this week in music

NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812

The cast of NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812 toasts creator Dave Malloy, who also plays Pierre (photo by Ben Arons)

Ars Nova
511 West 54th St. between Tenth & Eleventh Aves.
Tuesday – Saturday through November 17, $30, 8:00
212-352-3101
www.arsnovanyc.com

Inspired by a section of Leo Tolstoy’s 1869 epic, War and Peace, Dave Malloy’s Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 is a rousing and rollicking immersive rock opera filled with treachery, deceit, romance, humor, and food and drink. Scenic designer Mimi Lien has transformed Ars Nova into an 1812 Moscow club, where patrons are seated together at small tables, banquettes, and a long, curved bar and greeted by a complimentary bottle of vodka and a plate of potato pierogis and pumpernickel bread. The action takes place everywhere, as the actors pop up on the bar, sit at a table, and wander through the audience, Bradley King’s expert lighting and Matt Hubbs’s sound design helping people locate the actors. Russian epics can get rather complicated, so the show opens with a prologue in which the characters introduce themselves one by one and set up the story, which involves a beautiful young woman, Natasha (Phillipa Soo), who is engaged to Andrey, who is off fighting the war against Napoleon, but Natasha soon falls for engaging cad Anatole (Lucas Steele), who is the brother of town tart Hélène (Amber Gray), who is married to the hapless cuckold Pierre (Malloy, who also plays piano in the live band, which is scattered throughout the space). “Everyone’s got nine different names,” the cast sings, “but look it up in your program / We’d appreciate it / Thanks a lot.” Indeed, the program includes a plot synopsis as well as a map of who’s who and how they are connected.

Natasha (Phillipa Soo) is caught in a dangerous love triangle in rollicking new rock opera (photo by Ben Arons)

The talented cast also features Brittain Ashford as Natasha’s well-meaning cousin Sonya; a scene-stealing Blake DeLong as Andrey’s crotchety father, Prince Bolkonsky; Amelia Workman as Natasha’s overprotective godmother, Marya D; Gelsey Bell as Andrey’s very serious sister, Mary; Nick Choksi as Anatole’s best friend, Dolokhov; and associate musical director Paul Pinto as troika driver Balaga. The bawdier first act is followed by a mellower second act highlighted by a show-stopping performance by Bell as Sonya laments what has befallen Natasha. The rock-solid music is played by cellists Brent Arnold and Raymond Sicam III, clarinetist Mark Dover, bassist John Murchison, oboist Sally Wall, and violist Pinky Weitzman, giving a Russian twist to the Jesus Christ Superstar-like score. Directed with flair and verve by Rachel Chavkin, who previously worked with Malloy (Beowulf — A Thousand Years of Baggage, Clown Bible) on the Obie-winning Three Pianos, the world premiere of Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 offers adventurous theatergoers a fabulously good time, a unique experience that is fun for all in a wide variety of ways.

ROD STEWART

Barnes & Noble
555 Fifth Ave. at 46th St.
Tuesday, October 23, free, 5:30
212-697-3048
www.randomhouse.com
www.rodstewart.com

“Obviously I was a mistake,” rock legend Rod Stewart writes in the beginning of his brand-new tome, Rod: The Autobiography (Crown, October 23, 2012, $27). But it’s no mistake that Stewart is one of the greatest performers in rock-and-roll history, having released such hit albums as Gasoline Alley, Every Picture Tells a Story, Blondes Have More Fun, Tonight I’m Yours, It Had to Be You: The Great American Songbook, and others over the course of a career that has spanned more than fifty years. In his book — which joins such other recent rock-star tell-alls as Keith Richards’s Life, Neil Young’s Waging Heavy Peace, and Pete Townshend’s Who I Am, Stewart shares tales of his youth, his friendships with the likes of Elton John and Ronnie Wood, his numerous sexual relationships, and the true story behind an ugly rumor that has followed him around for decades. “No one ever forgets their first view of Manhattan, rising into the sky ahead of them, nor their first drive up its concrete canyons,” he writes about his first trip to New York City, with Ron Wood. “Woody and I were in ecstasy – possibly even silenced momentarily, gawping at the scale of it all.” Rod the Mod has returned to New York City many times since then, selling out Madison Square Garden and other venues, and he will be back in town on October 23, making his only NYC literary appearance at 5:30 at the Fifth Ave. Barnes & Noble at 46th St., signing copies of Rod; there is a three-book maximum, and he will not be signing any other memorabilia. In addition, photography is not allowed once patrons approach the table, so you will not be able to take a posed picture with him. But how often do you get to be thisclose to the man behind “Maggie May,” “Hot Leg,” “Mandolin Wind,” “(I Know) I’m Losing You,” “Young Turks,” and “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?”

