Tag Archives: city winery

THE MUSIC OF DAVID BYRNE AND TALKING HEADS AT CARNEGIE HALL

THE MUSIC OF DAVID BYRNE & TALKING HEADS
Carnegie Hall, Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage, 881 Seventh Ave. at West 57th St.
Monday, March 23, $48-$160, 8:00
www.musicof.org

LIVE REHEARSAL SHOW
City Winery, 155 Varick St.
Sunday, March 22, $35-$55, 8:00
www.citywinery.com

For his eleventh “Music of” presentation benefiting music and education organizations for children, City Winery owner Michael Dorf will celebrate the career of David Byrne, both as a solo artist and the leader of Talking Heads. Past years have paid homage to Prince, Paul Simon, the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, R.E.M., Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, and others, with a wide-ranging group of musicians paying tribute by covering many of the songs that helped define the artist. Those gathering on March 23 at Carnegie Hall to sing the songs of Byrne and the Heads are Amanda Palmer and Jherek Bischoff, Sharon Jones, O.A.R., Steve Earle, Todd Snider, Thievery Corporation, Glen Hansard, Esperanza Spalding, CeeLo Green, Pete Molinari, Alexis Krauss, Billy F. Gibbons, Santigold, Beth Orton, the Roots, Bebel Gilberto, Forro in the Dark, and Cibo Matto with Nels Cline; Antibalas will serve as the house band. The night before the event, many of the artists will be at City Winery for a live rehearsal show that is open to the public. All proceeds will benefit Midori & Friends, the Center for Arts Education, Little Kids Rock, Grammy in the Schools, Fixing Instruments for Kids in Schools, and the Church Street School for Music & Art.

VIDEO OF THE DAY: “COPPERHEAD ROAD” BY STEVE EARLE AND SHAWN COLVIN

Who: Steve Earle
What: Annual Winter Residency
Where: City Winery, 155 Varick St. between Spring & Vandam Sts., 212-608-0555
When: Monday, January 5, 12, 19, 26, $45-$75, 8:00
Why: Folk-rock troubadour Steve Earle, whose next album with the Dukes, Terraplane, comes out on February 17, teams up with special guests every Monday in January at City Winery, beginning with Willie Watson on January 5, followed by Shawn Colvin and Kate Davis on January 12, Willie Mason on January 19, and Willie Nile on January 26

THE TV SHOW: TONY VISCONTI & FRIENDS

Who: Uber-producer, musician, and singer Tony Visconti (T Rex, David Bowie, Thin Lizzy, the Moody Blues, Adam Ant, Morrissey, Kristeen Young, etc.)
What: The TV Show
Where: City Winery, 155 Varick St. between Spring & Vandam Sts., 212-608-0555
When: Saturday, January 3, $30-$42, 8:00, followed by meet and greet, $45, 10:00
Why: Super-producer Tony Visconti takes the stage at City Winery, playing bass with Gerry Leonard on guitar, Joe McGinty on keyboards, Dennis Diken on drums, and Everett Bradley on vocals, joined by special guests Richard Barone, Suzanne Vega, Kiah Victoria, Larkin Grimm, Nakia, and others performing songs by Paul McCartney, David Bowie, Marc Bolan, Morrissey, Justin Hayward, and Mick “Woody” Woodmansey

VIDEO OF THE DAY: “AFRAID” BY AMEL LARRIEUX

Who: Amel Larrieux
What: Amel Larrieux: A Blissful Holiday
Where: City Winery, 155 Varick St., 212-608-0555
When: Friday, December 26, $24-$45, 8:00
Why: An activist, a self-described “urban chanteuse by birth,” and cofounder of Groove Theory, Amel Larrieux has released such solo records as Infinite Possibilities, Morning, and Ice Cream Everyday; “when i wrote ‘Danger’ for my latest project,” she recently blogged, “i truly did not expect i would be dedicating it to anyone so soon….”

TICKET GIVEAWAY: A CELEBRATION OF ADVANCED STYLE AT CITY WINERY

ADVANCED STYLE (Lina Plioplyte, 2014)
City Winery
155 Varick St.
Monday, September 22, $15-$40, 8:00
212-608-0555
www.advancedstylefilm.com
www.citywinery.com

Since August 2008, photographer Ari Seth Cohen has run his Advanced Style blog, focusing on the fashion trends of senior citizens in New York City. “I roam the streets of New York looking for the most stylish and creative older folks,” Cohen, who grew up in San Diego, writes on his blog. “Respect your elders and let these ladies and gents teach you a thing or two about living life to the fullest. Advanced Style offers proof from the wise and silver-haired set that personal style advances with age.” In May 2012, he released the Advanced Style book, and next up is a documentary that Cohen and Lithuanian-born director Lina Piloplyte financed via Kickstarter. On September 22, City Winery will host a celebration of the many aspects of Advanced Style, hosted by Barneys creative ambassador Simon Doonan, featuring a discussion, a slideshow of Cohen’s photographs, and an exclusive preview of the film, which follows seven fashionably eclectic New York women between the ages of sixty-two and ninety-five, with no topic off limits; the documentary opens in theaters September 26 and will be available on VOD and DVD October 7. Tickets for the City Winery event begin at $15; the $40 VIP seats earn you a gift bag complete with a DVD of the film. “The soul of Advanced Style is not bound to age, or even to style, but rather to the celebration of life,” Maira Kalman writes in the introduction to Cohen’s book. “These photos offer proof that the secret to remaining vital in our later years is to never stop being curious, never stop creating, and never stop having fun.”

TICKET GIVEAWAY: “A Celebration of Advanced Style” takes place at City Winery on September 22, and twi-ny has a pair of VIP seats to give away for free. Just send your name, daytime phone number, and all-time favorite stylish older woman to contest@twi-ny.com by Wednesday, September 17, at 5:00 to be eligible. All entrants must be twenty-one years of age or older; one winner will be selected at random.

VIDEO OF THE DAY: “SLOW BLUES” BY ALBERT CUMMINGS

On Monday night, February 10, City Winery is hosting a night of the blues, with two great coheadliners. Blues legend John Hammond, son of the Columbia Records executive who signed Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, and Leonard Cohen and organized the “From Spirituals to Swing” concert at Carnegie Hall in 1938, will be celebrating the release of his new live album, Timeless (Palmetto, January 2014). Recorded at Chan’s in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, the disc pays tribute to his fifty-year career with such tracks as Jimmy Rodgers’s “Going Away Baby,” Lightnin’ Hopkins’s “Last Night,” Skip James’s “Hard Times,” Tom Waits’s “No One Can Forgive Me But My Baby,” and Hammond’s own “Heartache Blues.” Sharing the bill is Massachusetts-born singer-songwriter Albert Cummings, who was on the bluegrass trail until he discovered Stevie Ray Vaughan, turning to the blues when he was twenty-seven. An electrifying guitarist with a strong voice, Cummings has examined his life and let his six-string rip on 2002’s From the Heart, 2004’s True to Yourself, 2006’s Working Man, 2008’s live Feel So Good, and his most recent disc, 2012’s No Regrets, several of which feature Vaughan’s Double Trouble. Cummings will be opening with a full set at City Winery, so be sure to get there early; you might also want to order a specially produced bottle of Albert Cummings Zinfandel, which is described as “a fruit-driven, zesty Zinfandel from Lodi, CA. Red fruit with hints of spice & smoke, powerful and youthful, with an abundance of fresh red cherry, plum, and blackberry characteristics. Palate is big and boisterous, with red fruit offset by bright mouth feel.” That description fits Cummings as well, an engaging shredder with a unique approach to the blues.

DAVID BROMBERG BIG BAND: CD RELEASE PARTY

City Winery
155 Varick St.
Tuesday, October 1, $45-$60, 8:00
212-608-0555
www.davidbromberg.net
www.citywinery.com

Since coming out of semiretirement in 2007, master folk bluesman and violin maker extraordinaire David Bromberg has been experiencing a continuing, well-deserved resurgence. That year he released his first album in seventeen years, the outstanding Try Me One More Time. On 2011’s Use Me, he collaborated with John Hiatt, Tim O’Brien, Dr. John, Los Lobos, Vince Gill, Keb’ Mo’, Widespread Panic, Levon Helm, and others. Last year, his life and career were explored in Beth Toni Kruvant’s delightful and revealing documentary, David Bromberg Unsung Treasure. And now, on October 1, Bromberg will be at City Winery celebrating the release of his latest record, the sparkling Only Slightly Mad (Appleseed, September 2013), which combines his skills at multiple genres with his wry sense of humor (“Everything but the kitchen sink,” he writes in the liner notes), featuring four originals along with songs by Big Bill Broonzy, Floyd Cramer and Conway Twitty, Bill Monroe, the Stanley Brothers, and others.

David Bromberg is only slightly mad on new album (photo by Jim McGuire)

“Yeah, sure, I’ll take you back / just, uh, not at this particular point in time,” he sings on longtime live favorite “I’ll Take You Back,” adding, “I’ll take you back, baby / when no means yes and more means less / when ice is hot and fire is not / I’ll take you back, baby / when water ain’t wet and congress pays off the national debt / I’ll take you back.” Only Slightly Mad also includes the Grateful Dead-like ballad “Drivin’ Wheel,” the New Orleans ramble “Nobody Knows the Way I Feel This Mornin’,” the country folk lament “The Fields Have Turned Brown,” and the bluegrass stomp “Cattle in the Cane / Forked Deer / Monroe’s Hornpipe.” Throughout the record, the sixty-eight-year-old Bromberg makes references to his longevity and his ability to bounce back. In the a cappella original “The Strongest Man Alive,” he explains, “I have fought in many battles / though I have not won them all / It’s a miracle this bruised and battered body breathes at all / Oh, they say a cat has nine lives / Well, I’ve lived through four or five / I am the strongest man alive.” And on the gospel-tinged “I’ll Rise Again,” another original, Bromberg warbles, “I may be down / but I’ll rise again / someway, somehow / I’ll rise again.” He also takes full responsibility for all that has happened in his life in the album’s sizzling opener, “Nobody’s Fault But Mine” — a Blind Willie Johnson song he previously recorded on 1977’s Reckless Abandon — declaring, “I know right from wrong / I know right from wrong / If I do wrong, and my soul be lost / ain’t nobody’s fault but mine.” A relentless road warrior and consummate storyteller who always delivers an exciting and entertaining live show, Bromberg will be joined by his big band at City Winery, with Nate Grower on fiddle, Mark Cosgrove on guitar and mandolin, Josh Kanusky on drums, Curtis Fowlkes on trombone, Butch Amiot on bass, Peter Ecklund on trumpet, John Firmin on sax, and wife Nancy Josephson on backing vocals.