The Henry Miller Memorial Library has done concerts in Big Sur, CA for years, and they're now bringing the celebration over to NYC for Big Sur Brooklyn Bridge, a weeklong festival which goes down from May 12 - 19 in Williamsburg in multiple locations. The festival ends with a concert at Music Hall of Williamsburg on May 19 with modern classical master Philip Glass and baroque pop legend Van Dyke Parks, plus special guests. Tickets for that show go on sale Friday (4/26) at noon.

Other events throughout the festival include a pop-up book store at City Reliquary (right across from Knitting Factory on Metropolitan Ave); literary readings; more music like Jeffrey Lewis collaborator/Holy Modal Rounder Peter Stampfel at Spike Hill on May 15 (tickets); an evening of short film at Videology on May 17; and a UCB-presented comedy show at Knitting Factory on May 18 with Chris Gethard and others (tickets). Full schedule and more details below.

In related news, Van Dyke Parks just reissued his classic album, Song Cycle, and released a new "orchestral fantasy" album, Super Chief, on Record Store Day. He's also releasing a new album with re-imagined versions of old songs and covers, Songs Cycled, on May 6 via Bella Union. You can read Van's statement on the album at Bella Union's site. Stream his re-recording of "Hold Back Time" from his 1995 collaborative album with Brian Wilson, Orange Crate Art, below.

Continue reading "Big Sur Brooklyn Bridge festival is coming (Philip Glass, Van Dyke Parks, comedy, readings, short films & more)"

Apparently it's NYC Outdoor Free Show Announce Day. Following Hudson River Rocks, Seaport Music Festival and 4Knots updates comes the 2013 River to River Festival line-up. This year's fest runs from June 15 - July 14 and includes music, dance, theater, visual art, film and "unique participatory experiences" across a number of outdoor stages. Among this years' free events:

The annual Bang on a Can Marathon which happens on 6/16 at Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts and features Bang on a Can All-Stars, Asphalt Orchestra, Alarm Will Sound, Brooklyn Youth Chorus, Talk Normal, Talea, Shara Worden, Yungchen Llamo, and more.

Laurie Anderson will perform two nights at Rockefeller Park on June 18 & 19 with guests Gerry Leonard, Doug Wieselman, Eyvind Kang and others TBA.

Ecstatic Summer 2013 which happens at Brookfield Place Plaza on June 29 & 30. Members of Bon Iver, Mantra Percussion, the National, yMusic, Plastic Ono Band and more will perform commissioned works by Greg Saunier (Deerhoof), Dave Douglas, Susie Ibarra and Seth Olinsky.

So Percussion and Joshua Light Show team up on July 13 at Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts

The legendary Leon Russell will perform at Rockefeller Park on July 10.

There's also a presentation of of Foetus frontman JG Thirlwell's "cinema for the ears" album, Manorexia: Dinoflagellate Bloom at Tribeca Cinemas on July 11.

Continue reading "2013 River to River Festival lineup announced (Laurie Anderson, Ecstatic Summer, Leon Russell ++ more)"

photos by Ryan Muir

Ghostface Killah Celebrating Brooklyn

"Although he only had 45 minutes on stage, for which he apologized a few times to the crowd of "10,000" fans, he played hip-hop classics off his solo albums like "Ironman," "Supreme Clientele," a bunch of bangers from Wu-Tang Clan.

But, Ghostface wasn't alone on stage, Cappadonna, the unofficial tenth member of Wu-Tang, took the stage and did a killer rendition of the song "Winter Warz" over Notorious B.I.G.'s "Who Shot Ya" beat.

Sheek Louch also hit the stage and played his verses from The Lox's various albums.

