Display by Label: Brooklyn
Finding Old Things in the New Year
Tuesday, January 06, 2009 | comments (4)
Out of all the things I lose each day—my keys, my hat, my sweater ... my sobriety, my dignity—the thing that bothers me the most is a lost voice. And I'm not talking about a spell of the hoarseness, though that can indeed be dreadful awful stuff. I'm talking about the hollow ache of a flow turned trickle, like the belly of the Queens Midtown tunnel early on a Sunday morning.
Losing the voice is worse than losing the story.
But finding the voice—oh, finding the voice!—it's like the secret taco-heaven handshake.
It's like the smooth sake, chilled and overflowing into a box, and served up with ancient Japanese tradition, deep inside the pounding, underground decibel heartbeat. Twice.
It's like the Manhattan skyline from Queens at 7 am Sunday morning, strong and irrefutable and painted purple and orange by the crusty-eyed sun, the buildings holding quiet communion with the East River. Both oblivious to your hangover. Both entirely unsympathetic. Nonplussed.
These things swirl and steam and spit. And for a second I can see it: The great delivery mechanism. The burping, bubbling well of raw shit spewing.
And it occurs to me that I need to do more of this in 2009—Connect with old friends. Pursue old interests. Re-examine old careers. Discover places that remind me of the old places, like my new favorite bar in Brooklyn. And sometimes doing these things can bring back the voice.
People often take change to mean doing something new, especially during this time of year. Finding new passions, new places, new people, new loves. And all that can be good and positive and meaningful. I'm not knocking new.
But sometimes it's simply about finding a few old things you lost. And remembering why you felt so good about them in the first place.
link to this | comments (4) | File: NY New_Year Chewing Brooklyn
Losing the voice is worse than losing the story.
But finding the voice—oh, finding the voice!—it's like the secret taco-heaven handshake.
It's like the smooth sake, chilled and overflowing into a box, and served up with ancient Japanese tradition, deep inside the pounding, underground decibel heartbeat. Twice.
It's like the Manhattan skyline from Queens at 7 am Sunday morning, strong and irrefutable and painted purple and orange by the crusty-eyed sun, the buildings holding quiet communion with the East River. Both oblivious to your hangover. Both entirely unsympathetic. Nonplussed.
These things swirl and steam and spit. And for a second I can see it: The great delivery mechanism. The burping, bubbling well of raw shit spewing.
And it occurs to me that I need to do more of this in 2009—Connect with old friends. Pursue old interests. Re-examine old careers. Discover places that remind me of the old places, like my new favorite bar in Brooklyn. And sometimes doing these things can bring back the voice.
People often take change to mean doing something new, especially during this time of year. Finding new passions, new places, new people, new loves. And all that can be good and positive and meaningful. I'm not knocking new.
But sometimes it's simply about finding a few old things you lost. And remembering why you felt so good about them in the first place.
link to this | comments (4) | File: NY New_Year Chewing Brooklyn
Live at Southpaw Prison
Monday, February 25, 2008 | comments (3)
C went to California this weekend, and I went to Southpaw Prison in Brooklyn with A & K and a few others to watch Johnny Cash perform. Okay, it wasn't really Johnny Cash. It was Alex Battles. And Southpaw isn't really a prison, but if it were, it would be the best damn prison ever. Because this prison had a coat-check and free-flowing Kelso on draft.
It was the Johnny Cash 76th Birthday Bash that brought us out. The main event was Alex Battles' Whiskey Rebellion faithfully recreating the Folsom Prison concert in its entirety, right down to the "announcements" that occur between the songs. There were even visits from June Carter (played by Jessica Rose and Becky Birmingham). It was a lot of fun, and Alex Battles was very convincing as Johnny Cash.
The evening opened with the Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co., who played some classic hillbilly country. Swing, swing, swing. That was followed with some rare Johnny Cash films displayed larger-than-life on the side wall. It was kind of eerie seeing Johnny Cash's giant head floating above the crowd like that, but it helped set the mood.
Here's a shot of Battles. And there are some more fuzzy photos here.
And here's a shaky video I took. Now, before you go making fun of my video skills, keep in mind that I wasn't really trying to get the band. I mean, anybody could do that. What I really wanted was a close-up of that guy's beer-hand blocking Alex Battles' face. And I got it, brother. Spot on. Not bad, eh?
link to this | comments (3) | File: NY Music Brooklyn
It was the Johnny Cash 76th Birthday Bash that brought us out. The main event was Alex Battles' Whiskey Rebellion faithfully recreating the Folsom Prison concert in its entirety, right down to the "announcements" that occur between the songs. There were even visits from June Carter (played by Jessica Rose and Becky Birmingham). It was a lot of fun, and Alex Battles was very convincing as Johnny Cash.
The evening opened with the Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co., who played some classic hillbilly country. Swing, swing, swing. That was followed with some rare Johnny Cash films displayed larger-than-life on the side wall. It was kind of eerie seeing Johnny Cash's giant head floating above the crowd like that, but it helped set the mood.
Here's a shot of Battles. And there are some more fuzzy photos here.
And here's a shaky video I took. Now, before you go making fun of my video skills, keep in mind that I wasn't really trying to get the band. I mean, anybody could do that. What I really wanted was a close-up of that guy's beer-hand blocking Alex Battles' face. And I got it, brother. Spot on. Not bad, eh?
link to this | comments (3) | File: NY Music Brooklyn
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This work by nicolasix.com is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
This work by nicolasix.com is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.