Way back in 2004—before shows were rabidly documented with digital cameras, iPhone videos, live-Tweeting and whatever—we saw a little band called Arcade Fire play at the Mercury Lounge. It was amazing, and we knew we'd never see them in such a small venue again. Afterwards, as buzz built up rapidly around them, Win Butler told us he feared the industry might taint their innocence, and that he'd know it's time to pack things up for good when they collaborate with Sting. No mention of a Grammy. more ›

Pitchfork-approved blog darlings Tokyo Police Club have spent the last year and change transitioning from flavor of the month boy band to reputable musicians with an enviable knack for short, hook-happy hits. On Thursday night these clever Canucks will have the chance to further extend their fan base when they perform at the “Woodie” Awards; they’re nominated for a “Breaking Woodie”. Broadcast on the 24-hour college network mtvU, the award show will feature performances by... more ›

Over the weekend The Arcade Fire played a big show on Randall's Island, far far away from the Knitting Factory and Mercury Lounge (some of the first venues they ever played here). For those who made the trip to see them, the post-show transportation made for quite the afterparty. One concert goer wrote in: "10,000 people trying to get on express buses does not work - we ended up walking the Triborough back to Queens." more ›

This week, Phillyist saw the waters of a landmark fountain run red for a Showtime marketing stunt, the Phils pull ahead, and some serious nostalgia. They also got a chance to review an awesome tribute album, reminded folks to see the King, and appreciated their beautiful skyline. more ›

The nicer the weather gets, the busier we get across the Ist-A-Verse. But we like being busy. Here's a peek at what we've been up to since last week! more ›

There has been much to-do about the anti-establishment efforts of The Arcade Fire at their recent Radio City concert, urging the fans to rush and outnumber the security guards keeping the aisles clear. What was overshadowed was that this is perhaps the best live band touring right now, and they were absolutely at the top of their game this week, playing each of these shows as if it was the last they'd ever do and merely asking the fans to react with an equal enthusiasm. While the debate will continue as to whether the band should have toned their calls to riot down a smidge, or why they were even playing a sit-down theater tour in the first place, what shouldn't be lost is that these guys seem to get better and better as their popularity grows. The inevitable MSG show their next time around is sure to be quite the spectacle. more ›

READING: FreeNYC points us to a reading at B&N featuring Gong Show guru and possible CIA assassin, Chuck Barris: more ›

One of the nice things about being a music fan in New York City is that you rarely have to wait very long to see a band you're recently missed. The Black Lips famously played about 6,000 shows at SXSW this year, yet despite our interest in checking them out, we managed to catch them exactly zero times (with our final chance being cut short by that whole collapsing balcony thing.) So we were stoked to discover they were going to play last Monday back home at Bowery Ballroom. The show lived up to our ever inflated expectations and managed to bring the house down with their drunken-fried punk. While their "wild boyz" antics may seem a bit forced at this stage in their careers, the music more than holds up on its own. It's not easy to play such sloppy rock and roll so precisely. (Pic via Sandwich!) more ›

Things are starting to pick up around here. The weather was nice, people were out leaving the cave from the post-New Years hibernation and getting back on their feet. It's still coming around, but the rock scene is starting to show some life as well... more ›

This is traditionally a pretty slow time for music. Everyone is getting their feet back under them from the holidays, there aren't many bands putting out albums, and even less are ready to get back out and start touring. The news cycle in general is still pretty weak, and music has it no different. Nonetheless, we're starting a new feature this week recapping the biggest stories in rock around this town every Friday. So... more ›

We're hoping that The Arcade Fire does some more busking when they're in town, because - like you - we didn't get tickets either. The five night run at Judson Memorial Church sold out in under 5 minutes, and people are not happy about it. more ›

First there were kids in bands, then baby disco...now The New York Times covers the rock music for babies phenomena... more ›

Camera phone looky-loos, this one's for you. We're talking about the biggest band to hit small to medium sized NYC venues since Sufjan Stevens, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, and The Arcade Fire. We're talking about Montreal's latest buzz band Wolf Parade. You've got three chances to see them this week. That's three chances to see them before they come back to play Webster Hall. If you can't find a ticket to the sold out shows Monday and Tuesday at Bowery Ballroom and Northsix, try to snag one of the non-student tickets available at the door to the NYU performance on Thursday. Listen to songs at their MySpace page. more ›

It was another two very busy days for Gothamist. Again, we're gonna focus on just the highlights because there were far too many bands we saw this weekend to mention them all. more ›

Day 2 was significantly busier than Day 1. All in all, we made it to 12 different shows between 10:00am and 2am, we'll highlight the highlights here. more ›

Here's the question for the day: Should Gothamist even mention sold out shows? There are a few of them this week. Mentioning sold out shows creates an environment where the "haves" are the winners and the "have nots" are the loser--unless the "have nots" turn in sexual favors with exes who thought ahead and bought two tickets. Is it right to pit the winners against the losers? Is it right to pour salt on the losers' ticketless wounds? Oh, whatever. The world is filled with winners and losers. Why tiptoe around the obvious? more ›

Canadians and their homeland have become pretty hot over the past few months, and while this may all just be the biggest fad since hula hoops, The Arcade Fire, hailing from Montreal, are way more than the flavor of the month. To those who are lucky enough to hold tickets to tomorrow nights show at Bowery, hold on to them...no matter how much you are offered. more ›

Last night Gothamist headed over to Irving to catch the Head Set...but missed them. After watching a few songs by Gang Gang Dance (a band which Gothamist did not care for, at all, in fact it motivated us to depart Irving all together) we headed to Mercury Lounge to see if we could catch the much buzzed about band the Arcade Fire. more ›

CMJ is here. For New Yorkers, you've probably already seen many of these bands. Everybody plays here. But the number of shows and the number of people crammed into the clubs for these shows is greater than normal. Be careful out there. more ›