Saturday:________
Despite being up most of the night dealing with a loud, drunken melee outside our house- replete with brawls, gunshots, screeching car tires and several calls to 911 - The Missus and I started the day with butterflies in our bellies because we had tickets for the
Gogol Bordello show at Irving Plaza that night. They have quickly become one of our favorite bands and their live shows are legendary, so we were
beyond psyched to finally get to see them. Suffice to say, we were even more blown away than we had even imagined we could be. That show is now among my top one or two non-U2 shows of ALL TIME and The Missus officially lists it as her number one
ever, which is saying a lot.
I haven't felt that kind of crowd unity since
the hardcore shows of my youth. The place was on fire. People were ecstatic. The amount of energy coming both from the stage and the audience could have launched an Apollo mission. You could feel the very foundations of the venue shaking beneath the weight of our collective jumping, dancing, moshing and howling. It was wild, it was loud, it was positive and it was
joyous. It was everything you'd expect from a band that plays gypsy-flavored punk with sprinkles of tarantella.
The only way to accurately give you a taste of the experience is to let you see for yourself. Below are links to some vids of the band in action. Take a moment to check them out. If they EVER make it to a town near you - GO.
"60 Revolutions""Not A Crime""Undestructable" "Start Wearing Purple" Sunday:
_______
Sunday we laid low then finished the evening on the Poynters' porch. One of those perfect non-humid summer evenings that only comes along once in a while. The Missus put together a beautiful plate of fresh caprese, Neil made club sandwiches and we finished off several bottles of surprisingly-delicious-for-the-price malbec by Los Altos. After dinner, we downshifted into
Pimm's with lemonade (something Kate developed a taste for on her most recent UK trip and a new summer fave around our house). Once the girls went to bed however, Neil and I remained outside, broke out the guitars and
the Ardbeg and proceeded to have a longer night than we should have.
Monday:
______
Started the day by being reminded that I'm not someone who can mix when I'm drinking. I gotta dance with the one that brung me, otherwise my body gives me shit about it the next day. I wasn't hungover
per se, but I took the note and will try to keep it in mind next time.
Had a commercial audition for NY Lottery at 10:40 am and of course it was pissing rain. I arrived wet and uncomfortable and then tried to get myself in the headspace of having just won the lottery, which is what I was told I'd be doing in the audition. When they called me in to the room, they wanted me to pretend to be looking out over the railing of the Staten Island Ferry, gazing at the Statue of Liberty and "imagining the American dream". (?) Then I had to mime going into a bodega, scratching a lotto ticket, winning a million dollars and then reacting to it "subtly". You know, because that's a realistic reaction to have when you win a million bucks. It was totally awkward and weird - as most commercial auditions are - and I'd be
very surprised if I got a callback.
Left the audition and got a call from the mechanic who was working on our car. First off, they were supposed to call me
before they did anything, let me know what they thought the problem was and how much it would cost and proceed from there. No. He calls and tells me the car's done and that'll be $177.68, thank you very much.
It was all pretty much what you'd expect from a rainy Monday.
TODAY:
Um... yeah. Today... Uh... let's see. Well, more job-searching. That's about it. Though, I did hear today on NY1 that they've
boosted the wi-fi signal in Central Park, so I may move my base of operations to the Sheep's Meadow for the remainder of the day. (AFTER I get in on the noon pre-sale of tickets to go see
THESE GUYS. Shhhhhhhh........)
So, that's the scoop. Another week filled with who-knows-what.
I've
gotta find a job soon...
I'm going to be there. The Missus is going to be there. Basically, anyone who's cool is going to be there. Do you think you're cool? Maybe, maybe not. If I look across the room at the John Street Thursday night and see you drinking a beer and howling for more Neil Poynter originals, I will deem you such. If you're not there... like, if you decide to stay home and watch MustSeeTV or something - you are most definitely not cool. In fact, you're impossibly lame. Sorry. My judgements are swift, accurate and ultimately final in these situations.
