Windsor Terrace's Robbie Fulks is back in town after his tour of
Scandinavia.  I don't know if he was at The Bangles show on Sunday, but based on this song, he might have been.

In any event, Robbie is again appearing with Jenny Scheinman at Barbes. Robbie has called this collaboration "uniquely intense and rewarding." Don't pass up the opportunity to see them in one of the coziest (that is, small) settings right here in the neighborhood, Tuesday, May 26th. Barbes, 376 9th St. (corner of 6th Ave.), 7pm.

 –Eliot Wagner

The Bangles are back together, on the road and are in town this
weekend.  They're working on a new album to boot.  So if you're curious
about what they're like all these years later, you can check out this
clip from a live performance three years ago, or go down to BB King's
Sunday night (May 24), or both.

BB King's, 237 W. 42nd St., (1, 2, 3, A, C or E to 42nd Street) 7:30, $28 Advance, $32 Day of Show

 –Eliot Wagner

I mentioned that I would get back to you about Leslie Mendelson two
weeks ago.  Well, now is the time to go see Leslie.  She has
a CD, Swan
Feathers, coming out on Rykodisk on June 30.  Maybe it hits big and
if you wait, maybe you'll have go see her in some arena.  But right now, you can
still find her in her native habitat, The Rockwood Music Hall, up close
and personal.

Leslie plays piano and has been compared to Carol King and Laura Nyro. 
Her songs are sophisticated pop.  This time out she'll be joined by
James Maddock and Steve McEwan, both on guitar.

I know that Wednesday is a school night, but this is an 8 o'clock show
and you'll be done by 9 and right by the F train.

The Rockwood Music Hall, 196 Allen St. (F Train to Second Avenue, take
the First Avenue exit, cross Allen St. and walk 1/2 block south).

 –Eliot Wagner

Monday: Same as last week: Amy Speace (8pm) and Milton (9pm).  The
Living Room, 154 Ludlow Street (F Train to Second Avenue; Use the First
Avenue exit)

********
Tuesday: I've caught Emily Zuzik playing around town for the past
couple of years, but never in Brooklyn.  On Tuesday night she'll remedy
that situation and play Union Hall as part of the Brooklyn Songwriters
Exchange.  Let's take a look at Emily first before we talk about the
BSX program:

The Brooklyn Songwriters Exchange May show (as always, FREE) features:

Twice As Bright
"A power-pop explosion fueled by hooks you'll swear must grow on trees
outside the singer's Brooklyn window.  Like Paul McCartney, only
blonder" ~ Pittsburgh Post Gazette

Emily Zuzik
"Strong and confident, a fun-filled zigzag through r&b, blues, pop,
and rock, deploying every vocal styling and nailing every inflection,
growl, and coo." – Village Voice

Special Guest Jessica Pees
Jessica Pees is an 11-year old singer-songwriter with wisdom twice her
age.  She is the youngest BSX performer ever and she will kick off the
show with a short set of her raw, original tunes. 

Tuesday, May 19, Union Hall, 702 Union Street (just off Fifth Avenue), 7:30 doors / 8:00 show

 –Eliot Wagner

Jill Sobule always stands out.  Growing up, she was the only Jewish kid
in Catholic school.  In the mid 90s, she had a hit with I Kissed A
Girl (not the same song as the Katy Perry one).  And lately, she decided to raise the money on her own for her
latest album from her fans.  She asked for donations, which were sorted
into levels.  Sure, there was the usual Gold, Silver and Platinum, but
there were also many other levels ranging from Unpolished Rock (on
the low end) to Weapons-Grade Plutonium (on the high end). It only took 58 days to raise the money.

That album, California Years, was released last month and now Jill is
on the road, touring behind it.  Tonight, this former Brooklyn resident
who has been living in Los
Angeles for the past few years, brings her blend of character studies,
satire, sharp observations and inspired covers to Park Slope.  Union Hall, 702 Union
Street (just off Fifth Avenue), 7:30 (doors).

 –Eliot Wagner

It was a busy week.  A moving truck scratched my car, my computer
speakers probably died, the Brooklyn Blogfest came and went and one of
those periods where there are a huge number of good artists playing has
begun.  So I'll be highlighting shows here for a while.

Tonight is yet another musical doubleheader, this time over at The
Living Room.  First up, at 8pm is Amy Speace and The Tearjerks.  Amy
claims that her home base of
Jersey City is the new Brooklyn (which might be true if you remember
what Brooklyn was like 25 years ago).

