all delighted people raise their hands.

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.

basically, i suck at blogging.

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.

black acid co-op.

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.

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!

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.

trouble in room 517.

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.

hai, i likes da akorn/familiez.

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.

who hired the latin fusion band?!

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