Hipster Handbook 2005 Edition

Sunday night I headed up to the Hi-Tone to check out The David Brookings Band at Eric's suggestion. In a weird twist of fate, the bass player and I just happened to have graduated from high school together, so I not only got to hear a stellar band, but I got to catch up with Chris a bit also. Brookings is a critics darling that works at Sun Studio while he waits for the rest of Memphis to catch on to his melodic take on straight forward pop songs, influenced by everyone from The Beatles, Noel Gallagher, The Rolling Stones and Tom Petty.

The show was really great, but I do have some advice for Mr. Brookings. If you wanna make it in Rock N Roll, you can't wear a Washington Redskins jersey on stage. Sorry. Hipster rule #242. Maybe he didn't get this year's new edition. I mean, hey, even the singer from 3 Doors Down is rocking a blazer and a fauxhawk in their new video. C'mon David, you're cute - work it!

David will be playing an accoustic set Friday night at The Buc. Be sure to check him out!

Muchas Gracias to Jen for coming to the rescue with the cam phone again after a freak camera-in-the-toilet incident. Anyone seen my warranty?

In other news, The Pirates are playing The Glass Onion Tuesday night. I overheard some folks talking last night about one of the guys in that band being a real jackass. See ya there.

Memphis Bloggers Bash

Ok, everyone. It's time for the fourth Memphis Blogger's Bash. I have actually committed to showing up this time (hey, I was at the first two!). Here are the details:

Garibaldi's (near the U of M)
Saturday, February 5th (next Saturday)
7 PM (nighttime is the right time after all)

Thanks to Steve, here are directions: "The address is 3530 Walker. From Midtown, take Central or Poplar east to Highland; turn right, go past the first stoplight (Midland), go to the 2nd left (where Domino's Pizza is) and you will IMMEDIATELY see the sign for Garibaldi's. They are all the way back in the shopping center."

So, come on out and join us internerds for blogger social hour. BTW, please welcome Pulp Faction (AKA The Other Rachel) to the blagging circle. If she comes to the party we'll teach her the secret handshake. See ya there.

Quote of the Day

"I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day." ~Frank Sinatra

Take That and Rewind It Back

Last night I had a plan. As the peeps called for the night's itinerary, I was very specific, with times and everything. I knew that we'd never stick to it, but it never hurts to have one. After meeting at J's, we would go to the Welcome Back Trotter party, then hit the ass-end of Gonerfest and then on to XYZ for The Hook-Up and Buck Wilders.

There was a bit of skepticism on the party tip. Everyone was worried that I was taking them to some punk rock backyard kegger. I actually didn't really know what to expect myself. All I knew was that when I used to sit next to Truett on the night desk at Channel 5, I was often entertained by his crazy stories of Jeramiah, mostly about sleeping and cursing. And I knew he was good friends with Drew, whom I hadn't seen in months. So, I just wanted to stop by and meet this infamous Jeramiah. Who could have known the place would be filled to the rafters with the mid-town elite?

So my introduction came, as so many do, as I was standing in line to use the bathroom. As he had been described to me as an ex-hardcore kid, I never assumed that the guy standing in front of me that looked like a college professor might be him. So, I quipped, "I actually think the guys are peeing in the yard." His reply? "Well, yeah, but I figured since it's my party I might be able to use the bathroom."

So, yeah, I think he just might be in love with me. I tried to explain to him our connection, but he took his bathroom turn and proceeded to make a fast exit. But, he did ask about Truett's whereabouts. (Truett - a little birdy told me that you're supposed to be giving me a call) Anyway, the party was so much fun that we never bothered to leave to go to Gonerfest. Hipster crunk was clearly defined last night. And it's only January. Mexican wrestling masks? You better ask somebody.

After spending most of the evening brushing my shoulders off, I did manage to rally the troops for a field trip to XYZ for the after party. Jason turns into a pumpkin at 5AM and so, I knew we didn't have much time to get to the club and pretend to be young and cool before we turned back into geezers at 5.

We had a great time dancing to The Hook-Up and Buck Wilders. They always play the hot soul and funk. I definitely got my boogie on. Although we did not make it home on time, I guarantee Jason's at work today thinking the price he's paying was worth every penny.

I actually planned to hit the Harlan T. Bobo performance this afternoon at Goner Records. But alas, even though I love Harlan, my pillow won the battle for my attention this morning (afternoon). So, see ya at David Brookings tonight at the Hi-Tone?

P.S. Eric's account is a lot more literate than mine. And Jen explains why she didn't go.

Susan Marshall Live At Poplar Pike Playhouse

I used to have a secret girl crush on Susan Marshall. She graduated a few years before me at Germantown High and came back often to help the production department with our plays and musicals. I was the directors assistant for almost every one during my tenure in the department, so I would sit in the office with Bluestein, Marshall and the rest of the adults helping and hear her tales of being a singer in NYC. It probably had a lot to do with my decision to move there.

An Evening with Susan Marshall

All proceeds will benefit Poplar Pike Arts Guild
in support of the Germantown High School Fine Arts Department

Small Rooms, Large Crowds

So here it is. The Friday night that almost didn't happen recap. First of all, let me apologize for my crappy pics. Some of you may recall when my camera was stolen last fall from the Sleepover party at Melange (RIP). It took me two years to figure out how to work that thing. Right before X-mas last year I purchased a top-of-the-line Sony camera (which means my pics should be ace), but for some reason I can't make myself sit down and read the manual. So, I have an awesome camera that I have no idea how to work. So durst. Anyway, I don't know how your social life works, but here'a glimpse into mine.
No one I know makes plans. It's annoying at times, but I've pretty much fallen into the same pattern. During the week different events come up in conversation and usually there's not a whole lot of competiton. Each night of the week tends to have a preconcieved label of the happening place. So, if you feel like going out, around 10PM the text messages and phone calls start being exchanged. Every now and then, there is a dilemna though. Sometimes there are a couple of things going on in one night and actual decisions have to be made. I appreciate the opportunity to actually make a decision, but sometimes it sucks.
Last night was one of those nights. I recieved a call early in the evening about attending the annual Mpact Memphis fundraiser taking place in the former Plaza Club space downtown featuring Venezuelan band Los Amigos Invisibles. Now, although that event sounded like a lot of fun and was for a very good cause, even though I'm an Mpact Mempber, tickets were $35 bucks. Now add that to $7 for the Tunnel Clones and $8 for Gonerfest plus miscellaneous expenses and that's way above my Friday night budget. So calls were made, decisions were debated, more calls were made and a plan was devised.
Since I'm a production coordinator by profession, often times I fall into the role of social coordinator by proxy. But the great thing about Memphis is, you can just about go anywhere and see 20 people you know, so there's no real need to go out with anyone. Anyway, I decided to take a hipster nap from 8 til 10. Unfortunately, I didn't wake up til 11. For a minute, I considered just staying in bed. Then Helen called and I decided to drag myself from the pillow, pull my bedhair back with a pair of shades and hop in the car to make the haul to the Hi-Tone for The Tunnel Clones' CD release party.
TC played to a packed house of racially mixed fans. Everyone was really diggin' the vibe and seemed to be having a great time. There was a lot of audience participation and many guest vocalists took the stage to share the mic with MCs Dev "Rachi" Sheftall and Jimmy "Bosco" Catchings. Memphix-connected DJ Luke "Redeye Jedi" Sexton held down turntable duties and the threesome were also accompanied by a pianist and sax player. Eric took up background vocal duties behind me in the audience. Anyway, great show, nice guys. The only mortifying moment was when Dev was onstage and garbled something to me with his mouth behind the mic. I had no idea what he said, then he stuck the mic in my face. "Uh, great!" was the only thing I could think of to say. Yeah, just call me doofus.
After the TC show we rolled down to The Buc to catch the last band playing Gonerfest, KING KHAN & BBQ SHOW. They had they're faces painted white along with several of their hardcore fans in the audience. The place was packed with dirty rockers from around the globe. We made it just in time to miss the cover charge but still make an appearance. Most of my friends know that I have been losing my voice on and off for the last month (obviously, I never shut up), well, yelling over all of the crowds last night wasn't helping out, so we made an early exit to XYZ to grab a table and have a conversation where I wouldn't have to yell.
The afterparty didn't get going until around 4AM, but it was well worth the wait to get to dance around to the garage rock of The Limes, a Harlan T. Bobo and Nick Ray (both of Viva l'American Death Ray) sideproject fronted by Shawn Cripps. I heard the show lasted pretty late and included many spacial guests, but I bailed around 5AM. Proof again that I am getting old.

