this week in music

JEFF THE BROTHERHOOD

The Corrall brothers are back in town for two psychedelic gigs (photo by Greg)

The Orrall brothers are back in town for two psychedelic gigs (photo by Greg)

Sunday, December 6, Bowery Ballroom, 6 Delancey St., $18, 8:00
Monday, December 7, Mercury Lounge, 217 East Houston St., $8, 7:00
www.myspace.com/jakeandjamin
www.mercuryloungenyc.com
www.boweryballroom.com

Somehow, even though Nashville’s Jeff the Brotherhood was one of the busiest bands at the CMJ Music Marathon in October, we just kept missing them, our primary disappointment of the festival. However, good fortune is shining on us all as brothers Jake and Jamin Orrall are back in the city for two gigs, supporting Ted Leo on December 6 at the Bowery Ballroom and headlining the next night at the Mercury Lounge (10:00) with Dinowalrus (9:00), Sisters (8:00), Coin Under Tongue (7:00), and a DJ set by Stupid Party. Jeff the Brotherhood’s HEAVY DAYS (Infinity Cat, October 2009) has been in heavy rotation on our computer, offering blast after blast of pure psychedelic garage rock on such tunes as “U Got the Look,” “The Tropics,” “Bone Jam,” “Screaming Banshee,” “Doo It,” and “I’m a Freak,” which features an appropriately great freak-out. Although the December 6 show is sold out, there are still tickets for December 7, so be sure to catch Jake and Jamin letting out a groovy barrage of sound with just drums and guitar.

HOLIDAY CHEER FOR ’FUV 2009

Rosanne Cash will be checking her list at annual FUV holiday fundraiser

The Concert Hall at the New York Society for Ethical Culture
2 West 64th St. at Central Park West
Tuesday, December 8, $45-$500, 8:00
800-745-3000
www.wfuv.org/events/holiday/2009

One of the last of the great radio stations, WFUV, broadcasting out of Fordham University, is hosting its fifth annual benefit concert on December 8 at the Society for Ethical Culture, raising much-needed funds to be able to continue such programming as Echoes with John Dilberto, the Grateful Dead Hour, American Routes with Nick Spitzer, Beale Street Caravan with Daren Dortin and Pat Mitchell, the World Cafe with David Dye, Mountain Stage with Larry Groce, a Thousand Welcomes with Kathleen Biggins, Woody’s Children with Bob Sherman, the Whole Wide World with Rita Houston, Mixed Bag with Pete Fornatale, and Idiot’s Delight with the legendary Vin Scelsa. This year’s concert is headlined by Rosanne Cash, who is touring behind her latest album, THE LIST, a collection of essential country songs her father gave her when she turned eighteen. Also on the bill are Providence’s the Low Anthem and former Soul Coughing leader Mike Doughty. Tickets are $45-$75, with $250 and $500 VIP seats that include admission to the preconcert cocktail party.

RAILROAD EARTH

Railroad Earth will be playing last area show for a while on December 10 (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Music Hall of Williiamsburg
66 North Sixth St.
Thursday, December 10, $25, 9:00
www.musichallofwilliamsburg.com
www.myspace.com/railroadearth

The jam-band label has vexed New Jersey’s Railroad Earth, a sextet who bring percussion to the acoustic mix with a bluegrass-derived sensibility even as they incorporate influences from Celtic to folk into their engaging repertoire. Over time RRE has mastered the science of being able to stretch out and improvise, without getting over-noodly or self-indulgent, two whammies that turn many off of the jam-band scene — often folks who live for melodic, well-written music by artists such as the Band or Neil Young. Railroad Earth sounds like themselves yet draw from a similar pedigree; we can’t get enough of such fine tunage as “Smilin’ Like a Buddha,” “Mighty River,” and the chooglin’ “Warhead Boogie.” They’ll be playing the Music Hall of Williamsburg on December 10 in what will be the last area show featuring the current lineup, as bassist Johnny Grubb is leaving the band; it’ll be the last show around here for a while too, as fiddler Tim Carbone devotes more time to his new group, the Contribution, and lead singer Todd Shaeffer goes on tour with the re-formed From Good Homes. The Infamous Stringdusters will open the show.

TELL YOUR FRIENDS! WE’LL KICK CANCER’S BUTT!

Comedian Liam McEneaney will host cancer benefit at Comix on December 8

Comix Comedy Club
353 West 14th St. at Ninth Ave.
Tuesday, December 8, $30 (two-drink minimum), 8:30
www.comixny.com

Benefit season is in full swing, and Comix joins the fray with an exciting bill raising funds and awareness for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of America. Sponsored by the Onion, the comedy roster includes John Oliver, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, Caroline Rhea, Kristen Schaal, Todd Barry, and Eddie Brill, with a musical set by folk duo a Brief View of the Hudson. The evening, which also features the Ultimate Comedy Nerd Raffle, will be hosted by Liam McEneaney, who produced the event with Jessica Flores, and continues with an after-party with DJ Eliel Lucero and free beer from Brooklyn Brewery. And while there’s a lot funny with this comic crew, there’s nothing funny about free beer, giving you no excuse not to shell out thirty clams and laugh and drink to your heart’s content.

