tickle my spine

Damn, busy week. But wow, i'm loving the new Rilo Kiley album More Aventurous... and shame one me but i'd never listened to them before, are the previous releases just as good as this new one?

Here's someone else who if i took the time to listen to more often i'm sure i'd be a lot more into, and that someone else is Ted Leo. He performed a small intimate solo show on tuesday night at the Spin offices. He played songs from his forthcoming album, some older stuff and brilliantly covered Rush and Bruce Springsteen. When i was watching him, i thought to myself, why do i never listen to him?? I've got to fix that.

Right after Ted, i went over to Rothko to see Looker, The Hong Kong and Goodfinger. Only after the booking was final that i realized that all bands had female lead singers, which made for a fantastic lineup. All three bands actually have a very distinct style and unique performers. They all played great sets that had a lot of attitude and energy and i highly recommend you check them out in the near future. First, listen to some songs:
:: Looker - Tickle my spine
:: The Hong Kong - Mazerati
:: Goodfinger - various songs

On a side note, those of you who are going to see The Killers on monday, get there early, cause The Hong Kong is opening!

I watched Live Forever the other night, the documentary about the rise and fall of britpop. It was definitely entertaining. It starts out with The Stone Roses' last show and goes over the major bands of the 90s in the UK. Obviously there's a lot of focus on Oasis and Blur, but the film covers (to various degrees) Pulp, Suede, Supergrass, St. Etienne, Radiohead, Sleeper amongst others. They even touch upon the Bristol scene with lots of Massive Attack coverage and some Portishead. Noel Gallagher is hilarious in it, and i wish there was more Jarvis in it. The documentary did a good job capturing what was going on in England at the time and how the music was a big part of the changes. And if anything this film definitely reminds of the enormous talent that comes out of the UK.

I still have to mention a few other shows i saw this week, but i have to prepare for my first wedding DJ gig, how awesome!? And it's not just anyone's wedding, it's Lio and Kay Kanine Records (also the peeps behind Crashin'in)!

walking machine

I'd like to talk a bit about DJ-ing escapades of the weekend...

First, friday night at Popfrenzy!, a new party thrown by On The Pull at Red and Black in williamsburg. Red and Black is a really cool venue, and Nora (the party organizer) mentioned that the theme was 80s and anything dancy, and the goal was to make everyone dance. So i followed the instructions. My set was literally out of an episode of VH1 Classics' We are the 80s, except for a few contemporary bands (i.e. The Rapture and Franz Ferdinand), but otherwise it was all about Duran Duran, A Flock of Seagulls, The Bangles, Madonna, New Order, Depeche Mode, MJ, and more. I took a little break, during which i had Dennis spin some hip hop and remixes, and then came back and played Weezer's The good life and Pulp. Once i was done, Nora took over and spun another round of hits that included The Killers and stellastarr*. It was a really fun night!

MisShapes was absolutely insane on saturday... with an open bar and 3 "celebrity" DJs, what else to expect? I had a lot of fun with my set on saturday, i got to play some new stuff i recently acquired. I started early and warmed things up while people were quickly filling the club up. James Iha came on after me and quite impressed everyone with his eclectic choice of music. If i can remember he played Daft Punk's Digital love (he didn't know i had spun Daft Punk, so we forgive him), Madonna's Dress You Up, Mojo's Lady, The Sounds, Cooler Kids and more i can't seem to remember right now. After his set, we sang happy birthday to Brian and then i remember getting dizzy from the amount of people around me. I can't even think of the songs John Cameron Mitchell played, but it was rather good for the most part. Unfortunately, i was gone by the time James Stewart went on... When i left, there was a long line of people waiting to get in, which was surreal and incredible to witness. After all, it is one of the best parties in town right now.

MisShapes set list 8/7:
Nu Shooz - Can't wait
Revl9n - Walking Machine
Radio 4 - Party Crashers
OMD - Engola Day
Daft Punk - One more time
Interpol - Obstcale 1 : Arthur Baker Loud Vocal Mix
Pink Grease - Fever
T-Rex - 20th Century Boy
Nirvana - Smells like teen spirit : DJs on Strike remix
The Cure - Why can't i be you : 12" Remix
U2 - Sunday bloody sunday
The Smiths - Stop me if you've heard this one before
The Police - Message in a bottle

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Happy Birthday wicked Ashley!

rock the faces

Before i go on about the weekend, i'd like to invite everyone to join me tomorrow night - tuesday august 10th - for a special evening of music at Rothko with the following awesome bands:

11pm - Goodfinger
10pm - The Hong Kong
9pm - Looker

Doors open at 8:30pm, it's only $7 - 21+.
It's a melody nelson event, and you know that always means a good time!