May 10 2004

The Songs That Saved Your Life, Part 2

Safely back in the Cackalack, craving sleep but it doesn't appear to be in the cards. So be it. Here is the recap of the rest of my NYC trip.

Saturday got off to a crazed start as my lunch with Coolfer at Bonnies Grill (Best. Burgers. EVER - even veggie ones) made me late for my meeting with Tien Mao and Jen Gothamist regarding my new position as a sports writer for Gothamist dot com. I had been a bit worried about the fact that I don't live in Gotham anymore and how that would affect my ability to write about NYC sports, but that doesn't appear to be an issue. Both Jen and Tien are great people and we came up with some really interesting angles and topics for Gothamist Sports. I'm sure a somewhat formal announcement will be forthcoming through proper channels in the future so for now lets just say keep your eyes on Gothamist. They (we) have some big plans for the future and it should be very exciting. I know I am really looking forward to having a great forum to write about my favorite topic. No, not Morrissey, sports!

After the meeting, I wandered downtown to Fiddlesticks Pub to down a few with DJ Redboy and meet Matt 5500. Conversation consisted mostly of computer dorkiness (big surprise I know) and once Molly made it there, we ventured uptown for Moz's last appearance at the World Famous Apollo Theater.

The crowd seemed much more vocal before the gig and Morrissey did not let us down.

At the start of the show Moz and the rest of the band walked onto the stage together and took a bow at the front of the stage. As the band walked to their positions and picked up their instruments, Moz sang a snippet of My Way and then the band began their set.

First of the Gang to Die - Bah. I was hoping for You're Gonna Need Someone On Your Side as a surprise. Oh well. This is a great song but I don't think it really serves as a good set opener.
Hairdresser on Fire - The references in the first few lines were changed to Harlem and the crowd let out a big cheer.
Irish Blood, English Heart - Like Woah. We could be in for a big night if he's moved this one so far up in the set. Developing...
** Thank you. Thank you especially to those that have come every night. We have you're addresses. We'll be around.
The Headmaster Ritual - I think the guy sitting directly behind me summed it best when he screamed "HOLY SHIT!" as the band launched into this one. Boz's acoustic guitar was pushed really far up in the mix and musically this version didn't hold a candle to the recorded one but it was a real treat to hear "please excuse me from gym / I've got this terrible cold coming on" and sing "Ah la la la la da da di da deyaaaaay" along with the rest of the crowd. The whole theatre is eating out of his hands at this point.
I Have Forgiven Jesus - This was the worst of all the new songs he played this week. It's OK until it gets to the chorus. Yawn.
**You won't realize that in a few days we will release a new CD album entitled The Impotence of Earnest. Even Wallgreens is going to stock it. So watch out. This song is not on the album.
Don't Make Fun of Daddy's Voice - The crowd really seemed to like this song, but I'm still on the fence.
**Moz says something unintelligible. Alain responds - That song was called So You Better Not. Just checking before I get sacked.
Let Me Kiss You - This song is very similar to the Jesus song except it has a good chorus.
**Before we go any further, I'd like to extend sincere thanks to the Apollo and David Johanson, a hero of a lifetime to me. Oh, and Thank You!
Rubber Ring - Another complete shocker, even if it was on the set list for Thursday. Hearing this song makes me realize what a great fucking band The Smiths were. The current version of this song sounds like me and 4 friends trying to figure out how to play it. It's painfully obvs. that Johnny Marr and Andy Rourke are irreplaceable if you want to do these songs justice. Still, I loved every minute of it. It should be noted that The Smiths never played this song in it's entirety. They used to segue-way from this into What She Said.
Such A Little Thing Makes Such A Big Difference - at the end of the song, Moz falls to the floor, rolls onto his back and starts thrusting his hips into the air, much tot he delight of the crowd.
**Now you know why the tickets were so expensive. The drama and histronics are extra.
Subway Train (into) Everyday Is Like Sunday - I just realized that the intro song is just My Love Life slowed down a bit. When he sang "Come armageddon come", he made the cross symbol on himself.
The World Is Full of Crashing Bores - Not my favorite of the new stuff from the bootlegged versions I have heard, but this actually sounded much better tonight.
**The world is full of crashing bores, which is why you are here tonight! Now please put you teeth together for Boz. And put your knees together for Gary. Say hello to Dean-o, Alain and Mikey. I am last, I am least and how could anyone possibly know how I feel?
How Could Anybody Possibly Know How I Feel? - Great lyrics. "I have had my face dragged in 15 miles of shit / and I do not / I do not / I do not like it"
** To someone in the crowd - I think you should really think that through
No One Can Hold A Candle To You - Nice song but I want some older stuff!
** That last song mentions Gertrude Stein, which coincidentally leads us to...
All The Lazy Dykes - OK, he's lost the crowd now. Four new songs at the end of the set. There is only one song that can save this gig from a disastrous ending. I think you know here this is heading.
**This next song is about the '80's. *pause* The 1880's.
Jack The Ripper - This song is total rock godhead. What else do I have to say? An even more rousing version than Thursday night version. There was even a stage invader during this one.
** Thanks to the people in the balcony for extending themselves.
I Know it's Gonna Happen Someday
** A very sincere Thank You. I'll see you all in foreign places.

