The Duff Guide to Ska NYC Winter/Spring/Summer 2018 Ska Calendar #4

"2 Tone Fans Dance" by Janette Beckman

Saturday, March 3, 2018 @ 7:00 pm

Super Hi-Fi ("Blue and White" record release!), Cameramen

Nublu 151
151 Avenue C
New York, NY

+ + +

Friday, March 9, 2018 @ 7:00 pm

Coolie Ranx Birthday Bash with Pilfers, Full Watts Band, Reggay Lords, Love Always, Typhoid Rosie

Brooklyn Bazaar
150 Greenpoint Avenue
Brooklyn, NY
$20/All ages

+ + + +

Thursday, March 15, 2018 @ 9:00 pm

Fidel Nadal (with The Heart Beaters), The Ladrones, The Applecores, Ensemble Calavera

Studio Square/Bulb Room
35-33 36th Street
Long Island City, NY
$30/21+

+ + + +

Saturday, March 17, 2018 @ 8:00 pm

St. Patrick's Day Celebration with Beat Brigade, The Ladrones, Super Hi-Fi, Joker's Republic, Thirteen Towers, The Screw-Ups, plus DJ Ryan Midnight!

RUBULAD
Bushwick, Brookyn
Get in touch with Dj Gorilla Presents through FB event page for address.
$10/All ages

+ + + +

Friday, March 23, 2018 @ 7:00 pm

Hollie Cook, The Far East

Elsewhere (Hall)
599 Johnson Avenue
Brooklyn, NY
$20 in advance/$22 day of show/16+

+ + + +

Saturday, March 24, 2018 @ 8:00 pm

Dave Hillyard and the Rocksteady 7 w/DJ 100Dbs

Hank's Saloon
46 Third Avenue (corner of Atlantic)
Brooklyn, NY

+ + + +

Saturday, March 24, 2018 @ 7:30 pm

Lonely Atom Records presents Powdermaker, The Pandemics, Joker's Republic, plus DJ Ryan Midnight

Wayward Social
35 Ingraham Street
Brooklyn, NY
$5/21+

+ + + +

Sunday, March 25, 2018 @ 8:00 pm

The Mighty Might Bosstones, Bigwig, Westbound Train

White Eagle Hall
337 Newark Avenue
Jersey City, NJ
$27.50-$32.83
All ages

+ + + +

Sunday, March 25, 2018 @ 8:00 pm

The English Beat w/Dave Wakeling
City Winery
155 Varick Street
New York, NY
$40-$60

+ + + +

Monday, March 26, 2018 @ 8:00 pm

The English Beat w/Dave Wakeling

City Winery
155 Varick Street
New York, NY
$40-$60

+ + + +

Saturday, March 31, 2018 @ 5:30 pm

45 Adapters 10th Anniversary Party w/Hub City Stompers, Duffy's Cut, Legion 76, Guns Don't Run, No Parole, Los Perros, Lvger

The Kingsland
269 Norman Avenue
Brooklyn, NY
$10/16+

+ + + +

Friday, April 20, 2018 @ 7:00 pm

The Annual 4:20 Reggae Fiesta on the River w/Dub is a Weapon, Crazy Baldhead Dub Apparatus, plus Specials Guests TBA

Rocks Off Concert Cruise - Aboard the Harbor Lights
Boards 23rd Street and the FDR
Manhattan, NY
$29 in advance/$35 day of show
21+

+ + + +

Friday, April 20, 2018 @ 7:00 pm

Vic Ruggiero, The Hempsteadys, Charlie Whites

Gold Sounds
44 Wilson Avenue
Brooklyn, NY
$10

+ + + +

Saturday, May 12, 2018 @ 7:00 pm

Hub City Stompers (album release show), No Redeeming Social Value, Ladrones, NAA

El Cortez
17 Ingraham Street
Brooklyn, NY
$12/21+

+ + + +

Saturday, May 12, 2018 @ 7:00 pm

Buster Shuffle w/Mickey Rickshaw

Gold Sounds
44 Wilson Avenue
Brooklyn, NY
$12/21+

+ + + +

Friday, May 18, 2018

Roddy Radiation and The Scotch Bonnets

Hank's Saloon
46 Third Avenue (corner of Atlantic)
Brooklyn, NY

+ + + +

Friday, June 1, 2018 @ 9:00 pm

The Slackers

White Eagle Hall
337 Newark Avenue
Jersey City, NJ
$20-$25
18+

+ + + +

Sunday, June 24, 2018 @ 7:30 pm

The Toasters, Beat Brigade, Joker's Republic
Knitting Factory Brooklyn
361 Metropolitan Avenue
Brooklyn, NY
$15 in advance/$17 day of show
All ages

+ + + +

The Duff Guide to Ska Year in Ska Reviews 2017, Part 2!

