21st Century Schizoid Music Presents:  Italian Schizoid With Gene Caprioglio, Le Nozze di Carlo and Dirty Mac at the Cornelia Street Cafe. Le Nozze di Carlo

What
happens when a 21st Century Italian American musician keeps one foot
planted in the old country and one in the new? He stumbles between
sophisticated, continental, Italian classics and pseudo-primitive jug
band sounds. So sit back and sip fine Italian wine or Wild Turkey and
enjoy this entertaining juxtaposition of music with both groups
featuring the guitar playing of Gene “The Jammeister” Caprioglio. Gene
will also sing in Italian and offer oenophilic commentary. The other
performers will include Joel Darelius, Paule Diamond, Emily Fellner,
Bob Goldberg, Josh Michael, Lionel Sanders, Doug Strich, Sam Williams
(a.k.a. Dirty Mac) and Chris Zeig playing accordions, trumpets, banjos,
washtub bass, mandolin and few other things and singing about wine,
drinking, love and other stuff.

For more about Le Nozze di Carlo, checkout: www.cdroots.com

Monday July 13, 2009 8:30PM

The Cornelia  Street Cafe
29 Cornelia  Street ,NYC 10014
212-989-9319

http://www.corneliastreetcafe.com/i

$10 cover + 1 drink minimum.

Good story about this band that's playing at Bklyn Yard on the banks of the Gowanus Canal on Carroll Street between Bond and Nevins (right off the Carroll Street Bridge). The show, which includes other bands and DJs, goes from 2 p.m. until 9 p.m. It costs $18 to get in, kids under 12 are free and all ages welcome. Here's the story:

When I was in Austin three years ago, my friend Bob marched me down to
the club Burbon Rocks just in time for the 10 pm show and told me "this
is the Guy you want to see."  Of course, Bob was right.  Guy Forsyth
played a combination of  blues, rock, folk and country.  Not only was
Guy a great guitar player, but he wore a utility belt with at least a
half dozen harmonicas, and yes he played them too.  Guy's lyrics were
socially and politically aware, but they never overwhelmed the music. 
On top of that, he was funny and charming.

When I got home, I checked Guy's web site and found that he didn't
venture out from the Austin area much.  But New York City is in luck
this weekend: Guy is playing three shows between now and Sunday.  Don't
miss this opportunity to see one of Austin's best.

Guy Forsyth, Rodeo Bar, Third Avenue and 27th Street (6, R or W Trains
to 28th Street, then walk east to Third Avenue), Friday and Saturday,
10:30 pm, No cover;

 AND

Pete's Candy Store, 709 Lorimer Street (G Train to
Metropolitan Avenue, exit via the L Train Lorimer Street platform to
Lorimer Street and walk about five blocks to Pete's), 10:30 pm, No cover

 –Eliot Wagner

And now for something completely different.  Musician Dave Carroll
tell us that he and his band experienced unfriendly skies when traveling with United Airlines. 
Here's what he says:

"In the spring of 2008, Sons of Maxwell were traveling to Nebraska for
a one-week tour and my Taylor guitar was witnessed being thrown by
United Airlines baggage handlers in Chicago. I discovered later that
the $3500 guitar was severely damaged. They didn’t deny the experience
occurred but for nine months the various people I communicated with put
the responsibility for dealing with the damage on everyone other than
themselves and finally said they would do nothing to compensate me for
my loss. So I promised the last person to finally say “no” to
compensation (Ms. Irlweg) that I would write and produce three songs
about my experience with United Airlines and make videos for each to be
viewed online by anyone in the world. United: Song 1 is the first of
those songs. United: Song 2 has been written and video production is
underway. United: Song 3 is coming. I promise."

The moral: don't mess with a musician.

 –Eliot Wagner

Most people just describe Brooklyn's Sydney Wayser as indie or
indie-pop.  That mainly tells you what she doesn't sound like
(mainstream music).  So I'll try to describe her music for you. 
Sydney's main instrument is piano and her band consists of electric
guitar, upright bass, drums and toys (toy piano, toy xylophone and some
others).  Her songs combine elements of classical, show music, rock and
chanson française (Sydney's father is French and she spent some time in
Paris growing up).  But the most impressive instrument in Sydney's band
is her voice.  Extremely expressive and perhaps a touch breathy, it is
the hook that ultimately pulls you into her music.

Sydney's been on my radar for a while now, so I made it over to The
Living Room a while back to see her roll out the songs from her new
album, "The Colorful."  Among the standouts played before the
appreciative crowd  were "La Di Da," "Bells," and a rousing version
"Drive In Not Drive Through" (which sounds like it should have the
title 1953).

Sydney Wayser, City Winery, 155 Varick Street (between Spring and
Vandam Streets), 1 Train to Houston Street or Canal Street; C or E
Trains to Spring Street, 8pm, $10.

 –Eliot Wagner

In The New Yorker this week, music critic Alex Ross visits Issue Project Room in the American Can Factory on Third Street and Third Avenue in the Park Slope/Gowanus area.

If yesterday's long list of suggestions of things to do on The Fourth wasn't enough for you, I'll add a few more:

There's been a big show at Battery Park every Fourth for more than a
decade at this point.  Although it required tickets recently, this year
we are back to first come, first served free admission.  Opening the
show this year will be Jenny Lewis, who has two solo albums under he
belt in addition to her work as lead singer of Rilo Kiley.  Her last
album, Acid Tongue, released last year, was a good effort and included a duet with
Elvis Costello.

The main attraction will be Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band.
Although you might remember Conor from his earlier project, Bright
Eyes, you'll find a much less angst ridden Conor these days. This show
is part of a tour for Conor and the MVB behind their album Outer South,
an alt/country/rock affair on which other band members take some of the
vocal turns as well.

This show will be crowded and although it has a start time of 3:30, you'll probably want to get to the park much earlier.

Conor Oberst and The Mystic Valley Band and Jenny Lewis, Battery Park,
enter on State and Pearl Streets, (4 or 5 to Bowling Green or R to
Whitehall Street), 3:30 start, Free

If you are still hanging around in Manhattan after the show and you
still want to hear more music, you can head over to The Rockwood Music
Hall where James Maddock, previously recommended here, will be playing
from 9 to 11.

James Maddock, The Rockwood Music Hall, 196 Allen Street (from
downtown, take the M15 bus to Stanton St.; F Train to Second Avenue,
exit via First Avenue), No Cover

Finally, on Sunday you can celebrate the extension of the G Train all
the way to Church Avenue by taking it from the Slope to Williamsburg
and catch OTBKB Music favorite Sasha Dobson in the backroom (once a
trolley car!) of Pete's Candy Store.  If you go early you can partake
in Pete's Sunday BBQ.

Sasha Dobson, Pete's Candy Store, 709 Lorimer Street (G Train to
Metropolitan Avenue, exit via the L Train Lorimer Street platform to
Lorimer Street and walk about five blocks to Pete's), 8:30, No Cover

 –Eliot Wagner

I thought I'd take a look at a few of the albums released during the
first half of 2009 that I felt were particularly good.  But I will
admit that if you've been reading my posts all along, this list will
not be all that surprising.  Listed in nifty random order:

The Damnwells – One Last Century: One Last Century is just plain
wonderful.  You could call it rock power pop with wonderful songs and
great vocals.  If you need a reference point, The Gin Blossoms aren't
all that far away from this.  There is no reason not to own this album;
it was released as a free download here. Yes, it's legal!

Leslie Mendelson – Swan Feathers:  Adult pop, mostly piano based. 
Leslie's lyrics are literate and as many people have noted, playfully
sexy.  A couple of the songs on this album have been rearranged from
the way Leslie had been doing them live to provide the opportunity for
Leslie to step out from behind the piano and onto center stage,
including the first single, Hit the Spot. 

Amy Speace – The Killer in Me:  This is a reflective album as the songs
in this collection were written during the break up of Amy's marriage. 
Instead of the mostly country sounds of her last collection, Songs for
Bright Street, this material lends itself to a folk rock treatment for
the most part.  And although Amy ruefully decides that "the only thing
I've learned is I haven't learned a thing" she does kicks up her heels
during a very spirited Would I Lie.

Israel Nash Gripka – New York Town:  Too young to have been around
during the classic rock era, Israel reaches back to what was good in
the 70s as inspiration for this set.  And yes, it does seem he's
channeling John Fogerty in the song Pray for Rain.

Li'l Mo and the Monicats – On the Moon:  After a few years away from
the music biz, Li'l Mo returns with a collection that runs from country
to blues to rockabilly to 60s pop.  Most of the songs are originals but
a cover of the Bill Hailey song Rocking Chair on the Moon gives the
album its title.  Standouts include I Really Love (To Really Love You)
and The Boy Who Loved the Blues.

Kristin Diable – Extended Play:  Even though she recently left Brooklyn
to return to her native Louisiana, I'll still include Kristin's EP. 
This is a mix of six studio and three live tracks, a heady mixture of
blues, rock and soul held together with Kristin's smooth Louisiana
drawl.  You can also find Kristin singing in the background of a recent
series of Jeep TV ads.

