Beirut
Wonder where Beirut has gone? Well, the band is finally back with a new album. The band’s publicist just announced that Beirut’s first full-length album in four years, The Rip Tide, is due for release Aug. 30. Bandleader Zach Condon is putting it out on his own label, Pompeii Records, “so as to keep total creative control.”
Posted in Music, News, Pop and Rock
Tagged Ba Da Bing Records, Beirut, Pompeii Records, Sharon Van Etten, The Rip Tide, Zach Condon
Asphalt Orchestra will open the 2011 edition of the Bang on a Can Marathon by performing "Carlton" by Stes and Heidi Rodewald and "Opus 81" by Yoko Ono. (Photo © 2010, Steven P. Marsh)
Memorial Day may be the unofficial start of summer, but it doesn’t really get started for us at Will You Miss Me When I’m Gone? until the annual Bang on a Can Marathon arrives.
This year’s edition is Sunday, June 19. It’s scheduled to run from 11 a.m. to midnight, meaning we’re in for a real treat of 13 continuous hours of music — all for FREE at the World Financial Center Winter Garden in Manhattan’s Battery Park City.
Todd Reynolds
Scheduling problems (also known as my day job) last year made it hard to take in much of the daylong (mostly indoors) event.
We managed to listen only for a couple of hours. We’re not going to let that happen this year. We’ve made sure to save the time and date this year. You should, too.
This year’s edition features many of our favorites, including Bang on a Can’s house band, the All-Stars, electro-acoustic violinist extraodinaire Todd Reynolds (performing a World Premiere of his work Transamerica), avant garde marching band Asphalt Orchestra, the fabulous New Music ensemble Signal, singer-composer-director Toby Twining, cellist Maya Beiser and the truly wonderful Young People’s Chorus of New York City.
Toby Twining (Ben Sozanski photo)
Aside from our recurring favorites, this year’s marathon also features a performance by the Sun Ra Arkestra in the 8-10 p.m. slot, and the Glenn Branca Ensemble as the day’s closer.
Aside from works by Bang on Can founders Julia Wolfe, Michael Gordon and David Lang, the day features music by luminaries such as Philip Glass. Iannis Xenakis and Michael Nyman. However, the music of Steve Reich, a godfather of Bang on a Can, is absent from the program.
Click through for the full schedule or download a copy here.
Posted in Classical, Concerts, Contemporary, Contemporary Classical, Free, Music, News, Pop and Rock, World Music
Tagged Arts World Financial Center, Asphalt Orchestra, Bang on a Can, Bang on a Can All-Stars, Bang on a Can Marathon, Heidi Rodewald, Maya Beiser, Signal, Stew, Toby Twining, Todd Reynolds, Winter Garden, World Financial Center, World Premiere, Yoko Ono, Young Peoples Chorus of New York City
Suzanne Vega channels the Southern Gothic novelist in the off-Broadway musical Carson McCullers Talks About Love. (Photo by Sandra Coudert)
From the moment I heard that Suzanne Vega was writing a musical, I was determined to see it. The subject didn’t matter much, actually.
Suzanne Vega
Suzanne and her music were a big part of my musically formative years. She fell off my radar over the last decade or so, but she and her classic songs like “Luka” and “Small Blue Thing” are always lurking in the back of my mind.
It turns out she chose a fascinating subject for the show: Southern Gothic novelist Carson McCullers. Despite her Southern roots, McCullers spent much of her life in New York City and the suburbs, living from 1945 until her death in 1967 in a house on South Broadway in South Nyack, N.Y. She’s buried in Oak Hill Cemetery, just a mile or so northwest of her home.
McCullers wrote The Heart is a Lonely Hunter and many other works that you might have been required to read in school. But just because you had to read them doesn’t mean they’re not great, entertaining works.
Vega has talked widely about how connected she feels to the novelist she brings to life onstage.Check out what she had to say about McCullers in The New York Times.
Duncan Sheik (Photo by Joseph Marzullo/WENN)
Then when I found it was playing off-Broadway this spring and that Duncan Sheik, who was responsible for the stunning Spring Awakening, was partnering with her on the music, I was hooked. (It’s funny, back when Spring Awakening was on Broadway, I went to see Sheik in concert and was left rather disappointed. I guess he’s more to my taste as a show composer. His pop performance of his personal songs, like his overexposed “Barely Breathing” left me cold. But I’ll have a chance to reconsider next Wednesday, June 8, when he plays the Highline Ballroom.)
