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  • All Tomorrow’s Parties: Nov. 13- Nov. 19, 2006

    Monday, Nov. 13, 10:30 – 5:30
    "Brice Marden: A Retrospective of Paintings and Drawings," is worth heading up town to check out. Marden The show includes more than fifty paintings and an equal number of drawings, organized chronologically, drawn from all phases of the artist’s career. Two new large-scale paintings exhibited for the first time are included. In "Dylan: A Biography," Marden recalls hanging out with Edie Sedgwick in Bob Dylan’s room at the Chelsea and that it was "in a state of perpetual disarray."
    MOMA, 11 West 53 Street, between Fifth and Sixth avenues, NY NY

    Tuesday, Nov. 14, 7:30 & 9:30
    ME AND MY BROTHER, (1965-68 (re-edited 1997), 91 minutes, 35mm, b/w and color. Robert Frank’s stunning first feature-length film, places documentary footage of poets Allen Ginsberg, Peter Orlovsky, and Peter’s brother Julius within a fictional framework.
    Anthology Film Archives, 32 Second Ave., NY NY

    Wednesday, Nov. 15, 11:00 – 6:00
    Steven Kasher Gallery presents "Fred McDarrah: Artists and Writers of the 60s and 70s."  This exhibit Mcdarrah_002915_burroughs_web_lg presents more than 100 vintage photographs from the archive of one of New York’s best known but least understood photographers. It is the first ever gallery exhibition surveying McDarrah’s work, and the first exhibition ever curated from his entire archive of published and never-before-seen prints. This exhibition celebrates Fred’s 80th birthday.
    Steven Kasher Gallery, 521 West 23 St. Second Floor, NY NY

    Thursday, Nov. 16, 9:00 p.m.
    Norman Gosney’s Guilty Pleasures Speakeasy continues to take Manhattan by storm.  Check out their new website for details.

    Friday, Nov. 17, 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
    Maya Stendhal Gallery proudly presents www.JonasMekas.com – Recent Work; a collection of 40 short films created and curated by avant-garde filmmaker, artist, poet, and archivist Jonas Mekas.  In Invite_40b addition to this elaborate cinematic installation, all 40 short films will be simultaneously released for download onto computers or multi-media devices ( I pods ) at www.jonasmekas.com. According to Mekas, this will be, “…one of the most exciting venues for independently working film and video makers that has become available.”  Many of these films consist of flashes of images of New York, Fluxus, Elvis Presley, Jackie Kennedy, Alan Ginsburg, as well as some of modern art’s most prestigious ground-breakers including Salvador Dali, Andy Warhol, Harry Smith, Robert Frank, Edie Sedgwick, Lou Reed, Robert Breer, Mary Menkin, Stan Brakhage, John Lennon, Nam June Paik, and Nico.
    Maya Stendhal Gallery, 545 West 20th St., NY NY

    Saturday, Nov. 18, 12:00 – 8:00
    Blog reader Elvert Barnes recommends Washington D.C. based photographer Frank Muzzy’s photographs which are currently on display at MDH Fine Arts.
    MDH Fine Arts, 233 West 19th Street, NY NY

    If you have an event that you want listed on All Tomorrow’s Parties please e-mail chelblog@yahoo.com

  • Dylan Gets A Tribute & CBGBS Gets Dismantled

    Earlier this week, Ryan Adams and Patti Smith were among the singers who paid tribute to Bob Dylan at Avery Fisher Hall.  According to Billboard Magazine, "… the night really belonged to two artists: Natalie Merchant, with Philip Glass on piano, gave an exceedingly haunting reading of "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll" that left the audience breathless. And avant-hip-hoppers the Roots blew the house down with an ecstatic, incendiary version of "Masters of War."

    The broadway musical, The Times They Are A-Changin’, has ended after 28 days. No comment!

    MTV documented the dismanteling so that the building can be reassembled in Las Vegas.  Surprise, suprise, the place smells bad and they found a lot of guitar picks.

    Let’s just say the club smells its age. There must be at least four dozen flies buzzing around. At points, the stink is so intense that some of the workers can’t help but dry-heave. "I’ve never smelled the smell we’re smelling today," one of them says. "It’s like a mix of Sprite and sh–."
    Cbgbdismantling3

  • “I’m Not The Guy Who Sells War Bonds” by George Chemeche

    I’M NOT THE GUY WHO SELLS WAR BONDS
    Each night, each morn
    I praise the day I was born
    without a knight’s backbone.
    Each night, each morn
    I mourn those who’re sworn
    to stay the course
    by the rivers of Babylon.
    Copyright George Chemeche, Oct.24, 06 

  • Just When You Thought It Was Safe To Go Out Again

    The Blog-Of-Horror continues to roll on.  Check out Luke Joerger’s wildly popular music video for Gnarls Barkley — Who Cares?