By 8 p.m., the police cut off the crowd, which Ghostface said was about 10,000 deep, from filling the fenced off area in front of the stage. So, as die hard fans still filled the park surrounding the bandshell, they lined up along the fence to dance and rhyme along with the hip-hop MCs. [Patch]

Rap continued at Celebrate Brooklyn earlier this week with Danny Brown and Schoolboy Q opening for Childish Gambino (Instagrams here and here). Ghostface plays NYC again as part of Wu-Block (at Highline Ballroom and in NJ at Rock the Bells)

Meanwhile, Celebrate Brooklyn continues in Prospect Park tonight (6/28) with Ballet Hispanico, "the leading representative of Hispanic culture in American dance" (8pm, free). On Friday (6/29) it's Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, The Brooklyn Steppers, and Dayna Kurtz (7:30pm, free), and Saturday (6/30) it's Angélique Kidjo's Women Waging Peace with Special Guests Laurie Anderson, Sibongile Khumalo, and Somi (7:30pm, free).

More pictures of the Ghostface show below...

Continue reading "Ghostface Killah, Camp Lo & more played Prospect Park (pics); more free Celebrate Brooklyn shows this weekend"

"For three intimate evenings, Philip Glass comes to ISSUE Project Room, New York's City's only European Chamber Music Hall. His only performance in Brooklyn this year, "Philip Glass: Music With Friends" is a rare occasion featuring Glass in duo performances with Laurie Anderson [6/15] and Stephin Merritt of the Magnetic Fields [6/13], as well former ISSUE Artists-in Residence Tristan Perich [6/14], Ryan Sawyer [6/15], and Nate Wooley [6/13]. The full artist roster will be announced soon, under 200 seats will be sold for each performance."

Meanwhile, the William Hooker Ensemble + Thollem McDonas & Arrington de Dionyso will be "Celebrating Cecil" at the venue tonight (5/16)

photos by Dana (distortion) Yavin

"Not even kidding. lou reed watched @dasracist perform tonight & flipped the fuck out. at carnegie hall. how was your night?" - El-P

"The night wrapped up with Lenny Kaye leading the Patti Smith band through a brief tribute to the garage-rock compilation Nuggets, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, and Lou Reed, who performed three songs. Reed conducted the string quartet and the drummer to improvise with him at moments, which felt awkward in the beginning; the ending, however--as the string quartet jammed in tandem with Smith's guitarists and Reed himself--was pretty impressive. At the very end Laurie Anderson and the whole evening's cast returned to the stage for a curtain call, during which the room sang "Happy Birthday" to Philip Glass." [Village Voice]

Continue reading "2012 Tibet House benefit pics (Philip Glass, Das Racist, James Blake, Antony, Lou Reed, Stephin Merritt, Rahzel & more)"

Antony @ Radio City (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Antony played a show at Radio City Music Hall last night. And this was just announced:

Tibet House US is thrilled to announce that Antony and Stephin Merritt have joined the bill for the 22nd Annual Benefit Concert at Carnegie Hall on Monday, February 13th, 2012 at 7:30pm. This year's esteemed line-up, curated by Philip Glass, the concert's artistic director, includes Lou Reed, James Blake, Dechen Shak-Dagsay, Laurie Anderson, and Rahzel, in addition to Antony and Stephin. Tickets are on sale now and available through the Carnegie Hall Box Office. Special packages that include concert tickets and a fundraising reception following the show with the event's Honorary Chairpersons Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard and the evening's performing artists are available through Tibet House US.

James Blake is also DJing Le Poisson Rouge while he's in town.

The Magnetic Fields are going on tour in March and April.

Lou Reed at Prospect Park in 2011 (more by David Andrako)

When we first announced this year's Tibet House US benefit, which is happening on February 13 at Carnegie Hall, it was surprising that a Philip Glass-curated event in NYC with Laurie Anderson wouldn't also include Lou Reed. Well, as it turns out, Lou Reed will in fact be performing at the event. As mentioned, the lineup also includes "Newcomer of the Year" James Blake, Dechen Shak-Dagsay, Rahzel, and still more to be announced. Tickets are still available.

by Andrew Sacher

James Blake at MHOW in October (more by Amanda Hatfield)

The 22nd Annual Benefit Concert for Tibet House US is taking place this year at Carnegie Hall on February 13. Philip Glass, who is the artistic director for the Tibet House benefits, will perform alongside an as-usual incredible lineup which includes James Blake, Dechen Shak-Dagsay, Laurie Anderson, Rahzel, and more to be announced. Tickets are on sale now via Carnegie Hall and special packages that include a fundraising reception following the performance will be available soon via Tibet House US. More details below.

Philip Glass also has tons of upcoming events in celebration of his 75th birthday.

James Blake, who put out one of our favorite albums of 2011 capped the year off with the three-track Love What Happened Here EP. The title track recalls the material of James' 2010 EPs but throws splashes of funk and R&B with grabbing vocal samples and synthetic horn flourishes. The next track, "At Birth," is a more ambient affair which also brings to mind parts of his earlier work, but the final track, "Curbside," builds off instrumental boom bap and if not for the trademark vocal samples it would sound almost nothing like any of his other material. Buy the EP at eMusic and stream all three of its tracks below.

Details on the Tibet House US show and streams below...

Continue reading "James Blake released an EP, playing Tibet House Benefit in NYC (with Philip Glass, Rahzel & more)"

Lou Reed & Laurie Anderson
occupying Lincoln Center the other day (photo via strongfeatures)

today in NYC
* yMusic @ Rockwood Music Hall
* Justin Vivian Bond @ Joe's Pub
* Pretty Good Friends @ Union Hall
* David Torn, Dave King @ The Stone
* Hannibal Buress @ Knitting Factory
* John Doe, Robert Ellis @ City Winery
* Cyndi Lauper & friends @ Beacon Theatre
* Williamsburg Salsa Orchestra @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Tim Berne, David Torn, Ches Smith @ The Stone
* Grasshopper, Mark Dwinell, Giant Claw @ Zebulon
* Black Pus, Witch Hat, Fuck Ton @ Death By Audio
* Latterman, Nude Beach, P.S Eliot @ The Bell House
* Jamie Woon, Erika Spring, Selebrities @ Glasslands
* Erykah Badu & The Cannabinoids @ Best Buy Theater
* Eyehategod, Doomriders, Hull, Knight Terror @ Europa
* Rachel Mason, Hans Chew, Woodsy Pride @ Vaudeville Park
* Ivan & The Terribles, Starina, Desert Stars @ Cake Shop
* The Hounds Below, Crazy Pills, Party Lights @ Union Pool
* Stephane Wrembel Presents The Django Experiment @ Barbes
* David Wax Museum, Spirit Family Reunion @ Le Poisson Rouge
* Monica Lionheart, Xenia Rubinos, Sweet Electra @ The Rock Shop
* Algernon Cadwallader, Band Name, Old Table @ Big Snow Buffalo Lodge
* Idiot Glee, Celestial Shore, Philip Seymour Hoffman @ Cameo Gallery
* Ski Lodge, Indian Rebound, Sea Monsters, Sunbears! @ Arlene's Grocery
* Night Manager, Brown Bread & Von Holt, Advaita, Alex Drewchin @ Party Xpo
* Teddy Thompson, Bhi Bhiman, Daniel Wayne, Balthrop, Alabama @ Public Assembly
* Rosita Kess, Richard Julian (w/ Doug Wieselman), Jesse Harris @ Rockwood Music
* Freddie Stevenson, Aiden Moore, Zane Carney, John Schmidt, Sarah Blacker, Suzie Brown, Ben Lear, Marvelous Toy, Karen Dahlstrom, WILLOW @ Rockwood Music Hall

There's a Vegan Holiday Shop-Up @ Pine Box Rock Shop (12 Grattan St., Brooklyn) from Noon-5pm.

There's a record show at Brooklyn Bowl at noon.

Lou Reed is one of Cyndi Lauper's many guests at Beacon Theater tonight. The other day he spoke along with Philip Glass at Lincoln Center on behalf of the Occupy Movement. Video below...

what else?

Continue reading "What's going on Sunday?"

Philip Glass at Bang on a Can in June (more by Andrew Frisicano)

Philip Glass and Laurie Anderson are headlining the NYC Film-Makers Co-op Benefit at Santos Party House on November 16. Other artists performing include David Barton's band Liquid Blonde, Little Annie, Transgendered Jesus, the Love Butchers, and possibly more to be announced. Tickets for the show are on sale now.

Meanwhile, the New York Philharmonic and Philip Glass Ensemble are performing Glass's music for the 1982 film Koyaanisqatsi: A Life Out Of Balance TONIGHT (11/2) and Thursday (11/3) at Avery Fisher Hall. This will mark the first time that the New York Philharmonic have ever performed Philip Glass's music. Tickets for both shows are still available but are almost sold out so act quickly. A trailer video is below.

In other news, Beck (who recently worked with Stephen Malkmus and Thurston Moore) is working on a Philip Glass tribute remix album with producerHector Castillo. The album will feature contributions from Beck, Bjork, Lou Reed, Memory Tapes, Tyondai Braxton (ex-Battles), Amon Tobin, Roger Waters, Cornelius, and potentially more to be announced. No release date has been announced yet.

Speaking of Lou Reed, you can still stream the album he made with Metallica, "Lulu", over at loureedmetallica.com (if you dare!).

NY Philharmonic video below...

Continue reading "Laurie Anderson playing benefit w/ Philip Glass (whose work is being performed & remixed elsewhere too)"

Glen Hansard & Doveman @ Le Poisson Rouge (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Doveman's next edition of 'Burgundy Stain Sessions' at Le Poisson Rouge is this Friday night (9/23), and the listed special guests are: Chris Thile, Martha Wainwright, Trixie Whitley and Little Annie. Tickets for the collaborative evening of music are still on sale.

In October, on the 27th & 28th to be exact, 'Burgundy Stain Sessions' kick it up a notch with Other Voices NYC: A Celebration of Music & Literature. Scheduled to appear over the course of two nights at Le Poisson Rouge are: Glen Hansard (The Swell Season), Bryce & Aaron Dessner (The National), Doveman, Laurie Anderson, Sam Amidon, Bell X1, Iarla Ó Lionáird, Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh, Martin Hayes, Joseph O'Connor, and Colum McCann. Prestented in conjunction with Imagine Ireland with all proceeds going to FIGHTING WORDS Creative Writing Centre, tickets are on sale.

Speaking of the Swell Season, its other half Marketa Irglova has a tour coming up in November with a NYC show of her own. Bowery Ballroom tickets are still on sale.

The National have six huge NYC shows coming up.

Martha has one big holiday show coming up with her brother Rufus, and one with Rufus even sooner as part of the The Fourth Annual Plant & Sing Festival in Shelter Island, NY.

Rufus's opera 'Prima Donna' happens at BAM in Feb. 2012. Tickets are on sale now.

William Basinski at Issue Project Room (more by Lori Baily)

William Basinski's "The Disintegration Loops" will illuminate the Temple of Dendur at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Sunday, as part of a FREE show "for the people of New York City on September 11". Basinski will not be in attendance but Maxim Moston's live orchestration of his piece, as well as works by Ingram Marshall, Osvaldo Golijov and Alfred Schnittke, will be highlighted by the Wordless Music Orchestra (as previously mentioned). If you can't make it to the 3:30PM showing, then catch the webcast.

After the webcast slide on over to VH1 (on the web or on your telly) to catch a rebroadcast of the 9/11 tribute concert that originally aired on TV 10 years ago.

Also slated in rememberance of 9/11 is Music After, a marathon of music that kicks off at 9:18AM and lasts until midnight at Joyce SoHo (155 Mercer Street). The show is FREE, and will feature a plaethora of performances from names like Laurie Anderson and Nicole Atkins performing works by David Bowie, David Byrne, Lou Reed, and many many others. Full list of performers and the composers are below.

And finally, opera singer Jessye Norman will not sing but speak spoken word at "A Concert of Commemoration, Honoring the 10th Anniversary of 9/11" at 2PM on 9/11 at Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center. More than 600 musicians will join the not-singing vocalist including England's Really Big Chorus, with the concert highlighting "iconic music of war and peace". Tickets are on sale.

Patti Smith played a concert to remember 9/11 last night. How was that?

More details on the Music After marathon, and its considerable list of contributors, below...

Continue reading "musicians remembering 9/11 on 9/11 (shows at the Met, Linoln Center, in SoHo, on your computer...)"

The long wait is finally over! Roulette re-opens - bigger and better than ever - in Downtown Brooklyn. With a newly renovated Art Deco concert hall, seating for up to 400 people (600 standing!), expanded multi-channel sound system, massive projection screen for film and multi-media events, state-of-the-art lighting system, modular stage, and a specially designed floor to accommodate dance - the new Roulette promises to be one of the most exciting places in New York City to experience adventurous music and art. Join us as we kick off our inaugural season with a huge four day Grand Opening Celebration!

The re-opening will be celebrated with four events from September 15 to September 18. On 9/15, Kaija Saariaho, Margaret Leng Tan, Henry Threadgill & Zooid, and Mark Feldman and Sylvie Courvoisier will play the venue (tickets). The 9/16 show will feature ETHEL, Marc Ribot: Film Noir Project, and Shelley Hirsch w/ Fred Frith (tickets). On 9/17, Laurie Anderson, Lou Reed, and John Zorn will play (tickets) and on 9/18 Cosa Brava (featuring Fred Frith, Carla Kihlstedt, Zeena Parkins, Matthias Bossi, and the Norman Conquest) will play (tickets).

If on you're way out of the subway in late July you happen to notice a busker that looks a helluva lot like Billy Bragg surrounded by an army of other guitar-weilding maniacs, don't be alarmed. The spectacle is just the opening act for the two+ week Lincoln Center Out of Doors Festival, which will feature shows with Mavis Staples (as discussed), "Laurie Anderson and Friends", Bettye LaVette, a girl-group heavy Ponderosa Stomp, the 28th Annual Roots of American Music Festival, The Bar-Kays, and many, many others at the Damrosch Park Bandshell and other Manhattan locations from July 27th until its close on August 14th. The full schedule is below.

Billy Bragg leading The Big Busk in the UK

The Big Busk is the first performance scheduled (and it happens twice on July 27th), and will see Bragg leading a play-along concert flanked by an army of cue-cards detailing what chords he is playing. Check out a video from a 2008 'Big Busk' that took place in England, below.

Billy Bragg will also make up his cancelled dates from earlier this year around that 7/27 appearance. He'll play City Winery in NYC on 7/26 (tickets), 7/28 (tickets) and 7/29 (tickets).

All Lincoln Center festival dates and lineups, and all Billy Bragg tour dates are below.

Continue reading "Lincoln Center Out of Doors 2011 schedule announced, rescheduled Billy Bragg dates too"

St. Vincent @ Castle Clinton in 2008 (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

Like at South Street Seaport, the River to River Fesival hosts free shows at Castle Clinton National Monument in Battery Park each year, and though more may still be announed, here is their initial 2011 lineup:

June 23: Vijay Iyer
June 30: Laurie Anderson with Bill Laswell
July 07: My Brightest Diamond with yMusic
July 14: Patti Smith

photos by David Andrako

February Stone curators Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson played their own show at the venue on 2/15. Buke and Gass opened the night with four songs, and then later joined Lou and Laurie during their set which was mostly Lou at keyboards and Laurie playing violin. Laurie Anderson plays the venue again tonight (2/23), but this time with Fred Frith. More pictures from the Lou & Laurie night, below...

Continue reading "Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson, Buke & Gass @ The Stone (pics)"

As previously mentioned, Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson curated February at the Stone. Along with daily shows by many notables, every Sunday in February, including today (the Superbowl one), is an open house.

EVERY SUNDAY IN FEBRUARY--STONE OPEN HOUSE
Laurie Anderson and Anna Brenner invite you to Stone Open House.
FEEL FREE TO COME IN ANY TIME BETWEEN 3 AND 10PM
From the practical to the theoretical, SOH will be a place to hang out, drink great coffee, read, listen to unusual presentations and invent alternative ways to live and work. Part think tank, part party, SOH will host a series of presentations that cover a wide range of topics- from the history of boilers to teaching music to dogs. In cooperation with Housing Works Book store, SOH will present a library of must-read books for people interested in expanding in unpredictable ways.

2/6 Sunday (KM)
OPEN FROM 3PM TO 10PM
Scheduled Lectures:
4:00 PM--Eyvind Kang: Mood, Being, Acoustic Image (a workshop for bowed strings to which all are welcome, bowed string players should bring instruments!)
6:00 PM--Erik Ehn: Writing is breaking / Writing about genocide
8:00 PM--Roma Baran: Suddenly Jewish
Admission to the Open House is FREE. A TEN DOLLAR fee will be collected from those attending each lecture.

photos by David Andrako

DOWNLOAD: Buke & Gass - Your Face Left Before You (MP3)

Buke & Gass @ Mercury Lounge

"It's Buke and Gass' homemade quality that draws you in at first. Dyer plays a modified baritone-ukulele run through effects that squeal with delight, while Sanchez runs his guitar-bass hybrid through two amps (one for the three low-end strings, another for the treble). The junkyard-Shellac set-up is geeky, yes, and might strike a chord of novelty. But ultimately, it's hard not to be sold on the songs." [NPR]

If you missed the show, Buke & Gass have shows coming up at Silent Barn (with Extra Life), Ridgewood Masonic Temple (with Deerhoof) amd the above-mentioned show at the Stone all before they head to the Netherlands to play some shows with The National, Owen Pallett, Efterklang, and Sharon Von Etten. All dates, an NPR Tiny Desk Concert video, and more pictures from Mercury Lounge, below...

Continue reading "Buke & Gass played Mercury Lounge w/ Talk Normal (pics) & an NPR 'Tiny Desk concert (video), playing more shows (dates)"

Observer: You've been with Lou Reed for what seems like forever. Any tips for staying together?

Laurie Anderson: Take a break from each other. We've been together for 19 years, married for two years. I think everything is about to blow away, and everyone is about to blow away, and it makes me care for them more.

In related news, the dates that Lou/Laurie are curating The Stone overlap with a MoMA exhibit featuring Lou Reed's former manager in The Velvet Underground, Andy Warhol. The exhibition, entitled Andy Warhol: Motion Pictures, will show silent pictures that are professed to be his "most daring and experimental" film work. The show kicks off on December 19th and lasts until March 21, 2011.

And while we're on the subject of film, "And Everything Is Going Fine" is currently playing at the IFC Center. It's a tribute to Spaulding Gray directed by Steven Soderbergh. Laurie soundtracked the Spalding Gray films Swimming to Cambodia and Monster in a Box, and made a promotional appearance related to the movie this past weekend. .

The Stone schedule is below...

Continue reading "Lou Reed & Laurie Anderson curating The Stone in February, MoMA exhibiting Andy Warhol pictures"

Avey Tare @ Governors Island this summer (more by Erez Avissar)

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and YouTube, in collaboration with HP and Intel, tonight announced the top 25 videos, selected from 23,358 online video submissions and 91 countries, for YouTube Play. A Biennial of Creative Video. The announcement was made at a special celebratory event at the Guggenheim Museum this evening, "YouTube Play. Live from the Guggenheim," with a corresponding global live stream at YouTube.com/Play.

On behalf of the jury, Nancy Spector, Deputy Director and Chief Curator, Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, and Jury Chairperson, said, "It was our goal to reach the widest possible audience, inviting individuals from around the world to submit a video for consideration. While our original goal had been to select 20, the jury was so moved by the quality of work submitted that we decided to honor a final list of 25. We believe the end result is 25 of the most unique and innovative video work to be created and distributed online during the past two years."...

