union

Precinct's fine outside beer garden ---soon to shut for the season!

saturday night we decided to visit Bull McCabe's (after several falsely open attempts). It is the site of the revered Tir Na N'Og, Irish pub extraordinaire. Much like the renovation of Plough & Stars, I had my reservations, but much the same, I am still a fan. Dark & small, as a pub ought to be, with pleasant locals, good beer & enjoyable music (although Saturday's Bryan Adamesque crooner was not to my palate). After a fine stout, Skye & I dodged through the pedestrian maze of Union Square's construction site, past the Asian supermarket & down into Precinct for a pint.

Precinct is the newer 'general pub' owned by the Independent folks & serves up a great pint plus good pub fare & has a function room where ManRay II was with it's own hidden bar. Saturday at Precinct seemed to be 'douche-night' however, and the cap-crowd dominated, although for tradition's sake there was a smattering of lesbians as well and some Indie band in the back. We slinked back to the surface & into the Independent, greeted by Lane & Amy. Upon entrance, it was a River Gods crowd of familiar faces with a dj set, called "a Stefan's hit list" by a few, but enjoyable (of course!). The mood was warm, happy & bustling...and Skye & crept home to welcoming cats....

weekend wanderings....

Huron Village laundromat...























Saturday while Skye had her nails done, I wandered in lovely Huron Village in Cambridge; a far cry from the east Cambridge projects or triple-deckers, auto shops & urban decay elsewhere in town...

























while gentrified these days, in the 70s, Huron Village was a hippy buffer neighborhood between the lower class Alewife & blueblood West Cambridge hills. I remember crazy architectural alterations & especially the kid's toy store...these days it's fancy bakery cafes & high end antique shops. Although still quite a lovely place.


more Huron Village
















































SAYS IT ALL, DON'T IT.....?!...next to it was POTATOES!

one of Cambridge's projects...

sat'day poker 'n stuff

Poker Night in Arlington ...yep, inculcating new deviants...what's he drinking?

just around town...

cool angle of Tip O'Neil Building...

It has been a beautiful if not odd Fall...70 degrees->40 degrees on any given day. Sun. Grey. Warm. Cold. Although it feels that Father Winter is definitely coming to visit soon...

razzy-dazzle....fizzle

Well,

a much anticipated return to Razzy's to re-live past glory was sadly diminished as we staggered into 3rd place. We had a great second half, but it was not enough. Although we were able to redeem our prize from the victory before which made it quite a cheap night out. Haik joined Skye, Dawn, Christina and myself in this worthy but less than glorious outing. Waldo is the answer I tell ya!

dwarves!

Yeah, I know... none of us go out like we used to. But then again, I don't think that I'm willing to hit 3 bars & a show 25 pbrs in every night like we used to. Granted, I have nostalgia for the days when we'd hang out one or two places downtown, ride up to Allston & then over to Central Square...only to cap it off at Hi-Fi Pizza after last call/show's end. However, it is nice to re-live it a bit & that we did on Saturday. Our beloved Spitzz were one the bands playing with the Dwarves, the immortal Dwarves. The Curses, another local favorite opened & the Uprising, old-school hardcore/streetcore added the oi! element to the night. The Dwarves were fantastic and there was little wrong with this night out...well....there were some young punks unsuccessfully trying to start a pit. Now, these kids (underage) sharing their Pepsi (mixed I'm sure) were acting as young punks do, grabbing & smashing into anyone in vicinity. Remember, though, most folks there could have been their parents, and were veterans of the scene. It was only time before some 45 year old FSU had enough. But that didn't happen. Christina did. After getting bounced & grabbed and nearly losing her drink, Christina grabbed the most obnoxious punk girl by the collar & WHACK!..headbutt!!! Perfect & unnoticed by most. The girl fell away crying & eventually got tossed for underage drinking. The photos here are sub-par, but I'll post better ones when I can....

....NO-NO-NO!!!! please .......

end of the road coming
thank you, to everyone that has ever played the abbey lounge in the last im just going to say 7 plus years.we have come to a road that we do not want to see happen. this coming from steve,teddy,john, skinny mike ,ryan,eric waxwood,both the kevins,steve the sound man and the rest of the crew that has worked here.we are burried in debt, we have been for the last couple of years. steve,teedy,john giannino we have not been making money we have been working to keep the abbey and the bands going.At this point the abbey is in over$50,000 in debt to a number of people. this debt didnt just appear it has been around since we took it on as a family two years ago.two years ago we decided we wouldnt let anyone else be screwed so we took on 100% because we love the place and so dont many people.right now we dont have many options with the economy and alls we can ask is that you come out and supportt us. i know what will happen if we cant make this work as a music venue.so please come out and support because it will be some yuppy joint but not because of us. we are all the last hope of music at 1 beacon the abbey lounge.we will keep the doors open until we have a solution as long as we can avoid everything else but we need your supportwe are a family and we try to do right by everyone please help out.thank you to everyone who participated in the benifit and came out it has bought the time to write this blog,we are taking suggestions, benifit shows, donations here and abbeylounge.combut if we dont work this out there will be no more music venue at 1 beacon st so lets keep music alive at the abbey. we are not looking to make money just keep a roof over our head and the scene alive.thank you for reading Teddy,Steve, John Giannino and the Awesome Abbey Staff.
Abbey Lounge to close this month
By Michael Marotta
Despite fund-raising efforts by local bands, it looks like the Abbey Lounge in Somerville is doomed. The club is set to close at the end of the month.
The bad news comes less than two months after a series of benefit shows were held to lift the venue out of debt.
“Unfortunately, (news of the closing is) true,” booking agent “Skinny Mike” Feudale wrote in an e-mail to Hotline.
The Abbey will remain open until Nov. 28. The last show at the Inman Square venue on the Somerville/Cambridge line is slated for Nov. 26.
First opened in the 1920s, the Abbey had become the epicenter for local garage rock since it started booking live music in the late ’90s.
In September, Feudale said the venue was in danger of closing because of a “five-figure” back-tax debt as well as a decline in attendance. According to rumor, the current owners might reopen the bar as an Irish pub with no live music.
Check out the remaining live-music calendar at abbeylounge.com.

Snap!......2nite

obama's winter hill apt

"Shout O'Bamalama!"

well, it happened. Truly history in the making. I just hope that Mr. Hope & Change does something close to what he promised. I voted for him & feel responsible that he achieves something close to the vague abstracts offered. However, I was wholly excited & felt good about my involvement. We were supposed to watch the Election at Moo/Carolyn's, but couldn't leave, as Skye was so anxious...so..we grabbed beer & wine and watched history unfold. The announcement of Obama's vistory was so understated at first, Skye & I looked at each other in confusion...& then grabbed the champagne! I swigged it, which of course went up my nose as well, but hell......it was an exciting day. It started off beautifully. We walked to vote before work & saw an Obama sticker on a Model A Ford! The weather reached nearly 70 later, but 60 at 7:30 in November is grand! We waited in line at the local elementary school, which was wonderful enough to have a bake sale, so there was plenty of cheap coffee & treats (cookies, pumpkin bread, everything possible!!!...all home-made). And the night ended in joy....

B-Side Demise...

well, it had to happen. Then again, I guess it didn't. But it did. The B-Side Lounge has closed. Formerly one of the most dangerous bars that I have set foot in (incl. a couple in Govanhill, Glasgow), the Windsor Tap. Known for it's local 'color' including frequent stabbings, a couple murders (one body thrown in the dumpster) & 75 year old men stealing your quarters off the pool table glowering at you as they did so. But hey, it had cheap Lowenbrau on tap. When the B-Side opened, at first I was dismissive, thinking that it was some yuppie gentrification. It was. But it was so much more. As locals were released from jail (incl. some of the Bulger-Flemmi 'troupe'), they'd head over (still in prison orange) to the Windsor, only to find change. Granted, they were still heartily welcomed & could get cheap Buds, but they now sat amongst condo-yuppies from their 'hood, bio-tech researchers off work, bike messengers & tattooed punks. The B-Side welcomed all & offered something for everyone, from a PBR/shot of Jack combo, to the most obscure mixed drink menu, along with a fantastic menu & free hard-boiled eggs (a nod to the local Portuguese clientele). My favorite night was when I worked as the bouncer, when the local white power/neo-Nazi group was having some regional meeting & decided to visit. Well, the other conference was a middle-aged Lesbian group. Ah, the perfect storm so I thought. Everyone got along stunningly...I remember some 7' neo-Nazi with SS tattooed on his neck lighting the cigarette for a black woman from the projects...only at the B-Side. I have many memories from drinking there and working there when times were tough...but most importantly, it is where I met Skye. Although several pubs feel lke 'ours', the B-Side was our common ground, our memory. We are truly sad to see it go...& to see Patrick, Rob, Dave, Joe and all rest leave our neighborhood. I am sure that we will try out the new place moving in (some burger-pub supposedly), but it will never be the same...

Halloween Proper...

...aw, my ghoul...

well.....Halloween was spent in JP @ the Alchemist (former Triple D's) halloween party, which had a witch of a waitress (& that wasn't her costume)...so...Medusa, Sarah Palin , Max Fischer, Margot Tenenbaum & the Dead Chechen rebel left for Foley's Fireside & it's sticky, cheap embrace...culminating in cheap vodaka & beer thereafter at Michaela's apartment...& White Castles at 5am...bed never looked so......

Halloween preparations...

...on errands for snakes

en route to Garment District

Jack O'Bama

So...Friday, Halloween day, both Skye & I had the day off...which ended in a day-long quest for rubber snakes for Skye's costume, Medusa. The house was duly decorated & early in the evening we actually had trick or treaters, for the first time ever (at the '53). Skye & I costumed up & went out yonder, across the river to JP to meet up with others all bedecked in Halloween glory!