If We’re All Going Down, We Might As Well Do It Rockin’!
Thanksgiving has come and gone and there are two major parties left this year – Christmas and New Years. One’s a family celebration, while the latter is a perfect excuse to get wild with friends at a concert, festival, or club event.
The only problem, there’s one ominous date standing in our way before we can even beging to think about all the NYE festivities – the possible end of the world!
With that in mind, we at 5gig.com have compiled a list of the best festivals, concerts, club events, etc., going down the weekend the Maya calendar comes to an end. We scanned our concert agendas in the biggest cities across North America to find the best gigs out there. Take a look below to see the results! Be sure to include any event happening in your town we missed!
Afterall, if we’re all going down, we might as well do it rockin’ and dancin’! Plus, it’s a Friday, so what else would we be doing anyways?
Top concerts to celebrate the end of the world: Friday, December 21, 2012!
Rock/Pop
- The Killer with Tegan & Sara at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago
- Andrew Bird at the Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago
- Fucked Up at the Warsaw in Brookly, NY
- Dave Matthews Band with The Lumineers at the Barclays Center in Broolyn, NY
- Los Lonely Boys with Alejando Escovedo at the House of Blues in Dallas
- Social Distortion at the House of Blues in Las Vegas
Country
- Martina McBride at The Chicago Theater
- Dwight Yoakam at the Arena Theater in Houston
- Carrie Underwood at the Amway Arena in Orlando
Electronic/DJ
- Zeds Dead at Webster Hall in New York City
- Dillon Francis at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles
- Boys Noize at the House of Blues in Houston
- Techno legends Derrick May, Kevin Saunderson, Stacey Pullen at Theatre Telus in Montreal
- Diplo at the XS Nightclub in Las Vegas
Stream Green Day’s New Album ‘Tre’. Documentary ‘Cuatro’ on its Way.
Pop punk band Green Day was surrounded with a whirlwind of momentum during the late summer to early fall months. With plans to release a ‘three-disk’ album of sorts staggered over several months, Green Day was back on top of the music world with a massive world tour and headlining festival performances planned.
However, after frontman and guitarist Billy Joe Armstrong’s supposed meltdown at the iHeartRadio Music Festival in September, he since has checked into rehab, consequently putting all the big plans Green Day had on hold.
To compensate for all the cancelled and postponed tour dates, Green Day decided to release the third album of their 2012 trilogy (which was originally scheduled to come out in January 2012) a bit early. !Tre¡ is due out next week (December 11th in North America), but the band has made the album available in its entirety for fans worldwide to stream!
Fans in the North American can listen via iHeartRadio.
Fans in the UK can listen via NME Magazine‘s online stream.
Additionally, Billy Joe, Tre Cool, and Mike Dirnt have announced plan for yet another project – this time a documentary entitled Quatro, which will see the light of day in Fall of 2013.
According to Consequence of Sound, director Tim Lynch claims the album “pulls back the curtain and takes fans inside the world of Green Day, from the various spontaneous live performances in select cities across the U.S. to the chronicling of their creative process while conceptualizing and recording their current trilogy of albums.”
Bassist Mike Dirnt adds: “Over the last year while we were recording our trilogy, we posted multiple clips every week so fans can see parts of the recording process of ¡Uno! ¡Dos! ¡Tré!, ¡Quatro! brings our fans one step closer by giving them even more access and revealing what it was like for us to make these records.”
Mark it on your calendars, as the Green Day documentary is scheduled to make its premiere on November 28th on VH1.
Swedish House Duo Dada Life Touring North America. Stream New Album Below.
Olle Corneer and Stefan Engblom and Dada Life. With their eclectic style and electro house sound, Dada Life has enjoyed a dramatic burst onto the popular sound stage scene, noted for their extravagant and prop-ridden live shows known to incite riots. The duo live by their own set of rules, among them including “If you’re stuck, there’s only one solution: go harder”, “If you don’t want to get wet, you don’t want to have fun”, and “Bass don’t cry.”
Current Dada Life albums for purchase or order: Just Do the Dada (2009), Just Do the Dada (Extended and Remixes) (2010), and The Rules Of Dada (2012).
Dada Life is accustomed to headlining top electronic shows across Europe and North America, such as the Electric Daisy Carnival and Ultra Music Festival. Right now you can catch the Swedes and their house beats across the US and Canada, as they’re headlining their own club tour in support of new album, The Rules of Dada. Tour highlights should include their gigs at Vancouver, Las Vegas, Houston and Miami Beach.
Complete Dada Life tour dates and tickets.
Sign up for Dada Life Gig Alerts to receive e-mail alerts when they announce concerts in your city!
Stream Dada Life’s new album, ‘The Rules of Dada’ below!
Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga to Record Jazz Album?
According to an interview with Rolling Stone, it appears as though Tony Bennett will once again head to the studio with Lady Gaga, this time for a full-length jazz album.
The two teamed up last year on Bennett‘s Duets II album for a version of the famous “The Lady is a Tramp” tune. Duets II album featured 17 different duets transcending music genres, as he teamed up with artists across the musical spectrum, spanning various vocal styles, including John Mayer, Aretha Franklin, Sheryl Crow, Willie Nelson, Queen Latifah, Norah Jones, Andrea Bocelli, Faith Hill, Carrie Underwood, Mariah Carey, and the late Amy Winehouse, among others.
Tony Bennett has been a big supporter of Lady Gaga, especially since their sessions together. He refers to her as the “musical Picasso” and touts her undervalued jazz voice, saying “We’re gonna do a jazz album with Marion Evans, a big swing band, and I’m looking forward to it because a lot of people don’t know it, but she’s a phenomenal jazz singer.”
It seems as though this project came about from a phone call Gaga made to Bennett from New Zealand proposing the idea to him. He glady accepted and hopes to get started on it as soon as possible.
The only problem: Lady Gaga is currently trotting around the globe on her 2012/2013 Born This Way Ball tour and has a new solo album Artpop planned for release in 2013.
Her “Monsters Ball Tour” spanned three years (2009 to 2011) and two albums (2009′s The Fame Monster and 2011′s Born This Way. Her current tour looks to rival that, as she’s been going strong since April with no signs of slowing down and even more North American concerts expected to be confirmed.
Gaga fans in the US and Canada will have to wait until 2013 to see the pop sensation, but it will be worth the wait, as she’s coming to every major city, and then some.
Complete Lady Gaga tour dates and tickets.
Additionally, Laga Gaga published a post on her official website detailing her upcoming album, Artpop. She claims that Artpop is more of a multimedia project than just a simple album, which will be best enjoyed through an app the Lady Gaga team is developing.
Details on Artpop are scare. Tracklisting still remains unknown, as does an official release date, but it is expected out sometime in early 2013 – perhaps to coincide with her North American concerts.
Green Day Release New Album ‘Uno.’ Start Dropping Previews for ‘Dos.’
As we previously blogged, Green Day announced back on Valentine’s Day that they were back in the studio and finally recording a follow up to 2009′s 21st Century Breakdown, which would be an ambitious triple album to be released somewhere during the Fall of 2012.
¡Uno!, ¡Dos!, and ¡Tré! will be released separately over a five-month span — on September 25th, November 13th and January 15th, respectively — and represent the punk-rock band’s 9th, 10th and 11th albums.
After slowly getting a preview of new Green Day material throughout the latter months of the summer (music videos, videos of live performances, etc.), ¡Uno! finally saw the light of day earlier this week, with its official release on September 25th. As it turns out, immediatelly following the first release in the new Green Day “trilogy,” a new preview was released for a track off ¡Dos!. Check out “Lazy Bones” below!
The music video for the poppy-sounding second single from ¡Uno! featuring clean guitars and catchy drum and basswork, “Kill the DJ,” was released August 15th, and has been played multiple times live.
Green Day treated the audience at the Reading Fest during their surprise set to a rendition of the “brand new song” “Stay the Night.” “Stay the Night” has the more familiar Green Day sound we’ve come to expect after American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown, with its churning guitars and sing-along chorus.
