okay, let me just start off right now with a disclaimer: i don't think i'm too good on boats. i've really only spent an extended period of time on a boat a couple of times. 1 being a seapods booze cruise on lake champlain in '99 in which i was medicated by a special brownie that kicked my ass and can't really remember much of the afternoon... except chopping off d-mighty's arm with a light saber. and at 2am in the monopole asking people around me if they still felt like they were on the boat... "everything keeps going up and down..." and the 2nd being my fake-brother's wedding rehearsal dinner, in which i accidentally ate an "edible" flower that was in my salad (motherfuckers), turned green, and had to take a benedryl and be escorted back to the hotel... missing a no doubt incredible evening at the 3 needs and filling myself up with crack-beer like the good ol' days. it is this fear of boats that has kept me off of things like jamcruise or moe.cruise... but i digress.
soulive, 8/13/06, rocks off boat cruise, hudson river, new york city
perhaps this boat ride would be different. or not.
we grabbed some grub and although i didn't intend to drink at all, i am just a fool for the cowgirl's margaritas. i mean they serve them in a mason jar for fuck's sake. UNCLE. we headed up to the dock and in full out preparation, i needed a medicating puff. strictly medicinal (see above disclaimer). and lemme tellya, it might have been the only thing that kept my shit together. we finally left shore and started heading towards the statue of liberty as the sun set. it was really pretty... but the boat was pretty claustrophobic. ugh. and again, i wasn't gonna drink, but at this point it was necessary. i was already second guessing my total committment to seeing this gig.
the band finally started up and they sounded okay. they were set up downstairs underneath the overhang of the 2nd floor. which actually blew cuz i couldn't even stare at alan banging away. they should really either move the band out into the open 5 feet or so, or just destroy the balcony that hangs above the "stage" area. also, the acoustics were pretty shitty. it reminded me of the tune inn in new haven. exactly like being trapped in a gigantic metallic turd.
they had advertised some "special guests" which i was hoping would consist of people like dj logic or vernon reid or maybe even a sax player... nope. it was a couple of "guest vocalists" who ended up more or less just screaming into the mic. loudly. i've seen this band kick some SERIOUS ass before, and i was expecting no less- i mean, we're cruising around manhattan, you'd think they would be on their game... not so much. the jams were kind of generic, loose, nothing special. at this point i'm feeling pretty old... we hung out a bit on the back of the boat, enjoyed the view of the city... the best city in the world. new york city. this was probably the best part of the show.
also, here, let me say that i've never wanted to leave a soulive show early... ever. and now that i finally wanted to leave a soulive show early- i was trapped on a fucking boat... it kinda sucked. well, we finally made it back to dock, the band had stopped, and i couldn't wait to jump onto solid ground... but we had to wait about a half hour for some reason, because they weren't letting anyone off the boat... so it was a lot of people, crammed into each other... trying to leave... it's hot... everyone is rocking back and forth... oh god, just thinking about it right now is making me nauseas and i've been off the boat for a good 2 1/2 weeks already. DAAAAMN did land feel good under my feet. i can't even begin to tell you...
anyways. a lame soulive show, trapped on a crowded boat... do i blame the band or the rocks off boat cruise? maybe i just don't drink enough to enjoy this sort of shit? i want to give this review more, but i'm teetering on the brink... this hurts me more than it hurts you, soulive... please forgive me alan... soulive rocks off cruise 8/13/06: 4 painful HUZZAHS. and that's being generous.
i told you, i don't think i'm so good on boats...
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Thursday, August 17, 2006
peelander-z & the kaiju big battel, 8/4/06, the warsaw, brooklyn, ny
so let's start this review off with a little backstory. the week before hern mentioned to me that peelander-z were playing the warsaw in conjunction with kaiju big battel and that lisa's friend was getting them tickets because the dude lives around the block from the place. i get psyched. i remembered seeing the website for kaiju a couple of years ago and it looked hysterical, but i never bothered motivating to go see it. so, with the motivation in full effect, i bought my ticket. i have heard great things about peelander-z and have wanted to see them for a couple of years now. flash forward. day-of-show... actually a couple of hours before the show, and hern IM's me... they don't have tickets. whuh? what about lisa's friend that you gave money to so he could get you tickets? oh, he never got the tickets? and now the show is sold out? and i'm the only asshole with a ticket? i am going on the record right now and saying flat out: lisa's friend is a giant douchebag.
