As mentioned, acclaimed ensemble Kronos Quartet are celebrating their ruby anniversary this year with the "Kronos at 40" mini-festival within Lincon Center Out of Doors' 2013 slate. In addition to that, Kronos Quartet will be performing with the Brooklyn Youth Chorus' Concert Chorus and Young Men's Ensemble on May 7 at Roulette in downtown Brooklyn. It will include commissioned works by Julia Wolfe (World Premiere), Aleksandra Vrebalov (New York premiere), the Arcade Fire's Richard Reed Parry (New York premiere), Bryce Dessner and Shara Worden. The event is a BYC benefit and tickets are on sale now. For those with deeper pockets there's a gala reception before the show you can buy tickets to as well.

Brooklyn Youth Chorus, who just performed at Crossing Brooklyn Ferry, is in its 21st season and will be a part of the 2013 Bang on a Can Marathon which happens June 16 at 3 Spruce St. which is near City Hall in downtown Manhattan. The nine-hour event, part of the 2013 River to River Festival, also includes appearances by Asphalt Orchestra, Bang on a Can All-Stars, Maya Beiser with the Provenance Project Band, Brooklyn Youth Chorus, Le Cabaret Contemporain, David Cossin & Ben Reimer, Peter Evans, Monica Germino, Hotel Elefant, Yungchen Llamo & Anton Batagov, NYU Steel Pan Ensemble, NYU Contemporary Music Ensemble, Talea Ensemble, Talk Normal, TILT Brass, Shara Worden, and more. Full new press release below.

Watch Glen Hansard, Richard Reed Parry, Little Scream, Shara Worden, Bryce Dessner and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus play Leonard Cohen's "Passing Through" recently at the MusicNOW 2013 fest in Ohio, in the video below....

Continue reading "Brooklyn Youth Chorus playing stuff by Arcade Fire/National members w/ Kronos Quartet & in Bang on a Can Marathon"

photos by David Andrako

Last night's installment  (3/14) of the 2013 Ecstatic Music Festival was the the Bang on a Can People's Commissioning Fund Concert which saw the Bang on a Can All-Stars performing world premieres of new commissions by Anna Clyne, Dan Deacon, Tyondai Braxton, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Paula Matthusen, and Fay Kueen Wang's Weltinseln.

Dan Deacon's piece made use of his flashing iPhone/Android app, which was certainly a first at The Kaufman Center's Merkin Concert Hall. Deacon and Braxton were on hand for show and were interviewed by WNYC's John Schaefer for the station's New Sounds Live.

The fest rolls on this weekend on  Saturday (3/16), composer Imani Uzuri joins Numinous ensemble founder Joseph C. Phillips, Jr. Tickets to that show are still available. More pics from last night's Ecstatic Music Fest performance are below.

Continue reading "Bang on a Can All-Stars performed works by Dan Deacon, Tyondai Braxton and more at Ecstatic Music Fest (pics)"

Ecstatic Music Festival 2012 (more by David Andrako)

As discussed, the indie/classical Ecstatic Music Festival is returning to the Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center this year and it begins Friday (1/25) with a show from My Brightest Diamond's Shara Worden and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus. The festival also includes shows with Clogs, Laurel Halo and Julia Holter, Deerhoof, Megafaun, and more. The full schedule is below and tickets for select shows are still available.

However, you've also got a chance to attend for free because we're giving away a pair of tickets to a show of your choice. Contest details and the Ecstatic Music Festival schedule, below...

Continue reading "Ecstatic Music Fest kicking off (win tix to show of your choice!)"

Tyondai Braxton at ATP NYC 2012 (more by David Andrako)

Ex-Battles frontman Tyondai Braxton will present his new multimedia project, HIVE, in NYC at the Guggenheim Museum on March 21 as part of the museum's Works & Process series. The project is being co-presented by Wordless Music and will feature musicians Ben Vida, Yuri Yamashita, Jared Soldiviero, and John Ostrowski, and architect/carpenter Uffe Surland Van Tams. Tickets for that show are on sale now. Flyer below.

Tyondai has other upcoming appearances and events in NYC including premiering his new work, Trems, which is being performed by Bang On A Can at Merkin Concert Hall on March 14 for an event that also features music by Dan Deacon, Anna Clyne, Paula Matthusen, Johann Johannsson, and Fay Kueen Wang.