...The YouTube Play jury included: performance artist and musician Laurie Anderson; music group Animal Collective, featuring Deakin (Josh Dibb), Geologist (Brian Weitz), and Panda Bear (Noah Lennox); filmmaker Darren Aronofsky; visual artists Douglas Gordon, Ryan McGinley, Marilyn Minter, and Takashi Murakami; artists and filmmakers Shirin Neshat and Apichatpong Weerasethakul; and graphic designer Stefan Sagmeister, with Guggenheim Chief Curator and Deputy Director Nancy Spector serving as jury chairperson.

Continue reading "Animal Collective helped pick YouTube videos for the Guggenheim ++ Avey Tare release party tonight"

photos by Rahav Segev, words by Andrew Frisicano

Laurie Anderson's Delusion, the first production in this year's BAM Next Wave Festival, is in effect the artist opening up her notebook to the audience. The 90-minute work recounts dreams, stories, parables, musings, jokes and melodies strung together with moody cinematic projections. Some of the stories we've heard before, like "Another Day in America," a song intoned as Laurie's male alter-ego, from her stellar LP Homeland was was released earlier this year. Others - an emotional story about the death of her mother, sharp one-liners and surreal scenarios about the afterlife - were fresh from the workshop.

Above all though, Laurie's sonorous voice, and her ability as a monologuist to travel to different places (the moon, Iceland, dreams), drove Delusion. The metronomic brilliance of the words and cadences would've been enough to propel a one-woman show in any downtown space. Here, they were supported by the projections and stage elements - one main screen in the center, with a smaller projector focused on a covered seat, and two smaller screens on either side.

Her supporting cast loomed beyond those side screens: violinist Eyvind Kang and horn & reed player Colin Stetson. Their silhouettes, namely that of Colin's unmistakeable bass saxophone, rocked steadily behind the backlit screens as they added layers to the evening's instrumental moments. The pair peaked up mainly during Delusion's chaotic interludes, when a red light washed over the stage, evoking the landscape of hell, with Anderson the Mephistophelean figure guiding the madness.

Clearly, Laurie was having a good time on stage, during the goodtime moments, with a permanent grin and a wink. The wink, as we found out, might be genetic; it also speaks to her style of communication: subtle, everyday gestures that unfold in countless ways. "Not a lot of people know this but..." one of her stories goes.

Delusion is at BAM Harvey Theater through October 3rd, every day except Monday. Tickets are on sale.

More pictures from the show are below...

Continue reading "Laurie Anderson's 'Delusion' continues @ BAM (pics & review)"

by Andrew Frisicano

Concerts are for improvisation, jamming and vacations from the real world. Laurie Anderson doesn't do concerts. Her performances are art exhibitions, intricately constructed to intrigue, inspire and, yes, entertain. Over two nights at World Café Live [July 11th and 12th], she and her Homeland Trio presented "Another Day In America," an hour's worth of music from her incredible new album, Homeland. Each night was essentially identical, though it was the precision of the twin performances that added another level of reverence-inducing admiration to the audiences' already overwhelmed sense of awe. With keyboardist Rob Burger (who played on Homeland) and bassist Bill Laswell (who didn't, but has played with just about everyone else), Anderson's two-night residency was a captivating and mesmerizing display.
[Ugly Rumor]

Rob Burger and Bill Laswell were also on hand for Laurie's Letterman performance on July 14th. For their live take on "Only An Expert," she also brought along a trio of backup singers and Colin Stetson, who subbed gigantic-sax squeals for the original's Lou Reed guitar shredding. That video is below.

Tonight (7/21) Laurie Anderson has an instore signing and brief performance (as Fenway Bergamot, her male alter-ego, pictued above) at Other Music (15 East 4 St) from 8pm to 9:30pm. It's free (so no chance toask for your money back).

