Who: Dr. John and the Nite Trippers, Amy Helm
What: City Parks Foundation SummerStage
When: Saturday, August 1, free, 2:00 – 7:00
Where: Rumsey Playfield, Central Park
Why: New Orleans comes to Central Park when Dr. John and his band, the Nite Trippers, play a free show at Rumsey Playfield on August 1. The relentlessly touring good doctor is on the road in support of his latest album, last summer’s Ske-Dat-De-Dat . . . The Spirit of Satch, which consists of unique versions of such standards as “What a Wonderful World,” “Mack the Knife,” “I’ve Got the World on a String,” “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child,” and “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen.” In 1999, we saw the master pianist take the stage on a scorching hot July 4 in Battery Park, wearing a pristine white suit. Several times, the audience had to be hosed down because of the heat, but Dr. John simply kept going with his rousing set, not the slightest hint of sweat appearing on his stunning personage. Opening up for the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer is Amy Helm, who is a lot more than just the daughter of Levon Helm and Libby Titus, having just released her debut album, Didn’t It Rain (Entertainment One, July 24), featuring such tracks as “Rescue Me,” “Roll Away,” and the title song. Oh, and ask us offline some time about our favorite Dr. John story, which we can’t share here.
this week in music
SOUND + VISION 2015 — JOE STRUMMER: THE FUTURE IS UNWRITTEN
Joe Strummer documentary is part of Julien Temple sidebar at “Sound + Vision” series at Lincoln Center
I WAS THERE: THE MUSIC DOCS OF JULIEN TEMPLE — JOE STRUMMER: THE FUTURE IS UNWRITTEN (Julien Temple, 2007)
Film Society of Lincoln Center, Walter Reade Theater
165 West 65th St. between Eighth Ave. & Broadway
Saturday, August 1, 3:30
Festival runs July 29 – August 7
212-875-5050
www.filmlinc.com
www.joestrummerthemovie.com
Director Julien Temple, who has made two outstanding documentaries about the Sex Pistols (The Great Rock and Roll Swindle and The Filth and the Fury), turns his camera on Joe Strummer of the British punk group the Clash in The Future Is Unwritten. Temple collects remarkable home movies of Strummer, from his early days as young John Mellor, a career diplomat’s son, through his time as the leader of one of the most famous and controversial bands in the world and his death at the age of fifty from a congenital heart defect. Strummer’s friends and family gather around a campfire in Brooklyn’s Empire St.-Fulton Ferry Park and talk about Strummer’s life and career, sharing keen insight in a format that the musician loved; his campfire get-togethers came to be known as Strummerville, a place for people to assemble and discuss life, art, and anything else that came to mind. Temple adds lots of footage of the Clash in action, as well as clips from Strummer’s earlier band, the 101ers, made up of squatters fighting the power, and his last band, the Mescaleros. Temple also brings some of Strummer’s drawings to life, animating them in humorous ways. Strummer essentially narrates the film himself, as Temple includes audio excerpts from Strummer’s “Last Call” radio show and interviews he gave over the years. Temple, a close friend of Strummer’s, paints a fascinating portrait of the complex man, featuring stories from the likes of Bono, Johnny Depp, Flea, Mele Mel, Courtney Love Cobain, Martin Scorsese, Steve Jones, John Cusack, Matt Dillon, Steve Buscemi, Damien Hirst, Roland Gift, Don Letts, Mick Jones, and many others. And there’s lots of music as well, of course, including several versions of “White Riot.” The Future Is Unwritten is screening August 1 at 3:30 in the “I Was There: The Music Docs of Julien Temple” sidebar of Lincoln Center’s annual “Sound + Vision” series, which also includes The Filth and the Fury, The Clash: New Year’s Day ’77, Dave Davies: Kinkdom Come, Ray Davies: Imaginary Man, Glastonbury, Never Mind the Baubles: Christmas with the Sex Pistols, and The Liberty of Norton Folgate, with Temple on hand for various introductions and Q&As.
FIRST SATURDAY: CARIBBEAN HERITAGE
The Braata Folk Singers will help celebrate Caribbean Heritage at Brooklyn Museum on August 1 (photo © copyright Braata Productions)
Brooklyn Museum
200 Eastern Parkway at Washington St.
Saturday, August 1, free, 5:00 – 11:00
212-864-5400
www.brooklynmuseum.org
After taking last month off because of the July 4 holiday, the Brooklyn Museum’s free First Saturday program is back August 1 with a celebration of Caribbean Heritage in preparation for the annual New York Caribbean Carnival Parade on Labor Day. There will be live performances by BombaYo, the Braata Folk Singers, Cuban jazz pianist Elio Villafranca, and Klash City Sound System and Supa Frendz; a printmaking workshop; a pop-up carnival with poet Arielle John; a book club talk with Naomi Jackson about her new novel, The Star Side of Bird Hill; and screenings of Black Radical Imagination shorts, clips from Taboo Yardies hosted by director Selena Blake, Jonathan David Kane’s Papa Machete, followed by a Q&A with Kane, and Cecile Emeke’s webseries Ackee & Saltfish, followed by a talkback with Emeke. In addition, you can check out such exhibitions as “Basquiat: The Unknown Notebooks,” “The Rise of Sneaker Culture,” “Kara Walker: ‘African Boy Attendant Curio (Bananas),’” “KAWS: ALONG THE WAY,” “Zanele Muholi: Isibonelo/Evidence,” and “FAILE: Savage/Sacred Young Minds.”
