Category Archives: Hedonism

Musicians have long had reputations for not being the easiest people to get along with. Although music is, in many ways, the great unifier, bringing people together from every walk of life under the same room of a venue, or in a muddy field in the middle of nowhere, it is ironic that many of our musical heroes are actually very stubborn individuals, with a propensity for belligerence.

In a sense, this is understandable as music is a musicians brainchild, something stemming from the soul that is deeply connected to its author. Apart from financial gain, this is just one of the reasons why we have seen countless cases of lawsuits delivered from one artist to another claiming plagiarism, either consciously or subconsciously.

Outside of the courtroom, off-stage, musicians are typically free-spirited individuals who cant and wont be tied down by any social construct or rules. This stereotypical character of a musician has long been established, stemming from the 50s and the excessive behaviour of rock n rolls original bad boys, Little Richard,Chuck Berryand Elvis Presley, to name but a few.

If one was to think of your favourite musician, it is likely that their life would have been a tale of run-ins with the law, hedonism and ample amounts of excess. Thankfully, this is a stereotype that has long since been proven futile, with musicians these days opting to live a cleaner, more laid back lifestyle, rather than one marred with depravity, as so many of musics icons of days gone by did.

However, given the fact that the most successful musicians have got legions of unwavering fans, the economic might of a major record label behind them and the absence of anyone to tell them no, the 21st centurys musical landscape is still full of characters who are largely centred around the self and an ample amount of narcissism.

Musicians from every walk of life fit into this category; popstars, rockstars, DJs and even your local covers band will all share this same trait to an extent. Russell Brands brilliant character of Aldous Snow inGet Him to the GreekandForgetting Sarah Marshallis a brilliant example of the lack of self-awareness that musicians can have.

There can be no surprise then that some of the most notorious and hilarious tales in pop culture history have come at the behest of the actions of musicians.Keith Moons alleged Lincoln Continental in the swimming pool, John Lennon claiming the Beatles were more popular than Jesus, and Ozzy Osbourne chewing the head off a live bat are just some of these outrageous instances.

However, there is another set of bizarre occurrences that often happens to our favourite musical artists, when band members leave citing irreconcilable differences et al. It usually takes a while for the dust to settle after their departure, and if the genuine reasons are made clear, theyre normally nothing short of ridiculous.

So, join us as we list the ten most outrageous incidents that made band members quit.

Where better to start than with British musics most iconic sibling rivalry? Things had allegedly been hotting up for a while between Oasis Noel and Liam Gallagher before it eventually came to a head in August 2009.

Scheduled to appear at Paris Rock en Seine festival, the two brothers had a physical fight backstage. It is said frontman Liam smashed one of Noels guitars in a fit of anger, which was one move too far for Noel.

Shortly after the scuffle, the band officially announced their breakup.

Clearly, after 20 years of a rock n roll lifestyle, the brothers personalitys were no longer compatible. What ensued has been a very well-publicised spat of varying temperatures ever since.

Ah, good old brotherly love. For one point in time, the Everly Brothers were hailed as musics most exemplary familial partnership. Formed in 1956 as a duo, together, Phil and Don Everly wrote some of the most influential music ever put to wax. However, like with everything, it had its sell-by date, and this came in 1973.

Things reached their boiling point at a show in Santa Ana, California. Don had been battling with addiction for years and showed up to their show inebriated. He was so out of it that he couldnt remember the lines to the hit songs hed played a hundred times. Phil was so enraged he physically broke a guitar over Dons head and stormed out of the venue. They wouldnt speak again until the death of their father ten years later, but even then, it was tense. They did briefly reunite for a tour in 2005, and that was to be their last as both brothers have now sadly passed away.

One of the more infamous entries on the list, Lita Ford, lead guitarist of all-female rockers,The Runaways, quit because she found out the majority of her other bandmates were gay. In her memoir,Living Like A Runaway,she explains that she found it strange that her bandmates Joan Jett, Jackie Fox, Cherie Currie and Sandy West never spoke about their male peers and were always giggling about other girls.

Ford observed that Jett and Currie were seemingly always together in a romantic way, and it dawned on her that they were all into girls. All of them except for Jackie. Ford recalls, First I found out that Sandy, the one I had bonded with the most, was a lesbian.

She explains, Then I found out that Cherie was messing around with Joan. I was so freaked out that I quit the band. Well leave that one there.

Often characterised as the unluckiest man in punk, Matlock left the Sex Pistols in 1977, shortly before theyd released their one and only studio album,Never Mind the Bollocks, Heres the Sex Pistols. Due to the stubborn, opaque nature of the former band members, there exist many reasons that account for Matlocks departure. These range from the fact he went on for too long about The Beatles and Paul McCartney, to apparently always washing his feet, and the fact that he didnt look like a Sex Pistol.

Furthermore, frontman Johnny Rotten claims it was because he didnt like the lyrics to God Save The Queen, and that he couldnt handle those kinds of lyrics. He said it declared us fascists. On the other hand, Matlock claims he was sick of all the bullshit.

The new wave trio, The Polices career lasted from 1977 to 1984. They had many hit singles, are and are retrospectively hailed as one of the defining groups of the era, with each one of its three members massively respected in their own ways. However, the band was also marred by infighting, the clashing of egos and the fact that none of the band members had anything in common apart from music.

Things finally fell apart for The Police after their 1984 tour for the smash-hit album,Synchronicity. Sting was getting sick of drummer Stewart Copeland and Copeland was getting more and more frustrated with the way the band was starting to become centred around what he saw as Stings overly inflated ego.

Allegedly, Sting blew off the handle at Copeland and guitarist Andy Summers. Sting cited the fact they had nothing in common and left the band to embark on a solo career. This was probably best for each member as they all went on to enjoy solo success in their respective musical fields. They did manage to reunite for the meal ticket of their lives, the 2007-2008 reunion tour.

Less driven by ego than a genuine desire to change the world, outspoken frontman and rap-rock legend Zack de la Rocha elected to leave Rage Against the Machine in October 2000. After the band lost out on an MTV Video Music Award to the V-necked bro-metal of Limp Bizkit and subsequently watching bass player Tim Commerford scale the set and spend the night in a cell, de la Rocha had had enough.

On October 18, he released a statement announcing his decision. It read: I feel that it is now necessary to leave Rage because our decision-making process has completely failed. It is no longer meeting the aspirations of all four of us collectively as a band, and from my perspective, has undermined our artistic and political ideal.

Latterly, guitarist Tom Morello has weighed in on the fallout, explaining, there was so much squabbling over everything. He continued, And I meaneverything. We would even have fistfights over whether our T-shirts should be mauve or camouflaged! It was ridiculous. We were patently political, internally combustible. It was ugly for a long time.

The man with one of the most recognisable and marmite voices in all of music left the band he founded for the second time in 2015.

Typically, it was not revealed why Blink 182s guitarist and vocalist had departed until 2019. It was then made clear that DeLonge had left Blink 182 to pursue the full-time running of his company To the Stars Academy of Arts & Sciences, whose focus is to investigate the existence of alien life and UFOs. DeLonge announced, From every ounce of his being that he was meant to follow this path.

Founding member of Californian rock legends the Eagles, Randy Meisner, departed the band in September, 1977. He felt uncomfortable with being the frontman of the group and didnt feel like he truly fit in.

Furthermore, the bands newfound level of fame made him anxious and uncomfortable. Adding this to altercations with other band members, Meisner formerly announced his departure, citing exhaustion. Later he said, All that stuff and all the arguing amongst the Eagles is over now. Well at least for me.

Blues guitarist and founding member of iconic rock dynasty Fleetwood Mac, Jeremy Spencers reason for leaving the band is up there with the weirdest. It was a strange time, and frontman Peter Green and guitarist Danny Kirwan had departed the group after taking copious amounts of LSD, which understandably led to a critical juncture for the groups earliest iteration.

In February 1971, the band were scheduled to play at LAs iconic venue Whiskey A Go Go. However, Spencer never showed up. Some days later, it was discovered that he had joined Mansonoid religious cult the Children of God, whom hed met on the street. He declared that he no longer wanted to be involved withFleetwood Mac. Despite appeals from the band, Spencer could not be persuaded to rejoin the band and they had to struggle on without him. Spencer has since spoken about his regret for the way he left: The way I left was wrong and a mistake. I shouldve told them right away but I was desperate.

Its not so much why Head left Korn, rather how he did it that places him on the list. One half of Konns genre-bending guitar duo, alongside James Munky Shaffer, Head wrote some of the phattest riffs that were coming out of the alternative scene around the turn of the Millenium. Fast forward to 2005, and Konn were one of the biggest metal bands on the planet.

However, in 2005 Head abruptly announced his departure from the band via a statement. It read: Konn has parted ways with guitarist Brian Head Welch, who has chosen Jesus Christ as his saviour, and will be dedicating his musical pursuits to that end.

This swift change in character has been put down to ample excess, as detailed in his 2008 memoirSave Me from Myself: How I Found God, Quit Konn, Kicked Drugs, and Lived to Tell My Story.Famously, he rejoined the nu-metal gods in 2012, and revealed his reasons behind it in the 2016 book,With My Eyes Wide Open: Miracles and Mistakes on My Way Back to Korn. No, the last one isnt a joke.

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10 outrageous incidents that made band members quit - Far Out Magazine

Summer is swiftly coming to a close, so if youve been meaning to hit a festival before the Fall school season resumes be advised that youre kind of running out of time. That said, there are a ton of dates on the books over the next few weeks. This past weekend, electronic music fans were treated to an all-day party at Los Angeles Pershing Square, courtesy of Jamie Jones Paradise Festival. Based on some of the photos weve received from the action on the ground floor, the vibe was absolute unhinged hedonism. In fact, unhinged hedonism feels like the general vibe of festivals in 2021, which makes sense because weve been living through a tough couple of years. (As always we encourage you to take the Covid precautions that fit your lifestyle and allow you to enjoy yourself without harming others.)

