Stranger Cat is part of a female-fronted lineup, at the Feb. 6 installment of Chelsea Market’s new monthly music series.
BY SCOTT STIFFLER | “CHELSEA NIGHTS” FREE CONCERT SERIES
The music in the air has a pleasing indie vibe, when a triple bill of talent appears in the February edition of this new concert series, curated by Brooklyn’s Paper Garden record label. On the first Friday of every month, local artists perform in the halls of Chelsea Market, with occasional breaks to hand out some mighty sweet swag. This month, raffle winners will walk away with a Crosley turntable, a PGR vinyl pack, a Mailchimp hat, a Chelsea Market cookbook and more. The female-fronted lineup features Little Strike at 6:30 p.m., Stranger Cat at 7:15 p.m. and Salt Cathedral at 8 p.m. For a preview of their various strengths and styles, check out littlestrike.com, strangercat.com and saltcathedralmusic.com.
Free. Fri., Feb. 6 with sets beginning at 6:30 p.m. At Chelsea Market (75 9th Ave. | btw. 15th & 16th Sts.). For more info, visit chelseamarket.com.
Brooklyn’s own Adam O’Farrill performs on Feb. 28, at the final “Monk in Motion” concert.
MONK IN MOTION: THE NEXT FACE OF JAZZ
BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center and the Thelonious Monk Institute’s annual partnership concert series returns, with performances by the finalists from 2014’s Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition. Three top trumpet players emerged from a Gala Concert event last November, chosen by a judging panel whose members included Quincy Jones and Arturo Sandoval. Each will appear with their combos, performing selections that demonstrate the versatility and skill that made them winners. The winner, Chicago native and current NYC resident Marquis Hill, snared a recording contract with Concord Music Group and secured the opening Jan. 31 slot. On Feb. 14, Billy Buss (who backed up saxophonist Godwin Louis during last year’s series) returns to the “Monk in Motion” stage, this time as a runner-up. Brookynite and respected composer Adam O’Farrill (second runner-up) closes the series, on Feb. 28.
All shows at 7:30 p.m. In Theater 2 at BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center (199 Chambers St. | btw. Greenwich Ave. & West St.). Tickets are $25 for each concert (students/seniors $15). Purchase by calling 212-220-1460, at the box office or at tribecapac.org. For info on the artists, visit monkinstitute.org.
A karaoke bar is the fourth and final stop, as intersecting characters converge upon “The Golden Toad.”
TALKING BAND presents “THE GOLDEN TOAD”
Having created over 50 original works over the course of its 40-year existence, Talking Band can hardly be accused of failing in their commitment to “radical collaboration and a fusion of diverse theatrical styles and perspectives.” If only the same confident sense of self could be said for the shifting, searching characters who populate “The Golden Toad.” Asking “Where is the ‘real’ person to be found in the ebb and flow of identity?” more out of curiosity than the need for a definitive answer, “Toad” unifies site-specific works undertaken over the past few years: at a townhouse garden in downtown Brooklyn, on a bus tour of the New Jersey Meadowlands, and in a pop-up thrift store. This La MaMa production moves its audience through reimagined versions of those locations — then concludes at the titular Golden Toad karaoke bar, where the characters intersect for an evening of revelation and transformation.
Through Feb. 7, at La MaMa’s Ellen Stewart Theatre (66 E. 4th St. | btw. Bowery & 2nd Ave.). Jan. 29, 30 & Feb. 4–6 at 7 p.m. Jan. 31 & Feb. 7 at 2 p.m. Feb. 1 at 4 p.m. Tickets: $25 ($20 for students & seniors). Reservations: call 646-430-5374 or visit lamama.org. For artist info, visit talkingband.org.
Audience members act out online dating scenarios, by following mp3 directions. “The Human Symphony” plays through Feb. 14.
THE NEW YORK NEO-FUTURISTS present “THE HUMAN SYMPHONY”
Those hardworking New York New Futurists deserve a break, considering the pressure they’re under. This is the troupe that performs 30 plays in 60 minutes, twice a week, in the East Village (“Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind”). For their new mainstage production (created and directed by Dylan Marron), you might be the one tasked with breathing life into various permutations of the human condition. These funny, tragic, uplifting, depressing and deeply bizarre scenarios were culled from Marron’s trolling of the web for, well, people who troll the web…for love. The result, “The Human Symphony,” creates a performance ensemble culled from randomly selected audience members. They follow instructions given to them via mp3 tracks, providing the remaining viewers with firsthand accounts of Internet dating in NYC.
Through Feb. 14. Mon., Wed. & Sat at 8 pm. Sun. at 3 p.m. At The New Ohio (the Archive Building at 154 Christopher St. | btw. Greenwich & Washington Sts.). Tickets are $18 online, $20 at the door. For reservations and info, visit nynf.org.
