today in NYC
* Mandingo Ambassadors @ Barbes
* Ingrid Laubrock's Anti-House @ Barbes
* Mint Condition @ B.B. King Blues Club
* Yo La Tengo Hanukkah show @ Maxwell's
* Stephen Merchant: Hello Ladies @ Town Hall
* Rachael Yamagata, Mike Viola @ City Winery
* Asher Roth, Jonathan Batiste @ Brooklyn Bowl
* The Michael Graves Anderson Cinema @ The Stone
* DING DONG MEOW: The Andrea Rosen Show @ UCB West
* Freshkills, Woman @ Home Sweet Home (Wierd JT benefit)
* Matisyahu, Break Science @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Bougarelli, Rockit from a Drone, Man Forever @ Zebulon
* Fiasco, Yellow Dogs, Arvid Noe, Large Lady @ Shea Stadium
* Hanukkah Rock w/ The Shondes, Yiddish Princess, Schmekel @ Southpaw
* Doris Cellar (of Freelance Whales), St. Claire, Mady Lee @ Cake Shop
* Seth MacFarlane with Big Band conducted by Joel McNeely @ Highline Ballroom
* Hopewell, Wild Yaks, This Frontier Needs Heroes, Broke and Rollin' @ Glasslands (JT benefit)

It's the second night of Hanukkah with a 2nd Yo La Tengo show and another Matisyahu show and a Hanukkah party at Southpaw and a Sephardic Music Festival show in a Synagogue.

Check out what's happening on New Year's Eve.

Joe Mande explained Hanukkah on Conan last night. Check out the video below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Wednesday?"

Yo La Tengo Hanukkah 2011 Night 1 (photo by Jack2point0)

Yo La Tengo played their first of eight Hanukkah shows at Maxwell's last night (12/20). We have a full set of pictures coming, but in the meantime, check out last night's setlist complete with openers/guests listed, via Frank & Earthy, below...

Continue reading "Yo La Tengo Hanukkah 2011 night 1 was The Sea & Cake, Mac McCaughan, Jon Benjamin & Jon Glaser (setlist)"

Yo La Tengo @ ATP NY 2008 (more by Zach Dilgard)

today in NYC
* SWEETsons Greetings
* BETTY @ Joe's Pub
* Chris Cochrane @ Barbes
* Young Jeezy @ Gramercy
* Anand Wilder @ The Stone
* Slavic Soul Party @ Barbes
* Marianne Faithfull @ City Winery
* John Waters Christmas @ BB King's
* Coconuts Comedy Show @ Union Hall
* Slaughterhouse @ Highline Ballroom
* Yo La Tengo Hanukkah show @ Maxwell's
* Drunken Sufis, Luke Reynolds @ Cake Shop
* Stephen Merchant : Hello Ladies Tour @ Town Hall
* Matisyahu, Dub Trio @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Nuriya, Pharaoh's Daughter, Haale @ Le Poisson Rouge
* Digable Planets, F. Stokes, U.G.O Crew @ Brooklyn Bowl
* George Langford & Tom Van Buskirk of Javelin @ The Stone
* Mala Strana, Night Manager, Ism, Tezeo @ Big Snow Buffalo Lodge
* Trippple Nippples, Hard Nips, New London Fire, Ghost Beach @ Pianos
* The Babies, Dive, Widowspeak, Ducktails (DJ set), Todd P (DJ set) @ 285 Kent Ave
* SMIF-N-Wessun, Uncle Murda, Green Lantern, Vita and Murder League, Bazaar Royale @ SOB's
* Dome Theater, Bow Ribbons, Hubble, Diamond Terrifier, Swarms (Nina Mehta of Rings) @ Zebulon
* Religious To Damn, Sean Ragon (Cult of Youth), Anasazis, Bootblacks, Jailbait @ Lit Lounge (JT benefit)

Happy Hanukkah! Yo La Tengo are Matisyahu celebrating tonight, and it's the beginning of the annual Sephardic Music Festival.com/.

Panda Bear released a trippy new video today. Watch it below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Tuesday (Hanukkah night 1)"

Yo La Tengo @ Maxwell's, Hanukkah 2007 (more)

Yo La Tengo, despite a scary health scare for Ira, will begin their eight nights of Hanukkah shows tonight at Maxwell's. Part of the fun is of course figuring/finding out who opens each show, and who the special guests and comedians are/will be. Any ideas?

