photos by Amanda Hatfield

The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger

South Street Seaport kicked off their season of free River to River shows on Friday night (6/26) with a headlining set by Sean Lennon's band The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger.Blood Orange aka Dev Hynes of Lightspeed Champion opened the show. Pictures from the show are in this post.

The next Seaport show was Sunday afternoon when My Teenage Stride played a set at the Fulton Market as part of the Sound Bites Sunday series of shows that continues on July 3rd with The Hairs. The next free Friday show is this Friday, July 1st with Lower Dens and Dirty Beaches. The full list of Seaport shows (not counting the Beekman Beer Garden ones), and more pictures and videos from Friday, below...

Continue reading "The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger (Sean Lennon & Charlotte Kemp Muhl) played the Seaport w/ Blood Orange (pics, video)"

photos by Greg Cristman

Yoko Ono's Secret Piece (1953)
throughout Central Park from 5AM - 8AM on June 21, 2011.
Celebrate the summer solstice with Yoko Ono's meditative Secret Piece, at sunrise in Central Park.

We will meet at Columbus Circle starting at 5AM. Bring any musical instrument or just your voice, and we will send you to a secluded part of the park to play the note of your choice to the accompaniment of birds.

At 8AM we will all return to Columbus Circle for hot green tea.

UPDATE: Apparently Yoko didn't even go to her own event. ZINGARA says "I woke up really early this morning thinking that different musicians where going to get together and play a Yoko Ono tone. instead i got there and everybody was on their own wandering around the park like a homeless person. There was someone there but as soon you sign your name they send you away." Lori Zimmer adds, "woke @ 330 to go to central pk... was handed a map with little explanation. very disappointed, not much explanation, no yoko, green tea from starbucks out of styrofoam cups after 3 hours...."

The other pictures in this post are from that Japan benefit that Yoko Ono threw at Le Poisson Rouge in March. You already saw the Cibo Matto pics from the same event. Here are the rest with Yoko, Sean Lennon, Patti Smith, Lenny Kaye, Antony, Lou Reed and more included. They continue below...

Continue reading "spend Tuesday morning with Yoko Ono in Central Park (check out some Japan Benefit pics in this post)"

Floored by Four @ Summerstage (more by Paul Bachmann)

The December 6th show at Le Poisson Rouge in NYC:

• is a 50th birthday party for Cibo Matto's Yuka Honda who used to be married to Dougie Bowne who she has a long history of playing music with, used to date Sean Lennon who she frequently collaborates with, and who is now engaged or married to guitar wizard Nels Cline of Wilco (Wikipedia says their wedding was scheduled for late November in Japan, so if that's true, congratulations to them!)
• will feature a live performance by Floored by Four aka Mike Watt, Dougie Bowne, Yuka C. Honda, and Nels Cline. It will be their 2nd live show ever which means their first must have been that Summerstage show with M Ward
• will feature a Nels Cline solo set "+ friendly jamming after 10:30pm"
• will include a set titled "Yuka & Miho cover Cibo Matto" which I assume means a Cibo Matto show, but without any of Yuka and Cibo's other band members?

Nels Cline will also be back at the same NYC venue on February 26th for "The Nels Cline Singers and ROVA perform 'The Celestial Septet'". Tickets are on sale for that too. All Nels dates below.

Will Nels Cline, Mike Watt, Yuka Honda, and/or Dougie Bowne play with Yo La Tengo at Maxwell's this week? I don't know, but it would be pretty cool.

Will Nels Cline's Wilco bandmate Jeff Tweedy play with Yo La Tengo at Maxwell's this week? Very likely.

Will Sean Lennon show up and play at all at LPR on 12/6? Maybe? Will Yuka Honda play with Sean Lennon and Charlotte Kemp Muhl aka The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger at Rockwood Music Hall on January 8th? Maybe?

Can Yuka Honda, Dougie Bowne, Sean Lennon, and Nels Cline all be in the same room and everything be completely normal? Apparently?

Oh, and speaking of turning 50, don't forget tickets to Henry Rollins' upcoming shows at Joe's Pub go on sale Friday at noon.

Enjoy some birthday cake, with all Nels Cline tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Yuka Honda turning 50 -- Floored by Four w/ Mike Watt & her spouse Nels Cline playing 2nd gig ever, Cibo Matto show too"

by Andrew Frisicano

Jemina Pearl @ Williamsburg Waterfront in July (more by Bao Nguyen)

Ex-Be Your Own Pet singer Jemina Pearl is already a week into her January/February tour across North America. The trip finishes with a show ("with special guests") at Brooklyn's Union Pool on Saturday, February 13th.

While we're on the topic of special guests and Union Pool, The Ghost Of A Saber Toothed Tiger, the psych-pop band fronted by Sean Lennon, play the venue "with guests" on February 19th. Last time they performed, in November, the band consisted of keyboardist Yuka Honda, drummer Yuko Araki and singer/bassist Charlotte Kemp Muhl. Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band, a group that Lennon & Honda both perform with, bring a ton of guests to their show at BAM on February 16th.

The former BYOP-bandmates of Jemina & co-songwriter John Eatherly, Jake and Jamin Orral of JEFF the Brotherhood are touring (with a New York City show) too.

So far it's been quiet on the newsfront for Jemina in 2010, minus a blog post about her injured toe (which hopefully doesn't affect her on tour). Gross toe pic and all tour dates are below...

Continue reading "Jemina Pearl - 2010 tour dates include Union Pool where Sean Lennon is also playing (with guests)"

by Andrew Frisicano

Thomas Bartlett aka Doveman

On November 1st, Doveman opened up at Mercury Lounge for The Ghost of a Sabre Toothed Tiger, a project that features Sean Lenon, his model girlfriend Charlotte Kemp Muhl (who, as announced from the stage, had only learned to play bass a few months prior), Cibo Matto's Yuka Honda and mi-gu drummer Yuko Araki. A week prior, both bands performed at Doveman's loft CD release party for The Conformist with different lineups.

The headlining Ghost of a Sabre Toothed Tiger is a relatively new project (with no records out) that plays tightly composed psychedelic pop. They also dip into Sean Lennon's previous catalog, like for an extended Maggot Brain-esque jam on his 2006 song "Dead Meat." Drummer Araki in particular hit all the fills and accents as if the songs were familiar jazz charts. Doveman came back to guest on GOASTT's last song, "Richard Brown," a jokey tune from an unfinished musical. The whole band (minus Kemp Muhl) is touring Japan right now with Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band in support of her latest Between My Head and the Sky.

Doveman was also joined by a stellar band that included National drummer Bryan Devendorf and guest singer Martha Wainwright. Bartlett is currently on tour opening for Swell Season. He'll be playing at Joe's Pub on December 2nd as part of the Happy Ending music and reading series with Amanda Stern, Hedwig's John Cameron Mitchell and Jonathan Caouette. Tickets are on sale.

Doveman will also be returning to Mercury Lounge for an as-of-now unannounced bill on January 12th. Then he and frequent collaborator Nico Muhly will be doing two nights (of TBA) at The Kitchen on March 18th and 19th.

More pictures from Mercury Lounge and tour dates are below...

Continue reading "Doveman played a show w/ Sean Lennon & Co. (pics), playing some more (Mercury Lounge, Joe's Pub, The Kitchen)"