The Music Industry Is Poisonous
August 6 - August 14
8/6 ~ The Dare // Sadie // Shallow Halo // Club Eat // DJ Thank You
Harrison Patrick Smith’s horndog anthem ruined my life.
Before “Girls” hit Spotify, I was a contributing member of society with a steady job and real prospects for the future. Now I have no income, and a newsletter.
When historians look back, they very well may recognize “Girls” as the defining cultural artefact of our time. Harrison’s vulgar ode to the female form—in all its forms—has sent ripples through thousands of tequila sodas all across this beautiful city for the past year. The show was a mob scene.
One of the stickiest events I have ever attended. Fitting, I guess. But feeling sweat on your legs makes it hard to focus on dancing, as well as other activities that don’t directly involve your legs, like talking to people.
But my brother booked it, my sister was there with me, and everyone was homies up and down the bill, so this was an optimal night.
Shallowhalo is out here integrating mediums. Is all performance art? Is all art performance? Allyson and Ezra are ready to ask the big questions.
Sadie shredded. She always has the coolest pants. And then when her and Jeremy get up on stage and jump around together? Too wholesome. Too fun. Makes me feel good about friends making music together.
I am excited to see Harrison’s new brand of machismo finally taking shape. As The Dare, he spits “voice-of-a-generation quotables” and “Tumblr snark” right back at the critics.
8/7 ~ Friendship @ TV Eye
I’m definitely into the ‘understated rugged man writes sensitives songs’ vibe.
I didn’t know Friendship before this, and I hadn’t planned to go. But Beth was there and Alex had a +1 so I Citibiked over. Harrison Patrick Smith and Dan English were there too, visibly up to no good.
Friendship is a tight band with crunchy guitars. It felt like seeing MJ Lenderman at The Broadway, but that could just be an accent thing. It could also be the case that neither of these bands have accents, and my memory is just projecting some idea of what country-influenced indie should sound like. Semi-recently, I regained an appreciation for seeing bands that can really play together. These guys were locked.
8/10 (I think) ~ Someone @ Nublu
I’m not sure who was playing, but Jack said I should go. Since the death of Facebook Events, it has become hard to find past show flyers and figure out where I’ve been. Ella and I only caught a few songs. Lotta legends there. The bass player had an Ibanez Iceman—deep cut. We left and went to McSorleys. I got the cheese platter. It comes with saltines, bland cheese squares, and raw onions. I’m pretty into it—always trying to honor the culinary traditions of my homeland.
8/11 ~ Powered By Wind @ The Cactus Store
It’s weird knowing creatives like Dan, Rich, and Jake. I can say that about a lot of friends, but the Powered By Wind guys have challenged the way I think about art, and I admire their output.
They held this screening at the Cactus Store, which I was not previously aware of. A very cool little enclave. Hoping more will happen there. It was dark and I sat on a rock.
It was a rare opportunity to see my friends’ work on a projector. I like Jake, Rich, and Dan a lot, but I probably wouldn’t set up a projector to watch their music videos. This was the perfect event because someone else set up the projector.
We watched a bunch of PBW videos in quick succession, including work for Pieri, Palm, The Dare, Joy Again, BADBADNOTGOOD, and Blaketheman1000. It was a great way to get an overview of their style and connect the dots on what they’ve been up to.
After, we went to Magician, and I met Zach from Sex Magazine, who grew up in the town right next to mine in Massachusetts. Sex Magazine released one of my favorite EPs from the Darkworld era—DJ Lucy. Zach gave me a free lighter.
Another thing I learned—apparently, the plant market is popping off.
8/12 ~ Blood Orange @ Baby’s All Right
An early call for me. Especially post-employment. Also one of the single-digit number of times I’ve seen Baby’s in the morning light. I Citibiked over at 9 AM to meet Greg Rutkin and several professional burly boys who, like me, had been enlisted to load in gear for the unannounced show.
I don’t fact check any information so if you wanna know the god honest irrefutable truth, you’ll have to do your own research. But my understanding is that this gig was booked in preparation for a string of 15 sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden with Harry Styles.
This was also the first time I’ve ever been paid to be at Baby’s. That was exciting to me. Loading in all that gear, I felt the same sense of wonder I used to have as an eleven-year-old walking into Guitar Center.
During the show itself, I manned the VIP door. I assumed that would mean sitting at the entrance to the green room, but instead, the whole right-hand side of Baby’s was blocked off. I stood next to the DJ booth where Billy was spinning his long haired jazz. Ella was working door, and apparently a lot of people had purchased fake tickets. Super sad.
I tend to be overly literal, and when I heard, ‘Just let in people who have passes or who work here,’ I failed to consider all the situations that might not be so clean cut. Also I didn’t wanna fuck up on my first shift. I made the mistake of asking Liam Benzvi if he had a pass while he was walking into the VIP section and I thought of nothing else for three days after. He may be the most beautiful talented and quietly charismatic man in this big apple.
At one point, Lorde was waiting patiently outside the VIP section as if she wasn’t sure she would be allowed in. I saw Tyler the Creator back there, but he must have entered through another door. Allegedly, Meetka turned down the opportunity to share an Uber with Katie Holmes when the show ended. I would not have done that.
I enjoyed loading out. When we finished, I got myself a steak & cheese and popped over to the Broadway for the Been Stellar album release after party. Wish I coulda been at their Union Pool show. I also wish I could have been at the Dan and Melody English show at the Church of Ascension.
The night ended at Fong’s with a cocktail that tasted exactly like celery.
8/13 ~ Plastic Picnic @ Baby’s
My new wave is getting food at Baby’s. An underutilized resource for sure.
So exciting to see Emile take charge and go frontman mode in the same room where I’m used to seeing him bartend. It was packed, but a lot of friends weren’t there that weekend, so I got to focus on the way Plastic Picnic fans reacted. It was easy to tell that seeing the band means a lot to a lot of people. They sounded super full, and I had no idea Emile can sing like that.
After, I went to a party on Nancy’s roof. Someone there was 67, and I told her, “You look amazing for 67.” She said, “No, I just look amazing, asshole.” Legend.
8/14 ~ Steele FC at TV Eye
Christian had a show at Hart Bar I would have loved to catch. But the Steele guys are great. They kept asking if I was going to write about them in my blog. Mo said, “I have the kind of mustache you can write about.” Which he does.
I fucked up at least twice in very visible ways. Once I kicked the cord out of my pedal board, and once I very confidently leaned into an incorrect chord when there was not much to hide behind. If it was my own band, I wouldn’t care, but it’s Steele’s band so I got a little sad then started thinking about exes.