RIP Motor City

As you may have heard one of the last bastions of rock n' roll sleaze left in the LES is shutting down. The legendary Motor City will be closing their doors at the end of this week. I wasn't able to attend the closing party on Sunday but I saw a ton of pictures coming through my social media feeds and all the old regulars were there saying goodbye.

Motor City was one of the very first bars I ever hung out at on the LES. Back then there were plenty of dirty dive bars to hang out at downtown but most are sadly gone now. Motor City hung in their as long as they could but the condo class has moved in and the wine bars and cocktail lounges have taken over.

One of my best (or worst) memories of that joint was on my birthday a few years back. After a booze fueled BBQ celebration we hit the LES for even more drinks. After making the rounds to a few spots - Welcome to the Johnsons and a friends show at Piano's I believe - we ended the night at Motor City. At some point I went outside, roamed around aimlessly and passed out on a big window ledge a few doors down.

My friends started getting calls from a stranger claiming to have my phone. Apparently I dropped it somewhere on Rivington. Anyway, my girlfriend got my phone back and headed home assuming I pulled an Irish exit and went home - I hadn't. I was still sound asleep on that ledge. Eventually I came too and in the morning sun headed home. I didn't get the best greeting, as you may imagine, but it was one Hell of a birthday party.

While I may have missed the farewell blowout on Sunday I'm still going to try and pop in a few times this week for a few drinks and remember all the nights I forgot in that dump.

Blondie Touring With X + New Music

Blondie just announced some US tour dates, which conclude on October 4th at Roseland Ballroom in NYC. They will be supported by X at all dates. The NYC show goes on sale on June 21st. Your ticket purchase will include five new tracks from Blondie.

Read More:

Blondie Tour Dates

Sunday With Black Flag, Adolescents & Subhumans

Yesterday was one for the books! I headed to Williamsburg around 2pm or so to check out some of the Northside action. After grabbing a slice at Vinnie's Pizza on Bedford, where I overheard French tourists complaining that there wasn't any mayo to put on their pizza (WTF?), I went over to Muchmore's for The Teen Age. Bill from Gunfight is in the band and they signed to my buddies label, Papercup Music, so I figured I'd swing by.

Of course the show was running late but that was nothing a few warmish beers couldn't help. The band on when I arrived was Bugs In The Dark, who I've heard of many times but don't think I've ever seen; they were good. The Teen Age came on next and I thought they were pretty solid. The singer's vocal style kinda threw me at first though. He was really bassy during the first song but as the set went on he found his groove and actually has a pretty interesting voice and a wide range. The Teen Age were pretty damn solid, check them out if you can.

After that I headed over to the Jameson Lounge with my buddy Malcolm for some free drinks and some grub. The Beets were going on when we got there. I dig the Beets so it was a nice surprise to see that they were playing.

After the set we decided to head over to Music Hall of Williamsburg for Adolescents and Subhumans. They were allowing 75 badges in so we wanted to get there early and get stamped so we could come back later. The idea was to go over to Grand Victory and see if we could get into the secret Black Flag show. Well, as it turns out, while I was walking over there I got a message saying I was on the list! I was pretty excited about the idea of seeing Black Flag in a venue that only fits 100 people (if that).

We hung around outside of Grand Victory chatting for a bit when Ron Reyes (Black Flag vocals) comes out. Malcolm starts chatting with him and he asks us what else we're doing. We tell him we were thinking about going back to see Adolescents and Subhumans. He says, "I wanna go!" and asks us how far away it is. After we tell him it's less than 10 minutes away he runs inside to check what time he needs to be back. He comes out and says, "let's go!"

My night went from not knowing if I could even get into the Black Flag show to not only getting in but hanging around with Ron Reyes and actually going to see the Adolescents with him - crazy! We got to Music Hall and talked to the door man who let Ron right in and then headed over to the merch table. We told the merch dude (who ended up being one of the guitarists for Adolescents) Ron was here and five minutes later Tony from Adolescents is downstairs with us. So now it's me Ron Reyes, Tony Cadena and my pal Malcolm just hanging out. It was pretty surreal for a dude who grew up on punk.

After awhile people started realizing what was going on and started swarming for photos. At some point Ron snuck out of there and probably headed backstage. The Adolescents went on around 9:30pm and the place was packed. It was a really fun show, people were stage diving, dancing on stage and singing along with Tony. At one point an overly excited fan wiped out and took down Tony. He took a pretty hard fall and it took him a minute to get back on his feet. He stopped the song and told everyone they could do whatever they wanted as long as they don't knock him on his ass.

Around 10:30pm or so I started getting a little nervous about Black Flag. I knew they weren't going on until after 11pm but I was worried the venue might fill up and I wouldn't be able to get back in. So I left while the Adolescents were still on stage and skipped out on Subhumans. I felt terrible because I absolutely love Subhumans and think they are one of the best live punk bands around.

I got back to Grand Victory and of course I walked right in. I considered heading back to Music Hall but I saw a few friends and decided to stick around thinking that Greg Ginn's other band, who were on stage, would be wrapping it up soon. I sure was wrong about that. I think they played for another hour after I arrived and by the time that Black Flag went on the Subhumans show was already over. Not only could I have stuck around but I could have caught the entire set! Damn it.

Anyhow, Black Flag eventually came on and the room filled up with people coming over from the Adolescents/Subhumans show. Black Flag played almost exactly the same set as Friday night, which is fine by me because it includes most of my favorite Black Flag tunes. The pit was a lot tamer than I expected but I that's because the goon faction wasn't really in attendance. It was actually a pretty mellow and fun pit, not violent at all. I jumped in for "TV Party" and "Six Pack" but I was drenched in sweat after just two songs so I got the hell out of there and headed to the bar for a beer.

When I got back to the bar I see Dick (singer) from Subhumans hanging around. I didn't say anything to him because it was just too damn loud for conversation unless you were all the way by the door. Black Flag fucking killed it, which is no surprise. I really have to commend Ron for sounding great, his voice was still on point even after three consecutive nights of shows. It was truly amazing to see legends perform in a room that small. I really had an awesome time last night. Robert from Scenic did a hell of a job putting it together and keeping it under wraps.

After the gig everyone poured out into the street for some fresh air (did I mention it was really hot?). That's when I said hello to Dick from Subhumans. He was heading across the street for drinks. I had actually agreed to meet my buddy Marty over there anyway. A couple of minutes after I get to the bar the Subhumans bust in and start shooting pool and drinking. I talked to the guitar player for awhile, very nice guy, and then said hello again to Dick. One funny thing that happened was the bartender had a Def Leppard album playing straight through and all these crusty old punk dudes were all singing along. It was hilarious since, you know, punks are supposed to hate bands like Def Leppard.

We hung out for awhile, we were both hammered at that point so I have no clue what we talked about. At some point he goes, "I like you. I'm gonna buy you a drink." He asked me what we were drinking so I tell him whiskey and he orders up some shots. So now I'm slamming whiskey shots with Dick from Subhumans. He's a real nice dude and it was super cool hanging out with him although I'm still bummed I missed their set.

I don't know what time it was when I left but when I walked outside the Subhumans were out there drinking and singing in the street. I think they had a car parked on the curb with the stereo blasting. Everything was a blur at this point but I said my goodbyes and went home.

So to recap I hung out with Ron Reyes from Black Flag and even took him over to an Adolescents show. Then I hung for a bit with Tony from Adolescents and Ron from Black Flag. And later in the night I'm doing shots with Dick from Subhumans. Quite the fucking night, if I do say so myself.

 

w/ Dick from Subhumans

 

Black Flag

Video: Joey Ramone "New York City"

New video from Joey Ramone. I like the way it's shot but I don't know who most of the fuckers in this video are. Andrew WK, Anthony Bourdain and Reggie Watts are in there though. Check out the press release after the jump for more info.

The Death Set Have A New Video, "DZ Deathrays"

The Mess Up - DZ Deathrays (The Death Set Rmx) from The Death Set on Vimeo.

Cerebral Ballzy Has Another New Video, "Anthem"

Cerebral Ballzy has released yet another video. This time it's for "Anthem" and it's being released by Hot Topic. People are giving them serious shit for working with Hot Topic and even for working with Adult Swim. That's fucking bullshit if you ask me.

Labels are broke, fans aren't buying albums or even much merch and here we have a band actually being success in the only way possible these days and you're busting their balls? Don't be a dick. These are good dudes who make pretty killer music and put on some of the best live shows you'll see these days. They deserve to put a couple bucks in their pockets. My only complaint is the video itself (not the song) is kinda boring and why is only Honor in it?

Tonight: Ritz Riot & EULA @ Matchless

Two of our favorite local bands, Ritz Riot & EULA, are at Matchless tonight. They make for an awesome 1-2 punch. The first time these two played together was at the Brooklyn Ski Club edition of Personality Crisis at Shea Stadium. That was awesome so don't miss out this time.

RSVP & Details:

Ritz Riot & EULA

Suicidal Tendencies Played House Of Vans

For the past few weeks people were talking about a secret Suicidal Tendencies show going down in Brooklyn. Everyone knew it would be on September 15th because that was the only open date on the tour but the location was under wraps. But when your tour is sponsored by Vans and it just so happens Vans has a pop-up venue in Brooklyn it wasn't a hard one to figure out.

I had a few friends that know people at Vans and/or with the band, I'm not really sure. All I know is we asked around and it seemed like we would be able to get in. Then MyFreeConcert posted the RSVP info so to be safe I RSVPd. I never got a confirmation and our friends who might be able to get us in were running late so we just went over there, not at all sure we'd get in.

The first band I ever saw, way back in 1994, was Suicidal Tendencies and I haven't seen them since. I had to get into this show.

To our surprise there were hardly any people there. People in line were chatting about the RSVP thing and it seemed like only about 1 of 5 people actually got a confirmation. The majority of the line were just there, hoping to get in.

Right at 8pm they opened the doors and people started trickling in. It turns out the RSVP email on MyFreeConcert actually worked. 15 minutes after the doors opened we were inside getting frisked. Apparently they don't usually frisk people at House Of Vans but this is an ST show.

After getting through the checkpoint we headed right through the warehouse/skate park and through the giant garage door into the yard. Outside they had a bar area and free food from that Korean taco truck and Meatball Shop. Unfortunately we just stuffed our guts at Fette Sau so instead we headed straight for the booze. They had tall boys of Brooklyn Lager up for grabs (yeah, that means free).

We hung out in the back drinking until the show was about to start. As we were waiting we saw the Cerebral Ballzy boys, The Death Set and other familiar faces. All the punks were out!

When the band started to setup everyone headed inside and the outdoor bar shut down. People were drunk and pumped and ready to get crazy. As soon as ST struck the first chord all hell broke loose. I think they started with "You Can't Bring Me Down" which was fucking amazing. Almost too good to waste in the beginning of the set.

They went on to play all of the songs you'd want to hear. The pit was huge and crazy but not very violent. Just a bunch of kids having fun and even skating through the moshers. At one point there was this long hair, bearded Viking looking dude kicking ass in $200 jeans. Then it hit me, Chad fucking Muska! My favorite skater when I was growing up. I've been to a bunch of parties with celebs lately and this was the very first time I was starstruck. Chad Muska was thrashing like a champ in the pit. Fuck yes!

There were some lulls in the set most likely due to Cyko Miko's semi-incoherent rants between songs. The vocals were super low the whole set and no one could understand a thing he was saying but that didn't stop him from talking. It also didn't stop him from dancing which was awesome. He was doing his modified Beavis dance all over the stage.

For the encore the band invited the crowd up on stage with them for "Pledge Your Allegiance". The kids on the floor immediately bum rushed the stage. My shitty knee prevented me from joining them. Some chubby goon went to hop the barrier and hooked his foot - 250 lb face plant, ouch! Within seconds the band was playing and there was an all out mosh pit on stage. Then out of nowhere someone is crowd surfing on stage. It was Crazy Abe from Cerebral Ballzy!

To recap - free booze, free food, rad kids and Suicidal Tendencies! How can that not be fucking awesome?

Brooklyn Ski Club Classic Punk DJ Set Tomorrow w/ Parris of Cro-Mags!

Tomorrow night I'm going to be over at St. Jerome's doing a special DJ set dedicated to classic punk of the 70's and 80's. Expect to hear some Dead Boys, Anti-Nowhere League, FEAR, Subhumans, Ramones, Misfits, New York Dolls, The Damned, Sham 69 and so forth. Later that same night Parris Mayhew of the legendary Cro-Mags is doing a Cheap Trick tribute set. It's free to get in and the beer is only $2 until midnight. Party!

RSVP:

Facebook Event Page

Tonight: Corrosion Of Conformity @ Brooklyn Bowl

The original COC lineup will be at Brooklyn Bowl tonight. As some of you may know before Pepper showed up COC was a bad ass, hardcore punk band. Well, not exactly hardcore or punk but something like that. They were fucking awesome. The headliner is Clutch. Of all the overrated bands in the world I think Clutch might be my number one head scratcher. Why do people like this damn band? Anyway, COC goes on at 9pm.

Ritz Riot Has A New Video, "I'll Be Okay"

These kids are rad. Go see them live sometime soon. Maybe, the BSC edition of Personality Crisis at Shea Stadium on June 25th. Yeah, that'll be a good time.

Cerebral Ballzy Has A New Video, "Drug MySelf Dumb"

Art Decade Is Ben Talmi's New Band And They're Totally Awesome (Free Download)

Ben Talmi has a new band called Art Decade and they just sent me some music. The music has moments where it's pretty heavy, bordering on metal, then all of a sudden it goes into MGMT territory and then some late 90's AFI type shit. That description would imply a clusterfuck but it works amazingly. I'm particularly impressed with the track "Weapon". The band will be in NYC on April 20th at Lit and there's no way I'm missing it. In the meantime you can fill out the form on their website and get a free MP3.

Kurt Cobain

Yesterday marked the anniversary of Kurt Cobain's death. I was 13 years old when Kurt Cobain killed himself. I was just reading Igor's post on DrivenByBoredom about Nirvana and how it affected him and I thought I'd write my own.

I had a friend named Greg who lived in the neighborhood. Greg was a year or two older and was absolutely obsessed with Nirvana. He had every b-side (even the super rare Hormoaning EP), poster, shirt and even a powder blue Jag-Stag guitar.

Tonight: Subhumans @ Santos Party House

There are quite a few decent shows tonight but the only one we're listing is Sub-fucking-humans! This might be the most punk rock band in history. And despite being crusty old dudes they will put on one of the best shows you've ever seen. I got to see them at the old Knitting Factory a few years back and it was fucking incredible. Anyone who makes any claim to punk should go see this band tonight.

Link:

Subhumans @ Santos

Black N' Blue Bowl With Gorilla Biscuits, Agnostic Front, Sick Of It All

I'm old and tired and just can't deal with hardcore shows anymore but if there was ever one I would go to it would be this one. The legends of NYHC - Gorilla Biscuits, Agnostic Front and Sick Of It All are headlining this year's Black N' Blue Bowl. Unfortunately, I'm out of town that weekend so I'm going to miss it but if you're around I highly suggest going. Gorilla Biscuits are fucking amazing live and would be worth the price of admission on their own.

Link:

Black N' Blue Bowl

Today: A Farewell To Mars Bar

The Nouvellas and Daddy Long Legs are playing at Mars Bar today at 3pm. It's both a video shoot for the Nouvellas and a farewell party to the legendary punk dive, Mars Bar. If you're new here, Mars Bar is the last of the old CBGB era hangs that are still in operation but the condos are giving them the boot.

Link:

Farewell To Mars Bar

Tonight: Monotonix @ 285 Kent

The great Monotonix is playing what is rumored to be their last ever NYC show tonight. It's in the DIY space known simply as 285 Kent. The cover is $13 but considering this show will likely go down in infamy it's more than worth it.

Monotonix

w/ Pujol, Federation X, The Stalkers

@285 Kent Ave

$13

New Gang Of Four Video, "You'll Never Pay For The Farm" + New Album Streaming On NPR

Founding members of the most radically important rock band in the last thirty years - Gang Of Four, Andy Gill & Jon King are getting excited to release their first new material in 16 years on January 25th. "c o n t e n t," the new album from Gang Of Four "reaffirms what a thrilling and intelligent noise [GO4] make," raves Uncut Magazine. Its "fiery funk will have you bouncing around and beaming at the return of this inspiring, influential unit." Mojo simply calls it "riveting" and Spin says ""[Gill and King] spit out splintered riffs and skewered tropes that approximate the band's peak."

To get fans excited, NPR will stream "c o n t e n t" in entirety for one week on "First Listen" beginning January 17th.

Gill and King, along with members Mark Heaney and Thomas McNiece, will hit the road for a 15-date North American headlining tour beginning February 4th in Toronto, ON. Tickets are on sale now. Along the way, Gang Of Four will perform powerful new single "Never Pay For The Farm" on The Late Show with David Letterman February 8th. 

Rock And Roll Circus Night One (So So Glos & Japanther Destroyed)

Last night was the first night of the Rock And Roll Circus at the Big Apple Circus tent in Lincoln Center. The show was free and some of Brooklyn's finest were playing. That combined with the fact that it's a show in a fucking circus tent meant there was no way I was missing it.

I got to the show early because I was worried about getting in. Turns out the tent is gigantic so I had nothing to worry about. After I got in I roamed around for a few minutes and eventually went to grab a beer. There was a sign on the bar that said, "$8 Beer, $12 Mixed Drinks". I'm used to pricey drinks at shows but holy shit man! And the cups were little 12 oz. joints.

Luckily, it was at this point that I checked my email and found out I was on the press list which not only got me backstage and front row seats but also came with free Sixpoint and Belvedere from the VIP bar! Drink in hand I was ready to party!

We entered the back room of the tent which was a big circus ring. There was a huge lit up "Big Apple" sign overlooking the circle with a slide coming down from a platform onto the floor. The show started with a huge drag queen who cracked a few jokes and announced the first band, Electric Tickle Machine. One by one the band members slid down the slide into the circle and took their places.

The tambourine player/hype man of the band was wearing a crazy balloon thing on arms with high waisted leather pants and green shades. I've seen ETM before at a DIY show at Shangri-La in Greenpoint. They were pretty good then but man, they've come a long way. They were fucking amazing last night! Super high energy, amazing songs and a great presence. They even included a cover of "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" which was pretty damn good, and it ain't easy covering the Beatles.

After ETM finished up we went back for some more booze and wandered around a bit more. They had all types of booths set up for face-painting and shit like that but no carnival games. I would have dug a few carnival games but it's cool.

We missed the first song or two by So So Glos, they were already playing when we made it back to the circle. They sounded great but the vibe was kinda mellow for an SSG show. They noticed this too and invited everyone onto the floor to dance. At first everyone looked at each other wondering if they were serious and if rushing the floor would be kosher. Then our favorite drummer and good friend, Jamen of Regal Degal, ran out there and, upon seeing one person do it, a stampede followed.

Now there were about 75 kids on the floor dancing and crowd surfing and just having some fun. It was quite a sight with the circus tent and "Big Apple" sign as a back drop. They played about two or three songs with the crowd just going totally apeshit.

Then they announced that they had one more and upon kicking off the last song it got even crazier. Halfway through the last song of the set security rushes the crowd and