"So, wait, what do I have to do to win a limited edition 7" of Hot Chip's new "One Life Stand" AND a signed tour poster? Just become a fan of The Music Slut on Facebook and leave some kind of keen, creative, comment in the discussion thread? Well that's the kind of thing I do online every day! No sweat!" -You, to yourself, 2 minutes from now

By February 19th at noon, any Hot Chip fan (or thoughtful friend of a fan) can head to TMS on FB and enter for a chance to win. Of course, I may be shooting myself in the foot by getting the word out and making the contest a bit more competitive... but I'm the sporting type.

["The Music Slut & Hot Chip Team Up For Valentine's Day Facebook Contest - via The Music Slut]

Posted by Colin Steers at 12:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

[via our lovely friends over at Big Ugly Yellow]

Home Life by ARMS from Big Ugly Yellow Couch on Vimeo.

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 04:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

North 1st and River Street

Posted by Clarissa Roudabush at 09:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

A shameless night of dancing and sweating is what I would call last night's sold-out Hot Chip show at Music Hall of Williamsburg. It's rare to see a massive crowd so willingly succumb to dance beats, but Hot Chip (and the happy hour specials) were able to entrance the crowd for their hour and a half long set. Having already sold out two shows at Terminal 5, these tickets were hard to come by, but those who got in were captivated by the British electro-pop's seemingly flawless set. Earlier this week Hot Chip celebrated the digital released their fourth studio album, "One Life Stand." The British ensemble performed tracks from their latest release as well as crowd favorites including, "Over and Over" and "Ready for the Floor."

Hot Chip drew a massive crowd of skinny jean wearing hipsters who all seemed to be surprisingly impressed by the opening act, French Horn Rebellion. The Brooklyn-based electronic duo drew a large crowd away from the downstairs bar to serve up a batch of hot beats, a dash of drama and one killer french horn solo from the balcony.

See more pictures after the jump!

--Christina Lang

Continue reading "Hot Chip and French Horn Rebellion at Music Hall" »

Posted by Janice Chou at 04:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

鎮座 Dopeness : Mogu Mogu from Shane Lester on Vimeo.

What afternoon walks should sound and look like.

via MBV

Posted by Jackie Snow at 01:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Keepaway

Last night Keepaway played at Webster Hall along with Oberhofer, Radical Dads, and Queen of Quartz. Baby faced Oberhofer recruited the entire (easily impressionable) NYU Class of 2012 to the show. However, Oberhofer impressed everyone with 21+ wristbands alike with their dual pop and rock sensibility-- a garage band version of Vampire Weekend. Despite a hiccup when the bassist broke a string after the first song, Oberhofer regained their footing immediately and left both their pre-existing and newfound fans floored with the second half of the show.

Animal Collective inspired trio Keepaway closed the night. Most recently, Keepaway was dubbed Pitchfork's Best New Music meaning they're going to blow the eff up in about two days ago. Keepaway was definitely worthy of this allusive title as they tread the line between indie and psychedelic rock making their single, "Yellow Wings" feel immediately familiar but original. You can check them out tonight at Brooklyn Bowl with Small Black.

More pictures after the jump!

Continue reading "[PICS] Keepaway and Oberhofer at Webster Hall" »

Posted by Janice Chou at 10:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

You can keep your Unhappy Hipsters, Awkward Stock Photos, and Cape Town hip-hoppers...

I've got Hipster Puppies to get me through the in-office hangover.

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 05:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Best part of the already set-to-be-awesome show at Station 171 tonight with Leaders, Boogie Boarder, Cerebral Ballzy, The Death Set, and Japanther? A free shuttle to take you from the corner of Union Ave and Conselyea St. to the venue!

Posted by Brian Ries at 05:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you dug Die Antwoord, check out this other South African rapper Jack Parow. He appears on two tracks on Die Antwoord's upcoming record. [via]

We've been loving Broodje Bakpao too.... after the jump.

