The Mountain Goats @ Webster Hall (more by Faith-Ann Young)

"We are going to light out for the Territories in a van with two acoustic guitars, some notebooks, our soundman Brandon and a pouch full of charms against ill omen. We are going to get elemental. We are going to stomp our feet and hammer at the strings until we get what we want from them. We, a couple of guys named John, are going to tour, is what we're going to do. We're going to stand alone onstage and play our guitars and sing old songs & new, and then we'll probably play together. We are going to sit side by side with our acoustic guitars like two out of the five guys on the Five Man Acoustical Jam album, only with fewer Tesla songs. Because the whole point of playing an acoustic guitar is not to unplug. It's to get raw and draw blood."
[John Darnielle aka The Mountain Goats]

The Primitive tour kicks off on March 18th in Asheville, NC, and the NYC show will take place at the Society For Ethical Culture on March 27th. It's part of the Wordless Music Series. Tickets are on sale. John and John each also have some other interesting shows lined up between now and then...

Ten years ago John Vanderslice founded the Tiny Telephone recording studio in San Francisco, CA. To celebrate the occasion, John will be performing a show at the Great American Music Hall on January 30 with The Magik*Magik Orchestra in a 30-piece configuration. "Together they will pull favorite tunes from his catalog, and introduce new songs from a forthcoming album currently being recorded at Tiny Telephone." Special guest DJ Aesop Rock will spin records before and after the performance. All proceeds from the event will benefit Magik*Magik, the house Orchestra of Tiny Telephone.

The Mountain Goats are keeping busy before March comes too. First of all there's Ships & Dip V...

Barenaked Ladies and Sixthman are up to some more shenanigans! It's the real McCoy - Introducing Ships and Dip V, sailing through the Caribbean February 1-6, 2009. We're bringing you the goods again, in what's sure to be the craziest, zaniest time at sea!

Join Barenaked Ladies, Great Big Sea, The New Odds, Boothby Graffoe, The Weakerthans, and more bands to be announced throughout the year, as we set sail on the Norwegian Jewel for 5 days of revelry, recreation and boatloads of musical fun! With NCL's Freestyle Cruising, you won't get the bum's rush for doing exactly what you want! You can get dolled up, or keep it casual. With 12 restaurants and 11 bars and lounges to choose from, a luxurious spa, a full service casino, and plenty of other features, there won't be any trouble making your cruise experience the cat's pajamas. We set sail from Miami to NCL's private island of Great Stirrup Cay and Cozumel, Mexico- two great places to get some sun on those gams!

When you're not jiving to the amazing artists, relaxing by the pool or dining in one of the many hot spots on board, you can be sure to find tons of other activities to keep you on your toes!

Continue reading "the Mountain Goats & John Vanderslice: Gone Primitive (2009 Tour Dates), Ships & Dip & Tiny Telephone too"

Now we can officially announce the release of our 5th album, Hymn to the Immortal Wind. It has been 3 years since the release of our last album and we are truly grateful to still be able to create our music today. Being together as a band for 10 years has brought forth some changes and has hopefully allowed us to grow. We have created a special site to give you a preview of what to expect from Hymn To The immortal Wind. Please check it out.

As some of you may have heard, we will be celebrating our 10th anniversary with a special concert backed by a 23-piece orchestra conducted by Jeff Milarsky. The show will take place for one night only at the Society for Ethical Culture Concert Hall in New York City. This is actually our first time in our career to perform with additional instrumentation and we are excited to do this for the release of our newest album, Hymn To The Immortal Wind. It will be our only North American concert in support of Hymn To The Immortal Wind so please come join us on 5/8 in New York City. We are looking forward to share our new music live with all of you.

DOWNLOAD: Tim Hecker - Chimeras (MP3)

Tim Hecker, gettin down!

Tim Hecker is a Canadian-based musician and sound artist. Since 1996, he has produced a range of audio works... focused on exploring the intersection of noise, dissonance and melody, fostering an approach to songcraft which is both physical and emotive. The New York Times has described his work as "foreboding, abstract pieces in which static and sub-bass rumbles open up around slow moving notes and chords, like fissures in the earth waiting to swallow them whole". His Harmony in Ultraviolet received critical acclaim, including being recognized by Pitchfork as a top recording of 2006... He currently resides in Montreal.

