The Drums posted a Ronettes cover to their Facebook in honor of the holiday today, though you need to "Like" them to hear it." "Hey it's Jonny. We wanted to buy you something but we made you something instead. It's Valentines Day so don't be shy with your love. See you soon"

And you can see them soon. The Drums play a free, late show at WIP (Work In Progress) in NYC tonight (2/14) along with DJ Miss Guy and others. You need to RSVP.

You can go after you catch their Frenchkiss labelmate Devin at Pianos, also a free show.

Don Hill (photo by Julian Ungano)

As tweeted by Moby (see above) and many other notable club veterans, and confirmed to me via a call to Don Hill's who said there is a memorial tonight (3/31) at the club (toast at midnight), nightclub owner and legend Don Hill has sadly passed away. Though details are scarce at the moment, some on Twitter are saying he was "found dead in his apartment" "this morning". Update: someone seemingly in the know says: "He passed away at the hospital. Not in his apartment. It was this evening around 7, not this morning." And Bebe Buell adds (in reaction to the last minute midnight toast), "Don's actual memorial will be the biggest coming together of all the people he has helped+supported-those of us who loved him+knew him well." Stay tuned for more info.

Murray Hill calls it the end of an era. Miss Guy says he was the nicest person in nightlife. Justine D agrees. I didn't know him personally, but I always liked seeing him hanging around his club that shared his name. He opened Don Hill's in the early 90's and before that managed the East Village's Cat Club (David Bowie & Peter Frampton played there in 1987). "American Hardcore" author Steven Blush (who also worked at Don Hill's) once wrote...

" I booked [GG Allen] at the Cat Club. His most infamous part of the show is to shit on the stage and throw it at the crowd and got thrown out. I got written up in the Village Voice for the show that I had put on. The irony, of course, is that the manager of the Cat Club was Don Hill and I couldn't work any more at that club after that but we always remained friendly....

...Don Hill is the best club owner in New York. After the Cat Club, when that closed, a couple of years later, Don did what he was supposed to do, which was own his own club. Don has the support of the whole club community of the local neighborhood which is unheard of for clubs. The clubs got a great reputation. Sometimes I wish we were bigger and trashier, but then we wouldn't be Don Hill's."

As posted back in August 2010 when it was announced that Don Hill's was closing for renovations, Steve Lewis wrote...

"Don Hill's was born in April 1993 to much flag waving, fanfare and hoopla. The Smithereens set the tone that night and it has since become a virtual rock and roll hall of fame. Don has booked the joint, hired staff, run day to day and night to night operations, he's answered the phones and I suspect that on some nights he swept out the joint. He will now be joined by superheroes Nur Khan and Paul Sevigny. They will come in with mad skills, new energy and cash to redux the place. They will merge with Don to create more of the same but even better."

Since re-opening with the new partners on board, the club has in fact been the scene of many high profile and hard to get into events, most notably a fashion week show by Iggy Pop. According to Nur Khan, they also "had LCD Soundsystem booked," but "there were complications with production and stage size so we were unable to do the gig." There were rumors this week that the Strokes would do a show there before or after their sold out gig at MSG (I haven't been able to prove those rumors though, or the show fell through).

R.I.P. Don Hill (both of them)

Continue reading "Don Hill, RIP"

Happy Birthday Michael, Michael it's your birthday

The office of the Los Angeles County coroner confirmed Friday that it had ruled Michael Jackson's death a homicide. It said the cause was a mixture of the powerful anesthetic propofol and the anti-anxiety drug lorazepam, both of which, previously disclosed court documents say, Mr. Jackson's doctor has acknowledged administering to him the day he died.

"The manner of death has been ruled: homicide," the coroner's office said in a brief statement.

It said the full coroner's report and a complete toxicology report were being withheld at the request of the police and the district attorney's office, whose investigation continues.. [NYT]

Michael Jackson would have been 51 today (August 29). And people are celebrating - as we speak actually, in Prospect Park. More on that and other events below...

Continue reading "Michael Jackson's Death Ruled a Homicide (Happy Birthday) --- Prospect Park event underway + other stuff to do"

words & photos by Kevin Tachman

NIGHT OF 1000 STEVIES, New York City's legendary STEVIE NICKS homage, returned for its nineteenth annual edition on May 1 at THE HIGHLINE BALLROOM. NOTS 19: SONGS OF RHIANNON was a May Day marathon of twirling and enchantment, attended by over a thousand fans. This year's theme - and the centerpiece of the show - were the ten "SONGS OF RHIANNON" penned by STEVIE NICKS in her BUCKINGHAM NICKS days. In stage decor, visuals and costuming, NOTS 19 paid homage to the Celtic white witch RHIANNON - fitting for a date that was both MAY DAY and BELTANE. As always, "The Night" climaxed with the heart-stopping BATTLE OF A THOUSAND STEVIES, as all the show's performers and costumed fans took the stage for a final dose of "Total Stevie Realness".

NIGHT OF A THOUSAND STEVIES is the biggest and best-loved STEVIE NICKS fan event in the world, one of those great New York City spectacles that sparks travel from all around the globe. Born in 1990 at the tiny performance venue MOTHER at the weekly JACKIE 60 party, "The Night" has run for nineteen years, even inspiring the 2001 film GYPSY 83. Neither a contest nor a karaoke show, NOTS is the Stevie celebration plus ultra - a riot of shawls, lace, baby's breath, twirling, tambourines and great performance.

The real Stevie has a show coming up at Madison Square Garden. More pictures from Highline Ballroom below...

Continue reading "Night of 1000 Stevies (2009) @ Highline Ballroom, NYC - pics"