Imaginary Mustache

Going... going... gone.

2010-02-12T19:16:00.002-05:00

If you haven't already noticed, I don't blog here anymore.
You can visit me here, however: http://stachelust.tumblr.com

2009: The Year in Numbers (Posts 5)

2009-12-17T18:24:00.002-05:00

So I wasn’t entirely sure what list to do next, but I felt that I needed something good today, so I've compiled a list of my favorite albums of 2009. I intended on saving it for close to last, but why not put the best post in the middle? Live a little.

To my surprise, this was a great year for music. Usually, I find myself so disappointed with most of the new releases, but I have to say, I was thoroughly happy with most everything. Yes, some albums were overrated, but that doesn’t really detract from what was fantastic. In fact, there was so much that I loved, that I had to extend my list to twenty albums, rather than the usual ten or fifteen.

It was far too difficult to pick a definite number one, so it’s still pending. Just think of my top five as interchangeable for now; it depends on my mood.

And here we go…

20. The Bachelor - Patrick Wolf: I had really high expectations for this. The first half is great, then it just gets weird and I end up turning it off. So, not that it was a bad effort, I believe that P-Wolf put his whole heart into it, it just drags on after the fifth song.

19. The Fame Monster - Lady GaGa: “Seriously, Devyn? Did you seriously just…?” Yeah, I just went there. Are you gonna hate on it now? You better not.

18. It’s Not Me, It’s You - Lily Allen: This was so heavily promoted, and I get why. It was damn good. Albums promoted with free lollypops win my vote any day.

17. Fantasies - Metric: I don’t see why anyone would have a problem with this album. It’s totally catchy and great. Certainly not Metric’s most notable work, but I don’t see why it doesn’t deserve a spot on my top 20.

16. Merriweather Post Pavilion - Animal Collective: Okay, so I really didn't want to put this album anywhere near my list, but I have to say, I've given in. I've always considered myself just a casual Animal Collective listener, I never found them to be particularly mind blowing, but yes, they've won me over with this album. It's, dare I say it? ... LISTENABLE! And not just that, but actually quite good.

15. The Pains of Being Pure At Heart - The Pains of Being Pure At Heart: Okay, so a lot of the songs sound the same, but you know, whatever... YOU KNOW YOU LIKE IT TOO! SO, SHUT UP!

14. Logos - Atlas Sound: I have never been a big listener of Deerhunter, but I've never argued with the fact that Bradford Cox is an incredibly talented musician. I actually didn't intend on listening to this album, but after hearing a lot of good things about, I figured it couldn't hurt. Much to my surprise, I quite enjoyed it. It's really chill and good for taking naps to.

13. Manners - Passion Pit: I think I may have expected too much of this release after how good their EP was, which managed a top 10 spot last year. Nonetheless, this was good though. It's basically an extension of the EP which is by no means bad.

12. Hands - Little Boots: I had this on repeat all summer, need I say more? It’s catchy as hell, and it’s got a lot of cute lyrics. Not to mention, Little Boots is totally adorable.

11. Real Estate - Real Estate: I knew this was going to be good, based on their EP’s. It’s crazy how popular they got within a few months. Who knew some guys from my home state would make such a bang?

10. Vapours - Islands: I was scared to listen to this the first time, but I was actually really happy with it. I like it better than Arm’s Way (which only got an honorable mention last year). It’s totally different from anything Nick has ever done. There were no ten minute songs... just pure dance party.

9. Grand - Matt and Kim: Basically, I’ve been looking forward to this album for the last two years, and when it finally arrived in January, I was totally stoked. Of course, their self-titled debut is a thousand times better, but this was a good follow up. I’m happy for them and the attention they’ve gotten from this album. It’s well deserved, but I feel like their first album, and EP are just being overlooked because of the publicity that Grand has gotten.

8. Get Color - Health: This album made me love Health. I’ll admit, I was never really a fan before, I just thought they were some noisy experimental band, no thank you! But this was actually melodic. It was short, sweet and enjoyable, but still retained the intensity expected from their music.

7. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix - Phoenix: Upbeat and catchy. That’s all I was really looking for in this album, and Phoenix more than surpassed my standards.

6. It’s Blitz! - Yeah Yeah Yeahs: I was thoroughly happy with this. It’s got just the right amount of synth, just enough disco, and seemed to cut down on Karen’s signature shouting, without losing what we all know and love about YYY’s. It was more of a light listen compared to previous releases, which is probably why I enjoyed it so much. There was nothing really startling about it. Nothing that made me feel like I was having a heart attack. Karen’s got such a pretty voice, I’m glad she fully took advantage of it on this album.

5. Psychic Chasms - Neon Indian

- What’s not to like about this? It kind of gave me a Starfucker (I’m sorry, Pyramiddd) feel the first time I listened to it, but a little more raw. I dig it, a lot. Truly seventeen minutes of bliss.

4. My Maudlin Career - Camera Obscura

- What else could you expect from them? It was bound to be good. Every track is just so sweet and lovely. They can really do no wrong.

3. Veckatimest - Grizzly Bear

- This was actually unexpected. I thought it was going to be another snoozefest, considering I can barely listen to Yellow House or Horn of Plenty without getting bored.

2. March of the Zapotec/Holland - Beirut

- If all of the material was new, this would most definitely be number one on the list, but I figured that would not be fair, because only half of the material is new, the other half is from when Zach was 15. It really is fantastic though. It is impossible for Beirut to come out with a bad release, I'm convinced.

1. XX - The XX

- I listened to this once, and for the next two weeks, it was all i listened to. These newcomers from the UK have stolen my heart. Sure, they lack any form of stage presence, but that doesn't make this album any less enjoyable.

Honorable Mentions:

Sainthood - Tegan and Sara: I really wanted to love this, but I found that it just didn't meet my expectations. Though, they get a shout out anyway, because this album certainly did not change my opinion of them. There are some decent songs, it's just not totally golden like their last three albums (and I say last three, because anything pre-If It Was You is not so great).

Ultraviolet - Kid Sister: If this had come out two years ago, or even last year, it would have been in my top albums. Instead, she gets an honorable mention. Sorry, Sis. It simply wasn't worth the wait, especially because I already had half of the tracks.

Far - Regina Spektor: Compared to her other albums, this was far from what I expected; it really didn't do much for me. I probably listened to it twice, then it disappeared into the lost land of barely played songs on my itunes. And to think, she got so much hype this year, I mean hell, I saw her TWICE!

See Mystery Lights - YACHT: This album seemed to be an attempt to appeal to a broader audience. It didn't cut it for me. Go back to The Blow, Jona!

Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future - The Bird and The Bee: This was a cute album, but I mean, there were only a couple of songs that stood out.

Living Thing - Peter Bjorn & John: Peter barely sings on this album, I don't get it. I thought it was going to be fantastic, based on the first single I heard, "Lay It Down," but I guess I was wrong.

BiRd-BrAiNs - tUnE-yArDs: Okay, I like ukuleles and all, but aside from maybe two or three songs, Merrill's voice got a little irritating, and I just wasn't loving it anymore. The initial concept is nice though. I wish I liked it more.

LP - Discovery: I wanted this to be awesome. Instead it just ended up sounding like Vampire Weekend and Ra Ra Riot thrown into a blender with Kanye West and a vocoder. It probably wouldn't have even been mentioned on my list if it weren't for the song "Carby," which I had on repeat for weeks after I first listened to this album.

Clues - Clues: Another offshoot I wanted to love, but just couldn't. I suppose most offshoots and side projects will only receive an honorable mention.

2009: The Year in Numbers (Posts 3-4)

2009-12-17T18:19:00.000-05:00

The next list I've compiled are of the most life threatening shows of the year - shows that could have easily been in my list of heartbreaking shows, but the reasoning would have been literal. I kid you not when I say i could have died at these shows, and I don't mean I could have died of happiness (because I certainly was NOT happy), but that my life was actually in danger. There are only two shows that have made this list, which I should be thankful for, as I never want to relive these experiences ever again. But really, the endangerment of my life was due to the faulty barricades, shitty summer show security, and i suppose the nature of the music, as it generally attracts crowds of overactive hipsters who have one goal, and that goal is to injure you as much as possible.

The number two spot goes to...

2. Black Lips, Health @ Williamsburg Waterfront (7/26/09)

- Based on the time I saw them at Maxwell's in the summer of 2008 (which won most life threatening show of last year), I knew that this show would be at least a little bit painful. It started out just fine, not that many people, a little light dancing, whatever, so I figured, how bad could this possibly get? I obviously jumped too far ahead, as I had no idea what was coming later on. Black Lips started, and the crowd exploded. I was immediately pressed against those less than sturdy barricades, and instantly, the photo pit had disappeared. There was no space between us and the stage; absolute mayhem had broken out, and there was no way to stop it. Shirts were flying, beer bottles smashed, people stormed the stage, but again, that's what's to be expected of Black Lips.

What could POSSIBLY be more dangerous that that?

Oh, you don't even know...

1. Matt and Kim, Team Robespierre, Flosstradamus @ Pier 54 (7/9/09)

- And you thought Black Lips sounded bad?! I don't even want to think about how horrendous this show was. I have never been in so much pain in my entire life. I was dead center against the barricade, being squashed by five thousand d-bags, twelve year olds, and a bunch of drunk a-holes who only came to the show because it was free, and oh, they "like that one song where they get naked in the video".....ugh. The barricade was so close to toppling over, which would have meant me being stampeded by every person in the crowd. What fun is there in that? Also, it didn't help that the girl behind me was searing my skin with her cigarette ashes.

(Thanks to ma gurl Natalia for this photo ... how she managed to even take photos baffles me)

Next List: Best Free Shows (and no, these two are not included on that list, which is actually kind of sad, because the lineups were fantastic)

So, I've done the most heartbreaking shows, and the most life threatening shows, but what about good ones? No, it's not time for the best shows of the year, because that's being saved for close to last. But, this year has brought a lot of good free shows, mostly thanks to all of the summer waterfront series, and performances at the apple store. I was tempted to put All Points West on my list, but then I realized that the great majority actually had to pay ... oops!

On with the list already...

The Best FREE Shows of 2009

10. The Pains of Being Pure At Heart @ South Street Seaport (7/10/09)

- So, I'll admit, I went to this show with no expectations, as the day of the show, Jay Reatard posted that tweet calling them "The Pains of Being Boring at Heart." Up to that day, I convinced myself I hated TPOBPAH, when in reality, it was just the fact that Peggy Wang is incredibly annoying that made me think I hate them. But i don't! I actually quite enjoy them now. I mean, i wouldn't pay more than $10 to see them, but I sincerely take back anything mean I've said about them in the past. And now I can say that I wasn't lying in that New York Noise bit I got filmed for.

9. Man Man @ East River Park Bandshell (7/16/09)

- Okay, so it was hot as hell, and it took about fifty years to get to the stupid bandshell, but this was still a good show. They seemed kind of tired and lacked energy in the beginning, but they brought it for the encore, which lasted like a half hour, I might add. Hello, colored feathers.

8. The XX, School of Seven Bells @ South Street Seaport (8/14/09)

- The XX was great, definitely won me over that night (too bad it was kind of a snooze fest the second time I saw them, also for free). School of Seven Bells were also quite good. I wasn't sure what to expect of them, considering I just knew that one song, "Half Asleep." I enjoyed them for the most part, I could have done without that song that seemed to last a billion years though. I timed it. It was eleven minutes.

7. Casiokids, Slow Club @ South Street Seaport (8/7/09)

- I. LOVE. SCANDINAVIANS. Oh, and Slow Club is just adorable.

6. Camera Obscura @ Other Music (11/22/09)

- They only played five songs, but they were lovely nonetheless. Bummed I didn't get to see them at Music Hall later that night, but I guess this made up for something, right?

5. AfroPunk Festival (featuring Janelle Monae and Elevator Fight) @ BAM (7/6/09)

- We got there just in time for Elevator Fight, which is Lenny Kravitz's daughter, Zoe's band. They were cute and entertaining. And as usual, Janelle killed it. She only got a 30 minute set, but whatever, she tore up that stage. I love her.

4. Portugal. The Man @ The Apple Store (10/23/09)

- Such a nice acoustic set, and the perfect way to end my less than eventful CMJ week. And oh my goodness, the violinist they had was great. She should play with them all the time.

3. Phoenix @ The Apple Store (9/24/09)

- So, this show was thrown in right before their shows at Central Park, which I had no interest in because tickets were $40. But this was really great. They had just great energy, and luckily, I got there early enough to get a good seat.

2. Regina Spektor @ The Apple Store (7/24/09)

- I waited for close to five house for this show, seated comfortably under a table at the apple store. Not only did I get to see one of my favorite musicians for free that day, but I also made a bunch of new friends on line. I also realized that I'm horrible at charades.

1. Lily Allen, Matt and Kim, Trouble Andrew (2/10/09)

- Another one I waited five hours in the cold for this show. Pretty much perfect lineup, but i could've done without the part where we were herded like cows up the stairs, but ya know, it was free, i kept my crowd expectations low. This was probably the last time Lily Allen would play at a venue that small, considering a couple months later, she headlined at Roseland Ballroom.

Next list is up in the air right now... there are so many choices!

2009: The Year In Numbers (Posts 1-2)

2009-12-17T18:17:00.001-05:00

After the magnificence of 2008, this year had some tough competition, but with a swift start, it was quickly in the running for my favorite year yet. But would it live up to my standards, or would it sink into the background of the first decade of the millennium? Only time would tell.

This year had its ups, and it had its downs. We had our share of devastating band breakups, and unexpected reunions, heartbreak, pure awesomeness, being ripped off by the assholes at BAM, never getting Janelle Monae to give us her paintings, barely spending anything for shows this past summer, and being covered in mud way too many times for my liking. But all in all, 2009 proved to be a lot better than I predicted.

I will countdown to the new year by posting a list every day (or every other day), depending on what I have time for. This should get pretty interesting. I will start with the best dressed bands and artists of 2009.

5. Nick Thorburn (Islands)

-Okay, so how could I NOT include him on this list? Yes, it's a complete turnaround from his previous costumes, but no one can deny the grandeur of a bedazzled cape by Christian Joy.

4. Karen O (Yeah Yeah Yeahs)

-Again, can't go wrong with Christian Joy. Karen O is the epitome of fierce. She could even make a garbage bag look hot.

3. Janelle Monae

-Black and White. She's classy as hell. No one can make a women's pants suit look as fantastic as she can.

2. Patrick Wolf

-He's not a diva, he's just got standards. Seriously though, when it comes to what he wears on stage, he has high standards. He wouldn't be caught dead wearing anything that doesn't make a statement... and a loud statement at that.

And now, the number one best dressed artist of 2009 (No, it's not Lady GaGa), for the second year in a row...

1. Kevin Barnes (of Montreal)

-What else is new? Must I go into why he is so amazing? His outfits are always so ridiculously over the top, and he changes countless times at every show, then just gives away his garments like it's nothing! His closet must be endless.

Here are some of his best dressed (and undressed) moments this year:

Next list: Most Heartbreaking Shows

On to the next year-end list.

Although there were countless fabulous shows, it was inevitable that there would also be heartbreaking ones. And I must say, they seemed more heartbreaking than usual, as I've actually broken down in tears... multiple times. Yeah, they were that bad. Like, honestly, so upsetting. Whether it was the plethora of d-bags surrounding us, in turn ruining the night, or realizing that all of your favorite band members of a band got kicked out, they all made for depressing nights.

The number 5 spot for most heartbreaking shows goes to...

5. Lily Allen, Natalie Portman's Shaved Head @ Roseland Ballroom (4/20/09)

- Oh yeah, NPSH? Think you're all high and mighty now that you're opening for big name artists? Yeah, not so much. Anyways, of course, I was one of the only assholes dancing to them, but because it was about 8 thousand degrees where we were standing, we opted to leave the crowd and stand somewhere else. I love Lily to death, but this was just an upsetting show. Not to say that she had a bad performance, because she most definitely did not. It was just an upsetting night, mostly due to the fact that it was at one of my least favorite venues. Oh, and that that this was the night I realized that Natalie Portman's Shaved Head are just a bunch of assholes who think it's okay to bask in their nonexistent fame. There was no one at their merch stand because they were too busy spending quality time with "John" (who was actually Bjorn ... way to get them confused! John is the bald one, Bjorn has the mustache, obviously) from Peter Bjorn and John backstage, eating bananas and whatnot. And hot damn, those tickets were expensive too!

4. Nightmare of You @ Maxwell's (1/17/09)

- Okay, Okay, so they were my favorite band when I was 14. I was on that "friend" basis with them, I saw them all the time, I had enough set lists to wipe my ass with, it was all fine and dandy, until they disappeared one day. So, of course, with their miraculous return to Maxwell's last January, I was thrilled. But it was that night where I came to realization that they were not the same band. I was horrified when they came on stage, and I could not even fathom the fact that the only two original members of the band are Brandon and Joe. Ryan was kicked out of the band, and replaced by some weird old guy. And to top it off, Brandon was completely drunk. Nice move, guys. Just lost a fan.

3. The Woodie Awards @ Roseland Ballroom (11/18/09)

- Truly heartbreaking. I had high expectations after last year's experience, and I figured this year would be awesome too. I was Mistaken. You know when Death Cab For Cutie, a band that has been around for over a decade, is being referred to as the "Twilight soundtrack stars," that something is wrong. Very very wrong. Also, Matt and Kim have been whored out by MTV, and there's no way to get them back. Oh, and a note to Roseland Ballroom, TURN DOWN THE BASS! FOR GOD'S SAKE, DO YOU WANT OUR EARS TO BLEED?!?

2. of Montreal @ Terminal 5 (9/18/09)

- I regret going to this show. I was left totally unsatisfied afterwards, and not just due to the fact that the whole crowd was probably the worst I've encountered in a while, but the fact that of Montreal held back. Sure, this would have been fine for an "of Montreal virgin," but I was just less than excited at this show. I'd say I'm just jaded, but that's not true. I know they're capable of much more; they just didn't have the same energy they've had at previous shows. And it didn't help that the show was at Terminal 5. Dear God, never going there again. I'd rather sleep in a dumpster, thanks. Trust me, if you missed this, you really didn't miss anything (except for Solange Knowles ... and i guess Janelle Monae too, but every show of her's is exactly the same, seeing her ten times is just like seeing her once. It never changes). You just saved yourself $35. No, really. There is nothing to be sad about if you didn't go to this pathetic excuse for an of Montreal show. I mean, Kevin kept his clothes ON ... what the hell is that?

Now, after all that, what could POSSIBLY be the most heartbreaking show of the year?

I bet you didn't expect this...

1. Islands @ The Bell House (8/19/09)

- No. Super. Chow. Brothers. Need I say more? Islands is not Islands. Islands is Nick and whoever he feels like having to back him up. Again, however, this was not a bad show by ANY means; it was quite enjoyable actually. It's just that I was thoroughly baffled when I realized that Nick had changed the ENTIRE band lineup. I was upset, to say the least, but I suppose it was to be expected, given the whole change of sound on the new album. And umm, the aftermath of the show wasn't much to be praised. Just a bunch of angsty hipsters hating on me on everyone's favorite public music forum for ~*~StaTiN' da FaCtZz.

Next list: Most Life Threatening Shows

CMJ should stand for Crappy Music Jamboree.

2009-10-21T18:40:00.003-04:00

LIKE, SERIOUSLY?! cmj, is supposed to be a week of fantastic shows with new and exciting bands, and this year, it's a shit fest. maybe, there are two shows i even have a little bit of interest in, but of course, i'm not going because i'm broke, and have too much homework.
i wanted to go to pete and the pirates, let's wrestle, the love language, surf city and dawn landes @ the bell house, but again...i have no money, and no one felt like coming with my to nowheresville gowanus anyway.

i'm going to one show tomorrow, an early one ... the xx @ the apple store. is that even part of cmj? i don't know..but whatever. this week is lame.

perhaps it's official this time.

2009-10-20T18:30:00.001-04:00

november 17th ... november flippin' 17th.
no, i haven't given up yet.
i haven't waited almost two years for NOTHING.
dear kid sis, please please please, impress me by not postponing the release again. love, devyn

oh, and i can't even see her on november 27th because it's 19+ ... why is life so shitty right now?!

sooo...

2009-10-19T17:37:00.008-04:00

i wrote a review of where the wild things are for my school newspaper, and i figured i should post it here too.

Where The Wild Things Are, Directed by Spike Jonze, Screenplay by Spike Jonze and Dave Eggers, Warner Bros. Pictures (Released 10/16/09)

Whether it was the quirky creativity of Being John Malkovich that captured us years ago, or any of the many music videos he directed that had us mesmerized for four and a half minutes, most have come to the conclusion that Spike Jonze can do no wrong. His latest endeavor, the motion picture adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s 1963 classic, Where The Wild Things Are can very much help vouch for that.
Many would wonder how such a simple story could be made into a full-length movie. Spike Jonze has practically accomplished the impossible by turning ten sentences from our childhood into an hour and a half of joy and wonder, stretching and molding it into a moody tale of love, and gloom, but most of all, pure exuberance.
Although the film deviated slightly from the original story, the essence of the book still remains, with its rare simplicity that captures the true elements of what it means to be a kid. This is no fairy tale, no rainbows or castles, bunnies, or baby deer frolicking through the forest, just the terrifyingly beautiful imagination of a child – Max. His journey to a fantasyland and encounters with some melancholy monsters show us that not all things are perfect and that sadness can plague everyone, even the biggest, and scariest of creatures.
With Max’s help as “king,” the monsters learn that the only way to truly be happy, is to love, and without love, we are eternally lonely. All seems well and good, but soon things take a turn for the worst. The newfound love between the monsters falls apart once again, when it is found out that Max is not actually a king, but a boy, pretending to be a wolf, pretending to be a king – a normal boy who had run away from home, in the hopes of finding the meaning of family and happiness.
This film is heartwarming, to say the least. Not necessarily your average children’s movie, but something more rare and more special than that. It will make you laugh and cry, then cry some more, but it will surely leave you with a smile when you leave the theater.

finally!

2009-10-10T15:49:00.003-04:00

i just took the SAT again this morning, and i am totally drained.
i'm completely dreading the fact that i probably didn't do much better than when i took them the first time, but at least i never have to take that stupid test ever again.
now i just have to finish all of my applications, send them, and wait.
hello early action. november 15th is creeping up so hard right now.

...lovely.

at least i'll be able to relax in a month.
unless i procrastinate and wait til january to send everything.
good lord, just kill me now.

all delighted people raise their hands.

2009-10-08T20:54:00.004-04:00

after much anticipation, and i mean MUCH anticipation, i finally had the chance to see sufjan stevens. it was the last night of his four night run in new york, and i couldn't have been more stoked. we arrived around 7pm to find that the will call line was split into two parts, one for A-K and the second for L-Z. strangely enough, most people were on the line for the first part of the alphabet, and there were three people waiting on the other line. thankfully, my last name starts with an M and we got onto the smaller line.

they started letting us in shortly after and told us doors would be opening at 8:30, but that didn't stop everyone from hoarding the door like a flock of pigeons around some breadcrumbs. they ended up opening the door around 7:45, and despite the fact that they told us to enter slowly, every person, young and ancient, sprinted towards the stage to snag a front row spot.
the spot in which i thought was decent proved to be not so great later on, due to the piano that they parked in front of my face, but i'll get into that later.

as i was awaiting cryptacize, some obnoxious girl showed up. she had a tripod ... REALLY?! doesn't she know that assholes who bring tripods to shows are generally frowned upon? whatever, she was dumb and i didn't like her.
anyways, i hadn't seen cryptacize in quite some time, and i honestly didn't remember loving them when i saw them. all i remembered was really red lipstick, pilgrim-esque clothing and some folky tunes.
i'm not sure, maybe i was just having a bad day when i saw them before, because i really enjoyed them this time around. they had a sort of retro feel, and aside from being totally adorable, nedelle had the cutest dance moves ever. i quite enjoyed them.

they started to set up for sufjan stevens, and i hoped to god that they wouldn't move the piano. much to my luck, they moved it right in front of my face. i could literally see NOTHING. everyone in the front from the piano and to the right started to shift left, thank goodness. at that point, i had a pretty decent view and i was far beyond eager for sufjan to start.

he opened with mistress witch and the crowd just stared in awe. it was as if a spell had taken over the entire audience as we were entranced by the greatness that is sufjan stevens. each song has a simple complexity that just takes over your mind and captures you. i felt like i was in a different world.

sufjan is one of the few artists that could make singing about even the silliest things seem totally profound. i mean, he could sing about garbage, and i'd take him seriously. he's incredibly talented and amazing and wonderful.
he didn't talk much between songs, but when he did, it was adorable. one song, a new one, he claimed was about smurfs taking over connecticut. all of the new songs were fantastic. they were all super long and exciting. the one that stood out though was "all delighted people" which had this fantastic line "oh, i love you a lot ... oh, i love you from the top of my heart," which was so sweet and lovely. during the part where he sang "all delighted people raise their hands," everyone in the audience put their hands up. it was beautiful.

here's the setlist, i got a picture of it before some girl rudely stole it before the end:

this show was definitely one of the highlights of the year. i haven't been that satisfied with a show since, i don't even know when.

oh yeah? what else?

2009-10-06T20:27:00.004-04:00

okay, so i was just on facebook, blah blah blah whatever, then a post from natalie portman's shaved head shows up on the newsfeed. i rarely listen to them anymore, but hey, i wanted to know what was up, so out of curiosity, i clicked it. and what do i find? this:
"We have some exciting news! Our new EP, "Meet Hot Singles" was just released digitally today! The EP features new versions of ‘Sophisticated Side Ponytail’ and ‘Me + Yr Daughter' that we created with Grammy winning producer John King (he's done Beck, Beastie Boys, Tenacious D, etc). Also on the EP are ‘Mouth Full of Bones’ and our ode to facial hair ‘Beard Lust.’ You can download the EP right now wherever digital tracks are sold! As you may or may not have noticed, our 2008 album Glistening Pleasure is not available anymore. This is all in preparation for the early 2010 re-release of the album on WARNER BROS. RECORDS! More details on that will follow, but we can say that there will be a least one new surprise nugget on the album. GP2K10!"

"wait," you must be thinking ... "did i read this correctly?"
yes, they're signed to warner bros now. how RIDICULOUS is this?
first matt and kim wom a vma, and now npsh is signed to one of the biggest american record labels?

i don't even understand.
then again, didn't i predict they'd be huge this year? i was indeed correct.
...more correct than i wanted to be.

surprise surprise!

2009-10-06T19:38:00.007-04:00

it's now october 6th, and kid sister's album is officially NOT OUT!
what did i expect though? i almost had hope this time.
oh well.

ummm, also, yeah. just saying...

also, i have decided that i'm applying to bard as my "reach" school. go me!

it's october 5th.

2009-10-05T16:55:00.001-04:00

ohhh, another one of these posts?
kid sister's album is supposed to drop tomorrow, and what can i say, i don't expect it to be out tomorrow. i mean, how many times has she postponed the release date?
frankly, i've given up. she's out of the radar, almost nonexistent in my eyes.
like, don't get me wrong, she's totally fun and awesome to listen to, but shit, i can't wait forever. it was supposed to come out like a year and a half ago. tell me what's wrong with this picture.
i've been looking for leaks, there's nothing.
all it says on her myspace (yeah, who goes on myspace anymore? i was desperate for information, chill out) is that it's coming soon. coming soon when? next week? next month? next year? in fact, next year seems more believable than tomorrow.

also, apparently, this bitch is playing at webster on november 27th.
there's no other information about that show on the webster website. awesome!

kid sister fails again.

basically, i suck at blogging.

2009-10-02T10:28:00.004-04:00

last night was a flashback to my childhood with my favorite favorites, bayside.
at this point, i've kind of lost track as to how many times i've seen them, but it's somewhere around 18 times i think. could be more, could be less, but hell, i don't feel like tracing back the last 4 years and counting how many bayside shows i've been to.
anyways, it was one of the better bayside lineups in a while, including envy on the coast and i am the avalanche. to say the least, i was pretty stoked. i got to irving around 4:45, only to find a million other people already lined up, but thankfully, i had a friend who had gotten there like an hour before, so i got onto the line with her.

even with getting there so early, i ended up on the very edge of the front row on the barricade. and of course, by the end of the show, i was in front of that barricade, enjoying the good life next to a security guard because that's how i roll.

the first band, bridge and tunnel was alright. nothing i'd listen to regularly, but i'm sure a lot of people like them. the crowd seemed less than enthused though. probably saving all of their energy for i am the avalanche, who may i just say, killed it.
vinnie caruana is just a really charming, badass dude. they're a lot of fun live, and the energy they have just radiates through the whole audience, whether you like them or not. i could've done without the guy butt raping me throughout their entire set.

next up was envy on the coast. i always forget how much i love them because i just neglect listening to them often. they were really quite lovely, and their cover of "empire state of mind" that ran into "the gift of paralysis" basically made my month. it was beautiful, and i always love seeing the entire crowd singing the line "throwing punches at ocean waves" while pumping fists in unison. it's beautiful.

the long anticipated, bayside came on shortly after. i hadn't seen them play a legitimate show (not including bamboozle and warped tour) since last november, so this was quite a treat. their setlist doesn't really change much from show to show, but i was glad that they played a lot from their self-titled rather than filling up the set with songs from shudder. i expected at least a few songs from sirens, but sadly, all we got was "masterpiece." i'm not complaining though, the set was met my standards and left me satisfied.

they closed the show with "hello shitty" and "devotion and desire" as usual, and i grabbed the setlist, this time only getting yelled at a little bit by the security guard. he didn't drag me off of the stage this time. thank goodness.
i wandered around, caught up with mr. and mrs. ghanbarian and headed home, smiling.

honestly, i don't even know what it is about bayside that makes me so happy.
they never fail to amaze me.

self explanatory.

