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concerts on Roosevelt Island in 2009 - Improv Everywhere, Alex Battles, After the Jump, Frances & more

by Andrew Frisicano

Roosevelt Live

Free show series Roosevelt Live will happen this summer on Roosevelt Island’s Riverwalk Commons. The shows, scheduled for Saturdays at 4pm, will feature mostly local acts. Scheduled performers include piano-fronted band Wakey Wakey, indie-rockers Frances, Brooklyn country dude Alex Battles (of The Whiskey Rebellion) and local comedy/stunt troupe Improv Everywhere.

Improv Everywhere is the group responsible for the No Pants! subway rides. It most recently pulled off an April Fool’s Day stunt where the group showed up en masse to a random, underattended funeral to make it “The Best Funeral Ever.” It turns out the whole thing was staged, a fact the CW11 piece on the stunt failed to note (videos below).

Another recent-news tidbit from the Roosevelt Live performers, Frances frontman Paul Hogan scored indie-doc Must Read After My Death, which played at Manhattan’s Quad Cinema in February and is now available for download at Gigantic Digital. Frances also plays the 92YTribeca on Saturday, April 4th with The Subjects and Glass Ghost. (Tickets for that show are on sale.)

FrancesRoosevelt Live performance takes place on June 20th, the same day that music blogger collective “After The Jump” is planning a festival on the same island. No more details on that one yet.

Full schedule (and flyer) with videos from the above-mentioned acts (plus a Coldplay tracked video of Roosevelt Island) below…

Roosevelt Live

Improv Everywhere – Best Funeral Ever (April Fool’s 2009)

Improv Everywhere April Fools Funeral on WPIX

Alex Battles & The Whisky Rebellion – “Raining in Brooklyn”

Alex Battles – Community Property (2002)

Must Read After My Death Trailer (2009)

Frances in the studio

Wakey Wakey – War Sweater

Roosevelt Island by night…Coldplay Style

Roosevelt Live – 2009 Schedule
May 23 – Improv Everywhere
May 30 – Blue Grass Festival w/ Alex Battles
Jun 6 – Dance L!ve w/ Vintage DJs
Jun 13 – Leah Siegel
Jun 20 – Frances (same day as After the Jump Fest)
Jun 27 – Steven Bernstein
Jul 11 – Brother Joscephus
Jul 18 – Dance L!ve w/ Nation Beat
Jul 25 – Bones Royal *
Aug 1 – The Flanks w/ Hawke & Owl
Aug 8 – Wakey Wakey
Aug 11 – Chicha Librae *
Aug 29 – Generate Records
Sep 5 – Ethan Lipton
* unconfirmed