The Q at Parkside

(for those for whom the Parkside Q is their hometrain)

News and Nonsense from the Brooklyn neighborhood of Lefferts and environs, or more specifically a neighborhood once known as Melrose Park. Sometimes called Lefferts Gardens. Or Prospect-Lefferts Gardens. Or PLG. Or North Flatbush. Or Caledonia (west of Ocean). Or West Pigtown. Across From Park Slope. Under Crown Heights. Near Drummer's Grove. The Side of the Park With the McDonalds. Jackie Robinson Town. Home of Lefferts Manor. West Wingate. Near Kings County Hospital. Or if you're coming from the airport in taxi, maybe just Flatbush is best.

Thursday, September 3, 2015

The Q's Heart Leaps - The Owl Music Parlor

Back in the day, the Q was friendly with Oren Bloedow, a talented multi-instrumentalist. We were enmeshed in a scene at the old Knitting Factory on Houston that I still can't believe I was lucky enough to be a part of. James Blood Ulmer. Ronald Shannon Jackson. Matthew Shipp. Lounge Lizards. William Hooker. Elliot Sharp. Wayne Horvitz. And of course John Zorn in many incarnations. Saw Half Japanese, Galaxy 500, The Ruins, Eugene Chadborne. Seeing the genius Christian Marclay in the smaller Alternaknit. Soul Coughing opened for us at their first show and quickly became the hottest ticket in town. Small room, brilliant ideas. My bands Dolores and Babe the blue OX were but specks on a wild and weird collage of sounds and sweat.

Then the Knitting Factory moved to Tribeca. Still later to Williamsburg. Michael Dorf was forced out, and opened City Winery, a great place for live music but with a solidly AOR older folks program (Need a Suzanne Vega or Steve Forbert fix? This is your dealer). But now, Bloedow and longtime collaborator Jennifer Charles (they're the band Elysian Fields) are opening a connoisseur's music club on Rogers. Remember Tonic? Know Zorn's "The Stone?" If you do, expect a similar vibe and wonderfully reckless curation.

One big smile on the Q's face as I post this link from DNA Info. Set to open this Fall at 497 Rogers.

pic by Rachel Holliday-Smith

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sounds really cool! I'm glad we now have several places for live music in our neighborhood.

Anonymous said...

sick! looks great!

Anonymous said...

fantastic news

Gnice said...

When is it opening?