manic mess

total shite!

they've finally announced the official coachella lineup and i am so very disappointed. i could not be less interested in seeing either Coldplay OR Nine Inch Nails. sure, they've also got a bunch of awesome bands like the arcade fire, MIA, gang of four, new order and the like, but i feel like i can see all those bands without spending a million dollars on airfare, hotel, etc. plus, the inclusion of roni size and josh wink on the lineup makes me feel like it's 1995.

sigh. anyway, at least local shows are still worth going to. on thursday night i (and about twenty million other people) went to the delancey to hear diamond nights and the "special guest," a lansing-dreiden cover band! ooh la la. it was an excellent show all around and the new lansing-dreiden songs are AWESOME. i've also never seen a line that long at the delancey, which bodes well for kemado.

and this week, it's arcade fire at webster hall and M.I.A. at the knit! hooray.

strange days.

a lot of crazy, kind of creepy things have been going on lately. the other night i was awakened in the middle of the night by what sounded like a gunshot. i figured i was wrong and went back to sleep, only to find out yesterday that it was this girl being killed by a mugger. so sad, and practically on my doorstep. that poor girl and her poor, poor fiancé. then last night when we were trying to drink away the weirdness, the guy standing next to us at the delancey turned out to be a detective investigating the case. it all felt very twin peaks and, well. . .strange.

and not to equate the two (but also on the weird tip), a publicist called me yesterday to tell me that someone has been pretending to be me and using my name and affiliation to scam free spa treatments and graft. at first i was alarmed but then i was like umm...why didn't i think of that?

the british are coming!

next-big-thing band bloc party will be playing a motherfucker party on february 20, and they'll also be doing two shows at bowery ballroom (4/7 and 4/8) with the ponys and chromeo.

also heard that fischerspooner is doing a new "salon" every thursday in conjunction with deitch projects. unfortunately, it's being held in williamsburg.

i don't really think this is all that funny, but everyone else seems to.

let's see. mostly i try to limit the events i post here to interesting music or arts-type stuff. but then i get something like this in my inbox and i can't resist:
H&M Hennes & Mauritz unveils an original Valentine’s Day installation designed exclusively for the retail giant by style guru Robert Verdi.  Debuting today the installation themed “How many Kisses will you get?” will feature 26 looks by Verdi infused with an extraordinary number of special Hershey’s Kisses for Valentine’s Day. 
The Hershey’s Kisses Verdi will integrate into the installation will also be the subject of an in-store contest for H&M customers leading up to Valentine’s Day.  Shoppers will have the opportunity to guess the number of Hershey’s Kisses used in the display for the chance to win one of three top prizes. The winners of the contest will be announced during a special in-store celebration on February 12 at H&M’s Fifth Avenue location.  Prizes will be awarded to the three closest guesses including gift certificates from H&M in the amount of $500, $250 and $200 as well as additional prizes presented by Hershey Foods.

ANYWAY. there's some good stuff going on tonight. hooray. of course i think that everyone should go to the diamond nights show at the delancey (free beer from 10 to 11!), but if that's not your bag, here are some other things to crash:

Reception with Special Guest DJ CAT: Thursday, January 27th from 8:30-10 pm; RSVP
@ Triple Five Soul BK : 145 Bedford Avenue & N. 9th Street
Sponsored by: Cotton Incorporated, Tripe Five Soul, Bacardi and Nylon
rsvp to [email protected], subject RSVP ludlow residency.

manic, manic monday.

thankfully, i survived, and now i can proceed to gossiping about my weekend.

friday night i had a very messy dinner at aka cafe and then headed to mercury lounge for sea ray's last show ever. so sad! i got there in time to hear some of the mobius band, who always put me to sleep and nearly did so that night as well. i ran into jinners and vorrasi, which made me happy. anyway, the show was sold out and tons of people were getting turned away at the door, so when sea ray finally came on there was quite a to-do. i have to admit that while their music isn't particularly my style, i thought they put on a fantastic show on friday. their sound is sort of emotional and atmospheric to begin with, so you can imagine what their performance was like that night. . .they'll be missed.

after sleeping off my hangover on saturday i trekked to the bowery ballroom for the diamond nights/fever show at bowery ballroom. how did you deal with the snow? i decided to tuck my jeans into my boots combat-style, which worked like a charm even though i felt like something of a neo-nazi. unfortunately morgan was sick again so diamond nights couldn't play (sniffle). i arrived in the middle of a set by the sights, a band from detroit. i'd heard good things about them, but mostly they sounded like recycled classic garage rock to me. they did put on an excellent show though. their bassist was up on top of his organ at one point freaking out and breaking things. high energy to say the least.

then the fever came on and they were totally awesome as usual. saw about a million people there: jo divestar, JR of black and white fame, miss modernage, and about a dozen others with no apparent affiliations. anyway, i've been told that they only played one new song, but i could have sworn i heard two. they had an awesome new visual show courtesy of the singer geremy and my friend phil. lightning bolts, super-imposed heads, the works. and for the encore they did a SWEET cover of motley crue's too fast for love. [ed. note: i'm no metal-head, so i had to rely on boyfriend john to ID the song for me. just giving credit...] the best part about the show was that there was this really wasted girl with a sights backstage pass who was falling all over everyone and making people shout "the fever is great". she totally did it to my friend phil. i took a photo with my roommate's camera but i am waiting for her to tell me what to do next.

