Zombie Pub Crawl - The Charleston

Posted by Clarissa Roudabush at 05:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Last night, I saw Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear fame out at Spuyten Duyvil, taking advantage of the weather to enjoy the garden and impressive beer selection. Alas, I did not have the courage to tell him how much I love the new album. Not because I'm scared to approach people generally, but because the new video for "Two Weeks" has seriously creeped me the fuck out.

Posted by Jackie Snow at 04:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Needless to say we're pretty psyched to have Real Estate as part of our showcase on June 12. Here they are at the Annex on May 27th. [via Stereogum]

Real Estate - Beach Comber [Live] from Ray C. on Vimeo.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 03:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 10:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Levee

Posted by Clarissa Roudabush at 08:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Tomorrow night is the premiere of Livin' for the Citaaayyy!, the new monthly party at Legion on Metropolitan Ave.

Playing all kinds of rare and not-so-rare danceables from the 50s 60s 70s 80s and 90s, this will most likely be the time of your life-- mostly bc they've got one-part of the Free Danger duo DJing, who you can catch at the FREEburg Northside showcase on June 12th.

[Flyer compliments of Behold the Destroyer]

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 05:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tonight marks the official opening of Mesa Coyoacan, a traditional Mexican restaurant from chef Ivan Garcia, original menu designer for Barrio Chino and most recently chef de cuisine at Mercadito. There’s nothing avant-garde about the menu, most of which will seem familiar at first glance--his “grandma’s recipes,” as Garcia put it, down to house-made tortillas--albeit with modern touches such as Berkshire pork in the carnitas tacos and grass fed beef for the carne asada. Look for tacos (3 for $9), a sampling of ceviches, sopas, and tamales, as well as entrees, including enchiladas de mole, pork-and-fruit-stuffed poblanos topped with walnut sauce and pomegranate seeds, and spiced lamb in chile ancho, chile guajillo, and avocado leaves steamed in a banana leaf, none over $15. Those price points and the warm interior (Chino-style wood tables for up to 14; salvaged 1940s wallpaper; and actual family photos hovering over the dining space like a glowering abuelita) you can expect Coyoacan to finally turn the former Pampa Grill space in Graham Ave’s “Fish Tank” building into the destination those architects clearly meant it to be.

Beer and wine only for now, including red and white sangria. Brunch due next week. Full menu here.

Mesa Coyoacan
372 Graham Avenue
718-782-8171

Posted by Nick Mosquera at 04:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)

Adorable French electronica darling, Emilie Simon, has got a couple of New York shows coming up, including one in our 'hood:

June 2nd - Le Poisson Rouge, NYC
June 17th- Public Assembly, Brooklyn
July 23rd- Highline Ballroom, NYC

We've got two tickets to the June 2nd show with Holiday Shores! Be the third to email me (nicole@freewilliamsburg.com) and they're yours. WE HAVE A WINNER!

Download "Fleur de Saison (Season Flower)" here.

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 03:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Amanda Palmer (formerly of the Dresden Dolls), comedians Todd Barry and Eugene Mirman, Matthew Caws of Nada Surf, the Six Word Memoirists, authors Amy Tan and Anthony Swofford, and first time McSweeney’s novelists James Hannaham and Jessica Anthony all throw themselves at the collective intellectual fan this Saturday night at the Highline Ballroom for YOU'RE NOT ALONE, an evening presented by McSweeney's, SMITHMAG, and The Rumpus. We recommend you check this out, tickets are only $12 for all this awesomeness!

The details:

Comedy by Todd Barry and Eugene Mirman

Music by Matthew Caws of Nada Surf

Readings by Anthony Swofford, Jessica Anthony, James Hannaham, The Six-Word Memoirists, and Amy Tan

Hosted by author and Rumpus editor Stephen Elliott

Happy Hour from 6-7: $4 PBR; $5 All other beers; $6 Well Drinks

[Show link; Facebook group; Rumpus post]

Posted by Brian Ries at 01:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

The young, tired, broke, identity-craving, huddled masses continue their surge eastward along the L line... and the inherent humor of Brooklyn's gentrification has been nearly extinguished by a neverending slew of lousy hipster commentary. Case in point: This "Bushwick the Board Game" video, which is kinda marginally funny. Maybe it's just that the voice-over is super annoying, but we're left to wonder WTF is coming next.

From EveryGirlsSecret.com:

“NullSet Films has evolved into a full-blown empire, with the creation of NullSet Games and its inaugural release of Bushwick the Board Game. The game has evolved along with our ever changing neighborhood and is now ready for you...

“Visit an art show, attend your bands gig, take a ride on the L and take home a handsome stranger. Roll the dice for the trip around the board to gather cards and coins. Physical challenges include tasks such as calling a former lover, spinning the bottle, and additional feats of strength. The first to end up at their new pad in the wick (and is able to pay rent) wins. Simple. Hipster tested, unanimously approved."

Posted by Elizabeth Brady at 11:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

It's not even noon, but yes, I do want a Schaefer now.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 10:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Several years ago, I was walking to a party at college, holding a cup of grain alcohol punch. (Purchase Punch as it was called at my school.) When I walked into the door, everyone was crouched down on the floor and huddled, so that campus police couldn't see the illegal party happening. I crouched with my fellow brethren. The cops swept passed the "G Block" of the Old Apartments in their car. The moment the coast was clear my friend Dan jeered, and everyone jumped up and started slamming into each other. I would like to imagine that is the genesis for Dan Deacon's infamous countdowns--although I'm not sure he would ever agree.

Back to last week where I saw his vision fully realized. What I found to be even more exciting was the musical accompaniment. While previously he had been tied to the samples and his persona to boast the depth of his work, having a full band seemed more natural for his compositions. Fortunately, I saw the show at Bowery, where the sound system could really support the breathe of the work.

The audience was, of course, thoroughly engaged. Dan is the type of guy that was always able to bring people together in a way that everyone just wanted to have pure fun. The fun often has many layers or rules (in a sometimes nod to John Cage). It is these engaging games that keep the intimacy between performer and audience, and-- I would argue--creates a small, brief community between the show goers. His ability to maintain this with bigger and bigger audiences is no small feat.

I am fortunate to have known Dan as much as I have, and I think its great to have someone like him contribute to the music community as he has and will continue to do.

Posted by Lisa Baldini at 08:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

photos by Adam Au, c/o the L

With their big weekend just around the corner, The L went and got a sneak peak of the new Bushwick Beauty Bar and sends home some very "Jetsons-chic" photos. They also learn us on the chairs - "purchased from a shuttered beauty parlor in Lancaster, PA," the sign - "taken from the real Powder Puff in Kutztown, PA," and the lights over the bar - "vintage home hairdryers."

Posted by Brian Ries at 05:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Despite The Brooklyn Paper's headline which made us slightly queasy: "MTA finally finds your G-spot with extended service," we're delighted this is finally happening. I guess we should expect more headlines like this, now that Murdoch is running the show. As our friend Kevin pointed out, it could have been worse: “Marty Markowitz finds your G-spot with extended service.”

From Brooklyn Paper:

The G train will be extended to Church Avenue in July, creating the first direct link between trendy Williamsburg and posh Park Slope.

The service boost, scheduled to go into effect on July 5, became necessary because of planned track work along the elevated section of the F and G lines in Carroll Gardens and Park Slope.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 04:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

Though it's technically a rain-or-shine event, this evening's inclement weather may keep some of the crowds away from Hope Lounge and this year's kick-off of the Finger On the Pulse barbecues [via Eater]. Head on over at 7pm for $2 dollar PBRs and, infinitely more enticingly, $5 plates of Mexicali deliciousness from 2008 Vendy Award-winning Calexico. (In the slight chance you missed their recent appearance on "The Martha Stewart Show," check it out here. The FOTP folks are also giving away iPod covers from sponsor Incase to those that get there at the crack of cocktail hour, but admit it, you'd trample your own mother's iPhone for access to cheap Calexico with, possibly, shorter than usual lines.

Posted by Nick Mosquera at 03:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For $2.3 Million, you can be the Cameron you've always wanted to be. Now you just need to find a daddy with a vintage Porsche.

Check out the listing here.

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 02:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Print & put in your building. Or just sign up.

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 01:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If I wasn't working tonight I would be here in a heartbeat. Jen Bekman's gallery, 20x200 and hey hot shot! all have exposed me to brilliant work that I otherwise would have never come across. From the 20x200 blog:

Jen Bekman of Jen Bekman Projects, Inc., will be crossing the river to join artist and collector Danny Simmons, Joe Amrhein from Williamsburg's Pierogi Gallery and Steve Weintraub of Arts in Bushwick for an evening discussion on Brooklyn artists and collecting in the borough.

The panel, "Collecting in Brooklyn" is part of the Brooklyn Museum's larger series, Collecting Currently, and will bring you up to speed on emerging Brooklyn artists and the best ways to get your hands on some of their work before they hit the big time (read: while you can still afford it).

The discussion will take place next Wednesday, May 27th from 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. at the Brooklyn Museum — Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Gallery, 5th Floor.

Wine is included in the $20 ticket price ($15 for members). Visit www.museumtix.com to register. Be there or be, um, artless!

Posted by Jackie Snow at 01:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you're like me, this is right up your alley. Via Brooklyn Based:

It all started with a birthday party. Talitha Whidbee, owner of Champion Coffee in Greenpoint and Vine Wine in Long Island City, bought a case of blank, white My Little Pony dolls for her daughter’s birthday party. While watching the under-seven-set glitter and bedazzle the ponies, adults at the party starting talking about how they would decorate one of their own. Whidbee decided to give some ponies to local artist pals and see what happened. Then she called Brooklyn Based to see whether we wanted to turn the whole thing into an event to benefit a local charity. We saddled up immediately.

The results? An exceptional equestrian exhibition. Some are still recognizable as ponies, but a few artists took the challenge to a whole other abstract level. There’s sculpture, photography and even some diorama-style pieces in this show. All of the completed ponies are currently on sale on eBay. Or, head to Champion for an iced Americano, a chocolate mint cookie and a leisurely look at the very creatively hung installation, which went up Tuesday. Artists include Tony Matelli, Drew Heitzler and Peter Miller.

Go enjoy some snacks & Pony Punch at the reception this Friday (7-10pm) in the backyard of Champion, 1108 Manhattan Ave., and bid on one of these vamped up little ponies. All proceeds will be donated to Just Food.

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 12:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 11:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So So Glos

Nicole Schneit of Air Waves once clarified that her band's name is not meant to refer to the transmission of sound, instead it is the air we breathe and the waves of the ocean. Am I over-thinking things to say Air Waves make a lot more sense knowing that? Give Air Waves one listen and it's clear their music is more natural earnestness than radio fuzz (not that radio fuzz isn't near and dear to my heart). Saturday evening Nicole and crew were at the top of their game, playing with a fantastic slate of bands at Market Hotel which included Jersey's Screaming Females and Baltimore's Double Dagger. Openers Videohippos were also impressive, playing with a video accompaniment that made for a punk acid trip.

Market Hotel's resident So So Glos headlined the show and shook the place to it rafters. At one point during the set fans could be seen climbing up pillars and piping around the loft. Maybe they were trying to get a better view or maybe it's the new crowd surfing. The phrase "driven up the wall" traditionally means you were annoyed by something, perhaps the So So Glos live set has spawned a gleeful antonym.

More images after the jump.

Air Waves

So So Glos

Videohippos

-- Andrew Ritchie

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 05:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Very sad news

Multi-instrumentalist and former member of Wilco Jay Bennett died this weekend, according to a post on the website for Undertow Music Collective. He was 45. A cause of death was unknown. “We are profoundly saddened to report that our friend died in his sleep last night. Jay was a beautiful human being who will be missed,” read the update on Undertow. The company released his 2002 solo album, “Palace at 4 am (Part I).”

Representatives from the label and management firm had not responded to requests for comment as of Sunday evening, but the Chicago Sun-Times reached Bennett’s friend and collaborator Edward Burch. "Early this morning, Jay died in his sleep and an autopsy is being performed," Burch told Jim DeRogatis.

In the late ‘80s, Bennett founded the rock band Titanic Love Affair in Urbana, Ill., which lasted into the mid-‘90s. He was best known for his seven years in adventurous rock act Wilco. Bennett split from the Chicago-based group in 2001, and since his departure had been pursuing a solo career, as well as operating Pieholden Suite Sound – named after a song on Wilco’s 1999 album “Summerteeth” -- in Champaign , Ill. ...

Bennett was asked to leave the group before “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” was released, and his relationship with Wilco leader Jeff Tweedy remained strained. In early May of this year, Bennett filed suit against his former band mate for breach of contract stemming from his participation in “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart.” Bennett was seeking damages in excess of $50,000, according to court papers.

Late last month, Bennett posted on his MySpace page that he was to undergo hip replacement surgery, revealing that he had been living with a torn ACL since his time in Titanic Love Affair, and lacked health insurance. He was also completing work on his fifth solo effort, "Kicking at the Perfumed Air."

"This whole experience has really taught me to look both inward and outward for support, and I’ve learned things about myself that I thought I had completely figured out years ago," Bennett wrote on his MySpace page. "Family and friends have helped me to keep faith in a future that will actually be much more carefree than my constricted present state. I encourage you all to tell me stories of recovery, as they really do help."

Wilco are on tour in Spain, but a spokesperson for the band passed along a statement from Tweedy: "We are all deeply saddened by this tragedy. We will miss Jay as we remember him -- as a truly unique and gifted human being and one who made welcome and significant contributions to the band's songs and evolution. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends in this very difficult time."

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 03:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

These are Powers

With a sea of empty Colt 45 cans strewn across the floor and a crowd packed like the L on a weekday morning These Are Powers rocked Vice’s party at Glasslands Thursday night. Late on the bandwagon, These Are Powers first drew my attention opening for Dan Deacon this January in a raucous warehouse show in Bushwick. While they were great in the winter, warm weather and top billing drew a different level of energy out of the band. These Are Powers have described their sound as “ghost punk” and their set last night indeed proved to be haunting-yet-extremely-danceable chaos. Pterodactyl opened with thunderous punk and the crowd was treated to a surprise set by Columbus, Ohio’s finest lo-fi noise rockers Psychedelic Horseshit. A friend of mine noted that the crowd was so hyped by These Are Powers’ set that they forgot to stop shaking their booties and dancing during Horseshit’s heavy drone.

More photos after the jump.

--Andrew Ritchie

Pterodactyl

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 02:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls are throwing a couple of parties next week to support their amazing program. If you don't know, now you know:

The summer camp is an intensive one-week day camp program. The organization currently offers two sessions every summer, serving a total of approximately 150 girls. Daily programming consists of instrument instruction (drums, bass, guitar, keyboards, vocals, DJ/turntables, and sound & recording), band practice, and workshops on a variety of topics, from songwriting to self-defense. Games and crafting activities (including making band t-shirts and buttons) are interspersed throughout the day.

Campers form bands on the first day, and during daily band practice they write music and lyrics collectively, assisted by band coaches. At the end of the week, the camp bands perform their original songs at a large-scale recital concert.

The shows will include some of our faves such as Pterodactyl and Parts & Labor. And, if you're a 19+, they've got Ladies Workshops too!

Todd P & Horse+Dragon are also hosting a benefit for the Rock Camp on May 29th at Monster Island featuring Wild Yaks, Lady Magma, Hexa, & Beluga. We're giving you 4 shows to celebrate the same cause here... so, pick one!!

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 04:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

FREEwilliamsburg showcase headliners These are Powers are playing tonight at Glasslands. And there's going to be free Colt 45:

VICE x Colt 45 present The Colt Guides and Launch Parties Keeping 2009 nice and smooth

May 21, 2009 – Brooklyn, Glasslands Gallery (289 Kent Ave)
Featuring These Are Powers and Pterodactyl
21+ |RSVP REQUIRED | 9PM-2AM
Free with RSVP - http://www.viceland.com/coltrsvpny/

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 02:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Do you wake up in the morning, sign into your decade-old America Online account and think something like, "Hot damn. I am the shit, online."? Do your friends just "not get twitter," but you RT them regardless b/c it makes you/them look important? Are you following Soup on Tumblr? Well, great! Then you might just be a Webutante. And now, thanks to our friends (and who Media Bistro calls "new Media power couple") Jessica Amason & Richard Blakeley, you've got your own prom. It's the Webuntante Ball, a "cocktail-formal event for both male and female 'WEButantes' held at the swanky rooftop of a luxury hotel." Welcome, bitches. You've made it. And you've got mail.

To celebrate Internet Week, Jessica Amason and Richard Blakeley, bring you the WEBUTANTE BALL. A cocktail-formal event for both male and female "WEButantes" held at the swanky rooftop of a luxury hotel.

The event features a fashionable no sneakers or hats dress code, free vodka cocktails from 6-7 and a ceremonial crowning of a Webutante King and Queen! Come have your webutante portrait taken and shmooze with the best of web-society.

Eat your heart out Chuck Bass: we may not have private planes, but we've got Twitter and we've got style

Here's the Facebook event, and to nominate a king and queen email the organizers your nominations.

Posted by Brian Ries at 01:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Beauty Bar is having their Brooklyn grand opening next weekend. Getting my nails did while getting happy hour drunk, and not having to stomach the L train to do it-- this gets 2 thumbs way up from me.

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 12:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Christ, I never thought we'd post anything featuring The View or Jesse Ventura. But dammit, Jesse really nails it, exposing the racism behind the whole waterboarding debate. And it's always good to see that idiot Elisabeth Hasselbeck put in her place. Too bad we have to rely on a debate from an ex-wrestler and a Survivor contestant to put this whole horrible thing in perspective.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 09:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

[Thanks Lauren!]

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 04:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Is this a crack in Gimme Coffee's armor? An Eater reader sent in a photo of a pants-sagging coffee barista, writing, "Reason 12 why Second Stop is better than Gimme. This is a Gimme barista working while sporting the pants below ass look. Has to be a violation, no?".

Not sure. But it cracks me up. No, actually that joke doesn't work because I see no crack. Is this barista buttless? I think the violation lies in the photographer's pocket, as srsly, who gets someone to make them a latte before snapping an iphone photo of their ass?

Posted by Brian Ries at 04:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Although the resurrection of lost and forgotten 1970s sullen folklore seems to have come to a tipping point these days, I'm gonna go ahead and say there's no such thing as too much of a good thing. Personally, my obsession with Glowing Raw is in a constant state of growth-- these are the folks who opened my eyes to Sibylle Baier and Claudine Longet, who I just.. can't.. stop.. listening to.

Next up on the list of underappreciated in his/her own time is Judee Sill. After the re-release of her two albums on Artista in 2005, this gloomy little songstress captured the like-souled hearts of neo-folk peeps such as Robin Pecknold of Fleet Foxes. And now, we have a tribute album to look forward to. Yesterday, American Dust announced the release of Crayon Angel: A Tribute to the Music of Judee Sill out on September 22nd-- which includes two tracks, preiously unrecorded, and interpreted by Beth Orton and Bill Callahan.

Oh, and in case your obscure folk obsessed mouth isn't watering enough, Callahan's "Like a Rainbow" happens to have been co-written by Judee's onetime boyfriend Lal Baum-- great-grandson of Wizard of Oz author L. Frank Baum. Sweet, huh?

Check out Fleet Foxes doing a cover of Sill's "Crayon Angels", who (sadly) are not a part of the tribute album of the same name, and the full track listing after le jump...

01 Ron Sexsmith: "Crayon Angel"
02 Beth Orton: "Reach for the Sky"
03 Daniel Rossen: "Waterfall"
04 Frida Hyvönen: "Jesus Was a Cross Maker"
05 Shalants: "Lopin Along Thru the Cosmos"
06 Final Fantasy: "The Donor"
07 Nicolai Dunger: "Soldier of the Heart"
08 Trembling Blue Stars: "Lady-O"
09 Colossal Yes: "The Phoenix"
10 Marissa Nadler & Black Hole Infinity: "The Kiss"
11 Princeton: "Down Where the Valleys Are Low"
12 The Bye Bye Blackbirds: "There's a Rugged Road"
13 Meg Baird: "When the Bridegroom Comes"
14 Bill Callahan: "For a Rainbow"
15 P.G. Six: "Til Dreams Come True"

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 11:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The L Magazine's Summerscreen film series in McCarren Park announced their lineup today and yup, we've got zombies! And Jim Carrey. This year marks the film's first year out of the pool, and it looks like they're setting up at the ball fields closest to Turkey's Nest in McCarren Park.

The films will be shown at dusk on Wednesday nights starting July 8th and area restaurants will be on hand to sell food and beverages. Admittance is absolutely free.

This year’s lineup of films includes:

July 8: Reality Bites
July 15: Evil Dead 2
July 22: 24 Hour Party People
July 29: Wild at Heart
August 5: Fame
August 12: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

More info at summerscreen.org.

[Photo by the conklins on flickr.]

Posted by Brian Ries at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Tonight at Crash Mansion [199 Bowery], the Universal Record Database (URDB) is back on stage for their World Record Appreciation Society #6, where folks with long hidden talents hope to set records in categories including, Most Knock Knock Jokes Told In One Minute, Most Trivial Pursuit Questions Answered Incorrectly In One Minute, Most Tweets To @Oprah In 140 Seconds (I have MCHammer) and Most Consecutive People Beaten In Arm Wrestling By A Woman In Her Third Trimester Of Pregnancy. The band Blast Off is kicking things off at 8:00 PM. Get tickets here.

