New Bar Opening: Cotta

A new wine bar is officially opening today on the upper west side. Cotta, a brand new wine bar, brick oven restaurant and enoteca opens in the spot formerly Senor Swanky's (and before that, Martell's). They were open this weekend for private functions, and open to the general public at 5pm on Monday, February 28, 2011.

Cotta
Wine Bar, Restaurant, Enoteca, Osteria
513 Columbus Ave.
(between W. 84th & W. 85th St.)
New York, NY

The bar has two levels, with a bar in the main room downstairs, and another bar, seating and private party area upstairs.

Our friend Tom shares some photos, below...

photos by T. Basile.

See also MurphGuide's Directory of NYC Wine Bars

Oscar Parties in NYC 2011

The 83rd Annual Academy Awards will be presented tonight in a show aired on ABC TV.
Instead of watching alone on your couch, you can fellow New Yorkers in Oscar Viewing Parties in some NYC bars. Here are some suggestions...


Sunday, February 27
Oscar Night Party at Stone Street Tavern
Watch from the red carpet to the main event
Prizes to the first person to win Oscar Bingo
Drink specials all night long
RSVP before Feb. 26 and have 10% off your tab

at:
Stone Street Tavern
52 Stone St.
New York, NY
(212) 785-5658
StoneStreetTavernNYC.com

---------------------------------------
Sunday, February 27
Oscar Party at Gotham Comedy Club
Telecast to be hosted by Christian Finnegan from “Are We There Yet?” on TBS and VH1’s “Best Week Ever” and Kambri Crews

Watch the awards for FREE on a projector screen and flat screen televisions in the showroom. Showing the full Oscars broadcast and red carpet arrivals.
Discounted food and drinks available all night long.
Ballots will be on sale for a chance to win some fabulous gift packages.
Random drawings and prizes given out during commercial breaks.

GENERAL PACKAGE: Available online only
$10 per person plus tax and gratuity
Guarantees a seat and your first drink
at:
Gotham Comedy Club
34 W. 22nd St.
(between 5th & 6th Ave.)
New York, NY
(212) 367-9000
Gothamcomedyclub.com
--------------------------------
Sunday, February 27
Finnerty's Second Annual Academy Awards Night
Offering a specialty cocktail menu starting at 5pm with themes from the 10 Best Picture Nominations.
Complimentary keg in the backroom along with buffalo wings for anyone who enters the ballot contest
Ballot contest:
$10 per ballot for a 50/50
1st Prize- A keg party for you and your friends ($250 Value)
2nd Prize- A 2009 Vintage Magnum (3 Liter) bottle of Chimay Grande Reserve with glassware ($200 Value)
3rd Prize-50/50 cash prize
Fun starts at 5pm
at:
Finnerty's
221 Second Ave.
(between 13th & 14th St.)
New York, NY
(212) 677-2655
FinnertysNYC.com



-----------------------------------
Sunday, February 27
Oscar Party at Van Diemen's
And the Oscar goes too...
Watch the greatest awards show in the world at Van Diemen's.
Drink specials all night and a chance to win $100 for guessing the winners.
8pm
at:
Van Diemen's Café
383 Third Ave.
(between 27th & 28th St.)
New York, NY
(646) 752-5884
VandiemensNYC.com

-------------------------------------
Sunday, February 27
Murray Hill's Oscar Party
Mr. Show Biz, Murray Hill, hosts his annual Oscar Party.
Watch the Oscars on a big screen and be entertained during breaks.
A stellar line-up of comedians will be spoofing nominated movies and celebrities all night: Amber Martin, Neal Medlyn, Jack Ferver, Jenn Harris, Cole Escola & Erin Markey
begins at 7 pm with Oscar Pre-Show Red Carpet and continues with the complete Oscar telecast at 8:30 pm shown on a giant screen. Oscar drink specials and full dinner available all night
at:
Joe's Pub
425 Lafayette St.
(between Astor Pl. & E. 4th St.)
New York, NY
JoesPub.com

----------------------------------
Sunday, February 27
Oscars Viewing Party at Village Pourhouse
Vote for the award winners on your nominee ballot sheet.
Pick the most winners and win a free hour open bar for you and 10+ friends.
Complimentary popcorn for all guests.
RSVP to Emily@yourpartyplanning.com and receive a complimentary Bud Light draft or well cocktail during the Red Carpet Pre Show from 7pm to 8pm. Drink Specials start at 8pm:
2 for 1 on the following drinks: Vision Vodka, Jim Beam Black & Coke, 901 Tequila Margaritas, Cruzan Rum Cocktails
7pm
at:
The Village Pourhouse
366 W. 46th St.
(between 8th & 9th Ave.)
New York, NY
212-979-BEER
VillagePourhouse.com

