In: Winter dresses, white wine, and whispering.
Out: Cell phones, underwear, and bar hopping.

I am thrilled to report that my weekend was filled with open bars, erratic weather, charity events, and dance music.

By the way, my name is Maggie McQuade, and this is my first blog posting ever! I am new to the world wide web, as tentative and vulnerable as a baby lamb. So please don't yell at me, or at least let me get my sea legs first. I know a lot of people are very sad that Jay is not with us anymore, and it's natural to lash out at the innocent when you're in pain. But, if you yell at me I might cry. Jay doesn't like to see girls cry.

Anyways...Thursday night I went to a charity event with my family at Gotham Hall to help raise money to send kids in bad neighborhoods to private schools. I watched adorable uniformed children sing in a chorus while enjoying an open bar. It was heart warming. I got drunk and started talking about making a difference. I went to the Mercury Lounge instead, to see the The Head Set. This is probably my 3rd time seeing the Head Set and it was by far the best. If you haven't checked out this band yet, do it. We had a writer cover the show, so you'll hear all about it from them. Spent the rest of my night at 2a, as usual.

I spent Saturday indoors hoping to restore enough homeostasis to see my friend Marcos' band, Chico Mann, at Sin-e. Marcos is one of the many men behind one of my favorite groups, Antibalas. Chico Mann is an Electro/Afro-beat/Funk group. Their sound is one guaranteed to make you pierce your lips together and thrust your chin in arbitrary directions . I even found myself so overcome by the funk that I was forced to shake my head back and forth in an effort to pantomime the sentiment, "too dirty, too sexy"! Listening to Chico Mann makes me feel like throwing understated bedroom eyes at sexy strangers, smoking cuban cigars, and wearing leisure suits. The band that followed Chico Mann, American Watercolor Movement, was a pleasant surprise. AMW is an experimental indie rock group from NJ. This band was so different than anything that I have heard recently, that it is going to take me awhile to decide exactly how I want to explain them to you. You'll be hearing more on them from me as soon as I can gather my thoughts.

I have Marcos to thank for my Saturday evening. Marcos got me on the list for a charity event in Tribeca where Antibalas would be playing. Unfortunately, I still cannot remember the name of the charity organization it was for, I'm an ass. But, I thank them dearly for all the hard work they've been doing and the free booze, food, and dancing.

I'm going to finish this up by explaining a bit about something I think is Out.

Attention: Will everyone please stop using their phones during live shows! The little blue glow of people text messaging all their friends from the front row is killing me. If you need to make contact with someone, you're going to have to lose your spot up front. The same goes for conversation. I understand that you are psyched that your friend just arrived, or your just dying to tell someone something before you forget, but save it, or take it to the back, or at least whisper it in their ear for the love of god! It's disrespectful to the band, and all the people who are really invested in the show. I'm cleaning your slate, you all know who you are, change your behavior or you will become another victim of my deadly evil eye.

Hope you all had a great weekend! My first blog is officially complete. I'll get better, I promise.