must music venue:carnegie hall. i finally made it to the famed site for a performance by chris thile and edgar meyer. chris summed up the greatness of the venue with his first words to the audience, "i don't know if this is geeky but the acoustics in here are great." so true chris. it was his first time at carnegie too. i've seen chris with nickel creek a handful of times and was craving some mandolin goodness. my favs of the night were "ham and cheese" and "i wasn't talking to you". the first is most reminiscent of chris' work with nickel creek. they encored with "i'll see you in my dreams," which reminds me of woody allen's sweet and lowdown.
best quickie pre-carnegie meal: carnegie deli. shar's disgusting and scarfed down a whole pastrami sammie in 15 minutes flat. if you've been here you know these sammies pack a bunch of meaf.
faithful disappointment: niners 13, seattle 34. man even when we are favored to win the game we manage to lose. it's hard for this faithful member to keep the hope alive. i suppose it's a good thing that i don't have to see my niners struggle rather follow on the espn game cast. new coach and QB troubles all factored into this loss.
here's to next week against the pittsburgh steelers. that's going to be great. not really. who knows? i'll be in the bay for the next two niners' games and maybe they just need a lil shar cheer.
double sporting woe: tampa bay rays on the brink of elimination. after last night's loss 2-10 to the phillies. they are behind 1-3 in the series. tonight it's do or die. let's go rays!
long awaited return: shangra-li fuji purple goodness*. thanks to mike's spare mountain bike tires and the fine folks at dixon's, shar's bike is back on track. i blew out my back tire earlier this month. this made me uber sad, but i finally got myself to a bike shop to get it repaired. the bike station on vanderbilt which was my first choice had closed or i would have done it sooner. i upgraded my bike with a basket and lights. fancy, no? i have to bike down to red hook as orginally planned before the blow out. i wish stumptown would open already. maybe a visit to saki's?
*goodness = when i went to pick up my bike another customer was like that's a funny looking bike and i had to answer it's mine. funny looking = unique :)
must cmj line-up: rosebuds, ladybug transistor, crystal stilts, wye oak and dj jens lekman. the later two were late additions and quite the surprise. i was already thrilled with the original line-up so the bonus acts cause me to cuss with excitement on g-chat. here's how it played out.jenn's soothing voice lulled over andy's drums and keys magic. so magical he can sometimes play them at the same time. they are playing a daytrotter gig today. here are some sweet tunes.
i fell in love with brad's garbly marbly voice. i had a hard time deciphering what he was singing but it's sorta the point i think. garagey new york goodness. that's kyle from ladybug on keys. he was everywhere last night.here was my crazy angle of gary singing. i saw them last year with a slightly different line-up but they sound the same - upbeat and fancy free. i was revisiting the daytrotter session they did and reread the article on them. they are friends with chris deaner, who i actually met through tobin. six degrees of ladybug! shar hearts kelly because she gives high fives before performances and asks if we are going to dance. uhh, eff yeah we are dancing. we had a sing along with "nice fox" with great crowdvocals seranding "and it don't mean nothing at all". man crush come true: mike has a crush on jens. so last night, or rather earlier this morning,his wish came true. i was just there for the ride. thanks saki for being photog.
i asked jens how long he was deejaying. he said one of the cd trays was not opening. i think he was a bit flustered about the situationand the transits were not pretty. we still love you jens, especially when you sing along to your set. as if you couldn't get more adorable, you do.
halloween edition of fltgc: banksy's village pet store.so jac choose this week's fltgc. i heard about the banksy show early this month and was intrigued. glad i caught before it ends halloween night. a "leopard", primate, tweety, lizards, rabbit, sausages, chicken....nuggets and fish....sticks. all these are playfully on display. the lines blur between village pet store AND grill. oh banksy you are so cheeky. you really have to see this live, but here's video of one of my fav creatures to hold you over.
costume that never gets old: my bff sent this over to me and it's too cute not to share. she's got a corgie named thumper, and we are pretty sure this is thumpy's twin.
belated (by 6 years) show: mirah @ highline. i've wanted to see mirah forevah but she doesn't tour a whole lot and i was always in the wrong place when she was in my hometown. no one wanted to come out because they were conserving energy for other cmj shows. losers! mirah didn't hit my fav album you think it's like this but really it's like this. no "sweepstakes prize" or my all time fav "la familia". she did play "look up!" and "jerusalem" from c'mon miracle. anyhoot, still a great show. i forgot my camera but this dude took some pics.
missed friend: adam. i went to the show alone - my first in nyc. i later found out my buddy adam was there too. golly gee! this happened another time in sf when i went to a turin brakes show at gamh and months later found out my pal kristin was there. it's kooky how that happens and really it shouldn't because friends shouldn't let friends concert alone.
appropriate warm up to lykke li:friendly fires. these boys are fun and ed dances like a crazy hipster prepped out. i think they sound like a better verison of the killers. saki says a cross between mgmt and the cure. then mike said killers and the rapture. mel disagrees with the comparisons to the cure, mgmt and the rapture. more poppy so agrees with my a better version of the killers. you might have heard their single "on board" featured on the nintendo wii fit commercial. sorry saki i was wrong it wasn't "gossip girl". they got the crowd tapping there feet and ready for some lykke li goodness. best dancer:lykke li. girl's got the moves. i have sweet video of her performing "dance dance dance", but having a hard time uploading that goodness. tips on how to make it happen would be great. i did get this pretty decent pic.
must encore:"tonight" and tribe called quest cover of "can i kick it?". lykke gave us a treat. she didn't sing "tonight" the last time i saw her at joe's pub. i was real disappointed since it was the song that pretty much enamored me to her. she sang it on the kexp cmj session this afternoon too. last night it was sweet and the perfect indie lullaby before bed. you can download for the track for free on her site under "secret chapter".
to end the set of sets, lykke asked if we wanted something special and the crowd roared. she busts out the TCQ. with call and response. "can i kick it?" "yes you can!" billyburg hipsters aren't so into the ol' school hip hop. i think they freaked out more when the band broke into vampire weekend's "cape cod kwassa kwassa" mashed with "dance dance dance". what a shame. i was hoping for some of this action.
questionable star sighting (#12): randy harrison (aka justin of QAF). jac recognized him at the bar, and I literally went to check it out. i had to. wassup with all my QAF men coming back in my life? first gale on desperate housewives. p.s. get well soon gale.
best fall foliage weekend getaway:poconos. i've been wanting to go north for some fall foliage since last year. after a chilly, but absolutely daring motorcycle ride up, mike and i arrived at the lake house. this was me kicking back on the dock overlooking the wonderful view. this was after a nice dip in the hot tub that overlooked this view. jealous? i know you are.
must afternoon excursion: hickory run state park. hats off to jac and mike for finding our destination, which was chalk full of great activities. first off was the boulder fields. we were all skeptical of a field of boulders, but boy was it fun. a few of us almost turned our ankles running across the field. there was crawling in pits of ditches, but we all made it safely.next we hit the shades of death trail. ominous no? it was actually quite pretty with the last remnants of fall foliage. the 1.7 mile hike was just what everyone ordered for the afternoon. leave lined trails that twisted and turned along a stream.the gang broke off with several heading back to the lake house, but jac, mike, dean, eric and i continued to hawk falls which was lovely. we made it back for this gorgeous sunset. all in all, one of the best weekend getaways so far. thanks crew. you all made the trip ab fab. when's our next trip? atlantic city? winter cabin goodness with sledding?
worthy of congrats: sf voted best city by conde nast for the states. that's 16 years at the top. hometown trumps brooklyn, but i still heart you.
best hoodie thingamajig: homethinking's neighborhood search. so if you are moving in or out of manhattan it compares the hoods of various cities. here's the comparison to SF. i also checked out the comparison to brooklyn. i apparently live in the manhattan equivalent of soho, financial district and east village. and apparently my old digs in sf are compared to the UWS. whaaa?
first shot: hidden moon between trees - my first pic on my very first digital camera. i've been fighting getting one because i've been holding on to the old school point and shoot. i actually have borrowed digital cameras for trips but nothing of my very own. my bff got it for me as an early xmas presie. you wish you had my bff huh? she is awesome! thanks leigh-anne. she convinced me since i've been travelling a bit more and should capture the experiences i'm having.
so the pic above is defintely the first. i figured out how to turn off the flash a bit after that. it's a nikon s610 coolpix. if you have any tips, bring them on. shar is super duper new phototog.
over hyped exhibit:van gogh and the colors of the night at moma. i've been hearing people talk about the amazing vg show. it wasn't bad and was good but not mind blowing. i guess van gogh has been around forever evah evah so not much new can be said. seriously how many times have you seen starry night on an umbrella, tote or a college freshman's wall. really?
i don't mean to diss vince. it gets the people in moma for a crazy entrance price. thanks mel for letting me be you. people do mistake us once in a blue moon. you know us asians look a like. best pleasant surprise:kirchner and the berlin streets. i was not familar with this german expressionist, but his angular shaped abstractions defintely caught my eye. made me feel all bougey pre-WW1. made regret not checking out berlin all the times i passed through on my way to other european destinations. anyone wanna go to berlin? i'll wear a feather in my hat like the lady in green.
check out the kirchner exhibit before it closes november 10.
must construction walk thru: home delivery: fabricating the modern dwelling. i saw this in construction months ago when i was in line for the sigur ros concert, so i was jazzed when it was up. i only hit up the outdoors bits because i was tight on time, but i made me feel like i was walking through upscale readymade constructed homes. i was a fan of burst*008 and micro compact home.
much much belated fltgc: aurel schmidt's maneater @ deitch. CHOMP! aurel's work is subtly in your face. we haven't had a fltgc in a very long time. i'm hoping to bring this back. jac your turn to pick next for october 24.
anyhoot, aurel's delicate and colorful drawings are filled with crazy stuff like profalatics, beetles, birdies and designer duds (LV or chanel earrings). her stuff is influenced by de kooning, picasso and pollack. it's fun! check it out. closes november 1, so get there soon than later.
belated guest star realization: gale harrold (aka brian kinney of QAF) on desperate housewives. i was flipping channels this weekend. lo and behold one of my fav leading men on the screen in bed with teri hatcher. whaaaa? i haven't watched desperate housewives since the first season. in fact, i haven't really been watching much tv since i've moved. it's sad. i miss tv.
oh glowing light box. i used to have an insane schedule for you and i used to use this thing called a vcr to record shows i was missing live. anyhoot, i'm glad to see gale and happy abc posts episodes online because i can just fast forward to gale moments and avoid all the other meaningless storylines.
show i desperately need to catch up on: iasip. oh mac, charlie, dennis and sweet dee. i miss you. your dumbass antics and un pc moves. you're so baad, you're gooood. i have an entire season to get through and then the current season. i blame john for getting me hooked. thanks john!
recent tv obsession:mad men. thanks virgina! another show i need to watch. the writing on this recent emmy winning drama is steller and plot twist galore. that's my kind of show. i'm trying to shield myself from the storylines of season two, but i can't help but read the previews in tony. hulu.com will be my my new bff.
notable tv show taping: flight of the conchords. turns out jermaine and bret were around the corner form the my work taping a future episode. sighted were anti-crazy doggz signs.
possible best new venue: bell house. brought to you by the owners of union hall. this venue at 7th and 3rd ave is a treat to boot. it's got a lush reds and golden chandeliers. no bell tho. they do have a portrait of a water buffalo. the venue is roomy and favors a wide layout with elevated bar stage left. i've decided i wanna come drink here lots. jason is down. are you? next best thing to bookeaters:department of eagles at bell house. twas a sold out showand rightly so for the first full band gig. they are playing the bookeater's event tomorrow, but it's bit too money for my pocketbook. for those of you richer than i, pls help out 826 nyc.anyhoot, i got in on some dept of eagles goodness. daniel and fred were precious. fred was extra self-depreciating. they played my fav "no one does it like you". way better live than what i saw on conan.daniel showed some bro love to ed by covering jo jo's "too little too late". i think most of the indie kids couldn't place it but shar's magical teeny pop encyclopedia of a head remembered that catchy chorus.daniel acknowledged that he didn't write and it was a bad song.pop tunes by indie bands rule.p.s. chris bear was adorable on drums. indie rock sighting:sondre lerche. i didn't notice him until some fellow concert goer mentioned what a good show he put on.i know he was at a norwegian festival on saturday for a post run concert.
he was with a charming brunette pixie. they looked uber cutes together. he was just as petite as the last time i saw in him concert 4 years ago.
best final bike ride for now: prospect heights to bushwick. my purple shangra-lai fugi has been asking me to ride it and i was happy to today. zaid had us over for marie antoinette brunch. i got some air in the tires and off i went. when i decided after brunch to continue my cycling goodness to red hook, i discovered my back tire was done. it had apparently blown out. good thing i made it to zaid's. no bicycle fun club for me. can anyone tell me a good place to get a 26 x 1.75 in bk? thanks! bonus goes to jac for escorting me and fugi back to my place.
bad news:the everybodyfields gig at the blender theater is cancelled. i was so looking forward toseeing my new bluegrass fav. they were going to replace the empty void that nickel creek left in my heart of hearts. come back soon everybodyfields or maybe i should make a special road trip to nc.
must music venue: carnegie hall. i finally made it to the famed site for a performance by chris thile and edgar meyer. chris summed up the greatness of the venue with his first words to the audience, "i don't know if this is geeky but the acoustics in here are great." so true chris. it was his first time at carnegie too. i've seen chris with nickel creek a handful of times and was craving some mandolin goodness. my favs of the night were "ham and cheese" and "i wasn't talking to you". the first is most reminiscent of chris' work with nickel creek. they encored with "i'll see you in my dreams," which reminds me of woody allen's sweet and lowdown.
