popcorn youth

It is with a heavy, heavy heart that I report that Scottish musician John Martyn passed away earlier today. Despite his famously cantankerous personality, Martyn touched and influenced everyone he worked or played with, from Nick Drake (to whom Martyn dedicated his iconic record “Solid Air”), to David Gilmour to Michael Chapman, a musician whom […]

This afternoon at 5:15pm, New York-based photographer Adam Fuss will speak at Cornell’s Johnson Museum in conjunction with the group exhibition “Picturing Eden.” We have yet to see the show but are strangely compelled by his use of early photography techniques (i.e. the use of daguerreotypes) with both concrete and abstract subject matter. The show […]

Not watching LOST tonight? Loser. Just kidding!
If you’re not watching, stop by Felicia’s for their first Recession Wednesday. They say:
“EVERY WEDNESDAY:  Felicia announces Recession Wednesdays.  $1 PBR all day and night!  Recession does not have to mean depression.  Poor does not have to mean sober.  Squirrels do not have to eat birds.”
Sounds fun!

Plenty of hump day links …..
……Happy Chinese New Year! It’s the year of the Ox. Guess who is an Ox? Our new president! Here’s what the venerable Wikipedia had to say:
“Traditionally, people born under the influence of the Ox are thought to be kind, caring souls, logical, positive, filled with common sense and with their […]

By now, you may have heard that American fiction writer, literary critic and essayist John Updike passed away this morning from an ongoing battle with lung cancer. He was 76. I first ‘discovered’ Updike as a middle schooler browsing through my dad’s bookshelves and reading ‘Rabbit Run’. I later had the distinct pleasure of meeting […]

Orbiting Art Ensemble presents: HORNS! HORNS!! HORNS!!! A night of Improv, Uncharted Tunes, and Untuned Charts, at 9:30pm tonight at the Lost Dog Lounge, featuring:
Keir Neuringer: Saxophone, tape, efx
Mark Weinand: Saxophone(s), BioDiesel
Mike Stark: Keyboards, Keys and Boards
Matt Saccuccimorano: Drums and Cymbals and Drums
Brian Dozoretz: Upright Bass, Electric Bass, efx,+ Wurlitzer BRASS HORN

Not much else this […]

Today marks the beginning of the annual Light in Winter Festival. There are far too many events going on in the next three days to list here, so check the official LiW website for a full schedule and details. That being said, here are some highlights (we believe) of the festival to get you through […]

Jennie Lowe (nee Stearns) will perform tonight at the Lost Dog Lounge with a full band: Emily Arin, Mike Stark, Matt Morano, and Brian Dozoretz. Mossy Pine will open, a semi-Ithaca-based band that has members in both Los Angeles and Brooklyn. Mossy Pine is headed by Christopher Seeds, a fairly new Ithaca transplant that has […]

Yep, that guy. Mike Doughty - the former frontman of 90s alt-rock band Soul Coughing - will be playing a solo acoustic show at Castaways tonight, as brought to you by Dan Smalls Presents. We recently had the pleasure of interviewing Doughty for the Ithaca Times and found him to be pretty frank and honest […]

Big day today. It goes without saying that there are MANY inaugural parties in Ithaca today, including events at:
-Micawbers
-The Rongo
-The Lost Dog Lounge
-Castaways
I’m sure there are more, but those seem to be the big places for tonight. Looking into the next few days, the major event this week is, of course, the 6th Annual Light […]

The Chanti Loft will host a farewell concert and benefit for local fiddler Brian Burke (pictured, middle) tonight at 9pm. Burke has been an integral member of many local bands, including Hee Haw Nightmare and Burke, Burke & Bone (pictured here),  both of which will be performing this evening. Burke will be performing a rare […]

[Read my top records of 2008 here; top singles of 2008 here]
Musical exploration in Ithaca hummed with life this year. The flip side to all of the exciting activity is the challenge in keeping up with local music releases, collaborations, and concerts. But what a pleasure it is to reflect upon what has made me […]

Happy weekend everyone! I already think I’ve found my favorite song of 2009 (so far): “My Girls” by Animal Collective. Wow. Talk about an earworm — I can’t stop listening to it. It was posted earlier this week on their myspace and already has over 70,000 hits. Damn. As for things going on tonight, Cajun/zydeco […]

Happy new year! The first two weeks of January are typically verrrrry slow around Ithaca but I’ll post the show calendar anyway, with an extra couple weeks looking into the rest of January and a little of February. If you’re around, I’ll be playing tonight at WVBR (that’s 93.5FM) tonight from 7-11pm, so call in […]