A monthly live jazz night for local musicians and jazz-appreciators launched last month in Greenpoint hosted by keyboardist Jesse Lynch. The second session happens on Wednesday, March 20th, at Warsaw (261 Driggs Ave.) from 9 p.m. – 12 a.m.
Lynch, a Greenpoint-based pianist began hosting live jazz sessions at a Greenpoint loft last year under the name Brooklyn Vortex. With the Warsaw Series, he hopes to bring together local jazz players to exercise their improv skills.
Lief Vollebekk, left, and Gregory Alan Isakov perform a joint encore
Gregory Alan Isakov hails from Colorado; his opener Lief Vollebekk is French-Canadian. Throw them in a Brooklyn venue and you’ve got enough flannel and beards to open up an urban farm.
All in jest, this is not to downplay the authenticity of Isakov’s musicianship — his agrarian melodies feel borrowed from the earth as his poetic lyrics are caught from the wind. His folksy, bluer songs felt particularly powerful last night; it’s hard to not hear the lyric “The Universe, she’s wounded / but she’s still got infinity ahead of her” and not consider the onslaught of bad news that’s swept our country in the past few weeks. Still, many of his songs warmed instead of numbed, a necessary touch at Warsaw (261 Driggs Avenue) where audiences huddled and remained buttoned up from the unseasonably wintry evening.
Saves The Day playing in front of a packed Warsaw crowd in Greenpoint on Wednesday, Nov. 14th. Photo by Peter Kirchhausen
There is absolutely nothing wrong with a nostalgia-soaked night of music, and on Wednesday night at Warsaw (261 Driggs Ave.), Saves the Day was exactly that. But although it pains me to write, the nostalgia seems to be wearing thin.
It was an early 2000’s North East emo basement scene recreated nearly 20 years later in North Brooklyn, in front of all those 17-year-olds who are now nearing their 40s. Although the band on stage at Warsaw still features emo-rock legend vocalist Chris Conley, most of the other members- a literal revolving door with over 20 different people over the years- are mostly all new. The previous dozen plus band members chose to bow out years ago when it just stopped being fun, countless years before the creation of the newly released ninth studio album which dropped earlier this November.
Conley wearing a dark tinted sunglass inside Warsaw on Wednesday night. Photo by Peter Kirchhausen
Three or four times during the 90 minute set, there were sparks from the fan favorites that put the band on the national map, such as the opener “At Your Funeral,” “Freakish,” or “Holly Hox.” For the remainder of the setlist, the audience was starved of what they paid to hear- the early catalog- and for a Wednesday night, the packed crowd was not willing to fake it. Conley has every right to create a set list which he prefers, relying on either newer or older songs, but musicians can read audiences very quickly and Conley knows what is going on. The audience stood idle in for large chunks of time while newer songs were performed and it appeared tough for the other bandmates to fake the energy on stage. Conley was often stationary in the center and putting out low energy all night, something I previously have not seen out of him during more recent live performances. Continue reading →
It’s hard to pick a favorite Gregory Alan Isakov lyric — as poet of the earth and singer of the wind, Isakov’s gorgeous, sweeping lyrics haunt and sooth, seduce and remedy. The horticulturalist turned folks singer has reminded us that “After all I’ve been told, California’s cold” in the poignant “San Francisco,” and voiced lost love’s plight in the iconic “Stable Song,” crooning, “Now I’ve been crazy couldn’t you tell / I threw stones at the stars but the whole sky fell.” Now, with his new album Evening Machines, Isakov brings a whole new treasure trove of spellbinding lyrics and melodies on the road for his national tour.
