this week in music

ROCKIN’ THE RIVER CRUISES

Circle-Line 42
Pier 83, West 42nd St. & the Hudson River
July 8 – September 16
Tickets: $25-$50
www.rtrcruises.com

Formerly known as the New York City Blues Cruise, the New York City Rockin’ the River cruises, aboard the double-decker Circle Line, is celebrating its fifteenth anniversary with another diverse lineup of live music and dance parties. The Smithereens get things going on July 8, with other highlights including Canadian singer-songwriter Kathleen Edwards on July 22, Grammy winner Raul Malo taking the wheel July 29-30, the Radiators letting loose August 5, Buckwheat Zydeco rolling on the river August 12, pianist Marcia Ball on August 26, and folk rockers Donna the Buffalo on August 27. We can’t wait for August 19, when Howlin’ for Hubert pays tribute to the great Hubert Sumlin with David Johansen, Jimmy Vivino, and other special guests. And the next night one of our faves, DJ Rekha, brings her Basement Bhangra Party to the Hudson. The season concludes as it started, on June 25, with a Floating Dance Party benefiting WFUV.

WARM UP

Prepare for some massive crowds at weekly PS1 Warm Up (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

MoMAPS1
22-25 Jackson Ave. at 46th Ave.
Saturdays from 2:00 to 9:00, July 3 – September 4
Tickets: $15 (free for Long Island City residents)
718-784-2084
www.ps1.org/warmup

One of the hottest, sweatiest weekly dance parties of every summer will get people moving and grooving beginning on July 3 when Warm Up returns to PS1 in Queens. The series features live bands and DJs from all over the world, including Spain, Sierra Leone, France, Sweden, Canada, and Brooklyn, playing in the shadow of Solid Obectives — Idenburg Liu’s “Pole Dance,” winner of the annual Young Architects Program and displayed in the courtyard. The opening-day lineup is a mere taste of things to come, with live sets from Delorean, Janka Nabay and the Bubu Gang, and Glasser, with John Talabot and Korallreven manning the turntables. On the horizon are Kalup Linzy and JD Samson on July 24, Animal Collective DJ’ing on July 31, a DFA showcase with James Murphy and Pat Mahoney on August 7, DJ ?uestlove and These Are Powers on August 14, and Holy Ghost!, House of House, and DJ Mehdi on closing night, September 4. And don’t forget to check out the expansive “Greater New York” exhibition. PS1 is one of the treasures of New York City, with something to see and do in every little nook and cranny, so be prepared for anything and everything.

FIRST SATURDAYS: AMERICAN ICONS

Brooklyn Museum
200 Eastern Parkway
Saturday, July 3, free, 5:00 – 11:00 (some events require free tickets distributed at the Visitor Center)
212-864-5400
www.brooklynmuseum.org

The Brooklyn Museum’s monthly late-night party goes silver instead of red, white, and blue on July 3, paying tribute to the late Andy Warhol with a screening of Mary Harron’s 1996 flick I SHOT ANDY WARHOL, gallery talks on the new exhibit “Andy Warhol: The Last Decade,” Society HAE’s dance party “The Factory 2010,” a workshop in which participants can make a Warhol-like print, and “15 Minutes of Fame,” an art battle between Antony Zito, Lexi Bella, Concep, and Marthalicia Matarrita. In addition, the museum will be showing Alan Parker’s 1980 film FAME, and Brooklyn bands Analogue Transit and Dynasty Electric will perform live.

ROCKS OFF: MR. SCRUFF

Mr. Scruff will be rocking the boat July 2 (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

ROCKS OFF CONCERT CRUISES
Pier 81, 41st St. & the West Side Highway
Friday, July 2, $25, 8:00
www.rocksoff.com
www.myspace.com/mrscruffofficial

Manchester-based DJ Andy Carthy, better known as Mr. Scruff, will be rocking the boat like mad on July 2 when he unleashes his thumping jazzy repertoire aboard the Temptress. Back in October 2008, the self-described “DJ, Producer, Cartoonist & Tea Drinker” released the digital-download-only NINJA TUNA on his Ninja Tune label, his first full-length album in six years, featuring such tunes as “Test the Sound,” “Hairy Bumpercress,” and “Give Up to Get.” Then, last year, he put out a tenth anniversary special remastered edition of his breakthough record, KEEP IT UNREAL, featuring such previously unreleased tracks as “Vibraphone Boogie,” “Sky Blue,” “and “Ambiosound.” Mr. Scruff, who is somewhat obsessed with fish (making this venue rather perfect), has created some ridiculously adorable cartoon characters over the years, which he projects on screens during his shows, which often can go on for six hours or more, although there’s a three-hour limit on the cruise. Alcohol and food are served aboard the boat, but don’t expect to find any pickled spider.

LUKE JERRAM: PLAY ME, I’M YOURS

Anyone can tickle the ivories at pianos placed throughout the city (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Multiple locations in all five boroughs
Through Monday, July 5
Admission: free
www.streetpianos.com/nyc2010

Sing for Hope, a nonprofit arts activist organization that brings music to schools, hospitals, and communities with underserved youth, has teamed up with multidisciplinary British artist Luke Jerram to present “Play Me, I’m Yours.” The interactive installation consists of sixty pianos placed throughout the five boroughs, in such locations as Lincoln Center, Joyce Kilmer Park, the Staten Island Zoo, the Coney Island boardwalk, the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, Tompkins Square Park, and Chelsea Market, where people can sit down and just play away, like they have previously done in São Paulo, London, Sydney, and Barcelona. Not many New Yorkers have pianos in their apartments, and they might not be good enough to get a gig at Carnegie Hall, but they can sit down on these benches and tickle the ivories to their heart’s content, bringing music to intersections, public parks and plazas, and other mostly outdoor spots, giving mini-concerts and inviting strangers to sing along. As Jerram notes on the official website: “Disrupting people’s negotiation of their city, the pianos are also aimed to provoke people into engaging, activating, and claiming ownership of their urban landscape.” The last few days will feature many special events, including, on July 1, a London–New York link in Times Square at 11:00 am, Ragtime Rick Pedro dashing from Greeley Square to Herald Square to Bryant Park to Times Square for successive lunchtime appearances, and That Guitar Man from Central Park, David Ippolito, joining pianist George Wurzbach at the Naumburg Bandshell at 1:00. The project comes to a close with Sing for Hope performances July 1-4 at Chelsea Market at 6:00, with the grand finale taking place on the four pianos at Lincoln Center from 2:00 to 6:00 on July 5, with special guest artists from across the musical spectrum.

WHITNEY LIVE

Dylan Rau leads Bear Hands into the Whitney July 2 as part of summer music series (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Whitney Museum of American Art
Lower Gallery and Sculpture Court
945 Madison Ave. at 75th St.
Select Friday nights July 2 – August 27 at 7:00
Free with pay-what-you-wish admission after 6:00 ($12-$18 before 6:00)
212-570-3600
www.whitney.org

In the recent past, the Whitney Live performance series has featured such cutting-edge indie pairings as Vivian Girls with These Are Powers, Woods with Yellow Fever, Abe Vigoda with Grooms, and Titus Andronicus with Real Estate. This summer’s lineup is equally impressive, beginning July 2 with High Places, who just put on a sweet set at the Northside Festival this weekend, and Chaz Bundick, better known as Toro y Moi. On July 23, Bear Hands, who wowed us at an industry showcase a few months back at the Studio at Webster Hall, and Darlings take the stage, followed by Javelin and Warpaint on August 13 and DJ/Rupture and Tanlines on August 27. There are no advance tickets or reservations available; all four shows are free with museum admission (pay-what-you-wish after 6:00), and it’s first come, first served. The museum remains open until 9:00 on Friday nights; exhibitions as of July 1 include “Heat Waves in a Swamp: The Paintings of Charles Burchfield,” “Jill Magid: A Reasonable Man in a Box,” “Christian Marclay: Festival,” “Off the Wall: Part 1 — Thirty Performative Actions,” and “Facing the Artist: Portraits by John Jonas Gruen.”

COU-COU BIJOUX: POUR VOUS

Cou-Cou Bijoux brings her bawdy burlesque to Brooklyn for one-night stand June 30

Galapagos Art Space
16 Main St., DUMBO
Wednesday, June 30, $15, 8:00
www.galapagosartspace.com

Chanteuse Cou-Cou Bijoux, one of the stars of last winter’s Magnetic Cabaret at the Bubble Lounge, brings her two-act Dixon Place hit, POUR VOUS to Brooklyn for a one-night stand June 30, directed by Luke Harlan, with musical direction by Brooks “Babyface” Hartell and ultra-fabulous couture by David Quinn. We caught the show at Dixon Place and can testify that Cou-Cou is a bawdy, touching, bewitching creation. Audiences find themselves quickly spellbound by her vampy torch songs and stories of loss, loss, and very French amour — with more than a bit of l’amour fou in the mix. Written and performed by Cou-Cou alter ego Raquel Cion and with original songs by Dan Kilian, POUR VOUS is, as Cou-Cou says, “aIl pour vous!”