Showing posts with label City Winery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label City Winery. Show all posts

Thursday, July 13, 2017

NYC Day 25: In Which I Go Zapping For Dweezils


Dweezil Zappa—What’s In A Name?
Billed as “Storytelling with Guitar Accompaniment”, and to be followed by a Q&A session, today's main event at City Winery gave fans of the great Frank Zappa and his son Dweezil, an opportunity to learn about both their musical careers and accomplishment at this event..

Dweezil Zappa was born on September 5, 1969 in Los Angeles—the son of Frank and Gail Zappa. It was inevitable that from the moment of his birth that his life would be filled wall-to wall with music (his father having listed his religion as “musician” on Dweezil’s birth certificate).

What's in a name, indeed? Dweezil Zappa and {Someone-or-Other} Kennedy who was the Mistress of Ceremonies, provided an entertaining evening of questions and answers related to Dweezil Zappa's life, his own music career, and the life and career of his much acclaimed father Frank Zappa.

Dweezil spoke about his early years learning to play guitar, and recalled a seminal moment when he was 12 and Eddie Van Halen visited the family home. Van Halen gave him a guitar and also taught Dweezil a few classic Van Halen moves, all of which made a huge impression on the young boy.

He also recounted tales that did not reflect well on Lou Reed (who is regarded as something of a Rock God in New York City). Apparently Lou, in what came across as professional jealousy in Dweezil's stories, had a habit of making disparaging remarks about Frank Zappa's music and compositions. According to Dweezil, Reed had even make the comment that Frank Zappa 'couldn't write a hit song if he was given a year on a Greek island to do so'.

Dweezil was not able to explain the reasons behind Lou Reed's antipathy to Frank's music other than professional jealousy, since Frank Zappa was light years ahead of Reed when it came to musical ability. That Zappa never had a 'hit' as measured by the Billboard charts is of course besides the point. Zappa senior had no interest whatsoever in achieving that sort of ephemeral success. In a strange, and ironic twist to these stories, Dweezil recounted that when Frank Zappa was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, it was Lou Reed who was chosen by the organizers to deliver the induction speech. Dweezil did not say what his father, Frank thought about this.

Dweezil said that Frank recorded and released more than 60 albums during his career, but Frank's musical 'vaults', containing hundreds of studio and live concert tapes, had many more hours of music stored on them. What will happen to this music now is anybody's guess.

The most interesting and in some ways shocking parts of the evening were when Dweezil talked about the ongoing fight he is having with his family to be able to play his father's music. A fight that again proves the adage: You can choose your friends, but you can't choose your family.

I don't think Dweezil explained fully why it was that the Zappa Family Trust wants to stop him from playing Frank's music. In fact, they have been going to extremes in their attempts, going so far as to issue Cease and Desist orders for example, stopping him from using the phrase "Zappa Plays Zappa," and worse. The Trust, which is administered (if I remember rightly), by his brother, Ahmet and sister, Diva, has even gone so far as to try (unsuccessfully), to stop Dweezil from using his surname, 'Zappa' in all promotional material! Seriously, WTF!

Throughout the Q&A, Dweezil played brief instrumental guitar licks to illustrate his father's compositional style and abilities, but these moments were probably the least successful aspects of the night, since the music really only comes alive when played with a full band. I must say I enjoyed the evening more than I thought I would, and listening to Dweezil's stories made me determined to listen to more of his and his father's music, and to catch Dweezil in live performance when the opportunity presents itself.

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Tuesday 11, July | Expenses $78.00 ($101.30)
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Monday, July 3, 2017

NYC Day 11: Happy 30th Jesse Paris Smith!

Far left: Jesse Smith at piano. Far right: Jackson Smith, Lenny K, Michael Stipe,
Patti Smith with back to audience, and other musicians on stage at birthday bash.

JESSE PARIS SMITH: 30th Birthday Celebration
Jesse Paris Smith celebrated her 30th birthday with a host of fellow musicians and family members. During the evening we were treated to performances Rebecca Foon, Timothy Monger and Gregory Mcintosh (of Great Lakes Myth Society), Alana Amram, Jesse's brother Jackson, and of course her mother, Patti Smith. All proceeds from the night went to Pathways to Paris, an organization she co-founded with Rebecca Foon.
JESSE PARIS SMITH is a composer, instrumentalist, activist, and producer. She has performed globally in many configurations, collaborating with other musicians and artists, including Soundwalk Collective, Tenzin Choegyal, Shyam Nepali, Raju Lama, and her mother Patti and brother Jackson. Her music compositions have been commissioned for short films, commercial work, art installations, fashion shows, audiobooks, and live film score performances. Many of her projects and collaborations  with others focus on the topics of global climate change and the Himalayan region. She is on the Associate Board at Tibet House US, where she has co-curated and hosted events, and has been a regular performer of their annual benefit concert at Carnegie Hall since 2008.
 In September 2014, Jesse and Montreal based cellist, Rebecca Foon, launched Pathway to Paris, a fundraising initiative and multi media event series focused on bringing awareness to climate change and the urgent importance of establishing a legally binding global climate agreement. All of the events also served as fundraisers for 350, a leading climate action organization founded by Bill Mckibben.
In light of the Himalayan earthquake in April 2015, she also founded Everest Awakening, an initiative to bring together musicians, artists, writers, poets, and activists to raise funds and awareness for the Himalaya. Jesse was born in Detroit, and spent her childhood in St. Clair Shores, Michigan. She lives between Detroit and NYC. [Source: City Winery gig listing].
In keeping with the birthday party theme, this show was a mix of organized chaos, rollicking music, numerous exclamations of "Happy Birthday, Jesse," an auction that raised an extra $2000 for the cause, a surprise appearance by Michael Stipe of REM fame, and the presence of Lenny K, Patti Smith's longtime collaborator. There was of course a birthday cake, two rounds of Happy Birthday, and much more besides. 

The night really came alive whenever Patti Smith took to the stage, especially when she closed the night with a rousing rendition of People Have The Power. The stage was packed with all the musicians who had performed during the night, and they and the capacity audience joined with Patti to roar out the chorus in a clear statement to Republicans and Democrats alike, that 'we the people' would not give up our power without a fight.


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Tuesday 27, June | Expenses $72.50 ($95.30)
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NYC Day 10: Short Sharp Shocked

MICHELLE SHOCKED RESIDENCY AT CITY WINERY
Michelle Shocked joins City Winery (155, Varick Street, New York City) for a summer residency performing a different album in its entirety each night and more.

The indie folk-singer took the music scene by storm in 1988 with her debut album, Short Sharp Shocked, which went on to receive a Grammy nomination and win Folk Album of the Year. Her powerful and versatile music incorporates various styles from blues to rock to traditional fiddle tunes. Tonight she kicked of her residency with a performance of Short Sharp Shocked

Short Sharp Shocked was the second album by Michelle Shocked, and was originally released in 1988. The photograph of Shocked that appears on the cover was taken by Chris Hardy of the San Francisco Examiner at a protest in San Francisco during the 1984 Democratic National Convention.

Michelle and her three fellow musicians put on a great performance, and I came away from the gig more than happy with my decision to book a place at all three shows of her City Winery residency as they are billing it (despite the fact that the gigs are each about a month apart). The seat I had chosen, while close to the stage, was not exactly located in the best position since I had to twist my body to the right to see the performers. Thankfully I was able to reposition my chair for a more comfortable look.

Since Michelle was there to perform her now classic album, Short Sharp Shocked in full, that constituted the set list. However, towards the end of the night, to the audiences surprise, she brought her father onto the stage, and recounted a story about how he had taught himself to play mandolin when she was still a child. To our delight, with mandolins in hand they both played Woody's Rag, an instrumental attributed to Woody Guthrie. 

You might assume that the night was 'over before it had begun' if only because the original album had maybe 35 minutes or so of music on it. No so. By adding several longish stories and song introductions, as well as extended instrumental breaks which allowed the musicians to shine, the show went for almost 90 minutes, and this does not include the 20 minute opening set provided by guitarist and Short Sharp Shocked record producer, Pete Anderson and his fellow musicians, who then backed Michelle throughout her set.


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Monday 26, June | Expenses $78.00 ($101.50)
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Tuesday, June 20, 2017

NYC Day 3: Sleep Deprived, and An Evening With Paula Cole

Paula Cole and fellow musicians take a bow at City Winery

I had good intentions for my third day in New York, but only one of those come to fruition. Due to the ongoing effects of jet lag, I only got four and a half hours sleep the previous night, and I was in no shape to hit the streets of the city. By midday I was back in bed, and thankfully caught up on much of the sleep I missed out on during the night. I was up and about again by five in the afternoon, and felt more than ready to attend my first major gig of the visit--Paula Cole at City Winery.

I have dubbed this visit, my New York City Art & Music Tour, due to the numerous gigs I have pre-booked, and also due to the memberships I have taken out with the Museum of Modern Art, and the Metropolitan Museum. You can expect therefore plenty of art and gig reviews in subsequent posts. But on to Paula Cole.

Paula Cole was performing a selection of music by John Lennon and Joni Mitchell, which I take is a departure from doing her own material. Cole first came to my attention when I saw her performing as the back up singer for Peter Gabriel during his ‘Secret World’ concert tour. I should point out that I did not actually attend any of those shows, I had seen a clip on an Australian late night music show called Rage, which was taken from the DVD of the tour.

Last night's show was a delight from beginning to end. Paula performed with a three piece ensemble before a very appreciative audience. Unfortunately I didn't quite get all the names of the musicians, but Max Weinstein was on drums. The young guitarist's name sounded like Milay Sohar, but my spelling of his name is more of a guess than anything, and I completely missed the bass players name. Sorry about that gentlemen. Towards the end of the show she introduced Janie Barnett, a fellow singer who added extra backing vocals to Joni Mitchell's Free Man In Paris, and Big Yellow Taxi, as well as to John Lennon's Instant Karma.

Paula Cole was in great form, and she sang Joni Mitchell songs with the voice of the 40-year-old Joni. These songs were pitch perfect, and if you closed your eyes you may well have thought that Joni Mitchell herself was on stage. Her interpretations of John Lennon's best loved songs was also great to hear. I thought her selection of Lennon's very personal song, Mother was a very brave choice by Paula, and while I'm not sure she pulled it off as well as she would have liked, it certainly kept me riveted to my seat to see how she would approach it.

The night started off slowly and quietly with Joni Mitchell's Blue and Night Ride Home, and continued in a muted tone with Lennon's Love, Julia, and another Joni Mitchell song Little Green, about the daughter she gave up for adoption very early in her career. The show really hit its straps when Paula and the band ripped into Lennon's, Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds, and Come Together.

Here's the full set list:
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Blue (Mitchell)
A Case Of You (Mitchell)
Love (Lennon)
Julia (Lennon)
Little Green (Mitchell)
Mother (Lennon)
Beautiful Boy (Lennon)
Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds (Lennon)
Come Together (Lennon)
Night Ride Home/Give Peace a Chance (Mitchell/Lennon)
Strawberry Fields (Lennon)
Free Man In Paris (Mitchell)
Big Yellow Taxi (Mitchell)
Instant Karma (Lennon)

[Encore]
Across The Universe (Lennon)
Both Sides Now (Mitchell)
Imagine (Lennon)

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Sunday, April 9, 2017

New York City On My Mind


Regular readers of this blog might have noticed a preponderance for posts about America in general, and New York City in particular. I make no excuses for this. I have an abiding interest in that country, and after four extended stays in New York City totalling eight months, I am not done with the city or the country yet. In fact, I am returning to New York once again from mid-June, where I will spend the better part of ten weeks, and if I can’t tear myself away from the city for a couple of weeks, I will end up spending a full twelve weeks in the city this Northern summer.

With a little more than two months before I jet off to New York, you can be sure I am undertaking plenty of research into possible events and activities taking place across the five boroughs. It has always been my practise to pre-purchase tickets to special events well before my arrival in the city I will be spending the most time in. This ensures that I don’t miss out on concert and theatre tickets for performers or shows I particularly want to see. 

For example I have already bought a ticket to see Dweezil Zappa, the son of the great Frank Zappa at City Winery in mid-July. I am also waiting for bookings to open this week for a series of gigs by Michelle Shocked—also at City Winery. The Dweezil Zappa show sold out weeks ago, and I fully expect all three Michelle Shocked gigs to quickly sell out as well, so pre-purchasing tickets makes a lot of sense—or to use popular vernacular: it’s a no-brainer.

Speaking of gigs, it is also my practise to keep a ‘watching brief’ on the websites of a dozen or so favourite acts, to see if they will be performing in New York City (or near by), during my stay. Again, the point is to try and make sure I get my tickets well before I land in the city. Another benefit of doing this is that it helps to spread the cost of the trip over a much longer period, which I also find helpful.

As for pre-booking Broadway shows, this is another no-brainer. With tickets to the most popular shows often being harder to find than teeth in a chicken (the current must see show, Hamilton being a case in point), getting tickets well before the performance date is essential.

Of course, for a long stay like the one I am looking forward to, it is foolhardy to try and preplan too many events and activities. Half the fun of undertaking an extended trip is keeping your options open so as to take advantage of the unexpected, and the unplanned. And in a city the size of New York City you can pretty much guarantee there will be plenty of both.

Oh, and speaking of Hamilton, did I mention (No, Jim, you did not), that currently the cheapest priced tickets are selling for USD$441.00, while tickets for cashed up theatregoers can be had for anything up to USD$3,150.00.

Yes, that really is three-thousand-one-hundred-and-fifty-dollars! And no, I won’t be going to see Hamilton anytime soon. I think I’ll just wait for the movie.

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