Philip Glass at Bang on a Can in June (more by Andrew Frisicano)

Philip Glass and Laurie Anderson are headlining the NYC Film-Makers Co-op Benefit at Santos Party House on November 16. Other artists performing include David Barton's band Liquid Blonde, Little Annie, Transgendered Jesus, the Love Butchers, and possibly more to be announced. Tickets for the show are on sale now.

Meanwhile, the New York Philharmonic and Philip Glass Ensemble are performing Glass's music for the 1982 film Koyaanisqatsi: A Life Out Of Balance TONIGHT (11/2) and Thursday (11/3) at Avery Fisher Hall. This will mark the first time that the New York Philharmonic have ever performed Philip Glass's music. Tickets for both shows are still available but are almost sold out so act quickly. A trailer video is below.

In other news, Beck (who recently worked with Stephen Malkmus and Thurston Moore) is working on a Philip Glass tribute remix album with producerHector Castillo. The album will feature contributions from Beck, Bjork, Lou Reed, Memory Tapes, Tyondai Braxton (ex-Battles), Amon Tobin, Roger Waters, Cornelius, and potentially more to be announced. No release date has been announced yet.

Speaking of Lou Reed, you can still stream the album he made with Metallica, "Lulu", over at loureedmetallica.com (if you dare!).

NY Philharmonic video below...

Continue reading "Laurie Anderson playing benefit w/ Philip Glass (whose work is being performed & remixed elsewhere too)"

As previously mentioned, Battles have been in the studio working on their follow-up to 2007's Mirrored. The new album, titled Gloss Drop, is set to be released June 7 on Warp and features an array of guests including Kazu Makino of Blonde Redhead, Gary Numan, Yamantaka Eye of Boredoms, and Matias Aguayo. Perhaps they'll help fill the void caused by the departure of guitarist/vocalist Tyondai Braxton. You can preorder the album here. Battles have also announced an international tour in support of the album including April 27 at Le Poisson Rouge. All dates are listed below.

Although Tyondai Braxton will not be performing with them, as mentioned, he will be performing dates with the Wordless Music Orchestra including one at NYC's Alice Tully Hall this Monday, March 7th.

Battles are also co-curating, with Caribou and Les Savy Fav, ATP Nightmare Before Christmas which is happening in the UK this December. Tickets go on sale 3/3 at 5 PM. In other Caribou related news, he is planning a split vinyl with Four Tet. Listen to each artist's contribution below.

Helmet, the band previous home to Battles drummer John Stanier, also plays this month as part of the Metalliance Tour with Saint Vitus, Crowbar, Red Fang, Howl, The Atlas Moth, and Kylesa. That hits Irving Plaza on March 25th.

All Battles dates, tracklisting, and MP3 streams below...

Continue reading "Battles announce new album & tour dates, co-curating an ATP"

by Andrew Frisicano

Rhys Chatham @ Lincoln Center 2010 (more by Tim Griffin)

Rhys Chatham, of last year's Crimson Grail 200 guitar spectacle and downtown avant-guitar fame, will be performing two nights at the Kitchen (where in 1971 he was the first music director) this weekend (October 15 and October 16). Joining Rhys (who'll play trumpet and guitar) will be drummer Kevin Shea and bassist David Sims, as well as media artist Angie Eng. Tickets are on sale.

Another downtown luminary, Glenn Branca, will be premiering a new work, Symphony No. 15 - also titled "Running Through The World Like An Open Razor" (Music for Strange Orchestra - at (Le) Poisson Rouge on November 20th and 21st. Tickets are on sale.

And an up-and-comer in the same guitarist-composer tradition: Tyondai Braxton, formerly of Battles, will join the Wordless Music Orchstra in 2011 to play "new works for orchestra and electronics from Braxton's recent Warp Records solo debut Central Market and music by John Adams, Louis Andriessen, and Caleb Burhans." The their three-show tour stops at NYC's Alice Tully Hall on March 7th. Tickets on sale TBA. Speaking of which, there's plenty of great Wordless Music/Lincoln Center shows coming up (some free too).

All Tyondai and Wordless Orchestra dates are below...

Continue reading "Rhys Chatham in the Kitchen, Glenn Branca debuting new work, Tyondai Braxton touring w/ Wordless Orchestra (dates) "

Jonsi @ Terminal 5 (more by Dominick Mastrangelo)

Along with that Godspeed You! Black Emperor announcement, two Wordless Music Series-presented shows included, came this:

"Look for a full 2010-11 Wordless Music season announcement in the coming days, including world and U.S. premieres of new music for orchestra by Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead, Jónsi and Kjartan of Sigur Rós with Alex Somers of Riceboy Sleeps, Kronos Quartet, The Hilliard Ensemble, Latvian National Choir, Tyondai Braxton, the Wordless Music Orchestra, Joshua Rifkin, Deerhoof, and the U.S. debut of the Carl Craig/Moritz von Oswald/Francesco Tristano Schlimé Trio, as well as collaborations with Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Library of Congress, Walker Arts Center, and Emerson College for concerts in New York City, Washington D.C., Boston, and Minneapolis."

