New Food2 show: Kitchen Conspirators or Why Didn't They Invite Me!

So for all the Brooklynites out there, you'll be able to judge for yourself whether or not you really want in on this top secret supper club (how do they pick "strangers"? The KCB is on it!). I'm unsure of where they host these culinary diversions/experiments but there's always something new in the mix from the menu to a guest chef...

Does anyone recognize any of the chefs in the preview? Or what nabe they might be in?

The new, totally online show is called Kitchen Conspirators, and I'm also not sure what they are conspiring against, but if they can impressively whip up a menu on a dime (but not a real dime, the phrase....ok I'm done) and present it to a party of influential Brooklynites, I smell a contest down the line. If I were one of them I'd just make tons of noodle dishes. Oh yeah.

But enough of me digressing, here's the preview for the show:


For more on Food2 and what's to come, just check out their site: www.food2.com

According to them, they want to put the "oo" back in food. It usually doesn't take much for me to sigh like that so getting a dose of Food dos is fine by me.

The Motorcycle Industry @ Don Hill's 4.18.09

Ok so it's been a while since my last post but hey, on a weekend when 17 Again is coming out, you know you gotta fill up your Saturday and Sunday with 4 viewings with an option of a 5th.....

Topical huuuuumor.

The other funny thing was that I was riding the subway from Jay Street with two persons who turned out to be friends of the drummer, Ryan Barnes. Who doesn't he know in this fair city? The bartender at Don Hill's shot the shit with me a bit about Dag Nasty as well.

Anywho, so I finally got to catch a short opener set from these guys who I wrote about a while back and they did not disappoint. The only real difference was this time there was much more bulk to the sound due to electric guitars (Don Hill's levels weren't quite so good but no worse for the wear).

With a small amount of the usual banter and a lineup switch (the bassist had one of those old Midtown shirts that I own as well, which was funny), they got right into it with Mr. Langan's disaffected yet righteous vocals, two flannel shirts, and a whole lot of distortion. I kind of liked the acoustic guitar previously used on many of their tracks, however in a live setting pumping up the songs was not a detrimental move on their part. Some neat little guitar ditties and a solid presence (I don't think I've seen Sambas since 2002), these NYU students have a formula that works well: catchy, big chords that are instantly listenable and engaging. It's just all very new school maybe, as if they took parts of a straight up skater hardcore band and slowed the pace a bit. I know other bands have took that kind of pop punk to the max. I know this is going to sound a bit weird, and I could say snotty (in a good way), but think of a really good sneeze, like with all the thick snot/boogers, but you're a fan of it in that Mucus Queen from Billy Madison sort of way. It's a lot of fun and totally bratty.

I spoke with Ryan for a little bit after the show, chatting about NYU, playing in Brooklyn, etc. They have a couple shows upcoming at Retox in East Williamsburg including a show this Friday, April 24th (as of this writing Retox seems to be undergoing a bit of a hiatus after their current slate finishes, hopefully will be back up soon).

The great thing is, you can download their entire album for free on their website: www.themotorcycleindustry.com

For their MySpace, go here. Can you hear that? It's the sound of their friends list almost doubling since I last visited them.

T-Sides Reviews: Akron/Family @ Union Pool 3.29.09

I'm a little late on this but a good friend Colie and her mista Josh came to visit and see Akron/Family at Union Pool about a week and a half ago. Our friends at T-Sides did up a lovely review of the show which you can totally read here: Akron/Family review.

It's got set list, pictures, video, and downloads for a rising band that has been described to me as funky-groovy and folk at the same time.

CONVERGE with Genghis Tron, Ceremony, Coliseum, Rise and Fall, Pulling Teeth at Europa Club 3.27.09

Eyeing this date for several weeks was I, and I knew after asking around this would definitely be a solo outing for The KCB. I brought my trusty and very old Canon which was giving me shit throughout the night but I managed many pictures from the same angle because hey, the pit got pretty heinous at times (but the entire concert was pretty controlled).

I got there right as Rise and Fall were finishing up, I would have caught their last tune but the guy in front of me had a bag full of weed and other crap that the bouncer wouldn't let him in with. So as the band downstairs was rocking out (it's amazing how separated the two levels can be especially since the stairwell is open) this guy pretended he couldn't hear the bouncer until the bouncer said, "Now I'm getting pissed off." Eventually the man was told to go home, it was like something out of 8th grade. My apologies for Rise and Fall and Pulling Teeth for not being able to make their sets.

After getting a PBR and surveying the very packed house with a really ominous wall of merch, fitting for a hardcore show such as this.

