Ecstatic Music Festival brings together 5 musicians in a unique collaboration

Posted on March 26, 2014 | 1 comment

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It’s hard to believe that the 2014 edition of the Ecstatic Music Festival is nearly over. I suppose it’s because I haven’t been able to get to most of the shows in the festival, which kicked off Jan. 31 and ends this Saturday, March 29.

Two shows remain this year: Wednesday’s bill featuring So Percussion and Buke & Gase, and Saturday’s program with Man Forever and William Basinski. Both shows start at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are a reasonable $25, but if you attend both shows, you can get in for $20 apiece. Click here to buy tickets online, or visit the Merkin Concert Hall box office at 129 West 67th Street in Manhattan.

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Posted in Concerts, Contemporary, Contemporary Classical, Music, Off-Broadway, Review, Theater

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Cynthia Hopkins tells it like it really is

Posted on March 25, 2014 | 3 comments

Cynthia Hopkins in character as “the fat lady” for her latest show, “A Living Documentary.”

I’ve long wondered how edgy performance artist Cynthia Hopkins survives.

The answer, it turns out, is: just barely.

Her extremely personal theater work, often presented as slightly bizarre, dreamy (sometimes verging on nightmarish) faux autobiography, has won increasingly wide acceptance. Aside from being the darling of St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn, she’s put on her shows at other leading venues such as the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis.

She’s become a favorite of comedian John Hodgman, who featured her on his end-of-the-world “Ragnarok” show in 2012.

She’s had a Guggenheim fellowship and has won Bessie, Obie and other awards.

(Click through to the jump for videos and more about Cynthia Hopkins.)

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Posted in Music, Off-Broadway, Theater

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Ubu Sings Ubu: Cleveland cult band’s music torn up and stewed

Posted on March 25, 2014 | Leave a comment

I was intrigued when I got an email about a show at Joe’s Pub tonight (Tuesday, March 25): the Ubu Sings Ubu Band.

I’ve never been a fan of Pere Ubu, David Thomas’ Cleveland avant-garage band. There’s not a single Ubu track in my iTunes library or in my I’ll-import-them-to-iTunes eventually collection of CDs.

So why would I care about the debut of a band covering songs that I’ll barely recognize?

The band’s video of  “Life Stinks” offered a taste that left me wanting more.

But it’s the personnel list that really got to me: Tony Torn, Dan Safer — and Stew (of  The Negro Problem/”Passing Strange” fame) sitting in as a special guest.

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Posted in Music, News, Off-Broadway, Pop and Rock, Theater

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Black 47’s long goodbye comes to Yonkers

Posted on March 13, 2014 | Leave a comment

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What form of entertainment could be more appropriate in St. Patrick’s weekend than a Black 47 concert?

And the great thing is , if you love in the Lower Hudson Valley, you don’t even have to trek into New York City to see them (unless you simply must do it on Monday, St. Patrick’s Day proper, when they appear at B.B. King’s).

The lauded Irish-American rock band, which is calling it quits in November, is playing Sunday afternoon at Empire City Casino in Yonkers.

For mor info, check out my interview with Larry Kirwan, the lead singer and cofounder. It’s online now at LoHud.com and is scheduled to appear in Friday’s editions of The Journal News.

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Posted in Concerts, Music, Pop and Rock, Uncategorized

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Marah takes a trip into the past to find something fresh and new

Posted on March 12, 2014 | Leave a comment

album-cover

An album full of mysteries, discoveries and pure joy

Awhile back, my friends in Marah asked me to do an item on their new single advancing the release of their Marah Presents Mountain Minstrelsy of Pennsylvania album.

Will You Miss Me When I’m Gone? is a labor of love, but sometimes the love of paying the bills takes so much time that there’s not much time for the labor of love. David Bielanko’s request for an item came at one of those times. The idea kept getting moved, of necessity, to the end of the list. Eventually, as happens with many to-do lists — at least mine — it fell off altogether.

So when the album was finally released on Feb. 25, I realized I had to get my hands on a copy and find a few minutes to make up for letting that opportunity slip away.

So I placed my order and waited.