hern and lisa had hope that maybe they could score some extras if they got there early enough. so they went down to williamsburg after work and situated themselves at some bar on the walk between the L and the warsaw with blue lights around the awning and i met them there. the waitress was hella cool and we had some great pregaming going on. eventually we made our way over to the warsaw and the doors hadn't opened yet, so the line to get in was fairly absurd- around the corner. there were peeps looking for extras and absolutely no scalpers or anything. so it was kind of a fruitless attempt. so they took off and i waited... and texted... and got a phonecall from someone who was adorable enough to stay on the phone with me til i got to the door.
there was a giant wrestling ring set up in the middle of the warsaw with a cardboard and balsa wood model of the empire state building in it. i walked up to the very front by the stage, cuz i wanted to witness peelander-z in full effect. and boy did i ever! they came out and started going nuts, it was fucking bizarre and awesome all at once... i was totally getting into it in the front row... and then... out of nowhere... peelander-pink comes out with a suitcase full of percussion tools... and she runs over and hands me a drumstick and some sort of percussive-instrument and motions for me to come onstage. "what??? up there?" she nods and gestures me up... well, okay... so i hopped onstage and started rockin' out with peelander-z! it was pretty phat! a couple more folks came up and we rocked til the end of the song. peelander-red nearly hit me with the guitar head when he jumped up and finished the song. it was pretty damn rock 'n roll--- and fucking NO ONE IS THERE TO TAKE A PIC OF ME ROCKIN' OUT ONSTAGE WITH PEELANDER-Z... so once again-- lisa, your friend is a giant fucking douchebag. there were plenty of photographers and peeps with video cameras- so if anyone out there has pics of me onstage from that night, i'd love to see 'em.
but i digress- peelander-z rocked the warsaw- i wish their set lasted longer. it was maybe 30 minutes. they ended by bowling each other down the walkway, which was pretty fun. they were awesome and i'd love to see a full show, hopefully they'll be back in nyc soon!!!
kaiju big battel... well, it was unlike anything i've ever seen... except for wrestlemania 3 & 4 and the scene in pee wee's big adventure when he wanders onto a japanese monster movie set... and any gamura film that mst3k used to play... it started out when hell monkey destroyed the giant empire state building- very cleverly build around a ladder so that he could scale it. [BIG UPS on the props- they were great, whoever makes them does an awesome job-- 10 HUZZAHS TO YOU, PROPMASTER!]. the evening progressed with the kaiju intern being defeated in a battel where a model of the brooklyn bridge also got destroyed. i had a pretty good spot next to the walkway where they were throwing all the used props/models after they got destroyed. which also happened to be the place where anyone who was thrown out of the ring- they landed on the garbage heap. so i got some fun footage including the giant mushroom struggling to upright himself which can be viewed here:
so, it was a pretty entertaining night, all in all. it would have been way more fun to share it with a handful of friends (lisa, your friend is a douche), but the crowd was a chill one and everyone was having a good time. the full breakdown of the evening's wrestling can be found here: http://www.kaiju.com/commentary_aow.htm
i would say, all together... peelander-z and kaiju big battel: 8.5 HUZZAHS!!!! WOOT!
hern and lisa had hope that maybe they could score some extras if they got there early enough. so they went down to williamsburg after work and situated themselves at some bar on the walk between the L and the warsaw with blue lights around the awning and i met them there. the waitress was hella cool and we had some great pregaming going on. eventually we made our way over to the warsaw and the doors hadn't opened yet, so the line to get in was fairly absurd- around the corner. there were peeps looking for extras and absolutely no scalpers or anything. so it was kind of a fruitless attempt. so they took off and i waited... and texted... and got a phonecall from someone who was adorable enough to stay on the phone with me til i got to the door.
there was a giant wrestling ring set up in the middle of the warsaw with a cardboard and balsa wood model of the empire state building in it. i walked up to the very front by the stage, cuz i wanted to witness peelander-z in full effect. and boy did i ever! they came out and started going nuts, it was fucking bizarre and awesome all at once... i was totally getting into it in the front row... and then... out of nowhere... peelander-pink comes out with a suitcase full of percussion tools... and she runs over and hands me a drumstick and some sort of percussive-instrument and motions for me to come onstage. "what??? up there?" she nods and gestures me up... well, okay... so i hopped onstage and started rockin' out with peelander-z! it was pretty phat! a couple more folks came up and we rocked til the end of the song. peelander-red nearly hit me with the guitar head when he jumped up and finished the song. it was pretty damn rock 'n roll--- and fucking NO ONE IS THERE TO TAKE A PIC OF ME ROCKIN' OUT ONSTAGE WITH PEELANDER-Z... so once again-- lisa, your friend is a giant fucking douchebag. there were plenty of photographers and peeps with video cameras- so if anyone out there has pics of me onstage from that night, i'd love to see 'em.
