"You go to a movie, you go to a show...
...You think you're living but you don't really know"
-Elvis Costello
This week has been busy as hell. Work has been crazy and every night that I haven't been working late, I've been rushing out of work to run to concerts. And it's only going to get worse as I fill in for a bunch of editors this week--especially since this week is CMJ and there are exciting, interesting concerts every night. So far my CMJ plans include the Faint/TV on the Radio at Webster Hall, controller.controller at Pianos, and the Bravery at Plaid. I wish I could go to the Low/Thermals show at Mercury but as I am without adaquate press credentials to get a badge and since Mercury Lounge doesn't sell tickets in advance, I'd probably spend the evening outside waiting in line. So, fuck that. I will say this though: If you are overwhelmed by the cmj calendar (you can check it here) and don't know what shows to go to or what bands will be interesting I have one tip for you--the Bravery. Their Arlene Grocery residency in May was a sell-out and they are getting some great buzz (whatever the fuck that is!). Hell, they even got a shout out in the new Entertainment Weekly. I've written about them for the Voice a couple of times. Basically they marry the clinical cool of New Order's synth pop with the drunkenly indifferent croon of Julian Casablancas. What could be bad about that?!
I can't believe I have a whole shitty week of work and show-going ahead of me because, frankly, I'm fucking exhausted after last week and a little concert-ed out. Last Sunday was the Black Keys' show, which was good. I was a little thrown by how much the lead singer resembled the original actor who played Todd Manning on One Life to Live (Christ, that is the single saddest sentance I've written in a long time!), but aside from that they played some great covers (the Kinks, the Stooges) and just generally rocked their sludgy, dirty Midwestern blues. It's always so interesting to me when just two people can totally fill out a song.
Tuesday was the Killers' show. Now, you know I can't really write anything bad about this band. I want Brandon Flowers to father my children and it is always really fun to see them live because their music is so danceable. Plus, I love going to shows where you know every single song (I guess this is what happens when you only have one album and like 15 songs!) and you can sing along and you are excited about each song. That happens so infrequently. (So often bands are testing new material off an album that isn't out yet or you've just gotten into a band and they are playing stuff off of older albums that you aren't familiar with.) And it was great to think about how far the band has come in one year. Last October, I was dragging Beth and Shaya to see them play a short showcase set at Don freakin' Hills and now they are selling out two nights at the thousand seat venue of Irving Plaza! However, Tuesday might've been my last Killers' show for a while. It was too crowded with assholes thowing up devil horns and drunk college kids puking in the bathrooms and frat boys waving their hands in the air like they just don't care. I'm not begrudging them widespread popularity--hell, I'm glad these jack asses in the general public finally got hip to something that is actually good--I just don't think that I can be in the same room as them unless I have a fancy VIP pass that allows me to sit far, far away from the yahoos who blocked my view and knocked me around with their retarded dancing. After like 3 songs, Beth and I gave up and went to stand in the back with the rest of the grown ups. I still danced around like an idiot and sang along with every song, even though we'd moved to the land of the too-cool-to-even-nod-along. After the show ended, I bought some merch to make up for the fact that I'll probably never go see them live again. (Well, that was part of the reason. I also had to run away and look busy to avoid talking to the worst lay ever. Sadly, I can't even remember his name. I just saw him, made eye contact and spun around to buy a tote bag. Frankly that was a conversation I just didn't want to have.)
Then Friday was the Rilo Kiley show, which totally made up for my lack of enthusiasm about the Killers'. It was honestly one of the best live shows I've seen all year. I mean they had some sound problems, but who cares when you are drunk and hanging out with Jessica (see Jess, I told you you get mentioned on the blog!) and listening to songs off one of my favorite albums of the year and watching perhaps the most mesmerizing frontwomen ever. Seriouly, I want to BE Jenny Lewis when I grow up. She was wearing this itty bitty Austin-Powers-esque pink mini dress and white fishnets and played like four instruments (bass, guitar, keyboards and harmonica) and was so enchanting and sexy and powerful. It is rare that women are able to convey vulnerability AND power on stage at the same time. The crowd was totally made up of super-fans who sang along with every song and (unlike the Killers show) they seemed more my age and less annoying and rowdy. Everyone was just totally enraptured. I think my favorite part was the first encore when Blake came out with the trumpet player (yeah dude, they had like a whole freakin' orchestra up on stage with them--horns, strings!) and they broke into an acoustic version of the Postal Service's "Such Great Heights" and then Jenny came out to play piano with them and sing back up. I LOVE that song and this version was so intimate and precious (I mean that as a compliment) without the itchy electronic beats of the original. (Um, that wasn't a put-down of the original--I like the itchy clicks and beeps.) Seriously, it was a great show. And I'm especially glad that Jessica and I went because--given that they easily sold out two nights at the Bowery like a month in advance--I bet I won't have another chance to see them again in such an intimate venue.
Can I just mention--before I go--that as I wrote this I was flipping between VH1 Classic's show "the Alternative" and MTV2's "Subteranean" and I just saw a Decemberists'' video and am now watching the video for "The Boy with the Thorn in His Side"? Wow! Sometimes there is something good on music television.
-Elvis Costello
This week has been busy as hell. Work has been crazy and every night that I haven't been working late, I've been rushing out of work to run to concerts. And it's only going to get worse as I fill in for a bunch of editors this week--especially since this week is CMJ and there are exciting, interesting concerts every night. So far my CMJ plans include the Faint/TV on the Radio at Webster Hall, controller.controller at Pianos, and the Bravery at Plaid. I wish I could go to the Low/Thermals show at Mercury but as I am without adaquate press credentials to get a badge and since Mercury Lounge doesn't sell tickets in advance, I'd probably spend the evening outside waiting in line. So, fuck that. I will say this though: If you are overwhelmed by the cmj calendar (you can check it here) and don't know what shows to go to or what bands will be interesting I have one tip for you--the Bravery. Their Arlene Grocery residency in May was a sell-out and they are getting some great buzz (whatever the fuck that is!). Hell, they even got a shout out in the new Entertainment Weekly. I've written about them for the Voice a couple of times. Basically they marry the clinical cool of New Order's synth pop with the drunkenly indifferent croon of Julian Casablancas. What could be bad about that?!
I can't believe I have a whole shitty week of work and show-going ahead of me because, frankly, I'm fucking exhausted after last week and a little concert-ed out. Last Sunday was the Black Keys' show, which was good. I was a little thrown by how much the lead singer resembled the original actor who played Todd Manning on One Life to Live (Christ, that is the single saddest sentance I've written in a long time!), but aside from that they played some great covers (the Kinks, the Stooges) and just generally rocked their sludgy, dirty Midwestern blues. It's always so interesting to me when just two people can totally fill out a song.
Tuesday was the Killers' show. Now, you know I can't really write anything bad about this band. I want Brandon Flowers to father my children and it is always really fun to see them live because their music is so danceable. Plus, I love going to shows where you know every single song (I guess this is what happens when you only have one album and like 15 songs!) and you can sing along and you are excited about each song. That happens so infrequently. (So often bands are testing new material off an album that isn't out yet or you've just gotten into a band and they are playing stuff off of older albums that you aren't familiar with.) And it was great to think about how far the band has come in one year. Last October, I was dragging Beth and Shaya to see them play a short showcase set at Don freakin' Hills and now they are selling out two nights at the thousand seat venue of Irving Plaza! However, Tuesday might've been my last Killers' show for a while. It was too crowded with assholes thowing up devil horns and drunk college kids puking in the bathrooms and frat boys waving their hands in the air like they just don't care. I'm not begrudging them widespread popularity--hell, I'm glad these jack asses in the general public finally got hip to something that is actually good--I just don't think that I can be in the same room as them unless I have a fancy VIP pass that allows me to sit far, far away from the yahoos who blocked my view and knocked me around with their retarded dancing. After like 3 songs, Beth and I gave up and went to stand in the back with the rest of the grown ups. I still danced around like an idiot and sang along with every song, even though we'd moved to the land of the too-cool-to-even-nod-along. After the show ended, I bought some merch to make up for the fact that I'll probably never go see them live again. (Well, that was part of the reason. I also had to run away and look busy to avoid talking to the worst lay ever. Sadly, I can't even remember his name. I just saw him, made eye contact and spun around to buy a tote bag. Frankly that was a conversation I just didn't want to have.)
Then Friday was the Rilo Kiley show, which totally made up for my lack of enthusiasm about the Killers'. It was honestly one of the best live shows I've seen all year. I mean they had some sound problems, but who cares when you are drunk and hanging out with Jessica (see Jess, I told you you get mentioned on the blog!) and listening to songs off one of my favorite albums of the year and watching perhaps the most mesmerizing frontwomen ever. Seriouly, I want to BE Jenny Lewis when I grow up. She was wearing this itty bitty Austin-Powers-esque pink mini dress and white fishnets and played like four instruments (bass, guitar, keyboards and harmonica) and was so enchanting and sexy and powerful. It is rare that women are able to convey vulnerability AND power on stage at the same time. The crowd was totally made up of super-fans who sang along with every song and (unlike the Killers show) they seemed more my age and less annoying and rowdy. Everyone was just totally enraptured. I think my favorite part was the first encore when Blake came out with the trumpet player (yeah dude, they had like a whole freakin' orchestra up on stage with them--horns, strings!) and they broke into an acoustic version of the Postal Service's "Such Great Heights" and then Jenny came out to play piano with them and sing back up. I LOVE that song and this version was so intimate and precious (I mean that as a compliment) without the itchy electronic beats of the original. (Um, that wasn't a put-down of the original--I like the itchy clicks and beeps.) Seriously, it was a great show. And I'm especially glad that Jessica and I went because--given that they easily sold out two nights at the Bowery like a month in advance--I bet I won't have another chance to see them again in such an intimate venue.
Can I just mention--before I go--that as I wrote this I was flipping between VH1 Classic's show "the Alternative" and MTV2's "Subteranean" and I just saw a Decemberists'' video and am now watching the video for "The Boy with the Thorn in His Side"? Wow! Sometimes there is something good on music television.
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