Monthly Archives: June 2012

Ink-Side-Out: The Epitome of Quality

Posted by on June 30, 2012 4 comments

Ink Side Out

I thought I’d better do a “Places to Go” article before people start thinking I’m some kind of shut-in. I’m not really into the downtown scene, nor am I that much of a food nut to comment accurately on the quality of my favorite restaurants. Concerning food, if my head doesn’t hit my plate with a thud from poisoning, and it has nothing to do with cooked vegetables, chances are I’m giving it a solid A. There’s a few bars I like going to, but I usually end up leaving in such a disheveled state that I can’t remember exactly just how great or shitty the service was, the type of lighting used, or the exact number of beer taps there were. This brought on a bit of a dilemma, until I had an epiphany in the shower one night which prompted me to write an article about something I can definitely and accurately critique: Tattoo parlors. Read more »

From the Constitution State to the Big Rotten Apple: A Commentary on the CT Scene Representing in the Shitty City

Posted by on June 24, 2012 1 comment

I can say I have something in common with Rob Halford and Matt Barlow, aside from all that leather and a shaved head. I have yet to be replaced by Tim “Ripper” Owens… What we share is the cherished chance to return to Metal, after an absence that left life lacking. Nothing makes you appreciate the Metal scene like leaving for a number of years. There’s such a promising and diverse wealth of artists, working together to cross promote and conquer Connecticut, there’s Alternative Control… It’s an incredibly optimistic environment for someone’s first foray into original music in five years. Read more »

The Gold-Coasters Hit the Road: Cherry Street Station and Cook’s Café

Posted by on June 24, 2012 No comments

Down here in Stamford, there are metal shows… But the audience is the band members’ twelve friends and the beers all cost six dollars.  Okay, five for a PBR.

Any Lightsbane fans in the house?

To find a really brutal metal show in Connecticut, though – the kind where there’s a hundred people and some dude is fisting a blow-up sheep – you have to head up Route 8 or north on the Merritt. My Gold Coast companions and I had the pleasure of seeing two such shows recently: “Lightsbane and Friends” at Cook’s Café in Naugatuck and the Priapism CD release party at Wallingford’s infamous Cherry Street Station.

Cook’s décor? It’s a bar. If you can find the door, you’re good. When we went there on June 16th, I was pleased to order Hooker drafts for $4 each. A glance at the menu reveals regular bar food. No goat cheese and truffle oil nachos. No manchego. (What is that??) Bar food. Read more »

Heirloom Raid Update

Posted by on June 20, 2012 No comments

 

So, a couple people did get arrested.  The Heirloom will be reopening in early July, but they won’t be able to sell beer.

See the full story at The Mercurial.

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.

You Should Know… CT Summer Metal Update

Posted by on June 19, 2012 No comments

Jucifer playing at the Heirloom, July 2011.

 

Editor’s Note: This article is completely biased and includes every conflict of interest imaginable.  U mad, bro?

I recently found an article I wrote for WCSU’s student newspaper in 2007, titled something along the lines of “Summer Metal Update” — and with everything that’s going on in the scene these days, I think it’s time for Alternative Control to have a summer metal update of our own.  So, here goes…

If you don’t live under a rock, you probably already know that the Heirloom Arts Theater was shut down over the weekend.  (See Mercurial coverage and News-Times coverage.)  Read more »

Ask Death Metal Dave: A Metal Scene Q & A That’s Not for the Faint of Gut!

Posted by on June 18, 2012 1 comment

That’s right my metal brothers, it’s me Death Metal Dave again. After taking some time off to concentrate on chronologically arranging my Kataklysm concert ticket stubs and framing my Slayer vinyl, I’ve decided to come back by popular demand. It seems that a lot of tough questions plague my fellow metal brethren; questions that only a brilliant local music enthusiast such as myself can answer. These questions come from all across the vast and far reaching expanse of my three block radius, which made it hard to consolidate them down. Being that I spend at least half the day scrubbing the beer stains out of my beard, I really only have time to answer the most pressing 2 of the monstrous 3 and a half I’ve received. So without further ado, the riddles of the mighty metal scene revealed!

Q: Dear Death Metal Dave – How can I support the scene when two of my metal brothers are playing different shows on the same night?

- From ‘Torn in Tarrytown’ Read more »

Cool Drinks and Cheap Reads at the Friends Book Shop

Posted by on June 11, 2012 No comments

Selections from the music section...

 

What’s just as good as reading a library book for free?

Buying a new book for two dollars and not having to return it.

But where can you get new or almost-new books for just two bucks?  The Friends Book Shop at the Ferguson Library!  There are two locations: one at the Ferguson’s Main Branch (at the corner of Broad and Bedford Streets) and the other at the Harry Bennett Branch (115 Vine Road).  Each shop has its charms; there’s a large selection of teen lit at Harry Bennett, and an attached Starbucks at the downtown store.  Those venti iced lattes cost more than most of the books! Read more »