“Troublemaker” made its debut on the Green Day version of Angry Birds. Although only a preview, we´re really keen on this track.
¡Uno!‘s first single, “Oh Love,” hit the internet July 16th and has since been performed onstage. Watch the music video below, with Green Day playing in a seeming studio space surrounded by models. This is the most classic-sounding song we’ve heard yet.
Billy Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool played “Nuclear Family”, “Kill the DJ”, and “Wild One” live at a surprise warmup show at the Echoplex in Los Angeles in early August. “Wild One” just might be our favorite song from the new Green Day material!
“Nuclear Family”
“Wild One”
Green Day also performed new songs at the 2011 performance in Austin City Limits, including ¨Let Yourself Go.¨
¡Uno! Tracklisting:
- Nuclear Family
- Stay the Nigth
- Carpe Diem
- Let Yourself Go
- Kill the DJ
- Fell for You
- Loss of Control
- Troublemaker
- Angel Blue
- Sweet 16
- Rusty James
- Oh Love
It seems as though Green Day just keeps getting bigger and stronger with every album they’ve released since the turn of the millennium, especially after finding a more subdued sound on 2004 smash hit concept album American Idiot and its massively successful follow up, 21st Century Breakdown.
In tune with their passion to not only create new music, but also new-sounding music, Green Day promises to change their style once again, sounding more like a mix of garage rock blended with dance music.
As they told MTV News, “We are at the most prolific and creative time in our lives… This is the best music we’ve ever written, and the songs just keep coming. Instead of making one album, we are making a three album trilogy. Every song has the power and energy that represents Green Day on all emotional levels. We just can’t help ourselves … We are going epic as fuck!”
Green Day is slated to play the Las Vegas’ iHeartRadio Music Festival September 21st and the Voodoo Experience in New Orleans come November.
Additionally, they’ll head out on a UK tour during the months of October and November.
Sign up for Green Day Gig Alerts to be the first to find out when they announce tour dates in your city.
Complete Green Day tour dates and tickets.
Prince Joins Mary J. Blige on Stage in Vegas
We’ve all heard about the iHeartMusic Festival in Las Vegas the past few days, especially due to Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstong‘s on-stage breakdown that supposedly led to him checking into rehab. However, another attention-grabbing act was Mary J. Blige performance.
Mary J. Blige, fresh off her co-headlining “Liberation” tour with fellow hip-hop artist D’Angelo, was joined four songs into her set by none other than PRINCE! According to NME, Blige stopped in the middle of her rendition of “Sweet Thing” (Chaka Khan cover) to introduce The Artist, saying “I got a real good friend in the building. He’s one of the most amazing artists to ever walk the earth.”
From there, Prince took the stage and the two went right back into “Sweet Thing” before performing a version of Prince‘s “Nothing Compares to U” (watch the video below).
This is the second bit of news we’ve heard from the normally silent Prince. Last week, his new single “RNR Affair” was played over iHeartRadio Chicago to help promote his “Welcome to Chicago” mini-residency.
Two concert dates remain for Prince, both at the United Center in Chicago:
Convert Your Old Tapes to mp3 with Special iPhone and iPad Converter.
Did you all think cassette tapes became useless when the portable CD player came about in the mid-to-late 90s and then became completely obsolete with the invention of the mp3 player in the early 2000s? Well, now you don’t have any excuses not to dig through the boxes full of your old tapes that you’ve kept stored away in the closet, basement, or under your bed.
The sweet sounds of the tapes you rewound countless times can be heard once again thanks to this converter.
The device lets you convert all things recorded on a cassette to mp3 through a free app, letting you relive the music of your formative years. You can then store the music on your iPhone or iPod.
After seeing people like Lenny Kravitz rock the old school iPhone earpiece and others printing iPhone pics instantly on Polaroid film, we can definitely say that vintage is back!
The converter costs $79.95 and is available here.
Listen to Prince’s New Single, “Rock n Roll Affair”
Although admittedly not the biggest Prince fans, we’re always wondering when we’re going to hear something new from the seemingly-vanished Prince, previously known as TAFKAP (The Artist Formerly Known as Prince) or just The Artist. Well, thanks to iHeartRadio in Chicago, Prince fans across the planet have gotten their wish – a brand new single.
The track’s called “Rock n Roll Affair” and, although being Prince‘s new single, there is no known upcoming album information from the mysterious pop star.
In “RnR Affair,” you’ll find samples from the classic 1982 double LP Prince making it an interesting, yet familiar-sounding track.
They hype surrounding the new song undoubtedly goes hand-in-hand with Prince‘s “Welcome to Chicago” residency – a mini-residency after his “Welcome to America” 2010-2011 North American tour.
He’ll play Chicago’s United Center next week, from September 24th to 26th:
Bands and Beer, They Go Hand In Hand.
It seems as though bands, beers, and alcohol always have and always will be linked together. Books, interviews, and the songs themselves constantly focus on this area of musicians’ lives. It might be the case even more so now that several bands have come out with their own brands of beer, wine, and liquor.
Of course, you’d expect most of the groups with their own brand to be the decadent bands with the famed party-going lifestyle, but you’ll be surprised to see that that’s not necessarily the case. Take a look at our top eight band-created drinks below!
Be sure to let us know which ones we’ve missed and, of course, which ones you’ve tried!!
Motorhead founder, creator, bassist, and frontman, Lemmy Killmeister, has been known for his Jack and Cokes (as the documentary Lemmy points out his liking to enjoying a bottle of Jack Daniels per day over the last 30-plus years), but earlier this year they released their own line of beer aptly named Motörhead Bastards Lager.
The Bastards Lager is marketed as the “beer distributed straight from hell” and has “a refreshing, zesty taste with a nice malt curve and a hint of citrus.” It might be somewhat astray from Lemmy’s tastes, but the legendary metal band has their own vodka and wine.
Regarding the vodka, Motohead lead guitarist Phil Campbell tells fans to ¨drink it, enjoy it, but don’t blame ME tomorrow!¨
In honor of the 20th anniversary of their debut album Ten, Pearl Jam teamed up with Dogfish Ale Craft Brewery to create the Pearl Jam Faithful.
The Seattle grunge band based the beer of their song ¨Faithful¨ on their fifth album Yield (1998). Faithful Ale is a belgian-style golden ale and features a fairly-powerful 7% ABV.
The Dogfish Ale Brewery has also collaborated with musicians Miles Davis and Robert Johnson to create the Bitches Brew and Hellhound on My Ale, respectively.
This one definitely gets the vote for our favorite and most fitting name – iconic thrash-metal band Slayer came out with their ¨Reign in Blood¨ wine earlier this year. “Rign in Blood” is naturally a red wine, a Cabernet Sauvignon specifically, but is only available in Sweden at the moment.
“Reign in Blood” is described as being “as uncompromising and tough as the band.”
AC/DC’s singer Brian Johnson constantly pens lyrics about women, boozing it up, and Rock ‘n’ Roll, so, naturally, what better way to bring them all together than by creating an AC/DC-endorsed wine.
Although not the most originally-named beverage, AC/DC, partnered up with Australian wine producer Warburn Estate to release the “AC/DC The Wine” series.
The AC/DC The Wine series includes
- AC/DC Back In Black Shiraz (2010 750mL Dry Red)
- AC/DC You Shook Me All Night Long Moscato (2011 750mL Sweet White)
- AC/DC Highway To Hell Cabernet Sauvignon (2008 750mL Dry Red)
- AC/DC Hells Bells Sauvignon Blanc (2010 750mL Dry White)
And, who else wouldn’t want to sip on a glass of the ever-smooth Thunderstruck Chardony while playing a friendly game of AC/DC Monopoly?? ;)
Perhaps the most shocking think about this list is just seeing the seemingly-forgotten 90s boy band Hanson listed. But, it’s true.
