I FUCKIN SHOT THAT

Seconds of the Circus starring Britney Spears

2009-08-28T19:08:00.001-07:00

I'm sure there are better videos on youtube but mine are oddly cool to me. Enjoy the large heads!

The Circus starring Britney Spears at MSG

2009-08-27T17:48:00.000-07:00

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah live at ACL!

2008-04-02T09:35:00.000-07:00

Ah, this guy. He was so strange. He would stand right behind you, practically against you, and at one point he pushed his way between the couple pictured and after the boyfriend asked him to move the guy essentially brushed him off. It's not that he ignored the guy's request, he just didn't understand why he couldn't stand there - so he stayed. He kept looking back to yell for Bobby or Billy or some similar person, clearly drunk, and I'm pretty sure he thought he was watching Metallica play. It was great.

Andrew Bird live at Austin City Limits!

2007-10-21T11:55:00.001-07:00

I've been hesitant to report on ACL because I didn't enjoy the festival as much as I expected. I imagine I experienced what many feel when they romanticize Manhattan only to discover a completely different city when they finally arrive. Still, there are always the little perks that make you glad you made the move, despite how much the object of your affection falls short of your expectations. Andrew Bird was one of ACL's perks.

Andrew is the politest musician I have seen live. He introduced each of his songs, thanked us for spending the afternoon with him, and was an altogether kind individual.

Andrew opened with...

"Fiery Crash"

Sounds so much better live.

"Nervous Tick Motion"

Part one..

Part two..

Part three.

"Heretics"

"Simple X"

Tilt that pretty head of yours.

"Imitosis"

"Fake Palindromes"

Tilt your head once more.

"Skin Is My"

Final song...

"Dark Matter"

Part one...

Part two...

Part three.

The end.

Up next: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Muse and Bob Dylan.

ACL update soon.

2007-10-03T20:06:00.000-07:00

Please forgive me for the wait.

Hello Stranger, the Hush Sound and Rooney live at the Fillmore!

2007-08-20T18:19:00.000-07:00

Rooney put on a cool show at the Fillmore last week with the help of Hello Stranger and the Hush Sound.

Hello Stranger

Hello Stranger was awesome. I had never heard of them prior to this performance so it was a nice surprise. The band appeared to be in their own zone while performing but they still connected with the audience (which wasn't easy with this particular audience - you'll hear more about them later) and each other. They played what felt like ten songs but was probably closer to six. A very cool performance.

The keyboardist in the back (John Kirby) was fun to watch. He looked very amused throughout their set, sort of like Liv Tyler's husband, as if someone was whispering jokes into his ear.

Juliette reminded me of a Jem doll when I first saw her. Mainly because of the keytar. She's a great singer and sweet woman, I caught her chatting with guests and posing for photos around the merchandise stand during Rooney's set.

Hello Stranger performing Robody

Hello Stranger two

Hello Stranger three

The Hush Sound

I don't have too much footage from their performance because the crowd was being moshed. I'd say they were moshing, but it was against the majority's will and it really pissed them off. The audience consisted almost entirely of sixteen year old girls and they spent most of their time eying the front row (even the girls in the fourth row next to me) while slowly inching their way to a better spot. It was very obnoxious. During Hello Stranger's set a guy in the back kept yelling "TELL THEM TO DANCE! TELL THEM TO DANCE!" and everyone around me laughed but I agreed with him - no one was dancing. One song into the Hush Sound's set and he began the mosh that would ruin many a fan girl's night. It was brilliant. So brilliant that I had to shake his hand. And so while Hello Stranger's set was amazing, the night itself didn't get fun until the moshing began and forced people to dance.

The Hush Sound played a ton of great mellow songs and the crowd loved them. The head mosher shouted "you're so hot!" to Greta numerous times and she took the compliments with a blush, it was very cute. After their final song Bob wiped his face with a white towel, fake sneazed in it, and then tossed it into the audience and they actually went crazy for that towel.

Hush Sound One

Hush Sound Two

Rooney

All the girls that stood completely still during the opening act went completely crazy once Rooney walked onto the stage and went even wilder when Robert walked along the edge and touched hands. It blew me away. Robert Schwartzman melted these girls. He's like a modern day Beatle.

"Calling the World"

Robert getting the crowd going

"Don't Come Around Again"

Robert blue himself.

"Are You Afraid"

Robert feels good vibrations

He spent 30 seconds doing that over and over.

"Tell Me Soon"

"Paralyzed"

Robert demanding more love

He did this a lot during the show.

Robert shares a story

My camera ran out of memory so I couldn't capture the full story on film so here it is on screen: Their flight from Japan to NY was sent back to Japan because the plane was smoking and falling a part. Robert said he felt lucky to be alive, girls swooned, yada yada and then they resumed the show. I left two songs after to catch my train home but according to a few people I contacted from the show, nothing exciting happened, they finished their set list and left the venue for their next show.