  • Susanne Bartsch Will Not Be Stopped

    SbfrontPolice seem to have accelerated their crackdown on clubs, spurred on in part by the arrival of yuppie condos in areas such as West Chelsea previously zoned for manufacturing.  As reported in the Village Voice, the Chelsea’s own Susanne Bartsch had her Halloween Party at Avalon shut down on the pretext of overcrowding.  "The policemen were willing to send me out into the night wihtout a hand-bag, without money, without keys," she says, pointing out the hypocrisy of their action in the wake of Jennifer Moore’s murder after she stumbled out of a club this summer.

    Gentrification doesn’t affect only the poor.  Bloomberg and the developers want to turn this city into a boring, suburban hell, where no show of difference is tolerated.  Susanne Bartsch will not be stopped. She’s back in business.  ROOM SERVICE TUESDAYS….WITH KENNY KENNY…OPENING NOVEMBER 28….35 EAST 21. ST
    A GREAT SPACE ATTACHED TO A STRIPTEASE CLUB…. 

  • James Tata’s Chelsea Is A Failed Quasi-Bohemian Purgatory

    Writer James Tata stayed at the Hotel Chelsea earlier this year. On his blog he wrote, "The Chelsea, you see, is a residence hotel, and such places have their share of interesting people. Like the guy down the hall from my room sitting in a folding directors’ chair, wearing sunglasses…indoors. He gave Rats off a vibe of never leaving the building. Or the woman who, one morning as I was going down the stairs, said, "You must not be from New York, because New Yorkers never take the stairs" in the dreamy, disconnected voice of the troubled. None of this bothered me too much…"  Well, of course, a few boheminans wouldn’t bother anybody, but those rats scratching in the wall, that’s a whole other story.  He ended his review by writing "between that faint but evocative scratching (of a rat) and the failed quasi-bohemians for whom the Chelsea is a permanent purgatory, my experience of the place didn’t exactly make me feel like I was communing with Twain, Smith, Dylan, or Burroughs."  Thanks for rubbing it in dude!

    What do you do?  I write technical manuals (for money) and fiction (for sanity).

    What inspired you to stay at the Chelsea? In general, its legendary role as the place where so many works have been written, and, in particular, probably because of Bob Dylan’s "Sara."

    What’s your favorite Hotel Chelsea story? The one about Janis Joplin recounted in Leonard Cohen’s "Chelsea Hotel No. 2," especially as sung by Rufus Wainwright.

    Has your writing been influenced by any former or current residents?
    Probably not. If only.

    What was the best/worst thing that happened to you during your stay?
    The best thing that happened was getting a room on one hour’s notice. The worst was hearing a rat scratching inside the wall.

    DoLrgood you think the Chelsea has a creative energy?
    The Chelsea’s vibe is more William S. Burroughs than Joni Mitchell, I think.

    Would you stay here again?
    Yes. Good rates, great location, and there’s that Larry Rivers painting in the lobby. I feel very affectionate towards the strange stay I had there.  (Photo: Elvert Barnes Hotel Chelsea Set)

  • Art Vandals Must Die

    We’ve alwaysCaughtinaction suspected that tourists considered Hiroya’s mural a kind of message board or guest book for them to sign.  Now we have proof!  Here’s a picture of three brazen scofflaws cheerfully flaunting their disregard for fine art.  What I can’t believe is that they were foolhardy enough to take a picture of themselves actually defacing the canvas!  Without a doubt our illustrious proprietor Stanley Bard has his crack team of bohemian profilers hard at work on the case at this very moment, and these despicable vandals will soon be arrested and brought to justice.  (George Bush recently legalized torture, and I’m sure we must have a rack or a thumbscrew or even an iron maiden socked away somewhere in the recesses of the basement.) Hey, art-terrorists, anybody can go to the painting and find your names, you know!  Worse, when Hiroya died we dumped his ashes down the stairwell, and doubtless you breathed in a few stray molecules while you were perpetrating you heinous crime, so prepare to be haunted by a raving Butoh performer for the rest of your miserable lives.  Go try this at the Louvre, you rotten punk philistines! 

  • PANIC AT CHURCHILL DOWNS

    Churchdown Susan and I were back in Louisville for a visit recently, and though we didn’t make it to the track, we did run into our old drinking buddy Brian, and he related this somewhat Bukowskian equestrian yarn:

                   You know John Gordon?  I was at Churchill downs for his dad’s birthday party.  John and the rest of his siblings had paid to have a race named after Mr. Gordon for the occasion.  You can do that you know, pay $500 or something and they’ll name a race for you, put it in the program and announce it and everything.  When Mr. Gordon’s race came up I placed a bet on a horse to show and I won.  I was getting ready to go cash in my ticket when one of Mr. Gordon’s children said, why don’t you give that ticket to my dad for a souvenir?  He’s already got the winning tickets to win and place, and he just needs that one to make a set.  I didn’t want to part with it since it was $12, but John and the other kids kept bugging me and said, look, we paid for you to get into the track and we’ve been buying you liquor and food that’s worth way more than $12—we see you’ve had about 6 mint juleps already!–so I finally gave in and said, alright, OK, and gave Mr. Gordon the ticket. 

                   Well, a couple months later it’s my birthday, and I get a card in the mail from Mr. Gordon.  Mr. Gordon’s never sent me anything before but now here’s a birthday card from him–and when I open it up there’s the $12 ticket!  So I thought, well, that’s nice; I didn’t know why he did it, actually, since I had forgotten all about the ticket, but I figured he just felt guilty that he had taken it away from me—especially if maybe he heard that I didn’t want to give it up.  So a week or so goes by and I’m walking around with this ticket in my wallet.  Finally a friend of mine, Mike, says he has to go to the track to cash in a ticket, and I say, you know what, I’ve got this ticket right here that I need to cash in too, so I might as well go with you.  So when we get to Churchill Downs, Mike gets in line for the ticket window and I give him my ticket to cash in too since there’s no sense in both of us standing in line.  When he gets up to the window, he gives them his ticket first, no problem, they give him the money.  But then when Mike hands the guy my ticket and he runs it through the machine, all these red lights start flashing and a siren goes off, and cops and FBI agents come running from every which way and they all converge on Mike.  “That ticket is a forgery!” they say.  And Mike points at me and says, “I don’t know anything about it!  I got it from him!”  And so they all converge on me too.  It turns out the ticket is a Xerox copy of the one I gave Mr. Gordon!  The real one had already been cashed in, that’s how they knew.  So I tell them the whole story of the ticket, and they say, “Sir, your story does not make any sense.”  “Why would I do it for only $12?” I said.  “If I was gonna do it I would do it for the trifecta or something where I win fifty-thousand dollars!”  “We don’t know,” the cops said, “but you did it.”

                    So we had to go into the office and sit there and be grilled for a couple of hours.  They ran a background check on both of us to see if we had any outstanding warrants, and luckily neither of us did.  Thank God they didn’t arrest us, but the upshot of it was, we were banned from Churchill Downs!  Now, I go there all the time, I love the place.  And Mike is, like, almost a professional gambler, so he goes every day!  When they told us, we couldn’t believe it, and the first thing we both asked was, “For how long?!”  And they said, “What do you mean for how long?  For life!!!”  Now I don’t know why Mr. Gordon did that, and I don’t really know him that well, so I’m kinda uncertain about how to approach him on it, but you better believe I am gonna say something to him about this the next time I see him.

    Yeah, I would like to hear what Mr. Gordon has to say for himself.  Next time we’re back in Louisville, I’ll be sure to ask Brian for an update. (Ed Hamilton)

  • All Tomorrow’s Parties: Nov. 6 – Nov. 12, 2006

    Monday, Nov. 6, 7:00 – 12:00
    The U.F.O. Release Party. U.F.O. is seamless blend of fact and fiction, art and enterprise. Free drinks and free gifts.
    Underneath the Chelsea Hotel, 222 West 23rd Street, NY NY

    Tuesday, Nov. 7, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
    Rb1 You have two opportunities to view Rita Barros’ photography this month. Rita Barros‘ work is included in an MA Thesis Rb2Exhibition which opens tonight.  In addition, Rita’s photographs are also currently on display at the International Center of Photography Education Gallery, 1114 Avenue of the Americas.  The exhibit, "NYU ICP 20 Years In," will be on display through Dec. 22.
    80 Washington Square East Galleries, NY NY

    Disappointing news from Susanne Bartsch: ITS A YEAR NEXT TUESDAY SINCE WE 
    STARTED HAPPY VALLEY TUESDAYS….HAPPY VALLEY HAD TO  CLOSE DOWN, THE 
    Suba OWNERS OF THE CLUB LOST THE LEASE IN A COURT BATTLE WITH THE 
    LANDLORD…. I WANT TO THANK YOU ALL FOR MAKING HAPPY VALLEY TUESDAYS  SUCH A SUCCESS….I HAD A FABULOS YEAR AND SO MUCH FUN, THANKS TO  YOU….

