Results tagged “octopusproject”

COMEDY: This weekend marks the 9th Annual Del Close Marathon. Del Close, if you don't know by now, "was the driving force behind improvisational comedy in Chicago for over 30 years influencing Bill Murray, Tina Fey, Mike Myers, John Belushi, Chris Farley and the Upright Citizens Brigade to name a few." The annual weekend began after Del's passing in 1999.

That's an awful, awful pun and we do apologize. These mini headlines aren't easy! The Pool Parties are officially in full swing, and we took a trip out to McCarren this weekend for the diverse lineup of OCDJ, Dan Deacon, Erase Errata and The Octopus Project. While all four bands put on a solid show, the standout was clearly Deacon, who set up his gadgets and widgets on a fold-out table at the base of the stage on the pool surface. The massive crowd (probably the largest he's performed for yet) all huddled around the table, as per usual, jumping and dancing and cheering along. There will be a constant adjustment period for Dan Deacon over the next year or so as he copes with playing intimate basement music to an ever expanding fan base. If Sunday's show was any indication, there may be some rough patches, but he'll always figure out a way to make it work. (pic via occipital lobe's flickr)

MUSIC: There's no better way to end the week by heading over to the Seaport Music Festival on a Friday evening. Sit on the pier with a glass of wine and watch some bands as the sun goes down. The water and ships provide the perfect summer backdrop. Tonight Fujiya & Miyagi will get you moving with some dance beats and Black Moth Super Rainbow will stick to the synth-rock.

We've never handed our tickets to the door guy at a show before and been asked if we wanted to get a table and buy a bottle. But this, I suppose, is what you get when you go see a show on 16th street and 10th ave. Our experience at the new High Line Ballroom felt as if we were living the opening scene of a Law and Order episode, where at any second some over-tanned I-banker would come stumbling out of the bathroom covered in blood as everybody runs towards the exit. The thumping music, the blinding lights and this lingering sense of false superiority reeked of a disaster, but the ambiance aside, both Spankrock and Ghostface put on one hell of a show. Each act managed to cram as many people as possible on the stage, all rocking and flopping about to the music. Even fellow Wu-Tanger RZA came up briefly at the mic for a brief cameo. Live hip-hop shows are often a mixed bag for us, but while this one started out a bit sketch, it ended with a huge bang. (pic via Gaelenh's Flickr)

If you missed out on tickets to the Futureheads tonight there are still a lot of other great shows this week. Tonight we suggest the Epochs. We were handed their cd upon leaving the Arcade Fire show at Irving earlier this month. Upon listening we discovered some uncomparable eclectic electro-acoustic-pop (say that 3 times fast). They play at the Knitting Factory tap bar tonight at 10:30 (for free). Before they go on check out Mommy and Daddy at 8pm downstairs in the Knit's Old Office.