HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE! MY NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS INCLUDE TO BRANCH OUT BEYOND SMALL INDIE RAWK, PUNK RAWK SHOWS TO GIVE YOU A BROADER TASTE OF THE NYC DIY WORLD, TO PARTY HARDER, AND TO HAVE LESS TYPOS.
On Friday 1/4 I went to the Astro Nautico party at Free Candy. This party was made by how awesome of a venue Free Candy is. It’s a former parking garage decked out in neon paint, street art, and a separate room for framed art, with the current exhibition including large paintings of laser guns, splattered blood and ’80s-ish caricatures of Barack and Michelle Obama. Mainly bass-heavy electronic music was spun by Obey City, Paul Jones, Michael Jukeson, Chits, Time Wharp, Howse, The Range, and other special guests along with huge 20′ x 12′ video projections.
I didn’t get there until around midnight so I’m not sure what DJ was on, but it didn’t really matter. I was more in the people watching mode rather than partying mode, so I had a good time due to all the interesting characters who came out. The majority of the party was comprised of goofy college kids dancing, but there was also some goth kids, boys in skirts, and some seemingly local Brooklyn kids. When I arrived I went into the bathroom and overheard a conversation between two women, one reading her baby daddy’s text messages to another, followed by her telling me never to have a baby with an idiot (“but don’t get me wrong, I have an awesome kid!”), because then you’ll be stuck with him for the rest of your life. Good advice, ladies!
Astro Nautico has some cool merch you can check out here.
Saturday night (1/5) I caught hip hop kids, Tron! & DVD at The Bitter End. When you think about The Bitter End, “DIY” isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. Thoughts like “omg I have to go to fucking Bleecker Street?!” “Wait, I have to pay the cover and get roped into a 2 drink minimum if I try to sit down?” and “If any fucking foreign people try to feel my tits tonight I’m going to throw my unnecessarily spiky boot heel at their throat” are more common. But it was Tron! & DVD’s first NYC headlining gig, an act that has opened for K.Flay and Ghostface Killah, among many others. All their shows they book and promote themselves, so for this one night, The Bitter End really had DIY at heart.
As for their performance, they managed to turn a has-been, sit down, touristy type Manhattan venue into a real hip hop party. They’re 2 rapper brothers + DJ Munderville who are from upstate NY, in a neighborhood where squirrels apparently steal car keys. They were super personable, energetic, and entertaining: Tron! went and sat down at one of the tables and rapped to a couple girls sitting down, Tron! & DVD were asked to sign an autograph during their set, their DJ somehow jumped 10 feet high in the air, and at the end of the set Tron! bench pressed the mic stand mid song while DVD spotted him. It was something else. Catch Tron! & DVD with Lil Kids and Charlie Sima at Legion Bar Thursday, 1/24!
Previews—————————————————
Tomorrow night, Wednesday (1/9), at Big Snow Buffalo Lodge is Advaeta, Kal Marks, Tom Blacklung and The Smokestacks, and Chat Logs. Doors @ 8pm. $7.
At Spike Hill on Thursday (1/10) there “will be only bands that actually kick ass, no questions,” according to Dan from Flagland. These bands are Vulture Shit, Lunchbox, and Flagland. It’s FREE! I’m really glad it’s an early show too (first band’s set is @ 8:30), so on Friday I can wake up early to smell some roses and watch some birds.
If you’re not feeling 2013 just yet, head over to Legion Bar Thursday for “What’s My Age Again? AGAIN,” where 1.21 Gigawatts and DJ Whyte Ka$tle will bring you back to our earlier days of Emo, Pop Punk, and Screamo. This week’s Guest DJ is BROKEN PROMISES. It’s FREE and you can even make requests on their Facebook event page!!
There’s also a Thursday post-punk banger at Big Snow Buffalo Lodge with Grooms, Heaven’s Gate, The Numerators, EULA and Bennio Qwerty. DJ Jason Sigal from WFMU’s Talk’s Cheap/Lame Drivers/Home Blitz will also be there. Doors @ 8pm. $7.
At Death By Audio Friday 1/11 is Parquet Courts, PC Worship, Household, Gal Pals and Priests. All Ages. Doors @ 8PM. $7.
Also on Friday, around the corner at Glasslands Gallery is Emil & Friends, Neighbors, and Silent Rider for $10.
Bandshell Presents: Sparxx, Mind Dynamic, PVre Matric, Spirit Guide, and GLA22 at 285 Kent on Saturday (1/12). Sparxx is on a roll playing great shows lately, expect a lot of glitter!
Also on Saturday, The Deliquency is presenting a show at Living Bread Deli with The Yellow Dogs, Shark?, EULA, The Denzels, and Radical Dads. It’s $10 with FREE Narragansett BEER. 8pm.
On Sunday is a Sugar Mama Bk Presents showcase with Sharkmuffin, Lunchbox, Sic Tic and Vivienne Eastwood at Big Snow Buffalo Lodge. Doors at 8pm. $7. Sharkmuffin just released their second single, the b-side to their upcoming 7″ check it out below…@Sugarmamabk