If youre still looking for a place to let loose, LA festival-goers have one last big summer party when All Day I Dream concludes its 40-city tour on September 4th before heading back to Ibiza. The Lee Burridge hosted festival includes performances from electronic musics Sohmi, Detlef, Serge Devant b2b Amm, Hot Since 82, Jamie Jones, and more and will take place at LAs Gin Ling Way.

If the idea of dancing for a day like you dont have a care in the world sounds appealing to you, definitely pick up tickets while you still can. And if youre not convinced, check out the scene at Paradise below and then tell us that doesnt seem like what you need right now.

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Photos From Paradise In The Park Have Us Wishing For An Endless Summer - UPROXX

Theres a famous 1960s newspaper headline, fed into the press by The Rolling Stones iconoclastic manager/producer Andrew Loog Oldham, that demands, provocatively, Would you let your daughter marry a Rolling Stone? The impresario Oldhams objective was to distinguish his roguish charges from the eras other truly great outfit, The Beatles, who were then cut cleaner than a knife slices butter.

Viewed in 2021, the headline demands a response of, My daughter can marry whoever she damn well wants, thank you very much And yet, at the time of the sentences publication, few fathers would have wished their offspring to step out with Mick, Keith or shudder Bill Wyman.

But were a 1960s pop fan to bring home Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts who has now passed, aged 80 then its likely that their father wouldnt have been too disappointed. Without the Neasden, London-born percussionist, the Rolling Stones wouldnt have sounded like they did. Watts understated timekeeping was the ballast that kept rocks raunchiest act tempered and on-track. But more so, without him, the band would surely have expired decades ago. The Stones are a band who couldnt exist if even an ounce more hedonism were added to the mix.

When people talk about the 60s, I never think that was me there, he once claimed. It was me and I was in it, but I was never enamoured with all that. Its supposed to be sex and drugs and rocknroll and Im not really like that. He was married for 57 years to sculptor Shirley Ann Shepherd they had a daughter, Seraphina and when Hugh Hefner invited the band to visit the Playboy Mansion during the Stones 1971 Exile On Main Street tour, Watts positioned himself in the pornographers games room and played pool until it was polite to leave.

Charlie Watts. CREDIT: Taylor Hill/Getty Images

Girls chasing you down the street, screaming horrible! I hated it, he once told The Guardian. Playing the drums was all I was ever interested in. Just once did outside indulgences almost take hold via a flirtation with drugs between 1983 and 1986 that he would later describe as a mid-life crisis: I drank too much and took drugs. I went mad really. But I stopped it all. It was very easy for me. The drummer would later reveal that it was the notoriously hedonistic Keith who advised his bandmate to reign himself, and that this is what made him realise that he had a problem.

It amuses Mick especially that Charlie cannot believe his ill luck at finding himself in the Worlds Greatest Rock n Roll Band, wrote Philip Norman in 1984s Symphony for the Devil: The Rolling Stones Story. Wherever he is with the Stones, he lives in constant hope of being allowed to catch the next plane home. Indeed, when the Rolling Stones were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989, Charlie stayed home.

Watts didnt particularly like touring. I hate leaving home, he once said. I love what I do, but Id love to go home every night. He wasnt a fan of festivals either. I dont want to do it, he said in 2013, during the approach to that years Glastonbury headline set. Everyone else does. I dont like playing outdoors, and I certainly dont like festivals. Ive always thought theyre nothing to do with playing. Glastonbury, its old hat really. I never liked the hippy thing to start with. Its not what Id like to do for a weekend, I can tell you

What Charlie did like was clothes: in 2006, fashion bible Vanity Fair inducted him into their International Best Dressed List Hall Of Fame. And horses: he and Shirley owned and ran an Arabian horse stud farm in Dolton, Devon, where the couple resided. He collected, too: despite never owning a driving licence, in a rare foray into rockstar indulgence, Watts owned a fleet of classic cars, including a 1937 Lagonda Rapide. He owned signed copies of every Agatha Christie book. But what Charlie liked the most was drums. And jazz.

Credit: Getty

He started young. He was born on June 2, 1941 and subsequently growing up in a prefab house in Wembley so many of Londons homes having been flattened by German bombs his friend and neighbour was one Dave Green, a distinguished name in jazz circles. We discovered 78rpm records, Green told The New Yorker in 2012 Charlie had more records than I did. We used to go to Charlies bedroom and just get these records out. Early favourites were 78rpms of Jelly Roll Morton, Thelonious Monk and the Kansas born saxophonist Charlie Parker who would remain Watts favourite all his life. Charlie was ahead of me in listening and acquisitions, admitted Green.

Drums entered the picture when he was 13: I bought a banjo, and I didnt like the dots on the neck. So I took the neck off. At the same time I heard a drummer called Chico Hamilton, who played with Gerry Mulligan. I wanted to play like that, with brushes. I didnt have a snare drum, so I put the banjo head on a stand.

Charlies parents eventually took pity on seeing their son playing his forlorn set-up and in 1955 bought him his first drum set. He left school and became a graphic designer for a local advertising firm. He and Green spent most of their evenings playing in a jazz band in Middlesexcalled the Jo Jones All Stars. Then a chance meeting with British blues legend Alexis Korner led to Charlie taking a gig with the influential Blues Incorporated, at various times a hub for Creams Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce.

