STORM WARRIORS
June 30th, 2010 by Planet Chocko
I thought I would of raised my martian snausage nose up to such a film as Storm Warriors with all it’s magic,mystic, & wire-fu acts of self inflicting honor, but to be honest I actually enjoyed the freak show! The film was like a done up whore complete with fake boobs, long legs,pretty face, & a sweet rump injected with CGI & filled with Hong Kong pretty boy pop stars like Ekin Cheng,Aaron Kwok, & Nicholas Tse. I mean this in the most complimentary of ways, folks! The evil empire strikes back with Simon Yam gracing us with his role of a Darth Vader like Japanese Warlord named Lord Godless. When I hear or see Ekin Cheng & Nicholas Tse, I instantly think about the gangster roles they played from the “Young And the Dangerous” series. It’s hard to picture them in period piece roles but, Ekin Cheng & Aaron Kwok both did a good job in portraying the characters of Wind & Cloud. Storm Warriors or aka Storm Riders 2 is based on a Hong Kong comic book. This is part of the reason that I lifted my wire-fu ban on this movie because it’s a comic book character, ladies & neanderthals! Superhero characters=superhuman feats so I’m OK with the walking on water, moving mountains on your shoulder, & shooting erronious energy from your fingertips! The CGI work on Storm Warriors was amazing! Think Frank Miller’s “300”! I worried that these Hong Kong pop stars would fail on recreating fight scenes with much passion & accuracy, but they did a decent job! Simon Yam being a drama man himself represented Lord Godless in convincing fashion filled with ruthlessness & evil. Storm Warriors opens up with Cloud(Aaron Kwok),Chu Chu,Piggy King,2nd Dream, & their master “Nameless” already in the paws of Lord Godless awaiting execution. The Lord (Simon Yam) & his son (Nicholas Tse) want to take control of the galaxy & rule the martial art world!(muhahaha). But to everybodies surprise, Wind(Ekin Cheng) appears & saves the bunch from the clutches of Lord Godless, but not before Master Nameless gets seriously injured. The three go on a refuge & must power up before they meet Godless again. Master Nameless is injured & cannot pass on enough power or knowledge to Wind or Cloud so Lord Wicked was recommend as the only savior. Ekin Cheng(Wind) was then chosen to train in the powers of the evil in order to gain enough strength to defeat Lord Godless, but in turn Wind might get possessed by the darkside & would probably not make it back to the Jedi side. Cloud would continue training with Master Nameless & eventually reach another level that would embellish new knowledge in creating his own sword technique. Cloud & Wind meet up to ignite a Storm from Lord Godless, & the Dragon bones is the prize that will win immortality!(muhahaha). Storm Warriors is definitely one big eye candy that I should watch over again to pickup little nuances I might have missed! 2nd on my list is to checkout the “Storm Riders” comic book to get a better understanding of these 2 characters! And lastly, I should watch Storm Riders the first movie with Ekin Cheng,Aaron Kwok, & Sonny Chiba that was released about a decade ago!
–Mr. C (7 out of 10 chances for a Storm when Wind & Cloud collide)
Tags: aaron kwok, cloud, comic book, ekin cheng, godless, hong kong comic, nameless, new york asian film festival, nicholas tse, simon yam, storm riders, storm warriors, wind
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KUNG FU CHEFS
June 29th, 2010 by Planet Chocko
The Kung Fu Chef’s screening at the New York Asian film festival in Walter Reade Theatre on June 26th turned out to be quite a pleasant surprise! This film was quite wacky,quacky,quirky, & a complete train wreck filled with action! I loved it! I left the theatre quenching for more…cabbage in clear broth…um..I mean kung fu action! Don’t get me wrong, this movie was no academy award winner, but the over the top story of a comic book style story based on a kung fu fighting master chef that yields a dragon heads butcher knife was quite hilarious. The dialogue and so called english subtitle translation would win no awards for best script, but this is Hong Kong comedy at it’s best.
