Because there are so many phenomenal shows scheduled for the month of my birth, I figured I'd write about 'em all so you can come out and enjoy them, too. And since I don't drink, you don't even have to buy me a celebratory birthday drink. You can use that money to buy yourself a drink. Cool, no?
I'll break it down week by week so as not to overwhelm you. I'm too good to you.
11/1--Steve Earle/Allison Moorer/Laura Cantrell/Tim Easton (Southpaw, Brooklyn, NY).
Whoops. You missed this one. It was a good time, though. Crowded, but good. And there were the usual Steve Earle fan hecklers who always seem to buy a ticket so they can yell at him when he starts talking politics. Look, I like to hear Steve Earle sing more than talk too, but I can handle it if he wants to say something for a bit. And he's been talking politics at shows for awhile now. It's not a real huge surprise. Deal with it.
Anyway, everybody on the bill was good. Tim Easton started the show at 8:30 and Steve Earle ended it at 1:15, so I'm a little too tired to provide many more details. But Steve Earle is and shall always be cool. Believe that. And seeing him at a small place like Southpaw, while not exactly "mecca" (as proclaimed by the guy next to me, who kept requesting songs while covering his mouth, so Steve wouldn't see him and get angry), was yet another example of why it's cool to be in the NYC area. Yes, even Brooklyn was cool. For one night anyway.
11/3--Jon Langford (Living Room, NYC)
Though the Waco Brothers are still seemingly on deep hiatus (no NYC shows in, I think, two years), any Jon Langford show is still a helluva time. This CMJ show, with Sally Timms, violinist Jean Cook, and Bill Anderson from the Meat Purveyors, should be, as our friend Borat might say, "Ni-ice" (I'm hip to what the kids are digging). And it'll only cost you the one-drink minimum and whatever you want to put in the tip bucket. I also recommend ordering the zucchini fries while you're there. It's all the fun of eating french fries with the added bonus that you're actually eating a vegetable.
11/4 (afternoon) CMJ Bloodshot BBQ with the Meat Purveyors, Bobby Bare Jr., Scott H. Biram, Deadstring Brothers, The Silos, Mark Pickerel, and the Scotland Yard Gospel Choir (Union Pool, Brooklyn, NY)
It's the annual Bloodshot Records shindig, and it's also the final performance of the Meat Purveyors, a fine band with one album I really love ("All Relationships Are Doomed To Fail"), one I like quite a bit ("Pain By Numbers", one that I haven't listened to much yet but may have the title of the year ("Someday Soon Things Will Be Much Worse!"), and a few I never got around to buying. Throw in Bobby Bare Jr. and the Deadstring Brothers (and some other bands of varying goodness) and you've got the best $10 show you'll find all year. Plus you get free food. And maybe the really big dog that's at Union Pool every BBQ will be there, too. So go support Bloodshot Records, my favorite all-time record label. In a CMJ festival full of shows with bands that maintain a safe, eerie distance from the audience, the Bloodshot BBQ is a bona fide, unironic party. Come on down.
11/4 (night)--Maybe Pete/La Dolce Vita (feat. Michael Imperioli [Christopher] from The Sopranos), (Maxwell's, Hoboken, NJ)
Look, I don't know what else I can do to get you to see Maybe Pete. I beg, I plead, I describe a week on the road with them, I give you pictures...I'm at a loss. OK, how about I throw in the added attraction of seeing Christopher Moltisanti in a rock band? All for $8. Is that enough? Do you want me to pay for your ticket? OK, I'll do it. Just go. You'll hear a quantagious (spelling clarified by Mr. McGrath) rock band, ogle a TV star and make him uncomfortable, and see if Frankie can contain himself from doing his Silvio Dante impression in front of a real live Soprano. It's a can't-miss.
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