photos by Ryan Muir

"I think that Brooklyn has maybe become the music capital of the world," the violinist David Harrington said from the stage of the Prospect Park Bandshell on Thursday night.

The occasion was a concert by the Kronos Quartet, the groundbreaking ensemble he founded in 1973. Mr. Harrington went on to suggest that to find a similar concentration of artistic vitality you had to look to late-17th-century Vienna.

The claim was hyperbolic, maybe, but certainly understandable: after all, the Kronos Quartet was performing as part of the annual summer series Celebrate Brooklyn! Its program, presented before a large, diverse and boisterously appreciative audience, included new pieces by three Brooklyn composers -- Bryce Dessner, Missy Mazzoli and J. G. Thirlwell -- with further selections prepared by a Brooklyn arranger, Jacob Garchik." [NY Times]

In addition to their own songs, Kronos also played Sigur Ros's "Flugufrelsarinn", Michael Gordon's "Sad Park", and Café Tacuba's "11/11". They encored with a suite from Clint Mansell's score for the film "Requiem for a Dream". More pictures below...

Continue reading "Kronos Quartet Celebrated Brooklyn (and played music by Bryce Dessner) @ the Prospect Park Bandshell in NYC - pics"

"BRIC Arts | Media | Bklyn is pleased to announce that Kronos Quartet will perform a free concert at Celebrate Brooklyn! on Thursday, July 16. The groundbreaking ensemble¹s performance will include material from their new album, Floodplain, as well as the New York premiere of The National¹s Bryce Dessner¹s ³Aheym,² the world premiere of Missy Mazzoli¹s ³Harp and Altar,² pieces by Sigur Rós, Café Tacuba (arr. Osvaldo Golijov), Michael Gordon and [JG Thirlwell's piece "Nomatophobis" and a pice by Michael Gordon and more]. Kronos will be joined on the bill by Gypsy punk string ensemble Luminescent Orchestrii. The concert will begin at 7:30 P.M.; gates will open at 6:30 P.M."

Suzanne Muldowney (Underdog) @ the Mermaid Parade (more by Barry Yanowitz)

Tickets are on sale for that Dan Deacon, No Age & Deerhunter show happpening at the Flying W Resort in Jersey (near Philly) on August 1st. They only cost $12. Then again, the Brooklyn show with the same lineup will be free.

Tickets are on sale for the Deerhoof show happening at Le Poisson Rouge.

Dungen is playing The Bell House with Woods on August 14th. Tickets are on sale.

Mickey Factz is playing SOB's on July 14th. Tickets are on sale.

Motörhead, Nashville Pussy, and Reverend Horton Heat play Roseland Ballroom on September 9th. Tickets are on sale.

Cafe Tacuba has a show coming up at Hammerstein Ballroom on June 28th. Tickets are on sale.

The Trachtenberg Family Slideshow Players played the OJ All Day Festival at the Brooklyn Lyceum over the weekend. They play a show at Le Poisson Rouge on July 2nd. Tickets are on sale.

Nicole Atkins and the Sea are playing the Bell House with Bird of Youth on August 6th. Tickets are on sale.

Last year, Bird of Youth opened for AC Newman at the Bell House. Nicole Atkins was playing as a member of his band at that show. This past weekend AC played the Clearwater Festival, and he has a free show coming up on Thursday.

Bird of Youth are also opening for Mark Eitzel at Le Poisson Rouge on July 18th. Tickets are on sale.

Tickets are on sale for the Grace Jones show at Hammerstein Ballroom.

Tickets are on sale for the June 25th St. Vincent show at the Bell House. St Vincent just toured with Pattern is Movement who are playing that same night at the Bell House's sister club Union Hall with Bell and Inlets. Tickets are on sale for that too.

Jimmy Gestapo of Murphy's Law celebrating his birthday aboard a Rocks Off Concert Cruise is a tradition that is happening again this year on August 12th. Tickets are on sale.

Q-Tip, Marky Ramone, The Misshapes, Junior Vasquez, and Paul Sevigny are all DJing the same event tonight (6/22).

Breakfast at Sulimay's reviewed Yo La Tengo and Raphael Saadiq. Video below...

Continue reading "Dan Deacon, Deerhunter, Deerhoof, Dungen, Motorhead, Murphy's Law, Nicole Atkins, Bird of Youth & other tix"

Cafe Tacuba @ Summerstage 2007 (Cristina G)

Café Tacuba has earned its reputation as Mexico's most visionary rock band precisely because there has never been much that's traditionally rock about it. Its previous homages have skewed less toward the Who and more toward the Mexican ranchera legend Chavela Vargas and the Dominican merengue-pop star Juan Luis Guerra. For the past two decades it has treated rock as a genre worth sustaining only if it could be exploded, repeatedly. "Café Tacuba are the most important touchstone for young bands looking to make original contributions to Latin rock," said Nic Harcourt, musical director at the Los Angeles radio station KCRW, who has regularly featured the band on the station's influential playlists. "They constantly challenge themselves and constantly challenge their fan base. Not unlike Radiohead, they just keep evolving in unpredictable ways." [International Herald Tribune]

Tickets go on sale September 10th at noon for a Cafe Tacuba show on Halloween at Terminal 5 in NYC. All dates below...

Continue reading "Cafe Tacuba - 2008 Tour Dates (Terminal 5 on Halloween)"

Rodrigo y Gabriela @ Sasquatch 2008 (more by Chris Graham)

"The multi-faceted, three-day festival will take place in San Francisco's historic Golden Gate Park on August 22 - 24, 2008. Radiohead, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers and Jack Johnson will headline the event. Tickets for the Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival are available for purchase at www.SFOutsidelands.com."

Beck, Manu Chao, Sharon Jones, Nellie McKay, and Rodrigo y Gabriela are a few of the other artists playing. All of them below....

Continue reading "Outside Lands Music Festival lineup - now w/ more artists"

Cafe Tacuba @ Central Park Summerstage, NYC - July 14, 2007 (CRED)

"Café Tacuba (often spelled Café Tacvba) is a Grammy Award and Latin Grammy Award-winning musical group from Naucalpan, Mexico. They were founded in 1989, and since then have had the same musical lineup. [Wikipedia]

They played a show at Central Park Summerstage over the summer - and Lollapalooza. Their new album Sino is out today (Oct 9, 2007). Tickets are on sale for their next NYC show - November 20th @ Hammerstein Ballroom. It's a show that is part of "world music" venue S.O.B.'s 25th Anniversary celebration, that unfortunately (for some?) is the same day as one of Caetano Veloso's NYC shows, and that is part of a much larger Cafe Tacuba tour. All dates, and videos, below....

Continue reading "Cafe Tacuba - 2007 Tour Dates ++ S.O.B's is 25"