Safe Haven Irish Music Session

Every Wednesday a group of talented traditional Irish musicians gather at a small bar in South Park Slope. I’ve always had some strange attachment to Ireland. It may just be due to my name and its ties to the country, but nevertheless Ireland has always interested me.

Anyway, when I was asked to photograph a session at Safe Haven, I jumped at the chance just for the fun of it. Thankfully the photos came out well in my opinion. It may be due to the Irish whiskey Noel kept pouring me throughout the night… or maybe just the fantastic vibe that evening.

I should remember to swing back by Safe Haven one of these Wednesdays.

Lykke Li at a different performance

Thanks again to my woman, I had the pleasure of attending the Lykke Li concert last night at the Highline Ballroom. Ever since a friend put me on to her and I put her on to my woman, Lykke Li has been on heavy rotation, so I was excited for a surprise concert and she certainly didn’t disappoint.

Similarly to the first time we saw Sia at Hiro, Lykke Li live is very different from her recorded sound. On stage she’s overflowing with energy, attitude and a general bombast that brought a harder edge to some of the softer songs and a rocking danceability to the whole show. I had mentioned to the women before the show, that my favorite tracks on the album were the remixes (especially the ones by CSS and The Black Kids), so having the whole show have that feel was excellent.

Anyway, I should remember to be on the lookout for new Lykky Li stuff and see her live again!

(photo by serhio)

Nasty Canasta As Kobayashi Maru

I suppose I’ve known this for a long time—Ever since she did a strip tease to the tune of the Car Alarms Greatest Hits. But last night at Wassabasco’s first steady monthly show at Union Hall, Nasty Canasta managed to drive this point home with a number I hadn’t seen her do before. She comes out as a lamp, with tassels everywhere, a shade covering her face and a working light bulb. However, it’s not until she starts dancing out of her sultry lamp costume do you notice the detail that brings it all to life: a long cord reaching from off stage up into her… uhm… bum.

It’s genius.

After that number, she came on later to do another one of her insanely smart and inventive pieces. This one involves her being an extra sexy, hot pink plushy complete with fluffy suspenders and ends with her covered in sticky, bargain brand Pepto Bismol. I had seen this one before, but that didn’t make it any less awesome.

I was sad not to see Gi Gi LaFemme or Peekaboo Pointe last night, but Nasty certainly was a highlight of the evening.

I need to remember to check out Miss Canasta often.

(Photo by Monty Leman / JDWnyc)

Last time I caught Ladytron, I was surrounded by hundreds of women getting their makeup done and getting glamor shots. This past Wednesday, I managed to catch Ladytron again under more normal circumstances. The show was good, though it was pretty obvious that their older songs had a more butt shaking simplicity to them that really got the crowd going (as going as New York crowds get at concerts).

I did by their new album Velocifero the next morning, so… maybe it’ll grow on me.

The real standout for me, though, was the opening act: Data Rock. I gotta remember to check these matching red tracksuit wearing guys out and perhaps catch them again sometime. (The drummer was especially awesome!)

(images by ananawa)

I’ve hit Beer Table twice since it opened last week. Once on opening night (Saturday) and then again last night. It’s so refreshing to have a good beer spot without all the potential baggage a place like that could bring with it… especially in Park Slope. Luckily it’s a bit too far south to be right in the center of stroller-land. In the end, the place just comes off as a cozy (and a bit busy) neighborhood place I could swing by now and again. They even remembered my lady from last week…

I should remember to check them out often.

Cold Cuts and Beer., originally uploaded by DonnellyImages.

The last time I wrote about Revealed Burlesque, the semi-hush-hush Brooklyn show where fantastic ladies bear everything in the name of burlesque, I was completely blown away by how excellent a show it was. There were a large number of performers and it seemed like they were doing their best material. Some even seemed to have come up with special numbers to accommodate the special needs of the event.

I missed Revealed‘s first official monthly performance last month, but managed to make it out last Saturday to this month’s show. July’s show was a very, very tough act to follow as it was just so sensational… and unfortunately, last Saturday’s event didn’t reach those incredible heights again.

Yes, the girls were good and yes, Bastard Keith was more parts funny than obnoxious, but there was something missing. The individual performances just weren’t at the level they were in July.

Despite the only good vs fantastic performances, Peekaboo Pointe still managed to put together a number so perfect in its simplicity, you wonder how he can be so daring and so spot-on damn near every time she gets on stage. Her time on stage consisted of her slowly and sullenly removing her clothes to a dark Nina Simone song while gazing off into the distance and sometimes reclining in a deep cushioned chair. It doesn’t sound like much, and I guess it wasn’t, but it was just plain brilliant.

Anyway, I should remember to check out Revealed again. Who knows… Maybe it will surprise by re-achieving that special something it had back in Summer.

Last Monday, my woman arranged a viewing of the 1974 Charles Bronson classic, Death Wish at Grand Opening‘s latest incarnation: a drive in theater. The movie was expectedly laughable, except for the fairly graphic rape scene starring non other than a young Jeff Goldblum as a violent thug.

I really love what these guys are doing with the space. After the ping pong experience (which my woman also hooked up) and now the drive-in, I need to remember to check out every new incarnation of this place.

Thanks to my woman, I caught the Barcardi sponsored B-Live event at Steiner Studios in Brooklyn on Saturday night. Thanks to a nice guy in line and some smooth talking, we enjoyed the show from the VIP lounge with a great view, no overcrowding and free Bacardi. Awwwwwww, yeah!

Talib Kweli was amazing this time around (none of the voice issues from last time), although I got the feeling that the crowd wasn’t really there to see him. The headliner they were there to see, Sean Paul, was terrible. He looked stoned out of his mind and was completely incapable to moving the crowd. Bam! Bam!

I gotta remember to keep this woman, she takes me to some cool shows.

So, my woman came through again with concert tickets to see Sia (bizarre site!) at Hiro. Although I dug Sia when she was in Zero 7 and somewhat enjoyed what I had heard from her since going solo, I wasn’t particularly excited since I expected the show to be super mellow and possibly even boring… I was certainly wrong!

My crappy iPhone capture above, shows how the band came out to start the show in crazy blacklight getups. It was trippy and fun and when they were done with the first song, Sia mentioned that she hoped no one had eaten mushrooms before the show. They then went into a great set of mostly new, unreleased songs off of her upcoming album called “Some People Have Real Problems” punctuated by Sia’s quirky and often dirty nonsequiters between songs.

First she introduced us to some seemingly random kid that joined her on stage for a couple songs. Another time, she dug around in her bra to retrieve a tooth that had been recently removed from the guitarist’s mouth. Another time, she managed to remember the names of 7 or 8 fans she had met before the show giving them all shout-outs. And yet another time, she offered to felate a member of the audience.

Sia was extremely fun and despite the fact that her voice was rough, the show was great. My favorite part was probably when she announced that she hates the ideas of encores, so she would do a “fake encore” by telling us that she would pretend to go off stage then come back so we could all get the feeling without the nonsense. This involved her hiding her face behind her hands while we clapped, then peaking out over them to begin the last song. Fantastic.

I should remember to catch her again sometime and hope that her voice is in better shape.

Although last year I did a decent job of securing tickets for the 2006 US Open, this year, I just let the Open sneak up on me with no real attempt to check it out.

Luckily, I got a last minute call from my cousin to join them for taking in a night of tennis. The day games that day had run late, but we managed to enjoy a match with Justine Henin vs Serena Williams (who we had also seen last year). And just like the year before, she lost. Next was Ferrer vs Nadal, and although these guys were great (especially the tenacious Ferrer), it was pretty late by then so we left after watching just 1 whole set. Oh well…

I should remember to try to get as close to court-side as possible next year, just to see how it feels.

(photo by rudsbp1)