Richmond County Bank Ballpark
75 Richmond Terrace, St. George, Staten Island
Friday, August 2, free, 7:00
718-816-2133
www.statenislandusa.com
The Beatles and New York City baseball have a storied history. In 1965, the Fab Four played one of their most famous concerts ever at Shea Stadium, where they could barely be heard amid the shrieks of their crazed fans. More than four decades later, in 2009, Paul McCartney played Citi Field, then headed to the Bronx two years later for a pair of shows at Yankee Stadium. Although not quite in the same, er, ballpark, shall we say, Beatles Blast returns on August 2 for its sophomore go-round, as a series of Beatles cover bands take the stage at Richmond County Bank Ballpark in St. George, home of the Staten Island Yankees, the Bronx Bombers’ Single-A affiliate. Among those playing Beatles classics will be the Blue Meanies, London Fogg, Giffords Lane, eliminated Voice contestant Garrett Gardner, and original Mersey Beat star Billy J. Kramer, who recorded a series of Beatles-written songs with his band the Dakotas. The event will be hosted by Q104.3’s Ken Dashow, whose “Breakfast with the Beatles” radio program can be heard every Sunday morning; last week’s playlist began with “Oh! Darling” and included such other songs as “The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill,” “Eleanor Rigby,” a live version of George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord,” McCartney’s “Jenny Wren,” the Traveling Wilburys’ “Handle with Care,” and Kramer’s “Bad to Me” before concluding with “All You Need Is Love.” We don’t know if Beatles Blast will have quite such diversity, but it should be a lot of fun while also raising funds and awareness for autism. The event, sponsored by Staten Island borough president James Molinaro, is free, but donations to Come Together for Autism Awareness will earn you VIP seats. Play ball!
A must-see for fans of loud, fast, angry music circa 1980-86, American Hardcore looks at one of the smaller but nonetheless influential movements in American music. A basic doc in the classic do-it-yourself sensibility that informed so much of the music scene it chronicles, American Hardcore features interviews with Henry Rollins, lead singer of Black Flag; H.R., the mercurial, difficult, but brilliant lead singer for the Bad Brains; Mike Watt of the Minutemen; and various personnel from the Circle Jerks, Minor Threat, and 7 Seconds. Tommy Stinson of the Replacements and Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers weigh in as well. The abundance of old concert footage is fabulous, but director Paul Rachman and writer Steven Blush discovered much of it in shoeboxes in basements during their low-budget cross-country trip while making the movie, so the overall production quality is not high ― which in some ways works better overall. The film does a good job of lovingly showing just how home-grown and amateurish the scene was and debating the importance of the scenes in Houston, Minneapolis, DC, Boston, and Southern California. The finale with a graphic artist and cover designer calling for the next generation of hardcore is a riot. American Hardcore is screening July 13 and 14 at 12 noon as part of the Nitehawk Cinema series “Music Driven”; the Saturday show will be followed by a Q&A with director Rachman, while Blush will be on hand for a Q&A after Sunday’s screening. (In addition to writing the American Hardcore book, Blush has also created one of the great music sites,