Rosie Thomas & Friends @ Southpaw – 4/11

Just across the street and a few feet down the block from a dazzling Key Foods boasting scrumptious rice cakes and a fabulous 50¢ toy Care Bear dispenser, Rosie Thomas was scheduled to perform on an unacceptably cold April night. Just after 9pm, friend Jon and I scooted into the bar and sat on the floor amongst the other attendees (eww, yes the floor…and I did regret it later once my legs and my tuckus started going numb). Luba Dvorak completed his set by 10 and Denison Witmer, Sufjan Stevens and another guy who looked just like a younger, healthier version of John Malkovich began to set up for Denny and Rosie’s sets...

But before there was more music, Suf came up to introduce a special guest, Miss Sheila Saputo from Gary, Indiana. Boy was she a hoot! Sheila shared with us the joys of touring with Rosie and crew, making out with Denny, dealing with IBS, the horseback riding incident that explained her arm sling and neck brace, as well as her philosophy when it comes to friendship, which she presented with a giant-sized notebook: F for FOREVER; R for Restraining Orderthem ‘em see you sweat; D and S for [I also forget – sorry]. A pleasure she was indeed.

So then up came Denison, who admitted feeling awkward about opening for himself (as he’d be accompanying Rosie T.), but played a beautiful set that gave no indication of the hijinks that was about to occur. Rosie played a set filled with the melancholy tunes from her last several albums, mixed with songs from her latest record Real People; I for [arrow pointing to herself]; E for [I forget]; N for Never let These Friends of Mine, which feature Denison and Sufjan.

Between songs were stories of how these songs came together during Rosie’s visits with her friends, requests from Rosie not to look at her pits, uncontrollable laughter between the friends on stage, as well as an impromptu gospel jam – chorus something to this affect: “[something about doing drugs], but Jesus’ blood washed me white as snow – hell yeah, hell yeah.” Watching them perform and laugh and tease each other made us all feel like we were their friends, just hanging out while they were practicing some songs. Case in point: Poor, Denison. They killed his song “Paper Doll,” which Rosie performs on the new album. At first, Sufjan kept questioning Denny, unconvinced that he, and not Rosie, had written the song (honestly, I could see the confusion there). When Suf finally allowed Rosie to begin the song, she was only able to get through several verses before he started cracking up. And then when Rosie looked at him she had to stop, and then Suf actually had to get up and leave the stage mid-song, only to return shortly before its conclusion to ask “is this song over yet?”



But one of my favorite songs of the night was “Say Hello,” which Suf and Rosie T. sang together while Denison and Malkovich stood behind them with hands behind backs. At the precise moment of the song: “There’s an airplane in the sky with a banner right behind/Loneliness is just a crime/Look each other in the eye,” Malkovich held up above his head a paper-cut-out airplane followed by Denny raising up the banner reading “Lonliness” spelled erroneously and all, then Suf and Rosie, with serious pasted-on faces, turned to face each other to sing the rest of the song. Yes – it was fantastic! And all who attended enjoyed a good good time. =)

snagged the shots from Qbertplaya - visit for another take and some more photos!

The Walkmen & Kaiser Chiefs @ the Electric Factory – 4/6

Report overdue, brief and inconsequential.

We didn’t even stop for gelato this time and we still missed both The Broken West and The Annuals. Despite a brief and innocuous incident involving mace, however, we did make it just in time for The Walkmen. Thank goodness for that. Thank goodness indeed.

It was a little odd watching The Walkies perform in front of a giant banner that read: KAISER CHIEFS, and it sucked that they only played a handful of songs, but that’s the deal when you’re support. You don’t get to appear onstage amidst seizure-inducing flashing strobe lights and smoke, and proclaim “We are the Kaiser Chiefs, the greatest band in the world!” Clearly, I’m partial to Ham and his troupe and am not a huge fan of Kaiser Chiefs. In fact, we left only a couple of songs into the Kaiser’s set…after ‘Ruby’: “Ruby Ruby Ruby Ruby…Do ya do ya do ya do ya…”

Eh, so it was sort of like a thirty minute sitcom whereas the last time I saw them at JB’s it was the full-length feature film plus DVD special features. I thought the sound was crap, and K’na reminded me that the Electric Factory’s just a big warehouse. So it is…so it is. They played a bunch of new songs, including the “what happened to you” one and the waltz, both of which you can hear here. They did a couple tracks from A Hundred Miles Off like “All Hands and the Cook” and “Louisiana,” and they tacked on “The Rat,” which encouraged a little movement from the crowd. Horns were present – a duo of trumpets and a trombone – and some super-superior-aggressive Walter Martin gourd shaking was probably what made the night for me.

The Kaiser Chiefs? The Kaiser Chiefs’ fans. This sums up our encounter, which I really don't believe reflects the breadth of the band’s audience, but it’s fun to think so: bald and/or drunk and/or british, and if you’re as fortunate as we were, have a friend who’ll do an irish jig.

What nail clippers and Brooks Brothers have in common

I often gawk at the variety of 'innovations' that have sprouted up in my lifetime or shortly before, unable to render any valuable use from them. Then, I need to remind myself of the great innovations that surround me, enabling me to lead my mundane life in peace. I have therefore compiled my ruminations in the form of two lists: Horrible Innovations .. and Great Innovations.

Horrible Innovations (The Bitter List)
- stiletto heels
- Facebook
- skinny jeans
- Honda Element
- auto unlock at engine shutoff
- tanning booths
- thick sweater tank tops



Great Innovations (The Happy List)
- nail clippers
- ITunes
- upside-down ketchup bottle
- online flight check-in
- de-icing spray
- wrinkle-free clothing
- cell phones
- left turn arrows
- automatic doors
- wireless internet
- outlet stores

Menomena : Johnny Brenda's 3.30

Menomena - Wet and Rusting

A few blocks away from Johnny Brenda’s, driver K skillfully maneuvered her ride into a spot just clearing a driveway no one was going to use, and we evacuated the Malibu, heading tavernward.

Land of Talk, from la ville de Montréal up in Can-Canada, were well into their set when we arrived. K led the way, though we didn’t get far into the crowd. After just a minute or so of observing lead singer Elizabeth Powell’s current lack of life signs, we made our way to the bar for some of Vermont’s finest Woodchuck Cider. Mmm mm…good.

Two songs later, Land of Talk wrapped up and Menomena began their setup.

Each member of Menomena laid out his arsenal of musical weaponry. Drummer Danny Seim built his fortress of drum kit complete with magical toolbox of varied sticks, shakers and other items. He hunched over it all like a giant crammed into a dollhouse. Brent Knopf manned his station behind the keys, bells and laptop configuration with guitar strapped on as needed, and happy hands just an awkward contortion away. Justin Harris spread his arrangement of two guitars, bass, alto and baritone sax around him so that each instrument could watch while patiently waiting its turn.

And now I will convert to bullet mode in order to convey my mental notes more concisely so that I may also complete a more recent recap, and in so doing, avoid further delay and distortion of recount as a result of memory haze.

Notes as follows:

- A tall, skinny girl stepped on K’s foot as she danced along with her severely unskilled male friend. She turned around, I assume to express her condolences to K, only to receive a look nastier than I ever imagined K was capable of expressing.

- Moments later, K proclaimed to me that she felt not so hot, meaning actually ferociously hot, as in a momentary heatstroke (most likely the explanation for her above-mentioned, uncharacteristically harsh facial contortion). She disappeared toward the restroom to recover. Returning shortly after in cooler and no longer peeved.

- Tall, skinny girl’s male friend kept me in laughs & giggles all night with his white-dude-rhythm-impaired-reggae/hip-hop-influenced dance technique. Danke danke.

- Every time I get to see someone play the bari sax I get flashbacks of B.Bibbo’s master b-tone skills in high school.

- Early on some heckler exclaimed that the drummer plays “like someone made fun of his mother”…perhaps alluding to the velocity and intensity he summoned as he pounded away at the kit? Well the man was colossal, how else was he going to play?

- Justin was kind enough to dedicate a song to the balcony, recognizing the upper crowd with the pre-song dedication along with the post-song point of acknowledgment.

It’s not clear, it doesn’t make sense. I know this.
Here, watch some clippies: