Last weekend I was at the Grey Fox bluegrass festival and despite most of my friends not showing up until the final day, I had a blast. I picked up a passenger from craigslist and her party was nice enough to let me camp with them in the shady trees that line the festival grounds. It was a lot hotter than last year and while rain was scarce, Saturday night we got hit with a four-hour lightning storm that shut down Sam Bush’s set early. Sometimes people ask me: Hugh, you’re an old punk rock dude. Why do you like bluegrass? Like punk, there is a certain DIY aspect to bluegrass — even moreso because you usually don’t need any amplification for the instruments. The songwriting has a definite dark side that appeals to me along with blunt honesty. As you can tell from the photos, I like what the kids are doing as much as the established artists. Check out Crooked Still, Sarah Jarosz, and Della Mae at their websites! It’s funny that many of these kids are studying bluegrass at places like the Berklee School of Music and the Boston Conservatory. Enjoy the pix and playlist below.
Author: hugh
Yellow Square
This is a small place to hang out. Stay tuned for some galleries.
Early Morning Central Park
Made a Slideshow
I was fooling around with iPhoto and made this slideshow of mostly reject photos although some are published already. The music is “Thunderbird” by The Whitefield Brothers. They may ask me to take it down at some point… enjoy.
New York Summer Night Still Lifes
These photographs were taken over the course of a few night bike rides downtown, mostly along the Hudson River greenway.
Fire Escape Performers
I caught this charming couple singing catchy tunes off a fire escape on 14th Street last night. This is on the stretch between 6th and 7th Avenue and across the street from the Salvation Army headquarters. I didn’t catch their names (their names escaped me?), but maybe they’ll see this and fill us in. The bar below probably knows them also.
The Invisible Dog Gallery
I went to a CD release party for the guitar quartet called Dither a few weeks ago. Dither is emulating the Bang on a Can mission by producing casual concerts of new music in unique settings. Indeed, they are the group that graced the program cover for the recent Bang on a Can Marathon. The Invisible Dog gallery — so named because it was the Carroll Gardens factory where the original “invisible dog leashes” were traditionally manufactured — is a wonderful building with a gallery on the first floor and artist studios above. These were taken during the “If You See Something, Say Something” art show and a mostly different show is there now. More info on the art can be found at the site. I had a great time and apologies for not posting these sooner!
Twin Guns
I saw Twin Guns last week at Don Pedro. Grainy rock n roll black and white!
I hope you had a good Independence Day. I saw the fireworks with Mormon Tabernacle Choir accompaniment. I hope some day we’ll watch them with Abyssinian Baptist Church Choir accompaniment.
Books Love the Kids
In the words of Jim Anchower, I know it’s been a long time since I rapped at ya. I have many photos to sort out and things to think about — and whether I’ll write more than two sentences about these things. In the meantime, here’s a short series from Bushwick, Brooklyn. I took these the night of the Bushwick Open Studios Music Festival many weeks ago. A few may be pleased or dismayed to learn that photos of people are coming.
Circles of Central Park
Another shot of Columbus Circle at night. I had a gander around the new Frederick Douglas Circle on the north-west side of Central Park and it is the most austere of traffic circles around the park. It’s lots of large stone tile design and unwelcome benches with little vegetation although that might change. Let it be noted. I’ll get some shots soon… Has anyone been to the Museum of Arts and Design pictured above? Let me know if you want to give it a whirl.
High Line at Night
I finally went to the completed High Line which I saw way before the renovation thanks to OHNY. It’s probably the most unique/odd renovated space in any urban environment. In this case, WFMU was broadcasting a live show. I’ll be back. My old cheap camera seems incapable of taking sharp night shots anymore–maybe because I dropped it so many times.
TV Noir, Culture, and the Internet
True TV noir started with The X-Files. Twilight Zone was black and white and nobody picked up the ball when it stopped. Anyway, before Molly proposed her question and got some answers, I was thinking about the evolution of the internet while The X-Files traversed the 90s. I’m sure others have written about this but I’m just getting around to it sheepishly. In rewatching early episodes, I am also in awe of the amazing cinematography.