Sonic Youth, c/o Clarissa Roudabush
Sigh! Last night it happened — the concluding McCarren Pool concert. A venue that’s been short-lived and yet extraordinarily popular, providing the alt masses with live music, outdoor film screenings, theater, even dodgeball and slip and slide opportunities is dying a sad death this year.
Fortunately, this final show was far more invigorating than depressing. The 3-hour long opening lineup kicked off with the smiling and cheerful trio Vivian Girls — who are playing at a variety of NYC venues soon, including Death By Audio on the 2nd. Ohio’s Times New Viking provided additional lively attitude as the beach ball tossing commenced, interacting talkatively with the audience and joking with each other. The final opening act, Wolf Eyes (from Detroit) added a degree of darkness and aggression to the evening, with their avante noise and lo-fi sound.
Sonic Youth finally took the stage at dark, and they played some of their best tracks from the past three decades, taking from EVOL to Daydream Nation to newer material. Favorites like ‚”Disappearer,” ‚”The Sprawl” and ‚”Hey Joni” were crowd-pleasers, and more obscure songs like ‚”Making the Nature Scene” and the closer ‚”Expressway to Yr Skull” revealed the depth of this group’s catalogue and longstanding talent. Dancing, smiling, and resplendent throughout, the band (with Pavement’s Mark Ibold helping out on bass) seemed to be having as much fun as the audience.
The evening couldn’t have been more appropriate in terms of bridging together the past and future of NYC’s independent music legacy, and even if we might be bummed out that summer of 2009 won’t involve concrete sessions in the pool, at least, in the words of Thurston Moore, ‚”next year we’ll all be swimming like fish.”

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There’s been a show on the MSG network this summer (I’ve never heard of the MSG network either, until now), and it’s a reality show/contest for New York’s subway musicians. It makes me feel as though perhaps I have been living in a different city, because I don’t recognize any of the contestants. SIgh.
The series will culminate this week with a big ‘ole concert at The Cutting Room on 24th Street for the remaining musicians on September 3rd. However, I’m still unclear on what the prize is. Hopefully something involving money and a record deal? And no, unfortunately, the Beatles cover songs guy is not one of the final four.
More info available HERE
and HERE TOO!

Friday night’s Critical Mass came a month after the NYPD takedown and four years after a couple hundred of riders were arrested at 2004′s Republican National Convention in NYC. So, last night’s vicious and unexpected attack on one rider’s lifeline to the world couldn’t have occurred at a more sensitive time. A friend of mine wrote in this morning with a play by play of the malicious attack on one of our most honored New York icons – the cellular device!

My phone got run over by an SUV while i was riding in critical mass tonight. it was one of those ancient nokias that had lasted me about 5 years, so it was about time. but i have to say, that thing didn’t have a single glitch when it died. if it hadn’t been for that damn SUV, it probably would have gone on working for the next 5 years. i recommend a Nokia for your next cell phone purchase.

Sweet cellular Jesus, no one is safe. Freedom riders of New York City, hide your phones, because we are under attack!
Here’s a photo of the now destroyed Nokia. I warn you to close one eye and peak between your fingers, because it’s simply horrifying and will haunt your dreams. Ready? Ok, look!

Just a quick reminder that the awesome Power2 show that we recently posted about is going down this Saturday at Issue Project Room at 9pm. The show features contributions by Kristina Donello (choreographer), Nick Lesley (video artist) and music by Finnish sound collective Avarus. Go check it out, and wear white, cause apparently you’re part of the show too!

This is rather inspiring. If you were planning on objecting, you had about 1.2 seconds to get that out cause that gavel was coming down faaaaast! And now, the battle of 2008 that is Obama/Biden vs. McCain/Palin officially begins.

Since most of you will have off this coming Monday thanks to the great American holiday that is Labor Day, why don’t you run on over to the all-ages show on the Office Ops roof this Sunday! Here’s the info:

CELEBRATE THE LAST DAYS OF SUMMER IN STYLE
*TEAM ROBESPIERRE*
*NINJASONIK*
*WHALES & COPS*(MEMBERS OF MAN MAN)
*POPO*(PHILLY)
DJ C-LO (BIKES IN THE KITCHEN) DJS between sets!
OFFICE OPS ROOF!!!!!
3PM SHARP- 9PM. (BANDS START AT 3:30)
$10 W/ RSVP BEFORE AUG 29 AT
BROOKLYNBYHAND.COM/ROOFTOP
BYOB (21+ ONLY)
OFFICE OPS IS AT 57 THAMES ST/ MORGAN L

Click on through after the jump for the flyer.

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Tonight, Ms. Li will be performing at the (relatively) new Greenwich Village spot (le) poisson rouge. The show is already sold out, but if you happen to be one of the lucky few who will be attending, then consider yourself blessed since it’s sure to be an amazing performance.
If you are without tickets, then don’t fret my pets! Go on ahead now and buy your tickets for her October 20th set at Music Hall of Williamsburg.
And, if you are too lazy to do that, then just watch this amazing/creepy video for “I’m Good, I’m Gone.”

photo via flickr
So over the last couple days, some fairly influential people in the music/internet universe have been either A. beaten up by security guards while cops watched, or B. arrested by the FBI after leaking some Guns N’ Roses tracks.
In the first case of general misjustice, the founders of the F Yea Fest and Videothing.com were beaten up after a Radiohead show, and then beaten up even more when security forcefully pried the video tape evidence from their hands. As you may recall, they rocked Williamsburg a short while back when they played Club Exit. La Weekly has a nice play-by-play of that fiasco. Here’s an outtake from that story:

Dawes alleges that one of the security guards threw Carlson into an electrical box. ‚”He hurled him into it, then threw him onto the ground — at this point there are two or three officers there. [The security guards] smashed his head into the pavement as they’re trying to cuff him, the cops aren’t doing anything. I’m yelling, ‘Officer, this is your jurisdiction — this isn’t Hollywood Bowl property anymore. Don’t let them do this.’” Dawes recalls that the officers replied that they ‚”give event staff leeway.”

And then secondly, the guy who runs music blog Antiquiet was arrested by the FBI this morning for leaking nine unauthorized tracks from Guns N’ Roses long-awaited album, Chinese Democracy. They could use some legal help. The La Times has that scoop.
While both of these mishaps took place across the dirt in LA, we Brooklynites should take notice, as we’re probably the highest music blog per capita city, and also have craptons of unauthorized shows with big mean security guards.

The judges for the upcoming Mr and Miss Williamsburg Pageant have been announced, and they’re made up of a couple professional hybrids, a musician, and Sam Brown from Whitest Kids U’ Know.
The official line-up is:
DJ/Designer Kesh, journalist/model Sarah Morrison, Jason Poranski (of Beirut) and Sam Brown (from The Whitest Kids U’Know)
Feel free to revisit our earlier interview with pageant founder Misha Calvert, and don’t forget, the pageant is next Friday, September 5th at Supreme Trading. RSVP on Facebook or Going.

Green Point wines has launched a contest to win 4 VIP tickets to this Saturday’s Sonic Youth concert at McCarren Park Pool. The winery has included a trivia question about the pool on the main page of their Web site, and the first person to answer the question correctly will win – tickets include VIP seating with comfy couches, food and Green Point wines throughout the night. To enter… visit www.greenpointwinesnyc.com