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2011 Live Music Scenes

Ryan Van Etten — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 10:23:18 +0000

All Time Low performs in at the Olympia Theatre in Dublin, Ireland on March 1, 2011. (Flickr/darkmavis)

The National frontman Matt Berninger sings over Coachella 2011 in Indio, CA. (Flickr/jaredeberhardt)

A crowdsurfer rides a wave of hands at Coachella 2011 in Indio, CA. (Flickr/jaredeberhardt)

A Day To Remember rocks The Academy in Dublin, Ireland, on January 29, 2011. (Flickr/josed)

“I ♥ weed” sunglasses and cellphones paint a picture of 2011 in the crowd at the Sasquatch! Music Festival. (Flickr/mikekatzif)

Bonnaroo attendees find some shade on June 18, 2011 in Manchester, TN. (Flickr/ellieswellies)

Alkaline Trio bassist Dan Andriano performs on August 4, 2011 at Clutch Cargo’s in Pontiac, MI during the Damnesia Tour. (Flickr/dancox_)

The New Deal performs on May 7, 2011 at Terminal 5 in New York City. (Flickr/whitperson)

Carl Barât stands on stage at Les Nuits Secrètes in Aulnoye-Aymeries, France on August 5, 2011. (Flickr/_cactus)

NoFx frontman Fat Mike raises his arms on stage at Bonnaroo 2011 in Manchester, TN. (Flickr/indierocklance)

Washed Out performs at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City on July 11, 2011. (Flickr/devynmanibo)

Warpaint singer Emily Kokal performs in São Paulo, Brazil on October 11, 2011. (Flickr/arielmartini)

Lady Gaga performs at the United Center, Chicago, IL on February 28, 2011 during The Monster Ball Tour. (Flickr/Great_Below)

Death From Above 1979 drummer/singer Sebastien Grainger performs at Sasquatch 2011 in George, Washington. (Flickr/joshc)

Death From Above 1979 fans scream during the band’s riot-causing reunion set at SXSW on March 19, 2011. (Flickr/kouryangelo)

Paramore singer Hayley Williams performs in Finland at Ruisrock 2011 (Flickr/samisiilin)

Alkaline Trio guitarist Matt Skiba smiles to a fan at the Orange Peel in Asheville, NC on August 17, 2011. (Flickr/organicthink)

Tegan and Sara perform at Rhode Island’s Newport Folk Festival on July 30, 2011. (Flickr/neonsighs)

Fans crowd in for Animal Collective at Pitchfork Music Festival 2011 in Union Park, Chicago, IL. (Flickr/seeing_aspects)

Cuthbert and the Night Walkers perform at Australia Day 2011 in Sydney, Australia. (Flickr/gematrium)

An unlikely trio of music fans walks around The Gorge at George during Sasquatch 2011. (Flickr/mikekatzif)

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Ultra Music Festival 2011

Ryan Van Etten — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 06:20:22 +0000

Ultra Music Festival 13 hit Miami on March 25–27, 2011 and if you attended, then chances are you got shot by the lens of Adam Jackson, corresponding photographer, at least once. Jackson is a prolific lifestreamer and photographer who’s made his way to UMF every year since 2004. Researchers have clocked him at 60 photos per minute—I don’t know how he performs his magic but it’s lucky for us he does—and without a press press no doubt. Please share the s%!+ outta’ this post in hopes UMF will get him one next year. Amen.

DFA 1979 IFB: C’mon now and give them all shhhhh

Julian Colin Sylvester — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 20:20:51 +0000

I usually take to dislike band reunions, as I firmly believe that something that was once glorious was a product of the circumstances in that very moment. To be more exact, I think its important to let things go when it’s time to let them go and not try to milk them until they are dry and saggy. It’s a matter of accepting the cycle of life. In the case of Death From Above 1979 I have to make an exception to my snobby views as this is truly a band that, I believe, had quite a lot more to give.

Death From Above 1979: Sebastien Grainger (left) and Jesse Keeler.

I was fortunate enough to stumble across them back in 2004–05 when You’re a Woman, I’m a Machine was released and I immediately understood that this band was something else in terms of basically everything. The brilliant elephant trunks logo on the pink background was one of the best album covers I had ever seen and the songs where all simply brutally amazing, the lyrics smart and quirky as fuck and the lads looked boss in all of their pictures. I was lucky to see them live on a small show in the Mercury Lounge during that time:

Death From Above 1979 drummer/singer Sebastien Grainger performs at the Mercury Lounge in NYC on May 1, 2005. (Flickr/ryanvanetten)

They were bound to be massive, and it came to a point when everyone started to know the name. During this transition into mas popularity, as the snobby cunt I am, I started to follow them less, although I understood this was a band that was destined for glory: they were fuckin’ savage. Then one day in the blog in their website that Jesse use to update that they were disbanding and though I thought it was a shame I did respect the fact that they call it quits before it all became too shabby.

A few weeks ago I read that they almost caused a riot on SXSW and I immediately relived the excitement and curiosity that they had produced in me when I was a little 20-year-old little bitch. Death From Above 1979 is back. Death From Above 1979 is back. Death From Above 1979 is fucking back!!!

Death From Above 1979 bassist Jesse Keeler performs at Sound Academy in Toronto on October 27, 2011. (Flickr/gennybeans)

2012-01-05: Reposted via Terrace Fashionista.

Calling SXSW Photographers

Ryan Van Etten — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 06:19:44 +0000

Photo: Flickr/XtelBoom

In the next two weeks we will probably see the hashtag #SXSW enough times to make our eyes bleed. What I really want is the music. Last year I compiled a killer set of 27 SXSW music photos taken by photographers on Flickr. This year we may as well try to top it, and to do that I’m enlisting help from anyone lucky enough to be attending SXSW with a digital camera.

It’s real easy. To submit photos please add them to our Flickr group during or after the event. Captions and tags are a big help. Photo credits will be clearly visible in the set for any photos that are featured. No watermarks please—watermarks aren’t rock and roll.

Don’t mess with Texas—wear sunscreen and earplugs. Have fun. Mosh. Be safe!

P.S. What bands are you most amped up to see?

2010′s Best Live Music Media

Ryan Van Etten — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 04:59:11 +0000

2010′s hugest live-music media—in 10 photos and 10 videos. Get ready…

The All-American Rejects (Tyson Ritter) @ Van Warped Tour 2010 in Dallas, TX
Photo: earlylove/Flickr

The Black Keys @ Classic Car Club in New York, NY
Photo: baonguyen/Flickr

DJ Shadow @ Exit Festival 2010 in Novi Sad, Serbia
Photo: exitfestival/Flickr

Muse @ Wembley Stadium in London, UK
Photo: crazybobbles

The xx @ Bonnaroo 2010 in Manchester, TN
Photo: thatgreenplanet/Flickr

M.I.A. @ Tripod in Dublin, Ireland
Photo: darkmavis/Flickr

Tiffany Page @ Godiva Festival 2010 in Coventry, UK
Photo: sony_boy/Flickr

Arcade Fire @ O2 Arena in Dublin, Ireland
Photo: darkmavis/Flickr

Paramore (Hayley Williams) @ O2 Arena in Dublin, Ireland
Photo: darkmavis/Flickr

Sparks The Rescue @ Vans Warped Tour 2010 in Houston, TX
Photo: heatherp/Flickr

If Your Website Has Videos, Then You’re Crazy Not To Be Embedding Them From YouTube

Ryan Van Etten — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 21:30:44 +0000

8 Advantages To Embedding Videos From YouTube

OR Vimeo—as opposed to streaming from your own host in a custom player

1. No bandwidth strain or maintenance issues.
2. Visitors get player controls that they’re already used to.
3. Shareability.
4. It works. Everywhere. Always. (plays on iPhone etc.)
5. Easy as f*** to implement (copy and paste). No webmaster needed.
6. Traffic source—put link to your site in YouTube video descriptions.
7. Google indexes YouTube videos.
8. The network effect compounds these advantages.

Atari Teenage Riot – “Sick To Death” Live At Fusion 2010. Filmed By Zan Lyons.

YouTube blows away the rest as far as eyeballs. I really like YouTube’s new iframe embed code (it’s what we’re using here now). Vimeo is the second biggest and IMO has really nice features. The best part is that you don’t really have to pick—upload to both of them! Psst.: Tube Mogul may help for going beyond that—I’ve never used it but it apparently can syndicate uploads to multiple video sites. Also I know the YouTube API available for developers. Anyone use it?

November Rocked

Ryan Van Etten — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 04:04:21 +0000

November doesn’t usually get a lot of hype in the world of music—I’m here to change that with a massive set of rock music photos—mostly they’re live because that’s the way rock is meant to be heard! Two of the shows I went to, and the rest I wish I did. Includes everything from ‘underground’ through Smashing Pumpkins and spans New Jersey, Brazil, Dublin, Barcelona, and more. 25 photos total. I’d like to thank the various bands and photographers involved—see credits in each caption.

