Joe's Pub Presents The Gay Agenda 8/26

Joe's Pub at The Public Theater debuted in October 1998 and has quickly became one of New York City's most celebrated and in-demand showcase venues for live music and performance. With its genre-blind booking and vast diversity of interests, the stage at Joe's Pub gives voice to a world of varied and stellar artists.

With impeccable sound and lights, the warm and intimate candlelit atmosphere of Joe's Pub is filled with plush velvet couches, softly glowing lucite tables and gorgeously understated architecture. Joe's Pub is open seven days a week, regularly hosting as many as three shows a day. Dinner and drink service is available during every performance; the venue offers a classic Italian dinner menu and a fully stocked bar.

JUST ADDED
SLANTY EYED MAMA: ASIA MAJORA

Tuesday, August 24 at 9:30 PM; $18

A Benefit for the Asian Women's Giving Circle NYC dedicated to supporting Asian American Artists and Innovators.

Thoroughly modern, urban, sexy sounds with a fresh, street infused Asian-American slant from two good asian girls gone BADASSED...You have never seen anything quite like it--part hip hop, part rock, part electroclash, interpreted through the searing electric violin and beats of virtuoso Lyris Hung (Jay Z, Bono, Vince Gill) and the iconoclastic rants of Lady K the amerasian icon who created cult shows Kate's Chinkorama and Birth of a nASIAN.

"Smart, edgy, using stereotypes against themselves to nuanced but devastating effect." - Washington Post

"Stunning...poetry in drag and symphony on a hip-hop bender... stand-up comedy doing the freak with an electric violin" - Anchorage Daily News

"Wild" - Northwest Asian Weekly

"A Bold, daring fun crazy voice that expresses our joy our rage our piece of the American Dream" - East West Woman

"Rocking" - Curve Magazine

AUG 25-28

ABALONE DOTS

Wednesday, August 25 at 7:30 PM

"Bluegrass beauties. With a blend of bluegrass and Swedish folk music, Abalone Dots have caught the ears of the heavy hitters." - Scanorama

Abalone Dots come from a small town in Sweden called Vastervik on the outskirts of Stockholm. The talented musicians--Rebecka Hjukström (Age 22), Louise Holmer (Age 25), Elin Mörk (Age 24), and Sophia Hogman (age 24)--have played together for six years and have already become a top-selling artist on RCA Sweden since releasing their debut album in 2007, FROM A SAFE DISTANCE. The album immediately entered at the top of the Swedish charts, allowing the foursome to cultivate a rapidly-growing audience in the Scandinavian countries. Their current single, "Solo," from their sophomore release, TRAVELER, continues to garner attention including a Grammy Award (Swedish Grammis), multiple performances on major TV shows in Europe, and a cover story in Scanorama--instantly branding the Abalone Dots as media darlings.

The overwhelming excitement behind their music has intrigued audiences in the U.S. and sparked interest from top-name industry professionals. This excitement has led the Dots to cross genres, as well as oceans, to pursue their dream of touring the States. $14

OUR HIT PARADE STARRING Bridget Everett, Kenny Mellman AND NEAL MEDLYN

Wednesdays August 25, September 29, October 27 at 9:30 PM

Our Hit Parade is a live top-ten countdown show created by Tony nominee and Obie winner Kenny Mellman (Kiki & Herb), carnal chanteuse Bridget Everett (At Least It's Pink at Ars Nova), pop song opera impresario Neal Medlyn (Neal Medlyn's Unpronounceable Symbol at P.S. 122), producer and MTV cameraman Brendan Kennedy, and writers Ada Calhoun and Peter Schjeldahl. The show is inspired by the musical sketch series "Your Hit Parade" that ran on radio and then television from 1935 to 1959. On that show, cast members performed the week's most popular songs as comically literal skits. In this show, the hosts and special guest stars from the local performance scene present their renditions of current popular hits live on stage! $20

Lindsay Mendez & THE Marco Paguia TRIO

Thursday, August 26 at 7:30pm; $20

Lindsay Mendez and Marco Paguia met on the Broadway production of Everyday Rapture in 2010, and while working, discovered a mutual love and passion for jazz, which they decided to turn into a musical collaboration.

