Tegan and Sara/Bowery Ballroom/Jan 12, 2005

Since Amy and I are both reviewing this show for separate publications, we decided to publish our thoughts as hashed on IM rather than a traditional review.

caryn (10:09:07 PM): So T&S. did you like the show?
amy (10:09:34 PM): yes i did
amy (10:09:44 PM): they are very talented and very adorable
caryn (10:09:58 PM): did it change the way you viewed them? do you regret not pazzjopping them?
amy (10:10:13 PM): no
amy (10:10:20 PM): i still like everything i voted for better
amy (10:10:34 PM): but i realized that i love that "i hear noises" song
caryn (10:10:39 PM): I regret that you do not regret pazzjopping them.
amy (10:10:47 PM): haha
amy (10:10:56 PM): see, i can't pazzjop their cuteness or their stage banter
caryn (10:11:26 PM): i really think that's just a small part of it. i think they are excellent song writers/singers/musicians, the whole schmear.
amy (10:12:46 PM): but i still think ciara, eamon, jason forrest, etc. made better music than they did last year
amy (10:12:56 PM): though i agree with you
caryn (10:13:01 PM): You'll probably hate this, but i've compared them to Elvis Costello, Tom Petty and Fleetwood Mac. And I really believe it.
amy (10:13:18 PM): definitely more the lindsay side of fleetwood than the stevie side.
caryn (10:41:09 PM): So do you think the guy standing next to me was the most annoying man ever at a rock show? I'd like to nominate him for the VV Best of Issue.
amy (10:41:29 PM): no, i've experienced way more annoying people
amy (10:41:40 PM): like, people falling on me from drunkenness and yelling to each other throughout the show
amy (10:41:58 PM): and spilling stuff on me
caryn (10:42:40 PM): Ok, here's why this guy is worse.
caryn (10:43:04 PM): 1) Stood too close to girls, including me, as a way to cop a feel.
caryn (10:43:22 PM): 2) Shouted sexual things at Tegan and Sara, which was just gross.
caryn (10:43:38 PM): 3) Had a mullet. Ok, maybe that's not so bad.
amy (10:43:45 PM): at least he didn't touch us, which is what the drunk fall over guys do
caryn (10:43:55 PM): 4) Talked on the phone really loud during songs.
amy (10:43:57 PM): they use their instability as an excuse to feel you up
amy (10:44:12 PM): he also repeatedly asked if he was bothering us
caryn (10:44:36 PM): 5) Kept trying to engage us in conversation but kept saying the same thing..."their record is the most amazing record ever."
caryn (10:44:54 PM): I knew I shouldn't have whipped out that reporter's notebook and my gay pen.
amy (10:45:12 PM): well i didn't tell you what he said to me afterwards
amy (10:45:24 PM): which was "that was the best show i've seen since the white stripes at hammerstein"
amy (10:45:36 PM): and i said "well, it's a shame you couldn't hear all of it because you were on your cell phone"
amy (10:45:44 PM): and he said "i was just trying to share the experience!"
caryn (10:46:32 PM): Also, notice how he was trying to impress us by letting us know that he was a "stage hand." Oooh, does that help get us back stage? You're so my cherry pie, dude.
amy (10:46:45 PM): haha
amy (10:47:02 PM): i still think the guys that come and sit next to me while i'm sitting in the corner reading a book are worse than him
caryn (10:47:40 PM): Okay, enough about him. What was your favorite T&S stage comment?
amy (10:47:42 PM): like how can i send a bigger signal that i don't want to talk to you? sitting here READING A BOOK isn't getting the message across
amy (10:48:14 PM): hmm
amy (10:48:24 PM): the grandfather in the strip bar
caryn (10:49:20 PM): Right. She tells this long story about her grandfather and then ends it with, "Wow, I'm telling stories about my grandparents. This is like a Christian rock show." (Pause) "And so then we all went a got really fucked up."
amy (10:50:15 PM): oh yeah, the christian comment really made it
amy (10:50:29 PM): i wonder if those old people in the balcony were their family
caryn (10:50:45 PM): I thought that. But they seemed lame. Like label people.
amy (10:50:57 PM): one dude was talking on a walkie-talkie
caryn (10:51:25 PM): Rock-n-roll! So, what did you think about the audience, besides mullet man?
caryn (10:52:13 PM): It really was sold out. Which was nice.
amy (10:52:33 PM): i loved the couple where the girl was singing along to all the words and the guy was half massaging her back half beating out the rhythms of the songs
amy (10:52:57 PM): and of course the couple next to us where the one girl held up her ipod recorder the whole time and the other girl leaned on her shoulder
caryn (10:53:16 PM): Ooh, I missed them. There were a lot of girl couples who were more than little past foreplay on the floor.
amy (10:55:00 PM): yeah, not so many guys there.
caryn (10:55:01 PM): I thought that song "Where does the good go" sounded particularly awesome. Also, might I add that when Tegan plays the keyboards with her electric guitar strapped on and ready, it's particularly sweet. As in sweeet!
amy (10:55:57 PM): yeah, i thought the keyboards sounded great in general last night
amy (10:56:03 PM): the backing band was really, really tight
amy (10:56:09 PM): also, i learned to differentiate their voices
caryn (10:56:28 PM): Don't you feel personally offended when a band doesn't play your favorite song? Like something's wrong with you. Or them, for not liking the song as much as you. They didn't play city girl, which bummed me out.
caryn (10:56:42 PM): Really, how do you tell their voices apart?
amy (10:57:52 PM): tegan has the piercing, avril/alanis canadian tinge
amy (10:57:54 PM): sara does not
amy (10:58:03 PM): oh fuck
amy (10:58:06 PM): maybe it's the other way around?
caryn (10:58:07 PM): Do you think we could start a campaign to try to get Tegan and Sara on the OC to play the Bait Shop?
amy (10:58:21 PM): oh man, that would so rule
amy (11:02:46 PM): i liked how they wore matching outfits
caryn (11:02:50 PM): I kinda wanted to ask that girl who was recording it to her ipod if she'd send it to me. what's the manners for that kind of thing?
amy (11:03:08 PM): i have no idea
amy (11:03:12 PM): i guess you just ask
amy (11:03:06 PM): i wonder if their parents made them wear matching outfits when they were growing up
caryn (11:03:39 PM): They weren't really matching outfits. They both had black shirts on, but Tegan had stuff written on hers.
amy (11:04:01 PM): yeah, but they were cut the same way
caryn (11:04:14 PM): Man, I so wanted one of those t-shirts with pictures of them as plump, hairriffic three year olds.
amy (11:04:46 PM): haha yeah those were awesome
amy (11:05:00 PM): did you notice that the singer of the opening band had a tegan and sara haircut?
amy (11:08:31 PM): oh, the bass player-- did his shirt have a bunch of tvs on it?
caryn (11:08:46 PM): Hmm, didn't notice.
amy (11:09:09 PM): i really liked the design, but i couldn't tell what it was exactly
caryn (11:09:32 PM): Here are covers I'd like T&S to do...1) "Silly Love Songs"
caryn (11:09:49 PM): 2) ""Summer Babe"
caryn (11:10:03 PM): 3) "Stacey's Mom"
amy (11:10:14 PM): oh my god, stacey's mom!! that would be so incredible
caryn (11:10:50 PM): So, should we actually put this chat on MITM? Think people care?
amy (11:12:00 PM): we could put an abbreviated version
amy (11:12:13 PM): but the "think people care" question... i don't know, do they care about anything we put on there?

