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Who is Bonny Bear?

brooklynvegan http://www.brooklynvegan.com/ music

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Bon Iver is the 'Best New Artist'

Congrats Justin! (for Best New Artist and Best Alternative Album)

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Denise from PS22 Chorus in Adele/Target commercial that aired during the Grammys (video)

As seen over 1,000,000 times on YouTube, and now in Target commercial that aired during the Grammys (!), Denise from Staten Island's great PS 22 Chorus can belt out some Adele. Check out the ad, and the original cover video that helped make her famous, below...

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Grammys open thread (Bon Iver won one in the pre-show; Kanye West & Skrillex each have 3 already)

Justin Vernon & My Morning Jacket backstage @ the Grammys (by dariusjagjag)

Someone from Jagjaguwar tweeted the above picture not long before Justin Vernon shouted out "Jagjaguwar" to end his acceptance speech at the Grammys pre-show this evening (2/12).

Bon Iver won "Best Alternative Music Album", beating out Radiohead, My Morning Jacket, Foster the People & Death Cab Cab For Cutie. Other pre-telecast winners include Adele, Foo Fighters (who beat Mastodon, The Decemberists and TV on the Radio), Skrillex (who won three already and beat Cut Copy, Robyn, Deadmau5 and others), Kanye West (who also won three already), The Civil Wars (who won two already and beat Fleet Foxes), Levon Helm, Alison Krauss, Tinariwen, Louis CK, Cee-Lo, and Booker T Jones who won "Best Pop Instrumental Album" for the 2nd time, and nervously thanked Biz Markie, Questlove, Gabriel Roth (of Daptone Records), Matt Berninger (of the National), and Lou Reed.

Arcade Fire also won another Grammy already (for Best Recording Package).

A Numero Group Syl Johnson release was up for two Grammys but lost in both categories.

And that was just all the stuff they don't show on TV. The regular show with all the big awards (and possibly more for Bon Iver) starts at 8pm EST, Whitney Houston tribute included.

UPDATES:
* Jack Black makes "indie cred" joke that includes "Bon Iver" while introducing Foo Fighters
* Denise from PS22 in Adele commercial

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Boy Friend touring with Young Prisms (MP3, tour dates)

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Boy Friend - Egyptian Wrinkle (MP3)

Christa Palazzolo and Sarah Brown left Austin band "Sleep 8 Over" in late 2010, but continued working together as Boy Friend. They released a single, "Lovedropper," last year and their debut album, Egyptian Wrinkle, will be out March 5 on Italian indie label Hell Yes! (That's their exclamation point, not mine.)

Like what they did in "Sleep 8 Over", the sounds Palazzolo and Brown make as Boy Friend are warm and hazy with their ethereal vocals floating above, but with more melodic hooks to latch onto. It's like a nice bath, but no pruny hands. There are a lot of comparisons to the Cocteau Twins going around but I don't think that's exactly apt. The vocal stylings are similar but nowhere near as otherworldly as Liz Frasier, and from what I can tell, there are no guitars on the album. There is, however, a definite '80s 4AD vibe nonetheless. I like the album a lot. You can download the album's title track at the top of this post or stream it below. Spotify users can listen to the whole album right now.

Boy Friend are soon hitting the road with San Francisco shoegazers Young Prisms, a tour we wrote about a couple weeks ago that hits Glasslands on March 5. For those readers in Austin, Boy Friend band are throwing an early record release party this tonight (Sunday, 2/12) 29th St. Ballroom at the Spider House, a show that also features Hell Yes! labelmates Love Inks, plus darkwavers Missions.

Click through for all Young Prisms/Boy Friend tour dates, as well as a streaming version of "Egyptian Wrinkle."

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What's going on Sunday? (Grammys)

today in NYC
* ASSSSCAT 3000 @ UCB
* Omar Lords @ Zebulon
* Laura Veirs @ Joe's Pub
* Ed Vallance @ The Ace Hotel
* Fred Armisen, Azita @ Union Pool
* Bjork @ New York Hall of Science
* Cherish The Ladies @ City Winery
* Pretty Good Friends @ Union Hall
* Theologian, Alberich @ The STone
* School of Rock @ Highline Ballroom
* Screaming Females @ Generation Records
* Williamsburg Salsa Orchestra @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Il Abanico, Dear Lions, The Split @ Spike Hill
* Guns N' Roses, The Chelsea Smiles @ Terminal 5
* The Queens of FELA on Broadway celebrate the Grammy's @ Knitting Factory
* Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys @ B.B. King Blues Club and Grill
* Soft Spot, Parmaga, Buffalo Stance @ Death By Audio
* Beast Make Bomb, Shake the Baron, Sea Monsters, Flagland @ Glasslands
* James Blake (DJ set), The Chain, Airhead @ Le Poisson Rouge
* English Dogs, The Casualties, Toxic Holocaust, Havok @ Europa
* Psychobuildings, Amil Byleckie Band, Trip Dicks @ Big Snow Buffalo Lodge
* Daniel Neumann, Maria Chavez, Alfredo Marin, Zeljko McMullen, Doron Sadja, Tristan Shepherd, Mario Diaz de Leon, Ben Vida, Sabisha Friedberg @ Roulette
* Communion featuring David Wax Museum, Aoife O'Donovan, Jones Street Station, Julia Easterlin @ Public Assembly