But more importantly, Amy started out as a Shakespearian actor and just
changed gears along the way.  Her songs blend the best of alt country,
rock and folk.  Her band, The Tearjerks, are loud and proud.  Amy has a
new album, The Killer in Me, coming out next month.  Born out a break
up, the songs from Killer are a bit more introspective  than some of
Amy's earlier work.  But they should all blend together nicely tonight.

Next up at 9pm is Milton, which is the name of this rootsy rocking band
and its leader.  I have already mentioned Milton here.  I'll  just add this
time that during a Milton show you can expect Milton to discuss
anything and everything.  Last time out, in addition to the usual blend a Milton originals and some select covers, there was a discussion by the
Park Slope resident of the possum who wandered from Prospect Park onto
his block.

The Living Room, 154 Ludlow Street (F Train to Second Avenue; use the First Avenue exit)

Note: if you can't make this show tonight, it will be repeated at The Living Room next Monday, May 18.

 –Eliot Wagner

Here's the music schedule for the Fifth Avenue Fair this Sunday (May
17).  There will be two stages, one in front of The Gate (3rd Street)
and one in front of Southpaw (between St. John's and Sterling Places).

Southpaw Stage:
Chances With Wolves 12 to 12:30pm
Questions for A Super Champion 12:30 to 1pm
Keys N Krates 1 to 2pm
Chances With Wolves 2 to 2:30pm
Nouvellas 2:30 to 3:00pm
Persuasions 3 to
3:30pm
Chances With Wolves 3:30 to 4pm
Beet Root 4 to 5pm
Chin Chin 5
to 6pm

The Gate Stage:
Puppetryarts
12 to 12:30pm
DJ SuZan Z Anthony 12:30 to 1:30pm
Blame The Patient 1:30
to 2pm
Josephine 2 to 2:45pm
Sonia's Party! & TheEveryone'sInvited Band 3 to 3:45pm
Miss Fairchild 4
to 5pm
Persuasions 5 to 5:30pm
DJ SuZan Z Anthony 5:30 to 6pm

If that isn't enough, Southpaw will be hosting the NYC Punk &
Underground Record Fair. $5.00,  10 am doors (full bar).

As always, subject to change.

 – Eliot Wagner

The biggest thing about the Rockwood Music Hall is its name.  But on
Saturday from 9pm to midnight it is the place to see a great
doubleheader.

James Maddock isn't from here. He's from Leicester, England.  But he's
been around New York for long enough that he's long been part of the
local music scene.  He and his band Wood had a record out around the
turn of the century.  It's the usual story.  The record had many good
points but not commercial success.

These days, you'll often find James playing at The Rockwood Music
Hall.  His songs range from the gorgeous Sunrise on Avenue C (the one
on the Lower East Side, not the one on this side of the river) to the
clever When the Stars Align to the funny and all to true skewering of
reality TV in Dumbed Down.

He often plays with a number of impressive musicians including the
wonderful pianist and vocalist Leslie Mendelson (who I will tell you
more about in the future) and the former Spin Doctors drummer Aaron Comess. 
I'm not sure what configuration James will be playing in this time
around, but seeing him will be two hours well spent.

Following James at 11 pm will be a band that the Rockwood schedule
lists only as P N B.  Remember the video of that all Brooklyn all
female trio I posted last weekend?  Well, that's who will be there,
playing covers, mainly country, but with some other things thrown in as
well.

As I mentioned, The Rockwood is small (it holds 40 at most), so get
there early and plan to stay late.  The Rockwood Music Hall, 196 Allen
St. (F Train to Second Avenue, take the First Avenue exit, cross Allen
St. and walk 1/2 block south).

 –Eliot Wagner

I don't know this for sure, but it seems to me that Brooklyn's Sasha Dobson plays
more gigs in New York City than any other musician.  Sasha comes out of a
jazz background but her 2006 album, Modern Romance, was a unique combination of Brazilian
rhythms, rock, folk and jazz.  She reworked both the Yeah Yeah Yeah's
Modern Romance and Duke Ellington's Mood Indigo, the latter with a banjo as the lead instrument.

Lately, Sasha has been working with Brooklyn guitar ace Steve Elliot
and her more recent material has a more rock bent to it.  But all
through he work, you'll find Sasha's amazing vocals.

Sasha plays tonight at 9pm at The Living Room, 154 Ludlow Street (F
Train to Second Avenue; use the First Avenue exit).  If you'd prefer
not to leave Brooklyn, you can catch her this Sunday, at 8:30pm at
Pete's Candy Store, 709 Lorimer Street, Williamsburg (G to Metropolitan
Avenue or L to Lorimer Street; exit from the Lorimer Street platform).

******

If you're attending The Brooklyn Blogfest tomorrow, please stop by and say hello.  I have a surprise for the first ten of you who do.

 –Eliot Wagner

Here is the full schedule for the 2009
Celebrate Brooklyn season.  Check the official schedule for more information.

Opening Night, June 8th: David Byrne, “The Music of David Byrne and Brian Eno”

June 11: Balkan Music: Goran Bregovic & his Wedding and Funeral Orchestra

June 19:David Rudder / Samantha Thornhill

June 20: Music and Movies – Mexico Tourism Series

Ethel and Gutbucket play original score for Mexican Science Fiction movie

June 25: Femi Kuti & Positive Force / Melvin Gibbs’ Elevated Entity

June 26: Mexico Tourism Series: Blonde Redhead

June 27: IndieRock: Dr. Dog / Phosphorescent

July 1: MGMT – Benefit (SOLD OUT)

July 2: Obie Bermudez / Rebel Diaz / Cucu Diamentes

July 9: Dance: Streb

July 10: Los Amigos Invisibles / Aterciopelados

July 11: Family Show: They Might Be Giants for kids / Reader: Claudia

July 16: Kronos Quartet / Luminescent Orchestrii

July 17: Robert Cray / The Sweet Divines

July 18: African Festival: King Sunny Ade / Mandingo Ambassado

July 21: Jackson Browne – Benefit

July 23: Dance – Stephen Petronio Co.

July 24:
Buckwheat Zydeco and The Holmes Brothers

July 25:Kailash Kher / Electro Morocco

July 30:Burning Spear/ Naomi Shelton & The Gospel Queens

Aug 1: Mexico Tourism Series: Dean & Britta’s 13 Most Beautiful

Aug 6: Sing along Purple Rain / Escort 

Aug 7: Grace Potter & The Nocturnals / Deer Tick / The London Souls

Aug 8: Lyricists Lounge: Big Daddy Kane / Special Guests

Aug 11: TV on The Radio – Benefit

Aug 12: Bonnie Raitt and Taj Mahal – Benefit

August 14 and 15: Animal Collective – Benefit

See you in Prospect Park!

 –Eliot Wagner

Here is a partial schedule for the 2009
Celebrate Brooklyn season.  This is not complete but should give you a good start on planning your summer outings to Prospect Park.

Opening Night, June 8th: David Byrne

June 11: Balkan Music: Goran Bregovic

June 19: Calypso: King David Rudder

June 20: Ethel and Gutbucket play original score for Mexican Science Fiction movie

June 26: Femi Kuti and Melvin Gibbs

June 27: Indie Rock: Dr. Dog and Phosphorescent

July 1: MGMT – Benefit (SOLD OUT)

July 2: Obie Bermudez

July 10: Los Amigos Invisibles

July 11: Family Show: They Might Be Giants for kids

July 17: Robert Cray

July 18: African Festival: King Sunny Ade

July 21: Jackson Browne – Benefit

July 24:
Buckwheat Zydeco and The Holmes Brothers

Aug 1: Dean and Britta with scores for short Andy Warhol films

Aug 6: Sing along Purple Rain

Aug 7: Grace Potter & The Nocturnals and Deer Tick

Aug 8: Hip Hop: Lyricists Lounge

Aug 11: TV on The Radio -Benefit

Aug 12: Bonnie Raitt and Taj Mahal – Benefit

August 14 and 15: Animal Collective – Benefit

More information to come.

  –Eliot Wagner

Honestly, there's absolutely nothing that links San Francisco based Or, The Whale to Brooklyn. They mostly play in California and nearby states. But I was quite impressed when I saw them about six weeks ago at the South By Southwest Music Festival in Austin. Not only does this seven person group have terrific songs, there is a wonderful, joyful energy when they play. There's a new album in the works and who knows, one day they may end up playing in Brooklyn. There are a bunch of videos of them floating out there, but this one shows what they look like on stage the best.

You literary-minded types will recognize that their name is the subtitle of Moby Dick. The rest of you now know that too.

–Eliot Wagner

BRIC Arts | Media | Bklyn will announce the lineup for Celebrate Brooklyn!’s 2009 season on May 4. In the meantime, here are some exclusive, not-yet-announced highlights.

OPENING NIGHT:
Monday, June 8, 8:00 P.M. (gates open at 6:30 P.M. for free performance)
David Byrne
In this free concert, David Byrne will perform Music of David Byrne and Brian Eno, featuring material spanning his collaborations with Brian Eno: three Talking Heads albums, 1981’s groundbreaking My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, and last year’s Everything that Happens will Happen Today. An ensemble cast including dancers, background vocalists, and a singular band will amplify the spectacle.
The concert will be preceded at 5:30 P.M. with Celebrate Brooklyn’s first Green Gala, which includes cocktails, dinner and reserved seats for Byrne’s performance. Gala tickets, for $325 and up, are available at 718.855.7882 x33. The show will be followed, at 9:45 P.M., by a dance party open to gala guests and Friends of Celebrate Brooklyn.

Saturday, June 20, 7:30 P.M. (gates open at 6:30 P.M.
La Nave de los Monstruos, with live score by Ethel and Gutbucket
Part of Celebrate Brooklyn!’s Music & Movies Series
In a special Celebrate Brooklyn! commission, the nation’s premier rock-infused, postclassical string quartet, the immensely acclaimed Ethel, teams up with the wild art-rock group Gutbucket to perform a new original score to the vintage Mexican science fiction classic La Nave De Los Monstruos (The Monsters’ Ship, 1959). In the film, the last male on Venus has died, and two Venusian hotties embark on a quest to find men on other planets. The bands premiere the new work this evening after developing the project at a BRIClab residency this spring. Gutbucket will also perform an opening set.

Friday, June 26, 7:30 P.M. (gates open at 6:30 P.M.)
Blonde Redhead
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.”

Saturday, July 19, 2:00 P.M.—9:00 P.M. (gates open at 1:00 P.M.)
African Festival with King Sunny Adé/Freshly Ground/The Mandingo Ambassadors/
Cheikh M’Baye & Sing Sing/Abena Koomson/Yasser Darwish
American Express Roots Music Series
Celebrate Brooklyn!’s annual all-day festival of music, food and crafts features a lineup of music selected to keep dancers moving into the night. This year’s headliner is the great King Sunny Adé of Nigeria. The bill also includes a rare U.S. appearance by South Africa’s Freshly Ground; The Mandingo Ambassadors, from NYC by way of Guinea, whose music “has been structured to make you feel good” (The New York Times); the wild Senegalese drum troupe Cheikh M’Baye & Sing Sing; the powerful Brooklyn-born, Ghanaian vocalist Abena Koomson; and whirling traditional Egyptian dancer, Yasser Darwish.

Saturday, August 1, 7:30 P.M. (gates open at 6:30 P.M.)
Music & Movies
Dean & Britta: 13 Most Beautiful…Songs for Andy Warhol’s Screen Tests/ Crystal Stilts
Dean & Britta, who are beloved as one of the sexiest duo’s in rock, in addition to being alumni of the groundbreaking alt-rock band Luna, perform original scores to Warhol's rarely seen short silent film portraits, which captured Factory superstars, celebrities, and anonymous teenagers in mesmerizing four-minute shots. The New York Times says, “The music unabashedly translates the ominous drone of early Velvet Underground songs like I’m Waiting for the Man and Venus in Furs into a more modern electronic mode reminiscent of Giorgio Moroder’s chic torture-chamber disco.” Commissioned by the Andy Warhol Museum, the project is like an archeological dig unearthing NYC’s 1960s art scene, complete with an unforgettable soundtrack. Brooklyn’s Crystal Stilts, whom Pitchfork describes as “moody-sounding fuckers who make fabulous stripped-down garage-pop,” will set the tone for the night.

