The Lowbrow Reader Variety Hour! May 29! Housing Works Bookstore!

We are thrilled to announce the Lowbrow Reader Variety Hour, a celebration of our new book: The Lowbrow Reader Reader. The concert takes place Tuesday, May 29, at the beautiful Housing Works Bookstore in Soho, from 7pm–8:30pm. Admission is free with a suggested donation to Housing Works, a big-hearted charity that fights AIDS and homelessness. The night will feature musical sets from Adam Green and Supercute!, comedy from Wyatt Cenac, and a special appearance by the one and only Professor Irwin Corey, the world’s foremost authority.

Here are some words from Jay Ruttenberg, The Lowbrow Reader Reader’s eminent and worldly editor:

I met Adam Green in 2001 in Tompkins Square Park, when I interviewed him and Kimya Dawson about their band, the Moldy Peaches; I think it was their first interview. They mocked and bullied me throughout, and I came home with gum in my hair. I have been a big fan of Adam’s work ever since. He’s pretty much everything you want in a songwriter: His songs are funny, inscrutable, full of surprises, and ridiculously catchy. He keeps getting better, too. When I’m humming a melody on the subway, odds are high that it’s a song from his most recent album, Minor Love. Recently, he shot a feature film on his iPhone starring Macaulay Culkin. All of which is to say, How Adam has not played a Lowbrow Reader event before is beyond me.

Then there is Supercute!, your new favorite band. It stars three teenage girls: Rachel Trachtenburg, Julia Cumming, and Olivia Ferrer. She will hate me for saying this, but I have known Rachel since she was 8-years-old and playing drums for the Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players. (Ever tried to interview an 8-year-old girl? No picnic!) In Supercute!, Julia and Rachel play ukulele and guitar, Olivia keyboards. You have not lived a meaningful life until you have heard their rendition of “Paint it Black,” to say nothing of original songs such as “Not to Write About Boys.” The band recently completed their first album, recorded with Englishwoman Kate Nash.

And that’s just the music! Are we forgetting the evening’s funnymen? I have been laughing at Wyatt Cenac for years, whether I am lurking in the back of a darkened audience or sprawled on a couch in my apartment. Sounds pretty creepy! But surely, you, too,  have laughed at his wit on The Daily Show, a cable television program for which he works as a correspondent. Is it hyperbolic to suggest that, were every human being as funny as he, the earth would have neither war nor religion? (I think not.) And as if that is not enough, we bring you a special appearance by the legendary Professor Irwin Corey! Once described as “one of the most brilliant comedians of all time” by Lenny Bruce, the Professor’s astounding 75-year career has seen him working with Woody Allen and Thomas Pynchon, Steve Allen and Johnny Carson. Before seeing him live May 29 at the Lowbrow Reader Variety Hour, check him out on your computer on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.

Housing Works Bookstore Café is one of downtown New York’s most vital cultural institutions, presenting an eclectic mix of events — from readings and concerts to comedy nights and storytelling competitions – featuring many of today’s most exciting artists. The bookstore is staffed almost entirely by volunteers and 100% of its profits go to Housing Works, Inc., which provides housing, healthcare, job training, and advocacy for New Yorkers living with HIV/AIDS. As an independent cultural center, it offers patrons a unique opportunity to join the fight against AIDS and homelessness simply by buying or donating books; eating at their cafe; attending concerts, readings, and special events; or volunteering on their staff.