The cast of Black Watch


Location: DUMBO, Brooklyn
Theater: Black Watch
Show time: See website for dates, times, and ticket info
Venue: St. Ann's Warehouse
Food: RICE
Drink: Low Bar
Miscellaneous: Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory

Black Watch is a play written by Gregory Burke focusing on Scottish soldiers in the Black Watch regiment of the British army stationed in Iraq. The play is fast paced taking place in a pool hall and moving back and forth to the soldiers time in Iraq, giving a somewhat first-hand look at what it was like for them there. The acting is brilliant and the story moves so fast that you never get the chance to be bored. 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!

The talented Aussie trio’s new album, Dystopia, was recently released and the lads are currently touring the United States promoting the album. Luckily, I got to chat via phone with Andrew about the band’s new album, how they write a song together, and why he loves Randy Newman.

You’re music has been called everything from eerie to resembling David Bowie. How would you describe your sound?

Um…I don’t know, like psychedelic, zoo tribal, indie dance. Our sound is always evolving, getting a lot more to the epic rock. There are numerous descriptions.

Is eighties synth music an influence for you creatively?

Yeah it is a long list of eighties synth music. Film composers as well like the moods they create. Vincent Von Helen, all sorts of stuff… a lot of sixties music.

How did you guys form the band?

It started with me and Vincent, we used to make music together coming from a fusion rock background. After high school, we started playing at parties and a mix of things. It took off from there. Daniel joined and we just kept evolving, mucking around playing a lot of different places.

What was your favorite aspect of making Dystopia?

Being able to make music and completing a song. We are all passionate about the album and it can take on a life of its own. Writing is such a great experience too.

Have you guys grown as a band from your EP to the new album?

We grew a lot since the EP, which was like a bedroom recording, compared to the new album. Also, we have been touring a lot and evolving as live performers a lot too.

If you could meet anyone from music’s past, who would it be?

Um, Randy Newman, David Bowie, a long list of people….

How do you guys as a band approach writing songs?

We work in a lot of different ways. It is a separate process. We write separately and then bring them together as a band. Actual writing is separate and recording is done together as a band.

Well I am all out of questions. Thanks for taking time to do an interview.

Thanks as well.

Corey Crossfield

Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson

Location: Lower East Side, NYC
Bands: CMJ Music Marathon: Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson + Lykke Li Get Tickets Here
Show time: 8 PM
Venue: Bowery Ballroom
Food: Social
Drink: 151
Miscellaneous: Bereket

Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson has worked with members of TV on the Radio and his latest self-titled album was produced by Grizzly Bear’s Chris Taylor, which says a lot about this singer-songwriter. Lykki Li is well known for her folky voice with guitar in hand alone on the stage shows singing melodic songs that people seem to love. Joining them at this CMJ show are Micachu and Friendly Fires. To start a night that will no doubt rock, you may want to go straight to the bar, and that bar would be 151, where happy hour is 7 days a week from 6pm till 10pm and includes 2 for 1 drinks. For those that don’t want a liquid dinner first, check Social for comfort food including the Mac & Cheese (Macaroni covered in Three Cheese Truffled Mornay Sauce & topped w/Seasoned Bread Crumbs). For a late night eat, a favorite spot of mine is Bereket for falafels and to watch drunks succeed at spilling their food all over themselves and failing at picking up chicks. Not for the faint of heart!

Event: CMJ08: Music Marathon and Film Festival
Show time: See website for times, dates, and venues



CMJ08 comes to NYC again from October 21–25, 2008 giving us the chance to see some of the biggest indie music acts in the country playing at nearly every single performance space in NYC with a stage or without one. This year’s lineup includes A Place to Bury Strangers, Beach House, Broken Social Scene, Deerhoof, Jay Reatard, Lykki Li, The Cool Kids, Coheed & Cambria, The Dears, and much much more! There will also be panels with many of the artists involved speaking about the state of music today, along with comedy, and a film fest.

DaVe Lipp

Although winter isn’t exactly around the corner, it’s never too early to take preventative measures to ensure that our lips are well-equipped to handle what, for this critic, is the wind tunnel that inevitably forms along the lower parts of Fifth Avenue. After years of relying on the meager protection of generic drugstore-brand lip protectants, I welcome the addition of Lisa Hoffman’s Lip Moisturizer.

Lisa Hoffman developed her line, having encountered many beauty products while traveling the world, specifically between film sets, as the wife of the renowned actor, Dustin Hoffman. This lip moisturizer is just one product of many she designed intending to simplify the modern woman’s beauty routine.

This product comes as a unique stand-up pump, small enough to fit in a purse but too big to throw in a pocket. Application is finger-to-lip, so those who shun sticky fingers might want to shy away. Despite its rather viscous consistency, I appreciate the almond-vanilla taste and longevity. Furthermore, when applied over lipstick, it can also function as a gloss. With Lisa Hoffman’s Lip Moisturizer on hand, (or rather, on lips), I am certain that my lips will hold up much better against those biting Fifth Avenue drafts.

Jessica Stein

Nam June Paik and Otto Piene. Untitled. 1968. Manipulated television set and plastic pearls, 9 x 13 x 10" (22.9 x 33 x 25.4 cm). Gift of The Junior Associates of The Museum of Modern Art, New York, The Greenwich Collection Ltd. Fund, and gift of Margot Ernst. © 2003 The Museum of Modern Art. Photo: Thomas Griesel

Location: Midtown West, NYC
Art: Looking at Music
Show time: Sat – Mon, Wed & Thurs: 10:30 AM – 5:30 PM, Fri: 10:30 AM – 8 PM, Tuesday closed; Through January 5, 2009
Venue: Museum of Modern Art
Food: Sullivan Street Bakery
Drink: Rudy’s Bar & Grill
Miscellaneous: The Shops at Columbus Circle

In this exhibition, MoMA takes a look at the early days of video art from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s with early media works by Nam June Paik, Bruce Nauman, Steve Reich, Joan Jonas, Yoko Ono, Laurie Anderson, and David Bowie. Also featured are related drawings, prints, and photographs by John Cage, Jack Smith, Ray Johnson, and others. Arguably one of the top bread makers on the east coast, and good to get gourmet pizza’s and sandwiches, Sullivan Street Bakery makes exquisite food using ingredients you’d see on the Food Network! More bar than grill, Rudy’s is like going back to college, minus the books. The beer is cheap and by “grill,” they mean free popcorn and hot dogs. If you have trouble finding the bar, just look for the 6 foot tall fiberglass pig standing outside! To get out of the cold and see what an upper-class mall is like, stop by The Shops at Columbus Circle. Expensive restaurants like MASA and shops like Williams Sonoma are fun to browse through to see how the other half lives.

The Menahan Street Band Get the Crowd Moving. All photos by Kevchino

Menahan Street Band + The Phenominal Hanclap Band
Southpaw
October 17, 2008

Tonight Southpaw played host to Daptone Records own Menahan Street band with The Phenominal Hanclap Band opening and playing their third show together. Dressing in white with 11 musicians on stage most of the time, The Phenominal Handclap Band also brought out a horn section for a few songs, looking more like a cult then a band. But when they started playing, I think most people in the audience were as blown away as I was. Blending disco, chanting, electro, droning, and Afrobeat just to name a few, the band had at least four different singers and their myspace page names off 28 musicians including Aurellio Valle of Calla and Jon Spencer as having some sort of involvement though it looks like Daniel Collás and Sean Marquand are the ringleaders here.

The brainchild of Dap Kings, Budos, and Menahan guitarist Tommy Brenneck, Menahan Street Band feature several key members of the Dap Kings. Daptone Records, a label made up of a collective of artists and bands (Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, Naomi Shelton & The Gospel Queens, and Budos Band) who are known for working together and creating some of the most authentic 1960s raw soul and funk around, spared no expensive in creating one amazing show. A no-vocalist act, labelmate Charles Bradley came up on stage at one point to provide some vocals on two songs, with one being the amazing “The World (Is Going up in Flames).” Dressed in a white suit, the man sung his heart out making the crowd whoop and holler. As a group, Menahan Street Band are like the James Brown soul review back in the 60s mixed with Ethiopian jazz musician Mulatu Astatke, playing very precise parts without the cheese. As a label, Daptone consistently puts out raw and gritty soul and funk making anything they touch sound top notch, and the Menahan Band, playing songs off their new album “Make the Road by Walking” got everyone moving, making their tour something to look forward to.

Charles Bradley

The Phenominal Handclap Band