BROOKLYN COMICS AND GRAPHICS FESTIVAL

brooklyncomics

Our Lady of Conservation Church, 194 Metropolitan Ave. between Berry St. & Bedford Ave., 11:00 am – 7:00 pm
Secret Project Robot, 128 River St. at Metropolitan Ave., 1:00 – 6:00 pm
Death by Audio, 49 South Second St. between Kent & Wythe, 9:00 – ?
Saturday, December 5, free
www.comicsandgraphicsfest.com

Many of the finest practitioners of the graphic novel will be on hand for what looks to be quite the excellent free three-part festival in Williamsburg today. The stellar lineup of guest artists includes Charles Burns, Dash Shaw, R. Sikoryak, Kim Deitch, Gary Panter, Adrian Tomine, and more than a dozen others, along with such exhibitors as Drawn & Quarterly, Le Dernier Cri, Nieves, House of Twelve, the collective Uninhabitable Mansions, and many more. Exhibitors and signings will take place at Our Lady of Conservation Church, with the exact schedule available at the above Web Site. Five panel discussions will be held down the street at Secret Project Robot every hour beginning at 1:00, including the great Ben Katchor talking about the great JULIUS KNIPL, REAL ESTATE PHOTOGRAPHER and THE JEW OF NEW YORK, as well as his other works that chronicle old-time city life, at 3:00, followed by Bill Kartolopoulus moderating “Flatlands: Comics on the Picture Plane” with Lisa Hanawalt, Mark Newgarden, Ron Regé Jr., and David Sandlin. The fest concludes at Death by Audio, with live performances by such artists and bands as Kites, Ambergris, Sam Gas Can, Boogie Boarder, Nick Gazin, Graffiti Monsters, and Dubbknowdubb.

THE BEATLES COMPLETE ON UKULELE

beatlesukulele

Brooklyn Bowl
61 Wythe Ave.
Sunday, December 6, $10, 11:00 am – 12 midnight
718-963-3369
www.brooklynbowl.com
www.thebeatlescompleteonukulele.blogspot.com

As much as we love the Beatles — and we really do, having grown up mimicking the Fab Four in our basement using tennis rackets for guitars and singing with buskers on Bleecker St. in our teens — we were getting just a wee bit oversaturated with the Rock Band video game and the preponderance of Beatles tunes being turned into commercials these days. But then, to save us from this horror, along comes the second annual Beatles Complete on Ukulele. Yes, you heard that right. On Sunday, December 6, from 11:00 am to 12 midnight at Brooklyn Bowl, Roger Greenawalt promises to “perform all 185 original Beatles songs in one day on ukulele with over 60 guest singers, 80 guest musicians, and 16 Yoko impersonators.” We’re particularly looking forward to the 1:00 hour, when Meg Farrell will make her way through “You Won’t See Me,” “You Never Give Me Your Money,” “The Night Before,” and “Dig a Pony” and Mary Lee Kortes, who we’ve seen play all of BLOOD ON THE TRACKS at Joe’s Pub with her band, Mary Lee’s Corvette, covers “Don’t Pass Me By” and “Here, There and Everywhere,” as well as the 7:00 hour, hosted by Jessica Delfino and featuring Dandelion Wine playing “When I Get Home,” “Yesterday,” “A Day in the Life,” and “While My Ukulele Gently Weeps” in addition to Gospel, the Pierces, Loribeth, the Morning Pages, and Kiddeaux. Last year’s inaugural event benefited Warren Buffett, while this year’s proceeds will go to Yoko Ono. Admission is $10, but it’s free if you show up at 11 with a ukulele and play in the Mass Ukulele Beatle Rally. But even if you can’t make it, you just have to check out some of the songs at the above Web site.

FIRST SATURDAYS: LIGHT UP THE SEASON

James Tissot, detail, “Jesus Goes Up Alone onto a Mountain to Pray,” opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper, 1886−94

Brooklyn Museum of Art
200 Eastern Parkway
Saturday, December 5, free after 5:00 (some events require advance free tickets available an hour or two before showtime)
718-638-5000
www.brooklynmuseum.org

The Brooklyn Museum’s monthly First Saturdays program welcomes in the holiday season with a flurry of free activity tonight, much of which surrounds the James Tissot exhibition “The Life of Christ,” including a rare screening of LA VIE DU CHRIST (THE LIFE OF CHRIST) (Alice Guy Blaché, 1906), a concert of liturgic music by the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, and a Young Voices gallery talk about the Tissot show. In addition, Pete Fornatale will discuss his new book, BACK TO THE GARDEN: THE STORY OF WOODSTOCK, in conjunction with the “Who Shot Rock & Roll” photography exhibit; there will be live performances by a trio of Dutch groups, Michael Varekamp’s Caribbean jazz ensemble, EveNi, and Lee-Ursus Alexander, in honor of the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s travels to New York; the Hands-On Art workshop will teach participants how to make a stained-glass window; Beatlemania continues with a screening of Richard Lester’s 1964 classic comedy A HARD DAY’S NIGHT; and Soul Summit hosts the hot and sweaty dance party. There really is nothing quite like First Saturdays, an energizing mix of art, music, film, literature, dance, and more, held the first Saturday of every month to an ever-growing crowd.