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Alexander Gorlizki, Angie Wang, BMCC Tribeca PAC, candace debartolo, John Schaefer, john young, kevin cordt, Riley McMahon, Spottiswoode, Spottiswoode & His Enemies, The New Yorker, tim vaill, Tony Lauria, Tribeca, WNYC
SPOTTISWOODE & HIS ENEMIES CELEBRATE THEIR FIFTEENTH ANNIVERSARY AT BMCC TRIBECA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER ON FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 9TH
The Enemies enter the pantheon of musicians wondrously illustrated in The New Yorker
Illustration: Angie Wang
“Spottiswoode & His Enemies, an agile septet that moves effortlessly through a wide range of genres, including cabaret, gospel, and rock, celebrates its fifteenth year on the New York scene with a show at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center.” The New Yorker
“Nothing short of transportive” Paste Magazine
“The English born singer-songwriter Spottiswoode has been one of New York’s more colorful band leaders for more than a decade.“
John Schaefer, WNYC, Soundcheck
“You can hear songwriter Spottiswoode’s English origins in his accent, which sounds like a roughed-up version of Ray Davies. Similarly, the music suggests such messy Brit romantics as Syd Barrett and Art Brut.” Time Out New York
On Friday, November 9th SPOTTISWOODE & HIS ENEMIES will celebrate their fifteenth anniversary by bringing their unique brand of rock and roll to the BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center. They have been invited to perform at the Center’s prestigious “The Next Voice You Hear” concert event that showcases some of the best unsung national and international talents as part of their Spotlight Series. The show comes on the heels of the announcement that the band has won two Independent Music Awards: Best Adult Contemporary Song and the Vox Populi IMA for Best Eclectic Album of 2011.
Since no two gigs by the Englishman and his New York band are ever the same, what can an audience expect at the BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center?
“A little bit of this and a little bit of that,” says the English singer-songwriter. “Songs about love and longing, families, dreams, God, the Devil and everything in between.”
In other words, Spottiswoode & His Enemies will play their patented blend of emotional theatre, sometimes hilarious and sometimes heartbreaking. In addition to numbers from their recent award-winning album, Wild Goosechase Expedition, the band will play older hits from their extensive catalogue. They also promise a few tunes from their forthcoming album, English Dream (set for release in 2013).
Spottiswoode’s music has been compared to Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen, Ray Davies, Nick Cave and many other of the more sophisticated critical darlings. Still, he is very much his own incarnation. The full seven-piece band creates an unparalleled mighty sound that careens seamlessly from balls-out rock, cabaret and gospel to pristine balladry.
Together since their November 1997 debut at Washington DC’s Black Cat, Spottiswoode & His Enemies consists of Spottiswoode (vocals and guitar), John Young (bass), Tim Vaill (drums), Candace DeBartolo (sax and vocals), Kevin Cordt (trumpet and vocals), Riley McMahon (guitar and the kitchen sink), and Tony Lauria (piano, keys and accordion.) Led by “one of New York’s more colorful band leaders for more than a decade,” (WNYC’s John Schaefer), they continue to be a one-of-a-kind New York institution.
WHAT: Spottiswoode & His Enemies
WHERE: BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center, 199 Chambers Street, New York, NY 10007, Phone: (212) 220-1460
WHEN: Friday, November 9th
TIME: 8:00 P.M.
TICKETS: $15.00 General Public/ $10.00 for Spotlight Series Members
BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center is Downtown Manhattan’s premier presenter of the arts, reaching audiences from the college community, Downtown residential and business communities, schools, families, and audiences of all ages. BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center strives to present a broad global perspective through the presentation of high quality artistic work in music, theatre, dance, film and visual arts. They support emerging and established artists who create works that inspire creativity and imagination, celebrate diversity and change as well as instill emotional, social, and political awareness.
The New Yorker says “Keep Them Close”
“Spottiswoode & His Enemies, an agile septet that moves effortlessly through a wide range of genres, including cabaret, gospel, and rock, celebrates its fifteenth year on the New York scene with a show at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center.” The New Yorker
Art for Spottiswoode & His Enemies Wild Goosechase Expedition: Alexander Gorlizki
Spottiswoode & His Enemies’ VIDEOS:
For more information: spottiswoode.com
Raves for Spottiswoode & His Enemies’ Wild Goosechase Expedition:
Pete Chianca, Popdose
“It’s a good bet that whoever says there’s no such thing as an original idea — in music or otherwise — has not taken a good close listen to Spottiswoode…Theatrical rock adventures…with elements of jazz, folk, Broadway and Leonard Cohen-style poetic musings… on I’d Even Follow You to Philadelphia, Spottiswoode croaks out what may be the best love song ever to channel the spirit of W.C. Fields….In an era of popular music that’s invariably pre-packaged and easily labeled, “Wild Goosechase Expedition is a small miracle — and a trip worth taking. Pack your bug spray.”
“It’s a good bet that whoever says there’s no such thing as an original idea — in music or otherwise — has not taken a good close listen to Spottiswoode…Theatrical rock adventures…with elements of jazz, folk, Broadway and Leonard Cohen-style poetic musings… on I’d Even Follow You to Philadelphia, Spottiswoode croaks out what may be the best love song ever to channel the spirit of W.C. Fields….In an era of popular music that’s invariably pre-packaged and easily labeled, “Wild Goosechase Expedition is a small miracle — and a trip worth taking. Pack your bug spray.”
“The band knows how to tell a story, because they’ve probably lived it before you had your first drink. With a voice carving a space between Warren Zevon and Ian Dury, Spottiswoode’s work takes you on a journey to a place inhabitated by hedonism and romance, but few regrets.”
New York Music Daily: The Fifty Best Albums of 2011
“The literate art-rocker’s critique of the perils of life during wartime is spot-on and amusing as well. This sprawling, psychedelic, Beatlesque effort is a career best, and the band is scorching.”
The Daily Vault, Jason Warburg
“If you mixed the laconic, cheeky British cool of Ian Hunter with the brooding urbanity of Leonard Cohen, added the balls-out Broadway showmanship of Bat Out Of Hell composer Jim Steinman, and sprinkled it all with the self-deprecating panache of James Bond, you might emerge with Jonathan Spottiswoode’s less interesting twin brother, because he’s clearly more demented than that.”
“If you mixed the laconic, cheeky British cool of Ian Hunter with the brooding urbanity of Leonard Cohen, added the balls-out Broadway showmanship of Bat Out Of Hell composer Jim Steinman, and sprinkled it all with the self-deprecating panache of James Bond, you might emerge with Jonathan Spottiswoode’s less interesting twin brother, because he’s clearly more demented than that.”
babysue.com
“Spottiswoode has a real knack for writing smart memorable catchy pop tunes that could easily appeal to millions of listeners.”
QuigleyMedia 