Lindsay and Marco's mission is to put a contemporary jazz spin on the music of the singers and songwriters that inspire them. Their evening of music will feature songs by (or made famous by) Alexi Murdoch, Alicia Keys, The Beatles, Björk, Dinah Washington,Fiona Apple, George Gershwin, Jeff Buckley, Joni Mitchell, Martin Sexton, Nina Simone, Peter Gabriel, The Police, and Stevie Wonder, among others. This evening of classic and creative music-making by some of New York's finest musicians will definitely be a night to remember that makes you hear your favorite songs in an entirely new way.

Lindsay Mendez, vocals

Marco Paguia, piano

Pete Donovan, bass

Dave Ratajczak, drums

Marco Paguia is an accomplished Musician and Composer sought after for his proven versatility across many styles of music whose work is enhanced by his significant accomplishments as a Theater Music Director. Most notably, Mr. Paguia was the Music Director for the Tony-nominated production of Everyday Rapture. Mr. Paguia's experience as a composer includes the "Best Play" and "Fringe First" award-winning How to Act Around Cops (New York and Edinburgh Fringe Festivals). A successful and recognized pianist as well, Mr. Paguia released Small Hours, the debut album with his jazz trio. Mr. Paguia was a two-time finalist for the American Pianists' Association Cole Porter Fellowship (2001 & 2004). Highlights of his Music Directing career include Disney's On The

Record (National Tour), Peter and the Starcatchers (La Jolla Playhouse), and Flower Drum Song (National Tour). Mr. Paguia was also a Pianist and Conductor for the Broadway productions of Spring Awakening and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Learn more at www.myspace.com/marcopaguia.

Lindsay Mendez is a singer and actor, working both on Broadway and in the popular music world. Most recently, Lindsay was seen on Broadway in The Roundabout Theater Company's production of Everyday Rapture. Other notable theater credits include Grease(2007 Revival Original Cast), The Marvelous Wonderettes(Off-Broadway), Everyday Rapture(Off-Broadway), and Princesses(The 5th Avenue Theatre). Lindsay's concert credits span across the U.S., including performances at Jazz at Lincoln Center,Birdland, The Kennedy Center, The Dorothy Chandler Pavillion, and the Orange County Performing Arts Center. Most recently, Lindsay was featured on "New York City Christmas", a benefit album for Artists Striving To End Poverty (ASTEP). Lindsay is the lead singer and a founding member of the coverband, Limbsakimbo. www.lindsaymendez.net

THE GAY AGENDA CONQUERS JOE'S PUB

Thursday, August 26 at 9:30 PM

The Gay Agenda is your semi-favorite-two-man-musical-theatre-post-punk-band. Micah and Nicholas, two harmonizing homos with their ears perked for the latest sounds in the cutting edge world of musical theatre, concoct mangled love ballads and disjointed show stoppers to delight the twisted, sentimental show queen in all of us. The Gay Agenda has a single goal: Complete and utter world queerification through showtunes. Directed by Josh Hecht $15

SOMI

Friday, August 27 at 7:30 PM; $20 in advance / $25 at the door

"A pioneer of a new and promising generation of African artists.... Superb!" - Vogue Magazine

"Glistens with the sheen of an almost impossibly perfect cosmopolitanism" - The Boston Globe

"Arresting in her originality... Imagine the earthy gutsiness of Nina Simone blended with the vocal beauty of Dianne Reeves. Such is Somi." - JazzTimes Magazine

When Somi was growing up, her mother told her that the rain, ever unpredictable, could be as much a blessing as a challenge. That notion has stayed with the charismatic East African singer and songwriter all her life and now provides a metaphorical focus for her latest album, If The Rains Come First (ObliqSound), a stunning collection of self-penned story-based songs, which debuted at #2 on Billboard's World Chart. Having performed to audiences across four continents, Somi has since worked with or performed alongside the likes of Bobby McFerrin, Baaba Maal, Paul Simon, John Legend, Hugh Masekela, Mos Def, Amel Larrieux, Talib Kweli, Roy Hargrove, and Idan Raichel. Somi's captivating live show leans pure vocal beauty against electro-acoustic soundscapes that offer a modern look at classic soul and Africa's future.

