As mentioned, acclaimed ensemble Kronos Quartet are celebrating their ruby anniversary this year with the "Kronos at 40" mini-festival within Lincon Center Out of Doors' 2013 slate. In addition to that, Kronos Quartet will be performing with the Brooklyn Youth Chorus' Concert Chorus and Young Men's Ensemble on May 7 at Roulette in downtown Brooklyn. It will include commissioned works by Julia Wolfe (World Premiere), Aleksandra Vrebalov (New York premiere), the Arcade Fire's Richard Reed Parry (New York premiere), Bryce Dessner and Shara Worden. The event is a BYC benefit and tickets are on sale now. For those with deeper pockets there's a gala reception before the show you can buy tickets to as well.

Brooklyn Youth Chorus, who just performed at Crossing Brooklyn Ferry, is in its 21st season and will be a part of the 2013 Bang on a Can Marathon which happens June 16 at 3 Spruce St. which is near City Hall in downtown Manhattan. The nine-hour event, part of the 2013 River to River Festival, also includes appearances by Asphalt Orchestra, Bang on a Can All-Stars, Maya Beiser with the Provenance Project Band, Brooklyn Youth Chorus, Le Cabaret Contemporain, David Cossin & Ben Reimer, Peter Evans, Monica Germino, Hotel Elefant, Yungchen Llamo & Anton Batagov, NYU Steel Pan Ensemble, NYU Contemporary Music Ensemble, Talea Ensemble, Talk Normal, TILT Brass, Shara Worden, and more. Full new press release below.

Watch Glen Hansard, Richard Reed Parry, Little Scream, Shara Worden, Bryce Dessner and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus play Leonard Cohen's "Passing Through" recently at the MusicNOW 2013 fest in Ohio, in the video below....

Continue reading "Brooklyn Youth Chorus playing stuff by Arcade Fire/National members w/ Kronos Quartet & in Bang on a Can Marathon"

photos by David Andrako

Shara Worden & The Orchestra for the Next Century, Ecstatic Music Fest 2013

As you may know, the Ecstatic Music Festival is underway in NYC with concerts happening now through March 21 at Merkin Concert Hall in the Kaufman Music Center. Last night (2/6) featured a performance by Clogs and Sarah Kirkland Snider & Orchestra for the Next Century. The latter was presenting the world premiere of Unremembered, a 13-song cycle set to poetry and artwork by New-York-based poet/writer Nathaniel Bellows. DM Stith, My Brightest Diamond's Shara Worden (who performed the opening night) and Clogs' Padma Newsome. sang as part of it. Pictures from the evening, as well as setlist and program notes,  are in this post.

The next EMF performance happens February 20 featuring a collaboration between Deerhoof and Chicago ensemble Dal Niente, including new work by Brazilian-born composer Marcos Balter. Deerhoof and Dal Niente previously collaborated last summer as part of Chicago's Wordless Music series. Tickets to the event are still available.

More pics from last night's Ecstatic Music Festival performance are below...

Continue reading "Clogs, Sarah Kirkland Snider, Shara Worden and more played Ecstatic Music Festival (pics, setlist)"

photos by David Andrako

DJ /Rupture @ Ecstatic Music Fest, 2/2/2013

"There's nothing you can do to avoid a museum-ification of your own work when you put out a retrospective box set, but we're doing everything we can to keep it fresh," said [Zs' saxophonist Sam] Hillmer, a thoughtful and passionate performer for whom Zs ("It just means us.") has always held a firm creative perspective.

Influenced by overlapping currents of radical sound--free jazz, the 20th century classical avant-garde, punk rock and underground noise--the musicians applied rigorous technique to embrace its enthusiasms without cliché. "One thing that was really prevalent at the time was this kind of salad-bar approach to creating innovative music," Mr. Hillmer said later, flashing back to the early 2000s, when a certain canned hybridization was in vogue. "'Classical music that rocks!' That's a view of music that tacitly renders styles as alienated from one another. We find that to be philosophically untenable and untrue." - [Wall Street Journal]

The Ecstatic Music Fest continues on Wednesday (2/6) with Clogs and Sarah Kirkland Snider & Orchestra for the Next Century. Snider will be presenting Unremembered, a "13-song cycle set to poetry (and with accompanying projected artwork) by New-York-based poet/writer Nathaniel Bellows," and features vocal performances by DM Stith, My Brightest Diamond's Shara Worden (who performed the opening night) and Padma Newsome. The latter will also appear with band/chamber ensemble Clogs. More info is here and tickets are still available.

Clogs (which also features Bryce Dessner) have a new EP out titled The Sundown Song and you can check out the video for the title track below.

More pics from the 2/2 performance below...

