- all of my feelings are accurate and positive
- i am not annoyed to be in midtown
- I am able to enjoy the awesomeness of opening band the black keys and forget that they are hip and from brooklyn
- I spend ten dollars on a terrible beer that I drink out of what basically amounts to a grownup sippy cup, spill foam all over me, and love every moment
- someone besides me gets excited about the song ‘Down’
- I am slightly less annoyed than usual to be hearing the song ‘Jeremy’
- I am not the oldest person at the concert
- baseball team affiliation is no longer relevant
- i am hearing the best song ["state of love and trust"] from the best movie soundtrack [Singles] performed live
- I am not thinking about complex carbohydrates or smoke monsters
- eddie vedder reduces me to a contemporary tween only capable of mono-syllabic abbreviated squeals
- I forget that I am old and crotchety and have to wake up early the next day
- bad seats are not bad seats
- new yorkers are happy and polite
- world is a perfect plane of existence
Things that only happen at pearl jam concerts at madison square garden May 21, 2010
Concert review: Metric 5.16.10 Terminal 5 May 17, 2010
An open letter to Emily Haines of the band Metric
Dear Emily,
Hi! How are you? I’m fine. Actually, I’m awesome. I saw your show last night at terminal 5 and it was completely beyond awetastic. First off, thank you for coming to America (like that neil diamond song). While your native land of Canada is great and has excellent beer, hockey, and maple syrup, we need you here. I apologize for you not having achieved the success you deserve here, but we catch on eventually.
I apologize for not really listening to your band beforehand and not knowing the words. Regardless, I was blown away and will make a greater effort in the future. One of your songs actually made me tear up a little. I want to be the rolling stones, in case you were wondering. I don’t care what anyone says, I think the sound at terminal 5 is fantastic. At one of your songs towards the end, I did feel like I was eating bass a little, which is not as tasty as it sounds. But that’s ok. I am kinda in love with your drummer (Joules, best name ever), and he is one of the best I’ve heard in some time. And lo, he’s from flint, michigan. Bonus! Your band is pretty much everything I like about some of my favorite bands, but improved. It’s a bit more flowy and melodic than the yeah yeah yeahs but still with the edge and cool, a bit jerky lyrically like the violent femmes but better sound, and overall, a whole lot of awesome. The big sound reminded me a lot of muse, whom I hate, but you removed everything I hate about them and made it better, ie, singing really awesome and making the songs the right tempo. You are one of the few women I’ve listened to in a while that did not annoy me (and that goes for musicians and non musicians alike, friends excluded). Your unborn children would be extremely lucky to have you sing them to sleep at night. Btw, your audience had a lot of chicks and they were less annoying than most audiences full of chicks. During the show at one point, you started chanting ‘fight for your right to party’ and that really rocked my world as I am a huge beastie boys fan. So thank you for that, I am a fan for life. I was most impressed by how every song you played had that huge theatrical ending like it was the last song, with all the energy of the first song. This was a dream concert and I feel humbled to have attended. So yeah. anyone reading this should stop not listening to Metric. Thanks Emily, K.I.T!
xoxo,
lis
Concert review: hole, terminal 5, 4.29.10 April 29, 2010
- backstory: hole was my first concert at 15 and I am now 30
- back then I’d flip through my parents ny mag seeing all the concerts I wanted to go to in the city and wanting desperately to live there. I am 2 days away from my 5th anniversary of living in queens. And I have my own ny mag subscription and go to all the concerts I want.
- bias alert: ‘live through this’ was the first album I wore out listening to and it still holds up and I still love Courtney
- she looks just as angelic as she always did. she sounds like the love child of bob dylan and marianne faithful, which totally works
- I hate girls. especially the ones who argue in the bathroom about who likes pj harvey more. and stop waving your hands in the air to a nonexistent beat. throw your hands in the air like you DO care.
- this dude was reminiscing about his drug days and the time he slept with a girl with a Mohawk. he now has a wife and kids and looks like a subpar banker. and he is boring. yes, YOU are boring now, even when talking about music I like. go back to the drugs.
- so I walked in knowing none of Hole’s new stuff. Most of the songs she played from the album were kinda ballady but instead of being bored, it took me to that place of wanting to sing with my eyes closed. absolutely lovely. she’s been through way more than I ever will, but I still felt relatable to Courtney Love. skinny little bitch is a phenomenally well written and executed song.
- had I not hated the audience so much, I would have hugged them
- I have severely underestimated how much I love the song ‘celebrity skin’. when played live, it is spleen rupturingly good.
- hearing Violet really took me back to that 15 year old angsty place. it felt really weird, almost uncomfortable. but in a good way.
