Why is The Bayou Firkin With My Beer?

The Bayou owner Mark Alston drives a spout into a firkin cask with a wooden hammer for an entirely gravity-poured, charmingly tepid beer.

The 20th Century, for the most part, wasn’t a very beer-friendly time in U.S. history. Prohibition, for example, all but destroyed centuries of beer-brewing knowledge in the United States. When we emerged from the beer dark ages, as a people, we were at the mercy of those beer companies that had managed to survive the 13 years in brewing exile. The beer wasn’t bad beer, but it was mass-produced with adjuncts (corn, rice, millet, etc.) and was limited to European-style lagers. Now, having the benefit of a decades-long craft beer boom, we enjoy damn near every style, type and method of the beer brewing process. … read more

Upright Piano Fuses With Man on Bike

It’s stimulating to see someone in town who can expand our perceptions of what a performance is and where those performances can take place, and Eric Rich is doing just that. By melding bike riding with piano playing, he’s created a rich atmosphere of music on the streets in a way that allows him to work on conquering his performance anxiety while sharing a formal talent in an informal environment. … read more

Momentum Of Sound: An Interview with Michael Gira of Swans

I recently described the sound of a Swans record to a friend as being between that of a great mythological beast crashing toward the ocean while the sun explodes, and the feeling of absolute awe—articulated through volume. The experience of listening to their music is a potentially immersive one for the listener, where it is absolutely possible to become lost within an expanding perception of time and one’s surroundings. To Be Kind, Swans’ third album since regrouping in 2010, came out May 12.   … read more