Union Pool off the Lorimer L stop (I actually like the Graham stop just as much if not more) is where hipsters go to occasionally meet non-hipsters, drink 4 dollar beers, and throw down to either great soul music or bearded fellas playing the gee-tar. Our good man Jason over at foodie blog Me So Hungry is serving up some mighty fine holiday spirit this year with a combo of cookies baked by whoever feels like bringing cookies (he described it as a cookie pot luck, but I see it as a chance for cookie hipsters to fight tooth and tight jeans over whose is better) and a whole host of bands for Sunday evening. For free.
Music will have plenty of recognizable holiday tunes, done in the bands' own styles, which could range from indie rock to indie rock, depending on how you see it. Here's the flyer:
Hey, any excuse to chill at the depression I've felt called Kellogg's Diner is good enough for me.
Hi all! Last week was quite busy so I didn't get to shower you with wonderful tidbits. The friends at Food2 are doing up this week Kitchen Conspirators style, premiering a new episode every day covering their High Society party which was filmed a while back I imagine.
High Society? They'll be working off an old menu, older than "vintage" so I'm pretty excited. Considering the trend of speakeasies and going back even farther, Victorian charm here in New York over the past year and a half, it's very fitting and looks to be a pretty damn awesome menu and distinctly American which intrigues me for some reason.
This segment seems better produced than their first outing (or inning, since this whole thing is built up as pretty mysterious and exclusive). My good friend Mr. Simon has known them for a long time and says they are always up to much good, and that's a good sign. Hipsters with skills without the word "designer" in them are kind of not hipsters in my opinion; they are productive people.
Check out the first video where the gang sits with a MacBook and goes over their menu:
This Sunday July 19th, the friends at the Kings County Cinema Society are blasting serious beats this weekend in Gowanus at the newish performance space Littlefield located on 622 Degraw Street. The double bill includes the Beastie Boys concert documentary at 6pm , Awesome: I Fuckin' Shot That! and at 8:30pm Rock The Bells, which chronicles the reunion of the Wu-Tang Clan for the Rock The Bells concert back in 2004. All Eastern times folks.
In between there will be BBQ for you foodies, as well as happy hour (aka recession era) drink prices, very cheap, very awesome, Gooooooowanus! And, to get you in the groove between, before, and after the par-tay, is DJ empanadamn. Yes that's a combo of two words if you want to think of it as such.
Not doing anything this weekend? Initially I was just going to go to BAM's Cinematek party extravaganza/movie marathon, but since the sad news today of the white-gloved one's death, in honor I'm focusing on the fact that one of the movies during the marathon is The Wiz, which features Diana Ross and a young, wonderful MJ at his most nubile as the Scarecrow in a re-imagining of The Wizard of Oz. Scroll down for a link to the story. More people are probably going to catch it now. Here's the trailer:
I'm probably not going to do up the Marathon 4 because it's just depressing. However, a chance to catch Pineapple Express AND Friday back to back while partying at the cafe? Absolutely. I am kind of peeved that they chose Look Who's Talking Too, versus the first one which was pleasant. Bruce Willis doesn't always mean better people. But Top Gun is always good for a laugh. I'll be there for the Chyka birth anniversary! Although with the amount of noise, I'll want one of those hearing packs. All night party and movies included for 15 bucks.
"Join us for four movie marathons that are sure to satisfy the popcorn flick lover in everyone (don't worry, there's one screen for arthouse lovers, too!). And if you need help keeping your energy up between film screenings, we'll also be running an all-night dance party in BAMcafé. Tickets are $15 and include access to all screens and dance party.
Marathon 1: Diana Ross Coming Out
Music, glamour, and 70s schmaltz collide in this pair of films featuring superstar Diana Ross. This double feature will have you in rapture from the moment the words "gowns designed by Diana Ross" hit the screen.
The Wiz 12am (1978) 134 min Director: Sidney Lumet. With Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Nipsey Russell, Richard Pryor. We're definitely nowhere near Kansas in this urban re-telling of the classic tale.
Mahogany 2:30am (1975) 109 min Director: Berry Gordy. With Diana Ross, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Perkins. Ross, in glamorous 70s couture, is paired with Williams—the paramour to her rising fashion model—while Perkins is the disturbed photographer who tries to split them up.
Marathon 2: Before They Were Scientologists
BAMcinemaFEST presents three of your favorite stars as you'd like to remember them...before the couch jumping, Jenny Craig commercials, and, er, Battlefield Earth.
Top Gun 11:15pm (1986) 110 min Director: Tony Scott. With Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer. Tom Cruise stars as Lt. Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, a hot-shot young aviator with a "need for speed" in this VHS classic featuring a killer 80s soundtrack.
Look Who's Talking Too 1:30am (1990) 81 min Director: Amy Heckerling. With John Travolta, Kirstie Alley, Bruce Willis, Roseanne Barr. This sequel to Look Who's Talking finds toddler Mikey learning he's got to "fight for his right to potty."
Staying Alive 3am (1983) 93 min Director: Sylvester Stallone. With John Travolta. Travolta's crotch practically co-stars in this awesomely cheesy follow-up to Saturday Night Fever. Don't miss the climactic, psychedelic S&M-themed dance sequence.
Marathon 3: All Night Bong
Whether you're in the mood to see really good, funny movies, or feeling unusually relaxed, hungry, and/or paranoid, this screen is for you.
Smiley Face 11:15pm (2007) 88 min Director: Gregg Araki. With Anna Faris, John Krasinski. When Jane eats her roommate's pot-filled cupcakes, she stumbles through LA to find replacements. With subtle social commentary throughout, some of this is actually kind of deep, dude.
Pineapple Express 1am (2008) 111 min Director: David Gordon Green. With Seth Rogen, James Franco. Green revitalizes the classic pot plot in this 80s-action-flick-inspired comedy. "The Casablanca of pot comedies" (Cinematical).
Friday 3am (1995) 91 min Director: F. Gary Gray. With Ice Cube, Chris Tucker. Craig and Smokey share a joint and chillax in South Central when Smokey's dealer threatens to kill them if they don't pay their debt by the end of the night. Boyz in the Hood with bongs.
Marathon 4: BAMcinématek Favorites
Among the many films BAMcinématek has shown over the past ten years, these three hold a special place in our hearts.
In the Mood for Love 11:15pm (2000) 98 min Director: Wong Kar-wai. With Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung. Leung and Cheung star in this lushly photographed tale of unconsummated love.
Millennium Mambo 1:15am (2001) 119 min Director: Hou Hsiao-hsien. With Shu Qi, Jack Kao. A young girl drifts through endless parties and hookups in neon-soaked Taipei.
demonlover 3:15am (2002) 115 min Director: Olivier Assayas. With Gina Gershon, Chloë Sevigny, Charles Berling. A thriller about corporate greed, porn, and video games, set to a score by Sonic Youth."
Tuesday nights in the summer are pretty fantastic. Real Housewives of whatever city. Tacos. Great night to go out and not have it be a shit show.
Just like that Lovin' Spoonful song "Summer In The City", you're going to want to go out and feel up for anything.
I'm a huge fan of oldies and Motown and old soul music, doo wop, etc. That's why if you're in the mood for some dancin', you get on to Lolita and get in a real deep groove with DJ Chris Fuller, who will have a slate of old school like you've never seen tonight from 9pm to 2am. We're talking harmonies and clap-along rhythms. We're talking in-sync with yourself. We're talking courtship. We're talking passionate, deep-bellied crooning and piercing, fat toned brass sections. We're talking romance. I know, it's a smallish space, but you're going to be doing one of those closing-your-eyes-taking-in-the-music-like-a-bong-hit-bopping-your-head manuevers.
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.
So as the night is wearing on, we have some awesome people in attendance, we've got USA Today, Midtown Lunch, NY Barfly, and several others who have graced the kitchen.
Those Kitchen Conspirators are hanging in there, Michael, their guest chef from their first episode, is having a no-smile policy for these Polaroids, touche sir.
Mingling around and getting the dish from Liza at Culture Kitchen....
But wait...they are pulling the booze away.....I guess we're winding down.
So what do you get when you have 50+ bloggers and editors in a room with tons of food, fancy music, and fancier drinks? Food2 Freebie Friday.
It's mid-way through and friends from The Music Slut and Yelp have shown up early to try the mutton sliders and arepas. People are digging the vibe including The Amateur Gourmet and Taste As You Go Blog chat it up with folks from all over the city.
Greasy Guide is in the house! And Aleta Meadowlark from Omnomicon, a contributing Food2 blogger. Jason from Me So Hungry is enjoying the festivities, as Whitney Matheson from USA Today chats with Scripps about Food2.
All photos credited to Mark Kwan at NYC Movie Screenings!
So the wonderful people at Scripps just introduced me to Kelsey Nixon, who was a fan favorite on The Next Food Network Star and also is currently on the Food2 show, Kelsey & Spike Cook.
I asked her about the pairing of grapes and steak, which I admitted I had never seen but it sounded great. "It's really the sweetness with the steak that just makes it so appealing and interesting, and on top of that the bleu cheese butter really is a great combo."
I agree, anything with bleu cheese is the bees knees.
Kelsey went on to tell the KCB about driving large vans and trucks in New York on Lex at 5am. Ever the consummate pro, she's already getting into the mix coming from Salt Lake City.
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.
Don't worry folks, it's really not a novel. In fact, it's more like a photo book. Which is great because when I have several cocktails in me, I can't read straight either.
Abrams Books is on a bit of a hot streak, with some fun stuff in the works but the streak really consisting of Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, which has reached the hearts of 5th graders everywhere. Graffiti Kings looks really interesting especially when said graffiti was and is such an integral part of the urban vibe. I remember a terrific documentary called Style Wars (click on the link to watch the entire film on Google Video) about the graffiti culture made in 1983 , a sound bite of which ended up on the Dillinger Four record, Situationist Comedy. "Is that an art form? I don't know, I'm not an art critic. But I can sure as hell tell you it's a crime."
Come on, it's classic hip, it's an integral part of the urban culture of New York, and there's free drinks. Afterward you can walk to the Levee or something.
Everyone's favorites, Slouch and KRTS are back in the mix with a full lineup at Public Assembly, which is respecting the old Galapagos name and filling the bills with some great beats. Should be a great show, starts at 10pm and it's only 10 bucks. Get to their websites for more info: Slouch KRTS
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
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
So my colleague at work and I were talking about Bar 4, as I had just witnessed the latest Gashouse Gorillas show and he mentioned that he knew the owner who had a long and service-able (what a pun) history dating way back, and sent me a Facebook invite to the annual and possibly greatest (but who knows) incarnation of Punk Slope with the holiday bent. I haven't heard "Party, My House, Be There" in a while but I guess that would be an appropriate song, because the DJs should be fun, and Mr. Walter Schreifels will be on hand to perform all sorts of goodies from all those bands that he's been in that people like. Will he take requests? I personally haven't heard "Cherry, Cherry" by Neil Diamond in a while and I know they got that piano sitting all nice.
Oh if I could make one more request considering the pedigree that will be in attendance: Can someone please, please play an Empire State Games song? So amazing.
Nothing like bringing some punk establishment (wuh wuh wait a second Mr. oxymoron) to Park Slope every once in a while that's a bit cleaner than Lucky 13. How will they fit everyone? Well hell if any hipsters show up they are thin enough to use as a rug...
From the invite: "HEY HO HO HO, LET'S GO!!!
It's time once again for the annual PUNK SLOPE XMESS PARTY Saturday December 20th, 2008!
'tis the season to be jolly, merry, and all that good shit. we've lined up one hell of a night... check it out...
live! WALTER SCHREIFELS (Gorilla Biscuits, Quicksand, Rival Schools, Walking Concert) our favorite guest returns!! playing your favorite tunes from the past, present and future! we could not be more excited to have him for this special occasion!
along with special guest DJs! CHRIS DALY (Texas Is The Reason, Jets To Brazil, 108) JOSH GRABELLE (Trustkill) JAY GROTRIAN (Eye For An Eye)
and your fave residents! NICK CAIN, JOEL TEE, JORDAN MAKOW, MIKE FALIS"
It's a thinking/drinking man's punk party, as everyone shall be of age, some will be wearing glasses, some will be drinking glasses, and I just might wear some pinned up braces (red of course, with some green trimmings for that holiday sheen). Also if you mix Jay Grotrian and Josh Grabelle's names, you can have something that will always vaguely remind you of Josh Groban. Who will unfortunately be in attendance...not.
To attend through Facebook (they have yet to do reminders for events which sucks) go here: Punk Slope XMess on Facebook
And check out what Bar 4 has going on all the time, support their musical gatherings and you just might be hearing the next big thing out of 7th Avenue. Here's their address on Google Maps:
AVAAZ can be described, as taken from their moniker: Electro Global Discotek. An organization dedicated to cultural partying with some South Asian flair, as the tuxedo'd MC got the crowd in on the up and up while the DJs were spinning mid-tempo mixes with a bit of drum 'n bass and jungle thrown in for a global measure. Scenes like this always make me want to don glow in the dark contacts and make like Nas in the beginning of Belly with the pulsating beats as theme music.
The parties happen monthly and Public Assembly is a good place for it (the former Galapagos, which is now in DUMBO) with it's lax bar but nice pool in front and plenty of space to gyrate (although the crowd was a bit sparse at times depending on the set). This time around they threw in a curveball and some of New York's finest, Zero Bridge, put on a terse and forceful 40 minute set of an impassioned mix of U2 and indie pop sound with a hint of The Clash. Pushing through with tunes like their newest single "How Long" and "Late Bloomer", mixing 'manifesto' cuts with the lead singer Din's commanding prescence (being tall is advantageous), and you have a really nice rock concert in the middle of all the electro pulses. Mo, the drummer/kid brother of Din, headbanged like a wily teenager which was great, and backed by former Orange 9mm bassist Greg, they quickly got on track after the first song's timing was off initially.
The crowd was taken aback by it a little but Zero Bridge is very danceable and judging by how many people congradulated them afterward, AVAAZ gave their shimmiers a little taste of rock and Zero Bridge in turn won new converts.
And then afterward the accomplished British actor/rapper (Path to 9/11, Deadset) Riz MC transitioned things back to the gyrating hips with a short set, rollicking along with chaotically fast beats and polemics. His style didn't translate well to the denizens of this party but, at the same time, gotta appreciate and give props to pushing the pace like an unruly spin class. He's big across the pond and I'm glad I got to see him rap.
So my colleague at work and I were talking about Bar 4, as I had just witnessed the latest Gashouse Gorillas show and he mentioned that he knew the owner who had a long and service-able (what a pun) history dating way back, and sent me a Facebook invite to the annual and possibly greatest (but who knows) incarnation of Punk Slope with the holiday bent. I haven't heard "Party, My House, Be There" in a while but I guess that would be an appropriate song, because the DJs should be fun, and Mr. Walter Schreifels will be on hand to perform all sorts of goodies from all those bands that he's been in that people like. Will he take requests? I personally haven't heard "Cherry, Cherry" by Neil Diamond in a while and I know they got that piano sitting all nice.
