WHEN: Saturday July 30th – 2-6pm
PRICE: Free admission
WHERE: East River Park Amphitheatre
just south of the Williamsburg Bridge on the Manhattan side
SUBWAY: F or JMZ to Essex / Delancey
– DJ Brian Turner
– Tall Firs
– Oxford Collapse
– Oneida
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Oneida: Their latest album,”The Wedding”, covers many bases, from ranging full-on rawk to quirky, low-key pop. Jagjaguwar describes their previous album as follows; this seems as good an encapsulation of their sound as anything I can come up with: “Their trademark iterated and psych-tinged noise attack is still fully intact, both nervous and subdued at the same time – like what happens when you give meditative children trained in the ways of yoga an excessive amount of caffeine.”
MP3s:
http://www.scjag.com/mp3/jag/runthrough.mp3
http://www.scjag.com/mp3/jag/dididie.mp3
http://www.scjag.com/mp3/jag/treasureplane.mp3
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Oxford Collapse: The Oxford Collapse’s newest album, A Good Ground, is a distillation of twenty-plus years’ worth of underground rock and roll, evoking early REM, the Meat Puppets, and others. It’s catchy as hell, propelled by melodic basslines and accentuated by jangly guitar work, and makes for a damn good summertime listen.
MP3s:
http://www.kaninerecords.com/mp3/proofreading.mp3
http://media.spin.com//features/band_of_the_day/audio/2005/06/
cracks_in_the_causeway_hi.mp3
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Tall Firs: Swirling guitars and edgy vocals; if the Oxford Collapse evoke SST Records circa ’85, the Tall Firs could have fit on said label two years later. Described on the Tonic website as “Songs of time machines and whiskey.”
MP3s:
http://www.tallfirs.org/mp3/the%20woods.mp3
http://www.tallfirs.org/mp3/buddy_baby.mp3
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Extra Action Marching Band: They’re a marching band who’ve won the SF Bay Guardian’s Readers’ Poll for Best Rock Band, which should tell you a lot. Flag twirlers, a percussion section, you name it…twenty-eight people strong. They have the honor of leading us from the ‘theater when the show is through.

This is our kind of site:

Having realized the dire need for a centralized and coherent source of openbar listings (because paying rent and shelling out 7 bucks on a Brooklyn Lager just wasn’t working out), we took it upon ourselves to give you, our esteemed reader, this free service at our own, though insignificant, expense.

Check out MyOpenBar.com

As our friend Jahhoo pointed out to us yesterday, Republicans sure have short memories. Last week House Republicans drafted a resolution that stated proponents of a speedy withdrawal in Iraq (otherwise known as Democrats) are enemy appeasers:

[From the Progressive]
In a shameless swipe at their political opponents, House Republicans passed a resolution on July 21 that denounces those who dare to question the wisdom of an indefinite U.S. military presence in Iraq.
“Calls for an early withdrawal embolden the terrorists,” the bill states, adding that the U.S. must stay as long as it takes to achieve a free and secure Iraq.

Yesterday Gen. George Casey made the high profile statement that “fairly substantial reductions” in troops can be made by next year. Think Bush and the House Republicans will be blaming this administration puppet of emboldening the terrorists? Think again. In response to Casey’s assertion Rummy had this to say:
“We don’t want any delays,…. “Now is the time to get on with it.”
Read the rest of the Chicago Tribune article here.

We’re not sure how to feel about Bush’s nomination of John G. Roberts. Sure, he’s a complete Right Wing nutjob. But anyone Bush nominates will be a Right Wing nutjob. The question we have is how Right Wing is John G. Roberts? That, and as Catch.com pointed out, why is he so sweaty? He’s horrible, but he may be better than Bush’s 2nd and 3rd choices.
Regardless of what anyone thinks…. this can’t be good news for Roberts:

[From Washington Post]
White House To Withhold Nominee’s Tax Returns
The Bush administration will not give Senate investigators access to the federal tax returns of Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts Jr., White House and congressional officials said yesterday, a break with precedent that could exacerbate a growing conflict over document disclosure in the confirmation process.
Although nominees to the high court in recent decades were required to provide their three most recent annual tax forms, the administration will neither collect such documents from Roberts nor share them with the Senate Judiciary Committee, the officials said. Instead, the Internal Revenue Service will produce a one-page summary.

(more…)

The Holloway story is tragic, but it’s not news
CNN continues to baffle us. After proclaiming time and time again that they will begin covering real news (now that they have a new president), they devoted their entire prime time slot last night to Natalee Holloway. Apparently, she’s more newsworthy than, say, the attack in Egypt, because she’s white and relatively attractive. And as icing on the cake, CNN’s beltway reporter Bob Franken recently had this to say about Rovegate (as pointed out by the Huffington Post):

“Speaking of the Karl Rove matter, of course, that is news that is considered at the moment so yesterday. We’ve moved on.” (read the article here)

We’ve got a missing hot teen wearing a bikini. Who cares about Rove’s affront to our national security? Yes, its like totally yesterday, dude.

This was buried deep in the New York Times yesterday, but is simply unbelievable. What sane argument can be made for failing to do our best to ensure fair treatment of detainees?

Vice President Dick Cheney is leading a White House lobbying effort to block legislation offered by Republican senators that would regulate the detention, treatment and trials of detainees held by the American military.
In an unusual, 30-minute private meeting on Capitol Hill on Thursday night, Mr. Cheney warned three senior Republicans on the Armed Services Committee that their legislation would interfere with the president’s authority and his ability to protect Americans against terrorist attacks.
The legislation, which is still being drafted, includes provisions to bar the military from hiding prisoners from the Red Cross; prohibit cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of detainees; and use only interrogation techniques authorized in a new Army field manual.
The three Republicans are John McCain of Arizona, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and John W. Warner of Virginia, the committee chairman. They have complained that the Pentagon has failed to hold senior officials and military officers responsible for the abuses that took place at the Abu Ghraib prison outside of Baghdad, and at other detention centers in Cuba, Iraq and Afghanistan.

(more…)

Lightning Bolt (Photo by Jason Carlisle)
Friday July 22
Alec Ounsworth of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Live at Pete’s Candy Store
FREE
Click Here for more info
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Saturday July 23
Todd P Presents:
– Lightning Bolt with Afrirampo
– USAISAMONSTER
– Free Blood
– Eloe Omoe
– Japanther
Parking lot at 28-10 Queens Plaza, LIC
10 bucks

From Flavorpill:
Sure, the zany ramblings, bizarre chicken clucks, and unhinged swagger of “Paris Hilton” may have endeared them to the global dance floor crowd, but it’s Mutsumi Kanamori and Maurice Fulton’s unique blend of hardcore mutant funk that’s solidified their street cred from Sheffield to Tokyo. On the married duo’s sophomore album, Out of Breach (Manchester’s Revenge), production-ace Fulton prods each track along with low-slung thumps, plumbing inky sonic depths for bass lines as vocalist Kanamori freezes the surface with her deadpan delivery and icy shrieks. Beats in Space host Tim Sweeney and Metro Area’s Darshan Jesrani get the afternoon started behind the decks and under the sun in P.S.1′s famed courtyard.

Click Here for more info

click to buy shirt
Time to call the ACLU and start crotching your one-hitter:

From the AP
Police will begin conducting random searches of packages and backpacks carried by people entering city subways, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Thursday after a new series of bomb attacks in London.
Authorities said the system is still being developed, but the plan is for passengers carrying bags to be selected at random before they have passed through turnstiles.
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly promised that officers would not engage in racial profiling, and that passengers will be free to “turn around and leave” rather than consent to a search.
Officials would not immediately say how frequently the checks would occur. The checks are scheduled to begin at some stations by Thursday evening and will be occurring throughout the system by rush hour on Friday.
“We just live in a world where, sadly, these kinds of security measures are necessary,” Bloomberg said. “Are they intrusive? Yes, a little bit. But we are trying to find that right balance.”
Authorities said there is also a possibility that checks will be conducted on some bus and train passengers.

M. Ward
Thur 7.21 (7pm) at Castle Clinton (Battery Park)

[From Flavorpill]
M. Ward interlaces folk, rock, and the blues with a raspy whisper evoking Holiday, Young, and Waits. His latest, Transistor Radio, summons a time when Americans sought inspiration and solace in the airwaves.

Note: Tickets can be picked up at Castle Clinton on a first-come, first-served basis, beginning at 5pm on the day of the show.

James Doohan dies at 85.
Read the obit here.