but i digress- peelander-z rocked the warsaw- i wish their set lasted longer. it was maybe 30 minutes. they ended by bowling each other down the walkway, which was pretty fun. they were awesome and i'd love to see a full show, hopefully they'll be back in nyc soon!!!
kaiju big battel... well, it was unlike anything i've ever seen... except for wrestlemania 3 & 4 and the scene in pee wee's big adventure when he wanders onto a japanese monster movie set... and any gamura film that mst3k used to play... it started out when hell monkey destroyed the giant empire state building- very cleverly build around a ladder so that he could scale it. [BIG UPS on the props- they were great, whoever makes them does an awesome job-- 10 HUZZAHS TO YOU, PROPMASTER!]. the evening progressed with the kaiju intern being defeated in a battel where a model of the brooklyn bridge also got destroyed. i had a pretty good spot next to the walkway where they were throwing all the used props/models after they got destroyed. which also happened to be the place where anyone who was thrown out of the ring- they landed on the garbage heap. so i got some fun footage including the giant mushroom struggling to upright himself which can be viewed here:
so, it was a pretty entertaining night, all in all. it would have been way more fun to share it with a handful of friends (lisa, your friend is a douche), but the crowd was a chill one and everyone was having a good time. the full breakdown of the evening's wrestling can be found here: http://www.kaiju.com/commentary_aow.htm
i would say, all together... peelander-z and kaiju big battel: 8.5 HUZZAHS!!!! WOOT!
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
black crowes, 7/19/06 @ jones beach & 7/22 @ PNC, NJ
okay, i'm running waaaay behind on these reviews. but it's for a good reason- i'm gainfully employed again. woohoo. anyways, let's get to this.
black crowes, 7/19/06, jones beach, ny & 7/22/06, PNC garden state arts center, holmdel, nj
i wasn't originally planning on going to the jones beach show, but liane called me a few days before it happened with a bargain i couldn't refuse. she had 4 phatty tickets in the orchestra section but her ride bailed and she offered me a ticket in exchange for transportation... so since i wasn't working, i said HELLZ YEAH. but then the next day i got food poisoning. ohhhhh, the food poisoning i did have. i had a day to recover but i didn't want to bail because i didn't want her to have to miss the show! i was able to eat a bowl of white rice before the show and that made me happy.
no alcohol at jones beach--- still lame. i mean, i couldn't drink anything anyways, but the whole concept is fucking lame. we made our way to the seats-- and they were AWESOME. they were in the beginning of the raised section of seats- but they were right on the water. literally. on the beach. so every time liane looked at me, i was standing next to the water, and she'd just start laughing. the band was pretty good, the crowd wasn't that great though. the place wasn't packed at all (probably cuz it was a weeknight) and the band had no energy to feed off of. some of the songs were okay, but i definitely wasn't blown away. it was also a "greatest hits" show. they played most of their singles and i enjoy hearing them, but they didn't mix it up enough. the hammerstein shows really spoiled me i think.
however, i also was having trouble standing up... and sitting up. my muscles were so sore from puking for close to 24 hours that it felt like my rib cage was collapsing into my intestines. good times. it's hard to rock out when you need to be taking a nap.
mooooooooooooving on... 7/22 in jersey...
i had these tickets for like 4 months- heinzy and i had been looking forward to the tailgating and the celebrations for about the same time- i think we had planned either right before or right after our simultaneous BC vacations. brett was supposed to show up (but he didn't because he's a lame ass that is afraid of the rain). we convinced mr. cifarelli to join us and he was on the fence until he felt how wonderful the a/c in my car was. we got down to the parking lot and fought off the rainy blues for a while- and i hold firm my contention for the corn cob pipe. why anyone would want to subject themselves to the lacquered flavor headache inducing plastic and corn concoction, i don't know. but i digress.
we skipped out on drive by truckers and robert randolph. i don't know if i've seen dbt, i've heard some good things... but robert randolph (i'm preparing to be scorned) just doesn't do it for me. in all honesty, i get tired of him after about 5 minutes. yes, he's talented, but somehow it comes off to me as more along the lines of "musical wanking". let the flames begin!
