this week in music

CMJ 2013: DAY FOUR

You’d be wrong wrong wrong not to catch Eleanor Friedberger at this year’s CMJ festival, as she continues her Fiery Furnaces hiatus with her second solo album, the wonderful Personal Record (Merge, June 2013). Friedberger will be at Judson Church on Thursday at 12 noon as part of the KEXP Live Broadcast (free and open to the public, no CMJ badge required), followed by an 11:00 show at Bowery Ballroom. Below are more recommendations for a wide-open Friday night, including some of our other local favorites, Heliotropes and Tall Tall Trees.

HMG PR & Ear Candy Present: Arms, 12 noon; Jacob Snider, 12:45; Charlene Kaye, 1:30; Lapland, 2:15; the Donnies the Amys, 3:00; the Spring Standard, 3:45; Pearl and the Beard, 4:45, Rockwood Music Hall Stage 2, 196 Allen St.

Monarch Artists: Mainland, 12 noon; the Adversary, 12:50; Dynasty Electric, 1:40; Maya Vik, 2:35; My Midnight Heart, 3:25; White Prism, 4:20; Bright Light Bright Light, 5:15, Bowery Electric, 327 Bowery

Planetary and the Great Escape Present: Wildlife, 1:20; Tigertown, 2:00; Hermitude, 2:40; Tops, 3:20; Blind Boys of Alabama, 4:00; the Preatures, 4:45; Sheppard, 5:25, Pianos, 158 Ludlow St.

Fuck Buttons with Mystery Skulls and Lichens, 6:00, (le) Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleecker St.

Distiller Promo: DJ Neal Sugarman, 6:00; Sunwolf, 7:00; Cub Sport, 7:40; Diane Coffee, 8:30; Heliotropes, 9:20; Bad Cop, 10:00; the Can’t Tells, 10:50, Union Pool, 484 Union Ave.

Big Picture Media: NGHBRS, 7:00; Sol Cat, 7:45; Maria Taylor, 8:30; Sheppard, 9:15; Quiet Company, 10:00, Sullivan Hall, 214 Sullivan St.

Baeblemusic Presents the Launch Pad: Flagship, 7:00; Duologue, 8:00; the Darcys, 9:00; Misun, 10:00; Claire, 11:00; the Ceremonies, 12 midnight, Spike Hill, 186 Bedford Ave.

Champion: Promised Land Sound, 7:30; Okta Logue, 8:00; Kan Wakan, 9:00; Reuben and the Dark, 10:00; Eleanor Friedberger, 11:00; the Long Winters, 12 midnight, Bowery Ballroom, 6 Delancey St

Craft Services: Weaves, 8:00; Victory, 8:50; HSY, 9:40; Rey Pila, 10:30; Odonis Odonis, 11:20; Saul Williams & the Dragons of Zynth, 12:15, Santos Party House, 96 Lafayette St.

Tall Tall Trees, 11:00 pm, Rockwood Music Hall Stage 1, 196 Allen St.

ENZO AVITABLE MUSIC LIFE

Enzo Avitable and Jonathan Demme team up for charming music documentary set in Naples

ENZO AVITABILE MUSIC LIFE (Jonathan Demme, 2012)
Lincoln Plaza Cinema, 1886 Broadway at 63rd St., 212-757-2280
Angelika Film Center, 18 West Houston St. at Mercer St., 212-995-2570
Opens Friday, October 18
www.enzoavitabilemusiclife.com

About six years ago, Jonathan Demme was driving in his car toward the George Washington Bridge when he heard a song on the radio that changed his life. It was by a Neapolitan musician he had never heard of before, Enzo Avitable. A few years later, producer Davide Azzolini invited Demme to be a special guest at the Naples Film Festival, and Demme agreed to attend, as long as he got to meet Avitable. Not only did Azzolini arrange the meeting, but they all decided to work together as well. The result is the charming documentary Enzo Avitable Music Life, in which Demme captures the always smiling and positive Avitable playing in a beautiful Baroque church with a stellar group of musicians from around the world, showing off his cluttered apartment (along with photos of him with James Brown, Tina Turner, and other superstars he has performed with), and visiting his childhood town of Marianella. As with such previous Demme documentaries as Stop Making Sense, Storefront Hitchcock, and Neil Young Trunk Show, the focus is on the music, as Avitable discusses his classical training and composing methods, pontificates on his love of jazz, and participates in wonderful jam sessions with various combinations that include Cuba’s Eliades Ochoa, Iraq’s Naseer Shamma, Spain’s Gerardo Núñez, Pakistan’s Ashraf Sharif Khan Poonchwala, India’s Trilok Gurtu, Sardinia’s Luigi Lai, Italy’s Zi’ Giannino Del Sorbo and Bruno Canino, Iran’s Hossein Alizadeh, Mauritania’s Daby Touré, and Palestinian singer Amal Murkus. Avitable is seen playing saxophone and unusual stringed instruments and singing lyrics that range from traditional folktales to abstract poetry to overheated sociopolitical commentary, believing in the power of music to make a difference. The scenes in the church have a kind of magic that is reminiscent of Davis Guggenheim’s It Might Get Loud, which documented a historic jam session between Jimmy Page, the Edge, and Jack White. And things get sweetly personal when the ebullient, curly haired Avitable returns to Marianella and meets up with some old friends — and their parents, who remember him well from when he was just a kid. The film is not merely a celebration of Avitable and his music but a tribute to his beloved Napoli as well.

CMJ 2013: DAY THREE

Australia’s City Riots continues its nine-shows-in-ten-days New York assault at the CMJ Bulldog Gin Party at the Raven on October 17 and the CMJ Aussie BBQ on October 19 at the Delancey. Featuring songs from their debut album, Sea of Bright Lights, which can be streamed here, Ricky Kradolfer, Matthew Edge, Dan Kradolfer, and Matthew Stadler will also be hosting a record listening party at Klimat Lounge on October 18, then play Rockwood Music Hall on October 21, Pianos on October 22, and Bowery Electric on October 23. Below are more of our CMJ recommendations for Thursday.

Flux Studios Presents: Bridge City Hustle, 12 noon; Julian Peterson, 1:00; Banda Magda, 2:00; Cyrille Aimee, 3:00; Jeff Campbell & Megan Stankard, 5:00; Mark Wilkinson, 6:00; Landshapes, 7:00; Badboxes, 8:00; Lily & The Parlour Tricks, 9:00; Aaron Lee Tasjan, 10:00; Aabaraki, 11:00; Mandolin Orange, 12 midnight, Rockwood Music Hall Stage 1, 196 Allen St.

Menomena, the Helio Sequence, Pattern Is Movement, 6:30, Webster Hall, 125 East Eleventh St.

The Texas Takeover Party: Wild Child, the Tontons, Ishi, Emily Bell, Megafauna, the Migrant, 7:00, Tammany Hall, 152 Orchard St.

Mideau, 7:00; Fan-Tan, 7:45; Magic Bronson, 8:30; Trumpeter Swan, 9:15; Tan Vampires, 10:00; Steel Phantoms, 10:45; Top Less Gay Tekno Party, 11:30; holychild, 12:15, Leftfield, 87 Ludlow St.

L Rock Entertainment Presents: Bobby McGrath, 7:30; I’ll Be John Brown, 8:30; 2/3 Goat, 9:30; the Morningsiders, 10:30; Danielia Cotton, 11:30, the Bitter End, 147 Bleecker St.

The Deli: Heeney, 8:00; Dead Stars, 8:30; Slonk Donkerson, 9:00; People’s Champ, 9:40; Sway Machinery, 10:40; EMEFE, 11:35; Mammal Dap, 12:30, Spike Hill, 186 Bedford Ave.

Panache: Big Ups, 8:00; Homeshake, 8:50; Calvin Love, 9:40; Ex-Cult, 10:30; Hunters, 11:30; Speedy Ortiz, 12:30, 285 Kent, 285 Kent Ave.

PledgeMusic: holychild, 8:00; Firehorse, 9:00; 10:00pm Here We Go Magic, 10:00; DJ set by Nicole Atkins, 11:00, the Heath at the McKittrick Hotel, 542 West 27th St.

New West Records: Ruby the Rabbitfoot, 9:00; New Madrid, 9:50; Wild Moccasins, 10:50; Yip Deceiver, 12 midnight; White Wiolet, 1:10, the Living Room, 154 Ludlow St.

CMJ 2013: DAY TWO

No, Jamaican Queens has nothing to do with changing trains on the LIRR. Instead, it’s a Detroit-based duo that has numerous CMJ gigs scheduled this week; you can catch Ryan Spencer and Adam Pressley and their “satanic doo wop” October 16 at Pianos at 6:00 and Webster Hall’s Marlin Room at 9:20, followed on October 17 at Muchmore’s at 3:00 and at Littlefield at 7:00. See below for our other top picks for CMJ Day Two.

KEXP Live Broadcast: Bear Ceuse, 10:00; Cub Sport, 12 noon; Weekend, 2:00; the Helio Sequence, 4:30

“The New Curators,” with Kenna, David Adams, and Matthew Perpetua, NYU Kimmel Center, room 802 Shorin, 12:30

Kanine Records and SESAC’s Trick or Treat Party: the History of Apple Pie, 2:00; the Valleys, 2:45; Joanna Gruesome, 3:30; Beach Day, 4:15; Eagulls, 5:45; Eternal Summers, 6:30, Pianos, 158 Ludlow St.

Julia Weldon, Alphabet Lounge, 104 Ave. C, 7:00

Glenn Tilbrook, with the Fabulous Miss Wendy and Awake, Stage 48, 605 West 48th St., 8:00

Tijuana Gift Shop: Amy Lynn & the Gun Show, 8:30; These Animals, 9:20; Mia Dyson, 10:10; Firehorse, 11:00; Wake Island, 11:50; Pool Cosby, 12:40, Bowery Electric, 327 Bowery

NME showcase: Theo Verney, 8:45; Porcelain Raft, 9:30; Courtney Barnett, 10:15; Eagulls, 11:00; Yuck, 12 midnight, Tammany Hall, 152 Orchard St.

Duck Down/Javotti showcase: Black Moon LIVE backed by Phony Ppl (Enta Da Stage 20-year anniversary set), Cory Mo, DJ Set by Meka of 2dopeboyz, Res of Idle Warship, Smif N Wessun Reggae Jam Session, T’Nah Apex (Pro Era), Talib Kweli, the Underachievers, Children of the Night, F. Stokes, Music Hall of Williamsburg, 9:00

Au Revoir Simone, Highline Ballroom, 431 West 16th St., 10:30

Megafauna, Left Field, 87 Ludlow St., 10:45

CMJ 2013: DAY ONE

The CMJ Music Marathon begins on October 15, kicking off five days of live music, panel discussions, talks, and other special events. Below are our suggestions for the first day, including the annual New Zealand showcase, Mark Lanegan (Screaming Trees, the Gutter Twins), and a gig by the recently reunited Bongos, whose “Numbers with Wings” appears above, from the Maxwell’s farewell concert.

“How to Survive as a Musician in 2013,” with Mike Fordham, Seth Kallen, Travis Morrison, Josh Roth, and Joe Vesayaporn, NYU Kimmel Center, room 905/907, 12:30

What Blog?!: Owel, 1:00; Traumahelikopter, 1:45; Conjjjecture, 2:30; the Box Tiger, 3:15; Beach Day, 4:00; Ghost Wave, 4:45; Milagres, 5:30; Pianos, 158 Ludlow St.

Niall Connolly, 2:00, Rockwood Music Hall, 196 Allen St.

The Outlet Collective: Ula Ruth, 4:30; Whale Belly, 5:10; Poory Remy, 5:50; Tam Lin, 6:30; Cold Blood Club, 7:10, Bowery Electric, 327 Bowery

NZ@CMJ: Tiny Ruins, 6:00; Black City Lights, 6:35; Eden Mulholland, 7:10; Streets of Laredo, 7:45; Ghost Wave, 8:20, (le) poisson rouge, 158 Bleecker St.

Oh My Rockness: Big Ups, 7:00; Greys, 8:00; Ovlov, 9:00; PUP, 10:00; Kirin J Callinan, 11:00; Hunters, 12 midnight, Cameo Gallery, 93 North Sixth St.

