Results tagged “beirut”

The NY Times looks at some of New York's indie elite in their Men's Style Magazine this weekend. So incase you were wondering what last night's SNL music guests, Vampire Weekend, wear when they aren't decked out in their Columbia University alum apparel, now you know: Marc Jacobs. Or at least that's how The Times translates it.

There is no denying the greatness of Justice's album, "Cross," and there is no argument from us that it isn't the type of music that is perfectly suited to be blasted in a massive dance club. But those two things alone do not automatically lead to a good live show. These two are sloppy, to put it simply. Too many changes were missed, beats were a half step off, and the songs didn't mix well together. There was no catastrophic breakdown, but the little things add up. We left Terminal 5 underwhelmed. The light show was cool, though... (pic via pocketmonsterd's flickr)

In 2006, at age 19, musician Zach Condon and his band Beirut exploded onto the indie-rock scene with a dramatic collection of Balkan-inspired arrangements for horn, ukulele, keyboards and strings. The bloggers raved, the venues got bigger, the haters left comments. But less than a year later, the teen’s too-sudden indie-rock apotheosis landed him in the hospital for “extreme exhaustion” and forced the cancellation of a tour that included sold-out dates at Bowery Ballroom. Condon has since rallied back and, in addition to a new album coming out next month, has picked up his touring pace again.

Joe's Pub is going uptown and outdoors for some shows this month, and we've got your tickets to a few of the performances.

Not too long ago Ronen Givony started the Wordless Music Series, which is pretty much just what it sounds like it would be. Sonic worlds collide and fuse classical with indie, jazz with electronic and listeners with instrumental-only music. In the next week audiences will enjoy the sounds of Do Make Say Think and Beirut from an intimate setting for just such an experience.

Designer Michael Bierut has details over at the Pentagram blog on how he and his team created the recently installed sign at The New York Times Building, the 52-story tower designed by Renzo Piano and FXFowle.

It seems that every time The White Stripes fade away for a year or two, people seem to forget exactly how amazing they can be live. Perhaps it takes a show like the one at Irving Plaza last Tuesday...filled with hardcore, line-waiting fans and eager and excited members of the media to really drive home just how good a show Jack White puts on, and exactly how impressive Meg is to keep up with him (though not everyone agrees). Those in attendance were in for a treat, as any time an arena band brings it down for a club show, it's always a spectacle. We were floored at Keyspan Park two years ago, and are excited to see them bring it to another level at the Garden next month. Read the reviews at Productshop, The Modern Age, and Stereogum, to (name a few in attendance.) (Pic Via DanFun)

READINGS: Papermag points out an interesting reading tonight for "Queens of the Kingdom: The Ultimate Gay and Lesbian Guide to the Disney Theme Parks."

Story of the Year: Beirut

THEATER: If you want to avoid the first, hottest days of Fringe fever, a quieter alternative would be Mary Gage's Evensong, which she wrote after interviewing 6 senior citizens in Michigan. Using a sort of jazz composition style, with solos and chorus, Gage weaves their very different tales and bits of life wisdom together into one coherent thread that affirms how much their generation struggled on behalf of this country, motivated by a belief in it that would be smarmy if it weren't quite real.

As we've said before, it can be hard to figure out how to write about the conflict in the Middle East when writing a 'blog about New York'. But then a photograph like this one comes our way.

Firedancer from sgoralnick's Greenpoint BBQ over the weekend. What, you don't have firedancers at your BBQs?

Mayor Bloomberg, Police Commissioner Kelly, and representatives from the Port Authority and FBI gave a press conference about the tunnel terror plot a few hours ago. This morning, the Daily News revealed that officials had "foiled" a plot to flood the city Katrina-style (no matter how technically unfeasible it would be), sending people into a tailspin, both the "crap, no" and the "the government is making this too big a deal" kinds. From the NY Times:

Mark J. Mershon, the agent in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's New York office, said at a news conference this afternoon that Lebanese officials had taken the plot's "mastermind" into custody in Beirut and that he had confessed. Mr. Mershon said that the Lebanese officials had identified the suspect as Assem Hammoud, a 31-year-old Lebanese native, and reported that Mr. Hammoud had sworn allegiance to Al Qaeda.Mr. Mershon said two of the other eight people he described as "principal players" in the plot had been taken into custody in other countries, although none had yet been charged with any crimes. He said that an investigation was continuing, involving six countries on three continents.

