December 24, 2006
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
THIS WEEK IN MUSIC: DEC 25 – 31Monday, December 25
Michael Powers
Terra Blues
$15
Powers, a Blues club stalwart, has been gifted not only with a rare guitar-playing prowess (he started playing at the ambitious age of 7) but also a tremendously soulful voice. If by "soulful" you're thinking Usher or Common, think again. Powers possesses the vocal complexity that comes from a cocktail of years playing in smoky clubs, tremendous passion and a whole lot of miles traveled. Having played with everyone from Chuck Berry to John Lee Hooker and influenced by the likes of Jimmy Reed, Billie Holiday and Muddy Waters, this is an opportunity to see and hear a genuine Blues icon.
Tuesday, December 26
Jeff Lewis Band
Mercury Lounge
$8
Brought up on a healthy diet of comic books, drawing and the music of New York's Anti-folk scene, Jeff Lewis found a home at the label, Rough Trade. He writes appealing, introverted, sometimes quirky observational pieces that deal with angst, self-doubt and humor.
Wednesday, December 27
The Psychedelic Furs
BB King's Blues Club & Grill
$33 Seminal New York based/ UK Post-punk/New Romantic act The Psychedelic Furs had their first real success state-side in 1981 when their, Talk Talk Talk album was released. Hits like Pretty In Pink (which formed the inspiration for John Hughes' classic 1986 film of the same name), Dumb Waiters, Heaven, and Love My Way cemented them for many as a cornerstone to their 80's experience.
Thursday, December 28
Christina Courtin's Running Kicks
Mo Pitkin's
$10 Violin & vocal phenomenon Christina Courtin has a voice that is naturally rich, strong, and soulful. She performs classical harmonies over a blend of jazz, traditional, acoustic, & blues music. Christina Courtin, Kyle Sanna, & Mathias Kunzli perform together as the Running Kicks, a vibrant ensemble based in New York City who create a unique blend of classical, jazz, traditional, acoustic, blues, & soul.
Friday, December 29
Patti Smith
Bowery Ballroom
$40
Legendary punk artist Patti Smith performs the first in a trio of shows, in this case the night before her 60th birthday. Though not commercially successful, Smith's influence across many music genres is immense. She is truly an icon of New York's original punk scene but her talent as a singer-songwriter, poet, and human rights advocate has seen her transcend any genre or label.
Saturday, December 30
Spoon
Webster Hall
$32 adv/ $35
Though yet to release their long-awaited new album, Trouble Minx (their sixth) that will see the light of day in early 2007 through Merge Records, one can expect some test-flight performances this night. Your indie-rock never sounded so good. What better way to end the year than to be able to put a check next to the box that says, "hear new Spoon songs live!"?
Sunday, December 31
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Hammerstein Ballroom
$42 The deafening noise surrounding this act (yes, they do sound a little like Talking Heads – now move on) has finally started to subside. Now you can check them out, not because they're the latest "hype" band but because they're simply a clever pop band with good, catchy songs. With the release of Some Loud Thunder slated for release in early 2007 and an imminent European tour on track for Jan/ Feb, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah have afforded you the opportunity to check 'em out and be able to say to your pals, "Yeah, I saw 'em back in '06".
Tags:
Acoustic, Anti Folk, Billie Holiday, Blues, Bowery Ballroom, Christina Courtin, Chuck Berry, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Classical, Indie, Indie Rock, Jazz, Jeff Lewis Band, Jimmy Reed, John Hughes, John Lee Hooker, Love My Way, Merge Records, Michael Powers, Muddy Waters, New Romantic, New York Bands, Patti Smith, Post Punk, Pretty In Pink, Punk, Rough Trade, Singer Songwriter, Soul, Spoon, Talking Heads, The Pschedelic Furs, Webster Hall
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Posted on 12/24/2006
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December 20, 2006
If you've had the privilege of witnessing a show or performance in The Allen Room space at Jazz at Lincoln Center you can see why this is one of the most coveted live venues in the city. With elevated views through its glass wall across Central Park and down 59th Street, the audience finds themselves suspended over the bejeweled city prominently displaying its lights.
Yusuf Islam made a public departure from his successful music career approximately 30 years ago, choosing a life of faith, charity and the education of underprivileged children globally – of the Islamic faith and not.
No more than a couple of years ago while on holidays with his family, Islam picked up his son's guitar for the first time in a quarter century and reignited his passion for playing music. He came to realize that as his faith and belief in Islam had been a gift, as was his ability to reach people through his songwriting. He began following the threads of songs that had been bouncing around in his mind. Lyrics and melodies that had been collected for decades had been finally been given an outlet. Describing the moment on stage last night (December 19, 2006), he said his hands just felt at home holding the guitar and he instictively began to play.
On hand for this private performance were some 400 guests: media, VIP's, competition winners and also KCRW Radio's cult DJ and music guru Nic Harcourt. Chatting with Islam on several occasions during the performance, he asked the questions everyone was so eagerly thinking regarding his departure from the public eye and return to his craft. Obligingly and openly, Islam answered with charisma, humility and humor. Tune in here tomorrow to hear a special KCRW interview/ acoustic performance.
My companion for the evening rightly commented on the fact that instead of being as she had expected; stoic, closed, earnest, hardened from years away from his audience, that Islam was the opposite: generous, frank, engaging and droll.
Yusuf has a new album, An Other Cup, (out now on Atlantic Records) and he seems equally comfortable performing his new songs as he does his former hits.
A special dedication was made to the recently departed Atlantic Records founder, Ahmet Ertegun in the form of his classic song, Peace Train. Islam described Ertegun as being one of the most important musical figures of all time.
Closing his set with Father And Son, Islam sang, "I am old but I am happy". Older, maybe. Wiser, possibly. Still a songwriting legend, definitely.
Tags:
Allen Room, An Other Cup, Atlantic Records, Central Park, KCRW, Lincoln Center, Nic Harcourt, Yusuf Islam
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Posted on 12/20/2006
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December 18, 2006
The Mooney Suzuki
Monday, December 18
Macitajs on Acid
Irving Plaza
$10
Macitajs (or Priests) on Acid easily make it into the top 5 most innovative Latvian punk-rock bands currently touring through the Greenpoint area.
Tuesday, December 19
Sean Lennon
Bowery Ballroom
$22
While not the most prolific songwriter, Lennon has more than made up for lost time studying light installations by obscure, militant, Yugoslavian designers with a penchant for breeding black doves. His current album, Friendly Fire is a triumph and not only is his writing heart-achingly sharp, his sense of melody is breath taking. Click here to listen to Dead Meat then eat humble pie.
Wednesday, December 20
Teenage Prayers
Mercury Lounge
$8
New York's Teenage Prayers write infectious, dirgy indie-rock nuggets than can't help but get stuck in your teeth. Capable of both blistering foot-stompers tender soul-ballads, Teenage Prayers are here to carve out their own piece of the musical landscape.
Thursday, December 21
Gogol Bordello
Irving Plaza
$25
Combining elements of punk, gypsy music, and Brecht-ian cabaret, Gogol Bordello tells the story of New York's immigrant diaspora through debauchery, humor, and surreal costumes.
Friday, December 22
Mooney Suzuki
Maxwell's
$10
With a new label, a new record in the pipeline (Have Mercy is due for release in Feb 2007 through V2 Records) and a newfound urgency, Mooney Suzuki's story is only just beginning. Somewhere between The Guess Who and Give Out But Don't Give Up era Primal Scream is where you'll find these bold locals…struttin'.
Saturday, December 23
Knockout Drops
Bowery Ballroom
$50
The always humorous and chatty Knockout Drops play this benefit show with The Bogmen. Influenced by the greats: Rolling Stones, The Who, The Stone Roses, The Clash, The Stone Roses…and sounding like none of them, Knockout Drops are an entertaining lot with an increasingly consistent repertoire.
