly conduct. He also remains on probation in Illinois stemming from an incident in 2011 in which he pulled a gun on a police officer. Earlier this year, he was sentenced to 60 days in prison for violating his proba...

Fancy heading to Manchester on June 8-9?

Manchester’s Parklife Weekender is quickly looking like one of those festivals that makes you wish you lived up North. They’ve got a devastating set of artists lined up, from rappers Action Bronson and Joey BadA$$ to producers TNGHT, Julio Bashmore and Martyn all the way through to alt-pop sensation Jessie Ware and ‘Harlem Shake’ man Baauer. FACT were actually asked to co-host a stage, and we’ve roped in Danny Brown, Disclosure, Four Tet, John Talabot, Daphni, AlunaGeorge, Lapalux, Krystal Klear and Cyril Hahn.

Sadly, weekend passes have now sold out, but don’t dispair, FACT have managed to procure a pair of VIP weekend tickets which we’ll be handing out to one lucky reader. If you fancy your chances, just shoot us an email at competitions@thevinylfactory.com, with ‘Parklife VIP’ in the subject field and your name and telephone number in the message body. It’s that simple – we’ll see you there.

For more information on the festival and to purchase tickets head here.

Queens of the Stone Age shook the sold out Wiltern Theatre with a performance that was worthy of arenas. Unveiling a slew of tracks from their new album …Like Clockwork, Queens deftly interjected older songs in with the newer material as you may have witnessed during the live broadcast for NPR. The whole concert is now on YouTube and you can watch below. In the live format, the new songs had extra layers of muscle and bone that Queens are know for providing. Them Crooked Vultures guitarist Alain Johannes did a handful of acoustic songs to kick off the show. Check out the photo gallery above and the setlist below.

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I’ve come to accept that, as I get older, more and more of my job will entail staring at people younger and sexier than I am or ever was.