I wanted to see Coliseum (who hail from Louisville) as their stuff really caught on with me when listening to it at work and home in the weeks before the show. They have quite a bit of melody and a healthy dose of just straight up hardcore, although their look and feel during the show invited more awe at how tight the 3-piece played rather than THAT much moshing. Ryan Patterson, the big-bearded frontman and guitarist, was a pretty heartfelt guy and between the growls, chatter, and again, the surprising hints of melody (almost into Grade territory, and as many people know, I love Grade) he made a good set. It felt more rock than anything else really, very tight stuff.


Ceremony was really interesting and incredibly enjoyable; the lead singer mentioned he just came from a wedding (he looked like a younger and slimmer Bruce Campbell by way of Bridge and Tunnel). Since I love ska I guess I can take a little offense as to his mockings onstage, but then again, these guys really kicked some ass (although the guitarist reminded me a lot of Eliot's guitarist in some respects, just kinda weird). I think a lot of bands love being hybrids nowadays, as it's been trendy for a few years now. Or even having a newer, polished sound. These guys sound like they came straight from a Minor Threat, Descendents, or Circle Jerks show, and of all the bands, they actually came away as really the most integrated set with the audience, who gave them feedback in uproarious fashion and fairly violently. Toward the end of their set there was a dude who was knocked the fuzz out right next to me, sprawled on the floor as his friends and staff helped him drag his feet to the back. That's the kind of hardcore show that really hammers the feeling down, a sharp, communal rush of blood through your veins not through melody but through utter chaos, and alternating periods of speed and disruptive breakdowns.
Where's the singer you ask? Take a look in the middle, right in front of the dude with the black and white baseball shirt and below the bassist. Gotta love people who get in the mix like it's their birthday.


I had seen Genghis Tron before, and now with their ever expanding lightshow and electro setup, it definitely divided the crowd. Winning the contest of taking the longest to set up shop isn't really fun. Interesting mix of grooving rhythms (they have no drummer, it's all set up via machine) and noisy high pitched tomfoolery but ultimately not my thing. There was one girl who was totally enthralled and had their number, she was flailing about in the pit almost alone (save a couple other fans) in a trance, it was nice to see that someone really got them. Their cover of Big Black was probably the high point for me.


You can really tell that Converge, they are great showmen (Nate the bassist started things off with a loud "who fuckin' farted?"). The banter is constant and tonight they were actually just a really happy group, so I guess considering the dark subject matter they explore in their music (they managed to hit cuts from most of their albums and "Locust Reign" from their split with Agoraphobic Nosebleed, including two songs from their new album that sounded like much of what was on No Heroes but with a few more hooks thrown in). Starting off ominously with "Plagues" and breaking into "The Saddest Day" from their early work on Petitioning The Empty Sky (which consisted of a different line up, as their earlier days had constant shifts but included members of Bane and Cave In). Jacob Bannon took a break from his raspy shrieks to lend the stage to a friend for a cover, but all other times most eyes were on him; he's a great front man and his lanky frame allows him to take up a lot of space and have a strong presence but in a fluid way, smoothly working the point home. The bassist Nate Newton rocks hard with his bass hung way down low and well, it looks really cool and a bit effortless. My wrist always hurts when that happens. The hang low part, not the looking at Nate look effortless.



I always thought Converge had an amazingly large sound for a 4-piece band, and literally all the elements come together, from the crunchy distortion and very quick guitar riffs to the rumbling distorted bass to drumming you swear was done by a robot for how much endurance is needed. At the same time their sound is tighter than a NYC subway turnstile (yeah I just did that). Or no wait, the 6 train during rush hour (YES! In it goes!).

Weird side note, in 2003 in Philly at the tail end of UPenn's Spring Fling, the guitarist Kurt, his girlfriend helped me when I tripped trying to get napkins from the McDonald's station at 30th Street station. I was so psyched because my college roommate who was with me Austin was a huge Converge fan (he got me into them) and he was totally passed out on the bench.



Anywho, they rolled through their set and finished furiously with 3 of their minute-long songs ending with "Concubine" from their much acclaimed album, Jane Doe. Much stage diving to be had indeed.

For more on the respective bands, go to one of their pages and please purchase if you rikey:

Converge
Ceremony
Coliseum
Rise and Fall
Pulling Teeth
Genghis Tron

For more info on Europa Club in Greenpoint, the premiere Polish-American club, go to their official site (they do a lot of hardcore and punk shows).

DUMBO the new SoHo? Alright, Brooklyn Heights Blog

Art is fascinating, but the art culture, being at a gallery, that has to be even more fascinating, a hodge podge of people watching, liasons, posers, and a shallow veneer of understanding. I revel in the posh cloak that surrounds the hippest of hip, the haute-est of haute.

Anywho, I don't think DUMBO is necessarily the new SoHo, and somewhere in there parts of Chelsea has to grab some acknowledgement if we're looking for similarities. I would still like to go to Re Bar, which looked nice.

You're going to want to get your art fix though with a variety of pieces that will be displayed at the BoConcept DUMBO Art Show, which runs from March 5th to April 1st right on Front Street (number 79 to be exact).

A special reception will be held from 6pm to 9pm on March 5th to kick things off, and if you click on the flyer photo and enlarge, you see that you can RSVP for a special discount at RSVP@boconceptny.com. There will be wine and food, and a little preview of some new furnishings. Coolio.

Here are the top billings:
Mireya Acierto
Daniel Krieger
Yazmany Arboleda
Danny Lowit
Deborah Freeman
George K George

They all sound like artists to me, especially that last one. George K George. Really?

Goodbye Conan!

Cheers to Conan O'Brien, whose last days in New York were this past week hosting his late late night act. Moving to LA, and moving to 11:30, it's going to be a wild ride hopefully. As long as Kevin Eubanks will think he's funny...

From Television Without Pity article, complete with bloopers from the last 16 years. We'll miss you Conan!

Oh and oh god Jimmy Fallon, you better not f#($k up.

Delocated Season 1 on Adult Swim: Live Action That Tickles My Funnybone

Delocated, which premiered recently on Adult Swim, is about an asshole who goes into the witness protection program with his wife and son, all to be caught on camera, reality show style, with ski masks and voice modulators. The family is taken out of suburban bliss and moved to New York City (where Delocated is filmed). It's live action serial, which is sort of a change of pace for Adult Swim (even Tim and Eric, which I'm not a fan of, although I liked Tom Goes To The Mayor, has bumps and graphics and odds and ends).

Jon Glaser

It's always interesting, the mockumentary and reality show spoofs. The content is seen only through the lens of the show within the show, so eventually, unless there are self-referential jokes, you actually lose sight of the show-within-a-show fact and it just becomes, the show. Characters are placed in the context of the edits of the show, which are subject to the actual show's editing technique to tell the story, lots of cool stuff to think about. Which is fun.

Nadia Dajani

When I saw the pilot, I was like, this is ok, hipsters would love it, and it has just enough content laid out and exposition, but it wasn't incredibly exciting. However, after having seen the entire first season, I have to say that it can be a great platform for Jon Glaser (of Human Giant and those Tiny Hands webisodes), because the characters have a funny consistency and are developed throughout the first few episodes which is important and with such a short format and offbeat story it's well grounded in some great banter and set ups, especially between Jon, the husband, and his FBI protector Mike, played by longtime Late Night With Conan O'Brien writer and improv performer, Kevin Dorff (not related to Stephen, definitely not).

Kevin Dorff

The hilarious subplot of the assassin trying to get rid of Jon, played by Eugene Mirman, while trying to become a successful stand-up comedian gives a respite from the tyrannical and creepy antics (anything involving the girlfriend) of Jon (whose wife and son decide that the whole sh-bang isn't really for them).

Eugene Mirman

As a ska lover, I found the Bar Mitzvah (Ska Mitzvah, "skatzah balls") episode uproarious as we witness Jon's son in a ska phase with surprising fans found in the FBI. Along with "Rage Cage" and "Members Only" (where Jon and Mike dissect how not to set up a joke, total joke fail), there is strong material here for those who enjoy Wainy Days and The Office, and well, anything that places New York in the running for best setting for comedic material is always a good thing.

You can watch videos of Delocated here at their official sub-site at Adult Swim.

Debaucheri's 'Stand Up For Sex' benefit on 12/16: Comedy, Burlesque, and possibly a lot of "that's what she said"

I got a Facebook invite recently to a sex comedy show/benefit thrown by Debaucheri, part of an initiative that "aims to bring about a sex positive culture through education, exposure and awareness." There will be merriment, live comedy, and lots of sex talk in earnest. Here's the lowdown:

"Featuring Comedy From:
Ben Siegel*
John Mahone*
Jena Friedman*
Joanne Filan*
Evon Campbell*
Alec Sobel*
+ Burlesque and Erotica+
RSVP to info@dbcmag.com

Basement of Think Coffee
248 Mercer Street Btwn W3rd and W4th Street


View Larger Map

Doors Open 7:30
Show Starts at 8pm
Party ‘til 10:30pm

$7 Cover, $5 advance if you RSVP

20% of the door profits go to the Sex Worker's Project (sexworkersproject.org)"

You can also win a contest to receive a Love Seat from Adam & Eve (adamandeve.com).

Considering New York is such a sexually charged atmosphere especially after the sun goes down (along with quite a few people) I think due to the sheer amount of different backgrounds that its denizens purport to having, underground organizations that deal frankly with the more probing subjects can find a happy medium just existing without really gaining much exposure. In entertainment, there will always be a niche through publications like the Village Voice that really know the heartbeat of the city and has the network to cover much of the events and have the pro-active readers to shimmy along to check these things out. However, having a serious "sex awareness" message is cool, but really when it comes down to it, people, whether they admit it or not, enjoy the heightened sensuality, almost danger (getting out of the usual under-stimulated zone we occupy quite a bit) of going to functions like this and getting tickled. I guess the learning is more like "sex awakening" rather than "sex awareness".

I always find subjects like violence and sex to be really fascinating not just because of the morals but because of the visceral nature of how it affects the psyche and the body. There is so much judgment passed around regarding the nature of these things, the intellectual manifestations of something that can be considered primal and taboo. So in that sense, and due to it's central location, you should check this out after work on Tuesday, it should be a fun time had. Oh and that love seat raffle, I'm sure taking that home on the subway could be pretty interesting depending on how it's wrapped.

For more information or to RSVP, go to their official site: Debaucheri Mag

To RSVP on Facebook, go here.

Rival Schools @ Mercury Lounge 11/06

Rival Schools I feel pretty much have a built in fan-base from the other famous bands that they are associated with, namely Quicksand and Gorilla Biscuits. The band can be overshadowed by the kind of superstar status that their members have attained being a productive part of not only one, but several influential bands in the hardcore scene. Walter Schriefels is not dissimilar to a Bob Nanna of Friction, Braid, and Hey Mercedes, even in that the last band mentioned is a bit lighter in sound and more melodic by nature as well as Rival Schools is.



So seeing them with a couple of co-workers who share a love for many of the same bands was a real treat; namely, I was hanging out with a couple of dudes who while only eclipsing my age by 4 or 5 years, were heavily involved or listening to music that I was growing up to only peripherally since I could not drive or go to shows and whatnot. It matters to them more to see a band like Rival Schools, and it's something I looked forward to even though ultimately I probably would prefer a band like Metroschifter.

The interesting thing tonight was that they opened for Bad Brains early on at 9pm at Irving, so naturally them being 45 minute over schedule was foreseen. I skipped the opening bands although I wished to have seen The King Left, as we had a couple drinks at Gawker while playing that Rock Band game and failing on Jane's Addiction and Sex Pistols of all bands, and then had to attend a farewell party to another co-worker at Bob Bar (or Bar Bob).

And then of course we got Bereket shawarmas (I apologize because I can't remember the particular name of the sandwich) and it was amazing. I didn't even want to go to the show. I just wanted another one because it was amazing. And delicious. Especially after many beers. Dan Williams thought the same thing, but Loni Berg...eh ra Berman skipped out. It was awesome Loni. There.

Rival Schools came on to the hope of new material (which is true) and a familiarity that the crowd had with the old standards, anticipation of a long hiatus building and the band's age shining through. There's is an undeniable Quicksand imprint, and both have a somewhat unique 90s sheen to them (even though Rival Schools was bigger around 2001) with hoarse vocals but a "grungier" (hate to use it but I guess it's the simplest way to describe it) feel than some of the other bands of the time I think. There's a patience and a slower pace almost; save some election talk there was little banter between songs and they pushed through most of United By Fate, their only officially released LP to date and a couple covers. Songs like "Travel By Telephone" and "Used For Glue" came back suddenly, but the audience really kept their cool; it's as if "hey this is what I came for, that's totally cool, and I'm possibly a bit old to be moshing". The atmosphere was energetic but not overwhelming, as if the fans were a bit nostalgic and were a bit frozen in the wake of songs that they probably hadn't heard live in a while. The new songs pushed a bit more pop and conventional but sounded fresh and pretty tight. It was an economic show, expected and very professional and definitely satisfying.

Rival Schools "Used for glue"


As always, Mercury is a great, low-ceiling affair but the temperature was kept at a moderate level until a pit started to develop during the last three songs or so and I got clocked in the chin and bit my tongue which caused a gnarly little abrasion for a day or two. They are one of those bands because of their pedigree and connections over the years, you may have been able to glance at all the ex-label people and the community that has supported them in their prime and now. It's a cool snapshot of mostly people who have gone on to do other things, or fans, like my co-workers, that may have moved beyond them at some point but got a great glimpse of a new record from an old dawg.

For more pictures and context, go to Brooklyn Vegan's post which graciously took an excerpt from this review: Brooklyn Vegan - Rival Schools & The King Left @ Mercury Lounge - pics

To see them on MySpace, click HERE.