Kyle Gilkeson 
Photographer Jon Shaft covered Ratatat‘s recent show at the Riviera in Chicago. Touring in support of their latest album, LP4, Ratatat’s Evan Mast and Mike Stroud worked the crowd with electrifying light and video displays. And though the band isn’t big on words, by using nostalgia-heavy clips from sources like Predator and Paul Simon, Ratatat managed to speak volumes.
Once a year, for the past 16 years, the entire music industry descends upon New York City for a few days of live music, film screenings, discussions, networking, and general revelry. This year’s CMJ Music Marathon and Film Festival takes place October 19-23 in venues all over NYC.
The mountainous lineup is only partially announced and is sure to keep on growing. Seeing so many stellar acts might get a bit pricey, so CMJ and ALARM have teamed up to give away two five-day passes to two lucky readers. Total retail value of one pass alone is $495 and will give its bearer access to any show, provided that it’s not sold out.
According to its website, “YACHT is a band, belief system, and business conducted by Jona Bechtolt and Claire L. Evans.” Moreover, “YACHT encourages online dissemination of all things.”
The band’s latest release, See Mystery Lights (DFA, 2009) was recorded in Marfa, Texas, a place famous for unexplained “ghost lights.” With this and the band’s straightforward mission statement in mind, ALARM asked the band to make a list of its five favorite natural phenomena.
1. Ball lightning
“Ball lightning is the true unknown — never verified, rarely photographed, used always as a catch-all for paranormal events that defy any other explanation. It’s the ghost in the machine. The great beast himself, Aleister Crowley, reportedly experienced a “dazzling globe” of ball lightning during a thunderstorm on Lake Pasquaney in 1916; he is one among many a hundred humans beings to ever see the phenomenon first-hand.”
New York’s Morgan Lehman Gallery recently moved to a 2,000-square-foot space, located at 535 West 22nd Street. To celebrate the grand opening of the new space, the gallery will hold a month-long event called Opening Ceremony, exhibiting work from 18 artists.
Participating in the show is Andrew Schoultz, featured on the cover of ALARM 17, alongside artists like David S. Allee, Laura Ball, Jaq Chartier, Emilie Clark, Alix Smith, Frohawk Two Feathers, and Paul Villinski.
The 2010 Sonic Circuits Festival, taking place in Washington, DC from September 18-25, is a veritable experimental music extravaganza.
If you’ll be in the area and wish to attend, we may have you covered. ALARM has a pair of tickets to give away for the jam-packed, all-day showcase at Fairfax Old Town Hall on Sept. 19.
The live music starts at 11 a.m. and doesn’t stop ’til 11 p.m. The Cornel West Theory, Astma, Corridors, Colla Parte, Matta Gawa, Kingdom of Sharks, Dave Vosh, and Borborites are scheduled to play. Plus, progressive, ambient improvisers the Nobu Stowe – Lee Pembleton Project will perform “Confusion Bleue” with special guest Andrea Centazzo.
Held in Champaign-Urbana, IL (the home of the University of Illinois), the Pygmalion Music Festival 2010 will take place September 22-25, showcasing rock stalwarts like Built to Spill alongside up-and-coming acts like Janelle Monae.
There are loads of big-name performers, including Fang Island, Cut Chemist, Holy Fuck, Of Montreal, Roky Erickson & Okkervil River, Caribou, Cap’n Jazz, Ted Leo, Emeralds, and Owen. That list hardly scratches the surface, though. To see the full schedule, click here.
First released in 2001 and later made into an acclaimed documentary, Steven Blush‘s definitive text of the early 1980s hardcore-punk scene, American Hardcore: A Tribal History, is set to be released in an all-new, updated second edition.