Korners group were the biggest show in town. On any given night you might bump into then unknowns such asRod Stewart, John Mayall and Jimmy Page. Sometimes the crowd would include Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Brian Jones. As soon as the trio saw Charlie, they knew who they wanted to anchor their then fledgling band. Watts took some persuading he was stitched on for a design gig in Denmark, he wasnt sure that rocknroll was really his bag.

Then, on February 2nd, 1963 Charlie made his debut as a full-time Stone at Londons Ealing Jazz Club. He still wasnt sure if rocknroll was really his bag. Maybe he never decided it was. Onstage with the Stones, Watts was languid, yet resolutely rigid. Performing with The Charlie Watts Orchestra/Quintet, you could almost see the fire in his eyes.

Credit: Getty

The writer Bill German, who started the Beggars Banquet fanzine while still at high school in 1978, has frequently trotted out an anecdote that reveals much about Watts personality. The scene is Amsterdam. The topic of conversation is whether the Stones should call it a day. Mick Jagger has casually described Watts has my drummer. [Watts] kept it bottled inside until he got back to his hotel room, said German. He then clicked off his TV, put on his shoes, walked down the hall and knocked on Micks door. When the lead singer of the Rolling Stones opened it, his drummer clocked him on the jaw. Charlie then turned round and calmly walked away.

The message was clear and simple, an echo of the rhythms performed by the man himself. He was understated but irreplaceable: therell never be another Charlie Watts.

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Charlie Watts, 1941 2021: the ballast that kept The Rolling Stones tempered and on-track - NME.com

Bethesda released three new small teasers for Starfield. Each video highlights a different city that we can visit in the game: New Atlantis, Neon and Akila. These are very short videos, but they are accompanied by comments from the developers.

New Atlantis is the capital of the United Colonies (UC) and one of the main cities in the game. In this place the player will find a lot of NPCs, of every race and ethnicity says the developer in the comment. In many ways, New Atlantis is a true reflection of the future of our world.

Neon is basically Starfields futuristic Las Vegas. A city focused on hedonism, with free use of recreational drugs. The developers comment even brings up a piece of the towns history, explaining that it started as a fishing establishment, until they discovered a fish with a psychotropic substance and realized they would make a lot more money with this new drug than fishing.

Akila is another very large city, being the capital of the Free Star Collective, a confederation of three different solar systems. It is a city that believes in individual freedom and is protected by a huge wall, which keeps predatory aliens out.

Its just three cities in a game that will probably have a lot more. But its an interesting selection because it shows the variety of environments we can find in Starfield, and also serves to talk a little more about the political organization within the game.

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Starfield Shows Teasers With Conceptual Images Of Their Cities - Somag News

J Holt Evans III, a songwriter and guitarist with the Wilmington dream pop band Lauds, said he thinks his group should "come out as endorsers of things." Just for starters: English musician Johnny Marr of The Smiths. Pad Thai. Vaccinations. And, since he and two of his bandmates went to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Tar Heels basketball and recently retired coach Roy Williams.

Evans is just kidding around, of course. But while we're talking endorsements, Lauds recently got a big one from Wilmington-based independent label Fort Lowell Records, which released the band's self-titled debut EP on July 30.

The four songs on "Lauds" are undeniably retro in their nostalgic appeal, sounding at times like lost or forgotten tracks from late '80s or early '90s college radio. Even so, the moody yet cautiously upbeat tunes somehow fit perfectly with our pandemic-worried world.

"I love reverbed-out, echoey guitar music. Call it shoegaze, dream pop, whatever," Evans said.

On Saturday, Aug. 28, Lauds will play a masked, outdoors album-release show for the EP at Satellite Bar and Lounge on Greenfield Street with Durham band Check Minus. On Sept. 11, they'll play the Palm Room in Wrightsville Beach with indie rock act Arson Daily.

The origins of Lauds date to three years ago, after Evans and singer/guitarist/songwriter McKay Glasgow, also of Wilmington folk-rock act Tumbleweed, bonded over the songs of Neil Young. They met when Glasgow was recording Tumbleweed's 2018 album "Little Yellow House" with Evans' father, Holt Evans II, who played with the Wilmington pop band Hungry Mind Review in the '90s and early 2000s and has produced some of the best albums ever made in Wilmington, including Astro Cowboy's forever-epic "Hedonism Colosseum."

Music news: Wilmington folk-rock triumvirate Tumbleweed roll together

"Lauds kind of formed through our friendship," Evans said, and soon enough he and Glasgow had joined with his younger brother, Boyce Evans, who plays drums on the record but keyboards and guitars for live shows, to create their own version of the driving, intricate, effects-laden guitar music they'd been listening to since they were in elementary school.

"Growing up with my dad, we'd ask him to get us a Nickelback CD," Holt Evans said. "He'd say, 'You know, you need to go and listen to Joy Division right now or you're grounded.'"

He remembers hearing early U2 albums "Boy" and "October" played in the car on rides to school as a kid.

"Now I feel like I can't get away from echo or delay on any guitar part I write," Evans said.