Stay tuned for more details. Meanwhile, tickets are on sale for both NYC Godspeed shows.

We previously speculated that Battles canceled their October 26th show at LPR to finish work on their new album. It turns out, they are still finishing the album, but without member Tyondai Braxton, who has left the band to work on his own music. As Pitchfork points out, Battles will now "be a very different band" since he "was the closest thing the egalitarian unit had to a frontman." The October show in London has also been canceled.

The full note from their label Warp on the news is below...

Continue reading "Tyondai Braxton leaves Battles"

by Andrew Frisicano

St. Vincent @ Pitchfork Fest in Chicago (more by Kate Gardiner)

David Byrne and Annie Clark are collaborating on music for a future Housing Works benefit. There's no date set for that, but Asphalt Orchestra will be debuting a version of one of the songs they've been working on...

A few months ago we had [Here Lies Love arranger] Tony Finno arrange the horns, and we performed one of the songs -- tentatively titled "Who" -- at the end of Annie's show at the Rose Room at Lincoln Center. Now, having been approached by the Bang On a Can spinoff Asphalt Orchestra, with the help of [Asphalt saxist/producer] Ken Thomson we've adapted another song called either "Two Ships" or "The Movie" for their group. This will be an instrumental version and we'll do a vocal version later. [David Byrne]

Asphalt will perform that song on Wednesday, August 4th, at the first of five free shows the avant-marching band is doing around the Lincoln Center as part of LC's Out of Doors Festival. Locations and times for the band are below.

In addition to that piece, they'll be debuting a commission by Yoko Ono; other songs in the group's repertoire include commissions by Tyondai Braxton of Battles and Stew & Heid Rodewald of Passing Strange and BAM Next Wave 2010. The 12-piece will release a seven-track CD of its material on August 3rd through Canatloupe Music. That includes a blisteringly dissonant song by Swedish metal band Meshuggah and an intricately-arranged version of Bjork's "Hyper-Ballad." There are a few more typical "ra-ra" maching band songs on the album too (Zappa in particular is already quite melodic and pompy), but the band focuses on getting unusual sounds out of the limited instrumentation. Live, they move in unique coordinated patterns, so the experience is individualized to the space and where you stand.

As an aside, this Saturday at Lincoln Center Out of Doors Festival is going to be particularly amazing, with the "Detroit Breakdown" lineup of Mitch Ryder, ? and the Mysterians, The Gories, Death and more.

St. Vincent has her own free show this weekend, at the Central Park SummerStage Sunday (8/1) afternoon, with openers Tune-Yards and Basia Bulat.

A video of Asphalt Orchestra doing that Meshuggah song on WNYC, and their schedule, plus a video of Annie doing a nylon-string version of "Actor Out of Work," are below...

Continue reading "David Byrne & Annie Clark collaborating for Housing Works, Asphalt Orchestra playing a song (and some shows) "

photos by David Andrako

We arrived at about 9PM as Björk was hanging out behind the turntables gearing up to begin her set. The venue "Above The Auto Parts Store" was indescribably hot, but regardless fans packed in to get a glimpse of the one and only Björk. I was prepared to be at the venue for the long haul thinking Björk would be last, but she thankfully was second up on deck. DJ selections included a lot of obscure Asian and Middle Eastern house music, most notably including a cover of 2 Unlimited's "No Limit," along with Major Lazer/Crooker's "Jump Up!" [Tastes Like Caramel]

Bjork, Dave Longstreth of Dirty Projectors, Battles' Tyondai Braxton, and writers Alex Ross and Brandon Stosuy DJed at Above the Auto Parts Store on Sunday (5/2) at a benefit for Partners In Health, a health care nonprofit that works in Haiti. They called it "The Rites of Spring". Alex Ross posted his playlist, which paired The Ex, Justin Bieber, Stravinsky and more. That and more pictures from the event are posted below...

Continue reading "Bjork, Dave Longstreth, Tyondai Braxton & friends DJ'd for Haiti (in the heat) Above the Auto Parts Store (pics)"

Bjork & Dirty Projectors @ Housing Works (more by Chris La Putt)

As you can see on the flyer below, cavernous Bushwick DIY spot Above the Auto Parts Store will be the site of a benefit for Haiti with an eclectic lineup of DJs on May 2nd. Dirty Projectors' Dave Longstreth, Battles' Tyondai Braxton, and music writers Alex Ross and Brandon Stosuy will be joined by...Bjork behind the turntables and iPods for "Rites of Spring." Ross predicts "some combination of Thai soul, death metal, Justin Bieber, and, of course, nude Stravinsky." Brandon, who writes for Stereogum, has the genesis of the event, which involves Bjork/Dirty Projectors show at Housing Works last May, laid out at that site: "Tickets go on sale this Tuesday (4/13) at 5PM at Record Grouch/Old Made Vintage, 441 Metropolitan Avenue (@ Meeker) in Brooklyn. Their hours are 1PM-7PM daily. (There will be no online tickets. Paper tickets only.)"

