FN News Roundup: March 7, 2012

All the top news of the day, delivered straight to yo' face in one quickie blog post!

• Geoff Barrow confirmed that there WILL be a new Portishead album! Once his studio's working! (Prefix Magazine)


• The name of Fiona Apple's new LP will definitely take you back to the good ol' When The Pawn... days, and it'll be out in June. (Pitchfork)


• Check out Sharon Van Etten's new video for "Leonard" below! (Beats Per Minute)


• ...And then check out footage of Yasiin Bey (formely Mos Def) performing a new J Dill-produced track "Sunshine Screwface" below that! (Consequence of Sound)

Watch: Portishead On Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

Still can't get over this shot of Beth Gibbons crowdsurfing at ATP I'll Be Your Mirror.

As we've mentioned, the legendary Portishead have been doing everything in their power to rock the hell out of the NYC, from outstanding performances at this past weekend's ATP I'll Be Your Mirror Festival in NJ (more on that here) to two more shows at Hammerstein Ballroom in the city proper these past two nights. 

Last night, they hit up Late Night With Jimmy Fallon for their first U.S. television appearance since 1998 to perform their post-Third single for Amnesty International "Chase The Tear," along with Dummy leadoff track "Mysterons" as a web exclusive. Why are you still reading this. Watch them both below.

Photos: Portishead @ ATP I'll Be Your Mirror (Nights One & Two)

Portishead @ ATP I'll Be Your Mirror - October 1 & 2, 2011

We've posted days one, two and three of the very awesome All Tomorrow's Parties I'll Be Your Mirror Festival that just went down in Asbury Park, NJ, but we've yet to post any of headliners and curators Portishead. Save the best for last I suppose. Playing their first east coast shows in nearly a decade, the band stunned the crowd equally both nights with visceral and moving performances of songs such as "The Rip," "Glory Box" and "Machine Gun."

Sets were nearly identical on both nights, save for a few songs here and there. The first night was made special by frontwoman Beth Gibbons diving into the audience (as seen above) during their show closing rendition of "We Carry On," and the second night brought surprise cameo appearances by Public Enemy's Chuck D on "Machine Gun" and Simeon of Silver Apples, who performed synths on "We Carry On."

There was something very special about both performances, aside from them being the first east coast Portishead shows in a long time. Knowing that the band were behind handpicking a majority of the acts on the bill made you realize just how much many of those bands had directly influenced Portishead. It brought closure to both Saturday and Sunday and made for and incredibly cathartic end to each night.

Portishead will be here in New York City at Hammerstein Ballroom tomorrow night (10/4) and Wednesday (10/5), and both nights are sold out. Do whatever you can to get into these shows because they will definitely be the highlight of the fall. Below, check out photos from both nights of Portishead's headlining shows at ATP I'll Be Your Mirror, as well as setlists from each night...

Portishead Is Also Playing Jimmy Fallon Next Week (10/5)

Image via Sleepy Son

Right. So at this point I feel I owe begrudging but admittedly deserved props to Jimmy Fallon for pulling off something neither Stephen Colbert or his old cohorts at SNL could achieve: having both Radiohead AND Portishead on his show the same week. Portishead will stop by Late Night With Jimmy Fallon on October 5, just two days after Radiohead's scheduled appearance and on the second night of their two-day residency at Hammerstein Ballroom. Not a bad way to follow up a week of hanging out with Pink Floyd members, Jimmy. Cheers to Prefix Magazine for the tip.

No word on what song(s) they'll play yet, but my money's on "Machine Gun" off of their latest LP Third so check out their Jools Holland performance of that song from a couple of years ago below. Prior to the Fallon appearance and the Hammerstein shows, they'll be at this ATP Festival you may have heard of, and we'll keep you posted on how that goes as well.

Who will fill Mogwai’s slot at ATP?

Late yesterday, Scottish post-rockers Mogwai postponed their tour (again), this time due to medical reasons. We’re hoping everything is okay, but in the meantime we can’t help but wonder who will fill the gaping hole between Sunday’s 8:15pm – 9:15pm slot at this weekend’s ATP I’ll Be Your Mirror Festival. Mogwai would have been playing Convention Hall in between Public Enemy and headliners (and curators) Portishead, which means it will have to be a pretty big act to fill their shoes. Here are some artists that are in town this weekend who just may step up to the plate…

Asobi Seksu – the Brooklyn-based shoegaze group certainly would fit in with a lot of the bands on the bill. Don’t know how well they’d be received after Public Enemy, but you never know. They play Brooklyn Bowl the night before, with nothing on their schedule until October 15.

Tapes ‘n Tapes – hey… remember Tapes ‘n Tapes? They put out that really great album The Loon in 2006 and then… I don’t really know what happened. That record still stands the test of time and I probably would have gone seen them at Bowery Ballroom on Friday if it were not for ATP. TnT play Maxwell’s on 10/1, but have nothing on their schedule until Monday in North Carolina.

Elvis Costello – who wouldn’t want to see Elvis Costello at ATP? It would be killer. Elvis will be playing United Palace in New York City on Saturday, and Count Basie Theatre on Monday, but nothing on Sunday. If they twist his arm to play This Year’s Model in full, there will be a lot of happy concertgoers.

Explosions in the Sky – Don’t quote me on it, but I’m almost certain Explosions in the Sky played ATP last year, and would definitely fill the void post-rock fans are yearning for. EITS play Wellmont Theater on Monday, October 3, but have nothing scheduled beforehand. There is a very good chance they will take the slot.

Radiohead – We’re probably the only ones who have been suggesting this might happen, but we don’t really care. Portishead’s drummer Clive Deamer also happens to be touring with Radiohead now (as seen on SNL), and aside from Wednesday and Thursday’s Roseland Ballroom shows, the band have nothing on their schedule. An announcement of Radiohead playing ATP will certainly sell out Sunday’s tickets (and possibly the entire festival), making it one of the most memorable weekends of recent times. We’ve been praying every morning when we wake up and every night before we go to sleep that this happens, but honestly, it would be a bit of a stretch. Stranger things have happened…

Anyone else in town you think might show up? A friend of mine suggested Bruce Springsteen yesterday, which would be ironically funny and actually really amazing. Until ATP actually announces something, anything is possible.

Geoff Barrow on Portishead’s fourth record

This is the kind of news we like to hear. Since releasing their excellent album Third in 2008, Portishead have remained relatively quiet in terms of releasing new music. Even now, the band is in the midst of a massive world tour (which will bring them to ATP and NYC shortly), but are touring behind nothing other than material off their celebrated trio of records. Luckily, that is likely to change once they are finished with the tour. Speaking to Spinner, Geoff Barrow says that they hope to regain the atmosphere they created for Third, but that the process takes an awful lot of energy and being on tour prevents the writing process from happening. Read the full article here.

Tickets are still on sale for All Tomorrow’s Parties I’ll Be Your Mirror Festival, in addition to the pair of NYC dates Portishead will play here in New York City.

Portishead announce tour, playing Hammerstein Ballroom 10/4 & 10/5

Portishead’s triumphant return to live performances has been met with giddiness and excitement from fans around the world, and though we already knew the band would be curating (and performing… twice) at All Tomorrow’s Parties’ I’ll Be Your Mirror Festival in Asbury Park (tickets still available), we now know that they’ll be playing two nights at Manhattan’s Hammerstein Ballroom venue in October.

The two Hammerstein Ballroom shows on 10/4 and 10/5, will come just after ATP, giving fans unable to attend the massive festival in New Jersey a chance to catch them right here in NYC. Tickets go on sale July 15th with presale tickets ON SALE NOW! Below is the remainder of Portishead’s tour schedule…

Extra Jeff Mangum Show Added To All Tomorrow's Parties NJ

Fans who have been waiting to catch reclusive Neutral Milk Hotel frontman Jeff Mangum here in the Northeast have another reason to celebrate today. In addition to his previously scheduled performance at All Tomorrow's Parties (ATP) America Presents: I'll Be Your Mirror Festival in Asbury Park, NJ on Friday September 30 and a Monday show separate from the event at nearby Paramount Theatre the following Monday (October 3), our friends at BrooklynVegan reported that show curators Portishead have asked Mangum to play another show at ATP that Sunday, October 2.

ATP is now selling new Three Day Jeff Mangum Sunday passes that will get attendees into the Festival for all three days and access to Mangum's new Sunday show as well as one of the two Portishead shows. They are now also offering up a small number of tickets to the sold-out Monday show that fans can acquire via email.

Great news for Jeff Mangum fans, and more than enough reason to give In The Aeroplane Over The Sea yet another spin.

Portishead played their first show since 2008, playing ATP in fall (tickets still available)

Despite being one of the most influential and popular groups to emerge from the ‘90s trip hop movement, Portishead to date have only released three full length albums, and their live performances since releasing Third in 2008 have been sparse. All the more reason their tour this summer, which continues in the fall, is getting a lot of press. Last night the band played their first show since 2008 in the Netherlands, and Consequence of Sound has clips of them performing “Glory Box” and “Machine Gun” from the concert.

Portishead will be curating two of All Tomorrow’s Parties’ sister festival, I’ll Be Your Mirror, the first taking place on July 24th in London and the next in Asbury Park, NJ that goes from September 30th through October 2nd. The Asbury Park festival will include two performances by Portishead, and a plethora of amazing acts such as Jeff Mangum, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Deerhoof, Swans, Battles, Mogwai, A Hawk an a Hacksaw and Shellac.

You can still buy Three Day Portishead Passes for the festival, which gives you priority to both Portishead performances on Saturday and Sunday, but not access to see Jeff Mangum on Friday. Portishead’s drummer Geoff Barrow will also be performing with his side project BEAK> at both I’ll Be Your Mirror festivals, a band I caught last September at Bowery Ballroom and was blown away by. It goes without saying that the I’ll Be Your Mirror’s lineup will be the roster to beat this year.

Portishead’s tour dates are below…