 –Eliot Wagner

For some reason, June 30th this year has been divined as the date when potentially big CDs should be released. So although Leslie Mendelson's debut album, Swan Feathers, was originally scheduled to be released earlier in the year, it was held back for that magic date. Well, June 30th is tomorrow, so I'll celebrate by posting this video.
This is Leslie as I've seen her for the past two and a half years: in her native habitat, The Rockwood Music Hall, and joined by Steve McEwan on the lower right and James Maddock, who takes the guitar solo out of the frame.

–Eliot Wagner

This Saturday night, the best rock band out there, Steve
Wynn and The Miracle 3 will be right here in Brooklyn at The Bell
House over at 2nd Avenue and 7th Street, walking distance from wherever you are in The Slope.

Steve and the band will commemorate the 25th Anniversary
of the release of “Medicine Show” by playing that classic album from
start to finish for
the first time. The Miracle 3—Steve’s long-time band of Jason Victor,
Dave Decastro and Linda Pitmon—did similar shows for
“The Days of Wine and Roses” in 2001.

“’Medicine Show’ is the weirdest, most idiosyncratic, nastiest,
funniest and most revealing record the Dream Syndicate ever made,” said
Wynn in the liner notes from the record’s 1991 reissue. “It’s also my
favorite.”

If
you're not familar with The Medicine Show, it has songs about life in
the small town of Merrittville (if you lived there you'd probably want
to leave), what thrills might await you at that traveling Medicine
Show, about arson and the loss of faith and that's just the tip of the
iceberg. 

Steve Wynn and The Miracle 3 at The Bell House, Saturday June 27,
7:30pm. $12.

–Eliot Wagner

Tonight at Celebrate Brooklyn, Icelandic crooner Ólöf Arnalds opens the show for "the vaunted NYC underground sensualists Blonde Redhead have
shape-shifted from dissonant noise explorations to ethereal, dreamy pop
over the course of their career, always inspiring intense devotion from
their fans. PopMatters says of them, “It is as if they are pressing on
piano keys and each key is a trigger that tugs a wire within the
listener. There are keys for longing, possession, despair, and
ecstasy—and Blonde Redhead travel fast and skillfully over the whole
keyboard.”

Gates open at 6:30 p.m. Enter park at 9th Street and Prospect Park West.

There are three worthwhile shows tonight, two of them free. I'll look at them in chronological order.

First up at 6pm at the somewhat unheralded Newsong Series @Bryant Park
After Work is OTBKB Music favorite Milton.  As previously noted Milton
is the name of a band (as well as the band leader) playing well crafted roots
rock/americana.  Expect to hear about former girl friends, stars, piano
players and New Orleans.  Milton's 2008 album, Grand Hotel, was one of
that year's best and you cannot go wrong checking out Milton tonight.

Milton, Bryant Park stage at 42nd St. near 6th Avenue (B, D or F to 42nd Street) 6pm, free.

Next at 7pm is Ian Hunter. 
You probably know the name but if you don't you've probably heard the
songs All the Young Dudes, Rock 'n' Roll Queen and All the Way to
Memphis by Ian's original group, Mott the Hoople.  Of course Ian has
been on his own now for a while and has continued writing rock classics
like Once Bitten Twice Shy, Central Park 'n West and Cleveland Rocks. 
Ian has a new album, Man Overboard, coming out in mid-July.  Expect to
rock.

Ian Hunter, River to River Festival at Rockefeller Park (1,2,3,A or C to Chambers Street, walk west to park) 7pm, free.

Finally at 8pm is Camera Obscura.  The band is from Scotland, as are
many indie bands these days, but CO is in NYC often, so often that I've
missed seeing them three times (not tonight though).  You can call them
chamber pop if you like, and they sort of remind me of the 70s group
Renaissance  just a bit, although Camera Obscura is certainly not as
baroque.  So I look forward to see lead singer Tracyanne Campbell tell
us about My Maudlin Career and hear what else Camera Obscura has up its
selve.

Camera Obscura, Webster Hall, E. 11th Street between 3rd and 4th Avenues
(N, Q, R, W, L, 4, 5, 6 to Union Square, walk from station to Webster
Hall), 8pm, $20.

–Eliot Wagner

George Usher is not a household name.  But he has been playing in
bands, writing songs producing other musicians since he hit the New
York area more than 30 years ago, including the
Decoys, Beat Rodeo, Richard Barone, Kate Jacobs, The
Schramms and Edward Rogers  George's songs work well no matter how they are arranged or
rearranged: Laura Cantrell chose George's song Not The Tremblin' Kind
to be the title cut of her debut alt country record.

George's work over the last decade has a decided power pop sheen to
it.  If you like The Byrds' brand of jangle, you'll definitely like
George.

Tonight George will play his songs on guitar and piano.  He'll probably
feature songs from his forthcoming album, Your and Not Yours, which is
due in September.  But I'm sure he'll also play some of his older songs too.  George up close and personal is always a worthwhile event.

George Usher, Lakeside Lounge, Avenue B and 10th Street, 9:30 (F Train
to 14th Street, transfer to either the 14A or 14D bus, exit at 10th
Street (14A) or 11th Street (14D) and walk to Avenue B). No cover.

 –Eliot Wagner

–Today, rain or shine: Seventh Heaven, the annual Seventh Avenue Street Fair, is chock full of special events, including the Scavenger Hunt (go to the Park Slope Chamber of Commerce tent on Seventh Avenue between Garfield and Carroll near the Community Bookstore and Little Things). There will also be readings by children's book authors and
more local artisans than ever.

My
friend and neighbor Bernette Rudolph, will take to the street his
Sunday with her gorgeously graphic work (pictured). She writes: "The SUN WILL SHINE
!!!!! Come see me on 7th Ave. in the Slope between 2nd
& 3rd street."

–Also rain or shine: Sunday is the third annual Make Music New York celebration.  Previously noted in OTBKB has been the Accordion Forest and Singalong, now moved to The Bell House, part of that celebration.  Pierre at The Gigometer has provided OTBKB Music with a list of some of the other better performances today:

Juliet Echo (8:00pm) – First Avenue and Houston Street
And The Revellers Fell (6:00pm) – Grand Ferry Park
Maggie Doucet (3:00pm) / Stephen Clair (4 – 5:30pm) – Kill Devil Hill
Joséphine (3:00pm) – Urban Cottage
Lili Roquelin (1:00am) – Astoria Music Shop
Alicia Jo Rabins (6:30 -8pm) – Riverside Park
Athena Reich (1 – 2pm) – La Perla Garden
Tamara Hey (4:00pm) – 2nd Ave and E 10th St
Joe Thompson and the Comfortable Catastrophes (1:00am) – City Hall Park
Cassis and the Sympathies (5:30pm) – Tavern on the Green
Karen Mantler (2:00am) – DeSalvio Playground
Bill Popp and The Tapes (3 – 4pm) / Little Kitten Space Girl (5:30
-6pm) – Washington Square Park
Stephane Wrembel (1:00pm) – Fada Restaurant
Venice Beach Muscle Club – Coney Island
Her Vanished Grace (11:30am ? 12:15pm) / Rebecca Pronsky (2:45 ?
3:30pm) / Sharon Van Etten (5:30 ? 6:15pm) – Sackett St Block Party
Daru Oda (noon – 3pm) – Inspired Design
Hot Box (5:15pm) – Spike Hill
Matt Singer (5:00pm) / Willie Breeding (7:30pm) – Bar Matchless
The Scandinavian Half-Breeds (4 – 6pm) – Lovin' Cup
Randi Russo (4:00pm) / Lorraine Leckie (5:00pm) – Pass Out Record Shop
Amanda Monaco (4:00pm) – The Creek

(For more information about the bands or venues listed above, check The Gigometer)

 –Eliot Wagner

There are a couple of events this weekend which will provide a variety
of free music.  First off is the J&R Music Summer Expo in honor of
the opening of the J&R Musical Instruments Store.  A variety of
musicians will play there at through Sunday.  Two worth your attention
are:

Marshall Crenshaw, Friday at 12:00 noon.  There's a good chance that
you've heard Marshall's signature song, Someday Someway (and if you've
heard it enough times you probably know the words).  Marshall has been
writing and performing for more than 25 years now, playing guitar and
writing great hummable melodies.  What's more, for a few years at the
turn of the 21st century, Marshall lived here in Park Slope.  J&R
Music, 23 Park Row, 1st Floor (A or C to Broadway Nassau, 2 , 3 or 4 to Fulton St).

