New York

My earplugs were no match for Swans.

As expected, seeing Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter was worth every penny of that overpriced Sunn/Boris ticket.

Next time I am in a bad mood, remind me of tonight, when Cynic played the entirety of Focus, in sequence, a few feet away from me.

“Why did Red Hot Chili Peppers go ‘Under the Bridge’? There was a plate of shit there that they wanted to jack off into.” — Neil Hamburger

Last time I saw Faith No More, I didn’t know how to make a web site, and Limp Bizkit opened. Tonight’s was a better show for a better time.

Thanks in large part to Rob Across America, this has been the most traveled year of my life, but it’s not over yet. Before I disappear under a pile of blankets for the winter, I have a few more North American destinations lined up for the fall. If you happen to see me in any of these places, I hope you’ll say hello.

Ottawa, September 17th–21st

For the seventh time in ten years, I’ll be… See more →

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Brooklyn is not terribly far from where I live, so waking up there this morning made a clear enough impression that I would be arriving home today. But I still just couldn’t get my head around the idea of being home and staying there. Perhaps in a subconscious attempt to slow the approach, I made a few stops on the way. There was a very nice breakfast with Stan and Shawn Morrison at DuMont in… See more →

The best and most substantial part of today’s drive from Boston to New York City was through Connecticut on the Merritt Parkway. Enclosed by trees reaching over it and divided by a wide, grassy median, it is not only easy on the eyes but stimulating to the imagination: At any given time, you expect and almost hope Robin Hood and his band of merry men will pull up alongside you on horseback and cheerfully relieve… See more →

Peter and I took a trip up to New York yesterday. The early afternoon was occupied by sifting through galleries in Chelsea, the highlights of which were the Tim Gardner and Michael Craig-Martin exhibitions, held (respectively) at 303 Gallery and Gagosian Gallery. The late afternoon was spent being herded around NBC Studios in Rockefeller Center, waiting to see Interpol perform on “Last Call with Carson Daly”. The vast majority of the audience was Interpol fans,… See more →

Just got back from a weekend in New York, primarily for two nights’ worth of sold out shows at North Six in Brooklyn.

Saturday night was The Fucking Champs, Rye Coalition, and Drunk Horse, the denser of the two shows in terms of quality. The Fucking Champs were excellent as usual, Rye Coalition was significantly more entertaining than the last time I saw them (insane energy, plus the singer put on some weight and has… See more →

There were five bands on the bill Sunday night, including Lightning Bolt, Deerhoof, Wolf Eyes, Thurston Moore with Carlos Giffoni, and 5ive (not the British boy band). The incomparable Lightning Bolt was the highlight of the show, opting to do their set on the floor on the right side of the club instead of the stage, actually cutting off the final song of Deerhoof’s set. Rock. Deerhoof was the only other band that really grabbed… See more →

Saturday night was The Fucking Champs, Rye Coalition, and Drunk Horse, the denser of the two shows in terms of quality. The Fucking Champs were excellent as usual, Rye Coalition was significantly more entertaining than the last time I saw them (insane energy, plus the singer put on some weight and has a kind of John Belushi thing going on that really works for him), and Drunk Horse, who I hadn’t heard of before, rocked… See more →