Continue reading "DJ /Rupture & Zs played Ecstatic Music Fest (pics); Clogs & Sarah Kirkland Snider (w/ Shara Worden) play this week"

Clogs at Merkin Concert Hall in 2011 (more by David Andrako)

Clogs, the modern classical collective that sometimes counts The National's Bryce Dessner as a member, are releasing their new EP, The Sundown Song EP, the followup to 2010's The Creatures in the Garden of Lady Walton LP and Last Song, on February 5. You can download the title track HERE, or stream it along with the EP's cover art and tracklist, below.

Clogs has two dates scheduled for 2013 at the moment, including the previously discussed show on February 6 at the Merkin Concert Hall for a collaborative set with Sarah Kirkland Snider and Orchestra for the Next Century as part of the Ecstatic Music Festival. Since we last spoke, special guests Nathaniel Bellows, DM Stith, and Shara Worden were added. Tickets for that show are still available. Shara also plays her own Ecstatic Music Festival show to kick off the fest on January 25 at the Greene Space, but that show is sold out.

Bryce Dessner, who is busy with The National, is not confirmed to appear at Clogs' NYC show, but he will definitely appear at their Australia show in March. A list of all Clogs dates and the EP cover art and tracklist are below.

Continue reading "Clogs releasing new EP (download a track), playing Ecstatic Music Festival w/ Shara Worden, DM Stith & others (dates)"

Composer and songwriter Gabriel Kahane is playing Carnegie Hall tonight (10/25) with help from with Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond) and string quartet Brooklyn Rider. The performance includes the debut of The Fiction Issue, which was commissioned by Carnegie Hall, as well as songs by Ryan Adams, Benjamin Britten, Cee Lo Green, Yotam Haber, Charles Ives, Jerome Kern, Andrew Norman, Robert Schumann, and Chris Thile. Tickets are still available, including $10 student rush tickets.

Kahane will be at Carnegie Hall again on November 5 as part of a program called "Uncommon Threads" where he and Julian Lage, Aoife O'Donovan, and the American Contemporary Music Ensemble will be " exploring the ties between distinctive musical styles." Reservations for that performance can be made here.

Kahane has other dates around the country coming up as well and those are listed below, along with a stream of the Original Cast Recording of his musical, February House which was released this month.

While on the subject of Carnegie Hall, don't forget Fiction will be there on Saturday (10/27) with Deer Tick AND Diamond Rugs. plus help from Jason Isbell, Mark Sultan (BBQ), and Langhorne Slim. A few tickets are still available.

Continue reading "Gabriel Kahane playing Carnegie Hall tonight with Shara Worden and Brooklyn Rider and other dates"

My Brightest Diamond at BAM in May (more by David Andrako)

My Brightest Diamond (aka Shara Worden) will be performing solo in NYC TONIGHT (8/23) at MoMA in the Sculpture Garden as part of MoMA Nights. The event runs from 5:30 - 8:00 PM and Shara plays form 6:30 - 7:30. The concert is included with the price of admission to the museum.

My Brightest Diamond will also be playing "Soundcheck" on WNYC with host John Schaefer on Friday (8/24) at 2:30. She'll be performing with Brian Wolfe on drums, Chris Tarry on bass, and the yMusic ensemble, who she's worked with many times.

MBD has other dates coming up including a few more in NYC, like a free show at Segal Theatre Center CUNY on October 4 as part of "Kings of Macedonia" with Andrew Ondrejak, and another on October 25 at Zankel Hall for Gabriel Kahane's program which combines selections from Come on All You Ghosts, Where are the Arms, and the premiere of a new work commissioned by Carnegie Hall with songs by Ives, Schumann, Sufjan Stevens, Andrew Norman, Cee Lo Green, and others.

A list of all upcoming dates including a show at Chicago's new City Winery is below.

Continue reading "My Brightest Diamond playing MoMA tonight (& other dates)"

James Murphy at Brooklyn Bazaar (more by Dana (distortion) Yavin)

It's benefit season, don't you know? MoMA's annual Party in the Garden is on Tuesday (5/22) with Santigold as the featured performer, and then the next night (Wed. 5/23) it's the Spring Gala Benefit at The Kitchen, one of New York's oldest not-for-profit performance spaces. It happens at Capitale (130 Bowery) and this year's guests of honor are video and performance artist Joan Jonas and minimalist composer Steve Reich. The evening features performances from David Cossin (Bang on a Can), Jason Moran and My Brightest Diamond's Shara Worden. The afterparty features a DJ set from James Murphy.

Tickets are still available, and will set you back anywhere from $500 - $25,000. If you just want to go to the afterparty, tickets start at $75. The proceeds will support artistic and production fees for The Kitchen's annual presenting season, which features experimental work by innovative artists, both emerging and established. Programs range from dance, music, and theatrical performances to video and media arts exhibitions to literary events, film screenings, and artists' talks.

