meet me at the bar, its goin down

its been forever since i've had a solo DJ gig. its going down tomorrow night. actually i hope its goin up. i havent had a car or a stereo in my room, much less a sewing/craft/keyboard room to jam it at all costs in quite some time.. So i guess the most exciting part is to hear my favorite tunes in full form on full blast..anything i want to hear at my finger tips. anyone who comes, many many thanks and hearts and hugs and kisses forever and in advance (no expiration date). kinda counting on support from some homies. thats my ticket to playing more. anyone who dares buy an overpriced beer in Nolita due to a haphazard facebook invite or a belated text, i adore you. if all goes well, i'm gonna wanna keep doing this on the regs. plus it pays decent, my brokeass can't argue with that.

a constant flow happens here: missing random meaningful(less) stuff and super important till the end people in Texas VS. the crush as all hell i have on my new city.. the potential to find moments of curiosity and joy (really? really!) in the tiniest shit.. pretty cool, but a weird play by play in the head when the big picture comes into play. enough of that, just live..

so living..yes, what's that w/o adventure.. and adventure i will in the next month.. going to Atlanta, Georgia to visit K Spot in her new world of a life. gonna seriously geek out. loved atlanta on the sour notes tour. awesome that i have an even more awesome reason to visit again. Gonna hit some shows, and looking crazy forward to seeing Toro y Moi, Bass Drum of Death, and Unknown Mortal Orchestra in onefreakinnight!! We are going to Athens for that one kids. Never been, dreamed about it for years..the place of musical history i care most about. no its not Strawberry Fields, but that was quite moving. Its the 40 watt y'all. can't believe the show is gonna go on there. The birthplace of elephants..or at least the newborn phase.. whatever, no worries, seeing it first hand, maybe touching too many surfaces knowing brilliance (in fantasy husband form) has touched them too. plus its football weekend in athens so i'll prolly get off on that shit too, with a few "HOOKEMMUTHAFUCKS" in the mix. Funny how Krissie came here and we saw no shows.. the city where i can go to bed nightly and think damn i fuckin missed that shiiiiiit, suuuuucksss!! And on my trip to GA, its shows TTM... reading rainbow on night two. anyhow..vacations, like anything new and off the normal routine are what keep me going.. so this one, i'm super stoked to attend. Bring it Georgia, be a peach for me!

As for the next month of August..its TCB month. Until vacation, its task time. Oh and BTW, the FFF lineup was released today in full. FTR, it is not sick and it isn't epic whatsoever..BUT FUCKING A sure is grand and kinda wishing i could go. and wondering how i fared in teh "Guess the Fest" contest.. i think i scored over 50%, but who knows if that gets you anywhere.. spot on is what they're looking for. made a good run though (i think). oh austin, why are you so difficult? and why are you so tempting sometimes? maybe i'll pop in on a whim. hopefully sooner than later, TYVM southwest airlines. Till then, here i am and oh my, what next ;)

Something Else

"It's really diverse. Short of bugging your own friends to come out and see you, after that it's out of my hands by and large who comes to my show. I can only make the music I want to make, and present the image that I feel represents me and hope that the right people get it. Not that there's wrong people. People who come to my shows are all over the place. Kids in high school, 20 something downtown folks like me, people my parents' age, which is really cool. It's all over the place. I'm trying to reach as many people as I can. I want to try and make the music and put on the kind of show that allows anyone to feel like they can come and express themselves and be themselves and be safe and have fun. I would be really worried if I had a demographic niche and everyone were the same that comes to my show."

And this is one of many reasons I love Diamond Rings. Thanks Brooklyn Vegan for this...John O was asked to describe his fanbase, and that's what he said. THis man loves unicorns and wears ghetto printed tshirts that say Diamond Rings. I've seen this man perform to like 5 fuckies at 11 am at sxsw. By the end of his set, there was a massive crowd. yay! I've seen this man be nervous and berated by a sound guy, only to perform the most excellent of sets. I've tried to publish said set to YouTube to no avail ;( I've mumbled and dedicated his lovely lyrics to many friends..Bless him for the split with Ps I Love You cuz PS they rule too. KSpot and I found him at Cheer Up charlies, and he was more than happy to pose for pics..plus his makeup? not a smudge in sight..that's pretty fuckin A for a Canadian in Texas. Yee Haw, y'all!

day off.

i wanna put off TCBing until tomorrow and just read all day. Going to the strand was completely inspiring. Sometimes the life biz gets in the way of the simple pleasure of the afternoon bookage. plus books smell afuckingmazing. and reading is a lot more fun when its designated, and not just right before bed style. at least for me. Fuck the bank, fuck the laundry, fuck the city, i'm embracing the day off. people like resumes right? i'll send some of those out later or maybe even TOMORROW. ahh.

Black Angels are playing for free tonite at mercury lounge. how would that queue look? prolly a bit much, but still haven't been to the mercury in years and its tempting. plus seeing atx bands in ny is super fun.

BUT,

The Hairs and Lower Dens are playing this week and maybe the best thing to do would be to save the inevitable Black Angels beer money and use it for something else. decisions decisions.. clearly i have too much time on my hands....which honestly would rule if i were independently wealthy. sheeeiiiit, i'm not. damn.

ION, most of my favorite tweets this wknd were from pitchfork festival goers in chicago those lucky fuckies...some of the highlights:

-a kid in a cast moshing at No Age
-Cupcakes from Oliver Future
-festival goers being nice to each other cuz one day they'll all be in the same lazer tattoo removal center together, haha
-dads rocking out to some dad rock
-someone's cat mesmerized at the computer screen when cut copy was streaming.. adorable
-nobody has more fun at an ariel pink show than ariel pink.

ok i'm procrastinating on both real shit and fun shit, so i'm out for now. happy mondays everyone.

observation

at the end of the day...the air was so thick and permeated with unspoken envy and competition... everything was briefly normal in a lighting bolt instant...just taunting them with a flash of the past...a giggle, a fleeting memory. We are all here. then the density of reality set in. it always did. and thank you for your times were muttered..the familiar stranger reared its grotesque head, despite resistance. luckily,to be ignored and unfortunately, seen soon enough. the usual. We are all here. then nothing else mattered..it was just two ppl trying to make sense of their surroundings. and one of them muttered, in Russian, "Kak dela?" (how are you?). The situation was sublime in the end, from an optimist's point of view. Later remedies sought and found, a coalition to end the abuse. ahem, accustomed abuse ;) We are all here. later she was reminded that familiar suckage is better than general suckage, and everything made sense. We are all here. even later, it became night and nobody cared about anything but the moment. It was a nice time after all and nobody was there. hearts and goodnite

snippets and blippets

OMG, Captured Tracks pop up store opening when Krissie gets here! In greenpoint, super close... damnit i miss having a record player ... much less a fucking stereo...or a car to plug my ipod in. FUCK, when's christmans again? Well, i'm going, cuz that's where all our boyfriends hand their music over... Thanks as usual to craig for the heads up. oh and for being a total disser on Radiohead and deathcab and generally covering all the bases conversation wise.. obscure musical knowledge, fixed gear bikes, grrr, drug cartels, cocaine drug additives, crack babies, sex drives of our siblings. Yep went there too. @craigz is the jam.
Been revisiting the playin on blip..just a lil commentary, An Horse is great, and totally underblipped. Thanks @Locostavos. currently hearing Bradford Cox at Primavera sound...@pratinsky is kicking out the jams today...tom waits, Atlas sound, yee haw.. Thinking of making a few itunes purchases today..with my meager account balance...just wanna get some stuff..Gardens and Villa perhaps? Burnt Orange? Grooms? getting around to the cults as so recommended? new pump up songs to get ready to? i'm feeling more in the vein of up tempo and aggressively happy. I have a feeling the new future islands will be amazing.. but for now.. choices. love that preview button y'all

its getting nice in here..