The Beastie Boys live in Brooklyn!

2007-08-11T18:59:00.000-07:00

The boys played their first Brooklyn show on August 9th of last week. Their first Brooklyn show ever! Of all the venues in all the world, it took them 21 years to get to this one, McCarren Pool Park, in their hometown of Brooklyn. And it was one hell of a show. Allow me to walk you through it.

The stage two hours before showtime.

One happy fan. The back of her sign says "No Sleep Till"
and her friend had a sign that read "I (weed leaf) the Beastie Boys!"

Our entertainment during the wait. She was pretty awesome, she mixed a lot of random songs from different genres and they all went together smoothly.

And so begins the show!

They walked out so casually as if they just walked into their own home
then jumped right into their performance. The funnest professionals I've ever seen.

They opened with....

Hello Brooklyn

An awesome start to a great show.

Mike D was all over the place throughout the show, I've never seen such an active performer.

MCA wandered around the stage here and there during the show and of the three I think he connected with the audience the most on a sort of candid level. At one point during the show someone threw their Kangol hat on the stage and MCA wore it for a bit. You could tell he was really enjoying himself (as were Mike D and Adrock) and so it made the show that much better. Towards the end of the concert he called us "crazy motherfuckers" with a big smile across his face.

Sure Shot

A crowd favorite.

Yep, that's a disco ball in the back. That's just how they roll.

The moments when the three of them would get together in a little circle and bounce off one another or stand together and pose at the edge of the stage were some of the best moments from the show.

Adrock was amazing. He's so damn cool I can't handle it.

Time For Livin

The crowd behind me was moshing as the guys got crazy on stage, I caught a bit of it on camera.

Gratitude

With another shot of the crowd.

After a few classics they performed some of their newer entirely instrumental songs from the Mix Up.

Alfredo Ortiz came out for the intrumentals as well as..

Keyboard Money Mark!

Suco de Tangerina

My personal favorite from the new album.

Mike D introduces the Beastie Boys

I think it's cute when musicians introduce themselves at their own shows.
Especially when they introduce themselves as they leave the stage.
(I'm thinking of you Bob Dylan)

Body Movin

The crowd loved this.

Mike D spoke a bit to the crowd about this being their first Brooklyn show, being from Brooklyn and Manhattan, the schools they went to, and mentioned attending Brooklyn Tech High for a few years and Adrock mentioned he "went there too. For three days.. maybe two."

Shake Your Rump

I assisted a crowd surfer with my right hand while I filmed this with my left.

Rev Run says a quick hello

We got excited thinking he'd pick up a mic but
he just stood to the side for a few songs then left.

Mix Master Mike

Intergalactic

After a few minutes off stage the guys came back for a three song encore.

Sabatoge

Who doesn't love this song?

No Sleep Till Brooklyn

Perfect song to end the show with, don't you agree?

Shot of the crowd on my way out.

A San Fransisco thrift store find.

The Ten celebration!

2007-08-05T12:11:00.000-07:00

The Ten is now in theaters and on August 2nd David Wain hosted a little shin dig at the Blender Theater in Manhattan to celebrate the film's release. Dubbed "the night before the Ten", comedians, musicians, musical comedians, comical musicians and Ken Marino were among those in attendance. Follow me won't you, through a little replay of the night's festivities.

David's opening act.

David originally ran on stage with his vocal cords blazing but his mic on silent.
Take two, with the insistence of DJ Mr. Blue, and David dished out
another rendition of the Spice Girls' "Wanna Be".

After his song and dance, David welcomed the co-writer of the Ten on stage, Ken Marino!

David and Ken joked about Tony Soprano's heavy breathing then welcomed Seth Herzog to the stage!

Needless to say, Seth rocked it. The outfit, the socks, everything. He busted out some moves, the moonwalk was involved and possibly the robot, I can't be too sure because he flowed. He just flowed. After wowing the crowd with his introductory dance he proceeded to shake his junk in front of a lucky audience member's face and taunted said audience member throughout his bit. Made for good laughs but I think that young man is still questioning his own sexuality. Seth spoke of many things including playing Jessica Alba in the Ten and dealing with the always smoking French while visiting France, but the one thing that will always stick with me is the following line: "Now I understand why women are always doing this *re-adjusts bottoms*, they keep riding up!"

Next came an awesome set by Craig Wedren and Amy Miles.

Rashida Jones joined them after their first song.

After a few songs the band stepped down and David and Ken welcomed Amy Poehler to the stage.

