Results tagged “underground”

The bleak underground recently got a little brighter with the Xylopholks (who you've seen here before). The ragtime-playin' troupe dons colorful, furry costumes while they play in the subway system, including a Cookie Monster, a chicken, a pink gorilla, and a skunk. They recently talked to Flavorpill about the upcoming humid season, and said, "When we first started out, Pinky (Bridget) thought about doing a swimsuit version for the summer." This might even draw more attention from the cops, however, who have already nabbed them for playing illegally. Check out their style in the video...

The artsy technology geeks at Eyebeam really outdid themselves with last night's sold-out "MIXER Underground" by turning their warehouse-size Chelsea space into an elaborate labyrinth and rock club. The place was swarming with giddy artists who must have spent weeks building their massive DIY creation, and the enthusiasm was contagious, evoking the spirit of the old Rubulad parties when they started in pre-gentrified South Williamsburg. There was a robotic bartender hidden away behind a fake closet, and the maze itself was filled with video installations, living sculptures, human rats, and electronic insects. On a high stage at the far end of the room, Roxy Cottontail and Judi Chicago churned out frenetic dance music, and vendors roamed the crowd with coolers of cheap beer. What more could you ask for? (Actually, some hash brownies would have been nice.) The parties are thrown quarterly, so check their website again in the winter if you want in.

Recently a group traveled underground to the oldest subway tunnel in the world, rediscovered by Bob Diamond in 1980. It's dark, dirty and allegedly filled with ghosts! Located on Atlantic Avenue, it sounds like the perfect place for a haunted Halloween. Here's some more info on the mysterious underground space, that long went hidden.

The Atlantic Avenue Tunnel was built in seven months in 1844 by the Long Island Rail Road to relieve congestion in downtown Brooklyn. It was part of a rail network that eventually took passengers to Boston. For mainly political reasons, it was closed not too many years after it opened; the last train ran through it in 1859. In 1861, the tunnel was sealed up. In time, it became sort of an urban legend, and many stories were born about it and what uses some people may be putting it to.

Some of the rumors surrounding the tunnel included the FBI suspecting German terrorists were making bombs there, which was followed by murmurs of mushroom growing and bootleg whiskey stills being housed there. These stories, as well those of spies and dead bodies, both warranted the unsealing and resealing of the tunnel.

While the MTA starts taking seats out of the subway cars, the Take a Seat project is continuously building up their public furniture installation which brings in more seats to subway stations. "Perfectly functional chairs are rescued from trash piles and reassigned to stations where limited seating options leave subway patrons no choice but to stand for extended periods of time." Great idea as long as the rescued furniture isn't infested with bed bugs (like some street finds and subway benches can be)!

Starting this September the History Channel will be airing their new series, Sandhogs. The eleven episodes will focus on the people and the projects that maintain New York City's infrastructure, from the past to the present. They say, "For more than 150 years, a legendary band of mostly unknown urban miners has toiled in obscurity far below the streets of New York. They are the builders of water and sewage tunnels, subway systems and bridge footings, and underappreciated elements of the city's infrastructure."

The subway ad mash-up artist has been hard at work underground. Here's some of the latest creations, including a shot of a poster he was still working on when someone snapped a picture.

Scaremongering just hit a whole new level underground, with Subivor -- the subway survival kit. The website (after a short video montage of all the ways the subway will ultimately become your tomb) warns straphangers:

Dear Subway Commuters,

Continue reading "Surviving the Subway with Subivor "

Merging urban exploration with something akin to La Blogotheque's Take Away Shows, the below video gives a glimpse at what's hidden in the Atlantic Avenue Tunnel underneath Downtown Brooklyn while performer Greg "Cosmo D" Heffernan scores the journey.

Brooklyn Ink tells us that the first rule of Punk Rock Pillow Fight is you do not talk about Punk Rock Pillow Fight. This is also the second rule, so you have most likely never heard of this underground feathered fight.The anonymous arena for this event is like Fight Club for hipsters. We exaggerate (slightly) but were forewarned not to give away too much about the pillow fight’s underground location in Bushwick. Two rows of...