Move Your Body and Your Soul

How awesome is this family?

Saturday Visuals

Mike Dillon late night at Le Bon Temps

Anders Osborne

Day 2 Visual: Welcome to JazzFest!

And this shall be my office

Sorry, I know this is kind of obnoxious to some of you in an actual office but you want me to share, right??

Hello from New Orleans: Day 1 Visual

I'll try to give y'all a nice visual every day that I'm here. It's a gorgeous day in New Orleans - sunshine, warm breeze. First stop, Frankie & Johnny's for a much needed po'boy:

You know what I love?

The ice cream truck song.

It's the tune that means longer days, warm breezes, and yummy cold treats.

Pick, Pull, Suck, Pinch, Repeat.

Dirty Coast has a new t-shirt called Death by Crawfish just in time for JazzFest.

Crawfish are ugly, bottom-feeding bugs . . . and they are wonderfully delicious. It is a right of passage to go to a boil and learn the process.

A shirt meant to be worn to a crawfish boil and free to be used as your napkin. Wipe your hands freely. It will just add to the design.

Pick, Pull, Suck, Pinch, Repeat.

Go to the shirt.

It just reminded me of this one time... at JazzFest...

From Russo to Russo, A Beautiful Weekend

The sun gods smiled down on New York City for Earth Day this year. After suffering a winter that didn't seem to want to ever leave, we had 70 degree weather and sun sun sun all weekend long. What a difference a week makes!

The Green Apple Music Festival was this past weekend and it honestly didn't feel too much different than just another NYC weekend packed with shows. But hey, call it a festival. See if I care. The kick off Thursday night with The Duo's acoustic show at the Knitting Factory was really fun. "We should do this every Thursday," said Mike Greenhaus. Special guests included the enchanting Skerik and the Fat Mama horns who were in town for their reunion show last night, also at the Knitting Factory. Joe Russo was sitting in the same spot and it was like I blinked and jumped from Thursday to Sunday. Somehow, I managed to down a lot of liquor in between those two moments.

I missed the daytime stuff on Friday at Grand Central (someone's gotta make the donuts!) but made it into the city for Zero's show at the Gramercy Theatre. It's always a treat to see Kimock but this show didn't quite do it for me. I think the Gramercy needs to warm up a little too. After Zero, I headed downtown to the Knitting Factory (man, it sounds like I live at this place, doesn't it) to see Mike Dillon's Go-Go Jungle in the Tap Room. Man, was that loud!! Mike D has some serious tribal rock happening there. I'm not totally sure what makes this band different than Hairy Apes BMX except a slightly different lineup. Everyone got down in there that night. And yes, everyone got small, y'all.

Saturday afternoon, hungover but on time, I met up with friends for the daytime events at Grand Central. Giddy from the sunshine, I enjoyed Zero's set way more in the afternoon (after some coffee). We had a mass media mogul lunch in Bryant Park with deliciously helpful bloody marys. After lunch we headed back to the "fest" and saw Assembly of Dust. I realized this is the first time I've ever actually seen this band live. It was good! I'm not jumping in a mini-bus to go on tour or anything but I really enjoyed it.

After a late afternoon nap back in Brooklyn, I went BACK to Manhattan after sundown to get a Phix. I was pretty shameless about my excitement for this show and when I walked up to the door, they were playing "Slave to the Traffic Light." I'm sorry but that just rules. Who else is playing "Slave" these days, huh?? From my drunken outgoing text messages, the second set went something like Axilla - MOMA - Free - Ha Ha Ha - My Friend - Maze... And then there was Divided, Wolfman's, maybe some other stuff and, called it, a Loving Cup encore. Yes, we were all beautifully buzzed. As long as I had my back to the band the entire time, everything was just fine.

Sunday I spent mostly in bed or on a blanket in Prospect Park face down. They were having some event in the park that had obviously nothing to do with Earth Day as there were five of those huge blow up things that kids jump in running on gas generators. Way to go, Brooklyn. Be ahead of the times. I peeled myself up for one last trip into the city to celebrate my girl Gabrielle's birthday and see Fat Mama's reunion. The music sounded great, blaring and intriguing but my energy level was at an all time low. I hung out for a while and then snuck out.

