It’s the day after Thanksgiving and the tryptophan hangover has subsided with the morning coffee. Like me, most of you spent yesterday eating a traditional holiday meal complete with various pieces of pie in between an exciting slate of NFL offerings. In a few hours cabin fever will set in and like any good New Yorker we’ll be looking for trouble ‘cause let’s not forget, its Friday and we ain’t got sh*t to do.
Say hello to your entertainment answer; Philadelphia based, big riffing, power pop quintet Free Energy who brings their Pitchfork approved style to the Music Hall of Williamsburg this evening along with Foxy Shazam and Video Roundup alum Hollerado. Free Energy lead singer Paul Sprangers gave us a few minutes of his time to clue us in on some of his Five Boroughs experience.
What is the one person, place or thing you would hate to miss on atrip to NYC? We love to see friends. That's the best thing about coming to NYC - being with friends, seeing our management, hanging with label and press peeps. It's always a good time.
You've played a number of NYC venues over the last couple years. What was your most memorable experience? Selling out the Bowery Ballroom blew my mind. I saw Mogwai's first U.S. show there. And I saw Chavez, Guided By Voices and so many other amazing bands there. Playing Webster Hall with Titus Andronicus was amazing too. We love Titus. The Cake Shop will always be my favorite NYC venue.
It’s 4:00am and last call has come and gone, what’s next? Are there any speakeasies, late night eats or after party spots you frequent? For some reason the latest nights end at Odessa, because it's easy for everybody to meet up there. Also, they play Eddie Money and George Michael. and they're always nice to us. For food, God Bless Deli in Greenpoint is a late night must. We get the cheesesteak.
If you called NYC home, what would be your local watering hole? Probably Arrow Bar in the east village--our friend Tim works there, but we don't get there enough. He rules, and he's generous with the booze. Blackout in Greenpoint is also rad.
The courting process is on and a major player is taking you to dinner on the AMEX Black card; where are you eating? What menu item is not to be missed? We love Dumont Burger in Williamsburg. Definitely a burger, fries and beer. Jon Galkin, from DFA, has taken us to Farm a couple times. The food there is amazing.
It's the holiday season and you've got some gifts to purchase. Where's your favorite place to exercise commerce? Chinatown - plenty of burned dvds, fake brands and kung fu shoes for the whole family.
Good or bad, have you ever had what you would describe as a quintessential New York moment? We once got caught between the moon and New York City. It was crazy, but it felt good.
NYC has all sorts of tourist attractions Central Park, the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty to name a few. What's the most touristy thing you've done here? Smoking killer weed on the Staten Island Ferry and totally losing it; like, looking into windows and seeing refracting dimensions of reality. That's kind of an NYC tourist MUST.
Finish this sentence: New York City is the sweetest place on earth because… You can eat whatever you want, find cool records, and it's a nonstop babe parade.
