9th Street Block Party 2017

It hardly seems like a year has passed since the last 9th Street Block Party, and yet, here we are again!

Let's get to it then, eh?

This woman was selling hats, and baked goods that might have been Starbucks remainders:

Suspicious baked goods.

Antiques are always popular at the 9th Street Block Party:

Antiques.

These things are called "CDs". This is how your parents listened to music! They put them into a "CD player" and… music played! It's more technical than that, but it's not important.

These are still in their original cellophane packaging, so they're collector's items!

Collector's items.

These things are even older — this is how your grandparents listened to music! They're called "records". They would put them onto a "phonograph", cranked a handle on the side, the record would spin, they'd put a needle onto it and… music played!

Again, it's more technical than that…

Records.

Why would anyone want to sell this t-shirt?!

T-shirt for sale.

Once again, the bird man was hawking his photos:

Hawking photos.

You know, if his name was Stephen, the caption would read: Stephen Hawking photos. That would be confusing!

Signs tell people which clothes are which:

Signs.

I think I saw someone moving items from one side to the other!

You might not know it, but those glittery gold things are lamps.

All that glitters is not a lamp.

So many shoes!

"Which shoes do I choose?"

Gluten-free-free tote bag for sale:

Gluten love.

It's hard to tell where the flowers end and the people begin, at the beloved BeetleBug:

Flowery maiden.

As always, there was a band:

"If I leave here tomorrow, would you still remember me?"

A good time was had by all!

#eastvillage #9thstreet #9thstreetblockparty #beetlebug #cds #enchantments #flowers #lamps #musicians #records #tshirts

Even More Music

Following more music on Saturday was even more music on Sunday!

Sunday's event was sponsored by The Shadow. This time, instead of building the stage at the time the show was supposed to begin, they started earlier!

I'm not sure how much earlier — the show was supposed to start at 1:00pm, and this is as far as they were at 12:41pm:

12:41pm.

I walked around the East Village a bit, and got back to the park an hour later, in time to see the first act (I'm not joking).

Introducing: Rebel:

Rebel.

Following Rebel were musicians and singers, collectively known as The Carvels:

The Carvels.

Check that out: twin Telecasters! and…

Check that out: matching shirt and guitar!

The next band was called DIYing Breed, who were immediately besieged by a group of aging paparazzi!

Aging paparazzi.

This show was unique in its complete absence of crusties! Instead, their place was occupied by this gang of bicyclists:

Gang of bicyclists.

Before they left, they all got together for a group picture:

Group picture.

No one danced at this show:

There's gonna be, no dancing.

All in all, it was very unusual!

#eastvillage #bicyclists #diyingbreed #musicians #paparazzi #punkrockshow #rebel #thecarvels #theshadow #tompkinssquarepark

More Music

One day, you can walk through Tompkins Square Park and see a circus, the next day you walk through and a band is performing — it's crazy!

Even if you were deaf, you would know there was a rock show going on by the people standing around:

Standing around.

This band (called Thornes) was fronted by a woman, playing a Les Paul — you don't see that every day!

Not an every-day site.

I think this was the next band going on:

The next band.

If I were in a band, this is why I would insist on a stage:


You know what's weird? People who are old enough to know Pink Floyd, but not old, per se, think "The Wall" is a good album!

#eastvillage #tompkinssquarepark #musicians #pinkfloyd #thewall #thornes

The Circus Is In Town

Ask any East Villager why they love the East Village and you'll get the same answer: It's so cool!

Shopping, restaurants, bars, eccentric people; you name it, it's here!

Just to give you an idea: Friday afternoon, I was walking through Tompkins Square Park, when I saw… a circus!

Circus Amok!

Let the show begin!

There was opera:

Opera.

… stilt walkers:

Stilt walker.

… musicians:

Singing about sandwiches!

… and human pyramids:

Human pyramid.

…and, of course, juggling:


#eastvillage #circusamok, #jugglers, #musicians, #opera, #stiltwalkers, #tompkinssquarepark

Puke Island Part 7

You might think that punk rock is the only type of music that ever gets performed in Tompkins Square Park, and with one notable exception, you would be right!

Yesterday's punk rock show was called Puke Island Part 7. Catchy name, eh?

It was scheduled to start at 2:00pm, but yesterday was hot…

Hot.

…so I waited until later in the afternoon to show up.

Apparently, it was too hot for most other people too. This was the crowd when I arrived:

The crowd.

It was even too hot for crusties!

Only one crusty.

Maybe all the punks hitched a ride to Rockaway Beach?!

It's never too hot for the promoter though, East Village celebrity Chris Iconicide, seen here in the mosh pit, while the band Alien Species played:

Chris Iconicide and Alien Species.

Hot weather is perfect for the Coco Cherry Mango Rainbow Icy man though:

Coco Cherry Mango Rainbow Icy man.

As always, these shows are an opportunity for local underground newspapers to hawk their tchotchkes:

Underground newspaper tchotchke table.

I was melting by this point, so I bought some ice cream and went home!

#eastvillage #alienspecies #chrisiconicide #crusties #musicians #pukeisland #punkrockshow #tchotchkes #tompkinssquarepark

Buskers Abound

Sunday was certainly the day for busking!

I saw this guitar fellow at the First Street Green Cultural Park, on Houston Street:

Guitar fellow.

He was behind a fence (similar to the one in the picture, on the left), so people passing by couldn't give him any money.

Maintaining the cred — a true East Village artiste!

#eastvillage #buskers #musicians #firststreetgreenculturalpark #houstonstreet

I Love The Sound Of Breaking Glass

A long, long time ago, before most of you were even born, there was a singer named Nick Lowe, and he sang a song that East Villagers at that time snapped their finger and sang along to, called "I Love The Sound Of Breaking Glass"!

This was back in the bad old days, when East Villagers did love the sound of breaking glass!

Fast forward to the present…

I was walking down St. Mark's Place yesterday afternoon, when I saw this group of buskers outside the formerly-beloved Friterie Belgian Fries — they call themselves Breaking Glass:

Breaking Glass.

They drew quite a crowd — it extended all the way into the street:

Into the street.

You can listen to their music here: Click To Experience

The East Village still draws people from all over the world who want to be famous musicians — put that in your vapo-pipe and smoke it, Williamsburg!

#eastvillage #stmarksplace #buskers #musicians #friteriebelgianfries #breakingglass

Halloween Eve Punk Rock Show

I passed through Tompkins Square Park this afternoon, and I happened upon what surely must have been the Halloween Eve Punk Rock Show:

Halloween Eve Punk Rock Show.

I took a wide-angle picture because these things usually have no attendees, but today's show looked pretty crowded!

When I got to the stage, this band was playing:

This band.

I don't know their name, but… if The Ramones and The Clash had a baby, and in another part of town, Television created a baby clone of itself, and those two babies grew up and had a baby, it would be this band!

When they finished, this guy started vociferating:

This guy.

I've seen this guy at these punk rock shows before — he says exactly the same thing every time! I decided to walk around a bit.

This band is called Transgender Jesus. Everyone with a smart phone took either their picture, or a selfie!

"Can I take a selfie with you?"

In case you were wondering, that's the woman's costume! The guy… not a costume.

It even has a air vent in back!

Air vent.

That's East Village celebrity Chris Flash on the left — The East Village "A" List was out in force!

Finally, the next band went on. Here's a video that I like to call Ring Around The Rosie:


A good time was had by all…

Having a good time.

… at the Halloween Eve Punk Rock Show!

#eastvillage #halloweeneve #musicians #punkrockshow #television #theclash #theramones #tompkinssquarepark #transgenderjesus

Punk Jamboree

What constitutes Punk? I have a friend who said that punk was already finished by the time the word Punk was coined to describe it!

Today, since the punkers are so much older, it mostly means kid-friendly performances with just a hint of posturing! If "punk" means "a good time for young and old alike", this show — in Tompkins Square Park this past Sunday — was the punkiest!

It was a time for parents to come support their kids' musical endeavors:

…for kids to support their parents' musical endeavors:

…and for old anarchists and the police to catch up!

"Yeah, those were the bad old days!"

Unfortunately, I could not stay for the entire show, which leads me to my one suggestion:

Dear organizing committee: please provide chairs for future performances. It's not easy to stand for four hours, and the benches in the shade fill up too quickly!

Oh yes, and change the name. I am willing to bet a lot of people didn't attend just because of the name. Puke Island? How about: Punk Jamboree!

I leave you with what is probably the highlight of the afternoon — enjoy!



#eastvillage #crusties #dogs #kids #musicians #pukeisland #purplepam #flesheaters #tompkinssquarepark

The Busker

The East Village is famous for its buskers — you can't swing a cat without hitting one!

I was walking across St. Mark's Place last Saturday when I saw this busker in front of the formerly-beloved JAS Mart:

Busker in front of JAS Mart.

To be kind, here's a close-up:

Close-up.

They say that he won't last too long in the East Village — he'll catch a Greyhound bus for home, they all say. But they're dead wrong, I know they are. 'Cause he can play that there guitar. And he won't quit till he's a star… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #stmarksplace #musicians #buskers #jasmart

Music & Paint

Early in the afternoon this past Saturday,  I was walking across East Houston Street. As I approached Second Avenue, I saw this an art gathering!

Behold:

This fenced-in area is called First Street Green Cultural Park (that's a mouthful!). When I try to connect to their website from work, I get this:

First Street Green Cultural Park FortiGuard malicious website warning.

So be careful — music and paint offer no protection from malicious websites… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #artists #communitygardens #firststreetgreenculturalpark #fortiguard #houstonstreet #maliciouswebsites #musicians #painters #secondavenue

Rockin' the Hallelujah

Oftentimes, when people think of the East Village, they think of religious piety — and they're not wrong to do so!

However, the East Village is no different from the world beyond Third Avenue in this respect: churches here have a hard time attracting young people!

That's why this church went about trying to attract young people using the language they understand: toe-tappin' music!


East Villagers love a good rockin' Hallelujah!

#eastvillage #5thstreet #avenuec #musicians #hallelujah

My My, Hey Hey

It's hard to walk through Tompkins Square Park in the Summertime and not find some type of seriously-cool event taking place.

As I passed through yesterday, I saw this band playing:

Brought to you by Budget: Make The Better Move.

I told a friend of mine that they reminded me of early Hawkwind, but I'm going to revise that now to 801's live version of Third Uncle.

All of this is to say they were really good — I wish I could remember their name!

Naturally, the East Village crowd didn't dance. The guy at the bottom left, who you may remember from the Memorial Day Punk Rock Extravaganza, took not-dancing to a new level:

A new level.

A good time was had by all… in the East Village Today (yesterday)!

#eastvillage #tompkinssquarepark #musicians