The Pierces—sisters Allison and Catherine—come from an artistic family. Their father was a guitarist and their mother was a painter. So it should come as no surprise that the two had arty endeavors. They each became accomplished ballerinas before deciding the kind of stage work they wanted to do was of the musical variety. They began writing songs and a friend helped get them in an in with a Nashville recording company. An album, The Pierces, followed but it never really gained much ground. Undeterred, the talented sisters moved on, literally, to New York City, where they’ve found more success, releasing three more albums—the most recent of which, You & I, came out last year. But the real way to experience the Pierces (above, playing “Love You More” on Later … with Jools Holland) is in person, which you can do tonight and tomorrow at Mercury Lounge. But you’d better act now because tickets are going fast.
The holiday season—from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day—is quite possibly the best time of the year, filled with friends, family, presents and parties. And then one day you wake up and it’s just winter. And it’s freezing. And you think how long will this last? What you need is to get out of town and go where the weather is hot and the music is cool. That’s right, starting on FridayHoly Ship!, a three-day cruise sets sail from Fort Lauderdale to the Bahamas and a private island (with a beach party and music by Fatboy Slim, above) filled with some of the world’s hottest electronic-music makers, like Diplo, A-Trak, Skrillex and plenty more. The ship has five venues and music around the clock. Plus there’s a casino, spa, yoga, all-you-can-eat dining and a special burlesque performance by Dita Von Teese. What are you waiting for?
The Pimps of Joytime formed in 2005, and their sound, influenced by Brooklyn DJ culture, is a musical stew of rock, soul, afrobeat, salsa, electronica, rap and infectious Latin grooves. Led by the charismatic Brian J, the Brooklyn-based band has steadily played club and festival gigs, leaving smiling, sweaty people in their wake each time. And now you can start off the first weekend of 2012 by shaking your ass when the Pimps of Joytime (above, doing “Janxta Funk”) play The Bowery Ballroom on Friday.
Frontman Reid Genauer, previously of Strangefolk, formed Assembly of Dust in 2002 while still studying for his MBA at Cornell University. The first album, a self-titled affair, was essentially a solo album but Genauer (vocals-guitar) gathered Andy Herrick (drums), John Leccese (bass), Adam Terrell (lead guitar) and Nate Wilson (keys) to flesh out the new tunes when played live. Since then the R&B-and-blues based group has earned a sizable traveling fan base and a reputation as a good-times band while playing sets at festivals like Bonnaroo, Langerado and the Newport Folk Festival. The quintet’s most recent disc, Found Sound, is a live album covering some of last year’s New Year’s Eve show, which, perhaps you can relive when Assembly of Dust (above, playing “Harrower”) rings in the New Year with a double dip at Mercury Lounge, performing on Friday and Saturday.
When Jerry Garcia died in the summer of 1995 people assumed they would never again experience something like a live Grateful Dead show. But two years later Dark Star Orchestra began to reenact Dead shows—that is they would play an entire show in the order of the original set list, nailing the instrumentation and the vocals. They sounded so much like the band they were emulating that members of the Dead have actually performed live with Dark Star. So despite Jerry’s passing, the music’s never stopped. And next week Dark Star Orchestra (above, doing “Eyes of the World”) brings a two-night, three-set party to The Wellmont Theatre on 12/30 and New Year’s Eve.
A venue with a vivid rock past will breathe new life beginning in the middle of next year, as music entrepreneur Peter Shapiro reopens the historic Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, N.Y. “The Capitol Theatre is a rock and roll icon and we are going to treat her as such,” he says. “We are going to spoil her and give her the best of everything—the best sound, the best lights and the best video projection technology of any theater anywhere. Our plan is to turn the knob to 11 in every way possible.”
The Cap once hosted the likes of David Bowie, Derek and the Dominos, the Grateful Dead, Pink Floyd and the Rolling Stones. And with The Bowery Presents booking it, the place will soon rock again. And don’t think just because it’s in the suburbs that the Capitol Theatre is far away. The theater, 22 miles from NYC, is one block from the Port Chester Metro North train station, which is just a 36-minute ride from Grand Central. And we’ll see you there soon enough!
