Maxwell's Adds More Shows: Mission of Burma, Freedy Johnson & Others, Terre T. Live Broadcast, & More

Mission of Burma, "Nu Disco," at one of Yo La Tengo's Hanukkah shows at Maxwell's in 2010. See the latest shows added to the Maxwell's schedule below.

Maxwell's in Hoboken continues to go out with a bang, adding more shows as it heads into its last week and a half in existence. (Get tickets to the shows here.) Just added to the lineup:

• Wed., July 24th: Freedy Johnston, the Health & Happiness Show (led by former Bongo James Mastro), Anton Fier, and others (8 p.m.)
• Sat., July 27th: WFMU's Cherry Blossom Clinic hosted by Terre T.—live remote broadcast starring Hackamore Brick (3 p.m.)
• Sun., July 28th: Mission of Burma (9 p.m.)
• Mon., July 29th: Bern and The Brights, Secret Islands, and Val Emmich (8:30 p.m.)
• Wed., July 31st: Closing Night Block Party (DJ music) (4 p.m.)

The Wednesday show is billed on the website as "Bar None Records Presents A Night Of Folks and Fondue feat. Freedy Johnston, The Health and Happiness Show and Chris Stamey with Gene Holder and Anton Fier plus a host of special guests." That should be a great one, and it's only $15.

 The Maxwell's website shows a dwindling number of remaining concerts... and a photo of a sad puppy underneath "Upcoming Shows."

No show has been announced for the night of the 31st, though NJ.com says that the final show will feature the first band to play the club, called "a," as well as the classic bands that grew out of "a": The Bongos and The Individuals.

Maxwell's has been hosting a number of sold-out shows in the last few weeks as it counts down to the end. We were fortunate to attend several of these concerts, all great stuff, featuring acts of wildly varying styles: garage-rock masters The Fleshtones, Mott the Hoople frontman Ian Hunter, singer-songwriter Rachael Yamagata, and Glen Rock punk rockers Titus Andronicus (on the first gig of their three-night run). Podcast Party be at at least five more shows at the club at 1039 Washington St.

Maxwell's to Rise Again in Jersey City?

Amid the sad news of Maxwell's closing, there is hope that it may live on (in some sense) in a nearby location. Various sources have reported that co-owner Todd Abramson is actively looking to open a club elsewhere in New Jersey, with Jersey City (next to Hoboken) as the most likely location. Particular attention has focused on the under-renovation White Eagle Hall, which is about a half mile from the Grove Street PATH station.

We hope that plan works out. Stay tuned for details.

WFMU Mini Record Fair & Benefit Concert this Sunday in Brooklyn

Hurricane Sandy clobbered longtime free-form radio station WFMU, but the Jersey City institution takes another step toward regaining it's footing with a pair of benefits in Brooklyn this Sunday, Jan. 13th. WFMU has always run on a tight budget, but Sandy dealt it a physical and financial blow. (See this article in Friday's Wall Street Journal for details.)

Yes, that's the free-form station of the nation featured in the Wall Street Journal!

Among other things, the storm forced cancellation of WFMU's 2012 weekend-long record fair, a big fundraiser held every October. The station previously held a kind of mini-fair, and is holding another one—and a concert—Sunday at the Bell House.

From WFMU's website:

This Sunday, January 13th, WFMU is hosting a Mini-Record Fair and blowout benefit show at The Bell House in Brooklyn! The fair happens 11-5pm (no admission after 3pm due to space constraints), and at 7:30 we'll be kicking off a night of music mayhem with Arrington Di Dionyso of Old Time Relijun, followed by the Dot Wiggin Band (of the Shaggs!), the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, and Texas psych/gospel dynamos The Relatives! Jonathan Toubin spins and Chris Gethard MCs! Tickets for the Music Benefit at this link here, and more info below.

Tix are $10 for the fair (tickets at the door only) and $20 for the concert, with advance tickets for sale here!! All proceeds benefit WFMU in its post-Hurricane Sandy Recovery.

The fair and concert are both separate events, and the inner hall will be cleared out at 5pm to reopen for the show at 7:30. Set times:

7:30 Arrington Di Dionyso
8:10 Dot Wiggin Band
9:00 Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
10:00 The Relatives

It should be quite an extravaganza for music lovers. It's eminently affordable, and it's all for a good cause to boot. And the PATH trains are even back to nearly full service, if you're coming from out WFMU way in New Jersey (though it seems the Hoboken/World Trade Center line will be suspended; check PATH schedule here).

Music Notes: The Civil Wars Make Billboard Cover, Imperial Teen Contest, & More

The Civil Wars are the subject of a recent cover story in Billboard.

This edition of news from the music world includes another big accomplishment for an acclaimed duo, a unique contest to get attention for a returning indie-pop band, a new signing for an established rocker, and more concert podcast downloads from South by Southwest.

* The run of good luck just keeps on going for The Civil Wars, with the duo making the cover of last week's Billboard. The accompanying story describes their other accomplishments, including scoring a movie, having one of their songs featured on the "Hunger Games" soundtrack, and co-writing a song with megastar Taylor Swift. Oh, and that's all besides their one-minute appearance on this year's Grammys, which gave them the show's second-largest bump in sales after the telecast (trailing only Adele).

* Imperial Teen has come up with a novel way to drum up attention for its latest album, "Feel the Sound": it's encouraging fans to download and print out masks of the band members, and then create videos of themselves wearing them. The idea came from fans' requesting their own copies of the masks that appear in Imperial Teen's "Runaway" video. And that led to a full-blown contest.



"Feel the Sound"(Merge Records) is Imperial Teen's fifth album, and the first in five years for the San Francisco band that features Roddy Bottum, formerly of Faith No More. See reviews of the album in Rolling Stone and Spin.

* Speaking of Merge, the indie label added another prestigious name when it announced during South by Southwest that it had signed Bob Mould. The former member of Hüsker Dü and Sugar is working on a new album, which will be out on Merge in the Fall. According to Mould's website, the album will be "recorded with his current bandmates, Jon Wurster (Superchunk, The Mountain Goats), and Jason Narducy (Robert Pollard, Verbow)."

As noted here before, Mould is planning a limited number of shows in the coming months at which he'll perform Sugar's album "Copper Blue"(which was released 20 years ago). He was scheduled to perform "Copper Blue" at South by Southwest last night (March 17th).

* There are more SXSW concert downloads available from NPR Music, including Sugar Tongue Slim, Lower Dens, and Poliça. The set by The Magnetic Fields will be posted sometime later, NPR says. And if you didn't hear or see Bruce Springsteen's SXSW keynote address, make sure you check it out; it's a great discussion on the history and meaning of music, and is definitely worth your time.

* WFMU has posted the archives from its March 17th live show at Beerland for SXSW, featuring performances from The Men, Jason Sigal and Brian Turner, Electric Jellyfish, and more.

WFMU's 2012 Music Marathon On Now, with Treats Galore

Here's a bit of a promotional plug... not for me or this blog, but for radio station WFMU in Jersey City, NJ. For decades it has proudly called itself the "free-form station of the nation," and has lived up to that name by serving up a mix of news and talk that defies labels such as "eclectic" or "bizarre."

WFMU (91.1 FM and streaming at www.wfmu.org) is now conducting its annual Marathon, a nearly two-week fundraising drive that features plenty of guest musicians and other treats. The legendary Yo La Tengo will once again sit in on a show later in the drive (March 2nd, between 9 p.m. and Midnight), acting as a live jukebox as it plays requests from pledgers in the WFMU studios.

WFMU's 2012 Marathon has lifted off and is looking for your help.

WFMU features knowledgeable, experienced DJs (Irene Trudel and Terre T. are two of my current favorites; famed rock DJ Vin Scelsa of long-gone WNEW-FM got his start at FMU). These on-air personalities work without pay and often bring in their own music.

If you're looking for diverse programming that's the opposite of that corporate schlock that's programmed by a computer, WFMU is the place to go. You won't find show names like "Inflatable Squirrel Carcass," "Strength through Failure," "Shut Up, Weirdo," and "Music to Spazz By" on your local Clear Channel affiliate. (See WFMU's full winter schedule here, with links to archives and sample shows).

That's not to say that some of the programs might irritate you or make your ears bleed, but half the fun is cruising around the station's extensive online archives and playlists and finding out what you like. Or even better, listening to things you've never heard of before.

One of the CD premiums from this year's WFMU Marathon.

WFMU also has some rather clever premiums for its Marathon that are much more interesting than most public radio fare. Yes, there are tote bags and t-shirts, but the best stuff of all is the one-of-a-kind music collections that you won't find anywhere else. (See the WFMU premiums and the special DJ's premiums.)

Then there's WFMU's unique history of being a college radio station that survived on its own when the college went out of business, but that's a story for another post (which I wrote here).


Above: Kurt Cobain perusing WFMU's first "Catalog of Curiosities" during some on-stage downtime.

Listen in to WFMU at 91.1 FM in the NYC area, WMFU at 90.1 in the Hudson Valley, or at www.wfmu.org and support the station if you like what you hear.

2009 WFMU Record Fair - This Weekend!

As if you weren't already suffering from musical overload with the CMJ Music Marathon in full swing, this weekend is another annual Fall attraction for New York-area rock fans: the WFMU Record Fair.

Once again the "free-form station of the nation" in Jersey City will put on its extravaganza of vinyl (including LPs, 45s, and 12"s), CDs, DVDs, and even VHS tapes. There will also be special WFMU records on sale for a dollar, and a number of live music events as well.

The fair will be held at the Metropolitan Pavilion at 125 W. 18th St. (between 6th & 7th Avenues). One-day admission is $7, or you can buy an early-bird admission for $25 that gets you in a few hours early on Friday and allows you unlimited entry the entire weekend. And, of course, it gives you first crack at the merchandise, including rare and hard-to-find items.

If you're ready to take a break from the live music in the clubs for CMJ, head on over to the WFMU Record Fair and pick up some choice recordings to take home.