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Posted in Folk, Music, Pop and Rock, Recordings, Review

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Stew brings ‘The New Stew Review’ to 54 Below (Video)

Posted on March 7, 2014 | Leave a comment

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There’s still time to grab tickets to see Stew, the Tony Award-winning creator of Broadway’s wildest ride, “Passing Strange,” in the cabaret setting of Manhattan’s 54 Below on Friday or Saturday night.

Stew’s work speaks for itself. He’s created a great deal of thoughtful, memorable, and provocative songs for theater, with “Passing Strange” and other shows, and for clubs as a solo performer and with his band, The Negro Problem.

He’s been a favorite of mine for 15 years. His “New Stew Review” promises a preview of upcoming shows, along with old favorites. If experience is any guide, he’ll offer plenty of surprises.

A trip to 54 Below, in the cellar of Studio 54, 254 West 54th Street, Manhattan, can be a bit pricey. But Stew is worth it. Tickets for his shows, which start at 8 p.m., are $40-55, plus a $25 per person minimum. But use the code PUBLIC54 to get a reasonable discount.

Tickets and more information are available here.

Check out the video of Stew and co-creator Heidi Rodewald after the jump.

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Posted in Broadway, Music, News, Pop and Rock, Theater

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If you haven’t seen Mission of Burma lately…

Posted on February 6, 2014 | 2 comments

If you haven’t seen Mission of Burma lately, you don’t know what a great thing you’ll be missing if you aren’t at The Bell House in Brooklyn on Friday night. These guys still know how to raise the roof.

They did two amazing shows for the farewell series at Maxwell’s. I’m not sure they can top those shows, but odds are they’ll try really hard to do just that.

As an added bonus, the always wonderful Speed the Plough will open the show.

So go. And arrive early, in time to sample the craft beer and have plenty of time to settle in for STP and MOB.

Tickets appear to be available. They are $25, and worth it. Click here to buy: http://ow.ly/tmx9E

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Posted in Music, Pop and Rock

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2013 in review

Posted on January 28, 2014 | Leave a comment

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2013 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 27,000 times in 2013. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 10 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

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Pete Seeger, Hudson Valley-based singer, activist, environmentalist dead at 94 (video, playlist)

Posted on January 28, 2014 | Leave a comment
Pete Seeger onstage at a 2009 rally in Memorial Park, Nyack, N.Y. (© 2009, Steven P. Marsh/willyoumissme.com)

Pete Seeger onstage at a 2009 rally in Memorial Park, Nyack, N.Y. (© 2009, Steven P. Marsh/willyoumissme.com)

Pete Seeger is dead.

The legendary musician, environmentalist, and activist, a longtime resident of Beacon, N.Y., died Monday at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan, The New York Times reports.

His death comes six months after his wife, Toshi, died just short of their 70th wedding anniversary.

He continued to work after Toshi’s death, appearing in September at a Farm Aid Concert in Saratoga Springs, reports Peter Kramer of The Journal News in a wonderful obituary posted on lohud.com. (Be sure to check out the great video on lohud.com, including this raw footage of a rambling interview at Seeger’s Beacon home. Continue reading →

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Posted in Music, News, RIP

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Neutral Milk Hotel feels right at home in Port Chester’s Capitol Theatre

Posted on January 23, 2014 | Leave a comment
The hoi polloi weren't allowed to take photos of Neutral Milk Hotel during the performance, at the artist's request. So this image of the stage, set up for the band, is all I got. (© 2014, Steven P. Marsh)

The hoi polloi weren’t allowed to take photos of Neutral Milk Hotel during the performance, at the artist’s request. So this image of the stage, set up for the band, is all I got. (© 2014, Steven P. Marsh)

It’s time for a confession: I never saw Jeff Mangum or his legendary band, Neutral Milk Hotel, perform back in the day.

Sure, I heard the songs then, and I’ve listened to the recordings obsessively in recent years.

But seeing Jeff’s gradual return to the spotlight at the NYC benefit for Chris Knox at 2010, and at various shows he’s done since then, I feel like I’ve gotten to know him. Continue reading →

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