The Week In Rock, the Week in Assholes

Monday, May 14th

I finally saw a band I've been wanting to check out for awhile, LCD Soundsystem, at Webster Hall (thank you Claudia! wish you'd been there with me) on Monday night. Like most people, I went to have a good time, maybe dance around a bit. But the crowd was so fucking lame, it killed my vibe completely. A little pond scum posse behind me was yelling things like "dance, hipsters! dance you little scenester wannabes!" in between songs, to no one in particular.

I don't know what's worse, the "hipsters" or the hipster haters. As far as I'm concerned, you all suck it, and suck it hard. Provincial douchebags.

I watched the rest of the show from the back of the room, feeling too misanthropic to have fun. The band was ok. They played their best song, "Someone Great," as the first song of the encore and I left after that.

Tuesday, May 15th

I did my monthly dj stint at Lit for the Rebel Rebel party. For some reason, they make everyone -- djs, dancers, promoters, bar staff-- wait around til f*cking 5:00 am to get paid. I'm sure no one wants to be there that late but what other choice is there? We've all got bills to pay. When the money is finally presented -- and before the bills can even touch my palm -- the owner of Lit starts yelling, from behind the bar, "alright, get the fuck out of my bar you people! Get the FUCK out!" He's not kidding. He's addressing the people who work for him, who've been made to wait an hour for the night's pay. Amazingly, he does this pretty much every week.

It was my last night at Lit.

Wednesday, May 16th

I caught Dale Watson at the Rodeo Bar with my good friend Matt Farley. Like most country artists, Watkins and his band were deadly players. They didn't use a set list and mostly played requests (covers and originals) shouted out by the audience -- the band were spot-on yet loose and fun. The crowd was really eclectic, particularly for a country show. This adorable lesbian couple were dancing around in front of us. One was little and cute, the other tall and androgynous, wearing a black suit. They were so fun to watch -- and they were the only ones dancing.

Then I noticed that someone at one of the tables was throwing ice chips at them, over and over. Eventually the two girls bummed out and stopped dancing. It must be hard to stay in a good mood when you know someone else in the room actively hates you because of what you are. What a drag.

Saturday, May 19th

Matt and I journeyed out to New Jersey in the rain to check out the mighty Black Sabbath, with Ronnie James Dio on the mic, at the PNC Arts Center. I braced myself for some more potential idiocy and lowest-common denominator behavior at this show, being a suburban metal crowd and all.

But surprisingly, everyone was cool there. It was a great show. Thanks to a traffic backup in the city, we arrived late and only caught the last two songs of opening band Megadeth, but what we heard was absolutely ferocious. Black Sabbath sounded colossal. Dio, now 64 fucking years old, sang with a level of power that is basically unheard of in a performer of his age. He doesn't have all the high notes in his back pocket like he used to, but fuck -- what do you want? He sounds titanic.

Sunday, May 20th

Another asshole-free show! Big Lazy were at Luna Lounge, right here on my block, and my friend Jessica invited me along. They're an all-instrumental trio who play moody, cinematic, surf-inflected tunes with titles like "Boneless, Skinless" and "Going to Hell in a Handbasket." They're a unique band with a really fresh approach. Totally kick-ass players, too. I'd seen them once before -- across the street at Black Betty, in fact -- back in 2000. That seems like an age ago. It was really cool to see them again. There were alot of people at this gig and the band were really on. The Jack-and-Cokes were strong, the crowd were laid back and Jessica and I had a good time.

I capped off my night in the Lower East Side with Toni at 151 Bar and then the Byte party on Delancy Street.

Monday, May 21st

When I got off the J train at Marcy avenue later, in the wee early hours of Monday morning, I was in pretty good mood. It had been a relatively asshole-free weekend! As I walked down a deserted Havemeyer Street en route to my apartment, a thuggish dude was coming toward me on the sidewalk. When he got level with me, he jumped at me and pulled his fist back-- I thought he was gonna smash me in the face. But then he stopped abruptly and said "fucking cocksucker" and kept walking.

I yelled "fuck you!" at him as he moved on, but what can I do? -- it's their world, not mine.