The shows don’t stop. Much to do…much to do.
I just saw videos of Blake and the Frosties playing in Prague. A lot of local legends out there. Next year, I wanna go too. It’s lit to know people who can do things like that.
I missed May Rio’s release show. Had a Voyeur show the same night. To make up for it, I’m reaching back into the archives for some hitherto unpublished May Rio coverage. A review of her release show for Need You Like (spot me in the music video). Written by one of the anonymous goblins who passed out jello shots at the gig.
And I’ll fill you in on a bunch of other shows.
Closed out June with a coupla Sofia Zarzuela shows
Had eight shows from June 16 to June 24. Some playing and some hosting. The last two were Sofia Zarzuela gigs.
The first was with the Bromo boys. Special to share a bill with them again. Means a lot to me.
The second one was odd. We played at Drom. The acts before us were a bluegrass band and a string quartet. While we were playing, someone leaned on the fog machine. I was standing next to it. Spent most of the set in my own little personal cloud.
Then Jack and I spent a couple nights back in MA for our grandmother’s birthday.
June 29 ~ Blood Rave at CC
We drove back on the day of the 29th and went straight to Chaos Computer.
It was the Blood Rave. Wish I knew how to find a scene like this every weekend. With Chaos Computer officially gone, I’m not sure I’ll be able to find it at all.
Tattoos in the smoking room. Punks wall to wall. I went into the bar looking for free rice. The rice cooker was gone. During Safiyah’s set, I spotted it surfing through the crowd.
I was pumped to see Sal there. He’s back in MA these days. But we’ve had some real nights together at Chaos Computer. Glad we got one more.
June 30 ~ Ella bday + Club Cringe Theatrical Debut
The next day was Ella’s bday. I pulled up to her park hang at McCarren. Shouts out to whoever made the focaccia bread. Got daaamn.
SB and Greg are back from Spain. Sounds like they did it right. I heard about some shitty backline guitars and an awesome record store show in Madrid.
And I met Lars Kerwin. A couple times, Baby’s bartenders have asked me if I have a brother named Lars. Because Lars Kerwin had a tab open. So I knew he was out there. But this was our first confirmed run-in.
Walking back from the park, Lucie R pulled up on a bike. We started talking and I lost the group. She told me she was moving back to SF the next day.
Then I skirted over to 4 Irving for the Club Cringe theatrical debut. This one was a steamer. Mother Cell shredded. Angel played bass with money in between her teeth.
Then I returned to Jack’s roof to resume the festivities.
July 1 ~ Chaos Computer final show
The true end of the road.
The night finished at Chaos Computer, but it started inside a converted LES fire station.
That’s where we linked up with the DER Taskforce—the renewable energy collective that sponsored our SXSW show. We crushed a few Peronis talked big ideas. Strategized about the future of distributed energy resources. And about the future of nightlife.
I helped them sort DJs for this one. James ‘Bo’ McGinnis commissioned a four-point speaker system so he can set up shop in the firehouse. The rig is designed by John Klett, the engineer who collaborated with James Murphy on the Despacio sound system.
Julia and Steele had to bail from this gig, so Nick and GIFT stepped in. We Take Manhattan kicked it off.
From there, Jack and I trekked across town with Shelby and Eva for the final party at Chaos Computer. We had to pay our respects.
It took a few tries to get in. The first time, we got turned away by Anina from Palberta. Pretty cool.
There’s a plot of land nearby that I’ve noticed before. From the sidewalk, all you can really see is gravel, weeds, and a couple rusty waterslides in there laying on their sides.
But this time, the gate was open, and we walked in. Discovered a lot. Cubes of glass. Giant iron triangle structures. Stacks of basketball hoop backboards. A bunch of scattered playground-grade tic-tac-toe boards. Hundreds of half-built benches. This thing:
As we approached the water, we kept passing over concrete circles in the ground. We pushed through the overgrowth to see the skyline and an abandoned crane on its own little island:
We spent a good chunk of time in there and then made another run at Chaos Computer.
We finally climbed the stairs at 4 AM. It was all moving at a breakneck tempo. Far beyond anything I know how to dance to. And the party wasn’t stopping until the next night at 6 PM.
RIP CC. A special place forreal. Grateful for it. They prioritized booking shows that wouldn’t get booked anywhere else. I’ve got a lot of admiration for that. I also admire the rate that they kept the place going at, and the ingenuity it takes to open a new performing arts space in the first place. Praying that another similarly unhinged place will pop up soon.
July 2 ~ Sky Ferreira + Snow Strippers at Knockdown Center
Saw this one on Instagram. Looked awesome.
July 5 ~ Julia’s comedy show
I love to have friends doing different shit. Julia is a legend for activating on the standup comedy grind. My favorite moment was in between two jokes when Julia looked up and said, “What else, what else.”
Thinking about the idea of getting up in front of people and telling jokes, those moments of transition scare me the most. You’re really up there with no life raft. Nothing to cling to or hide behind. Just a person and a microphone. But Julia wasn’t worried about it. So cool to see a homie comfortably slaying like that.
July 6 ~ JessX @ 17 Meadow St
Never has a return been more eagerly awaited by the brothers Kerwin. Been bumping the MFL vid for months, eager to see how they channel the vibe in the live show.
JessX is on a two-month long tour de force before they disappear back to Hawaii. So this shit is limited edish. Get to the gig.
A real ass band. Fun mix of personalities & vibes. Riff driven songs half screamed & half sung. I’m seeing them again at a house show tonight. Boutta head over. You should come.
Guest Column ~ by a Goblin with Jello Shots
When the “Goblin Party” was first announced, a thrill was sent through the independent music-loving goblin community. The first adjectives in Wikipedia’s article on goblins are ‘grotesque’ and ‘monstrous.’ Tell us why, then, that three of the most beautiful and lovely moguls in New York — May Rio, Sabina (aka GRBGE_GRL), and Jake from Sitcom — all chose to elevate our species by featuring goblins in their music videos?! Surely, these artists are the pinnacles of both creative and representational virtue.
When May Rio reached out to our multi-species Groupchat asking us to work the joint-screening event, which was to be hosted at Montez Press Radio, we were initially concerned that our species’ long-running desperation for inclusion within the largely human Dimes Square scene was blinding us to the fact that we were simply serving as free labor. In the end, however, the importance and poignancy of the event for our species won the day, and we agreed to help put on the event.
One thing that you should know about goblins is that our senses — such as sight and speech intelligibility — are severely diminished compared to that of human beings. Though we started the night feeling quite fancy in our custom-tailored goblinate formalwear (provided graciously by May), we nevertheless had a very difficult time functioning socially amongst the attendees. This worsened the problem that most humans can’t tell goblins apart from one another, even if they consider one to be a dear friend.
Art-loving humans in attendance with whom I failed to communicate include Charlie Yates, Christian, Greg, Hannah, Martin, Mason, Prada Horse Shoe, Rrita, and Sarah Beth. But despite the horror of watching fully adult human beings aggressively consume hundreds of jello shots, and despite nearly falling over numerous friends repeatedly (goblins have no peripheral vision), and despite some minor oxygen deprivation, it was nevertheless a joy to take part in such an important occasion for both goblin representation and independent music.
May’s new single, “Need You Like,” is as scrumptious and immediate as a jello shot. She puts SO much work into her craft, and it has paid off with an absolutely singular sound and lyrical voice. The video was co-directed by Lena and Arjun, so props to them for portraying our species so vividly and respectfully on the big screen. Mark my words: May is going to take over the world this year. She’s already taken over the goblin universe. It’s an honor for our grotesque and monstrous species to have such a lovely artist call us her friend.