Global Citizen Festival, 9/29/12, Great Lawn, Central Park, NYC K'naan, Band of Horses, Black Keys, Foo Fighters, Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse
Free tickets to a rock show and I can help save the world? Sign me up! The Global Citizen Festy blew through NYC's Great Lawn on Saturday night, bringing with it some stellar musical acts, and some mandatory Celebutantes. Free tickets were issued via a really clever lottery system- users had to login to the Festival's website and earn "points" by watching videos, reading materials, signing petitions, and sharing links on social media sites. Or by, "watching videos", "reading materials", "signing petitions", and "sharing links on social media sites". Either way, really clever. A first entry was issued when you earned 3 points (it may have been 1 point just to create a user profile), and you could earn each additional entry by collecting 5 more points. I actually did watch some really interesting and beautifully produced videos on well-digging in poor African villages, gender equality around the world, and nutrition (thrown in there for good-measure and 3 more points) in their entirety. If you actually pay attention to the shitstorm that is reality, none of this is new information-- the good folks at Global Citizen are just trying to (Step 1) spread awareness of these seemingly insurmountable issues and educate people about the existing and sometimes easily implementable solutions to many of these major problems, (Step 2) throw a Music Festival, and eventually (Step 3) Save the World. It's based on the Underpants Gnome business model: Steal Underpants -> ? -> Profit! I have a Degree in this Horribly Depressing Shit, and there's a reason I chose to work in TV instead (what was I thinking?? Global Poverty = Job Security!!!)-- because these issues are in fact Horribly Depressing Shit and we're pretty much doomed, BUT, maybe this was my chance to pitch back in, by doing what I do best: ROCKING OUT.
This was my first show on the Great Lawn and I was forewarned-- in addition to splitting the park East/West (once you enter through the East or West gate, you're stuck on that side of the Lawn), they section the lawn off into various "Pens" as people file in (I believe there were 8 "Pens" total, for 60k people = 7500/Pen*). It's smart for crowd control, but shitty if you want to find your friends that got there 3 hours ahead of you. The Joyhams came down from the North Country and showed up before 2PM, found parking, and were sequestered into Pen #1 on the West Side. We were lazy, took our time in el Barrio, and got to the East Gate a little before 5:20PM. Then, it was a good 15-20 minute hike into the park (Band of Horses serenaded us in) before we finally got our tickets scanned and were enclosed into the back of Pen # 4. We were Center Court. It would have been nicer to be closer to the stage, but not getting there super early was also nice, and we didn't have to fight any crowds where we were, so it was all cool. Besides, there were plenty of monitors showing Band of Horses being totally mellow, spacey, and groovy. In-between sets, those same monitors showed dramatic out-of-focus solar-flared shots of infant hands reaching into the abyss as educational videos directed our attention to the important issues at hand. Oh yah, I had almost forgotten the message of the day!
These were the "Dude-Bros" who got that name because they only communicated with each other by calling out "Dude!" and responding with "Bro!".
We made sure to keep a safe buffer distance as not to get punched in the face. Corralled into Pen #4
Wait, what was the message of the day? I decided to take the opportunity to go pee, which is when I saw the horrendous lines for food/beverages and the port-a-potties. There were at least 300+ people on line for food that was being sold at one stand, and there were at least 200 people converging on 16 or so bathrooms. Such long waits for food, water, and the bathrooms-- so inconvenient. Wait a second, was this to teach us some sort of sick lesson? Ohh, Global Citizen-- now I get it! Now, I can finally relate!
I spent a good 30 minutes in line to pee, 20 minutes of which I got to listen to the Black Keys play their Loud Dirty Fucking Guitar Blues Rock. Their chemistry is phenomenal. At least I could hear it loud and clear.
I also decided to try and find a water-bottle refilling station, as the tickets plainly stated that we could bring in empty water bottles with tops, but not factory sealed water bottles. I inquired with some very nice Staffers and NYPD, but there were no refillable water-bottle stations in our assigned Pen. In fact, the only refillable water-bottle station was way back at the entrance to the East Gate, which we had walked past on our hike in-- but we were not allowed to go back to it now, even to refill some water-bottles. No-- the only place to get water within the Pen, was the aforementioned food vendor with the 300+ person line. Walking barefoot for a mile in the jungle while being stalked by Jaguars/Poachers/Rapists and contracting Malaria would have taken considerably less time.
Strangely, I happened to walk over to the recycling bin to toss my now useless empty water bottle into, and spied an entire case of water sitting on the ground next to it. This water was probably for Staffers, but as the rules of ethics go, it was fair game for dehydrated people like myself. So I grabbed one before bolting back to the Lawn to enjoy the rest of the Black Keys' killer set. Because that is how the world really works: Looting.
45 minutes of the Black Keys is a tease, luckily they packed as much punch into their set as possible. This was by far the Best Set of the Day. And as a HUGE bonus, the giant monitors showed a closeup of Ben (one-half of our beloved Joyhams) totally rocking out in his bear-hat for about 10 glorious seconds! Afterwards, Olivia Wilde or some other drunk model/actress (they all look the same to me) came out to talk ernestly about gender equality by reading off a teleprompter-- ehhh... they couldn't get Kristen Schaal? Rachel Maddow?? Someone entertaining?! And then John Legend made a surprise cameo and played John Lennon's Imagine-- cute.
When a Super-Model reads off a teleprompter about Gender Equality
The sun set, and it was time for--- The Foo Fighters! They started things out a bit mellow with Times Like These, and then played a short festival set of their Greatest Hits (no Rope???). And goddamn, I love 'em, but this night, something seemed a bit off with the Foos. Perhaps it was because I was so far from the stage. Or maybe it's because the cool Merry Melodies-like Global Citizen Fest circular stage design was blocking their entire light show and I hadn't noticed that glitch until it got dark out. Or maybe it's because I don't want to hear all their hits, I want to hear all their in-betweens, because that is how they rocked my face off and made such a huge impression the last time I saw them live. Or maybe it was because I was really fucking hungry by now and just wanted some tacos. But... and I can't believe I am saying this. I was kind of disappointed in the Foo's set. My attention span was gone and I wasn't feeling it. And then Dave Grohl announced that they didn't have any more shows planned and this was it for now. People began to speculate about whether or not we had just witnessed The Foo Fighters break up, but I've seen bands "break up" before and play their "last show"-- this felt like neither. My gut tells me they have no more scheduled commitments, and it's hiatus and/or family time for the band. It's doubtful the Foo Fighters would permanently go out on an 8-song-just-the-hits set right after the chick who sucks Justin Bieber's cock gives a speech on behalf of starving children.
Selena Gomez is totes serial, you guys.
Reaching out... for solar flares.
During set-change, a substantial chunk of the crowd left. There was also an inspiring presentation about how Polio is almost completely eradicated and how with the proper support, we can end it in this generation. That's pretty fucking cool. Fuck Polio. And that led into Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse's set, which was incredibly appropriate, as we all learned that Neil is actually a Polio survivor.
My first memories of Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse are from my HS Sculptor Teacher, Mr. Martin, aka, "Marty", who was an electric guitar wielding hippie with a shrine to both Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse and Jimi Henrix across the walls of his classroom. I wonder if he was at the show? Neil & the Horse got on and ripped out some distorted, crunchy, shreddy guitar licks, and essentially jammed the fuck out of a beautiful night in Central Park.
I'll be honest, about halfway through his set we couldn't stop thinking about tacos. Prior to this we had been changing Foo Fighters lyrics into lyrics about tacos. "There goes my tacoooo, watch it how it burnnns!" And by now we had begun to do the same thing with Grandpa (mad respeck) Neil. "I want to walk like a ta-co on the laaaa-aaand". It was time to take the message of the festival seriously. We had to take action immediately and stop at least 3 people's (ours) dire starvation, so we (poignantly) headed out of the park on a mission that would only be completed once we reached el Barrio and filled our bellies with nurishing taco-y goodness.
Reaching out... for tacos. We thought this was a Taco Truck. You can see why we would be confused. Finally! The Taco Solution!
We did our part to end world hunger (3 people down, 1 billion to go!), and you can too-- please visit Global Citizen to learn about the various ongoing campaigns designed to help find and implement solutions to end extreme poverty (including taco shortages) around the globe.
Global Citizen Festival, 9/29/12, Central Park, NYC: 6.8 HUZZAHS!!
SLIDESHOW & HI-RES GALLERY!
* Not including VIP section, who only represented 1% of the crowd, and of course, 99% of the world's problems.