Leslie Mendelson, Sunday at 12:00 noon.  I've seen Leslie play for the
last 2 1/2 years and I can tell you her adult pop songs are worth
catching.  Her album, Swan Feathers is due out on June 30th, but I
would not be at all surprised if there will be a few around for sale on
Sunday.  And after some time out of the center of the musical universe,
Leslie is a Brooklyn resident again.  J&R Music, 23 Park Row, 1st
Floor (A to Broadway Nassau, 2 , 3 or 4 to Fulton St; Note that A to Brooklyn is not stopping at Broadway Nassau and C not running on Sunday)

Sunday also is the third annual Make Music New York celebration.  Previously noted in OTBKB has been the Accordion Forest and Singalong at The Old
Stone House, part of that celebration.  Pierre at The Gigometer has provided OTBKB Music with a list of some of the other better performances today:

Juliet Echo (8:00pm) – First Avenue and Houston Street
And The Revellers Fell (6:00pm) – Grand Ferry Park
Maggie Doucet (3:00pm) / Stephen Clair (4 – 5:30pm) – Kill Devil Hill
Joséphine (3:00pm) – Urban Cottage
Lili Roquelin (1:00am) – Astoria Music Shop
Alicia Jo Rabins (6:30 -8pm) – Riverside Park
Athena Reich (1 – 2pm) – La Perla Garden
Tamara Hey (4:00pm) – 2nd Ave and E 10th St
Joe Thompson and the Comfortable Catastrophes (1:00am) – City Hall Park
Cassis and the Sympathies (5:30pm) – Tavern on the Green
Karen Mantler (2:00am) – DeSalvio Playground
Bill Popp and The Tapes (3 – 4pm) / Little Kitten Space Girl (5:30
-6pm) – Washington Square Park
Stephane Wrembel (1:00pm) – Fada Restaurant
Venice Beach Muscle Club – Coney Island
Her Vanished Grace (11:30am ? 12:15pm) / Rebecca Pronsky (2:45 ?
3:30pm) / Sharon Van Etten (5:30 ? 6:15pm) – Sackett St Block Party
Daru Oda (noon – 3pm) – Inspired Design
Hot Box (5:15pm) – Spike Hill
Matt Singer (5:00pm) / Willie Breeding (7:30pm) – Bar Matchless
The Scandinavian Half-Breeds (4 – 6pm) – Lovin' Cup
Randi Russo (4:00pm) / Lorraine Leckie (5:00pm) – Pass Out Record Shop
Amanda Monaco (4:00pm) – The Creek

(For more information about the bands or venues listed above, check The Gigometer)

 –Eliot Wagner

This is a good reason to hop on the train and head over to
Madison Square Park: three members of the extended Wainwright family
will be performing for free.  Headlining will be Loudon Wainwright
III.  You've probably seen or heard Loudon over the years. He wrote (or
co-wrote) the music for the film Knocked Up (and played one of the
doctors in it), had a recurring role in MASH one season and wrote and
performed topical songs for NPR.  He also has over 20 albums recorded
over nearly 40 years.  His songs are mostly humorous and self
deprecating.

Three of Loudon's children are also singer-songwriters.  Although his
son Rufus Wainwright and daughter Martha Wainwright will not be performing tonight, his
daughter (with Suzzy Roche) Lucy Wainwright Roche will be performing as
will his sister, Sloan Wainwright.

The show starts at 6pm.  Seating is on the lawn of the park, so if the
weather was wet during the day, you'll probably want to bring a blanket
or at least something plastic to sit on.  You might want to take
advantage of the Shake Shack right in the park for dinner (but the line
there is usually not short).

Madison Square Park, 23rd Street and 5th Avenue (R Train to 23rd Street
(stops right at the park); F Train to 23rd Street and walk one block
east to the park; 6 Train to 23rd Street and walk one block west to the
park)

–Eliot Wagner

Hepcat and I used to go to Phil Niblock's music space/loft, Experimental Intermedia, on Center Street back when we were dating in the 1980's. We heard some great music there and saw his slide shows, cool experimental movies and video.

What a great guy. He and Hepcat used to have really interesting conversations as we walked around the loft and looked at his computers.

I hope we can make it over to see Niblock this week at Issue Project Room located in the American Can Factory on Third Street. The show is on June 19th at 10 p.m. 

Here's the blurbabge: "Phill Niblock is a New York-based minimalist composer and
multi-media musician and director of Experimental Intermedia, a
foundation born in the flames of 1968’s barricade-hopping. He has been
a maverick presence on the fringes of the avant garde ever since. In
the history books Niblock is the forgotten Minimalist. That’s as maybe:
no one ever said the history books were infallible anyway.

"His influence has had more impact on younger composers such as Susan
Stenger, Lois V Vierk, David First, and Glenn Branca. He’s even worked
with Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore and Lee Renaldo on “Guitar two, for
four” which is actually for five guitarists.

