Björk and Dirty Projectors @ Housing Works

Björk, Amber Coffman, Haley Dekle. (Read the lyrics here) (Ryan Muir/Stereogum.com)

This past Friday night a small crowd gathered for an intimate show at Housing Works Bookstore, where Björk and Dirty Projectors performed a suite of six songs written by Dave Longstreth specifically for the occasion. Amongst the nearly 300 lucky ones in the room were David Byrne, MIA, members of the National and Vampire Weekend, and even Haley Joel Osment. The night began with two openers handpicked by the headliners—fellow Iceland native Olof Arnalds and Kurt Weisman from Vermont. Starting a little after 8, the sound was soft for them, with notes hanging in the humid air and often not making it to the balcony above—but once the main event began, Longstreth, Björk & Co. belted it out amongst the books. Here's more on the evening, and the suite's muse: a whale hailing from Northern California.

Those in attendance Friday night have Brandon Stosuy of Stereogum to thank, who brought the two together for the performance (following the band covering Hyperballad for the website's Björk tribute); and of course Housing Works for kindly hosting. Susie Lupert, who runs the bookstore/cafe, told us "The concert captured exactly what the bookstore is all about: a venue where you'll see performances that won't happen anywhere else and a chance to give back to some of the most disenfranchised members of society, homeless New Yorkers living with AIDS/HIV."