• It's CMA time, and with it comes a really good article on the life and times of Cliff Cody and other songwriters trying to earn a living in Nashville. (Read article at The Columbus Dispatch)

• Keven Federline's show at NYC's Webster Hall (capacity 1,600) pulled in an estimated 100 paying customers. At least there were no lines at the bars. (Read post and view pictures at Stereogum)

• The trend at this year's CMJ? Newsday says it was "a continuing drift toward dance music, or anything even vaguely danceable." (Read article at Newsday)

• Sony BMG's Legacy Recordings will have the soundtrack to the upcoming, seven-part Ken Burns documentary, "The War." (Read press release)

• An interview with Ian MacKaye (Fugazi, The Evens). (Read post at Gothamist)

Posted by Glenn at 4:13 PM | Link
|New York City||Sony BMG|

Last Friday, a few members of the New York bloggerati caputred a performance by Norah Jones' other band. No, not The Little Willies. They witnessed El Madmo, a band that features pop-jazz superstar Norah Jones, at a half-empty Delancey in Manhattan. (They were all there to see another band on the bill, Pela.) Naturally there were posts galore and plenty of pictures of an incognito Jones wearing a blonde wig and fishnet stockings. If not for the pictures nobody would have ever believed them.

Recaps can be found at Stereogum, Gothamist, Yeti Don't Dance and Village Indian.

(Photo from Village Indian)

Posted by Glenn at 11:35 AM | Link
|New York City|

On Wednesday , February 1st, Coolfer and Daily Refill will host Shake Your Halo, an event with bands and DJs. We've got a great evening lined up Fat Baby, a new club in the Lower East Side. On stage downstairs will be Bravo Silva, Overnight and Nepo. All three are excellent bands who we're excited could join us. Upstairs we'll have some DJs, including Craig Wedren (ex-Shudder to Think) and Michael Jurin (stellastarr*).

Since there hasn't been a Coolfer gathering in quite some time, everybody is invited to Fat Baby's happy hour from 7pm to 9pm for a meet and greet. You're welcome to stay later and check out the bands ($8 to see the bands downstairs, no charge upstairs). Bands play at 8pm, 9pm and 10pm, and Shake Your Halo will go until closing.

Listen to the bands of Shake Your Halo:

• Bravo Silva: "Strawberry Blonde" MP3
• Overnight: "Sorry" MP3
• Nepo: Go to Nepo's online player to listen to songs

Posted by Glenn at 8:55 AM | Link
|Coolfer||New York City|

CMJ is over. While the Sparks cans are being recycled and the country's college radio station managers are heading back home, let's take a look at the coverage on the four-day music frenzy.

So whose stock rose and who failed to impress?

The NY Times' Jon Pareles highlighted Apollo Sunshine, Tom Vek, Xbxrx and others. He praised New Buffalo for her use of samples in her solo set at the Hiro Ballroom (though he didn't mention that the samples were on pre-recorded music that she played on an instrument that found its way into more than one CMJ set: an iPod).

Stereogum declared that We Are Scientists "kick ass," Halopaw's set "failed to impress," loved the Giraffe's show at the Pussycat Lounge, claimed The Morning After Girls "showed promise," proclaimed Clap Your Hands Say Yeah lived up to the hype and admitted Devendra Banhart's band "actually rocked."

Tom Breihan said Lady Sovereign "owned the stage at Webster Hall."

In Spin's day two recap, they championed the bland Hockey Night and named The Vacation's gig at Ace of Clubs as the "show of the night" and found a workable euphemism for Foreign Born's boring show.

Daily Refill said Two Gallants was the best show she saw this year.

Brooklyn Vegan didn't use very many adjectives to describe the shows he saw, but did use the word awesome three times to describe The Gossip's set at the Knitting Factory.

Coolfer didn't see many shows this year but I did catch a few that are worth noting. Test Icicles (pictured above) had a good crowd in Scenic's air conditioned little dungeon. Before the show an employee of Domino Records (the band's label) told me he'd give me $1,000 if I didn't as much crack a smile during the show. Safe bet. The Icicle's spazz rock had me chuckling throughout and the Slayer-meets-meets-Bloc Party songs showed the band is happily off in a world of its own.

Another standout was the Silversun Pickups' brief set at the Filter space on Saturday. I expected, after hearing a few MP3s, a lighter shade of indie rock. Instead I heard a loud and often blistering rock band with a well honed pop craft and the ability to improvise. Central Village was there and enjoyed the gig, and my friend Erik said that was the best of the many shows he had seen the perform.

Finally, I must mention Aloe Blacc's performance at Nublu in the wee hours of Saturday morning. Blacc (pictured above), a member of Emanon, will soon be part of the Stones Throw family (I ran into Peanut Butter Wolf earlier in the evening outside of the Canal Room) and I'm willing to bet his debut album will be a stunner.

Posted by Glenn at 8:27 AM | Link | Comment (6)
|Music||New York City|

CMJ is, as I often say, nothing but 50% more bands and 100% more people. New York has an oversupply of live music in an average week, but for four days once a year hundreds of bands descend upon the city's clubs and transform that oversupply into a glut. They'll play a showcase or two or three in hopes of being one of the very few to come out of the event with that magical, almost indescribable attachment to their careers: The CMJ Buzz.

CMJ isn't necessarily about who's good, it's about who's hot. Who will be create this year's buzz? Coolfer has a few thoughts on some of this year's contenders for The CMJ Buzz, and almost all of them happen to be both hot and good.

One artist who's coming into CMJ with a truckload of momentum is Lady Sovereign, the UK grime sensation. She's been in the news recently here in the States. Pitchfork picked up on the story about Jay-Z wanting to sign her to Def Jam in the U.S. Her debut New York show was tainted by food poisoning but the weakened rapper still thrilled the capacity crowd at the Knitting Factory. This time Lady Sov will be in the middle of a bill at the dreaded Webster Hall. Chances are good she'll be the main draw of the evening.

Neo-hippie Devendra Banhart (pictured) has a new album coming next month and it easily lives up to the mythical aura that surrounds this San Francisco singer-songwriter. He's been through New York a number of times and has been an underground favorite for some time. Why might he capture some CMJ buzz? Cripple Crow, his new album, is sure to be considered by many as among the best of the year (Pitchfork gave it a 8.4 yesterday) and it looks like all the previous press, word of mouth and new record label (XL) could combine to send him into a higher orbit over Planet Music Hipster.

Voxtrot has been to town but has been getting a bit of blogger buzz and may be able to grab some curious listeners this week. Tom Vek could make a good showing. Spinto Band is another that is on the tip of a lot of tongues, so watch out for them. One last one: Smoosh. It's fun to say and these two young girls make fun music, and they just might rise above the din this week.

Posted by Glenn at 3:56 AM | Link | Comment (3)
|Music||Music Industry||New York City|

Don't forget, New Yorkers, tonight is Gothamist's Movable Hype 4.0. Show starts at 8pm with singer-songwriter-troubadour Langhorne Slim. Also on the bill are Bravo Silva, Raising the Fawn and Doveman. It's a good line-up. See you there.

Posted by Glenn at 8:48 AM | Link
|New York City|

Some bands are just different. Take The High Strung, a rock trio from Detriot-via-Brooklyn-via-Detroit. They once left their tour van in front of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio -- with a note and the keys in the ignition.

The band's latest venture is a summer-long tour of libraries throughout the state of Michigan. "This American Life" from WBEZ public radio in Chicago caught up to the band and talked about their impending tour of the nation's bookhalls: 34 in total, one every other day from June through August.

Listen to the show in Real Audio and forward to about the 7:30 mark. It's extremely funny and -- though it may not be too cool to say this -- downright cute.

Extra credit:

Download three MP3s from the band's website, all from the sessions resulting in the band's upcoming album, Moxie Bravo (to be released on Future Farmer):

• The High Strung: "A Real Meal Ticket"
• The High Strung: "Seems It's One Thing"
• The High Strung: "N Over C"

Posted by Glenn at 9:45 AM | Link | Comment (2)
|Music||New York City|

Those in New York who like to stay ahead of the curve have a few rock shows to check out this week.

First is a show tonight at the once dreaded Mercury Lounge and a requisite stop for NME-following Anglophiles. First up is Nine Black Alps. Coolfer saw them at the Siren Festival on Saturday (view pics) and was impressed by their post-Grunge racket. Then non-Brits and local boys Sam Champion play. They're the only band on the bill that hasn't won the favor of the British hype machine/press, but they're young and still relatively unknown over there. They always put on a good show. Next up is Hard-Fi, then The Cribs. Download "Baby Don't Sweat" and "Another Number" from The Cribs' website.

On Thursday it's back to the Mercury for Shade, a band from Pittsburgh who is making a bit of noise. Expect to rub elbows with many A&R reps and curious label folks. Shade get the shoegazer tag all the time but they're much more than Slowdive clones -- and much more upbeat. Coolfer caught them at Rothko in early June and thought they were solid. Definitely worth checking out. Pictures at Flickr page. Go ahead and see Shade now before they sign to a label and start playing larger venues. It's gonna happen.

Posted by Glenn at 2:08 PM | Link | Comment (3)
|New York City|

This year's Siren Festival, the free concert thrown by the kind folks at the Village Voice, was an absolute success. Many said this year's line-up was weak but I couldn't disagree more. Expectations going in were cautiously set in the middle of the curve, and every performance I saw was really entertaining. Highlights: Dungen's post-Zeppelin psyche rock, Diamond Nights and their screaming (female) fans, Spoon's pro set, Ambulance LTD's diversity and excellent songs. Nine Black Alps were better than expected and have been listening quote a bit of Nirvana's Bleach from what I could tell.

Yesterday Femi Kuti and the Brazilian Girls played a free show at Central Park's Summerstage. Below are pics of Brazilian Girls (from a distance). Great show. Summerstage, which can be a brutally windless hot spot in Central Park, enjoyed a downpour during "Pussy," always the highlight of the band's set.

For more pictures go to Coolfer's Flickr page as well as the Siren Festival 2005 group Flickr page. Other photos can be seen at Brooklyn Vegan, The Modern Age, The Real Janelle's Flickr page, Jen C's Flickr page and Siren Festival photo set and Central Village's Siren Festival photo set. Or try your luck at the "sirenfestival" Flickr tag page.

Click for more...

Continue reading "Weekend (Free Concert) Recap" »

Posted by Glenn at 8:44 AM | Link | Comment (2)
|New York City|

The show is sold out. Hopefuls and profiters are posting up a frenzy at Craigslist. Whether or not you're going to sweat it out inside the velvet ropes of Webster Hall, drop by Revival prior to the show for a drink or three.

Posted by Glenn at 9:22 AM | Link | Comment (2)
|New York City|

Going to see Bloc Party on Wednesday? If yes, come to the pre-party. If not, come to the pre-party. Everybody has after-parties. Great for the unemployed and freelancers with flexible hours, bad for those with jobs. So why not a pre-party instead? It makes sense -- most complains about Webster Hall have to do with (a) the bar staff and (b) the prices.

It's at Revival at 129 E 15th (at Irving Place). Click here for the Google map. From there it's only a short walk to Webster Hall. Check for us in the garden first, then upstairs.

Posted by Glenn at 8:52 AM | Link | Comment (2)
|New York City|

After I had pretty much finished writing this post a friend told me about the "Rebel With a 401(k)" article that ran Thursday in the NY Post. It focused on some comments by the head of a local record label and a recent article by the Columbia Spectator. In it, FoC and Vice Recordings GM Adam Shore bemoaned the current "indie-yuppie establishment" and asserted that much of today's popular indie music -- he singled out The Postal Service, the Arcade Fire and the Shins -- is "comfy music." (Then it recapped the "You Might Be An Indie-Yuppie" contest at Stereogum.

The timing couldn't have been better. The other night I saw Built to Spill. Now, I can't argue with the legend of BTS. They're a great band. But...it didn't do it for me. It had been five or so years since I had last seen them. What happened during that span? Was it a different band or was I a different person? I had the same feeling the last time I saw Death Cab For Cutie, after a span of five or so years had passed since I last saw them. Just like with Built to Spill, it did absolutely nothing for me.

The best I can sum it up is this: Indie rock has become too self-aware, too predictable, too safe, too self-perpetuating. As its popularity has risen its sound has become a mirror of a mirror of itself, the result of the indie scene's exclusionary, cliquish mentality. At that BTS show, it was as if rock had been stripped of its energy, sexuality and stagemanship. To my ears and eyes, the extreme highs and lows of rock music had been clipped -- I was seeing and hearing a narrow channel in the middle of rock's spectrum.

Over the last few weeks, I've had the feeling that rock is back. Not rock in the white trash chic of Vice magazine or ironic trucket hat flirtations with middle class rock culture. (Drinking Pabst from a can doesn't mean you're into rock.) No, I mean rock as opposed to indie rock. There's a crop of bands that have skipped Joy Division Mach II, probably find The Strokes to be too staid and never picked up on Nick Drake when Volkswagen made him famous.

This next wave is bringing back such diverse and until now relatively untapped sounds as Thin Lizzy's Jailbreak, Rick Springfield's Working Class Dog, Pat Benatar's Crimes of Passion, Damn The Torpedos-era Tom Petty and even old Iron Maiden -- in addition to the usual rock standards like the Stones the Stooges.

