Kick off the last 30 days of the semester with a night of music, comedy and more at NYU Skirball Center. There will be something for everyone: Axis of Awesome, the hilarious, witty and sensational rockers from Down Under; Philadelphia's Drink Up Buttercup; and NYU's own sketch comedy group, Hammerkatz.
Axis of Awesome - You are bound to know the group's YouTube hit 4 Chords Song, which has shown tens of millions of people just how similar their favorite songs really are. "Comedy rock band" Axis of Awesome has been performing together for five years, singing about topics ranging from lasers to love songs to KFC. Comedian Jordan Raskopoulos, classically trained musician Benny Davis, and "Iron Chef enthusiast" Lee Naimo have represented the Land Down Under on websites like FunnyorDie.com -- but don't think they are just an online phenomenon. They play a whole range of venues, from fringe festivals to the grand Sydney Opera House, and now NYU's own Skirball Center.
Drink Up Buttercup - Imagine the Beatles with synths, or the Beach Boys jamming with Arcade Fire. That's kind of what this genre-defying band from Philadelphia sound like -- a new, punk-rock imagining of sixties oldies' nostalgia. They spin stories of "hopelessly flawed characters, star-crossed lovers, drunks, fairy tales & bad trips" with high-energy, incredibly inventive music. The band is as unique as its music: frontman Jim Harvey is also an opera singer, Ben Money rocks the bass and the organ, Michael T. holds together wild songs with tight drumming, and there aren't very many insturments Farzad Houshiarnejad can't (nor doesn't) play. Excited yet? You can read up on the band and listen to tracks for free to pass the time until they rock the Skirball Center in April.
NYU Skirball Center season programming is supported by the New York State Council on the Arts.
