Old Bricks CD Release Party with Nests and Wild Wild Geese - King's - 04/16/11

I'm not sure how rational, normal people react to deceit, disappointment and tornadoes; but this is how I do it: Go see an amazing show with a majority of the people you love and trust the most and then PRETEND TO BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF THEM.

this post is extremely picture heavy but i promise you, it will be worth it. Well, I hope it will be worth it. I can only assume this will be another one of those instances where I am amusing myself and alienating anyone who ever comes here looking for actual "journalistic" or "musical" "integrity."

I had wandered downstairs to prowl around Neps when I got this text, (which I can only assume is absolute TRUTH.) So I HUSTLED:

IT MUST BE TRUE.

This was the second time I got to see Nests play live, and each time seems to get better. I definitely think the sound was clearer and a bit more... stabilized than the last time I saw them at Tir Na Nog. If you are not in a deeply introspective, semi-melancholy, ethereal mood before Nests plays, then you will be once they start. This is in no way a bad thing. (Melancholy breeds inspiration; pain makes art, etc...) I like to describe Nests as "the sound of a dying cowboy, counting his regrets"... Earlier in the evening, during the storm, Benny lost both his home and his car to the tornado. I am having trouble accepting this just yet and my heart goes out to him entirely. During this set, our collective pain for him hovered over us all and definitely set the mood for this sound. However, they announced a new song, the last song, which was fully upbeat and featured the drums and my god; people DANCED.

It was somewhere around this time when the tornado anxiety, heartbreak of another failed attempt at a relationship, alcohol consumption, and security of some closest friends turned some wild switch in me and I raged. I blame Hillary. We posed for a sparring pic, which swiftly turned into the theme of the evening.

I asked Roo what he thought of the show: “I only stayed for Nests. I wasn’t in a show mood, but I didn’t realize it until I got there… so everything was kind of un-enjoyable for that reason. I will say their (Nests) sound was much better than at LBLB because their volumes were where they needed to be. I understood the role of the saw better this time.”

Hillary does not approve. And I do not approve of the lackluster approach to her disapproval. I show her how to make it count!

I asked N'abney what she thought of the show, BUT THEN DIDN’T EVEN GIVE HER A CHANCE TO RESPOND.

I showed my sympathies and appreciation for the set to benny with a loving CHOKEHOLD:

Selma and I had a full battle. When I asked her later to give me a quote for the review, she said “No one looks good in loafers without socks?” (the question mark was hers, btw)

We are such good friends!

In between the Nests/Wild Wild Geese set, it seemed only appropriate to gang up on Juan Huevos. When I asked him later how it felt to get his eggs scrambled, he said “I was so drunk (your) fists felt like pesky gnats. But the bruises were very real.” Or “karla. she hits like a girl.”

"pretty sure old bricks was awesome, but what with all the brawling going on it was hard to be sure"

 

"i was at a show?"

"was i the only one getting turned on by all this?"

Wild Wild Geese! This was the second time I got to see them play, and this time, even despite all the rampaging going on, I did actually get to pay better attention to them this time! And I have to tell you I really am starting to like these guys a lot. I think I texted Roo at one point and said “It is the rarest of the species, I think the superfan of WWG is the bass player! He is going wild!” His excitement got me excited! Too fun!

I SHOWED MY APPRECIATION BY BEATING THE SHIT OUT OF HIM.

After their set, I took a toddle down to Neps to beat up Sarah and Jonny from The Big Pic!

Then back upstairs and I spied Abby:  
“So there was this fucking tornado, and I’d been wandering the earth for many hours charging my devices and so I end up at this rock and roll show, and Karla comes over and punches me in the face, and I’m just thinking, “Bad timing, Crazy Woman!” In other news, Benny’s house is fucked and Old Bricks blew my mind with their intense double drumming.”

She then instructed me to beat up Grayson and Tina. Only Happy to oblige!

