I live everywhere now

Men is a Brooklyn band that, like everyone promoted by Indichik's friends at Arthur, are a lot psychadelic. Plus, Joshua Tree? My gosh?
OFF OUR BACKS by MEN

I'm probably the least qualified person in this lineup

Vol. 1 Brooklyn’s Birthday Party: The Greatest 3-Minute Record Reviews Ever

Vol. 1 Brooklyn Presents

The Greatest 3-Minute Record Reviews Ever

With special musical guests: Xray Eyeballs

Aaron Lefkove (LiveFastDie/Creator: Summer of Megadeath)
Adam Wilson (The Faster Times)
Andrea Bartz (Stuff Hipsters Hate)
Ben Greenman (The New Yorker, new book called What He’s Poised to Do)
Bill Pearis (Sound Bites NYC/Brooklyn Vegan)
Brenna Ehrlich (Mashable/Stuff Hipsters Hate)
Brandon Stosuy (Stereogum/The Believer) Canceled/had a baby/mazel tov!
Claire Shefchik (The Faster Times)
Emma Straub (Author)
Jared Bloom (The Full Ginsburg)
Jason Diamond (Vol. 1 Brooklyn)
Jason Orlovich (Brooklyn the Borough)
James Yeh (Gigantic Mag)
Jed Smith (My Teenage Stride)
Jens Carstensen (Limewire/The Giraffes)
Jeremy Krinsley (Impose)
Jesse Hlebo (Swill Children)
Maggie Serota (New York Press)
Maris Kreizman (Slaughterhouse 90210)
Marisa Meltzer (Author of Girl Power: 90′s Revolution in Music)
Marty Beckerman (Online features editor at Esquire/author)
Maura Johnston (The Awl)
Rob Tannenbaum (Playboy Magazine/Rolling Stone)
Sara Jaffe (Writer/musician)
Scott Lindenbaum (Electric Literature)
Tobias Carroll (The Scowl/Vol. 1 Brooklyn)
Zachary Lipez (Freshkills/Author of “Please Take Me off the Guest List”)

At: Bar Matchless – 557 Manhattan Ave. Greenpoint, Brooklyn

7 PM, no cover

Reunited

Not only is author Eric Davidson an accomplished music journalist who's written for CMJ and the Voice, he is, in fact, a member of the legendary New Bomb Turks, who are reuniting tonight at the Bell House for one night only to celebrate the release of We Never Learn, Davidson's firsthand account of the punk underground of the '80s and '90s. So you get to see him read and play. And if that's not enough, I'll be selling the book, so you can keep me company. There's nobody lonelier than the merch girl during a good show. And wait, what's this about gourmet barbecue?

If he can't catch it, nobody can

So the good old boys at Underwater Peoples' records, they of all of your favorite vaguely folksy indie rock acts -- Real Estate, Woods, Islands, etc. etc. are planning some epic hootenanny up in the mountains this July 24 featuring all those bands and more, but they need your pledge or it won't happen. I'm broke so I can't help, obviously, but maybe you can make this happen. This event is all but guaranteed to feature flannel shirts and beards galore-- how could you say no?



Also, I don't have a car and have no idea where Saratoga Springs is, but if I'm really lucky, maybe I'll be able to hitchhike up there in the Woods Family Van. I'm stoked.

Take the plunge

Friday night, possibly for the only time in history, you'll be able to experience me, Ben Greenman, David Hollander, shipwrecks, burlesque theater pieces, the 19th century maritime painter Thomas Chambers, and the mournful gothic-roots music of Richard McGraw (whose album Burying the Dead is out now on Non-Utopian Records, and whose single "Hurting Heart" is stream-able below), all in one place. Plus more, all in celebration of the wacky and vaguely disturbing, in some cases, objects lurking beneath the waterways of New York.

It's a reading-theatre-music-art blowout at the American Folk Art Museum, and it starts at 5:30. The museum is located at 45 W. 53rd St, between 5th and 6th Avenues. Did I mention that it's free? More information can be found at the official UNY site.

Stream - Richard McGraw - Hurting Heart

RAAWART Presents Click

On February 24, RAAWART gallery presents an new exhibition of edgy photography and an afterparty at Juliet in SoHo: Click is so chic.

