The Bored Vegetarian: Red, White and Boo
Why do I feel like summer is barreling away from me and is nearly over?! At this point there’s only a few weekends left where I’m not traveling or someone else isn’t in town. I’ve spent minimal time at the beach. Something has got to change!
I hope everyone had a great 4th of July and did not…
Recovering. And I will apologiiize…to no one!
That was some weekend. Not that the term ‘weekend’ or the concept of it, at least, really means that much to me, power-vacationing as I am, but still. That was rough. Sending the Danes back to Danemark thursday, after a week of sightseeing, bar-hopping and face stuffing, friday was supposed to be health day. So, with 12 minutes of basketball, an hour of Sega, six cans of Tecate and app. ten garlic cloves (in the form of a huge bowl of gazpacho) between us, me and Mads decided it was time to feed the soul and went to the most amazing ARMS concert. Some guy, who directed their new music video threw a party at his loft in Williamsburg - complete with high ceilings, gymnasium-like wooden floors and an open bar. The trains rushed by on the highline outside (not unlike Elwood Blues’ place in Chicago) and the hipsters clustered in the atrium-ish patio to get their smoke on. That’s where some dude broke a tree(!) later in the evening, by the way.
And ARMS killed. Not least as the lights suddenly went out and everyone collectively lit the stage with their iPhones for Todd to see his fingers picking the guitar. Awesome. Then on, into the night and onto Woods - another bar with cheap beer and beautiful, yet somewhat annoying people. So of course we stayed there the whole night. Obviously.
Saturday saw the commence of The States’ World Cup campaign when they took on their arch nemesis; Ye olde England. Here, I would like to direct your attention to this hysterically tasteful ad, that airs a couple times during each half time commercial break of every game:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St2FCxtlV7w
Pretty great, right? Freedom.
Brooklyn Bowl hosted a huge soccer party with big-ass screen showings of the match. And a couple of Bloody Maries and one ecstatic crowd later, it was time to get ready for the day’s main event: Our roof top screening of the classic masterpiece, “The Room”. So. Amazing. Mads brought his movie projector, we all brought pillows and blankets and waited for the sun to set behind Manhattan. Good friends came by, our neighbours finally closed down their pumping house-party and we all watched the movie. In awe.
A pitcher of the surprisingly delicious and very classy ‘Summer Brew’ (half a bottle of vodka, two beers, one frozen can of Minute Maid and three measures of water - YUMMY!), a growler of pale ale from Brouwerij Lane and various selections of snack foods set the mood for what became a pretty legendary night. Which (once again) ended at Papacitos (the amazing Mexican place on the corner) for some of that 1-dollar-taco-madness, they like to sport.
Sunday was, naturally, lazy. More soccer. And over to Bethany’s for some of her awesome, vegetarian cuisine. Check it out here: www.theboredvegetarian.tumblr.com
Now it’s tuesday and I’m pretty worn out, so I’m just kicking back a little. But lavishly enjoying myself. The hedonist’s choice.
Here’s ARMS on Myspace: www.myspace.com/armsongs
And here’s a scene to remember from The Room: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQ4KzClb1C4
Oh, hi, Mark!
Mmmmmemoryhouse, they’re called. So awesome. They don’t really have anything to do with me travelling except that I dearly like listening to them when I bike home. Quite late, somewhat drunk, oftenly. It’s alot like Beach House but in a more washed out(!) way. Like Cocteau Twins if they were out on Labrador. *sugh* Enough of the indie crediting, here’s a song.
Busy as I am, I still thought you should know that I just made the Frogger highscore at Barcade with an amazing 4900 points. That makes for a 4th place and since this incomprehensible honour is the only thing I’ve ever won since that Calvin & Hobbes album back in ‘91, I think it calls for a celebration. So here’s a picture of me from when I finished the nerve wrecking second level: http://tinyurl.com/y9kl3bh
My hood - Greenpoint. It is to Williamsburg what Canada is to The US: The responsible, a little more grown up and way more scenic hat.
Yeasayer/Keepaway/Delicate Steve at Governors Island
It took forever to get there but once we did, it was beyond ‘so definitely worth it’. Three free shows, locally brewed beer, and a clusterf**k of cool kids (of which several just happened to be really good friends of mine) on the Upper New York Bay-island, once serving as the first line of defense against the British, all made for a quite the saturday night out.
Delicate Steve was, besides having the smoothest band name since - I dunno, John Wilkes Kissing Booth? - quite the surprise with his instrumental mixture of Grateful Dead, Animal Collective and youtube sensation “Santana shreds”(!). Yet it served as pretty much the perfect soundtrack to the tip of Manhattan’s skyline being lit against a bright pink sunset. Keepaway sounded like they were really big fans of Yeasayer and the beforementioned Animal Collective, except they didn’t really have the songs to match their idols. The crowd quickly lost interest in spite of numerous “are you there, New York?” and “give it up for Brooklyn”-s. However, as the drinks grew stronger in numbers, so did the appreciation for Keepaway’s tribal Brooklyn-etno jam and by the last song, it actually didn’t seem half bad. Neither did Yeasayer’s ditto. Not bad at all. With an incessant will to never make the obvious choices in their songwriting but making it sound like they do, Yeasayer were simply awesome. Most songs were off of Odd Blood, peaking with spot-on renditions of an almost tearjerking I Remember, Madder Red and O.N.E. and by the end of Ambling Alp, not even the most slimfitted hipster could help but tapping his feet in recognition of Yeasayer and the night itself.
But oh, how I wish I were going to the Roskilde Festival this year.
Here’s Yeasayer performing O.N.E. live at Governors Island:
http://vimeo.com/12343368 (via freewilliamsburg.com)
I love it here. I wish I had one of these, though, so I could tell all you people to get on it and come see me.
Hey, this is just a heads up to ensure you that I actually am doing other stuff than the usual rooftop-city gazing-beer drinking-thing. This is a demo of demo which is only half way done but so far, I like the first half.
And I now have a room. Although pretty sheety, woven as the walls are, I like it and I am proud to return to my little fort every night. Also pictured: Roland, awesome roommate and mover of heavy cabinets.
