NYC Ska Calendar #5, Summer 2022

Friday, July 8, 2022 @ 7:00 pm

Vive Murak 2022 with Royal Club with special guest Deals Olan, Tone Zone Ska, The End Times, Mutate, plus Boss Selektah Diana and DJ Garrido

Soverign
173 Morgan Avenue
Brooklyn, NY
$30/18+
Info: (929) 414-3586

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Friday, July 15, 2022 @ 8:00 pm

Subway to Skaville presents: Dunia & Aram's "Bedfellows" album release party, plus The Penniless Loafers, and Bachslider (plus DJ Ryan Midnight and Boss Selektah Diana)

Otto's Shrunken Head
538 East 14th Street (between Avenues A & B)
Manhattan/Alphabet City
21+/No cover, but bring $ for band bucket

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Saturday, July 23, 2022 @ 7:30 pm

Subway to Skaville presents: Buford O'Sullivan & The Roosters, Ensamble Calavera, Not From Concentrate (plus DJs Yana Lil Jerk and Ryan Midnight)

Bar Frieda
801 Seneca Avenue
Ridgewood (Queens), NY
$10/21+

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Tuesday, August 2, 2022 @ 6:00 pm

DJ Gorilla presents One Last Ska Punky Reggae Party featuring Joystick, Skappository, Dub Corps, and Eric Daino

Bar Frieda
801 Seneca Avenue
Ridgewood (Queens), NY
$10/21+

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Friday, August 12, 2022 @ 6:00 pm (boat departs at 7:00 pm sharp!)

The Slackers

Rocks Off Concert Cruise
Skyport Marina
2430 FDR Drive (at 23rd Street)
Manhattan, NY
Tix: $40/21+

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Saturday, August 13, 2022 @ 6:00 pm

VP Records Presents Dancehall Meets Hip Hop 90s Style, Hosted by Ralph McDaniels (Video Music Box!): Slick Rick, Wayne Wonder, Shinehead, Red Fox, Lady G., plus DJs Jazzy Joyce and Peter Panic

SummerStage
Central Park (enter at Fifth Avenue & 72nd Street)
Manhattan, NY
Free!

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Wednesday, August 24rd, 2022 @ 5:00 pm

UB40: Bigga Baggariddim Tour with the Original Wailers featuring Al Anderson, Maxi Priest, and Big Mountain

SummerStage
Central Park (enter at Fifth Avenue & 72nd Street)
Manhattan, NY
$75-$125

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Thursday, August 25th , 2022 @ 6:00 pm

Burning Spear: The Fan Appreciation Tour, Keep the Spear Burning

SummerStage
Central Park (enter at Fifth Avenue & 72nd Street)
Manhattan, NY
$50-$90

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Saturday, September 24, 2022 @ 6:30 pm (boat departs at 7:00 pm sharp!)

The Pietasters

Rocks Off Concert Cruise
Skyport Marina
2430 FDR Drive (at 23rd Street)
Manhattan, NY
$39.99/21+

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Wednesday, September 28, 2022 @ 7:00 pm

Hollie Cook

Elsewhere
599 Johnson Avenue
Brooklyn, NY
$29.46/16+

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NYC Ska Calendar #4, Spring/Summer 2022

Friday, June 17, 2022 @ 8:00 pm

Strictly love and unity with The Beat

Subway to Skaville presents: The Freecoasters, Beat Brigade, Donut City (plus DJ Ryan Midnight & DJ Duff Guy)

Otto's Shrunken Head
538 East 14th Street (between Avenues A & B)
Manhattan/Alphabet City
21+/No cover, but bring $ for band bucket

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Friday, July 8, 2022 @ 7:00 pm

Vive Murak 2022 with Royal Club with special guest Deals Olan, Tone Zone Ska, The End Times, Mutate plus Boss Selektah Diana and DJ Garrido

Soverign
173 Morgan Avenue
Brooklyn, NY
$30/18+
Info: (929) 414-3586

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Friday, July 15, 2022 @ 8:00 pm

Subway to Skaville presents: Dunia & Aram's "Bedfellows" album release party, plus Bachslider, and TBA (pluse DJ Ryan Midnight and Boss Selektah Diana)

Otto's Shrunken Head
538 East 14th Street (between Avenues A & B)
Manhattan/Alphabet City
21+/No cover, but bring $ for band bucket

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Saturday, July 23, 2022 @ 7:30 pm

Subway to Skaville presents: Buford O'Sullivan & The Roosters, Ensamble Calavera, Not From Concentrate (plus DJ Ryan Midnight)

Bar Frieda
801 Seneca Avenue
Ridgewood (Queens), NY
$10/21+

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Tuesday, August 2, 2022 @ 6:00 pm

DJ Gorilla presents One Last Ska Punky Reggae Party featuring Joystick, Skappository, Dub Corps, and Eric Daino

Bar Frieda
801 Seneca Avenue
Ridgewood (Queens), NY
$10/21+

+ + + +

Saturday, September 24, 2022 @ 6:30 pm (boat departs at 7:00 pm sharp!)

The Pietasters

Rocks Off Concert Cruise
Skyport Marina
2430 FDR Drive (at 23rd Street)
Manhattan, NY
$39.99/21+

+ + + +

Wednesday, September 28, 2022 @ 7:00 pm

Hollie Cook

Elsewhere
599 Johnson Avenue
Brooklyn, NY
$29.46/16+

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Duff Review: Lucky Devil Trading Company "Exotic Exports Volume 1"

Self-released
Digital
2021

(Review by Steve Shafer)

Even though he's been involved in the NY/NJ-area ska scene since the '90s (in bands like Inspecter 7 and The Rudie Crew), Lucky Devil Trading Company is Bret Calder Curran's first solo project--backed by some of the best musicians on the ska scene (Buford O'Sullivan, John Roy, Eddie Ocampo, Agent Jay, Ali Presses, Anton Major, Spencer Katzman, and Irena Jaroszewska)--where he's written both the lyrics and music. The terrific Exotic Exports Volume 1 features his first two tracks, which boast a razor-sharp, Third Wave take on traditional ska sound married to hardcore/Lee Ving-ish vocals by Casey Eastmond--an unorthodox pairing that stands out for working so well (as it does for his other current band, The End Times, whose debut EP I reviewed here).

"The Haze" is a Tales from the Crypt-like story about seeking release from a demonic possession set to a blue beat (and the bass line, appropriately enough, reminds one of Steve Miller Band's "Abracadabra").

Into the alleys of Cairo I go
Search for the man with the face no one knows
I have travelled across the world to get set free
I know there’s only one man who can help me

Another coin and I'm told where to go
A hidden den just the Mysticals know
Open the door to the man that I seek
He knows black magic that’s not for the weak

The Shaman’s found
Elixer downed
This time I know
The endless pit I go
I start to lose my grip
I feel the world has slipped
And I fall in to The Haze

The sinister and stellar Skatalites/Scofflaws horn-driven cut "Tornado" is about being the baddest MF in an unforgiving place: "Whirlwinds and room shakes/Lost lives, tough breaks/Living in this world, there’s no room for mistakes/Walking in loud, walking in proud/Rolling in…like a tornado..." Crank this one up to 11 the next time you're about to confront your fears and feel like you're about to walk through the valley of the shadow of Death.

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NYC Ska Calendar #8 Winter 2021/2022

Sunday, December 12, 2021 @ 7:00 pm

Desorden Publico and King Chango
S.O.B.'s
204 Varick Street
New York, NY
Tickets: $50
21+

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Friday, December 17, 2021 @ 8:00 pm

Subway to Skaville & Electric Avenue present a Ska Holiday Party with Hub City Stompers, Barbicide, The End Times (plus DJ Ryan Midnight and DJ Duff Guy spinning ska vinyl all night!)

Otto's Shrunken Head
538 East 14th Street (between Avenues A & B)
Manhattan, NY
No cover (but bring cash to tip bands when the bucket goes round and to buy band merch)
21+

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Saturday, December 18, 2021 @ 7:00 pm

The Slackers and The Aggrolites

Irving Plaza
17 Irving Place
Manhattan, NY
Tickets: $22.50
16+

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Saturday, January 8, 2022 (doors @ 7:00 pm)

Cabite, JER, Teenage Halloween, Common Sage, Ian Fidance

St. Vitus Bar
1120 Manhattan Avenue
Brooklyn, NY
Tix: $18.79
18+

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Saturday, June 4, 2022 @ 8:00 pm

Madness and The English Beat

Manhattan Center--Hammerstein Ballroom
311 West 34th Street
Manhattan, NY
Tickets: $55 and up

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NYC Ska Calendar #7/Fall & Winter 2021

Note: Remember to bring proof of vaccination for entry to all shows!

Friday, November 19, 2021 @ 7:00 pm

79.5, The Far East, Walk Talk, DJ Miss Hap

Live in the Sultan Room
234 Starr Street
Brooklyn, NY
$15/$20
21+

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Saturday, November 20, 2021 @ 8:00 pm

Subway to Skaville and Electric Avenue present The Simulators, Skappository, Dunia & Aram plus DJs Ryan Midnight and Duff Guy

Otto's Shrunken Head
538 East 14th Street (between Avenues A & B)
Manhattan, NY
No cover (but bring cash to tip bands when the bucket goes round and to buy band merch)
21+

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Wednesday, November 24, 2021 @ 8:00 pm

The Skatalites Band

Cafe Wha?
115 MacDougal Street
Manhattan, NY
Tix: $30 (plus two drink minimum)
21+

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Sunday, December 5, 2021 @ 5:00 pm

Hub City Stompers, Stop the Presses, Sgt Scag

Pianos
158 Ludlow Street
Manhattan, NY
Tix: $12
21+

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Sunday, December 12, 2021 @ 7:00 pm

Desorden Publico and King Chango

S.O.B.'s
204 Varick Street
New York, NY
Tickets: $50
21+

+ + + + 

Friday, December 17, 2021 @ 8:00 pm

Subway to Skaville & Electric Avenue present a Ska Holiday Party with Barbicide, The End Times & more TBA!

Otto's Shrunken Head
538 East 14th Street (between Avenues A & B)
Manhattan, NY
No cover (but bring cash to tip bands when the bucket goes round and to buy band merch)
21+

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Saturday, December 18, 2021 @ 7:00 pm

The Slackers and The Aggrolites

Irving Plaza
17 Irving Place
Manhattan, NY
Tickets: $22.50
16+

+ + + +

Saturday, June 4, 2022 @ 8:00 pm

Madness and The English Beat

Manhattan Center--Hammerstein Ballroom
311 West 34th Street
Manhattan, NY
Tickets: $55 and up

+ + + +

Duff Guide to Ska Fast Takes: The Skapones/Detroit Riddim Crew "Eyes of a Child" b/w "Look Around" and The End Times "The End Times"

(Reviews by Steve Shafer)

"Eyes of a Child" b/w "Look Around" (7" vinyl picture sleeve single/digital, Cosa Nostra Records, 2021) is the terrific second split single from The Skapones and Detroit Riddim Crew (read my review of their first 45 here). The Skapones' cut is a surprisingly lush, slow-burning ska tour de force that reminds the listener how vital it is for adults to empathize with kids and shield their innocence as they learn and grow--to defend them from what they're not old enough to know might harm them: "You look at the world through the eyes of the child/Imagine it is all meek and mild/It's now that you start to realize, to do what's right/When you gonna learn that sometimes you have to fight?" When you flip the record, you'll find that the Detroit Riddim Crew's "Look Around" is a brisk, determined reggae track about keeping going on (through music and unity, of course), even as everything around us seems to be coming apart: "The world's aflame/And has a dying light/But we come together to find some fight/To the music that fills our souls/Dance, dance, 'till we overflow!"

Forged from members of NYC/NJ area bands Inspecter 7 and The Rudie Crew (RIP Roy Radics), The End Times produce a '90s ska sound that's a fierce mix of trad, modern, and punk-ish ska with blistering, Lee Ving-like hardcore vocals troweled on top (and the contrast works surprising well). Call it Armagideon ska. Their self-titled debut EP (digital, self-released, 2021) is pretty fantastic--and its first several tracks, in particular, are stellar. The EP is clearly a product of having lived through the horrendous Trump/MAGA years and all of its lies, corruption, gaslighting, and hate. But it also speaks to the disintegration of American civic society and how a major political party and around a third of our fellow citizens have embraced white supremacy and authoritarianism. In the uncompromising, "Eye for an Eye" (which takes "Racist Friend" a couple of steps further), The End Times spell out what they think it's going to take to take on the nazi goons in our midst: 

Eyes on the future what do you see?
Is it inclusive to people like you and me?
Or do we have to raise hell and bring them to their knees?
Yeah, we could just stand by and watch them cheat and steal and lie right through their teeth
What good’s your freedom, man, when they’re free to squash your liberty!

Eye for an eye!

We want justice! We want peace! We want your attention, so take a knee!
We gotta take a good look and acknowledge what they’ve become
And if you think they’ll listen and reason with our plight... Here’s a shovel
Start digging your own demise

You kick my shin?
I break your leg
And that’s the way it’s gotta be!

Gandhi may not like it ("An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind"), but, then again, look what it took the last time to beat back the fascists (hopefully, we're not headed down that path). "The Melt" was recorded before the despicable seditionist insurrection on January 6 but is still very much about it, since it's about the enemy within--the call's coming from inside the house:

It started today
Digital bullies flex their muscles through broadband shields
And I’m sorry to say
Their wholesale market of belief won’t impress you
Oh, say, did you see?
It’s like they drew it up on blackboards in Hollywood
And they defined where the truth lay
Then redefined it ‘cause they could...

...Now it’s melting and we can’t escape ourselves.

"Black Hat" (what you'd call a malicious hacker) is a terrific Scofflaws-like instrumental, while the full-on punk track "Vampires" calls out the MAGA/Fox/right-wing media ecosphere that profits mightily off the garbage, gaslighting, and conspiracy theories that are spewed out daily, and reminds their followers that, "You don’t need a lie to believe in/You don’t have to lie to believe some one." The message is unlikely to be received, but it's definitely worth transmitting. Make sure to tune into The End Times.

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