SEC Kick-Off 8/26

Southeastern Conference Kickoff Classic w/Guest Speaker 6:00 PM EST @ Legends

6 West 33rd Street
Between Fifth Avenue & Broadway
New York, NY 10001
Bar: (212) 967-7792
Time: 6:00 to 11:00 PM

Food & drink specials and guest speaker TBA:

* Date & Time Subject to Change.

BOOK: AD: New Orleans After The Deluge

TONIGHT: A book party for "the book Dave Eggers hails as 'one of the best-ever examples of comics reportage, and one of the clearest portraits of post-Katrina New Orleans yet published,' and Cornel West calls 'intimate and yet seismic in its scope.'" (source)

7PM @ Idlewild Books, co-sponsored by SMITH and Teachers & Writers Collaborative. Featuring live music by Mary McBride, refreshments, and an art auction to benefit Common Ground Relief. 12 West 19th St., New York City, 7pm

Rosanne Cash @ St. Ann's Warehouse

Photo: Annie Leibowitz

“If my father had been a martial arts master, he might have passed a martial arts ‘secret’ on to me, his oldest child. If he had been a surgeon, he might have taken me into his operating room and pointed out the arteries and organs. If he were a robber baron, he might have surveyed his empire and said, ‘Honey, some day this will all be yours!’ But he was a musician and a songwriter, and he gave me The List.” Rosanne Cash

St. Ann's Warehouse presents the World Premiere concert of ROSANNE CASH The List, the first album culled from a list of “100 Essential Country Songs” that Johnny Cash created for his daughter when she was 18. Alarmed that Rosanne lacked a deep understanding of country music, Johnny gave her the list and insisted she learn them all. Filtered through her own unique, sophisticated perspective, Rosanne covers songs from The List with her own stylish interpretations, paving their way to a permanent place in the American Songbook. Produced and arranged by Grammy-Award winner John Leventhal, The List includes masterpieces by The Carter Family, Patsy Cline, Merle Haggard, Hank Williams, Hank Snow, Bob Dylan and more. (source)

These concerts are not until October 9 & 10 but tix are on sale now until 9/2 for St. Ann's members and then open up to the general public.

EAT: 3rd Ward Bluegrass BBQ 8/23 @ 4PM

August 23, 4 to 9 p, FREE Admission, Cheap Eats & Drinks

Join 3rd Ward for an afternoon of Bluegrass music and BBQ! Local Bluegrass bands will perform between 4 and 7 p and then at 8 p Bluegrass Musicians are invited to grab their banjos, mandolins and acoustic guitars for an open session of parking-lot pickin' in the yard.

Open to everyone, just throw on your country clothes and come out for this buckdancing, bluesy, Brooklyn BBQ. RSVP events@3rdward.com

3rd Ward is a member-based design center for creative professionals in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. They are committed to providing resources, opportunities and a dynamic-creative network to our members and the community at large. Its 20,000 sq. ft. space houses four gorgeous photo studios, a professional wood & metal shop, a fully loaded digital media lab, shared & private office space and a large interdisciplinary art education program. Throughout the year they also offer exciting events and opportunities for artists. (source)

EAT: Second Annual Arkansas Pig Roast (8/22)

Second Annual Arkansas Pig Roast 8/22 @ 1:00 PM EST

Overlook Bar
Air Conditioned Room Inside & Outside Patio
225 East 44th Street
Between 2nd & 3rd Avenue
New York, NY 10017
Bar: (212) 682-7266
Time: 1:00 to 5:00 PM

Cost, Food & Drink Specials:

$40.00 for all you can eat and drink draft beer of the day (either Bud Lite or Miller Lite).

$20.00 for all you can eat and drink sodas of the day (includes Ice Tea, Lemonade, Diet Coke and Regular Coke).

All you can eat includes a slow roasting pig, hot dogs, hamburgers, cheeseburgers (with all of the fixings), grilled corn, baked beans, potatoes salad, spicy okra, green salad, corn bread and rolls.

Entertainment:Live acoustic music provided by “singer/songwriters Jon D’ Angelo and Jeff Fiorello.

BOOK: Zeitoun

From McSweeney's: When Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, Abdulrahman Zeitoun, a prosperous Syrian-American and father of four, chose to stay through the storm to protect his house and contracting business. In the days after, he traveled the flooded streets in a secondhand canoe, passing on supplies and helping those he could. But, on September 6, 2005, Zeitoun abruptly disappeared. Eggers’s riveting nonfiction book, three years in the making, explores Zeitoun’s roots in Syria, his marriage to Kathy—an American who converted to Islam—and their children, and the surreal atmosphere (in New Orleans and the United States generally) in which what happened to Abdulrahman Zeitoun became possible. Zeitoun was written in close collaboration with its subjects and involved vast research—in this case, in the U.S., Spain, and Syria.