Speaking of Bjork...

Ólöf Arnalds [who also played that Housing Works benefit with Bjork and Dirty Projectors] was recently featured in NPR's All Things Considered last week. Host Jonathan Richman chatted to the singer songwriter about her new album, and played a snippet of a new song called "Surrender", that features Björk.

Olöf recently finished mixing her second album, Innundir Skinni, at Sundlaugin Studios with Kjartan Sveinsson producing once again. Innundir skinni features more elaborate arrangements and instrumentation than Við og við, with vocals sung both in English and Icelandic. Innundir skinni is set for worldwide release this spring. [Iceland Music]

The NPR show is here. A streaming clip of the song is below with the benefit flyer...

Continue reading "Dave Longstreth, Tyondai Braxton & others DJing Haiti benefit w/ Bjork (who recorded a song w/ Olof Arnalds) "

Yeah Yeah Yeahs @ Lollapalooza 2009 (more by Paul Birman)

tonight in NYC
* DANCE
* Jeremy Warmsley @ Pianos
* U2, Muse @ Giants Stadium
* Pronto, Brian Bonz @ Union Hall
* Ryan Adams at Morrison Hotel Gallery
* Yeah Yeah Yeahs @ Radio City Music Hall
* Snow Patrol, Plain White T's @ Beacon Theatre
* Starfucker, Deelay Ceelay @ Santos Party House
* Pink Noise, Bonnie Baxter, Fan Tan @ Zebulon
* Moby, Kelli Scarr @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Screaming Females, The Measure, Mattress @ Maxwell's
* Tony Conrad & Branden W. Joseph @ Issue Project Room
* Hedgehog, QSBS, Pink Reason & Matt Horseshit @ Silent Barn
* Extra Golden, Antimagic, Grandchildren @ Knitting Factory Brooklyn
* An Evening with the Minus 5, Baseball Project, Steven Wynn IV @ Bowery Ballroom
* National Parks party w/ Alison Krauss, Counting Crows & more @ Central Park East Meadow
* Ravens and Chimes, Your Nature, Pow Wow & Jump Into The Gospel @ Southpaw
* Spectacle with Elvis Costello & guests Ray Lamontagne, Lyle Lovett, John Prine @ Apollo Theatre
* Shooting Spires, Legs, Champagne Sequins, Broccoli Destroyer, Graffiti Monsters, Lord Easy @ DBA
* All That Remains, Lacuna Coil, Maylene & The Sons of Disaster, From Sword to Sunrise @ Irving Plaza

Happy 60th birthday Bruce Springsteen.

Lebowski Fest is underway. Flyer below...

The lineup for the free party/show tonight in Central Park to celebrate Ken Burns' National Parks documentary includes Alison Krauss, Counting Crows, Carole King, Eric Benet, Gavin DeGraw, Jose Feliciano, Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas, and Augustana.

Ryan Adams kicks off a string of non-music appearances tonight at Morrison Hotel Gallery. Friday you can catch him at the library.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs play Radio City Music Hall in advance of their Music Hall of Williamsburg show on September 29th.

Kendrick Strauch of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs covered an entire YYYs album and is giving it away for free.

U2's 360 tour stops at Giants Stadium tonight and tomorrow. Muse opens. If you thought your ticket was expensive, look at the cost per person U2 is spending to put the tour on.

Pronto (which features Mikael Jorgensen of Wilco) plays Union Hall with Brian Bonz.

Phoenix play the Apple Store tomorrow.

Bowery Ballroom hosts 'An Evening with the Minus 5, Baseball Project and Steven Wynn IV'. Shuffling those roles will be Scott McCaughey, Peter Buck, Steve Wynn and Linda Pitmon.

Elvis Costello performs and tapes his 'Spectacle' TV show with guests Ray Lamontagne, Lyle Lovett and John Prine at Apollo Theatre.

Moby plays at Music Hall of Williamsburg with Kelli Scarr (of Moonraker). On Monday he was at Irving.

Jersey's Screaming Females perform at Maxwell's with The Measure and Mattress. It's the first date of a tour.

Starfucker (soon to be "formerly known as Starfucker") play Santos Party House with Deelay Ceelay.

Issue Project Room hosts Tony Conrad & Branden W. Joseph (wuthor of Beyond the Dream Syndicate: Tony Conrad and the Arts after Cage) in a reading and discussion followed by a performance by Tony Conrad....

Tyondai Braxton talks about Central Market in a video below...

Times New Viking's new video for "No Time, No Hope" below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Wednesday?"

"The prospect of an established rock musician venturing into classical territory will probably always raise eyebrows, and rightly so. It takes a major leap of faith to view Paul McCartney's Liverpool Oratorio or Billy Joel's Fantasies & Delusions as anything other than a misguided stab at legitimacy.

Fortunately, Central Market, a new album of compositions by Tyondai Braxton--best known for his work with the innovative instrumental-rock quartet Battles, which plays this week as part of Warp20, an anniversary celebration for its esteemed label--falls on the extreme opposite end of the spectrum. No puffed-up vanity project, this set of lush, highly kinetic pieces, performed with the Wordless Music Orchestra, ranks among the year's most forward-thinking releases. And despite its grand scope, sci-fi-esque weirdness, cryptic titles and dearth of lyrics, the album is surprisingly accessible. For fans of Battles, this brand of listener-friendly experimentation shouldn't come as a shock: Despite its considerable oddness, the band's last effort, 2007's Mirrored, stunned the indie-rock set with its furiously funky rhythms and crystalline melodies." [Time Out]

Central Market is out on September 15th via Warp Records. Battles plays with !!!, Flying Lotus and Pivot tonight (9/4) at Terminal 5. Set times below.

And the Warp Records festival continues on Saturday with two shows. First is the free show at the World Financial Center that Flying Lotus was supposed to play before he was switched to the Terminal 5 show. The new lineup will "include sets from electronic masters Jimmy Edgar, Hudson Mohawke and Clark, as well as Warp DJs." The party continues Saturday night at Le Poisson Rouge with a show by Jamie Lidell, The Hundred in the Hands and Born Ruffians. Maybe because of the late set time, last minute notice, and holiday weekend, but tickets are still on sale.

Continue reading "It's Warp20 weekend (World Financial Center show included) ++ Tyondai Braxton releasing Central Market"

Lincoln Center Damrosch Park bandshell - August 2008 (miro.m)

This year's Lincoln Center Out of Doors (LCOOD), three weeks of FREE music and dance on the plazas of Lincoln Center, will run from August 5 through August 23. The 39th annual edition of the festival will present a wide range of music and dance events by dozens of international, U.S. and local artists, highlighted by New York, U.S. and world premieres and debuts and special commissions. Out of Doors opens Wednesday, August 5 with the worldwide debut of the Asphalt Orchestra, a new marching band developed by Bang on a Can, premiering works commissioned for Lincoln Center's 50th Anniversary from Goran Bregovic, Tyondai Braxton (of Battles), and Stew and Heidi Rodewald. The band will also perform original arrangements of iconoclastic rock, jazz, and classical material--all to movement created by MacArthur Fellowship winning choreographer Susan Marshall. Asphalt Orchestra will kick-off the first five consecutive nights of Out of Doors at 7 p.m., performing in different locations across Lincoln Center's campus, with a varying playlist each night. The opening night concert at the Damrosch Park Bandshell at 7:30 is a double-bill with Out of Doors alum The Dave Brubeck Quartet (marking the 50th Anniversary of the landmark album Time Out) with guest soloist, oud virtuoso Simon Shaheen, and Iraqi-American jazz trumpeter Amir ElSaffar leading the New York debut of his Two Rivers Large Ensemble.]

The Asphalt Ochestra shows also include "world-premiere arrangements of works by: Björk, Meshuggah, Charles Mingus, Colon Nancarrow, Frank Zappa."

And Lincoln Center and Wordless Music are again planning a performance of Rhys Chatham's Crimson Grail for 200 Electric Guitars. It'll be happening Saturday, August 8th at Damrosch Park. Let's hope they've secured a rain location, or this could be an annual thing. Section leaders include David Daniell, John King, Seth Olinsky (Akron/Family) and Ned Sublette. The fest is taking applications to volunteer as a guitarist or bassist for the event. Also on the bill for that is "seminal funk-punk band Liquid Liquid."

Other highlights on the schedule are "a pairing of Malian singer-songwriter Rokia Traoré with Raul Midón", The Derek Trucks Band, and Slavic Soul Party.

Closing out the festival will be the 26th Annual Roots of American Music Festival at the Damrosch Park Bandshell, an event that'll touch on the blues (Four Women: A Tribute to Odetta, Miriam Makeba, Abbey Lincoln and Eartha Kitt), Creole music (The Louisiana Renegades), country (Texas Tornados: Tribute to Doug Sahm), and "Mazel Tov, Mis Amigos: The Lost World of Latin-Jewish Sound" with Afro-Jazz bandleader Arturo O'Farrill.

Full schedule below...

Continue reading "Lincoln Center Out of Doors 2009 lineup - another attempt at Rhys Chatham's 200 Electric Guitars included "