Jeremy Lin might have the Knicks linning at the Garden, but he has a long way to go to match the record posted by the most successful basketball team ever. The Harlem Globetrotters are back in town for their annual Black History Month visit, appearing at the Izod Center http://www.meadowlands.com/ in New Jersey on February 17 (7:00) and 20 (1:00), Madison Square Garden on February 18 (7:30), the Prudential Center in Newark on February 18 (1:00), and the Nassau Coliseum on February 19 (1:00 & 5:00). Founded back in 1926 by Ape Saperstein and originally called the Savoy Big Five, the Globetrotters have won more than 22,000 games while losing fewer than 400; they haven’t been on the short end of a score since 2006. Be sure to get their early to catch the team perform its Magic Circle pregame warm-ups, where you can marvel at the massive skills displayed by such current players as Airport, TNT, Cheese, Hacksaw, Dizzy, Click, Hi-Lite, Scooter, Tiny, Stretch, Too Tall, and Jacob “Hops” Tucker.
twi-ny recommended events
OTHER LIVES
Other Lives will hit the Bowery Ballroom before joining Radiohead later this month (photo by James Rhodes)
Bowery Ballroom
6 Delancey St. between Bowery & Christie St.
Friday, February 17, $15, 9:00
212-533-2111
www.otherlives.com
www.boweryballroom.com
Before joining up with Radiohead at the end of the month, U.S. band Other Lives are going on a whirlwind tour of North America, hitting fourteen cities in eighteen nights. The quintet is on the road in support of their second disc, the lovely Tamer Animals (TBD Records, May 2011), a lush suite of songs that swirl and flow into one another effortlessly. Recorded over a span of sixteen months in their hometown of Stillwater, Oklahoma, Tamer Animals consists of eleven carefully constructed soundscapes that evoke Ennio Morricone and Pink Floyd while delving into Western balladry, Asian traditional music, and medieval epics. The songs combine lofty, existential poetic lyrics with lilting, ethereal background vocals that reach to the heavens. “Solitary motion, in the wake of an avalanche / Deer in the headlights, there goes a weaker one / He’s listenin’ in the fast gaze, I don’t care now to see the way / Do you hear the silence? I was far too late,” Jesse Tabish sings over a haunting minimalist piano on the title track. “We’re on our way,” he adds in the acoustic “Dust Bowl III.” Featuring Tabish on piano, guitar, and lead vocals, Josh Onstott on bass and organ, Jenny Hsu on cello and piano, Colby Owens on drums, and Jonathon Mooney on piano, violin, and guitar, Other Lives are indeed on their way. You can catch them at the Bowery Ballroom on February 17 with Sydney-based five-piece WIM and Brooklyn duo Lucius.
THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY OF STEVE JOBS
Mike Daisey takes on Steve Jobs and Apple in his latest one-man show at the Public (photo by Kevin Berne)
Martinson Theater at the Public
425 Lafayette St.
Extended through March 18, $75-$85
212-967-7555
www.publictheater.org
www.mikedaisey.blogspot.com
Less than a week before Mike Daisey’s one-man show The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs was set to open at the Public Theater this past October, its title subject died. “This moment is an opportunity to peel back the surface and get at the secret heart of our relationship with Steve Jobs,” Daisey explained in a statement that announced that the show would still go on as scheduled. After its successful run in the fall, The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs is back through March 4, with Daisey exploring as only he can America’s love-hate relationship with Apple — and Apple’s disturbing relationship with China. Seated behind a desk with only a glass of water, yellow lined sheets of paper filled with scribbled notes, and a black cloth to regularly mop his face, Daisey (The Last Cargo Cult, How Theater Failed America) is an entertaining mix of Spalding Gray, Lewis Black, Sam Kinison, and Michael Moore. First gaining prominence with 21 Dog Years, his monologue about working at Amazon.com, Daisey now turns his attention to one of Amazon’s chief rivals, Apple. With gleeful delight and no shame whatsoever, Daisey proudly proclaims himself to be a major techno-geek obsessed with every new gadget Jobs, Wozniak, and company come up with, particularly the latest world-changing sensation, the iPhone. But he also reveals the dark underside of Apple, detailing his trip to Shenzhen, China, where the enormous Foxconn facility makes half of the Earth’s electronic products, including Apple’s. Posing as a journalist, Daisey spoke with Foxconn employees who were quick to discuss horrific working conditions that result in so many suicide attempts that the factory has put nets up to catch the jumpers. For much of the two-hour show, Daisey marvelously balances humor and pathos, gesturing with his hands and pausing for just the right effect, but when he turns into more of an activist, not only pointing out Apple’s questionable decisions regarding its association with Foxconn but insisting that the public needs to get involved and do something about it, the play goes overboard into a didacticism that would be better left on the cutting-room floor by director Jean-Michele Gregory. And at one point, Daisey seems to stop the play in its tracks to yell at the audience when describing the ridiculous size of the Foxconn complex, creating an unnerving moment that detracts from an otherwise masterfully told tale. But being an activist is part of what Daisey is all about, as shown by his recent appearances on Real Time with Bill Maher and other television programs, his comments on the New York Times finally delving into the Apple-China connection, and a hand-out distributed to the audience on their way out of the theater. To spread the word, Daisey will even be releasing a free PDF transcript of The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs on his website, encouraging people to put on the play themselves, in any format they want. Steve Jobs was a genius who changed the world; Daisey continues to show that in his own way, he is a genius as well, albeit one with a very different agenda.
