TBy Bill Roundy his Southern-style band will
rock again!
A Brooklyn band with a
sound out of the Mississippi Delta
will wrap up its nationwide tour
with a hometown show this weekend.
Blues rockers Daddy Long Legs will
stop at Greenpoint’s Brooklyn Bazaar
on July 14, playing tunes from the
new album “Lowdown Ways.”
The band’s frontman and founder
said he created the group’s unique,
boot-stomping style of music to stand
out from the pack of bands playing
CBGB-style rock ‘n’ roll.
“The scene was saturated with
people doing that, and I wanted to
bring something fresh to the table,”
said Brian Hurd — so he drew on the
music of his childhood in St. Louis,
Missouri.
“I know the roots music that comes
from my home,” he said. “I wanted to
take the Delta blues and gospel and
infuse that into the high-energy rock
thing that we’ve got going on.”
Hurd began playing his harmonica
at house parties and busking on
sidewalks, and soon added guitarist
Murat Akturk and drummer Josh
Styles to the mix.
The band formed in 2010, and
“Lowdown Ways” is its third album.
Over the years, their sound has
become richer and more expansive,
said Hurd.
“It was super bare bones and
stripped down, just a juke blues
trio,” he said. But on the new album,
“we’ve added some organ, some gospel,
and I’m playing a bit more guitar.
We’re still exploring whatever the
hell it is we do, this Daddy Long
Legs thing.”
He describes “that thing” as “rock
and roll salvation through the spirit
of roots and blues,” and it has gotten
a huge response. The concert on
July 14 will be the band’s 70th show
this year, and after a few days rest,
the band will be off to Europe for
another tour, said Hurd.
In the years since the band formed,
COURIER L 50 IFE, JULY 12-18, 2019 24-7
Brooklyn has a developed traditional
roots music scene centered on Red
Hook’s Jalopy Theater. But Daddy
Long Legs is still doing something
different, said Hurd.
“We take the traditional sound
and turn it on its ear,” he said. “We’re
an electric band, and we’re trying to
push the music forward — put a modern
spin on the Delta blues.”
Daddy Long Legs at Brooklyn
Bazaar (150 Greenpoint Ave. between
Manhattan Avenue and Franklin Street
in Greenpoint, www.bkbazaar.com).
July 14 at 8 p.m. $15.
By Rose Adams Call it pool paradise!
A new billiards
bar quietly opened
its doors in Williamsburg
earlier this year, offering
a dark, clubby atmosphere
to both pool sharks and
casual party people. The
narrow venue on N. 11th
Street, across from the
Brooklyn Brewery, contains
two large rooms,
the first equipped with a
60-foot bar, and the second
with 10 regulation-size billiards
tables. The owner
of Brooklyn Billiards said
that he opened the spot in
February after hearing that
the neighborhood lacked
any spot to get behind a
cue ball.
“People had to go to
Borough Park to play pool,”
said Timur Munarov, who
also owns the Billiards
Room in Queens. Editor’s
note: there is a pool hall in
Park Slope, but it is still a
long way to travel.
He designed his new
location to combine oldschool
decoration with an
industrial feel that matches
the neighborhood.
“I wanted it to have
a Williamsburg feel to it
with a touch of modern,”
Munarov said.
A skilled pool player
since the age of 15,
Munarov hoped to make
Brooklyn Billiards a meeting
spot for serious billiards
players. His plan has
succeeded — the venue
now hosts seven amateur
billiards teams, which face
off against other teams in
a league every Monday,
Tuesday, and Thursday.
The league games are more
social than they are serious,
said an employee.
“The games are a
chance to meet people and
to get better at pool,” said
Brooklyn Billiard’s manager
Annie Jay. “We’re trying
to expand the league
because people like it so
much.”
The venue goes beyond
billiards — it also serves
late-night bar food, beer,
and cocktails and it stores
board games under the bar.
On weekends, dee-jays and
bands play live shows in
the front room, and crowds
often flock to the venue to
watch sports on the bar’s
14 large televisions. One of
the Brooklyn Billiard’s biggest
draws was the finale of
“Game of Thrones,” which
aired in May.
“It was like a theater in
here,” said the bar’s security
man, Reggie. Attendees
gathered around the bar
and watched the show in
silence, he said.
“You felt embarrassed
to make a sound — you
could hear people breathing,
almost,” Reggie said.
“It was really amazing.”
Brooklyn Billiards 90
N. 11th St. between Berry
Street and Wythe Avenue
in Williamsburg, (718) 599–
2603, www.bkbilliards.
com. Open Mon–Thu,
4 p.m.–2 a.m.; Fri–Sun
noon–4 a.m. $10 per hour
per person to play .
White and black and blues: High-energy rockin’ blues band Daddy Longs Legs will play
Brooklyn Bazaar on July 14. Yep Roc Records
Pool party
DADDY’S HOME
Brooklyn blues band plays hometown show
Billiards bar brings
the game to W’burg
By Chandler Kidd Down the rabbit hole!
A bizarre and beautiful
art space inspired by “Alice
In Wonderland” has tumbled into
Williamsburg. The Wonder World
Space, which had a limited test run
in Manhattan last year, has expanded
into a new space and new theme
for its Brooklyn outing. The original
location mimicked the plot of the
Disney animated adaptation, but its
new version imagines a whole new
story for Alice, creating whimsical
garden spaces that have the curiouser
and curiouser feel of Lewis Carroll’s
story, said a manager for the gallery.
“The new space incorporates the
artists’ perception on where Alice
went to next,” said Mandy Lopata.
“All our rooms are different, but the
installations are surrounded by florals.
You really are immersed and
transported into this space that is
otherworldly — it really is meant to
be whimsical and inspired by ‘Alice
in Wonderland.’ ”
The 13 rooms of the Williamsburg
space — including a space where visitors
can perch on a crescent moon, and
an enormous ball pit — are designed
to create multiple photo opportunities
so that visitors can create magical,
glamorous selfies to post to Instagram
— even in they come by themselves,
according to Lopata.
“We have employees who will take
your picture, so if you come alone
or with a group you will get your
Instagram-worthy shot,” she said.
The creative director of the space
said that he wants the otherworldly
rooms to sweep visitors off their feet.
“WonderWorld NYC proudly
presents the next chapter of stories
in this mythical realm which have
never been told before. This chapter,
completely different from last year’s,
will not only deconstruct the original
story, but will also add more exciting
This pink warehouse hides wonders within.
Wonder World Space NYC
and intriguing episodes along with
more immersive and interactive experiences
which will blow your mind
away!” said James Hsieh.
Wonder World Space has a sixmonth
lease on the giant warehouse
space in Williamsburg, in a deal
brokered by Tri State Commercial
Realty.
Wonder World Space NYC (61 N.
Ninth St. between Kent and Wythe
avenues in Williamsburg, www.wonderworldspace.
com). Open daily; 11
a.m.–8 p.m. until Nov. 4. $30 ($19
children, kids under 4 free). Group
discounts available.
Instagram magic
Right on cue: The 10 classic pool tables at Brooklyn Billiards fill
up its back room.
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