3.11 A wknd w/ Laura Lee & the Jettes
The German band on opium art, pics with Elmo and the BdBK New Colossus showcase Saturday night at Berlin
BACK OFF BENNIE! German rocker Laura Lee and her personal pack o’ Jettes (not Jets) (NY already has those) (and we hear they suck pretty bad?) have officially landed stateside! And while we’re not sure whether the mohair suit made it through customs, and we imagine the electric boots were probably confiscated by TSA, we are very excited to report that you have several opps to catch the band liiiiiiiiiive this weekend as they hit stages around the LES for New Colossus Festival—a set of sets that includes our BdBK showcase (details below) THIS SATURDAY NIGHT!
(And you know I read it in a newsletterziiiiiiiiiine, oh.)
(K, we’re done. Swear. Probably.)
For the unfamiliar/uninitiated, Laura Lee & the Jettes is the pandemic-born solo project of Laura Lee, one half of German garage-rock duo GURR, and while we personally spent the majority of our COVID years re-watching every season of Curb, Seamlessing slices of cake and contemplating our own mortality (we all had different coping mechanisms, ok??!?!!), the artist was busy whipping up Wasteland, the incredible LLATJ debut record, which just dropped in December!
NYC is just one stop for the band, who are heading down to SXSW next, where we plan on stalking them from stage to stage all week. BUT FIRST! With little to no regard for the fact that Laura Lee had a tour to pack for and shows to prep for and a life outside of the BdBK ~agenda~, we asked the Krautrock queen to prep a wknd plan for a city in which she does not live. And we’re happy to report that she is not just a killer songwriter, but a very, very good sport, and kindly obliged. And there’s not a Times Square double-decker bus tour in sight.
Read on for three days of fun courtesy of one our new favorite artists, and don’t miss your opportunity to catch the Berlin-the-city-based band at Berlin-the-venue THIS SATURDAY NIGHT—
It’s gonna be a gut Wochenende (according to Google Translate). Come out, hang out and let’s shake it loose together~
[BUT FIRST: PRESS PLAY]
Okay we’re a band from Berlin so you cannot expect the most underground tips here. It’s more of a “German band in town”-guide to NYC. But if you want to know how to get a picture with Elmo on Times Square look no further.
FRIDAY
7PM Berlin 25 Avenue A New York 10009
Paste Magazine – one of the last remaining music mags RIP - curated a stage for New Colossus Festival. The first band to go on is Kip Berman with his solo project “The Natvral” at 7PM. You may have heard of him from his role as singer/songwriter of The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. I feel like all my friends in Berlin know this guy but I haven’t met him yet. Hi Kip! There’s also some cool post-punk + shoegaze coming from THUS LOVE and Blushing later in the night. You should definitely stay until the VERY end though because we go on at 10PM and it’s the only authentic Krautrock by millennials NYC has ever seen.
SATURDAY
6:30AM Wyckoff Starr Coffee Shop, 30 Wyckoff Ave, Brooklyn NY 11237
I wish my day started later but jetlag has me waking up at 6:30. I then most likely will head to Wyckoff Starr Coffee Shop bagel/coffee place, because that’s the only breakfast I can afford in this city. I get a ginger tea with honey (free honey!!) and a bagel with cream cheese, cucumber, and tomato. The guy also puts salt and pepper on. It’s fantastic.
12PM, The Hole 312 Bowery New York
If an exhibition is called “The Opium Smoker’s Dream” it already has my attention. It’s also free (!!) because their business model runs on selling these pictures but definitely not to bums like me. It features Budapest-based artist Betond Kresztesi who paints these wonderfully surreal collages –if Salvador Dali had a computer and met Thomas the little engine and Lava Lamps. It’s absolutely trippy and if someone wants to buy me my favorite painting of the exhibition “Desert Gate” I won’t stop you.
2PM, New Museum 235 Bowery New York
Time to finally spend some money! New Museum currently has an exhibition about Faith Ringgold called “American People”. To someone coming from Germany, this is a great insight into this city’s art historical history. Ringgold addresses the exclusion of and discrimination against African American Artists in her paintings and I absolutely love her style, stroke, palette,…
7PM, Berlin 25 Avenue A New York 10009
Surprise! Another concert. This time also featuring yours truly Laura Lee & the Jettes but I also checked out Paul Jacobs and it’s a nice-and-groovy-indie-jazz I absolutely want to dance to. Mary Shelley is also on the line-up which is impossible because she died in 1851 so I want to see what that’s all about. We go on at 10:45 so – again- you need to stay until the very end but we won’t disappoint your drunk souls. I may premiere a new song called “Bodega Boy” for the occasion.
SUNDAY
11AM, North Williamsburg Pier
Today is my favorite day because there is a little sun emoji on my weather app which means it’s time to take the ferry! It’s only 2.75$ so I’m going to ride that ferry as far as I can, to Long Island, Coney Island, Governor’s Island, I may even convince them to take me to Ellis Island…. Before coming here, I watched a documentary about New York’s maritime life and that there are whales coming back outside the city and that the oyster farms have helped, among some legislation, to improve the water quality. So I’m just going to check on all that myself and watch out for a whale that took a wrong turn.
4:30 PM, Arlene’s Grocery 95 Stanton St NY 10002
Time for another concert! This time we’re playing at Arlene’s Grocery which, according to Wikipedia, opened in 1995. Not sure how many German bands have played Arlene’s Grocery. We will be meeting some old friends that we played with on Friday (THUS LOVE, The Natvral, Blushing) but there are also some new names on the line-up like Yeah Baby, who remind of some of my favorite goth/post punk bands The Chameleons… There is also a band called Diary who I could find absolutely nothing about so that’s gonna be a surprise. And The Garrys who are not 3 men all called Gary as I thought at first but the women who make vibey-surf-rock, reminiscent of La Luz which I’m always down for. We play at 4:30PM and I love a good matinee mimosa show. JK I’m pregnant so if you see me drinking a mimosa please send help!
Itinerary above provided by Laura Lee & the Jettes. Follow the band at @lauraleeandthejettes, buy their music on Bandcamp and add songs to your Spotify playlists!
Feature image (provided by the band): Suzanne Caroline de Carrasco
MORNING ANNOUNCEMENTS
In order to help us support NYC bands and help them support each other, we’ve created a spreadsheet of local bands heading down to SXSW this year. If you’re planning on playing the fest, DM or email us (bandsdobk @ gmail) and we’ll shoot you the link to add your shows. Or if you just wanna hang out, that’s cool too.
Along those same lines, we’re also heading to Boise for Tree Fort (LOL WE’RE TIRED ALREADY), so if you’re playing that fest or just attending, let us know and let’s kick it. This community is 100% mobile, baby! Let’s make the most of it.
RELEASE RADAR
New(ish) stuff from local (+ once-local) artists we love, listed in no order whatsoever:
“International Cherry” // Slow Fiction
“Dreamhouse 1 + 2” // GIFT
Pig Pile // Dead Tooth
Broken Equipment // BODEGA
“Cry in the Mirror” // Daisy and the Great
“Rent” // Halima
Country Songs From An Immigrant // Omer Leibovitz
“No Breaks” // Savage the Poet
Special World // Otra Vez
IT’S HAPPENIN’
Here’s a look at the shows we’ve got coming up next month and beyond. Mark your calendars and come hang!
3.12 New Colossus Festival Showcase— BdBK Presents: Laura Lee & the Jettes, Paul Jacobs, Mary Shelley, Slow Fiction, Mary Shelley, TOFLANG @ Berlin ($15 or included w/ festival pass; schedule here; buy tickets here)
3.19 OWL X BDBK X EASTCIDERS SXSW party (in Austin) (sorry) (we’re just really excited about it) w/ Dead Tooth, The Bobby Lees, So & So, The Thing, The Cult of Chunk, Cindy Cane, Big Fun, GIFT, Tino Drima, Grandpa Jack @ Austin Eastciders Collaboratory - Taproom (details here)
4.1 BdBK Presents: Max Pain and the Groovies (single release) w/ TVOD and Nevva (+ some sweet, sweet Jonathan Toubin DJ action) @ TV Eye (tix here)
+ ICYMI
Around the blog + on the radio + from the archives:
SPOTLIGHT: “Past Tense” from Karmella
PREMIERE: “Blasé” from Mary Shelley
Thx 4 reading! Find more fun stuff at bandsdobk.com and @bandsdobk. <3