Williamsburg is Dead

Air Guitarist Rocks Her Socks - And Toe - Off

Bettie B. Goode - Guitar-less and Toe-less

When was the last time you saw a performance that made you say, "Man, she rocked so hard she must have severed a toe?" It's been at least a week or two for me. But now onlookers at an air guitar competition at the Williamsburg Music Hall a week or so ago can utter that gem--and mean it literally. Contestant Bettie B. Goode evidently caught her toe in a chair halfway a rousing guitar-less performance of "Rock You Like a Hurricane" and wrenched her toe off. Then, as any self-respecting guitar(less) hero rocking amidst a hurricane would do, she finished the song while bleeding profusely from the foot. A fitting denouement to a wild, Williamsburgy week, if you ask me.

Via the Daily News

Leslie Stein Book Signing / Giveaway / Sitar-Soundtracked Extravaganza

What was I saying yesterday about awesomely ridiculous neighborhood events? Here comes another one hosted by our favorite independent comics shop: Desert Island Comics will have celebrated cartoonist Leslie Stein in the store tonight. She'll be giving her new book, "Eye of the Majestic Creature" away for free. And she'll be signing them. And there will be a live sitar player, just for good measure. And DI proprietor Gabriel Fowler, fine party-thrower that he is, will likely have buckets of beer on hand as well. It doesn't get much better than this--just stop by Desert Island from 7-9 tonight, get a free comic book, have it signed, embrace your inner hippie to the sitar sounds, and say hello to some good folks (including the W is Dead crew). God I love Williamsburg.

Desert Island Comics
540 Metropolitan Ave
7-9 pm

Pig Roast/Dance Party at 3rd Ward. Williamsburg is Ridiculous.

    This Sunday at everyone's favorite art space/barnyard animal rotisserie, folks from far and wide will gather to listen to some of their favorite bands, carouse with friends, and roast an entire pig over an open flame. Hold on. What is this, absurd event announcement week? First the gratuitously musician-ed noise drumming event/fun with numbers game (see post below), now a pig roast/dance party.
    Every so often, as has occurred this week, when the awesome ridiculousness of living in Williamsburg reaches a fever pitch, you recognize exactly how ridiculous it's been all along. Like a seasoned carny who, for some reason, upon seeing his 13th bearded lady in a row realizes that living in a circus is kinda crazy--you see the forest for the trees.
    There's a guy in some sort of a paper mache pirate hat who flops around in the street on Bedford. There are renegade bakery outfits. There's a grown ass man who drives around the north side with the windows rolled down singing oldies at the top of his lungs (seriously, has anyone else seen this guy like, a million times?). There's a machete wielding gang on the loose. And that's not even mentioning the overload of nutty indie bands, myriad art spaces, McCarren Pool, uber-gentrification, and the great cesspool that is Union Pool. Williamsburg, I love you. But I'm definitely weirded out right now.

88 Drummers Drum on 8/8/08. For 88 Minutes.

Seriously.

Japan's premier noise rock band (yes, there is such a thing) the Boredoms have composed an 88 minute performance piece called 88Boadrum, perhaps in order to one-up last year's 77 minute, 77 drummer event. All 88 drummers will be assembled on the Williamsburg waterfront, where surrogate conductors (and local favorites) Gang Gang Dance will execute the sure-to-be-awesome piece of rhythmic mayhem. Tickets are free, but you have to get them in advance--pick them up at Sound Fix. It's on August 8th, and it starts--when else?--at 8:08 p.m.

Knitting Factory Confirms Move to Williamsburg. And Idaho.

That's right, music fans--the famed venue franchise got the go ahead to set up shop. Finally, somewhere to see good bands when you drive through Boise. Oh, and there's another one opening up in the Luna Lounge's former space on Metropolitan Ave. Indie rock shows in Williamsburg? That might just be crazy enough to work . . .

Via Gothamist.

More stabbings...This Scares Me!

This Gothamist map tells the story pretty clearly.  Who knows whether or not the worst is over.  Stay alert out there, Williamsburg!

Say Hello to Our New Neighbor. Welcome to Williamsburg, Michel Gondry.

Michel Gondry unpacking.

Live on Orient Ave in East Williamsburg? Well, there's a new kid on the block, so you'd better drop by with your welcoming basket and say hello to the French director of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Science of Sleep. It's been reported that his house is composed almost entirely of charming paper mache backdrops, and there will in fact be a memory-erasing facility instead of a toilet in one of the bathrooms. At least one neighbor has also apparently already called in a complaint about Gondry blasting 50 Cent at 3 in the morning.

Via: Brownstoner

Mix Tape Mixer at the Fix

If you aren't at McCarren pool waiting for the Breeders or on Havemeyer watching the Italians then what the hell are you doing with your life?  At least get off your ass and make a mix tape for Fix Tape Exchange at Sound Fix tonight.  The theme is food, and if you don't have a tape player then you can put your play list on a CD.  When you bring in your mix you get a free drink at the bar--plus you get a free friend and some free music.  It starts at 8pm tonight.

The Driggs' West Coast Tour

The Polyphonic Spree cover Nirvana from leef on Vimeo.

