Grizzly Bear & Final Fantasy To Perform With BK Philharmonic

Deets are as follows:

Brooklyn Academy Of Music
BAM Howard Gilman Opera House
February 28, 2009 (8PM)

Tix are on sale 10/20.

Further info can be found here.

MP3: Grizzly Bear - On A Neck...

Final Fantasy Discusses Max Tundra With Stories In High Fidelity

Enjoy today's full piece here.

SIHF's launch party is set for 10/20 @ NYC's Highline.

FF recently unveiled a clip for 'The Butcher'.

MP3: Final Fantasy - Horsetail Feathers

Final Fantasy Unleashes New Video

Enjoy 'The Butcher' below (courtesy of Pitchfork TV). FF MP3 at bottom of post.


MP3: Final Fantasy - Horsetail Feathers

The World Of B-Sides & Rarities, #796

Final Fantasy - Horsetail Feathers

The brilliant opening track to his Plays To Please EP.

Learn more about the forthcoming short player here.

Visit Final Fantasy on MySpace.

MP3: Final Fantasy - Horsetail Feathers [alt link]

The World Of B-Sides & Rarities, #778

Final Fantasy - Cockatrice

A stellar selection from his Oh, Spectrum EP.

Download a Plays To Please tune here.

MP3: Final Fantasy - Cockatrice [alt link]

The World Of B-Sides & Rarities, #775

Final Fantasy - I Saved A Junkie Once

A fabulous new track from his Plays To Please EP.

Learn all about FF's forthcoming releases here.

Photo courtesy of Simon Fernandez.

MP3: Final Fantasy - I Saved... [alt link]

Final Fantasy Preps New EPs

Tracks, titles & release dates below.

Spectrum, 14th Century (out on 9/30):

1 Oh, Spectrum
2 Blue Imelda
3 The Butcher
4 Cockatrice
5 The Ballad Of No-Face

Plays To Please (out on 10/21):

1 Horsetail Feathers
2 Ultimatum
3 Moodring Band
4 I Saved A Junkie Once
5 Nun Or A Bawd
6 Crush Love Crush

Visit FF at his official site.

MP3: Final Fantasy - None...

Final Fantasy Announces Brief North American Trek

The scattered gigs are as follows:

Aug 8 REGINA FEST - Victoria Park (Saskatchewan)
Aug 9 REGINA FEST- Victoria Park (Saskatchewan)
Aug 10 REGINA FEST - Victoria Park (Saskatchewan)
Aug 27 Danforth Music Hall (Toronto)
Aug 31 BUMBERSHOOT - Seattle Center (Washington)

Visit FF on MySpace.

MP3: Final Fantasy - None Of You... [alt link]

Final Fantasy Duets With Jens Lekman, Again

Last December, the pair joined forces in Dublin. Enjoy last week's collaboration in Toronto (on 'You Are The Light') below. Visit Final Fantasy at his official site. MP3 at bottom of post.


MP3: Jens Lekman - You Are The Light

Final Fantasy Debuts New Track In Berlin

Watch him perform an untitled ditty at last week's Maximum Black Festival. Beautiful!


MP3: Final Fantasy - An Arrow... [alt link]

The World Of B-Sides & Rarities, #414

Final Fantasy - The Power Of Love

Owen Pallett covers Celine Dion!

Thanks for the tip, Lycanthropy!

Photo courtesy of Simon Fernandez.

MP3: Final Fantasy - The Power Of Love [alt link]

Final Fantasy Resuscitates Rarity In Dublin

Watch Owen Pallett performing 'Joys' (off of Tomlab's Worried Noodles project) below.


MP3: Final Fantasy - Learn To Keep Your Mouth Shut, Owen Pallett [alt link]

Patrick Wolf Duets With Final Fantasy At London Gig

If this isn't sheer brilliance, then I don't know what it is! Enjoy their collaboration from last night's show at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire below. Absolutely mesmerizing!


MP3: Final Fantasy - Library [alt link]

Jens Lekman Duets With Final Fantasy In Dublin

Enjoy their breathtaking collaboration on 'Your Arms Around Me' in the clip below.


MP3: Jens Lekman - The Opposite Of Hallelujah

Final Fantasy Resuscitates Bloc Party Cover In Dublin

At last, 'This Modern Love' is back! Enjoy last week's performance of the tune below.


MP3: Final Fantasy - This Modern Love [alt link]

Final Fantasy & Cadence Weapon Cover The Modern Lovers

Check out their joint take on 'She Cracked' in the clip below from last week's gig at The Middle East in Cambridge, MA. Read my review of their brilliant Bowery show here.


