NYC Day 35: In Which I Go In Search of Woody Guthrie

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Utilizing the writings, words, songs and music of America's greatest folk troubadour, Woodrow Wilson Guthrie, or 'Woody' as he was universally known, David M. Lutken and his three fellow actor/musicians bring to the stage the joy, pathos, politics, and tragedy of Guthrie's short and dramatic life. More than three dozen songs are included in the production, some in full and some using just a verse or two to place a scene or episode from Woody's life in context.

In a little over two hours we learn about Woody's childhood, his first steps as a budding musician, the confinement of his mother to a mental institution, and to his 'hobo' years jumping freight trains or hitchhiking around the country singing, writing, and painting, scraping by as best he could.

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The show was devised by David M. Lutken who channels the ghost of Woody Guthrie throughout the show. A fine singer, talented musician, and blessed with an easy going manner that suits the character he so ably portrays, Mr. Lutken knows his man and his songs 'inside out, upside down, and round and round', as Woody Guthrie might have said himself. The other cast members are Helen Jean Russell (an original member of the 2007 Edinburgh Fringe shows), David Finch, and Darcie Deaville.

All the actors are talented musicians and multi-instrumentalists in their own right, and between them provide all the instrumentation during the show. Among the array of instruments used were several guitars, mandolins, violins, and harmonicas, I also counted an upright bass, Autoharp, dulcimer, Jews harp, spoons, penny whistle, and a banjo. The word talented barely does these four amazing actors and musicians justice.

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Born in Okemah, Oklahoma in 1912, Woody Guthrie died in October 1967, following a long battle with Huntington's Disease. But before he died he performed with many of the great folk and blues luminaries of the late 1930s and 1940s including Pete Seeger, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee, Cisco Huston, and the great Huddie Ledbetter, better known as 'Leadbelly'.

Since his death, dozens of contemporary musicians continue to cite Guthrie as an influence and inspiration in their own writing and careers. One of the earliest and most famous of Guthrie's acolytes was Bob Dylan, whose Song To Woody, appeared on his first album. Other contemporary performers who have paid or continue to pay tribute to Guthrie include Bono, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Morello, and of course Billy Bragg who, with the group Wilco, has recorded two albums of previously unrecorded Woody Guthrie songs on the albums Mermaid Avenue (1998), and Mermaid Avenue II (2000). In 2012 Bragg released the Mermaid Avenue Complete Sessions, a box set which included the above two albums plus a third album of previously unreleased material, and the documentary Man In The Sand, which follows major steps in Woody Guthrie's life.

Mermaid Avenue, where Woody Guthrie had a home while living in New York City, is located in Coney Island. Unfortunately the home no longer exists, but I'd like to think that Woody's spirit still likes to stroll along the famous boardwalk, and warm his toes in the sand.

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Woody Sez was first performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2007, and has since been presented hundreds of times in more than 60 countries. The production at the Irish Repertory Theatre has now been extended twice from its original end date -- first to August 20 and again recently to September 10 -- which is surely a clear recognition that even after ten years, Woody Guthrie's story, words, and songs have much to offer us fifty years after his untimely death.

Running concurrently with the production of Woody Sez at the Irish Repertory Theatre, is a display consisting of a dozen or so large panels outlining key periods in Woody Guthrie's life. Images of some of these panels are used to illustrate this post.

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IF YOU GO
Now through September 10, 2017
Irish Repertory Theatre
132, West 22nd Street, Manhattan.
Tickets: $50 - $70 (Shows run Wednesday - Sunday with some matinee performances.)

More Information
Woody Guthrie...
The Guthrie Center...
Arlo Guthrie...
Billy Bragg...
Huntington's Disease...

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Thursday 20, July | Expenses $86.50 ($114.95)

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Any questions, comments or suggestions? How about complaints or compliments? Let me know via the comments box below.

NYC Days 33 & 34: In Which I Get The Lowdown on Common. Ok? Go!

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LOWDOWN HUDSON MUSIC FEST 2017
If it is July and the location is Brookfield Place, it must be time for the Lowdown Hudson Music Fest.

Somewhere between 5:00 and 5:30pm, on a hot Tuesday afternoon, I stepped outside of the air-conditioned comfort of Brookfield Place to see what the weather was up to and immediately regretted my decision. In a word, the weather was Brutal. I returned in a rush to the soothing comfort of the Winter Garden, and did not leave it until around seven when the outside temperature had dropped to a more bearable level, aided by a breeze rolling in off the Hudson River to help it along.

By this time someone calling herself Lion Babe - yes, indeedy - was turning up the heat on stage with what I can only assume was the latest style in black rhythm and soul, or whatever it was she was modulating her way through. Lion Babe appears to be the latest in a long and illustrious line of gymnastic warblers who may or may not have something important to say, but I find forgettable once the song is over. In deed, minutes after she left the stage I could not recall one catchy melody or hook that might have made me want to hear more.

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However, the audience was lapping it up, and they were soon right into the hip hop beats of the main act, the man calling himself Common. I guess with a name like that there is nothing else you can do but work hard to show you are anything but common. Even my limited knowledge of this genre recalls that Common (born Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr in 1972), has been around since the early 1990s, and is one of the early practitioners of hip-hop music in New York City.

I'm sorry, but maybe I'm turning into the grumpy old man I swore I'd never be. Having come of age in the 1960s, I guess I was spoilt by so many great songwriters and singers who not only had something to say, but who also knew how to say it with a great melody line, a catchy hook, and lyrics that didn't make you blush in front of your mother (let alone your grandmother!) Maybe too, I needed to have been born in a ghetto in 1970s New York to really understand and appreciate hip hop music, and rap.

Both Lion Babe and Common, and their crews of very talented musicians drank gallons of water and poured it all out again in copious amounts of sweat, while they commanded the stage as only hard working musicians know how to do. I am not doubting their talent in the least. It's just that the genres these performers have chosen to work in consistently fails to move me. I am well aware that the fault lying at the heart of my lack of appreciation is entirely my own, and not that of the performers on stage on Tuesday night.

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OK GO
I first became aware of OK GO, like millions of other fans, via the band's first viral video for the song, Here It Goes Again, which quickly became known as 'the treadmill song'. If you've never seen it, head over to YouTube right now and take a look. You'll be happy you did. The group has gone on to make even more complicated one-take music videos that seemingly defy the imagination, and each video is more complex in terms of its planning and choreography than the previous one.

Needless to say, I was not going to pass up an opportunity to see the group performing in New York during my stay, especially since the show was free. As soon as the show started I realized that despite viewing their videos dozens of times on YouTube, I was totally unfamiliar with their music.

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How can this be?, I hear you ask.

After giving the matter some thought I know why. In watching the videos, I have been so engrossed in the complex visuals that I have not been focusing on the actual songs themselves. For me, the music was just the accompaniment to the visuals, and to the complicated choreography. Stripped of the visual element, I initially feared the songs might turn out to be dull and uninteresting, but I was delighted to find the songs stand up perfectly well on their own.

Of course, several of the songs were well known to me, but others, shorn of their visual elements, were truly being heard for the first time. With OK GO I was in my musical element. I was on familiar ground. Here is a genre of music I understand. Here is a group that also knows how to write great hooks with strong melodies that audience members can pick up quickly, and are able to join in on with little teaching or encouragement.

Like Lion Baby, Common, and Flint Eastwood (the opening act for the night), the four members of OK GO were pouring sweat on stage almost as fast as they could down the cold water they were consuming in an effort to remain hydrated. Like the professional musicians who preceded them, they gave their all, and the 90-minute performance has been one of the musical highlights of my trip to date.

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Tuesday 18, July | Expenses $85.53 ($111.05)

Wednesday 19, July | Expenses $16.85 ($21.15)

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Any questions, comments or suggestions? How about complaints or compliments? Let me know via the comments box below.

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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NYC Day 23: Sunday in The Park and Native-Canadians at SummerStage

Central Park's Harlem Meer at 110th Street.

Harlem Meer Performance Festival: Something Positive
The 24th annual Harlem Meer Performance Festival brings the best local talent in music and dance to Central Park! Enjoy jazz, Latin, world, and gospel music while admiring the lakeside views. All ages are welcome. Location: Charles A. Dana Discovery Center, Central Park (inside the Park at 110th Street between Lenox and Fifth Avenues).

I made it to the Harlem Meer event in time to catch the performance by Something Positive before a very appreciative audience of mostly local Harlemites, and visitors to the city, like myself. Something Positive are described as an "...ensemble of international dancers, singers, and musicians [performing] a mix of Afro-Caribbean traditional and dance music with a blend of poetry, storytelling, and theater."

The show encompassed all of the above description, and the ensemble of five or six dancers, three percussionists, the leader singer/storyteller and a chorus line of three women, kept the mood party-like throughout the performance by encouraging audience participation by teaching us chorus lines to sing, and by getting audience members to get up and join the dancing at appropriate times.

Conservatory Gardens, Central Park
From the Harlem Meer, I walked down to one of my favorite sections of Central Park, the beautifully maintained Conservatory Gardens. I find it impossible today to create a picture in my mind that depicts this area of the park as desolate, abandoned and dangerous. All words that once described the area before the Central Park Conservancy began to rehabilitate the area during the late 1980s and into the 1990s. Today the well manicured lawns, hedges, and vast swathes of flowering gardens are a delight to walk through and enjoy.

The Conservatory Garden is Central Park's six-acre formal garden. It is divided into three smaller gardens, each with a distinct style: Italian, French, and English. The Garden's main entrance is through the Vanderbilt Gate, on Fifth Avenue between 104th and 105th Streets. This magnificent iron gate, made in Paris in 1894, originally stood before the Vanderbilt mansion at Fifth Avenue and 58th Street. 

The Italianate center garden is composed of a large lawn surrounded by yew hedges and is bordered by two exquisite allées of spring-blooming pink and white crabapple trees. A 12-foot high jet fountain plays on the western end of the lawn, backed by tiered hedges and stairs that lead up to a wisteria pergola. On the walkway under the pergola are medallions inscribed with the names of the original 13 states. 

Above and Below: Conservatory Gardens in Central Park.

The northern, French-style garden showcases parterres of germander and spectacular seasonal displays of spring tulips, and Korean chrysanthemums in autumn, all within an ellipse of Japanese holly. In the center is the charming Three Dancing Maidens fountain by German sculptor, Walter Schott. 

To the south is the very intimate English-style garden. There are five mixed borders of trees, shrubs and perennial plants, and five seasonal beds featuring spring bulbs that are followed by annual flower displays. A slope of woodland plants lines the western edge of this garden. At the center is sculptor Bessie Potter Vonnoh's lovely Frances Hodgson Burnett Memorial Fountain, a tribute to the author of the children's book, The Secret Garden. The children — a girl and a boy, said to depict Mary and Dickon, the main characters from the classic — stand at one end of a small water lily pool.

From the Conservatory Gardens it was time to make my way towards the evenings main event, a celebration of contemporary Native-Canadian culture at the Rumsey Playfield, where three acts from north of the border were getting ready to rock the night. The event was just one of a hundred or so free concerts in the annual SummerStage [www.summerstage.org/] series of concerts that take place across all five New York boroughs. First up was Iskwé.

Promo image of Native-Canadian performer, Iskwé

Iskwé

Hailing from Winnipeg in central Canada, the wonderfully diverse Iskwé is of Irish and Cree/Dene lineage. Her full name, in Cree, translates to “Blue Sky Women”; Iskwé alone means “women,” and she chose this solitary moniker to represent both her culture and passion for shedding light on female causes and struggles. Strongly attached to her origins and spirituality, the skilled singer/songwriter instills her work with powerful elements of her heritage. Her voice is potent and luminous, her style a jazzy medley of trip hop and R&B. She attributes her inimitable sound to her “mixed indigenous and Irish ancestry,” as this cross-cultural experience had made an indelible mark on her life and music. A perfectionist with her work, her first album, the self-titled 2013 masterpiece Iskwé, took eight full years to produce. She subsequently released several singles to address the everyday atrocities that indigenous women must endure, including the heartbreaking 2015 track “Nobody Knows.” Her stage performances are bold and stunning; in tandem with her vital music, often she strikingly paints her face in the tradition of her Cree people.

A Tribe Called Red 

Oh, Canada! For those unfamiliar with “pow wow,” a chanting & drumming performed by North American Native people, Ottawa-based A Tribe Called Red will whole-heartedly introduce you to it – mixed with electronic rhythms, hip-hop, moombahton, reggae and dubstep, naturally. Their gloriously inimitable sound (which some refer to as ‘powwow-step’) has been transforming urban club culture in Ontario and beyond, helping electronic music fans to significantly broaden their horizons. The present roster includes DJ NDN, Bear Witness and 2oolman, and with their fantastically feral live shows/parties (replete with original, politically inspired visual art pieces and videos), they have been disseminating their message of aboriginal heritage embracement through wildly fun music.

The SummerStage performance space and part of the audience waiting for the show to kick off.

Buffy Sainte-Marie looks at things differently. Since her very first release in 1964, It’s My Way, this luminous singer-songwriter, a member of the Cree Nation in Saskatchewan, Canada, has viewed music as not just a means of personal expression, but as a way to effectively disseminate messages of peace to the global community. A prominent activist, pacifist, educator and visual artist, she split time in the ‘60s between NYC’s Greenwich Village, and Toronto’s equivalent, Yorkville. While performing next to the likes of Neil Young, Leonard Cohen and Joni Mitchell, she naturally set herself apart from other “folk” musicians, with a sometimes ephemeral, sometimes booming voice rife with culture, history and visionary ways of viewing humanity and our relationship with the earth. A Juno, Golden Globe & Oscar winner, Sainte-Marie has been recognized as an innovator with her protest anthems (“Universal Soldier”), her startlingly honest take on addiction (in the much-covered “Cod’ine”), her incidental pop-crossover mega-hit “Up Where We Belong,” and her most recent album Power in the Blood, a beautifully unapologetic look at identity and our place in the universe.

Tonight's show marked the third time that I have seen Buffy Sainte-Marie in concert, and I continue to be amazed by the power of her high-energy performances. I've said it before, but I'm happy to repeat the observation that I'm sure is not unique to me: Buffy Sainte-Marie may be in her mid-70s, but you would swear she was thirty years younger, so dynamic is she as a live performer.

This is one singer that I am more than happy to see for a fourth, fifth and subsequent times if the opportunity presents itself.

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Sunday 9, July | Expenses $32.50 ($42.80)

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NYC Day 22: A Day On The Lam

My first stop of the day was the Housing Works Bookstore Cafe at 126, Crosby Street. Unfortunately, the store is located in what I consider to be an out of way location that is not easy to reach -- at least when coming from Washington Heights by subway. The store is having a  30% off New York City related books and of course I was keen to see what they had to offer. Frankly, I was very disappointed. I expected to find dozens of books relating to New York City waiting to be consumed by eager readers. Instead I saw a couple of tables each holding a dozen or so mostly obscure books.

To be sure the bookcase set aside for books about New York was standing in the same place, and that had several dozen more books lined up on its shelves, but the much anticipated glut of titles that I was hoping for simply did not exist. Did I say already how much I was disappointed?

To my surprise, I saw what I can only assume to be the very same copy of the collected editions of New Yorker magazine that I had contemplated buying last year still on the top shelf of that bookcase. The editions are contained on a set of four CDs -- or were they DVDs? Anyway, there is was. Maybe it is my destiny to purchase it this time around.

In the end I bought three non-New York titles: What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, by Raymond Carver; Lost In The City, by Edward P. Jones (who is also the author of The Known World); and The March, by E.L. Doctorow. Both the Carver and Jones books are collections of short stories. I started the Carver collection on the train ride home, and was immediately delighted with my purchase. Initially I had thought I might return the book to Housing Works once I finish it, but now I might just have to take it back to Australia with me.

The massive atrium at Brookfield Place

Towers of glass and steel at Brookfield Place

Having decided to make my way to Brookfield Place after visiting the bookstore, I came up for air out of the subway near City Hall. As I walked by City Hall Park, I glanced to my left and looked towards the Brooklyn Bridge. Let me tell you, if I thought the Museum of Modern Art was crowded on Friday night, it turns out that it was nothing compared with the crush of people packed onto the narrow pedestrian walkway across the bridge. Man, it looked like they were shoulder to shoulder, and bumper to bumper from Manhattan all the way to Brooklyn! I don't think I will be walking the Brooklyn Bridge anytime soon. If I do, I think I will leave it until September when most of the summer tourist rush will be over. Mind you, I have made that walk numerous times on previous visits so I am in no rush to do so again -- at least not while there are thousands of other visitors doing so at the same time.

I spent several hours in the vacinity of Brookfield Place relaxing and taking in the views across the Hudson River of the New Jersey skyline. The cool breeze coming off the river was also a good reason to be sitting on a bench watching cruise boats, sailing craft, local ferries, jet ski riders, and private boat operators coming and going in an endless stream of activity. But the life of the river is not all fun and games. Keen watchers will also see the water police monitoring the activities of recreational water craft, and then there are the working tug boats pushing barges upriver (or down river) at the turn of the tides.

Looking forward to the OK GO gig in particular.

This plaza is made for partying and relaxing.

I wish I had access to photos from my first visit to New York in 2008 so that I could add them to this blog for comparison. The rise and rise of tall buildings along the New Jersey shoreline continues apace, and there is no reason to think that the proliferation of ever higher construction is going to stop anytime soon. After all, why should the skyscrapers on Manhattan be the only ones dominating the skyline along the river? And I bet an apartment in a New Jersey tower can be had for a lot less than one in a Manhattan complex. Not only that, but I also think the view of the Manhattan skyline from New Jersey is a lot more interesting than the view of the New Jersey skyline from Manhattan.

Week Three Expenses (Figures in brackets are Australian dollar amounts)

Museum Memberships $19.15 ($25.15) | 

AT&T SIM card $13.60 ($17.85) | Ongoing weekly

MTA Pass $28.00 ($36.80) | expenses $212.75 ($279.80)

Accommodation $152.00 ($200.00) |

Sunday, July 2 | Expenses $144.80 ($193.30)

Monday, July 3 | Expenses $15.00 ($19.75)

Tuesday, July 4 | Expenses $38.00 ($49.85)

Wednesday, July 5 | Expenses $19.00 ($25.00)

Thursday, July 6| Expenses $78.00 ($102.90)

Friday, July 7 | Expenses $22.00 ($29.00)

Saturday, July 8| Expenses $60.60 ($79.65)

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TOTAL: USD$590.15 | AUD$779.25

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NYC Days 13 & 14: The Met Egyptian Wing, and Playing For Change

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Thursday 29, June | Expenses $0.0
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Today was a rest day. I didn't even leave the apartment but instead stayed in resting and reading. Some days you just have to stop and recharge.

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Friday 30, June | Expenses $103.95 ($135.20)
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MET MUSEUM MEMBER FRIDAYS
I hit the Met Museum again and joined a one hour tour of the Egyptian Wing which was very informative. Many of the treasures in this section obviously go back thousands of years before the modern Christian calendar begins with the 'birth' of Jesus. What amazes over and over again is the use of what then must have been modern technology to build the huge pyramids and mausoleums beneath them. 

One also needs to acknowledge the development of the tools and expertise used to embalm and entomb the pharaohs and general citizenry of Egypt. And let's not forget the production of bright colours that were also developed thousands of years ago, and which today are almost as bright and as fresh as they were when first applied to the casks and coffins in which the dead were buried.

This and the images below: Cover and internal decorations of Egyptian burial casket.

It is hard to believe that these artifacts are thousands of years old given the quality of 

material and the vibrant colors that are still visible. 

Playing For Change Band
Highline Ballroom, 431, W 16th Street
 From the Met I slowly made my way to the Highline Ballroom where I joined the line for the days main event, a performance by the Playing For Change Band. If you are not familiar with Playing For Change (PFC), a brief recap is in order: Playing for Change is described as a multimedia music project that seeks to inspire, connect, and bring peace to the world through music.

In 2005, Mark Johnson was walking in Santa Monica, California, when he heard the voice of Roger Ridley (now deceased) singing "Stand By Me." Roger had so much soul and conviction in his voice, and Mark approached him about performing "Stand By Me" as a Song Around The World. Roger agreed, and when Mark returned with recording equipment and cameras he asked Roger, "With a voice like yours, why are you singing on the streets?" Roger replied, "Man I’m in the Joy business, I come out to be with the people." Ever since that day, the Playing For Change crew has traveled the world recording and filming musicians, creating Songs Around The World, and building a global family. [ Source: Wikipedia]

From such humble beginnings has the Playing For Change Band grown. On this night it consisted of 12 musicians and singers, including the very popular Grandpa Elliott, who appeared in the first video for the song, Stand By Me, and who had not performed with the band for the past year or two. 

It's also worth noting that PFC also created a separate non-profit organization called the Playing For Change Foundation, which builds music schools for children around the world. Truly it is said: From little things big things grow. As anticipated, it was a great night of music delivered by musicians from as far afield as South Africa, Israel, Japan, North and South America and elsewhere. The mood was upbeat and joyous throughout, and the show capped of a busy week of gigs for me that made my second week in New York hard to beat.

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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New York City Day 9: Walk Like an Egyptian to The Bitter End!

The Chrysler Building basks in the glow of
late evening sunlight. 

GIGS, GIGS, AND MORE GIGS
I wrote in an earlier post that I had dubbed this visit to New York as my Music and Art Tour, and nothing that has happened since my last series of posts a week ago to change this designation. Since last Sunday 25th my evenings has included a night at The Bitter End to catch the Singer/Songwriter Sessions and the All Star Jam that follows it. On Monday night I returned to City Winery to see Michelle Shocked and the Pete Anderson trio run through her now classic album, Short Sharp Shocked, and again on Tuesday night I was there to help celebrate the 30th birthday of Jesse Paris Smith with a host of guest musicians including her brother Jackson and legendary mother, Patti Smith.

I had a night off on Wednesday, but I had reserved a ticket to see Cassandra Wilson at the Blue Note Jazz Club in Greenwich Village on Thursday night. In the end, I decided to cancel that booking, and reschedule for tonight, Sunday, July 2. My final big gig for the week saw me visiting the Highline Ballroom for a rollicking performance of the Playing For Change Band, of which more later.

A MORE FOCUSED NYC VISIT
It occurs to me that by building this visit around art and music, I am a lot more focused than I might otherwise have been. On previous visits to New York, I have concentrated on free music events more than anything else, and then left pretty much all other activities to the whims of the day. Purchasing two museum memberships (MoMA, and The Met), has allowed me to pick and choose talks and tours to attend, and while my general museum visits are still unfocused, I am enjoying the return visits to the Met Cloisters and The Met Museum in particular. While I have only made one visit to the Met Breuer at this time, I will go there again this week to take in any new works on show. I will also return to MoMA for a deeper look at the Frank Lloyd Wright exhibition.

Here's my week in review along with my daily expenses in US and Australian dollars.

METROPOLITAN MUSEUM MEMBERS EVENT
The Met Fifth Avenue Members Event -- Irving Penn: Centennial. Learn about the life and work of the great American photographer Irving Penn with New Yorker writer Vince Aletti, Vogue executive fashion editor Phyllis Posnick, and Curator in Charge of the Department of Photographs, Jeff L. Rosenheim.

I went to The Met Museum in time to attend the Irving Penn talk. I must say I found the talk and the information about Penn's career as a (mostly) fashion photographer for Vogue magazine more interesting than I thought I would. I have never had a lot of time for fashion or the designers, their famous models or the magazines that thrive on haute couture, or the world of high fashion. However, Irving Penn took his role very seriously, and did not just shoot fashion for anyone, and that included Vogue. Phyllis Posnick, worked at Vogue for many years, and said she constantly had to persuade and convince Penn to take on assignments for the magazine. I had a quick look at the Centennial exhibition after the talk, but will return for a more leisurely look on a future visit. I also had a little time to walk through some of the Egyptian rooms and again I will return to these at a later date for a more careful look. 

However, it occurs to me after several somewhat disorganized visits to the Met Museum, that I need to be more focused about my examination of the massive art collections on offer. The best way of doing this, it seems to me is to use the museum map to plan each visit so that I can concentrate on one section at a time and so work my way through the whole building floor by floor and all 20 major departments.

Above: The Temple of Dendur

Above: detail of inscriptions on Temple of Dendur wall.

Here are the main departments moving clockwise around the First Floor: Greek and Roman Art; Africa, Oceania and the Americas; Modern & Contemporary Art; European Sculpture & Decorative Arts; Medieval Art; Robert Lehman Collection; The American Wing; Arms & Armor; Egyptian Art.

The Second & Third floors: Greek & Roman Art; Ancient Near Eastern Art; Art of The Arab Lands; 19th and Early 20th Century European Paintings and Sculpture; Modern & Contemporary Art; Photography; European Paintings 1250-1800; European Sculpture & Decorative Arts; Musical Instruments; and American Wing (mezzanine). Then there are the collections at The Cloisters, the Breuer, and of course MoMA. 

And let's not forget all the allied programs that each museum runs like talks, tours, film screenings and musical performances. And this is without visiting any of the dozens of other museums and galleries across the city! Far out! I really have to get my act together.

Above: Bat-or Kalo on stage at the Bitter End and below

posters from the 60s and 70s decorate the walls of the venue.

THE BITTER END: Singer/Songwriter Sessions & All Star Jam
I've written about the Bitter End numerous times on this blog so I won't go over old news. I will say that as a big supporter of new and emerging performers, I love how this venue has stayed close to its roots and continues to support young talent through the singer/songwriter sessions and in many other ways. It is interesting to see young performers working on their stagecraft, and sharing their songs and music in a small, intimate venue like this, knowing as I hope they do, that some of the greatest musicians, comedians, and other performers have also trodden the boards of the narrow stage on which they themselves are standing.

Note: Click on images to view full sized.

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Sunday 25, June | Expenses $49.00 ($64.55)

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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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Monday Music Mashup #1

One of the great things about music, any genre of music, is its ability to cross boundaries, breaking down walls, prejudices, and long-held misperceptions about other cultures as it goes. Today I am featuring three videos from performers who are working across genres mashing up traditional instruments with contemporary rock tunes. I love the hybrid sound that results from these performances. It makes me realise that there are many ways of approaching traditional instruments and many ways too, or reinterpreting songs that have become classics in their original form. 

In the videos below, Stary Olsa, are a group out of Belorussia, who play a mix of traditional and contemporary music on medieval instruments, many of which they have made themselves. They cover Metallica’s song, One. Meanwhile the young Korean gayageum player, Luna Lee, performs and instrumental version of B.B. King’s, The Thrill Is Gone. Lee has been garnering much attention for her reworking of many modern rock and blues songs, and has even appeared at a SXSW Showcase. My third selection features the American mountain dulcimer player, Sam Edelstein playing one of the first big hits for the Rolling Stones, their 1966 classic, 19th Nervous Breakdown. Sam lives in Connecticut, and has won awards for his dulcimer playing.

I don’t know if the original bands or musicians have seen these videos, and if they have, what they think about them, but I’d like to think they are more than happy with the musicians below who have found ways to reimagine the original songs and share their interpretations with the rest of the music world. 

Stary Olsa (Medieval Instruments): One, by Metallica

Stary Olsa, first came to my attention last year after I saw their very successful crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter. The group, from Belorussia, had set a goal of $7000 to fund an album of rock songs performed on traditional Medieval instruments. The campaign was so successful (they raised $29,890), that Stary Olsa were also able to undertake their first tour of the United States.

Stary Olsa have also covered AC/DCs Highway To Hell, Deep Purple’s Child In Time, and many other contemporary rocks songs, many of which were released on their 12th studio album—the one funded by their Kickstarter.

Here are Stary Olsa performing Metallica’s One, on the Belarusian television show Legends:

More Information: StaryOlsa.Com | YouTube | Facebook | Twitter

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Luna Lee (Korean Gayageum): The Thrill Is Gone, by B.B. King

I don’t know how old the Korean performer, Luna Lee is, but she looks too young to be playing the traditional Asian instrument called a gayageum so expertly and fluidly. Clearly she has been learning the instrument since she was a young child.

Luna Lee has filmed many videos of herself reinterpreting a wide range of contemporary rock music, as well as classic blues songs. Looking at the many videos on her YouTube channel, it is obvious that she, or someone in her inner circle of support, is very adept at producing quite complex video productions which often include multiple windows when she multitracks on numerous songs. Here is Luna Lee performing to a  backing track, B.B. King’s The Thrill Is Gone:

More Information: Luna Lee Online... | Facebook... | YouTube... | Patreon… 

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Sam Edelstein (Mountain Dulcimer): 19th Nervous Breakdown, by The Rolling Stones)

To quote directly from Sam Edelstein’s Facebook page:

I believe that dulcimers are among the world's coolest musical instruments. People deserve to know about dulcimers, the way that people already know about harmonicas, ukuleles, and xylophones (to name a few examples).

Even though dulcimers are used primarily for folk music here in the US, they're great for many other kinds of music. In fact, they're natural rock & roll instruments. (Cyndi Lauper and Joni Mitchell perform on mountain dulcimer, and I once saw one in a Rolling Stones exhibit at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame!)

I believe in exposing people to interesting and surprising music on dulcimers.

More Information: Sam Edelstein at YouTube… | Facebook…

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And as an added bonus, here is Luna Lee again, this time multi-tracking to Sultans Of Swing, by Dire Straits.

Thanks to the always interesting Open Culture website for bringing Sam Edelstein, and Luna Lee to my attention.