Check out some photos from Arcade Fire's 2004 show at Mercury Lounge on the BrooklynVegan Facebook.

Hopefully Bjork is feeling better.

Follow @BrooklynVegan on Twitter.

In case you were wondering, no Slash (pictured above) is not in the current lineup of Guns N Roses that plays Terminal 5 tonight.

The Grammys, now overshadowed/advertised by the tragedy that is Whitney Houston's death, air tonight on CBS at 8 p.m. EST. A last minute Whitney tribute was put together for the TV show and will include Jennifer Hudson and Chaka Khan.

In related and also sad (no disrespect to Whitney!) news, Foster the People and Maroon 5/Adam Levine are performing with the reunited Beach Boys at the Grammys. Adele will also be peforming on the show, but Justin Vernon will not be (because he refused to agree to whatever horrible collaboration they wanted him to do).

As previously mentioned...

Bon Iver was nominated for four high profile Grammys (though not "Album of the Year" which is what Arcade Fire won). Adele & Katy Perry nominated for a zillion, and other nominees include The Black Keys, Foster the Peepee, Cee Lo, Duck Sauce, Robyn, Cut Copy, Skrillex, Deadmau5, Coldplay, Radiohead, Mumford & Son, Mastodon, Wilco, Death Cab For Cutie, My Morning Jacket, Jay-Z, Kanye West, The Civil Wars, Emmylou Harris, Levon Helm, Fleet Foxes, Gillian Welch, Steve Earle, Patton Oswalt, Louis CK, Weird Al, Danger Mouse, Memory Tapes, TV On the Radio, and A Tribe Called Quest.

Speaking of a A Tribe Called Quest, Q-Tip was tweeting a lot about Whitney last night, including "Very blessed 2 have worked with n known whitney.. Man!!!"

The Kills played a 10th Anniversary show at Terminal 5 last night. More about that later, but you can check out the video from their performance on Letterman two nights earlier, below...

What else?

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Whitney Houston, RIP

brooklynvegan http://www.brooklynvegan.com/ music

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What's going on Saturday?

The Kills @ Stubb's in Austin in January (more by Tim Griffin)

today in NYC
* Decimus @ The Stone
* Chicha Libre @ Barbes
* Die Antwoord @ Irving Plaza
* Stephen Brodsky @ The Stone
* Chico Mann @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Beach Fossils @ Tribeca Grand
* Zombie Fight @ Otto's Shrunken Head
* SAADI, New Beings, Street Kitsch @ Zebulon
* Iron Tides, Heliotropes, Soon @ The Acheron
* Citay, Brazos, Calle Companion @ Union Pool
* Avan Lava, Tony Castles, Bluejay @ Glasslands
* Tea Leaf Green, Ha Ha Tonka @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Clicks & Whistles, RX, Lamin Fofana @ Glasslands
* Expensive Looks, Phonetag, TEEN @ Cameo Gallery
* Justin Carter, Eamon Harkin, Four Tet @ 12-Turn-13
* Fixed, Aeroplane, JDH & Dave P @ Le Poisson Rouge
* The Kills, JEFF The Brotherhood, Hunters @ Terminal 5
* Dum Dum Girls, Widowspeak, Punks on Mars @ Maxwell's
* Phantom Family Halo, The Loom, Old Baby @ Saint Vitus
* The Identifiers, Lunic, Moon Furies, Vandana Jain @ Pianos
* George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic @ Starland Ballroom
* This Will Destroy You, Wires, Under Tension @ 285 KentAvenue
* The Queers, The Ataris, Far From Finished @ Santos Party House
* Jonas Reinhardt, The Present, Driphouse @ Big Snow
* Adversarial, Horde Of Worms, Sathanas, Vrolok, Mortum @ Cake Shop
* Bleached, The Black Belles, Bleeding Rainbow, Habibi @ Knitting Factory
* Laura Benanti (American Songbook series) @ Lincoln Center's Allen Room
* Ida, Babe The Blue Ox, The Mommyheads, Beekeeper, Sportsman's Paradise @ Littlefield
* Black Taxi, Black Wing Halo, That Handsome Devil, Your 33 Black Angels @ Mercury Lounge
* ZEBU!, Happy Jawbone Family Band, Insert Massacre Here, The Sanctuaries @ Death By Audio
* Screaming Females, Laura Stevenson & The Cans, For Science, Shellshag, Black Wine @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

This Will Destroy You's Hoboken show is cancelled. They only play 285 Kent in Brooklyn tonight.

Maps & Atlases have announced a new LP.

Follow @BrooklynVegan on Twitter.

Also follow @bvAustin for just Austin stuff.

Also follow @bvChicago for just Chicago stuff.

Be our friend on Facebook too.

BrooklynVegan is taking over Hotel Vegas in Austin for four days in March. Follow @bvSXSW for updates.

Read about some of the films playing at SXSW this year.

Metallica tickets went on sale today.

Screaming Females play their first of 2 NYC shows this weekend, tonight at MHOW.

Julia Holter, who has a NYC show coming up, has a THREE YEAR OLD video for a song that will appear on her next release (Ekstasis is out March 8). Watch and listen below...

What else?

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Evillive (Coffins, Black Breath, Ghoul, Municipal Waste, Gwar, Cannabis Corpse & more)

by BBG

Ghoul at California Discord Fest (more by BBG)

Ghoul, who are now on board for Chaos in Tejas 2012 and scheduled to play Saint Vitus in May (tickets), will hit the road for a string of dates with Gwar, Municipal Waste, and Legacy of Disorder that will include a stop at Starland Ballroom on 3/18. All dates are listed below. Municipal Waste is readying their new LP The Fatal Feast via Nuclear Blast on 4/10.

In related news, Cannabis Corpse will now feature Landphil of Municipal Waste on vocal duties, and you can cath them on the road for a string of dates with Revocation and Ramming Speed. The dates include a stop at Saint Vitus on April 28th. All tour dates are below.

Sathanas will headline the first ever live appearance from Vrolok, along with NY's Hubris & NJ's Mortum at Cake Shop on Saturday (tonight, 2/11). $12 gets you in the door for this night of local black metal. Show flyer is below and Facebook event page is here.

Some great artists that are definitely metal friendly: Paul Romano, Mike Wohlberg, Kat Gun, Buddy Nestor, and Caitlin Hackett, will band together for an art show at Gristle Tattoo (178 N8th St) on 2/25. More details can be found at this link.

Black Breath has a new track, "Mother Abyss", currently streaming below. The track, which debuted via Revolver Friday, is from the band's forthcoming LP Sentenced to Life. Look for the LP on March 27th via Southern Lord.

More suggested NYC shows, some live Coffins video, tour dates and that Black Breath stream, below...

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Beach Fossils play Tribeca Grand today; Widowspeak are in NJ

Beach Fossils @ Mercury Lounge in 2011 (more by Diana Wong)

Widowspeak, in case you missed the post we updated, have a show coming up at Glasslands with Mac DeMarco (who opens for Beach Fossils at Music Hall of Williamsburg), but first you can catch them with Dum Dum Girls at Maxwell's tonight (2/11).

And it turns out Music Hall of Williamsburg and SXSW (with Widowspeak) aren't Beach Fossils' only upcoming shows. Check out the flyer for tonight's free Fashon Week shindig at Tribeca Grand, below.

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John Cage turns 100; lots of shows & other ways to celebrate

by Andrew Frisicano

Philip Glass isn't the only 20th-century composer with a big birthday this year. Avant-garde composer John Cage would've been 100, and there are numerous chances to see his work (even more than usual) because of it. The shows below cover quite a bit of ground--eg. 1940's "Living Room Music" on the same program as 1991's "Four3"--and the best place to experience the pieces is definitely in a group.

Avant Music Festival, happening February 10-18 at Wild Project (195 E 3rd St at Ave B), explores the work of Cage at several shows. There's an afternoon/evening program on Saturday, February 11th, which includes a 4pm performance by Bang on a Can's Vicky Chow of Cage's "Sonatas and Interludes" for prepared piano, followed by a longer evening set. Tickets are on sale.

New music quartet loading performs as part of that Avant Music show, and will also presents an Evening of John Cage on Thursday, March 8th at Greenwich House Music School.

Issue Project Room, which just moved into a new home, has some Cage-related shows coming up, such as Stephen Drury playing his "Etudes australes" on February 24 and "On Silence: Hommage to John Cage" which features 13 new pieces that are all 4 minutes, 33 seconds long.

So Percussion hosts "We Are All Going In Different Directions--A John Cage Celebration" at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall on March 26th. They'll be performing Cage's music, as well as that of Matmos and Cenk Ergün (who should be appearing) and Dan Deacon's "Bottles." Tickets are on sale.

It's the last stop in a Cage-dedicated tour, which also visits Boston, Toronto and Austin (info below). On March 27th, recordings from the tour will be released by Cantaloupe Records as Cage 100: The Bootleg Series, a limited-edition package with a blank 4'33" LP, a CD of "tracks chosen by chance operations" and a full archive of the shows online.

That show is part of Carnegie Hall's American Mavericks series, which also includes performances by Alarm Will Sound, William Basinski, JACK Quartet, San Francisco Symphony, WHY? and Danielson.

Also part of that is John Cage Unbound--A Living Archive, an online project through New York Public Library, which is going to collect performances and talks of Cage's work by musicians and students (and user-submitted videos). It's also going to have an archive of scores, photographs and other artifacts. Two videos from that--one of pianist Margaret Leng Tan showing you how to prepare a piano, and one with So Percussion crumpling paper (they love to do that)--are below.

Check out more videos, including 4' 33" performed by an orchestra, Andrew W.K. and a wall, below...

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Metallica Orion Music Festival tickets...

Tickets to Metallica's two-day Orion Music Fest at Bader Field in Atlantic City go on Early Bird sale today, 2/11, at 10am. Watch Metallica discuss the fest in the video below...

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Ali Lawn leaves Ra Ra Riot!

Alexandra Lawn @ Fun Fun Fun Fest 2011

Oh no!

While this is not a 'goodbye', the time has come for me to leave Ra Ra Riot.

Thank you for the wonderful 6 years-- so many beautiful places visited, with incredible fans & close friends made along the way. I will carry on what I have learned from each and every one of you in future endeavors, whether it be music, becoming a pilot, or the next Iron Chef.

Playing music with Rebecca, Milo, Wes, Mathieu, John, Kenny, Gabriel, and Cameron has provided some very special opportunities in my life, alongside all the talented and amazing bands that have shared the stage with us throughout. I have learned so much from all of you, and most importantly, you have have taught me to strive every day to be a better musician and songwriter.

much love,

Alexandra Lawn

Countdown to news of a solo record?

The pictures in this post are previousy unposted pictures from Fun Fun Fun Fest 2011 which took place in Austin in November not long before the band played Metro in Chicago (pics at the link). Chicago was the fourth-to-last date of the band's November tour. They've maybe played a few shows since then, but not many. More (of these pictures from one of Ali's last shows with the band) below...

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The Kills played the Standard; Jeff the Brotherhood played Maxwell's (here's more pics from Death by Audio)

photos by Andrew St. Clair

Death By Audio - Wednesday night - 2/8/2012

The Kills, JEFF the Brotherhood & Hunters play their sold out NYC show at Terminal 5 on Saturday, 2/11, a date that coincidentally (probably not) falls right during Fashion Week. If we had put two and two together earlier, we probably would have theorized that the band that contains Kate Moss's husband would be playing more than one show while in town. Who caught the invite-only show at The Standard last night?

Who caught JEFF the Brotherhood & Hunters (Uncle Bad Touch got stopped at the Canadian border) at Maxwell's instead? We didn't, but we do have a second set of pictures from the show they played one night earlier at Death By Audio in Brooklyn. They continue below...

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El-P & others joined Exquire & Action Bronson @ Southpaw (which is closing in 10 days)

Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire at Southpaw 2/9 (via)

Action Bronson at Southpaw 2/9 (via)

Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire and Action Bronson shared a bill at Southpaw last night (2/9) with support from Soul Kahn and Kyle Rapps, and included special guest Illustrate. They were joined on stage by El-P, Despot, and Kool AD & Heems of Das Racist, who are all featured on eXquire's "Huzzah" remix (where was Danny Brown?!). Action Bronson has a show tonight in Austin, where he will return in March for SXSW.

Last night's show was one of the last at Southpaw, which is closing this month. Their website lists shows happening through February 19, including M.A.K.U. Soundsystem and I Jah Bones TONIGHT (2/10). Tickets for tonight' show are available. There's also a huge show presented by iHeart Dilla taking place on February 15, billed as "One Song: A Forever Fresh Farewell to Southpaw," with Nitty Scott, Illustrate (who was a guest at last night's show), Warren Britt, Jesse Abraham, Top $ Raz, MC Eleven, Tanya Morgan, and many others. The flier for this show with all the performers listed is below.

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