-----------------------------------------
Sunday, February 27
Oscars Parties at Fiddlesticks and Two Galway Hooker locations
with Oscar cocktails and drink specials
8pm
at:
Fiddlesticks
56 Greenwich Ave.
(between 6th & 7th Ave.)
New York, NY
(212) 463-0516
FiddlesticksPub.com

and...
Galway Hooker Pub
7 East 36th St.
(between 5th & Madison)
New York, NY
GalwayHookerNYC.com
and...
Downtown Galway Hooker
133 7th Ave. South
(Between Charles St. & 10th St.)
New York, NY
212-675-6220
DowntownGalwayHooker.com

---------------------------
Sunday, February 27
Alt.Oscars at Crash Mansion
The 5th Annual Alt.Oscars Awards Event & Dance Party
The Costume Cultural Society, Kostume Kult present NYC's most outrageous Red Carpet
Featuring Oscar Viewing in multiple rooms, the infamous Alty Awards Ceremonies, an Interactive Red Carpet where all are welcome to participate and an all-night Dance Party with DJ's spinning during the commercials and after the show.

18+ entry, 21+ to drink
All night food & drink specials including:
$4 domestic beers, $6 well drinks & wine
plus two-for-one happy-hour well cocktails from 6pm to 7pm.
Specialty Oscar Night cocktails:
Tron cocktails, True Grit, Casablanca mimosas, Black Swoon, Queen Mum & the Altytini
$20 at the door
More info at: Altyawards.com
6pm to 2am
at:
Soirée & Crash Mansion
(Two venues with the Alty Awards and numerous attractions upstairs in the Main Room (Soirée) or listen to every word of the Hollywood Oscars downstairs (Crash Mansion)

Crash Mansion
199 Bowery (Spring St.)
New York, NY
(212) 982-0740
CrashMansion.com
---------------------------------
Sunday, February 27
The Oscars Party 2011 at Bar 12
Bar 12 will be handing out Ballots to everyone in attendance.
Patrons will have until 8pm to fill out and return their ballot before the show begins.
Showing the Academy Awards live with sound
The person who has the most correct picks wins the grand prize.
Grand Prize:
5 Day, 4 Night Stay at The Tropicana Hotel and Casino or Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas ( or several other locations).
Oscar-themed cocktail menus including Champagne
8pm
at:
Bar XII
206 E. 34th St. (Third Ave.)
New York, NY
(212) 545-9912
Bar12.com




Which film do you think will win best picture?
Black Swan, The Fighter, Inception, The Kids Are All Right, The King's Speech, 127 Hours, The Social Network, Toy Story 3, True Grit, Winter's Bone.
Leave your selection in the comments below.

UFC 127 in NYC

UFC 127: Penn vs. Fitch is the latest event of this highly popular mixed martial arts series. Although it will take place on Sunday, Feb. 27 in Australian, it will still be Saturday night in New York when it airs. Here are some NYC bars that show UFC.
Main Card:
Welterweight bout: B.J. Penn vs. Jon Fitch
Also...
Middleweight bout: Kyle Noke vs. United States Chris Camozzi
Welterweight bout: Chris Lytle vs. United States Brian Ebersole
Lightweight bout: George Sotiropoulos vs. Germany Dennis Siver
Middleweight bout: Michael Bisping vs. United States Jorge Rivera
ufc.com/event/UFC127

Saturday, February 26
UFC 127: Penn v. Fitch at Blind Pig
mixed martial arts event to be held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship
RSVP via facebook

at:
Blind Pig
233 E. 14th St.
(between 2nd & 3rd Ave.)
New York, NY
(212) 209-1573
BlindPigBar.com



------------------
Saturday, February 26
UFC 127: Penn v. Fitch at Rogue
at:
Rogue Restaurant & Bar
757 Sixth Ave.
(between 25th & 26th St.)
New York, NY
(212) 242-6434
RogueNYC.com


---------------------------------
Saturday, February 26
UFC 127: Penn v. Fitch
$10 cover
at:
Firefly
54 Spring St.
(bet. Lafayette & Mulberry)
New York, NY
(212) 966-8716
FireflyNYC.com