For his part, Glasgow cites the elder Evans as an influence as well.

"Just like their dad influenced them, for the last three years we've been recording together he's been giving me the same music," Glasgow said, citing such post-punk outfits as The Chameleons and New Order.

Lauds, however, put their own spin on the dream-pop genre.

The driving "Wasted Hours" and "Wait Forever" have almost surfily coastal vibes, while the more laid-back "Never Was" is infused with a kind of pretty sadness.

Album closer "Sandpiper," a song Glasgow said was inspired by growing up mere yards from the Cape Fear River, has a more sprawling, epic feel distinct from the EP's tightly constructed first three songs.

"It took us a while to get to the sound that you hear on the record," Boyce Evans said. At first, "It was more straightforward, cleaner rock. Then we kind of turned that to 11."

Boyce's brother agreed that the band wanted to "put the vocals and the guitars and the drums all on equal footing," conjuring a vibe with their sound while lyrics speak vaguely, though at times poignantly, to difficult emotions and troublesome memories.

"If people get to our lyrics we're proud of them,"Glasgow said. "But they are secondary."

The band, which started to build a local following with eight or 10 shows before the pandemic, has enough material for a few more EPs. They've also added a couple of new members, Gavin Campbell on bass and Ross Paige on drums.

In addition to a couple of self-released singles, the band also has a song on 2020's "GROW: A Compilation in Solidarity with Black Lives Matter" for Fort Lowell, which has emerged post-pandemic as Wilmington's most prominent indie label, having released new records this year from Port City acts Sean Thomas Gerard, punk-rockers Neon Belly and Lauds.

Fresh tunes: Wilmington musician Sean Thomas Gerard finds 'Paradise' on dreamy new rock album

Music: On new album, Wilmington bands rock for Black Lives Matter

As for the band's punchy moniker, it arises from Evans III being a "huge fan of one-syllable band names." He added that "we'd be lying" if he said the band "didn't have a spreadsheet of like 100 names that we fought tooth and nail over." (Three that didn't make the cut? Grouse, Flowerhouse and Orca Boys.)

Lauds have also been working on a completely unironic cover of Don Henley's moody 1984 hit "Boys of Summer," which, if they play it at Satellite this weekend, might provide a fitting coda to Wilmington's own hot, pandemic-infused summer.

Contact John Staton at 910-343-2343 or John.Staton@StarNewsOnline.com.

What: Lauds (EP release show), with Check Minus

When: 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 28

Where: Satellite Bar & Lounge, Greenfield St., Wilmington

Info: Free, 21 and up. Masked, outdoors show.

Details: FortLowell.bandcamp.com/album/lauds

Next up: Lauds plays Sept. 11 with Arson Daily at the Palm Room in Wrightsville Beach.

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Wilmington dream pop band Lauds matches its retro sound to a moody modern world on new EP - StarNewsOnline.com

GIDDY STRATOSPHERES

Daniel and Lara, our Giddy Indie Kid Soul Mates, spiral in the center of the storm and broken glass that was the 00s Indie Music Scene. Beautiful, mischievous and disheveled, and on a quest for the ultimate Euphoria, Hedonism and Excitement that comes with dancing and thrashing on the front row to your new favorite song by your new favorite band. They dont miss a gig. They dont miss a beat.

After the furious joy of dancing all night to a smorgasbord of incredible live music, then the DJ playing tune after tune of massive indie hits.looms darker spells in the shadows of the after party. The laughter has gone and is replaced by closed curtains blocking the morning light and the whispered shame of over-indulgence. How far can they push it, when they dont want the night to end?

Daniel and Lara, don their new boots, their perfectly scrawled eyeliner and ripped tights and indulge in a night of Pure Euphoria. Dancing on the tables in an infamous North London Live Music Pub, to their favorite band The Long Blondes One week after getting their lyrics Giddy Stratopsheres tattooed on their fingers.At 6am they spill out of an after party to head straight to Laras Grandmothers funeral. Lara hasnt slept and is clutching a poem she wrote when she was 10. Daniel is desperate for Lara to remember the events from the night before. Why is she in denial?

GIDDY STRATOSPHERESis a love song to an incredibly special time for Music and Mayhem. A story of furiously loyal friendship and feral, animalistic expression. A film dressed in a beret, pencil skirt and black eyeliner, dancing to the soundtrack of the best of Noughties Indie tunes. Shot entirely in UK Lockdown.

GIDDY STRATOSPHERESfeatures a soundtrack of huge Indie Hits from Franz Ferdinand, The Futureheads, The Walkmen, Le Tigre, The Rapture, Art Brut, The Cribs, Black Wire, The Rocks, Theoretical Girl, Pink Grease and more.The film was written and directed by Laura Jean Marsh and stars Jamal Franklin and Marsh. Gravitas Ventures will release

GIDDY STRATOSPHERESon digital platforms on September 14, 2021.The film has a running time of 67 minutes and will not be rated by the MPAA.

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Giddy Stratospheres - A Love Song to a Special Time for Music and Mayhem - scenester.tv

The backstory The original Buttermilk opened four years ago, which feels like ancient history now a carefree time before COVID, when patrons would guzzle glow-in-the-dark cocktails from a Slushie machine in a black-lit room called the Voodoo Lounge. Life is a bit more somber these days, but the affable, telegenic Santos who has appeared on Bar Rescue and Hells Kitchen is betting on Watertown as the next big thing.

Its an up-and-coming neighborhood. [I] love what Arsenal Yards will ultimately be and wanted to be able to build something from the ground up, he says.

What to eat Pace yourself. Santos is a master of culinary hedonism, and he does absolutely nothing small. Come hungry. I was assisted by a group of eager taste-testers for this mission, and my fridge was stacked with leftovers for a week until I almost went door-to-door offering fried chicken to my neighbors.

Enormous honey-glazed biscuits shiny like a fat babys cheeks were the hands-down favorite.

I dont even like biscuits. Typically, theyre dry and need to be slathered with butter or jam. These were perfection. Ill add them to the foods Ive eaten and continue to dream about list, gushed one dazzled diner. If you do want to slather em with something, theres cinnamon butter or pimento cheese ($14), but theyre not necessary. BBQ shrimp ($15) are swimming in an ocean of jalapeno grits, good enough to eat alone, by the spoonful comforting, creamy, tangy. Vidalia onion dip ($8) is standard-issue except for the chips. Santos never does anything halfway, and this is no exception: Theyre served with kettle chips dusted with horseradish-cheddar seasoning, which I kept snacking on for days afterward.

Friskier diners might try the alligator fries, a poutine-like Tetris of French fries with pimento queso and craggy chunks of fried gator (yeah, it tastes like chicken). If you still have room after all this, order buttermilk fried chicken as wings ($12), thighs ($14), or a bone-in half portion ($21). My group enjoyed the chicken but was more effusive about the array of sauces that accompany it, especially the syrupy barbecue sauce (one person was seen swilling it straight from the container). Last but not least: Dont forget about the aged gouda mac n cheese. You wont taste much gouda, but that doesnt matter. Its sprinkled with red hot Cheeto crust, the type you licked off your fingers in elementary school. Maybe not a Southern classic, but a welcome diversion when youve had one too many Hurricanes.

What to drink Those rum-fueled Hurricanes, of course, plus Bloody Marys, a vast selection of bourbon (available by the flight), and soon, canned cocktails to go.

The takeaway An indulgent way to celebrate something, anything like getting a vaccine, sending your kids back to school, or just making it through yet another day.

Buttermilk & Bourbon, 100 Arsenal Yards Blvd., Watertown, 857-760-7128, http://www.buttermilkbourbon.com

Kara Baskin can be reached at kara.baskin@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @kcbaskin.

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At Watertowns Buttermilk & Bourbon, the good times roll in spite of it all - The Boston Globe

Having successfully pivoted to offer an at home offering during various stages of lockdown, HIDE has fully re-opened the doors to its basement bar and two dining areas: HIDE (formerly known as Ground) and Above at Hide.

Very simply, these are two distinct and different restaurants: from the menus and opening times to the kitchens and teams that operate them, says chef Ollie Dabbous. Re-opening is the perfect opportunity to remind the public, restaurant guides and media of this.

First opened in April 2018, the venue is a project from Hedonism Wines and Ollie Dabbous, following the unexpected closure of the chefs Dabbous in Fitzrovia, one of Londons best restaurants at the time. At HIDE, Dabbous cooking style is very much reflected in the dishes and drinks served throughout, with the chef seemingly given far greater freedom to run with his ideas, with the upstairs restaurant representing the best expression of the chefs modern, seasonally-led cooking. Having remained closed since last March, Roux Scholar Martin Carabott has been brought in as Head Chef at Above at HIDE, showcasing the restaurants signature style.

Accessed via the restaurants now famous spiral staircase connecting all three distinct venues, Above at HIDE showcases both fine dining and equally polished service, but without being stuffy or uncomfortable. When it comes to the food selection, this is very much a tasting menu restaurant. An a la carte menu is available, but it seems superfluous when main courses are priced from around 40-120. The set lunch menu is also excellent, offering three courses for 48 per-person (plus canapes, bread, and petit fours).

As for the eight and five-course tasting menus, both are available with a selection of different wine pairings, while a huge range of wines can also be ordered direct from nearby Hedonism cellars, with some bottles dating back to the 18th century. While tasting menus are generally a superfluous exercise in self-importance, served for no reason other than to gently caress the chefs ego thats not the case with Above by HIDE. Sure, not every dish is a hit, but the overall experience is both gratifying and impressive. Although expensive, the food is mostly remarkable and executed with striking attention to detail, while the sense of occasion is also very welcome following almost 15 months in and out of lockdown.

From the eight-course tasting menu, a recent dinner began with canapes including a bowl of deeply umami mushroom broth to excite the palate, gem lettuce wedges picked from Crate to Plate that morning, and rich, salty cured pork alongside a sliver of cured goose with the richness of lardo but greater flavour. It should also go without saying that the Above at HIDE bread basket is very, very good, containing various different breads baked in house each day.

