Gemini & Scorpio present: The Lost Circus (circus meets dark cabaret with a steampunk twist)

Sat, July 31, 11:59pm-4am, $15 w/RSVP; $20 without
Littlefield, 622 Degraw, Gowanus, BK
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The Circus is said to have started in ancient Egypt when the court entertainers of an immortal Pharaoh escaped their slavery under a midnight moon. They have traveled the globe for centuries, gathering talent from every great empire as the empire itself begins to crumble: Istanbul, Saint Petersburg, London, Berlin…and now they have made it across the sea.

At the stroke of midnight, discover a circus long lost. With music from times gone by or times that never were: dark string fusion by Brooklyn’s own Copal, and bohemian cabaret in 13 languages by Vagabond Opera – our special guests from Portland, OR. The circus unfolds to the bands and in between: mind-bending contortion by Jonathan Nosan, aerial dance by Madeline Hoak; tribal fusion bellydance by Lauren Robbiani; fire & gorgeousness by Ali Luminescent; gypsy fortunetelling by Kai Altair; an original installation & performance by artist (and Minsky Sister) Kristen Rhea van Liew. Beautiful costumed creatures perform feats of fire in the courtyard. Dusty circus visuals set the mood. DJ sophybot fascinates your ears with a renegade circus tent soundtrack. With your ever-dapper host, steampunk author G.D. Falksen. Plus photo-op custom art installation with works by Molly Crabapple and Kathleen Green. And a few surprise guests we can’t mention.

Dress code (required): dark cabaret, traveling circus, steampunk Victorian, Edward Gorey, Tim Burton, Mad Max, City of Lost Children.

THE A**HOLE IN MY HEAD is Kate Dawson’s fresh reinvention of cabaret, and makes her worst enemy (herself), into a hilarious, unseen, other character. Kate and the A**hole In Her Head battle it out through song and banter in a hilarious show filled with Broadway songs and witty dialogue. This is a one night only encore performance of a show that was listed by David Noh in the Gay City News as one of the Top Ten best live performances of 2009.

Monday, August 30th @ 7PM, Birdland, 315 W. 44th, New York City

Kate Dawson played Emily for three seasons in A Christmas Carol (at Madison Square Garden), sharing the stage with several Scrooge’s over the years, including Roddy McDowall, Hal Linden, Frank Langella and Tim Curry. The production was directed by Mike Ockrent, and choreographed by Susan Stroman. Other favorite credits include “Eileen” in Wonderful Town (opposite Lucie Arnaz & Cliff Bemis, directed by Don Amendolia), “Lili” in Carnival!, “Lydia” in The Rivals and “The Wardrobe Mistress” in Enter The Guardsmen. She has worked regionally at the 7 Angels Theatre, the Coconut Grove Playhouse, the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Stages St. Louis, readings at the Manhattan Theatre Club and the Public Theatre among others. The A**HOLE IN MY HEAD is the first play Kate has written.

Kathleen Supove announces the release of her new CD THE EXPLODING PIANO on the MAJOR WHO MEDIA label. The CD release concert will be held on Tuesday, August 17, at Le Poisson Rouge at 158 Bleecker Street in New York City.

The concert starts at 7:30, with doors opening at 6:30.

In addition to performing music from the CD, there will be :

-Video by Joshue Ott to go with Anna Clyne’s piece ON TRACK.

-New video created live by Jennifer Stock for ISABELLE EBERHARDT DREAMS OF PIANOS by Missy Mazzoli.

-In addition, there will be a special guest, media/video artist Peter Schmideg “performing” a work he created and revised for this event, based on the performance artist Marge Cameron, and inspired by SUTRA SUTRA by Randall Woolf.

-REVOLUTION by Dan Becker will have a video specially designed for it by Safy Etiel (V.J. name: Sniper), an Israeli artist living in Berlin.

-Rounding out the show will be A SHAKING OF THE PUMPKIN by Michael Gatonska, which features his custom-designed accessories and is a video in itself.

Also: a fake fashion show, auction, contests, and…a discount on the new CD.

The September Concert Foundation is proud to announce its 9th Annual September Concert, which will take place worldwide from September 10 – 12, 2010. As done in the past 8 years, these concerts will take place in designated performance spaces, including public parks and concert halls, in cities around the world. These music events have the sole purpose of joining people together worldwide to “celebrate peace and humanity through music.”

This is the first year that The September Concert will take place over 3 days instead of just one day. Haruko Smith founded the September Concert Foundation in 2002 to turn September 11th into something positive. “We provide the perfect answer to help people see a meaningful way to mark 9/11 as the day the seed for peace was planted. New York City should feel good about how this day gave birth to this positive tradition.”

Gearing up for their 10th year anniversary in 2011, The September Concert Founder Haruko Smith is “looking to increase the participation of children.” She has recruited the fifth grade chorus of PS 22, a public school in New York City, whose video performances of pop songs became a YouTube sensation and garnered millions of fans, including celebrities Ashton Kutcher, Rihanna, Perez Hilton, Tori Amos, Queen Latifah, and Oprah. Smith believes that children symbolize the growing “culture of peace”.

Since its birth in April 2002, The September Concert has grown steadily to global proportions. In 2009, 200 September Concert events took place in over 40 U.S. cities and in 45 international cities in 4 continents around the world, including London, Rome, Casablanca, Dubai, Obuasi (Ghana), and Tokyo.

The Foundation welcomes musicians from any age and genre. Past concerts have included jazz, classical, gospel, pop and rock. Participants have included the famed Young People’s Chorus of NYC and internationally acclaimed conductor Lorin Maazel.

The September Concert Advisory Board today includes Quincy Jones, Christy Turlington Burns, Howard J. Rubenstein, among many other household names.

The September Concert Foundation invites musicians from all walks of life to participate in the 2010 events. For more details and to register your concert, go to www.septemberconcert.org. Deadline to register is August 13, 2010.

For more information: Phone 212.333.3399. Email: info@septemberconcert.org

On Thursday, August 26 at 8PM, the Locrian Chamber Players present a concert of repertoire by Harrison Birtwistle, Frank J. Oteri, Judith Shatin, and Eric Samuelson.

The concert is free and will take place at the 10th Floor Performance Space, Riverside Church, 91 Claremont Avenue, in New York City.

The Locrian Chamber Players are a group of performers and composers dedicated to the music of our time. Their concerts are devoted exclusively to works less than a decade old, and their programs include both established and emerging composers. They perform contemporary music without pre-concert discussions and voluminous program notes, believing that the best music, when presented directly, speaks for itself. Since their first concert in 1995, The Locrian Chamber Players have presented over thirty world premieres and have given first New York performances of works by George Crumb, Philip Glass, Morton Subotnick, Joan LaBarbara, James Tenney, Alvin Curran, George Tsontakis, Roger Reynolds, Jo Kondo and many others.

To reach Riverside Church by subway, take the 1 or 9 train to 116th street. By bus, take the M4 or M104 to Broadway and 120th Street. Enter Riverside Church at 91 Claremont Avenue (one block west of Broadway, between 120th and 122nd streets). Parking is available at the Riverside Church garage, located at 120th Street and Riverside Drive.

For further information contact David Macdonald at (914) 923-5511.

The Chinese Fine Arts Society announce the return of their spectacular QiXi (pronounced “CHEE SHEE”) production on August 22nd at 2:30pm in Chicago’s Millennium Park. This engaging presentation of music, martial arts and dance, celebrates the ancient Chinese love story of Niulang and Zhinu, the cowherd and the weaver fairy, in a colorful traveling performance which weaves its way throughout Millennium Park. See a video or a picture gallery from last year’s performance or find out about ways to support the project.

Innovative Song Cycle Explores Spirituality, Nature, and Gardening

New York City based cellist, vocalist and composer Jody Redhage and her band Fire in July will perform at Boston’s Kaji Aso Studio on Friday, July 23, 2010 at 8 pm. Admission is $10. Kaji Aso Studio is located at 40 Saint Stephen Street in Boston, MA. Phone is (617) 247-1719.

Fire in July is comprised of Jody Redhage, voice & cello; Daisy Press, voice; Alan Ferber, trombone; and Tom Beckham, vibraphone. At this concert, the band will premiere Redhage’s new song cycle “The Spirit of the Garden,” using poetry that explores the nexus of spirituality and nature. The lyrics are from poets from all over the world: French, Japanese, American, and middle eastern–all different traditions that celebrate gardens as an artistic medium and a source for spiritual reflection and inspiration. Kaji Aso Studio itself has been a large source of inspiration behind the song cycle, as Fire in July performed at the Studio in July 2009 and became familiarized with the art institute’s philosophy and worldview. The Studio’s mission statement includes the statement, “The value of nature is stressed as an inspirational and endless source of material” and “Art does not come from art…art comes from life.” The evening offers audience members a chance to experience nature’s inspiration as expressed through music, poetry, the visual arts (painting and watercolor) and through gardening. Before and after the concert the audience is invited to visit Kaji Aso’s own Japanese garden behind the studio and view the paintings and watercolors in the studio’s galleries. Several of the studio’s experts on Haiku will be in attendance and available to discuss their creative processes with the audience.

Called an “adventurous cello songstress” by Time Out NY, cellist, composer, and vocalist Jody Redhage is “a new music dynamo…Redhage is cultivating a repertoire of indie art song that breaches genre boundaries and makes for stirring listening” (MusicWorks Magazine). Redhage has spent the past eight years developing the ability to simultaneously sing and play rhythmically complex and intricate lines. Her passion is setting 20th and 21st century American poetry into art song, and she principally composes for her ensemble Fire in July. Redhage’s compositions meld the detail and finesse of chamber music with the energy and drive of jazz improvisation and more popular genres. With tinges of Medieval chanson and hints of Kurt Weill, Redhage creates a captivating blend of genres that simply comes across as her own unique voice.

Fire in July released their debut album Ancient Star on Sept. 15, 2009. Ancient Star has been called “a real accomplishment, refreshing and enjoyable, music that is exploring and pioneering a new style and doing so with real thought and skill” – George Grella, The Big City. Having begun composing at age 19, Jody studied composition at the University of California Berkeley and cello performance at the Manhattan School of Music. In New York, Jody continued her composition studies with Bang on a Can founder Julia Wolfe. Redhage has performed at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Radio City Music Hall, and on NBC, CBS, and ABC. Redhage’s original compositions have also been featured on several NPR stations across the country, including a recent feature of songs from “Ancient Star” on WNYC’s Spinning on Air.

Music by John Adams (“Fellow Traveler,” for string quartet) and Chen Yi anchors the latest concert by the organization, which only programs music less than a decade old; also featured is music by Malcolm Goldstein (the première of “The Sky Has Many Stories to Tell”), Evan Hause, and Joel Hoffman. The performers include the violinist Calvin Wiersma and the harpist Anna Reinersman. (Riverside Church, 10th Floor Performance Space, 91 Claremont Ave. June 10 at 8. No tickets required.)

New York City based cellist, vocalist and composer Jody Redhage and her band Fire in July will perform at Baltimore’s An die Musik LIVE! on Saturday, June 26, 2010 at 8 and 9:30 pm, to kick off the group’s Summer 2010 east coast tour. Admission is $15 for adults, $10 for students/seniors. An die Musik LIVE! is located at 409 North Charles Street, Second Floor, in Baltimore, Maryland. Phone is 888.221.6170 or 410.385.2638.

Fire in July is comprised of Jody Redhage, voice & cello; Daisy Press, voice; Alan Ferber, trombone; and Tim Collins, vibraphone. At this concert, the band will be previewing new music that has been written for the upcoming song cycle “The Spirit of the Garden,” using poetry that explores the nexus of spirituality and nature.  The lyrics are from poets from all over the world: French, Japanese, American, middle eastern–all different traditions that celebrate spirituality through gardening.

Called an “adventurous cello songstress” by Time Out NY, cellist, composer, and vocalist Jody Redhage is “a new music dynamo…Redhage is cultivating a repertoire of indie art song that breaches genre boundaries and makes for stirring listening” (MusicWorks Magazine).  Redhage has spent the past seven years developing the ability to simultaneously sing and play rhythmically complex and intricate lines.  Her passion is setting 20th and 21st century American poetry into art song, and she principally composes for her ensemble Fire in July.  Redhage’s compositions meld the detail and finesse of chamber music with the energy and drive of jazz improvisation and more popular genres. With tinges of Medieval chanson and hints of Kurt Weill, Redhage creates a captivating blend of genres that simply comes across as her own unique voice.

Fire in July released their debut album Ancient Star on Sept. 15, 2009.  Ancient Star has been called “a real accomplishment, refreshing and enjoyable, music that is exploring and pioneering a new style and doing so with real thought and skill” – George Grella, The Big City. The band features: Jody Redhage, voice, cello, compositions; Ken Thomson, clarinet & bass clarinet; Alan Ferber, trombones; Tom Beckham, vibraphone; and Fred Kennedy, drums & percussion.

Having begun composing at age 19, Jody studied composition at the University of California Berkeley and cello performance at the Manhattan School of Music. In New York, Jody continued her composition studies with Bang on a Can founder Julia Wolfe. Redhage has performed at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Radio City Music Hall, and on NBC, CBS, and ABC. Redhage’s original compositions have also been featured on several NPR stations across the country, including a recent feature of songs from “Ancient Star” on WNYC’s Spinning on Air.

Dylan Rice celebrates the release of his new full-length album, ELECTRIC GRIDS & CONCRETE TOWERS.

Saturday, July 17, 2010, Chicago, IL, Martyrs’ – CD RELEASE SHOW.

Come join Dylan Rice Band at Martyrs’ in Chicago on Saturday, July 17th as they celebrate the release of the long-awaited new album and support programs at the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation (CAASE). Jazz chanteuse Grazyna Auguscik will be joining onstage as a special guest.

9:30pm sharp
$10 cover

Dylan Rice Band =
Dylan – vox, gtr
Dave Mendez – lead gtr, backing vox
Matt Ulery – bass
Larry Brown – drums
Grazyna Auguscik – guest vocals

Also on the bill: Milhous and The Greenwoods

Proceeds from the door will go to support programs at the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation (CAASE).

Album out now on iTunes, Amazon, CD Baby, and major digital services.