Thursday, April 24, 2008

Deep-fried Monday

I was reading a write-up about the National Underground, Gavin DeGraw's new-ish club on the Lower East Side, and I noticed Kevn Kinney was scheduled to play there Monday night. I went to my share of drivin' n' cryin' concerts in high school, so it seemed rude to not stop by and have a listen. The opening band, Madison Square Gardeners, also backed Kevn, so his set had more rock to it than I was expecting. I haven't seen Kevn play live in 17 years (it pains me to type that), but the music seemed really comfortable and familiar. Maybe because I have all of MacDougal Blues on my iPod. Or maybe because it’s just that kind of music. Anyway, it was a fun time. Gail and Leigh joined me. They are not country music fans, but they really enjoyed show. And Gail learned what a pedal steel guitar is.

You know you're in an intimate music venue when... I didn't use the zoom on my camera when taking this picture.
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The set opened with "A Good Country Mile." Not a new song, but was my 1st time hearing it. Gave me chills. Georgia peeps, enjoy.

Friday, April 18, 2008

American-made autos falling from the sky

Went to the Guggenheim last Sunday afternoon with Joseph & Robyn. Current exhibit is called “Cai Guo-Qiang: I Want To Believe”. It took a month to install.

The rotunda display is entitled "Inopportune: Stage one." It features 9 cars, which appear to be tumbling from the ceiling. Here's a shot I took with my camera from the ground floor looking up.


Another arresting piece was called “Head on.” It has 99 wolves, which seem to be flying through the air. The photo above is of the artist, but you can kinda see the wolves in the background.
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NYFrog is back. Really.

After traipsing about Asia & Europe and having a brief stint in Chicago, Sarah returns to NYC for good.
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Sights around town

After Garet’s birthday dinner in the West Village last Friday night, I couldn’t find a cab. So I walked home & took some snaps:

The Washington Square Park Arch.


Cherry blossom tree & a fence on Stuyvesant Street.
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Round ball


Silhouette of a little boy watching the game in front of me in the box. He was a big UMass fan.

Gary & Marina invited me to the NIT finals at Madison Square Garden a couple of weeks ago. Not exactly the NCAA tourney, but we still were in a box … so free beer & hot dogs. Hard to complain about that. My contribution to everyone was explaining what a buckeye was (Ohio State won).
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Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Double dose of Mercury


Bryan shares the wealth.

Bryan was in town last week for a show at Mercury Lounge. While he was playing, I noticed the audience changing... It basically evolved from an early 30's media crowd into 50-something guys wearing leather jackets. Bryan was opening for a band called Back Door Slam. Since I was intrigued by their fan base, I stuck around to see/hear some of their set:
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If you're just listening to the music... It's blues with electric guitar. Think Robert Cray, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Clapton, BB King. Performance was very deep and soulful; I would picture an old African-American man on a
porch in Mississippi singing about his adverse life experiences (backed by a wailing electric guitar).

However, if you're actually looking at the musicians... Back Door Slam is comprised of 3 white British guys who are barely in their 20s. The bassist looked too young to shave.

I was shocked, but in a good way. These guys are talented. Check 'em out.


The Picture also played a show at Mercury Lounge last Friday night. The band had a line-up change earlier this year, with Rob's brother Greg coming in from Chicago to contribute to guitar and keyboards. They also have some new songs. I caught a sneak preview of all this in Williamsburg about a month ago. Since then they've obviously been practicing, as they delivered a pretty tight show - one of the better ones I've seen.