If you can't make the Spring Gala then you can still catch James Murphy behind the decks at GoogaMooga this weekend. He'll headline the Pagoda Stage on 5/19 as part of the ExtraMooga portion of the program. Tickets for ExtraMooga are still available and the full schedule of events (with times) are up. Murphy will also DJ the upcoming Roots Picnic.

photos by David Andrako

National week at Beacon Theater continued on Friday night, 12/16, for the fifth night in a row. Shara Worden's project My Brightest Diamond opened the show and she later joined The National on stage as did Thomas Bartlett aka Doveman, Richard Reed Parry of the Arcade Fire, Conrad Doucette, Rob Moose, Nadia Sirota and string quartet yMusic... and Phish's Trey Anastasio who members of the National are working with right now. As Jambands.com points out:

"The Phish guitarist emerged partway through the group's set for "Blood Buzz Ohio," "Squalor Victoria" and "Murder Me Rachel." While onstage, the members of The National described the guitarist as "a hero of ours." Anastasio reemerged alongside Arcade Fire multi-instrumentalist Richard Reed Parry the evening's opening act My Brightest Diamond to play guitar on "Terrible Love." All of the night's guests then joined the members of The National for an acoustic sing-along based around "Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks." National frontman Matt Berninger was particularly chatty throughout the show, jokingly describing Parry as a member of Kings of Leon and declaring "that's the sound of faces melting" after Anastasio's performance."

More about Night One HERE. Night Two HERE. Night Three HERE. Night Four HERE. More pictures and the setlist from Night Five (though none of the opening set unfortunately) below....

Continue reading "Trey Anastasio & others joined The National on Night 5 @ Beacon Theater (pics & setlist)"

yMusic at Castle Clinton in July (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Six-piece ensemble yMusic released their debut LP this past September, Beautiful Mechanical, with compositions by Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond (whose new album yMusic played on), Annie Clark, Son Lux, and others. They'll celebrate the album with a record release show in NYC on Sunday (12/4) at Rockwood Music Hall. Tickets are on sale now.

They'll perform in NYC again with My Brightest Diamond when they open for The National at Beacon Theater (12/16). Tickets for that show are still on sale.

yMusic are also play the Ecstatic Music Festival with album collaborator Son Lux (Ryan Lott) and Arcade Fire's Richard Reed Parry on February 8 at Merkin Concert Hall. Tickets are still available. Stream the Son Lux-composed track "Beautiful Mechanical" off yMusic's album here.

Speaking of Richard Parry, he was spotted in the audience of the Little Scream show the other day at Pianos. He also happened to co-produce the new Little Scream record (which he also contributed to musically). Maybe he'll be there at The Rock Shop in Brooklyn tonight (12/2) too.

My Brightest Diamond also has an upcoming show at Merkin Concert Hall, but hers is part of New York Guitar Festival. She plays on January 17, performing an original score for Buster Keaton's silent film Balloonatic, aliong with Keller WilliamsRedhooker, who will both also be performing scores of Keaton films. Tickets are still available. Shara is also one of the performers for David Lang's Making Music piece, along with Bryce Dessner of The National, Owen Pallett, Nico Muhly and others, which is being presented at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall on January 27. Tickets are on sale now.

All dates below...

Continue reading "yMusic playing Rockwood & other dates w/ My Brightest Diamond, Richard Reed Parry, Son Lux, The National & others"

by Andrew Sacher

DOWNLOAD: yMusic - "Proven Badlands" (composed by Annie Clark) (MP3)

My Brightest Diamond at Prospect Park in August (more by Amanda Hatfield)

My Brightest Diamond (aka Shara Worden) is set to release her third full length album All Things Will Unwind on October 18 via Asthmatic Kitty. She's already revealed the excellent track, "Reaching Through to the Other Side," which you can grab HERE. Now she's got a video for another album track, "Be Brave," which you can watch below. The song's got backing vocals by DM Stith, was engineered and mixed by Pat Dillett (Laurie Anderson, The National), and features instrumentation by yMusic, who play on every track of the album. The video was directed by Murat Eyuboglu, who has directed other videos for Shara in the past, and stars Jessica Dessner as a dancer.

Shara's got some upcoming dates in the next few months including an album release show in NYC on October 14 at Littlefield with yMusic and DM Stith, who both appear on her album. Tickets for that show are on sale now. All dates are listed below.

Speaking of yMusic, they will release their debut LP Beautiful Mechanical on September 27 via New Amsterdam Records. The album features tracks composed by Shara Worden, St. Vincent (Annie Clark), Son Lux, Sarah Kirkland Snider, Judd Greenstein, and Gabriel Kahane. You can download the St. Vincent-penned piece, "Proven Badlands," above and check out the album's tracklist below.

All dates, video, and tracklist below...

