Thursday, July 29, 2010

Snooky vs. Snooki

This Snooky would have kicked the other Snooki's ass.
(Except that she is really a nice lady).

Photo credit: Ebet Roberts
The original Snooky (Eileen Bellomo) is a NYC punk rock legend as a back up singer for Blondie, The Drop-Outs and The Sick F*cks. Along with her sister Tish, she founded and still runs Manic Panic, the internationally famous hair color & cosmetics company.

She is not to be confused with this Snooki:
Snooki Polizzi and her cohorts are back for a second season of MTV's "The Jersey Shore".
For those interested in watching Snooki party with Pauly D, The Situation, J-WOWW, Sammi, Ronnie and Vinny, there is a viewing party tonight at The East End:

Thursday, July 29
Jersey Shore Season 2 Premiere Party
The East End is showing the Jersey Shore season premiere with sound on the big screen and most of their other TVs

Featuring drink deals:
$20 Open Bar (Coors Lights and Well Drinks)
7-10pm

And all night:
$6 Jager Bombs
$6 Red Bull & Vodka
$3 Coors Light Drafts
$4 Well Drinks
RSVP via facebook
10pm

The East End
1664 First Ave.
(between 86th & 87th St.)
New York, NY
(212) 348-3783
EastEndBar.com


Update: July 30
TMZ reports that Snooki was arrested in Seaside Heights, NJ for disorderly conduct. Hang in there, Snook.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

6th Anniversary Celebration at Rogue

Congratulations to Mike, Vanessa, Jen and our friends at Rogue on their 6th Anniversary...
Wednesday, July 28
Rogue's Sixth Anniversary Celebration

$5 Rogue Dead Guys Ale, Estrella Damm & Kronenbourg bottles
noon - 7pm

Open bar: Draft beer, house wine, well mixed drinks & Heineken
Passed hors d'oeuvres
6-7pm

Happy Hour:
$3 domestic bottles & Jager shots
7-9pm

Video DJ
6pm - midnight
Drink specials, prizes & tons of fun
all night
at:
----------------------
Rogue Restaurant & Bar
757 Sixth Ave.
(between 25th & 26th St.)
New York, NY
(212) 242-6434
RogueNYC.com

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Van Diemen's 2-Year Anniversary Celebration

Congratulations to Naef, Dave & Desi and all of our friends at Van Diemen's on their 2 Year Anniversary. They invite you to their celebration tonight....

Tuesday, July 27
2 Year Anniversary Party
Passed hors d'oeuvres
Open bar 6-7pm
Party all night long
at:
Van Diemen's Café
383 Third Ave.
(between 27th & 28th St.)
New York, NY
(646) 752-5884
VanDiemensNYC.com



Van Diemen's has specials every night of the week...

Trivia Mondays
$3 select drafts
$4 mixed drinks & shots
$5 house wine
$12 domestic pitchers

2 For Tuesdays
2 for 1 burgers & beers
2 for 1 mixed drinks & house wines

Girls Night Out Wednesdays
1/2 price drinks for ladies
$10 burger & beer

Thursday Happy Hour
$3 Select drafts
$5 Mixed drinks & cosmos
$6 Bondi Beach martinis

Fridays: 80s music, 80s prices
$3 Select drafts, woowoows, kamikaze shots
$4 mixed drinks
$5 cosmos
$6 Bondi Beach martinis

Saturdays & Sundays:
$25 all you can drink domestic draft w/an order of wings
$18 brunch w/unlimited champagne
$12 domestic pitchers

Van Diemen's is open for lunch every day, and recently re-vamped their menu. One of their featured items is the Aussie burger (pictured below) which includes beef, cheese, bacon, a fried egg, pineapple, beets, lettuce, tomato & pickle with a side of steak fries.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Overlook's Customer Appreciation Night

With a break in the heat wave, tonight is a perfect night for a rooftop happy hour...

