The Pistola Press

Phoenix @ the Electric Factory in September. More photos can be found HERE.

French indie rockers, Phoenix, had one of the best 2009′s anyone could have asked for. They put out a great record, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix(which they recently won a Grammy for), toured the world and established themselves as a force in the music world. The band show no signs of slowing down either. They’re currently in the middle of yet another tour that will come to an end in July.

To treat their fans, Phoenix just released via their website a FREE live album of their show in Sydney. You can download it HERE.

The young and very talented singer-songwriter chick from Brooklyn, Holly Miranda, just announced a few headlining dates throughout the Northeast. One of the five cities she will play is Philadelphia. If you’ve never heard of her, she just released her debut, The Magician’s Private Library, that was produced by TV On The Radio‘s Dave Sitek. In addition to that, Holly has toured with The Antlers and most recently Tegan & Sara, as well as opened a handful of shows for Vampire Weekend. She’s got a good thing going for her and is definitely an artist to keep your eye on in 2010.

She’ll play Kung Fu Necktie on Tuesday, May 25th. Tickets for the show can be found HERE. Check out the videos below. She has a very powerful voice for a skinny white girl.

Long time Austin-based radio station WOXY released this statement on their website today. Over the past five years or so, the radio station had a strong presence on the internet.

“WOXY Listeners, Fans and Friends…Due to current economic realities and the lack of ongoing funding for WOXY’s operations, we’ve been forced to suspend our live broadcasts as of March 23rd. We’re continuing to explore options to keep The Future of Rock and Roll alive. For business inquiries, please contact Bryan Jay (bryan@woxy.com) or John at Future Sounds (john@futuresounds.com).

Thanks for your years of dedicated support.

- Mike, Shiv, Joe, Paige, Brian and Bryan Jay”

Passion Pit

It’s really quite amazing how fast the internet/blogosphere turned a few college friends itno rockstars. Passion Pit surfaced a little over a year ago and have steadily become more and more popular since then. It all started with an EP by lead-man Michael Angelakos, who wrote a few songs for his then-girlfriend. It ended getting picked up Frenchkiss Records, who went on to release their debut album, Manners. After a few months the record was picked up and co-released by Columbia Records , a major label.

Last summer they played a sold out show at the First Unitarian Church; this summer they will play a show at the Mann Center for Performing Arts(which holds around 7,200 people). That’s an enormous step(the basement of the Church holds around 500 people).  If Passion Pit do sell-out the show, cheers to them.

Tokyo Police Club, who are resurfacing after taking 2009 off, will open the show. Their new record Champ is set to be release on May 11th. There’s really no better opener for the show.

They’ll play on Sunday, June 27th. Tickets go on sale this Friday(03/26) and they’ll be found HERE.

Sigur Ros‘ frontman, Jonsi, has been in the news quite a bit as of late. He has a new record coming out in April and he’s embarking on a world tour around the same time. The tour will make a stop at the Electric in May. It’s guaranteed to be a magical show, that strives to combine both musical and theatrical components. A recent Twitter post from Jonsi‘s account shared a cover of MGMT‘s “Time To Pretend”. It’s very different from the original, but different in a good way. Jonsi‘s version is very stripped down compared to MGMT‘s. Check it out HERE.

In related news, MGMT has a new record coming out in April titled Congratulations. It’s currently streaming in it’s entirety on their website. Check it out HERE.

On a warm, sunny Saturday afternoon, Joanna Newsom played her second of two sold out shows in the Sanctuary at the First Unitarian Church. The venue was the ideal environment to witness Joanna perform select songs off her new record, Have One On Me. Her soothing voice accompanied by her stellar harp/piano captivated the audience and transcended them into another world. No one spoke a word to eachother until after the show, where everyone was in high spirits. Her show complimented the first day of spring extremely well; no one could have ask for a better close to a rough winter. Photos/setlist below.

Setlist: ’81/In California/Book Of Right-On/Have One On Me/Easy/Inflammatory Writ/Soft As Chalk/Good Intentions/Autumn/Monkey And Bear//Occident

New Jersey hipsters, Real Estate, will play an all ages show at The Barbary on Sunday, April 18th. The band is still riding the wave of their stellar self-titled debut record, which was released last November. Their music has a beachy, summertime feel to it; perfect for a springtime show.  They have been on the road since the release and will continue to be until late May, where they’ll end in Barcelona, Spain at the Primavera Sound Festival. Not too bad for a band who just broke onto the scene. Tickets for their show at The Barbary can be found HERE.

The band recently played Johnny Brendas in January. Lead singer, Martin Courtney, dropped by before that show for a quick interview. The interview and a free MP3 download of “Beach Comber” can be found HERE.

One of the most entertaining live acts out there today, of Montreal, just announced a string of tour dates which will see them play Philadelphia in May. Their shows are huge dance parties with confetti, costumes, stage dancers, smoke machines and much more. So if you’re looking for a fun-filled night, you should go to their show. You will not be disappointed. They’ll play the TLA on Saturday, May 29th. Tickets for the show can be found HERE. It definitely will sell-out so get your tickets soon.

In other of Montreal news, they have a new record coming out in the coming months. The record will have special gets Solange Knowles and Janelle Monrae. Check the video below of the band covering “I Want You Back” with Solange below.It’s awesome.

In more of Montreal news, they have a European tour documentary coming out. Check the trailer below.

The band also just performed on the kid show Yo Gabba Gabba! Check their performance out HERE.

The Morning Benders, a Brooklyn transplant band originally from San Francisco, played Johnny Brendas last night. Having just released an excellent record in Big Echo, the band were really excited to play and kick of their tour. Their short 45 minute set contained every song off their new record and every song translated extremely well live. On the record, the songs are soft but live, they’re much louder and grittier. It was a great show by a young new band who have a busy year ahead of them. If you missed them this time around, don’t fret. They’ll be back around before you know it. Until then, pick up a copy Big Echo. Photos/setlist below.

Setlist: Stitches/Promises/Wet Cement/Cold War/Mason Jar/Hand Me Downs/Sleeping In/Pleasure Sighs/All Day Day Light/Excuses

MGMT‘s new record Congratulations(check the cover art above) will be released April 13th via Columbia Records. They just unveiled a new song yesterday called “Flash Delirium”. It’s pretty weird and different from songs off their debut, Oracular Spectacular. You can download/listen to the song HERE.

According to a tweet from Columbia Records, a MGMTmobile will visit Philadelphia this Friday(03/12). The location of the mobile will be revealed in a series of hints over at WhereIsMGMT.com starting at 4pm. The first 6 people to find the vehicle have to be available for the next 2 hours to embark on whatever they have planned. It sounds strange but very intriguing.