As a kid, I was a huge MAD Magazine fan, so having Al Jaffee show up in my backyard is something of a dream come true for my 10 year old self. Aside from the famed creator of the “fold-in”, the KingCon Comic & Animation Convention at the Brooklyn Lyceum will play host to a number of well known artists this weekend (Nov 7-8) including: Harvey Pekar, Jonathan Ames, Denny O’Neil (Batman and Green Lantern), Brian Wood (Local and DMZ, Peter Kuper (Spy vs. Spy) and many other talented folks (I’ve never really heard of). Even if your not deep into comics, for $7 (or $10 for a weekend pass), this convention seems like it’s worth checking out just for the “headliners” (I just wish I didn’t have all my old MAD magazines in storage!).

View the weekend panel schedule here and the full list of guests over here.

John K. Samson (of The Weakerthans) at The Music Hall of Williamsburg (09/18/09)

Photo: Matt Fricovsky (more)
DOWNLOAD: “Cruise Night” – John K. Samson (mp3)

When a band takes 4 years between albums, a three song EP from the primary songwriter still counts as an “event” in my books. As is usually the case, John K. Samson takes on his (and my) hometown as the subject of his new short player, City Route 85, which came out digitally and on 7″ Tuesday (Nov 3) on ANTI- Records. According to the press materials, the new EP is the “first in a series of recordings exploring the atmospheric streets and highways surrounding Winnipeg, Manitoba”. After reading that, I have to wonder, could the first ever song about bumpershining be far behind?

The City Route 85 of the record’s title is the formal name for Portage Avenue, one of Winnipeg’s main thoroughfares. Samson begins his musical study of this storied street with the song “Heart of the Continent,” set at the corner of Portage Avenue and Memorial Boulevard, where a demolished building is resurrected by a narrator struggling to evoke the losses and despair that haunt the city and its people. “Grace General” travels west along Portage to Grace General Hospital, seen through eyes preparing to face the death of a loved one. The closing song, “Cruise Night” finds a young man desperate to join in the strange and innocent tradition of driving aimlessly up and down Portage Avenue, a social activity Winnipeggers have participated in on Sunday nights for as long as anyone can remember. [ANTI-]

Not one to rest on his laurels, John is taking his solo acoustic act to Germany (where The Weakerthans are huge) starting today (Nov 6). No NYC (or US) dates have been scheduled as of yet, but he’ll be opening for his pals The Constantines at three Ontario shows in December of 2009. All John K. Samson solo tour dates after the jump.

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Happy Friday everyone!

Click here to download your free Pixies Live EP. In case you forgot, the Pixies play the Hammerstein Ballroom on Nov 23, 24 and 25 (early/late) (Buy Tickets).

- Hat tip to Drake LeLane

The Bloodsugars CMJ Showcase at Spike Hill (10/23/09)

Photo: Jon Klemm
DOWNLOAD: “Light at the End of the Tunnel” – The Bloodsugars

I was about to call it a night on CMJ Friday (Oct 23), but on my way to the subway I decided to duck into Spike Hill and catch a midnight set by The Bloodsugars. I’m glad I did because the Brooklyn based quartet was previewing new material off of their forthcoming album I Can’t Go, I’ll Go On which comes out on November 17 on Engine Room Recordings. Fans of the BQEP won’t be disappointed, as The Bloodsugars debut LP delivers more of the same catchy and intelligent synth flavored pop that you’ve come to know and love from this band. Here’s a little additional info on the new album from their press release:

According to frontman Jason Rabinowitz, I Can’t Go On, I’ll Go On is “a modern prom playlist.” Of course, prom is not without its awkward, painful moments. Written during a time of personal difficulty for band members, I Can’t Go On, I’ll Go On is about remembering that there is always something to celebrate, even in the face of major adversity. With their combination of thoughtful lyricism and kinetic beats, the album’s ten new tracks reflect a refreshing optimism and sweetness. Imagine a house designed by Paul Simon, built by Prince, and decorated by The Flaming Lips and you’ll have some idea of where The Bloodsugars live.