SUMMER OF MUSIC: ZIGGY STARDUST AND THE SPIDERS FROM MARS
ZIGGY STARDUST concert film will have a special free screening in Morningside Park on July 27, along with a look-a-like contest
Who: D. A. Pennebaker, David Bowie fans and wannabes
What: Outdoor screening of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (D. A. Pennebaker, 1973), introduced by the director, preceded by Night of 1000 Bowies’ Dance Party and Look-a-Like Contest with DJ Cosmo Baker
When: Monday, July 27, free, 6:30
Where: Morningside Park, 113th St. & Morningside Dr.
Why: A few weeks ago, a young woman we work with had no idea who Ziggy Stardust was. Well, she’ll know all about the David Bowie alter ego if she attends what should be a wild night July 27 in Morningside Park, which begins with a dance party and Bowie look-alike contest, followed by a screening of Pennebaker’s 1973 film, with Pennebaker on hand to talk about the work, which documented the July 3, 1973, performance of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars at the Hammersmith Odeon in London. Bowie’s record, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, came during a particularly fruitful period, right in between Hunky Dory and Aladdin Sane. The soundtrack features such Bowie greats as “Moonage Daydream,” “Space Oddity,” “Cracked Actor,” “Changes,” “Suffragette City,” and “Rock ’n’ Roll Suicide” as well as the Bowie-penned Mott the Hoople hit “All the Young Dudes” and covers of the Stones’ “Let’s Spend the Night Together” and the Velvet Underground’s “White Light/White Heat.” The evening is presented by Maysles Cinema and Reel Harlem: The Historic Harlem Parks Film Festival.
NEW YORK CITY POETRY FESTIVAL
You can relax with a wide range of poetry at fifth annual festival on Governors Island (photo by twi-ny/mdr)
Governors Island
Colonels Row
July 25-26, free (donation suggested), 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
newyorkcitypoetryfestival.com
new york city poetry festival slideshow
The fifth annual New York City Poetry Festival, which continues Sunday on Governors Island, honors Gotham’s literary heritage with three stages named after a trio of iconic landmarks, the Algonquin, the White Horse, and Chumley’s. Poets from dozens of publishing houses, university presses, and nonprofit organizations read their works, in addition to the open mic Ring of Daisies and other places where poetry just pops up. There are lots of booths, a food truck, and a beer garden that declares that “the psychiatrist is in.” Walking across the big field, you can listen as one poem from one location morphs into one from another and then one from another in a kind of audio rainbow of words and expression. You can make visible poetry with Rachel Ossip’s interactive “to touch” installation, add your own epitaph to Christine Stoddard’s “Word Graveyard,” get a word as part of Maya Stein and Amy Tingle’s Tandem Poetry Project, and hang out with Karl C. Leone’s “Dionysia: A Bacchic Ode” (featuring art by Alexis Myre, music by Larkin Grimm, and live performances by Daniel Benhamu, Aron Canter, Nettie Chickering, Jochem le Cointre, Eli Condon, Mateo d’Amato, Hailey Kemp, Rafeh Mahmud, Siever O’Connor-Aoki, Olivia Porter, Vanessa Rose, and Michelle Rosen). Be sure to also check out building 407b for the Children’s Poetry Festival, Amy Bassin and Mark Blickley’s “Dream Streams,” the analog participatory “Typewriter Project: The Subconscious of the City,” and the Poetry Brothel, where you can get an extremely private one-on-one reading for a small fee. As an added bonus, stop by LMCC’s “(Counter) Public Art, Intervention & Performance in Lower Manhattan from 1978-1993” exhibition at the Arts Center at Governors Island to see video of John Kelly’s Love of a Poet piece from 1990.
PARKSIDE EMPIRE STREET FESTIVAL
Who: Vivid Dreams, Kamutshima Dance Troupe, Lyrikal, the Bright Smoke, Alegba & Friends, Highyaziya, Camila Meza, Homegrown
What: First annual Parkside Empire Street Festival
Where: Flatbush Ave. between Beekman Pl. & Westbury Ct.
When: Sunday, free, 12 noon – 6:00 pm
Why: The Parkside Empire Flatbush Avenue Merchants Association and Hudson Companies Inc. have teamed up for a brand-new street festival on the southeast side of Prospect Park, with live music and dance, local vendors, raffles, a chicken recipe competition, a fashion show, arts and crafts, and more.
LOIZA FESTIVAL OF EL BARRIO
THE FESTIVAL OF SANTIAGO APOSTOL
105th St. between Park & Lexington Aves.
July 24-26, free
www.facebook.com
The annual celebration of James the Greater, known as the Loiza Festival del Barrio and the Festival of Santiago Apostol, takes place this weekend on East 105th St., three days that focus on the African influence of the Puerto Rican community of Loíza on New York City with live entertainment, family-friendly activities, a religious processional, and a tribute to those affected by the March 2014 gas explosion on 116th St. On Friday, Taino Towers Day: El Barrio Fuerte . . . !Basta Ya! features art workshops, storytelling, children’s games, and music by 5 en Plena and salsa music and dance from Swing y Sabor. On Saturday, there will be a special installation of La Casita/La’Kay (with Adrian “Viajero” Roman, Manny Vega, Sophia Dawson, David Zayas, and Damaris Cruz) and live music by DJ Geko Jones, the Palladium Mambo All Stars, !BOMBA YO!, Johnny Olivo & Herencia de Plena, Jose Mangual & Son Boricua, and !Retumba! On Sunday, the processional kicks off at 12:30 at Iglesia Catolica de la Santa Agonía, with Frankie Vasquez as Padrino and Olga Rosa as La Madrina, followed by live performances by Danza Fiesta, Legacy Women, Milteri Tucker y Bombazo Dance Company, Tipica 73, Evelyn Jimenez y Orgullo Taino, and the Family Affair Mambo Dance team.