- I would’ve really liked to hear ‘jennifer’s body’ or ‘olympia’ but that’s ok. I understand.
- the marianne faithful thing really comes through when she covers the stones and ‘gold dust woman’. the latter was a treat and she does a really good job of channeling stevie nicks without seeming possessed by her.
- stellar drumming!
- I don’t care what other people say, I love terminal 5. you get that old school feeling of ‘I’m at a concert and it’s a big deal’ feeling.
- this show meant a lot to me. I think I still have the buzz of happiness.
Concert review: Tally Hall, Jukebox the Ghost, bowery ballroom 3.5.10 March 5, 2010
- why are there no good dive bars right by there? We went to the weirdest place ever first. 2 for 1 alchy lemonade is the best way to start one’s night.
- am I too old to be going to these kind of late shows on a school night? probably. Do I care? not so much. But seriously, 7:30 means the first of three bands should go on no later than 8.
- opening band, who I can’t quite remember so I will call S-box. You were really fun. thanks for playing. Sorry, it’s hard to remember details of 3 bands who sound similar. But seriously, this was a really perfect and appropriate lineup of acts. Big ups to the booking agent!
- is there a new trend of old timey big band type music seeping into rock music? I’ve been seeing a lot of it lately (see also: benefit for Haiti). I like it. it’s nice to see rock being fun again. I’ve had enough of the scruffy sad bastards playing guitar. Anyone can play guitar.
- jukebox the ghost, I looooved you. again, really fun, old timey band sound. Stellar energy. You made me feel young again.
- catchy song of the week: ‘hold it in’. download it, listen to it, let it seep into your subconscious. Not totally unlike the band fun. whom I also really love these days. I hope I remember to buy the album.
- random MC in the audience who kept yelling and asking the bands to give him ‘two bars’. Your name was terrific? Something like that. seriously, book your own shows. it’s not that hard.
- ok, Tally Hall. What a great following of the young people you have and yet I’ve never heard of you. good hype. Great facial hair.
- and yes, you guessed it, matching vest suits. like the old timey big bands.
- so, started off kinda slow. I was a bit bored and fidgety for the first few songs. but man, the playing was damn tight. It’s nice that people are practicing and not relying on buzz alone. And they even wanted to talk about feelings!
- what’s this, an intermission followed by a relocation to the audience area. Surrounded by lamps that could be from your parents house. turned on. gimmicky, sure, but who doesn’t love being asked to sit on the beer sticky floor at an nyc venue after standing for like 3 hours. LOVE LOVE LOVE.
- had I been told I would be waiting for a fairly acoustic set, I would have left, but it wasn’t at all slow, still fun and still tight. When people talk about ‘intimate shows’ THAT’S what they’re talking about.
- oh my god, horn players in the balcony popping up just like in ‘love actually’. Ahhhhhhhhh! Makes you realize the great acoustics the place has. And adorable. And perfect. And much better than the usual ‘horn playing’ you’d expect in dark balconies.
- none of the songs stood out, but only because they were all consistently really good and equally catchy. This is another album I would totally buy. Again, bands making music people actually want to listen to. Yay!
- kudos to the lead singer, the whole time I really thought he was looking at me. that is hard to pull off. again, intimate.
- no one likes teenagers/early twenties’ers less than I do. But the audience was really perfect. Kudos kids!
- a recorder AND a ukulele. Score! how retro.
- I really love when the bands who tour together play together. Especially when they have similar sounds and actually CAN play together.
- ok, so you’re covering Cecelia. And you know what, you are rocking it. something about the collaboration, the audience singing, and everything made it absolutely the most perfect song to end with. Well played.
- 4 years of college bars made me loathe the song, but I am now ready to welcome it back into my life. Or at least my head, where it’s resided since leaving the show.
Fun review: Kathy griffin @ msg 2.18.10 February 19, 2010
- Chelsea is going to be a ghost town this weekend during these shows
- awww, I love pregaming with uber fun ‘mos
- how do I always end up at shows for comics whom I know very little about?
- OMG JOAN RIVERS! She has about as many original parts as dolph lundgren’s character did in ‘johnny mnemonic’, but even this incarnation of her is a national treasure
- why am I such a sucker for montages? Wow, Kathy has really done a lot of cool stuff. And that Eminem video for real the slim shady still holds up in terms of utter randomness
- dude, why was she never on 6 feet under? It would have been incredible!
- oh snap, she made fun of deaf people. teddy’s gonna be maaaaaad.
