Rakim at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill
The veteran rapper just released The Seventh Seal, his first new album in a decade. Read Jesse Serwer’s review here—or just head to Times Square and see the dude play tonight.

Ray Davies at the Town Hall
The Kinks frontman plays the first gig of a two-night run featuring a pair of sets: one with an acoustic band, the other with the Dessoff Chamber Choir. Read Davies’s TONY interview here.

Dirty Projectors + tUnE-yArDs at Music Hall of Williamsburg
Dirty Projectors cap off a great year with a string of New York shows, featuring Ray Davies–approved tUnE-yArDs. (Read TONY’s Dirty Projectors interview here.)

Bob Dylan at United Palace Theatre
King Bob concludes his three-night stand in Washington Heights.

Cave In + Narrows + Trap Them at Knitting Factory Brooklyn
Beloved Boston band Cave In returns from a hiatus.

Sleigh Bells at (Le) Poisson Rouge
Find out what the fuss is about this rising Brooklyn dance-pop duo.

Photo: Lizz Kuehl

Loved the Jelly Pool Parties over the summer (and last year)? Yeah, so did we. This summer’s events featured Grizzly Bear, Girl Talk, the Black Lips, Dirty Projectors, Deerhunter, Dan Deacon, No Age, Mission of Burma, Beach House, Simian Mobile Disco, Wiz Khalifa—and who can forget Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz proudly introducing “Effed Up!”? Well, according to Jelly’s press release today, the future of the Pool Parties could be in jeopardy: “News came from the New York State Parks Department and the Open Space Alliance that the East River State Park may not be available to Jelly for the 2010 season. This will ultimately put an end to the flourishing free summer series.”

Click past the jump for info on how you can help.

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Dirty Projectors + tUnE-yArDs at Bowery Ballroom
Capping an extraordinary 2009, art-pop visionary Dave Longstreth, above, and his Dirty Projectors, about whom you may have read in TONY, kick off a triumphant homecoming stand. Opening is the compellingly eccentric one-woman band tUnE-yArDs.

Milton Nascimento at Carnegie Hall
The veteran Brazilian songman brings his unearthly falsetto to a hallowed stage.

Big Star + Kurt Vile and the Violators at Brooklyn Masonic Temple
A rebooted version of the iconic power-pop outfit Big Star plays behind a new rarities box. Support comes from tripped-out young tunesmith Kurt Vile.

Savion Glover: Jammin’ with the Masters at Blue Note
Star tap dancer Savion Glover matches wits with a fellow percussive genius, pioneering jazz drummer Roy Haynes.

Our Hit Parade at Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater
Several fabulous wackos—led by Bridgett Everett, Kenny Mellman and Neal Medlyn—offer skewed takes on current pop favorites. Read a recent TONY feature on the series here.

We’re betting R&B fan and musical polymath Dave Longstreth is pretty stoked about this one: Beyoncé’s li’l sis Solange has covered Dirty Projectors’ summer indie anthem, “Stillness Is the Move.” Unlike the DPs’ version, which starts off bare and then builds to a string-strafed climax, Solange’s reworking is slow and smooth, and has the singer backed up by a mellow bassline and a gorgeous tickly guitar hook. Check it out for yourself, here (thanks to Pitchfork.) After the jump: The official video with Longstreth and a llama.

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The Dirty Projectors, pictured, played “Cannibal Resource” on yesterday’s The Late Show with David Letterman. Watch here. [Pitchfork]

It’s about time Jay-Z’s Blueprint 3 album leaked. Stream it here courtesy of MTV before it drops September 11. [MTV]

Madonna can’t keep off her toes in the official video for “Celebration.” Watch it here or download it for free on iTunes before Thursday. [Rolling Stone]

The deal between Target and Pearl Jam passed the band’s “moral barometer” because its forthcoming album, Backspacer, will still be distributed through independent means. The store will also offer fans Rock Band tie-ins and other deal-sweeteners. [Rolling Stone]

Download  Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds‘ Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! for free here. [@amazonmp3]

Also free is a brand-new downloadable full-length from Ben Lee’s Noise Addict project, which now includes Lou Barlow (Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh) and Lara Meyerratken (El May). [Noise Addict]

And from the TONY desk:

Owen Pallett, the violin whiz behind Final Fantasy, Arcade Fire collabs and more, talks about the Pet Shop Boys and his work on Yes here. [The Volume]

Ex–Doobie Brother Michael McDonald recorded soulful lead vocals on an alternate version of Grizzly Bear’s “While You Wait for the Others.” Listen to a clip here. [The Volume]

Watch the haunting new video for “The Executioner’s Song” from Cass McCombs here, brought to you exclusively by TONY. [The Volume]

And…summer rolls along. New Yorkers can usually count on a full slate of great shows (many free! many outdoors!) every summer, and this weekend is no exception. Comin’ at ya:

Friday
Tyshawn Sorey—the extraordinary jazz drummer and composer—plays with Brandon Ross at the Stone. Read our feature on him here.

A rare show from Birdsongs of the Mesozoic (which Mission of Burma frontman Roger Miller recently rejoined) pops off at the Mercury Lounge. Read our show preview here.

A free triple bill of trippy electronics—led by Black Moth Super Rainbow—lands at South Street Seaport. Read our show preview here.

Los Lobos hop on a Rockin’ the River boat.

And Beyoncé happens at the Izod Center.

Saturday
Starting at 4pm, members of Dirty Projectors, Zs and Aa play a 12-hour benefit show at Death by Audio.

Bowery Poetry Club hosts a 25th-anniversary celebration of the Minutemen’s Double Nickels on the Dime. Former Minuteman Mike Watt appears.

A master of morose folk, Michael Gira, shares a bill with the prolific Wand at Issue Project Room.

The rough-edged Tyvek headlines a show at Cake Shop.

Sunday
The Pool Parties at East River State Park continue with a stellar lineup of noise and dance: …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, Black Lips, HEALTH and Grupo Fantasma.

The righteous metal of Torche and Harvey Milk hits the Music Hall of Williamsburg.

And if you’re looking for a nice wind-down to the weekend: Ginuwine headlines a free, ultrasmooth R&B bill at Central Park SummerStage.

Everyone knew this was going to be a popular show: The second of the Pool Party series at the East River State Park (last week was Mission of Burma), Sunday’s bill was topped by Dirty Projectors. But the line at the park gates stretched for a full three blocks up the street; clearly a lot of people have fallen pretty hard for the R&B-tinged hard rock Afrobeat grooves of Bitte Orca.

TONY photographers Francine Daveta and Lizz Kuehl were at the show—click past the jump for more photos and a show recap.

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Monotonix

Summer is kicking into full gear now, with everything from free shows to big festivals to late-night club gigs. In our humble opinion, this is what you should be getting into this weekend.

Friday
Paul McCartney—you may have heard of him—plays CitiField 44 years after the Beatles landed at Shea. He also plays the home of the Mets Saturday and Tuesday. (Read our show preview here.)

Two beloved blasts from the indie past—Superchunk and Versus—play a free one at South Street Seaport.

Saturday
Najat Aatabou, a Moroccan party-music queen, gets it going at Avery Fisher Hall. (Read our show preview here.)

A ton of A-list artists, including Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin, pay tribute to Nelson Mandela at Radio City Music Hall. (Read our show preview here.)

The Siren Music Festival hits Coney Island with some of indie’s best and brightest, including Built to Spill, Japandroids and Monotonix.

Oxford Collapse plays its last show ever at Collective Hardware. Damn, we liked them.

Nigeria’s famed King Sunny Adé heads up the African Festival at Celebrate Brooklyn at Prospect Park.

The Warped Tour pleases the teen set at Nassau Coliseum.

And for a late night jolt, don’t miss The Very Best at (Le) Poisson Rouge. (Read our feature on them here and our guide to a few of the trio’s choice samples here.)

Sunday
Rock the Bells features performances from Nas with Damian Marley, The Roots, Common and more. The hip-hop fest hits Nikon at Jones Beach—be sure to check out The Alchemist’s performance with Evidence, and read our review of his latest record here.

Necrophagist and Suffocation headline the Summer Slaughter tour. (Read our review of Suffocation’s new one here.)

Alpha Blondy and Lee “Scratch” Perry—a couple of reggae greats—assume control of SummerStage.

And if you’re searching for more indie cred, look no further than the Pool Party, with Dirty Projectors, Magnolia Electric Co. and Crystal Antlers at East River State Park. (Read our recent feature on Dirty Projectors here.)

