Alright, I don’t know which indie God is currently blessing Upstate NY, but it’s about time to start praying to him. Each day, more and more sick events are being announced, and this one is a doozy.

So, as if there weren’t already enough options for May 7th (between Drake at Cornell and Yeasayer at Ithaca College), our Eastern neighbors at Hamilton College have recently announced another line-up adding to the fray: Dirty Projectors with Passion Pit and Dan Deacon. Seriously. When’s the last time you had to make a decision this big? Both shows are free, both shows feature three extremely relevant indie acts, and both shows are the same day. Help us, indie God.

More info on this when tickets and times are announced.

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Dirty Projectors / “Two Doves”

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Passion Pit / “The Reeling”

As the Facebook event states, there’s an “EPIC BILL” going on over at the Nines this Saturday night, one that is absolutely not to miss. Sexy bearded locals Caution Children will be playing alongside another Skipster favorite, BLOW!, with additional support from Electric Tickle Machine and Gabe Tavares. Make sure to clear your Saturday for what will be an awesome orgy of incredible local music — minus Electric Tickle Machine, who will be coming from NYC but will still be contributing to said orgy.  Oh, and did I mention how sexy Caution Children are? Because they are. Sexy.

On a related note, BLOW! just revealed they’ll be heading into the studio soon to cut a full-length, though their fantastic Overrated EP has totally been filling our appetite here at Skipster HQ. The group will be working with the legendary Jimmy Bralower, who has produced the likes of Peter Gabriel, Britney Spears, and even Celine fucking Dion. To say the least, both these guys and this show are brimming with promise.

What: Caution Children, Electric Tickle Machine, BLOW!, and Gabe Tavares
Where: The Nines (in Ithaca’s College Town)
When: Saturday March 6th, 9:00pm
Cost: $5

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Electric Tickle Machine / “Gimme Money”

Last week I was hooked on St. Saviour and Groove Armada, and while geographically my interest still lies in the same area, my interest lies in a different Brit. A Brit named V.V. Brown.  I first stumbled upon this gem whilest abroad when she was playing a tiny industry gig, showcasing new tunes in an effort to wow the bigwigs that had recently signed her. At that time she was relatively known in the area for penning songs for huge pop acts such as the sugababes, as well as the one or two songs she had already released independent of a label.

I heard bits and bobs about Ms. Brown proceeding my run in with her, seeing her release a few EPs on the interwebs and her name pop up in a blog here and there. However it wasn’t until last fall that she finally released her debut album, Traveling Like the Light, in Europe, that I decided to revisit VV and her work. I got the album from a friend abroad and was absolutely floored. It’s pop music that’s actually intelligent. V.V. mashes bee-bop, soul, dance, as well as straight up pop to create one of the best party albums I’ve heard in a very long time. Tackling typical subjects like love and loss, VV gives the music a retro feel that makes the listener feel like he or she’s in a technicolor sock-hop that happens to take place IN a nightclub. It’s insane.

It also doesn’t hurt that VV Brown is the type of woman you  absolutely cannot take your eyes off. With a divine style, a pristine jovial personality, and legs for days, its apparent why she is being looked at as a fashion icon, this early in her musical career.

Lastly I can’t help but mention, VV does an incredible cover of Coldplays’ “Viva la Vida”….While usually I’m a closet coldplay fan, this is a version I can get behind. Check it out below, as well as an impeccable cover of Beyonce’s “Crazy in Love”… read more… »

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To all those excited to see Kimya in Rochester tomorrow, as we posted previously, we have sad news. What we assume is due to her schedule, Kimya had to cancel her Rochester appearance. She will still be playing in Alfred, NY, and the other bands will still be playing in Rochester…but no Kimya.

sorry to be the bearer of the bad news..

UPDATE: although it didn’t happen we did find out that the cancellation was due to sickness in Kimya’s family. Hopefully this gets reschedules.

Holy shit.

This post needs no explanation or description.

Yeasayer, The Antlers, and Man Man will be playing at Ithaca College for free on May 7th in the Quad. This is the same day Drake and K-OS are playing Cornell University’s annual Slope Day, but you also have to pay through your nose for that one. Pick your poison, my lovely peers. More info here!

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The Antlers / “Bear”

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Yeasayer / “The Children”

When you hear the name Kimya Dawson, what do you think of?

Livejournal? The overhyped movie, Juno, perhaps? Babies named Panda? The Moldy Peaches?

Regardless of what the name makes you think of, here’s something you SHOULD know:

Kimya Dawson will be passing through Rochester, to play an afternoon show this upcoming week! She will be playing at The Flying Squirrel Community Space this Wednesday alongside Seth Faergolzia of Dufus. That night Dawson is playing Alfred State University, and is squeezing this show in, because well, she’s awesome. Her schedule is understandably tight, considering she has a show that night, therefore the settimes are TIGHT, and as of now I believe Kimya is set to go on around 3pm. Alongside Kimya and Seth, Kerrin of Rochester Band Meddlesome Meddlesome Bells, and Ian Downey will be playing.

The community space is a great venture in Rochester. It’s incredible the way things like this bring people together, so please go support it.

To get in you only need five bucks, but really, this place is so nice the event page on facebook says:

“$5 at the door, no one turned away for lack of funds
children are welcome, but there will be adult language in the show”.  After reading that, how could you not support such a place?!”

I can’t remember the last time I was charmed out of my mind by a musician. Nevertheless, last night at Castaways in Ithaca, Norwegian heart-throb Sondre Lerche put on the moves to a near sold out Castaways.  Between his smile, his unforced and humorous stage banter, and his many references to The Office, Sondre was in it to win it.  Playing classics such as “Two Way Monologue”, “Sleep on Needles”, and “Heartbeat Radio”, Lerche had the crowd in his lil’ fingers the whole time. For being a mere 5′7″ Lerche packs a whole lot of punch not only in his delivery, but in his impeccable guitar playing. Switching between an electric and an acoustic guitar all night, his frenzied singing and bopping around kept what could have been a dull affair absolutely hyptnotizing.

Unfortunately the same can’t be said for opening act, JBM, who played what sounded like a set consisting of the same sad song over and over again. Whatever happened to the days when opening acts functioned as a mean to pump you up the audience for the main event. These days all opening support seem to send the crowd into a bout of depression..

Nonetheless, the best part of the night was inarguably Lerche’s encore of fan favorite “Modern Nature.” While the gal who sings the other part of the song wasn’t present, the crowd didn’t even have to be asked to fill in. Within 10 seconds it was clear the audience knew what to do, and correct me if I’m wrong but Lerche seemed amazed. Watch it all below!

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Sondre Lerche / “Two Way Monologue”

More videos below the jump.
read more… »

We just want all our readers to know the following:

Never give up on your dreams. Because these days, it’s true: anyone can be famous.

Let’s keep an ongoing list in the comments that include all the reasons proving that Ke$ha is special. In her head.

Roughly two minutes into their set, one of So Cow’s guitar players cocks his head toward the audience and asks if the sound’s okay. There’s a quiet, hesitant murmur of a reaction, and lead singer Brian Kelley jokingly says, “A little early to break the fourth wall, eh?”

The moment is typical of the live So Cow experience, all frenzied guitars and twee vocalizing — that is, until you hit a moment where the bottom drops out from under the agitated facade and humor lets itself in. Currently touring in support of both their self-titled 2009 album and the just-released Meaningless Friendly — both released stateside via Chicago-based record company Tic Tac Totally — So Cow exist in a humane netherworld between pop and punk. They don’t wear their heart on their sleeves, exactly, but they’re more willing to subvert their anger with slyness than the concise, Jay Reatard-ish construction of their songs would indicate.

There’s clearly enough passion in their play for them to have built a selective core audience, even on these tundras of Upstate New York — certain members of the Bug Jar crowd knew these songs by rote, which is more than can be said about most Dublin-based twee-punk acts. Kelley’s interactions with the audience proved to be the focal point of the show; at one point, he went through the crowd and had each person standing shout his name. Elsewhere he allowed another audience member to hold onto his eyeglasses before launching into another string of Beat Happening-inflected pop; “I’m bound to step on these things,” he added. Welcome to the fold, apparently.

Musical highlights of the set included opener “So Cow vs. The Future” as well as personal favorite “Moon Guen Young,” presumably a by-product of Kelley’s four-year tenure in Korea and one whose stop-start rhythms translate particularly well to the concert setting.

So Cow play another 50-odd shows in the next two months nationwide, including a number of showcases at the annual clusterf*%! otherwise known as South by Southwest. Meaningless Friendly is out via Tic Tac Totally.

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So Cow / “To-Do List”

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So Cow / “Casablanca”

yo, just saw the the fanclub collective show with Jeff the Brotherhood tonight (Thursday) has been canceled due to this crazy blizzard we’re all experiencing.

if its rescheduled or anything we’ll let you know. otherwise, drive safe readers!

xox

skipster