So there you have it kids. A great night of live music in Memphis. It's out there if you're willing to look for it. And stay up really, really late.

UPDATE: Eric and Mark also have recaps.

Email of the Day

I came across a post on a site called Dostoevsky is Dead that said some links to a couple of songs on Scenestars didn't work. I posted a comment on the site in jest letting Dennis know that the links were indeed hot. What followed was an email that made me laugh out loud.

Wow! You're, like, my favorite scenestar. I'm so honored to have offended you!

Thanks again.
-D

Nope. Never heard of 'em.

Quote of the Day

If I am talking to a guy that is single, cute and straight, I'm like, "Oh my God, are you a unicorn?" - Margaret Cho

Z List Celebrity

The coolest thing about having a blog is that I meet new people through it all of the time. I'm always floored by who is entertained by my tales of hedonism and hubris. For instance, just the other night at The Harlan T. Bobo show I met Hayden Jackson who hosts a radio show on WEVL called The Music Lover's. He followed up our meeting with a very flattering email. Now if he had only bought me a drink...

Hayden has also recently entered the world of blogging. His site is an online reference guide to the radio program that specializes in broadcasting indie pop/rock new releases on WEVL (89.9fm) Memphis. Sounds awesome, but the site doesn't say when the show airs! Anyway, if you stop by tell him I said hello.

P.S. Stay tuned tomorrow for a recap of my Friday night with The Tunnel Clones, Gonerfest, The Limes and XYZ - all completely sober! I have to go to bed now. It actually is tomorrow.

I Need To Start Charging

My friend asked me to post this. I only know two people in LA that read my retarded ramblings, but hey, what are friends for?

Reply to: mtvroommatesfromhell@yahoo.com
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Or do you need to get away from your current roommate?

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Must be 18-23 years old.
Must live in Los Angeles in an apartment or house.
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If you hate your roommate…
You AND your roommate should send us a five minute audition tape (VHS/DVD format) showing your current living space and telling us why you can't get along.

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Send a five minute audition tape (VHS/DVD format) showing your current living space and telling us why you need to find the perfect roommate.

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Include your name, age, and all contact information.

Email questions to: mtvroommatesfromhell@yahoo.com

Follow Me To Heaven

OK People, once again, if you did not heed my suggestion to take in the Harlan T. Bobo show last night at The Glass Onion, well, shame on you. Harlan played to another packed house and although the gravel in his voice might sometimes suggest he's not always been such an angel, he sure did look like one on stage. Literally. I actually forgot my camera last night, luckily for me, Jen fired up her cam phone and was able to capture several lovely shots. The rest of Harlan's accompaniment for the first set (violin, cello and stand-up bass) were similarly dressed. During the second set he came back with the bass player for The Reigning Sound and the former drummer from The Afghan Whigs and tore the place up with what the kids these days are callng Rock 'n Roll.

So, it was a fun show. The only complaint was the $9 PBR beer bust plus the 5 dollar cover. NINE DOLLAR BEER BUST? That Pabst best come with a keybump and a compliment for nine bucks. But for a Harlan show, it's still a deal.

Ok, so here's my quote of the evening. I am friends with a lot of different types of people, many whom don't understand my aquaintances with others. It really doesn't phase me, but what I seem to hear all of the time is the question. "Why are you friends with him, he's such an asshole?"

In case you get the inclination to ever ask me this, my answer is pretty standard. "Yeah, he's an asshole, but he's not one to me."

The Week Ahead

I have been so good this week. I haven't gone out, had a drink or smoked a cigarette. I'm like so totally bored. But I'm trying to be good before the weekend, which pretty much starts tomorrow night. Don't forget Harlan T. Bobo is playing at The Glass Onion Wednesday night, and a little birdy told me that Chang and Jonathan will be accompanying him. Righteous.

Thursday night Gonerfest kicks off at The Buccaneer. I haven't checked out The Secret Service yet, so I'm excited about that.

Friday night I'll be attending the Tunnel Clones CD release party at The Hi-Tone (there should be a review on Scenestars tomorrow).

Saturday night is the Welcome Back Trotter Party, but you have to be a card carrying hipster to gain entry. It will also be another good night to check out Gonerfest, don't forget to hit XYZ for the aftershow with The Hook-UP and Buck Wilders. There is a pretty cool event in the planning stages with these guys and some other friends of mine for February.

