Jukebox the Ghost (spring tour dates)

Jukebox the Ghost is hitting the road again. They play in Brooklyn on May 4th and Manhattan on May 5th.

Jukebox the Ghost Tour Dates: 

3/31 – Toronto, CA – Phoenix Concert Theatre &

4/01 – Cleveland, OH – House of Blues &

4/2 – Cincinnati, OH – Bogart’s &

4/4 – Birmingham, AL – WorkPlay Theatre &

4/6 – Houston, TX – House of Blues &

4/7 – Austin, TX – Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater &

4/8 – Dallas, TX – House of Blues &

4/9 – New Orleans, LA – House of Blues &

4/15 – Oswego, NY – Sheldon Ballroom at Oswego State University

4/22 – Fredericksburg, VA – Eyeclopes Studios %

4/23 – Washington, DC – The Black Cat %

4/25 – Charlottesville, VA – The Southern %

4/27 – St Louis, MO – The Firebird %

4/28 – Chicago, IL – Schubas %

4/29 – Indianapolis, IN – Earth House %

5/2 – Boston, MA – Middle East (Downstairs) %

5/3 – Burlington, VT – Higher Ground %

5/4  - Brooklyn, NY – The Rock Shop #

5/5 – New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom %

5/6 – Philadelphia, PA – First Unitarian Church %

5/7 – Baltimore, MD – Sonar %

& = w/ Guster

% = w/ Wakey! Wakey! and Pretty & Nice

# = w/ Wakey! Wakey! and Casey Shea

Show Picks of the Week 9/13- 9/19: Record Release Edition

This week we have shows by The New Collisions, Screaming Females, Jukebox the Ghost, Waking Lights, and The Saddest Landscape, plus a Blonde Redhead listening party and Superchunk in-store performance.


Monday, 9/13: The New Collisions, Pie Boys Flat, Analog Fire, Pablo Sebastian (of Malbec) @ Mercury Lounge-NYC 7pm $8 21+ (available at door)
There's a cool, eclectic four band line-up at Mercury tonight. The show is headlined by Astoria's reggae/rockers Pie Boys Flat. Openers include electro group Analog Fire and dance act Pablo Sebastian. But it's Cambridge, MA's The New Collisions who who are touring to support their forthcoming album, The Optimist out Oct. 5. The band play pop/rock. Recommended for fans of Blondie, R.E.M, The Start.

Tuesday, 9/14: Blonde Redhead "Penny Sparkle" listening party @ Le Poisson Rogue-NYC Free. 7pm. 21+ (info)

Blonde Redhead's new album Penny Sparkle will be played in full at this listening party. This is a first come, fully standing, gallery event.

Wednesday 9/15: Screaming Females "CASTLE TALK" record release, Shellshag, Big Eyes @ Knitting Factory-Brooklyn, NY, 9pm $10 (tickets)

Screaming Females is fantastic live. They make you dance, sing, and pump your fist to their gnarly groovy punk rock 'n roll sound. I can't say enough good things about them. They'll be celebrating the release of their fourth album, Castle Talk, playing along with duo lo-fi punkers Shellshag and garage-punk rock 'n rollers Big Eyes (featuring Kate Eldridge of Cheeky and Mark Bronzino of Seasick/Kicking Spit).

Thursday, 9/16: Jukebox the Ghost "Everything Under the Sun" tour, Via Audio, Drink Up Buttercup @ Music Hall of Williamsburg $13 8pm 18+ (tickets)

Jukebox the Ghost is touring to support its newest pop friendly keyboard driven album Everything Under the Sun, with fellow hometown Philly band Drink Up Buttercup and Brooklyn indie pop band Via Audio. I predict a fun, feel good, and dancing time.

Friday 9/17: Waking Lights "The Rabbit Hole" digital release, Sean Walsh & the National Reserve, The Exotic Aquatic @ Maxwell's-Hoboken, NJ 9pm $10 (tickets)

Waking Lights is celebrating the digital release of The Rabbit Hole EP. The 7-piece Brooklyn and North Jersey band combine violin, cello, and keyboard with the traditional guitar, bass, and drums to create an indie-rock mix of soulful and folk rock songs that loosens you up, gets you groovin', and catches your attention. Also performing is Brooklyn folk-rock band Sean Walsh and the National Reserve.

Saturday 9/18: The Saddest Landscape "You Will Not Survive" LP release, Pianos Become the Teeth, My Heart to Joy, We Were Skeletons, The NEw & Very Welcome, acres @ Party Xpo-Brooklyn, NY 3pm $8 All Ages (info)

The Saddest Landscape is releasing its new, long awaited album You Will Not Survive. The screamo band's distinctive style is passionate and driving in the least traditional way. They'll be joined by underground contemporaries Connecticut's My Heart to Joy and Mayland's Pianos Become The Teeth, plus some local NY and NJ bands.

Sunday, 9/19: Superchunk "Majesty Shredding" in-store @ Other Music-New York, NY 1pm. Free. All Ages. 

Superchunk will perform an acoustic set featuring songs from Majesty Shredding in between sold out shows at Bowery Ballroom and Music Hall of Williamsburg. This will be a intimate performance at record store by a legendary indie-rock band You can listen to the full album at NPR.

Jukebox the Ghost release "Empire" single, free download + tour dates

DOWNLOAD: Jukebox the Ghost- Empire

Jukebox the Ghost @ Bowery Ballroom 3-4-10

Photo Credit: Christine Wagenheim

Jukebox the Ghost recently did a day-long piano tour in 4 NYC's boroughs, minus Staten Island, last week. The band performed new songs for fans outdoors using the pianos set up during the Make Music NY Festival on June 21st. With that under their belt, the band is gearing up for some festival appearances, including Lollapalooza, an NYC show, and the Sept. 7 release of Everything Under the Sun out on Yep Roc. We offer you a free download of the band's new song "Empire." Simply, right click the top link and hit "save link as."

Vocalist/keyboardist Ben Thornwell describes the song as: 

...an extended metaphor of the heart as a castle, A keep is defined as 'The Stronghold of a Castle' thus, 'My heart, is my keep and you are threatening me.' And the truth is that an empire, as is love, is hard to keep peaceful.

See below for tour dates.

Jukebox the Ghost playing 5 NYC shows today + new album out 9/7

Today piano-driven Philly band Jukebox the Ghost is playing 5 impromptu NYC shows. The band will utilize 5 of the 60 pianos placed on NYC streets as part of the 'Play Me I'm Yours public art project. The pianos were placed Monday for the Make Music NY All-Day Festival. If you're around check the band out at in one of the five boroughs.

Details below via Facebook:

We're doing an impromptu tour of New York City today, visiting a piano in each of NYC's five boroughs over the course of the afternoon. The pianos, part of the public art installation 'Play Me I'm Yours,' are some of the sixty placed across the city this week available for public use.

Follow us on twitter at http://www.twitter.com/jukeboxtheghost to see where we'll be, and to see if we're making it to our destinations on time....

12:00pm - Bronx - Grand Concourse

1:30pm - Queens - Athens Square

3:00pm - Manhattan - Astor Place 

5:00pm - Brooklyn - Brooklyn Bridge Park

6:00pm - Staten Island - Staten Island Children's Museum

http://www.streetpianos.com/

It's a beautiful day! Hope to see some of you out there

Ben, Tommy, and Jesse

(Jukebox the Ghost)"

Also, the band is set to release its second album, Everything Under the Sun, on on Sept. 7th. A new song "Empire" has been posted on the band's MySpace. The band performs at 92Y Tribeca on July 13th. Tickets are $12. Doors 7:30pm. 

Jukebox the Ghost at Pianos, Bowery Ballroom on March 4 w/ Tally Hall

 

Photo By Star Beat 

Fans linked to Jukebox the Ghost's Twitter or Facebook page had the chance to score entrance to the band's semi-secret show at a venue on the lower east side of Manhattan. A week before the show the band announced the details. Only the first 30 people to respond via e-mail were put of the guestlist to the intimate show. 

Around 60 or so people squeezed into Pianos on Tuesday night for a 45-minute set by the Philadelphia /D.C. based trio. The band delighted with their brand of piano driven, infectious, pop/rock. Guitarist Tommy joked about fans missing LOST and hoping that they recorded it. They played a set of new songs, then closed with the fan favorite "Good Day" from their first album, Let Live and Let Ghosts. Fans urged for one, more so they obliged with "Hold It In." The newer songs had a good mix of energy and pretty melodies.

Jukebox the Ghost will tour through Europe with Adam Green starting next week, but return to NYC on March 4 with Tally Hall and Skybox at the Bowery Ballroom. Tickets are $15 and available here. 

CMJ 2009: Day 1 Photos w/ Fanfarlo, Surfer Blood, Lights Resolve, Demander, and more

The first day of CMJ went splendidly well. I saw Fanfarlo, Grooms, Surfer Blood, Lights Resolve, Demander, Sydney, Jukebox the Ghost, Denise Barbarita, and Yula and the Extended Family.

Fanfarlo @ Piano's


Fanfarlo were impressive with their instrumentation. This is what I like about indie bands. They look outside the box. Rock is no longer just guitar, bass, and drums and I think indie bands work to make their music a little more interesting. The indie folk 5-piece use trumpet, violin, and mandolin. They played songs off their latest release Reservoir such as "I'm a Pilot" and "The Walls are Coming Down." It would've been cool to hear a Neutral Milk Hotel cover, but they only had a 30-minute and they played well. The tiny room of Piano's was packed. I would've seen them at their next two shows if I could. They come back to NYC in December.

Grooms @ Cake Shop


I saw Grooms for their last song and liked it, but it wasn't enough to write any sort of review.

Surfer Blood @ Cake Shop




Surfer Blood played about 10 shows the week of CMJ in NYC. This indie-pop 5-piece from Florida delivered a great set that had me wonderng why more people weren't dancing. Again, I would've caught this band more if I could. They tour with Art Brut in November.

Pics of Lights Resolve, Demander, Denise Barbarita, Jukebox the Ghost, and more below.



Lights Resolve @ Bowery Ballroom






Lights Resolve jumped on this bill last minute according to singer Matt. It had been over a year since I've seen this 3-piece New York band, so it was definitely a treat to see them at CMJ. I had forgotten how energetic this band is live and how fun they are. Their songs are rockin' and getting you dancing. "The Hills and Michael Jackson" started it off nicely. At one point Matt put the tambourine around his bassist Luke's neck who kept on playing. Also, Matt called the crowd closer so he could sing to them. It was also nice to see the band smiling for practically the whole set, especially drummer Neal. It's good seeing bands moving around, getting into the music, and putting their all into their performance. Bravo.

Demander @ Crash Mansion






I had heard of the New York based Demander for months because a few of my friends had booked them for shows, but it wasn't until this evening at CMJ that I actually saw the band live. It's hard to describe their sound but rockin' is simple one. Their myspace says "rock/indie/happy hardcore," so take that for what you will. I think that's mostly correct. Singer and bassist Karen, guitarist Dave, drummer Sivan, and the new keyboardist come together very nicely. They have a great groove that makes you want to move around and "Books" is an amazing song that had me hooked. Karen's vocals are pleasant with the catchy "oohs" and the songs have a punk/folk feel to them, but they aren't very much of either. Karen used to play bass for World/Inferno Friendship Society so that might say something.

At one point during the bands set the mic stand either fell or lowered (can't recall) and someone in the crowd either caught it or adjusted it and I remember seeing Karen stare at that person for at least a minute as if saying thank you with her eyes and looking so happy. It was pretty amazing to see and after the song finished she gave a verbal thanks. Karen moved to her drummer at one point all that way in the back (the stage was huge) and played next to her, which was cool. Also, Sivan smiled for most of the set. Demander has a great combination of good songs and good performance that make them one of the best surprises of CMJ, not because I didn't expect it to be good and then it was but because they got me into their music just from their first song, that's something not too many bands can pull off.

Sydney Wayser @ Crash Mansion

Sydney Wayser reminds me of Regina Spektor! Not sure if this is a good or bad thing. The music was pleasant.

Jukebox the Ghost @ Bowery Ballroom


Jukebox the Ghost seemed to play mostly new songs. The keyboard pulls you into the music quickly and watching singer Ben play is something. The band has little ghost hanging around on stage, appropriate for a band with ghost in their name and with Halloween coming up. It was a cute idea. "Hold It In" was a fun dancing along to. The new songs sounded great.

Denise Barbarita and the Morning Papers @ Crash Mansion




Denise Barbarita performed with the Morning Papers for a rocking set that included song off her upcoming release A Beautiful Mess and from the older album Chaos and Congeniality. The band sounded tight and it was great to finally hear the songs come to life, as I've only heard Denise acoustic solo. "Hush Hush" was a great one and also the angry closer, I believe was titled, "I Don't Like."

Yula Beeri and the Extended Family @ Crash Mansion




Great punk rock instrumentation! Lots of fun seeing this band. Yula is a great frontwoman and very entertaining. See the show and meet the extended family.