VIDEO OF THE DAY — SLEIGH BELLS: “COMEBACK KID”
“Comeback Kid,” the brand-new video from Brooklyn-based duo Sleigh Bells, blows out of the speakers like machine-gun fire as vocalist Alexis Krauss, clutching a rifle, gleefully bounces up and down on a bed. Krauss and her musical partner, Derek E. Miller, are about to release their second LP, Reign of Terror (Mom + Pop, February 21, 2012), the follow-up to their hit debut, 2010’s Treats. The new disc ranges from poppy dance anthems to heavy guitar-driven blasts to slower, moodier songs, influenced by family tragedy that has struck Miller in a big way; since the first record, his father died in a motorcycle accident, and his mother contracted cancer. But there’s still plenty of fun to be had on Reign of Terror, which is highlighted by such tracks as “Born to Lose,” “Demons,” “Road to Hell,” “Never Say Die,” “D.O.A.,” and “Leader of the Pack,” which begins with the revving of motorcycle engines in a tribute to the girl-group classic. Sleigh Bells will be at Terminal 5 on February 17 ($25.20, 8:00) with Black Bananas and Wet Witch (which includes Krauss’s fiancé, Tyler Mate). You can watch the live stream for free as part of the new Bowery Presents Live series; in addition, you can check out a full stream of the new album for a limited time here.
AFTER WORDS: A CONVERSATION WITH CYNTHIA NIXON
Cynthia Nixon will discuss WIT at the Greene Space on February 16 (photo by Joan Marcus)
The Greene Space
44 Charlton St. at Varick St.
Thursday, February 16, $20 ($15 with code GREENE), 5:00
www.thegreenespace.org
www.witonbroadway.com
After we recently saw Wit, Margaret Edson’s marvelous Pulitzer Prize–winning play that is making its Broadway debut at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, we wrote that “Cynthia Nixon is magnificent as Vivian Bearing; for all her eccentricities, Bearing should not be a sympathetic character, but Nixon turns the lonely, snarky woman, who has no real friends or family, into a delightful character who is not afraid to look death in the face.” The play deals with Bearing’s battle with stage IV metastatic ovarian cancer with both humor and seriousness. Following that matinee, cast members Greg Keller, Carra Patterson, and Jessica Dickey participated in a talk back with the audience, shedding illuminating light on the production’s creative process. On Thursday at 5:00, Keller (Dr. Jason Posner) and Patterson (nurse Susie Monahan) will join Tony and Emmy winner Nixon, herself a breast cancer survivor, for a special presentation at the Greene Space, going behind the scenes in a conversation moderated by WNYC’s Amy Eddings as part of the Manhattan Theatre Club’s “After Words” series. Tickets are $20, but if you use the code “GREENE,” they’re only $15.
LOOK BACK IN ANGER
Cliff (Adam Driver), Alison (Sarah Goldberg), and Jimmy (Matthew Rhys) are rather intimate roommates in Roundabout revival (photo by Joan Marcus)
