Author: Alec Sugar
-
Becoming Led Zeppelin: Classic Rock on the Big Screen
“Mine’s a tale that can’t be told, my freedom I hold dearHow years ago in days of old, when magic filled the air‘Twas in the darkest depths of Mordor, I met a girl so fairBut Gollum and the Evil One crept up and slipped away with her“ The famous lyrics to “Ramble On” epitomize the Read more
-
Fifth Hammer Brewing Serves Up Hoppy Jazz
It’s not every night that a rubber chicken squawks in the middle of a drum solo, but anything goes when jazz bubbles in a casual setting. Long Island City’s Fifth Hammer Brewing Co offers live music in the Brewside Lounge as eclectic as the beer selection. Wednesdays see brewery owner Chris Cuzme trade in his Read more
-
16 Songs that Tell the Story of Miles Davis
The name Miles Davis is synonymous with cool, creative and visionary. If you’re only familiar in passing, you might wonder why. Miles made a name with his emotive yet un-frilled trumpet sound, but he was more like the conductor of an orchestra than the lead singer of a band. His remarkable ability to bring the Read more
-
4th Time Around the Wood: Bob Dylan & The Beatles
What’s the earliest music you can remember liking? 3-year-old me was often found listening to my parents’ Beatles records, headphones strapped on and a quiet smile across my face. It was around the same age that I memorized the lyrics to the Traveling Wilburys’ “Tweeter and the Monkey Man” and became a Bob Dylan fan. Read more
-
75 Dollar Bill & BASIC @ The Sultan Room, Brooklyn, 12/4/24
I found myself on a recent evening amongst a ragged assembly of bespectacled geeks in a place called The Sultan Room. The centerpiece was a sunken ovular dancefloor with a backdrop of angular light panels evoking the futuristic situation room of a 70s sci-fi. The Sultan Room is entered through a sidedoor of the Turk’s Read more
-
Beat Round 2: Kings Theatre, Brooklyn, 12/8/24
I had the privilege to see Beat a 2nd time last Sunday. I reviewed the first NYC show in a lengthy and detailed post, so I’ll limit these remarks to some brief observations, fun anecdotes and beautiful photos. As a micro-refresher: Beat is the music of progressive rock band King Crimson performed by Crimson alumni Read more
-
Lost Seinfeld Scene – Kramer Gets Tickets to Beat
I’m going to another Beat show this weekend, and feel even more enthusiastic about it than Kramer does. INT. JERRY’S APARTMENT – DAY (Jerry is sitting on the couch flipping through a magazine. George is at the kitchen counter, picking at a bowl of cereal. Elaine is at the table reading a newspaper. Kramer bursts Read more
-
Joe Martin Quartet @ The Village Vanguard, NYC, 11/24/24
Joe Martin looked hip enough to be leading an indie rock band, but he’s a serious jazzman. The audience seemed animated enough it could’ve been a rock concert, but they were there for the jazz. As sax player Mark Turner quietly blew some warm up notes and looked down at his horn dissatisfied, Martin spoke Read more
-
The Vortex, Brooklyn, 11/15/24
The walking bass and trumpet rumbled from a nearby window as I waited to be buzzed in. Turning right down a corridor, I was greeted by a wave of sound, warm bodies and purple light. I had entered the Vortex, a night of jazz and libations shared over a loose network of friends. “I’m surprised Read more
-
Raven Chacon, Che Chen, C. Spencer Yeh @ The Stone, NYC, 11/9/2024
Noise is generally defined as unwanted sound. So why is there a genre called noise music? Who wants to hear the unwanted? Maybe noise isn’t unwanted but undefinable. A conventional song might express some viewpoint or emotion through verses and a chorus. Usually one melody–either a voice singing or rapping or an instrument soloing–soars over Read more