photos by Kurt Christensen

John Joseph addresses the crowd @ Webster Hall Friday night - 7/6/12 (video below)

Before things took a turn for the worse and got all stabby, Webster Hall hosted performances from Vision of Disorder, Sai-Nam and Absolution as part of a five band bill that would have also included Sick of It All and Cro-Mags if the CBGB Festival Friday show didn't end early. Pictures from the relatively peaceful opening to the show are in this post.

As discussed, things got ugly when ex-Cro-Mags bassist Harley Flanagan, who is known for not being happy that Cro-Mags continue without him, allegedly assaulted current Cro-Mags members with a hunting knife before the Cro-Mags set. Harley has been charged with assault and criminal possession of a weapon.

John Joseph and his version of Cro-Mags (that was scheduled to play Webster Hall but instead got cut) issued the following statement:

WE... as a band are truly sorry for the way it all turned out in every regard even the ex-member who's family is now effected by his choices. Our prayers go out to them as well as Mike C., and the others who were hurt, but it was 'his' choice to come to our concert with a hunting knife, standing by our dressing door. Who knows what his actual intent was, obviously he wasn't there with it to cut bread for a peace offering as he was heard saying outside he was putting an end to us playing without him. Let's move on now & stop the trash-talking. Keep that PMA - that's what we are all about.

PMA indeed.

That's a picture of John telling the Webster Hall crowd that the show is over on Friday. You can watch video of it below.

The NY Times talked to John too:

John Joseph, the band's lead singer, said that Mr. Flanagan had been at odds with other members of the Cro-Mags since he left the band in 2000 and had not been permitted to rejoin.

"This dude has been a negative thorn in the side of this band forever," Mr. Joseph said. "I hope he gets what's coming to him."

Few bands were as energetic as the Cro-Mags during the heyday of the Lower East Side hard-core scene in the mid- to late 1980s. Their first record, "The Age of Quarrel," featured an illustration of a mushroom cloud on the cover and driving songs with shouted lyrics about existential fear and the limits of anarchism.

In many ways the songs were a reflection of the world as seen by Mr. Flanagan, who left school at an early age and began hanging out on the decaying streets of the Lower East Side, where rent was cheap, abandoned buildings proliferated and the drug trade flourished.

The hard-core scene gradually become less visible, said Clayton Patterson, a photographer on the Lower East Side who has documented many of the bands, but it has experienced a revival in recent years.

The crowd was waiting for the Cro-Mags on Friday night when Mr. Flanagan darted from the dressing room while yelling something that onlookers could not make out, according to a spectator, Elie Perler, 30.

The NY Post points out:

Joseph warned CBGB Festival organizers that Flanagan wasn't wanted, but he wound up obtaining a press pass.
"Get somebody on the door who knows what he looks like," Joseph said he warned. "They didn't take that threat seriously."

For those people that "don't believe the hype", somehow have faith that this is one big government conspiracy, or that it actually wasn't Harley Flanagan that attacked two in the VIP area at "Weber Hall", you can contribute to the Free Harley Flanagan fund. 119 days to go on this crowdsourcing effort and they are currently at 0.988% towards their $50k goal. Good luck with that one.

If you missed Vision of Disorder, you can catch them in NYC again at Music Hall of Williamsburg on November 24th, tickets go on AMEX presale at noon on Wednesday (7/11) and regular sale on Friday.

More pictures of a peaceful Webster Hall before the storm, and video of John Joseph addressing the crowd, below.

Continue reading "pics from the Cro-Mags show (before it shut down), a statement from John Joseph, a new VOD show & a... fundraiser for Harley"

The scene outside of Tammany Hall

June 28th was reportedly a "peaceful, fun classic hip hop party" featuring Smif n Wessun and Pete Rock who were celebrating the release of their collaborative LP Monumental. That is, until a near riot broke out otside of LES venue Tammany Hall that led to arrests, violence, five injured officers and calls of police brutality.

Pete Rock's lawyer Kenneth Montgomery and his wife Shara McHayle gave their firsthand report to Hip Hop DX. Via Shara McHayle:

...We all left the venue to be greeted outside by a sea of NYPD gloved up and very aggressive. As we began to move we all witnessed the most brutal beating of a party patron. He was on the floor surrounded by 10 police officers with sticks out beating him. In shock, we must have not moved quickly enough to the officers liking and they shouted "Move the FUCK back" and then shoved myself and my daughter down to the ground. Now we were surrounded by 3 cops and 1 pinning us down. My daughter shouted "Get off my mother" and was handcuffed and arrested... Tonight with a lump in my throat my daughter remains in police custody with 4 others. She has been charged with assaulting a police officer, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.

Here's the official statement from Duck Down Records:

"It was a peaceful gathering inside of a sold-out Tammany Hall (lower-east side Manhattan, NY) to see the group perform new music from the project. Earlier in the evening some guest wanted to enter the event but were turned away by the management and bouncers employed by the club. A minor argument ensued but eventually was diffused by the bouncers. Thirty minutes after that minor skirmish (no 61 or incident was ever filed by the club or bouncers) some 15-20 uniformed Police Officers from the 7th precinct arrived at the venue. When the officers arrived some of them entered the venue where they witnessed a peaceful environment, they quickly exited the venue and joined their fellow officers in the exit area of the venue.

Upon joining their fellow Officer's they all began to put on black leather gloves. At that time more uniformed officers arrived in marked rmp's and exited their vehicles. The officers then hurried into the club and began macing and assaulting individuals inside the club, dragging one of them out and pummeling him directly in front of the club. Present at the event were artist, industry tastemakers, fans, photographers, and cameramen. Several people began filming and recording the unprovoked brutality much to the dismay of the police. The officers then began to mace and assault anyone within arms length, including several women. Their behavior was unjustified, unprovoked, and simply barbaric considering there was no provocation. Pete Rock, Tek and Steele fortunately were not harmed, however some of their friends & family were assaulted by the Police.

The statement also says that "today at 12PM EST, Pete Rock & Tek & Steele of Smif N Wessun will be holding a press conference to address all questions at New York Criminal Court on 100 Centre Street, New York, NY." Shara McHayle's statement mentioned "a peaceful protest tomorrow morning 9am" at the same location (I assume it was sent out last night). Video from outside of the show is below.

Continue reading "mayhem at Tammany Hall Smif n Wessun/Pete rock show -- Duck Down issue statement, police brutality captured on video"

photos by Leia Jospe

Drake show @ South Street Seaport (more by Chris La Putt)

Senseless violence marred a Drake concert at South Street Seaport Tuesday night, prompting police to pull the plug on the show before the rap phenom ever had a chance to grab a mic. "Everybody was pushing up, trying to get to the front," said Tamika Johnson, 31, of East New York, Brooklyn. Johnson and her 6-year-old daughter were among thousands who turned out for the free show, part of a publicity blitz marking the release of the up-and-coming Canadian rapper's debut album, "Thank Me Later." "People in the front started leaving because they were getting crushed," Johnson said. "Then they started throwing bottles from the balconies." Fights broke out as rowdies tossed flower pots from the upper floors of the Seaport down onto the crowd on the street, said Jasmine Arroyo, 23, of Brooklyn. Arroyo said the scene turned into "a madhouse" as people on the street began firing plastic bottles and "any object they could find" at the flower-pot-hurlers. [Daily News]

Video of stuff being hurled from Pizzeria Uno into the crowd (and vice versa), and a second set of pictures from the "show" (the first set was HERE), below...

Continue reading "video of people throwing chairs from the 2nd level Pizzeria Uno into the Seaport concert crowd (and more pics)"