"This is Minimalism in the
classic sense of the word, if that makes sense. Niblock constructs big
24-track digitally-processed monolithic microtonal drones. The result
is sound without melody or rhythm. Movement is slow, geologically slow.
Changes are almost imperceptible, and his music has a tendency of
creeping up on you. The vocal pieces are like some of Ligeti’s choral
works, but a little more phased. And this isn’t choral work. “A Y U (as
yet untitled)” is sampled from just one voice, the baritone Thomas
Buckner. The results are pitch shifted and processed intense drones,
one live and one studio edited. Unlike Ligeti, this isn’t just for
voice or hurdy gurdy.

"Like Stockhausen’s electronic pieces, Musique
Concrete, or even Fripp and Eno’s No Pussyfooting, the role of the
producer/composer in “Hurdy Hurry” and “A Y U” is just as important as
the role of the performer. He says: “What I am doing with my music is
to produce something without rhythm or melody, by using many microtones
that cause movements very, very slowly.” The stills in the booklet are
from slides taken in China, while Niblock was making films which are
painstaking studies of manual labour, giving a poetic dignity to sheer
gruelling slog of fishermen at work, rice-planters, log-splitters,
water-hole dredgers and other back-breaking toilers. Since 1968 Phill
has also put on over 1000 concerts in his loft space, including Ryoji Ikeda, Zbigniew Karkowski, Jim O’Rourke."

To repeat: June 19th at 10 p.m. Issue Project Room.

The latest from local accordion man Bob Goldberg:

Stay close to home and get to hear three upcoming singer-songwriters
for free.  It's the monthly Brooklyn Songwriters Exchange show at Union
Hall, where you get to sample three performers.  Tonight you'll hear:

Rebecca Hart,

 Anne Heaton, and

Ben Carroll.

I don't know much about
these performers, other than seeing Ben performing with almost everyone
else at The Rockwood Music Hall and The Living Room.  But that's
exactly the idea of this finely curated series: get to know someone who
you might not have otherwise seen and do it for free.

Brooklyn Songwriters Exchange, Union Hall, 702 Union Street (at Fifth Avenue), 7:30pm doors, 8pm show.

–Eliot Wagner

I'd never heard of her but my friend Andrea has been a fan of Susan McKeown for a long time. She and I were emailing, talking about having dinner when she suggested we go hear McKeown, who was playing at Barbes.

I was intrigued and game as I am rarely disappointed by the music presented at Barbes, Park Slope's ecelctic club, which specializes in Slavic soul, klezmer, jazz, Mexican bandas,
Venezuelan joropos and Romanian
brass bands.

Indeed, the very intimate Barbes was a perfect venue to hear the literate and soulful Irish singer/songwriter Susan McKeown, who's stunning lyricism and eclectic sense of melody took my breath away. The performance felt like a conversation  between singer and audience as McKeown explained what the songs were about and what lines she had "stolen" from poets like Seamus Heaney, Ezra Pound and Samuel Beckett.

In most cases it was a fragment of a line. Clearly the Dublin-born McKeown is a perfectionist when it comes to the lyrics in her haunting image-filled songs that take the listener down the rivers of Ireland, the death of Ann Lovett, a young girl who died after the birth of a lillegitmate child, green fields, her mother's birth experience and the search for God.

McKeown who sings volcals on "Wonder Wheel" by the Klezmatics, 2007's Grammy winner for Best Contemporary World Album, has an elegant, almost sculptural face with defined cheekbones. Sometimes she sounds like Natalie Merchant, who actually sings on McKeown's 2002 album Prophecy (which McKeown was selling at Barbes). Merchant recorded Mckeown's song "Because I Could Not Stop" on her latest album Retrospective.

Reading her biography I see that McKeown has performed with many musical luminaries in addition to the Klezmatics and Natalie Merchant, including Linda Thompson, Pete Seeger, Mary, Margaret O'Hara, Billy Bragg, Arlo Guthrie, Andy, Irvine, Flook, Lúnasa, and the Scots fiddle master, Johnny Cunningham.

I just added Prophecy to my iPod library and will be spending a lot of time with the songs of Susan McKeown. And I'll be sure to let you know when she's playing at Barbes next.

BAMcafé celebrates Muslim Voices with
a weekend of free concerts featuring New York-based Muslim artists
engaged in both traditional and innovative approaches.

