Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
If anyone deserves a group beat down like the one that took place in Boston, this might be that person. Jason Commisso is thought to be the thug who’s been attacking Asian Americans in NYC. The large man at 6’2″ and 230lbs has been caught. This seems his Twitter page.
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2012 was a pretty great year for shows, but of course, some are way better than others. Here are my top 10! Psychedelic Furs play tiny Maxwell’s in Hoboken, recapturing some of the magic from the first two awesome albums (at least until they play “Heartbreak Beat”). Bruce Springsteen! At Madison Square Garden! My first time seeing Bruce live. Everybody should go at least once and soon. He’s the hardest-working man in showbiz. Swervedriver at Bowery Ballroom. The juggernaut returns! Frontman Adam Franklin is awesome singing in this band and solo. Asobi Seksu at Highline Ballroom. Yeah, man! The coolest band in the world keeps smokin’! Agnostic Front at Warsaw. Three decades along, the veterans show the whippersnappers also on the Power of the Riff bill how it’s done. Asobi Seksu at Brooklyn Bowl. They count again because Yuki sang through a cold for this show. She is like so great! Grimes at Hudson River Park. The show almost didn’t happen due to warnings for a thunderstorm, but Grimes could not be denied. Not my sort of music at all, but from the standpoint of delivering a live show — she killed it! Ringo Deathstarr at Cake Shop. My favorite new band will go on to rule the fucking universe! Public Image Limited at The Music Hall of Williamsburg. John Lydon has a never-ending supply of bile. Corrosion of Conformity at St. Vitus. The Animosity-era lineup is having the time of their lives playing shows, judging by the smiles and jokes. “How’s the weather?” asked singer/bassist Mike Dean. This was about a week after Hurricane Sandy. “Too soon!” yelled back an unflappable audience member. New York. You gotta love it.
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Grand Central Station, one of the busiest terminals in the world, is locked and completely empty. Sandy hammered New York City Monday night. Midtown Manhattan was spared of the worst. We don’t have flooding like other parts of the city, but 39th Street has emerged as the dividing line of the have and have-nots. Of electricity that is. I’m straddling both worlds because while I don’t have power at home, I do at work! Here are some pics from my morning commute. A loss of power doesn’t stop the Korean greengrocer from staying open while nearly all chain groceries and drug stores are closed. One of my favorite burger joints remains closed, but they prepared as most other businesses did by boarding up the doors and laying down plastic to prevent flooding into the below-the-street storage. As a former Cub Scout, I know that in the case of rain (or record hurricanes), the flag should be taken down and stored inside. C’mon, closed post-office people! This Sanitation Dept. big gun is probably headed to the Lower East Side, parts of which are under a few feet of water. Wonder what kind of shape the old GRNY space is in! Not only are our bus lines down, but so are some of the bus signs! Even though the MTA has suspended trains and buses, cars are still assiduously avoiding the bus lanes even though I doubt they’d be fined at this point. No days off for Asians! Most countries have closed their consulates for the day — not the Philippines! The guy’s stepped out for a moment, though.
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Japan goings on in NYC. There’s plenty, from art (Photog Eikoh Hosoe at Japan Society), music, food (yes a ramen contest!), NYCC, and more. (Examiner – NYC)
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The Ichiro Effect is now gone from Seattle, a west coast location that’s not as far from Japan and New York City. Tourism will be affected as people will now perhaps defect to New York for visits. But even that will be less. Seattle is a much simpler place to visit. “Japan sends more tourists to Seattle than any other country, according to U.S. Commerce department officials, the newspaper notes. In 2011 alone, 64,000 Japanese tourists visited the region.” (USA Today – Ichiro Effect)
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