One of the best reasons to see the Black Heart Procession live is to hear singer Pall Jenkins do his strange, heartsick croon to "It's a Crime I Never Told You About the Diamonds in Your Eyes" (a song Johnny Cash planned to cover just before he died). But when the darkest, gloomiest group out of sunny San Diego returns to New York there are sure to be fresh crowd-pleasers from its outstanding new album The Spell. Originally a depressive two-man band composed of Jenkins and Tobias Nathaniel, BHP are now a less somber five-piece combo, featuring the Album Leaf's talented Jimmy LaValle and Matt Resovich and former Modest Mouse drummer Joe Plummer. Judging from their 2004 Bowery Ballroom gig, the dark cloud has been lifted, at least a little. Expect less brooding from Jenkins and more upbeat, classic-rock-tinged renditions of songs. With Devics and the Castanets. At 8, Bowery Ballroom, 6 Delancey Street, 866-468-7619, $17 ANGELA ASHMAN
photo: Brad Miller
Black Heart Procession cast a new spell at Bowery Ballroom.
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[Music]
Undeniably Diva
Always like the first time
Rhythm and blues and soul certainly have a long list of unsung heroes and heroines. It's not that they don't get their names tossed about when folks talk about great singers; it's more that folks don't realize the influence of those who have come before. Roberta Flack is a perfect example of someone whose greatness has been ignored. Fans will wax poetic about "Killing Me Softly With His Song" or "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", but go ahead and play "First Time" and really listen. Flack sings that song the way it's meant to be sung; it's about a moment, and every time you listen to that record that moment happens again. Tonight Roberta gives us another gift, a free show in Brooklyn, and she's bringing along gospel- soul singer James Ingram. At 7:30, Martin Luther King Jr. Concert Series, Wingate Field, Winthrop Street between Brooklyn and Kingston avenues, Brooklyn, 718-469-1912, brooklynconcerts.com, free ANDREW ABER
[Clubs]
Beer 'n' Batter
Munching on waffles after dark
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[Film]
Border Patrol
A look at the immigration debate
Every day an estimated 4,500 undocumented migrants enter the U.S. via the harsh landscape of the Sonoran desert in Arizona. Since the mid 1990s, thousands have died trying to make the dangerous trek, which can take up to four days on foot. Filmmaker Joseph Mathew's eye-opening documentary Crossing Arizona attempts to show both sides of the hotly debated immigration issue through interviews with ranchers, activists, migrants, and vigilante border watchers. Mathew, who lives in Brooklyn, shot the film from 2004 to 2005 and continued adding up-to-date news clips until just weeks before it was screened at the Sundance in January, offering a current look at the complex topic. As humanitarian Mike Wilson says in the film, "Nobody deserves to die for a cup of water." A reception, hosted by indiepix.net, follows the screening. At 7:30, Makor, 35 West 67th Street, 212-601-1000, $15ANGELA ASHMAN
