Dirty Dozen Brass Band does Brooklyn Bowl right on Nov. 5th

Dirty Dozen Brass Band is a band that years ago, when we were all into bands with horn sections (I wasn't much of the swing revival but still a huge ska fan, suck it haters) I was introduced to heading over to Washington Park area of Albany for some fun around town (Music Shack, Last Vestige, etc.) by my friend Mr. Jupin at All Ears All Eyes All The Time.

What I'm all for in this case is the fact that this New Orleans band is not young, but has enjoyed so many years of being around without being a has-been like so many bands who are 10+ or even 5+ years in existence. They are celebrating their 25th anniversary of their first release, "My Feet Can't Fail Me Now", and there's a joyous feeling when you realize that 25 years is so long in any respect (George Carlin said something along the lines of, 'life's not short, it just is compared to how old things like mountains are').

They will be playing at Brooklyn Bowl their first release in it's entirety and people should probably stop doing whatever they are doing there and just listen up. Work up a sweat. Get those feet moving. They bring the funk, but most of all it's just a hardcore horn section. The baritone sax is made for bands like this, just absolutely filthy with the funk.

krts is back at Monkeytown with Ryan Uzi to blow your mind

My man krts is back in action (he's having a busy fall after a nice little break from being so festive) at Monkeytown on November 7th with an audio/visual catharsis that will inspire you and make you wanna get out there in the brisk air and clear your mind and move forth with your life and progress and have those ups and have those downs.

Seriously, you're going to want to make your reservations at the link below. Oh and the cheese plate is pretty good at MT. Oh and did I mention Charlie Pino and his bretheren in Gold Fiction will be there? Oh yes.

From the information booth at my Facebook wall:

After 3 sold-out Monkey Town events, Krts welcomes another emotional roller-coaster of live indie-hiphop/electronic music with live video projection story-telling from award winning filmmaker Ryan Uzi of Light Harvest Studio. Together they tell the story of "The 6th Floor Walk-up" - An intense ride of LIVE mind bending visuals with indie-hiphop styled melodic, romantic, heart breaking and fun LIVE instrumentation.

**WITH A SPECIAL APPEARANCE BY CHARLIE PINO OF the fun indie-rock/american garage band GOLDFICTION!
myspace.com/goldfictionband


This may be the first collective of Krts and Ryan Uzi but, they're not amatuers at grabbing the minds, ears, and hearts of their audience.

Krts's Monkey Town shows had the critics hyping it as "a blend of hip-hop electronica à la Radiohead and Sonic Youth" (Village Voice). Trip-hop legends Nightmares on Wax (Warp) called his latest track "Doran Penny Roller" an "indietronic meets Zapp" crowd-pleaser on their latest 2009 compilation album, “Wax On - Volume 2."

Krts has shared stages with The Beatnuts, Machinedrum, Melo-X, Daedelus, Eliot Lipp, Mux Mool, Mexicans with Guns and others.

Light Harvest is the live multimedia performance work of award winning filmmaker Ryan Uzi. He creates complex visual atmospherics on subjects ranging from politics to paganism, from seductions of New York City to secluded train rides aboard the Orient Express.

Ryan Uzi's cinematic approach to video mixing and projection design has been seen with some of the worlds best DJ's including Felix da Housecat and Mark Farina (Mushroom Jazz), as well as commissioned for live events with the Guggenheim Museum, Diesel, Prada, Adidas Y3, and Flavor Pill Magazine.


****YOU MUST RSVP @ monkeytownhq.com/reservations.html *****

KRTS OFFICIAL WEBSITE
krtsmusic.com
KRTS MYSPACE & VIDS:
myspace.com/krts


RYAN UZI OFFICIAL WEBSITE:
light-harvest.com

Unnecessary: Boondock Saints II Trailer

The Boondock Saints is a horrible movie. In fact, personally, it's one of my top 5 least favorite movies of all time, up there with such luminaries as Empire Records and Love Actually. I've actually been punched for voicing such an opinion of The Boondock Saints' first go around, and after I saw Overnight, the documentary about the writer and director Troy Duffy, and realized how much of a ridiculous person he is, it only strengthened my resolve.

