Central Village

A fitting song title...

Anyone who listens to KEXP in the morning has likely heard this song by The Pale Pacific called 'Identity Theft'.  It is a pitch perfect rip-off of Death Cab, from the soft indie arrangements to the Gibbard-esque vocals.  Thing is tho...I really like it!  It's like the Apply Some Pressure of Pacific Northwest pop.  It sounds pretty much like everything else, but they do it really really well.  Check it out:

The Pale Pacific - Identity Theft

You can also listen to a few more of their tracks at their pure volume site, which from a quick listen don't sound too bad either...

Back at it

I can't remember ever feeling less rested after a long weekend than I do right now.  Quickly tho...I saw an unremarkable Rilo Kiley show at Webster Hall Friday night before running down to Bowery with plenty of time to catch The Wrens.  They never fail to blow me away.  More pics after the jump, as well as on Flickr.

If you like these guys even a fraction of how much I do, check out Little Quill.  These guys are making a documentary about the band and their story.  You can watch the 10 minute preview clip, and donate to the cause if you'd like.  Watching people talk about this band on that video is quite moving, and it serves as a nice little introduction to the band for those who are unfamiliar.  Please check it out.  I'm convinced that 20 years from now people are gonna discover these guys as the quintessential indie band of our time, and this movie should be there to tell the story.  Best of luck, guys.

Shiny

How much better was this than the Irving show???  Like a million times better?!  It was what I expected their show to be like.  They were goofy and playful and impromptu on stage.  They got the entire crowd to sit down at one point on the floor and be quiet, only to have them shoot back up and dance around like monkeys when the music got going again.  They dressed in traditional venue-appropriate Polish garb, opened with a blaring Shofar, and finished with an amazing amazing encore of Shiny solo, followed by their 20 minute epic, "The Tain".  Wow.

I also warmed up to Warsaw a bit.  It's still in the middle of nowhere, and the sound is pretty crummy, but a sold out show is surprisingly comfortable.  There's lots of space to chill out and watch from the back of the room, and the stage is high enough (or the crowd happened to be short enough) to see really well from anywhere.  It's a very comfortable place to see a show.  I feel like i could have dragged a chair in from the bar, sat down, and nobody would have cared.  maybe I'll try that next time...

Dave took lots of pics (including the one used above), and Jen is happy because she got to write about the Grateful Dead.  Go look.

Hang out in the Living Room

Next week Mark Gardener (from Ride) is playing at the Living Room on Monday and Tuesday.  Monday he'll be on right before Jaymay, who I'm looking forward to seeing again.  She has some great MP3's available on her website from the current Living Room resenency, including this one that i've listened to about a dozen times recently...

Jaymay - You Are the Only One I Love

Also, check out this Mark Gardener (actually an old Ride) song.  I love it.

Mark Gardener - Dreams Burn Down

Thai Tips

Thanks for all the suggestions! I'm looking forward to checking all these places out...
Isle
Pongsri
Klong
Montien
Cafe Asian
Kobma Thai
Sea
Thailand Restaurant
Gobo
Galanga

And from today's SLNY, which had a short list of hot new Thai spots (the new bok)
breeze
prem-on
tiny thai
ho wong city

I also have to make it back to Sripraphai one of these days...

Conor Tries...

I can't say I was completely blown away with this Bright Eyes character last night.  He had his highlights, but it wasn't anything completely noteworthy.  I have been able to get into his albums more recently, but his awkward stage presence was not endearing, and I really didn't think any of the songs were any better to see in person than they are lying on my bed listening to them on my iPod.  Oh well.  Now I know.

I've got a few more pictures up on flickr.  Gopster apparently was there too...probably looking to start something.  He's got lots of Pictures up.  (Of The Faint and Mars Black as well)

Thai Food

Anybody know a good Thai place in delivery range of the Central Village?  I've been looking and looking for a decent place to order from, but haven't found anything.  I've got Spice covered, but is there anywhere else?  Been on a serious Thai kick of late, but keep on getting disappointed with the places I try.  A recommendation would be greatly appreciated, even if it's just a sit down place.  E-mail me or comment or whatever.  Thanks!

Moving Image

So I realize I've taken up way too much space talking about Hardcore and Emo this week, so here's the capper.  I shot a couple short videos of the Jesse Lacey and the Blood Brothers shows I was recently at on my camera.  Neither are very professional, but if you're interested, they are certainly worth downloading.  The sound on the Blood Bros. one is really distorted tho, so turn down the volume when you watch.  Watching them in action well worth it, however.  Especially if you have no idea why I would like this sort of stuff.  Enjoy.

Jesse Lacey - Okay I Believe You, But My Tommy Gun Don't

Blood Brothers - Cecilia and the Silhouette Saloon

UPDATE: Um, these files are really big...so it may be kinda tough to download.  Sorry...didn't really think this one out all that well.  I'll see what I can do.

Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Boy...

Weird scene at the Blood Bros. last night.  First of all, The crowd was very young.  I bet 90% of the crowd was under 21.  Most prolly under 18.  But whatever.  Doesn't bother me.  Secondly, Spirit is a strange place.  Nestled beside Bed, across the street from Scores West, and around the corner from Marquee, it's basically a big fancy club...except it's not all that nice.  Once past the big wooden doors, it feels like some shitty Williamsburg spot...Exposed white-painted brick going in, and all black inside the performance space.  If I was rich and self-important, I would not choose to hang out here over the nearby spots.  But I guess that's why they have shows here.

I love watching this band perform.  And I actually don't mind the music all that much either anymore.  Take away the screeching vocals, and there's some real epic shit going on under there.  But as a whole, it's surprisingly listenable for hardcore.  This band works so hard on stage, and has such personality and stage presence (even if the Gay thing is an act), it more than makes up for any personal shortcomings I may see in their music.  Still pictures can only say so much, but I think you can get a feel for what they're like.  I'll post a video later.

Joey shares his experience of the evening as well.

More pictures below...

My Week

I've been craving the Blood Brothers ever since I saw them at Coachella.  I don't know what it is.  I couldn't pick out a single song of theirs and it's not really my type of music, but they are so much fun to watch on stage.  It's really like nothing else I had ever seen.  I'll be perfectly content to stand on the side and watch the madness unfold before me, rather than get into the sweaty, high-school populated pit.  I know nothing about the other bands opening for them tonight at Spirit, but I think Plot to blow up the Eiffel Tower is a really cool name...

Tomorrow I'm going to see Conor and the Faint play their final show of their Webster Hall run.  Thursday is The Decemberists at Warsaw, and Friday I'll be running around trying to catch as much of Rilo Kiley as I can before heading down to Bowery for The Wrens.

Saturday I may go see The Hold Steady acoustic set at Soundfix during the day.  I still don't really like them much, but it's free.  Saturday night I'm hoping to finally see R.U.O.K. at Luna Lounge.  Sunday I'm gonna check out the Rock and Roll brunch with Pela and the excellent Other Passengers.  Then there's like nothing going on the week after.