Continue reading "Tunnel Terror Plot Press Conference"

We know what you're thinking...wasn't this guy SO three weeks ago? Perhaps, but what was lost in the amazing flurry of buzz and hype is that this kid has played like two shows ever. Not to mention he didn't even have his full band together. Now, after some deep breaths, he's back for real. With a horn section and everything. And we expect his already stunning live show to gain that much more depth and richness. They will be at Northsix next Tuesday, June 20th, and last time we checked, the show wasn't sold out yet. Now is the time to see if all the attention is deserved. It took us a couple listens, but we've come around in a big way.

EVENT: The only thing better than a tag sale is a swap sale. It's pretty much like going through a friends closet and taking what you fancy. Tonight, free up some of your own closet space and bring down all the clothes you want to get rid of to Thrift On! Others will do the same, and you'll likely go home with some goodies to fill up all that newly found closet space of yours.

Frog Eyes and Sunset Rubdown (despite having border problems) will be taking over Mercury Lounge two nights this week. Sunset Rubdown is Wolf Parade keyboardist Spencer Krug's side project, and he produced a beautiful album this year entitled, Shut Up I Am Dreaming. It got an 8.6 on Pitchfork, just a few points below last years Wolf Parade rating. Anyway, point is...it's good. If you go to the show tonight you can catch Beirut as an opener, see if his 2nd time out impresses the bloggers a bit more than his last show. Wednesday night you'll see Bedroom Walls opening.

Another week begins and it's time to start penciling in some shows. Tonight, The Concretes are back! The Scandinavian 8+ person band will be playing Bowery Ballroom. While over at Sin-e King of France, Less and Dawn Landes play a more intimate gig.

The night you've been waiting for is finally here. Come support the Street Vendor Project of the Urban Justice Center and taste the wares of the finalists you selected at the Vendy Awards. There will be an open bar of wine and beer, and the finalists will be selling their food (at their usual street-level prices) to guests in attendance. A team of esteemed judges will determine the winner. After the honors are bestowed, DJ Diallo Internationale will spin world music into the night.$35 tickets available online or at the door. 7-10:30 pm, 27 East 4th Street in Manhattan.

Tonight through October 31, Solange Fabiao's video of Shanghai and Nanjing will be projected onto a screen at the corner of Canal and Centre Streets. The footage, part of Fabiao's Transitio series, is from the perspective of a car passenger going through various neighborhoods. At 40 minutes long, it loops from 6:30PM until 11PM each of the twelve nights. Fabiao's video of New York City was projected in Beirut last year, and projections in eight other cities (including Beijing in 2006, LA, Rio, Milan and Osaka) are planned. Gothamist will definitely be down there one night this week - it'll be grea to see the reaction of Chinatown residents who might be seeing home again though this.

Ng declined to comment on the incident, saying that only that there was an incident at the hotel and she had spoken to Duquette. She was also an assistant general manager for the Yankees, and her former boss, current Yankees GM Brian Cashman, had stepped in between Ng and Singer during the exchange. When Mets General Manager Jim Duquette met with Singer, Singer tried to excuse his behavior by saying his "low-carbohydrate diet" combined with alcohol caused him a chemical imbalance. A Mets source says, ""That didn't wash with Jim and it sure as hell won't wash with [Mets owner] Fred [Wilpon]. Plain and simple, there's no excuse for that kind of behavior, and there's no saving this guy." The irony is that Singer supposedly has "ties to the Pacific Rim" - which we take to mean, is good at scouting Japanese players.