this week in music

MOCA MIXER: SUMMER JAM

moca mixer summer jam

Museum of Chinese in America
215 Centre St. between Howard & Grand Sts.
Friday, July 28, $30, 6:30
www.mocanyc.org

On July 28, the Museum of Chinese in America is hosting a multidisciplinary Summer Jam, with live music by YouTube ukelele star Nix, singer-songwriters Grace Ming and Jessica Rowboat, and Brooklyn folk duo Heartland Nomads, spoken-word poetry by Edric Huang and Lavinia Liang from Songline, stand-up comedy with Joon Chung, and storytelling from Talkingstick cofounder Master Lee. There will also be a raffle and a sale in the shop benefiting the museum’s educational program, light hors d’oeuvres courtesy of the pulled-noodle experts at the awesome Xi’an Famous Foods, and unlimited Hiro Sake, Tiger Beer, Bruce Cost Ginger Ale, and other alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks. And as a bonus, attendees will be treated to a preview of MOCA’s upcoming exhibition, “FOLD: Golden Venture Paper Sculptures,” which opens October 5.

PANORAMA NYC VIDEO OF THE DAY: “FUCK THEY” BY SOFI TUKKER

Who: Sofi Tukker
What: Panorama festival
Where: Randall’s Island Park
When: Saturday, July 29, the Parlor, $125, 4:20
Why: Do you give a fuck about they? Because Brooklyn duo Sofi Tukker sure doesn’t, as they declare over and over again on their hit single, “Fuck They.” (Of course, we’re pretty sure they’re not referring to LA duo THEY., which is playing Panorama on Friday.) The Grammy-nominated band, which was named after both groundbreaking singer-comedian Sophie Tucker and themselves, Sophie Hawley-Weld and Tucker Halpern, will be at Panorama on Saturday, playing their groovin’ dance pop at the Parlor at 4:20. Be on the lookout for such hot numbers as “Drinkee,” “Matadora,” “Awoo” (feat. Betta Lemme), “Déjà Vu Affair,” “Moon Tattoo,” and “Hey Lion” from the duo’s debut 2016 EP, Soft Animals, as well as such other hoppin’ tunes as “Johny” and “Greed.” You can also check out their sizzling September 2016 DJ set at the Lab NYC here. The full Saturday Panorama schedule is below.

panorama saturday

PANORAMA NYC VIDEO OF THE DAY: “HOT THOUGHTS” BY SPOON

Who: Spoon
What: Panorama festival
Where: Randall’s Island Park
When: Friday, July 28, the Pavilion, $125, 5:55
Why: No one can predict New York weather these days, but Hot Thoughts will be in the air on Friday, July 28, at Panorama when Spoon takes the stage at the Pavilion on Randall’s Island. Twenty-one years and eight albums after their 1996 debut, Telephono, the critically acclaimed and wildly popular Spoon returned to their original label, Matador, with the March 17 release of their ninth record, Hot Thoughts. An enthusiastic reception at SXSW was followed by triumphant appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Ellen, and more. Coproduced with Dave Fridmann, who has also produced such acts as the psychedelic Flaming Lips and Saturday’s Panorama headliner, Tame Impala, Hot Thoughts brings the beloved Austin band, led by original members Britt Daniel on vocals and multiple instruments and Jim Eno on drums, into new territory, with touches of funk, disco, and Bowie on tunes including “Can I Sit Next to You” and “I Ain’t the One,” while “Us” brings in some spacey jazz, only fitting for a band named for a 1972 song by Krautrock pioneers Can. Spoon — which also features Rob Pope, Alex Fischel, and Gerardo Larios on guitars and keyboards, will be playing the Pavilion at Panorama at 5:55 on July 28; you can see the full Friday schedule below.

panorama friday

PANORAMA NYC SONG OF THE DAY: “ALL ABOUT WAITING” BY DHANI HARRISON

Who: Dhani Harrison
What: Panorama festival
Where: Randall’s Island Park
When: Sunday, July 30, the Parlor, $125, 4:30
Why: If the voice on Dhani Harrison’s “All About Waiting” sounds familiar, it shouldn’t be too surprising. The thirty-eight-year-old musician is the son of Beatle George Harrison and his wife, Olivia, and he’s releasing his debut solo album, In/Parallel, on October 6. He not only looks and sounds like his father but also shows the Quiet Beatle’s knack for creating progressive, psychedelic music. “Revolution evolution patience / revolution evolution wasted,” he sings over a driving electro-beat on “All About Waiting,” then repeats, “It’s not like it used to be.” Harrison is also the lead singer and guitarist for Thenewno2 (yes, it’s a reference to The Prisoner), writing and performing the soundtrack for the film Beautiful Creatures, which they recorded at Abbey Road Studios. In/Parallel also features such tracks as “Never Know,” “#WarOnFalse,” “Úlfur Resurrection,” and “Admiral of Upside Down.” Harrison will be playing the Parlor at Panorama at 4:30 on Sunday, July 30; you can see the full schedule for Sunday below.

panorama sunday

PANORAMA NEW YORK CITY

The Lab hosts interactive installations using cutting-edge technology (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

The Lab is back at Panorama with interactive, cutting-edge art projects (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Randall’s Island Park
July 28-30, $125 per day, $345 for all three days
www.panorama.nyc
randallsisland.org

Last year’s inaugural Panorama festival was everything it promised it would be, three days of cool music, art, technology, and food on Randall’s Island. It’s back for its second go-round, taking place July 28-30. Tickets are $125 per day and $345 for the full weekend to see such performers as Future Islands, Girl Talk, MGMT, Spoon, Solange, DJ Shadow, and Frank Ocean on Friday, Belle & Sebastian, Matoma, Vince Staples, Motor City Drum Ensemble, and Tame Impala on Saturday, and Cloud Nothings, Justice, Glass Animals, a Tribe Called Quest, and Nine Inch Nails on Sunday at four different locations — the main stage, the Pavilion, the Parlor, and the Point. Eats and drinks will be available from El Paso, Oddfellows, Roberta’s Pizza, Salvation Taco, Ed & Bev’s, Loco Coco, Spicy Pie, Trapizzino, Uma Temakeria, Matchabar, Pasquale Jones, PDT, Sam’s Fried Ice Cream, and others. The Lab is also back, a 360-degree virtual-reality theater with such interactive works as Future Wife’s “Boolean Planet,” Emilie Baltz’s “Dream Machine,” Prism’s “Future Portrait,” Ekene Ijeoma’s “Heartfelt,” the Windmill Factory’s “Right Passage,” Dirt Empire’s “The Ark Dome Show,” and SOFTlab’s “Volume.” Among the sponsors selling products, giving away samples, and hosting unique experiences are Rough Trade, Barefoot Wine & Bubbly, Sephora, Califia, Macy’s Pool Party, Bai, the Global Inheritance Recycling Store, and Tullamore Dew. Keep watching twi-ny for daily highlights as the fest approaches.

PRISMATIC PARK: CACONRAD

Poet CAConrad will be giving personalized (Soma)tic poetry rituals in Madison Square Park through July 23 (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Poet CAConrad will be offering free personalized (Soma)tic poetry rituals in Madison Square Park through July 23 (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

(SOMA)TIC POETRY RITUALS
Madison Square Park Oval Lawn
Twenty-Fourth St. between Madison & Fifth Aves.
Through July 23, free, 12 noon – 5:00 pm (workshops nightly at 6:00)
www.madisonsquarepark.org
caconrad.blogspot.com