    Wednesday, Nov. 8,
    Nostalgia Stop by the Daniel Reich Gallery to check out the recently opened debut exhibit of photography and sculpture by Futoshi Miyagi.  (Photo: Nostalgia, 2006)
    Daniel Reich Gallery, 537 A., West 23rd St., NY NY
    Thursday, Nov. 9, 7:30 p.m.
    Paul Festa’s award winning experimental documentary, "Apparition of the Eternal Church," will have its Appari1_1 New York premiere. A  prelude of classical guitar music performed by Adam Tully will begin one half hour before the show. Immediately following the film, the brilliant organist William Trafka will play a live performance of  the Messiaen work on the St. Bart’s organ which is one of the largest and greatest pipe organs in the country. Then there will be a 20 minute panel discussion with the director and many of the participants in the film. Tickets are $10, $20, $35, and $100 and anyone purchasing a ticket for $35 and above will receive a free year’s subscription to New York Magazine and an invitation to a reception sponsored after the showing with the director and cast. Please call 212-378-0248 to order or reserve tickets.
    St. Bartholomew’s Church, Park Avenue and 51st Street, NY NY

    Friday, Nov. 11, 10:00 a.m.
    Tickets go on sale today for Bob Dylan’s November 20th show at New York City Center.

    Saturday, Nov. 12, 10:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
    "Eye on Europe: Prints, Books & Multiples/1960 to Now," opened at MoMA last month and according to Judith Childs, Daniel Spoerri — whose sculpture of blue and red shelving with abstract blue and red objects sits in the lobby of the Chelsea — and Arman have works in the show.
    MoMA, 11 West 53 Street, between Fifth and Sixth avenues 
    The International Council of The Museum of Modern Art Gallery, sixth floor; The Paul J. Sachs Prints and Illustrated Books Galleries, second floor.

    If you have an event that you want listed on All Tomorrow’s Parties please e-mail chelblog@yahoo.com

  • “Apparition of the Eternal Church”

    Pianist Bruce Levingston, whose Lincoln Center concert many of you attended earlier this year, has been involved in Appari1a fascinating project, Paul Festa’s film, "Apparition of the Eternal Church." Bruce calls the film, which documents reactions to an organ score by French composer Olivier Messiaen, both touching and hilarious. 

    Paul Festa’s new film "Apparition of the Eternal Church," has already garnered a number of awards. However, the showing on November 9th at St. Bartholomew’s Church will be the official New York City Premiere (show-time is at 7:30 pm at St. Bart’s located at Park avenue and 51st Street with a concert prelude of classical guitar music performed by Adam Tully beginning one half hour before the show). Immediately following the film, the brilliant organist William Trafka will play a live performance of  the Messiaen work on the St. Bart’s organ which is one of the largest and greatest pipe organs in the country. Then there will be a 20 minute panel discussion with the director and many of the participants in the film. Tickets are $10, $20, $35, and $100 and anyone purchasing a ticket for $35 and above will receive a free year’s subscription to New York Magazine and an invitation to a reception sponsored after the showing with the director and cast. Please call 212-378-0248 to order or reserve tickets.

    What was your role in bringing about the film premiere and the live performance?
    Dan Nuxoll, one of the founders of a wonderful New York organization called Rooftop Films, sent me Paul Festa’s  documentary, a film  based on the reactions of people hearing an organ score by the great French composer Olivier Messiaen. When I saw the 50 minute film I was so blown away I immediately watched it a second time to see if I would have the same reaction to the first viewing. I did. It is one of the most powerful and touching tributes to the transcendental power of music and
    art. It is also one the most hilarious films I’ve ever seen. Paul Festa, who attended both Yale and Juilliard, was so taken with Messiaen’s great organ masterpiece Apparition of the Church he decided
    to film people listening to the 10 minute work and have them comment on it while they listened. The drop-dead reactions the music evokes from such distinctly different and articulate characters as Harold Bloom,  John Cameron Mitchell, Lemony Snicket, Ana Matronic, Sandi Dubowski, Albert Fuller, Ron Gallman, Justin Bond as "Kiki," and many other wonderful figures is just astounding. Some people are transported by the music, some disgusted, some moved to tears, but all seem changed in some kind of profound way.

    What’s your favorite part of the film?
    Well there are several parts that really got to me, but I think the penultimate scene which is an interview with Albert Fuller, the musician who actually gave one of the North American premieres of the Messiaen piece almost 50 years ago, is probably my favorite part. It is joyous, emotional and reflective and reveals as much as any moment in the film what music and art can mean to us in life.

    Has your work been influenced by Olivier Messiaen?
    Yes. I’ve performed a number of his beautiful works for the piano. He often filled his pieces with actual transcriptions of birdsong. Messiaen possessed a deep sense of spirituality and felt birdsong was
    the singing of angels on earth. His ability to incorporate those magical sounds in his music changed the way I hear both music and nature itself. He helped awaken my soul.