this week in music

THE RAMBLIN’ KIND

The Ramblin’ Kind play classic country, pure and true

Hill Country
30 West 26th St. between Broadway & Sixth Ave.
Wednesday, November 18, free, 9:00 pm – 12 midnight
212-255-4544
www.myspace.com/theramblinkind
www.hillcountryny.com

Don’t try to pigeonhole Brooklyn’s the Ramblin’ Kind into some kind of alt-country, country-folk, country-rock subgenre; they are proud be called a country band, pure and simple. Jim “Duckie” Allen, Oliver “Twist” Sharpe, Matt “Scrappy” Applebaum, Nate “Abel” Knaebel, and Steve “the Charmer” Goulding will be lassoing fans on November 18 at Hill Country, whooping it up with such songs as “You May Already Be a Loser,” “Have You Ever Been Lonely,” and “Black Rose,” mixing up originals with classics by “hardcore country cats.” There’s no cover at Hill Country, which “honors the barbecue and live music capital of Texas” with a menu that includes Kreuz sausage, beer can game hen, white shoepeg corn pudding, sweet potato bourbon mash, and original PB&J cupcakes and a music lineup featuring such groups as Sean Kershaw and the New Jack Ramblers, Stringbean and the Stalkers, Citigrass, and, of course, the Ramblin’ Kind.

RAY DAVIES

Town Hall
123 West 43rd St. between Broadway & Sixth Ave.
November 18-19, $54-$74, 8:00
212-840-2824

www.raydavies.info
www.the-townhall-nyc.org

Ray Davies is on a very different kind of tour this time around, alternating between regular band shows and joining with local choirs to play the Kinks Choral Collection, ornate versions of such Kinks classics as “Waterloo Sunset,” “You Really Got Me,” “Celluloid Heroes,” “Village Green Preservation Society,” and “All Day and All of the Night.” Although the accompanying album, released in the United States last week, was recorded with North London’s Crouch End Festival Chorus, Davies and his band will be joined November 18-19 at Town Hall by the New York City-based Dessoff Chamber Choir, conducted by David Temple. Davies is always an entertaining sort of chap, in any guise, and it should be quite fascinating to see such familiar songs given a new life through these orchestrations. If you’re a purist, you can certainly wait for November 24, when Davies will be playing with his band at the Wellmont Theatre in Montclair, but these two orchestral shows should be something to remember.

STUART SHERMAN: NOTHING UP MY SLEEVE

Andy Kaufman alter ego Tony Clifton should put on a smoking show at anniversary tribute

Santos Party House
96 Lafayette St.
Monday, November 16, $20, 9:00
212-714-4646
www.santospartyhouse.com
www.tonyclifton.net

In conjunction with Performa 09, Participant Inc. honors the twenty-fifth anniversary of the death of Andy Kaufman with an evening of entertainment featuring performance artist Vaginal Davis with PME in “Advanced Capitalism Reunion: Reparations and Retardations,” followed by Tony Clifton, the Cliftonettes, and the seventeen-piece Katrina Kiss My Ass Orchestra. DJs Adam Horovitz of the Beastie Boys, Kathleen Hannah of Le Tigre, and Gibby Haynes of the Butthole Surfers will be spinning tunes throughout the night. The show is named in honor of the late performance artist Stuart Sherman, who died in 2001. But the main draw here is Clifton, one of the most abrasive, annoying, insulting, and downright nasty performers ever. So basically, be prepared for a nice, quiet evening celebrating the genius that was Andy Kaufman.

KAP BAMBINO / SLEIGH BELLS

Kap Bambino will be raving with Sleigh Bells at Webster Hall (photo by Kyle Ross)

The Studio at Webster Hall
125 East Eleventh St. between Second Ave. & Bowery
Saturday, November 14, $10-$12, 10:00
212-353-1600
www.myspace.com/kapbambino
www.websterhall.com/thestudio
www.myspace.com/sleighbellsmusic

“I will explode if you do not change,” Kap Bambino sings in “Breath.” Things threaten to explode tonight at the Studio at Webster Hall, where the French techno/death-metal/grunge duo of Bouvier Orion and Martial Caroline, better known as Kap Bambino, will be celebrating the upcoming release of their BATCAVES EP. You can get an idea just what you’ll be in for merely by some of the song titles on their latest full-length CD, this year’s BLACKLIST, which includes “Dead Lazers,” “Human Piles,” “Plague,” “Blood Roses,” and “Acid Eyes.” And even though the opening act is named Sleigh Bells, don’t let that lull you into thinking that there might be a mellow start to the evening. Techno heads Derek Miller and Alexis Krauss, who make up Sleigh Bells, will not be playing any Christmas hymns. Instead, they’ll be blasting their massive electronica, like the pulsating “Crown on the Ground” and “Infinity Guitars,” as well as the mesmerizing, acoustic-based “Ring Ring,” kicking off what should be a crazy late-night rave in the East Village.

NAKED SOUL: GRAHAM PARKER

: Graham Parker will get sacred and profane at the Rubin (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Rubin Museum of Art
150 West 17th St. at Seventh Ave.
Friday, November 13, $40-$45, 7:00
212-620-5000
www.rmanyc.org/nakedsoul
www.grahamparker.net

Over the years, we’ve seen Graham Parker perform in various amalgamations, with such backing bands as the Figgs and the Rumour as well as solo acoustic, in intimate venues and loud rock clubs. Parker, the witty, acidic songwriter behind such classic tunes as “Local Girls,” “Passion Is No Ordinary Word,” “Protection,” “Stupefaction,” “You Can’t Be Too Strong,” and “Get Started. Start a Fire,” among many others, will be playing a special set at the Rubin Museum of Art as part of the Naked Soul series. Parker, who has also written the excellent short-story collection CARP FISHING ON VALIUM, is a consummate entertainer who introduces his songs with biting commentary, self-deprecating humor, and sublime intelligence that is part Richard Thompson, part Robyn Hitchcock, but all GP. If you’ve never seen him before, take advantage of this splendid opportunity to see one of music’s finest in what he is promising will be quite a unique show. As he describes it: “Where spirituality and sacrilege rub shoulders and get on very well. Yes, the prospect of this totally unplugged gig in the most unusual setting has me digging deep for material that even the GP stalwarts will be delighted with. Or confused. The thematic opportunities have blown my mind. This will be a real one of a kind!” As a bonus, admission to the Rubin is free on Friday nights from 7:00 to 10:00, so after the concert, you should check out such exhibits as “The Red Book of C. G. Jung,” “Victorious Ones: Jain Images of Perfection,” “From the Land of the Gods: Art of the Kathmandu Valley,” and “Mandala: The Perfect Circle.” It should be fascinating to see how Parker blends in the Rubin’s surroundings into his set.

update: As promised, Parker played a one-of-a-kind set at the Rubin, integrating slides of Himalayan art on view in the museum with songs and stories referencing life and death, heaven and hell, and reincarnation and religion. He boldly spoke about his lack of faith while throwing in such relevant terms as karma, meditation, transcendence, Buddha, bodhisattva, and enlightenment. In fact, at one point he talked about how he used to live on Eighteenth St., with a view of the corner where the Rubin now stands. He related how, when the building was being gutted and turned into Barney’s, he and his friends would wait for the huge rats to dash out at late-night passersby, as Parker and his fellow partiers high-fived, tossed back another, and inhaled, noting that that was the closest he’s probably ever come to enlightenment. He reached deep into his songbook, eschewing familiar hits for such rarely played tunes as “Evil,” “Pollinate,” “Carp Fishing on Valium,” “Museum of Stupidity,” “I Don’t Know,” “Last Stop Is Nowhere,” and the outrageously funny “Syphilis & Religion.” He debuted two songs from his upcoming album, including “You’re Not Where You Think You Are,” and covered Johnny Nash’s appropriate “There Are More Questions than Answers.” He also played “God’s Big Chess Game,” a song by his alter ego, YouTube “sensation” Tex Skerball. Titled “Sacred and Profane” – and yes, there were plenty of profanities, with Parker begging donors not to blame the museum for his language – the performance was perhaps the best researched and curated show we have ever seen, especially for such a one-time-only site-specific event, something that can never be duplicated. After the show, despite Parker’s cynical stance on all religions, including Buddhism, Rubin museum producer Tim McHenry still presented the ribald musician with a kata, a traditional sign of respect, which Parker gladly accepted.

DRINK UP BUTTERCUP

Drink Up Buttercup was one of the stand-outs of last month's CMJ Marathon (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Union Hall
702 Union St., Brooklyn
Thursday, November 12, $10, 11:00
718-638-4400
www.unionhallny.com
www.myspace.com/drinkupbuttercupband

When we first saw the crazy Bucks County band Drink Up Buttercup at the Mercury Lounge on July 3 of this year, we were immediately taken by their DIY charm; after the dazzling set, played with an intoxicating, reckless abandon, lead guitarist and singer Jim Harvey was stalking around, desperately looking for a small piece of missing equipment, while the rest of the band packed up their gear in the back of his dad’s rug van. (At the time, Jim and his half-brother, Farzad Houshiarnejad, who contributes keyboards, bass, and smash percussion, were working for their father part-time, selling and delivering Oriental carpets.) But since then, the band has signed with Yep Roc, which led to their own van, a relatively plain white one that bass player and keyboardist Ben Money excitedly showed us before a CMJ gig at Cake Shop, proudly beaming that it came complete with Nintendo built in. But when Harvey broke a guitar string early on at the Ludlow St. show, he had to stop the set and ask if anyone in the audience or from one of the other bands had a guitar he could use so they could continue. While waiting, he led the foursome – which also includes the still-teenage Mike Cammarata on drums – into the center of the narrow, packed club, where they sang a cappella until a replacement guitar arrived, at which time they returned to their manic set, switching instruments, banging on a trash can and toolkit, bounding dangerously across the stage, and bumping against each other and the low ceiling.

Drink Up Buttercup gets wild and crazy night after night (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

A few days later, they toned things down only a bit for an acoustic set in the scenic Delancey rooftop garden, where they powered through another stellar performance that really showed off the strength of their vocal harmonies, musical chops, and songwriting abilities – as we’ve said before, their tunes just kick ass, in whatever format they’re played. And they’ve just expanded their repertoire – which features such raucous songs as “Mr. Pie Eyes,” “Sosey and Dosey,” and “Seasickness Pills” – with their first single on Yep Roc, the groovy new “Even Think” backed with the older “Heavy Hand,” available for free download from their Web site, along with a remix of “Even Think” by Andrew W.K. One of the busiest and best bands at last month’s CMJ Marathon, DUB will be at Union Hall in Brooklyn on November 12 playing at 11:00 on a bill with Blood Warrior, Beat Circus, and Larkin Grimm that gets going at 8:00. You just have to see these guys. Really. We’re not kidding.

weekly listings nov. 11-18

Magda Tothova gets uncomfortably and romantically close to the former premier in her video “Lenin and the Maiden"

1989: THE END OF HISTORY OR THE BEGINNING OF THE FUTURE?
Austrian Cultural Forum
11 East 52nd St. between Fifth & Madison Aves.
Admission: free
212-319 -3000
www.afcny.org

Wednesday, November 11 Art and Politics After the Annus Mirabilis: panel discussion on the the tumultuous events of 1989, with Marina Abramovic, Anna Jermolaewa, Thomas Draschan, Gerald Matt, and others, reservations required, 5:00

Wednesday, November 11 Video Art Comments on a Time Shift: exhibit opening reception, with live music by B3+ and presentation by Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Austria Michael Spindelegger, 6:00

RICHARD LLOYD
The Studio at Webster Hall
125 East Eleventh St. between Third & Fourth Aves.
Tickets: $10-$12
www.websterhall.com/thestudio

Thursday, November 12 One-night-only special performance by Television’s Richard Lloyd, with opening set by Hey Battlef!eld, hosted by John Varvatos, Bob Gruen, and Legs McNeil, 8:30

FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Danspace Project
St. Mark’s Church
131 East Tenth St. at Second Ave.
Admission: $5 plus two cans of food or $10
212-674-8112
www.danspaceproject.org/programs/foodforthought.html

Thursday, November 12 Thomas F. DeFrantz, Rie Ono, Chris Peck, and the Grocery & Jessica Almasy, curated by Ursula Eagly

Friday, November 13 Monstah Black, Vanessa Anspaugh, GoGoVertigoat, and Jamal Jackson Dance Company, curated by Maura Donohue

Saturday, November 14 Brad Kisicki, Travis Chamberlain, and Sheila Lewandowski in collaboration with Sarah Maxfield, and John McGrew, curated by Enrico D. Wey

David teague's animated INTIFADA NYC is part of annual doc fest at AMNH

MARGARET MEAD FILM & VIDEO FESTIVAL
American Museum of Natural History
Central Park West at 79th St.

November 12-15, $12-$40
212-769-5200
www.amh.org/mead

The thirty-third annual Margaret Mead Film & Video Festival once again showcases socially and environmentally conscious work from around the world.

Thursday, November 12 Opening night: COOKING HISTORY (Peter Kerekes), 7:00

Sunday, November 15 DJ SPOOKY AND THE SCIENCE OF TERRA NOVA, featuring DJ Spooky speaking and demonstrating the creation of his latest multimedia project, addressing climate change in Antarctica, 4:00

Sunday, November 15 Closing night: HAIR INDIA (Raffaele Brunetti & Marco Leopardi), with Brunetti in person, 8:00

JANIS BRENNER & DANCERS
Joyce SoHo
15 Mercer St.
Tickets: $15-$20
www.joyce.org

Thursday, November 12
through
Sunday, November 15 JB&D presents FIVE DECADES, consisting of works by Meredith Monk (BREAK, 1964), Murray Louis (FIGURA, 1978), and Janis Brenner, (GUILT, 1985, and A MATTER OF TIME, 1994), and world premiere of Brenner’s DANCING IN ABSENTIA

A HISTORY OF NEW YORK
Mount Vernon Hotel Museum & Garden
421 East 61st St.
Admission: $15 (includes discount for Wafels & Dinges)
212-838-6878
www.mvhm.org

Friday, November 13 Dr. Michael Black discusses Washington Irving’s A HISTORY OF NEW YORK, which takes a satirical look at the early politics of the early Dutch-settled city, 6:30

PAGE TURNER: THE ASIAN AMERICAN LITERARY FESTIVAL
Multiple venues
All day pass $20 ($25 with literary awards)
www.pageturnerfest.org

Friday, November 13 Gala Kick-off Dinner with Michael Ondaatje helping to honor Lifetime Achievement Award winner Sonny Mehta, Vermilion, 480 Lexington Ave., $50 cocktail reception, $500 cocktail reception, gala dinner, signed book by Ondaatje, and more, 7:00

Saturday, November 14 Readings at powerHouse Arena, with Jhumpa Lahiri, David Henry Hwang, Jen Kwok, Professor Mae Ngai, Ed Park, Amitava Kumar, and more, 37 Main St., Dumbo, $5 each, every hour on the hour from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm

Saturday, November 14 Twelfth annual literary awards and cocktail reception, powerHouse Arena, 37 Main St., Dumbo, $10, 6:00

Guy Maddin's unique take on Dracula is part of Vampire Weekend at the Paley Center

DARK SHADOWS AT TWILIGHT: A PALEY CENTER VAMPIRE WEEKEND
The Paley Center for Media
25 West 52nd St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
Admission: $10
212-621-6800
www.paleycenter.org

Friday, November 13
through
Sunday, November 15 Three days of special events focusing on vampires, including F. W. Murnau’s NOSFERATU, Guy Maddin’s DRACULA: PAGES FROM A VIRGIN’S DIARY, ROBSESSED (about the cult surrounding TWILIGHT’s Rob Pattison), screenings of past Paley Center events featuring the cast and crew of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER (2008), ANGEL (2001), TRUE BLOOD (2009), and DARK SHADOWS (2001), as well as a panel discussion and more

ESTHER
New York City Opera
David H. Koch Theater
63rd St. & Columbus Ave.
Tickets: $12-$145
212-721-6500
www.nycopera.com

Friday, November 13
through
Thursday, November 19 City Opera presents Hugo Weisgall’s opera for the first time in sixteen years, starring Lauren Flanigan and with stage and film design by Jerome Sirlin

COLLECTORS FESTIVAL OF NEW YORK: DE LA CHARANGA AL CHARANGO
Taino Towers Cultural Building
240 East 123rd St. at Second Ave.
Admission: $10
www.cccadi.org/node/529

Saturday, November 14 Sixth annual International Latin/Tropical Music Collectors Festival, with displays, DJs, film screenings, a tribute to Charanga legends, panel discussions, a flea market, and a fiesta de cierre with live performances by La Orqesta Broadway and La Bolá con su Charangón, 1:00 – 10:00 pm

GENERATIONS: A 30-YEAR CELEBRATION
Peter Norton Symphony Space
2597 Broadway at 95th St.
Tickets: $15-$25
www.symphonyspace.org

Saturday, November 14 Thirtieth anniversary concert by the Lesbian & Gay Big Apple Corps Symphonic Band, featuring works by Respighi, Shostakovich, Saint-Saens, Jerry Herman, Harold Arlen, and John Philip Sousa in addition to a world premiere of special piece by James Adler commissioned for the event, 8:00

ARTWALK NY
Skylight Studio
275 Hudson St.
Tickets: $200-$5,000
212-776-2056
www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/artwalk.html

Tuesday, November 17 Benefit for the Coalition for the Homeless, honoring artist Pat Steir, with a cocktail
party, live and silent auctions, with cochairs Richard Gere, Carey Lowell, and Alec Baldwin, 6:30

IN OUR LINGO: DJ DISCO WIZ & JAMEL SHABAZZ
El Museo del Barrio
1230 Fifth Ave. at 104th St.
Admission: free with reservations at below Web site
www.elmuseo.org/en/calendar/date_all_all

Tuesday, November 17 Multimedia dialogue and mixed plate beats featuring DJ Disco Wiz and Jamel Shabazz, 6:30

DEBORAH HAY: IF I SING TO YOU
YVONNE RAINER: SPIRALING DOWN
Baryshnikov Arts Center
Tickets: $25
www.bacnyc.org

Tuesday, November 17
through
Thursday, November 19 U.S. premiere of a piece by Deborah Hay and New York premiere of work by Yvonne Rainer, part of Performa 09 festival, 7:30

De Sica classic is part of neorealist feast and film festival

UMBERTO D. (Vittorio De Sica, 1952)
Walter Reade Theater
165 West 65th St. between Broadway & Amsterdam Ave.
Tuesday, November 17, 8:30
Saturday, November 21, 5:30
212-875-5600
www.filmlinc.com/wrt/onsale/italiannr.html

We don’t think we’ll ever stop crying. Vittorio De Sica’s neorealist masterpiece stars Carlo Battisti (a professor whom De Sica saw one day and thought would be perfect for the lead role; it would be Battisti’s only film) as Umberto Domenico Ferrari, an elderly former bureaucrat who is too proud to sacrifice his dignity in order to pay his mean-spirited landlady (Lina Gennari), who rents out his room by the hour while he’s out walking his beloved dog, Flag, and trying to find some way to get money and food. Umberto D. is befriended by the boardinghouse maid (Maria Pia Casilio), who is pregnant with the child of one of two servicemen, neither of whom wants to have anything to do with her. As Umberto D.’s options start running out, he considers desperate measures to free himself from his loneliness and poverty. His relationship with Flag is one of the most moving in cinema history. Don’t miss this remarkable achievement, which was lovingly restored a few years ago by eighty-six-year-old lighting specialist Vincenzo Verzini, known as Little Giotto. The film is part of Lincoln Center’s “Life Lessons: Italian Neorealism and the Birth of Modern Cinema,” which continues through November 25 with such films as Michdelangelo Antonioni’s IL GRIDO, Luchino Visconti’s LA TERRA TREMA: EPISODIO DEL MARE, and Francesco Rosi’s SALVATORE GIULIANO. The November 21 screening of UMBERTO D is part of “A Feast of Food and Film,” a special one-day event that also includes admission to Federico Fellini’s I VITELLONI, Roberto Rosselini’s VIAGGIO IN ITALIA, Luigi Comencini’s PANE, AMORE E FANTASIA, Pier Paolo Pasolini’s ACCATTONE, a tasting of Lamberti Prosecco and Rose Spumante, Italian delicacies from Sora Lella, all for $30

SPLICE: PANIC JOURNALS
Dance New Amsterdam
280 Broadway at Chambers St. (second floor)
Tickets: $12-$17
212-625-8369
www.dnadance.com
www.falldowntown.com

Thursday, November 19
through
Sunday, November 22 Ishmael Houston-Jones and Dan Safer/ Witness Relocation team up for a night of raucous performance art

GOTHAM GIRLS ROLLER DERBY
Hunter College Sportplex
Lexington Ave. at 68th St.
Tickets:
888-830-2253
www.gothamgirlsrollerderby.com

Thursday, November 19 Although the GGRD championship bout on Saturday, November 21, between the Bronx Gridlock and the Manhattan Mayhem is currently sold out, a small batch of tickets will be released on November 19 at 8:30 am