Bon Iver @ Sasquatch Fest (more by Chris Graham)

Tickets are now on sale for all of Merkin Hall's upcoming 2009/10 concerts. Those shows include the NY Guitar Festival's Silent Films/Live Guitars series (previously mentioned here), which features David Bromberg and Marc Ribot playing alongside Charlie Chaplin films on January 14th, Bon Iver's Justin Vernon (Charlie Chaplin's The Gold Rush) with Steve Kimock (Buster Keaton's Cops) on January 21st, and more. The full lineup, with details, is below.

The venue is also hosting the New Sounds series, which includes performances by ETHEL and the Bang on a Can All-Stars. Details on those are below. Check out a video of the BoaC All-Stars rehearsing a Steve Reich piece from a few years back below too. You'll notice Bryce Dessner of the National is in the ensemble in that video. He's currently working on his own new piece with brother Aaron and Matthew Ritchie to debut at BAM this fall.

Also, as part of their trio of "Contemporary Contexts" concerts, Merkin Hall will be bringing Signal, who will premiere a new work from Nico Muhly and UK composer Harrison Birtwistle, in May.

The full schedule is below...

Continue reading "Bon Iver, Marc Ribot & other NY Guitar Fest tickets on sale ++ full upcomng Merkin Hall schedule (New Sounds, etc)"

Volcano Choir

Wisconsin's Volcano Choir is Bon Iver's Justin Vernon with Collections of Colonies of Bees members Jon Mueller, Chris Rosenau, Jim Schoenecker, Daniel Spack, and Thomas Wincek. Their album, Unmap, recorded in the fall of 2008, comes out September 22nd on Jagjaguwar (9/21 in the UK). The label described their sound as "ranging from David Sylvian and Steve Reich to Mahalia Jackson and Tom Waits." About the Volcano Choir record, Vernon said to Pitchfork, "I sing on it, but there aren't a lot of lyrics-- it's definitely more on the experimental side of things."

Bon Iver @ Sasquatch Fest 2009 (more by Chris Graham)

No word on whether Volcano Choir will play any live shows, but Bon Iver is currently on tour. That group has summer dates all over the place (Europe, the West Coast, Europe again, the West Coast again), up to Austin City Limits in October.

Bon Iver will be premiering a new piece in NYC on Thursday, January 21st, 2010, at Merkin Concert Hall. The show, part of the New York Guitar Festival's "Silent Films/Live Guitars" series, will feature a Vernon-commissioned score to Charlie Chaplin's The Gold Rush. He'll be joined by Volcano Choir collaborator Chris Rosenau. Performing separately at the show will be Steve Kimock, of Zero and Crazy Engine, who is scoring Buster Keaton's Cops. Tickets will be available as 4-show series subscriptions and individually.

More Volcano Choir band pictures, album art, track list and Bon Iver tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Bon Iver plays in Volcano Choir (new album), playing Merkin Concert Hall (NY Guitar Festival), other shows (tour dates)"

WNYC's long-awaited annual winter film series returns to the World Financial Center featuring classic silent films set to innovative and energetic scores by Gary Lucas, the BQE Ensemble, and The Cinematic Orchestra.

Each night, starting at 7PM, experience a different film and its inventive new music score.

On Tuesday night, Feb. 10, Gary Lucas performs ghostly improvisational solo guitar for three surrealist films: "Entr'acte", "Ballet Mecanique", and "The Cameraman's Revenge."

Wednesday evening, Feb. 11, the BQE Project's palette of exotic instruments from Middle Eastern drums to mandolin accompanies "The Golem."

And on Thursday night, Feb. 12, the Cinematic Orchestra's moody, electronica-tinged jazz-funk follows "Man with a Movie Camera."

And it's all FREE!

Continue reading "Gary Lucas, Cinematic Orchestra & The BQE Project playing live silent movie scores in NYC this week (free)"

People like Fred Armisen, Carrie from Sleater-Kinney (and NPR) (man, she was rough on Tallest Man on Earth), Joe Mande and Nick Kroll will be watching comedy shorts (with piano accompaniment) tonight...

Continue reading "ThunderAnt, Max Silvestri, others & film @ MoMA Tuesday"