The Memphis Scene

Here I am, back after a few days, still a bit woozy, warming my bones back up after so much trudging through those chilly, damp New York nights. I still don't understand how anyone can get into any sort of normal routine up there; I guess you eventually have to regulate yourself, or else collapse. Anyway, here are a few of the highlights, before I resume the Memphis goings-on ...

* Platinum Pied Pipers at S.O.B.'s - I've been wearing out their singles on vinyl since last year, now their album is finally out, and I got a chance to see these guys live. I didn't know how their futuristic, gritty hip-hop/soul would come through on stage, but with Waajeed on the MPC, Saadiq on keys, guitar and bass, a drummer, the stunning Tiombe Lockhart on vocals, and MC Invisible (the female Eminem, for sure), PPP murdered it.

* Monday night at APT - I blogged about this place last time, but it merits repeating. It was even more packed this time out, with DJ Eli in the basement and DJ Akalepse upstairs. The whole place felt like one of those light-beer commercials where everyone is crammed together having the night of thier lives. The drink prices are outrageous even for Manhattan, though; stick with the 22-ounce cans of Sapporo for $8.
* The Dark Room - They're saying the Lower East Side is dead, but to this toothless Tennessee hick, it still looks pretty slammin'. We made three visits to this basement dive -- a favorite of bands like the Libertines and Interpol -- drawn in by the spot-on music selection, the crazy but extremely friendly bar staff, the asymmetrical hairdos, and the PBRs (only $3!).

* Celebrity sightings! - We saw Matt Dillon, Gina Gershon, Marisa Tomei and Luis Guzman hanging out at Bowery Bar & Grill after a celebrity roast. Gershon and Tomei are hot. Dillon's hair is impressive. Guzman doesn't look quite as scary in person.

* Perfect hotel location - Located at Lafayette and Canal, this Holiday Inn is right smack in the middle of SoHo, Chinatown and Little Italy, and a five-minute walk from the LES or East Village. Walk maybe 10 or 15 minutes up Broadway and you're at Union Square. Walk 15 minutes the other way and see TriBeCa and Ground Zero. The rate averaged about $240/night, but the savings on cab fare is substantial.

I'm off to a get-together of local bloggers at the BBQ Shop on Madison. All blog floggers and groupies are welcome.

I'm finally back to blogging after a few days of recovery from the New York hustle. So now I'll get everyone up to speed on my final full day up there.

The must-see art event this spring is the Whitney Biennial at the Whitney Museum of American Art on the Upper East Side. I almost aborted the mission when I saw the general admission line stretched around the block, but the wait was worth it. Photography, paintings, sculpture, creepy films -- challenging and often beautiful, but entirely too much to take in on a single afternoon. Among my favorites: Alec Soth's Annie Liebovitz-esque portraits of life along the Mississippi River; Robert Longo's larger-than-life, eerily realistic charcoal drawings of cresting ocean waves, and Marina Abramovic's chilling video installation of singing Russian children, "Count on Us."

Pretty much housed out from the previous two nights, I planned to check out jazz guitarist Charlie Hunter at Tonic on the Lower East Side. Alas, I suffered my first subway nightmare of the trip -- the F train spit me out deep in Brooklyn, where the stops are above ground -- and I arrived at the club just as Hunter and friends were leaving the stage. Serious bummer. So it was back to the hotel to pack up and wash down a few bracing mojitos. Much better.

So here I am, back in the hustlin' home base. Stay tuned; it's spring time, the run up to May. It's about time.

No rain and no umbrella-snapping wind yesterday, so I hit the East Village and the NYU area for some thrift-shop digging. Ironic kids T-shirts were going for as much as $35! I did, however, find a good, cheap falafel joint and a CD store, Norman's Sound and Vision, with an imposing collection of jazz and world music.

For dinner, I checked out Pampano, a modern Mexican spot co-owned by opera tenor Placido Domingo . The gorgeous staff was on point, the El Jimador margarita was astounding, and the red snapper quesadilla was rated the city's best in New York magazine (I went for the tuna ceviche and monkfish).

Next, I hopped the L train for trendy Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and a party at Volume thrown by the Giant Step crew. On the decks: the legendary Francois K and Mattie Heilbronn. Volume is a warehouse space with a 30-foot-ceilinged main room that functions as the bar/chillout area (complete with a pole-vault mat that holds about 100 people). The dance area has the classic basement feel -- low ceilings with pipes you have to duck, one red light, 18-inch speakers in each corner, and sweat dripping from the walls. And I'm not sure you could find a more diverse set of people anywhere on the planet -- retro-'80s college students, high-styling Asian party girls, conscious dreadlock types, breakdancers, corporate metrosexuals, the middle-age guys who were around for Paradise Garage and Studio 54, even the tweed-jacketed trendspotters in the corner.

The club scene here has been through a tough few years, but Volume and Giant Step showed there's still no place like New York for a dance party.

I'm blogging from cold, dreary Manhattan this week. It's spring break for me, but that doesn't mean a break from my scenester lifestyle. Here is some of what I've been up to the past couple of days.

Here's a nice virtual tour of my hotel, The Ameritania on West 54th between 8th and Broadway, right behind the "Late Night with David Letterman" studios. Reasonable rates for Manhattan; cool mod-style lounge and a youngish, hip clientele. Good crash pad if you can do without too many amenities.

Thursday night started with bogugli and ginseng wine at this great Korean spot, Do Hwa, in the West Village.

Then it was down to the Tribeca Rock Club to see New Orleans favorites The Iguanas (disclosure note: Iguanas drummer and ex-Memphian Doug Garrison is the blogger's brother-in-law). A packed house ate up the band's mix of earthy Latin styles and rootsy rock.

A short cab ride took us down to the hip Meatpacking District and current "it"-spot APT for the monthly "Pop Your Funk" party. APT is set up in an old split-level commercial space that has been transformed into someone's "apartment," complete with a bed in the upstairs loft and a low-ceilinged basement where guest deejay and esteemed house producer Maurice Fulton was doing his thing. Slow, dirty disco was the order of the night. My highlight tune: Fulton's gorgeous remix of "Close to You" by German band Beanfield, with vocals by Ernesto's, the Swedish Justin Timberlake.

Tonight it's off to Williamsburg, Brooklyn, for the release party for the "Deep and Sexy 3" compilation. On the decks, the legendary Francois K and Matthias Heilbronn. All the details tomorrow.