Overlook invites you to their Customer Appreciation Night
with all you can eat BBQ and all you can drink Bud Light
tonight from 6 - 8pm on our roof deck

$20 includes Bud Light plus burgers, dogs, corn, etc.
at:
Overlook
225 E. 44th St.
(bet. Second & Third Ave.)
New York, NY
(212) 682-7266
OverlookNYC.com

Members of the NYC Happy Hour Meetup Group will be in attendance, and welcome new members. You can join them here: http://NYCHappyHourGroup.com

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

"Battle of the Irish Bands" at Paddy Reilly's

Tuesday, July 20
"Battle of the Irish Bands"
Tonight is the final for Steve Duggan's battle of the Irish bands in NYC. Bands are representing the Bronx, Queens and Manhattan. The winning act will be chosen to perform pre-game Mets vs. Phillies on Irish Heritage Night, Saturday August 14th, 7:10pm.

The top 3 bands gets the chance to be managed by Steve Duggan Productions, which has promoted a huge number of great Irish artist from none other than, Paddy Reilly, The Dubliners, The Furey Brothers, Daniel O'Donnell, Black 47, Brendan Grace, Bagatelle and many more. Steve Duggan runs Paddy Reilly's Music Bar, which hosts tonight's event.

The Finalist are:
Representing Paddy Reilly's, Manhattan:
Ceol Milis, Sean McNally & Friends, Sephira, The Itinerants and Beautiful Day.

Representing Maguire's, Queens:
Scraggly Bosco and The West Awake.

Representing Fireside, Bronx:
Padraig Allen & McLean Ave Band, Bangers & Mash.
RSVP via facebook
7:30 - 11:30pm
at:





Paddy Reilly's Music Bar
519 Second Ave. (29th St.)
New York, NY
(212) 686-1210
Paddyreillysmusicbar.us

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Two Hotties Walk Into a Bar...

Funny or Die has a video entitled "Idiots with Zoe Saldana & Kate Bosworth". Have you ever encountered people like this in your local watering hole?



Starring Kate Bosworth, Zoe Saldana & Janeane Garofalo

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

George Steinbrenner 1930 - 2010

Yankees owner and sports business legend George M. Steinbrenner died today at the age of 80. Our condolences go out to his family, and to all the Yankee fans out there.

For those that do not understand the impact that this man has made on sports in American, and particularly in baseball in New York City, check out Bill Madden's book, "The Last Lion of Baseball".

FTC disclosure: if you purchase via this link, MurphGuide gets a small commission.

Links:
George Steinbrenner obituary (NY Times)
George Stinbrenner obituary (MLB.com)
George Steinbrenner bio (wikipedia)
Yankees.com

Here is a link (until youtube takes it down) of George and Billy Martin in one of their Miller Lite commercials from the 1970s:


and of course, a Steinbrenner parody on Seinfeld...

Sunday, July 11, 2010

World Cup Finals: Where to Watch in NYC

World Cup action concludes with the Championship game
Sunday, July 11, 2010
World Cup Championship:

The Netherlands vs. Spain
World Cup 2010Check out our special World Cup page, featuring 60 World Cup viewing options in NYC.
If you are lucky, you won't encounter any of those damn vuvuzelas. You can also visit the MurphGuide Directory of Sports Bars in NYC.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

MurphGuide Reader Survey

Would you please take the MurphGuide Reader Survey

Friday, July 09, 2010

Spotlight Artist: Fergus Begley

Our next Spotlight Artist is Fergus Begley. I first met Fergus in 2000 at the after-party when we both ran in the annual Concern Run. At the time I didn't know he was a musician. We became friends, as I would see him at many industry events (he works for Heineken). He is so well known in the NYC bar industry that the name of his album is "Sure Everyone Knows Fergus Begley". He is a great entertainer, and over the years I have seen him perform in many NYC pubs, including Blackstone's, Rogue, Stout, Hudson Beach Cafe, Slane, Tir na nOg and Thady Con's (R.I.P.). Fergus answers our questions below:


How long have you been performing?
Too long! Thirty years. I started in Ireland with my brother Mick ( who is still playing music around West Cork). I was in bands: the Below Average Blue and White Band, Finnegan's Lake, One Damn Good Band. I have been performing in NYC for 15 years.

What are some of your favorite venues to play?
Rosie O'Grady's is a great place to go on Saturday nights for the craic and to hear good Irish and American music. Also Tir na nOg and Rogue.

Rosie O'Grady's
800 Seventh Ave (52nd St.)
New York, NY
(212) 582-2975
RosieOGradys.com
--------------------
Tir na nOg
5 Penn Plaza (33rd St. & Eighth Ave.)
New York, NY
(212) 630-0249
TirnanOgNYC.com
----------------------
Rogue Restaurant & Bar
757 Sixth Ave.
(between 25th & 26th St.)
New York, NY
(212) 242-6434
RogueNYC.com


What are some of your musical influences?
The Beatles, Cat Stevens, Elvis, The Eagles, Bob Dylan, Van Morrison.

Where can we buy your music?
My debut CD, "Sure Everyone Knows Fergus Begley", can be purchased on my website FergusBegley.com or at any of my gigs.

What other musicians do you perform with?
Tony DeMarco, Buddy Connolly, Vonnie Quinn, Gabriel Donoghue

Tell us a story about playing in NY:
While playing in Rosie's packed with Pitt U supporters, the team and coaches (Pitt had just won the Big Ten), I played Country Roads not knowing it was West Virginia University's school song. Didn't go down very well. I was lucky to get out alive.

Any advice to someone just starting out?
Know and play to your audience, don't just play songs you like to play. Play some some that they like to hear. Make sure they have a good time.

Can you recommend any other local acts we should feature on MurphGuide?
Tony DeMarco, Enda Keenan ( who plays alternate weeks in Rosie OGrady's), Padraig Allen, Allan Gogerty.


Thanks, Fergus!
You can catch Fergus this Saturday, July 10 at Rosie O'Grady's. For future gigs, check out his website.

Thursday, July 08, 2010

New Bar: The 13th Step

The 13th Step, formerly "Coming soon" is now here.
Congratulations to our friends at Eat Drink and Be Merry on the opening of their newest venue, The 13th Step. The owners of Down the Hatch, Off the Wagon, Gin Mill, Jake's Dilemma and The Stumble Inn have opened a place in the former Telephone Bar space on Second Avenue in the East Village.

I popped in last night at the soft opening, and it looks great. It is a large sports bar with 28 TVs and a pub menu, great for watching the games. The drink prices are very reasonable, including an all day happy hour, where drinks are half price from 11:30am until 8pm.

I spoke with one of the owners, who is aware that the blog EV Grieve and its readers have already been slagging the bar even before it opened. He told me he hopes to win them over by providing an affordable place to drink.



The 13th Step
149 Second Ave.
(between 9th & 10th Ave.)
New York, NY
(212) 228-8020
nycbestbar.com/13thstep


Links:
The 13th Step
The 13th Step (Thrillist)
The 13th Step (EV Grieve)

But wait, there's more...
The same crew will be opening their 7th bar, 3 Sheets Saloon, later this summer in the former Town Tavern space.

Wednesday, July 07, 2010

NYC Bars With the Best Air Conditioning

[Note: this post is from 2010. Go here for our 2011 list of NYC Bars with the Best Air Conditioning]

"It's getting hot in here, so take off all your clothes..." - Nelly
Summer time in New York means outdoor drinking. But on days like today, with temperatures threatening to reach triple digits, you may be better off staying indoors. And if you are inside in this heat, you had better have air conditioning.

Yesterday, we asked the MurphGuide readers on Twitter to nominate some NYC bars with the best air conditioning. Here are some responses:

The Music Hall of Williamsburg reports "The air conditioning in @musichallofwb is CRANKING", quoting patron Amanda.
Music Hall of Williamsburg
66 North 6th St.
Brooklyn, NY
MusicHallofWilliamsburg.com
---------------------------------------
The east village tapas lounge Poco has AC in their lounge, where you can cool off with pitchers of sangria.


Poco
33 Avenue B (3rd St.)
New York, NY
(212) 228-4461
poconyc.com

--------------------------------------
Hotel bars in NYC have become very popular nightlife destinations. You know a hotel will maintain a comfortable environment for its guests, so expect their AC to be in top shape. A perfect example of this is The Roosevelt Hotel, with Vander Bar on street level and Mad 46 up on the 19th floor rooftop.


Vander Bar
At the Roosevelt Hotel
45th St. (Vanderbilt Ave.)
New York, NY
212-885-6131
VanderBar.com

Mad 46
At the Roosevelt Hotel
19th floor rooftop
Madison Ave. (at 46th St.)
New york, NY
(212) 885-6095
Mad46.com
---------------------------------
Since they have a cigar bar, Bar & Books must maintain an air conditioned environment. Two of the three Bar & Books locations in NYC have ventilated cigar areas:

Hudson Bar & Books
636 Hudson St. (Horatio St.)
New York, NY
(212) 229-2642
Barandbooks.cz/hudson


Lexington Bar & Books
1020 Lexington Ave. (73rd St.)
New York, NY
(212) 717-3902
Barandbooks.cz/lexington

The Beekman location does not allow smoking, but still maintains a well air conditioned environment:
Beekman Bar & Books
899 First Ave.
New York, NY
(212) 758-6600
barandbooks.cz/beekman

--------------------------------------------
On the upper west side, Bourbon Street claims to be the coolest bar on the block, having doubled their air conditioning.
Bourbon Street
407 Amsterdam Ave.
(between 79th St & 80th St)
New York, NY
(212) 721-1332
Bourbonstreetnyc.com
--------------------------------------------
Bronx Ale House says via twitter: "The heat will not let up, nor will our ACs."

Bronx Ale House
216 W. 238th St. (Review Pl.)
Bronx, NY
(718) 601-0204
BronxAleHouse.com
-------------------------------------
Do you have any favorite "chill" spots? Let us know in the comments below what are the best air conditioned bars in NYC?

Tuesday, July 06, 2010

World Cup: Semi Finals

World Cup action continues today and tomorrow with the Semi Final round.
There are only four teams left...
World Cup 2010Schedule:

Semi Finals:
Tuesday, July 6, 2:30pm
The Netherlands vs. Uruguay

Wednesday, July 7, 2:30pm
Germany vs. Spain

Third Place Match:
Saturday, July 10, 2:30pm

World Cup Championship:
Sunday, July 11, 2:30pm

Check out our special World Cup page, featuring 60 World Cup viewing options in NYC.
If you are lucky, you won't encounter any of those damn vuvuzelas. You can also visit the MurphGuide Directory of Sports Bars in NYC.

Friday, July 02, 2010

Spotlight Artist: Phone Home

Phone Home is an unsigned duo trying to create an atmosphere using what they have. I recently learned about them on twitter, and keyboardist Michael Vallarelli agreed to answer questions for this feature...

Phone Home
Photo credit: Mike Cinelli.
Lineup:
John and Michael Vallarelli. John on drums, Michael on keyboards.

So you guys are brothers?
Brothers? John is my son. Just kidding. We are indeed brothers. I am 26 and John is 20.

Any sibling rivalries?
No sibling rivalries that i know of. We both always seemed to love the same things. I think we tend to inspire each other without even realizing it. We also are very lucky to have such supportive parents who always believed in the crazy and not so crazy things we have done with our lives. They come to most of our shows. Always have. Now that I think about it, I do wish I was as tall as John.
Where did you grow up?
We grew up in Eastchester, NY which is in Westchester county, about 30 minutes north of Manhattan on the Metro North. It's a small-ish town, middle class and pretty down to earth. It's apparently the birth place of the Bill Of Rights, whatever that means.

How long have you been performing?
About 7 months. 3 months in NYC.

Past lives (i.e., previous bands, your early years, etc.):
John started playing drums at 8 and he is mostly self taught. He played in his elementary, middle and high school band. His first band was a punk band called Future Society. Later on he formed a band called Drain with his pals from around college etc. I first tried playing trombone in elementary school and failed miserably. I then moved on to bass, and joined a band in middle school called The Skeptonics. Played CBGB's at 13, and wore a mock tuxedo while doing so. After The Skeptonics fizzled I moved on to more punk oriented bands including Lucky 13, and even got to play CBGB's again. While playing in a band called Motion Picture Cutouts, I starting fiddling around on the keyboard. After we stopped playing together, I started to record piano music in my room...probably too much of it.

