Tag Archives: Williamsburg

Cynthia Hopkins samples the candy and finds it bittersweet

Posted on June 19, 2014 | 1 comment
Cynthia Hopkins in a solo performance at Pete's Candy Store, 709 Lorimer St., Williamsburg, Brooklyn, on June 17, 2014. (Photo © 2014, Steven P. Marsh/willyoumissme.com)

Cynthia Hopkins in a solo performance at Pete’s Candy Store, 709 Lorimer St., Williamsburg, Brooklyn, on June 17, 2014. (Photo © 2014, Steven P. Marsh/willyoumissme.com)

How long has Pete’s Candy Store been a concert venue on the Northside of Williamsburg, Brooklyn?

I’ve been meaning to get thee since the day it opened, but something always got in the way — my schedule,  other priorities, whatever.

So what (or should I say who) did it take to finally get me there?

Cynthia Hopkins, that’s who. Continue reading →

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Posted in Country, Folk, Music, Off-Broadway, Pop and Rock, Review, Singer-Songwriter, Theater

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Big talent cultivates big prog-rock sound in Big Farm

Posted on April 2, 2012 | Leave a comment

Don’t miss the all-star ensemble’s gig at Public Assembly

Who knows when they’ll play again

Big Farm: Jason Treuting, Steven Mackey, Mark Haanstra and Rinde Eckert.

Q. Did you hear the one about the Pulitzer Prize finalist, the Guggenheim fellow, one of the leading new music percussionists and a Dutch Jazz Competition-winning bassist got together to make some garage rock?

A. Big Farm was born.

Janus Trio

Never heard of Big Farm? Go to Public Assembly at 70 North 6th St., Williamsburg, Brooklyn, at 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 7, and you’ll never forget them. (They’re on a bill with Janus Trio, a great Brooklyn-based flute-viola-harp trio.) Admission is $10 at the door.

Time Out NY has called Big Farm “something like a Blind Faith-style supergroup,” given the accomplishments of the individuals in the band. Jason Treuting, the drummer, is perhaps the most recognizable member of the versatile percussion ensemble So Percussion. Steven Mackey, the sizzling lead guitarist, is a former Guggenheim fellow, a Grammy winner and an accomplished New Music composer. Bassist Mark Haanstra is an incredibly talented jazz player from the Netherlands. And Rinde Eckert, the vocalist, was a finalist for the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for his “Orpheus X” and also a Guggenheim fellowship. Continue reading →

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Posted in Concerts, Contemporary, Contemporary Classical, Music, News, Pop and Rock, Recordings

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Bachelorette playing an intimate show in Brooklyn before hitting the road with The Magnetic Fields

Posted on March 1, 2012 | Leave a comment

Annabel Alpers of Bachelorette

One-woman act makes dreamy, psychedelia-tinged pop

There’s something about Bachelorette, the nom de rock of New Zealander Annabel Alpers, that’s immediately appealing. Our very first impression of her is that she’s a self-directed Beth Orton who charts her own course without being at the mercy of producers and DJs.

If your first exposure to this Drag City recording artist’s dreamy, pyschedelic girl-group sound is via her most recent recordings, you might not agree. But check out this video, recording in someone’s living room, on the Australian music blog Polaroids of Androids, and you’re more likely to understand.

She’s not as folkie as Beth Orton, but she has a dreamy, somewhat fragile voice and a knack for lovely melody that evokes an Orton for a new generation, one who knows how to loop and manipulate sound live.

Continue reading →

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

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Beirut comes home, joined by Sharon Van Etten and Yellow Ostrich

Posted on June 18, 2011 | Leave a comment

Beirut at the 2011 Northside Festival. (Photos © 2011, Steven P. Marsh)

Zach Condon of Beirut.

The Northside Festival in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, brought one of our favorites, Beirut, back home on Friday night, June 17. It was a great evening of music that came off beautifully. Early downpours that threatened the whole night cleared just in time for the first of the three bands to hit the stage and stayed away.

Yellow Ostrich and Sharon Van Ettenplayed amazing sets. But most people in the audience were there for one thing only: Beirut. And they were not disappointed.

Here’s a taste of the touching, musically nuance performance, with a solo number at the encore by bandleader Zach Condon.

Continue reading →

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Posted in Concerts, Music, Pop and Rock, Review, World Music

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WOOM charms New York with DIY rock

Posted on May 26, 2010 | Leave a comment

Sara Magenheimer and Eben Portnoy make charmingly DIY music together as WOOM onstage at Death By Audio in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, on May 19, 2010. (Photos coypright 2010, Steven P. Marsh)

WOOM, a charming, Oakland, Calif., -based DIY duo, played two shows in New York City before heading to Europe to tour as an opener for Xiu Xiu well into June.

Will You Miss Me When I’m Gone? was fortunate to catch their set at Death By Audio in South Williamsburg, Brooklyn, last Wednesday (May 19, 2010), the night before they headed to Newark Liberty International Airport to head out on tour. The pair — Eben Portnoy on guitar and vocals and Sara Magenheimer on vocals and electronics — played a fuzzy, beat-driven set that was an absolute joy to hear.

WOOM at Death By Audio.

An Intimate Exchange of Ideas

The pair played their hearts out, bouncing ideas back and forth between them casually but with obvious skill.

The band is due back in New York City at the end of June for the Northside Festival, which runs from June 24-28 in Williamsburg and Greenpoint. Festival badges are $50 and available here.

WOOM’s first full-length album is scheduled to drop on June 28 on Ba Da Bing Records. In the meantime, check out WOOM’s music on MySpace.

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Posted in Concerts, Music, Pop and Rock

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