LUNA ignites many moods.
Listen to “Bonnie and Clyde” on “Luna Live,” recorded on Bastille Day in 2000. You could feel a little schizo with the melancholy vocals of New Zealand-born Harvard-grad Dean Wareham singing, in French, a tune about American outlaws.
Or try “Going Home,” from “Bewitched,” where the “Chrysler Building was talking to the Empire State” and the “Twin Towers were talking to each other.” It’s a pretty, Velvets-influenced New York love song that has just gotten more wistful over time.
Luna’s poetic lyrics can transport you back to a certain moment in someone’s life, maybe even your own.
But it doesn’t matter how much we love Wareham’s distinctive, world-weary voice or the way his hypnotic playing entangles with Sean Eden’s transcendent electric guitars, which play off Britta Phillips’ bass and the drumming of Lee Wall, because it’s over. The quintessential New York group is playing its final shows.
So now it’s Luna immersion weekend for fans. The group will perform tomorrow through Monday, with a matinee show on Sunday, at the Bowery Ballroom (6 Delancey St., at Bowery; [212] 533-2111).
“It feels like the last week of a job, when you’re distracted and packing your things and making plans, and they’re throwing a little party for you,” Wareham says. “I’m a little nervous about the final show; I think I might cry. So be it.”
TONIGHT: Jon Langford (Mekon, Waco Brother, artist and all-around good Welshman), brings his “awesome insensitive loud mutant power trio,” with Tony Maimone and Steve Goulding, to Joe’s Pub (425 Lafayette St.; [212] 539-8770).
TOMORROW: Hank III, grandson of Hank Williams and son of Hank Williams Jr., brings his hell-raisin’ country music and his bad-ass self (along with wildman Joe Buck on standup bass) to the Knitting Factory (74 Leonard St.; [212] 219-3006) for two sets – one a little bit country, the other an earplug-inducing set.
TUESDAY: With character-rich roots-rock tunes, Kathleen Edwards comes off as a more polished Lucinda Williams, Edwards celebrates her sophomore disc, “Back to Me,” at the Canal Room (285 West Broadway; [212] 941-8100).
TUESDAY PLUS: Amos Lee, the new soul-folk sensation sweeping NPR stations across the country, is actually worthy of the hype.
He’s also the opening act on the Bob Dylan/Merle Haggard tour, which comes to the Beacon at the end of April.
The ex-teacher performs songs from his self-titled debut tonight at the Living Room (154 Ludlow St.; [212] 533-7237) and Wednesday at Joe’s Pub.
WEDNESDAY: Sweet indie rock act Levy begins a weekly Wednesday night residency at Pianos (158 Ludlow St.; [212] 505-3733). James Levy’s vocals, framed by bouncy guitars, are reminiscent of both the Smiths, for the old-school reference, and, for the new-schoolers, Interpol.
