Tag Archives: highline ballroom

BOB MOULD PLAYS COPPER BLUE & SILVER AGE

Bob Mould will revisit COPPER BLUE and highlight new SILVER AGE at free show Friday night in Williamsburg (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

The Lacoste Live Concert Series
Williamsburg Park
50 Kent Ave. at North 12th St.
Friday, September 7, free, 6:00
www.bobmould.com

Twenty years ago, in a small club in New York City, we saw the loudest show we’ve ever experienced, a blistering attack on body, mind, and soul by three dudes making awesomely beautiful music together. Sugar, consisting of singer-guitarist Bob Mould, bassist David Barbe, and drummer Malcolm Travis, were behind this sonic tsunami, powering through songs from their debut record, the instant classic Copper Blue. “I want something like I remember / And I want something that lasts forever,” Mould declared on “Changes,” seeming to look back at the recent arc of his career, which included the brutal breakup of Hüsker Dü in 1988, followed by his acoustic solo debut, Workbook, as well as at his future. Over the last few years, Mould has once again been looking back, particularly on 2009’s almost painfully honest Life and Times and his intimate and revealing 2011 memoir, See a Little Light: The Trail of Rage and Melody, bringin along his acoustic guitar on the book tour. But after bonding with Dave Grohl and Foo Fighters on record and onstage, Mould tossed away the acoustic in favor of more electric madness, going into the studio with live bandmates Jason Narducy on bass and Jon Wurster on drums and coming out with the explosive Silver Age (Merge, September 4, 2012, stream available here), the twentieth anniversary of Copper Blue very much on his mind. “I’m never too old to contain my rage,” he announces on the title song, and he indeed lets his rage soar on such searing tracks as “Star Machine,” “The Descent,” “Steam of Hercules,” and “Angels Rearrange” (which echoes the earlier “Changes”), only slowing down just a bit for the finale, “First Time Joy.” Mould, who will turn fifty-two next month, is on the road right now, celebrating the newly remastered reissue of Copper Blue by performing the album in its entirety, featuring such Mould standards as “The Act We Act,” “A Good Idea,” “Hoover Dam,” and “If I Can’t Change Your Mind.” He’ll then play a second set of songs focusing on Silver Age while also reaching back to the Hüsker Dü and solo years. Mould will be at Williamsburg Park in Brooklyn on Friday night, giving a free show as part of the Lacoste Live Concert Series, with Cymbals Eat Guitars opening up. And be prepared; it should be LOUD. (Mould will also be spinning tracks later that night at his regular Blowoff gig with Richard Morel at the Highline Ballroom.)

BLUE NOTE JAZZ FESTIVAL

The legendary Jimmy Scott will be part of the second annual Blue Note Jazz Festival this month (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

The Blue Note, 131 West Third St., 212-475-8592
Highline Ballroom, 431 West 16th St.
B.B. King Blues Club & Grill, 237 West 42nd St., 212-997-4144
June 1-30
www.bluenotejazzfestival.com

Last year, the Blue Note celebrated its thirtieth anniversary with the inaugural Blue Note Jazz Festival. The musical celebration is back June 10-30, with more than fifty shows at various New York City venues. Things take off in a big way on June 10, with Kate Davis playing the Blue Note Brunch, the Harlem Gospel Choir hosting its regular Sunday brunch at the B.B. King Blues Club, Béla Fleck and the Marcus Roberts Trio at the Blue Note, and Curumin and Céu at the Highline Ballroom. Among the plethora of exciting highlights are the Legendary Jimmy Scott at the Blue Note on June 11, Savion Glover with such special guests as McCoy Tyner, Jack DeJohnette, and Roy Haynes at the Blue Note June 12-17, Bootsy Collins at B.B. King’s on June 13, Little Richard at B.B.’s and Yasiin Bey (Mos Def) at the Apollo Theater on June 14 [ed. note: The Yasiin Bey show has been moved to October 28], Kathleen Battle with Cyrus Chestnut at the Blue Note June 19, Toshi Reagon & Allison Miller Present “Celebrate! The Great Women of Blues and Jazz” at the Highline Ballroom on June 21, Africa/Brass: McCoy Tyner & Charles Tolliver Big Band at the Blue Note June 21-24, the Rolling Stones Project ft Tim Ries with Bernard Fowler & Darryl Jones of the Rolling Stones at the Highline on June 22, An Evening with Leon Redbone at the Abrons Arts Center on June 23, Stanley Clarke & George Duke at B.B. King’s on June 26, Meshell Ndegeocello at the Highline on June 28, Cassandra Wilson at the Blue Note June 28-30, Sierra Leone’s Refugee All-Stars at the Highline on June 29, and the Adam Deitch Project closing things out as part of the Blue Note’s Late Night Groove Series on June 30.