It’s been a long wait to find out who/what was going to replace the free McCarren Pool shows, but we’ve finally got a lineup and, boy, is it a doozy! The shows will be taking place starting at 2pm at the Williamsburg Waterfront (East River State Park, 90 Kent Ave at North 9th St, Williamsburg, Brooklyn) every Sunday for eight weeks. That’s right; these concerts are not actually in a pool anymore. And if you don’t like music that much and are just going to pick up chicks or out-hipster the rest, there will be dodgeball and three-on-three basketball.

Also, here’s a little note that we found interesting from the press release: Disclaimer: Any and all underage drinking at The Pool Parties will result in prompt eviction from the premises and not being allowed to return for the duration of the series.

They should probably tell the Black Lips not to drink too.

Check the full lineup after the jump…

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Combing through each week’s stack of new ones can be a pain, and that’s what we’re here for—to tell you what to do. So check out these fresh discs:

Dirty Projectors Bitte Orca David Longstreth & Co. conduct a sonic experiment on your ears. (Check out our recent feature on the group here and listen to the record here.)

Elizabeth and the Catapult Taller Children The local trio hits the big time with quirky, catchy tunes. (Read our review here.)

Mos Def The Ecstatic Mos takes a break from acting to get a proper one out there. (Listen here.)

Todd Snider The Excitement Plan The Nashville songwriter makes exciting plans. (Watch Snider perform the lead track in an exclusive Time Out performance here.)

Sonic Youth The Eternal The New York group is eternal, all right: By our count, this is its 159th release. Might be slightly off. (Read our review here and listen here.)

As always, check out Largehearted Boy for a more exhaustive release wrap.

Friday night was the date for one of this summer’s first big shows—the fantasy billing of Brooklyn art-rockers Dirty Projectors, and um, Brooklyn art-rockers TV on the Radio, opening this year’s SummerStage season at Central Park. And it could/should/would have been perfect: the stage decked out to look like a fairground carousel, a sold-out-sized crowd, both bands having made the album of their careers so far…but for the rain (in the words of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, “Oh Lord, didn’t it rain?”). Three of the Volume staff went to the show. None lasted till the final chord. Here are our impressions.

Sophie Harris: I went the wrong way on the subway (duh), ran through the park in the rain to the sodden swells of Dirty Projectors’ highlife harmonies and arrived for their “thank you very much”s. It was half an hour or so before TVOTR came on, the rain now actively pouring. Filling the time, lines of people queuing at the food stand to buy a pitiful $6 cheeseburger or $6 can of beer… But TVOTR was amazing from pretty much the first note—a real punch (bam!) of sound. Loved the brass section, squawking and honking away, also Tunde’s expressive hand gestures. Feet so wet after half an hour, I had to throw in the towel.

Colin St. John: I had retained my poncho from the wet Phish shows I had seen earlier in the week, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t getting soaked. It was the first time I can recall a concert where nearly everyone in the crowd was holding an umbrella. Umbrellas at a concert! Anyhow, I was very impressed with TV on the Radio’s sound, which has come a long way live. So impressed was I that I stayed for the whole gig, only leaving once the encore started in order to beat the crowd and show up—soaked—to some fancy bar where my friend was having a birthday party. I suppose I may have turned some heads.

Jay Ruttenberg: Usually, when I go to Central Park SummerStage, it rains. I should be banned from the place—I’m like a one-man cloud. In the past, I’ve seen bands gain fortitude from the weather—most memorably, a Devo show in which the sky opened up seconds after the band’s final note, proving once and for all that the Lord is a fan. (As if there was any doubt!) TV on the Radio brought its A-game—blaring horns and paranoia—but never captured the Lord of the Flies splendor that can elevate a drenched concert. The band rounds out its summer at SummerStage’s outer-borough counterpart, Celebrate Brooklyn. Any guess at the forecast?

Dirty Projectors will play the Williamsburg Waterfront July 19, and TVOTR will play the Celebrate Brooklyn Prospect Park Bandshell Aug 11. Check out Brooklyn Vegan for some ace pictures of wet people, here.

Nine Inch Nails

It looks to be a rainy one tonight, but don’t let that stop you from checking out one of the fine musical events.

Friday

On the sold-out front, TV on the Radio is headlining a SummerStage show, which boasts a particularly excellent opening act, Dirty Projectors. Check out our particularly excellent article on DPs here.

Out on Long Island, Phish plays its last of three New York dates to, yes, a sold-out audience.

If you’re more into being able to get into a show, you may want to check out retro-soul big shot Lee Fields at Southpaw. See our show preview here.

Amanda Blank makes her case for pop stardom at (Le) Poisson Rouge. (She also opens for Santigold at Terminal 5 on Tuesday.) See our show preview here.

Youssou N’Dour kicks off the Muslims Voices fest at BAM in style. (He also plays Saturday.)

Saturday

Veteran NYC drummer-turned-leader and composer Jonathan Kane orchestrates bluesy riffs at the Stone. Check out our review of his most recent album here.

Sunday

Little Richard—yes, that Little Richard—rips it up at B.B. King’s.

Back out at Jones Beach, Nine Inch Nails and Jane’s Addiction team up for one spectacle of a double bill.

Photograph by Ryan Muir/Stereogum.com

For many New York music fans, this was the event of the year so far; Dave Longstreth of Dirty Projectors would write a suite of songs for Björk to sing, accompanied by his band, to be played as a benefit for Housing Works at the charity’s downtown bookstore café. Ticket prices started at $100, and folks bid as much as $900 at auction to sit at a table in the front row and breathe the same air as Björk. Naturally, expectations were high, and excitement was at a fever pitch by Friday evening.

And walking into the Housing Works bookstore, as creaky and cozy as the space usually is, the atmosphere is less underground-indie-benefit, more star-studded gala (along the lines of Paul Simon’s Beacon bash in Feb). The balcony that runs around the main space, usually frequented by folks browsing books on religion or sexuality, for the purposes of the show has become the VIP balcony. Tall white chairs are reserved for the poshest patrons, so it’s kind of like an indie fashion show—here’s St. Vincent in the front row, there’s M.I.A., and so on. Also in attendance? Vampire Weekend, Battles, Kieran Hebden and of course, David Byrne, who collaborated with the Projectors on the Dark Was the Night comp. Resplendent in an orange shirt, even with his shock of white hair, Byrne has an eager-eyed beaminess to him that makes him look about 15 years old. A lady approaches Byrne with an autograph book, which he sweetly signs; she sits back down in the seat next to him.

Read on for our account of the show, review of the suite, and more photographs

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The Thermals

Sunday is Mother’s Day. What better way to celebrate mom than going to a bunch of concerts all weekend, staying up late and totally sleeping through brunch Sunday morn? Well, we suppose you could take your mother to one of these fine artistic explorations:

Friday

Tonight, the literate power trio from Portland known as the Thermals plays its first of three NYC shows at the Bowery Ballroom. They also play the Bowery again tomorrow and Music Hall of Williamsburg on Monday. (Read our preview of the shows here.)

The reunited savage punk-blues troupe, Chrome Cranks, thrashes through one at Santos Party House. They also play a week from tonight at Glasslands. (Read our show preview here.)

Darcy James Argue takes his steampunk big band, Secret Society, to Galapagos. (Read our five-star review of his band’s new record here.)

Good luck getting into the Björk and Dirty Projectors show at Housing Works; but, hey, you can give it a shot.

Saturday

Marc Ribot begins a stint of shows celebrating his 55th birthday at the Brecht Forum. He plays tomorrow at Rose Live Music, too. (Read our opener on the events here.)

OffOnOff, the international improv supergroup, take over the Studio at Webster Hall. (Read our show preview here.)

Melvins cohorts Big Business rip through burly rock at Union Pool. The band plays Mercury Lounge tomorrow, too.

Japanese weirdos Ghost take the stage at Music Hall of Williamsburg after a couple of experimental American bands, Magik Markers and Lights, freak the scene.

Sunday

Nels Cline shreds ax at the Stone.

And for mom: Um, yeah, you can take her to see Branford Marsalis at Jazz Standard.

We love Dirty Projectors. We love them because they achieve the almost unbelievable feat of sounding new, and because they rock (check out our review of their set at the Dark Was the Night show), and because the band just announced that its new album, Bitte Orca, is going to be released on CD, MP3 and tape! Yes, that’s messily spooling, Walkman-friendly cassette tape. Not only that, but the band will kick off a 12-city headline tour of North America on Wednesday, June 17, at Philadelphia’s First Unitarian Church. Check out the full list of dates at Domino, here. And the all-important NYC date? That’s at Williamsburg Waterfront, June 19. Credit cards and antiquated listening devices at the ready.

