Van Dyke Parks in Brooklyn, Sunday, May 19

[rn57]

At 7 pm on Sunday, May 19, Van Dyke will perform on a bill with Philip Glass's ensemble at the Music Hall of Williamsburg (a 550-capacity venue) in Brooklyn. Tickets are $75 and available via Ticketmaster.  The price is a little steep for my taste....but then again, it's unusual for Van Dyke to do a one-off appearance on the East Coast, and I was going to be in Manhattan the day before for another event anyway, so I just might go.  The show is part of the Henry Miller/Big Sur festival, but no indication that Al's showing up for any of it.

[Aegir]

ah, damn. of course the only time he's playing near me it's 75 bucks.

[slickman9696]

Man, I live here in NYC, but kinda the same thing both of you said. $75 is a high price. I didn't know he was able to pull in those kind of ticket prices. Good for him.

[rn57]

I would guess the $75 is mainly to cover Philip Glass's guarantee. He usually works with a fairly sizable group of musicians and he's considered a classical composer so can get away with charging high ticket prices.

When I saw Van Dyke at a 250 capacity club in Washington, DC last year, just 40 or so people showed up for it. That was partly because he'd done a free show at the Kennedy Center a few hours before...but mainly because the club tickets were $38 apiece. Had they been $25, I think there could have been 150 or so folks there.

[The Heartical Don]

I would guess the $75 is mainly to cover Philip Glass's guarantee. He usually works with a fairly sizable group of musicians and he's considered a classical composer so can get away with charging high ticket prices.

When I saw Van Dyke at a 250 capacity club in Washington, DC last year, just 40 or so people showed up for it. That was partly because he'd done a free show at the Kennedy Center a few hours before...but mainly because the club tickets were $38 apiece. Had they been $25, I think there could have been 150 or so folks there.

I think you're right about the large ensemble being the main reason. VDP never has been greedy about ticket prices. I saw him in 1996, in The Hague, with an augmented Mondriaan String Quartet, I guess there were some 20+ people on stage, with a truly beauteous harp included. They charged 30 Dutch guilders (the orginal Dutch money - later we got the dreaded Euro, and the great art of our own bills got lost in time, so to speak). This fee translated as around 20 to 25 modern dollars, off the top of my head.

[AndrewHickey]

ah, damn. of course the only time he's playing near me it's 75 bucks.

It's worth it. I've seen him three times (and going to see him for a fourth on Sunday) and had to travel a couple of hundred miles each time to do it. Each time was with a totally different group of musicians (guitar and bass first time, Clare & The Reasons the second, and the Britten Sinfonia last time) but they were all in their own way among the best shows I've ever seen.

[rn57]

Can't provide more details about this event, except that it is happening under the auspices of the Red Bull Music Academy according to some websites. I guess you'd have to email RBMA's site for what time, where, etc.  The site lists a May 23 event at an NYC club with performances by Afrika Bambaata and a bunch of ultra-hip DJs, but alas I have the feeling Van Dyke will not be in their midst.

Come to think of it - I wonder if Van Dyke has ever done one of those "house concerts?" He'll apparently be in NYC the better part of the week of May 19-23, so maybe some Park Slope hipsters could be persuaded to pool their resources and cajole him into sitting down at an upright in someone's loft for a ticket price someplace below 75 buckaroos.

[rn57]

The venue in Brooklyn announced on Twitter that VDP has cancelled his Sunday appearance. So his next gig I know of is the one with Inara George in LA at the end of the month.

Update - he cancelled due to a hand injury.

[Mr. Cohen]

Rumor has that an errant toss of a Diet Coca-Cola by one Brian Wilson, done from behind the back, caused Van Dyke Park's hand injury. Van Dyke was reported to have exclaimed, "I am a victim of your buffoonery yet again, sir!"