Feast of Music

Feast of Music @ 5

2012-02-14T19:28:11-05:00

While most of you might see February 14th as a day to give boxed chocolates and roses to your loved ones, I have a whole other reason to celebrate this particular date on the calendar. Namely: it was five years ago today that I penned my very first post for Feast of Music, reviewing the Minnesota Orchestra at Carnegie Hall (back when I used to sit up in the balcony seats.) Thinking back over those 1,600+ posts, it's been quite a ride, with more pure moments of joy and inspiration than any one person should reasonably expect in a lifetime. Fortunately, I've recently managed to finally find some worthy partners - Gabriel, Angela, Caleb, Jordi, Jordan, Don, David, Melissa, three Brians, two Michaels, and a Sky - in this hopelessly futile enterprise to capture the ridiculously rich and diverse live music scene in NYC (and occasionally other places.)

Looking back, I kinda dig what I wrote in that first post five years ago:

"I'm starting Feast of Music with a healthy sense of self-doubt, knowing there is already significant coverage of the New York music scene, both in traditional and non-traditional media. But, after much deliberation, I've come to the conclusion that, while some folks cover some of the things I've seen (and heard) some of the time, no one has managed to capture it all. For myself, then, I wanted to create a scrapbook, something to look back on someday and marvel at the miraculous music scene that existed in the early years of the 21st Century in New York City. I hope it's something others will enjoy as well."

Appropriately enough, I'm on my way back to Carnegie tonight to see Charles Dutoit lead the Philadelphia Orchestra in Frank Martin's Concerto for Seven Wind Instruments, the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto (with James Ehnes), and, for a kicker: Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra. Hope your night out is just as sweet.

Bowery Presents Comes to YouTube

2012-02-14T14:12:37-05:00

"I wish there was a way that I could watch what was happening there from home." (Andy Warhol, on Studio 54)

Well, Andy, it might be 25 years too late for you, but Bowery Presents has has pretty much done exactly that, partnering with Show Cobra to provide live multicamera feeds of a dozen of it's shows on YouTube. The channel will then make the shows available on demand, along with intimate performances and interviews.

First up is the sold-out Sleigh Bells show at Terminal 5 on Friday 2/17; go here to watch.

Yasmin Levy and Omar Faruk Tekbilek at Pace's Schimmel Center This Thursday

2012-02-14T08:08:39-05:00

Pace's Schimmel Center continues it's excellent inaugural Pace Presents season this Thursday, February 16, with a performance by Israeli singer-songwriter Yasmin Levy, who combines traditional Sephardic styles with Flamenco and Mediterranean influences. Her latest album, Sentir, is the fourth since her 2005 debut to be recorded in the Judeo-Spanish language of Ladino, which, while spoken widely throughout medieval Spain and the Mediterranean, is spoken by fewer than 200,000 people today.

Levy will be joined by Turkish multi-instrumentalist Omar Faruk Tekbilek, known throughout the world for his virtuoso playing of such traditional middle-eastern instruments as the ney, oud, saz, darbuka, baglama and zurna. The two will collaborate on material spanning Levy’s discography, as well as Tekbilek's own material. Tickets available at the Schimmel Center box office or online.

Rory Sullivan CD Release Show at Arlene's Grocery

2012-02-13T20:11:15-05:00

By Jordi Oliveres

Folk singer/songwriter’s today face the challenge of writing original songs in a musical style with as many conventions as baroque choral music. (By "original," I mean: without folksy sentimentality.) Rory Sullivan clearly realizes this and, although sometimes he treads a bit too closely to the insipid clichés of his genre, last Saturday night at Arlene’s Grocery he and his band, The Second Season, demonstrated that traditionally written folk tunes, when expertly delivered, can still sound fresh.

The occasion for the concert was the release of Rory Sullivan’s sophomore album, Rory Sullivan and The Second Season. In the spirit of any respectable CD release show, the new album was performed in its entirety, with an Allman Brothers cover (“Midnight Rider”) thrown in for an encore. While some of the earlier songs in the set like “Ride the Rails” sounded like an oddly mellow version of The Who's “Baba O’Riley,” others, like “Clearing Arizona” - featuring one of the best pre-chorus chord progressions ever played within the beer-stained walls of Arlene’s Grocery - had an exciting edge and sophistication.

The Second Season are Ryan Gleason on bass, Mutt Musty on drums, Tommy Bohlen on pedal steel, and Alvaro Kapaz on guitar. Mutt and Ryan sing impeccable harmonies and their grooves lock as tightly as their voices. Kapaz showed off his solo skills on “I Can’t Love You,” but spent most of the show playing tasteful licks and enjoying the taste of his gum. And Bohlen seems to understand that the key to pedal steel playing, like drinking, is moderation.

But the show was really about Rory, and the night’s finest moment was his solo performance of “Next to Me.” Lush guitar harmonies, beautiful lyrics, and powerful singing had everyone in the room hypnotized. In a style of music that can sometimes feel passé, Rory Sullivan makes it clear that there are still great folk songs to be written.