MP3: Cadence Weapon - Sharks & Final Fantasy - Peach Pear Plum

Final Fantasy & Cadence Weapon @ Bowery: Northern Lads

In July of 2006, Final Fantasy's sophomore effort, He Poos Clouds, and Cadence Weapon's debut record, Breaking Kayfabe, were both nominated for Canada's prestigious Polaris Prize. Towards the end of September it was announced that Owen Pallett (Mr. Final Fantasy) was victorious and walked away with the $20,000 prize. Now, 14 months later, the overwhelmingly talented artists have teamed up for a brief North American trek. Last night marked the tour's New York stop at Bowery Ballroom & it was nothing short of brilliant.

I was first introduced to Cadence Weapon's live show during CMJ - Day 3 to be precise (photos here). He and his DJ (Weasel) combine 80s-esque hip-hop/dance beats with intense vocal deliveries, all with a massive party vibe a la 'Push It'-era Salt N Pepa. Alberta's finest easily won over the sold-out crowd during the course of his 35-minute fist-pumping shout-inducing set, which featured a brief appearance by Owen as well as a ridiculously entertaining cover of Joy Division's 'Isolation'. Cadence Weapon, come back soon. Please.

Learn more about Cadence Weapon here at his official site.

MP3: Cadence Weapon - Black Hand

Whereas the last time I saw Final Fantasy at Bowery Ballroom he was opening for Beirut (review & photos via this link), this time he confidently and majestically headlined the 550-capacity venue. Highlighting favorites from his two albums to date, he also treated the overzealous attendees to a handful of brand new tracks from his forthcoming Heartland LP, in addition to a John Cale cover. Returning for three (!) encores, he closed the evening with his genius take on Mariah Carey's 'Fantasy'. Spectacular! Check out a series of photos below. Learn more about Final Fantasy here. Download a FF MP3 at bottom of post.







MP3: Final Fantasy - Please Please Please [alt link]

Final Fantasy Discusses 'Self-Defeating' Songwriting

Check out a great interview with Owen Pallett (Final Fantasy), as conducted by The Anchor Center, below. Enjoy a recorded version of his Joanna Newsom cover at bottom of post.


MP3: Final Fantasy - Peach Plum Pear

The World Of B-Sides & Rarities, #193

Cadence Weapon - Sharks (featuring Final Fantasy, live collaboration on CBC radio)

Hip-hop and violins, together at last again.

Check out Drew's review of FF in Chicago here.

MP3: Cadence Weapon - Sharks (featuring Final Fantasy, live collaboration on CBC radio) [alternate link]

Final Fantasy @ Schuba's (Chicago): Seize The Opportunity

*Many thanks to our fabulous guest blogger, Driouxcipher, for the recap of last week's (seemingly amazing) show. Download a FF MP3 at bottom of post.

The ever-adorable Final Fantasy (with his cryptic overhead projector chick, Stephanie Comulang) played an astonishing set Friday night (10.12) at Schuba's in Chicago. Roughly the size of Mercury Lounge with the layout of the Bowery, it had both an intimate vibe & a slightly church-y feel that complemented the music beautifully. Adding a Yamaha CP-70 vintage electric piano on-stage (& running it through the loop pedals with his trusty violin) lended the evening a striking accessory, imbuing many familiar favorites w/ surprising new tone colors ('CN Tower' being a stand-out). In the middle of the set, Owen sat at the piano & played 2 or 3 beautiful songs that he said he hadn't played live before (frankly, I had never heard any of them). Needless to say, his florid, pristine piano playing proved to be a stunning bonus for the already enthusiastic crowd. The majority of the evening consisted of his usual "greatest hits," but the sound in the room, his voice, & especially, his playing, were all exemplary. I've never heard him sound better! Also, his encore performance of 'Peach Plum Pear' should cause Ms. Newsom to just stop performing it ever again. Breathtaking!

His opening act, Basia Bulat with her band, read like a cross between Feist and The Dixie Chicks. The Toronto-native, enjoying her first trip to The States, was quite good, as were her musicians, but the songs were immediately unmemorable. About the first opening act, another one-guy-with-a-loop-pedal act called "Nifty," the less said the better. I believe my concluding opinion on him was that it was roughly 4 minutes of interesting squeezed into a half-hour of terrible. Owen, however, has never been better, and fans everywhere should vigorously seize the opportunity to catch his solo act.

Setlist: He Poos Clouds. Many Lives For 49 MP. Butcher(?). Cliquot(?). Horsetail(?). I'm Afraid Of Japan. Hey, Dad. The CN Tower Belongs To The Dead. This Is The Dream Of Win & Regine. Took You Two Years To Win My Heart. This Lamb Sells Condos... Peach Plum Pear (Joanna Newsom cover)

Photo courtesy of Kirstiecat.

MP3: Final Fantasy - Took You Two Years To Win My Heart