BEYOND CAGE

Petr Kotik, seen here with John Cage in August 1992, will lead the Cage centennial celebration October 22 – November 7 (photo by John Maggiotto)

CAGE AT 100 / MUSIC AT 2012
Multiple venues
October 22 – November 7, free – $25, passes $50-$250
718-488-7659
www.semensemble.org

Minimalist maestro John Cage would have turned one hundred last month — he died in August 1992 at the age of seventy-nine — and his centennial is being honored by the nonprofit S.E.M. Ensemble through a series of special events taking place at several venues October 22 through November 9. Founded in 1970 by Petr Kotik, who collaborated with Cage, the Orchestra of the S.E.M. Ensemble will kick off the “Beyond Cage” festival on October 22 with a simultaneous performance of the avant-garde theorist, composer, and musician’s “Atlas Eclipticalis” and “Winter Music,” followed by Christian Marclay’s “Shuffle,” at Carnegie Hall, featuring Joseph Kubera and Ursula Oppens on piano, with Kotik conducting. On October 26, Kotik, Kubera, composer Joel Chadabe, author Richard Kostelanetz, and Christian Wolff, Cage’s only student, will gather for the panel discussion “John Cage’s Musical Legacy” at the CUNY Graduate Center. On October 27, the FLUX Quartet will perform works by Cage, Kotik, Earle Brown, Morton Feldman, Alvin Lucier, and Luigi Nono at the Paula Cooper Gallery, followed the next night by “New Works by Emerging Composers” at the Willow Place Auditorium in Brooklyn. On October 30, Kotik will conduct Ostravská banda & Talujon Percussion, featuring mezzo soprano Katalin Károlyi, in a program at the Bohemian National Hall that includes three works by Cage as well as Karlheinz Stockhausen, James Tenney, and Salvatore Sciarrino. On November 2, the S.E.M. Ensemble will play Kotik’s “Many Many Women,” with text by Gertrude Stein, at Paula Cooper. On November 4 at Roulette, “Cage & Kubera: Grand Piano Solos” consists of pieces by Kotik, Cage, and Roscoe Mitchell performed by Ostravská banda, Kubrera, violinist Conrad Harris, saxophonist Mitchell, and flutist and conductor Kotik. On November 5, Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava will be at Alice Tully Hall for “Morton Feldman: Major Orchestral Works.” The following night, Peter Graham will present the talk “Cage, Cunningham & Rauschenberg in Prague & Ostrava (1964)” at the Bohemian National Hall, where the festival concludes November 7 with “Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava: Cage, Wolff, and Vítková,” which includes the New York premiere of Cage’s “103.”

THE PSYCHEDELIC FURS

Richard Butler and the Psychedelic Furs are back on tour, sounding as fresh as ever (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Best Buy Theater
1515 Broadway at 44th St.
Sunday, October 21, $40, 8:00
www.thepsychedelicfurs.com
www.bestbuytheater.com
capitol theatre slideshow

