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Bands Aid

All kinds of beats are coming off Brooklyn's streets lately, and there's a horde of stages and back rooms where you can go to hear them. Below is a list of five Brooklyn bands we're listening to lately—and the places that they're rocking.

Bands/Artists
Alina Simone. Haunting folk-ish music. Her last album was a collection of covers of Yanka, a Russian punk/folk cult icon (you have to listen to understand) who died under mysterious circumstances at a very young age.

A Place to Bury Strangers. Really loud, distorted rock music, very similar to The Jesus & Mary Chain, but with a darker twist. At one point they opened for Nine Inch Nails—just so you know.

Telepathe Mindless. Fun techno-y music. At the very least, they're great to jump around with.

Yeasayer. Hippy experimental stoner music that incorporates tons of weird eclectic influences. They describe their music as "Middle Eastern-psych-snap-gospel."

Japanther. Poppy punk—the two band members are former Pratt students, which explains a lot if you've ever wandered around Pratt.

Venues
Sycamore—1118 Cortelyou Road, Ditmas Park. Flower shop by day, bar at night. Really awesome folk shows are booked a few nights a week.

Bruar Falls—245 Grand Street, Williamsburg. Most of the bands that play here are complete nobodies, but every once in a while those nobodies turn out to be somebodies.

Brooklyn Bowl—61 Wythe Avenue, Williamsburg. Has to be mentioned even though everyone knows about it. Bowling alley, Brooklyn Brewery beers and good shows.

Bell House—149 7 Street, Gowanus area next to Park Slope. Think industrial cavernous: huge bar, huge stage areas and—surprisingly—huge names, such as Nada Surf and The Primitives.

Union Hall—702 Union Street, Park Slope. The stage for pretentious indie rockers—but, hey, they need a place, too, and there are definitely some good shows.

Honorable Mentions
Music Hall of Williamsburg and Knitting Factory—Brooklyn. And, of course, make sure you score some tickets for this summer's 10th Annual Siren Music Festival in Coney Island on Saturday, July 17. The schedule so far: Matt and Kim, Ted Leo and The Pharmacists, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Surfer Blood, Harlem and a ton of other bands, some of whom will be the next best things out of Brooklyn!