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CONCERTS |
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Past shows Antibalas Stereo Lab Camper van Beethoven Arlo Guthrie Kirstin Hersh Yo La Tengo Polyphonic Spree Venues Iriving Plaza Bowery Ballroom |
When
I moved here I thought I would be going to see show all the time. It
hasn't really worked out that way but I am starting to check out the music
scene. Like Austin there are hundreds of bands playing every week
with names I have never heard of. There are also mainstream or
recognizable bands that play every week. The conflict is whether to
go see the bands you know or to check out new bands to discover new
music. Hopefully I can find a happy middle ground.
Friday March 23 ANTIBALAS + Free Radicals It was Friday late morning in Central Park and I was eating a donut, drinking coffee and flipping through the Village Voice looking for a band to check out. I saw that the Psychedelic Furs were playing and thought what it would be a cool show to check out. I told V and she asked where they were playing so I opened the Voice and showed her the address. Unfortunately the venue was somewhere on Long Island. That was okay though because I saw a two line blurb about some band called Antibalas that might be pretty cool. V was down, so our plans were set for Friday night. The venue was called No Moore Bar and in TriBeCa. This was the first time V and I had been in Tribeca at night and we both had a good feeling of the area as soon as got off the train. The area had bars, restaurants and clubs just like the village or SoHo but seemed less pretentious. We wandered around and found the bar on North Moore street, hence No Moore Bar. The bar was nice inside with an L shaped bar, couches and little tables and chairs. Next to the entrance were double doors that led to the area where the band would play. We got there before the doors opened so we hung out and grabbed some drinks. After 10 minutes or so I noticed people going in so V and I wandered in to look for a place to sit. The concert area was small had a cool layout. We walked in to the second floor which was L shaped and looked down to the stage and an open area in the middle. The open area looked like a dance floor. On the first floor there was another bar and table and chairs that lined the walls around the "dance floor". We sat at a table on the second floor with an excellent view of the stage and dance floor below. After 15 minutes or so the first band, Free Radicals came on and started their set with a slow groovy funk song. From what I remember there was a trumpet player, 2 sax players, drummer, bongo player, guitarist and bassist. I haven't checked out to many funk band so I can't really describe them other than saying they were Bad Ass. It was a great show. The Voice described them as: "Their freewheeling jams are haunted by the ghosts of Garcia, Hendrix, and Marley." Another cool thing is they were from Houston. If you here of the Free Radicals playing near you - go see them, you will love it. After the Free Radicals an army of people started setting for the next band. I soon figured out that the small army was the band, Antibalas. Okay let me see if I can get this right. There were 4 people playing brass - trumpet, trombone, different types of saxes and other stuff, drummer, keyboardist, 3 bongo players, bassist, guitarist, guy playing sticks, guy shaking this thing with beads attached to it and the singer. This was quite impressive because like every place in New York the stage was small. To describe the music I would say reggae, funk, ska and big band. V describes the music as civilized tribal music. What ever you call it the sound was incredible and the band brought the house down. Two great shows. It made me happy the Psychedelic Furs were playing in Long Island.
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