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

fallin' behind!

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!

two thousand and eight ... the year in numbers

there is only word that can describe 2008, and that word is EPIC.
we started off the year drenched in sweat, partied in confetti blanketed rooms, popped balloons, got lost in philly, and ended the year covered in snow and red paint.
i'm grateful for the people i spent my year with, the new friends i've made, oh .. and special thanks to the flobots.
how could this year have gotten any better? i'm not even sure.

top 10 shows:
1. css, matt and kim, natalie portman's shaved head and the go! team @ the trocadero on 8.07
2. i'm from barcelona @ maxwell's on 4.25
3. of montreal @ music hall of williamsburg on 12.16
4. tilly and the wall @ music hall of williamsburg on 7.29
5. islands @ market hotel on 11.08
6. tokyo police club @ maxwell's on 9.25
7. juiceboxxx @ silent barn on 1.06
8. the mae shi @ silent barn on 12.12
9. the cool kids @ knitting on 6.07
10. the wombats @ blender on 6.03

bonus number 11!
11. bayside @ irving plaza on 11.14
- if the crowd wasn't so horrible, this show might've made top 10 solely because they played "guardrail" ... my boys are slipping away!


best dressed bands of the year - or of all time basically:
1. of montreal
- i always find myself picking out clothes and saying "kevin would wear that!"


2. tilly and the wall
- homemade or vintage ... both of course! best socks ever! best tapshoes ever! oh my god!


3. natalie portman's shaved head
- fringed sleeves and kittens ... that's all anyone needs, right?



the 4 worst shows of the year:
1. kimya dawson @ webster on 4.06
- this show made me dislike her ... a lot. if i hadn't gone to this show, she probably wouldn't have been on my "artists/bands i'd like to see nothing of in 2009" list.
2. the teenagers @ cakeshop on 2.03
- it was free, i figured ... oh, maybe they're better live. i was wrong.
3. the teenagers @ maxwell's on 5.10
- i was dragged ... and not even team robes could save the night.
3. everything, minus matt and kim @ danbro on 10.31
- i don't get it. i just don't. i love matt and kim to pieces though.


the 5 saddest shows of the year:
1. foals @ maxwell's on 5.07
- poor yannis and his anger management problems ... this was tragic. absolutely tragic.
2. iheartcomix showcase w/ juiceboxxx, team robes, totally michael, heartsrevolution and ninjasonik @ music hall on 10.25
- had the potential to be great, but there were maybe 40 less than excited people there and juiceboxxx had a temper tantrum.
3. totally michael @ knitting on 2.15
- 20 people, no one danced ... i don't get it ... michael is on this list TWICE! maybe it's because he got rid of the balloons.
4. the mae shi @ market hotel on 7.21
- ok, not the saddest, but definitely the hottest.


the number 1 most painful show of the year:
BLACK LIPS @ MAXWELL'S ON 6.02
- seriously, those bruises could not be topped by ANY show.


top 15 albums:
1. glistening pleasure - natalie portman's shaved head
- i listened to this album 50 times the first week i got it.

2. totally michael - totally michael
- we waited long enough, and goddamn, the wait was worth it!

3. elephant shell - tokyo police club
- it took me a minute to fully appreciate this album because it sounded so **~clean~** compared to the raw ep's ... but i absolutely love it now and can listen to it on repeat for hours on end.

4. skeletal lamping - of montreal
- so different from their other albums ... but in this case, different is good. disco is good.

5. oracular spectacular - mgmt
- feels like you're trippin' on somethingggggg ... but it's oh so fantastic.

6. donkey - css
- nice move luvfuxxx, nice move.

7. hlllyeah - the mae shi
- genius? i think so.

8. starfucker - starfucker
- where have they been all my life?!!!?!?!

9. chunk of change ep - passion pit
- ahhh! why is this so addictive??

10. vampire weekend - vampire weekend
- IT'S INTELLECTUAL MUSIC! HOW COULD YOU NOT LOVE IT?!

11. antidotes - foals
- everything is so perfect and put together ... it's mindblowing!

12. visiter - the dodos
- another stroke of genius.

13. partie traumatic - black kids
- the soundtrack of my summer ... how many times did i listen to this in august? god only knows.

14. youth novels - lykke li
- the swedes do it again! lykke li will forever have my heart, and not just because she's from a country that makes great meatballs.

