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

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.

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

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.

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: