08.23.03
in this city

some of you may be wondering what the hell i've been up to the past couple days. did she really only go to madonnathon this week? is jinners turning back to her glamorous margaret cho days as a hag and shaking her booty at the roxy? eh, not really. tho i miss my friend mikey terribly (call me, sweetie and we'll go out like we used to...)

i digress. i was going to go see regina spektor at sin-e on tuesday, but was still recovering from four hours of madge the night before so i didn't quite make it out... but i hope some of you did. she's simply wonderful both live and on cd with the most charming demeanor on stage.

on wednesday, chris (dev attack) invited annabiotica and i to the cutting room where the onion was throwing their monthly party. his friend and co-band conspirator works for the onion and was working the door/guest list. i can't say no to the free beer that was spewing that night, so i went... despite the fact that i knew this pretty awful band was playing that night. the band? unisex salon. from what i hear they are former ex models turned new wave rock stars with tantalizing lyrics like "i'll share my std with you/i'll share my kiddie porn with you" and of course, my favorite, "your anorexic mom turns me on." i thought perhaps they were sort of a joke band... but they look so goddamn serious on stage. i didn't sense a drop of irony. well, maybe a smidgen. but still. i couldn't take much of it. annabiotica said something like they sound like no doubt with stupider lyrics. that's pretty on point. but the onion peeps were cool, and i got a button with one of their columnists on it. chris promised me he would give me one of the many smoove b pins he owns. i can't wait!

we then tried to head over to the ace fu showcase downtown at 169 bar where ted leo was supposed to dj. uh... there was nothing going on down there. so we just had some beer, shot the shit, and headed home.

thursday night we made a bunch of fliers for our OTM show next friday (please come out and rock out!). we walked around the LES for quite a while. got a beer at max fish. talked about seeing movies, stoked and 13. and then headed over to pianos. we didn't realize afropunk was screening there for free and missed it. ran into vivian and edmond who saw the film and loved it. we talked with common and then were waiting around for this band cousin to play. then we heard that unisex salon was going to play before cousin! we tried very very hard to stick around for cousin, but couldn't quite stomach going through that or waiting outside for them to finish their set... so we left. we will catch cousin eventually.

and last night my peeps and i headed over to the mighty robot for fitz's going away party part one, where roxy pain (wolfy and OJ), jah division, panthers and enon were supposed to play. the mighty robot is this huge loft space with an even bigger roof area. the party was packed packed packed. and the police came to break it up, citing too many people (it did feel like the roof would cave in). we ran into naf, lisa g (who was spinning that night), OJ, wolfy, kayrock, chris, mike d. and anna, annabiotica, deron, and more. we waited for everyone to leave the party. we drank more beer. we BS'd some more. then when pretty much everyone had left (i think it was like 1:30 or 2 in the morning), we headed back inside the venue and hung out on the roof. the air was cool. the jmz was running behind our heads. and then enon took the stage and sang three songs. i wanted them to play more but i think everyone didn't want the police coming back. perhaps panthers will play tonight because they didn't get to play last night... those boys are super-loud and probably would violate any noise pollution laws in the area. shee-yit.

08.20.03
just like a prayer, you know i'll take you there

photo: jinners

believe it or not, i think i am all madonna'd out after that four or five hour madonnathon at bb kings on monday. whoa. for now, i think the photos will speak for themselves. we all know what madge sounds like and how huge her catalogue is. now we know exactly what her hardcore fans are like. kudos to kittenpants and annabiotica for stage managing this crazy, crazy event. and julian, thanks for not giving me a brownie.

oh wow, i just realized, i was totally at this party where the first pictured madonna look-alike above (cathy who was the promoter of madonnathon) did her pat benatar act at the tony and tina holiday party. check out the photos from the event here. yes, they played that song from the legend of billie jean -- my personal fave! we can't afford to be innocent. stand up and face the enemy! we will be invincible!!

08.18.03
bunny bunny bunny bunny!

photo: jinners

deerhoof (write up coming soon...)
in the mean time, here's two video clips: one // two

photo: jinners

deerhoof

photo: jinners

deerhoof

photo: jinners

ex models (write up coming soon...)

photo: jinners

big fat worm of error. 'nuff said.

photo: jinners

akiko of semiautomatic -- happy birthday!!

photo: jinners

ropstyle of semiautomatic! (write up coming soon...)

08.17.03
i'm pulling my wig down from the shelf...

photo: jinners

i ventured over to the polyphonic spree's summerstage performance in central park on an overcast saturday in new york. i had no idea what i was in for, but i was game for anything after that 24-hour blackout. the polyphonic spree are this huge praise-like rock group from dallas, tx. they don white robes, raise their hands into the air, play harps, keyboards, guitars, sing choir, and get the crowd hopping up and down like a bunch of 1970 hippies. you can't play too loud at summerstage so the performance isn't quite as affecting as it would have been at warsaw on friday night (i heard the trachtenburg family slideshow players joined the band on stage that night), but the spectacle of it all was still pretty profound.

photo: jinners

click here to see a clip of the polyphonic spree.

photo: jinners

photo: jinners

of course the best part was when john cameron mitchell came out in a blazing red robe and sang "wig in a box" from hedwig and the angry inch. my god, i think i felt chills or my heart skipped a beat. i was completely overwhelmed with pure joy. he got all punk rock at the end (suddenly i'm this punk rock starrr!!!) and tore up his robe and stomped around stage. he is so fucking rad, i can't stand it!

photo: jinners

click here to see a clip of the hedwig madness.

08.14.03
mommy loves daddy

photo: jinners

i have never seen mommy and daddy any stronger than i saw them at their performance at the vicious show at sin-e. before i always thought the band would benefit from a fuller sound, possibly add a live drummer. but now i think that if they did that, they would lose some of charm and electricity that surges the stage when vivian gazes into hubby edmond's eyes. those moments are priceless on stage. i also think that vivian's voice has grown a lot since the first time i saw her perform. she's also perfected her hair, as many have noted through these photos. her vibrant personality comes full force on the stage and i don't think there was a single person in the room that didn't find her smile infectious. edmond's half of the act has also grown stronger, and i am totally down with the way he scares the shit out of everyone with his bugged-out, vein-bulging, sweat-dripping screaming antics. the two of them rule the stage, and i think it was the stand out performance of the long, long night.

photo: jinners

photo: jinners

photo: jinners

mommy and daddy get vicious at sin-e. write up of the show coming soon to a jinners blog near you...

08.12.03
hangin' rough (trade)

photo: jinners

click on the british sea power pic above for a video clip.

this was the first time i had seen british sea power, the headliners for rough trade's showcase at north six. i really had no idea what i was in for. i just didn't read anything about them beforehand, nor had i listened to any mp3s. but when the stagehands started to tape trees and foilage onto the edges of the stage, i knew i wasn't in for a regular rock show. fake bird statues and plants were arranged with care all around the stage. then moments later, the band stepped on stage. one member in a cow outfit. another wearing some sort of helmut. the others dressed in some weird beggar-like outfits with peculiar sock action. and the music was beyond belief. the lead singer performed very much like ian curtis, kind of stiff and crazed. i could see the veins bulging from his throat. barbara mentioned that perhaps he was on drugs because his pupils were severely dilated... that's a possibility, i guess! the band had large, full numbers with plenty of instruments to fill your senses, and were into hopping around the stage like joyful brits. the joy spread across the audience as we watched with our mouths drooling for more.

photo: jinners

of course, i don't have enough praise for the fiery furnaces. you may remember this band from the july "on the moon presents" show at luxx. they blew me away then, and they continue to rock me today with their crazily fantasized and sometimes epic tunes. eleanor's voice gets stronger and more distinct every time i see them, and matthew seems to have perfected that "i'm severely irritated at my sister" look. his piano parts are both fun and catchy -- and give bounce to the band's songs. my favorites include "bow wow," "up in the north," "inca rag/name game," and "tropical ice-land."

photo: jinners

photo: jinners

jeffrey lewis was perhaps the biggest surprise of the night. when i first walked in, i really wasn't sure if i liked his music. i had probably missed his first song... i went to the bar to get a drink. came back and sat down against the wall. then jeff and his band played a hard, screaming tune (don't know the title), and i was suddenly very interested. afterwards, jeff then pulled out his huge sketchbook and announced he would grace us with his mini-documentary on the history of rough trade. it was amazingly accurate, and as he flipped through the pages and sang the RT history, i completely and quickly began to adore him. then he sang a tune about how will oldham raped him, which of course, i'm assuming is just made up. let's hope at least. it was an amazing song that didn't have any breaks for breathing, and i'm not sure how jeff got through without fucking up, but he did. the entire room erupted in applause. i stood in awe, and after the show i bought his cd even though i didn't really have any money to spare!! damn skippy, it was worth it. if you go to jeffrey lewis on the rough trade site, you can read this amazing comic strip...

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