Saturday, September 23rd, 2-6PM @Greenpoint Beer & Ale (7 North 15th St) Come enjoy unlimited blue claw crab for 90 minutes served with potatoes and corn, topped with KnicKnacksbk special seasoning. And what goes better with crabs than beer – which is available a la carte (extra cost). Find a session that fits you and join us so you can eat all you can! Tickets will sell out fast, don’t be the one to miss out again! Buy tix [Sponsored]
WEDNESDAY 9/19
* Yom Kippur @The Williamsburg Hotel (96 Wythe Ave), 10am, FREE, Join the Chabad of North Brooklyn for Yom Kippur services with Hebrew-English prayer books and insights in the the many Holiday prayers throughout. Yom Tov! More Info * Yoga for Witches @Catland (987 Flushing Ave), 6:30pm, $15, Tarot-inspired yoga class designed to heal and hone your magical intuition and manifestation. Bring your own mat, Buy tix ♦ Sundance Kidd at Two Boots @ Two Boots Williamsburg (558 Driggs Ave), 7pm, FREE, Local photographer Sundance Kidd showcases work from close to 1000 shots he took between going to shows, private work, and also working for LEAP NYC. Pay as you wish pricing for prints. 100% of art sales will be donated to a non-profit that focuses on music education for youth. FREE beer from 8-8:30PM, RSVP ♦ Napoleon Dynamite Screening @ Bushwick Inlet Popup Outdoor Cinema (50 Kent Ave), 8pm, FREE,Join Friends of Bushwick Inlet Park for an outdoor movie screening of classic indy deadpan comedy NAPOLEON DYNAMITE in view of the majestic Gotham City skyline! More Info
Brooklyn Comedy Festival Closing Weekend begins on Thursday, September 20th and runs through Sunday, September 23rd. @Brooklyn Bazaar (150 Greenpoint Ave) with multiple stages featuring podcasts, film, stand-up, panels, and more! Buy tix and learn more.
THURSDAY 9/20
♫ Caché | Afro House Sunset @The Roof (74 Wythe Ave), 5pm, No Cover, Close this summer strong with some Afro House, More Info # DIY Vegan Cheese with Contraband Ferments @ Anima Mundi Apothecary (31 Noble St) 7pm, $40, Learn to make your own dairy free and probiotic rich nut-based cheeses. Basic principles behind making cheese using a variety of nuts and seeds plus basic skills in fermentation, the history behind fermentation, and a variety of ways to make soft and hard rind cheeses, Buy tix ^ Pete’s Reading Fall Season Opener @ Pete’s Candy Store (709 Lorimer St), 7:30pm, FREE, Four remarkable readers, and a special benefit for RAICES, The Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services. Come hear them read, then linger to chat, drink, and pick up their books, More info ♦ Still/Here @ UnionDocs (322 Union Ave), 7:30pm, $10, NYC premiere of Christopher Harris’ film, still/here . Harris paints a portrait of civic neglect and apathy in his hometown of St Louis’s northside neighborhoods that are inhabited by almost exclusively working class and working poor black and African American populations, Buy tixContinue reading →
Jubilant cheers rang out the moment the band stepped on stage. The hearts of every concert-goer were sincerely invested in this night. While many shows have a similar energy, very few manage to sustain it the entire night. It was truly mind blowing that Seattle indie rockers Minus The Bear were able to keep it going last Thursday night at Warsaw (261 Driggs Avenue).
Their current tour pays homage to their 10-year-old album Planet of Ice, and last Thursday their raw sonic power created a planet of sweat on stage. The high energy performance featured the album in its entirety, and then the band continued their set by playing more of their classics. The crowd at Warsaw was celebratory, in a daze from a spring-like day, ready to rock out. Looking around the venue, almost everyone felt the need to do more than nod their head. People were dancing, hugging and singing along. Minus The Bear honed in on a particular style of wistful emo-rock that’s stood the test of time. Continue reading →
♫ Fonema Consort // Charmaine Lee, solo @Arete Venue and Gallery (67 West St. #103), 7:30pm, $10,Chicago-based ensemble Fonema Consort will perform four new works for electronics, two voices, clarinet and trombone, Buy Tix ♫ Bit Brigade performs “The Legend of Zelda”, Double Ferrari, Cheap Dinosaurs @St. Vitus (1120 Manhattan Ave.), 7:30pm, $12-15, Buy Tix * Trivia Night @Archestratus (160 Huron St.), 8pm, FREE, Join our News Editor for Trivia at Archestratus! There will be food! There will be beer! Get your game on RSVP ♫ Los Perros/The Stance/Les Frappes (Sweden) + MORE! @ Brooklyn Bazaar (150 Greenpoint Avenue), 8pm, $8, More Info
THURSDAY 4/26
♦ Talking Trash screening @City Reliquary (370 Metropolitan Ave), 6pm, $5, Throwing out the Big Apple, More Info ♫ Open Mic Night @New Women Space (188 Woodpoint Road) 7pm, $10, New Women Space’s first community open mic Buy Tix ☺ The Mess @The Brick (579 Metropolitan Avenue), 8pm, $10, part solo show, part variety show part of Brooklyn Comedy Collective, More Info ♫ Hard Pass, Mean Girls (TX), Granddad (MN), Fear Not Ourselves Alone @Brooklyn Bazaar (150 Greenpoint Ave.), 8pm, $10, RSVP ♫ Minus the Bear @ Warsaw (261 Driggs Ave), 8pm, $30, Buy TixContinue reading →
For just $1 get a ride to nearby subway stations to/from Greenpoint with Via, an on-demand ridesharing app!! Download the app here and set your pick up or drop-off location by moving the pin on the map to the locations for any of the following train stations:
^ Tables of Contents Reading Series: Hunt! Gerrard! Caldwell! @Egg (109 North 3rd St), 7pm, $5, Each reading will be paired with snacks inspired by its text, plus you’ll be in for an author-curated playlist and a rangy Q&A/discussion on writing, craft, aversion, and creativity to wrap up the night. Beer and wine will be available for purchase, and WORD will be present slinging text, More info ☺ Ladies Who Ranch @ Vital Joint (109 Meserole St), 8pm, $5-10, Group of women does jokes for laughs at comedy show to change the national conversation. The show is followed by the Ladies Who Ranch Open Mic, an experimental comedy mic that especially encourages multimedia performances, More info ♫# Live Flamenco in St Charles Cellar @St. Mazie Bar (345 Grand St), 8pm, FREE, A night of authentic Flamenco in our beautiful speakeasy. Full dinner menu available as well as a 3 course Pre fixe menu, cocktails, absinthe and more… Ole!, More info ♫ Carte Blanche @Radegast Hall (113 N 3rd St), 9pm, FREE,French, Latin and American tunes while you sample the incredible selection of authentic german beers on tap and maybe have a giant german pretzel or bratwurst from the grill!! Space to dance!, More info
THURSDAY 3/8