I've heard stories of Amy being a really really sweet person. Believe them. Though she greeted the crowd with two middle fingers firmly directed towards us and shouted a few "suck it motherfuckers", she's actually a really sweet person. Why? Just cause. Sweetness surrounds her like an aura. Amy stayed for the entire show but sadly only had a few minutes on stage. The crowd loved her. She told a joke which was coincidentally the very same joke David Wain shared when he first introduced himself only thirty minutes or so earlier. The joke you ask? Something along the lines of "I flew in from LA. I got tons of magazines and books and newspapers to read on the plane to catch up, but as soon as I got on the plane I was out like a light! I slept for the first twenty minutes!" David joked they must have snagged it from the same joke website. Amy spoke about SNL running out of ideas and possibly turning to her uncle who continues to push OJ jokes on her. Old OJ jokes. Jokes involving him being chased by the police in a white Bronco. Still, they can use his ideas as inspiration.

Michael Showalter's Ten Commandments of making a great sandwich!

Michael sets up his Ten Commandments of great sandwich making with Zak Orth on lead guitar.

I have two more videos from Michael's bit but youtube has deemed them too large to upload so for the time being I will direct you to a video shot by another audience member which includes the first four minutes of Mike's set (here) and I will transcribe Michael's Ten Commandments of making a great fucking sandwich, using his own words from these non-uploadable videos of mine. The commandments aren't transcribed in full, but you get the powerful gist of them.

Bread is king. Bread is to sandwich what song is to band. Bread is to sandwich what shoe is to foot. Bread is to sandwich is what love is to life. Bread is king.
Mustard goes with everything. If you have two pieces of bread, mustard and anything else, you have a delicious sandwich. If anybody tells you it's the same thing as mayonaise you can tell that person they are a liar and a fake and a fucking asshole because mustard goes with everything!
Nothing is off limits and everything is in play.
Toast it. Toast it. Toast the thing. Toast the motherfucking thing.
Pickle.
Sun dried tomatoes are total bullshit! When I said nothing is off limits and everything was in play I was not referring to sun dried tomatoes because sun dried tomatoes are off limits. (he went on to say they are shit and if he wanted to eat shit he'd go to the shit store)
What is the missing link? You've made your sandwich, you've taking a bite - (to audience member) no it's rhetorical you fuckin dick. It's for you to decide. You need to be there in the moment. You've made your sandwich, you've taken a bite, something's missing, what is it? Start with mustard! Go down from there. Does it need more mustard? Ask questions of your sandwich. Settle for nothing less than perfect because you have an opportunity with your sandwich to make something that will last forever! No fucking one slice of cheese, one slice of bologna, suck it, fuck it - no! You have an opportunity to make something that will last for an eternity! Find the missing link!
(there is no number eight)
Have fun. Really, have fun. Have fun making your sandwich. Yeah, have fun! Because if making a sandwich isn't fun, then make something else, because making a sandwich is fucking fun! So if you can't have fun making a sandwich then make something fucking else!
I stopped recording after nine but I'm sure ten had something to do with mustard. Though, like number 8, I don't think there was a number 10. Really just the Eight Commandments of making a great sandwich.

Craig, Amy, Rashida, Blue and the Band perform a song.

All songs performed were written specifically for the Ten. The soundtrack is
entirely original and completely amazing. It will hopefully be released on disc.

After a few more songs by the artists Ken and David welcomed Janeane Garofalo to the stage.

Footage can't be found because Janeane doesn't appreciate this type of buffoonery. She shared with us a story of being filmed at a show asking her audience for prescription pills and having the video leaked onto youtube. It was a fiasco of sorts. You see, she wasn't abusing prescription pills, she was using them to lessen her lower back pain. Which was caused after she fell off of a golf cart. Which happened as a result of being drunk. Which has since been resolved after Amy Poehler showed up at Janeane's house with two cups of coffee and enough fear to strike into Janeane to set her straight. And it worked. If you ever find yourself falling off the wagon, or on it, I'm still not sure how that expression goes, phone Amy Poehler and she'll be right over with two cups of coffee.

Ken and David welcomed the band back onto the stage along with Peter Salett.

And then David Yazbek entered the stage and gave a great solo performance.
I was too entranced to document it. My apologies.

And so began preparation for a group sing along!

Taking it higher and HIGHER!

On stage is David Wain, Craig Wedren, Mrs. Wedren, Amy Miles, Amy Poehler, Rashida Jones,
Peter Salett, Seth Herzog, Michael Showalter, David Yazbek, Ken Marino, the Russian, the band and Mr. Blue.

We sang this song twice. The first time it was great but they forgot to end it properly with the um.. proper ending. I'd fake an understand of music, but I won't fool you. If you haven't heard the song "Higher and Higher", the end has a sort of dramatic finish, and we forgot to end dramatically the first time so Michael Showalter demanded we sing it a second time. It was an awesome second take and the band nailed the finish. Mike then asked that we do it again, just for the hell of it. But sadly we didn't.

Preparing for the final hoorah.

The end of the Ten celebration.