So far it looks like the recently reunited Glands are visiting from Georgia to open the Christmas Eve show! You might remember that Yo La Tengo opened for them at Mercury Lounge in November.

Any other guesses? Who's definitely in from out of town? Marianne Faithfull? Dum Dum Girls? Who lives here or close to here that seems like maybe they could stop by? Titus Andronicus? Ted Leo? Kurt Vile? Thurston Moore? These are all just guesses... stay tuned for more as the week goes on.

Ira @ Maxwell's for Hanukkah 2008 (more by Natasha Ryan)

Ira posted the following to Yo La Tengo's website on Saturday:

Hi everybody, especially those of you with tickets to next week's shows,

We strive to make our Hanukkah shows unpredictable, and in one unfortunate regard we've outdone ourselves this year. I'm going to be a little vague here, but I had a pretty serious health scare earlier this month. I'm well on the way to recovery, but I've not yet been deemed ready to Rock. The good news is . . . well, the good news is I'm on the way to recovery . . . but vis-à-vis next week, the good news is that I've been deemed ready to sit in a chair and play the concerts that mean more to me, Georgia and James than most anything else we do together. Our sets will undoubtedly be tweaked accordingly. In other words, if you were hoping to be in attendance for our annual airing of "Mushroom Cloud of Hiss," I'm afraid that is now zooming up the Unlikely chart with a bullet. But we're confident that it's going to be a great eight days. We're looking forward to seeing you all, and to not answering any questions about what happened to me!

As long as I've got your attention, I'll let you know about one other change this year. We've filled the walls of Maxwell's front room with a bunch of posters and other ephemera from our various closets. Some of it will be for sale (all proceeds to charity) and all of it will hopefully be entertaining.

Hanukkahly yours, Ira

Yesteday morning Matisyahu posted the above picture of himself on Twitter. A few hours later he wrote "For all of those who are being awesome,you are awesome.For all those who are confused:today I went to the Mikva and Shul just like yesterday." And he issued this statement:

This morning I posted a photo of myself on Twitter.

No more Chassidic reggae superstar.

Sorry folks, all you get is me...no alias. When I started becoming religious 10 years ago it was a very natural and organic process. It was my choice. My journey to discover my roots and explore Jewish spirituality--not through books but through real life. At a certain point I felt the need to submit to a higher level of religiosity...to move away from my intuition and to accept an ultimate truth. I felt that in order to become a good person I needed rules--lots of them--or else I would somehow fall apart. I am reclaiming myself. Trusting my goodness and my divine mission.

Get ready for an amazing year filled with music of rebirth. And for those concerned with my naked face, don't worry...you haven't seen the last of my facial hair.

- Matisyahu

Matisyahu begins his annual winter tour that includes "Festival of Light" shows during Hanukkah, this week in Denver. He plays Music Hall of Williamsburg Dec 19, 20 & 21, and then Webster Hall on the 22nd, before continuing to Philly. Openers change each night and include Aunt Martha and Dub Trio. Tickets at Ticketmaster. Dates are listed below...

Continue reading "Matisyahu shaved off his beard"

DUMP playing Hot Tub @ Littlefield this past Monday (by DoneWaiting)

Tickets go on sale at noon for the eight Yo La Tengo Hanukkah shows:

*12/20 Night One Buy Tickets Here!
*12/21 Night Two Buy Tickets Here!
*12/22 Night Three Buy Tickets Here!
*12/23 Night Four Buy Tickets Here!
*12/24 Night Five Buy Tickets Here!
*12/25 Night Six Buy Tickets Here!
*12/26 Night Seven Buy Tickets Here!
*12/27 Night Eight Buy Tickets Here!

Tickets for the four Phish shows at MSG go on sale Saturday at noon.

Mavis Staples, The Head and the Heart & Dawes have a show coming up at Beacon Theater. Tickets on sale at noon.

Speaking of holiday shows at the Beacon, Cyndi Lauper and friends are playing one too. On sale now.

By noon tickets will also be on sale for Yelle, Nada Surf, Devo and BOBBY.

One of those Devo shows is at the Paramount in Long Island where Cheap Trick also have a show coming up at. It went on sale today.

Ill Fits recently played some shows at CMJ. They play Mercury Lounge on December 7th with Ladybug Transistor and The Echo-Friendly. Tickets on sale at noon.