15. santogold - santogold
- hop on the santogold train, if you haven't already ... her dancers might beat you up if you don't.


oh, and a bonus number 16 (sorry nick, but it just wasn't good enough to make it into the top 15)
16. arm's way - islands
- ok, so it wasn't as amazing as return to the sea ... obviously, but it was still a good release. i have high expectations for them, all the time ... and they only sort of met my expectations. i'll give them an A+ for effort and maybe a B for the album. don't get me wrong, i love islands to death and will see them whenever they play here because their live shows are so spectacular ... but i think i only love about half of this album, hence the reason why "arm's way" gets to be the bonus number. the new album was dark compared to return, and as nick said in may "out with the old, and in with the new" ... he'll probably never create a song like "don't call me whitney bobby" ever again. and you know what? ... i'm okay with that. nick thorburn can do whatever the hell he wants, because he's a genius and i'll always respect him. even if he's secretly an asshole.



the 4 worst albums of the year:
1. reality check - the teenagers
- i can't understand why anyone likes them ... a bunch of french assholes singing about horrible horrible things. it's not even like they're cool or attractive or anything.
2. who killed harry houdini? - i'm from barcelona
- there's only so much good music that 21 swedes with little to no musical talent can create. every song becomes redundant. tragic, because they had the number 2 best show this year. i set my expectations too high, and in turn i was displeased with this album.
3. the rhumb line - ra ra riot
- the lyrics were changed, the instrumentals were changed, every song from the ep was stripped of it's intense emotion, but i don't believe it was their fault that the album was so bad. i blame the new label.
4. we are beautiful, we are doomed - los campesinos!
- they say it's not an actual release ... then what the hell is it? oh right, just a few songs carelessly slapped together to get something i listened to twice, then never thought about again. it's a shame, because hold on now youngster and sticking fingers into sockets were so much fun!


top 10 must have tracks from this year, whether they were on the top albums or not:
1. "daylight" (grand) - matt and kim
2. "the thoughts that give me the creeps" (ukulele recordings ep) - hellogoodbye
3. "beard lust" (glistening pleasure) - natalie portman's shaved head
4. "casual satisfaction" (s/t) - totally michael
5. "family reunion" (dream date) - kid sister
6. "run to your grave" (hlllyh) - the mae shi
7. "an eluardian instance" (skeletal lamping) - of montreal
8. "bassment party" (the bake sale) - the cool kids
9. "robocop" (808s & heartbreak) - kanye west
10. "that's not my name" (we started nothing) - the ting tings


the 5 artists/bands that will DOMINATE in 2009:
1. beirut
- god knows he's already dominating brooklyn, his shows sell out before they even go on sale. who else can do that? and he's only 22. flippin genius.

2. matt and kim
- they are well on their way to doing so because they're just so grand.

3. natalie portman's shaved head
- superstars in no time. i taste it. their music is just too good.

4. kid sister
- crazy connections, awesome boyfriend, catchy ass tunes ... the perfect equation for fame. all i can say is damn gurl!

5. tokyo police club
- oops, they already conquered the world.



the 5 artists/bands i'd like to see NOTHING of in 2009:
1. the teenagers
- no, no, and NO!
2. ponytail
- not music.
3. aids wolf
- noise garbage.
4. kimya dawson
- the juno craze is over, and all the songs sound the same anyway!
5. midnight masses
- i hadn't heard of this crap before they opened for islands, and i don't believe they should continue being a band. the music isn't original, it isn't good, it's not interesting, it's not fun ... unless you enjoy chanting and using religious and racial slurs, then great ... this band is for you!


top 5 movies:
1. slumdog millionaire
2. milk
3. wall-e
4. iron man
5. man on wire


as for television, everything seemed to go down the drain this year.
i have nothing else to say about that.


thank you 2008 for being a great year.
hopefully 2009 can be just as great, if not better.
i mean, it's starting out with a bang ... spring awakening on the 11th, dance crew comes back on the 15th, flight comes back on the 18th, and matt and kim's release show is on the 22nd. holler!

happy new year!

i like parks

just a quick note, this is a new blog.
my previous blog just obviously wasn't getting read, because it was through myspace.
oh, and a bought a new camera ... so, i figured i might need a better blog to post my pictures on.
this one will be exponentially better, though, i'll try to keep up my other one.
there are some good posts from october, 2005 to july 2008, then for the most part it's the exact same thing as this:
other blog!


so yesterday was the last show at bklyn bridge park for the summer. and they ended it nicely.

tiny masters of today have no stage presence, or musical talent.
like i get it, they're cute little kids ... but honestly, they're not that much younger than i am, and i don't get why people like them so much!
this is all i have to say. sorry.

headlights and french kicks were soo enjoyable though.
but i must say, french kicks were probably on for almost an hour and a half, and after about the first 45 minutes, everything started sounding the same. and it's not like they're particularly engaging. they rarely said anything to the crowd. anyways, i thought i should point out that nick's hands are nice. he should be a hand model.

photos!

tiny masters:










headlights:


















french kicks:




























that's all.