this week in music

THE BOTTOM LINE PRESENTS NEW YORK ON MY MIND

Rosanne Cash will think back on the great days of the Bottom Line at special free show June 22 in World Financial Center Winter Garden (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

River to River Festival
World Financial Center Winter Garden
220 Vesey St.
Wednesday, June 22, free, 7:00
www.rivertorivernyc.com
www.bottomlinecabaret.com

In April 1974, childhood friends Allan Pepper and Stanley Snadowski, who used to book acts at Folk City, opened the Bottom Line Cabaret, at the corner of Mercer & West Fourth St., with a series of shows by Buffy Sainte-Marie. For nearly thirty years, the club hosted some of the best in rock, pop, jazz, blues, and country, with a specialty in unique singer-songwriters. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band played a historic set of concerts at the Bottom Line in August 1975, Lou Reed recorded his scathing Take No Prisoners live album there in 1978, and other performers over the years included Miles Davis, Tom Waits, Barry Manilow, Melissa Etheridge, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, Emmylou Harris, Muddy Waters, Patti Smith, Taj Mahal, Gil Scott-Heron, Steve Earle, Bob Mould, Richard Thompson, Captain Beefheart, and David Johansen, both with the New York Dolls and as lounge lizard Buster Poindexter. On June 22, the River to River Festival will pay tribute to one of New York City’s greatest-ever music venues, which was forced to close in 2004 when NYU took over its lease, with a free show featuring a cast of Bottom Line vets at the World Financial Center Winter Garden (the venue has moved from Rockefeller Park because of the weather). The stellar lineup includes Rosanne Cash (who first played the club in March 1981), Marshall Crenshaw (June 1982), the GrooveBarbers, Garland Jeffreys (May 1978), Willie Nile (April 1980), Martin Rivas, Suzzy and Lucy Wainwright Roche (April 1978), Catherine Russell (December 1999), “Idiot’s Delight” host Vin Scelsa (1990-95’s “In Their Own Words: A Bunch Of Songwriters Sittin’ Around Singing”), Loudon Wainwright III (August 1974), Dar Williams (June 1994), and additional guests to be announced, with Cash’s husband, John Leventhal, serving as musical director along with Mojo Mancini. The evening will be hosted by Sirius XM’s Meg Griffin, who first hosted a Bottom Line show back in April 1982, when she was a DJ at WNEW-FM. Titled “New York on My Mind,” this night promises to be a very special event, and you don’t have to worry about a post blocking your view — although with the change of venue indoors, a palm tree might get in your way.

SUMMER OPEN HOUSE

PS1 will celebrate summer with an open house today (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

MoMA PS1
22-25 Jackson Ave. at 46th Ave.
Sunday, June 19, suggested admission $10 (free for LIC residents and MoMA admission ticket holders), 12 noon – 5:00 pm
718-784-2084
www.ps1.org
summer open house sneak peek

MoMA PS1 opens its summer season with an open house today, featuring art, music, drinks, and more. They will officially unveil the new courtyard installation, a fun and fancy-free design by Interboro Partners & WHATAMI by start called “Holding Pattern” that includes Ping-Pong, foosball, kiddie pools, a sandbox, oak and plum trees, white ribbons, and a cool mirror area, nearly all of which will be donated to the local community at the end of the summer. Today is also the opening of “Ryan Trecartin: Any Ever,” a series of wild rooms displaying Trecartin’s unique films that take an unusual look at contemporary culture. Among the other exhibitions on view is Laurel Nakadate’s “Only the Lonely,” in which the New York-based photographer and filmmaker comments on femininity, loneliness, sexuality, and desire, centering on human contact that is disappearing in this age of social media; her “365 Days: A Catalogue of Tears,” comprising large-scale photographs she took of herself crying every day for a year, is simply overwhelming. If you’ve never seen Alejandro Jodorowsky’s 1973 highly spiritual freak-out, The Holy Mountain, PS1 is screening it daily at 12 noon, 2:00, and 4:00 through June 30, accompanied by the cult filmmaker’s wacky annotated screenplay. PS1 pays tribute to early female video pioneers in “Modern Women: Single Channel,” comprising seminal work by such cutting-edge artists as Lynda Benglis, Dara Birnbaum, VALIE EXPORT, Joan Jonas, Pipilotti Rist, and Carolee Schneeman, many of whom frequently turned the cameras on themselves well before there was any such thing as American Idol, Survivor, or The Amazing Race. It’ll be hard not to think of the Gimp from Pulp Fiction as you make your way around “Nancy Grossman: Heads,” comprising Grossman’s black-leather-wrapped bondage-like life-size head sculptures from the late 1960s and early 1970s. And the second half of the dual MoMA/PS1 exhibition “Francis Alÿs: A Story of Deception” is highlighted by the magnificent film Guards and a collection of camera guns in the café that you are allowed to pick up. Music will be provided by DJ Total Freedom, and artist Clifford Owens will give a special musical performance held all around PS1.

NORTHSIDE FESTIVAL: DAY FOUR

Shark? made a big splash at last year’s Northside Festival and are back for more on Sunday (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Northside Festival
Multiple venues in Greenpoint and Williamsburg
June 16-19
www.northsidefestival.com

The Northside Festival is back June 16-19 following an outstanding launch last year. The festival features four days of indie music at venues all over Greenpoint and Williamsburg, in addition to film screenings and open art studios. There are hundreds of bands, so don’t get too frustrated if one of the shows you wanted to see is already sold out; festival badges are gone as well, but there’s still lots to choose from. We’ll be featuring highlights and recommendations every day of the festival; here are today’s as the festival comes to a close:

East River Ferry, East 34th St. and the East River to North Eighth St. in North Williamsburg, approximately every twenty minutes from 9:00 am to 8:30 pm, free through June 24

DIY Film Festival: Mumford Farms: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Soybeans (Anna Mumford) and Echotone (Nathan Christ), followed by Q&As with the directors, UnionDocs, 322 Union Ave., $9, 8:00

PopGun presents Doris Cellar (8:00), Cookies (8:45), Blair (9:30), Air Waves (10:15), Asobi Seksu (11:00), Glasslands Gallery, 289 Kent Ave., $15

NYCTaper & Pop Tarts Suck Toasted present the Loom (9:00), Shark? (10:00), Household (10:45), Neighbors (11:30), and Young Adults (12:45), Public Assembly back room, 70 North Sixth St., $10

Northside Open Studios: India Street Art Festival, with Strand, Snowmine, Appomattox, Conversations with Enemies, and Photon Dynamo & the Shiny Pieces, India St. between West St. & the East River, free, 12 noon – 5:00

NORTHSIDE FESTIVAL: DAY THREE

Eleanor Friedberger will preview songs from her upcoming solo album tonight at Europa as part of the Northside Festival (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Northside Festival
Multiple venues in Greenpoint and Williamsburg
June 16-19
www.northsidefestival.com

The Northside Festival is back June 16-19 following an outstanding launch last year. The festival features four days of indie music at venues all over Greenpoint and Williamsburg, in addition to film screenings and open art studios. There are hundreds of bands, so don’t get too frustrated if one of the shows you wanted to see is already sold out; festival badges are gone as well, but there’s still lots to choose from. We’ll be featuring highlights and recommendations every day of the festival; here are today’s:

East River Ferry, East 34th St. and the East River to North Eighth St. in North Williamsburg, approximately every twenty minutes from 9:00 am to 8:30 pm, free through June 24

The Whatever Blog presents Small Mountain Path (3:00), Hooray for Goodbye (4:00), Little Wolf (5:00), the Senors of Marseille (6:00), and Nico Blues (7:00), with DJ Jesse Elliott of These United States, Red Star Bar, 37 Greenpoint Ave., $8

Smorgasburg, Brooklyn Flea food vendors including Queen’s Dahn Tu, Shorty Tang & Sons, La Buena, King’s Crumb, Nana’s, Tin Mustard, Speedy Romeo, and more, 27 North Sixth St., free admission, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

Ground Control presents the Babies (4:00), Surfer Blood (5:00), Wavves (6:00), Guided by Voices (7:00), McCarren Park, the Steve Madden Stage, $35

Sundance Selects presents Tabloid (Errol Morris, 2010), IndieScreen, 289 Kent Ave., $10, 8:00

Tell All Your Friends presents Emil & Friends, the Yellow Dows, Thee Oh Sees album release show for Castlemania, plus surprise special guest, $10, doors at 6:00

Northside Open Studios Launch, with Crest Fest and Brooklyn Street Art, featuring Snowmine, Balún, Merrickans, DJ Liam Andrew, Walrus Ghost, Home Land installation by Sara Sun, Honesty Box Facebook confessional by Eva Navon, Metaforeign screening series curated by Sasha Summer, Rooftop Bikini Reading Series by Boomslang, and more, the End, 13 Greenpoint Ave., $7, 7:00 – 12 midnight

POP Montreal presents Spectre Folk (7:00), Rebecca Gates (7:40), Ida (8:20), special secret guest (9:00), Eleanor Friedberger (9:40), Europa, 98 Meserole Ave., $17

THE MERMAID PARADE

The Mermaid Parade will march into the Coney Island sea on June 18

Coney Island
Parade starts at West 21st St. & Surf Ave., free, 2:00
After-party: New York Aquarium, $25, 7:00 – 11:30 pm
www.coneyisland.com

Whether you’re marching in it or just playing spectator, there is nothing quite like the Mermaid Parade. An annual tradition since 1983, harkening back to the Coney Island Mardi Gras, which was held from 1903 to 1954, the parade begins with classic antique cars before giving itself over to scantily clad sea creatures and very strange floats, making their way from West 21st St. & Surf Ave. at 2:00 and winding east to West 10th St., turning south to the boardwalk, and heading to Stillwell Ave., where King Neptune and Queen Mermaid will lead their minions into the sea. This year’s regal pair, following in the footsteps of such famed New Yorkers as David Byrne, Roz Chast, Harvey Keitel, Queen Latifah, David Johansen, and Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson, are the Travel Channel’s Adam Richman and Talk Stoop’s awesome Cat Greenleaf. The Mermaid Parade Ball after-party will take place on the oceanic deck of the New York Aquarium, featuring members of the Coney Island Sideshow, burlesque performers (Little Brooklyn, Creamy Stevens, Lefty Lucy, Kat Mon Dieu, Princess Pat, Fem Appeal, Nasty Canasta, and Miss Dixievon Trixie), mermaids (Bambi the Mermaid, Julie Atlas Muz, Sita Lange, and Sasha the Fire Gypsy), live music (the Moto-Wrays and Labretta Suede and the Motel 6), go-go dancers (LaMaia, Mary Cyn, Dangerrr Doll, Evelyn Vinyl, Sarah Hassan, Celia Next Time, Fifi Dupree, and Marni Halasa), hula-hoopers (Justina Flash, Cosmic Swirl, and Sasha Fire Gypsy), magicians (Danny T, Gary Dreifus, and Lee Alan Barrett), the Gotham Synchro-Synchronized Swim Team, and other bizarre participants and activities.

CREST FEST ’11

The Crest Hardware Art Show, which has quickly become a Williamsburg tradition, kicks off its fourth year with a bevy of special activities and live performances on June 18 (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Crest Hardware
558 Metropolitan Ave. between Lorimer & Union
Saturday, June 18, free, 1:00 – 7:00
Exhibit runs through July 30
www.cresthardwareartshow.com
2010 slideshow

You don’t have to know anything about hammers and nails, buzz saws and socket wrenches, to love the Crest Hardware Art Show. For the fourth year, the Brooklyn hardware store has invited more than one hundred artists to fill the fifteen-thousand-square-foot indoor and outdoor space with site-specific works, many of which use the tools of the trade in their compositions. So before reaching for that room freshener, lightbulb, or toilet seat, you better look twice, because it might not be your standard model; it could be a work of art. It’s a blast walking up and down the aisles and through the back garden, finding all the specially created pieces that appear on the shelves and on the walls like regular merchandise and are for sale, at relatively affordable prices. Curated by store manager Joe Franquinha, the son of the original owner, Manny, the show, which runs through July 30, kicks off June 18 with Crest Fest ’11, an afternoon of live music, food and drink, and various activities that benefit the City Reliquary Museum. This year’s music lineup features the Suzan, Emefe, Little Victory, and Gunfight!

NORTHSIDE FESTIVAL: DAY TWO

CMJ and Siren veteran Dom will headline a special early show at Brooklyn Bowl tonight as part of Northside Festival (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Northside Festival
Multiple venues in Greenpoint and Williamsburg
June 16-19
www.northsidefestival.com

The Northside Festival is back June 16-19 following an outstanding launch last year. The festival features four days of indie music at venues all over Greenpoint and Williamsburg, in addition to film screenings and open art studios. There are hundreds of bands, so don’t get too frustrated if one of the shows you wanted to see is already sold out; festival badges are gone as well, but there’s still lots to choose from. We’ll be featuring highlights and recommendations every day of the festival; here are today’s:

Dom and special guests, Brooklyn Bowl, Brooklyn Bowl, 61 Wythe Ave., $7, 8:00 (free entry before 7:00)

Idolator presents Strike Me Down, with Deluka (11:00), Rye Rye (12 midnight), and Oh Land (1:00), Brooklyn Bowl, 61 Wythe Ave., $10

Animation Block Party presents short films, including Switch Today (Arjun Rihan), Orderly Confusion (Rob Bohn), Zombie (Garrett Koeppicus), Ledo and Ix Goes to Town (Emily Carmichael), Zombie Too (Jacob Ospa), T-Shirt Movie (Dane Smith), Book Girl (Jane Wu), WASP (Mari Jaye Blanchard), Pukebug (Jeremie Duval), In the Beginning (Choom), Vincent the Security Guard (Ashley Holzwasser), Mustache Contest (Mike Hollingsworth), Pinhead (Matt Lee), SEED (Ben Richardson and Daniel Bird), Progress as Promised (Ben Meinhardt), and The Poet (theAMIGOunit), followed by a Q&A with Mari Jaye Blanchard, Matt Lee, Rob Bohn, Josh Hetzler, and others, IndieScreen, $10, 6:00

PopGun presents Regal Degal (9:00), Sherlock’s Daughter (10:00), Brilliant Colors (11:00), and Frankie Rose (12 midnight), Glasslands Gallery, 289 Kent Ave., $12

Kanine Records presents Dream Diary (7:30), Zambri (8:15), Xray Eyeballs (9:00), Pepper Rabbit (9:45), Grooms (10:30), Eternal Summers (11:15), Surfer Blood (12 midnight), Knitting Factory, 361 Metropolitan Ave., $14

Heartfast Records presents Starscream (8:45), Hard Nips (9:30), Soft Circle (10:20), PIKA ☆ (11:15), Union Pool, 484 Union Ave., $8