New Blake Schwarzenbach Project

I went to a show last night at the Jerk house in Sunset Park and I got there kind of late, figuring that house shows never start on time. I was wrong about this one and ended up missing the first three bands. I did dance into people excitedly for a long set by Shellshag, but unfortunately that couldn't make up for the fact that I missed Blake Schwarzenbach's new band play a surprise set. I'm not sure what the band's called and since I didn't actually see the set, I can't really say much about the sound, but I heard from everyone that they were pretty awesome. Not terribly shocking.

"Perfecting Loneliness" by Jets to Brazil
"Boxcar" by Jawbreaker

This may not have been all that informative, but hopefully I'll start getting to shows on time and more Blake Schwarzenbach news will follow.

Something Nice to Say

Mitch Clem is cool and I love the fact that he's chronicaling his top 5 albums of 2006 in cartoons.

It makes sense, since he's a cartoonist, but I'm still getting a big kick out of them. I'm also getting a kick out of this tune from Ted Leo and his unruly gang of Pharmacists. It's got a really kick in the ass too it, even more so than most of his songs.

"Sons of Cain" by Ted Leo & those wily Pharmacists

This Raekwon / Mathematics collaboration is nice too. Although I might have my doubts about it ever coming out, I continue to get more and more pysched for the next Rae album.

"Trees" by Raekwon the Chef

It's time to come clean,

Chunks of my life have been devoted to a dislike of Coheed and Cambria. That dude Claudio's voice was just always so unbearably piercing and grating. That being said however, over the past year, I've found myself unable to stop listening to their song "The Suffering". It's just so goddamn catchy and it's time I opened up about it. I know the douchipster agrees.

"The Suffering" by Coheed and GAYmbria... laugh out loudz?

that's all she wrote

CBGB finally closes its doors tonight. I wanted to get to one of the last shows, the Bad Brains / Bouncing Souls show specifically, but ticket prices were jacked up so Hilly Kristal can have some extra cash to fund his CBGB Las Vegas venture. Fuck that. I caught at least two shows there that I can remember, a Madball show in high school and then a Ted Leo show when I was a freshman in college. The Madball show was their first in NYC after they got back together, incredible fucking show. Usually the worst part about hardcore shows is the opening bands, but every band that night was on point. If I remember correctly, Awkward Thought and On the Rise went on before Madball. This picture's actually from that very show. There used to be a bunch of them on their website, with yours truly right up front. The pictures were taken after I got punched in the face though, so I wasn't looking super photogenic.

"Look My Way" by Madball
"Can't Stop, Won't Stop" by Madball

The Ted Leo show was totally different. It was a Lookout! Records showcase and every band aside from Ted and his Pharmacists was poo. The Douchipster and I were standing through the whole thing and tired as hell, but when Ted hit the stage it was absolutely worth it.

"The Sword in the Stone" by Ted Leo
"Under the Hedge" by Ted Leo & the Pharmacists

So, another piece of NYC history is gone, along with Coney Island and the Wetlands. It's sad to see a place with so many stories closing, but let's be honest it had quite a punjent odor and the Continental is a better venue anyway. Any five shots for $10 is a deal and a half if you ask me. Not that I've been there since I've turned 21, but still.

Mitch Clem!

I was reading through old NN2S (yes... use the shorthand, get pretentious on em) strips today and I came across this one and thought it'd be appropriate to share here. If you don't know Mitch Clem, he is a funny man who used to draw Nothing Nice to Say, currently draws San Antonio Rock City and Kittens!, he writes Coffee Achievers, and he was one of the creative forces behind the tidbit of awesome that is Joe & Monkey. A lot of his humor revolves around punk rock, mostly jawbreaker, so I enjoy it. Hopefully you folks at home enjoy it too.