Friday, Augusut 7, 7:00 P.M. (gates open at 6:00 P.M.)
Grace Potter & The Nocturnals/ Deer Tick
Fronted by the Joplin-like vocals and the Hammond B-3 playing of the group’s fearless frontwoman, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals play “blues-based rock with glorious passion.” The music of Deer Tick is hard to categorize—folk? indie rock? alt-country? Americana?—but easy to love. They “write and play some of the most soulful, inspired music around, littered with lyrics as sharp as a shot of whiskey and rapid-fire guitar solos strong enough to blow the dust off your boots.” (Brooklyn Vegan)

If you followed my recommendation and made it over to The Living Room on Tuesday, you got to see the recently returned to Brooklyn Norah Jones cover The Kinks' "Strangers." If you didn't, here's Norah covering  Wilco's "Jesus, Etc." with her all-Brooklyn bandmates Sasha Dobson (guitar and vocals) and Catherine Popper (bass).

–Eliot Wagner

 If you went to see live music (opera and classical excepted) between
February, 1974 and February 2004, you almost certainly went to The
Bottom Line, located on West 4th and Mercer Streets in Greenwich
Village.  I was there so many times that I knew about sound quirks (sit
at the first seats at the front tables and you'll hear the show off the
monitors, not the house system), remember the experiments undertaken and abandoned (the
free but mandatory coat check) and can tell you about the best places
to find parking around the club.  But eventually there was a dispute
between the club and their landlord (NYU as it turns out) and to make a
long story short, in February 2004, two weeks before its 30th
anniversary, The Bottom Line was history.

But believe it or not that was not the end of the story.  Allan Pepper,
one of the owners of The Bottom Line obtained financing for a
replacement space and started a search.  Since 2004, there were some
false starts, and ultimately the stars did not align.  About 18 months
ago, there was a New York Times article which said that Allan was now
looking in Brooklyn.

Flash forward to today.  Allan says he has found "an ideal location,
23,000 square feet, three blocks from public transportation, plenty of
parking available, and a landlord who thinks The Bottom Line is an
iconic institution and should have a permanent home."  I asked Allan if
it is in Brooklyn but he told me that it is not.

Here's the kicker, though: now that there's an affordable space
available, the financing that was formerly available no longer is.  So
Allan is looking for investors.  If the idea of being a backer of The
Bottom Line appeals to you or someone you know, you can contact Allan
here. 

 –Eliot Wagner

Tomorrow (Tuesday April 28), The Living Room presents another in its
series of programs in which a cast of thousands (OK, dozens) cover the
songs of a particular act.  This time up, it's The Kinks, which really
means Ray Davies.  These shows are not an exercise in nostalgia but
actually a great way to discover performers you have not seen before. 
The cast this time includes: Dred Scott, Warren Russell-Smith, Jon
Dryden, Emily Zuzik, Pete Kennedy, Daru Oda, Vito Palmore, Milton, Jack
Petruzzelli, Richard Julian, Sasha Dobson, Lee Feldman, John Dyer,
Daniel Marcus, Chrissi Poland, Chris Masterson and Eleanor Whitmore,
Eric Feigenbaum, Jim Keller, Joy Askew, and Jim Boggia (who will
probably do his excellent version of Waterloo Sunset).

The Living Room, 154 Ludlow Street (F Train to Second Avenue; use the First Avenue exit) 8 PM until whenever, $12.

Yeah, I know.  Sunday's a school night.  And this Sunday you still have
to deal with the F and G train shuffle in addition to the less than
wonderful waiting times if you want to go to and from Manhattan.  But I'm going
to suggest that you suffer through those travails of transit and make your way
to Banjo Jim's in the East Village
for a fine twofer.

Monica "Li'l Mo" Passin is a painter, teacher and chocolate maker, but
all
that takes a back seat to her music tonight.  Expect a fine combination
of country, rockabilly, R&B, blues, and 60s-style pop.  She goes on
at 8.

Opening the show is David Roche, who was profiled here just a few weeks
ago.  His last show was the best one I've seen from him.  David's set
starts at 7.

Banjo Jim's is a very comfy and cozy neighborhood bar (it even has a
couch) on 9th Street and Avenue C (F train to 14th St., transfer to the
14D bus to Avenue C and 11th St and walk two blocks south).

 –Eliot Wagner

Native Park Sloper Janine Nichols has looked at the music business from
both sides now.  Originally the Music Coordinator for Saturday Night
Live in its heyday back in the late 70s, she went on to work on NBC's
The New Show and then work on the producing the music programs of Art at St.
Anne's for about 15 years.  But it was when she sang some songs with
the Continental Drifters on Leap Day, 2000 that Janine finally felt
that she was at last doing what she was supposed to do.

