this week in music

CBGB FESTIVAL: AMERICAN HARDCORE

AMERICAN HARDCORE is screening as part of the inaugural CBGB Festival

AMERICAN HARDCORE (Paul Rachman, 2006)
Landmark Sunshine Cinema
143 East Houston St. between First & Second Aves.
Thursday, July 5, $10, 4:00
212-260-7289
www.cbgb.com
www.landmarktheatres.com

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 Steve 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 5 at 4:00 at Landmark Sunshine Cinema as part of the inaugural CBGB Festival and will be followed by a Q&A with Rachman and Blush. The festival runs July 5-8 at venues in Manhattan and Brooklyn and includes a bevy of concerts, film screenings, panel discussions, and other special events being held in honor of the classic Bowery club that hosted cutting-edge, alternative, punk, and indie bands from 1973 to 2006. Among the groups participating in the festival are the Dirty Pearls, Agnostic Front, Richard Llloyd, Tuff Darts, David Johansen, Glen Matlock, Tommy Ramone, Sic F*cks, Eric Ambel, Xylos, Popa Chubby, Dayna Kurtz, and Mike Peters of the Alarm, and that’s just on Thursday.

THE FOURTH OF JULY IN NEW YORK CITY

The Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks will be exploding over the West Side again this year (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

With the Fourth of July landing on a Wednesday this year, there seem to be fewer special events than usual, but there are still a bunch of ways for people to celebrate America’s 236th birthday. First and foremost is Macy’s thirty-sixth annual fireworks display, which will once again hail over the West Side; “Ignite the Night” will feature more than forty thousand fireworks set to a score selected by online voting, with music by Ray Charles, Madonna, Lee Greenwood, Neil Diamond, Taylor Swift, Whitney Houston, and Star-Spangled Sing-Off winner Kory Glattman as well as live performances by Katy Perry and Kenny Chesney. Four barges will be located between 18th & 43rd Sts. along the Hudson River. Rooftop Films will be honoring the United States with a free program in Socrates Sculpture Park in Long Island City; “The American Experience” consists of eight shorts that take a serious and/or humorous look at elections and politics, including Patrick Désilets’s Mulvar Is Correct Candidate!, Matt Bockelman’s You Have the Right to an Attorney, and Sara Zia Ebrahimi’s Norman Schwarzkopf Made Me Gay, preceded by live music by Dustin Wong and Arturo en el Barco. July 4 is usually a big day for large, outdoor free concerts under the sun, but the only park show this year is part of the Madison Square Park Oval Lawn Series, with Noam Pikelny and Friends, the Sweetback Sisters, and Spuyten Duyvil, beginning at 3:00. The New York Philharmonic will be at Avery Fisher Hall on July 3, 4, and 5 ($40-$50) for “Summertime Classics: A New York Fourth,” playing compositions by Leonard Bernstein, George Gerswhin, and others, with the Hellcats and Jazz Knights from the West Point Band and Tracy Dahl, conducted by Bramwell Tovey. Back in the day, the Mets used to play double headers on July 4; this Wednesday you can head to the Bushwick music club Shea Stadium for Summerjam IV ($10, 4:20), which boasts quite a lineup: Afu Ra featuring Shea Stadium All-Stars, Dope Body, Roomrunner, Fuckton, Alan Watts, Ami Dang, Eleven Swords, Smhoak & Pals, and the Jazz Massagers. If it’s baseball you want, you can catch the Brooklyn Cyclones taking on the Williamsport Crosscutters at MCU Park in Coney Island ($9-$16, 6:00); after the game, there will be fireworks, and everyone is invited to run around the bases. The surprising Mets will be in town as well, taking on the division rival Philadelphia Phillies at 1:00 at Citi Field, with Chris Young scheduled to go up against Kyle Kendrick. And over at the Stone, the Spy Music Festival will have John Blum at 8:00 and the Trevor Watts + Veryan Weston duo at 10:00 ($10 per set; festival continues July 1-15).

HARLEM ARTS FESTIVAL 2012

Queen Esther will close the 2012 Harlem Arts Festival with dancer-choreographer Francesca Harper tonight

Richard Rodgers Amphitheater
Marcus Garvey Park
Madison Ave. between 120th & 124th Sts.
Saturday, June 30, free, 1:00 – 8:00
www.harlemartsfestival.com

The second day of the free Harlem Art Festival, held in Marcus Garvey Park, features another fine lineup of live music, dance, and theater, emceed by DJ Stormin’ Norman. The party gets started at 1:00 with Gary Samuels & the Prayz’N Hymn Ensemble on the main stage and Isaac Katalay on the second stage at 1:30. Other performers include the Mighty Third Rail, Gwen Laster, Illstyle & Peace Productions, James Browning Kepple, Benjamin Barson, Guerilla Dance Collective, Shelah Marie, and Vernard J. Gilmore / La Verdad, with Queen Esther & the Francesca Harper Project closing the show at 7:00. There is also a kids’ corner with children’s activities in addition to local food vendors, a market, special programs in the Harlem Library, and a gallery walk with work by such artists as Leon Barber, Laura Gadson, Judy Levy, Bryce R. Zackery, and Maxine DeSeta.

VIDEO OF THE DAY: ZEROBRIDGE REHEARSAL

Brooklyn-based Zerobridge, who hail originally from Potomac, Maryland, and have roots in Kashmir, have spent more than a decade experimenting with different sounds on such releases as the 2001 EP No Epiphany, their 2003 eponymous full-length debut, and 2007’s Havre de Grace, ranging from Stonesy swagger to Replacements abandon to jangling guitar rockers and even a dose of gloompop. Led by singer, songwriter, and guitarist Mubashir Mohi-ud-Din (Din) and featuring Greg Eckelman on bass, Din’s brother Mohsin (Mo) on drums, and producer JP Bowersock on guitar, the band has been working away on their next EP, Big Songs for Small Spaces, including the tantalizing trio of “Waiting in the Sun,” “Dirty Apple,” and “All Places from Here”; that last song can be seen in the above rehearsal video, when it still was untitled. Zerobridge will be playing a free show at Rockwood Music Hall on June 30 at 11:00, preceded by Niall Connolly at 9:00 and followed by the Hipstones at midnight.

CREST FEST

Crest Hardware
558 Metropolitan Ave. between Lorimer & Union
Saturday, June 30, free, 1:00 – 7:00
www.cresthardwareartshow.com

One of the grooviest events of the summer, Crest Fest is a celebration of art, music, food, crafts, and hardware. More than a hundred artists fill the Crest Hardware Store on Metropolitan Ave. with works of art that incorporate items readily available in the store and place them on the walls, racks, floor, and ceiling as if they are part of the regular merchandise — although they will cost you a little more than standard tools. Make your way through aisles and aisles of fun stuff before heading out the back to walk through the garden, grab a bite to eat, and check out some live bands. This year’s musical lineup includes PitchBlak Brass Band, Aabaraki, Workout, Hard Nips, and Grey Sky Appeal, along with DJ sets by Petey Complex, King Cut, Lucas Walters, Peter Hale, Dom Leon, and Krunk Pony. Among the vendors are Mighty Balls, Jessy’s Pastries, Tirana Jewelry, Grand Wazoo Clothing and Other Wondrous Things, Vicolo Mio, Seam, WRKN Class, Daly Pie, North Brooklyn Vineyard, Erika Day Designs, Old Hollywood, and Fantasy Clocks. The opening party and exhibit is a fundraiser for the City Reliquary, the museum and civic organization down the street on Metropolitan.

COOKING CHANNEL SUMMER EATS POP-UP TOUR: SMORGASBURG

EDEN EATS host Eden Grinshpan pulls into Williamsburg to help celebrate Cooking Channel’s second birthday

Williamsburg waterfront between North Sixth & North Seventh Sts.
Saturday, June 30, free, 1:00 – 5:00 pm
www.brooklynflea.com/smorgasburg
cookingchanneltv.com

The Cooking Channel is celebrating its second anniversary with a summer food tour that pulls into Smorgasburg on Saturday afternoon. The party will feature Le Cordon Bleu graduate Eden Grinshpan, host of Eden Eats, and Bronx-based Baron Ambrosia, host of The Culinary Adventures of Baron Ambrosia. There will be special treats to sample (including grilled squash quesadillas, pulled pork sandwiches, fried catfish, five-spice lamb burgers, Georgia lattice-topped peach pie, and red velvet cupcakes), meet and greets with the stars, and live music. If you’ve never been to Smorgasburg, you’ve been missing out on one of New York’s best culinary experiences. Every Saturday, more than one hundred vendors fill a vacant space on the Williamsburg waterfront, directly accessible by a quick ride on the East River Ferry. You can find just about anything you want there, from Mile End, McLure’s Pickles, and Baby Got Back Ribs to Taste of Ethiopia, Sunday Gravy, and Sun Noodle Ramen, from Saucy by Nature, DuMont Burger, and Blue Bottle Coffee to Handsome Hank’s Fish Hut, Rachel’s Pies, and Kings County Jerky. We like starting with the breakfast taco from Cemita’s, followed by maple bacon on a stick from Landhaus, the bulgogi burger from Asiadog, and a Salvadoran specialty from Solber Pupusas. Dessert’s a tough decision, with fine fare from Lush Candy, Danny’s Macaroons, Cutie Pies, Fine & Raw Chocolate, Kumquat Cupcakery, and our fave, the giant s’more from S’more Bakery. Other choices include slow smoked St. Louis spare ribs from Mighty Quinn’s, caramel chorizo lollipops from Bocata, fried anchovies from Bon Chovie, Nordic sushi from Noshi, and the fried Brussels sprouts sandwich with apple and whiskey from I8NY. Some of the vendors come back on Sunday, when Smorgasburg morphs into the Brooklyn Flea, a market that sells handcrafted items, antiques, collectibles, clothing, and plenty of oddities.

VIDEO OF THE DAY — STILL FLYIN’: “SPIRITS”

San Francisco collective Still Flyin’ makes synth-heavy indie dance pop that floats on a sea of ethereal grooviness. On their new album, On a Bedroom Wall (Ernest Jenning, May 2012), the follow-up to their 2009 debut full-length, Never Gonna Touch the Ground, founder Sean “SA” Rawls leads the large troupe through such lighthearted musical journeys as “Elsie Dormer,” “Travelin’ Man,” “Spirits,” and “Candlemaker.” “Ain’t nothing gonna hold me down / Ain’t nothing gonna torch my town,” a chorus sings on “Cleat Talking,” channeling a bit of Matthew Wilder, continuing, “I ain’t no Stephen Hawking / My cleats do all the talking.” Still Flyin’, which features a large cast of characters that includes Yoshi Nakamoto, Tater Moran, Bren Mead, Momo Niubo, Big Lord Saucedo, Gary Olson, Marky Monnone, Thrilla Horan, Izzo Knowles, Mookie Schweitzer-Rawls, Marjan Esfandiari, Jammy Knight, and more, will be headlining the early show at the Mercury Lounge on June 27 with Radical Dads.