May 12, 2008
Fake Smoke and the Mirrorball
It is the middle of May, and I feel like I have hardly been at home this year. In fact, I haven’t really been home, but instead, on the road.
I used to really love the road. It didn’t matter whether for work or pleasure – I just loved it. All the new places, new experiences, even if they were kind of boring… but I don’t really love this any more. I feel a sort of melancholy when I am not in Ocean Beach, not at home. Unless I am in, like, Paris or something.
I spent this week in Las Vegas, the third time I have been there this year. I use to love Vegas. I mean, I LOVED it there. I loved the desert heat and the endless nights and the bizarre unreality of it all. I love drinking and gambling – I did then and I still do. But I don’t like Vegas too much anymore. I’m an old timer who can’t handle change, I guess.
Paying $100 for a wine that should cost $50 just pisses me off. Even if it is not my money. Someone has got to pay for all that construction, I guess.
The sun goes down while I sit in my high-rise room, and it is beautiful. That desert sunset kills me every time. But then it is 4:00 A.M. and I am playing blackjack where country music is playing really loudly. I hate the music but I am winning. The guy next to me is singing, but he is a happy sort and there are high-fives whenever either of us gets a blackjack. The couple next from me is from L.A. She wears a lot of makeup and we whoo hoo loudly, obnoxiously, a few times, mocking the table next to us. I can't stop humming Jeff Tweedy's lyric from "A Shot in the Arm" -
"What you once were isn't what you want to be anymore."
It suddenly occurs to me, that I am not really enjoying this. What am I doing here, anyway? It’s freeking 4:30 A.M. All the things I once loved, I don’t love now. I am in a spiritual quandary. Everything seems empty, and has for some time.
The next day, way too early, tired and lonely and sick from too many hotel rooms and too many rich meals, I drive to Hollywood, because I want to go to see Elbow, one of my favorite bands. That drive, while quite beautiful in it’s Mohave-eqseness, it absolutely fucking horrifying when you are tired and hungover and having a spiritual breakdown. I mean, it truly sucks. What else is there to do but think for hours and hours? It is the desert, hours and hours and hours of it. Heat and dust and ears clogged by descending mountains that don’t seem to be there.
Thank the gods for Hollywood and my friends Kathy and Marcia and David, and for the bottle of red wine I immediately opened upon arrival. Fueled by lasagna and Refosco, I was ready, at least in theory, for the show.
I got to the Avalon right at 8:00 when openers Air Traffic went on. I won’t say too much about them because I still feel bad about writing about the last opener Elbow had, and one of the members of that band read my blog and commented. I am not a critic, so I am not going to say anything. Let’s just leave it at I Was Waiting for Elbow.
It was an incredible show that totally changed everything back to the way it should be. Elbow came out and played the first song from the new record, "Starlings" (as I pretty much knew they would) and pretty much the whole band was up with a horn… I can’t really explain it, so check this out.
There were two songs I really wanted to hear from their new record, “Mirrorball” and “The Loneliness Of A Tower Crane Driver.” Well, they played both of them and let me tell you, these two songs are among the most stunningly beautiful songs I have ever heard. Live, they pretty much slayed me. The rest of the show was alternately jaw-droppingly lovely and totally rocking – on some songs, I almost put my boot heel through the floorboards. I was so happy. I can’t remember the last time I was so truly and completely happy. Looking around at the rest of the audience, everyone was happy. The band was happy. It occurred to me, gradually and then suddenly, that THIS is what makes me happy. Fuck Vegas, fuck the road, fuck the long drives. I’m here, now, watching this amazing band and everyone is happy. And there is fake smoke and a disco ball. I am in love again. Everyone in the building sings "throw those curtains wide - a day like this a year'd see me right." Yes, it is true.
Of course, not every show has this effect, and not every audience is so into it, and not every band comes on and plays a perfect show. But when it all happens, it is the best thing ever.
There is a footnote to this perfect night – I was going to try to meet another music freak there, Elizabeth, who I collaborated with to get Radiohead tickets for their August tour here (basically by staying up all night hitting refresh on our computers.) At 6:00 AM when the tickets finally went on sale, she got three shows and I only got one before the Radiohead server crashed. So, I feel sort of indebted to her.
Anyhow, she had emailed me and told me that she really wanted a set list, because she LOVES Elbow, and that is sort of how I know her in the first place. So during the show I was standing next to a bunch of Elbow’s crew, and right before the encore I asked one of the guys if he could get a set list for my friend. I should admit here that I told a bit of a white lie – I said it was for my friend who was not there, but she WAS there, I just had not found her yet. It just sort of came out that way, I truly did not mean to lie. So the guy tried to get me one after the show, but other crew members were faster and the curtain came down and then I saw him with a cigarette so I figured it was a no go.
Went and found Elizabeth at the sound booth and we walked out, and we were at the door in a big crush of people, I mean ON OUR WAY OUT when I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was the crew guy, and he handed me a set list. He had come out and found me! It was an amazing thing to do.
So, crew guy, if you ever read this, you are a PRINCE and you did something that neither Elizabeth or I will ever forget. THANK YOU.
I drove home Saturday morning from Hollywood playing The Seldom Seen Kid
Posted by Shannon at 8:45 PM | Comments (0)
May 10, 2008
Throw those curtains wide
Tomorrow, a bit on last night's Elbow show at the Avalon in Hollywood. For now, check this out.
I'm half way there.
Posted by Shannon at 9:54 PM | Comments (0)
May 2, 2008
Triphoppen
I've got tickets to all kinds of shows this summer, but the one show I am waiting for is Portishead. They played Coachella, which I can never go to (and probably even if I could I wouldn't) because of work. Unfortunately, they aren't scheduled to come around anytime soon... but when they do I will be there.
There aren't too many bands that can bring you back to a time and place, but Portishead brings me straight back to 1995, when their first record Dummy was pretty much on my CD player 24/7. I still listen to it at least once a month - it is one of the Best Records Ever.
Portishead kind of disappeared for a long time but now they are back with another truly incredible record - called "Third." While it will never be "Dummy" to me, it is a pretty incredible record. So now I am waiting. In the meantime, I have youtube.
The crazy thing - I am going to see Britt Daniel do a solo show at the Belly Up tomorrow night, and I am not even freaking out. It totally sucks, not being in love, but on the other hand I'll get some sleep.
Posted by Shannon at 8:42 PM | Comments (2)
February 27, 2008
Sune Rose Wagner, Walk With Me
Could the Raveonettes be any cooler?
I think not.
Posted by Shannon at 8:36 PM | Comments (1)
February 15, 2008
The E Show
Yeah. You might be wondering what this is all about, what with the physics and everything, something that, I would add and you would agree with, I have no idea about and also, would never talk about. So what gives?
What gives is, this was part of a ONE HOUR documentary played before the Eels show in Santa Ana I went to last night. ONE HOUR. One fucking hour. I thought I would die for a minute (actually about 30 minutes) there.
Don't get me wrong - had I been prepared for it, I would have handled it with all the grace and aplomb that goes with being a real and true fan. But I wasn't, and I had my head craned at an unnatural angle looking up at a scrim 5 inches in front of me for way too long. Everyone else in the pit suffered the same fate. It went on forever and it sucked royally. Why didn't you move? You ask... well, who knew it would go on so long? I did not want to give up my spot on the rail (but I did, because I needed another vodka after about 45 minutes.)
So when E finally went on, I was a bit pissy and also in that semi-drunk state where I wondered how he could do this to me, to us? Mostly I was drunk because that movie was so long I drank way too fast. Fucking E.
But then, of course, he was on stage playing and I loved him. I LOVE him. It is hard not to, even though he had his cohort Chet read spoken word vignettes about his life onstage, which from any other person/band would seem so, I dunno, trite and lame, unless maybe it was Yo La Tengo or something.
In my advancing years, I've become a bit jaded, and when a musician in the course of three hours makes me want to cry, hurl something at his head, get drunk, stay sober, and then want more, I know I have seen and heard something great. And Mark "E" Everett does this to me. I love him, but I hate him; I never, ever want to have a day when I can't hear him.
So last night? After the movie and about eighteen vodkas, E went on and started out slow and beautiful, but eventually "The Chet" joined him and it became awfully jammin' just with the two guys. E went on drums for a while and acted like he didn't know what he was doing but then busted out some kickass drumming. Manipulator! I hate you! I love you!
Mostly, though, I love Mark "E" Everett. And I would never miss an opportunity to see him - though now, I will know about the documentary, and will prepare accordingly. Because it is a pretty cool and interesting hour, one that I'd like to see from a proper distance sometime.
Posted by Shannon at 7:37 PM | Comments (1)
February 11, 2008
It might be heresy but...
I kind of love this Mark Ronson cover of Radiohead's "Just."
Thanks to Sue for pointing this out for me - and this looks to be sort of an insane week, Radiohead wise. So stay tuned.
Posted by Shannon at 7:16 PM | Comments (0)
January 1, 2008
Tears and Mist
It's a cold and foggy New Year's morning here at the beach, and I am up fairly early because I have a party to throw. Last night? Went to The Vine at about 4:30 and drank some great wine, then rushed home at the early hour of nine o'clock to catch Radiohead's "Scotch_Mist" on Current TV.
I have to say... or confess, whatever... that I cried through most of the first showing. Whatever stuff I've been holding in since March 27 came out last night between about 9:15 and 9:45. I love this band so much that I couldn't even control myself. Thank all the gods here and in the universe for Radiohead.
There was another showing at 10:00 and I made it through that one OK, and I am listening to it right now, because it's on current.com. Don't know for how long, but I'd advise everyone who reads this to try to check it out. I was, am, totally blown away by it. This pretty much says it all:
As for my party? Got lots of food, lots of wine, and lots of good friends coming. Should be a good day, one with no tears.
Posted by Shannon at 8:44 AM | Comments (1)
November 11, 2007
Practically Levitating. Again.
Last night I went to see the Walkmen at the Casbah. It's been almost a year and a half since the last time I saw them, and in that year and a half they have gone from a band I really like, to a band that I LOVE. Their three cds are always on top of the pile at this house.
I wrote about the last show, and I am wondering, what the hell happened since then? Why don't I write like this anymore? Why don't I hear weird conversations on the bus? Has my world become smaller, or do I just notice less? Anyway.
Last night I took the bus and there were no weirdos on it, and met Mark at the Waterfront bar and there were no weirdos there, either, though there were mass quantities of uber-normal people. Eventually we got to the Casbah where I secured my spot right next to the stage, and finally there were some weirdos - a super drunk and possibly on something else couple who cleared the entire floor with their random acts of dancing and flailing cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon. This couple, thankfully, only made it through the opening act. There was a Walkmen uber-fan standing next to us (Amber? Heather?) who had come from someplace far away to go to the California shows, but heck if I remember where from.
I wish I was going to all the California shows, because the Walkmen came on at 11:30 and proceeded to totally blow me away. They were SO GOOD. I remember the last show, and how I thought it was good but not great, but since then I have thought many times about that show, and about all five of the guys and how they played because each of them is very good and also, interesting to watch. I love Spoon the band, but it's not like I ever take my eyes off Britt Daniel too much. With the Walkmen, I want to watch all of them, all the time.
It is a bit difficult to take ones eyes off singer Hamilton Leithauser though. Somewhere along the way, this guy acquired a healthy dose of star power or charisma or whatever you want to call it. Either that or he had it all along and I just didn't notice before. Or maybe, I was so wrapped up in my obsession with Britt Daniel that I couldn't see anything else. Anyway. He is intense, he snarls and screams, he tears the place up. During the song "No Christmas While I'm Talking" he blew the first half of the song apart, then left the stage, and came back and blew it apart again without missing a beat. Amber/Heather and I looked at each other, stunned. It was an incredible moment.
They played a lot of new songs and now I can't wait for their new record to come out.
On the way home I tried to hail a cab but it was taken, but the dude in the back said get in, he can drop me then you. He was a doctor and he was wearing a turban. I wonder if you took his turban off, would his hair all fall down his back like that dude in the English Patient?
This video is a fine example of Hamilton Leithauser's intense stage persona. Awesome.
And the photo I fell in love with when I wrote about the Walkmen before.
I will never miss a Walkmen show after that. Never, never, never. My ears are ringing and my thighs are sore from pressing them into the amp, and I have a hangover and a memory. Good times.
Posted by Shannon at 3:00 PM | Comments (0)
September 21, 2007
Suck and ****
A few years ago, I visited Amsterdam with a really good friend of mine for a few days of sightseeing and other stuff. He really wanted to go to the red light district, and have a taste of that, so I went off to some food market or museum and he went there and had a taste.
His first visit was fantastic. Without getting into too much detail, I'll just say he had a great time, a good girl, who was nice to him and made his world turn and was worth the price it cost him.
He was impressed enough with this first encounter that he wanted to go back the next day. I tried to talk him out of it, because if the first time is so fantastic, why not let that be the memory? What are the chances of it getting Even Better? We are talking about a visit to a hooker here.
But of course he went back and the second time was not quite the same. The euphoria, the bliss, gone; in it's place a vacuum. A sadness. Only made worse because just the day before, it was so great.
I didn't really mean, in the beginning, to equate Arcade Fire with Amsterdam hookers when I started writing this, but it just sort of happened that way. Last night I saw Arcade Fire at the Hollywood Bowl and it was, well, horrible in the way it would be if I was a guy and one night I paid for a really good blow job and the next day, paid for one but it sucked.
That is crude, I know. And in the end this wasn't really the fault of the band.
I guess I had a bit too high of an expectation, because I had such a stellar experience at the Greek Theatre show, and also because I love the Hollywood Bowl. They let you bring your own alcohol in! For the most part this is a truly civilized and fantastic policy, but last night I witnessed how this sort of thing can be abused and pretty much fuck everything up.
I guess when I say "fuck everything up" I mean, there were many thousands of people there who were pretty fucked up, which would have been cool except most of them were absolutely not into the band. Which meant they stood around, drinking and talking. It was so distressing and sad. When the band got louder, the talking got louder. It was like being at a party where they were playing Arcade Fire records. I ran up and down the stairs by my seat trying to find a place to listen to the band; it was impossible. EVERYONE was talking. At one point this guy in front of me, possibly feeling the darts I was mentally throwing at the back of his neck, looks back and screams, IT'S MIDNIGHT ON THE EAST COAST, DUDES! So. Fucking. What. You ran out of things to say, so you had to scream that? If you want to be an asshole, at least be creative about it.
To make matters a bit worse, Arcade Fire sounded awful in the Hollywood Bowl. Murky, dirty; I couldn't hear the vocals a lot of the time. But that is not surprising when 12,000 of L.A.'s finest assholes were surrounding me (the other 2000 people there, I am positive, were totally cool. Let's give that one back to mankind, at least.)
One cool tidbit of the evening was the opener LCD Soundsystem, who absolutely blew me away; killer, LOUD dance music, flawlessly performed. This was earlier in the evening before Clueless Plus Three Times Three Thousand all tried to find their seats in the dark.
I guess I made the mistake, last night, of thinking one experience could be repeated. It can't, and it won't - I don't care what deadheads or fans of Dave Matthews say. Magic happens infrequently and is usually due to help from those around you. All the people around me last night, were not contributing and furthermore, will never possess the kind of magic that will lift them off the ground.
Too bad, because it could have been the Most Incredible Night Ever.
Posted by Shannon at 9:22 PM | Comments (2)
August 28, 2007
Just a Fan
I'm gonna be quick because a taxi is picking me up at 4:30 AM and I'm going to try my best to sleep by nine. The good thing is, I am fairly exhausted. Exhausted and hot and still thinking about last night's Wilco show.
This is the problem with Wilco - they are so good that they can't totally blow my mind anymore. They've spoiled us rotten already. Don't get me wrong, this was an awesome concert. I guess it is kind of like your wine palate. If you keep drinking better and better wines, your palate is going to get more picky, and there is nothing you can do about it. Same with Wilco. It's always so good that your palate gets a little dull after a while. I loved the show but I wasn't buried in the sound, and I wasn't levitating. I did, however, have an excellent time. Better for my back and my ears in the long run. But I kind of wish I was still a virgin sometimes.
We were extremely close to the stage, and the band, as always, put on an amazing show. There was a full moon and the air was sort of sultry. I drank a beer. Crazy, I know, but Bob handed it to me, so I drank it. Before the show we drank wine and ate cheese in a nice, leafy patio on the San Diego State campus, two seconds away from the venue, and Danny Miller came by, which was awesome. I'm such a goober that I gave him a Poptarticus Tshirt and some colored Sharpies in hopes he could procure some autographs on it and send it on later. Would be cool, but the band probably thinks I am a total freak.
Cool things about the show (besides it being, well, awesome): Nels Cline's unbelievable guitar playing and his cool black and white striped socks. Glenn Kotche getting up from his kit with both drumsticks in the air in the beginning of "I'm the Man Who Loves You." Glenn Kotche's crazy drum freakings on "Misunderstood." Glenn Kotche's sweaty hair. And then, Jeff Tweedy's rant on a guy eating nachos. The guy came in on song five and proceeded to eat some nachos. Bad move, dude. I totally agree with Jeff on this one, but on the way home, I was the only one who thought this was bad form.
Please, people. Don't eat when genius is happening in front of you. It is just Not Cool. Ever. Do people eat at the symphony? At church? If rock 'n' roll is church, then a Wilco show is High Mass. Skeptical? Check this out:
So I have to try to sleep now. And when I next write, I will be in Paris. Thank you Wilco for getting here before I left!
Posted by Shannon at 7:56 PM | Comments (0)
August 27, 2007
I'm gonna be buried in sound
I am all a-tingle.
This is going to sound crazy to some people but I started to cry when I watched this. Because, TONIGHT IS THE WILCO SHOW.
I love, love, love, love this band. Wait, let me say that again. I love, love, love, love this band, times infinity.
We have the best seats in the house. I will try really hard to stay grounded. Forget that - it is impossible. I will be practically levitating.
It was a total party weekend, and I am recovering. Saturday we had a slowtrav party, first at the Del Mar racetrack and then at the OB Vine. Palma baked this pizza rustica because I asked her to, and added a special touch on top. She's awesome.
We had a very fun day and a great night.
Last night, there was a party two doors down at the home of Wes, one of the Vine cooks. It was a great party with live music and I stayed way too long. They didn't have enough wine so I kept running home for more. I met some cool people, including the neighbor right over the fence from me, who has lived here for two years and I have never talked to her before! She's from Brazil. I am glad that after all this time, I've got to know her a little.
So, a bit tired and hungover today, but I am oh so excited for tonight and I hope I can make it through the rest of the day without crying from happiness. And tomorrow would really suck, except that Wednesday I am FLYING TO FRANCE. Whoo hoo! The good times are killing me.
Posted by Shannon at 12:32 PM | Comments (1)
July 31, 2007
Beautiful World, Part Two.
Life is weird. One day, you are bored and nothing is happening and you feel totally removed from everything, and then one day everything happens at once and angst spews, and then, one day, you have so much fun that it makes up for the boring or uncomfortable days, and then that day stretches into several days. It's at these times that life is really and truly a fantastic experience.
