Just saw Julian Casablancas at the Showbox. I should have taken a pic to post, but it felt gauche. I’m stunned as to how good that guy is. Hope some of you out there got to see it.
Jeremy
Dhc
Just saw Julian Casablancas at the Showbox. I should have taken a pic to post, but it felt gauche. I’m stunned as to how good that guy is. Hope some of you out there got to see it.
Jeremy
Dhc
I just got done writing up a ton of great Seattle open mike nights only to find that Whiskey Bar is no longer running, and it looks like Trabant may have gone down in defeat at the hands on ASCAP. I was scanning openmikes.org and noted that Conor Byrnes removed it’s listing, but wecstopped in and found that it was still going. Good news. But still, what’s the dealio, Seattle? Get with the open mike program! Does DHC have to once again pump blood into the city again?
Jeremy
Dhc
And ready to rock Shadowland in West Seattle on Thursday night. NY was great – we look forward to the next trip.
Jeremy, DHC
It’s Friday night and DHC is the featured act here at the Silk Road Cafe in Chinatown, 10 Mott Street. We have played here every trip and it’s always a great venue. I’m updating more thru myspace right now, since I can’t get Internet everywhere. So for the regular check-ins, look for us at www.myspace.com/davehateschico2.
Tuesday night we unfortunately missed the open mike at Bar 4, but we made it up with a great Wednesday night at Paddy Reilly’s and at Arctica Bar. And then knocked out a late late set (3:30 AM) at Lucky Jack’s last night. Thanks to all the hosts who let us perform, and to all the awesome people we have met. Always a good time in NYC.
Tomorrow is Saturday, which we will start with the early open mike at Banjo Jim’s, and which we will finish with a full show at Perch Cafe in Park Slope. Very excited – I have been looking forward to getting back there for a long time. If you’re in the area, we hope you can come check out the show.
Sunday we will figure out how to hit both Pete’s Candy Store and Bar Matchless in Willamsburg, as well as Lilly Coogan’s in the East Village. And then Monday, hopefully we will have tickets to see Har Mar Superstar perform on the Jimmy Fallon Show. Who knows what will happen with that. And afterward, Kenny’s Castaways and Caffe Vivaldi in Greenwich Village, and perhaps Sidewalk if we’re lucky.
So that’s where it is. We’re going up shortly here at Silk Road, so I’m calling this good for now. Keep rocking, America!
Jeremy, DHC
Word people! the Countdown to NY clock is at 13 days remaining. Less than two weeks and DHC will be rock-blasting the big city with sweet sharp harmonic bliss. And CMJ will be going on at the same time, total and complete coincidence, but it will be pretty fun seeing an always bustling New York bustling even harder with desperate musicians and desperate label guys trying so hard to be or see the next big thing. We’ll just be playing our little songs at our little open mikes, making friends, seeing the sights and eating killer pizza. Gonna be fun. And to all of those in town for CMJ on either the giving or receiving side, good luck to all of you, I hope you find what you’re looking for.
What do I really like right now? Glad you asked.

Speaking of bustle, I really like Bustle on Queen Anne. This coffeeshop is only months old, but the coffee tops the list. And they get excellent french pastries. And they serve beer and wine and they’re open until 10PM. The folks in there are the best. If you’re in Seattle, go see them. 6th West and McGraw.

I haven’t heard much yet, but the new Har Mar Superstar album promises to slay it. I thought this guy was the shit from the first time I heard him. And honestly, I don’t want to ruin any friendships, but can anyone listen to Justin Timberlake and NOT think that Har Mar is about 100 times more awesome? Check out “Save the Strip” and “Bird in the Hand” from his album The Handler and tell me he’s not one of the best things music has ever produced. We’re hoping to see him live in NYC on the Jimmy Fallon show on Oct 26.

The Hot Avocados music blog is in my regular rotation. Full disclosure, I work with the author, but her enthusiasm for music is absolutely infectious. And she takes great photos.
That’s what I’m thinking about right now. Keep it real.
Jeremy
Dave Hates Chico
www.davehateschico.com
(PS – Fuck all the MySpace haters. Still the best place for bands, as far as I’m concerned.)
DHC Compares & Contrasts, part 5:
Seattle Vs. New York
I think we’re laying it on pretty thick; we know our open mikes. I don’t know if there’s a bigger champion of the sport that DHC, aside from maybe Paul Roub, the creator of www.openmikes.org. That guy is in it for everyone’s benefit. But back to us, we (DHC) take the method pretty seriously. The heirarchy of active open mikes is constantly changing, based on a number of factors – for instance, Terrible sound? That’s a ding. Allowing comics at a musicians’ open mike, that’s a ding. Open mike occurs every other week or once a month instead of every week, that’s a ding. The host isn’t into the show, or plays for half an hour himself, or only puts up his buddies – that’s a ding. There are lots of ways for an open mike to take down the price of its own stock. And this isn’t meant to be harsh – we have hosted at a lot of places. We learned these guidelines through trial and error; we have learned from the best and the worst. And it’s important to say this: the very act of hosting an open mike is HUGE. We appreciate like hell every cafe, restaurant, hostel and bookstore that takes the challenge and sets up a show for the good people. Who we got today?

NY: Perch Cafe in Park Slope (Sunday) We didn’t have this one high on the list on our last trip in January, because Sunday is usually a busy night for the Williamsburg/Greenpointe area. There are two excellent open mikes that night, Bar Matchless (below) and Pete’s Candy Store. Last trip, we were late for the signup at Pete’s, and Matchless had a private party going, so we missed out, but I had notes on this little place in Park Slope. So happy we stopped in. First, the food is incredible. Asian fusion. Worth going for that alone. But the people are what make this place special – from the host Kimi to the performers to the audience to the Perch staff, the place has a really nice feel. And full disclosure, DHC will be playing a show at Perch Cafe on Saturday Oct 24. What you got, Seattle?

Glad to get that off my chest. Next up, we will put the Sidewalk in the LES (Monday) up against Conor Byrne’s in Ballard (Sunday).
Peace up,
Jeremy
DHC