A celebration of figs followed, with a warm Bourjasotte Noire fig served alongside a fig puree and fig leaf granita: a clean, inviting dish that, although wasnt a particular standout, demonstrated plenty of skill and finesse. Far better was a dish of ripe tomato served in a pool of olive oil, peeled, hollowed-out and stuffed with a mixture of Stracciatella, basil, and black olive. Seemingly simple on the surface, its a categoric example of Ollie Dabbous style, with exceptional ingredients at the fore. The same can be said for the nest egg dish thats been on the menu since day one. An adaptation of a similar dish served at Dabbous, the coddled egg yolk was fortified with mushrooms and served in the shell, on a bed of hay, ultimately providing a rich, deeply comforting cream of deeply savoury egg and mushroom with a whisper of smokiness.

Although fine, the foie gras dish over promised and underdelivered. Gently cooked in a Moscatel broth, the foie gras was technically cooked perfectly, but failed to live up to the outstanding broth and accompanying summer corn and beans which brought a little texture to the dish but not enough to contrast the slightly challenging texture of the poached liver, whose place seemed unwarranted.

Another delicious broth featured with a tranche of steamed day-boat turbot which lulled in a warm nasturtium broth, which was one of the menus fish course choices. Although excellent, the other choice of Cornish lobster dumpling was the more exciting option, wrapped with daintily thin pasta, bathing in a thin pea velout. But perhaps best of all, a chop of suckling pig from Huntsham Farm was served pink (as it should be) alongside spring turnip and a puck of creamy black pudding. For a supplement of 18, a wedge of A5 wagyu was also available, capped with truffle shavings and joined by sparassis.

Before the grand finale, an absolutely inspired avocado leaf ice cream worked as a gorgeous palate cleanser, followed by the dramatic serving of an iced bouquet, featuring a fulfilling platter of edible flowers plunged into liquid nitrogen to immediately freeze them, like texturally opulent sorbet: another case of Above by HIDE taking already excellent produce and showcasing it even further using innovative techniques and masterful attention to detail.

HIDE can be found at 85 Piccadilly, London, W1J 7NB.

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Above at HIDE reopens with new Head Chef - The London Economic

I watch no fewer than eight romantic comedies a month. The formula a slightly outlandish meet-cute, some heady will-they-or-wont-they moments, and conflict that never lasts for more than 20 minutes makes my brain feel smooth, and I consume them as both workday background noise and an anxiety cure. The genre equivalent of The Comfy hoodie, the predictability of rom-coms is both cringeworthy and comforting.

Someone Great, the forgotten child of Netflixs late 2010s bid to revitalize the romantic comedy, slots into the genre perfectly, despite working overtime to subvert the trope of slapdash romances. Namely, the love story happens in reverse. When music journalist Jenny (Gina Rodriguez) gets her dream job at the mythological San Francisco bureau of Rolling Stone, her boyfriend of nine years, Nate (Lakeith Stanfield), dumps her, leaving Jenny to enlist best friends Blair (Brittany Snow) and Erin (DeWanda Wise) on a quest for closure and concert tickets. Jenny and Nates relationship unwinds in neon-tinted flashbacks of passionate sex and arguments about ambition, bifurcating the film into a buddy comedy and a searing exploration of what it looks like to outgrow your partner without meaning to.

The latter plotline is what makes Someone Great the perfect late (or early, depending on who you ask) pandemic watch. If I had to guess, were all emerging from these last 17 months a little worse for wear. Co-quarantining killed relationships we thought would last forever, and the routine of work-sleep-repeat has us leaving careers we thought wed have forever. In other words, life probably still feels shitty and uncertain to most people, and its reassuring to watch someone fictional come to terms with that as imperfectly as the rest of us.

The day after her relationship ends, Jenny melodramatically dives into singledom, binge-drinking and self-medicating with Molly (a.k.a. ecstasy) procured from RuPaul as she searches for tickets to a music festival. Jenny is endearing in her mood swings, with Rodriguez coming across light and airy when she shirks off her feelings and arresting while deep in them.

This messiness is what makes Someone Great so appealing. No one is looking for the perfect guy or a second chance or any of those other improbable rom-com asks. All Jenny wants is a few hours to get fucked up and forget about things, and thats something even a rom-com skeptic can get behind.

Someone Great is really a film about trepidation and how it manifests differently in all of us. For Jenny, it comes out in grand displays of emotion, crying in the corner of a bodega to Selenas Dreaming of You. For Erin, its in procrastination and denial as she avoids committing to the boutique owner shes sleeping with, in a final bid to delay adulthood. As for Blair, she deals with her anxieties through lopsided confrontation by cheating on her doting boyfriend with a lanky creative-director type.

The takeaway from their coping mechanisms? Sudden change doesnt require a sudden solution, even if it takes the films protagonists a mere 24 hours to reach that realization. Its a refreshing lesson, especially as were inundated with tales of hot girl summers and clubbing itineraries and primers on how to combat your fear of going out. We dont need to be okay with this new, awkward pace of life yet and yes, Im painfully aware of the irony of a film that celebrates hedonism teaching me that.

Someone Great is best watched casually, perhaps with a pile of laundry at your feet or while you complete some other mundane house chore. Like Set It Up and the rest of the Netflix rom-com set, its compulsively watchable, with a plot that gets better the less you think about it. Jenny, Blair, and Erins chemistry is breezy, and the film is at its best when it relies on their friendship for cheap laughs. Case in point: The clothing montage a staple of early aughts rom-coms feels like a natural extension of a night out as the trio takes shots and swaps outfits while rapping along to The Jump Off by Lil Kim.

The films soundtrack is both a welcome plot device and a crutch, with the song selections occasionally feeling a little too on the nose, like when Jenny scrolls through nearly a decades worth of texts and photos while Lordes Supercut plays. Writer-director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson started off as a music blogger for Pigeons and Planes, and much of the films identity comes from Spotify playlists containing well over 500 songs, with most of the score coming together during production. That symbiosis is best showcased in Someone Greats final flashback, where Jenny and Nate have sex after a particularly incendiary argument. Mitskis Your Best American Girl plays in the background, like some sort of warning bell as Jenny realizes the best parts of her relationship are over and that their differences arent something you can argue through.

Make no mistake: Someone Great isnt earth-shattering cinema. Its not even the best rom-com to come out of the past couple of years. But it is a soothing, easy film to return to when pandemic life feels a little too daunting.

Someone Great is streaming on Netflix.

For more recommendations from the world of culture, check out the One Good Thing archives.

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One Good Thing: A rom-com that celebrates the joy of easy watching - Vox.com

Tributes have poured in following the death of John Hall, a 'Manchester gig legend' and passionate champion of the local music scene.

John, a 'perfect Mancunian mix of madness, love and music', died on August 18 of oesophageal cancer.

Key figures in the local music industry have been sharing their memories of the legendary character ever since, with a tribute concert taking place this evening.

Read more: Watch Andy Burnham belt out an acoustic version of Wonderwall while launching the Greater Manchester Music Commission

The For John concert will take place at Salford's Sacred Trinity Church, with all funds donated to the charity John was setting up before his death.

The John Hall Stage will support grassroots venues and musicians and hopes to provide free rehearsal space to new bands.

Following the news of his death, Manchester band The Slow Readers Club posted: "RIP John Hall, what a wonderful man, a legendary figure on the Manchester music scene and a passionate champion of our band and so many others.

"You will be greatly missed. Love to Mark and all his loved ones at this difficult time."

Tameside rockers Cabbage wrote: "We have lost the most infectious, charismatic and down-rght outrageous man in our lives.

"He acted as our Tony Wilson with extra hedonism, supporting every independent group that was worth something.

"There's a hole in the sky today and I speak for endless groups when I say John Hall was well and truly, one of a kind. Hope to see you on the other side John. We all love you dearly."

Dave Haslam said of John: "A massive music fan and a hugely loved man who went to all the best gigs, and was properly inspiring to so many of us in Manchester. Well miss you so much."

Photographer Nathan Whittaker, also known as Manc Wanderer, wrote: "One of the things I love most about going to gigs is seeing familiar faces, and that mutual love of music!

"John Hall - an absolute legend of the Manchester music scene and to say youll be missed is an understatement. The gigs wont be the same without that smile. RIP"

A post from Even The Stars blog said: "John Hall was the single biggest inspiration to this blog in the early days when I thought I couldnt write for s***, always encouraging.

"Hes done that for countless artists too. His loss is all our losses and Manchester will be a poorer place without him. Love you x"

Writer Peter Guy added: "Sorry to hear Manchester gig legend John Hall has left us. I met John at a festival & became friends, bonding at various gigs, he was as passionate a man about music you could meet.

"His humour & zest for life was infectious. A force of nature. Big love to his family & friends."

Photographer, director and author Paul Husband said: "John Hall was that perfect Mancunian mix of madness, love and music. Everytime a new band plays in Manchester his presence will be felt."

The O2 Ritz, which hosted a huge concert for John earlier this month, wrote: "Sending our heartfelt thoughts to John Hall, and his nearest and dearest. A true inspiration. All our love"

Ahead of that show, Louder Than War writer Wayne Carey posted a touching tribute to John.

It reads: "For those who dont know John Hall, you probably do. Hes probably been at a gig near you somewhere if you support the unsigned grass roots bands of our creative city.

"He also played an instrumental part in evacuating people from the flats above The Arndale Centre when the bomb devastated the bottom of Market Street back in the mid 90s.

"Hes a shine of light on the music scene with a massive heart and a genuine love for all things music. A proper character who instantly charms his way into your life after your first meet."

John posted on Facebook in early July that his cancer had 'spread in the blood to my liver, inoperable, terminal.

He wrote: "I have been given 4 months to live. Details of wake (which I will be at hopefully) on 28/8 to follow. Stay cool and love one another."

But an update just a month later on August 4 read: "The cancer has spread so quickly Im too weak and ill to undergo ANY more treatment. So now its a few short weeks not months. Bleak."

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RIP John Hall, the 'perfect Mancunian mix of madness, love and music' - Manchester Evening News