Fresh from his two-night stand with the Dead at the Izod Center last week, Branford Marsalis brings his quartet to the Jazz Standard tonight, kicking off a weeklong run. Marsalis’s latest album, Metamorphosen, offers the latest evidence that his band—with pianist Joey Calderazzo, bassist Eric Revis and drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts—is one of the hardest, tightest squads in the game. Don’t miss your chance to watch it scrimmage tonight.

Those unswayed by all that jazz have plenty of options available…

Angel Deradoorian (of Dirty Projectors renown) recently stopped by our offices to woo curiosity seekers via this blog’s Perfect Pitch series. We’re convinced, and you will be too; catch her tonight at Cake Shop.

Pint-size firecracker Lady Sovereign, interviewed here last week, blows up at the Highline Ballroom, with the irresistible pop duo Chester French (whom we recently taped in a Steve Madden in-store gig) in the opening slot.

The Motor City disco punks of Electric Six get wired at the Bowery Ballroom.

And you can celebrate Cinco de Mayo at S.O.B.’s with Amandititita, Mexico City’s foremost proponent of anarcumbia.

There something almost miraculous about witnessing a really, really weird band step into the limelight. Not only did Dirty Projectors hold their own at last night’s starry Dark Was the Night AIDS benefit at Radio City, they completely stole the show—in the opening slot no less. The Projectors’ newly expanded lineup (seen above in a photo by Scott Dunay) hit the stage as people were still filing in and offered a killer four-song set of avant-garde rock that established a party vibe while at the same time flaunting the band’s bold peculiarity. As he does on the Dark Was disc, David Byrne sat in, though he wasn’t the most high-wattage personality onstage, and neither was Projectors leader Dave Longstreth. Guitarist-singer Amber Coffman (second from right) completely owned the set, shredding gnarled post-Afropop guitar lines that would make Marnie Stern blush and belting incredibly forceful and exuberant vocals that often recalled Björk, who’s slated to collaborate with the band at Housing Works on Friday. The rhythm team of bassist Nat Baldwin and drummer Brian McOmber also impressed, offering weighty grooves that frayed pleasingly at the edges. (Mark my words, this is the year of Dirty Projectors; stay tuned to TONY and the Volume for news on the band’s forthcoming Bitte Orca disc and click here for a clip of band member Angel Deradoorian performing live in our offices last week.) Read on for more on last night’s concert.

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We were thrilled—seriously, thrilled—to have Angel Deradoorian come and play the TONY office in advance of her show at Cake Shop Tuesday May 5. You’re more than likely familiar with Angel as bass player and singer in David Longstreth’s mighty Dirty Projectors, who are currently rehearsing for their Housing Works fund-raiser with Björk and prepping a new disc, Bitte Orca, for a June 9 release.

Angel is a solo artist in her own right, too, though, having released her debut EP, Mind Raft, a muzzily lovely collection of songs touching on traditional choral arrangements, tripped-out dubby basslines and straight-up soulful singing. Here, she plays “Carry the Deed.” On the hottest day of the week, all those who watched got goose bumps. Let us know if you do, too.

Okay, you could either listen to us telling you how great the new Dirty Projectors single, “Stillness Is the Move” is—perfect little microbeats, an irresistible, scratchy guitar motif, the girls on vocals, heartbreaking string refrains.… Or—you could just listen for yourself. Woop!

Due to be released on 12-inch and digital May 5, this is the first single from the band’s forthcoming new album, Bitte Orca. To receive the free download, you just need to sign up for Domino’s official Dirty Projectors mailing list here.

Fans of eccentric pop will want to clear their schedules for Friday, May 8: That night, Björk and Dirty Projectors will play a benefit show together at the tiny, elegant Housing Works Bookstore Café. The concert, sponsored and announced by Stereogum, will feature a collaboration between the two headliners, with Björk—never a stranger to interesting musical partnerships—playing songs written for her by Dirty Projector David Longstreth. Tickets go on sale April 1st are on sale now at Housing Works (and online here); best of luck getting in.