Two nights ago I went to the launch party of Babelgum.com, a new website that offers free high quality streams of professionally produced films, music videos, and comedy sketches, during the Tribeca Film Festival.
They recently held an online film festival contest for young filmmakers and the launch party also served as an award ceremony for the winners. On hand was famed director Spike Lee, to present the “Spike Lee Award” (natch) in a number of different categories, with the winners each receiving a 20,000 EU (that’s over $26,000) cash prize.
Spike Lee and all the winners and honorees.
On the way up to the stage, Spike Lee decided the only way to the stairs was to nearly walk through me, so he physically brushed by me–touched by greatness! During one point of the presentation Spike Lee got angry at all the people talking in the back and grabbed the microphone and shouted something to the effect of “HEY! BE QUIET!,” which quickly shut everyone up. No one wants to mess with Spike Lee.
All in all the party was totally amazing, with an endless buffet, delicious hors d’oeuvres floating through the room at a constant rate, and a seemingly never ending open bar. When the awards ceremony was over, Mr. Spike Lee (who seemed to be without any sort of entourage–or even a +1) quietly sat at the front of the stage graciously talking to fans and posing for pictures–kinda like a real life Madame Tussauds figure.
I have yet to screen the films that won, but what I do know is Babelgum sure knows how to throw a party.
The fest is built around the Magazine’s annual Best of NYC issue which features a ton of local bands, many whom have played past After the Jump shows. The lineup for the event is pretty stacked, tickets are now on sale, and you seriously consider joining us there. Here’s what’s going on… [click to continue…]
Currently my Gmail account is at 97% full–I know that seems humanly impossible, but it’s true.
So I’m taking some time this weekend to go through and delete some of the old stuff I have on the account, and I came across some things that I thought some of you might enjoy.
Check it out:
Sept 24, 2004: Scans of a Sondre Lerche interview in Interview magazine.
October 11, 2004: An image of Julian Casablancas taken at the Ramones Tribute gig at Irving Plaza.
Last Wednesday MTV sat down with The Dead Weather to chat about the new album and their upcoming tour schedule. Not surprisingly, Mr. Jack White did most (ok, all) of the talking:
Hilariously DW frontwoman Alison Mosshart spends the first portion of the interview acting as Jack’s microphone stand, holding the interview mic with two hands propped up on her knees. Later she swaps the microphone for a rust-colored plastic cup, and even later she ditches hand props all together.
In the interview White contends that everything about The Dead Weather happened organically and naturally in a go-with-the-flow sort of manner. “If you sit down and write on paper, ‘OK, …this is the kind of band we’re going to be and it’s going to look like this and sound like this,’ I mean, forget it, man,” explains White.
The store, located in Nashville, TN will be selling the Dead Weather’s 7-inch single of “Hang You From the Heavens” as well as “various Third Man-related vinyl and whatever else we find laying around.”
It’s only fitting that it was gloomy and rainy on the night of the first ever public performance by music supergroup The Dead Weather. And while the cold clammy weather was bummer for those hovering by the entrance of the Bowery Ballroom in hopes of snagging an extra ticket to the sold out gig, for the lucky folks who made it inside the outlook was positive.
Tonight The Dead Weather showcased a collection of songs that made it apparent that they are all about straight on rock ‘n’ roll–plenty of electric guitar, big resonating bass lines, and thumping drum beats to go around. Layered on top of that were Alison Mosshart‘s snarled vocals, producing a dirty (but somehow not grungy) sound that somehow comes off as being sexy, not sleazy. With seasoned vets Dean Fertita from Queens of the Stone Age on guitar/keyboards, Little Jack Lawrence of The Raconteurs and The Greenhorns plucking away on bass, and of course Jack White on drums, guitar, and occasional vocals, it’s not hard to understand how they were able to full off such a feat.
Judging from the pre-show audience chatter it seemed as though the major draw of the night was to see Jack White strut his stuff with his new side project, but as soon as the band came out on stage and started in on the first rock-fueled tune, all eyes were on frontwoman Alison Mosshart.
Known as the female half of the rock duo The Kills, Mosshart is familiar with being in the (shared) spotlight. But where The Kills’s energy comes from the push and pull between Mosshart and her bandmate Jamie Hince, the dynamic of the Dead Weather is hinged upon Mosshart’s role as the ferocious, fearless leader and the rest of the band acting as her dutiful, capable soldiers.
With three outfit changes (skin-tight black leather jacket on; jacket off, revealing a perfectly hanging black tee with the word “SEX” printed on the back paired with pencil-thin black jeans; shrunken blazer with sequins in circle shapes thrown over the shirt), an onstage swagger, and a brazen disregard for the smoking laws in New York City, Mosshart was clearly the star of the evening.
After I filled my belly with an excellent Easter dinner I headed past Santos Party House on the way home to try my luck at getting into the Yeah Yeah Yeahs “secret” show. Low and behold, when I showed up a little after 10pm, there was no line and the door and I glided in with ease.
Inside it was crowded, but it was still manageable to work your way through the crowd. I spied some familiar faces (“old skool folks” as I liked to call them), and instantly felt like this was going to be a good show.
But how could it not be? The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are one of the most consistently fun and brilliant live bands on the planet, so it was only that much more sweeter that they were doing this last-minute show in the town that served as their launching pad for international stardom.
The band of course did not disappoint–highly energetic, committed, and confident, they played for nearly an hour, going through a mix of new and old songs. (“Gold Lion,” “Hysteric,” “Zero,” “Art Star,” “Phenomena,” to name a few.)
For the encore the band busted out “Maps” and then took requests. After some audience polling, they performed “Turn Into” and then “Date with the Night.”
…and the final song of the night was a touching version of “Poor Song.” Watch the video of the performance below:
What a great show. Love love love the Yeah Yeah Yeahs!
If you choose to believe what has been written on Brooklyn Vegan, there are about a billion possible scenarios tomorrow, BUT I put a call in to some folks, and to the best of my knowledge this is what you can expect:
There will be a show tomorrow (Santos can’t officially say who is performing), and the headliner of said show will go on at 10pm. There will also be an opener band who goes on an hour before at 9pm. According to my sources the only way to get in (minus being on some super special list) will be purchasing tickets at the door tomorrow. No word just yet on how many tickets, or what the cost is per tickets but “that’s the only way to get in.”
However, if you would like some alternative options on how you can get into the YYYs show at Santos tomorrow (Easter Sunday!), here are some suggestions:
1. The Ol’ Hiding in the John. Pack a backpack full of rations and hide yourself in the bathrooms after the Apache Beat/Violens early show OR the Four Tet DJ set late show tonight (see flyer below). Pray no one finds you, and surface only after doors have opened for tomorrow night’s show:
2. Pull a Sitcom-Worthy Stunt. The BSB wrote in this option: Put on some cooking gear and a white chef’s hat. Don a crazy curly mustache and acquire an over-the-top French accent. Carry a silver plater with a food cover up to the Santos door. Tell the door people that you are there “too feed zee Yeah Yeah Yeahszz!” When they tell you that they have no idea what you are talking about, start getting aggitated. “Do you knowhh whhhooo I am!??! Look at zee band’s rider. Zee Karen O getz VERY mad if she does not get her fois-gras! Do you want to see an aggitated Karen O?!” then push your way through security. [click to continue…]
Have you ever wondered what on Earth those poor souls who are stuck managing “the list” at the doors of clubs and music venues do for hours and hours while everyone else is inside enjoying themselves?
What could they possibly be doing to keep themselves from perpetual boredom as they’re positioned behind those podiums, or standing around with those official-looking clipboards?
One door girl has decided to reveal the fruits of all that seemingly less-than-interesting labor with her new blog “Door Girl Art,” which showcases all the music-inspired doodles she draws while guarding the door.
The unstoppable Annie Clark (aka – St. Vincent) has just released a new music video for the song “Actor Out of Work” in anticipation of her new album, Actor, which will be released on May 5th:
The sound is a lot more daring and bold than what was on her debut album. As per usual, you can probably expect that when she plays the song live it will sound very different, and more likely than not sound 10x more awesome than it already does.
