Wednesday, December 13, 2006
New Party: Hump Day @ Lit
A new party has popped up on the scene called Hump Day. They're having this little gathering at Lit, not sure if it's upstairs or downstairs. They have $2 drinks from 11:30 - 12:30, which is an ok deal but in the days of open bars it doesn't sound so great.
Band Alert: Cobra Khan
About a week ago I was screwing around on MySpace and somehow ended up on a profile for a band called Cobra Khan. When I the page loaded a song called "Wrapped In Plastic" came on...and it was pretty awesome. It's kinda punk, kinda pop, kinda rock, it just works somehow - without sounding like emo. Cobra Khan is a band from New Zealand, so we'll probably never get to see them live. I listened to the rest of the songs and wasn't nearly as impressed. They didn't suck but weren't nearly as good as "Wrapped In Plastic".
Denny Blaze In NYC
Our favorite homeboy visited NYC to hang out with VH1 for some reason. The 15 minutes might be long gone but Denny just ain't giving up. That's called persistance people and you could learn something from the Average Homeboy.
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Gogol Bordello Audio Interview
This is from about a month ago but I just found it and I haven't seen it on any other blogs so I figured I should share. The interview is from the Primus tour and was conducted by KSOU.Top 10 Shows Of The Year
Although there are a few weeks left in the year I figured I'd put together a list of the best shows of the year. I will be seeing GWAR on Thursday so I might have to change this at the end of the week.
- Gogol Bordello @ Warsaw: One of the best shows I've ever seen, definitely the most fun.
- Apes & Androids @ Sin-e
- Apes & Androids @ Knitting Factory
- Black Lips @ Mercury Lounge: He pissed in his own mouth!
- Choking Victim @ Tompkins Square Park
- Leeway @ CBGB
- Buzzcocks @ Warsaw
- Editors @ Webster Hall
- New York Dolls @ CBGB
- Madball @ CBGB
Monday, December 11, 2006
Rated-X
Saturday night I rounded up the troops for a night of debauchery at Rated-X. The occasion was the 1-year anniversary of Brooklyn Ski Club. As you may know BSC started out reviewing parties so it made sense to celebrate at Rated-X.
Before we headed over to Luke & Leroy a few of us hung out at my place and had a few drinks. Unfortunately I chose to start the night with red wine. If you know the history of my alcoholism then you'll know many of the horror stories start with the words "red" and "wine". I can drink an endless supply of beer and liquor and still function but a few glasses of red and I'm useless.
So after we went through a bottle of red wine we jumped in a cab and headed to Luke & Leroy. When we got there the upstairs wasn't even open yet and the crowd downstairs was pretty sparse. But it was still early so I hoped for the best.
Once the upstairs opened up we headed towards the stage and hung out there. Not long after the place started to fill up pretty fast. Before I knew it the L&L was packed and everyone was dancing. I was pretty trashed and at some point I ended up on stage with a few people I was with. There are rumors that even I was dancing but I can't confirm that.
How the night ended I'm not really sure but I know my internal alarm went off. In the old days when I got "too drunk" I would keep partying and stupid shit would happen. These days my body just kind of says fuck you and I have the dire urge to leave. I'm pretty sure that's exactly what happened - all I know for sure is I was in a cab with my girlfriend, my roommate, and my friend headed cross town. When I got out of the car I went home and everyone else went to another bar.
What I remember of the night was really fun and if I can actually round up some people again it could be happening in the near future. But next time make sure I don't go near any fucking wine!
Before we headed over to Luke & Leroy a few of us hung out at my place and had a few drinks. Unfortunately I chose to start the night with red wine. If you know the history of my alcoholism then you'll know many of the horror stories start with the words "red" and "wine". I can drink an endless supply of beer and liquor and still function but a few glasses of red and I'm useless.
So after we went through a bottle of red wine we jumped in a cab and headed to Luke & Leroy. When we got there the upstairs wasn't even open yet and the crowd downstairs was pretty sparse. But it was still early so I hoped for the best.
Once the upstairs opened up we headed towards the stage and hung out there. Not long after the place started to fill up pretty fast. Before I knew it the L&L was packed and everyone was dancing. I was pretty trashed and at some point I ended up on stage with a few people I was with. There are rumors that even I was dancing but I can't confirm that.
How the night ended I'm not really sure but I know my internal alarm went off. In the old days when I got "too drunk" I would keep partying and stupid shit would happen. These days my body just kind of says fuck you and I have the dire urge to leave. I'm pretty sure that's exactly what happened - all I know for sure is I was in a cab with my girlfriend, my roommate, and my friend headed cross town. When I got out of the car I went home and everyone else went to another bar.
What I remember of the night was really fun and if I can actually round up some people again it could be happening in the near future. But next time make sure I don't go near any fucking wine!
Saturday, December 09, 2006
Party With Us At Rated-X Tonight
Tonight I'm heading over to Rated-X to celebrate the 1-year anniversary of Brooklyn Ski Club. It's not an official BSC party (there isn't one) but Michael T convinced me that a celebration was in order nonetheless. So come out and party with us tonight.
