77Boadrum, Neon Lights, Union Hall, Mason Proper, AM UK!
Friday, March 28th, 2008Before I get into it, how about some quick self-promo? I’m playing guitar with Americans UK now and we’re having our first show tonight at the Hot Rocks Party at the Delancey in NYC. $5, with Frauke, The Art of Shooting, Gold Streets, and more drink specials than you can probably handle. Check out “Cooler Than You.”
It’s been a busy couple of weeks of shows for me - much of it at Union Hall. Here’s a rundown:
The first of the double-header Neon Lights shows featured some friends and favorites of mine: El Jezel started it off nice and put everyone in a good mood (Is it fair to call them feel-good music? Because they make me feel good.)
Then Mancino dealt like pros with drummer Jonathan’s absence by playing semi-acoustic. With some help from the crowd on tambourine (including yours truly for a song) they pulled it off great.
Nashville’s De Novo Dahl (recently Robotineved) were overwhelmingly entertaining once again, though they seem to have lost their swim trunks in exchange for some serious Grand Ole Opry-style rhinestone garb.
The next day was a big one - The Boredoms’ 77 Boadrum performance with 77 drummers (happening on July 7th, 2007, of course) was highly anticipated, and well worth the wait and excitement. One of the best things was getting to see Travis taking part in something so amazing (which I could tell was similar for those playing to my experience with 100 Guitars).
Without missing a beat (haha) I made my way over to Union Hall once again to catch the first performance from Botany Bay. This is a project that first came about over two years ago during the Guitarded project. Eric’s cover of a Man in Gray song (which we hadn’t even recorded our own version of yet) was so great that it inspired changes to how we played it! The band’s first show was a great one, and certainly lived up to the high quality of the recordings that they’d been putting up to promote the show. They aren’t planning any more shows right now, but let’s hope it isn’t too long before we can all get a chance to see them live again!
The big news of the night was that Jim Eno (Spoon drummer) would be sitting in with Via Audio for a song (he produced their upcoming album). They had a handful of other guests and seemed to be enjoying what is certainly a great moment for a band who are poised for some big things.
I also photographed the headliner, Ola Podrida, to accompany Anna Loosli’s review of the show for Loose Record. Read the review and view a slideshow of my photos.
The next week was time for partying, and Union Hall’s one-year anniversary celebration came to an appropriate end with a star-studded comedy/secret Land of Talk show. Suffice to say, it was an amazing night and everyone at Union Hall should be proud of all that they’ve accomplished in this past year.
Check out all my photos from the event here.
Last night I finally got to see Mason Proper (recently Robotineved), and as I type this they’re setting up to play a show in the office where I work. Not bad. Their show was great and every bit as exciting as I was hoping, despite being one of those weird sold out Mercury Lounge shows where hardly anybody shows up for the first couple of bands.
Check out the rest of my Mason Proper photos from this show