Arcade Fire Announces "Reflektor" Tour (Two Brooklyn Dates); Metric Adds Small-Venue Show

Ever since Arcade Fire announced its new album "Reflektor," fans have been wondering when they would tour to support the new work. We got the answer today, when the band announced its "Reflektor" tour on Twitter.

Arcade Fire is hitting the road to support is new album, "Reflektor."

The band kicks things off with a show in Louisville, Kentucky on March 6th, and the tour comes to Brooklyn in the summer for two nights at the Barclays Center, August 22nd and 23rd. Tickets for all dates go on sale next Friday, Nov. 22nd.

Another Canadian band, Metric, is currently on tour, and is playing a rare small-venue gig next Tuesday (the 19th) at Bowery Ballroom. The gig is listed on their tour schedule, but clicking on the Buy Tickets link takes you to an information page, not a Ticketmaster link.

We'd guess the link to buy will go live tomorrow (the tickets are supposed to go on sale at noon Friday the 15th, according to Brooklyn Vegan). Also, the page for this show notes, "All tickets are for WILL CALL ONLY and will be available exclusively for pick up at the venue on the evening of the show with valid ID. Tickets are non-transferable."

UPDATE: I couldn't find the Metric ticket link searching on Ticketmaster, but Brooklyn Vegan found it: Metric Bowery Ballroom tickets.

Until tickets go on sale tomorrow, you can watch Metric perform on the Letterman show tonight.

Photos: The Breaktone at Scalo Bar in Albuquerque

Albuquerque indie rock band The Breaktone has been getting acclaim for a few years now in its hometown and beyond, and it showed why last night at the bar at Scalo restaurant in the city's Nob Hill neighborhood.

Performing a semi-acoustic show, the five-piece outfit played a mix of old and new original tunes and a selection of well-chosen covers, including Paul Simon's "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes" and "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover." (Disclosure: one of the band members is my nephew.)

Three-fifths of The Breaktone: Peter Ver Brugge, Julian Corbin, Robert Hoffman.

 Led by singer/guitarist Julian Corbin, The Breaktone plays a brand of rock that, depending on the song, cab include elements of progressive rock, jazz, folk, and straight-ahead rock. Their debut LP, "Lines Divide,"was chosen "Best Pop CD" at the 2010 New Mexico Music Awards. Earlier this year they released a follow-up, the four-song "Summer Walls," and they're now at work on their second full-length album. (Listen to or buy "Summer Walls" at The Breaktone's BandCamp page, or listen to it or "Lines Divide" at their SoundCloud page.)

Find out more about The Breaktone at their ReverbNation page.

Geoff St. John, Julian Corbin, Robert Hoffman.

Peter ver Brugge, Robert Hoffman.

Listen to Silversun Pickups' New Album & Metric's New Single

Silversun Pickups are streaming their forthcoming album "Neck of the Woods"(out May 8th) in full on MTV (see below), while Metric is releasing tidbits of its June 12th release, "Synthetica," out in drips and drabs. You can stream their new song "Youth without Youth" (with lyrics) below.

Silversun Pickups have some tour dates scheduled, but so far all the U.S. dates are on the west coast.

Get More: Silversun Pickups, MTV Shows

(If the stream doesn't work, listen at MTV's website here.)

As for Metric, Emily Haines and the guys fortunately have scheduled some summer dates across the U.S. and, happily for me, that includes New York (though the venue, Radio City Music Hall, is a puzzling choice for a rock band that will probably have fans standing up the entire show).

What's more, Metric's website has a bonus: "Instant Gratification! Every Concert Ticket Purchased for Metric's US Fall Tour Comes With Music: You'll get the digital download of first single 'Youth Without Youth' immediately, followed by the full SYNTHETICA album download on June 12."

See the Metric tour dates here, and visit Metric's website for details on the various special collections and other options for buying "Synthetica." Metric's tour begins at the Sasquatch festival in Washington state on May 26th, and comes to New York on Sunday, Sept. 23rd. Presale is now open to many shows to members of the Metric fan community (free registration).
 
Metric "Youth without Youth" official video with lyrics:

New Tunes: Dum Dum Girls "Coming Down" Video; Songs from Garbage, Japandroids, & More

Some great new tunes have come out this week, from bands including Dum Dum Girls, Garbage, Japandroids, and Silversun Pickups. First off is the video of "Coming Down" by the Dum Dum Girls, directed by the band's own bass player, Malia James (who is also a photographer/videographer/writer/who knows what else).

The video uses a shortened, four-minute version of the song, which ran six-and-a-half minutes on DDG's "Only in Dreams" album from late last year. (Related: see photos from the February Dum Dum Girls show at Maxwell's.)

Here's all the new stuff:

* Dum Dum Girls, "Coming Down" video:



* Garbage's "Battle in Me" video (U.K. single). (Via Consequence of Sound, which also features the track listing.):



* Japandroids have a new single, "The House That Heaven Built." You can listen to it at their website. Also: the band is playing Bowery Ballroom on June 27th; get tickets here this Friday at 12 Noon.

* Stereogum as posted a new song download by Screaming Females, "Expire." At the link you can also find their live dates; they're kicking off their tour with an album release show at Maxwell's on April 5th.

* Silversun Pickups are out with a new song, "Bloody Mary (Nerve Endings)," which you can listen to at the link or listen to below (for some reason, SoundCloud embeds aren't working for me).



* Crocodiles, the band fronted by Brandon Welchez (husband of Dum Dum Girls frontwoman Dee Dee), is preparing a new album and has a new video of its own: an album teaser that sends up those old Time-Life Records collections of the past. (Via NME.)

NY Area Concerts On Sale: Radiohead, That Dog, Edward Sharpe, & More

Some big shows in the NYC area are going on sale Friday and Saturday, so here's a heads-up on a few of them, with links to tickets. The biggest event is Radiohead's return to the metro region with two concerts at Newark's Prudential Center, May 31st and June 1st. These are the first shows the band will play at The Pru, as well as the only New York area shows scheduled on this leg of their tour.

Indie rock favorites That Dog return for a concert at Music Hall of Williamsburg.

At the other end of the spectrum (in terms of commercial success, anyway) is the first East concert in more than 15 years by the much-loved 1990s indie rock band, That Dog. There's no words on whether the band will be mounting a full tour, but after doing at least a couple of reunion shows in L.A. last year, they're playing at the Music Hall of Williamsburg on May 25th. Comedian Fred Armisen of "Saturday Night Live" opens.

The members of That Dog have an impressive musical pedigree: frontwoman Anna Waronker is the daughter of record producer Lenny Waronker (and is married to Steve McDonald of Redd Kross); sisters Rachel and Petra Haden are daughters of famed bass player Charlie Haden.

• That Dog at Music Hall of Williamsburg, Thurs., May 24th. With Fred Armisen. On sale: Fri., March 9th, 12 Noon.
• Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros at Roseland Ballroom, Tues., May 8th. On sale: Fri., March 9th, 12 Noon.
• Zappa Plays Zappa at NYCB Theatre at Westbury, NY, Sat., June 30th (Dweezil Zappa and others playing the music of Frank Zappa). On sale: Fri., March 9th, 10 a.m.
• Radiohead at Prudential Center, May 31st and June 1st; with special guest Caribou. On sale: Sat., March 10th, 10 a.m.

For all those trying to get Radiohead tickets, let's hope that Ticketmaster is more prepared for the onslaught than it was for Springsteen tickets when they went on sale.

NYC Gigs to See This Weekend: Jennifer O'Connor

If you're looking for a good music show to see in NYC this weekend, we'd suggest checking out Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter Jennifer O'Connor, who plays twice this weekend (tonight at Cake Shop, no advance tickets; Sunday at Brooklyn's Union Pool [see link for tickets]).

Time Out New York listed tonight's Cake Shop show as one of the weekend's must-see concerts.

O'Connor's "You Come Around" was featured on NPR's Song of the Day this week.

 It's no secret that these are not easy times for musicians (especially independent ones), and O'Connor has had her share of the music-business meat grinder: releasing a couple of albums on small labels; getting signed to a major (Matador) and making two albums, then getting dumped; doing a variety of odd jobs while reconsidering the whole business of making music, etc.

O'Connor deserves a lot of credit for continuing to make music and get it heard. Of course this wouldn't mean much if her music wasn't worth hearing, which it certainly is. Her long-and-winding musical story has recently taken a turn for the better, however, as her latest album "I Want What You Want"(released last Fall) has gotten good notices.

And two of her songs have been used in TV shows in recent weeks (more on that below). (You can listen to "I Want What You Want" below, buy it using the "Buy" links on the Soundcloud widget, and buy it at Amazon.com here.)


Jennifer O'Connor - I Want What You Want by Jennifer O'Connor

My favorite tune on "I Want What You Want" is the achingly beautiful "Swan Song (For Bella)," which O'Connor has said is perhaps her best song. As you might guess from the title, O'Connor wrote the song for one of the "Twilight" movies. While it was ultimately not used for the film, it was featured in a recent episode of the NBC TV show "Parenthood."

O'Connor's "Change Your Life" was used in the ABC show "Private Practice," and yet another song from "I Want What You Want,""You Come Around," was featured by NPR as its Song of the Day this past week.

I'll be at tonight's show at the Cake Shop. In addition to O'Connor, I'm be interested in seeing Ma'am, a band that features a number of '90s indie rock veterans including Lyle Hysen, formerly of Das Damen (See an old article on Ma'am here.)

Reviews of "I Want What You Want": Dusted, Pitchfork, Onion A.V. Club.

Jennifer O'Connor upcoming performances: 
Friday, March 2nd, Cake Shop, 152 Ludlow St., Manhattan
$10, 8 p.m. doors, 21+.
On the bill: Ma'am (8 p.m.), Tim Foljahn (10 p.m.), Jennifer O'Connor (11 p.m.)

Sunday, March 4th, Union Pool, 484 Union Ave., Brooklyn
$10, 8 p.m.
On the bill: Amy Bezunartea, Kleenex Girl Wonder, Jennifer O'Connor

Music Notes: Metallica's NJ Festival, Madonna on Tour, Obama's Spotify, & More

Some random concert and music news from this week:

* Metallica's rumored music festival in New Jersey is a reality: the "Orion: Music + More" fest will take place on June 23rd and 24th at Bader Field in Atlantic City. The band will be headliners both days as well as curators of this new event, which also includes Arctic Monkeys, Modest Mouse, the Gaslight Anthem, F"*cked Up, Titus Andronicus, The Black Angels, Best Coast, and more.

Metallica's Orion music festival is officially on; see ticket info and other details below.

Tickets will be sold at "the early bird price of $150" starting tomorrow, Feb. 11th at 10 a.m. Eastern time at www.orionmusicandmore.com. Supplies are limited at this special price and ticket purchases are limited to no more than ten per person. You'll find an Orion fest FAQ here.

* Following up on her much-discussed Super Bowl halftime show, Madonna announced her 2012 world tour this week. The tour comes to North America on August 28th (in Philadelphia) and comes to Yankee Stadium on Sept. 6th. Tickets for all North American shows go on sale on Feb. 13th at Ticketmaster.com and LiveNation.com

* Maura Johnston of the Village Voice today penned a scathing take-down of how women in music are discussed in the press in her article "How Not to Write About Female Musicians: A Handy Guide." Apparently one thing that spurred the article was the recent profile of Lana Del Rey in T, the New York Times style magazine (Johnston lowered the boom on Del Rey in her review of the singer's "Born to Die" a couple of weeks ago.)

* The White House yesterday tweeted the official Spotify playlist of Pres. Barack Obama's re-election campaign, which the L.A. Times lists in full here (and humorously analyzes). The playlist includes soul and R&B (Earth, Wind and Fire, Aretha Franklin), country (Sugarland, Zac Brown Band), and some classic rock (REO Speedwagon, Electric Light Orchestra), among other things. And, of course, Al Green's "Let's Stay Together."

While many people have referred to this as Obama's playlist, the actual link says the songs are the picks of the campaign staff, with "a few of President Obama's favorites."

Concert Notes: Death Cab Adds 3rd Show; Feist Tour Dates; Daria Musk Live Gig; More

There's lots of concert news today, with some good shows happening this week and others being announced recently:

Death Cab for Cutie has added a third show at the Beacon Theatre, on April 29th. Tickets go on sale Friday, Feb. 3rd at 12 Noon. There may still be tickets available for their shows on April 27th and 28th.

Feist announced a worldwide tour with dates in the U.S. including the Coachella festival, New Orleans JazzFest, and of course New York (Radio City Music Hall on Sat., May 5th; tickets on sale here on Sat., Feb. 4th at 10 a.m.). She also dropped the new video for "The Bad in Each Other," above.

Google+ Hangouts star Daria Musk plays a live show in NYC on Friday.

Singer-songwriter Daria Musk, who's gained fans around the world through her recurring marathon concerts using the Google+ Hangout feature, will be playing a live, in-the-flesh gig in New York City tomorrow night at The Living Room. Musk will go on at 10 p.m. (And yes, you can watch it on the Google+ Hangout if you can't be there.) If she's as effervescent in person as she is on the computer screen, this show will be a treat.

The Dum Dum Girls are back on the road and playing some East Coast dates over the next couple of weeks to promote last year's excellent "Only in Dreams"album. New York area dates are Music Hall of Williamsburg on Feb. 7th and Maxwell's in Hoboken on Feb. 11th. The band also announced that bass player Bambi has departed and will be replaced by Malia James. (Who is Malia James? I found a profile here... she's quite a multi-talented woman.)

Dum Dum Girls play a series of East Coast dates beginning next week.

Speaking of Maxwell's, Montclair native Jenny Owen Youngs plays there tonight with Kelsey Byrne and New Empire supporting. The show starts tonight and tickets are only $12 at the door. Youngs's new album, "An Unwavering Band of Light,"comes out Feb. 7th.

More NYC Concerts: Tool, Coldplay 2nd Izod Show on Sale Saturday

Tool plays the Izod Center on Feb. 1st, and tickets go on sale tomorrow at the link below.

There was a mad rush today for tickets to The Magnetic Fields' concert and the second Black Keys show. And there's likely to be another virtual stampede tomorrow morning for two more big New York area gigs: Tool at the Izod Center on Feb. 1st, and the second Coldplay show at the same venue on Aug. 4th.

Tickets for Tool go on sale Dec. 17th at 11 a.m., while the Coldplay show goes on sale at 10 a.m. No tickets seem to be available for the first Coldplay show on Aug. 3rd, but sometimes tickets are released at a later date (extra tickets for the second Black Keys/Arctic Monkeys concert were made available this afternoon, just hours after they first went on sale).

NYC Concerts: Black Keys, Magnetic Fields On Sale Friday; F*cked Up, Titus Andronicus, & More Play this Weekend

Tickets for the second Black Keys/Arctic Monkeys show at Madison Square Garden in March go on sale tomorrow, as do tickets for the long-awaited return of Magnetic Fields. And there's a good slate of talent performing live this weekend at the Brooklyn Night Bazaar. Details:

As mentioned here last week, The Black Keys and Arctic Monkeys have added a second show at the Garden on March 22nd, 2012 (the first one is March 12th). Tickets for the Black Keys/Arctic Monkeys concert go on sale tomorrow, Dec. 16th, at 9 a.m.

Stephin Merritt's The Magnetic Fields play the Beacon Theatre on Tuesday, April 3rd. Tickets go on sale Friday, Dec. 16th at 11 a.m. The band will be coming out with a new album, "Love at the Bottom of the Sea," on March 6th, according to their website.

As for gigs to see this weekend, the Brooklyn Night Bazaar has a solid lineup. Friday has Toronto's F*cked Up, Dom, Big Troubles, Radical Dads, and more, while Saturday's Brooklyn Vegan sponsored finale features The Hold Steady, Titus Andronicus, Wakey! Wakey!, and more. (The bazaar started off Thursday night with LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy spinning a DJ set, along with several bands.)

The Brooklyn Night Bazaar combines live music, shopping, art, and food, and takes place at 149 Kent Ave. (entrance is between N. 5th and N. 6th Streets), from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. each night. (More info and directions here.)  The bazaar is free except for the musical performances, which require a ticket. Tickets are $10 for Friday and $18 for Saturday.

Live in NYC Thursday: Dum Dum Girls in Brooklyn, GoGirls Music Fest in E. Village

Fans of female-powered rock will be interested in two shows on Thursday night that will be starting December off with a bang, on both sides of the East River.

One of my new favorite bands, the Dum Dum Girls, are back from a brief European swing and will play Brooklyn Bowl in a show starting at 8 p.m. Brooklyn's Dive and Xray Eyeballs open the gig. Doors are at 6 p.m.; admission is just $10. Brooklyn Bowl is at 61 Wythe Ave. in Williamsburg between N. 11th and 12th Streets (directions).

If you miss this show, the DDGs will be returning to Brooklyn Bowl for another show on Dec. 17th. (UPDATE: It doesn't say this on their tour page, but the Dec. 17th show is not a DDG show; rather, the band will be spinning a DJ set during the Stylofone reunion show. They will be playing a solo acoustic show with Crocodiles on Dec. 22nd at Glasslands.)

More than a half-dozen female indie rockers play the GoGirls Music Fest Thursday.

Across from Williamsburg in Manhattan, a line-up of women indie rockers will play at the GoGirls Music Fest at Otto’s Shrunken Head (538 E. 14th St.). On the bill: ReW, Lachi & Meridian Gold, Inky Glass, Melissa Clark, Luciar, Rachel Lee Walsh, and Tiik (from the band G.U.T.S.). You can hear songs from the GoGirls Music Fest here (my favorite is the poppy "Bug Out" by Lachi & Meridian Gold).

The show is a benefit for the Red Thread Movement, which is dedicated to fighting sex trafficking in Nepal. The show is set for 7 p.m. and admission is only $5.

Concert Notes: Yo La Tengo at Maxwell's, Devo, Phish, & More Going on Sale

Tickets for Yo La Tengo's annual Eight Nights of Hanukkah run at Maxwell's in Hoboken will go on sale Friday, Oct. 28th at 12 Noon. This is more than a month later than last year's Yo La Tengo Hanukkah shows went on sale, and the shows themselves are later in December.

Yo La Tengo (shown here at a 2007 show) will perform their annual Eight Nights of Hanukkah shows at Maxwell's in December.

The Yo La Tengo Hanukkah shows for 2011 will take place on December 21st to the 27th, including Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Tickets for each show are $35 and are available online at Ticketfly and in person at Tunes in Hoboken (225 Washington St.) and Other Music in Manhattan (15 E. 4th St.).

As usual, Yo La Tengo will be sharing the bill with a different opening acts and special guests each night. And in another Eight Nights of Hanukkah tradition, the proceeds from each night's show will benefit a different charity.

Other concerts of interest that are going on sale soon:

• Devo returns to the New York for a pair of shows, Dec. 13th at Irving Plaza and Dec. 17th at The  Paramount in Huntington, Long Island. Tickets for both shows go on sale Friday, Oct. 28th at 10 a.m.
  
  
• Phish will be back at Madison Square Garden for a run of shows at the end of the year. The concerts take place Dec. 28th, 29th, 30th, and 31st, and tickets for all shows go on sale here Saturday, Oct. 29th at 10 a.m. 12 Noon (note corrected time).
  
  
• Cyndi Lauper and a variety of guests from music and show biz are performing at the "Home For The Holidays" show at the Beacon Theatre on Dec. 4th. The concert "will feature a night of music from Cyndi Lauper as well as appearances by Norah Jones, Amy Lee, Rosie O'Donnell, Wanda Sykes, Carson Kressley, Chely Wright, Skylar Grey, Vanessa Carlton, Angelique Kidjo, Harvey Fierstein, Deluka, Debbie Harry, Alan Cumming and Clay Aiken.
  
  Tickets go on sale Friday, Oct. 28th at 10 a.m. The show is to help raise awareness about LGBT youth homelessness.

Music Notes: Stream Wild Flag & Zola Jesus Concerts; CMJ's Last Hurrah; Dum Dum Girls Play Maxwell's

Stream Wild Flag's Washingotn, D.C. concert at NPR Music (below).

Intrepid rock fans are preparing for the final day (and night) of CMJ 2011, but in the New York area the live music continues every day. A few CMJ-related items of note...

• If you missed Wild Flag at CMJ or their other NYC appearances, you can still get a feel for what their live show is like because NPR Music has posted a stream of the gig they played in Washington, D.C. earlier this week (it was webcast live).
  
  The setlist is pretty similar to the one from Tuesday's CMJ show at Bowery Ballroom, including one of their cover tunes (Television's "See No Evil"). The web page for the Wild Flag concert stream has the setlist as well. It doesn't appear than you can download this show, however.
  


• The singer known as Zola Jesus performed at Le Poisson Rouge on Wednesday as part of CMJ, and you can stream or download the set here from NPR Music.
  
  
• The Dum Dum Girls show at CMJ last night sold out well in advance, but the good news is that they're playing at Maxwell's in Hoboken on Monday night the 24th, and as of this writing there are still some tickets left. Crocodiles and Royal Baths are also on the bill. (Link to Dum Dum Girls tickets at Maxwell's.) You can stream "Only in Dreams" by the Dum Dum Girls here at TheFader.com.
  
  
• CMJ 2011 is going out with a bang on Saturday, with more than 12 hours of live music at venues all over the City. Check the CMJ Music schedule for listings by time, or search CMJ gigs by artist, venue, etc.
  