Tim is currently readying his new album, An Imaginary Country, due on Kranky in February 2009 ("probably"). He recently released Fantasma Parasite on alien8 records, a collaboration with another ambient-noise-leaning canuck, Aidan Baker (also of Nadja). Stream the whole thing.

Kranky Records was recently showcased at the Brainwaves festival in Boston. Stars Of The Lid was there and also performed a 'Wordless' show at Le Poisson Rouge while they were on this coast.

Nadja is currently touring the Europe, and will again in the new year. All tour dates are below...

Continue reading "Tim Hecker - NYC shows Thursday & Friday, new album soon"

Photos by Chris La Putt

Tonight (10/7) is a good chance to try out the new venue (le) poisson rouge if you haven't already because Twi The Humble Feather are playing a free Wordless Music Series show there. The pictures in this post are from the set they played (with a chorus) before Shugo Tokumaru at Mercury Lounge on September 23rd. More of them and other dates below...

Continue reading "Twi the Humble Feather - free show today, past show pics"

by Andrew Frisicano

DOWNLOAD: Steve Reich - Music for 18 Musicians, opening thru section II (MP3)

Steve Reich

This Saturday and Sunday (9/13 & 9/14) at 8pm, (Le) Poisson Rouge will host one of the great works of 20th century composition, Steve Reich's "Music for 18 Musicians," performed by "NYC's new-music supergroup" Signal and conducted by Brad Lubman. Also performed will be Reich's 2004 choral/ensemble score "You Are (Variations)." The shows are part of the Wordless Music Series, which has already hosted shows by Deerhoof and Times New Viking this year, and will continue with a full schedule through December (which includes Twi the Humble Feather at LPR October 7, Shearwater on October 20, and Stars of the Lid on November 21).

The show caps off a week of intense shows at the Village venue: Ólöf Arnalds on Tuesday, Deerhuter later on Tuesday, Living Colour (for MoveOn.org) on Wednesday, High Places and Crystal Stilts on Thursday, and Dragons of Zynth on Friday.

In other Reich news:

New York City Opera will present Looking Forward, a celebration of twentieth-century music, as part of a unique series of concerts and events planned for 2008-09... The program, performed by the New York City Opera Orchestra, will also include Igor Stravinsky's Pulcinella Suite, Edgard Varèse's Intégrales, and Steve Reich's "Clapping Music." [Broadway World]

Continue reading "NYC Opera 'Looking Forward' & Wordless Music Series present (not together) Steve Reich & other 2008 shows"

by Andrew Frisicano

DOWNLOAD: Twi the Humble Feather - finale (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Twi the Humble Feather - before the morning lights (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Twi the Humble Feather - for the sorcerer forest (MP3)

Twi

there is legend and rumor of a new interstellar adventurer, by the name of twi, who came to be by the will of an ancient sorcerer forest existing unknown in a nameless galaxy. those aware of this rumor say twi seeks the wisdom of vast green worlds, as well as the sating secrets of sound. inspired by the adventures of this new mythical character, the trio 'twi the humble feather' compose guitar and vocal based music depicting environments recently visited by twi; such as magical castles and forests, and various realms of the uncharted cosmos.

The Burg for Barack - a grassroots fundraising event featuring La Strada, Twi the Humble Feather, and Amber Rubarth. Plus a cupcakes-and-brownies-galore bake sale, and a silent auction including fine apparel, jewelry, yoga classes and spa packages, and more from stylish neighborhood boutiques and stores. 100% of the proceeds go to the Obama campaign. $5 suggested donation at the door.

Speaking of Obama benefits and (le) poisson rouge, the West Village venue ia hosting a fundraiser of its own on September 10th. Living Colour, The Family Stand, Earl Greyhound, Danielia Cotton, and Viva Mayday are on that bill.

These aren't the first Obama events of the year, and they certainly won't be the last. Another, The Audacity of Jokes II, takes place Monday September 15th at Comix. It will feature Fresh Prince creator Andy Borowitz, SNL's Fred Armisen, comedian and Barack impersonator Kyle Grooms, Last Comic Standing alum Amy Schumer, and Weird Al surrogate Jonathan Coulton. Tix $45 ($100 VIP).

See a video of the Twi guys at Goodbye Blue Monday HERE, and Kyle Grooms's Barack above the tour dates below....

Continue reading "Twi the Humble Feather tour dates & other Obama benefits"

SOTL (photo by sita kaylin & christina vantzou)

Stars of the Lid return to NYC on November 21st to play two "Wordless Music Series" shows - both at (le) poisson rouge - early & late. Two days later they head to play the Brainwaves Festival in Boston with JG Thirwell, Matmos, Meat Beat Manifesto, Major Stars, Silver Apples and many more.

Last time SOTL toured they also played a 'Wordless' show in NYC.

JG Thirwell curated this month at the Stone. His lineup also includes Matmos.

Continue reading "Stars of the Lid playing NYC & Brainwaves in Boston in Nov"

the new issue of XLR8R

Though Love To Make Music To may be Daedelus' most high-profile album yet, he has been a prominent fixture on the L.A. avant-beats scene since 2001, starting with Portrait of the Artist (Distill) and Her's Is >[sic] (Phthalo). On 2002's Invention, he defined his atmospheric, intense-yet-sexy sound, while '03 and '04 yielded five more full-lengths, including The Weather-a collabo with MCs Busdriver and Radioinactive that he calls his "moon-bounce hip-hop record" and Of Snowdonia and A Gent Agent, two doe-eyed sleepwalks whose swirling synths and choppy beats occasionally coalesce into an all-out jungle frenzy". [XLR8R]

Continue reading "Daedelus - 2008 Tour Dates (3 NYC dates, Wordless, etc)"

photos by Jason Bergman

Göttsching

"Alright I'm going to be the first to chime in here - how about telling us it was cancelled before sitting through an hour of gottsching. I respect him, don't get me wrong, but I did not go to sit through an hour of dance music surrounded by people thinking they were at bonnaroo. They should have done it unplugged, even with electric guitars, it would have sounded better than nothing." [Anonymous 1]

"i'm so effing pissed off that they made me sit through an hour of monotonous as hell gottsching. it was torture and then only to be told that the guitar performance was NOT going to happen, when the VERY well could have told us that it was cancelled before making us sit through that misery." [Anonymous 2]

Rhys Chatham announcing the cancellation

"There were contingency plans to play the whole thing in the church with a smaller audience but they kept it outside hope against hope (hi Robert Poss). Weather forecasts are more accurate now than Woodstock and I was pretty surprised at the decision." [Hugh]

"sh!t, i was one of the 200 guitarists that was supposed to play in this, and *i'm* pissed about sitting through that show. we gave up 3 nights for rehearsals, were there for soundcheck at 1pm on friday, and then stood in the rain for 4 hours...and then through that endless E2-E4 b.s. show...

there was a contingency in place (the show would have happened at st. paul) but they had to make the decision about the choice of venue at noon due to all the equipment & people involved. i still can't believe, however, that they didn't have a way of dealing with the weather. i'm no electrician, but..." [Anonymous 3]

the crowd

More pictures from last night's short 'Lincoln Center Out of Doors' show @ Damrosch Park below....

Continue reading "Gottsching, Rhys Chatham & zero guitars @ Damrosch - pics"

photos by Jason Bergman

Rhys Chatham: A Crimson Grail (2008) for 200 Electric Guitars (Outdoor Version) (World Premiere)
Commissioned by Lincoln Center for Lincoln Center Out of Doors

Next, composer Rhys Chatham and section leaders John King, Ned Sublette, David Daniell, and Seth Olinsky (Akron/Family) lead an oversized orchestra of 200 volunteer guitarists and electric bassists in the world premiere of A Crimson Grail for 200 Electric Guitars (Outdoor Version) performed not on the Bandshell stage but along the sides of the audience at Damrosch Park, to heighten the work's polyphonic effect. The work, originally composed for Paris' famed Sacré-Coeur, has been extensively revised to suit the dynamics of the Park's outdoor acoustic.

Continue reading "Rhys Chatham & 200 guitars is tonight ++ pics from rehearsal"

"Come to Damrosch Park for a Lincoln Center Out of Doors season jam-packed with dynamic, free programs that offer something for absolutely everyone, from tributes to beloved cultural icons to cross-cultural collaborations that blur the lines of genre and geography.

This season is highlighted by a host of vibrant and eclectic musical experiences. Catch the rhythmic fever of a funk-filled African tribute to the late Godfather of Soul, James Brown, when Still Black, Still Proud celebrates the "hardest-working man in show business." Transcend 800 years of minimalism in a sublime triple bill presented in collaboration with Wordless Music.

Explore the power of multi-ethnic oral traditions with the return of the beloved La Casita festival, and celebrate our rich musical heritage from blues to New Orleans funk to bluegrass to punk with the 25th Annual Roots of American Music Festival.

Dance lovers will enjoy performances including the stirring Noche Flamenca, the premiere of Armitage Gone's collaboration with Burkina Electric, Summer of Love; Doug Elkins' witty take on The Sound of Music, Fräulein Maria, and David Dorfman's underground, a provocative look at political protest.

Bring the family outside this August for a lively Out of Doors season that celebrates the performing arts at a price everyone can afford -- absolutely free."

photos by Kyle Dean Reinford

WNYC, July 18, 2008 - In an interview with host David Garland, Greg Saunier of Deerhoof admitted that he has recently liberally taken ideas from Igor Stravinsky. What more perfect pairing than this Wordless Music Series concert of the forward-thinking indie rock band Deerhoof and a wild re-imagining of Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring by the Metropolis Ensemble? The unlikely playbill was recorded live by WNYC at the Prospect Park Bandshell in Brooklyn, N.Y. [read more & LISTEN to the whole show @ NPR]

Continue reading "Deerhoof & Metropolis Ensemble (Wordless Music Series) @ Prospect Park Banshell - pics & STREAM"

From 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM
Central Park SummerStage

The influence of "Video Music Box" stretches far and wide, as the show is one of the first and longest running outlets for Hip-Hop since the genre's inception. Twenty-five years after its debut, Ralph McDaniels hosts a celebration concert featuring performances by a who's who of hip-hop icons from the show's history and beyond.

DJ Jazzy Joyce, The Crash Crew, TSki-Valley & Spoonie Gee, Luv Bug Starski, Sugar Hill Gang, Joe Ski Love, Entouch, Special Ed, Dana Dane, Naughty By Nature, DJ Clark Kent, Ralph Ray Dejon, OC, Chubb Rock, Jeru Da Damaja, Milk Dee, DJ Chuck Chillout, Jeff Redd, Red Alert, DJ Kid Capri, Nice N Smooth & Special Guests.

Wordless Music presents the free show happening tonight in Prospect Park. Deerhoof and "Metropolis Ensemble: The Rite: Remixed" are on the Brooklyn bill. You can't do both, but you could go to Summerstage and listen to the Brooklyn show on your radio. It will be live broadcast "on NPR affiliates nationwide and WNYC.org locally (7:30 pm tonight)."

The Berg Sans Nipple @ The Whitney Museum - June 6, 2008 (Lori Baily)

June 06 - The berg sans nipple
June 13 - A sunny Day in Glasgow
June 20 - Prefuse 73
June 27 - Times New Viking

Continue reading "Wordless @ the Whitney ends tonight w/ Times New Viking"

photos by Bao Nguyen

DOWNLOAD: The Berg Sans Nipple - Mystic Song (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Berg Sans Nipple - Along the Quai (MP3)

When not creating music as The Berg Sans Nipple, Aspegren and Berg are still creating music. Aspegren can be heard playing drums on the latest Bright Eyes record 'Cassadaga' and Berg was most recently a member of the beloved and hyped French anti-folk group Herman Dune. [The Devil Has The Best Tuna]

Continue reading "The Berg Sans Nipple played Bowery, playing Whitney "

They needed 100 guitarists total for the performance in PA. They need 200 for the one coming up in NYC....

Continue reading "(<200) guitarists needed for a Rhys Chatham performance"

The Wordless Music Series pairs rock and electronic musicians with more traditional chamber and new music performers, to create an entirely new concert experience. As Wordless Music opens on a new season, WNYC presents four one-hour specials featuring some of the greatest performances from the ground-breaking '07-'08 season, hosted by Radio Lab's Jad Abumrad.

HIGHLIGHTS:
* 158 Bleecker btwn Thompson & Sullivan in Greenwich Village
* 800-capacity flexible performance space (250 seated)
* 130-capacity attached, soundproof lounge bar
* 28' x 21' fixed corner stage w/ various staging additions
* 16' dia. portable, trundled round stage
* acoustic engineering by John Storyk/WSDG (Electric Lady Studios, etc)
* 2 cinema-sized screens with Meyer 5.1 Surround Sound
* 23' dia. hardwood sprung dance floor
* 9' Concert Grand piano
* 2 elevated VIP Opera Boxes and 2 private entrances
* full catering kitchen, concert bar menu, and daytime lounge menu
* restrooms in 2 areas at opposite ends of the venue
* furnished green room with en suite bathroom, shower & tour office

They've also revealed their initial schedule. Damon & Naomi, Baby Dee, Bill Frisell, Doveman, Nico Muhly, Samamidon, and Matmos all have shows coming up there. Tickets are on sale.

"The adjoining lounge will be open during the day as a café, and at night as a secondary bar and event space." The full June schedule is also pasted below....

Continue reading "(Le) Poisson Rouge - new venue's floor plan, initial schedule "

photos by Chris Owyoung

The night ended with Stars of the Lid, founded in Austin in 1993 by Adam Wiltzie and Brian McBride, making their first New York appearance since 2000. They played slow, soft drones on their guitars, accompanied by string players and abstract projections filling the sanctuary.

As I sat there, listening to pieces such as "Ballad of Distances" and "Requiem for Dying Mothers," I felt like there was a cinderblock sitting on my chest. This is music of irrepressible sadness, of deep and abiding loss. It's the soundtrack to a broken heart.

Their last number, "December Hunting for Vegetarian Fuckface," evoked awe and wonder, filling the space with majestic chords like those at the end of a Messiaen organ cycle, held to the brink of unbearableness. I couldn't tell how they were getting all those sounds out with only five instruments, but whatever it is, these guys have figured something out. [Feast of Music]

Continue reading "Stars of the Lid @ Good Shepherd Faith Church, NYC - pics"

Times New Viking @ Cafe Bourbon St., 3/22/08 (Joel.Oliphint)

Four free shows in June at the Whitney in NYC....

Continue reading "'Wordless Music' at the Whitney (Times New Viking, Prefuse 73, A Sunny Day in Glasgow & more)"

Deerhoof

Add Cold War Kids, Crooklyn Dodgers, Brazilian Girls, Matt Muisteri, and Deerhoof to the list of artists playing concerts in Prospect Park this summer. Details below.....

Continue reading "'Celebrate Brooklyn' w/ Deerhoof, Cold War Kids, Crooklyn Dodgers, Beth Orton & more...."

by BrooklynVegan Mike

DOWNLOAD: Torngat - You Could Be (MP3)

Torngat was a real discovery highlight for me at this past Pop Montreal. The instrumental trio modestly refer to themselves as "French horn, keyboards, and drums" on their myspace, but their brilliant and unique songs weave compelling melodies that are all encompassing and welcoming, proving the axiom "the whole is greater then the sum of it's parts." The group features Pietro Amato who moonlights in Arcade Fire side project Bell Orchestre, sometimes plays with the Arcade Fire and Islands, and is in one of my favorite Montreal bands The Luyas. Patrick Watson is among those whom Torngat can call a collaborator.

You may have caught Torngat when they opened for Mum at the Wordless Music Series show in NYC on November 9th. If not, you can always listen to the whole show courtesy of WNYC. Torngat's next trip to the United States is for SXSW this March. Check out a video and more tour dates below...

Continue reading "Torngat - from Montreal, SXSW, MP3, video, WNYC stream"

Making their first New York City concert appearance in seven years, the longtime ambient duo and Kranky institution Stars of the Lid will perform at Wordless Music with a string quartet and films by Luke Savisky. Opening the show will be the electric violin-and-guitar duo itsnotyouitsme, who recently released their debut album, Walled Gardens, on New Amsterdam Records, followed by Face the Music, a New York new-music ensemble comprising 19 students in grades 4-10 from the Kaufman Center's Special Music School. Face the Music will perform recent chamber music by Caleb Burhans (Escape Wisconsin), Ira Mowitz (Kol Aharon), and John Adams (Hallelujah Junction).

Soon to be announced: a series of four free Wordless Music concerts at the historic Whitney Museum uptown -- and another, even bigger event than January's 50-piece orchestra, for which we advise you bring earplugs.

WNYC recorded the show.

The next advertised Wordless show is the Stars of the Lid one.

Marla Hansen @ Pianos, NYC - BV CMJ, Oct 20, 2007 (Bao Nguyen)

She plucks that viola in precise patterns–repeated notes, a syncopated chord, a countermelody–as the only accompaniment for her gentle, transparent voice, which has an undercurrent of Celtic melancholy. The songs are sparse, meditative and utterly involving. In “Talk To Me,” as she plucked two alternating notes an octave apart like a slowly ticking clock, she sang, “I wish you could talk to me/You turn away, and it breaks my heart.” There’s a sense of timelessness in that song–and no setup time necessary. [Jon Pareles, NY Times]