In her previous video, “Want It Back,” Amanda Fucking Palmer covered her unclothed body in black ink. The former Dresden Doll has cleaned herself up, in a way, for the follow-up, a remake of the folk-pop ballad “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” which became a hit for Roberta Flack in 1972. A collaboration with the Flaming Lips, the video features AFP rolling around in a bathtub, no ink to be seen anywhere, in what she calls “a very naked, very joyful little present from me and the Flaming Lips!!” Palmer and her band, the Grand Theft Orchestra, are about to hit the road in support of their upcoming album, Theatre Is Evil, which was financed on Kickstarter with the help of such friends as Kristin Hersh, David Mack, husband Neil Gaiman, Robyn Hitchcock, DJ Spooky, and others making artistic contributions. The record features such tracks as “Smile (Pictures or It Didn’t Happen),” “The Killing Type,” “The Bed Song,” and “Lost” in addition to “Want It Back.” AFP and the GTO will be celebrating the September 11 release of Theatre Is Evil with a show that night in the Grand Ballroom at Webster Hall.
this week in music
JANET CARDIFF AND GEORGE BURES MILLER: THE MURDER OF CROWS
“The Murder of Crows” is an intriguing, involving immersive experience at the Park Ave. Armory (photo by James Ewing/Park Avenue Armory)
Park Avenue Armory
643 Park Ave. at 67th St.
Tuesday – Sunday through September 9, $12 (open Labor Day Monday)
212-933-5812
www.armoryonpark.org
www.cardiffmiller.com
“Close your eyes and try to sleep,” Canadian-born sound artist Janet Cardiff repeatedly sings in a lullaby that is part of “The Murder of Crows,” a beautifully immersive installation continuing at the Park Ave. Armory through September 9. “Dreams will come / And when they’re done / It won’t be long / Until the dawn,” she adds. Closing one’s eyes and waiting for the coming of the proverbial dawn is the best way to experience “The Murder of Crows,” which was originally commissioned for the 2008 Biennale of Sydney. A collaboration between Cardiff — whose wonderful installation “The Forty Part Motet” can be seen at P.S. 1 in Queens through September 4 — and her husband, George Bures Miller, the thirty-minute “sound play” features ninety-eight speakers, fifty-five chairs, twenty-one amplifiers, and a gramophone horn on a lone desk. It was inspired by Goya’s late-eighteenth-century print “The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters,” number forty-three of eighty works that make up “Los Caprichos,” a series that was critical of Spanish society. In the print, Goya buries his head in his arms on a table, surrounded by bats and owls, as if his nightmares are coming to life. In “The Murder of Crows” — the title refers to the collective noun used for a group of crows, intelligent, opportunistic birds that do so many things together, including mourning — Cardiff recounts several disturbing dreams, speaking through the gramophone horn, with sound effects, a traditional Tibetan prayer chant, and orchestral compositions arranged by Tilman Ritter and performed by Deutsches Film Orchester Babelsberg emanating from the speakers, which reside on chairs, hang at different heights from the ceiling, and are set on stands surrounding the chairs. “The Murder of Crows” touches on such issues as racism, globalization, war, and loss in evocative narrative fragments, including a surprising dose of unexpected humor, that create visual landscapes despite being a sound-based project. Visitors can enter the expansive Wade Thompson Drill Hall at any time during the piece and stay as long as they’d like, letting the dreamlike sounds wash over them as they remain in their seats or wander around the speakers, each one emitting something different. “The Murder of Crows” is yet another fascinating production at the armory, which has quickly become one of New York City’s most exciting venues for inventive, often cutting-edge art, dance, film, and music programming.
VIDEO OF THE DAY: “GIMME THE SWEET AND LOWDOWN” BY SOCIAL DISTORTION
For more than thirty years, Southern California’s Social Distortion has been at the forefront of punk rockabilly, playing it hard, loud, and fast on such records as 1983’s Mommy’s Little Monster, 1988’s Prison Bound, and 1992’s Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell. Such powerful songs as “Story of My Life,” “Bad Luck,” “Ball and Chain,” and “99 to Life” came to define the genre, along with their killer cover of Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire.” Following an arena stint supporting the Foo Fighters, Social D, led by original front man Mike Ness along with guitarist Jonny “2 Bags” Wickersham, bassist Brent Harding, and drummer David Hidalgo Jr. (son of Los Lobos cofounder David Hidalgo), is back out on the road headlining smaller venues in support of their 2011 Epitaph release, Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes, which includes the driving “Gimme the Sweet and Lowdown,” for which the Mad Twins, Olya & Vira Ishchuk, just created an animated video that makes numerous references to Ness’s real life. “I can tell you now / you’ve really gotten the blues,” Ness sings. “I can tell you now / that I’ve walked in your shoes.” Social D will be at the Roseland Ballroom on October 26 with the Biters and Lindi Ortega.
HUDSON SQUARE MUSIC & WINE FESTIVAL: POUNDCAKE
Poundcake will close out the fourth annual Hudson Square Music & Wine Festival behind City Winery on August 28 (photo by twi-ny/mdr)
Behind City Winery
155 Varick St. between Vandam & Spring Sts.
Tuesday, August 28, free, 5:30
212-608-0555
www.citywinery.com
www.teddythompson.com
In May 2011 at City Winery, as Teddy Thompson fans were escorted to their reserved seats and ordered their food and drinks (including special bottles of Teddy Thompson wine), a surprisingly familiar face took the stage as part of the opening act. Announced as “Poundcake,” the three-piece band — consisting of guitar, stand-up bass, and drums — rambled through a good-time set of classic and obscure country and early rock covers, with the lead singer and the backup band making continuous tongue-in-cheek remarks about Teddy Thompson and how much the lead singer resembled the British-born, New York City-based son of Richard and Linda Thompson, who was touring behind his latest record, Bella, a deeply personal, poignant examination of a shattered relationship. In 2010, Teddy Thompson, along with his drummer, Ethan Eubanks, and bassist, Jeff Hill, started doing gigs as Poundcake, without officially admitting who their ersatz leader was. Poundcake plays engaging sets that feature such tunes as Patsy Cline’s “Why Can’t He Be You,” the Everly Brothers’ “Wake Up Little Susie,” Elvis Presley’s “That’s All Right, Mama,” Chuck Berry’s “Brown Eyed Handsome Man,” and Buddy Holly’s “It’s So Easy” and “Every Day,” the latter, that May night, sung by Eubanks after several starts in which the drummer mangled the words and Thompson harassed him for it. The trio engages in funny, self-deprecating between-song banter, making for an extremely entertaining show. Poundcake will be closing out this summer’s fourth annual Hudson Square Music & Wine Festival, sponsored by City Winery, on Tuesday, August 28, with a free outdoor concert at 5:30.
JANET CARDIFF: THE FORTY PART MOTET
Janet Cardiff’s “The Forty Part Motet” features beautiful music at MoMA PS1 (photo by twi-ny/mdr)
MoMA PS1
22-25 Jackson Ave. at 46th Ave.
Thursday – Monday through September 4, suggested admission $10
718-784-2084
www.momaps1.org
www.cardiffmiller.com
It might not quite be Carnegie Hall, but beautiful music is continuously emanating from a rather sparse white room at MoMA PS1 in Queens. For “The Forty Part Motet,” Canadian-born sound artist Janet Cardiff individually recorded forty members of the Salisbury Cathedral Choir performing Thomas Tallis’s sixteenth-century choral composition “Spem in Alium Nunquam habui” (“In no other is my hope”). Then, working with her husband and partner, George Bures Miller, who served as editor, Cardiff created an installation of forty speakers on stands, eight groups of five apiece organized in an enveloping circle, with each singer’s voice coming out of a different speaker. Beginning with coughs and whispers that kick off the fourteen-minute piece, “The Forty Part Motet” is a thrilling experience, even for those who might not generally have an ear for classical music. As visitors walk around the large room, which has natural light pouring in on two sides, they can sit in the center and let the glorious sounds wash over them, then approach each speaker to hear that singer’s unique contribution to the overall piece, resulting in a very personal, intimate connection. Cardiff, whose “Her Long Black Hair” led people on a mysterious journey through Central Park in the summer of 2004, is a master at using sound as her primary element in telling unusual and complex stories; her magnificent 2008 collaboration with Miller, “The Murder of Crows,” is currently wowing audiences through September 9 at the Park Ave. Armory. “The Forty Part Motet” is on view through September 4 at MoMA PS1, which is also showing “Lara Favaretto: Just Knocked Out,” “Jack Smith: Normal Love,” “Zackary Drucker: At Least You Know You Exist,” “Esther Kläs – Better Energy,” “Max Brand: no solid footing – (trained) duck fighting a crow,” “Wendy” by HWKN, and solo projects by Rey Akdogan, Edgardo Aragón, Ilja Karilampi, and Caitlin Keogh.
CHARLIE PARKER JAZZ FESTIVAL
Charlie Parker Jazz Festival honors legendary Bird with Strings sessions
Friday, August 24, Marcus Garvey Park, free, 7:00 – 9:00
Saturday, August 25, Marcus Garvey Park, free, 3:00 – 7:00
Sunday, August 26, Tompkins Square Park, free, 3:00 – 7:00
www.cityparksfoundation.org
Always one of the highlights of the summer, the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival also comes near the end of the season, signaling that Labor Day is not far off. For its twentieth anniversary, the festival, which honors the legendary saxman who was born in Kansas City and made a name for himself here in New York City, has put together several exciting free programs taking place this weekend. On Friday night in Marcus Garvey Park, Bird with Strings teams the Revive Music Group with Miguel Atwood-Ferguson for specially commissioned compositions that reimagine Bird’s 1949 and 1950 sessions that featured a classical string section. The evening will begin with a spoken-word performance of “On the Wings of Yardbird” by Daniel Carlton, set to such Bird classics as “Ornithology.” On Saturday from 3:00 to 7:00 also in Marcus Garvey Park, poets Edwin Torres and LaTasha N. Nevada Diggs will honor Parker’s legacy, followed by musical performances by Jamire Williams and ERIMAJ, Derrick Hodge, Rene Marie’s Experiment in Truth, and the amazing Roy Haynes. On Sunday, the festivities move downtown to Tompkins Square Park, with spoken-word artists Jon Sands, Sheila Maldonado, and Nikhil Melnechuk and live performances by Gregory Porter, Patience Higgins’s Sugar Hill Quartet, Andy Milne & Dapp Theory, and Sullivan Fortner.
AFRO-PUNK FESTIVAL
TV on the Radio headlines the second day of the free Afro-Punk Festival in Brooklyn (photo by twi-ny/mdr)
Commodore Barry Park
Park Ave., Navy St., Flushing Ave. & North Eliot Pl., Brooklyn
Saturday, August 25, and Sunday, August 26, free, 11:00 am – 9:00 pm
www.afropunkfest.com
www.nycgovparks.org
After the disappointment of last year’s Afro-Punk Festival being canceled at the last minute because of Hurricane Irene, we can’t wait for this year’s free celebration in Commodore Barry Park in Brooklyn. Taking place August 25 & 26, the eighth annual fest features another stellar lineup of rap, hip-hop, R&B, indie, alternative, and hot DJs, with Saturday’s roster including Radkey, the Skins, the Joe Jordan Experiment, Sinkane, Toshi Reagon, Alice Smith, Purple Ferdinand, the Memorials, and Erykah Badu with the Cannabinoids on the Green Stage and Ninjasonik, Oxymorrons, Cerebral Ballzy, Spank Rock, and Das Racist on the Red Stage. On Sunday, the Green Stage will host Inky Jack, Tess, Phony Ppl, Gordon Voidwell, Body Language, Reggie Watts, Toro y Moi, and TV on the Radio, with Flatbush Zombies, Bad Rabbits, Straight Line Stitch, Gym Class Heroes, and Janelle Monae on the Red Stage. Fifteen food trucks will fill out Bites & Beats, with such favorite mobile eateries as Mexicue, Jamaican Dutchy, Bian Dang, Fishing Shrimp, Korilla BBQ, Kelvin Natural Slush, and Van Leeuwen Ice Cream. More than eighty local artisans will be selling their goods at the Spin Thrift Market, while BaJa Ukweli, RIP Josama, Nelson Cekis Rivas, Coby Kennedy, Rob Fokused, See One, and David RIMX Sepulveda will show their stuff on the Art Wall. Amateur skaters from all over the country will participate in the Nike Battle for the Streets, hosted by Alex Corporan and Billy Rohan and judged by Shawn Powers, Danny Supa, Ray Mate, and others, while a dozen custom bikes will fight it out for best in show in Brooklyn Rhapsody. There’s nothing quite like the Afro-Punk Festival, which is doing all it can to make up for last year with one helluva program this weekend.