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This Week's Best Shows and a Spotify Playlist of the Bands

By Daniel Jumpertz | January 23, 2014 7:46am
 Eight essential concert experiences in New York City between Jan. 23 and Jan. 29.
Gigs of the week Thursday, Jan. 23
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Thursday, Jan. 23
Neutral Milk Hotel is best known for the 1998 masterpiece "In the Aeroplane Over The Sea," an epic collection of songs that, according to the Pitchfork music blog, blended "Sgt. Pepper with early '90s lo-fi." Led by singer and guitarist Jeff Magnum, Neutral Milk Hotel were part of The Elephant 6 Recording Company, a collective including The Apples in Stereo and Of Montreal. The band released two albums and two singles between 1994 and 1998, and followed those with a new EP, "Ferris Wheel On Fire," in late 2011.

After disbanding in 1998, Magnum resumed live performances in 2010 and tonight begins three nights at BAM (30 Lafayette Ave., Brooklyn) (Jan. 23 to Jan. 25), followed by two shows on Jan. 27 and 28 at Webster Hall.



Friday,  Jan. 24
R. Stevie Moore and Gary Wilson, two influential underground artists with fiercely independent approaches to recording and playing music, are in town for rare live performances. They'll perform tonight at Issue Project Room, 22 Boerum Place, Brooklyn, and Saturday at Glasslands, Williamsburg.

Saturday, Jan. 25
Immerse yourself in Dr Dog's '60s inspired psychedelic guitar pop at Terminal 5 tonight. The Pennsylvania band's eighth album "B-Room" has just been released and, according to All Music blog, shows "the magic of the band lies in its ability to consistently beguile listeners with a sound that shows all the marks of genuine craftsmanship."

All four local bands in the lineup tonight at Muchmore's have a different take on fuzzy post-punk inspired guitar pop. Get there early (8.30 p.m.) for the hazy harmonies of Rad Dreams and stick around for Dead Painters, the indie pop of The Hairs and, last up, Hippy.

Sunday, Jan. 26
Members of Beach House, Fleet Foxes, Grizzly Bear and Lower Dens have come together to salute the genius of country music innovator Gene Clarke's 1974 album "No Other" tonight at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. Clarke, a founding member of iconic mid-'60s American folk rockers The Byrds, recorded ten influential solo albums before he died in 1991.

Monday, Jan. 27
Gifted blues, rock and jazz guitarist Jim Campilongo is launching his eclectic new album "Dream Dictionary" tonight at Rockwood Music Hall's Stage 1. The album features a track with his Little Willie's bandmate Norah Jones, an inspired cover of Jimi Hendrix's "Manic Depression" and a collection of tasteful and moving original works.

Tuesday, Jan. 28
As part of VH1's Super Bowl Blitz Concert Series, Janelle Monae plays Lehman College for the Performing Arts in the Bronx. Monae grew up in Kansas but relocated to the Big Apple after high school, eventually settling in Atlanta where she was encouraged by OutKast's Big Boi. Her just-released second album "The Electric Lady" is a global hit (top five in the U.S) combining hip hop, soul, funk, gospel, jazz and rock.

Wednesday, Jan. 29
English five piece post-punk rockers Eagulls play an early show (6.30 p.m.) at the Lower East Side's Mercury Lounge.