Category Archives: Movies

Dave Van Ronk gets his long overdue time in the spotlight

Posted on December 19, 2013 | 1 comment
Terri Thal and Dave Van Ronk at their home at 190 Waverly Place in Greenwich Village, in August 1963 (Photo by Ann Charters, courtesy Terri Thal)

Terri Thal and Dave Van Ronk at their home at 190 Waverly Place in Greenwich Village, in August 1963 (Photo by Ann Charters, courtesy Terri Thal)

Moviemakers Joel and Ethan Coen have gone to great lengths to let us know that their new movie, “Inside Llewyn Davis,” is not about Greenwich Village folksinger Dave Van Ronk.

The movie, which has been making the rounds of film festivals throughout the year and started playing in major cities a couple of weeks ago, opens nationwide  this Friday.

LEARN MORE about the real Dave Van Ronk

Terri Thal (© Martus Granirer 2013)

Terri Thal (© Martus Granirer 2013)

Check out the interview with Terri Thal I wrote for The Journal News.  Thal, a Rockland County woman who was married to him during the period covered in the film, and don’t miss her first-person account for the Village Voice.  And read Van Ronk’s memoir, “The Mayor of MacDougal Street.”

Yes, Llewyn Davis, as played wonderfully by actor and talented singer Oscar Isaac, affects a Van Ronk look of sorts with his facial hair. And yes, many people, me included, took to calling the flick in early days the “Dave Van Ronk movie.” (That probably was before it had gotten a formal title.) Continue reading →

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Take a trip through time in Greenwich Village tonight

Posted on January 18, 2013 | 2 comments

New documentary explores the rich history of the fabulous Greenwich Village folk music scene

Rockland County resident Terri Thal and other people in the film to appear for panel discussion at tonight’s 7:25 screening at Manhattan’s IFC Center

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)

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.

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.

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.

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New Music Bake Sale: Music, Conversation, Beer and, yes, actual baked goods!

Posted on September 27, 2010 | 1 comment

Arturo en el Barco's Bake Sale table featured cupcakes and particularly tasty flan de queso. (Photos copyright 2010, Steven P. Marsh)

The 2nd Annual New Music Bake Sale took over the decrepitly beautiful Irondale Center’s space in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, on Saturday, Sept. 25 for more than six hours.

The concept was pretty simple: Bring together a bunch of people who make new music — performers, producers, record companies and the like — in a place where they can make music, talk about music, drink beer and sell sweet and savory baked goods to raise money for their efforts.

Kathleen Supové at her Bake Sale table.

We don’t know how successful the financial part of the evening was, but the place was constantly full of people and activity throughout the event. We sampled the food, beer and music and found it excellent — especially the Sixpoint Sweet Action!

Many of our favorite New Music folks were there throughout the evening, including, but hardly limited to, Todd Reynolds, Matt Marks, Mellissa Hughes, Courtney Orlando, Ken Thomson, Jessica Schmitz, Ted Hearne, David T. Little, Steven Swartz, Glenn Cornett, Franz Nicolay, Caleb Burhans, Kathleen Supové and Oscar Bettison.

Todd Reynolds and Ken Thomson perform Ken's "Storm Drain."

We can hardly wait for next year’s event.

But enough words. Let’s get to the images. Click through to the jump for more photos. Continue reading →

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Posted in Classical, Concerts, Contemporary, Contemporary Classical, Folk, Free, History, Humor, Movies, Music, Opera, Readings, Recordings, Uncategorized

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Vetiver rocks out at Solid Sound Festival

Posted on August 14, 2010 | Leave a comment

Vetiver played a short but solid set this afternoon, under beautiful blue skies at the Solid Sound Festival at MASS MoCA in the Berkshires city of North Adams, Mass.

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Posted in Concerts, Folk, Movies, Pop and Rock, Uncategorized

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Merry MexMas with El Vez and Los Straitjackets

Posted on December 23, 2009 | Leave a comment

El Vez rocks The Bowery Ballroom. (Photos copyright 2009, Steven P. Marsh)

The holidays have given Will You Miss Me When I’m Gone? plenty of shows to check out, but little time to say much about them. So today is catch-up day on one of the season’s most enjoyable holiday shows:  El Vez, the Mexican Elvis, and masked surf rockers Los Straitjackets.