  And don't forget, a lot of the CMJ shows won't cost you a thing (see the Oh My Rockness listing of free gigs, CMJ and otherwise). Bands performing on Saturday include DOM, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Shonen Knife, Givers, Wavves, Purity Ring, Nicole Atkins, Wise Blood, Casiokids, Memoryhouse, Cold War Kids, and a couple of bands with two of the more inventive names, Diarrhea Planet and Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs.

Review: Wild Flag Plays Bowery Ballroom (Photos)

Wild Flag: Rebecca Cole, Mary Timony, Carrie Brownstein (not visible: Janet Weiss on drums).

The CMJ Music Marathon kicked off at Noon yesterday, but for me it began at about 9:30 p.m. when Eleanor Friedberger took the stage at Bowery Ballroom. She and her band played a fine set of catchy tunes, a good warm-up for the main event, Wild Flag.

I've long been a fan of Sleater-Kinney and of Mary Timony's various musical efforts (Helium and her own band), so I already liked the songs on their self-titled debut album—which sound like, well, a blend of S-K and Helium. The good news is that Wild Flag has all the energy and excitement that made Sleater-Kinney one of my all-time favorite acts to see live (not surprising, since Wild Flag features two members of S-K).

Eleanor Friedberger at Bowery Ballroom last night.

Eleanor Friedberger and band.

Mary Timony, with Janet Weiss in background.

Carrie Brownstein in a more restrained moment.

 Carrie Brownstein jumped all over the stage as in her S-K days, with her now-familiar windmill guitar flourishes and leg kicks. Her Sleater-Kinney bandmate, drummer Janet Weiss, was as always notable for her solid, powerful playing. I'd never seen Mary Timony live before, but she matched Brownstein for guitar chops and energy, though in a less flamboyant style.

One of the downsides of seeing a brand-new band on its first tour is that it doesn't have a large catalog of its own songs to play. Wild Flag played most if not all of its debut album, including extended versions of "Glass Tambourine" and of "Racehorse" (which ended the regular set). The band chose covers of two '70s punk classics for its encore: Television's "See No Evil" and Patti Smith's "Ask the Angels."

It's an odd coincidence perhaps that Wild Flag is staging its first full-fledged tour during CMJ this year, and a year ago the third member of Sleater-Kinney, Corin Tucker, made her first tour with her new band at last year's CMJ.

Having played three shows in the NYC area in four days (Bell House, Maxwell's, and now Bowery Ballroom),  Wild Flag continues its inaugural tour in Europe. It will return to tour the U.S. in spring 2012. (See the latest Wild Flag tour schedule.)

2011 CMJ Music Marathon Kicks Off Today

Yes, it does! The 2011 CMJ Music Marathon kicks off at noon.

That annual unwieldy explosion of live music known as the CMJ Music Marathon kicks off today, and in all there will be more than 1,000 bands playing between now and the end of the festival on Oct. 22nd. How to find out what to see amid all those offerings? One way is to check out the picks of various critics and publications (see some selections after the photo), and decide what sounds interesting to you (and which gigs you can get to, dashing between various far-flung venues in Manhattan and Brooklyn).

If you want to just plunge into the massive listings, see the CMJ Music home page here, view the CMJ daily music showcase schedule, or search the CMJ site for artists, venues, or tags. You can also get an official CMJ 2011 smartphone app. And don't forget to download CMJ's 19-song sampler playlist.

Puerto Rico's Davila 666 (shown here at 4 Knots) plays the Knitting Factory Wed.

Here are some guides to help you choose what to see at CMJ:

• Spin offers "30 Can't-Miss Acts at CMJ 2011" (annoyingly presented in one-band-per-webpage format). Among their picks: Pujol, King Krule, Davila 666, Jacuzzi Boys, Machine Gun Kelly, and Stepkids. (Download Spin's free 20-track CMJ 2011 mixtape)
  
  
• NPR Music offers a stream of selections from this year's CMJ bands, with songs by acts including Balkans, Capybara, Davila 666, Dum Dum Girls, Neon Indian, Peelander-Z, Portual. The Man, Shonen Knife, We are Augustines, We Were Promised Jetpacks, and Wild Flag.
  
  
• Brooklyn Vegan will have frequently updated coverage of CMJ 2011; currently you can checkout its picks for the daytime Tuesday shows (most, if not all, are free). Brooklyn Vegan is also sponsoring its own CMJ showcase once again.
  
  
• TimeOut New York has a CMJ 2011 guide with tips on how to get the most out of the festival, staff picks for the best shows to see, and photos from the gigs.
  
