this week in music

RADIO PLAY

Sue de Beer and Andy Comer collaborate on ghostly mystery at the Kitchen

The Kitchen
512 West 19th St. between Tenth & Eleventh Aves.
October 29-30, 8:00
Tickets: $10
212-255-5793
www.thekitchen.org
Video installation artist Sue de Beer and musician Andy Comer, formerly of such bands as the Prosaics and Tel Aviv, have collaborated on a multimedia adaptation of German writer Friedrich Schiller’s “The Ghost-Seer; or, Apparitionist, an Interesting Fragment, Found among the Papers of Count O*****,” a ghost story about a Venetian prince who “avoided all kinds of diversions, and though he was but thirty-five years old he had resisted the numerous attractions of this voluptuous city. To the charms of the fair sex he was wholly indifferent. A fettled gravity and a profound melancholy were the prominent features of his character.” De Beer, whose work includes PERMANENT REVOLUTION, THE QUICKENING, THE DARK HEARTS, and HANS AND GRETE, creates immersive environments through avant-garde video and sets; for example, her 2005 piece BLACK SUN consisted of a multichannel video shown in a homey screening room, with two comfy beanbag chairs and pictures and cutouts of cats, trees, and horses both inside and outside the space. For RADIO PLAY, de Beer has created the set and written the new text, which she will perform live onstage, accompanied by Comer’s original music, which to us sounds like a great way to kick off the Halloween weekend.

WEEKLY LISTINGS October 28 – November 4

Dessner brothers will lead special music event at BAM (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

THE LONG COUNT
Howard Gilman Opera House
30 Lafayette Ave. between Ashland Pl. & St. Felix St.
Tickets: $20-$45
718-636-4100
www.bam.org

Wednesday, October 28
through
Saturday, October 31 “The Long Count” features three performances led by Bryce and Aaron Dessner of the National and visual artist Matthew Ritchie, with guest vocalists the Breeders’ Kim and Kelley Deal, My Brightest Diamond’s Shara Worden, and the National’s Matt Berninger. There will be also be an artist talk with the Dessner brothers and Ritchie at the Hillman Attic Studio on October 31 at 6:00 ($8).

Dr. Leon Chang's life and work are celebrated at TECO (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

DR. LEON LONG-YIEN CHANG COMMEMORATIVE EXHIBITION
TECO
1 East 42nd St. between Fifth & Madison Aves.
Admission: free
212-557-5122
www.taiwanembassy.org
www.flickr.com/slideshow

Through Friday, October 30 In celebration of the life of poet, teacher, diplomat, artist, and calligrapher Dr. Leon Chang, who passed away this past May at the age of 101, the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office in New York is hosting a splendid exhibit of Dr. Chang’s calligraphy, in beautiful scrolls and framed images, along with photographs and other memorabilia of a life well lived

Garth Fagan is presenting its thirty-ninth season at the Joyce (photo by Bob Joe)

GARTH FAGAN DANCE
Joyce Theater
175 Eighth Ave. at 19th St.
Tickets: $10-$49
212-645-2904
www.garthfagandance.org
www.joyce.org

Through Sunday, November 1 Garth Fagan’s thirty-ninth season features LANDSCAPE FOR 10, live music by the Ying Quartet, and more

SITI reinvents Sophocles at DTW

SITI COMPANY: ANTIGONE
Dance Theater Workshop
219 West 19th St. between Seventh & Eighth Aves.
Tickets: $20-$25
212-924-0077
www.dancetheaterworkshop.org

Wednesday, October 28
through
Sunday, November 1 Jocelyn Clarke’s reimagining of Sophocles’ classic drama, by the always inventive SITI Company

Emmanuelle Vo-Donh tests the limits of body and space at Danspace

ICI/PER.FOR
Danspace Project
131 East Tenth St. at Second Ave.
Tickets: $12-$18
212-674-8112
www.danspaceproject.org

Thursday, October 29
through
Saturday, October 31 Emmanuelle Vo-Dinh, with live music by Zeena Parkins, lighting design by Francoise Michel, and costumes by Virginie and Jean-Jacques Weil

