Siren Festival - Photos of Friends

Unfashionably late with self-gratifying pictures of my friends at Siren Festival 2010, which had a decidedly less superstar lineup. Then again, Ted Leo disappointed somewhat with a set of non-favorites. Anywho, by the time the hot sun dried me out like Mercury, I was ready to go home and watch episodes of The First 48. I thought Earl Greyhound was bank and defined some badassery.

Saved By The Bell House 7.24.10

Themed parties are almost always a good time if there's enough support and a good build (theme decor, good venue, willing participants). Even bad theme parties are kind of funny/depressing in their own way. The idea is that if you are willing to devote a night (or a weekend, or possibly weeks) to something you didn't create/nostalgia/embarrassment/letting loose, you should look out for more theme parties, especially among hipsters. Because they love a good, ironic time.

Yesterday was a Full House of activity, going to beach, getting burned, going to a great barbeque in Ozone Park, seeing a friend get harassed by two men on children's bikes, and wonton love of a show that for all intensive purposes was just cheesy (save a few moments) and had no sense of what high school was actually like: Saved By The Bell.

Don't get my wrong; I enjoy SBTB a lot. I liked it growing up, and I still enjoy watching it in the morning before work. I don't own the series like Pat Craig does, but that's ok.

The Bell House being an amazing venue was the perfect place for a Saved By The Bell dance, where 3 dollars for every ticket went to oil relief. By the time the main part of the dance was over and The Bayside Tigers wrapped up their set, there was a real dance party in the front lounge. Everything is just set up well.

I was wearing my Malibu Sands shirt thinking 8 other people would be wearing it but I was dead wrong. Half the people didn't dress up, the other half were a mix of 3 really dressed up people and 100 semi-dressed up people. Leotards, skinny suspenders, light jeans, I couldn't help but wonder if this was 1994, or people just thought it was an 80s party. Because there has to be a difference right? Reagan vs. Clinton? Shit I should have worn my chain wallet. And brought like a copy of Swingers. Or something. Empire Records by the way is one of the top 10 worst movies ever. I stand by that wholeheartedly.

Folks who bought a ticket received one free vodka lemonade drink ticket and a view of strobe lights and a huge Bayside logo where you could take your picture and feel like a has been actor. "Man in the Mirror" and "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" and other tunes got the dance floor slightly going but everything was surprisingly pretty chill (the dance party in the front was way more solid, Union Pool-ish in a way). The Bayside Tigers played all 90s alt-rock hits; I called 3 of them (Blur, Harvey Danger, and Lit) and we sung most of them throughout. At least they played Bosstones and Blink 182 right?

There were some crazy ladies, some drunk ladies, and a wider age range than usual, probably 21 to 36. Everything was just a lot of fun, it didn't sell out, there was room to dance, I actually listened to suburban 90s alt-rock (except for godamn 3 doors down, god they suck, rembrandts, suck, gin blossoms, double suck for being catchy, eve 6, suck, all played by these bands), and you had just enough characters (yes you lady in the flower top just going batshit crazy, it's a band covering Oasis, not actually Oasis) to make the people watching interesting. When they started playing 3 Doors Down, I kid you not half the people went to go get a drink. People have spoken.

A young woman seemed to twist or land on her ankle the wrong way and I helped get her to the comfortable couch by the side of the stage. There was also a group who came up to me and asked for my picture because I looked EXACTLY (their word) like their friend from LA. I guess I'm not the only Asian with a normal haircut.

The bar moved quick, everyone was having fun, there were cupcakes out front from Robicelli's where you can find all over west Brooklyn and a couple of other locations including the new dessert shop Farmacy on Henry Street in Carroll Gardens.

All in all, a very fun experience and worth it. And btdubs, there are several other clubs in the area. And I still want to go to Canal Bar on 3rd Avenue. They are really trying to turn Gowanus into like a Brooklynized meatpacking aren't they?

Speaking of slightly cracked out neighborhoods:

Bushwick Just Got More Hip Starting in 2008: NUMU Arts Collective

Artwork by Numu Arts Collective, from their site.

Numu, according to their about section: "Numu, pronounced nu-MOO, is an Arabic word which means growth in a poetic sense (spiritual, emotion, etc.)"

You know Rosemarie DeWitt's character from Mad Men season 1? Midge? Her group of friends and their artist co-op, that's kind of the impression I'm getting. Some mustaches, paint smears, and youthful aspirations, sort of.

I had the pleasure of meeting Cassandra Katsiaficas at a birthday party last week while in line for the bathroom. Unbeknown to both of us, the person in front of me and subsequently her left a which burned my cilia. Unbeknown to me, she is a co-founder of this arts collective, and where else are they headquartered but Bushwick right here in the Kings County.

I was provided with a neat little flyer detailing their upcoming events for January, including writing workshops and "story metamorphosis" which going off the description looks like something for the expressiveness in you.

What I'm excited for is a DIY screenprinting workshop on Sunday Jan. 17th from 1 to 4pm. It costs 10 dollars (due to materials needed) but if you are like me and wear silly t-shirts with sillier sayings, it might be something for you to check out. Bring a shirt with you and get it done! I would start with something like the name of your favorite website or a bicycle fail.

You can check out their Artist of the Month (Rebecca Olguin) on their website as well, looks pretty rad.

Go to their official site: numuartscollective.org
and find them on facebook: facebook.com/numartscollective
and that old thing they call MySpace: myspace.com/numuartscollective

If you want to sign up for their mailing list, try numarts@gmail.com.

All events are held off the Jefferson stop on the L train in Brooklyn at 75 Stewart Avenue.

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Lunchtime Justice: Annoying Hipster Douchebag - New York Justice? I THINK SO!!!!!

Ah, the old favorite. Remember that movie Laws of Gravity that I posted about a while ago? Yeah they would totally trash hipsters that invaded their north Brooklyn hoods.

Take this hipsters, an old thorn that keeps coming back, every Siren Fest:



The video is from Lucas Held, a humorist (yes indeed) with his own brand of blogging right about he-yahr: Lucas Held's International House of Relax

By the way, Built To Spill and the Japandroids are on this year's fest which is on July 18th, check it out: Siren Fest 2009 by The Village Voice

The Powerstrip Circus Launch Party on Thursday June 4th: Be There, Or Be Lame

The friends at Powerstrip Circus, New York's premiere underground dance/hip hop/electro/awesomeness collective is finally giving themselves due props with an official launch party on June 4th (Thursdays in the summer are so bangin'). The place? Coco 66 in Greenpoint. How much? 5 bucks and a pristine mind to be blown.

All the details can be found at their site and on Facebook, but the real kicker is seeing the whole PSC mindtap in action. These guys hit a groove and just keep pinching it; even if you're not dancing, you automatically look cooler if you have people like KRTS at your back.

It's a great way to kick off summer and push the hotness to 11.


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Somewhat Mindless Purchases at The Brownstoner Brooklyn Flea in Dumbo

So, I trekked to the Brownstoner Brooklyn Flea, winter style, on Front Street in DUMBO to check out the indoor scenery. I was treated to some great soul music which you could purchase, and I ended up with two things: a very old, 1937 Popular Science issue which is fun, and part of a tobacco cutter patented on May 7, 1889 (I can't imagine how they used it, but the man said it was a very interesting piece to grab at a flea). It also said The Victor, and it looks like it's from Albion, NY with the name C.M. Mallory on it. If anyone can explain it to me, that would be awesome. Here are pictures:

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.

Bushwick: A Neighborhood that I may someday travel to

While I'm a snob when it comes to dismissing hipsters (is that a hypocritical statement?) I always found going to Williamsburg over the last few years to be fairly invigorating and fun, many a good night. With shows at Europa as well, I've gotten to see a bit of Greenpoint as well, and it's definitely a cool little neighborhood. The G train now sits well with me as I can at least make it to Lorimer (Union Pool, Pete's Candy Shop), and GP in about 15-20 minutes which is nice.

I've never made it to Bushwick. For me it's a bit out of the way, but nevertheless, it's been "the new Williamsburg" ever since I could remember, so I've always been a bit skeptical. More hipsters isn't my idea of a good time, but for me it's always one of those things where I know that when I come out of an evening among them, I'm the normal one. I think. It's like Mad Men season 1, where Mr. Don "suit" Draper gets to hang with the cool but pretentious EV kids.

Brooklyn Paper has a nice, albeit a bit wide-eyed-wonder skip/hop through some notable social establishments in the Bushwick this week, and it's definitely worth checking out if you have a day/evening to spare. Check out the article here.


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The Knux - Remind Me In 3 Days...

The Knux (two brothers from New Orleans, now residing in Los Angeles) are gaining a lot of buzz over the past few months as their jangly guitars twang to both "Cappuccino" which was featured on Entourage and their latest, "Bang Bang", which rollicks along and not quite as laid back.

I really like "Cappuccino", although after a few listens it reveals itself to be nothing too special, it's catchy, fairly smooth, and a good song to lead with though because I think it leaves you interested in the old school beat and where these guys are coming from. Their total remix on their MySpace page is refreshing in that it's not just a tempo shift and the song does a 180 turn.

Now "Bang Bang" kind of had the opposite effect on me, I didn't like it at first, but it has grown on me, the low rumble of the chorus with lively versus that shows a range of vocal tones, expressing a slick retro feel without trying to rely too heavily on the music.

They have been labeled "hipster rap", and I think they don't really care for it, but probably won't need to deny it anyway; if they were Outkast's level, it wouldn't just be for the hip crowd anymore. I think we'll definitely have to see what the rest of the album offers, but I think that it will convert more fans than turn people away.

Here's the video for "Bang Bang", with the Outsiders influence in effect. Can't go wrong with that, although I enjoy the "Cappucino" video too, with the split screens and lots of shots of Krispy's fade.



You can check out their MySpace here: www.myspace.com/theknux