Northcoast Festival Day 2

Sunnyside Duck Egg Hash

I had a feeling day two would be the jump off and let me tell you my hunch was right.  We started off with a late breakfast/brunch at Longman and Eagle in Logan Square WOW!! I already cant wait to go back there I enjoyed everything about this place.  The menu was very unique and original with an excellent whiskey and beer selection. The service was very friendly and informative.  Our Northcoast crew of seven shared a couple plates of spiced brioche French toast with bacon pudding and peach compote. Just by reading that off the menu we all had to try some. All of the flavors popped out without one them over powering the other, executed very well.  My breakfast entrée was sunny side duck egg hash with duck confit, Nicholas Farms spring onions, Yukon Gold potatoes with a black truffle vinaigrette. How is that for unique?  Everything was cooked perfectly and delicious.  My fiancé had the ultra fresh market scramble of roasted peppers, arugula, mushrooms, and feta served over a croissant with mixed greens.  My boy had the head-on prawns with cheese grits, collard greens, a one hour egg, and black pepper sauce.  Oh and don’t let me forget they arguably served the best Mac n Cheeses I have ever tasted with cherry tomato confit, arugula, morney sauce, Dunbarton blue cheese, crispy bread crumbs and basil oil!! Is your mouth watering yet??  I highly recommend this place and I look forward to trying lunch and dinner there sometime.  

We made it into Union Park to hear a couple bangers from RJD2 with Break Science but today was all about Common, my highlight of the festival.   Common is a hip hop legend, an extremely good performer and a true b-boy.  He worked the entire giant stage flawlessly and his back up band was tight.  The best part about Common's music are his extremely positive,  smart lyrics and soulful beats, homie kills it.  Common should have most definitely headlined Friday over Whiz Khalifa due to the above mentioned words and the fact that he reps Chi-City so hard, more than anyone. Im  not sure what the promoters were thinking there.  Even if the kids do like Whiz Khalifa more, Common's words and showmanship should have been forced on them to show them what a real MC from the city of Chicago is all about. 

  After a gorgeous day laughing and dancing and sharing deep fried delights like fries, ravioli's and even artichoke hearts we chose to watch STS9 over Fatboy Slim and am sure we made the right choice. This was evident after STS9 (I refuse to call them Tribe, there is only one Tribe in my book and it features The Brother Abstract and a shortie named Phife) broke out into some straight futuristic west coast electro as opposed to when I walked by Fatboy's set and  he was playing the “Eye of the Tiger”.  Day two festival down, off to the after party or should I say after parties!! 

Boombox wsg Gramatik and DJ Solo at the Double Door was on the agenda for tonight and I was excited to see some live music in a small venue.  I thought Gramatik was just ok but Boombox was on point.  I love their chillout/loungy house sound.  Lead singer Zion’s voice is so smooth and mellow and I always wish he sang more.  Their set included a cover of Shakedown Street and and a segment at the end of some straight hard techno.  Good drinks and beers and a solid time all around.  Just when I thought the night was over we get invited to a nearby loft party!! Yes, my favorite!!  Who is up there when we arrive? None other than the Cutz on Cuts crew, Chicago’s premier hip hop DJ collective,straight smashing it.  I plan on doing a full entry and possible re-ocurring blogs featuring this turntabilist foursome because not only do they inspire my weekly Wednesday night Cutz on Cuts dinner while they destroy Ustream (check out some past shows, they are fire!) but they are on some next level hip hop heat with the incorporation of today’s technology and experimental sounds.  These guys are not to be slept on.  The party was dope, people were stepping out tonight and the vibe was right.  It was cool kicking it with some of Push Beats Crew, Chicago’s go to crew for those hard hitting experimental headnodic hip hop beats. Don’t sleep on these guys either peep their soundcloud, peep them every Tuesday at Lokal, and peep them every third Thursday at Beauty Bar. Having a giant wood floor to dance on made the party even fresher, who doesn't dance better on a shiny wooden floor? Im sure we could have all gotten down.  I hated having to leave during RM Joints set who caught me off guard with some of the dopest experimental beats I have seen live in a minute.  Homie was crushing it with a midi controller on his iPhone. Once again, listen to the RM Joint Soundcloud, its mad ill. This day will be very hard to top on the food and music tip but I am still young and am determined to try my hardest to do so.  

