2008

Manhattan hooks many of the best New York City gigs, but Brooklyn has scored one of the most interesting concert series of the young year. The Brooklyn Academy of Music celebrates the music of Paul Simon by presenting Love In The Hard Times, an extraordinary three-part series with performances from Simon, David Byrne, Grizzly Bear, Little Anthony and the Imperials and several others.

Songs From The Capeman starts things off on April 1-6 with its Latin-flavored songs and ’50s doo-wop feel. On April 9-13 Simon, Byrne and a number of other guests present Under African Skies, which explores the material from Graceland and The Rhythm of the Saints. Finally, Simon revisits the quiet railway stations, urban rhythms, and immigrant dreams of his greatest American Tunes on April 21-27.

Now here’s a batch of other linkage to help you beat those mid-week blues:

• Levon Helm and Gov’t Mule are just two of the big names in the initial Mountain Jam lineup announcement
• Gnarls Barkley returns in April with the release of The Odd Couple
• Cracked lists Six Musicians With Pasts They Hope You’ll Forget
• Is Sendspace next? Ze Germans attempt to take down Rapidshare
• Neil Young explains the latest delays to his Archives series
• Deaner blogs about a brown dining experience on Ween tour
• The Greenhaus Effect reveals the winners of the 2007 Mikey Awards

Finally, read on for the latest brilliant episode from the Yacht Rock crew. Sit back and watch the story of Kenny Loggins writing Footloose starring Jason Lee…

When the Allman Brothers Band announced that they were moving their traditional March residency to a venue-to-be-named-later some time in May, we figured they would be playing at the Nokia Theater or United Palace Theater.

It turns out the legendary Southern rockers have come to terms with the Dolans and will indeed return to the stage that’s hosted 175 Allmans shows since 1989: The band has lined up 15 shows at the Beacon from May 5 through May 24. We just wish the tickets were a little more reasonable instead of being priced at a mind-blowing $149.99, $99.99 and $59.99. Ouch! [via Live Daily]

Photo by Joe Bouchard

R.E.M. hits the road in late May for what promises to be an extended world tour behind their new album Accelerate. The 2007 inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall

Hidden Track’s adorable boyfriend/girlfriend team of Jeremy Gordon and Carla Danca hit up RAQ this past weekend…he shoots photos, she talks.

Coming in from the bitter cold last Friday, RAQ was ready to turn heads on the first of a two-night run at Mexicalli Blues Café in Teaneck, NJ. Starting the night off with a nod to New Jersey was Lembo, quickly followed up with another fan favorite, Brother From Another Mother. The band didn’t waste a moment heating up the night with an upbeat jam that set the mood for the 90-minute first set.

RAQ showed off its many faces, moving from almost metal-esque sound to smooth ballad pieces and back around to bubbly bouncy songs that left the house moving in their wake. The lively first set brought out a huge variety of songs that spanned their entire catalog. Each of the band members was able to show off his range, but the band stayed tight by working in a cohesive rhythm. Even when the energy in the room was seemingly at its max, the quartet kept it going by finishing off the set with an Otis Spode > Wax that left the crowd ecstatic.

Read on for more great photos, audio from the show and a full report…

You may be well familiar with the bands featured in this section, but Some Dude from Hits from the Blog wants to ensure there’s No Jambandfan Left Behind…

Being a music blogger you’re generally a few steps ahead of the curve when it comes to discovering new bands. While your friends are talking about how great The National is we’re on to whatever unsigned band Stereogum or Daytrotter are pimping that week. Case in point the band that has been the darlings of music blogs for past eight to ten months: Vampire Weekend.

Odds are you haven’t heard of them, or if you have you may have dismissed them because of their silly faux-Goth sounding name, much the way I did when I first heard of a band called Widespread Panic back in the mid ’90s — raise your hand if you thought they were a metal band too.

The boys of VW had been on a meteoric rise, at least in New York since people got their hands on their self-produced Blue CD-R (not be confused with Weezer’s Blue Album). The Village Voice and the New York Times both profiled them last year. They sold out the Music Hall of Williamsburg in the fall, and tonight and tomorrow they’ll hit the Bowery Ballroom for two sold-out shows — all this based on a three song EP and single; their full-length album hits stores today. So read on to see what their “Upper West Side Soweto” sound is all about…