2012 CBGB Festival
July 10th, 2012 by chocko
First of all, Chocko and the crew have to thank Two Boots and CBGB Festival for hooking us up with the all inclusive passes which got us into all the music showcases and film screenings. You definitely can’t beat the insane deal of buying some pizza and getting a free pass for the festival. It was surely appreciated and I hope they have same deal next year. Larry Tate and Cleopatra Jones slices for Chocko any day! Long live CBGB. I know it won’t be the same…but I hope they open up the club again soon.
The first show I checked out was on Thursday, July 5 at Webster Hall (formerly The Ritz). Some of the best New York Hardcore Punk bands were in the house to layeth the smackdown. There was a “No Moshing” sign posted by the entrance which was a joke, right? Anyway, the Godfathers of NYHC, Agnostic Front were headlining and the last time I saw the band was at CBGB, so going to the show was a no-brainer.
Maximum Penalty started the show with their mix of metal and hardcore punk. It was a blast to finally see them live. Pick up their album Life & Times on Reaper Records. Mad respect for those guys. Murphy’s Law played next and reminisced about playing the same venue back in 1987 with The Beastie Boys and Public Enemy. Jimmy Gestapo and the crew (including a rotating cast of former drummers) joked around and played the fan favorites: “Beer”, “Cavity Creeps” and “Panty Raid” while the crowd beat each other up-no holds barred. I saw some dude doing pushups in the moshpit that made me crack up. Beer and Jager was free for the taking in the front courtesy of the “motorboating” Gestapo. Madball was up next and the stage-diving got ramped up but that didn’t stop a young fan in a wheelchair to join in on the action. There was a slight change in the band lineup: Joseph James of Agnostic Front filled in for Mitts on guitar who’s currently touring with H2O in Europe. Madball keeps getting better with every record. Their EP Rebellion is out now!
Agnostic Front put on a set of classic material and right off the bat killed with “Victim In Pain” and “Friend or Foe” which got the mosh pit moving. Their set was shortened due to time constraints and had to scratch off some songs off the set list including a cover of The Ramones “Blitzkrieg Bop.” Instead they closed off the night with “Gotta Go” and were buried in a sea of fans who took the party to the stage for the grand finale.
I met up with the rest of the Planet Chocko Outlawz at Landmark Sunshine Cinema. They were checking out Re: Generation Music Project but we all formed like Voltron for the screening of The Dead Boys: Live at CBGB 1977. Members of the band, Cheetah Chrome and Jeff Magnum were joined by producer Genya Ravan for a conversation and Q+A. The live footage of the band has been available on DVD but it was really fun to check it out with a crowd that hooted and hollered like we were all in a rock club. Check out some videos below of Day One of the CBGB Festival!
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Tags: agnostic front, cbgb, cbgb festival, madball, maximum penalty, murphy's law, new york hardcore, nyhc, punk, review, the dead boys
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NY Asian Film Fest photo updates!
July 9th, 2012 by Mr. C
Below are a few photos that we’ve amassed the past couple of days at the NYAFF. They include Donnie Yen signing autographs and answering questions after the movie screenings. The NYAFF is presenting Yen with the Star Asia Award before the screening of DRAGON (WU XIA) on Monday, July 9 @ 7:45pm. Other screenings of his at the festival include SPL, THE LOST BLADESMAN, and IRON MONKEY.
Michael Woods is a childhood friend of Donnie Yen during their years in Boston while training at Yen’s moms martial art school. Woods is/was a stuntman/martial artist. He fought opposite of Donnie in TIGER CAGE, IN THE LINE OF DUTY, and CHEETAH ON FIRE. He has also appeared in Yen’s BALLISTIC KISS and CRYSTAL HUNT.
Grandmaster Y.K. Kim is a Tae Kwon Do teacher and educator using martial arts as a vehicle for motivation, health, self defense, and general well being. Master Kim performed a demonstration of his art before the screening of MIAMI CONNECTION!
Yeun Sang-Ho is the director of the Korean animated film – THE KING OF PIGS. The movie is a dark, heavy, & jarring recollection of bullying in middle school.