So, Green Apple came and went. I don't really feel greener but it was a good effort. My favorite story of the weekend is that Pete Shapiro, creator of the festival with Relix magazine, went to all three cities - NYC, Chicago, SF. If this festival did anything, it brought springtime to New York City and for that, I'm very thankful.

Next stop, New Orleans!

TISNF!

I'm sorry but I just love this commercial. Makes me laugh every time! And here it is on youtube:

Fired Up

Ten things to feel good about today:

1. It's 4/20, dude!

2. The sun is finally shining in Brooklyn!

3. I have finally stopped watching CNN. Man, this was a rough week.

4. Hood. And this Mike's Groove from Cypress! Weeeeeeeee!

5. The acoustic Duo show last night especially when Skerik came out and unleashed his voodoo magic.

6. The fact that indie-kids have gone over the top in their irrational fear of jambands - jamaphobia?

7. The Green Apple music fest this weekend is actually gonna be fun!

8. That new cingular unlimited text commercial with the kid that speaks acronym language.

Kid: "Omg, t.i.s.n.f!"
Mom: "Me paying this phone bill! That's what's s...n...f...!"

9. Magikimock tonight and gettin' a Phix tomorrow - why not?!

10. In one week from right now, I'll be making a bee line for the soft-shell crab po'boy stand at JazzFest.

This is the best I've felt in some time. Rock on, my lovelies.

Imagine a World with No Guns or Bombs

33 killed in Virginia on Monday. 170+ killed in Baghdad today.

Why?

Thanks to Zack for this peaceful photo he sent to me a while back. The world makes no sense to me today.

Why

On the news right now, they went to the place in Roanoke where this psychopath bought the gun that he used to kill 33 people and ruin countless lives. "Psychopath" (I refuse to use his name and make him human) used the required forms of identification and apparently it was a routine gun purchase. The owner said this purchase was no different than any other purchase made by any college kid.

WHY DO COLLEGE KIDS NEED HANDGUNS?!

9 days and counting...

I'm a PaloozaHead

Create Your Own PaloozaHead - Visit Lollapalooza.com

Is The Fillmore at Irving Plaza?

[A cleaned up and less hungover version of my post to the Freaks List.]

Last night was the inaugural concert at the newly renamed "Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza" featuring the adorablest ever Lily Allen. I was going to the show before the name change announcement anyway so this was just an added bonus (or bummer depending on your feelings about the whole thing). People seem to have mixed emotions about this change as Irving Plaza has a lot of its own history. Still others say "a shithole with a new name is still a shithole."

The news of this name change kinda made me excited. My perspective might be a little skewed because The Fillmore in San Francisco is one of my favorite places on the planet and I miss it a lot. The press release promised a lot of things that make shows at The Fillmore such a unique experience.

The marquee was the first noticable difference in the night. On its own, it would appear that this simply a branding thing like when PacBell park turned into SBC and then into AT&T... pointless. But upon entry there was the bucket of fresh apples and the greeter, "Welcome to the Fillmore!" I have heard that a hundred times but usually from that nice old dude with the mustache in SF. I love hearing those words and it all felt so normal, but where the hell was I? This is not the Fillmore! Or is it?! (Of course, if they really wanted to get it technically correct, they would have that guy at the top of the stairs - the apples, too.)

Continue on to the ID checker as usual at IP, then walk up the stairs and see they've decorated the stairway walls with vintage concert posters and photos just like SF. At the top of the stairs was the mega-big photo of Bill Graham himself looking into the empty ballroom. I always loved that photo...

But still, this is weird. Bill Graham has no connection to this building! Are we trying to conjure his ghost? Is it going to work? Will the magic translate?

Continuing on... I was lucky to have been given 2 VIP stickers for me and my guest. A friend was working the merch table (with cute Fillmore NY buttons - I love buttons) and he told us, "Open bar upstairs. Get your stickers on and get some drinks." Oh yes. Free grey goose and sodas for the rest of the night. They were really trying to win me over and frankly, it was working.

Upstairs now, more photos decorating the bar area. The promised "improved sight lines" consisted of a new riser built on the balcony which helps you see the TV's better but not the stage itself. BUT the TV's are now bigger flat screens which actually do make a difference. They had the DJ set up right there on the balcony near the backstage door. I believe the DJ was Aaron Lacrate and he was playing very fun music. Beats behind "Sweet Caroline" - that kinda thing.

And then that's when I noticed them... The purple chandeliers. Two of them. There is something quite mystical about those chandeliers and the purple haze they create.

Ok, so we've got apples, the welcoming committee, commemorative photography, Bill Graham's image, and now, the chandeliers. Is it The Fillmore? Maybe it was the free drinks (very very very possible) but they were winning me over big time.

Lily Allen came out on stage and tipped it over into awesomeville. She is so fucking great! Progressively getting drunker on pink champagne ("I really am quite pissed!"), she sang her little heart out and delivered a fun and really impressive vocal performance. Her sound and style is a mash up of Gwen Stefani (vocal tone) with The Streets (the rapping stuff) with Lady Sovereign (spunky Brit girl). I happen to love her album, Alright Still - I have a big spot in my heart for sunny/edgy Brit pop apparently. Her band was super tight and fully equipped with a horn section.

She sang every last song from the album and added her cute stage banter in between - giggles too. She's a tough cookie, though, don't be fooled. Towards the end, she saw a girl in the crowd crying. In her little British accent, "Are you crying? Why are you crying? Are you really crying because you're happy? Wow, I have crying fans. Cry, everybody, cry! You're my best friend. Can you follow me around and just cry? Ok, this next song is about men with small dicks, terribly disappointing in the heat of the moment..." Oh this girl wins. She just wins!

Back to the Fillmore thing... Beautiful posters handed out to everyone walking out. This one was a really nice print and way bigger than standard Fillmore size. I'm guessing this was just for this one special opening night and future posters will be the regular 17" x 11" size. Frame stores in NYC, stock up on those Fillmore frames!

So, in conclusion, I suppose the jury is still out about whether this REALLY can be the Fillmore or not. It's all about magic and its either there or it's not. I believe there was magic in the air last night. But I do believe in magic, I do I do I do...

15 days and counting...

Recent Literary and Culinary Pleasures

It's the little things, really. All I really need is an engrossing novel, well-priced delicious food and soul forgiving music to keep my engine running. I'd like to share a few of my favorite things as of late:

Literary
I just finished reading The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay which was recommended to me by JK in our little cross country virtual book club. Divided into three parts, this is a story of a boy named Peekay coming of age in 1930-1950's South Africa. So, we've got major historical things happening - Boer War aftermath, Hitler Germany and WWII, the buddings of Apartheid. And then you have this really small boy going through hell at age 5 in a boarding school and learning at this infant stage in life how to survive. His power grows with each new and colorful mentor that he (and we) meets along the way. "First with the head and then with the heart," is his mantra throughout the story. There is little I love more than a good piece of fiction with brilliant and richly described narrative. I just found that a movie was made about the book in 1992... I'm definitely interested in checking it out but I don't want to ruin the absoloodle perfection of this story so I may skip it.

Culinary
Now that I've been living in "South Slope" for almost 8 months (wow), I've discovered that you don't necessarily have to go northbound for a good meal. Just a few blocks away on 6th avenue at 20th street is a great little spot called The Kitchen Bar. I have eaten here twice now and both times were a great experience across the board. Friendly and young staff, funky decor, warm vibe and... deliciousness. They've got a few neighborhood-y weekly events - weekend brunch (which I'm ready to try), Monday wine tasting, live music on Thursdays. Yummy comfort foods with a little extra bit of attention like tapas burgers with goat cheese, the most amazing "deconstructing" Caesar featuring the leaves instead of the hearts of the romaine, and, a staple in my book, mac'n'cheese (with bacon crust). It's sort of like my little Maverick away from SF.

That's all for now... Until next time...

