Say what you will about the effects of social media proliferation, it sure saved the day (or night rather) this past Thursday when it was suddenly broadcasted through Twitter and Facebook that Santos Party House, the original venue for the Ninja Tune XX party, had been shut down. As we are not privy to the inner workings of the minds over at MeanRed, we can only imagine the panic that must have ensued as a replacement space had to be found, new deals brokered, and information distributed to the masses, STAT. But hey, this is New York City, and we don’t let a little thing like legal troubles get in the way of kick ass tunes and a good party. So before long, masses were gathering in front of Crash Mansion as equipment was set up at lightning speed and door men who thought they were in for a regular old Thursday were suddenly faced with a mob of music lovers from as far away as Ohio, anxious to get out of the cold and into the sound.

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Our friends at MeanRed are grabbing the weekend by the horns, offering up a trifecta of great parties for you to choose from. We’re giving away a pair of tickets to each event, click through to learn more about each event and CLICK HERE to jump directly to the contest.

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What better excuse to take a vacation than an all-star line-up in one of Europe’s most vibrant cities? Enter Sónar, Barcelona’s annual music festival, now in it’s 17th year. With a line-up that includes The Chemical Brothers, LCD Soundsystem, Flying Lotus, Hudson Mowhawke, Hot Chip, Kid Koala’s The Slew, and New Young Pony Club (among others), not to mention the beautiful backdrop of Barcelona, this is one summer festival that you won’t want to miss.

CLICK HERE for info and tickets, which are €155 (a little over $200) for a three-day pass.

Last Thursday, Kid Koala joined Matisyahu at the Music Hall of Williamsburg for night six of Matisyahu’s fourth annual Festival of Lights.

Kid Koala is the type of artist that gets better each time you see him, not only because each set is different, but also because his unique style and technique becomes more apparent with each live show. I’ve witnessed my fair share of beat juggling, but Kid Koala is the first and only artist I’ve seen who uses the turntables and mixer to actually create and manipulate melodies.

The short, 40-minute set included reinterpretations of “Robbing Banks (Doin’ Time)” and “You Turn Me Cold” by The Slew and “Poison Dart” by Warrior Queen. He also played Nas’ “Bridging the Gap”, adding a layer of bluesy harmonica that gave the song a heartier quality. He closed with his mother’s favorite song (and a Kid Koala classic), “Moon River”.

The giant disco dreidel suspended from the ceiling set a festive tone for Matishayu’s epic performance that followed. While he’s best known as a reggae artist, he incorporates many different styles into his music, drawing influences from rock, hip hop, and even psychedelic jam bands. The set lasted for over two and a half hours and consisted entirely of reworked versions of his songs. Matisyahu took a moment to light a menorah towards the end of the show, calling upon an audience member to help with the ritual. It was a touching and refreshing moment, especially given the fact that most mainstream holiday celebrations focus on Christmas.

Tonight is the final performance of the eight-night run. In case you missed it, you can stream tonight’s show live on Facebook beginning at 7:45 PM EST.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE PHOTO GALLERY

Last week, Fixed got the holidays started early with a DJ set by Hot Chip. The parties continue this week when our favorite NYC music families bring us plenty of reasons to celebrate the season…

Every year, Matisyahu celebrates the Festival of Lights with a whopping eight shows, each with a different opening act. This year’s festival kicked off last Thursday with Glitch Mob at Webster Hall, but you still have four opportunities to see the reggae musician in action at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. Personally, we’re planning to catch this Thursday’s show, when HiFi favorite Kid Koala will also be playing. Get your tickets here.

On Friday at Webster Hall, GBH is celebrating with Mark Ronson and Aaron LaCrate. We caught Mark Ronson with Q-Tip at Santos Party House last week, and look forward to seeing him at our favorite weekly party. A limited number of $10 tickets are still available, so act fast.

Meanwhile, at Public Assembly, the Trouble & Bass Crew will be spinning alongside Finnish producer Rico Tubbs. Click here to win tickets to what is sure to be another great party.

On Saturday, The Brothers Macklovitch, Nick Catchdubs, Max Glazer and Just Blaze will headline the Fool’s Gold and LTD Holiday Party at the Etnies Showroom. The party is free with RSVP.

Also on Saturday, Basic NYC residents Sleepy and Boo are getting in on the holiday action at the Sullivan Room with special guests Mark Farina, Nickmatic, and a tag team set by Pete Schwinge and Tonylee. Get advance tickets here.

Looks like it’s going to be a busy weekend… click through to view the fliers for this weekend’s events, and check in next week for the lowdown on New Year’s Eve in NYC.

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Last Wednesday, we caught The Slew on the Brooklyn stop of their one-time tour. The tour is a live presentation of their album, 100%, which has been four and a half years in the making.

Kid Koala and DJ P-Love’s expert turntabslisim was met with hard-hitting rhythms from Myles Heskett on drums and Chris Ross on bass and keys. Each DJ manned a set of turntables, with a third turntable mounted on a drum stand. All of the vocals came from the 80 custom records that Kid Koala cut for the tour.

They started the set with the album’s title track, “100%”, and went through almost the entire album in sequential order. Each member of the band clearly loves what they do, their passion and enthusiasm came across strongly throughout the set. In a great moment towards the end of the show, Kid Koala connected Chris Ross’ bass to his mixer to manipulate the sound.

If you haven’t already heard it, click here for a free download of The Slew’s 100%, and be sure to check out Oliver Correa’s photos of the show. Have a peek at the partial set list after the jump.

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After wowing us back in May, Kid Koala is bringing his latest incarnation New York at the end of the month. The Slew‘s seeds were sown several years ago when Kid Koala (Eric San) and Dynomite D (Dylan J. Frombach) created the soundtrack for a documentary feature film. While the film never materialized, the music was recently resurrected when the two DJs met with former members of the Grammy Award-winning Austrailian band Wolfmother.

After intense rehearsals, the newly-formed band is taking the show on the road for a one-time tour. Working their magic on 6 turntables, Kid Koala, Dynomite D and DJ P-Love will be joined by ex-Wolfmother members Chris Ross on bass and Myles Heskett on drums. Koala describes the set as “seventy minutes of raw guitar cuts and heavy beats”, and guarantees that “you will never have heard anything quite like this and are unlikely to again”.

So there you have it. The Slew will perform at Brooklyn’s Music Hall of Williamsburg on September 30 (get tickets here). In the meantime, you can download The Slew’s full album on Kid Koala’s Website.

Click here to see photos by Oliver Correa from Kid Koala’s performance at Le Poisson Rouge last May.