- brb, I am currently pee’ing myself as I recall her impression of Snooki re: their grammy’s red carpet chat about bumpits and boyfriends
- this is actually pretty gd funny
- omg, these stories about her mom cursing at her and drinking boxed wine are hilarious. me and dad could TOTALLY have our own show. though obviously my dad would be kathy griffin and I would be drinking boxed wine.
- I think me and her have similar reactions to life’s poignant moments (aka fear and humor as a defense mechanism)
- wow, she gets freaked out around famous people just like me
- um. Has anyone noticed that she talks EXACTLY like sean?
- it’s great that Kathy is doing law & order, but I really need her on CSI vegas
- she is making fun of oprah and celine dion. I think she is officially my hero.
- it is highly unlikely that I will ever stop laughing at the oprah impression
- it’s really refreshing when an LA celeb shows genuine love and affection for nyc
- it must be really hard for her to be friends with susanne somers without making mr. roper jokes all the time
- I still can’t wrap my head around her doing new years shows for cnn. they were kinda asking for it.
- whoa, 2 hours and I was still laughing. Kathy, I heart you!
liveblogging the aforementioned haiti benefit of awesome January 28, 2010
sort of. what started as a liveblog attempt via my phone quickly deteriorated into my typical drunken frustration with technology. BUT, i took notes! beer was cheap. italicized notes are cheryls. needless to say, SIC. hard to believe that career in journalism never worked out.
seriously, my comments read kinda negative, but this show was a hot blast.
- omg jumbalaya! Oh, meat. cornbread!
- organic cookies are stupid
- omg, they sell every can of beer ever!
- I LOVE JUG BANDS FROM STATEN ISLAND
- seriously, this is good stuff. is this what steampunk or pipe is?
- pat kiernan is doing trivia! he just said the word sexy!
- oh god, he said the lyrics to baby got back!
- ZELDA RUBENSTEIN DIED
- she’s like the wind…too soon
- he is talking about snuggies now
- PAT, JIAN LOVES YOU!
- jimmy fallon as neil young?
- oh, apparently this is a thing that happens. i’m not sure why it’s funny, but he does a good job of singing like neil young?
- and now he’s singing the fresh prince theme song. pop culture confuses me.
- oh. comedy.
- lisa worries she’s overshared about upcoming bathroom venture :0)
- chimey band starts their playing
- this bar needs stools
- i like banjo
- that’s a hat worth having
- NAPKIN
- let me know when you’re ready for another drink. CHERISHED! (?)
- i’m alright with goulash
- michael showalter, i don’t think i get you, but cheryl hearts you lots
- oh, she said you weren’t that great either
- ‘it’s that i’m drinking’
- chick in front of us us so excited to find out that sondre lurche lives in williamsburgh
- it’s like a better than ezra concert (said sondre)
- i think he’s kinda boring. but nice.
- todd barry. you look familiar. slightly less unfunny than the other guys.
- ha, he used the word boundryless. that’s funny.
- howie and maryellen would not enjoy this
- just give it to me and i’ll put it in
- (said by drunk dude in front of us) “dude, my dream girl. she’s bossy, and more importantly, she’s hot”
- the wrens actually rock. they should rock continuously throughout the songs though.
- too bad they’re named for a bird
- raucous noise
- most of my songs would be centered on ‘ping’
- wow, they’re covering Higher Ground. neato!
- ‘this is my least favorite song’ – lead singer of supergroup with the dude from the new pornographers
- so, apparently the theme of this concert was ‘the time of parasols’
- i honestly don’t remember anything about this band. the chick singer had a nice voice. but i think i was bored.
- seriously, did i miss something? we have electricity now, are jugs and banjos necessary?
- but more importantly, hot
- i probably would have enjoyed this more if the other acts weren’t so old timey and the theme wasn’t abused
- lisa’s red stripe is chock full
- alright guy, where’s lauren ambrose
- aw, ted leo is covering that sappy Sade song. it only kinda works.
- and it’s definately no ‘since you’ve been gone’
- he’s ok. i feel like my friends in bands are better than this.
- that’s the sound your bottom makes on the way to hitting wood
- OMG IT’S CLAIRE FROM SIX FEET UNDER AHHHHH
- i can’t believe i’ve seen her and billy’s band in the span of a month. sorry claire, i like billy’s singing more
- dude, she looks the same, so weird. and i’m reminded of the episode where she sings that musical number about pantyhose. she sings exactly the same.
- it’s ok. she has that really powerful ‘american idol’ voice that i hate because it’s strong but not necesarily pleasant sounding
- and it’s a swing band. i miss modern rock. and not brooklyn.
- awww, but the cover of ‘don’t think twice, it’s alright’ was adorable
- i’m so upset that fun. never showed up. fun., if you play, i will come!
