show wristbands

Me: What do you call this? A wristband?
J: (laughs and holds up her beer) What do you call this? A cup?

The conversation was sparked by some awfully sturdy wrist bands we had been given upon entering tonights M83 show.

J, who has very small wrists, noted how much she appreciated that the bouncer had taken the time to properly fit her wrist band. While I appreciated that he had taken then time to line up the sticky part with the rest of the wristband.

Me: I just hate it when the sticky part hangs over and keeps grabbing your wrist when they don't do it right.
J: Yeah! Its like they are just saying "I hate my job. And I hate your wrist."

We then went on to discuss wristbands as opposed to hand stamps. While we both agreed that we would rather avoid having our hand stamped, I played the devils advocate.

Me: But the hand stamps are a great way of letting all of your co-workers know how cool you are.
J: My co-workers already know how cool I am. Besides, its also a great way of letting your co-workers know how well you wash your hands.

Hipster Boys - One

This is going to be a series.

Overheard coming off the subway:

Hipster Boy 1: We only made like $10 from that last show. I can’t even afford to go out on dates anymore. You just go out and blow all your money on a girl in one night.

Hipster Boy 2: And there is no guarantee you’ll even get laid.

Hipster Boy 1: Yeah.

Hipster Boy 2: It sounds like its time for you to start recycling ex-girlfriends.

11/9 - Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band drawing

I'm not as into the new album as Conor's Bright Eyes stuff, but I still had a great time at the show. Conor and whoever he is playing with always put on a great show and this was no exception. The Mystic Valley Band was super and Conor's voice sounded especially good. Better than last time I saw him (as Bright Eyes). Honestly, he could sing the ABCs and I would swoon.

Names inspired by Teen Girl Squad.

Drawings...Cartoons...Doodles

Whatever you want to call them. They were pretty popular. So, I guess thats gonna be one of my new things. I will draw one for all the shows I go to. It doesnt really make sense to spend my time taking pictures at a show anyways. I mean... unless its some great photography, or there was something really cool that happened, who really wants to see picutes of a music show?

11/7 KnyfeHyts/TimesNewViking/Deerhunter drawings

I went to see Deerhunter with Knyfe Hyts and Times New Viking at the Music Hall of Williamsburg last night. I decided instead of taking pictures, I would do some interpretive drawings. It was quite a good brain exercise this morning, trying to remember the details. I went in the order of the show... so by the time I got to Deerhunter, I was getting kind of tired of doing the drawings. If you want me to draw a band, email me at beatsdontfailmenow@gmail.com These guys songs were pretty repetitive. But, there was definitely a hypnotic quality to the music. By the end of each song, I was pretty into it. It really gets you moving. I think it would be good walking around the city music.
I had seen these guys before at Siren. I like them. I have always been a fan of the guy/girl singing/screaming the same note sound. Same idea as late 90's Rainer Maria. Not as good though... (it would be hard to be).

Deerhunter were freaking awesome. I was actually really impressed with how good their live so is. They were really tight and just sounded great. Bradford's voice sounded SO GOOD. These guys are actually from Atlanta. I actually heard them for the first time off a CDR like ... 4 or 5 years ago, but its the first time I ever saw them live. I met Moses (drums) once when he was living with a couple of my friends... I think he had Salmonella... or something like that. Anyways, I cant wait for Microcastle to come out on vinyl.

Nobody could be dissapointed

Clues did not play (Exit Art election party). But really, even the biggest fanboys (Jamie) couldn't be too disappointed after such an exciting night. Basically, they didn't start the bands until too late, and by the time they got going all of the exciting news started coming in, including the McCain and Obama speeches. Obviously the crowd was more concerned with hearing the speeches than the bands... so music stopped. By the time Barack was done speaking it was like... 12:30 ? Anyways, everyone was leaving, and it was clear that Clues was not going on. Jamie, who had been looking for Alden Penner all night, suspected that band actually wasn't even there. Regardless, the first two bands, Ava Luna and Elfin Saddle, were actually pretty good. I would like to check them out again when they are more the focus of attention.

