12.15 A(nother) wknd w/ Atlas Engine
Nick of the band on checkin' in on Hall n Oates, the real benefits of getting naked with bandmates and Favorite Friend's HOLIDAY SPECTACULAR at Our Wicked Lady this Saturday
Happy Friday to everyone except BENENICK ARNOLD (aka Nick LaFalce of Atlas Engine), the absolute traitor who abandoned Brooklyn for the land of palm trees and juice cleanses and celebrities and sunshine and surfing and CARS.
AKA: LA.
First the Dodgers, now this. Unbelievable.
That said, while he may have left us for Los Angeles, Nick *is* temporarily back in town and taking a break from manifesting his musical destiny out west for the weekend. And he is our best friend. So we shall (temporarily) forgive him.
Along with being the first guest ever on the BdBK radio show, Nick is also the first artist in 2 1/2 years of SETLISTing to make a repeat appearance. The last time we asked him to partake in this sacred ritual was back in December 2021, right as Omicron was hitting hard, and instead of going about living our lives and enjoying the itinerary he so meticulously crafted for our amusement that ill-fated weekend, we were instead hit with another wave of illnesses, shutdowns, cancellations and psychotic breaks.
So we figured we’d give him a second chance.
And a good thing we did! Because a lot has happened in two years. Nick hasn’t just been busy pumping iron at Muscle Beach and shopping on Rodeo Drive and skinny dipping in the Pacific Ocean. (We’re running out of things we know about LA.) This year, he dropped the debut Atlas Engine album When the Compass Resets, There Can Be No Regrets—track-by-track breakdown here—which chronicles, among other things, his experience with Lyme disease: what he describes as “a decade of cyclical confusion, relief, and frustration” that encompasses his journey from contraction to diagnosis to learning to live with it.
As for this weekend, let’s consider it a (second) redo of that fateful one two years ago, because after the COVID-cancelled 2021 date, Favorite Friend Records successfully launched their ~holiday spectacular~ last year, and it’s happening again THIS SATURDAY at Our Wicked Lady with 16ish bands (including Atlas Engine) on two floors. ALL DAMN DAY and ALL DAMN NIGHT!
Grab your tix here.
So: That’s a pretty good start! As for the rest of the weekend, plz read on, because this now-Californian has come crawwwwwlin’ back. And he’s probably wearing boardshorts.
(Love u nick, happy holidaze everyone!!!!!!)
[BUT FIRST: PRESS PLAY]
Oh boy oh boy it's great to be back home! First, some necessary backstory is that after 12 years in Brooklyn, as of 6 months ago, Nick does LA. So buckle up as we travel down memory lane to check in on my favorite spots, while hoping they're all still there, and making some new ones along the way.
(Get in the holiday spirit with an Atlas Engine-y, bedroom take on ”Christmastime is here”. We also released a full friggin record this year, which I personally have been calling album of the year, or maybe even decade. So get on that too.)
FRIDAY
Before anything else, I have become a full winter wimp now so let's layer up at what I like to call Thrift Row - aka that handful of thrift shops off Flushing and Knickerbocker.
Ok now that we're bundled up, let's go check in on McCarren Park, my Covid sanctuary. Oh wow they added a bunch of stuff. COOL! But at least there's a bathroom again.
I'll take a few hours to vibe out there with a lox bagel from Frankel's and reflect on how much that word/phrase has now infiltrated my vocabulary. Also if anybody knows a good bagel in LA, please DM me.
Next, head to the Union Square Holiday Market to pick up some trinkets, doo-dads, and/or tchotchkes for your family. Or do what I usually do and wander around, get overwhelmed, and head to a bar.
Head to MEDUSA, the brand-new bar from dear friends of mine from Our Wicked Lady right near my old apartment. I've heard awesome things and am very excited to check this out, see if I can convince anybody to shoot a round of pool down the block at Ontario Bar.
SATURDAY
This is an easy one because your whole day is covered via the Favorite Friend Records' 2nd Annual Holiday Spectacular at Our Wicked Lady. Doors at 2pm, music at 3, and it runs all night with 20 bands across both floors. Tom Gallo from Look at My Records will be spinning holiday tunes in between sets and Atlas Engine plays at 9pm. It'll be our first show in NYC since June! Very excited to be back with the crew, including our friend @permianstrata on visuals, to play some oldies, goodies, and newbies. Also this whole lineup is crazy good so come early and stay late! For lunch/dinner, OWL has awesome arepas on site, and/or I might snag a slice at Original Square Pizza a block away. If anybody knows where to get a good slice of pizza in LA, please text me.
SUNDAY
You will be hungover. Pick up a Scallion Bacon Egg and Cheese at Win Son, walk a block for Brooklyn Ball Factory cold brew, and go check if Hall n Oates (the feral cats that used to live in your yard, not to be confused with the currently-feuding pop duo behind such megahits as ”Private Eyes,” “Maneater“ and ”Rich Girl”) are still kickin' it around the hood. Pick up some Italian pastries from Fortunato Brothers to bring home to your ma in Jersey. If anybody knows where to get a good Italian pastry in LA, please call me directly.
It's been a long weekend, it's been a long week, hell it's been a long year baby, go treat yourself to a day at Spa Castle with your bandmates, get naked with them, and talk about it for years to follow.
Itinerary above written + submitted by Atlas Engine. Follow the band at @atlasenginemusic, buy music on bandcamp and add the songs to your Spotify playlists!
Feature image provided by the artist.
MORNING ANNOUNCEMENTS
Feeling festive? You need not wait til tomorrow’s holidaus spectacularus at OWL to get your seasonal kicks because tonight is the 2ND ANAL NAUGHTY LIST XXXMAS PARTY — you read that right — at Alphaville ft. bands (Tilden, Balaclava, LEONE and. the debut of First Sex) + tats (by BdBK BFF Justin Buschardt of Sharkswimmer) + slutty carolers + free condoms and narcan + a raffle benefitting artist-run mutual aid org Collective Focus. Woo! GO FORTH AND GET YOUR STOCKING STUFFED.
140+ PAIRS OF SOCKS! That’s what we collected at two holiday shows last week and dropped off at a Brooklyn shelter yesterday afternoon. Another huge thank you to the bands for playing and to everyone who came out, had fun and donated a pair. <3
RELEASE RADAR
New(ish) stuff from local (+ occasionally, once-local) artists we love, listed in no order whatsoever:
sst sst // The Plebs
“Annie Oakley” video // Lizzie No
“Joanna” // HYPEMOM
“You Are” // Dolly
Eighty Ninety // Eighty Ninety
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