While Of Montreal prepares to go out on tour in support of their upcoming disc, Paralytic Stalks (Polyvinyl, February 7), which includes two nights at Webster Hall March 30-31, band members Davey Pierce and Nicolas Dobbratz will be squeezing in some time with their offshoot group, Yip Deceiver. Pierce and Dobbratz, along with Paul Nunn, will be at Pianos on Tuesday night, highlighting electronic dance pop from their eponymous 2011 debut EP, which includes the songs “Obnoxia,” “For All the Haters,” “Sadie Hawkins Day,” and “Get Strict.” Also on the bill are Small Devices (8:00), Absent Center (9:00), and Dead Leaf Echo (10:00).
this week in music
FIRST SATURDAYS: OUT AND PROUD
Charles Demuth’s “Dancing Sailors” is part of “HIDE/SEEK” exhibition at Brooklyn Museum (courtesy Demuth Museum, Lancaster, Pennsylvania)
Brooklyn Museum
200 Eastern Parkway
Saturday, January 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 will be celebrating gay pride in its January First Saturday program, featuring a screening of Rent (Christopher Columbus, 2005) hosted by Peppermint, live performances by Nhojj, Ariel Aparicio, Melissa Ferrick, and 3 Teens Kill 4, an artist talk with Lyle Ashton Harris and a curator talk with Jonathan Katz about the exhibition “HIDE/SEEK: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture,” live-model sketching, a dance party led by DJ Tikka Masala, a book club reading of Chulito by author Charles Rice-Gonzalez, an artist talk with Kymia Nawabi, the second-season winner of Bravo’s Work of Art, and a multimedia, interactive Brown Bear performance installation by A. K. Burns and Katherine Hubbard that includes free haircuts. Among the other special exhibitions on view are “Youth and Beauty: Art of the American Twenties,” “Sanford Biggers: Sweet Funk — An Introspective,” “Lee Mingwei: ‘The Moving Garden,’” “Eva Hesse Spectres, 1960,” “Matthew Buckingham: ‘The Spirit and the Letter,’” and “ReOrder: An Architectural Environment by Situ Studio.”
TWI-NY TALK: DAN EFRAM — BRIAN ENO’S “HERE COME THE WARM JETS” LIVE
Joe’s Pub
425 Lafayette St.
Sunday, January 8, $15, 9:30
212-967-7555
www.joespub.com
www.facebook.com
Brian Eno might be best known today for such ambient albums as Music for Films and Music for Airports and his production work for a diverse range of artists (U2, David Bowie, Talking Heads, Laurie Anderson, Coldplay), but in the 1970s he made a series of seminal records that served as a kind of bridge between glam and prog rock and avant and experimental pop. After three years as a member of Roxy Music, Eno released the solo LPs Here Come the Warm Jets, Taking Tiger Mountain (by Strategy), Another Green World, and Before and After Science, all within a remarkable four-year period. On January 8 at Joe’s Pub, a group of musicians will gather together to pay tribute to Here Come the Warm Jets by doing something that Eno never did: Play every song from the album live. Initiated by recording engineer Rob Christiansen, produced by Dan Efram, and hosted by WNYC’s John Schaefer, the event features an all-star band consisting of Vernon Reid, Travis Morrison, Sohrab Habibion, Paul Duncan, Joan Wasser, Dom Cipolla, and others re-creating Eno’s masterpiece, which was recorded with such guest musicians as Robert Fripp, Chris Spedding, Phil Manzanera, John Whetton, and Andy Mackay. The scorching guitars of “Baby’s on Fire” and “Blank Frank,” the electronic fun of “The Paw Paw Negro Blowtorch” and “Driving Me Backwards,” and the sweet harmonies of “Cindy Tells Me” and “Some of Them Are Old” should fill Joe’s Pub with beautiful sounds, but don’t look for important messages in the lyrics, about which Eno, who came up with the words via scatlike nonsense syllables, has said, “Essentially all these songs have no meaning that I invested in them.” In preparation for what should be a great night, we’ve been listening to Here Come the Warm Jets repeatedly, just as we did in our college years, taking us back and lifting us away all over again. Efram, the founder and president of Tractor Beam and an adjunct professor at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, also has been having a blast with the record, as evidenced by this twi-ny talk.
twi-ny: What kind of personal associations do Here Come the Warm Jets and Brian Eno have for you?
Dan Efram: My first introduction to Eno was through his production work and only then became aware of his ambient compositions — à la Music for Airports and Music for Films. It was only when I started studying audio engineering myself that some of my musician friends turned me on to Here Come the Warm Jets, Taking Tiger Mountain, and Another Green World. Finding out that he had these extremely broad sensibilities was fascinating — with Warm Jets perhaps the most whimsical ear candy that I had come across.
twi-ny: So many amazing musicians played on the original record; how did you come up with the lineup that will be at Joe’s Pub? How closely will they be re-creating HCTWJ?