Labels are edging -- one could even say hedging -- toward this kind of rock as well. Razor & Tie (yes, the label that has a bursting bank account thanks to the Kidz Bop series) has signed two NYC rawk bands, Danko Jones and The Giraffes. Matador signed neo-metal band Early Man. Kemado released an EP by Diamond Nights. TVT signed LA glam rawkers Tsar. Majors will follow suit. No doubt. Kings of Leon have been doing well with their modernization of classic rock. I think majors will go back to their "core values" in this year and the next (as soon as they get tired of trying to find the next Killers). If Kings of Leon become huge, you can bet majors will bring up the ranks similar bands.

So who will represent this new wave? Hard to say who -- if anybody -- will emerge from the underground, but here are a few bands that have caught my attention for one reason or another.

• Diamond Nights (pictured) just released an EP on Kemado Records. I haven't heard the EP but I'm told for every Thin Lizzy moment they have a Loverboy moment. The song I downloaded and have played quite a few times, "Destination Diamonds," is one of the band's Thin Lizzy moments.

• Last week I finally got around to seeing The Fame. This four-piece is a shot of early '80s album rock radio. Rick Springfield was one of the first that came to mind. They did a nice cover of Devo's "Girl U Want" that kept the punchy riff but threw a nice pop spin on the song.

• Bona Roba is a band that I've heard great things about but haven't mananged to see yet. Four guys from the Bronx who like to rawk. The songs on their website are impressive. I'd like to hear more. Friends tell me they're great.

• Tsar will have an album out on TVT next month. You may have seen them playing "Band-Girls-Money" on a Nestle Crunch commercial. They're not in an '80s or classic rock vein like some others I've mentioned, but they're certainly a band that stands apart from any of the current trends in rock music.

• A friend told me about Jessie Diamond last week. A few years ago I couldn't have imagined much attention being paid to a spandex-clad siren who sings like Pat Benatar. In May of 2005 it's not such a stretch.

Playlist:

• Diamond Nights: "Destination Diamonds"
• The Fame: "Lost In You"
• Bona Roba: "The Slip" and "Cunningham Park"
• Jessie Diamond: "American Hero"
• Danko Jones: "I Want You"
• The Giraffes: "Having Fun"

Posted by Glenn at 1:29 PM | Link | Comment (15)
|Music||New York City|

I've got a spare ticket to Paul Westerberg's show at the Supper Club on Tuesday the 26th. Lemme know if you want it. Face value.

Posted by Glenn at 5:51 PM | Link | Comment (1)
|New York City|

A recap of Thursday night's goings on in the Lower East Side.

First, Coolfer hit the formerly dreaded Mercury Lounge to see V2's Neon, a four-piece band from Melbourne, Australia. Very good show, lots of chunky power pop and riff rock. Their EP is out now, a full-length is on the way.

Then it was a short walk to the intimate Rockwood Music Hall to see Solar Face (pictured). FoC Leslie highly recommended seeing Fionn (a.k.a. Solar Face) and it was a wonderful surprise. Accompanied by a cellist, Fionn played a few songs on acoustic guitar and showed off an incredible voice and masterful guitar playing. And such flair and presence he had, too. Then he sat down at the piano and proved to be just as able a piano player. On paper it might not look good that he covered Black Sabbath's "War Pigs" -- it was odd to hear those famous riffs being pounded out on ivory keys -- but his interpretation was fantastic. When Solar Face plays Pianos in a few months be sure to check him out.

Then it was Tonic and its clouds of pot smoke for Antibalas. The men of TV on the Radio joined the band on stage for a few songs. Again, it might not look good on paper to read about Antibalas acting as TVOTR's backing band but it worked to perfection and provided great new versions of already great songs.

This weekend, if you're going to see Damien Jurado at Southpaw, stick around for the Jelly party afterwards. Nick Catchdubs will be on the decks along with DJ Ayres.

Posted by Glenn at 3:39 PM | Link
|New York City|

On Monday April 25, at 8 pm, LVHRD is hosting "Battle of the Moves," a live dance competition drawing sixteen dancers to
compete against each other in a tournament style dance-off.

The event will take place on Monday, April 25th from 8pm (dancers will need to arrive at 7 pm) until 10:30pm. It's non-commercial and for fun, so they aren't offering any tangible prizes for the winner (with the possible exception of the most amazing trophy your eyes have ever seen-- for the winner). However, winner and competitors will receive a large amount of press coverage. Their last event, the "Science vs. Beauty: Battle of the Minds" was featured in the center spread of the NY Post.

It will be a great way to gain exposure for you as well as Breaks Kru.

Please send responses to DMcGunigle(at)youthintelligence(dot)com.

Posted by Glenn at 2:18 PM | Link
|New York City|

World music fans will be sad to know that Stern's Music is closing its New York retail store on April 2nd. The UK head office will continue to operate the online store, and the US arm of that will operate out of New Jersey.

If there's a silver lining, it's that Stern's loss is our gain. Starting today and continuing through the 2nd, the store is knocking $2 off all CDs priced over $10. Stern's has an incredible selection of excellent, hard-to-find music from Africa and other parts of the world. So, let's go shopping!

Posted by Glenn at 11:43 AM | Link
|New York City|

For we New Yorkers who didn't go to South By Southwest, we can take comfort in a few facts. First, we're in the best music market in the country. There is never a lack of great live music. Second, many bands stop in NYC on the way to and/or from Austin. The coming weeks, regardless of what Gothamist says, are like a South By Lower East Side music festival. Many of the "next big things" will be in town in the coming weeks. (Heck, nearly all have been in town recently anyway.)

Last night, England's The Go! Team played their first NYC show at the once-dreaded Mercury Lounge. (Brooklyn Vegan has a few pics here.) Their music has yet to be released domestically, but they've sold out two shows (probably a third) and packed a giddy club. Like the album, The Go! Team's live show is energetic and fun, like the coolest high school rally ever held. One thing's for sure, they're pretty uppity for an indie rock crowd. I really liked the show. Central Village was underwhelmed, as were a few others I spoke with.

Tonight, The Go! Team plays Southpaw in Brooklyn (I'm expecting a show better than last night). Before that, Leslie Feist performs in anticipation of the domestic release (on Interscope) of her beautiful debut album, Let It Die. Feist is well known in these parts, having passed through town as a member of Broken Social Scene. Her album is also available as an import, yet the show sold out quickly.

On Wednesday, Tsar, a Coolfer favorite, plays at Pianos. Their second album will be out on TVT in May, and they're playing a few NYC shows after making the trip to Austin from their Los Angeles home base. Karen Ann, who has suddenly become a staple of the New York media and is being groomed like she's Blue Note's next Norah Jones, plays at Joe's Pub. And The Go! Team completes the hat trick with a show at the Canal Room.

The generally agreed upon #1 next big thing, The Bravery, play a show at tiny little Rothko on Thursday. Their hyped-to-death debut album will be out the following Tuesday. If The Bravery aren't the next big thing, Bloc Party is it. They'll be in town -- again -- in early April. Another of the super-duper next big things, The Kaiser Chiefs, are back in town on Friday at the Bowery Ballroom. Their album was released just last week, yet they're selling out venues in NYC. One of Matador's latest signings, The Double, are at Tonic on Saturday.

No, there's hardly a shortage of shows this week. It's a perfect week for the trend-conscious New Yorker who lives to be able to see a band in a small venue and later fondly recall seeing them back when they were nobodies. It's almost like we have our own music festival here...but it's just a typical week in NYC.

Posted by Glenn at 11:33 AM | Link | Comment (7)
|New York City|

New York City's Tonic, a landmark club that a cornerstone of the city's music scene, is in financial trouble. Here's an email that was sent to the club's mailing list:

"Since 1998 Tonic has been a haven for creative music. We have helped nurture the vital community of musicians and audiences who keep this music alive. Now we are in danger of closing and ask you to help us keep Tonic alive.

Over the past few years we have suffered a series of blows: our rent has doubled since 1998, our insurance costs have tripled, we’ve been robbed, and we’ve been plagued by the expense of maintaining a building in ill repair -- including the collapse of our main sewer line. Any of these things would be challenging on their own but together they’ve taken a more serious toll and we are now facing the threat of eviction.

A number of outstanding musicians have come forward to help save Tonic and throughout February we will be holding a series of fundraising concerts. If Tonic has been an important venue to you, we ask that you please attend as many of these concerts as possible.

Those who cannot attend but would like to help, please consider making a contribution. For Tonic to survive we will need to raise a upwards of $100,000 in the next few weeks. Only with your support can Tonic continue playing its role in presenting this important music to its fans. Our deepest thanks.

For more info please go to www.tonicnyc.com.

Come to the first fundraiser on Wednesday Feb, 02, JOHN ZORN IMPROV starting at 8pm, $15"

Posted by Glenn at 5:53 PM | Link | Comment (3)
|New York City|

Since they had one of my favorite albums of 2004, Coolfer would like to mention that The Go! Team is finally coming to America. They're going to play the Mercury Lounge on March 21st and Southpaw on March 22nd. If the show is anything like the album, it's going to be a ton of fun.

Before the NYC shows, they've got two shows at SXSW: the BBC 6 Showcase on March 18th and the Vice Magazine party on the 19th. Nothing else is booked yet, but the message board at the band's website says "there's likely to be more."

Posted by Glenn at 12:24 AM | Link
|New York City|

Dalek, the avante-garde hip hop group from Jersey, is playing a free show at Rothko tonight, and there will be free Red Stripe. Well, while supplies last there will be Red Stripe, and at some of these scavenger-filled events not much time elapses before the crowd is facing a cash bar.

The band's next album will be out in a few months, and their website currently has an MP3 of one of the tracks, "Ever Somber." It densely layers beautiful, distorted shoegazer riffs, and like My Bloody Valentine, Dalek pummels its audience with intense volume. It'll make for a good show. Bring your earplugs.

Posted by Glenn at 1:18 PM | Link | Comment (1)
|New York City|

Found at the NYC Craigslist site:

• "You like good fun music played at a normal volume, not inaudible hip hop played on your Cable TV jukebox." (women seeking men)
• "Love live music - rock and roll especially, indie rock sometimes." (women seeking men)
• "I love galleries, dark shady bars, cinema, and whiney indie rock." (women seeking men)
• "I like Mike Leigh movies and Spiderman, the Clash, old Stones and Bowie, Wilco and Beethoven." (women seeking men)
• "Any Punk-Grunge-Goth-Rocker Girls Want To Hang Or Date?" (men seeking women)
• "Would be nice if you're into indie/alternative music (Interpol, Killers, Franz)." (men seeking women)
• "She listens to old punk rock, Adverts to X-Ray Spex and all in between, oldies rock and R&B/soul, 80's new wave, Pixies, Ramones, Bowie, TMBG, Kraftwerk, Numan, etc." (men seeking women)
• "Sane Metal Guy Looking for Sane Metal Girl."
• "Looking for that cute, intelligent, and refined female who loves house, techno, and drum and bass." (men seeking women)
• "I am looking for someone who really loves music. She enjoys anything from Death Cab For Cutie to Alison Krauss, and loves to shake her bootie to some old-school Biggie every now and then." (men seeking women)
• "Looking for a stable rock star....." (women seeking women)
• "Seeking rock n' roll queer gal for steamy makeout sessions, or whatever." (women seeking women)

Posted by Glenn at 11:02 AM | Link
|New York City|

The Internet is afire with coverage of yesterday's free U2 concert in Brooklyn and the Georgia Satellites-style stroll through Manhattan on the back of a flatbed. Coolfer didn't attend, but then again I may not have been allowed in. From the looks of it, possession of some kind of digital camera was required to enter the makeshift venue at the Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park between the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges.

Check the coverage at:

• U2Log
• New York Times
• Rolling Stone
• Gothamist
• The Real Janelle
• Brooklyn Vegan
• One Louder
• Amy Langfield

Posted by Glenn at 10:56 AM | Link
|New York City|

Some of you may be heading over to the Bowery Ballroom for the heavily buzzed, sold out gig featuring The Arcade Fire, The Hidden Cameras and Dirty on Purpose.

For the rest of you, consider Other Passengers and Menomena at Sin-e. Coolfer has seen Other Passengers and can personally vouch for them. This will be my first time seeing Menomena (who have one of the coolest--and most annoying--websites of any band in the country) but if their show is half as good as their album, I won't be dissapointed.

Or, if you have a ticket, you'll be at the Hammerstein watching Interpol, the Secret Machines and On!Air!Library! But those Hammerstein shows get over so early (this one starts at 6pm tonight) that you'll have time to get to Sin-e by 11pm for Menomena.

Posted by Glenn at 4:20 PM | Link | Comment (2)
|New York City|

For the Smog/Joanna Newsom/Weird War show at the Bowery Ballroom (December 18th and 19th), which is being billed as "It's A Wonderful Next Life: A Drag City Christmas Party," the website requests that people wear "a sweater with a knit cap or scarf."

Odd.

Posted by Glenn at 1:28 PM | Link | Comment (1)
|New York City|

Thanks to all who came out to the first ever (wasn't it?) music blogger happy hour. There are far too many names to mention, so in the tradition of heavy metal album liner notes, I'll just say, "You know who you are."

We'll have to do it again soon, no?

Posted by Glenn at 10:12 AM | Link | Comment (1)
|New York City|

Stop by The Magician tonight between 6pm and 8pm and hang out with music bloggers and other persons of interest. You'll know how to find us: band buttons on our bags, bloodshot eyes from staring into our computers screens way too much, passionate conversations about bands only 103 people worldwide care about...

After the happy hour I'll be at Irving Plaza for the Domino showcase, and later at the Bowery Ballroom for the Astralwerks gig.

