Well it's time for phase 2 of our trip. All of our concerts are over. Folks from PME are starting to peel off and head west. We finally had to check out of our wonderful apt in the West Village. We were sad to leave. It was quite nice and we certainly enjoyed walking around the neighborhood. But leaving gives us a chance to explore a slightly different area. We're in the Lower East Side which is actually not far from where we were. However, things are a bit different. Actually, I think I'm a little more at home here. Our West 11th apt was a bit like a fairy tale. Now were renting someone's apt and it feels a bit more low key.
We met up for what will be the last time in NY with some PMErs this afternoon. First
Clockwork (minus Stephen) tried to find the famous storefront that graces the cover of our
Tessaract CD. Fat chance. Jim, Jacquie, John and Angie did some early reconnaissance to no avail. By the time Alyson and I showed up they had been looking for a couple of hours. We never did find it. In the end we settled on a store front that had the same sort of look (although nothing like the color) for some half hearted shots. The nice thing about it, though, was having lunch with the crew before A&J took off. After that J,J,A&I took off to check out th
e Daily Show. On the way we stumbled across this hallway at the 49th st exit of the F line (Rockefeller Center). The hallway was filled with the same windows that make the Tessaract Cover so cool. We couldn't resist an impromptu photo shoot. If only Penny could have been there to help with our composition. Maybe when Clockwork is on it's world domination tour we can stop by and do it for real.
After that it was on to the
Daily Show. This was something I originally thought so out of the questions that I didn't even try to get tickets. Turns out if you email them between 8 and 8:30am the Friday before the show you can get cancellation tickets. We got there a tad early, but were thankful because we got in! After watching that show for so many years (starting in 1996) it was fun to get to see it live. I've never really been interested in seeing a live taping of any show, but this was worth it. They even rolled out the God Machine for one of my favorite bits of recent years. In the end everyone had a great time and we said our last goodbyes to the PMErs.
As if that wasn't enough for one day, we then headed off to meet my cousins Claire and Cat. Claire was kind enough to come to the Wintergarden show last night, but we didn't really get a chance to catch up. Her website
ohmyrockness is going gangbusters and she mentioned the possibility it might come to SF (wuh-hoo!). We got to meet her fiance (Patrick, in case you're wondering). I got to talk a bit to Claire about what we saw the night before. Meredith perfomed a duo at Wintergarden that was just magic. More on that later.
After dinner we all went to see
Art Brut at the Mercury Lounge which, it happens, is 2 blocks from our current apt. Talk about luck. It was a good thing, 'cause the wind picked up something fierce and the last thing A or I wanted to do was walk around for a long time. We went a nice bar, got some good eats and saw a good show all within about 4 blocks of our apt. Wuh-hoo.
But back to the Monk. I've ben realizing something this week. As
we watched Monk on Sunday and again on Wednesday I'm starting to realize how much more impressed I am these days by craft. It came up in the MoMA too. We spent some time looking at some art that was more than conceptual. The really great stuff required painstaking attention to detail. Even the seemingly random Pollack's have a very careful craft that makes them work. The same goes for Meredith. She and one of her singers did a duet that was hard to describe. The sounds they made could easily have been the sounds a child might make when exploring the boundaries of their voice. Any smart-ass college student could probably string a few of them together into something interesting. But the attention to detail and
intense vocal control these two displayed was beyond words. It made the difference between a bunch of weird sounds and music.
Contrast that with
Art Brut. They fall into a category of artists that really used to get me going. High energy. Loud guitars. Bouncing around on stage posing and sneering at the audience. A certain sloppiness that adds some character to the performance. When I really think about it, the 'rock-n-roll' aspect of the show was the least interesting. The lead singer really makes the band by putting together some really nice turns of phrase and one or two complete songs with a bit more depth than average. If he can stay on his game they might just make it. They certainly won't distinguish themselves from anyone else musically any time soon. I think in the end I realized I'm just not impressed by energy any more. It's so easy to go fast, or shout, or turn up to eleven. I find myself gravitating to the
Sufjan Stevens and
Devendra Banharts of the world. Folks that are making and effort to makes something truly beautiful and unique through incredibly detailed work.
Alyson says it means I'm getting older. I guess she's right (she usually is). Normally I think that would make me sad, but I think I finally see it as maturing. For example, I'm getting more excited about what I might be able to contribute to PME
outside the Jazz and Pop show. I don't know what that might be, but it will be fun to find out.
Anyway, if you've stuck with me long enough to get to this point, then thanks. I obviously had a lot on my mind today. Things appear to be coming together and it helps to write it down to get things straight.
Good night,
-E
As usual all the pics are posted:
TDS to Ar...<- Prev Pictures Next ->
This is gonna be short 'cause the day is still happening. Yes, gentle readers, I am indeed not typing this at 2am. Today is the day we go to Ho-Ho-Kus, NJ to have dinner with A's Mom and some old friends from her home town. A's in the shower right now and I'm sneaking this in before we make the mad dash to the tube so we can make our bus.
