Don’t Threaten Me With A Good Time

This week has been lots of craziness as the 2009 CMJ Music Marathon has descended upon New York City! This year seems to be mostly about finding new bands and talent, since I haven’t heard of a majority of the bands that are playing this year. While it makes enthusiasm ahead of time a little low because you never know what you’re going to get with any new band, it makes new discoveries that much better when you see an act that put on a good show and has some good tunes that make you dance around!

Let’s start with Tuesday. I had to cover a showcase at the Cake Shop, and while I wrote down little snippets about each band I saw, the only band that really impressed me was the Hospital Bombers, who were much poppier than the other bands that played after. They are definitely a soundtrack to a breezy summer day laying out in a field somewhere, and I like the occasional female vocals and the violin is a cute touch as well.

Hospital Bombers @ Cake Shop

I also saw Surf City and Male Bonding later that night at Cake Shop who were both good and I did enjoy them as well, but perhaps I’d enjoy their recorded stuff more than seeing them live (without knowing their music ahead of time, anyway).

Andrew WK @ NYU Kimmel Center

On Wednesday I went to see CMJ’s keynote speaker, Andrew WK! You already know that I love Andrew WK, so of course I was going to be at his panel! He gave a brief introduction and then pretty much opened the floor to questions for anyone to ask. He still dispelled his AWK wisdom, which is to believe in yourself and do what makes you happy, something I try to live by as well! It’s always nice to hear some reinforcing positive messages when it comes to things like that. But there were definitely parts of his talk that were funny as well. You never know what you’re going to get when Andrew WK gives a talk!

Bang Bang Eche @ Studio at Webster Hall

Later that night I saw another lineup of bands, but none impressed me until Bang Bang Eche. They’re roughly about 17 years old from New Zealand, and what caught my eye first was how energetic they (especially the lead singer) are. From the bands I saw earlier that night and the night before, none of them really rocked out when appropriate. This kid was all over the stage and jumped into the audience! Their music seems pretty complex for kids of their age, so I think that adds to the appeal, plus it’s just plain good and gets you up and dancing! I’ll definitely be looking for some music by these guys.

Bodega Girls @ Crash Mansion

Moving on to Thursday where I first saw Boston’s Bodega Girls after work. Note: there is only one girl in the band, and she doesn’t do much but try to dance sexily (is that a word?) onstage. Anyway, my friend Leila had seen them the night before and liked them, and it turned out that I shared her enthusiasm! Their first song, possibly titled “I Won’t Write You A Love Song”, was super catchy and dancey and it made me think I had heard it around somewhere before. I ended up dancing through the rest of their set, and I am excited to hear more from them!!

pow wow @ Cake Shop

I was able to quickly catch a few songs of the band pow wow. I don’t know anything about them, I just thought the description of them in the CMJ booklet sounded like something I’d like, and I saw that they only seemed to be playing this one show all week. I’m glad I was able to see even the three songs I did, because I loved their cute poppy sound, and it had all the girls dancing adorably in the venue. Might I mention that everyone in the band was adorable, including the girl guitarist who wore heels and a nice classy dress, and I kinda wanted to be her! I need to find out more information on them and get some music ASAP!

Hockey @ Mercury Lounge

Finally, my night ended at Mercury Lounge where I got to see probably one of the bigger buzzed bands at CMJ at this year, Hockey. I have their album and generally enjoy it, but live they sound much much better! Plus it’s also an automatic dance party! Everyone there seemed to be super into their set and it got pretty sweaty by the end of their set. Lots of energy plus catchy songs equals a great set! I wouldn’t mind seeing them play again, and perhaps with a longer set next time.

So those were the highlights of the past three days for me. Stay tuned for CMJ 2009 – Part Deux!

On a non-rainy day in June, I braved the annoying crowds of tourists in Times Square to attend a mostly New Yorker filled event: the annual Bubble Battle!

The idea is really simple – just show up…

blow bubbles…

and enjoy!

Check out the bubbles in real time! Who knew there could be so many bubbles in one place?!

Click here for more of my photos from the bubble battle!

This past weekend was the 4th of July, which in the US brings thoughts of fireworks, parks, BBQs, beaches, and to us this Saturday morning, a HOT DOG EATING CONTEST!!! Yes, the world famous Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Competition takes place at Coney Island in front of Nathan’s flagship store each yeah on the 4th of July. It’s been a tradition since 1916 to have the contest at the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues in Coney Island, making this year the 94th annual hot dog eating contest.

We arrived about two hours before the event started, getting our place in the large crowd that was to grow even larger as the competition neared. They had some cheesy entertainment before the big event; trampoline jumpers, dancing hot dogs, bunette cheerleaders, and even one of the contestants rapped about eating food. There was even an announcer who ended up on a riser that rose at least 40 feet above the crowd. I felt like I should be at Kaiju Big Battel or something, but I love it when silly things are made even more over the top.

Though there were about 20 contestants total, the main bout was between Takeru Kobayashi and Joey Chestnut who have been battling it out for number one the past few years. Kobayashi had won six years in a row until 2007 when Chestnut won two years in a row. Would Kobayashi be able to come back after a two year absence of number one, or would Chestnut continue to reign supreme?

The video I took above is of the last 30 seconds of the race, though somehow without the zoom on. It was a close race with Kobayashi coming out with a lead in the beginning and ending up being just bites behind Chestnut for the remainder of the race, but the end total ended with Kobayashi 64.5 hot dogs, and Chestnut eating 68 in 10 minutes – a new world record!! The previous record had been at 61, yet the Nathan’s billboard said 66 since apparently the two champions went into an overtime dog-off last year because they tied, and the first to eat five dogs (Chestnut) won! A very exciting race this year, and if I end up going again next year I definitely plan on getting there early to get a better view.

The rest of my day was a bunch of fun. We all went to have a beer at Cha Cha’s on the boardwalk, and then went to see the Coney Island Side Show which I had never attended. That was pretty fun and funny and I would recommend checking that out as part of your trip to Coney Island (most of my friends were surprised I had never been, seeing as how I go to Coney Island at least twice a summer).

Then since we were in the area and I had free admission my friend and I checked out the NY aquarium! I almost forget that NY has an aquarium since it’s so out of the way from the other main museums in Manhattan, and even though I’ve lived in NY for most of my life I had never been! I do love aquariums and water and looking at fish, but this was probably the least impressive aquarium I’ve been to. Since we went later in the afternoon some of the animals had gone in for the day, we could barely catch a glimpse of the penguins all the way in the back, but we did see an otter, seals and walruses (walri?), and of course lots of feesh!

And what is the 4th of July without fireworks? Specifically fireworks from a rooftop in Bushwick. I was super bummed to hear that the Macy’s fireworks were moving to the Hudson this year (another reason to hate Jersey), but we were still able to see parts of it by the skyline. And there were fireworks from all other directions to keep us entertained as well. Oh and the smoke from the building in Williamsburg catching on fire too! How crazy. Usually my July 4ths are pretty dull, but this year was an action packed day, hooray! Good times indeed.

If you’ve taken the time to delete the /goodtime from this site address, you might have noticed that I have a small collection of photographs that I’ve taken over the years. I think it’s safe to say that I have a photography hobby (I only have 9 or 10 different cameras!), and I’ve become increasingly interested in using film and experimenting with older cameras. The main film camera I use is a Holga FN, but aside from three focusing ranges, it’s basically a point and shoot medium format camera (or 35mm! I love shooting so you see the sprocket holes!). I’ve looking to expand my range and manual photographic abilities, and I think I’ve found a camera that will help me out with that!

A couple weeks ago when New York had its first lovely spring weather weekend, I was able to go to the Lomography store and borrow a Lubitel 166+ for a day! It’s the new version of an older twin lens reflex camera made in Russia as far back as 1946. What’s great and new about this version of the camera (compared to its original predecessor) is its ability to be able to use medium format or regular 35mm film, and you can also rewind back to any shot on the roll and take a double exposure! Developing medium format film is pretty expensive, so it’s nice having the option of using 35mm film instead.

