Wednesday, June 30, 2010

World Cup on the Big Screen

July 6, 7 & 11: Semi-Finals and Finals @ Real Art Ways, Hartford


Great Idea, RAW, putting the World Cup action on your movie screen. We understand you've got comfy seating, AC, and a cafe stocked with alcoholic beverages and other snacks too.

We must admit that the Scenics have not been particularly caught up (at all) in this tournament, but we quite like the idea of football fanaticism, at least as it's been sold to us in literary form by Nick Hornby in Fever Pitch (a book, but also a 1997 film starring Colin Firth before that Fallon/Barrymore/baseball crap).


We are also sold on soccer as a medium for teenage passions and family life lessons in such classic films as Bend it Like Beckham and Rodney Dangerfield's adorable adolescent crossdressing caper Ladybugs.



Oh dear, we don't yet have a tag for books. Because we are barely literate, obvs. Situation... rectified!

Monday, June 28, 2010

Firsties: Art After Dark @ the Wadsworth

Thursday, July 1: Phoenix Art After Dark @ the Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford


This monthly party sounds a little extra appealing this month, with live music by Tip the Van, and lady fronted ska/punk band from CT who look cute and sound fun and have their very own website with music player (we're impressed!). The event will also features circus-themed fun in honor of the Cirque du Soleil, which is kind of a thing for Hartford events right now, including giant creatures by Anne Cubberly, whose stunning bicycle transformations were a highlight of the recent Creative Cocktail Hour and Real Ride (Real Art Ways). There's also going to be free booze (local brew Ten Penny Ale), peeps on stilts (a hit at the last Liquid Lounge), and a foreign film to keep you feeling cultured.

Tuesdays with Metal: Jucifer @ Daniel Street

Tuesday, June 29: Jucifer @ Daniel Street, Milford


Do you like heavy metal and sexy guy/girl lo-fi duo bands? Well, here's something for you: Jucifer. They're a Relapse band from the south (Georgia), so you know they get sludgy with it. They bring together elements of metal, grunge, stoner rock and weird screamy alternative chick music. Vocalist/guitarist Amber Valentine is a fierce and scary and talented, and a big hottie to boot. Also performing are Gloominous Doom, who have been described as a "thrash/ska fusion" (how unfortunate!) and some CT bands Old Man Lady Luck and Electric Bucket. These latter bands are too lazy to have websites besides MySpace, where you can check them out if you have a lot of patience for slow loading pages. This show, like most cool CT shows, is brought to us by the almost-always-awesome Manic Productions - check their calendar for other great stuff.

Check out this cool Jucifer video for "Pontius of Palia"



Bonus feature: check out similarly named band, Gluecifer (a now-defunct glammy punk band from Norway that I happen to enjoy - sure wish they were playing!):


We, for some, welcome our "Nu-Rudy's" overlords

We've heard a lot of boo-hooing around the FB and real world about the impending relocation of Rudy's, one of our long-time favorite New Haven venues (we've blogged them up a few times). But we read the same article everyone else did and came away from it feeling optimistic. Because what we like about Rudy's is that good bands play there, and their Belgian fries are delicious. We're not like in love with the fact that the bathrooms are tiny and gross, or that the bands have to play on a stage the size of a kitchen table, and the room they play in is also small and painfully loud, and you can't see from other areas of the club. So we see this move as an opportunity for improvement. Perhaps some sad scenesters' vision was so blurred they missed THIS:
He said he’s planning to run a restaurant with a full kitchen, so that beers may be coupled with mussels or Belgian waffles, in addition to his famous Belgian frites.

And this:
when customers enter two back rooms, then they’ll “see the old Rudy’s,” Ipek said. One room, a former juice bar, will hold a stage for live music and karaoke. A second will hold the Rudy’s pool table, he said. Characteristic Rudy’s decor—a carved bench, and the boxes of salvaged memorabilia—will sit in those two rooms. “When you get there, you’ll feel like you’re at Rudy’s,” Ipek promised. Only “the bathroom will be cleaner.”


Sunday, June 27, 2010

Back to the Juicer

For those of you who have been with us since the beginning, this will be a bit of a de ja post, as you will have already read my original post (one of our very first posts!) on juicing (and hopefully started your own habit at home). Well, I've been out of the habit for a while, since my old vintage Oster seemed to be on it's last legs, vibrating out of control before I could even get through juicing. And it was a pain in the ass in other ways - had to chop the produce up pretty small to fit and order disposable filters online for proper use. So what a thrill that Mommy Scenic bought me the famous Jack LaLanne Power Juicer. I would have liked to have sprung for the stainless steel upgrade, but frankly, I can't really be springing for anything these days, so at $99 to Mommy and free to me, the price on this plastic model is right. The breakdown and cleanup on this juicer isn't any quicker or simpler than my old one. C'est la vie.


I'm still using the same old formula for juice: couple of carrots, couple of celery sticks, one apple, chunk of ginger, lemon/lime and red beet.


Only now I don't have to do so much annoying chopping and slow feeding to get my delicious, nutritious end product.


I keep meaning to try some different formulas and experiment with juice + alcohol. Will keep you posted. POSTED! HA!

Friday, June 25, 2010

Lesbian Drama: Steel Magnolias


This week I can't really be bothered with CT happenings, but I'll have you all know I've been administering the blog in other ways (telling Jackie and DH what to write about, providing photos, letting them know if their jokes are good, etc.). It's also been very hot and humid, which is exhausting and unpleasant and just makes me want to sleep a lot. And watch TV.

As you may have already read, some of us here at CT Scenic (but no necessarily me, duh) have had lesbian drama on the brain, so maybe that's why when I watched Steel Magnolias this morning instead of doing something more productive or even blogging something more productive, I thought the best part of the movie was the hilarious and obviously gay relationship between bawdy old broads Ouiser and Clairee (Shirley McClaine and Olympia Dukakis). After skipping the trite-ass final scene, I hit the internets, hoping to find some ridiculous academic breakdown of the unspoken lesbianism in this movie. It must be out there. Shit, we know people that are gonna be doctors of roller derby. Academia is totally indiscriminate, and you can write whatever batshit thesis you want as long as you cite it proper - OMG that one bit in Mumford where he's all "I have a Ph. D" and she's all "Oh you're not a real doctor," and he's like "No, the fake kind"!

Anyway, I knew that the (male) gays are supposed to love Steel Magnolias in a campy kind of way, and I did find this interesting essay about the disappearing lesbians in the film versions of Fried Green Tomatoes and The Color Purple, but I didn't find any serious lesbian readings of Steel Magnolias through casual googling. However, I was happy to find some good references to Oiser wanting to stick it to Clairee (and to skipping the lame final scene) in this great post from GaysThinkItsFabulous.com, so now I don't feel totally off base.

This movie could have used a good closet-outing dose of Betty White. Damn it, Shelby, quit trying to hook Ouiser up with that timid old man - "You're barking up the wrong lesbian!"


Wednesday, June 23, 2010

See you Soon Fire-N-Spice: Hope Not Sporadically!

Last night the Scenics went out for a romantic dinner in the West End. We hit up that vegan spot on Sisson Ave, y'know, the one that closes every couple years and reopens with a new name? It's currently called Fire-n-Spice and is a self-proclaimed "vegan restaurant and sports cafe". Um, what? The only "sport" we encountered was some little kid driving a remote-control car into our chairs. Endearing at first, then annoying.

The menu is all vegan, and has a substantial raw selection, however, most of the raw entrees need to be ordered "1-24 hours in advance. Wouldn't it take less time to not cook something? Similar to it's presdessors, the food is kept mostly in vats at the counter. The server walked us through the options, including various grains, tofu, tempeh and vegetable dishes. Katie and DH Scenic chose some items from the vats and Jackie Scenic ordered a tempeh burger.


While we waited on the burger, we amused ourselves with a game called "Conversations To Go" that we found on the counter.


The game is just a box of little cards with conversation starters on them. Some highlights:

Question: What one thing do you think about most often?
Answers included: "nailing something in my basement"*, "lesbian drama" and "suicide/regret".

(If you can match these answers with the correct Scenic, we will totally give you a cool prize.**)

Question: What's the next movie you would rent?
Answer: "Clueless" (consensus)

(The title of this post is a Clueless reference! See?)


The food was all very delicious and guilt-free. The service was not the greatest, but I later realized that the guy was probably just stoned. Whatevs. It's nice to have somewhere to get not only a good selection of vegan food, but raw food as well. At home it's easy enough to cut up an apple, but if you want something interesting, you might as well have someone else make it for you. (Who has time to dehydrate these days?) They also have a bunch of juices and $2 wheatgrass shots on the menu, but we didn't go there.

*That "something" being wood to concrete

**Probably some Sillybandz

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

You're History


Things sure aint what they used to be in Hartford's Historic West End

Mashups

I know its so 2003, but I'm loving these mashups tonight. Here's my new fave...

This one's for Katie Scenic

And of course I can't forget Jackie Scenic



Sunday, June 20, 2010

Kitties w/ Booze: Is this what you people want from us?

Facebook has been a great boon to the blog, but we've noticed that our blog posts often go unnoticed there in favor of nonsense like cats being adorable with alcohol, which seems to rack up the *likes* and comments like they was going out of style. Doesn't anybody care about substance anymore?!

No?

OK.

Update! Neko Case on the (CD) Case

Thanks tipster/reader Shaxxon for linking us this vid of the aforementioned Neko Case tirade. She sounds drunk! Check it:

Weekly Amusements

We are unimpressed with this week's lineup of activities, so it's probably a good time to catch up some of those weekly events we take for granted.


Every Monday night in Essex, the hipsters and sailors set aside their differences and get together for a Sea Chantey Singalong. The Griswold Inn has been hosting this bizarre night for at least 4 years, as that was the last time we went. It was even more amazing than expected, the entire crowded bar swills mugs of beer and sings along with the band as they play traditional sea chanteys. It is quite a sight to behold. The most surprising part is that you probably know more sea chanteys than you ever would have guessed. Monday Night Jazz in Bushnell Park is also in full-swing.

Tuesdays there is a "Progressive Night" at Red Rock Tavern in Hartford. We assume this means a lot of irritating political conversation, so it's not exactly our scene, but it may be yours? Our sources tell us it's a good time and that a lot of "That's what she said" jokes are involved. We still think those are funny. Tuesday is also "Alternative" Night at Tisane in Hartford and Bar in New Haven. "Alternative" is a fancy word for queer.


Wednesday is a karaoke toss-up, Sully's vs. Chez. We spend a little too much time at Sully's, so it may be time to test out gayer waters. A million years ago the Chez was our boo, but we have since grown apart. We should probably check in with that ho. Oh, and sometimes they have free pizza.


There's something called "Liver Die Thursdays" at Pigs Eye Pub. The title is kind of hilarious, but it sounds like a douchefest. A Noho insider has alerted us to a queer night on Thursdays at Ye Olde Watering Hole. Apparently it started as a Guerrilla Queer Bar event and turned into a weekly. They also have a beer can museum, if you're into that, and they make drinks with freshly squeezed OJ. Sometimes you have to cross state lines to find the fun.

Saturday, June 19, 2010

The New Pornographers @ The House of Blues, Boston

When we find ourselves making the case for Connecticut, it is inevitable that we mention how close we are to other cool places, like say NYC or Blandford (Ma). Of course in reflection it always seems we haven’t fully exploited this proximity to its fullest extent. So when the call came in asking if I wanted to go to see The New Pornographers, there was no question what the answer was.


Now, I’m as up on my pornography as any other single male with an internet connection, but I hadn’t spent as much time looking into these pornographers as maybe some other purveyors. As we drove to the show, my traveling companion and I tried to make some sense of the group. It is primarily a vehicle for singer/songwriter AC Newman, but of course features indie darling Neko Case. But who is the guy singing with that slight British affect? And Neko’s voice sounds different on some songs….

We arrived in Boston as a Red Sox game was ending, which provided a reminder as to why we sometimes like to stay close to home: $35 parking. And I thought $7 for the Liquid Lounge last week was a bit much. Not to be deterred, we entered into negotiations with the affable attendant, arriving at a more sensible $10 figure. As we started walking to the venue, the streets became more crowded with baseball fans, and while most of the guys sported the entirely expected attire (jeans, Red Sox t-shirts in the standard colors, etc), some of the ladies sported a look that was new to me and can only be described as “Baseball Bimbo”. This look deserves its own post, but suffice it to say, “Scantily clad with neon accents”. Watch out for more on this in a future fashion feature.


After weaving through the increasingly dense throng, we finally made our way inside the club. We found a good-sized crowd with a friendly feel and struck up conversations with various strangers we bumped into.

The band took the stage soon after. Eight people, including 2 keyboardists and a saxophone/cello player. Some of our earlier questions were answered as the band started the first song, Kathryn Calder on keyboards and vocals was that mysterious other woman. Just before the third song, another man with a huge head of unruly black hair sauntered on stage with a beer and picked up a guitar. There was some confusion, and finally a song started. Yes, our other mysterious vocalist was revealed to be Dan Bejar, who we voted as the coolest person in the band; he would walk on every third tune or so with a different drink in hand, and as soon as his song ended he would exit the stage as quickly as possible, presumably for a refill.


I don’t really know much about music, so I’ll leave descriptions and opinions on the set to professional rock journalists. However, you know from previous posts the Scenics are suckers for good on-stage banter. The banter tonight was memorable.


About a third of the way into the show, someone threw a New Pornographers CD onto the stage between songs. Neko Case immediately took up the challenge, informing us she would “personally beat the fucking shit” out of whoever threw said CD. At first I was charmed by her strong protective reaction. These were her band mates, and she wasn’t going to have them threatened by thrown objects. However, after the initial tirade stopped, she started it all over again, proclaiming that she was “a white trash piece of shit” and that she “would fight everyone in this motherfucking room”. The shine started to wear off her act at this point. Granted, throwing things on stage is obnoxious, and potentially dangerous, but this was an audience filled with people wearing dark rimmed glasses and “Hello my name is Inigo Montoya” t-shirts. These are not aggressive fans deserving a beat down. Neko, however was fixated, while the rest of the band fidgeted she unleashed a third and fourth tirade. Finally AC Newman brought things to a merciful end by providing a ying for Neko’s yang “If the person who threw that CD cut me into a million little pieces, each one of them would still say I love you”. While old AC dodged the bullet with that one, he tempted fate soon after by dissing the Red Sox and baseball in general. This tickled my own sensibilities, but in Boston, where baseball passions run hot…


The band got through about 20 songs plus a three-song encore, and was quite an enjoyable show. Outside it was a beautiful night to forget where we parked the car. As we circled the same block 3 times before turning to the GPS equipped phone, I breathed the warm summer air in deeply.

I abhor the feeling of sand on my feet


Summer is upon us and it is a cliche of the season to wax longingly about getting through the workweek so you can get your "toes in the sand" and other such romantic beachy drivel. (I should be so lucky! Between my poorly paid work and my unpaid work, life is a neverending workweek). Well, today I did get out to a location with sand and water for a couple hours, and this was mostly lovely except that I was reminded of my pet peeve, the absolute worst feeling in the world, the feeling of sand on my feet. When I was a young kid my parents would get frustrated because I would insist on an elaborate water's edge dance of trying to get my feet clean and into my shoes sand-free before leaving the beach. To this day, sandy feet is my tactile equivalent of nails on a chalkboard, on par with that other terrible summer sensation of sweating in the absence of a workout - blech! I still have to hit the foot-wash station (or do my little dance) before I can put my shoes on and go.

Sexy Trash at the Criterion: Showgirls!


A friend-of-the-blog recently alerted our under-a-rock asses to the almost-midnight movies at New Haven's Criterion Cinemas and so it's back to scenic envy from WeHa to NeHa as usual. Last weekend John Waters' classic Pink Flamingos was playing. This weekend you can catch Showgirls at 11:30 p.m. Showgirls is a fucking riot, a T&A fest, a cheese factory, a tool shed, and maybe even a heartbreaking work of staggering genius. Our favorite critical source (besides ourselves), the AV Club, reconsidered the film as a contemporary camp classic in their New Cult Cannon feature. This is worth the read - tackling the big questions like "is this film intentionally or unintentionally hilarious" and "does it matter?" and linking some great scenes for your entertainment. The AV Club also spoke with the film's brain trust, Paul Vorhoeven (the Dutch director whose sexy trash repertoire also includes Total Recall, Basic Instinct and Starship Troopers - a body of work that poses* the question "is this satire" and "does it matter?") and screenwriter Joe Esterhas (the two also teamed on Basic Instinct, the most ridiculous, retarded male fantasy about predatory female sexuality ever - shah, Michael Douglas wishes!). Vorhoeven's body of work has an addictive quality - we challenge you to turn off any of his hits when you hit them up channel surfing, no matter how badly you wish to resist.

We support the AV Club's elevation of "contemporary camp" to classic status and believe that the Hollywood films that defined our youth are as worthy of analysis and reverence as the classics. More so even. Ugh, there's nothing worse than trying to have an enthusiastic discussion about movies with some peeps you've just met at the horror convention and then having some douchebag try and take the wind out of your sails by saying something like "So what are you favorite films by Jodorosky?" Um, none of them?

See you at the show!**

*not "begs" - we're not going to fall into that mis-usage trap.

**maybe

Friday, June 18, 2010

Exit Through the Giftshop @ RAW


Fri 6/18: 7 PM
Sat & Sun 6/19 & 6/20: 3 PM, 5 PM, 7 PM
Mon 6/21 - Thurs 6/24: 7 PM


Sundance darling Exit Through the Giftshop starts tonight at Real Art Ways. The film has been described as "impossible to categorize". It's been called a guerrilla documentary, a movie-within-a-movie and a charming comedy. Some have suggested the film is just another Banksy prank. Others find it a brilliantly provocative commentary on how we view art. The artist himself calls it simply an "
everyday tale of life, longing and mindless vandalism.” Whatever it is, it crept quietly into Sundance and found it's way to wide international acclaim.

Tonight's 7pm screening will be followed by a discussion with RAW's Will Wilkins and guests. You can hash it out there.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Gearing up for Bike Week @ RAW

Thursday, June 17: Creative Cocktail Hour @ Real Art Ways, Hartford
Saturday, June 19: Real Ride Hartford @ Real Art Ways, Hartford


Get it? Gearing?!

We go to every Creative Cocktail Hour anyway, but we are a little extra excited about this week's event, because RAW is encouraging us to show up on our bikes Thursday night, which we are all about, and decorate them with local artist Anne Cubberly.

Then on Saturday, we'll bring our prettied up bikes back to RAW for a tour of the neighborhood, with wacky stuff like a DJ on wheels. And the booze-ness as usual. Yay!

RAW is providing incentive to bikers - discounted entrance to the CCH and free bottles of water.

Here, enjoy Queen's absurd ode to riding one's BICYCLE BICYCLE BICYCLE:


Hottford Flashback: XY Eli's Dance Party

We happened to get chatting with area musician XY Eli and poet C.C. Arshagra this weekend, and they got to telling us about their public access show they used to produce back in the early 80s which put a spotlight on the hip-hop culture of the day, including break dance and early rap and graffiti art. These guys were on the cutting edge for our area. Check out their vids on Youtube, including present day commentary and great old school footage from their program.



We know at least one guy who is going to appreciate this post!

The New Peru

Thursday, June 17: Bobbie Peru @ The Space, Hamden


Hey look, it's our old friends, Bobbie Peru, or the new American edition of the band, which is ever-so-slightly less exotic now that they are based in CT instead of the UK, and yet much, much more accessible. It's all a give and take, isn't it? We've told you all about these guys before. Catch Bobbie Peru this Thursday at The Space, along with The Poison Control Center, Fan-Tan, and After Three Seconds.

Bobbie Peru will be hitting downtown Hartford next Friday, June 25 with a gig at Up or on The Rocks. You'd have to drag us kicking and screaming (or bound and gagged) to a club downtown, but we understand many people like that sort of thing. Whoa, that sentence could be interpreted a couple different ways. You decide.

Saturday Night Live: Punk at Snapper Magee's


I've explored some of the daytime delights of "charming little Torrington" (as we've referred to it in my family for years) and blogged 'em up before, but last night I took on Torrington after dark on the suggestion of friend-of-the-blog Julia Sloan (Ms. Brazen Betties) and took in a night of live music at Snapper Magee's, which will be my local pub after I move to Torrington, or should I call it "the next Collinsville." Jackie Scenic couldn't be with me last night (which sucks, cuz she would have loved this joint) but my Substitute Scenic and I determined that Torrington is ripe for - if not already on its way to - an artsy fartsy hipster revival. The evening was basically a tube of wonderful - the club, the bands, the peeps were all just great -,so snark and hilarity in this post will be minimal (sorry!).


Snapper Magee's is plenty adorable on the inside, with walls and ceiling plastered with classic concert posters, pinup inspired art, naked ladies and demon women, and in spite of cheap booze prices and a somewhat "divey" vibe, they have a good selection of drink for snobs like me to choose from (I chose Magner's). Julia is like the mayor of Torrington, so she introduced me to the owner, relevant local cultural leaders and pointed out the coolest shit on the walls (and ceiling).


The first band was AmRev II, a ska-inflected punk outfit. I was impressed with their look and their sound. They were playing as a two-piece, which I assumed was on purpose, but apparently there was an absent bass player.


My favorite band of the night was definitely Big Sister, straight outta Westchester. This female fronted punk act was reminiscent of early No Doubt, or current The Action Design, a cool-ass band I've mentioned before. They had super-high energy, catchy songs, and the contrast between frontlady Lauren's balls-out singing and self-deprecating between-song affect was extra endearing. Unfortunately they're not gonna be Big Sister anymore - a name change is imminent due to a conflict of band names with some other Big Sister, so stay tuned on that front.


I only caught the beginning of the set by Jukebox Romantics, but they were putting on an explosive show from what I saw. This band is having a hot-shit moment, about to embark on the Warped Tour (which comes to Hartford July 11), so now I can say I saw them when...

It was a bit of a slow night at Snapper's by everyone's account. But slow or no, the people who did come out were enthusiastic, well dressed, and nice (to me). The "small state" phenom struck again, as I reconnected with peeps I had classes with and someone I photographed at another event. I'll be looking out for more shows by Big Sister under their forthcoming new name, and would definitely hit up this downtown Torrington spot again.

(Check the FB gallery for more pics)

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Delicious metal sludge

Monday, June 14: Eyehategod @ Daniel Street, Milford


Wow, I can't believe I'm having so much scenic envy for Milford this week, but they've got that pirate thingie, and this Monday they've got Eyehategod. Actually, Daniel Street has a pretty hot lineup in general thanks to Manic Productions. It's just hard for the Scenics to make it down there. Eyehategod are NOLA based sludge legends, and if that doesn't mean anything to you it's probably not worth explaining. I tried to get into Eyehategod as far back as high school, because that one sexy antisocial guy (who ended up being totes gay) had their t-shirt and I wanted to like whatever he liked, so I picked up a cassette at Music Outlet in Enfield. But I have to admit, this shit was a little too brutal for me, and it took experiencing the power of their live performance several years ago at the Webster Underground for me to really "get it," but I was really blown away at the time. The Daniel Street show will also feature some CT metal - Ipsissimus (we totally know them) and Iron Hand, along with Nachtmystium and Howl.

I feel like I could take these bands more seriously if they had something other than Myspace pages to link to. : ( Whatevs.

Got a real job? Can't make it out Monday? Check out Eyehategod tonight in Brooklyn at Europa, or Sunday in Providence at Hell.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

This Pirate Festival thing: it exists

Saturday, June 12: Captain Kidd's Treasure Hunt/Pirate Festival @ Downtown Milford


Today at one of our gigs, a coworker happened to mention how excited she was about "Pirate Day" this Saturday in Milford. Aaarrr, what say ye? Pirate Day? Apparently Charles Island off the coast of scenic Milford is one of several reputed possible sites of Captain Kidd's legendary buried booty, and this is excuse enough to celebrate with a day of pirate-related silliness, including a scavenger hunt, pirate comedy (hopefully all "aaarrrrr" jokes, that shit never gets old), and contests for talking like a pirate, salty dogging (huh?), and looking like Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean (we'll just be over there shopping for new boyfriends... and girlfriends, presumably this is a gender-inclusive competition). There will also be entertainment whose pirate connections are nebulous at best - live bands, belly dancers, fife and drum music.

This is as good an occasion as any to strap on our peg legs and get out there... LOL - "strap on." JK, we're not even amputees. Here, enjoy "Pirate King" Kevin Kline (love him!):


Wednesday, June 9, 2010

We Just Can't Quit You, Liquid Lounge

Thursday, June 10: Liquid Lounge @ CT Science Center, Hartford


The CT Science Center's Liquid Lounge is that emotionally abusive impossible SO we just keep coming back to, and not just because we've got nowhere else to go. We've seen the Tao of Steve and understand that this shit is all just a game, but boy can the Liquid Lounge play - always keeping us waiting (in those stupid drink ticket lines), manipulating our self-esteem with weird practices like attendance cut-offs and advanced ticket discounts, promising us the moon (or a free drink or something) if we would just get their early, dangling kink and excess in front of our eyes in the form of pole dancers and pricey eats, and of course playing to our need to feel intelligent with that "geek chic" talk (you know how us sexy girls just want to be called smart?). Oh, and apparently there's gonna be karaoke. We love karaoke.

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Silent Civilian Get Scenic'd

Saturday evening I was faced with my usual dilemma of having all kinds of great invitations and plans, and having triple-booked myself or so - c'est la vie when you're being scenic. And so it was that I found myself really wanting to go this BBQ party, make it to my dinner plans, but also having said I would do some "press" with Silent Civilian, who are on a US tour with Fear Factory and Prong that stopped by the Webster last night. Additionally, I was trying to figure out how I could make an interview with an LA metal band relevant to my CT blog.

I touched base with Silent Civilian vocalist (and new friend-of-the-blog) Jonny Santos and asked him if he wouldn't mind sampling some of our favorite CT beer and stopping by a party, which was totally in the neighborhood anyway, instead of chatting in some dressing room at the Webster. He wouldn't mind at all, in fact, could he bring a bandmate? I stopped by CT Beverage Mart to pick up some Hookers (variety pack), swung by the Webster to pick up some metal guys, and we were on our way.

At the party I immediately enlisted Jonny's help with my cooler. What a gentleman! Here he is pretending he's gonna run off with the beer, but really, where's he gonna go? The beer is for him anyway...

We got right into it. Jonny prefered the Blonde (ale). Typical! Drummer Ryan and I ultimately liked the Irish Red best. Nobody liked the IPA best. That must be the one for people who like the actual flavor of beer. The fellas got right into making all the obvious hooker jokes, so they'd fit right in at the brewery (where it's all double entendre all the time).


They also got right into pointing at shit, so they'd fit right in at CT Scenic - they just did this on their own, no prompting!

I thought I recognized Ryan from somewhere, maybe some other band? But Jonny was like, "No, you've probably just seen him in those Geico commercials." WHOA - SNAP!

Call it groupie-dom, make fun of my romanticizing of touring musicians if you must, but let's face it, these people have more fun than us and their stories are just better. They live life as a continuous road trip/summer camp, and if you been on a road trip or camping, you know that the funny shit is nonstop. I've seen Almost Famous, OK, I know they're not really my new best friends. But still, I want to hear about how bands on the road are always looking for that next Walmart so they can use the toilet and buy socks and whatnot. Jonny was telling us about how he accidentally walked into the empty women's room to take a crap, but by the time he finished, it was full up with women, so he tried to hide his face (and beard) with his hair and escape undetected. And I want to hear about what a trip it was getting nominated and going to the Grammy awards (with his previous band, Spineshank) and drinking martinis with Dolly Parton and Lemmy. Jonny was so sweet, saying how his bandmates brought "trophy dates" but he brought his daughter! He also reminisced about being on Ozzfest 2001, where Crazytown got booed off the stage nightly, and Sharon Osbourne awarded his band "Most Intoxicated" at the end of the run. Silly awards - just like summer camp!

I had to ask about that name - Spineshank?! Jonny was like "Listen, I don't normally tell people the truth about this" and how he usually goes into some profound explanation about how it's about backstabbing and shit, but really - REALLY - he was watching Home Improvement and misheard the term "spline shank" and thought it sounded really cool. HA!

Damn, I didn't even ask him about his new band's name, Silent Civilian... We ran into a little trouble with the grill. The guys tried to help.


We were having a blast, and I think we all would have been down to just party with the Hookers all night. But I had dinner to get to, and Jonny and Ryan had to play a gig or something.

PS: Ultimately, I was proved not wrong in that joke I made in a previous post about the Webster being kind of like "your ass" - there was no AC last night, and we were sweating our balls off, had to make frequent escapes to the cigarette corral to get some cooler air, and left before the end fantasizing about pool hopping and showers. Good thing the pregame action was so much fun!

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Ready for Those Flashing Lights

Here it is... the moment we've all been waiting for... Katie Scenic's karaoke debut! It's a very special day in a Scenic's life when her attention whoring finally outweighs her performance anxiety, and luckily for you, we documented the occasion.

What better artist to pay homage to than the biggest attention whore of all, Lady Gaga. Her eccentric outfits and sexy women's prison videos cannot hide the fact that she is actually a witty and talented songwriter whom we can't seem to stop referencing. We've already told you how versatile and moving the seemingly trite pop hit Paparazzi can be, but now let us demonstrate. (ie. Look what we can do!)



Jackie Scenic prefers to do her attention-whoring in the privacy of her own home. Thank god for the internets!

(note the leopard-print snuggie in the background...)

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

It's a Gay Gay Gay Gay World

Pride season is upon us and its hard to keep track of all the gaytivities. Let us walk you through them.


The Gay and Lesbian Film Festival is already in motion at Cinestudio at Trinity College. It goes 'til June 5th so you can still catch some homos on screen. Remaining films include:

Wednesday, June 2, 7:30pm: We Are the Mods
Thursday, June 3, 7:30pm: Prodigal Sons
Friday, June 4, 7:30pm: Undertow
Saturday June 5, 7:30pm: The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls, followed by the cloing night party.

Each feature is preceded by several shorts. Tix are $15.

Next on the gaygenda is Connecticut (Hartford) Pride on June 5th. It's usually pretty tame, and there's no parade, but it's a reason to get drunk in Bushnell Park. With lots of gays.


Boston Pride is apparently a 4-day event from June 9-13. What on earth could take that long? The actual "festival" and "parade" are the 12th at noon. Other events include a Guerrilla Queer Bar on June 4th, location TBA, the Dyke March on June 11th and a Jamaica Plain Block Party on the 13th. Boston Pride has never wooed us in the past, so we'll see if we're up for the drive this year.


The Pride of all (American) prides, NYC, is pretty much all month long, but the main events are the weekend of June 25. Our favorite activity is the parade which will be Sunday at noon. From what I recall it goes into the evening, ending up somewhere in the village where dancing men in thongs are greeted by drunken dancing men in thongs, while the Lesbians try to avoid whoever they made out with at Henrietta's the night before.

Last time Jackie Scenic went to NY Pride, she forgot her ID AND had the flu, but still managed to have an amazing time. This was the scene on Coney Island that weekend:


Good thing Nathan's doesn't card! And neither did that pile of trash.

We just missed Women's Weekend in Provincetown, but there is another chick event there July 21-25 which we are tempted to check out. Anyone been?


The Provincetown International Film Festival is June 16-20, which isn't specifically a gay event, but gay enough.

Saturday, June 19th is Rhode Island Pride, held in Providence. We've never been but they seem very excited about their "illuminated night parade".

I'm sure there's even more gay shit happening this summer, but that's about all we can handle. We didn't even mention the usual monthly events, First Sundays at Tisane, Club Lucy (uh, we keep mentioning it and never going), and that other thing in Cromwell, er, Rockyhill. There's also a new monthly meetup, Ladies Like You, meeting every second Saturday at the HGLHC. (TMI, this event will get it's own post soon).

Rhymes Galore


Jackie Scenic went tag sale-ing in Weha and found this delightful Rhyming Dictionary. Maybe we'll start blogging only in rhyme now. It's never too late to add a "poetry" tag.

If you are curious about any words/phonetics in particular, please inquire and we will gladly meet your request. I mean, only if it's hilarious of course.

The Scenic entry was a little disappointing: