We’ve talked about Headlights [Official] here in the past (as their video for “Love Song for Buddy” was recently featured in our 8 Great Videos Worth Checking Out Now) but they announced yesterday that they are hitting the road with David Bazan, so catch them if they hit your next o’ the woods.

The band recently sat down to play a session with Daytrotter (“Teenage Wonder”, “You & Eye”, “Secrets”, “Wisconsin Beaches”) that you can check out now as well.

Their latest album, Wildlife, is available via Polyvinyl.

Tour dates and more “after the jump” …read full article…

The Mountain Goats hold a particularly special place in my music-loving heart as it is at one of their shows that I chilled with a close friend whilst looking at hot NYU girls and finally realized, “I’m fucking old”. That sort of association had never been really clear until that night, however, I can smile looking back on that time now and how very far this site and my friendship with that writer have come since then. The above clip comes from our friends at Grandcrew.com and is an entire Parisian concert featuring TMG from this past October.

Super Furry Animals [MySpace] recently played a gig at NYC’s Highline Ballroom (a near 1.5 hour show!) captured by our good friend’s at Baeble Music that had their most ardent supporters out of their mind – simply this was a show to see. If you weren’t a fan but were dragged out to this show, you would have been a massive supporter by the time you left.

Check out the entire concert “after the jump” …read full article…

It stinks when you come down with an illness during any music festival, but especially one with the size and value of last week’s CMJ. After Thursday night’s shows, that was pretty much it for me last week, but not for my After the Jump brethren who on top of hold after parties every night, put on some of the most talked about shows of the week.

Yesterday, Pat from Pop Tarts Suck Toasted posted some great clips that he was able to take from the week (next year I will prepare my immune system better!) and you should definitely head over and check a few out. The one pictured above is the Sound Fix performance of “Kettering” by The Antlers [MySpace]. I wish I was there, but sometimes you just have to rest, people, especially when you feel like ass.

Check out the clip and more “after the jump” …read full article…

We love posting live concert material here at RE, so thanks for the folks at Baeble Music for putting this bit into our mailbox today. It’s from the recent Mercury Lounge performance by England’s Wild Beasts [MySpace] who “bring shape shifting melodies, dense textures, sophisticated compositions, sky-high falsettos, and libidinous lyrics to a very moody Mercury Lounge”. That sounds intense, right?

If that’s got you intrigued, come check out the entire set “after the jump” …read full article…

By the grace of God himself (and by having a super fly hook-up as well), the RE family were lucky enough to grace Terminal 5 with our presence for the finale of the Hennessy Artistry Tourft. Common and The Roots. Along with the usual high-class society folks and celebrity guests (yo, Robin Thicke’s wife is HAWT!), we were able to mingle with fellow beat heads for several high energy performances and insane real-time mashup/collabos. Oh, and we got to slam copious amounts of Hennessy Cognac in the process, which despite having a bottle heavy enough to smash a back windshield on a 2001 Honda Civic (read: someone did this to me), is still pretty tasty with just about everything save for bacon.

We wouldn’t know. We’ve just never tried it with bacon.

You can’t really go wrong with a free concert with performances by some of the biggest names in hip hop and the concert was sick (especially Common).

Check out a performance of “Bonita” featuring Common, The Roots and Q-Tip (as well as photos) “after the jump” …read full article…

Sunday night was Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of Atonement, which served as a somewhat poetic backdrop for “emo” pioneers Sunny Day Real Estate [MySpace], to confess and cast aside their past sins and join together once more as friends and band mates to perform at Terminal 5.

Unfortunately for me, Terminal 5, seems to have broken the greatest and most stead fast of all rock and roll rules and started the show exactly when the doors opened. As such I missed the bulk of The Jealous Sound’s set, which was upsetting considering they are a dear old favorite of mine. Although many people didn’t realize it, when seeing The Jealous Sound, you are seeing a “supergroup” albeit an obscure one. The band is made up of lead vocalist/guitarist Blair Shenhan (ex-Knapsack), guitarist Pedro Benito (Ex-Sunday’s Best) and drummer Adam Wade (ex- Jawbox and Shudder To Think). They delivered their usual high energy performance but were clearly overshadowed by the enormity of the Sunny Day reunion and weren’t granted much attention or applause.

After a brief respite, like 20 minutes, which anyone who has frequented any kind of show will tell you was really damn fast, Sunny Day Real Estate hit the stage with very little ceremony. The band simply walked out in steady increments. First came drummer William Goldsmith, then guitarists Jeremy Eniqk and Dan Horner and then lastly, as if planned, came the former holdout Bassist Nate Mendel. Before they kicked off their set, they were beseiged with applause and cat calls. Like many of my fellow audience members packed into Terminal 5, I only know the band from photos, books, a scant two records (with the original lineup) and a handful of videos, so to see the four of them on stage together live was truly awesome (as in the biblical sense, not just cool). …read full article…

Location matters. If you think it doesn’t then try and imagine “The Boss” coming from some place other than New Jersey. Location influences both the artist and how the listener perceives the artist. Tell me a band is from Williamsburg and I’m immediately bringing to the table a set of preconceived notions about what to expect. The Dirty Projectors, for instance, sound like 2000’s indie rock by way of Brooklyn and My Name Is John Michael sounds like 2000’s indie rock by way of New Orleans.

My Name Is John Michael [MySpace] is the name of the touring musical entity led by John Michael Rouchell, who, like the rest of his six piece band, is a native of New Orleans. My Name Is John Michael originally began as a 52 week one-song-a-week recording project that Rouchell under took in 2008. Originally conceived as a solo project but spiraling out of control into something much, much larger, My Name Is John Michael now touring behind the highlights of this project some 9 months later. Which brings us to Sunday night at Williamsburg’s Spike Hill. …read full article…

Tom: I’ve written about the Rural Alberta Advantage more than any other band this year. In my (secret) attempt to sway the Radio Exile Best Of 2009 Poll, I’ve begun to try and get other Exilers into the RAA. My biggest success thus far has been Holly Louise Perry.

Holly: The First time I heard The Rural Alberta Advantage was on a mix made by Radio Exiler Tom Williams about four months ago. Bought the album right away. Hooked.

I’m supposed to be on a strict no-concert diet (as I’m Europe bound in a few weeks), but I figured i could sacrifice a glass of Italy’s finest so I could catch them in my ‘hood. Very happy I did.

Tom: Since we both saw the RAA live on consecutive night, Holly thought it would be a really cool idea to do a he said/she said review of their live show. I agreed! Here it is.

Gig Location

Tom: Music Hall of Williamsburg in New York on 8/4/09.

Holly: Middle East Upstairs, Cambridge, MA 8/5/09 (their first gig in Cambridge!)

Beverages Consumed

Tom: One pf something I don’t know the name of. It tasted pretty hoppy. Might have been something from Brooklyn Brewery (which is awesome, by the way).

Holly: One draught Harpoon UFO. This lightweight was flying solo for the gig, and I’d much rather remember the music.

Crowd Vibe

Tom: For me, the best part of the show as the crowd. The RAA first played in New York City only about seven months ago, playing several small venues (100 capacity?). They came back in April and May, playing 200 and 300 capacity venues. And now they’re here playing a venue with a capacity of almost 600. Every time they come to New York their audience size doubles. Not only that but when I first saw them in New York in April, the crowd was into it but they didn’t really know the songs that well. At the show at the Music Hall, half the crowd was singing along! It felt like the entire place knew every lyric. This is a band on a huge accent right now.

Holly: I don’t believe the gig was sold out, but by the time RAA took the stage, it sure was cozy. A lot of people knew the words, and, judging by the applause-o-meter and the “one-more-songs,” you wouldn’t have been twisting anyone’s arm to stay another hour to hear the whole thing again. …read full article…

I love going to music festivals. I also love free. Free music festivals within a 30mi radius of me = no-brainer. This was my second free festival this summer (see Tom Williams’ Siren Festival Review).

God bless you, failing economy!

The Host (C+)

WFNX seemed to be a little all over the place. They didn’t get back to us in time for press pass info, so I tried to get one on my own. The poor girl at the info tent didn’t have any information, and seemed disenchanted with being so far away from the music. She called her boss, who said I needed a business card as proof that I was writing for Radio Exile. He did not want to see the website on my iPhone or two forms of identification – he really wanted that business card. Lame. I then tried my hand at seducing a strapping young man near the stage entrance. He made a call. Strike two.

Note to self: Work on sweet talking/showing more skin.

The City of Boston Events Staff Coordinator squawked over the PA system in between every band, demanding our attention and reinforcing the “no moshing or crowd surfing” rule. “Listen up! Listen to ME!! I’ll shut this event down so fast!…” She threatened to turn this car right around if we didn’t behave. It gave the show a “going to the mall with your parents” vibe. …read full article…

(Seriously, The Native Americans Called Coney Island “The Land Without Shadows” And I Can See Why)

I’d never been to Coney Island before, nor had I ever attended Siren Festival, despite years of planing and plotting to do both. When I saw that Frightened Rabbit, the Scots behind my favorite album of 2008, were playing, I decided to finally pop this cherry. How was it?

Here is the a point-by-point review (including pictures and video) “after the jump” …read full article…

We are at an uncertain time in the world right now. The mideast, it is explodin’, the economy’s still collapsin’ and Mark Sanford, he is a screwin’. Obama’s been elected but Michael Jackson and Billy Mays are dead. The environment might be dead unless we pass cap-and-trade, which will solve the problem, unless it does nothing but destroy the American economy. China wants to dump the dollar and Russia and Nigeria just teamed up to create Nigaz. Not only that, but Radio Exile just linked to the Moscow Times. That’s never a good sign. Seriously, if everything ended by next Friday, I wouldn’t be THAT shocked.

Uncertain times call for one thing: power-pop (didn’t see that coming, did you?). Whereas once we sought solace with the soothing and reassuring sounds of Rivers Cuomo and the Weezers, nowadays that’s a less certain proposition, what with them covering My Po-po-po-po-po-po-just say it already junior!-ker face Lady Gaga and all.

What are we to do? Find out after the jump… …read full article…

Oh, to be a critic.

We here at Radio Exile pride ourselves on being fanboys (case in point here, here, and, uh, well, generally speaking, here). The impetus for this site (along with the thousands of other music blogs across the internet) is just that; our profound, obsessive love of all things music. Even if we hate what we hear, we still love it for being music. And while most of you understand what that means (the same impetus drives our readers to visit our site with some frequency), there is a minority that exists to anchor our love, mixed bag that it is, and assume that our opinions count less if they do not match others’.

I haven’t written a review since this one. I like to tell myself it’s because I’ve been too busy, or I’ve been suffering from writers’ block. But that’s not true, because I continue to fill my own obligations here and, in my new found love of Twitter. The fact is, I’m honestly afraid to continue pasting my opinion on other people’s music, should that opinion be categorically mistaken for anything other than that: my opinion. I was unaware that my position as a lowly music critic on an independent music blog assigned some weighty responsibility to promote artists or a certain type of music outside my own taste. I mean, God forbid I ever become a food critic, though, to be fair, I’m not as picky when it comes to stuffing my face hole.

Read more “after the jump” …read full article…

Photo Credit: Oliver Correa at Hi Fi Cartel

On June 16th, after opening for the successful NIN/JA (Nine Inch Nails/Jane’s Addiction) tour, the gang known as Street Sweeper Social Club [ MySpace] struck out on their own. For those of you not familiar with the band, Street Sweeper Social Club is a new group featuring Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello and former Coup MC Boots Riley. Not only did they play their first headlining concert, they also released their self-titled debut album this week.

Befitting their image as a “social club”, which Boots frequently reminded the audience of, the band picked a much smaller venue than expected for their NYC jaunt, The Blender Theater. This presented an opportunity for fans to not only to rock out to some power-packed revolutionary jams but to see these two musical heroes up close and personal, making for an eclectic mix of fans – there were the old school Rage fans, hip hop heads, general rock and roll fans and because it was a record release show – label and radio personnel. Speaking of which, former MTV VJ Matt Pinfield stood next to me for half the concert, which is not really important but I just figured you should know. …read full article…

If you plan on seeing Plushgun [Official Site, MySpace] live, be ready to dance your heels off! If you have their album, Pins and Panzers, you already know that it’s pretty much impossible to not bop around to it wherever your iPod may take you (laundromat, crosswalks, your local ice cream establishment). They’ve been compared to The Postal Service, but they’re better. Lots. Better vocals, better beats, better lyrics, better hooks. Synth has never been so much fun.

In April they opened in for The Cliks at T.T. The Bear’s Place in Cambrdige, MA, but they really should have been the headliner. The day after the gig, I went on vacation to the sunny Dominican Republic, and planned to write up a little somethin-somethin on them while poolside sipping Coco Locos. I held off, because one day when checking my email in between sunscreen applications, I saw that they were playing again in Cambridge, in a month. This time they were headlining. Price of admission? $7. Cheaper than a Sam’s Seasonal at The Garden, my friends. So, I did what any rational person would do: tickets all around! …read full article…

“I need you to go to a show tonight”, said the voice, obscured by equal amounts of darkness and cigarette smoke.

“Shawn?”

“Don’t say my name out loud.”

