What's funny is, I've been really broke lately, but that hasn't seemed to stop me from going out a lot. Maybe it's because Catherine has been buying all of my drinks for me. Anyway, here's my contibution to the cultural zeitgeist of the last few weeks:

December 30 Mercury Lounge - Sasha Alcott & the Possibilities, The Fever, The Realistics

I liked The Possibilities, and so did Leanne. We both thought the female lead singer (Sasha?) was energetic and had a good voice, and the bassist (who we later found out was in the Realistics) was great, too. I wasn't as big of a fan of the keyboad player, and in fact I actually thought he fucked up a couple of songs for them. He looked all "nerdy" and made funny faces when he played, and I guess some people would like that, but it actually didn't feel too terribly natural to me, sort of like, he was an accessory, rather than intrinsic to the band. I'd like to see the lead singer and the bassist start all over again with a new band.

All of the guys in the The Fever were really hot, especially the lead singer. Unfortunately he couldn't sing, and his Mick Jagger impersonation looked better on The Hives' lead singer, and you know what? It didn't even look that good on him. Anyway, they're a copy of a copy, and that is a very sad thing to be. I hope the job market picks up and they can get jobs designing websites again.

The Realistics were bouncy and cute and fun enough, but didn't completely rock my world. The lead singer had a great voice though, and the parents of the band members were there, and they were so enthusiastic and happy about their kids that it made me like the Realistics more. (On a side note, it's fun to watch the indie kids let people who are obviously band member parents - meaning people who look like they drove in from the suburbs and are at least 50 - walk through a crowd like they're fucking Jesus Christ or something. Seriously, band member parents have the ability to spread crowds like waves. They're holy.) I like to think if I were in a band my folks would be the same way. The Realistics are loved.

There was another band that played (Longwave), but I didn't stay. This show was $15, which was a total ripoff and the Mercury Lounge should be ashamed of itself. They're getting too big for their britches if you ask me.

January 4 Pianos - The Natural History, The Capitol Years

I am all about Pianos, with their $5 cover and up and downstairs bars, and convenient location on the LES, right smack there in the middle of everything. I don't like their decor, but whatever. I want them to be like Brownies, in terms of the fun, cool rock and roll bands that played there. I am ready, Pianos, for you to make me fall in love all over again. I only have a few good rock years left in me, and then they'll retire me to a living room upstate somewhere. Entertain me before they shoot me, please.

Anyway, The Natural History - a Brooklyn band - rocked. I used to work with a girl who was fooling around with one of the guys in the band, and she used to giggle and tell me how hot and sexy he was. I didn't realize it till I got there that it was the same guy, but there he was, being all hot and sexy up on the stage, just by singing his little rock and roll songs. I was happy to see that the lead singer for The Fever was also at the show, so maybe he took some notes about how to turn the ladies on without being a total tool. (Still cute, though, that Fever lead singer. We pray for him.) But seriously, the Natural History plays some great rock and roll, with clever lyrics, and a tight sound. I love seeing bands for the first time, knowing nothing about them, and then being blown away. It was a nice moment.

The Capitol Years, making the long drive up from Philly, were also good, but much different, and way more sweaty. They kept reminding me of this weird classic rock and Grateful Dead melange (which doesn't sound so good to me either), and then all of a sudden they would totally rock out. Surprises are good. Yea. I'd have to listen to them a couple of times to really get into them, but then I could tell I'd like them, though probably never love them (whereas I could easily love The Natural History). They had a fairly dynamic performance, too, lots of rocking around the fairly small stage, so you though maybe they'd knock some shit over, which would have been awesome. Not this time. Maybe the next time. I could see loving them then.

Afterwards Catherine and I went to Local, where we discovered that the bartender lives in my building, and some guy called me a name-dropper, which I am NOT. I would have to know someone first to drop some names.

January 7 Galapagos - Spottiswoode and McMahon, The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players

Yea, I don't know how to spell the first act's name (Spottiswood? McMahen?), and I'm not even bothering to look it up, because they're not worth it. I heard from the cute guy in the hoodie standing next to me that they apparently rock out when they have a big band backing them, but I found it hard to believe. Spottiswoode is like this quirky British guy who sings songs about all of his ex-girlfriends ("the enfant terrible" - gag) and reminds me of the guy who used to sit in the quad my freshman year of college and play his guitar and try to seduce the Ren Faire girls. McMahon is his quirky, short sidekick who plays like toy pianos, and probably has some sort of trust fund so he can just wander around all day looking for new weird instruments at garage sales. (For the record, McMahon was my favorite, if I have to choose between the two.) Anyway, it was pretty masturbatory stuff, and had this been a less pretentious venue, people would have not been so polite and would have yelled at him to get off the stage. As it was, people were WAY into him. It was annoying.

I should mention that somewhere during the first act the bartender spilled beer on me and Juli. No good. But funny. So we were in funny moods. And he gave us free beer.

The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players are famous this week, which I didn't know. I decided to go see them last week, but I didn't get it into gear until this week. Then I found out they were on Conan. And in the New Yorker. And the New York Times. And the Voice did a big article on how Tuesday nights in Galapagos were the place to be for cutting edge performance art. OK, so as much as I like being in the thick of it all, I wish I had gone the week before, because the place was packed and we didn't get a seat up front. I wish I could have seen the cute 8-year-old drummer girl with the expressionless Wednesday Addams face play her little drums, and the freaky-deaky dad play his keyboard and tell his wry stories, and even see the mom with the crazy hair and the thrift store clothes flip the slides that they found in estate sales. Instead we were in the back, sneaking a peek as best we could. We could see the slides just fine, and hear the music, too, but I wish I had a better view. Go see 'em though, if you get a chance. It's a fun night, even if you'll never want to see them again. They'll be around for a while. Only get there early. They're famous now.

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