manic mess

need a pick-me-up?

if you live/work around rockefeller center, totally go check out the line outside nbc today. they're holding auditions for bravo's new series, Showdog Moms & Dads, and i've never seen so many cute puppies in my life. almost cured my hangover.

in other news, if you like the hot hot heat, they're going to be playing an in-store performance at tower records on april 5th at 8pm. you have to buy a copy of their new cd elevator that day to get a wristband admitting you to the show. more info here. . .

hm.

does anyone know about this event? apparently the flaming lips were supposed to play, but they've been taken off the bill. . .

all the sxsw news that's fit to print. finally.

allll right. i supposed there's not much use in procrastinating any longer. so here we go. . .my south by southwest recap!!!

due to work conflicts (shakes fist), i couldn't get to austin until thursday afternoon, so i missed several shows i'd wanted to see, namely feist and the thermals. c'est dommage. i met up with jo divestar at the convention center and we commenced with the merrymaking and carousing. first up, my pet band diamond nights at the co-op bar. this was sort of a weird space because it was actually an outdoor tent that they'd tacked on to the outside of the bar, but diamonds delivered nonetheless. the singer, morgan, didn't used to do much on stage aside from sing his falsetto brains out, but these days he's weird and cocky like a regular rock star and it makes their shows even more awesome. the only off moment was when morgan tried to get a "south! by! south! west!" chant going and the audience wasn't yet drunk enough to participate. anyway, here he is rocking out with seth (who i just met this weekend for the first time) and rob. you can't really see tim, the drummer.

after they finished and we simmered down a bit, my cohorts dispersed to get drunk with kevin devine and to go see bloc party play at some party, so i ventured off on my lonesome to try to catch earlimart, who i'd never seen before. i got there way early and caught almost all of the french kicks' set. i've seen them live before and they're not really my style, but i did enjoy a cover they did of new order's "regret". such a good song! i was too far back (extra special thanks to the preppy couple in front of me who were rubbing each others' bums the whole time) to get a decent picture. . .

anyway i was just starting to get really sleepy when they ended their set and earlimart came on. they played a nice set of oh, i don't know, sonic youthy, wistful, buzzy rock. i thought they were really good, although i was expecting something a little more lively. apparently the set they played earlier that day at the blind pig was a lot more upbeat. anyway, photos.

all in all, a good set. as we were walking out to leave, we got bumrushed by a bunch of our friends who were apparently there to see the next band, sound team, so we stuck around. clearly, all the free beer was starting to go to my head at this point because i have no idea what they sounded like. in fact, i didn't even remember seeing them until i saw the pictures, so i'll move right along to. . .

Queens of the Stone Age!!! at some point we'd learned that they were going to be playing a secret show at an abandoned airplane hangar so of course we vowed to go. after a longass cabride that began at about 1 in the morning, we arrived in the middle of nowhere, tricked the doorpeople into giving us an extra plus one, got us some of these:

. . .and in we went. they were turning people away right and left, but luckily all of our friends were safely inside. thankfully the bravery had already played, and qotsa were about to go on. the scene was utter madness, as you can imagine. the fact that they were being so obnoxious at the door turned out to be fortuitous, because there was tons of room in the giant hangar and it wasn't claustrophobic at all. after many free drinks we got right up next to the stage, close enough to touch josh homme if, you know, we were into that kind of thing. see?

i'm not the hugest fan (although i like the new album much, much better than anything else i've heard), but they played an AWESOME set. i have to admit though that they played a just a little too long, so by the end we were all a little tired and sober enough to realize that there was absolutely no fucking way to get back to civilization. so what felt like many hundreds of us rushed outside to try to pile into about 3 cabs. my partner in crime jada and i ended up sprinting out onto the highway and hijacking one before it got near the desperate masses. true story.

ok. more to come, clearly. . .

oh shit.

spoon in june!

and have you heard of either of these movies? i only heard about the second one because a guy dressed like a giant bong was promoting it at sxsw. picture to come, i promise.

sick. tired. suffering. thanks, sxsw!

yes, it's true. i appear to have contracted a deadly flu which has given me a severe case of the sniffles and an enlarged right tonsil. sigh. nonetheless, the world turns.

if you're into weezer, there's a presale tomorrow at 9am for their roseland shows in may. go here tomorrow for tickets. password: BELIEVE.

what else. oh! if you're looking for something to do like, right now, go to mercury lounge to hear the mint chicks. they're this cute band from new zealand that i met at sxsw and they're supposed to be kickass.

and here are some things to hit this week and next. . .

"Wednesday march 23 featuring... MYLO
Any Suggestions? at Hiro (Maritime Hotel)
Hosted by Tom & Alejandro and Dagny
If you haven't heard of MYLO, you've been living in a cave - but briefly, this British electro/rock/house guy has drawn comparisons to Royksopp, Air and Daft Punk and has a fan base including people like Erol Alkan (of Trash London), Tiga, Laurent Garnier and X-Press 2 among others.
For the DJ set, MYLO will be joined behind the decks by Cat Hartwell (from Fannypack), Melody Nelson (Atomique) & Nick Marc (Tiswas) playing rock, 80's new wave, hip hop, and house.
To be placed on the GBH guest list for complimentary admission at HIRO, email: [email protected] with your name and number of guests you are bringing.
Hiro: 16 St. and 9 Ave. in the Maritime Hotel :: doors open 10pm."

from my friend hidy. . ."i know that those of you staying in town this weekend have been losing sleep over THE question: what should i do on the day between good friday and easter???
answer: get your "GOOD FREASTER" groove on!
i'm hosting a party in the LES this saturday, 3/26. it's at a relatively new cute venue, with plenty of seating. my boy yosif will be providing tunes and PBR's are $2 all night long.
Rivington Bar & Art Gallery
174 Rivington Street (btw Clinton and Attorney, north side of street)
Doors open at 7, and happy hour is from 7-9 ($3 beers, $4 wine, $5 drinks and martinis)."

well, well, well!

imagine my surprise when, while i was busily vacationing in texas this weekend, my roommate called to inform me that my blog had been mentioned in a certain local newspaper of ill repute. ooh la la. my visitor stats have skyrocketed accordingly, which makes me feel compelled to address any new visitors. so. . .welcome avid readers of gawker and the new york post! i hope you find this website an acceptable expenditure of your valuable carpel tunnel time. because the thing is, my blog is pretty lame. i have questionable taste in music and friends, and my life isn't very cool. if you'd take the initiative to start a blog of your own, i'm sure you could do a better job. i often wonder if my time wouldn't be better spent drinking.

but anyway, back to our regularly scheduled programming. there's a six-page feature story on the bravery in this week's new york magazine, in which they are hailed as "New York's next really big thing." no comment.

still to come: photos and obnoxious commentary from south by southwest 2005, also known as the weekend each year when the drug addicts and rock groupies of the world converge upon austin to celebrate their so-called "scene" and listen to a band or two if they can find the time.

newsy news. plus sxsw.

the shins are coming! april 23rd and 24th at webster hall.

also, black sabbath and iron maiden are headlining this year's ozzfest. rock on.

as for me, i'll be taking another leave of absence from my blog so that i may devote all my energy to drinking, dancing, and eating bbq for the next four days. if you're there right now or headed that way, here's some parties to attend...

and so on and so forth. see you there! i'll be the girl with a frito pie in each hand.

back, black, etc.

it certainly has been a very long time since i updated my beloved bloglet. i apologize. i blame the icy conditions that delayed my return to new york and made my already frantic pre-SXSW workweek that much crazier.

at any rate, my lack of correspondance has nothing to with not having anything to write about. oh contraire. i have been a very busy bee these past few weeks. i shall start at the beginning...

last wednesday i attended the tsunami benefit at crash mansion. even though that venue is totally, totally strange, it was a great show. first up were clap your hands say yeah, a brand-new band that is getting lots of attention and has quickly risen to the point where they are headlining their own shows (ooh la la!). i liked what i heard. to me they sounded something like talking heads meet neutral milk hotel, if that's at all imaginable. plus it's always good to hear a new band that breaks out of the mold. anyway, here's what they look like:

i actually only caught their last few songs, but i wish i'd heard more. i did hear the natural history's entire set, which was unfortunate because i thought they sounded like a boring college bar band. the entire time. luckily, the blue sparks came on to save the day and played an excellent set. they are a local four-piece with male and female vocals and they have a bunch of urgent, catchy songs. you should go see them next time they play. for real.

the whole gang. . .

phil jamming with mike (formerly of the realistics, i'm told) on bass.

(a sidenote: i'm beginning to suspect that kerry, who does backup vocals and guitar, is a vampire. all the pictures i tried to take of her came out like this...)

anyway, after they played, local favorites the fever, who've been touring like crazy over the past year, came on. as always, they brought the energy and made everybody dance around like morons. i've tried to describe their sound before and always come up short, so i'm not going to bother here. i did manage to get this extra closeup photo of geremy, the singer, though:

pony and sanchez.

achilles on drums!

and this shot of jay the organ-player on accordian, which came out super-psychedelic for no good reason. radical!

and then i had to go home like a good girl and pack for my trip to california. i spent four days in san francisco and three in napa and had the best time ever. 75 degrees and sunny the entire time while new york was encased in ice. not bad. anyway, if anyone is looking for reasons to move to the bay area, here's three.

ONE. it's gorgeous. note the goat.

TWO. the food is awesome.

THREE. you get to be a part of totally random things that would only happen outside of new york, like. . .

catching the futureheads, who recently sold out the bowery ballroom MONTHS in advance, playing a free, hour-long show at amoeba records!!! seriously. if i wasn't me i'd be jealous.

i'm only including this next shot because it's one of many i tried to take of the t-shirt the drummer was wearing. it says "Je Suis Avec Stupide" and i think it's the funniest thing i've ever seen.

ok. that's about all i've got for now. i'll update later this evening with all manner of parties and invites for south by southwest. oh, and if you're going to austin tomorrow, bring a sweater. my friend tells me it's chilly.

and i'm out.

tonight i'll be at the fever/blue sparks/clap your hands benefit at crash mansion, but after that i'll be off for a couple of days because i'm headed for sunny california. peace out suckas.

a couple of things before i go though! some parties that i failed to mention before. . .

"VISIONS OF THE IMPENDING APOCALYPSE
Chapter XXVII
THURSDAY MARCH 3rd
HAPPY ENDING
302 BROOME @ FORSYTHE
10pm - 4am
 :goth:industrial:coldelektro:deathrock:
FREE SPARKS from 11-12!
THIS WEEK's guest DJs Include:
::Ghoulish Gibby (LIT)
::Veronica Vasicka (East Village Radio)
::Eerie Elhaam (ADDVICE)
::All of the Prosaics! (DIM MAK RECORDS)
 RESIDENT EVIL DJ's
::Apocalypse Chow (fresh from his journey to find an
asian bride)
::Mr. Blacklist (fresh as a daisy)
::Sheal Cut Kill Kiss You (fresh off the boat)
::HelenForsdale (fresh from his mission to squelch any
remaining east coast/west coast beefs)"

and on a totally unrelated note, i finally checked out the underwhelming central park gates on sunday. here's what they looked like (i tried to get a shot of me molesting one of the poles, but alas! my camera died). . .

. . .and here's an abstract interpretation of the gates that someone emailed me today. genius.

oh, and finally, today is apparently the Yahoo 10th Anniversary Ice Cream Giveaway! check it.

go here to print out a coupon. enjoy!

ps. i just got my sxsw schedule and i am getting so, so excited. hooray.

slush in my sneakers. what about you?

hi all. i just got an email announcing the dates for CMJ 2005". it isn't actually taking place until september 14th, so it's safe to say they're jumping the gun a little. however, it's worth noting that 2005 is apparently their 25th anniversary (!), so perhaps this year will be even more insane than most.

speaking of ridiculous music festivals, if you're planning on going to sxsw and you haven't bought your plane tickets yet, you're probably screwed. but i did just find some deals on hotwire, if you're not too particular about the timing of your flights. as for me, i'll be flying in and out of san antonio instead of austin, which saves me about 5 million dollars each way.

and now, music! here's a link to a new prefuse 73 track which he worked on with critical darlings the the books. enjoy.

in other news, i'm still not sold on velvet revolver, but if you happen to be a fan, tickets for their upcoming shows at jones beach and pnc bank arts center are only $15 if you buy them the first day they go on sale (this saturday). go here for more info.

also just noticed that jonathan demme's talking heads movie stop making sense is going to be playing this saturday at makor. rock.

AND there are two benefits happening this week with better-than-average lineups. i think everyone should go to the fever/blue sparks show tomorrow night at crash mansion because it's going to be a blast. here's the flyer...

if that's not your cup of tea though, this other one at rothko should be a good time, although i have to admit that i heard elkland play at shout last week and they totally didn't live up to the moderate amount of hype they've been getting. to be honest, they sucked.

this one's for tomorrow night after the interpol show at radio city, which i wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole. unless i was drunk and actually wearing presentable clothing for a change.

and there's also a release party tomorrow night for the latest new york noise compilation. read on for more info...
NEW YORK NOISE PARTY @ Hi-Fi
Wednesday March 9, 2005
9-11PM
169 Avenue A, between 10th and 11th Streets
No Cover!!!
And if $2 Brooklyn beers aren't enough incentive, get this...
At the party, we'll be giving away several hundred copies of the NewYork Noise compilation cd, subtitled "New City Sounds from the Underground," which features 23 songs by a mix of NYC bands you've
probably heard, and a slew of other great ones you haven't. Featuring the likes of Young People, Aa, Langhorne Slim, My Favorite, Dirty on Purpose, Fur Cups for Teeth, Currituck County, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, and many more...