we ran into the vh1 crew inside by the beer tent, only got to see them for a few minutes, but fuck it, the show was aboot to start. there was an immediate difference in the crowd (vs. the jones beach crowd). this place was about to erupt with energy. the bandshell was packed and the band was feeding off of it. was it the weekend? was it the sun finally emerging from the clouds and drying up the rain? or was it the BEER? well, the beer was plentiful. i was still afraid to drink cuz my body was still adjusting to normalcy. but the band rocked, it wasn't a "greatest hits" show, but more like a "classic favorites" show. it was more in line with the hammerstein shows from last year. good stuff.
of course always a topic of conversation- when will a new crowes album come out? well, now that chris robinson and kate hudson have officially split, i gotta say- it's quite possible there will be a new and absolutely KICK ASS crowes album very soon. all that emotional rage has to be funneled somewhere! rock it!
so, let's see... jones beach show- a lame: 5.5 HUZZAHS... pnc show- a rockin' 8.5 HUZZAHS!
black crowes, 7/19/06, jones beach, ny & 7/22/06, PNC garden state arts center, holmdel, nj
i wasn't originally planning on going to the jones beach show, but liane called me a few days before it happened with a bargain i couldn't refuse. she had 4 phatty tickets in the orchestra section but her ride bailed and she offered me a ticket in exchange for transportation... so since i wasn't working, i said HELLZ YEAH. but then the next day i got food poisoning. ohhhhh, the food poisoning i did have. i had a day to recover but i didn't want to bail because i didn't want her to have to miss the show! i was able to eat a bowl of white rice before the show and that made me happy.
no alcohol at jones beach--- still lame. i mean, i couldn't drink anything anyways, but the whole concept is fucking lame. we made our way to the seats-- and they were AWESOME. they were in the beginning of the raised section of seats- but they were right on the water. literally. on the beach. so every time liane looked at me, i was standing next to the water, and she'd just start laughing. the band was pretty good, the crowd wasn't that great though. the place wasn't packed at all (probably cuz it was a weeknight) and the band had no energy to feed off of. some of the songs were okay, but i definitely wasn't blown away. it was also a "greatest hits" show. they played most of their singles and i enjoy hearing them, but they didn't mix it up enough. the hammerstein shows really spoiled me i think.
however, i also was having trouble standing up... and sitting up. my muscles were so sore from puking for close to 24 hours that it felt like my rib cage was collapsing into my intestines. good times. it's hard to rock out when you need to be taking a nap.
mooooooooooooving on... 7/22 in jersey...
i had these tickets for like 4 months- heinzy and i had been looking forward to the tailgating and the celebrations for about the same time- i think we had planned either right before or right after our simultaneous BC vacations. brett was supposed to show up (but he didn't because he's a lame ass that is afraid of the rain). we convinced mr. cifarelli to join us and he was on the fence until he felt how wonderful the a/c in my car was. we got down to the parking lot and fought off the rainy blues for a while- and i hold firm my contention for the corn cob pipe. why anyone would want to subject themselves to the lacquered flavor headache inducing plastic and corn concoction, i don't know. but i digress.
we skipped out on drive by truckers and robert randolph. i don't know if i've seen dbt, i've heard some good things... but robert randolph (i'm preparing to be scorned) just doesn't do it for me. in all honesty, i get tired of him after about 5 minutes. yes, he's talented, but somehow it comes off to me as more along the lines of "musical wanking". let the flames begin!
we ran into the vh1 crew inside by the beer tent, only got to see them for a few minutes, but fuck it, the show was aboot to start. there was an immediate difference in the crowd (vs. the jones beach crowd). this place was about to erupt with energy. the bandshell was packed and the band was feeding off of it. was it the weekend? was it the sun finally emerging from the clouds and drying up the rain? or was it the BEER? well, the beer was plentiful. i was still afraid to drink cuz my body was still adjusting to normalcy. but the band rocked, it wasn't a "greatest hits" show, but more like a "classic favorites" show. it was more in line with the hammerstein shows from last year. good stuff.
of course always a topic of conversation- when will a new crowes album come out? well, now that chris robinson and kate hudson have officially split, i gotta say- it's quite possible there will be a new and absolutely KICK ASS crowes album very soon. all that emotional rage has to be funneled somewhere! rock it!
so, let's see... jones beach show- a lame: 5.5 HUZZAHS... pnc show- a rockin' 8.5 HUZZAHS!
Saturday, August 12, 2006
Dana Monteith, 8/12/06, Gabe's Hootenanny, Sussex, NJ
my good buddy gabe just bought a house out in the middle of nowhere in jersey and his one wish was to have a kickass housewarming party... in order for that to happen he needed one important ingredient: truck stop love ballads. and there's only one man in the world that can provide such an ingredient: dana monteith. so dana was called in special for the task. truck stop love ballads DELIVERED.
i was about 10 minutes from gabe's place when my phone rang- it was dana. "where are you???" "i have no fucking idea." "well, i'm waiting for you to get here before i start!" "ack!!!!! you're waiting for me???" "yeah, guppy, get here FAST! or i'm gonna drink even more!!!" "okay okay, i think i'm close--- have a cheeseburger and by the time you're finished i'll be there!"
i pulled into gabe's neighbor's driveway and parked (the place was packed- satellite parking was the only option!). gabe's house is huuuuuge and gorgeous! the yard was amazing and featured a giant vegetable garden!!! man, if only i wanted to live in the middle of fucking nowhere in jersey!!! damn!!! i had to wait for setbreak for the guided tour- which had about 15 other people on it... gabe should have gotten a megaphone for the full effect.
but rewind back to the music--- dana started off set I with unmarked trunk. a touching tale of the road and love lost and possibly my favorite truck stop love ballad of all time! i didn't keep a setlist, but through his 2.5 sets he went on to play some classic truck stop love ballads: self destruct button, on a dime, afterglow, slipping back, creamery rag... and some classic ominous seapods favorites: waiting room, hope i shall arrive soon, the old gp, jet smooth ride, bong hits and porn... there were more... in fact, gabe and g3 had printed out a whole bunch of seapods tunes from stretch's pink flamingo file and dana happilly obliged as best he could (a few of the tunes he had even rehearsed the night before!).
set 2.5 got a little "blue" and "messy" due to the "alcohol" and "darkness". but there was cake, coffee, and lovely cream puffy things... however, there has been a promise of a "downstairs bar opening" party that will ALSO feature truck stop love ballads this winter... and GUITARAOKE... sasso.com is going to set up a computer server that will spew out requested song lyrics and music for dana to please party goers with even the most discerning musical tastes. gordon lightfoot? no problem! johnny cash? no problem! michael bolton? NOW YOU GOT A PROBLEM!
i took some footage of dana rockin' out the backyard- please view it!
gabe's backyard housewarming hootenanny featuring truck stop ballads by dana monteith? 10 HUZZAHS! rock the sussex! THANKS GABE!!! your party was SUPERB!
to learn more about dana monteith and truck stop love ballads please visit dana's website: www.danamonteith.com
i was about 10 minutes from gabe's place when my phone rang- it was dana. "where are you???" "i have no fucking idea." "well, i'm waiting for you to get here before i start!" "ack!!!!! you're waiting for me???" "yeah, guppy, get here FAST! or i'm gonna drink even more!!!" "okay okay, i think i'm close--- have a cheeseburger and by the time you're finished i'll be there!"
i pulled into gabe's neighbor's driveway and parked (the place was packed- satellite parking was the only option!). gabe's house is huuuuuge and gorgeous! the yard was amazing and featured a giant vegetable garden!!! man, if only i wanted to live in the middle of fucking nowhere in jersey!!! damn!!! i had to wait for setbreak for the guided tour- which had about 15 other people on it... gabe should have gotten a megaphone for the full effect.
but rewind back to the music--- dana started off set I with unmarked trunk. a touching tale of the road and love lost and possibly my favorite truck stop love ballad of all time! i didn't keep a setlist, but through his 2.5 sets he went on to play some classic truck stop love ballads: self destruct button, on a dime, afterglow, slipping back, creamery rag... and some classic ominous seapods favorites: waiting room, hope i shall arrive soon, the old gp, jet smooth ride, bong hits and porn... there were more... in fact, gabe and g3 had printed out a whole bunch of seapods tunes from stretch's pink flamingo file and dana happilly obliged as best he could (a few of the tunes he had even rehearsed the night before!).
set 2.5 got a little "blue" and "messy" due to the "alcohol" and "darkness". but there was cake, coffee, and lovely cream puffy things... however, there has been a promise of a "downstairs bar opening" party that will ALSO feature truck stop love ballads this winter... and GUITARAOKE... sasso.com is going to set up a computer server that will spew out requested song lyrics and music for dana to please party goers with even the most discerning musical tastes. gordon lightfoot? no problem! johnny cash? no problem! michael bolton? NOW YOU GOT A PROBLEM!
