If You Think Tompkins Square Park is Bad Now, You Should Have Seen it in the Late 1980s! Photo Credit: Q. Sakamaki

Location: DUMBO, Brooklyn
Author: Q. Sakamaki: Tompkins Square Park
Show time: 6:30 PM FREE
Venue: The powerHouse Arena
Food: RICE
Drink: Low Bar
Miscellaneous: Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory

With all the gentrification going on in NYC these days, Q. Sakamaki’s photography book Tompkins Square Park couldn’t be more timely as it documents the park in the late 1980s to mid-90s when the community (homeless and neighborhood residents) was undergoing it’s own gentrification. RICE not surprisingly offers a pretty intense variety of rice, from brown to Bhutanese red. Most of the rice based dishes come in large and small sizes. Right below RICE is Low Bar, an extremely convenient place to grab a drink and catch some great DJs spin in a lounge environment. Right off the water, with a view of the South Street Seaport and the Brooklyn Bridge so close you can touch it, the only thing that could make this view better is ice cream. You’ll usually find a long line for Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory, but the sweet flavors are worth it!

African Music Legend Fela Kuti Gets His Story Told





Aaron Johnson is the musical director of Fela!, an off-Broadway musical about the life and times of international protest figure and African musical icon Fela Anikulapo Kuti, directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Bill T. Jones. You may know Aaron from Antibalas, the afrobeat band in which he plays trombone and conducts, but he has performed and/or recorded with Baaba Maal, TV on the Radio, Medeski, Martin, and Wood, Femi Kuti, The Budos Band, Chin Chin, Burning Spear, Dub Is A Weapon, Wu Tang Clan, and Taj Mahal to name a few. I asked him some questions in anticipation of the show set to premier August 5th.

First of all, how did you come to the project?

Rikki Stein, who was Fela's manager and currently manages Fela's estate, suggested to the producers that they contact Antibalas. I met Rikki in London with Antibalas in early 2001, and usually see him whenever we pass through London. In summer 2006 myself, Gabe Roth and Victor Axelrod met with Bill T. Jones, Jim Lewis and the producers so they could ask us some questions about the music and whether or not we could or would be able to help them work on this idea they had. Later that year, Antibalas had a one day work session with Bill and others and I guess he saw the potential to make a show.

As the music director, does that mean you choose the music or just arrange it according to the script?

Both, when I was brought into the project, there was no script, it was an eight page treatment, and they had a few songs they were sure they wanted to use, but much of the material I suggested for musical or lyrical reasons, and the script has grown out of that process.

Who are the other musicians from the local Afrobeat scene playing in the show?

From Antibalas Jordan McLean, Stuart Bogie, Nick Movshon and Marcos Garcia, from Akoya, my old friend Yoshi Takemasa, who I have known longer than anyone else, since we played together in a band called Tadanoshin in 1997. Then some other great musicians who I have met over the last 10 years working in New York.

In the spirit of Fela, does the show advocate political action and resistance?

Yes.

What are some of the other projects in which you play besides Antibalas?

I play with Ticklah, I was an original member of the Fu Arkistra
and Dub is a Weapon,, sometimes I play with Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, The Budos, The El Michels Affair, TV on the Radio, Bronx River Parkway, The Menahan Street Band, countless other bands sporadically around the city.

Who are some of your favorite afrobeat bands on the scene locally and all over the world?

Ah, hands down Seun Kuti and the Egypt 80, and if you want to call the Budos afrobeat, but beyond them and Akoya, I have not heard a lot of real afrobeat bands out there that have done anything for me.

Who are some of the artists you've enjoyed collaborating with the most in your career?

I love collaborating with my friend’s bands, TV on the Radio, Chin Chin, The Dap-Kings, The Budos, those are some of my favorite people and musicians.

In Antibalas, there are many different sensibilities and personalities that all affect the group's sound in different ways. If you look at people's side projects, you can see each sensibility on its own, such as Amayo with Fu-Arkistra, Victor Axelrod with Ticklah, and Marcos Garcia with Chico Mann; how would you describe your sensibility and how it effects the group dynamic?

I don't know what my sensibility is, but I think after I started conducting Antibalas in 2001, the band evolved from a grooving but very sloppy and nonchalant group of musicians to a much tighter band. I think more than anything that has to do with me being able to feel the energy on stage and in the crowd and know where to direct the music, in terms of setlists, song arrangements, and also keep it really loose.

As an afrobeat musician, how challenging is it to make a living in such a big band, and how much is it a testament to your passion for the music that you play the genre you do?

