this week in music

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!”

DARK SOUNDS

Tickets are expected to go fast for innovative concert series at the Guggenheim

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
1071 Fifth Ave. at 89th St.
July 15, August 5, September 3
Tickets: $30
212-423-3500
www.guggenheim.orgs

in conjunction with the multimedia exhibition “Haunted: Contemporary Photography / Video / Performance,” the Guggenheim is presenting three nights of dark, ghostly music, with bands playing on the rotunda floor, able to be seen from anywhere in the museum. On July 15, Beirut will play its unusual brand of indie folk, with the jazzy Cinematic Orchestra scheduled for September 3. But the most exciting night is August 5, when Andrew Bird and Ian Schneller team up for the site-specific “Sonic Arboretum.” As opposed to most summer-night concerts at city museums, tickets are available in advance for this series, and we highly recommend you grabbing yours right about now. In addition, on show nights the museum will remain open late for ticket holders, who will be able to see “Haunted” as well as “Julie Mehretu: Gray Area” before the music begins.

MoMA NIGHTS

Pascal Parisot will perform with Fredda in MoMA’s sculpture garden this summer (photo by Frederique Dastrevigne)

Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53rd St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden
Thursdays in July and August, live sets at 5:30 and 7:00 pm
Free with museum admission of $20 (includes same-day film screening)
212-708-9400
www.moma.org

MoMA’s annual music series in the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden gets under way July 1 with Nation Beat, kicking off five consecutive Thursday nights of Brazilian music, held in conjunction with the film series “Premiere Brazil 2010,” followed by four weeks of French music, held in conjunction with the art exhibit “Matisse: Radical Invention, 1913-1917.” The schedule, which includes sets at 5:30 and 7:00, continues July 8 with Wax Poetic Brasil, July 15 with Alexia Bomtempo and Pierre Aderne, July 22 with the Adriano Santos Brazilian Jazz Quartet, and July 29 with Kay Lyra. Holden introduces music lovers to France on August 5, followed by Pascal Parisot and Fredda on August 12, Arnaud Fleurent-Didier on August 19, and Marianne Dissard on August 26. The museum will remain open on these Thursday nights until 8:45. The sculpture garden is such a city treasure that it doesn’t really matter whether you know anything at all about these artists and the type of music they play; it’s worth it just to sit in these lovely environs and enjoy a beautiful evening of art and song.

SUMMERNIGHTS

Margot Leverett and the Klezmer Mountain Boys have added a second night to annual Jewish Museum series after selling out opener

Jewish Museum
1109 Fifth Ave. at 92nd St.
Thursday nights in July, $15, 7:30
212-423-3337
www.thejewishmuseum.org

The Jewish Museum’s annual summer evening music series is off to a hot start, with July 1’s opening concert, featuring Margot Leverett and the Klezmer Mountain Boys, already sold out, but they’ve just added a second night, with the band returning for an encore performance on July 29. The Sexteto Rodriguez Cuban-Jewish All Stars have also sold out their July 15 show, so you better hurry if you want to see Ansambi Mastika on July 8 or Rana Santacruz on July 22. The galleries remain open until 8:00 on SummerNights; current exhibitions include “Curious George Saves the Day: The Art of Margret and H. A. Rey,” “Modern Art, Sacred Space: Motherwell, Ferber and Gottlieb,” “South African Photographs: David Goldblatt,” “The Monayer Family: Three Videos by Dor Guest,” and “South African Projections: Films by William Kentridge.”