Doveman at LPR in 2011 (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Doveman will continue his Burgundy Stain Sessions at Le Poisson Rouge into 2012 with LPR shows happening on April 13, July 13, October 5, and December 7. No guests have been announced for these shows yet, but as we saw last year, we can count on many interesting musicians to be making appearances at these shows. Tickets for all four dates are on sale now ($20 each or $60 for a four-show pass called "(Le) Billet Rouge")

Meanwhile catch Doveman aka Thomas Bartlet on 2/6 as part of MoMA's Modern Mondays, "a film discussion series at The Roy and Niuta Titus Theater 2."...

An Evening with Tom Kalin and Doveman
February 6, 7:00 p.m.
For this evening, musician Thomas Bartlett (Doveman) (American, b. 1981) and filmmaker Tom Kalin (American, b. 1962) will discuss their collaboration, which began with a series of short films inspired by Doveman's 2009 album The Conformist and continues with an ongoing project that explores the intersection of recorded and live music, digital composition, and projected film. The pair draw inspiration from themes of broken romance, the truth of small gestures, and transcendentalism in addressing such contemporary issues as displacement and urban isolation. Kalin, a prominent figure in the New Queer Cinema movement, is well known as both a feature filmmaker (Swoon [1992] and Savage Grace [2007]) and as an experimental filmmaker (Third Known Nest, 1991-99). He was a founding member of the AIDS activist collective Gran Fury, known for its provocative public art projects. Doveman is a band founded by the 30-year-old Bartlett, who studied piano with Maria Curcio in London before moving to New York City to attend Columbia University. His ongoing live performances, known as The Burgundy Stain Sessions, occur monthly at Manhattan's Le Poisson Rouge. Organized by Barbara London, Associate Curator, Department of Media and Performance Art.

More info and other related MoMA events, like Dan Graham on 1/23, at MoMA's site.

One of Thomas's recently played shows was as part Irish folk-music group The Gloaming at GlobalFEST (at Webster Hall). You can listen to the set at NPR who write:

The Gloaming features indie-pop favorite Thomas Bartlett (a.k.a. Doveman), fiddlers Martin Hayes and Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh, guitarist Dennis Cahill and singer Iarla Ó Lionaird, whose vocals electrified the collection of pieces by fellow Irishman Donnacha Dennehy which became one of NPR Music's favorite albums of 2011. Bartlett's moody musings at the piano provided a dark undercurrent to Celtic reels and jigs.

In related news, Doveman's hard-to-find version of the Footloose soundtrack can now be streamed for free on Spotify.

All future Doveman dates (that we know about right now) are listed below...

Continue reading "Doveman extends LPR residency, speaking at MoMA & stuff"

words & photos by Anna Scialli

Jazz Hand Job & These Are Powers

Fans trekked through the rain and packed the cafeteria of the Whitney Museum of American Art on Friday (7/31) to catch Vivian Girls and These Are Powers play a (very) early set. It was the fourth of four (or fifth if you count the Feelies show) shows that were put on in conjunction with the Dan Graham retrospective at the museum.

By 7pm, the crowd was eager to hear These Are Powers, hailing from as close as Brooklyn and as far as Chicago. While the cafeteria of the Whitney clearly wasn't built with rock-show acoustics in mind, Anna Barie belted out song after song without concern for the unconventional venue. Pat Noecker, on bass and vocals, and Bill Salas on electroacoustic drums and vocals accompanied, pumping out catchy tunes encouraging the crowd of hipsters, youngsters, and other Whitney patrons to bob in place. Alongside the band was Providence dance troupe Jazz Hand Job, a team of sparkly interpretive dancers, with choreographed numbers for a few songs. Throughout the set, they weaved through the crowd dancing to the electronic beats.

As Vivian Girls took the "stage", the cafeteria was filled to capacity- crowds spilling out to the back patio or watching from between the shelves of art books. The three women dove into their set, with Cassie Ramone on guitar and lead vocals, Ali Koehler on drums, and Kickball Katy on bass. The crowd watched and listened closely as the trio mixed interesting melodies with well considered discordant reverb to make a sound all their own. While the Vivian Girls are fun and energetic live; it's no surprise that an art-rock band like them would play at a free Whitney show. Still, I couldn't help but wish I was hearing them in a venue with better acoustics. Luckily they'll be playing Death By Audio on August 25th in Brooklyn for everyone who missed them or wants to catch them again- at a more traditional venue.

More pictures from the show below...

Continue reading "Vivian Girls & These are Powers (with interpretative dancers) @ the Whitney Museum in NYC - pics "

photos by Leia Jospe

"I am standing behind a kid during the last song of Titus Andronicus' fascinating set at the Whitney Museum of American Art. The concert is part of the pop conceptual artist Dan Graham's retrospective, and the kid is on tip toes on the edge of the performance area (there is no stage) and he is doing a restrained pogo and leaning towards the band and it's as if he is straining every sinew in his body not to explode into a wild dance. But the kid can't dance because Whitney security have threatened to stop the concert if dancing continues which leaves lead singer Patrick Stickles in the unenviable position of trying to stop the audience from doing what he is trying to get the audience to do.

A little earlier opening band, fellow New Jersey natives, and longterm friends Real Estate performed a superb set. What connects the two bands is Real Estate and Titus both use repetitive chord progressions to build a wall of sound. What makes them different is where they take the sounds..." [rnlar]

Titus and Real Estate played the museum on Friday (7/10). Japanther and Ninjasonik played there for kids on Saturday, and The Feelies played there at the beginning of the month. This Friday's show is Abe Vigoda and Grooms as Dan Graham month continues. More pictures from Friday below...

Continue reading "Titus Andronicus & Real Estate @ the Whitney, NYC - pics "

The Feelies @ The Whitney (photo by Scott Rudd)

Reunited NJ band The Feelies played an acoustic set to help open the Whitney Museum's Dan Graham Retrospective last week (on Friday, June 26th). Last night (7/2), the same band kicked off three-night run at Maxwell's in Hoboken which goes until July 4th which is also the day the Whitney is having a special -- $4 admission ("$4 on the 4th"). It'll be open that day from 11am to 6pm... which actually means you have plenty of time to spend the day at the Whitney before heading to see the fireworks in Jersey before heading to Maxwell's to catch The Feelies (if you have a ticket, because all three shows are now sold out).

While at the Whitney, you can check out the museum's regular wares along with the Dan Graham exhibit. That show includes rock artifacts like Graham's '80s doc Rock My Religion, which incorporates footage of Patti Smith, Sonic Youth and Black Flag. The music series in conjunction with the Graham show continues on July 10th, with a concert in the museum by Titus Andronicus and Real Estate. Bands over the next three Fridays after that include Vivian Girls, Woods, Abe Vigoda and These Are Powers. Full schedule below.

The Brooklyn Museum is also free this 4th of July from 5pm-11pm, running its First Saturdays special on the holiday. The Met (always by donation) is open too, as is the MoMA, whose free night is on Fridays. The MoMA is currently showing "Looking at Music: Side 2," whose focus overlaps some with the Whitney's Graham exhibit (both are connected to Sonic Youth, New York in the late '70s, etc.)

Two more pictures from the Feelies museum show, and one of Jasper Johns' Three Flags (which is in the Whitney's permanent collection), and the Whit's full music schedule, below...

Continue reading "The Feelies (with 3 Maxwell's shows this week) played the Whitney Museum (which is $4 on the 4th of July)"

Vivian Girls @ Bowery Ballroom in December (more by Zach Stern)

As we pointed out back in April, and further confirmed in a list of Abe Vigoda tour dates, The Whitney is hosting some indie rock shows this July, in conjunction with their Dan Graham Retrospective. And the full schedule looks something like this:

Fri, June 26 - Acoustic Evening with The Feelies
Fri, July 10 - Titus Andronicus / Real Estate
Fri, July 17 - Abe Vigoda / Grooms (Muggabears)
Fri, July 24 - (band TBA) / YellowFever
Fri, July 31 - Vivian Girls / These Are Powers

The Feelies show is "Free with Museum admission (free for Whitney members)." and "Tickets for this [Feelies] concert are available day of show only, beginning at 1 pm at the Museum. Space is limited; tickets are first-come, first-served." The other four shows basically say the same thing, but just, "Free with museum admission. Seating is first-come, first-served. No reservations." More details below.

Other programs include "Dan Graham in Conversation with Glenn Branca" and a family performance of Rock and Roll Ice Cream by Japanther. Full schedule below...

Continue reading "indie rock shows @ The Whitney in July (Vivian Girls, Titus Andronicus, These are Powers, Yellow Fever & more) "

DOWNLOAD: Abe Vigoda - Don't Lie (MP3)

Abe Vigoda @ South Street Seaport 7/11/08 (more by Chris Tuite)

LA punks Abe Vigoda are going on tour across North America this July. That includes three NYC shows: Friday, July 17th the band plays an early set at the Whitney Museum, then a late set at the Cake Shop. The next night, Saturday, July 18th, the band is at the Monster Island Basement. All those NYC gigs are with tourmates Talbot Tagora, who, as we recently mentioned, are one of the Seattle bands that recently signed to Hardly Art.

