this week in 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.

soloNOVA ARTS FESTIVAL

Performance Space 122
150 First Ave. at Ninth St.
May 5-22, $20 per performance, $55 passport for any five shows
Festival Pass: $100
After-parties: $10
212-352-3101
www.ps122.org
www.terranovacollective.org

The seventh annual soloNOVA Arts Festival begins this week, featuring eight one-person shows and three late-night after-parties. This year’s lineup ranges from bilingual theatrical cabaret (Karina Casiano’s ROOTLESS: LA NO-NOSTALGIA) and musical comedy (Erin Markey’s PUPPY LOVE: A STRIPPER’S TAIL) to storytelling and song (Shontina Vernon’s WANTED) and dance theater (Jesse Zaritt’s BINDING). Daniel Berkley gets personal delving into his schizophrenia and addictions in REMISSION, Avery Pearson takes on sixteen characters in the thriller MONSTER, Brian McManamon is an odd collector in the Frigid NY favorite IT OR HER, and comedian W. Kamau Bell attacks racism in THE W. KAMAU BELL CURVE: ENDING RACISM IN ABOUT AN HOUR. In addition, there will be three Ones at Eleven after-parties at P.S. 122, highlighting music on May 8, comedy on May 15, and storytelling and spoken word on May 22. And on May 21, terraNOVA Collective will honor Nilaja Sun as soloNOVA Artist of the Year at a benefit with clips, food, drink, and more ($30, 8:00).

TWI-NY TICKET GIVEAWAY: AMERICAN IDIOT

Everyone is looking to win the latest twi-ny contest: tickets to see AMERICAN IDIOT on Broadway

St. James Theatre
246 West 44th St. between Broadway & Eighth Ave.
Tickets: $49-$252
www.americanidiotonbroadway.com

In 2004, Billie Joe Armstrong, Tré Cool, and Mike Dirnt, better known as Green Day, released AMERICAN IDIOT, considered by many to be one of the best records of the first decade of the twenty-first century. An unblinking examination of life during the post-9/11 Bush era, AMERICAN IDIOT unleashed a breathtaking suite of songs that held nothing back; among its breakout tunes were “Jesus of Suburbia,” “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” and “Wake Me Up When September Ends.” Green Day has now collaborated with Tony Award–winning director Michael Mayer — as well as Tony Award– and Pulitzer Prize–winning composer and orchestrator Tom Kitt (NEXT TO NORMAL), Olivier Award–winning choreographer Steven Hoggett (BLACK WATCH), and Tony-winning actor John Gallagher Jr. (SPRING AWAKENING) — to bring AMERICAN IDIOT to the stage, where it is currently dazzling audiences at the St. James Theater on Broadway.

Tickets are selling fast, but twi-ny has three pairs to give away for free. Just send your name and daytime phone number to contest@twi-ny.com by Thursday, May 6, at 12 noon to be eligible. All entrants must be twenty-one years of age or older; three winners will be selected at random.

WORLD NOMADS LEBANON

Bernard Khoury will give a free talk on Lebanese architecture and public space at FIAF on May 6

French Institute Alliance Française
Florence Gould Hall, 55 East 59th St.
Le Skyroom, 22 East 60th St.
Tinker Auditorium, 55 East 59th St.
May 1-29, free – $40
212-355-6100
www.fiaf.org

This year FIAF’s annual spring journey heads to Lebanon for a month of live performance, film screenings, art, talks, and more. The festival, which covered Africa in 2008 and Haiti in 2009, begins May 1 with the Bassam Saba Ensemble playing in Florence Gould Hall, followed on May 2 by three consecutive free talks at Le Skyroom, with writers Elias Khoury, Rawi Hage, and Alexander Najjar in conjunction with the PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature. On Tuesdays from May 4 through May 25, CinémaTuesdays will present such films as Maroun Bagdadi’s HORS LA VIE, Jocelyne Saab’s ONCE UPON A TIME: BEIRUT, and Simon El-Habre’s THE ONE MAN VILLAGE in Florence Gould Hall. Meanwhile, the Film Society of Lincoln center will be hosting “The Calm After the Storm: Making Sense of Lebanon’s Civil War,” more than thirty films that give a fascinating overview into the history of the embattled nation. On May 21, Wajdi Mouawad and Jane Birkin will team up for staged readings of his “Je t’embrasse pour finir” (in French) and “La sentinelle” (in English); admission is free but advance reservations are required; author, actor, and director Wajdi will also be giving a free talk May 19 in Le Skyroom. World Nomads will also feature a trio of architecture talks on successive Thursdays, with Bernard Khoury on May 6, “Public Space: Memory, Boundary, Catastrophe” on May 13, and “Modern Architecture in Beirut: Reconstruction & Cultural Identity” on May 20. During the festival, the FIAF Gallery will be displaying “Cedrus Libani: Roots & Memory,” an exhibition of new and old work by Lebanese-American artist Nabil Nahas, while “My Umi Said . . . New Work from Lebanon” features multimedia pieces by five progressive Lebanese artists, held off-site at Kleio Projects (May 7-28, 153½ Stanton St.).

