​So the gleeful journalism-destroyers over at the sports blog Deadspin have declared this Deadspin Music Week, and included a delightful tale of irascible Butthole Surfers frontman Gibby Haynes' inspired performance last month during a comedy show at the Bell House. Invited as a surprise guest by Eugene Mirman, it seems Gibby brought a prop along!

More >>

Photo of dudes with beards by Nate "Igor" Smith

​According to Jack "Skippy" McFadden, head talent buyer at Union Hall and the Bell House, as told to the New York Times: "Beards are like the 2009 version of the anti-guitar solo. In the early '90s, indie bands like Pavement and Sonic Youth made guitar solos obsolete, it was embarrassing to play something that evoked Whitesnake. Today, beards are a way of hiding behind a certain confidence and saying, 'Hey, I'm not a clean-shaven, TV-happy, American-Idol type, I'm more a warm cuddly artist who needs to not attract more attention to the fact that, yes, I'm cute, but I'm a little dirty, kinda like it's 1974.' Also, do you know how much it costs to shave?" Decent theory, actually, though still a terrible practice. Plenty more in the Q+A about actually important stuff, about where the money from your ticket goes, and why talent buyers are called talent buyers, if you're interested. [NYT]

​The delightful and Beck-heavy IRM is due in January, and Gainsbourg is doing two shows at the Bell House to celebrate the occasion, on the 19th and 20th. That is a hilariously small and out of the way place to see the progeny of Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin, the star of Antichrist, etc. One imagines these tickets will be available for all of a couple hours so yeah, go--Tuesday, and Wednesday.

​The December 2 Bell House sequel to nyctaper's recording of the Mountain Goats' December 1 show at Webster Hall is now up as well--highlights this time around include a Thin Lizzy cover in which Owen Pallett's Final Fantasy somehow makes it into the lyrics. Not the first time Darnielle has done this. This was the last date of the band's Life of the World tour, so things got rowdy. We will now commence talking about something else. [nyctaper]

Jonah Flicker

​Polvo
The Bell House
September 24

About halfway through Polvo's triumphant appearance at the Bell House last night, someone in the crowd yelled out, "It feels so good to be 20!" Yup--the nostalgia was thick and palpable as the band took the stage, still projecting that awkward high school kid vibe, even though they've all got to be pushing 40. Much of the crowd was only marginally younger--people who loved and were inspired by Polvo's music in the mid to late '90s, eager to relive their college-rock years.

More >>

Talking trash at Siren 2008, courtesy of Idolator

Islands/Das Racist
Bell House
Wednesday, August 19

Nick Diamonds emerges in a sparkly cape, which gets me to wondering if anyone other than James Brown will ever be capable of wearing a sparkly cape unironically, but with Islands this is the wrong question, probably. Getting a handle on these guys has always been somewhat difficult, given all the obfuscating goofiness (the talking mess about Vampire Weekend, the losing your new record on the C train). Their defiantly glammed-up pop, slinky and slightly sterile, is filled lately with blooping synths, white-funk stiffness, and zen-slacker koans ("Don't buy dope from a man you don't know," which I'd misheard initially as "Don't buy a dog," which is better) -- their MySpace currently includes a cover of Beck's "Cyanide Breath," which is perfect. Midway through tonight's set, the cape long gone (a guest rapper stole it), Diamonds feels compelled to mention that, contrary to his all-white wardrobe this evening, he is not a fan of Miami Vice. We appreciate the clarification.

More >>

​A week after the Mountain Goats revealed the name (The Life of the World to Come), release date (10/06/09), and theme (biblical) of the follow-up to last year's excellent Heretic Pride, the band has posted a slew of tour dates. John Darnielle, Peter Hughes, and Jon Wurster come to New York on December 1, at Webster Hall, and December 2, at the Bell House. Final Fantasy open both dates, as they do throughout the tour. "Be advised," Darnielle writes on the Mountain Goats website, "that if your local independent music retailers have New Age and/or vintage CCM and/or decent grindcore sections, I will clear you out." May we still have local independent music retailers in this city come December. Full tour slate below.

More >>