Yo La Tengo @ Maxwell's 2010 (more by Andrew St. Clair)

GREAT NEWS

*12/20-*12/27 The 8 Nights of Hanukkah with Yo La Tengo (on-sale Friday 10/28 at noon)
*12/20 Night One Buy Tickets Here!
*12/21 Night Two Buy Tickets Here!
*12/22 Night Three Buy Tickets Here!
*12/23 Night Four Buy Tickets Here!
*12/24 Night Five Buy Tickets Here!
*12/25 Night Six Buy Tickets Here!
*12/26 Night Seven Buy Tickets Here!
*12/27 Night Eight Buy Tickets Here!

If there's a Hanukkah equivalent of the Grinch, they're probably relieved that last night, Wednesday, December 8th, was the final night of Hanukkah and the final night of Yo La Tengo Hanukkah shows. Those in attendance last night were treated to an opening set by a local band called The National and comedian Marc Maron. Frequent YLT collaborators Bruce Bennett (of the A-Bones) and Gil Divine were special guests during the encore, and Hamish Kilgour of the Clean sat in most of the night on guitar.

Here's the final tally:

12/1 - M. Ward, Todd Barry, Nash Kato
12/2 - The Parting Gifts, Jim Gaffigan, members of The Feelies
12/3 - Jeff Tweedy, Eugene Mirman & Kid Congo Powers
12/4 - Syl Johnson, Jon Glaser, Peter Wolf & Ira's mom
12/5 - Mission of Burma & Wyatt Cenac
12/6 - Mofungo, Amy Rigby, Wreckless Eric, Mikael Jorgensen, Tara Key, Gil Divine & Eugene Mirman
12/7 - Bonnie Prince Billy, Kurt Braunohler & Kristen Schaal & Nels Cline
12/8 - The National, Marc Maron, Hamish Kilgour, Bruce Bennett, Gil Divine

Continue reading "The National & Marc Maron opened for Yo La Tengo (and Hanukkah is over)"

As hinted, posted and speculated, Bonnie Prince Billy (who plays Town Hall tonight), Kristen Schaal, Kurt Braunohler and Nels Cline (who played LPR one night earlier) all joined Yo La Tengo at Maxwell's on the 7th night of Hanukkah. Full setlist below...

Continue reading "Bonnie Prince Billy & Nels Cline played w/ Yo La Tengo"

words and photos by Chris Gersbeck

Last night was night six, and Yo La Tengo played their fifth night of Hanukkah shows on Sunday (12/5), with their eight night stay at Maxwell's quickly coming to an end. I can only imagine the amount of exhaustion that comes from planning and rehearsing these shows, though you'd never know it thanks to consistently great performances from Ira, James and Georgia.

The legendary Mission of Burma, who just may be the greatest long-running live act of all time, were tapped to open the night. Playing almost entirely new material, along with a slew of covers including the Buzzcocks' "I Don't Mind" and the Wipers' "Youth of America", Burma continue to prove that they're one of the few, if not only bands to reunite and still produce material as innovative as in their heyday. And maybe I just haven't seen them live in a while, but Roger Miller's new hairdo is fantastic. I'm looking forward to seeing them again in January.

Daily Show correspondent Wyatt Cenac was the comedian guest of the night and his act was well received by the crowd. Cenac's stories were at times a bit convoluted, but the payoffs were definitely worth it. Apparently he and fellow correspondent John Oliver have a show coming in 2011 to follow the Colbert Report, which makes perfect sense.

It's kind of amusing that Yo La Tengo opened with the somber and mesmeric "Green Arrow", considering how intense their set would later become. Tearing through "The Room Got Heavy", Richard Hell's "I'm Your Man", and ending with "Mushroom Cloud of Hiss", Yo La's songs often collapsed into long, droning swells of feedback. Adding to the noise collage was Burma's tape-looper (and Shellac bassist) Bob Weston, who was sitting in with the band for the night, albeit from the soundboard. Manipulating YLT's vocals, guitars and percussion throughout, Weston added that unique quality that has become synonymous with Mission of Burma's sound.

All of this lent itself well to the encore, first with Roger Miller returning on organ to perform Jonathan Richman's "Astral Plane" with WFMU auction winner Jason Kaufman on vocals (who did a great job), then with MoB drummer Pete Prescott singing one of his and Weston's Volcano Suns songs (Weston came out to play bass on this one). Before long, Clint Conley also returned to the stage on guitar to perform as the supergroup I personally have dubbed "Yo La Burma". To say it was incredible to watch is an understatement. It's not too often you get to see things like this happen in such an intimate venue, so if you get the chance to check out any of the remaining shows, definitely do so.

More pictures from the fifth of eight crazy nights at Maxwell's are below.