Normally I am pretty precious with my film and don’t like to be forced to take photos, but since I was only borrowing it for a day I had to be fast! Even under pressure I was able to get some pretty nice photos and double exposures! Though I’m a little upset about two photos that I took that didn’t come out as I had hoped (the one downside to film!). I hardly ever take photos of people (outside of concert photography), but I asked two random people if I could take their photos. With the afternoon light and the guy’s bright pink shirt in front of a dark background I was excited to see how it came out. But somehow I pressed the shutter when I crossed the street, since there’s a huge truck in the middle of the photo! I’m not sure what happened, but in this case it wasn’t a happy mistake :(

Aside from that, I liked the fact that a lot of people stopped me on the street or on the subway asking me about the camera, since it looks so odd to what we’re used to, and you also look through it from the top! But I liked that and being able to chat about something I like with people on the street :) I’m looking into buying one of the original Lubitels on eBay (since I can’t afford this newer version), so hopefully in the not-too-distant future I shall have more Lubitel photos to share with you!

When I heard about The Great Ice Box Derby going down in Central Park two weekends ago, I thought it was going to be something as amazing and crazy as the Idiotarod, though this being the first annual Ice Box Derby should’ve given me a hint. It was an awkward sight to see as there were more photographers than racers, however the racers who showed up were full of spirit and raced multiple times and still made it a good time!

I believe the main point of the race was to create your own “vehicle”, using a base like a skateboard (or two!), big wheel, shopping cart, etc. The above was my favorite, an un-aerodynamic cardboard triangle! And yes, someone was riding in there too (note the shoe sticking out in the front)! Unfortunately this one barely survived the first leg of the race and didn’t make it to race the next few times, as pieces flew off left and right. I give it points for creativity though!

The above was my favorite racing vehicle: a sweet lawn chair on top of a skateboard (see a better picture of it here). I’m sure it’s easy to move side to side for steering, the only thing it’s missing is a cup holder! The big wheels stole the race in terms of speed but I think this one held its own as well. The racer also had a good style that matched his chair board.

For more photos check out my Flickr set here!

Who knows if this will happen again next year, but if it does I may try to build something myself, perhaps involving an office chair and streamers! Something with pizazz and flair! Haha ;)

Last week I saw the Japanese band Peelander-Z for the first time at a private party. I’ve had multiple opportunities to have seen them live before, but last week was the first time I actually did. Now I am KICKING myself for not having seen them every chance I’ve had. They were SO much fun. I didn’t know any of their music going into it, all I knew was that it was punk, which it was. But their songs are super fun as well, and easy to yell along to. Songs like Mad Tiger, S.T.E.A.K. and Karaoke Party have easy repeating choruses that they encourage you to chant along with. And if you aren’t sure what you’re supposed to be saying, they have signs to go along with some of their songs!

They run into the audience a lot which is always fun. At one point they had a huge rope and had some people limbo under it and others jump rope. Later, Peelander Red jumped on top of the bar, and the bartender just kept pouring drinks like nothing was happening (and it was a pretty small bar area too!). They even had a bowling pin costume and set up 10 pins and Peelander Yellow (as the huge bowling pin) ran and slid into the bowling pins! Ridiculous and fun!

They also bring people onstage to play their instruments while they jump into the crowd for the human bowling, so I volunteered to play bass and it was awesome! Did I mention that I went to this show alone? Haha. Thanks so much to the dude who I handed my camera to for taking pictures!

Definitely check out Peelander-Z next time they come through your town! Even if you don’t know their music going into it (like I did) you will still have a good time guaranteed. Click here for more of my photos from the show!

Over the past four days I have gone to five shows in a row! Keeping in mind that they would all be a good time, I made an effort to try and give you some visual aids to help you feel like you were there. Let me know if you dig ‘em, and if so I will continue to try and take some A/V samples for y’all. Let me tell you about the good music times!

First on Friday was Tim Fite. I first saw them at SXSW last year playing with Man Man on the recommendation from my friend. I was very impressed with his live show, both entertaining, and a little weird (at first), but very fun! Since March last year I’ve seen him 8 or 9 times, including booking him to play at my school. His shows are always a good time, and even though I know what to expect by now, it’s always fun to see how other people react. Along from watching him and “Sexy Leroy” onstage, he has some video shorts in between songs, and cloned backup singers that show on a projector that add to the visual stimuli. Plus the songs have a great musical range, from acoustic to hip hop to rock. Check out a video from when he played at my school in September (audio NSFW):

My favorite line from this song: “Even though we both sound exactly alike, is that Jadakiss or is that Tim Fite?!”
Also it’s a bummer you can’t see how they use images on the screen :P

Saturday night I hit two shows, but the first was a little meh, so I won’t mention it. But from there I ventured with some friends back into Brooklyn to dance the night away to Chicago remix duo The Hood Internet. I saw them open for Flosstrodamus at CMJ two years ago and they had some great (and unexpected) remixes like The Thermals vs. Katy Perry and Estelle vs. the Ting Tings. You can download all of their mix tapes at their website and have your own dance party!