Rogue is a master magician. He owns & operates a magic shop in Queens. The Rogue Magic and Fun Shop offers live performances, retail magic products, and Magic classes. Rogue is a huge fan of martial art films and also runs free movie screenings at his storefront. There is a documentary on the Magic Shop called MAGIC MEN that is due to be released by the end of the year with hopes of playing at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Ironically, we saw SPL at Rogue’s Magic and Funshop in 2005. Who knew we would see it again on the big screen with Donnie Yen in attendance!
(Donnie Yen)
(Michael Woods – that fist means business!)
(Grandmaster Kim kicking apples pierced onto a sharp object)
(Grandmaster Kim redirecting a knife attack back at his assailant)
(Grandmaster Kim using his shoe to thwart a knife attack)
(Director of The King of Pigs – Yeun Sang-Ho)
(Rogue greeting us with his wallet)
Tags: 2012 nyaff, nyaff, photos
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Iconicide presents Puke Island 2012
July 5th, 2012 by chocko
The anti-Punk Island event organized by the NY hardcore band ICONICIDE went down at Tompkins Square Park last month with many bands bringing the ruckus. Chocko thinks Punk Island is cool, it’s a free event that happens once a year on Governors Island and features punk rock music. I guess Chris from ICONICIDE feels that Punk Island can be better and that the event has become “TOO organized for a lot of people.” I certainly have no beef with Punk Island and I give thumbs up to Chris for taking his stance and admire his way of protesting Punk Island by organizing his own show! Long live free punk shows at Tompkins Square Park and mad respect to all the bands that showed up to play.
Chocko arrived late on the scene as usual but was lucky enough to catch MONGREL BITCH…a gritty L.E.S. punk band born in the garbage and comprised of ladies I wouldn’t want to run into in a dark alley. They slayed and got the punks running amok. MONGREL BITCH played a Misfits cover of “skulls” that woke up the zombies of the lower east side.
Chris, The lead singer of ICONICIDE got on the microphone in between sets to drum up support for the bands that showed up. He badmouthed Punk Island just a tad , but still encouraged people to go there. Chris also noted that the bands that play at Puke Island are the real deal.
NYC writer and punk performer Jennifer Blowdryer dropped some street knowledge on the crowd. I went to her eye-opening Smut Fests many moons ago in The Lower East Side with my best friend Raluca. We saw some freaky, taboo stuff going down at those low down, dirty events. The city was a much more fun and different place than it is now.
TRUTH IN NEEDLES tore it up during the hardcore punk portion of the show. Social and political lyrics mixed with some NY Hardcore fury. I thought it was funny when some messed up looking dude bumrushed the stage and accused them all of being undercover cops. Chris (with video camera still in hand documenting) jumped on the stage to join the band for a rousing rendition of “Had To Murder”. Definitely their best song.
Brooklyn metal band, Alekhine’s Gun closed out the lineup and got the crowd moshing and throwing elbows. Jessica The Crusher Pimentel, lead singer of the band got that in your face attitude with the growl to match. The band plowed through a set of heavy doom tunes despite some bass problems. They have an EP out titled “Meditations in Wrath” and are working on their first full length album. Be on the lookout for that!
check out some videos of Mongrel Bitch and Truth In Needles!
Tags: 2012, alekhine's gun, l.e.s., mongrel bitch, new york city, nyc, puke island, punk, punk rock, tompkins square park, truth in needles
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REEWIND: PLANET CHOCKO
July 4th, 2012 by Mr. C
Just a few more scans from our Zine circa 1997. Seemed like ’97 was a hot year for us! Maybe we felt the heat from the handover of Hong Kong back to China!
We reported from Wigstock, the Coney Island Tattoo and Motorcycle convention, and provided some Planet Chocko photos from our California trip including stop offs at Venice Beach, Comic Con, Anza Borrego Desert Park, and Hollywood!
Chocko also gave us the 411 on THE DWARVES and THE CANDY SNATCHERS show at the Continental on September 1, 1997.
Tags: planet chocko zine archives
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Alice Smith performed at City Winery
July 3rd, 2012 by Mr. C
Alice Smith performed at the City Winery on June 17th in lower manhattan after a bit of a hiatus from the scene pursuing other personal endeavors but it seems like she is back in the groove of writing, recording, & performing again! Her debut album in 2006 entitled: For Lovers, Dreamers and Me was a huge underground success but basically left her fans fiending for a new album ever since!
Alice’s music is very hard to describe and it’s probably best to let your ears do its thing however, if I had to describe her sound, she is uniquely soulful with a hint of jazzy vocals and not exactly traditional R&B either. Smith is not your typical cookie cutter powerhouse vocalist as she does have great range but her folksy – R&B twang with her sultry voice is what distiguishes her style from the rest. Her performances are always fun, too as she gets pretty animated onstage while getting into the lyrical groove of her songs! Her lyrics typically range from topics such as city life, infatuations, relationships, coming of age, & pop culture.
We were lucky enough to get invited to Alice Smith’s show at the City Winery on this night to help record her performance for future playback so that she may critique herself. She doesn’t seem to mind that we operate on the lo-fi statosphere of video archiving which is totally cool with us!
Some songs that she performed that night included: Martha, Dream, Far Away, So Bad, Love Endeavor, and Woodstock. She also sang a few newer tunes like: With You, Take it Easy, and The One. Alice also knocked a few covers out of the park with Cee Lo’s – Fool for You and Rose Royce’s – Love Don’t live here anymore.
All in all it was a great performance at a chill venue! Be on the lookout for Alice Smith’s new EP called “SHE” sometime in the near future!
http://www.alicesmith.com/
http://www.myspace.com/alicesmith
Check out some of the performances below from the City Winery. (Vids by mr c)
Tags: alice smith, city winery, vocalist
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2012 NY Asian Film Festival merch
July 1st, 2012 by Mr. C
We’ve been swamped and overwhelmed at the New York Asian Film Festival since last Friday in a good way! The games have just begun and you should take advantage of some of these screenings if you are in the NYC area. So far we’ve attended Pan Ho-Cheung’s foul mouthed and fun VULGARIA while keeping things on the old school shaw brother horror tip with BOXER’s OMEN at midnight. On Day 2 we managed to watch 4 movies that included: OLD BOY, FIVE FINGERS OF DEATH, NAMELESS GANGSTER, and GOKE: Body Snatcher from Hell! Choi Min-Sik and the Director of Five Fingers of Death – Chung Chang-Hwa was also in attendance!
So, get your ass on over to the NYAFF and get some relief from the summers heat as things get hot on the screen at Walter Reade Theater! The schedule can be found here and at Subway Cinema.
Some cool merchandise available at the festival includes an OldBoy (Choi Min-Sik) and 5 Fingers of Death (Lo Lieh) inspired NYAFF 2012 T-shirt ($10) and some sick prints ($15) of Choi Min-Sik and Director Chung Chang-Hwa by artist Bob O’Brien also known as ‘Kung Fu Bob’ on the Kung Fu Cinema Forums! Kung Fu Bob’s artwork has definitely got that old skool killer vibe! I was totally psyched to get Choi Min-Sik’s autograph on the print. Kung Fu Bob is also coming back next week to reveal an exclusive Donnie Yen piece.
(Kung Fu Bob with his prints)
Tags: 2012 nyaff, new york asian film festival
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Northside Festival 2012
June 29th, 2012 by chocko
The Northside Festival is a Brooklyn celebration of music, art, film and entrepreneurship. On the first 2 days of the festival there was a trade show at the warehouse on Kent Ave. and N. 5th Street featuring young start-ups and new innovative companies. I always like to pick up freebies at those type of events. I scored some hand sanitizer, candy and some pens. I went back to Brooklyn on Saturday night for some music…
Ape School were playing their dreamy, indie pop at Brooklyn Bowl while weekend party people bowled the night away. Michael Johnson is the lead singer of this band of gorillas and he kind of sounded like James Mercer of The Shins. Hipster-chick-with-glasses-on-keyboards alert! Wowzers.
Next, I went over to Public Assembly to check out some bands at the Academy Records show. First up was Golden Clouds, a band I’ve never heard of but they sounded great. They played some of that dirty, drunken bluesy rock and roll. They were like the NY Dolls, but without all that glam shit going on. I recognized members from the band Stupid Party in the mix. Yo, what happened to Stupid Party? Anybody know?
Nude Beach…I saw these guys play at Generation Records last year and they blew me away with their real deal blue-collar rock infused with just enough punk to make you want to pump your fist and break something. Their “II” album is getting re-released on Other Music Recording Co and are slated for an in-store performance at Other Music on August 13.
Next up was Laura Stevenson & The Cans at the nearby Music Hall of Williamsburg. Laura is a witty, young and talented lady and has surrounded herself with an equally talented band. Laura always seems to have a great sense of humor and tonight was proud to have her parents in the audience and her name on the marquee. Laura will be taking a little break from shows after some surgery, but we’re sure to see her again later in the summer playing more shows and festivals. Get well soon!
My night ended with the furious punk sounds of The Black Black at The Charleston. I’ve never been to a show at The Charleston. The show took place in the dingy basement of the bar. The basement might hold about 20 people and I watched the show while standing in a puddle of an unknown substance. I kept telling myself that it was only water or beer. After the band played I stumbled outta the basement while the DJ upstairs blasted “Mother” by Danzig. Back in the day, that would have been enough to get me pumped up and jump into the basement for some more punk action, but Chocko was pooped and needed to get back to the Mothership. More Northside Fest coverage at a later date!
Check out some videos from Saturday night at Northside Festival!
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Tags: brooklyn, golden clouds, laura stevenson, new york city, northside festival, nude beach, nyc, the black black
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30th Annual Mermaid Parade in Coney Island
June 26th, 2012 by Mr. C
The 30th Anniversary of the Mermaid Parade in Coney Island — Brooklyn’s own naughty and nautical themed mardi gras happened last Saturday. It was also The Cyclone’s 85th year of existence! Happy B-day to Brooklyn’s historic wooden roller coaster! We’ve been going to this offbeat event on and and off since the mid 1990s and it’s usually quite a spectacle! The Mermaid Parade is basically a celebration of the beginning of summer with participants dressed in hand-made costumes of the sea creature variety including mermaids, octopuses, kaiju’s, and anything oceanic related that you can artistically dream up! There is usually a crowned King & Queen host of the parade. This year’s King Neptune was JACKIE “THE JOKE MAN” MARTLING and the Queen Mermaid was ANNABELLA SCIORRA. Besides the extraordinary costumes and the personalities inside of them, you can also find marching bands, antique cars, party floats and boats, low rider bicycles, and circus atmosphere participants trooping in the parade!
We came strolling in late from Planet Jersey as usual as we docked the spaceship at the other more spacious Alphabet City on Avenue Y in the outskirts of Coney Island/Gravesend section of Brooklyn as we hoofed it on over to Coney to catch the last hour of the parade. WARRIORs come out and Playaay! Enjoy some of the photos that Chocko and I were able to capture!
(photos above by Mr. C)
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(photos 20,000 leagues under the sea by Chocko)
Tags: brooklyn, coney island, mermaid parade, mermaids, new york city, nyc, parade
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Rakim played Joe’s Pub NYC
June 21st, 2012 by chocko
The legendary RAKIM, played Joe’s Pub in Downtown Manhattan on Tuesday, June 12 as in a rare one-off show sponsored by Reebok Classics. When Eric B. and Rakim’s Paid In Full album came out, that rocked my world. It sounded unique, the beats and cuts on it were superb and Rakim’s lyrical flow was and is still unparalleled. It was an honor to see one of the greatest MC’s in an intimate setting with a small crowd of fans (maybe 150 in the house?). It was obvious to see why Rakim is at or near the top of every hip hop fan’s top 5 MC’s of all time list.