Continue reading "new My Brightest Diamond video & tour dates, new yMusic LP info & Annie Clark MP3 too"

My Brightest Diamond at Bowery Ballroom in 2010 (more by Chris La Putt)

Frequent Sufjan Stevens-collaborator (and now mother) Shara Worden aka My Brightest Diamond is opening for Sufjan at his previously announced Prospect Park show on August 2. Worden recorded vocals on the album epic "Impossible Soul" off Sufjan's The Age of Adz last year. Hopefully she'll come out and play it with him in Brooklyn. Tickets are still available.

My Brightest Diamond, who is busy working on a new album, also plays a free Castle Clinton show in NYC on July 7. Meanwhile she heads to Amsterdam for some performances of the Long Count. All dates are listed below.

Worden provided guest vocals on the recently released The Only She Chapters by Prefuse 73, who just released an EP with The Flaming Lips. Psych Explorations of the Future Heart has YouTube streams of all four songs. Those in Oklahoma can buy a 12" at Guestroom Records.

Flaming Lips have some shows coming up with Weezer. Prefuse 73 is on the lineup of Bass island.

Check out a new(ish) My Brightest Diamond video and more of her dates below...

Continue reading "My Brightest Diamond opening for Sufjan (dates), Prefuse 73 released an EP w/ the Flaming Lips (listen)"

photos by David Andrako

"Sufjan did not disappoint us. He came, he played banjo and sang We Were Here, acting in his self-effacing way just any other hired musician. It was a wonderful moment and a delightful surprise. But I don't want to sell Clogs short. The concert was delightful even before Sufjan arrived onstage.

Clogs put on a beautiful show as part of the excellent Ecstatic Music Festival. Wonderfully quirky vocalist Shara Worden, in an extremely colorful ensemble, joined Clogs to sing and play some guitar on several tunes from the latest Clogs album, The Creatures in the Garden of Lady Walton, on which she appears. The band also did some older tunes and a new song cycle, called Unattended Shadow, by the band's violist, Padma Newsome. (Clogs' lineup is rounded out by Rachael Elliott on bassoon and Thomas Kozumplik on percussion.)

One of the real treats of the evening, though, was the band's interaction with the fabulous Brooklyn Youth Chorus. They performed guitarist Bryce Dessner's new Tour Eiffel, which was premiered at the Nico Muhly Tell the Way show at St. Ann's Warehouse early in February."
[Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone]

Continue reading "Clogs, Brooklyn Youth Chorus, Shara Worden & Sufjan Stevens played Merkin Concert Hall (pics & setlist)"

Shara, Sufjan & Bryce @ the Bell House (more by David Andrako)

Tickets are still on sale for Saturday's Clogs/Brooklyn Youth Chorus Ecstatic Music Festival show that Shara Worden (and Sufjan Stevens) is also playing. "The set list includes works from recent Clogs albums as well as a new piece from Bryce Dessner (The National) and a world premiere by Padma Newsome."

DOWNLOAD: Clogs - On the Edge (MP3)

The National @ the Studio (more by David Andrako)

Not only did Bryce play a live MTV taping with the National last night, he's playing a fashion week party tonight (Wednesday) and three shows this weekend at St. Ann's Warehouse (Thursday-Saturday), AND he has an Ecstatic Music Festival show on Thursday night too...

Composer/Guitarist Bryce Dessner of The National is excited to premiere two separate compositions in New York City on Thursday, February 10. The first commission was awarded to Bryce by Bang on a Can All Stars' People's Commissioning Fund. The piece will be performed at Merkin Hall by Bang on a Can All-Stars (details HERE).

Bryce will be performing his second piece, "Tour Eiffel" at St. Ann's alongside Nico Muhly, Sam Amidon and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus Feb 10th-12th.

More National tour dates HERE. Clogs dates below...

Continue reading "Bryce Dessner is having a very busy week, Shara Worden playing w/ Clogs & Brooklyn Youth Chorus in March"

the marquee on Night Two (more by Chris Gersbeck)

Shara Worden made a surprise appearance at last night's Decemberists show, the last of three Beacon Theatre shows for the Portland band who are currently #1 on the Billboard chart (as Colin Meloy acknowledged briefly at the show). Meloy also...

"...said that, because of the snow outside, they would be playing a "wintery mx" of songs, book-ended by two songs about summer. In between there were tracks from albums The Crane Wife, The Hazards of Love and the afore-mentioned best-selling The King is Dead. Each song was accompanied by a change in colour of the stage backdrop, which is also the cover of their latest album. They also roped in musicians from "The Decemberists Family " like Shara Worden (who guests on The Wanting Comes in Waves/Repaid) and Sara Watkins - such captivating singers that I want to hear more of." [Miss N-Tertaiment]

Continue reading "The Decemberists ended their Beacon run w/ special guest Shara Worden (who plays Lincoln Center tonight)"

today in NYC
* Jay-Z @ NYPL
* Whiplash @ UCB
* Leni Stern @ Barbes
* Chicha Libre @ Barbes
* DJ Shadow, Pigeon John @ Irving Plaza
* Sufjan Stevens, DM Stith @ Beacon Theatre
* Minor Stars, Parlour, Kordan, deVries @ Pianos
* Easy Action, The Men, Pregnant @ The Acheron
* Adam Rudolph's Go Organic Orchestra @ Roulette
* Cheer-Accident, Stats, Inzinzac, Xaddax @ Cake Shop
* Steve Lewis & the Vagrants, Oh Land @ Mercury Lounge
* Mumford & Sons, Cadillac Sky, King Charles @ Terminal 5
* Fiction Plane (Sting's son), The Globes @ Mercury Lounge
* Jason Anderson, Mount Moriah, Modest Midas @ The Rock Shop
* Charlie Hunter Trio, Mark Guiliana's Beat Music @ Le Poisson Rouge
* Feather and Folly, Zachary Cale, La Defense, Plates of Cake @ Zebulon
* Jimmy Herring & Jamie Mclean of Widespread Panic @ Highline Ballroom
* Vicky Emerson, The Bowmans, Tony Scherr Trio, Jim Campilongo Electric Trio, Tony Mason @ The Living Room
* Jonsi, Kjartan Sveinsson of Sigur Ros, The Hilliard Ensemble, Latvian National Choir, Wordless Music Orchestra @ The Church of St. Paul the Apostle
* Hot Tub w/ Kurt Braunohler, Hannibal Buress, Shonali Bhowmik, Scott Moran, Jane Borden, Julian McCullough @ Littlefield

Easy Action (members of Negative Approach) hit the Acheron tonight.

Mike Birbiglia is confirmed to appear at Whiplash at UCB tonight (reservations still available as of this posting)

Sarah Kirkland Snider has a new video for "The Lotus Eaters" featuring Shara Worden and Signal. Check it out below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Monday?"

My Brightest Diamond @ LPR in 2008 (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

Lincoln Center's acclaimed series American Songbook returns in January for its thirteenth season celebrating the diversity of American popular song. For 16 nights of pop, folk, cabaret, country, rock, and show tunes, the series will explore the best of the golden age of musical standards through to today's most dynamic songwriting. The 2011 season - January 12 through February 20 - will bring to the stage some of today's most gifted interpreters of song, starting with the luminous legend Barbara Cook, the multi-faceted Joan Osborne, as well as the newest toast of Broadway, Kate Baldwin. It will feature opportunities to hear the acclaimed opera star
Pfizer is a proud sponsor of Lincoln Center's American Songbook 2011.

Stephanie Blythe and stage and film actress Anika Noni Rose who make their solo pop concert debuts, and the enduring influence of Latin music in the American Songbook canon will be represented by the modern bossa nova of Bebel Gilberto and the Cuban rhythms of Broadway star Raul Esparza. Arguably the greatest songwriting team in American Songbook history are the brothers George and Ira Gershwin, and they will be the subject of a Rob Fisher tribute with an array of dazzling voices.

by BBG

Jedi Mind Tricks at Rock The Bells 2010 (more by Eric Townsend)

Jedi Mind Tricks will celebrate the most evil of all holidays with Halloween Havoc, a string of tour dates that will include Bowery Ballroom on 10/30. Tickets go on AmEx presale at noon Wednesday (9/1) and regular sale on Friday (9/3) at noon. All dates below..

Vinnie Paz of Jedi Mind Tricks released his solo debut in June entitled Season Of The Assassin. The LP features appearances from Clipse, Beanie Sigel, Freeway, Paul Wall, and others along with production from DJ Muggs, Madlib, Lord Finesse, Da Beatminerz, Lil' Fame (MOP) and others. "Keep Movin' On", the latest single, is a collaboration with Shara Worden (aka My Brightest Diamond who has collaborated with JMT before). The Video for that song is below.

Speaking of Vinnie Paz and DJ Muggs, Paz recently appeared on title track to the DJ Muggs Vs Ill Bill LP Kill Devil Hills (out NOW). The video for that track is below too...

Continue reading "Jedi Mind Tricks schedule dates, Vinnie Paz's LP out now "

DOWNLOAD: Sarah Kirkland Snider's "This Is What You're Like" (feat. Shara Worden) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: William Brittelle - Dunes of Vermillion (MP3)

Sarah and Shara...

New Amsterdam Records is pleased to announce a very special evening of complete performances of two upcoming albums by two of our co-Directors: Sarah Kirkland Snider's PENELOPE, featuring the extraordinary vocalist Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond) with New York "supergroup" Signal (conducted by Brad Lubman), and William Brittelle's TELEVISION LANDSCAPE, featuring an ensemble comprised of members of Alarm Will Sound, NOW Ensemble, The Long Count, and more.

The show is the only chance to hear Penelope performed live by Shara and Signal any time soon. They promise it won't happen again until at least after the album comes out in August which is probably around the time that Shara Worden also officially becomes a mom. Shara's recent busy-while-pregnant schedule has included sets with Clogs and her own band, My Brightest Diamond, at Big Ears, as well as a surprise appearance with Regina Spektor (and Nicole Atkins) at Irving Plaza.

"Regina Spektor was joined on stage for duets with Only Son's Jack Dishel, who beatboxed the h-e-double hockey sticks out of "Hotel Song." Jersey native, Nicole Atkins, sang her heart out choosing a new song, "Towers," over the audience requested favorite, "Neptune City." Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond) rocked while timing her "pregnancy breaths" into performances of "Inside a Boy" and "Feeling Good." Spektor delighted fans with favorites like "Après Moi," "Us," "Blue Lips," On the Radio," "Fidelity," "Better," "Music Box," "Eet," and "Laughing With." Her rendition (lyrics in hand) of "Hallelujah" was hauntingly gorgeous. She ended the evening with "Samson" and graciously thanked her string section, all the performers, and the audience for supporting such an important cause." [quasihip]

Continue reading "Sarah Kirkland Snider releasing (MP3) & performing Penelope w/ soon to be mom Shara Worden, Signal, William Brittelle"

by Andrew Frisicano

this post concludes our Big Ears 2010 Festival coverage. links to the first two posts are also below...

"When people ask what my favorite place to play is, I tell them about this place. It's like playing inside an Easter egg," quipped My Brightest Diamond's Shara Worden, gazing at the deep-sea blue dome overhead at Knoxville's Tennessee Theater. The psychedelic cavern, a mish-mash of decorative styles and colors, served as the home to the Big Ears festival's largest shows, and its final act on Sunday night, with headliner the National.

The National's presence was felt long before they took the stage - in the hand of guitarist Bryce Dessner, who co-curated the fest, in the National members' supporting gigs, playing behind Doveman, Clogs and others, and in the abundance of friends and fellow Brooklyn-ites in the Big Ears lineup. Of course, those are all connected. One look at the stage during the first song of the National's encore - "Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks" off their forthcoming High Violet - revealed a selection of Big Ears' top acts - Nico Muhly, St. Vincent, Shara Worden and sometimes-National members Padma Newsome and Thomas Bartlett (Sufjan came out for a song, but not during the encore), all of whom performed earlier in the weekend on their own. (Read here about days one and two)

Attendees also had the chance to opt for music outside of that circle. At Big Ears Annex, Tim Hecker and Ben Frost collaborated for a set of fragile, icy noise (they both played on their own earlier too - Hecker opened for Bang on a Can All-Stars' performance of Music For Aiports and the Books at the TN Theater). Trio Konk Pack took the same stage later for improvised noises, pops and whirs - like the soundtrack to an invisible film. The night before, one could choose between Liturgy and Gang Gang Dance - two bands at the top of their respective genres - while Terry Riley's In C filled the Tennessee Theater to its elliptical rafters.

Around the corner from the Annex at the Pilot Light, KnoEars, an unaffiliated, somewhat anti-Big Ears DIY Fest, hosted an all-day lineup that included homemade noise, Replacements-style punk and more emanating into Sunday's rainy street.

Terry Riley, selected to be this year's resident guide, performed four times over the three days - all in different settings. Other repeat acts like Thomas Bartlett (Doveman), who played with Sam Amidon, the fest's first act (interviewed here), and The National, its last, were frequent Knoxville fixtures for the three-day fest, running to their own gigs or enjoying others'.

"Mr. Riley also enjoyed a fair number of other people's shows, especially the art-song band Clogs. ("They were the hit for me," he said, beaming over breakfast on Monday morning. "Great performers, great writing. I'm going to buy their CD when I get home.")" [NY Times]

More pictures and videos from the fest are below...

Continue reading "Big Ears Fest Day 3 - The National, My Brightest Diamond, St. Vincent, Tim Hecker & Ben Frost, more (pics, video, review) "

by Andrew Frisicano

Sufjan Stevens

Collaborations were the order of the day on Big Ears' Saturday, March 27th schedule (day two). At 1pm, the 802 Tour - Nico Muhly, Thomas Bartlett (Doveman) and Sam Amidon with violist Nadia Sirota - performed songs written by each. The National's Dessner brothers and drummer Bryan Devendorf joined for a selection of full-band Doveman songs, and the finale was a clamoring, epic version of the folk song "The Two Sisters" arranged by Nico (part of the percussion included Nico combing Thomas's hair). Sam played his own set with help from Thomas one day earlier, and later Saturday night.