Let’s get to the nitty gritty of the movie. The cast would contain a core of grisly veterans of kung fu proportions like Sammo Hung, Bruce Leung, & Louis Fan Siu Wong. Taiwanese pop star Vaness Wu who played the young arrogant chef, & the two ladies worthy of eye candy added silly slapstick to the equation. The fight sequences teetered me over to the Jedi side as opposed to the dark side of sheer silliness. Sammo vs Bruce Leung, Sammo vs Louis Fan Siu Wong, Sammo vs Chef Ken, Sammo vs the sashimi, Sammo vs pig…had won me over to no end! Oh, did I also tell you Sammo’s son, Timmy Hung is in the movie? Timmy gets a severe beat down from papa Hung in full chinese banquet glory! The film is about Master Chef, Wong Ping Yee played by Sammo who saves a chinese banquet because one of his sous chefs burns a hunk of pork meat. Sammo proceeds to butcher a whole swine with one big swoop of the magical Dragon Head’s butcher cleaver!(Great scene by the way). The pork is then tenderly cooked & the banquet, subsequently has been saved! Little did the master chef know but his Chef nephew played by Louis Fan Siu Wong had poisoned the pork meat in order to frame his Uncle. The nephew still harbors disgust for his uncle because of an injury that was sustained to his dad’s arm from a cooking competition with the Uncle which promptly forced his dad to give up the Executive Chef title in his village. Sammo Hung is then ousted from the village as head chef due to being framed by his nephew. Chef Wong Ping Yee’s new life begins when he enters the two young ladies restaurant for lunch. Chef Wong is not impressed after trying a simple Sichuan dish called cabbage in clear broth. He also meets the arrogant Chef Ken while dining who he will mentor in the times to come. The first chef battle begins with Master Wong pitted against the Executive Chef of the young ladies restaurant. Wong masterfully sweeps the other chef to the side prompting the chef to lose face & jump ship. The chef games begin when Master Wong Ping Yee takes the reigns of this new restaurant along with his new prodigy, Chef Ken! Ken-San & Sammo soon have a blade off, comparing fresh sashimi cuts. However,Ken is no match for Sammo’s, cold blade ginsu cuts of fresh fish! School is now officially in session when the “Plump one” trains the young Jedi! Soon thereafter, fist a cuffs are in order with Sammo vs Louis Fan Siu Wong & the choreography was sheer amazing with a Birdseye camera shot of sweeps,roundhouse,front heel kicks, & Sammo’s classic reverse sidekick till no end! The rest of the fight scenes involving Sammo vs Bruce Leung, Fan Siu Wong vs Chef Ken are additional butter added to the ‘au ju’ gravy! The fight scenes in this movie were raw & dynamic! Exactly what the Kung Fu Doctor called for! There is a cooking finale that will involve one dish from the jungles of Sichuan province,China, yes you guessed it…Cabbage in clear broth! And yes, the Dragon Head’s butcher knife will reveal itself again!
Listen folks, I’m not saying this is a great movie & probably to the contrary, but it surely was entertaining at that especially seeing it on the big screen with surround sound! I’m also not saying that you should shell out big bucks to watch this at Sony Imax but, if you want to be entertained with food & some heavy duty fight scenes between 2 great onscreen fighters like Sammo Hung & Louis Fan Siu Wong, you can’t do any better! It is definitely worthy of a Yesasia.com or hkflix.com purchase especially if you are a Sammo Hung Gum Bo & Louis Fan Siu Wong fan!
–Mr. C (5 out of 10 cabbage in clear broths,sichuan style!)
Tags: bruce leung, chef ken, kung fu chefs, louis fan siu wong, new york asian film festival, sammo hung
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IP MAN 2
June 28th, 2010 by Planet Chocko
The anticipation of the screening of Ip Man 2 on opening night of the New York Asian Film Festival on June 25th created palpitations that only job interviews & colonoscopies can rival, but in a good way! Ip Man, the 1st movie told us about a story of the man himself who lived an aristocratic lifestyle & loved his art of Wing Chun in Foshan, China. The occupancy of the japanese created a rougher grit of sandpaper being added to the daily life of the chinese so many families escaped into the arms of Hong Kong under British rule. Enter, Ip Man 2. Ip Man 2 shows us the humble Ip Man, his pregnant wife, & his son struggling to pay the rent. Finding Wing Chun students to teach on the rooftops of Hong Kong proves to be difficult when other martial art schools take this as competition for business. This all comes to a head when Donnie Yen who plays the Wing Chun master, Yip Man is challenged by the “Kung Fu federation” to see if he is worthy to teach his art. After Yip Man’s fierce martial battle with the organization , the chinese martial art schools have other issues to deal with like the big bad British authorities & their big bad western boxer named “Twister”. I’ll spare you the details of the movie, but I’m sure you aliens can predict the outcome! What I can tell you is that at the end of the movie surfaces a young brat who wishes to learn wing chun from Yip Man with his hair slicked back, flicking his nose with his thumb, wearing jeans, & professes his desire to learn how to fight! His name is Lee, the “little dragon”, otherwise known as Bruce Lee to all the “Gwei Lo’s” & martians like myself. Can you say IP MAN 3? Gwei Lo roughly translates to “Foreign devil” or “western ghost”. Many chinese use the gwei lo term to identify westerners. I wonder what the chinese character for Martians or Aliens is?
Seriously speaking, Ip man 2 was chock full of refreshing energy on a real life character that many martial artists in the asian & western world can directly point their kung fu lineage to. Yip Man was a humble person practicing his art of peacefulness & destruction while not appearing to walk on water like other characters being portrayed on the screen like Wong Fei Hong. Wilson Yip did a great job directing the film in my opinion. The consultation with the real life son of Ip Man, Ip Chun on the movie in respects to the martial art & history is priceless. The additions of some well known Shaw Brother actors from the 1970’s like Lo Meng & the character that played the “Ba Gua” master in the film were fantastic. I wished these 2 great shaw brother actors of yesteryear would of gotten better choreography in the film instead of the quirky styles & characters that they portrayed, but I might be getting too technical here. Overall, the film housed some real badass old school kung fu choreography, but there were some flashes of wire “FU” work that I wasn’t too keen on. Why do you need wire fu when you’ve got the horses in your film that can display real kung fu? This crap still boggles my mind, but I guess the concensus of the chinese market is that they like the walk on water & fantasy crapola. In my mindless thinking, Wing Chun is the most direct & non-flashy of all the Chinese martial arts. We definitely don’t need any artificial enhancements to this fighting system. Come to think of it, none of the martial arts needs any performing enhancing attributes. A skilled martial artist provides his own stroke to create a painting with no help from technology. With Sammo Hung, Donnie Yen, & a world of real practictioners on your movie set, you would think there would be no need for any instances of “The Matrix”. Let me not digress to this Wire Fu stress because I’m about to blow an artery. Back to the man himself, let’s not forget that IP Man was a very important figure in the chinese martial arts world. Yip Man was a simpleton at heart with a complex mind. Yip Man went on to train relevant kung fu practictioners that would propagate the art of Chinese Kung Fu to all parts of the galaxy. With the likes of Bruce Lee, Leung Ting,William Cheung, Ip Chun(son), & Moy Yat(NYC) to name just a few accomplished students of the MAN! Many martians forget that Chinese Kung Fu is not just about the technical aspects of punching, kicking, & whoopass. Don’t get me wrong, Chinese Martial Arts was created to defend thyself from offensive neighbors, galaxies, & circumstances. However, the deep roots of Chinese Kung Fu also circles back to the cultural aspects of the art that many martians will never understand & grasp for those just wanting to learn how to kick & punch.
Fellow monchichis, do yourselves a favor & watch this film at your nearest Independent movie theatre! At the very least, catch it on netflix or buy it on DVD when it becomes available! I guarantee that there will be an increase in signups at your nearest Wing Chun school after a viewing of this movie! Wha..bisch…Wha..bisch..awe..awe..Suecky..Suecky!
–Mr. C (Ip Man 2 is 7 out of 10 stinky tofus!)
(pics,article,& video courtesy of Mr. C @planetchocko.com)
Tags: donnie yen, ip man 2, new york asian film festival, nyaff, sammo hung, simon yam, walter reade theater, yip man
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SAMMO HUNG GUM BO,SIMON YAM, & HUANG BO at Star Asia Awards-NYAFF 2010
June 28th, 2010 by Planet Chocko
This Planet Chocko martian had a privilege to attend the smattering of asteroids & awards being handed out to honor Hong Kong cinema legends Sammo Hung Kum Bo, Simon Yam, & to recognize a new/upcoming actor Huang Bo at the Star Asia Awards Ceremony on June 25th in conjuction with the New York Asian Film Festival hosted by Subway Cinema! Sammo, known as “Dai Goi Dai” to his close friends which translates to Big Brother big shows that his circle of friends & peers give him the utmost of respect when greeting him with this title. Dai Goi Dai is usually reserved for a person with high authority like a crime boss or someone with a tremendous amount of influence in his circle of business. Deservingly so because Sammo was the eldest training brother of the “7 little fortunes” including Jackie Chan,Yuen Biao, & Yuen Wah under the tutelage of Jimmy Yuen’s Peking Opera Academy in Hong Kong. Sammo Hung was the leader of the seven little fortunes and soon thereafter, began to blaze a trail in the Hong Kong film industry that his classmates would eventually take a walk on. Shaw Brother directors such as Chang Cheh & King Hu began to notice Sammo’s skill in fight choregraphy & so…the first domino started to fall as the “Fatty Dragon” began making a name for himself. Even Bruce Lee took a notice to the ‘plump one’ & Jackie Chan as well when casting them in fight scenes. From Wuxia genres like “Come Drink with Me” & the “Fate of Lee Khan” to Kung Fu slapstick like “Meals on Wheels” to “Enter the Fat Dragon”, to Wing Chun inspired movies like “Prodigal Son”,”Warriors Two”, & “Ip Man”, Sammo has had his hands in the cookie jar in all aspects of the phrase! The ‘fatty dragon’ reigns supreme, the cookie monster said so! It’s really an honor to be able to hear & see one of Hong Kong’s legends in person!
Simon Yam has easily been one of my favorite actors in the cop & gangster themed Hong Kong movies since the early 80’s. Even the casual HK cinema film fan would recognize Simon based on the sheer number of movies he has acted in. From John Woo’s, “Bullet in head” to “Full Contact” to the famous “Young & the Dangerous” series, I can always picture Simon in a Hong Kong Police uniform and people calling him “a sir”. If Tony Leung or Chow Yun Fat is in the movie, I expect to see Simon as well! I went to a screening of “Echoes of the Rainbow” last night at the New York Asian Film festival in the Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center & I can see why Simon was finally nominated as being actor of the year with this film. Simon Yam made a brief appearance before the screening of Echoes of the Rainbow & he mentioned that this movie was very close to his heart. Echoes of the Rainbow tells a story about a family living in 1960’s Hong Kong. The movie was narrated by the youngest son in the movie & it was touching indeed. This film hit home with me because the town they were portraying was also the town were my family lived in the 1960’s. The area was called “Tsam Tsui Bo”. It’s to no surprise that Simon was recognized by the Hong Kong film industry & the New York Asian Film Festival for his excellency & persistence in keeping us martians entertained in our spaceships! The question is, why did it take so long?
A rising star award was also handed out to China’s actor, Huang Bo. He’s a newcomer & I’m looking forward to watching some of his movies on display at the festival!
Oh, my Lord Godless(taken from “Storm Warriors”), I forgot to mention that Angela Mao Ying came out to present Sammo Hung with his lifetime achievement award! What a great surprise! She disappeared from the film industry about 30 years ago when she decided her family was more important than the non lucrative sport of acting & traveling to make films. Rumors had it that Angela owned a Chinese restaurant somewhere in Flushing,Queens. Angela Mao Ying was my favorite Hong Kong actress because she exuded mojo,the look, & her kick ass skills to the screen when women weren’t supposed to be strong like a tigress! Angela parallels another strong actress of a different spectrum of the rainbow named Pam Grier without the breastesses & hairdo! I must say Angela Mao looked dynomite even 30 years later! Pam Grier still looks hot as well! Maybe we should honor Angela, too! Hint Hint…Subway Cinema & New York Asian Film Festival! Fate of Lee Khan, When Tae Kwan Do strikes, Lady Kung fu, whatcha’ sayin’?!
–Mr. C (pics,article,& video courtesy of Mr. C @planetchocko.com)
Tags: angela mao ying, hong kong cinema, huang bo, ip man, lifetime achievement award, lincoln center, new york asian film festival, nyaff, sammo hung, simon yam, star asia award, subway cinema, walter reade theater
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PUNK ISLAND 2010 AT GOVERNORS ISLAND – June 20th
June 21st, 2010 by Planet Chocko
–Mr. C
Tags: governors island, make music, new york, punk island, punk island 2010
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BIG APPLE BBQ Block party 2010 at MADISON SQUARE PARK in NYC!
June 14th, 2010 by Planet Chocko
Smoked Sausage & jalapeno-pimento cheese spread at JimNnicks!
Smoked Sausage...up close & personal!
The 8th annual Big Apple BBQ block party in NYC was a swine of a success this past weekend! BBQ lovers of all breeds & nations conjured up at Madison Square Park’s perimeter to sample a tasting of some of the best slow smoked whole hog, brisket, sausages, & ribs from pitmasters all across the red,white,& blue! The vendors that I had a privilege to sample from included Ed Mitchell’s “The Pit” from Raleigh-North Carolina serving up a whole hog sandwich with slaw, Mike Mill’s “17th st. bar & grill” from Murphysboro-Illinois serving baby back ribs with beans, Patrick Martin’s “Martins BBQ Joint” from Nashville-Tennesse serving up a whole hog sandwich with sweet pickles, Drew Robinson’s “Jim n Nicks BBQ” from Birmingham-Alabama serving homemade smoked sausage with an jalapeno pimento cheese spread, Ken Bosley’s “Moonlite BBQ Inn” from Owensboro-Kentucky serving a BBQ mutton & burgoo sandwich with pickles, & Joe Duncan’s “Bakers Ribs” from Dallas Texas serving up St. Louis style ribs. There were oodles of other pitmasters & their respective restaurants from near to far but the ones I mentioned above are the ones that served up the BBQ that ended up in my tummy! Everything I tasted from these BBQ masters were truly “off the meat rack” to say the least! I have to say that my favorites were the whole hog sandwich from Martins BBQ Joint & the smoked sausage from Jim n Nicks BBQ. The whole hog sandwich from Ed Mitchell was off the chain,too with the vinegary based mix of the finely chopped whole hog, but I preferred the roughly chopped whole hog from Martin’s BBQ joint & the sweet/tart blend of the BBQ sauce slightly lathered upon the stringily-coursely chopped meat! The sweet pickles that accompanied the whole hog ‘sammy were very delightful,too! The 2nd delight that I really savored were the homemade smoked sausage from Jim N Nick’s BBQ. I thought the sausage had a nice & mild smoke flavor that wasn’t too overpowering while the casing had a nice snap when your teeth broke the bond! The accompaniment with the smoked sausage,the pimento cheese spread was a nice element of surprise as well. The cheese were finely diced & the jalapeno added a hint of smoke & heat that was just right! I gently massaged the smoked sausage with the jalapeno-pimento cheese spread instead of smearing it on the saltine crackers that they provided & ooh,boy that combo was like a 1st round lottery draft pick! The snap,crackle,pop of the casing with the smoke flavor of the sausage & the texture of the pimento cheese spread were pure ecstacy to my taste buds when my molars layed contact on her! Ed Mitchell’s crew from “The Pit” also won my piggy heart when they gave free samplings of their pork cracklings when politely asked! Some tasty pork rinds I must say! It brought me back to the days of high school to this corner store called “The Caribbean” when pork rinds & a snapple were a snack called to order before practice! Ed Mitchell’s,’The PIT’ was so popular that they ran out of hog sandwiches around 1:45pm on Saturday! I hope to try out more vendors next year & continue to go to the ones that really pleased my senses this year!
–Mr. C
Whole Hog sandwich from Martin's BBQ!
Pitmaster, Patrick Martin manning his BBQ & staff!
Mike Mills, pitmaster from 17th st bar & grill!
Baby back ribs & beans from 17th St bar & grill
Ed Mitchell, pitmaster from The Pit
Ed Mitchell checking his babies on the pit!
Whole hog sandwich & slaw from the Pit!
OG from the PIT serving up some pork cracklings!
Tags: 17th st bar grill, 8th annual bbq, big apple bbq, drew robinson, ed mitchell, jim n nicks, jimnnicks, jimnnicks bbq, madison square park, martins bbq, mike mills, moonlite bbq, patrick martin, the pit
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NORAH JONES AT CELEBRATE BROOKLYN in PROSPECT PARK Bandshell
June 10th, 2010 by Planet Chocko
Norah Jones blessed the 2010 season of Celebrate Brooklyn at Prospect Park by kicking off the free concert series on June 9th,2010! It was a gloomy,dreary,rainy,& depressing day, but once Norah surfaced on the stage, her vocals & soulful fingers on the keyboard made me drift away to another planet! A dry & sunny Planet Chocko, perhaps! She was accompanied once again with the multi-talented Sasha, who provided the backup vocals,guitars,percussions, & banjo playing. Marty Markowitz, the Brooklyn Borough President made his improptu speech to welcome Norah Jones & to celebrate Brooklyn! Not for nothing, but I don’t even live in Brooklyn & I know the name & face of the Brooklyn Borough Prez! I barely even remember the name of the Mayor in my own town. What’s wrong with this picture?!
Yes, I was semi prepared(not really) for the rains that accompanied Norah & her audience at the Bandshell in Prospect Park, but I got demolished by the rains,anyway. I was wearing 100% all american cotton which is not a good idea, unless you want to act as a human sponge! I brought a petite umbrella that folds up in 30 places which is ‘hella’ portable which is why I got ‘hella’ drenched! I also brought a heavy duty black garbage bag to cover the wet chair so my brain wouldn’t get fried! Donning the garbage bag over my body like a ghost would of been a better idea! Probably a stupid risk, but I whipped out the camera for some still shots & a few vids so the beast got a fair share of raindrops & a few teardrops from myself as well! Norah Jones scintillated the Brooklyn & New Jersey audience that night with a tuneful harassment of her cool breeze,deep,& honey infused vocals! Norah’s set list included Stuck,Creepin in,Sunrise,Come Away with Me,Don’t Know Why,Dauphin Island,cover from Neil Young’s-Barstool Blues,Back to Manhattan, & Chasing Pirates. NJ’s rendition of “Dauphin Island” by Mobile-Alabama’s own, So Brown was inspirational. “Dauphin Island” in Alabama was a tribute to the beauty of the Island before the Gulf of Mexico oil spill that washed up on the beaches. Norah Jones’ peformance was worth being marinated in the rain for 2 hours! Plus, my camera showed no ill effects as of yet! Knock on wood *As I knock on my head* Maybe, we can see more of Norah Jones in Brooklyn since she just became a resident in this wonderful borough once again in the Cobble Hill section, I believe! Sunrise..Sunrise…Norah!
–Mr. C
Tags: alabama, bandshell, barstool blues, brooklyn, celebrate brooklyn, dauphin island, mobile, norah jones, prospect park, so brown
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Greenpoint, BK
June 9th, 2010 by planetchocko
-photo by chocko
Tags: brooklyn, graffiti, greenpoint, new york city, street art
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Joey Ramone Birthday Bash 2010
June 3rd, 2010 by planetchocko
There was never a dull moment at this year’s Birthday Bash at Irving Plaza in NYC which honored the late, great Joey Ramone. Bands such as Heap and Spanking Charlene played all night and in between sets the audience was treated to rare video and concert footage on a huge screen. The Independents played with intensity, blending punk rock and ska music. Joey was once their manager and back in the day would join them on stage for some Ramones tunes. Those were some good times and it was great to see Evil and Willy B. back on a New York stage. The Sic F*cks, one of the original NY punk/glam bands, played a memorable set. Check out the video below for their performance of “take drugs.” They were joined on stage by Dennis Dunaway (original member of Alice Cooper band) on the bass.