Pavement, 9/21, 23, 24/10, Rumsey Playfield/Central Park Summerstage, NYC
Before last week, the first and only time I had the absolute pleasure of seeing indie-rock legendsPavement live, was on 10/6/97 at Club Toast, in Burlington, VT. The place was packed and my friend Tyler came down from Montreal for the gig. Trey Anastasio from Phish was standing next to us. Pavement f#%ked our earholes with beautiful loud rock and I can still remember how amazing it felt at the end of the show. It wasn't enough. I wanted more. Jambands have spoiled me with 3 hour shows and I'm almost disappointed when I get anything less than that.
Pavement disbanded abruptly in late 1999 with no real official announcement or send-off, but a cryptic message on their website and the rumor that Stephen Malkmus (SM) had put a pair of handcuffs on his mic one night in Europe and announced "this is what it's like to be in a band". Thusly, most fingers pointed at SM's notoriously inflated ego/attitude as the main reason the band disappeared. All that really concerned me was that my magical Pavement had gone away (leaving a gaping hole in my musical diet) and no one knew if or when they'd ever play together again. Pavement fans were left to fend for ourselves. It was Unfair.
Despite being the probable cause of one of my very favorite band's unraveling, I've followed and enjoyed Stephen Malkmus' solo career. I've stood in pouring rain and lightning storms in Prospect Park and braved the sardine-packed Coney Island in the abysmal July heat to watch SM & the Jicks play 90 minute sets, which are never quite long enough- even in a monsoon. Sometimes, I'm not sure if he hates his fans or if he just doesn't care- maybe a little bit of both. Still, I will never fully understand how something so beautiful (Pavement) to so many people, seemed to become such a burden to him- but he's an eccentric genius-- that's their jam, man. Buy the solo record and move on, I guess.
After making a brief appearance at Bob Nastanovich's wedding in early 2009, last October, Pavement announced they'd be playing a single show in Central Park in September 2010. Friends made plans to fly down from Canada, up from Florida-- everyone would gather to experience Pavement live again. And I would buy tickets a full year in advance. When the Tuesday night show sold out (in 2 minutes), they announced a Wednesday night show. When the Wednesday night show sold out, they announced a Thursday night show. And when the Thursday night show sold out, they announced a Friday night show. When this ticket blitz was over (an hour later?), I had tickets to 3 of the 4 Central Park shows... that were all still an entire year away. And then came the waiting.
During the waiting, Pavement announced a full tour that would take place BEFORE all 4 Central Park shows. That was a little annoying. Still, the positive approach was that everything preceding Central Park, would simply be a soundcheck for Central Park.
In the Spring of 2010, Pavement started rehearsing... and talking to the press. Little by little we learned details of their demise. Speculation that SM's attitude/weirdness was ultimately behind the collapse of a band that meant so much to so many, was pretty much confirmed. Malkmus had even taken to riding the tour bus with a jacket over his head so he didn't have to communicate with his band-mates. Awkward. Supposedly, Spiral Stairs (SS, aka Scott Kannberg) was told to inform the other band members that Pavement was done. I imagine it went down exactly like the Painted Soldiers video. Also, now I want to give Spiral a hug for always being super awesome and writing some of my favorite songs (I ordered his solo album as a first step in coming to terms with the fact that I haven't followed his solo career as closely as SM's). And I want to hug Mark Ibold because he is Mark Ibold.
We also learned in the Klosterman GQ article that the other members of Pavement have wanted to reunite for years. Basically, it sounds like Pavement means more to the other band members than it does to SM. Shit, now I wonder if Pavement means more to me than it does to SM?
Their World Tour started in March 2010. Then in May, Pavement announced they'd be playing at the Brooklyn Waterfront the weekend before the Central Park shows... And I was officially pissed off at Pavement. That seemed like a real dick move. I refused to spend more money on them. This anger simmered for months. Bitter resentment, abandonment issues, and jealousy of everyone who got to see them before me. It made for conflicted anticipation as the shows grew closer. I had nightmares of them walking onstage, playing a robotic 90 minute set, flipping us all off, and leaving. So- mostly, I was hoping that I still liked Pavement when the Central Park shows were over. Talk about stress.
TUESDAY, 9/21/10
DAY OF SHOW 1!!!! FUCKING, FIIIIIINALLY!!!!! In the month/weeks leading up to the shows, it became clear that people were not flying down from Canada, or up from Florida. Nor were they driving from Massachusetts. And that the only people interested in my newly-extra'd tickets seemed to live in California. Essentially, I'd better derive sheer joy from Pavement's performances, because they'd over-saturated the market and I wasn't gonna make my money back. People couldn't give their extras away. Fuck it! Less tall people to block my view.
Pavement walked out from their trailer and onto the stage, to cheering fans who had been waiting a full year for this moment. It was actually happening!!! They opened with Shady Lane and I had immediately forgiven them. They sounded great, maybe a bit nervous at first, but it all loosened up and came together at some point quickly thereafter. Then it was just like rapid fire punches to the gut. Frontwards, Heckler Spray > Elevate Me Later (!!!!!!), Starlings, Stereo, Kennel District (siiiigh)... Loud, embracing, Pavement. Awesome. Warm mushy melty insides. Pavement. At last!
Mark Ibold and Spiral Stairs were running around smiling, Stephen Malkmus mostly stood guard over his mic and behind his hair (that's his thing), Steve West (who also rules) was climbing on his kit, and Bob Nastanovich was possessed.
Shit, who cared what they played, as long as they were playing it! Grounded, Rattled By The Rush (!!!), We Dance, In The Mouth of A Desert-- with those fucking scorching guitar wails. It was powerful and LOUD. They were having FUN. Perfume-V and Unfair. Which oddly enough, is when I could have sworn I was being pranked on film. Fran Drescher's retarded cousin who was shit-faced, plopped herself right in back of us. She was singing, but not the words, and always as if she were a set of bagpipes being stomped on with a steel-toed boot. Loudly. She disappeared or went mute after Unfair, cuz I managed not to notice after that. This was especially cool cuz a tall boy gave me his spot (thanks! That's *GOLD STAR CHIVALRY*!) and I could finally see the whole stage! I wasn't moving.
Fin was beautiful. Gold Soundz was more warmth and love. Debris Slide was abrasive (a good abrasive). Range Life (singalongs!), Trigger Cut (hooky, bright, energetic).
They had to start Cut Your Hair twice, which is cute considering they've probably played it every night this tour (and again over a decade ago). Some people seem to roll their eyes at Cut Your Hair, but I love that song. If it weren't for that song, I may never have heard Pavement at the right place & time to spark me into the Crooked Rain loving Pavement fan-girl I am today. The day I get tired of hearing Pavement sing Cut Your Hair, LIVE, in-person, is a day I welcome- because that would mean I'd get to see Pavement play at least a shit-ton more shows in my lifetime. "That's a pretty snazzy hair-cut!"
It was all good. Everyone was smiling. Dark, humorous, cryptic, twisting, beautiful adventures in every song. Ahhh, Pavement!
There were even some lovely extended jammy sections here and there. Perfect Depth, Fight This Generation, Box Elder (YES)... Encore: Date With Ikea (all smiles), Shoot the Singer, Conduit for Sale! (brash-- a good brash), Silence Kid, Heaven Is A Truck (haunting and great, with a nice pretty little jam at the end), and a wonderful Stop Breathin'. How are these guys not more popular amongst the jamband scene? Where is the appreciation? My head asplode.
All throughout the show, Pavement thanked the crowd for selling the shows out so quickly and for not losing their tickets. They also kind of apologized for booking a full tour before the Central Park shows, and announced that "these are the real first shows" (see?). More apologies about the excessive amount of extras floating around. I had already forgiven them (they had me at "blinded") for everything, but it was nice to hear these little things addressed directly. I may have suggested they buy my extra back (loudly), but that's neither here nor there.
Man, have I missed Pavement.
The band were smiling and so was the crowd. That's a pretty fucking satisfying (first) reunion show. I am still glad I bought tickets for these shows a year in advance. Missing this was not an option.
TUESDAY Shady Lane / Frontwards / Heckler Spray / Ell Ess Two / Starlings of the Slipstream / Stereo / Kennel District / Grounded / Rattled By The Rush / We Dance / In The Mouth A Desert / Perfume-V / Unfair / Fin / Gold Soundz / Debris Slide / Range Life / Trigger Cut / Cut Your Hair / Perfect Depth / Fight This Generation / Box Elder ENCORE: Date With IKEA / Shoot The Singer / Conduit For Sale! / Silent Kid / Heaven Is A Truck / Stop Breathin’ DL THE SHOW!! Thanks, NYC Taper! http://www.nyctaper.com/?p=3989 (not to be confused with NYC Tapir)
WEDNESDAY, 9/22/10
Wednesday I went to the Yanks/Rays game with my Mom. The bullpen was a total shit-show. There was a 2 hour 11 minute rain delay. I hear it rained in Central Park too.
WEDNESDAY Heckler Spray / In The Mouth A Desert / Perfume-V / Trigger Cut / Unfair / Range Life / Starlings Of The Slipstream / Spizzle Trunk / Shady Lane / Fight This Generation / Summer Babe / Cut Your Hair / Kennel District / Gold Soundz / Zurich Is Stained / Stereo **10 minute break as electrical storm passes over the park ** The Hexx / Two States / Spit On A Stranger / Grounded / Silent Kid / Father To A Sister Of Thought / Stop Breathin’ ENCORE: Date With Ikea / Feed ‘Em To The Lions (Linden) / Here // Conduit For Sale! DL THE SHOW!! Thanks, NYC Taper! http://www.nyctaper.com/?p=4009
THURSDAY, 9/23/10
Thursday morning I was soooo psyched for more Pavement! Friends came down from Ithaca for the show and we pregamed with margaritas at Harry's on the Upper West Side. Originally, we were gonna cab-it to the show, but Secret Service shut down the roads (UN in session + The President was in town all week = total clusterfuck in the city). So instead, we took a lovely walk through the park to the show. Once inside, it was a quick trip to the merch booth and we scored some great real estate at the inner-outer rail SM-side, the same spot I was able to see the entire band from on Tuesday night. FUCK YEAH, MOTHERFUCKERS!!!
Here's a good spot to mention that I really didn't pay any attention to the opening bands at any of these shows. Sorry. Nothing personal. *insert Sad Trombone sfx*
Also, no play-by-play for Thursday's show. The show was awesome. Being there (again) felt right. Highlights: a beautiful and heart-wrenching Spit On A Stranger, a noisy and moody Fight This Generation, a gorgeous Fin, they ROCKED Kennel District, Heckler Spray, & Box Elder.
The band was business as usual and in a good mood. SM sounded slightly slurry at times and confessed to getting a lobotomy earlier in the day. It was endearing. Classic Pavement. He told us why the song Cut Your Hair changed his life- he got to move out of a studio apartment and into a 1-bedroom and that is why he will always love it.
I was a little disappointed in the amount of songs repeated from Tuesday, but again- I'm completely spoiled by jambands and as a reunion show, they hit the Important Points. They did mix it up a whole bunch, peppered in some randoms, and in no way were any of these shows identical. However, there were so many more/other songs I would have loved to hear: Blue Hawaiian, Passat Dream (siiigh), Folk Jam, Painted Soldiers, ... and Carrot Rope! 3 nights of Pavement and I'm bitching about repeats. Someone call the WAAAAHmbulance.
Stacking it up: Thursdays' show was a ton of fun, but Tuesday's show had some really intense energy that will forever hold a special place in my heart. Tuesday turned my insides to goo. Thursday, my insides were full of tequila, which is awesome in it's own way.
Poor Heidi got a migraine mid-show, I tried to convince her it was the Universe's way of telling her she needed to come on Friday too.
THURSDAY Grounded / Gold Soundz / Silent Kid / Date With IKEA / Unfair / Spit On A Stranger / Rattled By The Rush / Stereo / Loretta’s Scars / Frontwards / Stop Breathin’ / Shoot The Singer / Trigger Cut / Cut Your Hair / Fight This Generation / Two States / Fin / Summer Babe / She Believes / Range Life ENCORE: Kennel District / Shady Lane / Starlings of the Slipstream / Our Singer / Heckler Spray - Mellow Jazz Docent tease / In The Mouth A Desert / We Dance / Box Elder DL THE SHOW!! Thanks, NYC Taper! http://www.nyctaper.com/?p=4017
Thursday's not-quite-full moon over Pavement.
FRIDAY, 9/24/10
Friday night I met up with Mark and Jenna. We talked of monkeys and hopped in a Suicide Cab^ up to the park -> blocked streets, Secret Service Agents, "International Incidents" involving the Gotcha Media, etc., etc..
The show started off with a really loud, loose, and dominant Heckler Spray. A huge start to a huge show. In The Mouth Of A Desert was really satisfying and passionate. The crowd was singing along loudly. It was Friday night and no one was holding back. There was a lot of love in the room. Frontwards was beautiful. Spit On A Stranger was a lovely kind of space-y.
Shady Lane and sometime around then we tried to find a better spot to stand. I couldn't see at all (sadness!) and there was a really loud backup singer to our right... We wandered and finally ended up in a fairly better spot: on the raised deck in the VIP section on SS's side. Yah, slightly better. Thanks, Marquis. Also, I just have to mention this cuz I've had a million tall assholes stand in front of me at all types of shows who end up obstructing my view- but at this moment on this night, my line of vision was perfectly clear *because* of the person standing in front of me: a little person standing on a chair. HUZZAHS!
Spiral belted out an amazing Date With Ikea and thanked NYC afterwards-- he meant it. Grounded was wailing. They were playing with their souls... and we were eating it up! This might have been when Pavement fell in love with their Central Park audience. They played an aggressive Cut Your Hair, Perfume-V, and an inspired Conduit For Sale! kept it going- this was a ton of energy. Steve Goss, the dude who won the Jimmy Fallon contest and got to play Unfair on-air with Pavement the previous night- helped Bob scream along. Father To A Sister Of Thought slowed things down a bit but Stereo brought the electricity right back up, the whole place was bouncing and singing along. Starlings was wonderful. I hoped that the Secret Service agents lining the streets at the fancy Function that had the street closed down were paying attention. Gold Soundz was brilliant, comforting, cathartic. I was *SO* psyched to hear The Hexx!!! Mark and Spiral were freakin' glowing. Even Stephen Malkmus was smiling!!!
During We Dance, Mrs. Bob Nastanovich came out and danced with her husband, which was quite adorable.
Then... THE BEST SILENCE KID EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!! We were rocking the fuck out! Unfair, with Bob going totally beserk. Awesomeness. No Life Singed Her, Trigger Cut (wonderful and everyone was singing along), Stop Breathin' (haunting, another huge singalong), Elevate Me Later (a super-spirited trip), and a sweet Here to close out the set.
The great energy continued through the encores, starting with a huge Rattled By The Rush, a hypnotizing space-y Heaven Is A Truck, and a howling Summer Babe in which I happily watched Mark Ibold singing along while grinning ear-to-ear.
Pavement stood on the side of the stage and waited for us to cheer them on for the 2nd encore. The showmanship! Encore 2! A dreamy Kennel District (starring SS), then a rockin Debris Slide. Range Life was a wonderful goodbye to their 4 night run in Central Park. They brought out their friend Bryce Goggin to play a mini keyboard (he played keyboard on the album version), and this closed out the show. With the ending note, Spiral fell over.
Again, all through the show, Pavement used every opportunity to thank the crowd and it was genuine. The love was particularly warm and mushy Friday night.
Friday's was the type of show that repeatedly gave me goose-bumps. It happened again as I listened to the recording. If there is any hope of Pavement ever making new music together or even touring again, that Friday night show in Central Park should be all the reason they will ever need. Well, that and money of course. Either way, I'm in!
FRIDAY Heckler Spray / In The Mouth A Desert / Frontwards / Spit On A Stranger / Shady Lane / Date With IKEA / Grounded / Cut Your Hair / Perfume-V / Conduit For Sale! / Father To A Sister Of Thought / Stereo / Starlings Of The Slipstream / Gold Soundz / The Hexx / We Dance / Silent Kid / Unfair / No Life Singed Her / Trigger Cut / Stop Breathin’ / Ell Ess Two / Here ENCORE 1: Rattled By The Rush / Heaven Is A Truck / Summer Babe ENCORE 2: Kennel District / Debris Slide / Range Life DL THE SHOW!! Thanks, NYC Taper! http://www.nyctaper.com/?p=4025
Summing up: Tuesday was really special. Thursday was awesome too. Friday was beyond epic. Friday was the **GOLD STAR NIGHT WINNER** of this run!
It was really refreshing to see them all up there smiling and enjoying themselves. They did a whole damn tour together and they're still happy, so there's no reason to believe it won't happen again. I will miss them for however long it is in-between shows. Waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting... Dear Pavement, Thank you for 3 (more) beautiful nights of music. Come back soon (10 years is kind of a long time, yah?). I miss you already. Love, meWhat was also abundantly clear is that the Pavement crowd is kinda chock full of hotties. This left me wondering where they all scatter to when Pavement's not playing? Cuz I'm pretty sure like none of them are seeing moe..
Pavement (it still feels good to type that out), 9/21, 23, & 24/10, Central Park: 10 FUCKING HUZZAHS!
