The Brooklyn-based fusion of 60's garage rock bands and post-punk minimalism that is I Am The Heat will premiere their new music video for their song "Ghost Bear" this Thursday night at 10 p.m. at Monkeytown (58 N 3rd. St).

Led by director Stephen Spencer, "Ghost Bear" was filmed around Williamsburg and Bushwick with the band, their girlfriends, friends and extended social acquaintances all lending a hand and having fun. It's got a healthy mix of snuggling females, pillow fights, fuzzy bears and a chase scene all thrown together with a Matt and Kim-esque level of intensity and color.

Here's the trailer video (it's live now):

I AM THE HEAT: Ghost Bear from kevin fey on Vimeo.

For more on the band, I e-sat down with Jameson and Kevin Fey to talk about shooting the video, their favorite local haunts and their favorite bands. That interview, my friends, is after the jump.

After their Thursday premiere at Monkeytown, I Am The Heat will play July 11th at Clash Bar (NJ), July 12th at Union Pool, and July 31st at Lit.

The Interview

FW: So who is 'I Am The Heat,' where are y'all from and what's your deal?

IATH: I am the Heat is 4 kids with different influences and similar goals playing music we love - the music we want to hear. We love writing and we love performing. Ha, this sounds like a lame elevator speech but it's true...(more after the jump)

FW: Where did you shoot the video and who is in it?

IATH: The video was shot one weekend in Williamsburg and Bushwick. The first day was all outdoors, and the second was in my apartment. It was nuts seeing the place transformed into a film studio. Everyone involved was a friend, girlfriend or friend of a friend. It was an AMAZING group/experience. Everyone was incredibly talented and fun to work with.

FW: What do you all do aside from music or is this your primary pursuit?

IMTH: We aim to make this our primary endeavor. Meanwhile we are an artist, a programmer and two retail associates.

FW: Favorite bar/rest. in w'burg?

IMTH: Hmm, that's tough. We find ourselves at Bushwick Country Club pretty often, but that's probably the location (we're scattered throughout WB, Bushwick and Bed-Stuy) and the fact that they let me bring my dog (dear bars: do this more often). We used to go to Levee a lot. That's slowed down since the night I [Jameson] was hit by a taxi outside Levee, and then immediately hit over the head with a beer bottle by a total stranger. Ha, what a night. (Thanks again, awesome, nameless woman who watched my bike throughout the incident!). OH, the new beer garden at TBD is killer!

FW: Any other bands u like/are influenced by/recommend/in your iphone?

IMTH: Obviously we love Hype of the States since we're sharing this bill with them! Lately we've been listening to Passion Pit, Sigmund Droid, Piebald, Parts and Labor, White Denim, My Chemical Romance, Handsome Furs and the new Phoenix record.

FW: What are your 4th of July plans!?

IMTH: We are going to beaches, BBQs, bike rides, and birthday parties! Can't wait 'till the weekend!

Woo! Once the video premieres on Thursday, you can watch it here. (Warning: the password is not crabapples.)

Posted by Brian Ries at 07:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

The Opposite of Hallelujah indeed. From Lekman's blog, via

I picked home one last souvenir from South America, it's called the H1N1 virus. Wrongfully known as the Swineflue.

I was crossing the Atlantic when things started getting really bad, the fever was hallucinogenic and shaking me like a leaf and I grabbed the sleeve of the Air France steward. "I'm not feeling well, I should see a doctor" I said and the reply came as a brilliant mix of death anxiety and french rudeness: "Uh, yes... Terminal D... go there maybe... when we land". After that the stewards and stewardesses took long detours. A ring of empty seats formed around me. Peoples eyes were kind but determined, they read "Poor you, I really wish you all the best but if you come near me or my kid I will have to stab you with this plastic fork". I got up and went to the bathroom where I fainted.

Now I'm in quarantine for ten days. I can see the summer through my window and it's just perfect. Summer is always best through a window.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 05:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's (almost) official: Al Franken is Minnesota's newest senator, says the state's Supreme Court. Sure, it's possible that Norm Coleman may appeal and keep his now 238-day-old fight going. And, yeah, the Dems having 60 votes in the senate probably won't be quite the magic cure-all some hope it will be. Still, for any of you (fine, us) hoping to reduce monthly health care bills by, I dunno, 100 percent at some point in the future, this is some damn fine news.

Here's to you, Al. You're good enough, smart enough, and doggone it, voters like you.

Posted by Nick Mosquera at 03:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

image via

From our mailbag. If you have pix or video, send them along.

Was arrested by police at L train today - ffor a 15lb pug that I took out of his tote bag for throwing up and overheating. Held for very long time - photos and video and about 12 cops involved. Pug okay,. but me, very sad,. They gave me 3 tickets - recesssion that bad?[...]

I took the day off of work, because my wrists are so swollen from the handcuffs that I've had trouble typing. Basically, I had my pug in a tote bag, but he overheated and threw up in the bag on the L Train btw 1st ave and Bedford. I took him out and had him in my arms - he's a foster pug with a few health issues for curlytailpugrescue.org.

As I was walking up the stairs a transit cop grabbed my arms and pushed me up against a wall - I couldn't produce ID (left my wallet at home) he handcuffed me. From there it went downhill fast and people were calling the police and taking photos and video.

They took my pug and he told me he was taking him to the pound where he would be "put down." I was taken to the J stop headquarters. I wasn't allowed to call a lawyer and I was put in a cell.

I was given 3 tickets: failure to produce ID, disorderly conduct, and failure to have dog in a containter. I have a court date in July and August.

My pug was returned. They had him behind their desks and were playing with him. [..]

I think that because so many people were yelling at the cop - it made him more angry, but he was yelling at me - "If you're going to act like a woman I'm going to treat you like a woman."

-name withheld by request

According to [Name Withheld], the arresting officer's name is Witriol (badge number 942838). After seeing a photo, she identified him to us as Joel Witriol, who in 2006 became New York's first Hasidic cop. [Name Withheld], 32, says Witriol would not accept her explanation that she was carrying the pug because it was sick, and she believes that the disturbed crowd that gathered to witness the arrest only made him angrier. She tells us, "He punched me in the back (there are bruises), he handcuffed me, and in the scuffle grabbed my breasts and pinched them."

Melissa Randazzo, a speech language pathologist who lives in Williamsburg, witnessed the arrest and tells us, "something about it seemed very wrong. The cop's tone seemed really inappropriate and he kept saying things like, 'Are you going to act like a woman?' She tried to walk away, and then he grabbed her and pushed her against the wall outside the turnstile." Randazzo ran up to the street level to call 911 to, as she says, "call the cops" on Witriol, and soon some 20 officers had descended into the Bedford station. They then ordered the witnesses to disperse.

images c/o Jason Wagner

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 03:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (50)

...will be performing on the Williamsburg Waterfront on July 26. If you're already missing the McCarren Park shows, fear not. The pool parties return to a new location next month. Fuill schedule at www.freewilliamsburg.com/h2oshows.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 11:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

[via]

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 11:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Last night, I headed down to the bastion of avant garde theater and music St. Marks Church. There, I witnessed a collaboration between Kria Brekkan and fellow Icelandic performance/video artist Ásdís Sif Gunnarsdóttir. Unfortunately, I only was only able to catch it halfway through the performance, so I was not able to completely comprehend the costumes, spoken word and video component. I think the title "Experimental Existence" is a pretty good clue as to what they are trying to achieve; in any case, the mood was very ethereal (as you would expect in such a setting).

From Experimental Existence, Image c/o the Artists

As far as the music accompaniment goes, this was one of Brekkan's better performances--very light and languishing the way I like her. She just so happens to be playing another show at the newest music spot at the Sycamore in Brooklyn on Wednesday. It's a very intimate spot, so it should be a good show. More details here.

Posted by Lisa Baldini at 07:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sorry to be such a downer but here's another obit, although one a little closer to home:

via Gothamist

Graffiti legend Iz the Wiz (real name Michael Martin) died at age 50 on June 17th, and has finally received an obituary from the Paper of Record. The artist tagged subway cars in the 1970s and 80s with his signature in "fat capital letters spray-painted on a door, below a window, across an entire car or even along the full length of a train." Throughout his career as a graffiti artist, he got his tag on every line in the subway system more times than any other, which means if you didn't ride in a car with his name, you probably saw one in a movie. He even did a two-car homage to John Lennon after he was killed in 1980, and was one of the first to work on the Phun Phactory building (now 5 Pointz).

After the jump is a video of Iz bombing his last train:

I don't know all that much about tagging, but most of what I know, I know thanks to Style Wars. I can only wish Cap had bitten it instead.

