i STILL want to be Janelle Monáe.

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.

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

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"

really owen?

dear owen pallett,

why would you book your shows in NY on the exact same days as both of beirut's shows at BAM?
did it not occur to you that most people who enjoy the music you create also enjoy beirut?

obviously there is no competition considering everyone bought their beirut tickets already and sold out all of his shows that week, and you didn't announce your shows until AFTER that was done.
i understand that you will be back later in february with grizzly bear and the bklyn philharmonic at BAM, but tickets are too expensive for my liking.
i'm poor and need to pay for all of the other shows i haven't bought tickets for yet.
no sense in paying $55 for ONE show, right?

why couldn't you just play WITH beirut?
i just don't understand.

love,
devyn

oh, and a quick note to brandon bethancourt of alaska in winter in regards to his two NY dates.
i have come to accept that i will never see you.
i've waited long enough for you to come to NY, and now that you have two dates here, one is 19+ and the other is 21+ ... that doesn't help me. at all. ever. i'm too young. once again, and this is why i've missed and will miss 85 billion shows.
this is tragic.

and one more note to owen pallett, zach condon, brandon bethancourt and ed droste.
why can't you all make our lives a million times easier and ALL play a show together.
you're all friends, obviously.
and you're all going to be in new york at the same time ... literally.
why NOT play together?
i'm just saying, it would make my life, and i'd pay a large sum of money to see that happen.
and while you're at it, invite patrick wolf ... and andrew bird.
then get arcade fire to play too.
i'm going overboard now, but imagine how magical that would be?



lolz.

a wonderful holiday season it is...

after beirut's shows at bam on february 6th and music hall on february 4th selling out before they even went on sale, i was distraught. not being able to see my most favorite musician in the entire world in february would kill me. though, there were rumors that he'd add yes another date in brooklyn. and that he did! a third show was announced for february 7th at bam.
it's as if the heavens heard my cry.

zach condon is a flippin musical genius, and to miss him play in brooklyn (which he neglected all throughout 2008, except for one show that i couldn't attend because i'm not 18 yet) would be a crime.
thank you zach.
thank you so much.