DEVO, TOM TOM CLUB, DAN DEACON @ McCarren Pool

Devo played a fantastic headlining show at McCarren Pool last night, showing us (and Elijah Wood, who was in the audience) that they haven't lost their punk edge with age. They ripped through all the classics, including "Whip It", "Gates of Steel", "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction", "Mongoloid", "Girl U Want", and "Freedom of Choice". At one point, lead singer Mark Mothersbaugh marched around the stage tearing pieces of his bandmates costumes off in what led to a steady "stripping down" metaphor that carried on throughout the set. Devo closed out the show with a rousing version of my personal fave, "Gut Feeling".

-Devo

*****


Tom Tom Club was a lot of fun as well, serving up their unique brand of art funk. Tina Weymouth was in good spirits, entertaining the crowd with her dry humor in between songs, like dedicating the track "She's Dangerous" to Condoleezza Rice. Other highlights of the set were "The Man With the Four Way Hips", "Wordy Rappinghood", and the timeless classic "Genius of Love".

-Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz

***


Dan Deacon kicked off the early show with his interactive performance style that had everyone doing a tag-team circle before forming human tunnels around the pool. Deacon is a character and his live shows never fail to entertain, whether you like it or not. The man is hysterical.

-all photos by Scot Bowman

MADONNA - 'Give It 2 Me'

Okay, so in my opinion this single was the wrong choice for a follow-up to "4 Minutes". I would have chose "Beat Goes On" or "Devil Wouldn't Recognize You". Not to say "Give It 2 Me" isn't classic Madonna and great, but for America, I think it's too...I don't know. I just feel like consumer America isn't with the Madonna train these days. But here's my small, tiny, miniscule part in trying to help this song take off, because I loooooove me some Madonna!

Check out the new video for "Give It 2 Me", in which we see a washed out, though maniacally toned Madge giving it to us! Whatever the case, she looks spectacular!

P.S. I got my tickets, but they're for Atlantic City! What's up Atlantic City? Anything exciting going on...in November?

P.S.S. The circulating setlist for the Sticky & Sweet Tour looks unbelievable! (sorry to send you to Perez Hilton!)

Madonna - Give It 2 Me (ft. Pharrell) (music video)

CELERY MOON - Good Morning Stardust V mix

I don't know who Celery Moon is or what his/her story is, but the new "Good Morning Stardust V" mix is off the hook! Celery Moon has something to do with Misshapes, as his/her blog is hosted on their site. He/She has incredible taste in dance music, as this mix features seamless transitions between great artists like Ladyhawke, Bjork, The Black Ghosts, Lykke Li, Simian Mobile Disco, Felix da Housecat, Kleerup, Cut Copy, Moby, and In Flagranti, with remixed efforts by talent such as Hercules & Love Affair, Calvin Harris, Holy Ghost, Alan Braxe, and (again) Cut Copy.

At press time, whilst in the pursuit of knowledge about Celery Moon, we were only told he/she was currently shooting on location in Hawaii. I have no idea. More info (or the lack of such) at Celery Moon's blog.

Now get the goods...

Celery Moon - Good Morning Stardust V (mp3)

00 Good Morning Stardust V

01 Raiders Of The Lost ARP - Summer 1986
02 Lykke Li - Im Good, Im Gone (Fred Falke Remix)
03 Alan Braxe & Fred Falke - Most Wanted
04 Trentemoller & Vonstroke - Want 2 Need 2 Whistle
05 Chas Jankel - Get Yourself Together (Hercules & Love Affair Remix)
06 Ladyhawke - Paris Is Burning (Cut Copy Remix)
07 John Dahlback - I Had A Feeling
08 Felix Da Housecat - Rude Allegiance
09 The Touch - Regain Control
10 Cut Copy - Hearts On Fire (Calvin Harris Remix)
11 Simian Mobile Disco - Wood (Danton Eeprom Remix)
12 Pink Skull - Drugs Will Keep Us Together (Trevor Loveys Remix)
13 33Hz - Crazy All The Time (Magik Johnson Remix)
14 Ian Pooley - It's You
15 The Whip - Blackout (Popular Computer Remix)
16 Professor Genius - Pegaso (Silver & Kane Remix)
17 The Black Ghosts - I want Nothing
18 8otto - 0zero (Herve Remix)
19 Moby - I Love To Move In Here (Holy Ghost Remix)
20 Jesse Rose & Trevor Loveys - Heavy What?
21 Daedelus - Make It So (XXXChange Remix)
22 Bjork - Alarm Call (Alan Braxe & Ben Diamond Edit)
23 Red Astaire - For The Time
24 Egyptian Lover - Egypt Ear Work
25 Richard Bartz - Voyager
26 In Flagranti - Nonchalant
27 Euro Johannes - Lipton Service Boy
28 Kleerup - Thank You For Nothing

BECK - Modern Guilt - Preview

Beck's new album is shaping up to be very interesting. Produced by Danger Mouse, Modern Guilt finds Beck in a more serene mood than on recent albums The Information and Guero. The first leaked tracks have a moody and kind of hallucinatory feel to them. You can preview the three tracks at the links below, including the collaboration with Cat Power, though to me she sounds muted and hardly there. Also, check out the video preview of the album, which includes the title track as well.

