The Beets Playing Our Anniversary Party

I told ya there would be some good news coming on Tuesday. The Beets will be playing the Brooklyn Ski Club 5-Year Anniversary at Don Pedro's with Wild Yaks, Gunfight!, Spirit Family Reunion and Raccoon Fighter. Now that there is one hell of a bill.

The Beets played the very first Non-Worker Party I put together with The Music Slut back in May 2009. They were totally awesome and I'm psyched to have them playing again. Check out their Daytrotter session.

RSVP for the party:

BSC 5-YR Anniversary

 The Beets - What Did I Do? by BrooklynSkiClub 

Spirit Family Reunion Playing Our Anniversary Party, Dec. 4th!

We told you guys to keep an ear out because we had some more bands to announce for our 5-year anniversary show. Well, here's another one for ya! The amazing Spirit Family Reunion will be joining the lineup (Wild Yaks, Gunfight!, Raccoon Fighter) this Saturday at Don Pedro's.

The very first band I saw after being bedridden for two months after my surgery was Spirit Family Reunion. I went to see Morgan O'Kane and these guys opened for him. I'd never even heard of them before that night but they've been one of my favorites ever since. The first show was a block away from my place but I dug them so much I crutched my way down to Zebulon a week later to see them again. I recently had the pleasure of seeing them in an intimate 50 person loft and it was killer.

Will there be more bands announced in the next few days? Maybe. I suggest you RSVP on the old Facebook page as we'll be updating there first.

Spirit Family Reunion - When My Name Is Spoken by BrooklynSkiClub

Trailer Park Boys Live Tour Coming To NYC!

Canadians are the funniest people on Earth (after Jews, of course) so it's no surprise that what may be the funniest damn TV show ever happened on Canadian television. Unfortunately, roughly 1.3% of Americans have ever even heard of it and only half of them get it.

Trailer Park Boys might be my all-time favorite comedy television show, top-3 at the very least. The show came to an end a couple years ago but Bubs, Ricky and Julian are bringing the show on the road and hitting Mason Hall in NYC. Tickets will range between $25-$65 and go on sale this Thursday. This is fucking awesome!

Link:

Trailer Park Boys Tickets

GWAR Disembowels Sarah Palin (It's About Damn Time)

Oh, GWAR...

Link:

GWAR Disembowels Palin

Tonight: Benefit Party For Jessie Lee

Porn star and Burning Angel, Jessie Lee, was recently in a really bad car wreck. The story, from what I've gathered, is that she does not have insurance and needs to raise money to pay the bills. Her photographer friends and Burning Angel are throwing an art show fundraiser at Beauty Bar tonight to help her out. Go get drunk and look at photos of naked girls...for charity.

Link:

Jessie Lee Fundraiser

Ride The Nostalgia Train

The MTA is putting all that new fare hike money to good use by resurrecting a bunch of old ass trains and running them on the lines. While I like the idea in theory I'm kinda pissed off that the MTA has time to fuck around with bullshit like this when they apparently can't get shit else done. This is NOT what I want the money I'm paying to go towards. The MTA is hiking fares and they actually think it's a good time for this nonsense?

Oh, and those old cars were hot as fuck. Remember?

Link:

MTA Nostalgia Trains

The Death Set Release New Mixtape, Release Party Tomorrow (Free, Open Bar)

The Death Set have released a new mixtape called Artificially Sweetened. You can download it from the Mishka blog. There's also going to be a release party tomorrow at The Cove. The party is free and has two 30 min open bars plus $3 Jameson shots and $3 beer all night!

Link:

Mishka NYC: Death Set Mixtape

New Cerebral Ballzy Video

Street Carnage has a new Cerebral Ballzy video posted. It's for the tune, "Don't Tell Me What To Do". The Ballzy bros are currently on tour in Europe but should be back in town soon.

Link:

Watch "Don't Tell Me What To Do"

Leslie Nielsen Is Dead (Surely, You Can't Be Serious)

The great Leslie Nielsen has passed on. He's best known for his comedic roles such as in Airplane and the Naked Gun series. However, Leslie had a long and successful career as a dramatic actor on both television and film dating all the way back to 1950.

One of the greatest lines in movie history:

Ritz Riot! "Black Ink" (Free MP3)

I randomly stumbled upon Ritz Riot! a couple days ago and have listened to this track about 6 times since. The song is called "Black Ink" and was released back in July. It's a little Matt & Kim and a little Team Robespierre, maybe some Death Set too. I guess you could call it electro-punk if you want but I just say it sounds like Brooklyn.

The bands only seems to have a few properly recorded tracks (here's another) and based on the live videos seem to ditch the keyboards when they play live. I haven't seen them yet though so maybe I'll check them out at Lit on December 2nd and report back. I hope they have the keyboards.

Tonight: So So Glos & The Rassle @ The Studio

Killer show with two really good NYC bands. The Rassle are half ex-Young Lords and half ex-Virgins (I think that's the equation). The So So Glos are one of the best bands in Brooklyn and are long time favorites of BSC. This is great show so don't stay home tonight.

Tonight: Hank & Cupcakes @ Brooklyn Bowl (Free Show)

Tonight: Wild Yaks @ K&M (Free Show)

Tonight: X-Ray Eyeballs, Electric Tickle Machine, McDonalds, Black Dice

Details on Facebook

Details on Facebook

Tonight: The Beets & Total Slacker @ 285 Kent; Raccoon Fighter @ Shea

Good show at that loft space next to Glasslands tonight.


-Todd P Presents-
::The Beets
::::Total Slacker --- Emilys 21st B-day !!!!!!
:::::::The Babies --mem's of Woods,Vivian Girls and Stupid Party
::::::::Eternal Summers
:::::::::::::Night Manager



But I suggest hitting Shea Stadium first for Raccoon Fighter

MiniBoone Are Awesome, Huh?

Sometimes I get so overwhelmed by the bombardment of bands that a really fucking good one slips right through the cracks on me. I've been hearing about MiniBoone since October or so but just never got around to checking them out. A couple weeks ago I was finally able to give them a proper listen and holy shit, they're awesome!

I'm a sucker for a band that plays uptempo, fun music and MiniBoone seems to specialize in it. There's an obvious Talking Heads influence but way less arty and way more party.

Link:

MiniBoone Bandcamp

Shows:

Dec 15th - Rock Shop, Brooklyn

Dec 16 - Bowery Electric, NYC

 MiniBoone - The Other Summer by BrooklynSkiClub 

Video: Holy Grail "My Last Attack"

The first time I heard Holy Grail I was a little unsure about them. There are tons of revivalist metal bands these days and frankly most of them suck. But Holy Grail had something legit going on and even though I wasn't totally impressed with their early stuff you could tell they had something going on. They recently released a new album called Crisis In Utopia, which you might have heard at our party Smell The Glove which was the official listening party for the album. The new album is fucking awesome and Holy Grail might be one of the best metal bands out there right now.

New Track From The Death Set w/ Diplo

The Death Set recently teamed up with Diplo on a new track called "Yo David Chase! You P.O.V. Shot Me In The Head". Check it out on that fork site.

Link:

Download The Track

Brooklyn Ski Club 5 Year Anniversary, Coming Soon

Believe it or not it's been 5 years since Ski Club got started. Of course, there will be a party because that's what we do. I can't reveal all of the details just yet but mark the date (December 4th) and enjoy these videos.

River May Come from Matt Goldman on Vimeo.

Raccoon Fighter - "No Lover" - Studio Session from Blake Johnson on Vimeo.

New Tracks From Ben Talmi

Back in August, while I was bedridden and recovering from surgery, I took some time to dig through some emails and listen to some new submissions. I got lucky on my first try and put up a post about Ben Talmi. Since then Ben has played CMJ and got some attention from other blogs out there.

I was excited to see another email today from Ben with a couple new tracks. Check them out below and let us know what you think. If you want to download them they will be available tomorrow here.

 Ben Talmi - All Up To You by BrooklynSkiClub 

 Ben Talmi - Lost At Sea by BrooklynSkiClub 

Spirit Family Reunion & Listenlisten Loft Show

On Tuesday (I know, sorry it took so long) I went to a private loft for a show that Spirit Family Reunion was playing. The loft was on S.5th and Bedford and you had to RSVP to get in. When I go there I chatted with the dude who lives there and was throwing the party. He said the show was the first of many to come. The loft space itself is huge room with a kitchen off to the side. It's a great spot for shows and can handle about 50 people or so pretty comfortably.

We got to the show kinda early and brought with us a bunch of Bud and a flask of vodka (it's BYOB). It was a little awkward at first because there weren't all that many people there and those who were there all seemed to know each other. That's what the booze is for though.

The first performance was by Redding Hunter (from Peter & The Wolf). He played most of the set solo and on piano with the occasional back up vocals by two girls standing by. It was good but I didn't love it. Towards the end he switched to guitar and played an absolutely amazing song. I'd see this guy all the time if the whole set was similar to that song.

Next up was a band all the way from Texas called listenlisten (yup, all lowercase and one word). They started off kinda rough but after the first song they hit their stride. Halfway through the set I made up my mind that not only did I like these guys but they're pretty damn good. The vocal harmonies were impressive to say the least. The music itself is kinda country but as Tom put it, "I feel like I'm about to go to battle at Gettysburg." And while that might not help out anyone reading this, if you were there you would agree with that statement.

After listenlisten we went for a bodega run and grabbed a couple of 40's of Bud. When we got back Spirit Family was started to get ready. I've seen SFR twice before and they were amazing both times. In the setting of a small loft I could only expect them to be even better. In my experience rowdy country in a Brooklyn loft means good times.

Spirit Family Reunion came out with guns blasting Tuesday night. The whole place erupted into a arm-hooking, foot-stompin' dance off. The stomping got so intense that the neighbors downstairs complained. So the band simply took off their shoes and the crowd followed suit. The dancing continued on, sans shoes.

Spirit Family Reunion is one of those bands who make you feel like your part of something bigger when you see them play. This might sound weird but their music really captures that raw feeling of being alive. Really! It's that feeling that you used to get all the time when you were a kid which has since become unfamiliar but all the more appreciated when you do feel it.

They played some of my favorites like "100 Greenback Dollar Bills" and "When My Name Is Spoken." Most of the crowd seemed to know at least the choruses to the songs so there were some nice country sing-a-long moments. The dancing never stopped until Spirit Family did and then the loft emptied out and the patrons went their separate ways. It was one hell of a show.

Spirit Family Reunion




listenlisten

Tonight: So So Glos & Ex Humans @ DBA

Punk rock show in Brooklynburg tonight! This will be a good one for sure. The Coathangers and Unholy Two are also playing.

So So Glos, Ex Humans, Coathangers, Unholy Two

@ DBA (49 S. 2nd Ave)

$8

8PM

Tonight: No Age, Sigmund Droid, Team Robespierre, The Weight, Sounds Of Kaleidoscope

Lots of good shows tonight. Go to a couple at least.

• No Age @ KCDC Skateshop, FREE show. 7pm, all ages. 
• Sigmund Droid @ The Rock Shop, $7 (I think). 
• Team Robespierre @ Shea Stadium
• The Weight @ Union Pool
• The Sounds Of Kaleidoscope @ Don Pedros

Soundgarden Played Conan Last Night...Wow!

First off, congrats to Conan on the new show. I've already laughed more times than I did the entire time he was on The Tonight Show. It's good to have old Coco back. It's also good to have Soundgarden back!

Last night Soundgarden played their new old song "Black Rain" on Conan. It was unreal how fucking good it was. I'm completely blown away that Cornell can hit those high notes. He generally stopped singing in the range after Badmotorfinger and I just didn't think he had it in him to pull that off live. It's simply stunning. These mothers better fucking tour and play NYC soon. I will gladly pay upwards of $200 for a chance to see them live and that's saying a lot because, if you know me, I bitch about any show over $7. Long live Soundgarden!

Click here if the video doesn't load (there's also another song)

Last Night: Wild Yaks, Regal Degal, Cerebral Ballzy & Black Lips

I woke up yesterday hungover and never really recovered. I was dragging ass all day and spent a good majority of it on the couch resting up. But evening came around and things did not get much better. Too bad because a whole lot of fun was happening in a few hours.

First up was Van-efit, which Wild Yaks and Regal Degal were playing. The show was a fundraiser for some dude who's van broke down in Ohio and he needed money to get back out there and get it fixed...something like that. I got to Good Co for the show right around 10pm. Regal Degal was on while I was walking through the door. 

One of my good friends is the drummer for the band so I was glad I made it in time. I've only seen them play one other time, a few months back at Don Pedro's. That show was so insanely loud that I honestly couldn't even figure out if I liked them or not. Last night, however, they sounded great. The vocals were a little low in the mix but overall it was awesome to hear them at a bearable volume. I was at the show with Tom from Radio America who was seeing them for the first time and pointed out a resemblance to Television. 

After Regal Degal played we worked on a few beers and waited for Wild Yaks to set up, which seemed to be taking a very long time. Finally the Yaks got started and the fun began. The room was totally packed and it seemed like everyone there knew the words to every song. In fact, a few times Rob backed off the mic and let the crowd take over vocal duties. 

As with any Yaks show it was awesome. It was also far from flawless. Rob managed to break a string on two songs, which happened to be back-to-back. The singer/guitar player from Regal Degal (who is also in Dinowalrus) decided to just let Rob use his guitar to speed things along. After that things went swimmingly. The set was damn good and they closed with my two favorites, "Blood Red Field" and "River May Come." 

The second they finished we rushed out the door and headed towards The Shank. The show at The Shank was a late show, so it was just starting, but we already had friends there waiting for us so we hurried over. On the way over I desperately started texting and calling friends because I had an extra ticket and didn't want to eat it. But it was too late and I got to pay double admission to get in. An awesome start.

When we got inside some band was just starting up and the venue was filling in. There was already an obscenely long line for the two port-o-potty's conveniently located right next to the bar. If you haven't been to The Shank it's a massive open space covered in graffiti with 50-foot high ceilings and no rules. It's about as DIY as you can get in Williamsburg these days. 

The first band finished up and we headed upstairs to the balcony-esque area which overlooks the main floor. The upstairs area was cloudy from all the smoke. We managed to snag two of the five seats available in the entire venue. We heard the K-Holes starting up but didn't want to lose our seats so we stayed put. I love the K-Holes but I was tired and hungover and that seat was comfortable, especially since my bum knee was acting up. 

While we were sitting there a bunch of dudes started pissing in the corner to avoid an hour wait for the crapper. The corner turned into a lake of piss and spilled beer. A couple of girls, who may or may not have been aware of the source of this lake, started jumping around and dancing in this massive piss pond. It was totally fucking gross. 

Eventually we noticed that the Ballzy dudes weren't hanging upstairs anymore so we figured they must be setting up. We abandoned our post and headed downstairs for the show. Just as we got down on the main floor they started up. Immediately everyone in the room noticed how awful the sound was. You could not hear the vocals at all and the guitars and bass were super muddy. It sounded like shit. 