Posted by David Bernstein at 04:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I've got a new piece over at The Morning News. I'd sworn off writing about hipsters, but got sucked back in by all the rage they still evoke. Here's a taste.

You get the sense that if Jimi Hendrix were to show up in Echo Park today, he’d be publicly mocked in a style section piece on blipsters for wearing a feathered fedora. Duchamp would have given up as soon as he appeared on dadaist-or-douchebag.com. And Warhol would be demonized as a hipster gentrifier for setting up his factory in a Brooklyn warehouse. Critics continue to complain that we live in an era where all art is derivative and devoid of substance. But if Hendrix, Duchamp, or Warhol were alive today, we’d be doing our damnedest to derail their self-expression, dismissing them as fucking hipsters.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 10:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Williamsburg Bridge

Posted by Clarissa Roudabush at 11:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Billy Mays found dead at age 50 in his home at 7:45 AM. Apparently he died in his sleep, no break-in, and no foul play is suspected. The day before his death he'd been on a plane that blew out its tires and said he got hit in the head with a few things, but there were no serious injuries reported and it's not clear if his death was at all related.

Well, I'll always know what I was doing when I found out Billy Mays died: Reading about how Michael Jackson died.

via eonline

Posted by David Bernstein at 02:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

From NY Times

Obama’s inaction on gay civil rights is striking. So is his utterly uncharacteristic inarticulateness. The Justice Department brief defending DOMA has spoken louder for this president than any of his own words on the subject. Chrisler noted that he has given major speeches on race, on abortion and to the Muslim world. “People are waiting for that passionate speech from him on equal rights,” she said, “and the time is now.”

Action would be even better. It’s a press cliché that “gay supporters” are disappointed with Obama, but we should all be. Gay Americans aren’t just another political special interest group. They are Americans who are actively discriminated against by federal laws. If the president is to properly honor the memory of Stonewall, he should get up to speed on what happened there 40 years ago, when courageous kids who had nothing, not even a public acknowledgment of their existence, stood up to make history happen in the least likely of places.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 12:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

[Featuring members of Vampire Weekend and Ra Ra Riot]

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 11:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

We want him back! What's the best way to mourn the death of the king of pop? How about a dance vigil on the Brooklyn bound L train? Word has been circulating of just that via email and on twitter.

Details: 10 pm, last car on the Brooklyn bound L leaving Union Square. The organizers suggest wearing black jeans, a white t-shirt and one glove yet somehow forgets to encourage gold boots. And when you're done mourning there should still be time to catch Girls and Kurt Vile at Monster Island Basement. Original MJ vigil email below:

Dance vigil for Michael Jackson - we're taking it underground on the L Train.

***Please no conspicuous alcohol so we don't get shut down.

Posted by Andrew Ritchie at 04:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

This is hilarious. But I shouldn't have listened to the solo on Corey Hart's "Never Surrender" on an empty stomach.

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

Oh, its real. The VW Bugs, as they're now named, have a Twitter account and a MySpace page to boot. Idolator confirms that it's already staffed with preppies from Princeton.

An event listing on the MS page shows a party on August 15th at 10pm.

Posted by Brian Ries at 10:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

In this morning's AM New York (seen above), Fahima Haque relives what must have been a dream last night about one of "the best of the free music fests" at McCarren Park Pool, the derelict pool turned "unpretentious and charming spot" that this summer will feature acts the likes of Dan Deacon, Grizzly Bear, and Girl Talk!

In this alterna-universe, the free shows start July 12 and run through August 30th, and we imagine the slip-n-slide will be there too! And you guys! Ohh, you guys will all be there! Everybody gets VIP in this dream, and I bet all the hip young indie actors will come out for MGMT again, and dance without regrets in the shaded corner left of stage! We'll dance with them!

Oh, I just LOVE AMNY, those dreamers! Screw reporting, screw even being aware of the multi-year construction project at McCarren Park Pool that's long sent the concert series to the waterfront. If we can't dream alongside America's Greatest Morning Daily, then I don't even want to write a blog anymore.

Posted by Brian Ries at 09:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Michael Jackson has died at 50. Two icons from my childhood pass in one day! You were both crazy, but I'm still going to miss you.

From CNN

Entertainer Michael Jackson has died after being taken to a hospital on Thursday after suffering cardiac arrest, according to multiple reports including the Los Angeles Times and the Associated Press. CNN has not confirmed his death.

Jackson, 50, had been in a coma at the hospital, sources told CNN.

Brian Oxman, a Jackson family attorney, said he was told by brother Randy Jackson that Michael Jackson collapsed at his home in west Los Angeles, California, Thursday morning.

Family members were told of the situation and were either at the hospital or en route, Oxman said.

Fire Capt. Steve Ruda told CNN a 911 call came in from a west Los Angeles residence at 12:21 p.m.

Ruda said Jackson was treated and transferred to the UCLA Medical Center.

Asked specifics of the patient's condition, he said he could not discuss them because of federal privacy laws.

The music icon from Gary, Indiana, is known as the "King of Pop." Jackson had many No. 1 hits and his "Thriller" is the best-selling album of all time. Video Jackson "as big as it gets" »

Jackson is the seventh of nine children in a well-known musical family. He has three children, Prince Michael I, Paris and Prince Michael II.

At the medical center, every entrance to the emergency room was blocked by security guards. Even hospital staffers were not permitted to enter. A few people stood inside the waiting area, some of them crying.

A large crowd was also gathering outside the hospital, according to video footage.

Outside Jackson's Bel Air home, police arrived on motorcycles. The road in front of the home was closed in an attempt to hold traffic back, but several people were gathered outside the home.

UPDATE: Andrew Sullivan has a nice post that we've included in full after the jump. [via]

There are two things to say about him. He was a musical genius; and he was an abused child. By abuse, I do not mean sexual abuse; I mean he was used brutally and callously for money, and clearly imprisoned by a tyrannical father. He had no real childhood and spent much of his later life struggling to get one. He was spiritually and psychologically raped at a very early age - and never recovered. Watching him change his race, his age, and almost his gender, you saw a tortured soul seeking what the rest of us take for granted: a normal life.

But he had no compass to find one; no real friends to support and advise him; and money and fame imprisoned him in the delusions of narcissism and self-indulgence. Of course, he bears responsibility for his bizarre life. But the damage done to him by his own family and then by all those motivated more by money and power than by faith and love was irreparable in the end. He died a while ago. He remained for so long a walking human shell.

I loved his music. His young voice was almost a miracle, his poise in retrospect eery, his joy, tempered by pain, often unbearably uplifting. He made the greatest music video of all time; and he made some of the greatest records of all time. He was everything our culture worships; and yet he was obviously desperately unhappy, tortured, afraid and alone.

I grieve for him; but I also grieve for the culture that created and destroyed him. That culture is ours' and it is a lethal and brutal one: with fame and celebrity as its core values, with money as its sole motive, it chewed this child up and spat him out.

I hope he has the peace now he never had in his life. And I pray that such genius will not be so abused again.

Our friend Bryan of Hipster Foldables fame has a created a nice foldable homage too:

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 07:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

British bank Barclays has put in a bid to rename Atlantic Avenue something much more proper than our Yankee rubbish:

If a $4 million deal is approved on Wednesday, the nexus of subway stops at Atlantic Avenue, Pacific Street and Flatbush Avenue in Downtown Brooklyn will add an additional name to its already lengthy title: Barclays.

But hey, what about naming things after great American corporations?

“It’s not like Taco Bell saying it wants Grand Army Plaza or something like that,” said John H. Banks III, a board member since 2004.

Would Mr. Banks oppose that idea?

“A year and a half ago? Yeah,” he said. “Tomorrow? No.”

Looking forward to Taco Bell Muy Grande Army Plaza.

via NYTimes

Posted by David Bernstein at 05:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So, wow! Some "popular Williamsburg-based bar/music venue" is looking to fill a residency for a Vampire Weekend cover band made up of vague band member lookalikes! They just need their Ezra, their Rostam and the two Chris's and they'll be off the ground and Oxford Commaiing in no time. The question is, can we identify this bar/music venue? I'm going to throw my guess out there and say Union Pool. Or, I'm sorry, Brooklyn Pool, for those of you who watch Michael Cera on the big screen. Any other guesses?

And yes, we realize this is probably a joke. But oooooooh fingers are crossed that it's real!

Via Mr. Ginsberg, who RT'd Pitchfork and Idolator.

Posted by Brian Ries at 05:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Meet Gooby! [via]

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 12:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Long hair? Beard? Anyone?

Posted by David Bernstein at 11:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

via Brooklyn Vegan

Posted by Brian Ries at 10:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

On September 22nd, Jagjaguwar (the folks who bring you Sunset Rubdown, Dinosaur Jr., Black Mountain, and Okkervil River-- just to name a few) are set to release the side project full-length debut of Bon Iver's Justin Vernon with Collections of Colonies of Bees-- they call it Volcano Choir. The LP, Unmap, is an accidental three years in the making, which says something about musicians making music for music's sake. Here's what Vernon had to say (via Pitchfork):

"We started collaborating three years ago and just this year we started to realize we had nine or 10 tracks almost done," he said. "I sing on it, but there aren't a lot of lyrics-- it's definitely more on the experimental side of things."

If both camps previous work says anything about the upcoming Unmap, it'll be sure to make you feel like a leaf floating along in an Autumn wind destiny. Oh Wisconsin, how you always manage to bring us love in the form of indie lullabies...

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 12:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tired of giggling about South Carolina governor Mark Sanford's dalliance in Buenos Aires but still hungry for more political slapstick? Well look no further than the Times' latest attempt to ascertain what exactly our esteemed doucheba...er...state senators have been up to of late. In short, since one of the two Democrats who defected to the Republican side of the aisle returned to the fold, the two parties have been tied at 31 members each, both claiming leadership, forcing Governor Paterson to call a mandatory special sessions in order hold votes on gay marriage and, oh, every other issue needed to run New York. The parties "feuding junior high schoolers refusing to acknowledge each other, began holding separate legislative sessions at the same time," complete with dueling gavels. Here are some zingers from what must be the funniest vaudeville act in Albany:

"Democrats gaveled the session to order at 3:02 p.m. After a few short speeches in which they said the governor’s proclamation for a so-called extraordinary session had constitutional and legal problems, they adjourned at 3:07 p.m. 'Our members will be going home,' said Malcolm A. Smith, one of the leaders of the Senate Democratic conference."

"[State Supreme Court] Justice McNamara..continued to implore the sides to resolve their dispute on their own. 'This has to be resolved by you, no matter what I do or don’t do on Friday,” he told the sides in court, adding: 'I guess I’m talking like a human being, but I don’t understand what’s going on. You guys have to resolve this.'"

"Senator Dale M. Volker, 68, a Republican from the Buffalo area who is a former police officer, joked while he was riding up an elevator, 'I might have to start carrying my sidearm again.'"

"'This is turning into the worst reality TV show ever: ‘I’m a Senator, Get Me Out of Here,’ said Thomas R. Suozzi, Nassau County executive and former Democratic candidate for governor. 'Jon and Kate are fighting less than these guys.'”

Photo of turncoat Pedro Espada Jr., now a Republican, care of Village Voice

Posted by Nick Mosquera at 08:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This is just horrible:

partial transcript via

They tried to beat everyone on Saadi bridge and throwing them off of the bridge…. And everyone also on the sidewalks. They beat a woman so savagely that she was drenched in blood and her husband, who was watching the scene, he just fainted. I also saw people shooting, I mean the security forces shooting on people, on Lalezar. Of course were afraid….

They were beating people like hell. It was a massacre. They were trying to beat people so they would die. They were cursing -- saying very bad words to everyone. They were beating old men. And this was exactly a massacre.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 03:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Arpline, who you may remember as The Kiss Off, made their “debut” at The Mercury Lounge this past Saturday. Rarely have I had the opportunity to see a band evolve over time, as I have Arpline over the past couple of years. Although their sound has always been inventive, they have stepped it up, bringing in some brass and a new atmosphere to push them to the next level. With songs like “Fold Up Like a Piece of Paper” and “Weekend at the Colonies” you can’t deny there is an intelligence and craft to each song. And it will definitely make you move your feet.

If you have heard Arpline, but haven’t been to a show, I would definitely urge you to go-- their live performance brings an entirely new energy that you won’t be able to experience otherwise (say, via myspace). Though part of me misses The Kiss Off, I am looking forward to Arpline’s next step. Whichever direction they chose to move in, I doubt it will disappoint.

Also, opening for Arpline and bringing the heat, was Big Bang TV, appealling to those who like bands similar to The Postal Service, but are striving for vocal range and an eclectic arrangement. Varying between dance happy pop rock and somber melodic ballads.

And, no worries to The Kiss Off fans-- though you've got to call them Arpline now, the band consists of all the same boys you know and love.

-- Torey Schantz

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

From Brooklyn Based:

The former Public Bath #7 becomes NYC Zine Fest #1 this weekend when the independent publishers, distributors and supporters of zines come together at the Brooklyn Lyceum to celebrate their self-published, homemade DIY publications. The Zine Fest opens both Saturday and Sunday at noon and continues until 7pm both nights. Free!

Make sure you stop by and check out our homies Free Danger, you kind of owe it to them since their DJ skills have been helping you shake your thang at Legion, Savalas, and our Northside showcase these last few weeks.

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 11:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by Clarissa Roudabush at 12:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Via Pitchfork:

Best New Music honorees Cymbals Eat Guitars will have a new 7" out via Transparent in the UK on July 20, and only Pure Groove will be selling it. The single even comes with a free prize for the first 300 buyers: a slap bracelet! (Hey, remember 1990, when we were all accidentally slitting our wrists? Fun times!).

To hold you over until their June 28th show at Cake Shop (w/ Bedtime & Teletextile), CEG is giving out their new non-album single "Tunguska" on their myspace page.

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 12:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Discovery, the collabo project of Vampire Weekend's Rostam Batmanglij and Ra Ra Riot's Wes Miles, hits the old school electro-pop soft spot in my brain. With special appearances by fellow Weekender, Ezra Koenig, and Angel Deradoorian from Dirty Projectors--who we are glad to hear are doing ok-- how can you resist bopping around to the debut while basking in some rooftop sunshine.

Auto-tune + a Jackson 5 cover = yes, please!?

Ok, so maybe I'm desperate for the summer to actually start, but I'm feeling this!

Download "Orange Shirt", the first single off of the July 7th release of LP (yep, another ironically titled album y'all), and tell me you aren't mistaking it for a lo-fi Passion Pit jam-- and that's not a bad thing. Although, I have to admit, this might be the album I'll want to never hear again after a few wild summer nights. Just saying...

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 11:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Metric at Terminal 5

Recently, Metric wrote on their Twitter feed, “Got 99 problems but... this tour ain’t one.” Presumably, the band have been enjoying themselves on their latest supporting tour, and this stop was no exception.

Metric kicked it off in Brooklyn, and as singer Emily Haines professed between songs, “I love coming back to New York and playing at home ... I remember when we took the train to play with the Rolling Stones. ...Yeah! The fuckin’ subway.” Haines knew we could all relate, with most people having traveled from afar to get to Terminal 5’s remote (read: Midtown) location. The crowd cheered with approving applause.

These two factors may not have caused it, but the group seemed positively electrified on stage. As each member’s hair grew progressively matted from their own perspiration, their energy only increased, with their instruments seeming to grow louder with every song.

As with their newest album, Fantasies, Metric was precise in their presentation and musicianship. For the most part, they seemed closely tethered to their respective spots on stage, surrounded by their vast array of synthesizers and guitars (James Shaw, the guitarist, grabbed a different guitar for nearly every song, his stagehand frantically retuning each before use). Every measure of every song seemed to be played with the utmost importance for absolute perfection, and unlike most live acts, they pulled it off with surprising accuracy and dedication.

Haines was the only one who spoke at all to the audience, and didn’t speak much. When she did though, she expressed adoration and camaraderie for the receptive crowd, and even unleashed a little weird philosophy on everyone. It was, at times, incoherent, but her message got through: “Just remember, that, you know, you gotta do what you wanna do. That’s what this next song’s about,” she said, before launching into “Gimme Sympathy”.

Did I enjoy the show? Usually when my attention from a performance wavers, I start to notice what kind of equipment the artist is using-- for the first time in a long time, I left the large venue without a clue about any of it.

-- Erik Erikson

More photos after the jump...

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 07:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Oh No! Pitchfork is reporting The Dirty Projectors were in a "pretty bad" car accident and, according to a promoter with the now-canceled Toronto show, "One of them is in very serious condition." :(. We hope this sounds worse than it actually is.

The Dirty Projectors are currently slated to play a much-anticipated free show on the waterfront on July 19th.

Updated statement from the band:
"Dirty Projectors' van flipped outside of Detroit, MI on their way up to Toronto. Although the crash was serious, we're happy to report that all members of the band have been safely discharged from the hospital. The band will be flying home to New York in the morning to regroup and rest. Unfortunately, the band will have to cancel Toronto and Montreal. Thank you for understanding and sending your well wishes."

Posted by Brian Ries at 06:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ok who let the Germans into McCarren Park?

Fluent in German? Feel free to translate for us, we'd love to know what the Deutsche really think of the Never Scared team captain.

Thank you thank you thank you Gothamist for finding this dirty little gem of a Bruno hipster fart.

Posted by Brian Ries at 04:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

best line: "do I look like I'm into oriental music?"

more Breakfast at Sulimays here.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 03:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The entire time that I have lived in Brooklyn I have only had one lady touch my hair and that person is Jess Stover. (And, I wouldn't have it any other way.) While she has spent most of her time spreading joy around Williamsburg at the Beehive Salon, she has finally struck out on her own and is opening Adelaide Salon.

To celebrate there will be a little soiree on Friday (see flyer). This will give you the chance to put your name down on the soon to be very long waiting list. Man is she worth it!

Posted by Lisa Baldini at 10:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

New York has written a researched rebuttal to the Times' piece Parents Pulling the Plug on Williamsburg Trust-Funders. Turns out we're not all trust-funders.... a fact that I'm all too well aware of:

The median income for the area in the last twelve months was $39,663, well below the city median of $48,631. In 2007, 38.3 percent of residents in the 11211 Zip Code were below the poverty level [...]

Local soup kitchens and food pantries are overwhelmed. “We’re serving 200 people a week,” says Ann Kansfield, pastor at the Greenpoint Reform Church and the head of the Greenpoint Interfaith Food Team, which serves both Greenpoint and Williamsburg. “Where are these trust-funders? I want them to give us money!”

There’s probably a reason the trustafarians are so elusive: In the last twelve months only about 2.9 percent of Williamsburg households made over $200,000 annually. The reality of Williamsburg, beyond the mythical trust-funders, is that it is a community of people mostly struggling to get by, with a few wealthy residents grabbing headlines — the way New York has always been.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 10:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

This week, you've got three chances to catch San Francisco's eternally ethereal Girls- a band that hones all things hazey (I might be hinting at edibles here) and sun-filled breezes. I'm talking mopey pop Elvis Costello would be proud of, not just because frontman Christopher Owens evokes the timbre of the man himself.

We can only hope they'll bring the California sunshine with them, or at least make us forget about the rain for a moment. All three shows should be exceptional, but I'm picking the Monster Island show as a favorite in advance- I just can't stop giving those Real Estate boys some love.

Check out the video for "Hellhole Ratrace", the first single off of Girls' debut full length after the jump. The album which will be called, um, Album, is due out Sept 22nd on True Panther Recordings.

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 11:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

North 3rd and Kent

Posted by Clarissa Roudabush at 08:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

image c/o BrooklynBased

This really sucks, so go give Papacitos some business. From Gothamist:

Papacitos, the wildly popular Greenpoint Mexican restaurant with the best vegetarian tacos in town, was the victim of a brazen robbery Saturday night. Co-owner Cody Utzman tells us that thieves broke into the establishment after it closed, hopping the courtyard fence and entering through the back. According to Utzman, the robbers smashed open the cash register and made off with a safe that had $10,000 inside, as well as the restaurant stereo and some employees' personal belongings. Police have dusted for fingerprints and are investigating the incident.

But there's also good news for Papacitos fans; Utzman tells us he's doubling the size of the place by expanding into the adjacent storefront, which is part of the same building and was the former home of a palm reader. He adds that a "very high profile" designer is overseeing the expansion, which will include a 12 foot tequila bar (whenever Papacitos' liquor license finally gets renewed) and a new mosaic fountain in the spacious courtyard. Work is expected to start next month, with the expansion complete by the end of July.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 06:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For years, Zs have been making headway marrying jazz and avant garde textures. On Wednesday, they will release their latest album for the Social Registry. Awesome festivities (Grade 13, Effi Briest, Nine 11 Thesaurus) will be happening at Secret Project Robot.

Posted by Lisa Baldini at 05:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

At Atlas, you've been able to nosh on savory pastries, salads, and sandwiches--and down wine or beer with your brunch--for some time now. But starting this Friday, you and your MacBook have reason to linger after dark when the Italian-owned cafe completes its transformation to full-fledged restaurant. Chef Andrea Milazzo, who did indeed work under Ducasse in Monte Carlo, and later opened the slightly less glamorous PT on Bedford, will be serving up a small selection of roughly four appetizers, four pastas, and a handful of desserts. (Menu details coming soon.) Owner Enrico Lorenzetti also confirms that prior to dinner, you will be able to deaden your coffee buzz with aperitivo service, starting around 6pm, and that he will be offering a few incentives--free beer and coffee, say--to lure diners away from Lodge and all the newcomers on Grand Street's restaurant row. If it works, dinner service will stick around, despite the advertised end-of-summer cutoff. Watch your back, Fiore: you dethroned Baci & Abbracci but now someone is gunning for you.

Posted by Nick Mosquera at 03:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

Not sure why he didn't call the police himself...via his sidekick.

I guess this is what it feels like to be entertained by Will.i.am.

Some laugh-out-louds after the jump:

Posted by David Bernstein at 12:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Bleszt, aka Mr. Brick Bandit, is a 21 year old out of Newark, and while we like to maintain a fairly anti-Jersey platform here, I'm gonna risk a demerit on my NYC-card today. This is Bleszt's new mixtape, and it'll only cost you bandwith to get (totally worth it). Plus, when was the last time a rapper came out of New Jersey? Federline? The whole thing's pretty cool, R&B and hip hop, lots of auto-tune and over-are-tik-yoo-lay-ting and other Lil Wayne-isms but there's more than enough personality of its own. It's called Nine 7 Three.

Download it here
or
Listen to it here

via maddecent

Posted by David Bernstein at 11:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 11:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

This monthly party started last month - and last month (I kid you not) I danced for about three hours straight, walked outside, then went back in and danced some more! And I was moving earrrly the next morning...so basically what I'm trying to say is if you like to dance or like to watch people dance or like to drink while people are dancing or like to be out on a patio while dancing people ask you for cigarettes you HAVE to come to this. Don't say we didn't warn you!

Posted by Lauren Mooney at 06:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

These Are Powers debuted this video at the FREEwilliamsburg Northside Fest showcase and now it's finally up on YouTube for all to watch at their leisure. Enjoy, this is one of my favorite tracks of the year.

Posted by Andrew Ritchie at 01:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Apparently some people have plans to skip town over the weekend of July 4th. I have no idea why anyone would choose to do that because this independence day weekend Woodsist, Captured Tracks and Todd P are putting on an amazing festival in Bushwick. The Crystal Stilts and Thee Oh Sees are headlining Friday and Saturday respectively. And the lineup's got virtually all of my (and likely your) favorite Brooklyn bands including Vivian Girls, Woods, Kurt Vile, caUSE co-MOTION!, the Beets, Blank Dogs, Real Estate, and more. Plus equally awesome bands like Tyvek and Psychedelic Horseshit making the trip from outta town.

If Woodsist or Captured Tracks don't ring a bell for you this festival is the perfect time to get familiar. Woodsist is Woods' own label that put out their excellent LP Songs of Shame, as well as putting out releases by several of the artists above (claro, hence being on the bill) like Vivian Girls and Thee Oh Sees. Captured Tracks is run by Mike Sniper aka Blank Dogs, and his mission appears to be put out the record of every great new band that forms in Brooklyn. Captured Tracks has put out vinyl from the Beets, Gary War, German Measles and Gutsies (best band formed in 2009, Surfer Body is the summer jam), once again, all of whom will be performing at the festival. In short, it'll be an amazing weekend put on by two great indie record labels.

Tickets are already available online! It's $27 for both days (including a $2 paypal fee), or $15 per day at the door. Full lineup after the jump.

