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Lists are one of my favorite things. Top fives and tens, the best of this and that, what I need from the store, etc. I do, however, have a problem with lots of published 'Best of' lists: they include compilations. Comps and collections are ringers in a pool of studio records; they are essentially super-albums, the best-of the best of. This manner of list should only rank studio albums, unless it is a 'Best Compilation' list, otherwise it would be a very short list. This issue aside, Blender does have some pretty good lists.
Sunday the 17th of September was a sad night for punk rock in New York's Bowery, as the Continental closed its doors after a show for the last time. It's going to be turned into a bar, which is basically what it was, a bar with a stage. It's those clubs that are usually the best, like Baltimore's Sidebar. It's a bar with a stage, but every show there is a good time, there's usually not enough room for the bend onstage, so they play from the floor, there's just an amazing sense of intimacy in places like these, and they're a dying breed. Aside from the Continental being a legendary venue, it was a good one, which is what makes this closure really sad. A lot of venues become legendary, but once you get there, there's not much beyond the history other than terrible acoustics and filthy bathrooms. The Continental had it all. Great sound, huge crowd/band interaction, AND the history. There aren't many clubs out there like it today, but I'm going to try to find one. I need a place to call home until I open my own. What did make the night really special for me was that between some of the sets, they played Joe Strummer's final album, Streetcore, which seemed oddly appropriate, as it was recorded before he suddenly died back in '02, and on this night, it seemed as though the death of the Continental was nearly as sudden. All of the songs are always poignant, but they really ushered out an era the other night, better than almost anything else. Oh yeah, the bands were good. I'd wanted to see the Bullys for a while, so it was good to see them, and the Ramones set was memorable, to say the least. Oi.
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is there really punk in NYC anymore? i keep hearing of things being shutdown, and punk being dead in new york. or is it just being pushed further underground and into abandoned warehouses?
This was a great summer of shows. I got to see a bunch of different bands play, some of which I never thought I would have the opportunity to see, and some others I'd been wanting to see for a while. Stiff Little Fingers put on a great show. It was easily one of the best all summer. Their first two records are amazing (Inflammable Material and Nobody's Heros) and their most recent effort, Guitar and Drum, is superisingly great. I would go to see them again in an instant. I never got to see the Clash play, but now that I've seen SLF and Billy Bragg, I like to think I've had a sort of similar experience. Another defining show was the Bouncing Souls album release show in New York on the first of June with the World/Inferno Friendship Society. That was a show and a half. I still can't believe that my friends and I made it up from Baltimore without something terrible happening. It was a great show, both band's new records are great. (The Gold Record and Red Eyed Soul, respectively). I saw Rancid play all three nights at the Black Cat in DC. They were better than they were the last time I saw them, Tim seemed more alive, and the sets were so different, and the Black Cat is so small, and I was on 'vacation' for the only time all summer. It was just a great few nights. The hhighlights were Billy Bragg's To Have and to Have Not, acoustic; Black Derby Jacket; Dead Bodies; Hooligans; Radio; and clearing the pit for Avenues & Alleyways. There were more, but I don't have a set list in front of me. That's the condensed version. I figured I needed to post about something as my Mog is still 'under the radar,' whatever that means. Oi.
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Wow, Maryland to NY for a show! Impressive! Glad you made it without a hitch. :) I couldn't even get from Albany to Brooklyn to see Guster without my car breaking down. :)
I was thrilled to see Gin Blossoms (who I didn't know were still together, touring and putting out new music), Toad The Wet Sprocket (who randomly put together some post break-up dates, one of which I miraculously was able to check out on my California vacation) and Guster.
I guess summer will be over by the time I go, but I might get to check out the Gin Blossoms again, and maybe the Raconteurs when I go visit my sister in a week.
Stiff Little Fingers live...I'm jealous.
And, as great as SLF and Billy Bragg are, I just don't think it could even come close to seeing a Clash show...wish I had had that opportunity. If I could travel anywhere it would be London 1976-77. See the Clash, Pistols, Buzzcocks, Damned, etc. And often at that!
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theres nothing like the best of the best....