The Bongos, 8:00, the Living Room, 54 Ludlow St.

Mark Lanegan, 9:45, Gramercy Theater, 127 East 23rd St.

Banners CMJ Party: Bored Nothing, 9:00; Total Slacker, 9:15; Honduras, 9:45; Spires, 10:00; How Sad, 10:30, Pianos, 158 Ludlow St.

Radical Dads, 12 midnight, Muchmore, 2 Havermeyer St.

CBGB FESTIVAL IN TIMES SQUARE

James Murphy will be rocking Times Square with a DJ set as part of free CBGB outdoor festival

Times Square
Saturday, October 12, free, 10:00 am – 7:00 pm
www.cbgb.com

Back in the day, no one would ever have equated CBGB — the punk club that helped launch the careers of such seminal musicians as Patti Smith, Talking Heads, and Television — with Times Square, particularly the new, Disney-fied Crossroads of the World. But this is a different era, as the CBGB bathroom was even re-created for the recent Met Costume Institute exhibit “Punk: Chaos to Couture,” although it wasn’t quite as we remembered it. But on Saturday, October 12, the second annual CBGB Festival will take over Times Square, with five stages of live music along Broadway. Between 11:00 am and 2:00 pm, the Wallflowers and Lisa Loeb will be playing on the South Stage, while Divine Fits and up-and-coming bands will be playing on the North Stage. After 4:00, LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy (DJ set) and My Morning Jacket will take over the South Stage, with Grizzly Bear on the North Stage. The food court will include such favorites as DBGB, Luke’s Lobster, BGR the Burger Joint, Crif Dogs, House of ’Que, and Ho’brah Taco. Among the special activities are an Animal BMX ramp, a rock-climbing walls a Two Boots pizza-eating contest, an art commune creating a CBGB mural, a Smashing Pumpkin tent with professional pumpkin carvers, an enormous interactive touch screen, and a CBGB salon offering punk makeovers.

CBGB FESTIVAL: DAVID BROMBERG UNSUNG TREASURE

David Bromberg talks about his life and sings the blues in illuminating documentary

DAVID BROMBERG UNSUNG TREASURE (Beth Toni Kruvant, 2012)
IndieScreen
289 Kent Ave.
Saturday, October 12, 9:00
347-227-8030
www.cbgb.com
www.goodfootageproductions.com

The delightful documentary David Bromberg Unsung Treasure sings the well-deserved praises of a rather unusual character — a white, Jewish bluesman from ritzy Tarrytown, New York. For more than forty years, masterful guitarist and songwriter David Bromberg has been singing his entertaining brand of the blues and bluegrass, either solo, with his Big Band, or with the Angel Band. A consummate musician, engaging raconteur, and outstanding live performer, he trained with the Rev. Gary Davis before going on to play with such superstars as Bob Dylan, Jerry Garcia, George Harrison, Jerry Jeff Walker, and a litany of others. A big man with an ever-present beard, mustache, and glasses, Bromberg is an utterly charming figure, speaking honestly and openly about his life and career, often mentioning how deeply he was affected by the way he was raised and how that helped instill the blues in him. Beth Toni Kruvant (The Right to Be Wrong, Heart of Stone) traces his early years through wonderful archival footage and old photographs, then delves into his departure from playing music in the late 1980s and 1990s, when he and his wife, singer Nancy Josephson, moved to Wilmington, Delaware, where he established a well-respected violin-making business and worked tirelessly to help resuscitate the city. But in 2007, Bromberg began a comeback with the solo record Try Me One More Time, followed in 2011 by Use Me, featuring collaborations with a diverse group of musicians, including Vince Gill, Dr. John, and Keb’ Mo’, who appear in the film and talk about the affable, engaging Bromberg with great affection. Unsung Treasure is indeed about an American unsung treasure, a gregarious, giving, and humble man who plays the blues like nobody’s business. The film is screening October 12 at IndieScreen as part of the CBGB Festival, which includes such other music-related films as The Librarian and the Banjo, Autoluminescent, Babe’s & Ricky’s Inn (with live performances by Bobby Brown), and Brothers Hypnotic.