slow hands

Here's to a great weekend!

:: Pitchfork interviews the Fiery Furnaces.

:: My friend Shannon reviews Aurelio Valle solo at Sin-é.

:: Husky G. reviews Elefant and VHS or Beta at Bowery.

Don't forget, tonight i'll be DJ-ing at Red and Black for Popfrenzy! - i'm on at midnight and will play lots of 80's dancy tunes.
And tomorrow i'll be spinning another cool mix at MisShapes, i'm on right as the open bar starts (10pm)! Come early, get your booze on, and obviously you want to stay there for the two James and the John on the decks. It's also Brian's birthday party tomorrow, so expect some dirty photos up on his site soon thereafter...

I also have a show at Rothko on tuesday (more details later), and Vicious the week after... and some new happenings in the works later this month.

And let's not forget, a happy birthday to Oncle Grambo!

hang the dj

I'm DJ-ing two great dance parties this weekend:

- Friday night at Red and Black in Williamsburg for Popfrenzy presented by On The Pull. Brian Molloy will also be on the decks. It's free, 21+ and i should be on around midnight!

- Saturday night, i'll be spinning at MisShapes along with: James Iha, James Stewart (Xiu Xiu) and John Cameron Mitchell! What a lineup, huh? Not only that, but there will be an open bar from 10pm until 1am and tons of giveaways!
Check out the MisShapes site for all the details.

from the edge of the deep green sea

What happens when you put two of the best local bands on the same bill on a friday night? You end up with a line around the corner of the mercury lounge... no joke. Benzos and Asobi Seksu not only packed the venue, but also played amazing sets, both of which included new material. I definitely see these two bands as part of a new crop of new york bands who have the potential for solid, fruitful and long careers in and outside of their hometown. And honestly, i really hope it happens for both of them. I missed openers Midnight Movies, but kept hearing how great they are.

Saturday was one of those days when everything seemed just so... strange, in a good way. Going to Randall's Island for Curiosa was a strange experience, not only because we missed the ferry, but also the thought of going to a festival in the middle of the east river. We basically missed Mogwai and The Cooper Temple Clause, which sucked because i wanted to see both. We got there right on time for The Rapture, who put on a highly enthusiastic and energetic show. Truth be told, i was happy to see them but i far prefer seeing them in clubs where there's no sun and humidity, and kids jump and dance. Also, what's up with Out of the races... being much slower than the recorded version? After The Rapture, we kinda wandered around and bumped into almost everyone we knew from back across the river. Then it was time for Interpol. It seems like i haven't mentioned them here in a long time... well i haven't seen them live in a while, so you can only imagine the anticipation. And you know what? Even though, my ideal returning Interpol gig would have been at the bowery ballroom, it was really great to see them play again. Short set, but a good mix of old and new. They were in good spirits even through the technical difficulties. You could tell the band's slowly getting back into tour mode. The setlist was the same as it's been since the beginning of the Curiosa tour: Obstacle 1 / Roland / Evil / NYC / Slow Hands / Leif Erikson / Say Hello to the Angels / NARC / PDA. Their performance basically left me wanting to see a headline show!
Right before The Cure came on, i started to think about how weird and incredible it was that both The Rapture and Interpol were opening for The Cure. Seriously, think about it for a minute... so strange. Needless to say, The Cure were phenomenal. The show was way better than their performance at Coachella and the set list was comprised of hits, new songs and unexpected surprises (10:15 Saturday Night !!). They were tight, sharp, and Robert's voice never sounded so good. I never saw them back in the day (i only started listening to The Cure in 1994) and always thought i missed out on their "prime", but after seeing them twice this year, i feel that not only do they have an impressive repertoire of amazing songs, they also are still very much relevant and important in 2004.