Before that, the day started with Andrew W.K.'s Q&A-heavy lecture at the Knoxville Museum of Art (he played a set of music the night before) and a Bang on a Can All-Stars set that included works by Dave Longstreth, both at noon. Dirty Projectors performed later in the day (3:45pm) at Tennessee Theatre on a bill that also included DJ/Rupture and William Basinski who went on at the same time as Liturgy (who played at the Big Ears Annex at 2pm and then again at Pilot Light at midnight).

Clogs took the stage at the Bijou Theater with guests as well. Rumors of a solo set by Sufjan Steven circulated, but he only played one of his own songs, "Barn Owl Night Killer," on piano. Clogs were also assisted by Shara Worden, Aaron Dessner and Calder Quartet. Matt Berninger was delayed en route to Knoxville, so he didn't make his duet on "Last Song," for which main Clog Padma Newsome filled in. That wasn't the actual last song - new-album closer "We Were Here" was, which featured Sufjan on vocals and banjo along with Shara Worden and guitar by Aaron Dessner. A similar show happened in Brooklyn a few days earlier.

Joanna Newsom

The Saturday headliners - Vampire Weekend and Joanna Newsom - both played to sold out crowds (Vampire Weekend at the sprawling, ornate-adorned 1600 seat Tennessee Theater with opener Abe Vigoda). Joanna Newsom's set was opened by Fred Armisen aka Jens Hannemann, a master of "complicated drummer technique." Armisen also joined her set for one song to play awkward and out-of-place cowbell.

At the Tennessee, the night ended with Terry Riley's Autodreamagraphical Tales - music from Bang on a Can over Terry reading from his actual dreams (Eastern religion and weed popped up frequently) - and In C, led by BoaC's Evan Ziporyn and featuring the rest of Bang on a Can All-Stars as well as Calder Quartet, Clogs, Nico Muhly, Nadia Sirota, Gyan Riley, and Terry on voice. The open-ended song stretched to an hour, canceling out any chance to catch late night sets from Javelin and Gang Gang Dance. Gang Gang was stil going when I arrived, but the club shut down the power mid-song and flipped on the lights promptly at 3am, sending everyone home.

A recap of Friday is HERE. More pictures and videos from Saturday are below...

Continue reading "Big Ears Fest Day 2 - Joanna Newsom, Clogs w/ Sufjan, Fred Armisen, Nico Muhly, Terry Riley, more (pics, video, review) "

photos by David Andrako

"Clogs tonight at the Bell House Brooklyn w/ the astonishing Shara Worden and (briefly) Sufjan Stevens: Complex, transfixing, transcendent" - Frank Rose

As promised, Sufjan showed up to perform with Shara Worden and Clogs (featuring members of the National) at the Bell House last night. The whole crew is now off to Tennessee for the Big Ears Festival which kicks off Friday with performances by Sam Amidon, Andrew WK, The xx, Ben Frost and others (full schedule HERE). Some more pictures from last night's Clogs show in Brooklyn below...

Continue reading "Clogs played the Bell House w/ Sufjan Stevens, Shara Worden & Olof Arnalds (pics), Big Ears Festival kicks off Friday"

DOWNLOAD: Clogs - Red Seas w/ Padma Newsome (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Clogs - On The Edge (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Clogs - Three-Two (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Clogs live on WNYC (MP3)

Olof Arnalds @ SXSW 2010 (more by Dominick Mastrangelo)

Chamber group Clogs played live (and spoke) on WNYC on Monday. You can listen at their site (and download it above).

Wednesday night (tonight, 3/24) is Clogs' record release show at The Bell House in Brooklyn. They've confirmed that Sufjan Stevens and My Brightest Diamond's Shara Worden (who also played with them on WNYC and was a special guest at the Regina Spektor show at Irving Plaza Tuesday night) will be their guests. Whether Sufjan will sing or not isn't 100% clear, but like Shara, he does sing on the new album.

The National's Padma Newsome and Bryce Dessner are permanent members of Clogs. Bryce's twin brother Aaron and the National's Matt Berninger aren't, but will also play with the group when they perform at the Big Ears Fest in Knoxville, Tennessee this weekend.

Opening the Brooklyn show is Julianna Barwick and Olof Arnalds who was just in Texas for SXSW. Tickets are still on sale.

Full Big Ears schedule at their site.

