Banjo Jim’s, East Village, 9:00 p.m.

Walter Benjamin once said that history “is an angel being blown backwards into the future.” We have no idea what that means, but you might after spending an evening with us and our pals, three NYC bands who all find inspiration in the weird, darkened corners of the American past.

Barbès‎, Brooklyn, 10:00 p.m.

May I tell you about a very lucky event taking place on the evening of Friday, February the 13th? No? Why not? Ah, I see, you’re superstitious. Even in this Age of Reason. Well, cease your embarrassing, medieval, oafish trembling once and for all, for this Friday the 13th is your lucky day, as dark-old-world-weird-history orchestrette Piñataland will be performing two special sets at Barbès in Park Slope Brooklyn, beginning at 10pm and continuing until midnight, just for you and yours.

It seems that Dave Wechsler has decided to join his old band for a set beginning at 10pm—Doug will be singing with him on a lot of his tunes, both old and new. Then at 11, Robin Aigner shows up to sing with Doug and Dave during a full second set of boisterous-yet-melancholy songs. We’ll also be graced by the terrific Gerald Menke on pedal steel guitar, Bill Gerstel on drums, and for the first time, the legendary Dave Hofstra on tuba.

Songs will be about:

robert oppenheimer
economic collapse
delusional painters
delusional mormons
telegraph hoaxes
astronaut tragedies
questionable doings on the bowery
thomas paine
1609 manhattan
kentucky conspiracies

and much more…

Tyranny of Dave album release party!

The Tyranny of Dave ostensibly does his album release party this night (really gotta finish recording…) and should have a full band backing him up with all kinds of excitement.

Where: Uncommon Ground on Devon, Chicago IL
When: Saturday, January 2nd at 10:00pm
Ami Saraiya at 11:00!

Barbès‎, Brooklyn, 10:00 p.m.

Just as the terrible crocodile floats down the silty Nile river inviting the crafty Ibis birds to pick its jagged teeth without fear, so too do I invite you to a two-set performance from 10:00 p.m. to midnight. We’ll be joined by the fabulous Deni Bonet on violin, Ron Caswell on tuba, Dean Sharenow on drums (Bill Gerstel is feeling a tiny bit sub-par), as well as myself and Robin Aigner on vocals and various strummed instruments. Also, special guest Daniel Davis on piano.

We will be singing songs new and old about:

murderous mormons
peopleless manhattan
debt
mars
lottery tickets
Simone Weil
poisoned continental congressmen
mining disasters
Ashland, Kentucky
despair
revolution
mysterious airships
madams
hitler youth
aggrieved pygmies
Thomas Paine
doomed astronauts
19th century wall-jumpers

to name a few…