Live at the Gantries is a series of free, outdoor performances featuring a collection of Queens-based musicians as diverse as the borough. 2011 performances include: Latin jazz, indie rock, bluegrass string band, a gamelan orchestra, percussion chamber music ensemble, and a blues-rock band.

Live at the Gantries starts Tuesday, July 12 and continues every Tuesday through August 16. Every show starts at 7 o'clock and ends with a spectacular sunset at Gantry Plaza State Park, a 10-acre waterside oasis between 49th and 50th Avenues along the East River [in Long island City].

The Beets play the free show tonight (7/19). Full summer schedule below...

Continue reading "free concerts in Gantry Plaza State Park"

From a petition attempting to save the beach:

"Please help us save our beach! Long Island City's Water Taxi Beach has served the neighborhood, the city, and beyond for 6 years now. It brought in revenue and boosted the economy locally here in LIC, as well as within the whole of New York City from visitors far and wide.It employed 47 workers, enlisted over a dozen vendors w/ many employees. The city has closed it down to accomodate the new Hunterspoint South developement, which is understandable. So WTB asked for permission to move this unique urban experiment to a vacant lot further away from the construction, just to the south of the existing parking lot. They developed a new design, expanding the Beach, adding a nine-hole miniature golf course and a better volleyball court configuration. The site has great views and a lot of open space. But NYC EDC has shot down the proposal with little consideration."

The Water Taxi Beaches at South Street Seaport and Governors Island will open this summer though.

I haven't gone out yet this week. Last weekend I was out of town and missed Joakim's deejay set at the Tribeca Grand (among lots of other events), but have since managed to get a copy of his new album, Milky Ways which I strongly recommend.

While I found his last album Monsters & Silly Songs a bit inaccessible overall in comparison to the singles "Lonely Hearts" and "I Wish You Were Gone", Milky Ways is much more listenable while still being interesting. Over the course of just 10 tracks, Joakim manages to at times channel Radiohead, Talking Heads, hints of noise rock, both modern & retro disco, and robots, to create his own unique sound. Milky Ways is scheduled for release on September 15th in the US, 14th in the UK, and August 31st internationally. !K7's set up a website dedicated to the release where you can find out more about the album, stream some tracks, and get a free download of "Watermelon Bubblicious" after signing up for the !K7 newsletter.

Moving on to this weekend, here's what's happening starting with Saturday (8/29):

Continue reading "the week in Dance w/ Showtrotta (part 2) "

photos by Zach Dilgard

Cheveu

"Beautiful sunny weather and live music from local and international musicians drew crowds of more than 4,000 to this year's third installment of the P.S. 1 Warm Up summer concert series in Long Island City.

Four musical acts entertained the crowds, who came from throughout the Metropolitan area, on Saturday, July 18 to hear the music, which is part of the Museum of Modern Art's summer programming. The festival is in its 12th year.

Cheveu, a native French group, was one of the first bands to go on stage at 4 p.m. Their unorthodox style drew the crowd in with the lead singer's three microphones - each one connected to a different effects pedal, typically used for guitars.

In addition, lead singer David Lemoîne controlled the drum machine that kept the beat throughout their set. As for guitarist Etienne Nicolas, he held the rhythm and also played numerous guitar leads. Their keyboardist, Oliver Demeaux, sported a vintage Roland synthesizer from the 1970's, which is a rarity in live music.

The end product was a hybrid of house and rock music that had the audience doing a dance that seemed like a mix of the two." [Queens Courier]

Cheveu also played a set at Silent Barn while they were in town. More pictures from the June 18th edition of Warp Up, and a video, below...

Continue reading "Cheveu, Xeno & Oaklander, and Spank DJ's @ P.S.1 - pics "

photos by Zach Dilgard

"Afterparty" & P.S.1. courtyard - July 4, 2009

The Museum of Modern Art and P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center announce the winner of the 2009 MoMA/P.S.1 Young Architects Program: the architectural firm MOS. This year marks the tenth anniversary of the program, which affords emerging architectural talents the opportunity to design and present innovative projects. Five finalists selected by an invited nomination process were asked to present an urban landscape for the large courtyard entrance of P.S.1, with the allotted project budget of $70,000. The architects were required to incorporate elements of shade, water, seating, and bar areas into a proposed project. MOS's winning landscape, Afterparty, will be on view in P.S.1's outdoor courtyard starting in late June, and will serve as an immersive environment for the 2009 Warm Up summer music series.

Envisioned as an "urban shelter," Afterparty will serve as a cooling escape at the heart of P.S.1's Warm Up music series. Before visitors enter the courtyard, a series of tall hut-like "chimneys" with dark thatched skin will be visible from the street. The interior of the conical shelter will provide shade, similar to a Bedouin tent in which the dark textile creates its own microclimate shielding from the summer heat. Cool air from the thermal mass of the courtyard's shaded concrete walls and concrete water troughs located in the center of the structure will be drawn up through a series of cooling chimneys by induction. This will create a breeze and a "cool down" atmosphere for the active Warm Up crowd.

The PS1 "Warm Up" series runs every Saturday at PS1 in Long Island City. The 2009 season kicked off over the holiday weekend with a lineup that included Reagenz (featuring Jonah Sharp of Space Continuum & Move D) playing an extended live set, and a DJ set by Daniel Bell. More pictures from the event, below...

Continue reading "P.S. 1 kicked things off July 4th weekend - Warm Up pics "

P.S.1 has announced the lineup for its annual series of Saturday afternoon dance parties in Long Island City. Last year's program featured live music and DJ sets by James Murphy, James Chance & the Contortions and Tony Conrad to name a few.

This year, we get the Arthur Russell ensemble Arthur's Landing, Talibam! and The Phenomenal Handclap Band (on the same bill), Xeno & Oaklander, Growing, Glenn Branca and more. Full schedule, and more info, below...

Continue reading "PS1 'Warm Up' 2009 - Long Island City music series lineup"

Queens residents will have a new place to party this fall with what's being billed as a "rock 'n' roll supper club."

The Queensbridge Theater, slated to open in October, will be the first of its kind in the borough, where locals can dance, dine and watch live performances, all in one place.

The Queensbridge, which will occupy two floors of a five-story warehouse on 10th St. at 37th Ave. in Long Island City, was modeled after popular Manhattan nightclubs such as the Bowery Ballroom and the Mercury Lounge.

But it won't be as pricey, said co-owner Robert Prichard, who is partnering with developer Michael Waldman on the project.

"We are going to be able to attract a certain level of talent, but it will be in Queens with Queens prices," said Prichard. [NY Daily News]

Nicole Atkins @ Highline Ballroom (more by Chris La Putt)

June 14 - Shakespeare
June 17 - Nicole Atkins & The Sea, Salt & Samovar
June 21 - Summer Solstice Celebration

These are being added to the free show calendar as we speak.

DOWNLOAD: Fred Thomas - Last One (MP3)

The Creek and the Cave is a venue to see live music in Long Island City. You can find it on our venue map.

Fred Thomas is the singer of Saturday Looks Good To Me. They came out with a good album in 2007. That's them/him im the picture above playing the BrooklynVegan day party at R Bar during CMJ 2007. More pictures like that HERE.

Fred also has a new solo CD out. It's out on Magic Marker Records, and called FLOOD. All I've heard so far is the track streaming at his MySpace, and the one I have linked for download at the top of this post.

TONIGHT: Catch Fred Thomas live, at The Creek and the Cave. It's the album release show, and Brandon says it shoud be a blast.