The last time we saw the Psychedelic Furs (way back when), singer and cofounder Richard Butler spent the entire show sitting in a chair, his legs crossed, elegantly smoking a cigarette. At the time, we all thought he was the coolest dude on the planet. The current version of Butler is still pretty cool, but it is also infused with an innate charm and even a playful goofiness, demonstrating sheer joy in leading the group through a fab set of memorable hits that somehow come off sounding fresh despite their vintage. Formed in 1977 by Butler and his brother, bassist Tim Butler, the Furs defined the postpunk ’80s British sound with a string of successful albums (Talk Talk Talk, Forever Now, Mirror Moves) that spawned such great singles as “Love My Way,” “Heartbreak Beat,” “Heaven,” and their breakthrough, “Pretty in Pink,” all of which showed up Saturday night at the recently renovated Capitol Theatre in Port Chester. Richard twirled, jumped, knelt in front of the drum kit, held his arms out in welcoming gestures, and marched back and forth across the front of the stage, greeting his adoring audience and posing in still-elegant ways, a perpetual, infectious smile on his face. The Furs might not have released a record since 1991 — the Butlers did take a ten-year hiatus, forming Love Spit Love — but they managed to not make the ninety-minute show feel retro. In fact, they are even performing a new song, “Little Miss World,” so hopefully more are to follow. The current lineup also features Richard Good on guitar, Mars Williams on saxophone, Amanda Kramer on keyboard, and Paul Garisto on drums, bringing to life such other favorite tunes as “Run and Run,” “Mr. Jones,” LSL’s “Believe,” and the political “President Gas,” in which Butler stuck out his right hand in a fascist salute and sang, “Don’t cry / Don’t do anything / No lies / back in the government / No tears / Party time is here again / President Gas is up for president.” The Psychedelic Furs will be at the Best Buy Theater tonight in Times Square, with Leeds’ the Chevin and the Lemonheads opening up.

CMJ VIDEO OF THE DAY: BLACK TAXI

Brooklyn foursome Black Taxi has followed up its January sophomore full-length, We Don’t Know Any Better, with the four-track Live in Portland, which includes “Shoeshine,” “Vultures,” “Friend,” and “Hand,” revealing their sonic diversity. (You can stream the album here.) The socially conscious band, which consists of lead singer, keyboardist, and trumpeter Ezra Huleatt, guitarist Bill Mayo, bassist Krisana Soponpong, and drummer Jason Holmes, is celebrating the release of the EP at the CMJ Music Marathon, playing the MezzoForte showcase on October 20 at Mercury Lounge on a bill with Sphynx, the Frontier Brothers, Quiet Company, Deadbeat Darling, the Modern Electric, Wild Adriatic, and Black Wing Halo.

CMJ MUSIC MARATHON 2012: DAY FIVE

ENTOURAGE star Adrian Grenier and the Honey Brothers will be at Fontana’s for a CMJ showcase gig on October 20

Multiple venues
October 16-20
www.cmj.com/marathon

The CMJ Music Marathon comes to a close on Saturday with another slew of shows, featuring some old CMJ favorites as well as plenty of newbies along with a star actor. The 2012 edition might not be going out with a bang, but it’s not a whimper either.

Saturday, October 20

Delicate Steve, Cake Shop, 12 noon

Tijuana Gift Shop showcase: At Sea (1:00), the Oats (1:50), Old Time Machine (2:40), Bend Sinister (3:30), Slam Dunk (4:20), Tomorrow Tomorrow (5:10), the Blakes (6:00), the Rock Shop

Country Mice, Rockwood Music Hall Stage 2, 7:00

The So So Glos, Knitting Factory, 8:00

Wild Nothing, Bowery Ballroom, 11:00

The Honey Brothers with Adrian Grenier, Fontana’s, 11:00

Hank & Cupcakes, Fontana’s, 11:45

CMJ VIDEO OF THE DAY: LILY AND THE PARLOUR TRICKS

At last year’s CMJ Music Marathon, Lily and the Parlour Tricks were touring behind their just-released, self-titled debut EP, a splendid collection of a half dozen enticing songs that harken back to the past while also being placed firmly in the present. On such tracks as “Poison Song,” “Little Angel,” and “Murder Song,” lead singer Lily Claire, drummer Terry Moore, bassist Brian Kesley, guitarist Angelo Spagnolo, and background vocalists Morgane Moulherat and Darah Golub take listeners on a harmonic musical journey filled with delights that only get better when the songs are performed live. Lily and the Parlour Tricks will be doing CMJ double duty on October 19, playing the Big Picture Media showcase at Sullivan Hall at 10:00 and the Press House / Imagem Music showcase at Rockwood Music Hall at 12:30 am. If you miss them this week, you can catch them October 25 at the Knitting Factory with Lucy Michelle and the Velvet Lapelles and He’s My Brother, She’s My Sister.