- 10 years ago
- This year in honor of Earth Day, Art For Progress put on the "Music Saves the Planet” show at The Bowery Electric. With the tag line "Creative Culture Accelerating Social Change”, the event was meant to "celebrate Earth Day and to raise awareness.” Ticket proceeds went towards the NYC non profit's arts programs. Door prizes from the event ranged from a Gibson guitar to tickets to The American Museum of Natural History. The evening began with Blythe Gruda. The singer was accompanied by guitarist Graham Norwood and violinist Claudia Chopek. Together the trio started the evening off with that can only be described as genuine, awe-inspiring talent. The opening slot isn’t an easy place to play. The audience is still filing in and/or hasn’t really arrived yet, but you’re still expected to put on a show as if it were a packed house. Gruda seemed utterly unphased and absolutely appreciative of the healthy showing that welcomed her warmly to the stage. Idgy Dean (Lindsay Sanwald) took the stage second at 9:00. She carried her floor tom on stage with no rock star airs. In a pair of black over alls, she seemed more roadie than rock band. Where was the rest of the band? She IS the band. In fact Dean performs as a one-woman psychedelic rock band. She employs tUnE-yArDs-esque loops and drum beats to create multilayered garage rock that without her trusty pedal board would take a good half-dozen band members to recreate. Throughout her set Dean swapped her drumsticks for her [...]