its getting to be a good time feeling type of mood. IOW, i'm starting to really enjoy just BEING here. being as in physically as well as socially, contemplatively, and emotionaly all around just being right here. in brooklyn, ny, where i chose to call home about 6 weeks ago. its been fabulously tough, emphasis on both.. i think the whole 3 days off and making plans suited me just fine, a listmaker at heart. The beach yesterday had me smiling cheek to cheek, feeling like an actual kid..a kid that grew up without too much worry, just enough to still look forward to a trip out to the waves. I almost impromptued my "King Of The Beach" routine right on the sand.. i digressed..a 45 minuted jog in the morning had me a lil ready for just lazing..and that i did. afterwards, had a great nite with ex roomie julia, and found my first, admittedly, yet best margarita here to tally. Woods on s. 4th has an excellent taco truck and i was super stoked to get 2 texas fixes...
Today i tcbd and was pleasantly surprised by the pop up listing of Future Islands at Death By Audio tonite.. thought about seeing Puro Instinct and John Maus at glasslands, but the cheap cover and super duper <3 for FI had me giddy..
The set and sound was spectacular.. ive yet to see a show at DBA that isn't sardined packed and sweaty as a steam room on acid. srsly, god bless $1 water bottles! I was still not let down. didn't get 10 arms lengths from the front, but didn't really matter. The opening two songs from first full length Wave like Home were Beach Foam and Little Dreamer..they provided such anticipation for the bulk of the set, hit after hit from Tin Man, Walking Through that door, IOD, and VE.. all so lovely..so many fucking handclappers and even crowd surfers! this crowd had their shit together.. how can you not with such an endearing and comedic front man!?? GAWD!!! Plus two new ones that had been played "4 or 5 times". They were more in the vein of Wave Like Home versus the dancier beat driven In evening Air.. But was totally enthralled..esp since i knew i wouldnt get to see Washed Out in a couple of weeks.. this totally hit the spot. speaking of spots.. K Spot will be here in like two weeks and Mom and Dad this sunday. THese events most likely have an impact on my sudden surge of endorphins..way excited! bro downs with new roomates never hurt, and neither does a good hard jazzericize session (speckled with 2+ routines that i remember from ATX classes. ) So...referencing the list maker, i feel the time to TCB on that right now..just for clear head purposes:
Good Things:
1. Craig goes to shows with me
2. i've live closer to a beach that is more beautiful than any one i've been to in TX
3. Visitors from TX
4. My balcony
5. Naming a bar Old faithful, even though i've been in the hood about a month
6. Patio soon to be , if not already , opened at No Name Bar
7. Trains arriving 3 seconds after entering the platform
8. Cooking at home
9. Discovering foods on the outs..esp
10. Jogging long distances just to see what's next
11. surprise shows
12. Brooklyn Vegan
13. flip flops
14. settling in
15. 24 hour bakeries
16. rice to riches
17. captured tracks
18. lack of clutter
19. walking
20. i haven't locked my keys/phone inside the house..knock on wood!
21. random awesome texts
22. visitors
23. little italy
24. ppl asking me for directions and confident i gave the right info
25. getting to know brooklyn with a jogging stride


dislikes:
1. haven't taken a bus yet
2. not a crazy awesome place to dance has been discovered
3. the L sucks after hours
4. fear of bedbugs and thrift store shopping
5. no bluebell ice cream
6. overheard in new york (my new twitter tag) is kinda gross
7. missing tons of shows due to work
8. leaving my sewing machine and keyboard to gather dust while i miss them
9. Finding my way around the west villiage..daunting
10. fewer laughs, acronyms, and shouting.. must be remedied!!