And then my schedule started filling up. I kept meaning to get tickets. And I kept getting distracted — and now time’s almost up.
Read through to the jump for ticket information, including a special discount offer.
Posted in Music, Pop and Rock, Theater
Tagged Broadway, Duncan Sheik, off-Broadway, Rattlestick Theater, Spring Awakening, Suzanne Vega
Doveman opening his latest edition of The Burgundy Stain Sessions at (Le) Poisson Rouge. (Photos copyright 2011, Steven P. Marsh)
I’m not sure what it is about Thomas Bartlett, aka Doveman, that makes him so brilliant.
Like many of you, I first discovered him when he was the man behind Salon‘s late, lamented Daily Download feature. At that point, I had no idea who he was, but enjoyed his tight writing about music and really enjoyed his taste and his ability to spotlight tunes that I might have missed and would have lived to regret.
Rufus Wainwright.
But soon he gave that up and turned to his real love, making music. Those who were paying attention soon discovered that Thomas is a very talented singer-songwriter in his own right with his beautiful, fragile style that he calls “insomnia pop.” He’s made some beautiful albums under his nom de stage.
But Thomas is probably more familiar to audiences as the guy will lots and lots of amazingly talented musical friends.
Rob Moose, Doveman, Rufus Wainwright and Brad Albetta.
He’s been presenting The Burgundy Stain Sessions (the next edition is June 24) shows on a more or less monthly basis lately at (Le) Poisson Rouge. The format is pretty straightforward. He gets the room set up in the round, invites some of his talented friends, does a little rehearsing and puts on a show. It’s the kind of event where just about anything can happen.
The sessions we’ve see have been beautiful, sloppy things. And we don’t mean sloppy in a bad way. No, we mean sloppy in a warm, wonderful surprise-wet-kiss way.
Posted in Concerts, Music, Pop and Rock, Review
Tagged (Le) Poisson Rouge, ACME, Annie Clark, Beth Orton, Brad Albetta, Bryce Dessner, Charlotte Kemp Muhl, Daily Download, Doveman, Neil Young, Nico Muhly, Ray Rizzo, Rob Moose, Rufus Wainwright, Salon, Sam Amidon, Sean Lennon, St. Vincent, The Burgundy Stain Sessions, The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger, The National, Thomas Bartlett
Fleet Foxes fill Manhattan's United Palace Theater with their folkie sound. (Photos copyright 2011, Steven P. Marsh)
Uptown Manhattan will never be quite the same after Fleet Foxes and the Cave Singers did a two-night stand at the magnificent United Palace Theater on May 18 and 19. We were there on the 19th.
It was a beautiful even, full of revelatory performances — despite the marginally horrible sound that is pretty much the norm at the otherwise lovely United Palace.
The Cave Singers at the United Palace Theater.
I knew Fleet Foxes would be fantastic. I never could have imagined how wonderful Cave Singers would be, however. The far exceeded my expectations, cranking out amazing sound from their three-man lineup.
Posted in Concerts, Folk, Music, Pop and Rock
Tagged Cave Singers, Fleet Foxes, United Palace Theater
Speed the Plough: John Baumgartner, Dan Francia, Ian Francia, Michael Baumgartner, Marc Francia and Toni Baumgartner.
There are some big doings at Speed the Plough HQ. The latest incarnation of the band, a part of network of bands linked to The Feelies, has announced a deal for their new CD.
They’ve signed with Great Meadows, N.J, -based Dromedary Records, which will issue the band’s new disc, Shine, in August. The lineup for the new album will feature the great guitar and vocal work of new Plough-man Ed Seifert (of Ed Seifert and the Stimulus Package, though you may also recognize Ed as The Feelies’ tech) and guest appearances by two former STPers and current members of Wild Carnation, Brenda Sauter (who’s also in The Feelies) and Rich Barnes.
What’s more, a compilation of tunes from The Trypes, another part of The Feelies’ family, is also nearing completion.
Click through to the jump for the full announcement. And be sure to check out the Speed the Plough website for updates. Continue reading
Posted in Music, News, Pop and Rock, Recordings
Tagged Brenda Sauter, Dan Francia, Dromedary Records, Ed Seifert, Ed Seifert and the Stimulus Package, Ian Francia, John Baumgartner, Marc Francia, Michael Baumgartner, Rich Barnes, Shine, Speed the Plough, The Feelies, The Trypes, Toni Baumgartner, Wild Carnation
Heidi Rodewald and Stew. (Copyright 2009, Steven P. Marsh)
Stew, the singer-songwriter who fronts The Negro Problem and wrote the hit musical Passing Strange with musical partner Heidi Rodewald, makes much of his testy relationship with Broadway.
