the Ambassadors – tonight!

Between (a Rock and a Hard Place)

kick off an evening or stay all night….

Coming up next: 06-12-09 – Double Release (Party) with Superfortress, Puracane, the Looking and Puppetbox plus special guests… RSVP now… We’re off on June 19th bumped for some corporate thing or something… see you June 26th! Thanks to our friends and sponsors…! Become a fan on Facebook! Open bar rum from Pyrat!

Hey there! This week, funky rock and roll should be your goal. Even if you are on the dole or have to pay a toll. (Me, I just stroll.) Why go bowl or watch others dance on a pole? Stay in control with live rock and roll and open bar - it’s good for your soul. As always, drink your face off and rock your…. um, you know…. This week’s lineup: 09:00 – the Thang 10:00 – Big Daddy Project 11:00 – Paper & Sand 12:00 – the Ambassadors Special guest DJs St. Maxmus mix it up before, between, and after… RSVP now below… Come dance the night away! You’ll be out very late… Tonight’s info: Free admission before 11 on the Underbelly list (Click me to RSVP at NewYorkUnderbelly.com) – $5 without; After 11, it’s $10 bucks. Come early for the open bar (9-10 pm free rum from Pyrat) and stay late for the buckets of beer! Check out our NEW Bourbon and Bud special for $8 measly bucks too…. Crash Mansion is located at 199 Bowery – that’s Bowery and Spring… click on the left for more deets. Remember, RSVP at the website and we’ll put you on the list…. DATE: Friday 06-05-09 TIME: 9 pm ’til late… LOCATION: Crash Mansion, 199 Bowery (@ Spring) MORE: RSVP at Newyorkunderbelly.com! Click for directions…

RSVP to get on the list for free and reduced admission! Click to NewYorkUnderbelly.com - the New York Underbelly team New York Underbelly email: rsvp@newyorkunderbelly.com web: http://www.newyorkunderbelly.com

Tags: ambassadors, live music, new york, RethinkPopMusic, show, underbelly

Remember the Silver Pathfinder

Have you ever stolen your friends car and drove around town? Have you ever stolen your friend’s silver Pathfinder, drove around screaming, “Remember the silver Pathfinder” as you threw random objects out the windows? Did said friend wake up the next morning and find a yellow boot on the wheel?

Reckless abandonment and sheer wit is quite exhilarating. And when I did such asinine things as mentioned above I felt great. With a Bear Hands show, it all comes back. I spent Wednesday Night/Thursday Morning with said band and as they tore through their set a Mercury Lounge and one thing was certain… these guys are great. Drunk, off key, laying on the stage or spitting into the crowd; Bear Hands can do no wrong. Or maybe they do everything so wrong that it just makes sense.

A band with a pure punk background and pop songwriting abilities puts them in the odd paradigm Jimmy Eat World mastered and soon forgot. But with Val (bass) taking center stage and Dylan (guitar/vocals) lurking in a dark corner anything is possible. Case and point: Val once started taking himself a little too seriously and without missing a chord, Dylan stepped up licked his face and returned to the dark.

If you want some serious description of what they sound like go somewhere else… here’s a video

Tags: bear hands, Concerts, live music, live show, Remember the Silver Pathfinder

One year ago…

Despite sounding like one of those “back in my day” types I must take issue with the show I attended last night. A year ago I saw Ra Ra Riot at Bowery Ballroom which, like last night, was sold out. Unlike last night however, the band had recently lost their drummer/co-writer, John Pike, to a tragic drowning accident. And adding irony to tragedy, their first single, written by Pike, was “Dying is Fine.”

Ra Ra Riot occupied the Bowery stage like petrified children. The moment they started their set it was obvious that this band was destined for greatness. As they played every song  they had ever written the band members playfully smiled, mouthed the lyrics to every song and bounced around in such a way that you knew they were taking in a special moment in their lives. However, the truly astonishing moment came when the music stopped.

At this point I have attended more shows than I can count and I know the feeling of a contrived encore. But at the end of the set the crowd went into a frenzy DEMANDING more music. Wes, along with the rest of Ra Ra Riot, gingerly came back onstage baffled. There was no encore. Ra Ra Riot held nothing back. Every song, every emotion and everything that John would have wanted was accomplished. Then something incredible happened.

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Tags: live music, ra ra riot, review, show