Surprise reunions for 2009

I was recently surprised to find out that Magazine will be reuniting for 2 gigs in February 2009. I'm still not sure who will be taking guitarist John McGeoch's place, but if I lived near London or Manchester I would definitey be buying tickets for this.

Visit the official Magazine myspace.
Visit Shot By Both Sides - an excellent Magazine fansite.

Also, although I don't think its been announced yet, I've heard from a very good source that the Comsat Angels will be playing some reunion shows in the UK as well.

Visit Sleep No More - an excellent Comsats fansite.
Visit the Comsats' Stephen Fellows on myspace.

The new Scream

I am loving the new Primal Scream album, Beautiful Future...it's their poppiest in quite some time - a little more open, airier, more fun, lighter.

Listen to "Glory of Love" (MP3):


If reading this in a blog reader you'll need to click thru to access links.

Phil Hill RIP

Phil Hill RIP.

www.philhill.com

Daily travels

Uptown R train:

Random memories

Random memories of clubbing in the 80's written off the top of my head for someone who I'm helping out with a project:

I started going out late 80/early 81 when I was 15. At the time, the drinking age in NY State was only 18 (its now 21 - changed mid 80's) so it wasn't difficult to get into places. Plus they just weren't as strict as they are nowadays.

I grew up just north of NYC and it was a quick 30 minute drive into midtown from where I lived. I had a girlfriend at the time who was 2 years older than me, and she & some friends were already going out a lot to see bands & go dancing, so I started going with them.

The set times for live music at the clubs in those days were much later than it is these days, so we'd go see shows at the Palladium (formerly the New York Academy of Music, soon to be a disco) which might end at 11:00 or so, then we'd go catch another band somewhere else like the Ritz or Danceteria.

At that time, we mostly went to the Ritz and Danceteria. Besides the live music, there were DJ's & dancing at all the clubs. They weren't so much "live music venues" as they are now. You hung out there after the bands were done and danced and/or drank.

The Ritz (which now exists as Webster Hall but is mostly unchanged) held about 1500 I think. Many of the UK bands at the time who were having some success on US radio would play here on their initial US tours, i.e. Depeche Mode, Haircut 100...bands like that. In the late 80's, the Ritz would move uptown taking over the Club 54 space. The original space became a cheesy dance club called Webster Hall for most of the 90's.

Danceteria was a multi-levelled club. Not sure of the capacity. By far, my all time favorite place. The famous location was on West 21st Street (the 2nd of three locations). The first floor was dancing & live music, the second floor was for more urban dance music - freestyle, disco, etc, the third floor was mainly a lounge with drinking, food (sometimes) and a video lounge). The fourth floor was only open periodically for special events, parties, etc. During the summer the roof would open up & it could be quite spectacular. I actually played one of Howie Montaugs famous No Entiendes parties up there in 1985 (I think).

We always got in for free there, and the bands were always interesting. The Jesus & Mary Chain & the Smiths both made their US debuts there. Many others would play memorable shows there as well. The goth scene would be a big part of the club - when the Batcave club came over to NY they did a night there. Even if the band's weren't any good, or it was a slow night, you could go & count on seeing friends there. The social aspect was really good. Check this out: http://lundissimo.info/imgs/danceteria/. I think I also mentioned the Danceteria group on Yahoo? There are many ex-employees & regulars there.

Other places:
Peppermint Lounge - initially on West 45th, moved to 5th Ave & 15th Street for a short time in the early-mid 80's. Great shows, not so much hanging out.

CBGB - of course, enough said

Save the Robots - after hours place on Avenue B. Can't really remember much because if I ended up here I was too fucked up to remember anything.

Mudd Club - only went once. It was small & CROWDED. Don't remember much other than that. I had gone to see Bow Wow Wow's US debut.

Cat Club - 13th St & 4th Ave. This club came to prominence in the mid 80's around the same time as the rise of Guns & Roses. There's was lots of hair metal here plus other shows & nights. On the more intimate side - maybe 600 or 700? Not sure. Not a favorite but I'd go on occasion to see certain shows. Saw in INCREDIBLE Wire show here in the later 80's.

Pyramid - on Avenue A between 6th & 7th Streets, and amazingly still in business. Great place to hang out & see shows. On the smaller side - maybe 300-400 capacity. Saw Liquid Liquid there, Red Hot Chili Peppers, many others. Played there myself. Great long front room with a bar, and back room where DJ's & bands played. Underrated & somewhat forgotten in the history of things. It was a place for the trannies & performance art folks as well. Anthony of Anthony & the Johnsons started out here.

Club 57 - founded by Ann Magnuson & a bunch of other folks at 57 St Marks Place in the ate 70's. Never went but wish I had!

Bonds - Times Square. Huge space that tried making it as a disco. Started having live shows there & is most famous for the shows the Clash did there in 1981. One of the more important moments of my adolesence.

A7 - see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A7_(bar). A bar called Niagara now exists ini the space. Tiny, tiny, tiny, with lots of slam dancing. The walls would sweat & it seemed like complete mayhem in there at the time. Hugely important to the NY hardcore scene at the time. The Beasties came out this as well as Jesse Malin, and probably a few others.

Also, check out this article, http://squattheatre.com/article04m.html, from the NY Times in 1980. It'll give you some more suggestions especially as to what was happening at the literal dawn of the decade. When you are on that site, check out the rest of it. It's dedicated to a theatre on West 23rd St (the Squat Theatre) that did actual (experimental possibly?) theatre, but also had plenty of cool bands play there (Lounge Lizards, James Chance, Sun Ra, Kid Creole etc (http://squattheatre.com/concerts.html). What's strange to me is that I've never heard anyone talk about this place, and rarely see it referenced anywhere. I think it would be a good oppotunity for you to bring its history to a wider audience. You'll notice a strong no wave connection there, and also the young lady who was the female lead in Jim Jarmusch's "Stranger Than Paradise" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eszter_Balint) was part of the theatre group.

Here are some others for the list:

Area
Irving Plaza
Rock Hotel - at the Jane Street Hotel, later at the Ritz
8BC
the World
Palladium as disco

Howl Festival Punk Panel

On September 7, as part of Punk Panel, which is part of the annual Howl Festival, Richard Lloyd will be participating as noted below, and may also play a short set along with several other panel members who may be playing short sets after the panel, which starts at 10 p.m. If you are in the New York area on September 7, we hope you will stop by. Information below.

The Punk Panel is Sunday Night, Sept 7, 10pm at Bowery Poetry Club (Bowery across the street from former CBGB's).

The panel includes:
Richard Lloyd
Ari Up (Slits)
Cynthia Sley
Judy Nylon
Becky Wreck
Walter Lure
Alan Vega
Arturo Vega
Steve Garvey
Moderator: Mary Harron

Contortions this weekend

This seems to be flying a bit under the radar, but then what do I know anymore? Text courtesy of our friends at ROIR:

Join James Chance and his longtime collaborator, Robert Aaron, are Original Contortions Jody Harris, Pat Place (also in Bush Tetras!) and Don Christensen in their first New York show in over a decade!

Saturday August 30th
JAMES CHANCE & THE CONTORTIONS
6pm @ PS1 Warm Up
22-25 Jackson Ave @ 46th Ave
Long Island City, NY
http://www.ps1.org/warmup

Following the one time reunion of Teenage Jesus and the Jerks (of which James was a founding member) at the Knitting Factory earlier in June and in timing with this year's 30th Anniversary of the seminal album NO NEW YORK (the band's first recorded appearance) the charismatic band will perform its original classics as well as tracks being recorded for an upcoming new release. All of this comes hot on the heels of the resurgence of the No Wave movement with new books by Sonic Youth frontman Thurston Moore/Byron Coley and rock writer Marc Masters.

James Chance would like to dedicate this performance to guitarist Jerry Agony who died on July 29th.

Jerry performed with James White + Blacks and The Contortions from 1981 - 1997.

IN RELATED NO-WAVE NEWS:
Thurston Moore/Byron Coley are performing a reading from their recent book, “No Wave: Post-Punk. Underground. New York 1975-1980.” at 192 Books on Sat 9/12 at 7pm!

And in a nod to If Charlie Parker Were A Gunslinger, here's James Chance:

Before:


And after:

Beverly Hills

I'll probably be accused otherwise, but I really like the graphics on this. Via new blog Vintage Girly Mags.

Count Ossie - Run One Mile

Here's a great reggae cut from Count Ossie's currently out of print "Tales of Mozambique" album. It's almost like a Jamaican Charles Mingus!

Ossie cut several incredible albums in a style of reggae called nyahbinghi. According to Roots Archives, "Nyahbinghi (sometimes spelt 'nyabhingi' or 'nyabingi') music in its purest form is the music played at Rastafarian meetings or 'grounations', and is based around a style of relentless drumming and chanting. Sometimes a guitar or horns are used (ska musicians such as Johnny 'Dizzy' Moore and Don Drummond developed their approaches at such gatherings), but no amplification at all is employed."