Tonight: Composer/producer Adam Matta is a beatboxing tour de force, blending
hip-hop, electronic, jazz, and traditional Middle Eastern music into a
unique and driving sound. Performing with his friends Dr. Fawzia
Afzal-Khan (spoken word/voice), Nihan Devecioglu (voice), Noah Hoffeld
(cello), Remi Kanazi (spoken word), Eyal Maoz (guitar), and Kenny
Muhammad The Human Orchestra (beatbox), this second night of Muslim
Voices in BAMcafé is sure to impress.

Sat, Jun 13 at 9:30pm
BAMcafé
Free!

My friend George likes the group Tandy.  Really likes them.  He just
got an iPod Touch and an FM transmitter for his car and played Tandy's
song, Shine, 16 times in a row on a recent trip.

Although 16 times in a row might be a
bit much, George is not alone in his admiration of Tandy. 
Singer-songwriter Steve Earle said that "Tandy is my favorite NYC band
and the first music I ever played on my radio show."  And Gray's
Anatomy  picked the Tandy song Home to feature on its January 8th episode
this year.  Tandy's sound has been described as ambient folk rock, and
I think that's a fair description.

Tandy is centered around singer-songwriter (and Brooklyn resident) Mike
Ferrio (that's Mike's picture).   The band's current label is 2minutes59 Records, located here
in Park Slope. 

So I'll thank George and will recommend Tandy's gig this Sunday,
9:30pm, at the East Village's Lakeside Lounge (Avenue B and 10th
Street; F Train to 14th Street; 14A bus to Avenue A and 10th Street,
then walk one block east to Avenue B)

 –Eliot Wagner

Sometimes things just aren't what you might think they are on first
blush.  Tonight's double header of Uncle Monk and The Demolition String
Band at Banjo Jim's sounds like it's going to be a strictly country
night.  And that simply is not the case.

Uncle Monk is a duo with Tommy Ramone on vocals, mandolin, guitar,
banjo and dobro, and Claudia Tienan on vocals, guitar and bass.  They
call their music alt-country punk-bluegrass.  The
music is based on bluegrass but adds some alt country and rock
flavoring to the mix.  And the punk?  That refers to the DIY process
through which this music came together.  And yes, you guessed it. 
Tommy's old band was The Ramones.

When any band has string band in its name, you expect old-timey
country.  Well, you are just not going to get that from The Demolition
String Band.  There's twang and alt country, but the DSB rock hard as
well.  The band is led by front woman Elena Skye and guitarist Boo
Rainers, and whatever they are playing in their self described genre of
hardcorn grindgrass fullbarn stompdown twangadelix, your ears will
definitely be pleased.

Uncle Monk, 9pm, Demolition String Band, 10 pm, at Banjo Jim's, 9th Street and Avenue C (F Train to 14th Street, take the M14D bus eastbound to 11th St. & Ave. C and walk 2 blocks south)

 –Eliot Wagner

Tonight, Celebrate Brooklyn opens its 31st season with David Byrne. 
This is earlier than in the past, and Celebrate Brooklyn will take next
week off.  But this is a world class event for an extremely reasonable
price at the Prospect Park Bandshell.

The show is not only music but dance as well.  The performers are:

David Byrne: Voice/guitar
Mark Degli Antoni: Keys      
Paul Frazier: Bass
Mauro Refosco: Percussion
Graham Hawthorne: Drums

BG VOX
Kaïssa
Redray Frazier
Jenni Muldaur

DANCERS
Lily Baldwin
Natalie Kuhn
Steven Reker

I've taken a look at the set lists from a few of David's shows last
week and I see that there has been a nice mix of songs from David's
recent album with Eno, Everything That Happens Will Happen Today and
favorites from The Talking Heads as well.  There's even a chance that a
song from David's first collaboration with Eno, My Life in the Bush of
Ghosts will show up.  But as they say, past performance is no guarantee
of future results, so we'll see what David and company have up their
sleeves for Brooklyn.

David Byrne, Celebrate Brooklyn, Prospect Park Bandshell, gates open
6:30, show at 8:00pm; Note: Enter 8th Avenue and 11th Street.

 –Eliot Wagner

When I was in Austin at the South By Southwest festival last year, I
made sure I caught Care Bears on Fire, as the Park Slope band was the
closest thing to a home team for me.  So of course I took a walk over
to the Central Branch of The Brooklyn Public Library Thursday afternoon to
catch Care Bears on Fire again at the Library's "Block Party."  The
audience consisted mostly of parents, sitters and nursery
school-aged kids.  But given the hour, 3:30, I guess you'd have to
expect that.

Since the last time I saw them, the band has had a change in members,
with former bassist Lucio leaving over differences in musical
direction.  CBOF is now an all-girl trio with Jena (bass) joining
Sophie (guitar) and Izzy (drums).  But once I heard them, any thought
that CBOF were consciously trying to be The Runaways (or The Bangles or
The Go-Gos) went right out the window.

