listen.

Arms with Hospitality: this saturday in alphabet city

Though this may sound like an etiquette course on appropriate arm gestures to use while greeting guests into your home, it's ACTUALLY going to be a really good show on Avenue B this weekend.

Todd Goldstein, self-described "Brooklyn-based mid-20s-type" (we already like where this is going) better known as Arms, plays the ukulele, guitar and various other instruments, and sings in a quirky, beautiful voice that at first reminds me a tad of Michael Stipe, then gets progressively more unique and unplaceable.  I stumbled upon this video of him playing the brilliant song "Kids Aflame" live in Prospect Park:

To hear what he does with this song in the studio rather than a tunnel in the park:

Arms - Kids Aflame

It will be the title track from Todd's forthcoming album, due on June 8.

This Saturday, he's playing at Midway (now called rehab apparently): 25 ave B @ 2nd St, NYC, 9pm.

Hospitality will be playing as well -- also Brooklyn-based, they're a quartet operating in a quaint chamber-folk realm reminiscent of early Belle & Sebastian and the like, with lyrics that wouldn't be out of place on Tigermilk or If You're Feeling Sinister: "You're the only girl on the team, you don't golf, you don't smoke, you don't understand the jokes" from Betty Wang, below.  It appears as though they're doing a little residency at Pete's Candy Store in Williamsburg right now, playing every Thursday night.

Hospitality - Betty Wang

and now for some links:
Arms website / Arms on myspace / Hospitality on myspace

see you saturday?
xoBen

ONE NIGHT ONLY AND THAT NIGHT IS TONIGHT

full disclosure: I work for Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, and Icelandic artist Hrafnhildur Arnardottir a.k.a. Shoplifter receives studio space for this project as part of the LMCC space grant program in which I work, Swing Space.

That being said, I wouldn't be any less excited about this if I were a stranger off the street.  Shoplifter creates stunning sculptures out of, among other materials, human and synthetic hair (as seen on Björk on the cover of her Medulla album), and she is currently collaborating with wunderkind composer (okay, so he's like 26 or something, maybe no longer a "kind") Nico Muhly, who has arranged/composed/conducted for three of my favorite musicians: Björk, Antony and the Johnsons, and Bonnie "Prince" Billy.

Together, Shoplifter and Mr. Muhly are creating a performance for The Kitchen, March 7 and 8.  Only the 10pm performance on the 7th has tickets left, so ACT FAST if you want to see it, and I highly recommend you do.

Tonight (Thursday 2/28) at 6pm, LMCC is hosting a low-key little Open House at Shoppy's studio to preview the installation pieces she's been creating for next week's performance.  Nico will be there as well, along with violist Nadia Sirota -- they'll be demonstrating some of the music from the performance.  And there will be wine.  And snacks.  You should come if you can. Here are more details.

You can give Nico's music a listen here on the New Yorker's website; it's all quite good, of course, but I particularly recommend checking the "Keep In Touch" section, featuring vocals from Antony.

And as if all this wasn't enough to excite you, Nico and Shoppy are also working with Sam Amidon, who will be playing banjo and singing at next week's performance.  Sam, of course, is a brilliant musician in his own right, and lately I've been really digging his newest album, All Is Well.  Here are a couple gorgeous tracks from it.  (And if you missed my earlier post on his Head Over Heels cover, remedy that immediately.)

Sam Amidon - Saro
Sam Amidon - Fall On My Knees

Still not enough?  Okay fine. I'll give you more. Here's a clip of Sam performing in Paris with Nico on piano.

see you tonight?

>ben