VOX 2010

CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN OPERA LAB
Skirball Center
566 La Guardia Pl. at Washington Sq. South
Friday, April 30, 6:00 – 11:00
Saturday, May 1, 12 noon – 5:30 pm
Limited free tickets given out day of show
212-870-5570
www.nycopera.com

New York City Opera is hosting two days of special programming at NYU’s Skirball Center, promising a preview of the future of opera with panel discussions and presentations from emerging and established composers and librettists, including Daniel Crozier and Peter M. Krask’s WITH BLOOD, WITH INK, Du Yun’s ZOLLE, Missy Mazzoli’s SONG FROM THE UPROAR, Julian Wachner and Alexis Nouss’s EVANGELINE REVISITED, and Michael Gordon and Deborah Artman’s ACQUANETTA. Now in its eleventh year, the festival has introduced many works that went on to have full productions around the world. Although online reservations are closed, a limited number of free tickets will be given out shortly before each opera.

SHARON JONES AND THE DAP-KINGS

Sharon Jones moves from city parks to the Apollo this weekend (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Apollo Theater
253 West 125th St.
Friday, April 30, and Saturday, May 1, $37.50, 8:00
212-531-5300
www.apollotheater.com
www.myspace.com/sharonjonesandthedapkings

We’ve been singing the praises of spitfire soul singer Sharon Jones since we first caught her explosive act in Madison Square Park back in 2005; three years later she was headlining a massive show at SummerStage in Central Park. Well, this weekend she moves from free shows in the park to the legendary Apollo Theater, where she’ll take the stage for two highly anticipated shows in support of her fourth and most widely reviewed album, I LEARNED THE HARD WAY (Daptone, April 6, 2010). A onetime Rikers Island prison guard born in Georgia and raised in Brooklyn, Jones always gives it her all; having cut her chops in churches and mimicking James Brown, she just knows no other way. The new record opens with a blast of horns from the Dap-Kings, kicking off a dozen trips into the sensational sound of ’70s soul, twelve funky forays into love and heartbreak that will get your booty shaking and your mojo working overtime. “If I give you my love, are you going to give it back,” she asks on “Give It Back.”; onstage, Jones always gives her love, and audiences give it back in droves (especially a lucky fellow or two who might get pulled onstage to dance with her).

SAKURA MATSURI

Brooklyn Botanic Garden
900 Washington Ave. at Eastern Parkway
Saturday, May 1, and Sunday, May 2, $10-$15
718-623-7200
www.bbg.org/sakura2010

There is nothing quite like hanami in Brooklyn, the annual cherry blossom viewing at the botanic garden. More than two hundred flowering Japanese cherry trees are expected to be in bloom this weekend for the Sakura Matsuri, a two-day festival of dance, music, art, workshops, food, workshops, and nature that always attracts large crowds excited to experience the pure beauty of it all. Among this year’s participants are Soh Daiko, Nihon Buyo Classical & Ryukyu Buyo Okinawan Dance, the Spring Street Haiku Group, happyfunsmile, Samurai Sword Soul, poet Enta Kusakabe, Dean Street FOO Dance, Kagero Japanese Gypsy rock, Pokémon voice artist Veronica Taylor, DJ Saiko Mikan, stand-up comic Uncle Yo, woodblock artist April Vollmer, children’s Taiko drummers Genki Daiko Team, Masayo Ishigure and the Miyabi Koto Shamisen Ensemble, and the Japanese Folk Dance Institute of NY. Special events and activities include a Mataro Ningyo dollmaking demonstration, a Sohenry-style tea ceremony, the Manga & Anime Artist Alley, a cosplay fashion show, origami paper folding, ikebana flower arranging, a children’s tattoo parlor, a high tea with the Parasol Society, Japanese hot-pot cooking, bonsai advice for home gardeners, and so much more. It’s really one of the best weekends of the year, a must-see for every New Yorker that will become an annual ritual once you experience its charm.