"The Hopscotch Lineup this year is incredibleeeeeeeeee!"

Speaking of Old Bricks Intense Double Drumming! YES! Absolutely one of the best things I’ve seen in a while. Old Bricks was a duo, I thought? But then I see parts of Motor Skills on stage, so I can only assume magic is happening. I'm not sure if this was a special occasion line-up, but i heartily approve! I think on any other day, from what I’ve heard before, Old Bricks is pretty mellow; like an almost ambient-folk experimental thing. Could be because it was the CD release party, but this set was certainly high energy (mostly).Thanks guys! See Youse at Hopscotch!

 ("this song goes out to benny!" xoxoox)

Jeninan-itorial:

"With the stealth of a puppy at the park, I crept into Kings and set my ears at the ready. I surveyed the scene. Old Bricks were a few strands away, tuning up for tornadoes. Indie expatriates grazed on beer like all too fine gazelles in the African veldt. Had my supersonic skills safely shielded me from the arrows of outrageous hipster fortunes? Umm. No. Boot to the head. A punch from the left in 3/4 time by a pixie in plaid. Back to the soundboard for me. Restrain, restring, retune. Next time, my amp will be on."

 
Text conversation between Hills and I on Sunday evening:
Me: "Hey, you wanna add any quotes to my review?"
H: "I don't think so. Cock Guac was the highlight."

"Goodbye, lovers!"

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please support the recovery efforts of the recently abused Juan Huevos by checking out this new single, a collaboration with our dearly beloved Heads on Sticks: 

Sharon Van Etten with The Tender Fruit and Ava Luna - King's - 03/11/11

So sometimes I go to shows because I get swept up in the hype. I’m not ashamed to admit it. If there is a show coming of an artist or performer that everyone is losing their shit over, by god I am going to that show. Maybe I will lose my own shit. I’m down with shit loss in the name of good music. Hey, also sometimes I go to shows to support causes I am down with (Redress or Moving Island) and in this case, this was a combo of both; everybody was pooing all over the place over Sharon Van Etten, so I grabbed tickets. Then I find out it’s for Hopscotch, so yeah I’m definitely down with pouring my money into anything related to that. I didn’t go into this show a Sharon Van Etten pro, I only listened to a few songs online and assumed it would be one of those instances where I would get into her once I saw her. Also Tender Fruit was opening and I love Christy Smith’s voice so much I was completely willing to pay the cover just for them. 

And then what really happened was this: I had bought the tickets for myself and J9, (my married mommy bestie who never comes out on school nights and rarely stays out past 10, so you’ve not heard much about her.) But I wanted her to enjoy a show out and SVE was a Friday. At dinner, last moment-ish, she starts dropping “oh, I’m just so tired, it’s been a long week” hints, so I gave her the out. She took it, of course! I invited Roo along, but as he had a couchsurfer staying with, we had to ensure 3 tickets instead of just my two. When we got to the door, it was sold out. I passed my ticket off to Varani instead; who was down at Neptune’s earlier, while Roo and the couchsurfer barhopped a little. (Varani is a Minnesotan transplant and sometimes Neptune’s Dj of whose last name I have been known to sing to the tune of Dean Martin’s “Volare”.) We promised to find Roo later.

btw, this happened:

WASN'T EVEN PLANNED.

In the ticket shuffle I missed Tender Fruit… FFS.

BUT! NEXT! A band I had never heard of, but as soon as they hit the stage, I felt myself hotstepping with joy! …Ava Luna! WORTH EVERY PENNY. This was one of those shows where during and after every song I find myself turning to everyone around me saying “Are you hearing this shit? IT’S AMAZING!” It’s like I have to validate my aural processes. Maybe I am delusional? But no, everyone around me is bobbing heads and shuffling around and gaping up at the stage with big dopey grins because none of us were expecting this much incredible this close to our faces! At one point Varani and I even did a shuffle jitterbug dance across the front of the stage at Abby, that’s how riled up Ava Luna got us!

coming for yooooou!