Sunday night I went and saw Vince from Army of Me play acoustic. I’ve been a fan of his/AOM for many many years now and he still doesn’t disappoint. I am generally not a fan of acoustic stuff, but Vince makes it hard to resist. He played songs from AOM’s most recent album acoustic, some of the new demos that are on their MySpace, and debuting “the greatest song I’ve ever written – so far.” I wish I had gotten that one recorded because I also think it’s a new favorite. But here’s a video of one of the new songs that I also like a lot, tentatively titled Song for a King:

I also have to give a shout out to Lights Resolve who headlined the show. I’ve seen various forms of this band over the years, and I must say I was impressed with the progression of their music to its current state which has dropped the pop and gained the rock. Definitely keep an eye out for them in the future.

Then tonight I saw Jimmy Eat World play Clarity in its entirety, and then some. I’m only a couple steps above a casual JEW fan, but tonight’s show was phenomenal. Clarity is definitely my favorite album of theirs, and it was great that they played the whole thing from start to finish, and the album was released exactly 10 years ago today (2/23/99!). All of the songs sounded amazing, so full and rich. After playing Clarity straight through, they played a handful of other songs, and No Sensitivity was one of them! I’m thinking they may rotate the songs they play after in each city, but I’m glad that was one of them, it’s a good one. Check out a clip of Goodbye Sky Harbor that I took:

Phew! I hope you aren’t audio/video overloaded! I definitely recommend you check out all of the bands I mentioned since they are probably coming to a city near you very soon!

Every now and then I work at events at different venues around New York. This past Friday & Saturday I worked at the Nokia Theater in Times Square. I hate going to that area of town because of all the slowpoke tourists getting in my way when I’m already late and wait for the crosswalk signs to turn when there are clearly no cars coming ::takes deep breath:: Anyway…

Leaving work on the night of Valentine’s Day, I was greeted to this guy waiting on the subway platform:

He was on to me taking photos, I think he’s giving me the stink eye in this one:

And of course I had to catch some video. Sorry about the super fuzzy quality, the battery on my camera died so I had to use my phone for the pix and video:

Only in New York! I love it!

– Alix!

This past Saturday I took part in the 6th annual Idiotarod race in New York City. For those of you unfamiliar with the race, think of the Iditarod that’s run in Alaska, though instead of dogs you have people and instead of a sled you have a shopping cart! Everyone meets in one spot and then race to the first checkpoint, where you can wait for 20 minutes, or compete in mini challenges that will allow you to leave earlier. Then you receive the address of the next checkpoint which you run to and compete in more shenanigans.

This was my second time participating and it’s a pretty brutal race. On top of the sabotages from other racers (that are legal and encouraged) such as the possibility of a fake checkpoint, lots of food and condiments being thrown, and even bowling balls being dropped in your cart to make it heavier, the whole race is 5 miles long! For someone who is as professionally lazy as I am, this is the most daunting part. However, I overcame this feat with only a sore knee afterwards, along with getting pegged in the face with a handful of flour and someone lining our shopping cart handle with ketchup.

Teams are also strongly encouraged (if not required) to come up with a team theme and dress up, the most ridiculous and over the top the better! I had the brilliant idea (if I do say so myself) of having our theme be The Price Is Right, with our official team name being The Price Is Wrong, Bitch! The best part being (aside from our sweet t-shirts with Bob Barker’s floating head on them) the spinning showcase showdown wheel in our cart:

I was pretty proud of my mobile creation, and also felt like a badass for a day since I was also the one who stole the cart. Here are some photos of other carts & teams I really enjoyed (in no order):

Fake Work Police Department

Bullfighting team

My friend Leila’s team – the Oregon Trail of DEATH!

Another friend’s team – Wayne’s World (I was Garth for Halloween this year, btw ;)

Batman and Robbins

My whole team at the first checkpoint

And you can see a ton more great photos here and here!

Now it’s time to start brainstorming and training for next year’s race!

– Alix!