Interpol with Twin Tigers at Town Ballroom in Buffalo, NY, 6/22/2010

Posted on August 23, 2010
Filed Under friends, music, photography, travel | Leave a Comment

We all dragged ourselves out of bed the morning after the Interpol show in Rochester and drove to Buffalo. It’s only about an hour away, and we arrived pretty early in the day.

I don’t know if you’ve ever been to Buffalo, but it’s a really friendly town. Lots of locals chatted us up around the venue–and gave us tourist literature! It was a little bit rainy, but the cooler temperatures were more than welcome and the rain was sort of refreshing after the warmth of the previous day. Close to show time some of our friends from the previous night arrived in line and we got to chat a bit. A photographer for www.mybuffalo.com took our picture as we were waiting.

JayneMeJimmyMariaJayne, Me, Jimmy, and Maria outside Town Ballroom in Buffalo. Photo by Eric Syty, www.mybuffalo.com.

Town Ballroom in Buffalo is much nicer than the previous night’s venue, Water Street Music Hall in Rochester. It’s newer, cleaner, and air conditioned! Drinks were cheap. We love Buffalo! Jayne once again had a photo pass. I paid a little more attention to Twin Tigers’ set and found myself really enjoying their tunes. Initially I got a sort of 90s feel from their music… a tiny bit of Sonic Youth, a bit of My Bloody Valentine (Isn’t Anything, maybe), and something else that I couldn’t put my finger on. They’re noisy but melodic, heavy but pretty. In my mess of things from this trip, I have a map of Buffalo on which I’d written during their set, among other things:
m–a bit slack-jawed
the shame
but it’s OK bc he wears good shoes
what to expect from a hawks fan?

AimeeofTwinTigersinBuffaloAimee Morris of Twin Tigers at Town Ballroom in Buffalo. Photo by Jayne Yong, www.qromag.com.

Interpol’s set was excellent–so much better than the first night in terms of energy and the overall performance. Sam seemed way happier. I think Dave Pajo and Brandon Curtis improve with every show, and it was really apparent to me that they were sounding better already with the guys on this night.

I had my point-and-shoot with me and figured I’d take a stab at snapping a few pictures. They’re not terrible, considering.

PaulDaveBrandoninBuffaloPaul Banks, Dave Pajo, and Brandon Curtis. Photo by Terri Wise (me!).



DanielKesslerinBuffaloDaniel Kessler of Interpol at Town Ballroom in Buffalo. Photo by Terri Wise (me!).

Setlist:
Success
Evil
Say Hello to the Angels
Summer Well
NARC
Lights
NYC
Mammoth
PDA
Take You On a Cruise
Slow Hands
Obstacle 1
—–
Hands Away
Stella Was a Diver and She Was Always Down
Not Even Jail

I think it was on this night that Jayne and I were really hamming it up during some songs—particularly “Slow Hands.” We crooned and held hands and made Daniel laugh.

After the show everyone spilled out from the ballroom into a large bar area. Jayne ran into The National’s tour manager (Jayne has been to a ton of their shows over the last year or so) and they had a chuckle. We stopped by the Twin Tigers merch table to say hello. Some girl was totally coming on to Matthew—like in his face practically kissing him right there. I could see him writing down his phone number on a piece of paper. What a player! He continued flirting with me after she left and when we were walking off to find Sam and the guys he asked if we were coming back. Later on behind the venue Jayne saw him walk by and shouted “Matthew’s getting laid tonight!” It was pretty funny.

Anyway… We hung out a long time and got a chance to say hello to all of the Interpol guys except Paul. Brandon and Dave were both really nice. Brandon seemed very genuinely interested in our opinions on the performance. Jayne told him she thought Daniel messed up too much! And he looked as though he were going to be sure to tell Daniel that. (For what it’s worth, I thought it was a cleaner performance overall than the one in Rochester.) Dave was incredibly humble and seemed a little more shy than the others. He said he knew he had big shoes to fill. I assured him that he was doing a good job. Then Sam came out. He looked so good and seemed about 1000x happier than he had the previous night. He said the show felt good. We took a bunch of pictures with him. Actually, Brandon took a bunch of them for us.

MeSamJayneBuffaloMe, Sam, and Jayne after the show in Buffalo. We danced our butts off at the show and you can tell we were a little wrecked here (especially me). I love this picture, though. Taken on Jayne’s camera by Brandon Curtis (of Secret Machines and now the touring keyboardist with Interpol).

We got to talk to Daniel briefly as well. I hadn’t had a chance to speak to him like that in a long time. Also got a picture with him, which I think is very funny. His tie kind of matches what I’m wearing and I think the picture looks like we’re coming from a wedding.

