Wake Up! The Roots and John Legend have teamed up to record an album that should be hitting shelves soon. Audiences will have a chance to preview the material and the pairing when this new group plays live at Brooklyn Bowl. Come to Show and Prove and then wander down the street to Brooklyn Bowl and check it out.
The Roots and John Legend
Thursday, June 17th, 8:30 PM
Brooklyn Bowl, Williamsburg
$15
Starting last night, ?uestlove started a five week residency at the one and only Brooklyn Bowl. The funky drummer will be on the steel wheels every night during the month of April and its anyone's guess who will be stoppping by to join him. These shows are recession friendly too with tickets going for five bucks.
?uestlove Residency
Every Thursday night in April
Brooklyn Bowl, Wythe Ave, Williamsburg
$5 in advance
It had been a long time since I'd seen the guys from Soulive.
The last time I saw the group they were touring with a lead singer who shall remain nameless. Instead of playing the fast paced jazz-funk fusion that they built their reputation and following around, the group went with this mellow, sappy, halfhearted soul sound that just didn’t fit. I think the chorus to one song was “Tell me about your day." Lame.
Now I’m sure those tunes ensured they probably did well with the ladies. But for us non-groupies, it was a poor direction for the group.
Eventually they figured it out. That nameless-lead-singer was removed from the act, bringing the unholy trinity of Soulive –- Eric Krasno on guitar, Neal Evans on keys and his brother Alan on drums –- back on track. So when I heard they were playing Brooklyn Bowl with Rahzel and ?uestlove, the date was immediately circled on my calendar.
The line was literally wrapped around the block when I got to Brooklyn Bowl. Not too shabby for a Thursday night in the middle of March. The band was already playing their first set by the time I stepped inside. They were cooking. One good thing about the band (that could also be criticized) is that much of their music sounds similar. This is because a lot of their tunes have composition sections which sound similar on the surface, while also having their own unique twists and subtleties. The distinction in their music comes in the varying improvisational and solo sections. The result is that Soulive's main “groove” is consistent with the solos, despite the solos being what differentiates each song.
Point is, when I walked in they were grooving just fine and I didn’t feel like I missed a beat because of the consistency of their sound.
Everyone in the place was having a good time -- dancing, drinking, bowling, and engaging in other conscious-altering activities, with Soulive's nasty funk as the musical backdrop. Brooklyn Bowl is a great place to see a show and it also seems like a venue that musicians genuinely enjoy playing. The crowd was in somewhat of a frenzy and the band definitely seemed aware of it, bringing out the big guns all night. They covered some Stevie Ray Vaughn (“Lenny,” I think) and some Stevie Wonder (I think?). Life was good.
Towards the end of the set, Alan and Neil were completely locked in to the point where they were finishing each others musical sentences with Kraz cutting in, around and over the top with blisteringly tasteful guitar lines. Everything was getting crazy when out came the horn section -- the Shady Horns. Nice.
After a brief setbreak, ?uestlove stepped up on a little DJ stand behind the main dance floor and started spinning. He didn’t loudly announce himself or anything. Few people realized what was going on. Recognizing the chance, I realized this was the perfect opportunity to get up close to ?uestlove and snag a picture for Brooklyn Bodega, using the fact that we're both bearded as assistance……..No such luck. So much for the unifying powers of facial hair.
After ?uestlove’s brief DJ set, Rahzel hit the main stage for a mini set of his own. He warmed up with a few beats and then took requests from the audience. An old school theme was decided upon and Rahzel went into “Wu Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthing ta F Wit.” I’m not sure if it was before or after the song, but at some point he pointed out that it’s a little crazy that Wu-Tang is now considered “old school.” Another topic for another day. He finished his set with “If Your Mother Only Knew” and “Jesus Walks.” This was my first time seeing Rahzel live all by himself and it was amazing. He hums, sings, and beatboxes and melody of a song all at the same time. He's skilled in the way that he uses the microphone to accentuate what sound he is going for at any particular time. It’s an impressive thing to witness.
As Rahzel wrapped up, Soulive stepped back on stage and they segued into a tune with Rahzel rapping over the top and ?uestlove pounding on drums (instead of Alan). They held this arrangement for most of the night (Alan played guitar and congas). Rahzel was eventually replaced by Nigel Hall. Nigel got on the mic and strutted around, contorting himself like a young James Brown. Happily it wasn’t just a figment of my imagination or a bourbon hallucination.
With ?uestlove playing the role of the Funky Drummer, this mash-up of musicians played an entire James Brown set that -- for what it may have lacked in finesse -- contained ample showmanship and energy. It takes a lot of cojones to go out and try to replicate such a legendary artist for an entire set. These guys did the Godfather justice. “Superbad,” “Soul Power,” “Gimme Some More,” and my favorite, “Tighten Up” were absolute highlights. By the time they finished, there were a lot of hot and sweaty smiling faces in the audience. The show ran late and I was glad I stayed up way past my bedtime. I think that ?uestlove spun again after the James Brown set but, unfortunately, I wasn’t around to see it.
His funky drumming wore me out.
The funkiest trio out there is going to be warming up Brooklyn during the ides or March. Soulive Brothers Alan and Neal Evans, on drums and Hammond B-3 organ, respectively, form two-thirds of the group with Eric Krasno rounding them out on guitar.
Soulive is all about danceable, organ-driven instrumental groove-jazz. Their success is a result of fusing the soul-jazz of the past with a modern hip-hop feel. There are going to be multiple guests throughout the shows so you never know who is going to show up on a given night. Talib Kweli has been performing at Brooklyn Bowl quite a bit lately.....
Bowlive
March 2-6 and March 9-13, 9PM
Brooklyn Bowl, 61 Wythe Ave, Williamsburg
$10 Weeknights, $12.50 Weekends
Groove Collective, DJ Logic, Bernie Worrell, Lonnie Smith Trio
Tuesday, January 19th, 8PM
Le Poisson Rouge, Manhattan
$20
http://lepoissonrouge.com
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Robert Randolph and the Family Band
Wednesday, January 20th, 9PM
Brooklyn Bowl, Williamsburg
$25
http://www.brooklynbowl.com/
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Hearts for Haiti
Wednesday, January 20, 7 PM
Arena, 135 w 41st b/w Broadway+6th
$20 minimum donation
NYC's #1 promoters and deejays unite for haiti at a GORGEOUS venue and will be playing it all. -rap/r&b/reggae/classics/old school/pop/80s/haitian konpa+zouk room downstairs
dj clue/d nice/tony touch/ted smooth/m.o.s./kiss/jon quick/mick boogie/dj franky
7 to 12 - open bar 7 to 8:30 by hennessy - min $20 donation - Attire in good taste
They will be collecting food/medicine/first aid kits/blankets/purify tablets/etc
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Brooklyn Bowl announces a second Haiti relief benefit to
take place tomorrow, January 21, 2010. Brooklyn Bowl regulars, Q-Tip and
?uestlove will team up at the Williamsburg venue/bowling alley/restaurant
this Thursday offering a pair of DJ sets. Additionally, Blue Ribbon will
prepare special Haitian-themed dishes for the evening. All concert proceeds
will be donated to the Red Cross Haiti
?uestlove and Q-Tip (DJ Sets) Plus special guest - TALIB KWELI
Thursday, January 21st, 9PM
Brooklyn Bowl, Williamsburg
$10
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moe and Special Guests
Friday, January 22nd, 8PM
The Roseland Ballroom, NYC
$42.50
http://www.livenation.com/edp/eventId/415641/?c=api-000044-cj-2726396-sid-
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HUGE HAITI BENEFIT
Sunday, January 24th, 8 PM
Santo's Party House, Manhattan
$10-$20 Donation
Performances by:J-LIVE | G.O.D (Pitchblack) | Agallah Don Bishop | Wise Intelligent | Jeru the Damaja | Hasan Salaam | Rugged N Raw | Donny Goines | Lex911 | NinaB | Cymarshall Law | Rebel Starr | Ekko | YCtheCynic | Eboi Da Rebel | DCQ | Mala Reignz | Rebel Diaz | Dedan Kasimu | Chace Infinite | Platinum Mustache | Marcel Cartier | UMI | Mz FeFe + G3mz
Dance Party & LIVE ART! DJ Johnny Juice (Public Enemy) | DJ Vega Benneton | DJ Supreme | DJ Absolut | ArtHaus LIVE | Rosemary Gonzalez + Terry Fay-Hamilton | Rebecca | Joseph Thomas II | AEON CRUNC | Art by Gia | Justin Wischik | Rosies Are Dred | Gianna | Sopita | Michael McManus | Josama | Lexi Bella | Lindsey Vincenty | Screening of The Lost Tapes Trailer & The Ballot or The Bullet.
All proceeds of this event go towards YÉLE HAITI & The Rural Haiti Project and they will be collecting medical supplies/medicines.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Bono, Alicia Keys, Sting, Justin Timberlake and others.
Haiti Benefit Telethon
Wyclef Jean will be co-hosing the event along with George Clooney.
The live event is scheduled to air on Friday, January 22 on ABC, NBC, HBO, CNN and MTV.
Proceeds from the event will be distributed via the Red Cross, Oxfam and Yele Haiti Foundation.
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JIMMY FALLON
New York State Senator DIANE SAVINO
COLD WAR KIDS
TED LEO
THE WRENS
SONDRE LERCHE
EUGENE MIRMAN
AC NEWMAN of NEW PORNOGRAPHERS with RHETT MILLER of OLD 97s and NICOLE ATKINS as THE SEEKERS.
Wednesday, January 27th @ 6pm
The Bell House
$50
http://www.thebellhouseny.com/calendar.php
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Four upcoming shows at CITY WINERY:
Wednesday, Jan 20th
Patti Smith, Swell Season, Josh Ritter, John Wesley Harding.
BUY TICKETS.
Thursday, Jan 21st
Lewis Black, Vernon Reid & Corey Glover of Living Colour, Rich Pagano & The Sugarcane Cups, Marshall Crenshaw, David Johansen.
BUY TICKETS.
Sunday, Jan 24th
Rosanne Cash, Madeleine Peyroux.
BUY TICKETS.
Monday, Jan. 25th
15 Indie Artists TBA.
http://www.citywinery.com/
From NYT
As New York struggles to resurrect its economy, it needs powerful new engines of growth. Wall Street may look sturdier, but it will never be the old Wall Street again, when $10 routinely became $1 million during your lunch break. Another eruption in real estate prices? Dubious. The new sports stadiums? Not going to get us there.
There must be an answer.
There is.
Bowling alleys.
Been over to the Port Authority Bus Terminal for anything other than a bus? Gone to the second floor, next to Gate 230? Noticed the velvet ropes staffed by a black-suited bouncer, earpiece nuzzling his ear?
Why is he there? To select the appropriate customers to bowl at the overhauled Leisure Time Bowl. Yes, there is a dress code at the bowling alley.
“We don’t allow those real large jeans that almost fall off your hips,” said Ayman Kamel, the executive general manager there. “Or those bandannas that represent gangs. None of those big visual gold chains.”
How about a bowling shirt?
“Well, as long as it’s a fine-looking shirt,” he said.
By month’s end, the place will be renamed Frames, and it will open a swank restaurant and V.I.P. lanes (two private lanes with bar), followed by a nightclub later in the year. The entrance will be on Ninth Avenue since the Port Authority is, well, the Port Authority.
Farther down the block, at 42nd and 12th Avenue, is Lucky Strike Lanes, another upscale alley that opened late in 2008 and is an offshoot of a chain that began in Hollywood. Alleys in other boroughs may follow. In Greenwich Village, there is Bowlmor Lanes, a front-runner among the contemporized alleys that was restyled under new ownership in 1997. Three months ago it opened a companion Coney Island games-and-burlesque club called Carnival.
In October, a 90,000-square-foot Bowlmor alley is set to open as the largest retail tenant in the former New York Times building on West 43rd Street. It will cost over $20 million.
In 2007, a comforter factory in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, became the Gutter bar, with a retro eight-lane alley, the first new one to open in Brooklyn in half a century. Brooklyn Bowl, a combination music club/bowling alley fashioned out of an old iron foundry, followed in Williamsburg last summer. Harlem Lanes arrived in 2006 on West 126th Street, the first bowling alley in Harlem since the Lenox Lanes vanished in the 1980s. These join the more established 300 New York alley at Chelsea Piers.
O.K., maybe this trend isn’t big enough to lift the entire city, but it’s something.
Get ready for a moment in New York City party history, the Freedom Party vs. The Rub live at Brooklyn Bowl! These Two iconic crews of DJs face off on one stage, letting their music styles speak to an audience of music lovers. The Freedom Party is made up of DJs Cosi, Marc Smooth and Herbert Holler is the most successful, sought-after dance party in New York City. For the last 7+ years, on a weekly basis, each and every Friday night the Freedom Party has been a driving force on the New York City party scene. The Rub, DJ Ayres, Cosmo Baker and DJ Eleven, known for their blend of eclectic music has a following that also spans 7 + years. The Rub sets the stage for people with different musical tastes to find something to dance to: the dirtiest of the dirty south, earth-shaking electro, some dub/roots, and all that good hip-hop from coast to coast. These styles get put into The Rub's blender and creatively mashed out with one goal in mind: to make you move.
Freedom Party versus the Rub
Sunday, January 17th, 9 PM
Brooklyn Bowl, 61 Wythen Ave, Williamsburg
$10
One of the Bodega's favorite artists, Q-Tip, is going to be getting the new year started off right with a performance in the county of kings. Brooklyn Bowl is hosting the event and they are running a pretty sweet promotion via twitter:
@BrooklynBowl New Years Resolutions Giveaway!!
YOU plus five of your friends could be @BrooklynBowl VIP for New Years 2010! Enter to win 6 passes for you and your friends including a $100 Food and Beverage Tab, complimentary bottle of champagne at midnight, and 1 custom art/poster, signed by New Years performers! (Retailed at $500.00) <– ($40/person entrance x6, $100 food/bev, $60/champagne toast, $100/signed poster)
@BrooklynBowl will be collecting New Years Resolution Tweets until December 28th with trending topic #NYresolutionBB. On December 28th at NOON @BrooklynBowl will pick the BEST NEW YEARS RESOLUTION as the winner of the NYE Giveaway.
Brooklyn Bodega is proud to be a media sponsor for this event so come pop a some bottles, support us, support Brooklyn Bowl, and support live Hip-Hop!
Q-Tip, Damfunk, Pimps of Joytime and DJ Concerned
New Year's Eve
Brooklyn Bowl, 61 Wythe Ave, Williamsburg
$35 - $40 Day of Show
If you have never seen Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, do yourself a favor and check her out on New Year's Eve, Eve. She's got soul, the band has chops, and they are wound super tight, like an alarm clock that always goes off on time. The Dap Kings are also signed on BK's own Daptone Records so come out and support the locals. The Godfather of Soul ain't around no more but Sharon may be the new Queen. The Ivan Milev Band will also be performing.
Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings
Wednesday, December 30th, 9PM
Brooklyn Bowl, 61 Wythe Ave, Williamsburg
$20
$5 in advance
Everyone in the place was having a good time -- dancing, drinking, bowling, and engaging in other conscious-altering activities, with Soulive's nasty funk as the musical backdrop. Brooklyn Bowl is a great place to see a show and it also seems like a venue that musicians genuinely enjoy playing. The crowd was in somewhat of a frenzy and the band definitely seemed aware of it, bringing out the big guns all night. They covered some Stevie Ray Vaughn (“Lenny,” I think) and some Stevie Wonder (I think?). Life was good.
Towards the end of the set, Alan and Neil were completely locked in to the point where they were finishing each others musical sentences with Kraz cutting in, around and over the top with blisteringly tasteful guitar lines. Everything was getting crazy when out came the horn section -- the Shady Horns. Nice.
After a brief setbreak, ?uestlove stepped up on a little DJ stand behind the main dance floor and started spinning. He didn’t loudly announce himself or anything. Few people realized what was going on. Recognizing the chance, I realized this was the perfect opportunity to get up close to ?uestlove and snag a picture for Brooklyn Bodega, using the fact that we're both bearded as assistance……..No such luck. So much for the unifying powers of facial hair.
After ?uestlove’s brief DJ set, Rahzel hit the main stage for a mini set of his own. He warmed up with a few beats and then took requests from the audience. An old school theme was decided upon and Rahzel went into “Wu Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthing ta F Wit.” I’m not sure if it was before or after the song, but at some point he pointed out that it’s a little crazy that Wu-Tang is now considered “old school.” Another topic for another day. He finished his set with “If Your Mother Only Knew” and “Jesus Walks.” This was my first time seeing Rahzel live all by himself and it was amazing. He hums, sings, and beatboxes and melody of a song all at the same time. He's skilled in the way that he uses the microphone to accentuate what sound he is going for at any particular time. It’s an impressive thing to witness.
As Rahzel wrapped up, Soulive stepped back on stage and they segued into a tune with Rahzel rapping over the top and ?uestlove pounding on drums (instead of Alan). They held this arrangement for most of the night (Alan played guitar and congas). Rahzel was eventually replaced by Nigel Hall. Nigel got on the mic and strutted around, contorting himself like a young James Brown. Happily it wasn’t just a figment of my imagination or a bourbon hallucination.