Friday July 3rd @ 979 BROADWAY BACKYARD

:: WOODSIST / CAPTURED TRACKS FESTIVAL

9:45pm : CRYSTAL STILTS
9:00pm :: Blank Dogs
8:15pm ::: Psychedelic Horseshit
7:30pm :::: caUSE co-MOTION!
6:45pm ::::: the Mayfair Set
6:15pm :::::: Gary War
5:45pm ::::::: Little Girls
5:15pm :::::::: Kid Romance
4:45pm ::::::::: Beachniks
4:15pm :::::::::: the Gutsies

| 979 BROADWAY BACKYARD |
979 Broadway btwn Myrtle Ave & Ditmars St | Bushwick, Brooklyn
JMZ-Myrtle, L-Jefferson, G-Myrtle-Willoughby | DOORS –4PM– | $15 | all ages
RAIN OR SHINE

Saturday July 4th @ 979 BROADWAY BACKYARD

:: WOODSIST / CAPTURED TRACKS FESTIVAL

9:45pm : THEE OH SEES
9:00pm :: VIVIAN GIRLS
8:15pm ::: Kurt Vile
7:30pm :::: Woods
6:45pm ::::: Tyvek
6:00pm :::::: Dum Dum Girls
5:15pm ::::::: the Fresh & Onlys
4:30pm :::::::: Brilliant Colors
3:45pm ::::::::: Ganglians
3:15pm :::::::::: the Great Excape —— reunion, pre-Home Blitz
2:45pm ::::::::::: the Beets
2:15pm :::::::::::: Real Estate
1:45pm ::::::::::::: German Measles
1:15pm :::::::::::::: Beach Fossils

| 979 BROADWAY BACKYARD |
979 Broadway btwn Myrtle Ave & Ditmars St | Bushwick, Brooklyn
JMZ-Myrtle, L-Jefferson, G-Myrtle-Willoughby | DOORS –1PM– | $15 | all ages
RAIN OR SHINE

Posted by Andrew Ritchie at 07:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The Salvation War is a trilogy that premiered online in the beginning of 2008, asking a simple question- what if God announced that everyone's time was up, and that Lucifer was coming to claim the bodies and souls of everyone on earth?

The answer the author gives- the governments of the world declare war on Heaven and Hell.

http://bbs.stardestroyer.net/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=118771

The Salvation War is also a weirdo, brilliantly (if unintentionally) funny, 'sperging-out fantasy full of Michael Bay Air Force dogfights (against demons), Ron Paul-level libertarian craziness, a bunch of sub-Leno jokes about subjects like Hillary Clinton's bitchiness, and a hilarious amount of complete disdain for religion. EIGHTY-FIVE chapters long! I also have word that the sequel is about the military going to heaven to fight God himself. After the jump are some amazing passages:

“Mister President, a message from the Ronald Reagan battle group out in the Pacific. They’ve engaged four flying demons, killed all of them. No casualties on our side. Whatever these things are, they aren’t immortal or invulnerable. They burn and die, just like we do.”

The Progress missile was doing more than 600 miles per hour when it hit Satan in the chest. The kinetic energy of the blow alone was enough to send Satan reeling backwards but that was inconsequential. The missile also had a 3,300 pound explosive warhead that was configured as a shaped charge. Normally it had a copper lining but this one had been modified with an iron liner and sintered iron powder in the cavity. One thing hadn’t changed; the warhead on Progress was behind the main fuel tank and that tank was filled to capacity with jet engine fuel.

A tiny area, a sheet of ice on which strange creatures, a mix of gorillas, bears, horses and things he couldn’t even imagine paced. They wandered from place to place, chewing on the heads of humans who were frozen in the ice. From where he stood, Schatten could see six of them. Doubtless, there were more. “Who are these people.”

Abigor looked down on them. “The greatest traitors of history. Brutus and Cassius, Andrey Vlasov, Ephialtes of Trachis, John Anthony Walker, Vidkum Quisling, many more.”

Schatten looked more carefully. In the middle of one group was an unfilled hole. “The unfilled hole. Who is that for.”

Abigor searched his memory. “A countryman of yours I think. One called Robert Macnamara.”

Quit your job.
Leave your family.
Ignore your hygiene.
Read this now.
http://bbs.stardestroyer.net/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=118771

WATCH OUT FOR DEMONS!

Posted by David Bernstein at 04:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Joining Zenkichi and Bozu, you can add Sui Ren to the pantheon on neighborhood izakaya hotspots. The menu, put together by owner Morgan Chang, formerly of Kai and chef Jun Hiroshima, from Bond St. Sushi focuses mostly on yakitori (the grilled skewers) and kushi katsu (fried skewers) though the concoctions—light on the tongue, hearts, and offal in general—aren’t likely to be found on a traditional Osaka menu. Of the cold skewers—perfect for summer—the bachi maguro to udama (marinated big eye tuna, soft yolk quail egg, and Korean seaweed; $8) and the tomobara (24-hour slow poached shortrib and baby turnip; $7) have already proven themselves popular, as have the nasu dengaku (Japanese eggplant with mascarpone sweet miso; $7) and the yaki gaki (grilled Malpeque oyster with spiced beurre blanc; $8). With dishes ranging from $3 to $12, Sui Ren can skew either towards cheap snack joint or--thanks a nicely-lit room and rather romantic wooded exterior, a la Bozu--a splurge on date night. If you go for the latter, be sure to order the panko-fried mackerel or grilled Japanese smelt. Nothing says “I love you” more eloquently than supporting sustainable fisheries.

Sui Ren
302 Metropolitan Avenue (Roebling)
718-218-7878
Sun-Thur 5pm-1am
Fri-Sat 5pm-2am
www.suirennyc.com

Posted by Nick Mosquera at 03:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ellen Page, Maebe Fünke, and perhaps the last time I'll see Har Mar Superstar before he leaves my conscious memories entirely, becoming only a fleeting signifier of the early 2000's.

via ellen-page.com

Posted by David Bernstein at 03:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tomorrow, from 5-8pm, the online music store Insound is opening their Brooklyn-based warehouse doors and selling everything from new and classic vinyl to silk-screened posters and t-shirts at a serious discount.

Refreshments come in kegs, compact discs will be on hand to touch and possibly buy and free promotional giveaways will somehow end up on your kitchen counter all week. Like keychains, maybe. Here's the flyer, and the warehouse is located at 61 Greenpoint Ave. 5-8pm. 61. Avenue. Keychains.

Posted by Brian Ries at 09:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Spotted from Bedford and South 5th

Posted by Clarissa Roudabush at 11:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

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My introduction to Rockin' Raw, the neighborhood's first raw vegan restaurant, was a mocktail called the "Maca Apple-Icous," something like a milkshake with apple, ginger, honey, and maca. This Andrean plant has been shown to increase male libidos and is apparently Peru's natural answer to Viagra. Soon after, flushed and a tad lightheaded, I found myself wishing I could sit with my date in the lush outdoor area where, rain or no rain, some very private tables sat partially obscured by trees. It seems raw food can provide some heat after all.

The husband and wife owners, Luis Salgado, of Peru, and Tere Fox, from New Orleans, serve raw interpretations of their native cuisines that walk a very fine line. Such dishes can be pleasant experiences, politely challenging you to think about tastes and what you like so much about them to begin with, or they can just remind you what you're missing. Thankfully, and despite the silly moniker, the food here tips towards the former.

To start, a juicy mushroom cebiche ($8) mimics the fish texture and lime taste thanks to the raw-friendly preparation of traditional ceviche, though I would have relished something to sop up the sauce. Crab cakes with dill sauce ($10) are made out of mushroom and zucchini and thus taste nothing like crab but they do hit the raw-veggieburger texture, and are paired well with the nut milk-based dill sauce. Less satisfying was a roll with jicama, avocado, and cauliflower rice, served with sea vegetables and horseradish sauce ($10). The horseradish provides plenty of heat, a la wasabi, but the cauliflower is too sweet and mushy to stand in for the grain itself, which was sorely missed.

On the entrée side, a po' boy style fake tuna sandwich with Cajun mayo ($12) proved too much for the thin sprouted grain bread, which couldn't stand up to the filling: more dill, cauliflower, cucumber, among other ingredients. Again, it seemed like an unnecessary simulacrum; the dish could be rearranged and renamed any number of things, but a sandwich it will never be. Still, it was saved by the delicious accompanying chips—a mash of onion, Brazil nuts, and other ingredients—that tasted just like diner onion rings. Much better at mimicry was the tallarines verdes de la lala, a "pasta" of sliced zucchini in a Peruvian pesto ($13). Sure, any pesto worth its weight in basil tends to mask what it's served on, but the zucchini holds its own, especially when paired with the caramelized plantains—one of the few almost cooked ingredients on offer; they were dehydrated at under 115 degrees—which add a welcome sweetness. The best part of this, and most of the dishes I tried: the generous portions left you satisfied without feeling leaded down, a tough balance for raw food to strike. For dessert, a Neapolitan parfait ($10) was too light to be memorable. Much better was the lúcuma cheescake ($7). The Andean fruit tastes like many things (coffee, toffee, caramel) and with a scoop of ice cream of the same flavor, it proves itself quite the value.

The interior décor, broken guitars on the wall—the rockin' part?—and a haphazard arrangement of tables, is as approachable and folksy as your typical vegetarian joint. I never understood why so many restaurants strive to look so similar, but the other diners on this weekend evening were enjoying themselves enough to speak to strangers across the aisle, so perhaps I'm in the minority here. (And with sugar-based napkins and recyclable straws, to-go containers, and other paraphernalia, at least this place walks the walk.) The owners, who met at the Lower East Side's Annex, managed this jovial atmosphere without their forthcoming liquor license, and that six-dollar mocktail menu—including a refreshing, salt-rimmed cucumber mojito—ably stood in for the booze. Eventually, Rockin' Raw will serve wine and saki-based cocktails, but even after the tipples arrive, you would be hard-pressed to find anything more stimulating than the maca. Bring a date.

