Shows of the Week

Enjoy...

Click here for upcoming shows

Monday:
*Cat Power @ Hiro Ballroom
Adam Levy et al @ Rockwood Music Hall
Prisoners of 2nd Ave @ BB King's
Smokey's Roundup @ Barbes (Brooklyn)

Tuesday:
Jenny Scheinman @ Barbes (Brooklyn)
Bill Ogg @ Fat Baby
Tom Hamilton's American Babies et al @ Living Room
*Rudder @ Fontana's
Ches Smith @ The Stone (early)
Earl Klugh @ Blue Note (early/late)
Jason Crosby @ Ace of Clubs
From Bacteria To Boys @ The Stone (late)
Martin Sexton @ Joe's Pub

Wednesday:
The Wood Brothers @ Joe's Pub (early/late)
Earl Klugh @ Blue Note (early/late)
Alexi Murdoch et al @ Mercury Lounge
*Marc Ribot/Mary Holvorson @ The Stone (late)
Justin Timberlake @ Madison Square Garden
Bo Diddley @ BB King's

Thursday:
Ned Rothenberg w/ E. Friedlander, M. Feldman @ Tonic (early)
Calexico @ Lincoln Center (early/late)
Rod Stewart @ Madison Square Garden
Earl Klugh @ Blue Note (early/late)
Wayne Krantz @ 55 Bar (late/midnight)
Joss Stone @ Bowery Ballroom
*Jorma Kaukonen @ Mexicali Blues (Teaneck, NJ)
Charlie Hunter @ Mo Pitkin's

Friday:
The CodeTalkers (Outformation opens) @ Lion's Den
*Midlake @ Bowery Ballroom
Sec't Government @ Underscore
Slick Rick feat. Adam Deitch Project et al @ Knitting Factory
Porter/Kimock/Worell/Kimock @ Mexicali Blues (Teaneck, NJ)
BuzzUniverse @ Donegal Saloon (Kearney, NJ)
Johnny Winter @ BB King's
The Fringe @ Cornelia St. Cafe (early/late)
Todd Sickafoose w/ Jenny Scheinman @ 55 Bar
Earl Klugh @ Blue Note (early/late)
Licorice @ Blue Note (late night)

Saturday:
Paco De Lucia @ Carnegie Hall
*The CodeTalkers (Outformation opens) @ Lion's Den
Stephen Malkmus, Silversun Pickups, Derrhoof et al @ Irving Plaza
Earl Klugh @ Blue Note (early/late)
Jorma Kaukonen @ Landmark on Main (Port Washington, LI)
Lily Allen @ Webster Hall
Vetiver, Vashti Bunyan @ Southpaw (Brooklyn)
Andy Statman @ Barbes (Brooklyn)
The Fringe @ Cornelia St. Cafe (early/late)
Chick Corea @ Staller Center (Stony Brook, LI)
Leroy Justice et al @ Bitter End
BuzzUniverse @ Lamp Post (Jersey City, NJ)
Mastodon @ Starland Ballroom (Sayreville, NJ)

Sunday:
Sounds of Greg D et al @ Living Room
Britt Dennan @ Joe's Pub
Nels Cline/Elliot Sharp @ The Stone
Tony Trischka @ Makor
Jonah Smith et al @ Rockwood Music Hall
*Sam Cohen (of Apollo Sunshine) @ Union Hall
Jefferson Starship, Tom Constanten @ Mexicali Blues (Teaneck, NJ)
Stephane Wrembel @ Barbes (Brooklyn)
Earl Klugh @ Blue Note (early/late)

Click here for upcoming shows

minimix: Halftime Show

Enjoy the weekend; enjoy the game.

Download the mix

01 Superconnected -- Broken Social Scene: Broken Social Scene
02 Hunting Bears -- Radiohead: Amnesiac
03 Via Chicago -- Wilco: Summerteeth
04 Indiana -- Buddy Emmons: Amazing Steel Guitar
05 Coltsfoot Leaf -- MF Doom: Special Herbs
06 Game Face -- Gov't Mule: Dose

Links: Consider the infinite oblivion, people

Not much for you today...

I'm thick in the midst of a David Foster Wallace reading-frenzy, so it was nice to find that there's a new spot of short fiction from "DFW" in the newest New Yorker (which, at the usual pace, I will probably read in full in June some time).

Thankfully, it's online, so go get you some genius: Good People.

