British graffiti/political artist Banksy is back and this time he's put together a makeshift pet shop in NYC's West Village, conveniently a mere 6 blocks from my work, at 89 Seventh Avenue South, between West 4th and Bleeker called The Village Pet Store And Charcoal Grill.
In his "pet shop," Banksy explores a variety of themes including the consummation of pets, such as chicken and fish, as food, animal testing, fur and the lamentation of road kill.
I stand behind the "eye of the beholder" philosophy when it comes to art so far be it from me to instill any of my beliefs or interpretations upon you. Instead, I leave you with a gallery that represents a sneak peak of what's to be seen at the exhibit and encourage you to check it out on your own.
Banksy's Pet Shop will be up until October 31st.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Banksy's back
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Dance floor douchebaggotry
This past weekend, I had the chance to check out two NYC haunts I've managed to avoid thus far. The first one, downright inexcusably, is Mercury Lounge, where Portland based duo Talkdemonic was playing the early show Saturday night.
Talkdemonic is Lisa Molinaro on viola and Kevin O'Connor on drums with various musical tracks backing them up. They sounded great live and I've made a mental note to grab their new album Eyes At Half Mast ASAP.
The second one, Santos Party House (AKA, the new Studio B) is more forgivable because it cropped up just over the summer.
We got there about halfway through The Hood Internet's set and shortly after Z-Trip came on. It was refreshing to hear some really solid DJ'ing. Z-Trip currently has an "Obama mix" available for free on his site so download it here if you want a taste of the madness I experienced.
Besides the fact that the minute my boyfriend left me alone on the dance floor I was accosted by an unrelenting douchebaggot who would not go away until nearby good Samaritans brought a security guard to remove him forcibly, Santos was a banging good time!
Hate to say it but Z-Trip really gave my favorite DJ, Diplo, a run for his money. Luckily Diplo's here on Thursday for round 2 and I just picked up my ticket after work! What better way to spend the time waiting for the Bobs to come talk to me at the office than to dance it off on NYC's finest dance floors!
Sunday, October 12, 2008
From cover to cover
Since I haven't posted in a bit, I thought I'd pick up where Yer left off with the Hot Chip show we caught at Terminal 5 the Friday before last.
Highlights included giant balloons being bounced around the audience, a harder electro version of "Boy From School" than the one they usually play and a cover of Sinead O'Connor's "Nothing Compares 2 U" that seamlessly blended into "In the Privacy of Our Love."
After the show, it was off to Love for The Bug and Warrior Queen. Sadly, the soirée was somewhat of a letdown. The Subswara DJ's were less than stellar and The Bug's set, low on headphones wearing and high on EQ tweaking, didn't really build into anything. Some good tunes were dropped though and the Warrior Queen was highly entertaining, so all was not lost.
The following night, B and I took the train way up to Harlem to catch Jenny Lewis at the Apollo theatre. We took our time getting there and, much to our dismay, arrived just in time to catch the last 10 minutes of secret opener Sarah Silverman! (On a side note, the first episode of the new Sarah Silverman Program season may just be the most hilarious to date!)
Jenny played a beautiful hour-long set. My personal favorites were the acapella title track off her new album, "Acid Tongue," followed by my favorite number from Rabbit Fur Coat, "Melt Your Heart." She also treated us to a cover of "Love Hurts" by Nazareth.
Hot Chip, The Bug, Jenny Lewis and Sarah Silverman all in one weekend? New York, I definitely still love you!
