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M83, Mick Taylor and Regina Spektor Play New York City

By DNAinfo Staff on May 9, 2012 8:08am

By Daniel Jumpertz

Special to DNAinfo

Wednesday May 9
Although born and raised in Michigan, Glenn Frey made his fame and fortune as a founding member of LA folk rockers the Eagles. As their guitarist and songwriter, Frey wrote or co-wrote (often with Don Henley) many of the group's songs, and sang lead vocal on hits including "Take It Easy," and "New Kid in Town."  After the band split in 1980, he found solo success with two big hits — the soundtrack songs "The Heat Is On" (from Beverly Hills Cop) and "You Belong to the City" (from the television series Miami Vice). The Eagles reunited in 1994. This year Frey released his first solo album in 20 years, "After Hours", a collection of classic American pop songs performed in a smooth lounge style. Glenn Frey plays Town Hall tonight.

Also tonight: The Beach Boys at Beacon Theatre.

Thursday May 10
Named after a distant celestial galaxy, and inspired by psychedelic underground acts like My Bloody Valentine, French band M83 is essentially a solo project of Spanish-French musician Anthony Gonzalez. M83's sixth album, "Hurry Up, We're Dreaming" is their first double album, which Gonzalez has dreamed of making ever since he heard The Smashing Pumpkins' "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness." "I wanted to make a very eclectic album but also something not too long. Making a double album was a dream of mine for a long, long time and I felt ready to make this move,” he explained. Discussing the sound and process of creating this album, Gonzalez said it was "written like a soundtrack to an imaginary movie with different ambiences, different atmospheres, different tempos, different orchestrations and different instrumentation. ...When I make an album, it's always about nostalgia, melancholy in the past and memories." Share his epic vision at Terminal 5.
Also tonight: Former Screaming Trees singer and accomplished rootsy solo performer Mark Lanegan brings his band to Webster Hall. His seventh studio album, "Blues Funera," has attracted strong reviews.

Friday May 11
Jimmy Webb — the only artist to ever receive Grammy Awards for music, lyrics, and orchestration — plays Rubin Museum of Art. Hear the classics "By The Time I Get To Phoenix," "Wichita Lineman," "Galveston," and maybe even "MacArthur Park" from the living legend that wrote them.

Saturday May 12
Originally conceived as a multimedia project, Neon Indian combines the talents of video artist Alicia Scardetta and electronic music producer Alan Palamo. Neon Indian's latest album "Era Extraña" was recorded in Helsinki, Finland and was mixed by Dave Fridmann, who has mixed and recorded most of the albums by The Flaming Lips and Mercury Rev. Expect similarly trippy and exploratory sounds at Terminal 5.

Sunday May 13
Celebrate Mother's Day New York City style with two mother-daughter combos, icon Patti Smith and her piano playing/composer daughter Jesse Paris Smith, alongside Suzzy Roche (The Roches) and Lucy Wainwright Roche,  Suzzy's daughter with Loudon Wainwright III. Lucy has recently toured the country as an opening act for the Indigo Girls. At City Winery.

Also tonight: In 1982 Africa Bambaataa & The Soul Sonic Force sampled Kraftwerk's "Trans Europe Express" to create "Planet Rock," one of Hip-Hop's first hymns. Like many Rap and Hip-Hop musicians after him, Bambaataa used Kraftwerk's melodies and sound inventions to electronically reinvent the rhythmic complexity of black dance music. Celebrating Kraftwerk: DJ Afrika Bambaataa at MoMA PS1, 22-25 Jackson Ave., Long Island City.
Also tonight: Fred Armisen's Playlist Live! at Union Pool. Hear the Portlandia and Saturday Night Live star performing a selection of covers of his favorite bands like the Clash, Devo, the Stranglers, the Damned, Husker Du and more. Fred will also be inviting special guests to join the bill.

Monday May 14
Blues guitarist Mick Taylor is the unsung hero of the Rolling Stones golden period between 1969-1974. At 20, he left legendary UK blues outfit John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and joined the Stones as lead guitarist, replacing Brian Jones. With the Stones, Taylor contributed guitars on tracks from the albums "Let It Bleed" (1969), "Get Yer Ya-Yas Out!" (1970), "Sticky Fingers" (1971), "Exile on Main St." (1972), "Goats Head Soup" (1973), "It's Only Rock 'n Roll" (1974), and "Tattoo You" (1981). Taylor plays at Iridium (May 9 through 14) showcasing his classic blues and jazz influenced sound with a band featuring Max Middleton, Wilbur Bascomb, Bernard Purdie and Jon Paris.

Tuesday May 15
Regina Spektor heads uptown to the United Palace Theatre (4140 Broadway at 175th St) to preview tracks from her forthcoming album "What We Saw From The Cheap Seats." Her new single represents a subtle style change, more electronic, but with the same piano-driven intensity. Check out "All The Rowboats" here.
Also: UK singer Beth Orton plays Joe's Pub.

For more Gigs of the Week, follow @bandupdate on Twitter.