Then, he'll debut his piece, "Fly by Wire" with the ensemble Alarm Will Sound at Carnegie Hall on April 6. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

Tyondai and Ben Vida (who also performs at the HIVE show) are teaming up as a duo to perform as an opening act at Extra Life's last show ever which happens on January 19 at 285 Kent with Sam Mickens (who plays Mercury Lounge with Callers tonight [1/7]), Oneirogen, and a DJ set by NMCM (Krallice). Admission is $12 at the door. You can read Extra Life's goodbye message at their website.

And, as mentioned, Tyondai will DJ at Dan Friel's record release show for Total Folklore on February 19 at Knitting Factory with Guardian Alien and Yvette. Tickets for that show are still available.

All dates are listed below...

Continue reading "Tyondai Braxton has new musical projects, playing live (dates)"

Julia Holter at Bowery Ballroom in August (more by Amanda Hatfield)

The Ecstatic Music Festival is returning to the Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center in 2013 from January 25 to March 21, where it's happened in past years. Over the course of the approximately two month-long period, the festival will be presenting eleven shows, with multiple collaborations between artists that blur the lines between indie and modern classical. The collaborations include Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond) with the Brooklyn Youth Chorus; Sarah Kirkland Snider with vocalists DM Stith, Padma Newsome (of Clogs), and Shara Worden; DJ / rupture and Zs; Deerhoof with Dal Niente and Marcos Balter; Laurel Halo and Julia Holter with Daniel Wohl; Arnold Dreyblatt with Megafaun; Simone Dinnerstein with Tift Merritt; a Bang on a Can concert, and more.

Individual tickets and festival passes go on sale today (11/27).

Full schedule is below.

Continue reading "Ecstatic Music Festival 2013 announced 2013 (Julia Holter, My Brightest Diamond, Laurel Halo, Megafaun, Deerhoof & more)"

photos by David Andrako

Oneohtrix Point Never w/ A Far Cry at World Financial Center - 7/14/12

Oneohtrix Point Never (aka Daniel Lopatin), who also played Pitchfork fest over the weekend, and Bang on a Can composer David Lang played the second installment of the Ecstatic Summer concert series at the World Financial Center on Saturday (7/14).

"The composers were Daniel Lopatin, who produces electronic works under the name Oneohtrix Point Never; William Brittelle, whose works are vibrant amalgams of jazz, rock and postmodern chamber music; and David Lang, part of the Bang on a Can triumvirate, whose music ranges widely but most often combines strains of Minimalism and Neo-Romanticism.

Mr. Lang, the oldest and most firmly established of the three (he won a Pulitzer Prize in 2008), had top billing, but in a way this was Mr. Lopatin's show." [NY Times]

Ecstatic Summer continues and ends at the World Financial Center on August 25 with Escort and Darcy James Argue's Secret Society. The first show in the seires featured Tune-Yards.

Oneohtrix Point Never's next scheduled NYC show is the 'Yo Eskerikk Asko NYC!' festival, which goes down at Public Assembly from August 24 - 25 with Glenn Brenca, Tim Hecker, Colin L. Orchestra, White Suns, and more.

More pictures from Ecstatic Summer are below...

Continue reading "Oneohtrix Point Never & David Lang played an Ecstatic Summer show w/ A Far Cry Orchestra (pics)"

Bang on a Can 2011 (more by Andrew Frisicano)

The 2012 River to River Festival kicked off today (6/17) at noon with the Bang on a Can Marathon at the World Financial Center Winter Garden. As mentioned the marathon runs through midnight and features a huge variety of performers including Kaki King, David Longstreth, Steve Reich, and many others.

If you missed it, the full schedule for today's marathon is listed below...

Continue reading "Bang on a Can Marathon kicked off today (running through midnight)"

Glenn Branca Ensemble at last year's Marathon (more by Andrew Frisicano)

As previously announced, the 2012 River to River Festival will kick off with the annual 12-hour Bang on a Can Marathon on June 17 from noon to midnight at the World Financial Center Winter Garden:

Some highlights include Bang on a Can All-Stars, astonishing cellist Maya Beiser, Pauline Oliveros' Deep Listening Band, sound pioneer Alvin Lucier, indie guitar sensation Kaki King, jazz genius Matthew Shipp, music by David Longstreth (Dirty Projectors), Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth), Steve Reich, David T Little, Ruby Fulton, Michael Harrison; film by Bill Morrison, and much more. Stay all Day!
Presented by River To River Festival, Arts Brookfield and Bang on a Can.

Meanwhile, you can also catch Thurston Moore in NYC tonight (5/31) with Bill Nace and Joe McPhee.

Continue reading "Bang on a Can Marathon schedule released"

Bang on a Can Marathon last year (more by Andrew Frisicano)

Bang on a Can, who recently celebrated their 25th anniversary with a big show at Lincoln Center, bring the annual, free Marathon back to the World Financial Center Winter Garden this year from June 17,12PM - June 18, 12AM...

Bang on a Can brings its 25 Year celebration back downtown with its incomparable 12-hour super-mix of boundary-busting music from around the corner and around the globe. What started as a scruffy loft concert in Soho back in 1987, now ranks among the iconic annual concert events in NYC. This year's edition features rare performances by some of the most innovative musicians of our time side-by-side with some of today's newest music pioneers. Some highlights include Bang on a Can All-Stars, astonishing cellist Maya Beiser, Pauline Oliveros' Deep Listening Band, sound pioneer Alvin Lucier, indie guitar sensation Kaki King, jazz genius Matthew Shipp, music by David Longstreth (Dirty Projectors), Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth), Steve Reich, David T Little, Ruby Fulton, Michael Harrison; film by Bill Morrison, and much more. Stay all Day!
Presented by River To River Festival, Arts Brookfield and Bang on a Can.

Squeeze @ Coachella 2012 (more by David Andrako)

today in NYC
* Mocca Fest
* Tribeca Film Fest
* Rammstein @ Nassau Coliseum
* The Weeknd @ Bowery Ballroom
* Anthony Jeselnik @ Caroline's
* Stuyvesant, The 65', Wyldlife @ Maxwell's
* Midnight Magic, JD Samson @ Tribeca Grand
* Bang on a Can: 25 Years @ Alice Tully Hall
* Hanni El Khatib, Sundelles @ Mercury Lounge
* Jeff Mills, Sleepy & Boo @ Le Poisson Rouge
* Ryuichi Sakamoto, Otomo Yoshihide @ The Stone
* Dysrhythmia, Kayo Dot, Vaura @ Death By Audio
* Squeeze, The English Beat @ Roseland Ballroom
* Conspirator, Nerve, KJ Sawka @ Irving Plaza
* Kathleen Edwards, Hannah Georgas @ Webster Hall
* Mattison, Chat Logs, Many Mansions @ The Gutter
* Hey Champ, French Horn Rebellion @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Balthrop, Alabama with The Bandana Splits @ Living Room
* Yann Tiersen, Felix @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Addison Groove, Doc Daneeka, Jubilee @ Glasslands
* Death Cab For Cutie, Youth Lagoon @ Beacon Theatre
* Romans, Francy Trash, Le Mood @ Bowery Electric
* Yarn/Wire, Tristan Perich Chalk @ Issue Project Room
* Black Pyramid, Elder, Alkahest, Sanhhet @ ABC No Rio
* Folklore, Overlord, The Hairs, Pale Lights @ Cake Shop
* Throwing Snow, Grenier aka DJG, Mike Slott @ Littlefield
* Edmund II, Appomattox, Simple Shapes, Jac @ The Rock Shop
* Scott Tuma, Jason Ajemian, Ben Vida, Eli Keszler @ Shea Stadium
* Revocation, Cannabis Corpse, Ramming Speed, Grudges @ Saint Vitus
* The Features, Hollis Brown, Alvin and the 1015 @ Knitting Factory
* Bright Moments, Nikhil P. Yerawadekar & Low Mentality @ 92YTribeca
* Golem, Conspiracy of Beards, Addison Groove, Doc Daneeka, Jubilee @ Glasslands
* Donkey, Lost Boy?, Glen & The Boys, Brown Bread, Von Holt @ Big Snow Buffalo Lodge
* Quintron and Miss Pussycat, Bosco Delrey, Cellular Chaos, Glittering Prizes @ 285 Kent Ave
* WBAR BBQ w/ Dam-Funk, Bush Tetras, Mike Slott, Widowspeak, Pete Swanson, Forma, Archie Pelago, Night Birds, Midtown Dickens @ Barnard College
* John Wesley Harding's Cabinet of Wonders w/ Dean & Britta, Eugene Mirman, Rick Moody, A.C. Newman, Megan Reilly, Will Sheff, Colson Whitehead @ City Winery

For more metal, check here.

Bang on a Can says:

On April 28, Bang on a Can is celebrating 25 years with an extraordinary triple-bill at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall featuring the Bang on a Can All-Stars US Premiere of Field Recordings, the Asphalt Orchestra World Premiere collaboration with drummer Tatsuya Yoshida, and MIT's Gamelan Galak Tika.

