We are only given a short time on this planet to figure out our purpose and to follow through on it. Most of us waft through life for years, slowly, hesitantly figuring it out, afraid of what it will mean once we do, decades upon decades constructing our lives, changing, making ourselves better, influencing and being influenced by people as we go. This is most of us.  However, there are the rare few who are blessed and willing to embrace the enlightenment of their purpose early on in life. This was Ariel Panero.  In his brief, 25 years, Ariel not only accomplished ten times the average person but was also able to influence in a city where cynicism outweighs earnestness.

It’s natural to wax poetic about the dead, to imagine them as more than they actually were, it’s easy to be blinded by emotion. However, Ariel lived up to every beautiful word someone could speak about him. He was an amazing, creative, caring, inventive, ingenious person. This strength of character was reflected in every commemorative article written about him over the course of this past week and was reflected in every speech given yesterday by the countless numbers of mourners at the Montauk Club in Prospect Heights.

It seemed from most people who spoke yesterday that Ariel was their first friend in the city. Whereas most people who grow up in New York are wary of the constant stream of outsiders who flock to the city, Ariel was quick to befriend a newcomer, anyone who felt the slightest bit out of place; he was there to listen to them, to care about them, to engage them…….. (continue reading…)

It’s always interesting to see someone in a different light. That was definitely the case on Tuesday evening at DJ Edan’s show at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn. Edan is often found wafting through the hallways of DD172 like a ghost, unassuming and quiet, silently sitting in a corner furiously writing in his notebook.  But at the Knitting Factory, where he held a screening of his film, ‘Echo Party’ and performance with fellow DJ/MC Paten Locke, it was like he has morphed into another being altogether…..(continued after the jump)

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DD172’s Under100 was popping this past Friday evening with a show featuring DJ Wordy, Bluroc artist, Peter Hadar, and LA’s ‘ambassador of boogie funk’, Dam Funk. (more photos after the jump)

The eclectic line-up really brought in the crowds into Under100’s intimate space, and thankfully, there were Red Stripes a plenty to keep the audience’s thirst quenched as they danced and grooved to the music into the early morning. Each artist masterfully worked their genre: Wordy on the turntables, Peter Hadar crooning the audience into a soulful lather, and the always-eccentric Dam Funk rocked, ranted, and rolled his way through his set to close out another successful evening for DD172 and Under100.  - Marshmellow (Photos by & Raquel Horn William Covintree)

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Write-up by Arielle Summers, Photos by Raquel M. Horn

Death by Audio, or DBA, as it’s more frequently referred to as, is typically known for its great indie rock line-ups and it always delivers. One can see any number of well known rock acts take the stage in the hidden space nestled close to the waterfront in Williamsburg. Friday night’s show, presented by Less Artists More Condos, a movement spearheaded by Ariel Panero, was nothing short of this successful formula, featuring bands Tough Knuckles, Snakes Say Hiss, Das Racist, and Lionshare, but with a bit of a truly epic twist. As described in the billing, there was a special guest performance to take the crowd into the early morning hours. Rumors and gossip were spread around the audience as the night progressed, but no one was 100% certain of the truth except for the event planners and a few lucky others, including DD172 staff members present at the event; Raquel Horn, editor-in-chief of Dash Publications, David Chang, web designer/admin for the DD172 blog and co-artistic director of The Color Bar and DD172 friend, 3x China DMC Champion and international superstar, DJ Wordy. It wasn’t until Snakes Say Hisss grabbed their guitars for what seemed like their second set of the evening that the magic was revealed. From the dingy hallway that leads one into the venue at DBA strutted a man, who, in all likelihood is one of the only people who can truly pull off a Canadian tuxedo and look like a rockstar, CAPO himself, the one and only, Jim Jones……………………

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