It's that time again and I know you've been waiting for it- it's time for VH1's Top 40 Videos of 2008. That's right peoples, set your dvr's and Tivo's, cuz this Friday VH1 is airing music related content! And it's better than just plain ol' music videos cuz our 2 hour countdown is made with the short-attention-spanned in mind (we're so thoughtful!)- we've cut our favorite videos together with smart, quirky, and occasionally insightful commentary from music journalists, whack-job comedians, and the musicians themselves. Now that's what I call classy.
Included on my to-do list for this one was: Weezer, All-American Rejects, Estelle ft. Kanye West, Jason Mraz, Gavin Rossdale, Sara Bareilles, David Archuleta, Daughtry, Mariah Carey, and the incomparable Matt Nathanson.
I had been eyeing this show on the Highline calendar for a while but held off on buying a ticket because I wasn't sure how destroyed (or arrested) I'd be from the 2 Ha Ha the Moose shows in the days before, but let's back up a bit...
Who the fuck are Mercury Rev? Mercury Rev (from Buffalo, NY) are everyone's favorite band that you've never heard of. The indie musicians you listen to are probably loyal fans of Mercury Rev. Their name seems to appear alongside the Mountain Goats as top favorites. Could I have told you what they sounded like last week? No. But for years it was always "Mercury Rev THIS" and "Mercury Rev THAT" and "If this humus were a cookie and that cookie were life blah blah blah...", you get the idea. I knew eventually I was going to see these guys play. So when I read the Highline newsletter last week and saw "if you would like to win a free pair of tickets to the Mercury Rev show this sunday, email us" and I scored a pair, I knew it was meant to be*. It was going to be a long weekend and after 2 Ha Ha the Moose shows, things might** be messy- but at no point did I consider skipping this stars-alligning-with-planets event. I was FINALLY going to see Mercury Rev. Hot damn!
Damn, seriously like none of you locals have ever fucking heard of them? Big fat whatever dudes, cuz Steve the Greek was on that like gyro sauce on a fucking gyro!
Hell, he even knew who the opening band were (Dean & Britta), unfortunately we only saw about a minute of them cuz we walked in after throwing back a pregame at the Hog Pit. I stood next to the lead singer of Mercury Rev (Jonathan Donahue***) at the bar and admired his plaid pants but didn't know who he was until he got onstage (with a bottle of wine) and flailed the night away. It's almost the same way I met the Old TP. Almost. Anyways, I didn't know what to expect, I had thought maybe Wilco-ish, but then Hern told me Flaming Lips (a band Donahue was previously in), which actually got me really nervous due to a "bad time" I had at moe.down a few years ago. Aside from the heart palpitations and cold sweats it gives me, for some reason the Flaming Lips music also sounds kind of artificially manufactured: musical aspartame. I didn't need any of that again.
Immediately I could see the comparisons to the Flaming Lips in Donahue's flamboyant stage presence, the visuals, and some of the driving dramatic/atmospheric sounds. Fortunately for me, there were no bleeding nun puppets through a fish eye lens while Wayne shoots a confetti gun over the audience and a stage full of people dancing in giant foam bunny costumes on some sort of horrible Willy Wonka boat-ride. So that was good. Very good. Instead of sensory overload it was sensory satisfaction and I was able to enjoy it all. Thanks, Mercury Rev!
But for realz, the band was great! Some of the songs were slower and moodier than others, but mostly it felt masterfully orchestrated and brilliantly pulled off. The stage show was energetic and Donahue was constantly running around to the various band members and zapping them with power while they tore through the songs. Occasionally they would sound like the Doors but the next moment they were covering the Talking Heads. They connected most of their songs in a way that specifically reminded me of moe.'s Wormwood album, very beautifully done.
I will definitely see Mercury Rev again and will most likely be more pro-active about it in the future. Now I know why so many respected musicians are fans of these guys. It was a great fucking time. Another successful night at the beautiful Highline Ballroom. The perfect show for a cold Sunday night after 2 nights of sheer madness****: mellow enough to take the edge off. Last Sunday night at least, Mercury Rev were the Vicodin of live music. Just what I needed. 8.5-9 HUZZAHS! Solid.
* and that ticket sales were probably bad so they needed to fill-house. ** Odds were yes, they would almost certainly be messy. *** I just looked that up. **** 3 if you count the New World Holiday Party.
ha ha the moose, 12/5 & 12/6/08, sullivan hall, nyc, ny
Oooh, I was ever so excited when these shows were announced! The timing made them kind of my very own personal VH1's Top 40 Videos of 2008 wrap party. Except that I had to pay for booze and Ha Ha the Moose were playing. Ha Ha hail from the vast nether-regions of your mind and feature the unenviable talents of:
Their sound can best be described as head-trauma-drooling-lunacy, inspired by bands like GWAR, Zappa, & the Holiday Ramblers.
That said, I met up with the hernsottos and we had some stellar dinner and cocktails at TONG in Union Sq. (I had curry puffs, the salmon confit, and a Dulce Fresca- muddled strawberry & mango martini *that's how I roll* - everything was sublime, I will definitely be going back for more) before busting our fucking guts open laughing at a great movie: Role Models. I don't typically endorse films, but this David Wain joint was a masterpiece. Sometimes it wasn't even the dialogue but just the look on the actors face that delivered the brilliance. Top notch performances by the main cast (Paul Rudd can do no wrong, but all 4 were great) and supporting cast like Matt Walsh (I couldn't even look at him without laughing), Jane Lynch (another superb performance), Kerri Kenney, Ken Marino, Joe Lo Truglio, and of course Seth Herzog in a tree (spectacular). Go see it.
We collected ourselves, met up with Jay and Gullo before hitting Kenny's Castaways for a pregame drink but wanted to make sure we got good spots for Ha Ha-- so off we went to Sullivan Hall where the doors weren't even open yet... and we stood there close to the front of the line and waited while they soundchecked some Simple Minds (our first taste of the Geighties theme).... MOOOOOOOOOOOOSE! Finally inside, we scored some top notch spots at the very front, Dr. Guano side and were visited by the best waitress in NYC, she's always so good to us- Amelia.
I also ran into Salvo who was setting up his mics for some taping action (ah, how long since we've actually used "tapes" for this?). Werdup. Jon Merin set up a cybercast of the shows and the mics were set up right in front of us... So, we may or may not have had some fun with the people listening on their computers and that's all I'll say about that.
There's something about a late night show that peaks the experience over the edge. Especially when it's at the end of a long week. Especially when it's Ha Ha the Moose. Those motherfuckers didn't hit the stage til almost 1am. They play better when the crowd is angry! We have no choice but to take it! MOOOOOOOOOSE!
I had seen the setlist from the night before in Boston, so I knew what some of the surprises were, but since I wasn't in Boston, nothing was spoiled. They made their way to the stage via flashlight security escort and BLAMMO- the Magnum PI Theme- but a rockin' out extended version of it. Couldn't NOT laugh but they totally rocked it! Awesome Gary, old skool and loud, love it. 10 Things, BRAIN TUBA. A Ha Ha standard, Tijuana Donkey Show. A little Nena with 99 Luftballoons, deftly handled by Jeff VK. Thirsty Carbuncle and the Ha Ha the Moose Theme, complete with Dr. Guano scolding the audience for premature participation. I gotta say- Jim Sludge really went to town on 20 lbs of Shit in a 2 lbs Bag. He was truly hardcore, singing and drumming-- totally metal. moe. should cover this. Don't You Forget About Me, I really believed Dr. Guano when he was singing those words and I will never forget you, Dr. Guano, when you walk on by, I will call your name. I don't believe I'd ever had the pleasure of hearing Christmas in Mooseville before and I'm not normally a fan of Christmas music, but this could be my FAVORITE Christmas song EVER-- I love custard... Devil Toad, Our House, and then...MAGNUM PI THEME to close out the set! What a sandwich! The encore was 88 Lines About 44 Women and then the Redneck Trilogy, which includes a cameo by yours truly to declare I'd beat up Chuck* in the name of freedom** (some gobi girl told Dr. Guano that she'd do his mom in the butt in the name of freedom which deeply disturbed most of us present).
I also picked up a copy of the Ha Ha EP, "alce en vivo de los muertos" (translated: moose live from the dead) like a good little indie rock fan (I'm the best). "Bailout the Moose!" - El Herno
I got to sleep at 6am... and then I got to wake back up at 3pm and do the whole thing all over again***. That's right. Can't get enough of the Moose. Did I mention that Thursday night was the New World Holiday Party? My liver thinks it's college again! MOOOOOOSE!
