Thursday, August 30, 2007

Thurston Moore from Sonic Youth sez:

"The Pixies reunion was a real success, and Dinosaur Jr. seems like a big success, and both those bands play as good as they ever did. Mission Of Burma blew my mind when they came back. But a band like us never did break up. Which was to our own detriment. What would have happened if we did break up after (classic 1988 double album) Daydream Nation - or even after (1990's) Dirty - and had gotten back together two years ago? You'd be interviewing me at the Chateau Marmont as I'm waiting for my limousine. We probably would have made so much money. This was our biggest career faux-pas - not breaking up."

This Weeks Spins:

Midlake (Still great!)
Junior Boys
Christina Courtin
Laura Veirs (as always)
Illinois (via MySpace)
Trespassers William / Having
Jenny Owen Youngs / Demos and "Batten The Hatches"
Danger Doom

Friday, August 24, 2007

This weeks top spins are....

24 AUG 2007

John Doe / A Year In The Wilderness
AA Bondy
Tim Fite
The National
Joe Henry / Civillians
Joan As Police Woman / Real Life
Sean Hayes / Flowering Spade
Cornelius / Sensuous
Trespassers William / Having

Thursday, August 23, 2007

NYC Venues

I finally saw a show at The Box last night. A great space, beautifully designed and implemented. All around a gorgeous and wonderfully ostentatious event space with a visual point of view.

The sound was clear all over the building as they've installed high quality delay speakers throughout and the whole system is very well time-aligned and balanced. The bar staff was aloof and the drink prices obscene, but at least when my wife asked for a glass for her beer she was offered a GLASS, not a plastic cup.

Which brings me to the recently opened Gramercy Theater, aka Blender Theater At The Gramercy. How is it possible that the most well funded and deeply established promoter in NY (Ron Delsner Presents = Delsner / Slater = SFX = ClearChannel = Live Nation) could open such a fantastically mediocre venue? It's drab and in every choice of paint, decor, carpet etc they've used the cheapest, most generic items I've ever seen.

In fairness, they DID spend money on a line-array PA system but it seems to have design flaws or is improperly installed as it sounds terrible. The lighting system, which seems to be more than adequate is hung in the theatre in such a manner that the center line of the upstage truss doesn't match the center line of up downstage truss!

It appears that no one was paying attention to the details, or whoever WAS didn't have the eye or knowledge or taste to bring any vision to the decor or prevent the budget from running roughshod over every consideration for the patron.

Downstairs is conceived to be a bar / socializing space a la Bowery Ballroom, which is a wonderful idea. Again however the choice of carpets, furniture, soft goods and mirrors could not be more banal.

Thank goodness the staff is polite.