Using film, found sound, and archival audio and video, Field Recordings features nine hot-off-the-press commissioned works for the the unstoppable Bang on a Can All-Stars by: Tyondai Braxton, Mira Calix (performing live), Florent Ghys, Michael Gordon, David Lang, Christian Marclay (performing live), Julia Wolfe, Nick Zammuto, (performing live), and Evan Ziporyn (performing live).

The Weeknd play their second NYC show at Bowery Ballroom tonight.

Squeeze hits Roseland Ballroom with The English Beat tonight.

Follow @BrooklynVegan on Twitter.
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Cake Shop needs help.

Jack White played Webster Hall last night, and Colbert again before that. Watch the Comedy Central TV appearance below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Saturday?"

by Andrew Frisicano

Philip Glass isn't the only 20th-century composer with a big birthday this year. Avant-garde composer John Cage would've been 100, and there are numerous chances to see his work (even more than usual) because of it. The shows below cover quite a bit of ground--eg. 1940's "Living Room Music" on the same program as 1991's "Four3"--and the best place to experience the pieces is definitely in a group.

Avant Music Festival, happening February 10-18 at Wild Project (195 E 3rd St at Ave B), explores the work of Cage at several shows. There's an afternoon/evening program on Saturday, February 11th, which includes a 4pm performance by Bang on a Can's Vicky Chow of Cage's "Sonatas and Interludes" for prepared piano, followed by a longer evening set. Tickets are on sale.

New music quartet loadbang performs as part of that Avant Music show, and will also presents an Evening of John Cage on Thursday, March 8th at Greenwich House Music School.

Issue Project Room, which just moved into a new home, has some Cage-related shows coming up, such as Stephen Drury playing his "Etudes australes" on February 24 and "On Silence: Hommage to John Cage" which features 13 new pieces that are all 4 minutes, 33 seconds long.

So Percussion hosts "We Are All Going In Different Directions--A John Cage Celebration" at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall on March 26th. They'll be performing Cage's music, as well as that of Matmos and Cenk Ergün (who should be appearing) and Dan Deacon's "Bottles." Tickets are on sale.

It's the last stop in a Cage-dedicated tour, which also visits Boston, Toronto and Austin (info below). On March 27th, recordings from the tour will be released by Cantaloupe Records as Cage 100: The Bootleg Series, a limited-edition package with a blank 4'33" LP, a CD of "tracks chosen by chance operations" and a full archive of the shows online.

That show is part of Carnegie Hall's American Mavericks series, which also includes performances by Alarm Will Sound, William Basinski, JACK Quartet, San Francisco Symphony, WHY? and Danielson.

Also part of that is John Cage Unbound--A Living Archive, an online project through New York Public Library, which is going to collect performances and talks of Cage's work by musicians and students (and user-submitted videos). It's also going to have an archive of scores, photographs and other artifacts. Two videos from that--one of pianist Margaret Leng Tan showing you how to prepare a piano, and one with So Percussion crumpling paper (they love to do that)--are below.

Check out more videos, including 4' 33" performed by an orchestra, Andrew W.K. and a wall, below...

Continue reading "John Cage turns 100; lots of shows & other ways to celebrate"

Dirty Projectors at FFF Fest 2010 (more by Tim Griffin)

The American Museum of Natural History's One Step Beyond series continues on Friday (1/20) in the Rose Center with a headlining DJ set by Dirty Projectors with support from DJ sets by Skinny Friedman and Import/Export and visuals by Glowing Pictures. Tickets are still available, though reportedly going super fast.

In other news, Bang on a Can are releasing a double album called Big Beautiful Dark and Scary on February 28 via Cantaloupe Music. The album features three pieces by Dirty Projectors' Dave Longstreth. In honor of Bang on a Can's 25th anniversary, the album has been available for free download for the first 25 days of January. There's only a few days left so grab it while you still can.

Dirty Projectors are also working on their own new album, which will be released this spring.

Dirty Projectors member Nat Baldwin just played The Manhattan Inn last Sunday (1/15). Brian Kerr said the show was pretty rad. What did you think? Nat kicks off a European tour on Friday (1/20). All dates are listed below.

Continue reading "Dirty Projectors DJing a museum Friday; Bang on a Can giving away double album; Nat Baldwin touring Europe"

words & photos by Andrew Frisicano

"13 consecutive hours of experimental and avant-garde noodling" - NY Times on the Bang on a Can Marathon as quoted by Glenn Branca

The 2011 Bang on a Can Marathon went down on Sunday, June 19th, at the World Financial Center in NYC. As usual, a healthy contingent stayed for the duration (not me, I made it from around 5pm to the end). But even in just those last few hours there were some incredible performances. I caught Bang on a Can All-Stars playing with Philip Glass (who also opened with a solo performance of his "Metamorphosis IV"), a lively set from Sun Ra Arkestra, a show-stealing piece by Evan Ziporyn for himself and three other clarinetists, and a closing, full-on rock set by Glenn Branca Ensemble, who played from his album The Ascension: The Sequel.

