Last night I got to see the lovely Thao Nguyen and her awesome band, The Get Down Stay Down, at the Bowery Ballroom. I’m not sure what I was expecting, perhaps something I bit more low-key, but man did they rock out. Thao really knows how to thrash a guitar! She and the band put all their hearts and energy into the set and it looked like they were having a blast. Plus, there was a ukulele and glittery drums–can’t go wrong with that! They played a great selection of songs, and even threw in some new ones that she mentioned will be on a new album out in October. Yippee!

Images: Lindsay Herman and Devorah Klein

One of my all-time favorite bands, The Thermals, are in town. They played two shows this weekend at Bowery Ballroom and are at Music Hall of Williamsburg tonight. Last I checked, tickets were still on sale.

I had the privilege of seeing them on Saturday night and boy did they bring it. They opened with “St. Rosa” off their last album and continued the ngiht with a good mix from all their albums, inlcuding the new one, Now We Can See. As Wes Hutchinson “Don’t worry we’re going to play all the hits.” They also threw in a cover of Nirvana’s “Sappy” and The Breeder’s “Summer is Ready When You Are.” To make it a true 90s night, Wes took off his shirt for the encore. How punk! And at the end of the show Kathy shook hands with the corwd! Man, I love these guys.

More pics after the jump!

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Image: Newscom
Craig Finn of the Hold Steady at Terminal 5 in November 2008

The two Hold Steady shows that went on sale earlier today have sold out, so they have added two more shows. Their NYC schedule looks like this now:

June 8 - Bowery Ballroom (sold out)
June 9 - Bowery Ballroom (ON SALE NOW)
June 10 - Music Hall of Williamsburg (sold out)
June 11 - Music Hall of Williamsburg (ON SALE NOW)

Image of White Lies: Angela Wolf, Filter

White Lies, Friendly Fires, and The Soft Pack are playing Bowery Ballroom on march 26 and 27. You can still buy tickets to these shows, but now you can win a pair to the March 26 show, courtesy of Big Apple Music Scene and Filter. To win, email me at bigapplemusicscene@gmail.com with White Lies in the subject line and tell me a white lie you once told. The deadline for entries is this Friday, March 20 at 6 pm. Good luck!!

The UK’s next big thing, White Lies, are poised to take over the US as well. They will be here with Friendly Fires on March 26 and 27 at the Bowery Ballroom (tickets still available). Their debut album To Lose My Life comes out on March 17. What to know more? Check out this interview with drummer Jack Brown:

Big Apple Music Scene: Your music has a great energy. What kind of process do you have when you are writing new songs?

White Lies: On our album we wrote songs in two different ways. Five of the tracks were written very slowly and methodically over a period of months before going in to record the album–including the songs “Death” and “EST”–while the other five tracks on the album were written very quickly in the studio over a period of days–such as “To Lose My Life” and “Price of Love.” The tracks we wrote in the studio benefited hugely from the pressure of having to write them so quickly, and I think you can hear the tension in the music, which adds a different dimension to the sound. In general, when songwriting, the song’s structure is massively important to us, and we take a lot of time working on building songs up very gradually, and changing the mood and atmosphere as the track progresses.

BAMS: Have you guys ever played SXSW before? Are you excited/nervous?

White Lies: Never played SXSW before and we are very very excited about it. We’ve heard many a wild tale from Texas and it’s exciting to be going over just before the album drops in America. We’re doing one show at Stubb’s which I have heard is the place to be, so maybe a little added pressure there, but I think we’ll be fine. I’m also excited as the independent label I am involved in running, Chess Club Records, is showcasing out there too! Wednesday night at SXSW @ Friends Bar. Check it out!

BAMS:  How does it feel to shoot to fame in the UK so quickly?

White Lies: I wouldn’t say we’ve found fame just yet, but it certainly feels good to achieve some massive milestones so early in our career. The band is only a year and a half old, but we’ve already been around the world touring, and had a number one album in the UK so we’re having an amazing time. To be honest though, we don’t dwell on our success so far too much, we try to keep looking forward and figuring out our next challenge and the best ways to keep progressing as a band.

BAMS: Do you think you have a classic British sound or do you just use that as a starting off point?

White Lies: I’m not too sure what a classic British sound is really. There are bands from every generation who’s sound has defined a time in music, but we don’t really take influence from just one period of music. As a band we all have very different musical tastes and I think our sound is simply a combination of all these things–everything from Scott Walker to QOTSA, Talking Heads to Secret Machines and Blonde Redhead to name a few important ones. Harry’s voice is definitely very strong and a definitive aspect of the band’s sound, and we’re lucky it comes so naturally to him. His voice is probably the most British thing about our sound.

BAMS:  How did you come up with your band name?

White Lies: We just liked the sound of it. We have compared it to naming a child, in that there is no real reason for the name you pick, it just feels right. That’s how we felt with White Lies–it just fits with our music.

BAMS: Any crazy tour stories?

White Lies: Many, I’m sure, but they all sort of blur into one after a while. I definitely tore my intercostal muscles (ones between the ribs) whilst crashing a go kart somewhere outside Chicago last year. They are yet to fully heal due to constant touring. Also we were recently asked to sing the American national anthem at a basketball game when we’re over in March. I don’t think that’s going to happen though, we’d feel a bit weird and everyone would think we’re taking the piss or something…

Images: Angela Wolf, Filter

Both Ladyhawke and Late of the Pier are each playing two upcoming shows; one at Bowery Ballroom and one at Studio B.

• Ladyhawke is at Bowery Ballroom on March 24 (tickets) and Studio B on March 26 with special guests TBA (tickets)
• Late of the Pier is at Bowery Ballroom on April 1 (tickets go on sale tomorrow at noon) and they will be at Studio B with The Whip on April 3 (tickets)

Lots of tickets on sale or going or presale:

• Israeli band Idan Raichel Project at Town Hall on March 26, tickets here
• The Gaslight Anthem at Webster Hall on March 27, tickets here
• Anathallo at Mercury Lounge on March 4, tickets here
• The Airborne Toxic Event at Bowery Ballroom on March 8, tickets here
• Phosporescent performing their new album of all Willie Nelson covers at Bell House on February 28, tickets here
• Bell X1 at Highline Ballroom on March 14, tickets here
• Goblin Cock with Rob Crow of Pinback at Highline Ballroom on February 11, tickets here
• Black Kids and Mates of State at Music Hall of Williamsburg on April 5 and Webster Hall on April 6 is on AmEx presale now, regular sale Friday at noon
• Cursive at Bowery Ballroom on March 10 is on AmEx presale now and regular sale Friday at noon, their March 9 show at Music Hall of Williamsburg is also still on sale
• Clem Snide at Bowery Ballroom on March 18 is on AmEx presale now and regular sale Friday at noon
• Bloc Party added a second date at Terminal 5 on March 25. Tickets are on AmEx presale now and regular sale on Saturday at noon
• The Oddity Faire featuring Les Claypool with special guest Saul Williams, Secret Chiefs, and O’Death at Terminal 5 on March 28 is on AmEx presale now, regular sale Friday at noon
• The Leonard Cohen presale started today. The password is Fingerprints. (Thx Brookylnvegan)

Want to see Fiction Family, the new collaboration with Switchfoot frontman Jon Foreman and Nickel Creek guitarist Sean Watkins? They will be at the Bowery Ballroom on January 20. Don’t feel like paying? You can enter to win free tickets! It’s easy, just click on the RSVP Now button below and RSVP to the show and you will automatically be entered to win a pair of tickets!

Remember those Morrissey NYC and NJ dates? Well they are going on sale on Friday. The Bowery Ballroom, Webster Hall, and Wellmont Theater tickets all go on sale at noon and the Carnegie Hall show goes on sale at 11 am.

Remember Camper Van Beethoven? Of course you do! You may be super excited to learn that CVB is celebrating their 25th anniversary with two shows at the Bowery Ballroom in January! CVB’s line-up for their Silver NYC shows will consist of original band members David Lowery (lead vocals / guitar), Jonathan Segel (violin / keys / guitar / vocals), Victor Krummenacher (bass) and Greg Lisher (lead guitar), along with drummer Frank Funaro (Cracker / Joey Ramone / The Dictators). Opening the Bowery shows will be cofounder and bass player Victor Krummenacher with his duet act MacCabe and Mrs. Miller, also featuring The Sippy Cups’ Alison Faith Levy. The shows are on January 9 and 10. Get your tickets here.

The band is also (finally) releasing a greatest hits collection, called Popular Songs.

This collection also features five songs from CVB’s critically acclaimed albums on Virgin Records – 1988’s Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart and 1989’s Key Lime Pie. However, after the band tried to buy back the rights to the original masters for inclusion on Popular Songs, Virgin refused. So CVB have faithfully re-recorded these five tracks for this collection and, in doing so, have not only reclaimed their own music but have given a stiff middle finger to their former label in the process.

Here’s the track listing:

1. The Day That Lassie Went to the Moon
2. Border Ska
3. Take the Skinheads Bowling
4. Pictures of Matchstick Men °
5. Skinhead Stomp
6. Opi Rides Again/Club Med Sucks
7. Eye of Fatima (Parts 1&2) °
8. ZZ Top Goes to Egypt
9. Sad Lovers’ Waltz
10. When I Win the Lottery °
11. The History of Utah
12. Seven Languages
13. All Her Favorite Fruit °
14. Good Guys & Bad Guys
15. Circles
16. One of These Days °
17. Ambiguity Song
18. Shut Us Down

° new re-recordings of originals

Images: Tony Bonyata, Pavement PR