Fri 8/12 @ 8:30PM
Sat 8/13 @ 8:30PM
Musician/actress/comedienne Nellie McKay is one of those oddball performers who’s definitely not everyone’s cup of tea. But for those who like her flavor, she’s a passion. Her 2004 debut album Get Away From Me almost seemed like a fortuitous mistake that had been slipped by some sleeping record executive: a double-disc set on major label Columbia that was far too adventurous and hard to categorize to be easily marketed.
And of course, she couldn’t be. So since then she’s been releasing a series of intriguing projects on her own label (a tribute to Doris Day, anyone?) while doing stage work and advocating for progressive causes such as animal rights (She’s a PETA activist).
Her latest album, My Weekly Reader, released last year, features covers of ’60s songs, a bizarre collection of the familiar (“Itchycoo Park,” “If I Fell,” “Sunny Afternoon”) and the obscure (Moby Grape’s “Murder in my Heart for the Judge”), none of which seems like it would be suited to her style, which of course is what makes these renditions weird and wonderful.
“It’s important for us to be aware and not succumb to what (jazzman) Dave Frishberg has referred to as ‘weapons of mass distraction,’” she says. “These songs come out of a time of less cynicism — back in the ’60s the darker things in society were balanced by a certain innocence and hope.”
She’ll be making one of her regular visits to Nighttown, where she’ll play two nights, an indication of how music audiences there love her. Tickets are $25.