COMMEDIA is part of Morphoses presentation at City Center

MORPHOSES: THE WHEELDON COMPANY
New York City Center
130 West 56th St. between Sixth & Seventh Aves.
Tickets: $15-$110
212-581-1212
www.morphoses.org
www.nycitycenter.org

Thursday, October 29
through
Sunday, November 1 One of the city’s hottest dance companies presents two programs: Wheeldon’s COMMEDIA, with music by Stravinsky; Lightfoot Leon’s SOFTLY AS I LEAVE YOU, with music by Arvo Part, J. S. Bach, and others; Alexei Ratmansky’s BOLERO, with music by Ravel; and the U.S. premiere of Tim Harbour’s new ballet, with music by Ross Edwards; and the second program: Wheeldon’s CONTINUUM, with music by Gyorgy Ligeti; SOFTLY; and the U.S. premiere of Wheeldon’s new ballet, with music by Rachmaninoff

SOUND/FRAME/REMIX
Austrian Cultural Forum
11 East 52nd St. between Madison & Fifth Aves.
Admission: free
212-319-5300
www.acfny.org

Through Saturday, October 31 Multimedia exhibit focusing on new video coming out of the sound:frame festival

Amy Stein, "Riverside," digital C-print, 2009

AMY STEIN: DOMESTICATED
ClampArt
521-531 West 25th St. between Tenth & Eleventh Aves.
Admission: free
646-230-0020
www.clampart.com

Through Saturday, October 31 Photographer (and taxidermist!) Amy Stein re-creates actual scenes involving animals that have been reported in a small town in northeast Pennsylvania, resulting in fascinating images that are at once beautiful and a little frightening

Sarah Silverman will go Jungian at the Rubin

THE RED BOOK DIALOGUES
Rubin Museum of Art
150 West 17th St. at Seventh Ave.
Tickets: $15-$25
212-620-5000 ext 344
www.rmanyc.org
Analysts delve into Carl Jung’s RED BOOK in a series of fascinating discussions featuring Albert Maysles, Alice Walker, David Byrne, Kathleen Chalfant, Marina Abramovicz, Cornel West, Billy Corgan, and many more.

Friday, October 30 Sarah Silverman, $25, 7:00

Wednesday, November 4 John Boorman, $25, 7:00

HAUSU (HOUSE) (Nobuhiko Obayashi, 1977)
BAMcinematek
30 Lafayette Ave. between Ashland Pl. & St. Felix St.
718-636-4100
www.bam.org
www.youtube.com/hausutrailer

Saturday, October 31 Special Halloween presentation of very strange Japanese horror film, 2:00, 4:30, 6:50, 9:15

MARATHON FIREWORKS
Central Park
Outside Tavern on the Green
West Drive at 67th St.
Admission: free
www.ingnycmarathon.org

Saturday, October 31 Live entertainment and fireworks in honor of the New York City Marathon, 6:30

The wild rumpus continues in SoHo

SENDAK IN SOHO
Animazing Gallery
54 Greene St. at Broome St.
Admission: free
800-303-4848
www.animazing.com

Through Saturday, November 6 Special exhibit of the work of Maurice Sendak in conjunction with the release of WHERE THE WILDE THINGS ARE movie

Japanese ghost stories get the multimedia treatment at P.S. 122

AMERICAN KAMIKAZE
P.S.122
150 First Ave. between Ninth & Tenth Aves.
Tickets: $15-$20
212-352-3101
www.ps122.org
www.temporarydistortion.com

Through Saturday, November 14 Temporary Distortion’s adaptation of Japanese ghost stories, written and directed by Kenneth Collins, with video projections by William Cusick, and starring Brian Greer, Yuki Kawahisa, Lorraine Mattox, and Ryosuke Yamada

Taylor Mac's multigenre epic begins long run at HERE Arts Center

HERE Arts Center
145 Sixth Ave. at Dominick St.
Tickets: $35
212-352-3101
www.here.org

Through Sunday, November 22 Taylor Mac’s epic consists of five parts with forty musicians and performers, with direction by Paul Zimet, Rachel Chavkin, Faye Driscoll, Aaron Rhyne, and David Drake, with Kyogens directed by Kristin Marting

THE 25th ANNIVERSARY ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME CONCERTS

Bruce Springsteen will lead the crowd in first of two Hall of Fame shows at the Garden (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Madison Square Garden
32nd St. between Seventh & Eighth Aves.
October 29 & 30, 7:30
Tickets: $79.50-$2,504.50
www.rockhall25.com
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, which is based in Cleveland (and now has an annex in SoHo), is celebrating its twenty-fifth anniversary with a pair of concerts at the Garden that plan to tell the history of rock and roll music. Each night, four headliners will cover multiple periods of music, with specially curated sets and guest stars. On Thursday, October 29, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will be joined by John Fogerty, Tom Morello, Sam Moore, and Darlene Love, Stevie Wonder will play with John Legend, Jeff Beck, Smokey Robinson, and B. B. King, Paul Simon will take the stage with Dion, Little Anthony and the Imperials, and someone named Art Garfunkel, and Crosby, Stills and Nash will get mellow with Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, and James Taylor. On Friday, October 30, U2 gets down with Beck and Buddy Guy, Metallica rocks with Ozzy Osbourne, Ray Davies, and Lou Reed, Aretha Franklin gets some respect with Lenny Kravitz and Annie Lennox, and the Jeff Beck Band will headline a developing slot that opened when Eric Clapton had to cancel to get gallstone surgery. Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard are also expected to participate, while Van Morrison won’t be able to make it after all.

Currently, the only tickets left are going for the rather steep price of $2,504.50, with a convenience charge that nearly equals the price of the cheapest tickets. But keep your eye on Ticketmaster over the next few days, because new seats are almost always released for Garden shows as the date approaches. We were at the opening of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland in 1995, which included some of the above acts in addition to Bob Dylan, the Allman Brothers Band, Booker T. & the MG’s, Al Green, the Pretenders, James Brown, and George Clinton and the P-Funk All Stars; the whole idea of the Hall of Fame might be stupid – the museum is fine but the induction thing is just plain dumb and meaningless – but they do know how to put on one helluva show.

PEARL JAM

Pearl Jam will kick out the jams in final Spectrum shows this week (photo by Karen Loria)

Spectrum
3601 South Broad St., Philadelphia
October 27-31
Tickets: $77
www.myspace.com/tenclub
www.wachoviacenter.com

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band recently said farewell to Giants Stadium with five shows that welcomed the wrecking ball to do its thing. Now Pearl Jam gets to do the same with the Spectrum, performing the last concerts ever at the famous Philly arena. But Eddie Vedder – himself a big Bruce fan – and the band have their work cut out for them, as the Boss just finished four spectacular shows at the Spectrum as well. But Vedder, guitarists Stone Gossard and Mike McCready, bassist Jeff Ament, and drummer Matt Cameron should be up to the task, touring behind their solid new album, BACKSPACER, which features such choice cuts as the classic-sounding “Johnny Guitar,” the propulsive “Supersonic,” the gorgeous “Amongst the Waves,” and the emotionally gripping finale, “The End.” As always, Pearl Jam has been mixing up their setlists plenty, including such classic covers as “So You Want to Be a Rock and Roll Star,” “Little Wing,” “Kick Out the Jams,” “I Believe in Miracles,” and, of course, Who and Neil Young tunes, in addition to longtime PJ favorites, rarities, and old stand-bys. If you’ve never seen Pearl Jam before, you’re in for a real treat; their shows are three-hour marathons filled with raucous noise, bittersweet lyrics, and intense fan worship. Yeah, we know we’re called This Week in New York and generally don’t leave the NY/NJ area, but since there are no local shows scheduled (yet?), this is the closest you’re going to come, and it’s really not that far anyway. The great Social Distortion opens the festivities on October 27 & 28, with the great Bad Religion kicking things off on October 30 & 31.