Rockin' Raw
178 North 8th (Bedford/Driggs)
718-599-9333
rockinraw.com

Posted by Nick Mosquera at 12:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

Weird Al's homage to The Doors, featuring Ray Manzarek himself on keyboards. Video directed by Liam Lynch.

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

Air Waves

Hopefully, you were able to check out our showcase in Northside Festival just like John Norris did , if not, here are a few shots of the good time you missed (at least until I had to leave and miss the dance party and the crowd surfing during These Are Powers' last number). Thanks to Free Danger, Stay Gold, Organs, Air Waves, Real Estate, Javelin, These are Powers, and of course Death by Audio. Here's what John Norris had to say:

No place I would rather be on Friday night of the Northside Fest than the venerable (Can we call it venerable yet? Why yes, I think we can) Death By Audio. Not because it was a chance to see bands that rarely play Brooklyn - as a matter of fact every few weeks it seems you can catch at least one of them around town. But because it was a showcase of some of the most exciting, modern left-field pop our fine locale has to offer.... And people ask me ‘what’s so great about Brooklyn’? Um, this is.

Organs



www.freeicecream.net delivered the goods.



Real Estate [via]

Free Heineken from our Z-Boy.



Air Waves

Javelin

These are Powers debuted their new video "Easy Answers" [via]

Posted by Jackie Snow at 09:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by Clarissa Roudabush at 06:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's time to grow a pair Obama...

[via The Awl]

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 02:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

After reading this post on Assme, alarmingly titled "Someone Is Trying to Bring Down the Market Hotel (Maybe)," I was a bit concerned that shit, someone was trying to bring down the Market Hotel! A few tweets came out of the search.twitter bonfire with rumors about a big raid and a condemnation and it appeared that that was that.

But, this isn't all true. I spoke with Todd P who gave us a little clarification on the situation....(below the jump)

Hmmm, yeah I don't know why that story was published at all. It's more like "two guys enter building, act like bullies, then leave." The Market Hotel wasn't shut down by any stretch of the imagination, in fact we did a party with MIka Miko in there the very next day that had 350 people at it, and dancing until 4am.

The extant of what actually happened on Friday night is that two guys claiming to be plain clothes police officers entered the building via the art studio tenants' entrance on Broadway (not the entrance we use for events) and poked around in the art studio section of the building.

They spoke to Ric Leichtung, who was organizing a small event in there that night (15 people total in attendance), and made the kind of groundless threats that police tend to make, claimed the building was "condemned" (not true in any way), and entered the private artists' studios section of the building without permission, asking where the "drugs and guns" were. They gave Ric back his ID and then left. A
minute later, they apparently sent in the squad they were rolling with, which was about 12 uniformed rookies. By all indications, they sent them in because they thought the whole thing was interesting to
gawk at. Those guys poked around for about 45 seconds, also focusing on the artists studios, hanging out in there and making jokes, and then left the building.

At no point did any of these officers show any interest in the party Ric had going on, nor did they know what the "Market Hotel" is, and they issued no summonses, nor even asked to shut the party down. After they left, Ric was pretty spooked though and he decided to cancel the party he had planned, because he was stressed out and couldn't get ahold of me (I was napping at home, but I would have said to do the party anyway).

Anyway, I've been doing parties in semi-legal places for many years and I can tell you what was going on. On eve of every Puerto Rican day parade, and every Dominican Day parade, 1 Police Plaza directs the precincts to troll their ghettos and look for rowdy social clubs to raid and arrest the proprietors. It's a similar strategy to the one the NYPD used on the eve of the Republican National Convention, when they arrested everyone involved in the Critical Mass bike ride. Their idea is to round up the possible troublemakers before any large gathering, arrest them and take them out of the equation, as well as to send a message to the rest of the community that the cops are in charge. The cops that came into Market were looking for exactly that. They saw an open door, wandered in blindly and thought they might find something, when they didn't, they left.

This blog journalist who wrote that story was really digging to write that story, She apparently heard fourth hand information that was forwarded to her by a guy named Cody, who himself heard information that originated from a kid who happened to be at the party, who in turn heard what he knew of what was going on from the band Animal who were supposed to play. Somewhere along the line on this crazy game of telephone, the story got more and more fantastic, with piles of tickets being issued, the building being "condemned," and me getting arrested. I first heard about all this when that reporter, Drew Grant, called me midday Saturday.

Anyway, that's the whole long boring story.

[photo via ryan muir on flickr]

Posted by Brian Ries at 01:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Thanks everyone for coming out and making the showcase such a great success. We hope you guys had some fun.

If you can't get enough out of the Real Estate family of musicians, Etienne is hosting a dance party at Market Hotel; it's a part of a mini-tour with Predator Vision (Etienne and Matt of Real Estate) and Sudden Oak.

If you are too busy recovering tonight, then tomorrow you can't miss a solo performance of Mira Billotte's (White Magic) at Santos Party House. Miss Billotte doesn't play every other week, so when she does, you have to make sure that you catch her! New Egypt has been one of my jams this past year--definitely worth a listen. Below is a video of a recent White Magic performance.

Posted by Lisa Baldini at 12:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As part two of our Hipster Foldables series, we present he of the iconic afro, Kyp Malone. Spotted routinely at dozens of local Williamsburg haunts—he used to work at the Verb Cafe on Bedford—Kyp's hair would alone deem him a celebrity. But he's also the guitarist for Williamsburg band TV on the Radio.

Kyp loves one of of favorite restaurants, Marlow & Sons: "they really have it figured out. They're really doing something delicious over there. Maybe it's all the butter. I don't know." And he sometimes tires of being recognized in the 'hood: "I don't want to not be able to live the way I live, you know, that doesn't sound like any sort of fun to me. Everyone I know takes the back route sometimes because they don't want to talk to everyone."

His hair was even featured in our book, The Hipster Handbook. In short, we love Kyp and can't wait to see TV on the Radio when the play Prospect Park on August 11. They always put on an amazing show.

Instructions:
1. Download the Kyp Malone foldable here (.pdf)
2. Print
3. Cut along black solid lines
4. Fold along dotted lines and tape, as instructed

Thanks again to Bryan. And remember, send us photos for future foldables! We want to feature local celebrities who are not Peaches Geldof. (Okay, we may have to make one of her too.)

DOWNLOAD THE HIP KYP PDF HERE

Previously: The Hipster Grifter Foldable

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 11:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Metropolitan Ave between Bedford and Berry

Posted by Jackie Snow at 04:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

July 4th
Reagenz featuring Jonah Sharp (Space Continuum) & Move D (extended live set)
Dan Bell (DBX) (DJ set)

July 11th
Arthur's Landing plays the music of Arthur Russell
Danny Wang (Balihu, NYC/Berlin)
MV Carbon & Aki Onda

July 18th
agnés b. presents
SPANK DJs SeanB and DJ Will
Cheveu (Born Bad label)
Xeno & Oaklander (Wierd Records)
DJ Pieter (Wierd Records)

July 25th
Alexi Delano (AD Music, NYC)
Derek Plaslaiko (the Bunker/Specral, Queens)
Elliott Sharp's Carbon (with Zeena Parkins, David Weinstein, and many others)

August 1st
Balance Recordings & NDATL hosts
Chez Damier (Chicago)
House of House (Live/DJ, Whatever We Want NYC)
Kai Alce (Atlanta)
Stars Like Fleas

August 8th
Eats Tapes
Lovefingers
With special guests

August 15th
Afro Acid hosts
DJ Pierre (Chicago)
Phuture 303 (Chicago)
House of Stank (New York)
Growing

August 22nd
Brennan Green (Chinatown)
John Selway (CSM)
Tim Love Lee (Tummy Touch)
Talibam!
With special guests

August 29th
Timmy Regisford (Area Code) & Club Shelter)
Duane Pitre

September 5th
Rong Music with Glenn Branca and special guests

[image via]

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 11:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

badgeholder update: since there has been some confusion, here's the deal: we'll be letting the allotted number of badges in and then allowing other badge holders entry throughout the night once others leave.

