Girl Talk is Still a Big Deal For a guy who got his break after the whole mashup thing seemed to have come and gone, PC-user Girltalk's sure got some legs. The barely legal laptop artist sold out 3 nights at Terminal 5 earlier this week, packing that airplane hanger of a venue with enough spandex, neon and sweat to make Randy Savage jealous. But with great crowds, of course, bring the undesirable element out.... [continue]

TRL Ends Forever This Weekend It's been a long 10 years since the show first debuted, and this weekend, the last drops of actual music will finally be sucked out of MTV. The daily countdown show, which (like it or not) was a gateway for most successful acts over the last decade, will celebrate the end of its run this Sunday night at 8 p.m. The show will feature original host Carson Daly, along with... [continue]

We are once again liveblogging the MTVU Woodies! In person! Now, before you scamper to the remote and try to follow along, the show (which has something to do with college kids and that crazy music they listen to in their iPod devices) doesn't actually air until next Wednesday. So please read now, then come back next week so that all the jokes make sense. We promise they might. It's cold in here and... [continue]

Ry-time at the Apollo Out of all the choices last Friday night for Halloween, The Cardinals (don't call them Ryan Adams and the Cardinals anymore, that's his new peeve) provided perhaps the most low-key option. The audience was only partially costumed up at the historic theater in Harlem, and were, for the most part, politely restrained when it came to showing their love for the band. The audience stayed in their seats and behaved, and... [continue]

NKOTBack! If you happened to see any middle aged women wandering around the West 30s Monday night with GIANT novelty pins not featuring either presidential candidate, there was a (relatively) good reason. The reunited New Kids on the Block were back at MSG for the first time in nearly two decades this week. The grown-ups remarkably still were able to fill the arena with a mix of actual hardcore fans, along with those just trying... [continue]

The CMJ Victory Lap: Crystal Castles Every year at CMJ, there's one band that toiled around the day parties and smaller showcases the year before, only to triumphantly return with a major headlining gig. That award this year goes to Crystal Castles, who headlined a sold-out, packed to the brim Webster Hall Thursday night to an enthusiastic crowd. Without trying to sound too obvious, the popularity suits these guys well. It's not necessary the most... [continue]

Matisyahu's Eight Crazy Nights Matisyahu refuses to allow himself to be a flash in the pan! The Hassidic gimmick is back for a New York Chanukah run, playing 8 shows that roughly coincide with the Jewish holiday. He will headline 4 shows a Webster Hall, then 4 at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, which are smaller venues than he has previously headlined in the city. Much like Yo La Tango's similar annual Chanukah series across... [continue]

Party at the Pier Brooklyn's Pier 3 is being taken over by Diesel this weekend (it's good to know that during this time of financial crisis there's one company that can shell out $200K for a party). Over the week it's been transformed into a Rock & Roll Circus atmosphere, big tent and all, in preparation for the big day Saturday, or as they call it: "the show of a lifetime." With only 5,000 in... [continue]

Billy, Bruce and Barack It was announced this week that two local legends will be joining forces for a concert in the name of Barack Obama. Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen, neither a stranger to individually selling out multiple nights at stadiums around the country, will co-headline the relatively intimate Hammerstein Ballroom on October 16th. This will go down one night after the final presidential debate at Long Island's Hofstra University, kicking off the campaign’s... [continue]

Weezer Play our Heart Songs Weezer has always felt like the biggest personal band ever. The type of group whose fans don't seem to realize how many other millions of people have had the same emotional relationship with their music over the years. So seeing them headline Madison Square Garden, maybe a decade past their prime, but with 18,000 fans singing along to every word, was an strange scene. A band that has always thrived... [continue]

Sigur Ros Settles Down Uptown Sigur Ros played two nights up at The United Palace Theater this week. While the Icelandic group is often known for their overwhelming live shows, sometimes featuring dozens of performers on stage at once, this time around they've stripped down mostly to a core quartet. The atmosphere was somewhat restrained from your typical show, as the swooning and soaring accompaniment was minimized for the most part. For anyone familiar with... [continue]

Deerhunter Matured For fans of the band and their hypnotizing, yet charged live performances, Deerhunter's recent shows have been a real treat. Gone are the gimmicks and outbursts that nearly defined these guys as a one-off freak show, and replaced is an often charming group of kids who know how to make abstract music truly engaging. Those in attendance last Tuesday night at (Le) Poisson Rouge got to see this band at their best. Frontman... [continue]

Rent to get Evicted this Weekend Rent, the rock-musical that did more to force LES hipster culture into that mainstream than anybody would care to admit, will take its final bows this weekend on Broadway. The once acclaimed show, which has been on the stage since 1996, will leave as the 7th longest Broadway run ever, and has built up a devoted following of longtime fans. And, just in case you were dying to get... [continue]

Paramost While there are plenty of Emo-tinged pop punk bands that speckle the top 40 landscape today, few come across as complete and credible as Paramore. Celebrating their latest record going Platinum this week, these kids from Nashville headlined Summerstage Thursday night to an enthusiastic crowd of youngins. Their unrelenting energy is only topped by the genuine singing ability of pint-sized frontgrrrl Hayley Williams, whose voice powers through song after song as she tirelessly does... [continue]

Passionate for Passion Pit At what feels like one of the most hyped Pianos residencies since the Cold War Kids or Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Passion Pit played their second of three consecutive weekly shows at the bar this week to another sold-out room. The white-hot kids from Cambridge, Mass play an indie-dance hybrid sound that feels remarkably light and fresh for such a recently tired genre. Michael Angelakos' piercing, almost feminine falsetto punctuates... [continue]

All Points West Has Begun Sure, you've been hearing a lot about it recently, but this weekend's festival is actually a pretty big deal. Historically, local giant fests don't go so well when set up near New York, but this one seems to have the backing and support to actually get done right. First off, it certainly helps to have a band like Radiohead headline two nights. You can count on one hand the bands... [continue]

The Boss plays the Swamp Take football away, and it would seem that Giants Stadium was practically built to host mammoth Bruce Springsteen concerts. The Boss took up a mini residency this week at the 80,000 seat concrete coliseum, making his earlier MSG shows seem intimate in comparison. With the possible exception of Bon Jovi, who has moved into Manhattan for greater lawns, no other performer could command such crowds across the Hudson, selling nearly... [continue]

Karen O is a Native Korean Out of the blue, Karen O announced late last week that she was going to play two shows at Union Pool on Monday night. Not as her normal role as front woman of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, but with a new band called Native Korean Rock & The Fishnets. The two back-to-back sets contained all new material and a fresh new sailorsuit-clad backing band plucked from other local bands... [continue]

Rock Band 2 Setlist Announced It certainly says something about the state of the music industry that perhaps the biggest music story of the week is the placement of some tunes in a video game. But what tunes! At the E3 conference out in LA, Harmonix announced the 80+ songs that will appear in the upcoming sequel to the plastic instrument rock sim. While the list overall is excellent, hitting many genres from the last... [continue]

Fleet Foxes Seem Nice Fleet Foxes came to town this week, riding a wave of slightly understated buzz into a sold-out Bowery Ballroom. The band was excellent, playing jams off their critically acclaimed record and constantly thanking the crowd for showing them so much love. Those in attendance were remarkably supportive of the act, especially considering the often indifferent attitude our local crowds often take. Between songs, they hooted and hollered from the first note,... [continue]