Our 2-bedroom apartment opens up November 1. $1800, top floor of rowhouse, amazing skyline views and private roof access, within 2 blocks of 4 subway lines. 5 minutes to Manhattan, 10 minutes to Williamsburg. Your downstairs neighbors are a super-chill musician and an architect. Send me an email if interested.
The Jackson Avenue Steakhouse (AKA The Jackson) is closed and may be replaced with some Italian chain restaurant.
Really? Directly between Manducatis and Manetta's?
There's writing on the wall for you. Long Island City, you are wack most of the time.
We've got a recession on and it looks like that means I am going to take this supercheap apartment in the "East Williamsburg Industrial Park." Total sell-out, total cliche, no? To be fair, it looks just like LIC, except that my roof view is blocked by a tree and there are better bars and cafes. I'd hoped to at least keep it in Queens, live in Ridgewood, maybe hang out at Silent Barn all the time and shop at Polish fruit markets. But sometimes opportunities arise, even if they aren't exactly in-line with your vision. I had fun putting on some good shows here and taking the E train a mere 5 stops to work daily. Court Square Diner, you will be missed. As will 5 Star Punjabi, The Shannon Pot, Dominie's Hoek, The Creek, LIC Bar, Manducatis, Sage, Gaw Gai, "The Jackson," Todd P even though I mostly see him in Brooklyn, Express 1 Laundromat, Tos/(z?)t Cafe, the Queensboro Bridge, my coffee cart dude, and theoretically Brooks 1890 (never open when I think to go there!). I won't miss everyone using terms like "up-and-coming," talking about real estate, and telling me to "commute like a rocket, live like a star." I sense a love-hate relationship with the Morgan stop before I even get there, though, so maybe nothing will really change, other than replacing the word "condo" with "loft"? I guess I'll know soon. Keep it real, Queens. I still heart you.
Oh, hi there!
Yes, there is another show at The Jackson. Helado Negro is kicking off his 5-borough tour here on Saturday, hot on the heels of his release on Asthmatic Kitty. Stereogum sez:
"The eclectic Brooklyn-via-South Florida sound sculptor Roberto C. Lange, aka Helado Negro, counts Funkadelic, DJ Premiere, South American 60's pop, Arthur Russell, the Ecuadorean ballad singer Julio Jaramillo, and others as influences for his Latin-infused ambient/avant-pop weirdness."
I sez: this will be some high-end stuff for a low-end price. And, we've figured out how to work the disco ball!
Jason Ajemian (who "wields his instrument like a Swiss Army knife", according to Jamie Monger), Rad Unicorn (L.I.C. neighbors), and Aldenbarton (perennial favorites from Woodside) open!
All for you and yours, and most likely only one subway stop from whatever your borough. See you there?
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***SATURDAY, AUGUST 22***
HELADO NEGRO (Brooklyn, NY)
"Brooklyn's own Roberto Carlos Lange has Ecuadorean roots, but his music shows off more of the flavors of Brazil; his Helado Negro project has the soothing qualities of the best bossa and tropicalia. It surely doesn't hurt that he also has ties to freak folk, not just in the music but also with his label, Ashmatic Kitty, whose so-called "Minister of Aesthetics," Sufjan Stevens, is helping him with some shows." -THE VILLAGE VOICE
JASON AJEMIAN & THE HIGHLIFE (Manhattan, NY)
“Bassist and Composer Jason Ajemian is one of the most mercurial players on the local improvised-music scene, given to taking wild creative leaps without worrying much about whether he can make it to the other side. In part because he’s so hard to pin down, he hasn’t earned the reputation he deserves." -CHICAGO READER
RAD UNICORN (Queens, NY)
Local Long Island City act who make "minimal music that touches on folk and blues, indie rock and psychedelia."
ALDENBARTON (Queens, NY)
"Their sometimes/somewhat-retro sound, with its big rhythms and dramatic shifts, is played with a sincerity that stands in stark contrast to much of the ironic tendency seen and heard in many bands today." -STEREOACTIVENYC
8 PM
$7
ALL AGES
THE JACKSON
12-23 Jackson Avenue
Hunters Point, Long Island City, Queens, NYC
1 stop from both Manhattan & Brooklyn!