SATURDAY, 9/25/10
Saturday morning I woke up with the hiccups. It lasted all day and into the wee early hours of Sunday morning. Still experiencing random bursts of hiccups into the wee early hours of Thursday morning. Pavement withdrawal, perhaps? Surely the shakes must be next.
Do yourself a favor and DL these shows! Thanks again to NYC Taper, for the outstanding recordings!
^ You know that feeling at the exact moment you realize you've gotten into the wrong cab? Dying before the Friday night Pavement show would have sucked.
And now for my Ween review, featuring The Great Ticket Debacle of 2010 to start off the night. Months ago, Erika and I decided to trade +1's for 2 shows at opposite ends of the Summer. Primus Faith No More at the Williamsburg Waterfront and Ween at Central Park. She got the Primus Faith No More tickets and I got the Ween tickets. I had been well aware of this arrangement, even to go so far as putting it into my calendar with the note "Erika is our +1".
Yet somehow, DOS, I said to myself, "Oh, I don't have to bring any tickets to this show, cuz Erika has this one". I only realized that was wrong when standing outside the entrance to the concert, on the phone with Erika (who was speed-walking from Yorkville to the show, which totally started on time, cuz it's Central Park.), who declared incredulously, "No, Lynn-- YOU have the tickets!" Me: That's crazy talk, you have th--- OH FUCK! (as I pictured the envelope with the Ween tickets on top of my stereo, which I had written "ween x 2") -> me buying Kochman's & some random chick's extra. There would be no trip to the merch booth that night. Bad Lynn, no merch.
Side-note: I was wearing a purple Phish Summer 2010 Tour t shirt and was approached by a dirty wook out front who wanted to know if it was a Phish t shirt. When I replied "yep", he immediately offered to sell me drugs. I have no idea what type of drugs, because it was some wacky code-name ("you have what?") that the kids use, but I wasn't really interested in finding out. "No... Thank you?"
At 7:30, the line to get into the Ween show was all the way down and twisting around the Drive. It looked as if they had closed the gates for a little while (no idea why), but then the show started at 7:32 and the (at least) hundreds of people still stuck on this line were not happy. For me, I may be doomed to never make it into a Ween show on time ever again, so I'm used to this shit by now. You can hear everything from outside the gate at Rumsey Playfield, but you're not really at the show until you are being blasted by the music inside. We finally walked in during Take Me Away and it sounded great.
It's nearly impossible to get a clear view of the stage at Rumsey Playfield if you're short. It's a losing battle. And then of course, the Ween crowd was like 94% shit-faced drunk male*, so a short girl ain't gonna win. In fact, I would consistently rank Ween shows up there at the top of the list of Shows I Get Shoved Around At. This is also exactly why I try to stay "friends" with the Ween crowd- because it's really hard to tell if some of them are a split second away from punching you in the face at any given moment. Salvo had an interesting theory on it- Ween have 2 kinds of fans: FAN A) The fans who enjoy loud jammy guitar rock like Ween but also appreciate jambands like moe., Phish, etc. (ie- hippies like us.). And FAN B) The fans that hate hippies like us. If ever a fight were to actually break out- although I am a hippie like me, I would still want to be on whatever side the FAN B's were on. They scare me.
someone snuck a giraffe into the show!
Halfway through the show, Ween busted into a mind-boggling and out-of-control cover of Bowie's Let's Dance-- absolutely brilliant. Around this time, we found some more of our friends on the far outskirts of chuck.side. There ain't nothing like a happy crew of friends to enjoy a show with! I didn't take a photo cuz my flash is all wonky, but here's an artist's rendering that captures the love perfectly.
Baumy totally called Spinal Meningitis.
At some point in the night, the Gener was standing at the end of the stage, radiating his rocker wonderfulness-- and I was ever-so-happy he is alive. The setlist was strong, lots of variety. They were shredding. Fancy Pants was a bit too over-the-top, sometimes their borderline parody stuff eludes me. Mark later made a similar comment about the entire show. I enjoyed pretty much everything else!
Since you've already read the majority of this review, this seems as good a time as any to tell you that while my body was at the Ween show, all I could really think about was Pavement. 3 days with one of my favorite bands of all time was fast approaching. As I type out this review, I also have a copy of the Pavement review open-- because it's really all I'm thinking about.
After the show, we played everyone's favorite game: Is Salvo's Car Still There? And it was! Yaaay! Salvo 1, Gossip Girl 0! Suck it, Gossip Girl!
