| Hot Fun In The Summertime |
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Written by Mark Rifkin Managing Director, This Week in New York Contributing Editor, TimesSquare.com As the middle of August approaches, so does the end of many of the free music festivals that have been taking place across the five boroughs all summer long. Here is a look at some of the best of the season so far; visit twi-ny.com/freesummermusic.html to check out what’s on for the rest of the month and into September. And the best part of it all is that they’re all free. JOAN ARMATRADING River to River Festival World Financial Center Plaza Tuesday, June 12 rivertorivernyc.org flickr.com/photos/twi-ny/sets/72157600394356424  Joan Armatrading rocks World Financial Center Plaza after rains blow away By the time she and her band (Scott Firth on bass, Spencer Cozens on keyboards, and Gary Foote on drums and sax) kicked things into gear, there were blue skies, and the dedicated throng was rewarded with songs from throughout Armatrading’s four-decade career, including such new songs as “A Woman in Love,” “Something’s Gotta Blow,” and “My Baby’s Gone (Come Back Baby)” as well as such old-timers as “Love and Affection,” “All the Way from America,” and “Tall in the Saddle.” Powered by her deep, expressive voice and solid guitar playing (including electric slide and 12-string acoustic), Armatrading gave off an infectious confidence that was both delightful and engaging, with an added gleam in her eyes that lifted some of the harder blues numbers. With time running out—she had to cut some songs because of the venue’s curfew—she closed the set with a fab double shot of “Call Me Names (I Love It When)” and “Me Myself I.” Then, for the encore, she asked the adoring crowd whether they preferred to hear “Willow” or “Drop the Pilot,” the latter her breakthrough 1983 MTV hit. She ended up playing them both, of course, the wispy “Willow” soon giving way to the exhilarating pure power pop of “Pilot.” - - -THE RICHARD THOMPSON BAND Celebrate Brooklyn! 2007 Prospect Park Bandshell Thursday, June 21 brooklynx.org/celebrate flickr.com/photos/twi-ny/sets/72157600429442405  Richard Thompson leads his band through the Brooklyn rain Relying heavily on his strong new album, Sweet Warrior, Thompson and his band—Michael Jerome on drums, Taras Prodaniuk on bass, and Pete Zorn on just about anything he could get his hands on, including electric and acoustic guitar, tenor and baritone sax, flute, and tin whistle—delighted the drenched audience with a generous sampling of intelligent pop, tender folk ballads, and plenty of acerbic wit. After opening with two songs from Sweet Warrior, “Needle and Thread” and “Bad Monkey,” which featured one of many trademark extended guitar solos Thompson would play throughout the evening, the band was forced to leave the stage because of the rain, but they were soon back with such treats as the mournful “Al Bowlly’s in Heaven,” the stirring “A Man in Need,” old-time fave “I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight,” and the jaunty roller-coaster ride “Wall of Death.” Having so much fun he didn’t want to leave, Thompson came out for two sets of encores—including a beautiful version of “Persuasion” with his son Teddy—finishing up with a rollicking “Tear Stained Letter.” If you don’t know anything about Richard Thompson, you owe it to yourself to find out. - - -THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS River to River Festival Historic Battery Park Lawn Wednesday, July 4 212-528-2733 rivertorivernyc.org flickr.com/photos/twi-ny/sets/72157600653152390  The New Pornographers fought off the rain for solid set on July 4 The Canadian group marveled at being able to see Lady Liberty from their vantage point—“Ain’t she a grand ol’ dame?” asked chief singer-songwriter Carl Newman, who is now a resident of Brooklyn—while previewing songs from their upcoming album, Challengers (Matador, August 21, 2007). Relying on infectious three-part harmonies from Newman, Case, and pianist Kathryn Calder, the NPs featured such new tunes as “My Rights Versus Yours,” “Go Places,” and “This Spirit of Giving” in addition to such groovy old-time favorites as “Twin Cinema,” “The Bleeding Heart Show,” “Sing Me Spanish Techno,” and “From Blown Speakers,” with plenty of playful banter in between (sometimes a little too much, detracting from any flow). When the rain did finally arrive, someone had to hold an umbrella over John Collins’s laptop to keep it dry. The band finished up their 80-plus-minute set with “Testament to Youth in Verse” and “Slow Descent into Alcoholism” as Newman promised they’d be playing indoors in the city soon. A few weeks later, Case fans were able to catch her free solo gig with Eric Bachmann at SummerStage on July 20. - - -SUICIDE River to River Festival South Street Seaport, Pier 17 Friday, July 27 212-528-2733 seaportmusicfestival.com flickr.com/photos/twi-ny/sets/72157601059728875  Martin Rev and Alan Vega play a killer set at the seaport For this special gig, a late addition to the schedule, they played a crazy, brilliant show at an appropriately surrealistic location, outdoors at the South Street Seaport, amid blue skies, would-be goths, aging hipsters, and lots of tourists wondering just what the hell was going on. For about an hour, Vega stalked about the stage, microphone in hand, stiff-legged, skinny-armed, staring slightly aimlessly, snarling his way through a string of classic Suicide tunes while Rev, in his trademark oversized futuristic shades and looking like an alien, created a relentless wall of synthbeats and feedback on keyboards. Vega raged against the war and the government and even made a maudlin speech about following one’s dreams, then had trouble lighting his cigarette in the breeze. Vega and Rev powered their way through extended versions of "Dance," the doo-woppy "Cheree," a killer "Frankie Teardrop," a glitzy "Las Vegas Man," and "Dream, Baby, Dream" (with Vega giving a shout-out to Bruce Springsteen, who recently covered the song), proving that they’re still one of music’s most eclectic and original