01Klaxons perform at Tripod in Dublin, Ireland on November 23.
darkmavis/Flickr – Facebook – rockzilla.eu

02Under The Flood guitarist Matt Nadolski records guitar tracks at Ocean Industries Studios in Charleston, SC in early November for an upcoming acoustic EP.
iTunes – Facebook – undertheflood.com
virtualmusictv/Flickr

03Subject To Failure performs at Dingbatz in Clifton, NJ on November 27.
Facebook – Bandmix
virtualmusictv/Flickr

04The 33rd Revolution performs at Dingbatz in Clifton, NJ on November 27.
Facebook
virtualmusictv/Flickr

05Nasty Cats perform at CSA Godzilla in Livorno, Italy on November 27.
Myspace
ale88/Flickr

06Smashing Pumpkins drummer Mike Byrne performs during the music festival Planeta Terra held at Playcenter in Sao Paulo, Brazil on November 20.
iTunes – smashingpumpkins.com
arielmartini/Flickr

07Sharon Van Etten performs at Cat’s Cradle in Carrboro, NC on November 22, during her tour with Junip.
Stereogum – YouTube – sharonvanetten.com
evitalephotography/Flickr – evitalephotography.com

08We Are Scientists perform at Academy in Dublin, Ireland on November 29.
darkmavis/Flickr – Facebook – rockzilla.eu

09We Are Scientists perform at Academy in Dublin, Ireland on November 29.
darkmavis/Flickr – Facebook – rockzilla.eu

10The 33rd Revolution drummer Erik Schibel performs at Dingbatz Clifton, NJ on November 27.
Facebook
virtualmusictv/Flickr

11Junip performs at Cat’s Cradle in Chapel Hill, NC on November 22.
iTunes – junip.net
benjamindunn/Flickr

12Bram Johnson performs at Arlene’s Grocery in New York, NY on November 18.
iTunes – Facebook – brambrambram.com
virtualmusictv/Flickr

13Sleigh Bells singer Alexis Krauss on November 15.
Facebook – Indaba – Review – Video
mmarsupilami/Flickr

14Object 7 performs at Dingbatz in Clifton, NJ on November 27.
virtualmusictv/Flickr

15Paramore singer Hayley Williams performs at The O2 Arena in Dublin, Ireland on November 6.
iTunes – Hulu – paramore.net
darkmavis/Flickr – Facebook – rockzilla.eu

16My Chemical Romance performs for BBC Radio 1 at Maida Vale Studios in London, UK on November 11.
iTunes – mychemicalromance.com
rodrico/Flickr

17The Dead Tricks singer James Donovan performs with SLeuX at Dingbatz in Clifton, NJ on November 27.
Facebook – Myspace
virtualmusictv/Flickr

18Atari Teenage Riot performs at Vk* in Brussells, Belgium on November 27.
YouTube – atari-teenage-riot.com
frf_kmeron/Flickr – musicfromthepit.com

19Under The Flood guitarist Brandon Sidebottom records guitar tracks at Ocean Industries Studios in Charleston, SC in early November for an upcoming acoustic EP.
iTunes – Facebook – undertheflood.com
virtualmusictv/Flickr

20Franz Ferdinand brings a crowd to San Miguel Unique’s at Union Naval in Barcelona, Spain on November 4.
Facebook – franzferdinand.co.uk
imonfort/Flickr

21Franz Ferdinand performs at San Miguel Unique’s at Union Naval in Barcelona, Spain on November 4.
Facebook – franzferdinand.co.uk
imonfort/Flickr

22Tegan and Sara perform in Milwaukee, WI on November 3.
iTunes – teganandsara.com
davidkimphotography/Flickr

23SLeuX guitarist Chris Dinardo performs at Dingbatz in Clifton, NJ on November 27.
Interview – Facebook – YouTube – ReverbNation
virtualmusictv/Flickr

24Jamaica performs at Botanique in Brussels, Belgium on November 26
Facebook – jamaicanoproblem.fm
frf_kmeron/Flickr

25Jamaica performs at Botanique in Brussels, Belgium on November 26
Facebook – jamaicanoproblem.fm
frf_kmeron/Flickr

For those about to rock we salute you! For music photograhers, please join our Flickr group VM:::Live Music:::Art. To view more photo sets like this click here. If you have photos that you think would fit in one of our future live music sets, then please add them to the group and/or contact me directly.

NJ Event: Saturday Night with SLeuX

Ryan Van Etten — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 01:12:29 +0000

Surely everyone enjoyed Thanksgiving and is now ready for some rock! The band SLeuX will be performing their debut self-titled album live for the first time at Dingbatz in Clifton, NJ tomorrow night. Earlier this month I interviewed Chris Dinardo from SLeuX and he’s stoked about the upcoming show. Details: November 27, 2010 | 21+ | $10 entry | 8pm doors | see Facebook. The updated lineup is:
9pm Subject To Failure | 10pm The 33rd Revolution | 11pm SLeuX | 12am Object 7. See ya’ there!