The pop band are still taking full advantage of their surprise 1997 smash hit “MMMbop” by releasing their own MMMHop India Pale Ale beer earlier this year.
That’s about all we have to say about this one…
Fresh out of the tap: Baltimore indie-rock band Lower Dens have joined out list now that they’ve announced their very own line of beer dubbed the “Sensory Series.” Lower Dens, working together with the Stillwater Artisanal Ales company, created the beer in inspiration of their song “In the End Is the Beginning,” off their 2012 album, Nootropics.
According to Pitchfork, it will be available in 35 states as of November, so look for it around Thanksgiving time!
English alternative rock band Elbow are keen to a pint or two, so much so that they’re also launching their own beer called Build a Rocket Boys!
Build a Rocket Boys! Beer was obviously inspired by the Manchester band’s 2011 album o the same name, which represents their fifth album overall.
According to The Guardian, the British ale will be available at Robinsons Pubs across the UK and has “a rich, rounded body, smooth bitterness, subtle tang of malt and fruity aroma.”
It’s not surprising to us that proud absinthe enthusiast, Marilyn Manson, has his very own brand of the supposed mind-bending liquor.
We’ve seen him on Letterman professing his love for absinthe, so it was just a matter of time before this product came out.
Mansinthe came out in 2007 and is currently only available for purchase from Europe, as the potent elixir is illegal in the good ole U.S. of A.
The Iron Maiden Trooper beer is a collaboration between Robinsons Brewery and the iconic British metal band, especially frontman Bruce Dickinson, who is a “real ale enthusiast.”
It has been described as “a beer which has true depth of character. Malt flavours and citric notes from a unique blend of Bobec, Goldings and Cascade hops dominate this deep golden ale with a subtle hint of lemon. “
One of the bands that constantly provides the soundtrack to the 5gig.com headquarters is Graveyard. The Swedish vintage blues-rock act just announced their own brand of beer, which put the wheels in motion for the post.
They crafted their Hinsingen Brew thinking in the fans — the concertgoers — as it’s “made from special Cascade-hops that makes it taste even better lukewarm for your festival nights.” Practical? Delicious? We hope to be the judge of that one day!
So, kick up your feet, crack a bottle, and jam this new Graveyard song while you get your weekend started just a tad bit early!
Here’s to you, #5giggers!
Labor Day Weekend 2012 Music Guide — 5gig.com
Labor Day tends to bring mixed reactions. It’s the unofficial end of the Summer and means going back to school for kids and college students across the country. However, it also means one last family barbecue before Fall sets in and maybe some precious time on the water or in the pool before it gets too chilly.
For those looking for one last summer hurrah, Labor Day Weekend is the perfect time. It’s packed with diverse music festivals ranging from 1-day events and concerts, to 2 and 3-day weekend festivals. This Labor Day Weekend you’ll find electronic music festivals of all sorts, punk festivals, indie festivals, and straight-up rock festivals. Additionally, there’s some interesting events like DC’s Abbey Road on the River – a weekend-long Beatles tribute featuring the best Beatles cover bands.
What we’ve prepared below for all you beloved 5giggers is a list of the biggest festivals going down Labor Day Weekend, as well as the most interesting concerts. This list isn’t all inclusive, so we welcome your comments to help steer us in the right direction next weekend! We recommend you check out the lineups for the North Coast Music Festival, Made in America Festival, Electric Zoo, FYF Fest and Rock the Bells.
Party hard, enjoy the weather, and enjoy your long weekend!
Festivals:
Superfest
Dates: August 30th to September
Location: Portland, Oregon
Selected lineup: Glass Candy, Chromatics, Strategy, Beisbol, Arohan
+info
Abbey Road on the River
Dates: August 30th to September 3
Location: Washington, D.C.
Selected lineup: Beatles cover bands All You Need Is Love, The Cryers, The Blue Meanies, Whiplash
+info
North Coast Music Festival
Dates: August 31st to September
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Selected lineup: Pretty Lights, Steve Aoki, The Rapture, Atmosphere, Felix da Housecat, Axwell, Exicision, Big Boi, Yacht
Tickets
Electric Zoo
Dates: August 31 to September 2
Selected lineup: David Guetta, Tiesto, Steve Aoki, Benny Benassi, Boys Noize, ATB, Above & Beyond, Pretty Lights, Axwell, Flux Pavilion, Sander Van Doorn, Datsik.
Tickets
American Music Festival
Dates: August 31 to September 1
Location: Virginia Beach, Virginia
Selected lineup: OAR, Cheap Trick, Train
+info
John Coltrane Jazz & Blues Festival
Dates: September 1
Location: High Point, North Carolina
Selected lineup: Poncho Sanchez, Stanley Clarke, George Duke, Shemekia Copeland, Kirk Whalum
+into
Power of the Riff
Dates: September 1 to 2
Location: Brooklyn, New York
Selected lineup: Agnostic Front, Sunn O))), Poison Idea, Negative Approach, Alpha & Omega
+info
FYF Fest
Dates: September 1 to 2
Location: Los Angeles, California
Selected lineup: Beirut, M83, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Turbonegro, Dinosaur Jr., Refused, Simian Mobile Disco, Sleigh Bells, AgAgainste!, Converge
Tickets
Made in America Festival
Dates: September 1 to 2
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Selected lineup: Jay-Z, Pearl Jam, Skrillex, Prince Royce, Wale, Calvin Harris, Passion Pit, Miike Snow, Afrojack, Santigold, D’Angelo, Odd Future, Rick Ross.
Tickets
Rock The Bells Holmdel
Dates: September 1 to 2
Location: Holmdel, New Jersey
Selected lineup: Wiz Khalifa, Kid Cudi, Atmosphere, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Nas, Ice Cube, Tyga, Immortal Technique, Lupe Fiasco, Missy Elliott, Naughty By Nature, Salt N Peppa
+info
Bumbershoot
Dates: September 1 to 3
Location: Los Angeles, California
Selected lineup: Skrillex, Keane, M83, The Wombats, Tony Bennett, Damien Jurado, City and Colour, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Passion Pit, Wanda Jackson, Low, M.Ward
Tickets
Concerts:
Wiz Khalifa and Mac Miller, two of the hottest names in the hip-hop, rap scene have teamed up for a joint Summer tour
- September 1st at Red Rock Amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado
- September 3rd at the Minnesota State Fair in Saint Paul, Minnesota
R&B icons Mary J. Blige and D’Angelo perform as co-headliners on their “Liberation Tour”
Jason Aldean, one of today’s most popular country singer, on tour with Luke Bryant
- August 31st at the New York State Fair in Syracuse, New York
- September 1st at Champlain Valley Exposition in Essex Junction, Vermont
- September 2nd at Waterfront Park in Bangor, Maine
The Boss, Bruce Springsteen on the second leg of his North American tour in support of new album, Wrecking Ball.
- September 2nd at Citizens Bank Ballpark in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- September 3rd at Citizens Bank Ballpark in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Red Hot Chili Peppers re-energized with new guitarist Josh Klinghoffer in support of last year’s album, I’m With You
Australian musician Gotye‘s 2012 U.S. tour in support of smash hit “Somebody That I Used to Know.
- September 2nd at McMenamins Historic Edgefield Manor in Troutdale, Oregon
- September 4th at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles, California
German German DJ and electronic music producer Boys Noize (real name Alexander Ridha) on his first North American tour for new album, Out of the Black
Swedish progressive house DJ and producer Avicii on his 2012 U.S. tour
- August 31st at the Marquee Nightclub in Las Vegas, Nevada
- September 1st at the Marquee Nightclub in Las Vegas, Nevada
- September 2nd at Mansion in Miami Beach, Florida
Tiesto will be playing festivals over Labor day weekend, but also has some individual club gigs
- August 31st at XS Nightclub at Encore in Las Vegas, Nevada
- September 1st at the LIV Nightclub in Miami Beach, Florida
