Good Beer @ BAM

Good Beer @ BAM

The ultimate test for a beer lover – around 30 different companies introducing their finest brews in unlimited quantities @ Brooklyn Academy of Music Café, Fort Greene/Clinton Hill. As if the beer alone wasn’t enough, each of those was paired with food – house cured beef jerky, pretzels, pizzas, meatballs, pork ribs, vareniki, hush puppies, mussels, pork shoulder, rabbit terrine, pickles, cheeses, breads, weisswurst & sauerkraut, beef cheeks, quesadillas, chopped liver, shrimp rolls and such. Guess who tried to get a bit of everything… It was good to share some portions and try somebody else’s catch at times, would have been even rougher to go through this alone – Im glad I had a well trained Finn (probably one of the few nationalities that could keep up with a well-trained Estonian) with me to do the sampling with 😀 But I must admit the whole crowd looked rather drunk (and happy) after 4 hours of this. And I haven’t really been hungry for 2 days after the marathon. I wonder when will I get a craving for a good beer again 🙂

Anyway – my favorite picks of the lot were Southampton Publick House (they had some really tasty elegant whites there, one of the few counters I went to get refills from), Heartland Brewery – (I liked they Apricot Ale), Gramercy’s Homebrew, McNeil’s Blonde Bombshell, Cottrell Brewing Company, Palm, Captain Lawrence Liquid Gold and of course, Brooklyn Brewery that had Garrett Oliver himself behind the counter.

The event took place in cooperation with Edible Magazine, Brooklyn Brewery, Stella Artois, The Good Bear Seal and was part of  celebrating July as the official Good Beer Month as announced by Mayor Bloomberg, for the second year in a row. 😀

Kendrick Scott's Oracle @ Jazz Standard

Kendrick Scott's Oracle

Went to hear the 1st set of Kendrick Scott’s Oracle with Aaron Parks on piano, Lage Lund on guitar, Chris Potter on saxophones, Derrick Hodge on bass. I liked it! 😀

And Jazz Standard is probably one of my favorite clubs at the moment, I think they are doing a great job with everything.

Kendrick Scott’s Oracle @ Jazz Standard

Kendrick Scott's Oracle

Went to hear the 1st set of Kendrick Scott’s Oracle with Aaron Parks on piano, Lage Lund on guitar, Chris Potter on saxophones, Derrick Hodge on bass. I liked it! 😀

And Jazz Standard is probably one of my favorite clubs at the moment, I think they are doing a great job with everything.

John Ellis' Double Wide & Somi @ Madison Square park

John Ellis & Double Wide @ Madison Square park

I was so looking forward to those, but was actually pretty disappointed, especially with the Double Wide. Didn’t like it so much at all, except for the last tune. Madison Square park concerts have such a great vibe though, I still remember John Scofield from last year as one of the best concerts ever :D. Yeah, I think I have actually liked John Ellis’s groups a lot previously. I wonder if it was just one of those days. John Ellis-sax/bass clarinet, Brian Coogan-piano, Matt Perrine-sousaphone, Jason Marsalis-drums.

Somi and her band somehow just didn’t seem to be for me, and I only heard the first song or two.

John Ellis’ Double Wide & Somi @ Madison Square park

John Ellis & Double Wide @ Madison Square park

I was so looking forward to those, but was actually pretty disappointed, especially with the Double Wide. Didn’t like it so much at all, except for the last tune. Madison Square park concerts have such a great vibe though, I still remember John Scofield from last year as one of the best concerts ever :D. Yeah, I think I have actually liked John Ellis’s groups a lot previously. I wonder if it was just one of those days. John Ellis-sax/bass clarinet, Brian Coogan-piano, Matt Perrine-sousaphone, Jason Marsalis-drums.

Somi and her band somehow just didn’t seem to be for me, and I only heard the first song or two.

Emma Larsson & Sami Linna @ Salmagundi Club

Sami Linna & Emma Larsson @ Salmagundi Club

Caught a set of the Swedish jazz singer Emma Larsson and Finnish guitar player Sami Linna playing standards @ the Salmagundi Club on 5th Ave & 12th St. I’m not used to listening to standards that long, but it was actually pretty nice. It’s hard to listen to that many love songs in a row, though, it might have been good to include a few instrumental pieces in between. But Emma sounded very nice and I thought Sami did a really good job, but I wonder if I could be objective at all, because I know him pretty well. What a nice room for a jazz duo gig!

Chinatowni kuulsad pelmeenid ja tasuta Margaritad Lower East Side'il

Vanessa's Dumpling House

Mul tuli suurepärane idee, kudas New Yorgis odavalt ohtust syya – nimelt söögid Chinatownist ja siis Lower East Side’il monest open bar’ist joogid votta. Eile oli esimene katsetus. Koigepealt siis kuulus Vanessa’s Dumpling House, kust saab $1 eest praetud pelmeene ja seesamipannkooke, mis olid oma hinda kyll kuhjaga väärt (vordluseks Tallinna restoran Al Sole, kus ma sain 5 maitsetut raviooli hinnaga 140 krooni – ei olnud hea diil!). Pärast selline baar nagu Fuzzanova – lisaks tasuta margarita’dele oli seal jumalast hea Louna-Ameerika muss. Endiselt, open bar‘id teevad mul tuju heaks.

open Margarita bar

Aga siis, ohtu nael oli siiski hilisoine kojuminek. MTA, New Yorgi metroosysteem on lihtsalt juba täiesti yletamatult hulluks läinud – NO UPTOWN TRAINS AT THIS STATION sildist on hilistel öödel viimasel ajal saanud standard. Lisaks sellele on moned  liinid ära kaotatud ja moned teised uue marsuudiga. Näiteks pole enam V rongi, on hoopis “the new M”. Onneks elame me sobraga kohas, kus on mitu erinevat liini ligiduses, ehkki neil koigil olid late-night ajaks omad yllatused varuks. Kui me siis lopuks 2-train’i ootasime, oli jaam täpselt sama kuum nagu yks monus saun. Seal pingi peal istudes ja higistades oli täpselt selline tunne, et nyyd voiks yks kylm olu ja jääauk kah kusagilt votta olla. Igatahes, kojuminek vottis lopuks ikka oige mitu head tundi.

palav!

Chinatowni kuulsad pelmeenid ja tasuta Margaritad Lower East Side’il

Vanessa's Dumpling House

Mul tuli suurepärane idee, kudas New Yorgis odavalt ohtust syya – nimelt söögid Chinatownist ja siis Lower East Side’il monest open bar’ist joogid votta. Eile oli esimene katsetus. Koigepealt siis kuulus Vanessa’s Dumpling House, kust saab $1 eest praetud pelmeene ja seesamipannkooke, mis olid oma hinda kyll kuhjaga väärt (vordluseks Tallinna restoran Al Sole, kus ma sain 5 maitsetut raviooli hinnaga 140 krooni – ei olnud hea diil!). Pärast selline baar nagu Fuzzanova – lisaks tasuta margarita’dele oli seal jumalast hea Louna-Ameerika muss. Endiselt, open bar‘id teevad mul tuju heaks.

open Margarita bar

Aga siis, ohtu nael oli siiski hilisoine kojuminek. MTA, New Yorgi metroosysteem on lihtsalt juba täiesti yletamatult hulluks läinud – NO UPTOWN TRAINS AT THIS STATION sildist on hilistel öödel viimasel ajal saanud standard. Lisaks sellele on moned  liinid ära kaotatud ja moned teised uue marsuudiga. Näiteks pole enam V rongi, on hoopis “the new M”. Onneks elame me sobraga kohas, kus on mitu erinevat liini ligiduses, ehkki neil koigil olid late-night ajaks omad yllatused varuks. Kui me siis lopuks 2-train’i ootasime, oli jaam täpselt sama kuum nagu yks monus saun. Seal pingi peal istudes ja higistades oli täpselt selline tunne, et nyyd voiks yks kylm olu ja jääauk kah kusagilt votta olla. Igatahes, kojuminek vottis lopuks ikka oige mitu head tundi.

palav!

Jack Wilkins & John Stowell @ Bella Luna

Jack Wilkins & John Stowell @ Bella Luna

Jack Wilkins has this regular Tuesdays gig @ Bella Luna – which could be the ultimate jazz guitarists’ hang on the Upper West Side. Stopped by for a glass of wine yesterday. I think they do know quite a lot of standards!

Jim Campilongo Trio feat Nels Cline @ the Living Room

Jim Campilongo trio feat Nels Cline

Cool regular Mondays gig @ The Living Room, Lower East Side – Jim Campilongo trio (with Stephan Crump on bass and Tony Mason on drums). Would definitely interest all the guitar buffs, just to see how to handle a Tele. I’m not sure how one should take the esthetics of all this but generally, the show was really spectacular. And Nels Cline actually joined them on stage that night for some really incredible guitar artistry. I liked the bass player, Stephan Crump – contributed a lot for the whole thing.
For some reason I really wish I could take my mother to see this one, I think she would like the vibe of that thing. Was a great night there, just a bit sorry I missed Tony Scherr playing earlier that night…