Brooklyn-based alterna-trio Radical Dads are promising quite a show for their next gig, October 2 at 285 Kent. As it’s a Wednesday night, guitarists Lindsay Baker and Chrissy Diken and drummer Robbie Guertin are calling it the Radical Dads Complete Hump Seminar and will be joined by Haybaby, Dead Stars, Boytoy, and Honduras. Although the indefatigable band is already working on a new seven-inch for November and are planning on their third full-length for the spring, they’re still out on the road in support of their latest album, the delightful Rapid Reality (Uninhabitable Mansions, May 2013), which includes such primo indie rock tracks as “Mountain Town,” “Pink Flag,” “Dust USA,” and “Stampede.” Part of the Uninhabitable Mansions arts collective, Radical Dads got Dana Schutz to create the album art for the new disc; Michael Deforge did the same for their 2011 debut, Mega Rama. You can check out all of Radical Dads’ music here before catching the show on Wednesday, because as they say on their website, “Do not be the last on your block or in your community garden association to hump or get humped.”
this week in music
MASSIVE ATTACK V ADAM CURTIS
Park Avenue Armory, Wade Thompson Drill Hall
643 Park Ave. at 67th St.
Through October 4, $60
212-933-5812
www.armoryonpark.org
For twenty-five years, Robert “3D” Del Naja has been half of the British trip-hop group Massive Attack, along with Grant “Daddy G” Marshall, releasing such seminal records as Blue Lines, Protection, Mezzanine, and 100th Window. For thirty years, BBC journalist and filmmaker Adam Curtis has been making such award-winning documentaries and nonfiction series as Pandora’s Box, Modern Times: The Way of All Flesh, The Century of the Self, and The Power of Nightmares. Del Naja and Curtis have now teamed up to create the immersive multimedia production Massive Attack v Adam Curtis, co-commissioned by the Manchester International Festival, the Ruhrtriennale International Festival of the Arts, and the Park Avenue Armory. Former graffiti artist Del Naja and Curtis are joined by United Visual Artists, which has been providing LED installations for Massive Attack’s live shows since 2003, set designer Es Devlin (Howie the Rookie, The Master and Margarita), and vocalists Liz Fraser and Horace Andy as they delve into what Del Naja calls “a collective hallucination” and Curtis refers to as “a musical entertainment about the power of illusion and the illusion of power.” In the general admission show, multiple screens project a dizzying array of images examining the global sociopolitical culture of the last fifty years, declaring that “you are the centre of everything” while also including stories of individuals trying to find some hope for a better future. Massive Attack v Adam Curtis runs through October 4 in the armory’s Wade Thompson Drill Hall; the October 3 performance will be preceded by the ticketed panel discussion “Viewing Media Through an Artistic Lens” with Simon Critchley, Joyce Barnathan, and Alexis Goldstein, moderated by Graham Sheffield.
Massive Attack and Adam Curtis fight the power in multimedia show (photo by James Medcraft)
Update: The title Massive Attack v Adam Curtis might suggest that the trip-hop band and the controversial experimental filmmaker are locked in some kind of competition, but instead Robert Del Naja and Curtis come together in exciting ways in their thrilling multimedia show. The ninety-minute production takes place in an elongated rectangular section of the Park Avenue Armory’s Wade Thompson Drill Hall, where fifteen hundred people squeeze in, with four large screens to the right and left and three more in the front, behind which Massive Attack plays a wide variety of cover songs (as well as a few snippets of their own tunes), joined by the Cocteau Twins’ Liz Fraser and Jamaican singer Horace Andy, both of whom have collaborated with the British band before. Curtis’s Everything Is Going According to Plan flashes across the eleven screens, as archival news footage, superimposed text, and narration by David Warner focus in on such figures as Donald Trump, Nicolae Ceaușescu, Ted Turner and Jane Fonda, economist Fischer Black, Jess “the Automat” Marcum, and others who Curtis believes have contributed to the economic and political downfall of the world. He also tells the powerful, tragic stories of British painter Pauline Boty and Russian postpunk musician Yegor Letov. Meanwhile, Massive Attack performs the Shirelles’ “Baby, It’s You,” the Archies’ “Sugar, Sugar,” Jesus and Mary Chain’s “Just Like Honey,” Dusty Springfield’s “The Look of Love,” This Mortal Coil’s “Dreams Are Like Water,” “Yanka’s Song,” “Safe from Harm,” and other songs, accompanying Curtis’s brutal, funny, cynical, and ironic images that portend the end of the world as we know it. The finale implores people to take action and save the planet from certain destruction, but you might be too dizzy and depressed by that point to care.
DAVID BROMBERG BIG BAND: CD RELEASE PARTY
City Winery
155 Varick St.
Tuesday, October 1, $45-$60, 8:00
212-608-0555
www.davidbromberg.net
www.citywinery.com
Since coming out of semiretirement in 2007, master folk bluesman and violin maker extraordinaire David Bromberg has been experiencing a continuing, well-deserved resurgence. That year he released his first album in seventeen years, the outstanding Try Me One More Time. On 2011’s Use Me, he collaborated with John Hiatt, Tim O’Brien, Dr. John, Los Lobos, Vince Gill, Keb’ Mo’, Widespread Panic, Levon Helm, and others. Last year, his life and career were explored in Beth Toni Kruvant’s delightful and revealing documentary, David Bromberg Unsung Treasure. And now, on October 1, Bromberg will be at City Winery celebrating the release of his latest record, the sparkling Only Slightly Mad (Appleseed, September 2013), which combines his skills at multiple genres with his wry sense of humor (“Everything but the kitchen sink,” he writes in the liner notes), featuring four originals along with songs by Big Bill Broonzy, Floyd Cramer and Conway Twitty, Bill Monroe, the Stanley Brothers, and others.
David Bromberg is only slightly mad on new album (photo by Jim McGuire)
“Yeah, sure, I’ll take you back / just, uh, not at this particular point in time,” he sings on longtime live favorite “I’ll Take You Back,” adding, “I’ll take you back, baby / when no means yes and more means less / when ice is hot and fire is not / I’ll take you back, baby / when water ain’t wet and congress pays off the national debt / I’ll take you back.” Only Slightly Mad also includes the Grateful Dead-like ballad “Drivin’ Wheel,” the New Orleans ramble “Nobody Knows the Way I Feel This Mornin’,” the country folk lament “The Fields Have Turned Brown,” and the bluegrass stomp “Cattle in the Cane / Forked Deer / Monroe’s Hornpipe.” Throughout the record, the sixty-eight-year-old Bromberg makes references to his longevity and his ability to bounce back. In the a cappella original “The Strongest Man Alive,” he explains, “I have fought in many battles / though I have not won them all / It’s a miracle this bruised and battered body breathes at all / Oh, they say a cat has nine lives / Well, I’ve lived through four or five / I am the strongest man alive.” And on the gospel-tinged “I’ll Rise Again,” another original, Bromberg warbles, “I may be down / but I’ll rise again / someway, somehow / I’ll rise again.” He also takes full responsibility for all that has happened in his life in the album’s sizzling opener, “Nobody’s Fault But Mine” — a Blind Willie Johnson song he previously recorded on 1977’s Reckless Abandon — declaring, “I know right from wrong / I know right from wrong / If I do wrong, and my soul be lost / ain’t nobody’s fault but mine.” A relentless road warrior and consummate storyteller who always delivers an exciting and entertaining live show, Bromberg will be joined by his big band at City Winery, with Nate Grower on fiddle, Mark Cosgrove on guitar and mandolin, Josh Kanusky on drums, Curtis Fowlkes on trombone, Butch Amiot on bass, Peter Ecklund on trumpet, John Firmin on sax, and wife Nancy Josephson on backing vocals.
RED BULL SOUND SELECT: BRIAN FALLON AND THE BOUNCING SOULS
Gaslight Anthem leader Brian Fallon has curated the September edition of the Red Bull Sound Select showcase series and will play a set with the Bouncing Souls at MHOW (photo by twi-ny/mdr)
Music Hall of Williamsburg
66 North Sixth St.
Monday, September 30, $3, 8:00
www.redbullsoundselect.com
www.musichallofwilliamsburg.com
At the end of July, fellow Jersey bands the Gaslight Anthem (The ’59 Sound, American Slang) and the Bouncing Souls (Maniacal Laughter, Ghosts on the Boardwalk) played a hot show on Pier 26 in Hudson River Park to a bevy of fans shouting along with every word and forming a wicked mosh pit. On September 30 at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, Gaslight Anthem leader Brian Fallon will be joining longtime punks the Bouncing Souls for the monthly edition of the Red Bull Sound Select series, which Fallon curated in conjunction with Brooklyn Vegan. The main event is Fallon playing a set with the Bouncing Souls; don’t be surprised if they tear through a raucous version of “East Coast! Fuck You!” Opening up will be a pair of Brooklyn groups, garage-popsters Nude Beach and Red Bull Sound Select band Aye Nako, who describe themselves as “four weirdos trying to find their confidence / sexuality / harmony / pay day,” specializing in such genres as “homopop, queercore, punk, and non-college rock.” You can stream Aye Nako’s strong debut, Unleash Yourself, here. Tickets are a mere three bucks and are available only at the door the night of the show.
ATLANTIC ANTIC 2013
A huge crowd is expected at the annual Atlantic Antic festival, which this year honors Marty Markowitz
Atlantic Ave. between Hicks St. & Fourth Ave.
Sunday, September 29, free, 12 noon – 6:00 pm
www.atlanticave.org
The centerpiece of the thirty-eighth annual Atlantic Antic, a free festival of food, music, games, family-friendly activities, and more taking place Sunday, September 29, along Atlantic Ave., is a public farewell to outgoing borough president Marty Markowitz, who will be crowned honorary King of Brooklyn. More than a million visitors are expected for the party, which includes live performances indoors and outdoors, with the Windsor Terrors, the Black Coffee Blues Band, Strictly Belly Dancing, Les Sans Culottes, Liam the Magician, a domino tournament, Rolie Polie Guacamole, DJ Hard Hittin Harry, a book signing and reading by Melanie Hope Greenberg, teen jazz duo Octave Higher, Brandi and the Alexanders, Boricua Betty, the Get It, Junior Rivera and Son de Caney, the Dysfunctional Family Jazz Band, and many others. Among the participating establishments are the Chip Shop, the Waterfront Ale House, the Brazen Head, Pacheco & Lugo, Khamit Kinks, Last Exit, Gumbo, and Hank’s Saloon, and there will be local booths galore selling all kinds of items you won’t find at standard street fairs. And for the twentieth year, the New York Transit Museum is hosting the Bus Festival on Boerum Pl. between State St. & Atlantic Ave., featuring vintage buses, workshops, free tours, and other fun things, with admission to the museum only one dollar.
TWI-NY TALK: DICK VALENTINE OF ELECTRIC SIX
Dick Valentine and Electric Six ride into the city in support of latest album, MUSTANG
ELECTRIC SIX
Bowery Ballroom
6 Delancey St. between Bowery & Christie St.
Sunday, September 29, $18-$20, 9:00
212-533-2111
www.electricsix.com
www.boweryballroom.com
For nearly fifteen years, unpredictable Detroit band Electric Six has been having a blast, playing wild and crazy live shows and releasing such intoxicating albums as Danger! High Voltage, Señor Smoke, the splendidly titled I Shall Exterminate Everything Around Me That Restricts Me From Being the Master, and Heartbeats and Brainwaves. Although they’ve gone through numerous personnel changes, Tyler Spencer, aka Dick Valentine, has always been front and center, the group’s primary songwriter and lead vocalist. On their new record, the galloping Mustang (Metropolis, October 8), Valentine, guitarists Da Ve and Johnny Na$hinal, bassist Smorgasbord, drummer Percussion World, and keyboardist Tait Nucleus? take listeners on a rollicking journey through multiple genres, from the opening blast of “Nom de Plume” to the yearning ballad “Iron Dragon” to the Nick Cave/Roxy Music-like finale, “Cheryl vs. Darryl.” Electric Six brought its “Save the World, Save the World” tour to the Bell House this past Wednesday and will next be at Bowery Ballroom on September 29 with My Jerusalem and Les Sans Culottes. While in town, Valentine discussed with twi-ny the new record, Adam Levine, and the misspelling on the cover of Mustang.
twi-ny: Mustang explodes out of the speakers in a burst of heavy metal, punk, funk, hard rock, prog rock, black metal, disco, dance pop, and other styles. What is your songwriting process like? Do you set out to tackle specific genres in advance?
Dick Valentine: We just knew that having just done a synth and drum machine record for our previous studio release, we wanted to have a lot of guitars on this album. And live drums on every track. I have to say of all the albums we’ve done, this was the one where I came with the least amount of concrete ideas and finished songs on my end, so the rest of the guys, especially John Nash, really stepped up and got it done.
twi-ny: On “Adam Levine,” you tell the Maroon 5 frontman and “The Voice” coach to “burn in hell, motherfucker”; tell us, how do you really feel about him? Are personalities like Adam Levine good or bad for the music industry?
Dick Valentine: This song is not actually about Adam Levine. . . . That’s a popular misconception. It’s about feeling awful and then feeling worse because you know it will just continue. I’ve never met him, but he seems like a fine example of a human being. A human being who grew up in Beverly Hills. As far as his impact on the music industry, you’d have to ask Donny Osmond because that’s where this shit started.
twi-ny: In the past, you’ve said that your songs are “about absolutely nothing,” so should we not read any political metaphors into “Late Night Obama Food,” especially when you say, “We are starving, but we’re eating more than we ever did before”?
Dick Valentine: Yeah, that’s right.
twi-ny: Going back to “I Buy the Drugs” for a moment, what actually happens if you send a self-addressed stamped envelope to P.O. Box 900, Los Angeles, CA 90212?
Dick Valentine: I have heard it has something to do with FOX broadcasting. That was not intentional, but that makes sense as I believe that ZIP Code does in fact cover Century City and Westwood.
twi-ny: In “Gimme the Eyes,” you say, “When you come to New York see what your money buys.” You played the Bell House on September 25 and will be at Bowery Ballroom on September 29; what do you spend your money on when you’re here in the city?
Dick Valentine: Diapers. In a Park Slope parent way, not in a David Vitter way.
twi-ny: We can’t let you go without asking about the cover of Mustang; what was your initial reaction when you saw that the band’s name was misspelled on the back of the woman’s jean jacket?
Dick Valentine: We were elated.
DUMBO ARTS FESTIVAL 2013
Micah Stansell’s “Inversion (with Water)” combines sound and image in the Manhattan Bridge Archway & Anchorage
Multiple venues in DUMBO
September 27-29, free
www.dumboartsfestival.com
More than two hundred thousand visitors are expected to take part in the seventeenth annual Dumbo Arts Festival this weekend, running Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday. The streets and galleries will be home to three days of art, music, site-specific installation, workshops, open studios, and live performances, with everything free. The New York Photo Festival will be hosting the New York Photo Awards at 37 Main St., Gleason’s Gym is sponsoring “The Art of Boxing” at 77 Front St., “DADA’s Playground” will include family-friendly sculptures in the Kidlot, Mighty Tanaka welcomes people to the work of street artist Skewville in “Welcome to Skewville,” United Photo Industries’ “Photoville” continues on Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier 5, Anthony Heinz May’s “Appropriation of Nature” can be found on the park’s John St. Path, Ilya and Emilia Kabakov’s “Ship of Tolerance” sails into East River Cove, Abhaya Yoga will hold “Live Beats & Yoga Flow” at 10 Jay St., Clifford Ross & Taikoza’s “Immersive Harmonium Video and Japanese Drums” and Micah Stansell’s “Inversion (with Water)” take advantage of the Manhattan Bridge Archway & Anchorage, Andrey Bartenev and Mei Ann Teo’s “Bubbles of Hope” will roam all around the area, Amelia Marzec’s “New American Sweatshop” repurposes electronic waste into communication devices at 85 Washington St., dancers Jake Bone, Lynda Senisi, Damani Pompey, Ellyn Sjoquist and Alessandra Delle Grotti will perform Kensaku Shinohara’s “Math Time” on Main St., and CAM, DALeast, Eltono, Shepard Fairey, Faith47, MOMO, Stefan Sagmeister, and Yuko Shimizu will decorate DUMBO Walls in Bridge Park Two.
Andrey Bartenev and Mei Ann Teo’s “Bubbles of Hope” will roam around DUMBO on Saturday afternoon
There are lots of interactive installations, including the Heather Hart Experience’s “Bartertown (Trading Post Xi: The Magic Feathers),” in which participants can exchange objects, ideas, and just about anything else; Daina Taimina’s “Hyperbolic Hyperbolic Hyperbolic,” involving crocheting and paper cut-outs; Samuel Jablon and the Underpass Poets’ “Poet Sculpture” will feature readings on movable crates (by Steve Dalachinsky, Yuko Otomo, Vito Acconci, and many others, as well as an open mic); Rev. Lainie Love Dalby will bless festivalgoers as part of “HUMBO (Hope Under the Manhattan Bridge Underpass): A Blessing Performance to Burst Open Your He(art)”; the South Asian Women’s Creative Collective will present “Sublime,” interactive performance art pieces by Monica Jahan Bose, Ruby Chishti, Anjali Deshmukh, Swati Khurana, and Sunita S. Mukhi; and Kaloyan Ivanov’s “Void Simulacrum” invites the audience to work on a fifty-foot-long piece of fabric by Jane’s Carousel.