The Esssence of the Northside

Saturday night the gallery walls were a bumpin' with the sweet sounds of creativity. Three bands - Grasshopper, Drunk Decade, and The Dan Peck Trio, were a wonderful addition to the art which has been happily living on the walls of Like the Spice and in our gallery space. The fact that no pieces fell due to the intense vibrations was a true testament to our competence when it comes to hanging work.


The evening started off with the ska inspired experimental jazz and electronic duo Grasshopper. The dynamic set responded to the energy of the crowd and left us wanting more. See here is Josh blowing hard at his trumpet answering Jesse's electronic prompts.

Next came Drunk Decade. The inspiring solo performance by Michael displayed vigorous multitasking that augmented the positive energy in the room.

The juxtaposition of new age equipment and avant-garde homemade instruments kept us on our toes. So too did the smell of burning rubber (due to the massive amps relative to the small space of our gallery), which in combination with deep vibrations best experienced sitting on the floor, served to complete a total sensory experience.

The night finished off with The Dan Peck Trio. The unorthodox use of bows on the all the instruments ranging from the bass to the drums and tuba produced really satisfying and unusual sounds. Their practiced relating and interconnectedness was really evident in their music.

All in all Saturday night was a smaller scale representation of all that Brooklyn and the Northside Festival has come to represent - a space that fosters a community of creativity and an environment where people come to actively seek an exchange and dialogue of expression. What awesomeness.


If you were here you know what I'm talking about. And if not then perhaps this might teach you to take advantage of all the creativity and coolness that is the essence of what is offered in just this one borough, and at least this weekend at Like the Spice Gallery.

One More Little Thing

Hey! Hey! Did you see? Good ol' Like the Spice got noticed by the The New York Observer! Not only are we "worth looking at", which is pretty cool, we also got the nod because of our regular Monthly Dinner Series events. Pretty darn cool, right? Thanks, NY Observer, for being so observant!

(PS, this is a great place to mention that, if you RSVP for Figure Ates right now, we'll tell everybody you signed up weeks ago, and it'll really make you look like you're ahead of the curve. But places are limited, and we've got a deadline! So do it right now! We'll see you Friday!)

Four Times Two, We Want To Feed YOU!

Have you already reserved your place for Friday night's Figure Ates? If not, now's the time. Like all our Monthly Dinner Events, this one is RSVP only, so save your place today!

Served family style in the gallery itself, each dinner has been better than the last, and since previous dinners have sold out, we think you'll want to get in early. Among the artists joining us will be the lovely Jenny Morgan, as well as the equally lovely Reuben Negron. They're both veterans of our fast-paced dinner scene, so you can expect a fantastic time. Come and meet them before they're too good to be seen with us!

Remember, Figure Ates is on Friday, June 25th at 8:00pm. RSVP now and get ready for a fantastic conversation with the artists behind Marked, as well as an absolutely delicious dinner. We want YOU to join us!

Like Appreciative Vuvuzelas, They Buzz About Our Glory

We're entering another week for our very latest show, Marked: A Show Of Figure, and we have to say, the press has been pretty darn kind. Take a gander at Brooklyn The Borough who put us under their "Art Buzz" category. And then there's Edmund X. White who took a special interest in Jenny Morgan's Inner Island, a piece that traveled with us to Chicago and is currently a part of this fantastic figure-based show.

Remember, we've got Inner Island, two more brand new Jenny Morgans, and a whole host of other works from artists such as Chino Amobi, Alison Bickle, Brendan Lott, Reuben Negron and Robin Williams, all waiting for you to come and enjoy. Marked will be running until August 8th, so make plans to join us this week!

But we're not done! We're not done yet! Because we've got some other artists that have been getting attention of late! Our pal Ross Racine has been making the rounds again, getting some kind words from local boy Chris Hamby, as well as Texas based We Are 1976. See how wide Ross's appeal can be? Keep an eye out, guys, and maybe we'll have something to say about Ross Racine this fall.

Someone else who deserves a little love is Dean Goelz. Thankfully, he's got some! Myturtleneck.com takes a very nice look at the depth of Dean's insanity skill with dot-making. We think you should take a look, and stay tuned, because we can't wait to see what Dean's going to be showing us next.

See? When we say our artists are cooler than our air conditioning, we're not kidding. Hope to see you soon!

Marked: A Show of Figure Gallery Opening

Greetings All! My name is Slater, a senior at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the newest addition (intern/crew person/photographer/garbage collector) to the Like the Spice Gallery team. I am in New York for the summer interning my heart out and it has started off with quite the bang. Seeing Manhattan, Times Square and the streets of Chelsea with 21 year old eyes makes everything look so much different and exciting! One of the highlighting moments so far has been the opening for Marked: A Show of Figure on Friday June 11th, at Like the Spice Gallery, for which I got the opportunity to be photographer of the evening.

The night began with a boom as faithfuls of Like the Spice gallery space poured in, ready to mingle and receive the work presented. With each arrival I grew more and more nervous, this being my first time on the "other side" of the gallery experience. As each guest arrived the energy accumulated and was very quickly streaming from the front doors and down the block, attracting not only the artist community but residents and families from the surrounding neighborhood of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. With the help and comforting words of Olivia and Roxanne( a fellow intern), my nerves calmed and I began to feel right at home.



The reception was amazing and if you weren't here, you probably wish that you were. As Gallery-goers surrounded the pieces from LTS artists Jenny Morgan and Reuben Negron comments such as, "Remarkable technique" and "beautiful composition" were heard over and over again.



Of course, the crowd was just as taken by the work of Robin Williams, Alison Bickle, Brendon Lott, and Chino Amobi, and all the pieces were getting their share of attention. If you'd like to see them now, head to the special online preview page, but naturally, they're much better in person and definitely worth the visit.



The gallery buzzed from wall to wall as the featured artists were greeted with handshake after handshake. As the night went on, the line between viewer and the viewed blurred, as the pieces and the crowd interacted, coming to dance and breathe with each other as one. Intimacy, narrative, exaggeration and emotions all resonated, fueling an energy that only an opening night at Like the Spice Gallery can provide. It was a great way for me to be introduced to the more structured side of the Art world and all the work that goes into installing, hanging and uninstalling a lot of work simultaneously.

At the end of the night the LTS crew packed up another successful opening. From the perspective of this "Fairly new to the Gallery Scene" artist, I am definitely looking forward to many more to come!



Remember, Marked is open right now, and we can't wait to see you. We also can't wait to have you join us for our latest Monthly Dinner Series event, Figure Ates, on June 25th. Places are limited, so please, RSVP today!

Memorial Day Alert! June's Gonna Be Busy!

We hope that wherever you are today, you're thinking about Like the Spice's events calendar. But just in case you're not, we're using this post to give you a heads up. Because we've got a lot happening in June, and you need to be here to enjoy it!

First up, on June 5th and June 6th, Like the Spice is turning four years old. Can you believe it? How the time flies! Our two day party will overlap with the final days of Greg Haberny: The Homeless Boys Social Club and you can read about all the exciting party details right here. Here's the short version: June 5th, 6pm-10pm is the birthday party. June 6th, 1pm-6pm is the hangover brunch.

Then, on June 11th, we're throwing ANOTHER party! This time, it's opening night for Marked, a show of figure. Featuring work from Alison Bickle, Dean Goelz, Brendan Lott, Jenny Morgan, Reuben Negron and Robin Williams, Marked is going to be absolutely beautiful, and you can see an advance sneak preview right here.

But that's not all! We've also got our next RSVP only Monthly Dinner, Figure Ates on June 25th, the wonderful Northside Music Festival running June 26th and June 27th with music here at the gallery each and every day, and did we mention that Marisa's going to be blogging from Europe? Yeah, we all hate her too. But more on that next week.

For now, just trust us when we say June's going to be packed with great stuff, and you're going to be a part of it. That's right, we're giving you no choice in the matter. If you don't make it out, we'll come get you.