by Rachel Kowal

the rooftop (irinaskaya)

People packed into the chairs on the massive roof of the New Design High School in lower Manhattan in anticipation of the evening's theme - 'Hopelessly Devoted.' The weather was right, and the mood was ripe as Air's "Playground Love" rung out over the PA system and greeted the crowd.

Rooftop Films founder and artistic director Mark Elijah Rosenberg introduced the band of the evening with a big grin on his face, saying: "We are very pleased to present you with one of my favorite bands tonight. Give it up for Frances." (There was a reason for the wildly effusive introduction, as we would later learn.)

Frances may not be as hip as some of the other bands lined up to play for Rooftop Films this summer, but they also seemed more at home on stage than last week's season opener, Twin Sister. Frances played eight songs in total, including a number of new songs that lead singer and bassist Paul Hogan says they hope to record on a new album.

The roof of the NDHS is a hard space to play. It's wide open, spans three separate semi-walled off sections, and many people talk throughout the performance. But despite these potential setbacks, the pleasant indie pop of Frances, who played again Saturday night at Pianos with ARMS, was well-suited to Friday evening's romantic theme.

Interestingly, the event that got the biggest cheer from the audience wasn't the music... or the films. As Mark Elijah Rosenberg introduced the shorts for the evening, he called up his girlfriend, Stephanie Skaff (of Frances), and things got a little bit mushy. "I love you. I will always love you," said Rosenberg. Then, the inevitable: "Stephanie Skaff, will you marry me?" At this point, the shrieks from the audience were so loud that they overshadowed Skaff's response, so she leaned down into the mic, and said, "Of course I said yes!"

The films for the evening were a bit overshadowed by this dramatic proposal, but they were still fun to watch. In some ways, the romances on screen seemed less scripted than the real-life proposal. The six shorts covered everything from "the best/worst first date ever," to kissing cousins, lovesick octopi, and a group pilgrimage to Iowa in the name of gay marriage. Two directors were also present - Gillian Robespierre ("Obvious Child) and Cody Stokes ("Heartland Transport").

Spike Jonze's eagerly anticipated Absolut-sponsored short "I'm Here" is a delightful - if not a bit sad - story of a devoted (robotic) boyfriend who is willing to sacrifice it all for his clumsy robotic girlfriend. Besides looking fantastic, it also has a pretty killer soundtrack. Songs by Of Montreal, Animal Collective, Girls, and Aska (of Moonrats) all factor into the score. You can stream Jonze's short in its entirety (35 mins) at its website. The trailer is below.

Another standout short was "Obvious Child," which features new SNL cast member, Jenny Slate. "Obvious Child" tells the awkward and surprisingly comical story of a bad break-up, a drunken hook-up, and the unplanned pregnancy that ensues. Watch that in its entirety below.

The evening concluded with free drinks at Fontana's, and I can't help but wonder if anyone took Rosenberg's advice and made a move.

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Rooftop Films happened again on Saturday at the same venue, and that's where it will be again this Friday (5/28) and Saturday (5/29). Thursday you can catch them in Brooklyn w/ a performance by Natureboy.

Continue reading "Rooftop Films founder proposed to Frances member @ New Design High School Friday, Spike Jonze & Jenny Slate screened"

photos by Chris La Putt

Twin Sister

Rooftop Films officially kicked off their 2010 season of showing films on roofs accompanied by opening bands. Twin Sister helped launch the series on Friday night at the Design High School on the Lower East Side (350 Grand Street). Nine short films were screened including "Star Wars: Retold" which you can watch in its 4-minute entirety below.

Saturday night's show, also at Design High School, was a sneak peek at Kevin Asch's Holy Rollers which is about Hasidic Jews smuggling ecstasy into New York City. Mahogany was originally supposed to play that one, but they canceled and were replaced by Sephardic indie rockers DeLeon.

Rooftop Films continue this weekend (5/21-5/22) at Design High School again. Friday will have music by Frances. Saturday has Brooklyn hip hop group Cloud.

Catch Twin Sister this summer at the BV Northside Festival show at MHOW. Pictures from Friday and Saturday (5/15-5/16) continue below...

Continue reading "Twin Sister & DeLeon played Rooftop Films (pics) "

by Andrew Frisicano

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.)

Frances' Roosevelt 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...

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

It's Sunday...

We are the Seahorses invade NYC this week

"The Forms announce a special performance at the Benefit Concert for NYC After-School Programs, Sunday January 18th at the Bell House, with all proceeds of the show going towards helping after-school programs which provide local, underprivileged kids with not only the opportunity for extra academic help, but access to great sports and arts programs as well. This benefit marks the third installment of the highly acclaimed monthly charity series Good For You's Good For Me and joining the group on stage for this show will be fellow NYC bands Frances, Ford & Fitzroy, and Arms."

"On Sunday, January 18th, S.O.B.'s celebrates Martin Luther King Day with Gil Scott-Heron. The revered musician and poet, most famous for the 1970's era-defining poem, "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised", returns to the legendary S.O.B.'s for his first show in 2009. A long time civil rights activist, Gil Scott-Heron is the author of a book on the history of MLK Day and returns to S.O.B.'s for two intimate shows commemorating the holiday."

And as pointed out before, We are the Seahorses is the band of the infamous Darren Mabee. They're playing NYC shows on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday...

Continue reading "Darren Mabee, a benefit @ the Bell House & Gil Scott-Heron"