encore:
There Is A Light That Never Goes Out

All in all a bang up gig. It dragged a bit at the end with all the new songs in a row, but still well worth the trip.

After the gig, we listened to Matt's tale of his fight for life and a scrap of Morrissey's shirt and then headed downtown for some drinks. We decided to go to Rothko for the Crashin' In afterparty. This turned out to be a mistake. They had some crappy band on when we arrived about midnight and only got one round of the $2 PBR's that they were supposed to offer "all night long". Instead they ran out by midnight. Then they ran out of every bottled beer they had there. It's not like the place was packed. We got a decent couch downstairs and just ended up there chatting for most of the night. The DJ wasn't very impressive either. He kept playing the same songs over and over and had a nasty habit of cutting off songs about 3/4 of the way through. However we waited around a bit longer so we could meet up with The Real Janelle and that itself was worth it. About 2:30 a few of us went to Tiswas over at the worst club in NYC aka Don Hills. The bathrooms in that joint haven't been cleaned in quite some time. But at least the DJ was better. We stayed there until after 4 AM and finally made it back to Brooklyn around 5 AM.

Sunday, we slept in and then headed into Manhattan for brunch with some friends at Jane where noneother than Eddie aka Kyan from Queer Eye was eating. Two star sightings in 4 days. Nice to see I'm not losing my touch.

Sunday night was the much anticipated Cardigans show at Southpaw. Molly and I had dinner with Coolfer at Nana before the gig and then drug ourselves over there hoping that the band would wake us up with their poppy little numbers about love, exploding, erasing and rewinding. However, it was not to be.

I can honestly say it's been quite some time since I've been so disappointed at a gig. It was a total snoozefest. They were even worse than Moz about playing only new stuff. In the 75 minutes we stayed at the gig, I only recognized two songs Explode and Erase/Rewind and both of those were reworked in the bands new Americana / Rattle and Hum direction. I go to Cardigans shows to see some nice pop ditty's, not to hear twangy country ballads. Their new direction must be a push at the American AAA radio market because every damn song sounded like Sheryl Crow or Edie Brickell. This show was so Durst it was Beck! You don't have to throw Lovefool at me, all I wanted was a little Carnival or Your New Cuckoo but we got tired of waiting to hear any songs we recognized and left early. I had seen the band about five times on the First Band on The Moon tour (a good friend worked at their label) and they were always a fun and lively band, but not anymore. Ugh. Beware if you plan on attending any of the gigs on this tour. It's not the band you think it is.

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Comments

Posted by: damore at May 11, 2004 8:20 PM

Posted by: matt at May 11, 2004 10:42 PM

Posted by: Jen at May 12, 2004 11:40 AM

Posted by: frank at May 14, 2004 10:36 AM