Only in San Francisco

We All Belong with Dr. Dog

A quick post today as there is no time for real pontification on this Friday but I had to tell you people about the Dr. Dog show last night at the Bowery Ballroom. I love this band! They bring so much joy and bright energy to the stage. They are definitely one of those bands that you'll say, "I saw them when...". I have definitely "seen them when" a few times already and they are at a perfect spot right now. One night in NYC at a venue like the Bowery is just the thing to secure their place in the cool zone. The band of 2007 - Cold War Kids - were in da house checking out their buddies. Definitely a lot of similarities can be made between the two bands with the almost shouting vocals and the romping around on stage.

If you don't know Dr. Dog, figure it out. Get on board. You'll like it! It's the we-grew-up-in-the-80's-love-the-beatles-hate-combing-hair-just-wanna-have-fun kinda thing. Vocalists Scott McMicken and Toby Leaman trade the lead from song to song. Toby's voice was a little gurglier/gruffer than usual - he may have a cold or something. It still sounded cool. They added horns and strings on a few numbers giving it that Arcade Fire "we're all in the band" feeling. I was thinking that the CWK guys should have gotten up on the stage during "Wake Up" for multiple rousing choruses but that's the I-love-jambands-where-everyone-sits-in in me talking.

Anyway, great band, great show, great album, We All Belong... GET INVOLVED!

Great to see you, Page.

Last night at the newly opened Gramercy Theatre, we welcomed an old friend back to the stage. I, too, felt like I was being woken up again after a haze of travel, post-travel/event-blues, family drama mixed with matzah, and the yearning for spring weather that is so very close yet not quite here. After meeting up with a flurry of friendly faces at the nearby Grand Saloon, I entered the Gramercy with excitement. Not only to be out in public with real people that are not figments of my imagination, but to see someone I missed very much whether I realized it or not.

Page McConnell may have lost his spark somewhere along the way in Phish-world. Just go back and listen to a "Bathtub Gin" from 10 or 12 years ago and you realize that something died at some point. Even during hiatus when they all tried new things, the Vida Blue project was really questionable. Then, after the break, after we watched him fight his way through tears and years of emotion to get through "Velvet Sea," Page seemed to drop completely off the radar. He popped up again last summer to get on stage with the GRAB boys and his current band gave it a whirl at moe.down. It was at the very least good to know that he was alive and that he was still playing but what the heck was really going on with him?

Now, we find him back in action with a new album he's been working on for a seemingly long time. I have not heard any of it at all so this was kind of a preview for me for the Season of Page. Last night, I went towards the front with a good phriend (the whole place was Page-side if you think about it!), and could not wipe the smile off my face when the Chairman of the Boards took his position behind the keys. As I said, I haven't heard the new album so I won't try to analyze the songs at this point but the lyrics seemed to be very exposed. Every now and then, Page would be workin' it out and his eyes would gingerly look up at the crowd who cheered at every opportunity and he'd give us that smile.

I loved the songs - many of them put him in the category of the great piano-lead bands we grew up with like Elton and Billy. Some songs were very Broadway which made way more sense when Page was delivering than Trey delivering songs of similar style. Hm... Maybe Phish should reform to create the great rock opera of the 21st century? I digress... But the jams, man, that was all Phish. There was lots of room for rocking out which the band did amazingly well. Major props go out to Jared Slomoff who sang, played guitar and Rhodes along with Page and complemented him wonderfully. The rest of the band, Adam Zimmon (guitar from Spam Allstars), Rob O'Dea (bass player and ex-Phish production dude), and Gabe Jarrett (drummer from Vermont family and Vorcza) were there for Page 100% and made the show really exciting.

And then, during one of the pretty parts, I remembered what I loved so much about Page. When all was swirling and maddening back in the day, there was still a whimsical, happy place to go when you would hear the twinkle twinkle from the piano. Yes, good ol' Mister Twinklefingers is back and I couldn't be happier about it.

The show was short and sweet and the crowd stayed strong for Page. He sated the phamished crowd during the encore with a solo "Strange Design" which chokes me up right now just thinking about it. Throughout the night, many old friends were reunited unexpectedly and now linking arms with "companions" from years ago... it was a beautiful thing.

Thanks for an awesome night, Page. I'm really happy for you (and us) and can't wait to see you again on your June tour!

Big Ass Cracker

Happy Passover
(thanks for the funny picture, Shimon)