Favorite venue to play:
The Trash Bar
256 Grand St.
(bet. Driggs Ave. & Roebling St.)
Williamsburg
Brooklyn, NY
(718)-599-1000
TheTrashBar.com

Musical influences:
This is always a tough question because it seems to change every minute based on our moods (which fluctuate more than you know). Everything from good old punk rock to jazz, classical, hip-hop, pop. John and I have similar music influences. We grew up listening to a lot of punk rock, mostly pop-ish punk like Green Day, NOFX, Blink 182 and stuff like that. On our way to a recent show we put on Insomniac by Green Day and it was very nostalgic (haha). We used to go and see the Mighty Mighty Bosstones almost every other month it seemed. Some of our favorites now are bands like Modest Mouse, The National, The Bad Plus, Mogwai. John likes stuff like American Football, Refused, Sunny Day Real Estate, and Death Cab For Cutie. As far as drumming goes, John cites Death Cab For Cutie's Jason McGerr and Jeremiah Green or Modest Mouse as having a significant influence on his playing.

Elvis Costello was and is still a major influence on me as a musician. When I first started listening to him, a whole world of other sounds was introduced to me. Witnessing someone tackle different genres with urgency and skill is something special. From listening to him I started listening to classical and jazz. I got into a lot of keyboard oriented music eventually after playing in Motion Picture Cutouts. I started devouring music by Keith Jarrett, Arvo Part, Philip Glass, and Brian Eno. Right now I'm listening to a lot of dub specifically that of Prince Jammy, Augustus Pablo and Lee Scratch Perry. I've also been really into a bunch of new bands like Suckers and Japandroids. My brother also loves the Japandroids. Something about a two piece, I guess. Those guys create such an atmosphere, and are definitely an inspiration to John and I. There is just so much out there, and we're both always stumped/overwhelmed with this question.

Another major musical influence on me that I almost forgot to list is The Clash. I find them to be the blueprint for a lot of what John and I have ever done musically. Joe Strummer especially is just a huge reason as to why I'm doing music at all. Also, I've been listening to Pantha Du Prince recently quite a bit. New electronic artist out of Germany.

Tell us a story or anecdote about performing live in NYC.
Playing in New York is really fun yet always a bit nerve-wracking and unpredictable. There are so many venues, and honestly the more you play the more you start to realize that picking and choosing is healthy. It's nice to play with bands that are similar in style, but it's also really fun to play with those who just play completely different. About 3 weeks ago we played right after this hip hop group called Jae'are. They were awesome and just had great energy. If you're reading this Jae-are, we'd love to play with you again. I think for us it's all about being as open-minded about playing as possible. Every show is an opportunity to share your music, meet people and to also hear new music outside of your boundries. I think so far Brooklyn as been better than Manhattan in terms of the enthusiasm of everyone. It's just buzzing over there.

Any advice to someone just starting out?
Be sincere and just go for it. Practice a lot, and play any show that is offered to you. Try to communicate your band members openly. Try not to let anyone discourage you along the way, especially bloggers.

What would you like to plug?
Our next two shows:
Saturday, July 3 at Public Assembly
Benefit Show for Brooklyn Public Libraries
With DJ Vida, Jay Hansen, Dalanshar
Phone Home
$10 donation
10pm
back room at:
Public Assembly
70 N. 6th St.
Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY
718 782-5188
PublicAssemblyNYC.com

and July 28 at The Trash Bar.
The Trash Bar
256 Grand St. (bet. Driggs Ave. & Roebling St.)
Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY
(718)-599-1000
TheTrashBar.com
We also have plans to record an EP this month.

Linkage:
website: phonehome.bandcamp.com
facebook: Phone-Home
Myspace: phonehomenewyork
twitter: @PhoneHomeBand

Where can we buy your music?
You can get it for free on myspace currently! Soon we will have something to purchase.

I only found out about your band last week via twitter. How did you find out about MurphGuide?
I learned about MurphGuide from twitter. I really like the non-pretentious delivery of the information on the site. Its more: hey this is whats going on, like it or not. You are spreading the word in a very genuine way.

Wow, thanks. I appreciate the compliment.
Can you recommend any other local acts we should feature on MurphGuide?

My friend Will is in a band called Old Table. You can hear his stuff at myspace.com/oldtable. Also our friend Richard has a project called Dalanshar which can be heard at myspace.com/dalanshar. We're playing with him at Public Assembly on Saturday.