Amy's reading/Astor Place B&N/Monday, Jan 10 2005

It's official: Amy kicked ass.

Who was the voice of reason when the guy who happened to be the (cough, cough) EDITOR of the damn book made gross (in multiple senses of the word) generalizations about music he clearly hasn't even listened to?

AMY

Who didn't turn it into a Joe Strummer blow job fest and pointed out some criticism she got from women in the field?

AMY

Who was the best looking reader of the evening?

AMY

(I have to admit that the whole time I couldn't get that Sonic Youth song "Kool Thing" out of my head...I wanted Amy to take the Kim Gordon part and turn to Chuck D. and say, "Are you going to liberate us girls from the male, white, corporate oppression?" Word up!)

Some photographic evidence courtesy of Jason Gross and one self-portrait:

Amy live...with Chuck D.

Amy's too shy to post something about this on here, so I will.

The young Ms. Phillips contributed a chapter to a book called Let Fury Have The Hour: The Punk Rock Politics of Joe Strummer, which was published by Nation Books last month (for more info, go to www.letfuryhavethehour.com).

On Monday, January 10th at 7:30 pm, she's going to participate in a reading at the Barnes and Noble at Astor Place, along with Antonino D'Ambrosio (the editor of the book) and Chuck
D. Yes, THAT Chuck D.

Be there.

Man in Gray/Southpaw/Jan. 5, 2005

We're starting out the new year with something a little different. Instead of a show review from the audience's perspective, today we present a show review from the band's perspective.

The band in question is Man in Gray. The band member is Christina DaCosta. In the spirit of full disclosure, I must tell you that I am personally friends with the lovely DaCosta and am a much better person for it. She is an amazing performer who swallows, stamps and spits out the stage without hardly breaking a sweat.

Man in Gray next performs at TISWAS on January 22. Christina is also a member of The Marks, a band that was reviewed here in October.

Our Show

by Christina DaCosta

On Wednesday I walked the two blocks to Southpaw and went to a rock show.

It was freezing rain and I was tired after a long and dull day at the office, but I had to go because I am the singer of Man in Gray and we had a gig.

You may have heard our name somewhere, as we do get some good press and play around NYC a lot, but it is hard to juggle since we are all (mostly) working stiffs trying to lead double lives of rock-n-roller and cubicle dweller.

This leads to many problems with getting gear to the gig, soundcheck (or lack thereof) and scheduling, but we keep playing because we love each other and our music and have a lot of fun.

The band consists of Jeremy (guitar & vox), Bryan (guitar and vox), Jeremiah (drums) and Jared (bass). We all get to hear what the band was like from the audience. What about the band? They have feelings too.

Southpaw is a great venue to play and if you're in a band, I suggest playing there just to get into the nice backstage (basement) area. You can smoke and drink, play Ms. Pacman and explore the drawers of a dusty dresser that contains two humongous aerosol cans of Aquanet hairspray. It's also fun to hang out with the other bands in a relaxed setting where you all know that you are in the "exclusive" backstage area. Sometimes, it's nice to feel that way, even though the last time we played there, the lounge area had garbage pail full of beers and water bottles. Luxurious!

Upstairs, where we actually do go to talk to friends and have them buy us drinks, is better than most rock clubs. Southpaw is clean, but not sterile; small enough to get intimate, but big enough to dance around like a dervish. We have played there once before and it has been my
favorite place to play. Compared to other clubs, Southpaw has a feeling of professionalism that doesn't exist everywhere and the sound guy knows what he's doing.

Unfortunately, we weren't able to soundcheck (see above) because we only got to the club around 7:30...when doors were supposed to open. Therefore, the sound was not as good as it was the first time we played there. Standing at the front of the stage, all I could hear was the fuzziness of the guitars behind me and could barely hear my voice in the monitors. I was getting pretty nervous about how bad it was sounding until I walked out past the monitors and heard that it must sound better to the audience – at least that's what I'm telling myself.

We can't control what the sound guy is doing, but you, yes you, standing in the audience with your arms crossed, can control the lack of dancing. Why don't people dance any more? Really? Is it the booze? Do they need more booze? We played an amazing show at a loft
for an RNC Not Welcome Benefit and those kids were dancing like crazy. I love it when the audience dances to our music. Nothing makes me happier.

Instead, Wednesday night we had people standing at least 4 feet from the top of the stage, more at the bar and more in the seating area. We're a loud band, but we don't hurt people! Audiences need to learn that if they like the band, they should move closer. They should also dance or move vigorously. I dance around very hard on stage and would like to see some other people getting sweaty. Is it too much too ask? I believe this is a New York problem, but correct me if I'm wrong. For all of you people who go to shows, please shake it if you're into the band, just a little. It is the Paradox of Rock Show Dancing: If no one dances, no one will dance. Everyone stands with their arms across their chests and bops their head to the beat, everyone. If a few people stopped doing that and started dancing, more people would follow.

Ask your friends if they are too embarrassed to dance at a rock show, ask yourself! It also could be the problem of a stage. I find that when we play shows that are on the floor and I'm face-to-face with people that they tend to get a little crazier. Perhaps we need to get rid of the stage format to get people to move?

Even though there was no frenzied dancing to our last song, ("Brakelights," our dance number), people seemed to like us. We got on stage a half-hour later than we scheduled and more people stayed than I expected. Many people were friends and friends-of-friends who had never seen us before and I received many congratulations on rocking out hard. Even though some complained about the weird bass buzzing that made them tingle and the lack of vocals in the monitor, every one who was there seemed to have enjoyed themselves and the vibe was very welcoming.

I really appreciated the people who came up to me to talk because I know that the freezing rain and early a.m. job would have kept me home. It wasn't the best show that we've played, but it certainly wasn't the worst and we have another one coming up soon on a Saturday.

After thanking people for showing up, I quietly went downstairs to get my coat and said goodbye to the few friends hanging out backstage. I left unobserved and walked back home in the rain, content in knowing that people had fun at the show, but also knowing that I had to get up and go to work in a few hours.