During the next few years Janine did a variety of things including
working on and off with Hal Willner on wonderful anthology shows
highlighting the music of Doc Pomus, Tim Buckley, and Leonard Cohen,
some of which have been produced at Celebrate Brooklyn.  She also wrote
for Martha Stewart Living.

In 2005, at a John Lennon Anti Gun Violence show, Janine sang In My
Life accompanied only by Neill Furio on bass.  The reaction to that
performance was so positive that a band was born.  That band is
Flutterbox, which consists of Janine and Neill.

Janine has a busy weekend ahead.  As part of
Flutterbox, she'll be the
opening act for the celebration of the 40th anniversary of Bob Dylan's
Nashville Skyline at Le Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleecker Street (Greenwich Village), and will also perform as part of that show this Saturday April 25th, and
will be performing with on her own (with Brandon Ross and Charlie Burnham) on
Monday 27th at Barbes (9th Street and 6th Avenue, Park Slope).

Louise: For Monday April 19

I first stumbled upon Kristin Diable about a year ago, and between her songwriting and her voice I was immediately sold. Kristin has been living in Greenpoint for a while, but earlier this year she decided to split her time between Brooklyn and her native Louisiana. While we wait for her next performance in this area, May 15th at The Living Room, 154 Ludlow St. (Lower East Side) at 9 pm, we have this video shot about two years ago in Brooklyn.

–Eliot Wagner

It seems to be Massachusetts week here at OTBKB Music: first, Sarah Borges (Boston) Wednesday and The Winterpills (Northampton) today.

Although they are often referred to as "chamber pop," I always think of the Winterpills as a band which plays quiet music really loud. This video, a live appearance at a radio station, is a good way to understand what it is that The Winterpills do.

Tomorrow The Winterpills appear on a strong triple bill along with Brooklyn artists KaiserCartel and Lucinda Black Bear at The Bell House, 149 7th Street (near 2nd Avenue), Gowanus, 7:30 pm.

 Every so often maybe once a year if I'm lucky, I'll have an Oh Wow
musical experience.  This year it happened when I played the new Sarah
Borges and the Broken Singles album, The Stars Are Out.  I was so taken
with it that I immediately played it again all the way through.  And
then I played it twice more in the next two days.

The Stars Are Out simply is an album like they don't make anymore. Ten
tracks, half originals, half covers, and the covers include songs from
Smokey Robinson and NRBQ.  Most everything here sounds like it could
have been a single released in 1965 and I mean that in the best way
possible: middle period Beatles structure and lead guitar sounds and
most songs are less than four minutes long, some under three minutes. 
I'd love to list highlights from the album, except I think most
everything is a highlight.  Perhaps the one exception to all this is
the last cut, Symphony, which sounds like it's from 1975, good but
perhaps a bit out of place with the rest of the material.

Although Sarah has been around for about five years now, she has been
known as an alt country act.  So this album seemed to come out of left
field.  But my Mom always says that you can't argue with success.  So,
Mom, I'm not arguing.  The Stars Are Out is a flat out success.

My only gripe is that Sarah is from Boston and the closest she's coming
to the neighborhood anytime soon is Philadelphia.  But be sure when she
hits this area I'll be there.

–Eliot Wagner

 John Platt of WFUV has been been running a series of shows down at The
Lower East Side's Living Room called On Your Radar.  Tonight's 7pm show is
worth your while to catch.  The headliner is Greenpoint's (by way of
Austin) Carrie Rodriguez.  
Carrie's music is rock, alt country and even traditional country.
Besides the fiddle, Carrie plays a number of four stringed instruments
including tenor guitar and electric mandolin (pictured here).  She
likes atmospheric sounds and is not afraid of using pedals.  Her lead
guitarist, Hans Holzer is quite good and he should be playing with her
tonight in a trio format.  Carrie will be on the road for a bit so
tonight looks like your last time to catch her before the fall.

Also on the bill is Anthony DaCosta and Linsday Mac. Anthony is out of
Pleasantville, NY and just 18.  Although I've yet to hear him, he's
being playing around a lot these days and according to one performer
who has worked with him, is just amazing at writing lyrics.  The word
on the street is that he can write songs far beyond his years.

Lindsay Mac is is originally from Iowa, now based in Boston and plays cello.  But she plays it strapped to her body, standing up.  Should be interesting at the least.

On Your Radar, The Living Room, 154 Ludlow Street, 7pm (F Train to Second Avenue; use the First Avenue exit).

I didn't plan to see The Hold Steady three times in two weeks.  It just
happened.  When I was down in Austin three weeks ago, I saw them during
the South By Southwest festival (2,000 bands playing over four days and
night, but that's another story entirely).  Really nice show, and I
thought
that would be that.  Then Channel 13 shows the episode of From
the Artists Den with THS (at The Emigrant
Savings Bank Building on Chambers Street no less).  Finally two
Mondays ago, I get an email
from Big Dan who tells me that he has a ticket to see THS that night
he's not going to be using, so if I want it all I need do is meet him
in downtown Brooklyn.  Of course I did, and of course I went to what is
now called The Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza that same night.

A few words then about the once hippest, now just the biggest band out
of Brooklyn (The New York Rangers just sent front man Craig Finn his
own Rangers jersey).  It's pretty easy to denigrate The Hold Steady. 
First call them just a bar band (whatever that means).  Next find the
website with and play Hold Steady Mad Libs.  Finally paraphrase Yogi
Berra and say that their shows are so crowded, nobody goes to them
anymore.

But let's give Finn and company their due.  Their music, even with its
borrowed riffs, can be compelling.  Their lyrics, with their many tales
of college student sex and drugs and alcohol and parties, are chapters
in a novel.  And taken all together, you can have a hall full of people
bopping to the music, singing along word for word.  Maybe not exactly
the "unified scene" that Finn invokes from time to time, but close
enough for rock 'n' roll.  And enough to have this writer watch these
guys three times in two weeks.

The Hold Steady will play the Music Hall of Williamsburg on June 10th.

  — Eliot Wagner

Karma is a boomerang. I guess. An OTBKB reade just gave me a heads up about Jackson Browne playing the
Prospect Park Bandshell on July 21, 2009 as part of the Celebrate Brooklyn
benefit.  She thinks the general sale just started today.  Here's the link
– http://briconline.org/celebrate/benefits.asp.

She's returning a favor: Last summer she was able to get Dylan tickets because of the presale information and password that I posted on my blog.

Now I can offer OTBKB readers a chance to get Jackson Browne tickets. Take it easy. 

What could be more Brooklyn than this? The group is The Brooklyn What, their album is The Brooklyn What for Borough President, the song is I Don’t Want to Go to Williamsburg and this performance was at Freddy’s Backroom. I like their attitude, and they’ve got plenty of it.

— Eliot Wagner
FOR MONDAY APRIL 6

Windsor Terrace's David Roche was having a problem: the wireless router located in his basement wasn't reaching the laptop on the second floor. Dave had just played a few nights before at Banjo Jim's, a club on the Lower East Side. Things went well there, with an appreciative audience listening to songs from Dave's recent album, Harp Trouble in Heaven. There was also a newer song, "Overzealous Soccer Moms," which, it was explained, dealt with "a little problem over in Brooklyn." To make the point, Dave switched from his usual amplified acoustic guitar to an electric for this song.

Like many, if not most, musicians these days, Dave has a day job. But unlike most, the day job feeds into Dave's music. Dave is a sound technician for the CBS Early Show, where he handles the house mix for the live outside music segments. He also handles other sound jobs as well, including the making of a documentary on the building of the USS George H.W. Bush. As a result of that job, Dave wrote "CVN 77" a song about the building of the ship and the Bush political dynasty.

Dave has had a number of shows in the area recently, including one at the Good Coffee House which paid him in Park Slope Food Co-op workslots. Just ask a co-op member how valuable that is.

Not only is Dave from a musical family (yes, his sisters Maggie, Terre and Suzzy are The Roches) but the tradition is continuing. Daughter Oona joined Dave on stage at Banjo Jim's playing lead and singing on a cover of Mark Knopfler's Sailing to Philadelphia.

Most things seem to be working for Dave these days. Most things except that wifi network.

–Eliot Wagner

OTBKB Music is a brand new feature on OTBKB written by Park Slope's Eliot Wagner (see his bio below). I am thrilled to have Eliot on board. Tune in M-W-F for the latest on what's playing in Brooklyn, great music to know about and music videos.

Tuesday, March 31 is one of those days where you have to make up your mind as there are two really good shows right here in Brooklyn which are mutually exclusive (although it is at the outside theoretically possible to make both these shows, you really can't see all of both).

