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"

i remember those days of late december.

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.

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.

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...

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 :(