rinsed in the rain

last night i was in the worst mood. i was at work until 9 p.m. and then ran over to rothko... but there was a band that lifted my spirits, if for nothing else, their energy. lio convinced me to stay and listen to them by describing them as brit rock. i was like, what the hey, i'm here, i'll stay for a couple. thank god i did. the rinse. thanks lio for making me stay. sometimes i need a kick like that, especially these days when i'm working 16 hour days.

it wasn't really that they were completely original, but they had the energy and kind of "fuck let's have some fun" spirit that i was lacking that evening. it was like osmosis. i needed that bit of optimism, the kind of lift that only some people can give you. if you get my drift.

also, completely random thought: the bass player looked like a shorter, more rugged blonde redhead twin. totally amazing.

i was at the show to see a band my friend manages called cousin. the band has changed a lot since i first saw them, which was quite a while ago. they're not really my thing in terms of music, but i see a lot of potential for them. they are a fusion of soul, jazz and rock -- their greatest asset is their ability to shift smoothly between those genres within a song. with brendan rockin' it for this band, i can tell they're on the right track. kudos!

the other band i ended up seeing last night was called this blue holiday. this is another band that i had seen a while ago, and another band who has grown tighter musically. for some reason, they kept reminding me of dt's band, circle and square. does anyone else see/hear that? they were like a younger, trl-friendly circle and square. in any case, they're not exactly the kind of music i listen to, but i can tell these kids have been working really hard to improve, and i can at least appreciate that. being in a band takes so much energy, not only to create the music, but also being able to let any hesitation on stage, and be in the moment. that guitarist knew how to do that, and it was fun to watch him throw himself all over the stage. but where was marc, who tried to drag me to their show at the hook? dude, you're totally obsessed with this band, but i didn't see you last night. it must be closing time at the mag, eh?