A New Year is coming and a new day is coming, too. That’s right, The Bowery Presents is launching a brand new YouTube channel featuring groundbreaking must-see live music and the latest in emerging-music culture. TBP Live will feature multicamera concert films you can stream live from home and intimate performances and interviews from industry leaders, plus the next big things in music. You won’t want to miss this.
Sometimes just one band isn’t enough, so the Shout Out Louds’ Adam Olenius has teamed up with fellow Swede Markus Krunegård to form Serenades. The talented singer-songwriters already have an EP, Come Home, and a full-length is on its way next year. In the meantime, they’ve come to our shores to play a few shows, the last of which is tonight at Mercury Lounge. Check them out playing “Oceans,” above, and then do yourself a favor and go see this indie-pop duo live.
The Brooklyn quartet Bear Hands—Ted Feldman (guitar), Val Loper (bass), Dylan Rau (vocals and guitar) and TJ Orscher (drums)—got started when Feldman and Rau met in college. The duo then paired up with Loper and Orscher, who had been involved in hardcore-punk bands, and they suddenly had a post-punk experimental sound. Their first EP, Golden, came out in 2007 and Bear Hands (above, playing “What a Drag” for Baeblemusic.com) eventually got a plum gig, opening for MGMT. (Rau had attended Wesleyan with that band’s Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser.) A proper LP, Burning Bush Supper Club, came out last year, and the band has been touring ever since. See them tomorrow night at Music Hall of Williamsburg.
Perhaps you’ve heard a story similar to this before: A group of friends meets at a Boston music school, realize they have many of the same varied musical influences, so they move to Brooklyn and start a band. This one’s called Mon Khmer, and its members have a wide range of backgrounds, which gives their music an interesting sound. Even better, although the group hasn’t been around for that long, they’ve already earned the reputation as a band not to miss. So don’t. Go see Mon Khmer (above, playing “Passwords”) at Mercury Lounge tonight.
Back in mid-’90s Portland, Ore., pianist Tom Lauderdale was working in politics. Many before him had become disillusioned with this field, but what bothered him most was perhaps a bit different. You see, he found the music at political fund-raisers to be lacking. So he put together what he called a “little orchestra,” 13 members strong including him, called Pink Martini. Immediately, Lauderdale knew who should become the group’s voice, China Forbes, whom he had met while at Harvard. The two began writing songs, and their first tune became the title of Pink Martini’s debut album, Sympathique, which came out in 1997. The group’s music has a wide variety of influences and their songs are in multiple languages, which gives them a worldwide following. But you don’t have to go too far to follow them this week because Pink Martini (above, doing “Hey Eugene” on Late Show with David Letterman) plays Town Hall tonight and tomorrow. And while Forbes recovers from throat surgery, Pink Martini’s lyrics will be voiced by the talented Storm Large.
Back in 1990 drummer Brant Bjork, singer John Garcia, guitarist Josh Homme and bassist Nick Oliveri formed a loud heavy metal band they named after a Dungeons & Dragons character, Kyuss. The quartet earned a following in the deserts towns of Southern California, playing parties and outdoor shows. Their debut album, Wretch, came out in 1991, and the group put out three more discs over the next four years before suddenly breaking up in the fall of 1995. Each member went his own way (perhaps you’ve heard of Queens of the Stone Age) and that would have been where this story ends, except for the fact that Kyuss Lives! That’s right, Bjork, Garcia and Oliveri joined together with Bruno Fevery now playing guitar, and you can see them (above, doing “Hurricane” for The Daily Habit) play The Wellmont Theatre tomorrow night.
Dax Riggs has been in several bands, like Acid Bath, Agents of Oblivion, Deadboy & the Elephantmen. And while the first two dealt in sludge metal, the third presented a stripped-down, blues-tinged perspective. Riggs has expanded on that since he began making music on his own in 2007. His most recent album, Say Goodnight to the World, came out last year, and Dax Riggs (above, doing “Night Is the Notion” for SPIN) plays the late show at Mercury Lounge tomorrow night.
