Will You Miss Me When I’m Gone? has told you before, and is taking this opportunity to tell you again: Solid Sound, Wilco’s music and arts festival at MASS MoCA is one of the best music festivals ever. We’ve attended the first two editions and have no intention of missing V3 this year — on June 21-23 at the museum in North Adams, Mass. Continue reading
Posted in Art, Blues, Concerts, Contemporary, Country, Folk, Jazz, Music, News, Pop and Rock
Tagged Foxygen, MASS MoCA, Massachusetts, Neko Case, North Adams, Os Mutantes, Solid Sound, White Denim, Wilco, Yo La Tengo
Happy New Year. We’ve been meaning to write, but we’ve been busy. But today we have some news we just had to share.
The documentary “Greenwich Village: Music that Defined a Generation” has been quietly making the rounds of film festivals. Some of you probably have heard some word-of-mouth, got a chance to catch it at DOC NYC 2012 or at least have seen the trailer.
Terri Thal, right, with singer Terre Roche at the 2010 Gerdes Folk City Reunion. (Photos © 2010, Steven P. Marsh)
We’ve only seen the trailer. It’s hard to tell from the clips alone how well the feature-length film really tells the fascinating story of the unique cultural, political and geographical elements nurtured so much talent. But the rare footage and new interviews — among the subjects are Pete Seeger, Judy Collins, Kris Kristofferson, Tom Chapin, Lucy and Carly Simon, Oscar Brand, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Ian Tyson, Eric Andersen, Israel Horovitz, Jose Feliciano, Kenny White, Sonny Ochs, Sylvia Tyson, Pete Fornatale, Happy Traum and John Sebastian — alone are surely worth the price of admission to anyone who’s interested in the time and place.
Sylvia Tyson at the 2010 Folk City Reunion.
The film has begun a six-screenings-a-day run through next Thursday, Jan. 24, at IFC Center, 323 Sixth Avenue at West Third Street in Manhattan. Click here for schedule, ticketing and information about the theater. Tickets are $13.50 for adults, $9.50 for children and senior citizens, and $8.50 for IFC Center members.
But tonight only, at the 7:25 screening, some of the people you’ll see on screen
Happy Traum at the 2010 Folk City Reunion.
will appear in person to participate in a panel discussion. Musicians Traum, Doug Yeager and David Amram and radio personality Brand are scheduled to appear.
Terri Thal — known in Rockland County as a longtime defender and protector of history and the environment as an officer of the West Branch Conservation Association — who played an integral, nonperforming, role in the fertile musical scene.
Posted in Blues, Folk, Movies, Music, News
Tagged Ben Taylor, Buffy Sainte-Marie, David Amran.Terri Thal, Doug Yeager, Eric Andersen, Greenwich Village: Music that Defined a Generation, Happy Traum, Ian Tyson, Israel Horovitz, John Sebastian, Jose Feliciano, Judy Collins, Kenny White, Kris Kristofferson, Lucy and Carly Simon, Oscar Brand, Pete Fornatale, Pete Seeger, Sonny Ochs, Sylvia Tyson, Terri Thal, Tom Chapin, West Branch Conservation Association
Watch starting at 7:30 tonight on Livestream (link after the jump)
Tom Rush (Photo by Michael Wiseman).
It’s hard to believe that singer Tom Rushhas been performing since 1962, but the calendar doesn’t lie.
Tom Rush onstage in 1962. (Photo by Jim Eng)
Tonight he’s marking the milestone with an intimate gathering at a little place in Boston – not far from his old stomping grounds at Club 47 in Cambridge – called Symphony Hall.
It’s a venue where Tom has held forth with his friends many times over the years. It can hold upwards of 2,600 people. Not bad for an old folkie to sell out a joint like that.
Will You Miss Me When I’m Gone? is planning to make the trek to Boston for this incredibly special show.
Posted in Blues, Concerts, Country, Folk, Music, News, Pop and Rock, Recordings
Tagged Boston, Buskin & Batteau, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Club 47, David Buskin, Dean Adrien, Dom Flemons, Eric Lilljequist, Joe Mennonna, Jonathan Edwards, Marshal Rosenberg, Nanci Griffith, Paul Guzzone, Robin Batteau, Symphony Hall, Tom Rush, Trevor Veitch
El Vez: This is not what we had in mind for the Yule Log!
Talk about short notice!
Will You Miss Me When I’m Gone? just realized this morning that Mex-Mas is upon us. December chill is in the air, and the scent of corn tortillas baking on the stone is everywhere, along with bags of oranges in red plastic stockings.
And you know what else Mex-Mas brings:
A visit from the one, the only El Vez (aka The Mexican Elvis).
That visit for New Yorkers is tonight (Wednesday, Dec. 5) at Littlefield, 622 DeGraw St., Brooklyn. Tickets are $20 and available by clicking this link.
Doors are at 8 p.m. Comedian Jessica Delfino opens, followed by Corn Mo. And then, at 9:45, Mex-Mas will arrive!
Sorry for the late notice, but El Vez didn’t keep us posted on his tour dates this year. El Vez has done an annual Merry Mex-Mas tour for a long time. (El Vez 4 Prez is is other specialty, but that’s really only every four years.) Continue reading
Posted in Blues, Concerts, Country, Folk, Music, News, Pop and Rock, Punk
Tagged Christmas, El Vez, Littlefield, Mex-Mas, Mexican Elvis, Robert Lopez, The Zeros
A view of the Solid Sound Festival at MASS MoCA.
We felt a void this year. After staging the Solid Sound Festival for two years in a row on the campus of the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in North Adams, Mass., Wilco decided to skip 2012.
It was disappointing. But that makes today’s news all the more delicious.
I suppose it’s no surprise. The fantastic three-day event requires an enormous amount of planning and commitment from every member of the band and it support staff. And while I’m sure the band didn’t lose money on the festival, it’s unlikely that it was a huge moneymaker, either.
Wilco perfoms on the main stage in Joe’s Field at MASS MoCA.
Wilco promised to return to the beautiful Berkshires in 2013, and the band is keeping that promise. “Early Worm” tickets for next year’s festival — running from June 21-23 — are available right now.
Those tickets are just $99, and well worth it. Click here to get tickets now.
Once they’re sold out, a limited number of “Early Bird” tickets will be available for $124 — still a relative bargain.
If you wait too long, you’ll have to settle for the $149 regular three-day passes.
Solid Sound is a family friendly event, with three-day passes for children ages 7-10 priced at a mere $50, while kids 6 and under are free.
If you can’t go all three days, or think you won’t want to (bad idea, in our opinion), there will be a limited number of one-day passes.
The festival promises two headlining Wilco sets on a fabulous field next to the factory complex that houses MASS MoCA. Wilco side projects and bands and comedians curated by Wilco members also will perform. You can also count on art installations, probably some films, and definitely a lot of great food and drink. Plus, in the past there have been pop-up stores, a coffee shop imported from Chicago, Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy in a charity dunk tank and falconry demonstration.
Oh, and we shouldn’t forget about access to the amazing exhibitions in the museum itself. The people who run the museum are fully invested in this festival — they’re not just renting the space out to the band.
The first two editions featured acts such as Mavis Staples, Levon Helm (RIP), Mountain Man, Thurston Moore, The Books, Syl Johnson, The Handsome Family, The Baseball Project, Here We Go Magic, Autumn Defense and many more.
While the 2013 lineup won’t be finalized for quite awhile, we guarantee this will be a great festival for anybody who likes Wilco.
You don’t need to be a super-fan to enjoy this festival. Jeff Tweedy and the other members of Wilco have diverse tastes in music and art, and all of those tastes have been on display in previous editions of the festival.
Camping and transportation from New York City and Boston is also available.
Posted in Art, Blues, Concerts, Country, Folk, Jazz, Music, News, Pop and Rock, Punk
Tagged Jeff Tweedy, Joe's Field, Levon Helm, Massachusetts, MassMoCA, Mountain Man, North Adams, Solid Sound, Solid Sound Festival, the Berkshires, Wilco
The first night of the two-night Benefit for Lucinda’s Kids was a great night of almost 7 hours of entertainment on Sunday, April 29 at The Bowery Electric, with a great crowd and a fantastic lineup of artists, including Marah, Jesse Malin, Jimmy Gnecco, Willie Nile (who almost missed the show because of a delayed flight from Chicago), Jim Boggia, Aaron Lee Tasjan, Michelle Casillas (Ursa Minor), Mystie and more. As of Sunday night, there were still tickets left for the second night of the benefit to raise money for the trust fund that will benefit the two teenagers left behind when their mom, super music fan Lucinda Gallagher, committed suicide last December.
Here’s the Monday lineup.
Monday, April 30, doors at 7 p.m.
Tommy Stinson (The Replacements)
HR (Bad Brains)
Alan Vega (Suicide)
James Maddock
Aaron Lee Tasjan
Tickets are $20 and available here.
And here’s what you missed on Sunday.
Jesse Malin
Many, many more photos after the jump.