JP JOFRE'S NEW TANGO QUARTET

Saturday, August 28 at 7:30 PM; $15

"... dramatic rendering of Jobim on the bandoneon..." - The New York Times

"Back after playing the night before with Paquito D'Rivera, Jofre impresses us again with his mastery on the bandoneon in a piece with tango flavor." - Puerto Rico Jazz

"JP Jofre has transformed himself into a bandoneon player of International reach" - Diario de Cuyo

One of the true young masters of the bandoneon, composer JP Jofre returns to Joe's Pub after his recent sold out performance. Brimming with energy, JP Jofre's music has been getting the attention of the international press and captivated audiences at the recent Heineken Jazz Festival in Puerto Rico, where he played alongside such stars as Paquito D'Rivera and William Cepeda. Reviews have also noted JP Jofre's exquisite abilities as a player of tango's quintessential instrument: the bandoneon.

Mr Jofre has performed as a soloist with the Westchester Jazz Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra of San Juan Argentina, the Manhattan Camerata and many others. His skills as a performer have earned Mr. Jofre Argentina's highly competitive National Arts Grant to study with legendary Astor Piazzolla's Sextet bandoneon player, Julio Pane in Buenos Aires.

ELIKEH

Saturday, August 28 at 9:30 PM

Mixing Afro-beat influences with rock and traditional Togolese polyrhythms, Elikeh churns out tunes that are as listenable as they are danceable. Elikeh's captivating, anthemic funk surfaces from its roots as triumphantly unique, while being a force for collective unity. $14

BANANA BAG & BODICE DOES BEOWULF - A THOUSAND YEARS OF BAGGAGE

Saturday, August 28 at 11:30 PM, Thursday, September 2 at 9:30 PM & Saturday, September 4 at 7:00 PM; $14 in advance / $17 at the door

"...joyfully raucous and silly...brings out the power and the color of the legend..." - The New Yorker

"Hilarious...clever...has the makings of a cult fave." Variety

After a successful smash-hit run in April, 2009 at the Abrons Arts Center in New York City, and multiple gigs at Lower East Side music venues, Banana Bag & Bodice brings their award-winning epic SongPlay to Joe's Pub.

Digging into the roots of the original epic poem, this re-imagined version of Beowulf - A Thousand Years of Baggage hearkens back to the raw and rowdy style of storytelling in the old Scandinavian mead halls - with a passion for fierce poetry and a pint of thick beer.

Monsters and professors collide in blood-soaked Scandinavia as this hefty poem is rescued from 1,000 years of analysis and transformed into a defiantly raucous dissertation on art and violence. With an 7-piece band including dueling trombones, bass clarinet, accordion and saw, Beowulf combines Weillian cabaret, 40's jazz harmony, indie rock, punk, electronica and Romantic lieder into a cacophonous swirl.

TICKETS

Online at joespub.com

Phone 212-967-7555,

In Person At The Public Theater Box Office (1 PM to 6 PM), or at the Joe's Pub Box Office from (6 PM to 10 PM) both located at 425 Lafayette Street, NYC

For table reservations please call 212-539-8778. Purchase of tickets does NOT guarantee a table reservation; you must call to reserve seats. Seating, as well as standing-room, is available only on a first-come, first-served basis for all shows without a dinner reservation. Two drink or $12 food minimum per person is standard.

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