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On Feb 10, Capitol Records releases It’s Not Me, It’s You, Lily Allen’s sophomore album. Two years after her smash-hit debut album Alright Still, this record finds Allen in top form, working with one producer, Greg Kustin, for the entire project to create a cohesive body of work. Kurstin has previously worked with The Bird and the Bee, as well as with Allen on three tracks from her previous album: “Everything’s Just Wonderful,” “Alfie” and “Not Big.”
Also celebrating a new album this month is dyke punk-rock band Shiragirl. Fresh off their most recent tour, Shira and the band are back and ready to rock out with you at their Scream! Spit! Sing! CD Listening Party on Feb 10 at Angels and Kings. These girls always rock hard, and the new album doesn’t disappoint. Real World fans may have seen them in their recent appearance on the Real World Dailies; one of the cast members performed with the band at Public Assembly in Williamsburg back in September. Shiragirl was also featured in Heeb Magazine’s 100 people of 2008.
The Isle of Klezbos celebrates Klezbian Mardi Gras on Feb 24 at Drom NYC. The alternative folk band shares a double bill with Sanda Weigl’s trio, Gypsy in a Tree, featuring Shoko Nagai on piano and accordion, Satoshi Takeishi on percussion and Kermit Driscoll on bass. The evening will be hosted by Lavinia Co-op, a charter member of London’s drag vaudeville troupe, Bloolips.
Symphony Space pays homage to the year 1939 this month with five different performances, including Strange Fruit on Feb 6. Using this soulful Billie Holiday track as a point of departure, singer-songwriter-playwright Eisa Davis will lead you on a musical exploration of the protest anthem and its role in the Civil Rights movement. The show includes some of Davis’ original freedom songs as well.
Speaking of protest songs, Musique à la Mode will present Love Has No Bounds, a night of chamber music and multimedia performances in response to the passage of Proposition 8. The program features excerpts from Patience and Sarah, one of the only lesbian operas in existence, as well as classical pieces by a variety of composers. The afternoon concert will benefit the Hetrick-Martin Institute.
The winner of last summer’s MetroStar Talent Challenge, Anne Steele, will be taking her victory lap (so to speak) as she performs her newest show, Strings Attached, for five nights only, Feb 18–22 at the Metropolitan Room. Opening for her will be her fellow finalists, who will alternate nights until the final performance, where both of them take the stage before Steele brings down the house.
