A nice, low-key evening at Union Hall last night. Dave Godowsky played clever songs on acoustic guitar while Takka Takka went indie pop, filled with organ and Gabe Levine's quavering vocals. Toronto's Ohbijou closed out the night with a quiet set of guitars and strings that sounded like something you'd hear in a snowbound cabin. Mmmm, pass the Yukon Jack.
I actually missed seeing any Make Music New York shows last year, but fortunately, it's back again for a second year on Saturday, June 21. If you're a musician and want to play, or if you own a store and want to host a lineup, you can register here.
Earlier this week, Celebrate Brooklyn and Central Park Summerstage released their lineups, and once again, it's a veritable smorgasbord of (mostly) free shows. Here are the ones you can expect to see me at:
Celebrate Brooklyn
6/12 - Isaac Hayes
6/14 - Miriam Makeba
6/19 - Medeski, Martin & Wood/Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog
6/22 - Salif Keita
6/24 - Gilberto Gil (paid show)
6/27 - Cold War Kids/Elvis Perkins/Sam Champion
7/5 - Michael Stuart/Grupo Essencia/Zemog el Gallo Bueno
7/9 - Feist (paid show)
7/11 - Brazilian Girls
7/12 - Beth Orton/Matt Munisteri
7/18 - Deerhoof/Metropolis Ensemble (Rite of Spring)
7/19 - Enter the Dragon with Karsh Kale
8/1 - Carl Davis with The Knights
8/3 - African Guitar Festival
Central Park Summerstage
6/14 - Vampire Weekend/Kid Sister/Ecstatic Sunshine
6/28 - Vieux Farka Toure
7/5 - Rachid Taha/Dengue Fever
7/6 - Seun Kuti
7/20 - Santogold/Diplo
8/2 - Roy Hargrove Big Band
8/6 - Sonny Rollins (paid show)
8/14 - Los Lobos/Los Lonely Boys
8/16 - Battles/Black Dice
8/17 - Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings
Unfortunately, I'll be out of town for Philip Glass on 7/25 and Ghostland Observatory on 7/26 (both in Brooklyn), but you should go.
Carla Bozulich wants to shake you up. She wants to offend you. She wants you to put down your newspaper, shut off your goddamned TV, and listen. If you do, you'll hear that she thinks you're beautiful. That you need to cut the word "Never" out of your vocabulary. And that the only word that can save us from the godforasken mess we've made of things - say it together, folks - is LOVE.
After a thorough second hearing, I can happily confirm that this woman is a powerhouse. So is her band, Evangelista, which includes a cellist, a guy with a laptop and a percussionist playing everything but the kitchen sink. (Oh, there are guitars, too.) Playing at Cake Shop last night, they created a raw, visceral yet intricate sound not all that far from what I heard a few blocks west at the HiFi Festival earlier in the evening. And, in case her band didn't wake you up, Bozulich repeatedly hauled her mic out into the audience, leaning against various unexpecting boys and girls to the brink of collapse. It was just like a revival meeting, without all that Jesus mumbo-jumbo.
Carla and a slightly-different lineup are off to Europe now, but will be back in mid-June, stopping off in NYC before touring the U.S. over the summer. Until then, you can sate yourself with the excellent Hello, Voyager which is getting raves all over the place.
I don't know if they planned it to coincide with Record Store Day, but the HiFi New Music Festival, which has been happening at various venues around NYC for the past two weeks, concludes today with an all-day marathon at the Hungarian Cultural Center on Broadway & Grand in SoHo. The afternoon set included a grating cello piece by Helmut Lachenmann, a trio of works for keyboard and sax played by The Kenners (pictured), and the rockin' JACK Quartet, playing Peter Eötvös' "Korrespondenz" and John Zorn's playful "Cat O' Nine Tails." Tonight's concert by Red Light New Music includes six new works, all by young composers. (More pictures after the jump.)
After this, I'll be heading over to Cake Shop to catch Carla Bozulich's Evangelista, who blew me away in Austin last month. Totally ridiculous that they're playing such a tiny venue - the Voice describes it as "no bigger than a pit bull's cage" - but I bet they'll be playing much bigger venues soon on the strength of their new album, "Hello, Voyager." Here's hoping I get in...
This blog has been, and always will be, about live music. But, one of my favorite pastimes has always been spending a spare hour or two sifting through the bins at record stores like the Tower Records where I grew up in New Jersey, or places like Kim's and Academy Records after I moved into the city. These stores were the gateway that opened wide the world of music to me, letting me know who and what I should bother seeing when they came to town.
Tower, of course, is no more, and shops like Academy are barely hanging on, buoyed by a relatively-recent online presence which allows them to peddle their wares far beyond 18th Street. But, let's face it: most people who get their music online these days aren't buying CD's. They're downloading. And, a lot of them don't even pay. Or, if they do, they'll burn CD's for their friends.
Well, tomorrow, you can show your support for your local record store at the first annual Record Store Day, where bands will be spinning their favorite records at shops all across the country. Here in New York, the epicenter will be Other Music on E. 4th St., which will have on hand The Black Keys, Grizzly Bear, Deerhunter and Interpol, among others. While you're there, you can pick up some discounted CD's and vinyl, as well as special editions by bands like Vampire Weekend and Built To Spill. Go - and leave the iPod at home.
Around 1am this morning, after three openers and soundchecks, things finally got interesting at the Market Hotel. Montreal's AIDS Wolf played a speedball set of noisecore, fronted by the banshee-like Chloe Lum. I've definitely grown a thing for this combination of freakish female vocals and wailing, discordant guitars, delivered with a searing, almost dangerous intensity (i.e. Evangelista, These Are Powers).
Deerhunter took the stage around 2am, but it was closer to 2:30 once they got their sound issues resolved. Bradford Cox, the band's lead singer and chief songwriter, said that they'd just finished recording their new album, and were going to play it through for us. "This is going to sound kinda rough," he apologized upfront. Actually, the band sounded pretty tight as they sailed through the album, mixing Cox's queer vocals with Sonic Youth-like walls of guitar. Unfortunately, half the crowd wasn't around any longer to hear it.
I wouldn't normally have a beef with the lateness of the gig, but it was advertised as a Deerhunter show, not one of Todd P's usual potluck showcases that he puts on three or four nights a week. I mean, four openers? Dude, is that really necessary? (More pics after the jump.)
Part 2 of my evening brings me out to the Mrytle Ave stop on the M train, somewhere in the no man's land between Bushwick and Bed-Stuy. The venue is a dilapidated former SRO known as The Market Hotel, run by promoter Todd P. The main draw tonight is the excellent Atlanta outfit Deerhunter, but before they take the stage, we're being made to suffer through a pair of screeching openers, too young and oblivious to care how godawful they sound. Oh well, at least the beer's cheap...
It would not be a reach to say that the breakout instrument of 2008 is the young male voice. Singers such as Beirut's Zach Condon and Bon Iver's Justin Vernon have caught fire favoring a high-pitched vibrato that floats over and/or penetrates the wall of electronics, guitars and other noisemakers (a.k.a., instruments) with which they typically share the stage.
Add to that list two more candidates, both heard last night at the spanking-new Music Hall of Williamsburg (formerly Northsix.) Nick Krgovich, of Vancouver's No Kids, sang sweetly over a repeating synth sound laced with marimbas and African-sounding rhythms. By contrast, Dave Longstreth, of Dirty Projectors, went balls out, projecting his quavering voice over his own intricate guitar and frequently changing tempos that sounded like nothing so much as Captain Beefheart. (As I've written previously, Longstreth is classically trained and a Yale School of Music dropout.) On many songs, he harmonized with guitarist Amber Hoffman and bassist Angel Deradoorian, creating weird overtones and other ethereal sounds. The packed, sold out house ate it all up. (More pics after the jump.)
That you can get good Brooklyn Beer at any bar for $3 before 8p. That there are galleries next to thrift stores next to record label offices. That you can forget your concert ticket at home and get a replacement for less than the cost of dinner. That you have to go to a gallery to buy a ticket to see Atlanta's Deerhunter Friday night (for $8!) and leave yr email so they can send you the undisclosed address. That the people here are free, fun and beautiful.
