Magnetic Fields Attract Crowds to Town Hall No "Lost" spoilers in this post. Stephen Merritt doesn't bring the band around too often, so it's always a treat when The Magnetic Fields take the stage in town. Despite the band hailing from Brooklyn, this is the first local show they've played in quite a few years, and the sold-out 4 night run at Town Hall did not disappoint the anxious fans. While their latest album, Distortion,......

THEATER: It would be pretty boss if The Cherry Orchard Sequel – a long-overdue follow up to Chekhov’s play about downwardly mobile Russian aristocrats – involved the titular clear-cut orchard rising from the ashes to go on a rampage against their axe-wielding oppressors. But playwright and director Nic Ularu took things in a different direction, and the result sounds just as interesting. His story picks up again 18 years after Chekhov’s play ends, and......

Damien DeRose, aka Peasant, tip-toed into our playlist last year just before playing Gothamist House at CMJ. Hailing from Doylestown, PA, his small town sound has been calmly floating around this city with more and more frequency -- enchanting everyone within earshot. This Thursday he's back to play the Brooklyn Vegan show at Pianos (tix). Exposure.mp3 - Peasant How did you come up with "Peasant" as your performing name? I just knew I didn't want......

Led Zeppelin Reunite, Songs Remain the Same Aside from a reanimated corpse Beatles reunion, there is not another dormant band in the world that could cause more excitement getting back together than Led Zeppelin. So, for the first time in 19 years, with Jason Bonham in for his late father behind the drums and the rest of the original pieces in place, the band picked up where they left off, playing a Greatest-Hits set to......

Kevin Drew (myspace) is one of the founding members by the wildly successful Canadian art-rock collective Broken Social Scene. The daring, inventive band boasts a fluctuating roster of artists who shift in and out of the line-up depending on their various other musical pursuits; another BSS member, Leslie Feist, is currently absorbed with her suddenly massive solo career, which exploded into mainstream America after her song “1 2 3 4” became an iPod commercial. As......

Over the weekend we pointed to a death at the Knitting Factory that the cops were deeming "suspicious." Yesterday it was announced that the man was Nicholas Phillips, an East Village resident. The Post reports:An East Village man who died of an apparent drug overdose at a Manhattan rock club has been identified, sources said yesterday. Nicholas Phillips, of East Ninth Street, was found unconscious in the bathroom of the Knitting Factory on Leonard Street......

Yesterday CMJ began to take over the city. Reports of long lines at the badge pickup station came in quickly, but if this week is about anything it's about long lines. Oh, and music. If you're off for the day, come and knock on our door at Gothamist House. It's free, and here's a preview of what you'll hear: • Cut Off Your Hands: You and I.mp3 • Peasant: Those Days.mp3 • Sparrow House: You......

MUSIC: If you see a lot of guitar-toting ladies and gents around the Puck Building right now, that's because CMJ has officially begun. This means there is a ton of music happening (including at our own Gothamist House starting tomorrow). Tonight we suggest hitting up Brooklyn Vegan's show at Bowery Ballroom: Voxtrot, The Rosebuds, Dean & Britta...and so many more. 6pm // Bowery Ballroom [6 Delancey St] // $16, or free with badge THEATER: A.R.......

John Vanderslice's reputation as "the nicest guy in indie rock" couldn't be more spot on. Last night we enjoyed some time with him on the roof of the Hotel Chelsea where he sang us a 'lil song. You'll be seeing video of that later, but first - get to know the man behind the reputation. He'll be at Sound Fix tonight at 7pm for a free show, and he was also kind enough to provide......

Like Jay-Z's 40/40 Club before them, the NY Post reports that two more Manhattan clubs are now being drawn into a lawsuit for playing music they didn’t have a license to play. With the music industry in an increasingly sad state, you would think getting the tunes out to the public (not for downloading or stealing but for the pure enjoyment of listening) would be a good thing. However bars are finding they have to......

Brooklyn Vegan was co-presenting yesterday's Citysol concert at Solar One on the Lower East Side's Stuyvesant Cove, so we're sure he'll have a post on the proceedings shortly. However, we must point out an awesome photograph from Gothamist reader TomVu, who snapped this picture of Les Savy Fav bassist Syd Butler taking his child to work with him. (Les Savy Fav @ Citysol, by TomVu at flickr)......

Porn on the 4th of July The theme to this summer's outdoor concert season seem to be coming up with new ways to deal with rain. While Manu Chao embraced it and Cheeseburger/Oxford Collapse had to cancel because of it, the New Pornographers just kind of went on despite it. First, indie one-hit wonder Midlake opened with a perfectly serviceable set. After came out the newly bearded A.C. Newman and the gang to play a......

Manu Chao Beats the Rain We never realized exactly what a force Manu Chao was live until experiencing him ourselves at Sasquatch several weeks ago. The man has the power to move people. To incite hysteria and completely dominate his entire audience. It is something any music fan should experience at least once in their life, because there is really nobody else like him performing today. Earlier this week, He did two nights at the......

Bowery Snags Some Big Bands For Small Shows Earlier this week, Interpol (who if you haven't noticed is suddenly on the verge of massive international superstardom) played a local, intimate show at Bowery Ballroom to a select group of friends, label people and fans lucky enough to snag tickets when they quietly went on sale last week. The show was excellent and the band certainly proved that they've got the chops to push it to......

Bright Eyes Shows Off His Friends Okay Conor, we get it: you have cool friends. This week, during the Bright Eyes 7-night run at Town Hall, the band promised a special guest each night. So far he's brought out the likes of Lou Reed, Steve Earle, Jenny Lewis, Norah Jones and Ben Kweller. Each played a few songs of their own mid set before joining in jamming with the rest of the group. On the......

Faithless Return It's been something like 9 years since the last time Faithless played in New York. Considering that the band is one of the largest in England and the rest of the world, selling out soccer stadiums and headlining major music festivals year after year, their return to the States is a pretty big deal. Hitting a couple club dates on their way to Coachella, they stopped by Webster Hall earlier in the week......

The much anticipated, David Bowie-curated High Line Festival has finally announced a lineup. Upon the announcement of the festival last year, David Bowie said, "I've been particularly excited about seeking out emerging artists and giving them a place in a festival that will also feature some very well-known names." In that vein, we thought there would be some lesser known bands (Todd P-style), and are surprised with the abundance of (very obvious) bigger names: Arcade......

(AKA The It doesn't feel like Friday and we're still hungover from SXSW edition) NY indie institutions hold it down @ SXSW Last weekend wrapped up South By Southwest, and the final day of festivities focused around the NY2LON day party, which was the collaboration of +1 Management, Brooklyn Vegan and Le Tigre. The stacked lineup was unfortunately without top draw Amy Winehouse, who had to pull out of several recent performances, but featured sets......

THEATER: Theodora Skipitares is a Greek-American playwright, director and puppeteer who uses near life-size puppets and Greek tragedies to look at our current situation in Iraq. (Her rendition of the Iliad and the Odyssey was a sold-out hit at La MaMa last year.) Her new show, which features puppetry and video, is The Exiles, an adaptation of the Orestes/Electra myth. “In this particular story of betrayal and vengeance, these puppets are an eerie construction of......

Pazz and Jop, revealed! Just when we thought we were finally done having to think about the music of 2006, we get one last hurrah of ultimate listage. The 34th annual Pazz and Jop poll finally made landfall this week, and unsurprisingly, there were few shockers. Some feigned outrage/interest that Bob Dylan's latest overtook the otherwise consensus disc of the year by TV on the Radio (see image), but a few minor swaps at the......

The Wrens Play for Planned Parenthood, The Knit Gets a Makeover Last Friday The Wrens headlined a benefit show for Planned Parenthood, celebrating the 34th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision. The band played their usual Meadowlands-heavy mix of old songs, and made an announcement that it would more than likely be their final show supporting their now nearly 4 year old album. They will be working on putting together something new this summer.......

CYHSY album pre-released While Gothamist's initial reactions to the album are mostly mixed amongst the staff, one of the most discussed and intriguing points so far is the sound quality of the opening and title track, "Some Loud Thunder." Quite frankly, it sounds like it was streamed off a myspace page at 16kbps and rerecorded onto a used blank tape. This was however, 100% intentional, so they say. Some sort of digital postmodern homage to......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: "injured police dog" (oh no!) on Bedford in Williamsburg, a double stabbing at Landmark High School on 58th Street, and a 2nd alarm fire in Fort Greene. A bill in the New Jersey legislature would set up a $1m voting lottery: "any registered voter who cast a ballot that year in a primary or general election eligible for the $1 million prize." Sadly, the bill doesn't look like it's......

THEATER: Survey: Do women actually, um, enjoy Playgirl magazine? It’s a timeless question, and one that - according to former editor Ronnie Koenig - even haunted the boss herself. Her multimedia play Dirty Girl, now in previews, is about her “quest to find a woman who actually likes the beefcakes in the magazine.” The cast has been blogging and a book deal is in the works. (Brace yourself for The Devil Wears Nothing.) - John......

Story of the Year: Beirut The story is so well documented it's hardly worth rewriting. And of course, that was the problem. A mountain of Blog Buzz was built before the band played their first New York concert ever. Before they had even fully formed the touring band. Always trying to meet the impossible expectations, their live shows were heavily scrutinized from day one, but the general consensus was that these guys were pretty darn......

All worship at the altar of...H&M? The church at Sixth Avenue and West 20th that was once the infamous Limelight nightclub (and not so famous Avalon) may be turned into retail space, according to Braden Keil in today's Post. Apparently, landlord Ben Ashkenazy doesn't want to deal with another nightclub, especially in the wake of the recent crackdown and trouble securing liquor licenses. Broker Frank Terzulli of Winnick Realty tells the Post, "He's going......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a bank robbery in Coney Island, a Police motorcycle MVA on 54th Street and Park, and a Homicide on Nostrand in Bed-Stuy. The Christmas lights have started going up in Dyker Heights-- and Janelle and Gowanus Lounge have pix. Or go in person: the best lights are on 84th Street between 12th and 11th Avenue. Canadian black squirrels have begun invading Boerum Hill. Soon there won't be any jobs......

Today is officially the first day of CMJ! Starting this afternoon and going strong through the weekend, every music club in the city is going to be jam packed with hours upon hours of the hottest up and coming bands from all over the world. Seeing that we'd expect your regular Gothamist reader won't be equipped with a $500 badge, we decided to highlight some of the standout free events this week. While you will......

As previously mentioned, Sean Lennon is back with a new album. His Friendly Fire cd release has been accompanied by such marketing tools as short films with Lindsay Lohan. Above is a video for "Spectacle", which is sans young Hollywood starlets. Tonight he plays The Living Room on Ludlow Street, as a kick off to his tour. Brooklyn Vegan has the rest of his tour dates.......

Brooklyn Vegan reports that Styx will be playing a benefit show in Red Hook. Their website announces the event as "A Charity Benefit - "One With Everything: Styx & the Contemporary Youth Orchestra CD/DVD Listening Party Extravaganza". But with the high ticket price, we assume they will be playing some tunes. Tickets on sale here, for $80. A price we wouldn't even pay if the ticket allowed us to travel back in time and see......