Before that, Signal performed a droning, dramatic piece by BoaC cofounder Julia Wolfe, and Talea Ensemble and soprano Tony Arnold lead the NY premiere "An Index of Metals" by Fausto Romitelli, which tapped a laptop for atmospherics that bounced around the room's different speakers. Asphalt Orchestra similarly made good use of the Winter Garden space, marching around various quadrants of the room (and starting off the day with an outdoor performance). As you'll see in the pictures below, the Sun Ra Arkestra also made their way around the room, leaving the stage in a procession to the back.

As with past years, the Winter Garden was an adequate but not ideal venue. The sound could vary dramatically in different corners of the massive room, from bone dry in front of the stage to an echoey wash-out in the wings and the back (most noticeable when a speaker takes the mic, and is unintelligible from various vantage points). At the same time, the open space encourages the concert's free-flowing, low-pressure atmosphere, which is a huge part of its recurring appeal.

More pictures from the day, and a couple of videos, below...

Continue reading "2011 Bang on a Can Marathon (pics, video & review)"

Asphalt Orchestra at Lincoln Center (more by Benjamin Lozovsky)

The Bang on a Can Marathon returns on Sunday (6/19) with a mammoth thirteen hours of FREE live music kicking off at 11AM at NYC's World Financial Center Winter Garden (200 Vesey Street). Featuring over 150 musicians/composers, the fest includes performances from, and compositions by, names like Philip Glass, Glenn Branca Ensemble, Sun Ra Arkestra, David Byrne/Annie Clark, Bryce Dessner, Frank Zappa, Bjork, Yoko Ono, and many more. The full lineup and schedule is below.

Continue reading "Bang On a Can Marathon Sunday -- full schedule"

Asphalt Orchestra outside Lincoln Center in 2010 (more by Benjamin Lozovsky)

Sunday June 19
Bang on a Can Marathon
Presented by Bang on A Can and Arts World Financial Center

Bang on a Can returns with its incomparable 12-hour super-mix of genre-defying music featuring over 150 astounding musicians and composers from throughout the world. Highlights include Philip Glass performing live with the Bang on a Can All-Stars; music by Bryce Dessner of The National; sonic downtown legend Glenn Branca; the outerplanetary Sun Ra Arkestra; the Asphalt Orchestra playing music by David Byrne/Annie Clark, Yoko Ono, and Frank Zappa; the intrepid Signal in a blistering string orchestra work by Julia Wolfe plus New York premieres by Richard Ayers, Fausto Romitelli, Poul Ruders, Toby Twining and much more! 12pm-12am. World Financial Center Winter Garden, 220 Vesey Street.

Meanwhile catch Bang on a Can performing Steve Reich at Carnegie Hall on April 30th.

In July Bang on a Can head to MASS MoCA for 20 days. Details below...

Continue reading "Bang on a Can Marathon initial 2011 lineup announced, Summer Festival at MASS MoCA too "

Steve Reich will celebrate his 75th birthday with a weekend of events in his honor. The festivities start on April 30th at Carnegie Hall, as Steve Reich will host NYC premieres of three new works, WTC 9/11, Mallet Quartet, and 2 x 5, as well as his Pulitzer Prize winning Double Sextet. Bang On A Can All-Stars, eighth blackbird, Kronos Quartet, and So Percussion will do the performing. Tickets are still available.

The party continues the next night at Le Poisson Rouge (on 5/1), as the avant-composer will be in the house for a screening of a new film about him called "Phase to Face". He'll also take part in a Q+A following the showing alongside director Eric Darmon.

In this profile he looks back on the key stages of his 40-years lasting career, from the formation of his own group, Steve Reich and Musicians, to the American avant-garde he helped to create, from new video performances to his quasi-religious music. Despite his success and wide recognition Steve Reich has never renounced his independent spirit.

This film is about the artist and his music. From the analogue tapes of his first recorded pieces to current technology of sampling and video. We see him at work and clips from his performances and concerts in Le Havre, Tokyo, Rome, New York and Manchester.

A week after the birthday festivities, on May 8th, chamber ensemble AXIOM will perform Steve Reich's "Drumming" (complete) at Le Poisson Rouge. Tickets are on sale.

On June 2nd, Either/Or will perform the music of Steve Reich, and Robert Ashley, Philip Glass, and Andrew Byrne, at the Kitchen. Tickets are on sale.

On January 17th (2012), Reich fans should plan to be in LA where Reich himself will perform Clapping Music with Steven Schick during an "evening devoted to one of America's greatest living composers, including several of his early, seminal works." It all goes down, with the help of Bang on a Can All Stars, at Walt Disney Concert Hall (Single tickets go on sale August 21).

Some videos below...

Continue reading "Steve Reich turning 75, making appearances, having his work performed, is the subject of a documentary"

DOWNLOAD: Clogs - On the Edge (MP3)

The National @ the Studio (more by David Andrako)

Not only did Bryce play a live MTV taping with the National last night, he's playing a fashion week party tonight (Wednesday) and three shows this weekend at St. Ann's Warehouse (Thursday-Saturday), AND he has an Ecstatic Music Festival show on Thursday night too...

Composer/Guitarist Bryce Dessner of The National is excited to premiere two separate compositions in New York City on Thursday, February 10. The first commission was awarded to Bryce by Bang on a Can All Stars' People's Commissioning Fund. The piece will be performed at Merkin Hall by Bang on a Can All-Stars (details HERE).

Bryce will be performing his second piece, "Tour Eiffel" at St. Ann's alongside Nico Muhly, Sam Amidon and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus Feb 10th-12th.

More National tour dates HERE. Clogs dates below...

Continue reading "Bryce Dessner is having a very busy week, Shara Worden playing w/ Clogs & Brooklyn Youth Chorus in March"

As previously announced, the 2011 Ecstatic Music Festival, presented by New York City's Merkin Concert Hall in association with New Amsterdam Records, is a showcase of imaginative collaborations between more than 150 genre-pushing composers, songwriters and performers who represent a new generation of artists combining diverse influences and techniques to explore the intersection of classical and pop music. All concerts will include premieres. The festival opens with a free seven-hour marathon on January 17, 2011, and continues with 13 additional concerts until March 28, 2011. All concerts will take place at Merkin Concert Hall.

Continue reading "Ecstatic Music Festival kicks off on 1/16, runs through 3/28 (updated schedule w/ tUnE-yArDs, Dan Deacon, Owen Pallett)"

by Andrew Frisicano

Evan Ziporyn

Just a reminder that Laurie Anderson's Delusion is still at BAM through this week (minus Monday, Sept 27). The show is definitely worth a look.

Since Laurie has the night off, tonight (9/27) is a good chance to see her Next Wave compatriot and Bang on a Can All-Star Evan Ziporyn, whose "A House in Bali" runs October 14-16 at BAM Opera House. Evan is at LPR tonight, where he duets with violinist Todd Reynolds and presents his composition "Typical Music," being performed by Todd, pianist Vicky Chow and cellist Ashley Bathgate. are on sale.

The same month of the opera, Evan will have a night at Carnegie Hall as part of their Making Music series (the performers include Brad Lubman and Signal, Gamelan Galak Tika, clarinetist David Krakauer and pianist Vicky Chow). Tickets for that October 30th show are on sale.

Video of some of Evan's pieces (and one of his BoaC compositions on Rock Band) are below...

Continue reading "Evan Ziporyn at LPR tonight, BAM & Carnegie Hall in October"

by Andrew Frisicano

St. Vincent @ Pitchfork Fest in Chicago (more by Kate Gardiner)

David Byrne and Annie Clark are collaborating on music for a future Housing Works benefit. There's no date set for that, but Asphalt Orchestra will be debuting a version of one of the songs they've been working on...

A few months ago we had [Here Lies Love arranger] Tony Finno arrange the horns, and we performed one of the songs -- tentatively titled "Who" -- at the end of Annie's show at the Rose Room at Lincoln Center. Now, having been approached by the Bang On a Can spinoff Asphalt Orchestra, with the help of [Asphalt saxist/producer] Ken Thomson we've adapted another song called either "Two Ships" or "The Movie" for their group. This will be an instrumental version and we'll do a vocal version later. [David Byrne]

In addition to that piece, they'll be debuting a commission by Yoko Ono; other songs in the group's repertoire include commissions by Tyondai Braxton of Battles and Stew & Heid Rodewald of Passing Strange and BAM Next Wave 2010. The 12-piece will release a seven-track CD of its material on August 3rd through Canatloupe Music. That includes a blisteringly dissonant song by Swedish metal band Meshuggah and an intricately-arranged version of Bjork's "Hyper-Ballad." There are a few more typical "ra-ra" maching band songs on the album too (Zappa in particular is already quite melodic and pompy), but the band focuses on getting unusual sounds out of the limited instrumentation. Live, they move in unique coordinated patterns, so the experience is individualized to the space and where you stand.

