Seattle Theatre Group (STG) presents Thievery Corporation on Tuesday, April 21, 2009 at 8:00pm at the Paramount Theatre.
Recording in their Washington DC based studio, Rob Garza and Eric Hilton, better known as the international production and DJ duo Thievery Corporation, have released their fifth studio album, Radio Retaliation, through their independent music label ESL Music. The 15-track opus features the duo collaborating with a roster of International all-stars to create the strongest statement yet from Thievery Corporation.
"Apart from a few independent bastions, there is no musical or informational freedom on the US airwaves anymore. The traditional public commons have been sold to the highest corporate bidders. Music is suffering and society is suffering too. Radio Retaliation is about an exodus of conscious people who are willing to acknowledge something is wrong with the 'official version' in news and culture. Therefore, we need to create our own channels," explains Hilton.
The tone of the album underscores the freedom of expression that only independent outlets can provide in a society dominated by corporate sponsors and agendas. Garza and Hilton have long positioned themselves as fiercely independent voices within the music industry, successfully building their label over the past decade through continued belief that great music will find its audience - with or without US commercial radio assistance.
"Unfortunately our daily experiences via mediated radio, print and televised programming are primarily the results of hype, propaganda, and calls to consume. From fake wars, fake celebrities, a fake political system - Rob and I checked out of it long ago," Hilton says. "It's more important to do something we truly believe in and let people experience it uncensored and real."
Washington DC has long been home to a music subculture legendary for strong, independent artists, a staunch do-it-yourself work ethic, and conscientious social activism. This was especially exemplified by genre-defining pioneers like indie punk rockers Bad Brains, Minor Threat and Fugazi. Likewise, although some may lazily pin Thievery Corporation as the soundtrack to their cocktail infused late night soiree, the duo have always drawn deep from the well of independent and confrontational music subculture their home town is known for, to produce an ever expanding globally conscious catalogue of music that is difficult to classify.
Starting in 1996 with two international underground hit vinyl singles "Shaolin Satellite" and "2001 Spliff Odyssey," released on ESL Music, Garza and Hilton soon released Sounds from The Thievery Hi-Fi; an album that defined a genre and crystallized their distinct "outernational sound" aesthetic. Over the next decade the duo would remix the likes of David Byrne, The Doors, and Sarah McLachlan, and record three more critically acclaimed albums of original material, each one transcending the last in scope, style, and message: The Mirror Conspiracy (2000), The Richest Man in Babylon (2002), and The Cosmic Game (2005).
"This record is also our most internationally oriented," adds Garza, describing how Radio Retaliation touches upon the eclectic sounds of Jamaica, Latin America, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. "The roots of our inspiration have always come from what is happening globally, and at the moment there is so much that demands the attention of all of us."
With Radio Retaliation, Thievery Corporation raise the bar with a new cast of musical collaborators, including Nigeria's afro-beat heir Femi Kuti, Brazilian star vocalist and guitarist Seu Jorge, Indian sitar virtuoso Anushka Shankar, Slovakian chanteuse and violinist Jana Andevska, and Washington DC's own go-go originator Chuck Brown. Also returning are long time microphone co-conspirators Sleepy Wonder, Lou Lou, Notch, Zee, and Verny Varela.
A defining element of Thievery Corporation's sound has always been its decidedly organic quality and this is clearly evident in the rich productions of Radio Retaliation and recent live tour dates. Despite their minimal beginnings, Garza and Hilton have adopted a growing cast of collaborators over the years, vital musicians and vocalists who contribute to a dynamic 15 member live band. Playing sold out venues and festivals worldwide, Thievery Corporation dazzle thousands of music fans every year with their kaleidoscopic live show.
With the help of long time partners, the UN World Food Programme, Thievery Corporation also aim to provoke conscientious thought among their audience. Garza explains, "We definitely want to contribute to the opening of ears, eyes, and minds. With our live shows it's a poignant example of music and culture mixing together in an explosive vibrant way. To see a Persian singer singing in Farsi, as America debates on a war with Iran, next to other band members from all corners of the earth singing in Spanish, Portuguese, French and so on, it makes people wonder... and if you can get people to question the things around them, just a little, then that's not such a bad thing."
Tickets: $35.00, not including applicable fees. Tickets went on sale Saturday, February 28 at 10am at Tickets.com, in person at the Paramount or Moore Theatres box offices, 24-hour kiosks located outside The Paramount & Moore Theatres, charge by phone at 877-STG-4TIX, or online at STGPresents.org.
About STG
Seattle Theatre Group is the 501 (c)(3) non-profit arts organization that operates the historic Paramount and Moore Theatres in Seattle, Washington. Our mission is to make diverse performing arts and education an integral part of our region's cultural identity while keeping these two landmark venues alive and vibrant. STG presents a range of performances from Broadway, off-Broadway, dance and jazz to comedy, concerts of all genres, speakers and family shows - at both historic theatres in Seattle and venues throughout the Puget Sound and Portland, Oregon.
Showing posts with label bowery presents. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bowery presents. Show all posts
Monday, March 2, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Dan Zanes Plays For Montclair Community Pre-K
BaristaNet
Montclair Community Pre-K is hoping for a huge turnout to support a big fundraiser. Dan Zanes and Friends are coming to Montclair to play "A Benefit for The Montclair Community Pre-K" on Sunday, March 1st at 3 p.m. at The Wellmont Theatre. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased for $25 each at tickets.com or 877-WELLMNT (935-5668.) For further information contact WellmontTheatre.com or BoweryPresents.com. For information regarding the MCPK or to make a donation, contact 973-509-4500.
Get tickets now >
Montclair Community Pre-K is hoping for a huge turnout to support a big fundraiser. Dan Zanes and Friends are coming to Montclair to play "A Benefit for The Montclair Community Pre-K" on Sunday, March 1st at 3 p.m. at The Wellmont Theatre. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased for $25 each at tickets.com or 877-WELLMNT (935-5668.) For further information contact WellmontTheatre.com or BoweryPresents.com. For information regarding the MCPK or to make a donation, contact 973-509-4500.
Get tickets now >
Friday, October 31, 2008
Tickets.com Client Spotlight: Wellmont Theatre
Wellmont opens to rave reviews
(by George Wirt - October 30, 2008)
It was a day late, but still great.
That’s what music fans had to say about one of the most anticipated opening nights in Montclair in years as nearly 2,000 patrons poured into the newly renovated Wellmont Theatre to witness Counting Crows inaugurate North Jersey’s newest venue for live performances.
"It’s an awesome place," said first-nighter Rudy Putignano, who came with his wife Terry. "It reminds me a lot of the old Capital Theater in Passaic. It’s a real classic"
"We came down on Monday night, and we were a little disappointed when they had to postpone it," said Terry Putignano, "But it was worth the wait."
The Putignanos were among the Counting Crows fans, music lovers, local officials and the just plain curious who put down $75 a ticket to get a first glimpse inside the new Wellmont Theatre.
Opening night had originally been set for Monday, but was pushed back to Tuesday evening after Crows lead singer Adam Duritz, who has been battling the flu, was unable to perform for the first of three consecutive nights at the new Wellmont.
Concertgoers who purchased tickets for the Crows’ Wednesday show saw the group last night, while Crows fans with tickets for the Crows’ third and final appearance in Montclair during this stop on their tour, will see the group tonight.
"We’re all excited," said Jim Glancy, a partner in the Bowery Presents, a company that bought the Wellmont and restored it to its former glory. "There’s a real buzz. Everywhere I went in town I heard people talking about the Wellmont and which performers they want to see."
The landmark Montclair theater first opened its doors as a venue for live performances in back in 1922 and became a classic neighborhood movie theater in 1929. But changing movie viewing habits and the digital revolution and the movies on CDs took its toll on the venerable theater.
The Wellmont’s former owners converted it into to a triplex, obscuring the theater’s palace-like grandeur which made it so special to earlier generations of Montclair moviegoers. But by 2006, with business plunging, the Wellmont shut down.
The theater was subsequently purchased by Glancy’s group, which then launched an 8-month-long restoration project. The old triplex was carefully demolished and the painstaking reconstruction and restoration process began, culminating in this week’s opening.
"I remember coming here in the old days with the stale popcorn, chewing gum on the seats and the stick floors," said 2nd Ward Township Councilman Cary Africk. "They done a careful and loving restoration."
Local officials hope the new Wellmont will help reinvigorate Montclair’s Central Business District along Bloomfield Avenue.
"You can come to the Wellmont and see great live music and entertainment, have a great meal at a local restaurant, and do it all right here in Montclair without having to go into New York," said 1st Ward Councilman Rich Murnick, who sat with Africk during Counting Crows’ performance.
The Wellmont is expected to attract throngs through the next several months with an announced lineup of upcoming concert appearances that includes Duran Duran, B.B. King, Tony Bennett, Steely Dan, Hanson, Brian Wilson and many more.
The Wellmont crowds are expected to have a decidedly Jersey flavor. Spokesperson Gretchen Wagner said the Wellmont is drawing a predominately New Jersey audience. "Our tracking on the online ticket purchases showed that 90 per cent of them were coming from North Jersey," she said.
To help make sure that the concert-goers enjoy a pleasant experience while in Montclair, municipal officials have taken steps to make parking easier.
The Montclair Parking Authority has provided the Wellmont ticket-holders with access to nearly 800 parking spaces at three nearby lots. Parking will be available at the Walnut Street Lot and the Bay Street Station Deck starting from two hours before show-time. For evening shows, hours are from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. There are 150 spots per deck, and both are walking distance from the theater.
Additional spots are available at DCH, a parking deck owned by DCH Auto Group, located about six blocks from the Wellmont off Bloomfield Avenue, on Orange Road. Concertgoers can also pre-buy parking for $15 per show at the Wellmont Theatre box office or when purchasing tickets on Tickets.com.
Doors at the Wellmont open at 7 p.m. and the concert begins at 8 p.m.
For concert information or to check ticket availability, visit the Wellmont Theatre’s box office at 5 Seymour Street, or go online at wellmonttheatre.com. Tickets can also be purchased at Tickets.com.
Contact George Wirt at wirt@montclairtimes.com.
(by George Wirt - October 30, 2008)
It was a day late, but still great.
That’s what music fans had to say about one of the most anticipated opening nights in Montclair in years as nearly 2,000 patrons poured into the newly renovated Wellmont Theatre to witness Counting Crows inaugurate North Jersey’s newest venue for live performances.
"It’s an awesome place," said first-nighter Rudy Putignano, who came with his wife Terry. "It reminds me a lot of the old Capital Theater in Passaic. It’s a real classic"
"We came down on Monday night, and we were a little disappointed when they had to postpone it," said Terry Putignano, "But it was worth the wait."
The Putignanos were among the Counting Crows fans, music lovers, local officials and the just plain curious who put down $75 a ticket to get a first glimpse inside the new Wellmont Theatre.
Opening night had originally been set for Monday, but was pushed back to Tuesday evening after Crows lead singer Adam Duritz, who has been battling the flu, was unable to perform for the first of three consecutive nights at the new Wellmont.
Concertgoers who purchased tickets for the Crows’ Wednesday show saw the group last night, while Crows fans with tickets for the Crows’ third and final appearance in Montclair during this stop on their tour, will see the group tonight.
"We’re all excited," said Jim Glancy, a partner in the Bowery Presents, a company that bought the Wellmont and restored it to its former glory. "There’s a real buzz. Everywhere I went in town I heard people talking about the Wellmont and which performers they want to see."
The landmark Montclair theater first opened its doors as a venue for live performances in back in 1922 and became a classic neighborhood movie theater in 1929. But changing movie viewing habits and the digital revolution and the movies on CDs took its toll on the venerable theater.
The Wellmont’s former owners converted it into to a triplex, obscuring the theater’s palace-like grandeur which made it so special to earlier generations of Montclair moviegoers. But by 2006, with business plunging, the Wellmont shut down.
The theater was subsequently purchased by Glancy’s group, which then launched an 8-month-long restoration project. The old triplex was carefully demolished and the painstaking reconstruction and restoration process began, culminating in this week’s opening.
"I remember coming here in the old days with the stale popcorn, chewing gum on the seats and the stick floors," said 2nd Ward Township Councilman Cary Africk. "They done a careful and loving restoration."
Local officials hope the new Wellmont will help reinvigorate Montclair’s Central Business District along Bloomfield Avenue.
"You can come to the Wellmont and see great live music and entertainment, have a great meal at a local restaurant, and do it all right here in Montclair without having to go into New York," said 1st Ward Councilman Rich Murnick, who sat with Africk during Counting Crows’ performance.
The Wellmont is expected to attract throngs through the next several months with an announced lineup of upcoming concert appearances that includes Duran Duran, B.B. King, Tony Bennett, Steely Dan, Hanson, Brian Wilson and many more.
The Wellmont crowds are expected to have a decidedly Jersey flavor. Spokesperson Gretchen Wagner said the Wellmont is drawing a predominately New Jersey audience. "Our tracking on the online ticket purchases showed that 90 per cent of them were coming from North Jersey," she said.
To help make sure that the concert-goers enjoy a pleasant experience while in Montclair, municipal officials have taken steps to make parking easier.
The Montclair Parking Authority has provided the Wellmont ticket-holders with access to nearly 800 parking spaces at three nearby lots. Parking will be available at the Walnut Street Lot and the Bay Street Station Deck starting from two hours before show-time. For evening shows, hours are from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. There are 150 spots per deck, and both are walking distance from the theater.
Additional spots are available at DCH, a parking deck owned by DCH Auto Group, located about six blocks from the Wellmont off Bloomfield Avenue, on Orange Road. Concertgoers can also pre-buy parking for $15 per show at the Wellmont Theatre box office or when purchasing tickets on Tickets.com.
Doors at the Wellmont open at 7 p.m. and the concert begins at 8 p.m.
For concert information or to check ticket availability, visit the Wellmont Theatre’s box office at 5 Seymour Street, or go online at wellmonttheatre.com. Tickets can also be purchased at Tickets.com.
Contact George Wirt at wirt@montclairtimes.com.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Tickets.com Client Spotlight: Wellmont Theatre
Wellmont Theatre to return with live shows
by Jay Lustig/The Star-Ledger
An old theater will get new life, at a higher decibel level, when Montclair's Wellmont Theatre reopens Nov. 1. Instead of the movies the theater had been presenting before closing in 2006, the new Wellmont will offer concerts, including major attractions such as Steely Dan, Brian Wilson, Tony Bennett, Matisyahu and Rufus Wainwright.
The theater has been thoroughly refurbished and will reopen with a show by power-pop group Hanson, of "MMMBop" fame. Other bookings range from comedian Bill Maher to brainy alt-rock group The Decemberists and the Led Zeppelin tribute act, Get the Led Out.
"Something for everybody," said Andy Feltz, when asked to sum up the venue's booking philosophy. A Montclair resident, Feltz is a partner in Montclair Entertainment, the promotion company that is reopening the venue.
Located at 5 Seymour St., off Bloomfield Avenue, the Wellmont originally opened in 1922 as a live theater and switched to movies in 1929. Later, it became a triplex. In recent months, it has undergone a $3 million renovation. New electrical and plumbing systems, as well as new bars in the orchestra and mezzanine areas, have been installed.
The capacity will be 2,500 (approximately 1,800 for seated shows). This makes it almost as big as the last similar-sized rock theater in the area -- Passaic's 3,200-seat Capitol Theatre, which presented concerts from the 1970s to the mid-'90s.
"The Capitol was a good room, and this will be picking up that niche," said Feltz.
Montclair Entertainment is a partnership between Feltz (who operated New York's Beacon Theatre from 1986 to 2006 and is currently presenting shows at the New York's United Palace Theater) and principals of The Bowery Presents, a company that is responsible for the consistently hip bookings at New York nightclubs like The Bowery Ballroom and Terminal 5.
"All the chemistry was right," said Feltz, of the decision to resurrect the Wellmont. "The room was right. The need was right. All the chemistry added up to it being a good situation."
Here are the Wellmont's confirmed shows. All go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. via tickets.com. Visit wellmonttheatre.com for information.
by Jay Lustig/The Star-Ledger
An old theater will get new life, at a higher decibel level, when Montclair's Wellmont Theatre reopens Nov. 1. Instead of the movies the theater had been presenting before closing in 2006, the new Wellmont will offer concerts, including major attractions such as Steely Dan, Brian Wilson, Tony Bennett, Matisyahu and Rufus Wainwright.
The theater has been thoroughly refurbished and will reopen with a show by power-pop group Hanson, of "MMMBop" fame. Other bookings range from comedian Bill Maher to brainy alt-rock group The Decemberists and the Led Zeppelin tribute act, Get the Led Out.
"Something for everybody," said Andy Feltz, when asked to sum up the venue's booking philosophy. A Montclair resident, Feltz is a partner in Montclair Entertainment, the promotion company that is reopening the venue.
Located at 5 Seymour St., off Bloomfield Avenue, the Wellmont originally opened in 1922 as a live theater and switched to movies in 1929. Later, it became a triplex. In recent months, it has undergone a $3 million renovation. New electrical and plumbing systems, as well as new bars in the orchestra and mezzanine areas, have been installed.
The capacity will be 2,500 (approximately 1,800 for seated shows). This makes it almost as big as the last similar-sized rock theater in the area -- Passaic's 3,200-seat Capitol Theatre, which presented concerts from the 1970s to the mid-'90s.
"The Capitol was a good room, and this will be picking up that niche," said Feltz.
Montclair Entertainment is a partnership between Feltz (who operated New York's Beacon Theatre from 1986 to 2006 and is currently presenting shows at the New York's United Palace Theater) and principals of The Bowery Presents, a company that is responsible for the consistently hip bookings at New York nightclubs like The Bowery Ballroom and Terminal 5.
"All the chemistry was right," said Feltz, of the decision to resurrect the Wellmont. "The room was right. The need was right. All the chemistry added up to it being a good situation."
Here are the Wellmont's confirmed shows. All go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. via tickets.com. Visit wellmonttheatre.com for information.
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