Mardi Gras Madness

We heart Hank & Cupcakes here at Indichik, and we especially heart the chance to see their new video for "Pleasure Town" FREE at Brooklyn Bowl.
On Friday, there's also this, which seems like it might be huge and unfortunately is not free, but that you can RSVP for ahead of time to get reduced admission:

Also The L Magazine, who I hate to promote because the evidence is mounting that they're all a bunch of misogynistic, self-important dicks, is sponsoring a Mardi Gras parade in Williamsburg tonight followed by a free show from Wavves at Brooklyn Bowl. I have absolutely no clue what Nathan Williams has to do with Mardi Gras and it's snowing, but whatever, it's free, and people will go, especially if there's any chance that the Black Lips will show up, shit could get ugly

Nikki & Rich are big and skinny (and soon to be rich, I'm sure)

Pop-soul is big, and Nikki Leonti is literally the "son of a preacher man" (daughter, whatever) and sings some wicked neo-pop-soul accompanied with Rich Velonski boutique beats. They even sample the Shangri-Las on their first single "Cat and Mouse." You can see them free next Tuesday at the Highline, courtesy of Giant Step, rsvp'ing here.

Sunday: We're all fans

Watch the Grammys on The Hill courtesy of my friends at ChiChi212, and see if the Academy throws a nod in the direction of indie rock by awarding Best New Artist to the Silversun Pickups. Not bloody likely.

Thursday: Release party for Haiti

Send help to Haiti, drink Colt 45, and check out my feature article on The xx. You can't ask for more in a night, right?

Tuesday: Mad tatts at Cameo, courtesy of Brooklyn Royalty

We just have to keep the memoir debate going until I finish mine

I'm devastated to have missed Ben Yagoda, author of Memoir: A History on Wednesday at Freerange Nonfiction Reading Series (see previous post) but on Poor Your Soul, Freerange proprietor Mira has a breakdown on the lecture he gave, in which he assigns and subtract points to various memoirs for criteria like "Dialogue" and "Rips on People", revealing that St. Augustine is currently beating Sarah Palin by around 40 points (surprisingly?) He also sets out to explain the insatiable current hunger we as a society have for "true stories" (translation: "untrue stories"). It's worth reading.

Northern Sky

So Flavorpill has "The Ultimate Hipster Reading List," which is, yes, about as obnoxious as it sounds. It's a list about of dozen white male writers you have heard of (Keith Gessen, Nick Flynn, et al. plus Miranda July thrown in for color) recommending about 50 white male writers you haven't heard of. I don't know whether FP thinks that there are actually people out there who will take these recommendations seriously, or whether it's all some elaborate, ironic joke. I'm not sure FP themselves want to know. The truth would probably horrify them, at any rate.

Oh, and also I'm in the frozen north right now, and have been for weeks, and will be for another week. All of my NYC information is coming from Facebook, mailing lists, and press releases, and I don't go anywhere. Which means that on Sunday I will unfortunately be missing the Improv Everywhere No Pants Subway Ride, so if you do go, make sure to take off an extra pair of pants for me. (Also, for my peace of mind when I come back, please don't tell me which train these people were on. I already don't like to think about who's occupied those hard plastic seats before me).

Cookie monster

One unsung benefit of the holiday office party, as it turns out, is finding out just who your co-workers actually are. (Yes, I know that sounds odd, but I work in a rather odd business). This past Sunday, I learned that one of these stealth ghosts happens to be the legendary Matt Timms, Brooklyn impresario of various Takedowns (chili, fondue and otherwise). The next one, concerning cookies, is on Sunday the 20th at The Bell House. Not that anything would keep me away from all-you-can-eat cookies, but in this impersonal city, it's always nice to have a personal connection with someone you only see once a year.

The Fifth Annual PaperMag Nightlife Awards (yes, ChiChi lost, but who cares? Free bottle service!)

Amanda Lepore and Ladyfag present an award.

Mr. Mickey and Ladyfag.
Co-emcee and Lifetime Achievement Award Winner Michael Musto (he's much funnier in person than in his Voice column, which avoiding, for me, is practically a third part-time job).

