The Wizard of Oz - 70th Anniversary Celebration with a Concert and Screening in Central Park on Sept. 29th

The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Originally uploaded by twm1340

This looks like a great way to 'formally' end the summer -- to celebrate the 70th Anniversary of "The Wizard of Oz", Netflix is hosting a concert and screening of "The Wizard of Oz" at Rumsey Playfield in Central Park on Tuesday, Sept. 29th.

This event starts off at 7:30PM with Jennifer Hudson, Julianne Hough, Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson and Bilal performing songs from the movie. The movie, which will be shown on a giant inflatable screen, starts at 8:30PM.

The concert and movie are free; get to the Park early though to stake out a space because seating is 'first come, first serve'.

It won't be the same as seeing the movie in Central Park but, for anyone who misses this event, Netflix will be streaming "The Wizard of Oz" free online at www.netflix.com/wizardofoz for 24 hours beginning at 9:00 a.m. ET on Saturday, Oct. 3.

Links:
Netflix Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary Celebration

Mark Mothersbaugh (Devo) Art Show Opens in May at 3rd Ward Gallery in Brooklyn

It is probably old news by now that tickets went on sale today for Devo's show at McCarren Pool in Williamsburg. Devo plays the East Coast too infrequently these days (the last NYC show was at Hammerstein in 2005). There are only three East Coast dates scheduled so I don't mind the $52 ticket price but it still bugs the [deleted word] out of me that Ticketmaster surcharges add another 20% to the ticket price.

Mark Mothersbaugh's art exhibit Postcard Diaries open in NYC on May 10th at 3rd Ward Gallery in Brooklyn.

"During his downtime on early worldwide tours with DEVO, Mark began illustrating on postcards to send to his friends and family, which he still creates, and has been creating every day for over 30 years. It's an obsessive habit/hobby, which still yields anywhere from one to a couple dozen new postcard-sized images per day. You can find more info on Mark's visual art at mutatovisual.com."

The public showing starts at 8PM on May 10th. 3rd Ward Gallery's website says the "[o]pening night will be a Super Thing Circus with live music, interactive art, limited edition merchandise, and a cyber appearance by Mark Mothersbaugh himself."

For more information, check out 3rd Ward Gallery's Website.

Television and Joan Jett are each Playing Free Shows this Month

Television is back (again) and are playing a free show next Saturday (June 16th) at Summerstage in Central Park. Allegedly, the will be Richard Lloyd's last show with the band.

Supporting Television are The Apples in Stereo and Dragons of Zynth. Gates open at 3:00PM but, as Television hasn't played in town in quite some time, I'd recommend being in line by 1PM at the latest.

Even though I am a big fan of Television's music, I have met Tom Verlaine on a few occasions and thought he was a complete jerk. His personality aside, I am also not a fan of band leaders who attempt to write former members out of the band's history (see the snippet below copied from the Summerstage website). C'mon Tom, everyone knows you started the band with Richard Hell.

One of the most important bands to emerge from the mid-‘70s New York punk scene, Television was founded on the double-guitar attack of leader Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd. But where most guitarists of the time specialized in extended jam snooze-fests, Verlaine and Lloyd pioneered an angular, yet tuneful, style largely stripped of blues references and heavily indebted to the garage rock of the ‘60s. Television was the first band to play regularly at CBGBs, and its success encouraged the club to book other unknown acts like Patti Smith, The Ramones, Blondie and Talking Heads.

Joan Jett, who continues to put on fabulous live shows, is playing Pier 54 at the Hudson River Park on Thursday, June 28th. Supporting acts are The Dollyrots (new band signed to Joan's Blackheart Records label) and The Paybacks.

Doors open at 6PM for this show.