From The Duff Guide to Ska patch collection (click on image to enlarge).

(Reviews by Steve Shafer)

The Applecores The Applecores EP (Five-track digital EP, self released, 2017): This female-fronted reggae-rock-pop NYC outfit (think Sublime crossed with No Doubt) delivers some fine originals on their debut--the break-up cut "Holding Hands" is particularly affecting--plus they do a great cover of Drake's "One Dance."

The Bakesys "Golden Brown Slices of Toast" (free digital single, Do the Dog Music, 2017): Read The Duff Guide to Ska review here.

The Bakesys More Bakesys (CD EP, Do the Dog Music, 2017): Read The Duff Guide to Ska review here.

The Bakesys Studio Selections 1991-1995 (CD, Do the Dog Music, 2017): Read The Duff Guide to Ska review here.

Beat Brigade Tomorrow's News (Three-track digital EP, Buddahbug Records, 2017): OG NYC ska kings (and contemporaries of The Toasters) Beat Brigade keep the aggressive and gritty '80s Big Apple ska sound alive on this really fantastic new EP. The protagonist in the dangerous, film-noir-ish ska-jazz cut "You Charming Thing" ("Every day is Christmas/Every night is New Year's eve...you tease me until I come undone") knows he's on the road to perdition, but can't resist her. "Bomb Squad" is from the (cynical) POV of someone on that detail ("You're gonna have to hose my bloody guts away!") and appropriates the great riff from Devo's "It's Not Right." The roots reggae rebel track "Battle Cry" ("This is not a warning/This is not a test/Armageddon's coming...") has one seriously good groove in its call for solidarity in the face of injustice ("No matter where you're from/No matter where you stand/Together we are strong/Together we are one"). Much more of this please.

Ken Boothe, Dillinger, Leroy Smart, Delroy Wilson White Man in Hammersmith Palais EP (limited edition RSD 7" vinyl four-track EP with mini-poster, Greensleeves Records, 2017): Read The Duff Guide to Ska review here.

The Brooklyn Attractors Xmas in Babylon, Volume II (red or green vinyl PS single, Jump Up Records, 2017): This single by this NYC area supergroup features top-notch rocksteady arrangements of two Christmas classics (a spirited cover of "Up on the Rooftop" and a melancholy version of "Jolly Old St. Nick" retitled "Ras Nick"). Pure class, this one. Play it to impress the relatives when they visit.

Johnny Clarke "Highest Region" b/w Flying Vipers "Highest Version" (green 7" vinyl single, Jump Up Records, 2017): Read The Duff Guide to Ska review here.

Dub Natty Sessions and Dennis Bovell featuring Matic Horns and Mad Professor DNS and Friends (CD/digital download, available through Bovell's Old School Records, 2017): Read The Duff Guide to Ska review here.

Flying Vipers The Copper Tape (cassette/digital, Music A. D. D.,  2017): Read The Duff Guide to Ska review here.

Hopeton Lewis "There She Goes" b/w Vin Gordon and The Supersonics"Reggay Trombone" (heavyweight 7" vinyl single, Trojan Records, 2017): Read The Duff Guide to Ska review here.

Lee "Scratch" Perry and the Full Experiences Disco Devil (red 12" vinyl, Trojan/Get On Down, 2017 Black Friday Record Store re-issue; originally released in 1977 on the Upsetter label): For whatever odd reason (legal matters with Marley's estate?), this re-issue jettisons the awesome Bob Marley and Wong Chu "Keep On Moving" b side for the 7" mix of "Disco Devil" (which is, of course, a version of Max Romeo's phenomenal "Chase the Devil" from War Ina Babylon). Nonetheless, this is still a gift for Perry fans--original copies of Disco Devil go for $350 and more, while the 2003 Trojan reissue fetches around $50 and up. (If you're in the NYC area, as of this posting, Rock and Soul still has copies in stock.)

Lee "Scratch" Perry and Subatomic Sound System Super Ape Returns to Conquer (CD/LP/digital, Subatomic Sound, 2017): Read The Duff Guide to Ska review here.

Mungo's Hi Fi featuring Johnny Clarke "Rain Keeps Falling" b/w "Spring Shower Dub" (7" vinyl single, Scotch Bonnet Records, 2017): Read The Duff Guide to Ska review here.