In other words, this is about the deepest shit you will ever hear. God, is it good.



If using a blog reader, you may need to click thru to my blog to access all of the links.

Clash at Bonds - June 4, 1981

Not paticularly difficult to find if you're into these types of recordings, but here's an excellent (soundboard, broadcast quality) one of the Clash during their legendary run at Bonds here in NYC in Times Square.

Sample "Bankrobber" here:



Get the whole show here:
Part One
Part Two

If using a blog reader, you may need to clik thru to my blog to access all the links.

Daily travels

More yellow pipes:

Big High Song For Someone

Roy Glenn with Gerry Mulligan Quartet on World Pacific Records.

Gene Upshaw RIP

Gene Upshaw RIP. Most of the coverage so far has focused on his years as head of the NFLPA. I'd rather remember him this way...

Johnny Moore RIP

Johnny Moore RIP.

Daily travels

Pacific Street, Brooklyn (Sort of works with the yellow submarine from Sunday, no?):

Daily travels - Kingston edition

A Sunday afternoon in Kingston, NY:

NY Rocker 1981

NY Rocker, Sept. 1981

Jerry Wexler RIP

Jerry Wexler RIP.

Follow up - Granny Takes A Trip

To follow up on the post a couple of days ago regarding the launch of the Nigel Waymouth t-shirts, our friend Paul Gorman over at the Look has posted the full story of pioneering clothing boutique Granny Takes A Trip. Read it here.

The photographer is on your side

Thanks to Matt over at LP Cover Lover for posting this absolutely STUNNING picture sleeve from the Rolling Stones. Paul Gorman and I agree - must be from about '64 or so, and the photo is definitely taken in Paris. Everything about this cover is perfect - the pose, the clothes, the location - everything.

Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell trailer

A documentary on the life & career of maverick musician/songwriter Arthur Russell, I've heard mixed things about this film from those in the know. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing it. Especially after watching the trailer. View it here.

The film will be making some theatrical runs over the next few months & will hopefully be out on DVD sometime soon as well (supposedly in November - just in time for my birthday).

Keep up with new posthumous releases from Arthur from Audika Records.

Granny Wears A T-Shirt

Nigel Waymouth, founder of famed swinging London boutique, Granny Takes A Trip, is introducing a new line of t-shirts based on designs from the original store. Read about it at the Look!

Go to the launch party in London tomorrow night:

Vinyl

Thanks to Maritza for the found images.

Ghost of New York's Past

Our good friend Andy Schwartz shared the following bits of New York rock & roll ephemera with us recently. Click on the images for a closer look:

(1) WOR-FM Anniversary Concert with the Doors, Richie Havens, Janis Ian, Blues Project plus WOR DJs.



WOR-FM was the first "free-form" rock station on the New York FM dial. It went live on July 30, 1966 -- this was Scott Muni's transition job between Top 40 WABC-AM to progressive rocker WNEW-FM. This program was distributed at the anniversary concert that took place a year later, in the summer of '67.

The venue was the Village Theater, on the west side of 2nd Avenue between Sixth and Seventh Streets -- I saw at least two other shows there, with headliners at Chuck Berry and the Doors (a second time, a few months after the WOR concert). In March 1968, the Village Theater became Bill Graham's Fillmore East.

(2) Eric Burdon & the Animals.



The Anderson Theater was located on the east side of 2nd Avenue between Third and Fourth Streets. The flyer is not dated but the year was 1968 (according to internet sources) and this lineup of Eric Burdon & the Animals included Burdon, Barry Jenkins (drums), John Weider (guitar, vioin), and Vic Briggs (guitar, keyboards). I saw at least one other show at this venue, featuring the Electric Flag and Country Joe & the Fish.

About a decade later, the Anderson became the C.B.G.B. Theater where Hilly Kristal presented shows by the Jam, Patti Smith Group, and other punk/new wave acts. After maybe just a few months, it closed due financial problems, fire code violations, and/or some combination of these and other factors.

You can learn more about Andy Schwartz by reading this post over at Jeremiah's Vanishing New York.

Ghost of New York's Future?

Courtesy of WFMU

Isaac Hayes RIP

Isaac Hayes RIP.

Captured by Clayton Patterson etc

Here's the trailer for "Captured" which has been playing around the city recently. To a certain degree, this is the way it used to be downtown.

"Since 1979 Clayton Patterson has dedicated his life to documenting the final era of raw creativity and lawlessness in New York City's Lower East Side, a neighborhood famed for art, music and revolutionary minds. Traversing the outside edge he's recorded a dark and colorful society, from drag to hardcore, heroin, homelessness, political chaos and ultimately gentrification. His odyssey from voyeur to provocateur reveals that it can take losing everything you love to find your own significance."



These days its more like this:

1983 or so

Here's a couple of oldies...me 25, thats twenty five, YEARS ago! Ugh! The second & third pix are of Borscht, one of which I've posted before.

This is not a gimmick

As SST Records said many years ago:

Daily travels

5th St between 2nd & 3rd Avenues:

New presidential candidates

Vinny Stigma of Agnostic Front must be going into stand-up comedy:



Its almost as good as Paris Hilton's ad:

Springsteen Suicide

Bruce Springsteen performs "Dream Baby Dream" by Suicide on his Devils and Dust tour in New Jersey, May 2005. Its my favorite song by Suicide.

Michael Patrick MacDonald in Perfect Sound Forever

Read my interview with writer Michael Patrick MacDonald in the new issue of Perfect Sound Forever.

Check out his books:
All Souls: A Family Story from Southie
Easter Rising: An Irish American Coming Up from Under

Ladies & Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains

Back in the early 80s, I spent several wasted afternoons with Steve V. & Dougie from Kraut laying around & watching a bootleg copy of this never-officially-in-print punk movie classic. Looks like its finally getting a legit release. It stars a very young Diane Lane, and Laura Dern! Also, Steve Jones & Paul Cook from the Sex Pistols, and Paul Simonon from the Clash, as well as Ray Winstone, who has done tons of stuff since but was just coming off the making of Quadrophenia when this was made.

Review by Roy Trakin, thanks to Andy Schwartz:

Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains (Paramount/Rhino Home Video):

This 1981 proto-punk, feminist curio, directed by Lou Adler and produced by none other than Hollywood studio mogul Joe Roth,anticipates the Olympia, WA, riot grrrl phenomenon, from Bikini Kill to Hole, in its tale of the very abrupt rise and fall of a girl group, fronted by skunk-haired, 15-year-old Diane Lane, channeling the Catwoman, Susan Sontag and Courtney Love, along with an impossibly young, 13-year-old Laura Dern.

The film, available for the first time on DVD (it was never released on VHS and was in theatres for a moment), offers an interesting glimpse at punk-rock while it was still almost innocent and idealistic (if it ever was), with a supporting cast that includes veteran character actor Ray Winstone, who most recently appeared in the latest Indiana Jones movie, as a black leather-clad Joe Strummer/Johnny Rotten lead singer fronting The Looters, an all-star band featuring the Sex Pistols’ Steve Jones and Paul Cook and The Clash’s Paul Simonon. The Tubes’ Fee Waybill is terrific as frontman for the Metal Corpses, in frizzy fright wig and makeup—a cross between Gene Simmons and Howard Stern—while bandmate Vince Welnick, who also played in the Dead and with Todd Rundgren, eerily demonstrates art imitating life as he dies onscreen of a drug OD with his platform shoes on, foreshadowing his own suicide in 2006 at the age of 55. Other familiar faces, such as Christine Lahti and David Clennon, who played Zen ad agency boss Miles Trentell in thirtysomething, show up, as do such unlikely players as L.A. punk band Black Randy (John Morris) & the Metro Squad, playing with an Israeli flag draped over their monitors.

The concert sequences with The Looters are pretty dynamic, with Winstone doing a creditable job, while the performances of The Stains recall such female DIY agro pioneers as The Shaggs, X Ray Spex, The Slits and The Raincoats, with Lane strutting her stuff in a stunning turn not unlike Ellen Page’s breakthrough in Juno—but even younger.

Released the same year as MTV launched, the film is prescient about the effect TV, and eventually reality series, will have on breaking bands, as well as the contradiction of exploiting politics for commercial gain. And its radical female viewpoint is most welcome, especially its prediction that women will eventually take to withholding sex, Lysistrata-like, (“Don’t put out!” is their slogan), while dressing provocatively, as a means to an end. This is a period piece that doesn’t necessarily hold up, but still has enough to deserve the attention of true rock cognescenti.

Visit the film website.
More info on IMDB.
Fabulous Stains clips on YouTube.