Election Night Party - with Clues

I am going.

ELECTION PARTY!

November 4th 7pm-Midnight

Exit Art
475 Tenth Ave
New York, NY 10018

I am not sure how much of a good time I will be able to have because I will probably be sweating bullets over election results. But some good music should be a nice distraction from watching the states turn colors on the TV.
I dont really know any of the bands, except for that Alden Penner, from the Unicorns, is in Clues. My friend who is obsessed with the Unicorns told me about the event.

Go vote!

BSST Halloween!!!

Halloween has always been my favorite holiday. Went to the Bryan Scary and the Shredding Tears Halloween party for the second time this year (3rd annual). This year: Bryan Scary's Glitter Odyssey.
BSST always put on a GREAT show. And seeing as how theme costumes are one of their signatures, they are a very fitting group to put on a Halloween party. Really, costumes are the main reason I chose to repeat last years Halloween choice. The audience members always have a good variety of creative homemade costumes. I tend to prefer costumes a bit on the geeky side... this year I was Rorschach from Watchmen. It was fun because people that recognized it tended to get pretty excited. This time next year, after the movie comes out, I think there will be a lot more people with this costume.

WhoMadeWhoMadeCMJ

My friend M and I went to the early show at the Mercury Lounge on Wednesday to see WhoMadeWho and Fujiya & Miyagi. Long story short, WhoMadeWho completely stole the show. I really like Fujiya & Miyagi, but as I would have guessed based on the style of their music... not the most exciting live show ever. But seriously, WhoMadeWho were awesome with the killer combo of fun, funky, dancable music with great melodies and a really fun stage presence. And talk about eye candy! especially in those spandex jester outfits! Hot! I wish I took pictures. The one below is misleading, because they were not wearing the loose fitting outer layer for the show.
We were so pleased with the show that we decided to have a word with the band afterwards. There were super nice and excited to be playing NYC for the first time. Unfortunately, we didn't get to talk long because the venue needed to clear out for the late show. The Friday night 205 Club show they mentioned wasn't listed on the CMJ schedule, so I sent them a myspace message and Jeppe (guitar) put us on the guest list. Yay! The 205 Club (aka 205 Chrystie) was pretty cool. Very tiny and people packed in like sardines. WhoMadeWho put on another awesome show and the crowd was really into it (as they should be). Sadly, the band split right after their show, Tomas (bass) citing jet lag and having all of their gear in hand (it was 1am, after they had now played 3 nights in a row...). Regardless, my heart was broken. Those poor bastards (married or not) will never know what could have been.
At 205 we also so Hearts Revolution, who were pretty freaking awesome. Similar in many ways to Crystal Castles, so I was not surprised when I learned that about a year ago the two bands put out a split 6". I know I had heard their song C.Y.O.A! (awesome video below) many times, but had never really known who the group was. Needless to say, they are right up my alley so I was super stoked and pleasantly surprised when they started playing.

Girl Talk - Baltimore- funnest night ever

It could not have been more perfect that I went to see Girl Talk the evening after running a half marathon, because Girl Talk is hands down my favorite running music. For obvious reason, right? The fast tempo... things are constantly changing with new catchy tunes to distract you at any moment when you would otherwise feel like you really couldn't go any further. Hell, I have even found myself singing out loud at times when I had no business wasting my breath. Anyways, considering Girl Talk had gotten me through my training, and that I had been taking it easy for a couple of weeks in preparation for the "race", I knew the show was going to be a good time... and was not disappointed.
This was motivated by the cute bartender. Didn't show him my hand, but I did get a hug at the end of the night. Also from a fellow concert attendee, I got the best compliment I have ever gotten. After telling the guy that I liked his hoodie, he responded "Thanks, I like your glasses... and your face".
Typical Girl Talk show awesomeness.

When you make friends with the bartender, you end up taking lots of photos like this by the end of the night. And end up with lots of your drinks all over you and your neighbors.
These are the items that I for some reason decided I should pick up off of the floor at the venue and put into my purse... Being a pack-rat when you get drunk makes from some interesting/exciting mornings.