Ava Luna – what to say? The first thing I will say is whatever anyone tells you that you are going to see when you see them is not going to be good enough. And then when you go online and listen to songs and watch youtube videos, please know; NOT GOOD ENOUGH. It’s not until those three sassy girls are doowopping on the side of the stage, that one cute guy is flinging himself all over his keyboards and the lead singer is having david byrne-ish spasms all over the stage to some of the funkiest rock/soul/electro skiffle shit ever, then that is when you will understand what I am talking about here. This was FUN. F-U-N. I am mad at myself for wandering off and forgetting to hit the merch table because not only did I want the music, but I wanted like, tshirts and stickers and bff heart necklaces with everyone in the band, that’s how much they blew my mind. 

jesus h tap dancing christ!

I am really hoping that since this show was a part of the Hopscotch team, they get invited back in September. I’m really bummed Roo didn’t get to see this happen. It was like a revival. I felt like I was at the Triple Rock Church and Rev Cleophus was asking me if I see the light. It was like, every good idea for every band ever all mooshed together into one band of extreme fun and good tunes. I really, really hope I get to see them again.

i don't care that this is blurry. 

One day I will show my grandchildren and they'll be all like 

OMG YOU MET THAT GUY.

And then you know what happened? After all that excitement and wildness, Sharon Van Etten couldn’t hold my interest. I watched 2 songs and then went to Landmark. I might regret it later when she is THE BEST THIGN EVER OMG BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ, but I don’t know, for now, I feel totally okay with the band that I did see. I think part of the problem with losing interest in SVE was that I wanted to share it with J9, and she wasn’t there. and also I had lost Varani in the crowd, as is pretty standard with us when we hit shows together, and I was standing around by myself and I was literally standing in between a guy I dated for a second and whose heart I may have broken and not 5 feet away on the other was a guy who killed me a little. It seemed no matter where I went, I was surrounded by awkward. Too bad I let real life interfere with show life, but it happens sometimes. I'm sure it was an excellent set and I'm sorry I couldn't hang. next time?

Oh well, I got to see Roo before I went home, anyway.

The Love Hangover - King's - 02/15/11

Valentine’s day was practically non-existent for me this year. I worked my day job, worked my night job, came home and took a bath and spoke to no one of the opposite sex besides co-workers and my brother, whom I called at one point to check up on as he is recovering from pneumonia. In a failed attempt to consider possibly maybe dating my band-mate for a minute, (who is now and will hopefully remain a bestie-in-training, [just works better that way,]) I found myself single, yet again, on V-day.

Activities to avoid for singles on Valentine’s Day:
-While driving 4 hour delivery shift, do not listen to Mumford & Sons on rotation. You will get pissy and most likely cry pissy tears.
-Do not post seemingly ambiguous, yet painfully obvious “I miss you” posts as your facebook status and immediately delete them; someone will probably see.
-Do not hold potential dating options to impossibly high standards; ((some of my more shameful requirements include dismissing any man without facial hair immediately [superficial!], refusing to date anyone who has dated (read:fucked) anyone else I’ve ever known/rigorous adherence to the “anti-sloppy-seconds” rule [choices are so limited!], men who are any shorter than my height (5’11”) are practically invisible,)) and then bitch about “why am I single?”
-Do not hold a candle for or get weepy about an ex who made no attempt to contact you in any way in the past eleventy billion months. Most importantly, do not type out emails or texts you seemingly think might be brilliant in which you have no intention to hit send on. You might accidentally hit send (I didn’t but I can see this sort of thing happening to me.)

Suggested activities for singles on Valentine’s day:
-Find a distraction such as blogging, song writing, bubble baths, alcohol or painkillers. Consider a delightful mixture of all these things.
-Denial, denial, denial
-Support and feel happy for friends and family that are in happy and mutually respectful relationships (…just kidding. Fuck those people.)
-Realize that your life is pretty much exactly where you want it to be and you didn’t need a consistently accessible penis to make that a reality... You did it on your own! Hoorah!
-Go see a show! Or at least as soon as possible, for example… The next day!

The Love Hangover!

We meant to be there earlier, but in a hivemindish-groove, Jay and I managed to get a song that we had been piddling with for weeks down and quasi-recorded. We didn’t get out of the house until after 10.  I’m not sure who we missed, but upon walking into King’s it was apparent that love was in the air; Or every attempt to feign this feeling was in effect. The little sweetheart tables in front of the stage, massive candelabras and miscellaneous candles all over the stage – roses and mood lighting. It was adorable. 

Are you tired widdle jay? TOO BAD... YOU GO TO SHOW!

Billie Karel & Scott Phillips

Magic! And instant digression: This was my confusion throughout the night… Were the “couples” actual couples? I know in the past certain actual couples have done the Love Hangover, but I wasn’t good enough friends with most of these kids to get the real story. I know this isn’t all Perez Hilton, but I kinda want this scoop… Are Billie and Scott a couple? I have decided they need to be. They had an incredible chemistry together… If anything, they seriously need to keep working together musically. Also, I think as musicians alone, they are incredibly talented. Billie (from The Shucks) has a voice like no one’s business; a friend and I stood outside smoking later and gushed for several minutes about how hard she nailed Sinéad ‘s “The Last Day of Our Acquaintance” (ps - a song I have ALWAYS wanted to sing. Also Troy. Note to self: somehow convince Jay to work on a cover of Troy.) So not only did these two have the popping electric connection and mad skills, but they were so much fun! It’s hard to screw up when Scott (Goner, The Monologue Bombs) gets involved. As they are playing Jay confessed his secret mancrush on Scott. (Secret no more, beeteedubs) It’s easy to see why, dude has charm…. and later with a giddy grin, Jay finds me and says “I met Billie!” as if she is a superstar. I have decided right now; yes. She is. I love this gal’s voice. I want to see them play together again! I am now mentally superfanning The Shucks, Goner and Mono-Bombs. My face was *hurting* from smiling so much while they played… I Got You Babe? …too much!

Christy Smith & Patrick Phelan

Cute. Cute. Cute! Christy Smith has one of the most tender (Haw! Get it? Because she is in The Tender Fruit!) and heartbreakingly precious voices in town. She has one of those voices that remind me of my mom singing Hank Williams songs to me when I was a little girl. There is no pressure of power behind it, it is clean and soft like a dryer sheet… You could take her voice on a picnic and it would push you in the tire swing; it would most likely be sometime in April. What I am trying to say here is I like her voice. Patrick is adorable. I got to finally talk to him for a sec in the later sets and he’s a really nice guy. What is up with me meeting all these folks who could, by rights, be total a-holes because they are local-famous-ish and pretty good-looking, but turn out to be really cool? I feel kinda douchey because the only Luego review I have attempted turned into the worst thing ever. It wasn’t personal; I had a death in the family, dammit! But so what I’m getting at here is, hey I *do* appreciate and support and will check out more Luego shows (I am listening to them now!) and I think Christy & Patrick was a smart combo. I remember as they were playing that I should start carrying a tiny notebook to keep up with setlists and such when I some to multiple act shows like this and my main point of that was to be all like “I really liked ‘THIS’ song in their set”. I forgot. (This is why I will never be a professional) -  but I do know I liked it. This set was very chilled out and made me long for springtime!

Abby Nardo & Seamus Kenney

MY FRONDS! These guys, honestly, were my big draw to the LH… I was really excited to see Abby perform for the first time (first time for me seeing, at least!) and of course, Seamus (of every band ever fame, and no this joke will never get old with me. and yes he is in SNMNMNMMNMNFfggg; whom I saw for the first time about 8 years ago in Wilmington opening for MC Chris and that hurts my brain to think about.) I really am going to get all Perez here for a second; I cannot stop talking about Abby’s damn dress! Yes, yes I understand it is from Target but come on, that thing is freakin adorable! I am just a baby doll pink addict… Love it! Seamus was all blazered-out, too! Of the couples so far (that I saw), Abby and Seamus definitely stepped up the classy-meter! I honestly didn’t know what to expect here, but I certainly didn’t anticipate Sloan! RANDOM! Who remembers Sloan? Me, Seamus and the members of the band Sloan, apparently. That is one more cool point for Seamus! Then - A Joni Mitchell song, which was impeccably perfect for Abby’s voice.  They eventually had Dieter from Sprockets join them on stage to play the xylophone. I’m kidding. It wasn’t Dieter, but he was a very Norse-looking pretty man. I don’t remember his name. Abby also had this little tiny laptop xylophone that was too adorable. Again, I don’t think/know if Abby & Seamus are a couple, but in my mind they are. They have a very George and Gracie rapport and I could have listened to the silly banter all night… okay, I have decided: Dear Abby and Seamus, you are now dating. YAY! <3 <3 <3

LOLEDIT: 

Ashley Carter & Jeff Crawford

WOW. So much to say about this duo…! Once again – please be married; Make this happen often. Maybe love was just in the air, that’s why I am trying to force my loving will on those around me. Ashley Carter (Stella Lively): the voice, the dress! I was already smitten after a couple songs, this is a voice that makes you sit up and take notice. This is a voice that has told some pretty gritty stories and had survived some big hurts. Ashley has a voice that sends you blindly groping in the direction of the bar hoping someone puts a jack in your hand before it's too late. Her voice has this distinctively sexy but totally approachable quality… Like the hottest girl in the room came up to *you* and you’re like, “what the hell? Am I gay now? Okay, I’d be really dumb to not take advantage of this opportunity.” (Opportunity in this case is the use of your ears.) I asked Patrick Phelan about Jeff Crawford, (he looked familiar) and he confirmed my suspicions; Jeff Crawford and Seamus are now in competition for “In Every Band Ever” Ironman. Mr Crawford’s work (in addition to his already full time producing work & solo releases) includes: SpencerAcuff, Roman Candle, Max Indian, Thad Cockrell, Ryan Gustafson, The Sundowners, Mount Moriah, Luego, The Young Sons, Bright Young Things, and Tad Dreis. …Dude! Enough! So this is why He looked familiar: Every Band Ever. Oh and I just checked his reverbnation and apparently he is playing with The Tomahawks this Friday (with Schooner) … Seamus is getting some serious competition here. Jeff Crawford is really going to fuddle my “local music family tree” all up. Rambling aside: He’s pretty damn good. Obvs. I don’t think this many bands would want to be associated with someone sub-par… (also note: epic beard. See dating standards listed above; this means this guy is cute.) I two-stepped with Tony Woodard while we lip synched “Islands in the Stream” to each other during this set. That, by the way, was amazing. But what I mostly wanted to say was …PJ HARVEY. That was my loudest and proudest “WOO!!!”ing of the night. All bands need to play PJ Harvey, especially PJ Harvey. (note to self: convince Jay into letting me cover a polly jean song.) I’ve never seen PJH live, but I accept this version of Rid of Me as the real thing, it was that spot on. you guys = hero status to me for that one.

And hey, that was the end! Well, as far as I know… We took off! It was Jay’s first day off after like 15 days in a row or something ridiculous, so I know he was knackered (and yet I somehow convinced him to stay up another hour or so watching Morrissey videos with me. I’m such a good friend!) So overall I would say the evening was a resounding success and love was most def in the air! Hell of a show for only $8…! Imagine the suckers who spent that kinda loot on movie tickets or chipotle tonight instead. 

Thanks everyone, it was much enjoyed and appreciated! <3 <3 <3

And we'll rely on each other... ah ahhhhh!