Why I Hate Terminal 5

New York has some truly phenomenal music venues -- from the small and scruffy (like Lit) to the best of  ballrooms (like Hammerstein) to the d.i.y. (like Monster Island Basement) to the artsy and imaginative (like Glasslands and Goodbye Blue Monday). But, bigger bands aren't going to perform at Spike Hill or Cake Shop, so where do bands that need a space smaller than a stadium but larger than anywhere on the Lower East Side end up performing these days? 

Well, ever since Terminal 5 opened in 2003 -- but mostly within the past few years -- bands like The Black Keys end up there. Unfortunately. This three-tiered venue is run by Bowery Presents, who seem to hold a monopoly over NYC concerts (they also run Webster Hall, Mercury Lounge, Music Hall of Williamsburg, The Wellmont Theater, and Bowery Ballroom). But, what's so bad about Terminal 5? I mean, I don't have a problem with the other venues I just mentioned, so why this one? Well, let me try to briefly explain in bullet point fashion.

Cons

1. As the above picture perfectly exemplifies, the space becomes entirely too crowded. Now, I have been to dozens and dozens of sold-out shows, and I have been in many a pit, but I don't usually feel as immobile and uncomfortably jam-packed as I do at Term-5, and I'm not even sure why that is. It might be because the occupancy number is exceptionally high. Or maybe because....

2. ....when you walk in, you travel down a long hall and then end up on the right side of the stage (rather than most venues, where you're facing the stage), which makes for an awkward and difficult time trying to move in and get a spot. If you happen to arrive on the late side, you're pretty much guaranteed to hit a major roadblock of people as you attempt to squeeze your way in. So you paid anywhere from 25-65 bucks, and now you can hardly see the stage. Also, if you are...

3. ...short like I am, you won't see much anyway. Again, this happens in other venues, but for some reason it's particularly bad at Term-5. Maybe the stage is too low?

4. If we're talking pure ambiance, Term-5 is totally uninspiring. It looks like a factory -- in a bad way, not in a hip Manchester way. And it has a disco ball. Which isn't a terrible thing in of itself, but when it comes with a banal, industrial atmosphere, it just feels sad. 

5. The people; o the people! I don't mean to sound like an elitist, but the people Term-5 attracts are, often enough, not your standard concert-goers. These are people who don't go to shows. These are kids whose parents drive down the West Side Highway to pick them up. These are bros and drunk teens and loud, obnoxious groups of friends who don't understand basic concert etiquette. So, not the kind of crowd you want to swap sweat with.

Pros

1. The upstairs bathrooms are private, red-lit, well-maintained and well-manned.

Is that it? Bathrooms? I guess so! Well, bathrooms are important. Worst bathroom has to go to Public Assembly (so gross). And Monster Island and Death by Audio could use improvements. Oh wait, silly me. Coney Island takes the cake. 

So, here's the dilemma. If I want to catch some fantastic bands, I have to suck it up and go to Terminal 5 because that's where they keep playing. Here's a running list of bands I have seen there so far (who can remember the order? these are not in order.)

1. The Black Keys -- not even close to the right venue to fit their sound or their persona. 

2. Mindless Self Indulgence -- the lamest of their shows I have seen (even Jimmy Urine made fun of his audience.)

3. The Faint -- also the worst show of theirs I have seen. 

4. Mogwai -- I could not see the band at all.

5. Avett Brothers -- okay, this show was good, but I still felt like the venue didn't suit them.

6. Justice -- this show was amazing, no complaints. Maybe Term-5 only works for electronica. Also, this was several years ago and my first Term-5 experience. 

7. Miike Snow -- this was one of the worst in my show-going career, and it prompted this blog post. Miike Snow was great, don't get me wrong. But Major Lazer came on before them and played for at least an hour, and that was just horrifically painful. The only reason I endured that hour of standing close to the stage among dancing, drunk 17-year-old girls was to see Santigold, who was supposed to perform. She came on stage for seriously one minute, "sang" a song I didn't even recognize, and left. That was it. And as for Major Lazer: "Throw your hands in the air!" NO. "Throw your shirt over your head!" NO. "Scream!" Hm...

Well, the moral of the story is I hate this venue. But, I am going there tonight because it won't stop me from seeing The Kills for the first time [update! -- scratch that; can't go after all], and also Foals and Freelance Whales on May 4. Wish me luck! 

Union Square & the Bobs

Maybe it's just because we're such good friends, but Skater Bob cracks me up. In case you are confused, there are two Bobs and they are friends: Skater Bob and Normal Bob.  I will actually be featuring an interview with Skater Bob some time in the near future. Both Bobs appeared in The New York Times Metropolitan section just last year. For those fantastic articles...

click here for Skater Bob -- "A Letter Writer Whom Editors Enjoy"

click here for Normal Bob -- "Chronicling Oddballs in Union Square"

Now, as often happens in Union Square, Normal Bob films Skater Bob, and something bizarre goes down that pretty much only occurs in NYC. The two of them have a propensity for seeking out some of the strangest "amazing strangers" this city has to offer. But, this video presents just a little slice of good ol' Union Square. Nothing fancy, just a normal day for the regulars who "run the park."

Dogtooth

I love foreign films, especially the oddball European indie flick intended to shock, sans the sensationalism that accompanies many American films of a similar nature. Some Asian films (like Oldboy and Audition) provide shock value of a gory and sickening nature, but the European films I've seen often create the same reaction by way of a psychological complexity and overall minimalism: from having next to no score, to lingering on an image, to creating unsettling juxtapositions, to having events unfold in unexpected ways or otherwise ordinary settings. 

I'm thinking of some films like Benny's Video, Funny Games, Fat Girl, 4 Months 3 Weeks 2 Days, Let the Right One In, This Is England, Salo, and The Dreamers (among others), all of which counteract expectations and tackle subject matter or happenings generally considered taboo within American film. Taboos like children killing others, or others killing children, a thirteen-year-old's sexual urges, anal sex, illegal abortion, young relationships, racism, sadism, incest, etc. Not that these subjects aren't handled in some American films, but there's a certain starkness I've noticed in films from France, Germany, Romania and elsewhere in Europe -- a definite lack of true exhibitionism. Disturbing things seem to occur in these films because they need to change the characters, not because the director wants the audience to react to them (except for maybe The Dreamers, which is more American than not, despite its Italian director).

Since I am obviously a fan of these movies, I was excited to watch Dogtooth, a Greek film directed by Giorgos Lanthimos, released in 2009. It definitely lived up to my expectations in terms of being bizarre! Here's a general gist: two very twisted parents seek to protect their three children (two girls, one boy, we don't know any of their names) from all the various evils of society. This might have worked better when the kids were younger, but now they're full-grown adults, probably between seventeen and twenty. They don't go to school, watch TV, listen to the radio, read the paper; they don't have any way of knowing what the outside world holds. And why, you might ask, don't they just leave the family estate? Well, their father has convinced them that cats and other vicious beasts are waiting to tear them apart just beyond the fence of their property, so they don't dare set one foot onto the dirt road, and they practice barking like dogs in case they need to scare a beast away. Only the father has the ability to leave in his car; he works a normal job, but no one there knows what kind of life he actually leads. He has also told his children that they will only be strong enough to leave home when their "dogtooth" comes out. Until then, they spend their days playing games, swimming, earning stickers for winning, learning new words (their mother invents meanings for commonplace words, like 'excursion'), and fighting as if they were still little kids. They even think it's possible for their mother to give birth to a dog.

When we first enter into the world of this family, an outsider named Christina is brought into the home to fulfill the sexual urges of the son. She becomes an instigator of a series of events that end up changing the "tranquility" of this insulated life. Between Christina giving the eldest girl video tapes (in return for some "favors") that expose her to man-eating sharks and "She's a Maniac!" dancing, to the increasing sexual awareness between the siblings, to physical abuse on the part of the father, Dogtooth becomes more and more intense. We spend most of the film completely ingrained in this world, but also waiting for things to change -- instinctively, we know that something has to shake up the faux innocence because all of the conflict that comes from it isn't really conflict, it's just their way of life, and we're waiting for that BOOM to set us off on another path. The BOOM never really happens though, even in one particularly disturbing scene where it seems like it might.  Or, maybe the BOOM does happen, but we stop short just before knowing its full effects. By the film's end, I was left wanting  so much more. I definitely wouldn't put this film in my list of Best Movie Endings...but the lack of a definite ending didn't take away from how much I enjoyed getting sucked into the narrative, including those moments when I almost looked away.

-a.dupcak

Grandchildren & O'Death

Last night I caught another brilliant Grandchildren performance. I think I've seen these guys 16 times now; each more exhilarating and breathtaking than the last. Last night's show was at the Brooklyn Knitting Factory (my first time there, since it moved from Manhattan), but I've also caught Grandchildren in NYC at Cameo Gallery, Mercury Lounge, Blvd. (for a BRM event), Le Poisson Rouge, Pianos (3 week residency), Public Assembly, and Death by Audio; in Philly at Kung Fu Necktie and Johnny Brenda's; and in Austin at Club Primo, Club 1808, Beauty Bar, and the Green Owl Ranch. Obviously, I'm not sick of them yet ;)

These guys are touring pros, and they're opening for Peter Bjorn and John at the TLA in Philly on May 1st, and opening for Man Man in Virgina and North Carolina. A few months ago, they also performed an acoustic set for Big Ugly Yellow Couch, which is "an acoustic video session series run out of the Brooklyn apartment of writer Carlye Wisel and photographer/videographer Donald Rasmussen...stemming from the idea that phenomenal music can be stripped down to its core and remain just as impressive." Grandchildren graced that ugly couch and transformed their wild songs into something achingly beautiful. 

When You're Not Looking by Grandchildren from Big Ugly Yellow Couch on Vimeo.

Last night, Grandchildren opened up for O'Death: an eclectic Brooklyn-based rock band combining folk, bluegrass, metal and punk with some Middle Eastern vibes to form mosh-happy songs. They played to a sold-out crowd of adoring fans who bounced around gleefully, threw up their hands, sang along, and requested an encore, even after a raucous finale of "Down to Rest," which also featured Grandchildren's Tris Palazzolo on trombone. They are touring in support of a brand new album called Outside (not to be confused with David Bowie's album outside...gotta love that one). Here's an older music video of theirs, directed by Benjamin Zeitlin.

No.Alt. Photo Gallery

So, I have a job, and it has been harder for me to post! But, I will keep at it, no worries! And I have big plans for future updates. 

For right now, here I am promoting my very own website, ha! I love taking pictures of random things, and I just updated my Photo Gallery and will now share with you a couple of highlights, in hopes that you will be so inclined to sift through more. Notice that sidebar...yeah, the link is there too ;)

 other places.

 new york city.

 miscellanea.

 people i know.

 music.

captured (other photographers).

this one by elizabeth gordon-tennant

-a.dupcak.