The album features a host of indie luminaries, including trumpet player Kyle Resnick (The National), cellist Colette Alexander (Rilo Kiley, Jens Lekman, Rachel Yamagata) and indie darling Bell. Additionally, Philadelphia-based recording wiz Bill Moriarty—the man behind albums by Dr. Dog and Man Man—produced and engineered the record.

If you missed them live at CMJ, you can catch them on tour right now, or for those of you in NYC, they’ll be at The Studio @ Webster Hall on November 21 with Project Jenny, Project Jan and Savoir Adore (Buy Tickets). More of The Bloodsugars tour dates and CMJ pics after the jump.

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Craig Finn of The Hold Steady at Virgin Free Fest (08/30/09)

Photo: PJ Sykes (more)

This just in:

Radio Happy Hour
Craig Finn & Tad Kubler of The Hold Steady
and Chuck Klosterman
at (Le) Poisson Rouge

Nov. 14, 2009
1pm doors | 2pm show
Buy Tickets

Radio Happy Hour, a live variety show featuring a made-for-radio murder mystery sitcom and guest stars, is following up their hilarious summer series, which has previously featured Norah Jones, Andrew W.K., Tunde Adebimpe (of TV on the Radio) and Michael Showalter, with a November episode starring The Hold Steady’s Craig Finn & Tad Kubler as well as author Chuck Klosterman. The guest pairing comes on the heels of the announcement that Finn will be penning the big-screen adaptation of Klosterman’s book Fargo Rock City. On top of an interview with the band and Klosterman, The Hold Steady will give two intimate performances, and Finn and Kubler will star in the murder mystery radio-play as two bickering brothers on family vacation with their step-father Chuck Klosterman. When they make a pit stop for drinks at a small town bar along the way, they get fingered for a murder they may or may not have committed.

As with the show every month Radio Happy Hour will be punctuated with a happy hour in the Gallery at (le) Poisson Rouge with the stars, an audience quiz, and more than a few surprises.

Novels

Photo: Marshall Angus

Novels is a new side project from Tokyo Police Club’s Graham Wright, Will Currie of Will Currie and The Country French, Luke Lalonde of Born Ruffians, Dean Marino of Tin Star Orphans, and Jason Sadlowski of Chemical Sound. Novels initially came together for a marathon jam session in January of 2009 where they wrote, recorded, and arranged an 5 song EP in one day. Since then, the “band” has taken an unconventional approach to marketing their music, the songs aren’t posted anywhere and the EP isn’t for sale, but they recently screened a 35 minute documentary of their all night recording session (shot by film maker Wade Vroom) at this year’s Pop Montreal festival. Here’s a little bit of silliness from the band’s CBC Radio 3 web page.

Hello.

In January of 2009, five of us locked ourselves away in Chemical Sound Studios in Toronto with the goal of writing, arranging, and recording an EP from scratch in one marathon session. When we stumbled out the door in the wee hours of the next morning, we found ourselves with what we’re now calling NOVELS.

NOVELS won’t be sold in CD stores, on the internet, or anywhere else. Instead, we’ll give them away, or put them places. Maybe you’ll find a copy sitting on a park bench. Maybe a masked man will hand you one as he passes you on the street. Maybe none of these things will happen. But we’ll make sure that everyone gets a chance to listen if they want to.

We also had some friends come along to take pictures and video, which can be found on this website as well as in various other places on the internet. [Novels on CBC Radio 3]

View some video clips of their recording session after the jump.

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In anticipation of the holidays, big time book readings are starting to slow down a little at our local area chains, but there are still a few good things this month. Here’s a list of November B&N and Borders events that I thought were interesting for one reason or another:

November 2009 Barnes & Noble (NYC)
11/05/09 Kenneth Turan, Oskar Eustis, Gail Papp (Lincoln Triangle)
11/05/09 Editors of The Onion (Tribeca)
11/05/09 Chris Welles Feder (82nd & Bwy)
11/05/09 Paul Auster (USQ)
11/09/09 KRS One (Tribeca)
11/09/09 Jennifer Burns: Ayn Rand and the American Right (82nd & Bwy)
11/11/09 Harold Evans (86th & Lex)
11/10/09 Gail Buckland: Who Shot Rock’n Roll (Lincoln Triangle)
11/12/09 Andre Agassi 12:30 PM (Fifth Ave)
11/14/09 Amy Sohn 2 PM (Park Slope!)
11/16/09 Jonathan Safran Foer (USQ)
11/17/09 Jim Cramer (USQ)
11/17/09 George Packer (86th & Lex)
11/18/90 Orhan Pamuk (USQ)
11/19/09 Wally Lamb (86th & Lex)
11/21/09 Thomas Keller (86th & Lex)
11/23/09 David Chang (USQ)

November 2009 Borders (NYC)
11/06/09 Jamie Oliver (Park Ave)
11/10/09 Chuck Klosterman (CC)
11/16/09 Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt (CC)
11/16/09 Andrew Ross Sorkin (Park Ave)
11/17/09 Cory Doctorow: Makers (CC)

Dan Zanes

Friends of BAM receive priority access (through November 8) to the upcoming Dan Zanes & Friends family concerts at the Howard Gilman Opera House on Feb 6, 2010 (Buy Tickets). I also just noticed that Dan is playing a posh gig on November 8, 2009 at the Tribeca Cinemas in NYC (54 Varick St). The Sunday show, a benefit for the Mario Batali Foundation, also includes a screening of Wes Anderson’s new film Fantastic Mr. Fox (Buy Tickets). Last but not least, Dan’s excellent new DVD entitled The Fine Friends Are Here (my review) is in stores now.

Dan Zanes and Friends
Part of BAMfamily and Sounds Like Brooklyn
Feb 6 at 2 & 5pm

Brooklyn’s very own Grammy Award-winners Dan Zanes and Friends bring their wild dance party concerts filled with surprising and eclectic special guests to BAM for a unique program. Rock star to the little people, Zanes, and his band will sing songs in English and Spanish in their own homespun style.

Special guests for these performances will include tap dancer extraordinaire Derick K Grant, an African drum and dance group from the Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration’s Youth Arts Academy, and more. Everyone’s invited!

BAM Howard Gilman Opera House
60min
Tickets: $15, 25

New York Comedy Festival

The 6th Annual New York Comedy Festival starts tonight (Nov 4) and they’ve got some big shows lined up for the next five days including: Stand Up For Heroes (with Bruce Springsteen, Stephen Colbert, Louis C.K., and special guests), Ricky Gervais, Patton Oswalt, Andy Samberg, Tracy Morgan, Mike Birbiglia, Bill Maher and many others. As far as comedy goes, by and large this is a pretty mainstream festival, but this year they have partnered with the Upright Citizens Brigade and 92Y Tribeca for a number of shows in an effort to give the fest an air of indie cred. You can obtain free tickets to all of the Comedy Central Presents shows at this year’s NY Comedy Festival by clicking on this link (most are already full though).

Check out the full New York Comedy Festival lineup after the jump.

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UPDATE: I just realized that I forgot to mention that The Boss will also be appearing tonight (Nov 4) at the Stand Up For Heroes benefit at Town Hall along with Brian Williams, Stephen Colbert, Louis CK, Lisa Lampanelli, John Ondrasik and other special guests..

In between his regular tour dates with the E Street Band, Bruce Springsteen will be appearing (presumably solo) at a benefit concert for Autism Speaks on November 17, 2009 at Carnegie Hall. Tickets for that show are pretty pricey, but it’s a benefit, and it’s for a good cause.

Benefit Concert for Autism Speaks with Jerry Seinfeld
and a special appearance by Bruce Springsteen
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall
Seventh Avenue and 57th Street, New York City
6:30 PM – 7:30 PM: Pre-show Private Reception for Sponsors
Sponsored by KRG Children’s Charitable Foundation (Business Attire)
7:30 PM: Performance
Buy Tickets

In other Boss news, it has just been announced that Bruce will be reviving the classic album + greatest hits format for his two upcoming Madison Square Garden shows (Buy Tickets). New Yorker’s will be treated to the The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle and The River, each being performed in their entirety for the first time.