We did a pregame drink at the Pinch and crossed the street to meet our fate. Rocked the same spot as Friday night taboot. Can't get enough of that Dr. Guano- there's just something so mysterious about him and I can't quite put my finger on it (ha ha it). I'd be lying if I said I remembered the whole night because I don't. MOOOOOOSE! Highlights: Long Island Girls Rule, Don't Fuck w/ Flo, 10 Things Vin's Most Likely to Say- they absolutely nailed this one, it created the late night nyc gig "space" that kind of fills the room with a warm glowy happiness, I miss that space. I applaud 10 Things Vin's Most Likely to Say. Sadly, the show was over shortly thereafter. Oh yeah, and an awesome Magnum PI to club sandwich the run. MOOOOOOOOSE!
Ha Ha the Moose perform, 99 Luftballoons, 12/6/08, Sullivan Hall, NYC
Ha Ha the Moose, double the pleasure is twice as nice: 9.5 HUZZAHS! -.5 because those fuckers SUCK! MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSE!
12/5/08 Setlist: Magnum PI Awesome Gary 10 Things Vin's Most Likely To Say Down Under Brain Tuba Tijuana Donkey Show 99 Luftballons Thirsty Carbuncle Ha Ha The Moose Theme Money For Nothing Mr. Her 20 lbs. of Shit in a 2 lb. Bag Don't You Forget About Me Christmas in Mooseville Devil Toad Our House Magnum PI
Encore: 88 Lines About 44 Women Rednecks Are Everywhere> Fishing With Dynamite> In The Name Of Freedom
12/6/08 Setlist: Magnum PI Don't You Forget About Me Land Down Under 88 Lines About 44 Women Long Island Girls Rule Thirsty Carbuncle Don't Fuck With Flo Mr. Her 20 lbs. of Shit In a 2 lb. Bag 99 Luftballons Christmas Time In Mooseville Redneck Trilogy In The Name Of Freedom Our House Awesome Gary
Encore: Money For Nothing 10 Things Vin's Likely To Say Magnum PI
Black Friday deaths… Shocking? Not really. I’d kill for a fucking flat-screen any day. You would too, don’t even lie. Nothing would make my holiday season complete like a blood-tv. That way, every time I picked up the remote to watch cartoons taller than me, I’d remember the selfless man-floor I had to run over, who gave his life so I could make my way to the Wal-Mart Electronics department at 5am to save a few bucks. Then I’d remember the best part which was when I threw that baby towards the asshole dressed like a cop who told me to stop shopping cuz somebody died. Stop shopping? “Are you on crack?” I’d say! And then I’d laugh and throw that stranger’s baby in their faces. “HA HA” to them and STRANGERBABY to their skulls! If I were to stop shopping than that man’s death would be in vain. I NEED MORE BIG TV’s.
Man, those were good times on a Friday morning.
CEO’s everywhere heard about the Black Friday deaths and heaved a sigh of relief knowing that America’s lust for STUFF was alive and well despite an economic and moral downturn.
Actual footage of CEO’s last Friday:
DISCLAIMER: seriously though, that herd of fucking animals disgusts me, who does that??? There’s store footage of the Valley Stream incident online and I was morbidly curious but could not go through with watching it, it’s just the lowest form of human scumbaggery. Just fucking horrible. These stores set up Black Friday exactly for this sort of mob mentality and should share blame along with the actual trample-ers. It’s shopping as sport. A race to the finish. To the victors go the spoils- or ya know, the chance to spend money so they can save money.
al & the transamericans, 11/8/08, mexicali blues, teaneck, nj
Short review: Al & the transamericans were fun, I've seen them much better- this was a very very mellow show. Mexicali Blues is cool and occasionally gets great acts & performances. Any venue that serves frozen margaritas is fine by me- but it occasionally feels weird as a venue: the lighting is kind of cheesy and the room just feels too big sometimes (high ceilings maybe?). Still not sure why. The 1 long set seemed slightly strange and there was some jewish girl screaming hebrew* at al all night which was pretty odd too.
Always nice to see/hear Gordon Stone & Kirk Juhas (Al and Vinnie of course and Eric their bass player is great, but I still missed Teep).
Oh and there was an unfortunate 16 year old with no rhythm kind of spazzing out right in front of the stage which was slightly hard to bare witness too. She seemed nice enough and was totally into it, but the music she was dancing to (maybe her head gets xm?) didn't seem to have anything to do with the music that was being played by the band in front of her at that very moment (and I doubt there were any drugs involved). Truly odd, indeed.
Let's give it 7 HUZZAHS. There was something too quiet about it for me (not because my ear filters were in).
*typically Lisa deafens us with her shrieks of, "I LOVE YOU AL!" (yes, he hears you)