Roundabout at Laura Pels Theatre
Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre
111 West 46th St. between Sixth & Seventh Aves.
Through April 8, $71-$81
212-719-1300
www.roundabouttheatre.org
In 1956, John Osborne’s autobiographical Look Back in Anger exploded onto the British theater scene, taking the familiar English drawing-room comedy and turning it inside out and upside down, railing about class warfare, politics, sex, family, and social structure in a less-than-polite manner. It was written by an angry young man, Osborne, about an angry young man, Jimmy Porter, who spewed venom at every opportunity. The original stage production moved to Broadway in 1957, where it was nominated for a Tony for Best Play, and the next year it hit the big screen with Richard Burton playing Jimmy; all three versions were directed by Tony Richardson, who went on to make such highly regarded films as The Entertainer (cowritten by Osborne), Tom Jones, and The Border. (A 1989 television movie directed by Judi Dench starred Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson.) Upon being named associate artist at the Roundabout, director Sam Gold (Seminar, August: Osage County) decided that his first production would be an updated version of the controversial drama, which makes an immediate impact via Andrew Lieberman’s powerful set, which transforms the Laura Pels Theatre into an intimate black box, with the stage a long, narrow horizontal platform only several feet deep, backed by a floor-to-ceiling black wall. Strewn about the stage are empty cans, half-eaten bites of food, and ragged clothing. When the cast enters, they’re nearly sitting on the audience’s lap; Gold leaves the lights on at first, as if everyone is inside this fleabag attic apartment. As Jimmy (Matthew Rhys) and his best friend, Cliff (Adam Driver), read the papers, argue, and wrestle, Jimmy’s wife, Alison (Sarah Goldberg), is busy at an ironing board, her shirt open to reveal her bra as if it’s no big deal. At the start, it’s hard to tell which of the men, if not both, is with Alison; while Jimmy goes on and on about British society, Cliff lays a flurry of kisses on Alison, who happily accepts them. But it soon becomes apparent that the loud, ranting Jimmy and the sweetly innocent, well-born Alison are indeed husband and wife, although perhaps not for long if Jimmy cannot control his nasty temper. And when Alison’s friend Helena (Charlotte Parry) arrives, she drives a wedge between the married couple that sets up a heated second act.
Alison and Jimmy share a rare quiet moment in LOOK BACK IN ANGER (photo by Joan Marcus)
Making his New York theater debut, the Welsh Rhys is a commanding force onstage, searing with electric energy while hiding a subtle vulnerability looming just beneath his angry veneer. The play has lost some of its punch over the years; the original’s attack on British society is much tamer and too general in a world all too familiar with such public criticism. Gold’s direction overcomes many of those flaws, adding a suprising intimacy; when Jimmy and Cliff fight, it feels like they could fall off the stage at any moment. And the night we saw the show, when Jimmy slams a drawer against the back wall, one of the resulting pieces of broken wood nearly struck a man sitting in the first row. Gold has also eliminated one of the main characters, Colonel Redfern, which turns out to be a wise decision, as he’s not missed at all. But this is Rhys’s show all the way; his Jimmy is a compelling character who initially does not elicit sympathy for all his mean-spirited mad ramblings, but by the end it is clear why Alison, Cliff, and Helena are so drawn to him, as you will be too. Look Back in Anger might not be quite as angry as it once was, but it is still well worth a look back in this strong, fiery production.
TWI-NY TALK: CANDIDATE
Brooklyn-based Candidate will be celebrating Valentine’s Day at Mercury Lounge
Tuesday, February 14, Mercury Lounge, $10, 9:30
Monday, February 27, Spike Hill, free, 8:00
www.candidatesound.com
Brooklyn-based trio Candidate embraces four decades of American and British rock and roll and wraps it up in a sweet little twenty-first-century indie package. Guitarists Laurence Adams and Cedric Sparkman, who hail from Hazard, Kentucky, bonded over a Smiths album and eventually went on to form the Poor Richards. They soon added Cincinnati native Jason Matuskiewicz, who learned the bass for their new trio, Varsovia. The band changed its name to Candidate and played its first show ever in their original hometown of Lexington, Kentucky, in November 2010, followed seven months later by the release of its debut disc, A New Life, a delightful collection of pop hooks that includes such infectious songs as “I’d Come Running” and “Never Get Enough.”
Not to be confused with the UK band of the same name, Candidate then moved to Brooklyn, where it is currently putting the finishing touches on its sophomore effort, which features a dramatic leap forward on such powerful tunes as “April Again,” “Brutal,” and the horn-laden “NYC or Bust,” on which Sparkman declares, “One day I will die / and wish I’d given it a try / I will not just survive / I will thrive / So as fast as I can run / You will see me, here I come.” Hot on the heels of its February 3 appearance at the Cameo Gallery, Candidate is coming to Mercury Lounge on Valentine’s Day, playing with Brother Reverend, followed by a free gig at Spike Hill on February 27 with I Anthem, American Restless, and the Matt Albeck Group. Matuskiewicz, who handles much of the band’s blogging, recently discussed Brooklyn, bromance, earboners, and more in our latest twi-ny talk.
twi-ny: You recently moved from Lexington, Kentucky, to Brooklyn. How is the Borough of Kings treating you?