Named Best Oddball Night by New York Magazine, the World Record Appreciation Society is back. On Wednesday, May 20, we're lining up a mix of new stars and URDB legends for our biggest world record night yet. It's gonna be insane, I tells ya.

Pianos was getting a bit squishy, so we've moved to Crash Mansion a few blocks away. We'll have tons more seating, a higher stage, a bar menu, video monitors...even a green room where our record setters can hang out to escape paparazzi.

Think you've got one of your own? It's not to late to sign up! Get on the bill and set your own world record by emailing dan@URDB.org.

[photo of Most High Fives During Pledge of Allegiance via urdb on flickr]

Posted by Brian Ries at 10:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Nobody expected Friday's No Fun Fest to take on a literal meaning, but for musicians Joe Raglani and Steve Hauschildt, it sucked. Brooklyn Vegan got news that some fun haters broke into their van and stole everything. The tipster wrote:

Just to let you know, after playing No Fun Fest in NYC last night Joe Raglani's van was broken into and all of his equipment was stolen. This includes the very expensive and rare synth he's spent years building up from modular parts and many other unique and custom devices. Needless to say, the rest of his tour has been canceled. He'll likely need encouragement to motivate himself to begin anew. I'd hate our community to lose his output.

The full list of missing equipment is below. If everyone keeps a loose eye on Craigslist and a few area music shops, maybe we'll get a lead...send along tips.

[photo via raglani's myspace]

Raglani's Stuff stolen
Moog Voyager Old School White Wash
Moog VX-351 Expander with cable
Moog Voyager Case (Raglani Stenciled in Black)
Sequential Circuits Pro One (J-Wire) With black Plastic case.
TWO Traynor KB-4 Keyboard amps. (Raglani Stenciled in white on bottom)
Pedal Board case
Flower Electronics Little Blue Boy Deluxe Custom build modular synth
with wood sides.
3ms (4MS) Noise Swash Pedal.
Silver Boss Super Shifter (blue pedal)
Boss re-201? SPACE ECHO PEDAL NEW.
SONY walkmen
behrienger 12 channel Mixer (silver)
Moog Ring Modulator moogerfooger pedal
Line 6 DL4 delay modeler.
Shure Microphone beta 51
DJ case with new headphones and tools. All my patch cords. Including
several expensive adaptors and color cables.
Mac powerbook laptop computer
Garwin GPS

Steve Hauschildt's stolen gear
Moog Micromoog with flight case
Moog Lowpass filter moogerfooger pedal
Frostwave resonator filter pedal
Akai Headrush pedal
Boss Graphic EQ (white Pedal)
E.H. Small Stone Phaser pedal.
Behrenger xenix mixer
Various cables and adaptors

Posted by Brian Ries at 04:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Drop what you're doing. You must watch this now. [Thanks Rumproast]

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 01:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I've got a new piece up at Gavin McInne's latest site SBTVC. Here's a taste:

For starters, you may want to avoid referring to a woman’s elbows and knees as “hinges,” as the authors do in number 11. And while I’m on the subject, how in God’s name could anyone think number 15 is a good idea:

“Season her belly with a little salt, and then slowly lick it off.”

Salt? WTF? You had two authors and presumably and editor working on this thing. None one of you found the idea of turning your partner into a human salt lick fucking retarded odd?

And these two examples don’t even qualify as the most perplexing tips on the list. In fact, when I got to sex tip number 20, I had to double-check the address bar on my browser to make sure I wasn’t reading The Onion:

20. Blindfold Yourself
Many women who are insecure about their bodies stick to the missionary position because you can’t see their bodies that way. If you really can’t see her because your eyes are covered, she’ll do a lot more with you, to you, and for you.

Um. No. Even if she isn’t insecure about her body, she’s going to be if she thinks you need a blindfold to fuck her. Why not just throw a bag over her head and tape some pornography to the spot where her face used to be? If you blindfold yourself she’s going to think you’re repulsed by the sight of her. So let me repeat: DON’T DO THIS.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 10:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

I have an RSS feed set up to see everything posted under "Free Stuff" on Craigslist's in Williamsburg (instructions on how to do that are here)

While most of the free packing boxes and shelves left on a corner after a move haven't perked my interest, this morning I woke to find this gem:

Sunflower Project Starting a new project for the Greenpoint/Williamsburg Area. Come pick up a baby plant, water it, and watch it grow to 6 feet tall. I want to have Sunflower plants all over Greenpoint/Williamsburg, so if you want to take part and add some color to your neighborhood, then come pick up a plant.

Bests

Matt

Labarbsphoto@gmail.com

Sunflowers all over North Brooklyn? Totally legit.

Posted by Jackie Snow at 09:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Because you're more likely to "have a sad" on Mondays here is a heads up for the free comedy shows tonight...

Anonymous Comics presents a weekly open mic and comedy showcase at Williamsburg's Royal Oak. Hosted by Rhodees Pierre, Come early for an open mic and 2 for 1 drinks (6-8) and stay for the later showcase from 9-11 and an open improv workshop at 11:30. 21+

and starring at Pete's as well...a "long-running standup show":

Jen Dziura's long-running standup show continues tonight at Pete's Candy Store starring Jen Dziura's long-running standup show, starring RG Daniels, Nick P. Ross, Daniel Hirshon, Matt Wittman, and Jim Hill. Free candy for all.

via FreeNYC

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

Back in March, Savoir Adore made it onto our radar. Shortly thereafter they were named one of The L Mag's 8 NYC Band You Need To Hear. And now, along with Cantora Records, they're handing out a freebie EP to prelude their debut full-legnth, The Wooded Forest, out on August 25th.

Download The Machines EP here. And check out the video for Savoir's first single "MERP" there.

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 04:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sure, you’d like to join one of the neighborhood CSAs, shop at the greenmarket, and limit your consumption to Long Island wines and Brooklyn brews, but your accounts currently require limiting yourself to Bud Light wishes and taco truck dreams. Isn’t there any way for you hop onto that whole “local” thing all your annoyingly employed friends are into? Enter the New York State Department of Health. Yes, Albany is, for possibly the first time, working for you.

Recently, the DoH began calling attention to their Hudson River Fish Advisory Outreach Project through no doubt riveting community meetings and signs like the one above placed along the city’s waterways. (It requires a walk through what looks like Grozny at the moment, but head over to the North 5th Street pier behind the Northside Piers development when you have a chance. Weekends only, for now.) Sure, old men have been fishing New York for longer than there has been a city by that name, but few probably realized that now, after decades of environmental cleansing, anyone who is not a child, or planning on have one in the near future, can actually feast on the fruits of the East River, and that such actions are at least tacitly endorsed by a town that won’t let you smoke and a state that almost taxed sugary drinks. Surely, then, these fish and eels can’t be all that bad for you, at least for the occasional summertime cookout. Get your cleaning instructions here. Sushi preparation is, alas, still a tad risky.

According to NYCfishing, anglers can expect to dredge up bass, blues, and flounder, among other species, all within walking distance and free of charge, assuming you can dig up a rod and reel from your parents’ garage. While you’re out there, in full Gorton’s fisherman attire, just try to ignore thoughts of what else lurks in the silty waters and GE’s Superfund-demanded PCB dredging up near the Adirondacks. No word yet on any local chefs offering those “catch-and-cook” specials, a la the Jersey shore, but it’s likely only a matter of time before the Marlow and Sons/Daughters folks have a trawler anchored somewhere along Kent.

Posted by Nick Mosquera at 02:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Partnering with Williamsburg Walks, the Northside Music and Arts Festival is shuttin' down Bedford from North 4th to North 9th Streets, from noon to 9pm on Saturday June 13th. Scott Stedman, Publisher of The L Magazine says, "With the street closed to cars, we will have diverse community-minded programming to coincide with the Northside Festival — from acoustic music to fun contests to public art."

So, that'll be fun.

As you know, our show is Friday night at Death by Audio, with These Are Powers, Javelin, Real Estate, Air Waves and Organs. For the rest of the showcases, the full festival schedule is now live!

Posted by Brian Ries at 02:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I always say NYC is the smallest city in the world. As a fairly well-traveled native, I somehow manage to bump into people I've met 3000 miles away in some dive bar on the South Side on a regular basis. Case and point-- Audrye Sessions.

Once upon a time, back when I was living in good ol' Oakland CA, I got the chance to see these kids play in an abandoned airplane hanger filled with kegs of Fat Tire, and a few other local talents that have since disbanded. It's good seeing Audrye's Muse-esque sound evolving, not to mention the serious play they're getting. Here are some band members making a meal as they host last week's MTV Subterranean:

Check them out doing their live thing after the jump. As well as some photos from last month's show with Manchester Orchestra who they're currently touring with...

April 29th @ Bowery Ballroom:

Audrye Sessions

Manchester Orchestra

Photos by Clarissa Roudabush

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 01:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

If you happen to make it to Secret Project Robot from now until June 6th, you will see a great show by a new multimedia artist Raymond Salvatore. While his work may appear to be abstract, they are informed by philosophy and anthropological studies as much as contemporary psychedelic abstraction:

As an experimental filmmaker his work is abstract, are accompanied by his own electronic compositions as well as those of his various collaborators. His recent works include full scale immersive video and sound environments, large format digital prints that are then hand manipulated and painted on, and live video performances.

Many of Harmon's films contain layered subliminal content, the source of this content is often derived from occult and mystical texts. Utilizing texts such as the Gates of Light (an early work of Hebraic mysticism, kabbalah) and Aleister Crowley's Book of Lies, Harmon's occult based films work as advanced meditative tools for use in occult rituals and the expansion of the conscious mind.

c/o Pendu

Posted by Lisa Baldini at 12:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

These just keep getting better:

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Rock out with your taco out

Who doesn't like free food AND music?

Say no more.

OK wait I have one more thing to say - check out Children and let your mouth water for tacos!

Posted by Lauren Mooney at 06:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

BUST Magazine, the cutting-edge pop-culture magazine for “women with something to get off their chests” is hosting their second annual Spring Fling Craftacular this Sunday, May 17 from 12 to 7pm at the Warsaw!

It's only $2!!!! And there will be a juried selection of 50 of the best indie crafters from around the country! Plus there will also be tasty food, drinks and a chance to win fabulous raffle prizes and snag a goodie bag all while enjoying great music courtesy of some of the city’s most innovative DJs.

And for this year’s “Garden Party” theme, BUST is giving the over 2,000 expected attendees a chance to really get their hands dirty, with eco-conscious demos on guerilla gardening, growing your own food, and DIY screen-printing, presented by Trees Not Trash, The Farm Sanctuary, Provocraft, the makers of Yudu and many others.