Continue reading "Another Cape Town Rapper: Jack Parow" »

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 01:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

These guys are total freaks. We can't wait to hear more. UPDATE: Die Antwoord Is "Fake," And So What?

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 03:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

From 7 p.m. to midnight tonight, you can check out Brooklyn-based-band-on-the-up-and-up Dinosaur Feathers’ debut LP “Fantasy Memorial” for the first time during a party at Fort Useless, with a mass listening (9 p.m. sharp!), live special guest performances throughout the evening, and, oh yeah, according to the Facebook event, “Free Miller High Life starting at 8pm – while it lasts!”

If, like me, you’ve been feeling particularly S.A.D. recently, the breezy, up-tempo, tropico-rock songs that Dinosaur Feathers so charmingly deliver may just serve to be sunbeams bursting forth from the speakers. The actual release date of “Fantasy Memorial” is March 2nd, just two weeks before they head down to Austin to play a slew of SXSW dates and make waves that will be felt outside of the boroughs.

Dinosaur Feathers - Vendela Vita, from “Fantasy Memorial”, via Poptarts Suck Toasted
(Don’t you feel warmer already?)

Another new tune, Teenage Whore, is available on the Dinosaur Feathers Myspace.

[Event - via StereoactiveNYC]

Posted by Colin Steers at 02:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Williamsburg Salsa Orchestra hit the internets hard yesterday with their cover of "My Girls" by Animal Collective. It's great! But you thought that was it? You thought that's all they had? Their percussionist Gianni Mano just uploaded a few more songs to YouTube, including "Alala" by Cansei de Ser Sexy (CSS), "Wolf Like Me" by TV On The Radio, and "Lloyd, I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken" by Camera Obscura.

Check out TVOTR's "Wolf Like Me" below, and click through for the others.

Continue reading "Introducing the Williamsburg Salsa Orchestra (& their fantastic covers)" »

Posted by Brian Ries at 01:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Jelly just confirmed what Colin wrote and Gothamist reported yesterday, as they officially announced the return of the Pool Parties this summer, revealing that Senator Chuck Schumer and "the good people at OSA and State Parks" granted their wishes to hold the concerts right there on the waterfront for a second summer.

Also, the slip n' slide might make it's return! Maybe? They write: "If the slip ‘n’ slide does indeed get to come back, we officially invite you guys to take the inaugural dive!!"

Here's the rest:

"We are pleased to announce, with confidence, that thanks to a great deal of help from Senator Chuck Schumer and the good people at OSA and State Parks, we have a signed an agreement to keep Pool Parties at East River State Park this summer! We are looking forward to spending the fifth year anniversary of Pool Parties back on Williamsburg Waterfront and trust that we have some MAJOR surprises in store for you! Come visit us on the waterfront from July 11th—August 29th and let's celebrate 5 big years of free fun in the sun!!!"

And with that, Schumer has successfully locked down the hipster vote.

photos by clarissa

Posted by Brian Ries at 01:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Brooklyn Boondoggle is a short documentary by my friends at Meerkat Media detailing and humanizing the eminent domain issues that the gargantuan Atlantic Yards development brings up. I caught the flick at a small screening at a bar that would have to be bulldozed for the Atlantic Yards (although not without a fight) and thought the movie was pretty spectacular. Now its online!

Brooklyn Boondoggle from meerkatmedia.org on Vimeo.

Posted by Jackie Snow at 03:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

From the first moment Victoria Bergsman made way into our hearts with her backing vocals on Peter Bjorn and John's "Young Folks", we've been hooked-- and the Animal Collective cover just set our love in stone.

Taken By Trees recent release on Rough Trade, East of Eden, was recorded with musician Andreas Soderstrom in Pakistan and delivers a beautifully enchanting mix of music fit for a Mahārāja, or just some Brooklyn kids lounging around in their loft (i.e. me right now).

We've got a pair of tickets to see Victoria's Taken By Trees on Sat. February 13th at Union Hall, before she takes off on tour with El Perro Del Mar. Just RT this to win, or comment on our Facebook thread for your chance to win!

Take a looksy after the jump to remember why you wanna go to this show so bad...

Continue reading "Ticket Giveaway: Taken By Trees at Union Hall" »

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 01:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Gothamist is reporting that our totally rawking Senator Schumer, with help from NYS Parks, Open Space Alliance, and other lesser, but no less hip, elected officials, are bringing back the uber-popular Jelly Pool Parties for the Summer of 2010 at the Williamsburg Waterfront.

Quoth the Senator:

"[The Jelly Pool Parties] are a big part of why summers in NYC... Summer in Brooklyn without the free JELLY Pool Parties simply would not have been the same and I am beyond thrilled to see that they will return in 2010. I can’t wait to ride my bike this summer to the East River State Park to rock out at these concerts once again.” If I cared enough to vote, that man would totally get mine; he clearly has a good head on his shoulders, even if I'm not sure what that first ellipsis is hiding.

The Jelly-pool-co-founding-power-duo Alexander Kane and Sarah Hooper heap on the praise for Senator Schumer: “We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to all parties involved including OSA and NYS Parks, but especially to our great Senator Chuck Schumer, who went above and beyond to see the free shows continue for a fifth straight year."

I'm sure everyone is anxious to start saving the dates of their fav shows (here's lookin' at you, Jay-Z), but y'all will have to stay patient- a schedule is forthcoming.

[Link] - via Gothamist

Posted by Colin Steers at 12:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

The Woods: JAPANTHER

Posted by Clarissa Roudabush at 10:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Not getting enough Das Racist in your life? Can't make it to The Woods tonight? Well, then just head out to Cameo tomorrow night for a Brooklyn overload!

Cameo Art Gallery is fired up to announce the much anticipated Das Racist show at our performance space in Williamsburg, Brooklyn on Tuesday, February 2. The first of Cameo's cover show series, Das Racist will perform the Beastie Boy's album, Paul's Boutique, in its entirety. ... And if that ain't Brooklyn, we don't know what is.

Doors at 9:30, $5 Cover

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 07:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Tonight at The Woods, a benefit concert for Haiti feat. Japanther & Das Racist.

Please join us for a benefit concert for Haiti. Performers include:

-Japanther: http://japanther.com/
- Das Racist: http://www.myspace.com/dasracist
- Fresh Kills: http://www.myspace.com/freshkills
- Cerebral Ballzy: http://www.myspace.com/cerebralballzy
- Columboid: http://www.myspace.com/columboid

Post band DJing provided by DJ Unicornicopia http://www.myspace.com/unicornicopia

All proceeds, including 100% of bar sales, bartender gratuities, cover charge, and merchandise sales will be donated to the Bedford Stuyvesant Volunteer Ambulance Corps (http://www.bsvac.org) Haiti rescue efforts.

Performances start at 7:30 PM. $10 minimum donation at the door.

Facebook Event

Posted by Brian Ries at 02:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 11:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Meet Ben Sargent, a Boston born and bred die-hard traditionalist when it comes to seafood.

Ben's got a bone…actually, make that cartilage to pick with New York City's lobster rolls, claiming that most New Yorkers don't know what a 'real' lobster roll is, the kind he grew up on eating dockside in Cape Cod and Boston.

So, aiming to educate, he opened The Underground Lobster Pound, a questionably legal underground lobster shack out of his basement apartment in Brooklyn, welcoming friends, strangers and die-hard lobster roll aficionados to get a true taste of what “God had a hand in creating”…the true version of the Northeast lobster roll. It's a roll he believes in and the start of a lobster roll and chowder shack he hopes to build in the near future.

Please enjoy this little tale about a man re-discovering his true purpose in life, and take a moment to think if you've truly tasted the perfect lobster roll, if not... well, you've still got time.