The last book I read was the collection of short stories, Oblivion and I'm just about done with Consider the Lobster. Both are highly recommended, especially because they give you the brilliant, dense prose and complex inner-narrative in smallish easily digestible chunks. Of course, the bible, Infinite Jest should always come first and has conveniently been recently released in fancy 10-year-anniversary form. If you've got to read one book and only one book, don't die before reading this one... seriously.

Oh, and while we're throwing hyperbole around, if you didn't catch this one on Roger Federer the first time around, it may be the greatest sportswriting ever.

More DFW than you could ever dream of wanting here.

Review: Cold War Kids

Mercury Lounge, 24 January 2007

Thanks to C-Dawg, aka Ticket Pimp, last week I not only was lucky enough to see these guys or go to this, but I actually got to see the season's hip, new thing: the Cold War Kids, i.e. the new black. Seems like every few months, usually in conjunction with some Pitchfork fawning, a new band bubbles up from the soup of obscurity to start selling out venues in New York. So, the Cold War Kids, before even hitting a note at the sold out Mercury Lounge gig last Wednesday had somehow already sold out the Bowery Ballroom for three nights. I had to see if there was fire behind that smoke, so when the ticket was offered, I obviously said "sure."

Being a week late, this has already been written up by both my host (who valiantly stayed on for last season's "Who's Hot" column-header, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, while I played old man/saving my strength/"they're starting when on a Wednesday night!?!" and went back to the Burbs) as well as Martin Halo at JamBase, amongst other places. So, I won't go into too much detail about the evening. I definitely dug it more than CD did, I loved the loose energy, the not-too-tight jangling of drums and guitar and the often frenetic pace of musicians back and forth on the stage. There was a very green vibe to their performance -- a sort of combination of "why us?" and "why not?" to their presence. Not quite rock star, not quite not.

And really, when it comes down to it, the song "Hang Me Out To Dry" is nothing short of a pop masterpiece, rock poetry at its essence and, live on stage, was well worth every misstep or overenthusiasm thrown their way. The one-two hop of the bass line is irresistible and the rest of it all falls in perfectly behind it. It's not that the band is a one-hit-wonder, I think the rest of their material is just dandy, had me both rocking and rolling along, but I think every Cold War Kids show must, by rule, coalesce around this number.

The opener (that we caught, at least) was Illinois. In every way, I was prepared to be irked by this quartet -- starting with the lead's insistence on doing a "hip hip hooray!" with the audience (I wish I were joking). But as the set blasted its way through a quick 30 minutes of material, I came away pretty impressed. Nothing too new is happening here and even their charisma seems a bit too much, and yet... rock and roll, played well is rock and roll at the very least. Plus, sweet use of 4-string banjo didn't hurt.

Photos: Freaks Ball VII

My review of the night in one word or less is: !

Listen for yourself, download the sets (MP3's via Mediafire):
Band of Changes Set I (w/ Dean Ween)
Band of Changes Set II
Apollo Sunshine

My half-assed photos from the evening...

The Dansettees got everyone warmed up with some groovin'

Next up was Chris Harford and the Band of Changes

Chris giving it up to the baddest rhythm section in town: Russo & Dreiwitz

Ween is in the house

These guys freakin' rocked

So did these guys: Apollo Sunshine

Dirty, dirty rock and roll

But, not to be outdone, BOC returns for the late set

Some guests join in, but the Freaks Ball Hall of Famers are Scott Metzger...

...and Sir Joe Russo!

Some other FB photos: here and here.

Dee also took a couple short videos:

Harford & Band of Changes:



Apollo Sunshine:

Shows of the Week

Big drop of NOLA this weekend, but I'm strongly urging you to make the Tonic show on Monday -- great lineup and good cause.

[Remember: * = Ned's picks; if you or someone you know would like this listing in their inbox every week, go to groups.yahoo.com/group/nyc_sotw and click "join this list."]

Enjoy!

Click here for upcoming shows.

Monday:
**John Zorn, Bill Frisell's 858 Quartet et al @ Tonic (benefit)
Peter Bjorn & John @ Mercury Lounge

Tuesday:
Peter Bjorn & John @ Bowery Ballroom
Dumpstaphunk @ Mexicali Blues (Teaneck, NJ)
Ruben Studdard @ BB King's
Paul Motian Trio 2000 @ Village Vanguard (early/late)
Katy Pfaffl et al @ Living Room
Van Davis @ Rockwood Music Hall (late)
*Jenny Scheinman w/ Cardenas, Amendola, Cline, Sickafoose @ Barbes (Brooklyn)
Steve Hudson w/ S. Bernstein et al @ 55 Bar (early)
Jeff Watts Trio @ The Stone (late)

Wednesday:
Paul Motian Trio 2000 @ Village Vanguard (early/late)
Josh Ritter @ Lincoln Center
*Emergency Party @ Tap Bar
Larry Coryell/Victor Bailey/Lenny White @ Iridium (early/late)
Steve Coleman Trio & Duos @ The Stone (early/late)
Binky Griptite @ Lucky Cat (Brooklyn)
Meowskers @ Goodbye Blue Monday (Brooklyn)
Perpetual Groove @ Mulcahy's (Wantagh, LI)

Thursday:
David Byrne @ Zankel Hall
Cowboy Mouth/Dumpstaphunk @ BB King's
Charlie Hunter @ Mo Pitkin's (late)
The Head Set et al @ Mercury Lounge
Joan Osborne, Nellie McKay, Suzanne Vega et al @ BAM (Brooklyn)
Jonathan Richman @ Knitting Factory
FREE Adem @ Other Music (Brooklyn)
*Paul Motian Trio 2000 @ Village Vanguard (early/late)
Wayne Krantz @ 55 Bar (late/midnight)
Larry Coryell/Victor Bailey/Lenny White @ Iridium (early/late)
Adem et al @ Union Hall (Brooklyn)
Ches Smith, Matt Moran et al @ The Stone (early)
Scott Amendola Band, Nels Cline @ Tonic
Big Head Todd & The Monsters @ Irving Plaza
Elliott Sharp plays Monk @ Cornelia St. Cafe

Friday:
Devendra Banhart, Adem, CocoRosie et al @ Isaac Stern Auditorium
Eric Lindell @ Lion's Den (late night)
Jonathan Richman @ Knitting Factory
*Galactic @ Irving Plaza
Buckwheat Zydeco @ BB King's (early/late)
Sounds of Greg D et al @ Kenny's Castaways
Paul Motian Trio 2000 @ Village Vanguard (early/late)
Sharon Jones & Dap Kings @ Maxwell's (Hoboken)
Larry Coryell/Victor Bailey/Lenny White @ Iridium (early/late)
Travis Sullivan's Bjorkestra @ Canal Room
Henry Butler @ Mexicali Blues (Teaneck, NJ)

Saturday:
Galactic @ Irving Plaza
*Sharon Jones & Dap Kings @ Maxwell's (Hoboken)
David Byrne @ Isaac Stern Auditorium
Ennio Morricone @ Radio City Music Hall
Larry Coryell/Victor Bailey/Lenny White @ Iridium (early/late)
Michael Wolff @ Flea Theater
The Moonlighters @ Barbes (Brooklyn)
Jonathan Richman @ Knitting Factory
Paul Motian Trio 2000 @ Village Vanguard (early/late)
Gastelum, Street, Kalb, Farrell et al @ Cafe De Ville (late night)

Super Bowl Sunday:
Larry Coryell/Victor Bailey/Lenny White @ Iridium (early/late)
Jonathan Richman @ Knitting Factory
Paul Motian Trio 2000 @ Village Vanguard (early/late)
*Cat Power solo @ Hiro Ballroom
Stephane Wrembel @ Barbes (Brooklyn)

Click here for upcoming shows.

Bonus Review: The Bad Plus

Tuesday night at the Vanguard... review is here

minimix: Se7en

Let's add one in honor of VII -- party on Freaks...

Download the mix

01 Soul Shake Down Party -- Bob Marley: Songs Of Freedom
02 All Night Long -- Junior Kimbrough: God Knows I Tried
03 I Got Drunk -- Uncle Tupelo: 89/93: An Anthology
04 Party At Your Mama's House -- Widespread Panic: 'Til The Medicine Takes
05 We Dance -- Pavement: Wowee Zowee
06 Freaks for the Festival -- Rahsaan Roland Kirk: The Case of the 3 Sided Dream in Audio color
07 After Midnight -- Jerry Garcia Band: Don't Let Go

Links: Feel the Love

Here's an edition of "people I hate" links [someone shoot these people, please]

#1 on my list: Dick Vitale
GWB praises Julie Aigner-Clark
Dakota Fanning

And now to happy it up, Jesse Jarnow has an excellent, if not dubious, set of links. Meta-Star Wars analysis? New Charlie Kaufman pic? Giddy up! Check 'em out.