2009-09-21T16:09:00.000-04:00

this is all i have to say.

2009-09-19T15:43:00.006-04:00

where the hell have i been?

2009-09-02T14:11:00.003-04:00

i haven't blogged in forever, quite possibly because i've been trying to get the most out of my last days of summer ... my very last high school summer break, the last time i get to wait until mid september for school to start. i actually just got back from a trip down the shore, and i don't mean skimping halfway and going to seaside or point pleasant, i mean, legitimate down the shore, mile zero stats, i.e. wildwood and cape may. strangely enough, this is the first time i've ever done this with my family. in the past, we'd just go to the beach for a day, visit grammy because she's nearby, then head home. no commitment. this was completely surreal, i swear cape may county is on a completely different planet.

i don't know if it's the water or something, but the people who live there are just completely weird. now i finally understand what people mean when they say people from the 609 are not normal. they even have weird accents! just saying.

anyways, i don't think i'll be blogging as much because of school. not that anyone really cares, because no one even reads this, but if you are reading this right now, it is with my sincerest apologies that you won't get to read my rants as often.
never fear, whenever i have something interesting to write about, i will make time for it. perhaps.

i'm starting school in about a week, and i'm less than psyched, considering i haven't even finished my homework. awesome.
i should stop procrastinating and do some right now.

inglourious basterds!

2009-08-21T23:37:00.003-04:00

yesterday could have been better, to say the least. i could've done without the 100% humidity and ominous storm looming over our heads. but if it wasn't for the terrible weather, we wouldn't have made the decision to skip the free totebags and cupcakes and see a movie instead. our first idea was to go see district 9 ... 2:30 show was sold out, so we saw inglourious basterds instead.

how bad could it be? i mean, it's a quentin tarantino film, so it was bound to be at least decent.
and judging by the previews, it seemed pretty damn funny. and hell, it's even funnier than i thought it would be. it was really fantastic. i loved it. like, honestly, i don't wanna watch another movie for at least a couple weeks, because nothing can top basterds right now. i've been so disappointed by movies i've seen lately, so this was just a breath of fresh air.
and ... whoa, i didn't hate brad pitt in this film. there are two kinds of roles he's good at, the dumbass and himself, oh and he was good in fight club, but that was a fluke, idk how he pulled that off. and thankfully, he played a dumbass in this one. yay!

islands shows are like snowflakes...

2009-08-20T11:29:00.017-04:00

no two are ever remotely similar -- and that's something to be said, especially about last night.
sure, it's cool when they change their outfits for the shows every few months, or when the set lists subtly change with a new album release, but what happened last night was a little more overwhelming than a change of clothes.
from what i had heard earlier in the month, i sensed that this show would be far different than anything i've ever experienced at an islands show.

i read that jamie thompson was back in the band (you know, the member that was also in the unicorns, and helped form islands, but he quit between the release of return to the sea and arm's way, so then he got a song written about him and how he left the band, and basically everyone was pissed at him? yeah ... him), and that he contributed a lot to the new album, vapours, due out on september 22nd, along with tracking all of the drums, but it wasn't quite clear to me whether he was just recording with them, or if he would be playing with them live as well.
nothing really clicked in my mind until a few minutes before we arrived at the bell house last night.
if jamie would be playing tonight, then what happened to aaron? would the other members still be there? does the new album even have violin or bass clarinet? i tried not to think about it but i would be forced to face the truth later that night.

but first we had to watch two other bands.
radical dads left me less than excited. i could've done without the girl's yelling, but whatever, i guess i didn't hate them. i wouldn't run out and buy their album or anything.

next up was das racist. at first, i was a little bit frightened by them, but then realized quickly that they were just three totally amusing dudes who were completely stoned. it was a rap comedy act, basically. i enjoyed them.

finally, after much anticipation, was the moment of truth.
two young boys in fairly formal attire, who looked strangely familiar, entered the stage, followed by who appeared to be jamie thompson. this was it. i was so baffled. nick then came out shortly after, wearing a satin, bedazzled cape. i want it.

i was overwhelmed with both confusion and awe. they opened with a song that was new to my ears, entitled "switched on." it was clear that people in the crowd already had a leak of the album, so they already knew every word.
at this point, i was still speechless, but flustered at the same time. it was true. there was no more aaron, and no more patrick, or patrice, and no more super chow brothers (oh how i'll miss sebastian's suave ways) and and and .... i was heartbroken. like, it's nice to see that jamie is back, but i honestly really miss the other members.
i think i would've been less upset if i had notice of the member change beforehand, but i've come to realize that the only thing constant, the only thing that is truly forever about islands, is nick. nick is islands. the rest have just been there to support his vision, nothing more, i suppose.

the first six songs they did were new, and to see despot waiting on the side of the stage for "whalebone" sent a huge sigh of relief through me. at least one thing is still the same, right?

they continued on with a few more new songs. it's a far far stretch from anything islands have done in the past. it's more similar to the unicorns, which makes sense considering jamie is back in the band, so they were bound to revert to catchier tunes and synths again. it was especially strange because arm's way was such a drastic move into a darker direction.
BUT! as i've said many times, any direction that nick thorburn takes his band is bound to be genius, because genius is all the man is capable of.
but anyways, they also did a few other old ones, "don't call me whitney, bobby" and "creeper" ... basically the only two songs that don't REQUIRE violin or bass clarinet. so sad. i had even been hyping myself up by doing the clapping thing that the crowd does during "rough gem" that morning, and they didn't play it.

they did "swans" for their encore, and while not as epic as it usually is, it was still amazing. there's no way that such a superb song could be done badly by them. it would be a sin.

i left the bell house, still confused. but thoroughly satisfied by yet another fantastic show from nick thorburn and company.
oh, and we realized that the other guys in the band, geordie and evan, are from that band, the magic that have opened for islands and human highway before. talented kids, they should be honored to be playing with one of the most talented musicians of our time. just saying.

CLICK FOR MORE PHOTOS!

her smile is contagious, it's contag-uh-uh-uh-uh-ussss.

2009-08-18T23:23:00.024-04:00

today was regina spektor's second free show in the city this summer, and of course i wouldn't miss it for the world. any chance i get to see her in a small place for no money at all, i jump on. because i knew the crowd would be ridiculous if i came any later than 4, i managed to get to barnes & noble around 2:45, yes, even earlier than when she played at the apple store. but this time, we didn't have to wait on any dumb line. instead, it was a first come first serve basis where we just sat down when we pleased, and yes, we could even save seats! thank goodness!

because it was also an interview session and reading with author, kurt anderson, i didn't expect her to play many songs. in fact, my assumptions were correct and she only played four songs, but any amount of time that she plays is well worth the wait. she's so incredibly talented and charming. i couldn't help but smile the whole time. it's amazing just how humble she is, yet she's such a superstar now. i mean, hell ... she's playing at radio city this fall. you've hit the big time when you get to play there. it's insane.

she did a few songs from the new album, far and closed with an old favorite, "us" from her album soviet kitsch. she was lovely of course, and i wish she had played longer, but what can ya do? there's only so much you can get from a free show in a bookstore. i honestly still cannot get over how fantastic she is. seriously. she's gorgeous and wonderful, and it must be a sin to not love her.

MORE PHOTOS HERE!

true blood madness.

2009-08-17T13:21:00.015-04:00

disclaimer: don't read any further if you haven't watched last night's episode!
this contains spoilers and my rants!

i actually missed it last night because i was too busy watching america's best dance crew, so i watched the latest episode of true blood this morning on hbo, and may i just say, oh how depressing! godric shouldn't have given away his position as sheriff so easily, and now he's dead?! this is ridiculous. i don't understand. he's so powerful in the vampire community, yet he just decided to burn in the sun. yes, i cried. oh lord. watch the scene again for yourself.
ok, so i'll admit, i giggled when eric started crying.
but now who is going to take over? will eric be the new godric? what's going on?!?!?!?!?!??

and i was thinking that he's probably the only one capable of killing maryann. i don't know whatttttt kind of supernatural being she is, but she seems pretty invincible. she doesn't make any sense. blah blah blahhh. stupid bitch! hopefully tara will realize that she's the worst thing to ever enter her life.

she sucks. also, wtf is gonna happen when bill and sookie get back from texas? sookie is gonna find maryann in her house, then what?!
ughh, this is going to be bad.
i'm so tense now.

oh right, and let me just reiterate, eric is hot, sookie is dumb, tara needs to learn, maryann is a crazy bitch, eggs is also pretty smokin', i feel bad for bill, hoyt still creeps me out (but at least jessica is happy), and they should bring godric back. just saying.

can't wait for the 23rd! only three episodes left ... oh noo!

black acid co-op.

2009-08-16T01:40:00.002-04:00

if you dig meth labs, burnt furniture, kittens, creepy doorways, obscenities and weirdness, then this art installation is for you.
basically, one of the coolest, if not THE coolest installation i have ever seen.
i was just mesmerized by everything.
today was the last day, so if you missed out, then too bad!

meth lab

burnt furniture

kittens

creepy doorway

obscenities

weirdness

fascinating, yes.
weird as shit, yeah.
awesome, DUHHHH!

let's discuss something.

2009-08-16T01:27:00.006-04:00

so, i completely overlooked this when i listed all the things i needed to blog about this week, but it's probably just because i had to force myself to stop thinking about it because when i do so, my heart palpitates and my saliva glands become overactive. what topic would ever make one do this? you must be asking yourselves. why, none other than slim twig's legs ... youuuu know, the boy who plays billy zero in the tracey fragments with ellen page?!?!!?!? yes! this one:

i went with gina to death by audio on thursday to view his legs in all their glory, and of course to see him play, but my oh my ... i'm not even sure how it is humanly possible to be quite that attractive, and have such fantastic legs.
seriously, they're magnificent.
i would've gone up to the stage to take a few decent pictures if there were more than ten people in the room, but sadly, it was only his family, and the other band members and gina, besides myself. it would have been awkward.
so i had to settle with quite possibly, the worst picture i've taken all year.

LOOK AT HIS LEGS! SERIOUSLY?!??!?!! I'M SWOONING RIGHT NOW!

ima ima ima ima lesbian savant!

2009-08-16T01:09:00.007-04:00

after seven bells, we headed to brooklyn to see snakes say hisss! i hadn't seen them since december, so let's just say i was a little bit baffled to find out that they're more than just two dudes and an ipod now. yeah, they have an actual band, so when they were setting up, i thought to myself "this can't be them" ... then of course, they hooked up the mic and said "hi, we're snakes say hisss!" ... i was confused to say the least, but it was indeed them.

i really forgot how much i love them. they're just so much fun, but i sorta miss it being just the two of them. whatevz, they aren't any less fun. i was totally drenched in other peoples' sweat like two songs through, but that's what i love about diy shows and poor ventilation, it just shows how much fun you're having. we left satisfied and disgusting and smelling like beer and smoke.
but there's something about that nasty feeling and smell that's comforting, which is strange, i know.

oh noo, summer is practically over.

2009-08-16T00:32:00.002-04:00

yesterday was the finale of the river to river music series at south street seaport, an they certainly closed the season on a good note with school of seven bells and the xx.

i was honestly expecting to be bored to death after the first five minutes of the show, but little did i know, both bands were lovely live.
i had never even listened to the xx before, so i wasn't entirely sure what to expect. all i really knew was that they're british and that they opened for friendly fires earlier in the week. so really, how bad could they be? i was skeptical when they came out on stage. they were all dressed in black, and the girl singer was really androgynous looking. she started singing and i was blown away. who knew a pretty little voice could come out of her??? their tunes were sweet and nice, but all the songs retained some sort of intensity that kept me locked in for the whole set. i really enjoyed them and would love to see them again soon. hopefully they'll be back for cmj or something.

next up was school of seven bells. they have kind of a shoegaze, dream-pop vibe. like, imagine au revoir simone, but trippy. they were also quite lovely. i could've done without the 37656476724 minute song at the end though. i was just about ready to leave at that point because they were making me sleepy. but overall, they were good.

we jetted from seaport after the show to get to death by audio for snakes say hisss!
...to be continued.

trouble in room 517.

2009-08-16T00:16:00.003-04:00

so, my mom and i decided that it would be a great idea to stay in the chelsea hotel for a night because of all of its historical value and sheer awesomeness.

we ended up getting a really sweet room right next to the giant "O" in "HOTEL" ... no, our room was not haunted. though, seeing the ghosts of sid and nancy would have been fascinating.

the halls were decked in ridiculous art and the smell of pot filled the whole hotel. clearly a place for "rare individuals."
i was so stoked to be there. everything about it is cool.

i'd most definitely live there if i could.

what's my name?

2009-08-12T23:09:00.003-04:00

ummm ... michael assface? ... oh sorry, did i pronounce that incorrectly?

good god, so i just watched top chef masters and i have to say, michael chiarello is a real dick to say the least.
like, i knew he was sort of self absorbed and conceited, but i didn't have a problem with him.
it wasn't until this episode that i really realized it.

but whatever, it was an exciting episode with appearances from past season favorites, including fabio, jamie, dale, spike and ma boyfrannnnnnnnn ilan <33
because i'm biased, i totally wanted anita's team to win. she had jamie, dale and ilan on her team, but she ended up going home. i was thoroughly upset, but her food sucked two weeks in a row, so they had to send her home.
i'm over it nowww. ilan and hung are gonna be on next week's episode along with the other top chef winners to judge.
so excited!

just saying.

hai, i likes da akorn/familiez.

2009-08-11T21:59:00.005-04:00

i've really been slacking lately i guess. whatever happened to my decision to blog every single day no matter what?
i guess that was short lived, considering i such a lazy ass and i only blog when i absolutely have nothing else to do at that very moment. but anyways, i had two options of things to do yesterday. i could've seen simian mobile disco at the waterfront, or i could've gone to see akron/family at other music ... OR, i could've gone to both.
plant ended up getting thwarted, and i had to skip simian mobile disco, which made me sad, but whatever, i heard it was empty and dead at the waterfront anyway. and it was about to rain any second, and god knows i hate being outside when it's raining.
so, we made the decision to see akron/family instead.

it was a good decision. i don't regret skipping smd at all.
akron/family are just so talented and exciting. anything that involves clanking on chairs, shouting and clapping is good in my book. yes sir.

slow kids and casioclub?!

