It’s been ages since my last rant on caravanning with my crew of dirty roustabouts so bare with this post. There will be hole, but I’ll do my best to fill them. I just said goodbye to the last of my company, and with that hope my life can return to some self centered normalcy. The ride began on Friday when none other than the Scottish Sensation known as Graeme showed up at my office. We decided drinks were in order so we stopped by Juanita’s for cheap margaritas ala Will. We returned to 186 for a bit of a hang before being joined by Whitney (Portland) and The Knowledgist (D.C.). After Syracuse took an early exit from the tournament, we strolled over to Crash Mansion for a set by Arbor Day. It’s too bad that Crash Mansion is such a weird venue because I could get used to an hour of free drinks followed by buckets of PBR, (7 cans for $10). Kyle said it best when after Arbor Day’s second song he shouted, “This place sucks,” at the top of his lungs. Leave it to Kyle to vocalize everyone’s thoughts.
The visitors and I ducked out during their last song and took a quick cab ride to 14th Street for a party in honor of Rebecca’s birthday. The party was packed full of younger kids since Rebecca lives with a bunch of 19 year olds. This didn’t bother us because it meant Mike would have a “Worm Off” with Rebecca’s little sister, (dance move not eatting contest). They cleared the room and wiggled across the floor in hilarious fashion as we sat back getting toasty. Eventually solids like Dan and Beach showed up which helped us turn the bitch out. At some point we slid over to Bar 119 on 15th Street where I made a scene at the pool table. Some kid accused me of stealing the cue ball off the table. After some honest denial, the kid got a bit pushy. Eventually I told him to fuck off so he got in my face. As we were about to make the step outside, his buddy pulled him away from the confrontation. This is when Whitney ducked into me and claimed that he totally had the cue ball the entire time. Thanks Whit, (jackass).After a couple games of shitty pool, the boys and I hit the streets for some pizza and destruction. People should know not to leave florescent light bulbs out on a Friday night because a bunch of jackass kids will surely break them. Once we finished our light saber battles we returned to 186 for some shut eye.
When I came to, it was 9am and my shoes were still on. Whitney was passed out next to me while the other chaps were strewn throughout the apartment. By 10am we had gathered in my room to devise a plan for the day. It started with some brunch at the General Store after a few failed attempts to eat elsewhere. We cruised up to Thompkins Square Park so Graeme could get some shots of the dog run before heading down to Nice Guy Eddies for a game of billiards and a couple beers. Jeff and Liz met up with us as we finished at the bar and spent the rest of the afternoon cruising around shopping. We were like a group of hokey tourists. A number of establishments were hit including Classic Kicks, Other Music, Tower Video, Transit, The Apple Store, Supreme Trading, American Apparel and The Vice Store. Following the marathon we set up base camp at Welcome to the Johnson’s. Their Saturday afternoon margaritas are becoming a favorite of mine.After a rest and some showers, we decided to catch dinner at Crif Dog. Did you guys know Tony Hawk works at this weenie shop? I shit you not. Check it out and while you’re at it get a bacon wrapped hotdog and some tater tots. A quick Sparks session didn’t help my stomach, but the boys pressed on to the Mercury Lounge. Cara joined the crew of dudes that also included Justin who was at the club to see some brass band jam out. With a couple bevies floating in the belly, we hopped over to The Mud Spot where Kyle, Leah, Dan and a bunch of other Mudders were celebrating Ian’s birthday with cheap Magic Hat and some CCR. We had a beer or two before it got overly crowded inside and forced us to make a move.
The next stop was at our old college haunt, Grass Root Tavern on St. Marks Place. It’s always funny (weird not haha) to be back in the bar where so many nights were destroyed. During the middle years of higher education, you would have been hard pressed to stop into that bar and not find someone from the crew getting drunk on cheap pitches slung by Bob or Maria. We took some shots and got a bit randy before heading back to Johnson’s to close out our night in the same fashion as we started. This time we had Moser and Beach along for the ride that lasted till the lights came on and the bartenders threw us out. We all returned to 186 for a late night session that involved passing out while the party continued way past dawn.
Sunday began with Cara, Knowledge aka Bob Barker Jr., Whitness and I getting some breakfast at Odessa while Graeme was on a flight to Miami. I made the mistake of getting the Pierogies and Kielbasa for breakfast. Something I’d highly advise against. After breakfast Cara returned to the Dirty Jersey while Knowledgist snagged a bus back to the Capital City. Whitney and I decided it was Margarita Thirty so we picked up some mixers and went to Beach’s house for an afternoon of basketball and beverages. The tournament has been such a surprise this year. I can’t seem to figure out what’s going to happen, but with all the number one seeds still alive, it would be difficult to bet against them.Once the buzzer rang on the final game, we met with Builder for some coconut shrimp at Boca Chica. He filled us in on the plus’s and minus’s of jolly old London. It’s too bad the dollar is getting hammered over there. A vacation to the U.K. would certainly break my slimmer than Kate Moss budget. After dinner we cruised back to 186 for an evening viewing of The Incredibles with Kyle and Mr. Frenchy who is back from his three week vacation to Paris. If you haven’t seen Pixar’s latest gem, do yourself a favor. It may be my favorite yet and with Jason Lee voicing the villain, how could you go wrong? A solid weekend was had by all who didn’t have the opportunity to rock out in Texas with the rest of the allstars.
Monday was a hellish workday, but that was easy to put behind me because it was also the same day I’d make my Mercury Lounge debut. Around 7pm Whit helped me pack up my gear and drag it over to the club. While The Big Sleep were busy checking, I hung outside with Greg who told me all about his latest creative endeavor as an MC for his new hip hop group Lawn Chair Gigolos, (sorry if that name isn’t 100% accurate). By 8pm Marc set me up and I was in the back playing to a sparsely populated back room that included Denise, Jin, Kyle, Beach, Daylen, Builder, Xtina, Tumblehawk, Lucy, Whitney and Dana. The nice part about having the familiar faces is the lessened pressure on my picks. Basically I played songs only Builder would love, but it seemed to keep everyone happy.
A bit after 9pm The Big Sleep took the stage and completely wowed the early crowd. They were loud. They were powerful. They were just as I remembered them from the first time I saw them except this time they were tighter. Saying this band is loud is a bit of an understatement. Their dirty boogie would strip the paint off of Graceland. The Big Sleep made it nearly impossible to stand still while they belted out some kick ass jams. They are definitely one of my top bands these days and thanks go out to Sonya for passing the word onto Danny that I was looking for a record. He hooked me up with a three song rough mix of their upcoming work, and it is simply fantastic. The guitar work, the drum beats, the break downs, the keys; everything they do impresses me.
Once they finished I was back to work playing some R.E.M., Pop Song 89 and Soul Asylum Somebody to Shove. My only slip came during this change over when I forgot about the abrupt ending to a Built to Spill song. The few seconds of silence weren’t very noticeable except by Whit and Dana who stood their laughing at me. I also played The Upwelling for Nora who showed up during the latter half of The Big Sleep. This is the point of the evening where lines start to blur thanks to tequila shots and tons of friends. I found myself smoking while The Mobius Band played the first half of their set. Upon my return, I was pleasantly surprised by the packed room and their solid electronic rock style. I’ve loved the Mobius Band for quite some time, but for some reason I couldn’t pay attention on Monday night.As soon as they finished, I blasted Daft Punk’s Robot Rock, New Order’s Krafty and Gorillaz Dirty Harry in rapidfire succession. Those songs get me so amped. By the time The Go! Team took the stage the room was so packed it felt kind of ridiculous. In my highly intoxicated state, I became awfully nervous about someone nicking my disc’s so I stood guard while they kicked things off with Junior Kickstart. Though I was highly excited to finally see the band Kyle and I have been rocking for so long, I was a bit disappointed. First of all, Ninja needs a Culkin. She is their lead singer and though her enthusiasm is welcomed sometimes she needed to shut the fuck up. Additionally, I thought they would be a huge band with a horn section, but the horns were simply played in the mix from a CD or something. This was a bummer, but they still delivered a decent set to the hyped room. I played some more tracks following their set. The room eventually cleared and my drunk ass hit the pillow hard.
My apologies to Sal’s for ordering yet another one of your delicious pizza’s and falling asleep before it arrived.
Thinking ahead can be a godsend. On Tuesday I managed to sleep off my hangover thanks to my boss approving a vacation day a couple weeks ago. Whit and I wasted the early afternoon watching Shawn of the Dead which is one of the funniest movies I’ve seen in years. You should all go out and rent this flick. Despite the gruesome nature of a zombie film, the picture is doused with one gut buster after the next. In an effort to enjoy some of the beautiful afternoon, we hit the streets around 3pm and stopped by the Mud Truck to say hello to Kyle before cruising around Union Square. We got back to 186 around 5pm and met with Kyle an hour later at Max’s for some dinner. Unfortunately that restaurant is bullshit. At 6pm on a Tuesday with the restaurant at less than 25% capacity, they sat the three of us at the smallest table possible next to one of the only other parties in the joint. When I asked for them to move us, they denied so we made a stink and bounced to Mary Ann’s for some stellar Mexican and margaritas.Later that evening we stopped by The Mercury Lounge to catch the tail end of a set by the U.K. (thanks for the correction) five-piece that goes by the name of Pure Reason Revolution. Yes, I know the name is a bit of a wank-a-thon, but they were fucking amazing. It was grunge inspired hard rock that had some heavy melodies and some interesting vocal harmonies. Oh, they also have a super cute singer who looks like she should live on the coolest street in Williamsburg.
Beach, Whit and I hustled out of the club and were picked up by Daylen in a cab that took us to the Knitting Factory where Fred Armisen was in the middle of his standup set. There wasn’t a lot to laugh about, but his video at SXSW was hilarious especially when he commented about a shooting in Arkansas. Ok, so that didn’t make sense, but if you saw the footage you would have burst. He also did a funny impression of Sadam as Johnny Rotten, but it didn’t make me want to see him again.A special thanks goes out to Mr. Lordz for hooking me up with a chance to see the best Portland band since Stephen Malkmus took residence in New York. The Thermals took the stage and blasted out nearly an hour of some of the fastest, catchiest rock songs around. They don’t waste any time getting through their set. Stage banter is kept to all time low with simple thanks dished out in between songs. They played a mix of old and new songs all of which I sang along to much like my sister at a New Kids On the Block concert. They also played two or three new songs that were a bit different (read: slower tempo) than all of their other material, but they still delivered the same punch as tracks like Everything’s Thermals, It’s Trivia, Brace and Break, Back to Gray, Every Stitch, How We Know, Sladyk In The Box and my personal favorite A Stare Like Yours. They even played a gracious three song encore during which I found myself bopping around with Mina and Anne. They are so much fun even if Hutch is crossing over into hippy land. We finished the evening plotting to Culkin David Cross, but it never seemed to happen so we finished our PBR’s and hit the road.
Yesterday a couple solid records hit the shelves of your favorite record store. First the loveable singer song writer Brendan Benson released The Alternative To Love on V2 and believe me when I say this record is unbelievable. It is in the same fashion of his other records, but his ability continues to shine. He celebrated with an instore at Other Music, but we missed it because of raspberry margaritas. There are still a few tickets available for his April 15th show at The Bowery so purchase them while you can.Vice Records is the proud parent of Bloc Party’s full-length debut, Silent Alarm that dropped yesterday. Put a hold on all your plans and go buy this record. It’s amazing. No joke. You can’t help but love it. Fuck the haters. If the kids can keep this up, they’ll outlast the hype train now crowded by the likes of The Bravery, Maximo Park and whatever other weekly specials emerge from the ashes of SXSW.
One last thing before I close the books on this gigantic post. Cornerstone and Universal are having a contest to win a free trip to see Razorlight at Coachella. Even if you aren’t a huge Razorlight fan, toss your name in the hat and try to win this round trip for two to the desert for the weekend festival. If you pass it on to friends and they enter, then you’ll be entered again. Spread this contest more than your last battle with crabs. More people will love you for this contraction.
7 Comments:
on behalf of myself and miss anne, sorry you had to experience our utter wastedness. we quickly exited the KF afterwards and headed straight for walker's pub for some debauchery that I would rather not talk about.
don't you ever, ever, ever apologize for rocking out, (shaking my finger at you).
you just seemed scared, is all...anne thought maybe you were afraid of girls. hah!
well, yeah, i'm totally afraid of girls, but thats besides the point.
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