Concert review: U2 giants stadium 9.24.09 September 25, 2009
What happens in jersey…is weird
- first, a bit on jersey. homegirls are crazy. first some crazy woman in the bathroom swore I threw something into her stall when I had just walked in and got all up in my face. then while in my seat watching the show, a random woman came by and asked to borrow my phone to make a local call. whoever she called kept calling me back even though the woman walked away.
- they don’t sell beer large
- there is only one pizza place in the whole stadium
- getting from our seats to the car at the end was a nightmare. apparently there’s like 2 exits. yay for fire safety. I never want to be that close to that much bleached blond hair ever again.
- if you couldn’t tell, I hate giants stadium for seeing shows. the sound was awful. I barely heard the vocals the whole night and missed pretty much all the banter from the bono. the ballady songs sound like ass, but on the upside, it made the instruments stand out and sound even more profound.
- so, muse, the opening band. I wasn’t a big fan going into this, but they did totally rock. I’m not totally compelled to buy an album, but for a song here and there, great. though I have no clue what the songs were about because of the sound. overall, they reminded me of the ‘queen of the damned’ soundtrack.
- ok, nuff negativity. I have nothing but great things to say about U2 and they rocked my world putting on a fantastic show last night. background: not one of my all time favorite bands, but I love a lot of their stuff (achtung baby, rattle and hum). though I can do without joshua tree. yeah, I said it.
- as per the usher for our section, our show was better than the night before.
- the stage setup was really cool. we were in row 41 kinda behind the stage, but it was a circular stage so I never felt left out. and they had a huge screen showing the show, but like, it looked like a professional concert video already. like it had been edited. cause, U2 is that on top of it. for U2 it was stripped down, but for me it was perfect.
- as for the setlist, http://www.u2setlists.com/360-northamerica.shtml, it was not my dream setlist, but I still enjoyed. since I never saw U2 before, it was cool to see those great iconic songs live. It seems like they don’t change it up much through the tour. apparently they do a ‘snippet’ cover of my fave elvis costello song, Oliver’s Army, which I would’ve liked to hear, but oh well. apparently they DID cover blackbird and she’s a rainbow, two songs which I love, but I somehow missed them, possibly due to either the sound awfulness or the crazy woman in the bathroom.
- bono is known for his political leanings and I thought he did a great job of artfully incorporating his causes into the show and making it seem very natural and genuine without being overbearing and preachy
- he thanked mayor bloomberg, who was apparently at the show, which I thought was super cool
- ugh, the stupid stadium made ‘with or without you’ sound so awful. it’s not my favorite song, but jesus. my shower rendition [with tears] has better acoustics.
- old timey neon microphones that hang from above are supercool
- I’m so happy to be at work on 5 hours sleep. I really didn’t think I would ever exit that godforsaken stadium. the verdict: love U2, hate Ujersey
Concert review: the yeah yeah yeahs @ radio city music hall 9.23.09 September 24, 2009
- philly can suck it [once again]. I’ve seen the same band thrice and the fans in philly were totally lame and all young and stupid compared to here. what, your city only yells at fans at sporting events?
- the crowd was so into it, on their feet the whole time and loving every second making me love every second. I had a seat but I barely used it.
- speaking of the fans, there were some really stupid aesthetic life choices happening. it was like beacons closet vomited all over the rockettes. I’m pretty sure everyone that was at ‘dark was the night’ just never left and didn’t shower since then.
- oh yeah, there was an opening band. they were stupid and it annoyed me how some people went totally nuts for them.
- seeing concerts at radio city is really magical and makes you feel old timey. I never saw the place rock like it did tonight. plus, I was so much drier than the last time I saw them at all points west.
- really uber cool stage setup. Swirly sparkly thing and huge eyeballs. I hope jian took notes for her wedding motif.
- especially when they threw these HUGE inflatable eyeballs into the crowd to bounce around. It freaked me out when it came close, but it looked really cool from afar.
- if there’s a bedazzler shortage today, we know why
- Karen O. is so cool. she somehow manages to wear weird costumes without it seeming like a gimmick *cough cough lady gaga*. It just seems makes it a more theatrical experience. She even does costume changes but without making us wait a while.
- it’s so refreshing when the guitar just kicks your ass. that needs to happen more in modern music. I’m really freagin tired of wussy melodic instrumentals.
- the yeah yeah yeahs can totally replicate the quality of how they sound on albums but with 17 times the intensity which is rare and awesome
- they don’t mess with the songs a whole lot, which I personally like because it allows you to sing along.
- I think it’s so cool when the audience gets really amped for certain songs that weren’t singles and you know that you all love the song as a fan.
