Cherie Currie Playing NYC in November; Tickets on Sale Friday

It's been a long time coming but Cherie Currie, who gained fame as the lead singer of The Runaways, is touring again, and will play New York's Gramercy Theatre on November 6th. Tickets are $33.50 with fees and go on sale Friday at 10 a.m.

 Cherie Currie (holding microphone) at a promotional appearance for the movie "The Runaways" with (left to right) Floria Sigismondi (the film's director), Dakota Fanning (who plays Curie in the movie), and Kristen Stewart (who plays Joan Jett). Photo: Jon Lebkowsky (weblogsky) on Flickr. CC-BY-SA-2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The Runaways were a trailblazer for having an all-female lineup, and after Currie left the group she released a few albums on her own, including one with her twin sister Marie. And she gained attention for her acting in the movie "Foxes," opposite Jodie Foster.

But Currie spent limited time in the public eye after that, save for occasional roles in TV in film (including the "Twilight Zone" movie and episodes of "Murder, She Wrote" and "Matlock"). She re-emerged in people's consciousness a few years back when doing appearances and interviews in connection with the movie "The Runaways." Other than that, she's been content to lead a relatively quiet life, creating wooden works of art with a chainsaw... until now.
Fortunately for music fans, Currie is hitting the road again. She played a few dates in May and will be touring throughout the U.S. during August. She may well have other dates in November in addition to the New York gig.

It's not known if has been recording any new music to play on this tour, but in any case it's great to see one of the pioneers in female rock playing out again. Welcome back, Cherie Currie!

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Other notable New York concerts going on sale soon:

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Restavrant at Warsaw, Fri., Oct. 4th. On sale Friday at 10 a.m.

Brian Wilson and Jeff Beck at the Beacon Theatre, with Al Jardine and David Marks, Tues., Oct. 15th. On sale Friday at 12 Noon.

On sale now:
The Both (Aimee Mann and Ted Leo) at Warsaw, Wed., Sept. 11th.

Concert Notes: Tickets for Garbage, Iron & Wine, Son Volt, & More on Sale Friday

There are plenty of good shows going on sale Friday, including Garbage booking a second appearance in the NYC area at Monclair's Wellmont Theatre, Robyn Hitchock playing Webster Hall (with R.E.M.'s Peter Buck opening), Iron & Wine performing at the Beacon, and Son Volt returning for two shows, one at Bowery Ballroom and one in Williamsburg.

Garbage returns to the NYC area with a show at the Wellmont.

And one of the first outdoor concerts of the summer appears, with tickets for July's Celebrate Brooklyn show with Belle & Sebastian and Yo La Tengo going on sale tomorrow.

* Garbage at the Wellmont Theatre (Montclair, NJ), Wed., March 20th. On sale Friday at 12 Noon

* Marnie Stern at Music Hall of Williamsburg, Thurs., April 11th. On sale Friday at 12 Noon

* Born Ruffians at Bowery Ballroom, Tues., April 16th (on sale Friday at 12 Noon) and at Maxwell's, Thurs., April 18th (on sale now).

* Aimee Mann at Union County Performing Arts Center (Rahway, NJ), Tues., April 23rd. On sale Friday at 11 a.m.

* Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3 at Webster Hall, Fri., April 26th, with Peter Buck opening. On sale Friday at 12 Noon
Tedeschi Trucks Band at New Jersey Performing Arts Center (Newark), Sat., April 27th. On sale Friday at 10 a.m.

* Volbeat at the Wellmont Theatre, Thurs., May 2nd, with All That Remains and Eye Empire. On sale Friday at 12 Noon

* Iron and Wine at the Beacon Theatre, with the Secret Sisters, Tues., May 14th. On sale Friday at 11 a.m.

* Son Volt at Bowery Ballroom, Fri., June 14th, and at Music Hall of Williamsburg, Sat., June 15th. On sale Friday at 12 Noon

* Belle & Sebastian with Yo La Tengo at Celebrate Brooklyn, Thurs., July 11th. On sale Friday at 12 Noon

Concert Notes: Tickets for The Postal Service, Mudhoney, fun., Aimee Mann, & More on Sale This Weekend

Just a quick post here with links to a bunch of interesting concerts going on sale Friday, Feb. 16th, and a few that go up for grabs Saturday. Among the offerings: 'the innovative 70s-and-beyond rock performer and producer Todd Rundgren, !!!, Foals, Youth Lagoon, the return of Mudhoney, and Kurt Vile.

fun. plays two summer nights in July with Tegan and Sara.

Also, The Postal Service has added another show at the Barclays Center; Aimee Mann returns to New York; and fun., fresh off its Grammy wins, will play two shows in July at Pier 26 on the Hudson River (with Tegan and Sara on the bill).

Enjoy...

* Scott Weiland at Irving Plaza: Celebrating STP Core and Purple in their entirety, Sat., March 9th. On sale Friday at 10 a.m.
* Todd Rundgren at Gramercy Theatre, Fri,. May 10th. On sale Friday at 10 a.m.
* !!! at Bowery Ballroom, Fri., May 17th. On sale Friday at 12 Noon
* Ben Howard at Central Park SummerStage, with very special guest Michael Kiwanuka, Monday, July 29th. On sale Friday at 12 Noon
* Foals at Terminal 5, Friday, May 3rd. On sale Friday at 12 Noon
* Youth Lagoon with Eddi Front at Bowery Ballroom, Wed., March 6th. On sale Friday at 12 Noon
* The Virgins and Har Mar Superstar at Bowery Ballroom, Mon., April 1st. On sale Friday at 12 Noon
* Aimee Mann at Webster Hall, Sat., April 20th. On sale Friday at 12 Noon
* Kurt Vile and the Violators at Bowery Ballroom, with Angel Olsen and Steve Gunn, Thurs., May 16th. On sale Friday at 12 Noon
* Mudhoney at Music Hall of Williamsburg, Sat., May 11th, and at Bowery Ballroom, Sun., May 12th. Both on sale Friday at 12 Noon

On Sale Saturday February 16 at 12 Noon:
* The Postal Service at the Barclays Center, Sat., June 15th.
* fun. at Pier 26 at Hudson River Park, Mon., July 22nd and Tues., July 23rd.

Aimee Mann Plays Town Hall; Other NYC Shows Up in the Air [UPDATED]

At the first of her planned three-night run of shows in New York, Aimee Mann displayed the catchy tunes and clever, intelligent lyrics that have made her a favorite among fans and fellow musicians alike. As expected, she played much of her new album, "Charmer,"while also including songs from her previous discs, including "4th of July," "Goodbye Caroline," and her cover of the Three Dog Night single, "One" (from the "Magnolia" soundtrack).

Aimee Mann at Town Hall Saturday.

Mann's wry sense of humor is also evident in some of her videos, most recently the one for the title track from "Charmer," in which Mann seeks to sidestep the grind of touring by buying a look-alike robot (played by Laura Linney) to go out on the road for her. (See video below.)

No doubt much of the credit goes to the video's director, Tom Scharpling (the legendary host of WFMU's "The Best Show"), but kudos to Mann for, at the very least, agreeing to go along with the wacky idea.

Opening act Ted Leo performed a set of songs solo on electric guitar. Also he did a fine job on his own, try to catch Leo playing with his band The Pharmacists, who provide a rocking background to Leo's literate lyrics.  

NOTE: Mann and Leo are scheduled to perform Monday at Bowery Ballroom (sold out) and Tuesday at Music Hall of Williamsburg (tickets still available), but this is subject to change due to the impending arrival of Hurricane Sandy in the New York area Monday. [UPDATE: Monday's show at Bowery Ballroom has been postponed; it will now be held Wed., Oct. 31st.]

(Apologies for the short post, but we're preoccupied with hurricane preparations here on the East Coast, and the few photos taken at the show didn't come out well.)

Aimee Mann and band at Town Hall.

Now Streaming: New CDs from Aimee Man, Dinosaur Jr., Amanda Palmer, Band of Horses, & More

The Fall parade of hot new albums streaming continues this week, headlined by releases from Aimee Mann, Dinosaur Jr., Band of Horses, The Raveonettes, Amanda Palmer, Grizzly Bear, The Sea and Cake, and more. [JUST ADDED: the new album by the Corin Tucker Band, the second release by the former Sleater-Kinney member.]



It's good to see a new release from Aimee Mann, and the video for the title track from "Charmer" (directed by Tom Scharpling, above) is lots of fun, starring Laura Linney as a Mann body double that the singer sends out on tour.

As you've no doubt heard, Amanda Palmer's "Theatre Is Evil" is the release she funded by raising more than a million dollars on Kickstarter. If you signed up, you may be getting all kinds of swag from Palmer, or (like me) you just kicked in one dollar, which nevertheless gets you a free digital download of the entire album. So what's it sound like? Find out by listening on Spinner below.

As always, check the individual sites for more releases (especially from Spinner, which typically has at least a couple of dozen new albums each week).

CBC:
"Mirage Rock" by Band of Horses

Stereogum:
"Kill My Blues" by the Corin Tucker Band

KCRW Album Preview: 
"The Runner" by The Sea and Cake

NPR First Listen:
"Charmer" by Aimee Mann
"I Bet on Sky" by Dinosaur Jr.
"Shields" by Grizzly Bear

Spinner.com's Listening Party:
"Theatre Is Evil" by Amanda Palmer & The Grand Theft Orchestra
"Observator" by The Raveonettes
"Negotiations" by The Helio Sequence
"Palindrome Hunches" by Neil Halstead
"Butter" by Turbo Fruits
"Scorpion" by Will Johnson
"A Tear in the Eye Is a Wound in the Heart" by Black Prairie
"We Were Always Loyal to Lost Causes" by The Dandelion War
"Grow Up" by Mister Loveless
"Inner Classic" by Snowblink

New Songs & Videos: Japandroids, Aimee Mann, Redd Kross, Dum Dum Girls

New songs and videos are busting out all over... and you can download some of 'em free. Here's what's new:

* Watch the Japandroids' new video for "The House That Heaven Built," from their new album "Celebration Rock"



* Watch the Tom Scharpling-directed video for Aimee Mann's "Charmers," from her album of the same name (sorry, the embed code won't work for some reason, so you'll have to view it at the NPR website here.) The video, which has a cameo by John Hodgman, features Mann teaching a robot double of herself (acclaimed actress Laura Linney) to take over for her and go on tour. Download Aimee Mann's "Charmers" (right-click and choose "Save As" or "Save Link As")

* Download "Lord Knows" by the Dum Dum Girls, from their forthcoming EP "End of Daze"(via Pitchfork)

 

Also from Pitchfork, see DDG performing "Tunnelvision" live at the Echoplex in L.A....

* Watch video of Grimes performing "Genesis" on Jimmy Fallon last night:

Concert Notes: Jack White, Matt & Kim, Aimee Mann, Brandi Carlile, & More on Sale Friday

There's another big slate of concert tickets going on sale Friday, including Jack White coming back to the New York area and the return of a number of veteran bands: New Order, Public Image Ltd.,  and Primus and, going back even further, folk-rock veterans Crosby, Stills, & Nash.


Jack White's video for "Freedom at 21."

[UPDATE: The Sept. 29th Jack White show sold out quickly  (no surprise there), but a second show has been added for the next night. Tickets for that show are on sale now, and are likely to be snapped up just as quickly. Link to Sept. 30th Jack White tickets.]

Other shows of interest going on sale tomorrow: Matt & Kim, The Mountain Goats, Brandi Carlile, Aimee Mann, Yeasayer,  and more. And one band that I loved seeing live when they opened for The Baseball Project earlier this year: Lee Bains III and The Glory Fires.

On Sale Friday, August 3 at 10 a.m.:
* Sat., 9/29 - Jack White at Radio City Music Hall
* Thurs., Oct. 18 - New Order at Roseland Ballroom
* Sun., 10/28 - Brandi Carlile at Beacon Theatre
* Mon., 10/29 - Brandi Carlile at Beacon Theatre
On Sale Friday at 11 a.m.:
* Tues. and Wed., Oct. 16th & 17th - Crosby, Stills, & Nash at the Beacon Theatre
* Sat., 10/27 - Aimee Mann at Town Hall
On Sale Friday at 12 p.m.:
* Fri., 10/19 - An Evening with Primus in 3D at Hammerstein Ballroom
* Wed., 8/15 - Yeasayer at Music Hall of Williamsburg (will be streamed live on YouTube)
* Sat., 9/1 - (Early Show) The Mynabirds at Mercury Lounge
* Sun., 9/9 - Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires at Mercury Lounge
* Tues., 9/11 - Lianne La Havas at Bowery Ballroom
* Tues., 10/9 - Public Image Ltd. at Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Sat., 10/13 - Public Image Ltd. at Hammerstein Ballroom
* Sun., 10/14 - The Mountains Goats at Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Mon., 10/15 - The Mountains Goats at Bowery Ballroom
* Thurs., 11/15 - Matt & Kim at Terminal 5
* Sat., 11/17 - Matt & Kim at Wellmont Theatre

"@#%&! Smilers"! Aimee Mann is Back With a New Album

Indie singer-songwriter Aimee Mann is out with "@#%&! Smilers," her first album in three years, and though I haven't heard much of it yet it's been getting good reviews. Billboard, for one, praises the CD (which came out on June 3rd) as "her most compelling album to date" (though it misspells her name "Amy").

The title is a tongue-in-cheek swipe at people who encourage others to put on a happy face, and fits in with Mann's slightly jaded view of life, love, and the music business. Of course, she's perfectly justified in the latter: while some artists can point to being dropped by their labels or had an album held up in limbo, Mann has been through numerous nightmares with labels and record execs. Happily, she finally started up her own record label, SuperEgo Records, a number of years ago, and has control over her work.

Starting her own label is just one of the do-it-yourself actions Mann has taken; she also began using email to keep in touch with fans earlier than other artists, and has had several different podcast series devoted to her musical projects.

From what I've heard of "@#%&! Smilers," Aimee Mann is still in good form as a songwriter, combining wry lyrics with the kind of catchy pop-rock melodies that attracted attention when she was with Til Tuesday, singing the '80s megahit "Voices Carry." A Billboard article notes that Mann herself admits that the new CD is "one of her most 'smiley' to date."

But apparently there's no need for fans to worry that Aimee Mann is going soft on us (after all, she has even given in to one of the most time-honored music biz traditions and made a Christmas album), but the new CD does have some songs with bite, like "Thirty One Today."

I can't wait to hear the rest of the album.