Footage of SLeuX recording at Big Blue Meenie Studios in Jersey City, NJ and rehearsing at Hellhound Studios in Rahway, NJ. The featured song is Track #5 “I Wish It Was Warm” from the upcoming 2010 debut release.

If you’re wondering what Dingbatz is like, it’s a little something like this.
Photo: The band, Chambers, performing at Dingbatz on June 25, 2010
Photographer: sleepwalkers_guide/flickr.

Location vs. Cost: Touring U.S. Cities

Ryan Van Etten — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 01:31:56 +0000

What’s normal in New York is not normal in Fargo. Location changes costs. You’re in a touring band? You might want to consider this when booking shows and pricing merch/tickets. Expect higher expenses in the more expensive cities, but at the same time, expect fans to be willing to pay relatively more. Raise your prices accordingly. In less expensive cities, drop your prices. To help gauge the spectrum, here’s a comparison of living costs in 100 U.S. cities that may be on your tour map. I’m not saying go crazy, I mean, focus on the music and the fans, but for example, if you’re selling your CD in Austin for $12, why not up it to $15 in New York and drop it to $10 in Tulsa? Or experiment with varying pay-what-you-want minimums.

U.S. Cost of Living Comparison: an infographic comparing estimated livings costs in 100 cities based on military BAH rates and categorized by region; West, Midwest, Northeast, and South. The ten most expensive cities or metro areas are New York, San Francisco, Long Island, Boston, New Haven, Northern New Jersey, Los Angeles, San Diego, Washington DC, and Baltimore. Many of the most expensive cities (shown in dark purple) are located in California or the Northeast. (Image: virtualmusictv/Flickr)

While not exactly proportional, it’s reasonably assumed that entertainment spending goes up with housing spending. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that for the average American in 2009, 5.5% of total spending was on entertainment and 34.4% was on housing—both down slightly from 2008. The funny thing though is that online retailers don’t (or can’t) change their price based on location like a merch booth can. An mp3 from iTunes costs the same from no matter where you buy it, right? The same goes for almost everything else you buy online—with the exception of shipping rates. Any bands out there already doing price variation or pay what you want on the road? Any stories from the most expensive or cheapest places you’ve ever toured?

How To Find The Best Music Blogs

Ryan Van Etten — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 23:12:41 +0000

In the sea of music blogs, best means most relevant to the reader. How can bands or listeners find blogs in their genre? How can they find blogs in a specific city? Google is an obvious search tool for most topics, but to really get in the trenches and find smaller indie blogs, here are five super-effective search techniques.

1. Similar Artists

Before you start, determine the bands that are most similar to you. In case you’re clueless on this, use last.fm to help. Each last.fm artist page lists similar artists. The artists with the highest similarity to Japandroids on last.fm are Titus Andronicus, No Age, and Cymbals Eat Guitars.
Example: last.fm/music/Japandroids/+similar

2. Aggregators

Now that you know what artists are in your sub-genre, try searching for them on a music blog aggregator like Elbo.ws or Hype Machine to find the blogs that are writing about them.
Example: elbo.ws/search/?q=Titus Andronicus
Example: hypem.com/search/Titus Andronicus

3. Ask The Fans

This may sound simple, but what better resource for your music scene than your own fans? They may point you to great underground blogs that you wouldn’t have found otherwise, and many of them may be bloggers themselves. They already like your music and will want to help you.

4. Search Smart

Search Twitter for the similar artists using search operators to filter your results. We’re locating blogs, so filter for tweets containing links. Refine the search to a specific location and/or use the hyphen to omit now playing tweets. Experiment with operators on blogsearch.google.com too.
Twitter: “titus andronicus” OR “cymbals eat guitars” filter:links -#nowplaying -#lastfm
Twitter: “titus andronicus” OR “cymbals eat guitars” near:”New York” within:25mi
Blogsearch: japandroids site:tumblr.com OR site:posterous.com OR site:blogspot.com

5. Trust People

Delicious and StumbleUpon are based on the intelligence of the masses. Explore Delicious tags like genres, artist names, mp3 blog, cities, etc. Discover on StumbleUpon via topics and search.
Example: delicious.com/tag/music+indie+rock+review
Example: stumbleupon.com/discover/music-review/

Japandroids in Ann Arbor in 2010.
photo: dailybeatz/flickr
official site: japandroids.com
music: iTunes | Insound | Amazon

Titus Andronicus in Barcelona in 2010.
photo: stinka/flickr
official site: titusandronicus.net
music: iTunes | Insound | Amazon

Cymbals Eat Guitars in London in 2010.
photo: encosion/flickr
official site: cymbalseatguitars.com
music: iTunes | Insound | Amazon

No Age in Barcelona in 2010.
photo: cz77/flickr
myspace: myspace.com/nonoage
music: iTunes | Insound | Amazon