November 24– The Maine were one of the handful of bands featured on the OP Love Drunk Tour, headlined by Boys Like Girls. Although they were only openers, the reaction of the crowd made it seem as though these boys from Tempe, Arizona were the headliners of the tour.
If you’re a fan of female-fronted, heartfelt folk-rock, it’s time you check out Laura Stevenson and The Cans. The band is part of QuoteUnquote Records, run by Jeff Rosenstock [Bomb the Music Industry, Kudrow, Arrogant Sons of Bitches], and, like their label mates, showcases a flawless brand of DIY-tunes. I personally had the pleasure of asking the talented Laura Stevenson a few questions, and here is what she had to say.
Local rock music photographer and a dear friend of mine, Anne Ferguson, suffered a great loss when her Nikon D80’s mirror system was shattered while photographing a concert recently. Known to many frequent concert-goers as “photog-mom”, Anne was a staple at almost any hardcore show, happily situating herself in the photo pit and capturing not only a live show, but the very passion and emotion musicians expressed during a performance that only she could find.
While many of her fans and close friends wanted to help, not many could think of an appropriate way to aid Anne, who did not have the funds to replace the irreparably damaged DSLR camera body. It was Darien Paige, lead singer of NYC’s Belladonna, who thought of a way to help Anne while providing any potential donaters some great entertainment; it was with this idea that the Bands For Anne Benefit Concert was born.
Many feel that trippy songsters Animal Collective could never outdo their most recent release, Merriweather Post Pavillion, but with the band’s recent announcement, they may have done the impossible. Teaming up with director Danny Perez, the group has created Oddsac, a visual album. The musical film will make it’s debut at the Sundance Film Festival, and will then be screened in both New York City and Chicago. More cities and screenings are soon to be announced, and more information, as well as links to purchase tickets, can be found at www.oddsac.com.
November 7– Blending infectious lyrics about relationships and heartbreak with a talented lead singer, Mayday Parade became an instant favorite of mine with their EP, Tales Told By Dead Friends, and their first album, A Lesson In Romantics. Celebrating the release of their sophomore album Anywhere But Here, Mayday Parade co-headlined the 2009 AP Tour Fall Ball, which hit Sayreville’s Starland Ballroom with full force.
Pop/Punk band The Maine have been gaining some popularity within the past couple of months. After a handful of opener acts on tours with bands like We The Kings and All Time Low, The Maine co-headlined the 2009 AP Tour as well as performed on the Hurley Stage throughout Warped Tour ‘09. Recently, the band appeared along side Boys Like Girls, Cobra Starship, A Rocket To The Moon, and VersaEmerge on the OP Presents Love Drunk Tour.
I was able to ask guitarist Kennedy Brock a couple of questions shortly after the end of the Love Drunk Tour. Click the jump to read the full interview!
July 31– All Points West, a music festival that takes place at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey, has been compared to the Coachella Music Festival and other indie music festivals. This year’s festival, which took place between July 31-August 1, featured an impressive line-up ranging from Jay-Z to Coldplay.
I was fortunate enough to cover the first day of this year’s festival, and in doing so, I have garnered many photos throughout the day. You can view some of these photos after the jump. This post is photo-intensive, so it may take some time to load for people with slower connections.
December 11– Taylor Swift closed out Z100’s Jingle Ball with a spectacular 30 minute performance that simply dazzled. Although it was a relatively short set when compared to most other concert sets, it showed off exactly why Ms. Swift has garnered so much attention recently.
December 11– Prior to the start of Z100’s Jingle Ball concert, several artists took a trip through the H&M Gift Lounge. Several performing artists, as well as other celebrities, were able to choose from an assortment of gifts from brands such as Wonka, Verizon, Duracell, and several others.
Tiffany Mink, known by many as Minkus, reached out to thousands of music fans as the pit reporter for Warped Tour 2009. Her pit reports gave little snippets of information regarding the goings-on of each date of the tour, while providing behind-the-scenes videos and photographs. Recently, Minkus revealed that she’ll be back for Warped 2010, and also revealed that the first band announcements will be on WarpedTour.com on December 18. I spoke to Minkus about how it is to live on a tour like Warped, some secrets about next summer’s tour, and her advice for getting into the music industry. Read the whole interview after the jump!