DanielandMeinBuffaloDaniel and me coming from a wedding… well, actually, no… Just hanging out after the show in Buffalo. I look pretty terrible. Jayne took this (but is in no way responsible for me looking terrible).

Sarah was there with us after the show, but she kind of hung back. I think she felt a bit weird about approaching the guys as she’s only met them a few times before. After Sam spoke to us, he made a point of walking over to Sarah, introducing himself, shaking her hand, and thanking her for coming out to the show. He’s so great!

We were so hyped after everything that we stayed up and ordered food to be delivered to our room. I had a great time with mah girls! It was a little like a slumber party, and I would do it again right this second if I could. Didn’t get to sleep until probably 4AM.

The next day, Sarah and I continued the girl times in the car on the long ride back to Boston. I was soooo sad to say goodbye to Jayne. I miss her! Maybe maybe maybe I will get to see her in the UK later this year.

Interpol with Twin Tigers at Water Street Music Hall in Rochester, NY, 6/21/2010

Posted on August 23, 2010
Filed Under friends, music, travel | Leave a Comment

This summer I went to six Interpol shows, and a handful of other shows, too. In the next couple of days I’ll be posting my rundowns of the shows and my experiences. Since I use this blog partly as a diary, each of these will be a mixture of a review and my own babblings. Names have not been changed to protect anybody!

My friend Sarah and I drove out from Boston for the Rochester and Buffalo shows. We met up with our British friend Jayne in Rochester. Outside the venue we could hear Interpol’s soundcheck and got our first taste of tracks from the new album–”Success,” “Summer Well,” and “Barricade”–though at that time we didn’t know that’s what we were hearing. It was warm waiting in line on the sidewalk, but not as bad as it’s been for other shows. Everyone was really friendly and in a good mood, and there were a few trees for momentary patches of shade.  Now and then we wandered around the side of the venue to catch a bit of breeze. 

Twin Tigers in RochesterAimee Morris, Matthew Rain, and Forrest Hall of Twin Tigers in Rochester… It was weird to have so much daylight coming in through those big windows during their set, but that’s what you get on the longest day of the year, I guess. Photo by Jayne Yong, www.qromag.com.

I ran into some old friends inside the venue who I hadn’t seen in ages, and it was nice to catch up. It was stuffy and hot inside the venue, just as Harro East Ballroom in Rochester had been for the Interpol show in 2007. Jayne had a photo pass for opening band Twin Tigers, so we held her spot at the front while she took pictures.

Jayne_Sarah_Me_Rochester
Jayne doing her photographer thing at Interpol in Rochester. You can see my friend Sarah and me in the audience–we’re the last two whose faces are lit, right next to Jayne. Photo by April S. Engram, www.blurt-online.com.

Interpol played well. It’s always a bit tentative and exciting and weird when they play for the first time after a big break, but it was good. So good to have them back! There were some glitches, of course. Daniel stumbled (musically) a handful of times… nothing major. Sam was visibly annoyed that some part of his drum kit was not attached properly, and for more than one song he was trying to get Daniel’s attention so that he could stop long enough to get Bobby (his drum tech) or somebody to help him fix it. We were all dripping with sweat in the audience. Sometimes that’s a good thing, because if you’re hot and gross you lose any inhibitions you might have and just go ahead and have a good time. Well, I usually do that anyway.

Interpol_Rochester_meHere’s another one with me again at the bottom of the photo. Silly. That’s my friend Jimmy with his arm in front of the barrier next to the skinhead guy. Photo by April S. Engram, www.blurt-online.com.

Setlist:
Success
Evil
Say Hello to the Angels
Summer Well
NARC
Lights
NYC
Mammoth
PDA
Take You on a Cruise
Slow Hands
Obstacle 1
—
Hands Away
C’mere
Not Even Jail

PaulinRochesterPaul Banks of Interpol. Photo by Jayne Yong, www.qromag.com.

The setlist had an Antics-heavy feel to it, which was fine by me. I love “Hands Away,” so was very pleased to hear that.  During the first few notes of “C’mere” I thought they were doing “The Heinrich Maneuver,” which I really don’t like.  I was very happy to discover that it was “C’mere” instead. I thought the new songs sounded pretty good–they definitely had the signature atmospheric Interpol quality. I knew “Lights” from the online release. Of the other two new songs they premiered live in Rochester, I think “Summer Well” left the most significant impression. It’s just got more going on–more complementary parts, more structure, more to chew on.

Afterwards we hung around behind the venue, talked to some of the Twin Tigers guys (I think this is when I met Aimee, their bassist), and got to say hi to Paul. He seemed to be in really good spirits, as he has since the Julian Plenti tour. We teased him about the new Interpol armbands and he defended them, saying that they serve a purpose–to prevent chafing when playing the guitar. Then we wandered over to the front of the venue. My friend Sarah had gone back to the hotel at this point… I think the heat and travel and not eating and hydrating properly had wiped her out and she needed to just crash. Dan walked by and waved to us, but he was clearly in a bit of a rush. A guy leaving the venue stopped just to tell me that he thought it was cool that I really got into the show and that it made it more enjoyable for him. Nice.

A bit later on we stopped and talked to Sam. He is the nicest man. He did seem a bit glum, though. With this being the first night of what is likely to be a pretty long tour, the prospect of being away from his daughter for such a long time was really weighing on him. We hugged and told him we were concerned about him and hoped things would get better. He seemed tired. Poor Sam!

After chatting with Sam we headed back to our hotel. The Twin Tigers guys were a bit in front of us, followed closely by three noisy giggling teenage girls… Oh boy. It turned out that TT were staying in our hotel. Somehow we ended up on the elevator with Forrest, their second guitarist. The others must have gone up ahead of him. He asked Jayne what we were up to and when we said nothing much he invited us to join them in their room and hang out. I figured… what the hell, might be fun… And it was. Forrest was being a total host and asked if we were hungry. I hadn’t eaten anything pretty much all day and was starved. He made us sandwiches with soft pitas, cheese, and olives… and he just kept talking. Jayne looked at his ID and saw that he is 30… used to have longer hair and looks a lot better, we think, with his current haircut. Aimee kept asking Jayne to say things so she could hear Jayne’s British accent. It was pretty amusing. Matthew teased me about the Celtics, who had just lost to the Lakers in the NBA finals. (He’s a Hawks fan.) We eventually took off, but not before I got a bite of what they told us was “Interpol chocolate”—apparently from Interpol’s tour bus.

A slice of January

Posted on February 3, 2010
Filed Under christmas, collections, family, friends, me and my brain | 1 Comment

Most people probably agree that the cold months following Christmas and New Year’s can be a little bit of a letdown. But there are always good little moments. Here are some of mine so far in 2010.

One long weekend I finished up the Santa puzzle my mom gave me for Christmas in 2008. It was a lot of fun… a really good cozy winter activity. I think it looked better put together than it did in the picture on the box.

During our holiday visit to the farm, Ezra’s sister Abby introduced us to Bananagrams. It’s so completely up my alley–a word game, sort of like Scrabble and Boggle put together, but better (well, definitely better than Scrabble anyway). So on that long weekend I mentioned we gave Bananagrams to Amy and Doug for Christmas. Of course, we played several rounds.

Bananagrams
Amy’s fabulous creation with the Bananagrams tiles… not a part of the actual game

And, of course, we had to get it for ourselves shortly after that.

I’m still going through my Christmas postcards. I promise to share more about them soon (take that as a “coming attractions” or a warning, as you wish).

A Visual Montage

Posted on April 22, 2009
Filed Under Blather, craft, daytripping, friends, knitting, photography | 3 Comments

I promised a picture of the little hat I knit over the weekend, so here it is!

Knit hat

And while I’m at it, here are a few others to catch you up on the last several months.

Union Square, New York January in New York’s Union Square

doorway, Portsmouth
A Doorway in Portsmouth, NH

And the obligatory picture of a cute baby, Lydia, who we finally met over the weekend.

Lydia and JohnLydia and John

(Feels like) a long weekend in New York

Posted on February 1, 2009
Filed Under Blather, art, dining, family, friends, sports in general, wide world of vacation | 1 Comment

It’s been a long and very good weekend.  Ez and I spent Friday and Saturday in New York.  On Friday Ez worked and I wandered around, checking out Tinsel Trading Company and spending a couple of happy hours browsing (and eventually buying) at The Strand.


Spotted after lunch

On Saturday Ez was kind enough to walk with me to the vegetarian cafe S’Nice in the West Village, where I know they have delicious steel-cut oatmeal with all the trimmings.  There I ate said oatmeal with dried fruit and honey and enjoyed one of the tastiest glasses of apricot-orange tea ever.  We went to The Strand again because Ez needed to get his fix (he didn’t really have to twist my arm to get me to spend more time there), and then Ez took me to the Chelsea Market, where the New York Lux office will soon be moving.  It’s quite a nifty building.  I’ll have to upload a picture or two.

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I fell in love with this spot at the Chelsea Market.

Then we met up with Ezra’s old friend Jen Williams in the Cooper Union area (Jen went to Cooper Union and now teaches there).  I’d never met her before, though I’d heard a lot about her.  She seems pretty great, and we had a really nice time chatting with her, wandering around the Lower East Side, popping into a small gallery to check out her friend’s show, and just basically hanging out.  For dinner, the three of us went to the tasty Pan-Asian vegetarian (and largely vegan) restaurant Wild Ginger (it’s just as good as Ez and I remember).  We’re hoping it won’t be another 10+ years before we see Jen again.

And oh, hey, the Steelers won their NFL record sixth Super Bowl (that’s about 14% of all Super Bowl games that have been played).  And the game was actually exciting.  I am not a big NFL person, but we’re Steelers people in this house.  (And, incidentally, it was a day of more pleasant sports news, as PSU men’s basketball upset ninth-ranked Michigan State, the Celtics won again, and Rafael Nadal beat Federer to win his first Australian Open title.)

Every time I go to New York I want to spend more time there.  I like its energy and pervading spirit of creating new things.  I think it improves my health to be around that vibe more often!

Obama Everywhere in the USA!

Posted on September 25, 2008
Filed Under Blather, friends, music, politics | 3 Comments

I have to post this fine video.  My old high school friend Jessie Yamas is in it!

The Calamity, a book review with which some of you will disagree

Posted on July 30, 2008
Filed Under Blather, Literary, friends, me and my brain, rant | 2 Comments

A few days ago I finished Special Topics in Calamity Physics. It was a strange book for me, because it was a page-turner (at least, some of it was), but the writing style annoyed me, and overall I ended up really disappointed.


I didn’t believe any of the characters. There’s little in the story that I could relate to my own life–and I don’t just mean in terms of things that happen, because lots of things happen in lots of books that have nothing to do with my life. I feel like the author tried too hard to describe everything so that she didn’t leave room to fill in anything–at least, nothing superficial. Somehow, even after all of that, I felt like the characters lacked any sort of depth. With all the glowing reviews at the front of the book, I would have guessed that the main character would be appealing. She’s not. I found her annoying, not very believable, and pretty stupid for how smart she’s supposed to be. I kept trying to give a lot of characters a pass, because they’re supposed to be smarty-pants high schoolers, but it just doesn’t work. And the adults don’t act like adults, either. The things they say and do with the young people are just totally implausible. Okay, maybe one or two oddball characters would act strangely with kids, but all of them? It just doesn’t work.

And the similes!! No, the LISTS of similes. It was painful.

Shortly before I finished the book, I was talking to Amy, who read and enjoyed the book–though she had some issues with it, too. We were talking about bad similes in books, and she said something about a book she’d read (not this one, or so she thought, anyway) having a ridiculous simile that compared someone’s eyes to olives. Well, lo and behold, toward the end of Special Topics, the narrator compares someone’s eyes to olives. I guess maybe in this case it’s supposed to be funny. It isn’t the worst bit of the book, though. It isn’t even so much that all the similes are bad, it’s that there are too many of them… The author couldn’t just pick a few of the most poetic and spot-on ones or find some other way of describing things.

And all the endless referencing and faux referencing… it isn’t clever, it’s annoying. I hate all that b.s..

For all of the supposed unpredictability of the book, I feel like I totally nailed the ending long before it happened.

It isn’t a painful read in that somehow most of the time it flows (except in the part where the main character is supposedly figuring everything out–which to me felt too convenient and very boring), but her writing is often painful in other ways. There’s something self-congratulatory about it that’s really off-putting. I can’t recommend it. Read Donna Tartt or something instead.

More proof that Amy is among the best EVER

Posted on July 14, 2008
Filed Under Blather, art, friends, photography, the interweb | 6 Comments

So dear pal Amy has been tagging some of my flickr photos to Bostonist, which has put them in consideration for photo of the day… and today the first photo in my previous post got the nod! Thanks so much, Amy my star!

I’ll have more for you soon, I promise!

Some pictures of Savannah

Posted on May 22, 2008
Filed Under Blather, Gastronomie, dining, friends, photography, wide world of vacation | Leave a Comment

Our visit to Savannah was great–very relaxing. We even went to the beach! I don’t have much time to write about it here as we’re off to see the Flemings in Virginia later on today, but I can share a few pictures to give you a feel for the trip.

birdie
Adorable baby birdie sitting on the wheel of a baby buggy


Monday morning in Savannah


The Jepson Art Museum


Nora and Jim at the Jepson on Mother’s Day. Note Nora’s sunburn from the previous day’s beach outing. She’s on the phone with her mom here.


Nora and Ezra on the path to the water at Tybee Beach (Jim had to work that day)


Scrumpy dinner courtesy of chef Jim Lewis

Summit Springs Farm, hittin’ the big time!

Posted on May 21, 2008
Filed Under Blather, friends, the telly | Leave a Comment

Well, sort of.

Our friends John and Sonya have started an organic farm in Poland, ME. They’re being profiled by a local newscaster and they were on TV (woohoo!). It’s good stuff. Clicky here and follow the link to “Play Video” in the upper right. You’ll need Windows Media Player.

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