Another local band, Morningwood also rocked out and lead singer, Chantal is nothing short of a thrill to watch. She worked the stage like a female Iggy Pop jumping into the audience, climbing amps and railings up to the balcony. Next up, HR of the Bad Brains who performed a couple mellow reggae numbers. He sounded great, better than expected. Don’t let the bath towel on his head or what appeared to be a bullet proof vest under his suit fool you. He may look a little off, but he can still perform when he’s focused. I wish he played some Bad Brains songs but that might have to wait until the original lineup plays the Afro Punk Festival later in the summer.
Jesse Malin and the St. Marks Social played a loud set from their new album “Love It To Life” and you should go get it. Check out “Burning the Bower”…awesome tune. I remember seeing Joey Ramone and Dee Dee Ramone play at the Continental by St. Mark’s Place (once a cool club to check out bands, now a bar with no live music) and bumping into Jesse jumping around and singing along in the pit. Cool dude.
Friends of Joey Ramone rounded out the evening playing a bunch of Ramones tunes. Richie Ramone and Cheetah Chrome of the Dead Boys played. Walter Lure of the Heartbreakers did a fun cover of “Chinese Rocks” and George Tabb of Furious George sang “Wart Hog.” Punk Rock! A tipsy Mickey Leigh played a lot of Joey’s solo stuff and announced that a new Joey Ramone solo album was in the works.
The lead singer of one of the greatest bands ever would have been 59 years old this year. He’s not around around anymore, but his music and legacy will live on forever.
-chocko
Tags: bad brains, concert, irving plaza, new york city, punk rock, sic f*cks, the ramones
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Wooster street art: more…
May 30th, 2010 by Planet Chocko
Just a few more closeup shots of artwork on Wooster St. adjacent from the Shepard Fairey exhibit that caught our eye on our May 10th visitation from Planet Chocko…
–Mr. C
Tags: mayday exhibit, shepard fairey, soho street art, wooster street art
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ICE CUBE: Straight Outta LA
May 17th, 2010 by Planet Chocko
Ice Cube as a kid growing up in South Central-Los Angeles
Express Yourself! That is exactly what Ice Cube did with his film “Straight Outta LA” in conjunction with ESPN’s 30 for 30 series. Ice Cube wanted to tell the story of how his shipmates from the N.W.A. battleship including MC Ren, Dr. Dre, Eazy E, DJ Yella, & himself were heavily influenced by the colors of the silver & black from the LA Raiders both physically & metaphorically, & their reasoning behind it! First off, let’s talk a little bit about the Oakland Raiders & what they symbolized. The silver & black of the late 60’s,70’s, & early 80’s were rebels, raggamuffins, & outlaws to say the least led by the King outlaw himself, Al Davis. The raiders were winners & they weren’t afraid to slap you in the face to tell you so. The Silver & black’s hard nosed play started at the top of the outlaw chain from Al Davis to John Madden to Tom Flores, from players like Lyle Alzado, Marcus Allen, Jim Plunkett, Gene Upshaw, Howie Long, & Todd Christianson to name a few. The Raiders symbolized a Mad Max world & they played with the following phrase in mind, “By any means necessary”. Yes, the Raiders epitomized thug mentality on the gridiron. The Raider logo with the pirate, the eyepatch, the swords, & that shield all encased with the silver & black was menacing to say the least. With that in mind, in comes a kid with jeri curls that grew up in South Central Los Angeles better known as Compton who played football in high school & was a B-Boy at heart. His first name was Ice, & his last name was Cube (not really). Cube grew up idolizing the Oakland Raiders & identified with their gritty play & winning ways. Cube admired Al Davis, the crazy owner of the Raiders with those pimped out glasses! Everyone in the ‘hood always had a uncle, a crazy cousin, or their mothers brother that lived in the murder capital of the world, Oakland who rooted for the Raiders from the sidelines of a liquor store, drinking out of a brown bag on any given sunday. Once the NFL-RAMs left LA for Anaheim & Al Davis moved his team from Oakland to LA in 1982, the game was over. Ice Cube & Los Angeles finally had something to be proud of! While the Raiders slapped around NFL teams during the football season, Ice Cube & his friends