In fact, he makes specific reference to it in one of the newer Negro Problem tunes. He repeats, with great emphasis, “thank God I’m off Broadway.”
Thorny relationship notwithstanding, Stew and Heidi return next season to the scene of the crime, the place where Passing Strange took root and flowered: New York City’s Public Theater. Their new show, titled The Total Bent, is set for its world premiere on Feb. 14, 2012.
It’s no surprise that The Total Bent is a story about a musician. (Full description after the jump.) After all, Passing Strange was that, although it had a biographical arc that the promised new show appears to lack. (I wonder if they’ve actually started writing yet? They tend to be very deadline-motivated.)
The Strange pair are working with director Joanna Settle, who forged a deal with them to direct a show at The Public around the time Passing Strange was ending its Broadway run.
Stew and Heidi have been involved in Settle’s creative process for a couple of years, writing music for her Shakespeare on the Sound outdoor productions for the last two years.
Granted, a show at The Public doesn’t give Stew and Heidi a guaranteed ride on the Broadway Limited, but the odds are decent. We shall see.
Click through to the jump for details about the show.
Posted in Contemporary, Music, News, Pop and Rock, Theater
Tagged Heidi Rodewald, Joanna Settle, Stew, The Negro Problem, The Public Theater
Get ready for another amazing summer of free music and dance in Damrosch Park at Lincoln Center.
Bill Bragin, director of public programming, on Tuesday morning announced the Lincoln Center Out of Doors lineup. And it’s a doozy, featuring Billy Bragg, Mavis Staples, Lesley Gore, the Family Stone, Laurie Anderson, Tan Dun and much, much more.
Lincoln Center Out of Doors kicks off July 27 and runs through Aug. 14. It’s all free and worth checking out.
Click here for all the details.
The Feelies at Maxwell's in Hoboken, N.J., in 2009. (Photo copyright 2009, Steven P. Marsh)
Now who could possibly know better what The Feelies are up to than the daughter of one of the band members? (Well, maybe her dad, but don’t tell her that!)
With that in mind, I reached out to the delightful Katie Demeski, daughter of the great New Jersey band’s drummer Stanley Demeski and his wife Janice. One of Katie’s blogs, How Strange, Innocence, is a leading source of reliable information about what the band is up to. It’s not the quantity so much as the quality of her information that makes the blog worth checking.
But a day or two ahead of the release of Here Before, the band’s first new album in 19 years, I checked in and realized she hadn’t blogged about The Feelies since last Sept. 8, when she reported the band was going into the studio. Granted, she’s in college and holding down a job, so it’s not like she has a ton of free time.
Luckily, when I messaged her, she was just about to do a quick update. It’s live on her blog now, with pretty much everything you need to know about their upcoming shows, plus some info about Speed the Plough, a band that’s part of The Feelies’ extended family. .
Suffice it to say The Feelies aren’t in any huge hurry to hit the road simultaneously with the release of their album. In fact, the band’s first public show (not counting a students-only gig this month at SUNY Purchase) comes at The Bell House in Gowanus, Brooklyn, on May 13, a full month after the album’s release! That show, not surprisingly, appears to be sold out.
Please go to Katie’s blog for more details, including some tantalizing information about an outdoor gig in Brooklyn. I don’t want to spoil it for you.
TV on the Radio at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia. (Photos copyright 2011, Steven P. Marsh)
It’s hard to imagine that TV on the Radio will be able to rock Radio City Music Hall on Wednesday, April 13, the way they did the Electric Factory in Philadelphia a few days earlier.
TV on the Radio's Tunde Adebimpe sings and plays keyboards.
The Brooklyn band kicked off its tour in support of its new album, Nine Types of Light, at the relatively intimate Philadelphia venue on Friday, April 8. The band kept the crowd entranced with a good mix of older and new songs — some that they had never performed in concert before.
The new material, which comes across as almost blueslike on the CD, really rocked out. This was TV on the Radio at its best.
The downside to seeing this band at Radio City Music Hall is that so few people
Kyp Malone didn't let a broken string hamper his guitar playing.
in the audience will get to see the players up close. That sort of personal, visual involvement with the band is an important part of the show. But even so, it’s certain TVOTR will deliver a solid set to the hometown crowd.
Click through to the jump to see the more TVOTR photos, the setlist and photos of the opening bands.
Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone? 