singing in the rain: the raincoats @ moma, new york (november 20, 2010)

 to be honest i didnt know much about the raincoats besides girl rock owes them a lot more than bed hair and pink docs. and that kurt cobain wrote them up as genuises.

so when i realised they'd be jamming at moma while i was in new york i was pretty excited. they have played only a few shows in the past few years. one of which was matt groening's all tomorrow's parties.

i got there a bit early. milled around with the EN-WHY folk. a good mixture of too cool sceneters with undercuts and laddered stockings and real geeks in cargos with crooked fringes. and of course a good dosage of women's lib.

to be honest i cant remember what kathleen hanna (of bikini kill and le tigre fame) all i remember is she had a little orange case full of 7" and everything that came out of it was cool.

there was free alchohol. i didnt even know.  
there was chocolate beer. 
it was horrid.

there was also an exhibition but i wanted to stake out a good spot so sorry gals, no dice on the art side.

i didnt know what to expect but i was just so thrilled. there were little audio fireworks going off all over the stage. the way they played was just so astute and it was real. most effects were there manipulated by hand in real time. well WOW. 

ana's music props

kathleen and tobi vail (bikini kill, the frumpies) joined the raincoats for a tribute to dearly departed ari up by playing her song "vindictive." i dont have many pics from this song because i took one long vid. i'll put it up when i can!

ana da silva + jean-marc butty + tobi vail

THE LECTURE

and a lot of the time the seed is not as magnificent as the tree but when gina was singing about being high and being angry and being a woman it expanded into the universe. there is something big now about being chic and wasted and it's all pretense. and we burn and we're pretty. half the time im just not convinced. the raincoats were refreshing.

here are the pretty pics. 

oh and setlist! straight from ana's hands!

Derelique: Williamsburg Vintage shopping

when i was 19  mum said now that i was an adult instead of buying me a ticket to see the family in the phillipines i can pick any place in the world and she'd buy me a ticket there. i had been obsessed with london for most of my life (closely tied with my obsession with harry potter) but somehow i decided to go to new york instead.

i was in new york for 2 months by myself. and a lot of things happened. but when you're used to having 2 jobs AND school and then suddenly have all this free time, you start twiddling your thumbs and checking your watch. i killed a lot of that time at williamsburg vintage stores.

BILLY-BURG IS HIPSTERVILLE. people are nice though. it's a picture postcard of the modern alternative lifestyle. but not as dirty-big-city as the village. one might call it the safe/boring alternative. people tend to joke rich hipster wannabes from good families move here and pretend to be starving artists. i think it's pleasant and has a lot of eye candy to take up your time.

this is a starter guide. my favourite places to go but by far not the only ones. i've ordered them geographically to avoid running around too much.

BEACON'S CLOSET

http://www.beaconscloset.com

88 n. 11th st. (between berry and wythe sts)
(718) 486 0816 

the most famous one i think. HUGE store. the biggest and has lots of everything. you'll pretty much go around and WISH you needed everything.

i read somewhere (probably something like i-D or  something) that they hire their  staff based on their ability to recognise brands and quality items so it's all sorted out and it's all good.

surprisingly the prices are mainly between $10 an $35 US. check out the website. they put some pieces up for online purchase but nothing compared to the goodness instore.

i've bought this lime green mondrian squares style hooded jacket there for $24. and a american revolution style reversable shoulder tote for $15 i think.
 

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monk

MONK

496 driggs ave (between North 9th and 10th Sts)
(718) 384 6665

this one i think is new. the staff were really nice and there were some choice things! 

i bought a best of hank williams and the smiths' strangeways, here we come on cassette for $3 each. 

there were also some nice purple leather lace up shoes but they were $60. it's a bit more pricey but they are a smaller store than beacon and probably dont sell as much.

i think their feature is they have a cool collection of graphic tees. and they have lots of knick-knacks.
   

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