Category Archives: de musica

Neil Young in Washington Hts. and German Beer Downtown

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Wednesday night, my old friend and once partner in musical crime, Foosh, brought me along as his guest to Neil Young in concert at the ol’ United Palace Theatre in Washington Hts. in the upper extremities of Manhattan.



Above: the United Palace Theatre is an old gem and they don’t mind when patrons rock out.

Definitely one of the top-five concert experiences in my life, the show consisted of an intimate acoustic set where he played a bunch of his old guitars and a mind-blowing, rocked-out electric set including a fantastic twenty-minute guitar solo. The guitar tones were truly amazing, like the notes of an old Nebbiolo, earthy and rich but fresh and surprising — with live acidity and fruit — at the same time.

It was great to see a legendary performer like Neil Young play a small venue like that, with easy-going security, cheap beer, and a raucous crowd of got-my-drink-on fans. It reminded me of when I went to concerts as a kid in the late seventies and early eighties, when rock n’ roll shows were just that: rock n’ roll. Dancing in the aisle by stoned-out-of-their-minds people was allowed.

Above: I enjoyed a Jever at Loreley before Foosh and I headed up to Washington Hts. to see Neil Young in concert.

Some years ago now, Foosh opened the now classic Lower East Side haunt Loreley, a German beer garden and restaurant inspired by his hometown of Cologne, Germany. The all-German beer selection there is great, the bartenders really know how to draft beer properly (with a proper head, see above), and the spaetzle and schnitzel are awesome. The place is always jam-packed on Friday and Saturday nights but you can sometimes find a place to sit on weeknights — if you’re lucky. The first time my band played our now show-stopping version of “99 Luftballons,” it was for the opening of Loreley way back in 2003.

Above: a video of Nous Non Plus playing “99 Luftballons” at the great Lower East Side rock club Sin-é before it was closed to make way for gentrification (read the stockbrokerization) of lower Manhattan.

Se hace la boca agua a la Boqueria

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Above: couldn’t resist the Viña Bosconia 1999 by López de Heredia at Boqueria.

Monday evening found me with my long-time friend Bret Scott at Boqueria, a great and wine and tapas bar on 19th st. named after the Mercado de la Boqueria in Barcelona (don’t forget to aspirate that “c” in Barcelona!).

Bret owns and runs an entertainment agency specialized in spoken word and dance, Global Talent Associates, and he used to book my band back in the day.

Bret’s traveled more extensively in Spain than I have and we both agreed that Boqueria gets it right. I had some tostadas topped with tuna and Bret had a slice of tortilla española (also called a tortilla de patatas), a traditional Spanish potato omelet.

The Viña Bosconia 1999 by López de Heredia was great although a little meatier than the house’s typical light style. I guess its ripeness was due to its youth and possibly the vintage. We both enjoyed it thoroughly (it was reasonably priced) and will definitely return to boqueria.

Above: Jamón Serrano hangs in the shop window at Boqueria.

Sex, Wine, and Rock and Roll

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…well, no sex actually, just good wine and rock and roll with Nous Non Plus and The Little Death last night at the Mercury Lounge in Manhattan. Thanks to everyone who came out last night to support us and rock out. It was a great way to end NNP’s 2007!

Special thanks to our sponsor, Bollinger, who generously provided refreshments for the green room and our set — no other beverage will suffice (although last night they only sent non-vintage Special Cuvée and Céline noted that she only drinks Grande Année).

It was one of those super packed nights at the Merc, and, if I do say so myself, we were electric.



Céline was in top form… man, that girl can sing.



Céline instructs the crowd to clap their hands and say yeah.



It happens every time… she makes me blush on stage.



Laura and Moby from The Little Death. They rocked it pretty hard last night.

For more photos, check out fan and friend Gary Wexler’s gallery.

Thanksgiving 07 (Palm Springs, CA)

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My niece and nephew Amalia and Abner.

“Don’t carve the turduckenTM without me!!!!” (nephew Eli, bro Tad, and mom Judy)

It was the first time we’d all spent Thanksgiving together in many years. Brothers Micah and Tad made toasts about how lucky we all are to have never known truly hard times in our lives. We all remembered how our “poppa,” our grandfather (our mom’s dad), grew up poor and made it his life goal that his children and grandchildren would never face the troubles he did. He made it…

It all helps to put this year’s trial and tribulations into perspective.

In my toast, I told everyone how happy I was for the support and love they’ve given me over the last four — very (emotionally) tough — months. It taught me, I told everyone, that it doesn’t matter how good or bad the wines you drink and the foods that you eat (even though I make a living writing about that stuff)… all that matters — I know now — is the people with whom you break bread and the folks who share your cup of wine… “Family,” said Micah, “that’s the most important thing…” Thanks to Micah for hooking up our Palm Springs family Thanksgiving. I even got a tan!

Nephew Cole is a rockin’ guitar player (and I mean that… we made a recording of us playing some blues).

Nephew Eli and his dad (my bro) Tad. Eli told me that he is a “fiscal conservative.” He’ll be able to vote next year… amazing…



Tad and my sister-in-law Diane.



The 97 Leroy Bourgogne Blanc was corked (damnit!) but the 99 Quintarelli Valpolicella was a treat, the 04 Roty Gevrey-Chambertin perfect with the meal, and the 03 Barbaresco by Produttori del Barbaresco (opened 3 hours before we drank it at the end) was heavenly.

Mom Judy and sister-in-law Marguerite (she’s expecting… Marguerite, that is…).

Bro Micah wrastles the turduckenTM.

“You’ll have to have them all pulled out…

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…after the Savoy Truffle.”

Above: this 26-ounce truffle fetched a whopping $208,000.

George Harrison’s song “Savoy Truffle” has nothing to do with Piedmont truffles. In fact, it was inspired by a box of chocolates:

“Savoy Truffle is a funny one written whilst hanging out with Eric Clapton in the sixties,” wrote Harrison. “At that time he had a lot of cavities in his teeth and needed dental work. He always had a toothache but he ate a lot of chocolates—he couldn’t resist them and once he saw a box he had to eat them all.”

“He was over at my house and I had a box of ‘Good News’ chocolates on the table and wrote the song from the names inside the lid…” (Harrison, George, I, Me, Mine, San Francisco, Chronicle, 2002 [1980], p. 128)

The “Savoy” in the Good News chocolates box probably referred to the famous Savoy Hotel and Restaurant in London, where celebrity chef Auguste Escoffier began cooking in the late nineteenth century. The hotel and restaurant get their name from the Savoy theater, which in turn took its name from the nearby Palace of Savoy, built by Peter Earl of Savoy in the thirteenth century. Since the middle ages, the House of Savoy has been closely linked to Piedmont (where white truffles are hunted) and in the early eighteenth century, nearly all of the region came under control of the House of Savoy. In 1861, Victor Emmanuel II of Savoy became Italy’s first king.

Though George calls the song — based on an affectionate anecdote — “a funny one,” the colorful chocolate-inspired lyrics of “Savoy Truffle” also address the issues of excess and over-indulgence in modern-day society. After all, the singer reminds us, “You’ll have to have them all pulled out after the Savoy Truffle.”

This year’s truffle season in Piedmont hasn’t been great and I’ve heard that many NYC restaurateurs have had to discard their truffles after the tubers arrived in bad shape. I had some white truffles at a Piedmont-themed dinner where I spoke at the end of October. They were pretty good but not phenomenal. Frankly, white truffles never seem to taste the same outside of Piedmont. I wonder how the lucky owners of the above truffle — a group of Hong Kong businessmen — will serve it.

When my friend Steve sent me the link to the story above about the 26-ounce truffle, I thought to myself, “does anyone really need a truffle that big?”

Me? I’d rather keep my teeth.

Above: an early draft of George Harrison’s lyrics for “Savoy Truffle.”

Creme tangerine and Montélimar
A ginger sling with a pineapple heart
A coffee dessert–yes you know it’s good news
But you’ll have to have them all pulled out
After the Savoy truffle.

Cool cherry cream, nice apple tart
I feel your taste all the time we’re apart
Coconut fudge–really blows down those blues
But you’ll have to have them all pulled out
After the Savoy truffle.

You might not feel it now
But when the pain cuts through
You’re gonna know and how
The sweat is going to fill your head
When it becomes too much
You’ll shout aloud.

But you’ll have to have them all pulled out
After the Savoy truffle.

You know that what you eat you are,
But what is sweet now, turns so sour–
We all know Obla-Di-Bla-Da
But can you show me, where you are?

Creme tangerine and Montélimar
A ginger sling with a pineapple heart
A coffee dessert–yes you know its good news
But you’ll have to have them all pulled out
After the Savoy truffle.
Yes, you’ll have to have them all pulled out
After the Savoy truffle.

— “Savoy Truffle,” George Harrison

Amphoras vini aperio: the band is back in town

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Nous Non Plus has been back in town for the College Music Journal festival and the sexy sixsome played three shows (a showcase and a couple of parties). And we’ll be playing a Halloween show at Rubulad (undisclosed location in Brooklyn) on Friday.

Above: Our track “Lawnmower Boy” was just used in a TV commercial in Slovenia. The spot is a lot of fun…

In other news, bassist and singer Jean-Luc Retard (aka Bjorn Turoque) and our track “Château,” a song about the Château Marmont in Los Angeles, were recently featured in The Los Angeles Times (click to read).

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Last night we took time out to enjoy steak and wine chez Céline. Our friend Patrick Woodcock, a former member of the French band Air and the founder of Mellow, was in town. Patrick is always very generous with us when we play in Paris, giving us a hand with gear and transportation, etc. We always try to do something special together when he’s in NYC (and he loves steak and red wine).

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Above: Jean-Luc was in charge of searing the shell steaks. Like Patrick, the band likes its steak rare (although Bonnie Day is vegetarian).

Since my living situation changed this summer and I no longer have anywhere to store my wine, there’s really nothing left to say or do but to drink the wine.

We opened two bottles of one of my favorites, 2001 Barbaresco by Produttori del Barbaresco. This wine has many years ahead of it but was drinking great nonetheless. As Patrick noted, this very traditionally made wine had a wonderful “chewy” mouthfeel and its tannins cut right through the nicely marbled fat of the shell steaks. As go I through the “cellar” (essentially a bunch of cardboard boxes), I’ve stumbled across a few surprises, like the 2002 Giusto dei Notri by Tua Rita above. I know that Patrick likes wines from Bordeaux and everyone enjoyed this opulent Bordeaux-style Cabernet and Merlot blend from Bolgheri (Tuscany).

With all this recent talk of oak vs. no oak, I thought it only right and fair to open this modern-style bottle and reflect on the dialectic from the other side of the table, so to speak. Of the many famous Bolgheri producers, Tua Rita and Grattamacco seem more reserved in their style. I’ve met Rita at Vinitaly… she’s a nice lady.

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Above: Céline and Patrick on Céline’s terrace.

The tannin and the wood on the Tua Rita weren’t entirely “integrated,” but I liked the goudron, tar notes on the nose. However you feel about oak and/or international grape varieties grown in Italy, no one can deny that Tua Rita’s wines are very well made. It’s only a pity it couldn’t have laid there forgotten for another 5-10 years in the back of the closet where I used to store my wines. But then again, there seem to be no certainties in life these days and while some people might advise carpe diem, my thought is aperi amphoras vini.

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Above: you wouldn’t think it but Céline is an excellent cook and made fantastic mashed potatoes, roast carrots, and wilted spinach.

In other news, the fires in California continue to burn out of control. My family is fine but the air quality is getting really bad. My brother Tad and his wife Diane have been housing some evacuees and it’s still not clear whether or not my friend Charlie lost his house. I found this map, updated regularly, of the fires and evacuation sites.

“Wonderful Tonight”: Alicia Lini, Leonard Lopate, and Patti Boyd

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Above: Alicia and I did a tasting for Wolfgang Weber, who covers Italian wine for Wine & Spirits, on Wednesday at Centovini.

It’s been a long and arduous week and I have to admit I’ve seen brighter days. But yesterday brought professional reward and an unbelievable surprise.

Back in February of this year, I traveled to Reggio Emilia, Italy with my colleague Jim Hutchinson in search of a new Lambrusco for Domenico Valentino Selections (he’s the import manager and I do some consulting for them). After lunching at one of my all-time favorite restaurants in downtown Reggio, Da Canossa, we headed out to the countryside where we tasted at a number of wineries but didn’t find what we were looking for. We spent the night in Pieve di Cento where we dined with my old friends Dindo and Puddu at my friend Gilberto Buriani’s restaurant, Da Buriani.

The next day we headed to our last appointment at Lini, where we met the lovely Alicia Lini and her father Fabio. And it was there that our quest was fulfilled: Alicia’s wines were fantastic and she and her father were thrilled at the prospect of doing business with Domenico Valentino. In the end, the company decided to import her white Lambrusco (very unusual, a white wine made from red Lambrusco Salamino grapes), a classic Lambrusco Sorbara, a classic Lambrusco Salamino, and a méthode champenoise Lambrusco, in other words, a Lambrusco double-fermented in bottle, just like the wines of Champagne — also highly unusual. Although the wines wouldn’t arrive until June, I began a press campaign for the brand in April.

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Above: Alicia and Leonard Lopate in the WNYC studios yesterday.

We generated a lot of great press for Alicia (including write-ups by some of NYC’s top food and wine writers) but the crowning achievement of the campaign was Alicia’s appearance yesterday on the Leonard Lopate Show (click the link for the archived webcast). Leonard wasn’t around when Alicia came out in the spring for a week of dinners but he and I dined one night earlier this summer at I Trulli where we tasted her wines and, after I discovered he is a lover of northern Italian master paintings, we argued over the fine points of Mantegna (his favorite) and Lotto (mine). I have always been Leonard’s fan and my dinner with him was truly fascinating (not always the case with food and wine journalists). Alicia had a great interview and the arc of a six-month campaign had finally come to a close with one of my greatest coups. After all, Alicia can now count herself among a small and illustrious group of Italian winemakers — Angelo Gaja and Maurizio Zanella are the others — who have been granted audiences by this king of radio.

Leonard covers many different subjects on his show, always topical but often eclectic. Yesterday, besides segments on Alicia and Sri Lanka, he interviewed Patti Boyd, the famed 1960s model and actress, wife of George Harrison and later Eric Clapton, and the inspiration for what are arguably the greatest love songs of the 1970s, Something, Wonderful Tonight, and Layla. She was there to speak about her new memoir, Wonderful Tonight: George Harrison, Eric Clapton, and Me.

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Above: Patti Boyd (left) took George Harrison to India for the first time and introduced him to transcendental meditation. The rest is history…

I simply couldn’t believe it when I realized that Alicia and I were waiting in the hall with her. And when Wonderful Tonight came on (you can hear the show in the hallway), Alicia and I both got goose bumps… literally.

My friends know me to be a diehard Beatlemaniac. The experience of getting to meet Patti Boyd is rivaled only by the time that my band opened for Ringo at the Bottom Line in the Village the year that the club closed and the year that the current war started.

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Above: Alicia Lini looked “wonderful tonight” at dinner last night at Centovini where we raised a glass to celebrate her Lopate interview.

It’s official: Bollinger Sponsors Nous Non Plus…

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Above: in the greenroom at Mercury Lounge, I discovered — to my surprise — that Bollinger tastes good in a plastic cup.

Sexy chanteuse Céline Dijon was upstaged at Nous Non Plus’ Mercury Lounge show last night by a bottle of our favorite champagne Bollinger. About halfway into our set, bassist and chanteur Jean-Luc Retard called for a small celebration of our recent French tour with a bottle of Bollinger Special Cuvée.

I have always been a huge fan of Bollinger and the new Nous Non Plus disk will feature a song that we’ve written about our favorite Champagne (out in Spring 08?). For my birthday this year, the band gave me a bottle of Grande Année 1999.

Good stemware is hard to find in rock clubs and so plastic beer cups served as a substitute for crystal flutes last night. At first I was disappointed to see how the fizziness exploded and lost its concentration in the wide-mouthed drinking vessels. But I was pleasantly surprised when the wine reached my lips and the aroma hit my nose: the expanded diameter of the plastic chalice seemed to intensify the classically yeasty notes of the wine.

My current day gig working as marketing director for the restaurant group that owns and manages Centovini Restaurant and Bar in SoHo has brought me into contact on numerous occasions with SoHo interior design guru Murray Moss, owner of the eponymous store, the restaurant’s designer and one of the partners, and undeniably one of the nicest taste-makers I have met in my time in NYC. On those rare nights where I have had the chance to sit down with him over dinner at the restaurant (usually in the company of a writer or two), the conversation has often turned to a discussion of the merits of aesthetically pleasing stemware over “technical” stemware. Murray often challenges conventional wine-wine glass pairings and many of the wines at Centovini are served in stemware that transgresses standards complacently embraced by the wine industry.

My experience last night made me question the wisdom of the obligatory flute and think that Murray is right to lament the absence of the coupe à champagne, simply called a “coupe” in English (some believe that the coupe was modeled after Marie Antoinette’s breasts, a apocryphal legend that is surely false but fun to consider nonetheless).

Click here for a Newsweek article featuring Murray subtitled “It’s not about the glass is half full or half empty—it’s about the glass itself” (you have to click on the image of Murray to get the article to load).

Maybe it was the steamy August night, maybe the hot stage lights at Mercury Lounge… but, man, the Bollinger tasted great in those plastic cups.

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Above: Prof. Harry Covert (Greg Wawro, center left) and Céline Dijon (Verena Wiesendanger, center right) pose with fans after our show last night at Mercury Lounge (photo by Gary Wexler).

In the Name of Franco-American Relations

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Nous Non Plus ended its Summer 2007 France tour on Saturday night playing to a packed house at the Flèche d’Or, one of my all-time favorite clubs (great sound system, nice people, and a really great vibe).

Seems that the band is inadvertently helping to assuage Franco-American relations and to bolster the “ego national.” For Francophone readers out there, check out this preview that was published in Paris Obs magazine (I’m the band’s “sommelier”):

Rock
Nous Non Plus

On l’a vu avec les Pipettes tout au long de l’année dernière, le pastiche ( ou remise à niveau pour les jeunes générations ) sixties a la cote. Mais quoi de plus flatteur, a priori, pour l’ego national que de voir qu’à New York un journaliste, un champion d’Air Guitar, un sommelier, un professeur de science politique, tous américains, et une artiste française, ont lancé un groupe parodiant, en français et en anglais, Dutronc, Hardy et autres yéyés franchouillards ? Il est même plutôt étonnant de voir dans un club branché de Brooklyn un « Jean-Luc Retard » et une « Céline Dijon » ( leurs pseudonymes-blagues ) chanter avec un accent approximatif des histoires de « Fille atomique » devant un public médusé. Mais quel intérêt pour un public parisien peut bien présenter ce « Grand Guignol bilingue » ? A vrai dire, voir l’héritage musical des yéyés revisité à coups de riffs garage, d’électro et d’autodérision, c’est assez jubilatoire. La mondialisation amusante.

Les vendredi 20 et samedi 21 juillet à 20 h. La Flèche d’Or , 102 bis, rue de Bagnolet ( 20 e ) ; 01-44-64-01-02. M ° Gambetta.

Timothée Barrière
Paris Obs