Up next for Laurie is a run of her staged work Delusion at BAM Next Wave Festival, starting in September.

Videos are below...

Continue reading "Laurie Anderson played LPR, Philly & Letterman (video), playing/signing @ Other Music (tonight) "

Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson & John Zorn @ the Stone in 2008 (wallyg)

Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson and John Zorn faced a furious crowd on Friday night, playing cacophonous music to a cacophony of boos at the Montreal International Jazz festival. Fans expecting Sweet Jane or Walk On the Wild Side were instead met by the skronk and skree of Reed's more recent free-jazz work, infuriating sections of the crowd. As audience members hollered their complaints, Zorn responded. "If you don't think it's music, then get the fuck outta here." Then the walk-outs began. [Guardian UK] (via)

A similar show that took place at The Stone in 2008 is for sale in John Zorn's shop as a live CD. All funds raised from its sale go to benefit the non-profit club. John Zorn next plays the Stone on July 30th.

Laurie and Lou recently went to Australia and Coney Island.

Laurie Anderson plays (Le) Poisson Rouge on Tuesday, July 13th (tickets), and has lots more coming up.

John Zorn will make an appearance at the New Museum on July 13th, and John, Lou and Laurie, as well as Faith No More's Mike Patton, will be getting together again for a show at the NYC Opera in 2011.

Video from the Montreal concert and a press conference from earlier in the day are below...

Continue reading "Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson & John Zorn booed in Montreal"

photos by Chris La Putt

The 2010 Mermaid Parade happened Saturday afternoon in Coney Island with special guests Lou Reed & Laurie Anderson acting as king and queen. More pictures from the annual event (NSFW), which unfortunately included a captive elephant from the circus this year, below...

Continue reading "Mermaid Parade pictures (w/ Lou Reed & Laurie Anderson) "

by Andrew Frisicano

Laurie w/ the dogs in Australia (more by Roberta W.B.)

Some in the audience howled with glee, others stood on trembling legs and a few drooled in delight as famed performance artist Laurie Anderson debuted her original "Music for Dogs" composition outside the Sydney Opera House on Saturday [June 5th].

Hundreds of dogs and their owners bounced around as Anderson entertained them with 20 minutes of thumping beats, whale calls, whistles and a few high-pitched electronic sounds imperceptible to human ears.

"Let's hear it from the medium dogs!" Anderson called out from the stage, as a few dogs yipped in return. "You can do better than that -- come on mediums! Whoo! WHOOOOOO!"

The concert was originally billed as a performance for dogs' ears only, and was going to be largely limited to electronic noises played at a frequency too high for human ears. But Anderson changed things up when she decided she wanted people to have some fun, too.

"We didn't want to do something that humans couldn't hear," she said. "We brought the octaves down into our hearing range so we could all have the experience." [AP]

Laurie Anderson will be performing her new work Delusion this fall at BAM as part of the Next Wave Festival. That show will go on tour as well.

Before then, Laurie's new record, Homeland, comes out June 22nd on Nonesuch. It's streaming in full at NPR (up till the release date) - check it out. She'll play songs from that album on a very short tour this July. Stops include on-air sets at World Cafe Live and Late Show with David Letterman, and a Tuesday, July 13th show at (Le) Poisson Rouge. Tickets are on sale.

The album has some alright guests (including Laurie's male alter-ego Fenway Bergamot)...

On Homeland, Anderson is joined by a diversity of collaborators, from the Tuvan throat singers and igil players of Chirgilchin to New York experimental jazz and rock players including Rob Burger (keyboards), Omar Hakim (drums), Kieran Hebden of Four Tet (keyboards), Shahzad Ismaily (percussion) Eyvind Kang (viola), Peter Scherer (keyboards), Skuli Sverrisson (bass), Ben Witman (percussion and drums) and John Zorn (saxophone). Antony Hegarty contributes additional vocals.

Videos from the "Music for Dogs" performance and tour dates are below...

Continue reading "new Laurie Anderson album stream + July tour dates "