Have Ween ever used pyrotechnics? If not, they should seriously consider it, even if it's just for special shows. It would just feel right.
Sorry folks, the ol' A.D.D. has clearly kicked into full gear! Ween, 9/17/10, Rumsey Playfield, Central Park, NYC: 6.9 HUZZAHS!
SETLIST Buckingham Green She Wanted To Leave Bananas & Blow Learnin' To Live Transdermal Celebration Up On A Hill Take Me Away Don't Get 2 Close 2 My Fantasy Even If You Don't Push Th' Little Daises Sorry Charlie Voodoo Lady Happy Colored Marbles Stallion Pt. 3 Ice Castles> The Final Alarm My Own Bare Hands Your Party Let's Dance Touch My Tooter You Fucked Up Stroker Ace Waving My Dick In The Wind Fancy Pants Waynes Pet Youngin The Goin' Gets Touch Johnny On The Spot The Mollusk Spinal Meningitis Mister Won't You Please Help My Pony Roses Are Free
mmkay! officially killling time at work and officially tackling this overdue review.
it was an early start, i walked into the park with melissa and mintz (a moe. virgin!) and immediately ran into mattypie, etc. standing right next to erika! that's what happens when your friends are alcoholics- you can always find them right next to the beer tent. we found lauren later on- she couldn't sneak out of work as early as i did. "but i'm leaving at 5... no... but i've been saying for 2 months that i'm leaving at 5pm today... i'm leaving at 5... really... i won't be here after 5." (didn't leave til 5:30pm, but still... principle of the thing).
the boys hit the stage at 6:31pm with some tuning and then she sends me. i was able to text message with hern, etc. but they had made their way up to the front on al.side immediately and i wasn't going to deal with that clusterfuck (just yet). this was a great outdoor show to officially kickoff outdoor concert season. very exciting. the first set was pretty good, but i felt they were holding back a wee bit. i was standing up front on chuck-side for a portion of it, but the monitor was really hot and popping every couple of seconds. *pop**pop**pop**pop**pop* my ears and brain couldn't take it anymore so i went and hung out in the back with my running crew.
set break, lovely. sun down. this is more like it. sundown in central park and moe.- can't go wrong. it was a romantic nyc moment. set II started off ROCKING, they were really busting out the harder jams and getting into it. i needed to pee. mintz scored a vip pass for us in the most random of ways so i got to use the vip portapotty. still gross, but no line. :) well, after that i went up to al.side and spotted babitz in all his jewness and that was happy- cuz then i got to see hern, 4dice, lisa... and rob... heh. well, the view from backstage kinda sucked my ballz, and i felt completely removed from my friends... so i decided to do something about it.
i climbed over the 4 1/2 fence. i almost didn't do it! i really almost didn't... i was like, no no, i'll walk around... i'll be good... then i was like, "what the FUCK am i talking about??? WALK AROUND??? who the fuck am i??? I AM LYNNFUCKINGGUPPY and if i can't climb over this fucking fence, then i'm officially OLD!!! AND I AM NOT TOO OLD TO CLIMB OVER THIS FUCKING FENCE!!!" so i climbed over it. hern and babitz originally tried to lift me over but i knew that was asking for trouble so i told them not to touch me- i hiked up the pants and went for it. and it worked out nicely! front row! and a perfect view of rob rippin' shit up. it's really not a moe. show for me until i can get my unobstructed view of rob laying it all down... dreamy. i know you're all about to vomit, but i couldn't ask for more!!!
though, there was a woman there with her 8-10 year old child who was obviously NOT enjoying himself- he was covering his ears and looking sad, and that was really sad. if you're gonna bring your kid to a show, buy them some fucking earplugs. if you're old enough to make the conscious decision to fuck up your own hearing, do what you want- but your child didn't ask to be there and have permanent hearing loss, and you're an inept fucking parent, you goddamn scumbag! oh, also very drunk girls swaying their arms around and being altogether obnoxious- we were relieved when we thought one of them had passed out on the barrier- but she hadn't, she was just resting. there's some in every crowd.
anywhoosits- awesome fucking show- AMAZING 2nd set- really- much better than the 1st (1st wasn't bad- 2nd set was way more ballz-out rockin' goodness). altogether, factoring in getting to see all my friends and enjoying the show with people i love: 9 HUZZAHS!!!