Founded by Debbie Stoller, BUST’s Co-Publisher/Editor-in-Chief and author of the New York Times bestselling knitting book series “Stitch ‘n Bitch,” and Laurie Henzel, BUST’s Co-Publisher and Creative Director, the BUST Craftacular was created as a way to support the handmade and burgeoning DIY movement.

The addition of a green theme to the BUST Spring Fling Craftacular was a natural choice, according to Stoller. “There is so much overlap between people who are interested in crafting and those who are interested in the environment, sustainable living, and gardening. After all, what’s more DIY than growing your own food?”

Click through for a video of BUST MAGAZINE'S HOLIDAY CRAFTACULAR to get an idea of how awesome Sunday will be!

Posted by Lauren Mooney at 05:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

This sounds like the perfect event for these recessionary times. 106 Green is an artist run project space in Greenpoint Brooklyn that will provide space for artists and curators to exhibit their work. They are opening thier doors to the public on Saturday. From their website:

Originally inspired by an apocalyptic screenplay by artist and actor Dean Stockwell, After the Gold Rush, Neil Young’s third solo effort, is an epic record encompassing love, loss, social critique, and a tragic American landscape. Most of the album was recorded in Young’s make-shift basement studio during the spring of 1970, in the late days of the Vietnam war and the dawn of a decade of economic tumult. The songs shift in theme and musical genre, and depict visions from the medieval to the extraterrestrial in service of what appears to be an apocalyptic end, but with a hint of redemptive optimism. The album was met with lukewarm reviews. Rolling Stone then dismissed as ‘dull’ what it now calls a ‘masterpiece’.

While none of the work in this exhibition is based on Mr. Young’s music, perhaps it reflects something of its spirit. With varying strategies and media, the artists offer meditations ranging from the interpersonal to the epic; most capturing a north American angst that is both interwoven with the past and undeniably contemporary. Much of the work depicts a sort of cosmic spirituality where urban, rural, interior, and technological landscapes merge; and at its core offers a challenge and possible alternatives (however small) to the excesses of the Bush era boom.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 11:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here's the back story, in case you missed it.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 11:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

After Simon & Garfunkle broke up, Paul became the breakout star, while Art faded into obscurity. Obscurity does have it's benefits though, like tons of free time. Enough time to read a library's worth of books while cataloging each one and when it was read finally answering the question that plagues every person throughout life, "What was Art Garfunkle reading when I was born?" I got Proust. Here: http://www.artgarfunkel.com/library.html

Posted by David Bernstein at 05:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

The guys are streaming the new album in its entirety on their website. I'm not sure if I'm annoyed or entertained by the first track's chorus just yet, which (blindly) proclaims "Wilco. Wilco. Wilco will love you, baby".

Ughh, whatever-- it'll make it on most of my summertime playlists, I'm sure.

Wilco (The Album) will be released in hard copy June 30th on Nonesuch.

[Via Pitchfork]

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 04:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Our local athletes suddenly find themselves running into trees - a problem! - whilst playing kickball in McCarren Park. So, to get to the bottom of this scoop, the Brooklyn Paper sent out the grizzled Ben Muessig to investigate the unfortunate planting of these "trees"....

The 20-odd baby trees, which were planted as a part of Mayor Bloomberg’s “Million Trees” program, affect all three Brooklyn Kickball fields, which are used simultaneously on Sunday nights.

“You have to watch out, or else you’ll get hit in the back of the head,” said Bushwick resident B.J. Steiner of the “Divine Sisterhood of the Sacred Bleeding Heart” squad.

The city responded:

“This area was originally conceived as a passive-use area,” Parks Department spokesman Phil Abramson wrote in an e-mail. “With many venues in McCarren Park already dedicated to active recreation such as its ballfields, turf field, running track and basketball courts, we also strive to ensure that space is available for more passive pursuits such as picnics, sunbathing, and book reading.”

Let me know how sunbathing under these new trees works out for you. In regards to your "passive-use" quote, Parks Department spokesman Phil Abramson, I would like to say, "That's what she said." Thank you and good night.

[photo by Katie Chao, c/o Brooklyn Paper]

Posted by Brian Ries at 04:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Brooklyn Based got an early sneak peak & tour of the new bowling alley/venue opening at 61 Wythe Avenue sometime...soon. They say it's "the most ambitious, striking, high-tech bowling alley/music venue we’ve ever laid eyes on."

The walls are decked with custom, Coney-inspired art (and more vintage posters are in the process of being restored).

Ferra Designs — whose intricate ironwork is on display at Dressler — has taken salvaged Brooklyn Navy Yard windows to decorate the banquettes in the Blue Ribbon restaurant, whose tables are fashioned from the former Woodhaven Lanes in Queens.

The stage is made from recycled truck tires, all the wood is either salvaged or sustainably harvested, and many other green details will make this the first LEED-certified bowling alley in the country.

Read the rest at Brooklyn Based, and subscribe to them so I don't have to tell you these things and can just focus on my hipsters in socks beat.

Posted by Brian Ries at 10:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

We'd all agreed over here to never mention white boy rapper Asher Roth on this site. We'd prefer to just sort of let him fade away into cultural obscurity on his own. His retarded ode to pizza, frat boys and jelly shooters, "I Love College," was just too much to bear.

Thankfully, this hilarious and, um, high concept remix by Landline somehow seems highbow in comparison. And yes, fuck the Quizno's, fuck the Subway!!

DOWNLOAD THE MP3

Check out Landline's "Obamtourage" after the jump

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

From the Wall Street Journal:

The Obama administration is weighing plans to detain some terror suspects on U.S. soil -- indefinitely and without trial.

And what's up with this?

In a reversal, President Barack Obama said on Wednesday he would fight the release of dozens of photographs showing the abuse of terrorism suspects.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 11:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

Micheal Cavadias

Posted by Clarissa Roudabush at 06:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Williamsboard members have spent the last few days jerking off to this epic thread, in which Dov Charney-sucking vixens post self-pics of themselves wearing hipster socks in various states of undress. Here are your FW-recommended winners to the Williamsboard Williamsburg Sock Off, after the (NSFW) jump...

Best Female [tie]: caketown for answering a call for her face shot with a "not with my job i ain't" & kuusikuusikuusi for wearing a Mariners jersey.

caketown:

kuusikuusikuusi:

Best Male: Veebs, who asked, "am I doing this right?" Yes sir, you are.

Best Couple: Jarrod, who was later told, "the couple that socks together...uh... stays together?"

Congratulations everybody. Hope to see you around...in your socks, of course.

Posted by Brian Ries at 04:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

North 3rd and Berry

Posted by Clarissa Roudabush at 04:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It looks like Debbie Gibson's career is going awesome:

[thanks Derek]

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 03:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

via MySpace

I am a self-confessed Lost nerd, so it's exciting to see that the best Lost-themed band Previously on Lost will be celebrating the season finale tonight at the Bell House. I think the photo says it all.

Posted by Lisa Baldini at 02:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Impose is throwing a Test Patterns party tomorrow night at Don Pedro's (90 Manhattan Ave). Crystal Stilts, Gary War, Nerve City and Nice Face are playing upstairs, with Marcos Cabral, Ron Morelli and Cowboy Mark downstairs. 8 bucks, 8 p.m., free PBR for all.

Full flyer below the jump...

Posted by Brian Ries at 12:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Under about 15-feet of water out in the East River, somewhere between Brooklyn's North 10th St. and Manhattan's E. 14th, lies an old dining room table "with a Formica top and the grooved metal bands around the edge." I learned that this morning, along with the term "Hudson River Alligator" and that there are these nightmarish worms, "nearly four feet long, with little triangular teeth" that are gnawing away at our bridges.

Basically, this Secrets of the Deep feature over at NYMag is fantastic.

[Illustration by Mark Nerys, c/o of NYMag]

Posted by Brian Ries at 11:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Currently, my literary obsession is with Important Artifacts and Personal Property from the Collection of Lenore Doolan and Harold Morris, Including Books, Street Fashion, and Jewelry by Leann Shapton.
Shapton charts the (fictional) rise and fall of a relationship through an auction house listing of 325 items given or collected during the four years the characters Lenora and Harold dated. Books, love letters, photos, stolen salt and pepper shakers from dates, unwanted gifts from the other's mother, mix tapes and phone bills, you name it, it lends itself to the story. It's quite refreshing to read the old, inevitably doomed love story in a new structure that has you turning the page back to see how pieces fit. I mean, really, when's the last time you interacted with a book like that? Harold's Brooklyn address is revealed, but alas! He is a Prospect Heights resident (yes, I'm so into the story that I google mapped an address). I'm not really doing this book justice but I'm going to reread and return it to the library, so someone should get on it asap.

Interestingly enough, Shapton's website displays the page that is also in the self portrait I took this weekend.

Posted by Jackie Snow at 12:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Are you a recent college graduate who would enjoy working out of a "home office" in Williamsburg 2-3 days a week doing things like "data entry, research, organization, client communications"?

If you're interested, you should have "awesome PC skills, be a great Internet researcher, be a go-getter, and very creative." It pays $10/hr, with the potential to make $30/hr if you move up the ranks.

To do that, you should know how to give a good striptease. Inquire within. Below the jump, check out some video of one of the instructors at the company demonstrating some of the moves you'll need to learn.

Update: They have a blog! And they have a blog with a post about a guy who used to come into a bar to buy shots of pee for $50 or $100 bucks. For realz: "He would come into the club and request that a girl pee in to a shot glass or beer bottle so that he could drink it. I think he was paying like 50, 100 bucks and this was like 10 yrs ago. So it was easy money." But the girl actually had her male DJ's do it cuz she couldn't aim. Hah! Must have been the Turkey's Nest?

Posted by Brian Ries at 05:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Slick Rick is coming to town! Slick Rick is coming to town! He's slated to play East River State Park this summer as one of three recently announced dates for "the new pool parties," sandwiched between Man Man and Ismael Miranda:

Thursday, July 16th: Man Man
Thursday, July 23rd: Slick Rick
Thursday, July 30th: Ismael Miranda

[via Brooklyn Vegan; Previously]

Posted by Brian Ries at 05:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Leather booths. Edison lamps. Waiters in bowties. All are examples of some supposedly fun trends I hope I never see in a new restaurant again. Nothing against, say, Walter Foods and speakeasy chic—I like an inscrutable, nefarious-sounding cocktail as much as the next guy—but trends spread like the flu in this town, ha, and it’s nice to stumble into an antidote like Anella.

OK, so there’s no sign on the door here, but all preciousness is stopped at the door. Housed in the old Queen’s Hideway space on Franklin Ave, Anella has expanded it to two slim dining spaces wrapped around the apartment entrance in the middle. If this makes for a slightly disorienting entrance—aim for the door on the left—inside one is warmly welcomed by a sturdy, idiosyncratic-looking bar made out of workbenches snagged from the Queens Steinway factory. Some other piano paraphernalia blends seamlessly into an era-blending aesthetic combining smooth wood paneling, slate-topped tables, and a pair of unfinished walls, still sporting contractors’ instructions, that serve as an homage to the well-loved previous tenant.

