Tag Archives: city winery

THE MUSIC OF THE WHO

musicofthewho

Carnegie Hall, Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage
881 Seventh Ave. at 57th St.
Tuesday, March 2, $45-$130, 8:00
www.carnegiewho.com

Over the last several years, music impresario Michael Dorf has gathered together a remarkable cast of characters to pay tribute to master musicians, all in the name of charity. Past honorees have included Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Bruce Springsteen, Elton John, and R.E.M. This year, twenty artists will be singing the music of the Who on March 2 at Carnegie Hall, with 100% of the proceeds going to such organizations as Fixing Instruments for Kids in Schools, Music Unites, Young Audiences New York, the Church Street School for Music & Art, the Pinwheel Project, and the American Symphony Orchestra. Performers who will be reaching deep into the Roger Daltrey / Pete Townshend songbook include Bob Mould, Nicole Atkins, Bettye LaVette, Mose Allison, Living Colour, Robyn Hitchcock, the Smithereens, Willie Nile, Sondre Lerche, the Gaslight Anthem, Jason Isbell, Raul Midon, and Bobby McFerrin. We’ve been to several of these events, which are always fun, especially if the performer being honored just happens to show up, as Bruce Springsteen did at his and Michael Stipe and Peter Buck did at theirs. The night before, March 1, City Winery will be hosting a live rehearsal show with house band Rich Pagano & the sugarCane Cups along with Nile, Mould, Atkins, Isbell, and others who will be appearing at the Carnegie Hall benefit on Tuesday.

ROBYN HITCHCOCK

Legendary flaneur Robyn Hitchcock will play a special gig at City Winery, joined by friends Sean Nelson and Lenny Kaye

City Winery
155 Varick St. at Vandam St.
Sunday, February 28, $35-$55, 8:00
212-608-0555
www.citywinery.com
www.robynhitchcock.com
flickr slideshow

The inimitable Robyn Hitchcock is part of the same British singer-songwriter school that has brought the world such endlessly entertaining musicians as Richard Thompson and Graham Parker, playing ironic, cynical, highly intellectual, and downright hysterical songs while filling their live shows with ironic, cynical, highly intellectual, and downright hysterical off-the-cuff chatter. From his days with the Soft Boys through his backup bands the Egyptians and the Venus 3, Hitchcock has put together a remarkable collection of pure pop pleasure, Beatles-esque with touches of Bob Dylan and even flashes of early Pink Floyd, commenting on the state of contemporary culture and romance like no one else can. Last year Hitchcock released two discs, I OFTEN DREAM OF TRAINS IN NEW YORK (Yep Roc, November 2009), which documented his live show re-creating his 1984 album I OFTEN DREAM OF TRAINS, and GOODNIGHT OSLO (Yep Roc, February 2009), another delightful grab bag of dazzling tunes, including the catchy “Saturday Groovers” and the beautiful “Hurry for the Sky” that fit in well with such classic Hitchcock as “Balloon Man,” “Madonna of the Wasps,” “So You Think You’re in Love,” “My Wife and My Dead Wife,” “Man with the Lightbulb Head,” “Sometimes I Wish I Was a Pretty Girl,” and “Give Me a Spanner, Ralph.” In addition, Hitchcock — whose cutting-edge Web site, the Museum of Hitchcock, was one of the first to integrate music and merchandise in clever ways while creating an intimate fan community — has developed a long-term relationship with director Jonathan Demme, beginning with the music documentary STOREFRONT HITCHCOCK (1998), in which Robyn played in a empty window space in New York City, and continuing with soundtrack work and cameo appearances in THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (2004) and RACHEL GETTING MARRIED (2008). Hitchcock, who will turn a youthful fifty-seven next week, will be joined by Sean Nelson (Harvey Danger) and the great Lenny Kaye (Patti Smith Group) for this very special gig at City Winery, where Thompson played last year and Parker will be performing in April. Hitchcock will also be participating in the March 2 Carnegie Hall benefit concert “The Music of the Who,” with such artists as Mose Allison, Bob Mould, Willie Nile, Bettye LaVette, the Smithereens, the Gaslight Anthem, and many others covering the career of Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey, John Entwistle, and Keith Moon.