To find Ben & his semi-secret underground lobster pound, you can DM me on Twitter and I'll give you his ordering number, or friend him off his website at http://www.brooklynchowdersurfer.com/

**Ben is also a popular radio host on The Heritage Radio Network, tune in to his radio show on Wednesdays, Catch It, Cook It, Eat It**

By Liza de Guia

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 11:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This Saturday, Jan 30th, Ohio Party Eleven. Public Assembly. North 6th St. btw Wythe and Kent Ave.

Posted by Clarissa Roudabush at 12:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 08:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From Matador Records:

What do you get the Fucked Up fan who already has everything? How about a custom made, one-of-a-kind copy of their new, only-available-at-fine-indie-retailers, Couple Tracks 7″ with YOU on the cover art? If you win this contest, we will add your photo to the outlined area of the cover art above and ship this one of a kind record to your door. Kinda cool, I know.

So how then do you get yourself immortalized on this 1 of 1 Couple Tracks 7″ cover? Simple. Gather together all your Fucked Up singles and display them in some way. Sure, your collection can be laid out on your bed but we’ll look favorably upon people who go the extra mile here. What’s the “extra mile”? Hard to say. Impress us. Feel free to take inspiration from Extreme Ironing. Prove yourself to be worthy of this honor.

Send your submissions to CoupleTracksContest@gmail.com by Feb. 6th

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 06:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Gawker had a little party last night for the opening of a NSFW art exhibit that included sex toy light fixtures, Presidential porn, and a performer "dressed as Hitler (who) gave a lap dance to a male employee in his swivel chair."

Its curator, Liz Dimmitt, told NBC, "Gawker is pretty hard to shock -- everyone here is used to crazy things going on in the office. Employees don't remember that [the art] is up when they have someone in for a meeting and suddenly [they realize] there's an Asian woman having sex with the Presidents over the receptionist's desk."

Guesses as to which employee got the Hitler lap dance welcome in the comments.

[NBC New York // photo via Random Night Out}

Posted by Brian Ries at 10:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Via Going.com:

N.Y. “PB-ART CONTEST” SUBMISSION PARTY! THUR 1.28.09 @ The Suffolk bar Doors 9PM w/ DJ ILAN

4 categories to chose from (2D, 3D, Photography/Digital Media, & Poetry) & 3 ways to enter:

1) Submit your PBR artwork onsite between 6-8PM Day-of for display & to be entered into the contest
2) Produce PBR artwork live at the party for submission (Paint, Markers, Canvas, Paper, Brushes will be provided onsite).
3) Submit PBR artwork online at www.pbrart.com from home!

4 national grand prize winners will receive: $1893 + one year’s supply of PBR! 4 Runner-up prize winners will receive: $631 and 4 months of beer. There will also be tons of PBR Swag and Give-aways

@ The Suffolk - 107 Suffolk Street (bet Rivington & Delancey)

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 06:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Download the track that's been making me want to jump on my bed in bad 90s sitcom fashion here. Montreal's We Are Wolves will be opening at Hot Chip's record release party on Feb. 6th at Brooklyn Bowl, and they drop their own album, Invisible Violence, on Feb. 2nd.

Try and tell me "Blue" doesn't sound like a young Ozzy singing on an old !!! (Chk Chk Chk) track? It's the goods.

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 05:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Local Natives released the video for "Airplanes" a few days ago and I haven't been able to stop watching it-- maybe not with the same grossed out hypnosis "Brothersport" induced, but hypnotizing none the less... in a if-a-ghost-with-great-taste-decided-to-mess-with-your-grandma's-house kind of way. Finishing the prank with the explosion of a garbage disposal, of course:

Airplanes

Local Natives | MySpace Music Videos

Local Natives are currently gearing up for a spring tour for their debut LP, Gorilla Manner, out on Frenchkiss Records, February 16th. We'll be sure to let you know if any New York dates pop up... Maybe even some free tickets from your friends here at FREEwilly...

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 05:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The New Yorker currently has a handful of his stories available online including the very rare "Hapworth 16, 1924":

A Perfect Day for Bannanafish (January 31, 1948)

Uncle Wiggly in Connecticut (March 20, 1948)

Just Before the War with the Eskimos (June 5, 1948)

The Laughing Man (March 19, 1949)

For Esme—With Love and Squalor (April 8, 1950)

Pretty Mouth and Green My Eyes (July 14, 1951)

Teddy (January 31, 1953)

Franny (January 29, 1955)

Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters (November 19, 1955)

Zooey (May 4, 1957)

Seymour: An Introduction (June 6, 1959)

Hapworth 16, 1924 (June 19, 1965)

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 03:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

There's a party at The Woods tonight called Hot Pursuit with the DJ's of VHS or BETA, Kids with Snakes, and Gavin Royce. Your presence has hereby been requested and they ask you "put on your whiskey hat," should you own one. Last we checked, photog Nicky Digital was 4sq mayor of the joint that's on the fastest track yet to replace Union Pool as "the new Union Pool," and he'll be there shooting tonight so look hot to be pursued.

Starts at 10, goes till 4, drinks are cheap and the tacos are delicious. Here's the Facebook event.

Posted by Brian Ries at 03:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

North 1st and Wythe

Posted by Clarissa Roudabush at 02:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I see your Unhappy Hipsters and raise you Awkward Stock Photos.

Posted by Brian Ries at 11:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Even in your company, I feel so alone.

It became their routine. And so the evenings stretched out before him; still, gray and gravel-strewn.

unhappyhipsters.tumblr.com [thank Mel]

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

There are blogs and websites about them. You can buy fake ones on etsy. The hipster grifter even had a tattoo devoted to them. New Yorkers, it seems, have a beard thing. And now they have a ball to celebrate.

The folks behind the blog Build a Beard are throwing the Beard Ball, next Thursday, Feb 4 at the bar Matchless in Greenpoint. The event will feature three bearded bands (Transatlantic FM, Quiet Loudly, and Julius C) a raffle and drink specials. Tickets are $5, and go to support RightRides.org, that awesome group that gives late night rides home to "women, LGBTQ and gender nonconforming individuals."

Can't grow a full beard? Don't worry. They promise the event will be welcoming of all types of facial hair creativity.

The Beard Ball ($5 – tickets here) is at Matchless Thursday, Feb 4th at 8pm. [via]

-- Erica Sackin

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 11:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Check out this great behind-the-scenes video from P4K of Yeasayer recording Ambling Alp. In it, you'll see that they, like all bands from time to time, worried Chris Keating's vocals might come off as too Jagger, or that the band's back-ups were going too Queen.

Yeasayer's new album Odd Blood comes out February 9th, and it's fantastic. (preorder)

Posted by Brian Ries at 10:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Tickets are on sale tomorrow at noon for An Evening with Tegan and Sara at the Music Hall.

"we've decided, quite spontaneously, to offer an opportunity for some of you to spend an intimate night with us at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. perhaps it's worth noting that my use of the word intimate only applies to the small-ish size of the venue and the stripped down nature of the material we will be performing. i wouldn't call it an acoustic performance so much as a night of reinterpretations of the well worn and well loved album versions you've come to love.

we realize it's short notice, and we know the tickets will go fast. to those of you who miss out on the opportunity to share your post valentine's day loot with us, do not fret! we will return to your neck of the woods sooner than later. big announcements coming soon!"

Get 'em here. Photo via

Posted by Brian Ries at 09:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Last night moody rock, boy/girl duo The Naked Hearts played a show at Cakeshop with The Nasties and Richie Folloin of Willowz's side project Baby Fangs. Check out images from the show after the jump!

Continue reading "PICS: Naked Hearts at Cakeshop" »

Posted by Janice Chou at 08:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Are you a sexy, young, ethnically ambiguous hipster who dresses somewhere between "rock royalty" and "pirate style"?

Great! Collect $800.

Posted by Brian Ries at 05:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

There was an air of significance before Beach House’s show at the Bell House last night that carried the weight of the sold out crowd’s collective excitement for the official release of the new album, Teen Dream. But thanks to the rusty spigot that we call the internet, there was no suspense as to whether Teen Dream could compare to Beach House’s previous two albums; it’s already garnered near universal praise, and a good portion of the audience already knew the songs well enough to “ah-ah-ah” along with front woman Victoria Legrand’s breathy hooks.

The Bell House show caught Beach House poised on the brink of what will inevitably be broader success with audiences outside of the indie circles that have made them as popular as they are. And thus the crowd’s anticipation wasn’t just of seeing what Beach House had already done, but rather of learning just how far Teen Dream will propel them.

Continue reading "La Belle et La Beache - Beach House @ Bell House" »

Posted by Colin Steers at 04:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

via Gizmodo's comments

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 02:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From the esteemed alien spacecraft-spotting website LATEST-UFO-SIGHTINGS.net (creed: only real and true latest UFO sightings) comes reports of not one but TWO unknown objects spotted over Brooklyn sometime on Monday night! Aliens!!

A YouTube user who has favorited quite a shit ton of UFO clips writes, "Spotted from my backyard in williamsburg. I watched for about 40 min. so i could tell they were moving but very slowly. They sort of looked like stars but were hanging too low and the blue one was a bit too sparkly."

Here's video
:

That's not all! The very next night, the same YouTube user uploaded the video UFO Brooklyn Jan 26th with the description: "Something odd floating in the skies over bushwick." The video shows what basically looks like a star with some auto-focusing effects making it a tad crazy. But I dunno. Star? Or alien spacecraft. One commenter isn't sold. Or maybe he is? His comment is confusing! "i know what it's not but i can't tell you what is... sorry. it's not a star thats for sure."

One thing I'm not for sure of definitely is that it's definitively not what it is, rather, isn't what it's not. Which isn't not what you think it is, star gazers, but what you don't think it isn't being what it is.

Posted by Brian Ries at 01:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)

(((unartig))) has a great video series on Excepter over on his site, here's a taste:

The first time I saw Excepter was five years ago at Tonic, a small experimental music venue in the Lower East Side that slowly went under as the condos went up. I don’t think I had moved to the city yet but Excepter would be one of the reasons I’d be doing so eventually. The group performed something like musical theater that night: Caitlin Cook, who I remember being tall and blond and beautiful (I only saw her this once, so don’t hold me to it), wore a short fur coat and walked on and off stage into the audience, seeming aloof and murmuring into a microphone whose signal was treated with considerable delay and reverb. When she took off the coat, revealing a backless dress, you could count every one of her vertebrae, from the top of her neck and all the way down. I had never seen anything like that before. John Fell Ryan, who I am nearly certain was wearing his linen suit and a bucket hat, also looked the part of prophet, while the rest of the band played bass guitar, a drum set with torn cymbals, and a small drum machine. Sometimes the sounds made sense together, other times they did not. Each player held the other in quiet disregard. The crowd, which had been wall-to-wall, thinned out considerably. But for whatever reason, I had the distinct feeling that night of wanting to understand–who were these quiet, disregarding people, what did they read, what did they listen to, what food did they eat, where did they get their clothing, what did they worship, what did they think of the walls closing in around them.

Excepter | NYC @ WKCR Studios Columbia University | 25 Oct 2009

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 12:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Fans of the up-beat, off-kilter, Danish indie-pop-rockers Oh No Ono, rejoice! You have three (3!) consecutive nights to catch the act perform their lustrous tunes starting tonight at 7 p.m. at Sound Fix Records for free ($0.00!). The show tonight celebrates the US release of their second album, Eggs, out today on Brooklyn’s own Friendly Fire records.