World Cup Quarter Finals - Where to Watch in NYC

World Cup action continues today and tomorrow with the Quarter Final round.
There are eight teams left...
World Cup 2010Schedule:
Quarter Finals
Friday, July 2:
Netherlands vs. Brazil - 10am
Uruguay vs. Ghana- 2:30pm
Saturday, July 3:
Germany vs. Argentina - 10am
Paraguay vs. Spain - 2:30pm


Semi Finals:
Tuesday, July 6, 2:30pm
Wednesday, July 7, 2:30pm

Third Place Match:
Saturday, July 10, 2:30pm

World Cup Championship:
Sunday, July 11, 2:30pm

Check out our special World Cup page, featuring 60 World Cup viewing options in NYC.
If you are lucky, you won't encounter any of those damn vuvuzelas. You can also visit the MurphGuide Directory of Sports Bars in NYC.

Thursday, July 01, 2010

Celebrate Canada Day in NYC

Happy Canada Day!
Here are a few ways to celebrate Canada's 143rd birthday in NYC:

Thursday, July 1
The Canada Cabin's Bash
Midtown bar Windfall has been hosting Canada Cabin, a monthly party for Canadians. So that is the place to be for Canada Day, the national holiday for Canada.


They have got the real Lester's Smoked Meat from Montreal
Poutine, Drink specials, tatoos and glow sticks
and still a couple of surprises.
The festivities start with lunch 11:30am - 2:30pm
Then The Bash:
Special Thursday edition of NYC's only Canadian night
in honor of Canada Day
All Canadian Food, Music, Attitude, Beer, Cocktails.
$5 Caesars & Canadian beer bottles
$4 Canadian draft beer

Windfall Lounge & Grill
23 W. 39th St.
(between Fifth & Sixth Ave.)
New York, NY
(212) 869-4606
WindfallNYC.com

212-869-4606


Canada Cabin
Canada Cabin is a Canadian themed party hosted by our friend David Cioppa. Windfall Restaurant and Bar has exclusively opening a Canada cabin night on Saturdays with canadian music, beer , food, attitude and fun for all of us living in NY or visiting from the great white north.
You can join the Canada Cabin group on facebook.


Even Pat Kiernan, one of NYC's most popular Canadians, likes it:













Pat will be holding an on-line Canadian trivia contest today in conjunction with Gothamist.

------------------------
Joe's Pub celebrates Canada Day
Thursday, July 1
All-star celebration of the Great Canadian Songbook
Produced and emcee'd by Jeff Breithaupt
featuring a stellar international line-up including:
Legendary rock trio BETTY (BETTY Rules, The L Word)
East Village Opera Company's AnnMarie Milazzo
Jazz vocalist Carolyn Leonhart (Steely Dan)
Tony Salvatore (BETTY, Pleasuredog)
Singer-songwriter Jamie Leonhart
East Village Opera Company's Tyley Ross (The Who's Tommy, Miss Saigon)
Cabaret favorite Maggie Moore
Jazz chanteuses Amy Cervini and Melissa Stylianou
Feisty cabaret spitfire Shelley McPherson
BETTY’s Alyson Palmer in a special solo setting
Miranda (of "Miranda Sings" internet fame)
and more special guests to be announced.
All will be backed by the all-star "Workin' for the Weekend House Band" led by Music Director Peter Kiesewalter (Brooklyn Rundfunk Orkestrata, East Village Opera Company).

What exactly is the great Canadian songbook? Songs from Canadian rockers, such as:
Leonard Cohen, Bruce Cockburn, Joni Mitchell, Gordon Lightfoot, Lighhouse, Nelly Fertado, Neil Young, Rufus Wainwright, Gino Vanelli, KD Lang, The Cowboy Junkies, Tom Cochrane, Rush, Crash Test Dummies, Rush, Crash Test Dummies, B.T.O. , Barenaked Ladies , Avril Lavigne, Men Without Hats, maybe even Raffi! You never know whose songs you might hear.
Tickets: $25
Tickets at JoesPub.com
Two shows: 7pm & 9:30pm
at:
Joe's Pub
425 Lafayette St. (Astor Pl.)
New York, NY
JoesPub.com


-------------------------------
But wait, there's more...

There is a Canadian themed bar in Brooklyn where you can enjoy Molson on draft, and Moosehead and Labatt Blue in bottles, plus a good selection Canadian whiskey:

Ontario Bar
559 Grand St.
(between Union Ave. & Lorimer St.)
Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY
(718) 384-2835