It never seemed so strange

I went to the Decemberists show in Central Park on Monday. Georgia, Dorothy, Warren, Joe and I all headed down to the park after work. Joe had to wait for his girlfriend outside the gate, so the rest of us went in without him. It was really hot, but I had my trusty bottle of Smart water to keep me cool. The first band was Land of Talk. I'm SO mad at myself for never having heard of this band before, especially since bloggers were talking about them last year. Where the hell was I? They were so awesome, and have an AWESOME frontwoman/guitarist in Lizzie Powell. They're playing the Bowery in September, and I hope I can go. One reviewer described them as Pretty Girls Make Graves at their peak, although I wouldn't say all that. But I can hear similarities.

Grizzly Bear were next, and I was really impressed with them. The song I'd heard of theirs that made me not want to listen to them didn't do them justice. They were actually really great live. After their set, I told everyone goodbye, and headed to the outskirts of the crowd. I knew I'd have to leave before the Decemberists finished their set (didn't want to go back home too late on the train) so I decided to get out of the middle while I still could. As I was standing around waiting for the Decemberists, I saw John Norris from MTV sitting on the grass. I stared for a little bit as is customary, and then turned back around to the stage. Georgia told me today that he's a big Decemberists fan and was also at their Hammerstein show.

The band went on somewhere around 8:15 I think. The weather was perfect, and they opened up with "July July." I didn't realize how absolutely funny and nice Colin Meloy is. What a great frontman. When he saw someone holding a sign with the name of a song they wanted the band to play, Colin said, "Duley noted. We'll try to get to it, so you don't have to hold up that sign for the rest of the show." He had everyone waving their hands and fingers in the air, and Georgia said that towards the end of their show, he had everyone lie down on the ground. I wish I could've seen that! I only stayed for about 6 more songs, including "The Perfect Crime # 2" and "Summersong," but what I heard was great. I'd definitely see them again.

You Aint Worth Guest List

On Tuesday night, I saw Patrick Wolf and Amy Winehouse at Highline Ballroom in Chelsea. It was pretty phenominal. I hadn't heard much of Patrick Wolf before the show, but he played such an incredible set that the next morning I ran out and picked up his record The Magic Position before work. And it's amazing. I'm totally lame for not getting that record before. Patrick, you are amazing. Not only is he a talented singer and storyteller, but he's a fantastic performer.


And as far as Ms. Winehouse. Well what can I say? The woman is a goddess. Her voice is almost unearthly. I mean, really, who sings like that anymore? She went on around 9:30 and opended up with "Addicted," which is a song that I'm pretty obsessed with at the moment. She also played "F*** Me Pumps," "Cherry," "Wake Up Alone," "He Can Only Hold Her," "Tears Dry On Their Own," "Valerie," "Love Is A Losing Game," and "Back to Black." She "closed" with "Rehab" and encored with "Me & Mr. Jones" and "You Know I'm No Good." Her band is full and rich and wonderful, and her backup singers are soulful and can harmonize so well. She made a couple of jokes and twirled her hair and was a pleasure to be entertained by. I'd see her again in a heartbeat. To see more pictures from the show, click on the picture below.


And can I just say that as I'm writing this right now, they're playing "Wake Up Alone" on Gray's Anatomy. Radness.

There was a huge picture of Amy on the front page of the Arts section of the NY Times, and Georgia brought it in for me, so that I could add it to my "Amy Winehouse Picture Collection" in my cube. Whenever she's see anything in a paper or magazine that is Amy Winehouse related, she gives it to me, and I put it up. I can't wait until it gets all full.