Sunday, December 24
Bach Vespers
Holy Trinity Lutheran Church
Danotionas accepted
The
'Bach Vespers' Service, as presented at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church,
is modeled on Bach's practice from 18th-century Germany. Religious-minded or not, this is an enjoyable event inside a New York City landmark.
Tags:
Bach, Bowery Ballroom, Gogol Bordello, Indie Music, Indie Rock, Knockout Drops, Macitajs On Acid, Maxwells, Mooney Suzuki, New Music, New York Bands, Punk, Punk Rock, Rolling Stones, Sean Lennon, Teenage Prayers, The Clash, The Stone Roses, The Who, V2 Records
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Posted on 12/18/2006
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December 10, 2006
Ra Ra Riot
Monday, December 11 Blonde Acid Cult Sin é $8.00
Unsigned New York outfit, Blonde Acid Cult feed your taste-buds a not-so-healthy slice of psychedelic indie-rock. Fans of Kasabian, Velvet Underground, Primal Scream and their ilk could do worse than checking these promising lads out now before they sign their indie label deal (distributed through a major) and become impossible to chat to at the bar for all the waif models flanking them.
Tuesday, December 12 Damien Rice Beacon Theatre $35.00
Continuing his trade of fashioning sentimental - if not heart-wrenching - acoustic delights, Irish singer-songwriter Damien Rice returns to New York with a basket weighed down with tracks from his new record, 9. Pretty…
Wednesday, December 13 Ra Ra Riot Sin é $10
Playing a uniquely intelligent brand of indie-folk-rock, tunes dressed with cello and violin in amongst guitar and organ, this Syracuse, NY 6-piece is really starting to turn heads both in the US and overseas. NME recently reported them as being one of their hot 5 favorite bands to play CMJ. Suffice to say you'll be hearing (and saying) more about this act in the months to come.
Thursday, December 14 Aimee Mann The Town Hall $39.50 and $29.50
The much-lauded Alt-country artist Aimee Mann has been busy. Having released the acclaimed, The Forgotten Arm in 2005, she has also just put out her Christmas album, One More Drifter In The Snow which she will be featuring tracks from plus some very special guest appearances.
Friday December 15 The Lemonheads Irving Plaza $22.50 adv
Oh Evan Dando. You've made some monumental errors in judgment over the years: Selling guitars to buy drugs to then destroy your credibility on stage (with borrowed guitars) in front of your once-adoring audience. Blessed with more talent than his pretty blue eyes rightfully deserve, Dando had the salts to get back to what he does better than fucking things up; writing great songs. The eponymous new album sees Dando writing as good as he ever has (no, I can't believe it's not butter!) Frustratingly consistent, aggressively likable tunes that cause one to wonder finally…are The Lemonheads back?!
Saturday, December 16 Ray LaMontagne Beacon Theatre $30
"Timeless", "Classic" and other clichéd descriptions of music styles get passed around like cheap papyrus at a Luxor bazaar but in LaMontagne's case, they're deserved. Though painfully shy on-stage, it is here that LaMontagne belongs. Possessing the most soulfully rich vocals this side of the Mississippi, his carefully crafted songs transcend the notion of lazy labels like "blue-eyed soul". An experience not to be missed.
Sunday, December 17 Matisyahu/ Ben Kweller Hammerstein Ballroom $32.00 adv
Taking Hasidic reggae/ hip-hop to the masses, Matisyahu provides a unique perspective on popular music by drawing from influences new and old…or should we say, ancient. Teaming up on this occasion with NY resident indie-rocker, Ben Kweller, this gig promises a celebration of diversity and let's face it, great music.
Tags:
Aimee Mann, Alternative, Ben Kweller, Blonde Acid Cult, Damien Rice, Evan Dando, Indie, Kasabian, Lemonheads, New Music, New York Bands, Pop Music, Primal Scream, Ra Ra Riot, Ray LaMontagne, Velvet Underground
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Posted on 12/10/2006
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December 05, 2006
Maybe you love these kinds of stories the way i do:
In Melbourne, Australia a few years ago a couple were rummaging through some items at a Camberwell flea market. It was a chilly Sunday morning and the market was alive with the usual varied collection of shoppers; the young girls looking for the so-out-they're-in vintage clothes, the men looking for old tools and petrol tins to add to their extensive collections, the upmarket couples looking for antiques, the buskers and the hot-doughnut sellers.