If you hurry up you can still email Andy Shaw and get on the reduced list: rsvp@shawpromotion.com
If you hurry up you can still email Andy Shaw and get on the reduced list: rsvp@shawpromotion.com
Friday, December 08, 2006
The Evens at NYU 12/7
A few weeks ago a friend of mine introduced me to The Evens. It's the latest from Ian MacKaye (Minor Threat, Fugazi) and Amy Farina (The Warmers). He knows I'm a huge Minor Threat fan so he thought I might dig it. After I heard the album I thought it was pretty good but way more Fugazi then Minor Threat. It was pretty mellow but still had a definite punk rock vibe to it.
last night that same friend invited me out to see The Evens at NYU. The tickets were only $5 so of course I went along. When we entered the venue there were activist tables lining the walls of the performance room. On the floor a punk rock marching band was performing. I forgot how weird college events could be but part of me missed all that excess bullshit.
After the "Rude" marching band cleared of the dance floor an old dude that kinda looked like Rasputin started setting up his gear. The old dude was Daniel Higgs of Lungfish and he opened with an odd little Jew's Harp ditty. It was decent but not what you would expect as an opener for Ian MacKaye.
He was joined on stage by a woman who was playing violin and other random instruments. Throughout the set both performers were doing faux India-style vocals but with nonsensical words or English. They also used a variety of unusual instruments, which they passed back and forth. Like I said, it was pretty good but a little out of place given the context.
When they left the stage Ian came out and started setting up equipment. When they came out Ian had his baritone guitar and Amy took her seat behind the drums. As soon as they started I was a bit shocked. They have a very stripped down sound (two vocals, guitar, & drums) and played fairly quietly yet they were shockingly powerful.
Ian was never known for having a great "singing" voice but the gruffness sounded pretty good, even in a quiet song. Amy shared vocal duties and she has an amazing voice which worked well against Ian's. There were a few tracks which picked up the pace a bit. On these tracks Ian got into pissed off punk mode and was basically screaming the vocals and pounding on the guitar. Of course those songs were outstanding in my book.
According to Ian they played an hour set but it seemed shorter then that. But I guess that means I had fun right? And how could you not when Ian MacKaye is on stage. And of course there was the one asshole who yelled out a Minor Threat song - Ian hates when people do that. So he launched into his "music of today, not yesterday" speech, which I think he has memorized at this point.
Overall I really enjoyed the show and highly recommend you check them out when they come around. Despite an almost acoustic sound they managed to play one hell of a punk rock show.
The Evenslast night that same friend invited me out to see The Evens at NYU. The tickets were only $5 so of course I went along. When we entered the venue there were activist tables lining the walls of the performance room. On the floor a punk rock marching band was performing. I forgot how weird college events could be but part of me missed all that excess bullshit.
After the "Rude" marching band cleared of the dance floor an old dude that kinda looked like Rasputin started setting up his gear. The old dude was Daniel Higgs of Lungfish and he opened with an odd little Jew's Harp ditty. It was decent but not what you would expect as an opener for Ian MacKaye.
He was joined on stage by a woman who was playing violin and other random instruments. Throughout the set both performers were doing faux India-style vocals but with nonsensical words or English. They also used a variety of unusual instruments, which they passed back and forth. Like I said, it was pretty good but a little out of place given the context.
When they left the stage Ian came out and started setting up equipment. When they came out Ian had his baritone guitar and Amy took her seat behind the drums. As soon as they started I was a bit shocked. They have a very stripped down sound (two vocals, guitar, & drums) and played fairly quietly yet they were shockingly powerful.
Ian was never known for having a great "singing" voice but the gruffness sounded pretty good, even in a quiet song. Amy shared vocal duties and she has an amazing voice which worked well against Ian's. There were a few tracks which picked up the pace a bit. On these tracks Ian got into pissed off punk mode and was basically screaming the vocals and pounding on the guitar. Of course those songs were outstanding in my book.
According to Ian they played an hour set but it seemed shorter then that. But I guess that means I had fun right? And how could you not when Ian MacKaye is on stage. And of course there was the one asshole who yelled out a Minor Threat song - Ian hates when people do that. So he launched into his "music of today, not yesterday" speech, which I think he has memorized at this point.
Overall I really enjoyed the show and highly recommend you check them out when they come around. Despite an almost acoustic sound they managed to play one hell of a punk rock show.
Opening acts:
Link:
More Photos on Flickr
MP3:
No Money - The Evens
"Best Of" Papoose
I don't care what kind of music you're into, if you keep your ear to the ground then you must have heard of Papoose by now. He's without question the mixtape king of New York and has all types of hype surrounding him. Today when I was searching around on Elbo.ws I came across a hip hop blog I never heard of called Certified Hip Hop.The guy who runs the site was kind enough to put together an unnofficial "best of" album for Papoose. This doesn't sound like a big feat at first but consider that Papoose tracks are spread out across 17+ mixtapes and you realize that there was a nice amount of work put into this.
If you're like me you aren't all that into the mixtape scene but you still want to hear the latest in the hip hop world. Well, now you can download this album and listen to the best Papoose tracks floating around out there. It's worth downloading for the track "Alphabetical Slaughter" alone - it's one of the sickest things I've ever heard. It reminds me of Big L and that's saying alot.
Guns For Guns
In Oakland the city had a gun trade in. You know how those work, right? You trade in your gun and get a few bucks from the cops. Except this time around they are giving away Guns N' Roses tickets. So if you live in Oakland and missed out on the GNR sale then dig up that Luger you used to kill that dude with and trade it in for tix.
Freddy Madball The Rapper
Freddy from the legendary NY hardcore band Madball has started a hip hop career. He takes the stage for the first time as an MC over in London opening for Necro. I'm not sure how I feel about this. On one hand NY hardcore and hip hop have always been brother genres - same topics, different noise. But can Freddy rap? If that was him on that track on the "DMS" (or was it "Hold It Down") album then maybe he should stick to screaming.
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