-------------------------------
Saturday, February 26
UFC 127 at Mustang Harry's
no cover
10pm
at:
Mustang Harry's
352 Seventh Ave.
(between 29th & 30th St.)
New York, NY
(212) 268-8930
MustangHarrys.com

Spotlight Artists: The Saw Doctors

Our next spotlight artists are Irish rock legends The Saw Doctors. They are one of Ireland's all-time top recording artists, having achieved eighteen top-thirty singles, including three number ones. In addition to their recording prowess, they are renowned for putting on an event better live show. They are touring the U.S. in March to support their latest release, "The Further Adventures of the Saw Doctors". Founder and lead guitarist Leo Moran answers our questions below.
A special thanks Leo for taking the time before the big tour, and to band manager Ollie Jennings for helping set up the interview. Ollie is also providing comp pairs of tickets to three lucky MurphGuide readers to their area show. See details further in this post.

Photo credit: Steve Gullick

Band Lineup:
Davy Carton - Vocals, Guitar
Leo Moran - Guitar, Some Vocals
Kevin Duffy - Keyboards, Guitar, Vocals
Anthony Thistlethwaite - Bass, Vocals
Éimhín Cradock - Drums, Vocals

Explain the origin of the band's name.
A man worked in the sawmills in Tuam; he hadn't much drive towards working so, as a motivational technique the boss called him into the office one Monday morning and presented him with a white coat and said 'From now on, you're a Saw Doctor'. We appropriated the title of false importance shortly afterwards.

How long have you been performing as the Saw Doctors? Do you have anything planned for a 25th anniversary?
Our first gig was probably in 1987, though possibly 1986; no plans yet for that anniversary - is it paper?

Past lives (i.e., previous bands, your early years, etc.):
I went to college in Galway, played in teenage bands called The Mix and The Definite Articles. Played with Too Much For The Whiteman for a few years and then The Saw Doctors fell together when I was working with the Community Arts Group, Macnas, in Galway.

Musical influences:
Bruce Springsteen, The Ramones, The Stranglers, The Clancy Brothers, Abba, John Fogerty - one could go on for a good bit longer...

Blatant self-promotion: What would you like to plug?
Our new album, I reckon possibly our best, definitely our most consistent collection - 'The Further Adventures Of The Saw Doctors'.
Linkage:
Website: SawDoctors.com
facebook: sawdoctors
i-tunes: the-saw-doctors
youtube: sawdoctorsofficial
wikipedia: The_Saw_Doctors
twitter: @sawdoctors
myspace: sawdoctorsofficial
soundcloud: sawdoctors

Where can we buy your music?
From i-tunes or from our website.

Any advice to someone just starting out?
Enjoy it, play in public as often as possible and record one song to level of five and not five songs to a level of 1.

Can you recommend any other act(s) we should feature on MurphGuide.com?
Padraig Stevens, Seamus Ruttledge, The Coonics, The Ralphs, Keith Mullins, Noelie McDonnell - all extremely good and all from Tuam.

On previous tours, you have performed at Roseland, Irving Plaza, B.B. King's, Highline Ballroom, all of the Guinness Fleadhs, Belmont Racetrack, East Durham, The Surf Club. What are some of your favorite venue(s) to play?
NYC is blessed with so many really classy venues and we've been privileged to have played in so many of them, but for me, for a true sense of a rock and roll occasion, Irving Plaza has the edge on the others.

What is a non-obvious difference between American audiences and Irish audiences?
Americans come to the gig on time and an American audience has a soft spot for straight four four rock.

Photo credit: Steve Gullick

You played at the Governor's Inaugural Ball for Maryland governor Martin O'Malley last month. How did that come about? I know he is a musician. Did he jam with you? If so, on what tunes. Any fun stories from that gig?
Martin O'Malley was our solo support act when we played our first gig in Baltimore; we've known him since. He became Mayor Of Baltimore and now has been elected to serve his second term as Governor Of Maryland. He's often joined us onstage, usually for Green And Red Of Mayo. The night of the Inauguration Celebrations was a blast but quite down to earth and relaxed at the same time.

Will Galway 'bate' Mayo?
They play here in Tuam in The League this Sunday coming; Galway are in a slump now and Mayo will most likely have the edge on them.

How many different guitars do you bring with you on tour? Do you have a favorite?
I usually just play two different guitars. They're both fabulous: The Gretsch White Falcon I play in most songs. It's warm, fat and strong, a wonderful instrument. The Fender Telecaster I use for the twangy, sharp tremolo sound, kinda sixties style.

In 2010, you recorded an acapella version of Red Cortina. How did that come about?
We were doing showcase gigs of the new album in Galway, the eleven songs in a row; a bit of a challenge of a show but it worked. We wanted to stay away from what we normally do so we did acoustic versions of some songs to fill out the show. I saw Joe Jackson play in Galway years back, it was when he was going through his 'Jumpin' Jive' phase; he played 'Is She Really Going Out With Him' but did it a cappella; it was brilliant.

Tell us about your latest album, "The Further Adventures of The Saw Doctors"
We recorded it in Rockfield in Wales and in Grouse Lodge in Ireland - it's produced by Phillip Tennant, who produced our first three albums with us. We worked really hard at putting the songs down and scrapped a good few versions of songs along the way. We made sure we polished it off as best we could in the end and the result is a collection I'm particularly proud of. It's an album I can listen to and enjoy already, so soon after the work, which is quite unusual!

Ticket Promotion:
The Saw Doctors are touring the U.S. in March, 2011, kicking off with a show at Mohegan Sun Casino on March 3, and ending 3 weeks later at The Hard Rock Cafe in Las Vegas. Area shows include March 10 at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ, and two NYC shows: March 11 & 12 at Irving Plaza. MurphGuide is giving away a pair of tickets to each of these three shows, courtesy of Live Nation and The Saw Doctors. Enter to win at: MurphGuide.com/promo/sawdoctors.htm

U.S. tour dates:
Thursday, March 3
Mohegan Sun Casino
Wolf Den
Uncasville, CT

Friday, March 4
House of Blues
Boston, MA

Saturday, March 5
Penn's Peak
Jim Thorpe, PA

Sunday, March 6
Calvin Theatre
Northampton, MA

Tuesday, March 8
The Chance
Poughkeepsie, NY

Thursday, March 10
The Stone Pony
Asbury Park, NJ

Friday, March 11
Irving Plaza
New York, NY

Saturday, March 12
Irving Plaza
New York, NY

Monday, March 14
Birchmere
Alexandria, VA

Tuesday, March 15
Port City Music Hall
Portland, ME

Thursday, March 17
Theatre of the Living Arts
Philadelphia, PA

Friday, March 18
House of Blues
Cleveland, OH

Saturday, March 19
Vic Theatre
Chicago, IL

Monday, March 21
Boulder Theater
Boulder, CO

Tuesday, March 22
The Complex
Salt Lake City, UT

Thursday, March 24
House of Blues
Los Angeles, CA

Friday, March 25
Slims
San Francisco, CA

Saturday, March 26
Hard Rock Cafe on the Strip
Las Vegas, NV

Below is a taste of The Saw Doctors live, performing "Exhilarating Sadness" from their Live in Galway concert DVD:


Download:
And finally, below, you can listen to The Saw Doctors song Hazard' a.k.a 'The Country is F**cked': (Downloaded free for limited time only by clicking this link or the photo below)

Spotlight Artists: Girsa

Our next spotlight artists are Girsa, a talented ensemble from Pearl River, NY, comprised of eight young ladies that grew up playing Irish music together. Band member Margaret Dudasik (vocalist /fiddle player) answers our questions below. Special thanks to Mary Dudasik for the introduction and previous spotlight artists Jameson's Revenge for suggesting Girsa to us.

Photo credit: Christine DeSavino

Band Line-up:
Deirdre Brennan--fiddle, vocals, mandolin
Margaret Dudasik--fiddle, vocals, whistle
Bernadette Flanagan--piano, bodhran
Maeve Flanagan--fiddle, whistle
Pamela Geraghty--guitar, vocals, accordion
Blaithin Loughran--accordion
Emily McShane--piano, vocals, bodhran
Kristen McShane--fiddle

How long have you been performing together?
Going on almost 7 years now.

How did the band's name come about?
Peter McShane (father to Kristen and Emily) suggested the name. Girsa is a slang term from County Armagh that means "young girls."

Musical influences:
Where do I begin? Cherish the Ladies, Beoga, Solas, our producer Gabriel Donohue, Lunasa, Téada, Dervish, Brian Conway...the list is never-ending, really!