all in all..things are feeling bright.. weather is nice..looking forward to:
1. rollerskating
2. pies n thighs
3. scarves
3. finishing the book on hasidic judaism
4. Coney Island
5. East River ferry
6. Lower rent, perhaps fingers crossed
7. Local shows/side project collaborations TBD
8. VISITORS!!

ok ok gotta quit with the head space...just had to TCB for the moment.. esp since there's not much space here. luckily, nooks and corners are in exploratory and curios stages.. i can't wait to plop down , make a grass angel and just breathe..then maybe a spelling lesson? forgive me.
xo
erin

Northside festival

Sure was a festival this weekend. Northside Festival in Williamsburg and Greenpoint, very young, very much an in utero sister festival to sxsw, which in my opinion, is a nice thing. Now that i live here among the thick of the area of said festival,i can honestly appreciate the compact geography and smaller size of the northside fest.. versus the beast that is SXSW. even living on the outskirts of sxsw, where i had to bus or car it ,i could still bitch about the shows taking over my favorite venues and bars knowing i didn't have a space to call home...that means YOU Nomad bar, Longbranch Inn, etc..i love you but i want a quite calm amongst the storm ;) But here, yeah, it was small enough to where the venues didn't amass into a complete takeover and a lot of the shows were in sepparate rooms from the hangout bar area. Plus, I could walk everywhere, including home, yeah!! That said, i enjoyed both aspects..the shows and the scene. i must say i was most enamoured with X-Ray Eyeballs, an apparent brooklyn fave introduced to me by my go to goer of shows, craig (!!!) They had me hooked on first listen and nearly took down the ceiling at death by audio at an unofficial showcase this past weekend. I had visions of shapes have fangs or the apeshits or one of Penny's many projects at beerland as i listened. Ass shots, weiner shots, you name it :


also caught The Oh Sees as said venue, the sweatiest, DIYest, smokiest indoors, you could walk by and miss it totalliest venue i've been to here. They killed it.

Surprise sneak in to Music hall of Williamsburg brought Thelonius London, and honestly was captivated. Never a fan before. Clueless in fact. But i see the rage now...

Other highlights included a decent outdoor set by wavves, who was much funner w/ KSpot at FFF BTW...it was a weird setup..the crowd was blocked 10 feet from the steve madden stage and apparently nathan was a lil under the weather..Still played my faves and i was happy to see it, big as all Jesus pot leaf T shirts and all. Beirut gave me a new reason to love them playing on the same stage...go figure. Surfer Blood gave me chills with Catholic Pagan, and GBV did 3 fucking encores. yes emphasis on 3 and fucking, cuz these dudes have been around the block and still do kicks and mic swinging, yelling.. and 3 encores. Woven Bones show also blew my mind and cant hardly believe the transformation of Andy and his new crew. A +

Last day i opted for Blair and Airwaves at Glasslands... super duper cool to see Blair solo, WOW! and despite sound and mix issues, Airwaves brought the songs that made me smile. Go Knock Out.

I also became infatuated with Fergus and Geronimo..a brooklyn band that i'd heard of but never experienced. I heard TV personalities, The Clean, Gogol Bordello, and all kinds of gypsy craziness and i figured an accordian would make its way on stage at some point.
In other Hardly Art news, i saw Collen Green (the east coast version of Best Coast) and was amped TTM hearing her solo and electric. Sweet lady and a drum machine, a guitar, pink sunglasses, and a voice that made me jealous. YES.

Above and beyond, a great weekend.. missed diamond rings and the strange boys, atlas sound, porcelain raft, reading rainbow, and Dom. whatcha gonna do? I was able to work and see shows and get paid. That spells FUCK YEAH in my lil book.
Speaking of pay, more of it woulda resulted in a splurge to see Foster The People and Gardens and Villa ... or a venture out to see Hooray for Earth DJ in Greenpoint last night.. but rest was much needed.
Many more brooklyn musings to come... so many more i could type for hours..but the sun comes up early here and i have readily available project runway to watch..more to come after a lil R and R and cable TV xoxo