“Did you have me meet you in this empty parking garage just so you can tell me me to go review a show? Why couldn’t I just meet you at Radio Exile World Headquarters like last time? Or, even better, why didn’t you just e-mail me? This parking garage nonsense is just plain creepy.”

A wailing ambulance went by in the distance.

“The office can’t be trusted; it’s bugged. I think my Jeff Buckley impersonator was a double agent…l’ve already said too much. Lemme get straight to the point. There is a show tonight at the Mercury Lounge. Real Estate, Vampire Hands, Wavves, and dd/mm/yyyy. I need you to attend under the pretense of reviewing the show. Your real target is a fellow blogger. Her name is Miss EyeRock. I think she is responsible for causing my Jeff Buckley impersonator to turn on me. You will escort her to the show. Show her a good time but try and get the truth out of her about my Buckley!”

“….Shawn, is this whole meeting me in parking garage just an preemptive attempt to give me a ridiculous literary device to use for when I write this review because you know I’m going to procrastinate and without some sort of insane back story I’ll never deliver on a review?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“Oh. Okay, so long as we’re clear on that.”

“But I’m serious about you escorting this blogger. She is a very dangerous person. Be careful with yourself. I want you to wear a wire, so I can listen in and ensure your safety.”

“I’m not going to wear a wire. I’m a hipster, remember? You ever try finding a place for a wire when you’re wearing American Apparel? How about I just update Twitter with what’s going on?”

“Twitter, eh? That would us an excuse to plug our Radio Exile twitter feed in the review… I like it. Maybe we can even get Oprah to RT our review for her first tweet…”

“Uh….sure.”

Two hours later, waiting outside the Mercury Lounge…

“…yeah don’t worry, I’ll get the information Shawn…….Yes, I’ll watch myself hey I gotta go, I can see Miss EyeRock approaching. Later!”

CLICK.

“Hey! Nice to see you, Miss EyeRock! Lets get out of this cold and head inside…”

For the rest of the story/review, please head to http://twitter.com/jeffmangumluver

Photo: The Music Slut

Sure, there might be a lot of more “professional” shots from last night, but our friends with The Music Slut were much closer to the front at the Webster Hall Morrissey gig and, frankly, I think their pics have a bit more character. The set was great, the crowd was fantastic (save for a few incidents where people insisted that say “Ow” for having your foot stomped on made one a “meathead”) and Radio Exile had an awesome time. Sure, fellow RE editor Elie thinks Morrissey is whiny, but all-in-all, if you fronted a band that shares my last name, you get a free pass (and blind “idol worship”) from me.

Setlist and more “after the jump” …read full article…

The bar was cozy. Tartan scarves hung from the mic stands, and the gathering crowd was in a pretty festive mood for a sold-out Sunday night show in Allston. Frightened Rabbit [Myspace] took the stage, opening with the quite popular tune from their sophomore release, “The Modern Leper.” From that point forward, the crowd was strapped into a roller-coaster ride of upbeat, emotionally driven, sweat-drenched songs of dying love and hazy moral gray areas. They played each song as if it were their final encore song. Not only is their energy more contagious than a night spent shacking it up with Lindsay Lohan, but it’s impossible not to become wrapped up in their lyrical emotion – they push it right back onto the listener.

The bearded Scots weren’t showy on stage – they were collectively humble, and the crowd freely appreciative. It was a great vibe. On occasion, they offered up witty bits and quick one liners, making the crowd grin while simultaneously subduing “song hecklers.” …read full article…

I have a confession for the masses.  Lizzy Grant [Myspace] is one of my new favorite artists.  Her stunning performance during CMJ inspired me (Shawn and Tom, too!) to attend her show on Tuesday night at the National Underground in New York City.  And the setting was quite fitting – a dank, brick-exposed cellar with dozens of sweaty fans eager to absorb her old-fashioned cool. …read full article…

One of my favorite acts when I left Norway’s by:Larm was the much ballyhooed Lukestar [Myspace]. The band, led by Truls Heggero (my new favorite front man in the world), were coming to NYC for their first show outside of Europe and I was sure I couldn’t miss it. The bonus: they were tearing it up with Casiokids, another Norwegian band, but one that I was really, really pissed to have not been able to check out while at by:Larm, but did meet out and about in Oslo.

Needless to say, it was cramped at Cake Shop and while that would normally keep me from standing as close as possible, the Norwegians who packed into the room were so happy to see their countrymen performing, I was just happy to be there too and pushed forward. This wasn’t your typical New York crowd, maybe for a great basement party in the suburbs, but this group had energy was fun and wanted to talk with those around them.

…read full article…