i love summer.

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.

uhmmm...

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

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

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!

i always manage to find pictures of myself looking really excited

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.

i love turbotax!

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 stood back on the couch, remembered this is my life, with my hands over my head, friends by my side

last night marked the ... i don't know, 473563771489th time i've seen Matt and Kim. i've stopped counting.
but anyways, it was the release show for their sophomore LP, Grand.
of course, you've heard me hyping about Grand all week ... all month ... for the past 3 months, and i have a reason to.
it's because it's flippin' AMAZING!!
of course, it's no s/t ... nothing will ever beat that, but this definitely comes close.
it was such a joy to see them tomorrow, despite the fact that i knew i'd have bruises the next day.
and today i have bruises across my ribcage and stomach ... and on my leg. SUPER AWESOME! but the bruises are always worth it.

the openers for Matt and Kim were complete surprises.
they had just been listed as "special guests."
right before i left the house, i read on brooklyn vegan that spank rock would be there.
i didn't believe it ... he never shows up for anything, but sure enough, he was there!
ninjasonik played for a bit ... super fun as always.
then the rude mechanical orchestra played. fantastic! they are so entertaining! i love them. it makes me want to be in an orchestra.
after them, spanky came for a little bit. he's so charming, and i'm so glad he decided to show up. it would've been a sin NOT to.

at around 11:30, m&k came on. their set was about an hour ... good.
but i think they've just stopped playing "no more long years." i haven't heard them play it since the summer maybe :(
it makes me very sad. but they were incredible anyway, and i wouldn't expect anything less from them.
their set ended and it turned into a post-show dance party! ... much like the last tiem they played at music hall, except for this time, EVERYONE stayed.
sadly, i had to leave the dance party early because i had my history exam this morning ... blahh!
til next time Matt and Kim.

photos!

rude mechanical orchestra:













spanky:







matt and kim: