blind pilot @ mercury lounge

most modest, yet totally awesome performance: blind pilot at mercury lounge. i was highly anticipating this show after i heard their gig at sxsw via npr. so israel nebeker reminds me of a cross between jack johnson and blake mycoskie, founder of my fav footwear - toms. the band is uber humble even commenting on how the kids in new yorkers dress better them. i don't mind it. i love when bands are casual and chill. i hate when bands try too hard with their outfits. if they are going to dress up, go all out and totally into an avante garde way (ie. of montreal).


best rescue: katie claborn. israel broke his guitar strap and katie sang a cover of a song that she did not name. :( she rocked the ukulele, which she apologized for being out of tune. her voice resonated a lovely twang that made me want to don cowboy boots and a fancy belt. it was revealed that she wasn't from oregon when the crowd continued to yell "PORTLAND!" i joined in with a "stumptown!" the guys in the back continued with what high school they went to, and katie confessed she was canadian ay.


must take away: blind pilot set list. yup, i did it, so did saki and hanna. i love that it's a spiral notebook on college ruled binder paper. they
encored their new song "we are the tide". they sandwiched the show with new tunes starting with "white apple". heart, heart, heart them.

first saturday - be there

must saturday evening event: first saturday at brooklyn museum. i've been meaning to check out the hernan bas exhibit. good ol' roomie mollie reminded me it was the first saturday of the month this weekend. bff leigh-anne is in town, so she will be in tow. if you are interested, hit me up and maybe we can meet on the dance floor for some swing.

still not convinced? check me, mel and bill out at the last attended first saturday. us in line at 13 sec mark and bill profile at 35 secs. now that is what i call fuuuuuun.

washington dc weekend

saturday night game time extravaganza: wizards vs. pistons. so i wanted to see a nationals game, but realized that it's still spring training. grace's friend and now my friend leonard had sweet tickets to the wizards game. we got to watch at the acela club. that's buffet dinner and basketball. shar can't complain about that. plus, i got to see former warriors antawn jamison and gilbert arenas. it was arenas' first game back. even though they lost 96-98 i had a blast. here's the view of agent 0 shooting a free throw from the acela club.

belated club visit: black cat. i've been meaning to check out this venue for a while and finally made it post-game. too bad there wasn't a band i knew playing. anyhow, i'll be back for a show, but the bar is all sorts of divey goodness. with sticky tables and underage girls making out with each other for attention. it's what i call a fine establishment. speaking of black cats, i encounter this sad one on my way to work on today. i ended up losing my wmta card. serves me right for crossing a death black cat's path. i dunno. there was something heartbreaking beautiful in this death of a kitty. am i mean? this sure ain't icanhascheezburger.

return to a tourist fav: 97th annual cherry blossom festival. i headed down to independence avenue after work. i haven't been back to the festival since 2000 when i was an intern. it's was ahhhmazing. i'll let the photos speak for themselves.

fltgc: ryan mcginness @ deitch

fltgc (international session): ryan mcginness @ deitch with international fltgc guest julie and zaid. zaid has been a back to back fltgc cohort, while co founder jac has been mia. canadian julie flew in yesterday and trekked down albeit a tiny bit hungover. i think the fresh air and colors helped. zaid was impressed by the use of familiar symbology. he said the last time he was at deitch he saw ryan's work there. i think it was for the garden party.

my fav

zaid's fav

friendly fires @ bowery

best short set dance party: friendly fires @ bowery ballroom. okay, it is rare when a show is on time at bowery, but it happened tonight for the first of two sold out ff shows. ed was in fine form just as i remembered from last time. i want to revise my description of ed's dancing to a more latiny paul rudd dance. lots of shoulder and hips. i was enjoying it too much and that i forgot to film it for you fine folks.

when my fav track "paris" came on though i was blocked by the amazon giant couple busting out the pda. way to ruin my song. booo! also, i was disappointed that ed and gang did not produce an encore. i was hoping to hear their cover of lykke li's "i'm good i'm gone" live. despite the short set, the boys got me groovin' even though i was super beat from the day. i think it has been decided (with saki confirmation) that mr. ed macfarlane is uber crushworthy for his aforementioned dance moves and he plays a mean bass. HOT!

jason lytle @ sxsw

pleasant am surprise: jason lytle video on npr from sxsw. i cannot express my excitement for jason's forthcoming solo album, yours truly, the commuter. this brought a smile to my face this morning. i hope it does for you too.

das rheingold: finally the fat lady sings

must un-indie rock musical experience: das rheingold at the met. i've wanted to see this since my friend craig brought it up, from one culture vulture to another. he said i had to see it and that it was a once in a lifetime experience. i do not doubt craig. i just do. so when i heard the met was putting it on, i was on it. lil, tiny problem with tickets for the ring cycle though. they are bank. i am a lady of little means, so i wrote the fine people at the met offering my awesome ushering skillz to see the grand production. not takers on my ushering offer, but they pointed me to standing room tickets and rush. got a pair of standing room tickets and pal dean was down to stand with. he is a true gent. i must say i enjoyed the first half over the second, but dean enjoyed it in it's entirety even though we had to stand the whole time. who's down for die walkure? won't be standing for this one.

poprally: no one does it like you

best indie rock and art mash-up: no one does it like you. marcel dzama designed costumes and produced the new department of eagles' music video. it was a reverie of a battle between civil war soldiers versus ballet terrorists and singing ghosts. yup, it was wacky but interesting. i was most psyched to finally see the man behind the art, marcel dzama. he looked like this (right side pic and eric gets credit for shooting). he, along with the choreographer, producer and other visual effects dudes, did a q & a. patrick daughters also was in convo via satelitte from la la land. he was a riot with random one liners.

from there daniel and fred hit the stage for 4 song set. i got under minute of "nobody does it like you". i was bad about clearing out my camera before tonight's festivities.

also, i saw sondre lerche AGAIN at a department of eagles gig. i was 99% sure it was him and my fellow concert goers (mike and saki) agreed with me. i got a not so good semi-stealth picture of him drinking a free grolsch beer (i had 3). it's too bad to post, so i'm not. i also decided to pick the same row he was sitting in only sat on the other end. i respect his privacy and all.

lastly, attendees were bestowed this lovely poster to the left. psssst bill, i swiped an extra for ya.

past poprally revisited: sigur ros. at the last poprally i attended, i had the pleasure of seeing the icelandic quartet. yesterday a new take away show shot by my fav vincent moon was posted to la blogotheque. enjoy because i sure did. all frenchy with the best post-concert exit to date.

sxsw remedy

best remedy for not being at sxsw: st. vincent at webster hall on may 20. what's better than the indie queen of austin on tour for her new album actor to wipe those woes of not being at sxsw this past week. i'm super psyched though i miss seeing annie in a more intimate venue like last time. check out the latest single "the strangers".


actor is disney inspired. it brings back memories of forest friends rambling alongside snow white or aurora (aka sleeping beauty), and one of them falls into a well meeting up with alice for a tea party with the mad hatter. annie kinda looks like snow white in this cae for la blogotheque.

#67.2 - St Vincent - Marry Me
by lablogotheque

i got my ticket on friday. do you have your's???

dangit wake forest!

muck up in the madness: cleveland state upsets wake forest. there goes my bracket. my midwest region is shot. :(

john, maybe it's because i didn't pick ucla to get out of the first round. march madness karma? darn, rashard wins. i don't think i can come back from this hit.

ahhh well, tis the madness that comes with march. i will still enjoy watching more upsets hopefully. jason, you ready?

guys and dolls

must lorelai song and dance: guys and dolls starring lauren graham (aka lorelai gilmore). when ester told me ms. graham was hitting broadway i had to get myself there to see her in person. luckily, angela was able to get student rush tickets. thanks angela! you rule at getting the best discounts on broadway. we had partial view tickets, but still rear orchestra for $26.50 ain't bad.

i must say i was quite impressed by lauren's vocals and live schtick. miss adelaide has a quirky voice that doesn't resemble lauren's real voice or pipes. the singing wasn't exactly how i was expecting it to be, but i thought lauren pulled it off splendidly.

being an avid viewer of gilmore girls since 2001, i had to wait at the stage door to catch a glimpse of her. i saw kate jennings grant first and she was really sweet. got her signature on my playbill, along with...drumroll please...lauren graham's. this was the closest i got to a pic of her.

fltgc: apex arts

fltgc continuation: apex arts. i went to kick my heart's ass last week to preview the spot. david meiklejohn is a doll and offered more "my heart is an idiot" pins. if you want one, let me know. i'm going to hit him up for some. today i returned to apex to get my fill of hearthbreak and love. jac and laura were no shows due to work, but zaid met up with me. we were able to watch all the videos in booth 1 and 3:

the steps by jason orfanon & a.j. wilheilm (this was my fav for it's collage of break-up confessions)
opposite others by sarah locke & ghostshrimp

swallow my heart by brett loudermilk

the lovebirds by chris k
foreign bodies of water by scott patterson
oh, love by shaina feinberg
the transformation of genesis p-orridge by kel o'neill and eline jongsma

i never got to booth 4, which featured george & brad: in the bedroom by jessica sanders (pictured above) and it certainly gets me in trouble: a brief dissection of the hearts of songwriters by jenny owen youngs. sad, it was just too popular prolly because of the tony write up. show closes tomorrow, so try to get in there if you can.

bracketology 101

ohhhh march madness, how i love thee. i thought for kicks i'd post last year's backet.


and, here is this year's which i'm not as confident about, but it's the craziness of the tourney i suppose. i am hoping for some crazy overtimes and last second half court buzzer winning shots. BRING IT!

my american idol

best american idol: kelly clarkson. okay, i was weary about a single entitled "my life would suck without you", but that tune is darn catchy. the video is pretty cute too in a pg way.



the other single "i do not hook up", which she performed on snl saturday also has a horrible song name, but surprisingly catchy too. they both make me wanna go karaoke. that's what i call a good pop song.

let the madness begin!

must college sporting viewing: march madness. i'm not much of a fan of college sports, but when it comes to men's basketball i'm in a zone. i've always loved it more than the nba. it's sooo unpredictable. a mix of inexperience and the sudden death tourney is a recipe for mad sporting drama. men cry! the games leading up to selection sunday have been steller, especially with syracuse's upset of uconn over the span of six overtimes. i cannot wait for tip off on thursday. i will be repeating my faceoff with my coworker rashard. let's hope i can keep up my win streak.

looking forward to spring handmade cavalcade

click here for more info.

amazing race: still the best reality show period!

best reality show: amazing race. i've loved this show for years and years, so much i've tried out not once but twice for the show. i've been bad about keeping up with it in the past year, but i just finished the first four episodes this season. man, oh man is it good. there isn't a clear front runner with four different winners after the end of each leg. one of the strongest teams, amanda and kris, fell to the new blind u-turn. oh snap!

i was first miffed to see that mike white was on this show. i was not a fan of all star amazing race when they brought on rob and amber from survivor. for them to bring on a legitimate celebrity in mr. white was a bit much, but he won me over. he is so down to earth and what his dad says about him is so true. he isn't your la type and fame doesn't seem to have changed him. check him out in the leotard. awesome!


the other team i have a love-hate relationship with is tammy and victor. they perpetuate the stereotypical type-a asian i dislike mainly because i've been held to that comparison all my life. i'm not a lawyer, and i didn't go to an ivy league school. i am glad my older brother isn't victor tho. my brother doesn't boss me around, but i'm hoping to see tammy grow into a more assertive sibling. big brother status goes only so far. lastly, for a gal who practices yoga i'm disappointed she wasn't able to focus and plow through the gymnastics. point to this underachieving, non-ivy league asian for being able to do a cartwheel.

roosevelt island yo!

best i'm a tourist in my own state: ride the tram to roosevelt island. jenni put the awesome idea in my head to ride the tramway. it is on the ny to do list, so we finally made it out today to ride it. totally fun! it's like an adult amusement park ride really. plus, it's covered by your mta metrocard. we splurged 25 cents for the red bus. we rode the entire route south to north, which was like 10-15 minutes roundtrip. awesome! one will see the lic costco and the farmers market under the bridge.

here's a view of the north from the tram.

must after tram eats: patsy's. i've been meaning to try this pizza since i heard the folks from grimaldi's started there. it was aight, but not grimaldi's. it definitely satisfied my pizza craving tho. then, jenni came up with the brilliant idea to have dessert at levain bakery for some awesome cookies that she dreamt about the night before. seriously these cookie were not to be missed and we totally ate them. YUM!

fltgc: jack hanley, cheryl hazen & apex arts

much belated gallery visit: jack hanley gallery. i've heard nothing but good things about the place and i finally made it out. i was reminded of the space and the close proximity of it to my work when i was the armory this weekend. there was no more delaying this visit. jac couldn't make the visit, but i was able to convince linda to come along. it was a group show featuring:

fia backstrom, poetry and pottery

stephen kaltenbach, fellow californian

lastly there was an endearing video by mario garcia torres' a brief history of jimmie johnson's legency.


unexpected fltgc destination: cheryl hazan. i would not normally go into this gallery. it's a little too commercial for my taste, but it was on the way to apex. i was drawn to the new artist, new works exhibit. i really like these mailbox like pieces that i can't recall the name of the artist and it's not posted on the gallery's site.

preview to next week's fltgc: kick my heart's ass at apex arts. i haven't been to apex since eggers' show. these short films about heartbreak reminded me why i love this space. i didn't have enough time to really view all the films. i spent most my time in booth 2, featuring david meiklejohn's dress rehearsal. i did not finish. i really want to see brett loudermilk, jessica sanders and jenny owen youngs pieces. booths 1 and 4 seemed the most popular tho.

here is linda enjoying booth 2.

apex rules because they are giving out free totes to advertise the place. simple, colorful totes with " big bag small space www.apexarts.org" printed on them. SCORE! i also got this from the exhibit which is a perfect description of mine:

ricky + elmo = cheer up

i've had a really horrible week at work, but i chatted with a good pal dennis last night whose mom is going through her second bout of cancer. it made me feel very foolish for feeling bad about my little troubles. dennis, i'm sending you good thoughts and dedicated my yoga practice tonight to you and your mom in the west coast.

my sf pal michelle sent me this video and it cheered me up tons. it's like bicoastal karmic goodness.

belated crush of the month

belated crush of the month: joseph gordon levitt. yup, the kid from 3rd rock from the sun. he ain't that lil boy from angels in the outfield or the awkward teen in 10 things i hate about you. i really gave him credit for his role in the post-noir brick. ahmazing stuff! lo and behold the boy's growns up. just listen to his manly tone in his upcoming film, (500) days of summer.

art overload: armory show

must art overload: armory show. i heard about this monolith of art last year when i was at the moma attending an art talk. i'm soooo glad i got there early with matilda because after an hour the place was significantly more crowded and stuffy. i was bad and forgot my camera. really i suck, but pal adam took some good pics yesterday. tis true, there was a bunch of marcel dzama and chris johanson. also a lot of diane arbus, including this print at white cube. here is a just a rundown of what struck my fancy:

• sangnam lee at pkm gallery
• kara walker's paper doll cut outs at sikkema jenkins & co.
• kim gordon at ks art. yes, that kim gordon of sonic youth.
  
• hernan bas at fredric snitzer gallery and victoria miro. matilda told me this kid is HOT in miami. he resembles gael gracia bernal she said and i think that's a stretch, but he still is the shit.

• christine hill at ronald feldman fine arts. i loved the presentation of these works within the armory apothecary.

best overheard art inside: richard heller talking about how he got his early dzama for $40 a piece. he said and I quote, "best deal i ever got." looks like his gallery has some great stuff, like pieces by devendra banhart, dan clowes, evah fan and mel kadel. i was originally draw to his booth because of masahiko kuwahara's work. looks like dreamy art fit for a nursery.


choice celeb sighting: glenn close (#14). she was at the modern wing of the armory show at pier 92 speaking the rep at maxwell davidson. she was fresh faced with no make-up, but still looked great.

day at the races

must new york to do: aqueduct racetrack. this has been on my to do list since i moved to new york. my pal holly (aka lensjockey) shoots ahmazing photos of jockeys. she rules! she's always told me how cool it is, and it was. the place is kind of a rundown track but manages to bring an ecletic mix of people from fancy old money horse owners to your working class gambler. holly was a doll and let me tag along while she did her thing.

i caught races 7-9, which holly's photog pal adam said were the best. apparently, #9 was the race of the day and a warm up to the derby. the purse was a cool quarter mil. guess what? the winning horsey was from...wait for it...cali! check out i want revenge in action.


best introduction: barbara livingston. on our way out, holly ran into barbara. she was so nice and introduced herself to me. i had no idea who she was, but babs happens to be one of the premier horseracing photographers in thoroughbred racing. whoa!

fltcg: jakob kolding @ team gallery

best fltgc return: team gallery. i haven't been to team since i had my run in with ryan mcginley. i was walking on grand and the artwork in there caught my eye yesterday, so i deemed it today's fltgc. today was a solo effort because co-founder jac was stuck in meetings and the rest of the crew was mia. no worries fltgc carries on with jakob kolding's memories of the future. jakob is danish, and you know shar is a dane fan. his works are urban collages that mish mashes hip hop, cityscapes, skateboarding and random fun. i liked it a lot, especially since he included sha rock (the monkier i kinda copied). you can maybe see her. she's in teh piece above in the lower right hand corner. she is donning her famous "i'm sha rock an can't be stopped" sweatshirt. go to team they have free posters. i got 3. i'm greedy.

school night: ra ra riot @ kimmel center

best school night outing: ra ra riot @ nyu's kimmel center. i'm not a student, but i do pretend to be one to get $10 tickets. :) thanks mollie for getting me and saki tickets for this nyu affair.

we were lucky to survive with our hearing intact after the set by a place to bury strangers. i'm not the type of gal that wears ear plugs, but i sure wish i had some last night. anyhoot, saki and i were able to burrow through the sea of extremely tall nyu undergrads to get a nice spot in the middle. saki got this nice snap of wes crooning on her iphone. i forgot my camera. boo on shar. we realized that we saw cellist alex in the crowd walking by us pre-show because she was wearing a very interesting outfit complete with sequined black mini.

ra ra riot covered most, if not, all of the rhumb line. ending with my fav, dying is fine. here is a video of them in paris performing a take away show.


RaRaRiot - Dying is fine - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

coming to a theatre near you

most highly anticipated remake: my fair lady helmed by danny boyle. andy clued me in on the buzz of this possible remake. it sounds like a loverily endeavor with emma thompson penning the screenplay. i'm a little afraid of the casting of eliza dolittle. shar hearts her audrey hepburn and ever since they had jennifer love hewitt play her in a biopic i doubt hollywood casting agents. i saw claire danes in pygmalion a while back on broadway. she wasn't so bad but i can't see her as eliza. i'm thinking anne hathaway maybe. she won me over with her nixon impression at the oscars and i do love me some princess diaries with robert schwartzman. i boycotted the sequel because he wasn't in it. here's hoping for a grand eliza doolittle 2.0!

christmas in march

best belated christmas: snow galore in nyc. the most i've seen for the entire time i've lived here. though some of my coworkers called out a snow day i was responsible and went into work. i wish i was like those folks to the left sleding in central park.

i really heart snow even when it becomes gross, grey slush and i have to jump ice puddles. it's the bestest thing evah.

best belated christmas presie: jensen 3-speed stereo turntable with am/fm stereo radio! shar apparently was a good girl because she got what she was wishing for. check out my new puuurteeee record player. thank you, thank you jac, mel and mike! sorry logo i stole your presie (aka my box for my turntable).