i skipped the afterparty at lit and the ensuing tequila shots at san loco. tooooo tired. the next day i stayed in and watched two movies which i'd been vowing to see for the longest time: welcome to the dollhouse and sid & nancy. they were both rad, even though i thought whoever played johnny rotten was terribly miscast. unlike gary oldman as sid vicious. he ruled.

anyway, today i forgot to bring reading material for the subway (zut alors!) , so i was forced to read the reference pages of my manhattan diary. i was relieved to discover that if i ever need to park my helicopter or seaplane, i can do so at pier 6 and ALSO at 30th and 12th. and that chambers street is a good street for "discount". and that the white house fax line is 202-456-2461. and that 2000 was an excellent year for bordeaux! seriously these planners are amazing.

ok. back to the normal junk. in amazing news, erasure's five-night run at irving plaza has been extended and they will now play TEN shows! tickets for the new shows go on sale this thursday, and you should be able to find them here.

let's see...what else. let's all go to the delancey this thursday even though we hate it there, because diamond nights are seriously going to play the last night of their residency there. look how cute they are:

runner & the thermodynamics is playing too and i'm told the other guest will be verrrry special. you'll be sad you missed it if you poop out after the oc. i'm just saying.

in other news, the new lcd soundsystem site is up and running. and i just heard that much-loved canadian rapper buck 65 is playing another show at sin-e. tonight.

ooh! i just got word that lou reid and antony (of antony and the johnsons) will be playing together at the tibet house benefit on february 9th! that's in addition to nellie mckay, the black keys and many others. also, interpol has added a second radio city show in march. annnnd that's all, i believe. lots of good shows lately but not too many parties. wah.

coachella 2005!

the website for this year's coachella has officially gone live. ahh, the memories! espresso tents. 110 degree heat. sleeping in a broken tent with drunk john. "showering" with dove body wipes. and the gayest rental car ever. good times.

still no announcements about the lineup, but they're offering presale tickets to the people on their mailing list. you can find out more about that here.

just to get everybody (ok, me) all excited...

the coachella 2005 dates, confirmed!

(via productshop/ambitious outsider)

if you didn't get a chance to buy interpol tix yesterday, there's another presale happening today. just go to the ticketmaster page, password KROCK.

oh, and go here to enter yourself to win free tickets to the secret machines show in march...

as for this weekend, tonight i'll be at sea ray's now sold-out final show (sniffle) at mercury lounge. if i wasn't going to that, i think i'd go to this show at todd p.'s new space in brooklyn. parts and labor is playing with big a little a, a noise band with lots of sick drumming and funny instrument-playing. here's the info:
Friday January 21st @ new (as yet, still) nameless space
,, Parts and Labor
,,,, Big Bear
,,,,,, Big A little a
,,,,,,,, 16 Bítch Pileup
,,,,,,,,,, Dirty Projectors ---> aka Dave Longstreth
,, projection art by Viduno
,, dj Chris Happy Birthday Hideout
NE Corner of Metropolitan & River St - River St door | WLMSBRG, BKLYN
L - Bedford / G - Metropolitan / JM - Marcy | 8pm | all ages + booze | $5

i also got this invite, which is too bizarre not to post:
This Friday, January 21, 10pm – 4am
Situation!
Upstairs: DJs Mister X and Miss Fabulous spin New Wave, Electro and more
Featured Band: Blondie
In the Lounge: DJ Gauntt spins Gothic-Industrial and Synthpop
Free Before 11pm, $5 after
Do you have a unique dancing style like no one else's? Would you like to shake your money maker and possibly win $1000? This Friday night at Situation! a camera crew from VH1 will be taping dancers and if you get picked to be a finalist in America's Most Extraordinary Dancer contest you could win big moolah.
Call 212-404-4890 for further details about the contest. The camera crew will be arriving at 11pm and when you get there please sign up for the contest in the DJ booth. See ya there -- and don't forget me when you win and get rich! --Mister X

i have no idea what that's about. anyway, tomorrow night i'm going to the sure-to-be-kickass diamond nights/fever show at bowery ballroom. tickets are still on sale so everyone should go! they are one of my favorite bands to see live--tons of energy, awesome songs, and it's always ridiculously rock and roll. here's the funny flyer.

sunday night, a lansing-dreiden cover band was supposed to play at shout, but alas, that has fallen through. perhaps i shall actually sleep for a change.

interpol presale!

there's one happening today at noon for tickets to their radio city show. to participate, you have to go here and register. after that the world is your oyster.

if you miss that one, there's another presale tomorrow at noon, through regular channels. i'll post that info later.

happy thursday!

this just in!

poor morgan from diamond nights has lost his voice, so there will be no fun party at the delancey tomorrow night. everyone will have to find some other fresh event to attend instead. sadness!

this can't be real.

miss williamsburg? (via gawker)

i'm not a huge fan, but. . .

the thrills, who everyone compares to the beach boys for no good reason, are going to be appearing on the OC tomorrow night. they'll play two songs live at the local suspiciously-able-to-book-big-national-acts venue, the bait shop. should be amusing.

also, i just heard about a presale happening tomorrow for tickets to the 3/1 interpol show at radio city. i'll post the info later today or tomorrow, in case you haven't found it yet...