Dan Efram: Rob Christiansen, the musical director and a terrific, knowledgeable musician and engineer in his own right, has done a great job in trying to analyze the sounds of the original album. He’s taken great pains in order to figure out the sounds on the album, when the band should experiment and when to replicate. This balance is fun to watch!
We chose our lineup with the goal to represent the many different generations of musicians that are hardcore fans of the album and wanted to celebrate this album in the best spirit possible. As a coincidence, we realized that its fortieth anniversary was nearing and that we could help celebrate its legacy by giving fans this unique chance to experience it for themselves in a live setting. We can only hope that those in attendance get as much of a kick out of listening to it live as the musicians will have performing it for them.
twi-ny: Are there other classic albums, either by Eno or other artists, that you might want to tackle next?
Dan Efram: In early 2011, I was fortunate to produce Big Star’s Third/Sister Lovers album live with musical director Chris Stamey, which really introduced me to the idea that some of these wonderful albums could have a life beyond their vinyl grooves, that people really wanted to experience some of these adventurous albums live — if the program was approached with the correct spirit. If all goes well on Sunday, we are hoping to try to perform Here Come the Warm Jets in selected markets in North America and Europe in 2013. With some good fortune, we have a shot.
AMERICAN REALNESS
After delighting audiences at BAM, John Jasperse’s CANYON will celebrate the thrill of the dance at Abrons Arts Center (photo by Tony Orrico)
Abrons Arts Center, Henry Street Settlement
466 Grand St. at Pitt St.
January 5-15, Show & Tell free, other performances $15
212-352-3101
www.abronsartscenter.org
No, it’s not yet another reality show. “American Realness” is an eleven-day live performance festival that offers fans of contemporary dance, music, and theater an opportunity to catch productions they might have missed as well as the chance to see works in progress scheduled to debut later this year. Held at Abrons Arts Center in conjunction with the Association of Performing Arts Presenter’s Conference, “American Realness” features second looks at such 2011 works as John Jasperse’s Canyon, which celebrates the thrill of the dance while ostensibly being about nothing; Wally Cardona and Jennifer Lacey’s Tool Is Loot, the result of a yearlong investigation into collaboration; Jack Ferver and Michelle Mola’s Me, Michelle, about ego and power in the form of Cleopatra; and Eleanor Bauer’s (Big Girls Do Big Things), a solo in which Bauer goes through a series of metamorphoses. The festival also includes the New York premiere of Laura Arrington’s Hot Wings, which examines feminine identity; the U.S. premiere of Daniel Linehan’s Montage for Three, in which two dancers re-create images from found photographs; Trajal Harrell’s Antigone Jr., the next stage of his “Twenty Looks or Paris Is Burning at the Judson Church”; and the pairing of Ishmael Houston-Jones’s mean Cait: a fairytale in progress and Yvonne Meier’s Mad Heidi. The free “Show & Tell” section (advance RSVP required) includes such conversations as “Why a dramaturge?” with Reggie Wilson and Susan Manning and “Surfacing & Song-Based Performance” with Holcombe Waller, Cynthia Hopkins, and Miguel Gutierrez in addition to sneak peeks at such works in progress as Big Dance Theater’s Ich, KürbisGeist, Luciana Achugar’s FEELingpleasuresatisfactioncelebrationholyFORM, and Keith Hennessy’s Turbulence (a dance about the economy).
COIL 2012
Performance Space 122 and other venues
150 First Ave. at Ninth St.
January 5-29, $20-$30 per performance, $75 passport for five shows, $100 for ten
www.ps122.org
“Fully realized, but on the bleeding front edge” is how P.S. 122 artistic director Vallejo Gartner describes the seventh annual Coil festival of experimental theater and dance, taking place January 5-29 at such venues as the Public Theater, the Baryshnikov Arts Center, the Connelly Theater, the Invisible Dog Art Center, the Old School, and Performance Space 122. Lin Hixson and Matthew Goulish of Every House Has a Door combine Dusan Makavejev, Stanley Cavell, and Ingmar Bergman in Let us think of these things always. Let us speak of them never. Lebanese actor, writer, and director Rabih Mroué will present a pair of politically charged multimedia solo narratives, Looking for a Missing Employee and The Pixelated Revolution. Heather Kravas examines idealized feminine beauty in The Green Surround. Mariano Pensotti’s tragicomic El pasado es un animal grotesco (The past is a grotesque animal), which is also part of the Under the Radar festival, uses a revolving stage and a song by Of Montreal to look at the lives of four Argentinians. Audience members do not have to sit quietly in their seats as Michael Kliën with Steve Valk delves into “the absence of certainty” and other philosophies in Choreography for Blackboards. David Levine expresses his Anger at the Movies, complete with audience involvement, in a theatrical seminar based on YouTube clips sent to him. Temporary Distortion re-creates scenes from television and movie cop dramas and real-life situations in Newyorkland. Young Jean Lee’s Theater Company brings together people from theater, cabaret, dance, and burlesque for a provocative examination of identity in Untitled Feminist Show. And on January 8, Bobby Hernreich will host the annual Red & White Party, featuring Jack Ferver, DJ Spooky, Ping-Pong (Thing Thong), prizes, and more at SPiN New York.
UNDER THE RADAR
Judith Malina of the Living Theatre and Silvia Calderoni of Motus collaborate on THE PLOT IS THE REVOLUTION, a special Under the Radar presentation on January 9 at La MaMa (photo by End & Dna)
The Public Theater and other venues
425 Lafayette St. between East Fourth St. & Astor Pl.
January 4-15, free-$25
212-967-7555
www.undertheradarfestival.com
The eighth annual Under the Radar: A Festival Tracking New Theater from Around the World offers another diverse collection of live performances that provide a welcome alternative to conventional theater. Running January 4-15, this year’s fest includes such promising productions as Hideki Noda’s The Bee, an English-language drama at Japan Society about a horrible surprise waiting for a businessman upon returning home from the office; Bambï & Waterwell’s Goodbar, a live concept album reimagining of Looking for Mr. Goodbar, at the Public Theater; Suli Holum & Deborah Stein’s Chimera, about a woman who is her own twin, at HERE; and Stefan Zeromski Theatre’s unique musical take on Bernard-Marie Koltès’s In the Solitude of Cotton Fields, set to live Polish punk rock, at La MaMa. The Public will also be home to the LuEsther Lounge, presenting free live music throughout the festival. Among the other free events are the installation Gob Squad Resource Room at the Goethe-Institut’s Wyoming Building (the Gob Squad Arts Collective will also be presenting the interactive Super Night Shot at the Public); Camille O’Sullivan’s Feel, in which the Irish singer will play a different character for songs by Jacquel Brel, Nick Cave, Tom Waits, David Bowie, and others, at the Public; and the panel discussion “Performance and Context: The Black Box and the White Cube,” January 8 at 1:00 at the Public. In addition, a post-show discussion will follow the January 7 performance of Motus’s Alexis. A Greek Tragedy at La MaMa, a preshow talk will precede the January 8 performance of the Living Word Project’s Word Becomes Flesh at the Public, a panel will follow the January 11 performance of biriken & Ayça Damgaci’s Lick But Don’t Swallow! at La MaMa, chelfitsch’s Toshiki Okada (Hot Pepper, Air Conditioner, and the Farewell Speech) will lead a workshop for theater and dance professionals on January 14 at 1:00 at Japan Society, and “Everyone’s a Critic! Exploring the Changing Landscape of Arts Writing” will take place January 15 at 1:00 at the LuEsther Lounge. As always, Under the Radar offers adventurous theatergoers a chance to see a bunch of very different works, from an excellent selection of international companies.
ROBERT BURNS AND “AULD LANG SYNE”
Robert Burns, “Auld Lang Syne” (detail), autograph manuscript written within a letter, dated (September 1793), to George Thomson
Morgan Library & Museum
225 Madison Ave. at 36th St.
Tuesday – Sunday through February 5, $15 (free Fridays 7:00 – 9:00)
212-685-0008
www.themorgan.org
Tonight at midnight, people around the world will break out into the same song, “Auld Lang Syne,” welcoming in 2012, but how many of those revelers know the true story about the famous tune? The Morgan Library is currently hosting a splendid little exhibition that examines the details behind the music and lyrics of the popular ditty, whose three-word title translates to “old,” “long,” “since.” It was Scottish poet Robert Burns who combined the familiar music and lyrics for publisher James Johnson in 1796, although there were different versions both before and after, from a 1667 lover’s lament and a 1760s Caledonian country dance to William Shield’s 1782 opera, Rosina, and Rudyard Kipling’s 1900 Boer War revision. The show, which comprises original letters, manuscripts, portraits, rare books, and even an arrangement by Beethoven, also features a strong online component where you can read and listen to snippets of the evolution of the complete song, so you’ll be able to surprise your fellow partyers tonight by breaking out into all four Burns stanzas, including “We twa hae run about the braes, / And pu’t the gowans fine; / But we’ve wander’d mony a weary foot, / Sin auld lang syne.” In addition, the Morgan will be celebrating the eve of Burns Day on January 24 with the special concert “Days of Auld Lang Syne: Euan Morton Sings Songs of Scotland,” in which the singer and actor will perform Scottish works, accompanied by composer Bryan Reeder on piano. (Also currently on view at the Morgan are “Charles Dickens at 200,” “Treasures of Islamic Manuscript Painting from the Morgan,” and “David, Delacroix, and Revolutionary France: Drawings from the Louvre.”