Finally, Sunday afternoon you should check out Memphis Mary Bloody Mary Party with Harlan T Bobo At Goner records in Cooper-Young 3pm.

Thats my weekend - what are you doing?

BTW, to everyone who emailed me about Scenestars being down, it was just a minor server blow-up. It seems we're getting more hits that it could take so it decided to take the day off. We have made some adjustments and everything is back up and running fine. There was no RIAA intervention.

P.S. When you see this and it's awesome, you better thank me.

Quote of the Day

If you want to sacrifice the admiration of many men for the criticism of one, go ahead, get married. ~Katherine Hepburn

Sincere Is The New Snarky

So, everyone these days is too cool for everything. It's come to a head with the whole internerd thing. People have nothing going on for themselves so they tear down what other people are trying to do. It seems it's because they have so much free time from not doing anything themselves because the shelf-life of cool has become so short it's close to immeasurable. It's so ridiculous, and transparent. I mean, I understand it, I was once an insecure tween, teen and twenty-something myself. I was scared to act like I was too into anything cause someone else might think it was lame. A pessimist is never disaapointed.

So, anyway, I try not too be too snarky. Except about other people's snarkiness. Even though irony is so 1994. Whether I'm into something or not, it doesn't mean that someone else shouldn't be. If it makes you happy, it can't be that bad. I don't want to tear people down, I wanna help build them up.

Ok, with that being said, here's the point of this post:

Parents: Please keep your kids out of the mall and turn off MTV. Find something better and more productive for them to do with their time than become brainless consumer zombies. I wasn't allowed to hang out in the mall or watch MTV - and you know what? It saved my life. It kept me from becoming a vapid, bored, idiot, teen mall goth. After school, I sat in my room and listened to music, read books and watched sit-com re-runs, or I would go outside and try to skateboard, play basketball, jump on a trampoline, wrassle my borother in the back yard, ride my bike, and every once in a while I would actually sit down and do my homework. I had what was once known as hobbies - and that doesn't include shopping. I wasn't consumed by mystic tans, Hot Topic, punk-pop-boys-bands, or trying to look like an airbrushed, plastic bimbo. And people wonder why we have a dumbass for president and Jessica Simpson has a tv show where she just walks arouund and acts like an idiot. Think about it.

Ok, I'm done rambling. You get the picture

Hustle & Flow Gets Paid

According to Defamer, Hustle & Flow was purchased at Sundance for 9 million large ones. (Update: The CA breaks down the dollars in the record breaking deal). Looks like Singleton's gamble paid off big time. Working on that production was actually one of the worst experiences I have had. Many of the people that came in from NYC and LA to work on that film had extremely snobby attitudes and treated the locals (that worked on the crew) with little respect. After working on films for 5 years, I kind of thought I knew what I was doing, but since everyone thought that I'd never stepped foot out of Shelby County, a few people were a little condescending. 3 months of that can be slightly deflating. Oh and if you live in Memphis, you probably remember all the other drama that went on during the shoot. However, I did meet Ellen which led to several super cool jobs, including working on a Spielberg movie, so alls well that ends well.

Anyway, Craig is an awesome guy and has the best backyard parties. Of course, I have a feeling he'll be moving into a new house sooner than later. Oh, and BTW, John is not actually a midget, we were sitting in a booth, and I am actually wearing something beneath my sweater. I'm packed and I'm stacked, especially in the back.

V-Day on the Way

While I will be sitting in the back booth at some dive bar nursing a vodka tonic and lusting after some jackass, you probably have someone special in mind to ask out for Valentine's day. If so, here's something to do. It's for a great cause and your date will think you're all sensitive and shit:

V-Day Memphis 2005 is having a benefit performance of The Vagina Monologues on Friday February 11th at 8:00 PM and Saturday, February 12th at 7:00 PM at the Cadre Building, 149 Monroe in downtown Memphis. Including musical guests, masseuses, information booths, silent auction, and much more.

For more information, visit their website at http://events.vday.org/2005/World/Memphis

They're still looking for sponsors, so if you want to get involved (this means you tv people) you should contact them.

