by Andrew Frisicano

John Wesley Harding (aka Wesley Stace) enjoying some cricket...

As you can see above, John Wesley Harding has been taking a vacation abroad (documented on both his Twitter and MySpace blog). It wasn't all fun though -- the trip included a set of overseas shows too. Actually, hopefully those are fun too.

Harding's next show will take place July 8th at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts. After that, Harding has a few full band gigs scheduled. John and friends come to the NYC area for a show at the Bell House on July 25th. Tickets are on sale. No word on which friends he'll bring with him, though we're willing to bet one of them will be Eugene Mirman who is also performing at the Brooklyn venue less than a week earlier.

JWH will be starting up his "Cabinet of Wonders" shows again too. That monthly residency at (Le) Poisson Rouge runs September 16th, October 7th and November 18th. No lineups have been announced, but past event fixtures have always included Eugene Mirman, and other authors and musicians.

Before those dates, Harding jumps on another friend's revue -- "Are You Worried About the Rising Cost of Funerals?" hosted by Errollyn Wallen at LPR on Tuesday, July 14th. Others on that bill include Margaret Leng Tan, Rita Porfiris, David Grand and Djonque.

Tickets for all of the John Wesley Harding LPR shows are on sale.

Harding's Cabinet of Wonders revue last visited NYC on April 15th, after a national March/April tour. If you're wondering, What the hell actually happens at these Cabinet of Wonders things? You can check out our coverage of the event's February 11th, March 11th and April 15th performances at LPR. Or look at the performer/set list chart from one of the most recent CoW events in Pittsburgh, with all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "John Wesley Harding - 2009 Tour Dates (more Cabinet of Wonders @ LPR, full band shows, Bell House & more) "

photos by Tim Griffin

DOWNLOAD: John Wesley Harding and Eugene Mirman's Cabinet of Wonders w/ special guests - Oh! Pandora (MP3)

At Le Poisson Rouge[on March 11th], the Cabinet of Wonders show unfolded with an appealing airiness and a confident sort of self-deprecation. Mr. Whitehead read an essay in which the narrator encouraged T.S. Eliot's character J. Alfred Prufrock to lighten up. While reading from a novel in which he fictionalized the life of Rudolf Nureyev, Mr. McCann plugged in Mr. Harding's name for one of his characters. Ms. Wallen's performance of her suite for children, text by Mr. Harding, was a delight, and Ms. Cash's reading from her memoir contained a touching passage about her late father, Johnny Cash. She sang a few songs with her characteristic perceptive grace.

A spoof by the new duo of Harding and Mirman of Simon & Garfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson" gave the evening its touch of vaudeville. The song concluded with the comedian unleashing wild feedback-like squeals via a handheld oscillator that let him play the rock star for a few seconds. Mr. Mirman glowed with glee, as did Mr. Harding, who stepped back to enjoy the inspired silliness. The audience roared in delight.-[Wall Street Journal]

John Wesley Harding's Cabinet of Wonders has been working through its three-show Le Poisson Rouge engagement plus tour. The first show took place on February 11th, and on March 11th, JWH and friends (Rosanne Cash, Colson Whitehead, Colum McCann, Errollyn Wallen, and tour-regular Eugene Mirman) returned to the venue (more pics below).

Tonight (3/20), the traveling revue hits SXSW, with a show at Maggie Mae's.

Then "Wes & Eugene's Cabinet of Wonders" tour heads across the US, before a final show at LPR on April 15th (feat. guests Graham Parker, Josh Ritter, Eugene Mirman, Daniel Wallace, Dan John Miller, Sam Lipsyte, Daniel Felsenfeld). Tickets are still on sale.

More pictures from the March 11th show, below...

Continue reading "John Wesley Harding, Eugene Mirman, Roseanne Cash & more @ Le Poisson Rouge, NYC - pics "