PURIM 2010

Masks and Mayhem is only one of many Purim parties taking place all over the city on February 27

The Jewish holiday of Purim is a time of rejoicing, celebrating the defeat of the Persian leader Haman, who, serving under Persian king Ahasuerus in the fifth century BCE, sought to kill all the Jews. There will be Purim parties all over town on Saturday night, when people will gather with noisemakers and good grog, partaking in the triangular delicacy known as hamentashen, and reading from the Megillah. Chris Noth will host the Aish Center’s “Masks and Mayhem” in the Sony Atrium, with food from Eli Kirshstein, a free drink, music by DJ Roy Baron, and a costume contest that can earn you a pair of first-class tickets to Israel or a Private Chef’s Table for Ten at Solo. The Shushan Channel will be going crazy at 92yTribeca with their eighth annual Purim spiel, “Lady Graga,” led by Daily Show creator Lizz Winstead and taking on pop culture as only they can. JDub records will be getting down at the CSV Cultural Center with a Hamanbashin costume contest and party featuring live performances by the Shondes, Can!!Can, and Gangsta Rabbi, DJ sets by Ultragrrrl and Matt Elkin, and Patrick Aleph delivering the whole Megillah channeled through Sid Vicious. Israeli hip-hoppers Hadag Nahash will be partying late into the night at (le) poisson rouge. At City Winery, Storahtelling presents Bloody Esther, starring Rebbetzin Hadassah Gross, better known as the First Lady of Judeo Kitsch. And in Brooklyn, Heeb magazine has teamed up with 3rd Ward for the Pour ’em Party, featuring Team Facelift, the Shining Twins, Dirty Fences, and DJs Johnny Tropical, Drew Heffron, and Kool Jew, while the Sway Machinery will headline the third annual Purim Bash at Littlefield, along with Djarara.

BOB MOULD: SOLO

Bob Mould goes solo at City Winery for two shows (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

City Winery
155 Varick St.
January 22-23, $30-$45, 9:00
212-608-0555
http://www.citywinery.com
http://www.bobmould.com

Twenty years ago, Bob Mould left seminal postpunk band Hüsker Dü and recorded his first solo record, the intimate, acoustic-based WORKBOOK followed by the gruffer BLACK SHEETS OF RAIN. Mould then formed the power trio Sugar, which released such impressive discs as COPPER BLUE and BEASTER, before continuing his solo work. Currently working on his memoirs – which will detail, among other things, his drug abuse and homosexuality – Mould also turned back the clock on his most recent album, the unflinchingly honest and personal LIFE AND TIMES (Anti-, April 2009). “What the fuck, what kicked up all this dust / taking me back to the places I left behind / the old life and times,” he sings on the title track, preparing the listener for both a trip down memory lane as well as a peek into the future. “I rewind the interstate in my distant memory,” he sings to his signature guitar sound on “City Lights (Days Go By),” adding, “I hope you understand I need to find my city lights.”

Recalling the sound of WORKBOOK, Mould, who recorded LIFE AND TIMES in his current hometown, Washington, DC, with just a drummer and himself, opens up about anonymous, casual sex (the hard-driving “Argos,” the smooth, melodic “Bad Blood Better”) and the end of love (“I’m Sorry, Baby, But You Can’t Stand in My Light Any More”) while also bringing up memory and the past on “Wasted World” and “MM 17.” At forty-eight, perhaps Mould is a little young to be looking back so much, but as he says on the album’s final track, “What a lifetime we have.” He’ll be celebrating that life at City Winery with two special acoustic shows at City Winery, playing songs from throughout his career. We’ve seen him several times over the years, and he always sweats out everything he can, whether blasting away with an unbelievably loud band or just by himself with an acoustic guitar. Trust us: This will be no mild folk concert; you can expect Mould to still slash across the stage to such possible songs as “See a Little Light,” “Poison Years,” and “If I Can’t Change Your Mind” as well as several Hüsker Dü classics (look for “I Apologize,” “Celebrated Summer,” and the simply amazing “Hardly Getting Over It,” among others). Jon Auer of Big Star and the Posies opens the show.

An amiable Bob Mould had a great time at City Winery gig (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Update: Just prior to Auer’s taking the stage on January 23, we had a chance to speak with Mould for a few minutes as he sat in the back of City Winery by himself, discussing, among other things, the difference between playing as a three-piece at Irving Plaza and doing a solo gig here. Mould showed that he is equally adept at both when later that evening he performed a wicked set that was one of the loudest solo shows we’ve ever seen. Starting off on the acoustic guitar, an amiable Mould offered up a mix of favorites and lesser-known gems, from “Wishing Well,” “Hoover Dam,” and “Needle Hits E” to the Hüsker Dü treasure “Hardly Getting Over It.” He chatted about Conan O’Brien, the new Highline Park, being gay and fifty and living in San Francisco, and even Peter Criss’s “Beth” as he turned up the volume. Things really took off when he switched to the electric guitar, filling the intimate space with a barrage of sound, highlighted by his absolutely shredding an extended version of “Brasilia Crossed with Trenton” before finishing up with such sonic blasts as “I Apologize,” “Something I Learned Today,” “Celebrated Summer,” and the finale, “Makes No Sense at All.” (For a slideshow and the setlist, go here.)

EMERGENCY BENEFIT CONCERT FOR HAITI

Patti Smith will be among the many, many participants at the annual Poetry Project New Year's Day marathon (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Patti Smith will headline one of four City Winery shows raising emergency funds for Haiti (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

City Winery
155 Varick St.
January 20, 21, 24, 25, $20-$75
212-608-0555
www.citywinery.com

New York City has come together over the last week, holding numerous benefits to raise money for disaster relief in Haiti. One of the most ambitious series of events will be held at City Winery, which is looking to raise $100,000 with four nights of extraordinary performers at the intimate TriBeCa club, with all of the proceeds going to Partners in Health, Doctors Without Borders, and the Jewish Renaissance Medical Center. On January 20 ($75), the all-star roster includes Patti Smith, the Swell Season, Yo La Tengo, John Wesley Harding, the Carolina Chocolate Drops, and Joshua Bell, while January 21 ($50) features Lewis Black, Marshall Crenshaw, Willie Nile, Rich Pagano + the SugarCane Cups, and Vernon Reid and Corey Glover of Living Colour. Rosanne Cash headlines the January 24 show ($50), with Brian Stokes Mitchell, Tabou Combo, Madeline Peyroux, and BETTY. And more than a dozen indie artists will take the stage on January 25 ($20), among them the recently reunited Bongos, Ari Hest, NYCSmoke’s Howie Statland, Vienna Teng, and Amber Rubarth.

BLACK RED WINE

Lewis Black will present his limited-edition wine at benefit for 52nd Street Project

City Winery
155 Varick St.
Tuesday, December 15, $125, 6:00
212-608-0555
www.52project.org
www.citywinery.com

Lewis Black has been all over the place these past few years. He’s appeared in such films and TV shows as ACCEPTED, UNACCOMPANIED MINORS, and ROOT OF ALL EVIL, had several cable stand-up specials (BLACK ON BROADWAY, STARK RAVING BLACK, and RED, WHITE AND SCREWED), regularly rants on THE DAILY SHOW (“Back in Black”), and has written the bestsellers NOTHING’S SACRED and ME OF LITTLE FAITH. Back in March, we saw him at the Rubin Museum, where he participated in “Brainwave 2009: Meetings of the Minds” discussing rage with anger management psychologist Robert Allan. And tonight he’ll be at City Winery, releasing his limited-edition vintage Black Red Wine, described as a “compelling high-end, spicy, upfront and robust mix of premium California Napa and Lake Country Cabernet Sauvignon.” The $125 ticket – all of which goes to the 52nd Street Project, a “not-for-profit organization that matches the kids (age 9 to 18) of Hell’s Kitchen in New York City with professional theater artists to create original theater” – gets you hors d’oeuvres, a wine tasting, and a bottle of the 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon blend, signed by Black and City Winery winemaker David Lecomte. We’ve all heard Black rant and rage, but tonight you can get to see him w(h)ine.