Mark your calendars! Here are the final details for our upcoming Northside Festival showcase.

an ALL AGES show at DEATH BY AUDIO ($10)
49 South Second Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn [map]

set times: 8:30/9:30/10:30/11:30/12:30

DJ sets by FREE DANGER + STAY GOLD

+ With the live debut of These Are Powers' new video "Easy Answers"
++ FREE Heineken from 7:30-8:30
+++ FREE Ice Cream provided by FreeIceCream.net

RSVP on Facebook!

MORE INFO AFTER THE JUMP

THESE ARE POWERS: "the appropriate soundtrack for a bombed-out, water-damaged Brooklyn basement with one bulb for light. If the Yeah Yeah Yeahs had pursued the more confrontational branches of New York no-wave, they would probably sound like this.... distinct and stunning" — PITCHFORK

JAVELIN: A new addition to David Byrne's Luaka Bop label. "Sounds range from broken dance jams to relaxed instrumental cut-ups, created with love on their MPCs. Long forgotten samples are chopped and re-assembled with drums, wooden recorders, old keyboards,handmade thumb pianos or whatever instruments are readily at hand. The result is a kind of mix tape fantasy (residing in the mythical "dollar bins of the future"), where R & B impresarios, amateur booty bass producers and Andean flautists hold equal sway." OUR STAGE

REAL ESTATE: "[they] mix languid psychedelia, muted vocals, a boomy undertow of drums, and jammy repetitions that somehow conjure fellow Garden State crew the Feelies... a super tight live band" — A STEREOGUM 'BAND TO WATCH'
Check out some tracks here.

AIR WAVES: Favorite New Band Air Waves: "Nicole Schneit is an amazing songwriter. The music she writes is like a favorite blanket wrapped around you. Drummer Dave Ferraro complements her songs well. "Shine On" is my current favorite song by them." DAN DEACON Pitchfork

ORGANS: Garage-punk rockabilly bliss.
Download their great new EP: www.mediafire.com/?fd3bg3tx3wj

[Thanks for the amazing flyer, Tim]

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 02:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

(left to right) Tom van Buskirk, George Langford

Today is our final band Q&A ahead of the Northside festival. We're having a chat with Javelin, a pair of guys from Providence, RI. The duo make music steeped in the day-glo aesthetic of their hometown, but smooth the edges with summery samples and R&B groove basslines. On jams with self-explanatory titles like "Andean Ocean Tape," you can practically see dolphins performing synchronized leaps. Javelin is going to be playing tonight at Death By Audio at the FREEwilliamsburg Showcase.

Q&A after the jump:

So is this show part of a larger tour?
We're doing a little weekend jaunt, Northside and then Providence, back to Brooklyn.

Are you going with anyone?
We're doing 2 shows with These Are Powers, and Sunday and Monday we're playing with Teengirl Fantasy.

Do you know the bands you're going with personally?
We know These Are Powers from around here. They asked us to play their opening and we installed our boomboxes at their art installation. I've actually been painting with them too.

I actually wanted to ask about the boomboxes, can you tell me more about it?
It was an installation at Secret Project Robot. The boomboxes were collected over years. [George's] brother gave us a long time ago an FM transmitter, and we had fun with it, and in Providence boomboxes cost like fifteen bucks max so it wasn't a big deal. So we taped them up and drilled holes in them and painted 'em.

How'd you get in with Luaka Bop?
At all our shows wherever we go we always kept handmade CD-R's cut up from LP covers, and just anyone who likes us we gave them one or sold them one, and one of the first people we gave a CD to, we had no idea, did graphic design for them and it ended up in their office.

When I googled your name I found another Javelin band, one from South Jersey, I wondered if you anything about them.
The reunion band? Yes! There's also a goth band from Japan, and they have their own label and clothes and stuff, a lot of merchandise. Like a boy band. They're a goth boy band. But we know about the one from Jersey, if there's any band we want to share a name with it's them. We'd go on tour with them.

Posted by David Bernstein at 11:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I'm not generally a big fan of the bible—its tribalism, wrath, homophobia, and violence doesn't strike me as the best code of ethics to follow. But maybe I've just been reading the wrong translation. It's totally better with Legos.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 10:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

"An eclectic array of vendors will showcase artwork, antiques, new and vintage home furnishings, clothing and accessories, food, crafts and more. The marketplace is situated in a unique space which features a vintage farm tractor, graffiti van, community garden, music and lounge area. The perfect way to spend a summer Sunday.

Come shop the market, hear some music, check the scene and enjoy a complimentary drink!"- Williamsburg Flea Market

Posted by Clarissa Roudabush at 12:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

[Via Pitchfork]

Download the track and check them out on Monday with WAVVES and our beloved Real Estate @ Bowery Ballroom!

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 07:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

(left to right) Dan Baranello, Brian Chillemi, Ryan Heil

Next up in our slew of Northside showcase interviews is rockabilly garage trio Organs. Recently signed to self-distributing indie folks Puta! Records (releasing a single and cassette EP by the end of summer), these boys play the kind of songs that let your drunk head sway, or remind you why you were drinking that whiskey in the first place. Their regular appearances at neighborhood favorites Bar Matchless and Don Pedro's always buzz eery with prohibition era vibes and memories of joyfully simple Rock 'n Roll taboos.

An emotional drone of harmonica on tracks such as "Don't Wanna See Me No More" or singer Brian Chillemi's longing wails on "Need Your Love" present us with why people make music in the first place-- to dance and feel and fight and, well, get you to want to take your pants off. If you're a fan of any combination of those things, read the rest of the interview with Brian after the jump for a little insight on 20th century girls, the importance of good shoes, and Union Square drug dealers.

Get the Organs record here for FREE----> http://www.mediafire.com/?fd3bg3tx3wj

Your myspace page says you guys sound like "If Hank Williams listened to the Stooges while fucking Little Richard". How did you land on this style/sound? Or is it just a musical wetdream of yours to get all those dudes in one room?

The Stooges are the sickest rock n roll punk band ever, Hank Williams is the god father of country music and Little Richard is one of most primal performers in the history of rock n roll. We're striving to integrate those three the best we can... and fucking isn't a bad way to get people integrated.

Where does the name of the band come from? Does the word Organs have any specific significance?

Umm... It's a nice sounding word, it's simple and it could mean internal organs or the instrument I suppose.

Organs play a monthly show at Don Pedro's that you organize, making you guys sort of like their house band. How did this come about? And where/how do you find the bands that play?

A complete love for Jake Noodles who manages and books the place. We set up a few successful shows and it just became what it is- the third Friday of every month. We book all kinds of bands, many are friends or acts we've stumbled upon and dug. The main thing is that we book people we want to listen to and know that they will make the show a real cool time.

Who are some local talents you guys are inspired by right now? Out of the bands you've played with, who would you like to see blow up on the BK scene?

Everyone, The Back CC's, Highway Gimps and The Men are all really great.

But one band that we really love is the M.K. and Magda Experience. Their really pushing the limits and breaking new ground. Keep an eye out for them!

The songs have a sort of raw & truthful angst. What, from your personal experiences, inspires you when you write?

I don't really get specific. It's more just about feelings that everyone has like lust and longing. You know its good when people understand it and there is a universal reality and timelessness to it. Least that's what I like about good pop songs anyway.

If you could resurrect a couple of your favorite musicians to form a band, who would they be and what would you call it?

I guess we could just list a bunch of musicians we think were great but they were great cause they did their own thing. Super-groups are lame...

You have a lot of old school influences, how do you think music is different now from the peeps mentioned above?

Music is not as fun or naive... whatever happened to gettin' people to dance with each other?!

You've got your hands in some film stuff too, right? Tell me more about that.

I'm working on a series of period shorts. I'm in post-production on two and pre-production on the other two. It's called 20th Century Girl. It's the same story of four girls in four different decades, taking place during each of the four seasons and how their lives are drastically different despite being from the same country and century. Two decades before WWII (20's and 30's) and two decades after (50's and 60's)- based on a specific musical aesthetic such as 60's girl groups or Appalachian folk music.

I have a Bolex 16mm camera from 1959 and a small group of friends that help. Dan, our bassist, is a hairstylist so he has come in real handy!

I've heard you have a knack for scoring women's dresses on Ebay. Other than these, what's the most prized item in your wardrobe?

We all say shoes, shoes, shoes...

The band recently went thru some member changes? How long have the three of you know each other, and was it just meant to be?

Dan has known Ryan for about three or four years and I've known them for about 2 or 3. Ryan is here to stay for sure; things are much better since we were all friends. We went through a couple drummers but the third times a charm.

So it's gotta be tough being a musician/filmmaker during these economic times in NY-- do you have a day job? What's the most ridiculous thing you've done to make rent?

Ryan works at a wine shop and Dan is a hairstylist. I don't have a day job, just do random things. Probably the most ridiculous was selling my little cousin's iPod to a drug dealer in Union Square.

[Photos by Crystal Lopez]

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 04:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

"Web 2.0" was just inaugurated as the English language's one millionth word. Which is, well, totally retarded. We're totally not accepting that in Scrabble. Buzzfeed sums up our opinion on this matter to a tee.

1. It's not a fucking word
It's a phrase. Not only is it a phrase - it's a phrase with two numbers and a goddamn decimal point in it [....]

2. It doesn't MEAN anything
One of the things about words is that they're supposed to mean things. It's why we have dictionaries. Web 2.0 is something that you say at marketing conferences in, like, 2004, so that the other marketing professionals from the early 2000s will give you their business cards [....]

4. The other candidate was going to have been “n00b”
I'm not kidding. That would at least have been hilarious. 'Cuz, like, when grownups came up to me and said, “Please, sir, could you tell me what is a n00b?” I could have just said “Look in the mirror, n00b.” And then punched them in the grundle.

5. It will only encourage them
Now that they have been officially validated, the bastards are going to start saying “Web 3.0.” I just know it. And then where will we be?

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

The Williamsburg Waterfront - the new home of the Mcarren Park Pool Parties

Yes, the McCarren Park Pool shows are now just a bygone memory of slip-n-slide bliss. But the good news is that the party will continue this year on the Williamsburg waterfront. We're particularly excited because FREEwilliamsburg favorite, Beach House, has just been added to the the roster. According to Brooklyn Vegan, they'll be opening for Grizzly Bear for the affordable, recession-friendly price of, well, FREE!

No word on whether there will be a slip-n-slide this year, but we'll be keeping you up-to-date on all the Williamsburg waterfront shows at www.freewilliamsburg.com/h2oshows. You can check out the full schedule (thus far) here. [image c/o Flickr]

UPDATE from our mailbag:
I have been told by a contact at Jelly that the slip n slide will be back. This is of particular interest to me, as my buddy and I have run the slip n' slide for the past two summers. I'm excite for the new venue. Even less shade means even more slippers and sliders!

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 09:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

A couple months back, the twangy batch of energy known as Hoots & Hellmouth pleasantly surprised me on the Lower East Side. On June 2nd, the Philly boys released their second full-length, The Holy Open Secret, on MAD Dragon Records but are making sure that us NYC folks don't miss out on the record release fun.

Comment it up on the Facebook thread, and you can be getting your gospel stomp on with a pair of tix. Contest closes at Midnight tomorrow night.

Comp tickets or not, check out Hoots at their second record release show, because two parties are better than one!

Thursday June 18th
9:30pm
Joe's Pub
425 Lafayette St
New York, NY

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 04:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Relish

Posted by Clarissa Roudabush at 04:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Photo by Edwina Hay

Continuing our series of interviews with the amazing bands playing our showcase at Northside Festival, I recently exchanged emails with Nichole Schneit of Air Waves. Dan Deacon gave the best descrption of Nicole's songwriting I've seen when he said "The music she writes is like a favorite blanket wrapped around you." Nicole shared a bit about how she crafts those song-blankets, what she's like on the subway and Air Waves' upcoming recording plans. So read up and don't forget to check out the show Friday at Death by Audio.

FW: How long have you been performing as Air Waves and how did the current lineup come together?

Nicole Schneit: I've been performing as "Air Waves" for a little over two years. Before that I did solo stuff. The lineup I have is always changing. I met Daoud who is on drums through a friend. He's a really amazing, creative drummer. When he tried out I knew right away that he was a perfect fit. Dan I also met through a friend. He picks up songs really quickly, plays really tastefully and there are old misfits stickers on his bass.

FW: What's your song writing process like?

Nicole: I play the guitar melody and then just make stuff up. If it sounds good I write it down. For the new album I don’t want any of the songs to be about my life. I think it will challenge me to be more creative in the lyrical process.

FW: What outside of music influences your songwriting?

Nicole: People, I like watching people a lot. I tend to stare on the subway which can get me in trouble. My songs are usually about other peoples relationships. Sometimes my own, but I'm trying to veer away from that.

FW: There's a Nabokov short story called "Recruiting" that starts out with a very typical narration of a man's family life and ends with the revelation that the story is about Nabokov seeing strangers in public and imagining their backstories and personal lives. Do you do that sort of thing or are you writing about relationships between people you know personally?

Nicole: Both. I'm not always conscious of it, but yeah both. "Gems" and "Keys" are about strangers. "Shine On" is about me and someone I know. And "Lightning" is about me. Some songs have all three, parts about me, a stranger, and someone I know. The stranger is also most of the times someone I make up in my head. I studied Anthropology in college and I think that affects my song writing, in the sense that I like to study the way people interact.

FW: What's your favorite venue to play in New York?

Nicole: Cakeshop. Market Hotel seems good too we have played there twice now.

FW: Who are you listening to a lot of lately?

Nicole: The Velvet Underground, The Beets, YellowFever, Leonard Cohen, Neil Young, Fine Young Cannonballs have been in heavy rotation for the past month or so. Tyvek was amazing live, I don't have their record but want it. They were by far the best live band I have seen in a long time. I'm very picky and listen to the same stuff I listened to in high school. When I like a new song I play it over and over again. You know anything else I should hear? Oh and that Beach House song "Used to Be" is really beautiful and that song with Rihnna and T.I. It's popular. And of course Ponytail.

FW: Given the amount of overlap in music we see, it's hard to think of something I'd expect you to not have heard. I enjoyed the new Ducktails LP. There is also this 10 or so part compilation of black rock & roll from the 50's called Savage Kick. I've been listening to a lot of those lately and if you're not familiar it's a great series to check out.

Any songs stuck in your head lately? (for me it's Only Fades Away by caUSE co-MOTION!)

Nicole: Cool, I haven't heard the Ducktails LP but Matt is a friend of mine, and I'm a fan of Real Estate. That comp sounds awesome! I will check it out. Last night I had "In My Secret Life" by Leonard Cohen stuck in my head. I usually just get choruses stuck in my head. You too? Today so far nothing.

FW: Are you planning on recording again sometime soon?

Nicole: YES!!! We are recording our full length with Scott Rosenthal this month and probably all summer. He recorded the Crystal Stilts and The Beets album. He's the best.

FW: Awesome, do you have a different mentality recording versus live shows? Also, are you recording another EP or an album? Should we expect lots of songs about people you've been staring at on the subway?

Nicole: YES!! I hate recording. But I think with Scott I'm going to really enjoy it. Last time I recorded I couldn't remember how to play two of the five songs. And most of my songs are 3-4 chords! I'm really comfortable with this lineup and the way it will be recorded, so I'm excited. It will be a full length. I get more nervous recording than playing live. It's more nerve wracking playing in front of a few people for me then oh say a million.

Ha! Well I went into writing these new songs telling myself none would be about me, to challenge myself. Two of them are about my life, but I think they are really strong songs. No one on the subway has inspired any yet :(

FW: Tell us about the last good book you read.

Nicole: I'm almost done reading "Kafka on the Shore" by Murakami. It's a fun weird book, great for the subway to prevent my staring problem. This is the third book I've read by him. The book isn't necessarily influencing my song writing. BUT Anvil the movie is.

FW: Anvil is a movie I've been meaning to see for a while. How's it influencing your song writing?

Nicole: Well it's not really influencing my song writing per say, but the way I look at music. Sometimes I get down on the music scene here how everyone is lumped into one category. We will play with bands on the same label a lot and because we aren't lo-fi enough or poppy enough we get dismissed. I like playing shows where all the bands have really different sounds. But anyway in reference to Anvil they are a metal band that played with some really huge names, and they never got the recognition they deserved. Not because they weren't as good, it just didn't happen. Also they are in it for the music, not the scene, they are just best buds playing together having fun. And it reminded me how there are different definitions of "making it." I hope to have that positive of an outlook in my musical career!

FW: What's your favorite thing about New York/Brooklyn?

Nicole: All my favorite people in the world are here, my best friends, my family, the food rules, there's neat hiding spots and you.

Posted by Andrew Ritchie at 03:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Last year, MGMT approached Violens frontman Jorge Elbrecht about a "Time To Pretend" remix, now the boys are returning the favor with their version of "Doomed", staying true to the original track and sans all the seducing industrial synth Violens laid on last summer's new age Fernando.

Download the remix , and lookout for the free digital remix EP from Cantora, including this track as well as contributions from Lansing-Dreiden, remix collective RAC, and newcomers Subtle People.

Be sure to check out Violens with School of Seven Bells at their favorite NY venue, Bowery Ballroom, this Friday before they kick off their UK tour with White Lies. Also, the "Doomed" video after the jump.