"Eggers honors that steady spirit of the Zeitoun family and all rebuilding New Orleanians with this heartfelt book, so fierce in its fury, so beautiful in its richly nuanced, compassionate telling of an American tragedy, and finally, so sweetly, stubbornly hopeful."
— The Times-Picayune (Read the rest of the review here.)

"Imagine Charles Dickens, his sentimentality in check but his journalistic eyes wide open, roaming New Orleans after it was buried by Hurricane Katrina... Eggers' tone is pitch-perfect-suspense blended with just enough information to stoke reader outrage and what is likely to be a typical response: How could this happen in America?... It's the stuff of great narrative nonfiction... Fifty years from now, when people want to know what happened to this once-great city during a shameful episode of our history, they will still be talking about a family named Zeitoun."
— The New York Times Book Review (Read the rest of the review here .)

EAT: Tuesday Dinner with the Dawgs

The Georgia Bulldog NYC alum are getting together tonight at 7PM at Dinosaur Bar-B-Que in Harlem for their monthly “Tuesday Dinner with the Dawgs.” Stop by for dinner or a drink!

When: Tuesday, August 18th @ 7pm
Where:
Dinosaur BBQ
646 W 131st St
New York, NY 10027-7948
(212) 694-1777

For more information please contact mandymirvin@gmail.com

R.I.P. Jim Dickinson

Photo: Joe Presdeo

Legendary music producer Jim Dickinson passed away over the weekend.

From Bob Mehr's Memphis Commercial Appeal obit:

The North Mississippi Allstars have lost their father, Bob Dylan has lost a “brother,” rock and roll has lost one of its great cult heroes and Memphis has lost a musical icon with the death of Jim Dickinson.

The 67-year-old Dickinson passed away early Saturday morning in his sleep. The Memphis native and longtime Mississippi resident had been in failing health for the past few months and was recuperating from heart surgery at Methodist Extended Care Hospital.

"He went peacefully,” said his wife, Mary Lindsay Dickinson, adding that her husband remained in good spirits until the end. “He had a great life. He loved his family and music. And he loved Memphis music, specifically.”

During the course of his colorful half-century career, Dickinson built a worldwide reputation as a session player for the likes of Dylan and The Rolling Stones, a producer for influential groups including Big Star and The Replacements, a sometime solo artist and the patriarch of a small musical dynasty through his sons, Cody and Luther Dickinson of the North Mississippi Allstars.

Career highlights

1966: Cuts the song “Cadillac Man” for Sun Records, attracting the interest of his idol, Sam Phillips.

1969: Plays piano on “Wild Horses” for The Rolling Stones in Muscle Shoals, Ala.

1975: Produces Big Star’s dark masterpiece Third/Sister Lovers. It eventually is named one of Rolling Stone magazine’s “500 Greatest Albums of All Time.”

1986: Rowdy Minneapolis rockers The Replacements come to Memphis to record the critically-acclaimed Pleased to Meet Me with Dickinson producing.

1997: Plays on Bob Dylan’s Grammy-winning “comeback” album Time Out of Mind.

2009: Releases his swan song, Dinosaurs Run in Circles, a collection of old pop standards.

Register now to EAT MOR CHIKIN (8/29)

*** UGA / Chick-fil-A Picnic in Central Park ***

When: Saturday, August 29, 2009 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Where: Arthur Ross Pinetum* (map)

Registration is required and limited to UGA alumni and families.
This event will reach capacity quickly so register for this FREE event early!

*Enter the park at W 86th Street and Central Park West.
Bring blankets and frisbees!*

STAGE: Sweet Storm

In 1960 Florida, Ruthie and Bo, two young newlyweds, enter their honeymoon suite in the sky, a tree house. A romantic gesture from the young groom to his wife. Yet Bo’s expectations of living happily ever after in the sky are soon grounded by Ruthie’s realization that marriage comes with many unforeseen — and frightening — challenges. The two lovers struggle to fortify themselves against forces both inside and outside the tree house. (source)

Sweet Storm, and its "basketful of Southernisms" (Time Out NY), is playing now thru August 16 @ The Kirk Theatre.