The rustic-meets-urbane Italian menu from former Chanterelle chef Michael Sullivan treks from pizzas to pastas to mains and requires plenty of mulling over, so a complimentary amuse-bouche of white bean and pesto, was greatly appreciated. You might end up skipping apps altogether to take full advantage, and a delicious, homemade spinach parardelle in amatriciana sauce, if not exactly overflowing with pork cheek, appears with enough percorino to fill out a lasagna. Later, a shell steak peppered with marrow, parsley, and lemon peel sits on a generous bed of the creamiest mashed potatoes you’ve ever had. Made with olive oil, they’re enough to wean one off of butter altogether. Not everything coalesces quite so smoothly. The mild oven-roasted halibut was overshadowed by a saccharine, watery “salsa” (read: false pesto, with capers, anchovy, and parsley in place of basil) and despite the wood-burning oven, the pizzas on one night looked a little wan, more like pita bread with toppings.

But like any newborn restaurant, Anella is a work in progress and, like those Steinways, strikes the right notes much more often than not. If one nearby table complained about some acrid smoke emanating from the open kitchen, someone there later described roasted half-chicken as “the best piece [they’ve] had had in a long while.” And though the liquor license was still forthcoming, the “mocktails” on offer, including a grapefruit and basil spitzer, are as seasonably appropriate as sunglasses and Havaianas.

As for dessert, I suspect the highlight will be the frozen tiramisu made with now-de rigueur Stumptown coffee. (Copious bike lanes and fine java on every corner: does Portland have any feathers left in its cap?) It wasn’t available on the night in question—they were still awaiting freezer delivery—but a dark chocolate terrine, a hybrid of fudge and flourless cake, was an able, ample replacement.

With some entrees creeping above the $20 border, and the soon-to-be wine list rarely dipping below $30 (oh, cash only, too) the folks behind Anella seem confident that conspicuous consumption will soon strike back. But with the most refined menu and romantic atmosphere this side of McCarren, plenty will happily splurge, even if they need to pinch a few pennies beforehand.

Posted by Nick Mosquera at 10:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 05:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by Clarissa Roudabush at 02:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

MSNBC anchor Brian Williams launches what he calls an "inaugural web experiment", BriTunes, with indie twang darlings Deer Tick. It's, um, interesting...:

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 02:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The 'Dick in a Box' sequel: 'Motherlover':

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 12:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The Assimilated Negro asked me to comment on the hipster casting call that we posted about earlier this week. From Gawker

Let's assume this thing isn't a hoax or an art project by a recent Oberlin grad who thinks he's bohemian because he found bedbugs in his beard.

Do you tap the family trust fund? Do you idolize Dan Deacon? Are you SO not worried about getting swine flu 'cause that shit only happens to poor people?

They're not looking for hipsters. They're looking for entitled idiots. And wait, before you say it, I'm well aware. The terms ‘hipster' and ‘entitled idiot' have been synonyms for close to a decade now. But come on, isn't hipster rage about as tired as PBR and trucker caps? Of course there are plenty of ridiculous, pretentious idiots in Williamsburg-and New York as a whole for that matter. But would you rather be living in a stripmall in the exurbs of Richmond where alt culture consists of seeing The String Cheese Incident perform on Friday at that state-run amphitheater next to Applebees? (I'm from VA, so I can make fun). Personally, I'd rather be in a place like Williamsburg where people appreciate film, music, and fashion, even if I do have to put up with people named Unicornicopia and the neighborhood's other goofy excesses.

I hope the hipsterhood reality series is for real. That way we can pin all our hipster rage on a handful of dipshits and begin recognizing the difference between artists, people who are cool, and entitled morons. We clearly need a few sacrificial lambs and anyone who would answer that casting call is a perfect fit.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 05:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

Last night, I was fortunate to check out the Ólöf Arnalds show at the Scandinavia house. I say fortunate because I had never had a chance to see the Icelandic songstress live and it was by far one of my favorite shows this year. The setting was intimate, and she used it to her advantage--engaging the audience many times by having us join in the chorus. She is definitely one to check out if you have a chance. While Arnalds has played four times this week, I am sure she will be coming back soon.

Before the show, I was able to have Arnalds answer a few questions--from her place in music history as an Icelandic singer to her role as a musician during a tough economic climate.

FW: Can you give us a little background on your history as a musician? How long have you been solo?

OA: I had musical upbringing from 6 years old, learning violin, changing to singing lessons at 16, I quit music school at 21 and moved to Berlin, where I stayed for one winter and hung out with the Mum kids a lot, shortly after I moved home I started my studies in composition and new media at the Icelandic Academy of the Arts, taking a one year break from my studies to tour with Mum. I graduated from the school in 2006 and while working with Skuli Sverrisson on his record Seria from 2006 I started making my own music and lyrics for my first album that came out in 2007

FW: Do you think there is more freedom in the approach to the music when you are a solo artists? Which do you prefer more--the band environment or being a solo artist?

OA: I like doing both. What I like about playing solo is that you stand and fall entirely alone with your performance. But the musicians I collaborate with always teach me a lot and it's also nice to be able to share the experience of touring and playing.

FW: The music you play is light and airy like Vashti Bunyan as much as it also references contemporaries like Lau Nau and Kria Brekken. What are your influences? Who do you feel are your musical colleagues?

OA: I find it impossible to pinpoint my strongest influence, I work from impulse, not from predecided ideas about sound of feel, so any influence I'm under is very indirect in my mind.

FW: The Nordic region has been churning out great music over the last few decades. Do you think their are regional similarities in different parts? What do you feel the vibe is in Iceland compared to other countries? Do you feel at all akin to the Finnish Freak Folk scene?

OA: Well, Icelanders and Finns have some special connection, especially in regards of their drinking habits! The good thing about the Icelandic scene is that it's very fluent in a way, things happen quickly and easily, everything is very spontanious, which is something that the Finns are not.

FW: You are playing a show with Bjork on the 8th. What are your thoughts on her place in music history in terms of being an Icelandic musician? Do you feel that you "stand in her shadow" by being a female musician from Iceland?

OA: Not at all, I don't feel like my identity is that much about being icelandic. I just see myself as a artist trying to do my best in sharing my music with others. Bjork is a fabioulus artist and I really look up to her, because she does things the way she wants to do them. That's very inspiring for me.

FW: What bands are currently exciting you? In Iceland and from other areas?

I really like this young band from Iceland called Retro Stefson.

FW: Finally, while this is a little political, how do you think the economic crisis in Iceland affects you as a musician? Do you think it makes you want to move your music into being political?

OA: I'm not interested in putting my energy to much into politics. It's not my job. The way the economic crisis is affecting me at the moment is that I feel a strong urge not to be smothered by it. I think it's very important under these circumstances that artist keep their mind clear and creative, to keep up the good spirit.

Posted by Lisa Baldini at 07:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

I'm actually pretty excited about seeing Larry David star in a Woody Allen film. Plus it's great to see Allen back in New York. From The Observer

"It used to be Diane Keaton with me—she always used to tell me, ‘I’m terrible, I’m awful, I can’t do it, you should get someone else.’ And she was always brilliant. Well, Larry is like this,” said Woody Allen via telephone from his Upper East Side apartment last week. The 73-year-old director was discussing his new movie Whatever Works.

“I gave him every opportunity to get someone else, [said David]. I was kind of uncomfortable. I was out of my comfort zone,” he said. Then he laughed. “Of course, the comfort zone is not very big! I take one step to the right and I’m out of my comfort zone.”

Whatever Works is Woody Allen exactly as you want your Woody Allen to be. It’s witty, dark, poignant, zany and hilarious, and showcases a New York filtered through the Allen lens as we’ve never seen it before. Meaning, forget the Upper East Side! This film creeps through the crooked and narrow streets of the Lower East Side and Chinatown, knishes to hanging chickens.

And as for Mr. David … he indeed pulls it off and then some playing Boris Yellnikoff, a half-suicidal almost–Nobel Prize–winning physicist who suffers from night terrors (he wakes up with strangling death screams) and minor OCD (he washes his hands and sings “Happy Birthday”--twice!--in order to kill all the germs), then tosses it all away (literally) and considers the majority of Earth’s population too stupid and meaningless to even deal with.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 03:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Just pick one of their videos and input it into yooouuutuuube.com. It's a new site that allows you to simultaneously view every frame of a video on YouTube. Now, if only they were able to do it with the audio, then we'd have some pretty amazing remixes.

AC, Winter's Love Live

Via BOOOOOOOM!

Posted by Lisa Baldini at 02:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Via NYMag:

Rob Sacher — who owned Luna Lounge on Ludlow Street before moving it to Williamsburg and then leasing the space to the Knitting Factory, which is expected to open this summer — has soft-opened Satellite Lounge in Williamsburg. He describes it, in the humblest of terms, as a neighborhood bar, and insists there’s nothing really special about it, though there are three pinball games and foosball might be coming. What’ll draw people to the venue, located in an old hardware store, is his connection with local musicians — TV on the Radio drummer Jaleel Bunton has already popped in, and Longwave threw an after-party there after last week’s Webster Hall show. “I love being in Williamsburg for the same reason I loved being on Ludlow Street in 1995,” says Sacher. “There were 30,000 musicians on the block.”

So there's no live music scheduled at this 70 person capacity bar, but there is a $5 beer & shot special. As for music, we're not worried-- from Brooklyn Rocks:

Given Rob's years in the local music scene, I would expect the bar to have a fabulous jukebox.

Party starts @ 10pm tonight, and again tomorrow-- same time, same place.

Satellite Lounge, 143 Havemeyer St. (btwn S 1st & S 2nd)

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 02:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Rooftop Films' opening night party is a week from today, and tickets are going, going, (almost) gone! It's short films with a Cymbals Eat Guitars / open bar sandwich.

The deets:

FRIDAY, MAY 15, 8pm
This is What We Mean by Short Films
Opening Night
We kick off our 13th year of “Underground Movies Outdoors” with short films that don’t take long to astonish, amaze and inspire.
Venue: on the roof of the Open Road Rooftop
Address: 350 Grand Street @ Essex (Lower East Side, Manhattan)
8:00PM: Doors open
8:30PM: Sound Fix presents live music by Cymbals Eat Guitars .
9:00PM: Films
11:30PM - 1:00AM: Open Bar at Fontana’s (105 Eldridge St), courtesy of Radeberger beer
Tickets: $9 at the door or online at going.com

Also, programmers have released the summer schedule through June, which includes a slew of dates around the LES and SoBro but so far only one date (Thursday, June 11) in Williamsburg! Hopefully we'll get a few more in July and August. June at the Automotive High School is buggy, anyways...(right?).

