Ethan Lipton & His Orchestra Bring Tunes from RAW MILK Album to Joe's Pub Tonight

Ethan Lipton & His Orchestra will perform material from their acclaimed new album, RAW MILK, tonight, September 15 (9:30pm), and October 15 (7pm) at Joe's Pub at the Public.

The performances continue a monthly residency the band is playing at the prestigious venue, where their theatrical song cycle NO PLACE TO GO, which told the story of a man whose job is outsourced to Mars, premiered in 2012. RAW MILK perfectly showcases the band's artistry, which combines lyrics with the insight and wry humor of Warren Zevon and John Prine; music spanning a range of styles including jazz, blues, country and lounge; and such singular subject matter as Rahm Emanuel, oat groats, pets and dumplings.

Tickets are $20 and can be purchased online at www.publictheater.org or by calling 212-967-7555.

In a recent session, WNYC's "Soundcheck" credited Ethan Lipton & His Orchestra with "gut-busting humor" and said, "A background in theatre helps Lipton weave weird and unique stories backed by his pop/jazz quartet." Lipton's music offers a hilariously cockeyed view of an odd, disjointed age. RAW MILK stands out from his previous three releases with the band, eschewing the central narrative of NO PLACE TO GO and veering away from songs that tap other personas in the way the band's first two studio albums, Mr. Softy and Honker, often did. Here, he's created a cycle of stylistically eclectic songs with a singular point of view. The new songs meditate broadly on the indignities of growing older, while still maintaining the playfulness of youth. In "Here I Go," Lipton tries to settle with the follies of his youth, writing "I will learn to love my burdens/I will leave behind regret/All the dumb things I asserted/let the lord forgive if not forget." In "New Skills 3," he struggles with the idea of growth, saying, "New skills just make me weep/I got to dance-dance-dance-dance-dance."

Though lyrics remain at the center of the Ethan Lipton & His Orchestra experience, RAW MILK opens up musically more than any previous release from the band, making way for the talented trio of bandmates who've been by Lipton's side for the past decade: guitarist Eben Levy, bass player Ian Riggs and saxophonist Vito Dieterle. Recorded at Dreamland Studios in Hurley, NY, the songs are written by Lipton and arranged by the full quartet, with everyone contributing on various other instruments and backup vocals. GRAMMY-nominated trombonist Roswell Rudd plays on the track "Good Old Man."

Ethan Lipton & His Orchestra has been a band since 2005, playing around New York (Joe's Pub, Barbes, Rockwood, Celebrate Brooklyn!) and beyond (MASS MoCA, Camden Opera House, Portsmouth Music Hall). They have released four studio albums and have been named the city's "Best Lounge Act" by New York magazine. In 2012, the band won an Obie Award for No Place to Go, produced by the Public Theater at Joe's Pub. The show earned rave reviews and has since been produced theatrically at the Gate Theatre in London, and in concert in more than 25 cities across the U.S., as well as at All Tomorrow's Parties in East Sussex, UK, curated by The National. The band has been featured on radio shows such as "Weekend Edition," "The World," "BBC Saturday Review," "Word of Mouth," and "Soundcheck," and contributed to the Clash cover album "Sandinista." They also play songs and appear in the film The Shift. As a performer, Lipton has sung backup for Laurie Anderson and appeared in the ERS production Gatz. As a playwright, his work has been produced in NYC, LA, Boston, Chicago, Seattle, Edinburgh, Scotland and Berne, Austria.