- for me, the fave songs to hear were ‘phenomenon’ and ‘cheated hearts’. Great album songs, great great live songs.
- it kinda bums me out that I’ll never hear my fave song of theirs ‘modern romance’ cause its kinda slow and a downer. but it’s a beautiful song, give it a whirl.
- wow, the yeah yeah yeahs don’t have stupid singles, that’s awesome
- when I listened to the new album once or twice, I liked it, but it didn’t rock my world. I think now that I saw the songs be so awesome live, I want to give it another chance
- if you are at all considering getting this album, I personally believe you should get the bonus edition with the acoustic versions of some of the songs, which are all really good
- Karen O. loves new york, and that makes me love her. She dedicated ‘Maps’ to NYC and even though it was at this huge venue, she made it feel like a small intimate hometown show in the city she loves. she didn’t talk much to the audience, but you still got the sense she was really happy to be home.
- shows like this are the reason I live here. yay, I love new york again! and a song called maps made it happen. Irony.
Experience review: counting crows, hammerstein ballroom, 8.25.09 August 26, 2009
Featuring: augustana and michael frantic & spearhead
Check out this beyond ridiculously awetastic setlist (unfortunately that doesn’t cover the great songs the other bands played):
http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/counting-crows/2009/hammerstein-ballrooom-new-york-ny-33d7a405.html
- all great shows should be preceded by tacos, beer, cash cab, and obscenely nice rooftop panoramic views of the chrysler building
- 3.5 hours of awesome well crafted music. as promised, it started early (8:30) and definately went to midnight. on a tuesday. i’m so tired/happy.
- I was an average aged audience member which made me happy. but they seemed to card everyone but me, which made me sad.
- so this was kind of a different show (hence my calling it an ‘experience’). Instead of having opening bands, everyone just kinda played along on stage in different configurations the whole time.
- I thought it was really cool how the bands learned each others songs so they could collaborate. the harmonies were pretty rad. no one harmonizes anymore. no superstar egos at this show.
- the covers were plentiful and well thought out (particularly Cecilia)
- augustana is pretty haunting. I hate when the lead guy talks, but when he sang, if my heart could write songs, they would sound like theirs. I don’t recall ever getting so emotional over a band’s music that I didn’t know at all. I want to hear more, but I’m not sure how that would work with my penchant for crying on the train to sad songs.
- michael frantic & spearhead was a really interesting and unique choice for the show, but really added a lot. they were totally funky and fun and soulful and made me want to shake my extremely ample rump. definitely looking to hear more.
- songs like ‘Omaha’ and ‘Long December’ really hold up and it surprised me how much more emotionally resonant they were to me now after I’ve seen a lot more of life. made me want to believe that maybe next year will be better than the last…
- when I look at the setlist, I see the crows were onstage for a really good amount of time, but while I was there, it felt like I saw a lot more of the other bands than them and I didn’t hear a lot of my fave songs. and I really hate ‘Mr. Jones’.
- but honestly, the bands were so great, I didn’t even care. I can listen to a crows live album anytime. and I will be doing so for the next few days.
- normally I would think it pretentious to have your opening bands cover your songs, but it was amazing. I didn’t think it was possible, but the show made me want to get even more of the crows albums (and I have most of them already).
- you know you’re a sick drummer when you literally throw the sticks at the drum to create beats.
- accordions are cool as f
- much like Cheryl, my rad companion for the evening. magic definitely did more good than harm at the hammerstein ballroom that night.
Omfg review: hall & oats at seaside park August 7, 2009
- first, the bad. Hall & oats are from philly. I can’t go for that. the mets really need a change of season.
- oh, they sang the national anthem at game 5 of the world series last year. It’s so easy to hurt others when you can’t feel pain.
- buuuuuut they penned the song ‘rich girl’ so they can pretty much do anything they want. I guess they’d rather live for the thrill of it all.
- I am only 4% ashamed to say that this was the closest I can remember coming to ever crying at a concert. It was everything my heart desires.
- it’s not my fault though, ‘she’s gone’ is a really heart wrenching song live. I mean, I really felt like she was gone. Though that might be cause Rachel didn’t reply to my texts. I better learn how to face it. I’d pay the devil to replace her.
- at my imaginary wedding, do I want to walk down the aisle to ‘you make my dreams’? oh my sleepwalk should be over by now, I know.
- hall & oats still has groupies. Leave him alone, he’s a family man.
- why the deuce did I not make a sign? Some things are better left unsaid.
- if I had, it would have said something like ‘I have not lost that lovin feeling for you john oats’.
- starting all over again is gonna be rough.