Continue reading "Yo La Tengo, Mission of Burma & Wyatt Cenac @ Maxwell's (pics from the fifth night of Chanukah)"

"We regarded music as a form of socializing, and took a resolutely unprofessional approach. Only a few of us in the scene ever imagined becoming professional musicians. We were the stepchildren of the first generation of no wave bands (a term Chris Nelson coined in the New York Rocker, where I was a part-time photographer) like Mars, Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, D.N.A. and the Contortions. We took pride in our facile and self-taught instrumental licks, and played music that was often hookless and even atonal. Our influences were broad, including jazz, African music, commercial jingles, and the English punk movement, especially the artier aspects. We avidly followed bands like the Fall (in its earliest incarnations), Wire, and X-Ray Spex, all of whom we were able to see at CBGB.

It was an era when the East Village was not the tourist trap it has become. There were few restaurants open in the evening, and nearly every hipster you saw on the street was carrying an instrument. Everyone was either in a band, or was a DJ or rock critic. Music was featured at loft parties, festivals, and impromtu neighborhood clubs. One regular Mofungo gig was on the roof of my building at 630 East 14th Street, where we threw a party every Fourth of July. We also formed an alliance with Chain Gang, a punk outfit from the Bronx, whose members made a living driving cabs and self-released a series of amazing singles."
[The inside story of Mofungo by Robert Sietsama]

Continue reading "it was Mofungo (Yo La Tengo Hanukkah night 6 setlist) "

As rumored, Mission of Burma stopped by Maxwell's this Hanukkah to be one of Yo La Tengo's eight openers. A full review and set of pictures from last night's show is coming soon, but meanwhile let's figure out what we've got so far:

12/1 - M. Ward, Todd Barry, Nash Kato
12/2 - The Parting Gifts, Jim Gaffigan, members of The Feelies
12/3 - Jeff Tweedy, Eugene Mirman & Kid Congo Powers
12/4 - Syl Johnson, Jon Glaser, Peter Wolf & Ira's mom
12/5 - Mission of Burma & Wyatt Cenac
12/6 - ?
12/7 - ?? & Kurt Braunohler & Kristen Schaal & ??
12/8 - ?

Well, "Anonymous | December 2, 2010 9:31 AM" says that Amy Rigby and Wreckless Eric, who played Bowery Electric on November 12th, announced that they'd be at Monday's show "during their show near d.c." That comment was made four days ago. Since then Wreckless Eric made a surprise last minute appearance at Home Sweet Home Friday night. BUT, "Anonymous | December 6, 2010 11:10 AM" says "Tonight's opener is Mofongo, despite the apparent info that Wreckless Eric and Amy Rigby would open. Perhaps Eric and Amy are the encore guests."

note that the proper spelling is: Mofungo

It should also be noted that Bonnie Prince Billy plays Town Hall Wedneday
(tickets are still on sale).

Last night's setlist is below...

Continue reading "Who has opened for Yo La Tengo so far? (Mission of Burma) Who still will? (Mofungo? Wreckless Eric?)"

photos by Andrew St. Clair

Peter Wolf & Ira

As someone promised, Syl Johnson was the opener for Yo La Tengo at Maxwell's on Saturday night (12/4). Syl was also in town to play Southpaw on Friday which was the night Jeff Tweedy opened for Yo La Tengo at Maxwell's. Saturday night's comedian was 'Rabbi Attitude' aka Jon Glaser. The special guests were Peter Wolf and Ira's mom who made an appearance in 2008 as well. The mixtape was by Numero Group. Full setlist and more pictures from the fourth night of Hanukkah, below...

Continue reading "Yo La Tengo, Syl Johnson, Jon Glaser, Peter Wolf & Ira's Mom @ Maxwell's (Hanukkah night 4 pics & setlist)"

words and photos by Chris Gersbeck

Yo La Tengo played their third of eight Hanukkah shows at Maxwell's on Friday night (12/3), and this was probably the most anticipated due to strong rumors of Jeff Tweedy opening which turned out to be true.

Each Yo La Tengo Hanukkah show has an associated charity, and this night's was the Elsyian Charter School of Hoboken, so the show started with twenty or so children taking the stage to perform some Yo La classics. I almost felt bad laughing (as did everyone else) when they began singing "Stockholm Syndrome", but only because it was just so adorable. After performing "Sugarcube" and "Mr. Tough", the children parted the crowd to make their exit (they really did sound great by the way), and shortly after we were treated to an intimate and absolutely beautiful set from Jeff Tweedy.