The crew from Santos Party House, winning for the 87th year in a row.











The crowd up on the back of the sofa during The Drums' set.



Since ChiChi212 received a much-deserved People's Choice Nom for Best Nightlife Blog (it's one of those links over in the sidebar that you never look at, but includes the occasional item from me, like encounters with Ed Westwick that I would be too embarrassed to post here), I got a ticket to the show, which took place at the aptly-named M2 Ultralounge (formerly Mansion). It's quite large. This post is only a small, tantalizing slice of the freakishishness and various levels of fiercely bad taste on display, (two words: drag queens) but luckily retro-pop band The Drums (filling in for much-more-polished Ting Tings at the last minute) with their crew cuts and windbreakers looked like they ought to be hanging out at a malt shop somewhere in 1955, ended the night feeling less like the city's chrome-trimmed jungle and more like the vast wilds of Brooklyn; in other words, this Indichik felt right at home.

The recap over on the ChiChi212 site and the Papermag.com article have even more red-carpet photos, decadence and random celebrity sightings, including my editor Brittany getting all cute about presenter Taylor Hanson (yes, of those Hansons).

Mp3 - The Drums - Let's Go Surfing

A very prosperous loft party

With its high-energy, ska-influenced take on Southern indie rock, the Black Taxi live show is not to be missed. Plus, it's Meijin's birthday!

Mp3 - Black Taxi - Up Here for Thinking, Down Here for Dancing

Tonight: Help a brother out

I don't have health insurance anymore either, as I'm sure a lot you don't, so I'm, certainly sympathetic. And it's always nice when the Brooklyn music community come together to help out one of their own. Plus, I love the White Suns, and when are you going to get to see Genesis Breyer P-Orridge at Dea,th by Audio? Probably never.

Join me Thursday for story time in Greenpoint

Here's your chance to hear me tell whatever stirring story I come up with between now and Thursday night (and that will most likely involve a penis, because as I've come to realize, at readings, much like in kindergarten, penis references are invariably gold) and if you're so inclined, join me and the other talented readers before and/or after for a drink and a hang. It happens this Thursday, November 19 at 8 pm at Bar Matchless, 557 Manhattan Ave. in Greenpoint. Detailed directions can be found here: http://www.barmatchless.com/about.html.

Vol. 1 Brooklyn Storytelling Series

Come wish us a happy winter break as we present our final Vol. 1 Brooklyn Storytelling of 2009. This month, we present two contributes to our site, and three newcomers to the Matchless stage.

:Porochista Khakpour
::Clay Mcleod Chapman
:::Tobias Carroll
::::Aaron Hartman
:::::Claire Shefchik

Hosted by Jason Diamond
http://www.vol1brooklyn.com

If I ran the circus, it would look a lot like this

Photos from the cave of daring freaks and spectacular wonders, courtesy of testosterone-heavy email newsletter Thrillist party, Friday at Carnival. In the top photo are the beginnings of the balloon Elmo I had so generously mademe, complete with googly eyes (that kept popping off before he was finished). You could also win live goldfish by tossing ping pong balls in their bowls. The whole event was sponsored by Jolt Energy Mints and Canadian Club Whiskey, complimenting each other perfectly.

The cool kids

How often do you get to hear fiction writers read entire stories in one sitting? In my experience, almost never. But last night at NYU's Lillian Vernon House was different. Contributors to the past and current (shown above) issues of Epiphany defeated the Curse of the Fiction Reader (i.e., when you can only read three pages of a 12-page story, nobody knows what the hell you're talking about).

Editor Jeffrey Gustavson plays emcee.

Lara Tupper steams things up with "Ting!," a tale of hot encounters between cruise ship crew.

April Naoko Heck gets in our face with her non-confessional confessional poetry (note that's an index finger, not a middle!).

Your next chance to experience current Epiphany work will be Wednesday at 7, upstairs at Pianos, during the official issue release party. Rumor has it there will be people reading, but it will be business as usual, at only about 5 minutes each, so, alas, poets win again. But as always, we fiction writers have liquor to make up for that.