The Bowery Presents

Music Hall of Williamsburg upcoming shows

RAISE THE ROOF: A Benefit for the Northside Town Hall Community and Cultural Center

Nada Surf (electric) / They Might Be Giants / Charles Bissell (of The Wrens)

special guest DJs

Venue:
Music Hall of Williamsburg
Date:
Wed 10/28
Notes:
18+
Doors: 8:00 PM / Show: 9:00 PM
$25 advance / $25 day of show / $75 VIP ticket *
Tickets
Northside Town Hall
official website
The Northside Town Hall Community and Cultural Center is a joint project of two longtime North Brooklyn neighborhood groups, Neighbors Allied for Good Growth (NAG) and The People's Firehouse, Inc (PFI.) Located on the site of the former Engine Company 212 firehouse in Williamsburg, the firehouse will serve as a home for these organizations to continue to serve, organize, and advocate for the community.



PFI will continue to operate programs in housing/property management, tenant advocacy, energy efficiency and home weatherization, fire prevention assistance, workforce development services, computer training, and English as a Second Language.



NAG will operate ongoing programs in the areas of community planning and development, preserving local jobs, improving the State Park (whose establishment NAG led), fighting against low-income tenant displacement and harassment, assuring that local construction is performed safely and legally, and other issues to help preserve and enhance the community.


* VIP tickets include special seating, hors d'ouvres and wine from Red Tail Ridge Winery. (http://www.redtailridgewinery.com)
Nada Surf
official website
myspace
Nada Surf bring their trademark sense of harmony and musical craftsmanship to 12 of their favorite songs with their latest release, if i had a hi-fi, their first album of covers. Only a group with their wide-ranging and eclectic taste could bring songs from such artists as Kate Bush, Dwight Twilley and the Go-Betweens together into a coherent, intelligent record. hi-fi also includes some intriguingly obscure numbers like Spanish band Mecromina’s “Evolution” and Bill Fox’s power-pop “Electrocution.”

Although a great deal of thought went into the song selections, the band’s intent is not to make an overarching musical statement. Singer-guitarist Matthew Caws says, “We really just wanted to do it organically, whatever we felt like covering in the moment, rather than trying to sum up our influences or something. It’s whatever we were excited about in the months before making it. And I think we got to everything we wanted to.” The result is both inspired and casual, like a conversation with a friend who shares your taste but also pushes your musical boundaries. A vintage Moody Blues tune, the proto-prog tempo-shifting “Question,” shares space with The Soft Pack’s blissfully rudimentary “Bright Side,” Depeche Mode’s grand “Enjoy the Silence,” and experimental music icon Arthur Russell’s terse but sweet “Janine.”

Although the band had just returned from a worldwide tour in support of their 2008 release Lucky, and had looked forward to some time off, if i had a hi-fi mysteriously reenergized them. “The material came together spontaneously,” says Caws. “We'd get together and kick ideas around and soon we had an A list, a B list, a C list.... .” They're particularly proud of the title, which is both a callback to the musical platform of their youth and a palindrome.

if i had a hi-fi was recorded over three weeks in September at Resonate Studios in Austin, TX with long-time collaborator and part-time keyboardist Louie Lino. Fans who attend shows during the spring tour will be able to get their hands on the record before it’s in stores, offering true believers the opportunity for a double-first: hearing the songs for the first time and being able to take them home.

The tour begins March 25th with three “Album Shows” in NYC. On consecutive nights, Nada Surf will perform their three most recent albums: Let Go, The Weight Is A Gift, and Lucky in full, along with songs from if i had a hi-fi, fan favorites and b-sides. The band will then continue on to cover both the East and West coasts.
They Might Be Giants
official website
myspace
HERE COMES SCIENCE!

For alternative rock legends They Might Be Giants, rave reviews from the likes of Time Magazine, Rolling Stone, The Village Voice, Pitchfork, NPR and beyond might not be that unexpected, but we're not talking about their regular gig here. Sure, TMBG have sold millions of records, are multi-Grammy winners and have even composed a musical accompaniment for an entire issue of McSweeney's, but these most recent accolades are for the work TMBG has created for children and--as the reviews attest--no other band swings as effortlessly from adult music to children’s fare and back again with the artistic and commercial success of They Might Be Giants.

John Flansburgh and John Linnell's latest CD/DVD is Here Comes Science (Idlewild/Disney Sound). It's an ultra-vivid crash course through topics that in lesser hands could easily put kids to sleep. With rock anthems and electronic goodies crafted to amuse, intrigue and deliver the 4-1-1 on evolution, solar system, photosynthesis, the scientific method and more. Following Here Comes the ABCs and Here Come the 123s, Science is geared for older kids and it introduces ideas in a way that not only inform but will stay in your head forever.

While it may seem like an odd move for a duo recognized as the progenitors of the American alternative rock movement, it really all makes perfect sense. From their earliest days with Dial-A-Song through their online music distribution, TMBG have always challenged rock's status quo and gone out of their way to take their music to brand new audiences, and by the looks of things, they’re having a lot of fun doing it their way. The Giants use every bit of fan interactive technology by connecting with kids via regular podcasts and including a DVD of delightful animated interpretations of their songs with each Here Comes... album.

The band is constantly working on new music, new projects and touring--sometimes with 2 shows a day. Founders John Flansburgh and John Linnell, along with their long standing live combo of Dan Miller, Danny Weinkauf and Marty Beller, show no signs of swapping one successful gig (adult music) for another (children’s music). Rejoice people of Earth--there’s just that much more for us all to enjoy
Charles Bissell
Charles Bissell is a member of the indie rock band The Wrens. He writes and sings many of their songs, and plays a mean guitar. Also known as Charles Mexico or, at his solo shows, as “Pedal Boy”. This is because as a solo artist, he playes various songs origianally performed by The Wrens (as well as a few covers of artists ranging from Dire Straits to Shinea O’Connor) simply by singing over looped guitars.

The set up of his live show, in fact, is not dissimilar to that of Andrew Bird. This is partially because one of Bissell’s first live solo shows was supporting Andrew Bird, and he admits to have gotten numerous technical pointers from Bird.
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