Rakim was accompanied by Technician the DJ from the Bronx who warmed up the crowd with some classic old school hip hop tracks. Rakim interacted with the crowd, introduced two of his sons to the audience, showed off his brand new sneakers and even took a couple phone calls to speak to Spinderella (Salt-N-Pepa’s DJ) and a fan who was trying to listen in on the show via a friend’s cellphone. Rakim performed a lot of classic material from the four albums he recorded with Eric B. He also performed “It’s Been A Long Time” a DJ Premier produced track off the 18th Letter album, “Holy Are You” from 2009’s The Seventh Seal and a couple verses from “Addictive” a 2002 Truth Hurts single. One of my favorite moments of the show was Rakim’s performance of “Know The Ledge which is the theme song of the 1992 film Juice and off the Don’t Sweat The Technique album. The bassline in that song is ill. Bonus fact: the song samples Nat Adderley’s 1968 hit, “Rise, Sally, Rise.” Check out the set list posted below and a couple of videos too.
SET LIST
Let The Rhythm Hit ‘Em
Eric B. Is President
My Melody
Holy Are You
In The Ghetto
It’s Been A Long Time
Guess Who’s Back
Addictive
Mahogany
What’s On Your Mind
Lyrics Of Fury
Move The Crowd
I Ain’t No Joke
I Know You Got Soul
Microphone Fiend
Don’t Sweat The Technique
The Punisher
Lyrics of Fury
Know The Ledge
Paid In Full
Follow The Leader
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Tags: eric b., joe's pub, new york city, nyc, rakim, show
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REEWIND: Planet Chocko Zine
June 14th, 2012 by Mr. C
Just a few more dusty nuggets from the past including evidence of the planet chocko paparazzi hound hustling & bustling about also, some more capsule music reviews by chocko. Notice the thumbnail size photo of THE PRISTEENS playing at Coney Island High! We really miss the Pristeens & Coney Island High!
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12th Annual Egg Rolls and Egg Creams Festival – Eldridge Street
June 13th, 2012 by Mr. C
(corner of Canal & Eldridge Streets)
I can always tell the summer season is just around the corner when two of my favorite block parties come a knockin’ to NYCs door, the BIG APPLE BARBECUE Block Party and the EGG ROLLS AND EGG CREAMS Block Party! It is no coincidence that both of these festivals revolve around food!
But seriously, the Egg Rolls and Egg Creams festival is a relatively small block party (Eldridge St between Canal & Forsyth) that packs a tremendous cultural punch! The Lower East Side is where Chinatown meets the Jewish community. My favorite area of the L.E.S. is everything below Delancey. Eldridge and Canal are two of my most adored streets in the NY! Gritty storefronts pumping out immigrant food such as noodle houses (Super Taste) & dumpling shops (PROSPERITY, VANESSA’S), malaysian style beef jerky (LING KEE), chinese bakeries (WONG WAH), to jewish run electronic stores on the south of canal, furniture stores (M. KATZ AND SONS) , G & S SPORTING GOODS store for my Everlast gear, and for my eyeglass/contact lens needs – MOSCOT! Not sure if it’s run by Jews or the Chinese for that matter, but CUP AND SAUCER (diner food) on Eldridge and Canal is one of my favorite pit stops in NYC!
The Egg Rolls and Egg Creams festival is basically a Chinese & Jewish day of celebration and appreciation for each others culture. After all, we’ve been living side by side in the L.E.S. for many years now! A big THANK YOU to Hanna Griff-Sleven – The Festival Coordinator for this NEW YORK MOMENT!
