this week in music

FLEET WEEK

The Intrepid serves as home base for annual Fleet Week celebration (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum
Pier 86, 12th Ave. & 46th St.
May 26 – June 1
Admission: adults $22, children three to seventeen $17
www.intrepidmuseum.org

All ashore that’s going ashore! The Navy, Army, and Coast Guard sail into New York Harbor today for the annual Fleet Week celebration, a week of special activities based at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum on the far West Side. The festivities get under way this morning with the Parade of Ships and continue with pier displays from the American Red Cross, the Air Force Global Strike Command, the FDNY, and many others. There will be tours of Army Boat Vessel LSV-1, demonstrations by the Coast Guard Search & Rescue team, competitions including the tug of war and inflatable jousting, the Memorial Day flyover and Three Volley Salute, a Broadway showcase hosted by the ladies of LEND ME A TENOR, and live performances by the Northeast Navy Show Band, the West Point Band, the Rockettes, Miss Babs & the Kickin’ Boogie Band, and Reckon So, and much more.

WALLACE

Wallace will play with fire at Rockwood Music Hall on May 22

Rockwood Music Hall
184 Allen St. between Houston & Stanton Sts.
Saturday, May 22, free, 7:00
212-477-4155
www.myspace.com/wallaceonfire
www.rockwoodmusichall.com

On his self-released album PLAYING WITH FIRE, the one-named Wallace exposes his demons in snarls worthy of Jim Morrison and Eddie Vedder over acoustic guitar lines reminiscent of Neil Young and Jerry Garcia, looking deep within himself on such brooding songs as “All for Tonight” and “Out of My Head.” Wallace, who was born and bred in New England and is now based in Brooklyn, breaks out the harmonica for the bluesy “So Long” and goes a little country on “A Pity.” “Woke up to another day / Can’t seem to shake the hate / Talking to my heart in vain / Then tried to cover the pain,” he sings on “The Lies.” We’re guessing you shouldn’t expect a lot of uplifting pop ditties when  Wallace comes to the Rockwood Music Hall on May 22 at 7:00, following Stephen Brock and Jeremy Parise and preceding Will Knox.

THE PENGUIN REVOLUTION

Long Island band will stage a revolution at the Gramercy Theatre on May 22

Gramercy Theatre
127 East 23rd St. at Lexington Ave.
Saturday, May 22, $20, 8:00
212-614-6932
www.myspace.com/thepenguinrevolution1
www.livenation.com

“Get funky,” Long Beach, Long Island’s Penguin Revolution declares on “Soul Brother,” and it’s hard not to comply. Named after Sakura Tsukuba’s popular young adult manga series, TPR knows how to throw a party. Mixing genres in clever ways, they tell the continuing story of penguin Oscar Hamilton, who is after nothing short of world domination. With Kevin McIntyre on vocals, rhythm guitar, and didgeridoo, Jim Willi on lead guitar, Scruff on bass, John Montoya on drums, and Dan Wagner, Andrew Hagerty, and Julie Gallo on various brass instruments, TPR is nonstop fun. Reggae beats and horns populate “Punky,” while the band goes psychedelic on the thirteen-minute epic “Lydibot.” And if “Rhombus on Parkside” doesn’t get your juices flowing, you better check your pulse. On “Coleman Parade,” they sing, “You think you know about energy”; there’ll be plenty to know on May 22 at the Gramercy Theatre, when the Penguin Revolution opens up for city boys the Energy.

NAT BALDWIN

Baldwin and his double bass will be at the Issue Project Room on May 22

Issue Project Room
232 Third St. between Sackett & Union Sts.
Saturday, May 22, $10, 8:00
718-330-0313
www.myspace.com/natbaldwin
www.issueprojectroom.org

Born in New Hampshire and now based in Brooklyn, Nat Baldwin mixes free jazz with experimental indie pop and classical elements to create a captivating hypnotic hybrid. Baldwin is able to get unusual sounds out of his double bass and voice on such songs as “Lake Eerie,” “Wounds,” and “Dome Branches” and such discs as 2006’s ENTER THE WINTER and LIGHTS OUT and 2007’s MOST VALUABLE PLAYER. Baldwin, who studied with master musician Anthony Braxton and is a member of the Dirty Projectors, will be playing the Issue Project Room in his adopted hometown on May 22, on a bill with Woody Sullender and peace, loving.

ASIA IN AMERICA

LAW & ORDER: SVU’s BD Wong will star in new musical as part of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

Asia Society (unless otherwise noted)
725 Park Ave. at 70th St.
May 21-29, $15-$30
212-517-asia
www.asiasociety.org

The Asia Society’s celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month continues on May 21 as the Balinese music and dance ensemble Gamelan Dharma Swara will present a preview of their fall tour, preceded by a lecture about the engaging art form ($20, 7:00). From May 24 to 26, BD Wong will star as a fortune hunter in the new musical HEADING EAST, with music by Leon Ko and lyrics by Robert Lee ($30, 8:00). On May 26, Zappos.com CEO Tony Hsieh, author of the new book DELIVERING HAPPINESS: A PATH TO PROFITS, PASSION, AND PURPOSE, will discuss his life and career ($15, 6:30). The inventive dance team of Eiko and Koma will perform “Retrospective Project I: Regeneration” May 27-29 at Danspace Project, with each evening followed by a Q&A with guest speakers ($18, 8:00). And today is the last day to check out the AsiaStore Asian American Designer Series, with special appearances by Rita Chung and Rose Ajmera.

LCD SOUNDSYSTEM

James Murphy will have LCD Soundsystem fans up and dancing madly at Terminal 5 gigs

Terminal 5
610 West 56th St. at Eleventh Ave.
May 20-23, $35-$40, 8:00
212-665-3832
www.lcdsoundsystem.com
www.terminal5nyc.com

He’s hip. He’s rad. He’s forty? Yes, James Murphy, lead singer and creator of dance-punk act LCD Soundsystem and founder of DFA Records, might be old enough to start experiencing a midlife crisis, but he’s having a huge upsurge of popularity instead. Whether he’s ranting about aging hipsters (“Losing My Edge,” from the band’s eponymously titled debut), developing a manifesto for reforming New York City (“New York, I Love You, But You’re Bringing Me Down,” from 2007’s SOUND OF SILVER), or tenderly singing a ballad about a dear friend passing (SILVER’s “Someone Great”), Murphy’s oddball approach to lyrics is intoxicating. “Drunk girls are like a night of simplicity / They need a lover who is smarter than me / Drunk boys, we walk like pedestrians / Drunk girls wait an hour to pee,” Murphy intones on “Drunk Girls,” the first single from LCD’s brilliant new album, THIS IS HAPPENING (DFA/Virgin, May 18, 2010). Murphy might sing, “You wanted a hit / But maybe we don’t do hits / I try and try / It ends up feeling kind of wrong” on “You Wanted a Hit,” but he’ll have a big hit on his hands as he leads the band through four crazy nights at Terminal 5 this week. One of the most exciting performers and producers in music today, Murphy may start slow but builds to wild, mystifying beauty, much like his songs. He loves the stage and holds nothing back, dancing madly and smashing around on Pat Mahoney’s drum kit, working up a good, hot sweat. Holy Ghost! opens all four nights.

TRIBUTE SHOWS: LED ZEPPELIN AND PINK FLOYD

Kashmir will pay tribute to Led Zeppelin aboard concert cruise ship this summer

ROCKS OFF CONCERT CRUISES
Kashmir: Thursday, May 20, East 23rd St. & FDR Dr., $20-$25, 8:00 departure
The Machine: Saturday, June 19, West 41st St. & the Hudson River, $30-$40, 8:00 departure
www.rocksoff.com/concert-cruises

Cover band. The words conjure an image of musicians sufficiently talented for a paying gig but lacking the creativity, confidence, and commitment to write and perform their own material. Cover bands play bar mitzvahs and the senior prom; they don’t sell out the Garden. But even the most cynical among us must remember the Beatles began as a hardworking group enthusiastically belting out the songs of other artists. (Ironically, the ultimate Beatles cover band generated serious respect at the Winter Garden Theatre for the long-running, award-winning BEATLEMANIA.) We say it’s time to tip our hats and lend our ears to cover bands, particularly when they display the audacity to aim for a full-fledged tribute, focusing on singularly matching the sound and spirit of a beloved group. In pursuing this formidable sonic challenge, tribute bands have big guitar cases to fill, and if they’re your cup of tea, the Rocks Off Concert Cruises is the place to be this summer. Although the music series includes such performers as the Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad, Mr. Scruff, the Black Lips, and Jesse Malin, it also features tributes to Sublime (May 20, July 24), Bruce Springsteen (June 19), Talking Heads (August 19), and Tool (September 24) in addition to Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd. On May 20, Kashmir will get the led out aboard the Jewel with what they call the Ultimate Led Zeppelin show, while on June 19 the Machine will welcome fans to the psychedelic sounds of Pink Floyd aboard the Temptress.  In the clean, salty air out on the water, enjoying some of the greatest rock songs of all time against the backdrop of the marvelous Gotham skyline, we’re hoping for Kashmir’s version of “The Ocean” and the Machine’s take on “Breathe.”  But then again, with rock giants Zep and Floyd, any cover will due.