this week in music

WHITNEY BIENNIAL: 2010

Curators Francesco Bonami and Gary Carrion-Murayari and such artists as the Bruce High Quality Foundation pull in to the Whitney to protect and preserve the biennial (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Whitney Museum of American Art
945 Madison Ave. at 75th St.
Tuesday – Sunday through May 30, $18
Pay-what-you-wish Friday 6:00 – 9:00
www.whitney.org

Less is indeed more at the 2010 Whitney Biennial, the best of this young century. Previous biennials filled every available nook and cranny they could, giving viewers less than adequate time or space to appreciate the massive survey of the state of contemporary American art. For the current biennial, simply titled “2010,” curators Francesco Bonami and Gary Carrion-Murayari have allowed the art, and visitors, plenty of room to breathe. The work of two particular artists perhaps best represents what this biennial is all about. Robert Grosvenor has one room to himself, with an enticing red bridge-like structure on the floor and an inviting aluminum fence suspended in the center. The pieces are anything but threatening; however, don’t try to crawl under or climb either one. It’s a welcoming installation that lives comfortably in its space. As wide open as Grosvenor’s contribution is, Kate Gilmore’s “Standing Here” is about as claustrophobic as it gets, until it bursts out in the glory of freedom. In a tight room, a video shows Gilmore, in a cheerful polka-dot dress and high heels, trying to escape from a narrow white column; it takes a minute before it becomes clear that the column is the very one in the room. When Gilmore — whose “Walk the Walk” runs May 10-14 in Bryant Park — at last busts through, it is as if the biennial has broken free of the chains that have bound it in recent years. “Regeneration through art,” the curators proclaim in the accompanying catalog. “Art can simply be a state of mind — a form of ecstatic resistance — that helps people to handle the complexities of society and even deal with the hardships of life.” Indeed, they have brought new life to the biennial.

Tam Tran, “Battle Cry,” digital print, 2008

As always, the biennial is hosting many live events during its run, most free with museum admission. Aki Sasamato will perform in her “Strange Attractors” sculpture installation at 4:00 on May dates ending in the numbers 6 and 9; for Whitney Live, musician and composer Dennis DeSantis will use site-specific processing in Martin Kersels’s “5 Songs” installation May 7 at 6:30, with Colin Gee scheduled for May 14, So Percussion on May 21, and Nina Berman on May 28; Kerry Tribe will re-create Hollis Frampton’s CRITICAL MASS on May 7 at 7:30 as part of the My Turn series; Theaster Gates will present his monastic residency in the Sculpture Court May 7-9, followed by Derek Chan May 12-13; and Jason Kraus, Kersels, and Johnny Fisher team up for “Jason Martin Wants to Be a DJ” in “5 Songs” on May 28 at 8:30.

MORE OR LESS I AM

Multiple locations
Through May 14
www.colombari.org

“I celebrate myself, and sing myself / And what I assume you shall assume, / For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.” So begins Walt Whitman’s epic poem “Song of Myself,” from 1855’s revolutionary LEAVES OF GRASS. New York–based Compagnia de’ Colombari is currently traveling across the city performing their brand-new musical theater adaptation of the master work, in a production conceived and directed by Karin Coonrod and featuring an original score by violinist Colin Jacobsen and cellist Eric Jacobsen of Brooklyn Rider and guitarist Kyle Sanna and flutist Alex Sopp. Leading the cast is Obie winner Michael Potts (LENNON), Jorge Rubio, Michael Rogers, Elliot Villar, and Sarah Heltzel. The company will be at the World Financial Center on May 7, Whitman’s Long Island birthplace in West Hills on May 8, the Wadleigh School in Harlem on May 10, the Old Stone House in Brooklyn on May 11, Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem on May 12, and Grant’s Tomb on May 13 before culminating with a special ticketed show ($15) at Joe’s Pub to round out the tour.

GIRLS IN TROUBLE

Aaron Hartman and Alicia Jo Robins of Girls in Trouble celebrate Shavuot and more in two free local gigs

Friday, May 7, Café Orwell, 247 Varet St., free, 7:00
Wednesday, May 19, Sidewalk Café, 94 Ave. A at Sixth St., free (two-drink minimum), 10:00
www.myspace.com/girlsintroublemusic
www.sidewalkmusic.net

Girls in Trouble is a band that started out as a musical project of fiddle player and composer Alicia Jo Rabins, who was intrigued by the idea of writing songs about — or from the perspective of — the women characters from the Old Testament. Elsewhere a member of klezmer mainstays Golem and old-time revivalists the Hoppin’ John Stringband, Rabins has crafted an album’s worth of tunes following these stories and has been bringing them to life in performance over the past three years. But fear not; this isn’t music for theologians only. Here, the songs are everything, the mood shifting from sultry to impassioned to festive to macabre, sometimes within the bounds of a single composition. In a live setting, Girls in Trouble can variously feature the songs as either interpreted by a four-piece band (including Jascha Hoffman on keyboards, vibraphone, and accordion, Tim Monaghan on drums, Aaron Hartman on upright bass, and other delights); in fiddle/guitar duet guise with Hartman; or even with the becoming Ms. Rabins occasionally performing to the simple accompaniment of her own voice layered with prepared tape loops of acoustic strings.

No matter the instrumental accoutrements, the haunting stories that unfold make for an interesting and rewarding evening of listening. Girls in Trouble will be at Café Orwell in Brooklyn on May 7, followed by a gig on May 19 at the Sidewalk Café, playing their self-described “post-biblical art pop” on the Jewish holy day of Shavuot — the day when tradition maintains that Moses was given the Torah atop Mt. Sinai. Expect an intimate evening of unique music.

sex & drugs & rock & roll

Andy Serkis gives many reasons to be cheerful channeling Ian Dury in biopic

sex & drugs & rock & roll (Mat Whitecross, 2010)
Tribeca Cinemas
54 Varick St. at Laight St.
May 5-11
212-941-2001
www.tribecafilm.com

British actor Andy Serkis, who has appeared in such diverse roles as Gollum in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and Rigaud in the widely hailed 2008 LITTLE DORRIT miniseries, transforms himself into punk rocker Ian Dury in the biopic sex & drugs & rock & roll. Directed by documentarian Mat Whitecross (THE ROAD TO GUANTANAMO, THE SHOCK DOCTRINE), the film follows Dury as an adult desperate to make it in the music biz, putting his career ahead of his family. The first half is awkward to watch, as there is not much to like about the character, a nasty, self-centered brute with a huge chip on his shoulder who leaves his caring wife (Olivia Williams) for a young fan (Naomie Harris). But as Whitecross and actor-turned-writer Paul Viragh reveal more of Dury’s past, centering on his relationship with his father (Ray Winstone) and being confined to a poorly run hospital after he contracted polio, Dury becomes a more compelling figure, especially as success approaches. Serkis does all his own singing in the film, set to newly recorded versions of such Ian Dury and the Blockheads classics as “Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick,” “What a Waste,” “Reasons to Be Cheerful, Part 3,” and the title song. The soundtrack was composed by Dury’s longtime collaborator, Blockhead Chaz Jankel (played by a bland Tom Hughes), who also served as a consultant on the film. It takes a while to get going, but once it does, sex & drugs & rock & roll grabs you, anchored by Serkis’s remarkable performance.

DRINK UP BUTTERCUP

Drink Up Buttercup is back in their second home to celebrate the release of their debut album (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Wednesday, May 5, Brooklyn Bowl, 61 Wythe Ave., free, 8:00
Friday, May 14, Mercury Lounge, 217 East Houston St., $10, 7:30
www.myspace.com/drinkupbuttercupband
www.mercuryloungenyc.com
www.brooklynbowl.com

On the first song on their debut album, Philly band Drink Up Buttercup sings, “Remember your seasickness pills,” an apt warning to listeners about to delve into the many giddy pleasure of BORN AND THROWN ON A HOOK (Yep Roc, March 2010). Over the course of fourteen songs, Jamers Harvey, Farzad Houshiarnejad, Ben Money, and Mike Cammarata let loose with a barrage of sea shanties, garage rock, waltzes, Goth moments, and Beatles-esque harmonies on such infectious tunes as “Doggy Head,” “Even Think,” “Gods and Gentlemen,” and the gorgeous “Lovers Play Dead.” The record is anchored by DUB’s wild and crazy double shot of “Sosey and Dosey” and “Mr. Pie Eyes,” which glory in the raw energy of rock and roll. As strong as the album is — these guys really know how to write a hook, and they fearlessly take off in whichever direction the music takes them — it’s their live shows that make them special, as they bang on trash cans, trade off instruments, knock over mannequin heads, and play with a reckless abandon that will have you wasted and begging for more. DUB will be playing a free show at Brooklyn Bowl on May 5 with the King Expressers and Givers, then will head to Mercury Lounge on May 14 with the King Left, the upstate New York band who are finishing up their tour in support of their EP NEW YORK NOTHING.

MONEYBROTHER

Moneybrother will make his full-band New York City debut on May 5 at Mercury Lounge

Mercury Lounge
217 East Houston St.
Wednesday, May 5, $10, 6:30
www.mercuryloungenyc.com
www.myspace.com/moneybrother

Earlier this year, Moneybrother played an acoustic gig with Rhett Miller at City Winery. The creation of former Monster Anders Wendin, Moneybrother is back in town, making its full-band debut at Mercury Lounge on May 5. A soulful mix of pop, punk, reggae, classic rock, and disco, Moneybrother’s latest album, REAL CONTROL (April 2010), is a musical tour de force, from the funky opener, “Born Under a Bad Sign,” to the rollicking gem “Get Some Tonight,” from the infectious choruses of “We Die Only Once” and “Just Another Part of Me That Breaks Down” to the power ballad “6 AM” and the lovely closer, “Showdown,” a song that would make Ian Hunter proud. At times, Wendin’s voice is a little Mick Jones and a lot Joe Strummer, turning REAL CONTROL into a Clash-like foray into love and heartbreak, with horns and strings and other accoutrements. Moneybrother is sharing the bill with Michael Leonhart and the Avramina 7, featuring the Antibalas Horns, and DJ Sean Lennon, which should make for quite an unusual night of cool music.

HA HA TONKA

Bowery Ballroom
6 Delancey St.
Tuesday, May 4, $16, 8:30
212-533-2111
www.myspace.com/hahatonka
www.boweryballroom.com

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources describes Ha Ha Tonka State Park as “the ideal place for the adventurous.” They could just as easily been talking about native sons Ha Ha Tonka, the four-piece Ozark band consisting of Brett Anderson on keyboards and guitar, Lennon Bone on drums, Lucas Long on bass, and Brian Roberts on guitar. Originally called Amsterband, Ha Ha Tonka has made a name for itself with its unique take on southern music on their two fine albums, 2007’s BUCKLE IN THE BIBLE BELT and 2009’s NOVEL SOUNDS OF THE NOUVEAU SOUTH, both released by Bloodshot Records. The group investigates the South’s “horrific past” while celebrating its reputation for “enormous hospitality” on gospel-tinged pop songs such as “Hold My Feet to the Fire” and “The Outpouring,” in which they proclaim, “We bled it out.” You might have missed the pride of Springfield, Missouri, on May 2 in Brooklyn, but they’ll be at the Bowery Ballroom on May 4, playing with Murder by Death and Linfinity. Check them out for a novel musical journey through the New South.