Mickey Hart, Zakir Hussain, & Giovanni Hidalgo @ Keswick

I'm fortunate enough to have a close friend that works PR for a ton of jazz guys. This affords me the chance to see a lot of music for free. Last night we caught Mickey Hart of Greatful Dead fame at the Keswick theater with the legendary Zakir Hussain, and Giovanni Hidalgo. Unlike some of Mickey's more New Age stuff, this was all drums all night (save for Mickey tweaking some knobs). The show started with Zakir and Mickey playing a root structure from an old growth sequoia and a grape vine root structure that dates from the 1860s, respectively. Both pieces were wired with sound sensors that provided different noises depending on where they were being played. It was mind blowing to say the least! The rest of the night was pocked with one smokin' drum solo after another by these masterful players. Interspersed, of course, with deep rhythms and driving beats. I gotta see this again!

Arcade Fire dream...

Had a dream last night that I met Win from the Arcade Fire. I gushed all over and sort of grossed him out, I think. He was also really, really tall in my dream and wearing his usually mezzo cowboy mezzo pageboy outfit. Forget what I said? Something along the lines of, "I saw you guys tear it up at Randalls Island (this is where his face became distorted in utter disagreement; guess in my dream he thought they sucked?). Do they usually do shows there?" He muttered some sort of response. Then the dog started licking my face.

Radiohead - In Rainbows

I downloaded the new Radiohead last Tuesday night from their website. I'm so geeked about not only the record, which is awesome, but also how Radiohead has essentially told the recording industry to get lost. Of course, only mega bands like Radiohead can decide against advertising and the promotion provided with a record company, and sell their music widespread from their own website.

Pitchfork did a forum in which people revealed how much they chose to pay for "In Rainbows." By my guess, the average ranged from 3-7 pounds. If you must know, I paid one pound, which with the processing fee cost me in the end $2.98 (2.95 + .03).

The record is great. Very mellow and easy to listen to over and over (I haven't really turned it off in a week). In many respects, it sounds like the logical extension of "Kid A" and "Hail to the Thief." In fact, if someone was to tell me that "In Rainbows" was the B sides from those records I would believe them (though I'd be surprised that they are B sides because they're so good).

Funny story. I asked my students in class if anyone else has downloaded the record. They all looked at me like I had three heads. When I later asked my best friend whether the kids still listen to Radiohead he told me, "naw, it's old man music." When I asked my Lebanese friend the same question she said that Radiohead is too sophisticated for American students, whose ears' are strapped to Fergie and Justin Timberlake. Luckily, when I saw my students on Friday a couple perked up and said they had grabbed "In Rainbows." The world, again, makes sense ;)

Arcade Fire, LCD Sound System, Blonde Redhead, Les Savy Fav, ?

Wow. Probably one of the best shows I've ever seen. The show was set on a beautiful and warm Saturday afternoon on Randall's Island, just a skip from Harlem. It's quite rare when this happens, but all of the bands were exciting and excellent. We were there from the very first act until the very end of the Arcade Fire's encore. I was so sore from standing that I had to stretch and sit down for ten minutes before leaving the grounds and walking back to Manhattan. What a joy to see all of those amazing acts in one day! The Arcade Fire, Les Savy Fav and Blonde Redhead have been on my "to see" list for quite some time and boy am I a happy camper! Les Savy Fav was as bizzare and fun as I've heard and Blonde Redhead rocked the fucking house. The Arcade Fire were quite magical, though I wish that I was much closer. There was so much going happening on the stage, and I missed a lot by being back a bit. I love that they all sing the lyrics. LCD Sound System rocked my boots! I never really gave them much of a listen before, but since the show they have been prominent on my ipod play list.

Arcade Fire & Les Savy Fav

I'm feeling quite exuberant about this weekend coming up! The Arcade Fire, Les Savy Fav, LCD Sound System, and The Wire are putting on a little festival type show in NYC this weekend and I'll be checking it out with my partner in crime, who just became a certified stock broker. Hopefully I'll have some pictures and a good review of the show on Monday!