The Magnetic Fields takes its "delicate, sublime sound" (Boston Herald) to sold-out set at BAM ... Shawn Colvin sings in Southern California ... Robin Holcomb scores a silent film in NYC ... Kronos Quartet, Wu Man play A Chinese Home in snow-covered Maryland ... Natalie Merchant confers at TED ... Pat Metheny plays Paris ... Mandy Patinkin, Patti Lupone continue "can't miss" show (Toronto Star) in Toronto ... Punch Brothers play the Midwest ... Allen Toussaint takes "Southern Nights" to Northern Lights ... Wilco plays free set for Vancouver Olympic Winter Games ...
The Magnetic Fields have just come from two nights at Boston's Wilbur Theatre, after which the Boston Herald's Jim Sullivan called Stephin Merritt "the Leonard Cohen of his generation." In the concert review, Sullivan described the band's music as a combination of "the giddy and the dour, the stark and the sumptuous, the gentle and the abrasive. Toss them in Merritt’s distinctive sonic blender, and a delicate, sublime sound comes out." On Saturday, the sublime sound will come from the Howard Gilman Opera House at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, where the band will play a sold-out set.
Not long before The Magnetic Fields take the stage at BAM on Saturday, NPR's Weekend All Things Considered is scheduled to air a piece about the group and its latest Nonesuch release, Realism., at approximately 5:40 PM ET. Check local listings at npr.org.
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Carolina Chocolate Drops, whose Nonesuch debut, Genuine Negro Jig, is out on Tuesday, is the subject on an extensive profile on NPR's All Things Considered scheduled to air this Monday. For program details and local listings, or to listen online, visit npr.org.
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Shawn Colvin performs concerts on either side of Los Angeles this weekend, with a set at the Canyon Club in Agoura Hills, north of the city tonight, and a show further south at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano on Saturday. There's a preview of tonight's concert, including an interview with the singer-songwriter, in the Ventura County Star at vcstar.com.
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Robin Holcomb is in New York City to perform a special free set at the World Financial Center Winter Garden tonight as part of WNYC's New Sounds Live series. For the event, Holcomb and musicians will perform her score to the silent film That Night's Wife by Yasujiro Ozu as the film is screened.
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Though Kronos Quartet has been snowed in at its hotel in College Park, Maryland, all week, along with much of the mid-Atlantic, the show will go on as planned tonight at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland. Kronos will be joined by pipa virtuoso Wu Man for A Chinese Home, conceived by Wu, Kronos Quartet's David Harrington, and the piece's director and visual designer Chen Shi-Zheng. On the first half of the program, Kronos and Wu perform Tan Dun's Ghost Opera, which they recorded for Nonesuch in 1996. Ticket holders who are unable to attend the event due to the snow may request refunds today by calling the Center's ticket office at 301-405-2787.
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Natalie Merchant participates in the latest TED Conference this evening at the Long Beach Performing Arts Center in Long Beach, California. She joins architect David Rockwell, comedian Sarah Silverman, and playwright Eve Ensler for the "Play" session. David Byrne was on hand for yesterday's "Invention" session.
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Pat Metheny's European tour continues, following a performance at the Barbican in London earlier this week to which the Times of London gave four stars, saying Metheny gave "a highly original performance, full of delightful invention and an almost childlike imagination." After tonight's performance at Frits Philips Hall in Eindhoven, Netherlands, Pat and his orchestrion head to France for a number of shows, including Saturday night's show at the Olympia in Paris and Monday's at Opera Berlioz in Montpellier.
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Mandy Patinkin is on tour with Patti Lupone, performing all this week at the Royal Alexandria Theatre in Toronto. Shows continue through Sunday. The Toronto Star gives it a perfect four stars, exclaiming, "This is one you simply can't miss."
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Punch Brothers perform two shows in the Midwest this weekend: at Earlham College's Goddard Auditorium in Richmond, Indiana, tonight, and at Lincoln Theatre in Columbus, Ohio, on Saturday. Next week, the group begins a string of dates in the South with a performance in Charlottesville, Virginia, with label mate Christina Courtin opening.
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Allen Toussaint, the man behind the tune "Southern Nights," performs at the Northern Lights Theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, tonight. His Nonesuch debut, The Bright Mississippi, a celebration of New Orleans' rich jazz heritage, was recently named Best Jazz Album of 2009 by the readers of Playboy magazine. (Amadou & Mariam's Welcome to Mali was picked as Best World Album.) To mark the New Orleans Saints' victory in the Super Bowl and next week's Mardi Gras, the Nonesuch Store is offering 31% off the album's standard list price, making it $13 for CD and $21 on vinyl.
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As the Olympics get under way, so too does the Canadian leg of Wilco's 2010 world tour. The band performs a sold-out set, with Califone opening, at the Royal Theatre in Victoria, British Columbia, tonight, before heading to Olympics central in Vancouver to play a free show in David Lam Park on Saturday. It's part of the city's 2010 Olympic Winter Games "LiveCity" festivities. On Monday, it's off to Edmonton, Alberta, for a show at the Northern Jubilee Auditorium. There's a preview of Wilco's Canada tour, including an interview with band bassist John Stirratt, in the Toronto Sun at torontosun.com.
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