The signs have been clear for the past two weeks: first Mr. Magoo himself, Peter Gatien, manages to sell Limelight (47 20th St. at 6th Ave., 807-7780) to a bunch of cronies who will keep it operating as is; then Junior Vasquez steps out of the woodwork for a birthday party at Exit (610 W. 56th St., betw. 11th & 12th Aves., 582-8282) that will cost you $60. That soiree is this Saturday, and if you cup your ears, you can almost hear the utz-utz music coming in from the Hudson River.
Vasquez, who’s pushing 55 (it’s tough to get a bead on his real age, even at his birthday), has always tied his career to specific clubs, and always bet right. First came Sound Factory, where he spent his Red Sox glory years (1989-1995). Then Tunnel and the Palladium gave him some Blue Jays downtime (1995-1997); most recently, Twilo afforded him the chance to pitch a World Series victory and release a critically acclaimed album, Twilo, Vol. 1: Junior Vasquez (2000). Now, it seems, he has his sights set on Exit, the West Side monolith that refuses to get any better, but isn’t getting any worse. You still see swarthy boys in black stretch t’s hooking up with curious girls on the dance floor, and the penthouse VIP area is still a James Bond trip. Junior’s party promises to max out the five-floor facility, with doors open at 11 Saturday and an official end time of noon Sunday. (Visit the Exit box office through Friday for $50 advance tickets.)
Plastered all over the flier for Junior’s get-together is the word "Earth," which would seem to be a new, Vasquez-approved party. The flacks at Exit, however, insist that this weekend’s jaunt is a one-time deal and that "Earth" is the name of Junior’s promotional outfit. We’ll see. It takes an extraordinarily strong-willed man to transform himself from record store clerk to DJ superstar in his 40s, and something about Junior’s flier–maybe it’s his face, subtly fashioned to look like our entire planet–makes you think that he’s back for some steady work.
...Meanwhile, in the world of music performed by actual live human beings, a band called Reggie & the Full Effect come to CBGB (315 Bowery at Bleecker St., 382-4052) this Saturday as part of their eight-date swing through the East Coast and Midwest. The group is staffed with members of the Get Up Kids. Keyboardist James Dewees sings and plays keys while singer Matt Pryor ("Like Richard Pryor, but with M-A-T-T instead of R-I-C-H-A-R-D," Dewees explains) plays guitar.
"I just had some free time and I wanted to spend it out on the road," James Dewees says. "It’s death pop. Every night is a special night."
Specifics of "death pop" include multiple costume changes, weapons, strobe lights, football outfits and mullet wigs. Reggie & the Full Effect even have a Finnish war song ("Dwarf Invasion") for which the members don Viking regalia. Dewees refuses to elaborate on his stage antics–"I do play Slayer’s ‘Raining Blood’ on all synths," he says–but he is willing to dish dirt on the stars, namely Britney Spears. "A little birdie told me that she wants to be in Playboy, but her record label won’t let her," he confided.
Now, time out. Jive probably didn’t sign Miss Spears for more than a three-album deal (they had no idea how big she would be), and album #3 is coming this November. Does that mean it’s scant months until we get the biggest-selling, best Playboy of all time?
"I don’t know," says James, "that one with [Jerri from Survivor] sucks! You don’t even get to see her bush. Well, you kind of do, but not really, because her dad got involved. He got all weird about it."
Reggie & the Full Effect’s most recent album is Promotional Copy on Vagrant Records. Their show starts at 8 with emo label-mates Hot Rod Circuit; it carries a $12 cover.
...Also at CBGB, on Sunday this time, Swiss hardcore act Knut makes its New York debut. If you’re going to listen to hardcore, you might as well listen to these guys–they play the most brutal stuff imaginable and they’ve been putting it out themselves on an imprint called Snuff Recordings since the mid-90s. Boston metalcore group Isis also joins the party, along with Joe Preston’s noise project Thrones. Preston is a veteran of both the Melvins and Earth–not Junior Vasquez’s "Earth," but the slow, nasty, lower-than-Sabbath former Sub Pop band.
Damned if local heroes JJ Paradise Players Club aren’t on this bill as well! That’s one Sunday night chock-full of rock music starting at 6:30 and it only costs $10.
...Oh wait, this just in–a Buster Keaton retrospective is playing at Film Forum (209 W. Houston St., betw. 6th Ave. & Varick St., 727-8110). Surely it will be many harvest moons before another Buster Keaton retrospective comes to town, or maybe it’ll be around Christmas, but in any case, this one has Off-Broadway vet Steve Sterner on piano accompaniment. (Ho!) Monday’s offering–the Buster movies happen every Monday–is Our Hospitality, in which our hero wanders into a Capulets & Montagues-type situation in 1830s Virginia. Mr. Sterner plays piano only at the 2 and 7:30 screenings, and remember while you watch that Buster does all his own stunts.
The hotter ticket at Film Forum is Lisa Picard Is Famous, a movie in the Celebrity vein that focuses on a struggling actress, with cameos by Sandra Bullock, Spike Lee and Mira Sorvino (none of whom deserves to have their name bolded). It’s playing for the next two weeks. You’ll get a kick out of it if you still secretly think you might be a household name someday; if not, stick to Buster.
...Mini-Blurbs from a Sunday night in Williamsburg, Bklyn.: Wow, this ’burb is full of dumpy women, men in cowboy hats and high ceilings! Must be hip! My round of one-drink-and-run started at the Abbey (536 Driggs Ave., betw. N. 7th & 8th Sts., 718-599-4400), where Weezer on the sound system was a nice reprieve, and continued a few long blocks over at Galapagos (70 N. 6th St., betw. Wythe & Kent Aves., 718-782-5188). You want to know a secret? Once you get by Galapagos’ gorgeous reflecting pool, the whole place looks like a Polish restaurant in the Bat Cave.
Planet Thailand (133 N. 7th St., betw. Bedford St. & Berry Ave., 718-599-5758) was up next, and it’s more of a young, hip family joint than a singles spot. Good ATM machine, though. (All these places have Manhattan drink prices, but most of these places don’t take credit cards.) For my last stop, I dropped in at the Pod (141 N. 7th St., betw. Bedford St. & Berry Ave., 718-302-3754), a new bar/restaurant whose gorgeous seating and projection screens (showing a Mariners game, surprise) hold promise. Then I got on the train.