RICHARD THOMPSON

Guitar virtuoso Richard Thompson will play all-request solo shows at City Winery (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

City Winery
155 Varick St. between Spring & Vandam Sts.
October 21-23, $35-$60, 9:00
212-608-0555
www.citywinery.com
www.richardthompson-music.com
Richard Thompson is one of the most entertaining performers around, whether he’s with his full band or doing a solo acoustic show. Although we’ve seen him playfully shoot down fans screaming out for specific songs, last year he held three all-request shows in California, and now he’s bringing that act to the intimate City Winery, and we could not be more excited. From his days in Fairport Convention to his much-chronicled marriage to Linda Thompson to his outstanding solo career, Thompson’s wry sense of humor, cynical lyrics, and guitar virtuosity continue to make for excellent records and even better concerts. Make sure to come prepared with your requests; you never know what he’ll end up saying yes to. (We’ll be asking for “Calvary Cross,” by the way.)

Richard Thompson considers another request at City Winery show (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

update: We might not have gotten “Calvary Cross,” but what we did get was another stunning performance by RT on October 23, closing his three-night sold-out stand at City Winery. Digging into a big bowl filled with audience requests, Thompson pulled out such utter delights as the unforgettable “1952 Vincent Black Lightning,” a free-spirited “Valerie,” a misspelled “Al Bowlly’s in Heaven,” a killer “When the Spell Is Broken,” and a gorgeous “Walking on a Wire.” Thompson, who turned sixty earlier this year, also played several covers, including Crowded House’s “Don’t Dream It’s Over,” a stellar sing-along version of the Easybeats’ “Friday on My Mind,” and, for Halloween, the bartender-requested “Monster Mash.” In fact, whenever Thompson, as amiable and acerbic as ever, didn’t feel like playing a requested song after that, he claimed it was yet another person asking for the Bobby “Boris” Pickett novelty tune. The end of the show featured such great numbers as “I Agree with Pat Metheny” (a funny riff on Kenny G) and a sensational “Matty Groves” as he reached back to his Fairport Convention days. (We couldn’t help but notice that his ex-wife and former recording partner, Linda, was mouthing the words from her seat in the audience as he sang.) Once again RT delivered a generous, wholly engaging, and marvelously entertaining show. Don’t dare miss him next time he comes around these parts, which can’t be soon enough.

CMJ MUSIC MARATHON & FILM FESTIVAL

Cleveland's Shaky Hands return to CMJ this year (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

CMJ MUSIC MARATHON & FILM FESTIVAL
Multiple locations
Badge: $495
Individuals tickets available for nearly all events
www.cmj.com
If you’ve been a faithful reader of twi-ny, CMJ might not seem too overwhelming — more than a thousand bands at dozens and dozens (and dozens) of venues over five days. In recent years we’ve introduced you to such groups as Drink Up Buttercup, Takka Takka, the Forms, Nobody Can Dance, NYCSmoke, Die! Die! Die!, the Teenage Prayers, Team Robespierre, Robbers on High Street, the Shackeltons, Bear Hands, Das Racist, the Shaky Hands, the Wiyos, Japandroids, French Miami, Turbo Fruits, the Golden Filter, and Bajah + the Dry Eye Crew, all of which are playing the 2009 festival. In addition to relatively new bands, this year’s marathon also features a handful of old-timers, from Ted Leo + the Pharmacists and J. D. Souther to Bebe Buell (in a tribute to Joey Ramone), the Trashmen (“Surfin’ Bird”), and Busta Rhymes. Among the more interesting double bills is the Fleshtones teaming up with those reunited Hoboken heroes, the Bongos.

Full-access festival badges are $495, but tickets for nearly all shows are available to the general public and should be purchased in advance for the more hotly anticipated bands. This year the CMJ Web site has added a terrific new interface that allows you to make up your own schedule of movies, concerts, and panels; somehow, we’ve still ended up with way too many things we want to do each day. There’s so much to recommend, but we’ve attempted to whittle it down to our top ten highlights (well, maybe a few more as the week goes on), listed below in alphabetical order.