bands. - - -MAVIS STAPLES River to River Festival Rockefeller Park in Battery Park City Wednesday, August 1 212-945-0505 rivertorivernyc.org flickr.com/photos/twi-ny/sets/72157601157419828  Mavis Staples sings to the heavens in Rockefeller Park Playing civil-rights-era protest songs from her latest album, We’ll Never Turn Back (Anti-, April 2007), as well as Staple Singers classics, she delighted the audience with her dedication to the power of music. She mixed in strong versions of such songs as "Down in Mississippi," "Jesus Is on the Main Line," "This Little Light," and "On My Way," from the new record, with older favorites and covers, including "The Weight," "For What It’s Worth," and "March Up Freedom’s Highway." She introduced "Why Am I Treated So Bad" by talking about the impact the Little Rock 9 had on her father, Pops, who wrote the song after watching the girls defy authority on TV. Even though she can’t quite hit all the notes she used to and her backing band is merely average, she still has a marvelous voice and a great sense of humor; "You know, when you moan," she said at one point, "the devil don’t know what you’re talking about." Staples ended the set with "Respect Yourself" and the audience sing-along "I’ll Take You There" before coming out for two encores, concluding with "Will the Circle Be Unbroken," an appropriate finale that brought everything together. - - -ANTIBALAS / OGANS River to River Festival Governors Island Saturday, August 4 lmcc.net/art/programs/2007.8.4inthepocket/index.html flickr.com/photos/twi-ny/sets/72157601223266461  Amayo gets ’em up and dancing on Governors Island On August 4 on Governors Island as part of the River to River Festival’s In the Pocket series, sponsored by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Antibalas, which means "bulletproof" in Spanish, played a joyful set to excited fans who danced through the entire (and too-brief) hour-long set, which featured songs from the band’s latest album, Security (Anti-, March 2007). The wild Amayo, in his trademark face paint, was as charismatic as ever on percussion and vocals, prancing across the stage, jumping into the crowd, and calling for "endless resistance" against the current administration and the war, imploring people to "block the gates if you have to, because it never ends." Grooving their way through such highlights as "Pay Back Africa," "I.C.E.," and "Beaten Metal" were baritone saxophonist Martin Perna, keyboardist Victor Axelrod, tenor saxophonist Stuart Bogie, shekere player Marcus Farrar, bassist Nick Movshon, and drummer Chris Vatalaro, among others in the 13-piece band. Opening the show was Ogans, performing the Afro-Brazilian music and dance of Bahia on such tunes as "A Procura de Deus," "Berimbau Metalizado," Balance," and "O Homem Amarelo," in which they sent all the people dancing up front to the back, then had them charge the stage. - - -THE HOLD STEADY Celebrate Brooklyn Prospect Park Bandshell Thursday, August 9 718-855-7882 theholdsteady.com flickr.com/photos/twi-ny/sets/72157601350261318  The Hold Steady returns home to Brooklyn on August 9 for concert The five-piece band opened with "Stuck Between Stations," which includes the hauntingly prophetic lines "These twin cities / sound like clicks and hisses / And we all come down and drown in the Mississippi River," and continued with such great tunes as "Hot Soft Light," "Same Kooks," "Your Little Hoodrat Friend," "First Night," "Stevie Nix," and "Chips Ahoy!" Finn, sweat pouring down, rambled across the stage, mike stand in hand, shuffling between guitarist Tad Kubler, bass player Galen Polivka, drummer Bobby Drake, and keyboardist Franz Nicolay, screaming out at the audience, jumping up and down, and spreading his arms out wide, welcoming the adoration with a shy smile. Finn came out for the encores in a Kent Hrbek Minnesota Twins jersey, claiming that Hrbek had recently given it to him during a fishing outing. The band closed this killer party with "Killer Parties," in which Finn sings, "If she says we partied / then I’m pretty sure we partied / I really don’t remember / I remember we departed from our bodies." The Hold Steady will be back September 17 to put on another killer party, playing a free show at 7 World Trade Center plaza with Old 97’s and Illinois; don’t miss it. - - -THE NATIONAL River to River Festival South Street Seaport, Pier 17 Friday, August 17 Admission: free 212-528-2733 americanmary.com flickr.com/photos/organize/?start_tab=one_set72157601581623917  The National gave a great performance despite the downpour Originally from Cincinnati, the National are in the midst of a world tour in support of their latest album, the well-received Boxer (Beggars Banquet, May 2007). Live, brothers Aaron and Bryce Dessner on guitars (and occasional keyboards), Davendorf brothers Scott on bass and Bryan on drums, and Padma Newsome on keyboards and fiddles display fine craftsmanship, strong melodies, and cool hooks not laden down with standard bridges and choruses. Lead singer Matt Berninger, gripping the mic to his face like he never wants to let go, warbles heartfelt if obtuse lyrics about love gone wrong, gone missing, filled with mistakes, his eyes shut tight as if he can’t bear to look. The way he holds the mic is reminiscent of the Psychedelic Furs’ Richard Butler, adding a casual elegance and intelligence to the music. Starting things off with a triple shot of “Start a War,” “Mistaken for Strangers,” and “Secret Meeting,” the National pulled the huge crowd right in; as the set continued (with such songs as “Abel,” “Squalor Victoria,” and “Apartment Story”), band members switched instruments, a pair of horns were added, and Berninger balanced dangerously on top of the monitors. “I don’t have any questions / I don’t think it’s gonna rain / You were right about the end / It didn’t make a difference,” Berninger sings on “Daughters of the SoHo Riots,” from 2005’s Alligator; as the crowd walked out into the darkening summer night, there were no questions left, nor rain, and everything was right.
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