twi-ny recommended events

FILM COMMENT SUMMER MELTDOWN

Mick Jagger gives one weird performance in Cammell & Roeg flick that is part of Lincoln Center summer series

PERFORMANCE (Donald Cammell and Nicolas Roeg, 1970)
Film Society of Lincoln Center, Walter Reade Theater
165 West 65th St. between Broadway & Amsterdam Ave.
Friday, August 13, 2:00; Monday, August 16, 4:00; Tuesday, August 17, 6:15
Series runs August 11-18
All-Access Pass: $99
www.filmlinc.com/wrt/onsale/fcssummer.html

A British gangster on the run hides out with a psychedelic rock star in this strangely enticing film from Donald (THE DEMON SEED) Cammell and Nicolas Roeg (making his big-screen directorial debut). James Fox didn’t know what he was getting into when he signed on to play Chas, a mobster who finds sanctuary with mushroom-popping rock-diva has-been Turner, played with panache by Mick Jagger. Throw in Anita Pallenberg, a fab drug trip, and the great “Memo to Turner” scene and you have a film that some consider the real precursor to MTV, some think a work of pure demented genius, and others find to be one of the most pretentious and awful pieces of claptrap ever committed to celluloid. We fall somewhere in the middle of all of that.

PERFORMANCE is screening as part of Lincoln Center’s Film Comment Summer Meltdown series, eight days of movies by, about, or featuring rock stars and/or rock culture (complete with head trips). The music begins August 11 with the Who in Jeff Stein’s THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT (1979), Neil Young & Crazy Horse in Jim Jarmusch’s YEAR OF THE HORSE (1997), David Bowie in D. A. Pennebaker’s ZIGGY STARDUST AND THE SPIDERS FROM MARS (1973), and Gaspar Noé blowing your mind with the director’s cut of ENTER THE VOID (2009); Noé will also participate in a postscreening Q&A with Paz de la Huerta and Nathaniel Brown, moderated by Vice head Shane Smith. Codirectors L. M. Kit Carson and Lawrence Schiller will be on hand for the August 15 showing of their inside look at Dennis Hopper, THE AMERICAN DREAMER (1971), and Finders Keepers founder Andy Votel will play a turntable set prior to the August 13 screening of Sandy Harbutt’s Australian biker flick, STONE (1974). Other films feature such superstars as the Rolling Stones (STONES IN EXILE, GET YER YA-YA’S OUT), Sly Stone (COMING BACK FOR MORE), the Sex Pistols (THE GREAT ROCK ‘N’ ROLL SWINDLE), Ringo Starr and the Turtles (Frank Zappa’s 200 MOTELS), and a Pink Floyd soundtrack (ZABRISKIE POINT). Many of the screenings will be followed by a music-laced after-party in the Furman Gallery.

JP, CHRISSIE & THE FAIRGROUND BOYS

Chrissie Hynde and JP Jones are taking the Fairground Boys from the studio to the stage, including shows August 9 at Rockwood Music Hall and August 10 at the Apple Store in SoHo

Monday, August 9, Rockwood Music Hall, 196 Allen St., $20, 8:30
Tuesday, August 10, Live at the Apple Store, 103 Prince St., free, 7:00
www.myspace.com/chrissiehyndejpjones

“His time is tomorrow / mine was yesterday,” Chrissie Hynde sings on “Perfect Lover,” the opening track of FIDELITY! (Rocket Science, August 24, 2010), the debut album of JP, Chrissie & the Fairground Boys. Two years ago at a London party, Hynde met JP Jones, a Welsh singer-songwriter who has played in such bands as Grace and Big Linda, and soon the pair were in Havana, writing songs together. They came back with (at least) eleven songs and formed the new group, which is on the road in support of the record, which comes out August 24. Reportedly, the fifty-nine-year-old Hynde and the thirty-one-year-old Jones are not a couple; as she sings, “I found my perfect lover / but he’s only half my age / He was learning how to stand / when I was wearing my first wedding band/ I found my perfect lover / but I’ll have to turn the page / I want him in my kitchen / and standing on my stage.” Among the other tunes on the album, which is filled with stories of unrequited love and love gone wrong, are “If You Let Me,” “Courage,” and “Leave Me If You Must.” Hynde and the gravelly voiced Jones are joined by Sam Swallow on keyboards, Patrick Murdoch on guitar, Vezio Bacci on bass, and Geoff Holroyde on drums, the latter three the aforementioned Big Linda. JP, Chrissie & the Fairground Boys will be making a free appearance at the Apple Store in SoHo on Tuesday, August 10, at 7:00, but they’ll be playing Monday night at the Rockwood Music Hall (stage 2) on Allen St. — and as of this posting, tickets are still available, believe it or not, and they are a mere twenty bucks.

CAMILLE A. BROWN & ANDREA MILLER / KATE WEARE & MONICA BILL BARNES

Kate Weare will present the world premiere of BRIGHT LAND at the Joyce this week

Joyce Theater
175 Eighth Ave. at 19th St.
April 9-14, $10-$39
212-242-0800
www.joyce.org

This week the Joyce will be hosting four excellent companies performing in repertory over six days, with pairs of exciting groups appearing on alternate nights Monday through Saturday. On August 9, 11, and 13, Camille A. Brown will present, with her new ensemble, the world premiere of CITY OF RAIN, with music by Jonathan Melville Pratt; GOOD AND GROWN, with music by Saycon Sengbloh and Wes Montgomery; the New York premiere of the duet BEEN THERE, DONE THAT, with Brown and Juel D. Lane; the Katrina-inspired NEW SECOND LINE, with visual art by Moses Ball; and GIRLZ VERSE 1, an all-female piece with music by Wunmi Olaiya and M.I.A. On those same nights, Miller’s Gallim Dance will perform WONDERLAND, a longer work that was inspired by Cai Guo-Qiang’s installation “Head On,” in which ninety-nine wolves crash into a glass wall, seen here at the Chinese artist’s 2008 Guggenheim retrospective. On August 10, 12, and 14, the Kate Weare Company makes its Joyce season debut with the world premiere of BRIGHT LAND, featuring live music by the string band the Crooked Jades, while Monica Bill Barnes will update its piece ANOTHER PARADE, about the relationship between performer and audience, using a vast array of music ranging from classical to classic R&B. In addition, on Saturday afternoon, all four companies will present excerpts from their works in a family-friendly production that should be a blast.

ENLOU

Cincinnati quintet will let the music do the talking at two area gigs (photo by Becki Young)

Sunday, August 8, Piano’s, 158 Ludlow St., $8, 9:00
Monday, August 9, National Underground, 159 East Houston St., 9:00
www.myspace.com/enlouwasaman

Named after the phrase “in lieu of,” Cincinnati-based five-piece is heading to New York City in support of their third EP, the five-track BODY OF FRIENDS, BODY OF WATER (Lujo, July 2010), the follow-up to last year’s PASSING ISLANDS and THRESHING FLOOR. Drew Jacoby, Curt Kiser, Ben Rush, Robert Ritter, and James Bishop play ambient electronica with lush sounds that all come together on such songs as “Mountain Thoughts,” off the new disc. The quintet will be at Piano’s on August 8 with Old Monk and We Barbarians and at the National Underground on August 9.

Ambient electronica
It all comes together on “Mountain Thoughts.”
in lieu of
They’ll be at Piano’s on August 8 with Old Monk and We Barbarians and at the National Underground on August 9.

LAZER CRYSTAL

Lazer Crystal seeks to move beyond time and space with debut album and tour

Sunday, August 8, Cake Shop, 152 Ludlow St., $7, 8:00
Monday, August 9, Death by Audio, 49 South Second St., 8:00
Tuesday, August 10, Daddy’s, 435 Graham Ave., DJ set
www.myspace.com/lazercrystal

A love triangle isn’t enough for Chicago-based Lazer Crystal; instead, they opt for a “Love Rhombus” on their debut full-length, MCMLXXX (Thrill Jockey, April 2010). With Nicholas Read on electronics and vocals, Josh Johannpeter on percussion, and Mikale De Graff on vocals and electronics, Lazer Crystal pays homage to the synthesizer club sound of the 1980s with thumping beats, video-game noise effects, and occasional snippets of lyrics on such songs as “Lipp Service,” “National Handbag,” “La Rouche,” and “Hot Pink BMX.” Part of the trio’s stated mission is “to present a multicolored, polyphonic surf of sound and vision, set to the ritual nocturnal vibrations of its arsenal, to be played as an offering of respite.” They’ll be seeking to carry out that goal Sunday night at Cake Shop on a bill with Konichiwa, Roe Enney, and Ramona of Nite Jewel, then Monday night at Death by Audio, followed by a DJ set Tuesday night at Daddy’s.

DUELING BINGOS

DAILY SHOW correspondent John Oliver is looking for that final “O” so he can declare “Bingo” at Saturday night benefit for 826NYC (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

826NYC
372 Fifth Ave., Brooklyn
Saturday, August 7, $25, 7:00
718-499-9884
www.826nyc.org/bingo

You’ve never played Bingo like this before. Tonight at 826NYC in Brooklyn, you can test your mad gaming skillz against such celebrities as DAILY SHOW correspondent John Oliver, television producer Eric Gilliland (THAT ’70s SHOW), children’s book star Jon Scieszka (THE STINKY CHEESE MAN), comic actor Jack McBrayer (30 ROCK), and wonderfully droll author Sarah Vowell (ASSASSINATION VACATION) in what the nonprofit organization promises to be “the most cut-throat, single elimination, down-and-dirty, going-to-get-ugly, no-holds-barred Bingo Tournament ever held.” After signing up to play ($25) or to support one of the current competitors (any amount you want), you can buy additional cards at $10 each and balls for $5 apiece to increase your/their chances of winning. The evening is a benefit to raise funds for 826NYC’s free literacy programs for students between the ages of six and eighteen, which encourages creativity and learning through writing. The group also holds regular workshops and provides tutoring all year long.

NEW YORK GOURMET FOOD TRUCK BAZAAR

HELL’S KITCHEN FLEA MARKET
West 39th St. between Ninth & Tenth Aves.
Sunday, August 8, 11:00 am – 4:00 pm
Admission: free
www.hellskitchenfleamarket.com

The Hell’s Kitchen Flea Market has created lots of buzz this summer, comprising dozens of vendors selling their wares along West 39th St., from vintage clothing and cameras to furniture and Tibetan products, from antiques and African tribal art to handmade jewelry and paper ephemera. This Sunday, the HKFM is bringing in five of the city’s ever-growing number of mobile food trucks, with dumplings, edamame, and chili sesame noodle salad from the Rickshaw Dumpling Truck; burgers, hot dogs, shakes, and fries from Go Burger; Korean barbecue from the Krave Truck; Moroccan-Mediterranean sandwiches and entrees from the Bistro Truck; and such heavenly delights as the Bea Arthur, the Salty Pimp, and the Belgian Slipwich from the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck. You usually have to seek out where these carts are every day, so having them all together in Hell’s Kitchen is a special treat.