Eight Days A Week

It happens every couple months, sometimes more often, but it'll hit you in the face like one of those whipped cream pies they used on all those Nickelodeon shows: you need a break. If I look back on 2005, or granted the second half the year after coming back from London, my life has been out of control. It's consists of running from work to school to Brooklyn to shows, and after awhile you just get a little bit tired of this city and all the wonders it has to offer. Needless to say, that shine gets a little bit dull after doing it week after week.

Saturday was one of those nights that I was running from east to west, meeting people here, seeing show there. It started out over at Puck Fair where I met with Jeremy from Crash Mansion to discuss some ideas for the future. Things went well, and it looks like you just may have an Underrated Magazine show every month! Bring on the stress! The first one will be January 27, more details to come soon.

From there I hopped into a cab over to the west village, where I have not frolicked for a good two years. I lived there for the first two years at NYU and my very first shows that I went to all were at the Lions Den. It's one of the few venues that it's 18+ to get in as well. So when I arrived at Lions Den, it was a little bit of a trip down memory lane. I remembered the venue to be bigger, but perhaps it was just because my favorite freshman Seth Kallen had packed the place. All the bands I went to see had maybe 10 people in audience. I wasn't very good at picking bands to see in my early days.

The beer tasted funky and I felt really old for the first time, but I was excited to see Seth play. Don't let his age fool you; this guy is well beyond his years. It's almost bittersweet seeing people like Seth Kallen play, because you are amazed at their talent, but also jealous that they are so good at that age. Seth rocked the Lions Den to its core on Saturday night. Even if you aren't the biggest fan of his genre or style, there's no denying the pitch perfect voice or happy-go-lucky tunes to dance along to. But no fear - Seth promises me that his new album will sound less Jason Mraz and more Wilco. So stay tuned.



Seth played a cover of The Beatles (you may have heard of them) tune, "Eight Days A Week." He has a live version of the track from his show at Tribeca Rock club up on his site.

Seth Kallen + The Shambles - Eight Days A Week

So from The Lions Den, I jetsetted over to Mercury Lounge in hopes that I could catch some of The Changes set. I usually hate Mercury Lounge on a Saturday night, but after feeling old at Lions Den, it was nice to tread back on familiar ground. I did the usual push and slide through the crowd and the bar and made it to the back in time for just a couple tunes by the Chicago band. After Thursday's show, I was convinced these guys could do better. And they did. Even though I only caught a short set, it seemed much more energized and together. Watching this band is always fun because you just know they are having a lot of fun up on stage. But my favorite has got to be drummer Jonny Basofin. He looks like he is going to hit himself in the face at the speed he is drumming but has the biggest grin the whole time.



And then that's when it all caught up on me. I hovered around Mercury for a bit with Nora and Jerry before a friend called me wanting to meet up for a drink. I told him to meet me at The Skinny where Nora was DJing later. On the short walk over there I realized just how many beers I had been downing from place to place and just how little I had eaten for dinner that night. Okay, I was drunk. What ensued thereafter was too much for this girl to handle - getting beer spit in my face by a certain guitarist, falling into the DJ booth, yelling outside to no one and saying I'm moving to Kentucky, and taking a cab back to my apartment in Brooklyn and yet getting lost and stumbling around for a good half hour before finding my way.

Needless to say, I am never excited to go home for the holidays, but I think I'm ready for a little bit of a break. Give me one day in Jersey, and I'll be itching to come back. I guess that's just how it works.