Favorite venues to play:
We still can't get over the fact that we got to play at the Dublin Irish Fest (Ohio), Kansas City Irish Fest, and Milwaukee Irish Fest all in one summer. Seeing Girsa included in lineups consisting of our favorite Irish acts was wild! As for NYC, playing for the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, at the Irish Consulate last summer was an incredible honor. And Rory Dolan's in Yonkers is venue very close to our hearts--some of Girsa's earliest gigs were played there, and Rory has been so kind to the Irish music community, always offering the pub as a venue for various fundraisers and events.

Blatant self-promotion: What would you like to plug?
Our gigs:

Saturday, February 26, 2011
Ulysses' Saturday Evening Music Series
Tickets $10
Live music starts at 10pm
at:

Ulysses'
95 Pearl St./58 Stone St.
(Hanover Square)
New York, NY
(212) 482-0400
Ulyssesfolkhouse.com


Other upcoming shows:
Saturday, March 12
The Strand Theatre
Lakewood, NJ

Sunday, March 13
13th Annual Irish Festival
Hofstra University
Hempstead, NY

Thursday, March 18
Towne Crier Cafe
Tickets $20 advance - $25 at the door
Pawling, NY

Linkage:
Website: Girsamusic.com
facebook: Girsa
Youtube: girsamusic

Where can we buy your music?
Our CD is available on our website, girsamusic.com. And our second album, "A Sweeter Place," is due within the next two months.


Tell us a story or anecdote about performing live.
A favorite moment of our summer tour was our last performance at the Milwaukee Irish Fest. The sun was setting and the girls were squinting like mad on stage...we couldn't even see the audience! One of us joked about needing sunglasses, and suddenly about 25 people came rushing to the stage offering their sunglasses! We kept them on for the rest of the set. We always love to joke around on stage, like having the audience guess how old our moms are or promising people kisses if they buy CDs (although some people take that one a bit too seriously! Haha).

Any advice to someone just starting out?
Practice, practice, practice. I, for one, would be nowhere if it weren't for my parents nagging me to practice when I was little! Play your instrument as much as you can...with friends, with the radio, with CDs, whatever! And have fun, of course.

Can you recommend any other act we should feature on MurphGuide?
Sean McNally is a guitarist/singer I gig with a lot in NYC. He plays at a variety of great pubs.

What are your plans for the future?
Our second album will be released soon, and we have a busy tour schedule booked for this summer. Because Girsa is a band of eight girls at seven different colleges, it's hard to predict where we'll even be in the next few months! It has been an incredible ride since our first CD was released in 2009, and we're so excited to see where the next album will take us. It's no secret that we'd love to do a tour of Ireland, though.

Below is a music video for Girsa's "Immigrant Eyes", filmed on Ellis Island July 4th 2009.

Overlook 7th Anniversary: Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Congratulations to Mark, Pat, Jeff and all of our friends at Overlook on their 7th Anniversary. Celebrating tonight.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
7th Anniversary Party
$7 will get you 1 hour of unlimited premium drinks from 7-8pm
RSVP via facebook
at:
Overlook
225 E. 44th St.
(bet. Second & Third Ave.)
New York, NY
(212) 682-7266
OverlookNYC.com
To book a party contact Jeff at jeff@overlooknyc.com or Pat at pat@overlooknyc.com


Overlook opened in 2004 in the former Turtle Bay Cafe. Prior to that, the space was Costello's, and was famous for their priceless cartoon wall, featuring famous cartoons hand drawn by the original cartoonists.
In addition to preserving the original, Overlook invited Bill Gallo and friends back to create a second cartoon wall.

Spotlight Artists: Jameson's Revenge

Our next spotlight artists are the music collective known as Jameson's Revenge. I first met the guys in Jameson's Revenge in East Durham at one of the legendary Memorial Day weekend Irish festivals. Denis was performing with Shilelagh Law, and Brian & Andrew were in Sullivan's Jack. We have since become friends after seeing them at numerous gigs over the years gigs. Denis answers our questions below.

Photo by Elizabeth Leath

Band Lineup:
John Walsh (guitar, vocals)
Andrew McCarrick (flute, tin whistles)
Brian McCarthy (bodhran, percussion)
Denis McCarthy (fiddle, tin whistles)

How long have you been performing?
John, Andrew & Denny all got into learning Traditional Irish music at an early age (between 8-12 yrs old) while Brian started playing the bodhran relatively late at about 19. As a “group” we kind of started to get things off the ground around 2006 but it’s really been only the last few months that the band has steadily featured the four of us.

How did the band's name come about?
Mexico has Montezuma’s Revenge, India has Ghandi’s Revenge (the Delhi Belly)…we just felt it was time to put a name to the “day after” effects of playing tunes until the wee hours of the morning …hence JAMESON’S REVENGE…it’s purely a self-inflicted wound.

Past lives (i.e., previous bands, your early years, etc.):
When not ripping into the jigs & reels with J.R. Denny can be seen jumping around with the popular NYC based Irish band Shilelagh Law. Andrew & Brian enjoyed a good deal of success a few years back with a band called Sullivan’s Jack, and John is regarded by most (especially us) as one of the best Celtic guitarists in North America touring and recording frequently with many of today’s top Irish musicians, most notably, Paddy Keenan of The Bothy Band.

Favorite venues to play:
There are so many great venues in and around the NY/NJ/CT Tri-State area that are brave enough regularly host live Irish music. These places are just as important as the musicians themselves for “Keeping the Tradition Alive” and making the Irish music scene around these parts as vibrant as ever. We have been fortunate enough to have performed in quite a few of these venues, but if we had to list a few spots around town they would be (in no particular order): An Beal Bocht Café (Riverdale, Bronx), Rocky Sullivan’s (Red Hook, Brooklyn) and Connolly’s (45th St, Manhattan) because of the intimate rooms they provide to enjoy the shows. We also cannot go on without mentioning The Rambling House (Woodlawn, Bronx) which is gracious enough to host a weekly open Trad-seisiun every Sunday evening that we we frequent often to practice our chops, try out new material & play with many other fantastic musicians from the area.

Musical influences:
Too many to mention. We’ve been under many. Denny was taught fiddle by Martin Mulvihill. Andrew was taught the flute by his Dad (we call him Mr. McCarrick). Brian can thank Tito Puente and Run DMC for his style of playing drums and John is from another planet. We all grew up in the Bronx so naturally we were influenced by the multi-cultural neighborhoods we grew up in. That’s unavoidable. There are plenty of contemporary musicians we enjoy listening to but we really try to concentrate on writing our own stuff and putting our own stamp on the tunes. This may annoy a few of the more “Traditionally-entrenched” folks on the scene but we believe the music is a living, breathing thing. If we all played the tunes the same what fun would that be.

Blatant self-promotion: What would you like to plug?
We are currently putting the finishing touches on a new CD (tentatively titled: “While y’er up”) featuring all original tracks of tunes we’ve recently written together. No solid release date yet but we’re looking at sometime in the early Spring of 2011.

Linkage:
website: JamesonsRevenge.com
facebook: Jamesons-Revenge

Where can we buy your music?
At live shows/ I-Tunes/digital downloads:
cdbaby.com/cd/jamesonsrevenge

Tell us a story or anecdote about performing live in NYC.
Because of the statute of limitations we really can’t talk about many of the things that have happened at a few of our shows but we will say this: Playing in NYC has given us the opportunity to play along with some of the best “Trad-Irish” musicians/ bands on the scene today (even if they won’t admit it). We are blessed to have the opportunity to listen & play at any number of seisiuns around town 7 nights a week and we’ve even been lucky enough to get our own gigs from time to time and not get booed off stage.

Any advice to someone just starting out?
Patience. Anything worth doing is going to take time. If you’re not enjoying what you’re playing don’t play it. If you don’t believe in what you’re doing you not going to convince anyone else either. Don’t try to make everyone happy…it ain’t gonna happen. They’ll get over it eventually. One last thing: Have fun…lot’s of it. We’re here for a good time, not a long time.

Can you recommend any other local act(s) we should feature on MurphGuide?
Bands just starting out that are fun:
The Cousin’s Moran (Nyack, NY), The Narrowbacks (Pearl River, NY), Girsa (Pearl River, NY)
[Update: Girsa was featured here February 23, 2011.]

Upcoming gigs:
Jameson's Revenge will have a busy month in March, the "holiday season" for Irish bands:

Saturday, March 5th, 2011
Rockaway Rugby Club - 3pm (post Rockaway St. Patrick's Day parade)
and then...
Saturday, March 5th, 2011
Katie Mac's
March Madness - 8pm 30 East Main St., Mount Kisco NY
Sharing the night with Connecticut's Premiere Irish-Rock band The Mighty Ploughboys.

Sunday, March 6th, 2011
The Glenrowan
Yonkers St. Patrick's Day parade - 2:30
606 Miles Square Road, Yonkers NY

Saturday, March 12th, 2011
Vintage
White Plains St. Patrick's Day parade - 12pm
171 Main Street, White Plains, NY
Playing with Shilelagh Law

Sunday, March 13th, 2011
The Wicked Wolf
1pm-4pm
4029 East Tremont Ave., Bronx, NY

Thursday, March 17th, 2011
Connolly's Klub 45
St. Patrick's Day - 12pm
121 W. 45th St., New york, NY
Playing with Shilelagh Law

Sunday, March 20th, 2011
O'Malley's
5pm - 108 Main St., Nyack, NY

Saturday, March 26th, 2011
An Beal Bocht Cafe
9pm - 445 W. 238th St., Bronx NY

Saturday, May 28th, 2011
The East Durham Irish Festival
Playing with some of today's top Irish/American entertainers including Shilelagh Law, The Whole Shebang & many more.

Below is a demo of a Jameson's Revenge original: "While Yer Up":

Blue Point Brewing Company at The Brazen Head

Patchogue, Long Island based Blue Point Brewery will be featured tonight at The Brazen Head.


Tuesday, February 22
The Brazen Head presents...
Brewery Night: Blue Point Brewing Company
Serving $5 pints of Blue Point beer, featuring:
Old Howling Bastard, Sour Cherry Imp Stout, Toxic Sludge, Fresh Hop Pale Ale, Rastafarye Ale & Hoptical Illusion Cask
6-8pm
at:
The Brazen Head
228 Atlantic Ave.
(between Court St. & Boerum Pl.)
Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, NY
(718) 488-0430
BrazenHeadBrooklyn.com

1st FunkaVersary at Parkside Lounge

Congratulations to Carlotta Love and our friends at Parkside Lounge on their milestone. Every Monday night for the past year, The Parkside Lounge on the lower east side has hosted Funkfest & vinyl swap with Carlotta Love. This Monday marks their 1-year anniversary, so they will be celebrating with a funk boogie night. And free Jameson's!

Monday, February 21, 2011
1st FunkaVersary
Marking the 1-year anniversary of Funkfest & vinyl swap with Carlotta Love.
with DJs Shane Smith & Carlotta Love
Live Funk all night:
TChoup
Stella's Attic
Joshua Torrez Group
Funk at 9pm, free Jameson at 9:30pm
at:

Parkside Lounge
317 E Houston St (Attorney St.)
New York, NY
(212) 673-6270
ParksideLounge.net

American Trash: R.I.P. 1988-2011

Updated 2/21/11:
From an anonymous post in the comments section: "They are still negotiating with buyers. They just haven't signed on the dotted line yet. So,in the meantime the doors will stay open. Hopefully, the new owners will keep the bar the same and just enhance it! "

Updated 2/15/11:
So even after two "closing parties", they are still "open for now". If I hear anything else, I will share it here, but I am not going to go chasing this story.

Updated: 2/9/11
My sources tell me that the bar has negotiated with the landlord to stay open another week. Closing night is now scheduled for Saturday, February 12, 2011. See facebook invitation.



Tonight Saturday is closing night at American Trash. After 22 1/2 years of defying the odds (a biker bar on the upper east side?), they will be pouring their last shots tonight this Saturday, Feb. 12, 2011.

My favorite memory of the place was when MurphGuide sponsored the Gotham Girls Roller Derby Jeerleaders tailgate party. My friend Sam helped me hand out MurphGuide t-shirts to GGDR fans. Sam was thrilled that we got to meet GGDR legend Suzy Hot Rod's dad. He was such a nice man. When Sam offered to buy him a drink, he accepted a ginger ale. And I befriended jeerleader Minnie Pearl Haggard, who entertained the crowd with her fire eating skills (see video below).

Monday, February 7, 2011
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Closing Night
RSVP via facebook
at:
American Trash
1471 First Ave. (between 76th & 77th St.)
New York, NY
NYCAmericantrash.com

Below is a clip of Minnie Pearl Haggard performing her fire eating tricks at a Gotham Girls Roller Derby tailgate party, hosted by the GGRD Jeerleaders, held at American Trash. Not shown in this clip was what happened next: after the act, a bar patron tried to help douse the flames...with newspaper! As you could imagine, newspaper is a very bad flame retardant. The bartender finally had to unleash the fire extinguisher, sending patrons into the street for fresh air.