words & photos by Faith-Ann Young

This Sunday (11/2) was the last frigid night of Speigelworld. The wind picked up off the water and sent a chill to all the unfortunate ones who read the times listed on Deer Tick and The Felice Brothers' Myspace pages and came at 8pm. A cold, whiskey-filled two and a half hours later, the heavily lumberjack-plaid crowd packed into the circular tent (no joke, never seen more plaid in lower Manhattan in my 8 years here).

Deer Tick played first and you can read about that HERE.

Then The Felice Brothers came on late for a Sunday, demanding energy from the visibly sleepy crowd. They did so combining accordian, guitar, violins, ducktaped washboard, drums, jumps, jives, yelps, and brotherly joshing. Their bluesy tunes, sing-along screaming, dime-sack, type-writer and Gin references, and the Speigeltent's physical distance from all other things New York - all combined to serve as a good, cathartic escape from winter, recession, and reality. Showing the crowd how they "do it in the Catskills" (lots of jumping, foot stomping, and guitar improv), they had the crowd pawing at their feet, reliving "I put some whiskey into my whiskey," and singing along way past their bed time.

Dar Williams, Bruce Hornsby, and The Felice Brothers are playing the WFUV holiday show at The Concert Hall in NYC on December 2nd. Tickets are on sale. More Spiegeltent pictures (AA Bondy on guitar included) below...

Continue reading "The Felice Brothers - Spiegelworld pics, WFUV holiday show"

photos by Faith-Ann Young

DOWNLOAD: Deer Tick - Beautiful Girls (Sean Kingston Cover) (MP3)

"Despite the dismal Spiegeltent acoustics, Deertick's rough-hewn blues folk is a refreshing break from today's production-heavy pop. John McCauley screeching, slurring, scratching and finger-plunking with lazy eyes. It's easy to succumb to band's loose playing style and 'my-porch-is-your-porch' Americana charm. Like life's greatest ephiphanies, the more beer imbibed, the more the words made sense. By the end of their set, Deertick had the crowd woozy and warm. Then, they did a cover of "La Bamba." Ritchie Valens' "La Bamba." Now, let's be honest: though Ritchie Valens may be an inspiration of McCauley's, pretty much any white country blues band that covers "La Bamba" is asking for associations with (bad) wedding bands. We'd have much preferred their killer rendition Sean Kingston's "Beautiful Girl"......But hey, truth told, the crowd seemed to love it and sway along....and sure it made the whiskey go down smoother." - Faith

Some may remember that I announced this show almost two months ago, but got in trouble and quickly removed the post. This is what I wrote at the time:

BrooklynVegan is proud to present Deer Tick's NYC record re-release party at Southpaw in Brooklyn on November 8th. Luke Temple and Those Darlins will open the show. Tickets are on sale.

The Southpaw show is six days after Deer Tick plays the Spiegeltent in Manhattan with the Felice Brothers who are playing Maxwell's with AA Bondy this Saturday (9/13).

Deer Tick also have another record re-release party, Friday in Rhode Island. The record is out November 11th. All dates and Spiegelworld pictures below....

Continue reading "Deer Tick - record release (BV Presents) show Saturday in Brooklyn, pics from Spiegeltent"

Photos by Chris La Putt

The quirky and talented Nellie McKay played a show at Spiegelworld in NYC last night, Sunday, October 12, 2008. It was billed as "Songs of Fear and Longing - Nellie McKay Covers the Classics" and that's exactly what she did. She sang a number of jazz standards by Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and Irving King, and also played less popular songs, and some of her own.

Tickets are now on sale for a show she's playing at (le) poisson rouge on December 2nd. All dates and more Spiegel-pictures, and a partial setlist, below...

Continue reading "Nellie McKay - SpiegelTent pics & more 2008 Tour Dates "

photos by Gabi Porter

Last night (September 30), The Bird and The Bee (Inara George and Greg Kurstin) played to a packed house at Spiegelworld - the same venue The Dodos played one night earlier. Fellow LA band Willoughby opened. If you missed it, there's always Maxwell's. More Spiegelpictures below...

Continue reading "The Bird and The Bee @ the Spiegeltent, NYC - pics"

photos by Ryan Muir

DOWNLOAD: Au - RR vs. D (MP3)

the Dodos

Despite having one sick member, San Francisco's the Dodos played their scheduled show with Portland's Au (pronounced "Ay-You") at Spiegelworld in NYC last night (9/29) They did have to cancel the secret show they were going to play tonight (9/30) at Death by Audio though, and the not-secret one they were planning on playing in Northampton on Wednesday. All other tour dates are still on. More pictures from last night's show below...

Continue reading "Au & the Dodos @ the Spiegelent in NYC - pics"

by 'Week in Indie' Bill Pearis

Have you been to Spiegletent this season, or ever? The mobile space, which is in town for three months or so on the north side of the South Street Seaport, creates a Cabaret-like atmosphere filled with mirrors and brocade that, if you're seeing the right performance, can make for a lovely evening that can be worth the hassle of the location, the generally late set times, and pricey drinks. I think the key is going to see a band matches the charm of the space. There are two this week that I think fit the bill.

Monday night (9/29) it's the Dodos and Au. Maybe buzz on the Dodos has finally died down, but I was a little surprised to see this wasn't sold out yet. (Maybe it's the venue's prices and complicated ticketing system which is a pain). Tuesday night (9/30), it's L.A. duo The Bird and the Bee, and I think that may be the utimate Spiegletent event of the season. The electronics sprinkled jazz pop made by duo Inara George and Greg Kurtsin is tailor-made for coffee shops, hair salons and episodes of Grey's Anatomy, but that doesn't mean that it's not tuneful and charming in its own right. (Kurtsin is an in-demand collaborator, and co-wrote some of the best songs on Lily Allen's debut.) They are also prolific, releasing an album and two EPs over the last year-and-a-half that are all worth checking out. Their next full-length album, Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future, is due out on January 27, 2009 on Blue Note.

Live, The Bird and the Bee really come alive, fleshed out with back-up singers and a backing band featuring Kurtsin and George's session musician pals including ace drummer Joey Waronker. And Inara George is a funny, charismatic presence. Nothing against shambolic indie rock, but hearing a band this good with their effervescent songs can be a bit of a revelation.

If you miss Tuesday's show, The Bird and the Bee will be back in the NYC-area again on October 5th to play Maxwell's. It's the last night of their current tour. Tickets are on sale. All dates & a video below...

Continue reading "The Bird & the Bee - 2008 Tour Dates, the Spiegeltent"

The Dodos @ the 2008 Siren Festival (more by Leia Jospe)

Continue reading "The Dodos - 2008 Tour Dates (Spiegelworld Monday)"

photos by Chris La Putt

Thomas Bartlett (Doveman)

Martha Wainwright

Martha Wainwright played Spiegelworld's Spiegeltent in NYC near the South Street Seaport last night (Sept 16). As usual, she was joined on stage by a cast of talented musicians - some friends, some relatives. Unlike usual, this show, entitled "Martha Wainwright sings Edith Piaf", was heavy on the Piaf covers. She said it was a rehearsal of sorts for a future recording. The setlist also included "Dis quand reviendras-tu?" by Barbara, a French folk song sung by Kate & Anna McGarrigle, and a Josephine Baker song performed by Rufus. More pictures and the setlist below...

Continue reading "Martha Wainwright sang Edith Piaf @ Spiegeltent w/ Rufus, Doveman, Kate & Anna too - pics, setlist"

Nellie @ a Nader rally - Aug 27, 2008 (globalpunditorg)

Continue reading "Nellie McKay - 2008 Tour Dates (tonight @ Drom)"

THE CITIZENS BAND presents "The Panic is On" - Sept. 7th / 8th / 9th @ Spiegeltent

Visionary musical troupe The Citizens Bandare taking over the Spiegeltent for a three-night extravaganza. The Citizens Band is a sexy, ribald musical troupe renowned for their dazzling song and dance performances. "The Panic Is On," their sixth original show in three years, finds the troupe trapped in a makeshift bomb shelter, where they're forced to find common ground and hope in a terror filled world. Performing a spirited mix of classic songs and original compositions, they ponder such issues as fear mongering, war, immigration, xenophobia, poverty and their own dreams for political change. These shows also mark the troupe's debut performance with director Gordon Greenberg (Jacques Brel is Alive and Well, Assisted Loving), and features special guests Nina Persson of The Cardigans, Becky Stark of Lavender Diamond and Amanda Palmer of The Dresden Dolls.

Craig is probably too busy working with Nina's husband.

Amanda Palmer also performed her own show at the same venue earlier this year.

DOWNLOAD: Deer Tick - Art Isn't Real (City of Sin) (MP3)

Partisan Records is ecstatic to announce the signing of Deer Tick. Partisan will re-issue Deer Tick's debut War Elephant on November 25, 2008. The re-issue will be released on both double limited edition vinyl and CD with new album artwork. Partisan Records will also be releasing a full-length album of early original Deer Tick songs at a later date.

Songwriting prodigy John McCauley III wrote and recorded War Elephant at the age of 20, and plays every single instrument on the album. Originally a very limited release, the album [that I love a lot] quickly went out of print. The War Elephant re-issue will also represent the first ever vinyl release from Deer Tick.

Deer Tick is going on tour with The Felice Brothers who have a whole bunch of their own dates even sooner including September 13th at Maxwell's with AA Bondy (tix). The Deer/Felice NYC date is at Spiegelworld on November 2nd. All dates for all of them (and more photos from the above bikinis and guns photoshoot) below...

Continue reading "Deer Tick (Partisan Records) & the Felice Brothers tour dates "

photos by Dese'Rae L. Stage

Continue reading "Amanda Palmer @ Spiegelworld, NYC - pics"

Deerhoof @ Prospect Park on 7/18/08 (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

"For me the thing about Obama is I really like the way he talks. In the Demo debates it would be someone talking gibberish, then someone else countering in gibberish, then he'd start in and suddenly every word made sense." [Greg Saunier of Deerhoof]

Deerhoof recently released their first "single" from the upcoming Offend Maggie (due Oct 7th) in the form of sheet music. All tour dates below...

Continue reading "DEERHOOF add 2008 Tour Dates, answer "Why Obama?""

Welcome to Spiegelworld... the world's most beautiful travelling venue.

With its opulent decor of mirrors and brocade, the intimate 350-seat spiegeltent is the venue for two of the hottest shows in town, ABSINTHE and DESIR. This year we will bring you a second theatre complete with our late night extravaganza, GAZILLIONAIRE'S LATE NITE LOUNGE, and an incredible line-up of live music performances from around the world like you've never seen them before.

With breathtaking views, sit back with a cocktail at sunset in our Green Fairy Garden, snuggle up in our full-service on-site restaurant, and after the show, dance under the stars with our eclectic DJ sessions, every Tuesday to Sunday night. [Spiegelworld]

Continue reading "Spiegelworld NYC - 2008 concert schedule announced"

The Dodos @ SoundFix (more by Leia Jospe)

The Dodos have revealed an upcoming show at the Spiegeltent in NYC on September 28th. Spiegelworld is a unique, seasonal venue (a spiegeltent) down by South Street Seaport that is now in its third year. They haven't actually revealed any of their summer concert lineup yet (stay tuned for that).

The Dodos are also playing the Siren Festival in July, so you don't have to wait until September. All tour dates below....

Continue reading "The Dodos - 2008 Tour Dates (Spiegelworld / Pop Montreal)"

The bar/table/dancing/hammock area at Spiegelworld by the South Street Seaport is really nice - outdoors and right on the water. Last night I was there for the Jose Gonzalez show (which is in the inside ticketed part - the outside is sort of a separate thing). It was cold and rainy, so there weren't that many people out there, but as you can see from the above photo (that I just came across on Flickr) - occasionaly it can become a regular party. Caption the photo in the comments, and if you also want the chance to win tickets to a show at SpiegelWorld, or a "SXSW Live 2007" DVD, keep reading below for instructions.....

Continue reading "SpiegelWorld - caption it & win (tix or a SXSW DVD)"