Posted by Brian Ries at 01:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

North 12th and Kent Ave.

Posted by Clarissa Roudabush at 01:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Claw Money -Solo Exhibition-
May 8th-May 12th
Opening reception
7-10pm Friday May 8th 2009
43 Bogart Street, Brooklyn, NY

From Eastern-District:

Claw Money is a legendary Graffiti Artist, best known for her signature icon, a paw with three claws. This paw could be spotted all over New York during her days rolling with the prestigious graff crews, TC5, 5C, and her own crew, PMS. Until 2008, she was the Fashion Editor for Swindle Magazine[...]

Keeping up with Claw these days is no easy task. Between maintaining her eponymous clothing and accessories line, which has a celebrity cult following (M.I.A., Kayne West, Amy Winehouse, Santo Gold, Pete Wentz, and Cameron Diaz, just to name a few) and writing furiously for her irreverent fashion blog Blogue[...]

Some of Ms. Money's recent projects include Doug Pray's 2006 graffiti documentary Infamy and her first monograph, Bombshell: The Life and Crimes of Claw Money, published by PowerHouse books. The 2007 book, which archives a collection of graffiti, high style, and wild times, is already in its second edition printing. Most recently Claw has been on a world tour promoting two collaborative sneakers with athletic giant, Nike. The two styles, a peacock feather-adorned Vandal and lace-infused Blazer are Nike's first artist releases for women by a woman, setting a new precedent for female streetwear collaborations in an extremely male dominated market segment[...]

Sponsored by Belvedere Vodka, keepin' it classy!

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 01:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Marc Ribot Y Los Cubanos Postizos are playing a show on Mother's Day at Rose's Live Music. It's supposed to be a nice day (finally) and they'll be playing in Rose's garden.

For Marc's 55th birthday, he will be reconvening some old bands and premiering some new over a week long run of shows in various venues around NYC from May 9 - 16th! Rose is excite to host Day 2 of Marc's retrospective with a MOTHER'S DAY MATINEE!

Marc will be sitting in with the master cajon player from Peru, with the Colombian party ensemble & revives his most celebrated "fake Cubans" w/Anthony Coleman, Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez + special guests!

Sunday May 10th, 1PM doors
Bring your mothers!
BBQ provided in the garden!
$15 at the door / $10 for Mothers & children under 14! Proof of motherhood required! Enter discount code "mother"

Click HERE for Advance Tickets

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 10:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Peter Luger burger image c/o gastronomyblog

In this New York Times article, the "Burger of the Month Club" awards Peter Luger's for having the best burger in New York. Dumont holds the impressive #11 spot on their list. Yahoo!

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 10:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Anthem Magazine presents Bone to Party, a benefit for DKMS, the national bone marrow registry. Myopenbar says:

Anthem Magazine’s charity shindig serves up an hour of cheaper-than-coke V2 energy vodka, which, unlike Sparks, has yet to be banned by fascists. Here We Go Magic’s Luke Temple shows off the sweet voice that gives Sufjan Stevens such a boner, with Cale Parks, Clash-resurrectors The So So Glos, and Pitchfork-approved band Real Estate completing the picture.

DKMS promises giveaways from Anthem, Tiffany's (yes, that Tiffany's), Adult Swim, and Mr. Andrew WK himself.

Here's your chance to feel a little less guilty about getting black-out drunk-- just sign up to be a bone marrow donor on your way out the door! Seriously though, it's a good cause to cross the bridge for.

Get to Santos Party House (100 Lafayette St, SoHo) at 7pm and enjoy that hour long (Taurine filled) vodka happy hour! $10 @ the door.

Oh, and if you aren't already checking out the So So Glos tonight @ Mercury Lounge, and can't make it on Saturday, be sure to catch these guys on May 23rd at the (looking for roomies) Market Hotel with Northside FREEburg showcasers Air Waves.

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 09:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Want to pay $394 per month and live in a palace built on the blood, sweat and tears of the Bklyn indie/diy/rock scene? The Market Hotel has rooms available "and feature natural light & private, secure locking access + private common area and kitchen area." The deal:

"MARKET HOTEL HAS ROOMS AVAILABLE. They are $394 per month, app 150 sq feet, and feature natural light & private, secure locking access + private common area and kitchen area. Perfect for artists / small office space. Tenants get a say in the Market Hotel collective and can organize events and curate art shows. for more info, email: THEMARKETHOTEL@GMAIL.COM"

Oh, hey! A blind item! We have it on good authority that the drummer of a blogsmoldering band from New Jersey just moved in. Any guesses?

[ToddP via Brooklyn Vegan; photo of No Age via scifilullabies]

Posted by Brian Ries at 06:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

After spending most of my morning and early afternoon listening to Sibylle Baier's Colour Green, I finally decided to move on to happier tunes from peeps such as Junior Boys (who, if you're interested, are playing tonight at Webster Hall), but somehow found myself stumbling across this instead:

Video kudos to Armel Hostiou

DM Stith is back with BMB, a seven song follow up EP to his heart shattering debut Heavy Ghost, due out July 1st on Asthmatic Kitty. The EP includes a couple of remixes of "BMB", including one by Son Lux, as well as covers of Randy Newman's "Suzanne" and The Ronette's "Be My Baby". And since we all know how I love me some musical masochism, it's perfect for a terrential downpour sort of day.

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 03:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

[via Buzzfeed]

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 02:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

image via

July 12: Mission of Burma + Fucked Up + Ponytail.

And yes, it's free. We're really going to miss the McCarren Park shows, but this almost makes it alright. [via]

In case you missed it, here's the dealio on shows this summer. From NY Times:

McCarren Park Pool, the crumbling, Depression-era public swimming pool on the border between Williamsburg and Greenpoint in Brooklyn, is set to become a swimming spot again, but the concerts that put it on the rock map over the last three summers are set to move to the Williamsburg waterfront. Stephanie Thayer, executive director of the Open Space Alliance for North Brooklyn, a nonprofit group that coordinated last year’s concerts, said that a strip along the East River between North Eighth and North Ninth Streets that was designated a New York State park a few years ago will have concerts this summer, with room for 6,000 fans. The news was confirmed by the office of State Assemblyman Joseph R. Lentol, who represents Greenpoint and Williamsburg. “This is the continuation of McCarren Park Pool,” Ms. Thayer said. “It’s different, but it has its own exquisite beauty, with the waterfront and the skyline of Manhattan.” She added that she plans to work with many of the promoters who put on events at the pool, but that if enough sponsorship money comes through, she hopes to also put on classical and opera concerts as well. Ms. Thayer, who in addition to her role with the Open Space Alliance is an administrator with the City Parks Department, said that renovations on McCarren Pool were set to begin on schedule this summer.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 12:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We can only hope this is a joke. And as of yet, there is no content at hipsterhood.com.

[via]

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 11:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Y'all know that we've been loving Real Estate and Ducktails round here lately...

Well, let us thank the dudes over at Underwater Peoples Records and the "bad girls" at BUTTERxFACE for an exclusive download to kick off our summer (or at least to bring us to a happy mental paradise where the rain has stopped).

Hat tip, GvB.

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 12:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Grizzly Bear had dinner with a New York writer the other night at the deliciously soft-opened Rye on South 1st the other night, and they all ordered beet salads. Also, the server made a funny.

“Did you say the quail is small?” the singer inquires. “Yeah. It’s quail-sized,” she deadpans.

Grizzly Bear plays two dates at Town Hall later this month before heading off on a summer tour that will take them through Canada, the Northwest, Bonnaroo, Texas and California.

Read more colorful tidbits in this New York article.

By the way, Rye is pretty amazing. Stay away, we want it all to ourselves.

And we're surprised Droste didn't insist on going to BEP for pho.

Posted by Brian Ries at 09:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We apologize for the excess number of videos today, but we have a policy that demands that all Zach Galifianakis videos run immediately. Especially if they involve Natalie Portman.

[via]

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 03:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Kids tells his mom he's an atheist, cat plays organ! What more could you want from a dumb YouTube viral video?

More Keyboard Cat after the jump!

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 02:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

[via]

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 12:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

He helped the cops apprehend the Hipster Grifter. Here's his band, Hermit Thrushes. Since Sam is clearly a hero for ridding our streets of the menace that is Kari Ferrell, the least we can do is give them a listen.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 12:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (32)

It's not the Onion. That's a real headline from Reuters.

Afghanistan's only known pig has been locked in a room, away from visitors to Kabul zoo where it normally grazes beside deer and goats, because people are worried it could infect them with the virus popularly known as swine flu.

The pig is a curiosity in Muslim Afghanistan, where pork and pig products are illegal because they are considered irreligious, and has been in quarantine since Sunday after visitors expressed alarm it could spread the new flu strain.

The pig was a gift to the zoo from China, which itself quarantined some 70 Mexicans, 26 Canadians and four Americans in the past week, but later released them.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 11:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Okay. This already wins the award for the most bizarre story of the week. First off, why the hell would Ridley Scott ask mopey rock icon Nick Cave to write a script? Why would Cave agree to said project. After agreeing to write the thing, how could Cave have thought that including a scene where Maximus battles the Vietcong with a flamethrower would be a good idea? And of course the largest elephant in the room... why in God's name do we need Gladiator 2? Most of us are still traumatized by the steaming pile of crap that was the original.

Gone Elsewhere has been generous enough to provide a synopsis of some of the script's highlights. After being meeting Roman Gods in the afterlife and being reincarnated, Maximus starts kicking some major ass:

Middle Eastern Battlefield: Maximus stands surrounded by hundreds of Crusaders as they battle a Muslim army. Everyone dies around him, only Maximus remains untouched.
- Europe: Maximus battles tanks in World War 2.
- Vietnam: Maximus battles Vietcong with a flamethrower.
- The Pentagon, Present Day: Maximus washing his hands in a men's room sink. He stars at himself in the mirror... reflecting. Mordecai stands behind him... whispers: "Until eternity itself has said it's prayers." Maximus exits; proceeds into a large war room containing a dozen men in suits.

This is not a reflection on the quality of the piece, but I'm not really interested in seeing a sequel to Gladiator featuring elements of mythology and the supernatural. They weren't present in the first film and they simply feel out of place here.

It's like making an action-packed follow-up to Schindler's List with a cryogenically-frozen Liam Neeson helping to save a doomed alien species 10,000 years in the future. Sure, there might be an interesting story there... but it doesn't make sense given the pre-established universe.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 11:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Surprise, surprise. She lied again. She didn't really turn herself into the cops. City Paper has the true story of how she was captured. [via]

A must-see video of Kari on Philly's local news after the jump...