As an aside, this Saturday at Lincoln Center Out of Doors Festival is going to be particularly amazing, with the "Detroit Breakdown" lineup of Mitch Ryder, ? and the Mysterians, The Gories, Death and more.

St. Vincent has her own free show this weekend, at the Central Park SummerStage Sunday (8/1) afternoon, with openers Tune-Yards and Basia Bulat.

A video of Asphalt Orchestra doing that Meshuggah song on WNYC, and their schedule, plus a video of Annie doing a nylon-string version of "Actor Out of Work," are below...

Continue reading "David Byrne & Annie Clark collaborating for Housing Works, Asphalt Orchestra playing a song (and some shows) "

by Andrew Frisicano

Burkina Electric

The annual Bang on a Can Marathon took over the World Financial Center Winter Garden Sunday, June 27th for 13 hours (one over the expected 12).

As evidenced in the pictures below, I only caught the last quarter or so of the night (it the was the same day as Gil Scott-Heron in Central Park). The day was packed with curiosity-provoking sets, like the US premiere of Fausto Romitelli's "Professor Bad Trip," performed by the Talea Ensemble...

Broken into three "lessons," the dense piece vividly communicated a kind of doomed atmosphere, beginning with sighing, deflating sounds pouring out of the winds and violins and pitched percussion nervously skittering, and later growing into thunderous sound from the full chamber orchestra. The highlight came in the second section, with a pained, growling cello solo played with impressive control by Chris Gross.

While Romitelli had his share of devotees, there was a clear sense of relief with the contrast Buke and Gass offered next. Playing their namesake baritone ukelele (buke) and guitar-bass hybrid (it's pronounced "gase"), and a drum with tambourines embedded, their emphatic, quirky brand of rock, enhanced by buke player Arone Dyer's pure folk-singer voice, was exactly what the crowd needed.
[NJ Star Ledger]

A focus toward the end seemed to be video projections, which accompanied the double bass loops of Florent Ghys, guitarist Tim Brady's wall of sound, and the night's final performance by Signal, Shelter, a piece composed by Bang on a Can heads Michael Gordon, David Lang and Julia Wolfe. Burkina Electric provided a late-evening burst of energy with West African dance music (they play Celebrate Brooklyn on July 8th and Central Park on July 25th).

Q2 will be broadcasting music from this year's Marathon in August (as will WNYC's New Sounds), so look out for that.

More pictures are below...

Continue reading "2010 Bang on a Can Marathon in pics (Burkina Electric, who play Summerstage & Celebrate Brooklyn, included)"

by Andrew Frisicano

Bang on a Can 2009 (photo by Stephanie Berger)

The schedule is up for this year's Bang on a Can Marathon, the free day-long affair hosted at the World Financial Center Winter Garden. This year's 12-hour show takes place on Sunday, June 27th from noon to midnight. It starts with a performance by John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble and closes with sets by Burkina Electric (who also play SummerStage), and new music ensemble Signal doing a piece by BoaC cofounders Michael Gordon, David Lang and Julia Wolfe. The entire thing is posted below. There's also a Youtube playlist of this year's artists to get yourself acquainted.

The Marathon will be recorded for an episode of WNYC's New Sounds in August, but before that the station will be broadcasting and streaming (on Q2) parts of BoaC marathons past (possibly including 2007's 27-hour fest, 2008's 4am Dan Deacon set or parts of last year's thoroughly enjoyable show).

The full schedule and details on the radio programming are below...

Continue reading "Bang on a Can Marathon - 2010 schedule (Buke & Gass, Moritz Eggert, Burkina Electric, Tim Brady, Signal & more)"

BAM Next Wave Festival 2010 (the annual music/dance/theater/opera series to run September 21--Decemeber 19) will include work & performances by Laurie Anderson (doing the NY premiere of her work Delusion), a song cycle from Stew and Heidi Rodewald (of Passing Strange fame), music by NOLA's Trombone Shorty, Mikel Rouse's multimedia-song project Gravity Radio, and A House in Bali, an opera by Bang on a Can All-Star's Evan Ziporyn featuring Balinese Gamelan Salukat and BoaC All-Stars.

Next Wave Festival subscription tickets for Friends of BAM (as well as subscribers to both the 2010 Spring Season and 2009 Next Wave Festival) are on sale Jun 7; subscription tickets for the general public are on sale Jun 14. Single tickets for Delusion and Vollmond are on sale Aug 30 (Aug 23 for Friends of BAM).

The 2009 Next Wave included musical works from DJ Spooky, So Percussion and The Dessner Brother and Deal sisters.

More info on the above-mentioned shows is below...

Continue reading "BAM announces 2010 Next Wave Festival (Stew, Trombone Shorty, Bang on a Can All-Stars and more)"

by Andrew Frisicano

Matmos and So Percussion at the Whitney, 2006 (via Matador)

New music quartet So Percussion and electronic duo Matmos (Drew Daniel and Martin Schmidt) are collaborating on a new record, Treasure State, set to come out July 13th (July 8th digitally) on Cantaloupe. They recorded the record at the SnowGhost Studios in Whitefish, Montana, where "San Francisco plunderphonicist Wobbly then chopped and edited the results on several tracks, and finally, with frequent interventions from Matmos' M. C. Schmidt, 'fifth' So Percussion member and produced by Lawson White overdubbed extra elements, processed, and mixed the results." The instruments used include ceramic planters, pails of water, aluminum beer cans and cactus needles - not totally surprising if you've seen their live show.

Matmos and So Percussion will be playing at (Le) Poisson Rouge on Wednesday, June 9th. Tickets are on sale now. A full tour tour for the groups will be announced soon.

Before then, So Percussion's schedule includes an appearance at the Look & Listen Festival (which they play annually) on May 8th at Gary Snyder/Project Space (250 West 26th St). The other events for the three-day fest, details here, happen at Chelsea Art Museum. Tickets are on sale.

This summer, So Percussion will play on one night of Lincoln Center's two-night "Complete Works of Edgard Varèse" program. They'll join International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) to perform music by the highly influential composer (though Poème électronique will play itself). The second night features NY Philharmonic. Details on the program are below and tickets are on sale.

If that seems far off, in 2011 So Percussion will join Bang on a Can All-Stars, eighth blackbird and Kronos Quartet for a "Music of Steve Reich" concert at Carnegie Hall on April 30th. They'll perform new works and2009 Pulitzer Prize winning Double Sextet.

As for Matmos, they perform at Mutek Music Fest in Montreal on June 2nd.

Album tracklist, all tour dates, and more info on the Look & Listen and Lincoln Center shows are below...

Continue reading "So Percussion & Matmos collaborate - albums, shows, the Look & Listen Festival, music of Steve Reich, more"

by Andrew Frisicano

Signal at LPR

New music ensemble Signal will visit (Le) Poisson Rouge on Sunday, April 11th for two performances of Philip Glass's 1981 album Glassworks (its NY live premiere) along with Glass's "Music in Similar Motion" and other works. Tickets for the early set and late set are both on sale. Clips from Glassworks are posted below.

Also coming up, Signal will be at Merkin Hall on May 27th to debut a new piece by Nico Muhly and UK composer Harrison Birtwistle's The Corridor (its US premiere). The show is part of Kaufman Center's Contemporary Contexts series and Face the Music, "Kaufman Center's critically-acclaimed teen ensemble," will open with a pre-show performance of Muhly's "Honest Music" and "How About Now." Tickets are on sale for that.

Nico Muhly (who worked on the new albums by Jonsi and Sam Amidon, and who played himself quite a bit at Big Ears Fest) was commissioned along with composers Sean Shepherd and Matthias Pintscher to write a piece for Contact!, the NY Philharmonic's new music series that kicked off last December. All three pieces debut April 16th at Symphony Space (and played again a day later at Metropolitan Museum of Art). Tickets for Symphony Space show are on sale.

Outside of NYC, Signal travels upstate to join Eastman School of Music's Musica Nova and others in performing Steve Reich pieces in Rochester and Buffalo this May and June (works include Music for 18 Musicians and Pulitzer winning Double Sextet).

Another thing Signal has on its calendar is the 2010 Bang on a Can Marathon, set for Sunday, June 27th, noon-midnight, at World Financial Center Winter Garden. At the fest, the group will participate in Shelter, a multimedia work co-composed by BoaC founders Michael Gordon, Julia Wolfe and David Lang. The initial lineup also includes the US premiere of Professor Bad Trip by Fausto Romitelli. A video of that piece is below.

Most recently, Signal joined Shara Worden and others to perform Sarah Kirkland Snider's Penelope at Galapagos on Saturday, April 3rd.

All the above-mentioned videos posted below...

Continue reading "Signal's upcoming shows include Bang on a Can Marathon, works by Philip Glass & Nico Muhly (who has shows too) "