Tuli Kupferberg, a poet and singer who went from being a noted Beat to becoming, in his words, "the world's oldest rock star" when he helped found the Fugs, the bawdy and politically pugnacious rock group, died on Monday in Manhattan. He was 86 and lived in Manhattan.

He had been in poor health since suffering two strokes last year, said Ed Sanders, his friend and fellow Fug. [NY Times]

RIP Tuli.

A benefit show was held for Tuli earlier this year with Lou Reed, John Zorn, and Sonic Youth all on the bill. The Fugs played a benefit for someone else on April 29, 2009 at The Bell House in Brooklyn. That may have been their last show.

Tuli regularly uploaded videos of himself to YouTube. His two most recent videos were posted in May and June. Check them out below...

Continue reading "Tuli Kupferberg, RIP "

DOWNLOAD: Hesta Prynn, Can We Go Wrong (MP3)

The Walkmen @ the Guggenheim in 2009 (more by Kurt Christensen)

today in NYC
* Paul Dianno @ BB King's
* The Necks @ Issue Project Room
* Hesta Prynn, Workout, Sally Head @ Pianos
* Daniel Higgs, Stellar Om Source @ Maxwell's
* Darius Jones' Elizabeth-Caroline Unit @ Roulette
* Kevin Devine and The Goddamn Band @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Jessica 6, Yes Giantess, Body Language, Brahms @ Santos Party House
* Bear in Heaven, Oh No Ono, ArpLine, The Jaguar Club @ Mercury Lounge
* The Holy Experiment, Skeletons, Mirrorgate, Nude Photo @ Glasslands
* Wild Yaks, Steel Phantoms, I'm In You, Ball of Flame Shoot Fire @ Union Hall
* Haiti Benefit w/ Breakfast In Fur, No Eye Contact, El Medio, Drew Citron @ Bruar
* Private Income, White Hills, Romanian Buck, Cheryl or Sheryl? @ Knitting Factory
* Hal Willner's I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues? Music and Readings from A Fine Romance: Jewish Songwriters, American Songs, featuring Rufus Wainwright, Bill Frisell, Van Dyke Parks, and more @ The Allen Room
* Haiti Benefit w/ The Walkmen, Ted Leo, The Wrens, Freelance Whales, Sondre Lerche, A.C. Newman, Rhett Miller, Nicole Atkins, Here We Go Magic, Lauren Ambrose and The Leisure Class, The Blow, Senator Diane Savino, Jimmy Fallon, Michael Showalter, Eugene Mirman @ The Bell House

Skeletons play a benefit at Glasslands for show space ParisLondonWestNile with Mirrorgate, Nude Photo and Holy Experiment (flyer below). They play with Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog at LPR on February 2nd. Then they're at Zebulon for a BAM Sounds Like Brooklyn show with Up Died Sound.

Hesta Prynn of Northern State has gone solo. She plays a show at Pianos tonight. MP3 from her forthecoming album above.

Cale Parks has stopped going solo and is now in a trio called Brahms (who already opened for Passion Pit at Terminal 5). They plays Santos Party House tonight with Jessica 6 featuring Nomi who some thing of as the frontperson for Hercules & Love Affair.

Tonight may be the first public appearance Rufus Wainwright makes since the very recent death of his mother.

Solange Knowles helped Of Montreal cover the Jackson 5 at Highline Ballroom last night. Video below...

Beach House played The Bell House last night. Video of them playing "Norway" at SXSW 2009 below...

Jeffrey Lewis read/sang "the And song" at the recent Tuli Kupferberg Benefit St. Ann's Warehouse. Video below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Wednesday?"

DOWNLOAD: Velvet Underground - live from the New York Public Library (MP3)

Lou Reed, John Zorn, Sonic Youth and others will play a benefit concert for Tuli Kupferberg, the Beat poet and original member of the Fugs, at St. Ann's Warehouse in Brooklyn on Jan. 22. Mr. Kupferberg, 86, has had two strokes over the last year, which have left him blind -- although he still manages to regularly post video jokes to YouTube -- and the tickets for the concert, which is being produced by Hal Willner, will help pay his medical expenses. Among the others performers are the singer John Kruth; Ed Sanders, Mr. Kupferberg's fellow Fug; and Peter Stampfel of the Holy Modal Rounders (who also played on early Fugs albums). Tickets are $75 to $125 and are available at stannswarehouse.org or (718) 254.8779. [NY Times]

Hal Willner, who's putting together the show, also organized the "I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues?" night at the Lincoln Center's American Songbook Festival, which is coming up on Wednesday, January 27th (featuring Rufus Wainwright, Bill Frisell, Van Dyke Parks and others).

In December, Lou Reed took part in the NYPL talk with fellow VU members Maureen Tucker and Doug Yule. A recording of that night is posted above. Coming up, Reed's "Metal Machine Music" is going to be performed by Fireworks Ensemble at Columbia's Miller Theatre on Friday, February 5th. Tickets are still on sale.

Tuli was one of the Fugs who played a benefit show at the Bell House in April.

Some of the above mentioned Tuli videos are posted below...

Continue reading "Fugs' Tuli Kupferberg benefit show w/ Lou Reed, John Zorn, Sonic Youth, more ++ Velvet Underground 'reunion' audio"