Candidate: We love it!!! Laurence and I live on the outskirts, near the Wastes, at the border of Midgar and Megaton. So, we get to lug our gear around after forever-long train rides on the Killer L, hoping its robot overlords are not particularly displeased with humanity that day — if its running at all. Our building was billed as containing “artist’s lofts,” but they forgot to append “with forever leaking ceilings” to their description of these fine abodes. And yet, with all that being true, it is still incredible to be here. We’ve met a lot of really great people, ridiculously talented musicians, and gotten a drummer [Chris Infusino] who is a real live music professional.
twi-ny: You played your second New York City gig ever at Cameo Gallery in Brooklyn on February 3 as part of Amy Grimm’s Whatever Blog Party. How did that come about?
Candidate: Superproducer (and genius) Justin Craig played a DJ set with his cohort, Jesse Elliott, both of rock supergroup These United States, while we were recording our new album. He introduced us to Amy at the show. After that we followed up with her with what I am sure was a super-professional introduction that probably didn’t contain any quotes along the lines of “if after listening to this you wonder how it is possible to pee on yourself and have a boner at the same time, please know that it is because the source of these jams is real-life heartbreak, by far the greatest source of earboners in the history of the world.”
Candidate will break out their new songs at a pair of upcoming local shows
twi-ny: Did the show live up to that hard-to-top introduction?
Candidate: The show was incredible. Big shout-out to the Yoni Gordon Orchestra, Elliot and the Ghost, and Howth, all of whom put on a great show.
Our new album is much more lush in terms of production than the first one, so for the live setting the new songs were stripped down and much more raw than their recorded counterparts. I’m told by the aforementioned genius, Justin Craig, that the crowd was feeling us, but I felt as if there was some confusion in the audience. Here is my impression of their internal monologue: “Uhm. Why are these dudes throwing their instruments around, and why is their singer running around like a crazed maniac, and what are these ‘feelings’ and these ‘emotions’ they seem to exude? Why, I don’t think these songs are winking at me at all!!! Swoon.” So, we were a little bit more sloppy than normal, but full of energy.
twi-ny: As you mentioned, your upcoming record is indeed more lush, with a bigger, broader sound than A New Life. Craig played on the previous album, but now he’s behind the boards. What were the recording sessions like?
Candidate: Despite being behind the boards, Justin played more parts on the new record than the last one. The sessions were great. We recorded the album at Translator Audio in Park Slope. It was engineered by Andrew Gerhan, who also plays in the Lupine Chorale Society, with Adam Arcuragi — who also happens to be pretty great. The people at Translator were very helpful. So, I want to thank them for that.
As you can tell from the previous answer, I have mixed feelings about Mr. Craig’s abilities. I jest. He’s amazing. The sessions followed a pretty traditional method of recording. Drums first, then bass, then guitar, keyboard, found sounds, and vocal overdubs from my dog, Lu-Lu. And of course, no song is complete until something is pitch shifted. Justin brought a lot of ideas to the songs. They were pretty uniformly great ideas. Beware: Trite musical comparison ahead. I would liken Justin’s role to that of Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois’s role in the production of U2 albums. He had a very large part in shaping the sound of the album.
Allow me to digress a bit. With the last one, we were very purposefully 100% independent, and not at all self-righteous about it. Just kidding; we were a tiny bit self-righteous about it. We were enamored with the idea that, given the reach of the internet and what have you, it is viable to be totally independent and do everything yourself. It isn’t. What you wind up doing is creating an organizational structure that mimics a label, which you pay for out of pocket, or you neglect integral functions because you just don’t have enough time to do everything. For instance, Laurence and I have been planning on doing a self-administered college radio campaign for a while. There is, however, no way for us to update our list of program directors that will not take about twenty hours. Seriously. So, we’re probably more proud than we should be with what we’ve managed to do with no publicist, no label, nothing but ourselves. But we’re ready to move on from that. We’ve recently signed on some licensing reps, so if we can get some of that sweet, sweet corporate cash, we’ll put that to some good, tirelessly self-promotional enterprise. We’ve also been talking to some labels about the album a bit. Plus, we’ve sent off some exemplar tracks to labels that still accept unsolicited demos. (Labels that still do this, thank you for not being stuck-up douches.) So, we’ll see what happens. I’m hoping sooner than later, but I am prepared to exercise a novel virtue — patience.
twi-ny: You’ll be at Mercury Lounge on Valentine’s Day, promising “an evening of romance and bromance.” Got anything special planned for that?
Candidate: Anytime the fellas in Candidate get together, there is more than enough bromance to go around. The excellent folks in Brother Reverend are giving away a special limited edition collector’s item in the form a fantastic T-shirt to commemorate the occasion. Plus, our first album, A New Life, is “pay what you want” on Bandcamp until after the show — meaning that it is essentially free, if you want it to be. We’re also playing a bunch of the new songs, which is always very exciting.