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Good Shows: Get Lost in a Trippy Maze of Sonic Delights; Mosh on a Fresh Grave

(Flyer via the Acheron)

(Flyer via the Acheron)

The Last Punk Gig: Aspects of War, Warthog, Indignation, Porvenir Oscuro 
Friday, July 8, 8 pm at the Acheron: $15.
In honor of the Acheron and the punk scene it has put up with, fed/clothed, and sated for the last six years, the East Williamsburg venue (which is closing due to a struggle with their insurance company) is gathering up its biddies and besties to bid farewell to its hallowed walls. As the venue’s co-owner Bill Dozer promised, they’re filling up the last stretch with a bunch of benefits, including their very last night of business which is dedicated to the family of Brandon Ferrell (former drummer for Municipal Waste), a local musician and friend of everyone, apparently. All profits and bar sales from the show are going to the family, so you can feel good about getting super, super sloshed at the Acheron’s last hurrah.
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AdHoc Print Zine is Back, Reminding Us There’s Life Beyond the Screen

AdHoc Issue 12, cover design by A. Savage (Courtesy of AdHoc)

AdHoc Issue 12, cover design by A. Savage (Courtesy of AdHoc)

After a fitful start back in January 2013, the official zine for the roving “independent events collective” AdHoc went digital. In doing so, it joined countless more mini-publications that had chosen, either by design or by circumstance, to be available online only. But being relegated to an online existence wasn’t a great fit for the zine, especially considering that AdHoc already has a yin-yang sort of balance going on with a blog that feeds off the live music and in-person experiences they organize. “More and more I find myself experiencing life through a screen and it’s a terrible way to interact with the world,” AdHoc’s co-founder Ric Leichtung wrote to us in an email. “So much gets lost there.”

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Celebrate Pride Week With These LGBTQ Comedy Shows

(Photo: Scott Lynch)

This week, New York City hosts its Pride Week and celebrates the LGBTQ community with events, parties and, of course, the annual pride parade. Celebrating this community seems especially important in the light of the tragic mass shooting at gay Orlando nightclub Pulse. At the same time, after any national tragedy, it’s important to at least occasionally laugh—that way you can be momentarily distracted from the depths of despair and hopelessness. Luckily, there are ways to do both. So, in honor of NYC Pride Week—and to take your mind off how much the world sucks—here are the best LGBTQ-centric comedy shows happening next week.
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Four Shows: Bounce Legend Bounds into Town and Free Sleep for Early Birds

(Flyer via House of Vans)

(Flyer via House of Vans)

Sleep, Battles
Thursday, June 23, 8 pm at House of Vans: FREE with RSVP
I always devote at least a few minutes of my bike ride home to a scene from Gummo– you know, the fantastically twisted Harmony Korine film starring that kid with the ears. I like to fan out my elbows, toss off my helmet, and fantasize that some people describe me, too, as “downright evil.” But that scene wouldn’t have been the same without the addition of “Dragonaut,” the stoner metal classic from Sleep‘s 1992 album, Holy Mountain.
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Trans-Pecos Founder Is Bringing Out-There Outdoor Shows to SculptureCenter

(Flyer via Sculpture Center)

(Flyer via Sculpture Center)

The Long Island City fine art scene is about to get a dose of DIY cred with Holding Space, a new three-part music series curated by Sam Hillmer (aka Diamond Terrifier) launching tomorrow at SculptureCenter. As the guy behind the scenes at Trans-Pecos (and co-founder along with Todd P), Hillmer will present his usual fare– a motley brew of various sounds stemming from eclectic tastes and experimental practices.
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Variance Joining the Bushwick Festival Fray this Summer

(Flyer via Variance)

(Flyer via Variance)

What’s being billed as a “16 hour fully immersive, internationally inspired” music and visual art event is coming to a yet-to-be disclosed location near the Jefferson stop, joining Northside and Out in the Streets on the growing list of festivals happening in and around Bushwick this summer. Variance, however, is situated somewhere between Brooklyn’s answer to SXSW and the super-local chill fest known for bringing DIY regulars out of their usual dank, cavernous confines and onto the grassy grounds of Onderdonk House.
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Glenn Branca’s Guitar Orchestra Sorta Blew Out My Ear Drums, But I’m OK With It

(Glenn Branca

(Glenn Branca’s Symphonies – Red Bull Music Academy Festival New York 2016)

There are few things in this world that make you feel more like a corporate lackey than sipping a free cocktail spiked with piss-colored (and flavored) energy drink at a show put on by said energy drink’s uber-branded festival that you didn’t pay for either. Ok, so maybe when it comes to the Marxist-guilt department, writing a glowing review about the aforementioned caffeine company’s spectacular music event tops one shameless night (ok, two) spent gobbling down all those freebies. But the real and honest-to-god truth is that Red Bull Music Academy is responsible for some truly killer (and sometimes truly rare) music happenings all over the world– Glenn Branca’s Symphonies, held at the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, were no exception.

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House of Vans + Rooftop Films Collab: Two Music Docs and ‘Creative Workshops’

(Flyer via House of Vans/ Rooftop Films)

(Flyer via House of Vans/ Rooftop Films)

The great giver of free things, House of Vans, has announced they’re teaming up with Rooftop Films (the latter just dropped their 20th-anniversary summer programming) for two undeniably sick events happening next week. The super group of summertime chill times are calling the almost back-to-back affairs “cinematic music events,” and for the low, low price of $0 you too can see two music-centric documentaries followed by performances from Danny Brown, The Casualties, and more. It’s all happening at House of Vans. Read on for more deets.

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For 401 Days, J. Views ‘Opened Up a Window’ on His Creative Process

As the cliché goes, a talented artist can make their work look easy. Most successful works of art, then– anything from albums to paintings and photographs–  belie the huge amount of effort and skill that went into their creation. This might stem from the idea that showing too much of the maker’s hand demystifies the process, and therefore risks ruining the magic of art. That distance is especially important when it comes to music– for most genres anyway, maintaining a separation between the audience and the performer, both physical and psychologically, is an essential part of the experience.

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Week in Music: Sounds for Satanic Rites and a Whole Lotta Party

(Image via Red Bull Music Academy Festival)

(Image via Red Bull Music Academy Festival)

Diamanda Galas: Death Will Come and Will Have Your Eyes
Thursday May 12 and Saturday May 14 at Red Bull Music Academy at 258 W 118th Street
Believe me when I tell you that this one is worth the trip uptown. The Red Bull Music Academy Festival is back, and as usual their title isn’t the only thing that’s a bit of a mouth full. They always seem to be asking a lot of their guests, most of whom probably don’t wanna take some class on the anatomy of so-and-so and would just like to please hear some dang music. If you count among the purists, here’s at least one show on the month-long list of festival happenings (through May 22) that qualifies as required listening.

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