Dolls, Goons, and Mo(o)re

February continues to be excessively busy: on Valentine's Day, which we're pretty good at ignoring around here, the gf and I headed to South Philly's New Alhambra Arena, formerly home to Extreme Championship Wrestling and still primarily an indie boxing and wrestling venue, to catch the New York Dolls. It was Sylvain Sylvain's 57th birthday, which netted him a cake and an audience singalong. Sylvain was obviously overjoyed to be on stage and could've gone all night; David Johansen maybe less so, though he was in good form and nailed the songs' energy.

On 2/20, Dave Burrell premiered a new piece for piano and bass at the Rosenbach, inspired by the museum's collection of works by modernist poet Marianne Moore. Gorgeous pieces, restrained and minimal in a way that some of the film score pieces from his CD Momentum were; Burrell stressed that the poems were written so that every word was integral to the final effect, and his interpretations made sure that each note and gesture counted in the same way. Then he exploded in the improvised final piece, an explosion of pent-up flurries based on Moore's "O, To Be a Dragon." Michael Formanek, fresh off the Bloodcount reunion, again proved an able and sensitive partner for the pianist.

That same night, caught Roy Smiles' play "Ying Tong: A Walk With the Goons" at the Wilma Theater. Manic fun, though requiring at least some foreknowledge of the Brit comedy troupe.

Thursday night (2/21), an Ars Nova triple-shot at the Rotunda, kicking off with a stunner of a set by Jeremiah Cymerman's Silence & Solitude. Processing three clarinets (Cymerman joined by Matt Bauder and Josh Sinton) through electronics, the trio created a dense swirl of sound, alternating between brash squalls and sparse, breathy intervals. Next was a solo tenor set by Phillip Greenlief, which explored extremes of the instrument's range over the course of twenty minutes or so; and the Mary Halvorson Trio, with bassist John Hebert and drummer Ches Smith, rocketed through a set of Halvorson's quirky, off-kilter indie-pop/jazz miniatures.

And last night (2/22), braved the snow and other inclement climatic turns to see trumpeter Sean Jones put on an emotional show at the Art Museum, coming to tears and bringing much of the audience to their feet by the end. A little maudlin, but heartfelt. Then the blazing, witty virtuosity of accordionists Guy Klucevsek and Alan Bern at the Trinity Center, in a compelling show co-produced by Relache and Ars Nova.