This Sunday (2/24) at 285 Kent, the Brooklyn venue will be hosting a bittersweet show: on the bright side, it's the third annual birthday for JMC Aggregate and they've booked a great lineup of Sam Mickens' Ecstatic Showband & Revue, Les Bonhommes (mems. Deerhoof, Rainer Maria), Celestial Shore, and DJ Conquerrah. (The location was moved to 285 Kent from Silent Barn, and admission is $10 at the door.)

But the bad side is that it's unfortunately the last-ever show for Sam Mickens' Ecstatic Showband & Revue, who are calling it quits after three years of activity. Sam writes:

The Ecstatic Showband & Revue began with a residency at the deeply-missed Zebulon at the beginning of 2009, only about a month after I relocated to New York. It has been a hub of some of my dearest musical friends and collaborators, a wonderful and exhausting experience, and we've left lots of blood on the dance floor. Rather than fade away, I wanted to present the band in a grand burn out, to coincide with my third-annual birthday celebration with the good people at JMC Aggregate. We will be joined by the roiling Les Bonhommes (members of Deerhoof & Rainer Maria) and golden hope of the future Celestial Shore, as well as my preferred selector, the mighty, mighty DJ Conquerrah.

The Ecstatic Showband & Revue leaves to posterity these two singles: "One Final Round" b/w "To Victory or Death" and "Burning Hell" b/w "I'm Evil, as well as a trove of unrecorded music, some of which has been documented in one rough form or another. We are honored to retire the undisputed Heavyweight Soul Champions of Brooklyn(citation) and promise everyone quite literal blood( did I already mention blood?), sweat, and tears on this gala evening.

(Never Surrender Our) Love,
Sam

Not long ago, Sam successfully funded his new album, Kayfabe: Laamb of G.O.D., on Kickstarter, so hopefully we'll still get to hear that and he finds a way to continue his musical endeavors. Meanwhile, you can stream those two recent singles below...

Continue reading "Sam Mickens' Ecstatic Showband & Revue breaking up, playing final show on Sunday w/ Les Bonhommes & Celestial Shore"

by Andrew Sacher

Buke and Gase at Prospect Park in 2011 (more by Toby Tenebaum)

Buke and Gase will be curating The Stone from tonight (5/1) to May 15. The curation kicks off tonight with Father Murphy at 8 PM and Les Bonhommes at 10 PM.

After tonight's show, Father Murphy, who are here from Italy, head out on tour with Xiu Xiu and Dirty Beaches (which hits Bowery Ballroom this Friday 5/4). Their album was mixed by Deerhoof's Greg Saunier who is one third of, but not the drummer of, Les Bonhommes (that also features William Kuehn from Rainer Maria).

Other performances throughout the week include former Parts & Labor noisemaker Dan Friel and Bunnybrains on 5/4; a Tonic reunion featuring Mephista with John Zorn, Steve Bernstein's MTO and more; Extra Life's Charlie Looker, Greg Fox, & Jamie Saft and Glass Ghost on 5/11, gonzo drummer Greg Fox and Hubble on 5/12, a powerhouse grouping of Ryan Sawyer, Colin Stetson, Nate Wooley, C. Spencer Yeh Quartet on 5/13, and Matana Roberts and Ches Smith on 5/15, among others.

Buke & Gase don't actually play any of the shows they curated but they do play the Dessner-curated Crossing Brooklyn Ferry fest on May 4 at BAM.

The second half of May at the Stone is curated by Gyan Riley.

Check out the full schedule below...

Continue reading "Buke & Gase curating The Stone's first two week's in May"