[via]

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 11:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Via This American Life's Vimeo:

A video put together by Chris Ware for [the] spring 2009 event "This American Life -- Live!" -- in which Ira Glass hosts an actual episode of the radio program... The song in this video is "Eugene" by Andrew Bird. Animation by John Kuramoto. Permission to post this video has been granted by the contributors.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 05:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Spoonbill and Sugartown Bookstore.

Posted by Clarissa Roudabush at 04:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

These are so well done! See the whole set: RNC Clown College - on Flickr

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 03:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

MTV broke the news today. George Miller, writer and director of the previous three Mad Max incarnations, is resurrecting the franchise and appealing to the kids all at once.

Maybe an iffy idea, but can you blame him for wanting to keep Mel Gibson away from the project? No word on release date, studio, cast, any details really but Miller actually seems pretty level-headed about it:

“I see myself as someone who is very curious about storytelling and all its various media…I’ve always loved anime, in particular the Japanese sensibility. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do.”

Posted by David Bernstein at 03:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We're not sure if this it the work of food court druids and Orcs or neo-Nazis. But New York Shitty has the full discussion and more images here. And speaking of food court druids, there's a Cherohonkee fashion spread in Italian Vogue this month. WTF?

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 12:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

A couple summers ago, I couldn't shake the beep bop beat of Chromatics "In The City" if I wanted to. The simple musical (foot in front of the other) arrangement accompanied by Ruth Radelet's breathy morning-after vocals haunted my steps across subway platforms and the red blinking hand of busy intersections. Well beyond my personal history of matching the click clack of my heels to their tempo, this Portland lo-fi modern disco gang apparently has a seriously transitional past. And thanks to the wonderful world of the web, we now have access to Chromatics almost complete collection of rare (downloadable) tour CD-Rs. Looks like I've got some serious walking to do...

And, in case that wasn't enough, we've got some G/L/A/S/S/C/A/N/D/Y limited & self-released rarities for you too! There's no need to feel guilty, either-- the folks over at Italians Do It Better are giving serious kudos to these blogs for doing the work for them. Hooray for the internets (and zip files)!

Check out some videos that'll make your morning a little more bearable after the jump:

Chromatics

Glass Candy

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 09:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mark your calendars! We're excited to announce our showcase for the upcoming Northside Festival.

Friday June 12 at Death by Audio:

Needless to say, we're psyched to have such an amazing line-up and we have lots more details to come, so stay tuned. For now, you can check out the bands below:

Air Waves live at cakeshop

Javelin: 'Education'

Real Estate: 'Pool Swimmers'

These Are Powers: Live at The Hideout (Chicago)

You can listen to Organs here.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 07:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We've been loving Portland's Blind Pilot. Their debut 3 Rounds and a Sound has been out for a while now, but here's a highlight performed live on NPR:

We've also been enjoying North Carolina's The Love Language. Their debut is pretty much perfect, start to finish. Here's the single "Lalita" live on KEXP at ME Television studios in Austin during SXSW.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 05:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

After months of intense negotiations and billion dollar bailouts, it appears that Barack Obama, 44th President of the iUnited States of America, has finally fixed our stupid iPhone app for stocks and made it green again.

CNN is reporting that "(the iPhone) Stocks (app) end(ed) at multimonth highs on encouraging economic data. S&P ends above 900 for first time since January 8.(and it looks much prettier now)," and upon fact checking and following up it appears this is indeed true. It is beautiful.

Local iPhone and "the color green" enthusiast Elizabeth G. expressed her excitement to us over AIM. "It went up! Yay!," she wrote, adding "Looks perrrty."

We can indeed confirm that the Stocks iPhone app is green and on the up-swing once again. Apple has yet to respond to multiple requests for comment.

Posted by Brian Ries at 04:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

photo c/o celebrate brooklyn! on facebook

Celebrate Brooklyn! announced their summer line-up today. Aside from the MGMT, TV On The Radio(confirmed!) and Animal Co fundraisers, these are all free (w/ a $3 suggested donation), so pony up, pansies. We've got David Byrne, Dr. Dog, Burning Spear, Soulive (w/ John Scofield), the 13 most beautiful songs for Andy Warhol's screen tests, Deer Tick, Grace Potter and Big Daddy Kane as a few highlights. Click through for the full list...

Monday, June 8, 8:00 P.M. (gates open at 6:30 P.M.) David Byrne

Thursday, June 11, 7:30 P.M. (gates open at 6:30 P.M.) Goran Bregovic & His Weddings & Funerals Orchestra

Friday, June 19, 7:30 P.M. (gates open at 6:30 P.M.) David Rudder/Samantha Thornhill

Saturday, June 20, 7:30 P.M. (gates open at 6:30 P.M.
La Nave de los Monstruos, with live score by Ethel and Gutbucket Part of Celebrate Brooklyn!¹s Music & Movies Series

Thursday, June 25, 7:00 P.M. (gates open at 6:00 P.M.) Femi Kuti & The Positive Force/Melvin Gibbs¹ Elevated Entity

Friday, June 26, 7:30 P.M. (gates open at 6:30 P.M.) Blonde Redhead

Saturday, June 27, 7:00 P.M. (gates open at 600 P.M.) Dr. Dog/Phosphorescent/These United States

Thursday, July 2, 7:00 P.M. (gates open at 6:00 P.M.) Obie Juan Bermudéz/Cucu Diamantes/Rebel Diaz Bud Light Latin Music Series

Thursday, July 9, 8:00 P.M. (gates open at 7:00 P.M.) Dance
STREB: Invisible Forces

Friday, July 10, 7:30 P.M. (gates open at 6:30 P.M.) Celebrate Brooklyn and LAMC present Los Amigos Invisibles/Aterciopelados Bud Light Latin Music Series

Saturday, July 11, 4:00 P.M. (gates open at 3:00 P.M.) Ezra Jack Keats Family Concert A Very Special Show with They Might Be Giants

Thursday, July 16, 7:30 P.M. (gates open at 6:30 P.M.) Kronos Quartet/Luminescent Orchestrii

Friday, July 17, 7:30 P.M. (gates open at 6:30 P.M.) The Robert Cray Band/The Sweet Divines American Express Roots Music Series

Saturday, July 18, 2:00 P.M.‹9:00 P.M. (gates open at 1:00 P.M.) African Festival with King Sunny Adé/Freshly Ground/The Mandingo Ambassadors/Cheikh M¹Baye & Sing Sing/Abena Koomson/Yasser Darwish American Express Roots Music Series

Thursday, July 23, 8:00 P.M. (gates open at 7:00 P.M.) Dance Stephen Petronio Company

Friday, July 24, 7:30 P.M. (gates open at 6:30 P.M.) Buckwheat Zydeco/The Holmes Brothers American Express Roots Music Series

Saturday, July 25, 7:30 P.M. (gates open at 6:30 P.M.) Kailash Kher/Electro Morocco

Thursday, July 30, 7:30 P.M. (gates open at 6:30 P.M.) Burning Spear/Naomi Shelton & The Gospel Queens

Friday, July 31, 7:00 P.M. (gates open at 6:00 P.M.) The Royal Family: Soulive¹s 10th Anniversary Celebration, with Special Guests John Scofield and Christian Scott/Ivan Neville & Dumpstaphunk

Saturday, August 1, 7:30 P.M. (gates open at 6:30 P.M.) Music & Movies Dean & Britta: 13 Most BeautifulŠSongs for Andy Warhol¹s Screen Tests/ Crystal Stilts

Thursday, August 6, 7:30 P.M. (gates open at 6:30 P.M.) Music & Movies Purple Rain Sing-A-Long with Escort

Friday, August 7, 7:00 P.M. (gates open at 6:00 P.M.) Grace Potter & The Nocturnals/ Deer Tick / The London Souls

Saturday, August 8, 7:00 P.M. (gates open at 6:00 P.M.) Celebrate Brooklyn & Lyricist Lounge Present Big Daddy Kane (with Special Guests TBA), Plus a Screening of BDK: The Big Daddy Kane Story

Posted by Brian Ries at 11:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

We want to give you a foldable hipster grifter with our mouth.

Who better to launch our new hipster foldables series, than Kari Ferrell, aka the Hipster Grifter. And just in time for Mother's Day! In case you missed it, her story was first detailed in the New York Observer by Doree Shafrir (speaking of Mother's Day, buy Doree's hilarious book!).

Now, Kari is making fresh headlines over at Animal New York and Gawker. ("I want to give you a mom job"... WTF!) And, UPDATE: apparently, she's now in custody. We should have included handcuffs in our foldable.

Each month, we'll be featuring a new Williamsburg foldable celebrity, care of the immensely talented Bryan of paperfoldables.com.

Send us photo submissions of local characters and microcelebrites—we're looking for additional Williamsburgers to make foldable. Don't make us do Kyp Malone. (Actually, how can we not do Kyp Malone?)

Instructions:
1. Download the Hipster Grifter foldable here (.pdf)
2. Print
3. Cut along black solid lines
4. Fold along dotted lines and tape, as instructed
5. Pull dress down to see boobz

Thanks again to Bryan. And remember, send us photos for future foldables!

DOWNLOAD THE HIPSTER GRIFTER PDF HERE

Screenshot and foldable after the jump.

UPDATE 2: Now there's a Hipster Grifter phone app.

Click to download the .pdf

completed foldable

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 01:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (13)

The country's best looking and most notorious kickball league kicks off their summer season today at McCarren Park, despite the cold, wet damper currently suffocating the city. The teams are set, the schedule is up and the Turkey's Nest just received their ten ton shipment of Styrobeer foam cups to keep everybody properly hydrated.

Two weeks ago, two first-year teams had to battle it out for the last spot in the league in a game that made your little sister's t-ball league look like the pros. The league's rowdy band of misfits - the Pirates (Los Piratas Mechanicos...loosely translated and probably poorly spelled) - are more timely and relevant than ever. Look to them for scurvy tales of hostage taking and an abundance of petty arguments over the placement of their pirate flags. We may or may not be sending dispatches from the fields at twitter.com/freedubya. If you see anything of particular hilarity, feel free to send along tips & photos.

Posted by Brian Ries at 03:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Not that it matters today, given the rain, but Motorino now has a garden. Oh yeah, and a full liquor license. Yahoo. Images and more information here.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 12:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yep, this is still going on today. It'll just be indoors now.

2 to 8 p, FREE admission and Colt 45

RSVP events@3rdward.com

On our 3rd Anniversary in Brooklyn, we announce Green Bikes! Starting in May, when you sign up for a 3rd Ward membership you get a free custom-designed bike! To celebrate we've taken over Stagg street for a day of mayhem. Compete in a drag race, bring a t-shirt for live screenprinting, take a workshop, or just come for the fun.

