REVIEW: Forecastle Festival 2014

July 21, 2014 By Comments

forecastle_8 copy

Photos by Bruce Jason Bohman

I just wrapped up my first visit to Forecastle Music Festival and I gotta hand it to you, Louisville. From the first bass drop with MimOsa to the last dance break with Beck, it was an unforgettable weekend full of good vibes, fantastic performances and enough Bourbon to kill a small elephant. When  in Kentucky . . .

The first thing I have to point out is that Forecastle is unbelievably manageable. It never felt overcrowded, and for the most part festivalgoers conducted themselves well (always a toss up at these city fests – I’m looking at you Made in America). Let’s just go over the basics here: every port-a-potty was flush in TP, I never stood in a beer line for more than six minutes and I was always able to reconnect with friends when the schedule appealed to different tastes. A low stress festival makes for a happy festivalgoer, and the energy here was top notch. I’m sure the eclectic lineup, temperate weather and stunning Louisville waterfront location can be credited for that as well. The KY Bourbon Lodge offered a look into the rich culture of Kentucky (plus a fresh blast of AC) and Louisville’s best food trucks brought their kimchi & tofu tacos, gourmet grilled cheeses and a number of other hearty snacks to the festival grounds. It was a well-rounded event that reminded me that I grew up in a place that’s pretty damn cool.

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Inside the sober rave in Williamsburg

July 21, 2014 By Comments
sober-rave

sober rave (c/o Gothamist & Mathew Gilbertson)

dumb

sober rave (c/o Gothamist & Mathew Gilbertson)

Thanks to Gothamist for doing the leg work. There’s just no way we could take sober dancing and animal masks at 6:30 AM.

A $20 ticket to Morning Gloryville gets you the following: three hugs upon entry (one from each of the Morning Gloryville crew), a plastic lei, and three and a half hours of dancing. There’s a smoothie bar, where smoothies are $6-a-pop and juices run $9, and you can purchase Brooklyn Roasting Co. coffee for around $2-$3, if you so desire. Massages are available for a “suggested donation,” and crews were leading soggy yoga classes every 5 to 10 minutes on the Zoo’s rainy roof.

The dancing, though, was Morning Gloryville’s real bread-and-butter, with DJs blaring house music that reverberated all the way down Bogart Street. The Zoo—which was packed by 7:30 a.m.—boasted a bouncy floor and trampoline, and attendees were all over it, climbing walls, doing handstands and flipping from a rope swing in the middle of the room. The Zoo’s garage doors were open, and passersby kept stopping to snap photos of the dozens of grown-ass adults in sequins doing pike jumps and tossing giant blow-up balls around the faux-graffitied wall.

Morning Gloryville advertises itself as a pre-work “sober rave,” a description that stressed me out initially—how does one survive a strobe-light dance party without intoxicants? Is it appropriate to spike a mango smoothie? Can you blog on an Ecstasy comedown? But those concerns were all for naught, because what Morning Gloryville really is, is a $20 gym class, designed to pump you with endorphins before you move into your cubicle for the day. I prefer running in circles around Maria Hernandez Park but, hey, everybody’s doing their own thing.
The next edition Morning Gloryville goes down on August 13th at 6:30 a.m.; buy your tickets online.

More pics here. You can get tickets for the next sober rave here.

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Erdos-Bacon Six Degrees of Separation Party

July 19, 2014 By Comments

kevin bacon

It’s a small, small world – uncomfortably so at times. Jackie Aude McBrien is exploring the Small World Phenomenon through her documentary on the Eros-Bacon number and throwing a party tonight to show everyone just how intertwined we really are:

The Small World Phenomenon predicts that we are less than six handshakes from anyone in the world. By examining this peculiarity, this documentary will track down Kevin Bacon and colleagues of Paul Erdős in order to explore human connectivity, Six Degrees of Seperation, and to set the world record for the lowest Erdős-Bacon number.

Party Details:
July 19th, 8pm-2am
Brooklyn Fire Proof (East)
119 Ingraham St, Brooklyn, NY

What you can expect:
- An exclusive trailer of the film
- An interactive Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon game (with lots of prizes!)
- Good music (courtesy of DJ Rick Bubs), great drinks, and tasty hor d’oeuvres
- Featuring work from New York/BK-based artists: Paula Wegman, Phil Ashworth, Nicholas Cueva

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Watch a short documentary about a Williamsburg pizza delivery man

July 18, 2014 By 2 Comments

bestpizzaIf you haven’t already seen it, check out this excellent short documentary about a 52-year-old Williamsburg pizza delivery man named Bill. Bill delivers for Best Pizza on Havermeyer St. and you may recognize him from his many fixie travels around the neighborhood. The [Read more...]

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Interview: The Fresh & Onlys

July 18, 2014 By Comments

freshnonlys_2blog Tim Cohen has dabbled in garage rock, neo-psych, post-punk, folk and even black metal in his decade-plus spanning career, most notably as the frontman of The Fresh & Onlys. So, I wasn’t too surprised that they re-invented the wheel again on their latest offering, “House of Spirits” which was released earlier this year on Mexican Summer. The record takes on a darker, more emotionally charged tone in comparison to past releases. It’s wrought with images of lucid desolation that, as Cohen told us when we sat down with him the other day, sound all the more dynamic live.

I know I’m psyched to find out what he means by that. So psyched that we’ve teamed up with PopGun Presents to bring The Fresh & Onlys to Glasslands for a special performance of “House of Spirits” next Wednesday, July 23. The Shilohs and Christines will open, and I’ll be behind the decks, before, after and in between sets. Tickets are still on sale, but they’re going fast.

As I alluded to, Tim was nice enough to take a few minutes out of his hectic touring schedule the other day to speak with us about the record, what we can expect from the show, and an unfortunate run-in he had with the NYPD the last time he was at Glasslands.

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Video: Mobb Deep played Queensbridge Park last night

July 18, 2014 By Comments

mobb

The iconic 90s group played an hour-long set last night to a huge crowd — we estimate 8,000 to 10,000 fans attended. The free show was sponsored by Summerstage. See the closing moments of their set below: [Read more...]

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Good news Greenpoint… Ferry service will resume next week

July 18, 2014 By Comments

ferry

Just in time for the impending G train clusterfuck! From DNA:

Greenpoint’s ferry stop may be back in service by next Friday. The India Street dock that shut down in February after a ramp suddenly collapsed is expected to be replaced in the next week, according to the city’s Economic Development Corporation spokesman Ian Fried.

RedSky Capital, which privately owns the pier, should be finished installing the new ramp by the time the G train suspends service for five weeks for Superstorm Sandy repairs next Friday, said Fried, whose organization is in charge of the ferry route and works with the landings.

Greenpoint riders have had to take a shuttle to the North Williamsburg stop for the past five months.

“The G train is a critical transportation link for people in the area,” Fried said. “We recognize the importance of making sure the East River Ferry is operating in Greenpoint prior to the G train shutdown. RedSky has always operated with this in mind.”

The gangway leading to the ferry’s landing detached in February during a snowstorm, giving away moments after riders had crossed. Noone was injured.

Preliminary reports indicated the gangway itself was safe, but the poles holding it up had problems, Fried said.

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‘Bushwick Nightz’ book launch party is tonight

July 17, 2014 By Comments

bushwick-nightz

Our friends at Bushwick Daily just released a collection of short stories, Bushwick Nightz. Tonight they’re throwing a party to celebrate:

In 12 original, honest, brutal and completely self-aware stories, you’ll explore the bright and dark moments of all that occurs here from drug deals, to gallery shows, drinking, sex, Zagat-rated meals, gentrification and trying to figure it all out.

Meet the writers in person, hear them read, discuss the stories, drink some champagne & most importantly celebrate Bushwick with us!

8:30-9:30: Discussion & reading moderated by Eric Silver with writers Dallas Athent, Prospero Vega & John Jarzemsky [Read more...]

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