El Vez and Los Straitjackets filled the Bowery Ballroom with their special brand of Christmas spirit on Saturday night, Dec. 5.

El Vez is serious.

It put an awesome new spin on El Vez’s longstanding Merry MexMas holiday tour, as Los Straitjackets brought a slightly different musical sensibility to El Rey de Rock ‘n Roll’s show. El Vez normally tours with his own band, the Memphis Mariachis.

El Vez in Santa suit.

The new pairing freshened El Vez’s wonderful mash-ups of traditional holiday songs with punk and rock classics.

If you weren’t there, you missed a real treat. Be sure to plan early next year. Enjoy the photos.

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In the Heights headed to the silver screen

Posted on December 15, 2009 | 1 comment

Lin-Manuel Miranda (center, wearing cap), who created and composed In the Heights, is set to reprise his starring role as Usnavi in the big-screen version.

The New York-themed hit Broadway musical In the Heights will follow in the cinematic footsteps of its contemporary, Passing Strange, with a film adaptation.

The Hollywood Reporter says the movie will be directed by Kenny Ortega, the director of the High School Musical movies and Michael Jackson’s This Is It. No dates have been announced.

Lin-Manuel Miranda, who created and composed the show about three days in the lives of neighbors in NYC’s Washington Heights section, is starring and producing the movie. Quiara Alegria Hudes, who wrote the book for the musical, is writing the script. Lin-Manuel originated the starring role of Usnavi in the off-Broadway production, and opened in the show when it transferred to Broadway.

In keeping with a trend on Broadway, a movie star — Corbin Bleu of High School Musical — is set to take over the show’s starring role starting Jan. 25.

In the Heights was nominated for 13 Tony awards in 2008, and won for best new musical. Passing Strange got seven 2008 Tony nods, and won best book of a musical.

This is just the latest parallel between theatrical classmates Heights and PS, both of which were staged off-Broadway to great acclaim in 2007 and transferred to Broadway in 2008. NYC-themed Heights won the East Coast-West Coast battle against PS, which tells the story of a black man growing up in Los Angeles. Heights, which had its first Broadway performance a week after Passing Strange transferred, remains open, while PS closed on July 20, 2008, after 186 performances during a six-month run.

Director Spike Lee, a Strange Freak (a term used to describe the most devoted Passing Strange fans), filmed the final performances of PS. His film — a relatively low-buget record of the stage show with few grand cinematic tricks — was released earlier this year. The Heights movie is being billed as an “adaptation,” which suggests a slicker, big-budget project complete with location shots. Heights struck me from Day One as an updated West Side Story, and this approach to making the film seems likely to underscore the comparison.

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Ben and Ione welcome their baby!

Posted on September 26, 2009 | Leave a comment
Ben Lee and new daughter Goldie Priya.

Ben Lee and new daughter Goldie Priya in a photo he posted on his blog along with the birth announcement this morning.

Australian singer Ben Lee announced today that he and his wife, Say Anything actress Ione Skye, welcomed daughter Goldie Priya into their new family on Thursday.

Ben and Ione married in a traditional Hindu ceremony officiated by Sakthi Narayani Amma at the Narayani Peedam in Vellore, India, last December. Life & Style was first with a photo of their colorful wedding.

Here’s the announcement Ben posted to his blog earlier today:

Saturday, September 26, 2009
WELCOME TO THE WORLD

Goldie Priya Lee

born September 24 2009

8am

over the moon

xoxo

Ben

noise addict2834836685-1Ben is likely to be a very busy new daddy, as he’s just reactivated his first band, Noise Addict after a 13-year hiatus. The band has an an all-new lineup, with Dinosaur Jr./Sebadoh/Folk Implosion’s Lou Barlow and singer-multinstrumentalist Lara Meyerratken of El May joining Ben. Noise Addict also has a new album,  it was never about the audience, available for free download from its web site. So with new bandmates and a new album, can a tour be far behind? Nothing’s been announced yet, and the title of the new album could be read as disregard for live performance. But I’d be surprised if Noise Addict didn’t hit the stage at some point soon.

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Finally! Passing Strange the movie gets Bay Area screenings

Posted on September 26, 2009 | Leave a comment

Passing Strange movie banner

It’s about time!

Spike Lee‘s fantastic cinematic version of the rock musical Passing Strange is hitting the big screens of two Landmark movie theaters in the San Francisco Bay Area this Friday. Since the musical was developed in part at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, it’s only fitting that the movie (which is available everywhere on cable TV video-on-demand services) gets a theatrical run there.

The one-week run starts Friday, Oct. 2, at the Embarcadero in San Francisco and the Shattuck in Berkeley. If you’re in the area, please do yourself a favor and check it out. You won’t be disappointed. It’s been getting rave reviews but is dependent on word of mouth to attract an audience. Please do your part!

Here’s Passing Strange creator Stew‘s thoughts:

PS MOVIE – BAY AREA – STARTING FRIDAY OCT. 2ND – ONE WEEK ONLY

THE THEATERS ARE: SHATTUCK (BERKELEY)
&
EMBARCADERO (SF)

both for one week only.

Rebecca Jones, who is in American Idiot currently @ BerkRep,
will be the Queen of Berkeley that week, as she’ll be starring
down the street from herself.

I could give the big speech right now about why you have to tell
all your friends to see it and see it soon since its only there for one
week, but its 3:14am here in Berlin and I need to sleep.

basically, there ain’t no advert money going into this thing and the killer
review
in the Chronicle already happened AND our kick-ass trailer CANNOT be shown
in these 2 theaters cuz they don’t do digital trailers. I guess IFC never
thought
we’d need a non-digital trailer. What-ev.

This is known in the bizz as a COLD OPENING.
Sounds like a date I once had in Helsinki…
anyway…

The only cure for a cold opening is word of mouth
or what people today call email blasts. We’re going
to need all the help we can get. Frankly, IFC should have
opened this thing in the Bay while the press love was flowing.
But don’t get me started.

See it on the big screen while you can, Bay Area peeps.
See it before we digitally edit in a french shower scene.
See it right after American Idiot.

peace,
/s

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Passing Strange gets another week on screen at IFC

Posted on September 1, 2009 | Leave a comment

poster_passingstrangeGood news: If you haven’t seen Spike Lee‘s movie version of the fantastic rock musical Passing Strange on the big screen yet — or if you want to see it again  — you have another week to do just that. The run at the IFC Center in the Village has been extended another week.

Stew, who wrote the show with partner-in-art Heidi Rodewald, urged fans during early screenings to encourage their friends to see the movie, hinting that the announced two-week run could easily be extended if response was good. It looks like he was right. There were long lines of fans waiting to get into many of the prime shows, and now IFC has given it another week, through Sept. 8.

This movie is awesome. And while you can always catch it via on-demand cable or wait until it airs on PBS next year, there’s nothing like seeing it in a theater, surrounded by other people. The group experience adds to the impact of the movie. Don’t miss it!

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Underground movies with skyline views

Posted on May 15, 2009 | Leave a comment

Rooftop1

Advance tickets for tonight’s opening screening in the Rooftop Films series are sold out. But you still have a chance to have a great night out — with a band, a movie and an open-bar afterparty  — for just $9. They’re selling tickets at the door, giving the poor planners among us a second chance. A better deal for a great night out is hard to find.

This is What We Mean by Short Films is the title of the season’s kickoff presentation being held on the roof of New Design High, 350 Grand Street @ Essex, on the Lower East Side. Remaining tickets go onsale at 7 p.m. Doors open at 8 p.m., with a set by the band Cymbals Eat Guitars at 8:30, the bill of short dramas, comedies, animations and documentaries from 9-11, and an afterparty at Fontana’s, 105 Eldridge Street, until 1 a.m.

The party moves to back and forth between the Open Road Rooftop (as tonight’s venue has been dubbed) and the roof of Brooklyn Technical High School, 29 Fort Greene Place, Fort Greene, Brooklyn, every weekend through Sept. 20. Check out the schedule so far, including descriptions of the offerings, here. And buy tickets to upcoming shows here.

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