The Whitney show is part of the museum's Dan Graham retrospective running from June 25th to October 11th. As we previously wrote, the museum is planning shows on July 10th, 17th, 24th and 31th, during its weekly pay-what-you-wish Friday 6-9pm slot. Those performances are to feature "young bands that have inherited the New York rock scene from bands that Dan Graham has written about and/or worked with, such as The Feelies, Television, and Sonic Youth."

The Feelies are one of the band's playing the museum -- they have an acoustic set scheduled for Friday, June 26th.

The newest Abe Vigoda release was the band's Reviver EP, which came out in February on Post Present Medium. "Don't Lie," from that record, is posted above.

All Abe Vigoda tour dates, with clips that include "Don't Lie" live with the Vivian Girls and more, below...

Continue reading "Abe Vigoda & Talbot Tagora - 2009 Tour Dates (Whitney Museum, Cake Shop & Monster Island)"

by Andrew Frisicano

Dan Graham (blue stripes), Thurston & Kim? @ the MOCA (ricardodiaz11)

Dan Graham has been a central figure in contemporary art since the 1960s. [Dan Graham: Beyond], his first American retrospective, traces the evolution of his art from his early conceptual projects and performances, to his films and videos, architectural projects and pavilions, and sculptures as well as his collaborations with musicians and rock bands such as Sonic Youth and Japanther.

Graham (b. 1942) has been a central participant in the development of contemporary art since the 1960s --- from the rise of minimalism, conceptual art, video art, and performance art, to explorations of architecture and the public sphere, to collaborations with musicians and the culture of rock and roll. [press release]

Dan Graham: Beyond will be on display at the Whitney Museum of Art from June 25th to October 11th.

Graham has a strong connection to the rock and avant music world. As the press release below documents, Graham has written about bands like the Kinks, the Fall (who recently signed to Domino Records), and the Sex Pistols. And his hour-long "video-essay" Rock My Religion (1982-84) uses "footage of Patti Smith, Sonic Youth, and Black Flag, mingled with historical images of a rapt Ann Lee, the founder of the Shaker religion to trace a continuum between the Shakers, the early-American religious sect that sought spiritual transcendence through collective dance and song, and rock music."

Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore performed as Mirror/Dash at Beyond's debut opening at L.A.'s Museum of Contemporary Art in February. The pair also joined Graham for a panel discussion as part of that event (video below).

During Beyond's run in New York, the Whitney will host a series of free Friday concerts. The shows, held in the museum's Lower Gallery, are scheduled for July 10th, 17th, 24th, and 31th at 7pm. No word on who specifically, but the museum writes, "These events feature young bands that have inherited the New York rock scene from bands that Dan Graham has written about and/or worked with, such as The Feelies, Television, and Sonic Youth. As always, admission to the Whitney on Friday evenings is pay-what-you-wish from 6 to 9pm."

Last year, the Whitney's free shows included Dan Deacon on February 8th, May and April Biennial-related-shows by Gang Gang Dance and Lucky Dragons, and four free Wordless Music showsin June (with Prefuse 73, Times New Viking and others).

Other plans for the Graham exhibit include:

A music event to kick off the series; the U.S. premiere of "Put Blood in the Music" (1989), an experimental documentary on the late-nineties New York downtown music scene, introduced by filmmaker Charles Atlas; a conversation between Dan Graham and Glenn Branca, followed by a screening of Graham's "Westkunst (Modern Period): Dan Graham Segment" (1980); and a roundtable discussion exploring key themes in the work, such as sound, perception, and performance.

Among Dan's music related works on view in the show will be the above-mentioned "Rock My Religion" (which features music by Glenn Branca and Sonic Youth), and "Minor Threat", a 38 minute video of the band performing at CBGB.

The Feelies will play an acoustic set at the Whitney on Friday, June 26th (presumably the 'music event to kick off the series').

We recently talked about The Feelies' continued reunion - including their big show last July 4th (when they played with Sonic Youth). Other upcoming dates for the Feelies include July 3rd & 4th at Maxwell's in Hoboken, NJ (tickets on sale) and September 11th at ATP NY, where the band will perform its debut Crazy Rhythms in full (tickets on sale).

The above-mentioned videos of Dan Graham talking with Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon, Mirror/Dash live, and an interview with Graham, all from his L.A. MoCA exhibit earlier this year, plus full Whitney press release, below...

Continue reading "Dan Graham exhibit @ The Whitney, The Feelies performing"