This was written on Monday before shit hit the fan at my office…
At this moment in time, there is a demon in my stomach forcing me to slouch in serious pain. If this is a fraction of the discomfort a woman endures once a month, then I have to hand it to that resilient sex. They are tougher than a box of coffin nails. My stomach aches are due to a voluntary mistake made by Steve and I while ordering dinner last night. Let me make this clear; unless you are daring, do not order the Hot Wings from Nice Guy Eddies. They will force you to sit up at night testing your will to live. In addition to this blunder, we also split a blackened chicken sandwich. I’m filling out the paper work to change my middle name to Pepto.
The past few nights have felt like a giant reunion of all my friends from college. It started on Thursday when Sarah, Sean, Noah and I gathered at 186 to watch The O.C. First of all, I don’t quite know what to think about the constant barrage of indie music featured on the program. Last week we heard Interpol at three different points on the show along with Elliot Smith and what I thought was the Black Keys. Like I said, this all has me a bit flustered, but it’s better than hearing garbage filling the audio space on the show. If it helps sell records and gain exposure, more power to the artists. A nod should also be given to the music director of the program. It sure beats the shit out of hearing Six Pence None the Richer croon while Dawson tries to stop himself from wanking all over Joey.
Around 10pm we made our way to Eleven for Audrey’s Thursday night party called Atomique. We got there a bit early because they were still setting up, but we took a booth and listened to the new Trail of Dead record. After some technical difficulties got kinked out, Audrey took over for a bit before passing me the reigns. Scroll below if you are interested in reading some of the songs I selected. It felt like a really fun set, and all the positive feedback from my friends in club kept me confident. Again, a big thank you goes out to all of you who braved the nasty weather to come hang out and smoke cigarettes. Everyone seemed to have a great time, and truth be told, that’s the only thing that matter.
After a couple hours of bouncing around the booth, I closed my set off with some hip hop and The Faint. Dennis stepped up and took over as my time came to an end. He kept the kids around with a great set before Audrey took over and spun the rest of the evening. By 2am I had enough. No more dancing like a robot with Mike. No more indecent comments to a lesbian about her butt. No more desperate attempts to hit on a young friend’s friend. The night was over. And I hustled home in great fear of getting jumped and losing my crate of tunes.
With my boss out of the office, Friday became a bit of a shitstorm. Thankfully my co-work Lauren and I went out for quesadillas and margaritas at lunch. It took the edge off, but wasn’t nearly the boost necessary for making the afternoon disappear. I forgot to say thanks to Justin for stopping down to my office on Thursday to drop off some burns and shoot the shit. A big happy birthday goes out to him. Sorry about missing your party this weekend. Anyway, after work, I cruised home with the hope of taking a nap and getting up in time to check out the art show. Unfortunately, my nap ran long and I didn’t get up until 11pm. Dan had shown up with a few PBR’s that we nursed until it was time to head to the Luna.
As we approached the club it became apparent that all the old all-stars came out for The Stammers final gig at the Luna Lounge. It’s too bad that place is going out of business. Besides their dickhead soundman that has a bit of a temper, that club was a gem on the Lower East Side. Cruise by the club to catch your last few glimpses of free rock in that part of town. The Stammers sounded great. They are playing with the new addition of Alec on bass. He brings a new dimension of good times to the band. The Stammers aren’t the liveliest stage act, but on Friday they kicked (no pun intended) that stereotype to the curb. The entire band rocked out on Friday which pleased the packed room of familiar faces.
Now it’s Tuesday and I’m going to finish this entry…
After the show the crowd was milling about out front trying to make the choice of what bar would house the after party. Not being one to like this type of back and forth, I ducked out and over to the Mercury Lounge to have a couple drinks with Beach, Gigs and Liz. As we sipped on vodka tonics, Erin called to let me know The Hanger was the lucky winner in the search for further libations. When I arrived the place was already packed. The must have been a neighborhood skate crew in the bar because the kids looked hip, but not Dark Room hip. Skater kids have a style that kicks the shit out of the rock kids. Its science. The night grew long as Stevo and I pounded tequila shots until it was 4am and time to go home. A quick note to Dunkin Donuts; please stock more bagels for the 4am shift. You broke our hearts.
Saturday was fucking rad even though I woke up earlier than expected. Around 1pm Builder and I set off on a day of commerce that began with brunch at Colonial Café on Houston and something St. That establishment could kick a lot more ass if they took out one table to make it less cramped. Their servers have to weigh less than 110lbs if they are going to make it through the maze of dinners. We finished up our salmon dishes and cruised over to EMS where I finally purchased a pair of boots. Though I’m not completely comfortable wearing them, they will come in handy on could nights at work. We stopped into the Apple Store to say hello to Michael before walking back to Etherea to say hello to the other Mike. Builder was upset they didn’t have all the Apex Twin that was promised, but he pressed on.
A bottle of wine later and I was beached on the couch for the duration of the afternoon watching the first season DVD of Arrested Development. It was fabulous. You need to get into this show because its amazing. I scored a solid two hour nap before waking up to Builder and Chernin’s appearance in 186. At 8pm Builder and I headed to Christina’s house for a Loose Record dinner and meeting. The crew downed some delicious Chinese food while discussing the fate of the company. Everything was hammered out and we were ready to invite our fifth wheel or first employee depending on how you look at things.
We left Christina’s 40 flight walk-up before 10pm so we could be at Bside in time for the surprise. We were the first kids through the door, so we scored drinks and slid to the back of the bar. As the crew trickled in and we pseudo surprised Jordan, it became apparent that for the third night in a row, I was partying with a large portion of my college friends. These nights came with mixed feelings, but nothing on the negative. I couldn’t tell whether to be nostalgic or simply rowdy. We managed to carve out a happy medium. As the night grew late, Beach claims I got surely, so it was a good thing Dana and I split a cab back to the neighborhood. A big Happy Birthday goes out to Jordan who finally turned 18 this weekend. Was it 18 or 29? Fuck, I can’t remember.
Sunday started with another meeting at Christina’s to welcome the recent addition of Loose Record. We scored ourselves a programmer who is going to help make our site something totally worth a good mind-fuck. We are psyched to have the new guy on board, and don’t worry, you’ll get a chance to meet him soon. We worked for a few hours before breaking down into a hangout. Then Josh, Mike and I went to some joint on Saint Marks for delicious half price sushi. After lupper (or linner), I returned to 186 for the rest of the evening. Stevo joined me for some much deserved couch time. We had a relaxing evening until the wings that were mentioned earlier made their way into our bellies. Then it was demon battling time.
Last night was a bit of a downer. Everyone seemed to be in a mood after what sounded like a terrible Monday for most. Christina came over to talk web work for awhile before we ordered Tiny’s and watched some show where they bust up a house and pimp it out. Christina couldn’t stop gushing about the host Ty. I do an awesome Ty impression. Later that evening I met Sean Bones, Builds and Beach at 2A for a number of cocktails. As we discussed this week’s plans, bloggers and the Superbowl, it occurred to me that a scaled down hang is much more my style, (even though I was being quite a bastard). It was a much needed ending to a crazy day at work.
*** All hail British Sea Power. The fantastic English band will release their second full-length record on March 21st with touring to follow. If you don’t see them at Coachella (or if you do), make sure you keep an eye on Ticketweb for their May 13th appearance at the Bowery Ballroom. Their last Bowery show blew me away. *CORRECTION* The album will be released April 4th, (Thanks Tumblehawk).
*** We all knew Beck is a crazy bastard, but this proves it’s motivated by cult like following, and I don’t mean his fans, (via ProductshopNYC).
*** According to an email and the club’s office website, it looks like Tonic might follow the most recent trend in rock venues; closing. How is this happening? Tonic is such a reputable source for underground sonic invention. Get your ass to the club this month to show some love. Here are a few suggestions:
- February 6th: Metallic Falcons w/Winter Pageant and The Dirty Projectors
- February 9th: Langhorne Slim w/Kimya Dawson and The Trachtenberg Family
- February 11th: Parts and Labor
- February 24th: Ben Lee (I didn’t know he covered Float On)
*** Pour Johnny. Maybe if he stopped howling like a jack his voice might hold up. Universal can’t be happy with this since the road is the only place they’ll make money.
*** There are rumors about Trail of Dead and Dungen may be teaming up for what would be the best spring tour ever. And The Go! Team will be stopping by the Mercury Lounge before heading to Texas for SXSW. This will be spectacular.
*** If you missed out on scoring tickets to the Webster Hall or Irving Plaza shows, this might be the closet you’re going to get to seeing The Arcade Fire live this week.
*** Don’t expect this kind of charity to last. Pete Libertine does a little good for once. Now if he could stop smoking crack, maybe he could get on track.
*** Interpol won’t be calling it quits after their tour with Blonde Redhead. The NYC golden boys are playing a handful of dates with Q and Not U before taking a break from the road. Anyone up for a trip to The Falls?
2 Comments:
Hey Jay, just thought I'd let you know BSP sent out a newsletter letting fans know that Open Season will NOT be released March 21st, but instead on April 4th.
Thanks so much tumbleweed.
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