Naomi Shelton will lead the Gospel Queens at Daptone CMJ showcase (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

DAPTONE RECORDS
Friday, October 23, Knitting Factory, 6:00 pm – 1:30 am
www.daptonerecords.com
The folks at Daptone know how to throw a party. For CMJ, they’re unleashing a night of R&B, soul, and funk at the Knitting Factory, with the unstoppable Budos Band, the royal sounds of Naomi Shelton & the Gospel Queens, the manly Menahan Street Band, and those old mainstays, the Dap-Kings. Be prepared to shake your booty off.

Pat Mahoney and James Murphy will host DFA disco party at CMJ

DFA RECORDS
Thursday, October 22, Brooklyn Bowl, 8:00 pm – 4:00 am
www.myspace.com/dfarecords
DFA will be giving Daptone a run for the best party honors as they get down and dirty at Brooklyn Bowl, with live performances by Yacht, Still Going, Holy Ghost!, and Sh*t Robot. But we’re most looking forward to the DJ set by LCD Soundsystem stalwarts James Murphy and Pat Mahoney, who will be leading what should be a sweaty crowd through what they’re calling Special Disco Version.

Drink Up Buttercup promises crazy fun at CMJ (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

DRINK UP BUTTERCUP
Tuesday, October 20, the Delancey, 9:00
Wednesday, October 21, Cake Shop, 7:30
Friday, October 23, Brooklyn Brewery, 4:00
Friday, October 23, Glasslands, 9:00
Saturday, October 24, the Delancey, 2:45
Saturday, October 24, Etnies Showroom, 7:30
www.myspace.com/drinkupbuttercupband
Drink Up Buttercup knows how to have a good time. They play with a reckless, infectious abandon that is sure to get your mojo working. The fearless Philly foursome features Farzad Houshiarnejad on bass and keyboards (as well as vocals, wolf howls, and melodica), Ben Money on bass, keyboards, and percussion (in addition to melodica, vocals, and mannequin head), James Harvey on guitar and vocals (along with sawed-off seagull, walki, opera sounds, and baby head), and Mike Cammarata on drums (with water, lemon, and sugar packets). Onstage they are reminiscent of such bands as the Black Lips, Islands, the Shaky Hands, and Gringo Star, as they switch instruments, goof around, and bang on an aluminum trash can. All of that is fine and dandy, but the key to the group is that their songs are fucking awesome.

French Miami come up north for CMJ

FRENCH MIAMI
Thursday, October 22, Death by Audio
Friday, October 23, Market Hotel
Saturday, October 24, Cake Shop, 8:00
www.myspace.com/mrfrenchmiami
French Miami is neither French nor from Miami; the Bay Area trio — synth specialist/guitarist Roland Curtis, singer/guitar/keyboard player Jason Heiselmann, and drummer Chris Crawford — do their goddamn best on their eponymously titled debut disc, which includes such psychedelic trips as “Science Fiction,” “SFO,” and “The God Damn Best.”

The Golden Filter will keep up the mystery at CMJ

THE GOLDEN FILTER
Saturday, October 24, Santos Party House, 11:00
www.myspace.com/thegoldenfilter
Enigmatic group the Golden Filter features Penelope’s breathy, whispery vocals, Stephen on keyboards and percussion, and Lisa on drums. The techno-disco trio have no last names, and they never show their faces in photographs. Fortunately, their songs kick ass, so they can get away with the eccentricity / gimmick, claiming that it’s only the music that matters. In addition to such hot originals as “Solid Gold,” “Moonlight Fantasy,” and “Hide Me,” the Golden Filter has done cool remixes of Peter Bjorn and John’s “Lay It Down,” Cut Copy’s “Far Away,” Empire of the Sun’s “We Are the People,” and Little Boots’ “New in Town,” while a bunch of other artists have remixed “Solid Gold.”

Jake and Jamin Orrall will get heavy at CMJ (photo by Bekah Cope)

JEFF THE BROTHERHOOD
Thursday, October 22, Piano’s, 4:30; Crash Mansion, 6:00
Friday, October 23, the Charleston, 12 midnight
Saturday, October 24, the Knitting Factory, 2:00; Don Pedro’s, 6:00; Union Pool, 10:20; My Open Bar, 1:00 am
www.myspace.com/jakeandjamin
Nashville’s Jeff the Brotherhood, whose HEAVY DAYS disc is just out from Infinity Cat, play 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 a great freak-out. Brothers Jake and Jamin Orrall let out a groovy barrage of sound with just drums and guitar, and they’ll be doing it all over CMJ; with seven shows scheduled, they just might be the busiest band of the week (before heading out on the road with Shonen Knife).

Sarah Guild will lead New Collisions in CMJ shows (photo by Liz Linder)

THE NEW COLLISIONS
Wednesday, October 21, the Delancey, 11:45
Saturday, October 24, Bowery Poetry Club, 8:00
www.myspace.com/thenewcollisions
“I can’t take it anymore / just standing still,” platinum blonde Sarah Guild declares on “Afterglow,” the opening song on the New Collisions’ fab debut seven-song EP, INVISIBLE EMBRACES, a gargantuan, refreshing blast of pure power pop that is due out November 17. There should be no standing around at their CMJ showcases; if you can’t move to “Parachutes on the Dance Floor,” well, then, there’s no hope for you. A sort of New Wave, edgy No Doubt — and we mean that in the best way possible — Boston’s New Collisions rock hard and sweet and are not afraid to have a lot of fun with their lyrics; witness these lines from the synth-driven “No Free Ride”: “There’s no free ride / for being pretty on the inside / The Berlin Wall’s still up in my heart, babe / Sam Walton stole the icing off of my cake / I’d be lucky to ride on a horse with no name / Oh, time to get away / The end is under way.” The end? No, this is just the beginning.

Turbo Fruits will turn things upside down in area shows

TURBO FRUITS
Wednesday, October 21, Cake Shop, 1:00
Saturday, October 24, Union Pool, 9:40
www.myspace.com/turbofruits
Turbo Fruits play an infectious mix of psychedelic retro garage surf punk with a heavy dose of humor, as one can guess from such song titles as “Mama’s Mad Cos I Fried My Brain,” “Broadzilla,” and “Naked with You” (which could be a lost Ramones classic) on their awesomely freaky new album, ECHO KID. Former Be Your Own Pet Jonas Stein Stein does a little Dylan on “Hold Me,” throws in a bit of the Troggs on “Get Up Get On Down (Tonite),” and really cuts loose on “Broadzilla.” It all makes for one hell of an impressive alterna-AMERICAN GRAFFITI meets QUADROPHENIA. The album is a nonstop party, one that should continue at their CMJ showcase.

Ume will be in town for several shows during CMJ week

UME
Wednesday, October 21, Ace of Clubs, 10:00
Thursday, October 22, Public Assembly, 12 midnight
Friday, October 23, Fontana’s, 1:00
Friday, October 23, Lake Johnson, 8:00
www.myspace.com/umemusic
The Austin-based trio of bassist Eric Larson, drummer Jeff Barrera, and singer-guitarist Lauren Larson are touring behind their explosive SUNSHOWER EP, which has been blasting out of speakers since its release this past February. Lauren Larson’s shrieking guitar rips it up through the five songs, tearing apart “The Conductor,” “Pendulum,” and “East of Hercules” while balancing in whispery vocals. Elements of punk, metal, and hardcore show up as well, with killer riffs driving the band’s powerful sound.

New indie supergroup will play CMJ

UNINHABITABLE MANSIONS
Thursday, October 22, the Bell House, 10:00
www.myspace.com/uninhabitablemansions
Uninhabitable Mansions is an art collective and Brooklyn mini-supergroup that features Annie Hart from Au Revoir Simone, Chris Diken from Radical Dads, Doug Marvin from Dirty on Purpose, and Robbie Guertin and Tyler Sargent from Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Their debut album includes a steady stream of inventive indie pop that enjoy stopping and starting, dropping in and out, with great harmonies, from the bouncy pop of “The Brain Is a Slow Wave” to the sweet urgency of “Do You Have a Strategy.” We particularly like the changing mood of “We Misplaced a Cobra in the UM,” which starts off slowly before kicking in with thrashing instruments and screaming vocals. (If you miss them at the Gothamist party at the Bell House, they’ll be at Union Pool on October 30.)

Elon James White will share his unique political and social insight during CMJ

ELON JAMES WHITE
Wednesday, October 21, the Living Room, 9:15
www.myspace.com/elonjames
Comedian Elon James White, a longtime FOT (friend of twi-ny), has had a breakout year, bringing his sociopolitical rants to the Huffington Post, CNN, and other major outlets, while his “This Week in Blackness” videos have been bustin’ loose as well. White’s take on everyone from Michael Jackson and Barack Obama to Henry Louis Gates and Kanye West are as insightful as they are funny.

The Wiyos' will bring their unique brand of Americana roots rock to CMJ

THE WIYOS
Friday, October 23, Gramercy Theatre, 10:00
www.myspace.com/thewiyos
With a calling card that reads: “Vaudevillian Ragtime Blues, Hillbilly Swing and Old Time Country,” the Wiyos are a four-piece who are in it for the love of the music and what it represents. Old 78 records. Jug band music. Gamblers and mule skinners. Twenties-era hokum. A healthy reverence for Harry Smith’s Smithsonian Folkways compilations. And a touch of what Greil Marcus once referred to as “that old, weird America…” The Wiyos reach for all of these touchstones of our musical heritage and more during their engaging live performances.

CMJ FILM FESTIVAL

George Clooney stares at a goat in flick premiering at CMJ

Clearview Cinemas, Chelsea West Cinemas
260 West 23rd St. between Seventh & Eighth Aves.
Tickets: $10
www.cmj.com/marathon2009
CMJ isn’t just about music; there’s also a concurrent film festival that features several New York premieres, one world premiere, and a bunch of big-name stars. That said, a few of the movies are set in the rock and roll world. Things get started with Scott Rosenbaum’s road-trip flick, THE PERFECT AGE OF ROCK’N’ROLL (with Peter Fonda!), and continue with George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, and Kevin Spacey in the highly anticipated THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS, Woody Harrelson and Samantha Morton in the military drama THE MESSENGER (Harrelson and director Oren Moverman will participate in a postscreening Q&A), and Milla Jovovich in the sci-fi thriller THE FOURTH KIND, among several provocative documentaries. In addition, shorts look at luthier Wayne Henderson and cult favorites Kid Creole and the Coconuts, while Steve Vai stars in another one.

Tuesday, October 20 Opening Night : THE PERFECT AGE OF ROCK ‘N’ ROLL (Scott Rosenbaum, 2009), followed by a Q&A, 7:30

Wednesday, October 21 THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS (Grant Heslov, 2009), followed by a Q&A, 7:00

Wednesday, October 21 BANANAS!* (Fredrick Gertten, 2009), followed by a Q&A, 7:15

Wednesday, October 21 MY MOVIE GIRL (Adam Bronstein, 2009), followed by a Q&A, 9:15

Wednesday, October 21 CMJ CineMini Short Film Contest: Documentary Short Films, including I AM A MAN: FROM MEMPHIS, A LESSON IN LIFE (Jonathon Epstein), NO SANA HOY (Becky Corman), FROM WOOD TO SINGING GUITAR (Shawn Lind), WELCOME TO MY QUEER BOOKSTORE (Larry Tung), and WATER IN THE BOAT (David Gutierrez Camps), 9:30

Thursday, October 22 DEAR LEMON LIMA (Suzi Yoonessi), 7:00

Thursday, October 22 THE INVISIBLE LIFE OF THOMAS LYNCH (James Merendino & Lisa Hammer, aka the Terror Twins), 7:15

Thursday, October 22 Downtown Doc Double Bill: PARDON US FOR LIVING BUT THE GRAVEYARD IS FULL (Geoffray Barbier, 2009) and KID CREOLE AND MY COCONUTS (Adriana Kaegi, 2009), Clearview Cinemas-Chelsea West Cinemas, 9:15

Woody Harrelson stars in CMJ marathon closing-night selection

Friday, October 23 Closing Night: THE MESSENGER (Oren Moverman, 2009), followed by a Q&A with Woody Harrelson and Oren Moverman, 7:30

Friday, October 23 THE FOURTH KIND (Olatunde Osunsanmi, 2009), 10:00