Onto the formal portion of our program... last night, before a pretty darn good Cold War Kids show (maybe you'll get a review later), I caught Pan's Labyrinth. If I may retroactively update my favorite 2006 movies, this gets top billing... by far. Maybe the best movie I've seen in a long while. Really, this is what cinema is all about. One of my favorite filmmakers is Miyazaki and this one has the feel of a darker, moodier live-action Miyazaki film, right down to the prepubescent heroine at the movie's center (not to mention the narrow strip of sanity separating reality from fantasy). The story is engrossing and the settings are a wonderful balance of stark reality and utter fantasy. One thing that sets Pan's Labyrinth on that next level is just the way the movie sounds. The crinkle of supershined leather boots, the scrape of a straight-edge blade against whiskered skin, the whistling of fairy wings fluttering around the screen -- it's a full-body experience. This is a fairy tale in the truest sense of the word. I strongly urge you to check it out.

Some other Pan's Labyrinth reviews
I saw it here, my first time at that theater -- very nice.
Dinner was here: damn good cheesesteak, open late.

Review: Rotary Downs|Amandla > Big Sam's Funky Nation

Tap Bar|Lion's Den, 19 January 2007

(photos courtesy of Greg Aiello)

Trust Dee. I'd love to be able to say "Trust Me" but I've recommended some crap music in my day, although I'd like to think my batting average is decent. But Dee you can trust, and I'm glad I followed her advice and checked out Rotary Downs on Friday night.

The Tap Bar was pretty crowded, mostly with friendly faces, especially for a band playing its first gig in NYC. Conversation over drinks quickly cut itself short when the first chord was played. There was a certain presence in that first blip of sound: an energy, a certain "shut up and listen!" quality that only got more prevalent as the set went on. From the start the Pavement influences were incredibly obvious. The first tune felt like Steve Malkmus' various abilities had been yanked out separately -- his voice to the frontman/vocalist, his off-kilter guitar tone to the lead guitarist, his quirky sense of rhythm to the drummer. This was undoubtedly the tomato paste of the RD sound, but there were surprises that unfolded along the way that revealed an entirely original sound.

That first tune didn't take long to get to them, either, about 2/3 of the way through it split open and ran double or triple time, exploding with energy. Surprises were also abound in the instrumentation as a pedal steel showed a new side and sound -- a change of pace not unlike Apollo Sunshine's, in all honesty. Even more interesting was the appearance of a trumpet on certain tunes. That was one of the few overt shades of their New Orleans home. Yes, New Orleans now has a powerful, song-centric, indie-pop export to go with every other genre they've completely hoarded to themselves. The band was super-tight throughout, not afraid to open things up when warranted and seemed to get looser and more engaging as the night went on. And yes, the songs were that good and the playing even better to warrant all that enthusiasm. This show made me smile... and dance and rock out and buy the album on my way out the door, which is saying something. So yes, trust Dee... and check out her videos of their in-studio performance (especially this one) and the next night in Brooklyn (which I was way too tired to go to, despite really wanting a second helping.

The opener was Claude Coleman's band, Amandla. I've seen them a couple times and this was certainly the best of those, although I still have a problem with them. That problem being mainly the vocals. I can deal with poor vocals in a band, I understand it's kinda the hardest and last thing to nail. But this music -- and don't get me wrong, I think the songs are terrific at heart -- seems to rely heavily on harmony and hitting all the notes.

Headed over to the Lion's Den for some post-show show and to get the NOLA fix. The band was called Big Sam's Funky Nation which is just about the lamest name for a band I could possibly think of. Do you have to put "funky" in the title? Well, yeah, it was funky, but let the music speak for itself. These guys are who they are, a perfect microcosm of the funky New Orleans party band, complete with Skerik sit-ins and the drunk, Tulane-heavy crowd. There is a place for this kind of music and Big Sam fits between 1 and 3 am like the last piece in a jigsaw puzzle. The crowd was friendly, freaky and in fill TGIF mode. So don't look at me with your sneering hipster detachment, it was a damn good time!

Photos: Rambling to the Garden and Back

At the beginning of the season I promised the occasional foray into Cuse hoops talk. There hasn't been much because the team is what I'd call lacking -- lacking talent, lacking personality, and worst of all lacking watchability. This was all in full effect on Sunday afternoon when we made a trip to the self-proclaimed World's Most Famous Arena for the nearly-annual Syracuse/St. John's tilt. Seen is a picture I took of the "action." I use that term loosely -- it was one of the most unentertaining college basketball games I've been to in a long while, so the picture sums it up pretty well. Needless to say, they beat us, and all signs point to a long season.

I will take this moment to mention the Orange hoops blog at Syracuse.com, which has become an essential stop for any fan of the team.

In all honesty, the best part of our trip to the Garden was seeing this sign which helps feed my foods-wrapped-in-other-foods fetish. The knish-wrapped hot dog is just what could lift my spirits.


Actually, the train ride into town wasn't a total loss because we had an amazing BBQ meal at Daisy May's which I rate as the best Cue in the 5 Boroughs... prove me wrong. The Oklahoma beef rib is like meat candy. In the interest of equal time, I did also catch up on my New Yorker reading with an interesting article on vegetarianism.

Made the train back home and watched the absolutely thrilling AFC East championship game. Which brings us back ever-so-gracefully to Syracuse. See, I don't really have a pro football team (or NBA team for that matter). I just have Syracuse to root for and I didn't even go to school there. The best sport at the school I did go to was sailing of all things, so I've been saddled with a strange rooting complex. Most Syracusans tie on to Buffalo or the Giants, and while I'll root for both, I feel no allegiance. In the spirit of contrarianism I actually spent a lot of my misguided youth rooting for the Cowboys which was fun until they actually got good. Spending school in Boston, I rooted for the hapless Pats and have a soft spot in my soul for poor Drew Bledsoe from being forced to watch his ineptitude for 4 straight years. So in the complicated calculus of my fandom, I end up following Syracuse alumni in the pros which makes for some strange conflicts. The two I enjoy the most are McNabb's Eagles and, as it so happens, the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts have like 5 or 6 former Orangemen playing significant roles on the team, including superstars Marvin Harrison and Dwight Freeney. Nice to remember a time when we actually had decent players on our team -- watching these guys is like a throwback to happier times in Cuse-following. So, long story short, I consider myself, of all things, and Indy fan (I can even get behind Peyton with little remorse), so Go Colts! I guess I'm going to need to hash this out before I pass on some demented rooting rules to my children and they grow up to be conflicted mass murderers who can't commit to a meaningful relationship... but hopefully death merchants with a proper admiration for foods wrapped in other foods.

Shows of the Week

Freakweek!

Click here for upcoming shows

Monday:
Allen Toussaint/Holmes Brothers @ Joe's Pub (early/late)
Don Byron @ Merkin Hall
R. Earl Keen, Wood Bros et al @ BB King's
*FREE Scott Metzger, Danjaboots @ Knitting Factory
David Murray Black Saint Quartet @ Jazz Standard (early/late)

Tuesday:
*The Bad Plus @ Village Vanguard (early/late)
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah et al @ Bowery Ballroom (benefit)
David Murray Black Saint Quartet @ Jazz Standard (early/late)
Erin McKeown @ Joe's Pub (early)
Adam Levy et al @ Rockwood Music Hall (late)
Bill Evans w/ Sam Bush et al @ Blue Note (early/late)
Marcia Ball/John Hammond Quartet @ BB King's

Wednesday:
*Cold War Kids @ Mercury Lounge
The Bad Plus @ Village Vanguard (early/late)
Binky Griptite @ Lucky Cat (Brooklyn)
James Blood Ulmer @ Iridium (early/late)
Hopewell, Anders Parker et al @ Living Room
Bill Evans w/ Sam Bush et al @ Blue Note (early/late)
David Murray Black Saint Quartet @ Jazz Standard (early/late)
Erin McKeown @ Joe's Pub (late)
Clipse @ Bowery Ballroom
Oren Bloedow @ Tonic

Thursday:
Mark O'Connor w/ Rosanne Cash @ Merkin Concert Hall
The Bad Plus @ Village Vanguard (early/late)
Bill Evans w/ Sam Bush et al @ Blue Note (early/late)
Bob Seger @ Madison Square Garden
Blue October @ Irving Plaza
Greg Osby @ Jazz Standard (early/late)
Dub Trio et al @ Mercury Lounge
Meowskers @ Piano's
*Wayne Krantz w/ L. Goines, C. Almond @ 55 Bar (late/midnight)
James Blood Ulmer @ Iridium (early/late)