Live Music: The Wild Yaks, Pterodactyl, Afuche, Aa, Lam, DJ Drew Heffron, DJ Grizzly Spears

Festivities: BBQ from Chef Stephanie Sugawara, Summer drinks, Bike competitions & performances, Films from Empire, Music videos from Moviehouse, Photobooth, Badminton, Selena Kimball in the Gallery

Free Workshops: Bike Repair, Reclaimed Lumber, Furniture Design, Welding Basics, Experimental Video Presentation, Building Green, Jewelry Workshop: Flocking, Fabrication: Alginate Casting, Leather as an Art

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 11:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

by Dave Thomas

As is becoming the norm, May looks to be the most densely-packed event picture month of the summer.

MAY 1

BATTLE FOR TERRA

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
The human race invades a peaceful planet because our planet done got blow'd up.

WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is good. Garnered some praise on the festival circuit.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
It's got balls to open against Wolverine. And that's about all it has going for it. $5mil.

-----------------------------------------------------------

GHOSTS OF GIRLFRIENDS PAST

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
A Christmas Carol, but with exes.

WILL IT SUCK?
Before you scoff that this is just another silly Matthew McConaughey romcom, remember this. This is coming from Mean Girls, Freaky Friday, Spiderwick Chronicles helmer Mark Waters. It is however, also coming from the writers behind Rebound and Four Christmases. Okay. You can go back to scoffing.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
THIS is how you compete with Wolverine. $71mil.

-----------------------------------------------------------

X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Wolverine Begins

WILL IT SUCK?

What? You haven't watched the leaked copy yet? Tsotsi bought enough good will for director Gavin Hood for me to overlook Rendition, and writer David Beniot has turned in some decent scripts (25th Hour, Kite Runner). And Gambit, motherfucker! Gambit!

On the other hand, I never really thought this was a good idea, and the trailers get me psyched only in spite of myself.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
The only thing that could possibly challenge this is Star Trek and that doesn't come out until...oh, next week? Well, it'll have this weekend! $235mil.

-----------------------------------------------------------

THE LIMITS OF CONTROL

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Isaach De Bankole does the Way of the Samurai thing.

WILL IT SUCK?
I don't care if it looks like writer/director Jim Jarmusch is returning to Ghost Dog territory with this one, I want to go to there. Supporting cast includes Tilda Swinton, Bill Murray, John Hurt, Gael Garcia Bernal and Hiam Abbas. And if you don't recognize De Bankole by name, you'll recognize his face.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
About as close as this gets to competition is next week when we get even more Garcia Bernal in Rudo y Cursi. $4mil.

-----------------------------------------------------------
MAY 8
-----------------------------------------------------------

STAR TREK

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Kirk Begins

WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is pretty much along the lines of "I need to change my pants." Literally, one guy said, "It melted my pants!" That was after what had to be the best bait-and-switch ever.

I have to say this comes as a pleasant surprise. I have faith in J. J. Abrams and most of the cast, but writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci have let me down before (Transformers). When teamed with Abrams, however, they tend to up their game (Alias, Mission Impossible III - and I hear Fringe is improving).

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
There are blockbusters and there are blockbusters. This is the latter. $294mil.

-----------------------------------------------------------

NEXT DAY AIR

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
If Guy Ritchie directed an "urban" comedy.

WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is good. I'll watch Donald Faison and Mos Def in just about anything.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
There will probably be a few people who can't get into Star Trek. But they will probably go see Wolverine, since they couldn't get into that last weekend. $15mil.

-----------------------------------------------------------

RUDO Y CURSI

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Two brothers (Gael Garcia Bernal, Diego Luna) vie for a professional soccer slot.

WILL IT SUCK?
From writer/director Carlos Cuaron (Alfonse's younger brother). Carlos also co-wrote Y Tu Mama Tambien with Alfonse, so he's got the chops. And the reunion of Y Tu Mama's Bernal and Luna is almost too good to resist. Early buzz is positive.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Some trouble from Brothers Bloom next week, but love for Bernal and Luna should win out. $3mil.

-----------------------------------------------------------

LITTLE ASHES

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Apparently, Salvador Dali, Frederico Garcia Lorca and Luis Bunuel all knew each other back in the day, two of them in the Biblical sense.

WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is good. Robert Pattinson (Twilight) plays Dali.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Will draw about as much of the Twilight crowd as December Boys did of the Harry Potter crowd. $2mil.

-----------------------------------------------------------
MAY 15
-----------------------------------------------------------

ANGELS & DEMONS

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Da Vinci Code sequel (though novel was a prequel) with better hair.

WILL IT SUCK?
Director Ron Howard has built up enough good will in the second half of his career (not that the first half sucked, it just wasn't consistent) for me to watch pretty much anything he makes. And I didn't exactly hate the original. I didn't think it was the bees knees, but it was entertaining for a spell.

Screenwriters Akiva Goldsman and David Koepp both shoot about 50% and Goldsman already wrote the first one so I wouldn't expect much to change. Ewan McGregor, Armin Mueller-Stahl and Stellan Skarsgard should all be welcome additions to the cast.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
If you're going to open between Star Trek and Terminator: Salvation you might as well be a sequel to The Da Vinci Code. Still, probably not going to be the phenom that its predecessor was. $145mil.

-----------------------------------------------------------

THE BROTHERS BLOOM

(Moved from December)

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Dirty Rotten Indie Scoundrels

WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is good. From Brick maestro Rian Johnson. Outfitted this time with Rachel Weisz, Adrien Brody, Mark Ruffalo, Rinko Kikuchi and Robbie Coltrane.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Not as overshadowed here as it would have been last December. $6mil.

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MANAGEMENT

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Steve Zahn stalks Jennifer Aniston, but in a cute romcom-y kind of way.

WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is good. From the guy who wrote Tape. But probably less creepy.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Brothers Bloom has a bit more buzz going for it. But Aniston tends to hit, even in indieville. $7mil.

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O'HORTEN

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
After Norwegian Hours

WILL IT SUCK?
From the writer/director of quirky Norwegian comedy Kitchen Stories. Early buzz is mixed.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Since the director's American debut Factotum didn't make him an art-household name, probably not much better than Kitchen Stories. $500,000.

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BIG MAN JAPAN

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Trials and tribulations of a giant man who fights giant (and generally fucked up) monsters.

WILL IT SUCK?
As a guy who grew up on Japanese monster movies, I'm predisposed to like this film. So I'm happy to report that the early buzz is very, very good.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
This is one of those situations where my tastes don't represent the majority. $250,000.

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MAY 22
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TERMINATOR: SALVATION

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
John Connor (Christian Bale) fights terminators in the future, and people who step in front of his light.

WILL IT SUCK?
McG is not quite the handicap you might think. Admittedly, I actually liked the Charlie's Angels pictures (in a shameful, "don't look at me!" kind of way). And Fastlane had some tight storytelling to go along with the slick visuals. But what interests me more is the ultragrimy look he's going for here, which is not his usual m.o.

He seems to have gained the confidence of ComiCon-goers, and what's more, tantrum or no, Bale brings it with every performance.

All of this falls apart when you consider the screenwriters, who penned the better-than-expected Terminator 3, but also penned such fare as Catwoman and The Net.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Night at the Museum sequel is an issue. And it's the kid-friendlier of the two. It would almost be better if Salvation ended up with an R to better distinguish itself. $165mil.

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NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: BATTLE OF THE SMITHSONIAN

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Title is pretty self-explanatory.

WILL IT SUCK?
I'm still waiting for Night at the Mutter Museum. That would be fucked up.

Same writing/directing team at work here as the first, which was fun-but-forgettable. They've really bulked up the cast, adding Amy Adams, Jonah Hill, Bill Hader (whom I'm looking forward to as General Custer), Hank Azaria, Eugene Levy, Christopher Guest, Ed Helms, Craig Robinson and Clint Howard.

I'll probably catch it when it comes to cable is what I'm saying.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Maybe not the best weekend to open, what with Up right around the corner, but I think the proof is in the original's box office pudding. $225mil.

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DANCE FLICK

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Another in the long line of Genre Movies, 'xcept this one's from the guys who started that trend in the first place.

WILL IT SUCK?
The Wayans Bros. versions of the _____ Movie movies are marginally better than the latter ones, but that's essentially acknowledging that White Chicks is barely more watchable than Disaster Movie. That having been said, I will admit to giggling more at this trailer than most Wayans fare. Maybe it's the introduction of the second generation of Wayans comedy (they've been around that long), Damien Wayans at the helm, nephew of Keenan, Marlon et al.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Pretty much in its own niche, so fairly insulated from the blockbusters. $44mil.

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EASY VIRTUE

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Adaptation of the Noel Coward play in which guy brings his American bride home to meet his British family. Period piece culture clash ensues.

WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is good. You've got Colin Firth spewing witty Noel Coward bon mots, so why not? From the director of The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and co-starring Jessica Biel and Kristen Scott Thomas, who got a Best Supporting Actress nod from the British Independent Film Awards for this one.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
This has art-house-friendly written all over it. $10mil.

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THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
The title refers to a especially thorough form of prostitution.

WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is mad good for this, Steven Soderbergh's latest foray into lo-fi digital reality. Adult film star Sasha Grey's lead perf is getting raves.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Soderbergh's forays into lo-fi digital reality tend not to do so well. $1mil.

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MAY 29
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UP

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Guy attaches a bunch of balloons to his house and goes on an adventure with an accidental sidekick.

WILL IT SUCK?
Not likely. Even if you consider Monsters, Inc. to be one of the weaker Pixar efforts, it's still a great film, and that film's director co-directs here with up-and-comer Bob Peterson, who co-wrote Ratatouille and Finding Nemo before penning this. Put another way: Relax. It's Pixar.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Relax. It's Pixar. $237mil.

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DRAG ME TO HELL

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Never turn an evil old woman down for a mortgage extension.

WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz indicates that Evil Dead II Sam Raimi is back and kicking Spider-Man 3 Raimi's ass.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Horror can be tricky in the summer. $45mil.

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DEPARTURES

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Guy loses job as cellist, becomes mortician.

WILL IT SUCK?
It better not. Flick cost me my Best Foreign Oscar pick when it upset Waltz With Bashir. Early buzz is good. Nabbed a score of other awards, too, including a sweep of the Awards of the Japanese Academy.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Winning Best Foreign doesn't always guarantee box office. Especially if you weren't well-known going into the race. $1mil.

Next Month: Go back in time with Will Ferrell and Jack Black, just not in the same movie.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 04:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Of course we were hoping to hear her use her catchphrase, "I want to give you a hand job with my mouth." No such luck. She's does offer up a tired "seacrest out," right after accusing Vice of not paying her. Oh, and nice Disney tits Marilyn art. AnimalNewYork has some new pictures too.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 10:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Swine Flu is the jam man

Did anyone really have it in those NY schools or did kids just want to not go to class?

Posted by Lauren Mooney at 12:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)