(Hanna Griff-Sleven — Festival Coordinator)
(Margaret Chin – City Council)
While perusing Eldridge street on this festive day, you will find kids of all ages and races making yarmulkes, painting paper fans, creating chinese opera masks, and getting their face painted! While the kids are at play, a Klezmer band marches along the street playing tunes on the tuba, accordion, clarinet, and drums! Look to your side and you will see senior citizens playing an intense game of mah zhoong! There is also someone on hand to teach newcomers how to play as well. The Klezmer band would then be followed up by a traditional chinese folk band. If you get hungry or thirsty, there are plenty of Egg Rolls & Egg Cream stations selling their wares! I personally love Egg creams! For all that do not know what an egg cream is, it basically is chocolate syrup (traditionally U-Bet’s brand) mixed with milk fairly rigorously then followed up with carbonated water. The resulting concoction is a bit of foam on top which resembles a beaten egg white! Egg Cream is essentially a New York – Jewish thang! OK, going back to the festival – enter into the historic 1887 landmark – the Eldridge Street Synagogue and you will find a whole host of other events going on! On the first floor, you will find a Hebrew sribe demonstrating his sacred art side by side with a Chinese Calligrapher. The same Klezmer and chinese folk band would also perform inside the main Synagogue space as well. Go upstairs and you will find Sifu Ken Lo greet and treat you to a traditional chinese tea ceremony! Sifu Lo is also a 7th generation Grandmaster in the Wu Mei style of Kung Fu. Go down to the basement of the synagogue and you can learn how to speak Yiddish and Mandarin! A backroom would also be dedicated in learning how to make Challah bread! Still in the basement, you can check out an older chinese lady show off her chinese paper folding techniques! Not to far from this table was a friendly lady explaining and demonstrating Jewish paper cutting techniques.
Some visuals from the day’s event might help explain better…
(Making a Yarmulke)
(Making fans)
(Face Painting)
(Chinese Folk Music)
(Klezmer Band – Traditional Jewish Music)
(Tell me your favorite food, kid!)
(Feed me a story – The Last Supper – wall)
(Do not play with these people! Hustlers!)
(The very beautiful Eldridge Street Synagogue – Musuem at Eldridge Street)
(Sifu Ken Lo with a traditional Chinese Tea Ceremony)
(Jewish Scribal)
(Learn how to speak Yiddish and Chinese!)
(Jewish Paper cutting)
(Stroller valet parking!)
(Making an NYC Egg cream)
(The preferred chocolate syrup for NYC Egg cream: U-BET!)
(Making Chinese opera masks)
(Making Challah)
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Egg Cream Recipe
1/2 cup whole milk
1/4 cup chocolate syrup (ideally Fox’s u-bet brand)
Soda Water
Directions: Place milk and chocolate syrup in a large (16 oz) glass, Stir well, then top off the glass with soda water. Serve immediately with a long spoon and straw.
(Recipe from: Braiden Rex-Johnson’s Pike Place Market Cookbook)
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Tags: egg rolls egg creams festival
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The Swaggerin’ Growlers played Tompkins Square Park NYC
June 12th, 2012 by chocko
The 5th Annual BIKE NOISE Show went down in Tompkins Square Park in the Lower East Side NYC a couple of weekends ago on May 27. The show celebrated bike punks, the right to assemble and free punk rock music! Do we lose some of our punk cred if we drove a car to the show? At least we carpooled! A couple other bands performed including Wood Spider, The Will, Abject, Team Spider and Wombat In Combat but after arriving fashionably late we missed all of those great bands, but caught the Swaggerin’ Growlers set, a mix of riot folk and irish punk music. If you like bands like the Pogues, Dropkick Murphys, The Tossers and Flogging Molly then check out The Growlers from Boston. The band got the crowd moving, singing and the crusty punks of Tompkins even started a pillow fight. Chocko picked up 2 of their albums on the way out. “Keep Your Hands Held High” (2009) and “Outlaw Waltz” (2011) both feature great booze soaked, punk anthems! Check ’em out on Thugly Goose Records.
Team Spider had some albums for sale too. I picked up their 2007 release of “Fuck Brakes” which features a 9 minute instrumental with guest vocals by the NYPD and a rad cover of Operation Ivy’s “Unity.” The Bike Noise shirt from the 2010 show was for sale too. I snatched up the 5 dollar “floor model”…I’m a sucker for a bargain and Fly art. Who needs electricity? Not the punk trio, Right Now (pictured below) who continued after the show and peformed a rollicking set of unplugged, punk folk.
Here’s a video from the Bike Noise Show featuring The Swaggerin’ Growlers performing Guilty of Being Poor. They have a couple of shows in the NYC area coming up soon including June 15 at Asbury Lanes (Asbury Park, NJ) opening for World/Inferno Friendship Society and a basement show somewhere in New Brunswick, NJ on June 17 with Up For Nothing.
Tags: 2012, bike noise show, punk, show, the swaggerin' growlers, tompkins square park
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