* Kombrewcha’s International Women’s Day Celebration @ The Williamsburg Hotel (96 Wythe Ave), 6:00pm, $3, Boss Ladies doing big things. We’ll be hosting a panel on Women Who Do. Buy tix * NYC DRAFT Meetup @ PencilWorks (61 Greenpoint Ave), 6:30pm, FREE, Fast-paced hour of ideas, entrepreneurs and bikes, capturing the exciting things happening in the bike industry, RSVP ♫ ♦ Art on the Airwaves @ Union Docs (322 Union Avenue), 7:30 pm, $10, A showcase of radio documentary selected by James T. Green, cofounder of Postloudness, a collective of independent audio shows by people of color, women, and queer-identified hosts that aims to create a community of unique voices in audio. Buy tix ♫ Anna McClellan (Record Release), Navy Gangs @ ALPHAVILLE (140 Wilson Avenue), 10pm, $10, Buy tix ♫ Mughal Legion 3 Ft. Fanaa @ Legion Bar (790 Metropolitan Ave), 10pm, FREE, Part 3 of a monthly-ish series of musical rites to be performed at Legion Bar, curated by Mughal Muesli. More info Continue reading →
♫ Wha U Think Eye Rap 4? @ GAMBA Forest (17 Division Pl), 8pm, FREE, Join the most cutting edge emcees at the forefront of the NYC indie hip-hop scene and for a lively discussion where they get to express their POV about craft, culture and where hip-hop actually lives today, More info ☺ Wee Winged Wonders @ Vital Joint (109 Meserole St), 8pm, $5, An Evening of Comedy About Bees and Butterflies and That’s It. Hosted by Joe Rumrill and Andrew Tisher, More info ♫ Kali Masi, Language, My Kind of Fire, Make August Count @ Sunnyvale (1031 Grand St), 8pm, $8, Buy tix
THURSDAY 2/22
♫ Rainer Maria, The Van Pelt, Gold Dime @ Elsewhere (599 Johnson Ave), 7pm, $20, Buy tix ♫ Orrin, That Boy Miles, Warren Wolfe, SHUG @ Secret Project Robot (1186 Broadway), 8pm, $8, *also* free beer from The Bronx Brewery, Buy tix ♫ Lola Kirke, Breanna Barbara, Hannah Read, Melodie Stancato @ Brooklyn Bazaar (150 Greenpoint Ave), 8pm, $10, Buy tix ♫ Cuddle Magic, Tigue, Tōth @ Baby’s All Right (146 Broadway), 8pm, $10, Buy tix ♫ Quantic residency with DJ Taye @ Good Room (98 Meserole Ave), 10pm, $10, Quantic’s Good Room residency will be a homestead for playing his own unique sound of tropical-soul and electronic polyrhythm as well as championing future sounds & past obscurities, Buy tixContinue reading →
* Plant Magik 101: The Seeds @ Catland (987 Flushing Ave), 7pm, $20, We will explore all of the fertile magik of the seed and the historic, traditional and folk usages of plant magik and it’s component parts, Buy tix ♫ ZZZWalk • New Rose • Brendan Sullivan @ Union Pool (484 Union Ave), 8pm, $8, More info ☺ Mid Riff 13 @ The Twenty (177 Grand St), 8:30pm, FREE, Featuring the crazy hot comedians: Samantha Ruddy, Diego Lopez, Jessica Watkins, Julia Shiplett, Lizzie Martinez and Sean Patton, More info ☺ Funhouse Comedy @ Pete’s Candy Store (709 Lorimer St), 10pm, FREE, The lineup is hot to offset this true winter bs, More info
THURSDAY 1/11
♫ Nerveshatter / Prostitution / Blackest / Wreath of Tongues @ El Cortez (17 Ingraham St), 7pm, $10, Buy tix * Guided Meditation + Affirmations w/Linzi Silverman + It’s Not Personal @ New Women Space (188 Woodpoint Rd), 7:30pm, $15, We’ll write love letters to ourselves, develop morning affirmations and finish with a self-love mantra you can take with you in your pocket, Buy tix ♫ Mike Donovan and Purling Hiss with Justin Frye @ Sunnyvale (1031 Grand St), 8pm, FREE, More info ♦ Blocked & Reported @ The Woods (48 S 4th St), 9pm, FREE, Meme themed art show/party featuring all your favorite internet outcasts lmao, More info ♫ Pond @ Warsaw (261 Driggs Ave), 9pm, $25, Buy tixContinue reading →
* Yom Kippur @The Williamsburg Hotel (96 Wythe Ave), 10am, FREE, Join the Chabad of North Brooklyn for Yom Kippur services with Hebrew-English prayer books and insights in the the many Holiday prayers throughout. Yom Tov! 
Brooklyn Comedy Festival Closing Weekend begins on Thursday, September 20th and runs through Sunday, September 23rd. @Brooklyn Bazaar (150 Greenpoint Ave) with multiple stages featuring podcasts, film, stand-up, panels, and more! 
THURSDAY 4/26
For just $1 get a ride to nearby subway stations to/from Greenpoint 
THURSDAY 3/8