First up at 7PM: Robbie Fulks. If you don't know Robbie you should (photo Time Out NY). Call him country, alt country or whatever. He plays a mean guitar and writes funny, clever and yes, even poignant songs. He's a brand new resident of Windsor Terrace (formerly from a lot of other places) and he's had a few things to say about his new environs on his blog.

After three weeks playing and singing with Jenny Scheinman, this time Robbie goes it alone. On Tuesday he will be playing songs from his back catalog. No doubt his anthem to middle class despair, Let's Kill Saturday Night, now even more trenchant than when written 10 years ago will appear. At Barbes, 9th Street and 6th Avenue, Park Slope.

Or else at 9PM: Steve Wynn. No, not the guy with the hotels. The guy who was in the Dream Syndicate in the 80s and who currently has the best rock band out there, Steve Wynn and The Miracle 3. I'm not sure that Steve is going to be in all out rock mode on Tuesday night. He may be in semi acoustic mode as befits his last album, Cross Dragon Bridge, but since the violin player from his recent European semi acoustic tour, Rodrigo D'Erasmo will be there, look for songs from Crossing Dragon Bridge to be played in any event. At Lovin' Cup/Cameo, 93 N. 6th Street, Williamsburg (L Train to Bedford Ave.).

–Eliot Wagner

Eliot Wagner is an attorney and technologist. He worked in the
broker-dealer industry practicing in the area of technology law from
1991 through 2006, when he retired from the full time practice of law.

But
more important to his current gig is Eliot’s life-long involvement with
music and radio in New York City. He started listening to top 40 radio
station WINS (before it was all-news) soon winning a WINS Pick Hit of
the Week, Young Ideas by Chico Holiday. Eliot also listened to WMGM
before moving on to the good guys and WMCA. While still in Junior High
School, Eliot walked into the WMCA studios in Manhattan, was given a
tour and met Jack Spector (who was later celebrated by the New York
City band the Del-Lords as Saint Jake).

Eliot spent much time at
The Fillmore East, The Academy of Music, The Palladium and anywhere
bands would set up and play. He was present when Lou Reed and Bob Dylan
recorded seminal live albums.

Throughout the 70s and early 80s,
radio would be Eliot’s constant companion. Sometimes the dial would be
set on WPLJ, sometimes on WPIX, but mostly it would be set at 102.7,
WNEW-FM. It is probably for that reason that Eliot sees his stint as a
DJ on the University of Pennsylvania’s WQHS in the early 80s as the
highlight of his time in law school.

Today, Eliot hangs out in
the clubs of Brooklyn and the Lower East Side. He also produces a
series of 80 minute rock music podcasts, radio shows without a radio
station, actually, in which he plays new music he’s discovered in those
clubs, on the Internet and older material, both well known and obscure.

Just got word that there's a great, cheap, live concert in Brooklyn coming up this weekend. The organizers say that "it's great for adults and kids alike, and it's an awesome way to come out and support a local community group."

The women's choir, Bella Voce Singers, under the direction of Jessica Corbin, announces their spring concert – "What Is Pink?"  The concert will continue their year-long celebration of American composers, featuring works by Ned Rorem, Randall Thompson, Gwyneth Walker and Alice Parker, among many others.  There will be both large and small ensemble pieces, as well as a few solo pieces by BVS members.  

The performance is on Sunday, March 29 at 3pm at St. Saviour's Church (611 8th Avenue @ 6th Street) in Park Slope, Brooklyn - tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for children.  

Celebrate St. Paddy's Day at The Bell House with $2 Jamesons and a Pogues cover band called The Fauxges. Also: prizes, drink specials, and food. Happy hour from 7-8 p.m. in the performance space only.  (After 7 p.m. $5 gets you in and all proceeds go to charity).

The Where and When

Tonight!
The Bell House
149 7th Street
Between 3rd and 2nd Avenues

Over at Two Boots Brooklyn (2nd Street just east of Seventh Avenue) they're serving corned beef and cabbage, shepherd's pie, Irish lamb stew and traditional Irish music and Irish drinking songs for St. Patrick's Day.

Collins: Vocals, Guitar, and Bodhran
Gina Tlamsa – flute, mandolin, fiddle
Eileen McIntyre – Irish harp
Richard Wolff – tinwhistle, uillean pipes, accordion