Since I’m such a son-of-a-bitch and complain most of the time, I want to go on public record saying at this moment, at this very point in time, I feel pretty fucking good. This could change in a day. Hell, it could change in an hour, but right now things are finally coming together and life feels a bit easier. The biggest change has been my adherence to a newly imposed budget. With bills, birthdays, rent and food, developing a budget has been no easy task. Heaps of free burritos and nice people who score me rock shows (thanks to all of you who might read this), have helped me steady the murky financial waters of my early twenties, (at least until I have to start paying loans). Does this mean I’m loaded? Absolutely not. It means that I’m not dead broke three days before my next paycheck. Hopefully I can keep this up, but with Christmas around the corner, it could get difficult.
There are other reasons for me to smile these days, but who wants to kill a good thing?
Kyle and I met post work to indulge in some free burritos from Chipotle. If you haven’t wolfed down one of their ginormous burritos yet, give me a call and I’ll treat. It might not be Mary Ann’s, but they are free and filling, (free because I snaked so many coupons). We finished our hand held Mexican assassins and split. With a little time to kill, I cruised into Kim’s in hopes of finding Arcade Fire’s new record. It’s been awhile since I’ve combed the stacks of a record store (Saturday didn’t count), but it is a rejuvenating and somewhat disappointing process. Rejuvenating in the sense that you realize there are tons of new records needing a listen. Disappointing because a spending spree would destroy the aforementioned budget.
Around 6pm I walked up to Webster Hall to get my instructions for last nights show. The Canadian rock group Tragically Hip were headlining the gig with the Sam Robert's Band scheduled to kick off the evening. I’m still new to this process, but luckily there was assistance every step of the way. The people who work with the clubs really look out for their employees. Naturally, their top priority is the concert goers, but it feels like everyone understands that if their staff is cool, collected and in good spirits, it will heighten the overall experience.
Assigned to the guest list, I took my spot at the second door with my main men Willy and Steve. There was a bit of a wait before people started rolling it, but that gave me a chance to look over the lists only to find that Dan Ackroyd was set to make an appearance. As the show started, the kids began cruising in and the whole process went smoothly. It was a great crowd of people who were quite tame in their pursuit of the rock.
Once I was relieved of my duties, I went upstairs with Mia and Dan to check out The Hip. We ran into Beacheros and The Man who were enjoying what Noah called The Counting Crows of the North. They didn’t strike me as a copy of Duritz and the crew, but more of a Canadian version of R.E.M. The Michael Stipe comparison is obvious, but one thing I heard was some heavy Doors influence in their extended grooves. The Hip has been at it for awhile, and last night it felt like they still could bring it.
We cut out of Webster around 10:30pm and Mia drove Beacheros, Dan and I to the Bowery for the Metric show. With the hopes of catching some Death From Above 1979 we hustled into the club and gave a quick hello to Denise. By the time we got a drink and made our way to the back steps, they had finished so we said hello to Phoebe, Molly, Katie and Matt. It’s been ages since I last saw Miss Berta, and though we love to pick on each other, it’s always a distinct pleasure to catch up.
After finding our way to the back corner, Daylen, Tumblehawk, Lucy and Ilene (is that right?) joined us for the Emily Haines aka Metric show. While waiting for a drink I ran into Jo who was gushing about the DFA1979 set I just missed, (boooo). Then this hilarious guy started talking to me and was boasting that I was the guy who turned him on to Metric. At last year’s CMJ show featuring Broken Social Scene and Metric, this guy stood in the back and talked with me while his friend ogled over Emily. He went on to explain how his Haines obsessed threw pairs of Haynes at her during their last Mercury Lounge show.
They took the stage around 11pm and delivered their danceable indie pop to a sold out house. Visually they feel like the second coming of No Doubt, but their music is built upon a sturdy foundation of art school and deadpan vocal rants that occassionaly take the leap into melody. Metric is a band that’s wants you to relate to their songs no matter how obscure or off the wall Haines vocals may seem. They offset their tricky wordsmith accessible rhythms and a new wave guitar style that never gets to hard but doesn’t let up. The mix for Metric always feels off, but now I’m realizing it’s the importance of Haines lyrics that they want to showcase. The melodramatic Haines leaves nothing to chance as she ropes all onlookers and leads them through her subtle political agenda while the boys back her up with a façade fit for the kids.
After a five or so songs, I felt the sway creeping up on me so it was back to 186 for me where I hung out with my good friend Cap’t Morgan while watching Ashlee Simpson try to land Jimmy Fallon in prison.
So it’s been awhile, but this morning I was graced with a killer Ipod Shuffle that definitely warrants posting: Sex Pistols, Holiday In The Sun; Wire, Straight Line; Libertines, Can’t Stand Me Now; United States of America, Heresy; Gerling, Wacked Light; Otis Gayle, I’ll Be Around; The Walkmen, New Year’s Eve; Pixies, Where Is My Mind; Interpol, Obstacle 1; Ratatat, El Pico.
4 Comments:
where did you get the free burrito coupons?!
work hooked it up. kind of. they gave a bunch to the university and i wreaped the benefits.
kudos to canada for producing three good bands that i actually like. funny thing though about broken social scene is that about a month ago they did a show where they claimed to be breaking up and that it would be their last show. a few of my friends were there and were really shocked. i guess they were just taking the piss. oh ya, good to read that things are going so well. happy to hear it. scat
dudeness, i apologize for my communications skills (or rather lack there of) last week - i ended up not going to the d.o.p. show, but i was at the metric show and didn't see you! funny how such a small space can be filled with such an ocean of people. it's definately far too easy to lose folks in such a crowd let alone find them i guess.
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