I headed over to the Constellation Room on Tuesday to see Tennis. I only heard of them a couple of months ago but I’ve been listening to Young and Old pretty frequently. (And I just learned they recorded it in my hometown.) They’re a pretty great combination of the sounds of 90s indie rock and Euro electro-lounge like the Cardigans and Stereolab.
Wild Belle opened the show and I liked them but they were just too polished to my ears. I was wishing for some kind of indication that they had any rock n roll in them. It was a relief when an instrument mic stopped working and the singer had to aim her mic at the saxophone. Like, finally, something that wasn’t proscribed.
“Fortunately” — I say ironically — Tennis was overwhelmed with technical issues. They soldiered through them with superior grace improvising their set list to skip songs that required a troublesome bass rig. It was a really personal show that sounded bigger than the small band. They’re poppy and personable and fuzzy and crispy. It was a really great show. And I’m loving the Constellation Room though I’ve only been twice.
Here’s a live clip of Tennis from All Tomorrow’s Parties.
My favorite comic of the past year has been Axe Cop. I even named an EP after a line from it. And the comic hasn’t escaped the notice of the big boys either: Fox will be producing an animated show based on the comic written by a 7 year old and illustrated by his older brother.
Fox has ordered six fifteen-minute episodes of the show and plans to debut it early next year as part of its previously announced late-night Saturday animation block.
It was just another low-attendance open mic but Boris did a recording off the board and it sounded really good so I thought I’d cut it into mp3s and post here.
I played a song I haven’t played in public before: Mommy Issues
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So spoke my friend and coworker Patrick on Friday afternoon before the whiskey and beer pong but around the time of Notorious B.I.G. piping over the intercom and barking dogs running loose in the office. By the time we got to the bar for the after-work party, it seemed everyone was already lit. Tables tilted, glasses crashed to the floor. I had two tall beers and two shots and knew I had to break out. But there was a taxi to be called and a friend to carry out of the men’s room. I was at home by ten but it was not a peaceful night.
Saturday I went to the beach and on a nice bike ride. I played an open mic and went to a surprise party until 3 in the morning. I had already decided to teetotal for a while so I wasn’t a complete wreck but I didn’t get enough sleep.
The work hard / play hard mentality doesn’t make any sense to me. As I see it, you need balance to create for a long time. Who wants to write one good song or one great novel and burnout? That’s terrible. I want to write hundreds of songs.
So I said “no” to a couple of projects today. It’s difficult but it’s mandatory in order to focus on the important things.
There are so many things that I mean to write about or that I bookmark to post here. And I kick myself about not writing more. Subjects are just piling up. I think the worst part is that I pick apart my failure to write or update and I think it’s just because I’m screwing around or lazy or something. But the fact is that my job just taxes my brain all day. Today, I got home, played guitar, rode my bike, ate dinner and now I’m ready to fall asleep. I can’t think and recount events from last week in a meaningful way. And that sucks.