North Coast Festival Chicago, IL Day 1

       What can I say? Wow!! One of the best music and food weekends I have ever had, which is what BooYaBass is all about so I am very excited for this entry and I apologize for the delay.  Before our journey to Chicago for the 2^nd Annual Northcoast Music Festival http://www.northcoastfestival.com/we picked up some take out from the Midtown Diner in Ann Arbor http://www.marksmidtown.com .  We knew we didn’t want to settle for McDonalds breakfast or even worse Burger King (those can be saved for when severely hungover) so I wasn’t expecting much for our parking lot picnic (pictured to the left).  I ordered the Greek skillet and it was standard diner fare which means it wasn’t amazing and it wasn’t disgusting (it did the trick).  It was relaxing to take the Megabus this time to the city and a relief off top that I knew in advance that I wouldn’t have to drive home on Monday. Even though its tough for me to sleep on the bus it gives me a good opportunity to zone and try to meditate to normally some good downtempo or experimental.  Since we were leaving Ann Arbor Shigeto's Full Circle seemed necessary, VIBE2IT!!  Peep Shigeto's Soundcloud, here you will find mega-fresh head-nodders, bangers and deep thinkers from one of Michigan's top experimental producers that is really starting to make some big noise across the globe.   

      Our good friend picked us up and took us straight to the Eleven City Diner, Chicago’s premiere authentic Jewish/New York style deli http://www.elevencitydiner.com/.  While I have never been to a real New York Deli this was by far the best Pastrami I have ever had, it literally melts in your mouth.  The pastrami ruben sandwich was served open faced, stacked tall with melted swiss, a very flavorful sandwich pictured above. 

     There wasn’t much going on music wise at the festival Friday for our tastes. I mean it was headlined by David Guetta and Whiz Khalifa (gag me with a spoon).  However, the vibe inside was live even though it did  make me feel old for one of the first times ever. This doesn't bother me though because my friends and I are better at these places than others and we have the most fun.  Despite un-appealing sounds from the stages there was some pretty decent house music in the Silent Disco that we enjoyed dancing to. If you are not familiar with a silent disco it’s pretty much a genius idea that you should check out especially if you like dancing. Learn more here Silent Disco.  We skipped out on the after parties tonight but please stay tuned for the rest of the weekends festivities coming soon.   

Lover's Melt 2

     Are you a fan of seventies soul? Sixties psychedelia? Funk? Free jazz? Extra smooth cool out jams? Underground summer loving B-side anthems you have never heard? Then you are in for a real treat today :-) While Stephen Ellison aka Flying Lotus (more on him and his future of music label Brainfeeder later) is normally known for his very abstract, left-of-center hypnotic head-bobbing beats, with Lovers Melt II he is offering you a two hour mix of his favorite tracks, from the genres mentioned above, all blended up nice and smooth.  Its the perfect backdrop for a back yard cookout, a country drive or road trip, romantic time with a friend, an after-after party wind down, or when you want to cook up something extra special for your lover.   Oh, did I mention this mix is free? Because it is !! 100% free and legal from our friends over at Brainfeeder via the Stonesthrow podcast series. Download Here: Lovers Melt 2 Mixed By Flying Lotus 

     Since the title of the mix is Lovers Melt 2, I will offer up this amazing recipe I found in Food Networks Magazine July/August 2011 issue (slightly spiced up and altered to my loves taste buds) for you to cook for your lover.

Ingredients:

• 2 small to medium zucchini
• 2 small to medium yellow summer squash
• 4 eggs
• 1 to 2 jalapenos
• 3 to 4 green onions
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• salt and pepper
• pinch or two of cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons of butter

