Konono No. 1 | Maldita Vecindad @ Central Park Summerstage

Founded over 25 years ago, Konono No. 1 plays Congolese Bazombo trance music using mainly likembés, or thumb pianos. I was amazed at the sound these instruments produce onstage. The band’s sound is complimented by other traditional percussion instruments, but their uniqueness comes from their home-made sound system. Their microphones were built from salvaged car parts, and their percussion section contains various pots, pans, and car parts. By the middle of their set I was entranced into their rhythms amplified by their megaphones and repaired amps. The scorching sun didn’t even slow the crowd down as they danced throughout the entire performance.

I didn’t know Mexico’s Maldita Vecindad, but I left a big fan of their alternative rock music. I did some research and found that they appeared in “Gift” a very crazy film featuring Perry Farrell. The band combines so many genres of music successfully including rock, ska, salsa, and metal. They were very energetic on stage and the crowd fed off the positive vibes from the lead singer. At one point the band invited several fans up on the stage to dance with the band and share the power of live music.
Pictures from the show.

Links:
http://www.crammed.be/konono/

Decision Time

Pacific Street Station, 9:30 AM. Morning Commute.
Train arrives, doors open and the people start getting on the train. As a woman gets on, her arms quickly outstretch to hold the doors open holding everyone back. Her sandal fell of her foot into the gap. That gloomy dark space between the subway and the platform. Her sandal is gone. Do you
1. Get on the train to go to work with one shoe
2. Stay on the platform, let the train go and hope to get your sandal back (wrestling it away from the rats)
3. Decide it’s “going to be one of those days” and go home.

Montauk Century

On only 3 hours sleep I decided to do the metric century (66 miles). The ride was very organized and a ton of fun. I’ve never been further east than Massapequa so going to the tip of Montauk was a treat. The scenery and views of the water were beautiful and except for the rolling hills at the end, it was a flat ride. Stayed overnight with some of Katherine’s friends (one who did all 145 miles from Manhattan) to relax and watch the Mets beat the Yankees on TV with the very interesting Montauk locals. The next day we biked to the lighthouse to see the beautiful surrounding views, including Block Island Rhode Island! Can’t wait for next year.

Pictures.

Restaurant Week

A great week of great food and drinks. Here was my intinerary. What were your favorites?

Monday: Blue Ribbon
Always a great meal. Similar menu as last year’s. Asparagus Soup was yummy and the BBQ was quite filling. However the chocolate bread pudding dessert was the winner.
Rating:

Tuesday: Applewood
Very excited to finally check out this very much hyped restaurant in Park Slope. Lucky to get a table as the entire week was booked. The scallops appetizer was very fresh and delicately cooked. The Hake fish was boring and bland and the crepe dessert was the biggest let down of the whole week. However their chocolate cake dessert (not on the Brooklyn Menu) was by far the best dessert. The food here is all organic and well prepared, but so NOT worth all the hype. Not even close. The ambience is terrible, the food is way more expensive than it should be, and not impressed with the overall dining experience.
Rating:

Wednesday: concert break/ The Stills
(yea they rocked)

Thursday: Chestnut
First time here and they had the best setup for Restaurant Week. They had their regular menu and allowed you to pick 1 item from each category marking only a few dishes that you would have to pay extra for. The tables were tight but the ambience was warm and inviting and the staff was very poilte. My haystack shrimp were amazing as was the stuffed pork. I HAD to order the cheesecake which went perfectly with the individual French press coffee. An amazing meal and the best night of the whole week. Plan to go back again and again.
Rating:

Friday: Arirang Hibachi
This place was just plain fun. The food was nothing spectacular but having the Japanese chef entertain you while cooking your food with incredibly corny jokes makes the evening enjoyable. The drinks were cheap and unusualy named like “Karate Punch”. Being in Bay Ridge you get a nice view of the Verazano Bridge and afterwards we drank at a local bar til past 3 AM. But that’s another story…
Rating:

Saturday: Tatiana
OK, I have been wanting to eat here for quite some time. Nestled on the boardwalk in Brighton Beach this Russian nightclub was everything I expected. The dining room was decadent and seemed to be in the middle of multiple birthday parties where everyone was in their best evening clothes (we were very underdressed). The waiter sternly said there was NO Brooklyn Restaurant menu and gave us a heavy book, which was the menu, full of every food imaginable. I stuck to seafood and everything was presented beautifully and tasted great. We were also treated to some live entertainment which was cheesy but an interesting distraction. A bit pricey, but I’d go back just for the food.
Rating:

Sunday: Night & Day
Their Brooklyn Menu consisted of selected items from their regular menu and I went for the pork cheek confit which was very yummy and fatty. The encrusted salmon was very interesting but a bit overwhleming for a fish dish. However having a myriad choices for gelato ice cream was a great ending.
Rating:

Monday: Scottadito Osteria Toscana
Completely empty, we got a nice table near the fireplace. This place also boasts an all organic menu skewed at Northern Italian cuisine. The antipasto was a good start to the Primi which included beat gnocci and Spinach Ravioli. Both incredible. My main dish was pork with prosciutto perfectly cooked. Each course was paired with a different wine perfetly selected and for only 12 dollars. I was so full after dinner and overall a great dining experience.
Rating:

Best Appetizer: Haystack Shrimp @ Chestnut / Scallops @ Applewood
Best Entree: Stuffed Pork @ Chestnut
Best Dessert: Chocolate molten cake @ Applewood / Flourless chocolate cake @ Chestnut
Best (affordable) Wine List: Chestnut
Best Drink List: Night & Day
Best Ambience: Blue Ribbon / Chestnut
My Favorite: Chestnut (highly recommended)

And Nick Zimmer of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs writes…

Seems like Nick Zimmer shares his viewpoint (rant) of the recent Yeah Yeah Yeahs shows in a blog entry over at Jane Magazine.
http://www.janemag.com/yournews/blogs/guest/nick_zinner/index.html

An excerpt from the blog:

MAXWELL’S: “Showtime. We’re escorted through the crowd, and of course, when we hit the stage, everything is fine. duh. why do i do this to myself? Its a rough, sloppy, and aggressive show, and people are screaming, jumping, dancing, sweating. We try playing an acoustic version of “maps,” which we haven’t practiced, and i butcher it trying to remember my parts on the spot, but the sentiment is there for us on stage, and seemingly strong in the crowd too. We close with “tick”, run downstairs and collapse in a giddy exhaustion. Being a rock band, we spend the rest of the evening doing mountains of drugs and passing groupies around. ”

BOWERY BALLROOM: “At Bowery, its a little tense in the crowd and in the air, but we’re not nearly as nervous as last night, because we are already sore and bruised. We rock onstage, but unfortunately the crowd is stiff as nails, with heavy-duty lead in their shoes. The Bloggers in the front row keep their arms crossed for the whole show even though we are playing our bleeding hearts out, and sweating gallons. We’re trying out mostly new material for the very first time which could explain the collective reservation, but both the Maxwells Show and a few older songs disprove this theory.”

And yea, being a New Yorker I must admit New York crowds can be tough to play to, but when the show rocks or sucks, the crowd will let the band know it. I’ve seen huge crowds fall silent to bands like Explosions in the Sky, cry to Ryuichi Sakamoto, and go completely apeshit for Wolf Parade. But the audience reaction to a show like this is truly bewildering.
And reading some of the comments flying around, I must agree that I get annoyed by all the increased cameras and “bloggers,” me being one of them. But I make it a point to not interfere with the people behind me, just take a few shots during the middle of the show and I’m done. Moreover, my pics from this particular show came out so crappy ‘cuz I was too busy jumping up and down and flailing my arms in total excitment.

The ModernAge has a good insight on this as well.

Pillow Fight!

Pillow fighting is the new moshing…
Over a hundred people showed up for a pillow fight at Union Square. It was a ton of silly fun. There were just as many cameras as pillow fighters. People were dressed up and armed with all sorts of pillows (including a couch cushion). The event lasted over an hour and I was surprised how tired I got from swinging and getting pummeled with pillows. I was armed with a nice feathery one and a camera and took the following shots.

Pictures here:
Video I took here

links:
cool photo montage.
I’m on Rocketboom!
another video