Over the weekend, my friends Sue and David came to visit from San Jose. For just over twenty-four hours we did the tourist thing in Ocean Beach. It's a wonderful thing, to show friends around a place that you love, especially when they seem to take to it right away. We ate and drank and walked all over this fabulous little town, taking in the sunset, and the Sea World fireworks; walking along the longest pier on the West Coast, and eating a fine spread of sandwiches, fried foods, fish tacos, and pizza. Not to mention the libations.
Ocean Beach - food and drink wise - is pretty awesome considering it's small size. Sunday, as we ate a sumptuous meal of fried shellfish chased with white wine, bloody marys and "Arnold Palmers" at the South Beach Bar & Grill. I ran into one of the local bar managers here. I was like, what up? And she said, well, I'm hungover. And I said, there is no place better to fix that than South Beach. Good Fried Food, she said. Alcohol, I said. And that pretty much sums it up. That and the blue skies and Harley exhaust. We live in a beautiful world.
Last night I went to see Rush at Coors Ampitheatre with Brian and his friends Joe and Michael. There is something really special about an arena show and somehow, Coors is the one of the best places to see one. All the diehard fans seem to come out, and the dusty parking lot is filled with vehicles from all over Southern Cali and also, Mexico. People tailgate and throw frisbees in what only can be described as perfect summer light. Once again, a beautiful world.
Once in, I ran back and forth between my own seat with Brian and Joe and Michael to box seats held by Mark, Andy, and a bunch of other dudes. When I first got there one of them asked me if I was going to blog about the show! Well, I must say, I feel very badly for neglecting the blog when out of nowhere here comes a reader. Oh well.
Then Rush comes on and what can I say? It was an incredible show, effortlessly performed. Those dudes play for three hours and they don't appear to ever break a sweat! And they don't overcharge for tickets, yet put on this stellar, long, show with the audience in mind. I can't think of any other band that does it quite like that.
Geddy Lee sings "One likes to believe in the freedom of music" and I do. I believe not only in the freedom, but also in the way music makes me feel. Music makes me feel like I am in love every single day. Music slays me, uplifts me, and sometimes rapes me. Last night, with several thousand other people, music - Rush's music - made me happy, beyond young, in awe. We live in a beautiful world.
On the way home, we stopped at a 24 hour taco shop on Midway called Santana's. I have passed by a million times but have never been there. It was a Monday at midnight and I was eating a chicken achiote taco, totally in love with life. Now it is Tuesday and I am still in love. Sometimes, life slaps you to remind you what it is you have been missing, or taking for granted.
I'm a masochist I guess. Bring it on.
Posted by Shannon at 5:47 PM | Comments (0)
July 24, 2007
Knives of Summertime
I woke up today to blue skies. It's been a foggy summer, so far, but after last summer, where we were all standing in front of fans just trying to cope, I have been enjoying this years mild temperatures and bleak skies. In fact, I love them.
This, coming from someone who grew up in fog, and hated fog, for most of her life. Now I love the fog! Love it!
It hasn't been the easiest month, and for some reason, July is never that easy for me. It's like my Full Moon Month. No way to really figure this stuff out, so instead, I immerse myself in music.
I can't stop listening to these guys. Norfolk and Western. The sick thing is, I might have seen these guys open up for Sparklehorse a few months ago, but I didn't show up in time. Now, I am truly bummed.
Not bummed about this though: this weekend my friends Sue and David are coming to San Diego. I met Sue because she bought my book, then read this blog, then wrote to me. And since then, we have become good friends, and I adore them. So if there is one truly great thing that happened because I wrote a food guidebook, that thing would be my friendship with Sue and David.
And since I was discussing Sparklehorse, at least in passing, these are the lyrics that have been slaying me these days:
and i did swallow stained glass tears
absorbed by the sun for many light years
and the fire flies in her hair
my red concertinas coming down the stairs
and the hurricane of her eyes
wailed away the knives
the knives of summertime, summertime
the knives of summertime, summertime
the knives of summertime
I don't know what it means, but I love it.
Posted by Shannon at 8:29 PM | Comments (0)
June 15, 2007
Via San Diego
Wilco promised, tonight, a live stream of their show in Indianapolis, but it didn't happen. Technical difficulties. (And it wasn't just me.) Whateves, instead I listed to the archive of a show in London in May. My god! Who needs tonight when you've got May 21 - it is truly an awesome show. You can even scroll ahead (IF YOU MUST,) to when they play Spiders... well... well... well, that is pretty much musical orgasm right there.
I am sure the Indy show will be up soon too, and Wilco is coming to San Diego on August 27. I am grateful as I thought, due to technical difficulties, I might miss seeing them live on this tour.
As for Top Chef, everything I would like to say, has been said. And I have some big personal news, but I will wait until tomorrow until I tell you that, because Wilco is interferring.
Posted by Shannon at 8:13 PM | Comments (1)
June 10, 2007
Rock Rock Rock Rock Rock 'N' Roll Weekend
Britt Daniel and Spoon are in town so inevitably I have been doing too much fantasizing. As in, will I walk into The Vine and he will be there? Or, will I walk into the Waterfront Bar and he will be in there? Or, will he be at the Raveonettes show at the Casbah?
The real question is: would would I do if he WAS at one of those places? Catastrophe averted; Britt Daniel was not at The Vine, or the Waterfront, or the Casbah yesterday.
Even without Britt's non-appearance it was still a great night. I love the Raveonettes and I think I especially love Sune Rose Wagner. Everyone stares at Sharin Foo but to me Sune is infinitely more interesting. I fell in love with Sharin Foo when I saw the Raveonettes in 2005, because from afar she was this punky ice goddess who looked like she would be happiest putting out a cigarette on your neck with the heel of her shoe but last night, she was all shy and sweet ("is it OK if we play some new songs?" How nice of her to ask.)
On the other hand Sune let loose with the most insane reverb I have heard in a long time and had the most penetrating stare... at one point he stared straight at me for the longest minute and eventually I had to look away. It was pretty hot, let me tell you.
This is kind of dark but it is a very good representation of the show last night. It was a great show with an adoring (though somewhat obnoxious) audience.
After the show, Sharin Foo was working the merch table! Mark's friend Claire, who came to the show with us, got her picture taken with her. Like I said, so nice. No sight of Sune there though.
Onward. Guess what today is? SPOON AND INTERPOL DAY. I am pretty stoked, though the place they are playing looks hella massive (a football field? Krikey).
I'm hoping to smuggle a couple of these in. A single serving of Pinot Grigio in a Tetra Pak. Awesome!
Posted by Shannon at 1:52 PM | Comments (0)
June 4, 2007
We live in a beautiful world
I am still reeling from that show - the absolute best thing about youtube is that you can relive everything without even having a camera of your own.
Also - this was Arcade Fire's last song before the encore - and after they left the stage the audience kept singing the ooo ooo until they came back on.
Sigh. Good thing I am seeing Spoon and my man Britt on Sunday. Otherwise this week would be looking mighty bleak.
Posted by Shannon at 8:45 PM | Comments (1)
June 3, 2007
Overcome
How the hell do I even begin to write about Friday night and the Arcade Fire show at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley? I have been sitting here starting a sentence, and then erasing it, then sitting a while, then trying again. The problem is, shows like that defy description. How do I tell you, the reader, about my complete and total ascension into some kind of altered state where I could barely contain myself? I was shaking, I was floating, I was screaming. For an hour and a half, I lost myself.
In other words, it was a really, really good show. It was better than a good show; it was one of the best nights of my life.
It's really weird that I lived in San Francisco for fifteen years and the Bay Area for over twenty and this was the first time that I ever saw a show at the Greek Theatre. I don't know why - could be that I really just don't care for Berkeley too much, could be that there was never anyone I really wanted to see there. So Friday, on the way over from the city, I was sort of in the dark about where we'd sit and how it would be. So I sort of took this zen attitude that whatever happened, happened, and that no matter what it would be awesome. Still, I made Colleen get to Berkeley at 6:30 and we were in line before the doors even opened. Once in, I was totally stoked - what a fantastic place to see a show! Way better than the Greek in L.A. All the people in front of us went straight to the pit, while we snagged seats in the very first row of the hard, steep, concrete seats to the left of the stage. I am 100% sure that I was the only one there that had a "Point Loma Pointers" butt cushion. One of my oldest friends, Angie, and her husband were coming to the show so we saved a couple of spots for them and then I went out in search of wine.
Here is one weird thing about the Greek Theatre in Berkeley - or maybe it's not so weird, since it IS BERKELEY after all. They have cocktails, but they are made with some weird Korean liquor that is only 20% alcohol. Yick. Also, the wine? Yick. But I got two glasses and we tried to drink them. I got about two sips down and then I was like, fuck this and I went out on a search mission. Somewhere in that cool space, I was sure, there was a better glass of wine to be had. Sure enough, I climbed up to the very top of a hill and way in the back there was a little hut selling halfway decent Pinot Noir! For the same price as the swill. Here is another thing I loved about our seats at the Greek - on the wall in front of me, there were two extruding pipes that were perfect cup holders. I don't think that was the intention, but it worked for me. Thankfully when Angie and Eli came, she knocked over the glass of Bad Wine that I had put there, therefore I did not feel guilty about not drinking a seven dollar glass of swill. It was on the ground, where it belonged. After I had my first cup of Pinot I went back up and got two more and put them in my two pipe-cup-holders. I was good to go.