Modern Guilt is released July 8th.

Preview of Beck's Modern Guilt


STREAM - Beck - Orphans (ft. Cat Power) (link)
STREAM - Beck - Gamma Ray (link)
STREAM - Beck - Chemtrails (link)

Modern Guilt tracklist:

01 "Orphans"
02 "Gamma Ray"
03 "Chemtrails"
04 "Modern Guilt"
05 "Youthless"
06 "Walls"
07 "Replica"
08 "Soul of A Man"
09 "Profanity Prayers"
10 "Volcano"

CLOETTA PARIS - 'Cry Just a Little Bit (Shakin Stevens cover)'

Cloetta Paris has a new cover Shakin' Stevens' "Cry Just a Little Bit" for the forthcoming Rewind vol. 1 compilation. The 80's cover project features artists such as Dragonette, Purple Crush, Lismore, Pink Skull, Cannonball Jane, FrankMusik and many, many more turning in their versions of 80's favorites.

Rewind vol. 1 will become available as a free download on July 1st via buffetlibre.net.


Cloetta Paris - Cry Just a Little Bit (mp3)

MKNG FRNDZ Playing Bushwick Saturday

This Saturday Mkng Frndz are playing a special benefit house party at 315 Seigel in Bushwick. The benefit party is $10 for all you can eat and drink and will feature DJ sets by Jerk Party and Amos Mac. The party is at 315 Seigel St. #101 @ Bogart. Saturday, June 28th, Noon - Midnight. L train to Morgan.


Mkng Frndz is the latest musical incarnation of Tami Hart, who became a hearthrob for queer youth in the early 2000's.

"Influenced musically by Kaia Wilson (Team Dresch, the Butchies) and Kurt Cobain, among others, South Carolina's Tami Hart was just a teenager when she released her debut on Wilson's label, the pro-queer and feminist imprint Mr. Lady (Letigre, The Need). No Light in August is a startling debut, too, with Hart sounding like she has an infinitely older soul than is healthy for any 19 year old. On songs like the opening "Drunken Love Song," "You're No Good," and the eerily Nirvana-like "The Kids That Call Us Clowns," Hart's emotionally raw folk-pop is tragically beautiful and engaging as she tells her broken-hearted tales of love, loss, and loneliness. And while such topics aren't exactly original, these songs are shockingly disarming in their honesty and sincerity. So while her debut has its few moments of influence-on-sleeve songwriting, Hart is already hitting her stride on No Light in August. Surely, as they say, the best is yet to come." -Jimmy Draper, All Music Guide

BLONDIE Played Times Square

Blondie played their legendary album Parallel Lines in its entirety last night at the Nokia Theatre in Times Square and it was magical. Debbie Harry looked absolutely stunning in a silver and black gown, sporting a haircut very similar to the one she made so famous in the "Heart of Glass" video. The band sounded great, even with only three of its original members - Debbie, Chris Stein and the amazing Clem Burke. It was a special night for Blondie fans, who got to see rare live performances of tracks like "Fade Away and Radiate", "I Know But I Don't Know" and "11:59". One of the things that impressed me most was how Debbie made the old songs seem fresh again by infusing new ideas into the old.


Once they finished playing the Parallel Lines album, they continued on with a few more gems. Among the highlights were "Call Me", "(I Am Always Touched By Your) Presence Dear" and "Rapture", in which Debbie worked her way into a frenzied and cathartic art rap that sent chills up my spine. It was possibly the most passionate and dramatic thing I've ever seen her do. Wow! But the most shocking moment of the night was the seething punk take on Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On". It wasn't until about half way through the song that I realized what it was. They need to release this as a single - it rocks!

We miss you Jimmy Destri!

Here are a couple screens shots of Debbie Harry and the incomparable Clem Burke on drums...



-all photos by Derek Morris

MIDNIGHT JUGGERNAUTSAn Interview with Vincent Vendetta

Vincent Vendetta of Midnight Juggernauts is coming to town for a special DJ set at Webster Hall Saturday night. The event also features live sets from Crookers, Spitzer, DJ Funk, Danger, The Captain and more. Full info below.

While in Barcelona for the Sonar Festival, Vin took the time to answer a few questions for us.

THE SKY REPORT: How are you?

VINCENT VENDETTA: Well thanks. Yourself?

TSR: Great! Where are you now?

VIN: I'm now in a hotel room in Barcelona for Sonar. We're here to DJ some Vice party and other Sonar events.

TSR: I see you were just in London. How was the show with Thieves Like Us?

VIN: The show in London was a lot of fun. We always like playing that town. It was our last own show for a while, though. The next few months we just do the summer festival circuit.

TSR: Are you in New York specifically for the Webster Hall event?

VIN: Well yes. It's the only event I'm going to play. But I'm also there to go visit Coney Island and see more of NY. Maybe go to the top of a tall building.

TSR: Your appearance at Webster Hall is a DJ set. Any hints as to what you might play?

VIN: A little bit of Jive Bunny. Might see if there's an old compilation i could put on. Something from the '90s so i can let it play and then go outside to get a cheeseburger for 20 minutes. Very important.


TSR: How has the reception been to the Dystopia LP in America? Personally, I love it.

VIN: Personally, I love you too. It's been great. It's amazing when you play a show there and you see a crowd of people who know the songs and sing the lyrics and let loose. When you write music and release it it's like each track takes on it's own life and it's a special thing when it enters other peoples lives. Profound huh?

TSR: Rolling Stone described the Juggernauts’ sound as "David Bowie if his Berlin Trilogy was a collaboration with Kraftwerk and Faust." Was that at all what you were going for? Did you have specific influences when recording the album?

VIN: Well those references are fine. Though we didn't have any specific references when making the album. Like any band i suppose we've grown up with lots of music that has influenced us in some way. Though for us that palette is pretty broad. Anything from Ennio Morricone, to the Muppet Show, to Frisbees, to Xanadu, to a really Difficult Math test. We're now like a cultural unilingual Voltron. Our one language is XXXXXXXXXXXXX.

TSR: The Midnight Juggernauts’ remixes are always pretty amazing. I really love the remix of “I Get Around” by Dragonette. Are there any new remixes in the pipeline? Anyone specific you’d love to remix?

VIN: We always get a lot of requests to do remixes, but we have no time. We can only do them when the stars and the moon align and we have a free block to play with. There's a few things coming up which should be fun. Will let you know about them soon. Though someday we'd like to remix Randy Newman. Andy our guitarist grew up with him. Before Toy Story etc of course.

TSR: Finally, where are you off to next?

VIN: Next we visit NEW YAWK CITY!

-interview by Scot Bowman

PASS KONTROL Playing Three Free Shows in Brooklyn This Weekend

As they usher in two new members of the band, Bushwick's beloved Pass Kontrol will play three FREE shows this weekend in Brooklyn. The fun starts Friday night at Duck Duck, then continues Saturday afternoon with a street performance in front of Northeast Kingdom. Things get finished off at Pete's Candy Store later that night. Full info at the bottom of the scroll.

Check out the awesome Pass Kontrol track "Love is a Dog From Hell", streaming on their Myspace page:

STREAM - Pass Kontrol - Love is a Dog From Hell

-Activists/Dictators

The Nasties and Burlington transplants Activists/Dictators (or simply A/D) are also playing Pete's Candy Store on Saturday. This will mark A/D's first full live show since relocating to Bushwick late last year. A/D also join Pass Kontrol for a show at Goodbye Blue Monday on July 11th.

Tonight - Duck Duck - 9:30pm
Saturday - Northeast Kingdom - Make Music NY Festival - 1-4 pm
Saturday - Pete's Candy Store (w/ A/D) - 9:00pm
July 11 - Goodbye Blue Monday (w/ A/D) - 10:00pm

THE TING TINGS at Bowery Ballroom

The Ting Tings rocked the sold-out Bowery Ballroom in Manhattan last night, blasting through an energetic set of which highlighted nearly every track on their debut album We Started Nothing. Katie White is a fantastic live performer, infusing the show with a blend of f-you attitude, punk-rock ferocity, and an unexpected perfectionism and grace.


The crowd was alive and dancing, most notably on highlights like their current single "Shut Up and Let Me Go", as well as "Great DJ" and the encore of "We Started Nothing". But perhaps the most infectious part of the show was the singalong anthem "That's Not My Name". Throughout the show a group of girls behind me kept shrieking out names like "Stacy" and "Mary-Jo-Lisa"! Needless to say, the energy in the room exploded when they launched into the track.

More photos from The Ting Tings show last night...







-all photos by Scot Bowman

The Ting Ting's also have a brand new video for "Shut Up and Let me Go". Check it out below.

The Ting Tings - Shut Up and Let Me Go (music video)