I'm off to Seattle and Los Angeles tomorrow. The Dirty Burgher and Ella Train will still be here postin' away, but I'll be drinking coffee, listening to Nirvana and getting a boob job (not necessarily in that order). I'll be back in a week, but until then just pretend the posts are more numerous than they really are.

A Capricious Night

Thank god for MUG. They totally tipped me off to this great fine art photo mag called Capricious, which is run right here in Williamsburg. They have a gallery space at 103 Bedford Ave called Capricious Space, where they are premiering a group show called And then, what then tonight. I might hit it up after checking out Gabrielle Bell at Desert Island. Seriously, I love my neighborhood.

 

Williamsburg Weekend Guide

Tonight

Dyed in the Wool, Jasper Patch, at  McCaig-Welles & Rosenthal Gallery, 129 Roebling St, July 11-Aug 8, opening reception Friday, July 11, 7pm-10pm

Preview: Jasper Patch paints with oil using various tools including brushes, rags, and knives. His paintings are a new kind of photorealism sporting a spontaneous and suggestive surface. This collection of works is a portraiture exhibit which uplifts the independent spirit. Imparting freedom in spite of a world peppered with pitfalls and alluring mediocrity, Jasper draws inspiration from people who have proven to be dyed in the wool. Subjects include iconic table tennis champion Marty Reisman, tenacious artist GKAY and controversial filmmaker Ralph Bakshi.

Saturday

Call your mom!

Sunday

McCarren Park Pool Party: Kim Deal sure loves reuniting bands. The ex-bassist for the Pixies gets The Breeders back together for a free show, with Matt & Kim (who are also playing later in Greenpoint) opening.

Fuck Yeah Fest: Punk and indie bands galore! Circle Jerks, Dillinger Four, Team Robespierre, Matt & Kim, Monotonix and Japanther. At Club Exit, 147 Greenpoint Ave, doors at 8pm, $16

Fix Tape Exchange: Bring a mix tape or CD with the theme of "food and eating" and get a free well drink. $2 PBR and $4 well drinks all night. At Sound Fix Lounge, 110 Bedford Ave, 7pm

 

Red Shed Community Garden Party

Attention Michael Pollan fans: Interested in growing your own vegetables, but live in a tiny apartment sans garden? Well then, community gardens are the answer. If you want to see how one operates, come to the Red Shed Garden Party this Saturday, July 12th, from 2pm-Dusk. There will be $2 hot dogs/veggie dogs, $3 burgers, crazy DJs, prizes and tons o' good people. Plus, you'll be surrounded by beautiful flowers and plants instead of the beer-soaked walls of a Williamsburg dive bar.

All proceeds will go to help fund the Red Shed Garden (266 Skillman Ave, at Kingsland Ave off the Graham L stop, map here), an amazing resource for the community. Here is how it works: If you commit enough time helping out in the garden, you can get your very own plot to grow vegetables. Plus, there are community plots where we grow veggies and herbs for anyone to come in and pick from. Also, its a beautiful place for people in the neighborhood to come in and just hang out.

So come by, enjoy some tunes, grab a burger and enjoy one of the rarer sights in New York City--living, breathin', honest-to-goodness plants.

Gabrielle Bell at Desert Island

This Friday, our favorite indie comic shop Desert Island is having a party for Gabrielle Bell. Bell's new book about the Williamsburg experience (or at least the experience of those of us who can't pony up a million dollars to live at 20 Bayard) has gotten a lot of critical acclaim. From Book Slut:

Gabrielle Bell's new graphic novel Lucky collects the serialized mini-comic that garnered an Ignatz Award in 2004. Her new book, which is simply yet effectively illustrated, chronicles Bell's life in Brooklyn while she goes through a period most artists seem to have to endure when moving to the city. From apartment-hopping to gross minimum wage and leading to bizarre odd-jobs one can only find on Craigslist, Bell captures the struggling Williamsburg experience that non-trust-funders simply cannot avoid.

Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here

Hey, some of us waiter/musicians and administrative assistant/novelists will one day drop the pesky musician and novelist part of our titles and just become waiters and administrative assistants! Sad, yet so very, very true. Richard Price, who wrote "Lush Life" (set in the first New York neighborhood I ever lived in, the Lower East Side) discusses that sad fact, as well as sharing some interesting ruminations on writing, aspiring artists and New York City, on KCRW's Bookworm, one of my favorite radio programs of all time (besides RadioLab and TAL). I demand you sign up for the show's podcast, lest you miss interviews with writers such as Junot Diaz, John Ashberry, Kiran Desai, Zadie Smith and many, many more.

20 Bayard: Reality TV Star

The building that blocked the view of half of Williamsburg so that people who moved here because "it's close to the city" could watch both their giant flat-screen TVs and people playing soccer in the park is finally getting its close-up! Yes, 20 Bayard will most likely host the contestants of Top Chef during the show's next season. The building is also known for its incredibly annoying "Williamsburg. Radically Chic. Chicly Radical." ad. Seriously though, I have nothing against most of the condo buildings that are springing up in the neighborhood, but an 18-story behemoth that blocks out the sun is simply a bit much. It's like a giant "F you" to its neighbors, and its not even isolated like the even more ridiculous Edge.

But hey, but who doesn't love Top Chef? Maybe it will tempt Tom Colicchio to open Craftburg. [Eater]