The first film not only had a terrible plot, poor character development, crappy action sequences, and an awful "commentary" ending, but there are so many "Boston" movies such as Gone Baby Gone and Monument Ave. that are just so much better. Granted, this is an action movie in the John-Woo-rip-off mode and thus can be held to different standards as those dramas, but I don't find anything in this movie to recommend. It's a sociopathic film that has no reflection on the characters portrayed; Willem Dafoe's tranny FBI agent is such a retardation and Billy Connolly's Il Duce doesn't seem to have much of a purpose. Forget the Irish theme supposedly drawn up by the fact that the two leads are Irish Catholic vigilantes who society is sort of led to believe that they are doing good. Sure, they are getting rid of the baddies. But the action scenes are just awful I think; they are overcomplicated, and the slow motion has no beauty to it; and the staging is abhorrent because there is actually very little grit to it. Duffy is trying to make something shallow and stylish out of something that should be more brutal and less fanciful. Maybe it would come off more interesting if he actually cared about his two lead characters, Irish brothers who think they are on some mission from God. That character motivation alone is just kinda nuts but in Duffy's hands is all the more frustrating for the caricatures he creates. There is something freaky about how they kill for God, but Duffy doesn't do anything with it. He just goes along which makes me think that he's just some religious nutjob making a movie about religious nutjobs.

So quoting the Bible is cool? Yes when Jules does it in Pulp Fiction, because at the end it becomes a key character beat for him.

Two guns and slow motion? Yes when John Woo does it.

Hanging from the ceiling by a wire? Yes when Brian De Palma does it in Mission: Impossible (even though that movie kinda sucked too).

Violence and religion? Yes when it was called Mean Streets or State of Grace. Or The Apostle if you include baseball bats.

Oh and the second one is coming out at the end of the month. Seeing Duffy's face intro the trailer on the Rotten Tomatoes version makes me want to smash my computer screen. He's so smug. The fact that Peter Fonda is in this just screams "I did it for the money." And the fact that Judd Nelson is in it, well that's just a neutral addition.

Ridiculous Kicking of the Butts Trailers - Expendables, Bad Lieutenant with cra cra Nick Cage....The Tooth Fairy?

That's right, all of these trailers have so much in common: action stars, ridiculous lines, and this panache that can only be described as intangible, so whatever objections you have, you're totally wrong because you just can't touch it.

Expendables (with a release date of August 20, you know it'll be worth it):


Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (Herzog let's Nick Cage do his batshit stuff):


The Tooth Fairy (with that 'you can't handle the tooth' tagline, I'm totally hooked):

Not Doing Anything This Weekend? OpenHouseNewYork still has FREE awesome tours

So openhousenewyork every year has an amazing set of tours across the city, allowing you to really appreciate a day long stay-cation by taking in architecture, history, and amazing touristy things in a non-touristy way for zero bucks.

List of Sunday Oct. 11 tours, some booked, some still open!

There are all sorts of programs available, from the Chrysler Building to Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, so choose anything and you'll come out with a better understanding of the city. Tours like the Atlantic Tunnel are all booked currently, but there's always next year.

If it's one thing that is incredibly cool, you can't get any better than this. From the Bronx to the farthest reaches of Brooklyn, Ellis Island to Queens, kids tours and more, it's a weekend of insane knowledge, so drop it like it's haaawt.

Even if you miss out, openhousenewyork has year round events and tours, so give your support to keep it free and fun. Go to their official site to learn more.

Nothing to do this weekend? Urban Arts Festival and Oyster Frenzy

Photo by Powerstrip Circus. Awesomeness by KRTS.

For those of you who aren't checking out the annual Atlantic Antic (The Pats - Ravens game is on at 1, so consider me busy for most of that portion) this weekend, I've got two things you'll be interested in.

First is the Urban Arts Festival in presented by Mark Batty Publisher.

From the Facebook invite:

It's $15 cash at the door & $10 in advance for the whole day & night! Buy your tickets in advance here: http://bit.ly/32XS7. *** S.K.A.T.E. competitors get FREE (beerless) entry. Sign Up at Entrance.

Mark Batty Publisher (http://www.markbattypublisher.com) is an independent publisher dedicated to making distinctive books on the visual art of communicating, showcasing the visual power and innovation of contemporary culture in all of its varied poses.

Come on out on October 3 for the first MBP Urban Arts Fest! The two-part, one-day festival will go from 1PM-2AM. The whole day is about the thriving urban art community MBP has advocated since its inception. With skateboard demos and contests sponsored by SUBSTANCE SKATEBOARDS (http://www.substanceskateboards.com), live painting, music and DJs, photography and art installations and plenty of art and books for sale, there will be something for everyone!

We will be taking over and transforming the entire lower-half of Castle Braid (http://www.castlebraid.com) in Bushwick, Brooklyn. The day’s first part runs from 1PM-9PM and is open to all ages; 8PM-2AM is 21 and over, featuring free beer and a dance party.

Our non-profit beneficiary is Art for Progress (http://www.artforprogress.org), an organization dedicated to supporting rising multi-discipline arts in New York City.

What to expect:

• Gallery-style art installations
• Live graffiti exhibitions & public graffiti wall
• Live entertainment, DJs, dance & musical performances
• Sponsored skate/BMX demos & open skate park
• Free corresponding entry to the Brooklyn Artillery Art Fair (http://www.brooklynartillery.org) at the location, hosted by the Williamsburg Gallery Association
• Unveiling of exclusive OBEY x PEEL poster by Shephard Fairey for Peel Magazine (authors of MBP’s PEEL: The Art of the Sticker)
• Special Guest Signings
• First 500 guests receive a FREE in-person signed copy of "Talk Balk: The Bubble Project" by Ji Lee (http://markbattypublisher.com/books/talk-back-the-bubble-project/)
• Local & International Artist Showcases & Tables
• Shopping (MBP bookstore & Local Artists’ offerings)
• Food & Drinks (Honest Ade, Hoegaarden, Local Food Truck Vendors)
• Gift Bags & Prizes - with bags from Bags for the People (http://www.bagsforthepeople.org), goodies from Mimobots (http://www.mimoco.com), Cafe Bustelo (http://cafebustelo.com), Zoo York (http://www.zooyork.com), AIAIAI (http://aiaiai.dk) and more!

ARTISTS/SPECIAL GUESTS:
Martha Cooper, "Going Postal" (http://markbattypublisher.com/books/going-postal)
Remo Camerota, "Graffiti Japan" (http://markbattypublisher.com/books/graffiti-japan)
Ji Lee, "Talk Back: The Bubble Project" (http://markbattypublisher.com/books/talk-back-the-bubble-project)
Luz A. Martín, "Textura: Valencia Street Art"
Art from ORBIT Gallery (http://www.orbitgalleryspace.com)
Special Guest Curator Mighty Tanaka (with art from: avone, JMR, Hellbent, Alexandra Pacula, Peter Halasz, Mike Schreiber, AVOID PI, FARO, Royce Bannon, BLOKE, Mari Keeler, John Breiner, Skewville) (http://mightytanaka.com)
Tijn Snoodijk of Shop Around-Netherlands (http://www.shop-around.nl)
Chris & Veng - RobotsWillKill (http://www.robotswillkill.com)
Project Super Friends (http://projectsf.blogspot.com)
Destroy & Rebuild (http://destroyandrebuildnyc.com/)
Royce Bannon (http://choiceroyce.tumblr.com/)
El Celso (http://www.elcelso.com)
CR
Abe Lincoln Jr. (http://www.girlsbike.com)
Cosbe
Indigo (http://www.flickr.com/photos/indigoindigo) & Mania (http://cargocollective.com/pleasedontfront)
infinity
Chalk drawings by Ellis Gallagher (http://www.ellisgallagher.com)

PERFORMANCES:
Hosted by: iLLspokinN (http://www.illspokinn.com)
Termanology http://termanology.ning.com/
Cormega (http://www.myspace.com/cormega)
DJ Statik Selektah (http://www.myspace.com/statikselektah)
DJ GSUS187
Krts (Powerstrip Circus) http://www.krtsmusic.com/
Hot 97's DJ Juanyto (http://www.myspace.com/juanitony)
Guest DJ Jason Mizell (son of Jam Master Jay) http://www.myspace.com/jammasterjr
The Outabodies http://www.myspace.com/outabodies
Michael Brian http://www.myspace.com/michaelbrianmusic
True2Life http://www.true2lifemusic.net
Goodomens
Quan
Ad Lawless
Spokinn Movement (http://www.spokinnmovement.com)
William B. Johnson’s Drumadics (http://www.myspace.com/drumadics)
...and SURPRISE MUSICAL GUEST!

SHOWCASES/VENDORS (list in progress)
Sabrina Beram (http://requiredtaste.blogspot.com)
Abztract (http://www.abztract.com)
Fresthetic (http://fresthetic.blogspot.com)
Owen Jones & Billy Hahn (http://www.billyhahn.com)
Peter Moschel Johnson (http://www.petermoscheljohnson.com)
Steve Driebe
Jemmanimals (http://www.jemmawilliams.com) & John Bent (www.johncharlesbent.com)
Natasha Quam/L'Ange Atelier (http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=9382)
Dawn of Man Productions (http://www.dawnofmanproductions.com)
Katie Jean Hopkins
Stephanie Paz (http://pazs.etsy.com)
Alessandro Echevarria (http://www.Skulldaggery.com)
Spost Love (http://www.spostlove.com)
Andrea Grannum-Mosley
Gully Klassics (http://www.gullyklassics.com)
Clazzi & Qool Accessories
Bag and Board Studios / United Fire Comics (http://www.benvsdov.com)

The OFFICIAL BLOG of the event is http://www.BrooklynStreetArt.com.

A GIGANTIC thank you goes out to Kevy Paige Catering (http://www.kevypaigecatering.com), who will be feeding our artists and performers gourmet-style as they work throughout the day!


You're going to want to go at 1pm because my boy KRTS will be there ripping your mind out of your brain out of your head with serious electronic dreams.


The second thing you're going to want to do is sorta slimy, but oh so good. It's Grand Central's Oyster Frenzy which is still shuckin' it up tomorrow starting at noon. Free admission, here's more info:



It’s an all day frenzy! It’s a Bi-Valve Bonanza! Pro shuckers from across the country including four-time champion Luis Iglesius will vie for the championship;

the public will square off in the Slurp Off professional eating competition; Aaron Bashy, executive chef at Pershing Square, will be among the celebrity chefs sharing their gourmet wizardry with the public; and author Rowan Jacobson and restaurateur/shucking champ John Bril, who will present “Oysters 101” seminar, are among the many highlights of the annual Grand Central Oyster Frenzy, all day on Saturday, October 3, from noon to 6:00 PM, at the historic Grand Central Oyster Bar. The festivities are underway at 12:00 noon. In addition, 16 varieties of oysters – eight from both the East and West Coasts – will be on the menu during the “Bi-Valve Bonanza” at the famed eatery located “below sea level” at Grand Central Station. General Manager Jonathan Young and executive chef Sandy Ingber, the venerable “Bishop of Bi-Valves,” will host the festivities.

What: The annual Grand Central “Oyster Frenzy” featuring Professional Shucking Championships, “Slurp off” eating competition, chef demos and seminars, plus 16 Varieties of Oysters

When: Saturday, October 3, 2009

Time: 12:00 noon-6:00 PM

Where: The Grand Central Oyster Bar & Restaurant
“Below Sea Level,” Lower Level, Grand Central Station at 42nd Street, NYC

Admission: Free (including samples, but oysters and other culinary delights from the menu are priced by consumption)

Who: Professional shuckers from across the country including four-time world champion Luis Iglesius; Oyster Bar executive chef Sandy Ingber, general manager Jonathan Young; Pershing Square executive chef Aaron Bashy; food writer Rowan Jacobsen, author of The Living Shore; “Oyster 101” seminar by John Bril, shucking champion and owner of Ship to Shore restaurant on Prince Edward Island

Reservations and Information: 212.490.6650
Website: www.oysterbarny.com

The Gaslight Anthem Comes To Brooklyn Bowl FTEpicW

You have to love when bands play venues that are more intimate than their popularity would suggest. Not too small mind you; private performances should be put in the awkward section. New Brunswick, home to favorites of mine like Lifetime and old Saves the Day.

The Gaslight Anthem, a wonderful throwback to a band like The Replacements with rumbling, full vocals (can you say Bruce Springsteen, who has played with them several times both being from the same areas of Jersey, or even Matt Skiba from Alkaline Trio), it's music you fall in love with and to without preening or feeling "emo". Call it soulful punk, call it whatever, their music is like one big heart, and every time it beats it doesn't just pump blood through them, it pumps blood through everyone listening. It's like standing in a rain but feeling the warmth of the sun beating on your face at the same time. You know what I just thought of? The climax in Bridges of Madison County. That's right. If you intermittently watch that movie and switch to doing other things or watching other things and push to the end, you'll break. Trust me.

So they are playing Terminal 5 on October 15th, but you know you really want to see them on October 16th, at the newly minted Brooklyn Bowl. I guess you could call them "punk darlings"?

It'd be nice to have this on a double bill with The Hold Steady. However, we get Murder By Death as the main opener.

All I know is, I'm not going to be dying on that Saturday Night.