This weekend I said fuck you to All Points West and Jersey and Jack Johnson and that stupid 30 dollar ferry ride. I stayed in the city, which was peaceful and quiet and blessed with gorgeous weather up until Sunday afternoon.
I am glad I stayed as Friday night I got to see a rare screening of a little-known film called Little Murders, an Absurdist black comedy with Eliot Gould, directed by Alan Arkin. Gould spoke after the film (he does not, apparently, look like he did in M.A.S.H anymore). If you are a fan of Gould’s check out this interview on Leonard Lopate and the retrospective at BAM. And then rent Little Murders:
Saturday night I went to go see my favorite live band touring right now: Grizzly Bear. Grizzly Bear manages to put on a completely different show each time I see them. Their songs are simple and intimate (especially those off Horn of Plenty, which was recorded entirely by originator/leader Ed Droste) but when they perform, the work is both cleaner and more elaborate, showcasing Droste’s singing, Daniel Rossen’s stunning guitar and Chris Bear’s unrelenting percussion.
Stopping off their tour with Radiohead, Grizzly Bear returned home to Brooklyn to Music Hall of Williamsburg for a benefit show. It was as mesmerizing as the first time I saw them, if not more. They played a great deal of new material and went on for over an hour and a half. Clearly the Radiohead experience has tightened them even more.
I guess I should add that although I love my manfriend dearly, Ed Droste might be my soulmate (Oh I love Ed’s blog–he posts pictures of his garden!). However, Ed is a gay boy…anyhow, also Grizzly Bear are big proponents of something integral in my world: Neti Pots. Yes, nasal irrigation, like shoegaze and harmony, is a good thing. Watch the video from last year of them demonstrating the neti pot on Much Music here.
This weekend, among other activities (seeing O’death blow away an audience of hundreds at Bowery Ballroom, getting pissed at lame Webster Hall bartenders for making me wait an hour for a beer at the Jens Lekman show–although I did also finally hear “Pocketful of Money”live!–and getting screwed by the F train), I spent a lazy Sunday remembering why I love Radiohead and trying out Head On (it doesn’t work, but it is kind of a fun tingly experience–very Kid A). Then today one of my favorite, favorite, favorite bands, Grizzly Bear posted this on Myspace:
“We are VERY pleased to announce that for 6 shows and 2 festivals we will be touring with Radiohead this August.
Hope to see you all!
August 1 – Lollapalooza – Chicago, IL
August 3 – Verizon Wireless Music Center – Indianapolis, IN
August 4 – Blossom Music Center – Cleveland, OH
August 6 – Parc Jean Drapeau – Montreal, QC
August 8 – All Points West Music & Arts Festival/Liberty State Park – Jersey City, NJ
August 9 – All Points West Music & Arts Festival/Liberty State Park – Jersey City, NJ
August 12 – Susquehanna Bank Center – Camden, NJ
August 13 – Tweeter Center For the Performing Arts – Mansfield, MA
August 15 – Molson Amphitheatre – Toronto, ON”
Better than the Beta Band opening in the early 00’s? Better than Grizzly Bear opening for Feist? Uh yeah, fuck yeah, although those were both two very good scenarios. I love you Grizzly Bear, especially since you not only make beautiful post-shoegaze and have an openly gay member who does interviews with Out magazine and Pitckfork, but you also seem to like all the same music as me.
(Please note, I have also added a new blog to the –that of my father, aka Condoguy. Today he is blogging about Sweeney Todd and how it ret;aes to Condos. I’m SO PROUD!)
This weekend I said fuck you to All Points West and Jersey and Jack Johnson and that stupid 30 dollar ferry ride. I stayed in the city, which was peaceful and quiet and blessed with gorgeous weather up until Sunday afternoon.
