Brooklyn’s Crystal Stilts have been added to the bill tonight as openers for Atlas Sound (they go on at 7 PM). Also, Seattle’s Grand Archives are now headlining the Seaport on August 22.

Seaport Music Festival Additions
July 25 - Crystal Stilts
August 1 - The Rub
August 8 - Cass McCombs with Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson
August 22 - Grand Archives

Seaport Music Festival Cancellations
July 25 - El Guincho
August 30 - The Modern Sky Festival

Check out the rest of the Seaport Music Festival schedule over here.

Dragons of Zynth at Siren Music Festival (07/19/08)

These Are Powers at Siren Music Festival (07/19/08)

Parts and Labor at Siren Music Festival (07/19/08)

Beach House at Siren Music Festival (07/19/08)

Photos: Jon Klemm for Bumpershine/Siren Music Festival

More of Jon’s photos after the jump.

“More Siren Pics | Beach House, Dragons of Zynth, Parts and Labor, These Are Powers” continued after the jump

Broken Social Scene at Siren Festival (07/19/08)

Photos: Jon Klemm for Bumpershine/Siren Music Festival

On Thursday of last week Brendan Canning and the current incarnation of Broken Social Scene (Canning, Kevin Drew, Justin Peroff, Andrew Whiteman, Sam Goldberg, Charles Spearin, Leon Klingstone, Gentleman Reg, and the “Philly Elite” horn section) played the Mercury Lounge, by all rights, it’s a show I should have been at, but due to circumstances beyond my control, I couldn’t make it. Jonny Leather, on the other hand was there, and here’s some of what he had to say:

After opening with “Chameleon,” they informed the crowd that they only know how to play 5 of Canning’s songs, so they’ll be playing a lot of other stuff, which of course no one had any quarrels with. The set consisted of the 5 Canning songs, a bundle of Broken Social Scene classics including the phenomenal “Fire-Eyed Boy,” 1 Kevin Drew song, an Apostle of Hustle song, as well as few more interesting moments.

When Kevin Drew, wanting to make sure that it was Canning’s night, took out a ring to give to Brendan Canning, we knew it’d be a very interesting night. Before we knew it, the 2 men were acting like kids and pretending to be the Wonder Twins. The overall vibe remained loose, as the band joked about Dj Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, and sang Madonna. Kevin Drew kept the ’80s nostalgia alive singing Huey Lewis’ “I Wanna New Drug” in between songs.
…
There would be false starts, and a few screw ups, but Broken Social Scene’s performance never felt sloppy, but rather loose and fun, as if we were watching a band who was there to have a good time. And that was exactly what they were doing, and no there was better moment than when the band went into an impromptu country jamboree about how they’ll never be a professional band. It was seemingly as unexpected for the band as the crowd, and perfectly summed up the night.

After nearly 2 hours, the guys in the band were tired, but the crowd seemed unwilling to let them leave the stage. Finally, Drew gave the audience a vote on the set closer. It was close but “KC Accidental” got the loudest applause, and the band assembled for one last thrill. [JonnyLeather.com]

On Saturday night, Broken Social Scene headlined the Siren Festival and that’s where the above pictures came from. Finally, lest we forget, Brendan Canning’s new record, Something For All of Us comes out tomorrow (07/22) in CD format (it has been available as a digital only release at the Arts & Crafts store since last month).

Just a reminder, I am running the following contests until Wednesday (07/23) of this week:

2 Free GA Weekend Passes to the 2008 Virgin Mobile Festival in Baltimore, MD
Best of Radiohead Quad LP Giveaway
Mad Men: Music From The Series, Vol. 1 CD

Annuals at the Siren Music Festival (07/19/08)

Photos: Jon Klemm for Bumpershine/Siren Music Festival

At the midway point of Siren, Jon told me that he thought Annuals were the standout act so far. If you also enjoy Annuals, then you might want to check out Sunfold (which contains all the members of Annuals) at Union Hall on July 25 and at the Mercury Lounge on July 26. They are in town promoting their new record Toy Tugboats which will be released on July 22nd on Terpikshore records, a Raleigh-based collective run by JK Horne and members of Sunfold. (If you recall, Sunfold and Annuals also put out a split EP called Wet Zoo in April of 2008).

All Sunfold tour dates and more Annuals photos after the jump.

“Annuals at Siren | Sunfold Touring, Playing Mercury Lounge, Union Hall” continued after the jump

Ra Ra Riot at the Siren Music Festival (07/19/08)

Photos: Jon Klemm for Bumpershine/Siren Music Festival

First up on the Siren block is Syracuse’s own Ra Ra Riot, who played the Siren mainstage towards the end of the day. Here’s what Elwood D. Pennypacker (perhaps not his real name) had to say about them:

Ra Ra Riot probably sounds pretty darn good in a nice, small, well-spaced venue with adequate temperature. Their sweet, well-crafted orchestral rock sounds are more down home in spirit than they are proggy, but there is still something vaguely classical about them and it’s a good thing. But alas, the poor sound system at the Main Stage struck again and the band became drowned out in a chorus of hipster talk, Cyclone screams, an echo chamber, some kind of a speaker sound delay in the back, and various Astroland cacophonies. Shade had begun to win out the day over the heat but it wasn’t enough, and old Pennypacker had to pack it in and forgo a listen to Islands.

In case you missed RRR at Siren, you’ll be happy to hear that they are playing the Music Hall of Williamsburg on October 17 (tickets for the Music Hall show go on sale 07/24 at 10am).

More of Jon’s RRR pics after the jump. Also some pictures from their Thursday night surprise set at Union Hall can be found over here.

“Ra Ra Riot at Siren Festival | MHOW Show Announced” continued after the jump

Despite the great lineup, I wasn’t at Siren this year myself, (I didn’t think it was a great place to take a 3 year old for the day), but crack bumpershine photographer Jon Klemm was there to capture all (well, a lot of) the action. Where I can, I’ll be supplementing Jon’s photos with words from other people, where I can’t, I suppose you can fill in your own thousand words.

Photos: Jon Klemm for Bumpershine/Siren Music Festival

More Siren shots after the jump.

“Let The Siren Posts Begin!” continued after the jump

Sub Pop 20th Anniversary Flag Flies on the Space Needle

Photo: subpop20

Drake has some nice pre and post coverage of last weekend’s Sub Pop 20th Anniversary Festival in Seattle (including the Monday night surprise show at Neumos with Wolf Parade and Foals). Check it all out over here:

SP20, Monday - Wolf Parade, Foals
SP20, Saturday
Saturday in the park
Celebrate Sub Pop’s Anniversary on the small screen
Sub Pop: 001-100

Village Voice Siren Music Festival 2008 - July 19, 2008

The official SIREN FESTIVAL AFTER-PARTY will take place at 9:00pm at Music Hall of Williamsburg with APES & ANDROIDS, A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS and guests.

I won’t be at the festival (or the after party), but I do think it’s a great lineup this year. (Stay tuned for some photos after the show though.)

Hey, as you all probably know by now the Virgin Mobile Festival is taking place on August 9-10 in Baltimore, Maryland at the Pimlico Race Course (where Seabiscuit once ran). The weekend is jam packed full of music and will feature performances from such indie favorites as Andrew Bird, Cat Power, Gogol Bordello, Rodrigo y Gabriela, She and Him, Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings, The Swell Season and Wilco. In addition, for those of who enjoy your rock a little more mainstream shall we say, the fest also has its fair share of big name acts on the bill including Bob Dylan, Kanye West, Nine Inch Nails, Foo Fighters and popular summer festival headliner Jack Johnson. Since it’s such a great looking lineup, I’m really excited to announce that I’m giving away a pair of general admission weekend passes (a $350.00+ value) to the Virgin Mobile Festival to one lucky person who emails me contests@bumpershine.com and tells me who their favorite artist performing at the festival is and why they want to go see them.

Yes, I know it’s been basically an eternity (in blog time) since After The Jump, but there were lots and lots of photos to go through, and it just so happens, my assistant* has been on vacation this entire week.

Ponytail at After The Jump (06/21/08)

View the full flickr set here. (I thought these were probably my best shots inside MHOW all day).

Pattern Is Movement at After The Jump (06/21/08)

View the full flickr set here.

Titus Andronicus at After The Jump (06/21/08)

View the full flickr set here.

Health at After The Jump (06/21/08)

View the full flickr set here.

Project Jenny, Project Jan at After The Jump (06/21/08)

View the full flickr set here.

* If you think you’ve got what it takes to be a blogger’s assistant, please email the address above. No phone calls or faxes please.

A big thank you to all the bands, organizers, sponsors, and festival goers who came out this Saturday and made this year’s After The Jump Fest the best one yet. Check out some photos below from the Metromix.com Outdoor Mainstage (the full flickr set is here):

Evil BBC

Papercranes

Lissy Trullie

The Antlers

Bryan Scary

The Shackeltons

The Forms

Pela

More pictures coming!

By now, you all must have seen information about After the Jump Fest everywhere. We know that After the Jump Fest this year has been filled with so much awesome (36 acts on 4 stages, what up?), that you might be a little baffled on how to go about cramming in all the goodness. Well don’t be a pansy; we want to see you there. When else are you going to have a chance to dance and sing and get a little crazy on the closed off streets of downtown Williamsburg with the most amazing indie rock bands from all over the country playing for you for FREE? Not until next year, that’s when.

So here’s the scoop. After the Jump has shut down N. 6th St between Kent and Wythe Ave, right in front of The Music Hall of Williamsburg and Galapagos Art Space. Outside, there will be a big stage (sponsored by Metromix.com) housing bands like The Forms, Bryan Scary and the Shredding Tears and Pela. This street stage is switching off times with the stage inside The Music Hall where Chairlift, Power Douglas, Ponytail and five other noisy motherf*ckers will be tearing it up. THEN, there is the madness going on inside Galapagos where their two stages are switching off set-times with the likes of Extra Life, Autodrone, Fiasco, Bell, The Bloodsugars, Monotract, etc.

I know, I know, amazing. And unlike some other Summer music festivals, it’s effing FREE. This all starts at NOON by the way. The crack of high NOON.

Ok, so you get it, 4 stages, bands out the wazoo, outdoor fun on the first day of Summer, but now here’s where it really kicks off. Right after Pela leaves the outdoor stage, the night benefit show begins inside The Music Hall with Mixel Pixel, Pattern is Movement, Titus Andronicus and a performance by Health, flown in especially for this. Project Jenny, Project Jan will then kick off some late night dance partying and DJ XXXchange will keep it going all night long. You get all that for a measly tenner (which goes to raise money for the next generation of indie rock stars to come out of NYC).”

Jennifer Kellas, After The Jump – President/CEO

Book the Band By Virgin Mobile

For the second year in a row, Virgin Mobile USA is letting fans select an opening act for the Virgin Mobile Festival 2008 lineup. You can vote now through July 18 and the winning band, based on audience voting, will be announced July 21 and then appear at Virgin Mobile Festival on August 10.

You can vote online at or via text message by sending the band’s short code name to #73976 on any wireless carrier (standard text messaging rates apply). The following bands are competing for the opening slot at this year’s fest:

AUTOMATIC LOVELETTER (text “AUTOLOVE” to 73976)
HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD (text “UNDEAD” to 73976)
THE PARLOR MOB (text “PMOB” to 73976)
THE VIRGINS (text “VIRGINS” to 73976)
WE ARE SCIENTISTS (text “SCIENTISTS” to 73976)