this week in music

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.”

NORTHSIDE FESTIVAL: SUNDAY BEST

Shark? finishes up busy Williamsburg weekend at Bar Matchless tonight (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Multiple venues
Sunday, June 27, 1:30 pm – ?
Admission: free – $19, badges $50
Northside Festival Sunday Schedule

The four-day Northside Festival comes to a close today with another hundred bands or so playing all over Williamsburg and beyond, including pay outdoor and free indoor shows. Below are our picks for the final day of this adventurous and exciting festival, with one major warning: Don’t count on the free trolley to take you to Newtown Barge Park if you’re in any kind of rush or don’t mind missing much of whatever group you’re planning on seeing.

Elvis Perkins in Dearland, Newtown Barge Park, 3:30: Indie darling will be sending his fond regards to doomsday with his inventive folk rock.

Harper Blynn, Public Assembly, 4:30: The old Pete and J will propel the loneliest generation into centrifugal motion with their pure pop at Public Assembly.

Shark?, Bar Matchless, 6:00: Brooklyn four-piece played great impromptu gig at yesterday’s street fair on Bedford and should light up Bar Matchless tonight.

Les Savy Fav, Newtown Barge Park, 8:30: The sweat should descend on the crowd as well as a nearly naked Tim Harrington at this show by the experimental Brooklyn punk band.

Savoir Adore, Coco 66, 9:00: Brooklynites know their way around funky grooves and sweet melodies.

MiniBoone, Bar Matchless, 10:00: Local boys know how to let loose for a wild grand finale.

Islands, Music Hall of Williamsburg, 11:00: Nick Diamonds and former Islander Jamie Thompson lead this glamorous Canadian group that ramps it up at their live shows.

BRONX BOOK FAIR

Bronx Museum of the Arts
1040 Grand Concourse at 166th St.
Sunday, June 27, 12 noon – 5:00 pm
Admission: free
www.bronxmuseum.org

The Bronx Museum of the Arts celebrates small presses at its annual book fair, which this year includes children’s workshops, panel discussions, DJ sets from Wepa Man Victor Vargas, open studios from artists-in-residence Niang Ibrahima and Seydi Samba from Senegal, poetry readings, an ARTfarm site-specific installation, a film screening, and more. Currently the museum is exhibiting “After 1968: Contemporary Artists and the Civil Rights Legacy,” “Road to Freedom: Photographs of the Civil Rights Movement, 1956-1968,” “Lobby-for-the-Time-Being” by Acconci Studio, and “Urban Archives: Happy Together — Asian and Asian-American Art from the Permanent Collection.”