It's hot.
My friend Conor told me it's become so hot so quickly in New York that it's now the most prevalent topic of conversation. In fact, it has taken over that whole Yankees question.
After spending the weekend in nice cool air conditioned house, and a wonderful celebration full of blender drinks and mosquito bites for Tracy's 21st, I'm back in the city for my last week before moving out on Thursday (tear). Don't worry, I'm only moving out of my apartment before heading to jolly London next week, where my blogging will continue. I'm 100% percent addicted to this thing, so fear not.
Friday friday friday. Maximo maximo maximo. What a show. I brought my Brit band loving pal Georgia over to Tonic to check them out and knew she'd love them. Paul Smith is a top-notch front man, which brought our conversation on our walk home to something other than the weather.
If you are fronting a band and you are not playing an instrument, you better make yourself entertaining. Smith, from scissor kicks to head jerks, is hands-down the most lively lead singer I've seen. You can't take your eyes off of him, and you keep wondering what in gods name he'll do next (while singing along, of course). The show ended with Smith up on stage looking for his band members somewhere out in the crowd for an impromptu encore. It was a great moment.
When it comes to someone fronting a band with attitude, gals seem to get it (Man In Gray's Tina and Morningwood's Chantal come to mind, and of course Karen O). But I can't think of any guys that exude as much energy on stage as Mr. Smith did Friday night.
My pictures sucked (again) because I was towards the back and they mostly consisted of tops of heads. But Central Village has some good ones here, especially this classic one of Mr. Smith.
We now return to our band of the day, because I am staying in tonight to enjoy the air conditioning at Liz's apartment, two bottles of wine, and trying to save some cash.
Cartel is a band from Washington DC that have played with the likes of Snowden and are planning some shows with The Upwelling (two of my favs). Brian, the man behind the haunting vocals, sent me an email over the weekend asking to post some MP3's. The Washington Post said "With a slightly avant-garde sound and creative production, Cartel offers a refreshing new look at music." I've been digging the tunes the more and more I listen, and I bet you will too.
Cartel plays Southpaw on Friday and will be back August 15 at Pianos.
MP3's (right click click, save as)
Download more here.
1 Comment:
Heard this band on WOXY and they were quite good- glad to see them getting more press.
Post a Comment