I miss new York. That was good ice cream.
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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
DHC Compares & Contrasts, part 6:
Seattle Vs. New York
Let’s take a moment to reflect on some of the stages that once were but now are no longer. We have hosted open mike nights at Seattle spots like the Mainstage, Caffe Bella and the Merchant’s Cafe, all of which have long passed on – the memories live on, and only the people who went and rocked it down get to share in it. Kinda special. So NYC, big holla to Je Bon, the Living Room in Brooklyn, the Cakestore and the Baggot Inn. Seattle, everlasting love to Galway Arms, Liquid Lounge, O’Shea’s Easy Street Pub, The Rainbow and Contour – you were all great shows and DHC misses you.
I’m getting misty – let’s get to the matchup.
SEA: Conor Byrne’s in Ballard (Sunday) Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood has a lot going for it, music-wise. It’s got the Sunset Tavern and the Tractor, two big spots for touring groups. But one of the most interesting little places is Conor Byrne’s on Ballard Ave. A few weeks ago, the hosting hands changed over from Ricky and Liz to Danny and Josiah. Great room, great sound, and an excellent place to spend Sunday night. And in the old days, Miss H. used to run the show very cutely, and for a while it was being hosted by the Dark Prince. Those were days right there. Anyway, never a dull moment. the place has run steadily for years and I suspect it will keep on keeping on long after we’re gone. And representing for New York?
NY: Sidewalk in the LES (Monday) Ask anyone where to find the “biggest” open mike in New York City, and there will only be one answer – the Sidewalk. We got to know this place on our first trip to NY in 2006. Lach was running the show at the time (hell of a guy that Lach), and watching him do his thing gave me a whole new respect for what it takes to host with the big boys. The Sidewalk hosts upward of 90 people on a given Monday. The new host is Ben, and I know he puts his back into it just as much. I got to see a lot of good music on our visits there. The funny thing is, you go on openmikes.org, people bitch about this place to no end. They play favorites, you can’t get a decent spot, no room to sit down, blah blah blah, but it cannot be denies that when a starry-eyed dreamer comes to New York looking for a spot on the stage, the Sidewalk is what they want.
I think after one more, I’ll be done with this. Next time, Lilly Coogan’s in the LES (Sunday) goes up against Whiskey Bar in Belltown (Thursday).
Word.
Jeremy
DHC
DHC Compares & Contrasts, part 4: Seattle Vs. New York
We have a mayoral race coming up – let me lay it out super quick for the non-locals. We’re voting out a guy who I thought was awesome (Greg Nickels), and the running is down to a pro-business tax cutter (Mallahan) and a guy I know little to nothing about, except that he wants to kill the planned waterfront tunnel. I just found out that the no-tunnel guy is planning to extend bar hours to 3AM instead of 2AM. So basically, even though I know little about the guy, he’s likely to get my vote. Until this revelation, I was going to skip voting altogether. So good for Seattle – taking steps toward adulthood.
Today’s matchup:
SEA: Shadowland in West Seattle (Tuesday) Swanky. Sexy. Alluring. Those are the first three words that come to mind when I think of the Shadowland. This place is relatively new to Seattle, and has already developed a tight little community of rockers. The evening is hosted by a gentleman named Patrick, and Patrick is dedicated to good sound and a good show. And he’s a hell of a nice guy. The food is good, and cheap during Happy Hour from 10 to midnight. That’s another nice perk about Shadowland – it’s a late-starter, kicking off at 10:00. And it has a martini vibe and a very attractive clientele. All of these elements give it a nice dusky jazz-club feel, definitely one of the best places in town to come hang out and play a few tunes. Very much a locals hangout. What do we have out east?
NY: Bar Matchless in Williamsburg (Sunday) I vividly remember watching the Oscars on the big TVs over the pool tables, seeing Daniel Day Lewis winning best actor for There Will Be Blood and saying some very nice words about Heath Ledger’s passing. This was in early 08, and we were traveling with our friends Adam Hunter and Cynthia Marie – off on different tracks in NY, but they came to meet up with us at Matchless and it was great. Big comfortable stage room separate from the rest of the bar, probably good food but we wouldn’t know because we didn’t eat, and nice folks. We missed out on this one last time, and I don’t intend to let that happen again. I would love to rock a full night at Bar Matchless. Someday, maybe.
Check out the next entry when we give the ol’ C&C to The Perch Cafe in Park Slope (Sunday) and Hopvine in Capitol Hill (Wednesday).
Yep,
Jeremy
DHC
DHC Compares & Contrasts, part 3:
Seattle Vs. New York
You know who kicks ass the most at the open mikes? The Sound Guy or Girl. If the Sound Guy or Girl is also the host, then he or she kicks double ass. And if that Sound Guy or Girl also has to pour pints or pull shots of espresso, while hosting and running sound, you’re talking triple ass. The person behind the dials has to be able to dial it in for any random combination of instruments and voices that come to the stage and make it sound as clear and awesome as possible. Having been there, DHC knows how hard it is. You’re basically on for the night without any true breaks. The second you wander off for a smoke, that’s when the room will be hit with a blast of feedback caused by who knows what. Point being, give thanks to your sound person for keeping it together. There is no show without them.
So that’s who kicks ass. You know who sucks ass? ASCAP. More on that in a moment. Who we got climbing into the ring today?
NY: Silk Road Cafe in Chinatown (Select Fridays) Full disclosure – DHC will be playing a long set as a part of the Five Points Showcase on Friday Oct 23. This is a fun place – we hit it up for the first time in 2007, our first trip to NY, after accidentally running into a long string of poetry based open mikes. It was a great feeling running across the Silk Road – very friendly people, nice heavy-packed room, and good talent. Lots of comedians, and a real home-team vibe. You can tell that a lot of the performers are regulars, but they always make room for new acts. That first trip, we were faced with signing a 4-page contract in order to play, which freaked us out a little because we were completely wasted, but it was just a release saying they could broadcast the performance on public access. We declined to sign, and they simply turned off the webcam while we were on stage. Very nice about it. Seems like they have stopped doing the broadcast now, which is too bad. Anyhow, check out the Five Points Variety Hour at Silk Road right here and here.
And in the blue trunks…
SEA: Trabant Chai House in the University District (Monday) Remember what I was saying before about ASCAP? Basically, it’s the musician’s union, and they’re the guys who like to go from business to business spying on people, making sure that nobody’s playing covers of published songs if they haven’t paid the fee. Some places just seem to attract the attention of the ASCAP spies, and Trabant is one of them. For the travelers, Trabant is a nice little place and very much worth visiting for a set on a Monday night. Lots of young attractive students from UW, comfy atmosphere, and great chai. But you have to sign your name on the list pledging that you won’t play covers, only originals. Fuckin’ ASCAP. Nobody makes money on an open mike. There should be an exception, no? Who’s with me on this?
Hmph. Tune in next time when we pair the Shadowland in West Seattle (Tuesday) against Bar Matchless in Williamsburg (Sunday).
Cheers,
Jeremy
DHC
DHC Compares & Contrasts, part 2:
Seattle Vs. New York
I like open mikes. You know why? Because in this giant swamp of live music, with music unions and giant sponsored tours and everybody holding out a hand and expecting to get real paid, open mikes keep it pure. It’s just about getting up on stage and playing as well as you can for 15 minutes or 3 songs, whichever is shorter. You have a moment to make your mark, and afterward you could either be forgotten completely, or you could be someone’s new favorite singer. You never can tell. It’s not about money, it’s about fun.
Only 29 days and we’ll be on the way. Stepping into the ring this week, we have…
SEA: Bill’s Off Broadway in Capitol Hill (Monday). This is a new find for us. Just a block away from the main drag in Cap Hill, Bill’s gets a great crowd of friendly people every Monday. The pizza is incredible and the host runs a very intimate and fun show – the evening has a very comfortable cabaret feel to it. Also, there is the added benefit of being on the edge of one of Seattle’s most exciting neighborhoods, one of a small handful that keeps the party going until the late-night hours. Broadway in Cap Hill has more music venues than any other part of Seattle (probably more coffee shops and pubs as well), and as the home base for the city’s independent arts community, it’s packed with cool people – good movie houses, good theater, nice little galleries, and everything else that fits. Bill’s is a great jewel in that crown – you can read more about it here and here.
Who’s the lucky opponent?
NY: Banjo Jim’s in the East Village (Saturday). This place is a find. The show starts up every Saturday at 3:00 in the afternoon, making it the rare daylight open mike. Wayne keeps the show running tight, with the help of a sound man and an emcee. If we could ever get there early enough, I would partake in their selection of absynthe – I’m not sure how available it is in other venues, but it’s nice to know that I could spend an afternoon glowing in a slightly off-kilter buzz. I will make it a point to indulge this time around.
Banjo Jim’s is a great little place, populated with very talented bluegrass players, a lot of regulars, and a very receptive crowd. Be warned, it packs to capacity. Tough deal if you want some elbow room, but very gratifying for the performers to have 60 people jammed into a room watching intently. You’ll find it at 9th Street and Avenue C – you can find more details here and here. Signup is at 2:30.
Next up, we will put Trabant Chai House in the University District (Monday) up against the Silk Road Cafe in Chinatown (Select Fridays).
Sweet sweetness,
Jeremy
DHC
We have been saying all along, Seattle needs Dave Hates Chico. Not just musically, but from a policy perspective. Someone needs to sort this city out, and it looks like it will be us. I’m thinking we run for city council as a starter, but I need to employ some kind of trickery to allow a musical duo to run in one spot on the ticket. Maybe on the “we’ll take turns standing” platform. Anyway, the DHCPAC is theoretically in play, so we will see what happens.
A DHC administration
Autumn approaches – we have a couple of parties to play, and a show at the Spar Tavern in Tacoma (first time for me playing my hometown), and in October we’re off (again) to New York to rock a borough or three. We just can’t get enough of that place.
We’ll check back with you before long. until then, take good care.
Jeremy, DHC
Check out the super blue pants!
Here’s a picture from the trip, snapped at the Silk Road Café in Chinatown, one of my favorite venues. One of the few places DHC has played on each trip to NYC.
Sorry I couldn’t do a better job of keeping y’all posted from our travels. Time just seems to fly by over there – you look at your watch and it’s noon, you grab a coffee, and next time you look at your watch it’s 4:00. I chalk it up to a better reliance on trains over taxis this time, which requires better planning ahead, but we felt really rushed the entire time. Shall I tell you all about it?
We arrived on Tuesday night. That flight always feels very long. We trained it in from Newark to Penn Station, and as we walked out of the station into the bigness that is the midtown area, with all its bright lights and hustling crowds, I thought to myself, “this place must have felt very different 30 years ago, pre-Giuliani, when standing outside Penn Station at night might get you killed,” and just as I was thinking that to myself, a big pack of dudes chased one smaller dude down the sidewalk, knocking people over left and right, catching the dude as he crossed the street. They beat him pretty bad with baseball bats. It was pretty surreal. The cops were there immediately. That was a little weird. We caught a cab at that point.
We dropped our stuff at our friend Tina’s place in Brooklyn. We would have just enough time to cab in to the city and meet Tina in Chelsea before getting to our first stop, a late Tuesday show at the Sidewalk in the Lower East Side. We met at a place called Market, had some beers and some coffees, caught up a little bit, met Tina’s friend Jenny, and then hopped another cab to the show.
What to say about the Sidewalk? It was nice to play, but we were delayed getting up, and not too many people stuck around to watch (Tina and Jenny were there, yay for them), so we said our thanks and busted over to Park Slope in Brooklyn to a place called Bar 4. We got a spot at 3:30 AM, played a couple of songs, and afterward, grabbed a slice and headed back to Tina’s. And if you don’t already know all about Tina, check out her blog here. She’s a sweetheart.
Wednesday night we were back in the Williamsburg/Bushwick area, I think – at two venues. Spike Hill is a nice little rock club – we really regretted not being able to play there in 2008, but the timing didn’t work out. So we got to play this time, and it was all good. Met some cool dudes called The Big Hat, they laid it down. Other good music and comedy as well. We hit out for one more Wednesday stop, at Stain Bar a few blocks away. Did I mention that it was flippin’ FREEZING in NY the entire time we were there? Well, it was. Bitter cold. Especially between 2 and 4 in the AM. Stain Bar was a nice little coffee and wine bar, not too crowded, no amps or microphones, and the radiator was getting ready to blow up at any second. We met some very nice people there, played a couple of 3 song sets, and made our way back to Brooklyn Heights.
Kay was our barista buddy at a place called Siggy’s on Henry Street – very sweet smile. And the place smelled heavily of fresh cut wheatgrass, which is always nice. So Thursday morning started out with coffee and breakfast at Clark’s, and then a day of doing whatever – when you go to bed at 4:30 AM and get up at 1:00 PM, the day has a way of getting away from you. So by the end of breakfast, it was already time to get going for Lilly Coogan’s and Lucky Jacks, both in the LES. Lucky Jacks didn’t end up happening, because Lilly Coogan’s went very well. Our new friend Jaclyn Dima signed us up for a spot around 11:00, I got to hang with Tina and a good friend from way back, Kristen King, whom I haven’t spoken with in ages. We played our spot, and then played “The Weight” and “Long Black Veil” with a gent named Andrew, very cool dude, and another gent named Brad came up and jammed with us on saxophone for the next two hours. Jaclyn let us loose, which was good for everybody. Again, we ate – Papaya King, I think, which was awesome, and then headed back.
Friday was the Silk Road. I always contact these folks a couple of months ahead, to see if they can get us on for the Friday Night Show. Always a highlight of the trip for me, and this year was no different. We got in and up right away, and played for a very kind and appreciative audience. Last time we were here, a big festival was taking place in Little Italy, just a couple of blocks over. Tonight the streets were quiet. I think we headed back, but I can’t remember exactly.
Saturday got an early start at Banjo Jim’s on 9th and Avenue C. Great little place, but the cold was so harsh that it pulled the guitars out of tune. The room is so crowded and the audience listens so intently that it makes it a little hard to play there, but we still had a good time. We were invited to a party in the Upper West Side that night, which was great. But afterward we had a hard time finding something to eat, so McDonalds was what we got. Sucked.
Sunday was supposed to be the pinnacle of the trip, because we had Pete’s Candy Store and Bar Matchless, two very nice pubs a couple of blocks apart. When you can find places that are close to one another, you’re doing well. But we missed the signup at Pete’s and Bar Matchless was closed for a private party in the stage room, so we were out of luck. Happily, I had a backup plan – a little place called Perch Café in Park Slope. Met some great poets, comedians and musicians and got to play for a very receptive crowd. So we turned it from nothing to something, and that was a good thing.
Monday was a night off – I meant to hook up with our friend Craig Greenberg at either Caffe Vivaldi or Kenny’s Castaways, but I had made the commitment to see Wakey! Wakey! at the Livingroom on Ludlow. So I was bummed that I didn’t get to see him play. But Wakey was great, glad I was able to catch that show. Very crowded. And Tuesday night we returned to Bar 4 to bookend the week of wonder. Wednesday we walked around a bit, saw Geoffrey Rush near Lincoln Center, then caught a cab to Newary Liberty Airport for our flight back home.
Oh, it's on all right...
DHC is mere hours from boarding a plane for NYC. I will post regularly; daily if possible, but that is pending my discovery of a good cheap internet cafe. First stop is the Sidewalk at 94 Avenue A, 11PM on Tuesday night. And congrats to Obama and to all of us for finally shaking off the last 8 years and starting fresh. It all begins now, folks.
Check back, and for the love of pete, give me a comment from time to time. I hate to think I’m just talking to myself here.
J, DHC