Special programs announced for this weekend’s Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band shows at Madison Square Garden

On Saturday, November 7, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will perform The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle in its entirety for the first time.

On Sunday, November 8, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will perform The River in its entirety for the first time.

The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle was originally released in 1973 and The River was originally released in 1980. They now join Born to Run, Darkness on the Edge of Town, and Born in the USA as albums that Bruce and the Band have performed in their entirety during their Fall tour. [BruceSpringsteen.net]

The classic British comedy series Fawlty Towers has turned 30 years old and in honor of the occasion BBC Video has just released a 3 disc box set containing all 12 episodes of the original series, plus interviews, commentaries, outtakes and a whole disc worth of special features. The Times Online recently ran an interview with an interview with Prunella Scales (Sybil Fawlty) where they discussed the 30th anniversary of the series and her role in British television history:

One of the striking things about the shows is that most scenes were filmed once without the opportunity to reshoot if things weren’t quite right. On the new set of remastered DVDs, Cleese provides a commentary that reveals him as a frustrated perfectionist. He chuckles along at classic moments — “excuse me laughing at my own jokes, but I think that was Connie’s” — but is also hypercritical. He points out where moments of slapstick weren’t spot-on, analyses how lines could have been tweaked and picks over minute editing decisions: “Could have taken the first three seconds off that shot.”

But what is striking is how quick the show still seems. “It hasn’t lost pace, that’s the great thing about it,” says Scales. “And that’s because of the talent of Connie and John and the rigour of John; how fast he played. If you couldn’t keep up with him you had to really get in there. That’s what its enduring quality is, the pace.”

The reaction of the audiences when they recorded the shows was positive, but she had no inkling that she was involved in something that would go on to top polls of the greatest British television programmes. [Times Online]

This set is truly a gem and something every comedy fan should own, that’s why I’m pleased to offer 3 copies of Fawlty Towers: The Complete Series Remastered DVD box set to three lucky readers of this site. To enter the contest, just fill out the entry form after the jump (just don’t mention the war!). Winners will be notified and selected on November 11, 2009. Contest is available to US and Canadian residents.

But wait, that’s not all, in addition to my contest, there is a “Fawlty Towers Lookalike Contest” going on right now on Facebook where you can win even bigger prizes including a signed John Cleese Photo, a John Cleese signed Fawlty Towers DVD and a bunch of other FT related items. John Cleese himself will be picking the winners of this contest!

Bumpershine contest entry form, more info about the DVD box set and the Fawlty Towers Lookalike Contest after the jump.

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Skins USA Open Casting Call

The massively popular UK teen drama Skins is being remade for American television and casting for the new series is about to begin in New York and Toronto.

US cable network MTV is to create an American version of hit E4 teen drama Skins and has promised to “preserve the authenticity” of the UK version, which included graphic scenes of drug taking, drinking, swearing and casual sex.

Viacom-owned MTV landed the rights to develop the drama – which regularly pulled in more than 1 million viewers during its three series on Channel 4’s digital channel E4 – “after intense competition” over two years, according to the US broadcaster.

In a bid to maintain the original production’s successful model of bringing in new young writers, MTV will also draft in teenagers to write and star in the series, which will be set in Baltimore, Maryland. [Guardian.co.uk]

The Skins USA Open Casting Call will take place on November 15, 2009 at University Settlement (273 Bowery at Houston, New York, NY) from 10AM – 4PM. They are looking for teens aged 15-18, actors and non-actors are welcome.

Here’s a little more about the casting call from the flyer:

No acting experience necessary, we are seeking brave, charismatic, genuine, edgy teens. All ethnicities are encouraged to attend.

Skins is a comedic drama that follows a group of teenagers from Baltimore, Maryland as they grow up. Skins deals with the personal struggles, issues of race, religion, drugs, sexuality and eating disorders.

The New York Comedy Festival is in town this week (more on that later) and there are some pretty big names in town doing some smaller shows before the big event begins. Here are a couple great comedy options for this Monday night (Nov 2), and if you act fast, you can probably still catch both of these shows before they start.

WHIPLASH! with Colin Quinn & The Sklar Brothers, Sean Patton and Andrea Rosen
Monday, November 2 at 11:00pm
UCB Theatre 307 W.26th (corner of 8th Ave)
FREE

TYF! w/ Colin Quinn, Bob Powers, The Pleasure Syndicate, Bryan Tucker, and Liam McEneaney
Monday, November 2 at 8:00pm
Lolita Bar 266 Broome St
$5

The Very Best

Photo: Abbey Braden

Though they just played the Flavorpill Halloween Party, The Very Best didn’t have a “proper” NYC gig scheduled until now. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the band will be playing Santos Party House on November 4, 2009 at 9PM (Buy Tickets).

For those of you unfamiliar with the band, here’s a little press blurbage:

The Very Best embodies a without-borders approach to music-making that could only happen in the 21st century.

The band came together when Mwamwaya first met Radioclit’s Etienne Tron in 2007 while haggling over a bicycle in the London second-hand furniture shop he ran near the duo’s studio. Following the exchange, Mwamwaya was invited to Tron’s house-warming party where he met the other half of Radioclit, Johan Karlberg. Esau was asked to come to Radioclit’s studio after he told Karlberg he was a drummer. It turned out Esau was a singer too and they decided to collaborate, combining Radioclit’s vast production experience and self-described “ghettopop” style—having produced and remixed tracks for the likes of M.I.A., Lily Allen, Justin Timberlake, Santigold, Britney Spears, TV On The Radio, David Banner, Buraka Som Sistema among others—with Mwamwaya’s emotive vocal approach. Karlberg dubbed Mwamwaya “the African Phil Collins,” and they have been recording songs together ever since.

More The Very Best tour dates over here.

Noah and the Whale at the Bowery Ballroom (05/01/09)

Photo: Winnie Cheung (more)

Noah and the Whale’s brilliant new album The First Days of Spring, just came out last month on Interscope/Cherrytree Records and the band begins a three night residency tonight (Nov 2) at the Mercury Lounge in support of it. The festivities actually kicked off on Sunday night (Nov. 1) with a Q&A and screening of Charlie Fink’s 45 minute companion film to The First Days of Spring at Pianos. The film was shot on location in London and Surrey with an ensemble cast including model Daisy Lowe and is included with the deluxe edition of the CD.

As some of you may know, I’m a sucker for chamber pop, and this album won me over right off the bat, it reminds me of The National, but with more melancholy and less rock posturing. It’s sweeping and cinematic and every time it ends and I just want to cue it up and all over again. Like I said, you can make comparisons to The National, but there’s so much more than that to this record, it starts off rooted in sort of a pop/rock chamber vibe and then veers off into instrumental, orchestral, and even choral territory for a few songs. Not until we hear the song “Stranger” and the electric guitar reappears, are we reminded again that we started out listening to a pop album. One thing I really love about The First Days of Spring is the fact that it works so well as a complete work of art, or a as a concept record, if you will. While I think there are a lot of great songs on this album, I honestly feel that just listening to one song as a single does this album a disservice, each track really needs to be enjoyed in the larger context. This has to be one of my favorite records of the year, and when you account for complete plays, probably the one I’ve listened to the most in 2009.

Tickets are still available for the Noah and the Whale shows at the Mercury Lounge, and I suggest you snap one up while you still can. Atlantic recording artist Robert Francis is set to play the middle slot for all three nights and the opening slots will be filled by Alex and Janel (11/2), Essie Jain (11/3) and Sharon Van Etten (11/4) respectively. Trailer for the First Days of Spring and more Noah and The Whale tour dates after the jump.

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