Friday:
*Tin Hat @ Symphony Space
James Blood Ulmer @ Iridium (early/late)
Greg Osby @ Jazz Standard (early/late)
Deerhoof @ Irving Plaza
The Bad Plus @ Village Vanguard (early/late)
M Ward solo @ Town Hall
Blue Oyster Cult @ BB King's
Bill Evans w/ Sam Bush et al @ Blue Note (early/late)
UMELT @ Mexicali Blues (Teaneck, NJ)
Burgon/Dunn Duo @ Salon/Saloon #7 (Brooklyn)
Henry Butler @ Blue Note (late night)

Saturday:
FREAK'S BALL VII @ Southpaw (Brooklyn)
Apollo Sunshine, Chris Harford, The Dansettes

Sunday:
Bill Evans w/ Sam Bush et al @ Blue Note (early/late)
*Perpetual Groove @ Knitting Factory
The Bad Plus @ Village Vanguard (early/late)
James Blood Ulmer @ Iridium (early/late)
Stephane Wrembel @ Barbes (Brooklyn)
Greg Osby @ Jazz Standard (early/late)
Ari Hoenig @ 55 Bar (early)

Click here for upcoming shows

minimix: Weekend Sampler

This weekend starts a very nice stretch of shows in the city (and Saturday is the Freaks List's birthday), so get out there and go see live music. To get you started, here's some music or musicians you might hear out and about this weekend.

Click here to download the mix

01 Big Parade -- Rotary Downs: Chained to the Chariot
02-03 Truckin' > Jam -- Grateful Dead: Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, NY16 July 1990
04 I Saw A Bird Fly Away -- Dar Williams: The Beauty Of The Rain
05 High on a Mountain -- Ollabelle: Riverside Battle Songs
06 I've Got A Feeling -- The Dansettes: Oh My!

Blades of Glory

Couldn't wait to spread the word on this one... is there any possible way this isn't awesome? (probably, but humor me).

Links: FBVII Countdown

Freaks Ball is around the corner, so I might have to put on my pimp suit once or twice in the next week.

Details: Saturday 1/27 at Southpaw in Brooklyn, USA.

Tickets are going at a pretty good clip, so get yours now: right here!!

As a reminder, we've got three sweet, sweet acts playing, DJ's, crazy Freaks and one of the sweetest rooms in town.

Apollo Sunshine just flat out kicks ass, nothing more needs to be said, but I'll expound nonetheless, should it please the court, with some links for your consideration. Seriously, these guys are about to blow up -- they even make a cameo in the recent U2 video alongside some already legends -- what more proof do you need... OK, they get Ropeadope love, too! Satisfied?)

• Rolling Stone offers some videos
• You can stream some tracks on their site
• Download some shows at the incomparable Live Music Archive
• Or just ask anyone who's seen 'em live and left saying "SHIT that was good!"
  

Chris Harford is somewhat of a live music cult legend in NYC, and if you need any proof, check out his rotating cast of characters in his ever-morphing Band of Changes. Better yet, look at who that Band will be come next Saturday: Scott Metzger on guitar, Dave Dreiwitz on bass and Joe Russo on drums. You will not find a better backing band in the universe -- you can have Plant, Jones and Bonham, I'll take these three [he said with just a hint of hyperbole]. Seriously, they all have the same middle name -- that being Fucking as in Joe Fucking Russo. Listen to Chris at Myspace or the tracks on his site or better yet, download this show from last fall with this exact same lineup, DUDE!

The Dansettes are some old school R&B/funk/soul that will bring a smile to your face and that boogie to your bottom. Check out this YouTube or listen to some of their hopping EP at Myspace and get ready to party.

So there you have it. Tis the season to party down with the Freaks, so I hope you'll join us.

The details:

Freaks Ball VII
Saturday, 27 January 2007
Southpaw, Brooklyn, NY
Apollo Sunshine
Chris Harford & the Band of Changes (Russo, Metzger, Dreiwitz)
The Dansettes
Tickets: $20 (go get 'em!)

Review: Friday Night Lights

Yeah, I did see some music last week, but nothing worth writing something about that nobody's gonna read, so in the interest of doing something different (that nobody's gonna read), I'm going to review what is now my favorite TV program: Friday Night Lights which is on NBC at 8pm on Wednesdays (i.e. tonight).

The quality of this show is like something you'd find on HBO: realistic characters where there are no clear cut "good guys" or "bad guys" -- everyone has their flaws and their strengths; multiple story arcs that reach across episodes or kind of stew for a couple weeks like they might in real life; top notch production values with a sort of hand-held documentary-style camera work that may be a little cliched but definitely works within the framework of the show; and lastly a great soundtrack through and through (you had me at Iron & Wine).

Ostensibly, the show is about a high school football team in the parts of Texas where high school football teams are the center of the universe. (the show is based on the movie which is based on the book). But, as with any quality programming, there's a lot more layered in there. Somehow this show has been able to fold in narratives about disabilities, steroid use, college recruiting, Katrina refugees, domestic battery, the Iraq war and its veterans and a whole slew more without a single one of these elements feeling at all forced. It's pretty amazing, these are things that I've never seen in a TV show and it's pretty much 100% compelling. I can only hope they haven't fallen for the "let's cram every possible story line in the first season" trap that leaves the ensuing life of the series to the rest of the more vanilla love, sex, high school social structure, friendship, small-town politics, lower-middle-class economics storylines that are already in there.

This is TV for men and women -- yes there is football, although not an overwhelming proportion of it, but since these are high school kids, there's a whole slice of 90210 at its essence, not the least of which are impossibly attractive women from top to bottom and actors that probably had their prom in the mid-90's, but also including the lead male working at a burger joint.

Anyway, I can't recommend this show enough and despite the fact that the stories are ongoing, I don't think it would be that difficult for you, interested reader, to pick it up. To make it even easier (and to fend off cancellation), you can watch every episode in its entirety online here, and I believe there are some links somewhere in there where you can just watch a quickie catch-up summary. I'd hate to see this thing get bounced around the lineup and then disappear or outright cancelled before it really has a chance to spread its offense out.

Allmans at the Fillmore

Not much original content this week, so I'll let YouTube take over today.

Don't tell me you've never wondered what it would have been like to see the Allman Brothers play the Fillmore East!

Here's your chance (probably best viewed at about 4am after a night of heavy partying, but still...)

Elizabeth Reed:



Whipping Post Part I:



Part II:

Shows of the Week

Click here for upcoming shows

MLKDAY:
*Tal Wilkenfeld @ Tonic
Little Richard @ BB King's
Tracy Bonham @ Union Hall (Brooklyn)

Tuesday:
Fall Out Boy, New Found Glory
Robert Cray Band @ BB King's
Barry Manilow @ Madison Square Garden
*Jenny Scheinman @ Barbes (Brooklyn)
Kenny Barron @ Village Vanguard (early/late)
The Holmes Brothers @ Joe's Pub (early)

Wednesday:
America @ BB King's
Mos Def @ Lincoln Center
Toots & The Maytals @ Canal Room
Kenny Barron @ Village Vanguard (early/late)
Barry Manilow @ Madison Square Garden
*Cold War Kids, Frank Smith @ Union Hall (Brooklyn)
My Brightest Diamond et al @ Tonic
Andrew Bird @ Bowery Ballroom
Anders Parker @ Living Room
Bankerton Group @ Maxwell's (Hoboken)

Thursday:
The Hold Steady @ Northsix
*Jonah Smith, Scrapomatic @ Maxwell's (Hoboken)
Fro @ Galapagos (Brooklyn)
Sloan @ Bowery Ballroom
Piamenta @ Southpaw (Brooklyn)
Wayne Krantz w/ A. Jackson, C. Almond @ 55 Bar (late/midnight)
Kenny Barron @ Village Vanguard (early/late)
Barry Manilow @ Madison Square Garden
Jessica Lurie @ HERE Arts Center
Nusrat Tribute @ Makor
Steve Coleman @ The Stone (early/late)
Patricia Barber @ Symphony Space
Bankerton Group @ Tap Bar

Friday:
Rotary Downs, Amandla @ Tap Bar
Rich Robinson, Luther Dickinson & Friends @ Bowery Ballroom
DJ Le Spam & The Spam Allstars
*Big Sam's Funky Nation (Circus Mind opens) @ Lion's Den (late)
Gob Iron @ Maxwell's (Hoboken)
Licorice @ R&R
Jerry Lee Lewis @ BB King's
John Ginty Band w/ Shannon McNally @ Ace of Clubs
The Dears @ Webster Hall
Donny McCaslin @ 55 Bar (late)
Jessica Lurie @ HERE Arts Center
Bankerton Group @ Southpaw (Brooklyn)
Kenny Barron @ Village Vanguard (early/late)
Terrance Simien @ Lion's Den (early)
Mission On Mars @ Rose (Brooklyn)
The Radiators @ Mexicali Blues (Teaneck, NJ)Mission Of Burma @ Irving Plaza
Burnt Sugar @ Tonic (midnight)

Saturday:
FREE J. Kaukonen, Ollabelle, L. Campbell, Railroad Earth et al @ Winter Garden
Gob Iron @ Northsix (Brooklyn)
Stefon Harris @ Jazz Standard (early/late)
Ollabelle, Kaki King et al @ Bowery Ballroom
*Rotary Downs @ Magnetic (Brooklyn)
Jessica Lurie @ HERE Arts Center
Subdues @ Irving Plaza
Dar Williams et al @ Joe's Pub (early)
Winter Jazzfest @ Knitting Factory (all club)
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy @ BB King's
Kenny Barron @ Village Vanguard (early/late)
Cowboy Junkies @ Joe's Pub (late)
Aquarius Ingress @ The Stone (early/late)
Jay Rodriguez @ Blue Note (late night)

Sunday:
*FREE J. Kaukonen, J. Farrar, D. Williams, Sex Mob, T. Trischka et al
@ Winter Garden
Ricky Skaggs w/ Bruce Hornsby, Shawn Colvin et al @ BB King's
T. Berne, E. Iverson, D. King, M. Maneri @ Tonic
Stefon Harris @ Jazz Standard (early/late)
Kenny Barron @ Village Vanguard (early/late)
Jessica Lurie @ HERE Arts Center
Travis Sullivan's Bjorkestra @ Makor
Stephane Wrembel @ Barbes (Brooklyn)
Steve Coleman @ The Stone (early/late)

Click here for upcoming shows

minimix: Jazzercise (p)

Long mix for your hopefully long weekend. A little piano jazz for you.

Click here to download the mix

01 Caravan -- Duke Ellington With Charles Mingus & Max Roach: Money Jungle
02 Dancing -- Keith Jarrett Trio: Changeless
03 Epistrophy -- Thelonious Monk Quartet With John Coltrane: At Carnegie Hall
04 Everywhere You Turn -- The Bad Plus: These Are The Vistas
05 Paranoid Android -- Brad Mehldau: Live In Tokyo
06 Hey Joe -- Medeski, Martin & Wood: Tonic

Enjoy!

Links: Random smattering

The above image is from a fantastic t-shirt which was listed on the T-Shirt Critic Blog, which is a great place to hop over to every once in a while. Let's face it, cool t-shirts are, well, really cool, and these guys are bringing that appreciation to the next level. This Rushmore shirt is also quite sharp. I'm pretty sure I was sent there by BoingBoing, which is usually the case for those out-of-the-ordinary links.

On the other end of the Blog spectrum you have Malcolm Gladwell's site. This earns the distinction of being one of the few blogs whose comments section is actually used for intelligent discussion. I mean even the trolls make good points. It's also a sign of the times when someone writes an article, revisits it shortly on a blog and then mixes it up directly with the readers in such a forum. Check out Gladwell's newest New Yorker article on Enron which, whether you agree with his points or not, is a pretty fascinating look at something that's been hashed over pretty good. Then go and follow up here and here for some additional perspective and the interesting and well-informed insights of his reader. See, the 'net doesn't have to be all boobies and flame throwing.

Finally, what would I be if I didn't throw you some tunes:

First, via Andy "CahnMedia" Cahn and Hidden Track I point you in the direction of this sure-to-be-killer The Band tribute album: Endless Highway. Click on "Music" and you can hear all the tracks in their entirety and you'll want to block out some time for these, Widespread Panic plays "Chest Fever" with horns, Gomez kills "Up On Cripple Creek," MMJ, ABB, Death Cab and on and on. This ain't no shitty dust-collecting tribute album.

Second, OTW is a big Jimmy Herring fluffer, so I urge you to check out this sweet YouTube of some sort of guitar clinic that Jimmy's teaching. I have no idea what he's talking about for about 90% of the time, but it's sweet to watch this guy dissect the music, talk about, ad lib, etc.