The New Limits "Every Day Will Be Like A Holiday" (digital single, self-released, 2017): Considering the hellish year we've been through in the USA and the ongoing BS about the ginned-up, so-called "War on Christmas," it helps to shore up your faith in humanity to know that The New Limits chose a holiday classic to cover specifically for its message of love, companionship, and inclusiveness (since no specific holiday/religion is referred to in the lyrics, anyone from any religion--even atheists--can relate to it). Stax artist William Bell's wonderful "Every Day Will Be Like A Holiday" is given a terrific rocksteady treatment by The New Limits here. Maybe this version can find its way to wax some day? 

The Skatalites Foundation Ska (CD/2xLP, Studio One, 2017 reissue; originally released in 1997 on Heartbeat Records): Read The Duff Guide to Ska review here.

The Toasters Skaboom! (blue heavyweight vinyl/cassette, Jump Up Records/Megalith Records, 2016 reissue; originally released in 1987 in the USA on Moving Target/Celluloid and in a slightly altered form in the UK on Unicorn as Pool Shark): Read The Duff Guide to Ska appreciation here.

+ + + +

Read The Duff Guide to Ska Year in Ska Reviews 2017, Part 1!

Read The Duff Guide to Ska Year in Ska Reviews 2017, Part 3!

+ + + +

The Duff Guide to Ska Presents: The Dirty Notion and The Applecores This Thursday Night in Manhattan!

The Duff Guide to Ska NYC Summer/Fall 2017 Ska Calendar #49

Long live The Slits!

Thursday, July 13, 2017 @ 9:00 pm

The Dirty Notion, The Applecores, plus DJ Duff

Otto's Shrunken Head
538 East 14th Street (close to Avenue B)
New York, NY
No cover, but bring $ for when we pass the bucket for each band.
21+

+ + + +

Thursday, July 13, 2017 @ 6:00 pm

Brown Rice Family, DJ Duct Tape

Archway Under the Manhattan Bridge
155 Water Street
Dumbo, Brooklyn
Free!

+ + + +

Saturday, July 15, 2017 @ 8:00 pm

The Wailers, The Far East

Highline Ballroom
431 West 16th Street
New York, NY
$25

+ + + +

Saturday, July 15, 2017 @ 9:00 pm

Beres Hammond, Marcia Griffiths, Third World

Ford Amphitheater at the Coney Island Boardwalk
3052 West 21st Street
Brooklyn, NY
$108

+ + + +

Sunday, July 16, 2017 @ 4:00 pm

NYC Ska Orchestra

Queens Botanical Garden
43-50 Main Street
Queens, NY
FREE with Garden Admission: Adults – $6; Seniors (age 62+) – $4; Students with ID – $4; Children (ages 4 to 12) – $2; Children (3 and under) – FREE; Members – FREE.

+ + + +

Wednesday, July 19, 2017 @ 7:00 pm

The Aquabats

Highline Ballroom
431 West 16th Street
New York, NY
$25-$125

+ + + +

Tuesday, July 25, 2017 @ 8:00 pm

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones w/Mephiskapheles, Vic Ruggiero

Webster Hall
125 East 11th Street
New York, NY
$25.50-$35.00
18+

+ + + +

Wednesday, July 26, 2017 @ 7:00 pm

The Far East, The Steady 45s, DJ Agent Jay

Cape House
2 Knickerbocker Avenue
Brooklyn, NY
$10/21+

+ + + +

Saturday, July 29, 2017 @ 1:00 pm

Beat Brigade, Joker's Republic

Riis Park Beach Bazaar
16702 Rockaway Beach Boulevard
Rockaway Park
Free!

+ + + +

Wednesday, August 9, 2017 @ 7:30 pm

The Selecter, Rude Boy George, The Pandemics

Knitting Factory Brooklyn
361 Metropolitan Avenue
Brooklyn, NY
$30 in advance/$35 day of show
All ages!

+ + + +

Sunday, August 13, 2017 @ 7:00 pm

King Yellowman and the Sagittarius Band

B.B. King's
237 West 42nd Street
New York, NY
$22.50 (and up)

+ + + +

Wednesday, August 30, 2017 @ 8:00 pm

Fishbone

The Harbor Lights Yacht
Departs from: East 23rd Street and the FDR Drive
New York, NY
$39/21+

+ + + +

Tuesday, October 3, 2017 @ 9:00 pm

Black Uhuru

B.B. King's
237 West 42nd Street
New York, NY
$25 in advance/$30 day of show
All ages!

+ + + +

The Duff Guide to Ska NYC Winter/Spring 2017 Ska Calendar #46

The one and only Lee "Scratch" Perry.

Saturday, April 15, 2017 @ 7:00 pm

New Kingston, Rude Boy George

Highline Ballroom
431 West 16th Street
New York, NY
$15

+ + + +

Friday, April 21, 2017 @ 8:00 pm

DJ Gorilla presents The Last Ska Dance w/Beat Brigade, The Shipwrecks, Boomshot, The Damn Long Hairs, Changala Changala, plus DJ Miss Hap!

Don Pedro
90 Manhattan Avenue
Brooklyn, NY
$10/21+

+ + + +

Friday, April 21, 2017 @ 6:00 pm

100% Ska at Otto's Shrunken Head - Selections by DJ Ryan Midnight

Otto's Shrunken Head
538 East 14th Street (between Aves A and B)
New York, NY
No cover

+ + + +

Saturday, April 29, 2017 @ 5:30 pm - 9:30 pm

ReadJunk 20th Anniversary Party w/Rude Boy George (two sets) and DJ Duff

Otto's Shrunken Head
538 East 14th Street (between Aves A and B)
New York, NY
No cover

+ + + +

Saturday, April 29, 2017 @ 9:00 pm

The Ladrones Record Release Party w/The Applecores

Tobacco Road
355 West 41st Street
New York, NY

+ + + +

Tuesday, May 9, 2017 @ 7:00 pm

Lee "Scratch" Perry, Subatomic Sound System

Le Poisson Rouge
158 Bleecker Street
New York, NY
$25 in advance/$30 day of show
18+

+ + + +

Friday, May 12, 2017 @ 9:00 pm

Mephiskapheles, NYC Ska Orchestra

The Bell House
149 7th Street
Brooklyn, NY
$15/21+

+ + + +

Friday, May 19, 2017 @ 8:00 pm

Askultura and The Ladrones

Tobacco Road
354 West 41st Street
New York, NY

+ + + +

Tuesday, May 23, 2017

J. Navarro and The Traitors

Cape House
2 Knickerbocker Avenue
Brooklyn, NY

+ + + +

Friday, May 26, 2017 @ 7:00 pm

Monty Neysmith Montgomery of Symarip, The Bishops

Cape House
2 Knickerbocker Avenue
Brooklyn, NY
$15/21+

+ + + +

Saturday, June 3, 2017 @ 8:00 pm

Ska/Punky/Reggae Party II w/The Rudie Crew, The Omega Men, Super Hi-Fi, Necrotic Society, Skum City, Curb Ya Horse, plus DJ Gorilla

Pista bandas unidas oficial
96-11 Roosevelt Avenue
Queens, NY
All ages

+ + + +

Friday, June 9, 2017 @ 7:00 pm

The Specials, The Far East

Brooklyn Steel
319 Frost Street
Brooklyn, NY
$50/16+

+ + + +

Saturday, June 10, 2017 @ 9:00 pm (2 sets!)

Larry McDonald's 80th Birthday Party w/Dave Hillyard and the Rocksteady 7, plus DJ One Hundred Decibels
Hank's Saloon
46 Third Avenue
Brooklyn, NY
$8

+ + + +

Friday, June 23, 2017 @ 7:00 pm

The Slackers

Rocks Off Concert Cruise
The Liberty Belle
299 South Street
New York, NY
$30/21+

+ + + +

Radicsfest--An All-Day, Outdoor Ska Festival in Celebration of Roy Radics' Life and Music--Is One Week Away!

If you don't know already, Radicsfest is an outdoor, all-day ska festival/benefit in Bushwick to celebrate the life and music of Roy Radics of The Rudie Crew who passed away earlier this year! 

This is an outdoor event, there will be food trucks, and The Well has 60 drafts on tap and 100 bottled beers! If you buy your tickets in advance it's $10 or $15 day of the show (we're raising funds for Radics' family). 

All bands, selectors, and emcees are donating their time and talents in honor/memory of Radics. This is a true labor of love and we hope you'll join us for an amazing day of music!

Pilfers Headline All-Star, All-Day, Outdoor Ska Benefit/Festival for Roy Radics Family!

+ + + +

This is the latest flyer for the Roy Radics benefit/festival that I'm helping to organize! More bands will be added to the line-up as details are finalized...

Advance tickets are available here: https://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/1176989?utm_medium=bks.

+ + + +