YesWayMusic

A couple weeks ago, Brooklyn’s The Yes Way premiered a music video for “Falter” at Cameo Gallery. The story of this video completely reconstructed my thoughts of this indie rock band. It takes us on a journey of a man seeking for a little more, in a dark naughty sense. Certain scenes are raunchy whereas certain scenes are a little depressing. Watch the video below and get a free download of this track at ExportAMusic.

The Yes Way \”Falter\”

Does a professional body whipper really exist in the Williamsburg community?

These guys will be performing next Monday at The Knitting Factory, December 19th. If you happen to be lurking around Metropolitan, stop by and catch their set. The evening is called “Rock Your Face Off!”. Show begins at 7, purchase tickets over here.

Also, take a visit to The Yes Way bandpage.

If you’re interested in seeing how a holiday market could work without regular currency exchange, check out the OWS Holiday Bazaar this Sunday from 1-9pm at City Life Wellness (75 Frost St., L train to Lorimer). The event will feature a live barter market, skill workshops, musical performances and other fun activities to keep your mind off the problems with our country’s economy. Here’s the lowdown via Peel Back the Curtain:

This is a FREE event! Why? OWS Sustainability and Evolver are committed to building alternative economies out of the shell of the old. Instead of relying on currency to determine value, we believe in a system that allows individuals to work together and assess value for themselves. People are encouraged to bring items or skills of their own so that they may interact with the vendors. The Holiday Bazaar will be packed with workshops and a live barter market, donation based body work, dinner and live music. Everyone is encouraged to bring an item, art, skill, or service to come and barter with. Folks are also free to accept donations as well. (more…)

So you think Christmas cheer is for squares? Wrong.

Greenpoint’s McGolrick Trees is not only your one stop shop for a fresh Carolina Fraser or the perfect holiday wreath, but now they’re providing the soundtrack to your Christmas Party too.

Started last year by Charlie Poekell, the McGolrick tree stand is open 24 hours for late night carolers, and is manned by a steady staff of neighborhood friends and fellow artists.

“We sell Christmas trees and accessories to locals, by locals,” says the slogan on their Tumblr.

I imagine hanging out all night slinging trees gets cold and maybe a little boring, so with a group of stand workers like Woodsman‘s Trevor Peterson, Edwin white of Tonstartssbandht, Ari Stern of Underwater Peoples Records, Family Portrait‘s Evan Brody, Nate Grace of Pure X, and Jamie Granato of Group Tightener, it was only a matter of time before a compilation of previously unreleased Christmas tree mood music was born.

The comp features holiday tunes from Dent May, Woodsman, Eola, Ava Luna, Family Portrait, Dead Gaze, Flower Orgy, Low Praises, and Samurai Buck.

Oh come all ye faithful, and get a free limited edition recording  at the tree stand starting this weekend. Pick yourself up a copy, get one as a gift, or check it out here

To get you in the spirit, here’s a new take on a classic:

Family Portrait – All I Want For Christmas Is You by firetalk

Now, go buy a tree.

While trudging through my iTunes and Spotify, trying to fasten together a serviceable end of the year playlist, I stumbled upon Oregon Bike Trails “Cayucas.” It is the most aggressively pleasant song of recent memory. Are you smiling now? If not, you will be after this song’s four minutes. If you can resist the very Paul Simon three-part harmony refrain, then I’d suggest going to a doctor because you might literally be made out of stone. The music is all written and recorded by the Santa Monica based Zach Yudin. It blends de rigueur beach-nostalgia subtly with more contemporary sampling techniques, but mostly it’s just very lovely. Check it out for yourself, you might as well head into the weekend with a smile on your face:

The Atlantic Wire just reported on OWS’s newest offshoot, Occupy Williamsburg, putting Williamsburg in the line of fire for many jokes to come. Where was the first meeting held? Where do you think. Union Pool…shit let the hipster jokes commence. As reported, the group seemed to be an organized and legitimately concerned group of protesters, well aware of the jabs and stereotypes that Occupy Williamsburg will undoubtedly face. As Adam Clark Estes commented, “The group doesn’t plan to meet in Union Pool again, but it’s apparent that Occupy Williamsburg will spend a decent amount of time wrestling hipsterdom out of the picture.” In fact the meeting began with an acknowledgment to the (hipsters) elephant in the room, saying “I think hipsterdom is dead. I think Occupy marks the end of it.” Should this movement show that Williamsburg is still more than new condos and people who brunch, that is never a bad thing, even if it means dealing with an onslaught of hipster jokes. Read the full article here.

This Friday Brooklyn Bowl is hosting a benefit in honor of DJ Jonathan Toubin, who was sent to the hospital in critical condition on December 8th when a car crashed into the hotel room where Toubin was staying in Portland. 100% of the proceeds will go to assisting with Jonathan’s hospital and medical bills. Tickets are $25 minimum in advance, $35 minimum donation day of show. The bill is pretty amazing to say the least:
Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Heavy Trash, Stabbing Eastward (Tunde Adebimpe & Ryan Sawyer), Royal Baths, Rotating DJ’s All Night Long: Gibby Haynes (Butthole Surfers), Billy Miller (Norton Records), Bear In Heaven, Leo Fitzpatrick, Habibi, and Slowdance.

Come out and show your support!

FRI, DECEMBER 16, 2011
DOORS: 10:30 PM / SHOW: 11:30 PM

Fucked Up

Planning out your next 7 days of music will be tough: From Madison Square Garden to 285 Kent in Williamsburg, it might be tricky–and expensive–to see all of the most buzzed shows. Before we get to that, however, a brief point regarding a show we saw last week:  !!!/Friends at 285 Kent on Sunday night may have been our favorite show of the year.   Watching Nic Offer of !!! casually enter the venue (which lacks a back stage) and spend 20 minutes stretching as his band got ready provided a great prelude to an incredibly high-energy set. We are hoping he had a cramp-free Monday.

Tonight you may already have tickets for My Morning Jacket/Band of Horses at MSG. And we hope you made it on tomorrow’s RSVP list for Diplo at the Eyebeam Art and Technology Center, as it is now closed; if you missed out, hip up Ducktails, Amen Dunes and Big Troubles at the 285 Kent holiday party instead.

This weekend, see the debut of the Brooklyn Night Bazaar in Williamsburg, including three shows from the likes of the Hold Steady, Fucked Up, James Murphy and many more contributing acts.  We’d like to highlight the $10 ticket price for the Fucked Up show and the fact that it is STILL ON SALE.   That is only the first of the BrooklynVegan Presents shows this weekend; on Saturday, you can see Twin Sister, Widowspeak and Ava Luna at Bowery Ballroom for $8 (also not sold out).

On to the top 10 shows for the next 7 days…

10. Smoke and Mirrors @ Eyebeam Art and Technology Center w/ Diplo, Smoke and Mirrors
Thursday, December 15th at 9:00pm – 21+, FREE! – RSVP Closed

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