2009-08-08T00:47:00.004-04:00

today we went to yet another lovely free show at south street seaport. this time it was slow club and casiokids. both of whom, i've never seen before, but i've only heard good things about their live shows, so i was stoked to go.
slow club was all sorts of wonderful and adorable. they were just so enjoyable.

casiokids were also quite lovely. they made me remember why i love scandinavians so much. they're just so charming with their broken english. especially casiokids though. they're from norway, and i don't think any of them really speak english. they jsut danced on stage and smiled a lot and sang in norweigan. i had no problem with that.
the one with the bow tie is my secret boyfriend.

next week is the last seaport show of the summer :C
i'm so upset. it has been a good run this season.

it is now wednesday and i STILL have a headache.

2009-08-05T00:24:00.007-04:00

All Points West - Part Tres

i woke up sunday morning, looked out the window and it was pouring rain. i was hesitant of whether i should get up or not. i then decided to go back to sleep, but was rudely interrupted by a slew of texts asking when/if i was going and if it was canceled or not. obviously, it would be absurd to completely cancel it, but because the rain was so bad, they had to delay opening gates by over two hours. people had been waiting in the rain and were already aggravated enough, i can't imagine how they felt when they were told they couldn't even go in until 3:40.
none of this applied to me though. because i had a field pass, i could go at any hour, waltz on in, and no one would care.
but i decided to sleep til 3pm and leave the house around 5:30.
i came equipped with my doc martens. i was ready for any amount of mud that day.

we got to the park just as silversun pickups were finishing and i snagged a spot in the second row for we are scientists.
i had been amped all weekend for them, and now that i was feeling better, i knew i could thoroughly enjoy their set, along with all the other bands i needed to see that day.
they have a ton of energy (especially for guys over 30 haha) ... you can really tell that they're doing what they love and they won't stop for a while. i love them. they even did a new song ... i'm totally psyched for more new material.
towards the end of their set, dev hynes aka lightspeed champion came out to play guitar with them. i got so excited when i saw him. it was completely unexpected and fantastic.

after their epic set, we headed to the blue comet stage to see echo & the bunnymen, but then decided to leave that stage and see lykke li instead, because obviously she is the superior act. she's just fantastic, and the crowd went absolutely insane when she did a cover of "a milli" ... yes, i couldn't believe it either. but anyways, she's lovely and swedish and wonderful and i want to be her. oh, and during her set, i ran into alice glass from crystal castles. she was dancing, and i, like a creep, stood and watched her for five minutes.

after her set, we headed back to the bullet stage to catch a little bit of the black keys ... ok, so i didn't really want to see them. i just wanted to attempt to get a decent spot for MGMT, which not so much to my surprise, was incredibly difficult. i managed to get pretty far up though considering how packed the crowd was.
MGMT came on promptly at 9:40. everyone around me was trippin' on something ... what else is new?
i got so excited when they played "destrokk," a song from an older ep, and it was clear that the australian men in my vicinity and i were the only ones who were singing along. of course everyone went insane when they did "electric feel" and "time to pretend." they "closed" with a new song, but then came back out to do "kids," obviously. ... it was basically a mud party by then. people were flinging it everywhere. it was great, they were great, they're just spectacular live. oh, and let me just say, their lead guitarist is a beast. that solo during "kids" ... wow, i was in awe.

when they finished, i realized that coldplay was still playing, so i met up with katie and we watched from the tent.
i only caught their encore, but from what i heard, they were good. not gonna lie. it was a nice way to end a truly phenomenal weekend. my feet were officially shot by then, and it was hard to walk, but i knew that with every step, i was closer to my bed and closer to the best sleep of my life.

so with that i say, thank you all points west. i had fun.

it's tuesday night and my feet are still sore.

2009-08-04T20:53:00.006-04:00

All Points West - Part Dos

my middle toe on my right foot is a little numb, and it has felt that way since saturday morning.
saturday was an odd day. while it TECHNICALLY should've been my favorite day based on all the bands that were playing, i found it hard to enjoy anything fully because i felt so sick. the weather was beautiful, but i honestly felt like i was dying.
i have no idea why though.
i just woke up that day and thought to myself "crap, this is gonna be bad" .... my chest felt like it was caving in on my lungs, i had a splitting headache, and every second, i thought i was going to throw up. it was really quite tragic.
i thought i was dehydrated at first, so i drank some water. it didn't help.
i tried to take it easy most of the day, but found myself only getting weaker as hours passed.
i was towards the front for the cool kids, but i couldn't even stay where i was because i couldn't breathe, which killed me because i love them so much. oh, and the sound system got messed up halfway through their set, and the bass was making my stomach hurt even more. awesome.

i ended up sitting under the friends of liberty state park tent for the remainder of their set.
next up was gogol bordello. i scraped myself off of my chair and knew that if i wasn't able to have a good time during their set, that my day would just be the worst ever.
thankfully, i had enough energy to thoroughly enjoy their set. they're so much fun and clearly know how to get a crowd moving.
eugene hutz is a genius and he has a fantastic mustache.

i then had a little bit of free time to just sit and reenergize. though that was short lived and i had to trudge through the mud to the other side of the park for tokyo police club. i had to settle for a spot in the 5th row because there was no way i could squeeze any further and still be alive after their set. they were precious as usual. they never fail to impress me. though, it was clear that most of the people near my were just aching to see crystal castles and that they could care less about tpc.
whatever, i love them, and i managed to not pass out during their set from extreme exhaustion.

i moved up a little bit for crystal castles, but as the crowd got tighter, i had to get out to prevent myself from throwing up on everyone around me, which really bummed me out because i had been amped for crystal castles all week.
i felt so sick at that point that i could barely dance.
i ended up sitting down and almost bursting into tears because i felt so horrible.
i tried my hardest to enjoy them though. they did my favorite song, "black panther" and also a new song which was super great. i guess i'll have to check them out again another time, so i can get the full effect.

i stuck around for a little bit of the ting tings, whom i've seen before. they were lovely and if i wasn't so sick, i would have stayed longer. i had intentions of not even going on sunday, but we all knew that i'd come through and make it through yet another day of apw madness.

it's monday morning and i'm paralyzed, basically.

2009-08-03T11:40:00.006-04:00

All Points West - Part Uno

so here i am. i woke up about 10 minutes ago because it's impossible to sleep when your feet feel like they're falling off.
all points west was a success, despite the rain. oh, and i didn't have to pay a penny all weekend.
except when i decided to buy some things from the renegade craft fair tent ... yes, it was just like the annual renegade craft fair in williamsburg, but scaled down to about 30 vendors. awesome, to say the least.
i got a couple of cute things.

but anyways, i worked on friday for a few hours until the rain came. it was pouring, so we were forced to close down the pretzel cart, and then i had the rest of the day off. i scampered away, with soaked clothes and all to see ra ra riot and vampire weekend, then met up with some friends for yeah yeah yeahs. it stopped raining during their set, probably because karen o is obviously a goddess and can do anything, i.e. make the rain stop.

jay-z killed it later on, but i was upset that he didn't have any super fantastic special guests. uhhh, hello, where the hell was beyonce? whatever, mad props to him. his band was phenomenal as well.

oh, and you thought that was the end of friday. noooooooo sir.
we then sprinted to the queen of the valley tent after jay-z's set to see mstrkrft.
it was basically a rave in there. i was definitely having a seizure and i didn't even realize it because i was just so hyped.
towards the end of the set, they mixed everyone's favorite club hit "satisfaction" by benny benassi into ... get this ... BOHEMIAN FLIPPIN' RHAPSODY! the crowd went nuts. i was thoroughly in awe.
we made new friends while singing at the top of our lungs, and went home satisfied, and sore.

yet another kid sister post.

2009-07-29T01:49:00.003-04:00

supposedly, her album is coming out on october 6th.
now, people who just jumped on the kid sis boat, you may or may not know that this is the 5th or 6th time that she has postponed the release date.
we have all established that she's incredibly unreliable.
but after i heard her new single "right hand hi," i love her again, and i forgive her for being an asshole.

go listen to her new single now! it'll do ya some good.
http://hypem.com/track/868000/Kid+Sister-Right+Hand+Hi

who hired the latin fusion band?!

2009-07-26T22:15:00.012-04:00

another good free show? yes, i think so.
this time it was at the williamsburg waterfront.
clearly, all of these waterfront shows in manhattan and brooklyn are run by the same people because they all use the same sad barricades that are not meant to hold people, oh and they all have asshole security guards, but it's all good, the shows are free, so i shouldn't be complaining, right?

it was kind of sweltering and muggy and disgusting out, there was obviously a storm coming our way, it was just a matter of when it would actually start raining. luckily, we didn't get hit until the very end of black lips.
trail of dead was canceled due to the lightning, but whatever, i would've missed them regardless.

the first band to play was grupo fantasma ... seriously, WHO INVITED THEM?! it didn't make sense at all why they were there. do fans of black lips and health seem like they would enjoy a latin fusion band from texas? ... i think not.
they seemed like the type of band that you'd see at the puerto rican day parade.
like, okay ... sure, they were talented, but latin fusion is not something that gets me amped.

finally, after a million years of latin music (and a flippin encore ... no mas! no mas!), health came on.
of course, noisy, and i was nearly deaf shortly after they started, but i found them enjoyable (not to mention the fact that john famiglietti is oh so attractive, and he's a crazy dancer).

they're not necessarily a band i listen to a whole lot (aside from their disco album), they're one of those bands that are a hell of a lot better live, and the same goes for black lips. they had a ton of energy, but i'm sure it's a little difficult to get their whole vibe in an outdoor setting. i'll have to plan on seeing them somewhere else soon. oh wait, but i can't. their bowery show is 18+ ... fuck my lifeeee.

more photos here: HEALTH @ WILLIAMSBURG WATERFRONT

next up were black lips ... okay, so i guess i forgot how RIDICULOUS their crowds are. maybe because i blocked it out because i've been so traumatized at black lips shows, from being butt raped to the worst bruises of my life. being in the front and center was NOT a good idea, i mean unless you dig getting smashed against metal by a bunch of black lips superfans.
we quickly removed ourselves from the madness and held our ground in the front off to the right, where it was a whole lot safer than 5 feet to the left of us.

epic, basically.

more here: BLACK LIPS @ WILLIAMSBURG WATERFRONT

again with the sad barricades that aren't meant to hold people ... at first, security tried to hold everyone back. they failed.
the crowd then managed to push it all the way against the monitors so they could easily climb onto the stage. i was terrified, to be honest, but i managed to NOT get hurt this time. wow, what an accomplishment.
but other than the violence, black lips were lovely as usual. they're always a lot of fun ... jared smashed a ukulele today! oh, and cole grew his mustache back! jared though, he did not ... JARED, I WANT YOUR MUSTACHE BACK! :{D

the end

ello govna's island.

2009-07-25T23:12:00.006-04:00

we took a trip over to governors island today not really knowing what to expect.
i had seen the posters everywhere and it seemed like it could be an okay place.
little did we know that it would be absolutely wonderful.

the ferry that goes there is free, so it gives people even more of a reason to go and check it out.
i felt like i wasn't even in new york when i was there. it was kind of surreal.
it just seems like some quirky, colonial town.
i dig it. sadly though, i forgot the memory card for my camera, so i was forced to take pictures with my cell phone ... tragic, i know.

anyways, it's most definitely the perfect place to bring some friends and a picnic.
but i would advise also bringing some hand sanitizer, as all the port-a-potties are running a little low.

we decided to go for a ride on the staten island ferry when we got back.
right, remind me to not do that ever again in the near future.
i hadn't done it in about 12 years, so i guess i forgot that it's kind of a strange ride. we have renamed it the "broski boat," due to the large amount of bros and guidos all over the boat. awesome.

my feet hurt and i feel like i'm coated in sea residue.

p.s.
did anyone look at the sky today? it was amazing.

we <3 regina!

2009-07-24T23:16:00.007-04:00

went to see Regina Spektor at the Apple store in soho today.
we waited for three hours on a line, sitting under a table for most of the time, and playing stressful party games with some cool people we met on the line.

Regina was absolutely amazing and was well worth the three hour wait.
i had chills for the entire hour and five minutes that she performed.
she's just so charming and fantastic and talented and great and wonderful, and i love her.
i can't get over it.
she's another person that i would like to BE.

she's playing at barnes on august 18th, and guess who's gonna wait three hours again?!

we do this all the time ... never again?

2009-07-23T01:22:00.010-04:00

sooooo ... the mae shi is kind of broken up?
their last show with their current lineup was on sunday ... kind of.
i'm quite upset about this, they're one of my favorites.
read the full story here: the mae shi/signals split turns ugly

just saying.

2009-07-22T21:42:00.003-04:00

dear alexandra lawn, you are gorgeous and i would like to be you. love, devyn

fallin' behind!

2009-07-17T15:53:00.004-04:00

and i have issues typing today considering it took me about 6 tries to type the title correctly.
i've had nothing but hand cramps all week from my new five string bass.
but anyways, i saw Man Man last night for free at the East River Park band shell.
the first band was less than notable, but of course, Man Man brought it.

even if you're not a listener of the band, their live show is a must, for sure.
they played for over an hour and a half, and though for some of the set it seemed as if they were losing their usual energy, they brought it back up for the encore. but i couldn't blame them for being tired or too hot to jump around, it was kind of sweltering outside.

oh, and my favorite favorite security from the m&k show last week were there too.
they gave me dirty looks.
great.

click here for more photos!

this post should speak for itself.

2009-07-13T23:01:00.003-04:00

that is all.

more free shows?!

2009-07-12T01:01:00.016-04:00

yes, the day after matt and kim, there were only about 458429642 free shows going on.
i ended up settling on the pains of being pure at heart at south street seaport for the river to river music series, run by the same people who run the river rocks music series.

i know, i know ... i've only said bad things about them in the past, but i think it was just my wrath for peggy wang that was getting in the way of me being able to actually enjoy pains.
so, i sucked it up and went.

and lo and behold, i actually like pains?
ok, so maybe i never HATED them, i've just always had issues with peggy.
I'M ALLERGIC TO PEGGY WANKERS!

more here!

so, after seeing them, i take back everything i said about the band in the past.
though, peggy is still irritating and obnoxious, and we all know it's true. she needs to take the grin off her face and stop acting like she is the coolest girl around.

ironically, the morning of the show, jay reatard had posted on his twitter:
"Brooklyn shut up ! most of your bands all suck and you are total wanna bees ! The pains of being boring at heart ....oh it must hurt being so bland." his less than endearing tweet appeared on pitchfork and brooklyn vegan shortly after, and it was clear that it would turn into a battle, but obviously, it didn't stop anyone from going to see pains for free.

oh, and thanks shirley braha for filming my face.
i can be on new york noize plz?!?!?!!??

i love summer.