Continue reading
Posted in Benefit, Blues, Concerts, Music, News, Pop and Rock, Punk, Review, World Music
Tagged Aaron Lee Tasjan, Alan Vega, Bad Brains, Benefit for Lucinda's Kids, Christine Smith, Dave Bielanko, Dave Milone, East Village, H.R., Jesse Malin, Jim Boggia, Jimmy Gnecco, Lucinda Gallagher, Marah, Michelle Casillas, Mystie, One Guitar, Philadelphia, suicide, The Bowery Electric, The Replacements, Tommy Stinson, Ursa Minor, Willie Nile
Marah: Dave Bielanko and Christine Smith perform an acoustic number mid-crowd at the Benefit for Lucinda's Kids at The Bowery Electric in Manhattan's East Village on Sunday, April 29. (Photo © 2012, Steven P. Marsh)
How many lives has the rock band Marah had?
It’s hard to say, but it’s one of those bands that has survived surviving changing lineups, internal strife, and wildly fluctuating stylistic directions, all the while being encouraged and praised by celebrities.
Marah with flugelhorn at The Bowery Electric on April 29. (Photo © 2012, Steven P. Marsh)
Started in Philadelphia, Marah quickly became notable for the stage antics of its core duo, brothers Dave and Serge Bielanko from Philadelphia suburb Conshohocken. They had a loose but seemingly perfectly choreographed stage presence together. Their sound, early on, featured rootsy, Americana-flavored rock and roll with a particular treat for anyone who has an affinity for Philadelphia: jangling banjos played in the style of Philadelphia Mummers Parade string bands.
A band version of Marah at Bowery Electric in 2010. (Photo © 2010, Steven P. Marsh)
This is a band that novelist Stephen King in 2005 dubbed “probably the best rock band in America that nobody knows.” They’ve also been the darlings of writers Nick Hornby (who did a tour with the band) and Sarah Vowell.
It’s a band that became pals with Bruce Springsteen and got him to sing and play on one of their albums. And Steve Earle liked them enough to add them to the roster of his now defunct record label.
It’s also a band whose list of former members on Wikipedia at this writing tops out at 20 — a lot for the 19-year-old a band, which generally has performed as a quartet or quintet.
In working there, they’ve discovered something magical, something that has returned the band to its roots in a way, and turned it in a new direction in another way.
Dave and Christine are working with a handful of local musicians in their Pennsylvania hideaway on a project they call Mountain Minstrelsy. (Check it out on Facebook, too.) They’re holed up in an old church that they’re using as a recording studio.
Basically, one of their musical pals in Pennsylvania showed them a book of collected lyrics, “Mountain Minstrelsy (as sung in the Backwoods Settlements, Hunting Cabins and Lumber Camps in the “Black Forest” of Pennsylvania, 1840 – 1923)” by Henry W. Shoemaker. It struck a chord, literally and figuratively, with Dave and Christine, so they set out to build an album around their new music for the found lyrics. They’ve been recording the new-old songs with some of their friends and neighbors for an album they hope to release late this year.
After the jump, read the full interview, plus a video of Dave, Christine and friends in a Mountain Minstrelsy rehearsal.
Posted in Benefit, Blues, Concerts, Country, Exclusive, Folk, Interview, Music, News, Pop and Rock, Recordings
Tagged accordion, banjo, Benefit for Lucinda's Kids, Brooklyn, Christine Smith, Conshohocken, Dave Bielanko, David Bielanko, East Village, exclusive, flugelhorn, guitar, Lucinda Gallagher, Manhattan, Marah, Mummers, New York City, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, rock 'n roll, rock and roll, Serge Bielanko, Shamokin, string band, The Bowery Electric, Tylersville
Daniel Breaker and his crew at Joe's Pub. (Photos 2012, Steven P. Marsh)
The inimitable Daniel Breaker at Joe's Pub.
We’re hoping Daniel Breaker is going to be a regular on the Joe’s Pub stage. His performance there Sunday night, April 22 — his second cabaret show there — showcase the winning singer/actor even better than the first. He seemed more comfortable in his role as a front man, and less like an actor putting on a show.
Jo Lampert kills it at Joe's Pub, with drummer Christian Cassan in the background.
With the help of a dozen or so musical compatriots — including drummer Christian Cassan and music director/guitarist Jon Spurney from his time in the hit musical “Passing Strange” — Breaker put on a great show.
He sang original and classic cabaret numbers, and even dipped into rock with Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” charming the crowd all evening.
Breaker’s special guest vocalists once again gave him a run for his money. In Breaker’s last show at Joe’s, guest Condola Rashad threatened to steal the spotlight altogether with her amazing power and charming stage persona.
Breaker clearly didn’t feel threatened. He chose equally intense guests for this show. Jo Lampert, who not long ago was a production assistant at Joe’s Pub and who was involved in the Public Theater’s incarnation of “Passing Strange,” blew the doors off with her rendition of Beyonce‘s “Halo,” and also filled in superbly on backing vocals.
Morgan James, currently in the cast of "Godspell" on Broadway, at Joe's Pub.
Morgan James, who’s in the ensemble with “Godspell” on Broadway, also did a great job.
Kelvin Dinkins Jr. and William Jackson Harper (a must-see in our book after his amazing work “The Total Bent” at the Public Theater) helped out on backing vocals.
Marah: Christine Smith and Dave Bielanko
In recent years, the wild, Philadelphia-born rock band Marah has stripped down. Essentially, it’s now just Dave Bielanko and Christine Smith at the core, performing as a duo at time and recruiting bandmates for bigger shows.
After a stint in Brooklyn, they’ve have moved into an old farmhouse in the wilds of central Pennsylvania, with a phone line for incoming calls only. They’ve been working on a couple of records, about which more in our next post.
But for now, let’s focus on this week. Marah is coming out of wilderness to do a few shows, one of which is this Sunday, April 29, at The Bowery Electric at 327 Bowery in Manhattan.
They’re performing on the first night of two-evening benefit concert for a friend who took her own life last year and left two teenage children behind.
It looks like this benefit will be a real blast, with a lot of other amazing artists.
It’s all to raise money for the children of Lucinda Gallagher, a 37-year-old super music fan from Hoboken who took her life in December.
In an exclusive Will You Miss Me When I’m Gone? interview (which we’ll share fully in our next post), Christine spoke about Marah’s connection with Gallagher:
Posted in Benefit, Blues, Concerts, Country, Exclusive, Folk, Interview, Music, News, Pop and Rock, Recordings
Tagged Aaron Lee Tasjan, Alan Vega, Alberta Cross, Bad Brains, benefit, Bob Gruen, Christine Smith, Danny Clinch, Dave Bielanko, Dave Milone, exclusive, Fender, Harry Greenberger, Hoboken, HR, interview, James Maddock, Jesse Malin, Jim Boggia, Jimmy Gnecco, Lucinda Gallagher, Marah, Mary Louise Parker, obituary, Petter Ericson Stakee, suicide, The Bowery Electric, The Madison Square Gardeners, The Morrison Hotel Gallery, Tommy Stinson, Wille Nile
Fountains of Wayne at the Bowery Ballroom. (Photos © 2011, Steven P. Marsh)
Weird that Fountains of Wayne, a band that crafts wonderful, highly relatable pop songs gets so much qualified praise and downright hate.
Well, I’m going on record to say, unapologetically, that after 15 years together FoW still knows how to rock.
Chris Collingwood and drummer Brian Young.
Reviews of the band’s new album, their first for Yep Roc, have been mixed. I get the sense that a lot of reviewers feel guilty about unabashedly enjoying and recommending the music of a band that’s been around for 15 years and has made only five albums in that time.
Well, this is one band that knows how to put on a good show. So let’s just love them for what they are.
The band proved how well it still clicks when it played the Bowery Ballroom on Aug. 3, I figured FoW would be going heavy on new material, since the show was less than a week ahead of the release of Sky Full of Holes. (It’s out today, and if you haven’t heard anything from it yet, you’re missing out on a wonderful collection of songs.)
To their credit, the band kicked off the set with two great old songs “Little Red Light” and “The Valley of Malls” before diving into the excellent, bittersweet new “Summer Place” and then returning to the back catalog for “Someone to Love.”
Adam Schlesinger
Frontmen Chris Collingwood, the band’s main singer, and Adam Schlesinger, the bass player (who you may know better through his work as composer of the Broadway musical Cry Baby or as a member of pop supergroup Tinted Windows), led the band on a romp through songs old and new, saving fan favorite “Radiation Vibe” with bits of other pop songs, including Paul McCartney and Wings tune “Jet,” into the mix before the final verse.
Jody Porter blows smoke.
Lead guitarist Jody Porter showed off his individuality throughout the set, sometimes to the point of looking like he was somewhere else, perhaps in another band. He also made a point to take advantage of a loophole in NYC no-smoking rules that allow performers onstage to puff away.
Brian Young on drums (he also plays with the Pixies), kept time well, but stayed in the background, literally as well as figuratively. He never showed off or grabbed for the spotlight. He just bashed the skins, and quite well.
Nicole Atkins, a Neptune, N.J., native, opened the evening with a scorching set, accompanied only by her guitarist, the very talented Irina Yalkowsky. Nicole thanked Fountains of Wayne for inviting her to be part of Jersey Night at the Bowery Ballroom (in case you don’t know, Fountains of Wayne was a long-lived lawn-ornament shop in Wayne, N.J.), even though FoW isn’t really a Jersey band.
Nicole Atkins, right, with Irina Yalkowsky.