CRACKER / CAMPER VAN BEETHOVEN

Johnny Hickman and David Lowery are set to have another blast at Cracker / Camper Van Beethoven show at the Highline Ballroom (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Highline Ballroom
431 West 16th St. between Ninth & Tenth Aves.
Saturday, January 14, $22-$25, 7:00
212-414-5994
www.myspace.com/crackerhatesmyspace
www.highlineballroom.com

In what has become a very welcome annual event, David Lowery will be doing double duty on January 14 as he brings both Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven to the Highline Ballroom. The evening generally begins with a rousing look back at the history of seminal indie rockers CVB, dominated by Lowery’s politically tinged lyrics and Jonathan Segel’s virtuosic violin playing. Expect such favorites as “Take the Skinheads Bowling,” “Eye of Fatima,” and “Joe Stalin’s Cadillac,” along with some cool covers, including the Status Quo’s “Pictures of Matchstick Men,” which was an MTV hit for CVB more than twenty years ago. Then Lowery switches gears for the more amiable, freewheeling Cracker, the Virginia-based band that has scored such hits as “Teen Angst,” “Low,” “Get Off This,” “Turn on Tune in Drop Out with Me,” and one of the great live songs of all time, “Euro-Trash Girl.” Lowery will tell some funny stories, guitarist and cofounder Johnny Hickman will look resplendent, and then the two groups will jam out on an interstellar finale. Nothing but good times, guaranteed.

CMJ MUSIC & MOVIE MARATHON: DAY FIVE

New Collisions should get CMJers parachuting across the dance floor Saturday night at Local 269 (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

CMJ enters its fifth and final day today, and we have to say we’re wiped out from yesterday’s exciting This Week in New York showcase at Fontana’s, where Jake Mehrmann of Tan Vampires, Rubber Kiss Goodbye, Our Mountain, Hank & Cupcakes, and At War With the 60’s put on a great show. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t ready to head out again to see some amazing bands in some very cool venues. Below are only some of the highlights of the marathon’s grand finale.

Nicole Atkins, Rockwood Music Hall, 3:30

The Front Bottoms, Highline Ballroom, 6:45

Radical Dads, Bruar Falls, 8:00

Wavves, Fader Fort, 8:20

Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life (Joann Sfar, 2011), Soho House, free with RSVP, 9:15

New Collisions, Local 269, 10:00

Jump into the Gospel, Bowery Electric, 10:15

Spell Talk, Dominion, 10:30

Turbo Fruits, Public Assembly, 11:00

Shinobi Ninja, Arlene’s Grocery, 12 midnight

Shonen Knife, Public Assembly, 12:30

Emil & Friends, the Delancey, 1:40

BLUE NOTE JAZZ FESTIVAL 2011

The McCoy Tyner Trio will kick off the inaugural Blue Note Jazz Festival with special guest Savion Glover at the Highline Ballroom on June 1 (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

The Blue Note, 131 West Third St., 212-475-8592
Highline Ballroom, 431 West 16th St.
B.B. King Blues Club & Grill, 237 West 42nd St., 212-997-4144
June 1-30
www.bluenotejazzfestival.com

It might feel like the Blue Note has been around forever, but the intimate jazz nightclub only opened in 1981. It’s celebrating its thirtieth anniversary throughout the month of June with the inaugural Blue Note Jazz Festival, thirty days of shows at the Blue Note, the Highline Ballroom, and B.B. King’s Blues Club in Times Square, featuring legendary and emerging musicians who have graced the stage of the West Third St. venue. The festivities get under way June 1 with the McCoy Tyner Trio and Savion Glover at the Highline and continues with such stellar evenings as Bobby McFerrin with the Yellowjackets at the Highline (June 2), Larry Graham and Graham Central Station at B.B. King’s (June 3), Jim Hall & Ron Carter in the program “Alone Together, Again,” at the Blue Note (June 6), Eric Burdon & the Animals at B.B King’s (June 7), Hiromi’s Trio Project with Anthony Jackson and Simon Phillips at the Blue Note (June 7-12), Dengue Fever at the Highline (June 10), “Brian Wilson ‘Reimagines Gershwin’” at the Highline (June 11-13), Dave Brubeck at the Blue Note (June 13-15), Johnny Winter & Roomful of Blues at B.B. King’s (June 14), Meshell Ndegeocello covering Prince at the Highline (June 15) — and that’s only the first half of the month. The rest of June includes performances by Diane Schuur, Delbert McClinton, the Manhattan Transfer, the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Roy Ayers with Pete Rock, Chris Botti, Eddie Palmieri & La Perfecta II, Youssou N’Dour, Milton Nascimento, Roberta Flack, Nancy Wilson, Kathleen Battle, Bootsy Collins, the Dave Holland Quintet, Jonny Lang, Joe Lovano, Al Kooper, an eighty-fifth birthday celebration with Jimmy Scott, a ninetieth-birthday party for Jon Hendricks (with Annie Ross), and various other special musical tributes with very cool multiple guests.

GDP

Highline Ballroom
431 West 16th St. between Ninth & Tenth Aves.
Sunday, April 24, $14-$16, 8:00
212-414-5994
www.g6d6p6.com
www.highlineballroom.com

On his third album, Useless Eaters (Run for Cover, March 29), white Jersey hip-hopper Matt Miller, better known as GDP, throws down plenty of mad rhymes and F-bombs, rapping about sex, drugs, and bling as well as the government, the environment, and the economy, set to beats by Frozen Gentleman, Aoi, DOS4GW, and the Empty Cup. But GDP is not necessarily celebrating the seedier side of street culture, nor is he preaching against it. In the record’s opener, “Neural Circuitry,” he proclaims, “What kind of future could I possibly hope for / when every pen I write with doubles as a coke straw / and every night’s a close call / when Oxycontin is triple what dope costs? / What kind of person could I possibly become / when my personality is dependent on a drug / usually more than one / because too much of anything is never enough?” The song’s refrain, “Too high to die,” feels all too real. In “Biathanatos” he says, “Looks like freedom / feels like death / It’s something in between, I guess / Jesus saves and the doctor takes the fee / It’s a dog-eat-dog world / Bon apetit, mother&*ker.” The follow-up to 2009’s Realistic Expectations, and 2007’s Involvement, Useless Eaters features guest appearances by Pistol and Young Zee and a diverse series of references, from Willie Nelson, YouTube, Eddie Murphy, and Google Earth to George Carlin, Muddy Waters, Jay-Z, and Umberto’s Clam House on such songs as “Carbon Footprint,” “Holy Grail,” and “Don’t Worry About the Government.” GDP’s aspirations might still surpass his output, but he’s on the right track (as opposed to “the wrong side of the track mark,” as he notes on “Little Boxes”). GDP will be at the Highline Ballroom on April 24 laying it down with Roach Gigz and Andre Nickatina.

TICKET ALERT: STEVE MARTIN

One of the many sides of the multitalented Steve Martin will be showcased at the Highline Ballroom on March 14

Highline Ballroom
431 West 16th St. between Ninth & Tenth Aves.
Monday, March 14, $35, 8:00
212-414-5994
www.stevemartin.com
www.highlineballroom.com

Actor, comedian, playwright, Oscar host, musician, and writer Steve Martin has followed up his previous short novels, the highly praised Shopgirl (2000) and The Pleasure of My Company (2003), with the more substantial An Object of Beauty (Grand Central, November 2010, $26.99). Tracing the career path of a none-too-shy wannabe gallerist mover and shaker, the book is an insightful and cynical examination of the art market over the course of the last two decades, as seen through the eyes of an art critic, Daniel, who narrates the story of Lacey Yeager, who never met a canvas she couldn’t undress. Martin shows a deft knowledge of the art world, from the fancy, established Upper East Side galleries to the more conceptual spaces in Chelsea, supplementing his wry tale with color images of many of the real paintings and sculptures mentioned in the tome. Martin has spoken about the book at the 92nd St. Y, and he will be at the Highline Ballroom on March 14 to — oh, wait. Actually, Martin will not be discussing his literary career at this event; instead, he will be looking back at his performances on television and in the movies, which started with appearances on the Tonight show with Johnny Carson and SNL and led to such successful films as The Jerk (Carl Reiner, 1979), All of Me (Carl Reiner, 1984), Planes, Trains & Automobiles (John Hughes, 1987), and — um, well, ah, wrong again. Martin will actually be at the Highline Ballroom with the Steep Canyon Rangers, in what is being billed as “An Evening of Bluegrass & Banjo.” They’ll be featuring songs from their second album, Rare Bird Alert (Rounder Records, March 15), the follow-up to 2009’s The Crow. The new disc contains such Martin originals as “Yellow-Backed Fly,” “Best Love,” “Hide Behind a Rock,” and a new version of the classic “King Tut.” In regard to touring, “I enjoyed once again something I had once grown to loathe: The Road,” he writes in the liner notes. “Traveling around America in bluegrass mode, I’ve met many remarkable musicians and have been thrilled, humbled, charged up, and encouraged.” Please, whatever you do, do not show up looking to get books and DVDs signed, then demand your money back when Martin takes the stage with his band and starts playing bluegrass music.