I saw the V-Monologues at Madison Square Garden in 2001. It was performed by Oprah Winfrey, Calista Flockhart, Rosie Perez, Glen Close, Jane Fonda, Queen Latifah, Brooke Shields, Edie Falco, and like 30 other celebrity-type-females. The show was quite life-changing. The most shocking thing was when they asked all the women that had been sexually abused, molested or raped to stand and quite literally the whole place stood up.

P.S. I know my comments aren't working, thanks to everyone who let me know. I can't figure out what the problem is and everytime I try to fix it I almost have a nervous breakdown. I'll figure it out eventually.

UPDATE: Patrik, the coolest person on the planet fixed my comments. Spam away beeotches.

(Insert Clever Title)

I was planning on writing about the Tsunami Benefit last night, but I kind of walked through it in a fog. I remember watching The Glass and Snowglobe play but that's about it. I had a jolting experience yesterday afternoon, I just never really shook it off. Anyway, if I seemed like I was being a bitch last night, all apologies.

This is what happened. My parents recently purchased a new elliptical machine, and yesterday afternoon I decided that I was going to start excercising. Whatever. So, I get on the machine and workout until I'm pretty much soaked in sweat and about to die. Then, I went into the spare bedroom upstairs, shut the door, took off my wet clothes (except for my bra and underwear) turned on the television and laid down on the bed to rest.

Well, I fell asleep. That was probably around 4 o'clock. The next thing I know I hear BANG BANG BANG on the bedroom door, it flies open and two police officers walk in and yell, "POLICE!" They said a whole bunch of stuff, but all I really caught was that the front door to the house was wide open, they were checking the house out for intruders, they called from downstairs and no one answered, blah blah blah. I just sat up on the bed stunned. They kept talking and I sat there in my underwear for what seemed like a year, but was probably like two minutes. I finally pulled myself together enough to ask if I could put my clothes on. They got embaressed and left the room and went downstairs.

So, I put my clothes back on and went and talked with them. If you're in Memphis, you might recall that we had a crazy windstorm yesterday. My parents have double front doors on their house. It seems that when they brought in the new exercise equipment, they didn't deadbolt the door that they don't usually use back down. So, a strong gush of wind came through and blew it open. The police were driving by and thought it looked odd in such bad weather for the door to be flung open and decided to make sure no one was getting robbed. You can figure out the rest.

I'm pretty much over it now, but it was a pretty traumatic experience yesterday. I took pictures at the show, but they suck.

Start Saving Your Pennies

Ok, people. NYC in February and, just in time for your favorite drunk-texter's birthday, it looks like Caleefornia in April. It's time for Coachella and even if only two of the rumors are true, its pretty much going to be the concert of a lifetime. So, who's coming with me? I need 82 people to get a hotel room with. NO RV's. NO TENTS.

Confirmed
Rilo Kiley Doves The Futureheads Autolux M83 Fiery Furnaces
The Bravery Radio 4

Strongly Rumored
Phoenix The Arcade Fire U2 Coldplay Nine Inch Nails Hot Hot Heat Keane Franz Ferdinand
New Order Wolf Eyes Gang of Four Snow Patrol Secret Machines Bloc Party

Rumored (Every other band on earth)
Chemical Brothers Outkast David Bowie
...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead
Yeah Yeah Yeahs Franz Ferdinand REM Danger Mouse PJ Harvey Interpol
The Faint Polyphonic Spree Boards of Canada TV on the Radio
Squarepusher Clinic French Kicks Secret Machines Beep Beep
Dogs Die In Hot Cars the Helio Sequence Tears For Fears Wilco
Bright Eyes The Faint Jimmy Eat World Mos Def Badly Drawn Boy
The Streets Spoon Cake The Postal Service The Shins Sleater Kinney
Iron and Wine Moving Units British Sea Power The Police
Queens of the Stone Age Kasabian The Wonder Stuff

From ProductshopNYC:

On saturday, Jay-Z will be appearing with Lincoln Park and you can also expect to see Shirley Manson getting nasty with Garbage. Then on Sunday, they've supposedly confirmed Bjork, Prince, and hold it.....The Smiths!

P.S. Screw Bonnaroo

Hippies are the new hipsters.
Burlington is the new Williamsburg
Hash is the new coke

...seriously.

Jerome, get me my mirra - O-E-O-E-O!

Good Rockin' In Memphis

Last night I caught more live music than you could shake a stick at (I have no idea what that means.) Anyway, my first stop was The P&H Cafe to catch EJ Friedman, soulbrother and fellow Scenestars contributor. He's currently working on a new album and played a bunch of awesome new songs. I think his two favorite things to write about are love and New York City, and I just happen to know a few things about those two subjects. He also threw in a bunch of cool covers including stuff by The Pogues, the Smiths and The Boss. I have been friends with Eric for a few months now but I really had no idea how talented he is. The boy can sing. Anyway, I highly reccomend you check him out.

Towards the middle of the show, Eric decided to take a break and invited Mr. Mark Richens to take over and "noodle" around. He got up there and impressed us with a few jazz instrumentals and his rendition of The Band song The Weight. I tried to get him to play Between the Sheets, The Isley Brothers classic that many Memphis kids have probably seen him do at Neil's on Karaoke Night. He couldn't remember how to play it on the guitar though. Hopefully he'll brush up for his next impromptu sit-in. Anyway, I thought for a minute that he wasn't gonna relinquish the stage back to Eric, maybe somebody should hook this guy up with some gigs? He's been dj'ing for so long, I think he might have forgotten what it's like to be on stage.

The second stop of the night was to see the Cory and Ben show at The Hi-Tone. I ran into Brian and Jen and we toasted our meeting with a shot of whiskey, which is how everyone should greet everyone at The Hi-Tone. Cory didn't play my favorite song by him, but I hated to request it again since I just did at the last show. He did play Crush, and I like that song a lot too. After we got our fill, the crew rallied and met up at The Blue Monkey and caught the ass-end of Harry, Dave and Bob (or something like that). I didn't really pay much attention to the music, but according to Richens, they have like over 1000 years of musical experience betwixt them.

So, anyway, that was my night. And people say there's nothing to do in Memphis.

If Looks Could Kill

So, last Sunday night was the last big night at Melange before they close their doors today and re-open at the beginning of February with a new name and a new concept. Sunday nights have always been the biggest night of the week for them, they play 80's music and sell dollar beers. Well obviously, since all of the regulars knew that this was the last night of this weekly party after 2 and a half years, the place was beyond packed. One of the DJ's and one of the waitresses writes for my other website and I've known David since I was 18, so I was excited to go and help give them a big send-off.

Anyway, the guy who checks ID's at the door and I always converse during the course of my time at Melange (that's him at the right, also named Dave). I just wanted to tell him thanks for being so nice to me Sunday night. He had a lot of kind words for me as we both stood at the front door and watched the guy that I had invited to come, the one that had all of his drinks on my tab, the one that had just spent 30 minutes telling me his sad tale of woe and totally ruining my buzz, make out with some random girl on the dancefloor. Nice.

Goner-Fest

Twinkle, Twinkle, Nice To Meet Ya!

I caught a fun show at the Buc last night. I think it was Jennie Jeans and The Natural Kicks. I started out the night meeting Bayne at one of his friends and partaking in some fine sipping whiskey, aka, Jack Daniels, so I can't be too sure about much. Anyway, we moved on to The Buc and proceeded to close it down. Memphis is such a funny place, at 10:30 I was sitting on my couch contemplating going to bed. I got a phone call and the next thing I know it's 3AM and I'm standing with 8 people at the Two Way. The same thing happened to me Thursday night. I went out with James to have a beer, the next thing I know it's after midnight and I'm standing next to the bar at The Spot. Of course, everyone I saw there that I knew said to me, "I wasn't here."

Yeah, me neither.

There's a bunch of stuff going on tonight:

Cat's on Union - Camper Van Beethoven - 6pm
The Glass Onion - Jeffery Evans and Memphis Roadmasters
The Bucanneer - Richard James and the Special Riders, Six String Jets
X+Y+Z - Ruffin Brown Band, Okraboy
Hi-Tone - Emergenza Battle of the Bands
The Deli - Chess Club, American Princes
New Daisy Theatre - Camper Van Beethoven

As of right now, I have no plans. But get back to me around 11.

Hey Hipster, Can You Spare A Dime?

Poster Courtesy of Basil Bayne Whatley

Ryan Adams Will You Marry Me?

Seriously. Ryan got a Grammy nomination for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance for “Wonderwall” from: Love Is Hell. Oh, and he has a new album coming out in April.

