"Listen to some music, doesn't it sound nice?" - God Street Wine
If you're just joining us, you may need to catch up by reading up on GSW's Gramercy shows the previous weekend. For the rest of you...
Joe Madonna sent me this:
Ahhh, it's funny, cuz it's true. It's funny AND true.
I had some mixed feelings about the Irving shows-- mostly, because it meant there were only 2 left. Then what? What the hell was I supposed to do next weekend? And the weekend after?? There were still songs I needed to hear. I was
Gabe talked me down over some Grey Dog (yaay) explaining what I already knew-- this wasn't the end. This is the new beginning. It's opening doors. A few gigs a year? 1 gig a year? NO LESS THAN 4 GIGS A YEAR???
Revival for a quick pregame where we wandered upstairs to seek A/C (because NYC seems to be stuck in some sort of bubbling prehistoric swamp phase this summer) and ended up wading knee-deep in hipsters until some Winos found us. Geez. Fortunately, it was time to head inside. I went with an oldie but a goody location: on the riser in back of the soundboard. You can see everything, and it sounds freakin' sweet, taboot. Just gotta be careful not to peep the setlist (it's a battle of will-power).
The nearly-sold-out crowd finally filled in and the A/C was flickering on and off. Surely this was a sign from the Universe. Here we go again.
God Street Wine hit the stage and did a sweet little Epilog. I'm glad they opened with this, because if they closed with it, I might have cried. Wendy got the crowd roaring and there was tons of participation again-- loads of love. Big Papa was a total shock and Aaron was laying it on real thick. Lighthouse was a wonderful warm groove, wrapped in a blanket of Lo.
Crazy Head -> Gretchen -> Hammer and A Spike--- FUCK YEAH! Wow, was I relieved to hear this! When Hammer and A Spike started, I looked at Mark and said, "I need to go downstairs now." Which put me in a great spot for another killer Stupid Hat. Then we finally got an uplifting and energetic Bring Back The News! So sweet. We all went into setbreak buzzing.
SET II. Stranger was beautiful as always. Mile x Mile had the room singing along. Epiphany-- twice in 1 week? I'll take it! There was a "BEVO!" chant after Epiphany, cuz he KIIIILLED it.
I'll Still Like You -> Water, got everyone worked into a frenzy, but then -> Pressure -- with the crowd going absolutely WILD. There was that crazy late-night-NYC-energy again! *Best Feel the Pressure EVER* -> Morning Cigarettes!!!!! God Street Wine was ROCKING IRVING PLAZA--- AGAIN!!! -> another wonderful Tide, drenched in good vibes. Then a loud Get On The Train with the crowd still going strong.
Encore #1 was Steely Dan's Any Major Dude Will Tell You-- which was awesome... But then-- the Commodores' Brick House, calling it a "crowd favorite" is putting it lightly. Very cool that they brought it back. Encore # 2 was Thirsty and the crowd was elated.
Hot, sweaty, GSW party # 3 - done. 1 more to go. YIKES!
Diner hotel delivery! Grilled cheddar cheese w/ bacon & tomato and fries at 3am. Ohhh, that's the stuff.
SATURDAY, 7/17/10
Bagels. Coffee. GOD STREET WINE.
Luckily, I was conducting some official business and had to mill around during soundcheck (Stay Tuned for more on that in the future). The A/C was fixed & pumping. Once again, I was conflicted about hearing snippets from the show. It was the last night, time to face the truth: would I hear Funny Kinda Love? Sure, there were other songs I still needed to hear- I'd been mentally crossing off my list with more realistic goals (
Grey Dog -> Revival -> Irving Plaza: GSW
I'm going to be frank with you. Bevo tore Nightingale a new asshole. I knooow, you're all, "Nightingale has a what?" It does- I didn't know either, until Bevo ripped it a new one! Holychristmonkeyballs, that was spectacular! It left the entire place hyper & buzzing. AND IT WAS ONLY THE FIRST SONG.
Driving West -> Better Than You were both bouncy and fun -> another awesome & loud Hellfire. Ballroom was sweet and I was happy to hear it. There was a chunk of time, waaay back in the day, that Ballroom was my pee-break song, but NO LONGER!
6:15!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I NEEDED TO HEAR 6:15!!!!!!!!!!! YAAAAAY!!!! Man, it felt good.
I had meandered up towards the front for the start of the show. My spot wasn't too bad and I was even able to see between the two really tall dudes in the front row. For a while I was even willing to deal with the dude who was screaming full blast in my left ear, "GOD STREET WINE" and "WOOOO" like 10 times per song (fucking seriously?). However, it happened that there was also a small group of girls in the front/center section who wouldn't stop talking ALL through the first few songs (even during the most intense jams), like it was a fucking hen house. It was starting to get really distracting and the Winos surrounding them (including myself) were getting angry. "Let Rango have at 'em, I'm wandering." I went off to find a spot where I could both see AND hear.
I do like Feather, but I began wondering if it beat out Funny Kinda Love for a spot on the setlist. Hmm... Straight Line is a sentimental classic, it felt good and we got a nice dose of Aaron's pipes. Some dudes I know were having religious experiences (you know who you are). IMOGENE. Another loud and funky Imogene that got the room jumping around wildly to end SET I in a total GSW frenzy. Tomo was a mad man. *Everyone* in the crowd was smiling, many were screaming. Awesome.
SET II. At first, Good Dream got me a little sad, but Lo just went to freakin' town on it and it just tugged & yanked on my heartstrings til it won me over, so... Well played, Faber.
I've always loved Snake Eyes because it's a kickass song. Now that I'm a little older and have been through my own particular dealings with Corporate Hell, I can appreciate a Fuck You Song of this caliber so much more. It sounded like much of the crowd felt the same way, cuz when GSW busted into Snake Eyes the place went almost as wild as when they played Crashing Down the previous week. Snake Eyes: a timeless classic.
Princess Henrietta kept the energy going and the room was In The Zone. Strange As It Seems was a great throwback-- a really nice choice! Then the room lit back up for a loud and abrasive Tina's Town. I was PSYCHED to hear this song, really glad it made the cut. -> a dark Cheap Utah Blues -> DEEP DRAG!!!!!!!! Performed masterfully! It's such a quirky song and each of them nailed every nook and cranny of it! SWEET! Diana and another rabble rousing Borderline to close out SET II. A 4-show-long Borderline sammich.
This is as good a time as any to discuss God Street Wine's version of the Beatles', A Day In The Life. It's quite possibly the most beautiful cover they do. It's also quite possibly the best cover version ever performed of that song. I can't tell you how many times I've seen Phish play A Day In The Life and I stand there wishing I was listening to GSW's instead. Since they had been doing a lot of Beatles covers as encores for this string of shows, I was really hoping they were saving it for last. Alas.
Ticket To Ride was great... sigh.
But then they played B.B. King's Sweet Little Angel (apparently a special request by Lo) and I felt better. MUCH MUCH better. Oh, and by this time I had worked my way back towards the front. Yes, the Coffee Klatch was still there and still talking so I took a slight detour. Wouldn't you know it, as soon as they started Sweet Little Angel, some dude in front of Lo at the railing walked away -> *YOINK!* I was a fucking NINJA right there, lemme tellya. It might have taken all weekend, but I was now riding the rail to soak up every last bit of the Wine from the front row! And Sweet Little Angel was *perfect*.
E2. Lo 'splained that the band would be doing Jam Cruise in January 2011. Then a SUPER FUNKY ROCKING Other Shore w/ Dan laying down the phat groove -> a huge and beautiful Into the Sea. A great way to end the run. And wow, it's over? No Funny Kinda Love? ... sigh.
you can tell Bevo's really feeling it, when he goes slant-ways.
The 4 shows went by really quickly. It was all so good. God Street Wine were so good. I'm still riding my GSW buzz and I want it to linger for as long as possible. Especially because there's not enough Dramamine in the world to get me on that fucking boat, so I have no idea when my next fix will be^.
Thanks to God Street Wine for everything, including but not limited to: being awesome back then & now, rehearsing for these shows, and giving me that patented fresh-from-the-show GSW glow. Thanks to Michael Weiss for making these shows happen (& congrats for raising so much money for the NMSS!). Thanks to Duffy and Jeff for 4 shows worth of sweet sound & lights respectively. Thanks to everyone for everything, except those chatty girls in the front during the entire 4th show. <- TOTES LAME.
I considered deducting HUZZAHS for the songs on my list that weren't played, but that's a bit unfair. So now... A Laundry List of songs that still NEED to be played (TBP), in no particular order for the next round of shows (leave your additions in the comments section below):
Funny Kinda Love
Miss Leonardo
Don't Tell God
Twitchin'
A Day In The Life
New Eyes
uhhh, FREIGHT TRAIN-- helllooo???
Revealing Nothing (w/ Bevo on Keytar)
Seein' Yer Meaning
Whatcha Gonna Do About It?
If I Can Dream (which reminds me-- where was Bullethead???)
God Street Wine, 7/16 & 7/17/10, Irving Plaza, NYC, NY: 10 HUZZAHS!!!!!!! Was there ever any doubt?
________________________
2010-07-16
Irving Plaza, NY NY
I:
Epilog
Wendy
Big Papa
Lighthouse
Crazy Head->
Gretchen->
Hammer and Spike->
Stupid Hat
Bring Back the News
II:
Stranger
Mile By Mile
Epiphany
I'll Still Like You->
Water->
Feel The Pressure->
Morning Cigs->
Waiting for the Tide
Get on the Train (with Love Light Tease)
E1:
Any Major Dude
Brick House
E2:
Thirsty
***
DOWNLOAD THE SHOW!
Budke/Scott Brown Stereo Matrix Mix (thanks, guys & Duffy!)
http://www.archive.org/details/gsw2010-07-16
Mike Salvo AUD (thanks, Salvo!)
http://www.archive.org/details/gsw2010-07-16.salvo
________________
2010-07-17
Irving Plaza, NY NY
I:
Nightingale
Driving West->
Better Than You->
Hellfire
Ballroom
6:15
Feather
Straight Line
Imogene
II:
Good Dream
Snake Eyes
Princess Henrietta
Strange As It Seems
Tina's Town->
Cheap Utah Blues->
Deep Drag
Diana
Borderline
E1:
Ticket To Ride
Sweet Little Angel
E2:
Other Shore->
Into the Sea
***
DOWNLOAD THE SHOW!
Scott Brown AUD (Thanks, Scott)
http://www.archive.org/details/gsw2010-07-17.dpa4026.flac16
Budke/Brown/Faber/Marotta Matrix Mix: (thanks, all!)
http://www.archive.org/details/gsw2010-07-17
-------------------------
^ Here's hoping for some 2011 shows for Land Lubbers!
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