This Sunday was different for a couple who walked away from the markets having bought a couple of small, Indonesian stone-carved figures for a negligible amount of money. Within a couple of weeks it was determined that these figures were actually rare artifacts and worth several hundred thousand dollars.
The Sunday that followed this news, the market was filled to capacity with new hopefuls.
This brings us to the latest international episode and I say international because it has sparked interest from across the globe, from everywhere Rock n' Roll has spread its reach.
In 2002, Warren Hill, a Canadian music fan was going though some fire-damaged records at a Chelsea, New York yard sale and came across an acetate of the first Velvet Underground recording from 1966, the only one of its kind known to still exist. The acetate contains alternate versions of tracks such as European Son, All tomorrow's Parties, Run Run Run and I'm Waiting For The Man. Not an unwise purchase at just 75 cents.
The item was authenticated by ex-Columbia Records executive, Norman Dolph who had been present at the recording and it's now up for auction on ebay where, at the time of writing has reached more than $120,000.00 with more than 3 days left until the close of the auction.
You may start crying....................now.
Tags:
Chelsea, ebay, New York Bands, Nico, Punk, Velvet Underground
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Posted on 12/5/2006
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December 03, 2006
The Grates
Monday, December 4 Town Hall Ryan Adams $35 This prolific NYC resident plays the first in a trio of nights at the Town Hall. The guy Elton John refers to as "Oh Fabulous One" doesn't disappoint live and will give it a good solid couple of hours before retreating for an encore.
Tuesday, December 5
Scary Mansion(All ages) Micheline's $6 Lead vocalist Leah Hayes' impassioned, melancholic vocals make Cat Power's Chan Marshall sound positively euphoric. Remarkably unsigned, this Brooklyn based, art-rock outfit stand a better than even money chance of swiping your heart from you so tread carefully.
Wednesday, December 6
The Grates Mercury Lounge $10 And who doesn't love a bargain? $10? You couldn't make it for that?! Australia's The Grates write punchy, quirky pop-spasms that will get you po-going…even if it's only on the inside. 19-20-20! 19-20-20! Indeed.
Thursday, December 7
Junior Boys Studio B $15 This Canadian synth-pop duo consisting of Jeremy Greenspan and Matthew Didemus capture their genre somewhere between Master and Servant era Depeche Mode and Poor Leno era Röyksopp to great effect.
Friday, December 8
Pernice Brothers/ Elvis Perkins Mercury Lounge $15 When it's chilly outside you can be guaranteed of the warmth radiating from this show. Playing tracks from their current album Live a Little, you'll find the straight up alterna-pop show both refreshing and sublime. Get there early and catch Rhode Island singer/ songwriting sensation Elvis Perkins!
Saturday, December 9
We Are Scientists (Under 21s) North Six $15 At a time when the idea of yet another yipster British (influenced) new-wave, high-hat abusing indie band causes you to recoil, along come We Are Scientists. This Brooklyn (is that west of Nottingham?) trio is quite simply, the shit. If you have room in your heart for one more band before the genre implodes, this is it. Dancing your ass off is a prerequisite.
Sunday, December 10
TubaChristmas Rockefeller Plaza Ice Rink FREE There really is nothing like Christmas in New York and one of the highlights of this period is the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center, the location for TubaChristmas. Gathered for the event are some 500 tuba players of all ages and abilities pumping out all your favorite Christmas carol faves.
