New Year's Eve 2012: Some Live Music Choices in NYC

Looking for something music-related to do on New Year's Eve to welcome 2013? There are plenty of choices in the NYC area, as always. A good place to start is the Oh My Rockness guide to New Year's Eve gigs.

 Amanda Palmer plays "Purple Rain" and more at Terminal 5 on New Year's Eve.

Having been out of town for the last week, however, I haven't had time to check on which of these shows still have tickets available. Some are definitely sold out, including the Punch Brothers and Michael Daves at Bowery Ballroom and the Felice Brothers at Mercury Lounge.

Others still seem to be on sale as of this writing, a few of them being:

• The Hold Steady (at Montclair's Wellmont Theatre)
• They Might Be Giants (at Music Hall of Williamsburg) 
• Amanda Palmer and the Grand Theft Orchestra (at Terminal 5) playing Prince's "Purple Rain" all the way through, as well as their own original songs
• Gov't Mule (at the Beacon Theatre)
• Blonde Redhead, Beach Fossils, and Bubbles (at Irving Plaza), Oh My Rockness's own show

If you're in Hoboken and want a cheap evening with free tunes, head to Maxwell's for a FREE night of two DJs spinning tunes (including Maxwell's co-owner Todd "Todd-O-Phonic" Abramson).

If you're staying in and want some musical accompaniment that swings, WNYC Radio will once again broadcast a John Pizzarelli Radio Deluxe special for New Year's Eve. The show starts at 10 p.m. and can be heard on 93.9 FM and 820 AM. You should be able to listen online from the station's website too, if you're out of the station's listening area.

The description of Radio Deluxe from WNYC's website:
"Radio Deluxe
Airs Monday, December 31 (New Year's Eve) at 10pm on 93.9FM & AM820
Radio Deluxe returns for another New Year’s Eve program on WNYC.  Join musician John Pizzarelli and singer Jessica Molaskey, as they get together in their "deluxe living room" to make music, play CDs and have fun with their musical guests and introduce listeners to a new generation of performers who know the greatness of the American songbook."

Free Streaming Christmas & Holiday Music - Something Traditional, Something Different

Looking for some options for listening to Christmas tunes and other holiday music free online? Last year I wrote about some options for listening to holiday music online, but didn't manage to post the article until the day after Christmas. I'm slightly ahead of the game this year, getting the information to you just before the clock marks the arrival of Dec. 24th in the Eastern U.S.

Web-Radio.fm offers a sleighfull of streaming Christmas radio stations.

As with last year, Web-Radio.fm has an extensive selection of all kinds of Christmas radio stations, from traditional to rock, classical, country, and R&B. And AOL Music's album-streaming service once again is featuring holiday music at this time of year, including "Glee: The Music: The Christmas Album Volume 3" and "Now That's What I Call Christmas 5," featuring seasonal songs by Carly Rae Jepson, Justin Bieber, Sara Bareilles, Lady Gaga, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, and many more. AOL's other two streaming holiday albums this year are "Bing Crosby Christmas" and "A Rat Pack Christmas."

For more information on Christmas music listening, you can check out the music section of the bulletin boards of Christmas 365.(see in particular the posts "Christmas Music/Radio Odds and Ends" and "The Week Link - Yule Audio Sources all year!").

If (mostly) classical music and carols are more your taste, check out the special 24-hour stream of seasonal music from New York's classical radio station, WQXR. (It'll be running until Jan. 6th.)


Darlene Love performing "Christmas, Baby Please Come Home" on Letterman last week.

One of the most sought-after Christmas music collections from last year was Bill Adler's "Christmas Jollies," a mix CD of off-the-beaten-track songs that the New York City record collector and former record-company executive put together for his friends.

I've searched online a number of times in recent weeks but can't find mention of what songs are on the 2012 edition of "Christmas Jollies"—perhaps the publicity over last year's collection brought too much media attention to Adler's door, intruding on his own holiday enjoyment. In any case, you can hear the 2011 version of Bill Adler's "Christmas Jollies" here (playing each tune one at a time). P.S. If anyone reading this knows where to hear the 2012 edition of Adler's mix, leave a comment for us below.

Though you may not be lucky enough to spend Christmas in Hawaii with the President of the United States and his family, you can enjoy a bit of an island holiday with another item I featured in last year's post, "Aloha, Merry Christmas From Hawaii" by Ian Stearns (disclosure: we're related).

  Aloha, Merry Christmas From Hawaii by IanStearns

Choose your favorite holiday music stream, grab a mug of spiked eggnog, and enjoy. Merry Christmas, all!

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.

Photos & Setlist: Yo La Tengo Hanukkah Show, Night 6

Yo La Tengo finished its six of eight straight Hanukkah shows at Maxwell's on Thursday, but the band shows no signs of slowing down. Beginning with a semi-acoustic version of "Big Day Coming" (with Ira Kaplan playing keyboard), the trio played an hour and a half set before another sold-out crowd (which Kaplan said included many old friends). See photos from Night 6, and a setlist below.

Sadly, the Yo La Tengo 2012 menorah is almost complete.

San Francisco-based indie singer-songwriter Barbara Manning was the music opener, accompanying herself on a beautiful old silver Gretsch guitar. She has been in a number of bands, including World of Pooh. Manning noted that she had known YLT for a long time, and that they flew her back east just for this show.

Eugene Mirman served as the comedic guest, doing routines that included Abraham Lincoln/Daniel Day Lewis calling tech support to get a Blu-Ray player working, and Mirman "marrying" a couple from the audience.

The night's mix CD was created by Three Lobed Recordings.

James McNew, with part of Georgia Hubley at left.

James McNew

Ira Kaplan

Musical opener Barbara Manning.

Eugene Mirman was the night's comedian.

Setlist:
[Courtesy of Frank & Earthy blog; Twitter: @bourgwick]

Yo La Tengo at Maxwell’s
13 December 2012
*(Hanukkah, night 6)*

Barbara Manning and Eugene Mirman opened
benefit for the Ali Forney Center
mix disc by Cory Rayborn of Three Lobed Recordings

Big Day Coming (quiet)
Evanescent Psychic Pez Drop
Frenzy (The Fugs)
Let’s Save Tony Orlando’s House
Five-Cornered Drone (Crispy Duck)
Winter A Go Go
I’m On My Way
I’ll Be Around
Cherry Chapstick
Styles of the Times
Sugarcube
Little Honda (The Hondells) (no noise jam)
Blue Line Swinger

*(encore)*
Christmas Is Lonely (When You’re A Jew) (The Yule Logs) (with Barbara Manning on guitar and vocals and Dan Vargas on vocals)
B4 We Go Under (Barbara Manning) (with BM & DV)
Tried So Hard (Gene Clark)