i took some footage of dana rockin' out the backyard- please view it!
gabe's backyard housewarming hootenanny featuring truck stop ballads by dana monteith? 10 HUZZAHS! rock the sussex! THANKS GABE!!! your party was SUPERB!
to learn more about dana monteith and truck stop love ballads please visit dana's website: www.danamonteith.com
Saturday, July 15, 2006
les claypool, 7/15/06, nokia theater, nyc
hey'all, this review finds itself delayed by a few days as i suffered a nasty bout of food poisoning this week. pasta primavera? not necessarily so safe. it's been quite an ugly week. so, here we go!
les claypool, 7/15/06, nokia theater, nyc
so, this time around i didn't get tickets for everyone in advance cuz last time i kinda got fucked. good call. for this show i flew solo as all my friends who said they might go bailed- no surprise. i however, had been looking forward to this show for months, and i wasn't gonna miss it. another reason i felt like i had to see it was because my friend teresa haire who passed away a couple of months ago would have wanted to see it. she was going to come to the les nokia show with me last october but her med school exams got in the way and she missed it because she was being a good-responsible-student. fuck, johnny fishwick would have had a good time there too, cuz it was les. so yeah. i felt like i needed to be there to enjoy the show for my homies too. haire & johnny 4 eva, 4 realz, yo. mad respek.
anyways, i rolled into the city conveniently in time to miss the opening band and get street parking. bought my ticket at the door and chugged my water that the security guard found and i couldn't bring inside. and as i came down the escalators at the nokia, les had just hit the stage and i listened and watched him on the big screen (I REALLY FUCKING LOVE THIS SETUP), ran into the bathroom and didn't miss a second of the music cuz it's pumped right in there (ahh, just like wetlands... except... bigger... shiny... and lit without a blacklight.). i made my way into the theater on the right hand side and it was pretty packed. i didn't feel like powering all the way up to the front, so i found a nice little nook next to the tapers on the main floor.
this was a great spot until some kid started hitting on me nonstop for like 5-10 minutes. i tried to be nice, then i tried to ignore him. it actually got to the point where he spoke through about 3/4 of a song and the lines he was throwing out there were getting worse and worse. he was either on e or drunk as hell... or both... or maybe he was just THAT enamored with me, i mean, i am fucking awesome. regardless i was missing this entire fucking song cuz he was yammering away- never mind the fucking taper mics we're standing next to- now he's not only ruining my time, but everyone who should have a clean recording of this show. finally i'd had enough.
RETARDED CHILD: you really are gorgeous
ME: you HAVE to stop hitting on me NOW.
RC: buh---
ME: NO- STOP. NOW.
after a couple of minutes he got uncomfortable enough to finally leave, but not before apologizing.
RC: i'm really sorry if i was making you uncomfortable
ME: (watching stage) no worries
RC: thank you for having the balls to tell m---
ME: STOP. NOW.
and he left. goddamnit. seriously guys, get the fucking hint. and if it seems like the girl is remotely interested in the actual concert that is going on, talking nonstop in her ear isn't gonna help your cause.
anyways, back to the music. les had the same lineup as last time i believe. drums, sax, sitar, percussion... they sounded great. it was a good mixture of new/old stuff. some of the spacier jams seemed a bit loose to me. the main point is that les is such a solid fucking performer, i really enjoy listening to his shows and experiencing the showmanship. however, why in 2006 is it still necessary to have an obligatory drum solo for 10 minutes no matter how long the set is? i realize everyone likes to take a piss, but i'm really losing patience with the prolonged drumz.
also, at the merch table on the way out (merch whore that i am) i picked up one of the new dvd's and a copy of les' first novel- he had done a book reading earlier in the day at a b&n in the village but i didn't know about it! lame! the book is called south of the pumphouse, and i haven't started reading it yet.
i don't see the show up on etree yet, but they do have the october 2005 show, here is the link: http://bt.etree.org/index.php?search=les claypool&cat=0
all in all- drag your asses out to see les, he's fun for fucksake. oh yeah- i just got a bulletin post from the les claypool myspace page announcing that there is a brand new official primus myspace page up, and to stay tuned because there will be some primus news announced very soon - so go add them to your friends (and we'll all get the good news together- aww, precious). methinks it's tour time! but getting back to les/nokia--- 8.5 HUZZAHS! les RULEZ.
les claypool, 7/15/06, nokia theater, nyc
so, this time around i didn't get tickets for everyone in advance cuz last time i kinda got fucked. good call. for this show i flew solo as all my friends who said they might go bailed- no surprise. i however, had been looking forward to this show for months, and i wasn't gonna miss it. another reason i felt like i had to see it was because my friend teresa haire who passed away a couple of months ago would have wanted to see it. she was going to come to the les nokia show with me last october but her med school exams got in the way and she missed it because she was being a good-responsible-student. fuck, johnny fishwick would have had a good time there too, cuz it was les. so yeah. i felt like i needed to be there to enjoy the show for my homies too. haire & johnny 4 eva, 4 realz, yo. mad respek.
anyways, i rolled into the city conveniently in time to miss the opening band and get street parking. bought my ticket at the door and chugged my water that the security guard found and i couldn't bring inside. and as i came down the escalators at the nokia, les had just hit the stage and i listened and watched him on the big screen (I REALLY FUCKING LOVE THIS SETUP), ran into the bathroom and didn't miss a second of the music cuz it's pumped right in there (ahh, just like wetlands... except... bigger... shiny... and lit without a blacklight.). i made my way into the theater on the right hand side and it was pretty packed. i didn't feel like powering all the way up to the front, so i found a nice little nook next to the tapers on the main floor.
this was a great spot until some kid started hitting on me nonstop for like 5-10 minutes. i tried to be nice, then i tried to ignore him. it actually got to the point where he spoke through about 3/4 of a song and the lines he was throwing out there were getting worse and worse. he was either on e or drunk as hell... or both... or maybe he was just THAT enamored with me, i mean, i am fucking awesome. regardless i was missing this entire fucking song cuz he was yammering away- never mind the fucking taper mics we're standing next to- now he's not only ruining my time, but everyone who should have a clean recording of this show. finally i'd had enough.
RETARDED CHILD: you really are gorgeous
ME: you HAVE to stop hitting on me NOW.
RC: buh---
ME: NO- STOP. NOW.
after a couple of minutes he got uncomfortable enough to finally leave, but not before apologizing.
RC: i'm really sorry if i was making you uncomfortable
ME: (watching stage) no worries
RC: thank you for having the balls to tell m---
ME: STOP. NOW.
and he left. goddamnit. seriously guys, get the fucking hint. and if it seems like the girl is remotely interested in the actual concert that is going on, talking nonstop in her ear isn't gonna help your cause.
anyways, back to the music. les had the same lineup as last time i believe. drums, sax, sitar, percussion... they sounded great. it was a good mixture of new/old stuff. some of the spacier jams seemed a bit loose to me. the main point is that les is such a solid fucking performer, i really enjoy listening to his shows and experiencing the showmanship. however, why in 2006 is it still necessary to have an obligatory drum solo for 10 minutes no matter how long the set is? i realize everyone likes to take a piss, but i'm really losing patience with the prolonged drumz.
also, at the merch table on the way out (merch whore that i am) i picked up one of the new dvd's and a copy of les' first novel- he had done a book reading earlier in the day at a b&n in the village but i didn't know about it! lame! the book is called south of the pumphouse, and i haven't started reading it yet.
i don't see the show up on etree yet, but they do have the october 2005 show, here is the link: http://bt.etree.org/index.php?search=les claypool&cat=0
all in all- drag your asses out to see les, he's fun for fucksake. oh yeah- i just got a bulletin post from the les claypool myspace page announcing that there is a brand new official primus myspace page up, and to stay tuned because there will be some primus news announced very soon - so go add them to your friends (and we'll all get the good news together- aww, precious). methinks it's tour time! but getting back to les/nokia--- 8.5 HUZZAHS! les RULEZ.
Monday, July 3, 2006
7/1/06, GRAB (and Phil Lesh), PNC (Garden State) Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ
you know what's great? i've noticed that less people read my concert reviews than read my inane ramblings. what's worse? what does that say about me? but more importantly, what does that say about YOU?
regardless. after picking up the affable lauren simms and forcing her to go to amish market with me, we headed down the parkway to exit 117- the (pnc) garden state arts center. once there, parked and baked in the hot hot sun. oh, and drank beers. some guys pulled into the spot across from us and proceeded to play God Street Wine's '$1.99 Romances'. it was a good spot. it was a really good spot.
we slowly made contact with the people we were meeting up with in various stages of travel. what made things a little difficult is that we just missed out on parking in the first lot- so i didn't get to park anywhere near: mattypie or 4dice. however, we were in the same lot as loughrey and we were able to snag the spot next to ours and reserve it for brett and his friend zeke. when they finally showed up (something about getting lost and ending up in camden- sounds fun, eh?) brett pulled a sandwich about the size of his forearm out of a cooler and ate the whole damn thing. for fun we put some meat on the pavement to see if it would frizzle. it started to sweat.
eventually loughrey lumbered over to us and... well, first we drank more... and then we motivated to walk over to the main lot, but by the time we got there everybody wanted to go in. unfortunately i didn't get to hear any of the benevento russo duo set, but i did see them at moe.down a few years ago and they were great. also, it doesn't hurt that both the guys are hot. joe russo actually kinda looks like mike ouweleen. dorks unite!
they were selling daquiris & margaritas for $8 and something called "the guitar" for $13. it looked like a twist of the two. i had a lemon italian ice for $4. we climbed up the stairs and found a nice spot on the lawn. phil lesh was playing. meh. joan osborne sang. that only made me angry. there were a *lot* of deadheads in the crowd. like, a **lot** of them.
but then, the set i went to see- GRAB. mike Gordon, joe Russo, trey Anastasio, & marco Benevento. i was really hoping to see a mixture of phish tunes, trey tunes, and sick jams. trey basically apologized upfront and said, "thanks for being patient with the new tunes". so, yeah, we got a nice tease for a little bit but i don't think he played any full phish tunes? i can't remember. mike sounded great. and the B&R were awesome too. they did some great harder jamming, they are definitely still learning to play together, but it was a fun set. some of the spacier trey tunes were a little lame- but altogether, way better than any of the trey solo shows i've seen in years. (the tsunami benefit doesn't count, that was a moe. show- trey was a special guest).
so, altogether- maybe 7 HUZZAHS? i dunno. i was somehow expecting more. to be blown away maybe.
regardless. after picking up the affable lauren simms and forcing her to go to amish market with me, we headed down the parkway to exit 117- the (pnc) garden state arts center. once there, parked and baked in the hot hot sun. oh, and drank beers. some guys pulled into the spot across from us and proceeded to play God Street Wine's '$1.99 Romances'. it was a good spot. it was a really good spot.
we slowly made contact with the people we were meeting up with in various stages of travel. what made things a little difficult is that we just missed out on parking in the first lot- so i didn't get to park anywhere near: mattypie or 4dice. however, we were in the same lot as loughrey and we were able to snag the spot next to ours and reserve it for brett and his friend zeke. when they finally showed up (something about getting lost and ending up in camden- sounds fun, eh?) brett pulled a sandwich about the size of his forearm out of a cooler and ate the whole damn thing. for fun we put some meat on the pavement to see if it would frizzle. it started to sweat.
eventually loughrey lumbered over to us and... well, first we drank more... and then we motivated to walk over to the main lot, but by the time we got there everybody wanted to go in. unfortunately i didn't get to hear any of the benevento russo duo set, but i did see them at moe.down a few years ago and they were great. also, it doesn't hurt that both the guys are hot. joe russo actually kinda looks like mike ouweleen. dorks unite!
they were selling daquiris & margaritas for $8 and something called "the guitar" for $13. it looked like a twist of the two. i had a lemon italian ice for $4. we climbed up the stairs and found a nice spot on the lawn. phil lesh was playing. meh. joan osborne sang. that only made me angry. there were a *lot* of deadheads in the crowd. like, a **lot** of them.
but then, the set i went to see- GRAB. mike Gordon, joe Russo, trey Anastasio, & marco Benevento. i was really hoping to see a mixture of phish tunes, trey tunes, and sick jams. trey basically apologized upfront and said, "thanks for being patient with the new tunes". so, yeah, we got a nice tease for a little bit but i don't think he played any full phish tunes? i can't remember. mike sounded great. and the B&R were awesome too. they did some great harder jamming, they are definitely still learning to play together, but it was a fun set. some of the spacier trey tunes were a little lame- but altogether, way better than any of the trey solo shows i've seen in years. (the tsunami benefit doesn't count, that was a moe. show- trey was a special guest).
so, altogether- maybe 7 HUZZAHS? i dunno. i was somehow expecting more. to be blown away maybe.
Friday, June 23, 2006
moe., 6/13/06, rumsey playfield, central park, nyc
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!!!
to download the show, go here: http://www.archive.org/details/moe2006-06-13.km184.flac16
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!!!
to download the show, go here: http://www.archive.org/details/moe2006-06-13.km184.flac16
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