Playing Wilco classics like "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart", and rotating through Uncle Tupelo songs and covers, Tweedy's voice sounded as great as ever. The crowd was clearly filled with his fans as well; many of them were singing along throughout. After closing with a stellar and, well I'll just say it, mind-blowing rendition of "A Shot in the Arm", Tweedy thanked the crowd and promised we would see him later. And that would definitely happen...

Eugene Mirman, who has always been one of my favorite standup comics, was the comedian guest of the night. The highlight of his set included revealing his fascination with the Tea Party, his subsequent registering on a Tea Party social networking site, and his printouts of legitimate Tea Party members profile pictures from that site. My favorite being simply a photo of a machine gun laying on a carpeted floor, the owner's toes only barely visible on the bottom of the photo. Wow. Eugene's reading of his favorite tweets, accompanied with a theremin, was also a great and hilarious way to end his set.

Eugene didn't join Yo La Tengo on the stage during the show like Tweedy would, but I'm not sure many people were expecting that anyway. Tweedy in fact performed nearly the entire initial set with Yo La, pleasing the crowd with a version of Wilco's "Jesus, Etc.", Bob Dylan's "One Of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later)" and quite a few of my favorite songs from Yo La Tengo's prolific catalogue such as "Can't Forget", "The Race Is On Again", and "I Should Have Known Better". For such a small room, they really get quite a big sound.

Yo La Tengo's encore was mostly a tribute to the late Alex Chilton, who has joined them on Hanukkah in the past. After Ira Kaplan stated that some of Chilton's most notable work was with legendary punk band the Cramps, he invited Cramps' guitarist Kid Congo Powers for a couple covers of his band. Ending the night on a particularly loud note, though I probably should stop standing right next to those gigantic speakers, Yo La Tengo said "we'll see you tomorrow!" and left the stage through the crowd.

Jeff Tweedy headlined Bowery Ballroom one night later, and Yo La Tengo continue playing Hanukkah shows at Maxwell's through 12/8 (the final night of Hanukkah). More pictures and some videos from the third night, below...

Continue reading "Yo La Tengo, Jeff Tweedy, Eugene Mirman & Kid Congo Powers @ Maxwell's (Hanukkah night 3 pics & video)"

Two down. Six to go. As promised, The Parting Gifts opened Thursday night's Yo La Tengo show at Maxwell's. And as theorized, Jim Gaffigan was the comedian. Jim kicks off his run of SEVEN shows at Best Buy Theater tonight (12/3). You can catch the Parting Gifts tonight at Union Hall.

Yo La Tengo were also joined by special guests Glenn Mercer and Bill Million of the Feelies, and The Great Gaylord on vocals for a song. Night Two's mixtape was made by Damian from Fucked Up.

Hanukkah continues at Maxwell's for the next six nights. Night One and Two's setlists are below...

Continue reading "The Parting Gifts, Jim Gaffigan & members of the Feelies played w/ Yo La Tengo on Haunkkah night 2 (setlists)"

Syl Johnson @ MHOW in 2009 (more by Ryan Muir)

Anonymous 1:57 AM left a potentially true tip that "SJ" are opening for Yo La Tengo at Maxwell's on Saturday. 2:30 quickly followed with a guess that SJ could in fact be Syl Johnson... who happens to be playing Southpaw Friday night (12/3).

Last time Syl Johnson was in town, he was backed by JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound who won't be backing him again this time because they're playing DC Friday night, BUT they will be in NYC one night later to play Public Assembly (with The Above / Fred Thomas / Gospel Queens / Poor But Sexy).

Video of JC Brooks covering Wilco, below...

Continue reading "Syl Johnson & JC Brooks are in town this week too (dates)"

the 12/1 sign & mixtape

Thurston Moore made the mix tape. Nash Kato of Urge Overkill was a special guest, as was an Elvis impersonator named Gene Dinapoli. Anyone have the setlist?

One down, seven more nights of Chanukah at Maxwell's to go (note: Ted Leo actually also has December 5th off - one night before Terminal 5 - which I didn't notice when I first wrote the last post which is now updated).

DOWNLOAD: It's The Most Wonderful Time of The Year (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Phofo - Light That Menorah (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: DJ BC vs. Adam Sandler - Chaukah Song (Goy Mix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Doc Mo Shé - Hanukkah Homeboy (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Chutzpah - Chanukkah's Da Bomb (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Smooth-E - Hanukkah Hey Ya! (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Brofloskis ft Cartman - Dreidel Dreidel Dreidel (MP3)

Hanukkah is here and that means lots of Chanukah themed NYC events. Most notably, 8 nights of Yo La Tengo and guests, but most spiritually, the Sephardic Music Festival which kicks off tonight (12/1), the first night of Hanukkah, and runs through the end.

Tonight's Sephardic show features music by Diwon, DeScribe, Y-Love and more in addition to an art gallery and fashion show at IndustryCityNYC. On December 2, Pharaoh's Daughter and Soulfarm play 92Y Tribeca. Soulfarm also plays CVLT Studios on December 4 with Diwon (and a non Hanukkah holiday show at Highline Ballroom on 12/23 with Moshav and Kosha Dillz). On December 6, the Sephardic Scholar Series is presenting Voices from Across the Strait with Vanessa Paloma & d'Safi Takht Ensemble at the Center for Jewish History. Knitting Factory is hosting Culture Mash on December 8 with Saadi, Dr. Israel, Diwon and more. More information at their website where you can also buy their new compilation CD.

In addition to the Sephardic Music Festival's Culture Mash, Knitting Factory is also hosting Major League Dreidel with Young New Yorkers' Chorus, Category Sixx - World's Greatest Air Band & Hanukkah Gone Metal With Gods Of Fire on December 9.

Major League Dreidel is also taking place at Full Circle Bar on December 2.

Tonight (12/1) at Joe's Pub is Shells Hoffman's Hanukkah Holiday Mixer for "people of all ages, income brackets and religious/sexual orientation to ring in the Festival of Lights."

Highline Ballroom is hosting the previously mentioned 4th annual Menorah Horah on Saturday (12/4). The burlesque-filled lineup for the night includes The Schlep Sisters, Minnie Tonka, Darlinda Just Darlinda, Jonny Porkpie, Sapphire Jones, Dottie Lux, Angelique A'lamode, Etta-May Freeway, Lady Rizo, DJ Mikey Palms and host Seth Herzog

Sunday (12/5) is a big day for Hanukkah at City Winery. The day starts with City Winery's weekly Sunday Brunch. This week's musical guest is Sasson. At 4 PM, the 2nd Annual International Latke Festival begins, and at 8:30 the band Betty performs a holiday show.

Frank London's *All*Star*Jew*Revue* and The Klezmer Brass AllStars are playing the Hanukkah Celebration at Drom on Saturday (12/4). Frank London is also a member of The Klezmatics, who are performing at The Jewish Museum on Tuesday (12/7).

Kids band The Macaroons play the same museum on 12/5.

Hanukkah's already begun for those who made it to Brooklyn Bowl last night for the JDub benefit, or the night before for Matisyahu. Matisyahu comes back to New York this Saturday and Sunday at Music Hall of Williamsburg where he also played last night.

What else?

Matisyahu's new video for Hanukkah song "Miracle", below...

Continue reading "Hannukah 2010 in NYC (Sephardic Music Festival, Matisyahu, YLT, dreidel tournaments, klezmer, burlesque & more)"

today in NYC
* Raz Mesinai @ The Stone
* Honey Ear Trio @ Barbes
* Sehphardic Music Festival
* Cory Chisel @ City Winery
* Lykke Li @ Le Poisson Rouge
* Mike Birbiglia @ Borders
* Marina Rosenfeld @ The Stone
* Mandingo Ambassadors @ Barbes
* Yo La Tengo & ??? @ Maxwell's
* Josh Groban @ the Apple Store
* Broken Bells, Karen Elson @ Irving Plaza
* Greil Marcus discusses Dylan @ The Strand
* The Radio Dept., Braids @ Bowery Ballroom
* The Jay Vons, The Del-Reys @ The Rock Shop
* Warpaint, Rewards @ The Studio at Webster Hall
* Ozzy Osbourne, Halford @ Madison Square Garden
* World Record Appreciation Society @ Joe's Pub
* Donavon Frankenreiter, Ximena Sarinana @ Webster Hall
* Darmstadt Essential Rep: Luciano Berio's Sequenzas I - X @ Issue Project Room
* Food Stamps, Night Manager, Beach Arabs, Red Dwarf, McDonalds @ Bruar Falls
* Tennis, Family Portrait, Miracles of Modern Science, La Big Vic @ Mercury Lounge
* Big Muff, Hyena, Kolostomy Fag, Sleeping On Wheel, Knowltown @ The Charleston
* Fergus & Geronimo, Little Gold, The Young Friends, We Are Country Mice @ Glasslands

The Fiery Furnaces are also performing at the Greil Marcus book event tonight.

Happy Hanukkah!

Today is also World Aids Day.

Take a look at This Week In Indie for more on some of these shows.

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Wednesday? (Hanukkah)"

Yo La Tengo @ Maxwell's (Hanukkan 2008) (more by Natasha Ryan)

Thanksgiving is not even a week past, but Hanukkah is already here and that means eight Yo La Tengo shows at Maxwell's in Hoboken. One for each night, they shed a sweet fucking setlist and opener and comedians and special guests and charities and mixtapes and who knows what. You never really know what you're going to get until it happens, but we can try and figure it out. Who will open each show?

Well, we already know The Parting Gifts are scheduled to appear on night two.

12/1 -
12/2 - The Parting Gifts & ?
12/3 - ?
12/4 - ?
12/5 - ?
12/6 - ?
12/7 - ?
12/8 - ?

The Greenhornes played Bowery Ballroom last night (11/30) and have nowhere to be until December 5th. Ted Leo kicks of a tour on 12/2, so if he's a special guest, it has to be tonight (12/1) or 12/5 (his night off). He's back in town on 12/6 to play Terminal 5 with the New Pornographers, but there's no way he could do T5 and Maxwell's in one night (and he's back on tour right after). The New Pornographers (AC Newman and Neko Case included) on the other hand have almost every single other night of Hanukkah free (and AC Newman's show with John Wesley Harding isn't until December 17th) (John Wesley Harding is free all days except 12/5).

Kurt Vile plays Knitting Factory on December 3rd and has all other days of Hanukkah off. Jeff Tweedy, John Stirratt, and Pat Sansone are playing Bowery Ballroom on 12/4 and Tarrytown on 12/6, but are free on 12/3 and 12/5. Nels Cline is in NYC on 12/6, and is free 12/7 and 12/8 (but it doesn't look like he'll be around the same time as the other members of Wilco unfortunately).

The Feelies have no conflicts or upcoming dates at all. Mission of Burma play Maxwell's and the Bell House in January, but you never know, maybe they'll come down for this too. Stornoway seems like a longshot, but they are in town on December 2nd and free 12/1, 12/6 and 12/7. Warpaint play Manhattan on 12/1, Brooklyn on 12/2, Philly on 12/3 and DC on 12/4, and then are free after that.

Titus Andronicus, who by the way are opening for Passion Pit at Wellmont Theater on 12/30, have to be in Florida to play a show with Superchunk on 12/4, but are otherwise free. Superchunk have from the time they finish that Florida show until 12/9 to get to Toronto to open for Broken Social Scene. Superchunk are next scheduled to be in NYC in March to open for Bright Eyes who recently popped up as a guest at a NYC show. Screaming Females, who opened for Yo La at Brooklyn Bowl recently, are recently home from Europe and totally free.

Jim Gaffigan is not the most likely comedian to show, but it would be a good warmup for his seven shows at Best Buy Theater. More likely are some mix of Eugene Mirman, Todd Barry, David Cross, Jon Benjamin, John Oliver, John Mulaney, Kristen Schaal, Hannibal Buress, Michael Showalter, Leo Allen, Mike Birbiglia, etc...

UPDATE: Night One featured an opening set by M. Ward and comedian Todd Barry along with Nash Kato of Urge Overkill as a special guest.

UPDATE2: Syl Johnson & JC Brooks are in town this week too

UPDATE3: Richard Buckner is around this week too

UPDATE4: Floored by Four aka Mike Watt, Nels Cline, Dougie Bowne & Yuka Honda, not to mention Cibo Matto, are playing NYC this week too.

All the Maxwell's shows are long sold out, but Craigslist is hopping. Leave tips and more ideas in the comments. Tour dates for most of the artists mentioned in this post, below...

Continue reading "Yo La Tengo kicking off '10 Hanukkah shows - Who's opening?"

Greg Cartwright aka Greg Oblivian has teamed up with Coco Hames of The Ettes to form the Parting Gifts. They, naturally, recently played Gonerfest...

"Their set started with a catchy track, "Keep on Walkin'," from their upcoming album. They sounded great, with Chuck Berry riffs and boogie-woogie piano and awesome, pounding drums provided by Poni of The Ettes. Their music isn't straightforward punk, but soulful, moody garage rock that seems to take inspiration from many decades of intense, heartfelt rock 'n' roll." [Nashville Scene]

Maybe you caught the Ettes Tuesday night at Bowery Ballroom. They opened for the Greenhornes. Catch the Parting Gifts Thursday (12/2) @ Maxwell's (if you have a ticket since it's the 2nd of eight sold out Yo La Tengo Hanukkah shows), Friday (12/3) @ Union Hall with The Morgues (tickets), and Saturday (12/4) @ Sonar in Baltimore (thx anon).

Seven more YLT openers to figure out. All Ettes and Parting Gifts dates below...

Continue reading "The Parting Gifts are Greg Cartwright & Coco Hames (touring, playing NYC, opening for Yo La Tengo) ++ album streaming"

Festival of Strikes: A Benefit for JDub is taking place at Brooklyn Bowl on November 30th (Haukkah eve) featuring JDub artists The Sway Machinery, DeLeon, and other special guests to be added. Eugene Mirman will host. Tickets go on sale Friday at noon.

Highline Ballroom is hosting the 4th Annual Menorah Horah on December 4th. The burlesque-filled lineup for the night includes The Schlep Sisters, Minnie Tonka, Darlinda Just Darlinda, Jonny Porkpie, Sapphire Jones, Dottie Lux, Angelique A'lamode, Etta-May Freeway, Lady Rizo, DJ Mikey Palms and host Seth Herzog

And speaking of Hanukkah (December 1-9, 2010), much like Yo La Tengo, Matisyahu is returning to New York City with Hanukah shows this year, but in a slightly less ambitious way . He'll be here for the two nights preceding Hanukkah and only stay for three actual Hanukah dates (instead of playing all 8 nights in NYC like he did in the past). This time he'll finish up his own "Festival of Light" in other east coast states. Tickets are on sale now for 11/29 at Brooklyn Bowl, 11/30 at Music Hall of Williamsburg w/ Tally Hall, 12/4 at Music Hall of Williamsburg with DJ Rekha, and 12/5 at Music Hall of Williamsburg w/ Moon Taxi. Other dates include 12/1 at Northern Lights - Clifton Park, NY, 12/6 at Paradise Rock Club - Boston, MA, 12/7 at Ram's Head Live - Baltimore, MD, 12/8 at Theatre of Living Arts - Philadelphia, PA, and 12/9 at State Theatre - Portland, ME.

Speaking of artists linked to the jam band scene playing multiple nights in NYC with various openers, The Disco Biscuits are playing three nights at Terminal 5, and they definitely win in the opener department. Raekwon is opening up the 12/27 show. DFA artist Holy Ghost! is opening on 12/28 and Crystal Method is 12/29. Tickets are on sale now.

And while we're on the subject, Grateful Dead tribute band, Dark Star Orchestra, is playing The Wellmont Theatre on December 28. Tickets are on sale now.

Tickets are also still on sale for Passion Pit's New Years shows on December 30 and December 31 at The Wellmont Theatre.

The Roots are playing 3 sets on New Years Eve at Brooklyn Bowl.

Guided By Voices, Sharon Jones, Patti Smith, Phish, and Drive-By Truckers, and Gov't Mule are all also playing New Years Eve shows in NYC.

But sorry for getting ahead of myself, you probably still don't even know what you're doing on Halloween.

Yo La Tengo Hanukkah 2008 (more by Tim Griffin)

Maxwell's reports that, after a year off (they last did it in 2008), Yo La Tengo are returning to Maxwell's for Hanukkah this year. As always, expect the full lineups to be announced after the shows sell out, but note that they will sell out before the full lineups are announced. Yo La Tengo plays every show, but expect surprise guests, reunited openers, comedians, mixtapes and more.

Check your calendar or roll the dice and get your $30-for-charity-TBD tickets starting Wednesday at noon: 12/1, 12/2, 12/3, 12/4, 12/5, 12/6, 12/7, and 12/8

Meanwhile you can catch Yo La Tengo THIS SUNDAY, September 19th, at the Bell House as part of the Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival (tickets), and then in October in Las Vegas.

Before achieving fame and glory as a leading Pop artist, Andy Warhol was a successful commercial artist who contributed illustrations to women's magazines and designed windows and promotional materials for department stores. Among his clients was Tiffany & Co., for whom he created a series of designs for holiday greeting cards. The whimsical drawings and paintings he produced for Tiffany's Christmas cards are the subject of this charming gift book.

Continue reading "Happy Holidays from Lou Reed & Andy Warhol "