Posted by Glenn at 11:54 AM | Link | Comment (1)
|New York City|

OK, let's see if this will work: Thursday at The Magician. 6pm-8pm, roughly. Yes, this Thursday.

Again, all music bloggers, plain ol' bloggers and Coolfer readers and anybody who wants to show up are welcome. Hopefully this time will work for everybody. It's not so early that you have to skip out of work early, and it won't run too late so everybody can get to whatever venues are on your Thursday itineraries.

Send me an email to let me know if you'll be there, and please spread the word.

Posted by Glenn at 3:11 PM | Link
|New York City|

Isn't 2004 such a year for benefit shows? This one, though, is not political. Friday, Spirit hosts a benefit for the Cedars Sinai Cancer Research Centre. The show is cleverly called Be Well: The Ramones Beat On Cancer (it combines the song titles "I Wanna Be Well" and "Beat on the Brat").

On the bill are three NYC legends: The Strokes, Blondie and Sonic Youth, plus special guests Andrew WK, Sean Lennon, Alan Vega, CJ Ramone and longtime Ramones friend and producer Daniel Rey. Even Marky Ramone is supposed to make an appearance. Tickets are $50.

Posted by Glenn at 8:30 PM | Link
|New York City|

Make space in your hectic social calendars for Thursday, October 14th. Early evening. Coolfer is lazily organizing a get-together for all music bloggers (and whoever else wants to come, everybody's invited) who will be in town during CMJ. I'd call it something like "Music Blogger Conference - Fall 2004" but it's just going to be an excuse to see friends, make new friends and throw down a few before heading off to Thursday night's shows.

I've already got verbal confirmations from a few of you. If you think you can make it, send me an email or reply in the comments section. Maybe in the future we can geek out and have it at the Apple Store in SoHo, though I'm not sure about their open container policy.

Details will be hammered out soon. If you've got a bar you'd like to nominate, let me know.

Posted by Glenn at 2:08 PM | Link | Comment (2)
|New York City|

More things to do in NYC. Sorry if I missed anything.

* = very recommended. ** = super hott

** Thurday, September 9th, Franz Ferdinand at Roseland Ballroom
* Thurday, September 9th, The Future Heads/The Roger Sisters with Franz Ferdinand DJ set at Rothko
- Friday, September 10th, The Natural History/Fort Ancient at Office Ops
- Friday, September 10th, Hopewell/Blue Sparks at Sin-e
- Friday, September 10th, To Live and Shave in LA at Northsix
- Friday, September 10th, Scissor Sisters at Irving Plaza
- Friday, September 10th, Laika and the Cosmonauts at Pianos
- Saturday, September 11th, Nektar/Caravan at BB King's
- Saturday, September 11th, Jesse Malin at the Bowery Ballroom
* Saturday, September 11th, Secret Machines/Bishop Allen at Rothko
- Saturday, September 11th, Marah at Sin-e
- Monday, Septemeber 13th, Nebula at Northsix
- Monday, Septemeber 13th, Sahara Hotnights at Southpaw
- Tuesday, September 14th, Snow Patrol at Irving Plaza
** Tuesday, September 14th, M83/Ulrich Schnauss at the Bowery Ballroom
- Tuesday, September 14th, Joseph Arthur at Pianos
- Wednesday, September 15th, Tommy Stinson at the Mercury Lounge
- Wednesday, September 15th, Bigger Lovesr at Sin-e
* Wednesday, September 15th, Elkland at Pianos
* Thursday, September 16th, The Thrills at Irving Plaza
- Friday, September 17th, Madison Strays at Rothko
- Friday, September 17th, Drive By Truckers at Irving Plaza
- Friday, September 17th, The Headset at Sin-e
- Saturday, September 18th, Film School/Burnside Project at Rothko

Continue reading "NYC Concert Calendar: Kiss You Paycheck Goodbye" »

Posted by Glenn at 11:16 PM | Link | Comment (2)
|New York City|

Jen of Gothamist Arts & Events has a few tips for tonight. Listening parties abound, as they usually do during the summer.

I posted my weekly music picks over at Gothamist. No need to repost or retype, just check the link.

Posted by Glenn at 2:39 PM | Link
|New York City|

* = Hott Stuff

- Tuesday, August 17th, Oxford Collapse/Robbers on High Street/Sam Champion at the Mercury Lounge
* Wednesday, August 18th, Elkland/Dub Trio/Blonde Buddha at Pianos
- Thrusday, August 19th, Sufjan Stevens at the Mercury Lounge
* Thrusday, August 19th, Guided by Voices at Pier 54
- Friday, August 20th, Sufjan Stevens at the Mercury Lounge
- Friday, August 20th, Shade/Inevitable Breakups/Aerovox at Pianos
- Friday, August 20th, Stiff Little Fingers at Irving Plaza
* Saturday, August 21st, Sea Ray/The Everyones/Mobius Band at the Mercury Lounge
- Saturday, August 21st, Via Satellite/The Big Sleep at Sin-e
- Saturday, August 21st, Living Things/Headset at Rothko
- Saturday, August 21st, the Mooney Suzuki at Northsix
- Saturday, August 21st, Clogs/Eric Friedlander at Joe's Pub
- Saturday, August 21st, African Brothers Band at Satella
- Saturday, August 21st, Sons of Sound at Pianos
- Sunday, August 22nd, Golden Smog at the Bowery Ballroom
- Monday, August 23rd, Golden Smog at the Bowery Ballroom
- Monday, August 23rd, Ozomotli/Kinky at BB King's
- Tuesday, August 24th, Brant Bjork/Bad Wizard at Southpaw
- Tuesday, August 24th, The Polyphonic Spree at Irving Plaza
- Tuesday, August 24th, Shy Child at Sin-e
- Wednesday, August 25th, The Polyphonic Spree at Irving Plaza
- Wednesday, August 25th, Vincent Gallo & Sean Lennon at Rothko (two shows)
- Wednesday, August 25th, Madison/Blizzard of 78 at Sin-e
- Thursday, August 26th, Craig Wedren at the Living Room
* Friday, August 27th, Bad Wizard/The Witnesses at Rothko
* Saturday, August 28th, The Bravery/NYCSMOKE at the Mercury Lounge
- Saturday, August 28th, Sam Jayne/Azita at Tonic
- Saturday, August 28th, My Favorite at Sin-e
- Sunday, August 29th, The Epochs at Rothko
- Monday, August 30th, OK Go/The Quick at the Knitting Factory
* Monday, August 30th, Worm Is Green at Pianos
- Tuesday, August 31st, The Wrens/The Hold Steady at the Bowery Ballroom
- Tuesday, August 31st, Soma at Sin-e

Continue reading "So Many Bands, So Few Barstools" »

Posted by Glenn at 12:22 PM | Link
|New York City|

Those of you in NYC may want to stop by Other Music this Saturday for their sidewalk sale. It goes from 1:00pm to 6:00pm, weather permitting.

From OM: "Other Music recently acquired a couple great collections of vinyl LPs that we literally don't have room for in the store. So this Saturday we're throwing a Sidewalk Sale featuring a fantastic, diverse selection of rock, electronic and hip hop LPs and 12-inches, a majority of which have never made it to the sales floor. Don't miss it!"

Posted by Glenn at 5:48 PM | Link
|New York City|

- Monday, August 2nd, Adem/Sons and Daughters at Joe's Pub
- Tuesday, August 3rd, Baby/Morningwood/Dogs Die In Hot Cars at the Mercury Lounge
- Tuesday, August 3rd, Adem/Sons and Daughters at Northsix
- Wednesday, August 4th, Rilo Kiley/Matthew Caws at the Knitting Factory
- Wednesday, August 4th, Dogs Die In Hot Cars/Morning Theft at Rothko
- Thursday, August 5th, Rachel Loshak at the Living Room
- Thursday, August 5th, the Minders at Northsix
- Thursday, August 5th, Beulah at Castle Clinton National Monument
- Friday, August 6th, Walking Concert at the Mercury Lounge
- Saturday, August 7th, African Festival at Prospect Park Bandshell
- Saturday, August 7th, David Garza at the Mercury Lounge
- Saturday, August 7th, Xiu Xiu/On!Air!Library! at the Knitting Factory
- Saturday, August 7th, Dirty on Purpose/The Everyones at Rothko
- Saturday, August 7th, Tres Chicas at Joe's Pub
- Saturday, August 7th, Ova Looven/Vietnam at Northsix
- Sunday, August 8th, Kinski/Ueh at the Knitting Factory
- Sunday, August 8th, Modest Mouse at the Hammerstein Ballroom
- Monday, August 9th, Modest Mouse at the Hammerstein Ballroom
- Tuesday, August 10th, Lucinda Williams at Summerstage
- Tuesday, August 10th, Ill Ease at Sin-e
- Thursday, August 12th, Either Orchestra at Satella
- Friday, August 13th, Tanya Donnelly and Rachel Goswell at Joe's Pub
- Saturday, August 14th, Matt Pond PA at Northsix
- Sunday, August 15th, Nas at Summerstage
- Sunday, August 15th, Dr. Demento Show at BB King's
- Tuesday, August 17th, Oxford Collapse/Robbers on High Street/Sam Champion at the Mercury Lounge
- Wednesday, August 18th, Elkland/Dub Trio/Blonde Buddha at Pianos
- Thrusday, August 19th, Sufjan Stevens at the Mercury Lounge
- Friday, August 20th, Sufjan Stevens at the Mercury Lounge
- Friday, August 20th, Shade/Inevitable Breakups/Aerovox at Pianos
- Friday, August 20th, Stiff Little Fingers at Irving Plaza

Continue reading "It's Only Money, So Just Spend It" »

Posted by Glenn at 11:06 AM | Link | Comment (1)
|New York City|

I'm sorry to say that the current state of Pixies overload prevents me from mentioning that the band announced a truckload of North American tour dates and New York City is not on the list. Hey, Pixies, if I can't get there on my subway pass, I'm not going. Camden, New Jersey? Two shows? What, are you opening for Bon Jovi or something?

Posted by Glenn at 3:15 PM | Link | Comment (2)
|New York City|

Billboard has the lowdown on the Little Steven's International Underground Garage Festival that will be held at NYC's Randall's Island on August 14th. For a mere $20 ($25 the day of the show) you get Iggy and the Stooges, the Strokes, the New York Dolls, Bo Diddley, Raveonettes, the Pretty Things, the Mooney Suzuki, the Romantics, the Chesterfield Kings, the Fuzztones, The Shazam, the Electric Prunes, the Contrast, Cocktail Strippers, the High Dials, the Chains, Flaming Sideburns and more.

Watch and learn, Lollapalooza. First of all, it's on a weekend. Second, $20 is a bargain. Third, if you're gonna have a bunch of old guys on stage it needs to be a special event--and a reunited New York Dolls is a damn special event. Fourth, I'll bet they charge less for a bottle of water than the concession stands at Lollapalooza. Fifth, this kind of rock is better on a big festival stage. That Lollapalooza line-up should have been squeezed into a large indoor theater.

Tickets are on sale now.

Posted by Glenn at 2:08 PM | Link
|New York City|

I got soaked during Ted Leo's abbreviated set at the South Street Seaport on Friday night. Damn that rain!

Great show, though. Ted rocked, as always. The Real Janelle wrote about it for Gothamist Arts. Have you ever seen such beautiful blogging? "Brooklyn Heights continued to disappear in the background, fading further into the misty slate twilight as the storm grew stronger."

Oh, and I listened to the new Nick Drake collection, Made To Love Magic, on Rhapsody. Good stuff, but it's really an album for the Nick Drake completists out there. There's nothing earth-shaking on it, and I'd stick to his studio albums over this any ol' day of the week.

Posted by Glenn at 10:55 AM | Link | Comment (2)
|New York City|

Most evenings Coolfer feels like a typically jaded New Yorker, one of those hard-to-impress industry types who goes to so many shows it's honestly hard to get excited about many of them any more. By the time I got to the Bowery Ballroom last night, it was the same ritual as always: get in the door, get a drink, watch some of the opening band, go back downstairs to the bar, tell my friend that I'm to the point where I can't stand through two bands in one night and often walk out early on some great performances.

But when I ran into a friend from Warp Records, I started to feel a bit of anticipation. What brings you here? I asked. Gotta see the best live band in town, he replied.

This could be heatedly debated from the Lower East Side to Williamsburg, but I'd have to agree with him. !!! is the best live band in New York City. Last night, they put on a show for the ages at the Bowery Ballroom and nary a person was the slightest bit sorry about not being at Volume to rub shoulders with celebs and hipsters alike at the Franz Ferdinand show. For as great as Franz Ferdinand is--and Coolfer thinks they're an great live band with incredible songs--their live show is rudimentary in comparison.

Midway through the encore-less set, as the crowd has grooving with such might that the floor at the Bowery was starting to show some bend and spring, right around the time they dropped "Me and Guiliani Down By The Schoolyard (A True Story)" and the funk/post-punk jam was in full tilt, I realized the greatness of the moment: !!! are teaching the indie kids to dance again. Of course, I'm ripping that off from the great MP3 blog of the same name, but the point is that !!! had taken a room full of self-aware head bobbers and transformed them into dancing, shaking, jumping and damn well near-cartwheeling celebrants of indie rock's latest great band.

And that live show, I'll tell you...it's been fine-tuned to the point where the songs flow one into another like a DJ mixes records. Not to be confused with a jam band, !!! do however jam very well, in an improvisational way that allows each member a bit of freedom to experiment within the safe confines of the steady, beefy rhythm. No !!! show is the same because they don't play be sheet music; while the songs are tight and focused, they are winging it all the same. It's a thing of beauty. And as great as they are on record, !!! is best experienced live.

Yeah, it was a lot of fun. Not at all sorry I skipped Franz.

If you live in one of these towns, you know what to do:

Sat Jun 19 - Baltimore, MD @ The Otto Bar (w/White Magic)
Sun Jun 20 - Wash DC @ The Black Cat (w/White Magic)
Tue Jun 22 - Louisville, KY @ Uncle Pleasants
Wed Jun 23 - Detroit, MI @ The Magic Stick
Thu Jun 24 - Bloomington, IN @ The Blue Bird
Fri Jun 25 - St Louis, MO @ Creepy Crawl
Sat Jun 26 - Columbia, MO @ Mojo's
Sun Jun 27 - Milwaukee, WI @ Mad Planet
Mon Jun 28 - Minneapolis, MN @ The Triple Rock
Tue Jun 29 - Chicago, IL @ Logan Square Auditorium

P.S. If you want to Google !!!, just type in "chk chk chk."

Posted by Glenn at 1:39 PM | Link | Comment (6)
|New York City|

As always, NYC is a playground for a music lover.

- Tonight, !!! plays the Bowery Ballroom. Hot.
- Also tonight, The Subdudes play a free show at the Propsect Park bandshell for Celebrate Brooklyn!
- Tomorrow, Dirty On Purpose plays the Mercury Lounge. Hott.
- Also tomorrow, Image Node is hosting Better Living Through Technology at 88 Front St in DUMBO. DJs Spinoza and Klevervice are among those who will man the decks. There'll be video and art installations, per usual. It'll cost $5 if you're in a costume (choose your theme) or $8 in civilian garb.
- The Wrens hit the Bowery Ballroom on Saturday, with Robbers on High Street and Jem.
- Saturday evening, Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Vusi Mahlesela play a free show (well, it's a $3 suggested donation) at the Prospect Park bandshell.
- Sunday, Bigger Lovers and Grand Champion hit Sin-E. If ya love power pop, go see these bands.

And I'm sure I missed a lot of stuff, but those are the major items for the weekend.

Posted by Glenn at 12:04 PM | Link | Comment (3)
|New York City|

The next week has a few good things going on. I'll try to hit all four.

- Rachel Loshak plays at the Living Room tomorrow. Her set begins at 9pm.

- Funkstorung, D'atachi and Team Shadetek at Rothko on Friday.

- Calla, Dead Meadow, The Brian Jonestown Massacre (with Sune Wagner of the Raveonettes, Jason Anchondo of the Warlocks and a full African drum troupe) and Vietnam at the Shout! Seventh Anniversary part at the Bowery Ballroom this Saturday. Doors at 8pm. $15.

- The High Strung (Pictured...Coolfer loves the High Strung) is playing with The Apes and Weird War at the Mercury on Saturday. The High Strung are "supposed" to go on at 9:30pm.

Posted by Glenn at 1:11 PM | Link
|New York City|

As if not getting a ticket to PJ Harvey's performance at NYC's intimate Knitting Factory wasn't bad enough, this morning I read a review at Billboard.com. Two encores, 22 songs in all. She actually threw in the song "There Will Never Be a Better Time" from last year's Desert Sessions Vol. 9 & 10.

Did any readers attend? What did you think?

By the way, could PJ's new album cover be a more unflattering photo? Memo to PJ's photographer: Let her get more than two hours sleep before insisting on a photo shoot.

Posted by Glenn at 11:23 AM | Link | Comment (6)
|New York City|

Coolfer headed over the Summerstage.org to check out the schedule of events for Central Park's Summerstage. Lots of good things on tap. Among the free concerts are:

June 18th: Newport Jazz Festival
July 1st: Women of Africa featuring Souad Massi and Maria de Barros
July 31st: Iceland Naturally
August 4th: Omar Faruk Tekbelik & Ensemble
August 1st: Papo Lucca y La Sonora Poncena w/Bio Ritmo

To donate, go to Summerstage's Become a Member page. Donations are tax-deductable and will help support free performances at Central Park.

If you'd like to be a Summerstage volunteer, go to the Volunteer! page at the Summerstage website. They're always in need of people to solicit donations, distribute brochures and do crowd control.

Posted by Glenn at 10:14 AM | Link | Comment (2)
|New York City|

For the Clear Channel-weary, Internet radio is an oasis of freestyle programming and unheard voices. Today's NY Times has an article on WPS1.org, the new Internet radio station of New York's PS1 Contemporary Arts Center. (According to the article, Bloomberg L.P. gave the station a three-year grant of just under $1 million.) Producer Elliot Sharp is the Curator of Contemporary Music.

Said program director Linda Yablonsky, "It's like a bunch of artists and musicians and writers took over a media outlet."

Listen in at 5pm today for "Collector's Forum," in which host Althea Viafora-Kress talks to Ben Heller about "what's it like to live with a Pollock and a Rothko or two." Then at 7pm, "Sonorama" features the music of the Indonesia island of Roti.

Better yet, tune in at 10pm for "The Larry Rivers Memorial Music Hour" and an exclusive preview of Sonic Youth's upcoming album, Sonic Nurse.

Posted by Glenn at 9:41 AM | Link
|New York City|

Coolfer tends to hang out at a lot of music venues, and the other night I was at a concert and was thinking to myself, "Y'know, this really is one of my favorite places to see a show." So the obvious next step is to post about my favorite venues, because everybody loves a "best of" list. Here are my favorites. (I'm not going to list the bottom of the order. No need to kick them while they're down.)

Best Venue? Bowery Ballroom (above left). There are many things I like about the Bowery. The room is intimate but large enough to let the music breathe. The sound is almost always excellent. There are three bars, they've got seating upstairs (if you can get it) and the employees are the friendliest in town. And just the fact that a janitor visits the restrooms on a regular basis is worth a few points.

Other venues at the top of my list:

Continue reading "Best NYC Music Venues" »

Posted by Glenn at 8:02 AM | Link | Comment (7)
|New York City|

Yesterday's NY Times covered the new Frederick P. Rose Hall, which will be the new home to Jazz at Lincoln Center. It is the world's first performance center built for jazz, according to the always astute Jon Pareles. (Though designed for jazz, it will also host opera, dance, theater, film and just about everything but snotty emo bands.)

Built for a tidy $128 million in the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle, Rose Hall will actually include three halls: a concert hall which seats 1,100 to 1,231; a ballroom-cabaret (the 310- to 550-seat Allen Room); and a smaller club (the 140-seat Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola) that will host nightly shows. It is structurally unique in comparison to other venues in the city. Rose Hall is "acoustically isolated from the rest of the Time Warner Center" with the help of steel assemblies, neoprene padding and insulated doorways and conduits. (If only my apartment was that quiet...)

At the Jazz at Lincoln Center website you can look at floor plans, a profile of architectural firm Rafael Viñoly Architects, architectural renderings, and information on how to name a seat (it'll set you back from $1,000 to $25,000).

For those of you on a tighter budget, you can get a seat for considerably less at Small's, the Village Vanguard, Birdland or any of the city's other legendary jazz clubs.

For the Coolest Vibes: Accentuate Acoustics, Eliminate City Noise at the NY Times

Posted by Glenn at 10:02 PM | Link | Comment (1)
|New York City|

Coolfer would like to throw in a plug for Brooklyn's The Silent League and their show at the Mercury Lounge Wednesday night. It's an early show. They hit the stage at 8:30pm, though at the Mercury you never know exactly when a band will go on.

Fans of Mercury Rev and Sea Ray (and to some extent Grandaddy) take note. You'll dig these cats. It's not a big coincidence they remind of Mercury Rev. Singer Justin Russo was the keyboardist for Mercury Rev's tours in support of their last two albums, Deserter's Songs and All Is Dream.

Go to the Silent League's MP3 download page and give a listen to the clips.

Posted by Glenn at 3:54 PM | Link | Comment (1)
|New York City|

The date is finally set. FOC Cory sent me a list of just-announced Pixies date. They'll be here, playing at Randall's Island, on August 17th with the Lollapalooza tour.

Pixies official site
ILovePixies.com
Lollapalooza home

Posted by Glenn at 1:50 PM | Link
|New York City|

Coolfer recommended ways to pass time this weekend, if you care and if you're in NYC:

On Friday, Vice Magazine is having a party at Plaid. On the bill are Snowden (who goes on stage at 9pm sharp, I've been told), Tear Us Apart and This Blue Holiday. Coolfer has heard a few different reports on the cover. One band says it's free until 11pm, another says free until 10pm. One part that has seen no disagreement is the open bar, which runs from 9pm-10pm. How about this? Get there by 9pm and bring lots of singles. Simple enough. If you give a rat's behind about Primal Scream, Jesus and Mary Chain, the Stone Roses and/or Curve, get there to see Snowden.

On Saturday, more Snowden. This time they play at Pianos with Elkland (very catchy synth-rock), the Caulfield Sisters, Saint Joan and Matador's newest band, Seachange. I gave the Seachange album a good couple of listens and thought it was solid, but I have a feeling a live show will be the true measure.

Here are some related downloads:

Snowden's "Kill The Power"
Snowden's "Victim Card"
Snowden's "Time of the Season" (yeah, it's a cover and it's great)
Elkland's "Apart" (Rough Kids Mix)
Tear Us Apart's "Camera Shy"
Seachange's "News From Nowhere"
Seachange's "Glitterball"

Elsewhere...

- Ozomotli plays the Bowery Ballroom on Friday.
- The Lilys are at the Knitting Factory on Friday.
- Todd Deatherage Band is at Sin-e on Friday.
- Peaches hits Irving Plaza on Saturday.
- Opti-Grab plays the Mercury Lounge on Saturday.
- The Ravi Coltrane Quartet hits Tonic on Saturday.

Posted by Glenn at 4:53 AM | Link
|New York City|

The Pixies announced some more US tour dates, and the closest show to NYC is Camden, NJ, which might as well be UC Davis as far as I'm concerned. Coolfer is not going to hop in a car or on a train to see a Pixies show. If I lived in, say, Ames, Iowa, then I would suck it up and make the drive because if I lived in Ames I'd get what I deserved. But I live in NYC, not Ames, and if this transplant may for one second borrow some of New Yorkers' ego and conceit...NYC shouldn't have to go to the Pixies, the Pixies should come to NYC!

Yes, it's conceited to say such a thing. Maybe it's jealousy speaking. Tacoma got a show. Eugene got a show. Davis got a show. So how about booking a show in the entertainment capital of the country? (Sorry, Branson, Missouri!)

So when the show is booked (assuming, yes I'm assuming), what will be the venue? Will they have a residency at the Apollo? Will they book a few shows at Roseland or the Hammerstein? The Garden? Jones Beach? (Better not.)

Sept. 4: Bend, Ore. (Les Schwab Amphitheatre)
Sept. 6: Seattle (Bumbershoot Festival)
Sept. 18: Austin, Texas (Austin City Limits)
Sept. 20: Phoenix (Mesa Amphitheatre)
Sept. 24-25: Berkeley, Calif. (Greek Theatre)
Sept. 30: Denver (Magness Arena)
Oct. 8: Tampa, Fla. (USF Sundome)
Oct. 14: Atlanta (Fox Theatre)
Oct. 16: New Orleans (Voodoo Music Festival)
Oct. 17: Houston (Reliant Arena)
Oct. 19: Dallas (Next Stage)
Nov. 10-11: Minneapolis (Wilkins Auditorium)
Nov. 13-16: Chicago (Aragon Ballroom)
Nov. 20: Detroit (State Theatre)
Nov. 24-25: Toronto (Arrow Hall)
Nov. 26: Montreal (CEPSUM Arena)
Dec. 4: Camden, N.J. (Tweeter Center)

Pixies Bolster North American Tour Plans at Billboard.com
I Love Pixies website

Posted by Glenn at 11:09 AM | Link | Comment (16)
|New York City|

Coolfer got an email from the Downtown NYC River to River Festival 2004 folks with a few words about this summer's upcoming events. The website doesn't have specifics, but the email listed the following artists as performers at free shows during the summer of 2004: Lyle Lovett, The Neville Brothers, Roy Hargrove, Luciana Souza, the Stills and Dan Bern.

Posted by Glenn at 12:53 AM | Link
|New York City|

It's a warm spring day here in NYC, so everybody's wearing T-shirts. Finally. This morning I saw a guy wearing a "Kiss My Bass" T-shirt on 29th Street. It looked a lot like this one.

That's all. Just wanted to share that with you. And now back to our regularly scheduled Coolfer programming...

Posted by Glenn at 8:20 PM | Link | Comment (1)
|New York City|

For those of you in NYC, go check out Fiend of a Fiend at Trash (formerly Luxx) in Williamsburg. FOC John (formerly of Czech) is the frontman/singer/screamer, and he'll surely work himself into a shirtless and sweaty frenzy.

Need any incentive? Open bar (PBR and well drinks, I'm told) from 9pm to 10pm. Fiend goes on at 10pm. Kings/Mavericks game tips off at roughly 10:30pm.

Download "Flop" by Fiend of a Fiend.

Posted by Glenn at 12:30 PM | Link
|New York City|

April 19th, J-Live, Mercury Lounge
April 19th, Quannum World Tour, Irving Plaza
April 21st, Tortoise, Bowery Ballroom
April 22nd, Tortoise, Bowery Ballroom
April 22nd, The Push Stars, Mercury Lounge
April 22nd, French Kicks, Northsix
April 23rd, The Muffs, Southpaw
April 23rd, Deerhoof, Northsix
April 23rd, The Winter Pageant/Elf Power, Mercury Lounge
April 24th, Guided By Voices/Sea Change, Bowery Ballroom
April 24th, Einsturzende Neubauten, Irving Plaza
April 24th, Moonraker, Sin-e
April 26th, Sleater-Kinney, Irving Plaza
April 26th, Cake, Bowery Ballroom
April 27th, Sleater-Kinney, Irving Plaza
April 27th, Apples In Stereo, Northsix
April 27th, Cursive, Bowery Ballroom
April 27th, The Affair, Sin-e
April 28th, Coastal Drag, Pianos
April 28th, Cursive, Bowery Ballroom
April 29th, Cursive, Bowery Ballroom
April 28th, Squarepusher, Irving Plaza
April 28th, Sebadoh, Northsix
April 29th, Radio Mundial, SOB's
April 29th, Manta Ray, Tonic
April 30th, Ozomotli, Bowery Ballroom
April 30th, The Lilys, Knitting Factory
April 30th, Snowden, Plaid
May 1st, Elkland/Sea Change/Snowden, Pianos
May 6th, The Raveonettes, Bowery Ballroom
May 6th, Tesla, Irving Plaza
May 7th, Fountains of Wayne, Roseland Ballroom
May 7th, Sloan, Bowery Ballroom
May 7th, Japanther, Tonic
May 8th, Sloan, Bowery Ballroom
May 8th, Clinic, Southpaw
May 8th, Holger Czukay, Knitting Factory
May 9th, The Cardigans, Southpaw
May 10th, The Cardigans, Bowery Ballroom
May 10th, Sondre Lerche, Irving Plaza
May 10th, Japanther, Southpaw
May 11th, Califone, Mercury Lounge
May 11th, Cat Power (solo)/Har Mar Superstar/Chavez/J Mascis, Bowery Ballroom
May 12th, The Witnesses/The Hiss, Mercury Lounge
May 13th, RJD2/Diverse/Automato, Bowery Ballroom
May 13th, MF Doom, Knitting Factory
May 13th, Radio 4, Southpaw
May 14th, Trans Am, Bowery Ballroom
May 14th, Madlib, Peanut Butter Wolf, Southpaw
May 15th, Shannon Wright/Thalia Zetak, Mercury Lounge
May 16th, Neko Case, Bowery Ballroom
May 16th, Shannon Wright/Thalia Zetak, Southpaw
May 17th, Mooney Suzuki, Bowery Ballroom
May 19th, Joey Ramone's Birthday Party, Irving Plaza
May 21st, The Fever/ARE Weapons, Bowery Ballroom
May 22nd, Scissor Sisters/Telefon Tel Aviv, Bowery Ballroom
May 22nd, His Name Is Alive, Northsix
May 22nd, Asian Rock Fest, Pianos
May 25th, The Thrills, Irving Plaza
May 28th, Rev. Horton Heat, Bowery Ballroom
May 29th, Rev. Horton Heat, Bowery Ballroom
June 1st, My Morning Jacket/M. Ward, Irving Plaza
June 2nd, My Morning Jacket/M. Ward, Irving Plaza
June 2nd, The Fire Theft, Bowery Ballroom
June 3rd, Hella, Knitting Factory
June 3rd, Antibalas, Bowery Ballroom
June 3rd, Beulah, Northsix
June 4th, Beulah, Bowery Ballroom
June 4th, The Catheters, Knitting Factory
June 5th, Antibalas, Bowery Ballroom
June 9th, John Doe/Grant Lee Phillips, Northsix
June 19th, Acid Mother Temple, Southpaw
June 10th, The Decemberists, Bowery Ballroom
June 11th, The Decemberists, Bowery Ballroom
June 20th, Pedro The Lion/John Vanderslice, Northsix
July 12th, Gillian Welch, Southpaw
July 25th, mum, Bowery Ballroom
July 26th, mum, Bowery Ballroom

Posted by Glenn at 10:41 PM | Link | Comment (1)
|New York City|

So Coolfer was at the Village Voice website checking to see if any bands had been announced for the 2004 Siren Music Festival at Coney Island (there have not) when I ran across this picture of last year's crowd. Sorry to obsess about a topic that was been pleasantly quiet lately, but I was pretty amazed there weren't more trucker hats. Judging from this picture it looks like most people would rather get a red, sunburned nose than wear any hat at all. There are four truckers right up front, in plain sight. Further back it's hard to tell, and I had to do my best to determine which were fitted caps and which were trucker hats. In total, I found 11. Overall it looks like a fairly trucker hat-free Saturday afternoon. Let's hope this year's event has less than 11.

The 2004 Siren Fest is on Saturday, July 17th.

Posted by Glenn at 6:02 PM | Link
|New York City|

Coolfer needs to get in the habbit of buying tickets in advance. I strolled over to Southpaw last night to see Sufjan Stevens and John Vanderslice, and OK I didn't exactly get there early, but the show was sold out when I got there. Looks like Southpaw is drawing a lot more people lately. Last year I saw a lot of shows that were sparsely attended. Shows are often packed these days.

I already bought a ticket to see Clinic at Southpaw. Yes, for once I'm thinking ahead.

Posted by Glenn at 3:46 PM | Link | Comment (1)
|New York City|

April 4th, John Vanderslice w/Sufjan Stevens, Southpaw
April 5th, The Posies, Northsix
April 5th, Eagles of Death Metal, Mercury Lounge
April 6th, Death Cab For Cutie, Irving Plaza
April 7th, Death Cab For Cutie, Irving Plaza
April 7th, Jason Collett, The Living Room
April 8th, Death Cab For Cutie, Irving Plaza
April 8th, Pernice Brothers w/Lambchop, Bowery Ballroom
April 8th, Sea Ray, Northsix
April 8th, TV on the Radio, Mercury Lounge
April 8th, The Fall, Knitting Factory
April 9th, Lambchop w/Pernice Brothers, Bowery Ballroom
April 9th, The Fall, Knitting Factory
April 9th, TV on the Radio, Mercury Lounge
April 9th, The Long Winters, Northsix
April 9th, Sam Champion, Luna Lounge
April 9th, Inouk/On!Air!Library!/The Occasion/Calla, Sin-e
April 10th, 16 Horsepower w/The National, Bowery Ballroom
April 10th, Black Lips, Sin-e
April 11th, Undercity Farewell Party w/Andreas Tilliander, Steve Stoll
April 12th, The Unicorns, Knitting Factory
April 12th, Brenden Benson, Southpaw
April 12th, Blonde Redhead, Bowery Ballroom
April 13th, Blonde Redhead, Bowery Ballroom
April 13th, Air, Hammerstein Ballroom
April 13th, Brenden Benson, Mercury Lounge
April 14th, Brenden Benson, Mercury Lounge
April 14th, The Unicorns, Southpaw
April 15th, Valley of the Giants, Mercury Lounge
April 15th, Tobin Sprout, Southpaw
April 15th, Antibalas, SOB's
April 15th, Stereolab/Clearlake, Irving Plaza

Continue reading "Upcoming Shows, Or More Ways To Spend The Cash" »

Posted by Glenn at 11:46 AM | Link | Comment (3)
|New York City|

Last night Coolfer and some visiting friends saw Stars play at Joe's Pub. They put on a great show, better then usual, actually, because of the addition of a guest saxophone player. And it's always nice to eat dinner, have some drinks and watch a show at Joe's Pub.

Frontman Torquil Campbell, who had some tequilla between the early and late shows, went on a brief political speech near the end of the set. Now, keep in mind that Stars is a group of really nice people who write pop songs about love and relationships, for the most part, so a political rant is going to be pretty tame. It's not going to sound anything like Zach de la Rocha belting out a diatribe. Anyway, it ended with the question to the audience, "How can you let a yutz from Texas rule your lives like this?" Coolfer's friend Gerry leaned over and said, "Man, that guy better lay off Roger Clemens."

Posted by Glenn at 6:18 PM | Link | Comment (2)
|New York City|

Coolfer would like to plug two great items dealing with NYC electronic music.

First is DJ Spinoza's Beyond Events Calendar that is emailed once a week. This is a fantastic resource that lists upcoming electronic events, mostly the small club and underground stuff (not the bridge and tunnel kind of electronic events, don't worry). To subscribe, send an email to nyc_electronic_events_calendar-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

Second is something for all you bedroom producers, Share at Openair in the East Village every Sunday from 5pm to 1am. It's a laptop jam session, basically, an open forum for the exchange of ideas and art (both audio and visual). Go check it out and talk to some people. It's interesting even if you're not into programming electronic music. If you are into that kind of thing, this is the place to be.

Posted by Glenn at 12:43 PM | Link
|New York City|

Tickets on sale this week:

Franz Ferdinand plays Webster Hall on June 17th. Ticket go on sale Friday at 11:00am. This will probably sell out pretty quickly, so don't dawdle. Coolfer may have to skip this one. Webster Hall is too snooty, and I hate paying $11 (or whatever it is there) for a drink at a rock concert and getting attitude from the bartender. One or the other is almost acceptable. Almost.

Morrissey plays the Apollo Theatre on May 3rd, 4th, 6th, 7th and 8th. Tickets go on sale Saturday at noon. These will sell out in about three minutes.

Posted by Glenn at 12:03 AM | Link | Comment (6)
|New York City|

Clearlake: very good show at the Bowery.
Fiery Furnaces: rocked Northsix. Incredible show, though it seemed brief. Sorry, Matthew, I know guys don't like to hear this, but your sister roxx.
The High Strung: great show, lots of new songs.
The Witnesses: they're trying too hard.
Bad Wizard: utterly bombastic. Hello, tinitus.

Posted by Glenn at 9:15 AM | Link | Comment (2)
|New York City|

March 22nd, Baaba Maal, SOB's
March 23rd, Abdoulaye Diabate, Satalla
March 25th, Rachel Loshak, Pete's Candy Store
March 25th, Singapore Sling, Southpaw
March 25th, Television, Irving Plaza
March 26th, Television, Irving Plaza
March 26th, Marumari, Tonic
March 26th, Fiery Furnaces, Northsix
March 26th, The Decemberists/Clearlake, Bowery Ballroom
March 26th, The Wrens, Knitting Factory
March 27th, The Wrens, Knitting Factory
March 27th, Pretty Girls Make Graves, Northsix
March 27th, Bad Wizard w/The High Strung, Sin-E
March 28th, Preston School of Industry, Mercury Lounge
March 29th, Mink Lungs, Knitting Factory
March 29th, All Night Radio, Mercury Lounge
March 30th, Van Morrison, Irving Plaza
March 30th, American Music Club, Bowery Ballroom
March 31st, The Coastal Drag, Sine-E
March 31st, The Sleepy Jackson/On The Speakers (pictured...yes, that's Ian, ex-Creeper Lagoon), Mercury Lounge
March 31st, The Delgados, Bowery Ballroom
March 31st, Rapture w/BRMC, Roseland Ballroom
April 1st, The Sleepy Jackson/On The Speakers, Mercury Lounge
April 1st, The Walkmen, Irving Plaza
April 1st, Weird War, Northsix
April 2nd, Squarepusher, Southpaw
April 2nd, Damnwells, Sin-e
April 2nd, John Vanderslice w/Sufjan Stevens, Knitting Factory
April 3rd, My Favorite w/Pacific UV, Sine-E
April 3rd, Eagles of Death Metal, Northsix
April 4th, John Vanderslice w/Sufjan Stevens, Southpaw
April 5th, The Posies, Northsix
April 5th, Eagles of Death Metal, Mercury Lounge
April 6th, Death Cab For Cutie, Irving Plaza
April 7th, Death Cab For Cutie, Irving Plaza
April 8th, Death Cab For Cutie, Irving Plaza
April 8th, Pernice Brothers w/Lambchop, Bowery Ballroom
April 8th, Sea Ray, Northsix
April 8th, TV on the Radio, Mercury Lounge
April 8th, The Fall, Knitting Factory
April 9th, Lambchop w/Pernice Brothers, Bowery Ballroom
April 9th, The Fall, Knitting Factory
April 9th, TV on the Radio, Mercury Lounge
April 9th, The Long Winters, Northsix
April 10th, 16 Horsepower w/The National, Bowery Ballroom
April 12th, The Unicorns, Knitting Factory
April 12th, Brenden Benson, Southpaw
April 12th, Blonde Redhead, Bowery Ballroom
April 13th, Blonde Redhead, Bowery Ballroom
April 13th, Air, Hammerstein Ballroom
April 13th, Brenden Benson, Mercury Lounge
April 14th, Brenden Benson, Mercury Lounge
April 14th, The Unicorns, Southpaw
April 15th, Valley of the Giants, Mercury Lounge
April 15th, Tobin Sprout, Southpaw
April 15th, Stereolab, Irving Plaza
April 16th, Savath & Savalas, Bowery Ballroom
April 16th, Stereolab, Irving Plaza
April 17th, Stereolab, Irving Plaza
April 17th, Innocence Mission, Southpaw
April 18th, Stereolab, Irving Plaza
April 18th, Smog, Mercury Lounge
April 18th, Four Tet, Bowery Ballroom
April 18th, Snow Patrol (pictured), Bowery Ballroom
April 21st, Tortoise, Bowery Ballroom
April 22nd, Tortoise, Bowery Ballroom
April 22nd, French Kicks, Northsix
April 23rd, The Muffs, Southpaw
April 23rd, Deerhoof, Northsix
April 24th, Guided By Voices, Bowery Ballroom
April 24th, Einsturzende Neubauten, Irving Plaza
April 26th, Sleater-Kinney, Irving Plaza
April 27th, Sleater-Kinney, Irving Plaza
April 27th, Apples In Stereo, Northsix
April 27th, Cursive, Bowery Ballroom
April 28th, Cursive, Bowery Ballroom
April 29th, Cursive, Bowery Ballroom
April 28th, Squarepusher, Irving Plaza
April 28th, Sebadoh, Northsix
May 7th, Fountains of Wayne, Roseland Ballroom
May 8th, Clinic, Southpaw
May 9th, The Cardigans, Southpaw
May 10th, Sondre Lerche, Irving Plaza
May 19th, Joey Ramone's Birthday Party, Irving Plaza

Posted by Glenn at 1:06 PM | Link
|New York City|

Just recently Coolfer proclaimed that if NY Times wrote about it, the buzz was already over. In a near-instant rebuttal, the Times today has an article on the current scene and heavily features TV On The Radio.

OK, it's not like the ear is completely to the ground. Ben Sisario talks about the Walkman, too, who were buzzed about way back when, and namedrops the Stills and their debut album with the cornball phrase "gorgeously dreary." But big kudos to Sisario for getting the story before these bands are as long gone as the trucker hat. Now I will feel more comfortable flipping through the Arts section.

New New York Rockers Follow Their Gloom from the NY Times

Posted by Glenn at 10:59 AM | Link
|New York City|

For you New Yorkers (or those of you who will be in town next weekend), look into the Repellent Festival that runs from March 26th to 30th. Lots of stuff going on at venues like Volume, Trash, APT and Remote Lounge. Live/DJ sets by Electronicat, Donna Summer, Club le Bomb, A Touch of Class, Tes, Nitsuji & Ozawa and Umberto Gollini. And then you've got your art exhibits and video screenings. Can't have heady electronic music without an art installation of some kind, dig?

Repellent Festival home
Repellent Zine

Posted by Glenn at 11:08 AM | Link
|New York City|

What does New York City have that few other American cities have? A neverending, fatigue-inducing nightlife. Not only is it great for residents (unless you live above a noisy bar), but it's vital to the city's economy. A study for the New York Nightlife Association, conducted by Audience Research & Analysis, places the annual economic impact at $10 billion. That's a lot of $11 martinis, folks.

Now, if we could compile a list of these studies for cities around the country, I'm sure it would make for interesting comparisons. One could probably rate the quality of a city's nightlife purely on its economic impact. Los Angeles: $6 billion. Miami: $2 billion. Seattle: $1 billion. Sacramento: $645. Des Moines: $9.99. Or something like that.

City nightlife a $10 billion industry from Crain's New York Business (Via Earplug Magazine)
Audience Research & Analysis home

Posted by Glenn at 11:53 AM | Link
|New York City|

March 13th, British Sea Power, Bowery Ballroom
March 13th, Sharon Jones, Southpaw
March 13th, Helicopter Helicopter, Luna Lounge
March 13th, Superpitcher/Miss Kittin/Bogdan Raczynski/Michael Mayer, Volume
March 15th, Luomo, Sullivan Room
March 16th, Athlete, Mercury Lounge
March 17th, Brassy, Southpaw
March 18th, Brant Bjork w/Nick Oliveri, Southpaw
March 18th, Amon Tobin w/Kid Koala, Bonobo, Sixtoo, Irving Plaza
March 18th, Courtney Love, Bowery Ballroom
March 19th, Federico Aubele, APT
March 19th, Baby Dayliner, Mercury Lounge
March 19th, No Fun Fest 2004, Northsix
March 20th, No Fun Fest 2004, Northsix
March 21st, No Fun Fest 2004, Northsix
March 21st, Sun Kil Moon, Bowery Ballroom
March 21st, Baaba Maal, SOB's
March 22nd, Baaba Maal, SOB's
March 23rd, Abdoulaye Diabate, Satalla
March 25th, Rachel Loshak, Pete's Candy Store
March 25th, Singapore Sling, Southpaw
March 25th, Television, Irving Plaza
March 26th, Television, Irving Plaza
March 26th, Marumari, Tonic
March 26th, Fiery Furnaces (pictured), Northsix
March 26th, The Decemberists, Bowery Ballroom
March 27th, Bad Wizard w/The High Strung, Sin-E
March 28th, Preston School of Industry, Mercury Lounge
March 29th, Mink Lungs, Knitting Factory
March 29th, All Night Radio, Mercury Lounge
March 30th, Van Morrison, Irving Plaza
March 30th, American Music Club, Bowery Ballroom
March 31st, The Coastal Drag, Sine-E
March 31st, The Sleepy Jackson, Mercury Lounge
March 31st, The Delgados, Bowery Ballroom
March 31st, Rapture w/BRMC, Roseland Ballroom
April 1st, The Sleepy Jackson, Mercury Lounge
April 1st, The Walkmen, Irving Plaza
April 2nd, Squarepusher, Southpaw
April 2nd, Damnwells, Sin-e
April 2nd, John Vanderslice w/Sufjan Stevens, Knitting Factory
April 3rd, My Favorite w/Pacific UV, Sine-E
April 3rd, Eagles of Death Metal, Northsix
April 4th, John Vanderslice w/Sufjan Stevens, Southpaw
April 5th, The Posies, Northsix
April 5th, Eagles of Death Metal, Mercury Lounge
April 6th, Death Cab For Cutie, Irving Plaza
April 7th, Death Cab For Cutie, Irving Plaza
April 8th, Death Cab For Cutie, Irving Plaza
April 8th, Pernice Brothers w/Lambchop, Bowery Ballroom
April 8th, Sea Ray, Northsix
April 8th, TV on the Radio, Mercury Lounge
April 8th, The Fall, Knitting Factory
April 9th, Lambchop w/Pernice Brothers, Bowery Ballroom
April 9th, The Fall, Knitting Factory
April 9th, TV on the Radio, Mercury Lounge
April 9th, The Long Winters, Northsix
April 10th, 16 Horsepower (pictured) w/The National, Bowery Ballroom
April 12th, The Unicorns, Knitting Factory
April 12th, Blonde Redhead, Bowery Ballroom
April 13th, Blonde Redhead, Bowery Ballroom
April 13th, Air, Hammerstein Ballroom
April 14th, The Unicorns, Southpaw
April 15th, Valley of the Giants, Mercury Lounge
April 15th, NERD w/Black Eyed Peas (I'll skip this one), Roseland Ballroom
April 16th, Savath & Savalas, Bowery Ballroom
April 17th, Innocence Mission, Southpaw
April 18th, Stereolab, Irving Plaza
April 18th, Smog, Mercury Lounge
April 18th, Four Tet, Bowery Ballroom
April 18th, Snow Patrol, Bowery Ballroom
April 21st, Tortoise, Bowery Ballroom
April 22nd, Tortoise, Bowery Ballroom
April 22nd, French Kicks, Northsix
April 24th, Guided By Voices, Bowery Ballroom
April 24th, Einsturzende Neubauten, Irving Plaza
April 27th, Apples In Stereo, Northsix
April 28th, Squarepusher, Irving Plaza
April 28th, Sebadoh, Northsix
May 7th, Fountains of Wayne, Roseland Ballroom
May 8th, Clinic, Southpaw
May 10th, Sondre Lerche, Irving Plaza
May 19th, Joey Ramone's Birthday Party, Irving Plaza

Posted by Glenn at 11:00 AM | Link | Comment (9)
|New York City|

Coolfer is planning ahead, making sure nothing will get in the way of attending Sin-e's one year anniversary show on Saturday, March 27th. There will be so much beer, whiskey and rock and roll going on. Bad Wizard, one of the city's most explosive live bands, is going to get downright nasty, but not until The Witnesses and The High Strung (who made Coolfer's 2003 top ten; pictured above) level the place. Cheeseburger and Made out of Babies are also on the bill.

High Strung's "Wretched Boy" video at Boardsmag.com
Bad Wizard's "Loosen Up" in RA
The Witnesses' "Stop Pretending" MP3

Posted by Glenn at 8:49 AM | Link
|Music||New York City|

How can you gauge the buzz on a band in New York City? Coolfer thought about this while at a club last night and came up with a few simple tests. Basically, it all depends on the people you see and the size of the club.

- Not Much Buzz - If the band is doing a showcase at Arlene's Grocery or Sin-e and there are a lot of younger A&R reps hanging out in the back of the club, it doesn't mean anything. Showcases are a dime a dozen.

- Some Buzz - If one of those showcases is packed and the stage is surrounded by young women from the East Village and/or Williamsburg, there might be some buzz going on.

- Definite Buzz - You see any one of the Strokes pressing the flesh at the Mercury Lounge. Or somebody from Interpol. Those guys are always ahead of the curve.

- Lotsa Buzz - The venue is bigger--the Bowery Ballroom, maybe--and the younger A&R suits have been replaced by older label execs who watch with interest but never leave the bar.

- Namedropping Buzz - Celebrities feel comfortable showing up. You'll see Drew Barrymore rocking out or Moby's bald head in Irving Plaza's VIP section. The next day Gawker recaps the celeb sightings.

- The Buzz Is Over - By the time the NY Times writes about it, you can rest assured the buzz is old news.

Posted by Glenn at 12:34 PM | Link | Comment (8)
|Music||New York City|

Was anybody aware that the Strokes are selling branded panties on their website? If anybody has bought a pair, or knows of someone who did, please chime in so we can all laugh at you.

Coolfer can only assume the picture panties are for women only, but I fear the male, European, Speedo-wearing Strokes fan would feel pretty comfortable wearing these on the beaches of southern Spain.

The Strokes' Apparel Store

Posted by Glenn at 11:36 AM | Link | Comment (3)
|Music||New York City|

NYC dance club Sound Factory was busted in an early morning raid and charged with a five-count federal indictment. The club had been under surveillance for quite some time, and one authority said undercover officers had made 90 drugs purchases over a two-and-a-half year period. Among the charges is a new one for local clubs, one which uses a "stash house" law that is usually used against crack cocaine dens.

One particularly revealing article in the NY Times article was an assertion by authorities that on any given night, 70% of Sound Factory's clientele were on drugs. Well...yes. Have you been to these clubs stone cold sober?

Club's Owner and 2 Others Arrested in Raid from the NY Times
Drug Lair Club Busts from the NY Post
Redada agua fiesta en club from El Diaro
Sound Factory website

Posted by Glenn at 10:55 AM | Link
|New York City|

...I might be going to the Madagascar Institute's "The Best Idea Ever!" at Volume (99 North 13th Street, Williamsburg). Madagascar knows how to throw a good party. Live bands, a ton of DJs and incredible art installations...and this time in a legal space.

Madagascar home page

Posted by Glenn at 12:30 PM | Link
|New York City|

If you're in NYC, you have a few good choices for entertainment tonight:

Sea Ray plays Southpaw in Park Slope. They Brooklyn-based band play indie rock epics that unfold their layers slowly and gracefully. Download the song "Revelry" and give 'em a listen.

At the Continental you can check out a completely different brand of rock performed by one of New York's best live bands, Bad Wizard (pictured). Loud, fast, 70's-influenced boogie rock drenched in whiskey and cheap beer. They never, ever disappoint.

At Northsix, see GZA from Wu-Tang Clan. $20, though. Ouch.

At Avalon, Boy George headlines the Crash party. If you're not an Anglophile, you really have no reason being there...because you'd rather be dancing to Paul Van Dyk at the Roxy.

Posted by Glenn at 3:26 AM | Link
|Music||New York City|

"To me, all the draws that used to make New York interesting are rapidly evaporating," says Joseph GaNun of Academy Records & CD's on West 18th Street. "We are just becoming another big mall."

Today's NY Times covers the city's struggling music stores. Establishments like his, though, survive because they have carved out a niche that is less threatened by the digital world. He specializes in used classical vinyl.

Personally, Coolfer doesn't care if iTunes offered ten million songs. There's nothing like walking the aisles in a record store--especially one of California's Amoeba record stores (the San Francisco store, which used to be a bowling alley, is pictured to the right). Even in New York's space-starved stores like Other Music, shopping can be quite an experience.

Waiting for the Other Record to Drop from the NY Times

Posted by Glenn at 7:26 AM | Link
|Music||New York City|

This fills my weeky Strokes quota: they're playing Central Park's Summerstage on May 19th. Tickets go on sale this Friday at 10am.

Posted by Glenn at 7:23 AM | Link
|Music||New York City|

The hottest ticket in NYC tonight? Franz Ferdinand at the Bowery. This one sold out a while ago. If you can't get a ticket, they're also playing Maxwell's on Saturday.

Also, the Guardian covers Franz Ferdinand's sudden UK success in an odd way: an academic analysis of the band's lyrics. "The song...recreates that pregnant moment (almost instantly) as the Archduke, contemplating his dead wife and never-to-be-born child, prays for the assassin's bullet - Take me out."

Franz Ferdinand ticket query at Craigs List
Welcome to the School of Rock from the Guardian

Posted by Glenn at 6:53 AM | Link | Comment (2)
|New York City|

The Morning News covers the city's bohemian index, defines a bohemian, and points out that the derived formula is better for measuring bohemians than hipsters--for which a definition of sorts is given as well.

The most bohemian area? Morningside Heights. The least? Neighborhoods to the north of JFK.

The Bohemian Index, from the Morning News.
A graphic representation of the bohemian index.

Posted by Glenn at 1:44 PM | Link
|New York City|

The NY Times pays homage to a New York institution that recently shut its doors after a prolonged struggle with its landlord, NYU, which was demanding $185,000 in back rent and a 250% rent increase. The Bottom Line, which hosted some of music's finest, quietly shut its doors for the last time last Thursday after nearly 30 years in business.

John Pareles' article is a superb eulogy to the venue. "For a music lover the place always seemed too good to last," he wrote. "The Bottom Line was a grand anomaly among clubs: a place where the music came first. In the end, it seemed, its owners weren't greedy enough...It was, as billed from the start, a cabaret. During performances, conversations stopped, and waitresses became less than aggressive about pushing the next round of drinks. Last call came before the music was over. People went to the Bottom Line to see what was on the stage that night, and they left (or were sent home) shortly after the last encore. On nights when there was no show, the club was closed."

Posted by Glenn at 5:02 PM | Link
|New York City|

Brian Eno's Music For Film.

Posted by Glenn at 1:59 PM | Link | Comment (1)
|New York City|

Joey Ramone Place was unveiled yesterday, at Second Street and Bowery here in NYC. Joey Ramone's website has some info. The NY Post has a blurb.

Billboard reported the news a few weeks after the entire world found out about the plan for yesterday's ceremony. Gothamist covered it today and trumped Billboard by posting in a more timely fashion a few weeks ago.

NME has the best coverage of the ceremony.

Let's just get this out of the way now, since it's going to happen sooner than later: To the person who lifted the Joey Ramone Place sign, can you please take it off your bedroom wall and return it to the city of New York?

Posted by Glenn at 10:25 AM | Link
|New York City|

One of the worst parts of publishing is the use of puns in article titles. Editors simply have no decency. Time Out New York is among the most guilty--nearly every article has a pun title. The NY Post, which I have previously called the worst daily newspaper on the planet, has a handful of stupid puns every day. The more cerebral New York Times isn't so punny--I guess they won't stoop to the level of the Post. Billboard.com is terminally addicted to puns. Just about every sports page in the country is guilty, but then again sports writers never claimed to be creative.

Here are a few samples:

- "Hello, Nasty" - Time Out New York, October 16-23. The article is about the sleaze comeback in NYC. The Beastie Boys have an album called Hello Nasty. Clever, no? No. A related article is titled "Gettin' Icky With It."
- The New York Post loves bad puns. In the Nov. 26th issue, the sports page headline was "Spree Ya Tonight," which referred to the Minnesota Timberwolves (and former NY Knick Latrell Sprewell) coming to the Garden to play the Knicks. The article's title was "Spree-venge Game." Egads! "Here's a bad one: "Shucks! Oyster Bar Work Woes."
- Somebody should get fired for this one: Better Than Ezra!, in the Village Voice's books section.
- New York pubs aren't the only ones hell bent on bad puns. "Britney In Her 'Zone' Atop Billboard 200" -- Billboard.com, Nov. 26th. Britney's new album is called In The Zone. Get it? Brilliant. Another article, "Blink 182 Hops in the 'Van'" previews the band's DVD documentary titled Riding in Vans with Boys, which itself is a pun.

Posted by Glenn at 6:22 AM | Link
|New York City|

Seen this morning in Soho...iPod snipes (from the annoying neon phase of the ad campaign) that had been spray painted over with the following message: "iPod's non-replaceable battery lasts only 18 months." I especially liked the fact that somebody had gone through the trouble to create a stencil to spray a series of these messages over the dozens of posters that line the wall.

Who did it? Disgruntled iPod owner? Microsoft? Napter? A bored NYU student?

Posted by Glenn at 10:06 AM | Link | Comment (5)
|New York City|

After bitching that New York has too much to do on the average Saturday night (read it), Coolfer didn't even attend the anticipated Morr Music show at Luxx. Crap. That's another problem with New York. You don't always do what you planned on doing.

I can make ammends this coming weekend, with two shows at the club I'd rather never step foot in again, the Mercury Lounge. Saturday is the Fiery Furnaces and Franz Ferdinand (check the F alliteration...did they book all those F's on purpose, just to be clever?). Sunday is Los Halos.

Posted by Glenn at 10:46 AM | Link
|New York City|

No, not the mullets in Williamsburg, or the rent or the lack of decent Mexican food. It's a good problem, but one of NYC's problems is that there's just too much going on. This Saturday, the 15th, is a good example.

The Morr Music Tour stops by Luxx. The Brian Jonestown Massacre and the High Strung are playing the Mercury Lounge. Crooked Fingers (for all you Archers of Loaf fans) are at the Knitting Factory. Inti-Illumani plays Satella. King Crimson plays the Beacon Theater. Tara Jane O'Neil plays Northsix. Kyoto Jazz Massive spins at APT.

Coolfer's gonna hit the Morr Music show at Luxx.

Posted by Glenn at 12:50 PM | Link | Comment (1)
|New York City|

Joey Ramone, who died of lymphatic cancer in 2001, will get a street named after him in New York's Lower East Side, reports NME.com. A city council approved the motion two years ago, but now the corner will officially be named Joey Ramone Place on November 30th.

The street corner, 2nd Street and Bowery, is on the north end of the block that's home to CBGB. Hey, doesn't that corner have a gas station (that's under construction right now)? Have you ever had the chai and samosas at that place? Pretty solid. Coolfer's rule for snacking in NYC: go where the cab drivers go.

(Via Let The Good Times Roll)

Posted by Glenn at 10:05 AM | Link | Comment (2)
|Music||New York City|

This post is a little tardy, but I had to mention the New York Times article on the return of the big dance club to New York. In the coming months, five clubs are going to open in Chelsea, and two, Avalon and Club Deep, opened a few months ago. Said David Rabin, owner of Lotus and president of the New York Nightlife Association:

"I can't figure out how all these places are going to make money. New York has been hit so hard by unemployment, particularly in the finance and dot-com industries that drive trendy night life. If one or two were opening I'd think, `Well, yeah, maybe.' But this many at once is really puzzling."

We can all scratch out heads and wonder if the clubs will survive, and we can debate the merits of full-service dance clubs that will offer aromatherapy and massage (as Spirit plans to do), but there is no debate that some (if not all) of these places are going to be pretty heavy on the cheese. And I quote:

"A couple of blocks away, Club Deep, which caters mostly to a clientele from outside Manhattan, was gelling better. The two-level space with five V.I.P. areas was packed at 1 a.m. Young men in Von Dutch trucker hats and leather pants and young women in tight spandex tops inhaled cocktails and bobbed their blow-dried hair to Chingy's 'Right Thurr.'"

C'mon. Trucker hats were so two weeks ago. I suppose they may still be pretty hip in the Sixth Borough, though.

Posted by Glenn at 2:32 AM | Link
|New York City|

You know things are getting weird when Vice magazine stops showing boobs and asses just long enough to squeeze out two thought-provoking articles. One is an interview with Yale law professor Amy Chua called "I Wanna Riot." The other, "Unlimited Decisions," addresses the misconception that bands "are sacrificial lambs before the evil ogre of business (especially record labels)" and examines a few instances in which bands screwed over their former record labels.

"Why do people who make music get treated like they’re not spoiled brats who need their arses kicked?" asks the article. Indeed. Take Teenage Fanclub. The band was signed to Fire in the UK and Matador in the US, but they wanted to move to Creation and Geffen, respectively. Owing Matador one more record, they hastily put together a completely crappy album, The King, and handed it over to their labels in an act of contact fulfillment. Says a Matador insider:

"It really killed us that we got a bootleg DAT copy of Bandwagonesque at the same time as The King. Boy, were we pissed. We were the first label to sign those guys, even before anyone in the UK, and in the end we got screwed. Geffen wrote us a very small check that barely covered the legal bill."

The Butthole Surfers (pictured) screwed over two indie labels, says Vice. In 1983, Alternative Tentacles gave the band $5,000 to record an album, "knowing full well that he was going to spend $4,500 on acid, cocaine, heroin, and booze and only $500 on recording the Buttholes’ totally unlistenable Brown Reason to Live EP." Later, the band left Touch and Go for the green of Sony and demanded that Touch and Go founder Cory Rusk hand over the entire back catalogue for free. According to an ex-Touch and Go employee:

"Even though Corey’d been putting them out for years, he signed them back in the times when punk rock bands and labels did things on the strength of a handshake. If they crashed the rental he’d go find them and give them his car. Then they’d crash that. It was a pretty nasty ending."

Not surprisingly, the reader comments at the Vice website railed on the magazine for showing the other side of the "My Label Ripped Me Off" story. One inflamed hipster wrote: "It's just a subterfuge to pacify, and spread the lie that labels are ever the underdogs, the victims, of the artists. And what a big lie it is!"

Posted by Glenn at 12:29 PM | Link
|New York City|

As I was reading about the Nets loss to the Rockets last night, I noticed that the game had an announced attendance of only 11,784 people--we can assume the actual number of people who showed up was far less. According to NBAwire, the arena has a capacity of 20,039. Coolfer's handy dandy calculator says that means the Nets filled a shade under 59% of the house. Last season, according to Sports Business News, the Nets averaged 75.5% at home, which is still pretty meager.

Hey, Nets. Get out of that hideous arena and move to Brooklyn already. Or at least get out of Jersey. They obviously don't want you. If you can muster only 11,000 and change as two-time defending champs of the East, imagine how many fans you'll draw when you finish this season behind a team or two.

Posted by Glenn at 11:01 AM | Link | Comment (3)
|New York City|

KEXP DJ John Richards, who was in town recently to broadcast from the CMJ Music Marathon, listed these five ways to improve New York in his daily email to the Morning Faithful (his name for the group of people who listen to his morning show):

1 - Get rid of the pesky "don't walk" signs. They seem to encourage people to walk.
2 - Outlaw "nuts 4 nuts" stands. Their yummy and delicious smell make you think that they are glorious. However, when you consume them they are beyond glorious, they are magnificent. Later they sit in your stomach and cause you much heartache and disappointment. Just like Times Square.
3 - Whatever that smell was coming out of the gutter, please investigate it immediately as either (A) there are MANY dead bodies unaccounted for, (B) there is a small underground lake of urine and/or (c) we've found out where the devil lives and it appears its under the streets of Manhattan.
4 - Harness the energy of the man trying to sell me subway cards in front of the F train and use it to fight horrible smell coming out of the gutter.
5 - Get rid of current measurement of time for NYC only. Go by a 30-hour clock and take out all of Monday.

Hmm...Coolfer doesn't even notice the smells of NYC anymore. Expect after the first rain in quite some time brings out of the sidewalks and gutters the odors of every dog that was been walked since the previous rain.

Forget about harnessing the energy of the man trying to sell subway cards in front of the F train. How about we just get rid of the F train altogether? Coolfer loathes the F train.

That idea about a 30-hour day is pretty solid. Who couldn't use the extra sleep?

Posted by Glenn at 10:11 AM | Link | Comment (1)
|New York City|

Morr Music, one of Coolfer's favorite electronic labels, has a coming tour that will stop in New York for two performances next month. Ms. John Soda, B. Fleischmann and Christian Kleine will play Luxx on Saturday, November 15th and the Knitting Factory on Sunday, November 16th. The performances are sure to be subdued, but the music will be incredible. You can listen to music at the Morr Music website and at the artists' home pages.

Posted by Glenn at 10:51 PM | Link
|Music||New York City|

After a great Arts & Crafts showcase at the Bowery Ballroom (Broken Social Scene, Stars, Jason Collett) on Saturday night, Coolfer stopped by the Luna Lounge to check out The Head Set, a young four-piece that put on a pretty solid show. Without a doubt, these guys have heard a few Strokes songs, but singer/guitarist Jordan Blaugund has such a strong presence, and guitarist Eliot Wadsworth churns out chords and riffs with such energy, it's easy to get over the similarities. Listen to 1982 and Come On, Come On.

Posted by Glenn at 9:45 PM | Link | Comment (2)
|Music||New York City|

Tony Wheeler, the founder of the Lonely Planet travel guide empire, named New York City as his favorite city in the world--and this guy has been to all of them. "The most 'city' of all cities," he wrote. He also mentioned Sydney, Venice and San Francisco. Not surprising L.A. wasn't mentioned. Coolfer has never met anybody from outside the U.S. who likes L.A.

Tomorrow: Tony's favorite subway.

Posted by Glenn at 1:49 PM | Link
|New York City|

The Rock and Roll Report calls in "niche-free rock" and Coolfer calls it either roots or retro rock, depending on the decade borrowed from ('60s or '80s, respectively). Today's New York Times, in an article titled "New York's Latest Hangover" (registration required) about new albums by NY bands the Strokes and the Rapture, calls it a "scene built on memories." They're not bad albums, not at all. The Rapture's Echoes is a great record; Coolfer hasn't heard the new Strokes album yet. But Echoes isn't exactly brave, either, and all reports of the Strokes' album are similar. Neither carve out a unique spot in rock and roll. But, in the case of Echoes, it does represent the now of New York.

The Times' John Pareles talked about the revivailist nature of New York rock:

"Like all revivalists, these bands aren't just trying to reclaim an era. They're also trying to detour around what followed it: grunge, pop-punk, and mass-market hip-hop. Unlike even the crassest MTV rock pretenders, these bands don't want to absorb or acknowledge the music that has surrounded them for a generation. Instead, they're savoring New York's last big moment: one that was aggressively contemporary and inclusive. It's a sonic souvenir from the turn of the 1980's, when New York was grittier and artier, and perhaps motives seemed purer."

A few months ago Coolfer was talking to a guy who said the Lily's Better Can't Make Your Life Better was the best album of the '90s, and was better than most of the Kinks songs that it emulated. "So the question we need to ask ourselves," I told him, "is this: Can a replication ever be as good as the original?"

Pareles touched on a similar point when he summed up the New York music scene with this description of the style of production team the DFA (who produced the Rapture's new album): "They're not challenging their current fans, only ratifying their record collections." The same argument could be made of Jet and Kings of Leon, but critics don't seem to be so forgiving of bands that borrow from the '80s. Yet.

Later, Pareles let some optimism shine through a sometimes bleak state of the union article: "There's still hope for a New York rock that's as daring as it was when the new wave was new."

Oh, and it's hardly a surprise that the word disparate was used in this article. It is, after all, the most overused word in music criticism.

Posted by Glenn at 12:37 PM | Link | Comment (1)
|Music||New York City|

Plaid, the nigthblub on E. 13th that was formerly Spa, got a nice makeover by ex-con Steve Lewis but has a bit of a problem. Some of the skinny, Williamsburg-looking male employees are gonna bring down the club's credibility if they keep wearing off-centered trucker hats. C'mon, Plaid, do something about those Ashton Kutcher clones.

Posted by Glenn at 7:17 PM | Link
|New York City|

The annual CMJ festival is coming, which means hordes of lanyard-wearing college radio nerds yelling out requests for rare b-sides and running giddy around the East Village like they just moved out of their parents' house. So, basically, it just more of the same, but people will be dressed worse.

As usual, there are plenty of great showcases. Coolfer runs down some standouts, and a few to miss.

- Broken Social Scene--Hit. With Stars and Jason Collett at the Bowery on 10/24 (early show). Great live band who have passed through NYC a number of times this year and always put on a top shelf show. Long live indie rock.
- Brendan Benson--Hit. 10/22 at Southpaw, as part of Star Time International's showcase. You've heard his song in a VW commercial. Great power pop. The Natural History, Dios, Joggers and Waxwings are also on the bill.
- Mando Diao--Hit. The Coral Room, on 10/24 at 9PM. This the band's debut U.S. gig, and it's sure to be good. Garage rock that's not draped in nostalgia. Brit-Pop without the debt to Blur--they owe a bit to Supergrass.
- The Thrills--Hit--. 10/22 at the CMJ Daystage and 10/23 at the Mercury. Byrds, Buritto Brothers, all that shit.
- British Sea Power--Hit. At the Bowery on 10/23. All the world is abuzz about BSP. Here they open for Adam Green and the Kills, make an early departure.
- The Bronx--Hit. At CBGB's on 10/23. Loud, angry, fast and free of posturing. Also on the bill: The Explosion and Scissorfight.
- The Realistics--Hit. Northsix on 10/23. New York buzz band, we love you. Download "Why Didn't You Stay" here. Capital Years play as well.
- Love w/Arthur Lee--Hit! At the Warsaw on 10/23. The best shows Coolfer has seen in the last 12 months were both Love w/Arthur Lee. Expect excited, vocal fans and a masterful show by Lee and his backing band, Baby Lemonade. How often to you get to see a bonafide legend?
- Matthew Dear & Midwest Product-Hit. At Rare on 10/24. Electronic with danceability, on the Ghostly International label. Also on the bill: Dykehouse (the return of shoegazer), Twine, Sage Francis and Lusine.
- Mars Volta & the Rapture-Hit. 10/24 at Roseland. They have the whole world in their hands.
- Brian Jonestown Massacre and the High Strung-Hit! At Piano's on 10/25. You never know what you're going to get with a BJM show, which is part of the appeal. The High Strung (from Brooklyn via Detroit) write great songs and bash them out with the energy that some garage bands use to mask its bad songs. With the High Strung, you get both songs and verve.
- Low Flying Owls and Singapore Sling--Hit. Sin-e on 10/25. Two very nice bands. If you need a Jesus and the Mary Chain fix, definitely watch Singapore Sling.
- Elefant--Miss. Opening for Radio 4 at the Bowery on 10/24 (late show). Not a good live band. Women will want to go to drool over Diego Garcia (the man, not the island), men will want to go because women will be there. But the band's live show is rather flat. Radio 4, on the other hand, is worth your time.
- Northern State & Brassy--Miss. At Irving Plaza on 10/24. Good grief. Sure Longwave is on the bill, but show up late and miss the girls from Long Island who have never owned a hip-hop record other than Licensed to Ill. Brassy simply puts Coolfer to sleep.
- Aerial Love Feed--Miss. Playing 10/22 at Sin-e. Coolfer read that this band was going to save rock and roll. Hardly. Don't believe the hype.

Posted by Glenn at 6:30 AM | Link | Comment (1)
|Music||New York City|

New Yorkers, in all walks of life, are getting tattood. So says an article at Crain's New York Business website. Coolfer would agree, based on casual observation. The number of artists licensed by the city has risen to 600 from 400 just three years ago. And the style of business is changing, too. The article points out such mainstream business tactics as Muzak played over the speakers (rather than heavy metal music) to Bowery Tattoo's plan to offer cappacino and lemonade.

Read the city's Facts on Tattoo Licensing.

Worst tattoo Coolfer has ever seen: the Juan Valdez triangle coffee logo.

Posted by Glenn at 10:15 PM | Link
|New York City|

This Saturday, in Brooklyn's Prospect Park, you can adopt a cat or dog in a city-sponsored event called "Adopt A Little New Yorker." Sounds like a good little event, and for a good cause, but unfortunately the host, the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals, Inc, will have such corny activities as animal face painting, washeable animal tattoos and a pet psychic who will tell you what your pet is thinking. If its face was just painted, Coolfer wouldn't need a psychic to tell him what was on an animal's mind.

Posted by Glenn at 9:54 PM | Link
|New York City|

Joe Queenan's "Eight Reasons New York Is Better" is a hilarious article in today's New York Times, and it perfectly captures the motivation to live in this dense and often difficult city. (Free registration required.) Sorry, Raleigh-Durham, I'm staying put. Get yourself a Vermeer, already.

Posted by Glenn at 5:08 PM | Link
|New York City|

The much maligned trucker hat, now an expensive boutique item and fasion of late-comer celebrities, is no doubt on a downward trend--at least here in New York. Case in point: at last night's Aesop Rock performance at the Virgin Megastore at Union Square, there wasn't a single trucker hat in the entire Def Jux crew. (Aesop, hatless, pictured to the right, compliments of Vanessa's cell phone.) These guys have donned the trucker hat for years, well before Andy Roddick wore one in the US Open. I can't remember seeing El-P on stage or in photo without a trucker hat. Same with Aesop. Coolfer asked label manager Ese about the lack of trucker hats, and he confirmed they were done with them and have moved on to a one-size-fits-all Def Jux baseball cap.

Posted by Glenn at 10:52 AM | Link
|New York City|

Boston's Helicopter Helicopter plays the Luna Lounge on Saturday night. Their latest album, Wild Dogs With X-Ray Eyes, has been a mainstay in Coolfer's CD player this year. It doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it's got great hooks and melodies that stick. They're scheduled to go on stage at 9:30pm, and it's free, as always.

Posted by Glenn at 12:17 AM | Link
|Music||New York City|

While Coolfer was out for a jog the other night, I ran across a flyer stapled to a telephone pole in Prospect Heights. "Do You Want A Sports Stadium" asks the headline, "complete with congestion, noise, air pollution, garbage and parking for 20,000 visitors, in your backyard?" (As if all 20,000 fans are going to drive to the game.) The flyer is a rallying cry from Patti Hagan and the Prospect Heights Action Coalition, a group intent on keeping out the Nets and Devils, the new arena at Flatbush and Atlantic that would house them, and 5,500 units of "high-rise housing" that would also come with the development.

Hagan isn't the only one who doesn't want the Nets to play in Brooklyn. Some Jersey developers and politicians--Sen. Jon Corzine, Gov. Jim McGreevey and others--want the Nets to stay put (read NY Post article).

Coolfer wonders which way this could go. Cities sometimes reserve the right to tax businesses according to the benefits they receive from their proximity to arenas and stadiums. (This is mentioned in this Sacramento Bee article about a new arena proposal for the Kings.) It's possible that lower income residents could be squeezed out. And, worst of all, Alonzo Mourning would be in the area on a regular basis. On the flip side, arenas can revitalize a city or district. Here's an article on how Coors Stadium was a boon to Denver's downtown area.

The Flatbush/Atlantic intersection already has one construction site: Forest City Ratner is building a shopping center/office building (pictured) that's due to open in March. Current tenant list: Target, Bath and Body Works, Chuck E Cheese and Red Lobster, among others. Uh...woo hoo.

The Prospect Heights Action Coalition is holding an emergency meeting on Sunday, September 14th at 2:00pm, at the Hanson Place Seventh Day Adventist Church (88 Hanson Place).

Posted by Glenn at 12:10 AM | Link | Comment (2)
|New York City||Politics||Sports|

Someone told me there's an industry buzz on the New York hip-hop-fusion band Automato. It may be a quiet buzz, but the band merits whatever attention it gets. Coolfer saw them perform at Southpaw on Sunday night, and was duly impressed.

The very young NYC band, which has two MC's (one who occasionally plays guitar) and four other musicians (bass, drums, keyboards, sampler) must collectively own a pretty good record collection: Cannibal Ox, Tortoise, King Crimson, Miles David, Talking Heads, Sonic Youth...maybe even Kruder & Dorfmeister. While first and foremost a hip hop collective, Automato isn't pinned down by the genre's tendency to use familar themes in familar ways. They experiment and noodle, and there's just enough straight shooting to keep them out of a John Zorn opening slot at Tonic.

Automato has a 12" single coming out on Coup d'Grace in November, and currently have a 12" single out on Dim Mak Records. You can listen to their excellent song "Walk Into The Light" (which was produced by NYC heavyweights the DFA) at the label's MP3 page.

Posted by Glenn at 10:18 PM | Link
|Music||New York City|

Billboard announced today an October 4th benefit concert at Brooklyn's Prospect Park for the environmental group Renewable Brooklyn. The line-up is solid. On the bill will be Out Hud, 2 Many DJ's, Radio 4, UNKLE (pictured) and Dan the Automator's Head Automatica and Handsome Boy Modeling School projects. The show, according to the Renewable Brooklyn website, will run from 3-10pm and will be completely powered by off-set wind power. Tickets are available at Other Music, Gorilla Coffee (Park Slope), Sam and Seb (Williamsburg), Recon (LES), and Halcyon (Carroll Gardens).

This reminds Coolfer of the 1994 album Alternative NRG, which had live tracks recorded on solar-powered equipment. Most of it's pretty forgetful, it does have Sonic Youth doing "Catholic Block," REM cranking out a nice version of "Drive," the Jesus and Mary Chain with "New Kind of Kick," and U2's "Until The End of The World." Yothu Yindi's "Yolngu Boy" is pretty good, too. Keep an eye out for this one when perusing the "Various-A" used section.

Posted by Glenn at 10:53 AM | Link
|Music||New York City|

Now this sounds like fun. On this Sunday, the 14th, Luxx and On the Moon are throwing a big ol' record swap/guitar shop/equipment exchange/flea market/block party/happy hour, from 1-5 PM. Admission is free, sellers can rent a space for a donation, and there will be drink specials. Portions of the day's take will be donated to the Brooklyn Animal Resource Coalition.

Email Anna (anna_barie at hotmail dot com) by Saturday, 9/13. You must RSVP by Friday, September 12th to guaranteed a space. Luxx is located in Williamsburg, at 256 Grand Street between Roebling and Driggs. (Go to the Bedford L or the Marcy Ave J/M/Z stop.)

Posted by Glenn at 10:38 PM | Link
|Music||New York City|

Last week I posed a simple question to some friends and co-workers: What's the best band in New York, signed or unsigned? The responses were varied, but the one common thread is most have a drummer who plays like it's 1982. Most votes went to unsigned or underground bands, as the title "Best Band In NYC" is easily interpreted to mean "Underground Band of the Moment." After all, when a band gets popular, Westchester hops on the bandwagon and Williamsburg stops listening (i.e. the Yeah Yeah Yeahs).

New York is currently loving the post-punk and no-wave, sometimes with a bit of electro-funk thrown in, and the votes reflected these trends. One vote came in for Les Savy Fav, one for the Rapture, one for LCD Soundsystem, one for The Affair. No votes for Out Hud or !!!, both of whom deserve a nod.

Then there was John from the band Czech, who couldn't vote for himself (not that I laid down any rules, he's just too modest) so he voted for The Coastal Drag. And actually one vote for the Strokes. Oh yeah, the Strokes are a pretty good band. They're so popular it's easy to forget that they still rock. And there was a vote for the Unknowns. The band from L.A.? David, what is this band?

And my vote? Hard to say. I think Interpol is currently peaking. I like !!!. Luna seems like NYC's house band, and while many of the city's hipsters probably consider them irrelevant, I think they've still making great music. Antibalas is a great New York band. And let's not forget about Brendan Benson. Ted Leo is making great music. Though he's from Jersey, Ted's still considered New York by most. I'm a bit unsold on some of the '80s-styled bands mentioned above. Too derivative for my tastes.

Posted by Glenn at 10:05 AM | Link | Comment (3)
|Music||New York City|

Months after its appearance in the Village Voice, I'm still refering to the Voice's list of NYC's Top 100 Latin restaurants.

Posted by Glenn at 6:32 PM | Link
|New York City|