Mean Girl

I've had conversations before with my fellow bloggers about posting while intoxicated and what a bad idea it is to do so. That's never been something that I've worried about though, I don't tend to be the type that has a few cocktails and needs to vent. However, I do try not to blog when I am angry. I try not to interact much when I am angry period, the anger tends to lessen with time and I don't want to say anything that I might regret. This is why I haven't written much this week. I had a major run-in with the lady at the DMV that had me jumping up and down in the parking lot, cursing at the top of my lungs (long story) and I've had a few issues with a couple of friends come up and have had to be mean. I don't like to be mean, but sometimes people need you to be mean to them. Anyway, a few cool things have happened this week, so:

I went to the Harlan T. Bobo show Wednesday night, it was super packed and Patrik and I had a great time. We went and saw Sideways beforehand, so when we arrived at the at The Glass Onion I went straight to the bar and purchased a bottle of wine for us to share. The next morning I remembered why I don't drink wine. I thought I would be clever and bypass the whole wine hangover by drinking water for the rest of the evening when our party moved to The Deli, however, I was foiled again by the Pinot!

Bayne and I got our tickets for NYC this week. We're going Feb 23rd thru the 27th. New York in February, does anything suck more? Oh, well, we'll have a good time. My lovely friend Melody who moved from Williamsburg right after I left the city is visiting in Feb also, unfortunately we are going to miss each other by 2 days! Crap!

I also finalized plans to move this week to an awesome house in mid-town. I met my new roommate, Georgia, through my friend Helen and I think we are going to get along great. I am really stoked!

So, what have we learned?

Don't eff with me or I will tear you a new one.
The people who work at the DMV can bite me.
I will always have a hangover if I drink wine.
NYC in February is miserable, but we plan to party anyway.
Georgia on my mind.

Carry on.

All The News That's Useless

I think I am finally done being sick, so I should be back in full-force tomorrow night just in time to catch the Harlan T. Bobo show at The Glass Onion. If you missed him at The Hi-Tone in December, here's your chance to make up for it. I have no idea what time he is playing. Hipsters tend get everywhere around 11, I'll be there before 10.

In other news, as someone who spends quite a bit of time writing, listening and reading about music, I see no other choice but to try to attend the The Emergenza Battle of the Bands at The Hi-Tone this weekend and The Goner-Fest later this month at The Buc. Hopefully there will be at least one band in the bunch that will make it all worth it. Has anyone heard of any of the bands playing? Any tips on who not to miss?

P.S. While deSpamming my blog tonight I deleted a lot of comments by accident. No Offense, Yo.

Oh, Snap!

New York Stories

Funny Liam story:

So a street guy came up to me, and said, "Hey yo, my man."

And then we laughed and laughed.

I've Been Around the World And I Can't Find My Baby

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We flew over Greenland on our flight back from Amsterdam, and according to our pilot it's very out of the ordinary to be able to see it from the plane cause it's ususally covered by clouds. I snapped this picture from my plane window. Click on view image for a better look.

Remember when you were in 5th grade and your geography teacher told you that Greenland was actually all icecaps and snow and couldn't support life, while Iceland, although completely dark for six months out of the year, was where people actually lived but they reversed the names so that the vikings wouldn't come and plunder their lands? Guess what? That's not true at all. You can find out the real story here. And this concludes Miss Rachel's Fun With History Lesson!

And you thought all I did was go to bars.

Hate To Say I Told You So

I'm not trying to say that you should listen to me when I tell you you should check something out, but actually you should. Saturday night's dance party at XYZ hosted by Buck Wilders and The Hook-Up was super crunk - and once again, I wasn't even drinking. Memphis' hottest hipsters were out getting down to some funky grooves. Jason, Mark, EJ and I made it down just in time to get a choice booth near the tables to take in all the hot girl-on-guy action. We had a great time dancing to some awesome tunage and meeting a bunch of new folks. This is exactly the kind of scene Memphis has been hurting for for a while.

Anyway, after Mark and Jason bailed, Bayne and I went for a nightcap at Alex's (well, actually, he had a nightcap and a burger, I had a water). While I was sitting at the bar I came down with the most excrutiating headache I have had in years. I thought that I was about to have an aneurysm. Later I realized that it was probably from neglecting to eat anything the past three days while I was sick. I spent all of my downtime in bed and didn't feel like dealing with making anything to eat, so I mostly just slept. How the hell do people become anorexic? So anyway, I made up for it today by sitting on my couch and eating all afternoon. Currently I am watching the new Brigitte Neilson / Flavor Flav joint Strange Love and contemplating bulemia. Remember when I said Brigette Nielson and Flavor Flav were the new Bennifer?

P.S. This will make you fall off your chair.

Send Meds, STAT!

I went to see what I thought was Cory Branan's last show at The Hi-tone Thursday night. He's actually playing again on the 19th with Ben Nichols of Lucero. It was kind of a mellow show, but it could have just been that I was stone cold sober. I asked Cory to dinner once, after I heard he was moving to Williamsburg (how retro!). I know half of the club and bar owners in NYC from booking shoots when I worked at MTV2, so I thought I could make some calls for him or at least give him a few tips, but after talking to him on the phone I recognized that he would be a hard one to pin down. Oh well, at least he played my request.

So check this out, after returning to my car in the parking lot to retrieve something, I noticed that someone had stolen my license plate!! Nice. That's when I decided it probably wouldn't be a good idea to drink since I was probably going to get pulled over on my way home. I was already sort of loopy anyway from all the cough medicine I was on. I learned a pretty good lesson this week along with the loss of my voice, if you just keep pushing your body without any rest, eventually the sucker will just shut down on you. After the show I went straight home and went to bed because I had plans to go out last night with a friend of mine that I haven't seen since I left for vacation. I was really looking forward to it, but around 4 PM yesterday afternoon I knew that I wasn't going anywhere. So, I called and cancelled my plans and went to bed. Being sick sucks!

2005 Bloggies

A few people have told me that they nominated Scenestars for a 2005 Bloggie Award, so I went and checked it out today. Can you believe they've dropped the Best Weblog About Music as a catagory? Whatever.

Oh, well, you can still go there and give Patrik some props by voting for Scenestars as The Best Designed Weblog.

Cause it is, natch.

Weekend Plans?

The flyer is a little hard to read, but basically there is a new dance party at XYZ once a month hosted by Buck Wilders and The Hook-Up. The next one is this Saturday from 12AM until 6AM. Be there or be square.

Guess Who's Back?

Holy schmoly.

Well, after a 17 hour trip, Mark and I arrived back in Memphis this afternoon. Eric was kind enough to pick us up from the airport. It was an awesome trip, lifetime memories were made, it was a total blast, however, I think that if we had spent one more day together one of us would have killed the other. But thats what you get when you spend 24/7 with someone while you play battle of the smartasses.

There's lots to tell, plenty of stories to relay, however, right now I think I'll be going to bed. I have tons of spam to delete, many emails to answer, galleries to set up and some final tweaking on the new Scenestars design, but when all that's caught up, I promise to entertain you with stories of the legal things we did on our trip. Hmmmm, actually, that may limit me quite a bit. Ok, here's one to hold you over.

So, check it out. Amsterdam is the land of the lads. There's just not that many girls - anywhere. It's mostly groups of guys hanging out which may explain why there are so many sex shops on the canal. Anyway, since there are not that many girls around, I got hit on a lot. Which was sort of weird, not because I got hit on, I get my fair share, but because it didn't seem to phase anyone that I was with Mark, and even though I wasn't with Mark, they didn't know that. They came and laid the ole dutch courage on me. Here's my favorite exchange bwtween me and a drunk but sorta cute dutch guy that happened when I was sitting at the bar at Elf:

"Are you American?"

"Yep."

"I can always tell American woman. You want know why?"

"Uh, why's that?"

"American woman wear sporty shoes and do not like to have sex. You have on sporty shoes."

"Yep, I sure do."

"Well, do you agree with my idea?"

"Um, well, if I say no, do I have to sleep with you to prove it?"

Good Night.

Amsterdam - So Far

Savory Pancakes, Softland, Hawaiians, Coffee and Cigarettes, Tea and Pastries, Fireworks in the Streets, Uggs, Satellite Radio, Video Screens, Free Drinks, Cab Rides, Lost in Space, Thai Rice, Champaigne, The Rookies, Tatanka, Iceless, Boom Chicago, Music Videos, Tsunami, Girls on Trampolines, White Widow, Arrdverk....

If all this doesn't make sense, read Mark's account.