“Every single human being is creative. When we commit ourselves to nurturing our artistic capacities we improve our ability to more deeply discern the world around us and make the constructive decisions needed in order to thrive in this world,” fifty-one-year-old poet CAConrad writes in his (Soma)tic Manifesto. Through July 23, Conrad will be performing “(Soma)tic Poetry Rituals” in Madison Square Park, under one of American artist and MacArthur Fellow Josiah McElheny’s three sculptures that comprise “Prismatic Park,” a collaborative public art project that is hosting free dance, music, and poetry through October 8, sponsored by Danspace Project, Blank Forms, and Poets House. Born in Kansas and raised in Pennsylvania, Conrad is the author of such books as The City Real & Imagined, ECODEVIANCE: (Soma)tics for the Future Wilderness, and the upcoming While Standing in Line for Death. In 1998, Conrad’s boyfriend, AIDS activist Earth (Mark Holmes), was brutally raped, tortured, and murdered in Tennessee at the age of thirty-six. In order to break out of his subsequent depression and his inability to break away from a factorylike existence that had been with him since childhood when his family ran a casket company, Conrad developed rituals that helped respark his creative energy and his life in general. He is currently in the midst of a six-day residency in Madison Square Park, sitting (in the shade) at a small table under McElheny’s open red vaulted-roof pavilion (with red and yellow glass), where the public is invited to join him for approximately twenty minutes as Conrad develops a personalized (Soma)tic poetry ritual for each individual participant, involving crystals, liquids, and writing. The rituals are meant to help anyone seeking new ways to cope with today’s world; they are not limited to writers. The personalized rituals — bring pen and paper to take copious notes — are first come, first served, from 12 noon to 5:00, followed by workshops from 6:00 to 8:00; on July 22, Conrad delves into crystal trees, while on July 23 he will read tarot cards. “Prismatic Park,” which also features a blue sound wall and a reflective green dance floor, continues with concerts by Joe McPhee & Graham Lambkin (July 25-30), Shelley Hirsch (August 22-27), Matana Roberts (September 5-10), and Limpe Fuchs with poet Patrick Rosal (October 3-8), dance by Netta Yerushalmy (August 1-6) and Jodi Melnick (September 12-17, 19-24), and poetry by Joshua Bennett (August 15-20), Donna Masini (August 29 – September 3), and Mónica de la Torre (September 26 – October 1).

RUBIN BLOCK PARTY: SOUNDS OF THE STREET

Annual Rubin Museum Block Party will celebrate the sounds of the street this year

Annual Rubin Museum Block Party will celebrate the sounds of the street this year

Rubin Museum of Art
West 17th St. between Sixth & Seventh Aves.
Sunday, July 16, free (including free museum admission all day), 1:00 – 4:00
rubinmuseum.org

The Rubin Museum plans to make some noise at its annual block party, taking place July 16 from 1:00 to 4:00 on West Seventeenth St. This year’s fête is inspired by the new exhibition “The World Is Sound,” which explores the impact of sound in Tibetan Buddhism in the creation / death / rebirth cycle, with ritual music, immersive installations, and the largest “Om” ever, recorded by visitors to the Om Lab. The block party will have spaces for meditation, hands-on art activities for adults and children, a silent disco with Nepali pop curated by Dorjee Dolma, Himalayan snacks, bubble painting, the Wheel of Sounds and the Wheel of Feelings, and live performances by the New York Suwa Taiko Association, the Blue Angels Drumline, poets John Giorno and Tenzin Dickyi, MSHR (Birch Cooper and Brenna Murphy), and Dana Flynn of Laughing Lotus Yoga in addition to a Kirtan concert with the Bhakti Center. Partyers can also stop by “Drawing Sound,” a live painting and sound collaboration curated and hosted by Rhiannon Catalyst, and check out presentations by ACHA Himalayan Sisterhood (music selections), Adhikaar (oral histories), Grassroots Movement in Nepal (Nepali children’s songs), India Home (Garba dance), Tibetan Community of NY/NJ (musical instruments demos), and the United Sherpa Association (translating English names into Tibetan). As a bonus, the museum will be open for free all day long (11:00 am – 6:00 pm), so you can experience such exhibits as “Henri Cartier-Bresson: India in Full Frame,” “Masterworks of Himalayan Art,” and “Sacred Spaces” asw well as “The World Is Sound.”