I am a musician, not an afrobeat musician, and I work in so many different genres, my passion is GOOD MUSIC, in my opinion of course. An "afrobeat musician" would not be able to do what we are doing with Fela's music in this new musical

For more information on the off-Broadway production of Fela! including the performance schedule and prices, go to FelaOffBroadway.com

Marc Amigone

Stephen Rae plays a Western art dealer looking for Authenticity in Sam Shepards Kicking a Dead Horse

Location: East Village, NYC
Theater: Kicking a Dead Horse
Show time: Tues 7:00 PM, Wed - Fri 8:00 PM, Sat 2:00 & 8:00 PM, Sun 3:00 & 7:00 PM; Through August 10
Venue: Public Theater
Food: Oyama
Drink: Grassroots Tavern
Miscellaneous: Mud Cafe

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Sam Shepard returns to the Public Theater directing his new play Kicking a Dead Horse, starring Stephen Rae as a western art dealer alone in the desert with a dead horse in a doomed search for the authentic west. With sushi that’s 50 percent off all the time, you might think, “Something’s wrong with that?” but the fish is good and the rolls are inventive, making this one of the best low-priced sushi joints in the city. Though St. Marks all of a sudden lost its charm, Grassroots Tavern hasn’t. This large dive bar has cheap drinks, darts in the back, and old men behind the bar, things a good dive bar should have. Excellent coffee served in a big mug and a healthy menu of food coupled with a year round enclosed outdoor backyard patio make Mud Cafe a great little coffee shop in the area.

L’Oreal
Collagen Remodeler Contouring Moisturizer for Face and Neck SPF15 Day

L’Oreal cosmetics is very good at word usage and the nomenclature of its products. More often than not, the names are long winded to depict an incredibly basic product. L’Oreal presents another anti-aging topical ointment with the name Collagen Remodeler Contouring Moisturizer – to fight the loss of volume in aging skin. The laboratories at L’Oreal assert that their product “in vitro stimulates the production of natural collagen to increase the skin’s volume and structural integrity…for smoother, more contoured features.” The notion is that with age, the production of collagen goes down, which is the integral component of skin’s elasticity. Again, L’Oreal uses illustrious words such as Biospheres, Bio-assimilation, and Bio-Activator to make its claim. After two weeks of daily use on my twenty something skin, I noted the appearance of diminished lines, but they are still here. For a retail price of $19.99, you are better off investing in a high SPF sunscreen and limiting sun exposure to protect the elasticity of your skin.

Ashkan

Miguel Luciano, Barceloneta Bunnies, 2007, Acrylic on canvas, 72 x 72 in. Courtesy of the Artist.

Location: Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn
Art: Grotesque Histories
Show time: 7:00 PM Tues - Sat, 12:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Venue: The Rotunda Gallery
Food The Smoke Joint
Drink Total Wine Bar
Miscellaneous The Old Brooklyn Parlor

Artists Enrique Chagoya, Aaron Johnson, and Miguel Luciano take iconographic images in recent and past history and distort them to make statements on current world topics including social and political problems. If you like your meat bbqued, The Smoke Joint is where it’s at. With a menu that gets straight to the point, offering hacked chicken, beef, or pork among a few other menu items, like southern sides and a variety of local beers, this place will keep your fingers joints deep in Southern fare! Total Wine Bar creates a warm atmosphere, but it’s the wine list that’s the draw, offering a reasonably priced and eclectic selection leaving you with more than enough dough to order some cheeses and snack foods on menu. For a taste of Brooklyn from yesteryear, hit up The Old Brooklyn Parlor and grab yourself an old school Brooklyn Egg Cream or Lime Cherry Rickey.

Nomo Do their Thing at Zebulon

Nomo
Zebulon
July 12, 2008

So many people came to Zebulon to see Nomo Saturday night, they literally had to turn people away. For those who managed to squeeze themselves into the cramped Williamsburg venue, they were not disappointed. Nomo brought an uncontrollably infectious energy to the stage, their favorite club in the city. Throughout their first set, the crowd seemed not to know what to make of them. People simply sat in awe trying to comprehend the complex sounds emanating from the seven-piece ensemble. That all changed during the second set when the crowd thinned out a bit, and the remaining concert-goers got up and danced like they knew they should.

Hailing from Ann Arbor, Michigan, Nomo fuse dubbed out 80's hip-hop synths with Tony Allen afro-funk drums and hard bop jazz horn lines. Even their ensemble arrangement is unique featuring two drum sets, electric bass, guitar, tenor and baritone saxophones, two trumpets, congas, timbales, bells, mbira (Zimbabwean thumb piano), sea shells, and a combination of electric distortion effects.

Ghost Rock, Nomo's third full-length album came out last month on Ubiquity Records, and they're touring across the country promoting it, playing 34 shows in 55 days in 32 cities. They are without a doubt, one of the most inventive, talented bands I've ever had the privilege of seeing live. After listening to their records for the first time in the last six months, I had extremely high expectations for their show Saturday night, and they totally blew them away.

--Marc Amigone

Friday August 1

Location: Financial District, NYC
Band: Seaport Music with Brother Ali + The Rub
Show time: 7:00 PM FREE
Venue: South Street Seaport
Food: Burritoville
Drink: Jeremy’s Ale House
Miscellaneous: Century 21

Coming with a live band, Brother Ali, an albino rapper with politically charged lyrics and dub and hip hop influences, has a well-received album that just came out called The Undisputed Truth. He is joined by The Rub, a Brooklyn outfit of DJs who play mashups and old school beats. While most people buy hot dogs and grab a beer at expensive restaurants in the Seaport mall, you’ll be smart and head over to Burritoville for inexpensive and delicious California inspired burritos, all under $10. For drinks, Jeremy’s Ale House has a lively crowd and a beer list that will get you a pint for $5 and under. If you get down to the financial district early, check out Century 21. They won’t try to sell you some property, but they have some great designer clothing on the cheap, plus the place is huge to roam.

Friday August 1

Location: Midtown West, NYC
Bands: Stephenie Meyer + Justin Furstenfeld
Show time: 7:00 PM
Venue: Nokia Theatre Times Square
Food: Island Burgers and Shakes
Drink: Smith’s Bar
Miscellaneous: Colony Music

This looks like an odd show, Stephanie Meyer, author of the Twilight vampire book series performs with Justin Furstenfeld, frontman for the band Blue October to sing songs about vampires. Don’t expect any Freebird covers! For a kickass burger or chicken sandwich, Island Burgers and Shakes specializes in making great burgers like the Bourbon Street Burger that’s blackened, with bacon, Jack, bayou mayo, and onion on sourdough. One cheap bar in midtown, Smith’s is a dive bar with cheap booze, friendly locals, and live music daily in the next room. Though the place is way expensive, Colony Music is a fun music store that sells albums and sheet music. You can walk around and check out the entertainment memorabilia. Whether you’re looking for an autographed guitar signed by the Rolling Stones or an autographed 8x10 of Linda Carter, they’ve got it.

Saturday August 2

Location: West Village, NYC
Band: Steve Dalachinsky and Matthew Shipp
Show time: 6:00 PM
Venue: Cornelia Street Café
Food: Koo Sushi
Drink: Blind Tiger Ale House
Miscellaneous: Peanut Butter & Co.

I’ve seen Mathew Shipp play his avant-garde piano style many times live and he’s always amazing to watch and listen to. He plays with downtown poet Steve Dalachinsky, most likely performing music from their collaboration album Phenomena of Interference. A little known sushi joint, Koo Sushi offers affordable and fantastic fish with an impressive number of specialty rolls. For a bar that looks like any other, Blind Tiger Ale House offers an impressive number of beers including draught, bottled, cask and one called Louise’s Bloody Beer. Try it if you dare! If you’re in the mood for some comfort food, Peanut Butter & Co., offers some PB heavy hitters like the Elvis, a PB, banana, and bacon sandwich that tastes better than it sounds.

Saturday August 2

Location: Lower East Side, NYC
Band: King Khan and the Shrines + Live Fast Die
Show time: 7:00 PM
Venue: Mercury Lounge
Food: Supper
Drink: Barramundi
Miscellaneous: Kudos

Though they are playing for FREE tomorrow, you should no doubt catch King Khan and the Shrines sometime this weekend. Bringing 60s psychedelic and soul music that sounds like it came from some obscure band from Cambodia, they are without a doubt a spectacle in the flesh. A favorite restaurant of mine, Supper has a dimly lit, all-wood interior giving it a rustic vibe. They even have what looks like a bar overlooking the chefs cooking for you to watch. The Italian menu offers some fantastic food too. Though it might sound like it has to do with Buddhism, Barramundi is actually an Australian owned bar that has infused vodkas, sangria, and a laundry list of mixed drinks like the Champagne Cocktail made with sugar and bitters with Courvoisier, topped with bubbly. If coffee and a snack is your thing, Kudos is an inexpensive place to get baked goods, a cup of coffee and chill before the show.

Sunday August 3

Location: Greenpoint, Brooklyn
Bands: JellyNYC Pool Parties with Black Lips + Deerhunter + King Khan and the Shrines + Tall Firs
Show time: 2:00 PM FREE
Venue: McCarren Park Pool
Food: Wasabi
Drink: Bar Matchless
Miscellaneous: The original Soupman

Who doesn’t like a free show? Especially with a line-up featuring the Black Lips, Deerhunter, Tall Firs and my new favorite band, King Khan and the Shrines. This aught to be a good one. Let’s just hope it doesn’t rain like last Sunday. There’s a lot of restaurants popping up in Greenpoint nowadays. The Japanese restaurant Wasabi has been there before many of them and serves up some of the best sushi in that hood. A good local bar, Bar Matchless is that low-key place where you can chill, get a drink and not have to scream at the top of your lungs to make conversation. He’s been called “The Soup Nazi” on Seinfeld, but Al Yeganeh knows how to make soup. Try the Lobster bisque, it’s the best I’ve ever had, and don’t forget to follow his rules or “No Soup for You!”