Clowns Invade Union Square, Williamsburg, Sept. 3

And now for something completely different.

I was loitering around Union Square after work a couple Fridays ago when I saw a rather curious congregation of stilts, red noses and generally exhibitionism. Intrigued, I followed the parade of clowns around the square, and then into Williamsburg (of course), climaxing in an indoor pie fight. Only in New York!

Apparently it was the kick-off of a month long Clown Theater Festival at the Brick Theater, which looks crazy. It's understandable that some are terrified of clowns, what with It, but these clowns seemed pretty friendly.

Full gallery below.

Concert Calendar: Sept. 14 to Sept. 20

Every week (Tuesday?), I'll do a rundown of notable concerts in New York over the next seven days. Couldn't do it without Oh My Rockness, BrooklynVegan or Resident Advisor, so check those guys out. Times are from those sites, actual set times may vary.

Tuesday, Sept. 14

6:30: Reggie Watts, Naomi Shelton & Gospel Queens play in Fort Greene Park, Free.

Reggie is hilarious. I haven't been to the Park for any shows, but that area of Brooklyn is great, tons of good restaurants.

Official Site: Reggie Watts

7 pm: Blonde Redhead's Penny Sparkle listening party at (Le) Poisson Rouge, Free.

Presumably just a preview of the album (live show was a few weeks back), but I've heard it's great.

Official Site: Blonde Redhead

7 pm: Neon Trees play an in-store set at the Apple Store in Soho, Free.

Can't say I know anything about this band, but the Apple Store is a nice venue, if generally crowded.

Official Site: Neon Trees

9 pm: Greg Davis, Ben Vida, Geoff Mullen, Lussuria play at Zebulon, Free.

Don't know the bands, but Zebulon is one of those cool little Brooklyn venues that I've been meaning to check out.

Venue Site: Zebulon

Rest of the week after the jump.

Linkage: 50 Cent Gets Anglicized

Here's a pretty hilarious Twitter feed. (via The Culture of Me)

Twitter: Queen's English 50c

A Place to Bury Strangers Cover Bowie

APTBS during CMJ '07

Our friends at Mute let us know this morning that shoegaze brutalists A Place to Bury Strangers covered David Bowie's "Suffragette City" (incidentally really hard on Rock Band). The MP3 is over at Stereogum. The cover is pretty quintessential APTBS, with harsh feedback and Oliver Ackermann's menacing voice cutting through the mix.

A Place to Bury Strangers will be at their home turf, Death By Audio, on Oct. 26, with Japandroids.

MySpace: A Place To Bury Strangers
Twitter: A Place To Bury Strangers
Official Site: A Place To Bury Strangers

New video for "I Lived My Life To Stand In The Shadow of Your Heart" below.

New York Primary Roundup

It's Primary Day here in New York, which means you should vote if you're registered with a political party. Local politics don't really stir up much interest, but city governments actually have the most impact on daily life.

Capital New York has a nice overview of all the races. Meanwhile, the Times believes that voters are disillusioned, rather than angry, and it also does some forecasting. The Post and Daily News are pretty angry, though.

Finally, the Journal reports that the Republicans are contemplating an upset, and the Observer writes an encouraging letter to Reshma Saujani, whom the paper recently endorsed.

You can find your local poll site here.

Update: The Times is reporting problems with voting machines in Brooklyn.

Sleigh Bells Sell Cars

"Complete opposites in complete harmony" begins Honda's new ad, which features rather-hyped Sleigh Bells' "Riot Rhythm." Then there's a muscular vroom-and-drum combo and a few high notes from Alexis Krauss, echoing the idea. Definitely one of the softer moments on their album Treats, but in retrospect, there's plenty of potential jingles in that album. And while this isn't that significant of a milestone of success for the band (that would probably be, uh, this), it's just another example of how prevalent licensing has become. I don't think it's a good thing, or a bad thing, it's just a thing.

[Stereogum via Prefix]

Punching Out: A Perfect Circle Returns

I'm going to post every (week)day right around quittin' time, in the spirit of many of the sites I read. They end the day by posting interesting links around the Internet, focusing on their particular beat. Now, this is a music blog, but it's also a New York blog, and I'm a real estate reporter, so there's bound to be some local stuff now and then. I'll also end each post with a random musical recommendation.

Take a look!

A Perfect Circle to play first shows in six years, no east coast dates yet. [Rolling Stone]

The New York Times collaborates with my alma mater for another hyperlocal effort. [The Local East Village]

Spoon played Cake Shop, playing Music Hall of Williamsburg tonight. [BrooklynVegan]

Joe Pompeo takes a look at the Village Voice's return to relevance. [Business Insider]

The VMAs were last night, but they weren't as raucous as last year. [NY Times]

DJ Shadow hides new songs in record stores [NME]

Recommended track: School of Seven Bells - "Bye Bye Bye" from Disconnect from Desire

Interlude: Black Angels played Angel Orensanz, Sept. 7

Note: I'll be keeping the "Interlude" tag for future concert reviews, but I'll be taking the "brooklynvegan" title style for clarity. Search engine optimization!

Last Tuesday, Black Angels played an intimate gig in the beautifully lit Angel Orensanz building, which is as gorgeous as it is hard to remember how to spell. It was an invite-only event, so thanks to Andy over at the Orchard for hooking me up. The Angels played songs off their new album, Phosphene Dream, which is out tomorrow in the U.S. and today in the U.K.

They've got a dense, earthy sound, with flecks of shoegaze, blues and psych. It definitely resonated well in the space, which was (once again) beautiful to shoot. More coverage at Spin, Metromix and East Village Radio, which has some videos.

Official Site: The Black Angels

Full gallery after the jump, enjoy.

All The Cool Kids Are Doing It...

Follow us (me) on Twitter and subscribe to the RSS feed (just hit the subscribe button on a site like Google Reader and paste the URL).

I'm seriously considering blogging again, so watch this space. Also, unfortunately I don't have most of the live recordings that were posted here, and my old external hard drive is currently lacking a power cord. Sorry.

Profile: Eamon Harkin and Justin Carter

Credit: Andrew De Francesco

On April 3, police raided Market Hotel, a scrappy D.I.Y. music venue in Bushwick, shutting down the space and displacing dozens of bands who were scheduled to play over the next few months. For some, it was another death knell for truly independent music in a city bloated by gentrification. The loft, which also serves as an artists’ commune, with its grimy walls and notoriously crazy parties, was an icon for what passes for the Internet age’s counterculture.

“The Market Hotel was not a secret to New York law enforcement,” says Alaina Stamatis, one of Market’s residents. “Our Internet presence is phenomenally large, and our music can be heard clearly from the adjacent sidewalks of Myrtle Avenue and Broadway. Many of us have held for a very long time that there are New York authorities who, to some extent, want us to be here. For them we conjure the cultural significance of New York staples - the Ramones, CBGB, Andy Warhol - that have fastened the city into position as best in the world.”

It’s unclear what instigated the raid - some speculated that the venue didn’t have a liquor license, while others characterized it as a routine police inspection. But the residents’ organization, Body Actualized Control, along with promoter Todd Patrick, known as Todd P, plan to transform the space into a legal community center, renovating its facilities and obtaining the proper paperwork. At the same time, they hope to maintain the independent spirit that makes the space unique.

“Music is the main art form that comes from the bottom - from basements and garages and bedrooms,” says Stamatis. “Unfortunately, music can get you in trouble.”

A Call To Arms

It's almost that time of year again. I figured the easiest way to share various intriguing shows this summer was in Facebook format, and I've just set up a group that will be updated daily with free, cheap and occasionally expensive concerts, as well as other cultural events. I'll also be on Twitter, @UberDrivel.

And, who knows, I might revive this here blog. Watch this space.

Elsewhere.

Watch this space.