this week in music

LOWDOWN HUDSON BLUES FESTIVAL

The legendary Buddy Guy will headline the two-day Lowdown Hudson Blues Festival on July 11 (photo by Christian Lantry)

World Financial Center Plaza
220 Vesey St. between North End Ave. & West St.
July 11-12, free, 6:00
212-417-7050
www.artsworldfinancialcenter.com

The blues return to World Financial Center Plaza this week with another diverse lineup for the second annual Lowdown Hudson Blues Festival. Last July, such greats as Taj Mahal and James Blood Ulmer played in the shadow of the Hudson River; this year features seventy-four-year-old living legend Buddy Guy, who will be headlining the July 11 show (after signing copies of his new memoir, When I Left My Home: My Story). Wednesday will also feature thirteen-year-old-prodigy Quinn Sullivan and the one and only John Mayall, the seventy-eight-year-old British master who led one of the seminal blues groups, the Bluesbreakers, which gave rise to such guitarists as Eric Clapton, Peter Green, and Mick Taylor. On July 12, Rob and Rachel Kolar’s He’s My Brother She’s My Sister kicks things off, joined by tap dancer Lauren Brown, followed by sixty-three-year-old Charles Bradley and His Extraordinaires. Born in Florida but raised in Brooklyn, Bradley has lived the life he sings about on his debut album, No Time for Dreaming. The evening concludes with a performance by indie fave Neko Case, the northwest singer-songwriter who is a member of the New Pornographers and has released such well-received solo albums as 2006’s Fox Confessor Brings the Flood and 2009’s Middle Cyclone.

IMAGENATION OUTDOORS — EVERYDAY SUNSHINE: THE STORY OF FISHBONE

Angelo Moore and Norwood Fisher are the heart and soul of Fishbone (photo by Erin Flynn)

EVERYDAY SUNSHINE: THE STORY OF FISHBONE (Lev Anderson & Chris Metzler, 2010)
Marcus Garvey Park
18 Mount Morris Park West
Wednesday, July 11, free, music at 7:30, film at 8:30
imagenation.us
www.fishbonedocumentary.com

When they were junior high school students in South Central Los Angeles in 1979, Angelo Moore and Norwood Fisher formed the core of Fishbone, what would soon become one of the most exciting live bands on the planet. Chris Metzler and Lev Anderson document the band’s rise and fall — and rise and fall, and rise and fall, etc. — in the stirring Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone. Using archival footage, old and new interviews, and playful animation, Metzler and Anderson follow the group — Moore and Fisher along with fellow founding members Chris Dowd, Walter “Dirty Walt” Kibby II, and Kendall Jones — through its many personal and financial struggles as it tries to deal with such socioeconomic issues as racism, violence, and the anti-liberal bias taking hold of the nation in Ronald Reagan’s 1980s. Fishbone held nothing back on such albums as In Your Face (1986), Truth and Soul (1988), The Reality of My Surroundings (1991), Give a Monkey a Brain and He’ll Swear He’s the Center of the Universe (1993), and Chim Chim’s Badass Revenge (1996), mixing in pop, punk, funk, ska, reggae, R&B, soul, jazz, and hardcore, prancing about the stage without shirts, diving into the crowd, and always speaking their mind, and they hold nothing back in Everyday Sunshine as well. Narrated by Laurence Fishburne, the film really picks up speed when it delves into the Rodney King beating and the mysterious circumstances involving Jones’s religious transformation and the band’s attempt at an intervention. The decidedly unusual tale also features an impressive lineup of talking heads offering their views on the history of Fishbone, including Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Perry Farrell from Jane’s Addiction, fIREHOSE’s Mike Watt, No Doubt’s Gwen Stefani and Tony Kanal, the Roots’ ?uestlove, Gogol Bordello’s Eugene Hutz, Parliament-Funkadelic’s George Clinton, Primus’s Les Clayool, Living Colour’s Vernon Reid, Circle Jerk Keith Morris, Ice-T, and, perhaps most informatively, Columbia Records executive David Kahne, who lends fascinating insight into what made Fishbone great — and what kept them from greater success. While you definitely don’t have to know a thing about Fishbone to enjoy this very intimate documentary, longtime fans should eat it up. Everyday Sunshine is screening on July 11 in Marcus Garvey Park as part of the ImageNation Outdoors summer series and will be preceded by live performances by GAME Rebellion and Daví. The festival continues with such free screenings as Night Catches Us on July 21 at Weekesville, Africa United with live music by Taj Weekes & Adowa, Shine & the Moonbeams, and Randolph Matthews on July 29 in Springfield Park, and Taking Root! A Tribute to Wangari Maathal on August 1 in West Harlem Pier Park.

WARM UP 2012

HWKN’s “Wendy” will provide necessary cooling for MoMA PS1’s summer Warm Up series (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

MoMA PS1
22-25 Jackson Ave. at 46th Ave.
Saturdays from 3:00 to 9:00, July 7 – September 8, $15
718-784-2084
www.ps1.org
wendy slideshow

MoMA PS1’s exhilarating hot and sweaty weekly summer Warm Up dance party turns fifteen this year, with another wide-ranging lineup of live performances and DJ sets that are sure to get your booty shaking. And this year you can move and groove a rotating series of site-specific stage installations by such artists and collectives as CONFETTISYSTEM, Fort Makers, the Principals, and others. Warm Up begins July 7 with Todd Terry, Light Asylum, Nguzunguzu, Trust, and Arca ft. HBA. The July 14 show consists of Terrence Parker, D3, Ron Morelli, Jeremie Delon, Steve Summers, and Professor Genius, while July 21 brings together DJing Matthew Dear, Sepalcure, Le1f, MikeQ, and JDH and Dave P. On July 28, MJ Cole, Sinkane, DJ Spoko, Slava, and Van Rivers will lead the way, followed August 4 by Jamie xx, Pearson Sound, Lemonade, Sinjin Hawke, Zora Hones, and Miguel. On August 11, Photek, Evian Christ, Shlohmo, Autre Ne Veut, and Howse will man the boards and mics, while Floating Points, Jacques Greene, Secret Circuit, and Hieroglyphic Being will take care of things on August 18. August 25’s lineup features Just Blaze, Nick Catchdubs, Danny Brown, the Stallions, and BAIO, while September 1 boasts James Holden, Kassem Mosse, Om Unit, and Silent Diane. The season comes to an awesome close on September 8 with a DJ set by Atoms for Peace, Rustie, Holy Other, Maria Minerva, and Justin Strauss. Food will be provided by Long Island City favorites M. Wells, while much necessary cooling will come courtesy of “Wendy,” HWKN’s giant courtyard installation that won this year’s Young Architects Program. A giant ecologically friendly multifaceted blue star made of titania-nanoparticle-treated nylon that neutralizes air pollution, “Wendy” also has water cannons, big fans, pools of fresh water, and metal steps that lead into its epicenter. As always, the museum will be open as well, so be sure to check out “Jack Smith: Normal Love,” “Zackary Drucker: At Least You Know You Exist,” “Esther Kläs – Better Energy,” “Lara Favaretto: Just Knocked Out,” “Max Brand: no solid footing – (trained) duck fighting a crow,” Janet Cardiff’s “The Forty Part Motet,” and solo projects by Rey Akdogan, Edgardo Aragón, Ilja Karilampi, and Caitlin Keogh.

SPY MUSIC FESTIVAL: DUSTIN WONG + DAN FRIEL

Dustin Wong will follow up Northside solo gig with a collaboration with Dan Friel at Spy Music Festival on Saturday night (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

285 Kent Ave. at South First St.
Saturday, July 7, $10, 8:00
Festival continues through July 15
spymusicfestival.com

Last month former Ponytail and Ecstatic Sunshine guitarist Dustin Wong played a mesmerizing set at Public Assembly as part of the Northside Festival that showed off his impressive virtuosity both with his axe and technology. Wearing a dowdy green cardigan, a seated Wong layered live riffs and melodies on top of one another as he leaned over and fiddled with knobs with his hand and pumped pedals with his socked feet. He even played a slide solo with his keys, dropping them into one of his sneakers when he was done. At the end, he stood up and added howling vocals to the mix. The Brooklyn-based Wong, whose experimental solo albums include Let It Go, the two-track Infinite Love, and this year’s gorgeous Dreams Say, View, Create, Shadow Leads, will be playing the second annual Spy Music Festival on July 7 at 285 Kent, teaming up with keyboardist and guitarist Dan Friel, cofounder of the late, lamented Parts & Labor. The bill also features an exciting collaboration between New York duo White Out and septuagenarian jazzman Charles Gayle in addition to PC Worship. The festival continues through July 15 with such shows as Man Forever at the Stone on July 11, Rhyton, Chris Forsyth, P. G. Six, and Raajmahal at Death by Audio on July 13, and Thurston Moore and Loren Connors at the Stone on July 14. Wong will also be at the Music Hall of Williamsburg on July 9, opening for the Dirty Projectors.

FIRST SATURDAYS: KEITH HARING’S NEW YORK

Keith Haring, still from PAINTING MYSELF INTO A CORNER, video, 1979 (© Keith Haring Foundation)

Brooklyn Museum
200 Eastern Parkway at Washington St.
Saturday, July 7, free, 5:00 – 11:00 (some events require free tickets distributed in advance at the Visitor Center)
212-864-5400
www.brooklynmuseum.org

The Brooklyn Museum sends off its “Keith Haring: 1978-1982” exhibit with a late-night celebration this weekend as part of its monthly First Saturdays program. (The show officially closes on Sunday.) The free evening will feature live performances by Mon Khmer, Mickey Factz, the Hip-Hop Dance Conservatory, City Kids, and Plastiq Passion, an art battle, a hands-on workshop inspired by Haring’s “Art is for everyone” motto, clips from Jim Hubbard’s documentary United in Anger: A History of ACT UP, a signing and talk with Maripol about her book Little Red Riding Hood, a participatory sidewalk chalk mural, gallery talks, Q&As, and a dance party hosted by DJ Justin Strauss. The galleries will remain open until eleven, so be sure to check out such exhibits as “Raw Cooked: Ulrike Müller,” “Aesthetic Ambitions: Edward Lycett and Brooklyn’s Faience Manufacturing Company,” “Playing House,” “Rachel Kneebone: Regarding Rodin,” “Newspaper Fiction: The New York Journalism of Djuna Barnes, 1913–1919,” and “Question Bridge: Black Males.”

CBGB FESTIVAL: THE BASEBALL PROJECT, CRAIG FINN, JOE D’URSO & STONE CARAVAN

Craig Finn and the Baseball Project will team up again at City Winery as part of the CBGB Festival (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

City Winery
155 Varick St.
Thursday, July 5, $25-$35, 7:30
212-608-0555
www.citywinery.com
www.cbgb.com

Last May, the Baseball Project played the Hoboken Arts & Music Festival, rocking out to a fine set of tunes from their two releases, 2008’s Volume 1: Frozen Ropes and Dying Quails and 2011’s Vol. 2: High & Inside, in the city where America’s pastime held its very first organized game on June 19, 1846. On July 5, they’ll be headlining at City Winery with the Hold Steady’s Craig Finn and Joe D’Urso & Stone Caravan as part of the inaugural CBGB Festival. Consisting of R.E.M.’s Peter Buck and Scott McCaughey (with Mike Mills occasionally sitting in for Buck), the Dream Syndicate’s Steve Wynn, and the Pretty Babies’ Linda Pitmon, the quartet reveals their knowledge and love of baseball on such songs as “Ted Fucking Williams,” “Buckner’s Bolero,” “Sometimes I Dream of Willie Mays,” “Gratitude (for Curt Flood),” “Ichiro Goes to the Moon,” “Satchel Paige Said,” and “The Death of Big Ed Delahanty,” which come off more as fun and clever tributes rather than a novelty act. “A fair weather fan is not what I am / Even though my zip code has changed,” they explain on “Fair Weather Fans,” continuing, “I might smile and enjoy where I’m currently employed / Your soul can’t be rearranged / It’s so hard to understand / It’s so hard to understand a fair weather fan.” On “Don’t Call Them Twinkies,” they team up with Finn, a Minneapolis native on a song about his hometown team. Finn joined them onstage in Hoboken, and you can expect the same at City Winery, where Finn will be featuring songs from his outstanding debut solo album, Clear Heart Full Eyes, an engaging collection of quirky tales that includes such superb tunes as “New Friend Jesus,” “Honolulu Blues,” and “No Future,” as Finn shows he has a very promising future with or without the Hold Steady, who are currently on hiatus. The evening begins with Jersey Shore favorites Joe D’Urso & Stone Caravan, who have been making good-time bar-band rock and roll for more than twenty years.

CBGB FESTIVAL — EVERYDAY SUNSHINE: THE STORY OF FISHBONE

Angelo Moore and Norwood Fisher are the heart and soul of Fishbone (photo by Erin Flynn)

EVERYDAY SUNSHINE: THE STORY OF FISHBONE (Lev Anderson & Chris Metzler, 2010)
Anthology Film Archives
32 Second Ave. at Second St.
Friday, July 6, $10, 5:45
212-260-7289
www.cbgb.com
www.fishbonedocumentary.com

When they were junior high school students in South Central Los Angeles in 1979, Angelo Moore and Norwood Fisher formed the core of Fishbone, what would soon become one of the most exciting live bands on the planet. Chris Metzler and Lev Anderson document the band’s rise and fall — and rise and fall, and rise and fall, etc. — in the stirring Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone. Using archival footage, old and new interviews, and playful animation, Metzler and Anderson follow the group — Moore and Fisher along with fellow founding members Chris Dowd, Walter “Dirty Walt” Kibby II, and Kendall Jones — through its many personal and financial struggles as it tries to deal with such socioeconomic issues as racism, violence, and the anti-liberal bias taking hold of the nation in Ronald Reagan’s 1980s. Fishbone held nothing back on such albums as In Your Face (1986), Truth and Soul (1988), The Reality of My Surroundings (1991), Give a Monkey a Brain and He’ll Swear He’s the Center of the Universe (1993), and Chim Chim’s Badass Revenge (1996), mixing in pop, punk, funk, ska, reggae, R&B, soul, jazz, and hardcore, prancing about the stage without shirts, diving into the crowd, and always speaking their mind, and they hold nothing back in Everyday Sunshine as well. Narrated by Laurence Fishburne, the film really picks up speed when it delves into the Rodney King beating and the mysterious circumstances involving Jones’s religious transformation and the band’s attempt at an intervention. The decidedly unusual tale also features an impressive lineup of talking heads offering their views on the history of Fishbone, including Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Perry Farrell from Jane’s Addiction, fIREHOSE’s Mike Watt, No Doubt’s Gwen Stefani and Tony Kanal, the Roots’ ?uestlove, Gogol Bordello’s Eugene Hutz, Parliament-Funkadelic’s George Clinton, Primus’s Les Clayool, Living Colour’s Vernon Reid, Circle Jerk Keith Morris, Ice-T, and, perhaps most informatively, Columbia Records executive David Kahne, who lends fascinating insight into what made Fishbone great — and what kept them from greater success. While you definitely don’t have to know a thing about Fishbone to enjoy this very intimate documentary, longtime fans should eat it up. Everyday Sunshine is screening July 6 at 5:45 at Anthology Film Archives as part of the inaugural CBGB Festival and will be followed by a Q&A with Metzler. The festival runs July 5-8 at venues in Manhattan and Brooklyn and includes a bevy of concerts, film screenings, panel discussions, and other special events being held in honor of the classic Bowery club that hosted cutting-edge, alternative, punk, and indie bands from 1973 to 2006. Among the other films being shown are Michael Winterbottom’s 24 Hour Party People, Keirda Bahruth’s Bob and the Monster, Sara Sugarman’s Vinyl, and Gorman Bechard’s Color Me Obsessed.