Recap: "A Loveletter to New York" Show at City Winery

It was a great night of music Tuesday night at City Winery, with about a dozen acts (and various backing musicians) playing a benefit to raise funds for victims of Hurricane Sandy.

Despite all the talent that took the stage, the event, called "A Loveletter to New York," had the relaxed feel of a coffeehouse concert. Some artists sang and played guitar, while others performed with only one or two additional players, rather than the full band that might otherwise accompany them.

Jesse Malin (right) at Tuesday's show.

For me, this was a plus: the low-key, mostly acoustic setting meant that there was no downtime between acts for hauling amps, drums, etc. on and off the stage. So the performers got to spend a maximum amount of time singing and playing.

Each artist did two or three songs, and I got to see performances by acts that I'd heard of for years but had never before seen (Sasha Dobson, Ari Hest, Alberta Cross, and most of all, Nicole Atkins), as well as artists I'd seen before and enjoyed (Joan Osborne, Jesse Malin, and Matisyahu). And there were some performers who were new to me: Kevin Devine, Chris Ayer, Lesley Pike, and Bobby Long.

Matisyahu, one of the Tuesday's crowd favorites.

There were many highlights; among them: Jesse Malin rocking the crowd with "If I Should Fall from Grace with God" and "Burning on the Bowery"; Ari Hest singing "The Wake"; and Matisyahu (backed with guitar and stand-up bass) doing "Crossroads," "Live Like a Warrior," and "Happy Hanukkah."

The last two acts were Nicole Atkins and Joan Osborne, and they lived up to what amounted to headline billing. Accompanying herself on guitar, Atkins sang with a voice full of emotion as she did two of her songs, including "Neptune City" (the ode to her Jersey Shore hometown), and a cover of Roy Orbison's "Crying."

Most of the evening's musicians take the stage for the night's finale.

I had seen Joan Osborne once before, maybe a decade or so ago, and last night her voice sounded as good as it did before. I haven't kept up with her album releases since then other than hearing a tune or two on WFUV, so I was glad that two of the three songs she did were from her first album, "Relish": "St. Teresa" and her ubiquitous hit, "One of Us."

The show ended with most of the musicians returning to the stage to perform "Silent Night" and the Beatles' "In My Life," a beautiful and fitting pair of songs considering both the time of year and the concert's occasion, about seeking peace and recalling the people and places that are special to us. All in all, it was a fine concert featuring a great line-up of experienced artists.

The concert was webcast live, and an emcee at the show said some of the songs would be released on an album (no specifics yet on where or when).
 
All proceeds from "A Loveletter to New York" were to benefit the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, a charity set up in memory of FDNY firefighter Stephen Siller, who perished in the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.

Matisyahu, Joan Osborne, Nicole Atkins, & Many More Playing Sandy Benefit Tues. at City Winery

Matisyahu has been added to what was already a great Hurricane Sandy benefit show at City Winery Tuesday, Dec. 18th, the venue announced Monday. The show, called "A Loveletter to New York," features a lot of artists who either live in the City or have close connections to it. [Update: Matisyahu announced today on his Twitter account that he will be performing three acoustic songs at the show.}

Lots of musicians with an NYC connection play a benefit at City Winery.

On the bill are Joan Osborne, Ari Hest, Nicole Atkins (who recently recorded a new version of her song "Neptune City" as a benefit), Alberta Cross, Bobby Long, Kevin Devine, Sasha Dobson, Jesse Malin, and Chris Ayer, as well as what City Winery is billing as "many more VERY big surprise guests."

Matisyahu, the international rap-reggae star, is a native of the NYC area, and performed at Terminal 5 this past Saturday.

There are still tickets available for "A Loveletter to New York," ranging from $35 to $65. The concert is listed as starting at 7 p.m. The show benefits the Tunnel to Towers foundation.

Another talent-packed with a local flavor takes place on Thursday, only this time "local" means the Hoboken/north Jersey area. Maxwell's is the site for the Holiday Banding concert, which features performances by Chris Butler, Tammy Faye Startlite, Julio Fernandez, The Gefkens, Abbe Rivers, Karen Kuhl, Jack Skuller, Dave Calamoneri, The Cucumbers with Jon & Deena, Lloyd Gold, Bianca Bob, Gene Turonis, Emily Turonis & The Ideals, Sputnik, Jim Testa, AnnaLee Van Kleeck, and Tom Vincent & The Holiday Banding House Band.

The show starts at 7 p.m., costs only $7, and all sales will benefit Rebuild Hoboken.

Photos: Matisyahu at Terminal 5, Dec. 15th

Matisyahu rang out the final night of Hanukkah with a bang Saturday night, Dec. 15th at New York's Terminal 5. With his solid three-piece band and several guest musicians and rappers, he skipped the acoustic songs he's been doing on a number of dates on his "Festival of Lights" tour and kept the set rocking.

Matisyahu on stage at Terminal 5.

Performing in front of a large blow-up of the child's face seen on the cover of his latest album, "Spark Seeker," Matisyahu did his best to create a festive holiday atmosphere in the cavernous venue on the eighth night of Hanukkah. A disco ball shaped like a dreidel hung from the ceiling and there was a giant menorah on stage, which was lit by a young child (with some help from the Matisyahu) that the singer called up from the audience.

The set, which lasted nearly an hour and forty minutes, included a couple of staples of Matisyahu performances: a dive into the audience for some crowd surfing, and the singer pulling audience members up on stage to dance during the final song of the evening.

Matisyahu was no doubt in a good mood because of the holiday, but in the two times I've seen him live he seems to perform with a joy that's contagious. Nobody knows where his spiritual and life journey will end up, but he's sure enjoying the trip—and wants everyone else to, as well.

Matisyahu on stage...

...and surfing in the crowd.

Matisyahu and fans on stage during the concert's finale.

Stones Add Guests to Their Sat. NJ Show; Yo La Tengo are Rocking Maxwell's; More

It's pretty quiet again on the streaming-album front this week, so we'll focus on other musical goings-on (particularly live shows) in today's post.

The 800-pound-gorilla of rock & roll comes to Newark this week.

As we mentioned last week, the Rolling Stones have been added to Wednesday's blockbuster 12/12/12 concert, and now the Stones have announced that some big-name special guests will be joining them at their NJ concerts this week (the 13th and 15th at the Prudential Center in Newark): Bruce Springsteen, The Black Keys, and Lady Gaga. [Update: It sounds like these special guests may only be at the concert on the 15th, which the Stones will televise on pay-per-view on many cable/satellite systems.]

(Speaking of the 12/12/12 concert, it's estimated that it's televised presentation will now be available to as many as two billion people. It will be shown on countless websites and TV stations, including PBS, MTV, and many others in the U.S. Good news, since tickets have been listed on StubHub for as much as $36,000 each for floor tickets.)

Another multi-night stand is now underway in Hoboken, though one on a much smaller scale: Yo La Tengo's annual Eight Nights of Hanukkah at Maxwell's. For those counting, tonight is night three, and if you didn't score tickets to any of the sold-out shows, you can follow allow on the band's tour diary. Part of the fun is finding out who the special guests will be, and here's the roster so far: the Raybeats on Saturday, Sun Ra Arkestra Sunday night, and The Feelies tonight.

Note: You can download the first two nights of the Yo La Tengo shows (and possibly more later on) from NYC Taper at www.nyctaper.com. The sets by the comedians and the opening musicians aren't available.

Another way to get a Yo La Tengo fix if you can't be at Maxwell's is to read Jesse Jarnow's book, "Big Day Coming: Yo La Tengo and the Rise of Indie Rock."Jarnow is a freelance writer and a DJ at famed freeform radio station WFMU, where YLT has played many times.


Matisyahu plays in NYC on Saturday.

Also this week, Matisyahu plays Terminal 5 on Saturday with his full band (surprisingly, tickets are still available). And New York's Nada Surf plays twice at Bowery Ballroom, on Friday and Saturday. (Saturday's show sold out, but there are tickets available for Friday. And there are tickets for both shows available from brokers, some selling for below face value.)

There's lots of great pre-holiday live music out there, get out and enjoy it...

Concert Notes: Matisyahu, Purity Ring, Fun., & More On Sale Friday

Tickets go on sale tomorrow for concerts reaching all the way into next April, including indie acts such as Matisyahu, !!!, and Purity Ring as well as mega-sellers fun. and Muse. Most of them go on sale at 12 Noon, but check below for specific times. (Purity Ring went on sale yesterday.)

Matisyahu's Festival of Light tour makes two stops in the NY area.

* Hollerado at Mercury Lounge, Wed., Nov. 7th (late show). On sale: Oct. 12th, 12 Noon

* Rosie Flores and Marti Brom at Mercury Lounge, Wed., Nov. 14th. On sale: Oct. 12th, 12 Noon

* !!! and Sinkane at Music Hall of Williamsburg, Thurs., Dec. 13th. On sale: Oct. 12th, 12 Noon

* Matisyahu: Festival of Light at Terminal 5, Sat., Dec. 15th and Capitol Theatre in Port Chester (acoustic), Sun., Dec. 16th. Both on sale: Oct. 12th, 12 Noon

* Purity Ring and Young Magic at Webster Hall, Fri., Jan, 11th. On sale now.

* Keane with special guest Youngblood Hawke at Radio City Music Hall, Thurs., Jan. 31st. On sale: Oct. 12th, 11 a.m.

* fun. at Radio City Music Hall, Sat., Feb. 2nd. On sale: Oct. 12th, 12 Noon

* Bear in Heaven with Small Black and ERAAS at Music Hall of Williamsburg, Wed., Dec. 5th. On sale: Oct. 12th, 12 Noon

* Muse at Madison Square Garden, Mon., April 15th and IZOD Center, Fri., April 19th. On sale: Oct. 12th, 9 a.m. [UPDATE: Second Muse show at MSG added April 16th; tickets on sale now here.]

This Weekend: Black Keys, Snoop Dogg, Girl Talk, & Many More at Catalpa NYC Festival

The inaugural Catalpa NYC festival takes place this weekend.

There's a new festival in town, and it takes place this weekend: the Catalpa NYC Music Festival, featuring The Black Keys, Snoop Dogg, TV on the Radio, Matisyahu, Umphrey's McGee, Matt & Kim, and many more. The event takes place on Randall's Island, site of many other multi-day music events. And as you'll see from the lineup, Catalpa NYC blends rock, hip-hop, reggae, blues, and electronic music into one festival.

There are four stages, including a reggae stage that offers live music throughout the day. See the Catalpa NYC event info page for FAQs, full lineup, directions, venue map, and much more. Here's the lineup for the three main stages of Catalpa NYC:

Saturday, July 28th:
The Black Keys - 9:30 to 11 p.m.
Felix Da Housecat - 9:30 to 11
Umphrey's McGee - 8:30 to 9:30
TV on the Radio - 7:45 to 8:45
JDH+Dave P - 7:30 to 8:30
Umphrey's McGee - 6:45 to 7:45
Hercules and Love Affair - 6 to 7
Paul Favretti - 6 to 6:45
The Sheepdogs - 5 to 6
DJ Paul C - 4:15 to 5
Zola Jesus - 4 to 5
The Demos - 3:30 to 4:15
The Aviation Orange - 3 to 3:30
My Pet Dragon - 2:15 to 3
Q1043 winner - 1:30 to 2:15
The Rebel Light - 1 to 1:30

Sunday, July 29th:
Snoop Dogg (performing "Doggystyle") - 9:45 to 11 p.m.
Hellfire Machina - 9:45 to 11
A$AP Rocky - 8:45 to 9:45
Polish Ambassador - 7:45 to 8:45
Girl Talk - 7:45 to 9
AraabMusik - 6:45 to 7:45
Matt & Kim - 6 to 7
Hook N'Sling - 6 to 7
Matisyahu - 5:15 to 6:15
Cold War Kids - 4:30 to 5:30
Alex English - 4:15 to 5:15
Dirty Heads - 3:45 to 4:45
Paul Raffaele - 3 to 4
City and Colour - 3 to 4
The Big Pink - 2:15 to 3
Aunt Martha - 2 to 2:30
The Airplane Boys - 1:30 to 2
Bury Me a Lion - 1 to 1:30

Tickets are $100 for each day, or $180 for both. There are additional fees for ferry and parking options, but you can also take an MTA bus there (the X80 special event bus, $5.50 roundtrip, or less if you transfer from subway or bus with a pay-per-ride MetroCard). You can also walk or ride your bike across the bridge to Randall's Island.

I'll be going at least one of the days, thanks to the folks at the Village Voice (I won a Twitter contest about the Voice-sponsored 4 Knots festival). There are no heat waves, hail storms, or tornadoes forecast for this weekend, so the weather should be good to go. (Might be a little rain, but that's nothing compared to the stuff we've had to deal with so far this summer in the NYC area.)

If you're going to Catalpa NYC, enjoy and leave your comments below on how you liked it.

Now Streaming: New CDs from Gaslight Anthem, Matisyahu, Passion Pit, Purity Ring, & More

New releases by returning favorites and hot new artists take center stage among the albums streaming online this week. New Jersey rockers The Gaslight Anthem return with "Handwritten," the follow-up to 2010's "American Slang." NPR Music's Stephen Thompson says of the band, "You may have heard every ingredient before, but in this particular concoction, they all sound amazing." He adds that, "If there were a psychotropic drug that made users feel like James Dean, "Handwritten" would render it redundant.



Video for "Fineshrine" by Purity Ring.

What else is streaming this week? Former Stereolab singer and guitarist Laetitia Sadier is back with a new collection, her first in two years. There's also the much-anticipated debut album by Canadian electronic duo Purity Ring, who've garnered a lot of buzz based on the few singles they've released.

And a lot of people are looking forward to the latest album by another electronically oriented band, Passion Pit, which made a big splash back in 2008 with its catchy tune "Sleepyhead." (Passion Pit's synthesizer player, Ayad Al Adhamy, played at 4 Knots Saturday with his side project Team Spirit, in which he sings and plays guitar. His name isn't mentioned on the Passion Pit website for the new album, "Gossamer," so I'm not sure if he's left the band or just taking a hiatus to focus on Team Spirit).

Also streaming this week: new albums by singer-songwriter Citizen Cope, punk/electronica band Shout Out Out Out Out, '80s alt-rockers Soul Asylum, and many more. See the websites below for the  complete lineup of albums they're streaming this week.

NPR First Listen:
"Handwritten" by The Gaslight Anthem
"Gossamer" by Passion Pit
"Shrines" by Purity Ring
"Silencio" by Laetitia Sadier

Spinner.com's Listening Party:

"Spark Seeker" by Matisyahu

"One Lovely Day" by Citizen Cope
"Spanish Moss & Total Loss" by Shout Out Out Out Out
"Broken Brights" by Angus Stone
"Go Outside" by Hot Panda
"All of the Unknown" by The Drowning Men
"Milo Greene" by Milo Greene
"19 - Songs for and Inspired By Valencia: Chapter 19" by Jen Schande
"Collective Guilt" by Zebra Tracks
"Fight! Fight! Fight!" by The History of Panic
"Limblifter" by Limblifter

AOL Music Listening Party: 
"Delayed Reaction" by Soul Asylum
"Intrinsic" by The Contortionist
"Trouble With Machines" by District 97
"Proper Cowboy" by Diego's Umbrella

Music Notes: Wild Flag Played Letterman; Matisyahu Shaves His Beard; D Generation to Record; More

Here are some tidbits of music news from far and wide:

• Wild Flag made its network TV debut last night, playing "Romance" on Letterman (video below).

•  Trent Reznor "feels at home" with "Dragon Tattoo": the L.A. Times looks at how the Nine Inch Nails frontman fit right in writing the music for one of the year's most anticipated movies.

• Hasidic rap/reggae star Matisyahu shaved off his trademark beard and posted a photo of his cleanly shorn face on Twitter. He explained on his website that he is "reclaiming himself" from the many rules he used to follow, and tells his fans to "Get ready for an amazing year filled with music of rebirth." 

•  D Generation to record new music: before Jesse Malin was a solo singer-songwriter, he was in the punk band D Generation, which reformed to play a few gigs recently. Now it seems they are going to record some new tunes in 2012. I'm looking forward to seeing what they come up with.

• Rolling Stone's recent issue named its 100 greatest guitarists of all time, but the list was, not surprisingly, short on women. Grrrlbeat.com mentions some of the women axe players that RS forgot.

• Visqueen disbands, but Rachel Flotard plays on: I was sad to hear that the band broke up, but was glad to learn that its leader, Bergen County, NJ native Flotard, is already at work with another project, called Cobirds Unite, with singer-songwriter Rusty Willoughby and others (including Barbara Hunter, Visqueen's cello player).

• Google Music vs. Amazon vs. iTunes: a reporter put the three major cloud music players to the test, telling who came out on top and why.