Why the key to Knicks victory is at a jazz club
Concert picks for this weekend, channeling cosmic forces for sports glory, and a note from the author
Hey there! It’s been so long. Have you been going to any shows?
Let’s talk about:
concerts and other things to do this weekend
sports superstitions and what they have to do with live music
what you can expect from this newsletter in the next few months
saturday, may 31
Bloc Party, Blonde Redhead, joan at Forest Hills Stadium
It’s opening night at the much loved (and minimally but vocally maligned) outdoor venue, and Bloc Party is bringing “20 Years of Bloc Party: Performing Silent Alarm & Greatest Hits.” Good stuff!
False Starts, Substitute, Genuine Connection at Rippers
Not an ideal beach day but it’s the season opener at the Rockaways’ finest beach burger bar, which has some killer things on the lineup for the rest of the summer.
Billy’s Record Salon moving sale
Where are they moving? Unclear. But it’s time to say goodbye to the shop that was home to an impeccable selection of funk, jazz and rock, plus a lot of fun other stuff in a few short years (including in-stores by Isaiah Collier and Damian Dalla Torre that blew me away). Discounts today and tomorrow. Night diggers note, they’re open till 10pm tonight, if there’s anything left by then.
sunday, june 1
Freaks Day Out with Sloppy Heads, Emergency Group, Vague Plot in Red Hook
Emergency Group’s free-flowing Can-style jams are a reliably zonked-out good time, so this chance to see them for free outside is a winning lottery ticket with your name on it. Sloppy Heads channels the looseness of the Grateful Dead and soft-ferocious duality of Yo La Tengo, and Vague Plot takes things to outer space with yet more instrumental jams.
Show Brain w/ Balaclava, Pons, Abby Jeanne + the Shadowband, Certain Death, Thesaurus Rex at Maria Hernandez Park
The free-park-show-hosters at Show Brain kick off their summer with this gig that harnesses different flavors of punk from uptempo pop-punk to weird noisy mosh music. Just pure chaos.
tuesday, june 3
Otherlands Trio: Stephan Crump, Darius Jones & Eric McPherson at LunÀtico
The level of talent playing at the pint-size Bed-Stuy bar continues to impress. Bassist Crump, saxist Jones and drummer McPherson—all veteran players with deep roots in the scene—air out songs presumably from their group’s debut album coming in the fall.
A note about the 🏀 sports game 🏀 tonight
Elimination games are always fraught affairs. After weeks of breathless playoff viewing, the comforts of normal game-watching—the nacho dips, the light beers, the kinship of your fellow fans—have lost their appeal. The uncertainty! The tension! Now, there are many solid techniques for influencing the outcome of a sporting event from your home: wearing a lucky article of clothing, sitting in a favored seat, praising the other team. But remember, the margin for error is nil. In my experience, no technique is more effective than making plans and doing something else entirely while the game is happening. Grocery shopping? Sure. Walking the dog for the next two hours? Also good! If the entire city of New York left the sports bar and entered a jazz club…well, just use your imagination. Close Up and Bar Bayeux have promising things on the bandstand tonight. Heck, you could even see Kenny Garrett at the Blue Note. Championship viewing if you ask me. Choose wisely!
What to expect from this newsletter
You’ve asked for it, and I’ve listened. I’m going to do my best to keep this coming weekly through the summer. Any comments, requests, suggestions, complaints? More selfies? Less words? Post your thoughts below. See you here a bit more often. ✌️