Musical*Pasta

Delicious tune

This is my Fist!

So I was in IKEA not too long ago with my roomate on a mission to buy some inexpensive poorly built furniture that would make our apartment look cooler.  After much deliberation we came home with a cactus and 3 kitchen towels…Anyway, the real story is what I observed happening all around me….

“Honey… I don’t think we need this lamp..its 60$ and we have one that works fine…”

“We need it! What are you talking about?! It will be gorgeous!”

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“I really like black it matches everything…”

“I don’t know the red one looks good to me”

“You’re out of your fucking mind if you think I’m going to put a red wine rack in our kitchen…what will people say?!”

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“I don’t want swedish meatballs!!!”

OK you get the point.  I basically observed the most intense power struggles of all time occuring between couples.  If there’s anything in the closet it comes out at IKEA.  It’s like the that space between North and South Korea where you get shot at and land mines start going off everywhere.  It is the true test of who is holding the real power in a relationship.  I saw a guy bordering on tears, and a women who looked like she was going to throw up when her husband wouldn’t spring for the futon that becomes a closet.

I see this a lot at the grocery store too.  I’ll see someone reach for something a bit out of the ordinary, like brown eggs instead of white.  There will be a reaction from the other person like “wtf man? We don’t need this shit.”.  Then theres a glance back like “Oh we fucking do, and I fucking run this relationship so back the fuck off bitch.”

Am I overeading into this?  I really believe this goes on all the time in relationships.  It’s probably healthy.  These small subconcious power struggles probably slowly let out tension to avoid a huge blowout at the end of the month.

I guess I just feel bad when I see some guys totally emasculated by their girlfriends or wives.  I see some dude pushing a double stroller while his wife is on the phone.  The same goes for the flip side.  I’ve seen a douche bag guy forcing his girlfriend to sit in a shithole bar.  I guess these little compromises are part of life?

Maybe IKEA really is the greatest store on earth.  Maybe the Swedish have such low divorce rates because they get out all their frustrations in one place?  Maybe the swedish meatballs are laced with crystal meth?  What I do know is that when the time comes to go there with a special lady I’m going to be ready.

Great Read

Honestly I was saying this song was awesome when it came out and a lot of people didn’t give this 2 piece band a chance.  Apparently Bacardi thinks they’re awesome.  This isn’t a told ya so moment, but more a check out Matt and Kim Moment.

I’d like to finally see Grizzly Bear but I’ll be in Europe.  I’d like to check out Girl Talk, The Black Lips, and Dan Deacon.  It is free so you can’t beat that.

I’m sure there’s better places to eat for authentic noodles and all that, but Noodle House on Carmine in the west village is damn tasty.  I reccomend the coconut shrimp and pan fried dumplings.  Priced right, friendly, and delicious.

I feel that since the last time saw THS I didn’t fully appreciate the show.  Lofted in the VIP section of Terminal 5 I was missing what probably makes this band such a live draw.

At the very core they are a “bar band”.  Chock full of sing-a-long lyrics and clapping, their alcohol fueled rhythms break out the rock and roll hiding inside of all of us.  I was at this show with a very eclectic mix of people, and every single one of them was bobbing their head and/or jumping up and down.

Some songs really hit well.  From the Boss cover, “Atlantic City”, to “Southtown Girls”.  The melody is right on and moves viciously and seamlessly with Craig Finn’s mid-song-commentary on life.  It works for me, and doesn’t get pretentious.  I will say that at times it walks a fine line, but plays a very good balancing act.

At the end of the day you can pick a band like this apart for a ton of musical reasons.  If you’re just listening to them behind the dry screen of your laptop than you’re missing out.  To me it’s the equivalent of asking somebody about Paris who has only read about it in a book.  Without a doubt the live show is the flash point for enjoying this band.  The comradery you form with the audience and band is amazing.

I’m a bit depressed I missed Mischief Brew.  If anyone can tell me how it was email me.  musicalpasta@gmail.com.

My Thursday night was shaping up to be quite uneventful.  Work was about to end, and my night was probably going to consist of a 6 pack of Miller High Life, Left 4 Dead, and if things got wild, chinese food.  Out of nowhere my night gets a life line tossed to it from my good friend Kodi, who told me to meet him in NYC for a Cloud Cult concert.  Before I know it I have on my walking shoes and I’m on the L train barreling towards Brooklyn.  More specifically the critically appointed hipster home planet of Williamsburg.  Now I want to get out of the way that I’m tired of everyone using the same line to describe this place.  “Oh you’re off to hipster-ville huh?”.  It’s played out. Dead.  Come up with a new joke.  If it brings anything to the table it has hot girls, good indie music, and the neighborhood reminds me of of the live action Ninja Turtles movie.

The Music Hall of Williamsburg is a pretty intimate venue.  Considering the high caliber of some of the acts in there it holds it down reasonably well.  I also don’t know why anyone would see a band at a place like Terminal 5 when they could catch them across the East River at this much cozier venue with cheaper booze.  Opening for Cloud Cult was Margot and The Nuclear So and So’s.  I can’t say that I’ve had to time to listen to their albums as tentatively as Cloud Cult, but they really brought a solid show that night.  I must admit that I’m a sucker for Piano and Violin.  Both instruments danced together smoothly with the rest of the band to create a very moving rhythm.  Their violin player (who plays an array of other stringed instruments) was spot on all night, and I ended up chatting with him a the merch booth afterwards also.  Real nice guy who seems to love the music he’s making.  Margot was a nice return for me to pure and clean sounding music.  They had a ton of elements to each song and they all seemed to blend together very nicely to deliver a delicious sound that really reminds me of the harmony created by bands like The Arcade Fire and Flogging Molly, but all their own.  A controlled chaos of sound.  If I had to be less of a sensationalist and more of a critic I’d say I wish they could get the crowd a bit more fired up.  Regardless, excellent show.

To my surprise a High Life is 5$ at the Music Hall, and while that isn’t “cheap” its still better than a lot of places.  So I got to enjoy my 6 pack, it just costed like 30$ more after tip.  Oh well. 

A bit intoxicated but still fired up for more music, Cloud Cult exploded onto the stage in their own unique fashion.  They opened with Love You All which is just an incredible song for an opener.  So many bands just pick some bad-ass song like “Oh Fortuna” to start their shows off, and it’s really refreshing for a band to come out and create a real organic and natural feeling beginning.  The entire band entered the stage as their parts of the song began, and I feel it really lets you appreciate all the member’s indivdual contributions.  You also can’t deny how kicking it is to start a show off with the menacending (That’s a combination of the word Menacing and Impending…I made it up) doom of guitar and violin.

CC delivered a dynamic set with a lot of different treats to stimulate your senses.  Vocally I felt I was hearing Isaac Brock from Modest Mouse, but their front man Craig Minowa takes his voice to some real different places .  It just did have that feel of Modest Mouse at times.  Which is a compliment in every way possible.  They also had some very easy to hear lyrics that were well thought out and inspirational.

The crowd infused “Take your Medicine” was a real highlight for me.  I was able to simultaneously see groups of people grabbing their friends and throwing their hands in the air during the song a bunch of times.  It was the most excited I saw the crowd all night.  Maybe it was the beer on an empty stomach, but their music really takes you away from life for a while.

An added bonus to their show is that the entire time a band member is painting a crazy ass painting to the music.  It’s pretty awesome, and then it’s auctioned off after the show at the merch table.  Here’s a link to the guy who was painting that night.

If anything the show felt like it could of used a song or two more, but all in all in a surprise on a cloudy Thursday night.  I’m going to look forward to seeing them next year, and I urge anyone who wants to stimulate their senses with a unique and thought compelling array of harmonies to check both these bands out.

I like to think that I have a very eclectic taste in music.  I don’t discriminate, I’ll go to a huge act at a big-time venue, and the next day see a basement show with six people.  Music serves a ton of purposes for a number of folks out there.  It can back up a night out on the town, entertain you on a subway ride, put you to sleep, or wake you up. It can even happen when you have your first kiss, or on the car ride home after breaking up with someone you love.  Music is great, and that’s why it’s fun to talk about iand experience it.

So when I arrived at Terminal 5 to see the Brian Jonestown Massacre I had no idea really what to expect.  There were a few strikes against the show right from the start.  Terminal 5 isn’t the greatest venue, it was a cold and rainy Wednesday night, I was hungover, and there was no guarantee who exactly would be playing with the band that night.  Matt Hollywood, guitars and vocals, might be one of the most talented guys out there, and to my surprise he was out in full effect, along with their colorful tambourine player Joel.  While Joel technically doesn’t add as much musically as Hollywood, seeing him with the mutton chops clearly intoxicated jamming with the band made everything feel right.  The normally bad venue was ten times better due to the show not selling out.  There was just enough room.  I’m convinced now that Terminal 5 is oversold too much due to all the balcony space on top.  The acoustics felt perfect, and the opening band (The Asteroid No. 4) kept the volume growing increasingly throughout their set.  I only regret there wasn’t a better backdrop so I could see all the psychedelic craziness being projected behind the band.

Then BJM hit the stage and blew the roof off.  Just the mere sound of Anton incessantly tuning his guitar got the crowd riled up.  There was a constant feeling of not knowing what would happen next.  One song, which I can’t figure out, felt like something Jim Morrison would break out.  Anton was just running around the stage cursing and talking about the craziest shit.  However it worked.  To sum it up I felt baptised by Rock.

Part of me felt guilty that one of the only real reasons I wanted to see the band was just how interesting the lead singer Anton Newcombe (Lead Singer) is.  I won’t deny that the documentary Dig! had a lot to do with me wanting to go.

I turned around to my friend who came along and told him that thousands of years from now when Rock n’ Roll is in the history books as a form of music, this band might never be remembered, but it was happening right here, and happening on a level few will ever experience.  Truly special.

I think that my friend summed up the musical aspects of the show best in a post concert email to some friends, where he does a much better job putting it all together.

Well, I made it home in one piece last night from an absolutely mind-blowing experience in NYC!  I have NEVER…NEVER…NEVER heard the Brian Jonestown Massacre sound as good as they sounded last night!  I was in awe with a smile plastered on my face the entire time while simultaneously having an ear-gasm.

If my definition of Heaven is being surrounded by everything that’s good and pleasant, then I now know what Heaven is like.

Phil Specter’s Wall Of Sound was perfectly mixed with a gritty, rough, perfectly melodic jangle of 60’s revival music that my synapses were overloading.

The Asteroid No.4 opened the night with a solid set and their sound filled the airplane hanger-esque venue then BJM took the stage.  Before the first chord was attacked, A silhouetted figure appeared center stage with mutton chops so large that Lambchop would be jealous…it was Joel Gion!  In full effect with tambourine in hand.

Then, I started to pay attention to the other guy standing right next to Joel…he was slightly heavier than how he looked in “Dig!” but the Lennon-ish quality still showed and it was most certainly Matt Hollywood!!!!

Some of you have told me how much you enjoy seeing a show when I’m there because I loose myself in the music and get all fired up in happiness…I know what you mean after last night because my friend, John, who has never seen BJM before was so fired up throughout the show that it made the whole experience even more intense.

So in closing I’d like to recommend to anyone who knows me and respects my opinion on everything from video games to sandwiches, to try their absolute best to see this band the next time they come around… Next time being the key word here.  But for starters check out the documentary Dig!.  I also want to give a shoutout to The Asteroid No. 4 who totally kicked ass as an opener.  It set the table for BJM perfectly.  I’m actually wearing one of their t-shirts right now.