Tags:
Australian, Australian Music, Brookyln Bands, Canadian Music, Christmas, Dancing Your Ass Off, Depeche Mode, Elton John, Junior Boys, New Music, New Wave, New York Bands, North Six, Pernice Brothers, Rockefeller Center, Royksopp, Ryan Adams, Scary Mansion, Synth Pop, The Grates, We Are Scientists
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Posted on 12/3/2006
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December 01, 2006
There are too many "What ifs" in rock history: What if someone had been there when John Bonham choked on his own vomit? What if someone close to Elliott Smith (other than his girlfriend obviously) had intervened the night of his alleged suicidal stabbing? What if Kurt Cobain had gone into the other room, had a nap and woke up with a fractionally different state of mind rather then going to the gun cupboard? I wonder if, knowing the following his music has today, Nick Drake would have taken a fatal does of anti-depressants back in 1974.
The circumstances surrounding the death of Nick Drake at his parent's home couldn't have been more tragic. Found in his bedroom, the young singer/ songwriter had long suffered from depression, insomnia and also a sense of alienation for his living years didn't provide him with the acclaim he now experiences. There was no question at the time that a rare talent existed within Drake. His music delved deep into the soul with his rich, textured vocals, unique acoustic style of strum-picking and implementation of "cluster-chords", a technique that many have since tried to emulate. However, commercial success eluded him.
Prior his death, Drake had released only three albums, Five Leaves Left (1969), Bryter Layter (1970), and Pink Moon (1972) and at the time not one of them had sold more than 5,000 copies.
"Do you know Nick Drake?" asked a friend of mine in the mid-90's. I knew the name but hadn't heard – at least knowingly – his music. Having been given, Way To Blue – An Introduction To Nick Drake, I'd lay there in bed, earphones in place (the best way to experience new records) mesmerized by what I heard. Every song washed over me like conversations with a new girlfriend where the more you knew, the more you want to know. Timeless, abstract melodies paired with enchanting chords that paradoxically seemed familiar yet nothing like anything I'd heard before.
Review your record collection. There are literally thousands of artists who swear by the tracks Drake left behind but here are just a handful that require no explanation, just a set of ears: Elliott Smith's XO, Belle & Sebastian's…well everything prior to Dear Catastrophe Waitress, Beck's Sea Change (pay particular attention to Round The Bend which I still mistake for Drake sometimes if my iPod is set on Shuffle), Camera Obscura, Beth Orton, Kings Of Convenience, Jose Gonzalez…the list goes on.
Though difficult to track down, a handful of Drake's songs were even covered by a then unknown vocalist called Elton John in 1968. Included in these recordings are versions of Day Is Done, Way To Blue and Time Has Told Me.
Though vocally sounding more in the vein of John Martyn - one of Drake's contemporaries, label-mate and friend - a relative newcomer, Alexi Murdoch has also found inspiration in Drake's concise catalogue. One of the most stunning tracks of 2006 is Murdoch's All My Days which seems to resurrect some of the same acoustic guitar offerings Drake played with such precision 35 years before.
In a rare stroke of genius on the part of an ad agency, Drake's Pink Moon was paired with VW's 2000 campaign for Golf Cabrio In a spectacular clash of cultures, eras, sensibilities, genres and philosophies, the ad threw Drake's music into the consciousness of a new generation of listeners and reignited interest in his catalogue. Shortly after, Island Records who had originally distributed his records re-mastered and re-released his albums to great effect. Drake's music was finally receiving the attention it so rightly deserved.
Though difficult to predict what the next chapter will bring for Nick Drake's legacy, whether it be more inclusions in film soundtracks (see The Royal Tenenbaums, Fever Pitch, Garden State, Serendipity etc) film dramas based on the life of Drake (as has been hinted for years) or simply the continued organic creation of new music by artists that in some small way owe credit to aspects of his music, you can predict with certainty that Drake's music will continue to touch listeners, new and old.
Tags:
A Way To Blue, Alexi Murdoch, Beck, Belle And Sebastian, Beth Orton, Bryter Layter, Camera Obscura, Elliott Smith, Fever Pitch, Fruit Tree, Garden State, Indie, John Bonham, John Martyn, Jose Gonzalez, Kings Of Convenience, Kurt Cobain, Nick Drake, Pink Moon, Serendipity, The Royal Tenenbaums, VW
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Posted on 12/1/2006
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