Meanwhile, the Greek was filling up, but not nearly as fast as I thought it would. I mean, this was a sold out show, didn't everyone want to get there and get the best possible seat? I guess not. I was really, really happy that I was in the front row looking over the sea of heads. Looking around, I was absolutely sure that this would be the Best Crowd Ever, way better than an L.A. crowd.
The openers, Electralane, were good - four chicks and lots of feedback. I couldn't sit still though. It's hard to sit still when you are about to see one of your favorite bands. All the people behind me were having no problem however. I think they were there more to have a picnic then to see a band. Hmmm.
When Arcade Fire finally hit the stage, the pit - which was packed with several thousand people - erupted, and I was instantly on my feet. The band opened with Black Mirror and for the next four songs I was almost could not cope with the emotions that were running through me. After Black Mirror they played Keep the Car Running and No Cars Go, and between each I had to take really deep breaths because I was shaking uncontrollably from adrenalin and some kind of crazy frenzied joy. That band is SO GOOD. I've seen them before; I've read about their shows a gazillion times; I listen to them at home all the time, and they still managed to virtually lift me up and throw me down over and over. It was crazy.
Regine then sang Haiti, coming out with her signature jerky eighties dance move thing she does, and she just completely annihilated me. She sang the fucking roof off of that song. It was about now that I looked around and I was the ONLY PERSON STANDING UP. No one else was standing up! It was really weird. I made my friends stand up - well, not Colleen because she was a) jetlagged and b) had a cold and c) still came with me despite a and b. All those other people? They were lame.
After Haiti I managed to come down a little and this is good because I think I was at risk of a music induced epilepsy attack or maybe a stroke. The show had a bit of a slow time and when Regine sang "In the Backseat" I decided I hated the rest of the audience in the stands. They were TALKING. Talking, during that quiet, magical beginning of In the Backseat! What are you doing here, people? I tried hard to tune out the voices and listen only to Regina's plaintive wail, and I felt connected to her when she raised her voice higher and higher until the assholes could not be heard. My tenuous connection to reality was kept from breaking by the guy behind me asking his friends if they wanted more cherries. They brought me back to earth, the fuckers. For a while, anyway.
The band played on; they were everything everyone has ever said about their live show. Energetic, enigmatic, and incredibly talented. Still, I was the only one standing (except for Eli and Angie, and everyone in the pit) until about 3/4 through the show, when they played Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels) and I looked back and there was a little pocket of people behind me standing up and dancing. I am still unsure how it is even possible to sit down during a show like that. I was practically making an indent in the concrete with my heels. Everyone in the pit made up for the slackers in the seats - they were dancing, surging towards the front, screaming (as we all were, I think) the lyrics; and when the whoo hoo whoo hoo woohoo part of Tunnels kicked in, I do believe all the Arcade Fire fans at that show went absolutely ballistic. It was, is, a moment that I will never forget.
They ended the set with a brutally awesome Rebellion (Lies) and I think I finally blew my voice out on this one because I was screaming so loud. I am almost crying now, thinking about it; the thousands of people jumping up and down in the pit, the band playing their hearts out, and the heavy mist falling on my flushed face. It was time for the come-down, and going this high there was bound to be a brutal one.
The encore: Cold Wind, a beautiful and slow song and then Wake Up, and I was very sad because I knew it was over. I wish every night could be like that. I really do.
I'm so lucky though. Yesterday I woke up feeling like I was coming off a drug trip and my body was sore from jumping up and down on a concrete slab, but I got to hang out with Colleen and my friends Sue and David, on a lovely Saturday afternoon. And now I am with my sister-in-law Carrie and my nephew Ryan. I have a bit of a sunburn and a wine buzz. And I had the great fortune to be a part of Arcade Fire's audience on one almost perfect night. I am the luckiest person in the world.
Posted by Shannon at 3:55 PM | Comments (2)
May 31, 2007
Real Joy
Tomorrow: Arcade Fire at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley!
This is awesome:
I won't be up that close, but just Being There will be oh so sweet, after the Berlin Fiasco. I think as a preventive measure I didn't allow myself to think about tomorrow's show too much. Now that it is almost here, I am walking a line of euphoria and the happy kind of nervousness. I didn't even go out this week 'cause I was afraid I'd break the spell.
So then... off to the land of falafel and NIMBYism... it's totally worth it this time. More Saturday.
Posted by Shannon at 7:20 PM | Comments (1)
May 25, 2007
Cherry Bomb
Excuse me for one minute while I get this out of the way.
AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
Whew. Had to do that, thanks for listening.
I have to say that recently, I have been, well, unexcited. Unexcited about writing in this blog (as you can probably tell), unexcited about music (except for the new Wilco
Now though, everything has changed. THE NEW SPOON RECORD HAS BEEN LEAKED. Before you get on my case for listening to it six weeks before it's release, let me just tell you that a) me NOT listening to it is akin to going off wine for a couple of months (in other words, impossible) and b) I went to the Spoon store and preordered a copy of the CD as well as a T-Shirt and a Hoodie to the tune of eighty bucks. Guilt assuaged.
So I've got it now, way early, and here is what I think: No Joke, This is an Awesome Record. And I am not just saying that because of my Britt Daniel obsession and insane love of this band.
On my first listen I had a sort of anticipation that almost put me over the top. I've been reading Lolita for the gazillionth time and I can only guess that it's the same sort of anticipation that Humbert Humbert felt on that first night alone with Lolita... kind of a weird comparison I guess, but I feel, well, alive again.
Wanna hear it? Then go here. Gratitude.
Yeah, it's called "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga." I forgive them. Have a nice weekend, all.
Posted by Shannon at 5:19 PM | Comments (0)
April 13, 2007
From a Great Height
I am quite exhausted today, this fantastically beautiful Friday the 13th. It is killer out there. But I am tired and for good reason - last night Shins show at SOMA.
Let me get this out of the way right away. I hate SOMA. I hate it with a passion. I don't care what history this club had in the history of punk rock, whatever happened in the 80's or 90's is over, and NOW THIS PLACE SUCKS. I cannot reiterate it enough. SOMA is a disaster waiting to happen. I foresee that in the not so far future, something really bad is going to happen there - a fire or a round of gunfire by a teenage girl (because they only search the boys, not the girls when going in) and people are going to freak out and die. Seriously. The place is a death trap. Plus it smells like an airplane lavatory. It is freeking disgusting and an affront to humans. If Spoon plays here on their tour, well, I will do something very rash. Very very rash. Don't worry I won't like, try to smuggle a gun in there. But I will be totally and fully bummed if I ever have to see a show there again (which I will.)
Rant over, and moving on, doors opened to the last night's show at seven PM and I made Mark go with me at FIVE to secure a place in line. The reason being, there is only one way I could do this thing and that was to secure a place on a little ledge on the side of the venue. The only way to secure said spot was to get there really early. So we got there and Mark went to the new Phil's BBQ and got some food and we sat there and ate it and talked to two teenage girls and a 32 year old bald music freak named Dave. We also had a little wine and it went by really fast. As for Phil's, which is sort of a big deal here right now, I can say this: the meat was really good, but the fries and coleslaw sucked. I can't really complain though, as I ate it sitting on the ground in front of a picture framing place in a strip mall off Sports Arena Boulevard.
Then it was seven o'clock (!) and we were in. I quickly secured my spot on the ledge, telling Mark over and over "you will thank me for this, later." He wasn't so thrilled about the getting to the venue so early thing despite the BBQd ribs and wine. However, thank me he did, because we stood up with maybe fifteen other lucky people on the ledge and looked over a crowd of 2300 people crammed into a hot, stagnant space.
The opener, Viva Voce, was pretty cool - Mr. Happy Pummeling My Drums and Hot Chick With a Double Ax. Moments of brilliance, moments of tedium. After a bit I went to the bathroom and security did not want to let me back in the door from which I came. They were like, it's too crowded. I was like, MY FRIENDS ARE RIGHT THERE. I would have been oh, so pissed if I had waited four hours to get a spot and then had to give it up because I had to pee. But they let me back in eventually. Fuckers.
Finally, the Shins come on. The setlist is no surprise to me, somehow. They open with Sleeping Lessons, which is fantastic, but right then we notice a fucking CHILD right below us. As in, a Ten Year Old. The motherly chick next to me immediately lifts him up to the ledge, which is fine except for, WHO THE FUCK WOULD BRING A TEN YEAR OLD TO SOMA. I'm all for youth and music, but at some point this all-ages thing fails to make sense. It's like throwing a child into a war zone or a mosh pit. So now I am stuck with this kid who cannot cope standing right in front of me. I felt bad for him. I really did. It was LOUD (which I love.) It was HOT. We were standing on a LEDGE. The poor kid kept rubbing his ears and fanning himself desperately as I got more and more irritated. Finally Mark traded places with me and I began to really enjoy the show.
I saw the Shins a few years ago at a much smaller club called Canes and at that time I was shocked by the size of the crowd. That show was good - not great - but the Shins have really embraced their new-found Zach Braff inspired fame. Their new record is awesome, and the live show last night was really, really great. James Mercer isn't the most animated dude, and drummer Jesse Sandoval looks to be on many hits of valium, but it doesn't matter, because they sound fantastic. James Mercer has the most incredible voice and he manages to hit these crazy notes, even in a lame-ass place like SOMA. Pretty remarkable.
My favorite though, my absolute favorite who I am totally in love with at the moment, is Dave Hernandez. Homeboy is a crazy good bassist, and a super fun guitarist, and also he is totally In The Moment and having such a great time that it is hard not to smile when you are watching him. I love watching musicians who really and truly live for that moment of being on stage, and this guy is one of them. Put some blue eyeshadow on him and he is a New York Doll, put a leisure suit on him and he is a Bay City Roller, it doesn't matter, he belongs on stage, and his energy last night really got the crowd going.
