Concerts On Sale: Wild Flag, Jeff Mangum, Glen Campbell, Jane Birkin, & More

Glen Campbell received an all-star tribute at the CMA Awards last night, and you can see him live when his farewell tour comes to New York.

Whatever your taste in popular music, there's something you're bound to like in terms of concerts coming to the New York area in the next few weeks (and months). A lot of these shows go on sale tomorrow and tickets are sure to sell quickly, so you might want to note the on-sale times for the best selection.

Wild Flag plays at Webster Hall, April 1st, 2012, and no, it's not an April Fool's joke. The immensely popular all-female rock band is returning to NYC, and in a bigger venue, after three smash shows last month. On sale: Friday, Nov. 11th, 12 Noon.

Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel returns to the area after two recent sold-out shows at the Loews Theatre in Jersey City. He'll do two concerts at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on Fri., Jan. 20th and Sat. the 21st. On sale: Nov. 11th, 10 a.m.

Nada Surf is touring again and will be at Webster Hall on April 7th (their Jan. 24th show is sold out). Coincidentally, Jan. 24 is the day their latest album, "The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy," comes out. (You can download a song from the album, "When I Was Young," at their website.) On sale date for the April 7th show: Nov. 11th, 12 Noon.

New Jersey native Sharon Van Etten will play two NYC shows, at the Music Hall of Williamsburg on Feb. 24th and Bowery Ballroom on the 25th. Shearwater opens on both dates. On sale: Nov. 11th, 12 Noon.

Country/pop legend Glen Campbell, who has Alzheimer's disease, is making his farewell concert tour, and it stops at Town Hall on Sat., Jan. 7th. Campbell received a moving tribute at the CMA Awards last night, and tickets for "Glen Campbell: The Goodbye Tour" go on sale Nov. 11th at 11 a.m. You can download the title song from his new (and final) album, "Ghost On the Canvas," at Glen Campbell's website.)

Another legend, British singer Jane Birkin, is touring again, singing the songs of her late husband Serge Gainsbourg. The worldwide tour, described as "Serge Gainsbourg and Jane via Japan," stops at Town Hall on Sun., Dec. 11th, and tickets are on sale now. (See Jane Birkin's recounting of the reasons for the tour here. It isn't quite clear to me, except that she's touring with a group of Japanese musicians and it's somehow related to helping that country heal from the earthquake and tsunami of earlier this year.)

Tickets for many other shows went on sale today; check venue websites or Bowery Presents for the shows they promote, including those at Bowery Ballroom, Terminal 5, Mercury Lounge, the Wellmont Theatre, etc.

Intriguing Music Films at 2010 Tribeca Film Festival

Above: Andy Serkis stars as late punk rocker Ian Dury in the biopic "sex & drugs & rock & roll."

The annual Tribeca Film Festival opens today (or tomorrow, officially) and as usual there's an interesting assortment of music-related films. As a TFF volunteer, I'm hoping to see free screenings of some of these movies in between my shifts. Here are some of the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival music films that I'm most interested in seeing.

"sex & drugs & rock & roll" stars Andy Serkis as the late British punk rock singer Ian Dury, best known for his wacky songs "Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick," "Reasons to Be Cheerful, Part 3," and of course "Sex and Drugs and Rock & Roll." 

I've been a fan of Dury since my days as a college radio DJ, when I played those and other songs by Dury and his band, The Blockheads. I didn't know anything about his battle with polio or the effects his musical success had on his life, so I definitely want to catch this movie. 

After first hearing Serge Gainsbourg's songs a decade ago, I've become fascinated with his life and career. "Gainsbourg, Je t'Aime... Moi Non Plus" examines the French crooner's life, from his youth in wartime Paris to his emergence as a provocative, sometimes scandalous cultural figure in the wild 1960s. Gainsbourg is best known for his breathy, erotic duets with his wife, British actress Jane Birkin, and with Brigitte Bardot (with whom Gainsbourg had an affair).

Another feature film that sounds interesting is "The Last Play at Shea." The TFF description got my attention: "The intersecting histories of a stadium, a team, and a music legend are examined in a documentary that charts the ups and downs of the New York Mets and the life and career of Long Island native Billy Joel, the last performer to play Shea Stadium." The film includes concert footage and interviews with Joel and guests as diverse as Tony Bennett and Roger Daltrey. 

"Straight Outta L.A." is another film that examines the intersection of music and sports, in this case between rapper Ice Cube (who directed the film) and the Los Angeles Raiders (who were previously, and are now, the Oakland Raiders). Ice Cube's pioneering group N.W.A. "embraced the Raiders' image, swagger, and style, forever linking the Raiders' heyday in L.A. with the emergence of gangsta rap," says the TFF description. 

The film was produced with or by ESPN, which probably explains its short running time of 51 minutes.

"Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage" looks at the four-decade career of the Canadian rock band, from its beginnings in Toronto to popular, if not critical, success. The film is said to include backstage footage and interviews with musicians including Gene Simons of Kiss, Kirk Hammett of Metallica, and Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins.

As for fictional music films at Tribeca, "My Own Love Song" caught my eye. Besides being directed by Olivier Dahan, who won Oscars for his Edith Piaf biopic "La Vie en Rose," this road movie stars one of my favorite actresses, Renée Zellweger, as a wheelchair-bound ex-musician who is convinced to make a cross-country journey by an "endearing oddball" (played by Forest Whitaker). The cast also includes Nick Nolte.

There are more music films, including a number of shorts that look interesting. See the full lineup of 2010 Tribeca Film Festival music films here.