Check out the music video for their first single "Swim" if you need plans for any of the next few nights:

Continue reading "Oh No Ono - 3 Nights Only!" »

Posted by Colin Steers at 02:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Evidently this hideous thing, known as 'Big Money Rustlas', has already premiered in Detroit (where else?). Dammit, we missed it:

"Big Money Rustlas," shot in California in 2009 on a $1.5 million budget, is a comedic western that finds the Insane Clowns running amok in the Old West. It is the follow-up to their'70s/exploitation send-up "Big Money Hustlas," which was released in 2000 and sold more than 100,000 copies.

As a line of fans wrapped down Elizabeth Street, past Park Avenue and almost down to Clifford Street, ICP's Psychopathic Records labelmates -- most of whom had roles in the film -- pulled up to the front of the building in limousines. Reflecting on the excitement in the air, Twiztid's Paul Methric remarked, "this makes me want to move to Hollywood."

Last to arrive was the Insane Clown Posse themselves, with Violent J (real name: Joe Bruce) in a blue sport coat and blue jeans and Shaggy 2 Dope (real name: Joe Utsler)in a black and white fur coat, accessorized with a bling-studded walking cane.

Outside, chants of "family! family" -- a popular Juggalo rallying cry -- turned to "let us in! let us in!" as fans were forced to wait several hours in the bitter cold before being let indoors. Once inside, the mood was more like a concert than a film screening, as the crowd of around 2,000 cheered and whooped throughout the movie, which was introduced live by J,Shaggy and the rest of the Psychopathic roster.

Juggalos at the premiere of Big Money Rustlas

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 12:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

update 9:40am below w/ video

I learned a couple things tonight at the Bedford Avenue bike lane debate, where bikers met representatives of the Hasidic community (namely: Isaac Abraham, bit more on him here) and hashed out their differences. I also left feeling that, though civil, the debate didn't really get anyone anywhere, other than a few shared laughs and a feeling that neither side is budging more than mere inches.

At one point, Abraham asked a fellow pro-bike lane panelist, "How long have you lived here?" Before she could answer, he belted out, "I've lived here for 56 years!" (ed: number may be off by one or two, but 50-something.) At other moments, the audience broke out in laughter over the absurdity of Isaac Abraham's claims (ie. cars don't kill children, asthma does). He admitted he felt like a sheep in a lion den, a claim not far from the truth.

Going into tonight's bike lane debate at Pete's Candy Store, it's safe to say I was of the camp that believed the whole dispute was primarily a cultural thing -- the Hasids didn't like to see scantily-clad women biking through their neighborhoods, and the bikers didn't like the Hasids using their political power to remove their lane.

But I'm not so sure that's the whole picture anymore. (Continues after the jump...)

Continue reading "Bicyclists & Hasidic representatives debate the Williamsburg Bike Lane" »

Posted by Brian Ries at 10:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Fever Ray receives the prize for the year's best dance artist at "P3 Gold" in Gothenburg. [thanks Carlos]

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 05:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Bad Girlfriend was supposed to play a free show with TV Baby tomorrow night, but that show's now being rescheduled as moe. is stepping to play 2 sets. Doors are at 6, show's at 9. Tickets: $25 at the door. There will be no advance ticket sales, so as @Moelinks says, you'll want to be there around 6 to get tickets. moe. fans are nimble.

Posted by Brian Ries at 04:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A fantastic self-guided graffiti tour off the Morgan Ave. L stop overlaid on Google Maps. For more on the pieces & better photos, see Off Manhattan.

Posted by Brian Ries at 02:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As if drinking and playing video games on a school night wasn't enough to weigh down your conscious, it turns out Barcade was built atop a 19th century cemetery.

From Gothamist:

"The cemetery was known as the Old Methodist Burying Ground which serviced the Attorney Street Methodist Church and the First Methodist Protestant Church of Williamsburg. When the church closed in 1856, the bodies were allegedly moved to Cyprus Hills Cemetery, but the Scout wonders if a few bodies may remain."

And of course, owner Paul Kermizian told them "The only ghosts we've seen have been in our Ms Pac Man game!"

Posted by Brian Ries at 02:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

North 4th and Kent

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