And it was an incredible crowd. From my vantage point looking over all 2300 heads, it was pretty awesome when at the end of the night the entire crowd was just SCREAMING for more. I dug it, while the poor ten year old rubbed his ears in horror.
There is some killer and recent live Shins on youtube right now. This one is especially aweome. And Sunday, I've got an encore in L.A.
Posted by Shannon at 7:32 PM | Comments (0)
April 7, 2007
Mmmm Britt
It's almost summer which means: time to start obsessing about Britt Daniel again.
New record coming on July 10, and secret shows will be played. If there are any within a 400 mile radius of me, I am there.
Posted by Shannon at 9:39 AM | Comments (0)
March 10, 2007
Sunday Brunch with Wilco
Wilco will be streaming their new record, Sky Blue Sky, again tomorrow... head over to Wilcoworld and check it out. The hours are:
2 pm - 2 am GMT
10 am - 10 pm EASTERN
7 am - 7 pm PACIFIC
and 1 am - 1 pm AEDT - Monday
(Yo Lisa, check it out.)
I love that Wilco does this stuff. They are awesome.
Posted by Shannon at 5:04 PM | Comments (1)
March 9, 2007
Sad and Beautiful Mark
I never wrote about February 9th's Sparklehorse show at the Henry Fonda Theater in L.A. It was the last night of one straight month on the road, and when I got home, well, I didn't really feel like writing about much of anything. If it had been some mind-blowing show a la Eels I might have been forced by experience to write about it, but it wasn't. It was merely a good show, and especially good for people like me: the People Who Love Mark Linkous.
Mark Linkous IS Sparklehorse. He's this sort of quiet, mellow, introverted, mysterious, enigmatic, tripped out genius. His records are, at the same time, scratchy and harsh and lush and gorgeous; his songs are discordant lullabies. He's a studio guy, a loner, a dude who probably won't be looking for a blow job after a show. (Not that I know of, but what do I know? Maybe he is totally looking for a blow job after the show.)
I saw Sparklehorse in Germany once, and it was a quiet and mellow show, so quiet and mellow that on the night of the L.A. show I almost wanted to drive straight home instead of stopping in L.A. But I couldn't help myself, so stop I did.
The show was, well, like the one in Germany, with an adoring L.A. audience who all love Mark Linkous. It only lasted an hour, but there were moments of true beauty and I was very happy I went in the end.
The reason I bring this up after all this time is, Bradley has the Boston show up on his blog, and listening to all the songs again is bringing it all back. It is really great stuff - check it out.
Posted by Shannon at 7:28 PM | Comments (0)
March 8, 2007
My Place
Is it just me, or is this year flying by?
My brother Tom, who moved to Berlin last month, now has a myspace music page. I find this pretty humorous, as even though I am an internet junkie I would never have a myspace page. That's what I have this website for, I guess. I can have a page AND control it. Plus, I can see all the sick and twisted things people search for in my site. And I never have to invite anyone to be my "friend."
I guess if I were a musician I would have a myspace page and I encourage all you myspacers to head to Tom's page and sign up to be his "friend."
In other news, the new Arcade Fire
So how will it sound live? AWESOME. It's sounding more and more awesome even as we read.
This morning I got an email from the Lollapalooza people and they were selling tickets for sixty bucks for all three days; even though I can't really afford it I tried to buy a ticket. So I got in the waiting cue and waited, and waited, and waited. After an hour I gave up. Oh well.
Myspace. Giggle. Tommy must have a lot of time on his hands.
Posted by Shannon at 7:04 PM | Comments (1)
March 3, 2007
Vincent Spano, where are you?
Yesterday I got an early morning call that The Shins have a San Diego date, and that tickets were going on sale today.
It's true, they are coming to San Diego, but for some reason this is all totally under the radar. I bought tickets on the Shins website YESTERDAY. Just like that, got tickets. No racing heart, no trying to put the stupid code into a box on Ticketmaster and failing to get it right three times as the clock ticks.
They are playing at the hated SOMA, but beggars can't be choosers, right? Lucky San Francisco gets them for two nights at the Warfield. Tickets go on sale at Ticketmaster tomorrow but you can get them from the Shins website TODAY. Go! Go!
Mark is pretty bummed about the SOMA thing. We both HATE that venue. And they are playing a show in Berlin just a few days after I get home (causing me to go into fits.) Still, I am just happy that I got tickets, because I love, love, love this band.
Arcade Fire at the Greek in Berkeley also goes on sale tomorrow at 10:00. This year is looking pretty stellar so far, show wise. I'm kind of jealous of the Bay Area peeps at the moment, but having tickets to see Arcade Fire in Berlin doesn't suck, does it?
This is totally cool. Someone morphed the fight scene from Rumble Fish and Arcade Fire's Intervention. Motorcycle Boy!
Also, whatever happened to Vincent Spano?
Posted by Shannon at 11:16 AM | Comments (0)
February 20, 2007
The Countdown
Two weeks to go 'till Neon Bible
Call this number NOW: 1-866-NEON-BIBLE. My god, could they be any cooler?
NPR has a live Arcade Fire show up - check it out. And this song gives me chills:
As for me. I am seeing Arcade Fire next month - IN BERLIN. I love that all the best bands sing in English. It's definitely a plus for me. Plus I can ask the bartender for Rot Wein. Whoo hoo!
Posted by Shannon at 9:01 PM | Comments (1)
February 15, 2007
Put Yourself in My Shoes
I think I can count the things I love on one hand. Well, maybe two hands if I really think about it. Once thinking, you've got to think about things in terms of; do I really and truly love something, or do I just like it? Because those are two completely different things. It's a the difference between merely living, and orgasm. Or even, between living and something better than orgasm. If that makes any sense.
Observe, then, a moment that completely and totally slays me - a moment so perfect, so atmospheric, so Totally Killer, that I can't really imagine anywhere else I would rather be.
Imagine you are me for a minute, if you can. In a big, dark cavern, with a musty, wet smell, full of the most incredible anticipation, surrounded by like-minded people. About to touch, briefly, something you listen to and think about and even dream about for months beforehand. Close your eyes, and imagine you are me, in this dark spot, practically falling over with happiness.
It makes you want a little more, doesn't it? It's a bit of a harsh reality at the end there, isn't it? But thankfully, there is more. THERE IS MORE!
Pretty fucking awesome, I must say. My current obsession with The Shins won't be over anytime soon.
Posted by Shannon at 8:26 PM | Comments (0)
February 12, 2007
Give Me Back My SOS
Well, I'm back, and ready to start boring you all again with my too frequent music posts.
I guess, to be totally honest, I am not sure how I feel about this. Actually I am pretty sure it kind of freaks me out.
Yeah, they rock it, even though the crowd in front doesn't really seem to give two shits. And now, the Police have announced they'll tour. The Police! Who hate each other! I always figured that when the Police gave in and forgave each other, I'd have to hang it all up.
I guess I am just being unrealistic, also selfish. I also hated the fact that Prince was on the Super Bowl, but then I loved his show. I think I mostly hated that stupid ad. Even though I hated the ad and the fact that Prince was on the Super Bowl, I still couldn't wait to watch his performance. Does that mean I will have to go to one of the Police shows? God, I hope not.
There are some things that are sacred and shouldn't be dredged up after over twenty years. Like, 1984. Though I have to admit that I was totally thrilled, during the freeking Super Bowl Halftime Show of all places, to hear those first seconds of 1999 (which actually came out in, what, 1982?) I think I am mostly horrified to think I will be one of those aging yuppifieds that will go to this show and be all happy and start screaming "sending out an SOS" over and over when they play "Message in a Bottle." I am terrified of getting old. But I AM old. Also, GETTING OLDER.
I guess it could be worse. I guess I could have been into a band like, I dunno, someone who is currently tearing it up at some random casino in the middle of nowhere. Instead I am horrified that I might spend several hundred dollars to see a band that I used to love but now sort of hate because they stopped hating each other. Also, the thought of Sting practicing his Tantric love shit on a new wave of groupies just makes me want to hurl.
Oh well. At least, to date, The Clash remains sacred.
Posted by Shannon at 6:41 PM | Comments (3)
January 11, 2007
Marcel's Rap
"These People"
A Rap by Marcel Vigneron
for all the haters out there...
The rhymes:
As soon as I came to this spot
You started trying to make me out to be something I’m not
It’s taken every ounce that I’ve got
Not to pop you in the face!
And you have no grounds to base your accusations off of
Cause your buildings built on quicksand
You say my food lacks fundamentals like salt and peppa
And I’m like yo man, whatever!
I don’t even get stressed
because I know at the end of the day
My food is, FUCKING SOIGNE!
(I hope Marcel doesn't me mind sharing this with my loyal readers. The fact that I am behind him one hundred percent based on his total goofballidity isn't swayed by this completely insane poem. Don't quit your day job, Marcel...)
Posted by Shannon at 11:39 AM | Comments (1)
December 9, 2006
The Future's So Bright...
I stole this from Dead Air Space. I hope Radiohead doesn't mind.
I love this picture. Radiohead is recording and this is what they do on their day off. Maybe.
So, next year, new records from Radiohead, Wilco and Spoon. How awesome is that? I had better start saving now for the summer tours.
Posted by Shannon at 4:12 PM | Comments (1)
November 29, 2006
I only want to be a poo
No new Top Chef tonight. I don't know whether to be pissed off or relieved. Whatever. We all had a hard day, so let's have a little nighttime enjoyment.
I guess I am showing my age here, but I remember when these guys were on the cover of Tiger Beat. I thought they were kind of lame, but now I like the guitar hook in that song and also, that drummer totally trips me out. He's like, Happy Drummer. And on the other side of the mirror, the punk movement was in it's infancy.
Even today, you don't see too many Happy Drummers. It's no longer considered cool to look like that.
Posted by Shannon at 7:09 PM | Comments (0)
November 24, 2006
My New Favorite Band
The other day I went into the dregs of Tower Records and on a whim picked up the Starlight Mint's Drowaton
Anyhow I can't stop listening to this CD. I LOVE it. Check it out:
I need to start paying more attention - this band was just here and I MISSED them. Bad Shannon!
Posted by Shannon at 9:28 AM | Comments (0)
November 21, 2006
California Knows How to Party
I wouldn't say my life has been boring lately, I just haven't felt like writing about it. I have so much writing to do that I think I am anti-writing. I haven't written anything about Spain yet and it has been almost two months. That is scary.
Oh well maybe I'll get started this weekend.
Anyhow. Today is the release date of a new 2 Pac CD
That'll wake your ass up.
Posted by Shannon at 7:02 AM | Comments (1)
November 17, 2006
drink a bit of wine we both might go tomorrow
Jeff Buckley would have been 40 years old today. I have been listening to his records all day and feel an almost unbearable melancholy.
He's had an immense influence on current music and also, he had an immense influence on me personally. I loved him, I still love him. Grace
It's so sad to watch this video knowing now, that he wouldn't be around much longer.
My god. That voice. It's impossible not to get goosebumps.
Posted by Shannon at 8:13 PM | Comments (0)
November 3, 2006
The Foghat Rule
One of the most hilarious videos ever made by one of the greatest American bands ever, Yo La Tengo.
Happy Weekend to you all.
Posted by Shannon at 8:06 AM | Comments (1)
October 31, 2006
Driving Music
I drive a lot. Sometimes for hours, days, sometimes for weeks. Sometimes I spend more time in my car than I do in my apartment.
Thankfully, I have a lot of CDs and a 6 CD changer. Before you freak out, let me assure you - there are benefits to the old way, of That Time Before the IPod. You know what? IPods are lame when it comes to Driving Music. Long hours of driving require one thing: listening to the same six records over and over. Maybe even the same record, over and over. Maybe, even, the same SONG over and over.
There are certain things that sound better in the car. Somehow the sound of cracking a beer open sounds better in a car, to me, even though I don't drink beer. Maybe it's a recollected memory thing. Like that memory of being in a car, like a 1970 Nova or what have you, but in like 1982, and the sun is going down and leaving crystals on the windshield (or maybe, it is foggy) and there is that sound of metal hitting metal and that tiny hiss of the can opening. It's a kind of music. Driving music.
But getting back to music. For some reason, I love Sonic Youth in my car better than at home. I could listen to Rather Ripped
I've been wanting to elaborate on the whole driving music thing for some time. And I will, eventually, with greater detail. In the meantime, I could not stop listening, driving from San Diego to Anaheim to Palm Springs and back, to PJ Harvey's Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea
Yeah. Still I came home and had to watch the video. Yo, people who ask why I'm not "with someone?" Because... if it is not like this, it is not worth it.
If it's not like this, it's not worth it.
Posted by Shannon at 9:21 PM | Comments (1)
September 12, 2006
Getoveritvoot
Sometimes, when I feel sad, I cure my heavy heart with a dose of Clinic. Their just so wacky and awesome that I forget everything that went wrong in the day and concentrate on how fabulous they are.
So tonight, really and truly trying to escape this gaping hole that my legs are currently dangling through, I went searching on youtube for Clinic videos and what did I find? THIS!
Not only is it one of my favorite Clinic songs, but I am actually IN THIS VIDEO. Yes, it is true, one of those heads on the left is mine. I was there on the rail that night. I don't remember the light show being so awesome, but I think I was kind of drunk.
Anyway. Next time Clinic come I might just have to stand back a little, in order to see that light show from afar. And they might be coming soon because they have a new record coming out (yeah) but I am not seeing it for sale in the States (fuck) so thank god for amazon.com.uk ($$$$$$$).
Something is missing. Can't put my finger on it... live show? CD Drive? Sanity? All's I can say is, Saturday I am not looking back.
Here is some new Clinic. I love them and miss them and wish I could put all their stuff on my Ipod for Spain but I can't because my friggen CD drive is broken. Bummed.
Posted by Shannon at 7:56 PM | Comments (0)
August 24, 2006
Last Stop This Town
I've been having hardware problems, and now I have an ulcer. However, I can't not post something, so here you go.
The new carry-on rules are also a bitch.
Posted by Shannon at 9:08 PM | Comments (1)
August 15, 2006
The Raspy Voice of God
Interesting thing, love. What else could have possessed me to get in my car, drive downtown, pay $10 for parking, and enter a venue full of fourteen year olds, for an eleven song set? Oh yeah, Britt Daniel.
It was fun. Basically, I was the oldest and tallest person in my area, which is sort of a bonus. I actually let the pygmy girls that were standing next to me go in front of me, I felt so bad. I mean, they were teensy. I guess this is why I don't like Death Cab for Cutie - all the nine year olds are into them.
Whatever. I got me forty-five minutes or so of some prime Spoon. I was on the rail in the same spot (well almost - I was actually quite a bit closer) that I procured at Radiohead, but at this show, I didn't have to fight for it. I was so sober that I wrote down the set list:
The Beast and Dragon, Adored
Don't Make me a Target (new song - Target? Whatever. I love it.)
My Mathematical Mind (FUCKKKKKKKK)
The Way We Get By
Rhythm & Soul? Another new song...
Paper Tiger
Stay Don't Go
They Never Got You
I Turned my Camera On
I Summon You
Fitted Shirt
Let me just say right here that the band was totally into it and happy and Britt was fucking drop dead awesome. The man is a superstar just waiting to happen, but I kind of hope it doesn't because that would ruin everything. I have to say the highlight was They Never Got You. They just go on and on in that song, it is orgasmic. I am serious. Brett got down on his knees so many times I thought I would die. It was short, but oh-so-sweet.
Death Cab for Cutie came out and played Fitted Shirt with the band. The crowd went ballistic. I left right after Spoon, and as I was leaving a security guard said, "if you leave, you can't come back." I said "I don't care!" To which he replied "ya'all came for SPOON, didn't you?" So I guess I wasn't the only one.
I sometimes have a hard time justifying my obsessions, but THIS ONE IS WORTH IT. Believe me.
Posted by Shannon at 11:41 PM | Comments (0)
Vitamin BD
The good news: in a couple of hours I'll be seeing THIS.
The bad news. I've got a rippen' cold. I don't even feel like partying. I am even going to DRIVE to the venue. Me, drive to a SHOW!
Doubt I'll be staying for Death Cab for Cutie - even when I had the energy it didn't sound that appealing.
I am bringing my camera in hopes of getting some shots of Britt. I don't think they are anti at that Bayside place, at least they weren't when Radiohead was there.
I wish I could be more excited but I just feel too yucky. But, there is the chance that the exhilaration will cure me. The Britt Daniel cure. Bring it on.
Actually, I am starting to get excited. Really really excited. But I am not going to wear my Poptarticus T-shirt because I am just too scared. And I am too sick to stalk. Maybe this is a good thing.
Posted by Shannon at 5:46 PM | Comments (0)
August 11, 2006
Cat Power is Coming...
This just in - Cat Power is coming to Brick by Brick on August 31!
To all my San Diego readers - this is going to be an awesome show. Well, we hope it will be. It certainly has the potential. Tickets just went on sale and they won't be around for long - GO! GO!
It's gonna be intimate... sweet.
Posted by Shannon at 3:31 PM | Comments (0)
The Countdown
It's time to move on.
Spoon is coming! And we all know what that means. Britt Fucking Daniel.
All I want to do until Tuesday is listen to Spoon and watch videos of Britt Daniel on youtube.
I get goosebumps. He's so hot. HE'S SO HOT. I love him. I promise not to do anything crazy like stalk him. Maybe.
Posted by Shannon at 8:46 AM | Comments (0)
August 4, 2006
Better than Everett
Oh. My. God.
OK - the sound quality sucks and the camera is all over the place but this clip TOTALLY captures the brilliance and the insanity of the EELS show I saw in June. I have been waiting for a clip of The Other Shoe to appear, and now it has, and it is AWESOME. The crazy Security Guy, the loud, loud, LOUD guitars, the man called E. I oh, so wish I could fly to the south and see one of their last few shows for this tour. Hmmm...
I am way behind, on everything. But I don't really have any desire to catch up with myself. I'll probably wait until it is almost too late before I try to start. Trying to start things in summer is dumb, anyhow.
Here is another picture from Brian's birthday. As you can see, we did some damage.
I want EELS. I want EELS. I want EELS. Dare I say it? Best show of the year, so far. Even better than Radiohead? Perhaps. Gulp. Blasphemy.
Posted by Shannon at 5:20 PM | Comments (1)
July 11, 2006
The Man and His Laptop
I was really going to try to stop writing about Radiohead for a while. But today I find this impossible because today, Thom Yorke's solo project The Eraser was released. Also, the new Muse record Black Holes and Revelations came out. So it was definitely one of those days where at exactly 4:30 P.M. I got into my car and headed to Tower Records where the sign on Sports Arena Boulevard said "New: Thom Yorke and Muse." Holy cow, is the stuff I am listening to all of a sudden popular?
I can see why The Eraser is the sort of record many, many people want to run to the store on the day of release to buy. It's been three years since Radiohead's Hail to the Thief came out, and we are all hungry. Hungry for ANYTHING. Even if it turns out to be a bunch of electronic crap. But of course that did not happen; this is Thom Yorke we are talking about, after all. The Eraser is a beautiful record. It's full of nuance, full of special moments. It's one of those records that I will be listening to in my car for the fiftieth time and I will hear something new. There is a lot of the new Radiohead stuff I heard at the June shows here, in The Eraser. Not the actual songs, but certainly the sounds, and the feelings. Sweeping, lovely, sometimes funky, sometimes weird. Awesome.
I remember, oh how I remember, when Radiohead's Kid A came out, how it totally blew the mind of so many people. How different it was, how groundbreaking. I think that record changed me. It changed my life, or maybe my life just happened to be changing at the same time. Whatever it was, it was earthshaking. And I remember the reviews: "where is the guitar?" The guitar was there the whole time, it was just a little more subtle.
The Eraser is like that. It's different; it seems simple, but it's very layered. I was almost as excited to buy the Eraser as I was to buy Kid A and Hail to the Thief, but I think in the end I willl listen to The Eraser way more than I do to Hail to the Thief. Kid A, of course, practically sleeps next to me.
Anyway. It's an extraordinary achievement for Mr. Yorke. I love him more with each passing day, and I dreamed about him last night. He was the good guy in my dream, and Britt Daniel was the asshole. Britt Daniel was an asshole in my dream! It was awful. I want to have sex with Britt Daniel in my dreams, not hate him. Fucking dream. Dammit.
As for Muse's new one. If Beethoven took fourteen hits of acid and decided to take up with Angus Young, it might be an indication of Muse's sound. It's not for everybody, but I love it. I have been listening too intently to The Eraser to give Black Holes and Revelations the time it deserves, but heck, it's only been six hours. So I'll start on that one tomorrow.
Posted by Shannon at 9:43 PM | Comments (0)
July 2, 2006
Freak Like Me
This is a long one. Get yourself a drink. Before I get into Friday let's go back to Monday.
OK. This ten-minute snippet of the Monday night show is kind of trippy because these dudes were standing right next to me for the first part of the show. If you watch it, when Radiohead come on and start playing There There, those two fat arms waving on the right belong to the mountainous one who sang every lyric to practically every song and sort of ruined the show for me and probably many others. If you make it to You and Who's Army you can actually HEAR her lame-ass voice. It's pretty bad. I love youtube just for the fact that somehow PROOF emerges from it. I mean how crazy is it that that bitch can be heard by thousands of people from coast to coast? I hope she hears it and never sings another note at another show EVER.
Heh heh. On to Friday night. CRAZY. The whole night, not just the show. I walked up to the Greek from my hotel two miles away and it was HOT. When I was walking up the hill I ran into Juan Carlos, who was looking for tickets. He and his friend Erica got in line at 11:00 A.M. to try to get some box office love, and here it was 7:00 P.M. and they still had forty people in front of them. Scalpers were asking $400 for seats in the back, and there were numerous skanky L.A. ho types trying to seduce tickets out of lonely Radiohead nerds. One of said chicklets (blond, pierced tongue, early-eighties punk-ho look) tried to get a ticket out of Juan Carlos and he didn't even have one yet. In fact she was kind of stupid trying to look for tickets along a line of people who didn't have any. "Why don't you go down to the box office where people are actually PICKING UP tickets?" I asked her. I mean, DUH. Juan Carlos had already promised Mariella, a Chilean girl we met outside the box office, he would sell her one if he scored any, so he told the ho he had already promised any extras to someone else. Mariella was cool - and she is coming down for Muse at SOMA this month so we are going to get together and get spots on the wall and then protect them for each other in case we have to go to the bathroom. ANYWAY. Juan Carlos and his friend were finally first in line and then the tickets were gone. So they did not get in. Mariella FOUND a ticket on the ground. Interesting since I have been thinking about something like that happening to me all week, and have been playing with it in my head. Like, if you find a ticket on the ground, do you use it, or take it back to the box office? I mean, what if it belonged to someone who really loves Radiohead and you are like, destroying their life? But then, what if that ticket belonged to a scalper or someone who was just going to say they went to a Radiohead show? It's a dilemma. Mariella used it. I'm not sure what I would have done. But then I had a ticket.
Once in, I got in line to buy a bottle of wine and I heard someone call my name. It was Elizabeth who has burned some shows for me. She knew me because of my Poptarticus T-Shirt. So that was kind of cool. It's so funny how you make these random connections with people solely because of the music you love. Juan Carlos I knew from the Sigur Ros show in Austin, and Elizabeth and I both had our Sigur Ros hoodies. And now all three of us were in L.A. to see (or in Juan Carlos's case, hear) Radiohead.
After two shows of standing on my tiptoes close to the stage, it was kind of cool to have a seat where the space around me was mine alone. It wasn't the greatest seat, to be totally honest. I was in the farthest possible seat to the right of the stage up in the terrace. I couldn't see Phil or Colin at all. On my right I looked down at beer stands and an ATM which ALWAYS had a line. What could people possibly need money for when Radiohead is playing? I was pretty close to the stage though, and could see, once again, Ed, Thom and Jonny well enough, and it looked like the pit was full of lame industry people. So I was happy where I was. I had a hard time taking my eyes off Jonny Greenwood this time - the guy is so enigmatic. And I absolutely love it when he spazzes out on his guitar. Thom had a ton of energy and was dancing all over the place. There was a point during Myxomatosis when he stood over the pit with his arm out over them and he was practically SPITTING the lyrics at them and it was OH SO INTENSE. That guy has POWER. Thom Yorke for PRIME MINISTER, he'll get some shit done. Anyway.
The crowd around me was very cool and very into it. I think we all paid around $200 for our ebay-ticket-bought-from-a-record-company-employee-who-got-it-for-free so we were all there to actually see the band and not to see who was looking at us. There was one tool a couple rows down from me who talked during all the new songs and on all the others, did that white-boy hip-hop dance, you know the one, where they move one hand up and down and move their scrawny ass back and forth. He even did this during Like Spinning Plates which is not exactly a dance number. I wanted to flick a quarter at the back of his neck. But other than that the people around me were cool. And it was watching the rest of the crowd at the Greek was wonderful. All kinds of celebrities were there, but I didn't see any, all I saw was a sea of heads and they all appeared to be loving it (key word - appeared. This WAS Los Angeles after all.)
Some highlights of the show: During Exit Music, a bunch of people start hooting (they do this every time, I don't get it) and Thom said "SHUT UP" and they DID! They SHUT UP. Ha ha, that was classic. Being told to shut up by Thom Yorke. I wish he would have said that to the mountainous one. Then during Fake Plastic Trees, the entire audience seemed to be WHISPERING the lyrics. 7000 people whispering, "If I could be who you wanted... all the time..." that was so totally awesome. I have absolutely no problem with people whispering. There was another killer Down is the New Up, got Climbing up the Walls, Pyramid Song and Like Spinning Plates for the second time this week, My Iron Lung practically ripped my head off and you can see for yourself HERE. Then we got True Love Waits which morphed into Everything in it's Right Place and I was sort of sad, because that meant it was all going to be over soon.
So then it was over. I waited until all the people were outside (from my vantage point I had a fine view of this) and then started my descent down the hill. Halfway down I realized that me and the same dude had been walking together for a while. This is how I met Scott, a tall, skinny 23 year old transplant from Queens who is a Radiohead freak like me. First we started talking, then we started partying, which went on pretty much all night. Well not all night but certainly very late. Once you get two Radiohead freaks going, it's pretty hard to get them to stop. It was really, really fun and took the sting out of Radiohead week being over.
Now I can't wait for the new record to come out so I can hear Videotape, House of Cards and Down is the New Up in their studio form. I think my neighbors are getting sick of hearing me play a gazillion different live versions on my computer.
Scott said he has a friend who will only sleep with Radiohead freaks. I think that I am going to, henceforth, make that my number one criteria as well. Or maybe, just people who LIKE Radiohead. Although the freak part is pretty awesome, let me tell you.
Back to real life. Which is: hanging out at The Vine and daydreaming about Britt Daniel. Summertime. It is hot.
There is an incredible recording of Friday night's show here. Awesome...
Posted by Shannon at 11:01 AM | Comments (0)
June 29, 2006
Mississippi Mudsharks Roll On!
First things first.
Future Rock Star of America:
Baby Ryan is eight months old. Soon we can buy him his first drum set.
In Other Than Radiohead news, My brother's band the Mississippi Mudsharks have just released their new CD Train Rolls On and it just got reviewed in the San Diego Union Tribune here. I am having my first listen right now and this CD ROCKS. And I'm NOT just saying that because it's my brother playing drums on there. Nobody plays the blues like Tom, Scottie and Mike do.
In celebration of this release the Mudsharks are playing at Winstons here in OB from 6 - 9 this Sunday. Hmm... could be kind of crazy. Good thing I have Monday off. All my local readers should come to the show and visit me at the CD table where I will be selling CDs for the band and drinking wine. Or you can just buy the CD from Double Barrel Records by clicking the Mudsharks link above. As you can see, coming to the show and hanging out with me is a much better option, because then you'll see them LIVE which of course is always the best possible way.
The band will be touring Europe in late summer ... and the schedule (so far) is HERE. You have to scroll down to find the dates. I just know all my European readers want to fly to Belgium to see the Mudsharks AND the Blasters at the Gevarenwinkel Blues Fest! No one parties like the Belgians do. (Joke. I think.)
Posted by Shannon at 7:53 PM | Comments (0)
June 28, 2006
Down is the New Bliss
A little preface to today's entry. Readers take note: you might only want to read this if a) you never ever miss one of my entries or b) you are totally into Radiohead or at least like them somewhat. The only person I know for sure reads every entry AND loves Radiohead is my brother Jay, so JAY - THIS IS FOR YOU.
Before I get into the total and complete awesomeness of last night's show please have a look at my new favorite song. This is not from the shows I've seen but it is from this tour and I am TOTALLY OBSESSED WITH DOWN IS THE NEW UP.
My god. It has it all. It is funky. Thom's vocals are fantastic. Jonny does that crunchy thing with his guitar that I love. And that plaintive wailing sound that Ed does on his guitar... it kills me. And the DRUMMING. I have seen them play this live twice in the past two nights and it is so fantastic live. Wow.
That clip ends before the song does but you can listen (and try to watch) the whole thing here. It is worth it to hear Ed's guitar weirdness at the end and watch Jonny on both guitar and drums.
As for Monday. In retrospect I wonder, if all those loud filler fans were bugging me so much, why didn't I move? Ah, I tell myself, because you were on the rail and that is a pretty hard thing to give up. It's sad though, some of those girls that got crushed in the front and had to be pulled out by security post on some of the message boards I read. There are accounts of fingernails in flesh and kicks in the legs... all to get to the front. And those girls were the ones waiting in line for twelve hours to get on the rail. I should consider myself lucky I guess. This video is about where I was that first night, and it is awesome just to see Jonny's intense little guitar spazz-out, on Morning Bell:
Awesome.
One good thing that came out of Monday's blah-ness was, I was too bummed to go out and party, therefore I had a great deal of energy for yesterday's show and the aftermath, and I was gonna need it.
There were a few of us hanging out at last night's show. Mark was there, my friend Jen, David, and a guy I met at the Sigur Ros show in Austin, Juan Carlos. I had this intense conversation with Juan Carlos at an Austin bar about Radiohead and he is pretty obsessed too so having him there last night was really cool. Like when we were sitting outside the venue drinking wine before the show and I said "I predict they will open with Airbag" I could get an answer like "definitely possible. They opened with Airbag in Berkeley and Chicago." And then of course when they DID open with Airbag I had someone to look at with that knowing look.
I know. We are freaks.
So anyway, once again I went into the venue only fifteen minutes before Radiohead went on, but this time went over to Ed's side. I stupidly asked Mark to go get me a drink, as of course when the band went on there was no way he was going to get close to us again. Me, Juan Carlos and Jen managed to get very, very close. Not quite this close - but almost:
Jealous much? I am like, totally jealous of MYSELF right now. I am serious. I could see Ed for every single minute, and that guy is HOT.
The crowd around me at this show was great, really cool and mellow people who were totally into it. And respectful, and didn't sing, or scream CREEP. There were a couple of obnoxious girls who pushed their way in, created some havoc and then very quickly removed themselves, but other than that it was all good. I had no desire to try to make it to the rail even though I couldn't see as well (the above picture was probably taken by a six foot five dude, many of which were standing in the way.) I just listened and watched what I could through the forest of necks and sometimes I just looked up at the sky and thought to myself, it is really, really great to be alive, and much of that is due to my love for this band.
Here are a couple more pictures from the show. Many thanks to May May and Shoestar for these. Also I stole that photo above from flikr so thanks, limegreeny! You can check out her other photos HERE.
May May got this one of Jonny playing his guitar with a violin bow during Pyramid Song.
Another of May May's photos of Thom and Jonny.
A good shot from the front by Shoestar.
The whole show was so fantastic. Like I said yesterday, all the new songs sound so sweet live. I got my Pyramid Song, I got my Like Spinning Plates (though some dude sang it next to me pretty badly, but I was in the kind of mood where that was just kind of funny.) Bones is probably my least favorite song from The Bends but when they played it last night, it was like, MY GOD. I mean, when Ed, Thom and Jonny are all RIPPING on their guitars it is just, well, beyond thrilling. Another highlight for me was Climbing up the Walls, it sounded so intense and so lush and it was hot and humid and the sky was the color of bittersweet chocolate. I'll say it again - WOW. THESE are the moments I live for.
After the show I bought a shirt and some Stanley Donwood notecards . I am a good letter writer, and I need to write some letters in those puppies. But first I need someone to write to. I remember after the Radiohead show at the Greek in L.A. in 2000 I wrote someone a four-page letter about it. Guess I have my blog now, where I can at least edit myself.
After the show we all went to Joe's Crab Shack and had a drink and where Mark tried to piss everyone off by saying it wasn't that great of a show ("go kick that guys ASS" I jokingly told him when some youngster with a bad sixties hairdo gave him shit at the bar for it) and then just me, David and Juan Carlos went to, of all places, Dick's Last Resort, a place I would have NEVER gone to if it hadn't been the only place serving food at midnight on a Tuesday night. Still, nachos and a bottle of cheap Merlot seemed to round off the night nicely.
And I still have one more show. Last night I was an exceptional person: someone with an L.A. ticket. Fucking A. I am still waiting for Black Star and The Tourist. We shall see.
You can listen to both shows, for now anyway, HERE.
Posted by Shannon at 6:32 PM | Comments (1)
June 27, 2006
Let Down
Well. I almost held off on writing about last night's Radiohead show to do one post about both shows. But I don't think I can do that. I think I have to write about this one now, and then put it behind me, and move on.
I wish I could say it was the best night ever, but I can't. I can say that Radiohead put on an insanely great show, but I just couldn't let myself go. Not the way I wanted to. It makes me really sad that I was, well, really sad at last night's show. It's so funny, here I am thinking "oh please don't let me break an ankle or crash my car before the Radiohead shows" and instead this other kind of sadness comes.
I was a little stressed too. My ticket did not arrive in my hands until fifteen minutes until the band went on, which was uber-stressful in itself. The few hours waiting outside by the venue were pretty fun. Had a couple of drinks at Joe's Crab Shack and then some wine outside. There were lots and lots of people in line, and when they opened the gates people were RUNNING in to get a good spot. Well, I entered the venue ten minutes before the show started and weasled my way up to - I kid you not - very close to the amps on Jonny's side of the stage. I had a pretty good view of Thom, Ed and sometimes Jonny. The rail was super close and so over the first ten songs or so I just took every opportunity to get over there and finally, I WAS ON THE FUCKING RAIL. At a RADIOHEAD show. This is the closest I have ever been to the band. It should have been, like, the best night ever. Thankfully, once I got to the rail, the other people on the rail were really cool, but sadly, there was some mountainous chick next to me who thought herself an opera star and sang the lyrics to every song she knew. So the new songs the band played last night were the best for me, because I didn't have to listen to her off-key screaming. To make it worse she kept screaming "CREEP, CREEP" at the top of her lungs. Homegirl, I hate to break it to you but the chances of them playing Creep are extremely slim, so shutthefuckup. On our side, there wasn't much pushing but in the middle it was pretty tight and I saw quite a few girls being pulled out and literally carried out by security. And there were some youngsters behind me who kept talking. In a perfect world I could have put all of this out of my mind but I couldn't and this is very disappointing. It is my fault, for getting myself so in a frenzy about these shows.
As for the show itself, it was very good and people were very into it. I am enthralled with some of the new stuff. I have been listening to it on the internet, but all those new songs just sounded so awesome live. I love Down is the New Up and Videotape and the song 4 Minute Warning, played during the second encore with the band all around Thom at the piano... well that was really special. Thank god mountain woman (and most of the audience) didn't know any of the lyrics to the new songs. It's one thing to sing along to Karma Police but come on... every freakin' song? Argh.
They played How to Disappear Completely, Lucky, and Just. Now I am praying they play them again on Friday... once was not enough.
So tonight I am going to take a deep breath and see the show from a different angle. I got the up close thing out of my system last night and would like to see the entire stage this time. Also, if motherfuckers be talking or singing I am going to move somewhere else.
Onward.
Posted by Shannon at 9:33 AM | Comments (0)
June 24, 2006
I Won't be Wrong
I'm so excited I can barely sit still. I tried to sleep in, but I couldn't. This week is just going to be too awesome. My stomach is all crazy, I am going to try hard to take care of myself, but it is going to be really, really hard.
David called me last night from the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, so I got to hear one song from Radiohead's show. It was really hard to hear, basically it sounded like the ocean, with a bit of Thom Yorke's vocals here and there. And clapping. I think, but I can't be sure, that it was the new song "15 Step."
New songs! Holy shit, by the end of next week I am going to know them REALLY WELL.
Anyhow last night's set list was pretty freaking awesome. "Pyramid Song" followed by "Like Spinning Plates" would be the end of me. I would basically fall down and die from happiness right there. So it's probably good that I wasn't at last night's show. My brother Jay is going tonight, so I hope he is not bummed that he is not going to hear these two songs... I remember driving from San Francisco to my grandma's house near Temecula a few years ago listening to I Might Be Wrong Live Recordings over, and over, and over. Just knowing that Jay will be there tonight, and David, makes me feel better that I will not. When Radiohead was here in 2003, Jay called me from the show at the Shoreline Ampitheater and I listened to the ENTIRE SHOW through his cell phone. But tonight, I will be at the Pink Martini show, so that ain't gonna happen again. At least not on this tour.
So. Once again it is Ocean Beach Street Fair day. So to celebrate this fact, I am going to quote some dude's review of The Vine on the Beer Advocate website:
"Ocean Beach is a funky part of town -- sandwiched by the Pacific Ocean to the West, Mission and Pacific Beach to the North (across the San Diego river channel), and Point Loma to the South and (sorta) East. Each of those communities have their own vibes, but none can even get close to what Ocean Beach has going on. Mix thr