Nonetheless, Ballzy kept on trucking along. Honor kept grabbing different mics in an attempt to find one that would actually project his voice, that didn't really work out. Then he started climbing the walls and speakers. At one point he leaned on the monitor and it buckled. One of the sound guys had to grab it and he spent the rest of the set holding this speaker in place. Meanwhile the kids in the pit were going apeshit. The crap sound seemed to actually fuel the madness as punk kids were diving into the crowd. At one point someone started carry around a massive cross made out of skateboards. 

I give Ballzy credit for playing through what must have been the worst mix ever. They didn't let up at all but it was painful to listen to and in no way was it their fault. I know it's a DIY joint and all but I've been to tons of DIY shows and that's right up there with the shittiest sound quality I've ever heard and that's including basement shows in high school. 

Towards the end of the set I headed to the back of the room in hopes that the sound might be a little better further back - it wasn't. While back there I noticed that the floor was soaked. I looked along the dark wall and I could make out a ton of people, male and female, pissing along the wall. A good quarter of the venue was flooded with piss, spilled beer, cigarette butts and Four Loko (which they were selling for $10, yikes!). It was fucking gnarly and I'd hate to be the guy who has to clean that shit hole in the morning. 

After Ballzy finished up the crowd was getting noticeably antsy. It was about 2am at this point and the smoke cloud, urine and lack of seating was getting to people. As such it seemed like they rushed the Black Lips on stage to keep people sane. Surprisingly the Black Lips sounded pretty good. The vocals were audible and everything else sounded pretty decent, not great but for a lo-fi band in a DIY space it wasn't bad at all. I'm convinced they did a sound check for the Black Lips and just left the board set up for them and the other bands had to play through their sound settings.   

All of the bullshit scared my friends off. The sound issues made them all abandon ship either during or after Ballzy but I hung in there and I'm glad I did. The Lips made the hellish atmosphere all worth it. Within minutes of the start of their set people just started climbing on stage and dancing. Halfway through the set the stage was so jam packed full of dancing kids that you couldn't even see the band up there. Even with all the commotion they were still able to play an awesome set. At one point I think the power strip for the amps went out because they did two or three songs acappella.

The whole place was dancing and singing along towards the end, it was great. The set was pretty short but it was so late at that point that I don't think anyone minded. If I recall correctly they announced they had one more song and went into "Bad Kids" to close it out. Immediately after the song some drunk dude started yelling at the top of his lungs, "turn up the vocals! turn up the vocals." Sorry dude, shows over. 

Tonight: Black Lips & Ballzy @ The Shank; Wild Yaks @ Good Co; Tigersapien @ Glasslands

Lots of good music tonight in the Burg. The big news is the JellyNYC party with the Black Lips and Cerebral Ballzy. The show is only $5, which is awesome considering the average Lips show these days is like $20. Putting Ballzy with the Black Lips is pretty much perfection in the world of show promoting. The crowd is going to be foaming at the mouth by the time the Black Lips hit the stage.

The show at The Shank starts at 10pm so I suggest either hitting Good Co for Wild Yaks and Regal Degal or Glasslands for Tigersapien and French Horn Rebellion first.

Links:

Black Lips Tickets

Tigersapien & FHR at Glasslands

Wild Yaks & Regal Degal at Good Co

 

Tonight: Paul & The Patients / Raccoon Fighter @ Cameo

Our homeys Raccoon Fighter are back from their Mexican tour and tonight they're playing Cameo with Paul & The Patients.

RSVP & Tix:

TK421 Music Showcase

Black Lips & Ballzy Playing The Shank, $5 Cover!

JellyNYC put together a killer show at The Shank this weekend. Black Lips and Cerebral Ballzy will be playing a late night show on Saturday. These two bands were meant to play a show together and I'm stoked that it's happening. All hell will break loose. I can't believe the cover is only $5. Tix go on sale today at 5pm, which is like 20 minutes from now.

Link:

Black Lips / Ballzy Tix

Video: So So Glos "Fred Astaire"

"Fred Astaire" - The So So Glos from Matthew Greeley on Vimeo.