     Start off by grating up two small to medium sized zucchini’s and squash’s a piece with a box grater, mix in a couple pinches of salt and let drain in a colander for about 30 minutes, also be sure to squeeze out any remaining water after it has sat.  Finely slice up 3 or 4 green onions, 1 or 2 jalapenos (depending on how hot you want) and a clove of garlic.  Get this sauteing in a pan with a little butter.  Add your zucchini/squash mixture with some salt, pepper, garlic powder, crushed red pepper and a pinch or two of nutmeg.  Cook this until slightly dry and add about a quarter cup of chopped parsley.  Set aside and let cool a bit.  With the back of a spoon make 4 round indentations into the pan big enough to crack an egg into.  Put a dab of butter in each, add a cracked egg into each and season with salt and pepper.  Sprinkle each egg or the entire thing with your favorite grated cheese and place in a preheated 375 degree oven until the egg whites are set and the yolks are to your preferred doneness (the runnier the better).  Serve with hashbrowns, toast and sliced tomato (and bacon if you want :-)) If this doesn’t make your "lover melt" then just leave it up to the Flylo mix.  Until next time Peace, Eats, and Beats

Dunegrassin @ Joe's Friendly Tavern

     If you ever have the opportunity to go to the Dunegrass Festival near the northwestern shore of Lower Michigan take the time to do it. Not only is the festival extremely chill, family friendly and fun but its settled from year to year in an area  arguably considered the most beautiful place in all of America.  In fact, recently The Sleeping Bear Dues National Lakeshore was voted as the most beautiful place in all of America according to Good Morning America.  Don’t believe me?  See for yourself here http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/best_places_USA/sleeping-bear-dunes-michigan-voted-good-morning-americas/story?id=14319616
Joe's Friendly Tavern

     While the last few years the festival has bounced around these parts a bit all of the country in this area is beautiful and even includes my favorite beach ever located in Empire.  This beach is absolutely picture perfect and makes you wonder if you are in Michigan or a tropical island some where. Another added bonus to the breathtaking country and awesome music fest (which ill get into after the Jump Off)  is the amazing burger I had at Joe’s Friendly Tavern in Empire. I heard that they had good burgers there but normally when I hear this from anybody I try not to get my hopes up because I am normally let down (I do consider myself a burger expert and will expand on this topic in much greater detail in the future).  Lets just say that this time at Joe’s Friendly Tavern I was not let down at all.  I ordered the olive burger medium rare on a pretzel bun (a growing trend that I am not mad at all when done right).  The burger was cooked perfectly and the pretzel bun was soft and flavorful.  I am really starting to dig these olive sauces of sliced green olives and mayo (not Miracle Whip) that I have been seeing on menus.  Its such a good combination on a burger that I think many people are often afraid of (don’t be).  I did prefer the sweet potato fries over the regular (which were brought instead of onion rings but didn’t really care because the burger was so good and the waiter was nice) and I also really enjoyed their fried zucchini slices.  I know there are many restaurants in this not so secret anymore gem of the country that I have not tried but it will be hard for me to go anywhere else when traveling up there.  Now onto the music!!
  I don’t know if its just swimming each day in Lake Michigan at Empire beach but you feel so good when you are at Dunegrass and this feeling of love and joy seems to come out in the music as well.  Each night at Dunegrass offered up a real special musical treat of mostly born and bred Michigan bands.  I don’t know if its just swimming each day in Lake Michigan at Empire beach but you feel so good when you are at Dunegrass and this feeling of love and joy seems to come out in the music as well.

The Ragbirds Live

I had seen The Ragbirds a few times before but it had been a while and I forgot how talented and fun they were.  If you have never seen the multi-instrumentalist Erin Zitle and her amazing band play then you are really missing out.  They really are a “world” band. While their sound is rooted in folk and celtic they mix in African rhythms from multiple percussion instruments and sounds from across the globe while Erin gracefully switches from the use of an accordion, mandolin, banjo and her go to violin.  Peep the live video and catch them on tour, they are not to be missed if you are a fan of any kind of beautiful music www.theragbirds.com.  
     While we were on our way to the main stage the opening sounds of a band drew us into the  Bell’s Road to Rootenanny beer garden quickly.  The band was called Function and lets just say we did not leave the tent once we entered.  We were completely caught off guard by this seven piece band from Kalamazoo.  They came out hard with some of the most soulful and funky grooves I have ever seen live.  Leader singer Andrew Schrock will give any R&B/Soul artist a run for their money, dude is on point.  The rest of the band is very talented as well with everyone chipping in to bring the band together very tightly.  Some tracks feature the percussionist rapping, some feature the trumpet player singing and rapping, and the keyboardist does a great job of adding back up flare on the mic while he seems to effortlessly blaze through the keys.  Any band that can flawlessly cover Morris Day and the Time as well as P-Funk set the bar high for live acts in my book.  Its safe to say  in the words of George Clinton that they “tore the roof off” of the beer garden.  See part of their live show below and don’t miss them on tour, I know I cant wait to see them again www.funktionmusic.com

Funktion Live

     I don’t want to cut my peoples Rootstand short as we were very lucky to see full sets from them all three nights but they will be hosting their own festival Rootenanny (see https://www.facebook.com/Rootenannyin for details) in late September and I am looking forward to giving you a full write up on their amazing music, their festival, and of course the delicious food I get into. I know I will at least be getting down on some of this every morning. Peace, eats and beats till next time.

Identify: Mae's Diner Pleasant Ridge Detroit

Aug 12 2011

   So I picked up a ticket for the Identity Festival www.idfestival.com that came through DTE Friday (FYI, for future reference DTE will always be Pine Knob to me) .   While there were a lot of DJ’S on the bill that can actually induce vomiting it was stacked with several that made the 20 dollar ticket a real bargain (sorry those of you that paid full price), including a personal favorite of mine DJ Shadow.  But first things first lets get to the amazing breakfast/brunch I had before hand.  I met up with friends in Ferndale and they took to me to Mae’s in Pleasant Ridge http://www.maesdetroit.com/. While I have been to Royal Oak plenty of times as well as Ferndale I had never heard of Pleasant Ridge which was kind of odd and funny. Anyways my meal was amazing. It was called the Hillbilly and featured two buttermilk biscuits topped with southern fried chicken (by the way whoever decided it was ok to serve fried chicken for breakfast is a genius), two perfectly poached eggs, and their creamy sausage gravy. It is then smothered in cheddar cheese and Franks Red Hot (however I substituted with my go to hot sauce Siracha).  All this for only $7.50 which is a bargain well worth it compared to some other trendy diners I have been to that are not as good. I had a very delicious plate of hash-browns on the side but may go for the home-fries next time after having a bite of my friends.  I love that they do their best to incorporate local products such as Faygo and Better Made as well as other fresh local ingredients and I especially love their story of love and spontaneity you can read at http://www.maesdetroit.com/ as well under “our story”.  I honestly want to try everything on the menu after enjoying my meal so much and seeing everything being served around me including the the monster “hangover” breakfast my friends enjoyed and the unique looking aebleskivers which are a Scandinavian fried pancake  delight (a house specialty I doubt you will find anywhere else around).  I had the opportunity to have a delicious homemade oreo but lost my opportunity to try a chocolate chip cookie which I was told were amazing as well (don't sleep on the baked goods). I can't wait to take my beautiful girlfriend there because I know she will love it and all of their vegetarian options.

Hillbilly Breakfast @ Mae's

Now with a pleasantly filled belly I was glad the venue was still a 30 minute drive away because my friends and I just picked up a few sixers of dank Michigan beers and I needed to make room. I grabbed my recent favorite Huma Lupa Liscious from Shorts Brewery www.shortsbrewery.com(more on Shorts Brewery, their delicious food and beer, and our obsession with Ween in the near future)   We enjoyed our delicious beers in the parking lot while listening to tracks including classic Beastie Boys, Pop Levi, DJ Numark and DJ Shadow just to name a few.
   One of the best things about Identity was that my group had zero schedule conflicts, we all wanted to see the same acts and none of them over lapped (this is pretty much unheard of in the music festival scene).  Modeselektor www.modeselektor.com was on point and I enjoyed the hand visuals in the background you will be able to see in my video below.  Crystal Method was better than the previous two times I had seen them and my first time seeing Booka Shade was a real treat www.bookashade.com.   I do a lot of listening on Pandora and it seems that many times when I go to thumbs up a song it ends up being Booka Shade depending on what channel I am  tuned into so it was nice to see them live after regretfully passing them up a couple years ago at DEMF.  The Disco Biscuits www.discobiscuits.com did an excellent job of packing a nice high energy and upbeat set into an hour that left everyone all smiles and wanting more. In the words of my friend "the Disco Biscuits own the Jamtronica sound" and I cant argue with that.   
   On to the man, the myth, and the legend DJ Shadow www.djshadow.com.  He has really stepped his game up with the whole Shadowsphere (see video below taken in Chicago last fall) element to his show and brought a nice change of pace and something fresh to the lineup which was stacked with mostly pseudohouse/trance/clubby/dubstep music I don't normally care for. Shadow never disappoints in his live shows as he is a master of constantly updating his classic instrumental hip hop beats so they are new and fresh for each tour and performance as well as incorporating new material.  I love that he furiously scratches non-stop over each track so the whole time you are moving and shaking. It is always a great  idea to throw in a nice Pharcyde blend in the beginning (which he has been known to do on occasion) to make people that much happier because thats what The Pharcyde does is make people happier when they hear them. Over all Shadow did what he does best which is leave heads wrecked and faces melted. I was happy to cop his new EP on vinyl and a dope picture/poster of him taken by B+ (one of my favorite hip hop photographers along with Ricky Powell).  All in all a great day of food and music. Enjoy the professional video taken for the Shadowsphere tour show in Chicago I was lucky enough to attend, a non professional video taken of Modeselektor by myself last week at Identity fest and a picture of Shadow and myself in the streets of Chicago just before the Jump Off at Park West. 

DJ Shadow Live From the Shadowsphere Highlight Reel Chicago

DJ Shadow Highlight Reel from Tribeca Flashpoint on Vimeo.

Modeselektor Live @ Identity Festival

Shadow and I

The Humble Magnificent Gazpacho!!!

Bouillabaisse is a seafood soup made from various kinds of shellfish, fish and vegetables flavored with herbs and spices.  When you break up the word how its pronounced you have Boo-Ya-Bass, a clever psuedo-homonym that can describe a wide variety of amazing music. Because my true passions are food, cooking, and music BooYaBass "journeys through sounds and tastes"is a perfect title for this concept and blog.  Here at BooYaBass you will be able to develop new food and music tastes by following me as I bring to you my rustic home cooked meals and favorite places to eat and drink all while sharing with you my passion and search for the best music.  With that, in order to start this blog off right Im going to give to you a track that I believe sums up the whole idea of what I am trying to do with this lifestyle, concept and blog.  Made by a very underrated MC, Producer, and DJ by the name of Edan, the song is called "Beautiful Food" from Sprain Your Tape Deck. I know I will have more music from Edan at a later date but to learn more about "the Humble Magnificent" now, be sure to check out www.humblemagnificent.com , and if you are living on the west coast these days dont miss him live on tour with two of my other all time favorite artists Cut Chemist of Jurassic 5 fame and Mr. Lif. Its called the Tunnel Vision Tour and there is a quick sample of what you will be seeing on the tour after the Jump Off!!  To go along with this salivating Edan track, since we are in the midst of the dog days of summer I am giving you my recipe for a delicious and refreshing roasted tomato and red pepper gazpacho with watermelon and goat cheese. The slightly charred flavor from the roasted veggies go deliciously wonderful with the ice cold sweetness of the watermelon and cucumber. The roasted jalapeno gives it just the right amount of kick to bring out the flavors without making it too spicy. When topped with the bruschetta goat cheese you will be experiencing flavor combinations you may not have known existed.   

Edan "Beautiful Food"



Roasted Tomato and Red Pepper Gazpacho with Watermelon and Goat Cheese

2 large red bell peppers, halved lengthwise seeded, oven roasted and peeled
8 plum tomatoes and 4 regular tomatoes sliced in half oven roasted and peeled
1 roasted red jalapeno (not chipotle/no Adobo)
3-4 oven roasted garlic cloves
1/2 cup good-quality extra-virgin olive oil; more as needed
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
4 scallions (white and green parts), finely chopped
1 medium sized cucumber peeled, seeded and finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped parsley
One quarter of a ripe watermelon seeded and cut into a small dice
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preparation:

After oven roasting the tomatoes, peppers and garlic peel of the skins and discard, combine roasted veggies with scallions, parsley, lemon juice, olive oil and half of the cucumber and blend with hand blender.
Chill for an hour or so before adding remaining cucumber and watermelon.
Chill another hour then serve cold with a bit of goat cheese on top!!


Dont Forget about the Tunnel Vision Tour!!!: