For Matt Siffert, a junior semester abroad provided the impetus for choosing the life of a songwriter. He studied music and psychology at the University of Havana in the spring of 2008. With less classwork in Havana than in the Iron City confines of Carnegie Mellon, he finally had the chance to explore his love of music, photography, and poetry, and to develop his confidence as an artist.
“It was one of the most important experiences of my life; I grew up a lot and came to embrace my artistic side,” he said. Back home, he had too often let creativity take a back burner to his academic interests.
Siffert has four works as a solo artist, Morningside (2012), Cold Songs (2012), Rise (2013) and Punch, and has performed nationally and internationally. Listen to Siffert perform his original songs infused with folk, jazz, and classical sensibilities tonight at 10pm at Pete’s Candy Store (709 Lorimer St.).
Richly layered with afro-beats, jazz rhythms, pop hooks, and Sachal Vasandani’s opalescent vocal timbre, the ten anfractuous and soulful tracks of sophisti-pop on Slow Motion Miracles flow like one body of water into another.
Sweet Megg & the Wayfarers performing at The Standard Hotel.
With her hair pulled back, dressed in a spaghetti-strap deep plunge little black dress, a double strand of pearls, and a shimmering vintage ring-to-wrist bracelet, Sweet Megg looks like she is visiting us from the Prohibition era that shapes her music. Her voice envelops the room and invokes that same decadent, idealistic atmosphere as she and her Wayfarers perform (Up) a Lazy River to a buzzing audience at the Top of the Standard on a Saturday night.
Last week, Sweet Megg & the Wayfarers added a fifth residency to their calendar by performing their hot jazz, blues, and swing at Le Fanfare in Greenpoint, where they will play every first and third Friday of each month from 8:30-10:30pm. Every Thursday, they will host a weekly jam session at Amancay’s Diner in Bushwick. Their first record, Please Tell Me Everyone’s in Love, was released last summer.
In a neighborhood largely under occupation by the Haslegrave brothers, we walked into new bar and restaurant Le Fanfare to the pleasant surprise that it wasn’t another one of theirs. The design of the space is comfortable and coherent, from the sharply-painted facade to the sequin-lined stage. Attention to detail pervades everything; the printing on each page of the menu lines up perfectly with the stenciled text on the board holding it, for example. This careful attention to detail appears throughout the restaurant: ingredients, furnishing, music, and even the staff have been chosen and integrated carefully by people who realize that it only takes one cut corner to cheapen the whole experience.
Our night at Le Fanfare (1103 Manhattan Ave) began at the small round bar up front, where we were warmly welcomed by an easygoing and friendly staff. The cocktail list is short and classic, with drinks around $11, and the bar is comfortable and pleasantly backlit by a clouded mirror studded with star-like lights. I sometimes find that I mentally rank spaces like these by how badly they make me wish I could still spend long nights smoking inside at them, and this bar gets pretty high marks there. Continue reading →
“Do you always look for the longest day of the year and then miss it?” asked The Great Gatsby’s Daisy. Well there’ll be no missing it this year, not if you choose to mark the day by partaking in Bon Appétit’s Greenpoint Grub Crawl which, betwixt the hours of 11.30am-5pm, will take punters on a tour of some of the most exciting foody hotspots in the area.
And, for a very limited time, there’s a ‘buy one get one free’ deal on tickets when you use the code BAGCGO at checkout. Continue reading →
Get down or chill out with The Swamp Donkeys on Saturday
Continuing our tradition of intermittently scheduled but always entertaining live, unamplified and ass-whipping shows, The Exley (1 Jackson St) proudly presents The New Orleans Swamp Donkey’s Traditional Jass Band.
Following recent NYC shows at Leadbelly, The Radegast Beer Hall and SOHO House, the Swamp Donkeys will play their unique version of traditional New Orleans Jazz from 4-pm Tonight June 7th at The Exley (1 Jackson Street, b/w Union and Meeker).
Everything happens on the front patio– live music, the hood’s best classic cocktails, some food, and no cover charge. The band is rumored to appreciate tips, CD purchases, smiles, and dancing. Join us on a perfect Brooklyn Summer afternoon of booze, sunshine, food, and great live music. Get an idea of what you’re in store for in the video below.
Firefighters are suing the city because they allege that Ladder 146 in Greenpoint is anti-Muslim and anti-Hispanic.
Brooklyn’s first dinner boat, “The Water Table” a World War II-era ship that will be serving up seasonal New England cuisine, launches this Friday from the India Street pier. (Brownstoner)
And finally, if you’re not doing anything tonight, you can head to Noble Street, get a drink, eat Latkes and listen to some live Chanukah jazz music. (Brokelyn)
In what we hope will be the first of many live, unamplified and ass-whipping music shows, The Exley (1 Jackson St) proudly presents The New Orleans Swamp Donkey’s Traditional Jass Band.
Following recent NYC shows at Sullivan Hall, The Radegast Beer Hall and SOHO House, the Swamp Donkeys will play their unique version of traditional New Orleans Jazz from 8-11pm on Thursday June 20th at The Exley (1 Jackson Street, b/w Union and Meeker).
Everything happens on the front patio– live music, $8 aged Sazerac cocktails, and expertly (i.e. drunkenly) grilled hot dogs. No Cover charge although the band is known to appreciate tips, CD purchases, smiles, and dancing. Join us on a perfect NYC summer night of booze, humidity, food, and great live music. Get an idea of what you’re in store for in the video below.
We all love our friend’s holiday potluck but, if you are looking for a REAL holiday party this season, it is The Skint’s Winterland Romp, December 15th at Littlefield(622 Degraw St. Gowanus)!
Call it Christmas in a New Orleans cathouse, circa 1932. Because you’ve been very, very good this year, we’re stuffing your stockings to bursting at the Winterland Romp at Littlefield on December 15th at 8pm! Dance to sweaty old jazz from cult favorites The Hot Sardines. Coo at the sugarplums of burlesque performers The Ivory Fox and Miss Coney Island 2011, Lefty Lucy. Get lulled into a state of sublime bliss from the angelic holiday serenades of Maya Solovey. Be on the lookout for a surprise visit from the elusive Chanukah Elf! Work on your last truly epic hangover of 2012 with our $5 “Rosy Cheeks” holiday punch drink special. Pop by the FREE Winterland photo booth (courtesy of Bibi Booth) to capture your twinkling eyes, merry dimples, rosy cheeks and cherry nose that would make Saint Nick proud.
Limited-edition event posters will be available for sale, a portion of which will benefit Hurricane Sandy relief efforts.