slapped around a mic & rapped about life in Compton. It wasn’t Hollywood, it wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t anything to be proud of, but it was real. Cube, MC Ren, Eazy E, DJ Yella, & Dr. Dre classified themselves as reporters from the streets! Their organization would soon be called N.W.A & they were about to start a new genre & phenomenon known as gangsta’ rap. NWA members started talking about donning getups to create an identity for their organization. Soon thereafter, NWA would find themselves wrapped around the silver & black, the pirate, the eyepatch, the swords, all encompassed in that death defying shield! The LA Raiders would symbolize what NWA was, the hard nosed, roughneck, nitty gritty, slap you in the face outlaw, & do it your own way type of attitude. The Silver & Black represented what NWA wanted to portray, the outlaw defiance with the Darth Vader swagger. In 1988, NWA released their 1st record “Straight outta Compton” & it was a big success! Suburban mofos were donning the silver & black, a measuring stick of triumph for the ‘doughboy’! NWA & the LA Raiders had a great relationship! It was a secret alliance in that one side did not know the other, but the Raiders provided a winning culture, attitude, & something to cheer for in LA while NWA created a culture that advertised the Raider logo with gangsta’ mentality that spawned new fans for the football team as well as provide more revenue for the Raiders in terms of gear sales. Things were all peaches and cream until the LA Raiders started losing which created some dissention in the organization. Al Davis seemed to create friction between himself & some of his players like Marcus Allen. The Raiders also had some draft picks in the mid to late 80’s that flopped. It was all downhill from the late 80’s till…now…basically. Al Davis was definitely a trailblazer being the 1st owner that hired a black & latin head coach. Davis does it his way or the highway & you have to admire him for that. He definitely blazes his own trail for the good or for the bad. It seemed that Davis wanted to blaze himself out of Los Angeles with the lean years ahead of him. Things that amounted which led to the erratic owner to jump ship included losing games, missing the playoffs, attendance at the LA Coliseum was plummeting, the dissention with his players, the LA riots-Rodney King incident, Pete Roselle, & the general perception of the type of fans that were at the games, & the roughneck tailgate parties. In 1994, the Raiders would return to Oakland. As far as Ice Cube, he went solo as an artist in 1989 & his new found skill in acting was beginning to blossom with his debut film, “Boyz in da hood”. Cube was one of the founding fathers of gangster rap & was responsible for the globalization of it with a little help from the spirit of the Los Angeles Raiders when they infected the city with their mad max energy in 1982! Even though Al Davis & the Raiders pulled the plug from LA in 1994,the Raiders will always have a heartbeat in Los Angeles! Ice Cube will always be identified with the 1982-1994 LA Raiders for the outlaw image, the pop culture, & for the pride of the working class mofo’s of South Central-LA! Straight Outta Compton! WEST Siiiide!
–MR. C
Tags: 1988, 30 for 30, dr dre, eazy e, espn 30 for 30, eye patch, gansta rap, ice cube, la raiders, los angels raiders, mc ren, nwa, oakland raiders, pirate, silver black, south central, straight outta compton, straight outta la
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Hunter Valentine and the Tour De NYC
May 15th, 2010 by planetchocko
Hunter Valentine, the all-female rock trio from Toronto, recently went on a tour de nyc on the same day their new record “lessons from the late night” came out. The band consists of Kiyomi on lead guitar and vocals, Adrienne on bass and keyboards and Laura on drums and backing vocals. Their ambitious release day of 12 shows in 12 hours in NYC started in the wee hours of the morning for a television appearance at a local morning show. During the course of the day, they played on a bunch of radio shows, a school, Washington Square Park, Union Square and KCDC Skateshop. Things didn’t go too smoothly thanks to park rangers and the police who shut them down at the parks and the subway station in Brooklyn. Hunter Valentine capped the night off with a show at Cake Shop. Rock on sistas!
-chocko
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