Faithful reader do not get discouraged by my lack of meaningful (or meaningless depending on how perceive it) updates. As the focus of this new job comes into scope, a better understanding of an update schedule will develop. For now, bear with me and enjoy the ride. First off I’d like to say a few words regarding Wednesday’s show at Pianos.
Prior to the Head Set / Sam Champion gig a bunch of kids rolled through 186 for beers. Sean Bones and I decided we should start a band that will take down Walk Humongous. Be prepared for the band that will knock the white cowboy boots off of Williamsburgers. We will destroy all in our path, and Walk Humongous is first on the list. As the time grew close, Max, Dan and I finished up a card game and cruised to the club with Emma, Matt, Pooja and Dana. Pianos was nice a packed which is always a welcome sight when your friend’s bands are playing. After some quick hellos, we slid to the back room for Sam Champion. They debuted their new line up with Sean (x-bones) on guitar. Sam Champion let the screws loose on this set and really brought the rock. With the addition of Sean on guitar, little changes, but the songs do have more of a big Alt-country-indie-rock feel rather than the singer songwriter style portrayed by the quieter sets. It’s nice to see the band swing to opposite sides of pendulum. Their huge set pleased all the warm bodies in the packed room. I’m looking forward to watching them evolve as a four-piece.
Everyone filed outside to get some fresh air after Sam Champion finished. Christie was kind enough to score me a margarita from El Sombrero which I sipped while talking to Dave and some of the other Razor and Tie crew that came to the show. Jin was hanging with Dj who was a pal and let me nip off his Jim Beam. The three of us returned to the back room to catch a few songs from The Head Set. Pianos is rarely mentioned in a discussion of my favorite clubs, but something was on the money Wednesday night because The Head Set sounded superb. Jordan’s confident swagger fits his personality, and he just lets it shine through on stage. Though one could easily lump them with the New York sound (read: The Strokes, The Walkmen, etc), it’s important to note the instances where they step away from these bands. First of all that’s Jordan’s real voice you are hearing. Julian Casablancas please take note; though I love the Strokes, real singers don’t need vocal effects. Additionally, there are some unique guitar parts and drumming that give it a reggae or dancehall type feel. If I’m not mistaken, Elliot pulls off some great upstrokes on his axe that add a great layer to their well constructed songs.
Near the latter half of their set, Dj, Jin and I ducked out and made our way to The Delancey in hopes of seeing Free Blood which is a band that includes a couple members from one of my favorites, !!! (Chk Chk Chk). Unfortunately they were hitting for another hour so we decided to have a quick beer and call it a night.
Thursday wasn’t nearly as crazy as Wednesday, but it still had all the elements of a solid day. My morning and afternoon was spent in class at Cooper Union. My new position requires some training so I found myself back in the classroom performing the same time passing techniques I employed during college. Did I mention my severe distaste for schooling?
My early evening was spent with Christina who came over for our Loose meeting. We dined on the delicious Tiny’s prior to getting down to business. The meeting went really well, and we have resolved our copyright issues and are now ready to move forward with a new logo. Keep your eyes peeled for the new digs. Mike did a great job. In the aftermath of the meeting we toasted our step forward with some delicious bourbon Builder had squirreled away in his bedroom. The boys left Christina and I so we watched my taping of the O.C. episode that ran early that evening. Did you see it? It was mentioned in a previous update, but if you missed it, let me know I have it on tape. The Walkmen were featured in the episode, and if you know what’s good for you, you’ll see the episode.
Friday’s class was a breeze. Entertainment was provided by an email scandal surrounding the pending trip to Red Lobster. Christie was kind enough to entertain me during my lunch hour. We sat on a 9th Street stoop and sipped coffee in the decent weather. Builder and I sat around after work bitching at one another before the Shrimps crew began to trickle in. By 7:30pm we had Chernin, Beach, Daylen, Mia and Gigs in the house. We took a quick knifer and set out for Time Square. On our way in the subway, Builder made the call on a perfect Belin that found Noah, Builder, Gigs and I in a cab while the rest of the crew took the subway.
Time Square is a terrible place. Why do people flock to it? Tourists are fucking idiots. Anyway, Red Lobster was a mad house. Think of a packed show or some Vice party at Happy Endings and then image it ten times worse. So the party moved over to the bar portion of the three story fuckfest and sipped drinks while waiting for shrimp. With the prospect of a table growing distant, Noah and I decided to take matters into our own hands. We managed to snag a booth in the bar area where Builder, Noah and I ate a disgusting amount of food. This kind of shit needs to stop. Chili’s is definitely worth the bloated feeling one gets after eating Awesome Blossoms and what not, but I’ll never eat at Red Lobster again, (at least not until I have a few kids and work a shitty job in middle America). After dinner we took a quick walk, but it didn’t help much. We cruised upstairs to say farewell to the rest of the party. Noah, Lucy, Tumbleweed, Eileen and I snagged the F Train and returned to the neighborhood.
Noah and I hung out for a few before he took off and left me waiting to decide what the hell should be done with my evening. Stevo stopped by around 1am. His visit pushed me over the edge, so I chugged a Sparks, took a shower and made way for Welcome to the Johnsons. Did everyone in the East Village stop by Johnsons on Friday night? The bar was ridiculously packed, but we got drinks and had a seat with Dana and her friend Teresa. A few drinks and a few punches from Dana later, we were joined by Dee and Hawkins who added to the whole craziness of the evening. By the time last call was announced, everyone seemed to be in the bag. Everyone except me.
We figured our best bet would be a return back to 186 where we quickly woke the sleeping beauty known as Builder. We retired to the kitchen for some drunken antics that got sketchy as hell. It was the most awkward situation that has unfolded in 186’s chow room. Eventually most people trickled out while Dana and I decided it was time for her to watch last weeks episode of the O.C. Bad idea. I was passed out by the end and Dana can barely remember a second of it.
Saturday didn’t get started until 3pm. At this point I was on a mission for food. A quick call to Hawkins found me at Clinton Street Bakery with the Hawk, Anoush, Caroline (little Burley!) and her friend Chase. We dined over discussions of prescription drugs and how to get pot at different vacation spots. Little did they know, I’ve never gone anywhere. After brunch I hustled home to clean up for a night of work at Webster Hall. The Hives were headlining with the Rogers Sisters and The Deadly Snakes opening up. The night was a bit of a cluster fuck because we had a sold out show and the club had a big line for the dance party. Since I was directing traffic on Saturday, I froze my ass off. Following our shift, Noah and I went down to 186 to waste the evening watching U2 on Saturday Night Live. They are such loveable wanks. By the way, when did SNL get so fucking funny?
My Xanax induced slumber was interrupted by my need for football. Dan came over to watch the Jets stumble to a win against the Cleveland Browns. It was a terrible game, but Curtis played well and we got the win. Then I watched the Giants drop a ton of passes in Eli Manning’s NFL debut under center. It was quite pitiful, but sometimes you just have a bad day. Sunday the entire receiving core for the Giants had a collective poor game on Sunday. It was back to Webster Hall for work. The second night of The Hives was really mellow and the few songs I got to see were fantastic. Though I didn’t like the set they played at Irving a few months ago, they sounded right on last night. Pelle is a riot.
Are you one of the kids who, like me, decided to skip the holiday traffic this Thanksgiving to stay in the city? New York will come to a standstill, but we still want to party. If you know me or are completely at a loss, drop me a line because we are cooking a big dinner on Thursday. Consider yourself invited. It should be a drunken good time with the leftovers, (yeah, that’s what I’m calling the kids who stayed behind). If you have turkey plans and just want to party later in the weekend, give me a ring and we’ll set up a Culkin.
*** The Sons of Sound changed their name to Saints and Lovers. They have a December 18th gig at the Mercury Lounge with Bishop Allen and We Are Scientists. Nice work on another local all-star evening.
*** Vanilla Ice or The Crocodile Hunter?
*** Who would have guessed? Craig IS crazy, (thanks to Jordan for the links).
4 Comments:
Jay, you have to elaborate on the awkwardness that happened; I want to know so badly if you tried to forcefully put your giblet into someone's mouth, or if something even more awkward happened. Please tell us.
giblet???
I think it's part of a turkey, but judging by the context, i'd have to say a giblet is another name for Jay's munchkin-junk.
hey i love your blog!
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