  
• NYCGO.com offers its own day-by-day list of recommended CMJ acts, along with a guide to CMJ venues throughout the City. Among its choices: Shonen Knife, Titus Andronicus, and Wild Flag (all playing tonight), as well as The Wombats, Metronomy, CSS, and Dum Dum Girls.

As for me, I'll be taking in Wild Flag and Eleanor Friedberger tonight at Bowery Ballroom and just winging it after that. I'm hoping to see The Duke Spirit in a daytime show tomorrow, and at least one show on the 22nd: CSS, Peelander-Z, or Shonen Knife.

If you're going to CMJ 2011, what acts are you going to see?

Great Live Music in Hoboken: Lemonheads Tonight; Ian Hunter & the Baseball Project Sunday; Thermals & Alejandro Ecovedo Next Week; More

Ian Hunter and band playing "Cleveland Rocks" in London, 2004.

There's been a lot of good live music in Hoboken recently, and there's more to come. Here's a look at what's coming up, including some shows in the next few months (which I'm listing because they're in the small confines of Maxwell's, and may sell out well in advance of the show date). Note: there are many other shows at Maxwell's besides the ones I've listed here, which are shows that may be particularly popular because they are rare small-club gigs for some of the artists.

Tonight, April 28 - The Lemonheads/The Canon Logic - Maxwell's, 8:30 p.m., $20

Sun., May 1 - Hoboken Arts & Music Festival: Ian Hunter & the Rant Band (former leader of Mott the Hoople) - 4:30 p.m.; The Baseball Project (featuring Peter Buck & Scott McCaughey of R.E.M., Steve Wynn of The Dream Syndicate, and Linda Pitmon of The Pretty Babies) - 3 p.m.; The Pretty Babies (Blondie cover band) - 2 p.m.; Bern & the Brights - 1 p.m.

Sun., May 1 - The Thermals/special guests - Maxwell's, 9 p.m., $15

Fri., May 6 - Alejandro Escovedo and The Sensitive Boys/Jesse Malin and The St. Marks Social - Maxwell's, 9 p.m., $22 adv./$24 day of show

Fri., June 3 - She Wants Revenge - Maxwell's, 7:30 p.m., $22

Fri., June 10 - NRBQ - Maxwell's, 7:30 p.m., $15 adv./$20

Fri., June 17 - James McMurtry - Maxwell's, 7:30 p.m., $15

Fri., July 1 and Sat., July 2 - The Feelies - Maxwell's, $24.99

Sun., July 24 and Mon., July 25 - Fountains Of Wayne - Maxwell's, $24.99

Lady Gaga Brings the Monster Ball to Newark

Lady Gaga descending from scaffolding at the beginning of her Prudential Center show.

Native New Yorker Lady Gaga crossed the river Friday night to bring her Monster Ball tour to the Prudential Center, and brought all the glitz, spectacle, and energy for which is has become famous. There was no popping out of an egg this time (as at the Grammys), but the show included plenty of other Gaga staples: a nonstop set of hits, a variety of creative set designs, ridiculously fit dancers, and numerous costume changes, including outfits with ultra-padded shoulders, exotic capes, and bikini bottoms (Gaga seems allergic to wearing pants).

The crowd featured a lot of girls and young women who knew the words to every song, but also some middle-aged folks (not all of whom were chaperones for their teen or tween daughters, though there were plenty of those).

Transclucent dress... fortunately I didn't see any fans wearing this.

Although I like many of Gaga's catchy pop tunes well enough, I was most interested in seeing the whole spectacle of one of her shows, and the Prudential show didn't disappoint. The sets and dancing were interesting and well done (if not always completely original), and the energy of the show really didn't flag at all during the one hour and 45-minute concert (just about the only subdued part of the show was when Gaga sang a slowed-down version of "Born This Way," with only her piano playing as accompaniment).

The old fireworks-shooting-from-boobs-and-crotch trick... don't try this at home.

And yes, the Monster Ball did feature a large, tentacled monster (below), as well as Gaga's outfit that shoots fireworks from the boobs (above).

Any tour that calls itself "The Monster Ball" has to have a monster...

Foo Fighters Takeover on Fuse TV Today; Listen to "Wasting Light" Free Online

Fuse TV having a Foo Fighters takeover all day today, with an all-Foo schedule that features the new singles "While Limo" and "Rope" from their brand-new album "Wasting Light," which came out on Tuesday (the channel says it will premiere 11 new Foo Fighters videos, one at the top of every hour). You can see the band in an interview with Mark Hoppus (11 p.m. Eastern), watch their debut concert at Madison Square Garden, see a history of the band, and watch plenty of Foo Fighters videos. Find out more and see the schedule at www.fuse.tv/foofighters. (In the NYC area, you can find Fuse at these channels: Time Warner 132, Cablevision 56, Comcast 148.) Speaking of "Wasting Light," you can listen to the whole album free online at Spinner.com. It may only be up for a few more days, so head over there now if you want to make sure you catch it. As I mentioned last month, the Foo Fighters will be celebrating Record Store Day (tomorrow) by driving around to different indie music stores in the white limousine used in their video, "White Limo." (I'll post more info on Record Store Day later today or tomorrow; in the meantime you can go to their website at the link and find out your local independent music store, along with what special events or vinyl releases they'll be carrying.)

Tonight at Maxwell's: Rebecca Gates of The Spinanes

Above: Video for "Lines and Lines" from The Spinanes' second album, "Strand."

Maxwell's in Hoboken has had some great shows in recent weeks and is continuing the string in the spring and summer (more on that in future posts). Tonight it's Rebecca Gates and the Consortium, supported by Tall Firs and Blue Cranes.

Gates is best known as half of the much-loved 1990s duo The Spinanes (along with Scott Plouf, who went on to become the drummer for Built to Spill). She hasn't been playing live much lately (she does art in addition to music), but she's been working on a new album, release date to be determined (Gates has a spare online presence, so it hasn't been easy to find out exactly what she's been up to).

Tonight's Rebecca Gates and the Consortium show starts at 8:30, and tickets are still available as of 2 p.m. I'm planning to head over to Maxwell's to see them. This is a great chance to see her live, though I'm sure she'll be playing out more when her new record comes out.

Rebecca Gates and the Consortium will also play at the Rock Shop in Brooklyn on Thursday.

Music Notes: Go-Go's & The Cars Playing NYC, Google's Music Cloud, Prince's 21 Nights in L.A., Bob Mould Memoir

Video for "Blue Tip," a song from "Move Like This," the forthcoming album from The Cars.

There's music news from the cutting edge of technology and the punk and new-wave days of the 1980s this week:

* The Go-Go's have rescheduled their reunion tour, which was cancelled last year when guitarist Jane Wiedlin suffered a knee injury while hiking. The Go-Go's and their "Ladies Gone Wild" tour hits New York's Irving Plaza on June 3rd; tickets are available here. Their planned tour last year was billed as a farewell tour, but this one isn't—I'm hoping that means that the band isn't planning on this run of shows to be its last. The tour coincides with the 30th anniversary of their blockbuster debut album, "Beauty and the Beat."

* The Cars on tour: I mentioned a couple of months ago that The Cars were coming out with a new album, "Move Like This," in May, and now they've got some tour dates planned. They're playing New York's Roseland Ballroom on May 25th, and you can look for tickets here.

* Google's cloud music player being tested: Amazon.com launched its cloud media player last week, and apparently Google's entry into the market is undergoing testing by the company's employees. Although Amazon's service seems to have run afoul of the music companies by not getting licensing rights, CNet wrote a few weeks ago that Google is in negotiations with the companies for rights to stream music from the cloud.

* Prince will play a 21-night residency in Los Angeles, starting this Thursday, April 14th at the Forum in Inglewood (where the Lakers used to play). The next shows will be April 21st and 22nd; the rest have yet to be announced. Tickets for the shows went on sale this morning. It's unclear where the rest of the Prince concerts will be; info on dates and locations are being made public on short notice. But here's a nice, fan-friendly twist to Prince's "21 Nite Stand": supposedly close to 85% of the tickets will go for $25, including fees.

* Bob Mould autobiography coming: I didn't know that the Minneapolis rock icon was working on a memoir, but someone mentioned it on Twitter today and there it was on Amazon.com: "See a Little Light: The Trail of Rage and Melody"comes out on June 15th and is available for pre-order. From the description (which I'm guessing comes from the publisher):

For the first time, Mould tells his dramatic story, opening up to describe life inside that furnace and beyond. Revealing the struggles with his own homosexuality, the complexities of his intimate relationships, as well as his own drug and alcohol addiction, Mould takes us on a whirlwind ride through achieving sobriety, his acclaimed solo career, creating the hit band Sugar, a surprising detour into the world of pro wrestling, and most of all, finally finding his place in the world.

That's definitely a book I'll want to read.