Mesh Magazine

When I was in New Orleans last, in June 2006, it still looked like a war zone. Street signs were toppled, hummers and soldiers with machine guns still roamed the streets, hotels were missing windows, and we saw less than five people when we drove around the 9th Ward for two hours.. A lot of things are still in bad shape: the roads are full of huge pot holes; houses are still abandoned; junk is still piled up in front of homes. There were lots of signs of improvement though, mainly just the fact that a lot of people had returned home. Many more businesses were open and tourism has picked up. And on Thursday, New Orleans got some good news when Congress overturned Bush’s veto of a water resources bill, which will provide some much-needed funds for flood prevention.

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Tomorrow, I’m heading to New Orleans for a week and a half. These are photos I took the last time I was there, in June 2006. It looked like this for miles and miles. It’s still a mess. Meanwhile, we are spending $300 million in Iraq every day.

Organizations working to rebuild New Orleans:

www.reliefspark.org

www.habitat-nola.org

www.emergencycommunities.org

www.stbernardproject.org

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Elvis stole the show at today’s Soapbox Derby at Bernal Speedway. Numerous daredevils headed down the hill with reckless abandon. They somehow managed to dodge the numerous obstacles, including rocks, children and dogs, on the track. Beer and champagne were flowing, BBQs were grilling and the weather was amazing. In other news, this appeared in the New York Times today:

“The reason that vajayjay has caught on, I think, is because there is a black — Southern especially — naming tradition, which is to have names like Ray Ray and Boo Boo and things like that,” Dr. McWhorter said. “It sounds warm and familiar and it almost makes the vagina feel like a little cartoon character with eyes that walks around.”
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The Hard Crack Candy 2 Mixtape Release party went down at Milk on Friday night. DJ Ayres & Mike the 2600 King spun music for the fashionably costumed audience.

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Tim Gaudreau is a New Hampshire artist who documented his trash for an entire year. He turned those 5,000 pictures into collages that will be on display at the CIIS Minna Street Center starting November 9th.

Tucker Shaw used this same concept to make his book, “Everything I Ate: A Year in the Life of My Mouth,” which I highly recommend for its beautiful (and sometimes disgusting) photographs.

I caught New York Ninjas (who, inexplicably, hail from Southern California) at the Stork Club on Saturday. The band blended late ’70s, early ’80s style punk rock with, well, Ninja-influenced lyrics, fog machines and confetti and was incredibly entertaining. Headlining the show was Chicago’s Flatfoot 56, who kicked out Irish-style punk rock, complete with mandolin, reminiscent of Flogging Molly. The show also served as a CD release party for Cliff Greenwood, who laid down roots punk rock with his backing band The Monsters. Unfortunately though, Mr. Greenwood’s CDs didn’t arrive, which I think he planned as a statement on the record industry and a show of solidarity with the Greenwood brothers’ band.


Photos by Brian Brophy. More photos and a New York Ninjas mp3 after the jump.
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This Friday, Needles & Pens (3253 - 16th Street, San Francisco) hosts a release for Silent Pictures (Akashic Books), a book of photography from Pat Graham, who shot tons of live, independent rock shows in the ’90s and early ’00s, including Modest Mouse, Ted Leo, Bikini Kill, Nation of Ulysses, The Shins and Fugazi. In addition to the live shots, Graham took many photos backstage, in vans and in hotel rooms, giving a unique outsider’s perspective on the life of these bands on tour.

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The Red Devil Lounge is a funny venue, mostly hosting really corny cover bands and washed up acts from the ’80s, ’90s and today (and, most likely, raking in money hand over fist). I had only been to one concert at the club: KRS-One about two years ago. First up on Saturday at the venue was The Bruises, a local, mainstream pop-rock quartet, whose sound was way over-polished for my tastes–I’m sure they’ll be all over a WB TV soundtrack within a year.

Next up was headliner Von Iva,  who brought it as usual. Here are some photos.

Becky Kupersmith laying it down on keys.
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São Paulo banned all outdoor advertisements this year, creating a lot of empty billboard spaces throughout the City. The City Council approved the law, which bans billboards, neon signs, electric panels and all other forms of outdoor advertising by a vote of 45 to 1, and it enjoys a high percentage of popular support. Dalton Silvano, the one council member who voted against the change told the International Herald Tribune, it would make the city a duller place, “”Advertising is both an art form and, when you’re in your car or alone on foot, a form of entertainment that helps relieve solitude and boredom.”
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Thanks to all of you that came out and to Hey Willpower, Rubies & Erlend Øye, Casy & Brian, Jenny & Omar and everyone at The Rickshaw Stop. Super, super fun times.

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