Classic

All I Need: Radiohead, Roseland Ballroom September 28, 2011 Review

I was indeed part of the desperate masses trying to get my hands on tickets to one of two surprise Radiohead shows at Roseland Ballroom September 28 & 29 2011. Though I was incredibly unsuccessful, and I have to admit, I continued to try well after the show had obviously sold out, the Radiohead God's smiled upon me when I recevied an email from a friend who had bought two tickets and was giving me first right of refusal to the second ticket. Without so much as a second thought I immediately returned the email with an emphatic YESSSSSSSSSS! Two painfully long days later and I am standing in line with my friend and 5,000 other people waiting til the doors opened to grab the will-call only tickets and claim my spot on the floor.

With a few moments to take it all in, I noticed my coveted ticket came with a special collector's postcard with the show's date and what appeared to be a serial number. I thought to myself, "won't this look amazing in a frame?" Oh yes. And I did so as soon as I got home.

As more and more people flooded in, it became apparent this was going to be a ridiculously packed show. I couldn't help but gaze up at the VIP section with utter contempt, especially upon noticing Jason Bateman as part of the crowd (did he have to fight with Ticketmaster to get his ticket?! Probably not...). But I waited patiently for the opening band, Four Tet, to finish. I kind of felt a little bad for them. Clearly no one was interested in what they were playing. Biding time til 10pm when Radiohead was slated to take the stage was all anybody on that floor was doing.

The first note. Thom's voice sounded crisp and clean. Colin's bass rattled through my chest. The two bald dudes on drums (one being, of course, Phil Selway and the other, Clive Deamer) killed it, Johnny, the awkward musical genius poured over his keyboard and Ed the giant guitar God, rocked. the fucking. house. Though it was impossible for me (5'1") to see anything from where I was standing, I didn't have to see them to know they were there. The set list (below) was cohesive and inspired. The King of Limbs, In Rainbows, Kid A, The Bends...and OK Computer's "Subterranean Homesick Alien"?!!!! A happy surprise to hear a track from my FAVORITE album. A track that the band hadn't played live since 2003. I appreciated the old, the new and the so new they haven't been released yet! I am excited for what's to come and am hoping, quite frankly, praying, a full US tour is on the books for 2012.

photo credit: Penny Lane

The evening made me happy. I danced my little heart out. I sang at the top of my lungs. And I sweat Radiohead for their entire set. I am grateful to have been a part of something wonderful. And Thom singing "This one goes out to the one I love..." almost brought a tear to my eye...

And now...for the second portion of my review, I would like to hop atop my soapbox.

SHAME ON YOU DRUNK ASSHOLES...I watched a gentleman, probably six feet tall, get carried out of Roseland by his girlfriend, who was a little over five feet, while I was in line at the merch stand. You wasted not only your $80 but the chance to witness something only a small number of people were privy to. Your ticket would have been better off in the hands of someone who goes to see Radiohead not to get so fucked up he won't remember the show the next day but who will appreciate being part of something special. And. Oh I don't know. APPRECIATE THE MUSIC! It is in fact why you came to the show, am I wrong? I wish I could say this was the only instance of drunken asshole syndrome I saw but sadly it was not.

Take a moment to remember why we go to live performances. Show some respect for the artist you came to see, the crowd around you and, for the love of God, yourself.

photo credit: Penny Lane

To see videos and pictures from a much closer vantage point, go to www.brooklynvegan.com 

Radiohead Setlist - Roseland Ballroom, New York NY
September 28, 2011

Bloom
Little By Little
Staircase
Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
Feral (Live concert debut)
Subterranean Homesick Alien (first performance since 2003)
All I Need
Everything In Its Right Place (with "The One I Love" intro)
Lotus Flower
15 Step
Myxomatosis
Codex (live concert debut)
The Daily Mail
Bodysnatchers
Reckoner

Encore:
Give Up The Ghost
The National Anthem
Morning Mr Magpie

Encore 2:
Street Spirit (Fade Out)
Nude

The Blending of Two Obsessions



Apparently. There is a woman named Jen who hand paints Radiohead footwear.

JAC Shoes - http://www.jacshoes.blogspot.com/

Star Studded

Something In The Way: Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of Nevermind

The August issue of SPIN Magazine featured the headline 'What does Nevermind mean now?,' an article celebrating the 20th anniversary of Nevermind, released September 24, 1991. The article included a plethora of interviews with various entertainment folks about what the album means to them past, present and future. So I thought. Why not share what this album means to me...

I was 13 the year Nevermind was released, but I don't exactly remember when that year I got my hands on the album. My Grandfather was retired but worked part time for Hertz Rental Car company driving cars back and forth to various store locations in Pennsylvania. He was on his way home from dropping a car off near Lancaster when he decided to stop by Mom and Dad's since it was on the way. He handed me a cassette tape with a naked baby on the cover and I was never the same. Apparently someone had left it in the car he had dropped off so he decided to take it for his music loving granddaughter. Mom wasn't a big fan of "this type of music" so there was little to no chance she would have let me buy it on my own so I was stoked my Grandpa came through unknowingly. I had my brother's old stereo system (the kind that had speakers that practically took up my entire room) and before my Grandpa could walk out the door, I ran up to my room to check out this band Nirvana and this album Nevermind. The track "Smells Like Teen Spirit" had been on the radio and MTV by the time I got the album but experiencing the whole album in my own room was a moment I would never forget. For the first time in my 13 years of existence I felt like this music was mine. It came from my generation. I was actually alive to witness it's birth. It didn't feel passed down like the Beatles or Pink Floyd. I didn't know Kurt or Dave or Krist but I knew people like them. I have no idea why, but after listening to "Come As You Are" a million times I had decided that was going to be the song I lost my virginity to...didn't happen, but I kinda wish I that it had.

19 years later I found myself sitting on the beach in Rockaway, NY - enjoying the lazy life of unemployment -  reading "Heavier Than Heaven," an amazing Kurt Cobain biography by Charles Cross. Sobbing. It was well known that Cobain had a shitty childhood, but this book spelled it out in tragic detail. I won't lie, it was tough getting through the beginning of the book knowing it wasn't going to get better. Knowing what comes at the end of the book, but, I know this is going to sound cheesy, after finishing the book I actually felt closer to him, like I knew him. I found myself listening to every album I had just to keep that feeling alive.

The truth is we have no idea what would have been if Kurt hadn't killed himself. Would Nirvana have had a sustainable career much like that of Pearl Jam? We'll never know, but what we do know is that this album changed music forever. And gave the "slackers and losers" a sense of purpose and belonging because one of their own had become the new face of a genre dubbed Grunge.

Here are a few vids of my favorite tracks off Nirvana's "Nevermind"

"Breed"

"Drain You"

"Something In The Way"

Fasten Your Buckle

Lady Like

Curves

It's In The Bag

Get By With A Little Help From My Friends

My friend Lynne posted a pic of her fantastic shoes on FB this morning, with the caption: "Feeling the love for my shoes today...is that wrong?" Quite simply Lynne, the answer is NO! Especially with shoes like these...

Hooray for Westwood

I Have a Great Philosophy

Ladies. I plan on looking 27 for the rest of my life, even though I am 33...

Paper or plastic?

Standing Tall

Black on Black

Ride Into The Sunset

Gold Standard