The set was short.  But there were a few new songs in it.  A couple of
times a 60s pop riff showed up in a new song, but then Sophie turned
back toward Johnny Ramone land.  Those new songs will be on a new album, Get Over It, coming out July 14.

********
I had a recommendation for tomorrow, but the artist canceled the gig at the last minute.

 –Eliot Wagner

Save the date, Saturday, June 27.  The best rock band out there, Steve
Wynn and The Miracle 3 will be right here in Brooklyn at The Bell
House over at 2nd Avenue and 7th Street, walking distance from wherever you are in The Slope.

Steve and the band will commemorate the 25th Anniversary
of the release of “Medicine Show” by playing that classic album from
start to finish for
the first time. The Miracle 3—Steve’s long-time band of Jason Victor,
Dave Decastro and Linda Pitmon—did similar shows for
“The Days of Wine and Roses” in 2001.

“’Medicine Show’ is the weirdest, most idiosyncratic, nastiest,
funniest and most revealing record the Dream Syndicate ever made,” said
Wynn in the liner notes from the record’s 1991 reissue. “It’s also my
favorite.”

If you're not familar with The Medicine Show, it has songs about life in the small town of Merrittville (if you lived there you'd probably want to leave), what thrills might await you at that traveling Medicine Show, about arson and the loss of faith and that's just the tip of the iceberg. 

Steve Wynn and The Miracle 3 at The Bell House, Saturday June 27,
7:30pm. $12.

–Eliot Wagner

For tonight, I'm suggesting two acts and a venue and they all defy
simply being pigeonholed: Tony Scherr and Flutterbox at Jalopy.

Tony seems to be playing around town (Brooklyn and Manhattan)
constantly and is a session musician as well, having played with the
likes of Bill Frisell, John Scofield, Norah Jones, Ana Egge, Jesse
Harris and the Ferdinandos, The Wollesens, Ursa Minor and Slowpoke. 
Monday night is Tony's open ended residency at Jalopy, and frequently
Tony (playing guitar) will be joined by Rob Jost on bass and Anton Fier
on drums.  You can expect that Tony will have some interesting songs up
his sleeve.

Opening for Tony will be Flutterbox, which is Neill Furio on bass and
Janine Nichols (I spotlighted Janine previously here) on vocals.  They're
not quite what you'd call rock 'n' roll, but they are interesting,
ethereal and improvisational.  They also have fans ranging from Terry
Adams, Bill Frisell, Beth Orton and Nick Cave.

Finally the venue: Jalopy.  It's a performance space, an instrument
shop, and a music school.  It's location might be Red Hook or might be
Carroll Gardens, it depends who you ask. It's not all that far from the
Smith-9th Street Station and it's the only club I know with a great
view of the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel.  And yes, it has seats.  Plenty of
them.

Jalopy, 315 Columbia Street, 9pm ($5)

 –Eliot Wagner

John from The Loom emailed to say that his band Loom, a band I like very much, will be playing at Sycamore. Friday 5.29 at at 8 p.m. at Sycamore, a lovely bar and flower shop on Corelyou Road.

1118 Cortelyou Road
Brooklyn, New York 11231
347-240-5850

If the name Li'l Mo sounds familiar that's because I've mentioned her
before.  Tonight she comes into Two Boots right here in Park Slope with her band, the Monicats,
behind her brand new album, On the Moon. 

A few words about On the Moon: the album is already one of my faves for
the first half of 2009.  It's a blend of country, rockabilly, blues,
60s pop and more, mostly Li'l Mo originals but with a few inspired
covers (including one from Bill Haley and The Comets) as well.

Li'l Mo's singing and songwriting are top notch here.  And
even though the official CD release party for On the Moon is next Thursday,
I'm sure that copies of it will be available.  I even love the name of the record label, Cow Island Music.

A great show right here in the nabe and there's no cover.  No reason to miss this.

Li'l Mo and the Monicats, Two Boots, 514 2nd Street (between 7th and 8th Avenues), 10pm

One night at the South by Southwest Music Festival this past March, the
lines
were too long for me to get into my first or second choice places. So I
headed
over to the Driskill Hotel and ended up seeing Angie Mattson.  Angie
plays
atmospheric rock and this song, Drive, is one of her best. Even
though she's based in LA, she's even played Union Hall.  And you can be
sure that if she shows up around here again, I'm going to put the word
out.

 –Eliot Wagner