Continue reading "Clogs played WNYC (listen), confirm that Sufjan & Shara Worden will join them in Brooklyn (and in Knoxville)"

Shara Worden @ Bowery Ballroom in January (more by Chris La Putt)

tonight in NYC
* Soulive @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Chuck Prophet @ Southpaw
* Neon Indian @ Webster Hall
* Q-Tip the Abstract (DJ) @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Stephen Drury plays John Zorn @ The Stone
* Backwords, Spirit Family Reunion @ Sycamore
* Vinicio Capossela @ (Le) Poisson Rouge
* Ben Sollee & Daniel Martin Moore @ Joe's Pub
* Minusbaby, Tristan Perich, TBA @ Silent Barn
* Joseph Arthur, The White Buffalo @ City Winery
* ADULT, The Depreciation Guild @ The Frying Pan
* Ghostface, Raekwon @ Nokia Theatre Times Square
* Muse, Silversun Pickups @ Madison Square Garden
* Here We Go Magic, Glass Ghost, Caveman @ Zebulon
* Dragons of Zynth, Chica Vas, Hard Nips @ Glasslands
* The Tony Castles, Keepaway, Forest City @ Cake Shop
* The Jaguar Club, Coyote Eyes, Serica Ux @ Bruar Falls
* Heloise & The Savoir Faire @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Pierced Arrows, Lullabye Arkestra @ (late) Mercury Lounge
* Adam's Castle, Monuments, Appomattox, Penmanship @ Union Hall
* Goes Cube, East Of The Wall, The Austerity Program @ Union Pool
* The New Colossus, Yoni Gordon, Mussels, Game Rebellion @ Don Pedro
* Anamanaguchi, Henry Homesweet, Sabrepulse, Starscream @ Market Hotel
* Xeno & Oaklander, Led Er Est, Frank Alpine, Kordan, Fan-Tan @ The Cameo
* Justin Townes Earle, Joe Pug, Annie and the Beekeepers @ Bowery Ballroom
* Sleepies, The Brooklyn What, Donner Party Picnic, Highway Gimps @ Shea Stadium
* Lauren Ambrose & the Leisure Class, Wahoo Skiffle Crazies @ The Bell House
* Tanlines, Lemonade, Janka Nabay, Pictureplane, Blondes @ Monster Island Basement
* Dinosaur Feathers, Darlings, Lonnie Walker, Pearl & The Beard @ Studio at Webster Hall
* Leatherface, Yesterdays Ring, Bridge and Tunnel, Cerebral Ballzy @ Knitting Factory Brooklyn
* Edison Woods, Dayna Kurtz & Mamie Minch, Sarah Small, Black Sea Hotel (Shara Worden-curated 2-night fest) @ 92YTribeca

Vitalic has a new video for "Second Lives". Check it out below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Friday?"

Little Boots @ Bowery Ballroom in September (more by Chris La Putt)

tonight in NYC
* Shout Out Louds @ Pianos
* Soulive & Vernon Reid @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Living Days, Follower @ Glasslands
* Flogging Molly @ Hammerstein Ballroom
* Bobby Previte @ Rose Live Music
* Corinne Bailey Rae @ Apple Store Soho
* K-OS, Jon Oliver @ (Le) Poisson Rouge
* Gil Scott-Heron & Friends @ Blue Note
* Jay-Z, Young Jeezy @ Madison Square Garden
* Afuche, Elks, Hyimn, Wizardry @ Death By Audio
* Rogue Wave, Avi Buffalo @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Bushwick Book Club plays 'Dark Knight Returns' @ Goodbye Blue Monday
* Little Boots, Class Actress, Body Language, JDH & Dave P @ Highline Ballroom
* Cage the Elephant, As Tall As Lions, Morning Teleportation @ Bowery Ballroom
* Sky White Tiger, The Beasts of Eden, Wu Li, Holistic @ Knitting Factory Brooklyn
* The Music of the Who w/ Sondre Lerche, Robyn Hitchcock, Living Colour, Bob Mould, more @ Carnegie Hall

Tonight's So So Glos show at Littlefield has been cancelled.

Tonight's K-OS w/ Jon Oliver at Le Poisson Rouge has been cancelled.

JBM has been added as opener for tonight and tomorrow's Rogue Wave shows.

Thom Yorke is going on tour in April. Tickets for some of the shows go on WASTE presale some time today. UPDATE: went on sale and sold out.

Bushwick Book Club this month features songs about Dark Knight Returns (the comic). Performers include Breez Evahflowin, Core Rhythm, Timothy Dark, Susanna Pryce, Anna Leuchtenberger, Susan Hwang and We Stole the Show - flyer below.

Jay-Z's Blueprint 3 tour visits MSG tonight. He plays Izod Center this weekend and Nassau Coliseum next, and you can catch him at both Bonnaroo and Coachella this year.

Soullive kick off "Bowlive", a 2 week residency at Brooklyn Bowl tonight. Flyer below.

Shara Worden is curating 2 nights at 92YTribeca Friday and Saturday. A video of her (My Brightest Diamond) performing "Golden Star" live, below...

The Twilight Sad is going on tour with Mono. Their video for "The Room" below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Tuesday?"