2009-07-11T22:06:00.007-04:00

despite the nasty, humid days, summer is most definitely the best season, and not just because i don't have to worry about school. what i love most are all the free outdoor shows. times are tough, and god knows i ain't got money because all of my birthday money goes towards festival expenses.
but anyways, matt and kim played with flosstradamus and team robes the other day at pier 54 for the river rocks music series.
of course, we were the first assholes there, waited for hours, got the front row spot we wanted.
we saw the sad barricades and knew that they would be trouble later on in the night.

team robes were the same as usual. fun to dance to, but we all know that they'll disappear in a couple of years when they realize that it's not cool to be in a diy band past the age of 30.
but whatever ... they're still a lot of fun for now.
though, i've never seen them perform on a legitimate stage before. it was totally weird.

flosstradamus was nothing short of FANTASTIC! i hadn't seen them since cmj '07, and i was blown away all over again.
there's a reason why they're my favorite dj's ... it was an instant dance party.
so much fun, despite the fact that i was surrounded by complete tools ... view here:

i then proceeded to warn the security that the crowd would only get rowdier during matt and kim and that there was a huge possibility of the barricade toppling over and 5000 people falling down.
they didn't seem to believe me.
the crowd exploded, and i swear i had about 25 near death experiences.
but i worked it out, i held my ground, and i beat off the assholes.

(photo props to ma gurl, natalia who risked bringing her d80 with her)

...all for the love of matt and kim.

i STILL want to be Janelle Monáe.

2009-07-07T00:18:00.011-04:00

after getting stuck in ridiculous traffic and missing janelle open for no doubt on the 26th, i was totally devastated, but much to my surprise, i got an e-mail that told me she was going to be playing the afro-punk festival at bam ... get this, FOR FREE! i was so psyched. and to top it off elevator flight was going to be playing right before janelle! how exciting! zoe kravitz is so fierce, obviously.

anyways, we made our way through the hordes of young skaters around 5:45 when elevator fight was just about to start.
they were quite enjoyable, good energy, catchy tunes ... oh, and zoe is just adorable. almost as adorable as her parents.

after much anticipation, janelle came on close to 7 (not 6:23 as she said that morning on twitter).
by that time, i had squeezed myself up to the front, because of course, i wouldn't want to miss any of the action from being caught in some crappy spot in the crowd.
nothing has changed, and i STILL want to be her. she manages to put on an incredible live show every time. she amazes me to no end. i mean, she can sing, dance, and she's totally gorgeous and awesome. what more could anyone ask for?

in the middle of her set, these guys started dancing on the roof ... it was fantastic. i wish i could be that cool.

while seemingly shorter than it actually was, janelle did a 40 minute set, which included the usual painting on canvas, a jump into the crowd, insane dancing, ridiculous pipes, and a couple of breaks to adjust her signature coif. i can't even deal. she's magical. period. that is all.

more photos here AND here.

there's no doubt that no doubt is amazing.

2009-07-06T23:24:00.005-04:00

just saying.
even from the lawn, they were thoroughly enjoyable.
okay, so my feet were consumed by the mud, but that didn't stop me from dancing my ass off and enjoying them to the fullest extent.
gwen stefani left me speechless.

oh, and i definitely utilized the 40x zoom on my point and shoot.
what a fantastic way to bring in my birthday.

this has been...

2009-07-01T15:04:00.003-04:00

a fairly unproductive summer break so far.

i need a job.
or an internship.
or something that'll occupy my time.

HALP MEEEEEE! I NEEDZ IT!

"I'm not a diva, I've just got standards"

2009-06-24T10:16:00.010-04:00

as we all know, Patrick Wolf is one of the most brilliant musicians of this day and age; hailing from southern london, this 25 year old musical genius captured my heart the first time i listened to him, but it wasn't until yesterday that i FINALLY got the chance to see him. i had been waiting, literally years to experience his live show, but of course, every time he was in new york, it wasn't all ages. thankfully, last night approached with open arms to minors.

we got there before 6, and the line was still ridiculous. everyone was decked out in glitter and sequins like there was no tomorrow, it was blinding, and not entirely necessary. it's not like pwolf is going to be your best friend just because you want to dress like him.

anyways, i was most definitely not prepared for the first three bands. i had never really given any of them a listen, so i was not completely aware that they would all be absolutely horrendous. the first band, (johnny whitney of the blood brothers' new band) jaguar love were the most tragic thing ever. the laptop beats left me short of amazed, and the incessant shrieking over the beats was just terrible. johnny whitney has most definitely gone off the deep end with his music career, aside from looking like he had been thrown up on by a 12 year old scenester.

moving on, the next band, plasticines. holy lord, they were bad too. just a bunch of scantily clad, french bitches with no musical talent, trying to act like we gave a shit about their dumb songs (which all sounded the same). i had such a headache after them.

with little hope for the next band, living things, four men, dressed in all black entered the stage. i could already tell by the weird high waisted pants and the bad haircuts that they were bad news. low and behold! they were bad as well! they were just a bunch of 30-something year old creeps trying to be cool and hip. no thank you.

by about 9:45 or so, it was finally time for patrick wolf. i was so antsy by this point, and my head was just pounding from the previous acts, oh and from being annoyed by the assholes next to me with the stick-on feather eyelashes, plastic birds tied to their heads, and glitter rubbed all over their arms and faces. clearly their lives had no validity.
patrick came out and the room exploded. he was dressed in an epic leather cape with fantastic feather-like paneling on the front.

the cape came off shortly after to reveal a satin jacket over a one piece grey, black and white and zip-up suit that looked like the british flag.

of course, it was too hot to keep that jacket on, so he took it off and unzipped his one-piece suit half way to show off his fantastic necklaces and glitter covered torso.
patrick wasn't very talkative, but when he did speak, it seemed like he was blowing out all of his anger. he lashed out on both the sound guy and some girl in the audience and exclaimed that he's not a diva, he's just got standards. you go, patrick! he's fierce, he's blunt, but goddamn, he's charming.
he basically played every song i could've asked for and more, plus a new song that he recorded in paris for the encore.
the crowd went especially insane for "tristan," "hard times," and "the magic position," but that was to be expected.
when he played "battle" though, oh my goodness. it was a rampage against all injustices. it was fantastic.
he played for over two hours. two blissful hours that i wish could've lasted longer.
patrick wolf is an undeniably fantastic human being.

yeah, the mic is down his pants:

so now i'm home, sore. i haven't danced that hard in quite a long time.
this is most definitely a candidate for top ten shows of the year.

til next time patrick wolf.

p4k plans might be out the door.

2009-06-22T15:43:00.006-04:00

so, as i went on to ticketweb today to make sure tickets were still available as i'd be buying them this weekend after i get my birthday money, i realized that tickets for july 19th are sold out ... ya know, the day with grizzly bear and m83.
i got over that quickly, after seeing that tickets for july 18th were still available.
the 18th was clearly the better date anyway.
and i'd save $30 by only going one day.

i then continued on to look at the set and stage times in hopes of having no schedule conflicts.
right, i got my hopes too high.
OF COURSE, there is a conflict between beirut and matt and kim. my two favorites. the two bands i absolutely would be devastated to pick between are playing at pretty much the exact same time at different stages. what are the odds? WHY WOULD THEY DO THAT? WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS?

SATURDAY, JULY 18
8:40 (A) The National
8:30 (B) The Black Lips
7:30 (B) Matt and Kim
7:25 (C) Beirut
6:30 (B) Lindstrøm
6:15 (A) Doom
5:30 (B) Wavves
5:15 (C) Yeasayer
4:30 (B) Ponytail
4:15 (A) Final Fantasy
3:35 (B) Bowerbirds
3:20 (C) The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
2:40 (B) The Antlers
2:30 (A) Fucked Up
1:45 (C) Plants and Animals
1:45 (B) The Dutchess & The Duke
1:00 (A) Cymbals Eat Guitars
1:00 (B) Disappears

so basically, i'm incredibly upset right now.
and i probably won't be going to chicago.
great.

would someone like to take me on a different roadtrip?

oh, i saw best friends forever at silent barn the other day.
i haven't been to a diy show and had THAT much fun in a while.

terror pigeon dance revolt is amazing. amazing amazing amazing.
it's like the mae shi minus the actual instruments.

bff were splendid, of course.
just full of energy and awesome.

patrick wolf tomorrow!

the beginning of my birthday week.

2009-06-20T13:42:00.002-04:00

so far so good. two great shows this week, and two AMAZING shows coming next week, and i'm so stoked.

on thursday, i saw anthony raneri of bayside perform an acoustic set, with vinnie caruana of i am the avalanche and destry (ex-straylight run members) opening for him at maxwell's.
it was nothing short of fantastic. anthony raneri is one of my favorite musicians, which is to be expected considering i've seen bayside sixteen times or something ridiculous like that.

the first band, destry were totally adorable. i've always really liked michelle da rosa's voice, but i was never straylight run's biggest fan or anything. i think i appreciate this band more. much more.

next up was vinnie caruana. may i just say, he is a total badass, and i love him.
he totally flipped out on some assholes in the audience and threatened to knock them out if they were rude one more time.
i commend him for that. but anyways, he's just awesome in general. super charming and just an awesome dude.

last but not least, was anthony raneri. he never fails to impress me, whether he's playing an acoustic show or if he's with the rest of the boys. he did a few covers including "good fucking bye" by alkaline trio and "i will follow you into the dark" by death cab for cutie. he also did a new song which he had written this week. it was fantastic.

sadly, he didn't do any songs from sirens because apparently they sound bad when it's just him on the guitar, and he needs jack in order to sound good. i don't blame him .... it's true.
hopefully they'll throw in some old songs for warped tour.
i'd like that very much.

so, last year...

2009-06-18T11:56:00.006-04:00

i declared that i do not like heartsrevolution, and what do you know?
i gave them another listen today when i downloaded the nylon summer playlist (it's just a whole bunch of stuff i have already and some less than interesting other stuff), and i STILL don't like them.
go figure!
wut uppppp, bad crystal castles knock-off.

i just like that vehicle they travel in.

you know, this:

but anyways, another artist that struck me was la roux ... i had been hearing a lot of hype about her, so i figured, she can't be that bad, right?
i was wrong.
holy crap, could she be any more annoying?

her voice is so incredibly irritating ... but i was a trooper and attempted to listen to the whole song, and as soon as i thought the it was over, it kept going! i skipped the rest of it. so bad. so so so so so so bad.

my take on discovery...

2009-06-15T11:17:00.016-04:00

the new side project created by wes miles (ra ra riot) and rostam batmanglij (vampire weekend).

in theory, it sounds like it should be some kind of beachy, surf, ra ra/vamp offshoot, which is by no means bad ... in fact, that would be nice, considering ra ra riot and vampire weekend both have that similar "island" feel, hence the reason they're friends, other than the fact that they're both from new york, and that they've played together a few times.

strangely, this is not really what discovery is. sure, it retains some of the "island-y" elements in some songs, but it also ... well, let me put it this way, so basically it's as if kanye west, chromeo, and yacht threw up on ra ra and vamp, and they all got sucked into a vocoder and took a trip to the eighties (at one point, i even thought i was listening to "electric slide"...whattt?) and of course i mean this in the best way possible.
i have fallen victim to the tempting synth beats and the tantalizing falsettos. it's all superbly ghettofab, and is bound to become the soundtrack of my summer.
i have the feeling this won't do well with the pitchfork.com standards, but when have they ever been a reliable source for music reviews? they like wavves and vivian girls, remember?

i've heard a few testimonials, including saying that discovery is just a cheap version of ra ra riot ... so, it kind of is. it doesn't really display any "true" musical talent, other than being able to throw some vocals with a well composed laptop track. it's merely catchy and fun to dance to, and isn't that what the average person looks for in music?

i can't get enough of "carby" which fascinatingly, features ezra koenig of vampire weekend.
i've been listening to it on repeat for the last two days.
i suggest you find the leak for the album, not so cleverly entitled "LP" ... yes.

other than this, i can't get enough of the new little boots album, hands.
it is utterly fantastic, and if you can get caught up in the catchy choruses in EVERY song, there must be something terribly wrong with you.

my birthday week officially starts this weekend, and yes, it's loaded with shows including best friends forever @ silent barn, patrick wolf @ highline, and no doubt and janelle monae @ pnc, the day before my birthday.
sounds good to me.

the count down begins: 32 days until p4k

junior year.

2009-06-12T13:33:00.002-04:00

it has officially come to a close, and i'm three measly months away from embarking on my last year of high school, meaning i'm only a year and three months away from college ... i find that so scary, but i'm sure that feeling was scary for everyone i know who is already in college, or is going to college this fall.

this school year has literally felt like a few months.
it went by way too fast.

but i am thoroughly thankful for summer.

less than productive.

2009-06-08T20:43:00.004-04:00

day three of my four day weekend is officially coming to an end, and i feel like i haven't done anything particularly productive.
i got a fantastic cupcake from Sweet, a fairly new bakery in hoboken.
it was chocolate cake with ganache and marshmallow topping.
yum yum yum yum yum.

oh, and umm ... my ukulele broke, again.
for real, as soon as it gets even a little bit humid, the bridge explodes and falls off.

i'm taking it for repairs tomorrow.
mark said he'd just nail it down.

so anyways, school is out on thursday, then basically, i have a really busy summer ahead of me.
here's a basic overview of my show schedule:

Jun 18 - anthony raneri/vinnie caruana @ maxwell’s
Jun 19 - best friends forever @ silent barn
Jun 20 - my attempt to sneak into an 18+ show ... hello NPSH @ santo’s
Jun 23 - PATRICK WOLF @ highline
Jun 26 - NO DOUBT/JANELLE MONAE @ PNC
Jun 27 - IT'S MA BURFDAY!
Jul 9 - CRAP AND KIM! @ hudson river park
Jul 14 - the audition @ highline
Jul 17 - leave for chicago
Jul 18 - pitchfork!!! @ chicago
Jul 19 - pitchfork!!! @ chicago
Jul 20 - come back from chicago
Jul 21 - the academy is.../gym class heroes/nevershoutnever! @ great adventure
July 31 - all points west @ liberty state park
Aug 1 - all points west @ liberty state park
Aug 26 - BLINK-182/TAKING BACK SUNDAY/WEEZER @ PNC

almost there.

2009-06-05T13:24:00.003-04:00

i only have two days left of school, and frankly, i couldn't be more excited.
but the weird thing is that it doesn't even feel like the end of the school year.
it could be february for all i know.
but obviously it isn't because my birthday is in three weeks.
i still haven't decided what i'm going to do yet. i've got a whole slew of shows within my birthday week, though i have nothing actually ON my birthday.
i considered going to the state fair. strangely, i've never even been to the NJ state fair, but i've been to the Connecticut state fair, which is weird. i didn't have a great experience; always remember, the tilt-a-whirl results in vomiting after eating a plate of funnel cake.
not good, not good at all.

anyways, i watched Into The Wild last night.

it's really a great film. i still have yet to read the book. maybe i'll get on that this weekend, after i finish re-reading Franny and Zooey.

i'd like to be productive this weekend.
i should plan a schedule.
will it involve studying for my last exam?
... probably not.

ok, so i lied.

2009-06-04T16:18:00.002-04:00

i've settled on one date for the blink-182 tour... that being, august 26th @ the arts center.
i'm pretty much stoked.
i'm also stoked about this:

i've got two finals left.
i was miraculously exempt from latin, law, macro and there was no religion exam, so only three exams for me!
but even that is too many -_-

school's out on the 11th, then hello summer.

seriously?!!!?!?!?

2009-05-31T02:22:00.004-04:00

dearest natalie portman's shaved head,

once again, you are in NY, and i don't get to see you.
and even more tragic, you're playing within my birthday week.
so i have made the [not so] wise decision to try to sneak into santo's party house on the 20th.
just watch me.
or not.
i give up.

love,
devyn

bust craftacular!

2009-05-30T23:06:00.013-04:00

so i forgot to talk about this ... it was like two weeks ago at warsaw in greenpoint.
overly crowded, but enjoyable nonetheless.
when you went in, there was a table where they were screenprinting totebags and people could just take one, for FREE!
so of course, i asked for the one with a unicorn on it.
it was so very exciting.

here's a close-up of the design.
it says "imagination is more important than knowledge"
of course, the screenprinting can't be perfect every time, so you can't really read it clearly.

i also bought this fantastic necklace.

yes, it's a mustache... you love it.

ALSO!
my beloved, gael garcia bernal is on the cover of the new issue of paper magazine!

i suppose because rudo y cursi came out this month, which by the way, was GREAT!
not amazing, but not at all bad.
honestly, it's pretty difficult to go wrong with gael and diego.

are you dying yet?

blink-182/weezer update!

2009-05-30T13:55:00.003-04:00

i have settled on two dates.

August 25 - Wantagh, NY, Nikon Theater at Jones Beach - Blink-182, Weezer, Taking Back Sunday, Chester French, on sale 6/6, presale 6/3 10am

August 26 - Holmdel, NJ, PNC Bank Arts Center - Blink-182, Weezer, Taking Back Sunday, Chester French, on sale 6/6, presale 6/3 10am

i'm not...

2009-05-30T13:47:00.005-04:00

getting into college.

i have already come to the conclusion that my grades aren't that great, my sat scores suck, i'm not in enough clubs in school...
i quit them all because they all meet on the same day.

i'm not that great of a musician, i'm not that great of a photographer. i'm not that great of a writer. i'm just not that great.

do i even count as a minority? can i get financial aid? i sure as hell won't get academic scholarships.

every school i 'like' ... every school i 'want' is too good for me.
average gpa, 3.5 i have a 3.4 ... maybe. average sat score on verbal and math, 1200. i have an 1100.

i'll always be teetering on the edge of good, and not good enough.

dear college,
why must you make it so hard for me?
sincerely,
devyn

window shopping.

2009-05-29T19:05:00.005-04:00

i currently have $8 to my name, so it's not like i could actually buy anything.
but hey, my birthday is coming up.
perhaps someone would like to buy this dress for me.
it's from topshop, of course.
it looks even cuter when it's on!
yes ... that is a lovely milkshake print.
i died a little.

p.s.
if you haven't heard already, final fantasy was added to the saturday lineup of p4k.

blah blah blahhhhhhh

2009-05-26T20:57:00.006-04:00

it's one of those days.
those days when everything annoys me, but of course,
it had to by triggered by something, right?
triggered by a problem.

i have a problem.
my problem is my friends.
my friends who put their burdens on me, as if i know how to help.

i can't help them if i don't know or don't care what their problems are.
depression, angst, heartache?
nothing i have to deal with myself, so why bother with other peoples' issues?
i'd like not to be a part of your wallowing sadness.

it all just makes me so upset.
i'm NOT the knower of all things.
i give shitty advice.
i'm not a therapist.

then when i tell them i don't know how to help them, they get mad at me and tell ME that i'm being insensitive.

way to go, guys.

it's safe to say...

2009-05-22T21:49:00.005-04:00

that i am officially super freaked out by the new grizzly bear video.
don't get me wrong, "two weeks" is a great song, but holy crap ... the video was weird to say the least.
here are a few screencaps i put together so you can get the "feel" of the whole thing.

freaked out yet?

so i basically just died.

2009-05-15T18:44:00.003-04:00

blink-182 has just announced tour dates.
the support being weezer, fall out boy, then depending on the date, other openers could include asher roth, taking back sunday, panic at the disco, the all american rejects and chester french.
seriously?! i don't think the tour could get much better.

July 24: Las Vegas (the Joint)
July 28: Vancouver (GM Place)
July 30: Calgary, AB (Saddledome)
July 31: Edmonton, AB (Rexall Place)
Aug. 1: Saskatoon, SK (Credit Union Center)
Aug. 2: Winnipeg, MB (MTS Centre)
Aug. 4: Milwaukee (Marcus Amphitheater)
Aug. 6: Boston (Comcast Center)
Aug. 7 Quebec City, QC (Colisee Pepsi)
Aug. 8: Montreal (Bell Centre)
Aug. 9: Wantagh, N.Y. (Nikon Theater at Jones Beach)
Aug. 12: Hershey, Pa. (the Star Pavilion)
Aug. 13: Cincinnati (Riverbend Music Center)
Aug. 14: Pittsburgh (Post Gazette Pavilion)
Aug. 15: Chicago (First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre)
Aug. 16: Omaha, Neb. (Westfair Amphitheater)
Aug. 18: Minneapolis (Xcel Energy Center)
Aug. 20: Indianapolis (Verizon Wireless Amphitheater)
Aug. 21: Buffalo, N.Y. (Darien Lakes Performing Arts Center)
Aug. 22: Detroit (DTE Energy Music Theatre)
Aug. 23: Toronto (Molson Amphitheater)
Aug. 25: Holmdel, N.J. (PNC Bank Arts Center)
Aug. 27: Saratoga, N.Y. (Saratoga Performing Arts Center)
Aug. 28: Camden, Pa. (Susquehanna Bank Center)
Aug. 29: Hartford, Conn. (New England Dodge Music Center)
Aug. 30: Washington, D.C. (TBD)
Aug. 31: Wantagh, N.Y. (Nikon Theater at Jones Beach)
Sept. 2: Cleveland (Blossom Music Center)
Sept. 3: St. Louis (Verizon Wireless Amphitheater)
Sept. 4: Kansas City, Kan. (Capitol Federal Park at Sandstone)
Sept. 6: Denver (Fiddlers Green Amphitheater)
Sept. 7: Salt Lake City (David O. McKay Events Center)
Sept. 10: Seattle (White River Amphitheater)
Sept. 12: Sacramento, Calif. (Sleep Train Amphitheater)
Sept. 13: Mountain View, Calif. (Shoreline Amphitheater)
Sept. 14: Santa Barbara, Calif. (Santa Barbara Bowl)
Sept. 16: San Diego (Cricket Wireless Amphitheater)
Sept. 17: Irvine, Calif. (Verizon Wireless Amphitheater)
Sept. 19: Phoenix (Tempe Beach Park)
Sept. 21: Albuquerque, N.M. (Journal Pavilion)
Sept. 23: Dallas (Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion)
Sept. 24: Houston (Superpages.com Center)
Sept. 26: West Palm Beach, Fla. (Cruzan Amphitheater)
Sept. 27: Tampa, Fla. (Ford Amphitheater)
Sept. 29: Atlanta (Lakewood Amphitheater)
Oct. 1: Charlotte, N.C. (Verizon Wireless Amphitheater)
Oct. 2: Virginia Beach, Va. (Verizon Wireless Amphitheater)
Oct. 3: Atlantic City, N.J. (Borgata Events Center)

i have come to...

2009-05-09T12:06:00.003-04:00

share with you, my superb ~~photoshop~~ acting skills:

perhaps you caught my cameo in the new star trek movie, perhaps you didn't.
but of course, if you did not see it, here is a photo of me and my best friend, baby spock.

star trek was fucking good.
if you're comfortable with the fact that basically the entire story you know and love was CHANGED, then you won't be disappointed.
GO SEE IT!

p4k looks good.

2009-05-09T01:46:00.002-04:00

anyone know of a bus that would take me to chicago so i can see matt & kim and beirut in the same day?

i can't even deal with how GREAT the lineup is.
seriously?!

Saturday, July 18
The National
Beirut
DOOM
Yeasayer
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Fucked Up
Plants and Animals
Matt and Kim
Lindstrøm
Wavves
Ponytail
Charles Hamilton
The Duchess and The Duke
Disappears

Sunday, July 19
The Flaming Lips
Grizzly Bear
M83
The Walkmen
Pharoahe Monch
Blitzen Trapper
Frightened Rabbit
The Mae Shi
Black Lips
The Very Best
Mew
Vivian Girls
Japandroids
DJ/Rupture
Women
Dianogah

yeah, it's flippin gooooood.

a bamboozle sampling.

2009-05-08T20:50:00.005-04:00

going to see star trek now!

it's been a while.

2009-05-01T23:28:00.007-04:00

today has been the worst day ever.
i've never cried so much in school in my entire life.
i mean like, i cried for the first 5 periods straight, pretty much.
and it doesn't help that it rained throughout the whole night, ruining the hoodwink festival, which alone, left much to be desired.

but anyways, school has basically been taking over my life. i have no time for anything anymore.
i feel like everywhere i turn, it's "college this," and "college that," and "do your apps now!" and "your SAT scores aren't high enough!" ... frankly, it's getting on my last nerve, and i'd love for my senior year of high school to never come so i don't be to be burdened with college.
then on the other hand, it all seems totally fantastic and exciting ... in the event that i get into the school i want to go to.
i've bee seriously looking into eugene lang and the 5 year BA/BFA program with either parsons or the new school for jazz and contemporary music. it basically sounds like a dream.
i spent a half hour at the lang booth at the college fair this week, and i swear, the school had my name written all over it.

i'm currently in the middle of choosing courses for my senior year.
none of the classes caught my eye, and i can't decide what AP's to take.
i have a feeling that school will be a drag next year.
all of my favorite teachers are getting fired.
it's already a disaster.
oh, and i lost the election ... i'm not the new vice president of my school.

it's supposed to rain this weekend.
i'm going to bamboozle ... the lineup is less exciting than previous years, but i figure, i might as well.

i wrote a poem the other day based on what i saw on the way to the museum of natural history ... it's called tulips:

Two old women,
I’ll assume age sixty-five,
Standing among a bed of tulips,
Gazing at them as if
The orange bells were foreign;
Engrossed in the beauty we take
For granted.

The constant
Snap-snap-flash
Of those
Dated, digital, devices.

Never stopping,
If only to find another flower
More vibrant,
More orange,
More worthy,
Of the precious space
On their memory cards.

i want this jacket.

2009-04-30T17:18:00.000-04:00

so so sooooo badly.

my favorite mexican dream team is back!

2009-04-26T20:36:00.002-04:00

yes, folks ... gael garcia bernal and diego luna are back again starring in the south american film, rudo y cursi!

i've literally been waiting for this film for about a year now, and it's finally going to play in the US for the tribeca film festival.
i honestly cannot contain my excitement.
two of my favorite favorite favorite actors, in one movie ... again!

uhmmm...

2009-04-25T00:02:00.010-04:00

have y'all seen the new matt and kim video for "lessons learned"????
nakedness?
times square?
scared people?
crazy ending?
kim is hot, obvz.

ohhh no!

2009-04-24T20:21:00.001-04:00

the sneakers i wanted are no longer available on the topshop site!
and i can't find them in the store either. what am i going to do?!?!!??

look at my facial hair! oh man, hot damn, it's everywhere!

2009-04-22T12:18:00.006-04:00

woohoo! so we ended up snagging some tickets for the lily allen/npsh show at roseland for $12 less than they were supposed to be, which is flippin great even though tickets still ended up being $50 each. holy crapola! really?!
we went from seeing lily for free at a baby venue to paying $50 to see her at basically the largest GA venue in new york.
does that make any sense.
anyways, we got there about 45 minutes before doors. it was freezing cold and raining and we were pretty much miserable.
doors opened promptly at 7, and by the time we got in, the the entire front row was taken, and we had to settle for the second row ... tears.
we could already tell that everyone in the crowd was especially obnoxious and we'd probably be super annoyed after about 10 minutes of standing there.
we were absolutely correct.
the girls behind us kept complaining that we were stealing their spot, when they were CLEARLY behind us. we certainly did not want to be where they were standing, our spots were just fine.
we listened to the crowd around us saying how all they wanted to see was lily, and they all had no idea who the first band was ... tsk tsk, how dare they not know natalie portman's shaved head!

NPSH ended up coming on about 20 minutes late, hence the reason their set was rushed.
i was wondering why i was dancing so hard, then i realized maybe it was because every song was twice the speed.
but they were super enjoyable ... it had been WAYYYYY too long since the last time i saw them. i was suffering NPSH withdrawal, and now i'm suffering again until they come back for a headlining tour ... whenever that is.
i pretty much thought we were the only fools who knew every single word to every one of their songs, but then i glanced over only to see these two gay boys (probably form staten island) singing along ... word!

no pictures of claire :( they all came out so weird and saturated. i HATE the lighting there so much!

after their set, we scrambled to get out to use the restroom. yes, we gave up our nearly perfect spots, but we know we'd just be horribly annoyed if we stayed there.

we ran by NPSH's merch booth. they weren't there.
only one pair of sunglasses, no totebags and shirts were $20. are you flippin kidding me?!

after we were done with the bathroom, we ran back upstairs just in time for lily allen. we found an ok spot on the side.
she was super enjoyable. i didn't expect any less from her.
of course, she did her cover of womanizer, and basically everything from the new album, with some old lily classics put in.
i just wish the venue wasn't so gigantic and that it wasn't so HOT in there.

it was a good good show.
maybe not as fantastic as the last time we saw her, but that's probably just because this time it was at one of my least favorite venues.

i'm not even sure what my next show is.
i need something soooooooon!

oh p.s.
i think this was taken during "beard lust"

oh hayyyyy!

2009-04-21T21:28:00.004-04:00

lmao, so as i was getting my daily fix of brooklyn vegan, i was reading the post about Janelle Monae @ music hall only to find that they used MY review of the show.
how funny.

p.s.
ya spelled mustache wrong!

i think i'm allergic to down feathers.

2009-04-17T14:41:00.005-04:00

soooooo, last night was the long awaited of montreal show at music hall ... i thought about seeing them tonight too, but before i could make a decision, it was sold out.

the first band, fire zuave, was nothing special. they were just dirty and awkward and every song sounded the same. i think the lead singer borrowed his makeup and outfit from kevin. really, not flattering on this guy.
their set was too long and i found myself yawning throughout the whole set.

next was janelle monae ... i wasn't sure what to expect from her, though i'd heard rave reviews of her for the past few months, so i figured she couldn't be bad. little did i know, she would be flippin BRILLIANT! she's got pipes for days, and she's totally adorable, and shit, she can dance! i basically wanted to be her.
ugh, so awesome.

although of montreal was wonderful as usual, i felt like kevin was holding back a little. i mean, he was wearing clothes for almost the entire set, it was very unlike him. but of course, the theatrics were ridiculous and my clothes are ruined.
i have a lifetime supply of feathers and i'll probably have glitter stuck in my hair for the next week.
i love them. there's nothing more i can say than that.
i was all itchy during and after the show, from the feathers. i still feel them stuck in my throat.
they are beyond amazing. seriously, their live show is an experience, and for someone to be DISAPPOINTED after seeing them is a fucking crime.
they are just too fun to comprehend.

"oslo in summertime" was the highlight of the night, i think.
it's not even one of my favorite songs, but good lord, it's so exciting when they play it.
they played um, 20 songs? ... two hour set.
there were about equal amounts of songs from skeletal lamping, hissing fauna, satanic panic and sunlandic, which was good!
last time they played, it was mostly songs from skeletal lamping ... i needed some chaaaaaange.

is the show in the running for the top 10 shows of the year? most definitely.
is it top 5 material? maybe.

well then, til next time, of montreal.

i'm back, thank goodness.

2009-04-14T17:03:00.006-04:00

so, i've been in monmouth county for the last god knows how many days without internet.
oh grammy, you're so behind the times ... so of course, i came back to 98 notifications on facebook, 23 unread e-mails and surely, no time to take a nap.

i messed up my finger when i was adjusting a chair, so i'm obviously not at my bass lesson right now.
whatever, i needed a break.
nasty blood bubble ... i keep thinking it's gonna pop all over my macbook while i'm typing.

as soon as i got home from my lovely grandmother's home, i was right back out again to go see maria taylor (some may know her as conor oberst's ex-gurlfran) and whispertown 2000 at maxwell's.
good show ... i love her voice so much!

maria's bassist, nate nelson was perhaps one of the most attractive young men i've seen in a while.
i kid you not, it's as if gael garcia bernal and devendra banhart collided in a tornado of handsomeness and made a love baby.
it is most definitely this boy:

and a note to whispertown 2000 ... YOU HAVE THE BEST MERCH!
yes, that's a baby harmonica necklace

somebody make this rain stop.
thanks.

ooh!

2009-04-09T23:29:00.002-04:00

here are some things i got at topshop.
i'm gonna wear everything this week ... hello, spring break.
anyone hear anything about matt and kim playing with pb&j last night.
wtf. no one told meeeee.

cutest skirts everrrr ... i had to buy two! and they were affordable!
tell me those pockets aren't great.

awesome dress!! ... there's a bow in the back!

hearts! and the buttons! oh, the buttons!

i can't even deal.
everything at topshop is so fabulous.

leaving for south jersey tomorrow morning.
won't be back til monday, just in time for maria taylorrrrrrr.
her voice is so pleasant.

monday update ... again!

2009-04-06T17:06:00.006-04:00

blawgging has been slow lately ... but it's for a good reason.
i've been busy all week pretty much. just been busy being awesome.
probably one of the best weeks in a while ... not gonna lie.

on thursday, i went to topshop ... opening day, so i had to wait approximately an hour and 43 minutes to get in, but holy hell, was it worth it. i went through the entire store about 4 times and bought a whole slew of fabulous garments. so exciting.

on saturday, i went to see ra ra riot and cut off your hands at webster hall. as much as i hate hate hate webster hall, this show was just fantastic. i hadn't been to a good show in over a month ... i NEEDED something great to end my withdrawal.
okay, so the first guy, jon moses was a little strange, but i suppose he had fun. i'll just say, i would NOT want him to be my underwear. no thank you.
next up was cut off your hands. they were every bit as wonderful as we thought they would be. we'd been dying to see them for so long, and my oh my did they deliver. nick basically owned the entire stage with his spazzmatic dancing.
agh ... sooooo good!

then ra ra riot was the icing on the already delicious cupcake.
i hadn't seen them since summer 2008 because i felt like i was all "ra ra'd out" from seeing them so many times last year. i had almost forgotten how good they are live.
of course, i still can't forgive them for changing the lyrics of "can you tell," but the set was good. they played for about an hour and 15 minutes, oh and they did some new songs, good stuff.
i was fully satisfied.

and my very favorite:

the next day, i finished all of my awesome essays, then went back to topshop to buy more things and to see kim dj.
i picked up another dress and another skirt. kim was playing all my favorite booty bumpin top 40 hip-hop tunes, then as i was dancing while waiting on line, i glanced out of the corner of my eye up to the dj booth, only to see kim waving really hard to get my attention. she slapped matt's arm, pointed at me and they both waved. i looked around to make sure they were waving to me, and sure enough they were.
i waved back and continued dancing.
i guess matt doesn't secretly hate me anymore.
oh matt and kim, you are the best.

i officially have $12 to my name. awesome.

dear matt and kim, i miss you. love, devyn

2009-03-30T23:13:00.003-04:00

so, i was reading this interview today and it made me realize how much i miss matt and kim.
i know, i know ... i saw them last month, and the month before that but i feel like it's been forever.
they're the one band that i'll travel to the ends of the earth for, or at the very least, the outer edges of godknowswhere brooklyn.

matt mentioned a show in the interview, which was by FAR, the best matt and kim show i've ever been to.
it was the summer of 2007, 4 days before my birthday, sweltering hot, in the middle of bushwick, in a completely illegal warehouse. it was blissful.
best fwends opened, and although i could've done without that band that stole my water, it was still a fantastic night.

i might've named it best show of 2007. i probably did.
i don't remember.

this is what matt had to say about it:
"I'd have to say we probably played our first hundred shows in New York, shows Todd P had booked at whatever random art space or warehouse and things like that, so while everything might not have been perfect—the sound probably never great, the ventilation always below par and this and that—it was always unique and memorable. People see so many shows at venues they tend to become un-unique. Once Kim and I did a show with Todd at a warehouse in Bushwick that was initially set to be at a place above this auto parts store. And then the day of the show, we found out that apparently there was a sweatshop above the auto parts store. They couldn't do anything about it, when we stepped in to move stuff in to do the show there were like all these sewing tables and they were like, "Sorry, we forgot." A few hours before the show was supposed to start we had to find a new place and we ended up finding this pizza place that was getting made that was connected to a warehouse full of bricks and rubble and crap and no one was actually permitted to be there. The people building the pizza place had been using it as a workshop. Basically they ended up clearing this place out, going in, trying to get a couple porta potties and then spreading the word and they had to stop letting people in at like 650 people, at this bizarre warehouse in Bushwick where no one has a right to be there. It's probably what a rave was back in the early 90's. I met people in Australia who told me about seeing us at that show and how memorable it was and things like that. People just getting texts like, "Oh, I heard it moved here." It's things like that where memories can be created that way."

anyone who was there would agree that it was one of the most epic matt and kim shows to date.
that night, matt broke his glasses and decided to take off his shirt (he hasn't done that since) and it was the first time they played the new songs that would be on their second album "grand" ... they were overwhelmingly happy just to be home, with their friends. i was happy too.

oh p.s.
all points west lineup? FANTASTIC!

deprived.

2009-03-29T16:48:00.004-04:00

so, march has proven to be a slow slow month.
i haven't been to a good show in god knows how long, and i need something fantastic.

we thought about seeing wavves last night, but settled on roaming around the mall for a couple hours.
sorry nathan ... i just wasn't in the mood for sweaty madness and dirty kids in bushwick.

apparently the all points west lineup is being released tomorrow morning. let's hope for something amazing.
chances are, the lineup won't be worth $100 a day. whatevz, who wants to pay that much for 12 bands per day anyway?
i'll just listen to everyone from my rooftop. yes, you can hear everything perfectly from there. all points west is basically in my backyard.

blogging will be back to normal in april.
i've got a good amount of shows, including of montreal ... thank goodness.
ra ra riot and cut off your hands on saturday. so good.

i've had a lot on my mind lately.
i kind of just want to open my head, take my brain out and put it in a box for a few hours. that would be great.

i have tons of homework to do.
tomorrow is going to be bad.

if i had a quarter...

2009-03-25T22:41:00.003-04:00

and if people weren't watching, i would've ridden one of these.

anyone hear about the topshop opening a week from today?
um hey ~~santigold~~ santogold and mark ronson.

i'm missing all the good shows this week because i'm a minor.
all of my friends are turning 18 without me.

dear hipster runoff, you are fantastic. love, devyn

2009-03-22T23:09:00.007-04:00

so now i know that i'm not the only person who doesn't "get" no age.
and i know i should feel the same way about wavves as you stated in your last post, because they're both that lofi punk shit, but nathan is just so gosh darn flippin cute, that i might waste a whole $8 to see him at market hotel next weekend ... or not.
i heard he's better live? but as you said, he's "just a chill guy who plays gigs in comfortable sportswear" ... i might believe that. i do believe that.
maybe he really DOES only have one good song.
poor kid. he has nice hair.

anyways, i was passing by some magazine store in the city today as i saw in the display alternating covers of fader. zach condon of beirut on one cover and natasha khan of bat for lashes on the other. i ran inside only to find that all of the issues had bat for lashes. i went to the window, pulled out one with zach's face, then realized it was a double cover. zach on one side, natasha on the other.
oh danggggggg shits, i got so excited. you get both! in one issue! how exciting is that?!?!?? but of course, zach is far more exciting, even though he looks old and fat now. maybe because he's most definitely married to granola face.
ahemmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

we also picked up the latest issue of bust with lily allen on the front, which made me remember how much natasha khan and lily look alike, and it was totally [not] funny because we were getting one magazine with lily on the front and one with natasha on the front. ha .. yess.
i honestly think they're twins separated at birth, only natasha has a piggier nose.

really?

oh, and this! they're in the SAME magazine!
if i was retarded, i would think there were just two pictures of lily on the contents page of bust. why would they put them next to each other? oh and don't mind my two boyfriends also on the same page.

ok, so obviously lily allen is more tan, and her boobs are slightly larger, but they most definitely have similar facial features ... so weird.

we purchased our magazines, then as we were walking out, we saw this in the window:

i cannot express enough how much i DESPISE the teenagers and this asshole.
he's so disrespectful and horrible. how can anyone appreciate the teenagers?
nothing about them is appealing.
clearly, you are deaf or tasteless if you think they make good music.
can you even call it music?

we then continued on to get a slurpie and sit on a bench.
i took a picture of a tree.

p.s.
IT'S ALMOST TIME FOR OUR FAVORITE HIKING SANDALS!

for real?

p.p.s.
NEW YORK NOISE IS ON BUT CHANNEL 25 DOESN'T WORK!!

texas

2009-03-17T18:39:00.004-04:00

is obviously the place to be right now considering every music loving person who hasn't yet been struck by the recession is on their way to austin right now.
oh sxsw, how i'd love to be there and party until my brains leak out of my ears.
everywhere i turn, i feel like everyone is just trying to remind me that i'm missing out for the millionth time.
i've told myself since freshman year that i'd definitely go my senior year.
i'm only a year away from bliss.
besides, what's sxsw without matt and kim?
hopefully someone will spit out some face value tickets by the end of the week, and i'll go see them and pretend we're in texas.

speaking of texas, good music schools there. i need to look into that. i have a meeting with my guidance counselor about schools tomorrow. i get to miss history for that! yay!

i'm rethinking the berklee school of music in boston ... apparently, it's a factory that turns mediocre musicians into dropouts and extremely talented musicians into robots. i believe that. i really do, and i don't want to waste my money on some "big name" shit school ... we all know kids just end up there because they're a bunch of rich yuppies who have been playing since they were 5, but don't necessarily enjoy it.
i'd rather go somewhere where i can enjoy what i do, have good relationships with my educators and excel as a committed and passionate musician.
... oh, and i need to be able to minor in music photo journalism.

why am i thinking about college now?

monday update.

2009-03-16T16:35:00.005-04:00

the worst day of the week.
just found out alkaline trio is already sold out.
i was really looking forward to shooting that show. no luck, i guess.
they were my favorite band in the 8th grade ... haven't seen them since the summer after freshman year.
i'm not devastated though. i'd probably be too lazy to go out on a sunday night anyway.

still haven't found tickets for cut copy and matt & kim.
this has just been a bad month for shows, i guess.
i've been to a total of ONE in a span of two weeks and two days.
and the one i went to wasn't even fantastic.

tomorrow is saint patrick's day. wear green to school?
nah, i'll wear yellow and blue and tell the nuns that if you shake me, i'll turn green.

today is a lazy day. this blog will probably be followed by a nap ... then some essay revising and writing.

dear kevin barnes, you make me want to paint my nails. love, devyn

2009-03-14T22:27:00.005-04:00

i was just thinking about how of montreal is coming back in exactly a month!
i am so excited, it's ridiculous.
it's already in the running for best show of the year ... i just know it'll be that good.

i'm gonna go paint my nails gold.

someone buy me this hoodie:

i hate

2009-03-12T19:35:00.006-04:00

dumb doctors
dingy waiting rooms
brown-ish carpeting
bad lighting
low ceilings
the smell of old people
frisse lettuce

wtf

today was a bad day.

i need a good show ... now.
and at this point, i don't even know if i'm going to cut copy and matt and kim @ term5.
shit's sold out, and there's no way in hell that i'm paying $100+ for a ticket from some greedy cock face scalper on craigslist.

i was gonna try to see totally michael in brooklyn tonight, but decided against doing do because i am just not in the mood to deal with dirty brooklyn kids rubbing their sweaty armpits on my back.

oh, and wtf @ kid sister playing sxsw. asshole.

dear kid sister, you're more unreliable than spank rock. love, devyn

2009-03-08T21:32:00.003-04:00

alright ... so i've already established that kid sister is unreliable, but this just brought her infamous unreliability to the next level.
here's the news on her album.
it was set to come out last june, then postponed to july, then september, then november, then january, then now, late march.
there has been no news of it since the postponement from january to march. is the record even done? will it ever be done?
probably not.

now, her record release show was set to be at bowery on november 25th, it was postponed to february, then more recently postponed to april 25th. i went to check if tickets were sold out, only to find out that the show had been canceled altogether.
SUPER DUPER JOB, KID SIS! WHAT THE HELL?

again, i think she's doing this because she's secretly pregnant, so she thinks she can just slack for 9 months.
the 9 months that could've been the most important in her career as a musician.
she is obviously to blame, but some of the blame also goes to her boyfrannnnnn alain macklovitch, aka a-trak ... who is currently doing a tour with dj medhi. we don't see a-trak taking his fatherly responsibilities, do we? bullshit.
thanxz guyzzzz. you're super awesome.

hmmmm.

2009-03-07T20:07:00.004-05:00

not much going on lately.
went out to south hackensack to support some local boyzzzz for the van atta high ep release show.
action item was lovely ... super short set though, probably because the show was running off schedule. but anyways, support them and check them out hurrrrr: action item
here are a few photos:

van atta high were also good. i hadn't seen them in like two years, so it was kind of surreal seeing how much they've grown. everyone was singing along. it was crazyyy. good for them.

yay for my flash dying halfway through van atta's set.
had to use the built-in. ew.

weather was nice today ... high of 71.
tomorrow it's supposed to rain.
sat's in a week.
oh joy.

i want this.

2009-03-01T20:24:00.001-05:00

the new diana f+ snowcat edition!!!
it's fantastic! and IT HAS A CAT ON IT!

speaking of cats ... i want this cat.

after praying to the snow gods all weekend,

2009-03-01T20:08:00.003-05:00

I HAVE NO SCHOOL TOMORROW!
just thought i should make this known.

i didn't go to juiceboxxx/team robes/ninjasonik on saturday.
i was too lazy to drag my ass to bklyn at 11pm.
besides, that shit probably got busted early.
whatevz ... juice boy is coming back on may 9th, and it's not like i haven't seen team robes and ninja 123456789 times already.

kind of a dry spell for shows for a while.
maybe i'm seeing totally michael on the 12th, but with SAT's on the 14th, i gotta get as much rest that week as possible.
i don't even have tickets for matt & kim and cut copy on the 21st, so i'm not entirely sure if i'm going to that.
there is no way in hell that i'm paying $75 for a ticket on craigslist. no thank you.
but perhaps someone nice will be selling for face value the day before the show.
i mean, look what happened with tokyo police club ... got the tickets the DAY OF THE SHOW!

btw, i'm completely and utterly OBSESSED with born ruffians right now.
i've come to the conclusion that luke lalonde is brilliant and "hedonistic me" is most definitely like my favorite song right now.
sooo good ... holy crap. i've been listening to it on repeat.
it's up on the same level as "a sentence of sorts in kongsvinger" by of montreal ... didn't think that was possible.

the harrowing adventures of...

2009-02-26T17:58:00.011-05:00

tokyo police club, born ruffians and harlem shakes!

most definitely in the running for the top shows of the year.
despite the fact that a girl standing near us passed out and then barfed all over the floor ... oh, and that the lights were super close to giving me a seizure.

look what i found!

i had never really given harlem shakes a listen, but i was pleasantly surprised.
they were just so energetic and good, i'm not sure why i'd never really listened to them before.
it's like being on the beach with a couple saxophones and smiling animals and one floor tom for everyone to play together.
it totally made sense why they'd be playing with tpc and born ruffians.

born ruffians were even better than i had remembered them being.
but that might be because the first time i saw them, i was outside and it was pouring rain and i had no umbrella.
haha, but really ... they were great! and oh hey luke lalonde ... adorable!

tokyo police club was wonderful of course. they're just so good and they make me ridiculously happy every time i see them.
again, as i said five months ago, they are one of the few bands who have the ability to make me excited when they play ANY of their songs because every song is just that fantastic.
they opened with a new song, and sprinkled a few other new songs in their set.
i like the new material ... a step in a new direction, but still good! i can't wait to hear the songs again.
they played all my favorites, but strangely, they didn't to "centennial," but that's alright.

setlist:
Favourite Colour <-- new song
Nature
Box
Sixties
Breakneck Speed <-- new song
Works
Cave
Paste
Nursery
New New
Baskervilles
Shoulders
Citizens
Graves
Math
Harrowing
Tesselaste
English
Juno
Be Good
------------
Cheer It on
Spark <-- new song
Train In Vain

they've totally gained more stage presence. every time i see them, they just get better and better.
oh, and that encore ... so good.

they invited born ruffians out to do one song, then harlem shakes came out too and they did "train in vain" by the clash.
SO RIDICULOUS! ahh!

thank you, tokyo police club.
you are fantastic.

oh hello.

2009-02-23T16:33:00.003-05:00

so, shows have been dry for the past week or so.
went to My Teenage Stride in Long Island City at The Jackson (steakhouse) on saturday, and i must say, i think i hate LIC more than i hate bushwick.
who knew that was even possible?
i'm never going back there again, unless i absolutely have to.
and it didn't help that everyone in the crowd was either 100 years old or 5 years old. awesome.

juiceboxxx @ vpoint this weekend?
i think sooooo.
juiceboxxx > life ... fo'sho.

photography project!

2009-02-20T15:51:00.005-05:00

so ... you may or may not have heard, but i'm doing a photography project.
i need from 20-25 specimens of all ages, male and female to pose for a few frames.
in the end i'll compile my favorites from each person's shoot to have a series of "themed portraits."
i think it'll be pretty cool.
each person will pose with the same prop ... that prop being my grandfather's glasses from the 70's that i found a few months ago. but the glasses will be worn or used differently in every picture.
oh, and you get to pose in front of a glittery backdrop. i know you think that's exciting.
i know i do!
SOOOO ... if you're interested, please please please let me know by the end of the month at the latest.
i'm running low on boys, so if you're a boy and feel like doing this, i'll be forever grateful.

this could be you!

i always manage to find pictures of myself looking really excited

2009-02-17T11:43:00.004-05:00

at matt and kim shows.
here's one from the secret show last week.
of course, i have my arm up.
lovezzzzz you matt and kim.

while i'm here, i might as well post a few more.
here's one from cmj 2007 of me getting kicked in the head ... awesome!

and one from the "pizza factory" aka that nasty abandoned warehouse in bushwick in summer 2007.
i came out of this show with footprints on my face.

good times.

what will foals become when they grow up?

2009-02-16T22:14:00.006-05:00

so, i hadn't listened to foals in quite a while, and just yesterday i remembered just how much i love them.
i get so tense listening to them ... but not like an uncomfortable tense ... it's like a weird kind of tenseness where you feel like doing a really long math equation, then taking a crazy nap.
they've grown in popularity like exponentially over the past year or so, and after playing a billion shows here last year up until may, they decided that the the states just aren't that important.
jack bevan claimed they'd be back in october, but um, it's february now.
they probably decided not to come back because yannis got so upset when they played maxwell's on may 7th.
goddamnit.

but anyways, i just got around to downloading all those b-sides i've been missing out on.
so good ... oh my god.
go find these:

and these:

yes, "super inuit" is a holy fuck cover.

i love turbotax!

2009-02-11T18:43:00.008-05:00

no, not because it's a great tax filing service (is it really? i'm not one to know ... i don't pay taxes) but because they sponsored last night's myspace secret show with lily allen and ... get ready for it ... MATT AND KIM, and trouble andrew.

it's as if they reached into my brain and picked out all my favorite people and threw them onto a stage. so good. wonderful.
we got there around 2:30 to ensure our admission and stayed on line until 7:30 ... yes, we were on line for a solid 5 hours. thankfully, they passed out free lily allen shirts, stickers and lollypops to appease us. i had no problem with that.

they herded us in like cattle. we ran down the stairs and to the door only to find yet another crowd of frustrated peole. they opened the doors like 15 minutes later and we all attempted to run up the stairs then got stopped AGAIN because trouble andrew was sound checking. he couldn't do that before doors opened?? finally after 20 minutes of being way too close to nasty strangers and ghetto-ass girls on the stairs, they let us in and we charged towards the stage and took our spots on the right side, aka matt's side, which was totally weird because i've been on kim's side every time since the first time i saw matt and kim.

trouble andrew was super cool ... but seriously, that bull horn was NOT necessary!!!
anways, he only played like 4 songs, which was sad because he's so much fun!

for an opening spot, m&k's set was a decent length. they managed to throw in a lot of my favorites, but they refused to slow it down and play "lightspeed." it was strange hearing such a silence fall over most of the crowd when they played. there were obviously only about 10 people in the crowd that REALLY liked them. all ofthem happened to be in my general vicinity.
i was ridiculously excited as usual, but i could not compare myself to the guy standing next to me. i had never seen him at a matt and kim show before, but he had definitely seen them before because he knew the drill for all the songs and when to put up his arm and when to count and everything - but he was super violent and not cool about it at all. like, i get it, he was trying to have fun but really?? did you have to hurt everyone around you?
also, a note to the crowdsurfers and stage divers last night, PLEASE DON'T DO IT UNLESS YOU KNOW PEOPLE ARE WILLING TO CATCH YOU! the large man lady fell right on my face. i would've threatened to cut her after the show if she wasn't so frightening.

after matt and kim, i was totally parched and dehydrated and hot and sweaty and disgusting and uncomfortable, and it didn't help that the three middle-aged assholes in front of me smelled like leather and kept elbowing me and flicking their hair in my face.

thankfully, lily allen went on shortly after. she had the most adorable dress and sweater ever. she's just super cute and fantastic. i love her so much. by the middle of the set, she was a little bit tipsy and was giggling at almost everything, but if anything, she was even more fun when drunk. after she left the stage, we called her back for an encore ... yes, she did "womanizer" ... hellz yessss! so good.

i was totally sore after the show, but again, we got outside and they gave us a poster ... more free stuff! yay!

the end.
lily allen again in april with my baybeeeeeez in npsh.

i'm so happy right now.

2009-02-08T22:23:00.003-05:00

2009 is definitely bringing the goods. from off broadway reuniting, then no doubt and now blink-182.
it has been a harsh 4 years and now they're finally back. not necessarily for the best reasons, but they are totally and completely back. hopefully for good.
thank you mark, travis and tom.

well it's been a long time, long time now, since i've seen you smile

2009-02-08T01:51:00.011-05:00

so of course, as you might already know, i saw beirut at BAM last night, the last day of his three brooklyn shows.
words cannot express how much i missed zach condon and his trumpet. it had been a year and four months since his masonic temple show which absolutely blew my mind. i only expected this show to be just as wonderful, if not better.
i had dear zachary on the "i'm mad at you, but i still love you, but you're really crappy for never playing shows in the area that i can actually attend" list until yesterday, but he had finally made it out of that hole of shame.

he was in a good mood and had tons of energy. i honestly couldn't have asked for a better show from him, though i am confused as to why he didn't play "scenic world" ... but whatever, it was still a great set. he played a few songs from gulag, some from flying club cup, elephant gun, some new material from the ep's, including my two favorites "the concubine" and "the akara." he also played a serge gainsbourg cover of "la javanaise", which was absolutely fantastic, and two songs that i don't have ... one is called "east harlem" and the other, i'm not sure of.
update: maybe it's called "kozak" or something ... i don't know, i probably read the setlist wrong.

i honestly can't even get over how great he was. he amazes me to no end. his voice is like tall glass of baritone brilliance.
it's smoother than a red velvet cupcake and more enjoyable than a steaming mug of thick hot chocolate with whipped cream on a bitterly cold day.
it's incrdible that a boy so young can create such complex and amazing music. i cannot thank you enough, zach condon.
oh, and kaki king was adorable ... she can do all the rock moves while playing her song in 11/8 that she wants. she was so good! i definitely underestimated her before the show.

here are some photos i snuck towards the end before getting caught:

videos!
i apologize for the crappy filming ... i had to hide the light from the screen in order to keep myself from getting in trouble, so i couldn't actually see what was on the screen, hence the reason why sometimes you'll see someone's head or the wall. i tried!

"the concubine"

"nantes"

"the akara"

"a sunday smile"

i remember those days of late december.

2009-02-07T12:37:00.004-05:00

last night was the reunion show of my favorite local band, off broadway.
they broke up "officially" in january of 2008, and basically the entire population of suburban girls in essex and bergen county were devastated. and of course a couple of hood dwellers from jersey city, those being myself and gina.
so, then after incessant pleading, they set up a reunion show at school of rock.
they told me about it just a few days before christmas, and i nearly peed my pants.

so finally, february 6th came and there we were, in the front row. i had been going insane for the past week because i was so excited. and frankly, i had every reason to be as excited as i was. it was just one huge flashback. i felt like i was 14 years old.
definitely one of the best shows i've seen them put on. it was painfully short, but there was energy for days, and oh, the cover of "dammit" by blink was just a fantastic surprise. another bonus! brian from action item played guitar for them.
i would've jumped on stage if giancarlo wasn't totally in our way and if i didn't have my camera to worry about.

i really think if they hadn't broken up, they would've been HUGE by now. not that they don't have a good following, but i'm sure they would've been known all over the country.
but i suppose they'll always just be local heroes.
hopefully this "reunion" wasn't a one night thing, because i miss them already.

setlist:

photos:

i pissed my pants a little.

2009-02-07T00:18:00.002-05:00

i love that lily allen has decided to play with all my favorites.
it's beyond exciting.
i get to see her on tuesday with matt and kim, and in april with npsh...whatttt??

beirut tomorrow!

well then.

2009-02-03T15:39:00.003-05:00

as sources are telling me, ahem ... brooklyn vegan, apparently natalie portman's shaved head are touring with lily allen and will be here on april 20th at roseland.
i hate roseland to pieces, but npsh are one of my favorites and lily allen's awesomeness can NOT be denied.
not to worry ... i'll be in the front fo'sho.

speaking of venues i hate, the cut copy/matt and kim show at terminal 5 is sold out and uhh ... I DON'T HAVE TICKETS!
this is going to be a disaster.
no one is selling on craigslist.
anyone have any they'd like to give me?

did you see the snow today??

apparently it's supposed to snow into tomorrow and thursday.
hope for no school.
i refuse to go outside.
i have to make a cake.

so...

2009-02-02T18:20:00.005-05:00

i was sitting on the toilet flipping through last week's issue of time out, and voila, there was a feature on beirut.
i know, i know ... you're probably sick and tired of the abundance of beirut posts on here, but i can't help it.
aparently he's not married, and he and his granola gurlfran just moved in together in east williamsburg.
they have two cats.
here's the full article (click to make it bigger)

5 days til i get to see him again!
i wish i had tickets for the 4th and 6th.
hummm :(

so basically...

2009-01-31T23:34:00.002-05:00

i've been OBSESSED with these lomography cameras, and i found myself oogling at all the lomo goodness at the new store on 8th street. if i had the funds, i would've walked out with 12 of them, but alas, i'm broke as hell and could only let my head explode from all the excitement of looking at them.
buy me this:

in other news, i ran into naeem juwar aka spank rock today.
he totally smirked at me. maybe because i was staring really hard at him. but anyways, he's cool as hell ... unreliable, but most definitely awesome.

ALSO! of montreal is playing not one, not two, but THREE dates at music hall ... april 15th, 16th and 17th.
i'm thinking of going to all three. i have tickets for april 16th already. it wouldn't hurt to see them three days in a row.
i lovez me some kevin barnes.