G to 21 St
7 to Vernon-Jackson or Hunterspoint Avenue
E to 23 St-Ely Av
B-61, Q-67, Q-39, and Q-103 Bus
Uh, so... yeah. The next show took a little longer to get together than was planned. But we're back with another 'round... the first show we put together there sounded great and was well-attended, so we've got a value-pack of Queens, Brooklyn, and DC acts for your perusal:
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***SATURDAY, APRIL 18***
LOCKET (Queens, NY)
"Imagine one of those slightly bubblegummy singer-songwriter types you might come across at a college open mic night — the ones with the lyrics that make you cringe unless you’ve been through the same semi-fratboy years they went through. Locket is pretty much the exact opposite of that — almost as if they stood up during one of those sets, walked out in disgust and formed a band in reaction to it." -STEREOACTIVENYC
ALDENBARTON (Queens, NY)
"Their sometimes/somewhat-retro sound, with its big rhythms and dramatic shifts, is played with a sincerity that stands in stark contrast to much of the ironic tendency seen and heard in many bands today." -STEREOACTIVENYC
STRIPMALL BALLADS (Washington, DC)
"[H]auntingly gorgeous, melding Appalachian roots with intimate, Beat poet-esque lyrical ruminations." -SEVEN DAYS
LIVING IN POLAROIDS (Brooklyn, NY)
"I guess if you really want a comparison (voice-wise) with other artists, I would say that she's the potential love child of Tracyanne Campbell & Carey Lander (as Siamese Twins) from Camera Obscura and Tegan & Sara (as Siamese Twins, again). But if you want to get all scientific and want an example that's humanly possible, she could be Joanna Newsom and Stuart Murdoch from Belle & Sebastian's child ...and Jenny Lewis can be her babysitter." -MUSICINK
ALEX GREINER (Brooklyn, NY)
"[C]ombines the sun plucked delicacy of coffeehouse folk-singers with the weirder, grittier coiling style of more avant-garde, or, as they're calling it these days, 'freak-folk.'" -DEEP CUTZ [UNCUTZ]
9 PM
$7
ALL AGES
THE JACKSON
12-23 Jackson Avenue
Hunters Point, Long Island City, Queens, NYC
1 stop from both Manhattan & Brooklyn!
G to 21 St
7 to Vernon-Jackson or Hunterspoint Avenue
E to 23 St-Ely Av
B-61, Q-67, Q-39, and Q-103 Bus
Thanks to The Deli, Brooklyn Vegan, liQcity, Impose, New York Rockmarket, and of course Todd P for helping spread the word about tonight's show (and on short notice!). Should be fun... rumors of a danceparty following the bands! See you there.
OK, Long Island City + beyond, it's been a while, I know. But things are happening. Thanks to your top citizen Todd P, we've got a new all-ages DIY steakhou--er, show-space starting up this weekend. Jazznoise show Friday, pop show Saturday!
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***Friday, February 20***
KENNY MILLIONS (Miami, FL)
"An eccentric, avant-gardish saxophonist who undertakes to actually entertain rather than alienate." -ALL MUSIC GUIDE
CHILD ABUSE (Brooklyn, NY)
"Not far from what a band might literally sound like if it were stuck spinning inside of a clothes dryer." -NEW YORK PRESS
NONDOR NEVAI (New York, NY)
-featuring Rat Bastard of To Live & Shave in LA
WINTER WOMB (New York, NY)
-Chuck Bettis
9 PM
$TBA
ALL AGES
THE JACKSON
12-23 Jackson Avenue
Hunters Point, Long Island City, Queens, NYC
1 stop from both Manhattan & Brooklyn!
G to 21 St
7 to Vernon-Jackson or Hunterspoint Avenue
E-V to 23 St-Ely Av
B-61, Q-67, Q-39, and Q-103 Bus
Presented by Luke Calzonetti
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***Saturday, February 21***
MY TEENAGE STRIDE (Brooklyn, NY)
"This is wonderful stuff, as easy to listen to as it is hard to make." -POPMATTERS
"To Live and Die in the Airport Lounge" (mp3)
"Ears Like Golden Bats" (mp3)
KNIGHT SCHOOL (Brooklyn, NY)
"[T]hey were great. They're lo-fi pop in the same vein as Television Personalities, the Vaselines or the Pastels -- all of whom I'm going to guess they love." -BROOKLYN VEGAN
THE BRIDESMAIDS (Brooklyn, NY)
"Led by ace flute and reed player Leah Paul, the Bridesmaids marry indie-rock smarts to brassy Motown muscle." -TIME OUT NEW YORK
DARWIN DEEZ (Brooklyn, NY)
Aintfolk from oftentime member of Creaky Boards + crew.
8 PM
$7
ALL AGES
THE JACKSON
12-23 Jackson Avenue
Hunters Point, Long Island City, Queens, NYC
1 stop from both Manhattan & Brooklyn!
G to 21 St
7 to Vernon-Jackson or Hunterspoint Avenue
E-V to 23 St-Ely Av
B-61, Q-67, Q-39, and Q-103 Bus
Presented by Todd P + LICpop
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I haven't been putting any shows together, obvs. However, this weekend, some favorite songwriters from Michigan join Brooklyn-based Fred Thomas (Saturday Looks Good to Me, Flashpapr, City Center) for a free gig at a small venue. The info is below-- come on out if you aren't up to anything.
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***Saturday, July 19***
FRED THOMAS (Brooklyn, NY)
MATT JONES (Ann Arbor, MI)
MISTY LYN & THE BIG BEAUTIFUL (Ann Arbor, MI)
JGRAVES (Grosse Pointe, MI)
Music starts at 8 PM
FREE
@ DOMINIE'S HOEK
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Unless you've been living under a rock the past few days, you've probably heard about this already on the interweb or TV or in the paper:
What you probably didn't know is that I took that footage at LICMJ.
Can you spot Chris Martin in this video? I think he's the messianic-looking one.
Viva la Creaky Boards!