SOUNDS: The Derek Trucks Band @ Lincoln Center (tomorrow)

FREE - Thursday, August 13 @ 6PM - Damrosch Park Bandshell

Snehasish Mozumder & Som
Jake Shimabukuro
and The Derek Trucks Band

"Three exploratory string virtuosos expand the boundaries of their instruments. Classical and jazz fusion’s Snehasish Mozumder’s double-neck mandolin is at the center of a band that swings it North Indian style. Hawaiian ukelele maverick Jake Shimabukuro’s extraordinary facility is mesmerizing at any speed. The Derek Trucks Band’s namesake slide guitarist, a member of The Allman Brothers’ extended clan, rocks the blues the modern way, blending jazz, Latin, East Indian, and other global influences." (source)

God Ain't Got No Black Church and No White Church...

David Lynch's Interview Project has me waxing nostalgic about a similar endeavor that a cousin and I undertook while roadtripping around the South and Midwest in 2001. That March we drove the Great River Road from St. Louis to New Orleans where we met and interviewed Leroy the goat man from Kentucky; the waitress in Big Reel Lake, TN whose life was incomplete until she had a child of her own; three convicts working on the side of the road in the Mississippi Delta; and Margaret and Preacher a little further on in Vicksburg.

Interview Project operates under the same premise: ride around and talk to folks who just look interesting. Their posting began 6/1 with an interview from Needles, CA and a new segment goes up every three days. The route has snaked its way from CA to UT, NM, TX, OK, KS, MO, AR, and as of Sunday (8/9) they've hit Vicksburg, MS where they interviewed Margaret Dennis.

And so, I remember a little over 8 years ago when Jessica and I paid our own visit. Margaret and Preacher welcomed us into their home and their church. Preacher took us onto his bus and stood at his pulpit and prayed Psalm 23 over us. Well, I can't say much more about it than that except you kinda sorta had to be there. And with the Interview Project you kinda sorta can.

ART: De-weaponizing the Gun

The exhibit of Walton Creel's De-weaponizing The Gun at the Coleman Center For the Arts in York, AL closes this week with a reception and community paintball event on August 15. Catch it while you can...

"Creel’s work investigates various aspects of Southern culture. In his recent series, De-weaponizing the Gun, Creel renders iconic images from nature with a .22 caliber rifle. The pointillist 'drawings,' which include a deer, a wren, and an owl, among others, are presented on four by six foot painted aluminum panels. Creel states that his recent work is meant 'to manipulate the gun into a tool of creation.' The irony of these dynamic images bring both humor and weight to Creel’s subject matter." (source)

Be on the lookout for issue #82 of New American Paintings which features Creel's work along with other artists from the South. The current issue was juried by Ron Platt, curator of Contemporary Art, Birmingham Museum of Art.

And if you're stuck (like me) in NYC and can't make it to AL this coming weekend, you can still blast-off with a little Shootin' & Drinkin' thanks to Urban Escapes.

SCREEN: Ride With The Devil + Ang Lee live @ Lincoln Center 8/10

Tonight (8/10) @ Lincoln Center: Following the 7:30 p.m. screening of Ang Lee's Civil War epic Ride With The Devil, will be director Ang Lee, longtime collaborator James Schamus, actor Jeffrey Wright, producer Ted Hope and novelist Daniel Woodrell. Tickets: $15 public, $13 senior (62+), $12 member/student/child. Limited ticket availability.

Lee’s Western sensibilities flourish in this vibrant and underappreciated look at a small corner of Civil War history: the brutal guerilla fighting between pro-Union Jayhawkers and pro-slavery Bushwhackers along the Kansas/Missouri border. Despite family objections, friends Jack Bull Chiles (Skeet Ulrich) and Jake Roedel (The Ice Storm-veteran Tobey Maguire) join a group of Southern renegades, only to be overcome by the chaos of battle, a surprising romance, and the deadly range of personalities within their ranks. Geoff Andrews of Time Out London described the film as "truly epic in scale yet full of beautifully observed details. [It] benefits hugely from sturdy yet exquisite performances."

Tobey Maguire headlines a cast of future stars that includes Skeet Ulrich, James Caviezel, Jonathan Rhys Myers, Simon Baker, Jeffrey Wright, Mark Ruffalo, Tom Wilkinson, and Jewel, in her film debut. (source)

SCREEN: Beeswax + director @ Film Forum this weekend

Director Andrew Bujalski (Funny Ha Ha, Mutual Appreciation) comes to NYC this weekend with his new film, Beeswax.

Beeswax revolves around the personal and professional entanglements of twin sisters Jeannie and Lauren – played by newcomers Tilly and Maggie Hatcher – living in Austin, Texas. Jeannie co-owns a vintage clothing store with Amanda, a semi-estranged friend who she fears is trying to end their partnership. Lauren leads a looser, less tethered existence and is considering getting out of the country altogether. When Jeannie receives an email from Amanda threatening a lawsuit, she calls her law student ex-boyfriend Merrill for help. Eager for distraction from his own problems, he begins helping the sisters with theirs. "Beeswax" is a story about families, friends, lovers and those awkward moments that bring all of them together. (source)

See ANDREW BUJALSKI IN PERSON at Film Forum on Fri (8/7) & Sat (8/8) at the 7:50 & 10pm shows, and Sunday (8/9) at the 3:15 show.

SOUNDS: Cat Power plays Summerstage this Sunday (8/10)

Cat Power and Juliette Lewis join the Pretenders this Sunday, August 10 at Central Park Summerstage (Rumsey Field). The performance is pegged as the 2009 Summerstage Gala which raises funds for City Parks Foundation’s free year-round arts performances in parks citywide. Click here for more info.

ART: GA Alum Laura Loving tonight...RSVP by noon today

*** NYC DAWGS ART EVENT ***
Laura Loving at the New York Mercantile Exchange

When: Thursday, August 6 5pm-8pm
Where: One North End Avenue New York, NY

Join the NYC Dawgs for a night of culture to celebrate the art of a UGA Alumna and fellow New Yorker, Laura Loving. Laura will have her art on display and for sale at the New York Mercantile Exchange downtown. She is known for her Pop Art works on New York landmarks and people. She has now also created a special collection on Athens and UGA. All will be displayed at this reception.

Because of security at the NYMEX, you must RSVP to this event so your name can be passed along. Please RSVP on the Facebook page for the event (log in first and then enter the address).
You can also navigate there from the "New York City Dawgs" group page under events. If you are not a member of Facebook, you can register through the University Alumni New York page.

RSVP Deadline is 12-Noon August 6th, 2009

SOUNDS: Justin Townes Earle @ Beacon Theatre 8/6

Justin Townes Earle, son of Steve Earle, stepson of Allison Moorer, and named for songwriter Townes Van Zandt, comes to NYC's Beacon Theatre tomorrow night (8/6) with Old Crow Medicine Show for the Big Surprise Tour.

SOUNDS: Jason Isbell TONIGHT

Former Drive-By Trucker Jason Isbell performs in NYC tonight!

First, a free concert @ 5PM at The 1st Annual Hudson Square Music & Wine Festival, an after-work NYC backyard BBQ put together by Great Performances and City Winery.

At 9PM they head inside City Winery for an acoustic set. "Hailing from Alabama, Jason Isbell is a continuation in the lineage of the area's other native songwriting legends. Cut from the same cloth as other masters such as Arthur Alexander, Donnie Fritts, Eddie Hinton, just to name a few, Isbell crafts sultry, soulful tunes that pen 'the perfect soundtrack for a night alone with a bottle of Makers.' After a stint with The Drive-By Truckers, Jason Isbell is now on his own creating the songs that have some predicting that he's on course to become one of the best songwriters of his generation. With the help of his band, The 400 Unit, Jason Isbell has recorded his second solo album, Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit. With critical acclaim coming in from all around, it promises to be his strongest offering to date. Tonight, Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit come to The City Winery and in the same words that Rolling Stone uses to describe his newest album, it will surely be an event 'not to be missed.'

"This show's special guests are The Truckstop Allstars featuring Kevn Kinney (Drivin' n' Cryin') Aaron Lee Tasjan (The Madison Square Gardeners) Chris Masterson (Son Volt) and Eleanor Whitmore (Eleanor Whitmore Band)." (source)

STAGE: Vanities (the musical)

Yeah, I'm pretty much a sucker for anything having to do with Texas cheerleaders...

"Vanities, A New Musical, spans the turbulent ’60s through the late ’80s and explores how important friends are as one faces life’s defining moments: growing up, getting older and getting over it. Vanities is a funny and poignant look at three women who discover that, even in 30 years of rapidly changing times, the one thing they can rely on is each other.

Based on the smash hit that ran for 5 years, Jack Heifner adapts his time-honored play, David Kirshenbaum writes the tunefully evocative score and two time Tony Award winner Judith Ivey directs. Bob Verini of Variety says 'May well outshine the three-decade prominence of Heifner‘s original.'" (source)

Playing thru August 9 @ Second Stage Theatre.